#first one is from a buddy monologue that didn't make it on the show in the original kids in the hall series

[magentagalaxies]

guess who now has access to some highly rare buddy cole "lost media" for the documentary i'm making!!!

[cataztrophi]

TAZ Balance 12: First

Just three more entries to reach my goal for @taznovembercelebration this year! My card for this entry was "first," so this is a silly one about new experiences!

“Oh my God this is a disaster,” Kravitz groaned, doubling over in an attempt to calm his anxious stomach. 

“It doesn’t sound that bad,” Magnus said from his desk chair, where he'd been watching Kravitz pace their dorm room for the past 10 minutes.

“I can't believe I let you talk me into this.”

Magnus shrugged. “You said you wanted to get more confident. I thought trying out for the play would help.”

“I know.” Kravitz sounded miserable. “And it was a good idea, but I thought I'd be getting a bit part! Like one of those fairies with one line, or maybe a tree?”

“Wait, isn't it good that they gave you a bigger part? They liked your audition!”

Kravitz straightened up and started pacing again, his stomach still twisting itself in knots. He'd thought the same thing, too, when he first saw the cast list. Kravitz knew his competitive nature could be a blessing and a curse, but he thought he'd successfully harnessed it for good when he spent hours perfecting his monologue to audition for A Midsummer Night's Dream. Now it felt more like he'd been building his own guillotine. 

“It's not that I don't appreciate being cast as king of the faeries,” Kravitz began slowly, wondering how much he could tell Magnus before triggering his excitable-golden-retriever-man instincts. “It's just that, well, there's the whole thing with Titania, and pretending to be in a relationship thing, and they said there might be a kiss scene….”

Realization dawned on Magnus’s face. “And you think it's going to be weird kissing a girl?”

This was so far away from what Kravitz was worried about that it almost pulled him out of his anxiety spiral. “No! Well, that might have been a little awkward, but….” He was too deep into it now. There was no way he'd avoid spilling his guts. “They didn't cast a girl.”

Magnus frowned. “Oh. Okay, who did they cast, then?”

“Taako.”

He looked more confused than ever now. “What’s wrong with Taako?”

Nothing, Kravitz's brain replied instantly. Taako was absolutely perfect, and that was the problem. 

“No, it’s not that there’s something wrong with him, it’s just… well, kissing anyone for a show feels weird to me, and I don’t want to make him uncomfortable, and-” And the thought of kissing Taako made him go weak at the knees.

“Oh. Well, I wouldn’t worry too much about that. Taako’s a professional, he’s been acting since he was like… ten or something? So he’s not gonna feel weird about it.”

Kravitz knew he was a professional, of course; he’d been to every show Taako had been cast in. He’d even worked up the courage to bring flowers to the last one, although he had been so dazzled when Taako came out after the show that he essentially just stood there for five minutes before thrusting them in his direction and walking away. And now Taako had to kiss the guy he probably only knew as “Magnus’s weird roommate who almost hit me in the face with roses and lilies.”

“Maybe I should quit the show?” Kravitz suggested, without much hope.

“Aww, come on, Kravitz!” Magnus said, in his cheerful pep talk voice. “The only way out is through. You’ll be great!”

Kravitz opened his mouth to refute this when he heard a knock at their door. He didn’t think they were expecting anybody. He looked at Magnus, who shrugged. 

Kravitz walked over and peered warily out of the peephole. His heart lurched when he saw Taako’s warm eyes and bright, gap-toothed smile staring back at him.

“It’s Taako,” he hissed, panicked.

Magnus shrugged. “So let him in.” He stood up and began tossing things in his backpack. Kravitz debated whether he could just pretend he wasn’t home until Taako went away.

“Hey, either you let him in or I will, buddy,” Magnus told him. Right, right. He was being silly. He unlocked the door, took a deep breath, and pulled it open.

“What’s up, lover?” Taako asked, then burst into a fit of laughter at Kravitz’s no-doubt panicked face. 

“Uh,” he said as Taako stepped into the room.

“I just thought that, since you’re playing my eternal paramour now, we should, you know, chat a bit. Talk about how we’re seeing the characters.”

“I’m heading to class,” Magnus said cheerily, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. “You two have fun!”

Kravitz knew for a fact that Magnus didn’t have class for another forty minutes, but he couldn’t call attention to that without risking a barrage of pointed questions about why Magnus thought he needed time alone with Taako. Instead he stood there in silent betrayal as Magnus waved goodbye and closed the door behind him.

“Uh,” Kravitz said again. He watched Taako sit down on his bed and smile up at him. Taako had been in their room before, but always as Magnus’s friend, and never with just Kravitz. 

“So, Mags tells me you’ve never really acted before.”

“Yeah,” Kravitz said, grateful to have finally latched onto the English language again. “Just never really got the chance.”

“Well, you clearly blew your audition out of the water! Oberon’s a tough one to land, you gotta have that certain… je ne sais quoi, you know?”

Kravitz nodded like he had any idea what any of that meant. “Right, yeah.”

“Anyway,” Taako dragged the conversation forward valiantly. “I know people can sometimes get hang-ups about touching other actors, romance, kissing, stuff like that.” He said this all very casually, as though he wasn’t cracking open everything Kravitz was currently shaking with anxiety about. “So I just wanted to chat about what you’re comfortable with, any total nopes, whatevs.”

He looked at Kravitz, waiting for a reply. Kravitz couldn’t think of anything he didn’t want to do with Taako, just not necessarily in front of an audience. The problem was trying to find a reasonable human answer to Taako’s question that didn’t make him seem either against the concept of touching in general or just ridiculously horny.

“You okay?” Taako asked, after a few minutes of silence in which Kravitz was completely incapable of developing a non-objectionable response.

“Um, yeah, I’m fine.” Surely the best policy was to be honest, at least to some degree. “You’re right, though, I don’t have a lot of experience with this, so I’m… sort of nervous about all of it.”

“For sure.” He stretched his arms up over his head, his shoulders popping, the motion pulling up his crop top to reveal more of his perfectly freckled stomach. Kravitz fixed his eyes on the wall behind Taako’s head to keep himself from staring at the strip of soft hair that disappeared into his jeans. “If it would help, we could always do a few practice runs before rehearsal.”

“We could- what?” Surely Kravitz had misunderstood him. There was no way this gorgeous man was suggesting they should practice kissing each other.

“Practice it. The physical stuff, so we’re not trying to work it all out during rehearsal.”

“Practice… kissing?”

Taako shrugged. “Sure, why not?”

Kravitz needed to lie down. He needed to lie down with his feet elevated for at least 30 minutes until his brain started getting properly oxygenated again. 

“If it makes you uncomfy we don’t have to,” Taako said, possibly misreading whatever dumbstruck look was on his face at the moment.

“No!” Much too loud, much too fast. What was wrong with him? “I mean, I think it’s a good idea. Get used to it, you know?” He’d definitely like to get used to kissing Taako. But this was a Professional Acting kind of kiss, and he shouldn’t be weird about it! He absolutely shouldn’t be looking at Taako’s lips already and thinking about how soft and kissable they looked.

“Cool, cool, let’s get to it, then!” Taako stood up and clapped his hands together. “Do you wanna take it from your line?”

“Oh, right.” Kravitz cast about his desk for a moment until he located his script. He had already gone through it and highlighted all his lines, plus highlighting his stage directions and cues in different colors. He flipped through the book until he found Act 4 Scene 1, then cleared his throat a few times.

“Don’t be afraid to really go for it, my fella,” Taako said encouragingly. “Taako’s all about enthusiasm.”

Kravitz stared at him, his face burning. “You-” He cleared his throat a final time and tried again. “You mean the lines, right?”

Taako shrugged. “Those too, I guess.”

“Um, right.” Kravitz took a deep breath, praying that he wasn’t about to look like a complete fool, and began. “‘Sound music. Come, my queen, take hands with me, and rock the ground whereon these sleepers be.’” His whole body hot with embarrassment, Kravitz extended a hand. Taako took it delicately, his head held high as he channeled the haughty elegance of a fae queen. Kravitz was already mesmerized by him.

Taako stepped in closer, and Kravitz leaned down to give him a peck on the lips before immediately drawing back again.

“Um, was that okay?” he asked, while Taako looked startled that it had ended so quickly.

“Uh, yeah, my dude, not bad for a first try. But you know, we’re supposed to be like, fae-married, right? You can put a little more oomph in there if you’re comfy with it. Taako’s down with whatever, cha’boy’s pretty chill about this stuff.”

Kravitz could feel himself beginning to spiral again. Was Taako going to think he was a bad actor now? Or a bad kisser? Oh God, was he a bad kisser?

“Hey,” Taako said, his voice gentler now, pulling Kravitz from his thoughts. His face was earnest, and more serious than Kravitz was used to. “It’s okay if it’s weird, alright? This stuff is pretty weird if you think about it too long. But I think you’re a pretty good dude, Krav, and I don’t think you’d make me uncomfortable on purpose. And if you do it on accident? We’ll talk about it and figure it out. Sound good?”

Some of the panic in his chest loosened slightly. He took a deep breath, and let it out. “Yeah, sounds good. Sorry, if I’m–”

Taako shook his head. “Ain’t no sorry, my man. Besides, acting should be fun! You gotta get a little wild with it sometimes, you know?”

Kravitz nodded. “Okay. Okay, I think I’m ready to try it again.”

“Let’s take it from the top, kemosabe!”

He repeated his line, inviting Titania to dance, and held out his hand again. He tried to get more into character this time, imagining himself as a proud and commanding faerie king. When Taako took his hand he pulled him in close, and he heard him let out a soft breath as their chests collided. His other hand went to the small of Taako’s back as though in preparation for a waltz. He took his time, lowering his face slowly towards Taako’s, and he saw Taako’s lips part slightly, his eyes dark and sparkling with something Kravitz couldn’t place. He lingered in the kiss, and this time he allowed himself to savor the feeling of Taako’s lips on his, soft and yielding and perfect. In the instant before he pulled away, he felt Taako’s teeth catch against his lower lip.

“Was that better?” he asked, his voice rough. Taako was breathing hard, open-mouthed, his cheeks turning pink as he looked up at Kravitz.

“Yeah,” he said finally, still breathless. “Much- much better.”

Neither one of them stepped away from the embrace. Kravitz’s heart thundered in his chest as he became aware of the way Taako’s body was pressed into his, with no sign of him wanting to move. All Kravitz wanted was to kiss him again.

“You know,” Taako said after a moment, “they say practice makes perfect.” He leaned up towards Kravitz for another kiss.

[wench-and-jezebel]

Dark Angel Reaction: Rising

Jezebel (@typicalopposite) reacts [with occasional asides by Wench (@scripted-downfall)]

[Oh, shit, is it this one?  I think it might be.  Ack]

🤔🤔🤔 Phantom sensation???  But he got it right!?  Each time!?  

Bitch you almost transfused all o’ it!  You went and fell asleep

☠️☠️☠️☠️ Ack.  Ackkk!

[Y'all, why have you not learned proper transfusion protocolsssss; y'all need other witnessessss!  To make sure you don’t pass out!  She legit took field med courses at Manticore.  I know this because Alec mentions it later.  How does she not know proper triage?!!??!]

These.  Bastards.  Do NOT.  HAVE A CANDLE.  LIKE IT’S A DINNER DATE.  [Yes they do]

“I’M READY”  tf?

Ack

WHAT TF  [I think this is the same group of people from the Bruno episode]  ack

Hunters funeral minus the death FIRST!  ACK!  BRUTAL  [They don't feel it tho]  ANDDDDDDD???  [True]

[Apparently the weird monologues are contagious]  They areeee tho

But alas, she will

[NOO HIS ACCENT]  I knowwww!  Herbal. Your woman’s an idiot

[That poor dude!  I loved that episode, but he didn't deserve it lakdsjf]  I KNOWWWWW

WHY HE REACH FOR SKETCH’S… pencil… LIKE THAT???

[DUDE I WANNA KNOW HOW TO WHISTLE LIKE THAT]

Don’t do it man!  They gon burn you at the stake!

Ack still tho!  [The table did not deserve that]  ☠️☠️☠️☠️

[Gotta love random suspicious white dudes with buzz cuts and black trenchcoats; y'all ain't conspicuous at all]

OHHHH NOOOO

WELL DAMN!  THAT WAS QUITE RUDE!  [THEY KILL A DUDE… AND YOU TAKE ISSUE WITH THEM BEING.  RUDE.]  ☠️☠️☠️  I was calling them rude for killing him  [I KNOW! YOU PROVE THE POINT!]

Sweeet lord  [Apparently this whole episode is about people losing the stuff that makes them unique; Herbal lost his accent, and OC took a job that is literally so formulaic they're making her memorize a script.]  Oooof 😦

Ye she’s gonna be done with this place soon

He gonna have a spinning fetus in his cornea now  [Noooo]

Ouch  [tbf, buddy did kinda bite off more than he could chew with that... It's like in *The Princess Bride*, when Westley jiggles his head and is like "yeah, that ain't gonna do us much good", except it's backwards, and Logan was like "ah, yes, let me stand upright on legs that haven't been used in months after having twitched an inch" ]  Exactly

…  Welp.  

Ew.  Ewwww!  Why Kendra??? Whyyyyy????

[Max is a bit slow; the dude *is* Mr. Multiples]  KENDRA WHYYYYY??? BLECh

Not a disfiguring accide- BOTH LEGS AND BOTH ARMS? WHAT IS THIS???

☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️

Gon back and apologize to Normal ma’am  [She kinda needed to not burn that bridge.  It always annoys me when characters do that]  Right?!  [George did that in Dead Like Me; changed jobs, pissed off her boss in the process, and then hated the new job and had to go back.  I get they don't like Normal, but he's also very lax about a lot of stuff]

Oh noo!  Rainy window scene

☠️☠️☠️☠️

I love herrrrr

“I want his ass to stay crippled so he needs me”  [This is healthy, Max.  Bravo.]  And normal.

That’s commission jobs for you  [Once again, btw: Normal's employment situation is wayyy better.  Like, it might not be great, but at least it's better]  Yeasss

[Also, at least Cindy didn't get attacked because they were looking for Max adlkfj]

Runnnnnnn Max Runnnnnnnnnnnn

Blech  [REBAR]  BLECHHHHHHHHHHH

SHES LIKE WTF

[This is proof: Dean could've made it off- I mean what]  ☠️☠️☠️☠️  [This Red dude had a full-fledged pipe about four centimeters across through him; the rebar was only one centimeter at most]

☠️☠️☠️☠️  Blech!  Ew!  

Squeak

Ack

[Didn't-  didn't they tell her this already?  I swear they told her that outright in the Bruno ep]  

Logan is like nooooo she my blood bank now  [Nah, he's not that bad]

If they don’t get tf out of his neck imma pass out  [You: Get tf out of his neck… Them: Oh, show you the neck?  Okay!]

BLECHHH

[Maybe don't piss off your supersoldiers, dude]  RIGHT?!?  [They're way stronger than you]

Who is he?? The actor I mean?  [Idk.  I know him --- both of them --- but haven't looked him up.]  CRIMINAL MINDS!  That was it!

– – –

Jezebel: Aight sooo… so far we have learned that a.) post apocalyptic drs are as dumb as doctors in the real world… “oh you say you can feel this. You can move your toe. But that shouldn’t be possible so nah you’re wrong I'm right… 10000$ pls”

Wench: I don’t think he did actually move while there, but the point still stands

Jezebel: Two: Herbal without the accent makes me so sad! His girlfriend doesn’t deserve him!

Wench: I KNOWWWW. This is trueeee!

Jezebel: And tres: this has been the gahdamn bloodiest episode thus far and I do not appreciate it…  🤢🤢🤢🤢

– – – 

I love OC so muchhhh [Me tooo]

Runnnnn boo!!!  [I take back what I said about OC not getting attacked for Max's shite]  🥺🥺🥺🥺 ma’am better take out her own insurance

[I love he- OH SHIT IT'S *THIS* ONE]  Aaaaaaahck!  Neck shit

Blech

[tbf, she pulls off the bleeding eyes.  Though the physical acting in this scene leaves much to be desired]

Welp now OC is gonna know  [Yup]  Tbf if I was max I’d be like look here woman!! I told you this already

“Do you see blood?”  ye lots of it

[So much for Max's "too bad he's getting the use of his legs back"; his mobility is saving her life]

Blechhhhh

Aaachhkkkkkk

I’m over here dying; my husband’s laughing… Blech  [Ma'am, it's stage blood and rubber skin]  

Seizure stopped

I feel ya OC I FEEL YA

Blechhhh

["The truth" Ma'am, you tried that once already]  ☠️☠️☠️  I think she’ll believe her this time tho  ☠️☠️☠️

["I thought about telling you a million times" BRO SHE DID TELL YOU]  And then she goes you ain’t gotta lie max.

Ooooop new ship unlocked 🤣🤣🤣  [I mean- OC does have a high degree of Respect for Max]  Y’all just kiss and make up… sheeesh  [OC is one of the first to act like Max is the leader despite her having 0 deserving traits]  Awwwww… Think maybe this is why tho?  [Yeah, I'm thinking… It's been something I wondered for a while]

Y'all, this scene is.  SiStErLy fRiEnDsHiP

[Okay but can we talk about Normal following up his rant about her slacking off with "get some eye drops"??? That's vaguely sweet]  This is very true

Oh, Normal, the smugness… I love it  [ONCE AGAIN.  Don't burn bridges until you're sure about stuff.]

[tbf, I think OC is a goddess, actually]  SHE ISSS 😭😭

I LOVE THEMMMMM  [HERBAL IS BACK!  The real Herbal!  The one who’s not pretending to be someone else!]

He’s gonna tickle her with his new moving toes

[Okay, that was a really weird shot, just saying]  ☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️  [I swear, all of these episodes end with Max/Logan scenes…]  Hmmm maybe… Just maybe… Cause they are the main characters ☠️🤣🤣🤣  [ Waits not so patiently for s2]  

And now it works soo- 

Oh ☠️☠️☠️☠️

Circlesssssssss

– – – 

Jezebel: And another one bites the dust!  One step closer to Bennnnnn!

Wench: :))) FINALLY!  I have been waiting!  

Jezebel: That’s gonna be quite the unhinged episode review…

Wench: IT WILL!  *acts like a reporter and shoves a microphone at you*  Got any thoughts before we get there?

Jezebel: 🤣🤣🤣🤣 I’m nervous!  Mainly because I know how it ends

Wench: Oh nooo

Jezebel: And ya girls not readyyyy!  Imma be over here crying; my husband will be laughing (again) and you’ll be trying to remind me Alec is only a few eps away… It’s gonna be a mess

Wench: It's the best ep of s1!  Take the best episode you've seen and make it wayyy better!

Jezebel: 🙂  And for that I’m excited.  Soooo like Nervocited?  Pretty sure that’s on MLP ☠️☠️☠️

Wench: We still have so many episodessss (but I think the episode with Ishim is coming up too, and I remember liking that one.  It was my favorite of the pre-Jackles eps)

Jezebel: Oooo 🙂

Wench: Okay, BUT.  That's for the future, so… Endpoint thoughts?

Jezebel: I’m glad OC is in the loop now! Even though technicallyyyyy she always has been… she just didn’t know it 🤣  Wish the writers would have thought of that. It would have been cute banter… But alas they are stoopid 🤣 kidding… kinda

Wench: This is true!

Jezebel: The scene with Logan standing did in fact look weird.. would have been better to have him stand off screen and take a step into view

Wench: THANK YOU

Jezebel: I like Logan’s friend, but, as always my faves are still Jam Pony!

Wench: See, going back to the thing earlier… That's what kinda causes me a bit of issue with the OC/Max bit.  Like, do I think it's a possibility?  Definitely.  But I'm not sure I want it to be?  Max is a highly questionable character now, and she gets worse in s2, and I love OC, so I really want her to have a decent ending

Jezebel: Is there any OC/Max stuff out there? There has to be lol!  And this is very trueee!

Wench: idk, you know me and my mostly-not-reading-fic.  I read some of @witchy-writer-lady’s works, but that was basically the extent of my Dark Angel fandom involvement.  (It was before I got access to the show and was curious about the plot with no other way of figuring out what was going on, so I peeked at the non-smut Alec fics on AO3)

Jezebel: But like maybe OC  can change herrrr 👀☠️☠️

Wench: alsadflkjsf THIS IS TRUE!  And also, I do sometimes do the thing where I'm like "Well, I don't like them, but if they make Favored Person happy, I guess it's okay..."

Jezebel: Fairrr… And!  BLECCHHHHH! the blooooodddddygorrinesssssss!! I’m not ok!  Neither are the dudes, tbf, but me most

Wench: This is fair… I think it's the goriest we get

Jezebel: I was like oh surely it won’t be— oh. It is— OH ITS BAD!  ACK!

Wench: Deepest apologies!  It was not the episode I thought it was, and I'd forgotten it existed!  I couldn't have warned you if I wanted to :]  There's an episode with Big Drama about the wheelchair thing

Jezebel: 🥺🥺🥺

Wench: That’s the episode I thought it was, and it was not!  But anyway, that’s upcoming.

Jezebel: 😤😤😤 With that I think my last thought is… ACK

[zuffer-weird-girl]

I may be hella afraid of birds but that wont stop me from making this.

Injured wing

The poor thing was in the balcony of the apartment. Making sounds and flapping their wings at ferocity to try to take flight again as you watched in pity.

Taking a warm towel from the dryer, your boyfriend's one since it was the comfier to be exact, you picked up the squirming little brow winged creature and took inside. You didn't had the heart to leave it out there, especially due to the snow.

While taking things out of cabinets, you didn't noticed your phone buzzing with the notifications of a certain... top hero calling you.

.

.

.

"A nightingale." You mused as you read on the internet what type of bird was now having fun on bathing on q small pot of water and singing to its heart content "How adorable!" You gushed as it shock out of the droplets of water as you carefully put a sorta of a tiny sling on a popsicle stick to mantain its feather that seemed to be broken stood on place.

"Sorry buddy, guess you're gonna have to stay like this for some time." The bird seemed to calculate your words before tweaking as you giggled at its cuteness.

That is until you heard the door opening and clicking shut.

Fuck. Keigo.

You grabbed the bird delicately and put it on a box filled with a soft towel and placed on your bed before going to open the bedroom's door to see a soaked wet, hair flat and worried hero with a frow.

"Is this some sorta of revenge or what? I was worried sick (Y/n)! You weren't answering your phone so I thought something happened." You picked your phone in confusion.

"You did?" Shit "oh..."

"Yeah. 'Oh.'" He crossed his arms before sighing cupping your cheeks "Why did you stood me up? I thought we were going to have dinner together on that restaurant."

"God!" You face palmed "I totally forgot! I'm so sorry Kei!" You whined as he let out a chuckle.

"Is fine. Although I would like if you compesate for m-"

Before he could finish his sentence, you both froze when a couple of chirps were heard. You analyzed his expression and soon giggled in nervousness at seeing his wings puff up in alarm.

"Was that.. was that a chirp?" He yed you, his pupils dilated as you took a step back with a smile.

"I.. I dont know? Maybe they are out there singing." You rolled your eyes and sweated when he towered over you as you kinda protected the nightingale inside the box with your body.

Yet the chirps intensified...

"There is a bird in here." Hawks more accused than asked as you giggled in nervousness once again.

"A bird? Why would a bird be-" the nightingale manage to escape the box and tweaked at both of you "...here."

"What is he doing in here?" He asked, if you didn't know Keigo enough, you could assume he was... unpleasant.

That's why you were so hesitant on showing the little nightingale to him in the first place when he showed up. You werent blind, and knew Keigo had some bird attics that showed up here and there. It wasn't as frequent as it would be however he was resting if the commission hadn't somehow put their hands on it. But Keigo didn't hold much strings around you. So... you could clearly see that your boyfriend wasn't happy when another one of "his kind", especially a male, he could tell somehow it was a male by the chirping dont ask why, was beneath the same rooftop as him with his partner alone.

"Is here because he is injured Kei, he needs some treatment." You cupped your hands together for the nightingale climb in it as Hawks hlardd holes at the little thing.

"Take him to the vet or something kid, this ain't a clinic." You flinched at his words but still remained strong.

"No I am not." You said "I dont know if they are going to sacrifice him or not Kei, I cant take chances."

"Do you even know how to take care of a bird in the first place dove?!" He asked, hands up as his wings puffed even more which made you snort and arch an eyebrow at him as the fella in your hands chirped.

"Well, I do have some knowledge of wings. And have to take care of one on daily basics." You giggled at the expression of shock and insulted Keigo did before walking off and leaving him groaning and sulking at knowing you wouldn't get rid of that street bird...

.

.

"Keigo Takami." He froze when he heard his full name coming from your mouth "Put that phone down. That little bird is going to stay until it gets better." He did just as you said with an eyeroll before pouting in anger at seeing the bird at your shoulder.

That's his place to put his chin on and snuggle your neck with his face. His.

"And you have to carry that thing whenever you go now? That must suck." He tried to joke, leaning with crossed arms on the kitchen counter as before his face completely fell as you simply chuckled and said it didn't bother you at all.

"Seriously?" He asked in disbelief before grabbing his mug taking a few gulps before you widened your eyes and giggling "What are you laughing at?"

"Is just that mug was full of water early and maybe our little friend may have took a bath in it." Your boyfriend stood up so fast and soon you heard disgusting noises of vomiting .

"For god's sake KEIGO I WASHED IT!"

"I DONT CARE THAT THING SHOULDN'T BE BATHING ON MY STUFF WHAT THE HECK?!"

You sighed, waiting for your boyfriend to be back as you feed the little bird with some seeds carefully, soon being met with Keigo, still brushing his teeth.

"Drama king." You chuckled as he groaned "You know he is not a thing Kei, is a nightingale."

"Great knowing it." He said with a mouthful of toothpaste before spitting into the trash, saying something about not dirtying his bathroom with other birds germs or something.

He looked at you a bit in defeat at seeing you feeding the bird as you noticed his wings drooping a bit.

"What is wrong now bird brain?" You giggled at his expression.

"You should be feeding me ... your boyfriend." You snorted before picking a sunflower seed and showing it to him.

"I thought you didn't liked this stuff?" Yoh asked cheekily as he groaned.

"There is chicken, takoyaki, nuggets heck everything that I eat!"

The bird chirped and you nodded thoughtfully as he stared at you in confusion.

"Cannibalism. I agree."

"Oh cmon I thought we were over this..." he sighed before getting something from the fridge as he scowled at the chirps following after.

.

.

.

He glared at the bird chirping a song as you hummed in delight at the sound, staring lovely at the nightingale.

"Oh cmon Kei!" You poked his cheeks which was puffed "You have to admit is a amazing sound! Nightingales are famous for that!"

"Hawks are famous for other things too y'know?" He grumbled before widening his eyes at seeing you werent giving him attention, instead grabbing your phone and recording the nightingale's chirping.

"Hm? What did you say Kei?" You looked up at him with that smirk which made him scoff and stood up with crossed arms and going to the kitchen.

You stiffled your giggled, going to your pouting boyfriend and hugging him lovingly after putting the injured bird back to safety.

"You're really jealous huh?" You carresed his chest as he breathed in and out, cheeks red at being so obvious about his feelings.

"Is a form of flirting birds singing to their mates. That little shit." He mumbled, earning you a laugh that made him smile as feeling you peppering kisses all over his neck and jawline before he caught your lips with his.

You broke apart with a goofy smile as he chuckled before deadpanning at hearing chirps before puffing and straightening his wings on all glory before shouting at the nightingale:

"GO GET YOURSELF A PARTNER! THIS ONE IS TAKEN YOU PIECE OF CRAP!"

You never laughed so hard in your life. A sound that, for Keigo at least, was far more beautiful than any chirping, singing or melody on this whole world.

.

.

.

After a few days you saw Keigo's hatred for the nightingale easing slowly but surely. Yet you never thought that coming home late on one of Keigo's day off, you would see your boyfriend, layed on the couch with a finger up holding the bird he claimed to hate it and whistling some similiar tone along with the nightingale's chirping.

You stared in shock yet awe at the look of your boyfriend directed to the bird as the sounds came out of his lips before chuckling.

"Your wing soon will be better by the looks of it. Isn't (Y/n) a great nurse?" He mumbled, a sadness deep down on his gaze as he saw the bird clapping the wing that wasn't wrapped up "You got freedom and my dove's attention bud, how could you and (Y/n) not expect me to get jealous?" He chuckled sadly as you frowned, walking slowly towards him, pretending to not overheard his monologue.

"Hey pretty thing, back already?" His cheeky smile was back as you looked at it in awe before kneeling in front of the couch he was layed on and kissing him deeply, making him close his eyes in bliss and pull you closer with his free hand by the neck.

You broke apart as he panted with a glossy yet pleased look. Ignoring the chirps for a bit, you carresed his golden looks as he closed his eyes with a smile.

"Redeeming yourself for giving attention to this bird and not me for these past few weeks?" He murmured happily yet drowsily as you giggled and kissed his forehead softly.

"You could say that bird brain." You stopped for a bit, hearing him whine miserably for you to get back, cupping your hands for the bird to get in.

"Cmon..." he whined, arm dropped over his face as the other rested on him until he felt you tugging on his shirt.

"Just get up lazy, I'm giving you all the attention you want." At this, you saw his golden eyes practically glow in bliss as he stood up as fast as he could.

.

.

.

He stretched his arms as he sitted up on the bed. Hair untamed and eyes unfocused until they dropped on the bird that had exited his box and was flapping both of his wings. Both.

"Huh. You look all better." He smirked as he felt you shift and rest your chin on his shoulder with a drowsy look.

"Who is better?" You mumbled before he pointed at the bird jumping and trying to take flight.

"Your friend there." You squealead as hs chuckled, grabbing the nightingale in one hands as he unwrapped the the made up sling as he waited patiently for the little fella to flap its wings and fly just a few centimeters above his palm.

"Cmon dove." He ushered you to follow him on the balcony as he had a gentle hold on the nightingale "Go little buddy, being stuck on a unknown place forever isn't goog for anyone."

And with a little movement of his hand, the nightingale took flight with beautiful chirps that made you smile but soon look at your boyfriend with a sad smirk as he watched the little bird fly away.

It wasn't sadness because he got attached to the nightingale. It was because that, even a small bird as he, could be free and not him. A grow up man that had a partner but was still caged by the comission...

You carresed his arm before hugging it and placing a sweet kiss to his cheek which brought his attention back to you.

"How about some hot cocoa my handsome? You still got some minutes stuck with me until you go to work." You said softly in Hope's to cheer him up.

He looked at you in some sorta of shock before chuckling and bringing you close enough to him to hear his heart beat and feel his warm yet chapte lips on your forehead.

"Being stuck with you is the only way that keeps me going to be honest."

[whateverthedragonswant]

Your mind......I feel like my third eye opens whenever I read your 9-1-1 metas. Idek what I want you to analyze, but will you fixate on another aspect of buddie for 20k words so I can read it? Thank you 🙏🏽❤️

(actually I lied! I have ideas! What's ur take on the whole Christopher is the universe thing? Or any related matter? I actually don't care what the topic is I just want you to monologue @ me)

Oh my goodness, @kitkatpancakestack you're making me squee over here, thank you so much, you are so kind!!! <3

Absolutely, my friend! I'm not sure if this is related completely to that topic but maybe it is? I've been focusing a lot lately on the Eddie/Shannon parallels with Buddie.

One of the things I love to look at is the grocery store scene. There is so many things just in this few minutes alone that absolutely drives me bananas but also helps make this connection to Shannon and her role in Eddie's life.

First we have Eddie and Lena talking about the guy he fought in the parking lot dropping the charges against him. And before that scene ends at the deli counter, Lena says "But not letting it go. 'Cause that's healthy" as she picks up something to presumably throw in the cart. It cuts to the scene where Hen and Chim are doing their own shop and not only does she throw something in the cart, she says "I just think Bobby needs to let go of being pissed at Buck." Bobby is a definite parallel for Eddie so this little connection they're making doesn't surprise me. We already know Eddie is pissed at Buck. I don't think before this scene we knew exactly how much, but we knew he wasn't happy with him. And surprisingly, regardless of Buck's frosty reception when he comes back in the Halloween episode, Hen and Chimney are not as pissed at Buck as Bobby and Eddie are. And with Bobby, yes he's angry, but we find out it's more out of concern for the 118 and Buck himself. So it didn't shock me at all when Chim said this to Hen: "What do you think this whole shopping trip is about?" Bobby's using this "mission" as a distraction, like Chim says. And sure enough, Hen says "Buck" and Chim goes "Right" and then of course, we see Buck appear. But what kills me here is that we literally just transitioned from the scene with Eddie and Lena discussing what got him thrown in jail in the first place, something Buck later says to Eddie with "Do you think maybe you were throwing your punches at the wrong guy?" -> which to me, clearly connects that the fight in the parking lot happened because of Christopher (and how he feels dropping him off), how Eddie's been feeling lately, and Buck. Because things are happening that he can't control. So while I wouldn't characterize the fight in the parking lot as a distraction, I think they're really hinting here that the issue is running deeper for Eddie and some of it, if not all, is related to Buck.

Then we have the that happens in the store. As Buck apologizes, Hen and Chim are dubious at best, Lena is quietly observing and wisely staying out of it since it has nothing to do with her, and before Bobby can say a word at all, Eddie speaks up. "Yeah, what'd you think was gonna happen?" And then they show Bobby's reaction to this line. It almost appears as if Eddie is speaking for both of them here. But then it quickly becomes about Eddie and Buck and no longer about Bobby and the firefam, even showcased by the two cars crashing into each other outside while this confrontation happens. Eddie's line even takes Buck by surprise, he didn't anticipate the level of anger Eddie had at him for this particular situation. "Why are you so pissed at me?" "Because you're exhausting!" Eddie takes a step closer which amps up the tension of the confrontation, saying "We all have our own problems but you don't see us whining about it. No, we somehow just manage to suck it up. Why can't you?" *first crash sound* -> So I think there's a lot going on here just in this first few lines: 1) Eddie is pissed because he's tired of Buck saying the poor me's (something he's tried to get Buck past just a few episodes earlier when dropping Christopher off with him "He never feels sorry for himself"), 2) Buck put the firefam in jeopardy including Bobby and himself, and 3) Buck told his lawyer personal things that could be used against them. I hope you don't mind me breaking it all down like this but I just feel like there's so much buried here in the layers.

1) Yes, Buck has been feeling sorry for himself but what kills me is that Eddie knows Buck doesn't always do this. Does he do it an awful lot? Sure. But not all the time. And what happened with the tsunami proved that. Buck didn't think about himself for one second, even when he was hurt and on blood thinners. As a matter of fact, the whole reason Christopher fell back into the water is because Buck was trying to help people when the wave started to recede. Buck's full focus was Christopher and helping as many people as he could. When Christopher disappears, he is Buck's pure focus, ignoring his injuries, the blood thinners, his own safety, etc. My point being Eddie absolutely knows that Buck, while he might be feeling sorry for himself in this situation, that is not who Buck is when it comes to what matters, including Christopher. Eddie even cemented it with the lines "There's nobody in this world I trust my son with more than you" and "Thank you for not giving up" and "I love him enough to never stop trying. And I know you do, too." So, while this line might be part of Eddie's anger with him, it's not the full issue. It's because Buck couldn't see past feeling sorry for himself, that he did the lawsuit which initiated no contact, which means he couldn't talk to or see anyone from the 118, including Eddie, which of course means no Christopher. "You know how much Christopher misses you? How could you? You're not around." Buck literally didn't think of it and he confirms that with the line of "I didn't realize that. Maybe I can come and visit Christopher. You know, the lawsuit doesn't prevent that." *guy yelling in the background at the other guy* The fact that Buck says this should be reassuring (and also frustrating if I'm being honest, because Buck should have realized that earlier or thought it through before initiating the lawsuit but at least he's proposing a solution, but I can see how this would frustrate Eddie more) but it's not because while Christopher is the main issue in this second, it's only half of it. But, regardless, if that's all Eddie's aim was: to get Buck to not abandon Christopher, he reached it. He can still be angry, but ultimately, he reached his goal. But the confrontation continues because that's not all it's about, it's about Eddie himself as well. And sure enough: "No, it prevents me from reaching out to you. I couldn't even call you to bail me out jail...if that was something that happened." *in the background, while there's silence between them as the 118 processes what Eddie just said & Eddie realizes the 118 is still around them before he finishes the line, we can hear the guys in the parking lot yelling at each other "You took my spot!" which is deja vu of Eddie's fight that he ended up getting arrested for* Buck is still all kinds of confused here, "What are you talking about? Look, man, why can't you see my side of this?" Eddie takes a step closer, which amps up tension even more "'Cause that's all you see!" *second crash sound that distracts them which breaks up the confrontation* and there it is. The other half of the issue: Buck in feeling sorry for himself and choosing to do the lawsuit, didn't see any other side but his. He didn't see Eddie's side or Christopher's or Bobby's or anyone else's. Only his. Which in this moment almost makes Buck look like he doesn't have the ability and that is what is getting under Eddie's skin when it comes to him. Buck didn't think for a second about what taking this action could mean for Eddie who has started to rely on him, and for Christopher who has also come to rely on him. Instead, he did what he thought he had to do but he never stopped for a second to think about what that could mean for these two who started to think they could depend on him. Instead, the rug was ripped out from beneath them with the lawsuit and the no contact rule.

2) What Buck doesn't realize and I think they cemented this later with Eddie saying to Buck "When you filed the lawsuit, did you ever think about what that could do to us?" I know a lot of people think this line is about Eddie and Christopher, or Eddie and Buck themselves, or them as a family, and while I agree with all of those takes, I want to take it a step further. Had Bobby suffered the fallout from the lawsuit, there's a good chance he may have been fired or suspended or even transferred. How would that affect the 118 firefam going forward? We already saw that there can be captains that aren't like Bobby at all, don't share his temperament, like in Chim's and Hen's centric-episodes in season 2. What if another captain came on the scene and didn't have the patience and understanding that Bobby did? What if something happened with Christopher, an emergency, and Eddie was told that he couldn't leave because they were on scene of another emergency? What if he did leave anyway (because we know he would) and that cost him his job? What if by losing that job, that puts his house, Christopher's school, and Christopher's care at risk? What if he wasn't able to get care for Christopher because let's say Carla is out of state, Abuela is sick, and Pepa has to work? What if this new captain wasn't so understanding? What if there were no more family dinners? What if the family they chose as Eddie himself said is broken up? What if this new captain chooses to transfer one of them to another house because maybe they made a mistake or they're not getting along or something? And of course, this isn't exclusive to Eddie. I'm sure Bobby himself has thought of this, Hen, Chim... But the difference is, Hen and Chim are not emotionally affected by it. They can even see Buck's side in a way though they're not happy with the situation. Chim even speaks up in Buck's defense a little with: "That's kind of harsh. It's not like the guy asked to be crushed by a ladder truck." (which Eddie knows since he was there with them, helping Buck) Bobby and Eddie are emotionally affected, because not only does this affect their relationship with Buck, but it also can have negative consequences that can affect them personally and professionally. Hen and Chim weren't targets in the deposition, not in the same way that Bobby was. Their instances were used to make a point. Eddie wasn't a target, either, but it still affects him, especially since Shannon's death and his grieving were also used by Buck's lawyer to make a point. ("The lawsuit's bad enough but you told your lawyer everything about us...personal things") So while I get that that stings, if anything, Bobby should have been the one to yell at Buck; after all, he was the one Buck was suing personally besides the city, even after Bobby gave him another chance back in season 1, when Bobby has been there for him through good and bad. I almost feel as if Bobby has had angrier confrontations with Athena and Chim (outside of the pilot episode) than he does with Buck in the series. Bobby may be just as angry as Eddie but he's showing it in a quieter way so to speak, but he does have the right to confront Buck in that grocery store, too. But no, it's Eddie that is the "powder keg" that starts going off about this situation. Because it all comes back to him and what the ripple effects of Buck's decision could mean for him and Christopher.

3) Going back to Eddie's line "The lawsuit's bad enough but you told your lawyer everything about us...personal things" - this is also what bothers Eddie the most besides how Buck's decision affected and could still affect him and Christopher. And the personal thing that Buck chose to share that the lawyer then chose to use in his attack on Bobby, the 118, and the city was Shannon's death and how Bobby didn't keep him from going back to work for a time so he could grieve his wife's death. Bobby never questioned Eddie's mental state or his ability to do the job. That's the point the lawyer was trying to make. But to Eddie, it's a betrayal of sorts. Eddie isn't the type to keep sharing his feelings with everyone, and I'm wiling to bet that he started to feel more comfortable and like he could relax slightly when settling into the 118 firefam and with his relationship with Buck. Now, not only is that possibly threatened to be taken away or broken up, but Buck has also been taken away in a way, by Buck's own hand. Just a few episodes before, he jokingly says to Buck: "I will say, honestly, you being laid up is working out for me. You're no Abuela, and half of Carla, but you'll do in a pinch." But ultimately, he started to rely on Buck physically (with Christopher's care), and emotionally. For Buck to have told the lawyer about Shannon's death, which is already a raw nerve for him, that had to feel like the ultimate betrayal. And if we're looking at it through this lens, his angry reaction absolutely makes sense. His dialogue makes even more sense. This is the same episode where Eddie is feeling alone, being left alone is maybe a better way to say it, and he's starting to get overwhelmed. Which is why I think the fighting happens later on in the episode and continues until he stops. It's an outlet that Lena showed him he could use to vent all of his frustrations, all of his stress, all of his anger, everything. Because while Buck may have abandonment issues, so does Eddie.

Which then brings me right to why this grocery store scene and Eddie's reaction to Buck coming back to the 118 is so important. Eddie/Shannon is absolutely paralleled with Eddie and Buck, just as much as Buck/Abby, even Eddie and Buck separately as characters with each other. And here's how:

2x01 -

Eddie: "You're a badass under pressure. You can have my back anyday."

Buck: "Or, you know, you could have mine."

2x07 -

Eddie: “What did you need that I didn’t give you?”

Shannon: “You! I needed a husband and a co-parent.” “I needed someone to have my back.”

Eddie: “I always had your back.”

—

2x07 -

Eddie: “You left. I understood. I tried to. I mean, you were taking care of your mother and I was trying to take care of Christopher. And we, we just drifted further away from each other. But I always thought you’d come home.”

Eddie: “I guess I need to know why.”

Shannon: “I didn’t know how. The longer I was gone the harder it was to come back. To face you. To face Christopher.” “So I did all this research finding new treatments and different therapies but it was all so still overwhelming and exhausting and I just...needed a break.”

3x18 -

Abby: "I'm sorry you had to find out this way. I actually wanted to talk to you about everything while I was in town."

Buck: "That's what you're sorry for? When did you know that you were leaving for me good?"

Abby: "Well..."

Buck: "Was it Morocco, or Paris, or Dublin? Or did you know when we were at the airport and I was kissing you goodbye, promising you that I would wait for you? Did you know then that you were never coming back to me?"

Abby: "I thought I would. Look, I was a person whose life revolved around other everybody else's problems. I had no identity other than the people I was helping. My 911 calls, my dying mother. I just had no sense of self. I had to leave everything that I knew so I could remember who I actually am."

Buck: "And you did. I mean, you did remember. You still didn't come home."

Abby: "Yeah, I know. I think that I was afraid if I came back I would become that person again. Because I missed you, I wanted to see you, but I didn't trust myself."

Buck: "Because being here, being with me, you might lose yourself again."

Abby: "Yeah."

—

2x07 -

Eddie: “Christopher loves you and he misses you. I miss you.”

3x05 -

Eddie: "You know how much Christopher misses you? How could you? You're not around."

Buck: "I didn't realize that. Maybe I can come and visit Christopher. You know, the lawsuit doesn't prevent that."

Eddie: "No, it prevents me from reaching out to you. I couldn't even call you to bail me out jail...if that was something that happened."

—

2x10 -

Eddie: "You know, he still won't tell me what he wants for Christmas. I tried everything."

Shannon: "Did you take him to see Santa?"

*Buck goes with Eddie and Christopher to see Santa and we get the writers' joke/nod scene to fans of "You two have an adorable son"*

—

3x05 -

Buck: "Why are you so pissed at me?"

Eddie: "Because you're exhausting! We all have our own problems but you don't see us whining about it. No, we somehow just manage to suck it up. Why can't you?"

3x15 -

Shannon: "I don't need a provider. I need a partner. You don't know what it's been like with this alone."

Eddie: "You're not the only one that feels alone."

—

3x15 -

Buck: "Can we give him just a little more time?"

3x15 -

Eddie: "Can I maybe just get a little damn time?"

Shannon: "Yeah, yeah. Take all the time you need."

—

3x09 -

Eddie: "So she shoots him and then takes him back?"

Buck: "Yeah."

Eddie: "And I thought my marriage was complicated."

2x10 -

Eddie: "You keep looking to me like I have the answers. I don't."

Shannon: "No, just the power. I'm the one who screwed up. I'm the one who left. I know I don't get to have a say. So I'm following your lead. But where are we going? When will you able to forgive me?"

Eddie: "I can forgive you. I'm just not sure I can trust you."

3x06 -

Eddie: "I don't know what you want from me, Buck. Forgive, forget, make you feel better about what you did?"

Buck: "I just want you to talk to me. Even if it's just to say that you're still mad."

Eddie: "I'm not mad. I'm... When you decided to sue the department, to make Cap the bad guy, did you ever to think for a minute what that could do to us?"

3x15 -

Shannon: "You keep saying that you didn't have a choice. But you're the one that keeps making these choices for the rest of us."

3x06 -

Buck: "I just needed my job back. I missed being here, missed being part of a team. I never meant for anyone to get hurt."

Eddie: "A lot of I's in there. Your actions, your choices, they impact the rest of us. That's what it means to be a part of a team."

Buck: "And I really am sorry. So whatever it takes for you to forgive me--"

Eddie: "I forgive you. Also what it means to be part of a team. This... Just don't go it again."

—

2x17 -

Eddie: "He loves having you around. We both do."

Shannon: "Eddie. What are we doing?"

Eddie: "What do you mean?"

Shannon: "I need to know what you want."

Eddie: "I want this. I want to have a nice day on the beach with my son and his mother."

Shannon: "Okay. So, is that what I am to you? Christopher's mother?"

4x13 -

Carla: “Christopher seems good. I know you were worried about him.”

Eddie: “He’s, uh, doing a lot better. Almost back to his old happy self. And he loves having Ana around.”

Carla: “What about Dad? How does he feel about the young Miss Flores?”

Eddie: “It’s nice. It’s, uh, easy being with her.”

—

2x10 -

Buck: "And now she wants back in his life?"

Eddie: "Yeah."

Buck: "So why don't you let her? It seems like she's already back in yours."

Eddie: "That's what's got me confused. Am I doing it for Christopher or for me?"

4x13 -

Carla: "Ana is lovely and I'm glad that you’re finally moving on. But just be sure that you're following your heart, not Christopher's, okay?"

—

3x15 -

Eddie: "No matter what happens, I'm always going to fight to come home to my family."

4x08 -

Ana: "Maybe this is all a little too fast."

Eddie: "What do you mean? Us?"

Ana: "Christopher's already been through so much. I don't want to cause him any more pain. If we need to take a break, I’ll understand. I--"

Eddie: "Hold on, he and I can figure this out. In the meantime, I don't want you going anywhere. Got that?"

4x14 -

Buck: "I mean, he has grandparents. Other family."

Eddie: "After Shannon left, they all tried to guilt me into giving Christopher to them. But it's not what I wanted then, it's not what I want now."

Buck: "If it came to that, wouldn't they fight for him?"

Eddie: "I don't know. Maybe. Probably. But no one will ever fight for my son as hard as you. That is what I want for him."

—

3x15 -

Eddie: "No, no. Christopher's priority right now. You should stay home with him."

Shannon: "So should you. We need you here. I cannot do this without you."

3x05 -

Buck: "What are you talking about? Look, man, why can't you see my side of this?"

Eddie: "'Cause that's all you see!"

—

3x16 -

Maddie: "He didn't have me. I know that I left you twice. Once with Mom and Dad, and once when things got rough with Doug, but I came back. Because you're my brother. I love you."

Buck: "I love you, too."

Maddie: "You are never gonna be left behind. Okay? No matter what."

Buck: "You promise?"

Maddie: "I promise."

3x08 -

Eddie: "It's nothing. I'm fine. I just needed a place to let off some steam and things got a little out of--"

Bobby: "Control? That's what this is about, right? You're the guy who always keeps it together no matter what life throws at you. You shake it off, keep moving."

Eddie: "Lots of people have it worse."

Bobby: "Eddie, I just want to make sure you don't think you have to lose everything before you can allow yourself to feel anything."

Eddie: "Christopher needs me to be in control. I'm the only parent he's got left and I can't let him down again."

Bobby: "When did you let him down before?"

Eddie: "When did I not let him down? I wasn't there when he was a baby. Stayed away too long and it broke his mother. Shannon ran away. I couldn't stop her. I couldn't bring her back home. So I brought him here and let her back into his life."

Bobby: "That's what Christopher wanted."

Eddie: "Yeah, but I knew better. She already left once, broke his heart. I was so afraid she was gonna do it again. She did."

Bobby: "She died, Eddie."

Eddie: "Yeah, after she told me she wanted-- A divorce. And I'm...I'm still mad. How stupid is that? I'm angry at a dead person and myself. Because I forgave her. For everything. And it wasn't enough. I wasn't enough."

3x16 -

Maddie: "So you don't think this business with Red isn't hitting a little close to home? A lonely firefighter hero who's pining for his lost love?"

Buck: "That's ridiculous. You think I'm lonely?"

Maddie: "I think you tried dating a few times after Abby left."

Buck: "Which did not work out."

Maddie: "So you just stopped trying? Look, I know how hard this is."

Buck: "Do you? I mean, no offense, but you're never the one getting left behind. You're the one who leaves." "You're always the one who leaves. You don't know what it's like to watch someone you love walk away."

—

3x09 -

Buck: "Especially if you aren't around to see that they need saving. Look, I'm sorry that I wasn't there, Eddie. You and Chris needed me and I had my head so far up my own behind with that stupid lawsuit--"

Eddie: "We're way past that, Buck."

Buck: "I'm not. I should've been there.”

—

4x06 -

Eddie: "I'm still not over it. Over her."

Bobby: "And you never will be. You will always miss her. And that part of you that she took with her, you'll never get it back. Every day you heal a little bit more, and one morning you wake up, and losing her isn't the first thing you think about."

Eddie: "But you're happy now? I mean, with Athena and the kids?"

Bobby: "I love the family I have now but that doesn't mean I ever stop missing the one I lost."

3x18 -

Bartender: "Somebody waiting for you there?"

Abby: "No. He stopped waiting for me a long time ago." *scene cuts to Buck talking about summer camp for Christopher with Eddie and the firefam where Buck isn't on board because Christopher is too young and Eddie is trying to convince himself to let Christopher to go*

I mean, there are so many more examples that I don't have listed here but the parallels are absolutely insane. Eddie has abandonment issues just like Buck does. They both don't want to be the one left behind. So here's what I see:

Bobby's line to Eddie in 4x06 of "And that part of you that she took with her, you'll never get it back" is absolutely imperative when looking at Eddie's story as a whole, and how it intertwines with Buck's. Eddie loved Shannon, without a doubt. Unfortunately, they could never get on the same page and once they did, at that point too much time had passed, there had been too much hurt, and Shannon wasn't ready to rebuild with him, only Christopher. It didn't mean she didn't love him back but she wanted to focus on rebuilding her relationship with her son. Which is why she says to Eddie "I'm still learning how to be someone's mother. And after that, maybe I can learn how to be someone's wife" and then promptly asks for a divorce. But regardless of how wrong they turned out to be for each other in the end, it didn't negate how they felt about each other or how much they loved Christopher in their own ways.

Now Eddie has Ana and in the beginning of the relationship, besides what Carla said, we're already starting to see some parallels coming through there, parallels with Shannon in particular. Not that Ana is running, and yes she was very patient and understanding and respectful and sensitive to both Christopher's and Eddie's needs, but at the first sign of a possible issue, she's ready to take a step back and that's not what Eddie wants, that's not what he wants for Christopher. "Hold on, he and I can figure this out. In the meantime, I don't want you going anywhere. Got that?"

Which immediately brings me back to what Bobby said to Buck in 1x09 about Abby: "“I think your problem is you’re hoping to pull her out of this trap she’s in with her mom. It’s not gonna happen. What she needs is for you to step inside with her, keep her company in there.” -- this is exactly what Eddie is looking for. He wants company, a partner, a co-parent, exactly what Shannon had been asking him to be before she left. Someone who won't leave and who will fight not only for him and their relationship but also Christopher and their family.

And sure enough: "But no one will ever fight for my son as hard as you. That is what I want for him." and he's saying this to Buck as he's telling him that he's made him legal guardian for Christopher in the event of his death. Plus ""I love him enough to never stop trying. And I know you do, too." "Thank you for not giving up."

We all have seen how the show frames the Buckley-Diaz family but I think what we're all starting to see now is just how deeply they connected these two characters and the growth for this new family to happen. They literally took Buck's and Eddie's stories as separate characters and interwove them so deeply that it would start to knot up if anyone tried to untangle it. Outside of all of the obvious parallels of Maddie with Eddie, Eddie to Abby, Abby to Shannon, etc, they really built a deep foundation for this one. When Ryan talks about how Buck and Eddie are brothers, he's right. They are; they're comrades and brothers working together on the front lines every day. There's one corner. When Buck calls Eddie his best friend, he's right. They are best friends. There's the other corner. Buck and Eddie are family and not only has the show been strongly hinting at it, but now it's somewhat cemented with Buck being Chris' legal guardian. There's the third corner. For the fourth, I think we all kind of know where that might be heading.

And here's the thing, the writers could have easily just made Carla's comments about Eddie, meaning not bringing his heart into it. She could have simply said "Just make sure you're doing this for you and not just for Christopher" but no, they had her tell him to follow his heart. So, looking at all of this and the fact that they are calling attention to his heart, which is not Ana or anyone else that we're aware of except for Christopher obviously, they're purposely setting up that fourth corner of that foundation. They mixed the cement with the Shannon story, now the Ana story, as well as Abby, Taylor, and Ali, but ultimately they're putting that fourth corner in. It's just going to take a bit to finish.

Which is why when Bobby says that line about a piece of Eddie not coming back that Shannon took with her, it makes total sense to me. He did love her and he most likely always will, but that part of his heart that was hers alone, he's never getting that back. And then the writers follow it up with this: "But you're happy now? I mean, with Athena and the kids?" Athena and Bobby, who not only parallel Buck and Eddie, but Bobby is an absolute parallel for Eddie himself. "I love the family I have now but that doesn't mean I ever stop missing the one I lost."

And we know which family Eddie has now. We've been seeing it all along. Even though this conversation was about Eddie needing to move on, even though Ana's name comes up and at the end of the episode and we see him meeting her for breakfast, it doesn't eradicate the family that has now been built. We see Chris run to Buck when he finds out his dad is dating. That's the first person he runs to, not Abuela or Pepa. I mean, he was in an Uber and could have gone anywhere. Maybe had Carla been in town, he might have gone to her, but she conveniently was not. Buck has been the person Christopher looks to after Eddie since the beginning of season 3. Like Eddie says when he drops Christopher off at Buck's apartment "He's hanging with his Buck today." And if Christopher is Eddie's heart (which he is, as Eddie has said, Christopher is his world), Eddie's heart has already been going where it wants to be for some time now.

And then of course, we have the parallels between Shannon and Buck, like her setting up the tree outside at Christmas and Chris thinks Santa (Eddie) gave him his Christmas wish and brought her back to him. Then a year later, we see Christopher is not happy that Eddie (and then Buck) is working on Christmas. Buck coordinates with Athena for the Christmas dinner and then Christopher is able to spend time with Eddie and Buck, in effect giving Christopher Eddie back for the day. Eddie getting upset and angry at Buck over the lawsuit and the enforced no-contact rule. Eddie was upset with Shannon for leaving but understood as best as he could, but he wasn't willing to let her back into Christopher's life just yet; she had to work for it. Which Buck kind of did too in 3x06 until he and Eddie hash things out.

But I think the one thing that shocked the hell out of me but absolutely made me realize the importance of Bobby's words of that piece of Eddie's heart being gone with Shannon is this: in 3x15, when Eddie survives the helicopter crash and ambush, the doctor tells him when he comes to that he has bullet wounds, a broken bone, and a dislocated shoulder. The sling is on his left arm. After he's told about the status of his crew and that he would be receiving a medal, he says "I need to call my wife." And that Eddie has one more piece of his heart to follow: In 4x14, Eddie has a bullet wound to his shoulder? Near his shoulder? Sorry, I'm not good with the whole anatomy/medical thing but I think it's in that general vicinity. But Eddie has a sling on his right arm. And when Eddie first woke up, Ana called Buck (since she was there with him) to let him know. Then of course, we get that scene where Ana literally steps aside so Buck and Eddie can see each other. And then here comes another parallel: before Eddie headed out on the mission in 3x15, he had been talking to Shannon and Christopher on the tablet before he lost the signal. In 4x14, Buck is sitting there and Eddie is facetiming with Christopher and Carla (who tells him she and Buck have it under control). Eddie is asking the questions he would have asked Shannon had we seen him contact her once he woke up from his injuries after the assault. "He doing okay?" "You were there for him when I couldn't be. That's what matters." And the fact that Buck had to be the one to tell Christopher that Eddie got shot, something that Shannon would have done had she been there.

And what's even crazier - when Athena is attacked by a "bad man", her right arm is also in a sling as she heals from her injuries after being in the hospital. Which just adds to the parallels of how Bobby felt hearing her being attacked and helpless to do anything with Buck seeing Eddie being shot and unable to do anything except get him out of there and get him to the hospital.

So bottom line of this long freaking answer (sorry about that, I don't think it's quite 120k but damn does it look like it's close LOL) is that the grocery store scene is absolutely important because Buck and Eddie were already in the parallel to what happened between Eddie and Shannon which also echoes things with Buck and Abby. Because Eddie felt hurt and betrayed by Buck, because he had been starting to rely on him, for Christopher, emotionally, and for Buck to just agree to do the lawsuit and have no contact without thinking of anyone but himself in that moment, I'm willing to bet all the money I have in the bank (which granted is not all that much but still) that it triggered Eddie big time and that is why he was pissed (besides everything else that was going on with Christopher's nightmares and still dealing with Shannon's death, etc), why he kept Buck at arm's length at first, why he made Buck work for it so to speak. Especially since he told Buck in 3x03 ""There's nobody in this world I trust my son with more than you." So I think that the fact that Buck made sure to give him that second heartfelt apology just between them in 3x09 was the correct move on Buck's part. Even though Eddie had forgiven him, Buck needed to make sure Eddie knew how sorry he was and to stress that he would never leave or walk away or abandon Christopher or him (or the family basically) ever again. And so far, he's stayed true to those words. Thus, the other piece of Eddie's heart enters the conversation in the next season.

Regardless of what they do here or where they go with this, regardless of how the actors might feel about where this is going (meaning possibly Ryan), the writers have really tied all of this together in such a way that it would be hard to back out of. Technically, they could do it but it would definitely hurt the story they're trying to tell as well as the one they've already been telling. Had they not chosen for Carla to tell Eddie to follow his heart, then maybe they could keep it possibly platonic and familial, but since they not only chose to have her say that line and then show us in the next episode Eddie basically giving Christopher to Buck should anything happen to him, Christopher being his world (heart), they're not just sticking to platonic and familial. Truthfully, I don't feel they have been for a while, but for argument's sake, I'll entertain the possibility. Regardless, we're in the game now. So season 5 should be very interesting to see how they move forward with this family, how they move Eddie's story forward (including his relationship with Ana and where that will go now that Eddie has processed Carla's words and has had that realization that she may be right), and how knowing this information (besides the trauma of seeing Eddie get shot) will impact Buck and how he moves forward when it comes to danger and risking himself at emergency scenes. Will Buck be unbearable when Eddie gets back to work, meaning he will try to prevent Eddie from going into anything dangerous or both of them so someone is guaranteed to go home to Christopher? Will this create a problem when responding to emergencies, one that Bobby may need to step in and deal with? How will Eddie feel going back on the job? How will Christopher feel if Eddie returns to work? It should be very interesting to see what they have in store for us.

I know one thing, though, they did this, they put this out there, and all of it is for a reason.

I hope this was an okay response, my friend. I know I'm going to be rewatching season 1 again soon just to see how many more parallels there are, even before Eddie shows up on scene. Because we know thery're there lol. I hope you have a wonderful rest of your evening! <3

[kangaroo-sniper-imagine]

Unintimidating reader who’s a killa killa

-snipers is longer solely because ive had that idea in my head LONG before i got this request-

-also, little gorey so beware-

Medic

Ludwig is almost instantly enamoured with you once he got comfortable with you on base. He finds you sweet and calls you “kleine krankenschwester” (little nurse) whenever you insist on helping him in any way with his workload. You apologize when you bump into inanimate objects and try copying Archimedes’ cooing. You’re a cupcake!

And finally he gets a good eyeful of you on the field. You’re brutal and vicious and smiling the whole time as you bash in an enemy Heavy’s head with a sledgehammer. You take out an enemy Scout’s leg with your weapon and let him try and crawl away from you before you finish him off with a laugh. Ludwig is now convinced you’re his soulmate

Our dear doctor loves tenderness that hides ruthlessness. Loves that you are sweet as a bumble bee to your team but a beast to your opposers. He’s excited at the new possibilities between the two of you know that he knows that he no longer has to hide his own ferocity with his experiments in front of you

Sniper

Hell, Mick isn’t even convinced you should be on the field. You wore brightly colored clothes and skirts and for fuck’s sake you bake, all. The. time. You're like Holly Homemaker, why the hell are you hanging with a bunch of mercenaries? How were you even picked for this job? At your first match, he debated on whether he should watch you from his perch to protect you or do his job. He chose his job, duh. But only for a few matches. When he finally decides to track you,and oooooh boy.

An enemy Spy has his knife in your shoulder, pining you to a wall. Mick doesn’t have a clear shot to take out the spook without getting you too. It’s not fun watching a teammate die, even if they do come back. But right as he was about to shift his attention to the main battle he sees it. You. Pissed the fuck off.

Mick watches with interest as you grab the hand that’s stabbing you with one of your delicate hands as the other grabs the spook’s lapel and drag in the enemy, mouths crushing together. A shot of betrayal and shock freezes the hitman before he sees it. The red running down your chin; the struggle of the enemy Spy trying to thrash himself away from you; the look of manic rage in your eye. When you let the Spy go, Mick can see teeth but no lip and it hits him. You bit off the man’s mouth.

After you swiftly wretch the knife out of your shoulder and into the neck of your opponent, you wipe your mouth, you call for a medic and return to fighting. Mick is now a little scared of you, but now will no longer ever think again that you can’t handle yourself on the field. Never brings up what he saw but will sometimes watch you work now

Heavy

Mikhail already finds hardly anyone intimidating, you are no exception; especially with your short stature and demure demeanor. He worries about you honestly, watching you to make sure none of the other mercs try to take advantage of you because you give off the energy of a doormat. It’s his big brother senses in part, he thinks, also in part of because he has a leetle crush on tiny woman who will listen to him drone on about Sasha and Russian literature well into the night.

You do more protecting than defending during the fighting. You watch the case and keep people away from it as Misha mows down the enemies to keep them away from the intel (and you), so he hasn't had the pleasure of watching you work. But buddy, when he gets it. A chance of happenstance allows Heavy to finally see you operate, lets him see you sit pretty as the enemy steps on your hidden bombs and walk into the line of your automatic tracking weaponry and get mowed down in a hail of bullets as all you do is smile and hold the briefcase. So well covered by your own inventions you don’t even need to be worried as the blood of your enemy splashes up onto your clothes

Misha finds you even MORE endearing now. Man loves intelligent women and if you made all of those killing machines holy fuck, could you mod Sasha?? You’re in your element as you effortlessly kill the opponent, and Misha loves watching your inventions do what they do best (he feels a kinship with your weapons as he too, preforms extreme violence to protect you) (He’s still gonna watch your back at the base tho for sure)

Scout

You were like another Spy, except without all the European flair that Spy had. You were kinda bland, tired looking. Jeremy’s never seen you train or fight; you spent most of all your free time being “tutored” by Spy to become a better Infiltrator, and frankly, Jeremy is more afraid of bread than he is of you (and not just the tumor filled bread). Spy hasd insinuated that you were ready to finally be put on the field with the rest of the mercs for the next match, and now Jeremy is more excited to have another person to show off to rather than to see you in action

But of course, Jeremy fucks up. He’s hiding in an empty building, bleeding from a shot from an enemy Sniper, and staring at the wrong end of a Heavy’s gun, hating the feeling of defeat. The Heavy was rambling on about something but the wound in his side had more of Scout’s attention; that is, until, a figure slowly, silently descended from the rafters. It was you, dressed head to toe in black save for a sliver of your team’s color on your armband. You look at the monologuing Heavy before giving Jeremy a look that said “Man, he’s a wind bag, huh?” you gestured to the enemy, then drew your finger across your throat with a questioning look in your eye. Scout manages a weak nod, losing focus quickly.

Another long cord, similar to the one holding you to the ceiling, unraveled itself from around your arm, and very quickly you whipped it around the enemy’s neck, jumped onto his back, and wretched your arms back, almost instantly decapitating the Heavy. Even as the lumbering body fell down, you remained upright, hopping off the body gracefully. With swift efficiency, you kicked the head out of the way, grabbed the comically large gun, and aimed it at the door. Before Scour could even ask what the fuck was going on, an enemy Medic came in through the door. Before the German had a chance to yelp, you shot him dead.

“Yo, what the-!” You hastily toss a med-pack at him before melting into the shadow, Scout almost missing the darkening blush on your mostly covered face. After that little save, Jeremy now goes out of his way to be nice to you, and learns a lesson that looks are hella deceiving. It would pay to have someone watching his back on the field without all the unwanted french commentary (and you’re nicer to look at than Spy, let's be real)

Demo

You’re cheerful, but not in the sadistic, almost taunting way many of the other mercs are like. Not like the Doc or Spook. Nope, you were just happy. Not ditzy or stupid or anything, just a smiley little thing that had as much bite as a toothless alligator. The thought that someone could take you as a serious threat, some wee thing that eats rainbow colored cereal and wears bunny slippers throughout the base, was so hilarious that Tavish starts chuckling whenever it crosses his mind. The two of you don’t typically fight together, you sticking to high ground to pick off enemies as Demo gleefully stays in the thick of it all to implode the other team

Due to unfortunate circumstances, you're both pinned down together, shoulder to shoulder under a makeshift barrier as the enemy gets closer and closer; your bow at the ready with an arrow and his bombs prepared to go off at his command, but no opening to go up and take a shot/throw a bomb. You huff, looking around wildly before nodding decisively, looking to Tavish. “Gimme one of your sticky bombs.” He complies, half thinking that you’re gonna take the both of you out in a blaze of gory glory.

With a look of determination, you aim in front of you, not even at the enemy. Tavish prepares to die for the third time that day, but this time by his own creation, and you release your arrow. The projectile bounces off a scrap bit of metal on the ground, ricocheting the arrow up into hitting the lamppost, and then flying over their heads into the enemy’s ranks. Once the bomb went off, you instantaneously bounce out of the hiding place and opened fire on the stragglers who didn't get offed by the bomb. Tavish can only stare as you mow down the other team as a random stream of sunlight illuminates your figure. Demo catches feels in that moment

Pyro

Pryo liked that you were lowkey and sweet. The fact that you weren’t especially harsh or violent while relaxing initially made them flock to you just to hang out in their down time. Pyro loves to give you cute little toys and stuffies and see you smile! The only time Pyro really sees you on the battlefield is when they’re looking for you. They’re worried about you! You’re their favorite!

They catch you, mid-battle, covered head to toe in the blood of an enemy Scout, laying only a few feet away. They think you look so pretty! Like sparkles and rainbows are all around you and flower petals are floating in the air and surrounding you (it’s ash; pyro started a blaze not that far away and it was finally beginning to get to the two of you)

Pyro just sees this as more couple binding time, now that they know that you also tend to get a little too into the battle. It’s an excuse to spend even more time together

Engineer

This boy was so dang in love with you and he’s never even seen you fight. On the base, you were as sweet as a peach and harmless as a mouse. You spent most of your time in Dell’s workshop helping him with menial tasks like refilling his coffee mug or reorganizing his tools or alike. You got along well with all the other mercs and were quick to help others. Dell never really saw you while fighting because he had to stick near his machines while your job took you all over the battle field

He hears about you fighting from the others. Scout was retelling the group about you “friggin’ awesome fight” between you and an enemy Medic. You had, according to Scout (and Heavy, who nodded along in agreement) got into a fist fight with the enemy, physically beating them into submission. Dell wouldn’t believe it if you hadn’t walked right at the end of the tale with a black eye, bloodied knuckles, and a lopsided grin. Dell almost has a fucking heart attack seeing you in such a state. The Doctor heals you up back to normal like nothing ever happened but the fact that you relied on physical violence to fight made him anxious

He doesn't talk to you about fighting differently, he wants to know if there's anything he can do to help you fight, like making special gloves or armor of some type. Homeboy just wants to protect you, he gets hella worried.

Soldier

Jane, seemingly perpetually stuck in the 40’s and 50’s, believes most women shouldn't be on the battlefield at all. And even though you were there working with a bunch of other mercenaries, a lady is a lady and he, the old fashioned man he is, prioritizes keeping you “safe” (taking your kills before you get the chance to land the finishing blows). In his mind, he’s doing you a service. After all, you are far too soft spoken at the base to have any form of bite in you on the field.

Across the field though, one fight, Jane was just too far away to swoop in and “save” you like he normally would; not even his rocket launcher would get to you in time to stop the Spy from doing you in! The instant the enemy’s knife was about to pierce your back, though, Jane saw you turn around whip fast, your own machete thrusting forward to impale the enemy.

The soldier now thinks that your “womanly intuition” is far more superior and more finely tuned than his own, and will now generally leave you alone to fight and stops hovering over you. Will shout out encouragements from across the field whenever he sees that you hack someone apart and loudly brags that you have the ��natural advantage” to sniffing out enemies.

Spy

-This is gonna be a drabble cus i dunno how to bullet point this-

Jacque didn’t think particularly much of you. You were a teammate, an asset to be used. On the base you were reserved, spending most of your time in the Doctor’s infirmary or discussing something with Mikhail about books or whatever. You stayed out of his way, not like it was hard for you, seeing as you were just some wisp of a thing, someone who if they sat still long enough would blend into the background like air. Spy never assumed that you would ever be of any use to him in a fight; you just didn’t have the look of a fighter in you.

So right now, his life being in your hands, made him uncomfortable in ways he couldn’t care to count.

The enemy Spy, who was almost as tricky as him, cleverly disguised himself as Jacque, and right as they were about to confront each other, you burst through the door, looking surprised at the two of them. Almost immediately, they started to accuse the other.

“He’s the enemy!”

“No, HE is!”

“The intruder is HIM!”

Jacque will give you some props, seeing as you drew your gun as soon as you saw the pair, but rather than aim it usefully at at least ONE of them, YOU aim it uselessly to the floor! Jacque would’ve scolded you for your unprofessionalism if the imminent threat of death wasn’t less than six feet away from him.

You looked wildly in between the two of them, your normally pleasant face now stricken with panic. Your eyes land solidly on the enemy Spy, and with a sharp intake of breath, you run to him, throwing your arms around him and burying your face into the falsely colored lapel.

Jacque felt disappointment bloom in his chest, along with dread when he watched your mistake.

The spy looked so damn smug as he wrapped his arms around you, throwing Jacque a satisfied look. The gun still was gripped in your hand, still aiming at the ground.

“Ma pauvre petite fille,” he crooned, “est-ce que le grand méchant espion t'a fait peur?”

You sniffle, and bring the gun up to the imposter’s head. “Je n'ai pas facilement peur.” Jacque didn’t think you could ever say something so coldly, and say it in french to boot. One shot rang out and the man in your arms fell to the floor, suit changing back to what it was meant to be, stained with red from the blood of his fatal wound.

After some deliberation with yourself, you shot him again, in the chest. You looked to Jacque, your face now once again passive.

With a sigh and a dramatic flourish, the living Spy fetched a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it quickly, taking a deep huff before addressing you.

“How did you know that he was not me?”

You holster your weapon back, mulling over your answer. “Few things, uh… you never speak French to me,” you stuck out one finger, “you wouldn’t ever hug me,” another finger, “you don’t stand with your feet that far apart,” one more, “and you smell completely different.” with all but your thumb sticking out, you nodded to yourself before jamming both hands into your pants pockets, tucking in your chin and turning heel back to the door, seemingly finished with your explanation and conversation.

Amused, Jacque took another slow drag of his cigarette, planning on paying more attention to you in the future, being sure never to underestimate you again.

-this, uuuuuhhh, took on a life of its own-

[angelswithcigarettes]

“A new connection”

Summary: Spencer's father comes back into his life.

Series: The journey of finding a home [Part 4]

Series Summary: With getting Spencer on the team, Gideon gets him out of the hands of his abusive Father. He knows his team are the right people to show him the kindness of this world but even if he was supposed to be one of the greatest profiler ever seen he didn't expect Morgan to be the one that puts the most effort into it.

Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Past Child Abuse, Emotional/ Psychological Abuse

Relevant Tags: Autistic Spencer Reid

Word Count: 8579

Chapters: 6/6

First Chapter:

[I advice you to read the other parts first]

If there is something Spencer loves when it comes to Morgan touching him it is when they lay in bed and he takes his finger and gently moves them over his cheeks, mostly with his knuckles and moves sometimes around his face and Morgan adores how Spencer will first giggle and the eventually relax, maybe humming slightly.

"I want to -" Spencer stops himself and then opens his eyes and dares to lock Morgan in the eyes for a second and then looks at the ceiling again.

In the beginning this would make Morgan insecure but by now he is used to him looking past him. Or on the floor. Or ceiling. More on the floor than on the ceiling.

There are rare occasions were he looks him directly in the eyes.

"Can we go get ice cake from the café down at the - at the park? At the park with Clooney?"

"Of course."

"All of the things?"

"All of the things." Morgan could break out in tears out of pride caused by Spencer asking to do things or for things.

When he first met him, Spencer would just not ask for anything. If no one would offer he would just go the whole day without food or water.

Gideon had told him that Spencer on many occasions fainted in the academy because he over did himself with physical exercises or got to caught up in reading the manuals.

Seeing him sitting on the grass, with Clooney laying next to him putting his head on Spencer's legs while he sits crossed legged, he can not understand how he could have let himself get so insecure about this relationship based on the option of people who have meet him for a few hours.

Morgan tears his attention away for a second chatting with a women next to him waiting for her order too while Spencer gets approached by a man causing Spencer to put an arm around the dog.

"I thought I recognised you." The man says looking down on Spencer. "Who is that friend of yours?"

"Clooney" Anxious but also feeling comfort in the familiar warm of his father's face.

"Can I pet him?"

"Yes" William reaches down wanting to pat him but the dogs starts barking causing the man to stand up straight again and to catch Morgan's attention.

"Excuse me, I will be right back."

"Oh he is a violent one." William says with a smile a little bit surprised by the reaction.

"He isn't." Spencer holds the leash. "Morgan will calm him down."

"Morgan?" The man turns around, seeing Morgan approaching them. Not running but also not walking like he has much time. "Is he here with you?"

"Yes."

"Okay, listen buddy I have to go."

"You can meet him!"

"No don't tell him I was here. I was a stranger asking about your dog." And as fast as he was there he was gone again and Morgan was there in front of him, talking to him but not making any sense and Clooney is there. Clooney is there. Clooney is putting pressure on his stomach. He likes that.

"There you go, pretty boy." He is sitting in Morgan's lap now. "That's good, look at you, breathing like the genius you are." He tries cheering him up, his fingers just like this morning running up and down his cheek and Clooney nudges Spencer's hands. "I think someone wants cuddles."

"A stranger asked about my dog."

"He is a cute dog what can I say?"

"A stranger asked about my dog."

"I know, it's nothing to be embarrassed about that that didn't went well."

"A stranger asked about my dog."

"Clooney is fine, come on" Morgan takes Spencer's hand and places it on Clooney's head. "I am sure he just wanted to know something about him."

"My friend."

"Absolutely"

"My friend."

"And what did he do? He protected you nobody will touch you when he is there." Morgan jokes even though its actually true.

He has heard about dogs being sensitive but he always thought people exaggerate to integrate their dogs into their family, but whenever they are out outside of their job, Spencer takes the dog with him and if he gets overwhelmed he will sit down with him or play with the leash.

What Morgan finds the most heartwarming is when he hears Spencer talking to him, full on monologues about everything. About cases, about the team, about his newest hyper fixation, about Morgan when he thinks he isn't around and even sometimes about his family.

The amount of information Morgan got from just standing around the corner is something he is not proud of.

"I am sorry - I just wanted to let you guys now that the lady in the stand put your order in the freezer you can pick it up whenever you are ready. Or I can bring it to you." The women Morgan talked to before he saw Clooney barking at the man offers kindly after approaching them.

"Thank you for telling us." Morgan waits until the women is gone. "You want some cake?" Shyly Spencer nods and ensures Morgan he can be left alone if Clooney stays.

What neither of them expected was that the moment he turns his back around William starts approaching him again and then hands him a business card. "Call me okay?"

He is gone again before Morgan can even get the cake. He isn't suspicious at what happened, interacting with strangers, especially men that are older in physically advanced in comparison to him, does often not end well if no one he knows is with him.

Morgan would go as far as to say he worked out a pattern.

Women are fine unless they are in their fifties and have reddish hair, he assumed that someone this age with this specific hair color at some point in any way harmed him.

Men his age and younger are usually fine unless they are wearing a blue uniform which is unfortunate on the job.

What never plays out are men in their late fortys already having light hair or gray hair just like the man or slightly younger man with brown hair.

Which is a problem because Hotch fits this criteria but its better than in the beginning.

Will went through that too, but they are pretty sure it was the name that caused the panic.

There are a few things that Morgan avoids wearing as well.

For starters grey suits, they tried it multiple times, not working out. It took quite some time to realize that.

Secondly a different cologne. Spencer takes immense comfort in familiar smells, and if Morgan smells different he tends to get a little bit unsettled.

Change in general is not something he appreciates.

In other people it just doesn't fit him but he knows that he is not allowed to be rude because of it and he really tries not to. But he also doesn't understand why he is not allowed to be honest, JJ had cut her hair short a few ago and Spencer had, after she asks what he thinks, told her that she doesn't look as pretty as before and thanks to the aftermath of her pregnancy she just started crying.

He got overwhelmed trying to comfort her because that wasn't what he wanted to do. He awkwardly told her that it will grow back and that people who haven't met her doesn't know that she looked better before and he really tried his best but was just making it worse.

Emily stepped quickly in and sat down with him and not in an offensive way asked why he would say something like this and then proceeded to make it more clear to him by asking him how he would feel if someone said that to him.

When Spencer in the evening prompted how he likes "that there isn't much you can change with your hair" towards Morgan because "people don't know what they want when they ask for an opinion on their hair" he maybe couldn't hold back a laughter.

What Morgan did not in any way put in consideration is his reaction to him shortening Clooney's hair for the summer because when he picked Spencer up from Rossi's in the evening he did not like it at all and it took a long time of him crying and Morgan patiently waiting for him to welcome the dog and Rossi got reminded of the time Spencer lived at his mansion and when almost everything would send him over the edge.

"Here is the ice cake we so well deserve." Having a day off is not something they are used too and for a long time not something Spencer liked and just ignored by coming in with Gideon who never took a day off.

"A stranger came over and asked about my dog."

"I know" Morgan leans down kissing him on the cheek and then hands him his plate.

He improved a lot. Both of them. Spencer in speaking and Morgan in understanding but there are still many things that go missing.

"A stranger came over and asked about my dog."

"What have you got there?" Morgan asks pointing at the cards he holds in his fist.

"What have you got there? A stranger came and asked about my dog." Sceptical Morgan takes the card out of his hand and reads the ingredients.

"A stranger? Are you serious right now?"

"A stranger came and asked about my dog."

"Yeah I don't think so." Morgan holds the card up in front of him. "William Reid? Doesn't sound like a stranger to me."

More chapters:

[madeofitzits]

In honor of the impending return of Brooklyn 99, here are 99 reasons that...

1. He was precocious enough to know, at 5 years old, that he wanted to change his name (x)

 2. He has a bunch of nicknames: Sandy Amberg, Young Sandwich, etc. but the most endearing one is 'Droidy', his family's name for him (x) 

3. He is still super close friends with people he's known since: Elementary School (Chelsea Peretti) (x)...

4. Junior High/High School (Kiv and Jorm) (x) 

5. … Summer Camp (Irene Neuwirth) (x)

7.  ...and Film School (Chester Tam) (x)

8. Before he met Joanna, he dated other famous ladies but - out of respect - he never discussed it/them (x) 

9. He loves turtles and tortoises. When he was a kid, he had a pet turtle that he named 'Squirt' because the first time he held it, it peed on him. His Mom, Margie, accidentally killed Squirt when Andy was at Summer camp... (x)

10. … Maybe this is why, when shooting 'Popstar', Andy fell hard for Maximus (Conner 4 Real's turtle). He says they "had a good thing going" and that he wanted to adopt him. In the end, he decided against it because there are a bunch of coyotes in his neighborhood and he was worried the little guy wouldn't be safe. (Popstar: DVD Commentary)

11. Speaking of his Mom, despite being a super private person, he appeared on 'Finding your Roots' so that he could help her track down her birth family (x)

12. When he succeeded he cried (although we never got to see it on camera) (x)

13. That's because, like all good boys, he loves his Mama which is why - as part of the same episode - he said "My mom is basically the kindest person I know… and many people would corroborate that" (x)

14. Andy's Sisters, Hannie (Johanna) and Darrow, used to make him wear diapers and put his hair in pigtails until he was 5 years old. He says he didn't mind because he just liked that they were paying attention to him (x)

15. That's why he sees his identity in comedy as being 'America's kid brother'. When he was young, he would annoy his sisters until they laughed and he claims to have been replicating that approach to entertainment ever since

16. Although a bunch of his characters have 'Daddy Issues', Andy definitely doesn't. He's super close with his Papa (Joe) and has said "he's a good man" and "the best Dad in the world" (x) 

17. Joe was Andy's youth soccer coach and in one scene in 'Hot Rod', Joe's favorite photograph can be seen in the background. It shows a very young Andy posing with a soccer ball, after "scoring the winning goal against Mersey" (x)

18. He's been a loyal Golden State Warriors fan since he was a little kid, living in Oakland (then Berkeley) and, in 2010, he correctly predicted that they would "win a Championship in my lifetime" (x) 

19. The proceeds from his Umami Burger ('The Samburger') went to a deafness early detection program in Berkeley. This cause is close to his heart because Margie uses hearing aids and used to work in the special needs program, teaching deaf kids (x)

20. He, Kiv, and Jorm have made multiple donations to their old school district, including $250 000 to its theater program (x)

21. On the subject of The Lonely Island; Andy always goes out of his way to make sure that everyone knows how much he owes to his buddies. For instance, he told Marc Maron, during his WTF appearance, that "I get a lot of credit for what Kiv and Jorm have done" (x)

22. He makes this face when he knows he’s said something naughty…

(Gif credit: @andrewsambags)

23. During his 'Wild Horses' appearance, he said that he can't watch scary movies because they freak him out too much. He told 'Complex' that he's still scared of 'The Shining' (x)...

24. … Similarly, when he was at UC Santa Cruz he worked at the Del Mar movie theater and he had a hard time coping with screenings of 'Species 2' (x)

25. He fell in love with Joanna, the moment he met her, when she greeted him by addressing him as 'Steve the C**t' (x)

 26. He listened to 'Ys', everyday for a year, before he and Joanna started dating (x)

27. He bought the original portrait that was used as the basis of the cover art for 'Ys' and gave it to Joanna as a Christmas present, so that she could hang it in her music room (x)

 28. He loves birds and goes hiking and birding with Joanna (x)

 29. Every new comment he makes about Joanna becomes an instant contender for 'most beautiful thing a person has ever said about their spouse' (x)

30. For example, he readily admits that Jake's iconic heart eyes are the result of him thinking about his amazing wife (x)

31. There are many stories about how incredibly romantic Andy and Joanna's wedding was and Jorm has said that it featured "the most magical vows I've ever heard" (x)

32. The Newsombergs now live in Charlie Chaplin's old house (x)

33. On the Emmys Red Carpet (2015), the year he hosted, they took a momentary break from posing for the world's press to whisper 'I love you' to each other (x)

34. At last year's Vanity Fair party, Andy carried Joanna's purse for her so she could grab a snack (x)

35. He was a semi-permanent fixture in the audience for her recent run of shows for the 'Strings/Keys Incident' tour, even officially confirming his status as the 'President of her Fan Club' (x)

36. He used his Golden Globes monologue to call out the government for framing and murdering the Black Panthers (x)

37. On the Carpet for the Guy's Choice Awards, he called the event "a ridiculous farce", adding that "men already have it so easy - it's insane that there's a show that celebrates them". That makes sense when you consider that he, Kiv and Jorm have made an entire career out of parodying toxic masculinity (x)

38. He once said that only "idiot-ass men" think that women aren't funny (x)

39. He’s been wearing glasses since 7th Grade and he has the most heartbreakingly cute habit of nudging them up his nose, (especially when he wears his Sol Moscot frames) (x)...

40. ... and of rubbing his eyes under them (x)

41. He barely ever wears glasses for roles but he also avoids contacts (because he doesn't like touching his eyeballs) which means he's almost always 'acting blind' (x)

42. He has worn his glasses in character a few times - as 'himself' ('Lady Dynamite'), as 'Paul' ('I Think You Should Leave') and during a very small number of SNL sketches (e.g. during his one appearance in a 'Gilly' with Kristen Wiig) (x) 

43. He can't tolerate glare and when that makes him squint it's a sight that's too cute for words (x)

44. He owns about six outfits and has been rotating them for well over a decade (x) 

45. He barely ever breaks during shooting/while performing, so when he does it's aggressively adorable. (x), (x)

46. He's a grown ass man who persuades people to come with him to the bathroom because if he goes by himself he'll get lonely (x)

47. He didn't announce he was leaving SNL, until after his last appearance, selflessly choosing not to detract from Kirsten Wiig's huge and emotional send-off (x) 

48. He undertook a quest to smell like Lorne Michaels (x) 

49. He's ageing like a fine wine (x)

50. To protect their daughter's privacy, Andy and Joanna never announced that they were expecting. They've never released their little girl's name or date of birth and most news outlets still report that they became parents in August 2017 (even though that's inaccurate) (x)

51. Although he's careful not to talk about his daughter often, sometimes he can't keep from gushing about her. For example, when asked about his first year of fatherhood he said: "It’s been the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Just like a beautiful, incredible dream. It has surpassed every expectation I ever had. It’s definitely been very blissful" (x)

52. After their daughter was born, Andy and Joanna spent the first 40 days at home with her (in a practice known as 'confinement'). He's described it as being "a really special time". (x) 

53. Andy is famously mild-mannered but, when asked about what triggers his 'Dad claws', he admitted that if anyone attempted to touch his daughter, without permission, he'd "probably sock them hard in the face"…

54. ...Characteristically, he went on to add that he hopes that never happens, since he hasn't been in a fight since 6th Grade (x)

55. Cyndi Lauper was his first celebrity crush and he plays her record ('She's so unusual') for his daughter all the time. (x)

56. His is the very definition of a precious laugh (x)...

57. It's made even more wonderful by the way it makes his voice go high-pitched (x)

58.  … and the way it causes his eyebrow to rise involuntarily  

59. It's impossible not to smile at his impression of his Mom (x)

60. And laugh at his impression of John Mulaney (x)

61. He was so convinced he wouldn't win the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical, that he didn't prepare a speech. Instead, as he explained to David Letterman, he "just went… and started drinking". The resulting list of improvised 'thank yous' was perfect in every way (x)

62. As producers, Andy, Kiv and Jorm have given life to some amazing projects ('Alone Together', 'Brigsby Bear', 'I Think You Should Leave')...

63. … and gone out of their way to support women in comedy ('Party Over Here', 'PEN15') (x)

64. As well as being a comedy legend, he's a super-talented dramatic actor, who gave the performance of a lifetime in 'Celeste and Jesse Forever' but, after the movie wrapped, and it was time to do press for it, he was straight back to goofing around (x) 

65. His lip bite should be illegal (x)

66. Even though he wears the same vanishingly small number of outfits, over and over, he has a vast collection of the most excellent socks (x)

67. He always gives 'editing notes' during his own interviews (x)

68. He has a super sweet and sincere way of thanking interviewers when they compliment him (x)

69. He adjusts his hoodie constantly (x)

70. The two most perfect Jake laughs in b99 are actually real Andy laughs 'https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=W38A_xuXaeg https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sVm9nYrTWRQ

71. Virtually everyone who has ever worked with Andy has talked about what a wonderful person he is. This explains why so many of them have been involved with more than one of his projects (x)

72. It's not only his colleagues who talk about what a delight he is (x), (x)

73. This lovestruck fool wore his own wife's merch when he went out to dinner (x)

74. No one else uses the word 'dinky' quite like Andy (x). The same goes for 'snacky' (see point 70)

75. He does this with his tongue (x)

76. He still likes to play soccer but his eyesight is so bad that he has to keep his glasses on for it

77. When he lets his gorgeous floofy hair grow a little it sits perfectly over the arms of his glasses (x)

78. He gifted the world with Jakey's little curl (x)

79. At the James Franco Roast, he couldn't bring himself to be mean to anyone except himself (and Jeff Ross, a little!) (x)

80. In fact, he's always been willing to laugh at himself (x) and he still is (x)

81. He changes b99 scripts to make them more feminist (x)

82. Despite their humble insistence that they just benefited from 'good timing', the reality is that Andy, Kiv and Jorm (along with Chris Parnell) revolutionized digital media, when 'Lazy Sunday' popularized YouTube, increasing its traffic by 85% overnight (x)

83. He once attended the Vanity Fair party because his Mom told him to (x)

84. He has an amazing way of subtly but firmly shutting down inappropriate questions, like when this interviewer suggested that Holt being gay was something that could have been played for laughs https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=idQsYQfkR5o

85. He auditioned for SNL at the same time as Bill Hader. Hader thought he'd blown it because Andy had a bunch of props and Bill had none. In the meantime, Andy thought he'd blown it when he saw Hader and realized 'this guy doesn't need any props' (x) 

86. His bromance with Seth Meyers is one for the ages (x)

87. Every single second of this video is proof of why Andy, Kiv and Jorm deserve the world (x)

88. He once dragged Mulaney up on stage for SNL Goodnights, even though writers weren't allowed to join in (x)

89. He has a hilarious phobia of pooping anywhere except his own bathroom (x) 

90. His beautiful, beautiful, face: His smile (radiant), his eyes (caramel - hella disarming), his ears (adorably asymmetrical), his nose (perfect), His chin (the dimple… *swoon*), his jaw (could cut glass), The 'Sambeard' (another amazing layer of pretty) (x)

91. His body: His butt (x), his thighs, (x) his soft lil tummy (The ‘Sambelly’) (x), his hands. (x), his arms (x), his hips…

(Gif credit: @amystiago /@badpostandy on Twitter)

92. All signs point to the fact that, like Jake, Andy uses his glasses case as a wallet (x) 

93. Jake's "cool-cool-cool-cool-cool-cool" is an irl Andy-ism that the writers worked into b99 scripts. What's even better is that Joanna does it, too (x)

94. He has a really good arm and is low key competitive, which is super hot https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=e32K_nBDy3Q

95. He's one half of the cutest Red Carpet pose of all time (x)

96. He barely ever seems to get mad but if angry Jake is anything to go by, maybe he should... (x)

97. He's a huge nerd, who geeks out over GOT, LOTR, 'Star Wars', 'Alien(s)' and anything relating to time travel (x), (x)

98. He has a gorgeous speaking voice, especially when he’s tired or a little sick. (Bonus points for any time he uses the word ‘correct’. See point 30) (x) 

99. He’s still so committed to his b99 fans and fam, even after all this time and is as excited as the rest of us that...

[purplerose244]

Thoughts journal Ninjago season 13!! 🖤🖤 (4/4)

Here we are, at the end of just another season of Ninjago! And I've gotta say, until now it has been very good, I think I'm liking this season better than Prime Empire and Secrets of the Forbidden Spinjitzu. I liked them too, but this one feels more complete and deep, also LILLY GOT A BACKSTORY HECK YEAH 😍😍

Prime Empire had one really great ending, so I'm very curious how this season will conclude! Spinjitzu burst? Some last minute plot twist? Cole and Vania confirmed...? 🙄

Here we go!!

THE DARKEST HOUR

So I'm guessing the guys aren't doing too good at the moment 😅

I know this is kind of a tense situation, but honestly Kai looking so confused at having to lead cracks me up 😂 "Do I have to say it? Is that what being in charge means?"

Lloyd: YOU

Jay: SHALL

Kai: NOT

Zane: BE GRANTED THE PERMISSION TO TRAVERSE BEYOND THIS POINT

I have no words, that was such an obvious reference in full Zane style so in character, I have tears. Beautiful 🤣🤣

Also they all look SO COOL 💚💙❤🤍

My ninja babies fighting together screaming NINJA-GOO!! Really this season feels like we're back in the old days, so cool! And they are so in sync, Kai lifting Lloyd up and Zane pushing others away and I LOVE THE FIGHTING ANIMATIONS 🤩

Poor Skull dude, he's trying to do his big bad guy monologue and he keeps getting interrupted 😂

It was cute that both tribes immediately refused to surrender, not sure if it was for pride or they actually care about their new ninja friends, but it was nice

Aahh, near death life experiences, the best way to elicit teamwork 👍 Nice scene, nice cute scene

Nnnnnyyyggg, Lloyd, that's the sacrifice look right there 😱 At least they just turned themselves in peacefully after reuniting the tribes... aaand of course he was lying, I hate that Skull dude 👿👿

THE ASCENT

Back to team Cole! Back to the Upply! 🖤 Quick guys, we're only three episodes left!! NEED TO GO BIG!!

Heeeeeyy, Wu back in business! I kinda missed him a bit taking control of the situation, it used to be him because he was the master. It really is a jump into the past this season! 🤩🤩

Sure let's go with the explosive cart, not like Cole and the other ninja haven't been piloting a falling apart rocket back to Earth before 🤷‍♀️

A Mech on rolleskates, why not? Does Cole even know how to go on those though? He was already out of the Tournament of Elements during Chen's Thunder Blade so I don't really know...

Lolz the monster was actually waiting staring at the wall, guess you don't get much fun in this mine 😅

COOL FIGHTING SEQUENCE COOL FIGHTING SEQUENCE COOL FIGHTING SEQUENCE 🖤🖤🖤

And a poor old couple of civilians traumatized. They need to be trained by the people of Ninjago City on how to deal with weird appearances 💪

I guess we're doing this 😅 Gonna be honest, this is the first very evident sweet look I see from these two. I like Vania, a lot, but another classic love interest? Uuuuhhh, Idk, Imma see the rest of the season and see what happens 🤷‍♀️

A baby dragon on a giant spider, one of my favorite things ever on one thing I fear... I'll let it pass just because Adam is a good boy 🕷🕷🕷

GO VANIA GO GIRL LET HIM KNOW WHO IS THE BOSS HERE!!! 💛💛💛

THE UPPLY STRIKES BACK!

I really like these DnD guys, they've grown on me, let's see what they have in store! 😁

Munce and Geckles under chains, ninja in a cage, the Skull dude has the control, we're back when we started... sucks to be a ninja sometimes 😅

Omg I'm loving that this dude is trying so hard to be menacing and he keeps getting ignored 😂😂 Aww cute, you think you're the first that wants to destroy the ninja? Such a special little snowflake 😘 Evil monologue, we've been going for 13 seasons now with various specials and a movie, we heard it already 🤷‍♀️

Also the reveal, and he's all "Your friend Cole is dead" and Lloyd "That's what they all say, buddy" 👌👌

Poor Cole just wants justice for his mom HELP EMOTIONAL AGAIN

I'm all for Cole's personal team, they should do missions together, like Jay's team in Skybound!... that technically never happened, BUT STILL COOL 🖤💙🖤💙

Oh boy oh boy oh boy got the swords, confrontation ready, BRING IT!! Ninja team is all in for this!! ❤💚💙🤍🌊

REVOLUTION!!!! 💪💪💪💪

Swords aren't usually Cole's weapon of choice... BUT DANG IT HE CAN SWING THEM, HOLY GARMADON!!! THIS IS THE FIGHTING SCENES I WANT!!! 😍😍

How is this the episode prior the finale? It already feels like the finale! What else is going to happen?

SON'S OF LILY

Oh with a title like this, it's a given that I will not survive. Oh boy, here goes, the FINALE!

Chaos, chaos, beautiful dragon of death and distraction, also gently reminder that Mino is also a very good boy 💕 Are the skeletons connected to the skull? Are they gonna stop reform when Cole defeats the Skull Sorcerer?

The swords are not actually magical? Huh, first weapon in this show that turns out to be a fluke, apart maybe the Dragon Armor of the Firstborne... that one stayed intact at least 😅

HERE COMES THE VALKIRIES!!! *classic related music plays*

THIS. FIGHTING. SCENES. ARE. SO. FREAKING. GOOD 😍 Also wow sensei, full kamikaze with a dragon? I guess the sacrifice gene really runs into that family 😅

COLE NO DON'T HURT ROCK BABY 😭

"Always." KIRBY STOP MAKING ME CRY WITH YOUR AMAZING VOICE ACTING SKILLS ALSO HOLY HOOLA GANG

THAT'S LIKE A SPINJITZU WITH THE TRUE POTENTIAL OMG HECK YEAH SHINE COLE SHINE!!! 🖤🖤🖤

A bit red, could mistake it for Kai's, but it's an orange earth lava burst so I understand

Cole: okay guys, done my part

Cole: wake me up when next season is out

LOOK AT VANIA BECOMING THE QUEEN WITH THAT BEAUTIFUL ATTIRE AND USING COLE'S MOTHER QUOTE BECAUSE SHE LEARNED SO MUCH FROM COLE AWWW 💛

Okay, since there weren't evident references to Nexo Knights this season, can I pretend Fungus shooting fireworks is one? Merlok used to do that almost at every season finale... IMMA PRETEND 🙃

She is so adorable, I really love her. Wished we've seen more of her bond with her father, it felt a little easy her giving up on him. Idk, Sky and Chen didn't have that much of a bond but she struggled a lot! But she is super cool and cute, I ADORE her 💕

This sounds like a pretty good experience for Lloyd who FINALLY spent a season without being scarred for life!!! He even met a princess who didn't plan his death!!! Montgomery things are getting better 💚

Well, that surprised me, I guess Cole and Vania like each other but not heavily? Just a very light mood, like they care a lot but no other step further. I'm very happy about this choice, you can see it as a couple if you want, but you can also say they are just good friends. Nice 👍

Oh no, Wu got his midlife crisis, SOMEBODY STOPS HIM 😱

Wherever the wind will take them okay, wherever the producers will decide to torture them 😗

Overall, great finale! 😁

FINAL THOUGHTS

I think I enjoyed Prime Empire's finale more than this one, but this season with all of its episodes was absolutely AMAZING 🖤

The Skull Sorcerer wasn't necessarily a bad villain, but the story kinda went into another direction in my opinion so his part wasn't fundamental. Which isn't a bad thing for me, it's actually new and exciting see the attention to the story instead of the villain, and I did enjoy how they made fun of how cliche he was being 😂

Vania was GREAT. Wished we had more time with her father to really establish what kind of bond they had, but overall I loved her, new best girl acquired 💛💛💛

FREAKING ROCK MOM!! FREAKING LILLY!! I'm so emotional just thinking about this family, omg, THIS is the content I want for Ninjago! Impactful, that makes sense, connected to the heart that makes you so much closer to a character! Finally the Rock family is getting more complex 🖤

I think this season really gave Cole justice, we got her mom's story, we've got him leading a team again, we've got him with a cool new power! 😍😍

For the other ninja it was okay, I really liked the shenanigans with the tribes and the cultures were really fun to explore. Was kinda like a side quest and for me didn't bring that much to the main story, but it was fun and it's fair, Cole had all the attention he deserved 👌

FIGHTING ANIMATION OMG HECK FREAKING YEAH 10/NINJA-GOOOO ❤💚💙🖤🤍🌊

Beautiful designs for the characters, in particular the Shintaro citizens, and also wonderful backgrounds and sceneries, that I thought were starting to lack but here seems much nicer to look at 🤩

What can I say? Ninjago still knows how to mess with my heart, and I'm so very happy about it. I think the so wanted Cole season was definitely worth it 🖤🖤🖤

Now, I heard voices about a possible Nya season... ABSOLUTELY YES, YES TO EVERYTHING, QUEEN GETTING HER OWN SEASON YES YES YES!!! 😍😍😍🌊🌊🌊 Besides that apparently Maya will come back, which is a dream coming true, if they give Nya the same attention they gave to Cole this season, I will be happy 😊

[movienotesbyzawmer]

April 12: Rocky III

(previous notes: Rocky II)

Because now that Rocky has done the unthinkable and become The Champ, we want to see him tackle the next challenge… win AGAIN.

I remember seeing this in the theater with my buddy. I don't know if I liked it. I'm pretty sure I found Mr. T to be as charismatic and as terrifying as they wanted. I'm pretty sure when I bought the ticket I hesitated and asked the cashier, "hey, wait, we get to see him do some variation on the triumphant steps jogging moment, right? Otherwise never mind I'll go see Poltergeist again". If I'm paying good money for boxing sequels, I want to be assured that the formula has not been altered.

Okay let's go.

Once again, this is Un Film De Sylvester Stallone.

Slight variation on the fanfare with the title, now there's a close-up of the Important Belt Buckle Of Punchsport.

Then we see the climax of the previous movie, maybe edited slightly for time. But not very noticeably different.

That segues immediately to a montage of Rocky doing many successful beatup games, scored by the enormous pop hit "Eye of the Tiger". I suspect this isn't the last we'll hear of this number.

The montage morphs into a different story, one starring Mr. T! He's watching Rocky win stuff and he is not pleased. He can also fist-game, it seems. But the montage makes it clear that it is our hero Rocky who is the star of commercial endorsements and marriage love.

I mock but this visionary filmmaker has indeed opened this movie with energetically cinematic choices.

0:8:40 - Arcade games! Paulie goes to an arcade and it is like the arcades I went to when this movie was out and I see games that I played! But Paulie doesn't like the Rocky pinball machine. It seems he is a sore brother-in-law.

Rocky is now very dashing. Paulie is drunk and whiny about how Rocky is such a big shot now, but he has a point about how prettied up he has become.

Later that night Rocky and Adrian are in their bed and it has a rich person headboard. The director, also visibly present in front of the camera, clearly instructed the production designer to create a bed that would reflect the elite level of financial flexibility that the protagonist has reached.

So apparently Rocky has gotten himself into the strange situation where he has to do a charity boxing match against a wrestler played by the increasingly famous Hulk Hogan. I had forgotten that Hulk Hogan is in this movie. Mr. T is watching this match and he looks intensely the same way he only ever does.

Whoa Hulk Hogan is way taller than Sylvester Stallone. Is that allowed? The rules have changed! And this whole thing is not boxing it is wrestling and it is that silliness instead of boxing. This is a long scene that is the same as a typical Wrestlemania thing, all manufactured drama made to seem like fighting and true menace, but at the end we see that they are just professional coworkers and we have all learned a valuable lesson haven't we.

At a statue-unveiling, Rocky announces that he is maybe retiring. MAYBE. But then Mr. T shows up talking smack, and ladies and gentlemen we have ourselves an end-of-Act-One.

As Act Two begins, we have a scene that was an A+ homework assignment for the screenwriting teacher of Rocky III's screenwriter, who you will recall is the craftsman Sylvester Stallone. Burgess Meredith is like "I quit! I won't help you with this fight! Mr. T is too hard to beat!" But then they talk it out to advance past that scripted complication. And now Rocky and Mr. T are training for their fight in their separate worlds.

Speaking of worlds, in the World Of Rocky, the famous theme that was introduced in the score of the first movie is actually known to the characters in this movie as Rocky music. They play it for him publicly to celebrate their pride in his violence accomplishments.

Apollo Creed appears to be retired, but he is a commentator at this Rocky/T fight.

0:40:00 - They're about to do the fight, but Mr. T is so The Way He Is that the wants to fight on the way TO the fight. That results in some tumult that makes BM have health problems. It was vague what happened, it seemed like BM was shoved aside by all the mad/scared/fighting people, so then he has a conversation with Rocky in a back room where he's like, don't stop the fight even though I am suddenly vaguely frail. He sort of clutches his chest like maybe there's a heart attack but just one of those everyday ones. I have those every time I click send on a work email. My friends should not be discouraged from championship fisticuffs when that happens.

This is the first Rocky movie to be made after Raging Bull came out, and I detect some influence in the boxing footage, like with close-ups of Mr. T.

Rocky loses that fight pretty quickly, and maybe the problem is that he didn't do a pre-victory steps jog. But the movie is telling us that BM is dying on a table in the back room and that's the real problem.

BM dies and SS has done some pretty ambitious cry-acting. Then the funeral is in one of those indoor above-ground file-cabinet-style cemeteries, which is not the normal cinematic choice so nice job there.

I can already tell that we're going to have another thirty minutes of a bummed-out Rocky to fill out Act Two before it starts to look like the setup for a fulfilling climax can begin. It's what I would have told him to write if he were my student at the third-rate community college where I'm a part-time screenwriting teacher in this scenario.

Apollo Creed has shown up to try to pep-talk Rocky, and he keeps saying "eye of the tiger" because of marketing departments. But also, he is a more mature person than in the first two movies. Even though it's a character shift, I do kind of buy it. It seems like another side of the character we knew slightly.

0:59:00 - Another scene beginning with dialogue that sounds like it was improvised by people who don't know what real life is like. "Come on you're going to be late to the airport!" "Maybe you should have packed another sweater" "no in California it's not too cold". AHA THEY ARE GOING ON A TRIP TO CALIFORNIA I AM ON TO YOU ROCKY III

When they go to Los Angeles and show us people on the street and the people have been told to look and act super different so that the audience will be like, wow California is different, then, well, we are at this part of Rocky III did you know.

Although there was my earlier expectation that we were going to have a prolonged funereal story arc, but what's happened is that Apollo is invested in training Rocky so they're showing us that side of Apollo, and that's interesting. But also it's the template of "Rocky is training and he doesn't look like he's going to get there, but then inspiration will hit and he will look like he is going to get there". S. Stallone, noted filmmaker, is using montages and flashbacks to show how recent bad news moments for Rocky are haunting him. It is working.

Adrian performs a pep talk monologue for Rocky. I don't understand her point. It's like a box of those refrigerator poetry magnets jumbled up together and spoken as movie script lines. I guess the gist is "don't give up" and he starts to think maybe he shouldn't give up. Then it's a new training montage, and it's got the classic "running far now" Rocky theme so we know it's going well. The twist on the classic cheering-atop-stairs cadence is it's Rocky and Apollo on the beach, and Rocky is a little faster than Apollo and that is great news for them both.

Now we're right before the final fight, and we heard Mr. T tell a reporter that he "pity the fool". I didn't hear the rest of what he said, I was just so happy to hear him say "pity the fool".

Oh but shortly after that he is asked what his prediction is, and he looks at the camera, OUR camera, at US, and says "PAIN". Submitted without comment.

That face-to-face moment right before the fight starts, Mr. T says "imma bust you UP" and Rocky says "go for it". Advanced Scripted Dialogue with Professor Stallone.

The final fight happens, and it's mostly the same as how the other ones went except without a montage summarizing a whole bunch of rounds. I think this whole fight ended in three rounds. But it ends with the exact same music that I'm getting sick of….

BUT! There is a follow-up scene this time! It's some other day later on and Apollo and Rocky are just palling around at the gym. And THEN the movie ends. I feel that the producers must have implored Stallone, artisan that he is, to just end the movie on that climactic moment right after the fight ends, just like the other movies, but he said NO. That is not ENOUGH for a SYLVESTER STALLONE FILM. We will have an additional scene with INCONSEQUENTIAL BANTER. It will last OVER ONE MINUTE. And here we are. Rocky III: it's like Raging Bull, but better!!

I think Talia Shire is the only female actor with any lines in this movie.

One thing that's very much worth saying about this movie is that there is WAY more actual boxing in this movie. The other ones had almost no scenes where there were live boxing matches, but this one had lots. Plus that wrestling one! And as I observed, the directing style with this one also had a newfound sense of visual pop. But the story seems like it changed not at all from how it was described in the first studio board room meeting where jackass producers blurted out what Rocky III might be like.

(next: Rocky IV)

[magentagalaxies]

ok so originally i was going to post this as a reblog of my "list of kith sketches whose scripts i now own" post but for some reason i cannot find that post at all (???) and also i'm in canada and didn't take my other kith scripts with me on this trip so i cannot write out a complete list bc i'll inevitably forget some. anyway remind me to make full list when i get home in august. that being said:

List of KITH Sketches Whose Scripts I Now Own (as in I got them on 7/11/24)

sketches that aired:

the phone show end tag/"touch bellini" (VERY different draft)

"guys watching girls" (catcalling from the pilot)

sick of the swiss

"show within a show" aka "lorne michaels doesn't present" aka "the scott thompson show featuring scott thompson"

off swingin'

spring (cold open with scott burying a body)

trappers

30 second stories: rolling stones

sizzlers and the bank

a shit ton of the cops sketches

night of the cow

"new mom" (the gavin sketch at the funeral, tho this is also a VERY different draft)

several "it's a fact" bits

"god" (the one with the letter about the dog show and "her god spot")

"fag basher"

academy awards

apartment games

asleep on the job

"clothes make the man" (the sketch with scott in the different outfits getting called a fag--except this draft has it as a buddy sketch with more dialogue)

darcy & francesca

a few of mark's cabbie sketches

"einstein"

girl drink drunk

kidnapped (danny husk)

nervous break(fast) down

multiple emperor poems

"rosa"

"the original bat" (a much longer draft of "potato salad")

"my pen"

"tiggy" (useless dog)

"tucker" (mouse)

"prisoner jam"

shirling

"the leash"

the affair

"parenting" (disappointed in their kid)

friendly rivals

drugs are bad

housework hustlers

girls of summer

virtual sex (buddy cole)

gorilla

bartending school

is he?

menstruation monologue

surrogate

buddy cole - love at first sight

buddy cole - canadian

buddy cole - buddy's date

sketches that never aired:

"corruption" (courtroom sketch)

"cold blood"

power of the suburbs

"a simple man"

"dave's dead" (dave dies during a monologue and the troupe has to weekend-at-bernies him through the next scene)

"the waiter in comedy" (the history of the waiter in sketch comedy)

"the drug trade"

"sleep" (dave falls asleep on set and everyone wonders what he's dreaming about)

"sushi"

a shit ton of other cops sketches

rock (bruce hits kevin with a rock)

"off the pill"

"my own flag" (mark monologue)

several more "it's a fact" bits

"mary"

"jewel"

"in love with lori"

"porch picnic" (sequel to "the biggest crouton" monologue)

"first love" (madam alphonsa monologue)

"father farey"

"monthly parking"

"corner"

"watermelon"

"kids' party"

"dad's birthday"

"furniture"

"joke"

"protest"

"sound men"

buddy and bobs

head crusher live show monologue

other goodies:

behind the scenes photo of scott (buddy) and rip taylor on the set of chalet 2000

two tickets to live tapings of the kids in the hall (july 14th and 15th 1988)

a bunch more of the autographed pics i was mailing out before, so once i'm back home i'll make another post for anyone who wants me to send one to them!!

[sunseteyes]

@liliannyah : I luved to read all of your simps paragraphs 😔👌 i honestly love so much when ppl care that deeply about characters, bc i feel at home. Yes, we are simps but they deserve it!

Oh, about the emoji, you can choose, im curious to see what i will b 👀👀

Before i start with my simp paragraphs, i just wanna say that YOU MAKE ME SO HAPPY WHEN U SAY NIA NOYA SUPREMACY BCUZ I LUV HIM AND SMSMSNSKSJKS OOF THATS IT, U MAKE ME RLLY HAPPY

Imma start with my main bby Nishinoya! Honestly, i fell for him the exact time he appeared in the anime, idk, i just loved how confident and cool he appeared to b, but it wasn't rlly strong, it was just a "Whoa, he is cool af". After that, things went like a slow burn for me and him, bc i started to notice how he cared deeply about his friends and how he was always energetic and ready to help them up!! Like, God, he is a libero so his buddies can do craziness without worrying too much bc he is there! Asahi is always putting himself down, but oh, there it is Nishinoya telling him to stfu bc he's great. And he is so cute and humble about his abilities too. My smol bean is so impulsive and happy, he definitely made me a different person. He just makes me laugh so much, and my heart definitely goes ❗❗❗ when he do his clown things. Oh and we both share the same desire to travel the world (he did it, and i hope i do one day too 😔👌)

Now, Tamaki! I think he entered my heart because i saw myself on him. But the main difference was that i wanted to help him, hold him and say that everything is going to b fine. He doubts himself so much, but he is so fucking talented and worked so hard to be were he is, i mean, have you seen him fighting??? I want to make a cheer squad for him with Mirio and Kiri bc he deserves so much! He also teach me that anxiety isn't a bad thing, you can be amazing even if you don't believe. I also find his backstory so lovely, he is a real Sun, he just have to accept it 😌👌.

I think the last one is Atsumu, he is one of the characters that relax me. I know, ppl say that he is arrogant and a asshole, but i see him as someone confident, who doesn't care about what people say about him. He is also a little childish, and I think thats what attracts me to him, he is young and he have so much space to grow, even as a adult, he can have a big character development, without leaving his personality behind, yk? And his voice is so good to hear, it really calms me down.

Omg, i rlly did a essay about them help JDKSBSKSBSJBDKSBDJ i hope you didn't mind, i got rlly carried away!

I luved to b a simp 😔👌 i simp for Bokuto too, but he is more like my bff along with Kuroo (I deadass think that me and the two would b a great squad idk JSKSJKSSKSJ)

—god i feel soooo bad to only reply to you this time because i filmed myself monologuing for sum stuff at school & was finishing up a couple of fluffvember jxjdjdj

oh god reading your essay is like-god i totally agree! these boys deserve so much more and that’s one thing that i really love being a writer. because i could write for them and make them shine. that’s my main goal. for me, the reason why i don’t bias much about my faves is because i treat all of the characters the same, equally and even if i love that other guy most, i appreciate the others ones too.

what i really love about noya is that he has such a great impct on the team, much like daichi in my opinion. he keeps the ball rolling and that means he’s the “glue” of the team. i liked how they emphasized that in the first season but as time passes by i think noya was kind of being overshadowed for me but nonetheless i’d really love for him to have more screentime. he deserves so much more.

tamaki! yes another one of my comfort characters too. god i love how you said he inspires you because yES that means he’s one hell of a great character. i think tamaki is one of the characters in bnha that shows real life struggles, much like ura with their financial problems, and bakugo with his temper management. god i loveee how he developed in even such a small screen time it’s insane how i never expected him to grow that fast. plus the name suneater is totally badass.

lastly atsumu i honestly havent known much about him college is keeping me from finishing the manga im so mad but from what ive seen and what youve described him to be he sounds like an amazing side character plus im sorry atsumu i have a bit of a bias on osamu my boy jdjsjd

all in all, thank you for reading me and nia’s pep talk. i think this can pass up as a drabble.

plus ohgod i totally feel you about bokuto i see him as an amazing bff i want a bff like him lmao.

[itoshit]

I think I've never been that ready to break some skulls before. I took more weapons than usual, having two on my hips, two others on my thighs and finally, two again in my shoulder straps. I've never been a huge fan of knives, but still got one joining the strap on my leg.

Ran and Rindou were ready, Ran still had his unfamous baton. The others, Kakucho, Koko, Sanzu and Akashi, had guns like I did, ready to pull them out if needed.

Looking over Dante and his men, I noticed the same thing. But one of them looked particularly heavily armed.

Hey Dante, he's your sniper isn't he?

Yeah, we always bring one with us, someone who could change the course of our lives from afar. Also Manjiro, if I can call you that?

Nodding, I got inside the van, him sitting by my side.

Perfecto then. La Cosa Nostra bases its values and morals on their allies. Back in Osaka, I didn't intend to kill you nor severely hurt you. I hope it didn't bring too many inconveniences yeah?

Nothing I'm not used to. But I appreciate your help and concern though

Did you change your hair for your girl?

Cocking an eyebrow at him, I stayed silent.

My girl?

She is, isn't it? Look, I wanted to talk to you last time but I needed to check your strength before. We have minutes ahead so listen to me. In our family (note: the term family refers to the mafia here), women play an important role, and I'm not talking about their pussy. In La Cosa Nostra, we're not ashamed of parading with our girls, our wives. Some of us even have children, like me. I don't understand since when being with a woman in the underground scene made you look weak. Women give you strength, something to fight for. I don't know you very much, but I know how to spot an enamoured man. You're deep into it Manjiro. We have nothing but genuine intentions with Bonten, and we want our allies to be healthy and happy. If I could give you a piece of advice, when your girl will be freed, and I'm saying your girl because she's not a bitch or an animal, tell her how you feel. Life is short as the falling of snow, you could die tomorrow. Don't live with regrets buddy, that's the worst, trust me. Cherish the moments you've with her alright?

After his monologue, Dante smiled cheekily at me, patting my thigh. He wasn't wrong, I knew that. I knew that I'd feelings for Vee, but I was afraid she didn't. I let her enter my life and warm my heart of stone, and it could seem selfish but I didn't want to let her go, never.

You don't have to he ashamed of having feelings for a woman, or a man if that mattered. Partners influence our decisions on a daily basis, and without women in La Cosa Nostra, let me tell you, it would be a mess. They keep us on tracks, scold us when needed. My wife, showing me his ring right after, is my everything. She keeps me sane, Manjiro.

My men were in the other cars and only Dante and I, except our driver, were here.

I don't want to bring her in this life, she doesn't need more-

Sorry to break it to you buddy, but she's already deep enough. Her face is all over the news, you must have seen that yeah? Nodding at him, I kept my gaze on the window.

Then you know, the best thing you can do now is protect her from your world, by staying by her side. That way, these events won't occur ever again. The Yamaguchi-gumi is pulling a nasty move right now. Ones of our few rules are; never look at friends wives; respect wives. The Yamaguchi-gumi disregarded all of them.

Venus isn't my wife.

But you want her to be yours don't you?

Silence settling between us, I tried to imagine myself with her, having a future together.

Do you see a future with her ?

... yes

Here you go. When she'll be saved, you'll have to present her to me, the kitten seems feisty enough to make you go crazy for her

Smiling a bit at his words, I took a decision. As soon as this shit is over, Vee will move in with me. Officially this time. And I won't prevent her from having her life, I'll give her the freedom she wants and needs.

My phone vibrating into my pocket, I took it out. Vee?

But what I heard after made my blood boil. She was screaming, begging me to come and save her. Eyes opened wide at the sound playing in the car, I gripped the phone tightlty, breaking it in the process. Gritting my teeth, I lowered my face down, nails tearing the skin of my palms open.

I'm gonna kill them all, I swear to god, these bastards will regret the day they were born.

Dante's hand on my shoulder, I turned to him.

We'll get them. No one touches our wives, remember? You even dyed your hair to please her. They'll pay for it, no worries Manjiro.

And that's precisely when we arrived. Opening the van's door, I was met with my executives. Ran and Sanzu had a wicked smile on their faces. These two will probably have fun.

Destroy them. I don't want any of them alive at the end of the day. I don't fucking care how you process, break their neck, pierce their eyes, rip their bodies apart or burn them to hell, I want blood. Understood?

And as I gave them my orders, they bowed.

Your wish is our command, boss.

-Mikey

I've changed the presentation, it's easier to understand that way 😌

it’s so nice!

The pain had me passing out, waking up only from the slaps my torturer, who so generously told me to call him Koda gave me. I’d wake up, see the handle of the knife sticking out of my bloody, trembling thigh, get woozy and faint.

This time when I woke up, I didn’t even get to follow the routine established between us because Koda was in my face, gripping my cheeks roughly. It hurt from all his prior roughness, his finger edging closely to the lip he had split. C’mon, Vee. You know I don’t want to hurt you. Just tell me what you know. I’ll even let you go.

I knew nothing, just like I told him every time he asked, but since he wanted a different reaction, I’d give it to him. Nodding my head, I watched his face slack into a grin as he let mine go, granting me free rein to speak and move my head. The first thing I did with it was cock my head far back and send it slamming into his own, head butting the shit out of him. The impact made my vision blur for a bit, but the sickening crack I heard made it all worth it.

Venus, I corrected, spitting blood onto his now-bleeding nose. I might have broken it. It’s Venus to you, you piece of shit.

You stupid bi— Gunshots. An entire slew of them. Natalie burst into the room, body slick with sweat, eyes wide and nervous.

They’re here! Bonten’s here! My heart leaped. Mikey? They found out about our hideout much earlier than we expected them to! The sound of rapid fire rounds echoed around us, each one sounding closer than the last. If they kept that up, they’d be in this room in no time. The thought of Mikey raining hell down on their skulls made me much happier than I thought it would. They deserved it. I hope they got it. My cackle, sudden and wheezy, startled both Nat and Koda.

I stared Natalie dead in my eyes as I calmed down. You should run, I advised her. She had endangered my life twice, and although I would probably have little say in what happens to her now—she’d burnt too many bridges; Mikey wouldn’t hesitate to put a hole in her skull— so the least I could give her was a head start. You might be able to get out of here if you run now, because if Mikey gets his hands on you… I don’t even allow myself the pleasure of blinking as I speak, wanting my words to resonate deeply with her. So much so that even if she survived, she’d see my face. He will kill you, and I won’t be able to stop him. And you know the worst part, Nat? I don’t think I’ll want to.

The fear in her eyes was palpable like it was that day in the hideout, but I had no sympathy left to offer her. I also could have told her what Koda told me, let her know she’d done this all in vain, but I didn’t, allowing her to walk out of the door and my life for what just might be the very last time.

So, Koda, I turned my head back to look at him pacing. What’s the move? You gonna run too?

Somebody else came flying through the room as I asked him, an underling of his perhaps, yelling the same question I had just asked him in more or less words and a much louder volume. They’re coming, Koda! We have to go!

A certain bang made even me jump. It sounded like it was just around the corner from us.

What’re you gonna do, Koda?

I’m gonna fucking kill you, he snarled, putting the cold nozzle of a gun he yanked from his pocket to my head.

I tried to hide my dread with fearlessness. I don’t mind that, you’ll be coming to keep me company wherever I end up in five minutes. Maybe less.

I could hear the gun clicking as he turned off the safety, eyes level with me. I was about to die, and the funniest part was I wasn’t afraid. Perhaps I knew deep down that even if I did, I’d be avenged. That nobody who tortured me or sought to hurt me would leave this place with their lives or their limbs perfectly in tact. I don’t know what kind of person that made me, but with this gun to my brain, I don’t think I’d have much time to ponder it.

Mikey flashed in my head, my last memories with him. I didn’t even get to kiss him goodbye. I’d have to add that to my never ending list of regrets, not telling him how much he had come to mean to me in such a short time. That he mattered, that he wasn’t cursed. That he deserved to be happy.

A small smile came across my face as our memories played out in my mind. We had come so far, and I was proud of it. If it all came down to it, I lived an overall good life with some really big lows. Pretty alright for me.

Kill them, Manji, is the last wish I made to myself mentally, making sure it got out before my brain matter was splattered across the wall. Kill them all.

[lil-creatorwritings]

Y'all.

I can't stress enough how much I pine over this goddamn hot mess of a man that is Ray Blackwell. Sorry Alyn, but you'll always be my first love!!!

I think a lot of people don't appreciate his route from the start because he feels sort of like an introduction character to the whole game's atmosphere, aside with Lancelot. Although each route will give you the basics (about the Magic Tower and who the general bad guy is, down the road), but in terms of impact, they could have done better. I can't say anymore than that without spoilers, but it feels like players are either put off with his attitude at first (annoying? troll like? maybe a bit of an asshole? Alice even calls him a bully at a point.) or the story doesn't grab at their attention.

And I wouldn't blame them if they saw it like that--to each their own--but Cybird has tucked away chunks of his character in those PoVs and side stories. Which, if you're not an invested fan of his (I say invested, because as we all know, if Ray is in an event, expect him to be in the top tier prizes. Which honestly costs a lot. Especially those collection events. RIP wallet. 💔), you're not going to bother aiming for him. And that makes me sad, cause there's so much going on beneath those layers of aloofness, or even callousness. The first His Side Story is an eye opener of how mature he actually is. Now you might think, "of course he is, he's the King of Spades, leader of the Black Army!" But it's easy to forget that fact over the amount of times when he's being goofy, either with the other members or with Alice. I mean, chasing down magical chocolate cats? Agree to a quiz off between your best buddy and your girlfriend to see who knows you better? Name your cat Belle, after an actual and physical bell?

It's easy to gloss over his past when you think about only those moments. On how much he struggled to come to terms with his magic abilities, to fight the guilt that he placed on his shoulders from that incident. Or even the public's judgement of him at that young age. To be aware of that stereotype, to constantly prove to himself that no, I don't need magic, I can protect this world with my own strength is just another layer of who he is, to the complexity of his character. It isn't hard to figure that it takes a strong will to withstand that sort of experience and channel it to improve yourself instead of allowing it to discourage you.

He's a man who often speaks through action, and we can see this sprinkled throughout his route and side stories. Take that Say I Do event. True, it's majorly told in Alice's PoV, but we find out that he's been searching for the Blue Diamond on his side. The only difference between the two endings in that event is if Alice finds one of her own or not. The measurements for the dress, he approximated them by hugging her at a seemingly random moment. He then comments about her eating habit (I think) as a cover up and distract her. In Chocolate Covered Secrets, Ray initially steps closer to her and takes her hand before verbally saying that they're on a date when surrounded by the women in town.

It's not that he doesn't feel the same way, but Ray finds it difficult to express what he feels with words. He'll fumble around with them, try to get a sense of his thoughts cohesively. You can see the internal struggle and monologue in the His Side Stories. And some people may find this sort of thing off putting, either for personal reasons or because it's annoying to put up with. But he tries, and sometimes he looks like an idiot, but he will try. Then resort to physically showing Alice when the words aren't making sense.

So, is Ray's route a bit on the lack luster side? In my opinion it can be, especially in comparison to Sirius or Edgar. Does it mean his character the same way? Absolutely not. But some people aren't going to perceive it that way, especially if they didn't enjoy his route. They just might shrug and go "okay back to my bae's route!!!" or even jump ship in the middle of the route. Sure, he's still there in the other routes, but that isn't going to give you a big enough picture about him.

Also it's like, 3:30am here and this wasn't suppose to be a long rant about how much I love Ray but here we are!!! 🙃🙃🙃

Hi for once I won’t be gushing over Fenrir but Ray’s route instead in IkeRev

and hot take, how much I fucking love it

This is gonna be an incoherent mess but I’m a ghostwriter as my day job so when I type shit up online I don’t want to care if it makes sense lmfao 

So anyway I’m replaying Ray’s route for only the second time. Ray’s route was the first IkeRev route I ever played, and I remember it making me a bit emotional? And it was the first time I had ever really felt emotional over an otome route (I was still fairly new to otome at the time lmfao now I’m emotional over everything otome related lakjsdf;klajsdf;lasdjf;ldsjkf). 

But when I started getting into the fandom stuff, I saw a lot of people  that didn’t really like Ray’s route and I think over time it really clouded my own judgment of his route because, even though he was still (and always) one of my top guys, I too started to think his route fell kinda short, or had wasted potential

but NOOOOOOOO omg it’s freaking even more emotional for me on the second playthrough!! LITERALLY, MY HEART IS BREAKING REREADING THIS and I remember how upset I was the first time I played his route and how his route was the first time I said to myself “wow I could really fall in love playing these games huh?”  ughhhh

Of course, it all comes down to personal preferences, Ray is definitely someone I would probably end up with IRL (unlike, say, Edgar or Loki) so I could see where Ray’s route would be boring to someone with different preferences. What I will say (and I know Edgar stans say this too, and all of you are so valid), you absolutely need to purchase Ray’s POV stories to get the best feel for his character and route. I bought all the available POV stories while I played my first playthough and during this second run I am buying the rest. Unlike in, say, Fenrir’s route, where Fen’s POVs are great but not necessary because you can ALWAYS tell where his mind is at during the main story, Ray’s character definitely has a lot of layers and you need those POV stories to pull back them all back, one by one.

I mean, look (his POV CH 18):

My heart man my fucking heart 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭