#on my list. i'll still listen to and love both of course... but in terms of listmaking... i want as much diversity as possible

[fakescenariosbeforesleepblog]

Phone call.

Alex Keller x Ex wife/husband reader (Y/N).

Phone calls are all he needs when he feels alone and overwhelmed. He already knows who to call to ease his mind.

📢 Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters nor do I claim to own them. I do not own any of the images used nor do I claim to own them.

Warning: nothing serious, as always grammatical and spelling errors.

It's pretty early in the morning for Alex, he didn't sleep, it's the 3rd time this week, he left the bed hours ago, unsure of what to do, he's just walking around, the smell of gasoline, ashes and the serenity of the night vanishing is all that fill his lungs, some soldiers are awake too, but they're not trying to talk to him, many of them probably are feeling in the same way as him, exhausted.

His brain is floating in the air, the silence is Peaceful but also crushing. Suddenly the memory of your voice echoes in his mind.

When you and him signed the divorce papers you weren't happy, but also there were no signs of anger, all ended in good terms, he always loved that about you, your self- control, since then he occasionally calls you to make sure you're doing well, because even if you're not together anymore, he still takes care of you and he still needs to hear your voice.

You're literally his first contact on the list, the beep causes anxiety, somehow he fears one day you will not pickup the phone.

«Beep... Beep... Beep... Beep...» the sound of music and then your voice.

- Hello?

- Y/N? hi!

- Alex, hi, what time is there? Isn't it Early?

- Ah, yeah, it is... What about you? It's kinda late, no? feels like it has been years since we talked.

- Yes, but in fact, our last call was three weeks ago. Are you having sleeping problems, again?

He can't lie to you, you can read him very well.

- Yeah, but... it's alright, And you? Why are you still awake?

- Ah, you know a paramedic rarely sleeps.

Both let a little laugh escape, but you can hear it in his voice something is bothering him, there's a long pause before one of you can talk again.

- What's going on Alex? Is Farrah okay?

Your voice is calm and soft, he likes that, he misses it, just sometimes. He's observing the sunrise while the sound of whatever you're doing and your voice singing fills the silence.

You're making some Mac and cheese while you're waiting for him to talk, you know he will.

- She's alright. What are you doing y/n?

- Mac and cheese, your mother's recipe, remember?

- fuckin' hell, yeah, i haven't eaten it in a while, but I can taste the flavor in my mouth.

Both start to talk about those days when you learned how to make that pasta, when he got sick for eating it for a whole weekend. For some minutes he forgets the emptiness that was bothering him, until you talk again.

- Alex?... Why did you call? Talk to me.

He loudly sighs.

- Do you remember when we talked about the divorce?

- Of course. Why?

It's a bittersweet memory, you remember the day of that conversation, how he told you he wanted to divorce, why he wanted to leave and continue working far from home, it hurt and was painful, but you found the courage to understand and respect his motives.

- Well, you told me it was fine, that you would be okay, but now I don't know if I did the right thing, sometimes I want to go back. Do you think we made the right decision?

- You did..., we did. Listen, perhaps I never said this before but I signed those papers because... Alex, I love you, okay? and I'll always want you to be the best version of yourself, even if that means to stay behind or admire you from afar.

Both stay in silence, you're smiling, you understand, he wanted to hear something like that. He wanted to hear you're still supporting him.

Both are still on the call, talking about your work, how many people you saved, you even talked about the new grocery store and the prices, he told you about a funny joke Farrah made some nights ago, modification he did in a gun, he feels better when you're laughing, when you're talking, he's good knowing everything is cool between you two.

[housewarningparty]

What's your top 5 impactful artists? Impactful is up to interpretation here. Or top 5 impactful albums. You get to pick 😁

ooh i think i'll go chronologically here

linkin park - i was like? 12 when meteora came out? it was a life changing record. that was the age i was truly starting to get into music and meteora was the first CD i picked out for myself that i became properly obsessed with. i had a burned copy of hybrid theory i got from one of my friends but though i loved it, nothing compared to the blissful angst of laying in bed listening to "somewhere i belong" on repeat

nevermore - this whole band but specifically the album dead heart in a dead world really were life-defining albums. they were my favorite band for many years. this band made me a metalhead. i grew up listening to them (my dad was always a big fan) but that never made them feel any less like a life changing discovery i made for myself. i used to listen to their music and read the lyric booklets with a pocket dictionary in my lap so i could look up the words i didn't understand. i got one of my cousins around my age really into them at the same time and that became this massive thing we bonded over for years. i feel like i owe every good thing in my life that came out of my relationship to metal to this band specifically. hugely, hugely important.

american football - the next biggest band to mark a massive change in my life and my music taste was probably these guys. they were my jumping off point into emo, which marked a major expansion of my music taste and interests after a solid few yeas of just being a metal guy. THE record would be the self titled, of course. nothing since they've reformed has hit quite as well. there are other emo bands that had a huge impact on me, but the fact is i wouldn't have gotten into braid or rainer maria or whoever else if amfootball hadn't opened that door for me first, so they're the band that gets to go on this list.

amanda palmer/dresden dolls - trust me i'm well aware of the problems associated with these guys but it doesn't change the fact that they were, at a time when i really needed a reason to live, artists with a life-saving impact on me. if that's a hyperbolic statement, then it's only barely so. i was truly obsessed. went to every show i could. went to coachella for the AFP set, met amanda after, teared up telling her how much her music meant to me when i was struggling with the aftermath of coming out to my family and her kindness to me in that interaction helped motivate me to come out on the drive home to the person i went to the festival with. sometimes the right band at the right time in your life can really be a life preserver. despite everything else, i'll always feel grateful for that. so glad i didn't get the tattoo i was contemplating at one time, though

screaming females - in terms of impact i couldn't write this list without including this band. literally, tangibly changed my life to be a fan of theirs. back in 2015 i posted some fanfic for this video game i liked, got a nice message from someone complimenting my work, clicked through to their blog and immediately see a photoset of marissa paternoster playing a bloody guitar and immediately messaged them back to talk about music and life is strange. we had an immediate, profound, and powerful connection. 8 years on @holdsteady is STILL my best friend. i wrote a story with her. we've been to shows together. we ate street hot dogs together. i taught her to make potato wedges. she introduced me to some of my favorite bands. i made chili for her dad. i lived in her basement for a month. i literally don't know what kind of person i would be or what my life would look like if we never met. and we owe it all to the fact that we both fuckin love tiny lesbians that shred on guitar.

this was such a great ask! i'd love to hear your answers. actually, i'd love to hear from a bunch of different people. soooo

@necrotic-biotic, @angrypedestrian, @holdsteady, @nataliving, @uneasyhearts33, @gothprentiss, @100percentdirtball, @shewhosleepsalotincemeteries, @morhdd, @chaseprice if any of you guys wanna do this too i'd love to see it (but no pressure)

[charmixpower]

Tbh in terms of rivusa and winx as a whole I refuse to acknowledge anything past season 5 like season 5 was crap but tbh the small rivusa moments like in ep 1 when they both made fun of skys awful hair or when she teased him Abt being a show off or like in that dragon taming episode where he was teasing her and she eventually managed to tame the dragon and he said “that’s my girl” (ok first of all If Anyone I was involved In romantically said that to me I wpuld fold immediately and secondly he said it in front of his professor😭😭😭 was gonna say he has balls of steel but honestly I’ll take it as he loves his gf a lot🗿) and of course the song writing a as cute and it’s the only time I’ll ever let a man getaway with public singing dedicated to his partner cause it’s so cringe for me but idk why for them i thought it was cute hahaha they honestly saved season 5 for me like I was eating up every crumb and interaction between them

OMG OMG OMG YEAHHHHHHH

Literally one of the saving graces of season 5 eat your fucking heart out season 4, and behold a season that actually understands Musa's personality

Tbh while I do like "getting together" stories, my favorite part of couples is seeing how they act when their together and established and s5 is FEEDING ME WELL WITH ALL THESE FUCKING ADORABLE RIVUSA MOMENTS

When Riven literally drove around to make sure that Musa could see that he saved the guy just like he asked her to do in the first episode, I'm still not over it. He was all like "!!!! Look I did the thing!!!" I am obsessed with him, and Musa teasing him for it by calling him a show off, I'll never recover

Riven just listing to Musa play the guitar with hearts in his eyes in s5 got me ok, and the way they snugly when up to each other and started flirting!!!!! Like yes their not suddenly going to super easily express their emotions over night, but their clearly TRYING and you have got me SOBBING ABOUT IT

Seeing Rivusa just getting to act like an established couple has reversed all the horrific damage s4 did to me mentally and emotionally with that horrible plot line. I genuinely want to know who in the writing room was stupid enough to think the girls would suddenly be super egotistical about their powers (interesting plot point when their mostly dating the nonmagical, but handled terribly) and Musa would mad at Riven for his actions. Not only would Musa and her actual standoffish personality never even give Andy the time of day, s3 confirmed that she isn't bothered by jealously just Riven not giving her attention/listening to her, and the way she was so mean about his gifts??? Like I can understand not liking or wanting them but she acted like Riven was giving her gifts to make her day worse, or was trying to intentionally make her upset, when it was clearly the opposite and I am quite annoyed. Musa would never. She go "awwww, you fucking idiot. He's allergic to those flowers, come here dumbass"

And the drama this season??? Makes SOOOOOO much more sense. Riven in s2 SENT people who had a crush on her to Musa. There's no way he couldn't of not known that Jared had a small crush on the Winx, and he intentionally sent him to Musa. Maybe because he thought he wouldn't be as good of a boyfriend to her, so he was trying to help in his own Riven way. And MUSA GOT PISSED!!!! Like she was so mad that Riven did that, and that combined with the fact that she smacked the shit out of Icy in s1 over a guy she wasn't even fucking dating, makes it pretty clear that Musa was originally the one more prone to jealously (until s3 when the writers begun falling on their one arc for Riven writing crutch and never got off of it) compared to Riven and I'm SO DELIGHTED TO SEE IT COME BACK

Usually it's the guys being the dumbasses and fucking up and it's just so lovely to see my favourite girl struggle with something I struggle with too!!! Like yeah!!!! Musa definitely has some major abandonment issues, if the way she pushes people away is any indication, some major trust issues in general, her bitey demeanor towards Stella and her tendency to expect people to read her mind makes me imagine she often thinks people know how she's feeling and are intentionally trying to hurt her when that's not the case. It's just so relatable!!!!!!

God I love seeing the girls fuck up and do stupid shit and make mistakes!!! Like YES, give me the GOOD SHIT!!!! Tecna's arc and Aisha's arc in s2 we're some of the best arcs in the show, watching them learn to be kinder and stuff 🥹🥹🥹 I am literally on the floor SOBBING this is why I love them so much, anyone who doesn't like them is WRONGGGF 😭😭😭

I love it when ANY character fucks up and makes mistakes, see: Riven is my favorite specialist, but there's been too much focus on the boys problems to the point where it just seems like they should break up and it's not mutual. But it is!!!! Sure Sky is over protective to a extreme, but Bloom is flighty and avoidant to an extreme. Riven and Musa have the same amount of abandonment issues, they both get jealous, they both struggle to communicate, they both can't control their emotions, ect (which is part of the reason they'd work so well together, and not so well with other people. Take it from someone with jealousy born of fear and very bad abandonment issues, there's NOTHING like seeing someone finally care about you the same amount you do when your expecting them to drop your ass at any moment. Like I know it's wrong but I can see where Musa is coming from in s3, the situation was extreme but pretending it wasn't, someone acting jealous over me immediately calms down my fears that they'll abandon me because they wouldn't do this if they were. Listen, I could write a whole essay about how well Musa and Riven's issues fit together from experience, but for now I'll let you know really well. Like they'll both have to put in the work to make their demons play nice but someone having the same issues as you, as they obviously do, is extremely comforting offering a level of understanding no one else can offer and they ABSOLUTELY PUT IN THE WORK!!! Musa would actually be the one more stubborn about it did you see Riven getting better in s2???? A TEAR TO MY EYE) Timmy has a cowardice problem and Tecna is way too aggressive and doesn't believe in silly things like "not sacrificing yourself for nothing", and they way s2 had them meeting in the middle 😭😭😭😭 how do more people not love s2??? Nabu and Aisha have NO FUCKING SOCIAL SKILLS, IN COMPLETELY OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS. Nabu is way too friendly, while Aisha is standoffish, and they both try to prove themselves by acting independently and hoping it helps like idiots shut up I'm in LOVE

Stella working on her issues with Brandon, sobbing, crying, I love s3. Want to see more of Brandon's issues please, and not that bullshit from later seasons where he's also stupid for some reason. Brandon has the most emotional intelligence of the guys and he's using it to hide his emotions, change my mind. Not to mention the way neither Helia or Flora could express their feelings without Chatta getting involved 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

For all of its stupid S5 has SUCH AMAZING MOMENTS

Like I get to see my favourite ship in this show act as a established couple and see Musa struggle with something that's been established since s1???? I'm in hysterics this is amazing

The only thing I want to take from s4 is characters and their motivations, Harmonix > Believix, every couple of episodes I see something new in s5 that's an amazing concept I want to use NOW!!! S5 is just peppered with all these amazing moments and for what???? How do you make the worst age changer sub plot I've ever seen in my fucking LIFE, right after one the best quest plot line with the test of confidence, one of the best written songs in ruby reef, and the superior Stella and Aisha are fighting subplot (looking at YOU s4); And right before one of the worst but adorable episode with one of the hands down BEST Trix spells, getting to see the boys be useful again, and THE BEST S5 FIGHT IN THE RAVINE

Do you see that??? Do you see how for every like, two god awful episodes that make me wanna scream with one or two fun things in them, there's an episode that ruins my life with amazing and interesting concepts that I am legally required to scream about???? Do you see that??? Why is s5 like this omgg, I never know if I'm going to get amazing or terrible. It's like Russian roulette

Anyways I'm obsessed with how hit and miss this season is, I'll defend it till I die but also it's awful and terrible and if you don't acknowledge all of it's crimes it will never be forgiven for weee r going to have to fight. Complexities

[listieshadows]

Listie babbles about her CD haul (2024/01/14)

Yesterday I walked into my local Sunrise Records with the intention of purchasing The Beatles' Yellow Submarine Songtrack to complete my collection of Beatles albums featured on a picture I've had of their discography that's been hanging on my wall for years. However, unfortunately, it wasn't there, and in a fit of "Well, since I'm here," I impulse purchased a bunch of other albums. And since I wanna talk about music more, hey, I'm gonna take a sec to talk about them! I hope nobody who sees this on their timeline minds the self-indulgence.

Green Day – Warning (2000)

One of my top five favorite Green Day albums. Probably even top three. I really liked this brief folk punk turn for the band, and tunes like "Misery", "Macy's Day Parade", "Waiting", "Church On Sunday", "Minority"... Aw, it's just great stuff.

I've been meaning to get more Green Day stuff, anyway. For years the only albums of theirs I've had are American Idiot and Revolution Radio, and I'd like to have an unbroken line of their discography from Kerplunk to 21st Century Breakdown. After that, with stuff like the "Trilogy" and Father Of All... Eh, I'll pass. And we'll see about their new album when that comes out. For now, I'll say that I did also consider picking up Dookie while I was there, but all they had was the anniversary box, and I didn't wanna add an additional $92 onto my purchase. But speaking of anniversary editions being my only option...

Elton John – Honky Châtaeu (50th Anniversary Edition) (2023)

This is currently my second favorite Elton John album, behind Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. I mean, come on, side one is a killer. Aside from having "Honky Cat" and "Rocket Man", it's got "Mellow" and "Susie (Dramas)"... Come on! Of course side two is great as well—"Amy", "Hercules", all that—but "Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters" has just never done it for me, honestly? Plus, sometimes I forget what "Slave" sounds like, so there's that, too.

Now, if I could've avoided it, I wouldn't have paid $32 to own the two disc anniversary edition. But that was the only version they had there, an', y'know, that just sucks a little sometimes, right? Like, you just want the darn album and not all of the extra demos and live recordings they're charging you more for, but that's your only option unless you wanna go trawling around Discogs or eBay for a more standard edition. And if I didn't love physically browsing so much...! Although that's probably what I'm gonna hafta put up with anyway if I wanna get Yellow Submarine Songtrack, so...

Iron Maiden – Powerslave (1984) and No Prayer For The Dying (1990)

I'm pairing these two together for a specific reason, and I'll get to that in a second, but first lemme get my opinions out of the way. Powerslave might be my favorite Iron Maiden album—at the very least it's in solid competition with The Number Of The Beast. I find there's hardly a moment wasted on it, and of course the big hits are all fantastic: "Aces High", "2 Minutes To Midnight", "Powerslave" and the incredible "Rime Of The Ancient Mariner". In terms of Maiden's "epic songs," I like "Empire Of The Clouds" better, but "Rime Of The Ancient Mariner" still holds a very high second place.

No Prayer, meanwhile, is an album I only first heard last year, and I can sort of tell why people don't like it so much. After the innovations of Somewhere In Time and Seventh Son, it's a big step back; and even for fans who preferred the earlier sound to the synths, the songs just aren't as tight as Killers or Number or any of them. Fear Of The Dark later on was an improvement, but only so much because of its bloated track list. Still, I've listened to the From Fear To Eternity compilation enough times that I have a spot for "Tailgunner" and "Holy Smoke", plus I think "Mother Russia" is kind of neat as well.

But why did I get both of them? You might not be wondering that up until I tell you that I've already owned a copy of Powerslave for years. In fact, it was the second or third Iron Maiden album I'd ever bought. So what's, uh, the deal, then? To put it in short, there was a box set released in 1998 called Eddie's Head which had their first twelve live and studio albums, from their eponymous debut all the way up to Live At Donington. At some point they were all released individually, and those were the copies I was collecting. After all, their spines formed a picture of Eddie. I had to have a full collection!

But I had one stipulation in mind: I knew that No Prayer was considered the worst Dickinson album, so I wanted to get that one last. That meant if I wanted to finish my collection, I had to find a copy of Live At Donington. Though no matter how many times I looked at HMV or Sunrise, I could never find it. It was only years later when I finally checked Discogs and saw how much a copy was going for these days that I realized, "Oh, they're not selling this at chain stores anymore." And in fact, they're not selling any album from this release anymore. They've all been replaced by the 2015 remaster, so I couldn't even get an Eddie's Head version of No Prayer even if I wanted to.

So I just gave up! I picked up the 2015 remaster of No Prayer so I could finally have an unbroken studio run from their debut to The X Factor, and I got Powerslave alongside so it wouldn't look stupid sitting all by itself. Will I ever get the rest of them? I mean, if that's the only option for the Iron Maiden albums I'm still missing, sure, I guess. I like their spines, too, so I'm getting that out of this whole ordeal at least.

(And in looking up a picture of the Eddie's Head spines to link to, it seems like I was also missing A Real Live Dead One as well? So... Oops! Guess that's two albums I would've had to get!)

Prince – Come (1994)

The first time I heard this album, it was because of a podcast I'm making my way through: Jukebox Zeroes. The whole concept of the podcast is that it sees the two hosts plus guests reacting to and reviewing what's considered the worst albums from famous artists, like Metallica's St. Anger or Madonna's American Life, for example. Come was the album they'd selected to cover Prince, though by the end of the episode they admitted that they should've picked, like, Rave Un2 The Year 2000, 'cuz Come really isn't Prince's worst, or even a bad album. Frankly, it's rather something that Prince considered this "lesser material" that he threw at Warner Bros. just to get out of his contract with them.

I think they largely singled "Dark" as their favorite song on the album, but for me, it's "Letitgo". I absolutely love that synth melody that Prince sings along to for the chorus. The pre-chorus is really fun, too, I think. For, like, a month or two afterwards it was in my frequent rotation, usually played alongside Angela Aki's cover of "Still Fighting It" for some reason.

Ultimately, I prefer the album he put more attention into and wanted to have released at the same time, The Gold Experience (which I've had for months longer), but I don't think Come should be skipped. I mean, at the end of the day, it's still a Prince album. It's rare he makes bad music, and Come doesn't fall into that. Well, maybe "Solo", but your mileage will vary, of course.

And as a little divergence, can I just say that, before I got Come, it was really funny that I had the Love Symbol album and The Gold Experience sitting right next to each other on my shelf? Jus', one where Prince used the symbol as an album title, and then one where he used it as his name. It's great.

[wickymicky]

oh another honorable mention is Tri-Be Doom Doom Ta actually. i like it a lot, and maybe i should include it on the list if that’s the case, but tbh i feel like Rub-a-Dum has kind of replaced it for me. like, in terms of a list like that, i mean. i feel like including Doom Doom Ta would be a bit redundant, because i feel like Rub-a-Dum covers everything i like about Doom Doom Ta, but yeah, improves on it. 

that’s not always the case with groups that put out multiple good songs per year, but sometimes it is. like last year, i had two Dreamcatcher songs and two GFriend songs on my top 10, because i felt like Scream and Boca were different enough that it was justified, and i felt like Mago and Crossroads were soooo different that it wasn’t an issue at all, haha. I think that could happen this year again too. like, i feel like if STAYC puts out something that i like more than ASAP, but it’s also very different from ASAP (maybe more in the style of So Bad or something), then it wouldn’t knock ASAP off my list, it would just lower it. however, if they put out something that is like ASAP but better, then it would probably just replace it, because it’d be kinda redundant to have both. if that makes sense

[gentleeclipsey]

Who's your favorite transformer of all time?

Hmmmmm, that's actually a really good question Anon! And I'm not too sure how to answer :'D I'll list off some and see if I can make up my mind! I'll only really talk about TF media I've thoroughly investigated, so I won't have certain continuities listed here because I haven't looked into them enough.

For Bayverse:

I really enjoyed Ironhide! It's rather unfortunate he doesn't get a lot of screen time though, I wish he had more interaction with everyone, then again I wish they all did. He was a very unique character in the fact he was nearly a main bot for the series and his death actually had a bit of an impact on me. It's unfortunate because he gives off the feeling that he lost his family before the war and the Autobots were the only family he had.

Then there's Bumblebee of course, he's a sweet bot for sure and he takes his job seriously! We really see him step up after the timeskip, making sure to take care of what's left of the Autobots, even if they're a group of bumbling idiots who don't listen. Though his character development in the last movie is very disappointing, he speaks with his real voice once then never again after that and at no point is there any real indication Bee was fixed. Still bugs me especially because they killed Ratchet who was actively working on Bee's voice.

And of course, Bayverse Optimus. Ngl, I've had a lot of dreams about him, a very particular one where I remember him humming or singing to me with a very specific image of the edge of a wall and wrought iron fence against a blue sky. In the movies he's a very stoic character with good bits of emotion here and there, such as taking revenge against Sentinel for killing Ironhide and doing his best to protect his own, even if after the timeskip he seemed more like a cash grab but I choose to see the last two as different movies. It was interesting to see his vulnerable moments, and though it was unfortunate that his character stagnated and regressed into this sellable toy, it was nice to see this very unique bot that could stand the test of time and leadership.

For TFA:

Bumblebee again, but for very different reasons. He's very impulsive for sure, and childish, but we get to watch him grow through the series in subtle ways! He has the potential for being a very emotionally complex character, in many more ways than one, and I wish people would use that more when writing him.

I also enjoy Optimus here as we see a very different version of him here than from Bayverse. He has this feeling that he's seething with rage but manages to somewhat keep himself in check. He's young, traumatized, and heartbroken over his past that he doesn't discuss at large with others. He's keeping what little of a family he has safe, and sometimes his judgment and behavior isn't great but that's because he's accompanied by natural flaws we didn't see at large with Bayverse.

From TFA I also enjoy Blitzwing, but this is mainly for Fandom reasons, same as Prowl. I've sorta crafted this vision of these two, about who they are and what they enjoy, thats different than what's seen on screen. I'll maybe go into detail later but for now know I enjoy these two because they have a lot of personal depth that I view in them!

I should add I really like Yoketron as well! But then again this is for personal reasons because I developed a story with @endller about Yoketron and his family! I'm rather fond of him, his mate and his seven sons because the shenanigans we came up with and simply because he feels like he'd make a very loving sire to a large family!

For IDW:

Rodimus is similar to both TFA Bumblebee and TFA Optimus in the sense that he's an inherently flawed and childish character, but that's because he never was given the chance to actually come to terms with his place in the world. He wants to be carefree, it almost seems like he wants freedom, but instead he's doing his best to lead and find importance in the job he's given himself because he cares for what he's doing and wants to be known by others. This hurts more when you realize that by the series end he's trapped in a world where he'll mean nothing and their adventure will only live on in the mind of the crew and to have seen everything go so wrong for everyone by the end makes Rodimus a fundamental piece in this epic adventure.

I really enjoy Megatron from here as well for similar reasons to TFA Optimus. He's a uniquely flawed character that is very different from many Megatrons we've seen before. Most continuities usually don't go into the fact Megatron was a suppressed mech, forced into a cast and role that didn't allow him the freedom of expression. The war started because he wanted to free others from being the slag the higher ups stepped on for pleasure, and it spiraled out of control when he lost his way. He does his best to make up for this and right the wrongs he's caused in the past. When he tells Rodimus he deserved worse its a painful reminder that he won't forgive himself for all he's done and that it's likely he won't be left alive thanks to where they ended up.

I like Tarn from IDW for a very weird reason in that he's an obsessive maniac that was hit with the reality check that his idol is just as flawed as himself. When Megatron defects, Tarn is enraged their leader would just abandon them, but in reality Megatron realized how much of a mess he had made when he lost his way and wanted to atone for what he'd done. Tarn saw Megatron as this flawless being and saw his word as Primus' divine word and worshipped the ground he walked on. It hits Tarn that Megatron is as emotionally complex and flawed as any other bot when he defects and this rips apart everything Tarn believed in. Given his addictive tendencies, it's likely he worshipped Megatron because it was something that made him believe in himself, especially after what had been done to him by the higher casts and what the Decepticons had given him after the Autobots took everything.

I think that's all of them! I hope this made sense! I have plenty of favorites simply for design and small character moments so I chose bots I think I really personally enjoyed for more reasons than one!

[basingstokemercury]

Away, Remorse - except remorse over its being cut.

I'm not sure how to organise my thoughts here, so apologies if this becomes a mess.

With that said, let's get into one of my most-mourned cut songs (both versions), explain why it doesn't work, why it's still important, and try to suggest solutions.

While we're on the topic of cuts, I also have a good chunk of music from the ghost scene (and the second verses of In Bygone Days and I Once Was As Meek As A Newborn Lamb, but that's not really a substantial change).

I might even manage to get to the changed ending, why I strongly feel that doesn't work, and I would speculate on why it was changed but honestly can't see a reason.

As for the dialogue cuts (the ones that immediately come to mind are in the first dialogue of act 2 and later between Roderick and Hannah), I don't think I'll be tackling them here - while I like them, cuts for length are understandable and dialogue quips don't really lend themselves to analysis as single pieces.

Here goes.

Cut 1: The Ghost Scene

Beginning Of Cut: "Set on thee his grisly hand!"

End Of Cut: "Beware! Beware! Beware!"

In my opinion, the ghost scene has some of the best music in the canon, and is part of what makes Ruddigore my favourite opera.

The first performance I saw restored this piece (but not Away, Remorse), and I was disappointed to realise it's not commonly included.

What exactly am I referring to, for those not fortunate enough to know it?

After entering, and before his more general warning, Sir Roderick has the following lines:

Rod. By the curse upon our race,

Chorus. (Dead and hearsed, all accursed!)

Rod. All inheriting this place,

Chorus. (Sorrow shake it! Devil take it!)

Rod. Must perforce, or yea or nay,

Chorus. (Yea or naying, be obeying!)

Rod. Do a deadly crime each day!

Chorus. Fire and thunder, we knocked under!

Some accursed crime committed,

Daily ere the world we quitted!

After which the scene continues normally.

For the instrumentation, I'll link this excellent production which restores just about everything.

I don't really have much to say about this, other than that I like it a great deal and wish it were more widely reinstated. Now, on to the next and bigger topic:

Cut 2: Away, Remorse and its revision

Beginning Of Cut: "Not a word, but obey! Fly!"

End Of Cut: "I once was a very abandoned person,"

In the original libretto, Robin is given a moment of introspection after sending Adam (/Gideon Crawle - one of the cuts I'm not going into) to carry off a lady, which takes the form of a recitative followed by song.

After a few performances, a different song was substituted; eventually, it was cut entirely.

The original version can be found here, and the second here. I won't transcribe them here because they're both fairly long, so the following discussion assumes you've listened to both.

First of all, I'm going to separate the recitative ("Away, remorse!" to "Come, desperate deeds of derring-do!") from the song that follows it, for reasons which I hope are fairly obvious.

I love the recitative, especially when carried by good acting - granted, I've only seen it performed visually once, in the performance linked under cut 1.

The melody fits well with the preceding ghost scene, making it feel like a tag from that (apologies if I'm misusing terms here or anywhere).

The lyrics fit Robin's act 2 characterisation; again, especially coupled with good acting.

He's still trying to muster his will and commit to a life of crime, but now has the added impetus of having officially done something from which there would seem to be no turning back.

On the whole, a very solid piece. Now for the song(s).

I'll discuss them separately in a moment, but here are the rough commonalities, as well as what I believe was the problem with them:

Both detail Robin's future course as it appears to him, listing various "crimes". Each also has a theme separate from that, which will be discussed in its place.

And, what I think is their fatal flaw:

Their melodies are both strangely light-hearted, even patterish, in sharp dissonance from not only the rest of act 2 but also the recitative directly prior.

This isn't to say that either has bad music - in fact, I love the Irish jig motif of "For Thirty-Five Years -, simply that it doesn't fit at all with the context and mood of the scene.

Watch the performance I linked previously. The actor does his best to stay in character, but the shift in tone of music and lyrics is just too sudden a change even with all the anguished expressions and emotion in the singing.

I can't think of a single instance in the canon where slow recitative is followed by fast singing, or when emotional tone changes so rapidly for no reason. Penzance has "Now For The Pirates' Lair/A Paradox", but those are both happy in tone, and even if they weren't are separated by the entrance of the Pirate-King and Ruth, which supplies adequate cause for the transition.

To summarise this section:

I do think the piece serves a useful purpose, allowing us to stay with Robin's perspective for a moment longer before moving on to the next "bit". However, the recitative does a much better job at this than the songs.

Next, I'll talk about the songs specifically, comparing their respective qualities and which one I'd want to go with.

Version 1: For Thirty-Five Years

The first verse sets up Robin's past life as a contrast to his current situation; considering the evidence of act 1 this saintly veneer is likely not all there is to him, but in any case what's brought into focus is broad actions and not general personality - the point is that he's behaved respectably, not that his life has always been blameless.

Which is a good choice in my opinion, because we know that he's not necessarily shy of manipulating and lying in minor ways to benefit himsel. While focusing the verse on personality traits would create comic irony along the lines of "If You Wish In The World To Advance", it would risk repetitiveness and detract from the song's point.

The second verse details how he plans to go about the drastic change which must follow. This also occurs in "Henceforth All The Crimes", but with a minor difference:

Here the "crimes" mentioned are purely societal offences, things seen as immoral by respectable folk. This is most likely poking fun at societal norms.

There, however, the "crimes" are simple cons and petty trickery - on the one hand, actually illegal, but on the other the relative insignificance comes to highlight what Robin considers as a terrible crime.

Finally, we set up for Despard and Margaret's scene - a bit of an obvious lead, but such things are standard in the canon and I consider it a positive.

This verse also satirises the romanticisation of redeemed evildoers, and vents Robin's bitterness about that situation: here he is, having spent his life in a more or less moral fashion, now ostracised because he's been forced to commit minor evils on pain of death; in contrast, Despard has spent ten years being a Bad Baronet, redeems himself by passing the buck to Robin (whether this is a moral action is debatable and I think I've already gone into it, so that'll be put aside for length considerations), and is almost immediately fully reaccepted and praised.

This may seem an unfair complaint, seeing as Despard was also forced into what he did, but for one thing, Robin can hardly be said to be in a rational state of mind at this time. For another, both found their own ways of trying to minimise the evil of their deeds.

While Despard did his evil and tried to make up for it with good, Robin simply tried to get away with as little evil as he could. There's room for debate as to which strategy, if either, is more moral - personally, I'm inclined to say that Robin's course is both braver (yes, I know bravery is hardly among his traits, but bear with me) and less immoral, but again it's an open question.

My reasoning here is as follows (sorry for digressing):

Robin is taking a great risk, and knows it considering his words right before the ghost scene. He goes in with the knowledge that if he can't persuade his ancestors to accept his deeds as crimes, he could very well die that night.

In fact, he fails at this persuasion, and almost does die. As I've said previously (I think) I don't fault him for surrendering under torture; bravery is clearly not one of his traits and it's commendable he held out as long as he did.

Now, for Despard.

Despard is actually doing some good, as opposed to Robin's simply trying to avoid evil. However, that's not the whole story.

Listen to his words in describing this course of action:

"Two days since, I stole a child and built an orphan asylum. Yesterday I robbed a bank and endowed a bishopric. To-day I carry off Rose Maybud, and atone with a cathedral!"

He does a bad thing, and then a good thing - but does that negate the bad thing?

If I shoot someone, and then start a charity for victims of gun violence, the person I shot is still dead and I look like a hypocrite. Morality isn't a simple matter of balancing out bad deeds with good.

Okay, digression over. On to version 2.

Version 2: Henceforth All The Crimes

I don't have much to say about the first verse that I haven't covered above, aside from the face that it introduces the theme of the song: there's not much grandeur in having a noble title if this is the consequence, and maybe people should stop being obsessed with titles in general.

Next is an enlargement on the same theme with what appears to be a dig at hobbits in line 1 sorry I have LotR on the brain.

And finally we turn to Parliment, with echoes of Iolanthe's "When All Night Long" and perhaps "Fold Your Flapping Wings".

I don't really have much to say about this song because most of it is reformulations of the same idea, but I do enjoy it.

Final conclusion, when it comes to these two

I think the second is marginally better when it comes to fitting the mood, but the first has a nice call-forward to the following scene. They're probably about equal in my estimation.

As to whether the section should be restored:

As mentioned above, I find the recitative a much stronger piece than either of the songs. Lyrically, it could probably stand alone followed by Robin's exit in despair.

Musically, we have a problem: the final line is arranged to lead into the song, ending on an unresolved chord (that's what it means, right? well, you understand my intention).

I'm generally very much against altering the lyrics or music of the operas, but a skilled composer might be able to remedy this without changing much of the rest? I really don't know enough to say.

The alternative would be resetting the song, which is far more difficult and likely to go badly.

So, my final recommendation if possible:

Keep "Away, Remorse", tidy up the ending so it stands alone musically, and follow it immediately by Robin's exit. Sadly, I don't think either of the songs is salvageable as they stand.

Well, that section came out far longer than I intended it to - now for the ending!

Technically Not A Cut: The Ending

The original ending of Ruddigore, the first one I saw, and by far my preferred one, has all the ancestors returning to life after Robin's (Margaret's?) brainwave, whereupon everyone starts singing and the classic happy ending takes place.

The revised ending, where only Sir Roderick returns and the B&B serve as male chorus instead? It just doesn't really make sense, even by G&S standards.

Why should only Roderick be affected by this? Surely the same logic applies to all the ancestors. The Bucks And Blades being present isn't really plot-breaking, seeing as everyone (bridesmaids and all) obeys Robin's summons, but that really just makes no sense.

And um that's all I have to say on our final point, other than a minor musical note:

For a while, the Act 2 finale was shortened to a reprise of "Oh, Happy The Lily". While I much prefer the full version, considerations of length are understandable.

I hope I've covered everything, and that it makes a reasonable amount of sense considering I started writing at two am and am finishing at eight pm.

Please correct me if I've made any errors in topics outside my expertise, and feel free to respond or not to anything that sparks interest.

And so, farewell!

[addictofsupernatural]

Emotions (pt. 6)

Billy Hargrove x reader

Summary: Billy and y/n enjoy your new relationship, but others have their own opinion of it.

Word Count: 1586

Chapter 1 • Series Masterlist • Chapter 7

Right after prom the two of you flowed naturally into your newfound relationship. Sometimes he could be very distracting, usually when you were trying to finish your homework. You'd be on his lap, where he put you, working on something when he would start kissing your neck. "Billy." You smiled.

"Hm?" His face was still in your neck.

"You're distracting me."

"Mm. Must be hard not focusing on me, huh?"

You chuckled and tried to get out of his arms before his grip became more snug. Billy then kissed the sweet spot of yours, and you unintentionally let out a small whinish-moan. He let go of you immediately and gently pushed you off of him. Your face felt red and you looked at the floor in embarrassment. "Sorry." You mumbled.

"No no doll." He crawled over to you, tucking a piece of hair behind your ear. "I'm sorry. It's just that when you make those pretty sounds, it's so sexy that my mind wanders."

You got on your knees and gently pushed him back into a sitting position, straddling his lap and playing with the back of his hair. "What do you start thinking about?"

"Things to do to you. How to make you feel good."

"Then we don't you?" You quietly asked. You pressed yourself closer to him. You didn't know what this feeling was, but it had you aching in a certain place for him.

"Not so innocent, are we sweetheart?" He chuckled, running his thumb onto your bottom lip. "I want to, believe me I want to, but at the right moment. I want your first time to be special."

"With you? My favorite distraction? Of course it'll be special." You both laughed and kissed.

You'd also go to his basketball games. Though at some point Hopper and El would come as well, it was only you who was there for him at his first game. In the middle of the game, he jogged to you, drenched in sweat, and asked for a kiss. "C'mon babe, for good luck."

"You're covered in sweat." You giggled.

"Don't act like this isn't the sexiest thing you've ever seen." You shook your head and gave him a long kiss until a whistle was blown, causing you to pull back and cheer him on.

What Billy had come to love about his basketball games was when Hopper and El came. When Hopper became excited about the games, it made Billy want to try harder. He wanted so badly to make him proud; the man in the stands cheering for him, when his own dad would never step foot in any gym for him.

Unfortunately, the basketball game kiss caught the attention of Steve Harrington, who told his girlfriend, who told her best friend. Though Jonathan had known the two of you were friends, as well as your crush on him, he still didn't say anything as you had asked him not to. The three of them found you at the basketball bleachers together at lunch. Nancy was in front, with the other two boys behind her. "Y/n, we need to talk." You furrowed your eyebrows. "It's about something important."

You assumed it was something bad, so you squeezed Billy's arm gently. "I'll be right back." You then walked down the bleachers, out of earshot for Billy. "What's wrong? Is Will okay?"

Jonathan gave you a small smile. "He's fine. Thanks for asking though."

"This is about Billy." Nancy interjected.

You looked at Jonathan, assuming that he told them. He slightly shook his head, and you figured that it was probably from the basketball game. "What about him?"

You figured where this would lead to, and crossed your arms. "You shouldn't be with him, he's bad! He's a man whore who toys with girls to get them in bed."

"No, he's a gentleman who treats me good." You were raising your voice now.

"Look, five," Steve began. "Do you realize how many girls he's been with?"

"I'm well aware of how he used to be." You said sternly.

"Do you really think he'd stop being that way all of a sudden for you?" Nancy asked.

You let out a humorless laugh. "That's rich from someone who's dating King Steve." You then looked at Steve. "No offense Steve, I really like you now." He only nodded his head.

"We just wanted to make sure everything's okay." Jonathan said.

"Is he forcing you to do things?" Nancy asked. "He is, isn't he?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but he's the one who wants to wait. And why do you even care? It's not like you've even talked to me for months. The only ones who I see is Steve and Jonathan, who I can make a conversation with. But that's when you're not around. You left me friendless and alone, and I didn't even care, because I didn't want to be a forced friend. But don't act like we're best friends when someone I start doing things that you don't like."

She was silent, but pissed. "You don't even see that he'll use you."

You jabbed a finger at her. "That. Right. There. I'm sick and tired of people like you looking down on me. Everybody does. But not Billy. He treats me like a real person with real feelings. He makes me feel like I matter." Your eyes were beginning to water up out of anger. "I don't get why people can't just let me be happy."

Jonathan took a step closer to you and put a hand on your shoulder. "We're sorry, we didn't mean to make you feel like this."

You sniffled. "It's fine. Thanks Jonathan. I got to go. See you later. You too Steve." You waved weakly and walked over to Billy, who was fuming with rage.

First, they ruined his alone time with you. With mid-terms coming up, you've been busy studying as well as making flashcards for him to pass his classes. Then they took you over to where he couldn't even hear, and he saw a yelling match with you and the girl. Next, this guy puts his hand on your shoulder. Who the fuck does he think he is? But what really got Billy enraged was when you turned around and walked back towards him, with tears flowing down your cheeks.

He stood up. "I'm gonna kick the hell out of those two fuckers."

"No!" You said, grabbing his arm. "They didn't do anything wrong. It was the girl. They had good intentions."

The tears just kept on coming. He felt so shitty seeing you like this. He grabbed your cheek, wiping off the tears. "Then why are you crying?" He asked gently.

"They thought that I was being used by you. That I was being dumb and letting you manipulate me until you get bored with me."

"They said that?" He shouted.

He was about to kick the shit out of them, but you tugged his arm. "Stop Billy, that's not why I'm crying."

He sat you down and kneeled down. "Sweetheart, why are you crying?" He asked quietly.

You looked down at your lap. "I hate that people have their own opinions about us. I just want to be happy with you. I want to make you happy, but I feel like I can't with everybody either laughing at me or assuming bad things about you. How are you happy when people look at you and think like that? People think like that because I'm with you."

"Sweetheart, listen to me." He put his hands on your cheeks. "Fuck everybody else. I don't care what anybody says about me, and whoever's bitch ass has something to say about you will get their asses kicked. Of course you make me happy. Nobody makes me happy the way you do. I have to worry about making you happy, not the other way around."

You put your hands over his, leaning in to kiss him. "I wish everyone could see how amazing you are." You said quietly, against his lips.

He gave you another kiss. "Sorry, but amazing me is reserved for my sweetheart." You both chuckled. "I want you to know that you got a man who has the balls to fight."

"Mm. What I'm impressed with is that I also got a man who has the balls not to fight." Billy's never thought of that. He's never considered that showing restraint could also be powerful in its own way. "It's pretty hot."

You gave him another kiss, taking his bottom lip between your teeth and sucking gently. When you pulled back, Billy put his thumb on your bottom lip. His mind started to wander again. He pictured you with that same wicked but innocent smile, with his cum drizzling down your chin. You could be on your knees for him, with only one of his shirts on you. Your hand would be inside your panties, pleasuring yourself at the sight of Billy's member.

You narrowed your eyes and grinned. "What are you thinking about?" You looked down to see his bulge in his pants. You made sure no one was looking before pressing yourself onto him, Billy feeling pressure and some relief from your thigh. "Whatever it is, we should do it."

"Doll," Billy breathed out.

"Hm?"

"You gotta stop." He moved your hand away. "It'll happen. Soon. When the time is right." He kissed you and grabbed your books, walking you to your class.

---

Tag List:

@roxytheimmortal @shane-isa-shame @actuallyazriel @tanovic54321 @chipster-21 @jula-bear @ellie2468 @sassysmiles @frozenhuntress67

[the-blind-assassin-12]

Lonely Stranger

Word Count: 1,340 (+ lyrics- in bold italics)  Character: Ryan Brenner  A/N: This was a real damn treat for me to write, as well as an agonizing experience. I’ll explain a little more. Title of this drabble and lyrics used belong to Eric Clapton, not Ryan Brenner or I... and if you haven’t heard the song, please listen before, during or after you read this.  

(ARTIST APPRECIATION SUBMISSION)

Happy Sunday everyone! I am so pumped to share this next submission for the fanart appreciation event, for many reasons. First of all, the art itself is literally breathtaking. The incredible attention to the smallest of details in this not only show how badass this artist is, but perfectly mirror Ryan’s attention to the little things. The moment that I got this submission from @something-tofightfor to write for the piece that  @gollyderek did that was inspired by Neon Lights, I just about exploded with excitement. First of all, Neon Lights is my favorite piece of fanfiction on this or any plane of existence. If you haven’t read it you absolutely have to. Secondly, Laura’s artwork for it was and still is my happy place because it so perfectly depicts the magic of the moment that reader first sees Ryan. In fact, it makes lots of people’s days better, Laura. When she submitted this request, Rachael told me that this artwork makes her happy even on bad days. 

So the chance to write about not only a beautiful work of art, but one inspired by a beautiful work of fiction was sort of fricking amazing! I decided (with @something-tofightfor​ ‘s blessing, of course- Thanks for trusting me, Rachael!) to write this from Ryan’s POV. 

Anyway! I could continue to gush about how talented both of these ladies are and how much both of their works mean to me, but let’s get on with it. Laura, from Rachael (and I) to you: THANK YOU FOR GIFTING US ALL WITH THIS BEAUTIFUL PIECE OF ART. YOU ARE TALENTED. YOU ARE APPRECIATED. YOU ARE A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH. Keep fuckin shit up in the best way. 

(Can you hear him singing? I can. Good Lord, I can.) 

Lonely Stranger

Once his fingers began to work at the strings, the guitar in Ryan’s lap stopped being separate from him. Hunched over the body and curved around the neck, he let the faces in the small crowd that had gathered disappear and gave all of his focus to the song he was playing. While he enjoyed playing for people, even taking requests to ensure that he played things that they actually knew and wanted to hear, what he enjoyed the most about music was the way that it didn’t begin and end with just his voice or his guitar. It required more than that. Soul and memory. Joy and mistakes. Got plenty’a both. 

Making music was about feeling all of these things and using them to say something through song, regardless of whether or not it was one he’d written. It was his chance to talk to people he might otherwise not get the opportunity to. Just as they slipped beneath the notes he played and the lyrics he sang, he felt himself become invisible to them. His dusty boots, stained jeans, roughly inked digits and all of the preconceived notions that they carried became muted details that mattered less and less with every pluck and pass of his fingers and thumbs, every line he belted out. Ryan became invisible enough to connect with these strangers, just enough to make them smile and keep him believing that people were better on the whole than the worst of their parts. 

They didn’t mind that they’d never see him again, and the older he got and the more he traveled, he realized that he didn't either. Ryan had a few people in his life that he knew would always be a part of it- Georgie and a couple of the friends that they played with together, Virginia, even if every day it got closer to too long since he’d seen her. Cowboy, even though he was gone. Ryan’s closed eyelids wrinkled as he connected that loss to the story he was telling with his song. 

I must be invisible No one knows me. I have crawled down dead-end streets On my hands and knees.

The people who knew him weren’t the ones standing in front of him as he sat perched on a milk crate suspended over the Strip. Those people were scattered elsewhere, acting as anchors for him to return to when needed, as he was to them- people who understood him, accepted him beyond what they could see and without trying to change him. Those people were few and far between, both figuratively and in miles, and Ryan had recently decided that that was for the best. He hadn’t left his home looking for someplace to settle into a new one, he’d done it to live on his own terms. It had been years since he’d met someone who had seen him beneath what they guessed about him, those guesses more often than not being wrong, so he’d stopped hoping for it. 

'cause I'm a lonely stranger here, Well beyond my day. And I don't know what's goin' on, So I'll be on my way.

It was easier to just make these little connections through music, to focus on the details of the city he was in. The skyline, the way clouds gathered and the colors that they cast over the landscape, cobbled streets and gravel roads, highways and bright lights and everything that made each place he visited different from the one before. That’s why he’d chosen the life he had, regardless of what people thought, and it was easier to enjoy those things than it was to try to find another person who saw them the way that he did, saw his lifestyle as a series of intentional choices and not one of circumstantial consequence. 

The desert heat hadn’t left with the sunlight, and though sweat ran in beads between his shoulder blades and left salty trails from his forehead and temples that dried on his skin before reaching his beard, he hardly noticed. He opened his eyes briefly as he played between lyrics, a few more people stepping up to join the audience, their featureless faces reflecting the colors of the neon lights that brought the city to life. Just people on vacation, checking “watch a street performer” off of their Vegas to-do list. Crinkled dollar bills and a small cache of coins littered the lining of the guitar case at his feet, and he was grateful for every cent of it because it allowed him to continue to live the life he wanted, even if it meant becoming a small detail in the scrapbooks of other people’s lives. 

He blinked as a drop of sweat rolled into his eye, and shook his head to clear it without missing a beat. Opening both eyes again, Ryan expected to be met with the same cluster of strangers that he’d just seen, but where before when his eyes had been able to skim across the crowd with ease, this time they found a sticking point- a young woman standing off to the side in a simple black dress, a soft pink glow illuminating her from behind. What? Ryan’s brow wrinkled, and he gave another small shake of his head as though trying to clear a mirage from his mind. 

But you were still there, your eyes wide and your mouth slightly open, body entirely still. But she’s… listening. Ryan closed his eyes, tight, and sunk himself back into the song. Doesn’t matter.   

Some will say that I'm no good; Maybe I agree. Take a look then walk away. That's alright with me.

But you hadn’t heeded the warning in the song. You’d stuck around as most of the crowd dispersed, continuing on to the destinations that his presence on the bridge had delayed them from. Why? He looked down as you tossed a bill into the case, the green paper landing on the small pile of other bills but standing out starkly due to the number in the corner being much higher than any that it sat atop. Oh. That’s… 

“That’s too much, you don’t have to-” he said aloud, assuming that you’d meant to slip something smaller into the case. Bringing his eyes up to yours, they locked onto something there that surprised him. Lips suddenly dry, his tongue darted out to wet them. “Please, that’s not-” 

But you wouldn’t let it go, insisting that he take the tip and the praise that came along with it. You didn’t run off, having checked a box and eager to check another, but stepped aside as he briefly thanked those that did have somewhere else to be. You stayed through another song- one he’d written- watching and listening with the same look on your face, closer now, the curve of your cheek and the tip of your nose highlighted by the yellow orange glow of a different set of lights. She’s… he thanked the couple in front of him, giving them a genuine smile and telling them to have a nice evening, but he was still stuck on your eyes. She’s stunning but I...it... When you’d overheard him answer someone else’s question of what his name was, you hadn’t waited for him to introduce himself to you before using it yourself, and when you did he could feel the way that his own eyes lightened, smiling from the unexpected way you’d maintained the connection that others so easily dropped the second the last note faded. 

Close enough now to see even more than he’d been able to before, Ryan realized what had made you different, even if he couldn’t fathom how he knew it. She’s been lonely, too. Knows it's not all bad, bein’ alone. It wasn’t sadness in your eyes that gave that away, it was clarity. Damn. But instead of looking for a way to cut it off, Ryan held onto the connection that the two of you shared, offering to play a song of your choosing. 

To him, your choice had only confirmed what he didn’t know how he knew about you. The odd comfort and jarring change of being seen, even if just for the length of a few songs adding to the list of things he’d add to the guitar, to his voice: Soul and memory. Joy and mistakes. 

And this… no matter what category tonight falls into.  

.

.

.

And now I am going to go cry about how much I love Ryan Brenner and this perfectly frozen moment in time that @gollyderek​ captured from @something-tofightfor​ ‘s beautiful words. SWOON and SIGH. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it even if it made me nervous AF and choosing a song for Ryan to be singing was more difficult than it should have been. Thank you a million times to all of you fabulous artists! If you are an artist in the Ben Barnes fandom, or you want to surprise an artist with a quick drabble based on their art, send me a message and link me to the posted artwork. Let’s show these talented folks how much we appreciate them and the things that they create! 

[nothingbutfangirlsmut]

The Trials of Emi

Pairing: A little Minho. A sprinkle of Frypan. Gally x Emi(OC)

Summary: Emi, her twin brother Thomas, and a small group of gladers had been rescued and taken to a safe haven. Or so it seemed. It doesn't take long for Thomas to realize something is wrong. What happens next is a true trial for all of them but Emi's trials began the moment she was ripped away from a dying Gally. Watching someone you love die right before your eyes truly takes a toll.

Finally meeting the right arm could have been the end but betrayal leads to even more chaos and loss. A new mission to rescue those taken from them leads them to a city. The last city. After Emi finally comes to terms with everything that's happened something unfolds that changes everything again. She will have to not only deal with helping her brother take down WCKD and save their friend but also deal with all the new problems in her head and her heart.

Rating: As of right now it’s at most PG13. Some strong language that’s about it but it could change.

(This is the 2nd part/book to my other story "The Maze trials: A Gally Fanfiction". This will cover the events of the scorch trails and the death cure.)

Chapter Sixteen

We followed Gally through the crowded building. Thomas was walking next to him with Newt and Brenda right behind them. Fry and I were the next in line. Fry was still holding my hand to keep me next to him. Jorge pulled up the rear behind us.

"After the maze, I got picked up by a group headed to the city. They realized I was immune, patched me up, and brought me here to Lawrence. His troops have been at war with WCKD ever since they took control of the city. WCKD can't hide behind those walls forever. The day's gonna come and their gonna pay for what they've done." Gally explained as we walked.

We stopped at the end of the hall we were in. Gally turned to face us.

"Listen, uh, he doesn't get a lot of visitors. So, let me do the talking alright? Try not to stare." Gally said then turned to walk again.

We followed behind him to the end of this hall then down a set of stairs into what looked like some kind of living area. Two men were standing at the end of the room by some homemade garden.

"Gally, glad to see you made it back. Jasper told me about what happened." One of the men said.

He seemed to be playing with a flower. He was hooked to some kind of wire that was attached to a metal pole on wheels.

"It was a slaughter. There's nothing we could do against those guns." Gally told the man.

"No, but they can only poke the hornet's nest so long before they get stung. Who are these people? Why are they here?" The man asked without looking at any of us.

"We need to get into WCKD. Gally said you can get us threw the walls." Thomas stepped forward to stand next to Gally.

"Gally should know better than make promises he can't keep. Besides, that wall is only half your problem. Getting inside WCKD is impossible." The man said.

"There might be a way now. It doesn't work without Thomas." Gally said.

"Is that so?" The man asked turning towards us.

His face was still hidden from the light streaming through the windows behind him. He walked forward toward Thomas. The light hit his face. I had to bite my lip to keep from gasping. He was a crank. At least he looked like one. He stopped right in front of Thomas. He leaned forward putting his face only an inch from Thomas.

"Do you know what I am Thomas?" He leaned back.

"I am a businessman which means I don't take unnecessary risks. Why should I trust you?" He asked narrowing his eyes at Thomas.

"Cause I can help you. You see, if you can get me through those walls I can get you what you need." Thomas told him.

"And what is it that you think I need?" He asked slowly.

Thomas looked at the IV like set up the man had next to him.

"Time. Every last drop." Thomas told him.

The man chuckled then glanced at his IV.

"Is that what I need?" He asked.

"WCKD has something we both want." Thomas said simply.

"I'll tell you what. Two can go for now the rest stay here with me. Just a little insurance to make sure you find your way back. Do we have a deal?" The man extended his hand to Thomas.

Thomas looked at it for a second then shook it.

"Gally, show them the way." The man said with a hint of a smile.

We followed Gally into another open room. In the middle was an old metal cover on the ground.

"Who's going?" Gally asked Thomas.

"Newt and I will go. Fry, you keep an eye on Emi for me." Thomas ordered.

Gally looked up to me raising an eyebrow.

"Tommy you damn well know I don't need a baby sitter." I said harshly.

Thomas stepped over to me. He grabbed each side of my face making sure I only looked at him.

"I know you can protect yourself but until I know for sure that this situation is trustworthy I'd rather you have someone else looking out for you. I don't think your mind is exactly clear right now." He said softly.

I pulled his hands away from me as I scoffed.

"Of course my head isn't clear! I woke up this morning knowing that man was dead!" I pointed at Gally but kept my eyes on my brother.

"Emi" Gally said softly.

"Just go Thomas. I'm not gonna have a damn break down." I said harshly then turned away from him.

Thomas sighed but left me alone. I turned back as I heard the metal cover being moved. Gally shoved it to the side. Fry, Thomas, and Newt leaned over to look down the hole. Gally put a ladder inside it then moved to start climbing down.

"Gally, take care of these two. I'm pretty sure that Emi will truly kill you if anything happens to either of them." Fry chuckled.

"Yea" Gally nodded as he looked Fry over for a moment then started down the ladder.

I watched both Thomas and Newt climb down then I sighed as I ran my hands down my face. Fry, Brenda, and Jorge were all standing around me the next second.

"Are you okay?" Fry asked softly.

I looked at him. Is he serious?

"No Fry, I am far from okay. My brother is being a jackass and oh yea, my dead boyfriend is actually alive!" I shouted in frustration.

Fry stepped back from me looking hurt.

"You wanna talk about it?" Brenda asked cautiously.

I chuckled dryly.

"I think I've done enough talking. I want to punch something." I growled then quickly left the room.

I walked back into the room the crank businessman was in. He stopped what he was doing to look at me.

"You look tense my dear." He said.

"You don't say," I said sarcastically.

The man chuckled.

"What could be so bothersome?" He asked tilting his head to the side.

"No offense but if I don't want to talk to my friends about it I certainly don't want to talk to you about it." I snapped.

The man chuckled again.

"You remind me of Gally when he first came here. So untrusting of everyone." The man shook his head.

My chest tightened at his words.

"I'm nothing like him." I said weakly.

"Oh? Could Gally be the reason for your anger?" The man asked as he slowly walked closer to me.

I glared at him which made him laugh.

"Your name wouldn't be Emi would it?" He asked with a smile.

His smile grew as he saw the look of shock on my face.

"It is" he smiled as he stepped even closer to me.

"How did you know that?" I asked him.

He chuckled again.

"You're the girl who stole Gally's heart. He told me all about you Emi. About your life together in the maze. About you being torn from his arms as he laid there dying. What a tragic love story." He chuckled.

"He told you about me?" I asked softly feeling all the anger drain out of me.

"Oh yes, did you know Gally could draw?" He asked suddenly.

I looked at him in confusion from the sudden change of topic. I shook my head.

"Follow me," he said moving his finger towards himself.

I did as he said. He walked into the next room that had a desk in the corner. A large table was toward the middle of the room. He turned to the desk. I watched as he opened the top drawer then pulled out a folder.

"He hides them here for safekeeping." He said handing me the folder.

I took it then laid it on the desk. I opened it to find the most amazing landscape drawing I'd ever seen. It was the glade. It looked so real and beautiful. It was just like I remembered it when I had first gotten there. I put that drawing to the side to look at the next one. My breath caught in my throat. It was me. A perfect flawless drawing of me laughing. Every detail was spot on and perfect. The way my lips curled and my nose scrunched up. My eyes were closed in the midst of laughter. It was beautiful.

The next picture was also of me. This one I was only smiling. He had made it look as though the wind was blowing my hair. The drawing of me was looking straight at me with sparkling brown eyes. How did I not know he could do this?

"He told me he drew your face the most so he'd never forget it." The man next to me said softly.

I put the drawings back in the folder then closed it quickly. I hugged them tight to my chest as I turned to look at the man.

"Thank you" I sniffled.

He nodded then walked past me out of the room. He never forgot me. I quickly walked back into the room the man had gone back to.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked him once I stood in the middle of the room.

"Go ahead," he said as he looked down at his garden.

"Did Gally ever tell you how he feels about me?" I asked as I tightened my hold on the folder.

The man chuckled then turned to look at me.

"Only once. He said that no other woman would ever compare to you. You may have had a troubled ending but if he ever had the chance to see you again he'd make that moment count." The man smiled at me.

"Thank you" I whispered.

I stood there silently for a moment unsure of what to do.

“You look like you could use some time to think.” The man said softly.

I nodded.

“Behind me, these stairs will lead you to the roof. Take you a little breather.” He said pointing behind him.

I did as he said. I clutched the folder against my chest as I started to climb the stairs.

—

[cannot-decide-on-a-fandom]

Because I can't keep only making Haikyuu videos, I'll just do this here

(Part 1) I'm gonna go ahead and rate every match in the series

Rules:

1) We need to see a significant portion of the game, so simply glimpses of practice or official matches or just really short games don't count (so let's say more than 2 chapters long in the manga (with one exception as it's kind of a crucial one), I know this will miss out a few great moments, and basically the entirety of the training camp, but this list would be like 1000 pages long otherwise)

2) I'll go in chronological order as opposed to preference order because I'm too lazy for that

3) This first post is gonna be all the matches already in the anime, and I'll make a second about the manga (I'll post a link to each other on both) so this is spoiler free. Here's part 2 with the manga matches-

Alright

Yukigaoka Junior High Vs Kitagawa Daiichi

Okay, obviously this was more like a prologue than anything else. It holds a place in my heart for introducing us to these characters, and later on for not dropping Kouji and Izumi, and I liked the little details like how being in the football club meant he was able to make a good save or 2 with his foot. But of course this was hardly a match necessarily. Still fun and I enjoyed a lot of it, though.

6/10

Karasuno 3 Vs 3

Oh, Tsukki, to think you aren't as big of a douchebag as you seemed here.

I really do appreciate the entire situation, though. Tsukishima never disliked volleyball, it wasn't like he suddenly started getting serious after never doing so before when the Shiratorizawa match came, he was always one who could be riled up but he just didn't want to show it because it was irritating to him that people were so intense.

The match itself was really nice for what it was. The early matches really contained a lot of foreshadowing, like Yamaguchi messing up the serve we saw him do. And of course this was the start of the partnership between Kageyama and Hinata. Still warming up to proper matches, of course.

6/10

Karasuno Vs Aoba Johsai practice match

Okay, this is undoubtedly the funniest match of the show. Not necessarily the funnest (I won't forget Jozenji) but it was kind of hilarious. Poor Hinata freaking out, I love him, but it was so endearing. And of course there's the serve mistake he made. Baby crow grew up afterwards.

But then Oikawa's introduction was badass as hell. I love the entire Seijoh team, they're great, and I love every opposing team, but Oikawa is still the best rival in the series in my opinion. And people like Tanaka got some spotlight too which was nice.

7/10

Karasuno High Vs Neighborhood Association

Listen. I may be biased because I love the Neighborhood Association, but I absolutely loved this match. It was hype even though it was low stakes. We got Noya and Asahi playing for the first time, and Suga as well in fact. The introduction of the jump float serve. Some fantastic saves and spikes. I love it. And it was emotionally fulfilling.

7/10

Karasuno Vs Nekoma practice match

NEKOMA! Sorry, sorry. Just love them.

Anyway, I'm only talking about the match so I can't count how much I adored Kenma's introduction and the two of them meeting (Hinata, you're my cinnamon roll), nor can I count the ridiculous interactions before and after (Yamamoto and Tanaka, Kuroo and Daichi, and Yaku and Suga, are just too perfect) but other than that, I REALLY liked how Nekoma was the first team to show us how any spike can be countered. I loved Hinata and Inuoka's rivalry, and I so appreciated how they showed Kenma being a strategist. Also, in the manga, there's like 20 panels of him like this

Which is a) a freaking mood, and b) one stupidly endearing quality about him.

Maybe this match is just about how much I love every character?

But it was so fun. Oikawa is the best individual rival, but Nekoma is their best rival as a whole. It's just so great.

7.5/10

Karasuno Vs Tokonami

I loved how we got backstory for Daichi. I don't know why, but I didn't exactly expect it? Like I expected development, but I guess I'm used to the focus being purely the main characters in terms of backstory, at least this early on, in most series. But I really like Ikejiri and I find his dynamic with Daichi endearing.

Not the best "match" but I appreciated the sentiment

6/10

Karasuno Vs Dateko

Oh, now we're talking. Gonna be honest, Dateko is one of my least favourite teams (I still love them! I love every single team. They're just on the lower end of a really highly appreciative scale) but this match was fantastic.

Again, I may be judging this based on one aspect, but I mean to this day Noya's save is one of my favourite scenes in anything. It was so well done, both anime and manga, and I just fell even more in love with Noya. And the symbolism of smashing through the iron wall was so great.

8/10

Karasuno Vs Aoba Johsai (1st official match)

And we come to the only team which Karasuno faced more than once in an official game (that we see) and that means I can't help but judge it harsher because their second game was awesome

HOWEVER! I still 100% love this game. It's such an important game to everyone and though I won't count the after effect, in the restaurant and all, I will count the immediate aftermath. It was so sad but also understandable and the entire match itself was intense. I could go into it, but it just paid off. The build up and the animosity between some of the players, the background we got for the characters during this game, the freaking soundtrack which is incredible in any of the matches.

Fantastic.

8.5/10

Karasuno Vs Oghiminami

...Meh

4/10

Karasuno Vs Kakugawa

...Meh again

With a side of interest in the idea of facing a 2m tall player, but...yeah, meh (neither game was bad, I just hardly cared about the actual matches. I enjoyed the surrounding discussions and all way more)

5/10

Karasuno Vs Jozenji

Most certainly NOT meh!

I love Jozenji so much. I want to see them more! They're so, so fun, and this shows you don't have to stick within a specific type of play. Be able to have fun while also being serious, it's important!

And, like, they're good! They're not bad or anything, even though they're messing around. They're entertaining as hell but also try hard.

I love them

And we got to see Suga playing too. I love him so I need to point this out.

8/10

Karasuno Vs Wakutani

Firstly, rip Daichi.

Alright, but seriously, I'm so glad we got to see someone like Takeru. His playing style is completely different to Hinata's at this point, yet they admire the same player, but neither of them are actually cruel or rude to the other team. This was such a respectful match while also being intense.

And we got to see an injury of a key player who couldn't go back on the court unlike Kags in the previous game, which, while unfortunate, is actually really, really good to see. It happens and can throw a spanner in the works, but it allowed us to also see 1) Ennoshita stepping up, 2) Tanaka's reaction to accidentally injuring Daichi (though it wasn't really his fault), and 3) an entirely different type of dynamic on the court.

Also, Yamaguchi! My baby! I felt like crying for the poor thing, but this was the start of his confidence and I love him so much.

I really, really, really liked this match.

8.5/10

Karasuno Vs Aoba Johsai (2nd official match)

YES!

Okay, firstly, the strategies in this game. Using a double edged sword like Mad Dog from Aoba Johsai, and Karasuno going with a more tactic savvy thinker when in a bind, like Suga, even though Kageyama is over all a better player, it was SO great to see. Suga may not be a genius or a prodigy, but his intelligence doesn't just lie in volleyball, so he can use general knowledge to his advantage so well, and teach Kageyama something too.

Kyoutani is such an interesting character and forms a brilliant dynamic for the team to play with, it's great.

Oikawa being shown to make genuine errors is such a fantastic thing. No matter how good you are, Oikawa, Kageyama, Ushijima, whoever, you will never be 100% perfect, and you will always have moments where you make mistakes. I really enjoyed seeing that. Especially his serves, which we were introduced to before his setting.

And, of course, the Hero of the match...

I WILL PROTECT YOU! BUT RIGHT NOW YOU DON'T NEED PROTECTING, YOU ARE SMASHING IT, YES BABY!

Sorry. Got over whelmed. But real talk, I also liked that they did eventually lose that set. Miraculous plays don't automatically win the game, but it also doesn't diminish their importance.

9/10

And finally for this list

Karasuno Vs Shiratorizawa

Well, do I really need to say it?

Yes, Tsukishima owned this match, this season of the show, but he wasn't the only great player

Nishinoya had some amazing moments, Hinata is such an idiot but he utilised that to his advantage by...not thinking. Like, he deliberately received the ball with his face. I mean, come on.

Yamaguchi played great too, Suga was such a key part even when on the bench (yelling at them from the side lines is absolutely brilliant), pretty much everyone was amazing here.

But while it was longer, I still preferred the Aoba Johsai game. Only slightly. Still-

9/10

Okay! So that was the anime, now...

I committed to do the manga too, didn't I?

Alright, it does contain my 2 favourite matches, so you know what? Yeah, let's go

[duanecbrooks]

Patton General     Remember how I've talked--and more than once--how one of the coolest things about having a DVD player is that it enables you to see--and re-see and re-re-see and re-re-re-see--pictures that you dug when you first saw them in a theater? Well, the fact is, I recently, thanks to said--and fantastically-regarded--DVD player, caught a theatrical film that I saw and dug through watching its trailer on YouTube. That flick, by name, is Baggage Claim, and I can say unequivocally that it's just as stylish, just as qualitative as its trailer--which, again, is on full display thanks to YouTube--wants you to believe. It is indeed a picture that is near-to-bursting with snappy dialogue, attentive direction, and, above all, lively performances--in point of fact, one such performance is easily the highlight of the picture; there'll be more about that as we go on. Indeed, I'll go so far as to say that said cinematic rom-com has worked its way onto my list of Most-Cherished Theatrical Offerings (The others: Body Heat, Boomerang, the great writer-producer-director Garry Marshall's final creative object Mother's Day, and my gal Robin Givens's classic made-for-television film The Penthouse).         Now to the picture in question.             Claim kicks off with a shot of a church that, after around one minute, has a group of happy, celebratory, greatly well-dressed black folks, having obviously attended/participated in a wedding, bustling out of it. Included, of course, are the bride and the groom--and this quite spirited adolescent, who, we learn, will grow up to be Claim's lead character, Montana Moore (Paula Patton). Through voice-over we hear Montana ruminating on her Mom's, ahem, busy romantic past ("Marriage has always been a big deal to my mother. She loves marriage. Especially hers [Cut to another group of spiffily-attired blacks happily emanating from the same church, the same bride and a different groom included]. And hers [Same scene, only with a different groom]. And hers"). From there Montana lays her cards on the table concerning her own romantic life ("A easy as it is for Mom to get married, my relationships have never been cleared for takeoff"). Cut to a mega-busy airport, where we see planes taking off and landing, folks bustling along in a hurry to get to their planes--and where Montana, still in voice-over, discloses to us her lifelong ambition ("I've always wanted to be a flight attendant...You get to travel around the world, meet interesting people"). We're then taken to our heroine's apartment complex, where before she enters her particular abode she runs into her longtime buddy, William Wright (Derek Luke), to whom she further discloses her hopes regarding her romantic situation ("I don't want to spend my life listening to my mother telling me how she could find five husbands and I can't even find one"), whereupon William tells her what his wife Taylor has cooked up ("She planned a trip to Rome to celebrate our one-year anniversary").         Moving forth: We witness Montana rushing through the airport, anxious to catch the flight she'll be working, and, as she races along, we hear yet another voice-over of hers, wherein she gives us some Mom-originated words of guidance ("According to my mother, you're not a woman until you're married on or before your 30th birthday. And you're not a lady until you've had two kids"). We then see Montana having made the flight she'll be working, and we're also introduced to two of our girl's closest working buddies, brother flight attendant--and card-carrying homosexual--Sam (Adam Brody) and sister flight attendant--and frequent Sam adversary--Gail (Jill Scott). Right away we're given a look at the aforementioned Montana buddies' dueling relationship (Sam: "Gail, I seem to have misplaced my badge. Could you check your cleavage for me, please?"). Later, as the three are congregating in the plane's food-preparation area, Montana lets her friends, and us, in on this guy she's been seeing and how it seems to her like the guy is going to pop the question. Gail, for her part, bluntly hurls cold water upon said scenario ("Montana is not getting married. If she was, as her best friend, I would know first"). Shift to Montana with this guy, a smoothly handsome dude named Graham (Boris Kodjoe), where the two of them are affectionately pressed against each other during a cruise and Montana is absolutely over the moon about it all ("Graham, you have talked about [us taking this cruise] for so long...[The view is] absolutely beautiful!"). We get a marvelously-shot montage of Montana and Graham coming together physically--during which Patton shows that not only is she achingly gorgeous but has a BITCHIN' bod--then we see the latter dropping the former off at a hotel, claiming a need to attend to his professional life ("I got an emergency phone call. I got to fly to New York"). When our Montana gets to her room, she calls up gal-friend Gail, who right away demands that her buddy fill her in on the progress of her relationship ("Are you guys doing it?"). Afterward--after zipping down her exercise outfit so a nearby hunk who's also exercising can see her cleavage--Gail urges girlfriend Montana to go out to Graham's house and spy on him so she can ascertain for sure whether or not he's on the up-and-up. To which Montana, no surprise here, initially objects.                 We continue. Claim takes us to Graham's rather luxurious house and Montana sneaking up on said house--fully demonstrating that, pace her initial resistance, she's just dying to know whether or not Graham is playing it straight with her. Upon getting close to the aforementioned house, Montana rings up Gail, who, respectively, upbraids the former ("I didn't think you would do it [follow Gail's advice to spy on Graham]!") and instructs her ("Do not knock on that man's door! You'll look like a stalker"). Upon looking in the window, Montana, and we, see Graham in his living room going over some papers, which greatly eases her mind (Montana in voice-over: "[Graham] was preparing for his meeting, just like he told me he was. Gail was wrong!"). Alas for her, however, Montana, along with us, sees a stunning woman enter and Graham fondly helping her off with her coat--both of which clearly saying that Gail's suspicions were entirely valid; Graham indeed does not consider himself, and never considered himself, Montana's guy alone. Having been thus chastened, our gal makes a quick--and quite saddened--exit. In time we're transported to Montana's apartment and witness the drop-ins of Mom Catherine (Jenifer Lewis) and younger sis Sheree (Lauren London), both of whom bearing big, big news (Catherine to Montana: "We [she and Sheree] are so excited! We wanted you to be the first to know." Sheree to Montana: "I wanted you to be the first to know." Catherine: "After me"): Sheree is getting married. This, unsurprisingly, distresses Montana big-time and we next see her in a bar pouring her heart out to Sam/Gail ("I just can't go to my little sister's wedding alone! I'll be the laughing stock of the family"). Sam at first seizes upon Montana's predicament to stick it to Gail ("Why don't you take Gail? She never waxes her moustache. [Your family will] think she's Steve Harvey"), then comes up with the notion of Montana's "accidentally" encountering all of her exes until she finds the one who will accompany her to Sheree's wedding. Here we meet Montana's other working pals, among them Cedric, the fellow who checks passengers before they board ("First name, Cedric. Last name, take everything out your pockets! I need your pockets out your pockets!"). Since the scheme came from Sam, Gail balks at it, but he pushes on, citing the considerable, as he sees it, benefit to Montana ("[W]e can come to the aid of the sweetest, most fantastic human being alive").             Let's press on.Montana is at first resistant to Sam's ploy but then Catherine makes another visit, again guilt-tripping her oldest daughter ("I started thinking, my daughter is marrying a handsome, athletic young man. I may not be alive to see my oldest daughter do the same"), and, upon Catherine's leaving, Montana is on board concerning Sam's notion. As William is driving Montana to the airport, he comes up with some especially wise words--"You know, Mo, the magic isn't in getting married. It's in staying married." We get further introduction to Montana's charmingly loopy working friend Cedric as he's going about his business regarding passengers ("I have no life! Which gives me all day to ruin yours!"), then Montana boards this plane wherein she'll meet, according to Sam, her first prospect, one Damon Diesel (Tremaine Neverson)--who, let it be said, was initially dismissed as  prospect by Gail ("You gotta be kidding me! Damon Diesel can barely take care of himself, much less a family"). Montana is ready to dump the entire plan when, lo and behold, Damon spots her and lets her know that he has ("I'd love to see the stitches in that skirt"). Having discovered each other, the two get to be on friendly terms, to the point where Damon responds quite favorably when Mo enquires as to just how long he'll be in town (Damon: "Long enough to spend some quality time [with you]. If I'm allowed." Mo, smiling warmly: "You're allowed"). As they spend more time together, Damon becomes more and more enamored of Montana (The former to the latter, with clear-cut affection: "You could stay awake for the rest of your life and you'd still be beautiful to me"). In time Damon takes Montana to what he tells her is her place and she, along with we, find him taking a nice, warm bubble bath--in which he eagerly invites Montana to participate. However, trouble, big trouble in paradise soon comes, at first knocking on, then banging and, eventually, screeching at the door, in the form of Janine (Tia Mowry), a key executive at Damon's label and his current main squeeze to boot. Having met Montana earlier when she stopped by her and Damon's table to remind him of an upcoming meeting, Janine, her Spidey sense going full-blast, is well aware of the likelihood that Montana is inside with him and the prospect has her going flat-out postal ("Damon, I know you hear me! Open this damn door!...Damon, I know you ain't got that 'ho from the restaurant [referencing Mo] in there!...I'm gonna shoot you and that bitch!...Open! Open, open, open, open!"). Happily, and at Damon's urging, our lady manages to hide out on the stairwell outside while, inside, Janine continues hollering and ranting at Damon. Yet it soon goes from raining to pouring when Catherine calls, inviting her dear daughter to a pre-wedding slumber party ("We're all here in our pajamas, and we want you to come over"). Montana, for her part, winds up slinking away, having been thoroughly defeated and being totally dejected.               More transpires. On a flight she' s working, Montana happens upon two former  beaus--Curtis and Langston Jefferson Battle III (Taye Diggs), the latter currently running for Congress. Montana and Langston wind up together and the latter wasts no time turning his considerable charm on her, inviting her to a meeting he's scheduled to have with a hoped-for financial backer (Him to her: "Would you happen to know a young lady--gorgeous, intelligent--who would be so gracious as to join me?" Her, in a warm tone: "If I'm asked." Him: "Consider yourself asked"). Fast forward to that meeting, where we see Mo and Langston hook up with that hoped-for financial backer, one Howard Donaldson (Ned Beatty), accompanied by his wife. Right away Donaldson is warm and gracious toward Mo ("Young lady, I hope you can withstand this election [involving Langston] will surely bring"), then Langston tells their waitress what he'd like to have and...he orders for Mo, also. This of course mightily pees her off, so Langston takes her off to one side and "explains." ("[Financial supporters] want to know that the candidate they're backing is a take-charge man. A leader"). The evening continues and, to Langston's great delight, Donaldson strongly takes to him ("If you're not elected to Congress, it won't be because of insufficient financial support"). Yet the evening takes a fiercely uncomfortable (for Langston) turn when Donaldson raises the issue of just how "black" Langston genuinely is, eventually bringing Tiger Woods's alleged lack of real and true "blackness" into the conversation. Understandably wanting to lighten the increasingly grim mood, Mo quips: "What I think would make Tiger Woods black is that he drives an Escalade and his Daddy's name is Earl." Her humor, however, doesn't go over well with Langston and when the two get back to the latter's hotel room, he aggressively bawls her out. In the midst of his denunciation the phone rings and, when Langston picks it up, he discovers that it's Donaldson with good news: Being wholly enchanted by Mo's wit--after the call, Langston informs her, and us, that Donaldson told him that her wisecrack "was the highlight of [Donaldson's] evening"--Donaldson has decided to double his monetary contribution. Yet rather than recognize and express appreciation for the obvious fact that Montana was an enormous asset to the evening, Langston patronizingly tells her The Facts Of Life ("[S]ometimes being [the] greater [woman besides the man] means being quiet"). Here our Mo naturally becomes fed up and, after telling Langston off big-time ("New actions, new outcome. Same asshole, same outcome...You haven't changed a bit. Langston"), she angrily storms out, permanently crossing him off her list.           And so Claim goes, with Montana at last finally sucking it up and telling her assembled family that she doesn't have a boyfriend and that that fact doesn't have any negative impact on her ("Marriage doesn't make you a lady. Any more than standing in a garage makes you a car...I like me. A lot. With or without a husband"), at last finally discovering that it's her old and cherished pal William who's her real and true love--which brings about a cinematic-rom-com first: a woman (our Montana) rushing to and through the airport in order to intercept her male love object (William)--and at last finally William getting down on his knees right there in the airport, slipping an engagement ring upon our lady's finger, warmly proposing marriage, and our gal tearfully--and happily--saying yes, culminating in joining William on his knees and the two of them sharing a soulful and loving kiss while still in the airport--a scene which is just as moving and winning as when Kevin Costner and Kelly Preston did it at the conclusion of the former's legendary baseball picture For Love Of The Game. Claim ends with Mo pals Gail and Sam, relieved that their lady buddy's romantic melodrama is over, sharing a taxi and winding up battling with each other over a man that they previously didn't know they shared (Sam to Gail: "You bitch! That's my man! I had him first!").           So that's Claim, a flick that not only deserves high marks for being a black-oriented picture that to a greater degree than even Boomerang staunchly refuses to in any capacity shove race down our throats--the aforementioned scene with Montana, Langston, and Donaldson and his wife is literally the only time during Claim's unspooling that race is dealt with and, as was not the case with Boomerang, not in any victimization sense--but merits praise for being, on its own, a highly likable, warmly funny, and smoothly stylish theatrical rom-com. Ned Beatty, as said financial backer Howard Donaldson, is appealingly unctuous and, in time, appealingly race-conscious. Tia Mowry packs her role as "spurned" woman Janine with sizzling energy and rousing humor. Jenifer Lewis as Montana Mom Catherine is engagingly commanding and, in her confession scene with Mo, engagingly forthright. Christina Milian, as kid sister Taylor, wins us over with her dazzling spunk and her unflagging fizziness. Jill Scott and Adam Brody, as Montana compadres Gail and Sam are entirely warming with their steadfast loyalty and their graceful sparring. All of the men in Montana's life--Djimon Hounsou as a hotel magnate who is the deciding factor in Montana's eventual determination to absolutely refuse to allow a man to define her; Diggs, Kodjoe, Neverson, and Luke, the fellow our lady with whom she at last finally winds up--are all stylishly amiable and agreeably manly. David E. Talbert, adapting from his original book, provides the cast with spicily humorous and spicily sexy things to say and do. And Talbert the director deftly creates an air of tangy camaraderie and simmering sexuality that, to his great credit, he maintains throughout the entire picture.             Now to Paula Patton. She is, in a word, sensational. Starting off with the fact that her slender statesqueness--she's 5'7", to be precise--gives her a forcefully enticing valkyrie appeal, she's an honestly captivating blend of urbane beauty, Seven-Sisters-colleges charm, and Katana-sharp intelligence. Whenever she's in a two-shot, regardless of who the other actor is, her carefully-polished good looks and her runway-model sexiness have your eyes riveted upon her. You might remember that, in an earlier article, I discussed the sincerely depressing scarcity of contemporary big-screeners in which there is the emergence of a real and true female star, the monumental lack of modern-day pictures which feature the appearance of an honest cinematic diva who shines mega-brightly and who easily towers not only over her brother-and-sister theatrical-film actors but over us as well, such as Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman and Sandra Bullock in Speed and my lady Robin Givens in Boomerang. It is Baggage Claim that forcefully and proudly shows that Paula Patton deserves to be added to that woefully short list.