#otp: wearing his leather jacket

[serenxanthe]

OTP asks from this post

I've had this one for a while, but I really like to overthink things, hence the delay. I've got some more to answer too, which I'll try and get to over the next few days. Despite putting it off, I really enjoyed answering this one!

30. Your OTP gets to pick out each other’s outfits; what is each wearing?

Seren loves Theron in the ubiquitous red leather jacket, partially because she thinks he looks good in it, but mostly because he loves it so much. When they decide to get married post-Nathema, Seren keeps putting it off. To stop him worrying that she’s having second thoughts, she tells him she’s waiting for his hair to grow back. In reality, as soon as they made it back home, even before they formally got back together, Seren asked Hylo to use her network of smugglers to track down Theron’s jacket after he’d abandoned it in an Order of Zildrog hideout when he adopted his ‘deep undercover’ look, or to source a copy if they can’t find the original. Hylo of course comes up with the goods on the morning of the wedding. Beyond that, she likes to see him in a fitted t-shirt and trousers for, er, reasons.

If Theron was to answer this question himself, he’d say he didn’t mind, whatever Seren was most comfortable in. He’d probably even believe that he meant it. Deep down though, he prefers it when she’s dressed in as un-Jedi-like way as possible. Not just because he likes to see her in something form-fitting or revealing, although he definitely does, but because seeing her dressed in traditional Jedi robes and armour reminds him of the bad parts of the beginning of their relationship; when they had to hide, lying to everyone around them, and to each other. If he was to pick a singular outfit he’d go with the dress and heels he bought for her to wear on their first date on Coruscant. Seren’s in her late thirties now, and her stomach isn’t as pancake flat as when she first wore it at twenty-two, but the dress is bias-cut, and she still looks perfect in it as far as Theron’s concerned.

[bcbdrums]

Persuasion

A Soul Eater fanfic. Read on: AO3 | FFn

A/N: Monthly OTP prompt fills from this list for Spirit and Stein, because I cannot stop writing about them. I'm happy to hear recommendations each month for which prompt to write next. This month's chosen prompt: 1. First Kiss Shamelessly inspired by the fanfic "Feeling Needed" by NothingSoDivine. (@asymmetryestablished) Wrote this all in one evening while half asleep, straight through, no edits or even proofread (yikes oh well). And placeholder title is...a placeholder, if you have a better one, give it to me! And it was still January in my timezone, this still counts! Enjoy some academy babies.

Persuasion

Persuasion

Stein straightened from his lean against the wall at the corner of the courtyard when he realized he'd been crossing his arms. Spying on his weapon was bad enough without making it too obvious that he disapproved of his activities when the older teen would inevitably wander his way.

Spirit was currently occupied with another weapon from their class, nearer to Stein's age if he was remembering correctly. Her hair was blonde and caught the sun in the way that one couldn't help but look, and Stein had to admit that its radiance even outshone the heartblood red of Spirit's. Her eyelashes were dark like her leather jacket and mini-skirt, and the red of her lips matched the soft, low-cut shirt she wore that was just visible through the open front of the jacket.

Spirit was clearly enthralled by her appearance, but the only thing Stein found truly of note was the cigarette that dangled precariously from the girl's lips as she laughed at whatever Spirit was saying. Stein had watched her skill three times at keeping the small stick in its proper place when she flashed her teeth, and he was starting to wonder if it had anti-gravitational properties.

Spirit abruptly straightened, and Stein unthinkingly did the same, the older teen's posture putting him on alert. Some form of goodbye was about to take place, and then Stein would have his weapon back until the next time a member of the curvier sex caught his eye. Which was more and more frequent as of late.

But then the girl did something that caused Stein to startle forward a step, his eyes widening on the pair. She took a long drag from her cigarette, and then held it away from her as she set her other hand on Spirit's shoulder and rose up on her toes. Spirit's fingers hovered near her waist when her mouth found his, and Stein watched the girl's lips part, surround Spirit's, and his eyes go wide before closing in reaction to whatever appealed about the physicality of the moment.

But it was more than a kiss, as Stein watched the girl finally pull away with a smirk. Spirit blinked, looking surprised, and then slowly blew the smoke out from between his lips, watching it curl upward and away. Stein was also blinking repeatedly, having never conceived of an exchange like that.

He was still processing the mechanics of it when Spirit waved goodbye to his date, the cigarette now between his fingers as she turned to cross the courtyard toward the girls' dormitories. The redhead turned a moment later to head in the path that would lead back to the nicer student apartments. Stein was still too stunned by what he had seen to move to either depart or make greeting, simply watching the weapon approach wearing an expression that was something between dreamy and utterly stunned.

"Oh! Stein!" Spirit exclaimed when he practically bumped into the meister. "What are... Were you watching me?"

"Yes," Stein said simply as he moved to stand at his weapon's side and match his pace.

Spirit sighed shakily. "That's creepy, you know. Most people would be really put off by that."

"I know. So what was this one's name?"

A huff was Spirit's initial response, and then a brightening of his eyes as he frowned down in the meister's direction. Stein's smirk didn't reach his lips, but he knew Spirit could see it in his eyes.

"I know her name! It's..."

Stein did smile then as Spirit floundered, mumbling pieces of words and names to himself as his brow twisted in confusion. Ever since the first time the red-haired weapon had come home and been unable to recall the name of his date, Stein had teased him on the topic.

"Kelly!" Spirit suddenly exclaimed in triumph, and then he brought the gifted cigarette to his lips as he grinned.

"So you smoke now?" Stein asked, noting the slight grimace on the taller teen's face as he experimented with an inhale.

"Trying it out. She gave me the rest of her pack."

Stein was curious too, but less about the cigarettes than what he had witnessed in farewell between the two hormone-driven weapons. His heart pounded as his mind raced ahead to the potential conclusion of what he suddenly realized he wanted, but had absolutely no agency to achieve.

"That looked complicated," he ventured as they walked.

"Hmm?"

Stein watched as Spirit blew the smoke out slowly, his brow pinching slightly as he assessed the experience.

"The way she gave you all that smoke."

"Oh," Spirit said, his cheeks flushing slightly as he stared straight ahead. "Yeah."

"How did you know to open your mouth? Did she blow the smoke in?"

"Uh, well...kinda... You're supposed to open your mouth a bit when kissing," Spirit answered, beginning to look uncomfortable. His stride lengthened and Stein kept pace, having already anticipated his partner's nerves.

"I don't understand how any of it could be pleasurable."

Spirit was looking a bit more perplexed as their steps took them toward their apartment. The sun had begun to set, and its rays shining off of Spirit's hair gave the red locks a vibrant, golden hue. Stein felt an urgency about what he was after as he watched the cigarette burn down below halfway, but he knew he was just as likely to frustrate and anger the weapon by his persistent questioning. But as he didn't think he would ever have it within him to voice the words 'kiss me,' his chosen method would have to suffice.

"Doesn't it trigger the gag reflex to have something put in your mouth?"

Spirit's brow furrowed. They had just reached the entry of the apartment complex, and the weapon had pushed through the first set of double-doors into the security vestibule.

"And doesn't the smoke burn?" Stein continued, trying to keep any cynicism out of his tone. He knew that as soon as the weapon had an escape into his bedroom, he'd have lost his chance. But it was probably a futile effort to begin with. There wasn't any type of psychology Stein could use to make his weapon understand his desire without giving away too much, and he was certain beyond a doubt that Spirit Albarn had never entertained the idea of kissing a boy.

The weapon had been repeatedly silent in response, and Stein's mind was racing for another leading question so anxiously that he hadn't noticed Spirit had stopped walking until the redhead turned to face him. Stein's thoughts slowed at the look on his weapon's face, regarding him with nervous resignation.

"You want to try it, don't you."

Stein processed Spirit's tone before the actual words, his voice low and the words breathy as he seemed to sigh them out. Stein hadn't anticipated success, and blood was suddenly hammering in his ears as the teal of the weapon's eyes remained fixed on his, awaiting a response.

A curt nod was the most Stein could manage as he attempted to swallow the lump that was suddenly in his throat. Spirit's brow rose in curiosity, and Stein hoped that whatever was written on his face was less than the panic that had suddenly swept his entire being.

Spirit sighed again. "I'd say find someone else for your experiments, but...I know how that would turn out."

Spirit glanced from left to right through the glass doors, and then lifted the cigarette to his lips and inhaled long and slow.

Stein suddenly realized that this was no longer a barely-formed idea in his mind, but it was actually happening. Protests and questions rushed across his brain half-formed, none able to be spoken as the words wouldn't come together. He wanted to tell Spirit to wait, to ask how to begin. But every thought fled when the weapon's fingers rested feather-light on his cheek, his pinky finger under Stein's jaw and pulling slightly to tilt his face upward.

Spirit took a step closer, and then leaned down. Stein was certain his eyes were wide with the fright he suddenly felt as they darted between Spirit's half-lidded teal ones and the approach of lips. But the weapon had committed to the action, and in the moment Stein resolved he couldn't back down, Spirit's mouth met his.

The touch was hot like fire, and soft like nothing Stein had ever felt. He wanted to pull away, yet he wanted to fall into the warmth that radiated off his partner and seemed to be welcoming him into safety. His skin was tingling all over as if it was more than his lips Spirit was touching, and a peace he'd never known began to fall over him, slowly offering relief like shelter from a storm.

Stein was about to close his eyes and surrender to the sensations that were beginning to overwhelm him, but then unfocused in front of him, Spirit's eyes opened. In a rush, he remembered the purpose of badgering his weapon into intimacy, and then cautiously let the tension he'd unknowingly put into his jaw fall slack. Spirit's fingers became more firm against his cheek, and then his lips were sealing gently over the slight parting of Stein's. The pressure of Spirit's lips against his own sent a fresh rush of heat across his senses, and then the smoke poured hot into his mouth, pooled across his tongue and hit high in the back of his throat.

It wasn't an immediate pleasure, and he pinched his eyes closed as he fought against the instinct to gag. But then he felt a different type of rush as the drug entered his system, bringing an artificial lightness that he couldn't decide in the moment if he cared for or not. Especially not when there were far more interesting sensations, like Spirit's lips beginning to close and pull softly upon his own.

When he felt the weapon pulling away, Stein's fingers found Spirit's elbow in blind pursuit of an anchor, and to his dismay a soft sound like a whimper escaped his throat. He opened his eyes again as Spirit's lips finally left his, a feeling of cold abandonment taking the place of the fire. The redhead's brow twisted in confusion, and Stein just barely had the presence of mind to close his lips to prevent the smoke's escape even as his lungs felt near to bursting from lack of oxygen.

The latter need took over, and Stein felt the sensitive membranes of his nasal passages burn as he blew most of the smoke out through his nose and then let the rest escape his mouth without grace, a few uncontrolled coughs following. His grip on Spirit's elbow tightened, and the redhead gave a single hum of a laugh as he smiled and let his hand fall to rest on Stein's shoulder.

"What do you think?" Spirit asked quietly.

Stein's head was reeling, and beyond the fixed point of Spirit's bright eyes and hair it felt like the room was sat upon a roiling ocean. He stared up at Spirit as he willed his senses back to calm, as he tried to catch his breath and bring his heart rate back to human norms. He blinked against reflexive tears as the smoke somehow stung his eyes, and another cough was the only response he was able to manage.

Spirit made another humming sound like a laugh, and his gaze softened even more.

"You'll probably need more experience before you know if you like it or not."

Whether the implication was deliberate or accidental, Stein knew the obvious interpretation had reached his eyes for the way Spirit's own widened and stared back at him, his skin suddenly flushing pink. Stein was sure his own pale cheeks were, for once, equally awash with color.

"Uh... I mean..." Spirit said stumbling, his breaths quickening.

"So..." a deep voice sounded from the doorway.

The sound of the new presence intruding upon the world Stein was still spinning within wasn't quite startling enough to bring his senses back to earth, but it caused Spirit to jump and back away from Stein as if he'd been struck by lightning. And for the heat still prickling soft over his lips, Stein wasn't so sure he hadn't been.

"Sid!" Spirit cried, voice high with panic. "What, uh...uh... D-Don't sneak up on people like that!"

"So..." the younger teen repeated, "if anybody asks me, you two weren't just—"

"No!" Spirit fairly shrieked, his voice going high.

"And you're not smoking on Academy property."

Stein suddenly found the smoldering butt of the cigarette pushed between his fingers as Spirit sputtered something else in protest that Stein didn't bother listening to. He was focused on the flush over Spirit's cheeks and the peace that seemed to have wrapped itself around him like a blanket—a feeling he was determined to hold on to for as long as it would stay.

Sid walked past them and into the building and Spirit followed, babbling his frustrations all the while. Stein trailed just a step behind, watching the red of Spirit's hair as they continued the journey to their apartment.

He brought the cigarette up and took a tentative inhale, leaving his fingers against his lips. If anyone asked, he wasn't trying to hold that tingling sensation as long as possible. He wasn't trying to memorize the way Spirit's mouth had shaped itself to his.

And he definitely wasn't planning on further experiments.

[succikko-draws]

Never dipped into homestuck that much but today is the love of my life's bday so i drew their otp

@loutrem ily you funky lil gay, you deserve all the nice things ever

[Image ID: A digital drawing of Gamzee and Tavros together, in their 20s. Tavros is wearing all black clothes with a leather jacket over his tshirt, sitting on a black and orange wheelchair. He has piercings on his ears, lips and nose, and slit eyebrows. Gamzee is snuggling his face against Tavros, cupping his face while sticking out his tongue. He has pointy teeth, a slit tongue with a piercing on it and piercing on his nose bridge and ears. /.End ID]

[ouroboros-hideout]

WIP WHENEVER, WHEREVER

(we are meant to be together shakira shakira)

@olath124 tagged me for this, thanks friend!

Still rather low on content or WIPs I can show but it's something

ART

Don't know if I would call it art actually but I am currently making myself some Discord emojis of Aon aka Knife Queen aka Blorbo Girl.

That's the first one I got done. Because smirking is very important 👆 will do 3 or 4 more I guess. Laughing, something sad, angery and what ever inspiration brings along the way.

VP

The Dogtown Noir pics where fun to do but I noticed real quick that I need a lot of focus to get some good shots. And I don't have that most of the time. I heard there is actually a city outside of Dogtown KEK maybe I will go there next and do some photos 💫

WRITING

Putting this last so no one is forced to read the wall of txt. I still have a lot of unfinished ramblings but nothing that would make sense to show. I started to write some small bits for my own amusement and positive vibes based upon a soft OTP promt list (or what ever it was called). It's only stupid conversations and I think it's nothing for AO3, so probably just throw it here whenever I finished one.

Write about your ship getting dressed up in fancy outfits together:

"Oh my god I hate this so much..."

Aon pulled on his black bolero jacket and looked at herself in the mirror next to the large closet in Kurt's apartment on the top floor of the Sapphire with an unimpressed expression.

"You don't like what I've chosen for you?" Kurt asked, still beeing busy in the bathroom.

"No... yes. I mean. No, I don't like all of this." She grimaced a little more and turned around to look at the elegant suit trousers and expensive shoes she would be wearing tonight.

"Fancy clothes, putting up with brainless snobs at glamorous parties. Pretending to care about what they do and who they are. I really don't know why you like that so much."

"You'll have fun, I'm sure of it." Kurt came back to the main room and took his leather harness, which was still lying on the bed, and put it around his shoulders. He chose a more elegant garment than usual for tonight aswell, as Alyona had demanded, but he wasn't going to abandon all of his military habits.

"I'll have fun at the bar. I know that for sure."

She was still tugging at the jacket, as if she was trying to minimize the revealing neckline of the top.

"And you had to pick something so provocative, didn't you? Well, at least it's not a glittery cocktail dress. You could have worn that yourself."

Kurt laughed heartily at the last comment, took a few steps over to her and fastened the last buttons on the collar of his black shirt.

"You look fantastic."

That didn't really convince her.

"Oh, shut the fuck up. I feel like I'm playing dress-up."

Kurt was now standing behind her, looking in the mirror with her, still smiling.

"Well, in a way, we do, don't we? If you want to get close to your prey, you have to wrap yourself in it´s fur."

Aon let out an amused snort. "You're such a poet Kurt, it's almost unbelievable," she replied sarcastically.

"Still, I'm glad you decided to come along. I don't think it will do you any harm to see something other than the workshop." He put his hands on her hips and leaned forward a little. At least he liked the sight of the two of them in the mirror.

"Hmmm, what I wouldn't give to spend all night fixing that Chimera-Junk gathering dust in your warehouse...", she replied with a playfully dreamy tone.

"You enjoyed the evening at the Totentanz. You can't deny that."

"You're seriously comparing your fancy-pants party to the thing at the Totentanz?"

"It was a party, you didn't want to go and you ended up enjoying it."

"Maybe because even the smallest circute in Maelstrom is a more interesting conversation partner than everyone you've invited today."

Kurt leaned a little closer to her.

"If you decide to stay here after all, I want you to come to every party. Not because I like to see you suffer, but because then I would finally have something to look forward to in the evening. Pleasant company and someone I can rely on."

"Don't get too excited. I might already have a plan to ruin everything."

"That doesn't matter. It would definitely still be a night to remember because you were with me."

Her face twisted into a grimace.

"Damn, you're such a suck-up. No wonder you've got all these snobs eating out of your hand."

"But the difference is that I mean my compliments to you seriously."

Kurt couldn't help but laugh again when he noticed Aon blushing and quickly turning away from the mirror so he wouldn't notice.

"Okay, let's get going. The sooner we get there, the sooner I can say I've tried long enough."

She hastily disengaged from his embrace and walked straight towards the door.

He followerd her right away.

"You stay until the end. I'll tell the bartender to keep you 'entertained'."

Think most of the ppl I would tag have already shown their awesome stuff lately so I will skip this time. See you next time!

[sydneyadmu]

For the OTP questions, may I hear your thoughts on no's 6 and 8? For rebelcaptain, please!

thanks for sending 🩷

6. If they got to pick what one another wears for a day, what would one another wear?

that’s so interesting and funny to imagine! I think jyn would definitely pick a leather jacket or a long coat for cassian because she thinks he looks very good on them (and she’s right 🤭). for cassian, if they’re on a cold planet, I think he would pick warm and comfortable clothes for her because he worries she’s gonna get cold (specially her hands. he would get her warm gloves). but also I feel like he just loves to see her wearing his stuff too

8. In a coffee shop AU, who would be the coffee shop employee and who would be the customer?

grumpy barista jyn and overworked costumer cassian is so real for me (her drinks are amazing and he thinks her snarky comments are funny). but I also can see cassian working in the kitchen, preparing pastries and stuff and jyn is simply obsessed with them

OTP QUESTIONS

[janeyre]

call me on the way home (1/2)

otp: tentoo x rose

word count: 5k

summary: After a slight mishap at Torchwood, Rose has gone temporarily missing. While Mia is out, she runs into her mum, but not as she last saw her - instead wearing a blue leather jacket with deep circles beneath her eyes. Worried about her mum's state and trying to comfort her, Mia calls the Doctor so Rose can speak to him.

AO3

Really quite a bummer when your mum goes missing, even if it’s just for a Torchwood mission and it’s probably fine anyways. Wandering the streets of central London, Mia Tyler was hopeful it would all be resolved soon – her dad wasn’t one to let anything happen to the one and only Rose Tyler.

The corners of her mouth turned up at the thought. She had fifteen years of experience in just how protective her dad was over “his girls.”

Apparently they’d been dealing with some aliens, Ainchenns, who had what her dad liked to call a “transport gun” – a teleportation device turned weapon. Whoever wound up on the receiving end suddenly found themselves somewhere else entirely. The beam wasn’t very strong though, so at most, her mum had just been displaced to some other location on this little island they liked to call home. God forbid she ended up somewhere the likes of Aberdeen, though.

The very thought made her shiver, no matter the summer sun that shone in the sky.

Lost in her frigid northern thoughts, Mia was quite content to let her feet take her wherever they may. Truth be told, it almost stressed her out more to be with her dad when things like this happened. Living in the uncertainty of the situation right there along with him was a lot different than being somewhere else and trusting that it would all work out. Besides, he was probably sitting there just trying her mum’s mobile anyway.

No sooner had she rounded a corner and found herself in front of the Thames, that she found her mum as well.

The sensation of the void ate at Rose Tyler’s very being as if pulling her apart from every direction and then– it was over.

Christ, but she was still in London.

Upon immediate reflection, it wasn’t the right one either, as the TARDIS key she had carefully tucked beneath her shirt remained cold.

“Control, shift me back in fifteen. Not the right universe, gonna take a quick look around.” Don’t even think I left this universe in the first place, she murmured under her breath. The zeppelins overhead certainly weren’t a good sign.

“Roger that, over.”

She looked up from sliding her phone into her pocket right into the face of a shocked teenage girl who had just rounded the corner and was now, at the sight of her, running up to grab her in a hug.

“Mum! Oh thank god you’re alright, we’ve been worried sick about you.” And suddenly Rose found herself with arms thrown round her neck, hugging her tightly.

Shit, shit, shit, she thought. Whoever this kid is, I’m not her mum. But I can’t go breaking her heart, if she’s vulnerable enough to throw herself at a stranger.

The young girl let out a laugh that seemed suspiciously wet. “Dad’s gonna be so upset when he hears that after all the work he did, it was me who found you.” She inhaled deeply, as if finally relaxing. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

What am I gonna say to her? Rose thought. She returned the hug gently, so as not to alarm her. Think of something, think of something…

She pulled away slowly to look the young woman in the eyes, brown enough to remind her of– she stopped that thought in its tracks as soon as it started, even if the metaphorical knife between her ribs was already twisting. “Sweetheart, I…. I may not be who you think I am.”

The look in the teenager’s eyes changed in an instant. “Mum?” The single syllable was dripping with confusion.

But before Rose was forced to think of something else to say in this painfully awkward conversation, a lightbulb seemed to go off in the young girl’s eyes. As if sizing her up, she scanned Rose up and down, before nodding her head ever so slightly to herself.

“You’ve not just come by way of Ainchenn transport gun, have you?”

Rose shook her head carefully, brows knitting in confusion. How could a kid think to ask a question like that?

This too had a profound effect on the stranger. Her cheeks burnt bright red, her eyes flying down to her trainers.

“God , I’m so sorry. I’m, well, I’m Mia. I’m, um,” she paused, searching for the right words in this impossible situation. How to introduce yourself to the person who chose your name, raised you? “I am still your daughter though.” She cringed instantly. Great word choice.

Rose only quirked an eyebrow before the girl – Mia – started again.

“Sorry, sorry, that sounded insane too. What I mean is, well,” another pause, “you’re not from this time period, are you?”

At this, Rose grew deeply, genuinely confused. It was her turn to size up the person in front of her. How could a girl who scarcely looked old enough for high school know about time travel? Why would she?

“I’m not, no. I’m travelling, trying to get back to this man I used to travel with, called the –”

“The Doctor,” Mia finished in unison.

Rose’s heart set quick to pounding. “You know the Doctor?” She could tell her eyes were wide, her mouth hanging open, but she didn’t care. If this girl knew about the Doctor, she would take whatever she could get. She could feel the blood rushing hot through her veins.

Mia smiled, and nodded cautiously. “Yeah, like I said, I’m your daughter.”

Rose’s head span. What?

“What do you mean?”

Mia smiled sheepishly. “The Doctor and Rose Tyler are my parents. You’re Rose Tyler.”

Rose’s ears were ringing. The Doctor and Rose Tyler are my parents. She and the Doctor had a kid? She’d never even considered kids with him, let alone thought he might want to have some with her one day.

But if she were telling the truth…

And if she really was still in Pete’s World…

And Mia’s eyes did remind her of the Doctor’s.

Rose shook her head; the thought was insane. She needed to get a hold of herself.

She swallowed the lump that had suddenly appeared in her throat.

“How do you know about the Doctor?” she questioned again.

Mia bit her lip, deep in thought. Clearly this whole “knowing the Doctor” thing was a hang-up for her mum – makes sense if that’s the one thing that’s been kept out of her reach for the past few years.

Another lightbulb clicked on.

“Can I show you a picture?” When Rose didn’t show signs of dissenting, she pulled out her phone. “For us, your birthday was just last week, so we went out to dinner, the three of us. I can show you.”

Mia drifted into Rose’s personal space, where Rose practically vibrated with tension. She watched with rapt attention as Mia opened her messages, tapped a string titled “THE tylers” and then scrolled up a ways. She tried to read the messages as they flew past as fast as she could – the phrase “Grandma Jackie” stood out to her, and a text that read “so I’m still picking you up from school?” At last, Mia found what she was looking for, and tapped on the picture to let it fill the screen.

Rose’s heart stopped in her chest, her very breath freezing in her lungs.

There for her eyes to drink their fill was herself, squished between the young woman who stood before her and the Doctor. Right there, grinning so wide it could split his face, with his arm around Rose’s shoulders.

The Doctor.

She couldn’t help herself from lifting the phone from Mia’s hands to inspect it closer, or to quickly brush away the tear that had landed on the screen.

The face that she hadn’t seen in almost three years. Looking into the camera. Looking at her. She wanted to stand here and soak it up forever. She wanted to do whatever it took to be in that photo.

(As if flinging herself across universes wasn’t enough. If only it worked.)

Mia was finding it hard to be unaffected at the sight of her own mother being so distraught, no matter how far apart in time they were. Her own heart clenched at the way tears welled up and ran down her mother’s cheeks, unnoticed, because she was so entranced by the picture before her.

It was devastating. Hearing her parents, stupid, love-drunk as they were, talking about their time apart was one thing, but watching one of them trapped in the very middle of that heartbreak was something else entirely. Before she even realised she was doing it, Mia was searching for a way to fix this, to make it better.

She’d heard when she walked up that her mum was already planning on jumping back. Not reversing the transport gun like she’d thought, but jumping back. With the dimension cannon. Having her dad come over from wherever he was wouldn’t work. They might not have a lot of time.

A lightbulb didn’t flicker on this time so much as a neon sign above an all-night diner never really turns off.

“I can call him,” Mia suddenly heard herself say. Rose’s head snapped up, as if on a string that had been yanked. “If you want.”

Rose’s throat went dry. “Call him?” She blinked, tried to stand up straighter.

Mia nodded, unsure but hopeful. “Would that be okay? Would you like that?” Please say yes, she thought.

Rose nodded, trying to take hold of herself. “Yeah. Call him.” She tried to catch her breath. “Please.”

Her heart was pounding. It was like she’d just had ten shots of espresso, ran a marathon, and been awake for three days straight. In a few short moments, she was going to talk to the Doctor.

Rose delicately handed the phone back, treating it as if it were a newborn baby. As far as she was concerned, it was precious. She watched as Mia took it, navigated to the phone, and from the favourites list tapped on the contact titled Dad, followed by three banana emojis.

As it began to ring Mia brought it to her ear. The sound was deafening.

Make that eleven shots of espresso. She was going to throw up. The blare of the dial tone. She was going to pass out. She was going to–

“Hello, my ladybug,” a garbled – but unmistakable — voice said on the other end of the line.

The Doctor was on the other end of that phone call. It was all Rose could do not to break down into tears right there.

Mia felt suddenly winded. “Dad?”

“I’m here. Is everything okay?” It was so good to hear his voice. Why did she have tears in her eyes?

“Yeah, yeah, I’m good. Um, funny story, though.” Her eyes flickered nervously to her mum, who wasn’t so much looking at her as the phone pressed to her ear.

“Funny story in a good way, or a bad way?”

She couldn’t help but laugh. “You know how before Mum found you again, she jumped around to different places? Across, like, universes, and stuff?”

“I’m not likely to forget.” It was an attempt at cheek, but his suddenly sombre tone belied any humour.

Rose’s heart felt almost too big for her chest. She was going to explode. She was listening to the Doctor talk about what she was going through right now. He remembered. In whatever future he was in, he knew and he remembered because they were in that future together.

“Well, uhm.” Her voice picked up speed. “It’s not Mum now, it’s before she came back, she’s jumped here and she’s here and she wants to talk to you. She, uhm. She misses you.”

“What? ” Even without seeing him, both women could clearly picture the look of confusion on his face.

“I think she may have to –” she searched for the right word “-- go back soon, but I was thinking you could talk to her?”

Even from here, she could hear the gears turning in his mind.

“Can I give the phone to her?”

He came out of his stupor a little. “Yeah, yes, please. Thank you, Mia. You clever, clever girl.”

Mia looked up at Rose then, gently offering the phone towards her. Rose gazed back, as if she was being trusted with something too precious to be exchanged here, on this pavement beside the Thames, on a random over-bright day.

She brought the phone to her ear, ever so delicately.

“Rose?” the Doctor said.

She couldn’t help it.

She burst into tears.

“Rose, is that you?”

She tried to manage an affirmative mmhmm, she really did. But he was talking to her and she had missed him so much .

“I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry I’m not there with you right now.” The sound of his voice . She sobbed. “Are– are you alright?”

“I just–” She blew out a long breath. “I - I miss you.” The admission was enough to start her off again, her grief having finally found an outlet through which to pass freely; the water of the river finally crashing through the dam.

“I know,” he murmured, “I miss you too.”

And it was so terribly true, the Doctor thought to himself. Sitting alone at this table in a conference room at Torchwood, having spent the whole afternoon trying to find his wife. And she was looking for him too. His heart twisted and snarled in his chest, looking for something to close around, aching to be with her. No matter the time or the place. They were always trying to find their way back to each other.

Another sob breaking through her almost destroyed him. He’d spent (too much) time since opening his eyes to this new existence now more than twenty-some years ago, thinking about all the ways he wished he could have been there for her when she was doing this – jumping from universe to universe, no end in sight and no reason to hope, with the weight of all of creation and then some on her shoulders. All alone.

All but for this stolen reprieve.

“You are so brave, my precious, brilliant girl. I am so lucky being able to talk to you right now, to tell you that it’s all going to be okay. Because it is. I’m proof, and so is Mia.” Rose resigned all hope of reigning in her tears. Her eyes flickered up to Mia at the mention, who was watching her nervously but tried for a reassuring smile at the eye contact. She offered her mum a little thumbs up.

“We have a daughter, Rose.”

Even though he knew it, and had known it, and had revelled in the joy of it for more than fifteen years, the Doctor still found himself suddenly misty-eyed. “Every single joy in the universe lives in her, and in you, because you found your way back to me. I promise, you are so close to this nightmare being over, okay? I promise. Even though I’m not with you now physically, I’m always with you. My Fortuna.”

Her breath shuttered and halted and rushed back in. My Fortuna.

“Can I ask, when you’ve just come from?”

She cleared her throat and tried to take a steadying breath. She was going to find her way back to him. The thought overwhelmed her every sense. She was blind, unseeing in the dark, except for this one flicker of light she could now crawl towards.

“My birthday’s just gone, too. Just over a month ago now. 2008.”

The Doctor couldn’t help the short gasp he let out. If it was almost June 2008, then she really was close to this nightmare being over.

“Is – is that good?” Nervous.

She could hear the smile in his voice as he spoke, could picture it stretching his cheeks and shining like the sun. “Yes . I know I don’t need to tell you we’re toeing the proverbial laws-of-time line as it is already, but you are so close. You’re in the home stretch.”

A bomb could have just gone off, from the way her ears were ringing. The home stretch. She was in the home stretch and she was going to find him again and one day she’d be able to see the smile she could now only hear.

With cruel irony, her dimension cannon beeped at her side. A computer’s voice announced, “two minutes until shift.”

Damn that stupid cannon and these stupid universes and her stupid luck.

“It feels like I’m never gonna find you,” she whispered. Her darkest secret.

His heart twisted and shattered and broke. He missed her. He needed her. He loved her.

“You will, I promise you will.” He bit down on his lip. The Doctor was and always had been a fixer, but this was a moment where he couldn’t and had no choice; resigned to being a passenger as time ran its unrepentant course. But there was one thing he still hadn’t told her that he wished she knew.

Well, fuck it.

“I’m not going to rob you of any moments you have yet to experience, and there are going to be a lot of good ones,” he chuckled to himself, “but, well, there is something I want you to know. Do you remember the last time we spoke, on the beach?”

Rose Tyler, I- . As if she could ever forget. Pain twisted in her chest, sharp and stinging.

“Yeah,” she breathed out.

The Doctor took a deep breath. “You told me something. Something I don’t take lightly. And I want, need you to know, that… you’re everything to me. You have given me happiness more infinite than I could have ever dreamed of. You are the centre of my universe. You are my heart. I… I care for you more than I can say. Do –” he felt suddenly worried, worried that this opportunity might be lost, that she wouldn’t know, that she was doomed to suffer this next month in the dark, that she had never known until that second time on the beach; not at the Game Station, or Krop Tor, or— “Do you know what I’m trying to say?”

Rose’s tears were hot against her cheeks, her chest heavy with longing. She wanted to run until she found him, and rest with him in her soul at the crack of dawn after this long, long night.

He loved her.

“Yes, Doctor. Of course I do, I do too, I–”

The phone, suddenly without someone to hold it up, fell offensively to the ground. The way it laid there, staring unblinking into the sun against the pavement, was almost violent.

“Rose? Rose?!”

Mia picked the phone up gingerly.

“She disappeared, Dad.”

His head was full of static. His thoughts were rushing and all he could hear was the crash of a wave just about to take him under.

Of course I do. I do too, she had said.

He let out a breath, devastated and relieved as realisation struck like lightning to every one of his nerves.

Oh.

Oh.

She knows.

[nsewell]

17, 20, 31, 32, & 58 for nate and gen pleaaaase <33

otp asks.

17. who's more likely to pull the other in by the waist and kiss them passionately?

so nate is very much the instigator at the begining of their relationship for most everything but espescially the physical aspects, gen is just. very slow moving with initiating that kind of stuff until they reach a certain point, i think it even surprises her that it's something she wants to do and has to get comfortable with, she can be touch averse. however the dynamic shifts once gen feels more settled and then she's definetely the one more likely to drag him down by the lappels at unexpected moments and lay one on him

20. choose one song that perfectly describes their relationship?

i'll cheat and pick 2 because i think their relationship has different flavors to it, the swept up passion and the undercurrent of tension from all the secrets

the louvre by lorde

well, summer slipped us underneath her tongue / our days and nights are perfumed with obsession / half of my wardrobe is on your bedroom floor / use our eyes, throw our hands overboard

good looking by suki waterhouse

the skyline falls as i try to make sense of it all / i thought i'd learned all of your secrets but turns out there's more / you adored me before / oh, my good looking boy

30. your otp gets to pick out each other's outfits: what is each wearing?

ooh i'll do date night fits as the context is actually something i see happening in my canon for them, they both get off a little on this ^^. nate would love to dress her in something that belongs to him, probably that he's owned for a long time, like a blazer or his leather jacket that would be oversized on her, layered on top of a black dress bc he knows it's her favorite color to wear. and then he'd adorn her with jewelry he bought for her, silver of course, she's a winter color season. she would take him out his layering and put him in a button down with the top few buttons undone and the sleeves rolled up. in his little chinos with a belt on and his hair down and loose it's so over for her she thinks he looks his best when he's dressed like a whorish college professor

32. who's the better storyteller?

nate can weave a better tale just because gen tends to get caught up in minor details and specifics, just gets too pragmatic. as a child she was always interrupting bedtime stories with endless why's and how come's that would drive her nanny up the wall

58. who's more likely to hold a grudge after an argument?

gennnn absolutely gen the instance where nate tries to prevent her from defending herself did not go over well in book 3, in the aftermath she chose pointedly not to sit by him lol. she will withhold affection, she can be petty and unhealthy about things! she does not have a good frame of reference for healthy relationships so communication can be a bit of an impasse with her. she's growing be patient with her nate.

[typingtess]

NCIS: Los Angeles Season 14 Rewatch: “Game of Drones”

The basics: A bombing at a drone facility kills one, injures another and sets off the search for some terrorists in Los Angeles.

Written by: R. Scott Gemmill wrote/cowrote “The Only Easy Day”, “Brimstone”, “Breach”, “LD50”, “Found”, “Borderline”, “Absolution”, “Archangel”, “Tin Soldiers”, “Impostors”, “Cyberthreat”, “Honor”, “The Watchers” and both sides of the NCIS Los: Angeles/Hawaii Five-0 “Touch of Death” episodes, “Recruit”, “Free Ride”, “Wanted”, “Ravens and The Swans”, “Impact”, “War Cries”, both ends of the “Deep Trouble” season five finale/season six premiere, “Inelegant Heart”, “Praesidium”, “Traitor”, “Active Measures” (season seven premiere), “Blame It On Rio”, “Internal Affairs”, “Matryoshka” part one, "Talion" (season seven finale), “High Value Target”/”Belly of the Beast” (season eight premieres), “The Queen’s Gambit”, “Under Siege”, “Unleashed” (season eight finale), “Party Crashers” (season nine’s premiere), “This Is What We Do” (episode 200), “Các Tù Nhân”, “Goodbye Vietnam”, “Ninguna Salida” (the season nine finale), “Hit List”, “Asesinos”, “Till Death Do Us Part”, “Choke Point”, “The Guardian”, “Hail Mary”, “Kill Beale Vol. 1”, “Alsiyadun”, “Fortune Favors the Brave”, “The Bear” (season 12 premiere), “Angry Karen”, “Love Kills”, “Russia, Russia, Russia”, “The Noble Maidens”, “A Tale of Two Igors” (season 12 finale), "Subject 17" (season 13 premiere), "All The Little Things", “MWD” and “Work and Family”.

Directed by: Kevin Berlandi. Berlandi is new to NCIS: Los Angeles. He has directed episodes of Criminal Minds, Bull and Partner Track.

Guest stars of note: Kavi Ramachandran Ladnier returns as NCIS Reserve Agent Shyla Dahr from “Work and Family”. Both Natalia Del Riego as Rosa Reyes and Richard Gant as Raymond Hanna are back from “Come Together”. Jennifer Marshall as Navy Commander Neal, Jamil Zraikat as Cyrus Karimian, Jenapher Zheng as Janice Ng, Anna Rajo as Maria Estevez, Turhan Troy Caylak as Darius “Bunny” Vale and Ramona Dubarry as Monica Tavares

Our heroes: Are back at it for season 14.

What important things did we learn about:

Callen: Asks to bring Hetty’s remains home from Syria if she was the one who perished. Sam: Bringing his father to an activity center so he can swim, play pool and poker. Kensi: Sniper. Deeks: Would have been killed without Sniper Wife. Fatima: Doling out assignments. Rountree: Starts an interview with an engineer and ends up defending what he does. Kilbride: Commandeering helicopters.

What not so important things did we learn about:

Callen: Self-titled world’s coolest uncle. Sam: Not thrilled his father broke away from the activity center. Kensi: First day school drop off. Deeks: Not built for first day school drop off or public restrooms. Fatima: Old show went into syndication so Fatima has cool new wheels. Rountree: Calculus is better than is algebra. Kilbride: Betting his non-existent grandchildren.

Where in the world is Henrietta Lange? Not in a schoolhouse/safe house in Syria although some of her alias IDs were.

Who's down with OTP: Kensi and Deeks get to be anxious parents dropping Rosa off for her first day at school. They have a long and serious conversation bracketed between some Deeks jokes about how brutal their jobs can be, how awful the world is and that letting Rosa into the world to be her best self is an act of faith that the world will be kind.

Who's down with BrOTP: Not a lot of BrOTP situations. Callen works with Fatima, Rountree is mostly solo and Sam is only around at the end.

Fashion review: Callen is wearing a red, white and blue plaid button-down. Long sleeve black tee-shirt for Sam. Kensi wears a blood-red tee-shirt. Deeks starts the episode in a pale purple tee-shirt before wearing an LAFD fire inspector/marshal’s uniform undercover. White turtleneck for Fatima with a buttery looking black leather jacket (spectacular!). Rountree is wearing a blue, white and grey jacket over a pale blue tee. Dark blue three-piece suit, white dress shirt and blue and white tie for the Admiral.

Music: Not today.

Any notable cut scene: See music.

Quote: Kensi: “You know, all this is making me feel like I want to call Rosa and check in on her.” Deeks: “Okay, pull up on that stick there, helicopter mom, because she's fine. You just need to give her some space and time to find herself and-and to grow. Put the phone down.” Kensi: “Yeah, I know, but how many parents dropped their kids off at school only to never see them again because of another school shooting” Deeks: “Okay, you can't, you can't think like that.” Kensi: “How can you not think like that?” Deeks: “I mean, all right, you can consider the possibility, you can do the drills, but at some point, you just have to give in and believe in a greater good. I just feel like that's getting harder and harder to do. Yeah, well, that's why they call it faith.”

Anything else: A security guard is making his way through an engineering firm. The firm builds drones. The guard’s route is very deliberate, logging in and out of areas as he makes his way through building. As he gets near the exit, he sees a janitor’s cart just off the entrance.

Exiting the building, the guard locks up and logs out. There is a massive explosion. The guard is thrown ten feet from the door and fiery debris lands all around him.

Cue the new credits – a little red in the logo.

A really overprotective Kensi and Deeks are dropping Rosa off at school. Deeks is worried about bullying which makes Rosa nervous about bullying. Kensi and Deeks will pick her up after school but will text if there is a delay. There is a back-up plan with “Naomi’s mom”. After reviewing the alarm code for the house and the panic code, Rosa is finally on her way. Kensi and Deeks rethink their plan with home schooling a possibility. Deeks announces “I’m not built for this.”

As Sam is ready to take his father to an adult activity center, Raymond is walking around in his pajamas and slippers. Raymond is has no interest in “adult day-care”. Sam sells the place which has a gym, pool and library. Raymond is fine with Sam leaving him at a gym, a pool or a library. Sam notes this place has all three. The two bicker before Sam asks Raymond to just try the place. Since they have billiards and poker, Raymond is a little more interested but disappointed that the poker games aren’t for money. “The only fun is when you’re winning real money.” Mrs. Williams, Raymond’s caretaker, will be picking him up at the end of the day. Raymond complains about her driving. He’s also not keen on the idea of making new friends at the activity center since as soon as you get to know someone, they die. The only new things there are hips and pacemakers. Sam is patient with his father as he makes old age jokes.

Arriving through the side door, Fatima sees Callen looking at party venues. She offers some help – she’s good at planning things. Callen was looking for wedding venues. Fatima asks what does Anna want. Anna is torn between a trip to City Hall and Arkady’s dream of recreating “Doctor Zhivago”, complete with horses and snow. Fatima asks if Callen has a theme – traditional, fantasy, cosplay. Callen asks about “fantasy” and Fatima goes on including Sam as a troll, Deeks as a pixie, Kilbride as a wizard. Shaking his head, Callen tells Fatima he’s going to run these roles by them to see what they think. Fatima says no. “It doesn’t hurt to ask,” Callen replies. Fatima knows he’s kidding and asks that he not. Shyla interrupts, Kilbride needs to see Callen.

Walking to Kilbride’s office, Callen asks Shyla what’s up. She isn’t sure but there has been a communique from Syria. In his office, Kilbride tells Shyla to hold his calls and patch the Commander through to the plasma in his office. Commander Neal pops up on the screen. With the help of the Syrian Democratic Forces, Neal and her team were doing some recon work. At an abandoned school, known to be a safehouse, there was an ambush. Human remains were found, burned beyond recognition. One body had documents identifying them as Trudy Chambers, an American female. Callen looks stunned. Asking if the remains of Chambers were that of a small woman, Neal confirms they were. Dental records and DNA is still be checked. She will contact them when they have an ID. Trudy Chambers is one of Hetty’s aliases.

In Ops, Fatima arrives and asks Shyla what’s the new case. There is television coverage of the explosion and fire at Havlock/Haines Aerospace the prior night. Havlock/Haines builds remote piloted vehicles for the Navy. A janitor was killed, the security guard was badly injured. ATF said the bomb was nitroamine high explosive. The dead janitor was Luis Estevez, the guard Morgan Reynolds. Neither fits the profile of a bomber – more wrong place, wrong time. Fatima will go to the crime scene with Callen, Kensi and Deeks will look into the janitor while Rountree looks into the security guard. Shyla seems a little surprised that Fatima is doling out assignments – that is usually the job of a more senior agent. Since Shyla does not see a more senior agent in Ops, “go get ‘em girl,” is her advice.

Asking if the remains will be flown back to the US, Kilbride tells Callen they will be if they are positively identified. Callen wants to accompany them. Kilbride agrees. Callen then brings up Harris Keane, who was travelling with Hetty. Once the forensic team completes their work, the Admiral thinks they’ll know more. Knowing if she was ambushed at a safe house – even if it wasn’t Hetty – Callen believes she’s in danger. Kilbride disagrees – Hetty was in danger the minute she went back to Syria. And there are no safe houses in Syria right now. But since this is Hetty, she has more lives than a barn cat and is just as mean. Callen nods his head in agreement.

In the boatshed’s main room, Kensi and Deeks are speaking to Maria Estevez, daughter of janitor Luis Estevez. After offering condolences, they asks Maria about her father. He liked working as the night janitor – the money was good and it left him time during the day for other projects. As a skilled carpenter and mason, Estevez worked construction jobs when they came up. Kensi asks when did he sleep. Maria has an immediate answer – Sundays. During family dinners in the fall, he’d doze off watching football. Deeks asks why did Estevez work two jobs. Maria explains that years ago, her immigrant father worked two jobs to make ends meet. In recent years, especially after the death of his wife/Maria’s mother from COVID two years ago, it was to keep busy. Estevez did not work with explosives but loved fireworks. The Estevez family loved to put on a display. Asking if there were any financial issues, drugs, enemies, Maria states her father was a gentle and caring man who did anything to help others. Since Maria was told Estevez died in a factory accident, she wants to know what’s going on. Kensi and Deeks would like to see Estevez’s home.

A sullen Callen is a bit surprised by Fatima’s new Porsche. She explains her old TV show was just sold into syndication. When Callen notes the vehicle isn’t subtle, Fatima replies that in LA, subtle stands out. Callen is still distracted so Fatima asks if he is OK. He updates her about the body found in Syria. Fatima offers condolences and asks if they can do anything. They can’t so they should work the case.

Calling in to Ops from outside the hospital, Rountree has no luck with the security guard. He’s lawyered up but even if he didn’t, his doctor said he was in no condition to be questioned. Shyla notes he was healthy enough to find a lawyer. The Admiral wants the hospital staff and the lawyer to be put on notice, “as soon as he can eat his Jell-O, he better start talking.” Shyla is going to get a warrant to search Reynolds’s residence while the Admiral wants to question the staff at Havlock/Haines about Reynolds.

At the crime scene, Callen and Fatima are in the bombed out facility. The sleek, modern place is now a mass of burnt walls, cables and wires hanging from the ceiling, rubble all over. Speaking to executive Monica Tavares, she explains that the explosion is a financial hit to the company. Not only do they have to rebuild but they are not going to meet certain orders from contracts. Callen asks if she knows who would do something like this. Tavares has a list – anarchists, right-wing extremists, anti-war activists. Fatima asks about industry rivals or disgruntled employees. There are some – a few staffers left after they started working for the government – conscientious objections to making “weapons of war”. When Fatima asks for contact info, Taveras agrees to cooperate but makes it clear, none of them would blow up the building.

Callen asks if there were any other issues in recent weeks and months. Nothing as obvious as blowing up the facility but Havlock/Haines has been subject to a “relentless” series of cyber-attacks. The company is working on where they are coming from but no luck finding who is behind them. Callen gets a call from Shyla who has the terribly burned corpse of Luis Estevez on the big screen (ick, show, ick). Estevez was already dead for several hours when the explosion occurred.

Later speaking to Fatima, if Estevez was dead before the explosion, they likely used him to get into the building. Fatima agrees – the bombers killed Estevez, used his ID to get into the building, probably put his body and the bomb into something like a cleaning cart. That would be Fatima’s plan. Callen finds it scary but thinks it would be a good way to dispose of the body. Fatima agrees – it would make it look like Estevez died in the explosion.

Walking around the immaculate home of Luis Estevez, Kensi is on the phone with Callen. Thinking unless he was Jekyll and Hyde, Kensi believes Estevez was Mr. Rogers only more neat. Callen wants Kensi to check if Maria has power of attorney so they can access his phone and financials. Fatima asks about home security but Estevez barely locked is doors. Fatima wants to check the neighbors’ security systems to see if anyone was following Estevez. Kensi will ask. They also want Kensi to ask about Estevez’s daily routine. Meanwhile, Estevez’s Jeep is going to NCIS’s carport – they will check to see if he had GPS.

Moving to the kitchen, Maria is packing up the food in her father’s home. She talks about her father’s truck. Deeks assures her the truck will be released to the family when NCIS is done with it. Maria seems less worried about that, more thinking about how much her father loved the truck. It was his first ever new vehicle. Kensi asks about power-of-attorney. Maria got it after her mother passed away, her father got all his paperwork in order. Kensi tells Maria that they can take info from her father’s phone and financial records and maybe find who killed him. Maria is weeping. Deeks looks so uncomfortable. Kensi, seeing Maria’s distress, asks if she would be able to come up with her father’s daily routine, “Can you do that?” Maria says she can try.

Outside of the house, Kensi and Deeks are wrecked about the pain of the day. Deeks makes a joke about the pain being as bad as kidney stones, annoying Kensi. He extends to the joke to childbirth, leading Kensi to calling him an idiot. When Deeks says he’s joking, Kensi wants to know why. “Because if I don’t joke, this job is too sad for me to keep doing it.” Kensi understands but thinks he’s an idiot – a loveable one. All the sadness has Kensi wanting to call Rosa and see if she’s OK. Deeks stops her – this is Rosa’s time to “find herself and to grow.” Kensi brings up school shootings, something Deeks does not want to think about. It is what Kensi thinks about. Deeks tells her they can do the drills and prepare Rosa the best they can but at some point “you just have to give in and believe in a greater good.” Kensi finds that hard to do but Deeks tells her that’s what faith is. “I mean George Michael even wrote a song about it.” Deeks makes some George jokes.

Arriving at Ops, the Admiral wants a sit-rep. Shyla fills him in on the team’s status. She is also working with NCIS CYBER to find who is behind the cyber-attacks against Havlock/Haines. The Admiral figures that whoever did this was willing to kill an innocent man and used high end explosives – they are not militia “idiots”. Shyla suggests industrial espionage – a rival company that wants some of the hundreds of millions of dollars available in military contracts. The Admiral is rooting for that because the alternative is state sponsored terrorism.

As Kilbride walks back to his office, Callen calls up from the bullpen, looking for news about the remains and Trudy Chambers. Kilbride assures Callen he would have updated him if there was any news from Syria. The Admiral’s more pressing concern is whoever blew up Havlock/Haines since they like aren’t done. He wants Callen focused on the task at hand and not Hetty. “Now go catch these bastards before they strike again.”

In the carport, Fatima is working on Estevez’s truck. She tells Callen that the vehicle was wiped clean – she can still smell the bleach. Callen gets a call from Alex asking if she wants to hang out with Jake. Fatima wishes she had a niece or nephew – it seems like fun. Callen agrees it is while they are young. When they get a little older, less time for the world’s coolest uncle and more time for teenage girls. Fatima asks if Callen gave himself the designation of world’s coolest uncle. Callen wants to know who is cooler than he is? After Fatima laughs, she announces he’s cool, “like supercool.” “Let’s not oversell it.”

In the boatshed, Rountree and Shyla on the plasma are chatting. He is meeting with Janice Ng who left Havlock/Haines when they started working for the DoD. Shyla gets an alert from CYBER – the source of the attack is coming from Beirut, Lebanon.

With Fatima and Callen back in Ops with Shyla, they are discussing Lebanon being an US ally but Hezbollah, a militant group with a political arm, is not. Callen brings up two Hezbollah operatives who were arrested in the US for planning acts of terrorism. Those arrests were for fundraising and weapon buys but things may have gotten more aggressive since the US’s relationship with Iran gets worse. Iran funds a lot of Hezbollah’s actions. Asking about Estevez’s truck, Callen tells Shyla that the truck was wiped clean as was his GPS. Callen wants a list from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence of any known Hezbollah members in the US, especially anyone on the West Coast.

In the boat shed, Janice Ng explains she joined Havlock/Haines to be part of the team that put the first person on Mars. She did not sign up to build weapons of mass destruction. Rountree tells her the drones aren’t weapons of mass destruction. Ng disagrees – they could be armed with a nuclear weapon. Rountree points out they aren’t but Ng thinks he’s being naïve. But she thinks it is Rountree’s job to cover up the military’s crimes against humanity. Explaining that it isn’t his job to cover up anything, Rountree is there to find the truth about who set the bomb at Havlock/Haines. Ng is annoyed – since she quit for not wanting to be “a warmonger”, she’s being treated as a suspect. She’s waiting for Rountree to beat a confession out of her.

Deeks arrives at the boat shed with Kensi right behind him. Rountree explains that he isn’t there to beat a confession out of Ng. Pointing to his wife, Deeks tells Ng that what Kensi is there to do as he walks into the restroom. Kensi tells Ng Deeks is just kidding. Rountree updates Kensi on his questioning and Ng lawyers up. Rountree tells her she doesn’t need a lawyer. After she warns them against railroading her, Rountree just cuts Ng loose.

Sighing that it is just “one of those days”, Rountree tells Kensi he’s gotten nothing from the former Havlock/Haines staffers. Kensi explains that they got some security footage and were going to Ops when “somebody needed a potty break.” Deeks returns from the restroom where they’re out of towels so he airdries his hands all over Kensi and Rountree. He explains that he would rather use their restroom than some public restroom. Rountree is more concerned that some of Deeks’s air-drying got into his mouth.

Contacting Ops, Kensi pulls out the thumb drive with the security camera footage and sends it to Shyla. Shyla has camera footage from other places as she tries to stitch together Estevez’s day. Kensi and Deeks are on their way to Ops to help Shyla. Deeks signals to Rountree that he probably shouldn’t use the restroom.

In the bullpen, Callen is reviewing some street camera footage with Fatima. With the coroner estimating Estevez’s time of death around 4PM, Callen sees white van for Bunny Vale Laundry and Dry Cleaning outside of his house at 11AM. The branded van is still there two-hours later. While it could be a long lunch or a day off, it is just as likely a stakeout. In Ops, Shyla has info on Bunny Vale Laundry, a chain in LA. Tracing the specific van, for the last few days, it was always near Estevez, either at his home or following him around.

Bunny Vale Laundry is owned by Darius “Bunny” Vale and his wife Sara. They are first-generation Persian-Americans, born in America. No links to Hezbollah but Fatima wonders if Vale is using his business as a front. There is a laundering money suggestion from Shyla – she really does fit right in. Callen and Fatima are going to speak to Vale.

In interrogation, Darius “Bunny” Vale is on the wrong side of the table. Callen shows him a photo of the laundry truck outside of Estevez’s home. Vale claims to have over a dozen vans like it. Callen tells Vale the van was used in a crime. Vale was worried something like that would happen – the van was stolen. Callen mentions there was no police report but Vale says the truck was gone for a while and then returned. He never knew it was missing until one of his employees found it. Since there was no damage to the van, he didn’t report it, figuring it was some teenage joyriders. The van was found near one of Vale’s locations by an employee who was with Vale for years. “Anything else?”

Pulling out his phone, Callen shows Vale Estevez’s dead body. Vale expresses his disgust in Farsi. Callen explains that Estevez was a father and a grandfather who was likely murdered in Vale’s van. When the forensic team goes through the “stolen” van, if they find any evidence Vale will be connected to Estevez’s murder and the attack on Havlock/Haines. Fatima asks how long as Vale supported Hezbollah. Vale is stunned – he’s never supported Hezbollah. Callen threatens a trip to Guantanamo Bay but Vale claims he had nothing to do with what happened.

When Callen says “last chance” to Vale, he explains he can’t help, “they’ll hurt my family.” Fatima offers protection but Vale is speaking about his family in Tehran. While NCIS has agents all over the world, they are not in Iran. Fatima tells him the threat is to his family in the US as well as Iran. If he helps them, they can stop threat.

Vale explains that two men demanded a van, was told if he didn’t cooperate his family in Iran would pay the price. He was told to not ask any questions and to not tell anyone. Vale gave them the van and then the van was returned. Vale doesn’t have much information – he didn’t know the men, he didn’t know where they were staying. In Farsi, Fatima tells Vale he needs to help them. He is in danger if he doesn’t cooperate. Vale mentions a friend named Ava who was threatened as well. She had to provide a place where the men could work. Callen wants Sam called in – this is a full team operation.

Joining Callen, Fatima and Rountree at an office park, Sam and the team are all wearing their kevlar with the big guns out. He thinks this assignment is easier than getting his father to behave. When Fatima asks how Raymond is doing, Sam replies he’s doing everything possible to make him crazy. The Admiral has had enough chit-chat – and Deeks isn’t even involved. Fatima and Rountree take one entrance, Sam and Callen take another. Shyla tells the team the building is owned by Ava Safari with only a 26% occupancy rate due to COVID. The terrorists are set-up on a vacant office floor. The Admiral considers them armed and they are dangerous since they have access to high end explosives. He warns them of booby traps. That doesn’t sit well with Deeks, who is dress as a fire marshal/inspector. “I’m not the bomb disposal guy.”

Deeks walks through one of the offices. It is empty though there is a cot and a lantern flashlight in an open area. He is approached by a man asking why Deeks is there. After saying he’s happy the place is rented again, Deeks claims to be LAFD there for the building’s monthly inspection. The man wants Deeks to leave and return the following day. Deeks explains he can’t do that. Deeks is walking ahead of the man, through the office. He is rambling about the inspecting the Nakatomi Plaza – nice “Die Hard” shoutout – and puts on soundproof headphones because he’s about to set off the building’s alarms. The man behind Deeks pulls out his gun. Kensi says “weapon” and takes out the man from an office building a healthy distance away. “Tango down.” Deeks seems surprised.

Callen and Sam join Deeks – “Nice shot honey,” Deeks calls to Kensi. He starts talking about having a BB right under his scalp from being shot by Darrel Dinkins. Sam mentioned the BB migrating to Deeks’s brain. An arriving Fatima and Rountree enjoy the show. Deeks tells Sam he missed him. “I bet you did.”

While Fatima sends the dead man’s prints to Ops, Callen has the dead man’s burner phone and wants to Shyla to check the contacts and any GPS info. Sam finds a Canadian passport for the dead man issued to Cyrus Karimain from Fort Erie, Ontario. It is likely a fake. Sam has four other passports for four other men. There may be an entire cell in Los Angeles.

Deeks find a trash pail full of shredded documents. One looks like a map but he could only figure it out if he was the Amazing Kreskin. Fatima doesn’t know who the Amazing Kreskin is. “That was before Google,” Sam tells her. Callen finds something and shows it to Sam. It is a symbol of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’s staff college. The men in the office aren’t Hezbollah, they are Iranian special operatives who usually train proxies to fight, not do the fighting themselves. The Admiral knew this was state sponsored and is willing to bet his grandchildren that the drones that took out Soleimani was manufactured by Havlock/Haines. Shyla notes the Admiral doesn’t have grandchildren. “This team America, is payback.”

Tracing the location of the cellphone numbers in the dead man’s phone, they are all traveling on the PCH, just passing Malibu. While Deeks thinks they are surfers, Sam realizes they’re going to Point Magu. Point Magu is the home of the Triton drone project. The Admiral wants the team in helicopters on their way to the base in two minutes. When Shyla asks how, the Admiral doesn’t care – Coast Guard, National Guard, borrow a TV traffic helicopter.

At Point Magu’s entrance, a Bunny Vale Landry Van shoots its way past a guard station. The sole guard tries to fire on the men but is overwhelmed by four men with military weapons. Driving the van into the base, there are two barrel in the back with explosives. The men all exit the van before it plows into a trailer with a satellite on top. Since this is NCIS: Los Angeles, there is a massive explosion.

One of the men tries to enter a structure next to the structure that just was blown up. He has a keycard to get in but the door does not open. Callen comes out from the side of the structure and tells the man “nobody’s home.” The men are surrounded by Callen and Sam on the right, Kensi, Fatima and Rountree on their left and Deeks from the top of the structure. Behind the on the ground team is more armed Navy sailors. It was set-up as a kill box. Fatima starts ordering the men to surrender in Farsi. The men surrender. Deeks wonders how he is getting off the building – he asks Rountree to catch him.

Stepping away, Sam has a call from Mrs. Williams, his father’s caretaker. Raymond left the activity center without the caretaker. He instead left with a woman named Victoria. Callen is impressed – one day at the activity center and Raymond has a girlfriend. Callen thinks Sam could learn a little something from his father.

In the armory, Kensi, Deeks, Fatima and Rountree are dropping off their gear. Fatima thinks they should go out for drinks and Rountree should pay. This surprises Rountree until Fatima says she’s buying. Deeks offers to take everyone out to dinner if Rosa could join them. Kensi steps in – not on a school night. Deeks asks how is Rountree’s calculus. It is better than his algebra but it is not very good.

Pouring two glasses of scotch, the Admiral offers an arriving Callen a glass. Callen asks if he is going to need it. The Admiral thinks the longer Callen stays in their business, he will but he won’t need it today for Hetty “Not now anyway,” he tells Callen. The remains were of a female child, not Hetty. Callen asks why were Hetty’s IDs found on a dead child. The Admiral thinks Hetty planted them. Without the forensics the US military has, anyone who saw the remains and the ID thinks Hetty is dead. Thinking Hetty is in trouble – and the Admiral saying she was in the trouble the minute she went to Syria, Callen asks for permission to look for her. That’s a no from the Admiral. If they had actionable intel, they would go. Until then, Hetty is on her own.

Saying he has a lot of personal time, Callen is thinking of going anyway. The Admiral makes it clear LA just had foreign terrorists attack a building and a Naval Station so there will be no going halfway around the world “searching for your surrogate mommy.” Telling the Admiral to enjoy his scotch, Callen storms out. The Admiral drinks his own scotch and then Callen’s untouched glass, saying he intends to.

Not enjoying his scotch is Sam, sitting with a glass at his dining room table. Raymond sneaks in almost like a teenager caught by his parents. Sam asks where his father was. Raymond said he took Sam’s advice and made some friends. Sam thinks Raymond should have called. Raymond is sure he sent a text but he didn’t. This is every parent-child discussion about being out late with friends, just with the roles reversed. When Raymond says he’s not a child, Sam tells him he's acting like one. Yep, parent-child in reverse. Sam is angry that Raymond “hooked up with a woman on your first damn day. An angry Raymond talks about Victoria, who is married to Cliff, a bedridden veteran. After his time at the activity center, Raymond went to see Cliff, providing him such much needed company. Sam is instantly remorseful until Raymond makes it clear that he also provided Victoria some much needed company. Sam isn’t sure his father is joking as Raymond says good night.

They changed the fonts on the credits too.

What head canon can be formed from here: Sort of an update to the season 13 finale – Callen is looking at wedding venues, Sam is dealing with his father, Kensi and Deeks are taking Rosa to her first day of school. Family continues to play a big part.

Shyla is great with the team. She has a different relationship with Kilbride – more casual and fun than any of the team members.

Visiting the bombed out drone place had to be pretty brutal to Callen, who less than an hour earlier learned his “surrogate mommy” may have met her end in a similar action.

The Kensi and Deeks conversation about doing their jobs in the world we live in has been going on now since season eight. This was another variation of it with Kensi sounding a little more done this time.

The program used real events – the arrest of two Hezbollah terrorists, the bombing of Soleimani- to make the story go.

Episode number: Season 14 (a healthy run for any program), episode one. Episode 303 overall. These recaps will go up every Friday (save one in mid-March) until season 14 wraps.

[queen-scribbles]

26-30 from the otp asks for whoever strikes your fancy :3

Gonna dredge up the Spy Nerds for this one (Jaaide/Theron) bc that seems fun. Also I miss them

26. What are their vices?

Both are workaholics. Theron has trust issues and a caf addiction and Jaaide has trouble letting people help her. She thinks she has to solve everything herself, but then will get grumpy when no one helps her. (She's working on that, she's been called out by a couple different people)

27. Who is the light weight that needs to be taken care of after a party?

Jaaide. She doesn't tend to drink much, and when she does it's things with low alcohol content, so if she loses track or tries something new that's stronger than usual, Theron will be giving her a piggyback ride out of the club. xD

28. What are there thoughts on pet names? Do they have any?

They like them, but tend to stick to standard things; love, dear etc. Theron uses "sweetheart" a lot, and Jaaide's most common one for him is "darling". They don't have anything that's strongly personal that's turned into a nickname/endearment. that I can remember.

29. Who is more likely to jump in an elevator? Who freaks out?

I was gonna say neither, but then I remembered Jaaide 100% took the "Boo!" option during War for Iokath to see him jump. Sooo I guess she'd be more likely to jump, but I dunno if Theron would freak out. Maybe get a little on edge and ask her to stop, but I don't think he'd freak out.

30. Your OTP gets to pick out each other’s outfits; what is each wearing?

Theron's pick for Jaaide is the Jarael's armor top in green with leggings and comfy boots. (He likes her arms and green goes with her eyes.) Or his jacket and nothing else if they're staying in. Jaaide's pick for Theron is EITHER a shirt with the sleeves rolled up under a vest(think Impulsive Adventurer set) with his regular pants and boots or *cough* the Bold Hellion set, just with a tank top underneath. (he looks good in a leather jacket, but she doesn't need other people ogling her man, thanks.)

OTP Asks

[supervisormeero]

omg I haven't watched TWD in a while but Madison/Negan sounds super intriguing, that's so big brain of you!!

Ooooooohohohoho sincere apologies for this, but now I have to yell about them for a bit. Unskippable cutscene.

Fear The Walking Dead’s first three seasons are some of my favorite in the TWD franchise, because there’s a moral complexity and grayness to them that the main show never had. TWD was always “what’s best for everyone,” or “how do we survive as a group,” whereas the characters on FTWD were being selfish, looking out for their families but no one else, willing to betray or harm innocent people if it meant their loved ones survived, etc. No grand speeches. No comic-book superheroes. The original vision for FTWD was that it would show a group’s descent into villainy, with Madison eventually taking on a Negan-type role. In Season 3 (and even earlier), the setup for that was apparent. Then AMC decided to take the show in a different direction, and the villain storyline left with the initial showrunner.

Thinking about Madison and Negan as a pair, romantic or even as allies, is just…!!!!!! I really do think he would’ve been fascinated with her; her manipulative streak, her “the ends justify the means” attitude toward survival even when the means are extreme, her love for her family contrasted with her often calculating approach to violence. They both wear leather jackets. They both use blunt instruments as a weapon of choice (Negan -> Lucille, Madison -> a hammer). They both know what it takes to lead a group but go about it in a way that inspires fear rather than admiration. Both have experienced tragedy and lost the loves of their lives (Negan -> Lucille, Madison -> her first husband, and then Travis). If Madison had been with the Saviors during All Out War, it’s my belief that she would’ve been Negan’s right hand, or at least a trusted member of his council. He’d respect her. And she’d go out of her way to earn his respect, solely because earning his respect would benefit her and her people. But they’d have too much in common for them to not see at least a glimmer of themselves in each other, even though Madison would hate him for being so obnoxious, and he’d hate her for challenging him, but nonetheless they’d evolve into a darker, twisted version of Rick and Michonne -

Anyway, ramble done. Madison x Negan OTP, thank you for coming to my TED Talk

[shrinkthisviolet]

7 (for Morgan), 21, and 22 (for Iris) for the fandom asks?

7. Is there a piece of clothing you think [Morgan] is particularly fond of/that you imagine them wearing a lot or like to draw them in?

STAR Labs sweater!

And also:

Love her in a leather jacket, especially a black one 🥰

(Also ofc her dark green Sentry mask but that's a given)

21. Go onto your AO3. Which ship have you written for the most? The least? Does this correspond to who you consider your "favourite?"

Maiko the most. Westhallen, Peddie (Patricia x Eddie from House of Anubis), and Peterliz the least (below Thallen too, though only by one fic). Maiko represents it pretty well (one of my 3 ATLA OTPs fr), but...me writing more Thallen than Westhallen and Peddie is actually an inverse of my preference 😅 I prefer the latter two ships. But me writing less Westhallen is probably because I don't often write trios—I prefer writing duo ships.

And ofc if we included platonic ships...Barry & Morgan would win by a country mile 😂 which would also be accurate

22. Give us a headcanon for [Iris]

She loves calling Barry multiple variations of his full name: Bartholomew, Barrence...even Barnacle 😂 she jokes that the latter rolls so naturally off the tongue

fandom ask game!

Taglist (send an ask or DM to be added or removed):

@arrthurpendragon @ocappreciationtag @raith-way @vexic929 @ironverseocs

@thechaoticfanartist @goldheartedchaoticdisaster @negative-speedforce @starstruckpurpledragon @angst-is-love-angst-is-life

[wolfboy88]

im late. sorry! 4. 7. 14. 22 [liam] for the fandom ask game

Is there a popular pairing you don’t necessarily dislike but aren’t too invested in?

I have answered this question before and my answer of Scallison still stands

Is there a piece of clothing you think (character) is particularly fond of/that you imagine them wearing a lot or like to draw them in?

Theo and his leather jacket for sure. And his hoodies. But also love the idea of Theo wearing Liam’s jersey, for obvious reasons.

And I also like the idea of Liam favouring that burgundy/maroon long sleeved button front henley because it used to be Scott’s.

Is there a character or ship you were so sure you would never write/draw but now you’ve changed your mind?

I pretty much went into writing fan fics with Thiam my tunnel vision (they still kinda are) but I would say I’ve become more fond of rare pairs and poly ships now. Like while I always see Thiam as my OTP, I am open to exploring them with other characters (Sceo, Liolan, etc). I’d also say Josh as a character has grown on me too.

Give us a headcanon for… Liam

So in 6x16 - Liam asks Theo to help him with his plan at the Zoo and they manage to get all those supplies to make it look like the pack is living there. But Liam also planned to give that stuff to Theo after, having worked out he’s homeless, hoping to find a better solution once the war is over.

[plucky-belmondo]

5, 7 & 30 with Mahito

[ OTP/Selfship Asks ]

*sorry for getting to this late, I've been dealing with constant coughing today. x.x)

5. Describe their cozy night in.

Hmm~

When he's not being crazy for Cocoa Puffs, a cozy night with Mahito boils down to either watching old sitcoms or...introducing him to video games! If we're going with the latter, then we'd play Kirby: Star Allies together. Throw in some hot cocoa too, and that makes the night better!

If not a Kirby game, I end up teaching him how to play Animal Crossing. His favorite villagers would be Coco and Lucky!

7. Would they build a pillow fort together just because?

At first, the concept of pillow forts is foreign to Mahito.

However, the moment he sees me stacking up the pillows, he joins in, and finds that, despite the struggles of balancing everything, building a pillow fort is fun! Sure, it's silly, but the end result is something you'd see in a moodboard: lights, a few books here and there, more hot cocoa, and enough space for the other Disaster Curses (+Geto) to hang out in! (It's kinda like that one Ed, Edd, and Eddy episode where they were hanging out in a bush xDD)

The only downside is that Mahito cannot, and absolutely cannot, bring in transfigured humans. I'd kick him out for a few minutes if he snuck 'em in. xD

30. Your OTP gets to pick each others' outfits; what is each wearing?

I like to headcanon that Mahi would pick this outfit for me; he thinks I should wear dresses more often 'cause he says I look nice in 'em:

On my end, I would pick an outfit that reflects him perfectly, for some reason, I was thinking that a leather jacket suits him (and it'd cover up his stitches):

[mysticbeaver]

2, 6, 7, 8, 14, 15, 18, 19 for Eddy (I know I'm too late, but I would like to know, please).

Thanks for the ask!!! No worries about it being late:) Good to chat (even if I talk a load of bologna 😁)

Under the cut

2.Favorite canon thing about this character?

Because I can't think of anything better right now, I'll say his seemingly vintage taste in music. Although maybe it ties in with everything he owns being vintage hand-me-downs. And on second thought, it's hard to say if Barry White and Tom Jones are supposed to be old-school in-universe, considering the kids' idea of party music is 60s surf rock haha.

6.What's something you have in common with this character?

You know, I always think I'm mostly an Ed and an Edd, but then I think "maybe we all have the three Eds deep down inside of us 😁" guess I sometimes like to imagine situations in which I could be a show off/be funny in front of an audience... A very Eddy desire.

7.What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like?

I always love older fanart of him just having that slightly disheveled look and maybe smoking a cigarette, looking cool 😁 makes me imagine him with that slightly chiller demeanor (assuming he grows out some of his temper and controls his euphoria whenever he's got some big idea hehe)

8.What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise?

Boring answer, but like everyone else I have not much interest in negative adult Eddy portrayals where the creator blatantly doesn't take the BPS developments into account. Give this kid a chance for chrissakes! Thankfully this is limited to some more, ahem, 'casual' fans 👀

14. Fashion aesthetic for this character.

In my lack of fashion sense, I'm just gonna mention a picture in my mind...leather jacket? (Maybe because of @torra-and-the-toons 's design?) Coupled with worn baggy jeans...

And is it weird I can see Eddy looking good in that sweater/collar-shirt combo if he were to dress more elegant? I swear I've seen it somewhere in fanart. Or him just wearing a hoodie... Is there look Eddy can't pull off??? Talk about a stubby no-neck chump 😎

15. Favorite ship?

It's... EddEddy, isn't it. Interestingly, it was never my OTP, and I wasn't interested in it when I first got in the fandom, but I slowly made myself learn to appreciate it. Nowadays it's certainly a ship I "default" to with those two characters. On the other hand I once went through a KevEddy phase... I still have a soft spot for it (no doubt thanks to lovely fanart by @mar-saturn and @chocowhomps ). It's also very interesting to me that there's at least 3 people I know of currently in the fandom (or who were actively in the fandom in the last year or so) who managed to ship both EddEddy and KevEddy, mmm 🧐...

18. Relationship they have in canon with another character that you admire?

First thing that comes to mind is his brief mentoring of Jimmy, even if it's a negative influence. "They grow up so fast... *dries tear*" And his one-on-one friendship with Ed is interesting to think about, especially how it might have started considering Edd supposedly came a little later in the picture (not by much though as they were still very young)

Also his crush on Nazz is kinda cute... I headcanon they'll be easy friends once they're a little older :)

19. Relationship they have in canon with another character that you don't like?

Honestly I'm stumped! Can't think of anyone right now haha. Maybe his disrespect of Rolf's culture/hospitality, if that's a thing? But I can't say if that's necessarily despicable or just part of the character's writing in certain episodes, or what.

Thanks for the ask again!

[janeyre]

call me on the way home (2/2)

otp: tentoo x rose

word count: 5k

summary: After a slight mishap at Torchwood, Rose has gone temporarily missing. While Mia is out, she runs into her mum, but not as she last saw her - instead wearing a blue leather jacket with deep circles beneath her eyes. Worried about her mum's state and trying to comfort her, Mia calls the Doctor so Rose can speak to him.

AO3

It had been three weeks since Rose Tyler’s unexpected tumble through a far-away dream, and now she found herself towing the Earth home.

She had done it. 

Her gaze, as it swept over all the many happy faces bobbing in and out of her view, landed not on the pinstriped Doctor, but on the blue Doctor. Catching her gaze, he winked at her and clicked his teeth.

God, it was really him . Her face was going to split open from smiling so hard.

“Thinking about what adventures we’ll have next, Rose Tyler?” He said her name in that way that only he could.

Something once-blurry came suddenly into blinding focus. That picture of her and the Doctor and their daughter. Sharing a life — normal and yet not all at once. The text that said Grandma Jackie. The one adventure he could never have. The one adventure she never let herself fully believe she’d be able to find again.

Her gaze returned to his. Did he know? Did he know what could be waiting for them?

She wanted it so bad she couldn’t breathe . The voice she’d heard on the phone that day…. 

You are my heart. 

Singular.

She grinned at him. 

Do you know what I’m trying to tell you?

She wanted to kiss him, snog the living daylights out of him right here in front of everyone until they all went home and left them to their peace. 

Of course I do. 

The Doctor took a deep breath. “You told me something. Something I don’t take lightly. And I want, need you to know, that… you’re everything to me. You have given me happiness more infinite than I could have ever dreamed of. You are the centre of my universe. You are my heart. I… I care for you more than I can say. Do –” he felt suddenly worried, worried that this opportunity might be lost, that she wouldn’t know, that she was doomed to suffer this next month in the dark, that she had never known until that second time on the beach; not at the Game Station, or Krop Tor, or— “Do you know what I’m trying to say?”

He held his phone tightly in his hand; if he would have looked at his knuckles he would have found them white.

“Yes, Doctor. Of course I do, I do too, I–”

Her voice was suddenly cut off, marked by the sound of a harsh smack . 

“Rose? Rose?!”

Some rustling. His heart thundered. 

Mia’s voice. “She disappeared, Dad.”

His head was full of static. His thoughts were rushing and all he could hear was the crash of a wave just about to take him under. 

Of course I do. I do too, she had said.

He let out a breath, devastated and relieved as realisation struck him like lightning to the head of a pin.

Oh.

Oh. 

She knows. 

He blinked furiously.

“Dad?” 

He cleared his throat. His beautiful, wonderful, brilliant daughter.

“Thank you for thinking to call, you brilliant, clever girl. Do you want to meet back here, at Torchwood, and then we can both go home?”

“Yeah, that would be good.” She swallowed, somewhat shaken. “I’ll see you soon.”

“Not if I see you first.” He missed Rose. “I love you, Mia.”

He wasn’t mistaken if he thought she sounded a little choked up too. 

“I love you, Dad.” The line clicked.

He let the phone fall from his hands and clatter to the table, eyes wet and growing wetter. He scrubbed the palms of his hands into his eyes and then let them rest there, sitting his elbows on the table.

The events of the day flickered behind his eyelids like a thousand different film reels all playing at once. 

Finding out this afternoon that Rose had been teleported somewhere and rushing to Torchwood. Watching in frustration as everyone realised that she couldn’t have gone far and leaving him to figure it out. His wife was missing. Hearing her sob on the other end of the phone. Knowing that even though she would be fine, there was nothing he could do now. No possible way on Earth to be with her at this very moment. No matter how his heart ached. No matter how much he couldn’t fight the panic that grew when she was gone. No matter where she was.  

“What are you doing in ‘ere all alone?”

Her voice. His head snapped up. 

“Rose?”

It really was her. Back from the aether. Beautiful and perfect and not a hair out of place and smiling at him with that fondness she reserved only for him. 

“Rose.”

He was in her arms before he’d even realised he’d pushed away from the table, trying to regulate his breathing but finding himself overwhelmed at the feel of her familiar embrace. It’s only been a few hours , he chided himself.

“Doctor, is everything okay?”

He couldn’t help himself from sniffling a little, burying his head further into her shoulder. 

“Yeah, it’s just been a long day.” 

“Want to tell me about it?”

He nodded into her shoulder and took a deep breath before backing away to meet her gaze. God, but she was beautiful. Her every feature radiated safety, warmth, comfort. 

“Today was the day that you jumped here and met Mia before you really properly found me. Before we ended up here together. I just got off the phone with you.” 

Her eyes were wide. 

“Oh, Doctor, I’m sorry. I… I wish I could have been here, with you.”

He laughed in spite of himself. “Funny, that’s just what I told you.” He couldn’t help it – he gathered her into a hug again, just to feel her so close to him.

“It was so long ago, but that old fear that had followed me around during our time apart that you didn’t know that I – that I loved you, it came crashing back. All I could think was how guilty I felt for leaving you to carry the weight of every universe on your shoulders all alone.” His words were slightly muffled as he spoke them into her jacket.

“But you didn’t leave me,” she reminded him. “You’re right here. And I knew, Doctor. We’ve talked about this. I’ve always known, okay? Always.” She twisted her head so she could kiss just above his ear. “Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

He laughed again. Being hard on himself was one of his oldest strengths. “For you, I’ll try.” He took in a deep breath, then righted himself once more. “Where did you end up today, anyways?”

“You would not believe – Brixton! Brixton, and I didn’t have my wallet or my phone on me or anything.”

“How’d you get back?”

“I walked – I wasn’t that far away from the Estate Mum and I used to live on, so I made a little detour to see if it had changed in all these years. Wasn’t so far anyway, and less hassle than trying to borrow someone’s phone. Although I would have tried, if I would have realised it was going to be such a traumatic day.”

“Mum!” 

Rose whirled around just in time to see Mia rush into the room. In an instant she was in her mother’s arms, properly this time. Her tears flowed freely.

“I’m so glad it’s you, I thought I saw you earlier, and it was you, but you didn’t even know me, and you were so sad, and I didn’t know what to do.” 

Rose shifted a little, just enough that she could look her daughter in the eyes. She brought one hand up to cup her face, wiping away the fat tears that rolled down her cheeks.

“But you did so well, Mia. You were so brave. It takes a lot of courage to power through something like that when everything seems so wrong. But you were incredible. Okay?” Mia nodded softly, offering a tentative smile.

Rose’s voice grew softer, lower. “I thought about your face and the conversation I had with your dad every day until I came back. You gave me a light at the end of the tunnel. And I focused on it and fought for it until I found it. You’re the best daughter I could ever have.”

Mia’s face, previously recovering, broke down into tears again. 

“I missed you, Mum.” 

Rose’s heart broke a little. She brought her daughter close and felt it mend. 

“I missed you too, precious girl.” 

She felt the Doctor’s arms close around the both of them. Her family. The picture they’d taken last week at her birthday. The memory of the phone call she’d had had faded with time, the fear of future knowledge spoiling her present pushing it away until it really did feel like a dream. 

She took a deep breath. She could smell the Doctor’s familiar scent, same as ever. She could feel his singular, human heart beating against his ribs, pressed against her back. She could feel their precious daughter hugging her tight. 

I am so lucky being able to talk to you right now, to tell you that it’s all going to be okay. Because it is. 

She blew out her deep breath and smiled ear to ear. 

Everything was okay.

[feeshies]

1 and 7?

and happy valentine's day nxsjsksj

Happy Valentine's day lol

What OTPs in your fandom(s) do you just not get?

I feel like I can't answer this with Metalocalypse lol. My two biggest ships are 1. between two characters who only share 2 scenes together (and one of them is basically a onesided rock opera Zoom call), and a three-way relationship with a canonically married couple + a third character who never interacts with either of them and died the episode he was introduced. This show stopped making material in 2013. We had to make do.

And generally, even if I don't like a ship, I can usually understand the appeal if I think about where the fans are coming from. I don't have to personally get it or even like the portrayal. But it's not that I can't fathom it.

But anyway, this is a Sanubis hate blog. Yeah I "get" the appeal of making an edgy vaguely goth love interest for the teen protagonist. But did Rick have to use one of the pantheon's most fascinating deities to accomplish that? First I was hopeful because tkc was one of the few properties that actually established him as the god of funeral rites instead of the god of death (serious pet peeve of mine), but then it becomes blatantly obvious that he's just there to be a love interest. And even if that wasn't excruciating, any fun dynamic he and Sadie have just vanishes after the first book. He used to be kind of awkward and rigid -- which makes sense because he's a 5000 year old deity who spends most of his time around dead people. But why is he wearing a leather jacket and combat boots??? Why does he dress like me?? Is that how he greets the souls before he leads them to the next world? If your ancient Egyptian funeral god can be easily cosplayed by me, you fucked up. But also, that awkwardness is gone by the next two books and he just becomes a love interest. The lost potential is frustrating. Sadie spends most of her arc grieving her dead mother, and one of the most central relationships she has is with a funeral god. That should have been brought up more. And, I shouldn't have to say this, BUT SADIE WAS 12-13 YEARS OLD. Get away from her!

That's it lol.

7. Is there anything you used to like, but now can’t stand?

Eh, I tend to keep a soft spot for my previous fandoms.

P/jo has frustrated me as of late, but that's mostly because the fandom doesn't seem to understand tag etiquette and it's impossible to find TKC stuff on any website because of that. But I still love the series.