#and of course i had to have mick play something because that's the closest to heaven vince will ever get on this ship

[grogumaximus]

Jos, do you agree that this was one of the most difficult seasons for Max?

"It certainly was, because of the performance of the car. He was already saying at the beginning of the championship that there were problems, but in the team they laughed, because he was winning. However, when the others grew up, it became clear that Max was right."

What didn't work?

"The wrong directions were taken in the development of the car. The balance between the front and the rear has never been ideal and on top of that the car breaks down on the bumps."

How did Max react?

"He worked hard to get the most out of it, despite the frustration of not being able to compete against the McLarens, who have long been the best on the track. He went to the factory more often, for simulator tests, and tried to help the engineers."

How did you handle the pressure around the team after the Horner case?

"In these moments, he manages to isolate himself from everything. He has the maturity and experience to face any situation. At home he has always been relaxed. Perhaps the most tense moment was in Mexico, due to the negativity spread by the English press (after the double penalty for the fierce duel with Lando Norris, ed. ). But all this is an extra motivation for Max. Nothing worries or scares him".

He was also at the center of controversy for certain statements…

"He won't change. That's just how he is, he always says what he thinks."

Who was closest to him?

"Me, our manager Raymond (Vermeulen), his engineer Giampiero Lambiase and of course Helmut Marko."

What was the best moment of 2024?

"The win in Brazil in the wet, coming back from seventeenth place. He managed to come back very quickly, took the lead and won by 20 seconds, without making any mistakes. It reminded me of his race in 2016, also in Interlagos, with the outside pass on Rosberg in the “Senna Esses”. It was incredible then too."

Starting this year, Max is traveling to European races with his motorhome. How did this idea come about?

"It's something he likes, because this way he has his own traveling home, he always sleeps in the same bed and enjoys more privacy, surrounding himself only with people he trusts. And then he had a simulator placed in the motorhome so he can train whenever he wants. It's a hobby of his, sometimes he stays there until three in the morning, but then he rests at least seven hours. I leave him alone and go to the hotel."

What moments do you share?

"At the races we eat together and talk about everything that happens. I can tell him anything frankly. Our relationship was built like this from the beginning and I only want the best for him. The difference is that now I don't get angry, because Max is a man and can do what he wants with his life and his choices, while as a child he needed a few scoldings".

What do you remember about those years and the holidays with Michael Schumacher?

"We were with the family. Our sons, Max and Mick, were having fun together, even though they spoke different languages, and Michael was playing with them in the pool."

Why did Max say he no longer wants to train on karts like other F1 drivers?

"He raced a lot in karts, maybe too much, sometimes we even did mini races in three with his mother (the champion Sophie Kumpen; ed. ). He also explained to me that, if you drive them only a few days a year, you end up with bumps and pains all over your body. He prefers GT cars. But he continues to follow the boys".

The Verstappen.com Racing brand is linked to a team that uses the Ferrari 296 GT3. Whose choice is it?

"About Max, he likes Ferrari...".

In the meantime, Mercedes was looking for him.

"Normal, they want the fastest driver."

How long will he race in F1?

"We have a contract with Red Bull until 2028 and we will get there, then we will see. We will have to understand if Max will still be interested in F1. All his life he has been told what he had to do, even by me, and now it is happening with the team. The time will come when he will want to decide".

Has he already given you a preview?

"There is certainly much more to his life than F1, and Max is aware of that. He listens to his feelings a lot, he knows what he wants. But it's difficult to say what will happen. Maybe, in the future, he will stop for a year and then he will want to come back. Of course, it's not the records that motivate him. He doesn't need to win seven or eight world championships, he is already happy with what he has achieved."

What do you remember about Max's first victory?

"It was the first race with Red Bull, even today I get goosebumps when I watch the commentary in Dutch. At the beginning we only dreamed of getting to F.1, then that success came and years later the world title, everything came true very quickly".

Who will be Max's rival in 2025?

"Many say Hamilton is too old, but he is a driver who knows how to fight hard. Norris is fast, even if he still lacks experience. It will depend on who has the best car. Ferrari got lost this year, after a good start, but they reacted. Vasseur is doing a great job, he is a racing man who knows how to sniff out situations, I like him".

[pistatsia]

Marc Snuffy: the one who's in control

my Snuffy & Lorenzo fic using this characterization

Snuffy is the epitome of the word 'control'. From his motto to the use of his body with its perfect, calibrated balance on the field in the form of jiu jitsu (elements of which were also utilised by logic genius Sherlock Holmes in Conan Doyle's fictional style).

Snuffy controls everything from the individual strengths of his players to their place in his strategies, while also building all of his logic on a solid, confident base: for example, when constructing his team at Ubers he goes by the club's tradition and builds it on defence rather than attack. Even Lorenzo was raised by him to be flexible and adaptable (and most importantly, with the understanding that the most important thing is not to win, but to live), which can be seen in his attitude to the game - both serious and entertaining at the same time. And capable of accepting both losing and winning with dignity.

He controls even personal relationships, clearly defining the conditions for both sides, their benefits and losses - where it would seem that there should be no room for formalities. And if about Barou this could be hardly regarded to the football, then with the starving Lorenzo everything is a bit more complicated.

And I think it's obvious to everyone that this not entirely healthy level of control, going far beyond the boundaries of dedication, grew out of his trauma from Mick's death and their failure.

It's evident even in his relationship with the characters closest to him, Lorenzo and Barou. Through them both - two people so similar to Mick Moon (Lorenzo in appearance in his homeless era, Barou in both appearance and personality) - Snuffy recreates his trauma in an attempt to rewrite it with a happier ending. The kind of thing that Barou gets a glimpse of and is rightly angry about.

Of course this is hardly fully realised, only partly - in life, for example, kids who were bullied in their childhood sometimes become teachers. And then they stop the bullying near them as working adults, giving the new kids the happy ending they once deserved. And that's exactly Snuffy's case: he saves his players from a fate he himself couldn't avoid. He's willing to keep them as safe as he can control, growing them in almost hothouse conditions, which is exactly what Barou hates. So much so that he's easily willing to take the blame if they fail.

But at the same time, which makes perfect sense for such a person, Snuffy hates it when things get out of control, especially when there is deliberate sabotage - which is actually what Noa is teasing him about. I'd even go so far as to say that Snuffy is the kind of person who can only focus on a far-reaching goal by completely ignoring the unimportant things along the way - for example, he saved Lorenzo's life, but it seems they never talked about the fact that he didn't have to play football for Snuffy to love him, and that "worth" of his isn't that important.

Remember how Snuffy reacts to Barou's attempts to get out of his control and break his patterns: he's full of cold fury. That look is far scarier than shouting and punishment.

Because through Barou's prism Snuffy sees both his and Mick's paths. And most of all Snuffy is terrified of falling back into that helplessness - when he wasn't prepared for the event that broke his life in two. An event over which he had no control.

But it would seem impossible to be prepared for such an event. It's like a natural disaster and a terrorist attack - it's something that tears the usual fabric of life apart.

But when has that ever stopped anyone, right?

So Snuffy, in the moment of tragedy that destroyed his past, felt that he had a duty to anticipate everything. He had to know how and where to act, find the right words for Mick, save the careers of both of them, and basically hold the world on his shoulders so that it wouldn't break them apart.

It's terribly cruel and certainly unfair upon himself - but that's the way trauma works.

And that's why the journey he takes with Barou's help is so satisfying and liberating. Blue Lock does show overcoming one's traumas and chains visually and vividly very well - and how, with Barou's help, Snuffy was able to transcend his limitations, rising like a phoenix from the ashes, is perceived both visually and consciously, because it's relatable.

Because a person who is able to prepare for everything, to expect both loss and failure in advance, who knows exactly all his skills and advantages....

...also clearly sees the limitations of his body and mind. He simply cannot go beyond them - because he controls himself so much that he unwittingly limits himself, almost self-sabotaging - just to stay on predictable, familiar ground.

Logic is incapable of improvisation.

And this is what Barou is talking about - and what he teaches Snuffy anew, re-igniting his desire to live and play.

He shows Snuffy again that both life and football are made up of unpredictable moments - those where you are happy that something unexpected has happened that you weren't waiting for, those where you amaze yourself by going beyond your limits, those where you are happy and at the peak. Those where you need logic, but where you can't build your victory and happiness on it alone. Because happiness is in illogicality and unpredictability.

These moments are the things a person's destiny consists of.

The moments that Mick Moon lived for.

And the moments for which Marc Snuffy survived and rose again.

[hockeyandhrsepwr]

Abu Dhabi moments

Jack Hughes x Ferrari driver reader

Je T’aime Masterlist

** Vegas is the last race before Abu Dhabi & series takes place in 2024 with Danny, Seb & Mick still on the grid **

A handful of moments as the season come to an end because I didn’t want to write a full fic. Also how are y’all? I���ve haven’t been on here in a while because ya girl had finals and grad 🫶

Post Practice, Friday

Welcome back to sunny Abu Dhabi, as we prepare for the final race of the season!! This weekend brings us the most heated battle for the Drivers Championship we’ve ever seen!! Yes that includes Lewis versus Max 2021, the Mercedes battle of 2016 & Sebastian Vettels maiden win in 2010. Ferrari have the Consrtuctors trophy, will they clinch the Drivers too? Lets have a look at the possibilities

Y/n L/n currently sits first in the points, with Max trailing by only one. Charles Leclerc only sits only 5 points behind him. It will come down to whoever takes the win for this race. Three potential champions, one race. Will it be a third championship for Verstappen, a second for Leclerc or a first for L/n?

Are you excited? Because we sure are. They all had great practices today. Who will come out on top? Tune in all weekend to see what happens!

Lets send it over to Naomi, who’s with y/n now

Media Pen

Hi y/n, how are we feeling today?

I’m doing great, how about you?

You know, I’m pretty good but were not here to talk about me. What’re you feeling coming into this weekend, knowing that the championship could be yours?

Honestly, I’m trying not to think about that. It’s just a normal race. I dont want to psych myself out since anything can happen once we get on that track. Of course I’d love to win, but who knows. Charles & I have been able to bring that constrictors back to Ferrari which was incredible, and whoever wins will have absolutely deserved it.

Thats a great way to look at it! I’m rooting for you but we’ll see what happens. Now, onto something more important. You had an interesting weekend in Las Vegas, didn’t you?

Yeah, you know the race was a lot of fun and it was great to win, especially given the issues we had the week before

Girl you know thats not what I’m talking about!!! I mean your after race shenanigans
Haha, yeah, so I got married which was a special experience.

Can I ask if you’d planned that going into the weekend?

Oh not at all! It was more a timing thing. So Saturday night Jack, my husband which is still weird to say, asked if I’d want to get married while we were there. He played a game in Vegas which is why he was there at all. Of course I wanted to marry him, but I didnt want to do it without some of our closest friends there. Luckily, most of them who play hockey were either in Vegas because they’re on his team or they were within a 2 hour flight range so we could get them there for Sunday night. And of course I was able to get the guys from the grid there no problem. So we just decided to go for it!

So no parents?

No, unfortunately not. Both of our parents live on the east coast and it was too quick to get them there, but we’re going to do a big party over the summer so they can celebrate with us.

At least they’ll have that!! Can I ask what the planning was like?

Jack took on all of the decisions which was really great of him since I had the race that evening, but Sunday morning we texted everyone with flight info & told them to get there asap. Then my best friend Thomas went & picked a dress for me, since Jack wasn’t allowed. I sent a message to our groupchat after the race with the chapel address once jack found somewhere & told the drivers to be there and look decent. It was a really great night though & I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

Well congratulations!! Is he here this weekend?

Unfortunately not, hockey season is well underway, but I’m on the first flight to New York that I can get & we’ll have the winter break together.

Well, all the best to you and your new husband, and we’ll talk to you later this weekend I’m sure. Good Luck tomorrow!!

Thanks Naomi!

RACE DAY

Commentators

Oh my god, we’ve come down to the final lap to decide the championship. Who’s going to cross the line first?? Right now L/n is leading, but Verstappen is right behind her. Will he be able to get past?? The other Ferrari of Leclerc is a fraction of a second behind Verstappen.

There goes Leclerc!!! He’s trying to pass Verstappen, my word! OHHH he does it!! Charles Leclerc puts his Ferrari between the Ferrari of L/n and the red bull of Verstappen

Radio: “Tell y/n I’ve got verstappen, go & win it!!”

That was Leclerc, it looks like he’s going to defend against Verstappen so L/n can win. We have half a lap, can he hold off the Red Bull? Fantastic driving by Leclerc, and what a teammate!!

Here it it!!! Rounding the final corner in that iconic red car, its L/n!! The chequered flag is waving, SHES DONE IT!!!!

Radio: C’est toi y/n!!! Tu es la championne du monde!!!!!

In her 4th season in Formula one, your 2023 World Champion Y/n L/n everyone!! What a finish from the young driver. History is made here tonight as she becomes the first female driver ever to win the championship!! She’s also the second youngest driver to take it after former ferrari teammate Sebastian Vettel.

What a race, what a finish as Leclerc crosses in second, less than half a second behind.

You

Over the radio you hear the team celebrating but you have no words. It doesn’t feel real. There’s tears streaming down your face. All the shit you put up with, all the years of hard work, missing your friends and family, it’s all lead up to this.

“Y/n?” You can hear your engineer ask since you haven’t responded, but nothing comes out. Driving towards the end, you do your donuts and pull in to your designated spot. You just sit there for a second before “HOLY FUCK” and someone on the other end laughs.

You’re still crying but its all happy tears as you pull yourself up & step onto the front of the car. You sit down on the Halo & put your head in your hands, trying to collect yourself as the crowd goes mad around you. Pulling off your helmet you look over to your team at the barriers & smile. You want to run over & celebrate with them, but you can’t bring yourself to move, afraid its all a dream. Then you get tackled. You’ve completely missed the other guys pulling up, too in your own head and you jump when Charles grabs you and pulls you off your car. He pulls you into a hug & whispers congratulations in your ear before someone else grabs you & you see Mick.

“You fucking did it!” He yells and you laugh. It was the kick in the ass you needed and you release Mick to go over to your team, hugging your engineer first. After that it’s a blur, until someone passes you a phone.

“McQueen!!!” Thomas is on the one end of the FaceTime, jack also popping up on the screen. You laugh at the nickname, glad to see their faces.

“I’m so proud of you!” Jack says “Me too!!” Thomas yells, wanting to be part of the conversation. “Thanks Thom!” “I love you so much babe! I can’t really hear you so I’ll call you later?” “Go celebrate, I’ll see you soon. Je t’aime mon amour” You blow a kiss before handing back the phone. There’s one more person you need to see. You spot Susie and you rush over to her. She’s been a mentor and inspiration to you since you were a kid and without her who knows where you’d be right now.

The rest of the day passes in a blur. You’re pulled into interview after interview, congratulations coming from all around and your phone buzzing like its possessed. You call your parents & Jack but thats it, grateful for all the love but too overwhelmed to deal with responding to all your messages. That night you and the boys go full send. You know its a good night since you can’t remember anything. Monday is filled with media, and then you hop on a flight straight to Newark.

Fourteen hours later, Jack & Luke are waiting from you when you finally make it through customs.

You’d think you’re racing or an Olympic gold to win the 100m with how fast you fly over to Jack & jump into his arms, tears streaming down your face as you hug him like a koala.

“Tu l’as fait” he whispers in your ear as you squeeze each other, your face buried in his neck. You can hear the emotion in his voice

“Je l’ai fais”

“Ma championne”

“Je t’aime tellment”

“Mon champion” you say back, smiling at the fact that both of you won this year

“Cough cough, Hi, hello, where’s my hug?” Luke says from somewhere behind you, causing you to giggle and pull your head up to look at him

“I’ll get to you in a sec”

Jack puts you down & you give Luke his hug. “Congrats y/n/n. You deserved it”

“ Thanks Moose. Now we match with our trophies.”

“We do!!” He passes you the big bouquet of flowers he’s holding, “from mom & dad”

“I love them. Let’s go home boys”

[weirdtvland]

I love the 60's and 70's period especially, for black folks however, I went down a rabbit hole the past couple of days. I always say that I would be a hippie and definitely would have been all up in the Woodstock concert. The Woodstock footage had led me on down to the groupies of the rock stars. Sharing is caring!! 🤣🤣🤣

A mess! That Lithofayne Pridgon (I liked her mindset of well if they can do it so can I but she was a pedo). Cynthia Plaster Caster, Mick Jagger and his stable of women. On top of that I love Marsha Hunt but @sbrown82 did an awesome piece on Marsha and her experience dating Mick Jagger, too stunned to speak. Tea was steaming for me.

Everything was a mess in the 60s & 70s lol! It’s like people really didn’t give a fuck back then. I learned about the groupie scene in the 70s through tumblr, and I feel down a rabbit hole as well. They really made this whole scene into a movement or something! There were magazines dedicated to groupies, books were written by groupies, even films! All the groupies that I’ve read about slept with Mick, he was the biggest trick out there at that time, sleeping with him was HUGE. Matter of fact, sleeping with any of The Rolling Stones were huge. I feel in love with Jimi, so of course Fayne pays a huge part in his life considering his closest friends have constantly stated this. And yes, she was a pedo but multiple rockstars/groupies were as well (not defending them in any way that’s disgusting) age really didn’t play a part back then. There is an documentary on groupies which was filmed in today’s time and many of them stated that they weren’t victims, that they accepted sleeping with these rockstars simply because they were rockstars. @Sbrown82 did a great post about Marsha and the drama she had to go through with Mick. It really explains EVERYTHING, nothing was left out! Before I read her post, I read Marsha’s book so I did know about Marsha and her situation but her post was more detailed. I recommend reading both part 1 & 2.

[moltage]

Been thinking about that cardigan *you know whoch one*. It's so soft and cuddly. So I guess that is the closest we get to the real Mick. Like w/o his demeanor or acting of a womanizer and arrogance behavior. Idk if that even makes sense. But yeah. I'm pretty sure that he would be even a little bit*a lot* insecure when he at some point falls in love. I'm seeing so much longing and big eyes a little bit sad a little bit hope and so much devotion. He would't openly approach them. He would think of some strategic and really comlicated even a long shot plan. Slightly manipulative. Unpopular opinion but I'm sure he is a romantic deep in heart and is kind of dreaming of that special someone who would give him peace.

Yeah I get I'm profiling a cardigan but I can't unsee it. And the way he is a little bit ashamed when he phones that girl and we found out he had something with her and everyone is like ofc he had BUT I'm sure he wants to be seen as more than just this by them. Bc he cares about them.

Goshhh that's too long

Will anyone even read it🤣🤣🤣don't care had to share it

anon. thank you so much for sharing this with me i am going to kiss you

and yes, i know which cardigan you're talking about and yes, i agree with you. i loved seeing *that* side of him even if it was short. almost vulnerable, a not often seen side of the usual "mick rawson" persona he keeps up. I mean, they were called for a case in the middle of the night so of course he's gonna be too tired to care 😂 it was sooo soft and I wish we'd gotten more of that look. 🥺

and love the way you profiled the cardigan. you're %100 right about mick being a romantic deep down. like have you seen this man and how much he cares about the people around him, but doesn't openly admit it often? you can see it in the way he treats his teammates, the way he'd do anything for them but he doesn't directly make it obvious.

i feel like there's a little bit of fear in there too. you know the whole "snipers feel invulnerable. they choose to keep people at a safe emotional distance" thing. which is why i also agree with the part you mentioned about seeing so much longing, hope and devotion in his eyes. because yeah, this man would absolutely give it all for the person he loves.

i think that's part of why he keeps up the whole "serial dater" persona instead of settling down for someone or letting anyone get close to him. I feel like he's scared. That's what he's used to, what he taught himself so it's easier for him to.. play around. pick up women or men as he pleases and all that.

also love the part abt him making a long strategic plan if he was in love bc YES. absolutely. 😭 this man's a MESS hahsjdh

and u didn't have to hurt me like that w the "he wants to be seen as more than just this by them" but ill let it slide bc ur observation was on point. ;]

anyway, mick rawson is a lover no matter how much he tries to hide it. we know what u are mick. i love the family dynamic in the show but it's even more precious when you look at it separately, from Mick's perspective. Just how much he cares about them and how much they care back. I love them so much.

sorry if i got off topic or talked too much but yeah thank you so much for sharing this with me, i really appreciate it. you get mick rawson so well!!!!!!

[michelleelizabethtanner]

Omggggg, I am so thankful you answered my ask! I love your work and your blog is my safe haven for Brio! I love that you always take the time to answer in depth and reading your blog is just as fun as reading your fics!

Fangirling aside, I agree with everything you said about Mick! Not gonna lie, I read "miscast" and had to take a deep breath for a hot minute 🤣 But I finished reading your response and I see your reasoning. I totally agree!

I hate to keep saying it, but I think the writers really dropped the ball on that one. I do believe they intended him to be ruthless with no loyalties, but when a performance shines through differently from the script, they should adapt to it, especially since it didn't seem like they had much understanding of the character! I agree that Carlos made that character what it was and did the work for them. Mick is my baby and I attribute my love for him to Carlos' performance. All they had to do was follow his lead like many other authors in the fandom did with their fics! Or they should have given him direction to play it meaner if they wanted ruthless, idek at this point. He was such a cinnamon roll and it was so hard to think he would do that, especially since he seemed to end up really liking the girls.

As for Rio and Nick, my interpretation of their whole relationship comes just from the opening scene of 4.08 alone. Again, this is all headcanon because, once again, I don't think they put as much depth into Nick's character as they should have, therefore, I don't feel that we got deep enough into his and Rio's dynamic despite the backstory. There are some holes to fill in!

The scene starts with Rio drawing and Nick playing on his gameboy. He appears discouraged because he can't draw the eyes, so Nick does it for him and then encourages him, telling him "you'll get there, brother" and Rio playfully corrects him saying "cousin". Then when his abuela starts groaning by the oven, indicating something went wrong, little Rio gets up to go check on her and Nick stays playing with his game boy. He tries out Abuela's cookies even though they taste bad and Nick declines to taste it when offered. Then of course comes the pretty on-the-nose rotten egg metaphor where the egg that Rio drops sinks (indicating good egg) and Nick's floats (bad egg)

Rio getting up to go check on his abuela shows he cares for her. He heard her fussing and got up right away to check on her. Meanwhile, Nick stays seated. I think because Rio shows he cares, he is grandma's favourite. Later in the episode, we see them joking around about him buying her a new oven and just being a sweet grandmother/grandson duo. We never got any shot of Nick cutting up with grandma like that.

So Rio is a good-looking guy, charming, smart, very talented in boxing and he's grandma's favourite? Oh, brousin is clearly jealous and insecure and that causes tension between them growing up. I think he spent his whole life trying to prove to himself that he is better than Rio. When you're jealous of someone, there's an aspect of wanting to be the person you envy because really, you envy that person because that person is great. I think Nick hates himself and wishes he was Rio, which is why he does a lot to put him down. He rats him out and gets him arrested, which causes his trainer to drop him and he assumes the boss position in all of their operations and makes him an underling. It must feel validating to "conquer" him.

I also think this is why he switches between calling him cousin and brother. Whenever he refers to Rio as brother, it's to put them in the same boat. For example, during the dinner in 4.06, he doubles down on calling him brother to show Beth he's not different from Rio or rather, that Rio is not better than him. Whoever this suburban mama is who Rio clearly has a thing for, she has to know he's not all that. They are brothers connected by blood, the closest he can be associated with Rio. Another example is when he has to get Rio out of jail in 4.08. He feels so high and mighty telling Rio that he owes him and he says "That's why you got me, brother". It must feel incredibly validating to him to be needed by Rio at this point (same sentiments for the first scene in 4.08 when he draws the eyes for him). Calling him brother is pulling him down from this imaginary pedestal and puts him on Nick's level.

When he calls Rio cousin, it's to lift himself above Rio. He refers to Rio as cousin only twice. The first time is in the same episode when Beth comes to the community garden. In the midst of humblebragging about being a councilman who actually does something, Beth asks him "what does your brother think?" and he corrects her by saying "cousin". It's giving now that we're talking about my accomplishments and how great of a councilman I am, he's no longer my brother, we are not the same, I am better. The second time is in 4.09 at the boxing ring right before he "disciplines" Rio. He feels so on top in that moment because Rio is powerless.

For all these reasons, I think Nick hates Rio because he hates himself. But does Rio hate Nick?

I think you're right, no he does not. The first scene in 4.08 shows they were not always butting heads, but Nick's growing resentment and insecurity caused more strife between them. I believe Rio admired Nick. When Nick ratted Rio out, I don't think Rio fully understood why. He made it seem like growing all of their illegal money-making endeavours was for family and for Rio's benefit and Rio was the sacrifice for a better life. He thought Nick was smart for thinking long term. He probably expected that after being sacrificed, they would be chill again, but that's not the case because Nick hated him. I think not understanding why Nick hated him so much really affected him, which is why he lacks emotional intelligence (c'mon, his brother/cousin gets him arrested, he doesn't walk away, then Beth gets him arrested and he doesn't walk away either. He was taught those were just setbacks in a long term plan. No emotional intelligence!).

I think he only really understood once Beth got shot. Nick used her to torture him under the guise that they really needed her for business (which they did, it was a good idea to involve her, but let's be real, he wanted to toy with Rio). For Rio, there's clearly no reason for Nick to want Beth other than Rio wanting Beth ("always want what I got"). Beth and Rio both chose each other and Nick just could not stand that, could not understand why people always choose Rio. His rage causes him to hit Beth where it hurts. When Beth gets shot, I think Rio finally realizes that his brother figure is not some great man to be admired. There's no method to his madness, he's just mad. It's the moment he realizes that Nick's competitiveness is just a result of him being insecure and jealous. In their final call in prison, Rio does not address him as bro, or cousin, he just calls him "man". I think that shows he finally sees through Nick entirely and addressing him as "man" is him severing their familial ties. I don't think that means he hates him. A part of him will always remember those times when they were cool, but he will never consider him family again.

Oh gosh, this turned into some 500-page essay that might only make sense in my head 🤣 I apologize in advance for this mess!

What are your thoughts on Rio and Nick?

Anon, this is such a good dissection! All the supporting evidence and analysis! You did such a good job, idk what I could add. I agree: Nick always resented the easy way Rio gained affection from others, and Rio always tried to justify Nick’s cruelties despite them escalating over time. Their natures were set up in the flashback scene and you picked up on so much important detail. I love it. 💕

[vincess-princess]

in darkness shall you be reborn

Chapter 6

Word count: 3019 Warnings: none (for once lmao) A\N: this will probably be my last update for the month because i have exams coming, sorry :( and, of course, i'm not the author of the shanty mentioned in the chapter

By dinner, a generous share of warm beer and several bitter puffs of a cigarette that Mick forced through his teeth brought Vince back onto the sinful earth. He obediently followed Mick’s orders and fussed around in the kitchen, though wrenching even a single word out of him was rotten work. Neither Mick nor Tommy who dropped by the galley to “check when the dinner is ready” got a clear picture of what had happened: a few listless hand waves, barely noticeable head shakes and one eye roll at an especially bad joke were all they could get. Nikki was just as unwilling to share the details, apart from several curse words, and by dinner drank himself into oblivion. Which was probably a mistake on his side, because the upcoming day was expected to be quite turbulent – they were finally going to arrive to Port Royal and dump the captives and most of the goods into the grabby hands of local barons. The crew looked forward to it, having spent weeks at sea, and loudly and happily talked about their plans, which primarily consisted of girls and ale, during the dinner. Listening to them made Vince’s heart ache – he too wanted to lose himself in the warm embrace of a girl and a bottle of wine flavored with spices. But he knew he most likely would not be let out without supervision, or would simply be confined to the galley. Still, an inkling of hope in him persisted.

The nights in the Atlantic Ocean were always warm, but as the ship went southwards they were becoming more hot and humid, so the crew spent most of their time on deck instead of hiding in the wardroom. Vince didn’t like the idea of spending the night outside – he always heard that night air could make one sick, what if he caught a cold? – but staying in the galley was not an option. Provident Mick did not risk to leave him there alone, not with so many knives around that he could see attracted Vince like a mouse to cheese in a trap. Mick could see almost everything with his icy-blue eyes that penetrated Vince’s soul to its very core. Vince only hoped he couldn’t read his thoughts – he wanted to keep at least some part of him to himself.

Mick played his guitar on the deck that evening, and all the sailors passing past him slowed down or stopped in their tracks outright to listen to the quiet, haunting melodies that gradually evolved into heavy beats of such power the strings rang and wailed as if on the verge of breaking. Most songs Vince couldn’t recognize – of course, Mick wasn’t playing anything he typically heard in operas and at concerts. But some sounded familiar; Vince might have heard his men singing them while working on deck while he was in his cabin supposedly dealing with business. In reality, though, he often abandoned boring papers to press his ear to the door and listen to hoarse, powerful voices sing unevenly but with refreshing sincerity. No opera or choir could ever imitate the rawness and liveliness of such simple tunes sung by such simple folk.

One of them was just flowing from under Mick’s bony fingers. It was mostly beats and clapping rather than actual melody, but the sound intertwined so naturally with the winds howling around and the waves crushing at the bow of the ship that any professional music would sound out of place – fake, even.

Mick saw Vince tap the rhythm with his foot on the floor and raised an eyebrow. “You know the tune?”

Vince half-nodded, half-shrugged. He heard his crew sing it, and sometimes sang it quietly to himself when alone in his cabin. He was a decent singer – or he wanted to believe he was – but he couldn’t join his crew in it for fear of losing their high regard for him. He was of noble blood, after all, and did not belong among simple folk.

“How come? This ain’t what they play in operas, or wherever your kind goes to have some fun,” Tommy chimed in, unasked.

“Heard my crew sing it,” Vince replied reluctantly. These were one of the only words he said over the evening.

“Did you like it?” Mick asked, glaring at Tommy.

Vince shrugged again. Any weakness he had, any secret aspirations he nursed the pirates would target before everything else, because it hurt the hardest. Better not reveal his soft spots to them at all.

“Well, not like he’s got much of a choice. Don’t have a choir here, princess.” Tommy plopped onto the same bench that Vince sat on. It was a bit too short for three people at once, but Tommy unceremoniously squeezed in anyways, swaying his hips to fit on the narrow plank. His hand immediately slid onto Vince’s knee. Vince slapped it away, only for it to return, this time feeling his thigh. He was too tired to argue, so he let it be.

“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’,” Mick concluded. “T-bone, you remember the ‘All For Me Grog’ lyrics?”

“Of course,” Tommy grinned. “What, are we throwing a party for the newcomer?”

“Jesus, Tommy, give the guy a break,” Mick rolled his eyes. “Now, why don’t you put your mouth to good use and sing for us? The night is terribly quiet.”

“Not a problem, boss. Hey, everyone!” Tommy called out to the crew. “What do ya think of a little song break?”

The pirates cheered, dropping whatever they were doing and surrounding Tommy, Mick and Vince. They still stared at Vince like he was an exotic animal, but at least they didn’t look hungry. Only one person, a long-haired ginger sailing master, remained unphased, gripping at the helm like his life depended on it.

“All For Me Grog, everyone!” Mick declared and began tapping out the rhythm on his guitar. Almost immediately, Tommy began to sing.

He had a good voice, Vince had to admit. A little bit hoarse from all the cigarettes smoked, perhaps, but it only added to its charm.

Where are me boots, me noggin', noggin' boots, They're all gone for beer and tobacco, he sang, and his voice rang all across the ship and farther, drowning in deep black waters of the Atlantic Ocean. For the heels they are worn out and the toes are kicked about And the soles are looking out for better weather,

Well it's all for me grog, me jolly jolly grog, It's all for me beer and tobacco-

The crew joined for the chorus, croaky, husky voices interweaving together into a low, steady rumble. As much as Vince didn’t want to admit it, the sound forced goosebumps to run down his back.

For I spent all me tin on the lassies drinking gin, they sang as Tommy winked at Vince and squeezed his knee harder. Far across the western ocean I must wander.

Where is me shirt, me noggin', noggin' shirt, It's all gone for beer and tobacco, For the collar is all worn, and the sleeves they are all torn, And the tail is looking out for better weather.

I'm sick in the head and I haven't been to bed, Since first I came ashore from me slumber, For I spent all me dough on the lassies don't you know, Far across the western ocean I must wander.

As the singing faded, an unnatural silence broken only by the sound of waves descended onto the ship. The pirates stood still for a few moments, looking yet not seeing one another, their thoughts far away. At home with a wife waiting for them, or in a pub drinking with buddies, or in bed with hot fingers of a hooker all over their bodies… what else did people like them, always on the move, always hiding from the law, long for?

Well, at least Vince knew damn well what he wanted – to get away from this goddamn ship. And the inkling of hope inside him that he had no heart to suppress whispered to him that he could only hope to pull it off tomorrow. He needed to be alert and prepared – to seize the opportunity when it comes. Not if. When.

“Great, everyone, now back to work!” Tommy clapped his hands, and the silence was broken by shuffling of boots on the deck and indecipherable murmuring. “You too!” he poked Vince in the chest. “The dishes ain’t gonna wash themselves. Come on, come on, I’ll help you carry them.” With that, he pushed a tray in Vince’s hands and began piling up plates on it. Vince narrowed his eyes at him, trying to catch his gaze, but the first mate was terribly occupied with fitting as many plates onto the tray as possible. Since when Tommy was so eager to help him do the dirty work?

Of course, it wasn’t just out of kindness of Tommy’s heart. When they entered the galley, he slammed the door shut and turned to Vince. His angry frown made Vince clutch the tray tighter, as if it could help him should Tommy want to hurt him, although Vince couldn’t recall anything he did lately that would make the first mate dissatisfied with him.

“What the hell did you do to Nikki?” Tommy demanded.

“What are you talking about?” Vince forced himself to let go of the tray and upended it above the tub, accidentally splashing the muddy water on his pants. “Oh, fiddlesticks!”

Tommy snorted and his frown evened out slightly. “Jesus, if anyone else hears you say that you are gonna get your ass beaten. Just say ‘damn’ like everyone else.”

“I’ll have my fiddlesticks, thanks.” Vince grabbed a towel from the counter and tried to sop up the water on his clothes, silently hoping that Tommy would drop the topic and leave him alone. To no avail, unfortunately.

“Asking nicely for the last time,” Tommy stepped forward, towering over Vince in his high-heeled boots. How did he even walk in those on the always-swaying deck? “What happened?”

“Why do you care?” Vince snapped back. “Are you policing his sex life or something? Pervert.”

“I couldn’t care less about where he sticks his dick as long as his nose doesn’t fall off. But I do care about our business, and he’s lying there out cold surrounded by empty bottles. I talked to him in the morning – everything was normal. You leave his cabin, and he drinks himself into oblivion and refuses to show up on deck or even open the door. What the hell happened?” Tommy reached forward and squeezed Vince’s shoulder, not letting him back off.

Upon learning that Nikki hadn’t told anyone about Vince’s breakdown relief washed over him. Knew Tommy about it, the entire crew would have already been snickering and whispering around Vince, and for a reason. Going into a fit of panic when told to undress, like some hysterical nun who’d never seen a dick in her life, wasn’t quite what Vince wanted to be known for. Sure, everybody already knew he was Nikki’s toy, but he could at least carry that unflattering status with as much pride as it was possible to have in this situation.

“What do you think?” he said through gritted teeth. “Do you think he wanted to play poker with me or something?”

“Sure he didn’t. But I know him, and this ain’t how he behaves after sex, so I can only assume he hasn’t had any. Which is weird, because he always gets what he wants, even from bitches like you. What did you do to him?”

“Ask rather what he did to me.” Vince turned away demonstratively and reached for a sponge. “Maybe it’s his conscience finally waking up.”

“Hah, nothing of this kind in that asshole,” Tommy brushed him off with a chuckle. “Listen, I’m not gonna leave you alone until you tell me.”

“Then you’ll be spending a night here,” Vince didn’t retreat, plunging the sponge into muddy water, pursing his lips in disgust when his hand touched some food remains. “Maybe he’s upset I drank that premium whisky of his.”

“He gave you his premium whisky? You lucky son of a bitch!” Tommy almost jumped, his eyes lighting up. “Can’t imagine how well you sucked him off to get that. So all it takes is just offering you some booze? I have some vodka stashed somewhere-”

A plate almost crashed against his head – he managed to duck at the last second, and it broke against the wall instead. Vince didn’t have enough time to fling another plate – Tommy tackled him to the floor instead.

“Let me go,” Vince hissed, wriggling underneath him.

“I will, if you ain’t gonna throw more plates at me”.

“I will, if you cut that talk.”

“Well, we’ll stay like this then.” Tommy shrugged. “So that was all a show the first time? Are you more pliable one-by-one, or was that the booze?”

“Neither. I’ve drunk beverages a hundred times better than that whisky. And no, that wasn’t a show.”

“Hard to believe, princess.” Tommy pinched his cheek. “But you’ve got a grain of truth somewhere, I admit. Nikki wouldn’t react like that to a good blowjob.” He finally rolled off Vince and plopped down onto his sleeping place, his legs alone half of the room’s length, and patted the place next to him on the blanket. After a little hesitation Vince moved there too, solely because the floor was too cold.

“So, now that we’re comfortable and cozy, will you fuckin’ tell me what happened?” Tommy pressed on. Vince tried not to touch his body, but he could feel heat radiating from it even at a distance. “With as many details as possible. I won’t jerk off on it, I promise. At least in your presence.”

“Nothing much,” Vince shook his head again. “Nothing to jerk off to - we didn’t even have sex.”

“Well, that’s a shame,” Tommy looked disappointed. “I hoped for a juicy story. How come Nikki didn’t fuck you again? I know he wanted to – he’s been talking about you all night not letting me sleep in peace - and I doubt you are eloquent enough to talk him out of that.”

“I might be,” Vince got offended. Did Tommy think he had been taking all his rhetoric classes for nothing? “But words wouldn’t help there. They didn’t help me yesterday, after all.”

Tommy ignored Vince’s full-of-disdain look.

“How’d you squeeze the whisky out of him then? You don’t look like the type – and even if you did, I doubt you could get it with force. Nikki’s just as good at hand-to-hand combat as with a sword.”

Tommy didn’t lie, still looking fully determined to wring the answer out of him, and Vince gave up, not ready to listen to his nagging for the rest of the night. But even remembering what happened from a safe distance of the galley still made a lump form in his throat and his heart beat faster. He was so tired of all this. Even the pride he was clutching at like a drowning man to a raft seemed less important than just being left alone. Besides, everyone on the ship already knew he was Nikki’s bitch, so what difference would it make to have that happen twice?

“He started undressing me, and I kind of… began to suffocate. I don’t know what happened – everything was blurry and I couldn’t breathe. And then he pours this whisky into my mouth and sends me away. That’s all.”

Tommy stayed silent for a minute or two, which in his case was more frightening than when he talked all the time.

“Just don’t tell anyone,” Vince added hastily. “I mean, not that there’s much of a reputation to ruin for me, but still.”

“I won’t,” Tommy said after a few seconds of pondering over it, “but not because of you. Because of him. They might consider it a weakness.”

In other circumstances Vince wouldn’t believe him, but now it was different. Tommy spoke without a usual hint of mockery in his voice and looked more serious than Vince had ever seen him over the short period on the Shout. So he was inclined to believe him – or at least hope that he wouldn’t spill the beans intentionally.

“Still, thank you.”

“You’re welcome, princess. By the way, I just now realized I don’t even know your name. I know you’re a Wharton because we found papers in the captain’s cabin, but not much more than that.”

“Vincent Neil,” Vince said after a short pause. Maybe now he would start calling him by his name instead of giving him womanly nicknames? “I don’t suppose anyone here will call me that, so just Vince will do.”

“Alright, princess Vinnie,” Tommy grinned (no, this was a hopeless case) and then, unexpectedly, stretched his hand forward. “Nice to meet you.”

Vince stared at it like it was an exotic and extremely venomous snake somebody just suggested he pet. But seconds passed and Tommy’s hand didn’t waver, and Vince decided he didn’t want to decline this extremely rare demonstration of respect he was so unexpectedly offered.

“Can’t say it’s mutual, sorry.” He shook Tommy’s hand.

Tommy burst into laughter. “That was harsh! Didn’t you have your etig- etiqa- good behavior lessons in your childhood?”

“Etiquette, you mean? It’s useless outside social events. No one cares which fork you use for fish and which for salad here.”

“Wait, you use different forks for different dishes? Man, that’s crazy. How’d you remember all that? And what a pain in the ass it must be to wash all of them!”

“I never remembered anything even after all my lessons,” Vince smiled faintly. “Always thought it to be stupid, honestly.”

“Well, at least here we’re on the same page,” Tommy nodded and got up. “Now, you have work to do, and who am I to interrupt you?”

“Bastard,” Vince murmured to his back. Tommy jerked his shoulder, but chose to ignore the insult and hurried out of the galley.

[megastarstriker]

✯𝒞𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓈𝓉𝓂𝒶𝓈 𝒲𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝒴𝑜𝓊✯

✮*•̩̩͙✧•̩̩͙*˚✧*˚　 ˚*✧˚*•̩̩͙✧•̩̩͙*˚✮

NIKKI SIXX  X  READER

˚*✧˚*•̩̩͙✧•̩̩͙*˚✮       ˚*✧˚*•̩̩͙✧•̩̩͙*˚✮

Requested:

Contains: FLUFF 

𝙋𝙖𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜: Nikki Sixx  x Female Reader

𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝘾𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩:

𝙏𝙖𝙜𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩: @metalheartofgold, @ginny-rose-sixx, @xxqueencolourxx​, @littlemisscare-all​,

💕MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! LOVE YOU GUYS AND LET ME KNOW IF YOU WANNA GET TAGGED TOO💕

Keys:

(Y/N) - Your Name

(L/N) - Last Name

(D/N) - Daughter’s Name

============================

“Dada.....”, The little 3 year old baby girl that I held in my arms babbled as she looked at her father over my shoulder with her cute curious eyes who was already walking towards me with a small smile on his face, looking at the small child as he looked at her excited (E/C) eyes with his warm hazel ones. 

“I’m here, sweetie....”, He murmured softly as he kissed the girl sweetly on the forehead making her giggle and coo happily at her father,” Good morning.”

“Good morning,...Nik...”, I said as I leaned into Nikki’s touch as he wrapped his arm with security and warmth around me and the little bundle of joy that was right next to us.

“Morning, beautiful.....”, He whispered in my ear kissing my forehead and then my cheek, only then to plant his warm and slightly chapped lips unto mine. The kiss was short but despite that it had a burning taste of passion in it that I couldn’t describe but either way... I loved it. 

The embrace was then interrupted by a small barking sound from the floor, as I felt a tug on my nightgown. I then departed my eyes from Nikki to see two small set of brown eyes looking at me energetically as the small pup wagged its tail with joy as he looked at the baby with wonderment. 

“And you too, bud....”, He said with a laugh as he picked up the dog from the ground, making the dog yap at him and his tail wag with speed. I giggled at how cute the two of them were as I then looked at (D/N) tiny form as she leaned gently into my shoulder giggling at the pup that was in Nikki’s hands. 

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

‘Buddy was new to the family once (D/N) was born. It wasn’t just an early Christmas present but it was also something that Nikki and I talked about when she was born. I thought about what it would be like if we did have a pet and if it would be nice that our daughter got to play with it. Nikki of course agreed same going for me as we both had our fair share of love for animals especially dogs. And he couldn’t say not to his newborn daughter too. We wanted to buy and get a pup especially for her, but I then heard about an option for adopting one from one of my closest friends. I overhead from her that these pups were homeless or abandoned and needed homes, as well as it would be an amazing idea to have one. It wouldn’t just be a good decision but rather an amazing way to spread awareness about these animals who need love and attention. Thinking about that made me think of Nikki and his past. It always left me thinking that Nikki deserved better. A better family to have raised him, a better childhood, and a better life. Nikki of course was happy now and would always remind me that I was always there for him and that things have changed now because of me and the people that supported him aka the crue as well as other people and to not worry about the things that happened to him in the past, because he already has his two most greatest things: His Band and His Family. But those exact same thoughts made me wonder. 

“Those animals deserve the exact same thing.

Love, attention, and a Family.”

Not Hatred, Loneliness, and Abandonment.

Just Like Nikki needed it and has it now.

As I rethought the decision in my mind, I smiled as I then went and talked it over with Nikki about adopting a pet. He of course was shocked to see me talk about my reasons for it especially since he was mainly the reason for it. Of course after finishing he gave me a strong embrace and a kiss, and accepted on a adoption for a pet. Afterwards, He told me that I had such a heart of gold and teased me about it for the rest of the day......

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‘Ughh’, I thought in my head as I groaned at Nikki’s teasing remarks that day, as I saw him play with ‘Buddy’, as well as (D/N) joining him in the floor of the living room. ‘What a dork.’ I smiled with a blush as I looked at them as I went to the kitchen to start on breakfast, as a few moments later my two devilish angels a.k.a Nikki and (D/N) decided on wanting to join in and help me with it.  

  But at least he’s my dork.

8 hours later

“Mommy.”, (D/N) asked me as she tugged on my party dress I picked out for the dinner party  looking at me with cute baby doll eyes.

“Yes sweetie”, I said softly as I picked her up gently looking at her as I awaited for her response.

“When are my aunties and uncles going to come.”, She said her eyes a bit sad as she looked down, as she already had her clothes ready for the Christmas dinner party we were holding at our place. 

“Oh, honey...”, I started to say my heart breaking at her expression she gave me, “Your aunts and uncles will come....Even some of the kids too so you can all play....There are just running a bit late....But don’t worry....Okay.”

“Really?”, She said as she had hopeful eyes gleaming, rubbing her eyes.

“Yeah, princess.”, Nikki said as he appeared next to me, wearing his formal wear, looking as handsome as always, taking (D/N) in his arms and hugged her, “Everything will be ok.”

Then as soon as he said that a door ringing was hear from the front door.

“Speaking of the devil.”, I muttered jokingly to Nikki as he chuckled rolling his eyes a bit playfully as he patted my shoulder as he gently put (D/N) on the floor next to Buddy who was now wagging his tail in excitement. 

“I’ll get it.”, He told me as he went over to the door opening to reveal...

You guessed it.

The breathing, living, and rocking crue....

Standing at our door...

My Parents , my friends along with their husbands and daughters , and.....

My brother!

Looking at him standing there I was shocked.

“Surprise!”, He said as he had his arms out ready to hug me and a huge smile on his face.

“(B/N)!”, I said with wide eyes open as I hugged him tightly a happy smile reaching its way on my face, deep down believing this was all a dream. 

“ In the flesh.”, He said with a chuckle as he broke free from the heartwarming embrace. 

“But- How.....”, I asked him still amazed at him standing here in front of me, “I thought you couldn’t come because of your job.”

“Well..., let’s just say a little someone gave me a nice talk through the phone and told me to come here and meet you as a surprise.”, He said as he looked at me trailing off a bit.

“When I mean a ‘little someone’ I mean Nikki.”, He then said as he gestured towards him who was busy welcoming Tommy, Vince, and Mick, “And when I mean a nice talk, I mean he was going to beat and murder my ass if I didn’t come here.”

“Oh no....”, I said as I felt a bit guilty thinking that he came here because of Nikki’s threat., “Didn’t Nikki really force you to come here-”

“No no no, He didn’t....”, He said as he understood what I was trying to say, “I mean a bit but, no. Don’t blame him for anything though, I only came here because of you and about what Nikki said when he called me up.”

“What did he say?”, I asked him as I quirked an eyebrow.

“Well, He told me about how much you missed having me visit for the holidays and well that he wanted to change that by bringing me here....”, He started to say as he stood in front of me, “.......And then he told me about how you were incredibly special to him and lovey dovey stuff as he liked to put it.”

I gasped hearing this..

Did Nikki really just..?...

“But that’s all I can say for now......”, He finished as he then gave a smile, “Other than that I am happy to see you and mom and dad again here together. I know I haven’t been the best bro for not coming for the holidays, but I guess I feel happy now that  I’m here. Huh? Now that I’m thinking about it, I feel like with Nikki being around with you its a miracle for him.... He really cares about you, I can tell......”

Still a bit taken aback by all of this information, I saw as I small girl and a woman came walking beside my brother.

“Oh yeah, I didn’t came here alone of course.”, He said as she then said a small ‘hello’, sending me a welcoming smile holding her daughter in her arms.

“I guess I already told you about them in a few occasions over the phone, but this is my wife Donna, and this little munchkin over here is my daughter Annie.”, He introduced as they both said hi, Donna shaking my hand as she said it was nice to meet me, her daughter giving me a shy wave as to say hello to me.

“Its Nice to meet you too,” I said with a warm welcome as I told them to go ahead and make themselves comfortable at home. 

I then said hello to my parents and my friends who brought over their husbands and daughters...

And of course couldn’t forget about the jolly ol’ crue....

“Hey Tommy, Vince!”, I greeted as I then walked over to them both as they enveloped me in a warm friendly hug.

They both said hello to me before releasing me from the hug, I was about to greet Mick only to find he wasn’t there. 

“Where’s Mick?”, I asked as I tried looking for him around where I stood.

“Mick is with Nikki in the kitchen talking about something... code word ‘ private’....”, Tommy said as he held out the quotation marks in the air whispering the word to me. 

“And He doesn’t want us in on listening to their small chat, thinking we are gonna gossip about it to the fellas around here......so yeah here we are.... trying but also not trying to ‘eavesdrop’ on them.....”, Vince continued as he rolled his eyes a bit. 

I giggled at them both as I shook my head, “Well good luck with that. ”

After a couple of minutes of introduction with everyone including Mick who came out with Nikki after their so called ‘private conversation’ , we all went to the dining room, Me and Nikki being the last ones as he looked to me.

“So your brother came.”, Nikki commented as he stood beside me. 

“Yeah, I noticed.” I said as I tried to play along with his game although already knowing it was his idea all along for him to come here,” I’m really happy he came.”

“Um, I sort of called him to come here. I know how much he means to you as family.”, Nikki said nervously as he looked at me coughing a bit.

Damn it why did he have to be so cute!

“So yeah....”, He said with a chuckle ,” I’m gonna go and head over-”

I cut off his sentence with a warm kiss as I gripped his coat.

He was shocked but slowly kissed me back.

I then pulled away with a sigh.

“I know you called him over and why. He told me everything”, I said with a smile as I noticed him look a bit surprised to hear me say this.

“What you did was really sweet and the best gift I could have from you, I love you.”, I said as I hugged him tightly, not wanting to ever let go from him.

Before long he hugged me back, saying those same words.

“I love you too, Merry Christmas baby.....”

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{AUTHORS NOTE}:

Hey Guys and Merry Christmas to everyone who is reading this or not!!!!

Hope you guys have an amazing holiday whether it is with your family or friends or whoever you celebrate and however you do it!!

🖤I HOPE ANYONE THAT’S READING LIKED IT AS WEll AND LOVE YOU.🖤

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[theatreslave]

Recovery

Chapter One

Drea Mikami silenced her cellphone for the third time in ten minutes. It was ringing incessantly, receiving calls from a number she didn’t recognize. She was supposed to be concentrating on paperwork but the sinking feeling that had started in her stomach two weeks ago when the number called her for the first time, was growing.

The phone rang again and she silenced just as her partner Michaela Stone-Landon reached her desk.

“You’re popular.” Michaela said with a raised eyebrow.

“It’s nothing just asking about my vehicle warranty or whatever. I swear those telemarketers are trying to annoy me to death,” Drea replied with her usual sass, trying not to show her nerves to her partner. Her amazing partner who was soon to be leaving her for a while. “Did you finish up everything? Are you excited?”

“Yeah I tied up loose ends and I have the rest of my paperwork done. Any open cases have been transferred to different detectives, barring the ones you wanted of course,” She said fondly. Silencing her friend’s phone for her the next time it rang. “In a couple hours I will be on a flight to my honeymoon, stress free!”

“I’m really happy for you Mick. I hate you for leaving me here by myself but how could I stop such a happy couple from enjoying their private time! Just make sure to have a few margaritas for me. Or better yet a few mai tais.” Drea laughed.

“You gonna be ok? I know Bowers assigned you to work with Jared while I’m gone.” Michaela asked, feeling a bit awkward.

Drea scoffed, “It’s just Jared. Afraid I’ll steal him away?”

“You can have him. Just don’t let him sulk too much ok. And take it easy on him. Your unending enthusiasm might actually make him smile and he might get a cramp in his face.” She joked.

“Oh trust me Mrs.Landon, I will make sure your ex-boy toy has nothing else to worry about except how to shut me up.” Drea stood up next to her partner and gave her a hug. “He’ll be ok Mic. He’s a big boy. I’m sure under all that brooding he is happy for you. Jared is just a passionate guy and you were all he was passionate about for a while.”

Drea released Mick from her hug. Mick nodded in agreement. “I know. He was all I knew for a long time too but Zeke, he’s everything and more. I can’t explain it. We are more than just soul mates. It’s deeper than that.”

“I know it is. I mean he survived against all odds because of you. So don’t worry, a dose of MIkami and me gushing over all the nauseatingly cute pictures you send me from your trip, will turn Jared off of you forever.” Drea was more than confident that she would have some fun while Mick was away. “And speak of the Devil.”

Jared Vasquez, newly appointed lieutenant, strode into the precinct confidently. He shrugged off his jacket and paused before scanning the bullpen and spotting the two women next to Mikami’s desk.

“It’s our big strong lieutenant back from a successful mission,” Drea teased. “I was just saying ‘bon voyage’ to the newly wed before she leaves tonight.”

Jared chuckled a bit then turned to Michaela, “Have a safe trip, and come back on time. Or if you’re going to disappear, take me with you this time.”

Michaela smacked the man’s arm, then gave him a hug as well. “I’ll be back, I promise. Be nice to Drea ok. I don’t wanna come back here and find out that you made her cry.”

“Like he could make me cry!”

“I’m not that mean!”

Drea’s phone rang and she absentmindedly silenced it again. Jared noticed but ignored it, figuring that she didn’t want to interrupt the conversation.

“So Vasquez, was it a successful mission?” Drea diverted.

“Yup, finally caught those Irish mobsters after, what, 6 months of tailing them. I am ready for something simple after all that.” Jared said as he loosened his tie and unbuttoned his top button.

“Congratulations! That’s great I know how that case has been bothering you. Using their prep-school sons as drug mules was a new low.” Michaela said with a sad look as she started packing up her bag at her desk just across from Drea’s.

Drea’s phone rang again and this time she flinched. Michaela reached over and silenced it again. Before Jared could ask what was up with that Michaela was ready to head off.

“I will see you guys in a month. I’ll send you guys some pictures. Call me if you need anything. But only if it’s urgent.” Michaela said with a wink and then waved as she walked out of the precinct.

“Aww they grow up so fast.” Drea said, wiping away a fake tear.

Jared stared at her for a second before rolling his eyes, “Make sure your weirdness doesn’t rub off on me.”

“I’m not weird! I’m just confident in my uniqueness.” Drea stuck her tongue out at him, “At least I know how to have fun.”

Her cellphone rang again. Jared finally lost his battle against his own curiosity and swiped Drea's phone and answered it. “Hello, you’re calling this phone an awful lot and it’s really starting to get annoying.”

Drea’s eyes were wide as saucers as she tried to take the phone from the much taller man in front of her. “Jared, what the hell! Give that back.”

“Who are you? Why are you answering this call?” A male voice answered. The tone he used alarmed Jared.

“Hey man, just stop calling this number ok. She doesn’t want to talk to you. And you’re making it so I can’t even enjoy the silence of a nearly empty precinct.” Jared scoffed.

“Are you that bitch’s new lap dog? She’ll curse you like she did to me. She’ll ruin you. Drea I know you’re there! You fucking bitch!” The man would have been foaming at the mouth if he were in front of Jared.

Drea finally pulled the phone from Jared’s grasp and disconnected the call. Jared was shocked then angry. “ Drea what the hell was that? Who was that? Are you in trouble?”

“Jared, it's nothing. I promise. Just some guy that’s mad that I didn’t go on a second date with him. Don’t worry about it. I was gonna get a new phone tomorrow anyway.” Drea just shut her phone off and tried to busy herself at her desk.

Jared took a moment to stare at her then went to his desk to grab a couple things, threw his jacket back on and then found his way back to her desk. “Grab what you need, the day is over and I am taking you to get a new phone.”

“Jared you really don’t have to do this,” Drea refused.

“I don’t but I’m not going to have a sleepless night thinking about that grim reaper calling you every ten minutes, so let’s move Mikami.” Jared said jokingly, trying to lighten the mood. At first Drea hesitated then grabbed her things and followed the Cuban man out of the precinct.

Drea sat in Jared’s passenger seat, having taken the bus that morning instead of her own car. It was silent as they made their way to the closest AT&T store. She played with her fingers feeling nervous for some reason.

“Do you need help getting a restraining order?” Jared asked, keeping his eye on the busy evening streets of New York.

Drea considered being honest but decided against it. Her and Jared weren’t very close and she didn’t need to involve him. “Yeah but it’s not like he’s stalking me. I probably should have given him a social media account instead of my actual number.”

“Don’t take any of the blame here, Drea. If this guy is really just being an asshole because he can’t take rejection. That’s all on him. You’ve blocked his number?”

“Yeah but he just calls with new ones. But it’s ok, I have my knight in shining necktie taking me to get a new phone so everything should be fine.” Drea teased, hoping the topic would be dropped.

“Brat,” Jared glanced at her, “If you ever need my help with some dude, don’t hesitate to ask. I know I may not be the best guy but I won’t stand for any of you girls getting treated like shit.”

“Thank you, Jared. Really it means a lot. But I don’t think this will be a big deal so don’t worry too much. That wrinkle between your brows will just get deeper.”

“I do not have a wrinkle!” Jared shot back as he parked the car. “Come on, let's go.”

“You’re coming with me?” Drea asked, surprised.

“And what, leave you here to take a night bus or taxi by yourself? Not a chance, especially after that phone call. We are getting you a new phone then you are buying me dinner for driving you around.” Jared said as they both exited the car and made their way across the street.

“How about I just cook you something? I was going to make some ramen when I got home anyway.” Drea said, smiling at Jared, honestly relieved to not be alone.

“That sounds like a deal. Just don’t poison me ok.” Jared joked as he pulled the store door open for her.

“You’ll see. Unlike Michaela I am an amazing cook!” Drea smacked Jared’s shoulder lightly as she walked past him.

The process of getting a new phone was a bit of a hassle as it always is. The minute Drea turned her old phone on, to transfer data, it started pinging with ‘missed call’ notifications followed by more calls from mystery numbers.

Jared looked a bit concerned but as soon as the service was cut off the phone stopped chiming. Drea opted for a Samsung, switching her allegiances, as the sales rep called it. It made transferring her phone numbers and data a little incomplete but Jared made sure to grab her phone and edit his contact information for her.

“Hey I literally just got that!” Drea said after saying ‘goodbye’ to the young man who helped her with her phone.

“I’m just making sure you have me saved properly.” Jared said with a laugh before snapping a picture of himself. “There ya go.”

Jared handed her the new phone as they both made it back to his car. Once they were both seated and Jared had her address in the GPS, Drea finally had a chance to look at his contact info. He had taken a quick selfie with a smile on his face from that dumb angle that guys always take it from. And had saved himself as Jared “Knight in Shining Necktie” Vasquez.

“You’re honestly a giant dork under all that machismo, aren’t you?” Drea smiled as she looked over at him.

“Only around my friends. So keep it a secret. Now are you really going to cook for me or am I just dropping you off? I’m starving after that kid couldn’t stop talking about Samsung being better than Apple blah blah blah. “ Jared said as he made his way down her street.

“Hey, we made a deal. Plus you were right, I definitely prefer this over taking the bus or subway. You can just have the valet take your car. Jonathan will take care of it.” Drea said as they pulled up to an upper class apartment building. Jared let out a low whistle.

“Your apartment complex has a valet? I knew you came from money Drea, but come on now.” Jared said, looking in awe as he stopped the car and spotted the valet driver.

“Jonathan, you’ll take care of Jared’s car won’t you.” Drea asked happily as she made her way into the building.

“Of course, Ms. Mikami. Will the Sir be spending the night?”

“Jonathan! You’re scandalous. Jared is just having dinner with me as a favor so don’t you go reporting to my mother about anything.” Drea teased the older gentleman.

“Of course Miss. Have a wonderful dinner.”

Jared watched the exchange and couldn’t help but chuckle at Drea’s cheerful manner. He followed Drea through the lobby to the elevators which were just as extravagant as the front of the building. “I’m guessing your mother likes to keep an eye on you.”

“She’s always been a tiger mom. She never did forgive me for going into law enforcement and now she wants me to apologize by getting married to one of her friends’ sons.” Drea scoffed. They made it to her apartment and she swiftly let them in.

Jared was pleased to see that her apartment was rather simple but lived in. She had a cat, or he figured she did from the litter box in the corner of the living room that opened up from the front door.

“You can hang your jacket up right there. And take off your shoes please!” Drea called as she rushed into what he assumed was the kitchen to work on their dinner. “Have a look around while I cook. And if you see Mimi, she’s friendly, I promise!.”

“You named your cat ‘Mimi’?” Jared asked as he made his way further into the apartment. He noticed a VR headset promptly displayed next to the TV, a bookcase filled to the brim, and that most of her furniture was a dark cherry color. The depth of which was offset by her cream colored walls and the shine of her lights off the various mirrors that helped make her apartment feel larger than it was.

“Yeah, why? You don’t like it?” Drea called back. The sounds of running water and then the telltale chop of a knife on a cutting board filled the apartment.

“Mimi Mikam? It’s cute.” Jared said with a laugh. He stood at the threshold of the kitchen.

“And she’s cute. If you haven’t seen her then she will come out when I bring her food out,” Drea said absentmindedly as she busied herself with the bowling water and what looked like noodles.

“Where’s your bathroom? I wanna wash up.” Jared asked, not wanting to try and find out himself in case he got accused of snooping. Not that he wasn’t a little interested in the inner workings of his silver spoon fed coworker.

“Just keep going down the hall past the living room. The first door on the right. The door on the left is the guest bedroom. The one at the end of the hall is my room, and across from it is a closet.” Drea answered not looking up from the meat she was slicing.

“Thanks. Not that I needed a full floor plan,” Jared replied as he turned to the hallway.

“I’m just being thorough. Like I am with this food you’re going to love by the way,” Drea shot back.

Jared just chuckled to himself as he walked down the hall, flicking a light switch as he went. The hall was longer than he expected. He found the bathroom easily and washed his hands. He pulled off his tie, finally letting himself relax after the long day. The Lieutenant looked at himself in the mirror, taking in the littering of grey hairs and the deepening crease between his brows. Jared let out a long sigh, he really wasn’t getting any younger. He shook his head and let his mind focus on the enigma that was Drea and her mystery caller. He had a feeling there was more to this than some stilted “nice guy” but he didn’t want to pry. He wasn’t as close to Drea as Michaela but hopefully a month as partners would remedy that.

Jared exited the bathroom only to hear the sound of something falling in what he now knew was Drea’s bedroom.

“Jared,” Drea called from the kitchen.

“Yeah?” Jared called back, his sense on high alert and his hand on his gun which was still at his belt.

“Can you make sure Mimi didn’t knock over the glass I keep on my bedside? She does that sometimes when she realizes I’m home,” Drea requested.

“Yea sure,” Jared let out a sigh of relief and then made his way down the hall. The door to her room was already ajar. Knowing that Drea asked him to check made it easier for him to flick the light switch and enter her bedroom. Jared chuckled to himself, “I guess this is one way to get into a woman’s bedroom.”

Drea’s bedroom was the definition of feminine sophistication. She had a four post canopy bed with light gauzy curtains that were pulled open. Her sheets were a cream color with mauve accents. The wood of her furniture matched the furniture in the rest of her apartment. Her side tables matched and had gold filigree lamps atop them. The carpets were plush and squishy under Jared’s socked feet. He noticed an empty glass laying haphazardly on the floor and moved to pick it up. The glass was placed neatly back on her bedside table.

Jared took a moment to snoop, unable to help himself. There was a small porcelain tree next to her lamp. A ring holder. He did notice she always wore a pinky ring on her left hand and a plain gold band on her right ring finger. A simple brush lay next to it along with a novel. Something horror related from the looks of the cover. Across from the foot of the bed was a dresser and next to that a vanity. In the opposite corner was a desk and a door that he assumed led to the master bathroom.

His attention turned at the soft mewl of Mimi who made herself known. She appeared and with the usual agility of a cat, hopped on to the vanity. That’s when Jared noticed that Drea’s window was open. She hadn’t been in here since they arrived and he doubted that she left it open by accident. Jared shut the window and did a quick sweep of the room. Once satisfied that no one was hiding in the room he turned back to Mimi.

“You wouldn’t be in here if there was an intruder right?” Mimi just blinked up at him. She was a short haired cat. Small and white, with striking blue eyes. She mewed at him and made a movement trying to rub up against him. Jared wasn’t a cat person but he had to admit she was cute. He stepped closer and tentatively reached out a hand. Mimi happily bumped her head against his palm asking for pets.

Jared smiled down at the cat just as Drea called, “Dinner’s ready! Quit snooping and come back out here.”

Jared slowly picked up the snow white cat and was surprised to see how easily she curled into him and purred. He held her to his chest, scratching her head as he made his way back to the kitchen where Drea had set a table for two at the small dining table. “Hey, I wasn’t snooping, I was bonding. See.”

Drea turned and smiled at the sight of the normally stoic detective holding her purring white cat while he scratched her head. “ Aww that’s so cute. Mimi likes you.”

“By the way did you leave your window open? I closed it for you. You should be more careful.” Jared said as he took a seat. Finally he relinquished his hold on Mimi who was more than happy to make her way to her food bowl which Drea had filled.

Drea hesitated then sat down as well, “Uh, yeah I must have forgotten about it when I went to work this morning. Thanks. I really should wake up earlier. Anyway, here we are, a Mikami special. Tonkatsu ramen and shredded seaweed chicken rolls with a side of rice.”

“Wow, it definitely smells better than anything Mick has ever tried to make,” Jared joked..

“Dig in. You had a long successful day and this is our first time hanging out as partners.” Drea said, “Thank you for coming with me to get a new phone too.”

“If I get fed like this every time I might have to do you more favors.” Jared happily dug in.

They chatted throughout dinner enjoying the food and eventually opening up a bottle of wine. Drea reasoned that they were both off tomorrow anyway. Jared, having loosened up, asked Drea about the VR headset he saw and she was more than happy to teach him how to use it. And that’s how they ended up in the living room, Jared exhausted after playing a shooting game and Drea exhausted from laughing so hard at his irritation.

“You know, I should get one of these. It’s like working out without a gym.” Jared said between breaths as he turned off the headset and returned it to its stand.

“I never took you for a gamer. But I must say that was definitely entertaining. You get way too competitive.” Drea said with a laugh. “You should just bunk out in my spare room. It’s late and we drank the whole bottle.”

“Are you sure? I’m not drunk or anything.” Jared realized it was nearing 2 a.m.

“You still drank. We’re cops Jared, we have to set a good example. And you won’t have to worry about me drunkenly jumping you in bed, the spare room has a lock.” Drea said cheekily as she started cleaning up the errant wine glasses and napkins.

“Let me do that then. You cooked and let me stay so I will wash the dishes. Go get ready for bed.” Jared insisted as he started picking up bowls and utensils.

“Yes dad, “ Drea joked as she let him take over, a yawn escaping her mouth.

“I prefer Daddy.” Jared quipped before he could stop himself. Drea let out a laugh and threw a pillow at him. “In your dreams Vasquez.”

He caught the pillow laughing as he cleaned up the remains of their dinner. It wasn’t until he was nearly done with the dishes that he felt the wine headache coming on. Drea met him in the hallway with some extra towels and a pair of sweats that were much too large to be her actual size.

“Here. So you can wash up and change. You’re lucky I like to wear big mens sweats when I’m home by myself. I will be off to bed now. Goodnight Jared.” Drea said nonchalantly as she handed him the pile then made her way back to her room, picking up Mimi who had been winding around her legs.

“Thanks Drea, goodnight.” Jared said. He washed up in the bathroom then went into the guest bedroom to change. It was simpler than her bedroom and slightly smaller but still had the plush carpet and elegant side tables. He took off his shirt and pants, hanging them up in the empty closet, then unfolded the sweats. They were a bit loose on him but were worn in. He could tell from the creases that Drea normally folded the legs up quite a bit. His eyes barely staying open, he hopped into the bed, thinking for a moment about how he ended up here. A ghost of a smile on his face as he drifted off to sleep.

Saying goodnight to Jared was an odd feeling but not bad. Drea definitely didn’t think her day would end with Jared Vasquez sleeping in her apartment. But as she went over the events of the day, it seemed to be an appropriate ending. Drea was about to climb into bed when she noticed something green on her vanity.

As she walked across the room and started to recognize the object, her blood ran cold. She stood less than a foot away, staring down at the handmade Valentine’s Day card wishing it would burst into flames. She looked up at the window next to the vanity, the one that had been open. For a split second panic filled her at the idea that he had made his way into her apartment. But Jared would have noticed, he wouldn’t let her get hurt. He wasn’t here but he had been.

Drea swiftly walked to the kitchen and grabbed some chopsticks and a ziplock bag, hoping her movements wouldn’t wake Jared. She was back in her room with the door shut behind her. She paused again, staring across the room at the offensive item. Until she let her anger surge up within her and drive her forward. She used the chopsticks effortlessly and put the card into the ziplock bag before shoving it in a bottom drawer of her vanity.

Breathing heavily she made her way to her bed. Hoping she would be able to get some sleep. Hoping the vents of the past two days wouldn’t send her spiraling back into her nightmares.

AND THATS IT FOR CHAPTER ONE. SOON TO BE ADDED TO AO3 and FANFIC.NET

[wincestisasincest]

2000 Man (A beatle!reader story) - Part 5: Fore!

A quick one, inspired by this picture. Beautiful.

As always, credit to @casafrass for inventing the concept of Beatle!reader, that mf idea that sister snatched my heart. 

Description: It’s the year 2000, and y/n, the fifth member of the Beatles, is advertising her new book, Madam Beatle, in her first interview of the year. We see snapshots of her life, from when she joined the band, to the trials and tribulations, to the death of the band, and everything in between. Loosely inspired by Slumdog Millionaire. 

Part: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Head canons: None, I think, besides the general concept, this is just me spitballing. 

Words: 1465

Pairings: None? I mean, it’s the same as always, depending on how you view it, it can either be a pairing or a friendship.

Warnings: Alcohol, smoking, golf

“There is this recurring, oh, let’s call it a motif, in the book, of the Rolling Stones.” 

“Yeah, this is one of the few cases in which popular opinion was actually correct. We really did see the Stones a lot.”

“Now, you were friends?”

“I’d say so, yes. Initially, we had something of a rivalry, I guess you’d call it, but even in those days, we still had a very deep reverence for each other. And, then, at one point, our managers decided that we should meet.”

“An interesting decision, yes?” 

“Well, you see, in our industry, competition isn’t unusual, but having enemies really can’t be an option. I think they wanted to actually have us meet face to face so our competitive energy couldn’t turn into blind hatred. Because that only leads to worse things.” 

“Hasn’t competition produced some great records?” 

“Yes, but it’s not really a prerequisite. All due respect, I really am against the idea that you need some sort of negative presence to properly be a musician, or make beautiful things. People just like focusing on that because it’s interesting, but really, as much songs have been motivated by joy as they have grief. I wish more people, especially aspiring artists, knew that.” 

*************

“They’re late.” Brian checked his watch impatiently. 

“What’d you expect?” John was lighting his cigarette.

“Their public personas are one thing, but there’s no need to be rude in private.” Brian huffed.

“Maybe, and this is crazy, but hear me out, their on-stage personas evolved from their own personalities.” You retorted as John courteously lit your own cigarette for you. 

“(Y/n), I’m really not in the mood for any of your back-talk. If you could kindly keep the sass to yourself, I think it would benefit all of us.” Brian retorted and John snickered. 

“You got in trouble.” 

“Shut up, John, I’m gonna go check out the bar.” You shifted your eyes up to Brian, expecting some sort of reprimand, though he just looked at you tiredly.

“Just don’t get drunk.” And with that, he paid you no more mind. It’s not nearly as fun when he doesn’t get offended, you thought. 

You turned on your heel and wandered off in the opposite direction, leaving John to flit over to Paul, George, and Ringo, who were pretending to know how to swing a club. You laughed to yourself. The benefit of being the only girl in the group is that when they did dumb guy business meeting things, you were not expected to participate. Another day of your life where you would not have to play golf. Thank god. 

You swung open the door to the bar and the air conditioner hit you in the face. The bar had an old-timey feel, all the way down to the bar tender cleaning a glass at the counter and a few mysterious strangers lined up on the stools. Might as well join ‘em. 

You plopped yourself on the stool the closest to the door and called the bartender over. 

“What can I do ya for, sweetheart?” 

“Vodka sour.” He nodded and whisked off behind the counter to fetch your order. You took a drag of your cigarette.

“Vodka sour?” A thick British accent floated from one of the stools. You spun around your seat, face to face with none other than Keith Richards, the guitarist for the Rolling Stones, and also one of the people that you were waiting on. 

“It’s 5 o’clock somewhere.” You shrugged. If he wanted to play it coy, and act like you two don’t know each other, then he’s on.

He slid out of his seat and moved to the one directly next to you. The both of you were smoking and sizing each other up. Of course, if you wanted to ruin the fun, you could’ve asked why he was late. But you didn’t. 

“Vodka sour, Miss.” The bartender dropped your drink on the counter. You briefly turned back to him.

“Thanks, what do I owe you?” As you struggled to pull out your wallet, Keith took some money from the front pocket of his shirt and handed it to the bartender. He returned your startled look with a charming smile. 

“On me.” 

“Well now, I must be something special if I’m getting you to buy drinks for me.” You doused your cigarette in the ashtray and took a long sip.

“Nah, it’s just, I feel like I know you from somewhere.” He grinned.

“Feeling’s mutual. Perhaps I can buy the next one?”

“Oi, Keith, stop flirtin’ we got some bugs ta’ meet!” Another British accent, though this one a lot more harsh, cut through the room. 

Coming in from the alternate entrance was none other than the flamboyant, the one and only, the Romeon to your Juliet, Mick Jagger. Trailing behind him like ducklings was the Stones’ manager, Andrew Loog-Oldham, the bassist, Bill Wyman, the other guitarist, Brian Jones, and the dummer, Charlie Watts. 

“While you were sittin’ on your ass, Mick, I already got started!” He leaned back in his seat, revealing you sitting next to him. You flashed your million dollar smiled at the confused crowd. 

“It’s a pleasure.” You toasted to them across the room with your vodka sour, before finishing the drink off and leaving it on the counter.

Mick’s eyes slanted at you, and you could’ve sworn that you heard him purr. 

“A pleasure indeed.” He stalked across the room towards you, before gently taking your hand in his own and kissing your knuckles. You turned to Keith from the side. 

“See? He knows how to greet a lady.” Keith chuckled at your joke. 

“I apologize if our Keith has been forward at all, he can’t handle himself around birds, ‘specially those he fancies.” From what you already knew about Mick, you would never really know whether or not he was actually interested in you because he flirted with anything that moved. 

“The picture of a gentleman.” You smiled wryly. 

“Damnit, Keith. That’s against our image.” Brian teased, his blonde locks bouncing as his head moved. You giggled. 

“Well, I suppose we shouldn’t keep the others waiting? They’re out there pretending they know how to play golf.” The crowd laughed, yet again. You were on a roll. You got up from your stool, getting your footing on the floor, not forgetting to leave a tip in the jar, as you exited the building flanked by your biggest pop competitor. 

The image of their (y/n) coming up the hill with a group of men known for being disrespectful towards everything did set the lads on edge a bit. John was almost angry, Paul was concerned, George was curious, and Ringo was still focusing on his swing. Brian was just glad that these people had showed up on time. 

As the manager’s greeting each other with aggressive levels of formality, the group took to intermingling. 

“Not gonna lie, I thought you had just found some fans (y/n).” Paul started.

“You’d be correct. We are fans.” Mick put an arm around your shoulder. 

“Speak for yourself. I thought you were kidnapped.” John did that thing where he would say a joke, but you knew that there was real anger underneath. You silently prayed that John wouldn’t mess this up. 

“Oh, please. If anything I kidnapped them.” You psshed. 

“Does anyone actually know why we’re here?” Brian interluded, somewhat impatient with the formalities of the managers. 

“I think the football mums over there wanted us to play golf together? Because that’s what business people do?” John shrugged sarcastically, and the group chuckled. 

“Is now a bad time to tell them that I don’t think any of us know how to play?” George quipped quietly, though making sure that he was still included in the conversation.

“Speak for yourself, I think my swings improved.” Ringo demonstrated, narrowly missing the back of Brian’s head, though thankfully, Brian didn’t actually notice. 

“Yeah, if you’re tryna take someone out.” You smiled at Ringo, knowing full well that someone would die of a golf mishap before the day was over. 

“Speakin’ of takin’ out...” Mick looked back down at you flirtatiously. John had finally boiled over.

“Absolutely not. No.” He pulled you over to their side. Everyone giggled like a bunch of pre-teen boys, except for John, surprisingly.

“As a rule, (y/n) is off limits. Just business, lads.” He placed you behind him and Paul like a wall. 

“Imma big girl, Johnny. Just like you.” Talk shit, get roasted John. Though everyone was laughing, with several oohs interspersed between them, you could swear that Paul laughed unusually hard. 

“Alright you ten,” Brian returned to the group, “shall we get started?” 

“I just have one question, Brian,” Paul turned to face him, “how do you play golf?”

[septiembrre]

Upon rewatching last night’s episode and knowing what to expect, I’m loving so many details in it. In some regards, I’m giving the show snaps and saying, yeah this is the detail I always want. Haha, we’re going to overlook that Beth ordered a hit on Rio twice last night. 

I never promised to take off my shipper googles, okay?!

I have come around on the hitman character and I appreciate that the nature of Beth and Rio’s relationship was obvious to him despite how fucking terrible it is right now. I hope he reveals what tipped him off. What did he observe about Rio’s business ops with the girls that flagged it? Inquiring minds want to know!!!

Before the episode, I was convinced the hitman was working for Rio, or ended up going to Rio and disclosing the hit. Now I don’t think he’s working for Rio... I think Rio’s putting this together because of how obsessive he is about unpacking Beth and her chess moves (or he has a Beth space (her house or her work) bugged, which I mean circles back to how obsessive he is). There’s too many indicators that point to Rio being in the know. 

I love that he’s this super suave, ridiculously bougie crime boss and Beth’s a Junior League mom, three-time winning mini-muffin champion, and 1. he knows to not underestimate her and 2. these two idiots are locked in this stalemate. I stan. 

Additional points of note:

- Rio’s little grin at Beth’s celebratory dance of his murder. Sometimes I wonder if Rio still likes her, because he’s so exhausted by Beth this season. But, I think at that moment he unwittingly did. Despite his better judgment, he continues to be charmed by her. Oh, my boy. 

- Rio and Beth back in her kitchen!!!! 

- Rio is no longer waiting for her outside in the Mercedes, making Beth leave her groceries to rot on her front porch or wherever.  #Growth. Instead, he’s inside her house again, with her, for the first time this season. This time there’s so little furniture/stuff to look at it, but still so telling and I love that it percolates thoughts as to where her money is going. 

- I thought that Rio would return her shit? I really thought at some point he’d give it back to Beth. I didn’t realize he was expecting her to have bought (some) new things. But like, duh - that makes sense with how much of a nester Beth is. Of course, he would think she would spiral into buying things for the kids and repopulating the house. I wonder about his thought process as he moved through the space. I also APPRECIATE THAT HE WENT INTO HER BEDROOM all solito. Bitter, no doubt. But, also probably in his feelings about that day, about how Dean’s shit is back in that room. Ohhhh, my boy. 

- Everything’s so different, but I loved the call back to the pilot and their first meeting. I love the return of S1 hoodie. So many callbacks to a better time! I love it, but it also prompted me to have a lot of feelings at the state of things now. 

- That being said I loved how tired Rio was during in the car wash scene. Our guy (and our girl) are so tired and done with each other. Rio’s tired in this scene because he knows Beth so well and he knows she’s scheming against him, and he’s not here for it (little does he know...). 

- “Unkillable. Unhuman.” Hahaha. I don’t overall approve of the dehumanizing Rio, but I did find this funny. If we have to suffer this hitman storyline, I do love that he continues to resurrect on Beth. 

- Ruby and Annie finally hearing that there was a round two. 

- Beth’s comment about how Rio only drops by on her. 

- “Jilted lovers”

- “Crime of passion”

- “Your lover enjoys a two-hour omakase lunch every Friday. He never misses it.” LOVER!!! Foodie!Rio!!!! Bougie-af Rio. Like who has a two hour (solo?) lunch? I stan. 

- Rio plays tennis every Tuesday. 

- Rio SPEAKING SPANISH. You see - all I had to do was write that post and the gods of Good Girls heard me and made it happen. If only they would hear my other requests :’) 

- Beth throwing and breaking something at Rio’s establishment for once. Yes, queen.

- Rio being a little shit in the pool scene and then getting one-upped by Beth. Rio definitely thought her throwing the pool ball was hot. 

- Beth having won the state mini-muffin competition for the past three years. Honestly, she should be on GBBO. Can we get a crossover next season for levity? Rio can eat all of her practice bakes and they can work through their feelings week by week. At the end, when Beth makes it to the championship, he can be featured in her segment about her support network, jaja, perhaps with relationship ~unlabeled? 

Noel voice: “Beth is a brilliant mother of four. She certainly gets plenty of feedback regarding her bakes from her children. Beth is also an entrepreneur and enjoys a supportive working relationship with her business partner Rio. Since entering the competition, they have adjusted their work schedule so that they take off every Tuesday afternoon, so Beth can experiment with next week's recipes.” *shots of Beth baking in the Boland kitchen. Rio sampling an award-winning muffin* ahhh! Then, Rio (+ Ruby and Annie) can go to the picnic with all of their kids, and talk about how proud they are of her. 

I mean, yes? Okay, enough of this enormous GBBO digression. 

- “I was bored.” I love this admission. I think some folks in the fandom are hurt by this because it is in direct reference to her relationship with Rio. But, Beth wasn’t going to admit she grew huge, wild feelings for the crime boss to a stranger.  She can barely admit it to herself. She can’t admit it to the crime boss in question. Nor can she admit it to the people she is closest to in life. This admission that boredom/frustration/numbness are key motivators for Beth - I loved it. And Rio knows those motivators. He gets it. It calls back the “Did they suck your soul out yet?” comment from the end of Season 2. As much as Rio was trying to belittle her to Mick later in the episode, he still knows she’s smart, talented, and capable and he hates it/loves it. 

- Beth: “Story of my life [...] missed opportunities.” My heart hurts for her. 

There are definitely more moments that I enjoyed.  I overall liked this episode. But, obviously what hurts my heart the most is that Beth said the hitman could pull the trigger on Rio, twice. I don’t know what to do with that, in combination with the show clearly exploring how impactful Beth and Rio’s relationship was/is. 

On some level, there’s a juxtaposition of S1/S2!Brio to now!Brio, and the juxtaposition shows that Rio doesn’t mean enough to Beth right now to not kill him. That really hurts me personally. But, the discussions of what once was also brings up again how much there still is, festering, unresolved. 

The hitman saying that crimes of passion~ always yield to someone regretting it feels like foreshadowing. The point is: Rio isn’t going to die, he will not be killed off the show. So, Beth is changing her mind and I’m wondering what is going to do that so quickly? I’m assuming the hitman is going to put her on the schedule for the next week or the week after. Unfortunately, despite the potential for the reversal of the hitman storyline... soon? (jajaja, I mean who am I kidding? I thought it was going to be over episodes ago. It could have been strung out to Episode 16 with the way things are handled right now), I don’t think we’re going to get it this Sunday. 

Another point of hope - as others have voiced - is that Beth still can’t kill Rio herself. She already HAS shot Rio and it speaks to me that she can’t do it again. 

I feel like my head is spinning with Season 3 content. I’m excited to write in this new canon-verse over the hiatus. I’m just crossing my fingers that the hiatus isn’t FOREVER. 

[livingmybestfictionallife]

Live Wire --The Dirt--(10)

Summary: Wren Ledden, Tommy’s best friend from high school, has had a rough life, and she intends to keep the nitty gritty details of her suffrage to herself until the day she dies. Only Tommy has gotten her to open up about a small portion of her troubles, and it’s only Tommy who she trusts with her life. That is until her life gets turned around sneaking into a concert one night…the same night Mötley Crüe is born.

@prettyyoungandbored​, @hot-young-runningfree​, @crue-sixx​, @oskea93​, @dancergirl5527​, @thatonemoviefan​, @casualcomputerarbiter-blog​, @motleymachinegun​, @motleycrueee​ 

Previous Chapters:

One,   Two,    Three,    Four,    Five,    Six,    Seven,   Eight,   Nine

“What the fuck am I doing?!” Wren had been sitting on the kitchen floor, staring aimlessly out into the band’s practice spot for what felt like hours. In reality, she’d only missed out on the last five or six minutes, but during that time, her mind spun with self-actualization. The apartment wasn’t home without the band, without Tommy slamming cymbals, without Nikki grumbling at her for sitting on his amp, without Mick passing her a side ways glare whenever one of the boys did something idiotic, or even without Vince’s bantering appreciation of her help. Five years had gone by without a thought of that horrible person crossing her mind, and now because of some big mouthed blonde bimbo, Wren had reverted back to the frightened and fragile fourteen-year-old she had been. 

At fifteen she decided she wasn’t going to let that tainted chapter bleed through the pages and darken the rest of her life. A year of fearfully looking over her shoulder, of feeling her heart pound within her chest so fiercely she thought she’d throw up, of not being able to trust a single damned person in the world besides Tommy Lee Bass was all it took for her to chisel her heart and turn herself to stone.

Although it was none of her business and she knew that some girls found power in their physicality and sexuality, Wren never held a high opinion for girls that didn’t seem to have a problem lying on their backs in a stranger’s room. This was half of the reason she never sought out any sort of romantic relationship; the other half was because of Clay. She didn’t want to be reminded of that night, and if she wasn’t touched, she didn’t have to remember. If she wasn’t held, she wouldn’t close her eyes and panic at the memory of having his arms around her. If she was alone, no one could hurt her.

Being friends with Tommy and hanging around with his friends during high school kept her safe, not only from the grueling torment more commonly known as teenage girl drama, but from having to fend off suitors—if they think you’re one of the guys, then you’re no longer a girl in their eyes. After escaping Clay, growing infinitely closer to Tommy, and finding some guidance from a kind-hearted man named Bob whom she met in the park she lived in for close to a month, Wren took her identity into her own hands. She loved to sing, but since her parents wouldn’t let her do it on her terms, she quit choir and only sang in the comfort of her car or shower. She dropped the good-girl persona of pastel, feminine clothing that her parents insisted she wore because, “respectable women don’t wear black leather,” and spent a solid ninety-five percent of her time with Tommy. He was her best friend, but her was also her oasis; he was peace, comfort, warmth, and protection, and she was about to let him down.

I’m not that person anymore,” she defiantly said to herself as she rose from the floor, grabbed her keys from the counter top, and rushed out the door.

During the first few nights at their new place, Wren was hesitant about living on the Strip—loud drunk people wandering through the neighborhood wasn’t exactly an appealing quality—but as she jogged the block’s distance from their apartment to the Whiskey, Wren was counting her lucky stars and praying she wouldn’t miss seeing them on stage. With the cold, evening air of the desert in her lungs, Wren’s legs carried her stride toward the bouncer who looked at her up and down before folding his arms over his chest.

“Are you looking to get in or are you out for a run?” the man questioned as he jutted his chin out in order to appear more authoritative over the much smaller young woman. Wren hadn’t even assessed her wardrobe during the moments she decided to pick herself up and not fuck up her future, and so she appeared at the club in tennis shoes, black jogging shorts, and a tattered, old AC/DC t-shirt.

“I’m with the band,” Wren stated in her best matter-of-fact tone despite being slightly out of breath from sprinting down the street.

“You and half the other underage chicks who try to slip in,” the man grunted with a scoff rising from his stomach only to be returned with Wren’s narrowed eyes and pursed lips.

“Do you want me to buy a ticket?” Wren’s snarky tone slapped the man in the face as he looked down his nose at her.

“All sold out,” he responded in a curt, unapologetic tone.

“My best friend is about to get on stage and you can be damned sure I’m not about to miss it!” Although I’m a piece of shit because I did almost miss it, she quickly thought to herself. “Is there a list or something that I need to be on?” Upon hearing her question, the bouncer’s eyebrows furrowed as he recalled one of the stage managers giving him a name—shit, what was it? Dan Lemmon? Ben Lennon? “My name is Wren Ledden. I’m sure Tommy mentioned to someone I was coming. Nikki Sixx works here; he’s playing tonight. I’m the closest thing that group of misfits have to a manager. You have to let me in!”

“Ledden does ring a bell,” the man said as he lowered his arms and stepped aside. “You can come in, but I have an eye on you. I have a friend down the strip who’s told me about you; you shouldn’t be sneaking into clubs. It’s gonna catch up to you one day.”

“If Mötley makes it as big as I think they will, I won’t have to sneak anywhere ever again,” Wren said with a smirk as she jogged past the entrance and into the Whiskey just in time to see Vince jog up onto the stage and introduce the band as his nerves fluttered around within him. Silence engulfed the room as the crowd stared at the collection of boys and men on stage. Wren hurried to make her way toward the front and hopefully ease her way backstage to support her friends, however her heart sunk to her knees at what happened next. Tommy’s cymbal rolls at Vince’s introduction ended with a smash, but not on the crash cymbal. Instead, out of nervous panic, he kicked the cymbal stand over and earned a humiliating fit of laughter from the audience.

Wren contemplated jumping onto the stage to help him reset his drums, but Tommy had already lunged around the trap set while shouting expletives. She scanned the stage, hoping to lock eyes with any member of the band; however, all she managed to capture was the uneasiness each member carried. Vince had been a hype man and eye candy for his last band, but this was a different crowd. There were women present, but definitely not to the degree he was used to, and Wren could see him weighing that fact in his mind. Mick seemed cool and collected, but something about his demeanor seemed slightly forced. Tommy was nearly shaking from the amount of adrenaline coursing through his body, and Nikki wore a face full of his signature austere, ‘what the fuck are you looking at?’ grimace that Wren determined was a major part of his protective shell.

Almost as soon as Tommy knocked over his cymbal, the crowd began to transform from the quiet, uninterested patrons Wren had walked in on, into heartless, taunting, and jeering asses. Comments along the lines of “You suck,” and “Get off the stage!” began to slip from the crowd and, with each passing remark, Wren could feel her lips tighten across her face and her fingers curl tighter into a fist.

Vince tried his best to ignore the comments and attempted to hype the band up as they began ‘Take Me To The Top’, but as he began to dance, his movements were jerky and his face seemed pale. Again, the crowd’s pre-formulated opinions about the band based upon Tommy’s accident at the beginning and the band’s attire kept the audience from experiencing all that Mötley Crüe had to offer. The band started heavy and hard, and it genuinely seemed like they were taking their nerves out on their instruments in the most beneficial way they could, but that didn’t stop a few men in the crowd from attempting to rile up the band.

As Vince waited for his cue to come in, one burly, barrel chested, bearded man called out, “Who’s the chick singer?” which earned a large laugh from the people around him.

“Hey, fuck you asshole!” Vince called back from the stage, but the man could hear Wren—having been much closer to the antagonist than Vince—loud as day from over his shoulder.

“Why don’t you fuck off or get the fuck out?!” she shouted over Mick, Tommy, and Nikki’s playing. The six foot, two-hundred fifty plus pound man turned to reveal a five foot seven, nineteen-year-old girl of just over one-hundred thirty-five pounds, and again the crowd laughed, only this time they were laughing at Wren. The man disregarded Wren with a roll of his eyes and then used both of his hands to give Vince the bird before he spat on what appeared to be brand new, white leather pants. Wren could see the fire forming in Vince’s eyes and quickly remembered what she told them, some dick in the first row with an attitude can’t be the person who makes or breaks this.

Without even giving Vince the opportunity to process what had happened, Wren stepped in front of the man, positioning herself between Vince and the proclaimed dick in the first row with an attitude, and spat back, making sure to hit him where his wife-beater exposed his chest in hopes that it would smear into his beard.

“You bitch!” the man screamed as he lunged toward Wren with fury in his eyes and his arms reaching for her hands. Quickly, Vince grabbed her by the shirt and pulled her backwards while simultaneously jumping off the stage and throwing a punch to her attacker’s jaw. The man seemed to absorb the impact before he quickly threw a jab into Vince’s teeth that sent the blonde flying backwards and landing just short of the stage, beside Wren.

“Thanks,” she huffed as she stared at the blood that fell from Vince’s busted lip.

“Don’t mention it,” Vince responded as he spat the blood trailing from his mouth onto the floor before shoving Wren closer to the ground upon catching a blurred glimpse of white and red. 

Wren looked over Vince’s shoulder to see Nikki swinging his bass violently over his shoulder until it connected with the side of the burly man’s head. Before anyone knew it, Vince and Nikki were throwing punches with a few of the asshole’s friends, Tommy had launched himself from the stage to take down a couple of people who had gone after Nikki, and even Mick had delivered a hard hitting blow to someone trying to charge him as he helped Wren up onto the stage. Wren and Mick watched as the crowd folded away from the fight and bouncers began to gain control over the men who Nikki and Vince were fending off. As the singer and bassist stood off stage, in front of everyone while their drummer straddled and pummeled the guy who had initiated the brawl, they scanned the crowd, searching for a sign of whether or not they’d fucked up their shot of making it on the Strip. Once he’d had enough of the horrified faces meeting his, Nikki re-scanned the crowd in search of Wren. He knew she could get herself into trouble, and it was obvious Tommy was otherwise busy beating up the man who went after her for defending Vince. After last night, he understood her hesitancy towards strangers, her aversion to open spaces, and her displeasure of being touched despite her not saying a word after jabbing her finger into his chest.

Noticing Nikki’s concern, Mick nudged Nikki in the back with his shoe and jutted his head toward where Wren stood behind the curtains off the side of the stage. Bouncers had succeeded in restraining Tommy, throwing him to Vince and Nikki to control, and then tossing the trouble makers outside, but the club lingered in a heavy silence. It felt as if the world had taken in a deep breath and was holding it while everyone else waited for the exhale to breathe again.

“Fuck yeah!” a guy in blue jeans and a red and while baseball t-shirt holding a cigarette screamed. “Mötley Crüe!” Slowly, people began to join in on the whoops and cheers; slowly, the boys realized they hadn’t blown it. Tommy punched Vince’s shoulder before he leapt back on stage and held up his hand to Wren for a crisp high-five which then turned into a bro-hug.

“I’m still pissed at you,” he said through a smile, unable to hide his excitement.

“Just get out there and fuck the audience in the face,” she responded as she rolled her eyes at her best friend as she mimicked the tone he used to justify his suggested band name many nights ago, and then faded back behind the curtain.

Following Tommy’s lead, Nikki and Vince also made their way back to their place on stage, one slinging his guitar strap over his shoulder and the other gripping onto the microphone. As Tommy entered strong on his snare, Nikki and Vince’s eyes met; excitement, adrenaline, and power seemed to electrify the band and with one fluid movement, the pair clasped hands in solidarity. It was the first time those two had ever shared any sort of moment other than light animosity toward one another due to, at first, Vince’s intimidation of Wren, then Lovey’s persistently bad attitude. As soon as their hands left one another’s grasp, the band dove into ‘Take Me To The Top’, and the crowd roared into a rejuvenated life powered entirely by Tommy, Mick, Nikki, and Vince.

Wren was not only impressed by the passion of the crowd, but by their stamina too. Nikki had prepared an eleven song set for tonight, and although parts of the crowd did seem a bit tired after some of the songs, Nikki did a great job of spacing out the slower songs throughout the set. Some of Wren’s favorites made the cut for tonight including ‘On With the Show,’ ‘Piece of Your Action’, and ‘Merry Go Round,’ but the band’s closing song was the one she was waiting for.

“Alright you guys,” Vince called out into the microphone, “We’ve got one more song for you tonight! If you like us and want to hear the same shit for the next two nights, come back and see us tomorrow night and the night after! This last song is a fun one. It kicked my ass for a bit at first, but thanks to one of our own, a miss Wren Ledden, I think we can rock it out for you tonight!” Vince’s interaction with the microphone was so smooth and effortless, as if the mic and its stand were extensions of Vince’s body, and it wasn’t until he turned his back to the audience and waved his hands to get Wren’s attention that she even noticed she’d been gazing out into the crowd, watching how he held the audience captive.

Vince subtly jutted his head toward Wren, but it wasn’t until Tommy pointed at her with his sticks and then made a line from her to the front of the stage that Wren understood what Vince was trying to get her to do. Mick offered her his hand as she climbed up a small step or two, Tommy smiled at his friend—happy in their attempted way to prove to her she was as included in the band as the rest of them—and Nikki nodded at her in admiration as she paced towards Vince. “Before we close out, why don’t you give it up for Wren! Mötley Crüe’s very own Live Wire!” Vince screamed into the mic, the crowd roared with anticipation of the song and blindly celebrated whatever Vince had said, and Mick and Nikki dove head first, full force into what had to have been their heaviest performances of ‘Live Wire’ to date.

Wren hesitated as she stood awkwardly on stage in her workout clothes surrounded by thigh-high leather boot wearing boys with heels high enough to allow Vince and Mick illusion of being taller than her. With a small wave, she tried to take a step back and fade behind the curtain, but Vince reached out for her hand, missed his entrance to the song, and called into the mic, “I think for the right incentive, Wren may share the stage!” Her eyes widened and her stomach fell to the ground as she listened not only to Vince’s words echoing through the club, but also to the wave of screams the cheered.

What were they cheering for? Mötley Crüe…it had to be because of the hype and hard-driving song. Another measure passed and the crowd grew louder. Surely they’re not cheering for me, she thought as her eyes turned to seek the guidance of the rest of the band. Tommy was giddy with glee, Mick was reassuring as he gave a curt nod in her direction, Vince was pumping his fist in the air to get the crowd to cheer louder, and Nikki’s voice left his body in a shout, yet traveled through the air and into Wren’s ears like a whisper over the now doubly long musical intro. “You’ve got this!” With the band’s encouragement, Wren held up her hands in defeat and Vince jumped into the song at the next measure.

She wasn’t the band’s singer, she wasn’t anyone’s girlfriend, she wasn’t a groupie, she was Wren fucking Ledden and she was a part of Mötley Crüe. The power of the band, the thrill of the audience, the electricity coursing through her veins was something she knew she would never get used to, which is why she would never do this again, but for tonight—for Mötley’s first show—it was perfect.

Continued Reading: Next Chapter

[popculturebuffet]

Loud House Reviews: The Purrfect Gig

The Sam/Luna trilogy comes to an end here, as we get to the most recent of their now annual episodes, each so far produced and aired toward the end of the season. That being said like last season Sam had at least one apperance before this as I saw her in the thumbnail to “Deep Cuts”, the OTHER Lunacentric episode this season. And while it sounded bad to me at first looking into it.. no. The writers, for the most part, gave almost every kid two episodes a piece, and last season gave each 3, so to the writers credit they TRY to ballance out who gets episodes.  

The exceptions are Lincoln, who has around 5 that don’t also feature the girls as a whole, and 2 of those are with Lana, Lori who has 4, 2 of them shared and justifed as she’s possibly leaving for College next season and thus her episodes outside of one focus ont hat, and Lana and Lola: Lana has 3, and Lola has 2, and both have one together. And really even with those imballances it’s really impressive the show juggles 14 leads, with the parents themselves getting 2 this year too, along with Clyde, not counting his ones with Lincoln. | And that’s WITH the baffling decision this season to have the first 5 episodes be “With THe Cassagrandes”, i.e. 5 episodes of the Casagrandes that are counted as loud house episode that weren’t produced over at the sister show for some reason. And I have nothing against the Cassagrandes, what i’ve seen it’s not a bad show: I already have gone on about how much I love bobby, and I also love CJ and new comer Sam. I love the fact it has plenty of representation and a diffrent kind of big family, I love the theme song and I love the fact Melissa Joan Heart is on it because she’s terrific and spent the last decade really not picking her roles well. She was the lead in Holiday in Handcuffs, aka the movie where she kidnaps Mario Lopez and holds him at gunpoint to pretend to be her fiance until he gets Stockholm syndrome for really flimsy reasons. But I dont’ feel i’ts fair to the show to wedge it into another show’s spot: The Cassagrande-Santiago clan has shown up in 2 half hour loud houses and 2 15 minute eps. The kids watching KNOW these characters, and reception of the loudest mission was positive enough to get a spinoff made. You don’t need to spend a huge amount of another show’s episode order to promote a show kids will likely watch because it has characters from a show that airs all the time and is uber popular and has a similar humor style, and fans of the Loud House will at least try becuase they like the mothership and have known was coming for years now. This show HAD an audience going in. I watched both American Dad and the Clevland Show because it was from the same crew as family guy which I liked at the time. Granted American Dad had a decent stretch and Clevland Show .. had David LYnch as a recurring cast member I guess? Seriously david, this and not gravity falls? The point is it feels insulting that they felt the need to try and promote the show more, and all they did was take up episodes of the loud house and confuse children, and possibly turn viewers off a show they would’ve watched anyways. And if your wondering why I took such a massive detour it’s simple: Other than noticing the fact they’ve been specifically making sure each sibling gets more than one spotlight episode, shared or not, and this dumb decision.. Season 4 isn’t THAT much diffrent than Season 3. It carries on plots started there  (Lori heading towards college, Luann and Luna’s relationship), but otherwise it’s basically just more shipping and shenanigans. But really. .that’s far from a bad thing, as I consider season 3 a highwater mark for the show, and it introduced a lot of neat new elements (Lynn’s Table, Stella, Leni having a job) that are still prevelant in season 4. It’s not bad and it’s even more understandable given that next season, every character is growing a year (thank you press releases), meaning they have tons of new plots to explore, and large status quo shifts with Lincoln going to middle school, which out of the four schools shown is so far the most underdeveloped and will need development, and Lori possibly moving out of the house and going to college, among many other things that have me chomping at the bit for next season. But that’s probably a few months away so for now, it’s time to get back on focus and with everything else out of the way, the actual review of this episode starts under the cut. 

We open with Luna sitting in bed sighing when her poster of Mick Swagger starts talking to her. Whatever she’s smoking I could really use some. Depression is a bitch. Anyways, her drug induced hallucination of her hero starts talking to her. I haven’t really talked about Mick yet since the show uses him sporadically but he’s exactly what you’d expect; The show’s version of Rolling Stones front man Mick Jagger, only slightly younger.. maybe. I dunno. Maybe he’s been around since the 60′s and is just a timelord. Or a groovy robot. Or has a dorian grey thing going on. We haven’t really gotten into Dino Spimoni situation yet where Luna helps her idol and has to help him reunite with a partner or convince him to stop faking his death. Just a reminder that Hey Arnold is great and that if you think it’s odd his crooner dean martin based idol got talked out of faking his death by a 12 year old, keep in mind he also tracked down the daughter his vitamise neighbor gave up so she could go to america and have a better life, helped convince his neighbors not divorce, and had to save his pig from being eaten in a revolutionary war reinactment. Hey Arnold was far weirder than I remembered and i’m here for it.  Anyways, Hallucination Mick asks if Luna is coming to his concert this weekend, and she HOPES so she just dosen’t have the money for  VIP pass to meet the actual version and do drugs with the actual mick swagger for a change. He says you never know when opportunity will come a knockin and it does in the form of the McBrides! Clyde’s dad’s Howard, the skinny one voiced by national treasure Micheal McDonald and Wayne Brady whose also great.. and i’m not just saying that because i’ve seen this. Don’t be absurddddd....

Howard and Harold are Clyde’s dads... and while Clarence and Steven Universe beat them to having Gay parents in a children’s cartoon, their still the first interacial gay couple in a children’s cartoon, and on a nicktoon period, and even if they weren’t either of those it’d still be fucking great. Anyways the two are nice characters, while i haven’t seen EVERY ep with them their a loving couple, nice parents, and treat the loud kids as their own.. granted that goes too far in one episode, but still, thems good people.  Anyway Howards having a panic attack, respect, and as his husband calms him down, we find out why: the mcbrides are going to pick up nana for the annual family reunion, and their catsitter cancled. Hence Howard’s freakout and Harold worrying about the 20 pounds of amish potato salad in the trunk. So naturally their hoping someone can watch their cats, Cleopawtra and Nefurtiti for the day, and them going to the louds makes sense, both for the obvious of the Louds being their closest friends in the neighborhood, and the not so obvious of a previous episode I haven’t seen having established the older kids as the best babysitters in royal woods, meaning that in addition to knowing them they have skill and this likely isn’t the first time. Luna, not thinking about herself, admits Lori went to hit the golf course early and Leni is at work, a nice way to explaning why it’s Luna that gets the job: She was there and it was implied by the fact she was getting high and talking to her hallucination that Luann isn’t, so most of the other options they’d have without some reservations are gone with no contrivance necessary.  Anyways Luna’s Drug Fueld hallucination,  points out money can be exchanged for goods and services, such as VIP passes, and also mentions sam already has hers. Either Luna’s forgot or her hallucination can use her phone. Either is probable, and is backed up by Hallucination Sam, before both start playing their guitars and Luna air guitars with them. I”m unsuprsied by all of this. She offers and the McBrides take her up on it immeditley. I do like that it avoids the “I don’t know if your up to this” cliche that always happens in these types of scenarios, the McBrides have no reason not to trust her, so they just.. do. Hell Harold only sets out one rule: don’t invite anyone over.. and it’s not even because he dosen’t trust Luna to have anyone over or anything like that, he just knows the cats get anxious with a crowd, though their therapist is working with them on that. And of course the two rich men with a single child have a cat therapist. I would too if I were rich. Harold and Clyde throw and unconcious Howard into the car and their off, they’ll be back at 6. And TOTALLY won’t be home hours early for hyjinks. Totally.  Luna arrives to find a massive binder on feline care. Someone went to the Amy Santiago school of binders. It says to feed the cats at 10 sharp.. and it’s 10:02. Luna tries feeding them but the cats instead attack her in a full on psycotic rage and dump food all over her, so dinners on her. 

Anyways, Luna then tries walking the cats which goes as well as you’d expect.. not because she had to put harneses on cats and expect them to do anything at a certain time, but because they pull hard. I can relate to that with my dog.. not my cat. He just goes wherever he wants because he’s old and kind of an asshole.  Anyways, with the cats now messy from running over a guy with a cake, because of course, Luna looks up what to do next which is.. give.. them a bath. 

Who.. who does that. I know their messy, but use a rag or something. No animal likes being bathed but cats, esepcially one who this episodes shows aren’t declawed (And rightfully so but still), do not LIKE being bathed. Granted they wouldn’t like being cleaned off with a rag or something either, but it still feels less cruel to both them and any prospective babysitter to just hold one down and wipe it off then find the other and repeat. Look witht he walking thing I can see why someone would, in their case because their probably too skittish to let their cats wonder around, and in some cases because said cat is young. But this.. this even for a comedy contrivance is stupid. It’s not the worst uninetional cat abuse i’ve seen in media, Elmyra exists and the mother of the lead of get fuzzy tried putting her cat on a vegetarian diet, which Rob, said lead and a staunch vegetarian himself, not only found concerning but gave said cat the money for takeout.. keep in mind in this strip cats can talk and walk upright. Also I miss when Get Fuzzy was both daily and good. So Luna naturally ends up in the bathtub, soaked and depressed and not sure what to do when her friendly neighborhood sign that the drugs haven’t worn off yet comes by and tells her to shape up if she wants to go to the show with Sam. This gives Luna a great idea. LIke a Zack MOrris great idea it involves breaking the rules.. unlike a Zack Morris idea, it dosen’t involve sexual harassment or a zany scheme. She decides to call Sam, since she’s apparently great with cats and given we saw how she was with chickens last time, not a real stretch. She also pops Mick’s bubble which.. hurts him.. somehow. I dunno.  Anyway cut to Sam arriving. She arrived fast because she was picking a new character up from his gamer’s club meeting: Her brother Simon, who’d been mentioned in side materials but makes his first apperance here. I like him, he has a neat design and i’ts nice to give sam a family life of her own, and he’s a nice if glued to his not-nintendo switch kid. Frankly I hope he and LIncoln meet at some point. I mean he has an opening in his friend group starting next season there’s no way Rusty passes 5th grade. And even if he somehow does, it’s not like adding another member is too much of a stretch given, once they got past courting her, the rest of his group warmly welcomed stella in and it’d be an intresting dynamic having his sister’s girlfriend’s brother in the group. Also if your wondering if i’ll ever stop finding ways to bash rusty in these reviews even when he’s entirely absent..

Anyways, Luna slams the door in the kids face, which he takes in stride , and explains the situation, and after fred fliintstonning him is taken off the table, go with “Sneak him past the cats”. It works because cats never look up at the backs of a gay teenage couple sneaking a small child inside. Luna decides to leave Simon in the entertainment room while she and Sam watch the cats and he finds Clyde’s VR gear and asks to try it on, with Luna reluctantly agreeing as long as he’s careful.. which as far as we see.. yeah he entirely is. The Sharpe’s are good people. 

Cue a montage! Sam helps luna scrub the cats, with brushes as they should’ve done minute one, put them through spa type pampering which is also a call back to the first time we saw the McBride’s house in the series, take selfies, and then sing the cats to sleep, in a really sweet and really well sung lullaby, notable for being the first time Sam’s sung on the show and Allyson Stoner, who I haven’t mentioned but should’ve before this shame on me, does a terrific job and has done a terrific job as Sam in general. Luna thianks her for the help, Sam says no sweat they get to see the show together, and Sam ducks out... before realizing she forgot something. Her wallet... no wait she has that.. OH SHIT HER BROTHER. And before she can get him DOUBLE OH SHIT THE MCBRIDES ARE BACK.  Harold is grumbling about the potato salad... apparenlty Aunt Brenda brought some and wasn’t supposed to. I do like how both McBride dads have their own quirks:While Harold IS the more rational one, he can slip up just like anyone can. Luna prepares to leave.. only to realize oh shit her girlfriend’s brothers in the house still. Her not all complex scheme! She fakes having left something behind to get him out, and once sam calls comes up with a plan: Sneak Simon around back. Sam sneaks around with the bush she ducked into, and we get one of my faviorite tropes: A scooby doo doors sequence! Also the dads speak in unison. Dawww. We also get an adorable bit of Sam gesturing for Luna to hand her the boy. I couldn’t find a gif of it sadly, and I would’ve credited it, but I did find 50 tons of creepy Sam X LIncoln fanart. Just.. why. Why exactly. Why do you do this to me tumblr. And to be clear I have ZERO issue with shipping a character whose sexuality isn’t fully confirmed as just gay in canon with a male character, Bi and Pan representation is important. It’s why I get annoyed at the people who throw a hissy fit any time Della Duck is shipped with Launchpad. Here though I do because it feels like this ship is ENTIRELY a troll, especially since LIncoln has 80 other options, not at all including the icky incest ones, and that I cut and dry have every problem with, and is being done soley to annoy people who ship sam and Luna and are finally enjoying some gay/bi representation on children’s television. If this is a troll then kindly 

Thank you John. So anyways Sam does grab the boy and nearly gets him out the door.. only for the mcbrides to run into their bisexual catsitter shoving a small chubby child out their kitchen window only to have a lesbian fall out into their kitchen. Naturally Howard faints again and Harold is displeased... probably because his husband fainted again.. and you know the shenangians in his kitchen. The only time shenanigans are allowed in that kitchen are when Clyde is sleeping at a friends house for the night and only on the table dammit. They got reinforced oak for a reason.  We cut to the boys playing, which is a nice touch: Clyde being a nice kid dosen’t mind sharing, Simon has similar intrests, and the only time we’ve seen him be eh on sharing is letting Lincoln borrow his new console.. and he not only felt BAD for not wanting him to borrow it and having to try and get it back, but he only did so because the Loud house is insanley chaotic and understandbly he wasn’t sure it’d get back to him safetly. His dad’s rasied him well, he’s a good boy once he got past his ‘Stalking his friends older sister” phase and got into his “anything besides that “ phase.  Luna comes clean to the McBrides and.. Harold appricates the honesty. And both are impressed with how well they took them, with Sam and Luna giving each other credit. So instead of getting upset, especially since Luna was both honest and only called in Sam for help and Simon was an unexpected guest and they both did a fantastic job, they offer to split the money instead. Sam, in a really sweet gesture, then gives Luna her half with no hesitation or prompting from her girlfriend, Luna gives her a cheek smooch and they hug. Then Luna acciently wakes the cats, and we end on the girls singing the cats, Simon and the McBrides all to sleep. Also Luna’s hallucination is alsleep.. those drugs wore off hours ago after all.  Final Thoughts:  A really fantastic setup. Once again the show shows it’s slowly gained talent for taking stock plots (in this case a babysitting episode) and making them actually intresting, mostly by having the characters behave reasonably. While it didn’t really expand Sam’s character, it didn’t really need to , the previous ep with her having fleshed her out as a sweet, kind girl with a talent for animals, and Simon is a wonderful addition to the series massive cast of side characters that , unlike some additions , will hopefully show up again. Seriously half the reason I bitch about Rusty is that the show is great at making charcters, and improving them after a few bumpy episodes as seen with Clyde, Lori and Luann, but yet still uses him and dosen’t make him any funnier, while I can name handfuls of characters who either need more apperances (Girl Jordan) Or haven’t shown up again at all (Carol Pingery, Rocky, Maggie). And that’s not even all of them obviously, but my point stands. But given he’s the brother of one of the main characters girlfriend and would fit in with the main character well, I have a feeling we’ll see simon again at some point.  I also really liked seeing the McBrides, mostly because I haven’t seen many of their episodes, and found them to be delightful, helped by having wonderful va’s behind them as standard for the show and great chemsitry and it was a nice bonus to have the shows two main gay couples interact, without it feeling at all forced, and neither did Sam’s inclusion. And while we haven’t gotten a full on kiss with Sam and Luna, which really they should, CN beat them again on that, the cheek kiss and hug was still very sweet, as is the episode really. It’s funny, heartwarming, and really enjoyable. While itd osen’t have as much emotional weight as the last two eps, I like that it didn’t: For once the conflict was low key but understandable and now Sam and Luna are a full couple, they can just do cute couple shit and get into wacky shenanigans like any other couple on this show without any angst attached. It’s really nice. It also shows that no, a couple being together isn’t boring fuck off will they or won’t they, but i’ve ranted enough about stuff unrelated to this episode. I really liked it and hope to come back to these two someday.  For now as I sign off Pride Month is far from over... as next up I have multiple things planned, but one of the biggest is a FIVE PART series on Red Action and Enid from OK KO. Yes FIVE. All 3 of their romantic eps, and Red’s first two for proper context both for the finale, which uses both episodes as part of the plot, and for a proper view of her character arc and to ease readers into the series better. So be there for that, and a donald duck birthday celebration, and until then, later days! 

[doof-doofblog]

"Shame On You!"

Tuesday 2nd February 2021

Hello again everyone! Hope you're all having a good week so far! I apologise for this post being a bit late, but for the next 2/3 days I'm going to make sure I'm fully up to date! Monday's episode ended on such a high, I'm looking forward to finding out what happens next! But let's not waste anymore time and jump straight into it!

The episode of course finishes off where we left off on Monday, after Max's announcement to the whole Vic that Sharon was blame for Ian's disappearance, everyone is completely stunned by what he's saying. It seems only Linda is sticking up for her friend, whereas Mick just sits in utter silence, listening to everything that's going on around him. When Max reveals the information about Ian locking Dennis in a room on the boat, Dotty acknowledges that what she revealed to Sharon all those months ago actually stuck to her mind! But obviously it was only when Sharon heard the voice message from Dennis herself that it become clear that Dotty was telling the truth.

Whilst all these allegations are flying around the room towards Sharon, she tries her absolute best to stick up for herself, claiming that she loves Ian and that he's her oldest friend, why wouldn't she want him back safe and sound? However she does kind of overstep the mark as she acknowledges that Ian has had breakdowns in the past and has just disappeared without a word to anyone, she mentions he might be having another one? Kathy doesn't take this statement lightly, as Sharon recalls Ian standing on the edge of a bridge once, Kathy lashes out and slaps Sharon right across the face! The locals are completely stunned by her outburst, Kathy states that she believes Sharon is lying and knows exactly where her son is!

Being the strong woman that she is, Sharon stands firm, informing Kathy that she has no idea where Ian has gone, and then she turns to Max, basically stating that the only reason he's accusing her is because he wants to clear Tina's name, for Linda. She claims he thinks that if he can clear Tina's name, Linda would come running back to him, regardless of the fact that Linda is now back with her husband. She also points out the Max has no proof to follow up his allegations. Realising that this is an argument he's not going to win, he storms out of the pub, following Kathy and other local residents. Interestingly, Mick hurries after Max, desperate to find out whether he's telling the truth not. If there's even the slightest chance that they could prove Tina to be innocent, they need to find out what Max knows.

--

Whilst this whole drama is taking place on the Square, behind closed doors, Jay and Honey are waiting for Billy to turn up for an arranged talk and chat between themselves and the children. However, Honey becomes irritated when Billy doesn't show up. She takes it upon herself to explain to both Will and Janet that even though things may seem strange and confusing for them right now, hopefully in time they get used to their Mum's romance with Jay. Jay even takes it upon himself to explain that he would never do anything to hurt them or Billy - I have to say I love how gentle he is with the children, he knows exactly how to speak to them and go to their level for them to understand. He explains that he wants their Mum to be happy just as much as them. Suddenly Billy bursts through the door, without even acknowledging that he's late or even everyone sat at the table waiting for him. He seems to take it out on the children first by stating that they've chosen sides - which I thought was really uncalled for and out of order! Honey states to her ex-husband that there are no sides and they should be able to sit down as adults and talk things through, however Billy doesn't even want to know and announces that he's going to collect his things and move out. Honey knows that she needs to talk to Billy one her own, she asks Jay to take the children out for ice cream. Once they're out of sight, Honey confronts Billy, stating the fact that he needs to learn to accept her relationship with Jay, as far as he's concerned Jay stole Honey from him, but she makes it perfectly clear that she wanted Jay as much as he wanted her, and for the first time in a long time, she's happy! I'm eager to know what you guys think of this current storyline, do you feel sorry for Billy? Or do you actually ship Honey and Jay together? I'm really intrigued to what viewer's opinion is?

--

Elsewhere on the Square, Chelsea is rummaging for a suitcase for her Dad, (unbeknown to Denise). In an attempt to help her daughter, Denise gives her one with a faulty zip, but Chelsea is grateful nonetheless. I did feel this whole section with the Fox/Johnson family was brilliant! Denise states that she's jealous that Chelsea has suddenly decided to fly to Ibiza with a friend at such short notice, especially considering the fact that she's just returned to the Square and come back into her life. Trying to show an interest, Denise questions Chelsea on who the person is that she's going with, however Chelsea shrugs the question off insisting she doesn't know the person. But something obviously doesn't sit right with Denise and asks her daughter again, but when Chelsea can't simply look at her Mother in the eye, Denise clicks on straight away who she's holidaying with. Demanding that she's not going to let her daughter go on holiday with Lucas, Denise storms over to Lucas's apartment. However, after Denise furiously states that Lucas has no right to walk out of prison and convince her daughter to take him to Ibiza, Lucas informs her that he simply can't go because he's not allowed to leave the country. This is where things take an interesting turn as Chelsea still tries to convince her Dad to go, she informs him that she's managed to get things covered for him so he can go on holiday with her. Of course, Denise is devastated, she point out that she hasn't seen her daughter in years and it hurts her that as soon as she's back in her life, she wants to disappear again with her Dad. But then Lucas insists that perhaps Chelsea should take Denise instead, much to her surprise. We can see clearly that Chelsea's plan is beginning to fall apart, as cruel as it sounds she informs her Mum that she simply doesn't want to go on holiday with her, and pleads to her Dad that she wants to spend time with him after everything they've been through and make up for all the lost time they've had. We know that Lucas is aware that his daughter is up to something, but what remains to be seen - he questions whether it's what she really wants. Will he actually agree to go with her? Or will her somehow manage to figure out her plan?!

--

Returning to the main focus of the episode, Sharon decides to take a visit to Phil, informing him that now everyone is going to be thinking that she has something to do with Ian's disappearance, thanks to Max's outburst. It looks as if Sharon is in too deep now and she has no idea how to get out, she realises that it's not just Ian and Kathy she's hurting, but also Mick and Linda. Phil informs her that it was her own decision to kill Ian and states that she should've finished the job before anyone could've asked any questions. Suddenly she gets a call from Tracey, notifying her that the police have turned up at the Vic to question her, Phil informs her to simply keep her mouth shut!

After Max's outburst earlier on, it seems that his words seem to play on Mick's mind. He mentions to Linda what if what Max is saying could be true? What if they can find proof and clear Tina's name? He pleads to wife to go and talk to Max and find out everything he knows, even though he has deep hatred for the man who tried to steal his wife, if there's any chance that Tina could be innocent of attacking Ian, they need information. Linda reluctantly agrees and goes to visit Max, insisting that she's just there for Tina, nothing else. It's then that Max informs his recent flame that Ian was in fact scared of Sharon, after his attack he was convinced that someone was poisoning him and he assisted in taking him to the doctor's for some tests, however the results of those tests were never discovered. He states that there couldn't been no one else other than Sharon who could've poisoned Ian, plus he shares the fact that Sharon lied, informing the Doctor's that Ian couldn't make his appointment because they were going on their honeymoon. Linda at first finds it hard to believe her best mate could betray her in such a way, but after listening to Max's words, something deep inside her tells her that he could be right.

Eventually, she makes her way to the pub, finding Sharon alone after the police had been to interview her. I have to say I found the awkward silence between them really powerful, both of them just simply tidying away empty glasses, not a word between them is spoken for the first few seconds. You can definitely sense the tension! Sharon is the first one to break the silence informing her friend that the police had just been to question her again on Ian's disappearance. Even though she was behind his attack, its fair to say that she really doesn't have any idea where Ian has gone. Linda takes it upon herself to open up to Sharon - I found this touching and yet very interesting, as if she was coaxing Sharon to admit the truth to her - she states that Sharon is the closest thing to sister that she's ever had, she treasures her friendship more than she explain. But softly explains to her friend that the one thing equivalent to her friendship with Sharon is the relationship of her family - gently she questions her best friend whether what Max was saying is true - Is Tina innocent?!

Clearly we can see the tears in Sharon's eyes, it looks as if she too treasures Linda's friendship and she now knows she can no longer hide her secret. She nods slowly, admitting the Tina is innocent of attacking Ian and what everything Max said was true. As she turns to her friend, tears filling her eyes, she begins to explain everything - how she discovered her son's voice message from the night he died on the boat and how it simply ate away at her knowing what Ian did, how unfair it was that her son died and Ian lived. She informs her that Phil was also in on the plan and in fact he was the one who attacked Ian in the first place, whilst she made herself scarce. She tries to appeal to the Mothering side of Linda, insisting that with her being a Mother also, how would she react if it was one of her children? She apologises that Tina got caught in the cross fire and it was never their intention, but she panicked. As tears begin to roll down Sharon's cheeks she questions her friend "What was I to do?"

Whilst Sharon finally confesses the truth, Linda stares at her without saying a single word. For a split moment it looks as if Linda can understand her friend's actions - the Motherly side of it, but to have the blame passed on to her family, betraying Linda's trust and having a member of her own family take the rap for something she didn't do! That's pure betrayal, something possibly Linda may never be able to see past. She shames Sharon, insisting that she's clearly disappointed and devastated with her friend's choices, she leaves the pub leaving Sharon teary.

What does this mean for the Carter family now though? Now they know Tina is innocent, will they be able to find proof to clear her name?! Will Sharon turn herself into the police? I'm really intrigued to what's going to happen next. I have heard some form of rumour that Tina is actually alive?! Of course nothing has been confirmed, but if it turns out to be true, what would that mean for Gray also?! So many secrets could all be blurted out?! Oooo it's exciting to think about! What do you guys think? Please feel free to leave me any messages or comments, I'd love to hear your thoughts! Thank you again for reading, I'll be back again very soon! Love you all xXx

[nightwingshero]

😊😱🤗💕 I'm throwing this right back at you for Blair, Amikel, Veronica, and Gabriel!! Love you!!

Thank you, love!!!! Love you too! 💓😘 Sorry it took me so long!!! Gabriel and Veronica really made me think...(actually a few of them did.)

😊 - something that makes your character smile?

Blair: Honestly, it’s rather easy to make her smile. Bringing her a fresh cup of coffee is a good way to go. She’s always up for one and those who know her, know her coffee order like the back of their hand. And it’s usually H.R. Wells, Cisco, or Caitlin that’s grabbing her some. Iris will when she’s around (or needs help on something she’s working on--bribes are sometimes legal, okay?), or Barry will be thoughtful and grab one if he knows he’s going to see her. Being around Leonard and Mick makes her smile too, she’s grown fond of those guys.

Amikel: Can you guess? Alcohol! That’s right, that girl smiles when yo bring her a good bottle or glass, because that means you’re trying to be in her good graces, and she can never say no to a free bottle of booze. Grogu doing shenanigans is also a thing that makes her smile, because it’s so damn amusing to her. She’s a bad influence. I’m not sure who makes Din sigh more.

Veronica: Music and stealing. There are a few things, but hanging out with friends is a go-to. She enjoys her time with Dick and Jason at the manor when she’s younger (and older, let’s be honest here). Alice also amuses the hell out of her, because she’s not at all like Harley, and it’s just...V can’t help but be mildly amused. Something that really did make her smile was helping Jason work on his bike in the Cave. Dick trying to make her smile with his light teasing will do it too, no matter how hard she fights it. 

Gabriel: Playing on his guitar or going for drives(either in his Mustang or on his bike.) He smiles slightly to himself when he does that, especially if he’s alone or thinks no one is looking. He does little light chuckle and small smirk thing, and then looks down at his feet when someone makes a joke or says something he just finds funny. But seeing other people smile usually does it, especially if he really cares about that person. 

😱 - something that makes your character afraid?

Blair: It terrifies the hell out of her when the people close to her are in immediate and serious danger, where their lives are very much in the balance. Her losing control of her powers scares her too, because she can become the very thing that hurts, or even kills, her friends. Both of those things have kept her up at night, mostly because she’s witnessed them firsthand. And let me just tell you, Blair doesn’t handle either of those things very well.

Amikel: At first, despite finding it a bit amusing, it’s Grogu’s gift or powers. It’s easy to assume Amikel is nothing but a washed up bounty hunter/assassin who drinks constantly...but she’s a smart person, calculating, and she doesn’t know what it is; she just knows that it’s got to be something bigger. And that terrifies her. Bigger means more trouble, and the last thing she wants is more trouble for herself, Din, or Grogu. Later of course, that fear only grows as they learn more.

Veronica: She will obviously say she’s not afraid of anything. But honestly, she’s scared that she won’t work past her anger or be any better than where she came from. She loves Selina dearly, and is thankful for everything she’s ever done. But she doesn’t want the Catwoman mantle when that time comes, she doesn’t want to be known as a Rogue, or to be a criminal. Is she an antihero? For most of her teen years and some of her young adult years, yes. But she almost kills Scarecrow...it shook her enough to realize that if she didn’t leave...she was doomed to be nothing but a criminal eventually. Veronica is terrified she won’t overcome that.

Gabriel: So...he’s afraid that all he’ll ever be good at is being a criminal, and once he gets his powers, he’s afraid that he’s also only meant to hurt people. There’s a lowkey belief that if he uses it, that it means that he’s meant for bad things because fire is so destructive...he’s seen that first hand. It’s all he’s good at. And add that to the fear of his sister never accepting him again: whether it’s because of the life of crime he had chosen or the meta powers he had gained. That bridge is burned severely (pun somewhat intended--its late, please don’t judge.) Gabriel worries that there’s no redemption for him (but we all know that Wally won’t let that happen, don’t we?)

🤗 - something that makes your character feel warm and fuzzy?

Blair: Literal fuzzy socks and warm sweaters...I’m not even kidding. You will find her (well, she surely hopes you won’t) in her underwear (pajama bottoms--shorts or pants alike) with a warm sweater and thick fuzzy socks. Most of the time with a cup of coffee or hot cocoa in her hands. But honestly, it’s when Leonard does things to show affection. He has a habit of uh...tapping her nose quickly with the tip of his finger. And that actually started out as something taunting, sarcastic, and somewhat patronizing, because Leonard is Leonard. But it grew to something he’ll do when she’s troubled or too focused on something and frustrated. It’s also words of affirmation. Especially from Leonard, Wells, Martin, Oliver, and Barry. Even Mick, if I’m being honest. It’s a nice reminder that she’s cared for and it always makes her feel good.

Amikel: The moments where Din is being a soft dad with Grogu or when Grogu is being absolutely adorable (when isn’t he, though?) She won’t admit it at all, and she might shoot you (or throw a bottle at your head) if you dare say a word about it. But Amikel hasn’t had family in a long time, that’s the closest thing she’s had and having her childhood friend back? They make her feel like she’s part of a family and is cared for. 

Veronica: There are moments that she gets with Dick when they’re younger where they would just hang out on the rooftops of buildings in Gotham. It was like they were in their own little world back then, it made her feel like she had a friend that understood at least some of what she went through. They would often sit on the edge and eat from one of their favorite pizza spots in Gotham, and every time she passes it, it makes her remember it fondly. So, usually going out for pizza is a go-to with her other friends when she’s older, and she will actually take some pizza and sit on a rooftop on her own, too, on a good night on patrol. 

Gabriel: His mother’s homemade meals and positive reinforcement. He’s definitely rough on the outside, but he’s soft on the inside and appreciates affection from the people close to him. Blair rustling his hair (which he moans about--but secretly likes it) or pulling him into a hug, Mick giving him a rare slap on the shoulder, or anything of that nature will make him feel a bit warm because that’s validation he wants. But celebrating his culture (with or without his family) is something that always makes him feel like a kid again, and if he’s not with his family, it makes it feel like he’s with them anyway. 

💞 - something that makes your character feel loved?

Blair: When people pay attention to the little things. Most people don’t really catch most of the things she rambles about when it comes to her work, sometimes it can be hard to understand, but when people remember little details (even if they don’t understand), it makes her feel they care about her and her passions. Like how Leonard throws in how he’s paying attention or when her parents were always supportive of her scientific endeavors. Even having her science nerd friends get on board and show interest in her work means a lot to her. Actions are a big thing too, because that girl is oblivious at times, but actions speak louder than words (so Leonard can be as smooth and sarcastic as he wants, what she notices is him saving her ass on missions.)

Amikel: It’s really hard to explain, so I hope this comes out making sense, but it’s a bit complicated with her, so bear with me. Obviously you have the moments with Grogu where his attachment to her is apparent--that’s the easy answer. With Din, it’s different, and I know this might sound weird, but its his trust in her and treats her like a partner. Amikel doesn’t have the best reputation, and honestly, she’s not a very trustworthy person with the line of work she usually does. She’s not one to be fully without honor, but she’s also...well, she’s had a bounty on her head once or twice herself. So his trust in her as a partner and to trust her with the kid? Yeah, that hits a certain way.

Veronica: It’s when someone makes her feel seen. Veronica is perceived as a lot of things, some true, some not so much. There’s more to her than that, though, and it’s overseen, or she hides it more often than not. So when someone sees her despite all of that? It makes her heart race. And let me tell you, Dick Grayson sees right through her and always has (listen, he’s a damn good detective, alright? Give the boy some credit.) It makes her feel vulnerable, but in a good way when it’s with someone she trusts and loves in return, bot from friends and significant others. Alice and others making it a thing where they

Gabriel: He’s a pretty affectionate person past the hard exterior, so kisses on his cheek or forehead, and hugs (any of these could be platonic or romantic) are something that really hits him in the feels. But it’s when you make him feel...like something more, and you show that you’re not ashamed of him. It makes him feel truly loved when people can look past the criminal piece (because boy is trying to turn a new leaf--to show he’s more than the self destructive nature he’s seen as) and see him as someone worth something. Someone that cares for him for who he is and doesn’t try to make him be something he’s not, and just being there for him and believing in him. As for the affectionate piece, he loves it when you show it openly, unafraid of expressing that you care about him, despite what others feel (he’s got a bit of a rep for you know...being a criminal: thief, arsonist, hired muscle, and he dabbles in illegal street racing...he has a resume apparently...)

[lifesasickjoke]

The Dirt

The Dirt - part 9

part 8 - part 10

Pairing: Douglas!Nikki x Reader

Word count: 2434

Chapter summary: Roxie, Tommy's fiancee, confronts him about a mistake his mother had made, resulting in an argument breaking out between her and Tommy. Unfortunately, (Y/N) is caught right in the middle of it. Nikki used the opportunity to help (Y/N) out and finally apologizes to her about a past mistake that had gotten between their own friendship. 

Warning: Swearing, drugs, blood (just a bit)

‘Doc asked me to put together a list from you guys for future shows and tours.’ I said, kneeling down beside the booth that Nikki and Tommy were sitting in. There wasn't a lot of space for me to actually kneel down though, considering the isle running between the two halves of the tour bus leading to the bunk beds can barely accommodate a grown man laying down (Vince passed out last night and when Mick came back from the bar, he saw him awkwardly mushed in the aisle and then had a lot of trouble stepping over him). ‘Ok, so. I keep having this vision, right, where my drum set, it rises up like this.’ Tommy said, jumping up from his relaxed position and frantically gestured with his hands as he spoke. ‘And then bam! Smoke, lights, and-and the whole thing starts spinning around, and I'm playing the drums upside down and-and uh-’

‘Tommy Tommy Tommy, take a deep breath!’ I interrupted, laughing to myself. I heard Nikki chuckle quietly to himself too. After taking an exaggerated deep breath, Tommy continued frantically gesturing his hands. ‘Actually, I think you've lost me.’ I admitted. Tommy grunted, ‘I should just draw it for you. Got a pen?’ I shook my head and he turned back to Roxie, who was sitting in the seat behind him. ‘Hey, Rox, you got a pen? Give me a pen.’ ‘Ok so spinning drum set?’ I tried to put him back on track. ‘Yeah, but, like, a cage or something. I don't know.’ he said. ‘How high are you.’ scoffed Nikki as he bent down to the lines of cocaine and snorted one. ‘Your moms a cunt.’ Roxie suddenly said. Everyone in the bus turned to her with a shocked expression, but Tommy whipped around lighting fast to face her. Roxie was snarkily in a bitchy and typical mean girl from high school way, twirling the pen for Tommy in her fingers, ignoring everyone around her but Tommy.

‘What? Why would you say that?’ Tommy asked her. It was clear that this was the aftermath of the argument that had on set where Tommy's mother called Roxie a groupie. Tommy had told me about the incident when his mother called Roxie a groupie because she did not fully understand the word right after I stormed out on Nikki. He had lost sight of Roxie after she stormed off from him, and I was just the closest person that would listen to him rant about it. ‘Because she is. She's a cunt.’ her tone was snarky as she spat.

‘Quit it.’ Tommy warned her. ‘Give me the pen, all right?’

He seemingly dropped the subject/soon to be full-blown argument and turned back to Nikki and me, but Roxie on the other hand…

‘I don't even know why you told them. It's not like she has anything to do with us getting married.’ she squabbled. Tommy’s eyes rolled before he turned back to her.

‘Baby, it's sweet, all right? It's tradition.’ I could hear it in his voice, he didn't want to have this argument now in front of all of us. Roxie didn't care about the publicity of this fight though. ‘Which tradition? The mandatory meeting of the cunt!?’ She stood from her seat, looming over Tommy, absolutely pissed and offended. Any idiot could tell that this fight could get physical. ‘Don't call her that again, you hear me?’ Tommy demanded, also getting up into her face and threateningly warned her with his finger.

I glanced with a worried expression at Nikki, who mirrored back a concerned look. Tommy turned away from Roxie though, sitting back down in his seat. But he was oblivious to what the rest of the band and I were seeing played out. Roxie angrily brought the pen she had in her hand down onto his shoulder. ‘Here's your pen!’ she screamed. Tommy yelped and fell onto the vacant seat next to him. ‘Ow! What the fuck is wrong with you?!’ he barked in shock. The tension on the bus only started to begin growing now.

‘Fuck you and fuck your mother!’ Roxie yelled, accenting every syllable with an angry fist shake. ‘That's it.’ Tommy decided, pushing himself out of the seat he was in and grabbed Roxie by the arm. 

They began shoving each other, and what was the worst thing? They were shoving each other in my direction. I was an idiot for not having asked one of the boys to scooch over so I could sit with them by the table, but I was still kneeling on the floor. Nikki, however, realized what was going on before I did, and before Roxie or Tommy could fall over me, he pulled me off the floor and towards him, into his chest. I felt his ragged breath in my ear as he securely held me in place, stopping me from sliding off the seat as we both tried to make enough space for Roxie and Tommy's physical fight. I felt a bit uncomfortable. Nikki and I haven't been on best of terms ever since shooting the video for Looks that Kill. ‘This fucking bitch is out of here. Pull over!’ he told the driver, then continued to push Roxie. ‘Get the fuck off my bus! Get the fuck out!.’ With one final push from Tommy, Roxie tripped backwards, putting some distance between them. She grunted and charged back at him, successfully pushing Tommy back into his seat with what strength she had left.

‘You are such a spoiled little mamas boy ‘cause you wanna crawl back inside her cunt!’ Roxie accused. An utterly hurt expression washed over Tommy's face. Roxie never gave up, she charged at him again, hand raised high. I knew she was going to fight him back now. I saw her red nails, filed to a precise point and growing at least an inch above the fingertips. Then there was Tommy, undefended and unexpecting, same stupid shocked expression on his face as she charged at him.

My heart raced as I broke free of Nikki's grasp, scrambling up to either protect Tommy or to prevent further harm to Roxie (because I knew Tommy would fight back). Nothing could have stopped her hand from slashing down my face instead of Tommy's. I felt the sting of the gashes roxies nails left behind before I could register Nikki scrambling to get up after me, having just failed in attempting to pull me back down, or that the force of Roxie's scratching sent me tripping over my own to feet, only the dull sting and the vision receding in one eye. Tommy caught me, of course, and Nikki's face was the first I saw over me. Mick and Vince and Roxie leant in as well, all asking me if I was ok at once. I couldn't see much out of the eye Roxie slashed, and I felt something began to run down my cheek, and I didn't know if it was blood or a tear. I felt Nikki's hand cup my cheeks gently and turn my head towards him. His eyes were wide. ‘(Y/N), are you ok?’ he asked with so much evident concern that I could see, that my heart nearly broke. I could feel his eyes scanned the gashes on my face, and his thumb tenderly brushed over a stinging part on my cheek. My hand immediately flew up to grab both of his wrists, holding them in place. Nikki panicked, in fear that he hurt me, and stopped moving altogether. He even held his breath. ‘Ok, ow. Don't do that.’ I told him as I tried blinking with my eye, its vision slowly returning.

‘Hold still.’ Nikki said, grabbing my chin between his fingers. ‘But it hurts.’ I complained and winced as he dabbed a cloth onto my eye. The bus had just started driving again, this time without Roxie. Vince and Tommy had made sure that when we stopped at the last gas station to refill the tank that she was the first one off while Nikki pulled me into the tiny bathroom stall. There wasn't much space in here for one person, let alone two. To minimize space he had lifted me onto the wash basin and taken position between my legs. ‘Stop moving.’ he repeated, trying to get the washcloth back onto my face, but I swatted his hands away as quickly as I could. ‘I'm fine’ I insisted, just with an undertone of snark, trying to push his whole body back which my knees. I strategically dug it into his side. Nikki was trying his best to stifle his laughs as he tried to evade my hands and knee (because he was extremely ticklish). I was soon laughing along with him. Then suddenly the bus stopped, and Nikki lost his footing, only just being able to catch himself on the wall. The momentum had also thrown me off the basin and into Nikki. He caught me too and we laughed at each other as the bus started to drive again. ‘Let me help you.’ Nikki begged, bringing up a hand to brush some hair out of my face. ‘I'm seriously fine.’ I patted his chest. ‘You do this shit for me every time I get a cut or bruised in a stupid bar fight, why can't I do this for you?’ he asked, pushing himself off the wall and gently lifting me back onto the basin. ‘Why can’t I repay the favour?’ I bit my lip and tucked the strands of hair that just fell into my face back behind my ear again. ‘Alright. Alright. But just this once.’ I bargained. Nikki's gaze softened immediately and he slowly grabbed my chin again, bringing my face into the light from the little ceiling lamp. There was a long silence between us as neither one tried to meet the eyes of the other. Finally, he threw the washcloth into the sink behind me, ‘there. Done.’ ‘Thanks’ I quietly said. I was avoiding his eyes more than ever while sort of zoning out. The silence made Nikki uncomfortable. He cleared his throat. ‘Are you still mad at me?’ Honestly, I didn't know what I was at him anymore. I wasn't mad at him nor was I happy with him. But the honest sorrow behind his eyes, and the soft voice he used to guilt trip me actually worked. I never dreamt about hurting him. I sighed, finally meeting his eyes, ‘I could never stay mad at you, Nik.’ ‘God, I'm so sorry.’ he muttered and pulled me into a hug. It was a comforting hug. He had pulled me incredibly close to his body and squeezed my sides as he wrapped his arms around my middle and hid his face in my neck. ‘No it's fine, don't you worry.’ I said, patting his back awkwardly. ‘Is there anything I can do to fully make it up to you?’ he asked. I laughed and pushed him back a bit, ‘just slow down on the drugs a bit. You know how much I hate them.’ Nikki started to look confused. His eyebrows knit together. ‘Yeah I know how much you hate them, but why are you bringing this up now? You've never brought it up before.’ I bit my lip and nodded, ‘I only mind that you’re taking them.’ I quietly said. ‘Why?’ Nikki tenderly asked. He reached up to retuck the strand of hair that fell onto my face again. ‘It's because I care about you. And the drugs - Nikki, my parents overdosed on them. I don't want the same thing happening to you.’ Nikki, the Nikki Sixx, was at a loss of words. ‘Fuck.’ was the only word that escaped him. I nodded awkwardly. ‘Fuck (Y/N). I'm so sorry. Why didn't you ever tell me?’ he asked. Suddenly he was all shy. Nikki was stuttering and unsure of where to put his hands and he was hiding behind the hair that fell into his face. His eyes conveyed every negative emotion all at once. He was scared and sad, and confused. ‘I didn't want to tell you. To be honest, they were kind of crappy parents. I had other things to worry about.’ I airily laughed. Nikki didn't laugh. His eyes didn't soften. ‘No, you should have told me or-or I should have asked. I'm your best fucking friend. We should know everything about each other. And I'm sorry about your parents and I'm sorry I haven't acted like your best fucking friend lately.’ Best fucking friend. That's all he is ever going to be to me. As much as knowing that Nikki would never see me as more hurt me. No matter how hard I might have tried in the past Nikki has never even seen me as more than a best fucking friend. I have been with him for at least ten years. Nikki huffed. He was defeated. He didn't get a response out of me for quite some time today. ‘And I'm sorry that I've hurt you.’ finally, he choked out. Nikki had never intentionally hurt me. Besides when he finally figures out he had unintentionally done something on accident without knowing he would become all cute. He stays up all night trying to make up to me, usually movie nights or he brings out a bunch of blankets from my room and buys a couple of beers and we would climb onto the roof of our apartment building and talk for hours. He would sit closer to me the whole day, and the following two just to get me to forgive him. Maybe I was being selfish, but I enjoyed those times because just how much closer Nikki got, and how he was running around me like a lost dog when I didn't immediately accept his apologies. I calmly took Nikki's hand into mine. ‘I'm alright.’ I sincerely said. His sad eyes lit up. His other hand covered mine. ‘Are you a hundred per cent sure?’ I sighed happily, ‘Yeah! Of course! I'm always going to forgive you, you’re my best friend!’

Yes. that hurt. A lot. My brain pulled the sympathetic best friend card. Ouch. it even sounded weird calling him that in my head more than it did out loud. I winced at the words myself.

So did Nikki. He thought that it sounded strange coming from me too. His breath hitched as I said it. He wanted to be more than a best friend and he was going to lose his chances.

Tag list: @getthefckouttahere @kingbouji3 @fandomshit6000 @spookyfrances @kwyloz @triplehaitches @myheadisinvaded @wonderboygenius @kawennote09 @inthebackofmycarlaytheirbodies @the-dopemusiccoffee @versaceismehoe @glitter-rian @miss-ncthing @flizaa @evanpeters3826 @divaanya @extremesadnerding @oskea93 @technicallyvirtualmilkshake @thatbandchick39 @virtualsheepeat @sighsophiia @thexbasketcase @anon-1112 @heavymetalprincessa @normanreedus5150 @prettysureimgayxo @candystoregirl @yoinks-i-don’t-feel-so-good @mother-fronker @animalsgal @supernaturalvikingwhore @tamedhearts @discodeacygotmorerhythm @16cxndles @kellinplayingbagpipes @abaldboi @scarecrowmax @vintageratdoctor @raversam @nessa-030201 @nassauartist @cierrasixx19 @shamelessobsessions @redhotvinyl @hi-my-name-is-riley @snatchedbylele @lighthousefromthesea @tarahell @fatheadthefirst @my-names-blurryfvce @mixer3818 @toadspleen @kwyloz @shannonwardski @gofficialm @oskea93 @allieburakovsky @lovesick-heart0 @erosbabygirl @ironicterm00 

Tag list is always open :)

So I'm gonna watch endgame this weekend with basically the co-creator of this fic (she checks all my work and is amazing at it (you know who you are (ily)))