#i think more than nick and jess this time

[sweetbans29]

Little Ones - CC

Pairing: Caitlin Clark x Reader

Summary: When talk becomes reality - baby edition (based on THIS request)

Warnings: Caitlin with kids is a warning - fight me, the photo is form when she was a Hawkeye, fic is when she is with the Fever

Word Count: 1.9k

Sweetbans Masterlist

AN: Okay but CC with kids is such a mood - she is just as cute (if not cuter) than the kids!

"Will you marry me?" Caitlin says while she is down on one knee, The two of you took (at least what you thought was) a spontaneous trip to the eastern coast in the middle of the night to go watch the sunrise. Now here you are, sun on the horizon, standing in complete shock in front of the love of your life, her down on one knee asking you to marry her.

"Yes." You say as Caitlin, with shakey hands, takes the ring out of the box and places it on your finger. Her touch is so gentle as her hands continue to shake with now-settled nerves and pure excitement. Once the ring is on your finger she jumps up, wrapping her in your arms and spinning you around. As she does, you let out the most beautiful laugh she has ever heard and yell 'We're getting married' at the top of your lungs not caring that the world is still asleep. Caitlin didn't think she could, but she fell more in love with you at that moment.

As the two of you drive back, you can't stop looking down at the ring that your now fiance has gotten you. It's so much bigger than any ring you ever imagined would live on your hand.

"It is so big," you say, eyes still in awe and heart still swollen from the events of the morning.

"You deserve even more," Caitlin says as she places a hand on your thigh, giving it a little squeeze.

You go silent as you continue looking at the stone. The two of you are still in college and if you are honest, it sort of scares you to think about you walking around with something so valuable.

Caitlin senses your shift.

"Hey," she says in the softest tone. "We can get you something smaller if that would make you more comfortable."

She knows you all too well. You were never the one to wear a lot of jewelry and the times that you had put something nice on, it was always something simple and dainty.

But you also know her well. This ring is a declaration of her love for everyone to see. She is proud that everyone knows you are hers and wants the world to see. You would never take that away from her.

"No, no. I absolutely love it. I was thinking just maybe something temporary while we finish school. Like one of those rubber ones that athletes wear - just so no one jumps me and cuts off my hand for this in that parking lot or something." The second you say it, the two of you burst out laughing.

"You would think about someone cutting off your hand," Caitlin says, continuing to laugh.

"Hey! There are some crazy people out there and this is worth a pretty penny," you say, eyes still glued to the ring.

You hear Caitlin mumble something along the lines of 'try 50 pretty pennies'. Your head whips around to her and she just gives you a shy look.

The two of you decide that you will get a silicone ring to wear while you finish out college and then switch back to the ring Caitlin got you, with the exception of date nights and family events.

When you get back to your college town, you guys stop to get some food. You ask her all the questions about when she started planning when she got the ring, and everything. She told you everything you wanted to know down to asking your dad for his blessing over one of your school breaks. You sit there amazed, taking in every word, not believing she is the one you get to spend the rest of your life with.

*6 months later*

Caitlin is at practice with her team one winter afternoon when the conversation presents itself yet again. Cait is now in her first season of the WNBA and has fit into the Indiana Fever perfectly. Everyone loves her and they have slowly been getting to know you.

"Did you see that Jess and Nick are expecting?" NaLyssa says as they are in a circle stretching. "They just announced they are going to be having a baby boy."

Everyone in the circle is sending NaLyssa dagger looks knowing the can of worms she just opened is one that Caitlin won't stop talking about.

"Awww, that is so cute!" Caitlin says with unmatched excitement. "You know, I can't wait to have a little one - just imagine them running around in little Fever gear and coming to all the games. It would be the cutest thing," Caitlin says and then proceeds to go on about how much she wants kids and can't want to have little mini-Caitlins running around.

"What if they come out as little versions of your lady?" Erika says. "They would also be pretty cute running around here."

"Don't get me started on if they are little versions of her," Caitlin says with pure excitement. "I would never be able to say not to them!"

When they are done stretching, they head into a cardio practice. Every break, Caitlin brings up something kid-related - how cute they would be, how she would teach them any sport they want, how she would want to make them proud that she is their mom. It gets to the point where the team walks away when Caitlin begins talking on the subject. Everyone with the exception of Erika, who has taken Cait in both on the court and off. She toughs it out and listens to Caitlin ramble about someday having kids. She is also the only one on the team that knows Caitlin and you are engaged. So she feels it is only fitting she let your girl ramble on about how someday family.

*18 months later*

Caitlin's 3rd year in the WNBA and she is still on fire. She was named both Rookie of the Year her first year as well as MVP - only the second to do that in the history of WNBA history.

The team is pretty much the same, with the exception of a few trades and added rookies. Erika and Lexie are still closer than ever to Caitlin on the court.

The conversation of kids comes up again when Lexie mentions her little one has started teething.

"Isn't it the worst?" Caitlin says. "You just hate seeing them in pain and you can't really do anything about it."

"I know! I just want to cuddle him but he is super fussy and is running warm." Lexie says. "It is heartbreaking."

"Right?" Caitlin says, which earns some looks from some of the other girls on the team.

Practice ends and everyone goes home for the day. A few days pass and Lexi brings up her son again.

"This whole teething thing has been terrible for our sleep schedule. Miles is up every hour and will not stay down," Lexie says while looking exhausted.

"Have you tried freezing fruit and putting it in any of the fresh food feeders for him? It might help with keeping his gums soothed." Caitlin says.

"I will have to try that!" Lexie says and thanks Caitlin for the tip. Nobody outwardly questions why Caitlin knows that but there are a few that give her quizzical looks when she offers pretty spot-on advice about a teething baby.

Once again, they end the practice and head their separate ways.

The following day is game day. The team all arrive in their own game-day attire. Caitlin walks in and goes to her locker. As she is going through her stuff she looks everywhere for her shoes.

Erika walks over. "Everything good CC?" She asks as Cait is looking through everything she has.

"No, I am somehow missing my shoes," she says as she scans through everything again.

Just as Caitlin is about to call you, Erika passes her her shoes. Caitlin mumbles a thank you and finishes getting ready.

The team heads out to warm up. The crowd is going crazy as it is one of the final games of the season. The team is warming up and Caitlin feels like there is something off. She finishes warm-ups and realizes she isn't wearing her headband to keep her fly-aways out of her face. She curses and then hears a familiar voice.

"Caitlin!" You try to get her attention, a little girl attached to your hip.

"MAMA!" Your little girl screams at the top of her lungs.

Caitlin can't help but smile as she makes eye contact with her little one. The smile on your child whenever she sees her mama is unmatched. Once you are close enough, you set your baby down and she goes running (waddling) over to Caitlin.

"Hi, little one!" Caitlin says as she picks up her child and attacks her with kisses.

You make your way to them and hand Caitlin her headband. "You forgot this," you say.

"Thanks, babe," She says as she gives you a little kiss.

Caitlin sets your little one down and she just looks up pointing at Caitlin's team. Caitlin lowers to her level and points at them with her.

"You know who they are," Caitlin says to her little one. Her little one claps with a smile. You come up behind her and scoop her up, knowing Caitlin needs to get back to her team. You give a little wave to Cait and your little one waves at her mama.

"Bye Mama!" she says continuing to wave her little arm from side to side.

Caitlin is still on a little cloud nine after seeing her little one before the game and that they brought her the one thing she needed that she completely forgot that her whole team was huddled right next to her.

"Mama?" Aliyah asks with a shocked expression.

"YOU HAVE A KID???" Erika comes barreling over in disbelief. "SINCE WHEN???"

"Well by the looks of her little one, looks like she is about a year and a half," Lexie says with a smile on her face. "Is that why you know so much about teething babies?"

"Ya, she has been on and off teething for a while now," Caitlin says with a little blush tinting her cheeks.

The team is all hooting and hollering as their coach calls them over to huddle before tip-off.

Caitlin wears a smile for the entirety of the huddle. It's not like Caitlin and you were trying to keep it a secret, it was mostly to keep her out of the eye of the media. But she was happy that the news was out to her team. It just means there are 14 other women who can speak into her daughter's life and love her.

As the team takes their place on the floor, Caitlin looks up to where you normally sit in the stands. It is the first time she sees you and little one in the crowd together.

When you notice Caitlin looking up at the two of you, you look down at your baby and point to her Mama. The little one begins to wave at Caitlin with a big smile. Caitlin smiles and blows her a kiss.

Caitlin begins to lock in to the game and wipes her shoes. She gives one final glance over to you and thinks, 'Ya, I can get used to this'.

AN: A little different but I really like how this turned out! I hope you do as well. And as always, thank you for your love and support 🤍

[wannabeschyulersister]

flash me (rooster x reader)

*based on the episode of new girl where Jess walks in on Nick*

“I have to move out.”

Natasha set her drink back on the table, “Did Bradshaw finally drive you crazy? I told you having him as a roommate would eventually make you want to pull your hair out. Is he leaving the toilet seat up all of the time?”

“No, that’s not it.”

“Is he having too many “special” guests over?”

You shook your head, “Nope.”

“Then what happened?”

You looked around to see if any of the squad members were close enough to hear your conversation.

“Uh, I walked in on him.” You whispered.

Natasha leaned close, “What did you say? I can barely hear you.”

“I walked in on him in the bathroom.” You quickly said.

Your best friend looked a little confused, “Was he on the toilet?”

“I walked in on him naked!”

Natasha froze and the started laughing as if you said the funniest joke she’d ever heard. It annoyed you but you knew if situations were reversed you’d be laughing your ass off too.

Just then, Jake sidled up to you as if appearing out of nowhere, “I heard the word “naked” and Phoenix laughed so hard she has tears coming out. I have to get in on this conversation.”

“(Y/n) walked in on Bradshaw naked.” Natasha blurted out as she wiped away her tears.

You tried to pinch her but she moved out of your grasp, “I wasn’t trying to tell the whole damn bar!”

“I won’t say anything, sweets.” Jake promised, “Now, what did you see? A little backside? Full frontal?”

You looked down at your hands, “Uh both?”

“You poor lady. Seeing Bradshaw naked can be absolutely traumatic for anybody.” Jake joked.

You rolled your eyes, “I’m not traumatized! I just can’t look him in the eyes anymore which makes our living situation awkward.”

“How did he react?”

“He tried to cover himself as much as he could but it was too late. This is why I always scold him to lock the damn bathroom door!”

“You know what you have to do right?” Jake asked.

“Move out, change my name and run to Europe.”

He chuckled at your plan, “No, sweets. You got to show him something of yours.”

“Hangman, you’re an idiot.” Natasha told him.

He ignored her, “Think about it. You’d be even and not at all embarrassed every time that you see him. A flash is all it takes.”

“Please don’t listen to him. You don’t have to flash Bradshaw. Just talk to him. Acknowledging how awkward it is and moving on like adults is the right thing to do.” Natasha gave sound advice that you should definitely listen to.

“Phoenix, that sounds like the logical thing to do but I might go with Jake’s plan.”

“Why do I even bother to give out advice?” Natasha mumbled to no one.

“I appreciate your advice but I feel like I’m always going to feel awkward if things are even.”

Before Natasha could respond with how ridiculous you were being, Bradley walked into the bar. He looked around and spotted you instantly. It wasn’t hard to detect the pink tint that dusted his cheeks.

Bradley went over to the bar and planted down on one of the stools. Any other time, he would’ve pulled up a chair with the three of you and joined in.

“See. I can’t live like this. Bradley won’t even sit with me now.”

“Wow, maybe you do need to flash him.” Natasha said.

“So, what are you going to do?” Jake asked. He was clearly enjoying this more than he should.

You wished that Bradley would’ve just locked the damn door that morning so you both would’ve avoided all of the mess.

“I guess I’m going to flash Bradley.”

[ddejavvu]

Hi i love your sirius/remus x animagus!reader,,, can you please write james potter x animagus(squirrel) reader?

James always carries nuts such as acorns and sunflower seeds to give her🥹❤️ just pure fluff please

made me think of that one new girl scene where nick opens jess's bedside table and finds her night peanuts

--

When Remus is instructed to fish James's scarf out of 'his bedside drawer', he reaches for the top one. Because of course he does, because who is asked to open someone's bedside drawer and chooses the bottom one? Of course James meant the top one, otherwise he would have specified the bottom one.

He does not mean the top one.

Instead of knitwear, Remus finds a disastrous array of- nuts? Nuts and raisins and berries and seeds, for god's sake, in James's top bedside drawer. Loose. Filling the entire space.

He stands frozen, hand still clutching the knob to the drawer.

"James," He says, voice calm and cool, "Why are there nuts in your nightstand?"

Sirius snickers, makes some joke about 'forgetting to put them in his pants this morning', but Remus doesn't react. He can't react, he's petrified solid in his spot by the sight of James's strange collection.

"Oh, that? That's for m'girlfriend." James answers, like it's an explanation. Like it solves the problem, like it answers Remus's many, many question; 'Oh, right! His girlfriend, that makes sense. 'Cause she's a squirrel.

"Is she a squirrel?" Remus voices his thoughts aloud, tone bitter and tight.

James's shoulders tense slightly, raising towards his ears, and he nods slowly, "Uh, yeah, actually. 'Finished the transformation last week."

Oh.

"Oh," Remus's eyes are still roving over the heap of sunflower seeds and dried cranberries but he forces himself to shut the door, "So- so, what, she sleeps in there, or something?"

James laughs, a guffaw as he grins at Remus, "Don't be ridiculous, Moony, I don't make my girlfriend sleep in my nightstand. I've been taking a handful with me to class every day so she can snack."

Only James Potter would think that sleeping would be more ridiculous than scooping a pile of nuts into his pocket every morning before class for his girlfriend who can turn into a squirrel.

"Right." Is all that Remus can manage, and he goes through the motions of retrieving James's scarf from the bottom drawer this time, "Here's your scarf, Prongs."

"Thanks, mate." James nods, catching it when Remus tosses it in his direction. He's getting ready to head down to Hogsmeade to meet with you, and Remus briefly wonders if James already has a pocket full of raisins.

"You heading down with us?" James asks, watching Remus gather his jumper, slipping it on over the white tank he'd slept in.

"No," Remus shakes his head, stuffing his feet into his shoes and ducking his head as he beelines for the door, "I'm going to the hospital wing; All of a sudden I need a cure for a headache."

[iridiss]

I think because Aphmau is a self-insert character, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what her personality is, because her personality is just…Jess’s personality. If a little different. Which makes it hard for me to get into Aphmau’s head, to see exactly how she works, what makes her tick—it doesn’t come naturally to me at all, and I wouldn’t be surprised if I wasn’t alone in that regard

Now that I’m finally working on my MCD rewrite, I really want to make sure I get Aphmau’s personality right, especially since she’s literally the protagonist character and likely the most common POV I’ll be using. I want to find a way to copy how watching her POV in-game felt, and make it so that it feels the same when I’m writing the fic. Lately, it hasn’t been feeling the same at all, and that’s mostly intentional, since I want her to evolve into the “unintentionally badass” woman that she is in the canon series. I want her to start off as kind of bright-eyed and naive, similar to Mystreet!Aphmau, as a newcomer to the world whose never seen a lick of war and violence in her life. Mainly because I know she’s going to be exposed to all of that later and fundamentally changed by it. But as I’m studying canon MCD Aphmau and trying to break down everything she does, how she thinks, the choices she makes and the patterns therein that define her, what choices she doesn’t make and what that says about her as a person… I think I have already strayed too far from the original in places.

Additionally, though Aphmau was still significantly emotionally affected by every little heinous thing that happened to her and her people, throughout season 1 she didn’t experience any sudden shift in who she was as a person. I’ve yet to finish rewatching season 2, so I could be wrong, but to me, it more seems like she held herself together and stayed largely the same person. But she was being slowly chipped away emotionally by everything that got added to the pile. From Brendan getting shot to Aaron’s death, it’s like there’s a million different little nicks and cuts in her mental health and psyche that have simply built up over time. Some of those scars are larger than others, like the 15 year timeskip and losing Aaron/Garroth/Laurance, but they all weigh on her psyche and make her progressively more anxious, more careful, more…traumatized? She’s traumatized and she’s not. I’d like to at least headcanon her as traumatized, probably severely by season 3. I’d like to think she’s a woman with the whole entire world on her shoulders and a million ghosts haunting her wherever she goes, and all of this leads to a great deal of stress and anxiety in her day-to-day life that she’s just kinda… Living With. She muscles through it. She keeps going. There are even moments I’m noticing in canon where she doesn’t allow herself to fully dwell on her grief and stress, saying it’s “selfish” to let them consume her, and then moving on to check on literally everyone else in the village and make sure they’re okay first.

Aphmau is a character that’s hard to understand in the broad strokes, like how you can see Laurance’s broad strokes of “Casanova” and “fiercely loyal” and “in love with Aphmau” and make a pretty easy surface mold of what he’s like. It’s like every other character has at least one or two giant, broad strokes of paint on the wall that distinguish them as unique.

Garroth is a gentleman, Kiki loves her animals and can be stubbornly gullible. Donna is sassy, Dale is an alcoholic, Katelyn is fierce, Travis is playful and flirtatious, Aaron is brooding and guarded, Logan has a stick up his ass, so on and so forth. But they all have really easy to find smaller pieces that you can find and study as well. MCD!Katelyn is much more calm and reserved and proper than her Mystreet counterpart, and on occasion waxes philosophical and drinks tea. Kiki has always wanted to be a mother. Brendan is a horse girl. Garroth is terrible at being ~romantically forward~ like Laurance is, and instead he gets flustered and stuttery and shy and struggles to talk about his feelings with others. Laurance is gentle and caring and will tenderly take care of you and nurse you back to health with a mature, gentle warmth that puts his cocky Casanova personality aside, still flirting and teasing every now and then, but only for the purpose of cracking a joke that would make you smile. And then he reminds you right after how fondly he loves you and how he will never, not ever, leave your side.

Laurance grew up not knowing how to talk to girls, and Sasha was the only female friend he could actually speak to and connect with. Garroth checks on Aphmau in the mornings, asking how she slept and reporting back to her on all the duties she has to tend to for the day. Dale is a brilliant accountant, and that’s his calling in life. Zoey used to regularly prepare tea for Aphmau at night to help her sleep. Logan helped Zoey raise Levin and Malachi during the 15 year timeskip and “secretly” very much loves children. You can find all the little kernels of character and personality and heart in all of them.

But for MCD!Aphmau, it’s like she has one single broad stroke. “Helps others, kind, caring.” And everything else is invisible to me. Mystreet!Aphmau might have a second broad stroke, of “silly and childish and whimsical,” a stroke that MCD!Aphmau has much less of. It’s still there, she still teases and cracks dumb jokes on occasion, but it’s dwarfed in comparison by MCD’s more serious, mature tone and the sheer emotional weight of everything she keeps going through. It’s hard to be silly and have stupid fun when you’re fighting for your life, so in a way, MCD!Aphmau had to grow up in a way that Mystreet!Aphmau never had to. Mystreet!Aphmau’s worst problem (before emerald secret) is “oh no! which cute boy am I gonna date?! Gene is so mean to me in highschool!! Gawd, I wish my mom would let me bring boys home without making it weird, jeez.” She gets to keep her innocence. She doesn’t have to grow up and face the brutality of killers and monsters and the cruelty of the gods, and even after When Angels Fall, I don’t see her heavily maturing and growing as serious as MCD!Aphmau already is on main.

So if MCD!Aphmau has one single broad stroke that, for a protagonist, is actually vague as hell to work with, then maybe she’s a character who is revealed by all the little things that slip through the cracks. Maybe I can paint a picture of what she’s truly, really like (not what I want her to be like) by looking at all the little things, and then working inwards from there,,,

I know she’s at the very least a good person. A very good person. Better than canon Garroth, who has far too many asshole tendencies for my liking after the whole Incel Hell Irene Dimension fiasco (also why the FUCK is he racist—) Better than canon Laurance, better than most people honestly. Which is kind of the point, as an Irene. She’s supposed to be inherently a good, pure-hearted soul, whose destiny and sole calling in life is to help everyone around her. She seems to display a great fear and distress over violence and war. She’s always anxious and freaking the fuck out when she’s in combat (during S1), and building up to the Phoenix War, she was absolutely mortified by the idea of going to war, and yet that distress NEVER boiled over into cowardice. She always chose what was right and stuck to it, stubbornly. Even when faced with the worst of dilemmas, she refuses to succumb to her fear and run away, or pick the easy (and scummy) way out. She cares a great deal about the greater good, even if it comes at a devastating cost to achieve, and by god, she’ll achieve it. When presented with the option of fight or flight, she NEVER picks flight. So she’s brave? Has a strong natural sense of justice? Would she ever make cruel sacrifices, if it was for a greater good? I think I at least know that if I presented her with the option of “kill Garroth and Laurance, or save the entire world,” she would refuse the dilemma entirely and go to EXTREME lengths to forge a third option where she gets to keep the world AND her boys, and everyone comes out unharmed. (And in my mind, this is what distinguishes her from the old Irene…)

She is a herald for peace, above anything else. When Scaleswind destroyed her home as an act of violent rage, she didn’t seek revenge or even allow herself to feel vitriol or resentment for the man that attacked her people. Instead, she (cautiously and hesitantly) accepted his pleas for forgiveness if it meant she could have peace for Phoenix Drop. She held him accountable for his crimes, yes, but she forgave him, trusted him with the Phoenix Drop Alliance, and even trusted him with her people. All the while reiterating to him that she is an agent working for peace, and he needs to get on her level if he wants her forgiveness. She even offers care and aid to all of the rotten O’khasis knights that still swear their fealty to Zane. She brings them to court for their crimes, but she also offers them her care and a place to stay if they need it. She believes in justice, but not cruel retribution. The moral high ground isn’t a weapon she uses to bludgeon others with. She draws her strength by pulling others up with her. Even putting her trust in those unworthy of it at times, but that then inspires them to make better choices and pledge themselves to her cause. Even if you were a horrible, terrible person, she refuses to be downright cruel. It’s very rare to see her anger get the best of her (not that I don’t doubt that has happened at least once or twice in the series, I’m just saying it’s not her go-to choice when resolving any conflict). She will always give people the benefit of the doubt.

I know she struggles with sleeping problems, mainly due to her stress. She did for most of the latter quarter of S1 and when I skipped ahead and watched a few snippets of S2, she was STILL bringing up how poorly she slept last night, so like. You could make a case that she has insomnia. She could have insomnia. And PTSD but that’s a given

She finds babies absolutely adorable and has strong maternal instincts. (a connection between this and her great care for Phoenix Drop as a whole could possibly be strung… I don’t think “maternal instincts” is at all why she helps PD though. I think she just does that…because…you should. Because it’s the right thing to do. Obviously. If given the choice to be kind and help someone, she will always pick that choice, because,,,she just does)

you could make an argument that she has dyslexia. if you made a drinking game out of every time she flubbed reading the lines on the screen you would keel over and die by episode 15 I think.

you could make an argument that she needs glasses because Jess wears glasses for the first little while of S1 before she seems to have switched to contacts for the rest of the aphverse

She loves animals and has more animals than she has children

She seems very slow to develop romantic feelings for anyone. I think she only really started to develop little bits of romantic feelings for Garroth come late S1, and for Laurance probably like. around episode 95ish if you’re pushing it early, but honestly she probably only developed feelings for him after the entirety of season 1. after Laurance and her had already become very close and intimate on a platonic level. And any of his flirtatious advances prior to that she CONSISTENTLY responded to with flat out rejection, disgust, exasperation and annoyance with zero romance in sight. meanwhile she’s been very affectionate with Zoey from the beginning and is much more sweet and domestic with her than any of the boys, so like. I can definitely see where all the aroace spectrum aphmau headcanons in the fandom are coming from now and I wouldn’t be surprised if she was some form of demiromantic as well, but that’s straying out of canon aphmau territory and into headcanon land

Her worst fear, confirmed by Malachi, is seeing the entire village be burned to the ground with everyone she loves inside. Seeing Garroth and Laurance and every single villager murdered before she can do anything to stop it. She’s scared of losing them (and wow guess exactly what ends up happening… Garroth gets lost in the Irene dimension…Laurance becomes a cold and cruel shadow knight and she loses him to the nether… Aaron dies and becomes the shadow lord… girlie can just not win. and I’d like to explore more of the deep emotional impact that could’ve had on her—your worst fear is losing everyone you loved, seeing them get torn out of your hands brutally and violently, and..that happens. that happens to her anyway. to all of her boys, individually. there’s no way that’s not traumatic and emotional as hell for her) maybe you could even play into the idea that she has abandonment issues…

Every now and then she shows a few signs of toxic positivity and emotional repression. “Smile and be happy, focus on the work that’s important right now instead of completely and utterly crumbling under the weight of my grief and trauma” type shit. I feel like I can’t help but notice a running pattern that she keeps being presented with dialogue options that are emotionally vulnerable and intimate in some way, usually ones that progress her relationships with others (both romantically and platonically) and express a great deal of care or feeling…and then there’s the exposition dump dialogue option that continues her constant search for information that furthers the plot, and she often chooses that instead. Like for example, in one dialogue option with Aaron, she doesn’t say, “I really care about you, please, can’t you trust me?” Instead, she chooses to say, “What will you do?” Which is much more business talk as opposed to spilling her heart out to people. She seems to apologize for herself whenever she expresses a heightened amount of emotion, especially if it’s sadness or grief or anger, and again, I’d like to point to her taking 90+ fucking episodes to allow herself to feel any sort of intimacy with Laurance, the very man who has been constantly showering her with affection, and not just the dumb flirty stuff!! But like deep, sincere proclamations of “you matter to me,” and “I’ll never leave your side” and “you are my world, aphmau”!!! Bro I would have MELTED into his arms 70 fucking episodes ago if I met a man that talked to me like he does!! But she doesn’t!! SHE KEEPS HIM AT ARMS LENGTH!! THATS NOT NORMAL!!! Especially when EVERY OTHER character in the cast keeps falling in love at first sight. (so intimacy issues? trust issues? probably not trust issues. fear? too much on her mind? demiromantic ?? or probably a mix of all of the above + a dash of headcanon for the sexuality part)

And it’s so fascinating to see what she could say, but doesn’t. And sometimes you’ll even see her hesitate over the other, more intimate dialogue options, and then decide otherwise. It’s utterly fascinating to think that a character hugely defined by her heart might struggle with vulnerability.

She also hesitates over funny options a lot but decides against them because the serious, emotionally mature options are more appropriate and polite for the situation at hand lol. Laurance is a frequent exception to this rule, she will tease him no matter how serious their conversation is lmao (Laurance brings out her more forgotten whimsical side…?)

So on and so forth while I continue my binge rewatch of the entire series and collect more. So far, she seems to be overall: Kind. Gentle. Soft, warm, friendly, forgiving, understanding, merciful, patient. Playful and whimsical, though that’s become more forgotten with time and hardship. Serious, very emotionally mature, very much a source of wisdom among her peers. Inherently strong sense of justice, will always fight for the right thing. Brave and persistent. Refuses to ever back down from a challenge. Probably at least a little emotionally avoidant and I would not be surprised if she struggled with a particularly harsh inner critic. Optimistic. Never lets go of her heart, led by her heart much more than her brain, though that isn’t to say she isn’t smart, she’s not an idiot. Loves animals. Natural leader. Maternal. Insomniac. Probably neurodivergent, possibly aroace, possibly dyslexic, most likely needs glasses. Traumatized, very much so. Very stressed and anxious (please god someone give her a break). Carries the weight of the world on her shoulders but refuses to let herself crumble, even if she is exhausted and worn down and at her limit. you also cannot look at Zoey and Aphmau’s daily interactions and tell me there isn’t at least a little bit of sapphicism going on there. they love each other so much <3 and if not, she is a single mother going through literal actual hell and hanging on by a string but through the force of necessity and probably at least a little bit of toxic positivity and emotional avoidance she will persevere whether she wants to or not

and I will continue to learn more as we go along 👍

[applesandbannas747]

i wanna hear your thoughts on the fence challengers: long shot preview pages if you want to share!

oh mAN I have so many and they are all over the place!!

The first one is a little thing, but I bet Seiji had a crush on Marcus Washington when he was a kid--Nick's horror, Harvard's teasing, and Seiji's indignant blush imply as much.

And a fun fact, Jo posted a mini preview of baby Seiji to Patreon on February 14th...maybe I'm reading into it too much, but that's nothing new XD

Next couple of things are about the scene with the trophy case. It was really interesting and fun to see side-by-side redraws of Robert! It really illustrates the way the style has evolved, and also I gOTTA say it feels like Jo is more invested in Robert based on the level of detail she put in--like it's not just a style comparison, it's also just obvious a lot of attention was put into these shots when a) she could have just reused old shots (which she's done before, so I know it was an option), or kept it more simplified like she did when drawing the original shots.

I also think it's sweet that the redraws have Robert looking much more like Jesse than the originals.

And I am sure I will get flack for this, but I have incredible second-hand embarrassment from Nick leaving his newspaper clipping + note in the trophy case jfhdasl like bestieee noooo anyone can see that shit now oh my god please stooop

Onto some Nichoji thoughts! I love that Seiji's been confirmed as a before-bed reader! Him having a Kindle makes sense for the sheer efficiency of it too lmfao. Of course it's also adorable to see him in reading glasses <3 And then my favorite detail is Nick's stupid nightlight...notice where it is?

Rather than illuminating Nick's side of the room, it's peeking around the curtain and lighting up Seiji's reading, which is beyond adorable and sweet. I wonder whether Seiji stole it or Nick put it there knowing Seiji likes to read before bed, and I love both scenarios.

Also, it's fucking adorable that as soon as Nick mentions their date appointment, Seiji takes off his glasses and lowers his Kindle because it's got his full attention and investment.

And a quick pitstop to the locker rooms!

I like the visual metaphor here with Aiden and Bobby both very casual about changing and both literally having their shirts open; meanwhile, Seiji's straightening the cuffs on his button-down, which is already neatly tucked in and complete with his tie. It just highlights how Seiji's a lot more closed off than the others, and I think this was a neat trick to remind us of that.

In regards to plot, I'm still...really disappointed in the pacing. I know most people feel like it's a slowburn/it's taken a long time to develop, but if you waited to read Fence at all until it was complete and then read it all in one sitting, I think you'd see how unbalanced it is. Williams says that their first match will be in three weeks back right after tryouts:

which means everything between issue 12 and CHALLENGERS has happened in 3 weeks. Seiji and Nick's relationship is so sweet and cute, but it went from resentful rivalry to puppy love overnight with very little 'screen time' dedicated to the actual transition from resentment to friends (which I could write a whole essay on but this is not the post for that lmfao). Furthermore, the fact that it's the first match of State Championships rather than first match of the season is crazy to me. I'll admit, I didn't fence in high school--it wasn't even an option because we didn't have a team. And despite hours of research, the structure of high school team fencing is not entirely clear to me. However, I do know that typical high school sports go through the season, facing every other team in their division or whatever. Based on performance in those matches, they can qualify for state, and then their win ratio determines their seeding order for the state championships that happen in like 1-2 days. Seeding order is who you go up against in a bracket, so it's what this diagram is, basically:

(side note, but it appears there are 24 schools competing at state). Again, fencing could be different, but it kinda seems to me like we skipped over the season and went right to State Championships, which just cuts out so much development and build-up. It's like we're speed-running the entire story to get to the end faster. We cut out showing the development in the romance, and now we're cutting out the development of the plot. There's still plenty that we can do at state, of course, but imagine how much more it would mean to see Nick fencing in front of Robert if we'd built that up more. I just don't understand how we spent 12 issues on try outs, 4 on a practice match, 8 on camp, and none on the fencing season. It feels so abrupt and unbalanced. Tryouts and camp were my favorites arcs because they felt pretty well-paced as self-contained pieces of the story. I just feel like we needed waaaaay more relationship development between those two arcs to be satisfying, and I feel like there should be waaaaay more build up during the fencing season between camp and State Championships.

and now, the moment you've all been waiting for: my devastation over Eugene's role (???) in the story. I honestly question why he's in the story at all--at this point, it would have made more sense to have him flat-out not make the team. Except that keeping him this long lowkey backs up the theory I've had on his role since Striking Distance/RIVALS: Eugene is here to make everyone else look better/cooler/more impressive. The very first thing that struck me when reading the first look was this:

The dialogue here suggests that only one reserve actually gets to be on the team in the end, and the reserve is Nick. And, worse, everyone expected it to be Nick. Sure, it's sweet that Seiji thinks Nick's the better fencer, but all I can think about is how hard Eugene's worked for ten years trying to make the team as opposed to Nick's three months of fencing. Now, I love an underdog story. But it's interesting because Pacat stated in an interview (I'd have to go find where for the specific quote) that he always feels bad for the person who's been working to be #1 their whole lives only to be knocked out of the running by an upstart underdog--which I've always assumed would influence the path taken in Fence...and it seems like we may well let Seiji and Jesse remain above Nick in skill (or at least it seems like we won't be dethroning Seiji, even if we go for Jesse), but Nick's overcoming smaller obstacles. And those smaller obstacles hurt worse to see crushed because Eugene almost made the team in a way that mattered, only to have that taken away. It would have been less cruel to him and his fans to let Nick take the reserve slot back in issue 12, but instead we brought Eugene along to serve as a means to make Nick out 'secret weapon' and elevate his story.

I will say though, this page is one of my favorite Eugene moments because I see the character I selfishly want Eugene to be in it. From the context of the panels above, this page is likely Williams telling them that only one will be fencing in State Championships, and this is their reaction. Eugene's immediate concern for Nick and the comforting hand on his shoulder followed by a bright smile and a thumbs up--he just cares so much about other people and it so used to smiling through his own pain/disappointment and comforts Nick through being positive (and as seen back in issue 12, up playing his competitiveness) and acting like it's no big deal.

Eugene deserved better, but if this is where he goes out, I think I can live with it. Better to see him go now than continue to be a means to uplift the rest of team by being less than. but, man, I was really hoping we were turning it around after his moment in REDEMPTION being the only KR boy not to lose his bout

anyway, thank you sm for listening to my rambles!!! <33

[writeandsurvive]

I'm sorry for this, it's not good. But somehow, I managed to get something done, so I gotta share. Kinda inspired by NCIS S21E08 'Heartless'.

Warnings: age gap, married couple, established relationship, talks of miscarriage, giving birth, jealousy, womanizer!Alden, daddy!Alden, very slight smut

Mine ~ Alden Parker

When you started to date Alden Parker, as he was still an FBI agent, you never considered becoming friends with his coworkers. Especially, after meeting a few of them he would consider his friends and they turned out to be judgmental towards the age gap in your relationship. Not that you wanted to befriend his coworkers anyways, you just agreed to meet them cause he asked. 

However, it changed when Alden joined NCIS. He immediately started to tell you about his new team, and you could he was fond of them all, including his boss - which was extremely surprising since he never got along with his FBI boss, Sweeney. You quickly knew it would be different this time. It did take him a while before introducing you to them, but once it happened, you all hit it off. The guys were quite impressed with Alden wedlocking a woman fairly younger than him, while the girls, even though they wouldn't go for someone older, they agreed that Alden Parker had a little something. "It's the freaking hair!" Jess joked. 

Before you knew it, this new team felt like family. You'd all hang out together - dinners, games night - and sometimes you'd have girls night with Jess and Kasie. You even babysit McGee's twins and/or Victoria a few times. Which, as much as you loved it, did hurt a little since it would remind you of the struggles you and Alden had been having to have a baby. Between not getting pregnant for months and the miscarriages, you had started to think that it wouldn't happen the natural way for you. Also, Alden really felt like he was getting too old to have a kid, no matter how badly he wanted one with you. 

When you reached your third trimester, Alden felt pretty confident that this time everything was going to be alright while you couldn't shut that little voice in your head saying that something bad would happen like the other times. But finally, the nurse put your crying new born in your arms, and everything felt right. "You did so good, my love." Alden cried, kissing your forehead and looking down at his son. "Our miracle baby. He's perfect." 

You didn't want the nurse to take him away from you but you knew they needed to check him up and clean him. "Do you guys have a name for this little guy?" Another nurse asked. You and Alden looked at each other for a second. "Axel Roman Parker." He said, proudly. 

Obviously, the team was in the waiting room. Alden had been at work when you called him to tell him that your water broke. Nick had been the one driving to the hospital, "Torres, I'd like to meet my son before I die, thank you very much!" Alden shouted, holding onto the handle above the window. 

"Don't worry, dad." Nick grinned. 

Your husband went to see them to let them know that mom and baby boy were alright. "Is it okay if you guys only meet him in a few days?" 

"Of course, no rush!"

"Send us pictures though! Please?" 

Alden didn't want to go back to work after his paternity leave. He didn't want to leave his little family. The night before his first day back, he actually felt depressed. "He's changing so much so fast, I'm gonna miss so much." He sadly said, stroking his son's back, who was peaceful sleeping on daddy's chest. 

"I'll take as many pics and videos I can." You kissed your husband's cheek. "And Vance said you don't have to put many hours like you usually do." 

"I know, but still." 

You noticed the tears forming in his eyes and it broke your heart a little. You didn't want him to go back to work either. You wish he could push his leave a little more, but he had pushed it as much as possible already - director Vance had been amazing and made it easy. You wrapped your arm around Alden's neck, carefully so you wouldn't wake up Axel. He nuzzled your neck as you gently stroked his hair. "He loves you and perfectly knows who daddy is. It won't change in a few hours, I promise." 

"I honestly thought it would never happen for me, you know? Before you and then the issues we had, I thought-- I just wasn't meant to be a dad. But now he's here, and I just don't want to be away from him."

"Aw, baby." You cried with him. "I wish there was a way for you to stay." 

The next day, Alden arrived late at work as he struggled to let go of Axel. Jimmy and Tim, who knew how it felt, were very helpful throughout the following week. 

It took you months to separate from Axel, just for a few hours. And even more time to go out for a girls night while Alden had a boys night with his little man. 

"I almost forgot how champagne tasted." You smiled, having your first drink in over a year. 

"Good thing we took a whole bottle then!" 

The conversation between you, Jess, Kasie and Delilah went on as it usually does when you four get together. Jess talked about her relationship with Jimmy, and her dad. Kasie confessed about her new crush - you and the girls immediately hyped her. Delilah talked about her job, and the twins newest obsessions. And you obviously talked about Axel and your husband. 

"By the way, how's Alden's neck?" Jess asked. 

"Perfect! Did Nick really fix him with a bear hug?" 

"He did! It was pretty funny!" Jess laughed, remembering the scene from a couple of days ago. "Doctor Logan probably thought we were crazy." 

"I can't believe that my husband im-so-scared-of-needles-hold-me-hand worked on a heart surgery." You laughed, trying to imagine the scene. 

"Mr I fainted when my wife got her epidural." Kasie teased. 

"In his defense, it's a pretty big needle for this." Delilah said. "Thank god he didn't faint during the surgery though." She joked. 

"Well, if he did, I'm sure Doctor Logan would've enjoyed giving him mouth to mouth." 

You, Kasie and Delilah turned like one person to look at Jessica. "What?" She asked, confused. Then she looked at you. "He didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?" 

"Um..."

"Jessica Knight."

"The doc clearly developed a crush on him. She practically flirted with him in front of me." 

You let out a deep breath. "Did he flirt back?"

"Not really, he was genuinely confused."

"Did he not learn his lesson with the senator?" Kasie chimed in. 

You finished your drink in one swallow, remembering when he gave you a piece of paper with a number on it. "Whose number is it?"

"A senator." He had said. 

"Alright and what am I supposed to do with it?" 

"You, nothing. But I guess she wanted me to call when she gave it to me." The jerk was smiling while you used to candle flame to burn the paper. 

"I don't care about the 'it's safer for you if people don't know I'm married' crap, I'm gonna glue the wedding band to his damn finger." 

The girls laughed, always enjoying how easily you get jealous when there's a woman around Alden. When you had learned that some women in the office kinda liked your man, you showed up at the NCIS headquarters for the first time and asked for a tour. When his ex wife got involved in a case, you were feeling anxious, even though she knew about you from the beginning, thanks to Alden's parents. The worst actually was when he saw his first love for the first time in over thirty years. He had admitted that it felt very strange, and maybe if he had been single, he'd have pursued something, but he was married to you, and deeply in love with you and he'd be crazy to let you go. It was one of those rare moments when you and Alden were struggling, and fought a little more often. But he never gave you a reason to be jealous or suspicious, it was just a part of your personality. And to be fair, he was such a womanizer, you couldn't help but to think that any other woman would be better than you. 

You got home slightly drunk, which Alden expected. He was happy that you finally let yourself have some fun away from him and Axel. Barely sleeping on the couch, he immediately got up when he heard you come in. "Hey! What are you doing up? Is Axel awake?" You asked, struggling to take your shoes off. Alden kneeled down to help you. 

"He did wake up an hour ago for his bottle but he's fast asleep now." 

"Good, good." You leaned a little and ran your hand through his hair. "I'm so so so so happy you're my baby daddy." 

Chuckling softly, he got back up and wrapped his arms around your waist. "Thank you for choosing me. You made all my dreams come true." You hugged there for a moment, just enjoying each other. "Let's go to bed, baby mama." He started to carry you, grabbing the baby monitor on the way. 

"No sleeping, gimme another baby." He laughed but quickly got cut off as you smashed your mouth on his. He managed to get to the bedroom while you practically assaulting him, holding his face firmly and french kissing him. Of course his body was responding positively. As he put you down on the bed, you dragged him along. He was on top of you and you started to make out. It was long until you felt his erected cock between your legs. You reached for it, forcing your hands under his shorts. "Fuck, baby." He moaned. 

"Yes, fuck me daddy." 

And he did just that. ~

After freshening up in the bathroom, Alden found you in the nursery, looking over Axel. He hugged you from behind. "Do you really want another?" He asked, cautiously. 

"Not necessarily," you admitted. "I mean, if it happens, I'll be very happy but I can't go through the struggles again."

"Okay. We've got him and he's absolutely perfect." You stroked your son's hair one more time before turning around to face your husband. 

"He really is." You grabbed his left hand and stared at it for a moment. "This wedding band stays on, Alden. 24/7." 

"But--" 

"No but. I'm done with women flirting with you cause they assume you're single. You're taken, you're fucking mine. You keep the damn ring on." 

Alden stayed silent for a moment. "Jess told you about Doctor Logan, didn't she?" You only looked at him, arms crossed. "Fine, I won't take off my ring ever again." He reached for your wrists and made you uncrossed your arms as he hated when you strike that pose on purpose. He brought you as close as possible to him. "Are you ever going to accept the fact that you're the love of my life? That I rather be single for the rest of my life than with someone else than you? That losing you and now Axel, would absolutely destroy me?" 

All you could do was kiss him, but he did saw the tears falling down your cheeks.

[panelshowsource]

rather than who you would like to see on the next taskmaster series, who do you think will be on it? like just your predictions or any inklings you may have!

anon if you're still around then you'll know i really took my time with this hahaha so sorry! i hope anyone reading this takes it as just a bit of fun and nbd, who knows who we'll get or who alex & the network have in mind! i'm answering thoughtfully (bc i always feel guilty not to 😩 so sorry this is long lol) but it's really just fun!!

i will say, of the more recent-ish series, i did get a few right!!! krishnan guru-murthy, nicola coughlan, alan davies, judi love, sue perkins, john robins, and joanne mcnally were people i just knew would eventually be on if the show could get their schedules right, and i was also certain sarah millican and dara ó briain would be asked — though not necessarily that they'd actually agree. when you have a level of seniority and esteem, the "it's such a great opportunity" aspect of the show isn't such a draw 😅 for some reason i feel SO PROUD about guessing nicola! i was just WAITING and wish sooooo much she had done a full series 😭😭😭 (how fun would saoirse-monica jackson be too!)

anyways, as for people who haven't been on yet — and this isn't to say i want them all to be, just that i think it's likeliest they have been asked or will be asked; i talked about who i want to see a little while ago here — it's important to consider the casting 'roles' the network has in mind when working with the producers to form a series, so i will keep that in mind too!

established comedian, typically a straight white man over 40: bill bailey, vic reeves, harry hill, geoff norcott, kevin bridges, adam buxton, ade edmondson, paul whitehouse (tommy tiernan? god i feel bad for not saying ed byrne but why do i feel like he's not gonna make it in the next few series? i'm on the fence with nick helm — unless he's friends with alex, then his chances go up significantly imo — and tom allen for some reason, and i feel like john bishop is almost too much of an ask?)

fresh talent comedian, typically a man under 40: rhys james, huge davies, ahir shah, darren harriott would be my top guesses but tbh any of the semi-recent edinburgh comedy award finalists are good bets as a majority of the winners from the last ~10 years have been on the series + throwing out tom rosenthal (i know he's not fresh fresh and also mostly an actor)...and, like, jazz emu?...just because if taskmaster know how much its audience adores weird little white twinks then they'll cast them

female or non-binary comedian: 100% sarah keyworth + harriet kemsley, maisie adam, jess fostekew, suzi ruffell. i've shifted away from betting on cariad lloyd and catherine bohart for some reason... (joanne was my no.1 lady bet for the last like 4 series hahaha)

non-comedian: this is very, very hard to predict because between comedy actors, non-comedy actors, tv presenters, news people, reality & social media stars... the potential predictions are just so endless! logically, the most likely is an established actor with a lot of comedy connections (think sally phillips, lolly adefope, liza tarbuck, sian gibson, daisy may cooper, susan wokoma; this category is where tm gets quite a few of its female contestants): matt holness, kevin eldon, amanda abbington, tom davis, sharon horgan, kathy burke, georgia tennant (also friends w alex?), su pollard, tom basden, apparently anyone from the cast of ghosts, and so on and so on and so on... + i'll also throw out maggie aderin-pocock as a serious contender + i really feel like one of the spice girls will be on new years treat

friend of alex: john robins was the prediction for the past few series, so just worth keeping in mind other people in this circle include elis james, matthew crosby, tom neenan, and so on

freebie answers because alex/greg have mentioned them before: jack dee, lorraine kelly, joanna lumley (i want jennifer saunders SO BAD give us an epic series w both ade and jen pleaseeee tm gods!!!!)

complete wild card bets that are either my instincts kicking in or my bias taking over: limmy, adam buxton, paddy mcguinness, diane morgan, daniel sloss, joel dommett, jess hynes, spencer jones??, alasdair beckett-king or josh pugh + if suzy izzard wasn't doing a big nyc show i'd say that's a good guess if only bc you know greg & alex grew up big fans

did i mention too many people?? if i had to put my money behind a single person it would be either ahir shah or sarah keyworth

these are almost all of my fr big heavy hitters when it comes to placing bets! but there are of course so many people i didn't name who i could totally see on either a main series or the ny treat — so many people just make sense and that's the beauty of taskmaster!!

[honestlyvan]

CONTROL ANNOTATED: DIDN’T WE JUST DO THIS?

(Also available on Dreamwidth!)

Hi! It’s me and @drdarling again! We wrote the Alan Wake 2 annotation for Ahti’s dialogue! I’m aware there’s been guides like this out for like three years but also I wanted to do it myself in the style of the previous guide, mostly out of curiosity to see how the style of his dialogue has changed because it’s… definitely different :’D

Once again thanks to Saikku and RH for the help with the translations, and once again Finnish is very regional and my translations are just one Finnish reading on what the fuck he is saying. The point here is to demonstrate that Ahti isn’t cryptic, he’s quite comprehensible but he’s also definitely just saying shit to mess with people.

Spoilers for all of Control past this point.

Ahti intro, points Jesse to the elevator:

There you are! You are here about the job. Janitor’s assistant. You need to go to the interview. Go that way to the elevator. Very good. I’m Ahti, the janitor, by the way. You’ll work for me. You can say I sent you. If they don’t hire you, niin johan on helvetti. There be work for the axe, take them behind the sauna, jumalauta.

“niin johan on helvetti” – cursing. “it (sure is/will be) hell” translates broadly to “there will be hell to pay”

“There be work for the axe” – “olla kirveelle töitä”, open-ended threat; something needs rectifying, with force if necessary

“take them behind the sauna” – “viedä saunan taakse”, “put someone out of their misery”, to execute someone. Saunas are usually built away from the house, so anything happening behind them would not be visible to the main house and yard.

Jesse: Ahti the janitor is a friendly face in my book.

Better than somebody with no face at all. Think about it, no face.

Jesse makes her way down to Ahti’s office in Maintenance:

Well done. You got the job. It’s place for congratulations. Jippii, saatana. (note from Autumn: Very deadpan delivery on this one that makes me lose it every time.) It happened in the last drop. I truly need an assistant.

“Jippii, saatana.” – “Yippee, (saatana)”, loanword from English.

“in the last drop” – “viime tipassa”, common idiom, “in the nick of time”

Jesse asks for help getting to the override to get the lockdown lifted:

Yes, yes. Easy peasy. It’s just around the corner. But first we need to get you working! Very small couple of hours job.

“just around the corner” – interesting case of Ahti using the correct English idiom rather than saying “behind the corner” as we’d say in Finnish.

“Very small couple of hours job.” – not an idiom, but a very common part of ESL English from a Finnish speaker, dropping verbs and particles.

Jesse inner monologues, “Something tells me it’s gonna be more than that.”:

Jahaa, jaa-a, you think there’s a dog buried in this? I can tell you are not a yesterday’s grouse’s son. That’s why you’ll make a great assistant. Very well, I’ll hit the facts on the table. Mä kyllä sanon perkele suoraan että this house has a vermin problem, a bad one. They’ve already messed up the cooling pumps and the power generators of power plant, perkele. And the pensioner inside is starting to feel the band around his head tighten. The situation needs to be fixed before the plant blows up and we all disappear like a fart in Sahara, perkele. But don’t you worry, I’ve left you clear instructions. You’ll catch the end of the thread before I go to my vacation. The works on the task board here you can do later when you have time.

“there’s a dog buried in this” – “koira haudattuna”, common idiom meaning that the situation is not what it seems, or there is a hidden (negative) side to the story being told.

“a yesterday’s grouse’s son” – “eilisen teeren poika”, common idiom, “born yesterday”

“Mä kyllä sanon perkele suoraan että” – “Perkele, I’ll say it (straight, directly), that”

“feel the band around his head tighten” – “vanne pään ympärillä kiristyy”, growing more agitated as the situation gets more serious. Sometimes you also hear “feel the band around the barrel tighten”, about situations that get more stressful before they resolve.

“like a fart in Sahara” – “kuin pieru Saharaan”, common turn of phrase, “into thin air”

“catch the end of the thread” – “langan päästä kiinni”, common saying, understanding the situation, “getting up to speed”

Jesse inner monologues, “Vacation? Right.”:

Yes. No-one's gonna cancel my holiday, or sheaths gonna rattle. But don’t worry at all. You’ll take care of it, and soon this crisis gonna be last winter’s snow. You better go now so you don’t have to run with your head as your third leg. The door in the back leads to the plant.

“sheaths gonna rattle” – “tulee tupenrapinat”, common idiom meaning that there’s going to be an argument or a fight. “The knives will be drawn”.

“last winter’s snow” – “menneen talven lumia”, water under the bridge.

“run with your head as your third leg” – “juosta pää kolmantena jalkana”, common idiom, to be in a rush.

Incidental dialogue hanging around in Ahti’s office throughout:

It’s time for a coffee break soon. Aah, kaffea.

“kaffe” – “coffee”, a Swedicism

Pensioner, yes. Northmoor, mister director. Starting to climb on the walls in his bachelor pad.

“to climb on the walls” – “kiipeillä seinille”, idiom, to act nervous and jumpy, “going spare”

Tango is a window into a Finn’s soul. It came from Suomi Finland. Anyone who says anything else is a lying goat. Perkele.

“a lying goat.” – “valepukki”, idiomatic. What it says on the tin.

(Translator’s note: Ahti is 100% lying when he says this. Autumn confirmed that this is a reference to the Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki talking about Finns inventing tango and sailors taking it to Argentina with them, but unlike Ahti we know he was joking.)

The Bureau is trying to dig a hole in their own cellar, looking for gold. Greedy will have a shitty end.

“dig a hole in their own cellar, looking for gold” – “kaivaa kultaa omasta kellarista”. As far as we can tell, this is not a saying anywhere in Finland, but as always this means it might just be an obscure one.

“Greedy will have a shitty end.” – “Ahneella on paskainen loppu”, a common saying. Exactly what it says on the tin.

Where did I leave my mop again? Pirulauta. Burnout, cosmonaut. I really need a holiday.

“Pirulauta” – “Devil, help me”, more commonly in the form “jumalauta” (god help me). The “devil” referenced in this is not a capital-letter Devil, but rather a folk devil/evil spirit.

“Burnout, cosmonaut” – Not directly a saying in Finnish. “Kosmonautti” gets used the same way “space case” does in English, he is berating himself for his attention slipping.                                             

The Containment Sector has blown to pussy’s splinters. The work won’t end even if you keep doing it.

“pussy’s splinters” – “vitun päreiksi.” “Vittu” is more properly translated as “cunt”, it’s the most common swear in modern Finnish. (Note from Saikku: In Ostrobothnia folks also say "pillun päreiksi", with "pillu" translating literally to "pussy".)

When the time comes, I’m gonna go on my vacation, like dad went into mom.

“like dad went into mom” – “kuin isä äitiin.” Exactly what it says on the tin. (Also not a saying, Ahti is just making a dirty joke.)

You know what’s the worst thing about this vermin? Saatana! The noise! They don’t appreciate good music. And that’s the reason they can go as far as pepper grows.

“go as far as pepper grows.” – “mennä niin kauas kuin pippuri kasvaa”, a common idiom. In essence, “fuck all the way off.”

The first thing I’m gonna do when I get to my vacation is to get drunk. Anyone who doesn’t respect that can go to hell’s spruce tree. Sausages on eyes. A drop won’t kill you and you can’t drown in a bucket.

“hell’s spruce tree” – “helvetin kuuseen”. This is a mistranslation from Ahti, since the more appropriate translation would be “to the backforests of hell”. Also, in essence, “fuck all the way off”.

“Sausages on eyes.” – “nakit silmillä”, common idiom, “extremely drunk”

“A drop won’t kill you and you can’t drown in a bucket.” – “Ei tippa tapa ja ämpäriin ei huku”, a reference to a pop song by Irwin Goodman of the same name about drinking lots of booze.

The Research Sector is the worst. The doctors don’t know how to clean after themselves. That Arish fellow is not a useless guy. Respects his elders. Makes good coffee. Yep yep. The janitor is the one who makes everything running and under control.

What A Mess: Burn The Trash dialogue:

Yep. Burn the trash. Throw it in the fire. Burn it all. Burn it into a reindeer, not into a moose.

“Burn it into a reindeer, not into a moose.” – (Translator’s note: *drags hands over face*) The word for ashes/cinders, “poro”, is a homonym with the word for reindeer, also “poro”. It’s a play on words.

Ahti dialogue on The Clog:

My old enemy, the Clog, is blocking the pipes. You need to deal with that shit. He’s my very old enemy, the clog, Paska.

“Paska” = shit

He’s very clever, he’s trying to sneak in. We got him caught with his hand in the fish trap. Get rid of him.

“caught with his hand in the fish trap” – “jäädä rysän päältä kiinni”, a common idiom. “Get caught with your pants down”.

It’s back. What would kill a bad thing? Paska mikä paska.

“What would kill a bad thing?” – “Mikä pahan tappaisi”, a common turn of phrase. What it says on the tin.

“Paska mikä paska” – “The shit is what it is.”

Ahti dialogue while fixing the power plant:

Broke. Gone to shit. Fix it fast. If the plant goes boom, we can throw the spoon in the corner.

“Gone to shit.” – “mennyt paskaksi”, translates directly.

“throw the spoon in the corner” – “heittää lusikka nurkkaan”, idiomatic, “buy the farm.” (This is a slightly odd translation to me, as it is being used more in the same sense as “throw in the towel”, creating the implication that dying in huge explosions is voluntary.)

It’s fried up. You need to fix it before the old twig-pants inside the plant has a shit-fit.

“the old twig-pants” – “vanha vihtahousu”, idiomatic. Broadly “that old devil”, in Finnish it’s common to have many names for evil or just strong spirits, because calling them by their proper name invites them to come bother you. (“Vihtahousu” gets translated in AW2 as “Ol’ Scratch”)

“shit-fit” – “paskahalvaus”, interesting case of a missed opportunity for a funny Finnicism in the form of “shit-stroke/shit-arrest”

Ahti dialogue while clearing darkness:

Darkness everywhere. New day, same old bloody shit, said the old lady. Like tar, but good for nothing. Get rid of it!

“New day, same old bloody shit, said the old lady.” – “Uusi päivä, samaa vanhaa paskaa, sanoi vanha täti.” This is not an idiom, but the “x, said y” format is a common one for proverbs, and a common way for people to quote wisdom from their family.

Ah, tar. Sauna, tar and booze, they’ll get you through anything! Like the winters in Finland. Long dark winters. As dark as in a sack, perkele.

“Sauna, tar and booze, they’ll get you through anything!” – this is a paraphrase of a saying that goes “if sauna, tar and booze doesn’t cure it, the disease is lethal”.

“As dark as in a sack” – “pimeää kuin säkissä”, common turn of phrase, what it says on the tin.

Ahti dialogue while cleaning up Mold:

The air in here is getting bad. The vents, they are full of mold-shit. It’s no good for you! Headache, nausea, mold-lung... Depression, but how can you tell when you’re a Finn? Helvetin home, eikö siitä nyt saatana pääse eroon.

“Helvetin home, eikö siitä nyt saatana pääse eroon.” – “(Helvetin) mold, is there really no way to get rid of it, (saatana)!” The sentence is in passive voice (“Can it not be gotten rid of”) which gets used in Finnish a lot to refer to ongoing problems.

You need to scrub that clean or there goes my reputation and honor. And then the good won’t swing.

“reputation and honor” – “maine ja kunnia”, common turn of phrase. The “honour” here does not mean personal honour, but rather community reputation.

“the good won’t swing” – “ei hyvät heilu”, common turn of phrase, usually used to threaten someone akin to “you’ll be sorry.”

More of it! This thing is completely leaving from the mitten. Perkele, saatana, helvetin helvetti. Loma tulossa ja tällästä paskaa.

“leaving from the mitten” – “lähteä lapasesta”, common idiom, “get out of hand”.

“Loma tulossa ja tällästä paskaa.” – “The holidays are coming and (we have to deal with) this kind of shit.”

Ahti dialogue while taking care of the plants:

They are very good listeners, you can tell them anything. Or you can sing to them. They like that.

For the plants in Investigations:

The plants in here have died standing up. Piruparat. Lighten them up!

“died standing up” – “kuolleet pystyyn”, common turn of phrase that gets used about neglected plants a lot.

“piruparat” – “poor devils”, again with the small first letter, referencing folk devils and evil spirits.

Ahti tells Jesse to take a break:

Hurry is not good for you. And the contract says you can take a break. Ten points and a parrot patch. Now you know what this job is all about. Could be worse. There are good benefits.

“Ten points and a parrot patch” – “kymmenen pistettä ja papukaijamerkki”, common turn of phrase, “ten points and a gold star”. Comes from an old children’s show called “Sirkus Papukaija” (“Circus Parrot”)

When you’re done with all the tasks:

Tattis! A crazy person works hard, and a wise person gets away with less. Happy vacation to me!

“Tattis” – “thank you”, a Swedicism

“A crazy person works hard, and a wise person gets away with less.” – “hullu huhkii, viisas pääsee vähemmällä”, a proverb about working smarter, not harder.

Here, have a little knick-knack as a thanks from me. Not too owly at all!

“Not too owly at all!” – “ei pöllömpi”, idiomatic, here meaning “impressive” or “well done”.

Ahti goes on vacation:

Now this boy left, said the son of Annikki Tähti. My assistant will keep work in the glove and the house standing. Lomille lomps, holiday homps.

“Now this boy left, said the son of Annikki Tähti.” – (Translator’s notes: *long pained groan*) This is a strange half-pun, half reference. The phrase usually shows up in Finnish as “nyt meikä lähti, sanoi Annikki Tähti” (“I’m leaving now, said Annikki Tähti”, a famous Finnish iskelmä singer who is not relevant to the phrase other than to create alliteration). Ahti is doubling up on the alliteration and saying complete nonsense as a result.

“keep work in the glove and the house standing” – “homma hanskassa ja tupa pystyssä”, common idiom, what it says on the tin.

“Lomille lomps, holiday homps.” – “Lomille lomps/lompsis” is a persistent popculture reference that lives on among Finnish conscripts and the rest of the culture. Ahti’s translation is quite accurate, although “lomps/lompsis” can be used as an onomatopoeia for stepping into a puddle/swamp, while “homps” means nothing. Alliterative jokes like this are common in Finnish.

Dialogue during Finnish Tango when you first enter the Ashtray Maze:

Broke. There is no way through. Badly made. Wolf shit. Somebody cut costs in the wrong place. Contact the janitor if you need to get through.

“Wolf shit” – “susipaska”. The word for wolf, “susi” is idiomatically used to mean broken, flawed or unusable, and is here a modifier for “paska” rather meaning the droppings of the animal.

Jesse contacts Ahti in The Foundation:

Aah. Aijai. Vikingit saatana. Ei kestänyt ruottalaisen veljekset kunnon löylyjä.

“Aijai” – Filler phrase. Literally means “ouch/ouchie”, but can be used to signal appreciation.

“Vikingit saatana. Ei kestänyt ruottalaisen veljekset kunnon löylyjä.” – “(Saatana), them vikings. The Swedish brothers couldn’t stand a proper löyly.” “Löyly” is both the steam from throwing water on the stove in a sauna, and the humid warmth that follows from “throwing löyly”. Ahti is making fun of the Andersons for not tolerating a hot sauna. It��s a very common shot across the border for Finns to say Swedes don’t tolerate “real” löyly. (Translator’s note: Ahti is using “ruottalaisen” rather than “ruotsalaiset”, as is typical of the Ostrobothnian dialect)

Hey, girl. For a Finn, holiday is holy, perkele.

“holiday is holy” – The word for any nationally mandated day off (+ Sundays) is “pyhäpäivä”, literally “holy day”. Extended national holidays, such as the three days around Christmas, and even long weekends can be called “pyhät”, the holies.

Did you miss me? Did you have piss in your sock? Yes. Now now now now. Bark don’t make a wound. You did good. Take my cassette player. You can borrow it. The song is a present from my friends to you. It will get you through the maze so you can do your job.

“piss in your sock” – “kusi sukassa”, common idiom, meaning “frozen with fear”

“Bark don’t make a wound.” – “ei haukku haavaa tee”, common proverb, “sticks and stones can break my bones but words can never hurt me”

Ahti in Jesse’s Hiss nightmare:

Are you sure you are not lost? Maybe you can find yourself in the Director’s Office. You should keep trying. You are getting closer. Welcome back. I knew I chose a good assistant.

Closing notes: Despite Ahti having significantly less dialogue in Control than he does in AW2, this document ended up nearly as long as the other one. All the way through working on this I’ve been commenting on how his English is both weirdly better and worse in AW2, like, his use of English overall is a lot less stumbling and his vocabulary seems larger, but at the same time he uses less English, relies on just directly saying in Finnish what he’s thinking, using a lot more filler Finnish… It’s an interesting choice overall.

I’m not sure it’s relevant to the character, but having seen it I’m now gonna be very interested to hear what he sounds like if he shows up in Control 2 or other relevant RCU projects :3c Hope you had fun, and maybe learned something new.

[kumezyzo]

Hey! Love all your work, could you do a scene where sapnap and reader are roommates for a while and eventually he kisses them on a random night and they’re super awkward cute the day after😭😭 sort of like a new girl jess and nick type thing

tysm!!

so, ive literally never watched new girl 😭😭 but i hope this is to your standards 😊

this is me after writing it... i made it more angsty before the fluff. please forgive me 😭😭

anyway, enjoy! or dont :) m.list

you and roommate!sapnap started rooming together as to be able to pay rent. you met through a mutual friend who knew you were both looking for a roommate. neither of you are friends with this person anymore, tho lol

when you moved in together, you kinda avoided each other and minded your own business. you knew he was a gamer because who else stayed up that late yelling into a mic. but it was fine because he paid for a large part of the rent.

then, one night, the power went out.

you heard a knock on your door as you tried to flick your desk light back on. you got up and opened the door in confusion.

"hey, did your power go out too?" sap asked, peering into your room with his hands playing with the hem of his hoodie.

"yeah, i guess," you said, stepping out to look around the apartment. he followed after you as you took note that the microwave and oven were both missing the blinking green time.

"shit, i thought i did something," he joked, looking around awkwardly. you gave him a pity laugh, moving to go back to your room. he followed behind you. "did you wanna... hang out? my pc died, and i don't really have anything else to do..."

and that started the more-than-acquaintances relationship between you and roommate!sapnap. you two went out for a walk in hopes of coming back when the power came back and had a normal conversation for the first time. and as time went on, you got closer.

quarantine was definitely the turning point for you and roommate!sapnap. you were spending the most time together and truly enjoying eachothers company. and that's when it was hard for him to hide his streaming from you.

roommate!sapnap made sure to ask if you wanted his stream to know about you and respected whatever decision you made. and when his viewers learned you were his roommate, they truly started to love you from your few appearances.

and obviously, that led to roommate!sapnap telling you about dream and george. they already knew about you... and he got to introduce you to them over Discord. he was glad to see you get along with them.

you and roommate!sapnap even started cuddling when you'd watch movied together. it started off with you sharing a blanket. then you would lean on his shoulder. then his arm would naturally curl around your waist.

but then the months of this bliss ended. and roommate!sapnap told you he was dropping out of college.

"so... i was thinking..." he trailed off as you took your last bite of your burrito bowl. it was his idea to get Chipotle for dinner.

"mhmm?" you hummed playfully, urging him to continue.

"i was thinking about dropping out..." he said, looking at your face diligently for a reaction. your chewing stopped abruptly as you stared at him blankly for a moment. then you looked away, swallowing your food. it suddenly turned sour.

you took a sip of your water, "when did you come up with this?"

"I'm making more money now than i would if i finished school," he shrugged, looking away from you. "and... dream asked me to move in with him."

"and... you said yes?" you asked, sadly. he nodded. "wow, you ready to get rid of me so soon." you joked, smiling painfully at him.

"no, no," he immediately denied, catching you off guard. he moved closer to you. "i really like living with you. like... really like it."

you smiled at him softly now, "well, it was a nice run then." he nodded solemnly, and you began to get up slowly, throwing away your trash.

when you started to walk back into your room, roommate!sapnap grabbed your wrist. it was a suprise when he lightly pulled you closer to him. your stomach erupted into butterflies being so close, face to face with him.

"i like you," he basically whispered. you searched his eyes to see if he was lying. but it didn't seem like he was. "i just needed to tell you that..."

you nodded, your eyes on his lips. and before you could think, your lips were against his. and you weren't sure who started it. all you knew was that you liked how soft his lips were. they were as plump as you thought they'd be.

then, roommate!sapnap pulled away and looked at you with a dazed expression before pecking your lips again and running off to his room. he left you sufficiently surprised and conflicted.

the next morning, you were sure you had dreamed it all up. but then you remembered how he was truly planning on moving to florida. and he kissed you, and you weren't sure if you could see him again so soon.

you walked out of your room to go to the bathroom, heat rushing through you when you passed his door. when you brushed your teeth, you felt a pang of hurt looking at his toothbrush, knowing it would be gone if he did leave.

and you were more than surprised when you saw roommate!sapnap already in the kitchen, drinking from a half empty water bottle. you both froze, remembering the kiss you shared just the night before. you gave him a nod of acknowledgment before starting on your morning coffee.

you knew he was staring at you as you poured yourself your morning coffee. your face was hot, and you felt every slight movement he made. you sat away from him, scared that if you got any closer, you'd maybe scare him away.

but roommate!sapnap decided he should say something to ease the silence.

"about the kiss..." he started, and you glanced at him briefly, trying to engulf yourself in the brewed drink. "i didn't hate it..."

you felt more butterflies in your stomach, starting batting against your ribcage. "i... didn't either."

he nodded, although you barely saw it out of the corner of his eye. "did you want to... do it again... maybe...?"

roommate!sapnap you couldn't stop kissing you after you gave him the greenlight. you giggled against him when he groaned something along the lines off, 'i was dreaming about this all night.'

but he truly couldn't stop after that day. it was easy with the cuddling and the night walks and talks. but he was actually moving out soon. so he took it upon himself to make a real move.

"will you be my girlfriend?" he asked you randomly as you two cleaned up the snacks you laid out for movie night.

you turned to him, shocked. "i thought... aren't we... isnt that what this is?"

his eyebrows furrowed as he thought for a second, a pout forming on his lips as he crossed his arms. you laughed, walking over to him and planting a peck on his lips.

"i would love to be your girlfriend," you told him, making him look away shamefully. "took you long enough to ask."

he rolled his eyes playfully, "whatever," he laughed, kissing you deeply.

although it was an end of an era, you both knew it would work out. you two would make it work out.

i lowkey hate this so much. i hope you enjoyed it, tho. -Nony

p.s. free palestine

[threalcrabbysamantha]

you know Kataang really kind of perfectly encapsulates the issues I have with a lot of friends-to-lovers dynamics

Let me preface this by saying: I have a fraught relationship with friends to lovers. Some of it I love (Jess and Nick from New Girl, Jake and Amy from BK99), but there’s a version of friends to lovers that I absolutely despise. I call it the Power Fantasy F2L.

In this version of friends to lovers, often one person pines for the other oblivious one, who, usually after some romantic trials and tribulations of their own, turn and realize that their friend was worth loving all along. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth for a couple reasons, namely that often at least one person in this pairing is treating the other one very badly (cough cough Colin being a dick to Penelope behind her back at the end of season 2 of Bridgerton).

More than anything though, I think the problem is that most of these relationships don’t belong in this category at all because the pairing is never really friends to begin with.

Let’s look at the most classic example of friends to lovers: Jim and Pam from the Office. Now look, I love Jim and Pam, okay? Ultimately I do like that they end up together, but they’ve never reached a favorite ship of mine by any means because they have PROBLEMS, namely that Jim doesn’t really like Pam all that much.

Okay yes it’s a bold statement, and some people are going to hate me for saying it, but Jim is not interested in Pam’s friendship ever in the show. He’s interested in being with her romantically, and that’s why he confesses that he loves her when she’s engaged (and clearly expects her to reciprocate), then leaves when she rejects him, and then when he comes back he does not try in any genuine way to rekindle their friendship. Of course, he’s not obligated to, and it makes sense if his feelings are hurt and he’s crushed and he needs space. But it’s hard to claim that he values Pam’s friendship, since he does everything in his power not to nurture their friendship in season three. She’s the object of his desires, not his friend.

This is true of Ross and Rachel on Friends as well. It’s also true of Stiles and Lydia in Teen Wolf, though I’d argue they manage to walk that one back a little bit because he kind of releases his obsession with her somewhat before they get together.

And it’s true of Kataang.

Is Aang really Katara’s friend? Maybe more than Jim is Pam’s friend, but when someone has girlfriend-zoned you from the first moment you met, I’m inclined to think you aren’t really friends, are you? Aang‘s obsession with Katara means he can’t really see her (note his inability to understand her during the Southern Raiders episode especially) and causes him to run head first past any of her own feelings to center his own need to be with her romantically.

How is that friendship?

And maybe this is all very personal. I know there are people who appreciate this version of friends to lovers. People went feral for Polin this spring, and Jim and Pam are maybe one of The Favorite Couples of all time. And Kataang obviously has its fans. But to me, friends to lovers is only satisfying if it’s like Jess and Nick from New Girl: two people who love each other so much, it doesn’t matter what form their relationship takes. They’re in each other’s corner, even if that corner takes them to a different romantic interest. They really see each other, flaws and all, and it’s that recognition that ultimately brings them together.

[7-sided-dice]

✨ Fence headcannons✨/silly scenarios i can see them in ig (cus looking at the fence tag was the whole reason i made this acc despite posting fence content like never)

-Nicholas can play Table tennis really well (i can see him learning through playing with his friends in his neighbours rickety ping pong setup and worn out racket) (it matches well with his strengths too like speed + reaction time + good eye for opponents weak spots)

-Aiden is really good at remembering names and faces if its related to drama (or if they are Harvards ex💀)

-Aiden is either abysmal or a god at golf and i cant seem to decide which vibes make the most sense

-Most of Eugenes family are/used to be athletes or plays a sport recreationally ( its just vibes man like 🤷‍♀️)

-Jesse has probably tried horseback riding more than once and always doesn’t get along with the horse

-Kyle probably got it worse than Jesse when horseback riding and just never attempted to ride a horse again💀

-In any school related events where modelling is involved- you know Aiden and Bobby are the Model x Makeup artist/Costume design duo like they always eat

-I know its prolly not canon but wouldnt it be funny if Seiji had the whole pajama get up but without the socks- and he doesnt cover his feet with a blanket idk would it be a bit silly

-Jasper(?) (the red head beanie friend of Nicholas) was probably closest in figuring out Nicks family lore without Nick telling him

-Scratch that the closest was when a graduated Bon posted a youtube video about the conspiracy of Nicholas and Jesse being brothers when they both competed at the olympics.

-In my head the redhead beanie friend of Nicholas does street dance (this is what happens when you give me a reoccurring side character with two lines in the whole series)

-Star wars fan Tanner Star trek fan Kally need I say more

-I dont know if Kings Row has a sports festival where they shuffle athletes around sports but- (this is me spreading my Nick can play table tennis agenda)

-Harvard picks up baking specifically for Aiden (/delusional)

-Aidens favorite dessert are cupcakes because they are the first valentines he has ever gotten from Harvard (and anyone) (even if they said it was a “Friend” valentine) (/delusional but let me dream)

-Halverton Fence team plays dnd every month with Scott as the dm who is setting up an arc with the false hydra to practice his gaslighting skills💀

-Wouldn’t it be interesting if Nicks mom used to fence and thats how she and Robert met

-Aiden and Harvard have watched all Barbie movies and have ranked every single one of them

some of these feel very ooc i think but n we get fence content annually so technically each character is ooc per volume🤷‍♀️

feel free to share your thoughts i love yapping abt fence

[vickytaa]

Those Blue Eyes"

Part 2.

(part 1)

"Can you move idiot?" Matt said.

I felt his blue eyes on me.

how could he be such a bastard? He didn't even bother to say hi.

As I walked away from the department, I felt my mind burning. How could he be so rude? Did I do something?.

3:00 pm

I was trying to do some homework when I heard my phone buzzing. It must be Nick.

Nick

heyy girll, do you have any plans for today??

Y/n

hii, nop. I was doing hw, but I wouldn't mind taking a break :)

Nick

Alright, wanna come here to start the science project??

Y/n

on my way.

I was so excited, I dressed up with a white T-shirt and grey pants.

I walked downstairs and grabbed my keys.

While going to Nick's house, I was looking at every building. It was all too different from home. My vision started to get blurred. I missed home. Family. Friends. I haven't been a full week yet, and I already missed home.

When I arrived, I asked myself if I really wanted to be there. Before I could think of an answer, the door opened, and there he was, standing right in front of the door. "Nickkk!" he smiled and stepped away, inviting me to come into the house.

As soon as I passed the door, I could feel his presence, his eyes on me. I felt like I was in another dimension. Why? I don't even like him.

I turn so I can see him sitting on the couch next to Chris. He smiled, and I thought I might pass out. He is such a dickhead but that doesn't stop him from being so fucking pretty.

We sat on the dining table and we all started to take out our books.

"So, here it's says, 'To start, choose a human body system'." Chris says

"I think we should do Digestive sistem, we all know about it and it's the easiest one." I suggested, and they all agreed except Matt. He was quiet, so I looked at him to ask again, and his blue eyes were staring at me. Our eyes met. I know I wasn't the only one who felt the tension in the air. Why in school was he so different? Is he the same person?

"Uh, yeah, sure" He says, as a little smile formed on his face.

We started to search images and information about it.

As we were getting tired, I heard Chirs say, "we should play Mario Kart."

"Suree, I love this game," I said, excited to play, a bit nostalgic because it was my brother and I 's favorite video game.

While playing you could see how good I was. I was killing them. And there faces where priceless.

And when it finished I was so happy, laughing at them, but not in a bad way. They were laughing too, but more because Chris was shocked, he has always been the best and you debated him like nothing.

Soon the sun came down and I knew I had to be early at home so I grabbed my things, and I looked at them, smiling, they looked like they were having a great time, me too, so I thank them and made my way out.

☆

When I arrived I saw Jess sitting on the couch while looking at her phone.

"I told you it would be easy for you," She whines. I giggle. "So, tell me about it"

"They are triplets, Nick, Chris and Matt.

Nick is so sweet and funny, but Chris is the funniest and weirdest." I laughed."And Matt.. he is so handsome, but I don't really understand him, I know it's the first day I met him, but in school, he is a person, and out of it is another completely different."

"Don't worry, girl, they are men. Nobody understand them." And we both laughed.

When bedtime arrived, I laid down, closed my eyes, and there he was, again.

Those Blue Eyes he got, his brown hair, and the way he could undress you just by looking at you was unique.

And my memory of him staring at me and then smiling was all over my thoughts. I couldn't take it out of my mind.

But then I remembered, tomorrow was my first volleyball practice here. I'm so nervous. What if I don't get with any of my teammates? would they be better than me?

My mind was killing me slowly.

☆

Matt's Pov

When I first saw her enter the class that day, I was shocked. How is she so beautiful? But damn, she looks stunning.

When the teacher said the project was with groups of four, I looked at Chris and Nick, and they asked if we should ask her to be with us. It was her first day, so I thought she might have no friends yet.

"Hii, my name is Y/n." I tried to look everywhere, avoiding her. I knew that if I looked at she, I might be an hour staring at her.

Later that day, I was walking towards the PE department, and suddenly, I saw her. She can't know that I like her, even if I just met her, and didn't know her last name or her favorite food. "Can you move idiot?" I said. Wow, now she thinks I hate her. Why did I say that? She is not Chris or Nick to talk to her like that.

☆

Nick said Y/n was coming, so I tried to look as good as I could.

When I saw her pass by the door, my heart started to go faster and faster, but when she looked at me, I pretended that I didn't care, although I had been waiting for this moment all day.

We sat at the diner table, and we started to take out our books.

I couldn't take my eyes off her. I tried, but just couldn't.

"So, here says 'To start, choose a human body system'. " Chris said. "I think we should do Digestive sistem, we all know about it and it's the easiest one." Y/n suggested. I wasn't paying attention to her words because of his beauty. Then, she looked at me like she was going to ask me again. Our eyes met. It was such a beautiful moment. Wait, we are talking, and my brothers are looking at me. "Uh, yeah, sure." I knew she could feel the tension between us.

Then, when we were playing Mario Kars, I was actually shocked. How is she so good at this? She is breaking our three asses. When the race finished, I saw Chris's face and started laughing so much that my stomach hurt. Such a good time.

Then, I watched her leave, a bit sad because it's been a long time since I hadn't laughed that hard.

As I fell asleep, all I could think of was that 5 seconds when our eyes met. Y/n couldn't leave my mind. Why? I barely know her.

☆☆☆

_______________________________________

Omgg I'm so excited for what is coming nexttt. :))

hope you liked it.

Remember that my first language is not English, if I have any mistake let me know :)

Final part

Tag list: @amelia-sturniolo3

[deathblacksmoke]

Sweet Disposition // Prologue

Pairing: Nick Ruffilo x Noah Sebastian

Word Count: 1.1K

Series Summary: 6 months after the conclusion of the Dramamine series, an overworked Nick is talked into taking some much-needed time off from the bar and decides to take Noah on a road trip.

Content Warnings: None in this one! They will be updated by chapter.

Author's Note: I figured it was time to actually start the series I promised and I hope y’all enjoy <3

banner by @darksigns-exe 🩷 || taglist sign-up

The minutes drag by painfully, his eyelids drooping as he trudges through the night and waits for Noah to walk through the door. They’ve both been working a lot lately — Noah’s shop has seen an uptick in business after the closure of another neighborhood spot and the open mic nights have taken off. Bud added an extra night every other week, and the bar is seeming a lot more busy overall. At the end of the day, he’s grateful for the extra tips.

They’ve fallen into somewhat of a routine together. Noah leaves the shop late and comes into the bar to keep Nick company until it’s time to go. More often than not, it’s well into the small hours of the morning, with no time or energy for anything other than falling into bed when they come home. It’s not ideal for them, but they make do, squeezing their mini date nights into Nick’s breaks and the lulls and when he pawns patrons off on Folio now that he’s fully trained. They seem to like him a lot better, anyway.

His phone buzzes in his pocket and he tries but ultimately fails to hide his giddy excitement. He feels like a teenager again as he reaches for it, hoping for a text from Noah telling him he’s outside or on his way. He finds he can’t help it when he reads the text and his smile fades.

Running a little late Nicky. I’ll be there around 11.

In a flash, it sets in how little time they get with each other these days. They’re lucky if they have a day off that lines up. They get a few dinners a week, maybe a lazy day at home together every now and again. He wonders briefly why they don’t coordinate their schedules better before it occurs to him for the very first time how quick he is to pick up a shift when Jesse’s sick, or when Folio wants to go out of town, or just because.

Without his own permission, he’s allowed himself to fall back into his old habits, spending every moment at the bar. He tries to keep his mind from traveling back to the last time he allowed this behavior from himself, how that had ended up for him. 

He’s startled out of a trance by a shove and looks around to see Jolly towering over him with a curious look on his face.

“Is there a reason poor Folio is juggling a full bar and you’re in your own world over here?”

He considers his options, debates whether he wants to get back to work or tell Jolly the truth. The longer he thinks about it, the more he finds he doesn’t want to be here right now — he wants to be with Noah. He decides to go for the truth.

“I miss Noah,” he admits, shrinking into himself as Jolly’s expression softens. “I’m here all the time, and I miss Noah.”

He doesn’t love feeling pitied under Jolly’s gaze. It makes him feel so terribly small. He hates when people feel bad for him, but stops momentarily to consider that maybe it's exactly what he needs.

He doesn’t want to think about how easy it would be for these old habits to eat up his relationship with Noah until there’s nothing left, just like they did with his last one. He can’t bear to think about this one going down the same path, these behaviors to set a precedent, marking him a failure forever and, worst of all, costing him Noah.

“Are you finally going to take the time off like I’ve been begging you to?” Jolly asks, interrupting his thoughts. “You’re here all the time by your own choice, Nick. If you want to take a few weeks, we have enough staff, we can work out the schedule.”

He goes back to the first time Jolly ever suggested a vacation — more than 3 years ago, before everything went south. He hasn’t been away from the bar for more than 4 days in a row since before he lost Jasmine, and the thought of it makes his stomach turn.

A piece of him feels that he’s being overly dramatic, but he says it anyway. “I couldn’t stomach losing him, too, Jolls.”

Jolly chuckles, but Nick doesn’t feel judged.

“Here,” Jolly starts, taking the rag from Nick’s shoulder and throwing it over his own. “I’ll finish out the night with Folio while you go do whatever you need to do. Let me know what you decide and we’ll figure out the schedule.”

He plants a wet kiss on Jolly’s cheek before turning on his heels and leaving, not needing to be told twice. He briefly catches the grimace Jolly’s face shifts into, but only throws him a thanks! before slamming the front doors open.

Nick peers through the front door of the shop for a few moments, admiring how cute Noah looks focused on whatever he’s doing on his computer. He basks in it a little, watching him at work, before tapping on the glass.

Noah’s expression is confused for only a moment, before his mouth spreads into a grin. As he moves from behind the counter to come open the door, Nick feels giddy, like this is something so fresh. It still feels like that with Noah, sometimes.

“What are you doing here?” Noah asks, his brow furrowing with confusion again. Nick just wraps his arms around him, pulls him tightly into a hug, presses a kiss to his cheek.

“Jolly let me go early tonight,” Nick offers, leaving out all the internal suffering that led up to it. It’s not something Noah needs to worry about. “I wanted to ask you something.”

“I’m listening,” Noah says, closing and locking the door behind Nick and leading him inside.

“Do you think Autumn and the guys can look after the store without you for a couple weeks?” He asks — Noah gives him a suspicious look, but nods anyway. “Wanna go away with me?”

Noah’s eyes light up, and it’s that joy that Nick lives for. “Where would we go?”

He pulls Noah’s face down to his, a hand cupping his jaw. He brushes a thumb over his cheek, but doesn’t let their lips meet yet.

“Wherever you want,” he offers, watches entranced as Noah’s cheeks pink, his face spreading into a grin again, his pretty brown eyes sparkling. Nick is so in love with him. “Just say yes.”

Noah nods as he pulls Nick in for a kiss.

tags <3

@circle-with-me @darksigns-exe @baddestomens @ladyveronikawrites @sitkowski

@somebodyels3 @sorrowsofsilence @collapsedglasshouses @cookiesupplier @screamsinsilver

@spicywhenspeaking @lma1986 @abiomens @agravemisstake @cncohshit

@xserenax-13 @dominuslunae @poisongirl616 @iknownothingpeople @thisbicc

[toomuchracket]

happiness

my first fic for everyone's parasocial husband ross! that beautiful man RADIATES comfort and domesticity, and frankly it's a crime that there are like no fics of him as a dad on here, so that's what this is: ross and his wifey enjoying a chill day at home with their month-old daughter (featuring excited best friend matty, because it's funny and you're all rabid matty stans (mood, tbf)). also, spoiler alert for the season 2 finale of New Girl? enjoy!

stifling a yawn with your hoodie-covered fist, you pad into the kitchen of your house, the chill of the tiled floor noticeable even through your socks. ross, clad in a hoodie much like your (well, his) own, is fiddling about with the espresso machine you guys got as a wedding present from adam and carly. sunshine streams through the window and glints off the ring on his left hand, which makes your cheeks lift into a smile.

coming up behind your husband, you wrap your arms as best you can around his muscular torso, pressing your forehead to his back and inhaling his scent, a heady mix of sandalwood aftershave and laundry detergent from the hoodie. without turning around, ross takes your left hand in his and kisses it softly just below your wedding ring, then speaks. "she settled down ok, i take it?"

"went out like a light," you reply. "she is your daughter, after all."

ross chuckles, still busying himself with the coffee contraption. "not like her mother, fighting to stay awake despite exhaustion," he mocks, turning in your hold to look at you pointedly, although there's a playful sparkle in his dark eyes. ross passes you a steaming espresso cup - comically tiny in his massive hands - and plants another soft kiss on your forehead. "thought you might need that, my love."

you murmur a thank you and tip the contents of the cup into your mouth, wincing at the overwhelming initial combination of heat and bitterness. it softens into something pleasant as it travels down your throat, though, and you shiver as you feel the caffeine take effect.

ross, ever-attentive to your every move, places his hands on your waist, eyes scanning your face for any sign of discomfort. "you ok?"

"mhmm."

ross doesn't seem convinced. "you look exhausted, love. do you want another coffee? or a nap?"

you smirk as you place the empty cup onto the counter, bringing your hands up to rest on your husband's broad chest. "trying to get me into bed, mr macdonald?"

"always, mrs macdonald," ross quips back, his face softening and his grip on your waist relaxing. he leans down, you rise up on tiptoe, and your lips meet somewhere in the middle. despite the back-and-forth innuendo, there's no desire behind the kiss - well, none more than usual, when your husband looks as good as he does. it's tender, soft, romantic; just dreamy, really.

you open your eyes slowly as ross pulls his lips away from yours and trails them gently down towards your neck, smiling as his facial hair tickles your bare skin. he presses a soft kiss under your chin, then whispers in your ear. "d'you think we'll have time to watch an episode of new girl before bean wakes up?"

"god, domestic life really has changed you," you tease, stroking your husband's head as he nuzzles into you. "you used to sneak me away for quickies when we had any free time, and now you just want to watch sitcoms."

"it's your fault, bloody putting it on for a rewatch and getting me hooked," ross laughs. he begins pressing kisses into your neck; softly at first, then slightly more passionate, which makes your head spin a little. "but i'm more than happy to go back to the quickies as soon as we've been given the go-ahead to do so. always wanted to shag a milf, actually."

"easy, tiger," you giggle, pulling ross up to plant a quick kiss on his lips before leading him to the living room. "come on, let's see what jess and nick are up to today."

the two of you settle in your usual position on the couch; you perched sideways on ross' lap, his head resting on your chest, a soft tartan blanket covering you both. you control the remote, letting out a quiet whoop when you see that elaine's big day is today's episode. "oh, this is a good one!"

"you've said that about every episode so far."

"i know, but... shut up, and just watch."

ross chuckles, but does as he's told. you half-watch the episode (admittedly, you've seen it four times already) and half-watch him, smiling at his reactions; his quiet "aww" when schmidt sees cece in her wedding outfit, his cringes at nick and winston's antics, and - your favourite - his shocked gasp when elaine finally appears onscreen. "taylor swift?!"

his handsome face is so incredulous that you can't help but laugh. "told you it was a good episode."

"i can't believe they just revealed taylor swift like that," ross mutters, in obvious shock. his eyes widen, and he turns to face you. "wait, is this how the fans felt when we brought her out onstage at the o2 that time?"

you smile, opening your mouth to answer affirmatively; before you can, though, faint cries start to come through the baby monitor on the coffee table. clicking off the tv and throwing the blanket to one side, you and ross peel yourselves off the couch to stand. "well, we might not have made it through the whole episode" you begin, stretching slightly. "but at least bean had the good grace to wait until we'd seen taylor before she woke up and wanted attention."

ross laughs, grabbing your hand and tugging you towards the stairs. "prioritising taylor swift over her own needs? she's more like you than we thought."

you hit him gently on the arm. your daughter's cries increase in volume as you near her nursery, and even though you know she's alright the sound makes your heart ache. "it's alright, princess, we're coming!"

the two of you enter the sage-painted room and make a beeline for the crib, where your tiny girl whines and wriggles in discomfort. she stops crying as soon as ross gently lifts her up, cooing softly at her. "don't worry, bean, daddy's got you."

you caress the shock of dark hair on her little head, clearly inherited from her father; the big eyes she gazes at you sweetly with, though, are all yours. "do you need changing, princess? i think you do," you say, looking up at your husband. "do you want me to-"

"i've got her, love," ross replies, kissing your head as he carries the baby to her changing station. "will you grab me another outfit for her, though?"

"sure," you say, heading to the faded white wardrobe in the corner of the room as ross cleans up and babbles to your daughter ("for someone so tiny, you're quite good at being so stinky... but you're sooooo cute, you're just like mummy, she's cute too"), which makes your heart swell with love. you rifle through the - honestly excessive - collection of baby clothes hanging up neatly, until a black onesie with a familiar white decal on the front makes you stop in your tracks. perfect.

as you head back over to ross and the baby, anticipation of showing them your outfit pick growing with every step, the doorbell rings. ross and you lock eyes, confused; you hand him the onesie, without looking to see his reaction, and hurry downstairs to answer the door. nearing it, you can see a familiar mess of dark curls through the glass panes, which comes into focus as you open the door.

across the threshold, laden with a mixture of gift and shopping bags, stands an extremely tanned and beaming matty. "surprise!" he cries, ever the drama queen. "there she is, my new favourite milf!"

"eww, freak," you faux-grumble, pulling him as best you can into a hug while avoiding being bashed by his bags. "come in. how was louis' wedding?"

"well, you know my brother. it was full-on, but good," replies matty, following you into the hallway and putting his stuff down on the ground. "would've been better if someone hadn't stolen the limelight by going into labour the day of the rehearsal dinner, though. it was all anyone could talk about - everyone got off their flights into milan and immediately went 'did you hear baby macdonald's on the way?'. you couldn't have kept your legs shut for a few more days?"

you glare at matty for a few seconds, then the two of you break into snorts of laughter. aside from your literal husband, matty is the person in the band you're closest to; the two of you are best friends, a double act built on awful senses of humour and dubiously-fake pretentiousness, and he's the only person in the world who loves ross almost as much as you do.

when you stop laughing, matty places both hands on your shoulders and looks at you from arm's length-away. "nah, for real, you look well. i'm glad," he says, smiling earnestly at you and hugging you properly. he then claps his hands together once, a signifier of a change in conversation topic. "now - where's my best friend, and where's this new baba i've heard so much about?"

"in her room," you say as you nod towards the staircase. you begin to climb up, matty hot on your heels. his obvious excitement is quite touching, but you can't resist throwing a dig at him whenever possible. "and she has a name, you know."

"a flipping indecipherable one" your friend mutters under his breath.

you whip around when you reach the first landing, glaring at him seriously this time. "don't you fucking start, healy."

matty raises his hands in defensive apology. "christ, sorry! i just don't know how to pronounce some scottish names. is it like eye- oh."

you've reached the baby's room, where ross stands in the doorway with your daughter in his arms. she looks so small against him, one tiny hand reaching up in an attempt to play with the cord of his hoodie. your husband grins at matty - standing statue-still with an awestruck expression - and speaks softly. "matthew, this is eilidh."

you both watch your friend watch your daughter, his mouth moving soundlessly as he inputs the pronunciation of her name into his brain. ay-ly. matty's eyes, which appear to be welling up, flick up to ross', and he sniffles through a grin. "god, rass, you're such a dilf."

"agreed," you pipe up, smirking at your husband.

ross shifts the still-awake eilidh so she's tucked safely into the curve of one arm and laughs, minding his volume so as to not freak her out. with the other, he reaches for his best friend; they each wrap an arm around the other's shoulders, as they must have done a million times in their lives. "so, what d'you think of your new goddaughter?"

for the second time in less than five minutes, matty freezes. his jaw drops, and he looks between ross' face and yours in utter shock. "for real? i'm her godfather?" you nod, smiling, and matty's eyes start to well up again. he leans over to look at eilidh, who placidly returns his gaze, and the tears begin to fall. "she's so- oh my god, she's wearing self-titled merch!"

matty crouches to the floor and covers his face, fully sobbing. ross quirks his lip at you in confusion, then pats matty's head gently with his free hand. "i know, mate, her outfit did me in too."

"she's just so little," comes the reply from the floor, voice wracked with sobs. matty drags himself up to standing, wiping his eyes. "christ, i can't cope."

for some inane reason, your maternal instinct seems to kick in at the sight of him. you walk over to your friend and wrap your arms around him comfortingly; matty rests his head on your shoulder, his chest still heaving sporadically as he continues to cry. "what's all this about, mate?" you say softly, in a tone not dissimilar to the one you use to address your month-old daughter. "i thought you hated kids?"

"i do, mostly," matty replies, voice muffled by your (ross') hoodie. he begins crying harder again. "but she's half of two of my favourite people in the world, so she's perfect, and she's just so tiny!"

you're not sure if it's the postnatal hormones coursing through you, or if it's pride in getting matthew healy to be serious and emotional for once, but you feel your bottom lip tremble the way it does before you start to cry. ross, too, is welling up as he wraps his free arm around matty; soon, the only person in the room not crying is eilidh, who stares at you all in what appears to be judgement. matty is the first to notice her expression, a laugh lifting his tear-stricken cheeks. "wow, kid, you really do look like your mum."

you smack matty lightly on the back of the head, moving to stand next to your husband and daughter. you lift eilidh out of ross' arms, holding her up so your faces are level; she beams toothlessly at you, chubby hands reaching for your cheeks, earning a short refrain of "awws" from your audience. after kissing her on the forehead briefly, you turn her so she's between you and ross, all three members of your little family facing matty. "right, we need you to settle an argument."

matty's brow furrows. "oh?"

ross rolls his eyes. "jesus, not this again."

you ignore your husband's input and continue talking. "yeah. whose nose has she inherited, mine or his? we can't tell."

"hmmmm," matty ponders. he steps closer to the three of you, scrutinising ross first, then you, then stops in front of eilidh, directly addressing her. "i don't know whose nose you got either, darlin', but on you it is very, very cute."

he punctuates the end of his sentence with a tentative boop to your daughter's tiny nose, which makes her gurgle happily. matty giggles, and you turn to look lovingly at ross, who reciprocates your expression as he helps you hold eilidh.

matty steps back again, surveying the scene before him adoringly; his two best friends and the baby they made together, the love in the room palpable in the air. "i love you guys. this just feels... right. like this is how life was always supposed to be for you."

you're inclined to agree.

[lucygxybaird]

thank god i'm yours - billinea

but i came to life when i first kissed you. the best me has his arms around you, you make me better than i was before. thank god i'm yours. the worst me is just a long-gone memory, you put a new heartbeat inside of me. thank god i'm yours. Finally, Billy asks Dulcinea a question he's been wanting to ask her for a very long time. (at last at last part four - I think?? - in my billinea series)

Billy has spent his youth courting danger, dancing with death so often that he follows the steps in his dreams, waking up sweat-soaked and shaking. Often, the dreams are simply memories, playing out the way they always do — the blacksmith falling limp on top of him, heavy as guilt; Jesse Evans, wrapped in moonlit shadows that sink into a snowy forest, nodding at him to go. 

Other times, though, what could have been comes back to haunt him. The makeshift noose, fashioned from a bed sheet and tied to the top bar of his cell, tightens inexorably before he can free himself. The bullet that nicks his leg and brings him to his knees on the dirt road winding through Lincoln pins him down, and he crawls for cover, hearing footsteps coming after him and knowing he’s not fast enough. 

When he wakes up, limbs jerking like a marionette cut from its strings, his heart lodged firmly in his throat, it always takes a few moments for the fear coursing through his blood to dissolve away. He’ll lay there, staring up at the ceiling, letting the steady sound of Dulcinea’s breathing and his daughter’s soft snuffles act like a balm on his frazzled mind. 

Still, he thinks he’s calmer in those moments, waking up from nightmares woven with threads from his past, than he is right now. It’s ridiculous, he knows. It’s downright foolish. This isn’t a matter of life or death, no one will arrest him, or shoot him, or even raise their voice to him. 

Oh, no, it’s just that he’s asking the love of his life to marry him. With a ring that once belonged to his dearly departed mother, for that matter. Not really so serious at all! No! Definitely not. It’s fine! Fine, fine, fine, fine— 

“Billy, for God’s sake, are you breathing?” 

Charlie is watching him from beneath the wide brim of his hat, and even in its shadow, Billy can catch the white gleam of his smile. Billy’s face goes warm, and he ducks his head, bringing up one hand to scratch roughly at the back of his head. The two of them are standing beneath the oak tree growing in the front yard, and despite the shade, Billy can feel sweat matting the curls at the nape of his neck. 

“Have you ever heard a word so often that it just doesn’t mean a damn thing anymore?” he asks. “I swear I’ve told myself it’s gonna be fine so many times, that word is just a little buzzin’ sound.” He waved his hand as if shooing away a bothersome bug. “Like a fly.” 

Or more like a mosquito, the way it keeps stinging him. Fine — she’s going to hate the ring — fine — you’ll stumble over your shoes, you’ll trip over your tongue, you’ll do both — fine — and end up elbowing her in the face — fine — 

She could say no —

It’s going to be fine!

“Billy,” Charlie says, taking him by the shoulders. “You’re thinking about this far too hard. Lemme ask you a question — do you love her?”

It’s so preposterously obvious what the answer is that Billy actually chokes on it, spluttering like Charlie has just thrown water in his face. “Well, I — of course I do!” 

“Okay.” Charlie gives him a little shake. “And do you trust me?”

Billy blinks at him. “Sure, Charlie, with my life.” 

Another little shake, and this time, Billy can’t help but smile ever so slightly. 

“Okay,” Charlie says again. “So trust me when I tell you that you don’t have anything to worry about. Dulcinea loves you. You love her. That’s all that matters. That, and your little girl.” 

Charlie squeezes his shoulders before letting go. “She’s gonna say yes,” he adds. “I don’t have any doubt about that.”

Behind them, the front door opens, and Manuela steps out onto the porch, Kathleen in her arms. Dulcinea is right on her heels, a litany of instructions bubbling on her lips. “And she likes to sleep with her blue blanket, not the yellow one — the yellow one is alright for naps, I think, but it is too scratchy for her to lay with all night — ”

“Dulcinea,” Manuela interrupts gently. “I beg of you, do not worry. She and young Billy will play together, we will feed them their dinner, and we will put them safely to bed. I promise.” 

“I—” Dulcinea flushes. “Oh, I know. Forgive me, please…it is just — she has never been away from home before.” 

Billy crosses the lawn, climbing up on the porch, and even before he has his feet planted on the boards, Dulcinea is reaching for him. He slides an arm around her waist, anchoring her against him. His thumb smooths over the fabric of her shirt tucked against her hip. For a moment, he feels a little thorn of guilt work its way under his skin — Manuela and Charlie taking Kathleen for the night is part of his plan, but if it’s making Dulcinea worry so much…

Then she relaxes against him, leaning her head against his shoulder. The thorn dissipates. “But I am sure she will have a wonderful time,” she says, reaching over to gently stroke Kathleen’s round pink cheek. 

Kathleen babbles, waving her hands as if to agree — and agree vociferously, if the string of squeals and giggles she lets out when Manuela tickles her side is anything to go by. Billy moves to give her a kiss goodbye, and Kathleen leans forward out of Manuela’s arms, reaching for Billy. He kisses her forehead with a resounding mwah!, making her giggle again.

“You gonna miss me?” he says.

She grabs his nose and squeezes. He honks like a goose. She shrieks with delight and does it again. Billy obliges with another Honk! She finds it just as hilarious a second time. And a third. 

“I’m gonna choose to take that as a yes,” he tells her, once Dulcinea has succeeded in prying her little fingers from his nose. “I’ll miss you, too.”

Charlie brings their horse from the barn, and he helps Manuela up, with Kathleen carefully cradled in her arms. Mounting up behind her, Charlie wraps his arms around them both as he takes up the reins, clucking softly to the horse. They go at a slow, easy pace, but it’s still not long before they have become so small as to fit in the palm of Billy’s hand. He and Dulcinea watch until they can’t see the three of them anymore.

He wraps both arms around Dulcinea’s waist, nudging his nose along her hairline. “You want me to go after ’em?” he murmurs. “If I ride fast enough, I can probably catch up before they get too close to home.” 

He’s relieved when she chuckles. “No,” she says. “It will do little Billy good to have a playmate near to his own age, and I know they will take care of her.” Dulcinea turns in his embrace, winding her arms around his neck. “And, besides, it has been a very long time since the two of us had some time to ourselves. I have missed you.”

She smiles at him, and when she leans up for a kiss, Billy’s hands find her hips and draw her even closer. It has been a long time — nearly eight months — and despite spending nearly all day, every day in each other’s company, he knows what she means. He didn’t really picture how becoming a father could change everything; although he would not trade the life he has now for all the riches of the world, he has missed this. Being able to hold her, kiss her, just be with her, without having to pull away to attend to the baby.

“I missed you, too,” he says, kissing her again. He reaches up to brush a stray strand of hair away from her face. She offers him another smile, her eyes never leaving his, and he thinks he could stay suspended here all night, a raindrop poised precariously on the tip of a branch. All he needs is just to know that she loves him, and it’s written in her gaze clear as day. 

“Come on.” Dulcinea takes his hand and leads him back inside, lacing her fingers through his. “I was thinking, after breakfast, perhaps we could go out for a ride? It is a beautiful day.” 

“Sure,” Billy says, offering her a smile. He can only put his plans into action later tonight, and frankly, he’d never even considered what he would do with the whole day. A meal and a horseback ride can at least eat into the afternoon. He wonders where they should go, if they should ride far enough to necessitate packing food, or if that would mean they’d be away too long— 

“What are you thinking about?” She laughs as she pulls eggs from the icebox. “You look like you are trying to figure out a riddle.” 

Billy flushes. He’d also never considered the fact that his face is an open book, but maybe that’s only true when it comes to her. God, he hopes it is. It would be retroactively very embarrassing to imagine Jesse or Pat being able to read every thought on his face. 

“I was just woolgatherin’, I guess,” he says, smiling again. “I was thinkin’ about where we should go on our ride.” 

“Oh, were you?” Raising an eyebrow, Dulcinea looks at him as she cracks eggs into a skillet. “You are telling me the truth?”

He puts a hand over his heart, as if deeply wounded. “Do you think I would lie to you?”

She smiles. “No,” she concedes. “But I think you are keeping something from me, anyway. What are you up to?”

He considers what to tell her. He doesn’t want to mislead her and say nothing, but he also doesn’t want to give anything away. “Well…remember when I told Kathleen a little secret a few days ago?”

Another smile, this one more indulgent. She’s playing along, which he’s immensely grateful for. “I do, yes.”

“It’s to do with that. So I can’t tell you yet. But Kitty knows, and she approves.”

“Well, as long as she approves.” 

She cooks them eggs and fries up bread, and they eat on the porch, in a pair of rocking chairs Charlie made for them after the baby was born. Their food sits on a small table set between their chairs, along with two mugs of coffee. He inhales the rich, pleasant aroma, mixing with the scents of the meal she’s made for them, with the scents of nature around them — the grass, the rustling boughs of the trees, the lavender that grows in a patch under their bedroom window. 

Billy rocks the chair with his foot as he eats, content to vacillate between studying their little patch of land and looking at her. 

“You got a crumb here,” he says, unable to keep from grinning as he reaches over to brush it away with the pad of his thumb. 

She turns her head, and he thinks she’s going to kiss his palm—

“Ow!” It doesn’t really hurt that much — or at all —  but he jumps as her teeth nip at the pad of his thumb. “What was that for?”

Dulcinea gives him an entirely unrepentant smile. “For keeping your secret,” she says. “Even if our daughter thinks it is alright. She also thinks her feet are edible.” 

Billy laughs, and she starts laughing, too, a gale of giggles that spikes into a squeal when he reaches over and pulls her from her chair and into his lap. He leans down and nips at a spot on her neck where he knows she’s especially sensitive, making her squeal and dissolve into laughter all over again. “Bil-ly,” she manages, his name breaking up under a fresh round of giggles. “That — that tickles—!”

He does it again. “Oh, I know.” 

After he’s done it twice more, she turns in his lap, pressing her lips against his before he can commit the offense a fifth time. Billy smiles into the kiss, and though his eyes have drifted shut, he can feel her smiling, too. “You know you’re my best girl,” he murmurs, nudging his nose against hers, a smile still on his face. “There isn’t a man in the world luckier than me.” 

Dulcinea rests her forehead against his, nuzzling closer. “We are both lucky,” she says. “We are lucky to have each other, and we are lucky to have our little girl. We are lucky to have this life.”

“We are,” he agrees, closing his eyes for a moment. Sometimes that luck seems like a mirage, something delicate and ephemeral that will disappear out from underneath him if he takes one wrong step. Sometimes, like now.

But then she kisses him again, nestling against his chest as she rests her head against his shoulder, the top of her head brushing his cheek. They are quiet for a little while. He can feel the warmth of her in his arms, her even breathing fluting against his skin, and her fingers are tracing the path of the veins in the back of his hand where it rests in his lap. This is real, he knows. He can’t say if it’s what he deserves, after everything he’s done; but it’s what he has, and he’s never going to be any less amazed or grateful. 

She stirs in his arms, lifting her head to look at him. “What do you think about that ride now?” 

He insists on taking care of the dishes first, telling her to stay on the porch and soak in the sunshine. When he comes back out, his shirtsleeves still rolled up and a few suds clinging to his fingertips, she’s saddled both their horses and led them around. Billy shakes his head. “You couldn’t just sit and let me wait on you, could ya?”

“No,” she says, smiling comfortably. “Now come on.” 

She does, at least, allow him to grab their hats from the bedroom, to lift her up into the saddle. Although he has no idea where they’re going, Billy is perfectly happy to follow her; she sets the pace and the path, cantering toward the small copse of trees spread out at the bottom of the slope that rolls away behind the house. 

They ride close enough to hold hands, Billy keeping a firm free hand on the reins of his own horse and a close eye on hers. Her horse is as gentle and calm a creature as he can be without actually being a stump — a compromise, because he’d begged her not to ride at all while she was pregnant with Kathleen, and she refused to simply be stranded at home — but still, he watches to make sure she’s safe with just one hand on the reins. 

She takes them through the trees, following a path that meanders underneath a shifting roof of green and gold, dappled shadows dancing over their heads. A companionable silence falls between them again, and Billy starts to hum, a soft, aimless tune that echoes the Irish lullabies his mother used to sing for him. 

Just beyond the woods, there’s a small pond, as round and silvery as a hand mirror. A few trees straggling rom the copse lend their shade to the water, and they tie the horses to a low branch, close enough to the lake so they can drink. Billy leans against the trunk and pulls Dulcinea into his lap, nuzzling at her hair. 

“Remember when we sat under a tree like this, right after you told me you were pregnant with Kathleen?” he asks, and she nods, humming softly in affirmation. 

She turns to look up at him, smiling a little. “I was worried about what you would think,” she says. “But you told me the baby was ours, that we made it together.”

“And that I love you,” he reminds her. “And—”

“Her,” she interjects, just as she had done then. “And you made fun of me for being so sure.”

“Aw, well, I wouldn’t call it makin’ fun — ”

Dulcinea shrugs in a complacent sort of way, as if it’s all water under the bridge now. “In any case, next time, you will not doubt me, will you?” 

He kisses the top of her head, thrilling to the idea of next time. They’ve talked about it here and there since Kitty was born, but not so confidently as this, like it’s inevitable. “No, I promise.” 

Billy tips his head back against the trunk, looking at the latticework of branch, leaf, and sky. After a few moments, he closes his eyes; he feels Dulcinea shift in his lap just a little bit, and then a little leathery creak, a soft rustling noise. She must have brought a book in the pocket of her dress. Without opening his eyes, Billy draws his fingertips idly up and down her arm, humming softly to himself again. 

“What do you think about Antonio?”

“Hmm?”

“Antonio. For a boy. Someday, I mean.”

He smiles a little. He isn’t quite dozing, but he definitely isn’t fully awake. Her words filter to him slowly, pleasantly, like the sunshine coming down through the leaves. “Mmm,” he agrees. “Antonio, sure. That’d be nice.” 

She chuckles. “It would, yes.”

He does drift off for a while after that, or at least, he gets close to it. It’s just so peaceful out here, with Dulcinea nestled in his lap, the wind whispering through the leaves of the tree above them. Occasionally blades of grass tickle his hand where it rests on the grass beside him, the other continuing to idly stroke Dulcinea’s arm. He can feel the kiss of the sun on his cheek, and somewhere in the woods behind them, birds are singing to each other. 

All through those years that lurk in his nightmares now, like wolves in the inky shadows of the desert, he’d always assumed he would go out fighting. Guns blazing, a scream trapped in his throat, a snarl of defiance frozen on his face even as his blood surged a final swan song through his veins with every frantic beat of his heart. He expected — if he was lucky — an unassuming grave, where Dulcinea and anyone left who loved him could come and visit with him. If he was unlucky, a traitor’s grave, tumbled into a dark maw of earth just waiting to receive him. 

Maybe, if anything, he thought he’d spend the rest of his life on the run, always looking over his shoulder, always hearing threats in the creak of a floorboard, seeing enemies in a flicker of movement from the corner of his eye. He had hated the idea of that life for himself, but more than anything, he’d felt the weight of shame turning his bones to dust — shrinking him down, day by day, moment by moment — as he thought of Dulcinea, of Manuela and Charlie, their little boy. They deserved so much better than that life, and they would’ve only been trapped in that hateful twilight because of him. 

But this? Laying in the sun with the woman he loves in his arms, his baby safe with friends so beloved they might as well be blood — with his only concerns being the ring waiting beneath the floorboards, and an answer that will (probably, hopefully) be the one he wants to hear? No, he never expected this, not for a second. He barely even let himself want it. It was like wandering in the wilderness without any food or water. The more you considered how desperately thirsty you were, how badly your stomach ached for lack of nourishment, the worse that pain would be. 

He stirs, turning his head blindly until his lips find the crown of Dulcinea’s head. “I love you,” he says, and he feels her snuggle closer. 

“I love you,” she says, then she taps his cheek gently with a forefinger. “Wake up, mi amor. We should head back now. It’s past lunchtime.” 

“M’awake,” he mumbles. His eyes flutter open, and he smile to see her leaning toward him, her face the only thing he can see. “Hi there.” 

She laughs and kisses him. “Hello.” 

Dulcinea stands up, and as soon as Billy is on his feet beside her, he scoops her up into his arms. She half-laughs, half-shouts, putting her arms around his neck to steady herself, and he just grins at her. “I’m not done holdin’ you yet,” he says, and puts her on his own horse. 

Tying the reins of her horse to the pommel of his saddle, Billy mounts up behind her, his arms encircling her waist. Dulcinea hums softly and leans back against him, and they ride home through a ripening afternoon, with Dulcinea’s horse following placidly along. 

“What about a picnic in the yard?” he suggests, as they ride up to the house. She opens her mouth to answer, and he says: “I’m makin’ lunch, you’re findin’ a nice spot to set up the blanket and then you’re gonna relax while I throw everything together.” 

She laughs. “Yes, sir.” 

He makes them both frizzled ham sandwiches and cooks up some beans, slathering biscuits with jam and butter while the beans bubble gently in the pot. When everything is finished, he plates it all, pouring two tall glasses of lemonade. Billy makes his way carefully out onto the porch, one plate balanced in the crook of each arm and a glass clutched in each hand. He smiles when he sees her on a blanket spread out on the grass, not far from their little garden. 

“Finally,” Dulcinea teases, reaching up to take the glasses from him, and then the plates, so he can sit down without spilling anything. “I thought I was going to have to come in and help you.”

“I woulda kicked you out,” he says mildly, making her giggle. 

After she finishes eating, Dulcinea stretches out with her head in Billy’s lap, reaching up every now and then to feed him bits of biscuit and jam. Billy leans back on his hands, a little content noise rumbling in his chest at the taste of sweet strawberry preserves on his tongue. He tries to consider everything he has to do tonight, and how he’s going to do it without her noticing. She presses another bit of strawberry jam-slathered biscuit to his lips, and he smiles. 

“Why don’t you go pick some more strawberries this afternoon?” he suggests, idly coming his fingers through her hair. “We’re almost out of this jam.” 

She smiles up at him, raising an eyebrow. “And what are you going to do while I’m gone?” 

Billy grins back at her. “I’ll keep myself occupied somehow,” he teases. “Maybe I’ll teach myself how to do a handstand.” 

She laughs. “As long as you are making yourself useful.” 

They clean up the picnic and Billy stubbornly takes over dish duty again, watching her as she finds the basket and a hat to shade her face. He kisses her goodbye and watches her leave from the backdoor; there are bushes growing in a clearing maybe halfway through the little wood, and he knows she won’t come back until the basket is full. He wonders if she’s walking rather than riding to give him a little more time — she’s already sussed him out to some extent, after all. He knows that from this morning. It makes him smile, although he hopes there will still be an element of magic. 

She deserves that and more. 

First things first — he gets under the table and jimmies up the loose floorboard, where they keep their money and valuables. He finds the ring wrapped in its handkerchief, and tucks the little bundle carefully into his pocket. He crawls back out carefully, like he’s shifting his way through a delicate mineshaft; it would not do to have a gash on his temple or a bruise on his forehead when he proposes. There aren’t many things less romantic than a head injury. 

He’s especially grateful that he’s suggested the strawberry picking expedition as he makes his way across the front yard, accompanied by a clanking sound like he’s wearing a suit of armor. He has to make several trips back into the house, and even working as quickly as he can, he’s only just finished when he hears Dulcinea call out to him. 

Billy races around the side of the house with perhaps less subtlety than is prudent, but considering he usually greets her coming home like he’s a puppy waiting by the door, it’s entirely possible she doesn’t notice. (He’d admit it to anyone who asked, too. He doesn’t mind telling the world that he’s that devoted to her. Who wouldn’t be? is his view.)  “Hi, baby,” he says, and she just smiles at him. “How’d it go?”

“Look,” she says, holding out the basket. As he suspected, it’s completely full. “I think I���ll make use some in jam tonight, maybe a pie.” She looks up at him, a smile still lingering at the corners of her lips, even as she tries to school her expression into one of innocence. “If you still have ways to keep yourself busy.” 

Again, he wonders just how much of a surprise this is actually gonna be. The closer he gets, though, he realizes it’s less about that, and more about making this as beautiful and romantic as he possibly can. And, of course, about her saying yes. 

“I have a couple things,” he admits.

She leans up to kiss him. “Hmm, well, you take care of that, and I’ll get started taking care of these,” she says, hefting the basket more firmly into her arms. 

By the time the beguiling scent of fresh-baked strawberry pie is wafting on the breeze, the sun has begun to set, and he’s ready. He puts the finishing touches on with trembling fingers. His heart is pounding so fast that he thinks he can feel it everywhere, loosening up his joints and driving the breath out of his lungs each time he attempts to draw one in. 

He changes clothes behind the cover of the broad tree trunk, and then steps toward the house, trying to swallow the frog in his throat. “Dul—?” His voice cracks, and he clears his throat again. “Dulcinea? Could you come out here?” 

It seems to take an eternity for her footsteps to make their way across the kitchen floor, but after a moment, he hears them; and then she’s on the porch, wearing a gratifying expression of surprise at the sight of him in his Sunday best. He offers her his hand to walk down the porch steps. “Don’t you look handsome,” she says, and as she places her hand in his, he thinks she might be trembling. 

He leads her around the corner of the house, eyes trained on her face; at the sight of what he’s set up for her, she gasps, her free hand going to her mouth. He can see the lights reflected in her eyes, the flickering glow caressing her face as if trying to bestow kiss after kiss after kiss. 

“Oh, Billy…” 

He’s strung up lanterns in the branches, lighting each one so the tree is crowned in a dancing halo of gold. Some are their own, but he’s had to borrow some from Charlie and Manuela, from Tom O’Folliard, from the rest of the Regulators — honestly, he ended up with more than he needed, but they all wanted to help. 

He dragged the small table from the front porch to the base of the tree, dotting the surface with candles. Their warm glow softens the petals of the flowers he’s set in the vase — marigolds, her favorite, along with some of the lavender from underneath their window. There’s a bottle of wine, too, along with two glasses. She takes a step forward, taking it all in, her hand at her mouth. 

“Billy,” she breathes, her voice tremulous. “Oh, it is beautiful…” 

Getting down on one knee, Billy takes a deep breath, taking the ring out of his pocket and holding it out. She turns around to find him like that, and she lets out a little watery gasp, her eyes sparkling -- overbright — as she takes him in. 

“My love,” she says softly. 

He takes courage from her smile, as he always does, and he takes a deep breath to further fortify his nerves. 

“All I wanted from the moment I saw you was to just…be with you,” he says. “For as long as I could, in whatever way you wanted me. I told myself even just hearin’ your voice for a moment would have been enough, like if an angel had stepped down from heaven and decided to talk to me. Then you said I could see you again, and I knew I was fooling myself.”

She giggles.

“A moment with you never woulda been enough,” he goes on, smiling back at her. “That first night, I knew I wanted a lifetime of moments. I wanted to know every little piece of you, wanted to memorize your heart like a map until I could find my way around blindfolded. I was yours the minute we met, and all I could do was hope that you might somehow…” Billy laughs shakily. He still can’t believe somehow became his life. “…you might somehow realize that you wanted to be mine.” 

She wipes at her eyes, but she’s still smiling, so he takes that as a good thing. 

“I thought it couldn’t get any better than knowin’ that you love me,” he says. “And then I got to see you with our little girl. I got to build a life with you, day in and day out, all those little moments that I wanted from the beginning. It’s everything to me. They knew my name from one side of the country to the other, once, but I only wanted everyone to know that I’m yours.” 

He takes a deep breath. Oh, God. 

“It’s still all I want,” he says. “For everyone to know that I’m yours, that I’m so goddamn lucky to be your man, the father of your children.” He swallows, smiles, and holds the ring up again. “Will you marry me?” 

Dulcinea just holds her hand out, tears running in gold-tinted rivulets down her cheeks, and Billy laughs as she wiggles her finger, his voice breaking under the weight of his joy, which marks his face in golden gleams of his own. “Yes,” she blurts out, just as he’s sliding the ring onto her finger, making him laugh again. “Yes, yes, of course I will.” 

As soon as the ring is safe on her finger, Billy’s on his feet, pulling her into his arms. She gasps and clings to him, curling her fingers into his hair. They hold each other like that for a long time, long enough for more than one of the candles to blow out in the soft breeze. When Billy finally pulls away, he reaches up to catch her face between his hands, wiping the remaining tears away with the pads of his thumbs. 

“I love you,” he says, and she leans up to kiss him.

“I love you.” 

She kisses him again, taking one of his hands between hers. She lays it against her stomach. He feels his heart flip over in his chest, and a giddy smile spreads over his face before she even has the chance to speak. 

“Well,” she says, laughing a little. “It is funny that you mention being the father of my children, because…” 

He whoops like a little boy, snatching her up in his arms again and spinning her around, making her laugh. Billy buries his face against her hair, holding her as tightly as he dares. “Antonio, huh?” he says, and she giggles.

“I was not sure you would remember that. I thought you were asleep.” 

“I told you I was awake…” 

She giggles again. “Mmm, you did not seem awake, marido.” 

“I was.” 

Dulcinea lifts her face and kisses him again, smiling softly. “We have a lot of work to do,” she points out. “A wedding, before this baby comes.” 

He kisses the top of her head. “We do,” he agrees happily. 

There’s no work in the world he’s ever been happier to do. 

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Jess Piper at The View from Rural Missouri:

This is personal. I am an outspoken rural organizer. Every elected Missouri Republican knows exactly who I am, and thanks to two Missouri Representatives on Twitter, most also know where I live. I was doxxed on two separate occasions on Twitter. One State Representative, Josh Hurlbert, who also works for the Herzog Foundation, specifically tweeted out my daughter's school district on two separate occasions while responding to me. He won't stop… I've tried. I called him an "insufferable asshole" for telling people where my daughter attends school — he made my comment his Twitter banner. He thinks putting my child in danger is funny. He is emboldened to do whatever he can to silence me. I was speaking at an event a year ago in Kansas and was about to go onstage when I saw my phone light up with a call. I didn't recognize the number, so I let it go to voicemail. After the event, while walking back to my hotel, I listened to the voicemail — it was a Republican Missouri State Senator. He called me live from his radio show "to debate me." He told his audience I had agreed to a debate then and backed out.

Ummm…I was speaking at an event with over a hundred Kansas Democrats. I would not have agreed to a debate at that time, and by the way, how did he get my cell phone number? Why did he think he could intrude on my personal life and call me out to his radio audience? I may be loud, but I am still a private citizen. I owe nothing to Senator Nick Schroer or his rabid MAGA audience. Schroer knows he will face no consequence for sending violent minions into my comments, mentions, and inboxes. That's why I was disgusted when I watched the video of the President of the Heritage Foundation, the architect of Project 2025, making a threat to every organizer, outspoken critic, and left-leaning citizen in America. He threatened our lives. Here is the video.

"The Second American Revolution will remain bloodless if the Left allows it to be," the Heritage post said. "Unfortunately, they have a well-established record of instigating the opposite." ~Kevin Roberts, President, Heritage Foundation

[...] In more than 900 pages, Project 2025 calls for firing thousands of civil servants, expanding the power of the president (ope, the Supreme Court just did that), dismantling the Department of Education and other federal agencies, and sweeping tax cuts for the wealthy. They are determined to push through an agenda that will harm our country and are threatening those who stand in their way. Who do you think is going to be targeted on the "left" if Trump is elected and the Heritage Foundation is able to start implementing Project 2025?

[...] I will not be silent as you come for my children. I will not step aside as you attack my neighbors and my community. I will not be quiet in the face of fascism and oligarchy. Ever. When billionaires use their money to fund an organization that explicitly calls for violence against organizers, I hope you pay attention. I hope you understand that they mean to silence folks in your community. I hope you close ranks around us. We have been on the front line, and will continue to be, but we need you behind us. We need you to tell everyone you know about the threats to organizers and the threat to American democracy. Tell everyone about Project 2025. Tell on them. This is personal. ~Jess

Jess Piper’s latest Substack piece is spot-on: The Heritage Foundation’s 900+-page radical right-wing Project 2025 is a threat to our nation’s democracy and must be vigorously opposed.