#No Cathy isn't invited

[missnancychavez]

So I am on my third rewatch of Twisters. So here are some of my own personal headcanons and theories for the movie and some parallels that may add weight to those theories.

1. The original 5 friend group dynamic: Jeb and Praveen have known each other for years and are each others best friend. Javi and Kate are the dynamic duo (basing it on the fact that they were the only ones to do the handshake together). And Addy is everyone's little sister. Her and Kate were extremely close, but in a different way than her friendship with Javi.

2. Tyler Owens is the nephew of Bill and Jo on Bill's side (As we knew Jo didn't have any sibling). He spent his summers with them as a kid, and then as a teenager, he moved in with them full time. He started chasing with them around then, too. He even pays homage to that as he is driving a newer model of Bill's red dodge ram.

3. Boone and Lily have something going on. The way Boone screams her name as she gets picked up by the wind. And their personalities are perfect together. You can't convince me otherwise.

4. Kate and Tyler kiss in the truck after the chase they go on straight from the airport at the end of the movie. (Refer to point 8)

5. Kate puts in her resignation almost immediately, and Javi cuts ties with Riggs and Scott. The wranglers and Kate join StormPAR. Kate and Tyler spend the off-season working with Javi while the others do their own gigs, but during the storm season, they are all chasing and gathering data.

6. Cathy is so encouraging of her daughter because she's been through loss before. They called her Mrs. Carter, meaning she was married. Kate's dad died when Kate was a little girl. Cathy had to learn how to navigate being a young mom and tending a farm on her own. But she also knows that it could stop her from living her life. So she didn't. She grieved, and she learned to live with the grief and still do what she loves. It's why she is so encouraging of Kate getting back out there.

7. Kate stayed in OK for another couple of weeks after the tornado (neither her nor Tyler appeared injured in the final scene, and the truck looks great, all things considered, so clearly they had time tp heal and fix the truck.) They all were forcibly invited back to the farm by Cathy after Tyler and the wranglers went to drop Kate off post El Reno. Cathy took one look at Tyler and forced him in the house. Kate gave herself a headache from laughing so hard. She was then sent inside alongside him. Cathy made everyone stay for as long as they needed. But she did, however, get some free labour from it. It was an unspoken agreement that Kate's was now home base.

8. By the credit scenes, Kate and Tyler are together. Their first kiss was immediately after the two of them went chasing from the airport. Something about their adrenaline rushing, and it being just the two of them. It was electric. It was immediate. It just happened, and when they pulled back, they both started laughing. It reminded him of the first time they chased together, just the two of them. Kate delayed her flight for another two days. She was back home within the month. Tyler quickly realised he would have to start bribing Boone afterwards on the days he and Kate went out.

9. Kate and Boone will play card games at night to see who gets shotgun the next day, when Boone isn't riding with Lily, of course. Turns out, Kate's damn good at playing poker. On the rare occasion that Kate drives, Boone automatically hops in the back of the truck. He won't tell anyone, but he loves it when she drives. She gets this manic energy about her in the drivers seat and his adrenaline always ends up pumping. Tyler loves it, too, but he has no qualms verbalizing his affections toward her.

10. Tyler has nightmares now. Of watching Kate drive into the tornado. Of finding her body, discarded and broken by his truck. Of her slipping through his fingers during a storm. He wakes up sweating and panicking. And it's only when he sees her that he can calm himself down. The two of them, those first two weeks after El Reno, would spend hours each night, sitting in the barn, going over formulas. Or sitting outside on the tree swing, talking until they were both too exhausted to have any nightmares. When she left to go back to New York, she wasn't particularly surprised when one night she awoke to her phone ringing, Tyler close to having a full blown panic attack as he tried and failed to reassure himself that she was okay without her help. They would always call each other before bed after that, usually falling asleep over facetime.

[lostfirefly]

Just a second, we're not broken, just bent and we can learn to love again

The idea is based on my biggest fight in life and friends who are in relationships. For some reason, I think Buggy might get mad over something like this. Anyway, Sunday is the best time for a long fic :) English is not my native language, errors may occur. As always, feel free to share your thoughts :)

Masterlist is here

Description: Buggy asks Catherine out on a date, and they accidentally run into an old friend of hers.

Warnings: Fun, fluff turn into their big quarrel. Angry Catherine, angry, jealous and pissed off Buggy.

Words: 5415

Buggy x OC from my “You’ve Got the Same Dream as Me” series.

Taglist: @gingernut1314, @operationroots, @hey-august

The title is taken from "Just Give Me a Reason" by Pink feat. Nate Ruess.

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“Cathie-pie, it's only 9 am.” Buggy mumbled into his pillow in a sleepy voice.

“I’m in a good mood.” Catherine was spinning around in the bedroom to the music, moving her butt from side to side. "Don't you dare kill my mood!" 

“What is wrong with you?” Buggy rolled over on his back and rubbed his eyes.

“Nothing! I woke up in a wonderful city that I adore. We’re home and my blue-haired love is with me! Wo-o-o-ho-o-o!” Catherine raised her arms up and spun around her axis. She stopped for a second, looked at Buggy, broke into a smile and threw herself onto the bed with a squeal. “Love!” Smack. “Love!” Smack. “Love, love, love you!!” Smack. Smack. Smack. “I love your nose.” Smack. “I love your gray hair on your temples and eyebrows!” Smack. “I love your painted mouth.” Smack. Smack. 

“Geeez, woman! It's only morning! Stop doing this shit! Stop dancing, twirling and kissing me. Better get in here!” Buggy lifted the blanket and Catherine happily crawled under the covers with her whole body, and stuck her head out.

“Hi! Here I am!” Smack. “You are going somewhere today. Can I come with you?” She settled under his armpit and took his hand. 

“Sorry, cotton candy, but it's a little personal.” Buggy looked at her disheveled hair and placed his chin on the top of her head. 

“Okay, at the end of the day, you need your own space. I don't want to turn into one of those annoying couples who can't live even a minute without each other.”

“What? I can easily live a day without you!”

“Liar!” Catherine frowned playfully. “If I'm not in the room, you come to me in 10 or 15 minutes. Yesterday, I was in the kitchen arranging Indian food on plates. You came to me though I had been out of the living room for 5 minutes. You just can't live without me! And when you're at rehearsals, you constantly send me messages. And by the way, stop asking for naked pictures of me. This won't happen!”

“But why?” Buggy looked at her with upset eyes.

“I'm not going to send you this when you're at work, clown.” Catherine shook her hand negatively. “What if someone sees?”

“So what?” Buggy shrugged. 

“Why do you need my naked photos? I don’t even want to think what you could be doing there, looking at them. I'm lying next to you now, isn't that enough?”

“Doesn't count.” Buggy muttered into her head. “You're in your pajamas. More precisely, in your pants with piglets and my t-shirt. Again.”

“Sorry that this is one of those rare mornings where I luckily woke up dressed.” Catherine blushed. “And after your meeting, what are you gonna do?”

“Hah, I wanted to ask you out on... well... on a date.”

“Seriously?” Catherine suddenly sat on top of him and leaned towards his face. “You haven't invited me anywhere for a long time.”

“We were in the desert, among the pyramids. Where was I supposed to invite you? For dinner in a sarcophagus?” Buggy placed his hands on her back. “Do you understand that you are now in a dangerous position? Why are you doing this? Where's my humble girl?” 

“Your humble girl is here.” Catherine ran her lips over his lips. “Right here.” 

“Fuck this!” Buggy's hands quickly slid under her t-shirt. “You're mine, Cathie-pie! And I’ll prove that to you now.” He kissed her greedily. 

“Na-ah!” Catherine broke the kiss, raised her body and stroked his shoulders. "You had somewhere to go. Get up and go."

“But.. Sex, baby..” Buggy looked confused. “I thought we were go~.”

“You're such a fool.” She pecked him on his nose and snuggled under the blanket. “Nope. Date first. Go away, fucking clown. I wanna sleep some more.”

Catherine didn’t know how not to laugh out loud, watching him get out of bed, muttering under his breath “Little shit!”. 

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Buggy entered a bright room and approached a table at which a green-haired man was sitting. 

“Mister the Clown!” He raised his head: 

“Yeah, me. Is it ready?” Buggy asked quietly. 

“Yes, just a minute.” The man run away somewhere into the storage room. 

Buggy was sitting on a chair and was noticeably nervous. 

The man returned and opened the velvet box. “Everything is as you ordered. Bright, shiny, beautiful, black and with Egyptian vibes. Our designer added a little more drawing here and here, so everything looks more complete.” 

Buggy picked up the box, squinted and carefully turned it in all directions. “Perfect! How much is the total?”

“As I told you yesterday, it turned out to be more expensive than we thought, sir.” The man reached into the table for papers. 

“I don’t care about the money, how much?” Buggy barked. 

“2 million, sir.” 

“Fine.” He took out the card and swiped it through the terminal. 

“Sir, this is a wonderful gift. And whoever this gift is for, anyone will be glad to receive it.” 

Buggy looked at the guy with the corner of his eye. “This is not just a gift for anyone, idiot. This is for my Cathie-pie.”

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Catherine reached the Rosinante bar on Dressrosa Street and looked around. Buggy was nowhere to be seen, and she started to think that she had mixed up the address when the message “turn left” came on the phone. Catherine looked in different directions, but saw no one. She shrugged and walked to the left, grumbling quietly. A new message came on the phone: “to the other left and don’t grumble!”. Catherine turned around, thought a little, and reached into her bag. 

“Damn you and your chop chop shit, idiot!” She mumbled and began to gently tickle Buggy's ear with her fingers. “This is my revenge on you, pervert!” 

Catherine turned the right corner and saw Buggy. 

“You lost something.” She handed him his ear. "Stop leaving your body parts everywhere, clown. When I made you breakfast yesterday, your hands were flying all over the kitchen just to grab something. Bread, cheese, my ass. Don't be lazy and get your butt off the couch. Hi!" Catherine pecked him on the lips, put Buggy's ear back in place and looked around. “What are we doing here? It seems like you called me to a bar, but this is a restaurant.” 

“And this is my surprise.” He smiled and made a come-on gesture with his hand. 

“But I’m dressed like hell, Buggy.” Catherine said with an upset voice and looked at her jeans. “You should warn me, I should at least wear a dress.” 

“Fuck it! You’re always beautiful.” He bent his arm at the elbow and offered it to her. 

“Wow! Today you are Buggy the Gentleman.” Catherine grabbed his hand, and they walked into the restaurant together. 

Catherine looked around. Everything inside looked elegant. Soft light fell on the mahogany walls, there were bas-reliefs on the ceiling and beams, white starched tablecloths on the tables. She was surprised by the oval shape of the restaurant and the fact that it had several floors. All the world's most delicious smells seemed to mingle inside. The room was filled with laughter, voices, the constant clinking of glasses. The place seemed like a small oasis in the middle of the hot city. A place where strangers could become friends for a while, eating delicious food. A place where fairy stories could be trawled until the wee hours of the morning. One of the hostesses greeted them with a warm and wide smile and escorted them to a table.

“Wow. Everything is so beautiful.” Catherine sat down on the semicircular sofa and gently ran her hand along the table. “Are we celebrating something today? We don't have a relationship anniversary, first kiss, or first...you know.” She blushed. 

“Oh, I remember that day. And how you dragged me into the bedroom.” Buggy rolled his eyes dreamily and asked the waitress to bring wine.  

“Said the disgusting man who took me to the airport. Lucky for you, I stayed to punish you!” Catherine stroked his head. 

“Yeah, and you successfully do it every day. Returning to your question, we celebrate nothing. We have a lot of money, why can’t I take you to a restaurant and show my girl to the whole world.” The waitress brought a bottle of the most delicious wine and Buggy immediately poured it into Catherine’s glass.

During the date they laughed a lot. Catherine loved the fact that Buggy could make her laugh until she cried, and this fact sometimes caused her to catch unhappy looks from some of the visitors. Buggy constantly ordered her food and the most expensive wine, almost never taking his eyes off her. She blushed and asked him to stop staring. Throughout the evening, Buggy got angry when something went wrong. When the waiter brought the wrong wine, he threw a tantrum. When they mixed up the dishes, he got angry again. Catherine kept reassuring him that everything was fine. But he wanted the evening to be perfect, not just fine. 

She listened attentively to his stories, trying to understand where the truth ended and his fantasies began. During their dinner Catherine always said that she loved him, that he was handsome and funny. She constantly hugged Buggy, making him blush. At home, when no one saw, he was slowly getting used to her expression of feelings, then in public he sometimes had trouble with it. Yes, he could make a loud dirty joke or grab her ass. But he also said something nice to her. Quietly.  

“I think I'm about to burst.” Catherine patted her belly lightly. “A couple more nights like this, and you'll be rolling me around like a ball. We spent a lot of money here, yeah?” 

“Not a bunch. Just 10000. Baby, we have 350 million in our account, we can eat in restaurants every fucking day.” Buggy took a sip of beer. 

“We can, but I won't let you spend all your money on food and booze.” Catherine placed her head on Buggy’s shoulder. “First, stop grabbing my ass, clown. Second, what's next?”

“It's hard not to try to grab your ass. You're seducing me with your bare shoulders the whole evening. And I'm taking you for a walk.” 

Catherine shook her head and pulled her shirt on. Buggy took her hand and led her for a walk. They wandered along the promenade, listening to the sound of the waves and catching glances from visitors in the small cafes. One of the older women muttered “look the clown took the princess for a walk", Catherine quickly sent her the fuck away and then spent a long time calming the upset Buggy. Later he snatched a cup of lavender ice cream for Catherine, laughing that half an hour ago she was talking about being full and already she was asking for ice cream. 

Catherine dragged Buggy to the beach, sat down on the sand and pulled him along with her. Buggy sat down next to her, and she immediately settled under his armpit. 

Catherine took his hand and began to stroke his palm with her fingers. “It's great, right? Thank you for this evening! I love when we go for walks.” She glanced at Buggy. “Do you think that in old age you will want to hold my hand? I will obviously dry out under the hot sun of Egypt and become a disgusting mummy. You will stop loving me and will leave to look for a younger mummy.” 

“You will be the most beautiful old mummy in the world!” Buggy became nervous. “You know.. I would like us to be.. to be together. I don’t know. When I will be 80 years old, I want to eat your pancakes, chewing them with false teeth.” 

Catherine laughed. “You look sexy even now with gray hair on your eyebrows and temples, but all gray hair and with false teeth, you will make a splash!” 

“Listen.. About being together.” Buggy cleared his throat. “Cathie-pie, you know I lo~.”

“I know.” She nodded. 

“Don't interrupt me, woman! And you love me.”

“Not just love! I love you so-o-o much!” Catherine sat on her knees and spread her arms wide to the side. “You know, I thought that if I fell in love when I was over 30, I would be calm. See? You blew my head off, Buggy Bear.” She cupped his face and pecked him on his lips several times. 

“I still insist that this is a terrible, terrible nickname, by the way.” Buggy cleared his throat again and took her hands. “But.. I wanted to ask you. You.. You… Do you wa~...” 

“Shatter me with thunder! Catherine Elizabeth Mitchell!” A man's voice came from somewhere to the side. Catherine turned around and her jaw dropped. 

“Larnie?!” She jumped up and ran to a tall, pumped up dark-haired guy and hugged him. “What are you doing here?” 

“Are you asking me?” He kissed her on the cheek and raised her above the sand.  “We haven’t seen each other for how long? About 5 or 7 years? And of all the possible places on the planet, I find you on the beach in Cairo!” He put her down and kissed again.

“Life is unpredictable, right?” Catherine laughed. 

“At first it seemed to me that it wasn't you, but then I heard your loud laugh, which I cannot confuse with anything. How.. What.. How.. How did you end up here?” Larnie shook her hands. 

Catherine carefully nodded towards Buggy, who was watching this whole situation with a not very happy face. “It's a long story, but over there sits my main reason. Buggy, come here! This is Larnie! We went to school and university together. Larnie, this is my Buggy.”

Buggy reluctantly stood up and came closer to Catherine, pulled her closer and immediately wrapped his hand around her waist, marking the territory. 

“No! You have to tell me everything! We haven't seen each other in a thousand years! The last time I saw you, you wanted to marry the marshmallow man.” Larnie scratched his cheek. 

“Hah, yes. But the marshmallow man lost in an unequal fight with this man.” Catherine stroked Buggy’s back.

“No, no! We're going somewhere to drink. You, me and... Biggy, right?” 

“Buggy.” He answered dryly. 

“Wait a sec, Larnie!” Catherine took Buggy's hand and led him aside, asking if he wanted to go somewhere. Buggy didn't want to go, but he looked into her eyes, exhaled heavily, and agreed. Catherine jumped up with a squeal and smacked him several times on the cheek. 

They reached Arlong's Bar and sat down at a table.  Larnie looked around for a long time and was surprised at the fish people.

“When I first saw them, I had the same reaction.” Catherine laughed loudly. “It was so strange. Fish people drinking alcohol. But I'm so happy I was brought here. Oh, oh, Larnie! See the bar counter? Near it I met Buggy.” Catherine stroked Buggy's back and opened the menu. “Oh, my love. Can you order me this?” She pointed at the drawing of the blue velvet cake. 

“Ok.” Buggy stopped the fish waiter, ordered dessert, beer and wine. He practically kept his eyes on Larnie. Catherine smiled back at Buggy and silently said with her lips “I love you.”

“Can't believe it! My little friend Catherine is in a relationship. You're a lucky man, Buggy. That girl had so many guys chasing after her, but this is not surprising she has always been a cheerful laugher. But she'd just sit with her books. Sometimes they managed to ask her out, but it always ended the same way. I thought she'd end up with books or a boring, pimply librarian. But our little Catherine surprised everyone.” Larnie chuckled, called the waitress and ordered several bottles of beer for himself and Buggy and a bottle of wine for Catherine. “Oh, do you remember when I asked you out? I think it was freshman year, right? You know, dude, I somehow thought that girl liked me, because she was kind to me and asked her to the park.”

“Meh.” Buggy chuckled and poured Catherine's wine from the bottle he had ordered.

“Because you lost our tickets to the movie.” Catherine laughed. 

“Hey, I bought popcorn in the park! Anyway, she said I wasn't for her, she needed someone higher level and we stayed friends. Good friends. I whined to her every time I got dumped by a girl. So, Cath, tell me what you're doing now.” Larnie took a sip. 

“Me? Nothing.” Catherine placed her hand on Buggy's shoulder. “Buggy runs a circus.” 

“Really? The circus?” Larnie looked at him and frowned. 

“Yeah. Do you have any problems with that?” Buggy crossed his arms and practically drilled Larnie with his eyes. 

Catherine took Buggy’s hand and started stroking his arm. “The most famous circus around here. If you're in Cairo for the long haul, I suggest you go and watch the show the day after tomorrow. And there will be a new show in three months. I'm looking forward to it!”

“The show?” Larnie asked again with interest. “I'll think about it. Now I'm wondering what it is that has won over our little Catherine.” 

“Stop calling me little!” Catherine ate a piece of cake. 

“Have you seen yourself in the mirror lately? But anyway. I haven't been to the circus in a long time. Are you coming? Maybe I'll join you?” Larnie took a sip.

“Of course, I'll go!” Catherine looked at Buggy, offered him a cake, but he refused. 

“Well, that's settled then, I'll go with you.” Larnie chuckled. “Oh! Remember when you and I went to the circus when we were kids. It'll be cool to reminisce about those days, right? So, what's your row? Which one should I buy a ticket for? Buggy, do you think there are any tickets left?”

“She always has the best seat.” Buggy took a sip. “And I have no idea, go to the fucking ticket office tomorrow and check. But I'm afraid all the seats are already taken.” 

“Ok, I’ll check. So wait, Catherine. You're really not working?”

"She doesn't need to work.” Buggy barked, opened the third bottle of beer and also refilled Catherine’s glass with wine. “I can provide for her myself.”

“I'm tired of my boring job as a librarian, and I'm completely happy with my life now.” She rested her head on Buggy's shoulder. “Buggy takes care of me.” 

Larnie smirked. “I have to admit, Catherine Mitchell, I haven't seen your eyes light up like that in a long time. Hm, I think, I’ve never seen you so happy.”

“Blame it all on him.” Catherine stroked Buggy’s arm. “This man made me like this. Wait! I heard that you were going to marry Haeley! What happened?”

Larnie waved his hand. “Oh, this ginger girl ran away from me to the blond cook. And I came here to lick my wounds. And I met you!”  

They sat at the bar for quite a long time, sipping beer and wine, reminiscing about old stories. Catherine laughed loudly all evening, glancing at Buggy, who was clearly unhappy with what was happening all evening and constantly snapped.

Catherine and Buggy returned home quite late. 

“Funny, right? Meeting an old friend in another country.” She took off her sneakers. “Are you okay?” 

“Yes." Buggy threw the keys on the table, but missed.

“Someone is drunk and jealous!!” Catherine smiled and hugged him from behind. 

Buggy silently took her hands away and went into the kitchen, swaying. Catherine narrowed her eyes, tiptoed to the kitchen and watched as he opened another bottle of beer, sitting down on the chair.

She came up behind him and gave him a hug. “My Buggy Bear is sad! His Cathie-pie might cheer him up?”

“I’m tired, Catherine.” Buggy pulled her arms away and slowly went into the living room.

Catherine waved her arms and followed him. “You're sulking like a pissed cat. What did I do? Why are you mad?” 

“I'm not mad.” He took a sip. 

“You walk around the house with squinted eyes and a clenched jaw. Is it because of tonight? Oh my god, Buggy!” Catherine rolled her eyes. “I haven't seen a friend in almost ten years. Sorry, I couldn't scare him off with a machine gun or your Buggy Fluggy bombs or whatever you call them. I'm sorry that I had and still have friends. And I'm sorry that I'm glad to see someone I haven't seen for a bunch of years. What was I supposed to say? Oh, sorry Larnie, my boyfriend is too jealous, I can’t look at anyone now, and I also can’t sit next to anyone.”

“Sit with whoever and wherever you want, Catherine. Even with your fucking Larnie.” He took another sip of beer and could barely stand on his feet. “Oh, you know, Buggy, I once went on a date with your girlfriend. Oh, Buggy, did you know that a flock of handsome men were running after her? Oh, l’ll go with your girl to the circus. Or maybe we can ride off into the sunset together and leave this red-nose loser alone? Because she needs someone at a higher level. I know perfectly she needs someone at a higher level.” 

“What are you talking about? I don't need anyone.” Catherine came closer and tried to hug him. “Let's talk, please.” 

“I’m gonna sleep. Tomorrow is a full day rehearsal. Everything should be perfect. What if your fucking Larnie’ll show up, I’ll have to impress him, right? Oh, little Catherine, I want to know what you’re up to. Oh, what a shame. You chose a fucking loser and even his shows are terrible. So sorry for you.” He took another sip. “Fuck, the floor is moving.” 

“Sit down, you're drunk. First, you're not a loser.” Catherine felt herself starting to get angry. “Second, can you imagine, clown, I had a life before you. And yes, I went on dates from time to time. Just remember, I chose you! Do you see any guys I want to run away with? Hey! Where are you? Maybe you're in the closet?” She went to the closet in the bedroom and opened the doors. “No one. Or maybe in the nightstand under the TV?” She opened the TV set cabinet. “No one! Surprise! You've been rude all evening, Buggy. And if you haven't noticed, I spent the entire evening showing poor Larnie that I was with you. Should I have stood on the table and rang the bell? Hello, people of Cairo. I’m Catherine and I’m with this clown. We just sat at the bar and that's it!” 

“Why the fuck would you choose this bar out of all the fucking bars in Cairo? Wasn't there another one?” Buggy hissed through his teeth. 

“What?” Catherine looked at him uncomprehending.

Buggy didn't answer. He looked at her angrily, set the bottle on the table and went to the bedroom, slamming the door loudly. 

Catherine stood for a few minutes, opened the door, knocking softly and watching him lay under the blanket with a dissatisfied growl. “Can I come in?” 

Catherine tiptoed to the closet, quickly changed into pajamas and climbed into the bed. She lay down behind Buggy and hugged him. He gently pulled her hands away. Catherine exhaled and covered herself with the blanket. Okay, she decided she'd try to talk to him in the morning. 

For the next two days, they didn't speak. The morning after the arguing, Catherine made Buggy apologetic pancakes, but it did help to improve his mood. Usually he was very clingy in the morning. But not this time. He ate breakfast in silence and left, saying nothing. No “goodbye, my Cathie-pie”, no “see you later, little shit”, no inappropriate jokes. She gave him a quick “have a nice day” kiss on his cheek but Buggy said nothing. She hoped he would start sending her messages every hour like he used to. Usually it was silly, but funny messages like "Richie yawned”, “Richie ate grass”, “Cabaji fell off his bike”, “And now look at the pain on his face." But Buggy didn't send anything, he didn't respond to her messages either. When Buggy got home, he sat in the kitchen, eating dinner and sipping a beer. And didn't talk to her. 

On the second day after arguing, Catherine thought for a long time about going to the show or not. She was not very happy with his behavior, but she realized that she overreacted too. 

Yes, they'd argued about various things during their relationship, but they'd made up quickly, even though they'd been as stubborn as sheep at times. But this quarrel did not please her at all, and Catherine felt disgusted. She'd never seen Buggy so pissed off. But why was he so mad?

Catherine was sipping her coffee and widened her eyes. “Oh, shit!”

The bar! That's why he got angry. They were in their place. 

“Fuck!” She thought.

Why had she brought Larnie there? Why hadn't she thought that this place had a special meaning to Buggy? Of course, it was special to him. She was the first person who didn't run away from him with cries of disgust, the first who accepted him with all his faults. With his grumbling, whining and driving her crazy. The first who said she loved him. She became his shelter from the world. And he met her there. 

“Stupid Catherine.” She muttered to herself, dressed up and went to the circus. Despite the arguing, she wanted to support him. As always. 

Catherine didn't expect Larnie to wait for her at the entrance, offered to drink before the show and to go for a walk after it. She refused politely, showed him where to go and quickly went to her seat. Catherine was glad that he didn't find a ticket next to her and didn't even want to imagine what would happen in another case.

Catherine sat in her seat (of course, it was the center of the front row) and waited for the show to start. She saw Buggy walk out into the arena with his arms spread out, bathing in the applause of the audience. Her flashy fool under his favorite spotlights. Buggy noticed Catherine, and she thought for a second that he was surprised to see her there. Actually, it was the first time in two days that they met gazes. Catherine raised her right hand slightly and said "hi" with her lips. But.. Nothing happened in response. Buggy usually winked at her. When he bowed at the beginning and the end of the show, he always made a small pass at the front row and always stopped in front of her for a few seconds longer to hear a quiet "I love you" from her. Catherine liked that little show of love and intimacy at moments like these. But this didn't happen this time. She was a little confused. During an act change, one of the freaks brought her a large bucket of popcorn. Catherine threw a glance at Buggy, and thought she saw a slight smile on his face. After the show, which was of course well received by the audience, Catherine waited for Buggy for a while. One of the freaks said he was busy, she exhaled sadly, saying “okay” and went home, trying not to cry.

Catherine was sitting on the couch sipping wine when she heard the jingle of keys. Buggy walked into the living room, holding a bouquet of blue roses, sat down next to her on the floor without saying a word. 

Catherine took the bouquet, put it on the table and ran her hand along his back. “Stole flowers again?” She asked quietly. 

Buggy nodded and laid his head on her lap, hugging her legs. “You'll leave me, right? You will leave me to live in the fucking marshmallow house.”

“If I had to leave, I'd gnaw my way back in the marshmallow house and return to you.” She started stroking his head. “I'm sorry. I ruined our evening.”

“You came to see my show. Without him.”

“Of course I came. Because I love you. It was amazing, as always. I’m so proud of you, Buggy the Clown. And you won't believe me, but there were three girls sitting behind me sighing at you. When you brought me popcorn, I swear, your fangirls were ready to kill me.” Catherine kissed his head. 

“Liar, I don't have fangirls.” Buggy giggled and climbed onto the sofa, laying his head on her lap again, took her hand and kissed it. “Hi.” 

“Hi.” Catherine kissed his nose. “No, you have. Look at you! You're so handsome and funny. God, I'm so lucky to have you. Do you know how difficult it was not to fall in love with you at first sight?” She ran her hand through his hair. “I was waiting for you, but one of your freaks said you were busy. I thought you were mad at me, or disgusted to look at me.”

“No! No, no, no! Richie's food arrived. The fucking courier got the time wrong and I had to do the paperwork. I sent Cabaji to tell you to wait for me, but he said that you left.” Buggy squeezed her hand. “And baby. Disgusted? Seriously? You're beautiful even now, when your hair is dishevelled, and you're sitting like an upset raccoon in your pants with.. Who is this?” 

“I’m not a raccoon, jerk! And this is a kangaroo.” Catherine smiled slightly and started stroking his face. “I’m sorry, please. I just didn't think with my brain that you were a romantic at heart.” She giggled. “Agree, let this bar be just ours. Let's go there tomorrow? Just you and me.” She kissed his forehead, watching him nod. “You know, I even know why I like this place so much. Because one day I met a blue-haired brute there. He grumbled at me and wanted to leave me in the desert. But somehow he became the love of my life. That’s why I want to take everyone there and show that special place where we met. I don't want you to think that all this doesn't matter to me. It does. It really does.” 

“Well, you can bring your sister there.” Buggy shrugged. 

“Deal. I'll let you take your friends there. But not ex-girlfriends.” 

“Then you'll have to kick a couple of waitresses out of there. We didn't meet, but there was something. If you know what I mean.” He giggled idiotically. 

“Oh, go to hell, clown.” Catherine playfully slapped his shoulder. “I can live with that. I'm still better than all of them put together. You've got the best of everything. The show, the popcorn, the house. So, I'm the best by default.”

“You forgot to mention the best sex.” Buggy looked at her with a proud face. 

“I knew that phrase would stick in your head, pervert. I just had to tell you that once.” Catherine rolled her eyes playfully. 

“Well, sorry, I can't get over my awesomeness.”

“Idiot!” She pecked him on his nose. “I think this was our biggest fight, right? But look how good we are! Our crew made it through even that. I love when you're jealous, but I don't want to fight like that anymore. Let's continue swearing about little things. Crusts on the bread, you drank all the milk, you broke all the eggs, you're not wearing pants.” 

“Cotton candy, it's hard not to be jealous. You are smart, beautiful. But you chose the loser.” Buggy became sad. 

“Okay, be jealous, I can't change you anyway. But don't say horrible things about yourself. You're not a loser. You're not a pathetic clown. You're my Buggy Bear. And I want to live with you in the marshmallow house. And let's talk more.” Catherine rested her forehead against his. “Come on. Help me make some tea, I warm up the pancakes I made for you, and you tell me about those waitresses, okay? My hot clown and girls in short skirts. Hmmm, I'm actually getting a little jealous.” She ruffled his hair, stood up from the couch, shook her buttocks to cheer Buggy up and dragged him into the kitchen. 

They made tea, took the pancakes and went to the bedroom. 

That night they talked.

[isfjmel-phleg]

Yesterday, July 19, was Tim Drake's birthday and I had intended to make a post about the issue in which this is acknowledged, but I completely forgot after a long week of work-related panic. Sorry! It's a day late, but I'm getting it to you anyway.

Today we're going to be looking at relevant parts of Robin 1993 #116. Although Tim has gone from thirteen to seventeen over the years, to the best of my knowledge only one of his birthdays has been depicted in comics--his sixteenth.

The issue opens with Alfred picking up Tim after a mission that took him out in the middle of the woods (as detailed in earlier issues). Meanwhile, Tim's dad and his stepmother talk. Jack Drake apologizes to Dana for how he's been acting in the aftermath of losing money and having to move and offers to take her out. She pinpoints his recent issues as being related to grief for his first wife, who is inexplicably referred to here as Cathy rather than Janet. This isn't Dana's mistake; earlier issues had Jack use the wrong name too. Writer's error, probably.

They're interrupted by Tim's return. Jack apologizes to him, and Tim plays the dutiful, understanding son and laughs it off.

Dana brings up something that's coming up on Thursday, and neither of the Drakes have a clue what she's talking about. After Tim excuses himself, claiming that he needs sleep after a whitewater rafting outing, Dana tries to clue Jack in. He has completely forgotten that the significant date July 19 is coming up. He's been too wrapped up in his own concerns.

As tired as Tim is, he's worried about Stephanie, who has had recent difficulties with her mom, and he calls her. She assures him that he's fine and asks about Thursday, but he falls asleep mid-conversation.

The sleep situtation doesn't get any better thanks to multiple back-to-back days of late-night patrolling, and on Thursday, July 19, Tim doesn't get up until noon and finds when he awakens that his dad and Dana have ordered pizza, Canadian bacon with onions and artichoke hearts--which only Tim likes.

And then Tim's friend Ives arrives with soda and movies, and Stephanie comes bearing pizza, and Tim is worried that something terrible must be happening if people are going out of their way so much to try to make him happy.

Surprise! It's his birthday, and he has forgotten because he's been so dang busy juggling his two lives (he's in a new school and working with Bruce, not to mention that Young Justice recently disbanded and is about to merge with the Titans).

Tim's feeling magnanimous enough to invite Cole Hartzel, his apartment's antagonistic elevator operator, and then the gift-giving begins. An RPG handbook from Ives, dress shoes from Dana, cellphone and page holster sewn by Steph, a modem from Jack, who regrets that he can't get Tim a car for his sixteenth birthday as he had hoped. Tim accepts every gift graciously and goes out of his way to try to make his dad feel better.

And then there's a mysterious, suspicious box from an unidentified source.

It's worrisome enough to Tim to abruptly make an excuse to get it out of the apartment and take it to a place where Batman can pick it up for analysis. Steph follows him, and they share a kiss on the apartment roof.

Unfortunately, this means that Tim is so mentally distracted during the movie marathon with his friends and family that he can't properly enjoy it, although he tries to keep up the act for their benefit, because he wants everyone else to enjoy his birthday since he can't anymore.

That night, he comes to the Batcave to analyze the mystery package. Bruce warns him that Alfred is upset about something. Turns out that he's annoyed with Bruce for forgetting Tim's birthday. Alfred has made Tim a cake with sixteen candles.

Tim blows them out, Bruce freaks out about smoke getting on the high-tech gadgets, and Alfred continues to snark at him.

And Tim and Bruce share the cake as they analyze the package, which leads them off on their next harrowing adventure.

Everything about how this birthday goes is characteristic. Tim's double life prevents him from fully embracing the joys of his civilian life. He is so immersed in his other role that he loses track of his personal identity's birthday. Both of his father figures forget his birthday too. They mean well, but Jack and Bruce are both so preoccupied with their own concerns, and Tim is there to support them more than the other way around. The ones who do remember Tim's birthday are the people who are more immediately invested in Tim's personal well-being.

And it says a lot about Tim that his immediate conclusion from other people's concern for his happiness is that something must be wrong. He's always the one trying to keep other people happy, and it's awkward for him to be on the receiving end. Even on a day that's supposed to be about him, he's constantly worried about how it's affecting the people around him. So he consoles his dad about not being able to give him a car. He's enthusiastic about gifts that might not be the ones he wants. He hides his worries so everyone else can enjoy his day. He's surrounded by people who love him and want to celebrate him, yet there's always something that holds him a little aloof from this.

This, I think, will be his last birthday with his dad. Or Dana. Or with Steph as his girlfriend. His year ahead is about to be arguably the worst of his life.

[thebreakfastgenie]

I don’t want to get too into the weeds about what some fans say online, but Janel Moloney’s piece today about Donna brought up some old talking points. What do you think about the argument that Josh didn’t see Donna as a whole person?

I don't think that's accurate. Josh can be thoughtless. He can be thoughtless to everyone, Donna isn't different. I don't just mean that he has no filter, I actually think that's a trait that's exaggerated by fandom. He's just very wrapped up in his work and a bit self-centered in a very human way. We see a lot more of his relationship with Donna than any of his other relationships, so I think that skews our understanding of it. Josh spends probably upwards of ten, twelve hours a day with Donna five days a week, sometimes more. They're around each other more than they're apart. So there are definitely times he takes her for granted, and it plays into the old married couple thing, but I don't think it's because he doesn't see her as a whole person. He's just used to her being there. It's also literally her job to attend to his needs, which doesn't help. And you can make the argument that men never really see women as whole people under the patriarchy but I don't think that's fair to apply to all men on an individual and it's definitely not Josh and Donna.

Josh pays a lot of attention to Donna. I don't think he even always notices he's doing it, but he does. He knows a lot about her and her life and her family. He's apparently been to her apartment in season 1 (drunk and yelling at her roommate's cats, lol). He assumes everyone likes Donna because who wouldn't? He sticks up for her when he thinks he needs to. He does thinks like the Molly Morello thing. He lets her ask him for favors and has no problem inviting her to the congressional Christmas party and other events. She gets a lot of perks as his assistant because he likes her as a person. I like to call Josh carelessly thoughtful. You don't think he's listening, and maybe a lot of the time he isn't, but he always proves he is in the end and he kind of does it without a second thought, again see the Molly Morello letter. Donna herself summed it up well when he gave her the book on skiing: "You spend most of your time being, you know, you, and then you write something like this me." Sending her flowers to be mean is basically pulling her pigtails. He can't send her flowers to say "I'm glad you're in my life" because that would involve admitting some stuff, so he does this whole song and dance of sending them on the wrong date. Donna knows what they really mean, that's why she says "Thank you for taking me back. The flowers are beautiful" in the red lights scene.

To the extent that Josh sees Donna as something other than a whole person, it's because she's his assistant and everyone in a job like his sees their assistants that way. The difference between Donna and the other assistants--Bonnie, Ginger, Carol, Cathy, even Mrs. Landingham and Debbie to an extent--is that Donna is a main character, so the audience sees her as a whole person, unlike the others. There's a bit of elitism, which Josh definitely has but which isn't unique to Josh, in how he sees someone with Donna's job and background (remember she didn't finish college and went to state school, Josh went to Harvard). But Donna's role, quite often, is to remind Josh that people like her are people who need to be considered. I've said before that Donna represents the voters. A lot of episode plots hinge on Josh seeing Donna as a person and therefore being reminded that voters in the midwest are people too. I don't think it makes any sense to say Josh doesn't see Donna as a whole person.

[shiningstages]

okay i can't get it out of my mind - tini dump about kate cinderella girls, and my dreams for both international girls and the producer ( aka developing oc man )

the international / foreign girls in imas: cinderella girls (as far as i'm aware) are Frederica Miyamoto (french-japanese, voiced), Yao Fueifuei (hong kong, unvoiced), Clarice (vague european (personally french or dutch inspo), unvoiced), Anastasia (russian-japanese, voiced), Layla (Dubai / UAE, voiced), Kate (London / England, unvoiced), Helen (vague european / american (personally italian / mexican inspo), unvoiced), Natalia (Rio de Janeiro / Brazil, voiced), Eve Santaclaus (Greenland, voiced), Cathy Graham (american-japanese (born in new york but has lived in japan) unvoiced), and Mary Cochran (San Francisco / America, unvoiced). I don't include Shiki here because, although she studied in American, she's Japanese and isn't from anywhere over there. I also don't include the three Korean-exclusive deresute characters since they're discontinued after that server shut down (but also shoutout to them I love them too). However they are all side characters, just not a part of the project.

Kate is my favorite unvoiced girl, specifically because our names are similar, as well as slight backstory stuff (her love for her parents; "She's an exceedingly friendly and social person, often greeting everyone she passes by. She's also very touchy in comparison to other idols, enjoying giving others hugs or kisses to show her affection." from her wiki page / events, very me coded). So, in my International Girls imas cingirls idea, Kate is the true protagonist, with Natalia being the leader of the group and acts like a dual protagonist. While she's not the first of the international girls to be voiced (that order being Anya > Freddy > Natalia way later > Layla > Eve most recently as of literally Christmas; congrats to her cingirl first place), I wanna give Natalia bunches of love and more spotlight to get fleshed out as a character as well, as well as her and Kate becoming besties. The International Girls story would just be them forming into a unit, learning to appreciate their differences as well as come to feel like a cohesive unit despite them, and ultimately proving themselves as idols on the stage.

The Producer for that idea, in my mind, is Lotus Juice (LotusP, if you will), since he's proven himself in his own field, is from New Jersey and fluent in both english and japanese, and is also in a duo unit with TakeP aka Takeuchi Shunsuke aka the producer for cinderella girls, so it all just make sense in my mind. Story-wise - LotusP gets invited to the job after TakeP offers it to him as a friendly favor, since they both went to college together and / or went up in the ranks together before TakeP started raising idols / doing his cinderella girls "power of smile" project. Inspired by him, and not wanting to look a gifted horse in the mouth, the rougher and older man accepts, with TakeP being his occasional talking partner for advice. LotusP, in my mind, is suddenly named Austin in my mind (don't ask why idk). And he just kinda acts like Lotus Juice (chill older guy who seems kinda gruff, but is really mature), yet also has like a rough tsun thing going as he's not at all good with taking compliment, and gets dragged into scenarios and forced to play the straight man for gags. It's almost like he doesn't want to be a producer, but he needs a job and wants to stay in the music biz, but he ultimately takes his job (taking care of all the girls' and their schedules, as well as personally helping with some of their songs' production) very seriously.

Another thing I wanted to look into for a bit of drama is idol v school life, specifically as Kate is an international study abroad uni student that becomes an idol. In the end, like in her stories, she proves to her dad that she can be an idol and go to school, and at the very end she graduates and becomes an idol full time. Freddy is also in college for design; she can graduate too as a treat. It also makes me want to make Kate/Nat/Freddy triple protags, as it fills out the kind of NewGen-esque protags the original cingirls had, as well as I think they'd make good friends.

(Also, if anyone asks, Layla's backstory of running away from a planned marriage to Japan with the support of her mother but keeping the father in the dark...I literally just learned that TODAY, which was WILD, and yes in my plotline idk if I wanna explore that or just ignore that so! Hmm!!!!)

Also the eleven full group's unit song would be titled "Universal Parade", after the unit in the mobage game (which originally consists of CathyNatKateMaryFreYao), and their outfits would be similar to the unit "Your Friends" (NatKateMary) outfit set in the original mobage as well (without the fluffy bit or with the fluffy bit reincorporated somehow).

Also the actual outfits for NatLayla's unit "Sol Qamar" is very cool.

[necronatural]

We've hit part 1 of Canto 6, and allow me to speculate:

The arc sin of Clear All Cathy is Pride.

Here me out. (spoilers for Canto 6, obviously.)

The arc sin of Canto 5 was Envy. This is rooted deeply in Queequeg's story. While Ahab is the villain, Queequeg acted as Ishmael's foil, and Queequeg represented envy to an intense degree; all her moves are envy, Heathcliff is the first ever double-sin ID, the entire Canto is about people being subsumed by their in-group, Queequeg represented like 3 different factions of being tied to someone. Canto 5 = Envy.

But Ahab is Pride.

We see in the first act of Canto 6 that Cathy believes that Heathcliff needs her and the manor, despite him being the one to leave. We hear about how she hated when Heathcliff was too clever, and plotted to string him along and keep him guessing with her riddles. We see how she reacts violently to Rodya viewing her diary. We see how, in the only interaction between Linton and her, her only wish is to see Heathcliff. We are introduced to her via her death, a death which appears to be orchestrated specifically to lure in Heathcliff. Linton was the one to obtain the bough, but Limbus Company received the invitation from Cathy for Heathcliff; she fucking secured a Golden Bough to get him back.

In Lu's sin analysis, Pride refers to a double-edged sword. The ends justifying the means, sacrifice for the sake of a goal judged as worth the trouble.

Ishmael's refusal to let things go left her vulnerable to being used by others. She could have had her identity intertwined with her hatred for Ahab as Ahab was intertwined with the whale (Envy), become the one to take advantage of others, and sacrifice everything around her for the sake of her goals (Pride). But why is it split like that? It's because Ishmael is a foil to Heathcliff.

Heathcliff, who represents Envy, and represents his sin stronger than any other character. When he comes to the manor, we see him reflect on how he used to fixate on the opinions on others, look to others to determine his self-worth, incapable of holding his tongue when provoked. Envy, the sin of being influenced.

But the thing is...he doesn't represent that anymore. He isn't so easily influenced. He's more sure of himself, more distant from the things he used to obsess over. And this Canto is his trial by fire, whether he can handle being exploited by someone's single-minded self-sacrificial focus on him to the detriment of all else.

And the battle mechanics!!!

Intervallos typically foreshadow the story to come, as well as the mechanics. In the manor combat section, we learn the mechanic it was foreshadowing; if your sanity is too low, your coin tosses will suck, but your damage will improve. The ideal is to be able to attack even if you lose the clash. And the sin every ID from that intervallo had? Pride - the ends (claiming their bones) justify the means (getting your shit rocked). Envy is also a sin of retribution. Trying to tell us something about the inexorable relationship between Envy and Pride, Project Moon?????

Heathcliff is being coaxed into his indulging his sin by someone who believes in their natures being in sync, the same way Yi Sang was, the same way Sinclair was, the same way Ishmael was, in order to feed the complex of their arc antagonists.

With this I can confidently say that in the OP I had accurately observed the thematic technique of this story! and then just veered off into wild mass guessing that was completely off-base, so I shall temper my theories from now on.

Limbus Company theory

Okay, I have absolutely no idea if anyone's noted this yet. Did anyone pick up that the Sinners are held down by a Sin, represented in their EGO, and their Canto are about their struggles against another sin entirely. The branch creates a space for 'penance'. When Rodya entered the field of effect of the branch, Baba Yaga went crazy, freezing the entire mine. There's clearly some paralleling at work here.

So let's go through.

Gregor, Canto 1: Sloth V Gluttony (survival); note that this expedition failed, and we later explore Sloth with Yi Sang

Rodion, Canto 2: Pride V Gloom; note that Rodya refused to actualize

Sinclair, Canto 3: Gluttony (Greed) V Lust

Yi Sang, Canto 4: Sloth V Gluttony (greed); Dante's resonance begins

Ishmael, Canto 5: Gloom V Envy; Dante's resonance progresses

When we look at the dominant sins of the remainder...

Heathcliff, Canto 6: Envy...

Don Quixote, Canto 7: Lust…

Hong Lu, Canto 8: Gloom…

Ryoshu, Canto 9: Wrath…

Meursault, Canto 10: Pride…

Outis, Canto 11: Pride…

Faust, Canto 12: Pride…

Dante, Canto ?: ????

Sins not confronted yet: Sloth, Pride, Wrath

Sinner sins left to explore: Envy, Wrath, Lust (If we're talking strictly what progressed Dante's clock, Gluttony & Pride)

Assuming Dante's doomsday clock setting is moving in 5 minute intervals, Dante currently has 2 positions left on their clock; 5 minutes to midnight and midnight itself. It's made almost explicit that their resonance with sinners is the tool with which they resonate with the branches. By obtaining each sin, they're building to some sort of complete whole.

Predictions based on this theory; Pride being so back-heavy probably means we're going to scramble for branches with Hermann. It gives the impression that for whatever reason Pride is necessary, which is interesting.

My own theory: Rodya says she'll settle in the cold [Gloom] for a little longer, and Sonya says she doesn't have the mark. I'd say this might mean Rodya hasn't sufficiently resonated. Sonya may have tried to bait her in hopes of getting better results in this regard.

This may mean ...

The last few Cantos will be a losing streak (LOL)

Someone who hasn't cleansed themselves of their opposing sin/formed the mark of cain will get the branch; I'd imagine this person shares sins with Dante, Vergilius, or Charon, who I believe are probably Envy, Wrath, and Lust respectively (OOP @ WHO WE'RE MISSING ⬆️)

In that respect Vergilius V Sloth, Charon V Pride, Dante V Wrath. I even think the wrath Dante is opposed to could be Vergilius

Very notable there's only 3 sins missing; it could be possible we already have Dante's branch; they were very obviously part of the group of Cain Marked, and again, their clock started at 25-to-midnight and just kind of sat there for a little while. It's also possible it didn't move until Yi Sang because their sin was Gluttony (ambiguous manifestation)? If Hermann also represents Lust ..... Think about it

Rodya's refusal of the call of Cain might become plot-relevant, just as our failure to observe what happened to Gregor on the myth arc timeline of 3 years ago and relationship with the Big Bad makes it obvious he's going to be a core character in the future. We can tell based on those who have the mark of Cain that he just doesn't have the chops, so mayhaps their mutual exclusion will be a surprise tool that will help us later.

And of course, my theories for the sins that weigh down our remaining Sinners: Heathcliff V Sloth, Don Quixote V Wrath, and Ryoshu V Pride. I predict all the Prides share Rodya's opposing force, which is Gloom; we see this in the books these characters are based on, with Meursault's despair of being sentenced to death being overcome by his Pride, Outis putting herself through grueling trials for the sake of returning to her family, and Faust beginning with suicidal depression leading to her pride creating(summoning) Mephistopheles.

I think it would be pretty funny if Dante was Gretchen's evil baby. Or that Gretchen might have been their previous self, manipulated into giving birth to Dante (extremely vulnerable and exploitable state), which they will be disgusted by and put to death. How many representations of the Divine Feminine in classic literature can Dante represent any% speedrun

[non-binharry]

but harry owns 2 teslas🙁🙁 so is t that means princess harry literally poured his money to satan? ohh but ofc we should talk about louis following that man more important!!!

lmao ask yourself why you really needed to send this to me because *nicki minaj voice* it's not that serious, trust me

[mitchellmoffit]

TAR19 had a lot of flavor to me, although it seems like it wasn’t a very popular season amongst others. Anyways, I really liked this cast and they all stood out for different reasons. I think the non elimination from leg 1 had a lot to do with it, since it allowed us to get to know the teams more. It starts off chaotic with the umbrella task and then Kaylani & Lisa losing their passport before even getting on the first flight. Luckily they got it back due to a fan posting it on Twitter, and they continued racing which production was probably grateful for since they had a hazard to complete, and it would’ve gone to waste. The double elimination, I’m unsure how to feel about it because of course they had to balance things out, but I’m kinda bummed it took out Ethan & Jenna. Ethan Zohn is my favorite male winner from Survivor, so I was excited to see him here and hoped he and Jenna could make it further but they flopped that second leg. Liz & Marie started off getting a bit of a mean girl edit but quickly got humanized at the elephant task, along with bringing up how their father died recently and then having such a hard last leg to run, I felt so bad for them. Justin & Jennifer are exactly how my sister and I would be on the race, she was so difficult and if she didn’t get her way would just make it even more hard on Justin. I was glad they got eliminated for his sake, but I wish they could’ve gotten a redemption arc. Now onto one of my all time favorite old couples, Bill & Cathi..omg. They join the high ranks of Gretchen & Meredith and Fran & Barry for just being so adorable and inspiring to watch. They started off really rough then quickly started picking up speed and I knew they wouldn’t have been able to win but they were just incredible to watch. It was so heartwarming during one of the roadblocks when Cindy asked Bill how they met and he told her how he’s known Cathi since they were young teenagers, and for them to be 63/62 on the race...that’s so cute ugh. I was devastated to find out that Bill passed away a few years after the race, he was such a good man and was always so sweet to Cathi. Onto Andy & Tommy who honestly I was exhausted over. I didn’t really find them impressive but by the edit could tell that they were meant to be like another BJ & Tyler and be fan favorites, but I wasn’t gagging. The fact that they made it seem so impressive that they had a lot of leg wins, when most of them were due to other teams making mistakes when placing first..yeah sure okay! Amani & Marcus were one of my favorite teams from the season, they just worked well together and always helped Bill & Cathi. They were great competitors and I wanted them to win to help their child with special needs. Jeremy & Sandy had their moments here and there but weren’t really focused on as much, which made me think they would win due to TAR winner edits. Ernie & Cindy, for me are pretty good winners actually. I thought they worked well together and even though they made a bunch of mistakes they were quick to fix them and continue racing. Cindy was a bit too much of a control freak however, but like I understand why due to her background and her wanting to prove a point to her parents about her marriage with Ernie. I’m glad they won because it felt like justification in a way for Brian & Ericka’s loss on TAR15, since they had a similar storyline, and maybe the win helped their marriage where as the loss for Brian & Ericka probably resulted in their divorce. Overall a fun season, I really liked the bodybuilder challenge...it gave us quite a show *gulp*

[spideyskrunkly]

N[redacted]

Criminal Case Fanfic

Characters: Nathan Pandit, Alex Turner, Grace Delaney, some homophobic asshole, then there's Jones and Ray in the near end

Warnings: Swearing, homophobia (ew), headcanons, someone starts crying, inappropriate comments, slight violence in the near end

Something was bugging him. Apparently right now before anyone else could know. Even Alex and Grace have been noticing, but it was hard for him to say something. He knew he needed to be strong. He's in the GPD after all.

Giving Nathan screentime ✨

It was a normal day before it was hell.

Nathan was just studying a few things about reptiles. How they're cold blooded, have some studies underwater, etc, etc.

"Ah, Pandit. Reading as usual, I see."

Nathan turned to the other side of the room only to find another officer by the name of Steve Frincly which was on their badge. And who was also an asshole.

"Frincly, I don't have time for your games. Go bother Jones or Ramirez or something else. I'm kinda caught up in something."

"Whatcha reading? Nerd stuff?"

Frincley then walked to Nathan's desk and sat down in a chair.

"Sure, consider it however."

"Yeah, this seems like a whole waste of time. You just love reptiles too much huh? You're even wearing some reptile on ya, Pandit!"

"I have no idea what you're on about."

Frincley then had the nastiest grin on his face.

"Don't think I don't know, buddy."

"I don't know what you know."

Frincley got up and headed for the door.

"Consider yourself alive and lucky that I can't do anything about it, N[×]."

And the door closed.

All that remained in the room was a Nathan with a traumatized look on his face. Never had he heard that name in 10 years.

And neither did he want to.

☆

"Alex, come here for a sec?"

Grace can only whisper to Alex in the moment to wheel his chair to Grace's side of the lab.

"Have you ever noticed anything about... Nathan lately?"

"What do ya mean?"

"Lately, he's been more quiet than usual. And he happens to seem a little sad. I think something's bugging him."

"Isn't he always quiet though?" There was no joking around or being silly. Alex showed a little concern as well.

"Yeah, but not to this point where he just officially shuts off. He'd at least say something or help us out when we're doing results or whatever."

"Then maybe there is something wrong."

All the two could do was hope that there wasn't anything wrong with him. They started to think of ideas of how to help Nathan.

"Maybe we could invite him somewhere?"

"Alex, don't be silly."

"I'm not! He could use a distraction with how much he looks so stressed."

"I guess so, but then the chief rarely gives us breaks..."

"Maybe I can talk to Cathy and she might be able to talk to him so that he could let us vacay!"

"Or maybe not. I think a holiday is coming up."

"Halloween?"

"No, a Monday holiday."

"Damnit, I was gonna say we can do a costume trick or treating."

"Maybe we'll bring the whole team on Halloween. But right now, Nathan could use some comfort."

Grace then sat up from her desk with Alex following behind to Nathan's office.

Nathan was still upset about the name and was in his office and had been blocking off people unless it's work related.

With the door locked, all they could do is knock and talk to the other side of the door.

"Nathan, buddy? It's Grace and I have Alex here. You think we can have a minute with you?"

... no answer.

"Nathan, it's kinda been a while. We know you're in there, too, your light is on. You ain't that slick."

... still no answer.

"We were wondering if you wanted to hangout us next Monday. We could maybe go grab something to eat then."

"Yeah, I heard there's this one cafe that give the best BLT's."

... no answer, but the door seems to have made a noise.

Grace tested to see if and was stated correct when the door unlocked.

Alex peeked behind her to see if Nathan was there.

"You good, dude?"

All Nathan could do was look up to see if they had anything else to say. His eyes looked red from crying so much.

"... Do I look good?"

"What happened?? You've been completely quiet all week. Alex and I have been noticing."

"Aren't I always quiet?"

"That's what I thought too, but then Grace pointed out that you can be more chill than this quiet."

"... It's just been a really rough week."

"Whatever it is, Nathan, you can tell us."

"I don't think it would matter."

"If it didn't matter, you wouldn't be like this."

"Grace, maybe we should give him some time."

"A week had been enough time. Nathan, what's bugging you."

"Nothing."

"Was it Frincley-"

"I AM NOT A GIRL!"

...

"Well I didn't ask if you were a girl."

"I'm not. For fucks sake."

Okay, something was wrong because Nathan barely swears.

...

"Yes, fine it was him. He called me a name."

Alex looked confused, then offended. "Was it the n word?"

"No, Alex. It was... my different name."

"Well, what was it?"

"... My birth name?"

"Which is Nathan?" Grace can't help but be confused as well.

"It wasn't Nathan before."

Oh.

OH.

"Oohhhhhhhh."

"Now don't make a big deal or insult me."

"Nathan, why would we insult you?"

"Because over the years of me aging, I have been insulted for it."

"Well, they suck big, Donkey Kong cocks for it."

Grace elbowed Alex.

"What?! They do!"

"Not. The time."

Then she turns to Nathan. "But Alex has a point; even if it's... inappropriate. You shouldn't have to feel like this, you're a human being too."

"I guess, but I just didn't want to hear that name again."

"Then I'll talk to Frincley to not say it."

"Don't do anything rash."

"No promises." Then Grace bolts out of the room.

"Oh no." Alex can't help but giggle.

"Grace!"

♤

"Frincley!"

Frincley looked to see the woman walking towards him with one of her heels in her hand.

"Oh what? Now we're walking barefoot in here, I guess. I knew you were like a dog, but I didn't think you beh-"

Before he could finish, she bitched slapped him to the floor with the heel. It was so bad, he had a mark.

The coroner and the technician weren't far behind.

"Grace, no, it's okay! Just leave him, I don't want you getting fired!"

"CUT HIS DICK OFF, GRACE! FUCK YEAH!"

Frincley looked up in shock. "WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!?"

While putting her heel back on, Grace gave him the ugliest glare.

"Stay mad."

"For what?! Telling your coroner the truth?! About how she-"

👠🍆

"AGGGHHHH FUCK"

"GRACE STOP THAT! FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!" Nathan got a hold of Grace to keep her off, but she wasn't backing down. "CAN SOMEONE HELP ME!?"

"BREAK HIS DICK! That's what he gets for misgendering people! 😜"

Two officers which was the night patroller and the inspector who happened to be in the building rushed to the room.

"LET ME GO! HE NEEDS TO BE TAUGHT A LESSON!" Grace struggled in Ramirez, Nathan and Jones's grasp.

"As much as it was satisfying to see Frincley in pain, what the fuck is going on?!" All Jones could do was inspect the room. "And why is Grace so strong! I can barely hold her!"

"Frincley was being homophobic and sexist." Alex pointed to the person who was acting like a victim.

"Homophobic?" Ramirez was confused. "To who?"

Alex didn't want to out Nathan but Nathan spoke up.

"To me."

"Ain't no such thing." Frincley yelled to Nathan as an act of disrespect.

"Frincley, shut up before I release Grace and step on your dick with my boot."

"RELEASE ME!"

"RELEASE HER!"

"Shut the hell up Alex, don't encourage her! And Grace, we'll deal with him. Don't worry, we'll make sure no charges are against you. He doesn't even deserve to do that."

"Are you serious?! You're defending those freaks because I'm right?!"

Ramirez then spoke up. "Frincley, I thought you could be more mature then this. This is a colleague you're talking about. Jones, we might as well take him to the chief about it."

"Agreed."

Everyone then released a now calmer yet still pissed off Grace Delaney as the officers walked to the one cop to take him to the chief's office.

"Grace, as much as it was appreciated, and yet brutal, I thank you for this so much. But please don't do something like this again. You could have seriously gotten in trouble."

"I might get suspension, but if it means helping you feel better, it works for me, Nathan."

"He deserved to have his dick cut off though."

"Alex."

"Just saying."

And with that, Nathan couldn't help but feel better.

[limestreet]

I love Cathy Earnshaw - she's one of my favourite characters in all of literature. Part of what I love most is that she *is* so vicious and so angry and so ready to throw hands at every moment. Cathy's not sweet or gentle, like so many other 19th century heroines, and her liveliness isn't tamed or tameable - she's wild and self-destructive and barely contained by the restrictive mores her society forces onto her.

And none of this is *nice*.

This matters because a lot of characters who take inspiration from Cathy *are* nice, as well as free-spirited and lively and backed up by the author as morally right to be so in their strict (usually Victorian) society. Cathy's not. Cathy's almost always described as "selfish", as toxic to the people around her. Cathy's cruel, an abused child who goes on to abuse others. Emily Bronte is pretty hands-off when it comes to audience reaction (esp compared to other 19c authors) but I don't get the sense she thinks Cathy is even mostly in the right.

And yet. Cathy's cruelty, Cathy's selfishness, Cathy's fierceness are all crucial to why she remains one of the great literary heroines. She's *interesting*. She doesn't invite sympathy; she demands attention. She's so, so angry at the way her life has turned out and there's not a shred of moral righteousness in her furious kicking against it. Often, even when doing something reprehensible, female characters are given some kind of moral motive (protecting a child, avenging mistreatment, etc.), but Cathy has no such figleaf, which is itself refreshing. My heart goes out to her not because she's so likable despite everything, but because her anger, her pain and her destructiveness speak so much to me. I hate the idea of hurting anyone, myself, but Cathy in her rage doesn't care - and that's very satisfying.

okay, so this is for the wuthering heights enthusiasts out here

for context, i am preparing a comparative literature exam on the them of negative empathy (like, a kind of empathy for characters -only!! no irl people- that are BAD, like objectively bad, but bcs of reasons you can't help but feel close to/root for them even though you can't fully accept their actions). throughout the course's lessons we discussed three pieces of literature that had characters that could potentially (bcs it is a subjective matter that depends on each individual's world view, morals etc.) trigger this empathy: Euripides' Medea, Shakespeare's Macbeth and Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights.

i wanted to ask about wuthering heights specifically bcs i don't really have an opinion on it yet, but if anyone wants to talk about the other two works, feel free to do so!

i read W.H. for the first time for this exam, and I really loved it. Like, sometimes it felt really extra and the story complex but not really at the same time. But still, really loved it, especially for the narrator, I think.

but anyways.

Even though I really loved this novel, I hated all the characters (not counting Hareton), for one reason or another. So I wanted to know if other people had different opinions about the characters. like if you loved them, or hated them, and if so why and basically any thoughts you have on them

[muertawrites]

@friendly-neighborhood-ghoul tagged me a couple days ago to do this tag game and i'm sitting around watching softball with my family and bored out of my fucking mind and too tired to focus on writing anything decent so here goes

relationship status: single. like. way too single. i'm so starved for affection my body physically aches.

favourite colour: any jewel tone

favourite food: street tacos. authentic street tacos from a shady ass truck in an old k mart parking lot where you have to order in spanish. if lengua or tripa isn't an option i'm not eating there.

song stuck in your head: the sign by lizzo

time: 21:38

dream trip: japan. i want to go to one of those really nice spa water parks and sleep in a capsule hotel and play takoyaki roulette.

last book you read: the painted girls by cathy marie buchanan

last book you enjoyed reading: ^ that one. it's so historically interesting that i couldn't put it down.

last book you hated reading: i don't hate it - it's actually really good - but i'm trying to get through haruki murakami's 1Q84 and i've hit kind of a slow point where the story is just dragging, and i can't skip ahead because it's one of those books where everything is significant, so it's just been. sitting on my desk for the past week or so until i decide to pick it up again. i've literally had my copy of this book for almost ten fucking years and i'm determined to finish it. i wish i had an eddie munson to read it aloud with.

favourite thing to cook/bake: my grandma's chicken soup. it's a classic recipe in my family and i'm the only one who still knows how to make it. it's the ultimate comfort food.

favourite craft to do in your free time: i recently started pressing flowers and mod podging things, but i do a little bit of everything. i love beading and making jewelry, i'm a pretty decent seamstress, and i just bought a bunch of oven bake clay to play around with. i just like to make stuff.

most niche dislike: the dent on the bottom of my hydroflask that makes it so it doesn't sit perfectly flat. it's not even a big deal it's just sometimes it wobbles and flings itself over in the most dramatic way possible. also dropping my wireless earbuds. fucking infuriating.

opinion on circus(es): mixed. i used to go to circus world in baraboo, wisconsin almost every summer with my grandparents and it's one of the few happy memories i have from childhood, and acrobatics / trapeze fricken amazes me, but the ethical and historical context makes me really torn.

do you have a sense of direction: lmao no. i get left and right confused if i'm put on the spot. i'm a disaster.

i don't like tagging people for these things bc i feel kind of like i'm being annoying doing that? but y'all seem so cool that i just wanna invite all of you to do it. i want to get to know all of y'all better.

[purplelurkinghini]

the bat, the cat, and the enigma

The following paragraphs are part of a Reevesverse RiddleBatCat WIP I started this summer and all but forgotten about until today.

Rebranding isn't as easy as putting on a different colored wig and a different lipstick shade. And she knew this better than anyone.

After retiring Kitty Smith, Cathy Whippes and other subtle names, she was ready to be herself again. Oh, and Catwoman. Yes, she quite liked the sound of that one.

Vicki Vale had a whole segment on her podcast about the cat burglar, and christened her as a means of making it clear that Gotham's new master thief and escape artist was indeed a woman.

Thanks for the new alias, Vale, but Selina has already decided that tonight she would just be good ol'-

"Miss Kyle."

An elderly man with kind eyes and a knowing smile invites her under his umbrella. "Lovely weather we're having this evening."

"Alfred," she smiles back and she actually means it this time. "A lovely night for a walk, but that limousine looks so warm and inviting."

"It had better be," he said as he opened the side door and waited for her to get in first. "I just had the chauffer wax her."

"Good evening, Kitty." She hears a voice all of Gotham had become familiar with, but they just didn't know it yet. "Or was it Cathy? Cathy Whippes? I forget."

Edward Nashton had shed his old skin as well. However, she knows for a fact that he has a mask somewhere safe just waiting for the Riddler's return.

"You forget, Eddie? Well, shit! I could've sworn Vale said something about Wayne Enterprises' new CSO being a genius with an eidetic memory." The distance between the two of them closed in as she took his offering hand. "She forgot to mention he also cleans up well," she found herself smiling again and her little clawed fingers lingering in his large leather-clad hand.

"Does he?" He laughs, but it's all nerves. He always did have a hard time looking her in the eyes, but she won't blame him. She did try to claw them out at some point. Though he was going to kill himself and drag Bruce with him to hell, so she will blame him for that. "He sounds like a catch."

"He is." Her nails navigate upwards, past his gold watch and onto his emerald sleeve. "And I already caught him."

"Who caught who again?" Eddie, for all his nerves, does have a lot of nerve. A compliment from her and his ego was fed to the fullest, his own fingers climbing up her fur sleeve. "If you're going to borrow the watch, then you should know it's Bruce you should be returning it to."

Son of a-

"Miss Kyle, Mister Nashton," Alfred clears his voice, content with sitting across from them, but not so much with having to be a spectator of this game. He is the first to exit. "We've arrived."

"I'll get you next time," she gave up the golden treasure. "It looks better with my fit and you know it."

"It does," Edward surrendered Selina her spoils, wrapping the loose band around her narrow wrist. "Bruce won't even notice. He'll be too busy working his charm-"

She snorted, her hand slack and secure in his. "He'll be too busy working on his charm."

He chuckled, sliding out of his seat to step out of the car with his hand still clasping hers. Outside, the flashing cameras blinded all four of his eyes, his free palm now a protective shield in front of his face. It took her heels sinking into the red carpet and both her hands holding onto one of his arms, but Selina reeled Edward back to reality, back beside her and Mr. Pennyworth.

"It's showtime," she spoke sincerely through a rehearsed smile, and waited for her scene partner to mirror her.

"Showtime."

[aragonparagon]

Did someone ask for more Jane Angst? Sponsored by a nightmare this time; So Jane can't have kids, what if she only ends up coming clean with Cathy after the woman admits she had a check up recently and... isn't doing so good with the result? (as in she also can't carry kiddos) cue much crying and soft probably? also added bonus for Lina quietly like '.... I could carry kids for you?' or smth? (cause... why not lean into the accidental OT3?) Added extra bonus if this is why that big old fight went down and Lina ends up all 'Oh crap... I was horrible, I'm sorry.' (use as much or little as works?)

Jane deserves such a big family!!!!! Also this is a separate story about Jane not having kids, Catalina doesn’t know in this story. Could be read as Cathy/Jane but also platonic

It was obvious to all the queens that Jane was not feeling okay. To what extent the queens didn’t know. It had happened around a week ago when Jane came home from a trip she wouldn’t discuss with the queens and was clearly in distress as she ran to her room and locked herself in.

None of the queens had been able to persuade Jane to come out of her room. Not even Kitty pleading to her mother figure could get Jane out, in fact it seem to make things worse as they could now hear audible sobbing coming from the room. It was finally Cathy who decided she had to do something.

It took some convincing( mostly for Catalina and Kitty) but eventually Cathy was able to get the queens to go about their business so she could help Jane. The thing about Cathy Parr is that she’s incredibly perceptive. Perhaps that’s the reason she was the survivor, she could see when things would go south with Henry and would be able to quickly backtrack to not anger him.

Cathy took a deep breath as she quietly knocked on the door. It didn’t surprise Cathy when she wasn’t given a response and could still hear crying on the other side of the door. Deciding to take another route, Cathy gently sat on the floor and leaned against the door.

“ Jane? It’s Cathy, I’m not going to come in, I just want to keep you company okay?” She said towards the door. Although the crying didn’t stop, she could hear it slightly lessen. Cathy figured it wouldn’t be useful to try to convince Jane to let her in. If Jane was this upset she doubted she’d want her fellow queens to see her like this.

Cathy pulled out her phone and decided that if she would be here for awhile, she might as well read some chapters of her book. Quickly Cathy was lost in her book and lost track of time. Without warning she fell backwards as Jane opened the door to her room. Jane slightly gasped in surprise as Cathy landed on her feet.

“ Oh Cathy! I’m sorry! I didn’t realize you had stayed,” Jane said hurriedly helping Cathy onto her feet. As Cathy stood she looked at the clock on the wall and could see it had already been around an hour since she started reading. She could also see how sad Jane looked. Her eyes were bloodshot and red and her makeup was smeared.

“ Of course I stayed, I wanted to make sure you were okay, could we maybe talk?” Cathy asked gently grabbing Jane’s hand. She could see the hesitation in Jane’s features as she thought about her decision. Jane finally sighed with a hint of a waiver as if she’d start crying again but nodded and led Cathy into her room and shut the door.

Jane sat on the bed while Cathy stood in front of her. Jane seemed to be struggling to find the right words to explain to Cathy what was wrong. Cathy knelt in front of Jane and took both hands in hers. This caused Jane to tear up again but also speak.

“ I went to the Doctor’s today,” Jane said simply. Cathy immediately felt her heart race. A million different scenarios raced through her mind. She must’ve gone white in the face as Jane squeezed her hand to bring her back.

“ I’m okay...I mean I’m not sick or anything,” Jane said softly. She wasn’t looking at Cathy but at her hands. Cathy felt immediate relief and let out a sigh. However this confused her more, if Jane wasn’t sick, then what happened?

“ I-I found out children won’t be possible for me”

The room was so silent you could hear a pin drop.

For once in her life, Cathy didn’t have an answer. She couldn’t understand how someone as sweet and caring as Jane would be denied children not once but twice. Cathy stayed knelt in front of Jane as she tried to find the words to help Jane. Although she knew she couldn’t say much.

So instead Cathy stood up and walked around the side of Jane’s bed to the other side and laid down. Jane looked at her confused.

Cathy opened her arms up to invite Jane to lay down with her. Jane’s bottom lip wobbled as she immediately buried her face in Cathy’s neck. Cathy began to rub Jane’s back as she could feel the woman trembling. Suddenly as if Jane remembered something she looked at the clock and saw it was 5:32pm.

“ Cathy you don’t have to stay if you have things to work on, I know how busy you are,” Jane said quietly. She looked so small to Cathy, it physically hurt her heart. She pulled Jane in closer and kissed the top of her head.

“ I’m not going anywhere”

And that’s where the two of them said for the rest of the night.

[observationsdreary]

Cathica

Tomborla: "This is wonderful, Cath. Thank you for inviting me to High Tea."

Cathica: "Yes, it's lovely."

Tomborla: "And this tea tastes so... Interesting. Very unusual flavor."

Cathica: "Yes it is, isn't it?"

Tomborla: "I mean, it's very, VERY unusual. I could almost swear things are... Moving."

Cathica: "They are, aren't they?"

Tomborla: "Cath... The... The table... Is it walking away?"

Cathica: "Maybe."

Tomborla: "Cathy... The tea..."

Cathica: *puts down teacup* "Please excuse me for a moment, Tommy. I need to just pop into the hallway and brush all of these ants off me. Oh, and perhaps scream for a bit. Won't be a minute."

Tomborla: "Cath... Cath... The table is eating the sofa..."

Cathica: "See you in a minute, Tommy!"

[parrlyn-4life]

Anne: This date is boring.

Parr: This isn't a date, I said I was going to the store.

Anne: Then why did you invite me?

Parr: I specifically said "Don't come with me" and you said "Fuck you, Cathy, I do whatever the hell I want" and followed me here.

[dingletragedy]

with all the Phil shit going on tomorrow is Ben even gonna have time to open his pressie :( when Ben got in tonight he just left it on the side, it ended up under the tree n Cathy finds it Christmas morning 'Oh this ones for you Ben. Who's it from?' Ben says its from Callum bc he still isn't ready to tell people they've split 'Aw how lovely. He spending the day with Stuart and Rainie? Poor bloke you should've invited him here!' Ben doesn't reply n just sits there all SAD now I'm SAD

oh god!!!! if that’s how it goes i will be extremely hurt and happy!!!! we know that ben definitely opens the gift, because of the spoiler pics, but whether he opens it on front of people or on his own is yet to be scene, and i’m very interested in which it will be!

surely SOMEONE is going to mention callum? ask where he is and what he’s doing etc! i mean, lexi ADORES callum, i’m pretty sure she’ll be missing him tomorrow — nearly as much as ben!!!!

aw god i can’t WAIT for the angst and i really hope ben cries!!!!!