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NCIS: Los Angeles Season 14 Rewatch: “Maybe Today”

The basics: While Kilbride visits his son, the team works a cold case from 2003.

Written by: Samantha Chasse & Matt Klafter

Samantha Chasse co-wrote “Kill Beale Vol. 1”, wrote “Impostor Syndrome” (one of season 12’s best episodes) and “Murmuration”.

Matt Klafter co-wrote “Smokescreen Part II”, “A Fait Accompli” and “Hard for the Money”. Was the sole writer for “Where Loyalties Lie”.

Directed by: Eric A. Pot directed “Resurrection”, “Windfall”, “Traitor”, “Internal Affairs”, “Home is Where the Heart Is”, “Forasteira”, “Reentry”, “Hit List”, “The One Who Got Away”, “Kill Beale Vol 1” (co-written by Chasse), “Fortune Favors the Bold”, “A Fait Accopli” (co-written by Klafter), “Imposter Syndrome” (written by Chasse), “Indentured”, “Sorry for Your Loss” and “Survival of the Fittest”.

Guest stars of note: Christopher Gorham as Alex Kilbride, Rose Abdoo as Special Agent Daisy Van Zandt, Eva Tamargo as Mrs. Perez, Kevin McCorkle as Jack Baker, Cuyle Carvin as Aaron Baker, Courtney Cunningham as Jen Anderson, Jhey Castles as Melissa Baker, Keenan Henson as Kevin Phillips and Joe Keyes as Taxi Driver.

Our heroes: Deal with parents and children.

What important things did we learn about: Callen: Not afraid of strong women. Sam: Senior Chief, Special Warfare Kensi: Couldn’t imagine what a mother would feel about a missing child. Deeks: Working well with LAPD. Fatima: Listening to old interview cassette tapes in Kilbride’s truck. Rountree: Not a fan of old case files in moldy, charred boxes. Kilbride: Finally listening to his son.

What not so important things did we learn about: Callen: Looking for a Sam’s plus one for the wedding. Sam: No interest in Callen’s plus one-ing. Kensi: Wants Rosa to participate in extra circular activities. Deeks: Wants Rosa to be protected from all types of danger. Fatima: Office bound. Rountree: See Fatima. Kilbride: Spending the night on his son’s couch.

Where in the world is Henrietta Lange? Not a mention.

Who's down with OTP: Kensi and Deeks have debates over keeping Rosa safe. Callen is comfortable marrying a confident woman.

Who's down with BrOTP: Callen is looking for a Sam love connection which is a complete change in roles from the first five seasons.

Fashion review: Callen wore a midnight blue sweater. Another long-sleeve black tee for Sam. Kensi wears a long-sleeve top that has a graduated color scheme that starts white around her shoulders, pink and grey across her chest and black the rest of the way down. Deeks has a light blue henley on. Fatima has a thick brown sweater. Rountree is wearing a black hoodie. Kilbride is casual with a thick dark blue sweater over a lighter blue plaid button down shirt.

Music: “Killer” by Phoebe Bridgers plays in a montage near the end of the episode.

Any notable cut scene: Yes, one, after weeks of nothing. Driving to Jen Anderson’s, Kensi and Deeks discuss the case moving from a missing persons case to a death. Kensi is down on local law enforcement for not doing more. Deeks is a bit more sympathetic. Missing persons aren’t always missing persons, sometimes people just walk away from their lives. After a while, the police have other cases to solve.

Kensi hears from Rountree – the local news stations have picked up the story. Deeks checks his phone – national news, NPR, the BBC are all cover the story. Kensi and Deeks realize that the killer, who lived 20-years without anyone knowing there was a killing, now knows they are the focus of a national news story.

Quote: Callen: “How can we help?” Daisy: “Stay close by. Try not to get in the way. First cold case?” Callen: “Yeah.” Daisy: “Couple of virgins. This'll be fun. I've been working cases since '04. Solved more of them than the next two agents combined.” Callen: “I like your modesty.” Daisy: “Confidence in a woman make you uncomfortable, Agent Callen?” Callen: “Well, if it did, then I'm about to marry the wrong woman.”

Anything else: A car is driving down a rural road. 2003 shows up on the screen. The radio in the car is playing an address by then President George W. Bush about major combat operations ending in Iraq. A man steps out of the vehicle and puts on some gloves. Inside the vehicle is a woman wearing a Navy sweatshirt who looks like she’s out cold. There’s duct tape on her mouth and her hands are bound.

As the man walks away from the vehicle to use a payphone, the woman is awake and alert. She takes off the seat belt holding her to the car seat. She tries to open the car door but the man finished his call and is returning to the vehicle. Again, playing unconscious, she waits until the man nears the car door. She opens the door with great force, knocking the man to the ground. She flees on foot. She gets the bindings off her hands and removes the tape on her mouth as she runs. The man starts the car to chase her. She calls for help as she runs into a wooded area.

In 2024, a car is pulled from a lake. The license plate and the vehicle are from the 2003 scenes. A female NCIS agent confirms “it’s hers” and calls for the best NCIS team in the area.

Walking into the office, Kensi and Deeks are talking about Rosa, extracurricular activities and college applications. Kensi thinks Rosa needs them, Deeks thinks Yale won’t care since you can get into law school there by twirling a baton. Baton is color guard, Kensi correct Deeks, Rosa is interested in doing gymnastics, Deeks is worried she’ll get hurt. Kensi lists a number of activities Rosa could join – track, water polo, AV Club – where Deeks has a reason she could get hurt - shin splints, chlorine poisoning (obviously), electrocution. Kensi tells him to stop. He is half-joking but he wants her safe, Kensi says they can’t cover Rosa in bubble wrap. Deeks is looking more for small packing peanuts.

In Ops, Kensi asks if they have a new case. Fatima and Rountree explains it is more a like an old one. Navy Petty Officer Britney Perez, Fatima starts to explain but Kensi thinks the name sounds familiar. It was – there was a documentary series about Perez recently. A hiker at Castaic Lake saw a car in the lake – water levels are so low it was easy to see on a trail. Deeks thinks this may be the one time where climate change is good. He knows it sounds wrong. The four talk about bringing Kilbride into the case but Deeks wants Kilbride to spend time with his son. Callen and Sam on their way to the crime scene. Kensi asks about next of kin. Perez had a mother who has not been informed about the car. Kensi can’t fathom being a mother to a missing child. She and Deeks are going to see Mrs. Perez, maybe offer some answers.

Walking up to an apartment door, Admiral Kilbride sighs before knocking. A man in his mid-to-late 40’s answers the door and says hello Dad. Dad Kilbride replies with just “Alex.” Inviting his father into the apartment, Alex explains the set-up is temporary, he’s still trying to work things out with his wife Deb. It is a rather generic one-bedroom apartment with rather generic furniture.

Kilbride asks where he can hang his coat and hat as Alex pours the two some coffee. Opening a closet, Kilbride sees it is full of fancy diplomas, an expensive desk name plate. There is a hook so the hat and jacket go there. Kilbride asks Alex about work and Alex replies “great.” He has a new client working on a cryptocurrency exchange. The silence after that is uncomfortable.

Callen and Sam pull up at the crime scene. They’re talking about Stacy, Anna’s maid of honor. Sam is adding drama according to Callen. The two address Special Agent Daisy Van Zandt, the female agent who supervised the car being removed from the lake. Callen and Sam are investigating their first cold case - “a couple of virgins” according to Daisy – so she asks them to stay close but also stay out of the way.

Daisy has been working cold cases in 2004 and has solved twice as many cold cases in her time than the next two agents combined. Callen admires her modesty. Daisy asks if confidence in woman worries Callen. If it does, Callen tells her, he’s going to have a problem with the woman he’s about to marry. Daisy tells Callen and Sam that the case of Brittney Perez “had my number”. There’s never been any evidence until now. An agent calls for Daisy. The car truck is opened and the skeletal remains of someone are inside.

Calling Kensi and Deeks, Callen says the coroner ID’d the body as Brittney Perez. Hanging up, he returns to Sam and Daisy. Kensi and Deeks will be telling Perez’s mother. Daisy doesn’t envy that task. Callen asks about the original case agents. Two local field office agents, Walker and Haskins, had the case originally. Walker retired to Florida a few years back, Haskins is dead. Sam asks Daisy what she thought of all this. “There’s good work, there’s sloppy work and there there’s whatever the hell this was. It’s no wonder why this case wound up with us.”

Callen asks about suspects. There was one suspect – Petty Office Aaron Baker. A witness said Baker and Perez were arguing outside a bar. Perez slapped Baker. Sam wondered about the argument but Daisy doesn’t know what it was about. Neither does Baker, according to Daisy, who was too drunk to remember according to Walker and Haskins. They didn’t bother to push him on what he could and couldn’t remember. He’s third generation Navy. Callen is stunned.

When Perez went missing, Baker was home according to his bunkmate. The two were watching video games all night. Looking at the truck, Sam asks for a vial. He found a tooth in the trunk. Perez’s body is still in the trunk and it is obvious she has all her teeth. Sam believes Perez fought until the end. There will be a DNA test and while teeth and bone are really strong for finding DNA, 20-years in the water isn’t a good environment. Callen and Sam are off to talk to Baker.

In the boat shed, Kensi and Deeks are comforting and kind to Mrs. Perez. Mrs. Perez shares photos of Britney stored on her phone. Britney was strong and smart and funny. Mrs. Perez explains that she was a single mom. She and Britney only had each other. That’s why she never believed the investigators who thought Britney went AWOL, fearing she would be deployed. Asked if Britney was worried about being deployed, Mrs. Perez said her daughter loved the Navy. Besides, she would never leave without saying goodbye.

Before she went missing, Britney was upset and a frazzled. There was something about her roommate Jen, there was a bad situation. Britney wouldn’t tell her mother the whole story. She wanted to protect her mother. Mrs. Perez tells Kensi and Deeks that she was waiting for this day for the last 20-years. Now she’d like to have one more day of not knowing that someone killed her daughter. Grabbing Kensi’s arm, Mrs. Perez asks that they not give up on Britney this time. Kensi promises.

In Ops, Rountree has been looking into Aaron Baker. At 18, Baker was arrested for assault and battery, a charge that was pled down to a misdemeanor. While he got away with that, his DNA is now in the system so it should be easy to match anything that can be retrieved from the tooth. Fatima is still waiting for the files for the case to be sent – it is taking hours.

Fatima is also investigating Petty Officer Jen Anderson, Perez’s roommate. Anderson went AWOL days before Perez disappeared. Rountree gets a text – the files are downstairs. Fatima is surprised, her tablet didn’t beep when the files were sent. The files were sent – physical files. They are in charred yet damp banker boxes. Daisy sent a note – the burn marks are from wildfires in 2009, the dampness from flooding in 2015. Rountree leaves, saying “you’ve got this, right.” Fatima is not pleased.

Callen and Sam approach a man asking if he’s Aaron Baker. It’s Jack Baker, Aaron’s dad. He’s working on a boat in the garage. Jack Baker explains he’s been living with Aaron and Aaron’s wife Melissa since his house burned down in the Bell Canyon fires. Aaron’s out and Jack is happy to tell him that NCIS stopped by – why were they stopping by. When Callen says a cold case from 2003, Jack reacts poorly. Since the documentary series, the family has gotten late night phone calls, people just showing up at the house, death threats. Callen is sorry they had to go through that. Before they leave, Sam fixes a knot on a boat. Jack is impressed and asks if Sam is Navy. When Sam says Senior Chief, Special Warfare, Jack is a bit more open. Since Aaron and Melissa went shopping and will be back soon, Jack’s fine with Callen and Sam waiting inside the house.

Inside the house, Jack is showing some photos he has of his time during Desert Storm. He was a Chief Petty Officer running the Beachmasters unit. Aaron and Melissa arrive. When Callen explains they are from NCIS and it is about Britney Perez, Melissa wants no part of the interview – the family has been through enough. Callen tells them about Britney’s body being found. “The sooner we have answers, the sooner this will be over for everyone,” Sam says. Jack seems supportive of Callen and Sam so Aaron is open to answering questions.

Asked about what he was arguing about with Britney, Aaron doesn’t remember. Jack is cheerleading for his son during the interview. Things happened 20-years ago, hard to remember. Sam asks if Aaron remember his roommate for 20-years ago. He does – Kevin Phillips and they were friends at the time. The two haven’t spoken in over a decade. Before they plan on leaving, Callen asks if Aaron was willing to turn over his dental records. Melissa puts her foot down – she considers this harassment. She’s calling a lawyer and if they want his dental records, Callen and Sam need a warrant.

Leaving the home, both Callen and Sam are sure Aaron remembers more than saying and Melissa knows that too. They want Rountree to find Kevin Phillips to see what he remembers. Callen gets a text from Daisy – they found DNA in the tooth. They don’t need a warrant for Aaron’s dental records, they already have his DNA on file.

Coming down the stairs, Rountree asks how Fatima is doing with the physical files. About half of the files belong to different cases. What belongs to this case is either burned or moldy. She also thinks there is something live in one of the boxes. Rountree found Jen Anderson, who is living in Sun Valley. She was arrested for drugs about five years ago and is currently on parole. Kensi and Deeks are on their way to see her.

Fatima finds a box of cassette tapes of interviews, amazed at the lack of technical prowess of the original investigators. Rountree isn’t sure where they would find a cassette player. Fatima is – Kilbride’s truck is in the carport. He’s on vacation, probably having the time of his life, according to Rountree. They can listen to the tapes in Kilbride’s truck.

Not having the time of his life – Kilbride. Alex is explaining how the coffee he’s serving is from a farmer’s market downtown that has a direct connection with a coffeehouse in Guatemala. The Admiral doesn’t much care about the coffee. The Admiral knows what’s going on. Alex admits he’s back in rehab, sticking with the program and going to meetings. The Admiral is happy to hear it. Alex thinks everything is so weird. Kilbride is willing to go back to the last conversation the two had. Things are going downhill fast.

When Kilbride complains that things aren’t that easy for him either, Alex asks why Kilbride is even there. Alex realizes “Mom asked you to come.” Alex is annoyed that his mother couldn’t leave well enough along. “If you were ‘well enough’ she never would have asked,” Kilbride replies. He’s angry that Alex was given every opportunity, given anything a person could ask for. Alex tells his father he didn’t ask for what he’s got now. Kilbride replies he didn’t turn it down either.

Exasperated, Alex says he wasn’t born ready to take on the world like Kilbride was. Kilbride disagrees – the only difference between the two of them was “I didn’t fold up like a cheap suit every time life got hard.” Imitating his father offering advice like “suck it up” and “take it like a man”, Alex asked if he missed any not helpful pieces of advice. Pausing a beat, Kilbride tells Alex he’s there to help. Alex thinks that help is 40-years too late. “I don’t want your help. Just go.” Alex is sure Kilbride has more important work to do. Grabbing his coat and hat, Kilbride leaves.

In the cold case lab, Callen brings up Emily instead of Stacy, another possible plus one for the wedding. Callen thinks Emily is a much better fit for the wedding. Daisy arrives. The tooth is inconclusive when it comes to a match for Aaron Baker. The pool of suspects is basically anyone living in Los Angeles in 2003. Callen asks about forensic genealogy – that’s how they found the Golden State Killer. Daisy says TV makes that all look too easy. They would have to build out a family tree, that takes time, and other family members who put in their DNA for genealogy. But she’ll get her staff working on that. When Daisy leaves, Sam mentions he really likes Daisy. Callen wants to know if that’s in a plus-one sort of way. Rountree calls – he found Kevin Phillips. Phillips has been working in Long Beach for a masonry firm. Before that, several years in prison for wire fraud and falsifying records. Baker’s alibi was from a convicted liar. And it is a non-violent crime so Phillips’s DNA wouldn’t be in the system. Callen and Sam want to talk to Phillips.

While Fatima listens to some really bad detective work in Kilbride’s truck, Rountree pretends the Admiral has returned. Fatima isn’t all that amused. She updates Rountree on what she’s learned. Perez spoke to her CO before she disappeared. The CO on the tape said Perez wanted to report a crime for her roommate but he thought it was just a he said/she said situation. If they reported every he said/she said situation to NCIS, NCIS would stop taking the base’s calls. Perez was forced to take matters in her own hands by confronting Baker. But since she already reported the crime, Baker would have no reason to silence Perez. Unless she was willing to take her claims to a larger audience.

Continuing his litany of dangerous things for Rosa to stay away from, Deeks has vetoed the Girl Scouts, academic decathlon, choir and ceramics. “What sort of a manic lets minors around a kiln?” Deeks asks. At Jen Anderson’s door, Deeks knocks and someone starts shooting through the door. Kensi goes out back to find Anderson washed all her sheets and they’re all hanging on clothes lines. A man shoots at Kensi. She returns fire, hitting him on the leg. When Deeks joins Kensi in the backyard, they hear something at the back door. It is Jen Anderson.

The man shooting at Kensi is Anderson’s friend Marcus, “a narcissistic idiot”, who thought Kensi and Deeks were there to arrest him. Seems he had a lot of drugs with him. Marcus is going to jail for a long time for drugs and shooting at Federal Agents. Deeks asks Anderson about Aaron Baker and Britney Perez 20-years ago. When Anderson asks if Kensi spoke to Baker about “it”, Kensi said they did. Anderson walks away while Deeks deals with LAPD.

Gently, Kensi pushes Anderson to talk about what happened with Aaron Baker. They can’t solve Perez’s case without her. Anderson tells Kensi that Baker “assaulted” her. Took her life away while his went on without a worry in the world. Anderson left the Navy. Perez was the only person who knew what happened. She was a good friend to Anderson who wouldn’t let Baker walk around free as Anderson was losing her career. Perez reported the crime against Anderson’s wishes. Anderson left the day Perez reported the crime. A few days later, Perez’s disappearance was all over the news. Anderson didn’t speak to investigators – if they didn’t believe Perez, they weren’t going to believe her.

Kevin Phillips is on the wrong side of the desk in Interrogation. Aaron Baker may have been Phillips’s best friend but he wouldn’t lie for him. Sam asks if Phillips is lying for himself. He swears he had no reason to kill Perez. Sam sees a way that Philips, knowing that Baker had a Navy family, would protect Baker from the harm caused Perez’s accusations. Phillips is firm – Baker didn’t kill Perez and he didn’t kill Perez. Callen asks Phillips to prove it – provide a DNA sample. Phillips agrees.

As Callen goes to speak with Daisy, Sam questions Phillip about his reaction to Sam’s Navy-oriented question. Sam wonders how serious Aaron Baker was about the Navy. Phillips admits that Baker liked the Navy because it helped his dating life. When Baker would get blackout drunk – which was all the time – he’d speak about his father. Jack Baker would bully his son, calling him a failure and a disgrace to the family. Sam asks if Jack Baker knew about Perez’s accusations. He did.

Daisy puts the kibosh on a DNA test for Kevin Phillips. A deeper look into the DNA again a genealogy search matched Aaron Baker – a partial match. Sam arrives, asking if it a 50% match. It is. Daisy would need to see a DNA sample for Jack Baker. Callen has just the man for the case.

Wearing Artie, Deeks is trash pail diving around the Baker home. He’s not happy about the assignment. Kensi is taking photos of Deeks to support the chain of custody. Under the Abandoned DNA Act, any genetic material left in a public place can be used by law enforcement. Chanting he has a law degree and loves his job, Deeks is picking through the regular trash.

Jack Baker leaves the home, dropping paint cans and rubber gloves into the recycling pail. The gloves would have DNA so Deeks goes to retrieve them, muttering all the way. As Deeks gets into the recycling pail, Jack Baker tries to run Deeks off. Deeks knocks down the pail, yells “I am Spartacus” and shows Kensi he has the gloves. Fatima and Rountree listen in to all this.

As Kilbride is Ubering back to the airport, the driver mentions that a tough day can be forgotten by showering and a good night sleep. Kilbride instead, returns to Alex’s apartment. Alex asks why Kilbride is there. Kilbride replies he’s there to do something he should have done years ago.

In the cold cases lab, Daisy confirms to Kensi and Deeks that the DNA on the gloves is a 100% match. Kensi calls that into Ops – they’ll meet Callen and Sam at the Baker home but Jack Baker is gone. He left to go to the hardware store – LAPD had him under surveillance – but lost him in the store. Fatima is trying to track his truck with GPS. He was at a storage facility in Van Nuys. Rountree has security cam photos of Jack Baker removing a rifle from his storage unit and putting it in his truck. Kensi sighs – Jack Baker knows NCIS is coming for him, “and that’s not good,” according to Deeks.

On the freeway, Callen and Sam are trying to find Jack Baker. He’s going north – to Castaic Lake. Kensi and Deeks are about 15-minutes behind Callen and Sam. There was a hit and run by Aaron Baker’s house – with Baker’s BMW. Kensi and Deeks are going to Aaron Baker’s home to see if Aaron was making a run for it. Callen and Sam will deal with Jack Baker.

At Castaic Lake, Sam looks around Jack Baker’s truck – the rifle is gone.

Kensi and Deeks cut off Aaron Baker, ordering him out of his car. Saying he doesn’t have time for this, he’s afraid his father is going to hurt himself. Or something worse.

On comms, Kensi warns Callen and Sam that Jack Baker may be on a suicide mission. Callen and Sam realize Jack Baker wants to kill himself but wants Callen and Sam to do the actual killing. Sam sees Baker and starts approaching him. When Baker stops, he complains “that bitch” was going to ruin his son’s life. Sam disagrees – Aaron ruined his own life by his actions. Baker claims he was doing what any father would do – protect his son. Again Sam disagrees – Baker killed a woman who was doing the right thing. Baker promises he won’t die in prison. He turns his gun on Sam and tries to fire. Sam shoots Baker. Looking at the body, Sam realizes Baker had the safety on.

“Great, I miss all the fun,” Daisy says as she pulls up to the crime scene. She wanted to know how the story ends. Callen asks if they can send back the file boxes. The OSP would like the file boxes to be returned. Asked what she’s going to do now, Daisy has lots of cold cases – she’ll work on them until there are none left. Callen wonders how many cold cases are there. She doesn’t keep count. She’d like Callen and Sam to join her – she could always use another body or two. Probably phrased wrong.

As Daisy goes to see what’s going on, Callen gets a text. Stacey has a date for the wedding but Emily is still looking for a plus one. Sam is sure Emily can find a date for the wedding. Callen pushes until Sam relents. He’d like to get to know Emily – really know her as his plus one. Maybe Callen, Sam, Anna and Emily can go for a fancy dinner Friday – Callen’s treat. Then next Friday, pricey sushi – Callen’s treat. Then there’s a private chef that will cook for couples. Callen walks way, even threatens to walk home. Sam is sure his days of fending off plus one offers are done.

Jen Anderson texts Kensi. She’s going public with her accusations against Aaron Blake. Maybe her telling the truth will give strength to other victims. Deeks puts his arms around Kensi.

Mrs. Perez lights a floating candle at Castaic Lake.

Daisy puts the tooth and DNA into an evidence bag. Putting it all in a freezer where there are thousands of vials of DNA, she says, “one down, hundreds to go.”

In his apartment, Alex explains to his father that his marriage is over. Kilbride wants to know what can he do for Alex. “Talking help,” he explains. Admitting the truth, Alex says he doesn’t have a new client, his firm let him go. Kilbride already knew. Alex found talking to his father “nice.” Alex notes that Kilbride was going to miss his flight – until he realizes that Kilbride already missed the flight. Kilbride will be sacking out on the couch, enjoying another cup of coffee with his son.

What head canon can be formed from here: There are probably two really good episodes here but because the Drona drama has to eat up lots of episodes, the two great storylines were crammed into one good but not great episode.

There were two really good episodes in this episode but by cutting and pasting them together, there was one good episode instead.

Cramming the two episodes together, you had a theme of parents and their children. Fathers – Deeks, Kilbride and Jack Baker – and mothers – Kensi, Mrs. Perez. Deeks had the easy part – he was playing it for laughs but with his history in the public defenders office, the LAPD and now with NCIS, he knows how badly things can go for young people in the world. Also knowing how badly things can go for young people in the world is Kilbride. Kilbride wound up with the career and code in life to live by. That wasn’t want Alex needed and Kilbride did not have the ability to deal with his issues. Jack Baker seemingly forced his career on his son who had no interest in the code a man should live by. So Jack Baker murdered an innocent woman to keep his son’s future bright.

With Kensi and Mrs. Perez, you have two women who want/wanted their daughters to go out into the world to be the best versions of themselves. Deeks’s over-the-top worries about Rosa’s safety is undercut by how Britney Perez did all the right things – protected and friend, fought for justice – and spent 20-years drowned in the trunk of her car.

There should have been a solo episode about Britney Perez’s disappearance and one solo episode about Kilbride with his son/Kensi and Deeks dealing with Rosa’s future.

Loved, loved, loved Daisy. Memo to the surviving NCIS and the possible new NCIS. Find something for Daisy to do in either 2024 or in the past with the young Gibbs/young Mike Frank. This was a program that spent years with limited recurring characters – how great would it have been to have Hetty and Daisy mixing things up in season four.

One good episode that could have been two great hours.

Episode number: This is episode number 319, the 17th episode of season 14.

#NCIS: Los Angeles Rewatch #NCIS: Los Angeles #NCIS: LA #NCIS Los Angeles #ncis la

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queen-of-the-nerdlords · 1 year ago

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WIP Title Game!

Thank you to the amazing @seidraikiri for tagging me! Sorry it took me so long!

Rules: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

(If I tagged you, you don't have to do this, I'm just scrambling for people I know lmao)

Blue Exorcist

Cake By the Ocean (Mephisto/Rin)

Chintzy (MephiRin) (Mephisto/Rin)

MephiRin - A/B/O Fic (Mephisto/Rin)

MephiRin Soulmate RP with fren (Mephisto/Rin)

Ocean Blue (Suguro/Rin)

CUPID (Visual Novel)

Promises of Forever (Rosa/Catherine)

Doki Doki Literature Club

Oyasumi (Sayori/Protag)

DRAMAtical Murder

Calming Serenade (Akushima/Aoba)

allmate human daycare au (multiple)

Immer Sie (Clear/Akushima)

Happy Sugar Life

Sugar and Spice and-

Haven't You Heard? I'm Sakamoto

Undermine (Atsushi/Sakamoto)

I Saw Autumn Leave (Ib/Garry)

It Means Friendship

Misao (Game)

Ignorance Is Your New Best Friend (Kudoh/Misao)

SohTano Family AU (Sohta/Takano)

Mad Father

Journal Entries within the Drevis Manor

The Words I Want To Say (Ogre/Aya)

My Hero Academia

AFOKami (OC/AFO)

"Me and Mr. Wolf" Gift for Seidraikiri (Aizawa/Deku)

Sunflowers (Chapter 2 lmao)

OFF (Mortis Ghost)

Love Me Dead (Judge/Japhet)

Pokemon

RP Starter (OC)

Pub Encounter

Cocktail and Lovers' Night (OC/Soichiro)

Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Again & Again (Madoka/Homura)

i need not one thing more (Madoka/Everyone)

If Our Hearts Were Iron and Our Bodies Steel (Kyousuke/Sayaka)

though it's the end of the world; don't blame yourself (Madoka/Homura)

Samurai Jack

Jaku Soulmate AU (Jack/Aku)

Steven Universe

Cantarella (Pearl/Rose)

The Stanley Parable

Dread (Stanley/Narrator)

Unmarked Stone (Stanley/Narrator)

Wadanohara and the Great Blue Sea

Masochism Tango (Idate/Samekichi)

she's got blue eyes like the sea (femslash Samekichi/Wadanohara)

Yandere Simulator

Rotten Girl, Grotesque Romance (not finishing this lol)

Yuri!! On Ice

Cantarella (Yuuri/Viktor)

Crossovers

And Away We Go (OC/Homestuck/Adventure Time/The Sims)

Anni NEXT CHAPTER (OC)

Much Ado About Invading (ZaDR/TaGR/OC)

Painting of Evil/Servant of Evil (Ib/The Evillious Series)

The Memory That Would Never Be Remembered (Ib/Garry)

Thorn (Aoba/Toue)

We Are Number One (Skyrim Dragonspeak)

and tons more because I've had 3 phones and 4 computers shit the bed and die and I'm not that great about backing up files I make on the fly. I'm sure if I restored one of the broken hard drives I have, we could find more.

@abby-something, @reaperlight, @thebeingofeverything, @oragamiartist, @thatkinkyboi, @rainbowrowell, @yaoihands, @grievousgl0ry, @urami1080, @still-life-of-thick-ass, @president-homewrecker, @double--blind, @slowly-backs-away, @cinnamoloves,

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youalmostcapturedjacksparrow · 2 years ago

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𝕁𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝕊𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕣𝕠𝕨'𝕤 ℝ𝕠𝕤𝕖 ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝟙𝟘

Chapter 10: Isla the muerta

General POV

The crew was getting the dinghy ready to go ashore.

And Rose was making herself ready to go in. she tied her hair up in a high ponytail. So it wouldn't be in the way at all.

She wore pants and a coat this time so she wouldn't have any trouble running.

She stole the coat from one of the crew.

Because she wasn't wearing anything from Norrington's closet.

Will on the other hand was ready to jump in the dinghy and to get Elizabeth back straight away.

As soon as Jack and Rose came towards the dinghy Will stepped in.

The three of them nodded to each other before the dinghy was lowered onto the water.

Will was rowing them towards the entrance of a cave.

The entrance of Isla the Muerta Rosa assumed.

As soon as we entered the cave the atmosphere changed. It felt horrible and smelled like death and rust.

'What code is Gibbs to keep to if the worst should happen?' Will asked Jack

'Pirates code' Jack said

'Any man who falls behind is left behind.'

'No heroes amongst thieves, eh?' Will said while he was looking around the cave.

'You know, For having such a bleak outlook on pirates, your both well on your way to becoming one.

Sprung a man from jail, commandeered a ship of the fleet, sailed with a buccaneer crew out of Tortuga, And you're completely obsessed with treasure.' Jack said to both Will and Rose.

The dinghy reached the small shore. And everyone jumped out.

Rose didn't say anything on Jack's comment.

But Will couldn't help himself.

'Im not completely obsessed with treasure'

Both Jack and Rose were ignoring his comments and crawling further towards all the noise.

'Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate. ' Jack said as an reply on Will's comment.

In the distance we could hear Barbossa talk towards his crew.

'Gentleman the time has come!'

Rose was ducking behind a wall of rocks. With Jack and Will. trying to peek on what was happening and if she could see Elizabeth.

'Our salvation is nigh!' Barbossa sounded again.

Rose could get an almost clear view.

She saw Barbossa standing on a rock decorated with treasure.

Elizabeth was standing right next to him. Behind a treasure chest. Which Rose assumed was the one with all those amulets.

'Our torment is near an end!' Barbossa sounded again.

'Elizabeth' Rose breathed.

'What the bloody hell is she wearing. That color looks hideous on her!' Rose cursed under her breath.

To which Jack looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

'For ten years we've been tested and tried, and each man here has proved his mettle a hundred times over. And a hundred times again! '

To which his whole crew stood cheering and shouting.

'Punished we were, the lot of us, disproportionate to our crime!'

'Here it is!' Barbossa said as he shoved the lit of the chest.

It fell right infront of Elizabeth's feet. And the whole box was filled with all the same amulets.

'What the fuck' Rose cursed.

'How did she even get one of these things' she mumbled to herself.

'The cursed treasure of Cortes himself.

Every last piece that went astray, we have returned.

Save for this!' Barbossa said pointing towards elizabeth's neck.

Where she was wearing the necklace.

'Jack!' Will and Rose said at the same time jumping up. Wanting to run straight in trying to save Elizabeth. But Jack stopped them.

'We wait for the opportune moment.' Jack said as he pulled rose and will back.

He crawled away from them.

'When's that?' Will asked as he got after Jack.

'When its of the greatest profit to you?' he spat at Jack.

To which Jack stopped and turned around to face Rose.

He laid his hands on her shoulders and scooted her aside a little.

'May I ask you something? Have I ever given you reason not to trust me?' he said while walking closer to Will.

'Do us a favor' He pointed to Rose and then to himself.

'I know it's difficult for you, but please stay here, and try not to do anything stupid. ' Jack said looking him directly in his eyes almost begging him. To indeed do nothing stupid.

'And same goes for you Love. I know you want to save your dear Sissy, but please wait this out. We will get her back.' He said turning towards Rose.

'And who among us has paid the blood sacrifice owed to the heathen gods?' Barbossa said echoing through the caves.

To which his whole crew screamed 'AY'

'and whose blood must yet be paid?' He said his voice even louder.

'HERS' the crew screamed.

'You know the first thing I'm going to do after the curse is lifted?' Barbossa said while looking back at Elizabeth.

'Eat a whole bushel of apples!' he said chuckling

When he was done chuckling he pushed Elizabeth with her head down over the treasure chest.

All the pirates were mumbling.

'Bood, Blood! , Blood!' and you could see the fear in her eyes.

Barbossa took the knife.

'begun by blood. By blood undone.'

Jack and Rose walked towards the more gateway of the cave. Keeping eye contact.

But then Rose saw Will walking behind Jack with an oar. And before Rose could even motion to Jack to watchout.

Will hit Jack with the oar. And he fell over Rose. Which made Rose tumble over with Jack on top of her.

'Will!?' Rose cursed at him.

'What the fuck do you think your doing?'

'Sorry guys, I'm not going to be Jack's Leverage.'

'Please Rose stay there. I'm going to get Elizabeth.'

'Where do you think I'm going with him all over me. You asshole!'

Barbossa took the necklace of Elizabeth's neck and lied it in the palm of her hand.

And with the knife he cut in the palm of her hand.

Making Elizabeth gasp.

Barbossa closed her hand and turned it around. He pushed her hand open causing her to bleed all over the amulet. And then Elizabeth let it fall into the chest full of the other gold pieces.

'That's it?' Elizabeth asked

'waste not.' Barbossa simply replied.

Barbossa let go of Elizabeth and closed his eyes. Trying to feel if he went back to his normal self.

'Did it work?' A pirate asked.

'I don't feel no different.' The pirate with his fake eye said.

'How do we tell?' the chubby pirate asked.

Barbossa rolled his eyes and took his gun out of his belt.

He plainly shot the chubby pirate through his chest.

'You're not dead!' the first pirate said

'no' the chubby pirate simply replied.

'You shot me!' He said pointing at Barbossa.

'It didn't work! The curse is still apon us!' Another claimed

Barbossa looked at his knife and then looked at Elizabeth.

'You maid! Your father, what was his name?

Was his name William Turner?'

'No ' Elizabeth said with an almost smirk on her face.

'Where's his child that sailed from England eight years ago!

The child that flows the blood of William Turner'

'Where?!' Barbossa said again.

Elizabeth smirked and stayed silent.

Barbossa got angry and he smacked Elizabeth on her face. Making her fall of the mountain of gold. She fell next to the water with the amulet next to her.

'You two!' The pirate with the scars on his face said.

'You brought us the wrong person!'

'No ! she had the medallion. She's the proper age. ' The chubby pirate tried to explain.

'She said her name was Turner. You heard it yourself' The fake eyed pirate said.

Will snuck up to Elizabeth diving up from the water. He lied his hand on Elizabeth's mouth to which she shockingly woke up. Looking at Will. he motioned to her that she should come with him. And she nodded. Getting the amulet and following Will in the water.

'You brought us here for nothin' A pirate screamed at Barbossa.

'I won't take second-guesses from the likes of you, Master Twigg!' Barbossa spat.

'Who's to blame him? Every decision you have made had led us from bad to worse!'

Will pulled Elizabeth out of the water and let her to the dinghy.

'Lets get out of here!' he silently told Elizabeth.

'It was you who sent Bootstrap to the depths!'

'And its you who brought us here in the first place!' the crew said pulling their swords towards Barbossa.

To which Barbossa pulled his sword out towards them.

'If any coward here dare challenge me, let him speak!'

'I say we cut her throat. And spill all her blood!' A pirate screamed.

Jack the Monkey was screeching and jumping up and down pointing at the exit from the cave.

To which Barbossa looked at the place he pushed Elizabeth to.

To see that she was gone.

'The medallion! She's taken it!' Barbossa screamed

'GET HER!'

All the pirates were running through the exit of the caves.

'The oars are gone! Where are the oars!?' the pirates screamed at each other.

'The oars have gone missing? ' a pirate shouted

'FIND THEM!' he screamed at them.

Rose and Jack were still laying over each other in a caveway.

Until a few pirates found them. With a smirk

'Well well well' he pulled Jack up still unconscious. And they pulled up Rose to!

'Let go of me you filthy imbecilic pirates' she muttered

Rosemary's POV

By the time the pirates brought us towards the beginning of the cave. Jack had woken up.

While the pirates all stood around us.

'You're supposed to be dead.' They exclaimed.

'Am I not?' Jack simply replied

'Oh?' he said and he wanted to walk off. But he couldn't because he was hold by two pirates.

They all pointed their guns at Jack and also at me. When he started murmuring words.

'Pa..Paarrot.. Paar.. par' He started but he couldn't get it rolling of his tongue.

'Parley?' I asked him and he smirked up towards me

'THAT'S THE ONE ! I call on Parley!'

'Damn to the depths whatever muttonhead thought up parley!' The chubby pirate spat at Jack and me.

'That would be the French!' Jack exclaimed.

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artofwrestlingrpg · 1 year ago

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MOST WANTED MALES:

COREY GRAVES, MATT JACKSON, ALEX REYNOLDS, EVIL UNO, LA KNIGHT, BIG BILL, NICK JACKSON, ANTHONY BOWENS, DAX HARWOOD, POWERHOUSE HOBBS, OTIS, CASH WHEELER, KYLE O'REILLY, DANTE MARTIN, DARIUS MARTIN, LUCHASAURUS, CAMERON GRIMES, JACK PERRY, MATT HARDY, JEFF HARDY, ISIAH KASSIDY, ORTIZ, KEITH LEE, SHEAMUS, NATHAN FRAZER, JOE GACY, PRESTON VANCE, SAMOA JOE, KIP SABIAN, THE BUTCHER, THE BLADE, TRENT BARETTA, CHUCK TAYLOR, LUCIEN PRICE, RICK BOOGS, DREW MCINTYRE, ILYA DRAGUNOV, ANGELO DAWKINS, MONTEZ FORD, KARRION KROSS, ELTON PRINCE, KIT WILSON, SANTOS ESCOBAR, BARON CORBIN.

MOST WANTED FEMALES:

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Role names in color have multiple member requests and multiple potential plots and connections within the group. Original characters are welcome!

Art of Wrestling is an established ( since 2021 ! ) non-au wrestling roleplay on discord, and we'd love for you to join us.

With biweekly tasks, game nights, monthly events, a biweekly tabloid, and so much more!

We currently have THIRTY FOUR active members, and over ONE HUNDRED characters to interact with. Want to check it out before applying? No problem! Send us a direct message for an invite to the server today!

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afreakingdork · 2 years ago

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Crush Too Much - Master Playlist

Here is the current master-list of all the songs you all have recommended to go along with Crush Too Much! This page will update as more songs come in:

Mirror Mirror (White Trailer) by Jeff Williams

Ocean Away by Barlow & Bear

El Clavo by Prince Royce

If I'm James Dean, You're Audrey Hepburn by Sleeping With Sirens

Figure You Out by Djo

Go for It by Djo

Connect the Dots by Greer

Rocky and Window by Still Woozy

First Time by Lucy Dacus

Kissing Lessons by Lucy Dacus

Baby by Hippo Campus

Vanilla Twilight by Owl City

El Tango De Roxanne by Ewan McGregor, Jacek Koman, and José Feliciano

Tongues & Teeth by The Crane Wives

Never Love an Anchor by The Crane Wives

I'm Not Crazy by Kevin Walkman

Shit by Bo Burnham

Your Stupid Face by Kaden MacKay

Coffee by Jack Stauber

Let You Break My Heart Again by Laufey and Philharmonia Orchestra

Two Time by Jack Stauber

Nobody Gets Me by SZA

Meteor Shower by Cavetown

I Like You by dandelion hands

Ocean Waves by Alaina Castillo

Smitten by Leanna Firestone

Olive Branch by Sophie Holohan

O Sol e a Lua by Pequeno Cidadão

Sally’s Song by Catherine O'Hara

To Exist With You by Madilyn Mei

Roses by Phoneboy

Boy's a Liar by PinkPantheress

Dsco by Sweet Trip

Genesis by Grimes

Remember When by Wallows

i love you by Billie Eilish

Just a Friend to You by Meghan Trainor

The Winner Takes It All by ABBA

I Love You So by The Walters

Line Without a Hook by Ricky Montgomery

Mr. Brightside by The Killers

The Night We Met by Lord Huron

An Idiot by Phemiec

Where Do the Lonely Souls Go? by George Salazar

Less and Less by Matt Maltese

Irrational by Cavetown

Without You Around by Rare Americans

Loverboy by A-Wall

What About Me (Television / So Far So Good) by Rex Orange County

Out of My League by Fitz and The Tantrums

Fear & Delight by The Correspondents

Bullet by Saint Motel

i think you're really cool by Guardin

Obsession by OK Go

Feel Better by Penelope Scott

Teenage Runaways by Hot Milk

Almost Lover by A Fine Frenzy

Again by Crusher-P

despair by leo.

Where Did the Party Go by Fall Out Boy

Almost Is Never Enough by Ariana Grande

Invisible by Anna Clendening

Starry Night by Jordan Critz

Dark Beach by PASTEL GHOST

All I Wanted by Paramore

Astronomy by Conan Gray

Nervous by The Neighbourhood

Afraid by The Neighbourhood

I Want You by Mitski

Francis Forever by Mitski

First Love / Late Spring by Mitski

Humpty by Mitski

The Only Heartbreaker by Mitski

Come Into the Water by Mitski

Escapism. by 070 Shake and Raye

Kawaki wo Ameku by Minami (カワキヲアメク by 美波)

I Really Want to Stay at Your House by Hallie Coggins and Rosa Walton

save your breath by JVKE

Tonight I Wanna Cry by Keith Urban

Painkiller by Beach Bunny

Sunsetz by Cigarettes After Sex

Snow by Ricky Montgomery

Let Her Go - Acoustic by Passenger

Why Do I by Set it off, Hatsune Miku

Bite Me by Avril Lavigne

Bad Habit

Song by Steve Lacy

In an Emergency Such as the End of the World by Chase Petra

Wait On by Hayley Williams

Asystole by Hayley Williams

firearm by Lizzy McAlpine

I Know the End by Phoebe Bridgers

Yours by Conan Gray

Lover, You Should've Come Over by Jeff Buckley

i want, doesn't get by DellaXOZ

Hope by Blood Orange and Dev Hynes

Never Wanna Fall in Love With U by nelward

The Moon Will Sing by The Crane Wives

Can't Help Falling in Love by Elvis Presley

Heartache Tonight by Eagles

Waves By Dean Lewis

I'm Not in Love by 10cc

Jar of Hearts by Christina Perri

Ready To Love by Emarosa

Cautious by Emarosa

Wait, Stay by Emarosa

Fireworks by Mitski

Eternity With You by Adventure Time feat. Michaela Dietz & Zuzu

Monsters by All Time Low feat. Demi Lovato and blackbear

Out Like a Light by Ricky Montgomery & The Honeysticks

j's lullaby (darlin' i'd wait for you) by Delaney Bailey

I Don't Wanna Be Okay Without You by Charlie Burg

Don’t Wanna Fall in Love by Jane Child

Grow As We Go by Ben Platt

Creep by Radiohead

Happy by Mitski

Someone You Like by The Girl and the Dreamcatcher

An Awkward Duet by Dodie and Jon Cozart

Ma Belle Evangeline by Jim Cummings

Mamma Mia by ABBA

Um, it's Kind of a Lot by Will Wood

Hollywood by Jukebox the Ghost

Would You Be So Kind? by Dodie

Kill the Director by The Wombats

Conversations with the Moon By grentperez

The Color Violet by Tory Lanez

Heart Attack by Demi Lovato

Maybe So by Kid Cudi

Can’t Shake Her by Kid Cudi featuring Ty Dolla $ign

Willing to Trust by Kid Cudi featuring Ty Dolla $ign

Want It Bad by Cowboy Malfoy

My Heart Is Buried In Venice by Ricky Montgomery

Violet by Wild Party

A Shitty Love Song by Jye

You Are in Love by Taylor Swift

Accidentally In Love by Counting Crows

I Hear a Symphony by Cody Fry

FFF by Zara Larsson

Heartbeat by Childish Gambino

Head Over Heels by Tears for Fears

Here With Me by d4vd

One More Shot by CIL

Hopelessly Devoted To You by Olivia Newton-John

I Ain't Perfect by IV of Spades

If It All Goes South by Sammy Rae & The Friends

I Dare You by The Regrettes

Sarcasm by Get Scared

Die for You by Joji

golden hour by JVKE

moon and back by JVKE

this is what falling in love feels like by JVKE

how deep? by Tai Verdes

Nonsense by Sabrina Carpenter

Glimpse of Us by Joji

Try Again by JAEHYUN and d.ear

Pluto Projector by Rex Orange County

Wag Kang Mag-expect, Tanga by Fishy Bishie

All I Ask by Adele

Against the Kitchen Floor by Will Wood

Absence by Rio Romeo

Inarticulation by Rio Romeo

Never There Enough by PROM

Ever After by Marianas Trench

Science & Faith by The Script

Patchwork Staccato by Rachie

Hopeless by Khalid

It Ain’t Over ’til It’s Over by Lenny Kravitz

Snow On The Beach by Taylor Swift and Lana Del Rey

Your Hands Are Cold by Dario Marianli and Jean-Yves Thibaudet

A Postcard to Henry Purcell by Dario Marianli and Jean-Yves Thibaudet

Salut d'Amour by Edward Elgar

What's Wrong by half•alive

Dandelions by Ruth B

Move Me by half•alive

Arrow by half•alive

selfdestruct by torr

Lovers Rock by TV Girl

I Didn't Know That I Could Feel This Way by Roger Bart and Susan Egan

Pink in the Night by Mitski

A New Hour by Mr.Kitty

@cryptkillo was kind enough to put together a Spotify Version!

#crushtoomuchfic #playlist #music

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wonderlandleighleigh · 2 years ago

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This or That S5 Maisel addition:

Lenny on GF again or Lenny as Special guest dif show

Rosa becoming the leader of the matchmaker mafia or Rose taking out the matchmaker mafia

Abe writing for the NYT or Abe taking LSD

(Scientific reasoning)

Midge Late Night Host or Midge Playing Sold Out Show at the Copa/Carnegie Hall

Shirley beating everyone at Mei’s family Mahjong parlour or Shirley excited to become a Bubbie again.

Joel opening another club or Joel working with Susie

Mei residency being in New York or Chicago

Moishe retiring or dressing Midge for a red carpet

Susie managing A+ Celebs or Susie going to Jail

MidgeLenny Just friends with kissing or giving them ago.

Handsom Guy (Milo) being Ethan’s teacher or Him being a Sidewalk schmuck

Time Jump or Dream Sequence

Woof so many questions!

Lenny on a different late night show. IRL Lenny's Jack Paar appearance was 1962 after all.

2. Rose taking out the Matchmaker Mafia. They have bad energy, Rose doesn't need that. I mean as much as I love Kelly Bishop, her shitty friends did threaten the Weissmans and that's just wild.

3. Abe has a perfectly good job at the Voice, so I'm going to say Abe on LSD because LOL. He just writes math equations on a wall, marveling at how beautiful they are.

4, Both. Her hosting duties mean that people know her, and her shows sell out.

5. Oh fuck both. Shirley just cleaning out the entire Mahjong parlor while chatting away about being a Bubbe again sounds great.

6. I think Mei deciding on Chicago makes things really interesting. It means Joel has some decisions to make. About his life, and his kids and the club, and whatever leftover feels he might have for Midge, if there are any. Could be super compelling. Also good for Mei, Chicago is a great city.

7. Moishe retiring. Let that man just wander around without pants on all the time, like he's always wanted to.

8. Let's keep Susie out of jail. I mean I still think it's going to happen, but I don't know if I want it to lol.

9. Give me the dumbest, fluffiest, happiest version of Midge and Lenny as a couple. Give it to me. I want it. I want these two assholes who can't stop talking to be together. GIVE IT.

10. I love Milo, but if I never saw his character again, that'd be cool. Making Midge complicit in someone else's adultery wasn't...actually funny.

11. Dream sequences so I can ignore them if I want to.

#Marvelous Mrs Maisel #not predictions just what I want

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emilydoesthething · 3 years ago

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ngl, the "tedbecca shouldn't happen because we never see m/f friendship on tv" is such an annoying argument to me because—

Ron Swanson & Leslie Knope

Liz Lemon & Jack Donaghy

Joey & Pheobe

David Rose & Steve Budd (although they do have a fling early on)

Haley & Lucas

Meredith Grey & Alex Karev

Jake Peralta & Rosa Diaz

Jake Peralta & Gina Linetti

Cece & Winston

Jess & Winston

Jess & Schmidt

Roz Doyle & Fraiser Crane (they do sleep together once, I think)

and this is literally off the top of my head, just with shows I have seen/can remember. And then even just on Ted Lasso we have Ted & Keeley, Rebecca & Higgins, and Roy & Rebecca!

I think what people really mean when they say "tedbecca shouldn't happen because we never see m/f friendship on tv" is "I've seen one too many shows that were centered on a will they/won't they dynamic get the main couple together without a plan on how to sustain it and then we watched them suffer through weird drama a break ups because the writers wanted to get back to the original dynamic of the show".

#ted lasso #tedbecca #ted x rebecca #honestly i feel like every show i love has a strong m/f friendship #it's...not that rare imo?#people just get spooked because so many shows have failed when they got their couple together #but i don't think it'll be an issue with tl #because i do think it's part of the master plan #and i have doubts about jason wanting a s4 anyway

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a34trgv2 · 3 years ago

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Why It Worked: Kid Cosmic

Kid Cosmic is an animated action superhero comedy show created by Craig McCracken. Released on Netflix on February 2, 2021, the show follows the adventures of a young boy who tries to live his dream of being a superhero when he comes into possession of 5 stones of power. The show features the voice talents of Jack Fisher, Amanda C. Miller, Lily Rose Silver, Fred Tatasciore, Tom Kenny and Keith Ferguson. The show recieved critical praise, boasting an 8/10 average rating on IMDB and was dubbed one of the 13 best TV shows of 2021 by LA Times. When I first watched the show, I was absolutely blown away by the first season. Having recently finished watching the show's final season, I can confidently say this is among my favorite cartoons of the 2020s thus far. I'd be more than happy to talk about why in this latest addition of Why It Worked.

Premise and Execution: The show has a simple yet very interesting set up: a kid who loves superhero comics tries to live his dream once he comes into possession of 5 cosmic stones of power. He's joined by his waitress friend Jo, his 4 year old neighbor Rosa, his grandfather Papa G and his cat Tuna Sandwich. The main struggle Kid has to overcome first and foremost is that things don't play out like they did in his comics. This is where the show truly shines as it subverts many conventional and classic superhero tropes in clever and unique ways. From Kid learning to accept that his team isn't what he had in mind to not every alien being a major threat, this show takes advantage of the fact that this is not a power fantasy while at the same time delivering some really good messages about helping people, working together and making sacrifices. This show also has really funny moments such as Kid not being able to control his flight ability to Rosa unknowingly killing a bunch of aliens to one of Papa G's clones being traumatized, this show provides lots of laughs throughout its 24 episode run. This show also has a bopping soundtrack by Adam Bean with heavy garage punk songs that are upbeat and catchy. Lastly the show has some really good animation. It may look like a fully colored animatic, but that's what makes it so unique and amazing. The characters have differing body times, expressive faces and complimentary clothes. They're also designed in a similar style to comics like Dennis The Menace such as having black dots for eyes and darker outlines. The character animation feels natural and the action scenes really pop with sharp speed and excellent cinematography. Backgrounds are also well detailed with the diner feeling like it has a long history, Papa G's junkyard being full of supplies and the desert looking like, well, a desert. The show's premise was good in its own right, but the execution makes the show stand out for the better.

Cast and Characters: Kid Cosmic had a relatively small cast of characters but that's not a detriment because they're all well written and interesting in their own write. Starting with our titular hero, Kid is a happy-go-lucky boy who's a huge comic book fan that gets frustrated when things don't work out the way he plans. He can be in over his head at times, but his heart is most certainly in the right place. Jo, the waitress at the local diner, is cares about Kid's safty and tries to make sure he doesn't get killed or worse her Mom find out about their antics. Rosa is a playful little 4 year old who wants to have fun with Kid, much to his detriment. Thankfully they grow to respect each other and she becomes a really helpful ally. Papa G is such a chill and caring grandfather to Kid and is more than willing to help him, no questions asked. He also teaches Kid some very sage advice such as his famous mantra "Freaking out, breathe it out." Tuna Sandwich is a good cat that tries to make sure Kid is saved from certain doom. Then there's Chuck, an alien invader who starts out as a villain in the first couple episodes before begrudgingly becoming an assest to the team. He's a snarky and cynical alien who wants the stones of power for his own personal gain, but mellows out later on in the first season. Other characters that make notable impacts, particularly in the later seasons, include Flo (Jo's Mom who runs the diner), Rosa's parents Ramona and Carlos, Carla an old biker, the mysterious biker in black, and Fantos, the main antagonist of seasons 2 and 3 who an immature fanboy of the planet killer Erodius. These characters are brought to life wonderfully by the voice cast directed by Sam Riegel. Jack Fisher does an amazing job voicing Kid as he makes him sound like such an excitable kid who wants to live out his dream. Amanda C. Miller did such a good job voicing Jo, making her sound like a caring older sister to Kid. Lily Rose Silver was stupendous as Rosa, making her sound and act just like a 4 year old. Veteran voice actors Tom Kenny, Keith Ferguson, Fred Tatasciore, Grey Griffin and Cree Summer bring their A game and bring their respected characters to life. Papa G sounds perfectly chill and wise, Chuck sounds exactly like a cynical alien villain who failed, Carla and Ramona sound very distinct from one another, Tuna Sandwich sounds like an old cowboy and Queen Xhan sounds very calm but full of authority and wisdom. Also gotta give credit to Bobby Moynihan as Fantos because he made him sound like such a manchild while also still msking him an imposing threat to our heroes. All the characters are so well written and full of life and the actors who played them did excellent jobs.

Where It Falters: While I think the desert look really good, it's still not the most visually interesting place to be for long periods of time. I also wasn't too impressed with Erodius being an actual planet. I suppose it makes sense with what they were going for but it's still rather dull looking.

Conclusion: Kid Cosmic is an absolutely amazing animated show. With an astounding cast of characters, excellent writing, really funny humor a killer soundtrack and great animation, this show truly stands as one of Netflix's best shows. If you haven't seen the show yet, definitely check it out. There's a whole bunch of surprises I didn't mention in this post that I think you're really going to like. Thank you so much for reading and I'll see you soon ;)

#reblog #share #like #follow #animation #comedy #netflix #action #superhero #kid cosmic #why it worked #craig mccracken #netflix animation #kid cosmic and the local heroes

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daddyhausen · 2 years ago

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Got any last minute predictions before full gear T?

ok so :

mjf vs mox : i want max to win but i feel like mox is going to retain bc the firm will interfere which will lead to a longer storyline, also i think regal might turn on the BCC to side with max. { I DONT WANT THAT TO FUCKING HAPPEN!! }

britt vs saraya : god i want both to win but i feel like britt will cheat or at least try to

roh four way : god i need wither yoots or claudio to win! just take the belt off of jericho

acclaimed vs swerve + keith lee : acclaimed are winning no doubt. swerve finally gonna turn on keith bc he's been in evil gf mode lately

toni storm vs jamie hayter : i know tk is really big on toni so i doubt he's gonna take the belt off of her. { not until rosa returns anyway } but god damn i NEED jamie to win this one

jade cargill vs nyla rose : i love jade but the streak has gotta end and they need to put a belt back on nyla

sting + darby vs jeff jarrett + jay lethal : i personally don't care too much for this feud, but i want sting + darby to win

jungle boy vs luchasaurus : they gonna murder each other, evil dilf christian will probably get involved. jack needs to win bc they've been jobbing him out for months but i feel like luchasaurus will win bc we can't have anything nice

death triangle vs the elite : i know the elite will win but i also don't want death tringle to just be placeholder champions for them.

wardlow vs samoa joe vs powerhouse hobbs : i'm biased when i say i want wardlow to win but his title reign has been kinda meh. and joe still has the roh tv title. i want them to finally push hobbs and give him a belt

i'm also expecting a house of black return but the promos / vignettes have been phenomenal and also maybe a surprise debut too

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peralta-guaranteed · 3 years ago

Note

Hey! I have a fic/HC request - it's a bit specific - jake and Amy are on a date and they see a guy who went to the academy with Jake and worked with Amy at the 64 and when amy goes to the washroom he tries to make fun of her/says creepy stuff about het in front of Jake and he gets all angry and protective

“Gotta say I’m surprised.”

“About what?”

“That you got Santiago.”

Jake stares at Daniels over the rim of his beer glass. There’s a million instincts shouting in his brain, mixing into a little symphony. To tell him to fuck off, basically. Tell him he worked hard to ‘get the girl’, and continues to work hard to keep her. Tell him that whatever he’s got in his head about their relationship is probably far stranger than whatever he’s-

“Whyyyy~?” Is unfortunately all he manages to squeeze out inbetween anger, confusion and a bit of shock. It seems to be enough for Daniels, who guffaws.

“Well, no offense, Jakey, but you’ve been a detective for what, eight years now?”

“Eight and a half.”

“Amy Santiago needs more than a detective to keep her career floating.”

It had started out as a frankly lovely evening. It wasn’t date night, per se - just a random evening where they’d both found themselves out of the precinct earlier than expected, and Jake had spun Amy round on her heels once while holding her hand, grinning and asking if he could ‘take a lady for a drink’. (He was well aware that he did corny-romantic the best, and it usually worked with Amy. Like it did that night, making her giggle and roll her eyes and lead him down the streets to Shaw’s anyway.)

“I mean, that’s all she was about back at the 64. Going up the ladder. Nice girl, but jesus, her constant work chatter really pushed down her ratings.”

“Ratings.”

“Yeah.” Daniels grins and Jake tries not to think about punching those teeth out. “You remember from the academy, yeah? We set them all up during darts night. Much better than the 0-10 scale.”

“I never went to darts night.”

“Oh right.” Daniels sips on his beer. “You were always hanging out with that Rose biker chick.”

“Detective Diaz.”

And since it wasn’t established date night, and they were only having a beer each before they’d probably head home, it didn’t feel all that wrong to invite an old academy pal to their table when he bumped into him ordering at the bar. If it had been anyone from the 99, Amy would’ve probably done the same, and Jake was a bit too busy introducing him and laughing about the fact that they actually knew each other from Amy’s old precinct to notice her raised hackles.

“Diaz, sure, sure. Gotta tell you, if she wasn’t such a hardass bitch, she’d be a straight A.”

“Oh good, a letter rating system.” Jake groans through gritted teeth.

“Your Santiago, though...” Daniels leans onto the table with a wink, and Jake imagines his face crashing into it if he slapped the elbow he’s leaning on away. “She was a whole A+ at the 64th. Until she opened her mouth, and got into that whole career shit with the captain.”

He was not too busy, however, to notice her complete silence ever since Daniels had sat down - nor his clear disinterest in changing that, talking to Jake only, slapping his shoulder and recounting those ‘good old days’ Jake didn’t really remember the same way. Not too busy, either, to notice her jumping up ‘for the bathroom’ when Daniels started on their time in the 64th, and rushing through the rest of the bar patrons like something had stung her.

Jake sees red, and tries to blink it away. Unsuccessfully.

“Amy’s ambitious, and rightly so. She’s one of the smartest detectives we’ve ever had, and she’s gonna be a sergeant, lieutenant and captain before any of us even manage to get the first test topics into our brains.”

“Yeah, yeah, sure, right.” Daniels grins and winks again, and the red turns into pure fire in Jake’s eyes. “With a bit of shmoozing, those tests are a doozy, I know.”

Jake’s hand slams onto the table so hard the guys next to them look over for a second, and Daniels’ beer topples over right into his lap.

“Hey, dude, what the fuck-”

Amy’s been in the bathroom for a good 10 minutes. Daniels chatter has turned from good academy pal to annoying classmate to ‘jesus fuck, I remember this douche, Rosa used his picture as her personal darts board’. He’s been talking about ‘Santiago’ as if she hadn’t been in the same room as them only minutes ago, and his face as Jake calls her his girlfriend says more than enough.

“You know jack-shit, you stupid piece of crap.” Jake snarls, and the guys next to them quickly shuffle away. “You’ve bumbled your way into your job by being a mediocre white guy with just enough racism and sexism in his brain to appeal to the same brand of assholes in higher positions, and now you think it’s okay to spew that kind of trash to anyone with a badge. Amy and Rosa are gonna wipe the floor with douchebags like you. Without the need for shmoozing, or rating systems, or whatever else fucked up shit you’ve been using to get where you are.”

“Listen, you gotta take a joke, man-”

“It’s not a joke, and I’m not going to listen to any of your shit for a second longer. You’re gonna take your beer-stained pisspants out of this bar, and if I find out you’ve been talking like that about any of my colleagues again, or talking shit to them, I’m pretty sure either Diaz or I still have some of those ‘fun’ graduation party pictures you probably don’t remember taking.” Jake’s fist is shaking, but his face is steadfast enough to convey the message (and it’s not a lie - he does know Rosa keeps a blackmailing backlog, and he’s well aware of the academy photos in there, right next to the folder of his own fuck-up proofs that she keeps throwing at his head if he ever tries to refuse one of her demands).

Daniels mouth opens and closes a few times, like a fish trying to breathe out of water, before he sputters something that might be an insult, but gets up, so it doesn’t matter. He runs into a few other patrons as he leaves, two of which give him as clear of a stink eye as they give Jake a nod as he passes them, but he’s barely noticing them.

-*-

“....Ames?” Jake steps into the, luckily, uni-sex bathroom Shaw’s had decided on years ago, and finds only one of the stalls locked. “You okay in there?”

“S-sorry.” comes as an answer, and he knows her slightly stuffy voice after crying far too well not to recognise it even when reverberating through an empty bathroom. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

“I made Daniels leave.”

“...You did what?”

The stall door finally opens, and Amy’s red-rimmed eyes are looking at him almost confused as she clings to the handle.

“I told him to fuck off, basically.” Jake shrugs, but then takes a step forward, lays his hand as softly as he can on hers still gripping the doorhandle like it was a lifeline. “I’m sorry I let him barge in like that at all, and didn’t remember what a colossal jerk he actually is.”

“It’s okay.” Amy sniffs, and his hand on hers tightens. “You couldn’t have known.”

“I could have. Should have remembered how much he pissed me off in the academy already. And even if not, I shoulda noticed how uneasy you were with him straight away.”

“Yeah.” Amy only nods, and sniffs again before he can wipe another stray tear off her cheek. “Thanks, anyway. For getting rid of him.”

“Don’t thank me for doing the bare minimum.”

“It’s good to encourage proper behaviour.” Amy tries a little grin even with a wobbly lip, and Jake answers it with a snort as she leans against him, finally letting go of the doorhandle to wrap him in a hug he gladly reciprocates.

“He wasn’t the worst of them, anyway.” She mumbles into his flannel shirt, and his arms around her shoulders grow tense.

“Alright, I’ll need a kill-list then. To hand over to Rosa.”

Amy snickers into his shoulder, but shakes her head.

“It’s okay. I don’t have to deal with them anymore. I’m at the 99 now.” She mumbles, and it sounds a little bit like she’s trying to remind herself of it, too.

“You’re with the 99 now.” Jake nods. “We take care of each other.”

Amy sniffs once more before looking up at him.

“Did we need to have this heartfelt moment in a bar bathroom?”

“Let’s go home, Ames. Before they make me pay for the beer I spilled all over the seats.”

“Wait, what?”

-*-

She’s deep asleep next to him, her hair all splayed out over the pillow since he played with it until she dozed off, her lips slightly open for that little, high, whiney noise she makes that he knows means she’s completely gone into dreamland.

He turns his phone screen’s brightness all the way down to keep her there before starting to type.

- Roger Daniels u remember him?

- what did the douche want. Do I need a new dartboard

- can we break him somehow

- why

- made Amy cry. probs for years

- gimme 2 days

Jake sends only a thumbs up before he slides down under the covers, Amy’s cold hands immediately finding their way around his waist as he shuffles closer to spread his warmth over to her side of the bed as well.

#B99 #Brooklyn 99 #Peraltiago #Jake Peralta #Amy Santiago #my writing #ficlet #fic

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mahalidael · 4 years ago

Text

Those Familiar Spirits

(*sprints up to the podium* FIRST FLYNN FANFIC. sort of. if you don’t count the phantomrose96 one, but flynn doesn’t actually appear in that one so make of it what you will)

Danny was two years old when the police came to their house. He must have thought the flashing lights were fireworks; he ran outside alone to look.

He saw uniforms, a funny black and white car, and a great deal of shouting between the grown-ups. It was July, and very muggy. Flies buzzed around the police cars’ lights as Mom and Dad talked very quietly, and Aunt Alicia yelled, and the police said ma’am, please, we’re trying to help, could you just, ma’am. Ma’am.

Danny ran up to get a better look but was promptly swept up by a police officer and carried back inside as he craned his neck to hear what they were saying.

Mom went inside for a minute and made him and Jazz sit on the couch. She told them gravely, “We’re just going to talk to the nice policemen, okay? Don’t go out there.”

Danny huffed. Jazz noticed his irritation and spoke up. “Can we watch TV if we stay inside?”

“Mm-hm,” said Mom, looking out the window at the lights again, already standing up and gravitating towards them.

Jazz reached for the TV remote and hit the power button with an ease that a four year old will only exhibit when provided with sufficiently busy parents. Danny started chewing on his shirt sleeve as images flashed on the screen; they were big kid cartoons that he had no interest in.

“Mom?” said Jazz, peeking up over the back of the couch.

Mom paused in the doorway and addressed one of the policemen before turning back to Jazz. “Just a second — yeah?”

“Where’s Flynn? He likes this show.”

“Um,” said Mom.

She cleared her throat.

“That’s what the policemen are going to help us with. I’m sure he’ll be back before it’s over.”

Their cousin was not back before it was over. He wasn’t back at all, but this, like most everything else from when he was two years old, fell through Danny’s memory like it was water.

...

Jack had been wary of his sister-in-law coming over for a week. He’d also been wary when Maddie described her sister’s marriage as “getting better” and said that she was “calling off the divorce.”

Anyway, within two days of the visit Danny had gotten it into his head that his uncle’s name was Damn-It-Bob.

But the most disconcerting thing was that Jack couldn’t do much about the situation. Alicia was a notoriously private person, and considered the matter of her marriage between herself, Maddie, and Damn-It-Bob. Trying to get close enough to be allowed into that inner circle was an exercise in self-endangerment. He had tried exactly once in college, and the dislocated wrist he’d gotten out of that arm wrestling match nearly cost him his scholarship.

Getting through to Damn-It-Bob was even more frustrating. Alicia, at least, cared about Maddie’s studies. She didn’t understand them, but looked on with interest as Maddie expertly extracted a sample from the latest ghost specimen and held it up to the light for her sister to see.

Damn-It-Bob was worse than an outsider. He was a snob.

Damn-It-Bob looked like if Alicia didn’t already have a pickup truck, he’d drive a Prius, and if he ever tried tikka masala he’d brag about it. Jack had to assume that if Alicia married him, they had to have some kind of common ground, but damn if he couldn’t figure out what it was. And apparently neither could they.

He had a degree in aerospace engineering, which he constantly emphasized was a really useful science. Alicia didn’t even have to work at the logging company if she didn’t want to keep up the family business.

He tried to charm the kids with pictures of the rockets he’d designed. It worked on Danny, which, yeah, okay, he was two years old, but Jazz seemed to pick up his intentions and tried to steer Danny away. Jeez. If Jack left her alone for five minutes, she might be doing calculus when he came back.

And then there was the kid.

He didn’t even notice that he was there until the Walkers were standing in the living room. Jack had walked behind Alicia to hang up their coats and suddenly saw him standing right behind her.

The kid hadn’t said a word in the entire thirty-minute production of his family coming inside — or if he had, he hadn’t been listened to. He had this sort of rust-colored hair that stuck out in all directions, like they tied up a big ponytail on the top of his head and chopped it off instead of giving him a real haircut.

Getting closer, Jack finally saw why the kid wasn’t talking. He had his nose buried in some book. Oh, so he was one of those, Jack thought. He hadn’t personally been a child who devoured books like a woodchipper, but Vlad had.

In any case, silent reading hour was over. “Hey, bucko!” said Jack. The kid nearly jumped out of his skin, one hand snapping the book shut like a cell phone at the end of a tense call. “Thirsty for knowledge, I see? We’ve got more down in the lab.”

He shrunk away. Alicia noticed and put a hand on his shoulder as she turned her attention away from Maddie. “—so that’s how the union settled. And you two remember Flynn, right?” she said, ruffling the kid’s hair. “We brought him to Danny’s baby shower. He was so shy back then you thought the table was set by a ghost for a solid thirty minutes.”

Maddie’s eyes landed on Flynn and lit up in recognition. “Oh, yeah! I remember. You were at least a head shorter last time we saw you.”

Flynn nodded, staring at his shoes. He hugged the book to his chest like it was a stuffed animal.

Alicia and her husband chuckled politely. “Well, you might have seen him earlier if you didn’t pull out your toys to try and find that ghost,” said her husband, less politely.

“Bob, could you please be civil?” Alicia said under her breath.

“The event was delayed by an hour and we missed our flight over a bunch of—”

“Damn it, Bob—”

“It was a poltergeist, technically,” Maddie laughed nervously, stepping between them, a note of oh lord not this again in her voice.

“Hey, kids, how about we go down to the basement and check out some cool gadgets?” Jack was itching to take Flynn and the children downstairs. He had to ditch the conversation before it went south. “Wanna see what ghost bones look like?”

Flynn actually looked like he was going to respond to that, but Damn-It-Bob cut in. “Flynn probably wouldn’t be interested in theoretical science. He likes studying useful things.”

Yeah, ectoscience was theoretical. You could tell it was bad because it was italicized.

Jack resisted the urge to get passive-aggressive right back. Not in front of the children. “There’s plenty of physical things in the lab that I’m sure Flynn’s gonna love. Every kid loves lasers. Right, Danny?” he queried his son, who was chewing on the leg of the coffee table.

Danny blew a raspberry, which he assumed was a yes. Jack managed to whisk them away before the Walkers started swearing at each other.

He put Jazz and Danny down in the little area of the lab that they’d sectioned off with a foldable plastic dog gate, where Jazz made herself busy putting all the crayons in a straight line before Danny picked them up and started scribbling on the rubber tiled floor.

“So, Flynn! We’ve got some whosits and whatsits to check out. That catches ghosts,” Jack said, pointing at the gadgets skewed across the counter like exploded, “this blasts ghosts, that catches and blasts ghosts, and this is a hot dog maker. What do you wanna see first?”

Flynn shrugged and shuffled an inch backwards.

Okay, this wasn’t going anywhere. Which was odd — they’d opened up the ops center to tourists in the past for alternate revenue, and kids always seemed to be the most excited about the gadgets.

Plan B, he guessed. “What’s that book about, anyway?” he said.

Flynn hesitantly held out the book. Jack took it. It was a big, heavy book, with a hard cover titled The Collected Jack London. Jack went to open it to a random page, but was interrupted when his leafing caused something to fall out from between the pages.

It was a flower. Flynn quickly snatched it off the floor and took his book back, scowling. “It’s sabatia geu — sabatia geutianoides,” he muttered. “It’s one of the rarest flowers in Arkansas, so I can’t pick another one.” He then very carefully flipped to another page in the book, counting the page numbers in whispers until he found the one he was looking for and slipped the flower back inside.

Ah. He could work with that. “Really? Is it the rarest one you’ve got?” he said, posing a challenge.

“Uh, I have Stern’s medlar, but just a leaf I got off the ground. They’re cruh — crit — crit-i-cal-ly endangered.”

“We’ve got some samples of a pretty rare plant ourselves.”

Flynn’s eyes lit up. “Can I see them?”

Jack took Flynn off into a side room. This room was mostly like the last, though being closed to visitors, it was far less organized. He picked Flynn up and lifted him over a heap of spare parts on the floor. “Watch your step.”

A cacophony of containers were heaped on a table in the center of the room. Only a few of them were planter pots that they’d already owned; the rest were old shoeboxes and burned-out pots and pans. They were all filled with soil. Their occupants stretched their purple-black stems towards the overhead sun lamp.

“Rosa sanguinea, also known as the Massachusetts blood blossom,” said Jack. “They were grown in the 1600s — apparently they release an anti-ghost vapor. Unfortunately, we can’t prove whether it works, since we don’t have any intact ghosts to test it on, but they’re delicious.”

“That’s so weird.” Flynn rubbed a black leaf between his fingers, as if he expected the color to come off. “Roses aren’t normally hardy enough to grow inside. And the leaves are naturally black?”

“Yep. Well, maybe. We think they were mutated by long-term exposure to ecto-energy. The biggest patch of them is around Salem, and that place is a hotspot for the natural portals to the dimension ghosts live in,” he said, pointing at the pictures of such that they’d pinned to the corkboard across the room. Jack himself couldn’t believe some of the places that they’d found natural portals in. One of the pictures on the corkboard was of a portal they’d found in a public toilet. “They’re stubborn little buggers, but only in ecto-energized soil — we had to cart the dirt in these pots all the way back from Massachusetts.”

Jack snapped his fingers.

“I’ve got an idea.” He picked up a blood blossom growing in a mason jar and handed it to Flynn. “That’s yours now. Take it back to Arkansas, and it’ll protect you from ghosts.”

“Really?” said Flynn, seemingly more awestruck by the plant itself than any properties it might’ve had. “I can have it?”

“All yours! After all, who knows when you might need it?”

...

Flynn hadn’t wanted to leave Arkansas. He hadn’t wanted to sit in Mom’s funny-smelling truck for ten-odd hours while listening to them argue about money, and ghosts, and damn it Bob, would it kill you to put the toilet paper in the holder the right way just once?

At some of the rest stops, Flynn had stood in the bathroom and stared in the mirror. The door was right behind him and Dad hadn’t left the stall yet. He could just turn around and run into the woods, so Mom and Dad would talk about something other than their horrible marriage.

Because Flynn was ten years old, and the problem that he saw was nothing as complex as an incompatibility of personality, or people growing apart. The problem he saw was that they needed to shut up about the divorce.

That was all he wanted. Something to come in and make them shut up, and make the divorce go away, and put things back where they were supposed to be.

But obviously that’s not how things work. Flynn went outside and picked dandelions that were growing at the edge of the parking lot, and he held them outside the window while they were driving so the seeds would scatter all along the road, and he still ended up visiting Uncle Jack and Aunt Maddie in New York, and Mom and Dad were still fighting over stupid stuff.

Flynn kept trying to put off the tour. He knew that Dad would hate the lab. He stuck with real things, metal and chalk numbers — never mind that one of the major points of contention was the slew of Young Living boxes sitting in their garage. A better statement was that Dad rejected any science he didn’t think he could exploit. Like, son, wildflowers are nice and all, but you know that the real money’s in saffron, right? It sells for twenty-five hundred a pop and it’s not getting any cheaper. Just think about it, son.

“ —converts ectoplasm into a power source.” Aunt Maddie was showing them something embedded in the lab wall. Flynn didn’t really like ectoscience either, but that was mostly because the topic freaked him out. He didn’t like when his friends played that pencil game that let you talk to ghosts, much less when his uncle talked about ripping them apart mmmolecule by mmmolecule.

It just felt kind of rude. They were people, at some point. Everyone knew a dead person.

“Quaint,” said Dad, turning over the hot dog maker he had found on the counter. “Very quaint.” It was his usual word of condemnation. “What’s that hole in the wall?”

It was barely a hole. Not so much because of size, but because it was so badly occupied by a tangle of wire that actually entering it would be impossible. Aunt Maddie said: “Our prototype for a stable portal into the ghost zone.” Dad scoffed, but she smiled tightly and ignored it. “With a reliable and stationary portal, we can collect data faster.”

“And it took you ten years to think of that?”

“Bob, if you don’t want to see it, you can just wait in the guest room,” said Mom, rubbing her temples.

“No, it’s fine, Alicia.” Aunt Maddie sighed. “We’ve been thinking of it. It just took this long to make sure building a portal large enough for a human to enter would be safe. A few years ago, a friend of ours was injured by one that wasn’t any bigger than a car tire — precautions needed to be taken—”

Dad put up his hand in a ‘halt’ gesture. “So, wait. You know that those things can hurt people, and yet you build a big one in your basement, and let your kids in here ?”

“They’re at a safe distance — they’re not even on the same side of the lab,” said Aunt Maddie, eyes narrow.

“Oh, thank goodness you let your toddlers play some paces away from a potential biohazard! ” Dad threw up his hands in fake relief. “I guess that makes it okay, then!”

Aunt Maddie looked like she was gearing up to shout. But she glanced at her kids in their little corner hutch, and seemed to think better of it. “Look, Bob, I — help me understand. Five minutes ago you were calling ghosts ‘fairy tales,’ and now you’re getting on about potentially endangering my children with something that, by your own logic, shouldn’t do anything. What’s your real problem?”

“My ‘real problem’ is that, ghosts or not — and there are certainly not — the fact that someone got hurt at all tells me that you’re tampering with something that you don’t understand—”

“Bob, that’s enough —”

Seed dispersion was one of the fundamental adaptations of the plant world. A seed that dropped straight down from its parent plant was a dead seed. It wouldn’t be able to access sufficient nutrition, water, or light so close.

Mom exiled him and Dad from the lab so she could have a good talk with Aunt Maddie. Uncle Jack awkwardly let them sit on the couch and watch NCIS with him.

“I just think that pseudoscience has no place in being the primary income for a family,” said Dad.

Uncle Jack nodded with a poorly disguised grimace.

“Anyway, have you heard that lavender has anti-autism properties?”

Uncle Jack suddenly excused himself to go to the bathroom. Luckily, Dad seemed to think that the distant laughter was coming from the TV.

Dandelions had a nasty taxonomy. They were wind-dispersed, able to fly up to sixty miles away from their parent plant, where they isolated and readily speciated. This was a large part of the reason why Flynn couldn’t appreciate them without every adult in an eighty-mile radius screaming it’s a weed!

By Sunday, Mom and Dad couldn’t be in the same room together without shouting.

By Wednesday, they wouldn’t speak to each other at all.

By Saturday, they started calling the divorce lawyer again.

That night before they went back to Arkansas, Flynn slept on his aunt and uncle’s couch. He could hear Mom and Dad talking in the guest room above. At indoor voice levels. He didn’t know whether that was good or bad.

The potted blood blossom sat on the end table atop Jack London.

He was woken up at two in the morning when something spritzed him in the face like he was a cat. Flynn squinted in the darkness for what it could be and was immediately spritzed again. He wiped the spray off his face and jolted at the sight of a red smear on his wrist.

A faint hiss was coming from the end table. Flynn watched as the blood blossom emitted a quiet red steam into the air.

He looked around the room nervously. Then he looked out the front window.

At the very end of the street, between the buildings, there was a faint green glow that looked very much like Uncle Jack’s pictures.

Well, of course dandelions were weeds. When something survived too well, humans inevitably got all up in their business, trying to trammel them in. It was a weed because it didn’t cooperate with that.

Flynn didn’t need to pack his bag; he had already loaded everything from the trip back in, but he added some more anyway. He got a knife, a frying pan, and a BIC lighter out of the kitchen. And of course, he took his book and the blood blossom.

Then he walked out the front door for the last time.

It was a muggy July night, and all the lights in the windows were out. The streetlamps pooled in the road. The green light creeped into the alleyway on tiptoe.

Flynn stood before a hole in the world and found himself alone. The hole didn’t appear to properly occupy the alley. It looked like a bad photoshop in person. Just standing a foot away from it, he could feel the static electricity. It felt like it was ruffling his hair in a gesture of approval.

There was a deep hum that might have been the portal, or the flies buzzing around it, or Flynn’s heart getting ready to tear itself from his chest in excitement or fear. He did not know which.

The blood blossom was beginning to overflow its mason jar with red condensation. Flynn poured it out onto the ground. It mixed with the dank puddles in the mundane depressions of the concrete that, absurdly, continued to exist in the presence of something so otherworldly.

Flynn reached through the portal. It felt like cold water — strange, but not icy enough to be unpleasant.

This was what he needed. Something he didn’t know, somewhere his parents couldn’t find him. He could find shelter with those familiar spirits for a little while, and his blood blossom would protect him as his parents looked for him, and then he would come back and they would be so happy and angry to see him that they wouldn’t talk about the divorce again for another year at least, and it would be nice, and it would just be so nice, it would just be so nice when he got back.

And then the light consumed his vision.

...

Twelve years later.

“Jazz? Did you just come through the portal?” Danny squinted at the readout on the specter speeder — the constant green light of the ghost zone made it hard to read at times.

“No?” she said over the speeder’s radio. “I’m still in the lab, why?”

“Because the radar’s picking up signs of life.”

#danny phantom #flynn fenton #dp #dp fanfiction #this flynn goes off the-stove-is-on-fire's version of his backstory btw #flynn walker

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