#if i was them i might go up to Eric after the panel and be like

[prettysweetprettysweet]

randomly thinking back to the s1 press cycle, "i dont want to characterize what goes on between them" is such a weird random and completely unnecessary thing to say when describing a friendship, like Eric why on earth would you say it and say it like that? its so funny bc there's literally no need for that disclaimer to be there in the context of him saying, essentially, that they have a great friendship. like i wouldn't say "my sister has been best friends with Abby since the 7th grade, BUT with that said...i don't want to characterize what goes on between them..." lmaaooo it may not have been his intention but that disclaimer immediately brings sex/romance to mind. if i was Jacob or Sam i might be a little annoyed im not gonna lie 😂

[ejzah]

As promised, here is a summary of my experience at Epic Cons Chicago and meeting Eric! I’m including some of the pictures I took (with poor attempts to censor my face). Heads up, this is a long post.

I started off early in the morning with a long drive since I’m a scaredy cat and avoid the expressway as much as possible. The convention center was very full when I arrived and it took about 50 minutes for me to register because the process didn’t seem well-organized, so that wasn’t the most fun.

But after that, I was on my way to watch Eric’s panel! The panel he appeared on, had actors from several different shows, so he wasn’t asked that many questions. As usual though, he was charming and disarming. One fan asked everyone what word they would use to describe their character and I believe Eric chose “fearless vulnerability”, which is technically two words, but so very in character for Eric. I always love listening to him talk about Deeks and the depth that he infused into the character.

I have a few poorly filmed videos from the panel that I can share if you message me. I’d rather not post them just in case my account would get deactivated again. I thought of asking a question myself, but chickened out.

After that I had a very long break before my next event, so I got some tacos from a little place inside convention center. I’d give them a 5/10. They were overpriced, pretty tiny, and overall mediocre.

Now on to the really good parts!

Next I attended a meet and greet with Eric. I was super nervous leading up to it, and kind of regretted the tacos at that point. About ten of us were ushered into a small private room with chairs set up in a circle. We were instructed not to take any videos, picture, etc, before the start, so I don’t have any additional content. Eric came in a few minutes later and ended up sitting one seat over from me (😱), which was pretty darn distracting for me.

After telling us he’d never done a meet and greet before, answered several questions and chatted with us. One of the things that really struck me was just as with every video and interview I’ve seen over the years, is that Eric was so genuine, honest, and generous.

In answer to questions, he talked about the last few seasons and why there were some irregularities. Such as that the show was supposed to end after season nine and each season after that was considered a bonus and based on ability to form a tight budget. He also confirmed that none of them knew what was in “the box” aside from possibly Shane Brennan.

The greet part of the event went by far too quickly, and before we knew it, one of the volunteers announced it was time for the selfie portion. Fortunately, another fan noticed I had been trying to ask a question and spoke up for me.

Before I asked my question, I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to shoutout wikiDeeks first. Eric really lit up and expressed how much he appreciated the hard work and thought put into the writing and contributions. He brought up an episode many fans had issues with (we figured out it was probably from the FLETC episode that shall go unnamed), and said he showed a piece of wikiDeeks writing to the writers/TPTB and basically said that it was deeper and better writing. I believe that might have been @anonkp’s wonderful work! In general, he was very appreciative and complimentary of everyone at wikiDeeks. He’s so very gracious!

We were really short on time, but I did get to ask the question “what would you change about Deeks if you could?” Eric couldn’t come up with a response on the spot, so he asked me the same question in return. I told him I didn’t think anything needed to be changed about Deeks, but didn’t always enjoy how silly he was written in later seasons.

Eric shared that he tried to play those moments in a way that put Deeks in on the joke instead of being the butt of the joke as much as he could. Unfortunately, he didn’t always have that luxury.

During our conversation, Eric was very engaging and attentive. For those couple minutes, I forgot to be nervous because he made the atmosphere so comfortable. It felt like he genuinely cared about what I was saying. My only regret is that I didn’t have time to emphasize how much I appreciate Eric’s acting and portrayal of Deeks.

After that, it was selfie time! When it was my turn, Eric bent down to my level (oh my lord he’s tall), naturally in my usual awkward way, I bent down too. 🤦🏻‍♀️ Hopefully Eric saw it as charming rather than incredibly silly and awkward. Hey, at least I made him laugh, right?

He’s so beautiful!

If any fans on here were present for the meet and greet, please let me know if I forgot anything or misremembered events. My memory is often faulty.

I also chose to get a professional shot with Eric and for that one I got a hug! I’m still not over it yet.

It was a really long day and a lot of driving, but so worth it for the chance to meet and talk with Eric. And, I’m pretty sure I came out this experience even more of a fan of Eric than ever.

[dragonflight203]

So, a slight change of plans: I made it to the big second hand bookstore and picked up several more comics, including a copy of Batman: Under the Red Hood.

As this is the story that resurrects Jason Todd, it’s obviously core to the mythos and is the next one I tackled.

Comic

Title: Batman: Under the Red Hood

Author: Judd Winick

Artist: Doug Mahnke, Paul Lee, Shane Davis, Eric Battle

Year: 2003-2006

Overall Opinion

-A good story! I enjoyed reading it and recommend it to others.

There are random diversions that don’t advance the plot and characters dropping in and out of narrative, but that seems to be standard in comics. The nature of the medium makes it hard to tell a tight story.

Art

-A solid style. Another one I’d be happy to read more comics in.

There are some panels that make Black Mask look like an angry wet cat, which I’m rather fond of.

General

-Jason’s good, but he still gets Bruce’s cowl off very easily in the fight on the rooftop.

My guess is Batman let him do it because he suspected this is Jason and gambled that if Jason removed Bruce’s cowl, he might reveal his own identity.

(Although, they landed on a public street. What, no one peeked at the fight and saw Bruce’s face?)

-Is it supposed to be implied that Black Mask was prepping to face the Justice League?

He’d ordered Amazo and the kryptonite. What else could he need those for?

-The comic keeps referencing that Oracle is no longer an available resource but never explains why.

I finally looked it up and apparently her base was destroyed? How hard would that have been to work into the comic itself? And why can’t she work out of the batcave until her base is rebuilt?

-In Hush, Batman was very critical of Jason’s fighting skills. He says Jason was never as good as his opponent at the time (Clayface, later retconned to be Jason himself.)

Batman, in Hush: “My opponent is counting on Jason’s appearance to affect my abilities. Play on whatever guilt I harbor for Jason’s death. His coordination. His speed. The acrobatics. It’s all… too familiar. Bottom line… Jason was never that good.”

In Under the Red Hood, it’s implied that Batman realized the Red Hood was Jason after fighting him.

Dick: “The Red Hood split as well. He’s very good.”

Bruce: “Yes. He’s very good.”

There’s something going on there. Batman recognized Jason and that his fighting skills had improved? Batman downplayed Jason’s abilities in Hush as a coping mechanism?

-What is Bruce’s beef with Zatara?

“I needed someone I could trust. But I had to settle for you.”

-Why the hell is there a business with a mainframe in Metropolis?

This story as written from 2003-2006. Who still had mainframes?

And why it is assumed that destroying the mainframe and taking the hard drives means the company no longer has the data? Have the writers never heard of offsite backups?

-Scarecrow’s a common enough foe that Batman’s suit has built in resistances to his fear toxin. Eye shields, ear plugs.

I find that funny and suspect Scarecrow would take it as a compliment. How many other villains recur frequently enough that Batman has to make special adjustments to his suits just for them?

-Jason says he’ll do better than Batman. He’ll be who Batman should be because he’ll kill. “You. I’ll be you. The you you’re supposed to be.”

Interestingly, the criminals reject that. Apparently they expect the heroes to not engage in the same activities they do.

David, one of Black Mask’s men: “He’s hitting all the drug buys. We expected trouble in the areas that he deems his ‘territory’… ...But now he seems to be expanding. And whereas before he was enlisting anyone under our province to work for him… ...Now he seems to just be dispatching them.”

Black Mask: “Oh, so now we’ve got another Batman? One who doesn’t mind the blood?”

David,: “No, sir. The Red Hood is still taking huge cuts from all avenues of business. Drugs, racketeering, prostitution… Now… It looks like he’s eliminating the competition.”

The criminals might fear Red Hood, but not because he opposes them. He’s just another rival out for their turf.

-There’s an interesting thread contrasting Jason and Black Mask through the story.

They’re both crime lords in Gotham. They are both attempting to rule through fear and violence.

However, Black Mask is well aware he’s a villain and revels in it. He leans into his own awfulness.

Jason insists that he’s being a force of good in the city… While engaging in similar and/or identical actions as Black Mask.

The result is I like Black Mask much more. At least he’s not pretending to be better than he is.

-I find it notable what’s not shows in the comic.

We don’t see the reaction to Red Hood from the GCPD or regular citizens. Only from the Bat family in Gotham (Bruce, Alfred, Onyx) and criminals.

Do the GCPD and regular citizens consider Red Hood a vigilante or another crime lord?

-We also don’t see Jason helping people. He established himself as drug lord and forbade selling drugs to kids, yes.

But we don’t see him protecting people as walk through his territory. We don’t see him distributing funds or food to those who need it.

We know he takes cuts from prostitutes – does he forbid underage prostitution? If so, does he make sure the ones who would engage have alternative means to make money?

Jason says he’s going to do better than Batman, but this comic doesn’t show it.

Plot

-I’m never fond of starting stories in media res and then backtracking to the start. Just start from the beginning and go from there.

-Wayne Enterprise’s R&D department is bought out and Bruce is removed from the board of directors.

This reminds me of how Bruce is removed as the CEO in the TellTale games.

How often are variants of this story told? Seems an easy method to create drama.

It also has very little impact on the story – Bruce mentions that it means his gadgets will be made available to the public, but we never see that occur.

We also don’t see Bruce make any efforts to get the department back, which you think would be a priority.

-Batman and Nightwing take down Amazo, an android designed to destroy the Justice League. It has the abilities of seven members.

They do with no warning or prep time. While impressive, it also makes Amazo look very weak – it’s supposed to take down the entire Justice League and it’s stopped by two men with no superpowers?

The only reason I can think for this fight is that it’s to make Red Hood look better, since he nearly accomplishes what Amazo failed at.

-Why was Joker at the Fairgrounds Jason found him at? Why wasn’t he in his standard costume? Why was Jason able to take him down so easily?

Joker didn’t even try to fight back.

-Jason’s face is revealed at the end of chapter 4. Who actually recognized him?

The follow up chapters have Batman researching ways someone can return from the dead, so I think it was assumed readers knew it was Jason.

-Chapter 8 reviews Jason’s tenure as Robin and how his start of darkness began then.

I’d like to get a hold of Jason’s run as Robin and read through it. I’m curious how much of this is retconned.

-Chapter 8 also includes some victim blaming.

These words are over panels depicting Jason’s death. The “it” refers to armor: “And it wasn’t strong enough for Jason. Willful Jason, who ignored danger… Who spat at risk. Who was never frightened enough.”

These feel like a deliberately negative interpretation of Jason’s motivations. It could alternatively be said that he had courage and would not be swayed from his goals by personal risk.

(If “armor” is taken as plot armor, it could also be said that Jason didn’t have enough plot armor to survive. And that was not his fault.)

-Jason’s also retconned as facing Batman in Hush when Clay took Jason’s form.

I call bullshit. This is just to retroactively add some foreshadowing of Jason’s revival and add more drama. It doesn’t work as the story is told in Hush itself.

-Black Mask figures out Red Hood is a former Bat because he and Batman refer to him the say way!

It shows how even though they’ve taken different paths they’re still very similar.

Red Hood: “You can call yourself whatever you like… You can play dress-up… You can surround yourself with any myth you like… …But at the end of the day… You’re just another gangster!”

Batman: “You crossed the line and someone besides just me came down on you. But at the very end of the day, Mask, you’re not special. You’re just another gangster…”

Black Mask: “That’s exactly what he said. It was by some damned radio address stuck inside that mook’s helmet, but it was him talking… The Red Hood said the same thing.

“Oh, ho… You don’t just know him, you know him.

“This is one of your people who’s stepped off the reservation and traded in handcuffs for flatlines…”

-Jason dressed Joker up in his normal clothes for the confrontation with Bruce. He didn’t have the standard top when Jason found him.

This has to be intentional. Joker looked rather pathetic in their first meeting and in the confrontation with Batman he looks his regular self.

Did Jason want Joker to look as “normal” as possible to make it easier for Batman to accept his death?

-Joker’s running commentary in the final confrontation is great. He’s clearly having the time of his life as Jason and Bruce have a gut-wrenching heart to heart interspersed with violence.

-Near the end Bruce puts a batarang in Jason’s neck to stop him from killing the Joker.

I assumed this was non-lethal if Batman got him help in time.

It surprised me to learn that many take this as Batman killing him. That’s never explicitly stated – Joker actually says Batman somehow managed to win, despite everyone losing.

-The comic ends with Joker blowing the building up, because it’s the Joker.

I dislike this ending. It prevents there from being any real closure to the story, which feels like a cop out after so much buildup.

-The comic itself never explains how Jason returned. That’s covered in a side story.

-In the main comic, Batman supposedly sealed all the Lazarus pits.

In The Return of Jason Todd, we see Ra’s and Jason use one.

So, continuity error? Did Batman seal them after Ra’s and Jason used one? Is that a pit Batman missed?

Characters

Bat Family

-Alfred considers his life deeply intertwined with Bruce. He repeatedly speaks of them as one unit.

Watching Bruce retrieve Jason’s coffin: “This life… this life of OURS… it has had so few moments of contentment… and those memories are being tainted.”

Reflecting on how collecting first editions brought Bruce joy after his parents deaths: “Even today, despite the vast change in direction our lives have taken, we still collect first editions. He and I.”

-Dick and Jason know Bruce collects first editions. Why doesn’t Tim?

-Batman mentions that it’s hard to be around Nightwing because he misses the days they worked together.

Bittersweet – Bruce cares deeply about Dick but has a terrible time verbalizing it.

-Bruce says he won’t kill the Joker because if he does he won’t come back.

I think he means mentally. Killing someone would push Bruce over the edge. He’s already only just clinging to sanity; if he kills, he’ll topple head first into insanity and he’s terrified of what he’ll do.

Not killing the Joker isn’t not caring about Jason. It’s about preventing the collateral damage Bruce believes would result.

But Jason’s demonstrated thoroughly in this comic that he doesn’t give a damn about collateral damage, so of course he doesn’t accept that.

-Dick and Jason both still idealize Batman’s skills.

Dick watching Batman fight: “By the time I think ‘Think is bad’… He’s already airbone and on the attack. Even after all these years, I’m still amazed by him.”

Jason to Batman as Batman attempts to dismantle a bomb Jason set: “I never get tired of watching you work.”

Jason to himself after watching Batman escape a building he blew up: “I just love to watch you work.”

-Jason killed the drug dealers’ lieutenants and tossed their heads at them to inform they work for Jason now. He orders them not to sell drugs to kids.

And he thinks that makes everything okay?

Because clearly parents that are strung out on drugs are great with their children. They never fail to feed them because they spent all their money on drugs, neglect them because they’re high, hit them because they’re not in the right mind…

And how many kids did he orphan by killing the lieutenants? How many households just lost the primary breadwinner? Is he going to follow up with their families and make sure they’re okay?

Just, Jason’s orders to keep kids out of it sounds good but is overly simplistic. His actions directly and indirectly impact others, including kids. He seems to think any indirect harm that occurs because of his actions isn’t his responsibility, and that’s not the case.

-Jason not only tried to insist his dealers sell more drugs, he also wouldn’t let them stop selling drugs.

Certainly the actions of a man out to clean up Gotham.

-However, Jason does not seem to not consider himself a criminal:

To Onyx: “…I seem to have made myself an enemy of all the bad guys.”

To Onyx, after killing a bunch of people: “Welcome to Planet Earth, baby! These dead sacks of meat on the floor made their living by beating, raping, and devouring! Fear isn’t the answer!”

To Batman: “No. I’ve killed, not murdered.”

Jason’s dehumanized criminals so thoroughly that he doesn’t consider them people anymore. It’s not murder if it’s not a person, right?

-And he gives a classic villain speech to Batman: “Death will come to those who deserve death. And death may come to those who stand in my way of doing what’s right.

“All of your adult life you’ve fought to save Gotham. Save her from herself. But you never, ever have understood her.

“She’s evil. And you have to fight her where she lives. I live there. I’ll be the one who finally brings peace.”

Ah, yes, peace by murdering (excuse me, killing people) at your discretion. I’m sure none of their loved ones will seek revenge. Or does he just plan to kill everyone until the city is empty?

-Jason expected Bruce to save him against Captain Nazi and the Hyena. He said he was stalling for time until (implicitly) Batman showed up.

All this time, after all he’s done, and he still believes Batman will come for him.

-Jason: “Just be happy I only killed the Nazi!”

Jason knows damn well that Bruce doesn’t want him to kill anyone.

I think it’s very intentional that it’s Captain Nazi that Jason killed – it’s generally agreed that Nazis are evil and stopping them is necessary. Many people make exceptions to rules about violence and death when it involves Nazis.

But Bruce doesn’t. Bruce won’t kill and he won’t make exceptions to that rule. No ifs, no buts. That’s why Jason is so angry – if Bruce won’t make an exception for a Nazi, he won’t make one for the Joker.

-Jason has contempt for the costumed criminals as both Robin and Red Hood. He says they’re playing dress-up.

Rather ridiculous when he’s wearing his own costume. The narrative seems to agree with this hypocrisy; Black Mask calls him out on it too.

-Bludhaven is nuked and Jason won’t let Batman leave to check on it. Or Dick.

He finally has Batman to himself and he’s not about to share his attention. He’s put too much work into the confrontation to diverge for it, even if he should.

None of this is about what’s right. It’s about what Jason wants.

-The ending makes it come off as the entire comic is Jason throwing a massive tantrum because Bruce didn’t avenge his death.

He’s obviously deeply traumatized. That also doesn’t excuse any of what he’s done.

Rogues

-David, to his employer that has a back mask burned onto his face about Freeze: “I’m not thrilled about employing psychotics.”

And what does he consider Black Mask…?

-Black Mask has amazing lines. I love him. He’s so unashamedly awful.

Speaking to Red Hood who just stole one of his shipments: “Yeah, well, I have anger management issues. I abate the urge by murdering people who annoy me.”

To David, about Red Hood being insane to demand 50 million dollars for a crate of kryptonite: “No, the insane ones would make a suit of the rock and march into Metropolis and play king of the mountain. This one knows what he’s doing.”

-What’s with Freeze in this continuity?

His bio makes no mention of Nora and he seems to enjoy killing for the sake of killing. And why did he need Black Mask to provide him a suit?

-Lol, even the backstreet doctors won’t take on the Joker.

Red Hood: “Those guys were veterinarians. I couldn’t pay the mafia medics enough to touch you.”

Edit: Added Comic section

[freewifi-png-exe]

I just had the most fascinating round I have ever played on SS14, it was on Harmony server and I just have to write it out.

I began the shift as Wes Strange, the detective. I printed off a few extra copies of forensics reports just in case I'd need them, and then got off to smoking cigars and looking cool. Typical casework, the clown overdosed in the bathroom and doctors couldn't save him, bit of paperwork but not too bad. At least until a bomb rocks the station, the bar has exploded!

I quickly arrive on the scene to find the dear captain spread all over the walls of the room. A paramedic comes in to pick his brain off the floor and carry it to science while I begin investigating for clues. Not even 5 minutes into my work, however, does a report come in that the perpetrator has turned himself in!

Seeing my work done, I begin investigating other cases. A tourist on vacation is suntanning in the hallway, a thief is caught attempting to make a lair in the bathroom, a cult calling itself "the book club" is operating out of the library, and the halls are crawling with giant spiders!

Meanwhile, Station Command has met in the bridge to determine who should succeed the late Captain. In a complete divergence from SOP, they elect Todd, a talking lizard (not a lizard-person, just a full-on monitor lizard who speaks English) to serve as captain. Captain Todd assumes the position for a good quarter of the shift before Central Command checks their inbox and, enraged, demands that the station Head of Security replace Todd immediately. Todd writes one more sad announcement before stepping into his new life as washed-up lizard at the bar.

It is at this moment that glass all around the station starts exploding. Todd, still wearing his old captain outfit tells me that the cracks on the glass and the ripped up floor panels were due to some supernatural force. I move to the Cargo department and a technician tells me the same story. I have to get to the bottom of this!

As I pace about the halls, lights flicker frantically and crack, terrifying me. I go to the only man I know can help me, Eric, the head of the cult. When I get there, however, he tells me "the book club's been canceled" and that he's "out of the game", that he's "seen too much". I panic. Nobody on this station can save us but him and his occult knowledge! I hastily make a deal with him: If I can return his confiscated scarf from the security department, he will lead the seance to destroy the entity once and for all.

I demand the scarf from the Warden who ultimately relents, and hand it over to Eric who begins preparing the altar. I call out for supporters, and a glitched-out robot, a pianist, and a scientist show up. Each of us places a plunger on our heads like we had seen the cult do before as Eric, now in robes, prepares a needle.

The lights flicker frantically! We hear a voice! The spectre is upon us!! Then, suddenly: the mime, Adeline Garland, stumbles into the room with a knife to her throat and kills herself on the altar. The spectre appears!! We all scream and begin to beat it with whatever weapons we can find and it collapses into a foamy mist. It is defeated.

And that is only act 1 lmfao there was a whole demonic possession after that which i might write about tomorrow

[adultswim2021]

The Boondocks #31: “It’s a Black President, Huey Freeman” | May 2, 2010 - 11:30PM | S03E01

I just had this thought: Is this the first direct reference to Obama in an Adult Swim program? Actually, according to the Boondocks wiki, Obama was first mentioned in a season two episode. I don’t know what point I’m making, exactly. I am not demanding an allegorical episode of ATHF where Shake runs for president. Which, I heard was the plot of the first draft of Shake Like Me.

I recall watching this episode randomly on TV back in 2010, back when I was under the impression that I didn’t care for The Boondocks television show. I probably made that claim about other episodes. This one, too, though. I vaguely remember seeing this episode and it cementing a more positive outlook on this show in general. 

Presented mostly as a documentary being shot by Werner Herzog (his voice, anyway, I forget if he’s supposed to be playing himself or not) about the Freeman family’s reaction to Obama’s candidacy. Huey is reasonably wary of the hope being felt by his fellow black dudes. He’s described as a domestic terrorist (retired), and caused Obama to come under fire after it was discovered that they were myspace friends.

Most of the episode deals with different characters reacting in different ways to Obama’s victory, and slowly becoming disillusioned for one reason or another. Despite being vindicated on some level for his lack of excitement, Huey is a controversial figure throughout, making headlines just for answering “Eh.” when he’s asked if he’s excited for America’s supposed new direction. 

This one isn’t consistently funny, but has pockets of really great stuff. Like, I thought it took a little while to truly get going, with the documentary stuff almost giving you the impression that this is the repiloting of the series, or the first episode of a reboot. I guess it has been a while since season two. Like, a little over two years. Damn.

Well, that makes this one pretty friendly to a first-time viewer, giving each character a moment to shine and plainly display what their dang deals are. Huey’s politics might not come off as all that well-defined from just this episode alone, but people of the era could easily project someone like him onto his demeanor and fill in those blanks. I guess previous episodes do actually help out in that regard. Anyway, it’s a tough tightrope walk. At least you could say this episode doesn’t come off as particularly preachy. 

I’ve pointed out some tepid flaws, but I really admired this episode, and it does have some huge laughs. Thugnificent’s bits are particularly very funny. Towards the middle of the episode, he has a song with Will.I.Am called Dick Riding for Obama. It’s really fucking funny. The gag where his pants split after he gleefully shakes his ass when Obama wins is so goddamn good. Robert Freeman hanging a Mission Accomplished banner in his living room also got me. Damn, that little stretch going into the first commercial break is so good.

Lotta cultural references in this, including a cameo from Bill Mahar. The Boondocks is a pretty culturally relevant show, unlike most of the stuff on Adult Swim, whose cultural references usually wade in a particular pool of 80s movies and other dumb-guy schlock. I’ll say that a lot of the references in Boondocks go over my head, and I learn about them after the fact by looking at the excellent Boondocks wiki. This is because instead of being an Adult who pays attention to the news, I watch cartoons. Rather than copy and paste the references I didn't get into my write-up, I invite you to check them out for yourself by going to your local library.

MAIL BAG

I’m sorry to jump ahead, but are you keeping up with the apparent falling-out between Eric Andre and his writing partner Dan Curry over Johnny Knoxville? Curry alleges Knoxville tased him like a week into that ABC prank panel show that Knoxville and Andre were part of, causing Curry a broken bone, and Curry further claims Andre told him not to make a big deal about it. He also claims Andre canceled some of their book tour over this dispute.

Sorry to disappoint, but I knew nothing about this! I saw a commercial for that show during the Oscars or whatever and I remember tweeting out "Johnny Knoxville has a new show coming soon to ABC TV" to zero likes. I mean "posted on X". not "tweeted out". It's called X now

[dem-obscure-imagines]

Miscellaneous Characters Masterlist

Kind of the whole point of this blog is writing for completely random characters, so here are the ones that didn’t really fit into another category. I might make additional masterlists and move them there if I start writing additional characters from their specific shows/movies/franchises.

The De Villes | The Invitation

(Includes Lucy Billington, Viktoria Clopstock, and Walter De Ville. I’ll separate them when I write fics for them separately.)

Headcanons for Being a De Ville Bride

Alex Vreeke | Jumanji

Strengths and Weaknesses - Flyboy and Fixit - Fluff

You and your friends are trapped in a video game which feels like a nightmare until you find Alex, who, according to your skills panel, might be your greatest strength.

New Year’s Eve Drabble 2020

Barbie | The Barbie Movie

New Year’s Eve Kisses 2023

Ben Hargreeves | The Umbrella Academy

Second Chances - fluff, Ben x Healer!Reader

With new threats about, the Umbrella Academy is looking for new members to (potentially) help save the world and your healing abilities make you the perfect candidate to join.

(Not So) Invisible Love - fluff, Ben x Witch!Reader

Ben has been dead as long as you’ve known him, but maybe with a little bit of magic and a whole lot of work, it doesn’t have to stay that way...

Ben Tennyson | Ben 10 Alien Force

Headcanons for Dating Ben Tennyson

True Love’s...Energy Transfer? - Fluff, Alien!Reader

Fighting takes a lot out of you, but thankfully, you have the most supportive boyfriend in the whole solar system.

New Year’s Eve Drabble 2020

Champ | Goosebumps

Magic and Monsters - Fluff

Because of your idiot brother, all of R.L. Stine’s famous monsters have been unleashed on your town. Good thing you have a witchy little secret up your sleeve.

Dave Lizewski |Kick-Ass

Out of This World - Fluff, Action

Despite your best efforts to keep him out of it, Kick-Ass winds up involved in something well above his pay grade.

Fangirl - Fluff

When you’re rescued by the city’s resident vigilante, you can’t help but find yourself a little starstruck.

Jack Frost | Rise of the Guardians

Snowflake - Fluff, Soulmate AU

Your soulmark is a snowflake, and thus, winter easily became your favorite season. However, you have a good feeling about winter this year, a tingly feeling that makes your mark glow...

Headcanons for Dating Jack and Being a Guardian

Tired of Gray - Fluff, Soulmate AU

It’s Christmas time and you’re just about sick of your gray, gray world. Luckily, your soulmate is known to visit in the winter.

New Year’s Eve Drabble 2020

Marty McFly | Back to the Future

New Year’s Eve Kiss

Headcanons for Dating Marty and Being Doc’s Daughter

My Future Girl - Fluff, Time Traveler!Reader

You’re from the future, he’s from the past; can you make it last?

Peeta Mellark | The Hunger Games

The Tribute’s Escape - Fluff

On an unsuspecting night, you get a visitor from another reality. Namely, Peeta Mellark. You have no idea how he got to you, and additionally, no way to get him home…

New Year’s Eve Drabble 2020

Prince Eric | Barbie in the Nutcracker

Real - Fluff, Christmas

After arriving back in your living room, you’re startled to find out that the previous night was real, Mouse King, Nutcracker, and all.

Home - Fluff, Christmas

The locket is supposed to take you home, but in your heart, you know you’re already there.

Rodrick Heffley | Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Headcanons for Dating Rodrick Heffley

Free T-Shirt - Fluff

Sometimes, going to a Loded Diper concert is worth it, but only because of the free t-shirt. Right?

Sasappis | Ghosts US

New Year’s Eve Kisses 2023

Seth Clearwater | Twilight

Soul Mark - Soul Bond - Soul Mate - Fluff, Soulmate AU, Witch!Reader

You’re a witch that’s just moved to Forks. You weren’t sure what you were expecting to find there, but a werewolf soulmate was not it.

Prince Zuko | Avatar: The Last Airbender

The Time Traveler’s Daughter - Fluff, Time-Traveler!Reader

The Prince’s Girlfriend - Fluff, Sequel to The Time Traveler’s Daughter

Zoro | One Piece Live Action

New Year’s Eve Kisses 2023

[herstarburststories]

illicit love

Pairing: Jensen Ackles x reader

Summary: Jensen loves you, but sometimes love isn’t the right thing.

A/N: Hey, guys! All we needed was a newish fic to say that I was really back, here it is! This one goes for @negans-lucille-tblr 6k challenge. So glad you got to another millestone, honey. It's like I was posting my part for your 5k celebration just yesterday! xD Prompt in bold.

Warnings: age gap, cheating

Jensen Ackles kept squinting through the bricks of his memory in an attempt to recall where it all began. Maybe it was when he drove off the road he had known for years with the dumbfounded desire to take the trails yet traveled, threading his fingers through your hair on the night of September 7th. He could’ve chosen the easy out and say it all started to crumble with the first kiss, but no. The actor, father, and now horrible husband highly doubted that. No, as he unwound the convoluted wires in his mind, it wasn’t the first clandestine meeting that he saw as the beginning, not the first kiss or the primal stolen glances. It wasn’t even the lies or the way he pushed his body against yours in an act of illicit faith.

Like any grand mistake, it was way before that. Just like how the church not-so-gently advised, it all starts with craving something you never thought you would want.

It happened when he landed the job in a new series after leaving a fifteen-year-long rollercoaster, pushing away any real witness to the fact the old show that swallowed part of his soul was over. There was a certain shock of excitement misplaced by the fact he was going to be working with Eric again, and that the show was an abrupt change considering what he had been doing previously. Now, he believed it was his body’s particular way of telling him that — as the savage animals can sense rain or a calamity — this, baby, this is gonna change your life.

JENSEN ACKLES CAST AS SOLDIER BOY!

‘’Since when have you read comics?’’ Jensen arched his messy eyebrows at Dee’s curiosity about the Homelander and Soldier Boy panel making it to the screen. Shaking the comic book in his right hand slightly, he continued: ‘’Especially that kind.’’

‘’Never,’’ Danneel stated plainly, “but I have Google. It was pretty much the first thing that appeared.’’

‘’Well, Eric said that scene won't be on the screen. Besides, the portrayal won't be that Soldier Boy, but the original one who died in the war. ‘Course, he wouldn’t have died there in our show, but it ain’t the panel one.’’ He shrugged, bringing her closer to his side as she snuggled against him. ‘’There’ll be a bunch of Herogasm, which is basically drugs and sex. Just not with Homelander.’’

Danneel nodded at his explanation, humor clinging to her words as she added: ‘’Guess the only man I have to share you with is still Jared.’’

‘’Hey, you knew what you were getting yourself into.’’ Jensen scoffed playfully before kissing her cheek. ‘’Can't wait to start the show.’’

Jensen leaned forward to rest the comic that he had been religiously studying to form a psychological character profile on the dashboard of the Impala. The actor was spending plenty of hours inside his most palpable Supernatural souvenir -- Baby. His safe place. He sure as hell needed one of those, as molding a whole character that has a bunch of source material wasn’t as easy as he pictured. With Dean, he was putting himself and the script in one until it made his imaginary best friend. It was love at the first sight. Soldier Boy, however, was a long story short. Jensen figured he should do both, honor the character created and add his own special ingredients to it. It was a brand new kind of passion that he hadn’t done for a series in the longest time. Still, his glance trailed back to the woman by his side in the backseat.

‘’Let's hope it won't last another decade,” she mocked.

Jensen shook his head with a chuckle, relaxing against the leather seat. Even the mere smell of the Impala was enough to settle his nerves. ‘’Eric has plans for five seasons.’’

Danneel’s features contorted as if having war flashbacks. Sort of. She never imagined Supernatural would make it that far, and now with three kids, signing on for another excessively time-consuming idea for a new show didn’t seem too appealing either. Yet, she would support Jensen in any decision he’d take regarding his job. “Remind me the last time I heard that line before?” 

‘’Come on.’’ He let out a wry huff, poking her side in a playful manner. She couldn't help but laugh, returning the gesture with tickles to start a very light-hearted battle. He seemed happy with the new job, something Danneel truly thought he would have more difficulty with. She’d pushed her weathered worries away with his easy-going laughter for now.

SOLDIER BOY’S LOVE INTEREST?

Eric Kripke threw the gossip magazine on the table, his eyes not straying from his long-time friend’s. He could’ve simply added the digital article to an irate email and be done with it, but he was a simple man with extravagant taste. That had been usual through his whole career, especially regarding the Supernatural aesthetic. Yet, in those mundane situations, Jensen almost found it too much. That wasn’t the case, though. If anything, the plain, yet still overpowering words that his green eyes scanned made his body sweat. He could even hear his organs working from the absolute silence of the blame that covered the room. Kripke’s room had never seemed more like an interrogation chamber than now.

The magazine in question held Jensen and your picture on the cover, his arms wrapped around your torso as he pulled you close. The most sequin smile hung from your lips like happiness was something that could be touched on that sunny day in the private park near the studio. Giant and garish letters made the headline along with the subline: Jensen Ackles wearing his Soldier Boy costume caught sharing a passionate kiss with the new arrival of The Boy’s Team: Y/N Y/L/N, also known on-screen as Cangaceira!

His voice came out as an accusation: ‘’What’s this, Jensen?’’

‘’We were…’’ The director just waved his hand to interrupt.

‘’Don’t try saying you were practicing a scene because I wrote the Soldier Boy and Cangaceira kiss, and it wasn’t here.’’ Acid tainted his words with no space for fake niceties on his set. Jensen remained in the chair, not even daring to make the most subtle move. Eric knew where he was hitting, and Ackles deserved a punch in the jaw. “The sex scene wasn’t here either, but you two added a lot of erotic subtext. Trust me, I know.’’

His shoulders fell in exhaustion. ‘’Eric…’’

‘’You’re lucky we were going to make those two a couple anyway. I can just put the kiss here and save your ass. What if that wasn’t the case, huh?’’ the director continued, more interested in spilling out his anger than listening to dumb excuses. ‘’What about Danneel, Jensen? You have a wife and kids, for God’s sake!’’

The breaking point. Jensen rose to his feet with sudden frustration, a growl leaving his lips as he pushed the chair to the side with uncharacteristic brutality. How could Eric bring up his family like this? And how could Jensen’s heart not bring them up when he kissed you before?  It was all a fucking mess, and he had no choice but to choke down whatever came out of it, even if it was poison and spite.

‘’Fuck, Eric! Do you think I don’t know that? Do you think it doesn’t pull me apart every time I go home and know I’m lying to the people who love me?’’ The vein on his neck popped as he spoke, emotion gushing thicker through his arteries than blood. Woe remerged under his skin as he swallowed dryly, resting his hands on the table and looking down. That wasn’t him. He had done a lot of things that weren't him lately. ‘’I have enough guilt here, pal.’’

Eric just glared down at the man’s outburst, furrowing before asking, ‘’What’s going on, Jay? You don’t just get up and cheat on your wife. That ain’t you.’’

He shook his head. ‘’I don’t know. Y/N’s just…’’

‘’At least 20 years younger than you,” he stated. ‘’Just starting her career and might be getting the homewrecker title if someone finds out.’’

‘’I won’t let that happen.’’

‘’How? You are gonna be more careful or will you cut it out and go back to your wife and three kids?’’ When Ackles didn’t respond, Eric sighed. ‘’Just stop this, Jensen. Let her go.’’

Jensen scoffed humorlessly. ‘’I can’t.’’

Kripke felt like talking to a teenager. He shook his head as he got up. ‘’Do you have any idea what you’re doing here? This could destroy your family, destroy Y/N’s chance to make a name when you already have your own. That’s selfish in all proportions, Jensen!’’

‘’I know, I know.’’

‘’She deserves more than this and —’’

‘’I know.’’

‘’You are gonna mess up everyone’s lives —’’

‘’I know!’’ He slammed the table and winced, turning around with his hands on his head. If only he could stop his thoughts for a second and reorganize his feelings. ‘’Do you think it doesn’t rip my heart out that I can’t love her?’’

‘’Who?’’ The burning question was ready to set everything ablaze. ‘’You can’t love Y/N, or you can’t love your wife anymore, Jensen?’’

He couldn’t love you in public. He couldn’t love Danneel anywhere. Love just escaped through his reaches when you spoke his name like a prayer, and it was time to accept that.

‘’Both.’’

NO CHICK FLICK MOMENTS: SOLDIER BOY AND CANGACEIRA TALK ABOUT WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THEIR RELATIONSHIP

‘’It's amazing to portray with Jensen. I’ve watched Supernatural since I was like twelve, which probably isn't advisable.’’ You chortled, answering the reporter’s question. Your body could barely contain your excitement under your skin, although, why would you want that? You did it. You got the job you had dreamed and worked hard for. To a bonus, you were working with Jensen Ackles! If there was someone that had earned the right to scream to the sky until your face was the color of the red carpet your heels currently stood on, it was you. ‘‘I was even a Samgirl!’’

Jensen faked a gasp next to you, a light spectrum surrounding the interview. ‘’Really? Me too!’’

You pushed his shoulder playfully while he chuckled. ‘’Anyway, I'm very excited to be here and portray a strong latina superhero. The representation’s very important, and to be able not only to cherish it, but to be a part of it doing what I love and inspiring people like me is… mythical.’’

‘’Wow, woman!’’ Ackles pursed his lips, clapping a little before shifting his gaze from you to the reporter. ‘’She likes the big words. I swear, dude. She’ll just come and in like, a casual conversation, say something like gelid or whilst, and then she's gonna say dumbass. Both sound smart as heck.’’

You winked. ''It's the accent. Makes everything sound nice.”’

Jensen nodded but was quick to sprinkle in an incendiary remark to his compliments. ‘’Yeah, I have never seen someone confuse coach and couch before. Go sit on the coach got a lot of wrong ideas.’’

‘’Hey, you sat on the coach!’’

‘’Because I’m a good boy.’’

You rolled your eyes despite the grin on your lips. ‘’Sure, mister hours-to-get-ready.’’

‘’Hey, plenty of face masks are needed to keep this — ’’ He pointed at his face. ‘’at fourteen.’’

‘’All I hear is that you’re old.’’ Your eyebrows knitted together. Jensen licked his lips at the sight. On any other day, he’d pick you up, say I’m gonna show you who’s old, and enjoy where your teasing had gotten you two, but he couldn’t do it now. You’d get what was coming to you after the event, perhaps even under the table if your dress allowed it, or in the bathroom, if you kept going.

The mischievous smirk on your cherry-stained lips proved that you knew what was going through his mind. God, you were his sweet death. Nonetheless, Jensen sighed dramatically and looked at the camera. ‘’This is what I have to deal with every day.’’

The reporter went on, happily surprised about how comfortable you and Jensen seemed together. Usually, new coworkers were timider around each other during interviews, especially when they were a romantic pair. The journalist decided to try getting a little sneak peek of the couple aspects of Soldier Boy and Cangaceira.

‘’It's definitely interesting.’’

‘’But not in the best way.’’ The only thing more messed up than Jensen’s relationship with you was the correlation between your characters. At least you and he had the purity of love, even if it was twisted enough to turn heads and churn stomachs

‘’Certainly not in the best way.’’ You agreed, bringing him back into reality as always. ‘’It's really nice to explore a couple that doesn't consist of two white people getting to it like most main characters of the shows in our current climate. It’s not the kind of relationship you should be rooting for — not because it's interracial or anything, that's pretty much the biggest, if not only, positive aspect about those two — but because they aren’t healthy at all, just as all main relationships in our show. It's not a romance series, and we certainly don't treat our couples like it.’’

‘’Told you she is the beauty and the brains.’’ His cheeks dimpled with joy and pride as he looked at you. Jensen knew how excitedly nervous you were about that interview. He couldn’t wait to tell you how great you were like you were born to sell dreams and magazines. ‘’But yeah, it’s a messed up relationship like any other in The Boys. After all, it's not a respectful, wholesome show. It's about gritty superheroes that ain’t got heroism. Soldier Boy isn't a good guy, and it translates in his relationship too.’’

You nodded in agreement, brushing his arm to keep you sane. ‘’It’ll be an interesting dynamic to see on-screen to our show standards, but it's not an actual picture of how a relationship should be.’’

THE BOYS 100TH EPISODE PARTY!

The glimmer of his green comet eyes caught your undivided attention in the throngs of people. The crowd had gathered for his family, his arm around his wife's waist as you both shared a tender, stolen look. You savored her wine and yearned for the man in her arms.

It was just a small celebration due to COVID’s lasting effects on public events. People from the set and their significants together were in the Ackles house for a couple of drinks, small talk, and a cake with The Boy’s comics printed on it.

‘’Aunt Y/N!’’ JJ tugged your dress, her mix of Danneel and Jensen’s features almost haunting your soul. Almost. You would never despise a kid for that — you didn’t even have the right to. If anything, JJ was the one that would graduate to hating you someday. You didn't have enough youthful stupidity not to know the risks of being in love with a married man. ‘’Auntie!’’

You leaned in the most that you could with the red skirt, glancing at the child. ‘’Yes, honey?’’

‘’That’s my new Barbie! I bought a beach one! She looks like you!’’ the blonde kid said with a childish joy that ached in your heart. You could end up destroying her family’s stability if Jensen went any further, yet there she was; buying dolls that looked like you and so happily babbling about it.

You were a monster. Love opened you up and planted greedy seeds, and now you were a monster growing like a beautiful tree that could never be strong enough to hold a kid as they climbed up. The fact that you could sense Jensen’s eyes on your ass didn’t help one bit.

‘’She does! That’s so cute, JJ.’’

‘’You can be her. I have one who looks like mommy, I’ll be her, ‘kay?’’

Your nausea was replaced by a pageant smile and a nod, and so you spent the night sharing longing stares with the dad and playing dolls with the daughter. It was a role that was never yours.

ILLICIT AFFAIR? JENSEN ACKLES SEEN ON THE BEACH WITH Y/N Y/L/N

‘’I can’t believe you did this to me, to our family,‘’ Danneel screamed exasperatedly as she threw her clothes in a bag and heart on the wall. Jensen just stood there, accepting the deserved fury. ‘’Ten years of my life, Jensen, and you just threw it away for a mistress! I gave up on my job to be a stay at home mom because you didn’t want a babysitter. I supported you in every moment. I loved you!’’

‘’I’m sorry…’’

‘’You don’t get to be sorry,” she howled, glaring at him with the hatred of an overthrown nation. She felt like he got to the podium and forgot to say her name. ‘’You let that woman get in my house, drink my wine, talk to my children…’’

Reflexively, he said, ‘’Our.’’

‘’Shut the fuck up! There’s no ours anymore, no us!’’ Her words had garnered a learned violence, much louder than the sound of the zipper closing her duffel bag. She threw the CC exclusive on the floor, holding onto the handle for dear life. He didn’t deserve to see her breaking, only her anger. ‘’You destroyed our family, you destroyed me!’’

He pleaded, unable to discern if it was for her or the guilt: ‘’Dee.’’

‘’I hope you’re happy. I hope you go to her, get her to sleep on our bed, and be happy for a month.’’ She gulped, pursing her lips. Her glossy eyes coupled with the pink hue of her lipstick brought back a treacherous memory of their wedding day. ‘’And then, I hope she cheats, like you did to me.’’

The next headline didn’t call it love.

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[lunaajade]

Everything You Need to Know about “Shadow and Bone” on Netflix (*UPDATED: POSSIBLE LANGUAGE OF THORNS ADAPTATION INFO)

 Since it’s recently been confirmed that we’d be getting S&B content in a few days (finally!), I thought I’d compile and summarize as much info as I could to refresh everyone’s memories! Please spread the word/share this post to those who aren’t up to date! (I’ve seen some people online who are worried about how it’s going to turn out, and I’d like to be able to hopefully reassure those people)

Now, there’s a LOT of stuff, so there’s always the chance I missed/forgot something. This post will be split up into categories based on type of info, so here we go! I went back and listened to/watched both of the big live streams (NYCC and the S&B Charity Competition), went on the Grishaverse Reddit, etc. to find as much (extra/bonus) stuff as I could. (If I missed anything/got something wrong, please feel free to leave a comment!)

Update: A lot of people have been asking where it was confirmed we were getting content soon. I found out from one of the update accounts I follow.

Thanks for reading, everyone!

General/Key Info About the Show

-This first season will be adapting both “Shadow and Bone” and what has been dubbed a “Book 0″ (most likely meaning prequel/backstory/set-up) for “Six of Crows” -In relation to the above point, the timelines are being brought together for the show. (Normally in the books, the two series are set two years apart)(We don’t know how exactly or what this means for the story, but I have a really interesting theory that I thought up in relation to this, message me if you’d like to hear it.) -Leigh acknowledges and understands that some of us have doubts and are worried about the show, but she has publicly assured us (numerous times) of how much she loves the show and cast, how well she thinks the crew/writers did in bringing the Grishaverse to life, etc. See a later point below in the Facts/Tidbits section -The first season will have 8, one-hour long episodes -Alina has been made half Shu (half Asian) for the show! Leigh stated that was decided on after she and Eric had a lengthy discussion on Alina’s character. -The main cast (as in confirmed to be in all episodes) is comprised of Jessie Mei Li (as Alina), Archie Renaux (as Mal), Ben Barnes (as the Darkling), Freddy Carter (as Kaz), Amita Suman (as Inej), and Kit Young (as Jesper) -Wylan and Nikolai are NOT in the first season. (Nikolai didn’t appear until the second book, and Leigh confirmed that at this point in the story, the Crows had not met Wylan yet.) -Other cast members include Danielle Galligan (as Nina), Calahan Skogman (as Matthias), Daisy Head (as Genya), Sujaya Dasgupta (as Zoya), Luke Pasqualino (as David), Julian Kostov (as Fedyor), Simon Sears (as Ivan), Zoe Wanamaker (as Baghra), and more! -The Darkling will also be called “General Kirigan” in the show. From what we know, The Darkling will be the “enemy” to Ravka (so in essence, General Kirigan is his alias/fake persona (what he’ll most likely be referred to for most of the show), and no one knows that he’s actually their enemy. (Meaning it’ll most likely a super big moment when they learn their general was actually the Darkling in disguise)). -The show was shot on location in Budapest, Hungary. (And additional filming took place this past fall in Vancouver) -In order, the 8 episodes are titled the following: “A Searing Burst of Light”, “We’re All Someone’s Monster”, “The Making at the Heart of the World”, “Otkazat’sya”, “Show Me Who You Are”, “The Heart is An Arrow”, “The Unsea”, & “No Mourners”.

Other (Fun) Facts/Tidbits About the Show

-Upon seeing Jessie’s audition, Leigh loved her audition/portrayal of Alina so much that she apparently stated that she wanted her to play Alina or she’d be out of the project. She was sent five auditions to watch, Jessie’s was the third, and she said she didn’t bother watching the rest of them. -Leigh stated that she and Eric Heisserer (the creator of the show) said they were on the same page from the first meeting. All other past meetings with producers and companies about possible adaptations had left her with a bad feeling, but she said they’d had the same ideas about inclusion, story, staff, etc. She said she’s loved the respect he’s shown towards the work (and, in a way, to us the fans) -Netflix apparently also has the rights to adapt “The Language of Thorns” , though we’ve gotten no info on that adaptation yet. (UPDATE: I just watched a Leigh Bardugo event from Feb 2019 (a few weeks after the show was first announced, I think): As of  that day, she said that she thought that they were going to use LoT more for "texture” (IMO that might mean worldbuilding?) in the show. And I don’t know if she was talking about LoT specifically because she was very vague, but she said that there were certain things in the show that she thinks readers will be really excited about. Again, this was over a year ago, back when they were still in pre-production and stuff, so don’t take my word for it. Besides this, I couldn’t find anything else relating to a possible LoT adaptation. Maybe they’ll have the stories from LoT appear as actual folk tales told in the show, and that’s the “adaptation”? IDK. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpHnw8Ygw5c&t=1906s)) -Leigh is an exec. producer on the show! I’m no expert, so I don’t know how much say/power she had in the process, but she definitely had some. -There is a RAVKAN edition of the “Shadow and Bone” book that Leigh says makes a cameo in the show! -Jesper’s guns had custom etchings done on them by a Hungarian antique gunsmith! (And they were so good that Leigh and Eric said that it looked like it belonged in a museum--they were also described to be quite heavy!) -Eric Heisserer is the creator of the show, he is an award-winning writer, well known for “Arrival”, “Bird Box”, and more. (If I remember correctly, Leigh said that he’d reached out to her about making the show!) -A DeKappel painting (maybe the one owned by Van Eck?) was confirmed to be in the pilot episode. -Pekka Rollins and Tante Heleen have been confirmed to be in the first season, but their casting has (up to this point) not yet been revealed. -Bo Yul-Bayur is confirmed to be in the show! (Though Kuwei has not) -Leigh will have  a cameo in (I think) Episode 5! She will be wearing a Materialki kefta and will be opening a door, if I remember correctly. -A lot of the crew was also extremely passionate about the project and fans of the books -The “Lives of Saints” book that was published in October is an actual book/prop that is appearing in the show! -I’m personally fine with Mal, but Leigh says that Archie is going to change everyone’s minds with his portrayal! -The costume designer for the show is Wendy Partridge, known for her work on “Thor: The Dark World”, “Pompeii”, and more!  -The composer for the show is Joe Trapanese, known for composing for “The Greatest Showman”, “Straight Outta Compton”, “Lady and the Tramp”, and more! At the NYCC Grishaverse panel, they revealed a little bit of the score (”Grisha Theme”): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFxIEbsHKJA 

Fun Cast/On Set Stories/Facts

-The cast all loves each other, and are all extremely passionate about this show, which is great! (Leigh said that on her second visit to the set, she heard them singing together) -Leigh says that Ben Barnes once snuck up behind her on her first day on set and scared her by whispering “Fine, make me your villain” -Freddy’s favorite Grishaverse book is “Six of Crows”, but most specifically the first line of chapter 2 (”Kaz Brekker didn’t need a reason.”) -Jessie would apparently come to set on some of her days off to support the cast and crew! -Sujaya has stated that her favorite Grishaverse character is Nikolai! (#Zoyalai) -Freddy has become famous/popular with the fandom, one of the reasons being because he often comments on posts/live streams asking something along the lines of “What was it like working with Freddy Carter? xoxo” -Danielle loves Nina and her journey in “King of Scars” -According to a Tweet, Freddy and Leigh said that there had been a scene with “a very pesky gate”--Freddy said that it “wouldn’t be proper to tweet the expletives [he] used that day” and that he thinks he “scarred” Amita and Eric. -Amita’s favorite thing about Inej is her silence, and her favorite Grishaverse book is “Six of Crows” (as of May, where we learned this during a live-stream, she said she’s read it three times and listened to the audiobook twice.) -There was a waffle truck on set on the last day of shooting! -Calahan says that if he could play any other Grishaverse character, he’d want to play Nikolai! -While she did work with the trainer to get more physically fit, Amita learned most of her knife techniques by herself! -Leigh said she cried a lot while on set! (She said there was one scene they were shooting that she has a very clear, vivid memory of writing many years back--based on the context of which she was talking about it, if I had to guess, I’d guess she’s describing the Winter Fete.) -Leigh also said that on one of her first days on set, it was funny/weird to see all the extras in First Army uniforms chilling on their phones, drinking coffee, etc. -One of Calahan’s favorite character dynamics in the books is the dynamic between Kaz and Matthias -There was a moment where Amita was fully in costume and doing amazing, graceful knife work, only to trip and fall when she’d finished. -Amita and Jessie and Sujaya were best friends on set. -Sujaya loved everything about playing Zoya. (Especially her confidence) -Leigh says one of her favorite props was Kaz’s cane, especially because of what it meant to her and the story. -If he could be any Grisha order, Calahan says he’d want to be a Corporalki -Calahan loves Matthias’s journey/arc. -Kit’s favorite Grishaverse book is “Crooked Kingdom”!

Links

-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X65iI1YXrbU (NYCC Grishaverse Panel) -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHou5rVs6o0 (S&B Talent Show Charity Live Stream ft. the S&B Cast!--the IG video got taken down because Archie deleted his IG account and switched to a new one) -https://www.netflix.com/title/80236319 (”Shadow and Bone” on Netflix!) -https://twitter.com/shadowandbone_ (Official “Shadow and Bone” Twitter!) -https://www.instagram.com/shadowandbone/?hl=en (Official “Shadow and Bone” Instagram!) -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRh-Pmbynww (Annoucement made by cast when filming wrapped! (can be found on the social media accounts, but here’s a link to YT)) -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bpY8uLtyB4 (A S&B Cast Crack video by HeartPhantom--it highlights a lot of the inside jokes and memes that we’ve gotten to witness among the cast, and also just generally shows off how hilariously chaotic everyone is (this cast is the definition of chaotic good, lol))

[dana-chan-the-control-brain]

Thoughts on, Invader Zim Quarterly: Holiday Special

WEEEE WISH YOU A MERRY JINGLY WE WISH YOU A MERRY JINGLY!

Ahhhhh It’s out! I’m so excited!

But I always get excited when it has my man Membrane and my man Eric Trueheart involved with the comics. 

Also santa..   Tbh, I was excited and nervous about this quarterly. 

Excited because it has Membrane santa backstory...

But I was nervous because that it means they might bring back the santa-blob monster from the Holiday special on the TV... and The Christmas special is one of my least favorite IZ episodes...   I mean... I rewatch it occasionally, and it’s fun, but I’m just kinda used to IZ having more BITE in it’s satire if you know what I mean? The Christmas Special in the IZ universe doesn’t really say anything about the capitalism of Christmas... it’s not like IZ hasn’t made fun of capitalism before. (that’s the whole show)  The Christmas Special in the show just kinda fell flat of my expectations of what an Invader Zim episode should be....

The only thing I respect the Holiday Special for, is that it goes down the “Santa isn’t real” route in a kid’s show and sticks to it. (there’s no “real santa” that shows up and “solves everything”) All of the “Santa’s Helpers” confused the Santa mythos with the Christianity Jesus mythos. (”waiting one day for his return”) Which makes sense, since IZ is like dystopian future Suburbia Hell. I just kinda like that there’s no “real santa” that interfered to “fix everything” and that Zim himself ended up CREATING Santa when he didn’t exist previously. Like I find that kinda cool...

Other then that, I just kinda wanted something else from the Hoilday special then what I got. (It taking priority over scrapped episodes like “the trail” and “Ten minutes to doom” and “mopiness of doom” does not help it’s case in being one of my C-tier episodes...) 

So maybe this quarterly will fill the void of what I wanted out of a Holiday special? Well, let’s see. 

SPOILERS FOR THE QUARTERLY BELOW THE CUT

Ways to get Dana off-board immediately: Monster Santa is canon. 

I always never liked to view the special as canon for ways that it fell flat before.

And I had the excuse of saying that the snowman was an unreliable narrator and I could adapt it down the line in my fic as a different story. 

I just didn’t like the idea of Monster-horror-blob santa...  Like... Cool design... but he just kinda represents everything I disliked about the special...  (including the major inconsistency of when Tak’s ship got fixed...)

But then again.. I need to remember IZ’s lore isn’t as consistent as I think it is sometimes... 

Okay, fine. Monster blob santa real... what else you got for me, Holiday special?

FACE HUGGER SANTA! FACE HUGGER SANTA! I AM NOT INTO IT! 

WHAT?! WHAT?! WHAT?! NO. DANA HATES THIS!

Okay, kinda into it because this means that ZIM CREATED SANTA in this mythos... I am dying.... wait.. this takes place in the future then...soo...?

haoFhaGHAOhfgg 

It was all a dream?!  

GOOD.

my heart couldn’t take it if horror-santa was real... 

Also... that nightcap and bed... Does this mean we’re going to have an Invader Zim Christmas Carol?!?!?! I know that’s been adapted a schmillion times but I would be so into that.... 

Also... Flying... hamm...

Good ol’ Zim... Repressing those memories...  

Also this being the THIRD ETF reference in a quarterly, It can be very safe to say the Quarterly issues take place after the events of ETF.

Clembrane exists in the Quarterly, Membrane has robot arms, Zim remembers this (kinda)  Yeah this is definately ETF verse and it’s here to stay. 

Christmas Carol?! I’m down for this... and I can’t help but notice their claws look familiar

OH HOLY HELL I WAS RIGHT! THESE GUYS! I LOVE THESE GUYS?!

Why are you here tho?

I’m a bit lost on why these guys wanta take over the earth, but they’re hilarious so I’m just glad they’re here.

Also...   The Christmas Special is Schrodinger's Christmas... did it happen, or was it a dream, or the tales of a lunatic snowman... I guess I’ll never know. 

The issue goes on for an IZ Christmas Carol parody (heck yea) and the visions are all hilarious and I’m not gonna spoil them here... but...

Eric.... this is terrifying..........thanks I hate it. 

TINY DIB THOUGH! GHAOGHAHGAHAHA

THIS IS GREAT

THE MORE DIB SUFFERS THE MORE I LOVE IT!

“Though I am Dib and sickly father”

I’m dying XDDDDD

Also... What the fuck is Zim’s reaction here... 

I find it funny that Zim has put Dib into simulated realities before... (in the show and comics) and in the show, Dib is all powerful and in the comics, Dib is just himself and Zim is his brother..

But seeing a simulated Dib all weak and pathetic and chronically ill BOTHERS ZIM?!?!

That’s... well that’s interesting. 

Thought he’d laugh at this honestly, but he seems greatly annoyed... 

I CHANGED MY MIND! THIS IS THE BEST THING! 

(those who know me know why I’m dying over this)

YES!!!

ZIM DOESN’T LIKE WHEN PEOPLE FEEL BAD FOR HIM OR PITY HIM! 

(which confirms like a lot of my hcs and adds spicy kindling to my au much mad respect) 

This I find interesting...  Zim complepative over his lonely/abandoned grave. It’s like he really doesn’t know how to feel. It’s more of a numbness then a sadness. Or he noticed how empty his life is... 

He feels lonely and empty about it...  which tracks considering how Zim’s greatest fear in the Trial was to be deleted and never be remembered by anyone. 

I don’t know... This panel makes me feel things...

Johnen: Haha. Zim’s not that deep a character.

Eric: Hey for the Christmas special, let’s have Zim parody a Christmas carol and feel lonely staring at his own empty grave when he realizes no one cares about him or misses him.

Johnen: Cool. Do it. 

What are you two assholes doing to me, man?! I have feelings! 

AND ONCE AGAIN!

Zim hates pity and people feeling bad and sorry for him. 

Man this makes me so sad...  And it really feels like this issue looked into my brain again, cause I have some plans relating to Zim not wanting sympathy or pity from anyone later down the line (okay I’ll shut up about my au. We’re talking Zim here)

And of course, Zim breaks everything like he usually does. (this time on purpose)

Also nice callback that Zim remembered that Dib said he liked his boots one time in the Poop-wizard issue. 

Also, it ends? I guess this quarterly has a few shorter stories this time... which I’m fine with. 

Also, Zim should consider Green and Blue like D-list friends at this point and just invite them in for some fundip or something (come on, Zim, it’s Christmas.....) 

GASP!?!?!

LITTLE MEMBRANE!!!

AND GRANDPARENTS CONFIRMED!!! 

Wait... so his Parents are scientists too? Is that why he always wanted to be a scientist?

But then wait.... If Membrane inherited Membrane Labs from his parents... Why is HIS FACE the brand of the Company?..... There’s so much Membrane-face brand merch in the show. (it decorates his home..) 

Like even if they were dead, if his parents founded Membrane labs, I feel they’d still be the face. of the company... (that’s how a lot of corporate faces are these days... they show some old dead guy who made the company as opposed to the son who inherited the Company.... Like everyone knows who Walt Disney/Mickey Mouse is, but unless you pay close attention to that kinda thing, not everyone knows who the current chairman or CEO is in the modern age....)

I just find that a bit odd. 

Anyways... I feel people can still do what they want with Membrane’s parents and get away with it. I’m not changing my “his parents were farmers” headcanon. Sorry comic..

BUT I LOVE THEIR DESIGNS.

I love how Membrane looks a lot like his mother, and his father is just BUFF GAZ with a pipe.... Truely legends. 

GASP!!!

COLLEGEBRANE COLLEGEBRANE COLLEGEBRANE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LOOKOUT DIB, THIS IS YOUR FUTURE!

I FUCKING LOVE HOW OILY HE LOOKS.. AND IT ADDS UP CAUSE...

The Membrane Men when they don’t shower or bathe in months.....

Someone help these two.

(thank god Membrane got better at personal hygiene.) 

Also Teenbrane STILL has his human arms and not his robo-arms.

This means he loses his arms later in life...  YUSH HORRAY FOR HEADCANNONS BEING VALIDATED!

He didn’t lose his arms in a shark accident when he was a KID! It happened WAY LATER!

NICE!

OH MY GOD HE IS BABY!

HE IS SO SHY AND ACKWARD! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

I LOVE HIM!

He is just... all sweat and hiding his work but also very passionate and spiteful. 

Like you can see who he grew up to become, and you can also see how a kid like Dib came out of a man like him...

But I love social anxiety awkward early twenties/late teens Membrane... He is a baby! 

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

MEMBRANE ;w;

Basically, Membrane knows that Santa isn’t real, but he doesn’t want to be mad at his parents so he harbors a grudge on Santa instead... THAT’S SO SWEET I’M CRYING  TTmTT

LIKE THAT IS SO SWEET AND I’M CRYING!

(also I love how me and Ceph understand Membrane’s character too well that the gesture he does in the 2nd panel here are reminisant of our fic so many times... Like we have his mannerisms down and I love when the mask slips from Membrane and we get to see a real person... augh soo good) 

WHO GAVE THEM THE RIGHT TO MAKE MY MAN THIS SAD?! ONLY I CAN MAKE HIM SAD!

MEMBRANE TTMTT

AUUUGHH

Also probably guessing the parents are dead...   I’m just laughing at their designs... 

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

Yes you are, Professor Membrane... Don’t let anyone tell you different. (actually, please do) Well, I mean,  At least you’re trying and get progressively better.

(also... this probably means everytime Dib has asked his Dad for a dangerous weapon to fight Zim with, Membrane just gives it to him no questions asked and I’m doing a MAJOR concern about this man’s parenting skills... get help please good sir!) 

Also, Dib really saved the day again here (like he did in Dib’s big day)

Dib called about destroying santa when Membrane was in one of his lowest points...  He hides it really well...   Especially from his children..

Ah..  I loved that one.

But I’m a huge Membrane Simp though.

I did find the stuff about Membrane’s parents a little weird... like I said regarding how Membrane’s face is the brand of Membrane labs...

Could be true that they were other scientists and that Membrane founded Membrane labs later... but that seems highly unlikely... 

Also... Why does the house look that hug when in the christmas special, it looked kinda like...well... just not that, and kinda more humble from the interior and not some big rocket lab...

So yeah... AMAZING character building for Membrane (which I eat up)

Hilarious Grandparent Designs. But I still prefer @esthyradler​ ‘s Grandparents. The superior Grandparents.

Anyways... The Quarterly was GREAT! 

I kinda find it funny the Zim story is the weaker one of the two again... But I honestly blame the Christmas Horror blob connection and the Christmas Carol parody. 

Or maybe my Membrane Bias is clouding my mind here.  I do have Zim bias but sometimes Zim can frustrate me. There’s just so many times Zim can do and say the same things you know? Zim is my baby, but sometimes his denial and annoyance with everyone can be very predictable at points. Zim was just way more fun in the last quarterly than this one. 

With Membrane it’s more of a blank slate what to do with him cause he ony started really mattering as a character since ETF. Yes, I do love show Membrane, but I admit he wasn’t exactly a character then. More of a presence and excuse for why Dib had access to lab equipment. With Dib’s Dilemma and this Hoilday special, the Quarterly folks seem determined to turn him into a fully realized character with the rest of the cast and I’m extremely excited to hear that!

(Computer issue/backstory WHEN?!) 

I don’t really have ratings or systems for these but hope you liked my thoughts.

Merry Christmas everyone.

[parvuls]

fic: in the space between (1/2)

the astronauts/scifi au literally no one asked for.   a 3k ficlet of eric bittle thriving in places the world thinks he can’t -- in every single universe.

(part 1 | part 2 | read on ao3)

-

    FABER 15 AIR-TO-GROUND TRANSCRIPTIONS

  00 00 00 34 CAPCOM L. DUAN

Just letting you know your trajectory is headed straight into Driucs, Zimmermann. Over.

00 00 00 41 COMMANDER J. ZIMMERMANN

Roger. We copy that, Houston. Changing courses now. 

00 00 00 48 CAPCOM L. DUAN

Get on that. Things aren’t looking good ahead. Over.

00 00 00 55 SECOND PILOT B. KNIGHT

Can’t believe you don’t fucking trust this guy. He’s already tense as shit, Lards, you got nothin’ to worry about. 

00 00 00 57 SECOND PILOT B. KNIGHT

Over.

00 00 01 06 CAPCOM L. DUAN

Keep it clean on the coms, Faber 15. Administration is already on your case. Over.

00 00 01 12 COMMANDER J. ZIMMERMANN

Roger. You’re welcome to come shut him up. Over.

00 00 01 19 CAPCOM L. DUAN

Wish I could, Zimmermann. Change courses, now. Or I’m stealing a ship and coming to beat your ass. 

00 00 01 22 CAPCOM L. DUAN

Off record, Houston. Delete from written transcriptions. 

00 00 01 24 CAPCOM L. DUAN

Just get out of dodge, Faber 15. Over. 

00 00 01 30 COMMANDER J. ZIMMERMANN

Roger. Trajectory adjusted, should be going around Driucs. Over.

00 00 01 36 CAPCOM L. DUAN

(Music: “It’s About Time”)

.

  Driucs is a ball of hot pink mottled with orange from the sandstorms raging on its surface. Shitty thinks that it’s pretty, wants to screencap the ship’s monitors so he can ask Lardo for a painting of it later. Jack thinks that it’s an unnecessary hazard ringed with a dense asteroid belt, and that all he wants to do is bypass it as quickly as possible without colliding with a mass of solid carbon.

“Chillax,” Shitty says to this, kicking his feet up to the control panel. His toes are edging the radar display, and Jack grinds his teeth, shoves them off without bothering to argue about it once again. He’s so tense that he doesn’t even comment on Shitty’s choice of socks; galaxy printed with tiny marijuana leaves, crisse. “Everything will be A-OK. Always fucking is, Jacko.”

Jack wipes his brow with the back of his hand, shifts his hold on the control wheel and tries to focus on getting them through safely. “You know I hate it when you’re being cavalier.”

The door to the flight deck slides open, and someone exclaims, “Oh, what a view!”. Jack doesn’t need to turn his head; Bittle walks up between the two piloting seats, leans right on the center panel to gaze up at Driucs through the big windows. “It’s absolutely gorgeous, ain’t it? We should make a stop there.”

It’s what he always says. Jack specifically asked Holster to keep Bittle in the sleeping quarters until they’re out of the Merudan System because he’s got no patience for this right now. “It runs a hundred and two degrees, Bittle. We can’t make a stop there.”

Bittle talks about everything like they’re driving Route 66 down to Arizona and landing on a foreign planet is just a stop at Wendy’s for a Vanilla Frosty mid-roadtrip. Some days Jack can’t believe NASA ever let him out of the Solar System; other days, he thinks that maybe they did this so he’d never come back.

Bittle either doesn’t notice Jack’s impatient tone or, most likely, chooses to ignore it completely. “A hundred and two degrees is just another hot day in Georgia,” he huffs, rolling his eyes dramatically. “Goodness, it must stop being winter in Canada sometimes, does it not?”

Shitty snorts. His feet are back on the panel again, scratching against each other absently. “I think he means a hundred and two degrees Celsius, brah.”

Bittle pauses, hovers over Jack’s shoulder for a moment. And then says, “Oh. Well, that is rather warm, indeed.”

.

  They picked Bittle up from a tiny space station right by Cleto, where they'd stopped for supplies. The order came from high up in Houston, and was very specific: Bittle was to join them on all ground missions until further notice, and was to lead all communication with nonhum species. They were provided with no background information or justification for expanding Jack’s crew, and Flight Director Hall hung up on Jack when he tried asking.

Bittle, the moment he stepped into the ship through airlock, pulled off his helmet to reveal a head of blonde hair and a radiant smile. His suit had pins of rainbows and bunnies on it next to the American flag, blatantly disobeying uniform regulations. He offered his hand for an enthusiastic handshake despite the bulky EV glove covering it -- without decontaminating first -- and Jack’s first thought was that all of it must be a joke. 

But it wasn’t. It’s been three months since orders came and no further notice was given. Instead, every day since has been filled with ceaseless chatter and pop music playing in the communal area and Bittle’s petulant morning complaints about intergalactic coffee being just not the same.

“You’re not even trying,” Shitty tells Jack nearly every night. He’s made a habit of crawling into Jack’s bunk since their first year on the same crew, gives bullshit excuses about how Jack keeps him warm in the cold, cold outer space. It’d be less troublesome if he at least bothered to put some clothes on to save Jack the uncomfortable conversations with Mission Control Center about workplace relations. “Do not motherfuckin’ lie to my face, Zimmermann -- you are not trying, you didn’t try once, Bittle is a tiny Southern bundle of delight and you’d like the shit out of him if you could get over your sorry ass and try.”

But Jack doesn’t want to try. Jack wants to get to his annual performance review and pass with spotless marks, which may as well not happen if Bittle insists on striking conversation with every nonhum race they encounter during the simplest of missions. Jack didn’t leave Earth to make friends, neither with crewmates nor alien species, and he certainly isn’t looking for friends who put his job at risk.

Shitty won’t stop pestering him about it, though, so Jack takes to pushing him out of the bed and shoving a pillow over his ears. It doesn’t make Shitty stop talking, but Jack is good at pretending to fall back asleep.

.

  Evor is five days’ flight past Dricus. Jack assembles a mission brief in the communal area the night before landing, gathers the boys around the large screens covering the rounded center of the ship. The screens are currently displaying all known information about the people of Evor, who are notoriously unfriendly and are especially inhospitable towards humans. There are reasons, Jack figures, but he never looked too deeply into it; he has no intention of contacting them at all.

“Mission goal is to extract soil samples from the mines on the mountainous side of the planet,” Jack says. The images on the screen behind him switch on voice command, are now a rotating photo of said mines. “It’s mostly unpopulated, so there shouldn’t be any run-ins with the locals. Mission estimated time is three hours on Earth clock.”

Ransom shoves his hand into the bag of chips balanced between Holster and him with a contemplating expression. “Sounds like child’s play. We all going in?”

“Yes,” Jack crosses his arms. He’s no doubt that any of the boys would like to stay behind and get a few extra hours of rest, but he doesn’t like taking unneeded risks. There’s strength in numbers, and he feels safer knowing that they have several eyes watching several backs out there. “Solid landing, no risk to the ship, no reason for anyone to stay here. Get your gear ready tonight.”

“Wait, Jack --” it’s Bittle. Of course it’s Bittle. Jack takes a deep breath and turns to him. He’s sitting in a single seat, legs crossed and hands clasped in his lap. “Listen, I’m not sure it’s such a great idea.” Jack’s scowl must be deeper than usual, because Bittle cringes and hurries to explain, “I mean, no offence to your -- mission planning, or. You’re usually great at that. I just mean, the Evor people don’t like strangers, and they sure as heck won’t like us, and they’re a people of warriors, you know, like, they make their money off lending their fighting skills to other armies --”

“Is there a point to this?” Jack cuts him off. It’s not that he doesn’t think Bittle means well, because he’s not blind: Bittle is made of nothing but good intentions and sunshine demeanor. His tendency to babble on and on simply isn’t welcome during mission briefs. Too time-consuming. 

“Yes,” Bittle insists. He looks unhappy, a tiny furrow wrinkling at his forehead. “Going in with more than two or three men can be seen as a threat, and I just don’t think --”

“It doesn’t matter,” Jack interrupts, “because if all of you will follow orders there’s no reason for us to come across them or stay on the ground for long enough to be perceived as anything but transients. Leaving crewmates behind is a risk that we won’t be taking.”

“But --”

“End of story, Bittle,” Jack says, and it’s louder, meaner than it usually would be. He can see Shitty frowning at him from the corner of his eye, can see Holster glaring into his handful of chips. He gets that they feel overprotective of Bittle, being the smallest and the newest, but if Bittle wants to be part of the crew he’s got to either get with the program or quit. Jack can’t lower his professionalism standards just because Bittle might be offended. “Any more questions?”

There’s silence, so Jack adjourns the brief and turns away. He can hear, muttered from somewhere behind him, “Yeah, what crawled up your ass?”. He chooses to ignore it and focus on turning off the screens, instead of giving it enough thought to start doubting himself.

.

  The worst thing is: Jack can’t figure out how the hell Bittle got there.

“I think he has a degree in like, sociology or something, man,” Holster told him a few weeks after Bittle had come aboard, while they were waiting outside the showers and listening to Bittle’s off-key rendition of a song that’d been in the radio maybe a decade before. “A master’s, I think, definitely no doctorate.”

Holster actually really liked Bittle, right off the bat; they all did, bar Jack, which just made the whole situation even more irritating. But they hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep that night and Bittle’s singing was truly awful, so Holster was probably feeling less kind than usual.

“Shitty’s got four PhDs,” Jack said, banging his head back against the wall, abstractedly thinking that a concussion might make the singing stop. “Ransom’s getting his second one now. While in space. You don’t think it’s fucked that some undereducated humanities kid from nowhere, Georgia is going through the cosmos like he’s on a third grade school trip?”

Because Bittle was terrible at physics, and he paled visibly whenever someone started talking about biomechanics, and Jack had once caught him snoozing while Ransom had been fervently explaining the primary composition of Krer’s atmosphere. The most insulting part of it all, probably, was that NASA used to demand a STEM degree to even qualify for a program, and Bittle barely had a dubious understanding of astronomy, while traveling space.

Of course, the moment the words were out of Jack’s mouth the singing stopped and the bathroom door slid open, Bittle standing behind it. He was wrapped in a towel, beads of water still lingering on his temple, dripping down his cheekbones. His face was red, blotchy, but the hard expression on his face made Jack think that the color wasn’t necessarily from the water temperature. 

“Excuse me,” he said, voice uncharacteristically cold. His shoulder knocked into Jack’s when he passed them, leaving behind a wet patch on Jack’s shirt. Bittle was small, and the door was adequately sized, and there were a good two meters between Holster and Jack, which left the obvious conclusion that it was most definitely on purpose. 

Holster followed his departure with bleary eyes, shifting the bundle of clothes in his hands guiltily. “I think he heard you, bro.”

Jack rubbed at the wet patch with his right hand. “No kidding,” he grunted, and couldn’t really find it in himself to care.

.

  Bittle seems wary from the moment they step foot on the jagged surface of Evor. Holster and Ransom force their way into the space by his sides, bracketing him like two towering bodyguards. They do their best at trying to get him to lighten up while climbing up to the mines; the crew figured out that they all played hockey at some point of high school, so Holster is animatedly explaining the rules of zero-G hockey, all of which he’s made up himself. 

“And sometimes we do full out matches when we meet other ships,” Ransom says, struggling with the unfamiliar gravity force to hoist himself up a big rock. “But a few months ago we were on Islikaru and there was this Russian crew, and this dude, Alexei, oh my god --”

A few small stones tumbling downhill bump into Jack’s boot, drawing his attention away from Ransom’s voice, and he mutes the coms to listen closely for any noises. There’s a rumbling coming from the other side of the mountain. It sounds like -- oncoming thunders, maybe, or a little like --

“Prepare for attack,” Jack turns the coms back on immediately, dives in front of Shitty to block the crew’s path up to the mines. Shitty stumbles, catches himself with one knee and both palms flat on the ground. “Abandon mission, now! Back to the ship!”

A dozen of Evor warriors descend from beyond the peak of the mountain, closing in on them faster than they can run. Jack’s crew doesn’t carry weapons. The Evor warriors are big, look like an odd mix of a gorilla and an elephant that’d be classified as some sort of reptile. Ostie de tabarnak, Jack knows next to nothing about them, and definitely nothing about how to beat them in a fight three-on-one. 

“We’d never make it back on time!” Shitty yells, clambering to his feet and shoving the rest of the boys back down the mountain anyway. He’s right, but Jack has no backup plans and less than no time to come up with any. This was not supposed to happen, there was no reason for this to happen. They’ve been on Evor ten minutes, not even that.

Bittle jumps from between Holster and Ransom, scrambling up to reach Jack. He grabs Jack’s arm, face white and rapid breaths fogging up the visor. His expression is just as terrified as the rest of them, but Jack has never seen him this determined. It makes his feature look sharper, less angelic. “Let me go talk to them! Jack, let me --”

“What?” Jack rips his arm away, tries to shove Bittle back towards the ship as fast as he can. “Bittle, are you insane, they’re coming to attack us --!”

“Because we seem like a threat!” Bittle yells. The volume of his voice catches Jack by surprise, gets him to stop racing down for a moment just long enough to remember that Bittle said the same thing at the previous night’s mission brief. That Bittle must be holding himself back from screaming, I told you so, and now look where we are. “Let me go talk to them, I can explain the situation --”

“No! They’ll attack you before you get a word out --”

“They won’t! I understand their culture, the way they work -- Jack, you just -- you gotta let me try!”

“You’ll die --”

“Oh, Lord, we’re gonna die either way, so what’ve you got to lose, Zimmermann? You gotta trust me to have your back! ”

Jack stops. His breathing is loud in his ears, heart pounding. Shitty, Holster and Ransom are ten meters down the mountain, staring at Bittle and he wide-eyed, waiting for a decision. The Evor people are fast, and they look furious; they’re ninety or maybe a hundred meters away, and closing the gap with every second. Jack swallows, tramps down the panic rising in his throat. 

“Go,” he says finally, voice gravelly. “Go, Bittle.”

Bittle gives him one last wild look, and runs towards imminent death. 

.

  FABER 15 CREW GROUND-TO-GROUND TRANSCRIPTIONS

  00 00 02 04 CAPCOM L. DUAN

Faber 15, Faber 15, this is Houston. Over.

00 00 02 06 CAPCOM L. DUAN

Faber 15, this is Houston. What is going on. Over.

00 00 02 09 CAPCOM L. DUAN

Faber 15, this is Houston. Answer me. Over.

00 00 02 11 CAPCOM L. DUAN

Goddamnit boys, what happened!

00 00 02 14 COMMANDER J. ZIMMERMANN

Houston, this is Faber 15 returning to ship. Over.

00 00 02 17 CAPCOM L. DUAN

Jesus Christ, Jack. Tell me what happened.

00 00 02 21 SECOND PILOT B. KNIGHT

Jesus’ got nothing to do with this, Lardo. This was all Eric R. Bittle.

00 00 02 25 COMMANDER J. ZIMMERMANN

Mission didn’t go as planned. Sending you a full report as soon as we’re back on board. Over.

00 00 02 29 CAPCOM L. DUAN

Roger. Tell me everyone’s okay, Zimmermann. Over.

00 00 02 34 SECOND PILOT B. KNIGHT

Alive and kickin’. Can’t get rid of us that easy. But seriously, tell whoever sent us Bittle that I’m getting them a fruit basket whenever I’m back on Earth. 

00 00 02 38 CAPCOM L. DUAN

Roger. I’ll tell them to expect that. Get that report done ASAP, Zimmermann. And never do this to me again. Over.

00 00 02 42 COMMANDER J. ZIMMERMANN

Roger, Houston. Out.  

.

  The boys all separate into their quarters as soon as they’re back in the ship, their postures slumping and their hair damp with cold sweat. Jack stays behind, twists the airlock chamber shut. It feels like his entire body is heavier than usual, and it isn’t because of the ship’s gravity. 

When he looks up, he finds that Bittle’s still there; there’s an uncomfortable pause when they both hesitate by the passageway. Bittle’s back is turned to Jack, muscles tense beneath the dark fabric of his undershirt, but his head is tilted over his shoulder, searching for Jack’s eyes. His face is closed off, looks as blank as it can get. Jack’s hands clench into fists by his side and it makes the rubber of the gloves creak. He works his jaw as he tries to find the right words to say.

“That was --” he begins, and then swallows with difficulty. Bittle doesn’t turn to fully face him, only lifts his gaze until their eyes lock together. There’s spots of furious red high on his cheeks, his mouth pressed thin. Jack has no idea how to translate this information into any sort of social clue. “You. Euh. That was good, Bittle. Good work.”

Bittle’s mouth parts, his eyebrows knitting together, but his chin drops down so his expression is hidden from Jack’s view before he can try to read into it further. His right hand, leaning on the passage frame and keeping him in the mid-motion of leaving, tightens almost imperceptibly.

“Thanks, Commander,” Bittle says finally. His voice is steady, neutral. He’s still facing away. “Just doing my job.” 

He carries on walking away, then, like his pause in the passageway never occurred at all. The insulating door slides closed behind him, and Jack is left standing in his gear, staring at the white expanses of the walls. He has this sinking feeling that he made a critical misstep has no idea how to undo.

[maddhatterreviews]

Hope punk stories you should check out if you already haven’t

I think after everything 2020 threw at of as a people (And some of the bullshit we’re still dealing with now) we could all use something to lift our spirits a little. And what better that fiction to escape from the horrors of reality for a little bit? 

Just to be clear about this list, this isn’t a top ten or anything. This isn’t me saying these are the best movies/tv shows/ games/ whatever that have that Hope punk feel to it, these are just things that I like and might help you get through shit. 

Effectively the codifier for the term. (Or at least the first piece of fiction the term was applied to) I actually stopped watching She-Ra about halfway through the second season, but I’ve been meaning to get back into it for a while. Although I do know that the series ends with Adora and Catra kissing and that somehow fixes everything. And if saving the universe with the power of love isn’t Hope Punk, I don’t know what the fuck is.

If you follow me, you already know how much I love this show. But If I’m being honest, the Hope Punk feel doesn’t really start until the three season. Until then it a pretty generic action anime. Still good though. The show is in more of a darker, “Oh god, we’re all screwed” phase of the story (Not to mention a mid-season hiatus) but it wouldn’t be Hope Punk if there wasn’t some darkness to fight against, right?

Yea, I think this counts. Parks and Rec is all about a genuinely altruistic politician trying to make the city she loves better despite opposition from seemingly every direction, and backed up by a group of loyal friends. As weird as it might seem to call a government worker punk, that is what Hope Punk is all about. And for all the supernatural evils that appear in these other stories, none of them are as scary as an incompetently run branch of the US government.

The first Kingdom Hearts is my favorite game of all time. And as weird and convoluted as the story gets, I still love these games. Sora is the ultimate Hope Punk hero; an eternal optimist who stares down the most wretched darkness the Worlds have to throw at him with a smile. (And a magical sword shaped like a key) What makes Kingdom Hearts Hope Punk to me, is the fact that the thing that makes Sora so powerful isn’t necessarily the Keyblade, but all of the people he’s connected with over the course of the series. Sora himself says it best “My friends are my power!” Saving the Universe with the power of love and friendship.

Okay I sure this is another one that’s gonna throw some people off. But despite the Crow being a gothic revenge story, it’s also about hope and kindness. Or at least the movie is, I still haven’t read the comic. Sure, Eric Draven kills a bunch of cartoonish psychopaths in the most violent ways possible, but he only kills the people who murdered his girlfriend and himself, he protects a young girl he was friends with when he was alive, helps the girl’s mother get her life back together (by scaring the shit of her, but it worked) and only goes after the big bad to save someone that has nothing to do with his revenge mission. I don’t feel like I’m doing this movie the right justice. So if you’ve never seen the Crow, go check it out. I think it’s on Hulu and HBO max.

Sure this was written long before the concept of punk was even a thing, but it’s the story of quite literally the smallest, least powerful being in the world going up against an all-powerful, damn near godlike overlord to save the world. The extended cast doing what they can to push against an insurmountable force of evil, and everything coming down to two tiny hobbits. This shit is punk.

I’m not the biggest Doctor Who fan in the world. I’ve seen most of the new series, but nothing of the original. And I still haven’t watched anything of the 13th Doctor. But I think there is absolutely an argument that can be made that Doctor Who is Hope Punk. 

No, Not you!

That’s Better.

I don’t know, this one might be a stretch, especially since Hellboy is another government agent. But he does quit eventually. So there’s that. And I think it says something that the thing Hellboy fights against is the concept of Destiny itself. Hellboy doesn’t care where he came from or what everyone whats him to do or be. He just wants to live his life the way he wants to. Even when Hellboy get sent to hell, he still just trying to chill and live...Uh, you know what I mean. 

Spiderman feels like the physical embodiment of Hope Punk. Nothing in his life goes right. His friends and family are constantly either dying or turning into supervillains, half the time New York hates him despite how many times he’s saved, the guys spear heading the Spidy hate is his own boss (Who isn’t a big fan of Peter either) not to mention he’s just continually getting his ass kicked and is perpetually broke. But in the face of all his hardships and heart breaks, Spiderman keeps fighting the good fight. No many how hard he gets knocked down, he always gets back up. There’s a reason the “Shear Strength” shot (As I call it) is such an iconic panel from the Spiderman comics. I mean...just read this fucking panel. Sipderman IS Hope Punk. And there’re plenty of movies, cartoons, games, and of course the comics are always easy to find. The Dan Slott run is one of my personal favorites. 

I’m sure among any one of these there’s something that will get you through these troubling times. 

[chicgeekgirl89]

A Tale of a Fateful Trip: Chap. 2

Fandom: NCIS LA

Characters: G Callen, Sam Hanna, Kensi Blye, Marty Deeks, Nell Jones, Eric Beale, Otis

Read Chapter 1 Here

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Callen returned much sooner than he should have, a grim look on his face. “Radio’s out,” he said. “And I’m pretty sure even if the engine is working, we’re not going anywhere. The board does…not look good.”

Kensi paused her bagging and swiped a hand across her forehead. “And we’re too far out for cell service.”

“Does Sam have a spare radio?” Nell asked.

“He does,” Callen said. “But Kam is camping with friends this weekend and he sent it with her.”

“Well that’s perfect timing,” Nell said. 

“Did you find anything interesting up here?” Callen asked.

“Just your standard bullets and whatever shell casings we dropped,” Kensi said. “Nothing special or unusual that would help us identify whoever was on that boat.”

“Okay then,” Callen said. “And Eric? How are things over the side?”

Eric was still hanging over the railing and gave him a thumbs up without lifting his head. 

Callen nodded. “Excellent.”

Meanwhile downstairs Sam was pulling up the panels that hid the engine. The area was already full of water. Sam swore. “Get a bucket. We’ve got to get some of this out of here.”

It took them ten minutes to bail enough water out to find the hole. “I’m guessing we need to patch that?” Deeks asked.

“I’ve got some supplies in the wheelhouse,” Sam said.

“I’ll get it,” Deeks said, moving back up the stairs. He and Sam worked for nearly thirty minutes to get the boat water tight again. “It’s a temporary fix,” Sam said finally. They were both soaking wet and dirty with engine grease. “At least we won’t sink.”

“What about the engine itself?” Deeks asked.

“Too wet to say,” Sam said. “Might dry out enough on its own, might need to be replaced.”

“But either way, we’re not going anywhere for a while,”  Deeks said.

“Nope,” Sam sighed. “We’re dead in the water.”

“What’s our status?” Callen asked when they’d returned topside.

“Water in the engine,” Sam said. “The radio?”

Callen shook his head.

The weight of the situation started to fall over all of them. Eric lifted his head, eyes wide. “Are we—-“

“No,” Callen cut him off. “No, don’t say anything. Let’s just…take a moment, and we’ll figure this out.”

It was certainly something of a shock to all of them to find themselves at the mercy of the ocean. Not that they hadn’t been in tight spots before, but this one seemed particularly tight and unexpected.

“Oh my god, we really are an episode of Gilligan’s Island,” Eric finally said in horror.

“No we’re not,” Sam snapped. “We’re on a boat, not an island, and I have enough supplies to last us a month at least.”

“Yeah spare blankets and water bottles aren’t going to be much help if our new friends show back up,” Deeks said, sinking down onto the deck since they weren’t going anywhere anytime soon.

“And I’m not really interested in subsisting on a diet of hardtack and MRE’s for the rest of my life, Skipper,” Callen said.

“Don’t call me Skipper,” Sam snapped.

“If Sam is the Skipper and Callen is Gilligan, who am I?” Deeks asked.

“You and Kensi are the Millionaire and his wife,” Eric said.

“What’s your reasoning on that?” Callen asked, pretending to feign disinterest. 

“Well they’re married.”

“Unless Beyoncé or Brad Pitt take a sudden interest in buying out the bar I think ‘millionaire’ might be a stretch,” Deeks said.

“And I’m not sure I’m good with being reduced to ‘and his wife,’” Kensi said.

“Wait,” Nell said, “if they’re the Millionaire and his wife who does that make you?”

“The professor,” Eric said with a grin. “Naturally.”

“I assume I’m Ginger then?” Nell asked.

Eric squinted at her. “No Ginger would be Hetty if she were here.”

“So I’m Mary Ann?!” Nell cried indignantly. “I don’t want to be Mary Ann! Eric I have red hair.”

“You can be Gilligan if you want,” Callen offered.

“We are not Gilligan’s Island!” Sam practically yelled.

“Okay, this isn’t productive, we can’t just sit here,” Kensi said, getting to her feet. 

“Some of us are lying here,” Deeks said, from where he was stretched out on the deck, an arm thrown over his face.

“Nell’s right,” Callen said. “We need to figure something out.”

“I can work on the radio,” Eric said right before he blanched and had to lean over the side again.

“Yeah I think maybe I’ll handle that,” Nell said, her nose wrinkled.

“I’ll come with you,” Callen offered.

“I’ll go take another look at the engine,” Sam said.

“And Deeks and I will gather up any other weapons and ammo we can find,” Kensi said.

“And I’ll—“ Eric gagged and then caught himself. “I’ll stay here.”

“Good plan buddy,” Deeks said, patting him on the shoulder. 

Nell stopped short when she walked into the wheelhouse. “Wow. Lucky shot indeed,” she said as she took in the damage.

It had apparently been more than one shot, the entire board was full of holes. She took a deep breath. “I think I’m going to need a drink.”

“C’mon,” Callen said, reaching out and touching a couple of switches, one of which fell off and dropped heavily onto the floor. “You’ve seen worse than this right?”

“Have I?” Nell asked, raising her eyebrows. “This thing looks like a piece of Swiss cheese.”

“Come on Mary Ann,” Callen nudged her shoulder. “The Professor’s been hit on the head by a coconut and the Millionaire and his wife are searching for their missing diamond so you’re our only hope.”

“Haha,” Nell said as she began to pull out wires. “You don’t have to stay up here with me.”

“Are you insinuating that I don’t have the skillset to help you with this task?” Callen asked with mock hurt.

Nell sent him a bemused look. “Would you rather I say it outright Gilligan?”

“Fair point. But I can hold things.”

“Fabulous.” She yanked hard and the entire top of the console came off. “Hold this.”

“Ah,” Deeks took a deep breath. “Nothing like an afternoon of weapons requisition on the high seas. Maybe after this we can swab the poop deck or walk the plank.”

“Don’t let Sam hear you say that,” Kensi told him as she pulled a Beretta from behind a wall panel. “He’ll probably take you up on it.”

“Touché.” Deeks looked at the weapon she’d given him and checked the chamber. “God this boat is better armed than the entire Navy. Where does he keep the grenade launcher?”

“I don’t think grenade launchers are standard issue for boats,” Kensi said as she clicked the panel back into place.

“Yeah well neither are Glocks, Sigs, and shot guns,” Deeks said. “I’m surprised the boat hasn’t sunk from the weight of the ammo on board.”

“And aren’t we glad he not only follows Navy mottos but the Boy Scout ones too?” Kensi said as she straightened.

“This takes ‘always be prepared’ to a whole new level,” Deeks said as he strapped a Glock to his thigh.

Kensi checked her watch. “Well I guess we’re not getting back in time for dinner with your mom tonight.”

“Gee what a shame,” Deeks said. “Missing dinner with my mother and her new boy toy might actually be the silver lining to this tragedy.” He scratched at his neck. “Although she is definitely going to freak out if we don’t show with no warning. She’ll probably call the Pentagon.”

“Well then at least someone will be looking for us,” Kensi said. “Can you imagine if your mom ends up being the one to save our asses out here?”

“Oh god,” Deeks groaned. “We’ll never hear the end of it. She’ll want a medal of honor.”

“Well at least then we’d be rescued instead of having to live out our days on a deserted island,” Kensi said. 

“I don’t know,” Deeks said. “Might not be so bad.”

Kensi raised her eyebrows at him. “You realize there are no cronuts on a deserted island.”

“Yes,” Deeks said. “But there are also no bad guys with guns. Or bills.”

“No indoor plumbing, no beer…”

“We can make coconut beer,” Deeks said then did a double take. “Actually, that’s not a bad idea.”

Kensi grimaced. “Yeah, no. It’s a pretty terrible idea.”

“Damn it!” Sam swore as the wrench he was using went splashing into the water. 

“Everything okay down here?” Eric’s voice drifted down the staircase.

“My boat is full of holes everything is damn well not okay,” Sam huffed.

Eric finished his descent and stopped at the bottom of the stairs. “You need any help?”

“I thought you were losing your lunch over the side,” Sam said.

“I think the bracelet is finally kicking in,” Eric said, holding up his wrist. “I’m ship shape now!”

Sam studied him for a moment and then pointed the rescued wrench at him. “If you puke down here…”

Eric held up a hand. “I will not. I promise.” He took a step closer. “Mind if I take a look?”

Sam sat back. “Be my guest.”

Eric poked around for a few minutes. “Nothing looks cracked or broken.” He fiddled with some more connectors. “I’m guessing you got water in the fuel.”

“Yeah that’s what I thought,” Sam said, face showing defeat. “Nothing we can do about that out here.”

He tossed the wrench against the wall where it made a dull clanging sound before it dropped back into the water. “Hey, this isn’t your fault,” Eric said.

“I know it’s not my fault. Doesn’t stop me from being mad about it.” Sam was seething. “If I find out who did this I’m going to put them in the ground.”

“You could send them to Davey Jones’ Locker,” Eric said with a grin, which he quickly wiped off his face at the sight of Sam’s now perpetual glare. “Or not. The ground is fine.”

Sam stood. “Come on. Nothing else we can do down here. Might as well go be useful somewhere else.”

“Aye aye Skipper!” Eric said with a mock salute. 

“Call me Skipper one more time and you’ll be floating home in a life preserver.”

Kensi and Deeks headed up to the wheelhouse to arm Callen and Nell then met Sam and Eric on deck to do the same. “Any luck with the engine?” Kensi asked.

“Tank is full of water,” Sam said. “Can’t pump it out here.”

“So we’re sitting ducks,” Deeks said.

“Pretty much,” Eric said. “How’s Nell doing with the radio?”

“It’s a mess,” Kensi told him. “There’s wires and tape and I don’t even know what else.”

“I’ll go see if she needs any help,” Eric said.

“You doing okay?” Kensi asked Sam.

He shook his head. “I’m just sorry we’re in this mess.”

Deeks put a hand on his shoulder. “They got the jump on all of us. There’s literally nothing we could have done.”

“Hey,” Callen appeared. “Eric said the engine’s no good?”

Sam shook his head. “Looks like Nell’s our only hope.”

“So…no different from any other case?” Deeks asked with a grin.

“Pretty much,” Callen said. 

“So I guess we just…wait?” Kensi asked.

It turned out they were incredibly bad at waiting and doing nothing. And it didn’t help matters when half an hour later Nell and Eric returned, Nell in a particularly bad mood. “It’s totally fried,” she griped, dropping down next to Callen on the deck. “Nothing we can do.”

None of them liked being beaten. It might have helped if they could have just sat back, had a couple beers, done a little more fishing, and hung out while they waited for a rescue from some passerby. But with the threat of possibly sinking or their new enemies returning to finish them off, nobody felt safe enough to get even slightly inebriated. 

That didn’t seem to matter after a while as Eric and Deeks began to brainstorm increasingly complicated scenarios to get themselves out of this mess. “Titanic!” Deeks said with a snap of his fingers.

“Yes!” Eric said excitedly. “We just take the door off the wheelhouse—“

“No one is taking my boat apart anymore than it already is,” Sam growled.

“One of us could swim for it,” Callen said mildly, stirring the pot in the subtle way he enjoyed so much. 

Eric eyed Sam critically. “How long can you hold your breath?”

“What about Otis?” Deeks asked.

“What about Otis?” Sam was looking beyond irritable at this point.

“Lassie got little Timmy out of the well every week…” Deeks said with raised eyebrows.

“He’s not a trained monkey!” Sam said. “Besides, he doesn’t come this far out.”

There was a moment of stymied silence. “What if we manage to make landfall and spell out SOS in the sand?” Eric asked.

“If we make landfall I want my hut by the good coconut tree,” Callen said.

“First of all we’re anchored, second of all if we did make landfall it would be on an island controlled by the Navy, so we’d already be rescued,” Nell said.

“Smoke signal?” Deeks asked.

“Build a raft out of life vests?” Eric countered.

“Train two dolphins and water ski!”

“Oh my god I can’t live on an island for three years with the two of you!” Kensi said.

“You don’t want to reenact Castaway with me babe?” Deeks asked.

Callen raised his eyebrows. “In that situation, which one of you is Tom Hanks and which one is Wilson?”

“Oh my god, this is starting to feel a lot less like Castaway and a lot more like Lord of the Flies,” Nell huffed.

“I think it’s about to get a lot more Captain Phillips,” Eric said in alarm, pointing toward the water.

Sure enough the boat from before was speeding back toward them. “Everybody arm up!” Sam yelled.

They all ducked below the railing, weapons at the ready. “They’ve got us seriously out gunned,” Callen said as he cocked his rifle. 

“Then we’ve got to make them think we’ve got more firepower than we do,” Sam said.

“Any chance you’ve got a harpoon on this thing Captain Ahab?” Deeks called.

Within minutes gunfire began to pepper the side of the boat again, all of the agents returning fire as best they could with their limited supplies.

“I’m out!” Deeks yelled far too soon.

“Me too!” Callen yelled.

Kensi popped up over the side and spent her last few rounds. “That’s it for me!”

A terrible realization began to settle over the group as their ammo was spent. “Okay,” Callen said, voice slightly thick with emotion. “They’re going to take the boat. Do what they say. And if you can see a way to get out…take it. Don’t worry about the rest of us.”

Kensi and Deeks locked eyes, their hands automatically finding one another. Nell and Eric did the same, both a little pale. Sam looked at Callen. “I’m not holding your hand.”

“Wouldn’t expect it big guy.”

The gunfire intensified, causing all of them to huddle closer to the deck as wood splintered and flew in their faces. 

And then, when all hope seemed lost, a siren shattered through the gunfire and suddenly they weren’t being sprayed with bullets anymore. The team exchanged quizzical looks and then Callen popped his head over the side, ducking back down almost immediately. “Oh thank god.”

“What? What is it?” Kensi asked anxiously.

Callen took a breath and let his head fall back in relief. “It’s the Coast Guard.”

“Seriously?!” Everyone scrambled upward to take a look.

“Oh my god,” Nell said, thumping down onto the deck in relief. “Oh my god.”

“I will never make another negative Coast Guard joke as long as I live,” Deeks said fervently. 

The gunfire finally ceased all together and the Coast Guard ship drew close to them. “This is the US Coast Guard. Prepare to be boarded.”

Weapons were dropped immediately as they all found their badges and ID’s. Within minutes they were being hooked up for a tow as a second Coast Guard vessel appeared to help deal with their drug runner pals. “How on earth did you find us?” Callen asked one of the guardsman.

“Craziest thing I’ve ever seen. This sea lion came up to the boat and wouldn’t leave us alone,” he said. “We ended up following him and he led us right to that drug boat.”

Shock and surprise crossed all their faces. “Somebody owes Otis is a very large mackerel,” Callen said.

By the time they reached the dock everyone was exhausted and more than a little cranky. “Ow!” Deeks said with every move. 

“I told you to put on sunscreen,” Kensi admonished.

“I was a little busy trying not to die,” he shot back.

Nell was still bemoaning her inability to get the radio working. “If we’d just connected the—“

“Let it go,” Eric advised, putting an arm around her shoulders.

“You can’t stay on the boat tonight,” Callen argued with Sam. “It’s full of holes and doesn’t have a working engine.”

“I’ve stayed in worse places,” Sam argued back.

“Sam, why don’t you come to our place,” Kensi offered.

“Yeah at least we have furniture for you to sleep on,” Deeks said, looking pointedly at Callen.

“I have a bed!” Callen protested.

“Yes, one bed. Are you two going to cuddle all night long?” Kensi asked.

“Thanks, but no thanks,” Sam declined. “My boat and I will be just fine.”

As it turned out it was not fine. The dockmaster wouldn’t allow the boat to stay in the condition it was in. “Well then Skipper, looks like you’re coming home with us,” Deeks said.

“You can rub some aloe on Deeks’ back,” Callen said with a smirk.

Sam wrinkled his nose. “Nobody had better be rubbing anything near me.”

[timextoxhajima]

HOSTIS, Chapter XI: Et Invisibilia Filum, An Invisible String

Previous Chapter (X: Medium Duorum)

Member: Lee Hyunjae (tbz)

Genre (by chapter): drama, comedy, fluff

Category: Short Novel/Long Series

“nice to know that you’re beginning to enjoy this.”

you spend most of the day afterwards either making rounds or sitting at your cubicle in the research department working on whatever doctor kim assigned you to do. 

it was a little painful and agonising to have him talk to you and lee hyunjae so casually, given what happened earlier in the day, but doctor kim seemed like he couldn’t care less -- or rather... he just didn’t bother as long as the two of you did whatever you needed to do.

eric was sitting about two tables to your left, and lee hyunjae was sitting at a cubicle that was behind yours, so thank god you wouldn’t need to see him unless you stood up and turned around. 

the screen of the computer was sucking you into its void of virtual reality of words, numbers and medical terms, until mother nature called to you from outside the building.

your entire body shrinks and crouches in itself upon the loud clap, and the lightning flashes throughout the floor through the offices that lined the perimeter of the area. 

the words on the screen lose your attention despite your eyes still glued to it. there was nothing on the document that was being processed in your head while the rumble dies down, the lightning still flashing every few seconds 

your fingers begin to dig into your ear canals when the rain starts to slap against the windows of the offices. the sound of mother nature was so intimidating, even with all the layers and doors of glass between you and the outside world. 

you start to wonder about the ruthlessness of mother nature. 

you start to think of mrs kang. 

light flashes through the space again and you duck into your seat like someone just hurled a ball at you.

the lack of light and anything in your vision tells you that your lids were tightly shut, elbows resting on the table top as you wait for your heart to calm down from the rampant slamming against the insides of your rib cage. 

you could hear your breath in your own head but the shuffling around the space doesn’t die down. 

after you were confident the sky was done playing its own definition of music, your eyes open and you free your ears again, the scattered conversations and clacking of the keyboards coming back into your wariness. 

you were just about to return to your work again when your chair gets pulled backwards, and your neck whips a little too fast to glare at the person you saw in your computer screen.

“stop being such a wuss,” he says. your eyes roll away and he releases your chair. “i’ve decided to be nice today, on the account that it’s raining... you’ll meet me in the basement and i’ll let you sit in my car. your rounds today are later than mine, so i’ll be in the basement by the time you’re done.”

lee hyunjae doesn’t wait for you to respond before looking away like he was searching for someone else. he turns on his heels and walks away with his clipboard, and the clock between the two lifts which he stops in front of reminds you that he was going off for one of his rounds. 

“fuck’s wrong with him...” his back disappears into the lift and he looks at you with eyes that made your stomach flip. 

you shudder in disbelief, looking away just as the lift doors closed. 

the rain starts to let up in the hours of the evening, though the sun was really nowhere in sight. doctor kim had dragged eric to some research archive facility by the time you were needed for your rounds, so you begin to count the days you should have eric’s number when you didn’t.

your rounds concluded with a patient refusing to eat his dinner, and he said he’d eat only if you stayed to feed him, which you happily obliged. 

the nurses around were offering to take over you, knowing that you were done for the day. but being around your patients and creating a real, personal level of connection with them was different from simply being their doctor. 

maybe this was why your parents were never available, because all they wanted to do was to be a good doctor, not just a doctor. 

the happiness and satisfaction that overwhelmed you while he told you stories about his life while you fed him was so rewarding. there was nothing in the world that you would’ve loved more than to sit here and connect with another person. 

not just because you were his doctor, not because he was your patient.

the nurse hands you his medication and among the pills was one that made him drowsy, so it wasn’t long before his lids started to get heavy and you watched him drift off to sleep while he bid good bye to you. 

the time strikes you on the way down to the basement, and you were already prepared to go home on your own. there was no way lee hyunjae would’ve waited for you for nearly an hour.

but you still chose to try your hand at surprising yourself, so when the lift doors open to see him waiting for the lift, your eyes widen in pleasant wonder.

strangely enough, worry was written all over his face in his features, and his eyes looked like the ones you imagined he would have if he was talking to mrs kang. the phone was planted to his ear while someone speaks to him on the other end, and his eyes slowly tear away from yours to return his attention back to the conversation. 

“alright, i understand. i haven’t left the building, so give me a few minutes, i’ll be right there.”

doctor duties.

the phone gets slid back into his pocket and his chin tilts upwards, free hand patting down his dress shirt with his knuckles whitening around the handle of his briefcase. 

you were expecting him to berate you for being an hour late, given that stupid arrogant chin tilt he always did before he pissed you off.

yet for the first time in ten years, he speaks to you like he wasn’t going to shove a knife through your stomach. 

“i’m sorry, i have to head back up. mr jung-- my patient -- might have suffered a stroke, and the nurses need me to take a look at him because they couldn’t tell what induced it.”

the loss of words become oddly overwhelming, yet somewhat fascinating, when you had trouble processing his tone. 

not only that; he looked like a whole other person. 

“uh-- no, it’s fine,” you shook your head and stepped back into the lift, gesturing for him to come in. “whatever the patient needs.”

the lift panel lights up when you hit the floor where the wards he was in charge of was located, and you could feel his attention pressed into your side profile as he steps in.

there was a peculiar atmosphere that hung between the two of you throughout the entire lift ride, but when the door opens, he makes such large steps that made it difficult for you to catch up with. he didn’t even bother clocking back in, only heading straight for the ward where the patient of concern was in. 

you watch the edge of his briefcase disappear into the ward while you struggle to tail him, and the sight of him dropping it at the foot of the bed to pick up the clipboard with the patient records made you feel like you’ve just stepped into an alternate universe. 

one where lee hyunjae wasn’t your other ares; one where he wasn’t your lucifer.

you stay outside when you realise none of the patients in this ward were yours, and you observe him walking around the bed to the iv drip, talking to the patient, and the nurse who came around from behind you when she noticed him inside. 

the nodding, the small polite smiles, the frowns and the stress on his face make you wonder if you’ve ever looked like that, even if it wasn’t for him to see. watching him hold the patient’s arm while the nurse hands him gloves and a mask for him to carry out whatever procedures he needed to do made you feel immense guilt. 

for a second, you wished he wasn’t your enemy.

your phone chimes in the back of your jeans, and you open it to see that your father had dropped you a text.

dad: are you at home now? your mother and i are in the area, wanted to check if you’re home for us to drop in on you. 

the distant talking inside the ward earns your attention again, and this time he was sitting on a chair by the side of the bed, diligently writing down notes while both the nurse and the patient talk to him. the dim lighting of the ward (due to some of the patients already sleeping) was barely enough for you to make out the look of concern and professionalism on his face. 

but beyond that, you could see little strands of tiredness and spent energy, yet he still kept that little comforting smile on his face.

you wonder what it would’ve been like if the two of you didn’t just spend a decade at each other’s throat.

you: sorry dad, i got caught up in work today, i won’t be home early. 

dad: it’s alright! completely understandable. give me a call once you’re back home, we miss you.

a weak smile spreads on your lips before you shove it back into your pocket, and a passing pair of nurses walk past you talking about dinner. 

right, dinner.

you inhale a large breath as you pull out your phone again, and your finger hits the application button even before your mind tells you to. 

hyunjae spends easily forty five minutes talking to and checking on his patient, even the nurse was sent away by him to have dinner when he found out she hadn’t eaten. 

your rear was planted to the stool in the pantry of that floor, two boxes of ordered food charged to your card sitting on the table behind you. you could still hear the little howls of wind that were seeping in through the cracks of the pantry window from the aftermath of the thunderstorm, but this espresso machine seemed to warrant your attention more. 

never in your life have you felt so defeated by a stupid machine; you’ve pressed every single button on the damn device and yet the thing doesn’t come alive. 

you weren’t sure how long you’ve been angrily staring at it, but you were snapped back to reality when the pantry door beeps open. 

he was carrying his briefcase and the concern in his eyes was slowly wearing away, so you could guess he’s probably fixed whatever happened with his patient. 

“if i didn’t know any better, i’d think you were going to murder that coffee machine.”

your lips get sucked between your teeth as you watch him head over to the table and pull the boxes open. setting his briefcase on the floor, he sits down on the stool opposite where you would be sitting, and he picks up his phone instead of eating without you at the table. 

the machine takes your attention away again when he starts talking to his mother over the phone; most of the time he was just convincing her he’s eaten and he’s back at home. 

shoving your fingerpads into all the buttons on the machine, you shake your head while listening to him lie to his mother over the phone.

then again, you did it too.

“alright, yeah... i got it... okay, bye mom, i’ll see you soon.”

you hear a small thud where his phone would be placed on the table, and the silence only makes you more agitated with the coffee machine.

“that thing’s broken by the way. it doesn’t work.”

a frown slaps itself on your face when you turn around to glare at him in utter irony. 

“so-- you just sat there and let me fiddle with this thing, which doesn’t work, for the entire duration you were here?”

his laughter ripples through the air when he gets off the stool and strides to you, his hands in his pockets and one of your hands still on the machine. an exasperated sigh leaves your lips when you turn around to turn off the main switch connected to the machine, and his footsteps begin to near you.

“it was entertaining to watch you try to figure out something that doesn’t work.”

a bemused scoff runs off your tongue just as you turn around, only to find him barely a foot away from you. your pupils dart away when you notice his hands coming out of his pockets.

this was all too familiar but why does it feel different?

one of his fingers finds the belt loop on the back of your jeans and he pushes you forward. your palms find his chest for support upon the sudden movement, but your eyes flutter shut when kisses you for the third time that day. 

it lasted for barely five seconds, but the warmth from him flowing into you was eerily comforting, so much that you were beginning to feel scared.

he pulls away and scans your eyes for a moment, but it’s not lee hyunjae if he doesn’t open his mouth to say something that completely ruins the magic of the moment.

“nice to know that you’re beginning to enjoy this.”

“ugh,” you huff and push him off yourself, your attention gravitating back to the food. “you’re unbelievable.”

you were worried you were going to get used to it, or that you were probably never going to get used to it; having hyunjae sitting directly opposite you, eating his food that you ordered, and telling you everything about the patient he was just attending to.

two weeks ago, you would’ve sworn that he wouldn’t even want to be in the same room as you, since you didn’t either. 

it was becoming a little complex to understand the relationship that was developing between the two of you. 

sure, his antic quality isn’t going to vanish completely; that was what most of your rivalry with him was based off: constant bullying and vulgarity-hurling fueled by resentment and hatred.

then again, it could just be because the both of you had nothing to compete for anymore, besides a promotion of course.

hyunjae keeps to his word and lets you follow him to the car, the entire time spent in silence because the both of you were spent from the day. 

the window by the passengers’ seat was slightly rolled down, the scent of rain in puddles on the asphalt road made you feel like you were in another country. 

it was your favourite part of a thunderstorm. 

the amber lights from the street lamps were being reflected off the puddles, every now and then a ripple appearing from dust or a lone drop of water dripping from a tree. 

the cool air was gently whizzing past your face as the car drove along the road, and the sound of the tires against the gravel was oddly intriguing. 

you were surprised that lee hyunjae hasn’t said a word since he started driving, only occasionally hearing a shuffle when he fiddles with the cover of the steering wheel. 

the car pulls up right outside your residence and a dog barks somewhere in the distance, your eyes fixating on the little droplets still rolling off the leaves of the plants in your backyard. 

“you were awfully quiet throughout the ride.”

the fresh scent of the rain and nature gets sucked into your lungs, comforted that he didn’t ruin the moment again. 

“i’ve learnt to keep my mouth shut whenever i want some peace and quiet.”

you pause.

“maybe you should try that too,” you turn your head to face him, and he smiles with a scoff, one hand still on the steering wheel. he turns off the engine and gets out of the car, and your eyes trail along his movements, waiting for him to drag you out of the vehicle.

he gets the door of the passenger’s seat open, and he goes ahead to ruin the moment. 

“okay now, get out of my car.”

a snort coughs its way up your nose and you shake your head, grabbing all your belongings and stepping out of the car. 

“you really know how to make the most of a--”

another kiss.

one arm finds your waist and the other rests lightly on your chin to help angle your jaw. the gentle, chilly breeze runs shivers down your spine despite being in a coat, and butterflies start to emerge in your gut, the same way they did the first time you had a conversation with eric.

hyunjae’s eyes open to meet yours after he slowly pulls away, the air rushing between the two of you creating some sickening sense of longing in your blood. 

his lips get sucked between his teeth as he gradually loosens his hold around you, and something flashes in his eyes before he completely lets you go. 

“stop getting your lipstick on me.”

“... wha-- jesus!” your lips fall apart in complete disbelief and bewilderment, his hand reaching to the door behind you and slamming it shut against the door. “how is it my fault tha--”

“shut up and go home,” he gives you a gentle push towards your residence and he turns on his heels. 

you were blinking so profusely, you would’ve thought you were having a seizure while you watched him walk back round to the drivers’ seat.

he gets it open and has one foot into the vehicle when he pauses, looks up, and raises his voice loud enough for you to hear. 

“i’ll come pick you up tomorrow morning.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: can i just say im so fucking uwu for this two rn... but im gna be honest... i’m #teameric... this shit hurted... big time hurted...

Chapter XII: Terminus

[adultswim2021]

Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job #46: “Lucky” | April 5, 2010 - 12:30AM | S05E06

We start this one off with a Kids Break. This time the kids are fully gothed-out. Tim’s trouble is that his father lost his job and now he resorts to eating his boogers as a meal replacement. This is especially disgusting and off-putting, so much so that when I watched this episode in VLC I bolted out of my chair to turn it off when the episode looped and this played for a second time. There might be worse Kid Breaks, but there also might not be. Hard to say! 

This one is one of my least favorite wraparounds: Tim has a “Musky Tusk” Necklace, which supposedly gives him good luck. You have to rub dead animals on it to activate it’s charms. They sorta dash this one off, being very disrespectful to their viewers. Hell, I got high for this one and not even that made me do smiles. They did get Ron Lynch to do a voice-over for a Musky Tusk pitch, which is the strongest part of the whole wraparound. I have a mild respect for them cutting to the closing credits early, but Space Ghost already did that, son. I hate how this one ends! 

Okay, sketches now. A sketch about Pierre using “dream cream”, a topical ointment you apply to your torso so you can have wonderful dreams. Pierre dreams that he’s hanging out with a beautiful boy and his dad. They have a cookout, where Pierre is slightly flirty with both of them. He only vocalizes his attraction to the dad, though. In one fairly dicey scene, Pierre hand feeds the boy various meats, including a hot dog. He’s also really pleased with the internet situation while looking at “sites for dads”, murmuring “megabytes per second must be in the billions!” Pierre’s dream eventually turns out to be a nightmare after the cream gets into his mouth, which you’re not supposed to let happen. 

This sketch actually wound up being a headache for Tim & Eric. The suggestively creepy things going on between Pierre and the boy in particular are a little squirmy. I always took the humor to simply be about Pierre being mindlessly inappropriate, and I don’t think the joke is supposed to be that he’s definitely a pedophile. He’s attracted to boys because it means a dad is nearby. That’s my take, anyway. But having a child present during a pseudo-sexual encounter is pretty eyebrow-raising.

This episode was actually briefly withdrawn from repeats because, I believe, the child actor’s parents weren’t pleased with the final sketch. I remember I actually attended an Adult Swim comic-con panel after this aired and somebody asked Tim & Eric why this episode hadn’t been rerun yet. Tim said it had something to do with being sloppy with paperwork, like they didn’t get a release signed properly or something. I vaguely recall Tim being asked about it on Office Hours and him saying something closer to what I’m alleging had happened.

My personal theory is that Tim & Eric were legally in the clear for the sketch, but just didn’t wanna upset the kid’s family and decided the moral thing to do would be to alter the sketch. So, they animated a disgusting-looking cartoon boy over the real kid to erase all traces of the child actor in the sketch. This is the version that is currently in circulation. It appeared on the DVD, and is streaming on Max. I managed to dig up a version originally sourced from Amazon, which apparently had the original cut available in HD for a brief moment. Thank piracy that it still exists.

This came back to haunt them in recent years. Pedo-panic got ramped up with shit like QAnon, and a lot of it was bogus and was wielded as a political tool. Sam Hyde’s fans in particular went after Tim & Eric, pointing towards stuff like this, and Steve Mahanahan’s child clown outlet sketches in particular. I was a fairly regular viewer of Tim Heidecker’s Office Hours, and I actually remember people calling in and trying to put Tim’s feet to the fire about this sketch. At one point one of them accused Tim of molesting his young neighbor; the kid who stabbed him while on drugs during the Tom Goes to the Mayor days. Tim actually hosted a special evening edition of his show to address this, when some Barstool Sports guy tried to pile on Tim and Eric for their child-clown related comedy.

Another recurring sketch: Lucky Duck, where Tim plays a downtrodden simpleton who winds up, through luck, getting minor upgrades during customer service situations. He’s served a large orange juice when he ordered a small, and the waitress lets him keep it. His economy hotel room is unavailable, so he gets upgraded to a regular room which includes a continental breakfast and complimentary orange juice. A very brief, seconds-long snippet of a would-be full-fledged third sketch showing him walking directly into a pool while a glass or orange juice sits in the foreground plays after the credits. This actually was meant to be a full scene, and can be found on the DVD (or on this youtube playlist).

The Lucky Duck bit is hysterical, but, uh, Tim is basically just playing a guy with downs syndrome. It’s extremely evident from his look. I sorta buy into the possibility that it’s almost a mistake. So many of Tim & Eric’s characters bump right up to the definition of being mentally disabled, but rarely do they actually read that way during shallow observation. I can envision Tim concocting this look, being drunk on laughter as it comes together, and that overpowering his sense of decency to not do it (or even think not to do it). Lotta people have been there, bro. I vaguely recall Tim referring to this on Office Hours and kinda tugged his collar as if he got away with something. He’s off scot-free, and I respect it. 

Last but not lease, this episode has the fairly funny Cinco Bro-oche, which is acted by the same company of men who did the eye-tanning sketch from whatever season that was. This one’s a bit of a rehash, in that all the same convoluted procedures for that are also required for this. It also involves installing a screw hole directly into your torso to screw the Bro-oche into. I do think this is the maybe the strongest version of this sketch. Such a pleasingly dumb concept, and little touches like calling the peace sign “the peace signal” really make me smile. 

Aside from the too-gross Kids Break, and the very lame wraparounds, this one has a lotta good in it. Lucky Duck and the Bro-Oche in particular are well-crafted, with the Dream Cream bit being a little sloppy, but with a lotta funny moments. That wraparound though is a Musky Bust.

MAIL BAG

I have to respectfully but strongly disagree with you about the Space Ghost room half episode. I thought it was hilarious and a much needed step up from the Gametap schlock. I loved everyone understandably hating the movie

I forgive you for disagreeing with me. I think I oversold my dislike of those bumpers. I liked 'em fine, really, and I wasn't being very generous by saying they were merely a cut above the GameTap episodes. They just didn't match my memories of the first time seeing them. It's more like splitting the difference between Gametap and an average episode of Coast to Coast. Plenty to like!

[ddixons-angel]

Fated: Season 5

Summary: Gloria Rhee narrowly escapes Atlanta with her brother as the outbreak reaches the city. Luckily, they find a camp outside the city and together, they fend through encounters with the living and undead.

Starts a little before Season 1 and then follows the main storyline of the show.

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Glenn Sister!OC

Warnings: major TWD spoilers, language, violence (the typical TWD stuff)

A/N: Can you guys believe we’re in the middle of Season 5 already? I mean where did the time go?? Our group is finally at Alexandria, and a long awaited character is gonna finally be introduced so let’s get straight into it! 

Chapter 8

At sunrise, Rick and the others had set out to Alexandria as they did not want to waste any time. With Rick in the car with Michonne, Carl and Judith, and Abraham in the RV with everyone else, they were well on their way to the community. They get there with little to no complications, the only one being the RV’s battery dying. Glenn was the one who solved that though as he had remembered Dale teaching him that there was always a spare battery in one of the RV’s compartments. 

Now, the group stands outside the gates of the camp while Aaron helps Eric walk towards the gates. The gate begins to slide open and they’re greeted with a rather scared looking man. He only looked even more scared when Daryl shot a possum that had knocked into a few of the garbage cans, collecting his catch and calling it dinner. Aaron reassures the man that they are good people and he allows the group into Alexandria with all of their weapons. Another person from their community had come out to bring Eric to their infirmary as Aaron brought the group deeper into Alexandria.

As Aaron had described, this place definitely was a community. There were solar panels, large houses built side by side, a lake in the middle of everything, and even a gazebo to overlook the lake. Everything looked completely untouched, as if walkers didn’t exist and the end of the modern world didn’t happen. 

“Are you guys seeing all of this?” Gloria asks, not believing her eyes as she looks around.

“I didn’t think this kind of place would still be around,” Maggie says, also looking around.

“This can work,” Glenn says with a smile, “we can make this work.”

“Seems a bit too good to be true though...” Gloria says, looking over at Daryl, “doesn’t it?”

He looks back at her and purses his lips but doesn’t say anything. Instead, he reaches out to her and grabs her hand in reassurance. Gloria glances down at their now intertwined hands and then back at him, smiling softly. The group stops walking as Aaron brings them to the front of a large house.

“Wait here for a bit, I’ll go and let Deanna know that you’re here. I think she’s going to want to speak to each and every one of you individually,” Aaron explains then with Rick’s nod of approval, he goes into the house.

Gloria furrows her brows at this, remembering that this is also what happened at Terminus, “I don’t like this...”

Glenn puts his hand on her shoulder and smiles at her reassuringly, “I know what you’re thinking, but I don’t get that vibe here. It might actually go okay for once.” 

“I hope so...” she sighs, although she didn’t get a bad feeling from the place, she still didn’t like that the people in the community were ogling at them as if they were zoo animals. 

Rick was the first to go into the house after Aaron came back out and let them all know that Deanna, the community’s apparent leader, was ready to see them. They were all relieved to see Rick come out of the house unharmed and then Daryl was next to go in. It wasn’t until he came back out of the house that Gloria’s nerves went down slightly. She didn’t know what it was about it, she didn’t see the people as threatening or dangerous. They were just going about their day while sneaking looks at their group but nothing menacing. Gloria was next to go in after Daryl as per Glenn’s instruction and he would follow suit. 

“Deanna is a very kind and reasonable woman,” Aaron says as he walks Gloria to the living room of the house, he seems to have noticed how nervous she was and chuckles, “you can relax, you know.”

“I know... it’s just for some reason, I can’t shake the feeling of this being like going in for a job interview,” Gloria chuckles nervously and shrugs.

“Well, you’re not too far off.” Aaron smiles at her.

Before Gloria could ask him what he meant, Aaron had already knocked on the open door to the living room and directed her inside before taking his leave. She takes a few steps into the room and is greeted by an older woman with a smile. 

“Hi, I’m Deanna. Pleased to meet you.” she says, extending her hand out for a polite shake.

Gloria takes her hand and shakes it firmly but before she’s able to introduce herself, a person sitting at the dining table catches her eye. She lets out a small gasp and her eyes widen at the sight. Deanna furrows her brows in her change of expression and follows her line of vision.

“Gena....” Gloria calls out.

The woman at the table looks up at the sound of her name and a look of shock overcomes her, “Gloria...” 

Gena gets up from her seat and quickly makes her way over to Gloria, stopping in her tracks only a few steps away from her.

“I take it you two know each other?” Deanna says, a thoughtful smile on her face.

Gena nods without looking at Deanna, “she’s my little sister.”

Gloria smiles tearfully at her, relieved that she was alive and well. The sisters were never too close, even if their five year difference wasn’t a large age gap. Gloria couldn’t even remember how long it’s been since she hugged Gena, they’d spent most of their time arguing with each other. Glenn would always be the middleman and break up their fights, knowing that both sisters would listen to him rather than each other. Regardless of their strained relationship though, Gloria was happy that Gena was safe and alive.

“Glenn’s outside waiting if you want to see him,” Gloria says, gesturing outside knowing that Gena would want to see their brother.

“I’ll see him after,” Gena says, a stern smile on her face, “I still need to help Deanna with the interviews.”

“I won’t hold you up for too long so you can catch up with your family,” Deanna says with a chuckle, then she looks to Gloria and gestures to the single seater chair in front of a coffee table, “please, take a seat and we’ll get started.”

Gloria nods and goes to sit down on the chair Deanna had pointed to while the older woman goes to toggle a camcorder on a tripod.

“You don’t mind if our conversation is recorded, do you?” she asks, then she presses the button to record when Gloria shakes her head, “excellent, now... according to Rick and Daryl, you’ve all been out there since the beginning?”

Gloria nods in thought, “for the most part, yeah... we’ve moved around camps when places got overrun.” 

“Where did you stay?” Deanna asks.

“At first a quarry camp, then a farm...” Gloria says then glances at Gena sheepishly, “then a prison...”

“A prison?” Gena questions, judgement in her voice. 

“It was secure, we had fences, walls-” Gloria was cut short of her defense.

“Still! A prison?!” Gena repeats, disgust now evident in her voice.

“That’s enough, Gena. I’m sure they didn’t have much choice,” Deanna says in Gloria’s defense, “and who were you before all of this started?”

“I...” Gloria hesitates as she glances at Gena then at the ground, “I was a student...”

“What did you study?” Deanna presses.

“Health Sciences.” Gloria says, still not looking up at the two.

“She was studying to become a doctor.” Gena reveals. 

“A doctor?” Deanna says, her voice sounding pleasantly surprised, “do you have any field experience?”

“I... I interned as a nurse, if that counts...” Gloria shrugs.

“What Deanna wants to know is if you’ve ever saved anyone.” Gena says, matter-of-factly, crossing her arms. 

Gloria finally looks up at them and fidgets with her fingers, “I helped stop someone’s bleeding once.”

“Tell me what happened,” Deanna says, a warm smile on her face. 

Gloria takes a deep breath before continuing, “when we got to the prison, we had to clear it out so that we could make it into a home or something like that, but things happened and... one of our people got bit, I’m guessing near his ankle, I didn’t see it really...”

“Bit? By a roamer?” Gena frowns at this, doubt in her voice.

“Yeah, by a roamer... we call them walkers, anyway... Rick took the initiative and cut off his leg just below the knee and brought him back to the cell blocks and that’s where I stopped his bleeding.” Gloria explains, her eyes kept glancing back down at the ground.

“And he lived?” Deanna asks.

“He did... for another few months...” Gloria sighs softly, “he didn’t make it out of the prison...”

Gena lets out a sigh and shakes her head, “what did I always teach you about wasting time? Why would you tell us a story about saving someone who’s already dead? If he’s dead, it doesn’t matter if you saved him or not.”

“It did matter!” Gloria says back, raising her voice.

“He’s dead.” Gena points out, glaring at her younger sister, “how does it matter if someone you once saved is dead?”

“Because he saved Glenn,” Gloria retorts, getting worked up and taking Gena aback, “his name was Hershel and he was a doctor. A flu pandemic hit the prison and we didn’t have enough antibiotics to go around, if you got it, you had to just go through with it... and that meant possibly dying, choking on your own blood. Me and Glenn got it... and it progressed faster with him... if I didn’t save Hershel and stop his bleeding, he wouldn’t have been able to save Glenn. So don’t you dare tell me that saving him didn’t matter!”

Deanna nods at her words as she stands in the tense silence between the sisters. Gena didn’t know what to say to that, and Gloria was visibly angered by her sister’s words about her fallen friend. 

“I’m sorry about your loss, Gloria,” Deanna starts, “I feel that you are a person who does whatever you can to help a person, am I right?”

“I try...” Gloria says.

“I’d like to offer you a position as a medic in our infirmary. With your medical background and willingness to help people, I think you’ll work wonderfully with our head doctor, Pete.” Deanna smiles, “what do you say?”

Gloria stares at the woman, searching for any ill-intent but finds none. She figures that this was their way of paying admission into the community, giving back by working for her. Gloria thinks back to what she saw on the streets; peace and quiet, children playing innocently, a community protected by walls, and not a walker in sight. Having been on the road for weeks on end, this was the type of place her family needed, Carl and Judith can have an actual proper childhood. Glenn and Maggie could start their own family without needing to worry about whether or not they were safe. Even if Gloria didn’t like it here because of the people staring them down, she had to try for them, they deserved it. 

“If my group decides to stay, I’ll accept,” Gloria smiles at Deanna, ignoring Gena’s grumbling of where else are they going to go.

“Bring Glenn in here,” Gena calls out as Gloria walks out of the room and towards the main door of the house.

Gloria rolls her eyes at Gena making Aaron, who was already waiting for her outside the room, laugh.  Gena really didn’t care about being subtle that she cared more about Glenn than her. Not that Gloria cared at all since it was also obvious that Gloria cared more for Glenn than she did about Gena. 

“Glenn,” Gloria calls as she steps out of the house, “you’ll never believe who’s in there.”

He furrows his brows at her, “what?” 

She claps a hand on his shoulder to gently push him towards Aaron who was waiting for him at the door with a smile, “you’ll see.”

---

After Deanna had finished with all of the interviews from Rick’s group, they were taken to the building that housed the community’s armory. They’d agreed after meeting Deanna that they would give up their firearms temporarily; Deanna allowed them all to keep their bladed weapons, including Daryl’s crossbow. They were always allowed to reclaim them when they left the walls, but inside the walls their weapons would be kept, safe and secure in the armory. Then, Aaron had led them all to two large houses down the street. He’d surprised them all by telling them that these houses were now theirs, should they decide to stay. Rick ultimately decided to take the chance but kept a very wary eye out in case anything went wrong. One by one, they all got themselves cleaned up and situated in the living room where they had all decided to sleep tonight. 

“I seriously can’t believe Gena’s here.” Glenn chuckles as he leans on the back of the couch. 

“Neither can I...” Gloria sighs then she nudges Glenn, “so how hard did she hug you when she saw you?”

“She nearly burst into tears and bear hugged me,” he laughs softly, “what about you?”

Gloria eyes him playfully, “you’re kidding right?”

“I know you two barely ever hugged, but I just thought this would be a moment,” Glenn shrugs.

“C’mon, it’s me and Gena, we aren’t ever sharing any moments.” Gloria rolls her eyes at her brother’s optimism.

“One can hope,” Glenn chuckles.

“Glenn, Gloria,” Maggie calls as she walks down the hallway, her hair looking freshly washed, “washroom’s free now for whoever wants to go first.”

Glenn gestures for Gloria to go first but she just pushes him towards the hallway, “you’re the one Maggie wants to cuddle, and I ain’t letting her snuggle you when you stink.”

He rolls his eyes but then laughs in defeat, nodding as he goes down the hall. Maggie chuckles at the two and shakes her head.

“Hey, I love you too,” Maggie says to Gloria with a smile.

“I know you do, you just love him more,” Gloria jokes, she then looks out the front door and sees Daryl seated on the porch, gutting the possum right on the front steps. 

From his body language, Gloria could tell that he wasn’t comfortable being within these walls. He knew as well as her that the people around them were watching their every move, but more so focused on him. She knew that making a mess of the front porch was Daryl’s way of saying ‘I don’t give a shit what any of you think’. With a soft sigh, Gloria makes her way outside to the porch and leans on the railings, watching him work on his catch. 

“Wha’?” Daryl asks, glancing up at her when he feels her eyes on him.

“Nothing, just wondering what you can do with a possum,” Gloria says, wanting to joke around with him to help him feel more at ease, she then turns to find Carol standing on the side of the porch, “Carol, what can you do with a possum?”

A knowing smile spreads on Carol’s face as she glances from Gloria to Daryl, “well, there’s stew, possum roast, maybe even barbeque. It all depends on how Daryl prepares it.”

“Barbeque... hey, you think we can do possum kebabs?” Gloria asks, looking at Carol but she knew that Daryl was listening.

“Kebabs? But we’d need sticks,” Carol says, an amused smile on her face.

Gloria bites her lip to keep from laughing and glances at Daryl, “we could use Daryl’s bolts.”

Her words cause a snort of laughter from Daryl as he shakes his head, “ya’ll ‘re weird.”

“Hey, it would work,” Gloria laughs, a grin on her face.

“It would! I’ll need to think of a nice marinade.” Carol continues to play along.

Gloria absolutely loved the sound of Daryl’s laugh, even if it was just for a short moment. Daryl wasn’t unaware of her intentions, it warmed his heart knowing just what she meant to do. He appreciated her and loved her with everything he had. This is why he hadn’t voiced out his discomfort in staying in a place that judged every single molecule of his being. He had told Deanna that this is what Judith and Carl deserved, but that was only part of what he felt. Daryl wanted Gloria to be safe and happy, he wanted to provide her with a place to call home. They had that once back at the prison, and he needed to give her that safety again. He felt that she deserved a place like this. 

“Hey Gloria, I’m done,” Glenn calls from inside the house. 

Gloria glances behind and nods then looks at Carol, “you cleaned up already, right?” 

“I did,” Carol smiles, “go on, I’ll watch him.” 

“I don’ need to be watched...” Daryl grumbles, making Carol and Gloria chuckle.

Gloria crouches down and kisses his cheek, “sure, you don’t.” 

A small smile ghosts Daryl’s lips at her affection but it’s gone in a flash, “I ain’ no kid.”

“Oh really?” Gloria raises an eyebrow then continues when he hums a yes, “you’re getting cleaned up after I’m done, okay?”

“Nah,” Daryl says, “don’ wanna.”

Gloria laughs as she gets up and begins to walk to the door, “that’s what a kid would say.” she teases in a sing-song tone.

Daryl eyes her retreating backside then Carol as she tries to stifle her laughter, “it’s ‘cause o’ ya that she teases me like tha’.”

“Oh please, Daryl,” Carol rolls her eyes, “she’s your girlfriend, she’s gonna tease you no matter what.”

Daryl felt his heart jump when Carol used the word ‘girlfriend’ to refer to Gloria. Yes, she is his girlfriend, he’d just never heard it being said aloud before. He never even thought about it that way; she is so much more than just his girlfriend. He lowers his head to hide his now blushing face.  

“Daryl, are you blushing?” Carol coos on.

“Shaddup!” 

---

The flow of hot water from the shower head stops when Gloria turns off the tap. She squeezes the excess water from her hair and wraps a towel around her body as she steps out of the shower. Gloria begins to pat dry her body with the towel when her eye catches her reflection in the mirror. She does a double take when she registers the marks on her body. Cuts and scars tainted her skin, each one a grotesque flaw that had its own story. Gloria hated them. She hated how they looked, how they felt, how they made her feel. She knew that she should be thinking of them as a reminder that she’s a survivor and that she’s strong, but she couldn’t think of them that way. All she saw in each scar was how stupid she was and how she had failed. 

“Fuck....” Gloria curses under her breath, trying to control the tears in her eyes as she stares at her scars. 

Not wanting to see them anymore, she quickly gets dressed into a set of clean clothes, throwing her dirty clothes in the hamper. Gloria begins to towel dry her hair, giving herself time to breathe and calm down before stepping outside. The last thing she wanted was for the others to find out that she was on the verge of tears for what she thought was such a stupid reason. 

“Hey,” Gloria says as she smiles at a freshly shaven Rick in the hallway, she gestures to him, “you... have a face.”

Rick chuckles at her words and nods, defeated, as if he’d been getting comments about his new appearance from everybody. Gloria laughs and pats his shoulder as the two walk by each other. 

When she reaches the living room, she sees the others in her group setting up their spot for the night. Gloria spots Daryl sitting by a window and makes her way to him, knowing that she had left her things with his earlier. She proceeds to take out a clean bandage to wrap up her gash on her forearm that was still healing. As Daryl sees this, he takes her hand in his and helps her patch up her wound, not letting her refuse. Once he finishes with it, his arm snakes around her waist pulling her close to him and she leans into him, giggling when she feels him sniff her hair.

“Smell clean?” Gloria says with a smile, making him hum a yes, “you gonna clean up?”

Daryl purses his lips and shakes his head, looking down to avoid her eyes. He feels her sigh softly but doesn’t push him on the matter. Instead, she moves to rest her head on his chest, her arm draped around his torso. Daryl plants a kiss on the top of her head as she snuggles him, his fingers playing with her shirt when he notices something. 

“Ya always gonna be wearin’ my clothes now?” Daryl says soft into her ear with a smirk on his lips. 

Gloria blushes at the realization that she was in another one of Daryl’s shirts, “stop putting your shirts in my bag...”

“I didn’ put nothin’ in yer bag,” Daryl chuckles, “ya were wearin’ my shirt when we found each other back at Terminus.”

“I was...” Gloria admits.

“And ya ripped the sleeves right off.” Daryl teases, knowing she had a thing for his arms. 

“Stop,” Gloria blushes more and playfully hits his chest.

He chuckles at her reaction but their playfulness is gone once there is a knock on the front door. Everyone in the room is on high alert as Rick goes to open the door. Deanna stands in the doorway and smiles at him, not letting Rick off without complimenting his fresh appearance. Deanna had come to them to check up on how the group was adjusting, only to find that they were all sticking together. Apparently, she had given everyone a job except for Daryl, and Sasha; she hadn’t offered Rick and Michonne theirs yet but would in due time. The next day was when the group would get to explore and know the town, and the day after, for those with jobs, that’s when their work would begin. 

---

Next Chapter

So a bunch of stuff happened here, we’re finally introduced to Gena, Glenn and Gloria’s older sister! I have a feeling she’s not gonna be well liked at first haha we also had some cute fluffy moments, and a bit of a angsty moment with Gloria with her scars... a lot happens in Season 5 so I think most of the chapters are going to be this long, more or less hehe please let me know your thoughts on it! I’d love to hear from you all!

And as always, I would really appreciate any comments left for me! I’ll be replying to any comments in a new post because this is a sideblog!

Taglist (please let me know if you’d like to be added/removed!):

@twdeadfanfic​ | @fandomfanatic97​ | @crossbowking​ | @watchmeaspire​ | @spidergirla5​ | @kamieshep​ | @letsstarsfalling​ | @molethemollie​ | @alicewinchester99​ | @neilox​ | @womanup22​ | @jodiereedus22​ | @theonlyone-meeeee​ | @theunofficialduke​ | @inlovewdxx​ | @delightfullykrispypeach​ | @mrsfortune1306​ | @wolfkg​ | @funeral-7​ | @wnygirl2012​ | @alispaceme​ | @themihala​ | @aavocadocloud​ |  @polkadottedpillowcase​ | @felicisimor​ | @depressedfrog2​ | @spacexkiddo0

[dem-obscure-imagines]

Stranded - Part 1

Steven Hyde x Reader

Note: I’ve been watching That 70’s Show all day every day for the past three days and we already know how I feel about fics that use time travel/dimension hopping so…Also, we’re pretending Hyde and Jackie aren’t together at this point for…reasons…

Warnings: Drug mention/use (weed; it’s the 70’s), some language

Word Count: 3.3k

When you came around, there was a horrible pounding in your head. Your entire body was sore, pain blossoming every time you tried to move. You groaned. Oh God. Oh no. Everything hurt. And…why did it smell like weed?

“She moved.”

“I see that she moved, dumbass.”

“Do you think she’s okay? Should I get my mom?”

“Not yet. It still smells down here. Don’t want Red calling the cops.”

“I think it’s alright. She’s coming around.”

You groaned again, clutching at the sharp cramp in your abdomen. “Shit.”

“She speaks!”

You heard the sound of someone hitting someone else and one of the strange voices, a boy, groaned.

“Shut up, Kelso.”

“I’m just saying, chick falls from the sky, you don’t really expect her to—”

“Shut UP, Kelso.”

You struggled to sit up and opened your eyes despite the pain in your head. You were surrounded by boys, four of them, all of their eyes locked on you. Two of them were standing behind the couch you were laying on, one was sitting on the chair by your feet, and the other was sitting on a coffee table in front of the couch. From the looks of it, you were in a basement. A basement that smelled incredibly like weed.

“Where…am I?”

 *Eric Forman’s Basement - 20 Minutes Earlier*

“Man, I’m telling you, the government is tooootally hiding aliens in Area 51.” Hyde leaned back in his chair, smoke billowing out in front of him.

Kelso laughed. “Dude, if there were aliens, don’t you think we’d know that by now? One of them would have gotten out.”

“Why, are you an alien?” Eric raised an eyebrow.

“What if I’m an alien and I didn’t even know it?” Kelso murmured, his eyes hyperfocused on the table.

Before he could open his mouth again, there was a bright flash of light outside followed by a loud crash and the sound of all of the car alarms in the neighborhood going off.

“What the hell…?”

The boys all looked at the back door, slowly rising from the table. Kelso was the first outside, followed by Eric and then Fez and Hyde. There was a great big steaming crater in the grass out back, a girl with blue hair laying unconscious in the middle of it.

“Man, I think she fell from the sky.” Eric looked up into the stars as if they held the answer.

“That’s ridiculous.” Hyde shook his head. “No fucking way.”

“She has blue hair!” Fez pointed. He gasped and covered his mouth, his eyes wide. “Maybe she’s an alien…”

“Is she okay?” Eric asked.

“She’s breathing.” Kelso pointed out.

“Maybe we should get her inside.” Fez suggested, looking around for signs of cops. If he got caught with weed, he was sure he’d get sent back to his home country.

“I’ve got her. Move over, dillhole.” Hyde pushed Eric out of his way and rolled up the sleeves of his undershirt, kneeling down in the dirt to scoop her out.

Eric walked back toward the door and opened it, Fez walking in to get things on the couch ready.

“I mean, she’s pretty hot. I think it’s our civil duty to—”

Hyde cut Kelso off with a glare as he carried the unconscious blue-haired girl into the basement.

 *Eric Forman’s Basement – Now*

“Where…am I?” You asked, looking at the boys for answers.

The one that was closest to you, the one sitting on the round table in front of the couch, had neat brown hair parted to the left. He was wearing a flannel and jeans. “You’re in my basement. You were, uh, in my backyard unconscious.”

“How long have I been out?” You asked, trying to sit up, but slumping back against the couch, wincing. You’d definitely bruised something on your way down.

“Twenty minutes.” The one sitting in the folding chair across from you answered. He had curly hair and sideburns, sunglasses, and he was wearing a black band tee over a white shirt. Led Zeppelin, you noted. That and his flared jeans would indicate…

Oh God. Your head was spinning. You looked at the slick silver watch wrapped around your wrist and tapped on the screen. 1978, Point Place, Wisconsin. Holy shit 1978. No wonder everything hurt.

“You okay?”

“What?” You blinked a few times, lost in thought. “I—yeah, I’m…I’ll be okay.”

“You got a name, gorgeous?”

“Y/N. L/N.” You swung your legs over the side of the couch and put your feet flat on the floor. You stood up, but your legs wobbled too much and you wound up against curly-haired sideburns guy’s chest, his arms around you. “Sorry. I’m sorry.”

“Let’s get you back on the couch…” He gently lowered you back down and you took a deep breath. “You okay?”

“Did I have a bag when you found me?” You looked up at curly-haired sideburns guy.

“Uh…”

“I found this after Hyde got you out of the hole.” The tall lanky one with the long brown hair handed you your bag, a silver messenger bag with your things crammed in it.

“Thanks.” Hyde, you noted. Curly-haired sideburns guy was Hyde.

“I’m gonna…get you some water.” The one in the flannel got off the table and walked up the stairs.

You rummaged through your bag until you found what you were looking for: your phone. The only problem, the silver rectangle was sparking, the screen cracked badly and the panel on the back was open, exposing the wires.

“Fuck…” Well, that wasn’t good. Stranded in the 1970’s and you couldn’t even contact a ride home if you wanted to.

“What is that?” asked one of the guys behind the couch, pointing to the device in your hand.

“Walkie-talkie.” You replied quickly. You shouldn’t have taken it out in front of them, but given the circumstances, you figured the TSE would just have to forgive you. “Really high-end walkie-talkie.”

You jammed it back in your bag and slumped back against the couch as flannel guy came back down the stairs. He handed you a glass of water and you drank some down. It helped, a little. You still weren’t really sure what to do, though.

“Could I get some names?” You looked around. “I mean, I did wake up in your basement.”

“That’s fair.” Flannel guy chuckled. “I’m Eric. The long haired idiot over there is Michael, sunglasses is Steven, and that’s Fez.”

“So did you like…fall from the sky?” Michael asked.

“Probably.” You groaned, stretching. Something popped. “Yeah, I definitely fell from the sky.”

“Well in that case…” Fez leaned against the couch, his face very close to yours. “Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?”

“Yeah, it hurt a lot.” You touched your neck and winced. Yeah, that was definitely gonna bruise. “Could I get some ice?”

Steven got off of his chair and walked to the freezer up against the wall. He fished around before handing you a bag of frozen peas. “Here.”

“Thank you.” You held the bag to the spot where your neck met your shoulder.

“Where are you from?” Eric asked, sitting back down on the table.

“Not around here.” You sighed and raked your fingers through your very blue hair. If you’d landed a few decades later, that might have been alright, but you were definitely going to stick out. “My ex dumped me off here. I’m kind of stranded.”

“Well, you can stay here for a while. I’m sure my mom wouldn’t mind.” Eric offered. “I mean, they let Hyde stay here.”

“Welcome to Forman’s, home of orphans and misfits.” Steven—Hyde—chuckled, leaning back against the chair. “We can blow up an air mattress in here.”

“No, Mom might come down to do laundry, I can’t have some random girl out in the open.” Eric looked to you and amended, “No offence.”

“None taken.”

“Then we’ll blow up the air mattress in my room. I don’t care.” Hyde shrugged. “Whatever.”

“Thank you.” You shifted the bag of frozen peas, sighing at the slight bit of relief the cold brought.

“Come on, Fez, let’s get the mattress set up.” Michael started walking back towards the room Hyde was staying in.

Fez winked at you. “Don’t miss me too much.”

“You didn’t really fall from the sky, though, right?” Eric asked, still confused over the whole ordeal.

“My head hurts…” You murmured, avoiding the question.

Shrugging, Eric stood up. “I’m gonna head up to my room.”

“Night.” Hyde nodded. He looked at you for a moment, considering you quietly before saying, “I like your piercings.”

“Oh, uh, thanks.” You reached up to touch one of the studs in your earlobe. “I like your shirt.”

“You like Zeppelin?”

“Hell yeah.” You grinned and so did he.

“I knew I liked you.”

 *Eric Forman’s Kitchen – The Next Morning*

“Y/N, honey, I am so sorry to hear about what happened to you.” Eric’s mom, Kitty, set a plate of pancakes in front of you. “You’re welcome to stay in the basement until we get it figured out.”

“Great.” Eric’s father, Red, grumbled. Hyde had warned you about him. Said he was a bit of a hardass. “More teenagers.”

“Thank you so much, Mr. and Mrs. Forman. I promise I won’t be here long. I’ve just gotta make a few calls and get some things arranged.” You took a bite of fluffy pancakes. “These are amazing, Mrs. Forman. Thank you for breakfast.”

“Of course, dear. It’s about time someone appreciated my cooking.” She shot a look at Red, but he was too preoccupied with his newspaper to notice.

“If it’s not too much trouble, I was wondering if you had any tools. A little screwdriver and some pliers.”

“You need tools?” That got Red’s attention. Hyde’s too. They both sat at attention. “Hear that, Eric? The girl knows how to use tools.”

“I heard.”

“I have some you can borrow. What size do you need?”

“Probably the smallest one. It’s some very fine detail stuff.”

“I’ll get some out of the garage later.” Red folded the newspaper and set it on the table. “You know, the blue hair and piercings had me skeptical, but maybe you’re not so bad. Teach Eric a thing or two while you’re at it.”

“Will do, sir.”

“So where are you from, Y/N?” Kitty asked, smiling.

“Up north. Tiny little town. My ex-boyfriend and I stopped here for gas, and…well, you know the rest.”

“Sounds like a total dillhole.” Hyde shook his head. “You’re better off.”

“Yeah, tell me about it.” You shrugged. “Life is full of adventures. I guess this is just going to be one of mine.”

“Well, if it helps, it’s never boring around here.” Eric said, taking a bite of his pancakes.

You laughed, nodding. “Yeah, that definitely helps.

***

A while later, you were sitting at the little round table in the basement. You had pulled Hyde’s usual chair up to it and were focused intently on the “walkie talkie” in front of you. You were wearing a pair of protective goggles, your work gloves covering your hands.

“What are you doing?” You jumped at the voice behind you, but when you turned to look, it was just Hyde standing there.

“Trying to fix my walkie talkie.”

He thought for a second, looking at the device in front of you. “That doesn’t really look like a walkie talkie.”

“Yeah.” You shrugged, using the pliers to twist some wires together. “It doesn’t.”

“Weird.”

“Yeah.” You screwed the panel onto the back of it and thankfully, it came to life, the screen, though it was cracked, glowing blue as it started up. You exhaled a huge sigh of relief and rested your head on the table for a second. “Oh thank God.”

“Are you sure that’s a—?”

“I’ve gotta make a call. I’m gonna hop outside.”

“Okay. I think the Circle is gonna get started up down here. You want me to roll you a blunt?” He offered. A 1970’s boy offering you his precious weed? You never imagined that happening in your life…

“I’m alright, but thanks. I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Alright.” He nodded, trying not to watch as you walked out the door, but he couldn’t help it. He wasn’t sure why, but there was something about you that was just…different.

You walked into the chilly night air. It had taken you almost all day to get your damn phone working, and you could only hope the temporal chip was working or you’d really be screwed. So, hesitantly tapping on your horrible ex-boyfriend’s contact, you exhaled a long sigh. A few rings later, he picked up.

“Hey.”

“Don’t ‘hey’ me, you fucking asshole! What gives?!”

“What’s this about?”

“You stranded me in the goddamn 1970’s! What the hell is wrong with you?!”

“Listen, sugar, it’s nothing personal—”

“Bullshit, Jaxon! You get back here and take me to the station right now or I’ll get you banished to the fucking middle ages, you hear me?”

“I wouldn’t take that tone of voice with me, little lady. You’re not in any position to be making demands. Maybe I’ll just have to tell the society you deserted…”

“I’ll get you for this! You hear me? You will not get away with this.”

You could just about hear the smirk in his voice when he said, “We’ll see about that.”

The line went dead with a click and when you looked at the screen, there was a message that read: Temporal Chip Corrupted. Take to Repair Station Immediately.

“Fuck…” Tears fogged up your vision and rolled down your cheeks. You couldn’t believe you were crying over that asshole, but you were. You were stuck in the 1970’s and you’d used your only call to talk to the one person in the entire Time Society of Earth that didn’t give a single shit about your wellbeing.

A wave of hopelessness washed over you and you collapsed onto the grass, your phone laying on the ground beside you as you sobbed into the starry night.

“Hey, are you…alright?” You weren’t sure how long Hyde had been standing there, but he was walking towards you, his hands jammed in his pockets and his sunglasses, for once, off of his face.

“No…” You shook your head and sniffled, wiping at your tears with your hands. “I…” You choked on tears. “I’m stuck here.”

“Well hey, we can get you a ride back home. Kelso has a van, Red has a car, we’ll figure it out, okay?”

“It’s not that simple.” You shook your head.

Hyde knelt down on the grass next to you, a soft look on his face, his eyes exposed to you and sparkling in the starlight.

Your heart raced, and you weren’t sure if it was because of the look he was giving you or because he was onto your secret. Maybe a little bit of both.

“Are you…” He started, the wheels turning behind his eyes. “Are you an alien?”

You laughed and shook your head. “No. No I’m not.”

“But…”

“I mean, I guess you were kind of close, though.” You looked at him, weighing your options. It might not be so bad to have someone in on your secret. Then, at least you wouldn’t be alone. “You can’t tell the others, though, alright? The less people that know, the better.”

“I can keep a secret.”

“I’m from the future, Steven.” You whispered. “I didn’t fall from the sky, I got pushed out of a time machine.”

He was quiet, staring at you for a long time. “Well, fuck. That’s not good.”

“Yeah. I mean, eventually someone has to realize I’m gone, but…he could cover up my disappearance really easily. I…” A tear rolled down your cheek and you stared at the grass. “I don’t know what I’m gonna do…”

“You’re gonna stay right here.” He tilted his head, slowly reaching out to tilt your face up so he could look at you. “We’ll take care of you. Help you figure out a way home…”

“Thank you.” You sniffled, smiling finally. Yeah, this wasn’t ideal, but things could be worse. At least you weren’t alone.

“Let’s get you back inside, yeah? It’s cold out here.” Hyde stood and helped you to your feet. His arm settled around your shoulders.

When the two of you got back into the house, the Circle was mostly gathered. Hyde pulled up a chair for you right beside his and you sat down next to him while the boys started smoking. A few puffs in, he patted your thigh, looking over at you.

“I’m gonna get a soda. You want anything?”

You motioned him closer, and he leaned in before you whispered, “Has Pepsi been invented yet?”

He laughed. “Yeah. I’ll get you one.” Hyde walked across the basement and up the stairs, leaving you with the other three.

“You and Hyde are awful cozy.” Kelso smirked. “Don’t tell me he already claimed you.”

“What, is he not this friendly usually?” You laughed.

“He didn’t even give me a chance to impress you with my foreign charm.” Fez pouted, shaking his head. “I was just saying how girls don’t fall out of the sky. Doesn’t that mean I get the one that does?”

“I mean, I don’t know how long I’m gonna be around.” You shrugged. “I don’t do long-distance. I wouldn’t get too attached.”

“Better let him know that before he does.” Eric warned.

You nodded. “Believe me, he already knows.”

Hyde returned a few seconds later, settling in beside you. He set a Pepsi can on the table in front of you and you admired the label, noting how different it looked than the cans you were used to. But when you cracked it open and took a few sips, it tasted just the same as it always did.

You talked to the boys for a while, bullshitting your way out of their questions and absorbing as much as you could about the situation you’d landed in. You had a feeling that blending in wouldn’t be too hard, but that didn’t mean you wouldn’t have to be careful not to blow your cover the rest of the way.

Eventually, Fez and Kelso went home and Eric went upstairs to his room, leaving you and Hyde alone in the basement.

“How far in the future?” He asked. When you said it, you could tell the question had been on his mind all night.

“Pretty far.”

He sighed, chuckling to himself. “That’s what I was afraid of.”

“I’m stationed in 2020 in a space station orbiting earth. Time doesn’t really…pass there. It’s a null area. It’s been 2020 since…well, since I’ve been there.”

“Fifty years? Is that math right?”

“Yeah, just about.” You finished off your Pepsi.

“Damn.”

“Yeah, damn.” You sighed, raking your fingers through your blue hair, the decades standing between you ever-obvious. “I, uh, forgot to ask Kitty for some of Laurie’s old clothes. To sleep in.”

“Oh. Let me grab you one of my shirts. Hang tight.” He walked back into his room and came back with a band shirt and a pair of shorts. “These should work.”

“Thanks, Hyde. Being here isn’t easy, but you’re…you’re making it a bit easier.”

“Well, I’m nothing if not a charmer.” He smirked.

You stood on your toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek before turning to walk into the bathroom and change. When you emerged a few minutes later, he was out on the couch, some show playing on the screen, the volume down low.

“I’m gonna get to bed, I think.”

He turned around to look at you, his voice caught in his throat when he saw you in his clothes. You looked good. Really good. He snapped out of it. “I’ll be in there soon.”

“Night.”

“Goodnight.” Hyde turned back around to face the TV. Maybe it was selfish of him, but he couldn’t help thinking he was lucky you’d been stranded there.

Part 2