#also for those without a tv license - if people come knocking at your door they aren’t legally allowed to enter unless they bring police

[rome-roy]

can someone confirm I’m not going insane. Our Flag Means Death is coming to BBC soon and I keep seeing people celebrating that it’s finally coming to the UK but I swear it was on Sky?? I didn’t watch it at the time but I remember seeing it advertised? Obviously not everyone has Sky so this makes it available for more people but I remember the adverts so clearly. Looking on google I’m finding absolutely no evidence that it ever was.

[dukethomas]

Summary: Duke’s parents recover and come home. Written for Duke Week 2021 Day Six: Family Bonding.

I was going to write something angstier for this prompt, but it actually turned into just the comfort part of hurt/comfort. Sometimes I need a good cry about something good happening to characters I love.

Also read it here on AO3!

-

His parents were back.

His parents were back, and Duke could cry and cry and cry forever. He sobbed into his mom’s shoulder for who knows how long when he saw them. His mom pat his back—he was taller than her now—and murmured to him, “It’s okay, baby bird. We’re here.”

The use of the nickname he hadn’t heard since he was in elementary school made him sob harder.

His mom and his dad were, were okay, their mouths weren’t contorted into unnatural grins and they didn’t carry that gleam of hatred and they said they were so sorry and they loved him so much and wow, hadn’t he grown up so much—he turned out to be the spitting image of his mother, didn’t he think?

Duke didn’t think he’d ever stop crying.

“I missed you,” he blubbered. “I missed you every day, I swear, I tried so hard to find a cure or something—”

His dad smiled at him, softly, tears in the corners of his eyes. “And you did. We’re right here, Duke. You brought us back.”

He had to call Jay to pick them up, because his parents no longer had licenses and Duke didn’t trust his hands to not shake in the full force of his joy.

-

In the days that followed, Duke didn’t go out as the Signal. How could he? This all felt like a fever dream; he’d been wanting this for so long. If he didn’t spend every waking moment with his parents, he feared they could revert back to what they were, and it would be a dream after all.

Jay took a few days off of work, and Duke called in sick for a few days at school. The Thomas family glowed with genuine grins, because they were whole. They spent the time catching his mom and dad up on what they missed, and having fun playing games or going out the rest of the time. To his dad’s chagrin, Duke had gotten much better at chess, but no one could beat his mom at Monopoly.

Then life came crashing down around them. Jay had to go to work, Duke had to go back to school, and his parents needed to begin a new chapter of their lives. Unbeknownst to Jay and his parents, Duke skipped his first day back at school to chase down a string of thefts he’d read about in the news.

He could never stay away from Signal for long. Gotham needed him, needed all the help it could get.

It wasn’t a difficult case, by any means. Mad Hatter was about as subtle as a barge. Still, Duke embraced the thrill of hunting them down, as the trail of clues led him right towards a newly opened costume store, Wonderland Haberdashery.

Again. Subtle as a barge.

“What are we waiting for?” a man dressed as a giant white rabbit complained.

The dormouse next to him shushed him loudly. She hissed, “The boss’ signal.”

Duke took that as his cue. He launched into action, running forward with a well-timed punch to the rabbit’s face. “You’ve got one right here.” (Those jokes never got old.)

He let himself loose, using all of his training as well as his own metahuman power to demolish his way through the storybook-themed goons. He couldn’t fight the grin on his face; he was having too much fun. His heart reached a thunderous frenzy in his ears and he loved every second of it. These guys couldn’t touch him.

When the time came to knock out Jervis Tetch himself, Duke obliged with glee. He’d just finished tying him to the wall when his phone buzzed with a notification.

It was three, school was over, and he should be heading home. His parents should be home.

His parents were home. It still felt surreal.

He ran into Jay’s apartment and kicked off his shoes faster than he ever had when doing a superheroic change of clothes.

“Hey Mom! Hey Dad! I’m home!” he called. When he heard no response, a chill went down his spine, and he rushed to the living room. There, his parents sat on the couch, fixated on the TV. The news channel was on, talking about an altercation at—oh.

It was talking about him.

“That’s you,” his mom said without turning back to look at him.

A wad of bile as large as a stone formed in his throat. He knew Bruce probably had contingencies for if anyone guessed his identity. Deny it, prove that he was in school, get a shapeshifter to pose as Signal in the same room as him. But he couldn’t stop himself from saying, “Yeah.” He couldn’t, he wouldn’t lie to his parents. “Are you upset?”

He’d imagined this scenario many times. What would his parents say about his vigilantism? He was risking his life every time he was out there, and no parent would want that, but he was helping Gotham. He was helping Gotham’s people, just like they had taught him to do.

“Let me take a look at you,” his mom told him, beckoning him towards the couch. Duke listened, sitting in between his mom and dad. His mom cupped his face with her rough hands, and he leaned into the touch. “It’s dangerous,” she murmured; Duke squeezed his eyes shut.

A firm arm reached around his shoulders, holding him tight. His dad. “But you’re happy,” he said.

Duke nodded, his chin trembling.

They dwelled in a moment’s pause, until he was being hugged from both sides. Duke opened his eyes to see his parents with faint smiles. “We couldn’t be there for you,” said his mom, “but you found yourself.”

“I did,” Duke whispered, crying for the millionth time this week. “I did.”

“We’re so, so unbelievably proud of the person you’ve grown up to be, baby bird. We just wish… we just wish we could have been here to see it happen.”

-

His parents laid down some ground rules. No more skipping school unless he had all his assignments done and he had straight A’s. He had to be home for dinner, and after sundown he was off his shift. He could join night shift with the other Bats only twice a week in a limited capacity, and he had to go to sleep before midnight on school nights. And he would tell Jay his secret.

That had been the hardest one. Duke could barely get the words out, suddenly filled with shame for not telling Jay earlier.

But as it turned out, Jay already suspected it. “I’m no genius, but you’re disappearing constantly. I can never find you. Wayne takes you out of Gotham all the time. That’s not just an internship, Duke.” His jaw hardened. “But don’t think that I’m going to be the cool cousin now and let you break any of those new rules your parents set. Safety first.”

Duke rolled his eyes and hugged him. “Love you, man.”

“Love you too, rascal.”

He had to let Bruce know. He’d been keeping in touch with Bruce throughout all of this, but sparingly. He got the vibe that Bruce was keeping his distance out of respect for him and his parents.

Well, no more of that. Duke shot off a text to Bruce to let him know he was coming, then pocketed his phone. “Hey, Mom? Dad? You wanna ride with me on my motorcycle to Wayne Manor?”

He wouldn’t have actually done it (it was too big of an identity risk), but it was worth it to see his parents’ briefly stunned looks before his dad started chasing him with a noogie at the ready.

Jay drove them all to Wayne Manor. His mom and dad walked out of the car tentatively, scrutinizing their surroundings. Duke fidgeted with his shirt, wondering what they thought. For all intents and purposes, this was his home, if only for a little over a year.

Duke rang the doorbell, ready to greet Alfred, but it was Bruce who opened the door for once. The way he held himself struck Duke. It wasn’t extravagant and flighty like Brucie, nor grim and tense like Batman. Duke’s family were some of the very few to see Bruce Wayne as he really was, without a persona.

“You took Duke in while we were… unavailable,” his mom said before Bruce could say hello.

“Yes,” replied Bruce calmly, wearing something on his face Duke didn’t often see. Vulnerability. Anxiety .

His dad held out his hand. “Doug Thomas. Thank you. Thank you for taking care of our boy.”

“It was a pleasure.” Bruce shook Duke’s dad’s hand. “Duke was a delight to mentor and guide. I’m glad he has you both back.”

Duke grinned. “He says I’m a delight but he didn’t think so every time I snuck out of the Manor to track down a lead.”

“You were supposed to be on bed rest.”

“And I rested, in a bed, after I solved the case! I do it every night when I sleep—that’s working overtime on bed rest, Bruce.”

“And you won’t be pulling any of that with us, young man,” his mom told him in a stern tone.

Duke quickly made his eyes as wide, pleading, and innocent as possible. He would never, he was about to say, when Bruce told them to come in.

“A better man than I expected him to be,” his dad said once Bruce had moved far enough he wouldn't hear. His mom hummed in agreement. “And Duke, you felt safe with him?”

Duke snorted. “Define safe.”

“Smartass,” Jay muttered, behind the three of them. He’d been through the tour already. He had a begrudging respect for Bruce, but he wasn’t impressed.

“And who taught me to do that, ever since I was a little kid?”

Duke yelped as he dodged a smack from Jay. “I’m fragile, don’t hurt me!”

“You’re not fragile,” said the amused voice coming from down the hall. Cass, here because Duke asked her to be. Because he wanted his family to meet his family.

“Oh! Mom, Dad, Jay, this is Cass.” He dragged them over to meet her. “She’s like… she’s my sister.”

Cass nodded, observing Duke’s family. “Good to meet you.”

At his parents’ confused glance, he told them, “When you were gone, I made new friends, but I also found new family. Cass isn’t your daughter or Jay’s cousin, but she’s my sister.” In his chest, he felt a weight alleviate, one he hadn’t even been aware of. “Wait until you meet Damian. Remember how I always wanted a baby brother when I was a kid, but you guys kept telling me that I was enough of a handful?”

As he kept introducing his parents to the family he made, he felt a warmth grow within him, tickling his ribs, infecting his lungs. It was like he couldn’t do anything but beam from ear to ear, now that he had almost everyone important in his life gathered together. (He would introduce them to Izzy, Riko, and the rest of the Robins soon.)

His family had been shattered, but Duke had picked up the pieces and created something new. And it could never be the way it was, but that was okay. Duke was happy with his family the way it was now.

His parents were home; all his family was home. Duke couldn’t be happier.

[slowly-writing]

Part of the Family: Part 8

Avengers x Kid!Reader

Part 1  Part 9

Word Count: 2635

You’re still feeling antsy later that night and you can’t fall asleep. You had texted MJ for a while, but it was late and you didn’t want to keep her up all night. You decided to grab a snack around 1am and saw the TV in the common room was still on. You walk in to turn it off only to see your mom sitting on the couch. She’s staring off in a daze, obviously not watching the movie that’s playing in front of her.

“Hey mom?” You call softly, drawing her attention. “Is everything okay?”

“Huh? Oh. Yeah, everything’s fine sweetheart,” she smiles at you, but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes.

“I can tell something’s wrong, you don’t have to tell me what it is but I can sit with you, if that’s alright?” She smiles, a bit more genuinely this time, and pats the spot next to her.

“I’ll always say yes to time with my favorite teenager,” she says and you chuckle softly. She wraps her arm around your shoulder and you sit in silence for a while. You’re half paying attention to the weird action movie when her voice draws your attention. “We had a really hard time on that mission.”

“In Sokovia? What happened?” You ask and you feel her arms tighten around you.

“A lot. It got really bad. I didn’t think we were gonna make it out.” You stiffen slightly and look up at her to see her eyes shining with unshed tears. “I thought it was over, and all I could think about was that I was leaving you alone again. Wanda, she has these powers. She made us see things, our greatest fear I guess. She didn’t know what she was doing, she thought she was on the right side. But I saw you. You were all alone again and scared and then it almost happened. One mission and you almost lost your whole family in one fell swoop.”

“I wouldn’t have made it,” you say softly as her tears start to fall.

“I like to think you would. But these missions…they’re not a joke, y/n. Things get dangerous really fast. All you want to do is help, use the gifts you have for good, and I love you for it. Seeing your face when you came back from that first mission, I think that was the proudest moment of my life. Knowing that my daughter was so happy to be able to help people, I like to think I did something right to help you become that way. In that moment, all I wanted to do was send you on every mission that I could, see that joy in your eyes and see the good you could do in this world,” she smiles at you as she wipes the tears.

“So many of our missions are running in and out of bases with barely anybody there. We knock a few people out, grab what we need, and leave with barely a scratch. I forget how dangerous this job is but then I go on missions like this and I remember what we’re really up against. I remember it’s not always Hydra agents who think they’re saving the world or stupid kids who think on the right side of the fight they know nothing about. It’s people who are truly evil, people who want to destroy this world and will go right through us to do it. I remember why I didn’t want you to go on missions in the first place.” Her voice cracks and you take her hand.

“When we decided to go down with the ship… I hated myself for leaving you alone, but it was okay. Because at least you weren’t there. None of us were coming home, but you weren’t part of that. You’d make it out. That’s why I don’t want you out there. I need you to be okay.” She finishes and you sit in silence for a few moments before you respond.

“I know you want me to stay safe, mom. And I get it, but that isn’t a choice I can really make anymore. I was talking to dad earlier, about what these…powers I guess, have taken from me, and it’s a lot. I can’t be normal anymore and that sucks. If I could flip a switch and get rid of them, sometimes I think I would. But I can’t, so here we are.” You say softly.

“By any semblance of logic I shouldn’t be here. Some scientists in a lab decided to play God and I’m the product of it. That shouldn’t have happened, but it did. I somehow got here and got in a position where I can do a lot of good. And that’s a really scary spot to be in. I think all of us can agree on that. No matter what the moment was, we all had a moment where we questioned if we were right for this job. If we were good enough to be what people think we are,” you say, trying to put into words the thoughts that have been swirling around your head since Fury showed up all those years ago.

“None of us know when our time is going to come. I could walk outside tomorrow and get hit by a car, and that could be it. Well… I don’t think a car could do it, a train maybe,” you joke and you hear your mom laugh lightly. “My point is, we don’t know what’s waiting for us, but we do know we can do a lot of good before it comes. I didn’t ask for these powers, but I got them, and when you can do the things that we can do and you don’t, and then bad things happen, they happen because of you.”

“When did you get to be so smart?” Your mom teases and you smile, wiping the tears from your eyes.

“I had the smartest Avenger as a mother, a little was bound to rub off on me.” She smiles and kisses the top of your head.

“You going out there still really scares me,” she says softly and you smile.

“It scares me too. Anytime any of us put on our suits and walk out the door I’m afraid of what’s waiting. But if we let that fear stop us, then those guys win. We can’t stop everyone, and one day one of us is bound to go down. It’s just statistics. We can only cheat death so many times before it catches up. But if they don’t go through us, they’re going to go through a lot of innocent people who can’t do anything to stop it. I don’t know about you, but I couldn’t live with myself if I let that happen.”

“I get it, I’ll let you go on the next mission,” your mom says and you laugh. “I love how much you care. Never let go of that, love.”

“I’ll do my best.”

xxxxx

“Hey Wanda, so as you saw I kinda don’t have my bike anymore and therefore I can’t drive us to school today,” you say sheepishly at breakfast the next morning. “It’s like 5 miles, we can jog there if we leave soon, get some extra conditioning in? I don’t really know if your powers work that way but-”

“That sounds good to me,” she cuts you off with a smile and you nod, calming yourself down a bit. Maybe it’s the leftover emotions from the day before, a lot happened, but you’re still really antsy.

“Hey mom? Can you pick us up after school? I don’t wanna make MJ walk that far,” you ask her and she pauses.

“How long have you been driving her around on that bike without a helmet?” she asks and you wince.

“Since...uh, since you started letting me drive it to school,” you say softly and she rolls her eyes.

“Seriously, y/n? And you never got pulled over?” she asks in disbelief.

“Well…I may have gotten pulled over once but when the cop saw the last name on my license he apologized and let me go?” you say and Tony immediately starts laughing.

“He apologized?” he asks through his laughter and you nod.

“Perks of the entire NYPD respecting the hell out of your parents and also being simultaneously terrified of both of them.”

“So, really this is your fault,” Tony says to your parents who both glare.

“How is that our fault, Stark?” Steve asks.

“Well, you’re the ones who adopted the kid and made her famous,” Tony says and Natasha rolls her eyes.

“Not like we had much of a choice. We avoided it for as long as we could,” she says and you furrow your brow.

“I’m going to choose to ignore how much that makes it sound like you regret adopting me,” you say softly and your mom immediately jumps up and walks over to you.

“No, y/n. That is not at all what I meant. I was talking about everybody knowing who you are. I have never for a second regretted adopting you, okay? I love you so much.” You nod at her.

“I guess you couldn’t have dad carry me away from movie theaters forever. Anyways, about that ride?” you ask, wanting to change the subject and she smiles apologetically.

“Sorry, sweetheart. I leave for a mission in a few hours,” she says and you nod looking at Clint.

“I’m going with her,” he says and you sigh.

“Dad? Can you pick us up?” you ask.

“Sorry, doll. I have a meeting with Fury this afternoon.”

“Tony?” he shakes his head.

“Bruce?” He makes a similar gesture and you groan.

“There’s 800 people living in this tower and not one of them can pick me up from school?” you hear Wanda laughing and you glare before she covers it with a fake cough.

“You run a 2 minute mile and bench press 600 pounds. Pick her up and run here, lazy,” Clint says and you roll your eyes.

“I may just do that,” you say getting up to leave.

xxxxx

“Hey, how are you doing today?” MJ asks as you jog up to school and you smile and pull her into your arms.

“Is it too cheesy if I say better now that you’re here?” you ask and she rolls her eyes.

“Yes. It is much too cheesy, so don’t say it,” she says, but you can see how she’s smiling slightly.

“Got it,” you say softly before heading inside. When you walk through the doors you see Flash standing in front of Peter and you immediately glare. You’re getting really sick of his games. You see Flash push him and Peter stumbles into a row of lockers, trying not to give away his powers. In reality it probably had very little effect on him, but that’s not the point. You storm over and grab the straps of Flash’s backpack, slamming him against the lockers he just pushed Peter into. “Give me one good reason I shouldn’t beat the shit out of you right now, Thompson,” you growl and his eyes go wide. “Please, you always have something to say so why don’t you tell me why you deserve to walk free after how you’ve been treating Peter? That kid has been nothing but kind to everybody here, so tell me, why should you get away with how you treat him?”

“Y/n it’s okay,” you hear Peter saying next to you but you don’t back off.

“You see that? Even after the way you treat him he still comes to your defense,” you say, your voice dangerously quiet as you push him harder into the lockers. He’s too afraid to even speak.

“Y/n, calm down,” you feel MJ put a hand on your shoulder and you exhale slowly.

“If I EVER catch you messing with him again, you and I are gonna be right back here. And you won’t be walking away next time. Do I make myself clear?” you say and he nods, “I said do I make myself clear!”

“Yeah-yes. I’ll leave him alone,” he says and you hold him for a second, trying to convince yourself to let him go.

“Good. Now stay the hell away from my family,” you say, dropping him after a few seconds and he immediately runs away. You turn around and see everyone in the hallway staring at you and your breathing starts to pick up again. Your eyes flit around until you find the familiar brown ones that never fail to calm you down.

“What do you need?” MJ asks quietly as your eyes meet.

“I need to get out of here. Now.” She nods her head and grabs your hand, leading you towards the bathroom and closing the door behind you. You immediately sink down against the wall, pulling your knees up to your chest and holding your head in your hands, trying to control your breathing.

“Hey, look at me,” your eyes shoot up to where MJ is crouched in front of you. “Just take deep breaths with me, slow deep breaths. There you go, you’re okay y/n. Everything’s okay,” you let her voice calm you down as you catch your breath.

“Okay, I’m okay,” you say, moving to get up but she takes your hand.

“Just take a minute, there’s no rush. Just give yourself a minute to calm down,” you nod your head and she sits with you until you’re ready to go to class.

xxxxx

“You’re kidding me, right?” MJ asks and you raise an eyebrow at her.

“You wanna walk 5 miles?” she shakes her head, “Didn’t think so, hop on.”

“This is ridiculous,” MJ says as you crouch to give her a piggyback ride. You had put your homework in Wanda’s bag and stashed yours in your locker so it didn’t get in the way.

“Well it’s our only option until I get my bike back, speaking of there’s a motorcycle shop on the way home, can we stop and buy a new helmet?” you ask and they both agree.

Twenty minutes later you’re slowing to a stop in front of the tower, “see it wasn’t that bad!”

“Everyone was staring!” MJ argues and you roll your eyes.

“I’m Black Widow and Captain America’s kid. People stare at us no matter what we’re doing.”

“Whatever,” MJ says taking the black helmet out of your hands, “I’ll give this back to you next week, okay?”

“Uh, sure. Why?” you ask a little confused.

“You’ll see,” she says with a smirk and you just shrug before unlocking the door.

xxxxx

“I finally got the bike back,” you say, spinning the keys around your finger, “you don’t have to be embarrassed anymore.”

“About damn time,” MJ teases pushing off your locker, the new helmet in hand. “I brought your helmet back.

“Oh no, you can have the new one, I’ll take the old one,” you offer and she rolls her eyes.

“Stop being chivalrous for five seconds and look at it, Romanoff-Rogers,” she says shoving it towards you. You turn it over in your hands and see your shield on the back.

“You painted this?” you ask and she nods with a grin. You smile at her briefly before pulling her by the waist and crashing your lips into hers. She freezes for a second before placing her hand on your neck and kissing you back.

“Finally!” Peter yells and you pull away.

“You have really shit timing Parker,” you groan before looking down at MJ.

“I guess that means you like it?” she says with a smile and you grin.

“I love it,” you say before pulling her in again.

tag list: @rvgrsbrns @rororo06 @freerebel @prizmix-and-friends

series tag list: @hannahsairwave @niquey-salvatore @ibe-anne

[mikauzoran]

LuXY/Lukadrien/Lukadrienette: Welcome to La-La Land: Chapter Five

@luxyweek

Welcome to La-La Land: Chapter Five: Style Swap Part One

Adrien was still used to getting up at an ungodly hour from his modeling days, so he woke before Luka and hopped in the shower.

He’d brought his own clothes for the weekend in his overnight bag, but he raided Luka’s closet for a hoodie just for fun. He missed Marinette—currently in Milan on business—and the comforting scent of Luka’s clothes did wonders to calm his separation anxiety.

Adrien stopped to poke his head into the guestroom on his way to the kitchen. Technically, it was Luka’s music room, but they’d put a bed for Hugo in between the harp and the drum set so that their son could easily sleep over without advanced planning.

Hugo was sound asleep, his deep breaths audible from Adrien’s position in the doorway.

Satisfied that all was well, Adrien continued to the kitchen where he cut up some of the fruit that they’d bought together at the market they’d taken Hugo to the day before. Next, he set about preparing four slices of egg in the basket like he’d learned years ago from Anarka.

He divided the slices between two plates and partitioned the fruit salad into two bowls. He loaded it all up onto a tray along with cups of water and juice as well as a generous chunk of Edam for Plagg before carrying it all back to Luka’s bedroom to serve his lover breakfast in bed.

“You’re amazing,” Luka chuckled, running a hand through his already thoroughly tussled hair.

“I know,” Adrien snickered, leaning in for a kiss. “When I’m not busy being a heartthrob actor, I’m a good little househusband.”

“I wish you were my househusband,” Luka sighed.

“I could be,” Adrien hummed as he snuggled up next to Luka. “…if you would just move in with us already.”

Luka shook his head. “Marinette’s too worried about her public image. She thinks openly being in a polyamorous relationship would damage her career, and, honestly, I can’t say that she’s wrong.”

Adrien clicked his tongue. “She’s not right either. There are plenty of queer people in fashion. Maybe a little scandal would even help get her name out there more. I just…I want my family under the same roof. Whatever the media makes of it, we’ll deal with it together. It’ll be fine.”

“Maybe,” Luka agreed halfheartedly, imagining the simultaneous paradise and hell of being with Marinette and Adrien all the time.

Yes, he’d be with the two people he loved most, but he’d also be reminded of how much more they loved each other than they loved him all the more too, and he’d have nowhere to go to escape.

That wasn’t even taking into account the XY situation. Luka had been making out with the pop star with increasing frequency for three months, and he was afraid that he’d somehow caught serious feelings for XY.

Adrien deflated, seeing that he wasn’t going to win the war that day. “Think about it,” he pleaded softly. “I really want this, and if you think that it’s something you want too, I’ll talk Marinette into it.”

Luka didn’t respond right away, and Adrien took that as a rejection of the idea.

He sighed.

Luka leaned in, depositing a feather-light kiss on Adrien’s lips and nuzzling his hair. “I’ll think about it,” he promised, already knowing what the answer would be.

 After breakfast, they got Hugo up and fed, and then Luka headed for the shower while Hugo and Adrien watched Les Aventures de Ladybug et Chat Noir in the front room.

Hugo was curled up on the seat of the couch next to Adrien, asleep again before they’d gotten five minutes into the episode, but Adrien let the show keep playing for background noise in the otherwise quiet flat.

They’d just gotten to the part where legally-distinct-Nino got akumatized over legally-distinct-Gabriel not allowing legally-distinct-Adrienne to have a quinceañera (…because apparently Adrienne’s mother was from Mexico, so that was a thing…because artistic license? Adrien didn’t really mind. He looked gorgeous as a girl, and a quinceañera was just the kind of quirky thing Émilie would have done. She adored learning about other cultures and celebrating holidays Adrien had never heard of until she’d taught him) when there was a knock at the door.

Adrien frowned, pausing the TV and carefully getting up so as not to disturb Hugo. He peeked through the peephole and had to stifle a groan.

The other man was out in the hallway.

Adrien took a deep breath, pasted on his most agreeable smile, and opened the door.

“Good Morning. It’s Xavier-Yves, isn’t it? I’ve heard so much about you from Luka. I’m Adrien Agreste-Dupain-Cheng. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

XY stared at the other blonde dumbly, not taking the proffered hand to shake.

“It’s XY. What the hell are you doing here?” he finally growled.

Adrien contemplated slamming the door in XY’s stupid face, but ultimately decided to play nice for Luka and the children’s sake. “Marinette—my wife—is working out of town for the weekend, so Hugo and I—Hugo is my son—are staying with Luka.”

XY’s fingers curled into trembling fists, and his lips drew back to expose snarling teeth. “I know who Hugo is, and he’s not your son,” he snapped savagely, catching Adrien by surprise and momentarily knocking the pleasant smile off of his face.

Adrien quickly recovered, slapping his friendly expression back on. “I think I’ve changed enough diapers and cleaned up enough vomit and kissed enough boo-boos to consider myself a father, but thank you very much for your opinion,” he replied with false joviality through gritted teeth. “Would you like to come in?”

“This isn’t your house,” XY retorted indignantly.

Adrien almost said, “Is it not? Oh, gosh. How silly of me. I guess I can’t invite you in, then. Have fun waiting in the hall” before gleefully shutting the door with a vengeance.

But he controlled his temper and held his tongue, feeling very much like he had all those years dealing with his father’s moratorium on showing negative emotions.

“No, but Luka’s in the shower right now, so he won’t be coming to the door anytime soon,” he informed saccharinely, repeating, “Would you like to come in?”

XY pushed past Adrien, storming into the living room without a reply.

Adrien took a moment locking up behind him to regain his composure and wonder what on earth Luka saw in this brutish buffoon.

He turned around to find XY staring at Hugo, still asleep on the seat of the couch. There was a soft, gentle expression on XY’s face, a tender warmth and affection in his eyes as he looked at Adrien’s son…Luka’s son.

Adrien took a deep inhale and slowly let it out.

Okay.

If Xavier-Yves looked at Luka with even half that much love, maybe there was something there after all.

“May I get you something to drink?” Adrien offered quietly so as not to disturb Hugo.

“I can get it myself,” XY shot back in a hiss of a whisper.

Adrien put his hands up in surrender, going back to sit next to Hugo. “Go right ahead.”

XY did so, just to spite Adrien. He came back from the kitchen a minute later with a glass of water and slumped into the armchair cattycorner from the couch.

“Great. Now what?” Adrien wondered, mentally willing Luka to shower and dress quickly.

“Your son doesn’t look much like you,” XY remarked icily.

Adrien forced himself to keep his amiable façade in place. “He has my smile, my charisma. Other than that, no, but I view that as a good thing. I’d much rather my child resemble the two people I love most.”

XY snorted rudely, setting down his glass of water on a coaster on the side table and crossing his arms with a grunt.

Adrien sighed, letting the act drop. “You know, I’m trying really hard to like you, but you’re not making this easy.”

XY gave an amused bark of laughter. “I don’t give a rat’s—” He looked to Hugo and then back to Adrien. “—behind if you like me or not. You’re just some pretty rich boy. I don’t care what the—” He glanced at Hugo again. “—hell you think.”

Adrien’s mouth pulled into a tight, serpentine smile. “Awesome. Well, since we have some time while Luka’s in the shower, why don’t we chat and get to know one another? Let’s start with how we met Luka,” Adrien suggested, tone chipper and buoyant. “I was classmates with his sisters Rose and Juleka, and I came over to the Liberty for the annual music festival. I tripped on some wires and totally faceplanted. Luka helped me up, and our hands touched, our eyes met, and it was just like something out of a fairytale. Luka told me a few years later that it was love at first sight for him,” Adrien added cheerfully.

XY’s face was red with fury, and Adrien couldn’t help but think that if this had been five years prior, he would have been dealing with an akuma by this point.

Still, he pressed, fed up with XY’s attitude. “How did you and Luka meet?—Oh wait! I remember,” he laughed in a “silly me” sort of way. “You and your father ripped off his music, threatened my wife, and got Luka akumatized. Wow. What an interesting story to tell the kids, right?”

XY gave a soft growl. “You think you’re so great, Agreste, but you’re really not.”

Adrien was taken aback at the vehemence of the anger and bitterness in XY’s voice.

“You have no idea,” XY continued, “how often you and Marinette make Luka feel alone and unloved. You two don’t truly appreciate him, and I’m sick of it. I’m sick of watching you break his heart. News flash, Agreste: he doesn’t need you anymore. He’s with me now, and I’m going to treat him how he deserves to be treated. He’s not even going to miss you.”

Adrien’s expression went glacial, and, suddenly, XY could tell without a doubt that Adrien was Gabriel Agreste’s son.

A cruel frost settled into Adrien’s eyes as he replied coolly, “Listen here, you homewrecking clown. I am not going anywhere. Luka and I have been together for eight years. Years. You’ve been making out with him for, what? A couple months? And you think you have this great bond with him, that you’re the one who understands him?”

XY had gone into the confrontation feeling confident, but now he felt very small and very squishable.

Adrien laughed, the noise raking XY’s self-esteem like a jaguar’s claws. “Luka and I have a child together,” Adrien rubbed it in. “Which of us do you think really knows him? Because Luka and I spent our adolescence together. We supported each other and helped each other to grow into adults. I’ve been there for him during some of his darkest times just like he’s been there for me. You think you know Luka? You don’t know anything. You can’t take Luka away from me; I’m a part of who Luka is.”

Adrien waited a beat, letting that sink in. “…Now…if Luka really were seeking you out to fill some kind of void in his relationship with Marinette and me…wouldn’t that mean you were just a stand-in for someone else?”

XY paled, looking down at the arm of the chair, unable to respond.

“Hm,” Adrien patronized. “I wonder…. I’m willing to share, XY, if that truly makes Luka happy, but you are never going to steal Luka from me. It’s better if you get that through your head now. Marinette, Luka, Hugo, and I are a family, and decent people don’t just go around breaking families up. If Luka wants you to join us, fine, but drop the attitude, you uncouth swine.”

XY didn’t respond. He couldn’t respond.

It was like Adrien had taken a scalpel and cut out his larynx, taking away his power to defend himself. It was just like when XY’s father yelled at him, harsh words cutting through him as if he were made of paper, leaving him helpless.

Adrien’s words flooded XY with doubt.

“Daddy, you paused Ladybug,” Hugo noted sleepily, waking to find the show was no longer playing.

“Because you fell asleep, My Sweet One,” Adrien cooed, voice warm and kind once more as he ruffled his son’s hair.

“Daddy, who’s dat?”

XY looked up to see familiar blue eyes gazing at him with curiosity. Hugo wasn’t an exact copy of Luka by any stretch, but the shade of the eyes, some of the gently angular facial features, and the feathery hair were there.

Adrien got up and shepherded Hugo over to XY, saying, “Come meet Papa’s friend.”

XY stood, whispering, “I’m not your friend.”

Adrien rolled his eyes and hissed back, “I’m not ‘Papa’. What do you want him to call you?”

“Uh…XY is fine,” XY replied, a little thrown.

Adrien crouched down to Hugo’s level. “Gogo, this is Papa’s best friend, XY. What do you say?”

Hugo stared the long way up at XY and looked slightly intimidated.

XY copied Adrien, crouching down to be at eye-level with the two-year-old.

Hugo took a deep breath and recited, “Hello. My name is Hugo Agreste-Dupain-Cheng. Enchanted to meet you, Monsieur XY.”

“Awesome job, Gogo,” Adrien whispered, giving his son an encouraging pat on the back. “That was perfect.”

XY took Hugo’s outstretched hand and shook it carefully. “Hello, Hugo. It’s nice to meet you. You can just call me XY. My real name is Xavier-Yves. I’m…uh…I’m a friend of your papa.”

Hugo’s face lit up. “Xavier-Yves? Papa talked about you,” he announced proudly, happy to feel like he was in the loop.

XY’s mouth dropped open. “O-Oh? He did? Really?”

Hugo nodded. “You like cars! Wanna pway cars with me?”

“Uh, yeah. Sure,” XY agreed with a shrug, not yet certain what to make of the fact that Luka had told his son about XY. Surely that was a good thing, right?

Hugo ran over to the corner where a child-sized backpack sat on top of the large plastic tub that usually occupied that spot. Hugo wrapped both arms around the backpack and toddled back over to XY.

XY wondered if he should offer to help the little guy, but Adrien didn’t seem concerned as he got up and took a seat back on the couch, watching the scene play out.

Hugo set the backpack down and carefully emptied the contents onto the floor.

Out spilled nearly thirty little toy cars in all different makes and models.

XY’s eyes went wide.

Hugo grinned. “Papa and Daddy don’t know about cars, but Papa said you did. He said you could pwobably tell me about my cars. Like this one.” Hugo held up a red racecar, a Ford GT40 with the number fifty-five stamped on its sides and hood. “This one’s my favourite because it’s got my name on it.” He pointed to the fifty-five. “In Japanese, ‘five’ is ‘go’, so you can write my name as ‘five-five’. Gogo.”

XY nodded slowly. “You’re gonna be scary smart like your papa, aren’t you?” he chuckled.

“Mmhm!” Hugo beamed, glowing with pride. “I’m pwecocious.”

XY shifted from his crouch to take a seat on the floor by the pile of cars. “And you want me to tell you about the cars while we play?”

Hugo nodded enthusiastically, eyes going wide and hopeful. “Pwease!”

“Okay,” XY acquiesced. “Sounds like fun.”

Adrien watched as his son and his partner’s boyfriend wheeled the cars around the floor, making appropriate sound effects. Periodically, XY would mention some fact about one of the cars they were playing with, its name, its year, something about the way it was built or the parts, what made it special.

Every other minute, Hugo would stop playing to ask XY a question, holding up a car and asking his new friend to, “Tell me about dis one!”

Adrien was legitimately impressed. It was obvious that XY knew a lot about cars on a very technical level, but the vocabulary he used was very age-appropriate, his explanations simple, and Adrien could tell that Hugo was actually absorbing much of what XY said.

Maybe the “other man” wasn’t all bad after all.

Adrien could forgive many personal slights if a guy was patient and kind to Hugo. Adrien could tell it wasn’t just for show either. XY genuinely seemed to be having fun pushing cars around and making them do somersaults in the air while sharing facts about the cars and producing silly car noises.

They just needed to do something about XY’s jealousy and poor attitude. Adrien didn’t have the mental energy to deal with a repeat of their conversation prior to Hugo waking up and redeeming XY.

…Maybe Adrien needed to do something about his own jealousy and poor attitude as well…but XY had definitely started it.

…They obviously had some work to do if this was going to be a long-term thing.

“Hey, Adrien,” Luka called as he walked into the living room with a towel slung around his hips. “Have you seen my—Xavier-Yves! Uhhh…”

Luka stared in horror at his lover, son, and the guy he was making out with all in the same room.

XY raised a hand unenthusiastically in greeting. “Surprised? I was too.”

Luka sucked in a breath and let out a whispered curse in what XY assumed was Russian.

“I’m not supposed to repeat dat,” Hugo reported conspiratorially to XY.

Despite himself, XY laughed, though, it came out sounding a little miserable.

“Orpheus, you should probably go put some clothes on,” Adrien advised, and XY bristled at the nickname.

He’d forgotten for almost fifteen minutes that Adrien was even there, but, then, of course, Adrien had to find some way to rub in how close he was with Luka, how much history there was between the two of them.

“Right,” Luka sighed, spinning on his heel. “Sorry. Back in five.”

Luka had never dressed so fast in his life. He came back two minutes later and was greeted by Adrien saying something in Russian that XY couldn’t understand.

Where did pretty boy learn Russian? Did all smart people know Russian? XY obviously needed to learn if Luka and Adrien were going to be having secret conversations that should be held behind XY’s back in front of his face like this.

Luka replied to whatever Adrien had said tiredly, sounding like he was lightly scolding.

XY felt like a pane of glass had been lowered between them, firmly placing Luka and Adrien on one side and XY on the other.

He looked at Hugo and whispered, “You don’t know what they’re saying, do you?”

Hugo shook his head. “Daddy said something mean, and Papa told him to be nice.”

XY quirked an eyebrow at the incredibly sharp young boy. “How do you know that?”

In the background, Adrien was shooting off a long, indignant string of Russian at Luka, pointing accusatorily at XY, and then crossing his arms.

Luka paled, muttering a disjointed apology.

Hugo shrugged. “Papa and Daddy talk Russian when they don’t want people to understand. I hear them talk Russian, and I ask what they said. Uncle Victor teaches me too.”

XY nodded slowly. “Cool. So…what did your daddy say? More mean things?”

Hugo shook his head. “He said you were mean to him. Why were you mean to Daddy?”

XY winced, searching for some kind of answer that a two-year-old could understand. “We both want the same thing, but only one of us can have it.”

Hugo frowned at this. “You can’t share?”

“Gogo,” Adrien called gently, distracting the boy. “Let’s get your toys cleaned up. You and I are going for a walk.”

Hugo stuck out his bottom lip. “But Xavier-Yves and I are pwaying.”

“You can play some more when we get back from our walk. We’ll only be gone thirty minutes,” Adrien cajoled, kneeling down on the floor and starting to return the cars to the backpack.

Hugo pursed his lips and looked like he might protest or cry but then seemed to decide against it. Reluctantly, he started to help his father put away the cars. “Are we going to the Bois de Bouwogne?”

“That’s right,” Adrien confirmed.

“Can Papa and Xavier-Yves and Pwagg come with us?” Hugo inquired, looking up at Adrien hopefully.

“Plagg can come, but Papa and XY are staying here. They have to take care of some adult business,” Adrien explained.

Hugo did not look satisfied with this answer. “Do you have any cheese for Pwagg? Pwagg will get hungry if we’re gone a long time.”

“I’ll go get some out of the fridge,” Adrien assured, zipping up the bookbag and taking it back over to the corner. “You go get your shoes on, okay?”

Hugo nodded, pushing himself to his feet and toddler-running over to the door to get his shoes.

XY stood as well, looking to Luka and whispering, “Who’s Plagg?”

Luka smiled sheepishly. “Uh…Plagg is a flying, talking, magical entity who looks like a black cat. He was Adrien’s friend growing up, and now Plagg and Hugo are friends. Plagg likes cheese. A lot.”

XY nodded, taking this in stride. “I had imaginary friends growing up too, but all of mine were people.”

Luka nodded agreeably, thanking his lucky stars that he didn’t actually have to explain Plagg.

“Okay. I got some Cheddar for Plagg to snack on,” Adrien reported as he came back into the living room. “Ready to go, Gogo?”

Hugo frowned. “Cheddar isn’t his favourite. He thinks it’s boring.”

Adrien grimaced. “I know, Sweetie, but sometimes he just has to make do. He can’t have Camembert all the time.” He held out his hands to Hugo, and Hugo obediently came over to be picked up.

Adrien turned back to Luka, eyes bypassing XY. “We’ll be back in thirty.”

Luka nodded and gave a little wave.

The door closed behind Adrien and Hugo, leaving the flat in a state of intense silence.

[cartoonfangirl1218]

Motorcycle Race

Has a bit of Mick and Lisa friendship. Takes place between Rogue Air and Family of Rogues.  "Okay peoples let's get this party started!!!!!" Shawna shouted in the middle of the crowd in Saints & Sinners. 

Mark Axel, and Hartley burst in quickly behind her. Mark's small hurricanes blew the door hinges off and people ran screaming out. Mick, Leonard and Lisa dragged behind. 

"I can't believe we're robbing this place." Leonard muttered disgustedly as the crowds pushed and ran past them. 

"Aww c'mon on Lenny. It's Shawna's birthday let her rob S&S if she wants to. Besides look at all the wallets people are leaving around." Lisa grinned as another patron ran away screaming, not noticing Lisa's hand dipping into her pocket as she ran past her. "I already got 7!" 

Leonard shook his head with his usual "Why-in-hell-am-I-related-to-you-and-why-did-I-agree-to-this-stupidity" sigh.

Lisa rolled her eyes, he was the one who created the group who wanted to do said stupidity. He was the one that had wanted to get more villains to go against the Scarlet Speedster, and now they were stuck with them. 

It all had started when Shawna came to the warehouse with a bunch of shopping bags, announcing that no one should go to her room tonight because it was her birthday. Then Axel came up with the idea that they should celebrate. And with Rogues, what better way to celebrate than by filling their pockets with cash, jewelry and other stuff they got for free. Shawna insisted on Saints & Sinners because she wanted to crash at the bar so off they went. 

Lenny hadn't wanted to go, but Lisa had goaded him to it because what would it look like if the leader of the Rogues was so noticeably absent from a theft. 

"Like he is the only sane one, so that's why he's the leader" He drawled. He ended up going anyway because he didn't want anyone to end up in jail before going on their next heist. 

Lisa had to admit, she had been against the idea of having more in the Rogues besides the three of them. Sort of an exclusivity. But it had been generally okay. Mark and Axel were all over her when Lenny wasn't around and it was nice to be so pampered and admired. 

Despite his lovesick gazes, Axel was the jokester and she thought he was the best one to hang out with. who wouldn't love a buy who stole the cold gun, freezed the hallway and started sledding races. She didn't know quite what to think of Mark and Hartley they mostly stood to each other or by themselves. But as long as they didn't mess up her life with whatever inner angst they were holding up she didn't care. 

Shawna was fun to be around, it was nice to have another girl in villainy and they sometimes compared notes on Cisco and made fun of him and the other Rogues when they went clubbing. But she also had a sneaking suspicion that she had been using her powers to get into her room, and steal her make up which was not cool at all. She had stolen those Clinique bottles through her own hard work and she wasn't going to share. The place was finally clear, the owner of the bar stared at them through widened eyes. He looked like he was going to stand his ground but one glare from Mick sent him scurrying off. 

“Best day ever" Shawna sighed satisfied sipping her bottle of vodka she took from the bar. Axel and Hartley were jamming up the cash register and Mark seemed to be trying to take off the disco ball with his mind. 

"So how long do we get to crash before the police arrive?" Mick asked absent-mindedl, lighting a cigarette. 

"10, 8 minutes or so" Leonard said checking his watch.

"Cool we stay here until last second and then off out" Shawna grinned, as she spotted a sequined purse lying under one of the tables.

"Maybe you can but we can't." Mark said, looking at the locked front door.

“Oh yeah, it must suck that you have to leave early because you're not fast enough to outrun the cops" Shawna mock-pouted "Poor baby.”

"I can out-run the cops anytime I want.”Hartley shot back.

“No way, your stick legs can't outrun a snail" Axel jeered.

“Yes I can" Hartley shoved him. "No way" Shawna called out.

"Forget running, best way to go is by motorcycle" Mick said.

"And that title is held by me" Lisa added.

“Please" Mick snorted.

"Please what?" Lisa scowled.

"I'm the one that actually taught you how to drive fast. No way you can beat the master." Mick smirked. It was true. Len had been the one that taught her to drive car, how to drive a motorcycle, how to repair the, but Mick was the one that taught her how to drive fast ad dangerously. They used to drive around Central, breaking all kinds of speed limits. 

"Mick, stop talking drunk and be serious.” Lisa snorted.

“Guys, I have the perfect way to solve this" Shawna grinned.

"Beer" Mark said helpfully.” 

“Yes, that and we race on it." Shawna suggested. The Rogues stared at each other and ran out of S&S. They headed to the old dump yard at the edge of the skate park, and took some bicycles lying around while Leonard, Mick, and Lisa took their own motorcycles. "Okay first up,” Lisa announced "You four go race starting at the half pipe, to S&S and back again. Then Mick and I will go, winner race winners." Leonard just settled down at the park bench watching them intently.

“Do we get to use our powers?" Hartley asked eagerly.

"Of course" Lisa purred "What fun would it be if we didn't?"

The four got on their bikes, and glared at the lights of S&S and the police cars in the distance.

"Ready, set go!" Lisa called Axel started up the fight by setting off parachute bombs at Shawna who was up front, she disappeared just as the bombs hit the ground. 

Which made Mark and Hartley scramble off balance into some trees. Mark fought back as lightning blast out of the sky, making Axel zig-zag into the street.

 "SHIT!! Biker coming through" he yelled as car honked and barreled toward him. Shawna reappeared once more in front but was soon overpowered by Hartley when he aimed his sonic gloves at the ground. The whole race sorta crumbled after that. 

They got so distracted with fighting each other that jumped off their motorcycle and use their powers and combat skills in a four way fight. 

"Guess we can get started then," Mick commented. “Done" Lisa pulled on her helmet, and crouched on her golden motorcycle "See you at the finish line old man" Lisa crowed.

Mick grunted. Leonard placed their guns next to him and called out "Start!”

It had been fast and furious, without the added distraction of firing fireballs me gold at each other they swerved precisely and smoothly across the streets. Lisa sorely tempted to drive over by him and hit him against the curb, but one thing she re breed from racing him years ago that knocking out you're opponent also made sure you slowed down too. 

They made it to S&S and we're greeted by the police, and the owner. "Yes, they helped rob the place!" 

"Drive back, drive back, tactical retreat" Mick shouted at her, she didn't need to be told twice. 

She zig zagged as people always said to do if you don't want to get shot by the police. She certainly didn't want to today and in this outfit. The blood would stain the chiffon for sure. She heard the squeal of tires blowing out, and cursed to see her motorcycle tire with a bullet in it. Mick was a little ways ahead of her, already getting dragged off by the police officers. 

She shook her head, dejectedly and let them cuff her without a fight. Without a gun, against their many many holsters, it didn't seem worth it. 

As she got shoved in with Mick, he huffed on yet another cigarette dangling from his mouth. "Ya know your brother is gonna killed us." 

“He could kill Shawna... She was the one with the whole birthday robbery idea and then the motorcycle race." Lisa said, "This is not worth getting killed over. If anything he would kill you for screwing me.” 

She was thinking of Leonard's ever present threat, to murder anyone, especially partners having sexual relations with her. 

"He wouldn't kill me" Mick said, carelessly.

"Really?" Lisa added doubtfully, she knew Mick was like Leonard's closest and only friend but she didn't think their friendship extended that far. Hell, he said that Mick was the last person he wanted her having sex with. “I believe his exact words were, If you think one impure thought about her I will catastrate you, boil your nuts and burn you alive." Mick said thoughtfully as Lisa stared at him in horror, with more than just the threat in mind 

“Did you like me?" She would never admit but she had a crush on Mick for a few months when she was 14. Nothing big, and it was before she knew the extent of his craziness. All she knew was that he had a car with license, had wicked prison tattoos, and an intriguing deep guttural voice. It went away after awhile but never once did she think Mick would have looked at her the same way. 

"I just saw you in a one of your evening dresses, and happened to compliment your rack out loud. That was it." Mick said. “That explains it" Lisa smiled, "And you and I dating. Never. I don't go for balding, old men."

"I don't go for idiotic train wrecks" Mick retorted.

They settled to an easy silence before she broke it again, “So what do you think of the whole Rogues thing?" 

“Worst plan ever. A guy who can make thunderstorms whenever he cries, a disappearing act that thinks robbing S&S is big game, a dumbass engineer with parental issues, and a daddy's boy with bombs. Len couldn't pick up someone cool and useful like someone who could control minds, or an assassin." Mick snorted. 

“Let’s face it. The original three of us pulled off more cons than we did with the rest." Lisa agreed. 

"Well we're stuck with them for now. It'll be like our own reality TV mess." Mick snorted. 

"I bet I could get Shawna in a fight with Mark over the bathroom and then have Axel and Hartley making out in the closet in no time." Lisa smiled, mischevious thoughts running through her mind.

"Mark and Hartley in the closet? I bet Mark and Hartley. In Leonard's office" Mick corrected.

“You're on. I can't wait to see Lenny's face when that happens" Lisa grinned.

 "After we get out of this, we're going for another round though" Mick added.

 "You want to get beaten by me twice?" “I was way ahead of you before the cops came." Mick sneered.

"You have proof?" "I don't need proof, I'm better motorcyclist than you'll ever be. I was back then and I am now.” Mick snarled. "Things changed, Rory. I'm number one now." Lisa glared back at him. 

“Things haven't changed that much, Glider. You still need to learn how to zig zag without getting shot, don't you think for a second you're not the same kid that I had to drive to school and help with...with Brazilian waxing" Mick said, with a rare smile at the memory. 

Leonard had forced Mick to go to her wax appointment with her when he got stuck at a job with Lewis. It had been a hard ordeal for both of them, and Mick ended up with a broken wrist. "It was my first time, and you wouldn't let me hold your.." 

The truck stopped with a halt, and Shawna appeared in front of them. "You're anti-heroes of the day have arrived" she cheered, opening the door and pushing them out. They fell to the ground, "Would you mind, uncuffing us first" Lisa spit dirt out of her mouth.

“Oh of course!" "Here let me help!" Mark and Axel scrambled to uncuff her.

“A little help here" Mick hissed, jingling his cuffs, as Leonard rolled his eyes to help. “That's enough for tonight" Leonard used his stern, leader tone and gestured to the motorcycles waiting at the bench.  

"You head out, we have a score to settle" Lisa said, and winked at Mick. “Yeah Goldie wants to get her ass kicked.

"Don't get so cocky, Rory" Lisa smiled, revved her engine and the two roared off to the pipeline. 

[endlesstalesofwonder]

Speeding Along

So here I was, watching the YouTube, and this prompt just landed in my lap and I couldn’t not do anything with it. C’mon.

“A friend once set me up on a blind date. I wasn’t in a great mood because I had received a traffic ticket a few hours before. My day got worse when my blind date turned out to be the cop who gave me the ticket. #WorstFirstDate”

Stiles always thought he was given the worst luck in the world, sucking out all the misfortune out of his friends and family so he could suffer for them. At least, that’s how he decided to view it for the entirety of his twenty-four years. The past week had been fine, bearable. That only meant some serious shit was going to go down and he didn’t know when.

He checked his messages before climbing into his jeep. The office building towered over him, casting a looming shadow over him as though he didn’t already have enough dread pooling between his shoulders.

Turning on the car, it was immediately flooded with the strumming of Stay Home by Self. The irony of the universe was never so careless. Maybe he should just camp out in his office. It wouldn’t be the first time.

He was barely getting onto the freeway when the shrieking ring of his Bluetooth stereo signaled a call. It took a moment for the system to shift, displaying the slow rolling familiar digits of the only woman he would never not answer.

“You’re going. That’s final.”

Stiles restrained himself from rolling his eyes. Whenever he did, the woman always had the uncanny ability to tell that he was doing it. “Hello, Lydia. I’m great. How are you?”

“Hi, Stiles,” she huffed. Like her, Stiles could tell whenever she flipped her hair when she was frustrated. “You never answered my texts.”

“I figured my silence was enough of an answer.”

“Stiles!” The stereo did not like the idea of his name being shrieked through the cheap system, rattling and warping the sound out of proportion before settling back with the soft rippling of static from Lydia’s surroundings. “You’re going out.”

The man sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose to relieve the pressure there. It never helped, but the habit stuck after watching it on tv when he was young. Stupid television idols.

Lydia had gotten into the frame of mind that Stiles had become Single-Desperate-and-Alone. And his only defense was that he was not desperate — just tired of looking and waiting. He’d been on several blind dates, ranging from no good to awkward to very, very bad. The last date ended with being sneezed in the face after suggesting that they should not go on another date. Now, he was afraid of getting within arm’s distance of any human being.

“What if I don’t even like the guy?” What if he doesn’t like me? What if he’s a couch slob? What if all he has to wear is a single pair of acid washed jeans and mesh tee that had THE MAN bedazzled onto the back? “I don’t think I could deal with that kind of rejection.”

“Stop being melodramatic.”

Stiles pulled off of the Interstate and onto one of the side roads that lead to the main road back into town. It was supposed to be a secret short-cut around the interstate traffic, but now all navigation directed people towards this road. Damn internet. “Will it get me out of this date?”

“No.”

“Then I won’t stop.”

“This is ridiculous. If you don’t like him — and I’m sure you will —” Stiles sighed. That’s what she’d said about the others as well. “Then this will be the last time I meddle.”

“No more meddling in my love life?” A soft grunt came through the speakers. “I need to hear it.”

“Yes.” Stiles turned onto the main road, familiar trees flanking him on either side. The town sign should be nearby, closer if he pushed the limits.

“Meddling being any kind of date, blind or otherwise…”

“Yes.”

Welcome to Beacon Hills, the main said read as Stiles passed it, though the words were blurred. He just wanted to go home and get this to-be-horrible-date over with.

“Or mysteriously running into someone in the street because someone pushed them…”

“That was one time. Fine.”

“Then we have an agreement.” Then, as though striking a match into light, red and blue lights alternated behind him. “Fuck. Fuck! Fuckity-Fuck-Shit-Dammit—”

“Stiles?”

“I’ll call you back.” He hung up on her, pulling over onto the side of the road, then turned off the car. Another string of swears bubbled up in his throat and stayed there as the officer approached.

He rested his head back against the seat, cool and collected. This was not his first time being pulled over, not even one of the first dozen. By now, Stiles had perfected the art of ticket skimming.

The officer approached his passenger window, to avoid the onslaught of traffic feeding into the town at this time — none. Stiles, begrudgingly, rolled down the window in question as the man bent over just slightly to accommodate his height. Jesus. “You were going 54 in a 40. Do you have anything to say?”

All Stiles could process was the fact that the man was the epitome of dirty, sexy cop: fitted uniform, dark everything — scruff, hair, eyebrows that peaked out from the equally dark reflective ray bands — “I’m dyslexic?”

“Oh?” That stupid eyebrow on his stupid face crooked upwards in nothing other than pure amusement. Shit. “So you think you were going 45 in a 40.”

“... Yes.” No.

“That’s still speeding. License and registration.”

Mentally, his eyes narrowed. He dug through the black hole of a glove box and pulled out his registration that he tucked into what he called the Jeep Bible (key: manual). Then ruffled through his wallet for his license. The man took the items as Stiles found them, walking back to his car as Stiles tried to make him explode with his mind. If only.

It didn’t take long, which was also a bad sign. He had gotten tickets before that took longer because the officer was lenient enough to grant other, lesser offenses than the whopping three-hundred-plus speeding ticket. This man was testing his perfected art.

The ticket was stated as the regular three-hundred and sixty and his wallet tensed at the idea of being emptied. Again. The officer went through the readings like he was supposed to: memorized, mechanical, and purely professional. Then, the man said his goodbyes and left.

“Thanks, asshole,” he muttered, taking a glance at the signed name at the bottom of the ticket. He’d burn the name into his memory if it meant never having to see the man again. Knowing his audience, he took his time to pull off the side of the road and cautiously — it was tempting not to just peel out of there — drive back to his apartment.

Deputy Hale. Stiles hated him.

Once he got back to his apartment, he had all of ten seconds alone before his phone burst out into a blaze of chirps and rings. Lydia Martin.

He picked up, despite the dampened mood. “What?”

“What? What, he asks.” The roar of traffic picked up in the background. She was traveling somewhere. He could even hear the click of her heels. “How about you tell me what just happened?”

“I got a ticket for speeding. No big deal.”

A horn honked, and Stiles couldn’t tell if it was from the phone or from outside. “Good! I hear that going out is the perfect thing to fix that.”

“Listen, Lyds. I’m not in the mood for a date, certainly not now.” A knock sounded on the door. Add another tally to the series of bad timings, Universe. “Hold on.”

Stiles opened the door, ready to unleash the fear of God onto the person who would even dare approach his door despite the No Solicitor sign — and Lydia stood at the door with one hand on her hip and the other hanging up the phone call.

“Don’t call me Lyds,” she snapped, then let herself in.

“Come in, why don’t you.”

She stopped in the living room, spinning on her heel to rake her eyes over his body. “The shirt needs to go. The pants might work, with the right top. The shoes can stay.”

“I’m not going out.”

“We made a deal.” Lydia, ever the Goddess, crossed her hands over her chest. It was all business then. “I suppose that means I can continue to meddle in your life. Your neighbor isn’t seeing anyone lately, maybe they can —”

“How do you even — Fine. Fine!” That was all she needed. She flew into his bedroom and pulled a shirt he didn’t even know existed and threw it in his face. Whatever made her stay out of his love life, it was worth a dinner.

Stiles couldn’t sit still for the life of him. He rearranged the silverware before readjusting the positions of the cups and finally gave up. He buried himself in the sea of dished on the menu.

There were thirteen ways to get out of the restaurant. The first would be to go out the front door, but that would run the risk of potentially showing his blind date that he was trying to sneak out. The windows were not an option because they were beginning to draw the drapes shut and getting through that thick of fabric was a no go in any capacity. The kitchens would be open, but the number of sharp objects that could get in the way were higher than his chances of getting out without being banned —

“I’m looking for table 19,” someone asked the front table. That was Stiles’ table. His blind date. A familiar voice.

Stiles looked up from his menu and nearly choked on a lung, burying his head back behind the plastic before the man saw him. “Fuck me.”

The footsteps grew closer and closer, and Stiles’ was able to make out the size of the shoe — no longer the department-issued boots — “Do you need help reading those numbers, or are you fine?”

Motherfucker. Stiles looked up and met Deputy Hale’s mischievous green eyes. “Is that how this is going to go?”

The man slid effortlessly into the chair opposite him. It was a jarring difference, seeing him in both his uniform and street clothes in a manner of hours. Something in Stiles wanted to relax, but his undeniable grudge didn’t.

“Did you really think that was going to work?”

Stiles lowered his gaze back to the menu, none of the words meaning anything to him. “Yeah, actually.”

The man made a low snort, as though biting back a smile — or laugh — that would no doubt make Stiles threw out any poor judgment he’d made in the past few hours.

Silence settled between them, and Stiles, ever the conversationalist — according to his date with Jensen — didn’t know what to do with it. He fumbled with the straw left in his drink and finally bit the bullet.

“I’m not sure I can go out with a man who knows my driving record.”

The man smirked, leaning his arms on the table but not to divide the space between them. “You’re welcome to see mine, but there’s nothing there.”

“Wow,” Stiles drawled, and the Deputy held out his hands like what-can-you-do? “Wow!”

Finally, he laughed. Stiles couldn’t help joining in. The sound of it was infectious, necessary. Despite the poor start, he’d never felt so light.

“Let’s start over.” A hand crossed over the open space of the table between them. “Derek. Hale.”

“Stiles, not — yeah.” Derek’s eyebrow rose. No doubt he had read his legal name and thought to not issue the ticket — it had worked all of four times before — and yet, here they were. Derek Hale was an enigma. He met his hand with his own. “Stiles Stilinski. It’s nice to meet you.”

The waitress came over not long after their restart. It was easy. To fill the silence. Their conversations blended seamlessly through various stages and recounts of their youth. It was a blessing that neither of them had brought up the —

“You may want to slow down.” Stiles paused, the fork full of food just within his mouth’s grip. Derek was smirking, the bastard, and he knew what he was going to say before he even said it. “I wouldn’t want to give you another ticket.”

Stiles narrowed his eyes and ate the damn food anyways. “Ha. Ha. Very funny. I don’t go speeding through everything, you know. You were just… lucky.”

“Oh?” Derek leaned forward again, and Stiles leaned slightly to meet him. “You’ll have to show me then.”

“What?”

“Something you don’t go speeding through.”

Jesus Christ. Stiles was eating. He leaned back, his face no doubt the same shade as the spaghetti he was rather enjoying and now the meatballs were just taunting him — He relaxed. “Maybe later.”

Derek took his water, meeting Stiles’ gaze over the rim. “I look forward to it.”

When Stiles let himself back into his apartment, Lydia had made herself very comfortable by the size of the blanket nest built to accommodate his four-person couch. It was rather impressive.

The screen froze, paused. She turned away from the screen, the light illuminating in a way that would only describe her as having a halo. “How’d it go?”

He shrugged. She opened her mouth to go off, probably to say something about the inability of men to get their head out of their ass — Jason was never a good fit for Stiles anyways — but Stiles stopped her. “We made another date.”

“Oh,” she drew out, settling back into her nest with nothing other than content and satisfaction in her everything. “Told you so.”

“Mmm. Move over.” She obliged, but only barely. He was only granted a fraction of the comfort she had made for herself, clearly raiding everything from the linen cupboard to his own bed. “What are we watching?”

She rolled her eyes, turning on the show with no additional information or even the title. He stayed quiet, watching and waiting for silence to ask his questions. It didn’t matter. An officer walked into the scene, trying to solve a murder of some kind, and he only saw a dark-haired beauty with green eyes.

He pulled out his phone and sent a single message: See you soon.

Derek Hale: See you.

[r3b3lgrrrrrrrl]

A LunaTic and her Gunn (Part 85 Xs1)

"Day 12: Chicago"

@creatureofthen1ght-v3

@lovemythsworld

@crystalbaby12

Considering how intoxicated they got all day and night yesterday, it's surprising that Luna and Colson are awake before any kind of knock hits their hotel room door. It's probably because of the uncomfortable, tangled positions they'd found themselves in from last night.

Getting comfortable at the top of the bed, they snuggle together. Colson running his fingers through her golden hair as they talk about different things. He wants to fly his tattoo guy out to meet them in Kansas City on Thursday.

"Think it'll hurt?" Colson asks Luna about the head tattoo he wants.

"Hmmmmph...." Luna giggles to herself.

Remembering the pain, Luna touches the back of her head. Just above the divit that slopes into her neck, at the very base of her skull, about three fingers wide and long, she has the replica of an old CA license plate tattooed there. Instead of numbers, it has the word WARD, like a vanity plate. A registration sticker sits expiring in the bottom right corner on June of 1999. The hidden piece is the only ink Luna has for her mother.

-------------------------------------------------

Known as Lizard or Izzy. Patti and Robert never named their daughter. The forgotten baby was named by a nun in the orphanage she was raised in. Never being adopted and always a ward of the state, Luna's mother's name legally became Elizabeth Ann Ward. Patti feeling immense guilt when her daughter contacted her regarding her grandchild, she legally changed Luna's name as soon as she adopted her after Izzy's death. The marking being the first tattoo Luna ever got. Never forgetting her true home. Or that first sense of insatiable pain. Always keeping her hair long, only three other people know that she has it. One of them being the artist. Colson isn't one and neither is her grandmother. Having gotten it done the summer she turned 14yrs old with Jackson and Opie, the undercut grew out just enough by time she'd come home to NY. That wasn't the only first for Luna in The Summer of 2005. That same year, Jackson got his first bike, teaching her how to ride and handle a gun. It was also the first time Luna ever had sex. Popping her cherry with Jackson on a warm late July night. It had been a wild summer filled with surprises, love and rebellion. Luna gaining and losing many different things in those three months. Springing into action a long series of events.

-------------------------------------------------

"YEAH. On the back of your skull? You're gonna feel that vibration through your teeth, eyes, ears... It's gonna hurt like a Motherfucker." Luna says with a smile playing on her lips.

"Shit, I didn't think of it like that..." Colson admits, not noticing Luna's detail.

"You'll be fine. Don't act like you don't like a little pain." Luna lifts up, biting his lip.

"Mmm... " Colson pulls Luna into him.

Kissing her deeply, Luna feels her body flush. Pushing up and climbing on top of him, she pins him down against the bed. Lightly biting along his neck. Each one a little harder as she makes her way to his nipples. Making Colson laugh and squirm as she drags her hands down his body as she bites his tattooed sides and stomach.

Holding his hard dick and excited eyes, Luna licks the bottom of him from base to tip with her wide, sopping tongue. Keeping his eyes in place with her antagonizing blue, Colson groans out. She gives him a wicked smile and a devious look before she lightly squeezes his cock and sinks her teeth into the meat of his thigh. Hard but not too hard.

"Ahh!! You fucking bitch!" He jerks. Laughing, while grabbing her. Colson carefully lifting and flipping Luna on to her back. "I'm gonna fuck you up!" He claims as she giggles.

Holding her down, with one large hand planted in the middle of her chest with a long arm, Colson slips his tongue up through the warm folds of Luna's pussy. Tasting peaches, he smiles before biting her back on her thigh.

"Motherfucker!!" Luna shrieks

Colson throws both of her legs over his shoulders. Coming back up to her face, he presses his tongue into her mouth. Aggressively kissing her as he holds her down.

Enjoying his dominance, Luna finds his cock with her hands. Grabbing it, she shifts her hips as she guides him inside. Pulling his blonde hair back, making him groan out as he starts to fuck her.

"Jesus FUCKING Christ, Loons!!" Colson growls into her ear, as he pulls out of her grasp to gnaw on her neck.

Luna claws the tops his arms, keeping her left leg straight. Her right leg grips his neck, curve of her foot resting perfectly on the back of his head. Driving into her deeply. Colson and Luna buck against each other hard as their teeth nip and hands grab at each other's bodies.

"Fuck. Oh, Fuck me, fuck me, fuck me, FUUUUCK MEEEE!!!" Luna cries as Colson happily follows directions.

Making them both cum. Dropping her legs from his shoulders, Colson stays between them. Laying on Luna's right collarbone. He can see the bandage for her gunshot wound.

"Fuck..." His stomach churns as he looks in the other direction. Hating everything about it.

"Do you need a dress?" Colson pops his head up after a moment.

"A dress?" Luna asks, confused.

"Yeah... For the wedding. Shit. I guess you need two, hunh? He moves off of her to lay on his side.

"Awww..." Luna kisses his sweet lips. "Yeah... I uh, I don't know yet. I have an idea of what I want... But... I don't know... You?" She asks.

They haven't made any solid plans regarding either event. The only thing in place is their word, a twisted guitar string, an already scheduled festival and an almost dual residency for one of them. All with the idea of being legally married sometime next month.

"Don't you dress me?" Colson honestly asks her.

"Are you fucking five?" Luna asks him with a gnarly look. "Am I supposed to dress you?" She gives him a terrified look.

Both of them laugh, neither knowing what the fuck they're doing. THIS is gonna be a hot mess, they agree.

"We need help." Luna admits. "At least for after TownHall... We can wing EstFest."

Colson agrees with her again. They want to have a gathering afterwards at The Cleveland House for those who attend the small ceremony.

Wrapping his arm around Luna, pulling her into his chest, Colson kisses her head.

"We're getten' married, Kitten." He hums into into the top of her head.

Luna smiles, resting deeper into him. A wave of euphoria washing over her. A happy Yup escaping her lips. Neither of them ever expecting this in their lifetime. Colson a forever player. Luna thinking her heart was broken.

Hearing the knock, they get up. Burning and banging it out again in the shower. Luna snorting Percocets as Colson rails his own Adderalls.

Passing joints back and forth as they get dressed. Colson in loose grey pants and a Metallica shirt. Luna in all black skinnies and a tank.

Sliding on her red Vans, she pulls on the red baseball hat and her leather. Colson slapping her ass as she yelps walking out the door.

--------------------------------------------------

Colson's playing a sold out show at the Aragon Ballroom tonight.

As The Crew and Tech finish setting up, Luna and everyone hangs out in the parking lot. Most of them boarding around. All of them burning.

Luna stops as she feels her phone ring. It's her grandmother. Leaning up against the wall, Luna takes it.

"Hey Mom-Mom..." She greets Patti.

Patti asks Luna how the tour's going. Luna telling her Wild, like any other. Her Mom-Mom always appreciating Luna's candidness. They go on to touch base that Luna spoke to her therapist, Kylie, last week. She reassures her grandma that she did and will this week also. With that Patti cuts to the chase. She wants Luna to do her a favor. Luna hates her grandmother's favors.

"Seriously, Mom-mom?" Luna sighs with annoyance.

Patti wants her to fly out to NY next Tuesday and appear on Ellen. Always thinking her connections are the right move for her granddaughter's career. It's exactly how Luna ended up on Riot Records.

"What if Ash isn't available?" Luna tries to wiggle out of it.

Her grandmother pisses her off when she tells her that's Just Fine, Ellen wants to interview her, not Ashley.

"What the FUCK, Mom-mom? You know I don't like doing interviews. And on fucking daytime TV. You gotta stop doing this shit to me, Man. Did I not just flip shit in my room over feeling too looked at.....? You fucking suck right now....." Luna complains.

Pressing on Patti tells her it's good exposure for Nightmare and her cause. That Luna knows Ellen as a family friend and that she won't cross any boundaries. Sometimes she can be an old dick.

"Yeah. Clearly you've never watched her show." Luna angrily retorts. "I'll do this one, but Mom-Mom, that's IT. DO NOT commit me to anything else before asking me first." Pressing it even further, Luna throws in a zinger. "What did you always tell me?... Hm? Not to ASSUME anything... because it makes an Ass outta You and Me.... Next time, I'm gonna say No and you're gonna be mad when you look like an Asshole." Luna tells the older woman.

Blowing Luna's threats off, her grandmother tells her to watch her for the producers phone call and that she'll see her when she gets home. They exchange I Love Yous and GoodByes before hanging up. Still leaning against the wall, Luna grabs her skateboard and looks down. Thinking about her conversation with her grandmother.

"This is fucking bullshit.... I don't wanna fucking go on TV.... Ahhhhh!!!" Her brain screams. "Ash better be able to fucking come."

Calling Ashley, she can't. She'll be in Europe somewhere with Dom. Luna zones out of the conversation once she doesn't hear what she wants.

"MOTHERFUCKER.." Is all she can think.

Colson had noticed when Luna had first stopped skating. Looking over at her again, he stops himself. Holding his board, he watches her. She seems irritated by whoever's on the phone.

"Nobody better be fucking with her." He thinks, dropping his deck to skate over to Luna. "And it better not be fucking Tommy.... Or Jackson..." Colson can feel a fire lighting in his belly.

"What's up, Kitten?" He asks.

Gliding up to her, as he stops. One foot on his board, the other on the ground. Letting her's rest against her leg as wraps his long arms around her body.

"My fucking grandmom booked me on Ellen next Tuesday and Ash can't go with me." Luna complains into his chest.

"Shit? Again without asking?" Colson pulls her out of his chest.

"Yeah..." Luna sighs.

"Come're." Colson tells her.

They both let their boards go as he lifts her up. Luna wraps her arms and legs around his naked upper body. Burying her face into his neck. Inhaling his sweet aroma. The mixture of coffee, weed and his deodorant makes her nipples hard.

"I fucking hate when she does this." She whines.

"I know, Kitten." Colson comforts her as he kisses the side of her hat. "You just performing or you gotta sit down too?" He asks.

"I gotta sit dooowwn..." Luna continues to pout.

Colson can't help but chuckle. Luna tells him to Shut Up as her phone rings again. It's another NY number.

Sliding off of him, she takes the call as he skates off. Giving her a minute. It's the producers from The Ellen Show. They want Luna to perform Nightmare and THAT Type along with an interview. Luna agrees to all but THAT Type. She refuses to continue fueling this Bleta flame. Guaranteeing she'll have something for two sets, Luna unhappily hangs up.

"And now I gotta write a whole new FUCKING song...." Luna thinks, annoyed.

Flipping her deck over she goes to find Sam. She's rail sliding, ollieing and skating around the parking lot with Colson, Rook and Baze. Luna decides against saying anything at the moment. Choosing to rip her emotions out using the trucks beneath her feet instead.

-------------------------------------------------

Inside the ballroom, Colson goes over last minute specifics with Tech before he hits a light rehearsal with The Band.

They don't really need it, but they like to check the acoustics in new venues. Watching from SideStage, Colson asks Luna if she wants to try out What I Got.

"Yeah, why not? I wanna play lead on this one though." Luna says, tossing off her hat with her leather.

Walking over, she picks up a guitar and slides the strap over her shoulder. Striking it. She begins to play a different song with her own lyrics.

🎶Luna's 26yrs old🎶

🎶But Tuesday🎶

🎶She'll be a whore🎶

🎶Even though she already🎶

🎶Knows🎶

🎶It's fucking the wrong way🎶

Luna stares at Colson as she snarls at the next lyrics. She's still pissed at her grandmother.

🎶Don't be afraid🎶

🎶In the quickness🎶

🎶You get laid🎶

🎶For your family🎶

🎶Get paid🎶

🎶It's the Fucking wrong way🎶

Letting the guitar hang off of her, Luna sighs. Arms rests on the Fender. The 30s and time help Luna not notice the light pain in her shoulder. Colson walks over and kisses her forehead.

"I don't think that's really a duet, Kitty." He says with a small smile.

"I know..." Luna sighs again. "I'm just frustrated. I gotta come up with a second song by Tuesday."

Leaning the top of her her head into his chest as the instrument separates them. He rubs her back asking her Why. Understanding when she explains not wanting to use THAT Type.

"What about the one you sent me? Brooklyn Bitch?" He asks, lifting her face by the chin.

Looking up at him she says No, pulling away. Hands flittering in frustration. She'd have to change too many things and it's the complete opposite tone and message of Nightmare. Whatever it is, it needs to send it's own independent, strong musical statement. Another reason she doesn't want to use THAT Type, it's negative as all hell towards women and so far removed from Luna's platform. She needs something new. Something to hold hands with Nightmare. Sighing again, she places her head back against Colson's bare chest.

"Wanna put figuring out a cover on hold for a sec? So you can write this one?" He asks.

Looking up again, she asks If He Minds. Shaking his head, Colson leans down to kiss Luna. Lifting the guitar from around her neck.

"Come on... Lemme get you high, Baby Girl." He smirks.

Slapping her ass. He grabs one cheek, holding it tightly as they walk across stage.

Rolling her eyes, she feels her pussy swell from his grasp. Luna loves the way he man handles her sometimes, even distracted.

"I fucking hate when you call me that." She complains.

There is ONE person who calls Luna Baby Girl and they're the highest on her shit list.

-------------------------------------------------

Sitting on one of the couches on The Bus, Colson fires Luna up a joint. Handing it to her, he lights his own. Slouching down, Luna hits it as she kicks off her Vans. Swinging herself around, Luna lays back on the couch as she places her legs across his lap.

Colson slips her socks off and starts rubbing her slender feet. Pressing his large thumbs into her balls and high arches. Both still getting high. Luna closes her eyes, running her left foot over Colson's semi until he can't stand it anymore. Fully hard, he looks over at her asking Yeah to her smirk and shrug.

"YEAH!!" Colson shouts as he pounces on her.

Tickling and kissing her all over, Luna wiggles and laughs as they try to undress each other. Scooching all over the couch. Colson pulls her skinny jeans off and throws them across The Bus.

"Was that really necessary?" Luna laughs.

"Yes." Colson confirms as he dives back on to her.

Kissing and teasing each other, they wrestle around on the couch. Luna squirms too far off it, taking them both down onto the floor with a THUD.

With more space to control her, Colson bites Luna's neck as he dips his cock inside of her. Luna thrusts her hips up into him as she moans out in pleasure. They're tongues play in each other's mouths as they move their bodies together. Pulling back, Colson grins down at Luna.

"Told you I'd fuck you on the floor." He smirks.

"You motherfucker!" Luna bursts.

Gripping his waist with the leg wrapped around it, Luna pushes off with her right. She rolls them over using her right arm as leverage and left for force. Popping his dick back inside of herself once she's on top, she pulls up her right knee to protect her new crab. Dropping her hips and left leg, Luna pushes Colson all the way inside of her. Pressing on his chest with her hands, she rocks her hips in a titled circle.

"Who's fucking who on the floor now, C!" Luna taunts his groans.

"You're such a fucking biitchh..." He growls, enjoying her pussy controlling his cock.

"Yeah. But you love this fucking BITCH, don't you?" Luna provokes Colson while riding him faster. "Don't you."

Colson grips her hips tighter with a loud Yes. Bucking hard against him, they're both on the verge of cumming.

"Say it." She demands.

"I FUCKING LOVE YOU, YOU FUCKING BITCH!!" Colson shouts as Luna fucks him with authority.

"FUCK YEAH, YOU DO!!" She cries out before they both cum. "Holy Fuck balls, Bunny...."

Luna pants, dangling her head backwards as she leans her hands on his thighs. Still grinding into him. Colson admires her heaving chest and enjoys her warm pussy and soft moans.

She's startled when he comes flying up, wrapping his arms around Luna's body when he hears The Bus doors open. Quickly tucking her inside of him, she's not sure what's going on until she hears his firm YO.

Next comes a "Bullet? What the fuck, DUDE? Why... You know what.... Get the fuck out, I'll be talk to you in a minute." Colson says to whomever walked onto The Bus.

"Who the hell was that?" Luna asks once he releases her.

Colson runs his hands through her hair. Pulling her in for another kiss.

"My boy, Bullet... Come on, let's get dressed. I'll introduce you." He tells her before he kisses her again.

-------------------------------------------------

"MY MAN!!" Colson exclaims dapping and hugging a large bald man.

The guy is HUGE. Benny and Colson are the same height but Benny's got an easy 150lbs on Colson. This dude that Luna's watching, has at least another three inches on them both. An easy fifty pounds if not more of solid muscle on Benny. He's not huge, this man is a mountain.

"Kitten!" Colson catches her attention. "This is Bullet. Bullet, meet Luna Smith, THAT Brooklyn Bitch. And as of next month my fucking WIFE." He grins with pride.

"Hi!" Luna gives the man a bright smile as she shakes his hand. "How do you guys know each other?" She asks.

Colson explains how Bullet is his other bodyguard.

"Ooohh... They called in you cause of OUR reckless asses." Luna calls him right out, putting two and two together.

"Naaahhhh..." Bullet shakes his head with a smirk.

"Mhhm... Well, at least we greeted you with a fucking bang-bang." She snarks, making Colson and Bullet erupt into laughter. "I gotta start working on this song. Catch you in a bit?" Luna asks as she kisses Colson.

He nods in agreement, kissing her back as she tells Bullet It's A Pleasure. Heading off to find Sam.

---------------------------------------------------

"Imma like this one..... She's a little pistol." Bullet thinks of his first impression of Luna. Noticing how Kells had stopped to cover her tattooed body when he walked in on them. He'd never done that before with any other female Bullet's walked in on him with. Just kept on fucking. "If she is what they say she is, I guess I'd wanna keep that ass to myself too." He muses to himself. Acknowledging that Kells's Girl is not only sassy but STACKED as he watches her walk away.

-------------------------------------------------

🎶Did we ask//You for It//When we begged//Was it nice//While we were//Asking for It//Did we beg you twice🎶

Luna's in Colson's dressing room, sitting on the floor with her guitar, notebook, a joint and a pen. She's trying to write a new song. Wanting the same message as Nightmare, but melodic wise is trying to return to her roots. That raw energy. She doesn't want any mixing done. Just to run it straight through. That hard hitting garage feel.

"FUCK.... I'm so glad Sam's already here. I need a fucking bassist..... There's no way I'm pulling Tim in for this....." She thinks as a pain shoots through her heart.

--------------------------------------------------

Luna's original band, Dysfunctional Baggage consisted of four members. Luna on lead guitar and vocals. Justin on rhythm guitar and back up vocals. Sam, obviously being the drummer and Tim, Justin's bestfriend, their bassist. They had formed in 2011. Playing local NYC spots. Doing small East Coast tours. None of them wanting to be famous, having only the need to create music. And they did. A lot. The Band cut four albums on their own before they disbanded in 2015. Justin and Tim's addictions overshadowing their work. That's when Patti pushed Luna onto Riot Records as a solo artist. Locking her into a four year, three record contract. Sam had stuck with Luna as an unsigned artist, not wanting to be pigeonholed but still create with her friend. Having lost Justin within the first year of her contract, the three records sound nothing like Luna. They're very dark and bluesy instead of energetic and empowering. Justin's suicide never going public but Luna's words making it abundantly clear to their fans. It had wreaked her. Had she not been forced to create, she probably would've lost her music also.

--------------------------------------------------

Ashleigh pops her head in.

"You're on in 15, Loon." She informs her.

"FUCK! Okay. Thanks Ash." Luna responds.

Looking at her mess on the floor, she doesn't have time to clean it up. Pulling her clothes off, she dresses for The Stage. Throwing on a corset, booty shorts, thigh highs with a garter, a random flannel and knee high boots.

Keeping her hair loose, she pulls on her leather before heading out to perform with Colson.

-------------------------------------------------

"God DAMN!!!" Colson's mind flashes as he takes Luna's hand, leading her from the piano. "Imma fuck the shit outta that ass TONIGHT." He thinks as he raps to her.

Bouncing around the stage together, playing off one another, Colson feels his dick growing hard as Luna snakes around him. He pulls her into him. Poking her lower back with his raging cock. Reminding her of LA.

🎶Let me paint the picture. Counter in the kitchen. Taking all your clothes off. Findin' my religion. You're my pretty little vixen and I'm the voice inside your head. That keeps telling you to listen to all the bad things I say🎶

They hit the chorus together. How they want each other forever. Throwing their arms up as they laugh and sing about tattooing each other on their bodies to take each other wherever.

The Band exploding around them with lights and smoke. The crowd going wild when Luna grabs Colson's chin. Belting the last chords.

🎶I'm all in🎶

🎶There is no maybe🎶

Colson grabs her ass, pulling her into him for a strong kiss. Their bodies ripping chords on his guitar between them.

"I love you." Colson whispers to her, whipping her around to face the crowd, he holds her against him. Arm around her neck. "Give it up for my soon-to-be Bride, THAT BROOKLYN FUCKING BITCH!!!!" He screams.

Luna grins and shakes her head. Thanking the crowd as Colson kisses her cheek and releases her.

"Kill em, Bunny." She tells him before trotting OffStage.

That's exactly what he does for the next 45mins. Jumping into the crowd, climbing up random shit, performing his fucking heart out.

Luna doesn't bother to head back to the dressing room. Standing in between Sam and Ashleigh, she hits the bottle one hands her. Then a joint from the other. Singing along with them, enjoying the rest of the show.

"Thank you, Chicago!!! You were fucking sick!!!" Colson shouts before coming OffStage after encoring Sail.

Luna throws up a Bye to Ashleigh and a confused Sam as he tosses her over his shoulder. It's a scene her and Ashleigh know all to well.

--------------------------------------------------

"Get that shit off, NOW." Colson demands after setting Luna back down on her feet.

"What 'chou do before me?" She asks as she strips.

"There is no before YOU." He tells her as he scoops her up.

Sliding himself inside of her, Colson presses Luna up against the dressing room door. Sucking all over her neck as he bounces her off of his dick.

Luna cums for him easily with the way he talks to her and the way his cock treats her. Her walls gripping him tight, she makes him cum with her.

Sitting down on the couch, Colson's still inside Luna as she rests her head against his bare chest and neck. Quietly enjoying each other for a moment.

"What do you wanna do tonight?" He finally asks her.

Lifting up, she grins. "Same thing we do every night, Pinky.... Take over the fucking world."

Colson laughs out an I Love You before flipping her into her back and fucking her again on the couch.

-------------------------------------------------

With a school bag full of liquor, drugs and toys, that's exactly what they do. Take over the fucking world as Colson, Luna, Sam, Baze, Rook and Slim rip their boards around DownTown Chicago.

"I didn't know you grind!!!" Luna grins as Slim cruises beside her.

"Bitch, black men do everything!" He laughs.

"Shut the fuck up." Luna tells him with a grin and a shake of the head "Why your bitch ass never come out with us before then, hunh?"

"Cuz I do what I WANT!!!" He laughs mimicking Luna as he pushes off to gain more speed.

"Why wanna be like me???" She teases him, gaining her own speed and sailing past him.

Stopping abruptly, Luna yells "SAMMMMMYYYY!!!"

She's found a park. It may be gated but Luna found a park. The Boys watch as Luna tosses her board and bag over the fence. Next goes Sam's board. Luna's almost up the fence as she reaches down to help her girl.

"I guess we're going to the park..." Colson shrugs after watching The Girls disappear. "Heads up!!!" He yells before tossing his board over to them.

Following suit, Colson and The Boys hop the fence too.

Inside the park, Luna and Sam climb up the jungle gym. Sam finding and sliding down the slide first. Luna going down sideways calling for Squish The Lemon. Everyone one running towards her. Rook and Sam take one set of steps as Slim and Baze find others, running across the jungle gym to the slide. Colson beats them all when he climbs up the side. It only takes Colson's weight to knock Luna off.

Scrambling back up to the top, they hoot and holler as they slide and slam into each other. Knocking each of them to the ground. Luna's stuck between Baze and Rook as Slim comes tumbling down against Sam. It's Colson's force that sends Baze and Luna flying into the air. Both hit the ground laughing.

"YOU WIN!!!!" Luna calls out, not bothering to get up off of the warm summer ground.

"Lezzzzz goooo!!" Sam shouts, pulling her up and towards the swings.

Luna LOVES to swing. It's the ultimate childhood release for her. The six of them all grab a swing, pumping their legs hard as they breeze through the air. Flying high.

"On three, who can make it farthest!!" Baze shouts out the challenge.

Dipping into the air faster as they glide, Baze calls ONE! TWO! THREEEEEE!!!! Sending them all flying into the night sky. Surprisingly, they all land on their feet. Colson winning having lept the farthest. Slim a close second.

"Guess white men can jump." Luna sticks her tongue out at Slim before she grabs Sam's hands and runs off.

Jumping onto the Merry-Go-Round. She calls The Boys over. Slim and Rook jump on with them as Colson and Baze do the hard work of pushing. Running around full force multiple times, they jump on too. Colson grabbing ahold of Luna and a bar as The World spins around them. Laughing as the warm summer air whizzes by them.

All of them lay back, dizzy as the sky starts to move slower. Passing the bottle and multiple joints amongst them.

"Is this the shit you do when you guys disappear??" Slim asks as he hits a joint, enjoying the childishness of the night.

Colson, Luna, Rook and Baze erupt into laughter. Yes. Yes it is.

"I Cone-Fought Loons in Detroit!!" Rook laughs. "I bet I'm the only person in The World who's whooped her ass!!" He states to the others laughter and Luna's Fuck You.

"What fun shit you got in the bag tonight, Looney?" Colson asks.

"Ahhhh... Idk. I think I have a football!!" She pops up off the metal toy.

Digging through her bag, she pulls out a Nerf football to everyone's excitement.

"WORD!!" Slim shouts, jumping up as Luna tosses it to him. "Colson gets Luna so I get Sam..." He starts picking teams.

"Aight.... I get Rookie." Colson agrees, popping up too, pulling Luna up with him.

"What the fuck, yo!?" Baze asks as last pick.

"You wit me Truck, let's rock these Fools!!" Slim reassures him.

Picking goal lines, they can't agree on touch or tackle. The Boys calling touch while The Girls holler Fuck That, Tackle. Colson declaring tackle it is.

They run a couple plays. Luna and Sam displaying that not only can they catch a football but each can also spiral one. Running around competitively against each other, Luna tackles Sam with no thought. Stopping their fourth down.

"FUCKING LUNATIC!!!!" Rook screams in excitement.

If you haven't realized yet, Luna and Rook are tiny people best friends. Both adoring and finding each other hilarious.

They're in the middle of another play when they see lights and hear a Hey.. What Are You Kids Doin'!? Grabbing their boards and Luna's bag all six of them haul ass. Tossing their shit over the fence as they all escape.

Laughing hysterically as they shoot off into the Chicago night. Rounding a few blocks, they slow down. Colson firing up a joint as Baze does too. Luna pulling the bottle of whiskey back out of her bag. They cruise back to the Aragon as they continue to enjoy each other, passing joints and the bottle between them as they continue to get fucked up. Slim happy he came out.

------------------------------------------------

"Wait. We're outta fucking alcohol???" Luna asks once they're back on The Bus. "How is that possible!??"

It's 2A. There is NO WAY they're hitting the road dry.

"Hold The FUCKING Bus." She directs Colson. "Let's go." She states grabbing Ashleigh and Sam's hands.

Chicago is the joint you wanna be in if you need alcohol late night. After a short search, Ashleigh finds a package store only three blocks away. With the bottle of Jameson still in her bag, Luna demands Ashleigh down it. She needs to be on their level.

Always the responsible one, Ashleigh doesn't mind when Luna demands she cut loose. Pouring the last eighth of the bottle down her throat.

Linking arms, The Girls laugh as they burn a joint trying to follow Ashleigh's GPS. They only get lost for fifteen minutes.

Relieved, giddy and drunk, Ashleigh, Luna and Sam drop to their knees in the whiskey aisle. Praising the Liquor Gods. Not caring who's around.

Each grabbing three handles. Six whiskeys and three tequilas. They head to the counter. Sam and Luna losing their shit when Ashleigh mistakes a Captain Morgan cut out for a person. She's drunk.

"We gotta get you out more, Boo." Luna laughs, throwing her arm around her.

After paying, they stumble down the street. Ducking their heads together as they laugh.

"Take me with yooou next time... I'm so tired of being the Moooooommmm... I had so much fun just being fucked up with you the other day." Ashleigh slurs.

"I got you, Sugar." Luna beams, wrapping her arm around Ashleigh's swinging waist.

They're a block away from the venue, when they're approched by four men.

"What do we have here???" One asks as they circle The Girls.

---------------------------------------------------

Word limit ( 1 of 2 )

To be continued......

[twilightknight17]

Day 2 of Royal: I am moving into the Thieves’ Den and never coming out.

So the rest of the Castle was good. The new areas fit pretty much seamlessly into the old. Considering the doors that you can’t open, they could have added even more if they wanted. And I will say, Kamoshida is a scumbag, but the Castle aesthetics? Roses, stained glass, the waterfall room? Lovely. I mean, come on.

The boss fight was actually hard, though! He’s a lot less forgiving regarding the person you send off on special orders. Ryuji got knocked out and I didn’t have any more revival items, so with just two people, I wasn’t doing enough damage to keep him distracted, apparently. I must have tried four times, and ended up just beating him without stealing his crown. X’‘‘D

After the boss fight was a glorious return to the nerve-wracking decision of what to spend my time on. I’m working on my charm and knowledge stats (no reason for those two specifically ;3), and working at least one shift at each of my part-time jobs since you need them later for Mementos. Also making sure I check the TV each day that it lets me, and just checking out little details here and there. (As the self-proclaimed Empress of the Featherman Fandom, I was pleased to catch my first episode. ^_^)

Shoutout to this vending machine; as someone who has both played TWEWY and been to the actual Shibuya River, this is hysterical. I’d rather drink this than Water of Rebirth, that’s for sure.

Buffet, etc, finally got the dialogue about how Akira doesn’t eat well. God, this kid. I’ve been trying to pay attention to more NPC dialogue, too. It was...a little weird to hear people in the hallway before the confession talking about “oh, people targeted Kamoshida because they were jealous of his popularity; they might go after Yoshizawa-chan too, she’s pretty and popular and a good athlete; no we’re not trying to make her relevant to the story when you’ve only seen her twice.” X’‘‘DDD Like, is Yoshizawa a bastard rapist asshole or some other criminal? No? Then no, no one is targeting her. Calm down.

BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY.

Egg Child is so small. I didn’t realize he’s barely taller than your knees. Who gave this toddler a driver’s license? But he’s here and offering up some canon confirmation for my theory about different cognitive spaces having different purposes. Alongside a dungeon or a Palace, a den being a benign cognitive space filled with your memories and feelings, like a mind palace, that’s cool. That’s so cool. I love it.

And it gave me a nightclub in space where I can play cards? I’m never leaving. Look at this. Oh my god. It’s great. I hope all of your stuff carries over to NG+ because there’s so much to do. I live here now. I’m gonna live in my own head and play cards with my friends and decorate.

(That’s not true, I’m leaving long enough to get Akechi to show up so we can play cards together.)

Pictured: Me and Akira plotting all the cool shit we’re buying from this vending machine with our card winnings.

[tjkiahgb]

Episode Recap: 3.06, “Cookie Monster”

Well, another week running a humorous (in theory) Andi Mack blog. Can’t wait to make jokes about what happens on the show this episode.

Let’s just check the episode title.

Nice, nice. Sounds funny. Lighthearted. I can do something with this.

*cracks knuckles*

Well, let’s get to work--

Oh? Children and guns. Ok. That’s... that’s a little dark.

But, I mean, I can probably still make this fun if I--

Ah, real life tragedy. Ok then.

Well, I certainly hope there’s at least another storyline in this episode that’s like, some kind of wacky, weird Invasion of the Body Snatchers type homage? I could definitely make jokes about that.

*crosses fingers*

Our episode begins with Andi, Bowie, and Bex at Bex’s place playing the Andi Game, which is where you just say stuff you know about Andi.

Bex is wiping the floor with Bowie by knowing lots of things about Andi like that she doesn’t like any condiments. None? How do you eat french fries? How do you eat tortilla chips? Dry? Who lives like that?

Bex taunts Bowie for losing. Bowie says it’s not fair, Bex and Andi have spent way more time together. I agree, the game is rigged. Just wait until they play the “How much do you know about The Renaissance Boys?” game. Then it’ll be Bowie’s time to shine.

Bex asks whose fault it is that Bowie hasn’t spent more time with Andi and Bowie’s like, it’s yours.

Which is such a valid point that Bex chooses to immediately ignore it and move on.

There’s a knock at the door and Bowie goes to check who it is. Turns out, it’s a tiny old lady whom Bowie refers to as “Mom.” She calls him “Steven” and they hug.

Bex tells Andi that Bowie’s actual first name is Steven. His license that one episode said Bowie, though, so did he change it legally? Why? “Steve Quinn” is a great name for a guitarist. It’s one of those names like Eric Clapton or Jeff Beck where you’re like, “That’s such a boring name, they have to be a good guitarist. They let the guitar do the talking.” Calling yourself “Bowie” is trying too hard. I guess that’s why The Renaissance Boys failed and Bowie’s stuck teaching guitar to some weird father/son duo in the back of a small record store.

Bowie’s mom, Cookie, goes around giving hugs to everyone.

Andi asks if it’s true Cookie lives on cruise ships. Cookie says yes, it’s like living in an apartment where your neighbors serve you drinks in coconuts. And, might I add, you also get the added excitement of knowing that one day your apartment building might sink into the ocean and drown you. So there’s that, too.

Cookie sees the mess they’re living in and offers to make the family dinner.

And dinner she makes, whipping together this...

...out of the stuff she had in her suitcase.

The family tries to figure out how this happened and Cookie says she never goes anywhere without a roast chicken, which is maybe the craziest thing anyone’s ever said on this show. I’d take it metaphorically except she really did literally have a chicken in her bag, otherwise where did this one come from?

And what was her plan if everyone had already eaten a nice meal? Leave the roast chicken just sitting in her suitcase with her clothes? Open the bag every now and then and pick at the meat like a vulture? Her neighbors on the cruise ship must hate her. “Oh God, here comes that lady that smells like chicken all the time. Just give her a coconut drink and she’ll leave you alone.”

Anyway, the family is so amazed to see food not served from a box, they don’t question any of this and sit down to eat.

At school the next day, TJ finds Cyrus in the hallway to ask him if he wants to hang out that weekend with his friends.

Cyrus is delighted to learn TJ has been talking about him to his other friends. I feel that. It’s just nice to be talked about, even if you’re not there. It’s why I leave every party by yelling “Later, suckers!” real loud and smashing a vase.

They agree to hang out and Cyrus calls his mom to let her know he’s been a topic of discussion.

Meanwhile, Buffy and Jonah walk to school. Buffy tells Jonah she likes his skateboard so he gives it to her.

They talk about going to the skate shop that weekend and have a fun time bantering back and forth until Principal Metcalf pounces on them and takes away the skateboard.

He can smell children having a nice time in his vicinity like a fun-killing bloodhound.

At Bex’s house, Bex and Bowie return to find Cookie has rearranged the furniture. Cookie asks if they love it and they don’t have the heart to tell her they don’t.

Bex wants to tell Cookie she’s not a fan of her coming in here and moving everything around without asking but then Cookie shows up with cookies like some kind of bribe and suddenly Bex can’t remember what upset her in the first place.

Out in the desert, TJ and his friends ride dirtbikes to off-brand rock n’ roll when Cyrus shows up.

TJ introduces him to his other friends, Lester and Reed.

Hold on one second. Lester? What in the world?

No one’s named their baby Lester in 150 years. In fact, I don’t believe in such a thing as a kid named Lester. Lester is the kind of name you only get as a middle aged adult. You wake up one day after turning 45, you realize you’re caught in a dead-end sales job, your hair is thinning, your face is getting droopy, and your dreams are unrealized. Then you check your wallet and see your ID has changed and it now says your name is Lester. And you accept that. You know why? Because you’re a Lester, and that’s what Lesters do. (Apologies to anyone reading this whose name is Lester, but, in my defense, I don’t believe you exist.)

I’ll tell you what Lesters don’t do: ride dirtbikes to off-brand rock n’ roll songs. Something’s up with this guy.

Anyway, TJ invites Cyrus to ride a dirtbike but Cyrus says he fears everything and that makes Reed laugh. Then Reed wishes to laugh more and he’s like, “Dance, clown!”

And Cyrus is like, I make observational humor. Reed laughs, appreciating that line from a meta-perspective.

Eventually they get Cyrus to try riding and TJ teaches him the in-and-outs of dirtbike usage.

Cyrus rides around on the bike and tries to make it up a hill. After a few failed attempts, and with encouragement from TJ and the others, Cyrus does something physical without hurting himself.

He does lose his shoe, though. However, as Cyrus notes, that’s really his brand at this point. He’s got lost shoes all over the county.

Andi returns home and finds her parents have become pod people.

Cookie has swaddled them and they no longer wish to live outside their cocoons. They want to change the channel but can’t, so Bowie calls for “Mommy.”

This episode’s got an aggressively strange energy to it.

Cookie tries to trap Andi in her web of motherly comfort, but Andi runs off before she can.

Over at Lost Art Skateboards...

...the one-stop shop for all your skateboarding and tattoo needs, Jonah and Buffy check out skate decks.

Buffy notices that Jonah doesn’t ever say “Docious magocious” anymore. Jonah feels like he grew out of it. I might argue there’s no age where docious magocious was ever a reasonable thing to say, but I guess we have different opinions on that sort of thing.

Buffy says she actually used to like when he said it. Jonah’s surprised because she used to make fun of it, but that’s why Buffy liked it.

Buffy spots the tattoo parlor connected to the skate shop and they go to check it out. They see a man there getting a tattoo and don’t immediately recognize him.

Yep, definitely not the profile of anyone they’ve ever seen before.

They talk about how crazy it is to get that many tattoos and whaaa--

It’s the principal?!

Jonah and Buffy run away like they just caught him chopping up a body in the woods.

Andi talks to Celia about her Cookie problem. See, Andi loves everything Cookie does, but everything about what’s she’s doing around the house feels weird and off-putting. Agree wholeheartedly.

Celia decides she’ll go check the situation out.

Back in the desert, Lester and Reed set up watermelons.

Cyrus has a question: are these watermelons for a watermelon eating contest? Love it. Love the thought process.

You ever just want to take a Saturday to go out to the desert with your bros, ride some dirtbikes, and then just chow down on watermelon? And preferably, chow down on that watermelon in some kind of competition of speed? I know I do.

I have a different question: whose job was it to lug three large watermelons out to the desert on their dirtbike? Lester, right? Freakin’ Lester.

Reed’s like, we aren’t eating the watermelons, we’re shooting them. Though, they could eat them after. No need to let perfectly good watermelon go to waste.

But the point is, the watermelons have to go pppffffghhttt first.

Or however you spell that. I feel like I’m missing some S’s in there?

And the only way for the watermelons to dopely go pppfffghhttt is to shoot them. Cyrus wants to know how they intend to shoot them and Reed shows him a bag. Cyrus’s face drops. Why?

Because inside the bag is Grandpappy Reed’s antique revolver from during the war. Not that Reed’s grandpa fought in the war. He also went out to the desert to shoot watermelons. It was a difficult time in our nation’s history and he needed to blow off steam.

Anyway, Reed’s Grandpa handed it down to his son, and then Reed stole it from him, and now it’s here, making Cyrus uncomfortable.

Cyrus goes to TJ to ask if he knew about the gun. TJ did. Cyrus says he’s leaving and he wants TJ to go with him, but TJ can’t bring himself to leave.

So Cyrus heads off alone.

Well that was a deep and dramatic moment. I wonder how we’re going to proceed from here.

Oh.

Andi finds her grandmother wrapped in a blanket, covered in food crumbs, and watching TV. Cookie made her a cookie and Celia was roped in.

Andi wanders into the kitchen and finds Cookie attempting to cut Bowie’s hair. She screams “No!” in panic.

She forces her other grandmother to drop the scissors, then pulls her away from the hair.

Bowie quietly watches this happen, then, without saying anything, reaches down, grabs a lollipop, sticks it in his mouth, and starts happily sucking on it.

Aggressively strange energy in this episode, man. Aggressively strange.

Andi talks to Cookie, who explains she’s being like this because she doesn’t get to see her family a lot so when she does, the mom thing kicks in. Plus being excited to meet Andi and all that.

Cookie says she has a gift for Andi. It’s a picture of Bowie as a baby eating dog biscuits.

This somehow answers and raises so many questions at the same time.

Bowie walks out and asks Cookie if she’s really leaving, and Cookie, like an old mariner, says yes, the seas are a-calling.

Andi and Cookie share one last hug before parting.

At school the next day, Jonah and Buffy dread running into Metcalf.

They hope to avoid him for the entire year. But they should know better than to show fear, because they emit a fear scent and that brings Metcalf right to them.

He admits it was weird for him, too, to run into them. He asks if they want to know about his tattoos and of course they do. He explains they’re all prison based. Or not. They’re based on him just wanting a tattoo. Or other stuff. I don’t know. We’re running out of time in this episode and gotta wrap things up so there’s no time to really get into it.

Metcalf’s like, guess you think I’m pretty cool now, huh? And Buffy’s like, no, you’ve ruined tattoos for me, thanks.

And Metcalf’s like, oh.

Then he rolls down his sleeve and runs off before Buffy and Jonah can see him cry. Buffy and Jonah fist bump in celebration of ruining Metcalf’s day.

Wow, way to make me feel bad for that lunatic.

Cyrus and Andi head to Metcalf’s office. Cyrus has come to tell him about the gun. He’s worried TJ will hate him for this.

Andi argues he could very well be saving TJ’s life.

Cyrus finds the courage to go in, but Metcalf meets him at the door. He invites him in and Cyrus finds a police officer waiting for him.

Cyrus wants to know if something happened, but Metcalf tells him everyone’s ok. The officer just has some questions. About the gun.

And you know the gun is a serious issue because even the police in this town don’t carry them.

Cyrus says he came in here to tell about the gun, but he’s surprised to find they already know.

Cyrus admits to being there and wants to know if he’s in trouble but the episode ends before we can find out.

So many questions up in the air:

1. Will Cyrus be in legal trouble just for being in the vicinity of a gun for a few seconds?

2. Who told them about the gun?

and, most importantly,

3. What kind of person names their child Lester?!

Come back in two weeks to find out the answers, Macketeers.

Except for the one about Lester. The world may never figure that one out.

[recentanimenews]

Anime in America Podcast: Full Episode 8 Transcript

  It's time to bid farewell to Crunchyroll's Anime in America podcast, but not before it goes out with a banger of a final episode. Join host Yedoye Travis and special guest Kun Gao as they tackle the streaming wars, and read on for the full episode 8 transcript. 

  The Anime in America series is available on crunchyroll.com, animeinamerica.com, and wherever you listen to podcasts. 

  EPISODE 8: THE STREAMING WARS

Guest: Kun Gao

  Disclaimer: The following program contains language not suitable for all ages. Discretion advised.

  [Lofi music]

  Last we checked in, the anime industry was struggling. Rising competition matched with the economic crisis of ‘07 and ’08 caused half the industry to shutter its doors within the next five years. And even without economic obstacles, the physical media and broadcast focused industry was still facing the looming threat of piracy.

  I’m Yedoye Travis and this is the final episode of Anime in America. 

  [Lofi music]

  By this point anime was already available to stream legally, and had been as early as 2002 with Valkyrie Media Partner’s video on demand service Anime Network. It had been a mainstay on Netflix since back when the company was still mailing out DVDs, which it technically still is, but if you already knew that, chances are your internet connection isn’t strong enough to listen to this podcast. Funimation and VIZ had already made the jump to digital with major streaming services Hulu and...uh… Joost?

  Do you remember Joost? Cause I do not. What the fuck is “Joost?”

  Both inked deals along with the now defunct U.K. anime distributor Gong in 2008 to stream select anime series from their catalogs. More on that in Anime in the U.K.! Ha ha, just kidding… unless… maybe?

  Video hosting websites were presenting a major problem to anime distributors, however. The internet had entered the age of YouTube and new sites and services where literally anyone could upload a video without any kind of quality control were rising and falling daily and with them fell the final remaining barrier between consumers and pirates, technological literacy [Pirate “Arr!”]. The online ecology was primed for pirates to step out of IRC and torrenting sites and start putting their work on streaming video pages that literally anyone could use.

  Unburdened by approvals and quality assurance, piracy had been beating official releases in terms of speed for decades and now suddenly was standing shoulder to shoulder with official services in availability. 

  But already the seed of a new era had been planted. And among the thousands of video hosting sites was an anime-focused page run by a group of young Bay Area techies.

  Gao: We started to just tinker around on nights and weekends. We were watching Starcraft replays, we were watching anime content, and every week it was like “well, let’s load up this torrent and let’s wait for the Naruto to come out, and now we have to seed to a bunch of people before we can watch and let’s hope we don’t get a virus, or whatever.” And it was like, you know it was like a lot of work. And then we’re like “well, why don’t we just make a website that people can just click, just like YouTube, and just start watching?” And coincidentally, YouTube took off in… I’ll say ‘05-’06, when it was really starting to hockey stick, so we kinda said “well, that’s kinda the model.” YouTube, there was many other sites, at the time, now it’s just YouTube, but Veoh, MetaCafe, like Stage6, like all these sites we were like, what if we just did one where people would upload content they normally just can’t watch? And anime just made a lot of sense to us because we couldn’t find how to watch it… anywhere. Except for torrent sites. That’s kinda the chronology up until we founded the company in the middle of ‘06. 

  That is Kun Gao, founder and former CEO of Crunchyroll. It wasn’t always the biggest catalog of anime in the world, back then it was a small website he and his friend designed to host anime and Starcraft videos which quickly turned from a passion project into an ever-increasing logistical and financial struggle as site traffic began to balloon.

  Gao: We ran out of bandwidth [dialup sounds] though pretty quickly, because bandwidth was really expensive. Especially back then [dialup sounds end] it was like 20 times more  expensive than it is now. And I remember we were just maxing all our credit cards, because we didn’t, we weren’t really making money, there wasn’t a way to monetize with video ads, there wasn’t video ads to begin with. So yeah, that was the situation in early ‘07. So we, first it was raising with some angels. We said, we approached some angels, they were angels for our first company, my first company, and they had gotten a return from that investment. And I asked them if they wanted to invest into the new company, and they were very supportive and they were right behind us. And then within about a month or two after the angels invested, the site just continued to grow. And it was showing up on Alexa, which was not the Amazon speaking thingamajig, it was a website where you could look at other peoples’ traffic, and how they were trending over time. And I think that’s when VCs started knocking on our doors, they saw that the website was just hockey sticking and blowing up and they approached us and said they wanted to invest. And so from about… August-September through December of 2017, we started talking to a lot of VCs and then we found the right VC to invest into our business, and then we raised about $4 million bucks into the company, and that was when we started paying off all our credit card bills, and then we started to you know, get more servers, starting to hire full time employees, because we weren’t paying anyone or ourselves at that time, so that everyone could work on this full time. 

  That’s Angel Investors, of course, not actual… angels, which, uh… in some circles, you might believe are fake. Depends. We’ll leave that up to God. Who is real! [angelic choir].

  Gao: In 2008, after we raised VC funding, we said “well, we need to figure out how to, like, license this content. We need to figure out how to compensate creators, and then we need to figure out how to make money for this content.” And so at that time, I think the company was like six, maybe seven, people? And everyone was an engineer, and so I drew the lucky or unlucky straw of having to figure out how to like, figure out Japan. The first thing I had to do was, you know, was like figure out “who do I talk to?” And I didn’t know who to talk to. And so fortunately, one of our advisors was a guy who was, at the time, the CEO of a company called BitTorrent, and he, along with Bram, who created the BitTorrent protocol, had setup a office in Tokyo where BitTorrent was a thing you can license to put on to like, a NAS drive, or a router, where you could do BitTorrenting on your NAS or your router so you don’t have to turn on your computer to do that. And so they had a business out there, and so I talked to him about who to talk to. And he said “well, you should talk to this guy called Vince Totino, he works for the BitTorrent in Japan.” And so in March of 2008, I went to Japan, met up with Vince, and then the more we talked, the more it was like “well, this guy’s awesome. Like, he knows everything about Japan, because he’s been there for 20 years. He speaks fluent Japanese. Maybe he can help us to navigate Japan.” And so he joined full time, and then we then set about going to all the major Japanese anime companies. And he didn’t have all the connections, either, so it was just we found someone who knew someone who knew someone, and then we contacted him and just kept going down the chain until we were able to get to, we were able to get to the key folks at all the major companies. And then, as relates to subtitling, outputting content, once we figured out the business side and we were able to get a deal with TV Tokyo, we had to figure out how to legitimately subtitle the content. Because we were getting the files before TV broadcast, we can’t just put it out there for fansub groups to fansub, because we wouldn’t know or be able to trust that. And so we started to hire people to help us to subtitle. And it ended up being that a lot of the people who used to participate in the fansub community were the best people to subtitle. And so they were able to receive some compensation and credit for their work doing it officially, legitimately, through the Crunchyroll business.

  So, Kun just went to Tokyo, linked up with Vince and got all the major anime publishers on board. Pretty simple, right? Wrong! Absolutely wrong. You’re stupid for thinking otherwise. Turns out it was pretty difficult not only to sell them the whole idea of streaming media, but also to convince those publishers to license out their valuable IP to a pirate site.

  Gao: Interesting side story is, if you remember when we previously talked about VHS that was pirated and distributed by fans, for fans, very analogous to what we were doing, that started a company called AD Vision, by John Ledford, who I would say is probably the pioneer of anime home video distribution. And today the company’s called Sentai. But he helped us to introduce us to TV Tokyo, in like the Fall of 2008. And then, when we got to TV Tokyo, they were, you know, they were very pragmatic about the situation. I would say not everyone was pragmatic. We would have conversations, a lot of conversations, were something to the tune of “Hey! We’ve got a website, there’s a lot of fansubbed content on there, we know it’s not legal, we want to get the license to legally do it.” And then they would just… not try to make eye contact, they would like act visibly angry, they would be shaking and they would say “you’re stealing from us, you’re pirating our content.” And we said “well, we want to make it legitimate. And if you want us to take all of your content down, today, we will. But that’s going to send all the fans to dark corners, to get access to your content, because they really want to watch it. And we want to make a bright lit place for you and your content to be distributed worldwide.” And so I think TV Tokyo really got that, and so we were able to work with them to figure out how to license Naruto legitimately. And at the end of ‘08, we announced together with TV Tokyo that they would be, we would be simulcasting Naruto, for the first time [Naruto opening 2 “Haruka Kanata” plays], within like an hour of TV broadcast starting Jan…. uh, Jan 7th, or something, 2009. So that’s kinda how that arc started.

  [Lofi music]

  On New Year’s Eve 2008, Crunchyroll deleted all of its illegal videos and fan contributed content, converting to an official streaming service that began simulcasting Naruto Shippuden in January 2009. On the Japan side it would remain an uphill battle over the years as Crunchyroll continued to shop itself out and prove itself to other publishers, but in America it was a deal that shook the entire industry. Streaming anime was just beginning to creep onto platforms like Netflix and Hulu in 2008 but NO ONE was simulcasting. At the time, Naruto was the single most popular anime in the world and suddenly it was on a brand new service that was putting it up to stream within an hour of its Japanese broadcast.

  For anyone who doesn’t know, simulcasting is a portmanteau of the words “simultaneous” and “broadcasting,” and I think based on those two words you can guess that it means “simultaneous broadcasting.” 

  This was a foundational shift both for the established industry and for pirates. Where before pirates had speed on their side, they couldn’t hope to turn around episodes of Naruto within an hour. Crunchyroll’s agreement with TV Tokyo got them all the materials in advance of the broadcast to allow them to do the legwork pre-release, which would eventually shrink down the window to be near simultaneous with the Japanese TV broadcast. Suddenly the fastest and easiest way to watch new anime was once again an official source.

  Along with their new offering, Crunchyroll also established a new framework for the streaming business. Although Crunchyroll’s original catalogue was small, many fans considered it a win-win.Crunchyroll had a large pre-existing community that trusted the brand and now it was beating the pirates in speed and had a clear financial throughline from your wallet to the people making the product. 

  So Crunchyroll started to grow. And it started to grow FAST.

  Suddenly industry titans like Funimation, VIZ, and the recently established Aniplex of America found themselves having to play catch-up. This started the Simulcast Wars, a nearly 10 year long race for each of these companies to launch its own branded streaming services and get their products out alongside the official Japanese broadcast, and of course, everyone tried to get in.

  And I mean everyone. Every single person. 

  But quick aside before I get into that… This pivot to simulcasting is a huge moment for anime itself, but that moment had another lasting effect on licensing that’s definitely worth mentioning. Anime itself got more opportunities. Licensing companies always have to be strategic to make money, but the shift toward streaming as the primary vehicle changed the economics of anime. You might say it… disrupted… the industry.

  Gao: I think when you start off as… when you start off and become so successful like Funimation in home video, sometimes it’s tough to switch gears and disrupt your own business. And so we were disruptors. We were definitely way smaller, but we had to be nimble. And there were a lot of content that Funimation just doesn’t license, because for them it doesn’t make sense to go get Haikyu!! [Haikyu!! opening “Imagination” plays]. It wouldn’t ever sell on home video, and that was the only way they made money. So that wasn’t interesting for them. But it was interesting for us. Through the internet, there’s a lot of sports anime fans who love that genre, who love the fact that sports is just a vehicle for telling stories, and they’re willing to subscribe, they’re willing to watch online. And so we had an advantage in that regard. 

  Before our modern era where there’s just about 100 percent licensing rate every season, tons of titles would get skipped over because anime distributors in the U.S. had to judge new titles through the lens of a physical release and decide if a production looked like it would sell enough units to make up for their investment. A streaming model meant it was not only easier for each anime to find its audience online, but a lower price tag since you didn’t necessarily have to add the costs of designing, manufacturing, and distributing DVDs and a title’s performance online could act as a testing ground to inform your later decisions regarding a physical release.

  You could make the argument that this also hurts anime’s longevity since physical releases are often all that is left of a title if the license enters limbo and that’s certainly legitimate but, as a counterpoint... We might notta gotten Haikyu!!... so there’s that. That’s enough of an argument, right?

  Okay! Back to the thing that I was talking about.

  EVERYBODY. In all caps.

  Funimation was the quickest to follow, streaming a near simulcast of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood the very next season, four days behind the Japanese broadcast, which was fast by industry standards, but still gave pirates plenty of wiggle room for one of the biggest shonen releases of the 2010s [Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood opening “Again” plays]. 

  VIZ followed next with Inuyasha: The Final Act in the Fall season which they simulcast on Hulu.

  This was the pattern for about two years as other companies experimented with simulcasts of top priority titles and Crunchyroll continued to grow not only in subscribers but their number of their simulcast titles each season.

  Then Anime News Network tried to get in on the action.

  Y’know, the news site. The one with “News” in its name? One of the most trafficked anime sites in the world at the time, Anime News Network wanted in on the game, and after picking up some catalog titles from the likes of Aniplex, Bandai, and Sentai, they made their simulcasting debut starting with Oreimo in Fall 2010 [Oreimo opening plays]. Oreimo is… uh… I will say the definitive title in a genre of anime known as “Siscon,” upon which I refuse to elaborate but you can google at your own risk.

  Unfortunately ANN pulled a Funimation, and someone took advantage of an exploit in their system and managed to get ahold of the second episode of Oreimo pre-release, and ANN was also forced to suspend its simulcasts because siscon dudes mean business. At this point though they were probably already on their way out of the streaming business. Despite the large amount of traffic ANN commanded on its editorial side, it was unable to leverage that into streaming views and it quietly wound down its catalog over the years to once again focus exclusively on news. Because they’re a news site. They do news.

  The Fall 2010 season also saw the launch of Toonzaki, a creation of none other than the now-failing 4Kids’. It started with a catalogue of 72 mostly non-exclusive titles, and honestly the streaming site may have been one of the best things 4Kids’ ever created, a community focused platform that attracted even longtime critics of the anime licensor. Unfortunately the site couldn’t survive 4Kids’s financial woes and it was ultimately killed, likely as a result of the 2012 lawsuit we mentioned in the previous episode. In 2012 Toonzaki suffered the 1-2 punch of losing its entire Yu-Gi-Oh! catalog and having its site mysteriously going down for three whole months. I dunno about you but I would cancel my subscription after uh, probably a couple of hours, actually. Ultimately the site’s ownership was passed to Konami and it was later shut down in 2013.

  In 2012 VIZ announced its own online streaming channel called Neon Alley which was kinda like a TV channel but VIZ anime and on the internet. That uh, ya know the whole concept of streaming? That’s what we’re talking about this episode. Unfortunately it didn’t fly and by early 2014, VIZ cut a deal with Hulu that added Neon Alley as a content channel to the larger streaming service’s menu. Within just a few months the Neon Alley name was dropped altogether as VIZ’s content was fully incorporated into Hulu’s service.

  2013 saw the introduction of a brand new face in American anime streaming which, if I were a company like Crunchyroll or Funimation at the time, I probably would have greeted with hostility. Daisuki was founded by a Japanese consortium led by Asatsu-DK whose investors included major studios like Toei Animation, Aniplex, Sunrise, and TMS with the intention of streaming their anime globally. If that wasn’t scary enough, they were later joined by another $3 million in investments from a who’s who of Japanese publishers like Kodansha, Shueisha, Shogakukan, and Kadokawa.

  Included in their starting catalog were Aniplex hits like Puella Magi Madoka Magica and Sword Art Online as well as a large number of Sunrise mecha anime. And I can not emphasize enough the vibe at the time was that this was the apocalypse for international licensing. Japan’s gonna hold onto all their titles, choke everybody else out, and run their own one-stop shop for anime.

  But obviously that didn’t happen, so… what went wrong?

  Well nobody’s entirely sure but probably a number of things. By 2013 America’s short romance with mecha anime like Gundam Wing, Escaflowne, and Evangelion had long since come to an end and it was Gundam titles courtesy of Sunrise that made up most of Daisuki’s initial offering of exclusives. Look, Gundam fans, I see you. I’m one of you. I don’t know why kids these days can’t appreciate giant robots, either, but that’s just how it is. The rest of Daiksuki’s starting catalog was pretty sparse since they’d already shopped out the licenses to many of their major titles in the largest international markets. By now, I’m sure this episode feels like a thinly veiled Crunchyroll ad, but the fact is, Crunchyroll had the good fortune of launching with Naruto the single most popular anime of its era, while Daisuki had two major Aniplex hits that were already showing their age. That, along with some endemic technical issues on their platform, seem to have made an environment not even One Punch Man and Dragon Ball Super could save. Also, it seems, splitting up anime streaming rights by region and selling them piecemeal to major streaming services may have been more profitable for some of Daisuki’s investors.

  In March of 2017 Bandai Namco purchased Daisuki’s owner Anime Consortium in Japan and by October of the same year the service shut down completely.

  Anime was already a popular subsection of Netflix’s sprawling catalog in 2014, but that year the company started to make public moves to invest in the medium and secure their own exclusives, teaming up with Polygon Pictures to secure many of their future seinen releases such as Knights of Sidonia and Ajin: Demi-human [Ajin trailer clip], likely establishing the relationship that would later lead to a number of 3D anime produced by Netflix itself like the upcoming Pacific Rim and recently released Altered Carbon and Ghost in the Shell.

  Early 2016 saw Funimation launch their own streaming platform dubbed FunimationNow. But that wasn’t the only major announcement they planned that year. 2016 was also the beginning of what was probably the biggest news for Anime in America since the start of simulcasting: the big Crunchyroll/Funimation alliance.

  Under the tagline “better together” Crunchyroll and Funimation, now two of the biggest names in anime not only in the U.S., but worldwide, announced a strategic partnership in which they’d be sharing their libraries with one another.

      [Lofi music]

  As it turned out, 2017 was the year that two media juggernauts would turn their eyes on anime and I just gotta discuss the most unfortunate one first. I’m talking, of course, about Amazon’s Anime Strike. And I say “of course,” but you might not’ve known about it until I just said it, so... Amazon announced its entry into the anime industry January 17th with a great deal of fanfare. 

  [IGN News: Amazon has just launched its own anime focused streaming channel, called Anime Strike]

  Anime Strike was the first of what would be several branded add-on channels for Amazon Prime Video, which were essentially ways of compartmentalizing content that they could charge extra money for. So, in addition to your Prime subscription, you’d have to shell out an additional $4.99 to watch the exclusive anime Amazon was planning to load on the service.

  Amazon wasn’t fuckin’ around, either. Among their first exclusives was the seinen sex drama Scum’s Wish, which would be the first of Amazon’s new exclusive streaming deal with the lauded Noitamina animation block on Fuji TV which, down the line, would land them Inuyashiki, After the Rain, and Banana Fish. They also entered a strategic deal with Sentai Filmworks that would give Anime Strike an exclusivity window for certain new Sentai titles. After about four months they even rolled out the ability to download episodes for offline viewing. So even up against Netflix and the new alliance between Crunchyroll and Funimation, Anime Strike was shaping up to be the next major competitor in anime streaming.

  Or… it seemed that way.

  Let’s just say anime fans didn’t like Anime Strike very much. You could forgive them for charging another $60 a year for a very limited library of anime ($160 if you didn’t already have Prime). But also, Anime Strike just didn’t seem to “get” anime fans and didn’t seem very intent on trying to figure us out.

  And despite Amazon’s massive and sophisticated streaming video infrastructure, they just couldn’t seem to get anime episodes up on time. They would show up days late, often without subtitles. And discoverability was a problem, with many complaining they were unable to find Anime Strike anime on Amazon even after searching for its exact title. Amazon publicly blamed late deliverables from Sentai for the frequent episode delays which Sentai very publicly stated was an outright lie.

  It was a bad look that just got worse with their PR. Anime Strike “no commented” several journalists looking for interviews and the ones they did get like ANN’s interview with VP of Digital Video Michael Paul were… uh, awkward? Forbes and IGN each released articles panning Anime Strike, citing its prohibitive cost and that it just didn’t seem to understand anime fans. Despite acquiring many major titles in 2017 including the Anime Award Winning Made in Abyss, Anime Strike was circling the drain.

  Just seven days shy of its first year, the channel was finished. Amazon announced they were canning Anime Strike and putting their content back in general population on the rest of Prime Video. Their deal with Sentai ended with Sentai slowly retrieving their titles off Amazon and eventually losing their exclusive deal with Noitamina as of 2019, which you can probably thank for The Promised Neverland, Given, and Sarazanmai showing up on Crunchyroll. But Amazon hasn’t gotten out of the anime game entirely. Their acquisitions have been more low key and selective but they’ve kept things going with dark fantasy and science fiction anime over the past year such as Dororo, Blade of the Immortal, Psycho-Pass 3, and PET. So some good shows to check out if you still have your mom’s login or your college forgot to delete your .edu email. Otherwise, you know, I don’t know what to tell you. 

  Later in July, Sentai would announce its own streaming service HIDIVE to stream Sentai and Section23 anime which at first looked like any of the services I’ve already talked about that had good catalogs but not much new anime because of Anime Strike’s exclusivity window, but in hindsight this may have been some next level maneuvering from Sentai to prepare for Anime Strike’s fallout. However you look at it, Strike is dead and HIDIVE lives, having picked up many of Strike’s most acclaimed titles like Made in Abyss and Land of the Lustrous since their exclusivity window ended on Amazon. So thanks for the signal boost, Bezos. And congrats on your… unnecessary amount of money.

  [Bezos clip: Thanks, it’s great to be here.]

  In October of still 2017, a year that felt never-ending until 2020 came along, Netflix announced a big $8 billion dollar spend on original content, a considerable portion of which was earmarked to produce 30 anime titles in the coming years. On the heels of the Neo Yokio announcement some fans with zero taste thought this was pretty terrible news, considering Netflix had also rubbed those same fans the wrong way earlier in the year by purchasing TRIGGER’s much-anticipated Little Witch Academia set to premiere in January then just not releasing it. So, until its eventual release six months later, no one knew why it wasn’t already out or when they could expect it to be released. 

  It turns out this would become Netflix’s strategy in the coming years, eschewing simulcast schedules for batch releases often months after their conclusion to compete with international dubs… unless you’re in Japan where they broadcast on time. This supports the binge culture that has only become more important as we all stew in our own smells at home. It’s hard to tell if that system is working out for them or not because Netflix only recently hinted at maybe releasing viewership numbers and because they’re so big they could honestly just buy all that anime and set it on fire and still not hurt their bottom line.

  Anyway, Little Witch Academia was the first of a sudden Netflix shopping spree. In addition to streaming titles from other anime distributors, Netflix has been pretty reliably picking up exclusive rights to about two to three anime per season, even securing a big (although temporary you’ll soon discover) exclusive streaming deal for the Fate franchise with Aniplex, and slapping a “Netflix Original” sticker on it, driving anime aggregator websites crazy every quarter when they try to build seasonal launch lists.

  Regardless, Netflix’s interest in anime is undeniable. They would follow up their 2017 announcement with another in early 2018 claiming they had partnered with Production IG and Bones to produce new anime and ANOTHER announcement including Anima, Sublimation, and David Production in 2019. And context should tell you those are VERY BIG anime studios. But If it doesn’t, I will tell you. They are VERY BIG anime studios.

  Meanwhile their list of air quotes “original” exclusive seasonal anime is growing and Netflix has begun announcing a number of new original anime now based on successful live action Netflix series such as Altered Carbon, and also licensing all the live action anime from Japan that nobody has ever seen, unless you live in Japan. Basically what I’m trying to say here is Netflix is very into anime.

  Another smaller announcement in 2017 was that Funimation had been acquired by Sony, which was notable but not unusual, since the company had changed hands multiple times.

  And that’s where I’m ending my history. That’s it.

  [Lofi music]

  Now, in case you’ve been trapped under a rock for the past 10 years, you should know that media companies in the U.S. have been slowly consolidating, with Disney leading the charge on their mission to own all 100 of the Top 100 blockbuster Hollywood movies every year. And if you didn’t know before, I’m sure you’ve learned in quarantine, that Disney has started its own streaming service.

  2020 was the starting line for what’s already been a free for all between Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Video, Disney+, and HBO Max for the eyeballs of every human being on planet Earth and, of course, anime is a big part of that. If Amazon and Netflix suddenly investing in the medium doesn’t convince you then here are some numbers.

  A report estimated the total revenue generated by the anime industry at about $19 billion USD in 2017. Another report estimated the total revenue generated by the U.S. film industry as a whole at about $43 billion USD, with anime on average being considerably cheaper than inflated Hollywood and premiere TV budgets like Avengers Endgame’s $356 million purse or Game of Thrones’s $90 million final season budget, which covered a mere 6 episodes.

  It’s also worth noting that under quarantine a lot of anime is on hold, but overall animation is the easiest television production to produce, with Netflix going back into production on shows like Big Mouth and things of that sort. 

  Ironically, despite technical advances we’ve just about come full circle with the largest media conglomerates in the U.S. once again being in charge of anime localization. We’ve also seen the reappearance of anime as a relatively cheap addition to content portfolios, the major differences being the dramatically shrinking distance between Japan and America, an almost 100 percent rate of title acquisition by Western companies, and anime having transformed from something to fill time or disguise as American cartoons into its own mainstream force in the media alongside the MCU and whatever HBO is doing since Game of Thrones ended.

  There are definite concerns with the way the industry is headed but the benefits are undeniable. Save for maybe China, Americans are the most privileged group of anime fans, even more so than those in Japan itself. A perfect storm of being one of the largest anime markets in the world paired with this decades long consolidation of media is that all the anime gets licensed but spread across less platforms than even in Japan. So, even if it seems like you’re forking over subscription fees to an unreasonable number of services to catch all the big shows, realize you’ve got it better than international fans whose countries don’t even get every seasonal title.

  When you think about it, anime is even easier to keep up with than American TV. Amazon Prime, Netflix, Crunchyroll, Funimation, and HIDIVE gets you well over 99 percent of everything out there. Meanwhile in the sprawling American media landscape you’ll also need a subscription to Disney+, HBOMax, Peacock, and not only Hulu but make sure to grab Starz, Cinemax, and Entertainment add-ons… maybe even Hallmark if you, if you’re into stuff your grandma watches. And this is to say nothing of specialty and classic services like Shudder and Criterion. And of course Quibi. How could we possibly forget Quibi? Point is, each of these services probably has a few titles that were formative to your childhood and has some upcoming release that you’re interested in. And compared to that, anime has been cordoned off into what appears to be a reasonably small number of subscriptions.

  Now the face of competition has changed entirely. Co-productions are nothing new in anime, dating back to the beginnings of anime in America in the 60s and definitely providing a deep enough topic to warrant its own episode if Crunchyroll greenlights a season two…?

  But co-productions had previously been a way to get a particular project created, one of the most famous examples being the 1995 Ghost in the Shell film, a joint production between Kodansha, Bandai Visual, and the U.K.-based Manga Entertainment. Once again, Anime in the U.K.?

  Maybe? 

  As previously discussed in our manga episode, up until that film Ghost in the Shell, along with many Masamune Shirow works, had a considerable following in the West, greater even than in Japan. Investing in the film made sense and the deal gave Manga Entertainment exclusive rights to a cult classic that’s still being both emulated and outright ripped off by American directors to this day. At the time it was what you’d call a smart investment in a specific title with crossover appeal to Western audiences.

  And… yeah that’s still what co-productions are, but also they’re a way of getting your foot in the door early on titles you wanna license by investing in them years in advance rather than bidding on rights in the lead-up to the release. It also goes a long way in developing good relationships with studios and production committees. 

  And Netflix has been loudest on the co-production front, proudly announcing their strategic partnerships since as early as 2014, licensing content from studios directly to dodge the committee system, and just slapping “Netflix Original” on titles after they purchase exclusive rights whether they were actually involved in production or not, partly because that’s just how TV works in America.  

  Looking back you can find at least one example of a co-production from most of the major American anime companies that rose and fell in the 90s and 2000s. Crunchyroll itself has been quietly producing anime since early in its existence, counting over 60 co-pros before announcing their Originals Slate in 2020. Funimation first dipped their toes in back in 2016 with Dimension W and have slowly started to accrue their own roster of co-productions since late last year. If you’re a proper anime fan that never skips the OP, you may have noticed a growing number of American names and companies in the production credits since 2010.

  [Lofi music]

  Which brings me to my final point. What even is anime anymore?

  Japan has been outsourcing work to Korea for about 20 years now even as foreign animators have been traveling to Japan to work in Japanese studios. International entities are becoming increasingly involved in production and now foreign creators and source material are more prominently featured in new titles. As the number of foreign names increases in anime credits that inevitably means the number of Japanese names proportionally decreases.

  Korean webcomics are getting anime, Daft Punk and Porter Robinson had music videos made by anime studios, Studio 4C produced an anime film adaptation of the manga Tekkonkinkreet directed by an American animator. A manga by a french Canadian has been adapted into an anime. Marvel comics have gotten anime. Batman is a ninja now. Well, he has been for a while but this time animated by the studio that does the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure openings. 

  At what point does a production lose the essential Japanese-ness that the term anime implies?

  Scratch that, what does “anime” even mean?

  The very definition of anime is now being tested, used as a marketing term to evoke a popular conceit about the medium rather than an identifier of its point of origin. Nowadays if you ask Netflix what an anime is, they’ll tell you it’s a cartoon written by the lyricist of Vampire Weekend starring Jaden Smith or an animated series made by a studio in Texas based on a 1983 American kids show, and written by the director of MallRats.

  So where are we headed with all this? Can anime survive its exposure to the American media ecosystem keeping its identity intact, or will anime soon just mean “cartoons but with blood in them?”

  I can’t answer these questions, I don’t know. Gonna have to get back to you in a sequel podcast in 2030. Anime in Space. Or in The Parallel Dimension That Apparently Exists. All I can do for now is provide you with the wise words of the individual who has provided me with the answers to most of life’s questions up until now. My mom…

  Grace: I don’t- I tried to do research, and I have no clue what this thing is.

  Yedoye: Yeah? Like, nothing at all? You didn’t find anything?

  Grace: They’re just cartoons! That’s all I know, you trying to test me?

  Yedoye: [laugh] A little bit, yeah.

  Grace: Why?

  Yedoye: Because- 

  Grace: I never watched cartoons. 

  Yedoye: But WE watched cartoons!

  Grace: It was never my thing.

  Yedoye: It was our thing, though.

  Grace: Pinky and the Brain, that’s it. 

  Yedoye: I mean, yeah, but that’s what we did on Sundays. But there was other stuff, after that. 

  Grace: [skeptical] Okay. I have no clue. I wish I did the research, I was too busy.

  Yedoye: You didn’t listen to any of the podcast? 

  Grace: I listened to one, it’s all about Japanese something, right? 

  Yedoye: Yeah,

  Grace: I know ??? used to draw them. He loved Japanese cartoons. 

  Yedoye: Yeah.

  Grace: But I can not make out- I may have been sitting there, but I never paid attention. 

  Yedoye: No? There’s, I mean, there’s like… Pokemon is anime. That counts. 

  Grace: Oh, really? Pokemon is anime?

  Yedoye: Yeah!

  Grace: Oh my God! I thought the name of the cartoon is “anime.” 

  Yedoye: Oh, no, no. 

  Grace: [realization] Ahhh, Pokemon is anime, which means... There’s several versions, right?

  Yedoye: Yeah, there’s a lot. There’s like, there’s Pokemon, there’s Dragon Ball Z, umm-

  Grace: Dragon Ball Z! I just recently [Notification sound] heard that.

  Yedoye: Yeah. And there’s um… did you ever watch Speed Racer?

  Grace: In the car? 

  Yedoye: Yeah.

  Grace: They like to drive?

  Yedoye: Yeah.

  Grace: Yeah, I’ve seen that.

  Yedoye: Yeah. That’s anime, too.

  Grace: I watched you guys ?? , but I just- you know, all that stuff was for you guys, babysitting activities. 

  [Both laugh]

  Yedoye: There’s shows-

  Grace: It was for babysitting, it was all for babysitting.

  Yedoye: They're not even-

  Grace: Did you know that?

  Yedoye: They’re not even for kids, though! 

  Grace: Eh?

  Yedoye: Those shows are not for kids though!

  Grace: Yeah, that’s why I’m trying to tell ??. Yeah, so the general name is “anime.”

  Yedoye: Yeah. 

  Grace: Then under anime is like, you have all these different versions of cartoons.

  Yedoye: Yeah, yeah.

  Grace: Okay.

  Yedoye: You thought it was one show?

  Grace: I thought it was just one.

  Yedoye: Oh G- Okay. 

  Grace: And I just heard of them.

  Yedoye: I definitely could’ve uh…

  Grace: And the name is anime.

  Yedoye: I definitely could’ve clarified that a few weeks ago. 

  Grace: Yep, I didn’t even know. 

  Yedoye: Okay, maybe that’s my fault. 

  Grace: So Pinky and the Brain, Pinky wasn’t one of them?

  Yedoye: Uh, no, no, he was not.

  Grace: Oh, okay. You guys confuse me. What else you wanna know?

  Yedoye: Umm, I think maybe that’s it? I don’t know-

  Grace: What do you mean “that’s it?!”

  Yedoye: There’s not that much, I just wanted to know if you knew what anime was. 

  Grace: I wasted all this time just to tell you in five seconds that anime, something is under anime is just a broad name for all the cartoons.

  Yedoye: Yeah!

  Grace: Jeeze.

  Yedoye: [laugh]

  Grace: And I be here, all excited, thinking that something else is coming up.

  Yedoye: Oh, no, no, I just was gonna- I just wanted to ask if you knew...

  [Lofi music]

  Thanks for listening to Anime in America presented by Crunchyroll. If you enjoyed this, please go to Crunchyroll.com/AnimeInAmerica to see the site I’ve talked non-stop about for most of this episode. 

  Special Thanks to Kun Gao. 

  This episode is hosted by me, Yedoye Travis and you can find me on Instagram at ProfessorDoye, or Twitter @YedoyeOT. This episode is researched and written by Peter Fobian, edited by Chris Lightbody, and produced by me, Braith Miller, Peter Fobian, and Jesse Gouldsbury. 

  [Lofi music]

[Beep]

  Yedoye: But you can just- you can like, you can start watching them now, if you want.

  Grace: [skeptical] Seriously?

  Yedoye: Yeah, anime’s not just for kids, you know. There’s like, there’s adult stuff.

  Grace: [continued skepticism] Really? Like, one example.

  Yedoye: There’s… Cowboy Bebop is a good one, it’s like a… it’s like a drama sort of like...

  Grace: Okay, tell me what do they do?

  Yedoye: They’re uh… so the main characters are like they’re bounty hunters, and so they fly through space just like, tracking down criminals. It’s kinda like a, it’s like a crime thing. 

  Grace: You know I don’t like Star Wars. 

  Yedoye: [sigh] I know you don’t like Star Wars. [Chuckle] But I know you like crime stuff. 

  Grace: So now you think I’ll gonna like-

  Yedoye: But I know you like crime stuff, though!

  Grace: Ah-ha! Now you’re talking!

  Yedoye: Yeah! It’s like a crime show. 

  Grace: Which one? I have to watch it! Which one?

  Yedoye: It’s called “Cowboy Bebop,” they like, track down criminals and they take them in for a bounty. 

  Grace: They like, all those stick people do, right? It’s all cartoon folks, it’s not real? It’s not realistic? 

  Yedoye: I mean, it’s not real, it IS realistic, it’s drawn really well. 

  Grace: Yeah… see that’s still fake to me, I like more realistic stuff. 

  Yedoye: I think you would like it. 

  Grace: Name it again?

  Yedoye: Cowboy Bebop.

  Grace: Cowboy what?

  Yedoye: Bebop.

  Grace: Bebop? Cowboy Bebop, okay. 

  Yedoye: Yeah.

  Grace: Cowboy Bebop. 

  Yedoye: I’ll send you a link.

  [Lofi music]

  Thanks! Bye.

  By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[lilac-milk-moon]

The 10 Best Ways to Get Free Money

Note from Mr. SR: Whether it’s to save more for retirement, to spend towards items on your bucket list, or to treat yourself, you can always use some extra money — right? My friend Adebayo Fasanya from Dr Breathe Easy Finance has some great tips for finding some easy extra funds.

I know what you are thinking. “There you go, another click bait headline about getting free money. There is no such thing as free lunch.”

This is the main reason why I decided to write this article. In reality, there are free lunches in life, but you have to look for the hidden gems. And this is not surveys or yard sales disguised as free money. We will be discussing how to get actual free dollars.

We all have times when we are in a bind, when any dollar amount will make a huge difference in our lives. College for sure, but some tough times occurred during my transition from fellowship training to attending status (I’m a doctor). I had underestimated the cost of moving, getting a new place and lots of incidental spending. We were too focused on paying off our loans that we were skinny on our emergency fund.

While most of those costs were reimbursed eventually, it took some time to balance everything financially. We took out our entire emergency fund and even dipped slightly into our credit card. How else would I pay for those flights, board exams and the $10,000 to the moving company?

Well, I would have appreciated these tips at the time. Every dollar counts and I have witnessed situations when it really did.

We have talked about 101 ways to save money in the past and you can start with that. Then it’s free money time. Here are 10 foolproof ways to get free money.

1. Find unclaimed money from your state (unlimited)

The first one I would like to talk about might not be for everyone; however, even though, I have been in this country for fewer years than most, I still managed to find free money I did not know I had. Here is the step by step way to check if you have the free money and how to claim it.

We will now go through the step by step process to find out if your state owes you some money. If you are not interested in my process, skip to the next one.

Steps to find unclaimed money

Step 1 –Go to https://www.unclaimed.org/

These are all the menu available, but we would not be clicking any of those.

Step 2 – Click on all the states you have ever lived

You can either click on it based on the map, but it was harder for me to find Missouri that way, so I used the drop down function. I looked into New Jersey, Maryland, Florida, Pennsylvania, Arkansas and finally hit gold in Missouri. And yes, I have lived in all those states before. That is the plight of medical training. I moved around for my clinical, then residency, then fellowship and then moved to Arkansas now to practice as an attending.

Clicking on Missouri took me to the states treasury department. Of course each state would be different.

Step 3 – Search your name

Booyah!! Jackpot. The treasury department owes me over $50. Exciting so far. I hope you have discovered something for yourself also if you are still reading.

Now it’s time to fill some form.

Step 4 – Select the one you want to file and click claim

Step 5 – Fill the required form

This is super easy and self explanatory.

6th Step – Print the document, send it with the required documents.

Step 7 – wait

Ok the 90 days processing time leave less to be desired and a sour taste in my mouth, but you know what; I am curious how much money the state actually owes me. Do these exercise while watching TV, that way; you cannot claim it is not a good use of your time.

There are other sites you can try your luck on like missing money . For me, it returned the same result as above.

2. Take advantage of bank sign up promotions ($400)

During my fellowship training in Pittsburgh, I was able to get the easiest free $400 possible. PNC at the time was doing a promotion, it was simple, open a checking account and do direct payment to the account and get free money. I was skeptical at first, but by the second month, I received my free money in my account.

Currently, they are still doing the promotion, but it is now $300. You can cancel at a later time if you like. For example, when I move to Arkansas 3 years later, I had to close the account as there was no PNC bank over here.

I used PNC bank as an example, because I personally benefited from their bonus. However, I see no reason for you to limit yourself to that. Search online for your desired banks.

3. Take advantage of credit card introductory offers (up to $750)

If you are comfortable with credit cards, there are lots of them that offer free sign up bonus. Just make sure you keep track of them and cancel as soon as you fulfill the minimum obligations required.

Also, some of the credit cards require you to spend a certain amount of money over a time period. If you are planning to make a purchase already, why not use it to your advantage.

A simple Google search showed some as high as $750. You might have to let out some blood from your vein to keep it, but if you know what you are doing, go for it.

4. Get free money by trying out apps ($20)

There are lots of apps online that will pay you money to join. Few that I have personally tried include

Ibotta – I was so personally impressed with the app that I did a detailed review of the Ibotta app. There was a promotion when I downloaded the app – Free $20!! I actually decided to keep the app because it is actually useful to get even more free cash in the form of cash back. You get the free cash while shopping at your favorite stores and merchants. No extra work required.

Webull – This is a modern investing app that makes it extremely easier for people to dabble into stock investment. And it is commission free! The other awesome thing about the app is that when you deposit your first $100, you get a free stock. My free stock was SNAP and it is worth $15. I’ll take it. As you can see in the image below, I have not even invested the $1,000 I deposited yet, and I can simply withdraw the money back to my bank account.

I did a detailed and honest review of webull app to help familiarize yourself with the app.

There are lots of apps out there to try, you have internet at your disposal, knock yourself out.

5. Earn free money by signing up to be a driver for Lyft ($300)

Are you looking for a side hustle? Lyft can be an excellent one to explore if you love driving. On top of the money earned from your hustle, you get $300 sign on bonus.

Of course there is a catch to this one. You have to first meet their requirements below to become one of their drivers.

Driver Requirements

Be at least 21 years old

Pass their free, online DMV and background checks.

Use an iPhone or Android smartphone

Vehicle Requirements

Meet your city’s vehicle age requirement

Have at least four doors, not including jump doors.

Offer five to eight seats, including the driver’s.

Document Requirements

Have a US driver’s license for at least one year.

Provide proof of insurance and (in most cities) a car inspection.

Submit a photo of yourself.

The real catch is that you have to complete 100 rides in your first 30 days. If you live in a busy town, this should be a piece of cake. That’s about 3.33 rides a day. If you can get it done, the $300 dollars is yours.

6. Earn free cash with AirBnB ($55)

If you enjoy using your car for side hustle with Lyft, then you might also enjoy making extra cash renting out your home for few days in the years.

Not only can you make extra cash with AirBnB, you get actual free money for signing up. As I was writing this post, I signed up for the service and I already got $55 available credit.

Here is how this works.

Friends who sign up for Airbnb with your link will get $40 off their home booking. And they get $15 to use toward an experience worth $50 or more. When your friend completes a first-time stay or experience, you’ll get up to $30 travel credit.

7. Make your internet usage count with Nielsen ($50)

Nielsen is a computer and mobile panel company who will pay you $50 to simply keep their app on your laptop, smartphone or tablet. The app however will collect statistics on how you use the internet in order to learn more about what consumers wants.

This is no difference than what Facebook already does with your data. Except that Nielsen pays you $50 for your trouble.

The company pride themselves in making sure everything is done anonymously, so don’t panic about any data linking back to you.

Based on the reviews online, the app itself does not take much space on your electronics and it won’t slow down your phone.

The catch on this one is that the app have to stay on your phone or laptop for a full year.

Get started today by looking up the Nielsen app and downloading it on your phone.

8. Get paid in your sleep, literally ($50 to $19,000)

How would you like to sleep on the job without anyone judging you? Like, you really would like to sleep all the time? Well, today your dream has come true (pun intended).

There are companies out there who will pay you free money to sleep on mattress for the night. Imagine making money for what you love to do.

The most important qualification skills for bed testers are the ability to sleep in new surroundings, away from home. Just think of it like a hotel.

If you want to kick it up a notch, NASA sometimes ask for people to sleep in bed for months . For example, they recently offered $19,000 to lie in bed for 2 months. This one is not exactly free money as it gets complicated with showering and you know.. the other things. But this article would not be complete if I did not mention this opportunity. Plus it’s something interesting.

9. Get in on the action – class action law suits (variable)

As much as I don’t like anything related to law suits, this one is an exception. Class action lawsuits are an excellent way to get your hands on free cash if you are willing to search for them.

The downside to this one is that, you won’t be able to get that free money immediately like most of the methods mentioned above. It usually takes months to process the case, sometimes longer. But you know what? It’s free money.

So how does this work…

Class action suit is when a defendant (usually company) does something despicable and a legal action is filed against the company by a group of people.

A good example was the tobacco company settlement in 1998. RJ Reynolds, Philip Morris, and two other tobacco companies agreed to a whopping $206 billion settlement!! The settlement was to cover medical cost of smoking related illnesses. The settlement goes on for 25 years. Still ongoing now, you can try your luck if you smoked before 1998.

You might enjoy this article of the top largest class action and law suit settlements.

Below are some sites to get started. Start digging for gold.

Top Class Actions – A wealth of information on recently settled cases like the Wesson natural cooking oil class action settlement – You get 15 cent for each Wesson oil purchased up to 30 units without proof of purchase.

ClassAction.com – You can check out open law suits and see which one you can file a claim for.

10. Become a tutor and get free sign on bonus ($300)

This brought back memories. In 2006, I got paid 30 dollars an hour to tutor mathematic. Mostly, I tutored my classmates and some kids in the neighborhood. It felt like easy money to me.

What would have been more rewarding is if I had known about gogokids. This company will pay you $300 as new teachers. That’s like 10 hours of work!! And that is completely free.

The requirement is very simple – have a bachelor’s degree and have an awesome internet connection.

The catch is that you would have to be on a 6 months contract. You don’t even have to tutor much if you don’t want to.

Summary

There really is free lunch in life; all you have to do is search for it. The above 10 ways to make money are legit and if you are really serious about it, you should start today. Using it to pay off debt or invest it would be my own vote.

This post was written by Adebayo Fasanya @ Dr Breathe Easy Finance. It originally appeared on The Money Mix and is republished with permission.

The post The 10 Best Ways to Get Free Money appeared first on Semi-Retire Plan.

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[travelworldnetwork]

Dotted around London, these 13 tiny green sheds are reserved for those with ‘The Knowledge’.

By Ella Buchan

1 May 2018

“We’re a Victorian institution,” black-cab driver Henry announced proudly, tugging on his tartan cap. It was a grey mid-morning in London and I was squeezed in a small green shed behind a narrow, U-shaped table. Surrounding me were a cluster of taxi drivers who slurped on mugs of tea and shovelled in forkfuls of scrambled egg and sausage.

This diminutive shed in Russell Square is where the keepers of London’s secrets gather – the black-cab drivers whose minds are mapped with every inch of the city. It’s one of 13 cabmen’s shelters remaining in the capital, and only licensed drivers who have passed The Knowledge test – memorising every street, landmark and route in London – are allowed inside.

View image of Thirteen historical cabmen’s shelters can be found throughout London (Credit: Credit: Chris J Ratcliff/Getty Images)

The idea for the shelters came in the late 19th Century when George Armstrong, a year before he became editor of The Globe newspaper, was unable to hail a taxi during a blizzard because the drivers, who then rode horse-drawn hansom cabs, were huddled in a nearby pub. He teamed up with philanthropists, including the Earl of Shaftesbury, to find a way to keep drivers on the straight and narrow – and off the drink.

The Cabmen’s Shelter Fund was born in 1875, building the first hut in St John’s Wood. It still operates today, though many of the further 60 huts built have since been knocked down.

This is where the keepers of London’s secrets gather

Each hut was built no bigger than a horse and cart, in line with Metropolitan Police rules because they stood on public highways. They provided shelter and sustenance for hackney-carriage (black-cab) drivers, with strict rules against swearing, gaming, gambling and drinking alcohol.

Then came World War I. Drivers and their vehicles were drafted, plunging the cab trade – and the shelters – into decline. “We lost people, cars and horses,” said Gary, one of the cabbies I chatted to at Russell Square.

Unused, unloved and unprotected, the oak huts suffered rot and ruin. Some were destroyed by bombs during World War II, while many were later bulldozed in street-widening schemes.

View image of Built in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, the green huts provided shelter for the city’s hackney-carriage drivers (Credit: Credit: Edward Gooch/Getty Images)

Now just 13 remain, with 10 in operation. Each is Grade II listed, which means they are considered buildings of special interest and every effort should be made to preserve them. They are owned by the Worshipful Company of Hackney Carriage Drivers (WCHCD), a guild for those who earn their living through the trade. The Cabmen’s Shelter Fund is responsible for upkeep and maintenance, issuing annual licences to those who run them.

“The cab trade is very lonely,” said Colin Evans, a cabbie of 44 years and trustee of the fund. “These are places where you can go and have a tea or coffee with your mates. If drivers don’t support them, they will be lost forever.”

Gary, who often comes here for a tea and a grumble because “everyone’s in the same boat”, added: “I’ve been driving a cab for more than a few years and only recently started using the shelters. I decided, use them or lose them.”

View image of The cabmen’s shelters are no larger than a horse and cart, and only drivers are allowed in (Credit: Credit: Chris J Ratcliff/Getty Images)

Most serve breakfast (sausages, eggs, bacon), sandwiches and hot drinks, with the occasional pie or lasagne cooked by the owners at home and reheated in the skinny kitchens. Non-cabbies aren’t allowed to sit inside – unless issued with a rare invitation – but can order through a window hatch.

“We bring in more money that way,” said Jude Holmes, who runs the kitchen at Russell Square. “I can serve hundreds of people while a driver sits with one cup of tea.”

It’s like their second home

As we sat there, a relentless drizzle outside drew more cabbies through the door, each greeting the others like family members.

“My little gang comes in every day,” Holmes said. “I worry a bit if I don’t see them. It’s like their second home. Sometimes they even make their own tea.” She added that newer drivers are often too intimidated to come inside, preferring to order bacon sandwiches at the window.

“It can feel a bit cliquey at times,” Gary admitted.

View image of Card playing and gambling are prohibited inside London's cabmen's shelters (Credit: Credit: Ella Buchan)

The kettle bubbled, teaspoons clinked against china, and bacon spluttered and sizzled in a pan as talk turned to the cabbies’ biggest bugbears. Being ‘bilked’, for example, when a fare runs off without paying. Struggling to find a public lavatory when on the job is another common groan (the shelters don’t have loos).

Most drivers have other gigs, as musicians, artists, TV producers, even actors. But, they told me, once a cabbie – always a cabbie. “If you retire, you die,” Gary deadpanned.

The anecdotes poured faster than the tea. There’s the tale of ‘Fat Ray’, so huge he squeezes himself behind the wheel each morning and doesn’t budge until he gets home. “He couldn’t come in ’ere,” said Henry, sweeping his hand around the shelter. “He’d never fit through the door!”

View image of Most cabmen’s shelters serve breakfast, sandwiches and hot drinks (Credit: Credit: Chris J Ratcliff/Getty Images)

Evans took me for a spin in his cab, stopping by Temple Place shelter on Victoria Embankment, where a team was fixing damage caused by a lorry.

The shelters’ Grade II status means restoration is intricate and expensive. Refurbishment costs around £30,000, Evans estimated, and replacement materials must match the originals. Even the shade of paint – Dulux Buckingham Paradise 1 Green – is prescribed to mirror the first huts.

They represent a moment in time

Shelters have also been hit by noise restrictions in residential areas, and none currently operate at night – most open around 7:00 and close by 13:00. A hut at Chelsea Embankment has been closed for five years due to parking restrictions, and the fund is considering donating it to the London Transport Museum.

Crucially, said Evans, these tiny huts must not disappear – nor should their history be forgotten. “It’s too easy to get rid of these things. The shelters are unique. They represent a moment in time.”

View image of Jude Holmes also sells snacks to the public through the hatch of the Russell Square shelter (Credit: Credit: Ella Buchan)

It’s true there’s plenty of history packed within their walls. Evans told me that the Gloucester Road shelter was nicknamed ‘The Kremlin’ because it was frequented by left-wing drivers. The since-bulldozed Piccadilly hut was the site of Champagne-fuelled parties in the 1920s and dubbed the ‘Junior Turf Club’ – after an exclusive gentlemen’s club nearby – by (non cab-driver) aristocratic revellers who smuggled in booze.

And according to local legend, a man claiming to be Jack the Ripper once visited Westbourne Grove Shelter.

Physical signs of their history remain. Tenders attached to the bottom of the huts were where drivers tethered their horses before going inside. The animals drank from marble troughs, now gone. Each shelter still has a rooftop vent with ornate carvings – reminders of the wood-burning stoves once used for heating and cooking.

View image of In the Warwick Avenue shelter, shelves are lined with cabbies’ mugs bearing the names of their football teams (Credit: Credit: Ella Buchan)

We continued onto Warwick Avenue shelter, frequented by musicians and actors who live nearby. British mod-rocker Paul Weller, former lead singer of The Jam and The Style Council, often comes to the hatch for a sausage-and-egg sandwich, licensee Tracy Tucker told me.

Tucker, whose husband is a cabbie, has been a shelter keeper for 14 years, moving to this location from Thurloe Place in 2016. The roof was recently re-shingled at a cost of £13,000, financed by the fund.

Inside, the tiny kitchen has a stovetop sizzling with sausages and bacon, a fridge stocked with sandwich fillings and shelves heaving with cabbies’ mugs bearing the crests of their football teams. When someone’s team is relegated or loses a big match, Tucker ties a black ribbon to their mug’s handle in commiseration.

View image of Tracy Tucker, who runs the Warwick Avenue shelter, sees her regulars as family (Credit: Credit: Ella Buchan)

To her regulars, Tucker is family.

“They see me as a big sister,” she said. “If I’m sick, I have to text about 20 people to say the shelter is closed. Some of them won’t know what to do with themselves.”

If we lose this, we lose part of London history

She has her own rules: no staring at mobile phones and no moaning about Uber. “We all know it’s quiet. The trade is dying, and I have thought about what I would do if I had to get another job. I don’t think I could work anywhere else.”

“The little lives that go on in these shelters,” chuckled Evans as we pulled away. “It’s not just the buildings. It’s the characters, too. If we lose this, we lose part of the cab trade’s history and a part of London history. That would be a real shame.”

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The post What’s in London’s secret green huts? appeared first on Travel World Network.

[veirolling-blog]

VEI- Rolling On You Romeo

10 Best Piano Rock Songs

Most of us love listening to the greatest rock ballads and mythical rock songs. They give us shivers down our spine and they also make us want to listen to more. Most of us have our favourite song and band. However making this record was very difficult finding which tunes to exit because there are several fantastic tunes about.

Here is my list of 10 greatest rock ballads and mythical rock tunes

1. Guns N Roses - November Rain

November Rain is an excellent entrance by Guns N Roses with a great mix of piano and vocals both provided by Axel Rose the major man. This song also includes immense guitar stone playing with a wonderful ending guitar solo...

2. Extreme - More than words

What can I say about this monitor! What makes this song so great is that it only contains vocals and an acoustic guitar. The guitar gets the tune initially followed by the course signing.

3. Scorpians - Wind of change

With a German band, the wind of change is a tune about the large changes across the world. It features great Rolling On You Romeo Official Video melodic guitar which sets the tone for this tune followed by fabulous singing and a lovely drum beat.

4. Whitesnake- Is this love

White snake are English stone icons. This is purely a love tune. Together with the lead singer using such a strong and powerful voice is the thing that sets this song followed with the superbly created guitar solo in the end.

5. Aerosmith - Do not need to miss a thing

This Aerosmith song is just one of finest rock ballads and legendary rock songs ever. Tyler sings a superbly crafted vocal. This song was used at the film epic, Armageddon.

6. Bon Jovi - Always

With Bon Jovi being one of the most well-known bands on account of the women and the well known group's tunes of love. This song creates a relationship between the protagonist and Bon Jovi throughout the lyrics of the music. Richie Sambora plays with a tasty guitar solo and is certainly one to hear call home.

7. Guns n roses - Do not Cry

Don't Cry is just another epic song by Guns n Roses. The song portrays adore. It has a slow tempo and is extremely melodic. This tune weeps from Slash's guitar playing.

8. Bon Jovi Bed of Roses

Another tune about love by Bon Jovi, I just had to put two tunes in due to the prevalence of this band. This song made it through by the wonderful sound of Richie Sambora guitar intro resulting in his big solo in the future.

9. Bonnie Tyler - Total eclipse from the center

This tune maybe a cheesy among Bonnie Tyler however it supplies some great sounding rock and sang out amazing by Tyler.

10. Bob Dylan, Guns N Roses - Knocking on heaven's door

This bit is definitely one of the legendary rock songs available today. Made by Bob Dylan and then covered by a number of other artists. Guns N Roses performs a knock out version making it sound just enjoy a stone monitor through Slash's guitar performance with those great sounding power chords and guitar solo.

I know I promised 10 however...

11. Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb

I had no choice but to make an eleventh entry with one of the most legendary rock songs made by a mythical rock group. This song might not seem to be like many other greatest rock ballads out there it has a different feel to it and that's what the ring Pink Floyd is like and this is exactly what makes this unique. Check out David Gilmour's guitar work in this one And take a look at the live version. Two words, Utterly Incredible!

If you have written a rock song and want to make income from it, here's the way to sell your rock song!

Multiple Ways to Earn

Turn on the radio, walk through a department store, see TV. Rock tunes that make income are seemingly everywhere! Merely Some of those sources of earnings to your tune include:

Downloads guide from your own website

Downloads through instant party sites like iTunes.

CD sales by vendors

CD sales at live events

Picture royalties

Cable television royalties

Airplay Royalties from rock radio stations

ASCAP/BMI/SESAC income from live ring licenses

Mechanical Royalties on pay versions

Overseas Royalties

Advertising use fees

So You Have Written a Rock Song, Now What?

What do you need to do to offer your rock song? The first decision you will need to make is whether you will self-publish and maintain 100% of the royalties from your tune or in the event that you'll permit your song to be represented by a music publishing company and let them handle the advertising or the licensing and collections paperwork.

Next, you'll want to have either a demo recording (a.k.a. "a presentation") created for pitching your song to rock music publishers, producers and record companies, or, even if you are self publishing then you will have to hire a manufacturer to create a master recording or have a limited release CD created containing your song(s).

A master may double as your presentation but the cost is a lot higher. If you can afford it and certainly intend to exploit the copyright yourself it might be the best investment.

If you only have lyrics, no melody, because you don't write music then you'll need to get a tune and chord arrangement composed. You can't get about that; the only "industry people" who review lyrics are called "tune sharks" and they will be pleased to take your money but they have a horrible reputation in the legitimate music world. They will never get you a bang and worse, your song will forever be tainted by your institution with them. Virtually all demo services will write music for a fee under a "work for hire" agreement that lets you retain all rights.

Selling Your Song Outright For Money, A Lousy Idea

You're reading this to find out how to offer your tune, right? Unfortunately songwriting might be a high revenue cash business but it's not fast. It's illegal to sell songs outright to anybody, even audio publishers. Notably music publishers! Why? Because back in the 40's and 50's struggling songwriters were hungry and selling their tunes for ridiculously tiny amounts, sometimes just ten or fifteen dollars. The song publishers that bought them made millions while the songwriters continued to starve.

To rectify this injustice Congress passed laws that prevent the outright selling of a tune and finally led to songwriters benefitting from the multiple payment streams they now enjoy. Music Publishers these days have totally cleaned their act up. Their company is now modeled about being a mentor and agent to songwriters with both parties sharing at the cash the song creates.

Yes, you can assign your publishing rights and tap in the income flows available, but you can't sell the whole copyright or your songwriting share of the rights.

That covers the basics of How To Boost Your Rock Songs. Hopefully it sets you on the path for a professional presentation made, signing up your song using a music writer that gets you a big it and you like royalties from your efforts for years to come!

There were many songs my rings would have liked to play but were too complex for our Part time efforts. I have often been involved in talks about what tunes were the greatest. The question is; which are the 3 greatest English classic rock songs of all time? Here is my listing.

I suggest that the best 3 are:

Stairway to Heaven

Led Zepplin, originally formed as The Yardbirds, became among the greatest of English rock bands and "Stairway to Heaven" was their crowning achievement. The tune anchored their 4th album which was one of the best selling albums in rock history. Never released as a single, "Stairway to Heaven" remains one of the most heavily asked of all rock FM stations on the planet.

Jimmy Page eclipsed every other Royal he had played as a part of The Yardbirds or headed Zeppelin using the brilliant guitar work in this song. The song is more than 8 minutes , hence no AM radio launch, starts as a slow acoustic folk ballad and climaxes as a driving, electrical, uptempo, stone classic. It would be difficult to obtain another rock song as intricately woven and musically complex as this one. It rises above them all!

Comfortably Numb

David Gilmour and Roger Waters agonized over the chord progression with this tune. Waters wanted the (Bm) (A) (G) (Em) development and Gilmour wanted that the (D) (A) (C) (G) progression. The outcome is one of the greatest compromises of rock history co-writing. The verses are at the (Bm) progression and chechorus is in the (D) development. "Comfortably Numb" is the anchor of this epic "The Wall" album, the crowning accomplishment for Pink Floyd. The guitar solos of all David Gilmour with this tune are the best ever delivered by the band and makes it the most memorable of dozens of great Pink Floyd songs.

Imagine

John Lennon wrote or co-wrote many songs with Paul McCartney as a member of The Beatles. This song, in the epitamy of the solo career, is without doubt, the very best of his famous career as a songwriter and actor. It had been the best selling single of his solo career. The tune challenged the listener to envision a world without organized religion, with no focus on possessions, with no war, using a brotherhood of man, living for today. Lennon's humanism and perspective of a utopian world was all shown at its best in this classic song. It earned a Grammy Hall of Fame Award and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's list of "500 Hundred Songs That Shaped rock and Roll

Composing rock tunes is an art form that blends rock lyrics and rock music to form a complete rock tune. Some rock songwriters believe that writing rock songs is all about coming up with some fantastic melody and lyrics, and the different parts of the song would compose itself. A great tune can't be written like that. Actually, there is not anything worse than getting great melody with lyrics that are super in a song that isn't well planned. The disparity between excellent and an typical way of composing songs is making its creative components fit together and sound well in the ears.

You can readily differentiate inexperienced songwriters from experienced ones once you listen to both of the functions. Many inexperienced writers writing rock tunes would over use the "super lyric" in their job so much their audience will grow tired of listening to the tune over and over again. Having great rock music is all depended on how to creatively employ melody lines in the song.

Here is a great tip. When writing rock songs, ensure that The verse is a build-up to the chorus. Melody lines and chord structure of the verse should differ from the chorus. Particular rock songwriters see the verse to perform a supportive role, and the chorus, the principal substance.

The verse then serves as the build-up into the chorus. So as soon as you get to the chorus its just like you've hit on the high point of this tune - the stage that receives the listener "hooked" into the song. Other people composing rock tunes liken the high stage as having a "3D" effect.

If you would like to produce a larger difference between the chorus and the verse, then it is possible to compose the poetry in a small key and then compose the chorus at a significant key. Possessing a change of key on the final chorus can present your song some "lifting effect", especially when the song has a catchy melody.

The lyrics of this song should also be composed to convey the feel of this tune. For instance, when the verse suggests a query, let the chorus provide the answer. If you are writing rock tunes, do not allow the lyrics pose continuous questions for both verse and chorus else listeners would be unable relate with the mood of the song.

It is unarguable that rock music is one of the most favorite music genres in the world. There are a lot of people who try their best to writing a stone song when they have caught inspiration from listening to renowned rock artists.

In writing a rock song there are several approaches. A lot of writers employ the simple verse-chorus approach. Yet others use variations where a bridge and additional verse and chorus are all added. This pattern is employed when a song isn't long enough and requires an additional verse to create it complete well.

Have you understood most rock songs do not exceed five minutes in length? That is what's been found to be popular amongst rock fans.

You want to maintain the span within 5 minutes while using a catchy but simple melody. 1 fantastic way to find out more about writing a rock song would be to research rock music guides on the market. These manuals are written by rock music critics and fans to increase the knowledge base of people seeking info about rock songs and tunes.

So what can you possibly write songs around? Many stone songwriters write lyrics about events which have occurred in their own lives in as a way to expressing their emotions to their audience who may be going through similar experiences. However, the one thing you can always write rock tunes about is relationships and love. Every person in lifestyle has their own love difficulties - both young and old. Writing a rock song on this subject will get your listeners to become emotionally attached to the song because they can easily relate with it.

Your lyrics must nevertheless comply with a particular pattern - like using the lines of each verse being equivalent. 1 thing that you should do is to make sure that your melody lines could easily be utilised from the song's chorus. This technique is known as "hook'. It's a terrific way to produce your songs catchy.

The achievement of composing a rock tune in highly dependent on how catchy the tunes or melody is and just how easy your lyrics are and how it relates well with your potential audience. This calls for creativity. You need to use your creativity to paint a clear picture to let you tell a story your audience can easily relate with.