#and when she was like i’m american. he started going into like ok but where are u FROM

[robyn-goodfellowe]

oooh i have never been so heated as i was earlier today

[missmarveledsblog]

Odd one out ( logan howlett x reader)

summary : logan's adjusting to new life , new friends only thing he can't put his finger on is wade's friend Y/n , he knows she hiding something and he right but he is so wrong too

warnings : fluffy , goofy , no major deadpool and wolverine spoilers , violence , wade wilson , grumpy logan , grammatical errors (sorry in advance )

Adjusting  to a whole new world , universe where everything was the same but different .  Knowing someone and yet learning to know them all over again , like he was re familiarizing himself with ghosts from his past in one place and creating a new future in another. Adjusting to the one fucker who had him here in the first place was hard too , wade wilson was a strange one , hard to tell where the smart sarcastic ball of undiagnosed ADHD  started and ended . yet he had this wonderful and strange group of people around him , they all stuck out and fit in somehow , not that he would admit it out loud ever . (“ i knew it he loves me!” wade wink to the reader) .  but the dickward (“ harsh” the merc gasped.)  well he grew on him.  He wasn’t too bad not all the time those few seconds of silence truly when logan howlett  actually would consider him a friend then his mouth started it usually nonsensical rambles and well he changed his mind again . 

The friends he didn’t mind being around the lot they all had their own quirks , their own little nicknames or insults for wade and they all took logan in no matter what even when wade explain their whole adventure even the dark past that followed logan around even to this day . one friend he couldn’t get a read on , one for some reason stood out more than the others was Y/N  or as wade tended to call her princess sparkle maybe it had to do with the midnight black glitter case she had her laptop in . the other made sense in a way all either mutants or coming from some sort of background, but well Y/N was different . apparently, when she was a kid she used to drink her apple juice while sitting in the corner of the notorious sister margarets helping mercs of all kinds find their targets for a fee of course . Her bond with wade was helping him locate some chick or atleast logan was sure it was giving francis was the name but in that whole thing she was the one that helped wade find them all using that laptop ln the black sparkle case . Giving she was youngster of the group and just well ordinary no powers the others we’re protective but something about her well logan couldn’t put his finger on it and it was driving him nuts what was her secret .  

“ you know if you keep staring at her peanut well your going to give off a certain i got candy and white van sort of vibe” logan could feel wade once again too close giving the asshole breathe was in his ear . 

“ it’s not like that , she hiding something i mean she not so social , closed off a little and well she barely talks about herself” logan scoffed yet his eyes never once left her form . 

“ ok baby girl you probably know this phrase given you're so old you were there when they invented it but pot meet kettle”  the merc gestured between the two . “ he is butt nuts into her it’s so obvious right?” he looked to the reader . 

“ who are tal… nevermind i am not into her i don’t trust here plus she too young for me” he rationalized . 

“ she’s an old soul i mean not american civil war old but get what i’m throwing down” wade winked .

 “ hey i’m heading out i wanna grab books and coffee before the shop closes” she called rushing out before anyone could offer to walk with her. Logan didn’t even say anything just followed after.

“ he totally wants her right” wades looking at you reader. 

“ wade who you taking to?” 

“ the… nevermind hey did i ever tell you  about my future prince , king god of thunder buddy thor” he asked heading toward his friend . 

………

She hated it , lying to her friends not telling them she wasn’t as smart as they thought she was or how the sight of wades new roommate topless made her brain not function therefore caused her life to be now in danger. She been looking into her past , more so the men who had left her with no childhood nor a family resulting her sneaking into a seedy bar and helping hitmen and vigilantes find their targets .  she wanted to make sure they weren’t still doing it and when she began to see multiple account of money she could use to well give back to the world well she got herself caught. She wanted to tell wade but she didn’t want to bother him too much it wasn’t even a year after his whole TVA  incident and well saving the world so she decided she could handle it alone which that wasn’t the lie , she totally could it was just dealing with it in silence. Plus giving the said hot roommate hatred for her , she didn’t want to give that man any more ammo against her. It was a mystery to why he hated her so much , at first she thought maybe he knew a version of her in his universe that done him dirty but he was quite easily able to tell her she wasn’t anything thing to him , he didn’t know her there which was only good part of that place. Thankfully she grew up the way she did or else it would of hurt a lot more than it did , ok it still stung but she got used to it . she love their group like a family so instead of being interrogated or scared away by logan she avoided him kept her space from the man , ignore how he looked like he was going to rip her apart and not in the 50 shades of gray more like national geographic lions and a giselle sort of way . 

She was so lost in her thought she didn’t notice logan following her or the group of agent sprawled out ready to pounce. Scanning the shelves for the next read she felt the metal barrel pushing at her side . 

“Act natural or else” the voice smiled so she did she couldn’t cause a scene or react too many civilians and a lot of them were children.

She shrugged and let the man follow at her side as she stood at the counter pulling out the metal reusable cup . 

“ the regular you know three pumps of caramel” she winked . “ oh this is my cousin franny” she smiled as the man looked at her before smiling to the barista . 

“ oh free book today with each coffee so enjoy”  the barista smiled handing her the scalding cup but she bit her tongue and kept walking “ somebody call wade” she whispered back at the staff. 

Logan stood grinning , he  had his moment of being right seeing her all smiles with a clearly shady prick , he was about to confront her for his big gotcha moment only he stalled when he heard them as if they were saying it to him . 

“ in position we got her , subject will be brought back to containment “ that threw him off well that was til she walked out with the man throwing the coffee she had  in his face and a gun he didn’t notice before falling to the ground as she told the civilians to get somewhere safe. First time in his life or a decade he stood shocked at scene before him . agent clearly not the good guys with this octopus looking things on their tactical gear rushing towards her.  One man went to grab her only for him to fall to the ground convulsing and yet  logan couldn’t see the taser she clearly had to off used .  his jaw dropped as her skin began to glow almost a whitish blue all over her body and what looked like sparks floating around her. Not once did she looked scared or even phased  at the situation , she took them on one by one almost like a dance in her movement as she sent them to the ground . when they did get a hit on her like the mere touch sent them to the ground convulsing . he honestly stood conflicted he knew he was way off but also who the hell was this girl really . he wanted to help but she didn’t need it even when they ganged up on her she  held her own . when last man  fell she returned back to normal  skin back to color , the sparks disappeared like a mist and she leaned over slightly panting . 

“ call the authorities tell them to get shield here or fbi” she stood only for one to sneak out and hit her head hard sending her to the ground unconscious . thats when he snapped into action how dare that man touch her like that , what a cheap shot too  logan knocked man out ignoring the lady who yelled she called the cops and he brought her back to wades. 

The moment he walked into the apartment with her in his arms out cold the room went silent .  he growled at  shatterstar and colossus making them instantly move from the couch as he placed her gently on it.  Vanessa ran to check her over as logan explained what  happened . 

“ she was fucking glowing like a night light or some shit …. You don’t look surprised so you already knew , why did no one tell me ” he looked to see not one of them looked shocked to know she was a mutant. they all nodded giving him a sympathetic smile.

“ why do you think i call her princess sparkles , the coffee place rang” wade called heading to his room before returning . “ you saving her ass like a knight in tight yellow spandex , i knew you liked her kitten” he winked as he placed the adventure time comforter over her sleeping form .

[acefictionwriting]

Scout’s Med Bay Stay (TF2 Bang)

-Hi! This is my contribution to the TF2 Big Bang Event! Scout wakes up after being injured to find some new strange people he’s going to get to know.

Made with Artists

@ermg33 - here is their Art Post

@sicc-nasti - here is their Art Post

As the man awoke, he had no idea what was happening. He had no idea where he was, no idea what was going on, or why he was here. It started coming back to him, but before he could put everything together, the pain shot up his legs.

Ow. Right, the enemy grenades. Shit, I hate enemy Demolition bombers. What did you get yourself into, Jeremy? 

Jeremy opened his eyes and looked around, discovering he was in a med bay. The Scouting mission must have gone wrong, really wrong, since the other scout wasn’t there. He didn’t recognize anyone in the room.

“Ah! You are awake! I was hoping to harvest your organs, but at least the replacements worked!”

“What?” 

The Scout looked at the man, and he nearly pissed himself. 

Oh no, not the medic guy again. 

“Uh, I don’t—” Jeremy tried to make an excuse for the man not to get too close, but before he could, the Medic was pulling him up from the bed to sit him up. 

“You stay here Späher, I will get you the new medicine. You will make a great first test!!”

Jeremy didn’t have time to stop the man, nor did he really want to. He also didn’t ask why the American medic was German. 

His legs were still killing him, and despite the dread he felt thinking about everything that could have happened to him, he ripped off the sheets anyway out of impulsive curiosity. They looked perfectly fine, besides the fact they had been cut off and reattached and left a giant scar. That’s probably OK. He moved his foot to find out if they still worked and jumped up in pain. 

“He is brutal, but he always succeeds. Your legs work alright, Erreur?” 

Scout looked to his right, and a man he hadn’t noticed before was there. The man had a bandage covering most of his face and was standing in the shadows enough that the rest wasn’t showing. It sounded like he smoked enough to kill him twice a day. 

“Jesus, man, didn’t see ya there. Yeah, they work. If they didn’t, I dunno what I’d do. I’m a runner. I do the Scout work, finding out where the Germans are gonna be and making sure there’s no trouble. And if there was trouble, well, I took care of it.”

“You aren’t supposed to do that on scouting missions.”

“Well, I did. And that’s gonna make me a hero or something when it works out. Then I’ll go home to my girl, and she won’t be able to resist me!” 

“WE WILL GO HOME TO OUR WOMEN WHEN WE WIN THIS BLASTED WAR. KEEP AT IT SOLDIER. WE’LL KEEP THOSE GERMANS AT BAY AND—” 

Scout turned his head to see a man in full restraints on a bed, wearing an oversized helmet over his eyes. The Medic seemed to know this man and definitely didn't like him.

“Nein… not again. You are not a soldier. How do you get in here…” 

“I AM AN AMERICAN SOLDIER THROUGH AND THROUGH—” 

“You have a head injury, du verdammter Idiot.” 

Scout turned his head away from the half-shouting match, half-desperate argument. The bandaged man in the shadows had disappeared, which Jeremy thought was fucking weird. 

With nothing else to do, he pulled out his locket with a blurry picture of Pauline F. Pauling. 

She’ll like me for sure now that I’ve got manly scars and stuff. I’ll come home her hero, and we’ll get to kiss and— 

“MMMFF MMMH MMM.” 

“GAH— WHY ARE YOU ALL SO QUIET UNTIL I’M TRYING TO FOCUS?” 

Scout turned to the bed on his left, seeing the not-a-soldier and the medic fight in the background, and someone entirely wrapped in bandages in the bed close to his. 

“Jesus, what happened to you?” 

“Mmmhff mmmhb mffhh mmmmffhhhh mmm MMMFF mmmh.” 

“Ja, we don’t know who that is. Don’t even know what side they’re on. I’ve just been using them for my experimental injections. Beyond that?” The medic shrugged and resumed his argument with the American. 

“I gotta get out of here. We gotta get out of here; you gotta be real messed up from that.” 

The burned patient muttered a muffled something that sounded like a verbal shrug. They then pointed to the locket. 

“My girl? Yeah, she’s a real beaut, huh?” 

“Is that ‘your girl’ mon étrange collègue enfantin?” 

“OK, we’re getting you a bell.”

The French man sighed and stepped away from the shadow of the door. He stuck to the shadows and the wall, but stood next to the scout. Despite not knowing the man, Jeremy felt like a stray cat had sat next to him while not getting close to anyone else. It would be some sort of honor if the stench of cigarettes wasn’t so overpowering. 

“Écoute, mon ami, you have been injured. Is there anyone you would like to inform? This girl? Perhaps your mother?”

“Well, I gotta tell Ma about this. I bet Pauling would love to hear about me and my cool battle wounds now.”

“Right… I’m sure. I will get the communications officer.”

Even Scout could see the man just wanted to leave the conversation.

Why’d he look so uncomfortable? 

There was silence then, or as much of a silence as there could be in the overcrowded room. Scout never liked not being part of a conversation in a group of people. He felt left out. His brothers always seemed closer to each other than to him, so he was pushed out of conversations often, even when they did not mean to exclude him. Scout looked around the room. He supposed the same thing had kept happening in the army. He had had brief conversations with everyone in the medical area, but they all ended suddenly. He preferred the chaos of everyone popping up suddenly to the emptiness of everyone ignoring him. Jeremy looked over to the burn victim to his left, but they had fallen asleep, it seemed, as they made a cartoonish mimimimimi sound from under the seemingly infinite bandages. The silence was uncomfortable, but not uncomfortable enough for Jeremy to wake up someone with severe injuries.

“Ah. You’re no help.” 

The Scout briefly considered talking to himself, but remembered when he was caught and teased by his brothers for that. Ma had said they meant well, but even so, Jeremy never wanted to seem crazy. At least not in a nonviolent way. Instead of talking to himself, he decided to do what he usually did when he was nervous or unsure. He counted all the ways he was the coolest person alive who would totally live the most incredible life anyone ever had. He was on reason number seven (he had miscounted severely. It was the 16th reason) when the door opened again. 

“Hey, face guy! You’re back! Is this that letter guy? Make my injury sound really bad so it looks better when I go home. Hey, wait, there's two guys.”

The first man was tall and had an eyepatch. Scout thought that was awesome. He had a bottle of… what smelled like 100% alcohol in his hand and was leaning against the doorway, half asleep, half on high alert. Scout thought it best not to disturb this man until he became more aware of his surroundings. Instead, the scout turned his attention to the other man, with papers in his hands.

The second man was short and had other features that Scout immediately ignored in favor of the robotic arm the man had. 

“WOAH, ARE YOU A ROBOT?”

The man laughed warmly, as if he’d heard it before from others. 

“Well, I’m technically a cyborg,” said the man, with a warm smile, “and I’m also the correspondence officer until we find another guy who isn’t dead to do it. I’m Dell, but they call me Engineer most of the time.”

“Can I ask, like, a bajillion questions about the—” 

“No, you may not! But my friend here is gonna ask you a few questions before we get this letter written. Tavish, I think you’d better do the talking.” 

Scout had thought Dell was friendly, and he generally seemed to be, but there was a tone to the man’s voice that said another question about his arm would make him far less friendly. So Jeremy decided to do the most difficult thing he’d ever done, and be quiet as the Engineer stepped aside to make room for the hulking man with the eyepatch. 

“My name is Tavish. I’m a demolitions expert addicted to alcohol and explosives—” 

“Wrong speech, buddy,” said the Engineer encouragingly, as though this had happened many times before. 

“Aye, right. Ahem.” 

Tavish took out a piece of paper from his back pocket that was surprisingly pristine. He took a stick of dynamite out from the other, put it back, and looked around for something else. The French guy handed him a small gun as though knowing what he was looking for. 

“Right, thanks.” The demolitions expert shot the ceiling twice to gather everyone’s attention. He handed the gun back and took reading glasses out of another pocket. 

“You are all hereby requested for a special secret mission. The people hiring you will not reveal their names or the mission’s purpose, but we assure you that it is of utmost importance. You will be relocated to a strategic and secret area that may turn the tide in this war. Each of you has been selected due to the special skills you possess, as well as a general lack of morality. Also, we will pay you. We know some of you are here to be paid. We implore you to consider this opportunity and join our team.”

“Hey, where did your British accent come from there, weren’t you Irish or Scottish or somethin’? Also, yeah, I’m gonna do that. Can I tell my Ma?” 

“Aye. Any other questions?”

“Ja, will there be room for my experiments there? Also, mein vögel, can they come? I can go with du all if I’m not taken from my work.”

“Aye, your experiments are why you're here, and experimenting with test subjects is encouraged.” 

“Oh, then Ja!” 

Each person asked questions, but since Scout had already accepted, the Engineer gave him one of the papers to sign and started writing Jeremy’s letter on another paper that was not a contract. Jeremy let everyone else fade into the background as he told his mom and his girl all about his injuries and how much he missed them in the letters. He took a while to sign his name, struggling with the letters, but Dell was quite understanding. Jeremy decided that he enjoyed the Engineer’s company. 

The only thing that seemed off was the Spy. He did not seem excited about the contract, but he did sign the papers. 

Each of the men, now called The Teufort Mercenaries, were helped out to the vehicle, except for the burned one, who was driven in a personal ambulance since they couldn’t move. 

Scout wondered how they signed the paperwork. He wondered how his Ma would take it, with him being gone even longer than planned, but how much longer would it be? A week? Probably a week. Ma would be alright, he explained everything in his letter. She had his brothers to take care of her. He smiled, excited to drive off to a new, exciting, and important life. 

The Spy, Demo, and Engineer stayed behind longer than the others. 

“These letters, they will not be sent, non?” 

“No, unfortunately, we have to burn ‘em. Gonna tell everyone these guys died in battle.”

“What about ze medic?” 

“Oh, we don’t know where he came from. He just started saving lives by making abominations to god, and we let him.”

“What ze fuck is wrong with you all?” 

“Ask the higher-ups.” 

Meanwhile, Tavish was getting paid by a woman who addressed herself as P. He assumed that was because of her purple attire. 

“So you’ll take them all to the desert location, right?”

“Aye.” 

“And you won’t ask questions?”

“Aye. Not my job.”

“You’ll be perfect. Here’s the hundred. Go take them to Teufort.” 

The woman then started calling her boss and walking away, and Tavish walked away as well. He thought he had heard, “They’re out of our hair now,” but he did not question it because it was his job now not to ask questions.

They all rejoined the group in the van, everyone having been ignorant of their absence. The lively chatter continued as everyone awaited their trip to a new life. A life that was not the heroic one they had expected, but simply a way to rid the world of these strange people. 

[obessedwithfictionalmen]

You have to live

Curt Biddick X Female! Reader

Summary: Curt survies his crash, but he's in a bad shape...

Warning: Mention of injuries/ swearing/ Google translated german/ dead brother/

A/n: Based on a request, hope you like it :)

He was dragging his body on the ground; he was hurt from the crash he just lived. He didn’t know how he survived this, but he was grateful that he did. He saw smoke coming from what he thought was a chimney, he had to go there, maybe they’ll help him. Curt had no other choice.

Y/n was outside, taking care of the garden when she was a man collapsing on the ground, she rushed to help him, she lived alone, since her brother died in combat, she was alone. When she came near the men, she realised that he was a pilot. ‘’American’’ he mumbled. Y/n helped him up and allowed him to put his weight on her. ‘’Thank you, I’m Curt’’ he mumbled. ‘’Stop talking, save your energy’’ she said with a French accent. She was from France, at least her mother was, and she taught her French since she was young. Her dad was German, that’s why she was close to Regensburg, where Curt’s mission was.

Curt sat down in the kitchen as he watched the woman run around the house to get medical stuff. When she got in front of him, she seemed overwhelmed, he had so many injuries, she wondered how he was still alive. ‘’Can you take your equipment off? I need to see how bad your injuries are’’ she asked. He nodded and began to take his equipment off, but he was struggling, she helped him. ‘’I never caught your name’’ he said, weakly. ‘’Y/n’’ she simply replied. She analyzed the man and decided to start with his legs, he had burns on his right leg and some glass in his left leg. ‘’I’m going to take the glass pieces out, it might hurt, but talk to me, about anything. I need you to stay conscious, I’ll give you something for the pain, ok?’’ she asked him. She shot him in the leg with morphine, he was lucky, her mother was a nurse and she had medical stuff in the house. More than a normal person would own. ‘’Okay, well like I said, I’m Lieutenant Curtis Biddick, I’m with the 100th bomb group’’ as he continued to talk about himself, Y/n got to work, piece by piece she removed them form his leg, she was careful, she didn’t want to hurt him.

After 25 minutes, she was done healing his legs, she had blood on her hands, but it wasn’t too much. ‘’Can you take your shirt off, I need to take a look’’ she stuttered. He smiled before taking his shirt off, he had small burns. She put an ointment on his burns, it was homemade, but it worked. ‘’What about you, Y/n, are you married?’’ Curt asked, curious about the woman. He didn’t saw a ring on her finger, but maybe he was too injured to notice it. ‘’Nope I’m not married, Lieutenant’’ she simply replied. ‘’You can call me Curt, you know, ranks don’t apply here’’ he chuckled, but moaned in pain at the contact of the ointment. ‘’You’re really lucky to be alive, you know that?’’ Y/n states, making Curt nod.

They didn’t know how much time went by, but Y/n had finally healed each of Curt’s injuries. Right now, he was sleeping in her bed, he needed to rest, and Y/n needed to clean all the blood he left in her kitchen. But a knock at the door made her jump, she made sure his uniform was hidden, she gave him her brother’s cloths. When she opened the door, her heart sank, German’s officer. ‘’Hallo Madam, können wir reinkommen? ‘‘he said. He asked her if they could come in the house. She was terrified, if they found Curt, they would kill him, and her. She tried to look as calm as possible. ‘’Of course, my husband is sleeping, be quiet’’ she replied in German. Shit, she didn’t have ring. Officers looked around the house, she hid the uniform in the garden before they arrived, they never looked outside. ‘’Why don’t you have a ring?’’ one of them asked. ‘’We’re too poor, I inherited this house and I sell my cow’s milk to have money. My husband works at a factory, he’s deaf, so he can’t join the military’’ she lied. She was nervous, her hearth was pounding. The Germans nodded and closed the bedroom’s door. ‘’There was a crash, if you see American soldiers, alert us right away’’ he ordered as they left her house. When they finally left, she sighed, they were so close of getting caught.

Curt woke up 30 minutes later. He was woken up by the smell of something. It smelled good. When he exited the room, he found Y/n cooking. ‘’Hello, dinner’s almost ready, sit down’’ she smiled. ‘’Did someone come here while I was sleeping, I thought I heard people talk?’’ he asked as he sat down. Y/n nodded and took a deep breath. ‘’Yes, German soldiers, looking for American survivors, I told them you were my husband, and that you were deaf, so that’s why you weren’t in the military, they believed me and left’’ she explains as she serves him dinner. His mouth opened in shock. ‘’I’m so sorry, that must’ve been so scary!’’ he apologized. ‘’It’s okay, you needed to sleep’’ she smiles. ‘’You know, Curt, you can stay here until you’re fully healed’’ she offers. ‘’I would like that, thank you very much for your hospitality, Y/n, you’re an angel’’ he says, looking at her. She blushed and took a bite out of the chicken she cooked. ‘’It’s normal, everyone would’ve done that’’ she huffs shyly. She was nervous, but it was a good nervous. Curt was really attractive, and the fact that he complimented her, made Y/n blush. ‘’Not everyone can lie to German officers, you literally risked your life. I owe you one’’ he says. She smiled as she bites her bottom lips. ‘’But you’ll have to be my fake husband for the time of your stay. If they come back, we’ll have to act like we’re married.’’ She stutters. ‘’Not a problem’’ he quickly replies. He was truly grateful for her. Without her, he would be dead. But he was looking forward to this stay, she was an amazing woman and he couldn’t wait to get to know her better.

[listofwhyyouloveher]

Hellooo!!! I loved ur story California Dreamin and I’m actually so excited to see what happens next😍 I don’t want to be pushy or anything but please update😋but take ur time though don’t force urself😙

California Dreamin’ p2

p1, p2

Synopsis: You're the owner of a coffee shop and Rusty James cuts through your town to see the beach

Summary: Who is Rusty-James, what was he doing in your hometown, and why did he leave more of an impression on you that he should've?

Warnings: spoilers for Rumble Fish, mentions of accidents, mentions of death, mentions of drug abuse

"Rusty-James," you mused, turning the name over and over in your mind.

"Strange name, huh?" The man, Rusty-James, chimed.

"Well-" You started, trying not to offend him, but a smile and a far-away look of playfulness washed over him. He looked calm and yet nervous as if he was uncomfortable with the feeling.

"Nah, I get it, my brother's name was Motorcyle Boy." He joked, letting the name slip out under the guise of forgotten past, thinking that his brother was just on another trip again.

"Oh, how interesting. What's your brother like?" You asked, trying to stay polite and continue the chat.

"Oh..brother?" He stopped, a look of dread and genuine fear grabbed him, he felt the walls of his mind close in on him as he remembered the horrible truth. He bit his lip, "My brother's pretty cool." He mumbled.

You took the hint, nodding with a smile before picking up the ends of your skirt and continuing your walk.

"WAIT" Rusty-James called, you turned back to him, a considerable distance between you and him made it hard to pinpoint his facial expressions. Rusty walked up to you, but he did it unnaturally, like he was more used to the motorcycle than his legs.

"Is something the matter?" You asked when he came into earshot. He shook his head lightly, looking up with a nostalgic smile.

"You know a good place to get chocolate milk?" You let your pursed lips crack into a wide grin.

"Pretty long walk to my cafe, you up for it?" You asked. He huffed.

"Screw walking," He said, swinging his leg over his motorcycle seat. He motioned for you to hop on behind him but you just laughed nervously.

"I don't know about that, Rusty-James" you winced, "I've been pretty much crazy afraid of motorcycles ever since I watched some dude crash. Poor guy lost some of his hearing." You racked your brain for a name to go with the story to add further proof but Rusty wouldn't take it.

"I'm the safest driver out there!" He pleaded, doing a circle around you on it to prove it. You raised your eyebrow as if to doubt him but he just laughed. "Ok, I won't force you. You'll walk while I'll drive," He patted your back, "But you have to promise me that you'll get on a motorcycle someday!" You rolled your eyes, laughed, and motioned him to follow you.

-------

The cafe was quiet, the worker who your dad hired to deal with the 'adult stuff' had opened shop and was helping customers already.

You hummed a tune as you put on your apron and got to work pouring out a glass of cold chocolate milk. You placed it in front of Rusty-James.

"On the house, Mr." You joked and he picked it up and drank a big gulp.

"Thanks," He smiled, wiping his upper lip.

"So, where you from?" You ask, cocking your head in genuine curiosity. An order slid your way and you worked on it as Rusty talked.

"Uhm, ya'know, Oklahoma." He gave you such choppy and unfinished pieces of information that you found yourself yearning for answers about this mysterious man. Rusty-James was what your poetry inclinded mother called, "The American Dream".

You reminisced on your mother, how she would mentions snippets of her past as a free woman, a dreamy girl of the silver spoon partying in Manhattan, to the woman she was today. She always said that, "Truly, the American Dream is the man who holds sadness in his eyes,". You questioned whether it was because of her sad country lifestyle where she grew up, or her romanticisation of your dad.

"What're you doing down here?" You asked, serving up a coffee to the man sitting in the barstool next to him.

"Always dreamt of California," He smiled.

You nodded along, "Good place to dream about,".

He laughed again, a healthier laugh than before, as if he was finally catching onto humor again.

"Look," He said, waving you in closer to him, "between me and you, I'm on a mission to travel to every big city in California with this motocycle and back,"

"And this is one of your big cities?" You asked, slightly confused, your town was small and unknown.

"No no, I'm just stopping here," He sipped from his drink.

"Oh, how exciting" You smiled, slipping into a daydream about partying in Manhattan like your mother. Rusty looked thoughtful for a minute before asking you if you would like to come with him.

You shook your head, a little deterred and saddened. "I would love to, Rusty James, but I've got my mom's shop to take care of. How about, I give you my address and you write to me about your experiences,"

Rusty nodded eagerly and just as soon as he came, he left, the beach held a strange loneliness to it when you walked to work the next morning.

[crushedsweets]

do u have any more bonnie lore that u can share with us? i’m obsessed with her design and her story<3

Ok I’m assuming you mean ghost Bonnie… hmm… but let me see if I can collect random thoughts. Also thank you anon youre a sweetheart <3

General summary: “The Ghost Bride” is a version of my crp OC bonnie made for a 2014-fanon slender mansion AU with my friends! She lives in the mansion w all my friends OCs. The mansion is in a.. pocket dimension sorta? I think?

This is really funny but I watched inside out 2. Anxiety/maya hawke is probably her voice claim. HAHAHAH

She sorta gives the energy of Megan in “but I’m a cheerleader”. She’s largely in denial about being a lesbian and is pretty clueless/ignorant on it, having grown up in the 70-80s before she died

Her fiancé was a very traditional American guy. Huge family of hunters, which always made Bonnie uneasy going to his house and seeing deer heads displayed on the walls. When he hunted her down for running off the aisle, she was mostly thinking about all those deer. And how she was next, obvi

Her story (after death) mainly goes in 2-3 arcs:

1. She spends several decades(although time is distorted) in the slender forest just roaming around, sobbing, begging her fiancé not to shoot, hiding behind trees and rocks and heaving nonstop. It’s impossible to talk to her and she’s MOSTLY not even visible to other residents, considering she’s a ghost - but occasionally she spooks people

2. Eventually she starts to settle into the mansion. Slendy sorta messes with her head - he tries to make her forget what happened to her, and make her forget that she’s even dead, but it actually just leaves her really confused and having a constantly warped sense of reality and what stage of life she’s in. Sometimes she thinks she’s back in highschool fawning over a crush, sometimes she thinks she’s days away from her dream wedding, sometimes she thinks she’s been married for years. In general she’s just kinda like… stupid …. Super ditzy, just lays around in bed all day in nightgowns and reading teen magazines and chewing bubblegum. Doesn’t throw tantrums but she will have random moments where she loses her shit and starts tearing her room apart freaking out over a wedding. Gets called bridezilla by a certain somebody… 😒😒

3. She ends up killing her fiancé, and that’s sorta what snaps her back into reality. She understands, remembers, and accepts what happened to her. She spends time with her friends and begins the whole “ghost recovery acceptance processing your own death” thing. She’s mostly okay with it, considering she’s exactly where she wants to be - a freaky mansion with her friends, ran by some guy she views as a father figure

She tends to the mansions garden the most I believe. Usually drags her friends out and makes them do a lot of the harder work (mowing the lawn, dealing with pests, cleaning gutters) while she does the rest. Eventually gets told off for gender roles or something funny . LMAOOO

She cannot cook. Swears she’s gonna be the best damn house wife in the world. Cannot cook. Can not cook. Hear me when I say this. She can not cook. OK IM EXAGGERATING but she does suck at cooking…

Loves wearing bunny slippers and making her friends match other animal slippers with her.

Always has to be in some sort of bridal wear - whether it’s a wedding dress, a bridal party dress, a slip dress, night gown, robe. Something white and frilly and preferably silky

I dunnooo… lmk if y’all have any specific questions cuz I haven’t really been working on her lately

[sharp-silver4795]

Any Jeff the killer general hcs?? Btw i love all of your headcanons so much!! :3

HOLY FUCK!! I’m baffled that people actually see meeee I will never get used to it smh

Jeff the Killer HCs Part 1

I have a small huge obsession with the OR in my au bc I love giving these boys a shit ton of ✨trauma✨

Really this is just an origin story with a side of head cannons

There’s gonna be a lot of sensitive topics again: SA/CSA, abuse, ignorance to abuse, gore?, $ui¢!de, Jeff got second hand trauma from Liu’s trauma

Least Sensitive > Mildly Sensitive > Most Sensitive

Background

An average spoiled American kid.

His parents fucking dote on him.

He pronounces Liu “loo” and Liu never corrected him, so that’s his name now.

Liu cooks for him, because he can’t do shit.

Origins: all the warnings from earlier

He became a serial killer at 15.

Randy Keith and Troy didn’t mess with him nearly as much as you’d think mainly cuz of Liu 😔

Jeff slowly caught on that something was wrong when he heard Liu crying in his room ever night and he tried to investigate

However, when Jeff figured it out…. The pricks kinda made him watch…. Liu did not know he saw anything

And that’s where the spiral starts-

After this traumatizing experience- the next time he sees them he rocks their shit! And, in typical(?) defensive older brother fashion, Liu takes the blame and gets sent to prison.

While Liu is gone, Jeff gets in another fucking fight with them, and gets covered in blood, bleach, and alcohol (which is highly flammable)

Aaaaannnnnddd he gets burned alive…

Liu gets bailed out by his mom while this is going on, so next thing she and Liu know: Jeff’s in the hospital-

Jeff is upset, ofc, and when Liu shows he lights up!! Only for Liu to grab his hand, say “I’ll see you again” and leave.

When Jeff gets home that day, he wants to see Liu- makes sense. But he finds Liu hanging from the ceiling fan.

Like a sensible person, he runs to his dad for help big mistake

His dad tells him to get over it, and when Jeff starts crying, drags him to the bathroom telling him to “just shut up and smile.”

He cuts a smile into his son’s face, then leaves him there sobbing on the floor- still begging for mercy…

I think we know the rest

Holy hell that was depressing-

Im gonna make a part two that’s less…. Sad…

Hope this ok, dear requester!

[wordsbyrian]

Skater Girl - Alex Morgan x Reader

Summary: Childhood friends almost always drift apart but sometimes they find their ways back together. This fic is set in between the 2015 WWC and the 2016 Olympics.

A/N: I was watching a documentary on my favorite skateboarder Andrew Reynolds in which he talked about his battle with addiction and this is what came of it.

Trigger warning: Heavy discussion of drug and alcohol abuse, jokes about sobriety

For as long as you can remember Alex Morgan has been your best friend.

Just like any pair of childhood friends worth their salt, the two of you knew everything about one another.

At least you did from the ages of 3 to 14.

But like all great childhood friendships, you started to drift apart in high school. She had started playing club soccer and was quickly becoming the face of the varsity soccer team and you found that you had more fun hanging out with the skateboarders and stoners than waiting for her to be able to make time for you.

So while she was busy becoming an all-American and a top college prospect, you were rounding up amateur sponsorships for companies like Blind and Independent Trucks.

Then when she was running all over people at Cal, you were dropping out of the photography program at UCLA because you were going pro and collecting sponsors like a child on Halloween.

Overall, you hadn’t spoken to her in nearly 10 years, which is why you’re so shocked to see her standing over you as you lay at the bottom of one of the largest hills in LA, cracked helmet still on your head.

“Oh my god, are you ok,” she asks, bending over to try and look you in the eyes.

“Alex,” you say, still somewhat out of it. “What are you doing here?”

It takes her a moment, but as you sit up and take off your helmet, you can see the realization bloom in her eyes.

“Y/N/N,” she asks, getting a nod in response. “Are you ok, I saw you smash your head into the ground.”

As you go to answer you begin to hear the shouts of the crew you’re filming with as they finally make their way to the bottom of the hill.

“Trips, dude, we thought you just died,” Jay, one of your best friends, shouts as he gets close enough, “Who’s this?”

“This is Alex, my childhood best friend and world-champion soccer player,” you say, “Also, clearly not dead, the brain bucket saved me. Go get the car, I’m ready to call it a day, I’ve got road rash on my entire back.”

Watching for a moment as he runs back to the rest of your friends, you turn back to Alex still staring at you with wide eyes.

“I’m sorry you had to watch me slam like that, you used to hate that.”

“Just found out that I still do, that was one of the scariest things I’ve ever seen,” she says, helping you to your feet, “Your body flew through the air.”

Grimacing a little at the feeling of your shirt against the raw skin on your back, you pick your board up and say, “I’m fine I promise, nothing that a shower, Neosporin, and some sleep can’t fix.”

The two of you stare at each other silently for a few moments and you can feel all the things you felt for her growing up come flooding back.

Fortunately, the sound of Jay laying on the horn of your car breaks you free of the hold she’s always seemed to have on you.

“I, uh, I’ve gotta go,” you say, jerking a thumb over your shoulder.

As you start backing away she reaches out and grabs your wrist.

“Meet me at our spot tomorrow,” Alex says hopefully, “3 p.m?”

“I can do that.”

She smiles before letting you go and walking back to what you can only assume is her car.

Making your way to your ride, you aren’t surprised when the second you climb in you’re greeted by the cacophonous noise of all your friends asking you what just happened.

“Don’t worry about it.”

The next day finds you rolling up to the far back corner of your childhood park where you and Alex would go when you simultaneously needed escapes from your homes.

You hear Alex before you see her, her raspy voice ringing out, “You still bring that thing everywhere you, huh?”

“In all fairness, I get paid to bring it everywhere now,” you say, taking a seat next to her.

“You went pro? I remember that being all you talked about in middle school.”

“Sophomore year of college,” you say with a grin, “I signed like three pro sponsorships in a week and dropped out of UCLA, it was barely two months into the school year.”

“That’s awesome, I’m happy it worked out for you.”

“Forget me, Lex, you’ve got an Olympic gold and World Cup,” you practically shout at her, watching as a blush appears on her cheeks.

“It wasn’t just me, it was a team effort.”

“Whatever bro, I saw that goal you scored in Manchester against Canada and the one against Colombia at the World Cup.”

“Okay fine, some of it was me,” she laughs.

Then before you know it, the afternoon trails into the evening, and the two of you spend hours talking about everything that has happened since you graduated high school.

But the one thing you refuse to answer, no matter how much she asks, is how you’ve acquired the nickname Trips.

That is until Alex says something so shocking that you know you have to tell her the truth.

“You know we thought you were dead or in jail,” she says, voice becoming thick with emotion.

“What?”

“When you didn’t come back at Thanksgiving in 2008 and your parents refused to even be in the same room as anyone who mentioned you, we thought the worst,” she explains.

“Fuck,” you say, “Alex, you have to know that I never meant to put your family through that, I was just dealing with some things.”

“What could you possibly have been going through that you couldn’t call us? I was your best friend, we’d known each other our entire lives.”

“Alex, be serious, we haven’t been best friends since the summer before 9th grade and you know it.”

“Y/N/N,” she starts but you cut her off.

“It’s fine really, it happens, but I wasn’t going to just dump my problems on you after not being around. That would’ve made me a shitty person.”

“What problems were so big that you had to face them alone?”

“Addiction,” you say, turning to stare out at the park.

You can feel her staring at the side of your head in silence but you don’t give her a chance to say anything.

“I’m like 4 years clean now but I’ve been addicted to alcohol and other stuff since I was about 15. In high school, your dad once found me passed out in the driver’s seat of my car smelling like a distillery with puke down the front of my clothes,” you explain. “It got really bad after I went pro and I almost died before I got clean.” Taking a deep breath you continue, “That game against Canada at the Olympics was my second day in rehab, I was so sick with withdrawal symptoms but I remember watching the ball come off your head at the last minute.”

“Can you look at me please,” she says, voice shaking, “I need you to look at me.”

Turning your head, you’re somewhat surprised to see the sight of Alex Morgan with tears streaming down her face.

“I’m proud of you. I’m proud of you for getting clean, I’m happy you're alive and I’m sorry that you felt like you couldn’t come to me,” she says, tears flowing.

“Quit crying, you know I hate it when you cry,” you say, hoping that the reaction you used to have as a kid, would get her to smile like it used to.

It does and you get to watch as she smiles and wipes the tears from her face.

“Are you done now?”

“I’m done now,” she says with a laugh.

“Cool, your apology isn’t accepted by the way.”

“What? Why not?”

“Because you have nothing to be sorry for, bozo,” you say, “Both your parents and my parents tried to get me help while we were still in school and it didn’t work. So don’t try to apologize to me again, got it?”

“You’re still the nicest asshole I know,” she says, “who the fuck yells at a girl for crying?”

“An idiot whose nickname is based on her being a drug addict,” you guess.

That doesn’t get the laugh that you were hoping for but it’s enough to get you a small smile.

As the hours continue to pass, the conversation gets lighter as you reminisce about the crazy things you got up to as kids.

Eventually, you both have to leave but before you do Alex manages to secure a promise that you’ll attend her game in a couple of days with no new bumps, bruises, or scrapes.

So that’s exactly what you do.

That Saturday afternoon sees you walking down the steps in the stadium to your seat, which thanks to some magic pulled by Alex is so close that you feel like you’re on the field.

When you reach your seat you’re not completely surprised to see Alex’s parents and her sisters but they don’t seem surprised to see you.

“Y/N/N,” her mom asks in shock when she sees you coming down the row.

“Uh yeah,” you say, awkwardly scratching the back of your neck. “Hey Morgans.”

Before you have a moment to fully process what’s happening, you’re being pulled into a hug by Mr. Morgan and passed to each of the women in his family, but you end up back in his arms at the end.

“You have no idea how glad we are to see you,” he says.

“I think I might,” you reply. “Alex filled me in on what your worries were, they were pretty close up until a few years ago.”

That gets a few sad smiles out of the family which lets you know that Alex has filled them in on what you’ve been up to.

“That’s not funny, Y/N,” Mrs. Morgan says.

“It kind of is,” Jeni says, with Jeri nodding behind her.

“Jeri’s right,” you say, “Besides since I’m sober now, so you have to laugh at all my jokes about not being sober because I pulled myself together.”

“That’s not how it works, kid,” Mr. Morgan says.

“Welp it is now.”

It’s at that moment the teams begin walking out for the anthem and as though she could feel your eyes on her Alex immediately turns towards you, a grin appearing on her face as you lock eyes.

The first half of the game is fast and physical and you find yourself flinching every time Alex is taken down by a defender but just like when you were kids, she’s back on her feet before you can blink.

The half comes around and the US is up 2-0 but you still feel the need to get up and move around.

“Hey, I’m gonna get some tenders or something, does anyone want anything?”

“I’ll come with you,” Jeni says.

“Or you could tell me what you want,” you respond.

“I’m not making you buy me a beer.”

“I know that I’m not dressed like it right now but I can more than afford to buy you a 15-dollar beer,” you say before you understand why she’s protesting. “Fine, you can come with me but I’m still paying for it.”

When you get to the concession stand you ask her what kind of beer she wants but that isn’t what she’s focused on.

“When are you going to tell my sister that you’re in love with her?”

“I’m sorry, what?”

Rolling her eyes, she speaks slower like you are some kind of dumbass, “When are you going to tell Alex you’ve been in love with her since forever?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you say, moving forward with the line.

“And I’m Elvis Presley,” Jeni sighs and runs a hand down her face.

From there the conversation switches to how you're doing with skateboarding and your sobriety, so you promise to show her some of the clips you’ve put together for your next video part.

That’s why it’s so surprising when the first thing out of her mouth when you get back to your seats is: “Mom, Dad, how long have Alex and Y/N been in love with each other?”

You’re even more surprised when neither of the elder Morgans looks up from their phones before answering: “Forever.”

“And how long have they both been acting like they're not?”

“Since at least the 7th grade, maybe earlier,” Jeri says.

“Can I just eat my tenders in peace,” you beg, not wanting them to notice the blush rapidly spreading from your cheeks to your ears.

Luckily, before anyone can respond the teams are trotting back out for the second half.

Unfortunately, the other team is much more physical in the second half, so you have to watch with bated breath as Alex gets taken down twice as much as she did in the first without any fouls being called.

Every time she hits the ground you wince a little bit harder, much to the amusement of both her sisters.

Then, there’s a corner in the 88th minute and you get to watch, in what feels like slow motion, as Alex gets her head to the ball and sends it into the back of the net.

“Fuck yeah, Alex,” you scream, leaping to your feet with the rest of the crowd.

You know she can’t hear you but the smile she sends in your direction makes it feel like she can.

Moments later, the match is over and after quickly shaking the hands of the opposing team and a short huddle, Alex is racing towards where you're sitting like she didn’t just play a full 90.

Much to your surprise, and her sisters’ enjoyment, she ignores the other Morgans completely to climb the barrier and pulls you into a hug.

“You came,” she whispers into your ear, trying to be heard over the nearby fans screaming her name.

“I did,” you respond. “You played amazing, that goal was magic.”

“Are you coming to dinner with us,” she asks, still not letting go.

“Yup, your parents have designated me as your chauffeur.”

She nods so you let her go, not at all shocked by the smile on her face as she greets her family.

It doesn’t last long though because one second Jeri is whispering in her ear and the next Alex is glaring back at her and dropping to the ground to join her teammates in greeting fans.

You and the Morgans stay for a bit watching her before making your way out of the stadium and to the parking lot. There you make promises to meet them at the restaurant, hauling Al along with you.

You don’t have to wait very long on your own in the lot, at least you don’t think you do but time does tend to get a bit weird when you’re practicing a new trick.

It's the sound of Alex’s voice yelling at you to do a kickflip that breaks your focus, (You do of course land a kickflip for her.)

“Not bad,” she says, reaching your car and throwing her stuff in the back before climbing in.

“I do aim to impress.”

The ride to the restaurant is calm, the only real noise being the sound of her playlist intermingling with the sound of LA traffic.

When you park and go to get out, you’re stopped by her relocking the doors.

You try to unlock them but she just locks them again, in a pattern that continues four times before you turn to look at her.

“Seriously Al?”

“I want to ask you something,” she says, “but you’ve spent the whole ride trying your hardest to ignore me.”

“I wasn’t ignoring.”

She cuts you off, “Yes you were. What did my sisters  say to you because I thought we were gonna try being friends again.”

“They didn’t say,” cut off again.

“Just tell me what they said.”

You take a moment to think about whether or not you should and the somewhat desperate look on her face leads you to tell her.

“They said that you’ve been in love with me since forever. Your parents did too but that’s not possible,” you tell her, “because I definitely would’ve noticed if you were. I mean I literally spent our entire childhoods trying to impress you so I think Jeni and Jeri were just messing with me like they used to because you’re way too awesome to have ever been in love..”

You're cut off again but this time by the feeling of Alex grabbing you by the back of the neck and pressing her lips to yours.

Before you can fully process what’s happening, she’s pulling away which is the opposite of what you want so you pull her back in so your lips meet again.

The second kiss is much longer than the first but before you can deepen it she pulls back.

“I am in love with you,” she says, slightly breathless, “and I’ve been in love with you for as long as I can remember.”

You smile so widely that to an outsider it might’ve looked painful, “That’s awesome but there’s no way you’ve loved me longer than I’ve loved you.”

“Whatever Y/N/N,” she kisses you again, a slight peck this time, “let’s head inside before my parents start freaking out.”

She unlocks the car doors and gets out, stopping briefly to make sure you’re following her.

And you are, just like you did when you were kids and just as you will be for the rest of your lives.

[beardedmrbean]

Zoomer Huey, I tend to see people saying why Gen z don’t have sex much.

Holy

Fucking

Shits

These journalists surprisedly have WORSE self awareness than there boomer relatives

Here a hint https://x.com/swannmarcus89/status/1762582001507323991?s=46

And gender dynamics are…nuked in the fields they are surveying. Women and girls are told that all men are predators and misandry is left unchecked

Also, why Hollywood act surprised about the sex abuse?

We all heard about the casting coach, and how suspiciously people from working class backgrounds like Micheal Jackson (yes his dad had his music connections. But essentially mj was a slave and was arguably was the first black child star unless I’m missing someone) and Walt Disney (though not as bad) are painted as monsters while the actual monsters are protected for decades

I mean look at Judy Garland, she was a sweet person and she did help the LBGT in Hollywood and supported the civil rights movement

But her “crazy” behavior makes more sense because she was sexually abused at a extremely young age

And she not the only one, Shirley Temple, the boy who played at the first LA Dennis the Manis

Oh and the Peter Pan actor (a lot of people leave out the part where ALL of Hollywood basically says he can choke and die because he was “too” Disney)

But sorry about the Gen stuff, but the false rape accusations, maybe if you guys didn’t view men (especially white ones) the same way Nazis viewed the Jews while saying all the working class men were Weinstein.

My Gen would have more sex

Entertainment industry has been like that since the beginning of forever, probably less so when women weren't allowed to participate but still a thing I'm sure.

As for Judy Garland it was nice to see people come out swinging in her defense when someone tried to start shit over well

She was not in control of her carer, saying no was not an option for her with this, but dumbasses that can only think in terms of today's standards never think about that.

Jay North (Dennis the Menace) did ok, so did Shirley Temple, plenty of others not so much, more recently we can look at Drew Barrymore and RDJ who both had fairly public meltdowns and problems.

Drew was ruined since her first film was ET and Spielberg takes care of the kids on set, going beyond the legal requirements.

Bobby Driscol was the Peter Pan VA top of his Wiki article.

Robert "Bobby" Cletus Driscoll (March 3, 1937 – c. March 30, 1968) was an American actor who performed on film and television from 1943 to 1960. He starred in some of the Walt Disney Studios' best-known live-action pictures of that period: Song of the South (1946), So Dear to My Heart (1949), and Treasure Island (1950), as well as RKO's The Window (1949). He served as the animation model and provided the voice for the title role in Peter Pan (1953). He received an Academy Juvenile Award for outstanding performances in So Dear to My Heart and The Window.

He just fell into the child actor pit, where he wasn't "cute" anymore couldn't get gigs and couldn't adjust to not being in the spotlight, the way he went and nobody knowing is awful to think about still.

Jackie Coogan, on the other hand was a different story.

His parents sucked and as a result there's a series of laws named after him California's Coogan Law all about protecting the earnings of child actors from their parents. % goes into a trust iirc.

He ended up OK in the end though

The false accusation thing, #me too hurt women because #believe women was taken advantage of to such a degree that even this coming out to light

has still probably not cleared up for the trooper, and men are opting to not mentor women because of not wanting to risk a false accusation, everyone screams about how rare they are, to which I say so what, why should they assume the risk even if it's minor

Former VP Mike Pence came out and said he won't be alone with a woman that's not his wife in order to ensure that there is no possibility of someone making a claim of impropriety.

And he got this response

Why is anyone going to put their neck on the line when something like what he said is going to get this kind of response.

Maybe instead of crying about how rare false accusations are they should focus on shaming the people making them and coming up with solutions to keep them from happening.

You know instead of blaming the victims of the false accusations.

All this and so much more going on that isn't in this ask goes to the I don't blame people for not having as much sex, it's actually kinda nice too, fewer std's this way.

I went on a couple tangents, hope that's ok

[aardvaark]

Ok so... What's your story for what the rest of the crew was up to during the Broken Wing Job? Who were they after, what happened with the monkey, etc.

ooh this is such an interesting question!! i know i’m gonna give a ridiculously long answer and i’m just gonna have to apologise in advance. there’s a tl;dr in bold at the end! also, disclaimer that i understand it was just meant to be a noodle incident and i respect & enjoy the choice to never reveal what actually happened. the ambiguity and whatever your brain makes up is more fun than any canon answer for something like this. but theorising can be a lot of fun too and i love to piece together the info we DO get!!

well, what we do know about what happened:

sophie grifted a curator to get a statue of a golden monkey

they also needed an actual live monkey: a snow monkey/japanese macaque. which are fairly common in japan, so it’s like extra weird that they’re not stealing some rare or highly sought after animal yk?

eliot had to fight someone (standard tbh) but he seems to have had time to prepare, like either a private meeting turned south or an organised fight

somehow sophie seemed to be receiving a medal and hardison was dressed as though he was a decorated japanese soldier at the same event, also receiving some kind of honour.

sophie & nate burned something at the end, something that nate didn’t know if sophie would be comfortable burning.

eliot met emperor akihito, who didn’t want eliot around his granddaughter (seems like eliot flirted with her or she flirted with him, considering their reactions).

it’s in tokyo, japan - which is unusual for the team. the vast majority of their jobs happen in the US. when they go to other countries or interfere with international politics, it probably starts with a client in the US. eg the san lorenzo job happened bc they were already pursuing moreau, the stork job (in serbia) happened because of american adoptive parents, they interfere with another country’s politics in the scheherazade job bc of a journalist in the US, etc. so i think this probably somehow *started* with an american client and became international.

you made me go through john rogers’ blog to get more info, which is extremely evil of you because i always get sidetracked like 50 times on that blog and end up with a thousand new theories and character thoughts lmao. but from the blog:

VERY interesting information. in the rashomon job, the monkey statue is what eliot was supposed to "retrieve" from north korea for his client, and when he failed to do so, that client sent hitters after eliot and then made him steal the dagger of aqu’abi to make up for the statue. in the two horse job, a flashback to north korea in 2005 has people yelling at eliot "where’s the monkey?!", and since the rashomon job happened around 2005, that monkey is probably the same monkey statue. in other words, this goddam statue has been eluding eliot for YEARS. also, evidently, it must be very valuable and highly sought after.

unfortunately i can’t find the podcast but im thinking "money" makes a lot of sense and that maybe i don’t want to know what her answer was lol. anyway, somehow the con led to gaining cash that they felt it was best to destroy rather than give to the client or keep as "alternate revenue". i guess it was dirty money or perhaps just too easily traceable.

SO!

a US client somehow led to a job in japan where they got a valuable monkey statue and a real monkey, were awarded for something, fought someone, and then burnt a pile of money.

i’m gonna say the fact that there’s a real monkey and a monkey statue is not a coincidence… did they paint the real monkey gold and get it to attack someone who thought it was a statue?? did they claim the statue had come to life??

tl;dr - my best idea is that eliot heard through the grapevine that the statue that had been giving him trouble all those years had surfaced in japan. an old friend of eliot’s tells him that some Evil Guy TM (the episode’s mark) is trying to blackmail him & other retrieval specialists/thieves into retrieving it. the team decides that they will go undercover to steal it and put an end to the saga for good. so they all have to get cover identities and grift because they’d usually do a heist but parker is out. sophie eventually grifts her way into getting into whatever vault the statue is in, then they sell their mark the statue and are paid with lots of cash, they let the mark tell everyone he has the statue, then switch it with the real monkey to make the mark look like a liar or like he was imagining things etc. then they also expose tons of files on other Evil Guy stuff the mark has done.

the mark, however, is so high profile that he was in the same circles as the emperor, and the team had to meet him during the con. when the emperor hears that sophie(‘s alias) took down that Evil Guy who was exposed for lots of evil stuff, he awards sophie and hardison for their efforts. which is a whole thing, because obviously they’re now having to make sure their fake identities hold up under national/international scrutiny - classic "accidentally did so well that we caused ourselves more problems" leverage moment. somehow they pull that off successfully though.

i think the live monkey was released into the wild or returned to a sanctuary, cause i don’t think they’d harm an animal. i believe there’s a snow monkey animal park in japan, maybe it was released there? as for the monkey statue, it seems like it’s too dangerous to keep or even give to someone. like, eliot’s been attacked over it a couple times, you couldn’t give it to anyone who isn’t prepared to get into fights and be hunted down for it. maybe they placed it somewhere hidden in the animal park with the real monkeys.

um so yes this is ridiculously long now and i realise that it’s weird to like, cite sources on this fandom ask lol. but there you go! thanks so much for the question, i had a lot of fun trying to draw connections and figure it out!!

[andydrysdalerogers]

Undercover ~ Chapter Sixteen ~ Royally Screwed

Pairings: Jake Jensen and OFC Samantha Matthews

The Losers have made it back to their families and are out. Well, almost. A threat against the British crown needs to be handled and the CIA has tapped the Losers for one final mission. And they are sending in Jensen.

Jake Jensen hasn't been a civilian in years but now he's undercover to find out why his target is where he is and who he's after.

Enter Sam, someone who Jake doesn't expect and well, he didn't know he was looking for.

Can Jake handle his mission and falling in love? Especially when the truth leads to a bigger mission than expected?

*~* A Jake Jensen Story *~*

Author's note: this is the penultimate chapter. We just have one more left!

The playlist is available on Spotify.

cover photo by me! Dividers by @firefly-graphics

Warnings: angst, death, smut, and a bunch of stuff a can’t say because it gives away the plot!

Previous: Chapter Fifteen ~ Start a Revolution

Story Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Please note that I do not give permission for my work to be translated, reposted, or published anywhere other than my Tumblr. Reblogs are most welcome though!

Jake was fidgeting.  Clay watched as he adjust and readjust his sleeves.  “Jake, you seem nervous.”  

“Wouldn’t you be?” 

“Are you sure you want to do this?” 

“We were gonna retire anyways.”  Jake shrugged.  

“But this,” Pooch asked. “What about...” 

“I don’t want to talk about it.  She made her choice, and I made mine.  it’s done.”  

Clay stopped him.  “Look at me and tell me it’s worth it.”  

“I told you, it’s worth everything.” 

** Six months prior ** 

“Clay, I think I need to go home.”  

“Home? Why? What about Sam?” 

“I’m doing this for Sam”.  

Clay stood up.  “You’re resigning from Special Ops.” Jake nodded. “You’re moving here to be with Sam.” Jake nodded again.  “What about her title?”  

Jake thought back to his conversation with Sam earlier in the day.  

“Would you follow me anywhere JJ?” 

“To the moon and back, Sam. You know this. Why do you ask?” 

“Anthony offered a proposition to me.  Well, to us.  And it's totally crazy but it could work if you agreed to it.”  

Jake smiled.  “Ok Princess, hit me with it.” 

“Anthony is offering to title us, Jake.”  

“What does that mean?” 

“If we stayed, you and me, Anthony will allow us to marry and you would become the Duke of Manchester.”  Sam could still hear her brother’s words.  

“I don’t want to lose my sister.” Not his heir, his sister. “I want you to come home and if Captain Jensen is the person you love, then we can tip the scales. I’ll make him your Duke, a prince of England, just, please stay.  Let’s try and be a family.”  

Jake looked at her with surprise. “I’m an American.”  

“Yes, I know sweetheart.  You would have to renounce your citizen ship and become a British citizen.”  

Jake’s head spun for a second.  He sat on her couch. “This is a lot, Princess. I mean, I always wanted to marry you. But this is not how I wanted to propose.  It’s not … fuck... I don’t even know.”  

Sam sat and took his hand.  “We don’t have to do this right away. If you don’t want to, Jake, I understand.”  She looked away and went to move her hands. But Jake gripped her tighter. She looked at the man she loved.  

“Sam, I would do anything for you. I will ask you to marry me but not like this. Not with bruises on your neck and me still recovering from a bullet wound.” He kissed her hands. “I love you.  Do you want to stay here?” 

“I would only stay if you stayed with me.  Anthony said he would only ask that I stay until my sister in law has her baby.  She’s pregnant, very early. I could go back to the states in a year, but I would give up my title and the Duchy.”  

“Are you ok with that?”  

“I mean, I would have my trust fund my father set up for me and I would go back to work. But no matter what, I would stay with you.”  

“Can I think about it?  I would need to go home and talk with my family.”  

A look of disappointment crossed Sam’s face. “Oh, ok.  Yes, of course.” She went to call her secretary from her phone. 

“Ok, good.  I need to tell them the address of where to send my Christmas card and presents.” 

Sam turned slowly back at him.  “What?” 

“I don’t want you to give up everything for me.  You are a Princess, which by the way, I’m still shocked about.  But it would be easier for me to move here with you. Besides, my parents can visit, and I hope we can bridge the gap between you and your brother.”  

Sam launched herself at Jake. “You just want everyone to bow to you.”  

“Yep, that’s it.  you figured me out. I’m doing this for the title.” Sam giggled as Jake placed a soft kiss on her lips. “I’d do it because I can see you want your family and all I ever want is to see you happy Princess. And I know being with your dad and brother will do that.”  

Jake turned back to Clay. “She’s happy Clay. And this is a ride I want to do with her.”  

“Excuse me, Captain.” Jake turned to the usher.  “They are ready for you.”  

“Thanks.  Alright, I guess this is it.”  

Clay looked at Jake and pulled him into a hug.  “You are always a Loser to us Jensen.  We’ll miss you.” 

“Thanks Colonel.”  Clay didn’t tell him not to call him that.  

Jake turned to his other friends who would watch from the back.  Aisha straightened Jake’s tie on his British Naval uniform, an honorary position of Captain of the British Royal Navy he would take up. He put on his hat and saluted his friends.  “Best friends I ever had.”  

“Good luck Jen,” Cougar said as he, Pooch and Clay saluted back.  Aisha kissed his cheek and Jake turned to face the door.  A loud clack could be heard at the door. It’s showtime,  

“Presenting Captain Jacob David Jensen.”  

The doors opened and Jake could finally see into the cathedral. Hundreds of people were in attendance as Jake walked down the aisle.  All of this pomp and circumstance was in celebration of their princess having found her prince and he was taking his place by her side.  About half way down, he could see the people at the end.  Anthony stood there, his crown and cape on full display.  Her father and her mother were there, having rekindle something when she had come to visit.  

And then there was Sam, or how he had to address her in public, Her Royal Highness. She was beautiful in a stunning red gown, her own coronet pinned to her dark locks. She smiled big at him as he made his way down and wiped away a tear, her left hand sparkling.  

Jake thought back again to that day after the rescue and the meeting he had had with Sam’s father.  

“Sir, I just...” 

“No, let me say thank you first.  You saved my little girl’s life. You sacrificed your own recovery for her.  I will forever be in your debt, Captain.”  

Jake felt the tips of his ears grow hot. “I would have done anything to get her back.  She is the love of my life, my angel on earth.  Since the day I met her, I knew she was special.  Not this,” he waved his arm around, “kind of special.  Just “her” special.” 

“I can see that. I had that look when I was with her mother.” Harold sighed. “Anyways, I also wanted to thank you for not losing your temper more with my son.”  

“Your son is a jackass,” Jake mumbled.  But Harold raised an eyebrow, having clearly heard him. “Sorry.”  

“Don’t be, because that is a true statement.  Tony carries a lot of resentment towards me, and he takes it out on Samantha. I sacrificed my relationship with my daughter to get my son ready for his duties and that is something I can never forgive myself for.” He shook his head. “Apologies, you wanted to say something.”  

Something about the look in Harold’s eyes made Jake firm up his resolve. “All I want is for Sam to be happy. And I don’t know what her brother is saying to her right now but what I do know is that I love your daughter very much.  After everything she and I have been through, together or on our own, I want to give her my heart.  So I guess I’m asking if it is ok to ask your daughter to marry me.”  

Harold sucked in a breath and turned towards the window.  “You know, when she was born and I held her for the first time, I promised her that I would do everything to make her happy.  I guess I failed at that in her life.  But not today.”  He turned back to Jake.  “You have taken such good care of my daughter.  Every time I called her, I could feel her happiness through the phone and that was because of you.”  He put his hand in his pocket.  “I had a feeling that you would ask me this question soon.”  He pulled out a box. “This was my great grandmother’s. I hope she says yes to you.” He opened the box to show a cushion diamond with smaller diamonds dotting the yellow gold band.  

Jake took the ring in his hand. “It looks like her.”  

Harold smiled.  “Yes, it does. Whether you marry here or in the states, you have my blessing, Jake.”  

When Sam propositioned him later, all he knew was that he was going to marry the girl of his dreams.  But first things first, before he could propose, he needed to speak to his parents and family about this big life altering change that was about to happen and talk to Sam’s mom.  

His parents took the news pretty well.  His mom was weepy, her baby boy growing up and his dad was proud for stepping up and locking down the best girl for his son. They would come and visit, of course, but it would be a change.  

Sam’s mom was a little hard to crack.  If it hadn’t been for Jake’s undercover job, maybe Sam wouldn’t have been found.  “Victoria, I know you think that, but we were trying to stop him from taking Sam or worse.” Jake took a breath.  “She wants to try and establish a relationship with her brother. And I just want to make her happy.”  

Victoria studied the man that took her daughter’s heart.  “I know.  I just want what’s best for her. Everything you ever done was for her.  I guess I will soon be planning a wedding.”  

A hug and a kiss, and Jake was out the door.  One last stop before he flew back to England on the family jet.  Fuck, that’s an upgrade.  The family jet. He was going to be a part of something bigger.  He headed into the CIA to meet with Fowler one last time. With a resignation letter, his military badge turned in, he saluted Fowler and quit.  

His proposal to Sam was short and sweet.  He did it in the private garden Sam had told him about once.  In a sea of flowers, he gotten down on one knee and asked his angel to marry him. “Samantha, princess, you came into my world like a beacon of light.  My Angel on earth. And even with how crazy things have been and with everything yet to come, I can’t think of anyone else I want to do this with.  I love you so much.  Please, say yes and be my wife.  Will you marry me?” 

How could she say anything else but “Yes.”  

Jake reached the front of the cathedral and bowed to the King, the King Dowager and then to Sam. He shot her a wink and she giggled. He turned back to Anthony and swallowed.  

Anthony stepped forward. “Please kneel.” Jake got to his knees on a little stool.  

“Do you Jacob David Jensen, swear allegiance to the crown?” 

“I do.”  

“Do you swear to execute your duties as prince of the United Kingdom?” 

“I do.”  

Repeat after me, “I, state your name, swear by Almighty God that, on becoming a British citizen, Duke of Manchester and Prince of the United Kingdom that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Anthony the first, His Heirs and Successors according to law.” 

Jake took a breath and look at Sam, who gave a small nod and mouthed “I love you.” He swallowed. “I, David Jacob Jensen, swear by Almighty God that, on becoming a British citizen, Duke of Manchester and Prince of the United Kingdom that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Anthony the first, His Heirs and Successors according to law.” 

Anthony turned to an attendant who had a red cape with firm trim that looked just like Sam’s.  He draped it over Jake’s shoulders.  Then Samantha stepped forward and Jake gave her a curious look.  His fiancé was beautiful in her red cape and red gown, but she was supposed to stay put. Anthony took the coronet off the pillow and handed it to Sam with a smile.  She moved to be in front of him.  

“Jacob David, do you promise to sit beside me as my Duke and Prince?” 

Jake smiled. “I do.”  

She placed the coronet on his head, kissed both his cheeks and stepped back.  Anthony took back over. “Arise,” he said to Jake.  He stood up and faced all the other Dukes and members of the government. “I present to you, Jacob David Jensen – Davenport, Duke of Manchester and Prince of the United Kingdom.”  

The name change was weird but it’s what was required. Jake took in all the clapping and shit before turning back and moving to stand with Sam. “This shit is hot,” he mumbled to Sam.  

“Yeah, why do you think I was pissed when they introduced me. You at least are in pants.”  

The announcer-dude calmed the crowd with a tap of his stick. “I need one of those,” Jake said.  

“I love you but please shut up.”  

“Members of the government, please rise for the departure of the Royal Family.”  

Anthony moved first and took his fiancé's hand.  Sam’s father followed him solo.  Then it was Sam and Jake’s turn.  “Ready Princess?” He offered his arm.  

She threaded hers through. “Always.” 

NEXT

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[timeagainreviews]

The Twist of a Stiletto

Back in the ‘90s there was a very famous TV show. 120 Minutes, don’t act like you don’t know. But for those of you not in the know, “120 Minutes,” was a show on MTV hosted by Matt Pinfield. There were other hosts, but Matt was my guy. Being a showcase of music videos from artists MTV wouldn’t dare play during the day, it was relegated to a late Sunday evening timeslot. Growing up, I never really had a personal relationship with music. It was the stuff in the background of movies. My dad would play CDs of his faves. Kansas, Jethro Tull, Chicago, Led Zepplin, The Beatles. Music could be fun or cool, but I could take it or leave it. That is until April 14, 1996, when 120 Minutes aired Rage Against the Machine’s “Bulls on Parade,” and my 12-year-old brain erupted. A fire was lit inside me that day and Zach de la Rocha was more than happy to pour gasoline on it. I was suddenly, without any kind of warning, in love with music.

The spontaneous combustion of music hits us all differently, but I’m sure my story made you remember yours. How could it not? Music is a part of our lives. We wrap our memories in song. As such, some songs become painful. We then lock those songs in our past where they can’t hurt us, but a passing car with its windows down can bring us back. Music is personal. “The Devil’s Chord,” is a story about our relationship with music. How we hold music inside and when we let it out. It is a celebration of song as well as a lament. While the episode often achieves harmony, it also falls a bit flat. Are you picking up on a theme? Is this striking a chord with you? Ok I’ll stop. Probably.

I’ll get the obvious out of the way first. “The Devil’s Chord,” is precariously close to “The Giggle,” plot-wise. The TARDIS lands. The Doctor finds the world behaving oddly. He discovers it’s all to do with a magical gay American who chews scenery for breakfast. The American sends the Doctor through a themed gauntlet of insanity. The Doctor banishes the American using their own tricks against them. The American disappears with a warning about the next guy. Bish bash bosh. I’m getting that all out of the way ahead of time, because that would be a really boring article to read. But I will say this- if this is the Pantheon’s only gambit, I’ll be disappointed.

Ruby’s explanation of how she discovered the Beatles through her mum’s girlfriend’s vinyl collection was charming and didn’t make me feel old at all. Not to be all “kids these days only care about Tik Tok and Roblox,” but I was fairly certain most young people hate the Beatles. That is, if my Facebook feed is anything to go by. It really shows you just how on the pulse Russell T Davies is these days. Hello fellow kids. Have some trans inclusion while I court problematic people on social media. Kids like Deftones, Russell. Do a Deftones episode. Have the Doctor fight robot pigs with Chico Moreno. (Man, nü metal is having a moment in this article.) My point being, it’s weird to choose The Beatles now.

I harp on a lot about how metatextual Doctor Who can be and how it’s the secret of its longevity. They need to replace their actor? Regeneration. They need to get the Doctor into a building? Psychic paper. But I think I’ve found the exception that proves the rule. Russell T Davies said in an interview “...The Beatles music is so expensive. Even on a Disney budget, we couldn’t afford that…And so I thought imagine you’re visiting The Beatles, and you couldn’t have The Beatles music. What would you do? And that’s the story. It kind of created itself”. In true Doctor Who fashion, Russell T Davies saw a limitation and folded it into the narrative. It’s a shame then, that it doesn’t work at all.

It started with their shots of Abbey Road and EMI Studios. The zebra crossing at Abbey Road isn’t that wide. I’ve been there. And since when did EMI Studios have a red brick entrance? Where are its classic Georgian-style box frame windows? It’s one of the most visited tourist spots in London, and you’re not going to actually go there? You can’t get the music. Ok. That’s sort of understandable. But they couldn’t film on location? What exactly is the Disney budget doing here? Remember when they flew the whole TARDIS crew to Utah? And then the next season to New York City? They managed to shoo tourists and locals away from Umpire Rock. You mean to tell me they couldn’t hold back traffic on Abbey Road for a few hours? Hell, just composite it. Shoot it on a soundstage. You don’t have to go “Angels Take Manhattan,” when you could go “Daleks Take Manhattan.”

This may seem like a weird gripe from a person who said it would be boring to complain about how two episodes are similar, but it is the crux of the matter. Why use The Beatles in an episode about The Beatles if you do nothing with them? Why highlight edifice in a story about being vulnerable? Yes, the episode is predicated on the very idea of not having the rights to The Beatles music catalog, but this also denies the audience a payoff. Let me explain. Ruby and the Doctor get dressed to the nines to go back to 1963 and watch the Beatles record their first album. Great so far. They have a cute little moment with the tea lady while they sneak into EMI studios. Still great. However, as they roll record for the Fab Four, it’s immediately apparent that something is very wrong. The Beatles' music sounds awful. Like how I imagine my friends on Facebook think they sound all the time. And still, things are going great. What this does, however, is set up expectations for the moment when The Beatles' music is finally back in its full glory. I’ve seen the shot from the trailer of Ncuti in the recording studio full of smiling perfects. It’s gonna be high energy. What a payoff. Right?

The Doctor and Ruby also pop in to listen to Cilla Black lay down a track. It’s the same crappy atonal music that only a trans woman with a collection of circuit-bent instruments could love. Something is amiss. The Doctor and Ruby do a bit of digging. It’s time to go talk to The Shitty Beatles. This time, it’s more than a clever name. With as much respect as I can muster, these have got to be some of the worst Beatle lookalikes I’ve ever seen. Except Paul who was spot on as the real Paul McCartney before he died and 1966 and was replaced with Faul. See my 9-11 Truther Anti-Vaxx Birds Aren’t Real grouphat for more information. The Doctor takes Paul and Ruby takes John. George and Ringo get zero lines, which tracks with history. They learn that both Paul and John don’t actually know why they play music. It feels silly, really. They should just pack it up. But something deep in them is still drawn to music, even if what comes out is a song about a dog that was only slightly better than “Rocky Raccoon.” But before they can slap them out of it like John with his first wife, they’re interrupted by visions of the Maestro.

Enter Jinkx Monsoon, who actually opens the episode but I’m using time travel to talk about things as they become relevant. Now, before they were cast in Doctor Who, I knew nothing about Jinkx Monsoon. I know she was on Drag Race, but I don’t watch that shit. No shade if you do. Ru Paul is totally not problematic and has never done anything weird. Everything I skimmed in Jinkx Monsoon’s Wikipedia page indicates they’re pretty cool. They relish in the role in a way that will make midwest dads shift in their chairs, and I’m here for it. They’ve got an oral fixation that’s impossible not to notice. When they eat the music from Timothy Drake’s soul, they let out a moan that sounds a lot like a climax, and not in the musical sense. Also, how sad is it for Tim Drake that he’ll never meet Batman? RIP Robin. 1925 was too early. Speaking of 1925, isn’t it interesting that the Maestro appears right around the same time as the Toymaker sold the Stooky Bill puppet to Charles Banerjee? Is there some significance with that year? Handily, no World Wars were happening at the time. The Scopes Monkey Trial occurred. Babe Ruth received surgery for an ulcer. They broke ground on defacing Mount Rushmore. But really, kind of tame considering the bookends of the era. The Lorcano treaty was doing a lot of the heavy lifting though.

The Maestro’s whole deal is a sort of crazed sense of ownership over music. To hear them describe it, music belongs to them. They are music. In this way, I was pleasantly surprised that they didn’t song and dance people to death. It’s nice to be surprised. I rather liked their motivation. Monsoon doesn’t need to do a whole lot of acting. It’s all very panto. Very drag. It’s the kind of performance you hope you get. I’m not saying it’s a bad performance, just an elevated one. Both Jinkx and Ncuti get a chance to overact a bit in this story. Once again, I don’t mean overact in a bad way. David Tennant is the biggest overactor in Doctor Who save for Soldeed in “The Horns of Nimon,” and he’s consistently voted favourite among Doctor Who fans. Add “tendency to overact,” to the pile of personality traits I’m beginning to love about the Fifteenth Doctor. I love it when the Doctor really sells the energy of a scene, even if it requires him to speak forlornly into the middle distance.

Attempting to get the world’s groove back, the Doctor has a piano hoisted to the roof of a building. This is, of course, a reference to The Beatles’ final public performance from the rooftop of Apple headquarters in Central London. Only instead of Billy Preston on the keys, it’s Ruby Sunday. As she plays a Ruby original, the inhabitants of neighbouring buildings begin to shake out of their fog as music descends on them like sunshine. It even inspires a granny played by Doctor Who legend Laura June Hudson to dust off her piano to play Debussy’s “Clair de Lune.” It’s a lovely moment which is about to get stomped on by the Maestro’s honking drag boots, but for a brief moment, music swells.

I was glad to see them taking time to slow things down a little in this episode. The Doctor even talks a bit about himself and Susan over on Totter’s Lane. Couple that with Carole Ann Ford’s presence at the Doctor Who premiere last year, and it feels like it might be more than a reference. I’ve seen Whovians of weak faith construe this to mean Susan is dead, but in my experience, when a writer says something isn’t, it is. That’s just my two cents. Who knows if any of it means anything. It could just be that it would be weird for the Doctor to visit London in 1963 and not mention him living there with his granddaughter. Or it could be that Doctor Who is finally getting a better Doctor/Susan reunion than “The FIve Doctors.” Who could forget the moment when they’re reunited? 

First Doctor: "Oh, er, this is Susan."

Fifth Doctor: "Yes I know."

How could you not get choked up? What a reunion. I can’t imagine why people would want something more. The Doctor told her all those years ago “Someday I’ll come back,” and he did. It was brief and without any of that pesky emotional connection we usually get from television.

Ruby pulls the classic “But the world didn’t end in 1963, I exist,” so the Doctor shows Ruby what the world would look like without music and it’s grim. It was nice of them to show us a bombed-out London as many of us are still feeling the sting from Fallout: London’s delayed release. Thanks, Doccy Who. But the two are not alone as they’re interrupted by the Maestro and their Looney Tunes brand of scary sexy. As with their first interaction, the Doctor runs. I love that aspect because it’s very Davies Doctor Who. The Doctor runs from the Time Vortex. The Doctor runs from Gallifrey. The Ninth Doctor refers to himself as cowardly, but what it really is is he hasn’t anything to prove. He’ll live today to fight again tomorrow, and yesterday. Timey wimey.

While the Maestro finds the Doctor both hot and timey wimey, they are still very much a threat to him and the Doctor knows this. You can’t fight the Pantheon. You have to abide by their rules. How do you fight someone who can control the TARDIS with music? The Doctor rips the TARDIS console a new one in order to flee back to 1963, where the world has yet to end. I found it cute the way he kisses the console to say sorry for the way he treated her. It not only suits the Doctor, but this Doctor with his brand of compassion. The TARDIS gets it, but you’ve gotta kiss a boo-boo or it won’t get better, everyone knows that.

The Doctor’s only plan with his limited resources is to somehow find the opposite of the Devil’s Chord, a sort of lost chord, if you will. Of course, this draws the Maestro to the Doctor like my cats to the sound of the tin opener. The Maestro captures Ruby, wrapping her up in sheet music. The Doctor stares down the Maestro as they allow him the opportunity to prove his musical genius. Can the Doctor find the lost chord? With each new note appearing above the piano, the Maestro writhes in twisted agony. But the Doctor hits a bum note and the Maestro is back on their feet ready to suffocate the Doctor in a drum and choke the life out of Ruby. But the song within Ruby’s soul from the Christmas Eve where she was left on that church stoop is stronger than anything the Maestro can muster. The Maestro may own music, but Ruby owns this song in that moment. Like before in “Space Babies,” the snow begins to fall indoors and the Maestro recoils in horror.

This gives the Beatles enough time to discover the piano and play that final note. Alone, they may not be geniuses, but the combination of McCartney and Lennon is enough to find the lost chord and banish the Maestro. They could have also achieved this with Harrison alone. He wrote “Here Comes the Sun,” after all. With the lost chord now found, the Maestro gets sucked off back where they came. Was the note they found the same one from the end of “Day in the Life?” RTD said they used a single Beatles chord. Was that it? I don’t know enough about music to answer that. After a quick re-listen, I'm going to say yes.

London is once again filled with music. Now, we’ll finally get the chance to see the Beatles play their actual music, right? They fixed music, right? God I wish. After cryptically looking into the camera and saying “There’s always a twist in the end,” the Doctor and Ruby are suddenly thrust into what I can only describe as the worst song possible. I’ve said in the past that I am not a huge fan of Murray Gold’s music. There’s nothing wrong with it, it’s just a bit safe for my tastes. But this song… I loathe it with every fibre of my being. It’s cloying, it’s corny, and it’s a repetitive ear worm you don’t want stuck in your head. I’ve said I was interested in Doctor Who doing a musical number, but this was god awful. I try to be as fair as possible when it comes to my reviews, so I think I’ve earned enough good faith to openly say this song is terrible. I would rather listen to the crappy dog song from earlier in the episode, and I don’t even own any circuit-bent instruments, and therein lies the problem.

How can you say the Doctor saved music when the way you present it is with a song that is simply not good? We need a good song in this moment, and that was not it. If ever there was a time to reach into the coffers and pay for a song, it was this. I mean, he said “There’s always a twist in the end,” and “Twist and Shout,” was right there. It wasn’t even written by the Beatles so it might have even been cheaper. They could even re-record it in the same Glee style in which they filmed the big song and dance routine. Hell, how expensive are Cilla Black songs? Do one of those. Instead, we get another fake Beatles song, in fake EMI studios, on fake Abbey Road to imply that we saved the future from a world of fake Beatles songs. By the time this insipid tune wears out its welcome, the Doctor and Ruby skip away across Abbey Road, lighting up the zebra crossing like piano keys. But instead of it being charming, it caused both my wife and I to say “Oh God, it’s still going.” 

After the episode, I did a little bit of reading. I figured the two people dancing with the Doctor and Ruby were guest stars as they singled them out over the other background dancers. Evidently, they’re judges or competitors on Strictly. I dunno, I don’t watch that shit. So I really have no idea if that song was written to be in the style of something you would see on Strictly. But what I do know, is that it was brave of Murray Gold to show his face during that exquisite train wreck. I guess this episode really did pull a “Daleks in Manhattan,” à la “My Angel Put the Devil In Me.” In that respect, you can add contemporary music to the list of things Doctor Who should do well, but can’t seem to get right. It’s in good company with pirates and westerns. “The Gunfighters,” even fails at two out of three. Impressive!

I do admire the hell out of RTD and company for throwing their whole ass into that ending. It takes real chutzpah to fail so spectacularly. And honestly, as harsh as I’ve been, I didn’t totally hate the scene. In some ways, it's a clever pastiche to '60s music. In that light, I could maybe come around to it, over time. They’re also trying new things. But I think we found the ceiling pretty fast. I can’t say I’d like to see that sort of thing a lot more in the future, but here and there? Sure. As it is, it feels unrestrained and masturbatory. And truthfully, I would have preferred an actual musical like Buffy’s “Once More, With Feeling,” or Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ “Subspace Rhapsody.” They somehow gave me what I wanted while simultaneously failing to deliver.

Now of course, the real question is- what was the twist at the end? Was it the appearance of the Maestro’s “son,” Henry “Harbinger,” Arbinger?  Or maybe it was a meta-reference to actress Susan Twist, the woman who once again has shown up in the background. I find it even more interesting that in every episode where she’s appeared, they give her a line to read. Or maybe it’s a Susan twist, as in the Doctor’s granddaughter. They mention Susan in the same episode with an actress named Susan Twist where they sing about twists while doing the twist. It’s like “Who’s on second?” or “The Doctor’s daughter who plays the Doctor’s daughter in ‘The Doctor’s Daughter,’ marries the Doctor.” 

Despite the ending and the rehashed story, I rather liked this episode. Jinkx Monsoon and Ncuti Gatwa had great chemistry. The mysteries continue to unfold. Along with my hope for the Rani, I can now add hope for Susan into the mix, and as with the Rani, I won’t get my hopes up. In the same vein, I'm grateful that Maestro wasn't a code name for the Master. We've seen enough of him for a while, thanks. Ncuti and Millie continue to impress as the Doctor and Ruby. I also admired Ruby's restraint in not telling John Lennon to avoid chubby guys in glasses. I loved the Maestro and the fact that their laugh was vocal warm-up. So much fantastic attention to detail. But that ending is not my bag. It felt tacked on, poorly paced, and obnoxious. It reminded me of that line from Fight Club- “We are the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world.” Emphasis on the crap.

[paradoxxinvader]

DITTO - do you want somebody? like i want somebody?

PROLOGUE - THE DEBUT

pairing :: riki x fem!idol!reader

synopsis :: yn, the leader of girl group trio ATTRACTION, has a major crush on ENHYPEN’s maknae, nishimura riki, since before her debut in 2022. she related to him, confided in his photocards, and befriended the idea of him, so much so that she fell in love with someone who barely knew of her. when she debuts under the same label as him, HYBE, the tables start to turn when she starts to realize that who he is isn’t the same person she fell in love with, all while nishimura riki starts to fall for her. what could possibly go wrong?

word count :: ~3k

warnings :: this is super weird i’m sorry. very cringe, mention of food, mentions of obsession (?), the general stuff idk i haven’t proof-read this

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“ATTRACTION is up next, manager park,” a female staff member said. “5 minutes,”

“ok, got it,” manager park turned towards the trio of girls who were getting the final touches of their hair and makeup. “you girls ready?”

“yes, manager park,” the girls said in unison. after a moment or so, when the stylists gave them the go-ahead that they were ready to leave, they walked towards the wings where they were to stand until they were to stand on stage. sungie clutched yn’s hand and gave it a firm squeeze, and the girls wrapped their arms around one another’s shoulders before starting their chant.

“i’m hot, you’re hot, we’re all hot, because this is ATTRACTION!” they shouted in unison, squeezing each other in a group hug.

they scurried onto the stage, bowing lightly to greet their sunbaes, before arranging themselves behind them. recording started not even a minute later.

“today we have some very special guests,” mc sunghoon starts.

“a girl group that debuted just today,” mc wonyoung continued.

“please welcome ATTRACTION!” both bank presidents exclaimed, sliding to the side, putting the girls front and center.

“anneyoung, lovelies! we are ATTRACTION,” the the trio exclaimed, bowing down before making finger hearts. 

“since it’s your first time on the show, please introduce yourself!” mc wonyoung said, smiling. the girls smiled wide, letting yn take the lead.

“anneyoung, lovelies! i’m leader yn, nice to meet you!” yn exclaimed, stepping forward a bit, bowing her head a little before throwing a kiss at the camera.

“hellooooo, i’m maknae sungie! i’m so excited to be on music bank!” sungie exclaimed, before making a confused expression, searching for something in the pocket of her brown school-skirt, before flashing a finger heart and an exaggerated wink towards the camera. yn and pae-ri, who were used to her antics, stifled a giggle, whereas sunghoon and wonyoung laughed silently yet uncontrollably, slowly backing away from the camera frame.

“annyeonghaseyo! i’m pae-ri, the main dancer of ATTRACTION!” pae-ri said, doing a dance move on the spot, before laughing a little from embarrassment. the music bank mc’s clapped before returning back to their places.

“please tell us a little about you debut mini-album, PHOTOREALISTIC,” sunghoon directed. 

“of course! PHOTOREALISTIC consists of five songs, which are ditto, still don’t know my name, love dive, hollywood, and omg!.” yn exclaimed, pointing one of her right-hand fingers up whenever she stated a new song title. “sungie and i have our own songs on the album as well! i collaborated with american artist, labrinth, on still don’t know my name. we both wrote and sung the song, and he produced it! sungie co-wrote and sung omg!”

“we collaborated on two songs on the album, as well! as yn said, we have labrinth on still don’t know my name, and the black skirts on hollywood!” pae-ri added.

“waah, that’s so cool!” wonyoung sunbae exclaimed, clapping excitedly. “can we get a little teaser off of your title track?”

“yes! five, six, seven, eight, stay in the middle, like you a little, don't want no riddle, malhaejwo say it back, oh, say it ditto, achim-eun neomu meol-eo so say it ditto~” the girls sung the chorus to ditto, doing a little bit of the choreography at the same time. 

wonyoung sunbae and sunghoon sunbaenim clapped and cheered, and attempted to do some of the choreography as well, but ended up unsuccessfully. 

“gosh, that’s so good!” mc sunghoon exclaimed, smiling wide. “what is your favourite song off of the album?”

“hmm, i really like hollywood! it’s a really soft-ish song, and it was so, so much fun working with the black skirts, and i think it matches the overall vibe of the album really well!” sungie answered first, after lifting her hand up. the girls hummed in agreement.

“i really like love dive! i love the choreography and it’s a really fun song to sing and dance to, so i can’t wait until we perform it on stage!” pae-ri exclaimed, clapping her hands a little.

“i think i really like still don’t know my name. i wrote that song with labrinth literally in almost no time- the song basically wrote itself. he’s our producer’s friend, and he was in seoul for, like, two-ish weeks, and we somehow ended up writing the song together! it’s a really honest and raw song, about both of our experiences, so, yeah! i think that’s my favourite!” yn rambled, moving her hands a lot.

“please do tell what the meaning behind PHOTOREALISTIC is!” sunghoon oppa exclaimed, motioning the girls to talk. 

yn spoke up, given that she wrote most of the songs off the album. “it’s essentially a story about how someone paints a picture of a person that’s so realistic that it becomes real to them. essentially the picture becomes so photorealistic hehe-” she threw a wink at the camera. “-that when they meet the person they painted a picture of, all of their ideas are met with negativity and the entire picture they painted is ruined, and all of the feelings that were there aren’t there anymore,” she rushed out, trying to explain the entire concept to the mc’s.

“very cool! we and music bank wish you good luck with your debut!” wonyoung sunbae exclaimed.

“we will performing the lead song off of our album PHOTOREALISTIC, which is ditto, here as music bank, so stay tuned to watch it!” pae-ri exclaimed.

“now off to the stage!” sunghoon sunbaenim declared.

“...and CUT!” the director said, and, one by one, all five idols left the frame. once out of frame, the girls let out a breath of relief, laughing a little.

“jesus, i was so nervous i thought i was gonna pass out,” yn panted out, hands on knees and all, as if she was out of breath.

“nooooo yn you did amazing,” wonyoung said, before hugging her.

“thank you, unnie,” yn smiled. “you, too, sunghoon oppa,”

“good luck with your stage!” sunghoon said, patting sungie’s, pae-ri’s, and yn’s heads. “we’ll let you guys get ready,” wonyoung nodded.

“thank youuu,” pae-ri said, latching onto yn from the back. 

their sunbaes left the room the girls finally let themselves freak out, letting the fact that they’ve debuted finally sink in. they jumped in their place a little, before yn stopped them- “you’ll wrinkle your clothes and ruin your hair,” she scolded.

after ATTRACTION came ENHYPEN, with their comeback stage for MANIFESTO: DAY 1, their stage being paradoxxx invasion. yn’s eyes stayed on a certain maknae who has a passion for dancing. when he accidently looked her way- y’know, as one does-, she averted her eyes from him to someone else, like jungwon sunbae or sunoo oppa- yn and pae-ri were friends with them because of the amount of times they had run into one another in the dance studios and the HYBE cafeteria. they were close enough that they had exchanged numbers and private twitters. 

once ENHYPEN got off stage, the trio of girls praised the septet of boys for their performance and their comeback, and they congratulated the girls on their debut. 

riki’s eyes lingered on yn for a moment or two, but he was out of her vision, so she paid no heed to him, despite how much she wanted to.

HYBE and BELLE had a joint debut party for ATTRACTION, the night of their mini-album release. it was a small party, with the trio, the managers, and some other 4th gen idols and groups- yn could’ve sworn that she saw p1harmony and jeongin from stray kids on the guest list. 

the girls of ATTRACTION got ready together in their shared dorm- pae-ri was in charge of hair and makeup, sungie was in charge of wardrobe, and yn was handling the music as the dj. she connected her phone to a speaker and put one of her dance playlists on shuffle. they had decided on the theme of the party together- only the keywords of ‘whimsical’ and ‘dreamlike’ supplied on the invite. 

they all wore dresses that resembled the album cover- pae-ri wore a pale blue, sungie an off-white, and yn a sea-foam green. sungie was holding an eyeshadow palette and was delicately applying eyeshadow on pae-ri’s lids, humming omg! under her breath, while yn was working her locks through a hair curler. after letting out a small sound of satisfaction when finished and applied a light coat of hair spray and turned the straightener on for sungie. she then started to part pae-ri’s hair to braid it. 

after an hour or so of getting ready, the girls were all sitting in the room where the party was to be held, just about fifteen minutes before it was going to start. in the meanwhile, they all just took pictures of one another, posing in front of the large banner that spelt out ‘ATTRACTION’S PHOTOREALISTIC DEBUT PARTY !!!’ in large words, that was graffiti-fied with gold and silver paint markers, from yours truly. they also got manager park to take a picture of all three of them together, in various silly poses, just basking in enjoyment before everyone else came.

not even minutes later, soobin sunbaenim and jungwon oppa barged in with their respective groups, popping blue and green confetti cannons, with the rest of their groups wearing party hats and holding kazoo’s, with the older ones playing the latter as well. 

“yah, let’s get this party started!” yeonjun oppa screamed.

one by one, the guests came in, more people than originally estimated, and the room was filled to the brim. the album was playing in the background while everyone ate cake and ice cream that the girls had cut, and the staff handed it out to everyone. 

different idols came and went, congratulating the girls and giving really positive feedback to them, some of their sunbaes even giving their phone numbers for any advice or questions that needed to be asked. 

eventually, most of everyone left, eventually leaving the girls alone with ENHYPEN and LE SSERAFIM. the latter gave the girls a big, big hug, leaving a kiss on each cheek, before saying that they’ll meet the girls tomorrow at lunch. after they left, junwon and sunoo gave the girls a hug as well. jay and sunghoon struck a conversation with pae-ri about a recent runway that happened, and heesung and jake got sungie to take a few pictures of them together, as well as a few selfies of all three of them together, in front of the banner- all while jungwon and sunoo left to “get a quick little surprise for you three! you’ll love it i swear!” that left yn alone with riki, who was pretty much quiet for the entire party. 

“yn, right? um, congrats on your debut,” riki said, clapping a short, few times. yn’s ears turned red ever-so slightly, hoping that he wouldn’t notice, and thanked him profusely, smiling sweetly at him, to which he returned. 

“ah, thank you, thank you,” she exclaimed, ignoring the fact that he had to confirm her name from her.

“it’s really impressive how you’ve written most of the songs- you’re what, 16? it’s really cool how you managed to do that!” riki grinned, while yn’s smile faltered a little. well, yes, it was impressive, it just didn’t necessarily sound like a compliment. 

“oh, uh, thanks!” she said anyways, and jungwon and sunoo barged in right then and there. she thanked whatever deity was up there, and turned her attention towards them. 

“yah, what’s this?” pae-ri asked, as the duo struggled to balance a large, black box in between this. 

“be patient!” sunoo playfully scolded, letting the box rest down on a large table. the girls shuffled closer, and jungwon removed the top only to reveal-

“dudes, you struggled to pick up this? together?” sungie exclaimed, albeit happily, taking out a plain, black sweatshirt, snuggling into it. 

“it’s heavier than it looks-” sunoo starts, but was cut off by jungwon.

“it’s ok, hyung,”

the box was filled with three pairs of black hooded sweatshirts and sweatpants, and three bulky duffel bags that had toiletries in them, as well as other bits and bobs, like energy drinks and snacks. there was also an envelope in the middle, which when opened, showed a bunch of fast food coupons. 

“it’s for your practice sessions! it’s our good luck present to you!” heesung exclaimed warmly.

“ahhh, thank you so much!” yn said happily. she picked up a duffel bag, something that she has been meaning to get, a new one and store the one that she had been using since her trainee days.

“nice, there’s gatorade in here as well,” pae-ri whispered to herself.

“there’s no need to thank us! you guys supported us a lot during our comeback, even though you haven’t debuted, and so it was necessary that we do, too!” jake said, hugging sungie, who was closest to him.

the girls bowed deeply, thanking them a few more times, until jungwon told them to stop, because he was starting to get embarrassed.  

“but in all seriousness, thank you so much, i don’t think you realize how much this means to us,” yn gushed, thanking them again.

“it was no big deal, we promise,” sunghoon said, patting their heads.

they all then said their goodbyes, and left one by one, leaving the girls alone. riki lingered for a moment or two- or had yn imagined it all? - but left behind his hyungs. 

the girls were silent, engulfing one another in a big group hug, and manager park had said that she and the staff will get everything cleaned up and that the girls could rest and tuck in for the night. 

they managed to pick up the box together- and, bless his heart, sunoo was right. it was heavier than what it looked like. still, they managed to lug it to the lobby and into the trunk of one of the company cars, which was driving them to their dorms.

they were silent for most ride, with sungie sitting in the middle and leaning her head on yn’s shoulder, dozing off slowly. pae-ri was watching a dance video and yn was listening to a random playlist on spotify. she was gazing out of the window, passing the streetlights and lampposts.

yn opened up her phone, making sure that sungie was completely asleep before selecting a few photos from the party that she took on her phone. she scanned each and every photo, making sure that the brunet dancer was in frame and in focus in the photo, before shifting them to a locked album that was titled ‘nk’. she went through the album once, skipping to all the way up, to which when she saved screenshots of the idol from when he was on i-LAND, and saved twitter and pinterest posts of pictures of when he was younger, much younger.

one thing that most people don’t know about yn is that when she got obsessed with something, she would get obsessed, so much so that she would make it her entire life. most of these obsessions were short lived, not exceeding more than a couple of months, but it was different this time. this obsession had lived for just about two years, perhaps even more. maybe it started when she was a trainee at BELLE and was visiting the HYBE head office for something she didn’t remember, and she saw him in the lobby. maybe it was when she saw him on screen for the first time, when he entered the i-LAND building. sometime then, she thinks, locking her phone when sungie shifts a little.

once they arrived at their dorms, and after they managed to haul the box and the rest of the immense amount of gifts they received from their friends and fellow idols, the girls started to get un-ready in silence, too tired to have a proper conversation. manager park had texted yn privately, saying that they will be going live in the morning, after they posted pictures from the debut party. yn replied with an ‘ok!’ and started to wipe off her makeup and brush through her hair.

she texted her mom once, seeing if she was awake to call for a little bit, since she was so busy the entire day that she wasn’t able to talk to her family. she waited a bit, but when she was left on ‘sent’, she scrolled through her twitter, and since she followed a bunch of idols today, a lot of pictures of the party came up on her timeline. she smiled, liking them all, commenting on a few. jungwon and sunoo, as well as all the older members posted pictures of them with the girls. she liked and retweeting them with funny comments. she noticed that riki didn’t post anything- but then again, he didn’t give her his twitter, even when he saw his members giving theirs. even though she was a little heartbroken, but she was too tired to do anything. 

‘yah, yn, we have a live to do tomorrow morning, go to bed’ pae-ri’s text woke yn up from her daze, and she replied with an ‘okkkk’ and set an alarm for six am, four hours from when she was awake. she knew that she didn’t have to be awake until nine, but she wanted to hit the gym at HYBE for a bit before anything else to wake herself up for a bit. she also wanted to vlog tomorrow morning, so it would serve as viable content to post.

she put her phone on charge, shutting off her lights, and snuggled into her comforter, smiling to herself, finally feeling happy and content after years and years. 

she let a tear slip from the corner of her eye. not a tear of sadness or sorrow, but of happiness, because yn finally thought that things were going her way.

taglist (closing soon!) ::  @acousticking @mitsukifilms @hyem1ngyu @loveliii @ahnneyong @azngamis-blog @hanniluvi @heesitation @brahms-heelshit@mirakura @adeolalily13 @sunoozz @enwlrd @3chae @bucketofhiros @ilovewonyo @jaxavance @calijimenez @adajoemaya @judeduartwannabe @heartwonder (bolded CANNOT be tagged) (ask, dm, or comment to be added)

lu speaks :: DUDES ITS FINALLY HERE !! this took me like more than a week to write *insert sad face* <]:) but all things aside i hope u all really like this !!! unfortunately i won’t be updating ~ consistently ~ because i have my mocks coming up and the my finals coming up pretty much right after that :’D i am currently drafting the first chapter so yay !!! also i’m so sorry i’ve been super busy with school and all so i haven’t been able to go through all of the comments and asks asking to be on the taglist :( i’ll try to do it by tonight !!! then i’ll add everyone on this post asw <3

[ukingk24]

I want to see (you) Sorina childhood friends AU part 3

Erina and Hisako begin to travel the world for her tasting work and they always tell Soma about their trips. Soma is happy for them but also a little jealous that they get to have such fun adventures. One day he asks his dad if he can go with him on one of his trips and Tamako says it’s a good idea. Jo starts bringing them along when he goes to cook and his jobs turn into little family vacations. They go every few months and Soma always cooks at every place they go

The trio exchange stories and gifts after every trip they take. Erina tells Soma about New York and Soma says his dad never took them to America when he goes so he doesn’t know much about it. He eventually asks his dad and Jo gets evasive. Tamako asks him about it privately and he admits he’s hiding something from them. Or rather, someone. Tamako is rightfully pissed and demands he tell the truth. Jo tells her about Asahi and Tamako says in no uncertain terms that they’re all going to America together next time. Soma is 7 here.

Next time comes and Soma is excited to finally go to America, though he doesn’t get why his parents look so nervous. After Jo’s job is done (and Soma learns about American food culture) he takes the family to a little orphanage and they meet a young (10) boy with messy black hair.

Asahi is initially thrilled to see Jo again but freezes when he sees who he’s with. He doesn’t need to guess since Jo talked about them, but Asahi never thought he’d meet Jo’s family. His real family. Tamako sees how nervous he is introduces herself and tries to calm him down. They all have a little chat and everything seems to go well until Soma pipes up “So we came here to see Asahi? Why? Who is he?”

This gets everyone to freeze. Leave it to a 7-year-old to point out the elephant in the room. Asahi feels like he’s going to puke because now they’re here. They’re at the point where they’re going to throw him away, tell him he’s not Jo’s real son. But he can’t just let go of the 3 years of memories he has with Jo. So he beats them to the punch. “I’m Asahi Saiba! Jouichirou’s my dad!” He declares.

This shocks the Yukihira family but before long, Tamako grins. Before she can respond, Soma once again pipes up. “Wait, if dad’s your dad… does that make you my big brother!? I have a big brother?? Why didn’t you guys tell me?!” Soma asks in excited delight. Now it’s Asahi’s turn to be shocked. He was expecting to be rebuffed and cast aside once again, now he has the son of the man he considers his father declaring him his big brother.

Tamako laughs and playfully smacks Jo

“Yeah, why didn’t we tell Soma he has a big brother?” She asks, loving seeing Jo squirm. She tells the boys to play and “get to know your brother.” She tells Asahi to stay back for a second though

“Asahi, I know you’re worried, but you don’t have to be. Everything’s gonna be ok. I promise.” Tamako says, holding out a pinky. Asahi is hesitant but he sees her smile and his hope outweighs his fear and pinky promises her.

The boys go out to play and Tamako and Jo have a serious discussion about Asahi. Tamako wants to bring him home and adopt him but Jo is hesitant. Not because he doesn’t love the boy but because he’s worried about his and everyone else’s reaction. Plus he still feels guilty keeping him a secret.

“Oh, you definitely should be, but we’ll focus on that later. Right now, all that it comes down to is this: do you love him?”

“Of course I do but-”

“Is he your son?”

“Tama, it’s not that simple.”

“Yes it is. Jo, look at me. Look me in the eye. Yes or no, is he your son?” Tamako asks seriously and Jo can’t help but say he is. “Then that’s that. We gotta bring our boy home.” Tamako smiles.

Outside, Soma and Asahi are playing. Soma asks why the other kids avoid Asahi and he says because they can never win when they play. Asahi copies their moves so they don’t like it. Soma asks to see and he thinks it’s really cool. Or rather, Soma is trying to play with Asahi but the older boy is hesitant. He doesn’t talk much and Soma can see he’s not having fun. He asks what’s wrong Asahi admits he’s nervous. This is the first time he’s meeting Jo’s family and while he doesn’t want to cause any problems, he also doesn’t want to stop seeing Jo. Soma reminds him that mom said she’d take care of it. Asahi says it’s not that simple since he’s not Jo’s real son but Soma is confused at this.

“Mom said you’re my brother, and you said dad’s your dad? Even dad said so. So that means mom’s your mom.”

“If that were true, why haven’t I been there?”

“We’re bringing you home this time, right?” Asahi is stunned. He doesn’t think that’ll happen but Soma is adamant. He grabs Asahi’s hand and marches back inside, saying he’s going to make them bring Asa-nii home with them.

Tamako and Jo are talking about the legal processes they’re going to have to go through to adopt Asahi and bring him to Japan when Soma comes marching back in, dragging Asahi along. “We’re taking Asa-nii back home!” He announces. Asahi is red faced from embarrassment and Tamako and Jo share a look before laughing. “Yeah, we are kiddo.”

“Oh, ok. See? I told you mom would take care of it.” Soma says simply, as if there were never any doubt. Asahi is on the verge of tears; he can’t believe this.

“Please don’t say it if you don’t mean it.” He says meekly. He can barely hold it together. A lifetime of pain and disappointment has kept him from hoping but right now they’re higher than they’ve ever been. If that hope turns out to be false, he might just break completely.

“We mean it kiddo. We’re talking to the orphanage about all the legal stuff, but it’s happening.” Tamako assures. Asahi looks to Jo for one last confirmation.

“I should’ve done this a long time ago, Asahi, and I can never apologize enough for not doing so. But one way or another, we’re bringing you home. That’s a promise from your father.” Jo declares and Asahi’s dam breaks. He runs into his father’s arms, crying tears of joy and Jo responds in kind.

They end up staying in America for a while to finalize the adoption process and getting Asahi’s records. Soma’s practically attached to Asahi’s hip and whenever she’s not doing paperwork or working through all the legal procedures, so is Tamako. “You got a 3-year head-start on us so we gotta make up for lost time!” Tamako says. Asahi has absolutely no complaints. Before they came, he was still complacent with seeing Jo a few times a year, knowing that their bond was strong but never really parent and child. Now, not only is Jo officially his dad, he’s got a mom and little brother. And a grandpa back home. He’s got a home! A few weeks pass, and Asahi is officially adopted and home in Japan.

At one point when dealing with all the papers, Asahi's name comes up. Everyone assumed that he'd go with Yukihira and he honestly wants that too, but he also doesn't want to get rid of Saiba. It's his link with Jo and the name is special to him. Tamako catches on to his hesitation and talk to him about it.

"Everything alright there, kiddo?"

"Y-yes ma'am!" "Asahi, how many times do I have ta ask you ta call me mom? Or at least Tamako? Literally anything but ma'am."

"Sorry ma- Tamako-san... I'm just not used to this yet."

"S'alright. You got the rest of your life to get used to it. So what's got ya stumped there?"

"Oh, uh. Just the name part..."

"You don't like Asahi?"

"No, that's not the name I'm having trouble with."

"Yukihira is the issue?"

"No! No- I'm so honored you'd let me use that it's just... Saiba..."

"I see."

"That's the name that Jouichirou gave me, it's... I don't really know how to explain it."

"You don't have to, Asahi. It's special to you, right?"

"Yeah."

"And you don't wanna get rid of it."

"But I also don't want to be rude to you and Soma."

"I get it. Look, Asahi. I wanna thank you for being honest with me. I also wanna apologize for not coming to get you sooner. Trust me, I gave Jo an ear-full when he fessed up. But I need you to know something, and I want to you look at me when I say it so you know I'm serious. I need you to know that you're our family now, and we're yours. No matter what name you choose, no matter what you do, you will always be our family. Jo's always gonna be your dad, Soma's always gonna be your brother, and if you let me, I'll always be your mom. But no matter what, you'll always be my boy."

Asahi fully breaks down in Tamako's arms and they're both ugly crying tears of catharsis. He starts calling her mom right then and there. Asahi eventually decides on Asahi Saiba-Yukihira as his name

Kazusato wastes no time in spoiling his newest grandson, and even less time scolding his idiot son in law for not doing this sooner. It takes a few months for him to gain Japanese citizenship and he also goes through a few language classes to brush up his Japanese. But Asahi is a very quick learner and it’s discovered that he has a photographic memory, and that especially translates into cooking. He can see a technique and understand it after a few tries. Once he understands it, he never forgets it.

Soma’s initially jealous that Asahi can do that but it just makes him all the more motivated. He also tells Erina and Hisako right away that he got a new brother and when they come over next time, they all meet. Asahi’s a little nervous because he’s meeting his little brothers best friends and wants to make a good impression

He doesn’t have to worry too much about that though since Soma vouches for him. He decides to make a dish to break the ice and is surprised with how critical Erina is. He’s even more surprised when Soma agrees with her. Erina is pleased that Soma is actually listening to her critiquing methods. “How can I not when you do it all the time?” Erina sticks her tongue out at him. Soma responds in kind. Hisako tells him that yes, it’s like this a lot.

[therealslimshakespeare]

I set notifications on your stuff just so I don’t miss any Twc posts. Anyway it’s been a rough month and this week is gonna be a nightmare for me so any fun and romantic Benny x Lu lil tidbits you could share if you’re up for it would be such a mood booster. ❤️❤️

Some Benny x Lu thots:

Sorry I am just now seeing this so it’s not exactly a “tonight” gift and response but if I can in any way lighten your day/hour/week, I will be delighted to do so. ☺️🥹😘

I’m pathetic at these things compared to some writers on tumblr, full warning. These are the sorta asks where I miserably look around and wonder if I’m even the writer of the story because my mind goes blank. I think it’s in part because I don’t have things chronologically and entirely thought out. But this is for funsies so I will start blabbering in that happy vein, and hope for the best. Nothing but a ramble ahead. ☺️

OK, so while a little undecided regarding how they eventually get together, I can confirm the entire vibe is that of the well worn Grandma advice, “if your man gives you nothing but butterflies, run, but if he gives you the sense of complete security and a peaceful sense of being known, never let him go”.

When discussing her wants and desires for relationships with men, -most likely with Maureen because that is her big sister/wine aunt friend who she can feel free to talk about these things with- I can see Lu voicing her confusion and frustration with really wanting to experiment but always freezing up with strangers, which is obviously an utterly natural thing to do with the levels of trust required.

It’s not exactly a job for a boy to undertake.

But the normal thing to do would be to meet someone around her age, so she keeps trying, and it’s not always horrible, especially as she enjoys the “giving” aspect of intimacy and enjoyment of dates and parties and being someone’s special someone.

I think this leads to a little annoyance on her part, when Maureen or Ida will ask her who she is most comfortable with, and it always has to be an admission that it’s the men of the 100th. Even though she still sometimes feels like the baby with them, she’s utterly comfortable with them. And I think she thinks of it as something she needs to outgrow for a very long time, until finally accepting that it’s more about them being a remarkable group of men than a complete trauma bond.

And Benny might be the most comfortable of all. He wasn’t witness anything awful and yet he already knows everything, he has repeatedly been her superior in camp, but almost always in a caregiving aspect or in organizing a way to care for those under them.

Benny is familiarity, satisfying expectations and unobtrusive goodness. She’s a full fledged being to Benny and when he asks about how her college experience is going, he asks it with all the understanding she’s not sure she has herself.

Benny also is also a horribly handsome man, whose scruff in camp she always found very confusingly nice -like a doughty pirate out of one of Pyle’s paintings. That’s really beside the point but she’s thought about it too often for comfort and it’s made her angrily toss in bed a few times. Bewildered by a crush that’s not a full crush at all.

Once together, I think the difference between a man and a boy is so obvious:, not in a way that screams age gap between these two, but on the contrary, it’s like she finally found an equal, yet also someone who will not age her.

Of course that takes a lot of different forms. We’ve talked about them being adrenaline junkies, loving nature and adopting pets. Massive road trip aficionados, and they probably have a spectacular memorabilia collection from their cross American journeys. They are utterly supportive of each other’s businesses and careers, and while some may think it discordant that they are in different fields, they don’t see it that way at all.

The adrenaline junkie aspect should not make you assume that these two are not also spectacular at the quiet sort of companionship that a friends-to-lovers can boast the best of. They love a good cuddle on the couch, or laying on the floor of the forest, or sitting and watching the fireflies.

I think Benny is the sort of man who leaves a single love note somewhere in the house every day, and Lu has to find it, that’s the rules. I think they have tiny little wagers, over the most inconsequential things, and Benny always ends up paying up – he has to buy her anything she wants. Which is usually the most tiny, sentimental trinket, and it’s something she could’ve easily bought herself, but they both like him buying it for her.

I think he’s obsessed with her type of beauty, like the fact she is a native American is not something he overlooks or is inconsequential, he absolutely revels in it. He thinks she’s gorgeous, thinks her scars are so utterly attractive due to her resilience – obviously, after a lot of context and healing – and comes up with all sorts of compliments praising his bronze goddess. Wants to make pitch black haired babies with her, and says it with the far off dreamy look in his eyes that tells her it’s not about the breeding that’s making him haze, no, it’s the little mini Lu’s that he wants and is picturing. At her own pace, of course.

He totally makes possibly politically incorrect jokes about it being the ultimate immigrant success story as an Italian man to be with a true original American. 🙄🤭

This man totally does most of the cooking, and as I have said before in a previous answer, it’s a bit of a joy to them when she comes home grubby, and in her work clothes, after a day of environmental engineering, 🤪 (if we go with that) and he’s in his business suit, And they can have a good giggly laugh and love session just like that. In other words, they just really love each other for who they are. It’s utterly comfortable, and don’t let anyone ever tell you that’s a lesser sort of love. 🥹

Interviewing these two as old folks would be the most precious thing. I’ll just leave ya with that

Xoxoxo and best wishes for you next week and this rough season: all things must pass

[turtleations]

KUMA: Never Ending Bond, Chapter 1, Part 5 (Translation)

Preface & Prologue Chapter 1, Part 1 & 2 Chapter 1, Part 3 Chapter 1, Part 4

Various unforgettable memories I can only now talk about

I think I want to write about some episodes that stayed in my memory now that the statute of limitations has expired.

One summer, when I was still a high school student, Shishô, who was taking his first vacation in a long time, invited me along with a “Let’s go to Okinawa!”

But the day he was planning to leave for Okinawa was the 1st of September. Unfortunately, that was the day school started again.

Meanwhile, it came that TOSHI-san was going to go with HIDE-san, and the two of them did their best to tempt me.

“KUMA, why can’t you? Is it because your mother would get mad at you if you went to Okinawa on the first day of school?” they said. Having been invited by two people I loved, of course I wanted to go, and… spoke to my mother in secret, and since she was an understanding person, she quickly got to the point of giving her OK, saying to me, “Be careful on your trip!” Since I didn’t bring my swimming pants, she came all the way to Kumamoto Airport to bring them to me.

I took a break from school, and my mother said to HIDE-san and TOSHI-san, “You’re always taking such good care of Hideki.”

HIDE-san and TOSHI-san, looking uncomfortable, said with an embarrassed grin, “No, it’s the other way around.”

Even today, I have to laugh to myself when I remember that scene.

When I thus missed school because of X, my mother told the school, “My son has to stay home because he’s not feeling well.”

That is not really a good thing, but the statute of limitations has expired, after all.

And then… other memories with Shishô that I can’t forget are the days in Yokosuka.

Shishô often took me along to Yokosuka, where his parents lived.

Shishô often took me along to places like ROCK CITY [Note: a livehouse] where he gave a lot of lives with SAVER TIGER, the band he was with before X, or Yokosuka’s entertainment district, Dobuita Street.

I was a complete greenhorn, not even being 20 at the time…

Since there was the American military base in the immediate neighborhood, I had to compare my drinking to the American military whenever we went to Yokosuka. Shots on the rock… No matter how many I had, I would not get drunk.

The reason was that I had to get HIDE-san safely back to his parents’ home.

I wonder if I was able to harden my body because I took pride in my duty of properly supporting HIDE-san… Even when I drank, I kept the physical condition of someone who did not.

We sometimes got into fights with the American soldiers, even to the point of the police being involved, but… Looking back at it now, it makes me feel nostalgic.

Another thing I remember when thinking about Yokosuka is Shishô’s mother.

When I went to his parents’ house with Shishô, there was a mountain of food prepared there. Seeing this, HIDE-san said, “KUMA, if I eat like that in this place, I’m going to get fat again.”

But while he mumbled things like that, to me he always looked very relaxed when we were at his parents’ place.

Remembering his childhood, he often laughed and said, “Ever since I was little, I got fat because I ate like this!!” Whenever he returned to Yokosuka, he called the former members of SAVER TIGER  and other friends, and we all went drinking together. He always seemed to have a lot of fun.

My current work has me think of Tokyo as a battlefield, and I realize that this awareness is something that I must have naturally absorbed from observing Shishô at that time.

Chapter 1, Part 6