#stop the look tom gives when Eric says he’d love to

[waitimcomingtoo]

I knew it. I knew tumblr glitched again. Here it is when you have a chance. Teacher!tom has an unruly elementary class to put up with but things change when the new music teacher shows up. Eventually feelings develop between the two and only their students are willing to do something about it.

Here Comes The Sun

pairing: teacher!Tom Holland x Reader

Masterlist

“Jeremiah. Please. If I have to ask you to stop drinking the Elmers glue one more time, I’m gonna have to send you to the principle.”

“It tastes like white!” Jeremiah cheered before squeezing the bottle into his mouth again. All around him, Toms students were screaming and making trouble. His class was known to be unruly, and this day proved to be worst than most. Before Tom could take another step towards just one of his many misbehaving students, a woman he had never seen before slipped into the classroom and knelt down beside Jeremiah.

“Woah there. We don’t want to drink that, my friend.” You chuckled as you took the bottle of glue from him. “It’s not good for our tummy. Why don’t you try milk instead?”

“I’m black toast and taller ants.” Jeremiah told you.

“You’re lactose intolerant?” You connected the dots. “Tell you what, you come find me at lunch time later and I’ll give you a lollipop. Do you like lollipops?”

“Yes.” He nodded eagerly.

“Cool. Can you tell me your name so I know who to give it to?”

“This is Jeremiah.” Tom appeared behind his student and patted his back. “He does this a lot.”

“I had a feeling.” You laughed as you stood up. “I’m Miss. L/n.”

“Mr. Holland.” Tom reached out to shake your hand. “Nice to meet you. Jeremiah, why don’t you go sit down for some quiet time, okay?”

“I’m Y/n.” You said as soon as he left.

“Tom.” Tom laughed. “I don’t think I’ve seen you before.”

“I’m the new music teacher.” You told him. “I’ve been making my rounds and introducing myself to the other teachers. Your kids are still a little young for music so that’s why you haven’t seen me.”

“Oh. That’s a shame.” Tom pursed his lips. Of course the gorgeous new teacher who could magically tame his kids wasn’t on his floor. He knew he’d barely see you, and he really wanted to see you.

“Is it?” You smiled coyly.

Just then, a scream ripped through the classroom. No one was hurt, they just wanted to scream.

“For the kids, I mean.” He covered up his accidental flirtatious remark. “We could all use a little music in our lives.”

“I completely agree. It calms the kids right down. It’s like magic.”

“I could definitely use some magic.” Tom laughed over the noise.

“When I play In My Life, they get so quiet, you’d think they were asleep.” You told him your secret.

“I love that song.” He smiled softly at you. “I love Here Comes the Sun too.”

“Me too!” You gushed. “My favorite is I Wanna Hold Your Hand though.”

“I like it too. I have a feeling we’ll get along.”

“Mr. Holland, you may be my first friend here.” You smiled shyly at him. “I’ll see you around.”

Tom watched as you left with a happy smile on his face.

“Is that your girlfriend?” Amanda asked, making Tom jump a little. He looked at her and then out at the class, who was suspiciously quiet. They were all staring eagerly at Tom.

“No. That’s the new music teacher.” He said skeptically as he made his way to the front of the class.

“She’s pretty.” Another student spoke up. All the kids nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, she is.” Tom laughed shyly. “Now, who wants to do some math?”

October

“Hi.” You knocked on Toms doorframe as you walked into his classroom, the same thing you did every day. He sighed in relief at the sight of you and made his way over to you.

“Hey little darling.” He greeted you. “How is your Tuesday treating you?”

“I’m gonna assume it’s treating me better than yours is treating you.” You chuckled as his students screamed and ran around behind him.

“What gave it away?” He asked sarcastically as a paper ball flew over his head.

“I had a hunch.” You played along. “How are you holding up?”

“Not great.” He sighed. “I’m getting a migraine and it’s not even 10 am.”

“Would apple slices make it better?” You presented a bag of apple slices from behind your back.

“They might.” Tok said sheepishly. You held the bag out to him and let him take a few, rubbing his arm to soothe him as he took a bite.

“Thank you. You’re a life saver.” He said with his mouth full.

“I have some Motrin in my bag if you want.” You offered. “It might help with the migraine. And your PMS.”

“Funny.” He narrowed his eyes at you. “Thank you again.”

“No problem. Why don’t you step out for a minute and I’ll look after your class? I’m off this period anyway.” You squeezed his arm to comfort him further.

“Are you sure? They bite.” He grimaced, and you let out a laugh.

“So do I.” You shrugged, making Toms eyes widen.

“That was a joke.” You said quickly. “Take a minute, gather yourself, and then come back. I’ll be here as long as you need.”

“You’re an angel. Thank you so much.” He brought his arms around you and squeezed you.

“I thought I was a little darling.” You chuckled into his ear as you hugged him back.

“A woman can be more than one thing.” Tom teasingly rolled his eyes.

“Very true. See you in a few.” You squeezed his hand. He gave you an appreciative smile before leaving the classroom. You made you way to the front of the class and clapped your hands.

“Hi my friends.” You shouted over the noise. “What have you been learning today?”

The students quieted down at the sight of you and one girl raised her hand.

“Yes, Carly?” You called on her.

“Are you and Mr. Holland dating?” She asked politely. The rest of the students nodded and looked at you, as if they all had the same question.

“No, we are not dating.” You laughed nervously. “Boys have cooties, haven’t you heard?”

“Do you like him?” Another student raised her hand.

“He definitely likes you!” A girl called out.

“Now class, I know it’s fun to speculate, but Mr. Holland and I are not together.” You told them. “You know who is together though? Q and U. They’re married, in fact. That’s why they’re always together in words like quiet and question. Can anyone else give me a “qu-“ word? Yes, Elizabeth.”

“Croissant.” Elizabeth answered.

“So close.” You nodded. “That’s actually a “cra” not a “qua” sound.”

“Not the way Mr. Holland says it.” Another student cut in.

“That’s because he’s from the O.K, Josh. They speak differently.” Elizabeth turned around in her seat and rolled her eyes.

“Oo, very close again.” You tried not to laugh. “Mr. Holland is from the UK.”

“Oh.” Elizabeth turned back around in shame.

“That’s okay.” You assured her. “Everyone makes mistakes. How do you guys feel about Mr. Holland anyway?”

“I love him.” One of the boys raised his hand. “He lets us have snack time. Mr. Osterfield’s class doesn’t do that.”

“I like him too.” Another boy chimed in. “He gave me extra time on my math test when I couldn’t figure out what 9x10 was.”

“Do you know the answer now?” You asked him.

“Uh huh.” He nodded eagerly. “90.”

“Great job.” You clapped for him. “Maybe you’ll be a math teacher one day.”

The boy smiled and shrunk down in his seat, proud of himself for knowing the answer.

“Hello, class.” Tom came back into the room and smiled at you. “Did you all behave for Miss L/n?”

“Yes they did.” You beamed at the class. “What a smart, well behaved class.”

“Are you sure you watched the right class?” Tom said out of the corner of his mouth so only you could here.

“I’m sure.” You chuckled. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Mr. Holland.”

“See you tomorrow little darling.” He smiled softly at you as you walked out of the classroom. He sighed happily and went to his desk, immediately noticing a packet of apples slices you left for him.

“Mr. Holland! I have a question.” A student calling out caught his attention.

“Yes, Amanda?” He asked.

“Is Miss L/n your girlfriend?” She asked, making Tom go bright red.

“What? No. What? No. What? No.” Tom stammered.

“You like her!” Amanda gasped. “I knew you liked her. I told you Elizabeth. Carly and I were right.”

“Whatever.” Elizabeth rolled her eyes again.

“I have a question.” Tony raised his hand.

“Yes?” Tom asked nervously.

“When are you gonna ask Miss L/n out?” Tony asked, making the class nod.

“This is not appropriate for class time.” Tom laughed nervously as he made his way to the blackboard.

“But you guys are so perfect for each other!” Carly whined. “You need to ask her to be your girlfriend. She’ll totally say yes.”

“You think so?” Tom asked them shook his head when he realized he was asking third graders for relationship advice. “I mean, this is not up for discussion.”

“But you guys belong together.” Amanda gushed.

“She totally likes you.” Jennifer piped up.

“Ask her out already.” Joseph called out.

“Please? I’ve always wanted to go to a wedding.” Kaley said and all the girls agreed.

“Me too. Can I be the flower girl?” Elizabeth raised her hand to ask.

“I wanna be the flower girl.” Carly whined again.

“Her niece Sophie would definitely be the flower girl.” Tom chuckled, then shook his head again. “Not that we’re getting married.”

“Why not?” Candy pouted.

“Because she’s not even my girlfriend.” Tom reminded them.

“So ask her out.” Jason said simply. “She’ll never be your girlfriend unless you ask her out.”

“I think that’s enough of this topic for today.” Tom clapped his hands as he diverged from the topic. “Who wants to do some sentence structure?”

November

“Jason, please stop biting Candy.” Tom begged. “That’s just her name. She is not actually candy.”

His attention was immediately drawn to another student who was misbehaving.

“Elizabeth! Get that out of your mouth! Erasers are not food. I say this everyday.” Tom whined as he made his way over to Elizabeth to take the erasers from her. His eyes drifted to the boys, and he immediately regretted it.

“Oh my God. Joseph, put that back in your pants.” Tom groaned. “Please.”

“Mr. Holland! Mr. Holland!” Eric screamed from across the room. “Watch me floss, Mr. Holland!”

Tom looked at Eric, who was flossing rapidly in the back of the classroom.

“Very nice, Eric.” Tom nodded stiffly.

“Who’s Eric? My name Jeff!” The child quoted the outdated vine, making all his friends laugh.

“Okay.” Tom said weakly.

“Epic chungus moment.” Eric and his friends shifted into a T pose. “Bruh bruh bruh BIG OOF bruh bruh bruh.”

“Okay.” Tom repeated.

“Mr. Holland?” Tom felt someone tap him from behind.

“Yes, Jeremiah?” Tom knelt down beside his student.

“Watch this!” Jeremiah cheered before opening his mouth and squirting Elmer’s glue inside.

“Oh my God. Please. Don’t drink the glue. I’m begging you.” Tom pleaded as he wrestled the glue bottle from his hands.

“But Rachel is.” Jeremiah said with a full mouth.

“Rachel is - - RACHEL.” Tom yelled when he saw another student pouring glue into her mouth.

“No drinking glue.” Tom snatched the bottle from Rachel. “This is not a snack.”

“But I’m hungry.” Jeremiah whined.

“We just had snack time.” Tom reminded him.

“Tony ate my snack.” Jeremiah pouted.

“Why did Tony do that?”

“Because I gave it to him.” Jeremiah said simply and Tom groaned.

“Remember what I said about sharing snack?” Tom said through a forced smile. “We can’t share snacks in case someone has an allergy.”

“But you said sharing is caring.” Rachel spoke up.

“Yes, I did say that.” Tom kept a tight smile. “Sharing is caring unless it comes to snacks. Then we have to keep our snacks to ourselves.”

“But you and Miss L/n share food all the time.” Rachel continued.

“It’s different with Miss L/n and I.” Tom explained. “We’re adults so we can share snacks. She’s not allergic to anything I give her.”

“Do you think she’d like some glue if I shared it with her?” Jeremiah asked.

“Maybe, if she was making an arts and crafts pro-“

“I mean to drink.” He cut Tom off. Before Tom could answer, a scream caught his attention.

“Candy!” He shouted. “Don’t bite Jason!”

He spun around in circles, seeing children misbehaving everywhere he turned. He was getting over whelmed very quickly as just as he was going to succumb to defeat, you opened his classroom door.

“Hi my friends!” You shouted over the noise and held up your guitar. This caught their attention and they all stopped in their tracks, eyed glued to the guitar like bugs to a light.

“Hi Miss L/n.” The class said in unison as they returned to their seats.

“Does anyone here like music?” You asked as you rested your guitar against your chest. You looked at Tom and winked, and he instantly melted. Like Superman, you had burst in the room to save him. The students nodded eagerly and watched your every move.

“You do?” You gasped. “Me too!”

You stood in front of the class and began to strum a simply melody on your guitar.

“Here comes the sun, do do do do.” You sang to them.

The children fell silent as they became enthralled by the music. Tom leaned against his desk with a huge smile, unable to be more in love with you.

“Little darling, it’s been a long cold lonely winter. Little darling, it feels like years since it’s been here. Sing along, my friends.” You asked of them.

“Here comes the sun do do do do. Here comes the sun and I’ll say.” The children sang along with you.

“What’ll you say?” You asked as you continued playing.

“It’s all right.” They sang in response. You finished out the song, slowly letting the music fade out at the end.

“Thanks for listening my friends.” You spoke softly. “Now, let’s all put our heads down for some quiet time.”

The children listened to you and kid their heads down on their desks, shutting their eyes as well. Tom walked over to you and pulled you into a tight hug.

“Thank you. You are such a gift.” He mumbled in your ear.

“I try.” You laughed as you pulled away. “I learned the song just for you.”

“Did you really?” His eyes widened in appreciation.

“No. I’ve known it for years.” You admitted. “But wouldn’t it be romantic if I did?”

“That’s very romantic.” He agreed. “Has anyone ever done that for you?”

“Unfortunately, I have yet to be serenaded.” You sighed dramatically.

“How rude.” Tom teased, making a mental note of what you were saying.

“I know, right?” You added. “It’s a tragedy.”

“I think my class might be asleep.” He realized as he looked around. “You’re like a child whisperer.”

“I told you. Magic, baby.” You smiled as you held up your guitar.

“Oh, it’s definitely magic.” He noted with a grin.

“Well I should head back down. The recorders won’t play themselves.” You sighed again, a little sadly this time.

“See you later, little darling.” He squeezed your hand.

“See you later.” You waved, your high heels clicking against his floor as you left. Tom let out a content sigh, reveling in the rare silence of the classroom. Jeremiah slowly raised his hand and looked at Tom.

“Mr. Holland?” He whispered.

“Yes Jeremiah?” Tom asked.

“You know what you have to do.” Jeremiah gave him a pointed look. The rest of Toms students looked up with wide open, blinking eyes, all staring at Tom. Tom sighed again, knowing his students were right.

December

You knocked on Toms door the following week, the early December chill in the air. He let out a nervous breath as he opened the door for you, knowing it was finally time to enact his plan.

“Class, we have a special visitor with us.” Tom announced as he let you in. “Can we all give a musical welcome to Miss L/n?”

The class greeted you with excitement and you did the same.

“Hey kids.” You waved. “Good to see you all.”

“Good to see you too.” You turned to Tom and held up a bag. “Pretzel?”

“Thank you.” Tom smiled as he took a pretzel from the bag. “So, um, I have a proposition for you.”

“I’m listening.” You nodded as you munched on a pretzel.

“We always have lunch together, right?” He began.

“That’s right.”

“Would you maybe want to have dinner together one night?” He squeaked, knowing his face was bright red. Behind him, his class was dead silent, all pretending not to listen as they tried to hear every word.

“Ooo.” You raised your eyebrows in surprise. “Like an after school activity?”

“I was thinking this Saturday.” He offered. “I could take you somewhere where they have better food than apple slices and pretzels, though I do love those.”

“You wanna give me your weekends, Mr. Holland?” You asked through a coy smile.

“You know, little darling, I really do.” He smiled back.

“Then it’s a date.” You blushed. “I’ll see you Saturday.”

“All right. Saturday.” He nodded, letting out a nervous laugh.

“Bye now. See you at lunch.” You put your hand on his arm and kissed his cheek before turning to his class.

“Well it was great to see all of you!” You grinned. “I hope you have a fantastic rest of your day.”

You winked at Tom before leaving swiftly, a silence settling in once you were gone.

“Well?” Amanda called out.

“Well what?” Tom asked.

“Did you do it?” Carly was nearly bouncing out of her seat.

“Class, I know you like Miss L/n but our personal relationship is none of your concern.” Tom reminded his students. The class let out a collective groan, and Carly looked like he might cry. They were all dead silent, and it made Tom feel slightly bad.

“Yes, I asked her out.” He admitted and the class erupted into cheers and applause. Tom rolled his eyes as an embarrassed smile tugged at his lips.

Tom walked into his class the following week and was met with an uncharacteristically silent classroom. His set his bag on his desk and looked around, growing more suspicious by the second. All his students were staring at him expectantly, yearning for him to speak.

“You guys are oddly quiet.” Tom commented. “Did Jeremiah eat another book?”

“How was the date?” Carly was the first to speak up, and everyone chimed in. They were leaning on the edges of their seats, impatiently waiting for the answer.

“Did you kiss her?” Tony asked.

“Did you guys hold hands?” Elizabeth sighed.

“What did she wear?” Amanda wondered. “I bet she looked so pretty.”

“Did you take her to your penthouse and freak it?” Jeremiah asked.

“Did I - - what?” Tom looked at his student in confusion.

“Are you guys gonna get married now?” Jennifer called out.

“No, Jennifer.” Tom chuckled. “We’re not getting married now.”

“I hate it here.” Jennifer grumbled as she shrunk down in her seat.

“Okay, we have a lot to get though today so I hope you all had a good nights sleep. If you could all take out your social studies textbooks and turn to page 116 for me.” Tom began to teach. He turned on the Smartboard and turned to his class, seeing them all sluggishly taking out their textbooks with glum expressions. He let out a sigh and rested his hands on his hips.

“You guys aren’t gonna focus unless I tell you about the date, huh?” He realized. His students shook their heads and he chuckled a little.

“The date was amazing. She wore a black dress with white music notes on the waistline. She looked very pretty. We held hands when I was walking to her car and yes, I kissed her.” He answered their questions. The class dissolved into giggles, applause, and commentary.

“All right, I told you. Now, textbooks. I mean it.” He said pointedly, and for once, they complied.

You and Tom continued to date, keeping up with your lunch dates, but engaging in weekend and after school dates as well. Tom students kept an eye out for a ring on your finger as the months went by, asking him almost every week when the wedding was. Come May, he actually had an answer for them.

May

“Class, I have a favor to ask you.” Tom announced to his class on a particularly warm morning. “I am going to ask Miss L/n to marry me.”

His class began to scream, and this time, it was welcomed. Carly started crying while Jennifer and Kaley jumped up and down.

“I know, I know.” Tom grinned. “It’s been a long time coming. That’s why I need your help. If I’m going to pull this off, I’m gonna need all hands on deck. Are you guys in?”

“We’ll do anything.” Carly promised.

“Great.” Tom nodded. “First, I need some ideas.”

“You have to show her how much you love her. You need to make a romantic gesture.” Rachel declared.

“Yes! You have to do something big so she knows how much you care.” Jennifer agreed.

“Get her a dozen roses.” Kaley suggested.

“No, he needs two dozen.” Carly said. “And chocolate.”

“You should get a flock of doves to deliver the ring.” Elizabeth spoke up.

“Or show up on a horse.” Rachel added. While the girls began to discuss, Amanda quietly raised her hand.

“Yes, Amanda?” Tom called on her.

“She’s a music teacher, right?” Amanda asked and the class quieted down to listen.

“Yeah.” Tom nodded.

“So play her some music.” Amanda shrugged.

“What do you mean?” Tom wondered.

“I have an idea.” Amanda grinned.

June

“Hey, Mr. Holland asked that you go to his classroom.” Mr. Osterfield popped into your class to tell you. “He said his students are a nightmare right now.”

“Oh, sure. I’ll be right there.” You hopped off your desk and went to the door. “Thanks.”

You quickly made your way to Toms classroom, knowing how unruly his class could be. You opened the door and stepped inside.

“Mr. Holland, are you ok-“ You stopped mis sentence when you saw Tom sitting on a stool, surrounded by all his students. They were quiet and tame, smiling eagerly at you as you shut the door behind you. The weirdest part, however, was the guitar in Toms hands.

“Whats this?” You asked through a hesitant smile.

“1,2,34.” Carly counted down to cue them in.

“Yeah I’ll tell you something I think you’ll understand.” Tom began to sing as he played along on the guitar. “When I say that something, I wanna hold your hand.”

“I wanna hold your hand. I wanna hold you hand.” His students sang in perfect unison. You covered your mouth with your hands as tears welled up in your eyes.

“I wanna hold your hand. I wanna hold your hand.” His students backed him up. They finished out the song while you stood there is happy shock, hanging on to every note. Tom set the guitar down once he finished and stood up, slowly making his way to you. He took your hands in his and smiled softly.

“You’ve given me your lunch time and weekends. Would you mind giving me the rest of your life too?” Tom asked as he presented you with a delicate diamond ring. Your eyes flickered to the ring and widened before looking back at Tom with a dropped jaw. The anticipation in the classroom was palpable as the students eagerly awaited your answer. All at once, your mouth closed into a smile and you nodded.

“You know,” you laughed as a tear of joy rolled down your cheek, “I really would.”

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[lokiondisneyplus]

Loki director Kate Herron’s heart was beating fast. She’d already had some surreal experiences during her short time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so a simple phone call shouldn’t make her nervous. But on the other end of the line was Owen Wilson, an actor and writer she admired and hoped would join her on a time-jumping journey through the MCU.

“It was the most detailed pitch I’ve ever done, to an actor, ever. I pretty much spoke through the entire first episode with him,” Herron recalls of wooing Wilson, who wasn’t too familiar with Marvel before being cast as Mobius, an agent for the mysterious Time Variance Authority central to the series.

Wilson instantly put Herron at ease with his laid-back charm as she walked the actor through 10 years of onscreen lore for Loki, the god of mischief played by Tom Hiddleston. She answered his questions about Avengers: Endgame, about time travel, about how this version of Loki was not the one fans knew from films like Thor: Ragnarok, but rather one plucked from an alternate timeline from 2012’s The Avengers.

It was all part of a whirlwind few years for Herron, who not that long ago was temping at a fire extinguisher company and struggling to land directing work even though she’d already helmed a BBC project with Idris Elba. Then Herron finally achieved breakthrough success directing episodes of the Netflix hit Sex Education and soon was hounding her agents for a Marvel meeting.

When Herron finally landed one, the Loki superfan cleared her schedule and spent two weeks putting together a 60-page document, even though her agents tempered her expectations by noting it was just a meet-and-greet.

“I knew I’d be up against some really big directors, and I knew I wouldn’t be the most experienced in the room, so I [said], ‘OK. I’ll just be the most passionate,'” recalls Herron.

Just a few days after officially landing the job, Herron found herself on a five-hour walk through New York with Hiddleston discussing Loki and flying to D23 in Anaheim to be greeted by thousands of screaming fans alongside Loki head writer Michael Waldron.

Herron is now working long days finishing up Loki in Marvel’s production hub in Atlanta, where the British filmmaker has largely lived since getting the job in 2019. Over Zoom from her freezing Atlanta apartment (she still hasn’t figured out the quirks of the air conditioner), Herron dives into Loki ahead of its June 9 debut on Disney+.

What was your process of sitting down with Marvel for this?

I was just so overexcited. [My agents] were like, “Look, it’s just a casual conversation, they just want to get a sense of you,” and basically I was like, “OK, I’m just going to pitch them.” Because I thought, they might not meet me again. So I got as much information as I could, and they sent me a little bit about the show. And I just prepared a massive pitch for it. I canceled everything for two weeks. I made a 60-page document full of references, story ideas, music. I knew I’d be up against some really big directors, and I knew I wouldn’t be the most experienced in the room, so I [said], “OK. I’ll just be the most passionate.”

Was that first meeting in Burbank?

That was in England, in southeast London on Zoom. I had a few stages where I did that. Then after a few interviews with Kevin Wright and Stephen Broussard, two of the Marvel executives who got me ready for the big match, I went in to pitch to Kevin Feige, Victoria [Alonso], Lou [Louis D’Esposito], the whole team there. That was very surreal because they flew me to Burbank and I pitched at Marvel Studios. I didn’t have the job, but I found out they were interested and then I remember Kevin Feige called me, and when he was in London, we had coffee. He was like, “Look, we want you to direct it.” Oh my God. They flew me to D23 and that was crazy because I think I found out I got the job 48 hours before, and then I was onstage. The Lady and the Tramp dogs were in front of me and Michael [Waldron] on the red carpet. “What is going on?” (Laughs.) I met Tom that week as well, so it was a bit of a whirlwind kind of thing.

📷Herron, Waldron and Feige at D23 in 2019.

Where did you first meet Tom?

I had a two-stop trip. I flew first to New York to meet Tom. He was in Betrayal at the time, on Broadway, so we basically went on this amazing walk around New York. I’d never met him before. We just spoke about Loki and what was really important to us about the character and where we thought it would be fun to take him, as well. It was this intense, five-hour conversation with him basically. I met him and then flew straight from meeting him to D23. So it was a lot. (Laughs.)

When did you finally get the scripts? How did that change your thoughts on what you want to do?

They sent me the outline, so I knew the overall story. I also was pitching stuff. “Oh, we could do this with this character.” The pilot was really well written by Michael and I really liked what they were doing with the character and the story. Then it was building upon that and throwing in ideas for where he could go later in the show. It reminded me a bit of improv where you’re always building, always trying to push the story to the best place. So we were always adapting and shifting the story. Our lockdown, during COVID, was a chance for us to go back in. I was cutting what we’d done, so I was like, “OK, this is tonally what is really working for the story.” Then we went back into what we hadn’t filmed and started adapting that stuff to fit more where we were heading.

The Marvel movies have a writer on set to help tweak things. Was that the case with Loki?

Michael [Waldron] was with us at the start, and then he went on to Doctor Strange [in the Multiverse of Madness]. We had a really wonderful writer called Eric Martin from our writers room, and he was our production writer on set. It was between me, him and my creative producer Kevin Wright. We would kind of brainstorm and adapt. I’ve always loved talking to the cast. We had such a smart cast. Owen is a writer as well. If you have that amazing resource, why not talk to them? We were always adapting. Obviously paying respect to the story we wanted to tell from the start, but always trying to make it better.

📷Herron on the set of ‘Loki’ with Hiddleston and Wilson.

Kevin Feige has said Owen Wilson, like his character, is nonplussed by the MCU. Since Owen isn’t necessarily dazzled by Marvel, does that make him all the more perfect for this role?

He is playing a Loki expert, so at the beginning of production, Tom and I were talking. He devised this thing called Loki School. He did a big lecture to the cast and crew. I love the character. This is a decade of fans loving this character and where that character has been. It was talking everyone through that, but through Tom and his own experiences. Stunts that Tom liked or costumes. He ended up doing that same Loki school for Owen. Owen absolutely loved it. Owen has such a writer’s brain. I remember I had to pitch him down the phone. My heart rate [was up].

Was this the pitch to get him to get Owen on board?

Yeah. I love his work. “Oh my God, I’m going to talk to Owen Wilson.” He’s so laid back and nice, it immediately puts you at ease. It was the most detailed pitch I’ve ever done, to an actor, ever. I think I pretty much spoke through the entire first episode with him. You can tell he’s a writer, just by the way he attacks story. His questions about the world and the structure and the arc of the character. It was really fun to work with him.

Was it the most detailed pitch you’ve ever done because you really wanted Owen, or because you knew you needed to woo him a bit to get him to sign on?

It was the questions he asked, and the way he attacked story, in that sense. And also probably because he was newer to the Marvel world, he was like, “OK, how does this work?” I also pitched him Loki’s arc over the past 10 years, where that character has gone, but also explaining our Loki and what happened in Endgame and time travel. There’s a lot to unpack in that conversation.

Sometimes Marvel will give writers or directors a supercut of all the scenes of a specific character. Did you get one of those?

They didn’t actually give me a supercut, but I’m a big Loki nerd. I think his is one of the best [arcs] in the MCU. I really wanted to make sure we were paying respect to that. At the same time, something Tom spoke about a lot was you have to go back for a reason. Let’s be united on what that reason is and feel that it’s worth it.

The reason can’t be, “Well that’s what happened in Endgame,” so the question becomes, “What is the point of revisiting him at this era of his life?”

Yeah. He’s only had — I don’t want to get this wrong — I think 112 minutes of screen time in total if you cut all his scenes together. And he steals the show. We have six hours to really delve into this character and talk about him and go on this completely new story with him. For me, it was making sure that [we’re] paying respect to what has come before — I know as a fan if there is a character I really loved and I found out they are making a show about him, I obviously would be so excited and so happy. I felt lucky to have the responsibility, and I took it very seriously.

Those who have worked with Kevin Feige say he’s someone who can stress test an idea and push things in new directions. What have you found working with him?

Something I always found was we would sometimes pitch something, and it would be at a good place, but he’d always be like, “OK, that’s great, but push it further.” Sometimes I’d pitch stuff and be like, “This is too weird,” and he’d say, “No, go weirder.” He wants to tell the best story and I found it really helpful having his eye across everything and the fact that he does challenge everything. Tom as well, on set. He brings this amazing energy and this great A-game that causes everyone to rise to the occasion.

How do you know when you’ve got the perfect Hiddleston take? Is he asking you for one more, are you pushing him to do one more take?

By the end, it was almost telepathic. We would kind of know. We would look at each other. “We could go again,” or, “We’ve got it.” It’s different with every actor. There are some actors who will come in firing and they just want to go for it. But they don’t want to do a million takes. There are other actors I work with who are very meticulous and they want quite a few to warm up and get into it. It’s actor-dependent. The way me and Tom are similar is we are both very perfectionist. We are both very studious. (Laughs.) We definitely connected in that sense. He’s a very generous actor. I remember one day, we had quite a few of our actors coming in as day players. It was really important for him to be there for them, to read lines offscreen. He would have to be 50 places at once, because he is the lead actor. The most amazing thing about him was his generosity. Not just to the other actors, but also to the crew, to be filming in a time like COVID.

When you make an Avengers movie, you get a big board with every character that’s available, and whether the actor’s deals will allow them to appear or if that would need to be renegotiated. Loki is smaller, but was there any equivalent for you? Was everything on the table? Was only some stuff on the table? I imagine if Chris Hemsworth has his own new Thor movie coming up, he’s not going to be on the table, necessarily.

I felt like everything was on the table if it meant it was good for story, and Marvel would be like, “We’ll work it out.” Me and the writers, we never felt restrained in that sense. Honestly, it always comes back to story.

What is your relationship with your editor as you finish this up?

We have three editors, Paul Zucker, Emma McCleave and Calum Ross. My relationship with all three of them is very different. Emma and me are very close because she was also in Atlanta away from home. I got to know her very well. I love working with the editors because it’s a fresh pair of eyes. You get so deep into something when you are filming, it’s almost like writing it again when you are in the edit. Stuff does change. Even some episodes, we’ve reordered the structure. Or we moved scenes from one episode to another episode. I’ve always loved the editing process. The best thing is someone honest who can be like, “Hey, this doesn’t quite make sense to me,” or, “This isn’t working.”

What are you going to do on premiere day? Will you be on the internet at all to see the reaction?

I’m actually working. I’m still finishing the show. My last day is the day the second episode airs. I’m going to be working that day. Sadly, I’ll probably check in on the internet a little bit, but I’ll probably go to bed when I finish because I think I’ll do a 12- or 13-hour day or something. I can’t remember. I’m really excited for people to see it and just to bring it out in the world, really.

Everyone wants to know about spoilers, but what’s something you wish you were asked about more when it comes to Loki?

Kevin Feige said, “We make movies. We want to run it like a movie.” So unlike a lot of television shows that are showrunner-led, this was run like a six-hour film. As a director, you don’t often get to do that in a television-structure show. I really enjoyed it, having a hand in story and just how collaborative it was. Also, just beyond that, directing the equivalent of a six-hour Marvel movie was incredible for me. That’s something I found interesting about it. Making something the Marvel way.

In terms of the themes, I love gray areas. The show is really about what makes someone truly good or what makes someone truly bad, and are we either of those things? Loki is in that gray area. It’s exciting to be able to tell a story like that. As a director and a writer, you don’t necessarily understand why you are making these stories. Something I keep getting drawn back into is identity. Sex Education, we spoke a lot about identity and feeling like an outsider but actually finding your people. I feel the same with Loki. It’s a show about identity and self-acceptance and for me, that’s also what drew me in.

Gray is a good way to describe Loki. Your version of Loki just tried to take over the Earth not long ago.

Exactly. This isn’t the Loki we’ve seen. How do we take a character that people love, but from a lot earlier, and send him on a different path? That for me was interesting, getting to unpack that. Alongside that, getting to set up a whole new corner of the MCU with TVA. That to me was so exciting.

What about the Teletubbies? You referenced that recently and it made quite a splash. Are you going to leave people in suspense on that?

I referenced the Teletubbies once and people were like, “What, Teletubbies? What does this mean?” Maybe I should leave people in the air with it. One thing I would say is the show for me, stylistically — I wanted it to be a love letter to sci-fi because I love sci-fi. Brazil, Metropolis, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Alien. If people love sci-fi, they will definitely see the little nods we’ve got across the show.  People will know what it was a reference for when they see the show. It was a visual reference to something in the show.

Interview has been edited for length and clarity. Loki debuts on Disney+ on June 9.

[cali-holland]

Heartbreak Weather, Part Three- T.H.

Pairing: Tom Holland X Horan!Reader

Prompt: Tom’s in San Francisco and you’re home in London. One Instagram live and a few paparazzi photos bring in some stormy skies.

Word Count: 3500

Featured Songs (All by Niall Horan): San Francisco  -  Bend the Rules  -  Everywhere  -  New Angel

Previous Parts: Teaser   One   Two

Masterlist   Tom Holland Masterlist

*Gif is not mine*

~~~

It had been two days, an entire two days since you had actually talked to Tom. Though in the grand aspect of things, two days really isn't that much time. But to you, it was a silent eternity. You had been together for over a year and you had never gone two days without speaking properly. Technically, you two had talked, but not really- not like a couple would. It was instead small texts of “sorry I missed your call” and the usual good morning/good night messages. 

You normally wouldn’t be that stressed about it, knowing that you were busy with your new found career and Tom was busy doing a press tour in America and then he’d be off filming for a couple more months. You were stressed about it though because you had seen Tom do a livestream yesterday from San Francisco. Again, normally a livestream was nothing to worry over, but you overheard a distinct laugh in the background of the video.

You didn’t want to question why Tom would be hanging out with Ellie, in San Francisco of all places. You didn’t want to be the paranoid girlfriend who couldn’t trust that her boyfriend would be faithful to her while he was away.

And yet you were. It wasn’t that you didn’t trust Tom, it was that you didn’t trust her. She had already stolen your ex boyfriend while he was in the same city as you; who was to stop her from attempting to steal your current boyfriend from you while he’s in a whole other country?

You let out a small sigh, deciding it was probably best if you called Tom, just for you to hear his voice at least.

Each time your phone rang, you felt disappointment beginning to creep into your thoughts. You were about to abandon all hope when Tom answered on the final ring.

“Hey, darling,” He said. At the sound of his grumbled voice, you realized you had woken him up. Checking your clock, it was four AM for him in California, and you immediately felt guilty.

“Did I wake you? I can call you back later.” You offered.

“No, no, it’s alright.” Tom replied, “How are you? I’m sorry I couldn’t call yesterday.”

“I could be better. I just miss you, that’s all.” You answered and he let out a small sigh.

“I miss you too. I’ll be home before you know it.”

“Three months is a long time.” You said, trying your hardest to keep it together.

“I know, but trust me, I wish I was home with you right now.”

“Well, I should go. Let you get back to sleep.” You said, thinking about the video from yesterday. You knew if you stayed on the call any longer, you’d ask about it.

“O-Okay. I love you,Y/N.” Tom said, disappointed by your words.

“Love you too.” You responded quickly before hanging up the call. You tossed your phone to the side and began to cry. You didn’t want to think that Ellie had probably been with Tom, but you couldn’t think of anything else.

For the next few hours, you tried to distract yourself from your thoughts of Tom. You reasoned that really you didn’t know if Ellie was in San Francisco with him. You could have heard some other girl have a similar laugh yesterday.

It wasn’t until you were going to bed later that night when you really started overthinking it all over again. You were pulled from your thoughts as Niall texted you.

At first, it was a cryptic text- ‘did you see the pictures?’. But then, the paparazzi photos came through of Tom out in San Francisco with Harry and the one person you didn’t want to think about anymore. It wasn’t like Tom was all over Ellie; they weren’t really even touching.

You were beside yourself with hurt as you immediately called up Tom. This time, he answered on the first ring.

“I know what you’re going to say-” Tom rushed out. You assumed he had seen the pictures too, judging by his reaction.

“What was I going to say then?” You asked, struggling to keep yourself together enough to be open with this conversation.

“Did you- did you see-” He sighed, trying to form the proper words, “I’m sorry.”

“For what? For not making time for the past few days? Or for spending that time with one of the two people in this world that I don’t trust at all? For not telling me that you were with Ellie yesterday and today?” You lost it. You wanted him to tell you everything was okay, you wanted him to take away your fears, but, as you waited for him to respond, you realized that sometimes you can’t always get what you want.

“For all of it.” He admitted, “Darling, what can I do to make this right? Please, Y/N.”

“I think we should break up.” Your voice shook as you said the finalizing words, tears running down your cheeks.

“Y/N, darling, I can explain. Just don’t-” Tom said. His own voice resembled yours, shaking with uncertainty. You knew he had to be crying on the other end of the call, which only made you cry harder.

“No, Tom. You know how much Eric hurt me with Ellie. I thought I could trust you, but I don’t know anymore.” You wiped at your cheeks as you continued to cry.

“You can trust me, please. I’m sorry.”

“Goodbye, Tom.” You hung up the phone as he tried to call out your name. You laid in your bed, letting your tears overcome you. Your phone began to ring again and you knew it was Tom, trying already to make amends. You switched your phone to silence, and called up Niall.

“Y/N, did you-” He asked as soon as he picked up the call.

“Yeah, I saw.” You sniffed, wiping away more tears. “We broke up.”

“Y/N, I’m so sorry.” Niall let out a small sigh. You could tell he didn’t know what to say. Here you were in the same situation a year later with the same girl as the other woman.

“I want to go home. I can’t stay here, not now.” You said.

“Okay, I’ll arrange your flight, alright? You just get some rest for now, and we can talk about this later.”

“Okay.” You mumbled and hung up the phone. You cried alone in your room, waiting for sleep to overcome you.

~~~

The next morning, you woke up to someone knocking on your front door. You groaned, slowly trudging your way out of bed and to the front door. You checked to see who it was first, not wanting to open up the door to Tom if he had suddenly decided to do a grand romantic gesture in an attempt to woo you over. Fortunately, it was just Niall.

“What are you doing here?” You asked, opening the door. Your brother gave you a soft smile, holding up a box of muffins.

“I told my manager I needed to be home for a bit, so I’m here to take you back to Mullingar. I figured you’d want some muffins, though. I know blueberry’s your favorite.” Niall said. He had barely gotten inside when you pulled him in for a tight hug.

“Thank you, Ni.” You cried into his chest. His free hand soothingly rubbed your back.

“It’s going to be okay.” Niall closed your door and led you over to your kitchen table. The two of you sat and ate your breakfast with a dull silence surrounding you. Niall waited in the living room as you packed a couple suitcases. You weren’t quite sure how long you’d be home in Ireland, but you wanted to have enough to get by for a couple of weeks.

It wasn’t until you and Niall were leaving your apartment complex that you really spoke, as you thanked him for everything. The two of you started to load his car when you saw a familiar black car pull up to the complex. Niall was alerted immediately by your sudden stiffness. You let out a breath of relief when it was just Harrison who emerged from the car, no Tom in sight.

“Y/N, where are you going?” Harrison asked, his eyes filled with sorrow.

“She’s going home.” Niall replied, coldly. You could tell Niall was in his protective brother mode by the way he clenched his fists by his side. He looked over at you, making sure you were comfortable with Harrison’s presence, and you gave him a small nod.

“Look, there’s nothing going on between Tom and Ellie.” Harrison stated. His blue eyes never left you.

“Harrison, just don’t.” You said, holding up a hand to stop him from continuing, “Please leave. If Tom really cared, he’d be here. And honestly, I don’t want to ever see him again.”

“Y/N,” He sighed and Niall stepped up.

“She asked you to leave.” You were surprised at the bitterness in Niall’s voice. Harrison gave you one last apologetic look before returning to his car and leaving without another word.

“Thank you, Ni.” You gave your brother a hug before the two of you got into his car.

“If Tom shows up in Mullingar, I’ll make him leave too. Don’t worry.” Niall said, driving off towards the airport.

~~~

“Alright, that is the last time I try to make a roast.” Tom sighed as the two of you looked at the sad, small roast before you. You giggled, hugging him from behind with your arms wrapping around his apron-wearing waist.

“I don’t know, maybe it’s still edible?” You asked, pressing a kiss to his neck. It was your first Christmas together and Tom wanted to make a romantic dinner for the two of you on the Sunday before the big day. He was so focused on making a perfect roast that he forgot about any side dishes, and now he had accidentally burned the roast.

“No, it’s dead.” He turned around to face you and smiled sheepishly.

“It is dead.” You nodded in agreement. “Want me to call for take out?”

“Yeah,” Tom said, defeated.

“It’s okay. I love that you tried.” You smiled, giving him a kiss.

“Next Christmas, I will make the perfect roast and there will be side dishes.” He stated as you moved away from him to order some dinner for the two of you. You blushed at the thought of already planning out your next Christmas together.

You woke up with a jolt. You blinked your eyes open to see Niall sitting across from you, laughing lightly.

“We just landed.” Niall said, “It looked like you needed some sleep.”

“Yeah, well, my dreams aren’t exactly ideal right now.” You admitted.

“Did you dream about him?” He asked.

“It was last Christmas, when he burned the roast and we ended up just eating Chinese food.” You let out a small laugh at the memory, “I guess I’m missing all the good times we had together.”

“Hey,” Niall spoke softly, placing a comforting hand on your knee, “It’s alright to miss those times. It’s alright to miss him. Just don’t let yourself get caught up in the memories when reality is out there.”

“I know.”

The rest of the trip to your parents’ house was relatively quiet. Ever since Niall became famous, your parents moved out to the countryside, searching for more peace than they found at your childhood home. Their new house was much quieter with much more space.

When you got home, your parents tried their best to act as if mostly everything was normal with you. It was a delicate situation, and it was treated as such. Besides, you hadn’t seen your parents in a few months, and Niall hadn’t seen them in person since Christmas. The reunion was better spent talking about life’s events.

For the next few days, you found yourself trying to heal your broken heart and clear your head. You spent most of your time out in the garden, reading books and playing guitar. It was your favorite spot on the property as it was the best place to listen to the birds singing their own songs. On the first day, you had told your parents and Niall about the events leading up to the break up, and it was rarely mentioned after that.

It was your fourth day home and you made your way out to the side garden with your guitar. The gray sky overhead told you a regular autumn storm was approaching, meaning you would probably be inside for the rest of the week. Laying down on the swing, you began to gently play your guitar. You got lost in the tranquil melody until you heard the garden gate open and close. You sat up to peer over at the gate, and you felt your heart drop as Tom stood across the garden from you, a solemn look on his face.

“I don’t want you here.” You said quickly getting up from the swing and making a beeline for the backdoor. Tom rushed to cut you off, effectively stopping you in your tracks.

“Y/N, I’m sorry.” Tom pleaded, “Please, listen to me.”

“Go find Ellie. I’m sure she’d love to listen to you.” You stated, not daring to look up at him.

“I don’t want Ellie, I only want you.” He begged, “Why won’t you look at me?” You shook your head, unwilling to respond out of fear that you would cave and take him back. You pushed past him and continued back to your back door. Tom called out after, “Y/N, I still love you. You’re the only one for me, there will never be another.”

“I suggest you leave before Niall comes out here.” You said, not looking back as you closed the door and hurried to your room. You watched from your window as the rain started to pour down on the country roads outside. You saw as Tom left the house with his head hung low, taking your heart with him.

Once Tom’s car was out of sight, you let out a heavy sigh and laid back onto your bed. You closed your eyes as you felt your mind begin to wander. You could perfectly envision Tom right there in the room beside you; he was everywhere for you.

“Tom, come on, we need to go!” You said, knocking on the door of your en suite bathroom.

“Give me a second, love!” He called back.

You had only brought Tom a few times out to Ireland to visit your parents, and this was one of those rare occasions. Of course, you had to be home in Ireland to celebrate Saint Patrick’s day, and this year Tom managed to come home with you. You had only been together for about nine months when the big day came around, and you were so excited to take him through the celebrations of it.

You let out an overdramatic huff as you sat down on the edge of your bed, waiting impatiently for him. You two had already had dinner with your family and seen the parade, but now it was time to go to the pub with your close friends from school.

“Alright, how do I look?” Tom asked, coming out of the bathroom in a casual green shirt and dark jeans with a black leather jacket.

“It took you that long to wear normal clothes?” You joked, standing up from your spot on the bed.

“Do you not like it?” He pouted.

“You look great. How do I look?” You asked. He eyed your own green get-up, which was much more of a night-out look than his outfit- not that you were complaining.

“Beautiful as always.” Tom said, pulling you in for a kiss. His arms wrapped around your waist as he deepened the kiss. His hands began to trail to the hem of your shirt, pushing the fabric up, you pulled away and he sighed, stopping his hands.

“My friends are waiting.” You stated, stepping out of his arms to grab your purse.

“I don’t even get a little-?” He asked.

“Put it this way. You might have to pinch me later.” You gave him another quick kiss before grabbing his hand and leading him outside.

“Such a tease.”

Another sigh left your lips as all you could think about was Tom. You began to look around your room, eyes wandering the cream colored walls. Your parents had tried to keep it basic, yet homey; after all, you didn’t live at home anymore, but they still wanted you to be able to call it yours. You had a few pictures on your dresser; three with Tom and one with your brothers.

The first photo was in black and white, sitting on the edge with a silver frame. It was a photo of you and Tom from almost months ago. You two had gone out for a picnic with Tom’s family, and of course you brought along your guitar. Tom was sitting, propped up against a tree, while you were sitting, leaning into his side. You had your guitar in your hands and you had been playing random songs all afternoon. Later that day, Tom approached you, asking if you could teach him guitar- you could picture the memory still.

“Paddy says he wants to learn guitar now.” Tom told you as the two of you stepped inside your apartment, which had basically become his home while he was in town. You swore half the time he forgot he had his own house.

“Oh, really?” You asked, smiling as you held onto your guitar case.

“Do you think you could teach me sometime?” Tom spoke up. He took one of your hands in his and squeezed it. You knew it was his way of politely saying ‘I want to learn right now’.

“Come on,” You laughed, pulling him into your living room. He sat on the couch and pulled you on top of him. You got your guitar out of its case and he wrapped his arms around you to place them on the guitar. He planted a kiss to your neck, making you let out a small giggle. “So, do you know anything about guitar?”

“I know some chords, but no songs.” Tom explained.

“What song do you want to learn first?”

“What song did you learn first?” He asked.

“‘Little Things’ actually. Niall taught me how to play.” You said, almost embarrassed to admit that your brother taught you how to play guitar with his own song.

“Then teach me ‘Little Things’.”

“Okay.” You began to show him the proper finger placement, walking him through the song.

As Tom grew dedicated to learning more songs on guitar, you kissed his sore fingertips each night. A few weeks after the picnic, Tom surprised you by playing ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’ by Elvis Presley. He told you, “I wanted to learn love songs for you because I love you”. That was the moment you knew he’d do anything for you and you’d do anything for him.

The second photograph was from Easter when you and Tom spent dinner with his family. They had a small swing in their backyard, and that’s where the two of you ended up after dinner. You laid in Tom’s arms, perfectly content in the beauty of springtime. Tessa had jumped up to greet the two of you on the swing, making you both laugh and adjust to make room for her in Tom’s lap. Harry had managed to take the perfect picture of the two of you reacting to Tessa’s jump.

The last picture was of you and Tom from his Far From Home premiere in London. Although you had been dating for a year at that point and the media was very aware of your relationship, you had never really been his date on the carpet. You still attended events with him, but you were camera shy about walking the carpet with him. This time, though, he literally got on one knee and begged you to walk with him, so how could you say no. “Darling, you’re making me fall in love with you all over again in that dress”, Tom said to you when he first saw you in your special dress. He couldn’t keep his hands off you all night, and he didn’t stray away from any opportunity to show you off during interviews.

You closed your eyes and began to overthink everything all over again. One question loomed over your mind: was breaking up with Tom the right thing to do?

~~~

Part Four

[pinkysfaultorbrainsfault]

pinky and the brain - s1e6: brainania

i’m running on like the barest dregs of energy let’s fucking do this leeroy jenkins

episode summary: brain needs to build a Very Big Tumbly Drier. he needs a lot of money to build a Very Big Tumbly Drier. he decides the best way to do this is to.... invent a country and scam the us out of a foreign aid cheque.

hm.

the rundown:

it’s acme labs!

there it is.

as we zoom in a little, we hear pinky laughing maniacally at the very mention of tom ruegger, while a couple of women are dead on the floor.

hm.

SPEAK TO ME, PHYLLIS, SPEAK. as it turns out, things aren’t quite as dire as previously thought, as pinky affirms that brain looks “simply fetching.”

narf.

“these are the only garments i could obtain. and besides, you are no helen of troy yourself.”

ignoring the fact that he chose to wear the hat and the gloves as well, brain moves onto explaining his latest plan--

but not before giving pinky a static-y poke for his crimes.

“to generate global static cling, we shall construct a massive clothes dryer.”

BEHOLD.

THE TITANOCYCLE FOUR THOUSAND, WITH THREE SPEEDS AND AUTOMATIC WRINKLEGUARD. this will surely allow brain to.... trap everyone in their clothes via static cling and. uh. allow him to seize power...... somehow......... by putting everyone in a really big tumbledryer?????

it costs fourteen billion dollars.

“oh, i have it!”

“we build a huge tooth, leave it under a huge pillow, and then fairies will leave us lots of money!”

brain tells pinky to stop eating paint chips. it’s a well deserved response to pinky’s insane, bullshit idea, not nearly as dignified and scientific as Everyone Goes In The Big Tumbly Dryer By Brain Age Two And A Half.

as he heads off to ponder an Equally Sensible idea to get a lot of money, pinky assures brain that he will not “be a bother.”

“brain.”

“if i ate a hundred jelly rolls, would i explode?”

i don’t know why pinky is sticking his ass out. maybe that’s where the jelly rolls go, in the sense that whenever i used to eat cakes around my dad he’d often say something like “a minute on the lips is a lifetime on the hips”. (also? pinky is british, so what he actually means is jelly rolls, and that sounds disgusting.)

so anyway brain gives him a piece of paper and tells him to try origami.

BUT WAIT.

“pinky! are you pondering what i’m pondering?” “i think so brain, but why the bitch stacey foreign aid office is giving chad all the money while i’ve always been a nice guy and showed her a basic level of human respect is beyond me. narf.”

no i’m sorry. he didn’t say that. pinky respects women. also apologies to the residents of the actual country of chad. big ups to all of you. lol. (he actually says “but pantyhose are so uncomfortable in the summertime”, which is wild, considering this episode was aired in november.)

brain doesn’t want to wear the pantyhose.

well, maybe he does, but not right now. instead, he suggests that they form a bogus nation and demand reparations from the united states, which is, of course, easier, saner, and far less work than Really Big Tooth. as he folds the Chad Newspaper into a vague key shape (the Virgin Tabloid never had a chance) pinky points out that, uh

you can’t just invent a country, brain. “won’t people know we’re not a real country?”

“the average american’s grasp of geography is pitiful. they’ll think we’re part of the former soviet union.”

“or canada.”

so they pick a random, tiny island on the label of a Science Chemical and set off on the boat to Being A Coloniser Town.

a long sea voyage awaits us! and at the end, we shall found a nation! and that nation shall be called!

BRAINANIA.

“can’t we call it pinkyland? or eric?”

“don’t vex me, pinky, or i shall turn on you.”

so they get on the S.S FATTY LUMPKIN and bugger off to Island X.

“i haven’t seen anybody yet, brain. i guess we’re alone here.”

“excellent, pinky. it’s time to flesh out the terrain.”

“that volcano will be mount brain.”*

“this clearing will be brain flats,”

“and that water over there--”

“very well.”

“the fjord of pinky.”

and they hoist their adorable, homemade flag, while pinky doots them a little themetune.

(*perhaps when they’re not in the middle of the jungle.)

how lovely!

less lovely.

significantly less lovely. still, it got brain to make the little O:O face, so it’s not all bad.

as the mice are scooped up onto a sphere and presented in front of this presumably-maori gentleman, brain decides to put his White Gay From Los Angeles skills to the test, and reassures pinky that he will communicate with them in the Primitive Argot Of The South Seas.

ME NUMBER ONE FELLA. OTHER FELLA NUMBER TEN. CATCHY ALL SAME SAME. YOU SAVVY?

“good day, mate. d’you speak english?”

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

anyway apparently this has happened often enough that these guys learnt english. from all the times it happened. and then they ate the guy they learnt english from and shrunk his head, but to be honest, i don’t blame them.

this is alan. “hello, alan.” says pinky.

“i would be pinky! and this is prime minister brain.”

“who is IN CHARGE OF THIS ISLAND AND EVERYTHING YOU SEEEE.”

“narf.”

sneaky bastard knows what he’s doing.

alan isn’t too happy with that, because the island belongs to the volcano god, whanganui,

WHO PROTECTS US FROM EVIL AND HAAARM AND WHAT ALL ELSE.

(i can find no evidence that whanganui is actually a god, as opposed to just A Bit Of New Zealand. if they are, i’m more than happy to go back and edit this as would be religiously considerate.)

this is the face of a man who knows he has fucked up.

still, brain decides yet again that his pride comes before any kind of rational decision, so he decides to tell them that whanganui sent him to the island to rule over them,

as proven by his fire powers.

(ETA: i missed this last time. why is brain carrying a lighter around? that episode isn’t for a good few more seasons yet.)

alan is unimpressed.

I CAN TRAP YOUR SOULS INSIDE THIS GLASS

“i can make bubbles with my spit!”

apparently this is a real talent on the island. who’d have thought. (they do not believe it to be a sign of god. it’s just really cool.)

so brain gets a hand building brainania.

it has everything one could possibly need.

actually pretty much as soon as the airport and the gift shop are built, brain heads to washington, so evidently he holds the strong opinion that this is everything a country could possibly need. odd. still, maybe he plans on adding stuff once he becomes world ruler, or whatever.

so with that established, The Most Exalted ned limpopo gets out of the car. hassan lembeck is also here. he is attempting to make an origami bird out of a newspaper.

no bird for you, mr lembeck. no bird for you.

they wander off to go and see mr bisck, who is currently playing with a little toy plane.

he reacts to the news that the prime minister of brainania is here to see him with “oh great, more moochers,”

and does not seem to take kindly to having tiny mice on his desk, even if they are reasonably exalted.

though a quick database search tells him said mice have no record of financial trouble, or, indeed, a credit rating, so. he tells them to go away.

“go away.”

okay. hassan doesn’t take this well.

as Exalted Ned Limpopo gently tries to persuade mr bisck that he could “harm negotations” between brainania and the us (a lot more politely than he usually explains things to people, may i add) hassan chimes in with a haven’t you people ever heard of bold claim that brainania, if slighted, will INVADE YOUR LANDS

GO BOOM BOOM BOOM

AND MAKE YOU ALL OUR PATHETIC SLAAAAAAAAAAAAVES.

mr bisck does not like this idea, it seems.

as he rushes off to tell the UN, brain informs pinky that he has

“just created an international incident.”

“oh, thank you, brain.”

“in the words of the immortal yogi bear, this is dejavu all over again.”

so the boys turn up on PUNCHLINE, WITH FRED FLUBBLE.

there he is. “perhaps you gentlemen would care to climb up on the desk?”

they make it, just about.

and sing a fun little song about brainania’s war victories, i guess.

WE WILL FIGHT AND NEVER QUIT

FIND ME A ROOFTOP AND I WILL SPIT. NARF

this is not well recieved by the us military.

unfortunately, as the US press secretary points out, the us cannot go to war with a country it can’t find,

(wuss.)

so instead the mice are invited to dinner at the white house.

“in a few short hours, pinky, we shall have our foreign aid loan, and then the world!”

“birdy birdy birdy! narf!”

“i sense much of this historic moment is lost on you.”

at the white house, a very bored looking individual introduces The Most Exalted Ned Limpopo (feat. hassan lembeck), and bill clinton shakes his hand.

“me number one fella. other fellas number ten. catchy all same same. you savvy?”

“i speak fluent english.”

“eyyyy. haha. sure you do.”

“all brainania ever wanted from the US was friendship. friendship, and fourteen billion dollars and fifty nine cents. the friendship i will treasure. the money i will spend on polo ponies and cruise missiles.”

brain has a brief discussion with hilary clinton over the advantages of strontium ninety versus uranium two-thirty-eight,

bill clinton pulls this face and tells them it Sounds Smart,

and the mice bounce merrily back to mr bisck to get their foreign aid check.

“you better not lose it, buster!!! i just erased your records!! you won’t get another one from me!!!!”

HA.

“one should be enough. thanks and farewell, “

“you niggling bureaucrat.”

conclusion:

upon returning back to brainania, The Most Exalted Ned Limpopo finds a letter from alan addressed to him. it’s also mouse sized, which is adorable. apparently, whanganui,

WHO PROTECTS US FROM EVIL AND WHAT ALL ELSE

is “blinking mad”, and the volcano is going to explode.

brain, obviously, does not believe in whanganui, and is mostly just mad that he’s lost his workforce. still, as pinky points out,

“at least we've still got brainania!”

“i sense life has taken another sardonic twist.”

still, they do, barely, have enough time to reach the shoreline and start swimming away from the imminently exploding volcano. perhaps it should have been, yknow, a pretty decent sign that the natives cleared out. historically, people who live in these places tend to know about them, but what of that when brain is number one guy same same you savvy.

🙄

anyway the karmatic response to all of that previous racism is that a tidal wave sweeps them back onto the volcano,

which then blasts them into space.

(okay not literally space. but they do end up on a little raft in the middle of the ocean. don’t ask me where the raft came from. i have no idea.)

oof.

“mother nature has slammed her unmerciful fist on our fair isle, pinky.”

“do you know what this means?”

“birdy birdy birdy!!!!”

brain does not appreciate Birdy Birdy Birdy.

“blast it, pinky!”

“i said, do you know what this means!!”

“it means you just ripped up our foreign aid cheque.”

one should be enough, huh?

brain: 7 pinky: 7 outside influence: 13

like, i don’t know. maybe pinky shouldn’t have been making oragami birds out of the foreign aid cheque. but, while silly, it’s not like it did any harm. brain.... brain just needs to chill.

“well, aren’t you the tiniest foreigners i’ve had in here all morning. i’m mr appleby, can i help you?”

“yes. we would like to have relations with you. and steal some milk duds.”

“we wish to establish diplomatic relations with the us. i am the prime minister, and this is my minister of finance.”

“brainania--? oh, i remember you. you used to be a.... suburb of prague.”

“can you prove you’re a nation?”

“yes! we have postcards.”

“that’s the fjord of pinky.”

“you foreign folk sure have your own.... queer little ways.”

[naturallytom]

Marry Me (Tom Holland x reader)

a/n: based off the song marry me by thomas rhett!! it makes my heart hurt so of course i had to write something based off it :’) also this is for @spideypeach & @astrospideys writing challenge!! this can be read as a stand alone one shot or the third (and final) part to good enough//happier, which you can find in my masterlist in my bio!!

please reblog/leave feedback!! 

bold + italics= song lyrics, italics= flashback 

warnings: big sad, idek man this is pretty much all angst wHOOPS

prompt: “After all this time, you still can’t look me in the eye?”

_______________________________________________________________________

She wants to get married, she wants it perfect

You wanted the perfect wedding. Something Tom knew you had dreamed about since you were little. He knew you planned it all out and he knew what you wanted. The perfect hair. The perfect makeup. The perfect venue. The perfect dress. And he knew that as he looked around the outdoor venue, that you were going to have your perfect wedding. 

 Yeah, she wants magnolias out in the country

Magnolias were your favorite flower. Tom knew you wanted loads of them for your perfect wedding and he couldn’t help but smile as he noticed all of them around the venue. It was a beautiful spring evening, not too hot but not too cold either. He noticed all the small details and couldn’t help but think of when you had told him all of those details lots of times late at night when the two of you would just lay in bed, talking about anything and everything. 

 “What’s your favorite flower?” Tom asked, turning his head to face you. The two of you were laying on your backs on Tom’s bed, looking up at the ceiling. 

 “Magnolia.” You replied, glancing over at him. “I want them at my wedding.” 

 “You’re already thinking of your wedding?” Tom’s eyes widened- he could barely think ahead to the next day, nevermind years down the road to marriage. 

 “I’ve been thinking of it since I was a little girl, you know that.” You nudged him gently with your shoulder. “You’re my best friend and roommate. You of all people should know this.” 

 “Alright, alright, I guess you’re right.” Tom chuckled while you rolled your eyes. He couldn’t help but look over and admire how beautiful you looked, the moonlight outlining your figure perfectly. His heart beat faster in his chest, though he tried to ignore it. He had a girlfriend, Ava. He loved her. But he also loved you, and he couldn’t have both. Besides, he wasn’t even sure if you still had feelings for him. So he chose to do what you did: bottle it up and keep it to himself. 

 Not too many people, save her daddy some money

“Tell me all about your dream wedding.” Tom insisted, switching to lay on his stomach to get a better view of you while you spoke. 

 “Again?” You raised your eyebrow, surprised he’d want to hear you ramble about this again. 

 “Again.” Tom confirmed, smiling when he saw you smile. 

 “Well,” You started, your eyes lighting up. “I want a small, spring wedding. Not too many people. Family and close friends. I want my dress to be long sleeve and the skirt to be poofy, like in the movies or on Pintrest. Lots of magnolias. I don’t even know- I just want magnolias and I want a lot of them.” 

 You kept speaking, but Tom zoned out. He was too caught up in how the moonlight reflected so clearly in your eyes and how passionate you were about your wedding. 

 Tom had heard this so many times. But he couldn’t help but ask again because a) if he was being totally honest, he forgot all about it and b) he just loved to see the smile on your face when asked about your dream wedding and to see how into it you got. 

 I remember the night when I almost kissed her

Yeah, I kinda freaked out, we'd been friends for forever 

And I always wondered if she felt the same way

When I got the invite, I knew it was too late

You and Tom had gone to a party and after a few drinks, had found yourselves sitting outside the house, gazing up at the stars to escape the crowd of drunk people. 

“This was a fun party.” Tom mumbled, his brown eyes fixated on the clear night sky. 

“Would it have been more fun with Ava?” You asked, teasing him. Him and Ava had gotten into a fight right before you came to the party with him and Tom was currently trying to forget all about it. He wasn’t even sure where their relationship was worth saving. 

“Stop that.” He groaned, making you chuckle. 

“Sensitive topic?” You laughed, making him roll his eyes. 

The two of you sat in silence, you moving to rest your head on Tom’s shoulder. This wasn’t uncommon for you, it was nice for you to be able to display your affection to your best friend. Tom glanced down at you and smiled softly, wishing he could give you a kiss on your forehead and mumble ‘i love you’ against your skin. 

Tom hummed and you picked up your head, thinking he had said something.

“Did you say something?” You asked, your face inches from his.

“Nope.” He whispered in response, eyes focused on your lips. Before he knew was he was doing, he was slowly moving in to close the gap between you, brushing his lips against yours. But before he could finish it, his brain caught up to his heart and set off alarms, reminding him that he had a girlfriend and you were his best friend. 

He pulled away suddenly, mumbling ‘I have to go,’ getting up and walking away, leaving you alone in the grass. 

He was freaking out, you were his best friend, he had a girlfriend, and he nearly kissed you. He didn’t even know if you still felt the same way towards him, but how would he even bring that up? So he didn’t. He didn’t say anything at all for years and then one day he got an invitation in his mail and he knew he was too late. 

 Bet she got on her dress now, welcoming the guests now

I could try to find her, get it off of my chest now

But I ain't gonna mess it up, so I'll wish her the best now

Tom entered the venue, placing his present down before finding a seat quickly. He knew you must be in your dress by now, the wedding was going to start soon and guests like him were beginning to pile in to celebrate love. 

Taking a deep breath, he rose from his seat, going to where you said you’d be before the wedding. He figured it was now or never to tell you how he feels, even if the timing was incredibly shitty. He hadn’t seen you in months, although you had invited him to dinners with Eric and yourself, he couldn’t bring himself to go when it should’ve been him in Eric’s position. 

The two of you had gotten into a huge fight and while you had just put it behind you, there was always an awkward tension between the two of you since then. 

Tom let out a shaky breath before knocking on the door, the nerves in his stomach nearly making him throw up. 

You opened the door, a smile on your face as you prepared for your big day. 

“Tommy! You made it!” You squealed, throwing your arms around his neck excitedly. 

“Yeah, I did, love.” He chuckled softly, his arms going around your waist as he hugged you for the first time in what felt like forever. You pulled away and Tom’s gaze stayed on the ground, unable to look you in the eyes. 

“After all this time, you still can’t look me in the eye?” You asked softly. 

“Sorry.” He mumbled, his eyes flickering up to meet yours. You looked so beautiful in your dress- long sleeves of lace with a poofy skirt, just like you wanted. 

“I, uh, have something to tell you.” He muttered, playing with his fingers- something he did when he was nervous. 

“What is it?” You asked, your eyes looking at his innocently. 

It was in that moment that Tom realized he couldn’t do it, he couldn’t fuck up your big day because of his feelings. So once again, he buried them deep within. 

“You look beautiful, Y/N. I’m really happy for you.” He finally let out, making you smile even more and bring him into another hug. 

“Thanks Tommy.” You smiled into his neck. 

“No problem, love. ’M gonna find my seat. Good luck out there.” He told you, pulling away from your hug as you once again thanked him and told him you were looking forward to seeing him out there, to which he simply nodded in response. 

So I'm in my black suit, black tie, hiding out in the back

Doing a strong shot of whiskey straight out the flask

I'll try to make it through without crying so nobody sees

Tom stood off to the side, a part of the beautiful outdoor venue where he knew no one could see him taking a sip of whiskey out of a flask. He knew he couldn’t do it and he knew was selfish. But he couldn’t sit there and watch you get married without crying and breaking down. He knew this day was coming but now it felt all too real and it all came crashing down on Tom. 

Little did he know, you did still feel the same way all those years ago at the party when he almost kissed you. You did still love him when you laid in bed and told him all about your dream wedding, hell you wanted it to be Tom at the end of the aisle. It was Tom you wanted to marry. But you told him how you felt once before and it didn’t go so well, so you just buried your feelings and moved on. 

Now you were getting married. You had the perfect husband-to-be, the perfect venue, the perfect dress. And as you walked down the aisle, your guests watching with adoration, you felt your heart sink because the one person you wanted to be there more than anything was missing. 

Yeah, she gonna get married

But she ain't gonna marry me

_______________________________________________________________________

tags: @boredombesson @spidermansmj14 @calum-hoodwinked-me @karlitabi-rrito @tomhaz @i-ship-it-okay @holland-osterfieldx @you-makemethisway @xxtomxo @shadowyartcutebiscuit @spideyyypeter @xxxxdelenaxxxx @tomzfrog @sparklyhomeworklovecloud @sunshinehollandd @spiderboytotherescue @hollandroos @spideypeach @mcuspidey @importantfireeaglefish @astrospideys @hawkinsholland

[iheardarumorxxx]

Midnight Sun, Chapter 5 - Invitations

This chapter opens up with Weirdo doing what he does best, whining.

In particular, he’s whining this time about how school is hell. Oh, it’s not boring anymore, not just a coma that he has to suffer through to appear normal, but actual genuine hell. He has to be around Bella all the time, you see. He has to exist in the same space as her and it is just misery and woe.

Except, and this is a point that I was going to make back in chapter one when Jasper was doing his freaky little spazz thing about all the tasty good hoomans around them, the Cullens don’t actually HAVE to suffer through the inane slog of Forks High. Think about it for a second. As far as anyone in town knows, Carlisle is a respected doctor (Dr. Kevorkian, but so far he hasn’t been that bad here), and Esme is a soft delicate happy homemaker mama. So why the fuck do they bother going to the public high school? Why would it be out of the realm of posibility to say that Esme home-schools the kids? It keeps them away from the teenagers who could be in very real danger having a bunch of Pire classmates, and it literally leaves them to their own devices. If they wanna spend a week up in Alaska (Weirdo) then no one is going to be the wiser, because they live on the edge of town and the only one with any actual ties to the community at large is Dr, Carlisle. 

Maybe they do it because they get bored just being around one another all the time. But everything we’ve seen in the text tells us that even at school, they only hang out with each other and go out of their way to avoid the rest of the school population. It tracks as yet another selfish thing that the Cullens are doing, putting the teenagers of Forks High at risk because they wanna go to normal school, even though they don’t have to.

I’m not even a paragraph in and I just ranted for two. This chapter recap might be a long one, guys.

I'd comforted myself with the fact that her pain would be nothing more than a pinprick - just a tiny sting of rejection - compared to mine.

This is one of those lines that SM uses to hammer home the fact that her Pires are OH SO MUCH better than you. It’s such a blatant ‘Oh, my pain and sorrow and misery is just SO BAD compared to Bella with her weak human mind and weak human emotions. She couldn’t possibly be as hurt as I, the great Edward Cullen, am.’ And it’s trash. It hasn’t been overt enough yet, but there’s still a rant coming about vampire instincts, with which I hope to point out exactly how this sentiment is wrong. 

If I was destined to love her

This is one of the main reasons why I just don’t buy the love story aspect of this series. They never talk about love in anything but ‘fate’ and ‘destiny’. Love is hard work. It’s building mutual respect and trust for one another and learning little quirks and habits along the way. It’s bumpy and messy and gross and wonderful, and most of all, it’s a choice. A choice to get to know someone, to spend time with that person and understand their hopes and dreams and wants and needs and fears and all of it, but in Twilight, it feels like the choice is taken away. Alice with her magic future power divines that Weirdo and Bella are gonna be in love, and instead of Eddie boy taking note that he barely even knows Bella, and has spent the better part of the few weeks he’s had with her making wild assumptions about who she is and what she’s like, he just goes ‘Ope, well, I guess if the future says I love her, I love her’ and that’s it. And the worst part is, even after their relationship actually begins, they don’t even try to do that getting to know and trust and respect one another thing, they just flat out keep their wild assumptions about one another throughout the entire series and rely on this ever subjective future that Alice has seen.

Wow, I’m ranting a lot today in this one. I’m not even a third of the way into this chapter yet.

Who would have ever dreamed that such a generic, boring mortal could be so infuriating?

We’re shitting on Mike Newton again, and I have to point something out yet again. Eddie, baby, sweety. You are outright ignoring Bella and treating her like she doesn’t matter in the slightest to you. You stated just before this that you were going out of your way to outwardly ignore her, even while you obsess over her in your mind. You have given only the outward indication of, if not outright disdain, then at the very least indifference to this girl and yet you’re giving Mike shit for having a crush on a girl and actually fucking acting on it. He talks to her, he attempts poorly to flirt with her and ask her out, even though we all know that she’s just as obsessed with you and compares Mike to a dog (because Bella is a piece of shit, too, so at least you have that in common). So stop shitting on poor Mike, who’s only crime is liking a girl who isn’t interested in him.

He'd created a Bella in his head that didn't exist

WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT YOU’VE FUCKING DONE, EDWARD. And honestly? Yours is even worse because you don’t even BOTHER trying to FUCKING TALK TO HER TO GET TO KNOW HER. You just spy on her conversations with other people and assume that you know everything about her! Bella goes out of her way to put on this fake little show for her classmates and lie to them about everything she feels and thinks about them, but at least they FUCKING TALK TO HER! So yeah, I agree, Mike doesn’t have the full picture of who Bella really is (and if he did, he absolutely would not still have that little crush on her because Bella is a big fucking jerk), but at least they’re MAKING THE EFFORT!

Bella was good.

This is just not true and I have four books worth of canon to prove it.

I frequently amused myself by imagining backhanding him across the room and into the far wall...

“It helps if you think of them as people.” Remember that, Eddie??? Now here’s the thing. We’ve all had those fantasies about people. Wanting to throw them across the room or punch them in the face or whatever. The difference here? Edward is well aware that his Magic Pire Strength would genuinely hurt Mike, so much so that the very next line is about how it ‘probably’ wouldn’t hurt him fatally. Meaning that Eddie is well aware that it would hurt him, probably even break a few bones, but hey, he probably won’t die! Fuck you, Edward.

For all I knew, she never thought about me at all.

Pointedly gonna look over at Twilight now and see just how fucking much Bella is obsessing over Eddie, to the point where any thought not centered around her Woobie Pire is glossed over and ignored.

Eddie is having a jealous baby fit and once again thinking about how he would just love to hurt poor Mike for having the gall and audacity to ask Bella out. I already ranted about it up there, and I’m too tired and annoyed to do it again. Just know that Edward is a fucking asshole and poor Mike doesn’t deserve any of the shit that gets forced on him in this series.

Eddie is finally paying attention to Bella again, and wondering what she’s thinking, and he does that a lot in this book. I know that it’s supposed to be because he’s relied on his shitty vampire super power for so long, but considering how often he demanded (yes, demanded) to know what she was thinking in canon, and wouldn’t let up until she caved and told him, it feels like he’s trying to monitor her thoughts. She can’t be thinking anything that Daddy Ed doesn’t approve of, after all.

I picked the correct answer out of his head

But the Cullens are just super smart and know things and definitely aren’t cheating cheaters who cheat to get perfect grades in school.

"Are you speaking to me again?"

This is a problem with this canon. These people have had TWO conversations. In one of them, it was banal and inane small talk about the fucking weather and why Bella moved to Forks, and in the other, Eddie was gaslighting her to make her think she was wrong about what happened in the Van Of Doom(tm) crash. They haven’t talked like, at all. They don’t know anything about one another besides what they’ve crafted in their own empty heads. Bella is obsessing about how Eddie must hate her and Eddie is obsessing about how this version of Bella he’s built up in his head must be so amazing and wonderful and touting about how he loves her. There isn’t love in this relationship. There isn’t even a relationship. These people are obsessed stalkers.

I managed not to laugh.

This is another example of Edward being just... the biggest fucking jerk. Clearly, Bella is upset. She’s jumped to the wrong conclusion, and assumes that Eddie just wants her to fucking die or whatever, but she’s clearly upset and annoyed and Eddie is treating her feelings like a joke. He does that so often in the series, but hearing it from his own perspective really drives it home. 

Edward is being extremely shallow watching Eric and Tyler asking Bella out. He makes a rude comment about Eric’s skin (he’s a teenage boy with acne, oh GOD) and outright calls Tyler ‘average’ as if he knows anything about him. This is another problem with Ed and his magic surface thought listening power. I’ve already pointed out that he’s created this image of who Bella is in his head based on absolutely nothing, but he’s done this with everyone around him. He assumes what kind of people they are based on the very bare, surface thoughts they have. He doesn’t consider the people around him complex, because he isn’t diving into their more complex thoughts and emotions, and that’s just so gross and shitty.

How was I any better than some sick peeping tom?

We know what this is, right? We’re witnessing the birth of Eddie breaking into Bella’s house and watching her sleep. He’s once again acknowledging that he shouldn’t be doing it, and he knows that its wrong, so of course, that means he can just keep on doing it anyway. 

I was not the one she was destined to say yes to.

This is such a ham-fisted attempt at keeping the ‘will they won’t they’ illusion up, because its been made so obvious from the word GO that there’s never going to be anyone else for Bella. Even the attempt at a love triangle doesn’t work in the series because SM made it so clear all throughout New Moon that Bella would never choose Jacob if Edward was a choice. Everything she did in New Moon was to keep the illusion of Edward up in her mind, and even spending time with Jacob was a means to that end goal. Its not a compelling love story because, as stated, there is no love here because they haven’t spoken to one another, but their sick, driving obsession with one another is going to guide them all the way to the end. Edward and Bella are not a good couple, and I wish very much that that line up there was the truth, and that Bella discovered who she was as a person and found someone to compliment her.

My life was an unending, unchanging midnight. It must, by necessity, always be midnight for me. So how was it possible that the sun was rising now, in the middle of my midnight?

Left that full for context. This is our title drop, and as someone who has read all of Twilight, who has seen all of the horrible title drops in them, I honestly think this one might be the worst of them all. It’s just this affected way that SM writes and it really, really irks me to see it so blatantly on display combined with a ‘hee hee, Midnight Sun, get it~’ on top of it.

My self, also, had frozen as it was - my personality, my likes and my dislikes, my moods and my desires; all were fixed in place.

This has a lot of implications for the Pires that SM never even bothers to explore because she doesn’t actually realize the potential in it. According to canon, right there in that sentence, when they’re turned Pires STOP CHANGING. They don’t develop new interests or hobbies, they don’t change their taste in music, film, anything. They become truly frozen in time. That means that the Cullens should not be driving cars, or wearing the clothes that they wear. They should not have picked up all of these skills that immortality has allowed them to pick up. The should be the exact same as they were the day they were turned. There’s something really dark and genuinely heartbreaking about that, and a better author would have explored it. Unfortunately, we don’t have a better author.

if I were going to attempt any kind of relationship with her

Edward refuses to take into account that that is not solely his decision to make. Pretend for a second that Bella is a normal human with normal thoughts. All she has seen of Eddie is this hot and cold thing were he does a nice thing or has a nice conversation with her and then ices her out for days and weeks at a time. He is, by all accounts, a total jerk and kind of a weirdo. Why the hell would she (again, if she were a normal, rational person) want a relationship with him?

Strange, unfamiliar reactions stirred deep in my forgotten human core.

AKA, Eddie just felt the first stirrings of being a horny teenage boy. Gross. 

The chapter ends on Eddie asking Bella to let him drive her to Seattle. I know I’ve already made this point, but if Bella were a normal teenage girl experiencing all of this shit from Eddie, she would have absolutely laughed in his face and told him to go fuck himself on a cactus or something. He’s proven to be volitale, rude, condescending, and just an outright jerk. There is no reason a sane, rational person would want to go anywhere with him. Would want to spend any time alone with him. If anything, Bella should be thinking that Eddie wants to get her alone to murder her or something based on the way he’s acting. It’s creepy and weird. Bella, unfortunately, eats this shit up and is so excited about her date with him. 

That’s it. Chapter over. Sorry this was such a long one, folks, but I’m not sure they’re gonna get any shorter. This story makes me angry, and when I get angry, I rant. Feel free to reach out in messages or DMs if you wanna chat more about this book or offer suggestions for the next one I should do after I finally put this one to bed. 

You can also buy me a snack if you want, I have my CashApp tag in my bio. Until next time. 

[takadasaiko]

Love Me Twice: Chapter Two

FFN II AO3

Chapter Summary: Dr Lomay assesses the damage done by the failed memory manipulation and Tom Jacob Phelps is not thrilled that no one will give him a straight answer about what happened to him.

----

Chapter Two

It had been hours since Chen had arrived, Dembe not too far behind him. He'd left to check on Agnes who had been safely tucked away with his daughter and granddaughter. The little girl was fussy and agitated at being uprooted from her routine, but safe. It was more than could be said for her father. Dembe's silence said more than any vocalized judgement could have.

Or perhaps it was just the truth of the moment. Red had made a judgement call in which he didn't have expertise to make. "He's stubborn," Dembe said quietly, his first words in hours.

Reddington loosed a long breath. "I'm aware. That's how we landed in this mess."

"I mean that he will pull through. He's stubborn. He will not leave her."

Those dark eyes were fixed on him, wisdom beyond his years in them, and Red swallowed hard. "I hope you're right," he admitted very, very softly. "For her sake."

A knock came at the door and Dembe moved to open in. Dr Chen stood on the other side. The man looked tired. "We've stabilized him."

"Wonderful news. How soon can we -?"

Dembe swivelled, not bothering to hide his discomfort at the question. Chen was the one that answered. "I think you should see for yourself."

"He's awake then?"

Chen didn't answer, but motioned for Reddington to follow after him.

Lomay was still onsite and working with her patient. She had him following a light as Red and Dembe entered, his gaze struggling and his jaw tightly clenched. She looked over and frowned. "All the answers we promised," she said softly and started for the door, her voice quiet as she spoke to Reddington. "He's confused and agitated. Please don't make it worse."

"I'll do my best not to," Reddington promised and was left with a clear path to the bed.

Tom's dark blue eyes did their best to focus on him as he drew closer. There was something hard in them. Something he hadn't seen in many years now. Only the slightest bit of confusion managed to creep in just behind the walls. "You're Raymond Reddington."

The statement stopped Red in his tracks. "I am," he answered carefully. "Do you know where you are?"

The injured man was studying him intently as if he were looking for any sign of the answer that was expected. Anything to give him an edge.

He had no idea where he was, that much was clear.

"Do you know what day it is?"

"Your doctor asked me the same thing."

"That's not an answer, Tom."

The confusion finally won out, breaking through that dangerous glare and Tom tilted his head slightly against his pillow, jaw setting in a small tell of irritation. Any other day Reddington would have been in his element with the balance of knowledge in his direction, but not now. There was something very wrong in what was unfolding, and Tom's slow, guarded response only made it worse.

"I don't know who that is."

"Tom Keen. That name doesn't ring any bells?"

"Should it?"

Reddington looked back to the door where the doctors lingered with Dembe, but his attention was pulled back around as Tom started trying to sit up in bed. He reached out, ready to guide him back down, and Tom's hand flashed out, catching him by the wrist. His grip was surprisingly strong for the obvious pain that he was in. "Where the hell am I?"

"Easy. It was the alias you gave when I hired you." A truth. And one that seemed to help ease some of the fight or flight instinct.

Tom eased back against the pillows again. "You hired me?"

"Yes."

"And then what? I can't remember."

"You were injured. My people are taking care of you."

The machine sounded an alert that the pain medication was being pushed. Tom was already fighting it. "McCready. Does he -?"

"Everything's been taken care of," Reddington assured him and he hated hearing the strain in his own voice. Tom didn't seem to notice, though. He was losing focus as the medication flooded his system. His eyelids drooped and the tenseness in his muscles eased as he was pulled back to sleep.

"He's lost time," Lomay said quietly from behind him, her voice tense. "How much, we can't be sure."

"Years." Before Elizabeth had met him. Before he'd become Tom Keen. This man - Jacob Phelps, he supposed - thought he belonged in a world where Bill McCready was still alive and hiring him out as his best operative. "Can it be reversed?"

"I don't know. This isn't my area." Lomay pulled in a breath. "We believe it's prudent to treat his injuries. Let him rebuild his strength. Eric and I will consult with Andrei and his people, but we don't believe it would be wise to allow them direct treatment at this time. They could easily do more harm than good."

"Understood," Reddington said quietly, his mind spinning. With effort, he shoved it down and turned a sharp look on Chen. "Fix this."

He didn't give the younger man a chance to respond before stalking out of the room.

                                                  ---------

His world was in fragments. Pieces of memories that felt like they were just out of grasp. A voice. A name. A pair of blue eyes that reminded him of the sky and the retreating laugh that left him cold when it was gone.

Everything hurt. He was in a hospital of some form or fashion and every time he opened his eyes they asked him a million questions. What day was it? He didn't know. What was his name? He had no idea which one they wanted. Age? Twenty-four. That one he had. That one they could gauge for themselves.

Or not. The one answer he gave them seemed to be what caused them the most pause.

"Let's try this," the lady doctor said, her voice irritatingly gentle. "What year is it?"

He squeezed his eyes closed, the throbbing just behind them intensifying. "Two-thousand…. Eight." Right? That sounded right.

"What's the last thing you remember?"

"A list of really pointless questions," he snapped.

She jotted down a note in a file. "Okay. I'm going to say a few names and I want you to tell me if you know them. Can you do that for me?"

The longer this went on, the more suspicious he became. He had the vaguest memory of someone coming in and telling him he'd been injured on a job, but he couldn't recall who it was or if he'd even said how he'd been injured. He certainly hadn't been given a chance to reach out to Bud or call in an extraction. This wasn't how St Regis operated. He should be in his own medical facilities in Upstate New York, not wherever the hell he'd been dropped. None of this made any sense and he was tired of playing this woman's game on her terms. "How about this? I give you an answer, you give me one."

She considered that a moment before giving a brief nod. "I think we can manage that. First name -" she looked down at her file - "Elizabeth Keen."

"I don't know who that is. My question: full list of my injuries."

To her credit, she didn't hesitate as she flipped through her notes. "GSW to the left shoulder that someone dug out before we saw you. Three stab wounds to the left side, one that nicked your lung and was torn more by exertion. And, of course, memory loss. That's the reason we're going through these questions."

"Concussion?"

"No."

"Then how -?"

"It's my turn." He blinked at the tone. "Agnes Keen."

"I don't know any Keens. Happy? If it wasn't a blow to the head, how am I missing time?"

"That's complicated."

"Didn't realize there were rules to this."

"I'm not at liberty to answer that one. Next -"

"No."

"I'm just trying to help you."

"Then get me a phone."

"I can't do that."

"There's a lot you can't do, isn't there?" he snapped and was halfway on his elbows when the pain ripped through him and sent him tumbling back. Black spots danced across his vision.

"... Keen? Mr Keen, can you hear me?"

"Told you. I don't know any Keens," Jacob muttered as his eyes slipped closed again.

                                                 ---------

Best he could tell he'd been there at least a week. Maybe longer. He could feel at least some of his strength returning, but as it did he found that they were keeping him sedated when there wasn't someone in the room peppering him with questions. All that did was solidify his original suspicion that he was in unfriendly territory. They'd done this to him. Why was still up for grabs, but if he was going to put money on it he would bet that they were fishing for specific intel and burying the lead in the neverending line of questions every time he pried his eyes open. If they didn't get it - or even if they did - he wouldn't be useful to them much longer. He needed to get out.

The constant sedation was his biggest problem. Even when he was awake he was groggy, and even if he could manipulate the interrogation to keep it going long enough to clear his head he wasn't sure he was capable of fighting his way out. He could probably take the doctors, but he had no idea what was on the other side of that door. No, he had to outthink them. Good thing he'd always been good at that.

He took the latest round of questions as long as he could, fingers carefully groping for the IV that pushed the medication into his veins that put him under as the doctors left. More names, dates, questions. They were obsessed with these people: Elizabeth and Agnes. There were others that popped up a few times. They asked him if he'd ever worked for Raymond Reddington or if the name Berlin meant anything to him.

Jacob heard the telltale sound of the machine to the side pushing medication and he tightened his fingers around the tube under the sheet. "I take it we're done?"

Dr Cho offered a small smile as he stood. "You need rest."

"When you're done with me, what do you plan to do?"

"You're safe here. We're not going to hurt you."

Funny, he sounded like he almost believed that. Jacob forced his breathing to even out and his eyes to slip heavily closed. All the signs that he was being pulled under. He waited, listening to the retreating footsteps, and then he waited some more. Finally he let his eyes slide open carefully, peering out into the room from beneath dark lashes. He was alone. Good.

His injuries were far from healed and he felt them pull as he reached to remove the IV from his hand. He unhooked the equipment using all the tricks he'd learned as a teenager when he'd decided he was bored of the medical wing after an injury in the field. It remained silent as he made his way gingerly to the window, pulling at the heavy curtain there to get an idea where he was.

It was dark outside. Well that was a plus. The fact that he was on the second floor didn't help his escape though. Alright then. Hallway it was.

Jacob padded his way to the door, bare feet silent against the tile floor, and he supposed he should at least be grateful his captors had left him in a pair of sweatpants and t-shirt. He might want to find a pair of shoes before he made his way out to the street, though. That way he didn't draw too much attention.

The hallway was blessedly empty and he took off towards what looked like a stairwell. The sound of a respirator drew his attention to a partially closed door. He wasn't the only person they were keeping here. Interesting.

He pressed his fingers lightly against the door, letting it swing open a little more to see a woman in the bed. Jacob inched forward to get a better look. There was something about her, but he couldn't quite catch hold of what it was. Dark hair spilled out across the pillow, eyes closed, skin pale, and the respirator forced air into her lungs. His gaze traveled down to see a ring on her left hand. He didn't know he was reaching for the limp fingers until he touched them and he felt his breath catch.

And just like that the spell broke.

Jacob jerked his hand back, hissing in pain at the quick movement. He had to get out of this place. Nothing made sense here and if he didn't get out right then, they would probably decide he wasn't worth the effort to keep alive even if they hadn't gotten what they wanted from him. He didn't know this woman. She wasn't his problem. Right? Right. He forced himself to turn away and start for the door, back to his original goal: the stairs.

Everything was quiet as he entered the stairwell. He leaned against the wall for a moment, his energy spent quicker than it would have been if he were healthy. It didn't matter. The first step was getting out, then he could call for backup. Then he could -

The door at the bottom of the stairwell opened and slammed shut, the sound reverberating against the concrete and Jacob froze where he was. His dark gaze latched onto the equally surprised doctor that stood at the bottom of the stairs. He turned, ready to spring back in the direction he came as quietly as he could, but the sudden movement sent a shock of pain through him and he found himself back against the wall, knuckles white as they grasped the railing.

He must have blacked out for just a moment because the next thing he knew hands were on him and he found the doctor standing with him. Chen, he thought. He was pretty sure that was his name. The man looked worried as he tried to steady him.

"You shouldn't be out of bed. Just a moment. Let me get some help." His hands left Jacob's shoulder and dark blue eyes cracked open just enough to see the phone he was pulling out of his coat pocket. That was it. That's what he needed.

Jacob steeled himself, letting instincts honed by years of training drive him as he swung around. His right elbow connected with the doctor's jaw, catching him by surprise and slamming him back hard enough to knock him out. He eased him down against the steps, not wanting to draw more attention to his location, and snatched the phone. A quick press of his thumb against the reader opened it up so that he could adjust the settings so that it wouldn't require a password moving forward. He pocketed the phone and drew in a steadying breath. Okay. Now he just needed to get out.

Adrenaline helped to dull the pain in his left side and shoulder to get him down the rest of the stairs. He pushed the door open, emptying out into a hall. Left was clear, but a guard was making the rounds to the right. He instantly drew his gun, but that was confusion that flashed across his face. That was useful at least.

"You shouldn't be down here," the guard called out, lowering his gun without holstering it.

Jacob pressed a hand to his side and leaned heavily against the wall. "Listen, I got kinda turned around. I just…"

The guard moved forward, more at ease now and the weapon was no longer trained on Jacob. "It's alright. Let's get you upstairs. Dr Chen was on his way to see you. He can -"

His movements were quick. As soon as the guard touched him, ready to help him back up to his room, Jacob's hand flashed out and grabbed the gun. He turned it, firing three rapid shots into the other man, and watched him slump to the floor. He stood there for a long moment, his entire body trembling under the strain of the quickly dissipating adrenaline rush, and he winced as he pressed his empty hand against his side, blood already soaking through his shirt. Great. Just what he needed. He had to get out of there before anything else went wrong.

Jacob stumbled his way down to the hall and found a door leading out the side of the building and into an empty street. It was later than he'd realized, most people in bed, and he pushed himself along. He exchanged the gun for the less conspicuous phone in case anyone did happen to drive by. Bloody fingers clumsily dialed a number.

It rang once, twice, three times before finally connecting to the expected dead air on the other end.

"Bud. It's me. Something went wrong. I need an extraction."

There was a long pause before a voice that was definitely not Bill McCready's spoke. "Jacob?"

"Gina? Where's Bud?"

"What are you doing calling this number?"

"I don't have time for this. Something happened… I don't know what. I've lost time and I -" He doubled over, loosing the grip he'd had against his side to catch himself as he half collapsed against the nearest solid object, leaving a trail of blood streaked against the vehicle. Great. Just great.

"What do you mean you lost time? What the hell are you doing calling here?"

"I don't remember," he managed. When had it gotten so hard to breathe? "I just… The job's blown. Whatever the job was. Listen, I need an extraction. Tell Bud -"

"Where are you?"

He pushed himself off the car and looked around. "I don't know. DC, looks like? I don't know."

"I traced the call. I've got you. Find a place to lay low. I'll have someone at your location in ten minutes."

"Kay," he breathed out, stumbling towards an alley and sinking back against the building. He wasn't going to make it any further than this, but at least it was out of the general pathway if anyone decided on a late night stroll.

"Jacob?"

He blinked hard, trying to focus. "Yeah?"

"Don't die."

A rough chuckle escaped him. "Trying not to." Then everything went black.

                                                 ---------

TBC

Next Time: Red discovers that Tom is missing and tracks him down to St Regis while Tom looks for any answers he can find.

Notes: Hello hello! It's Friday again. I hope everyone is staying safe and well!

Thank you for all the lovely reviews and responses! It's great to see names I've seen for years back in the review inbox as well as some new ones. You guys are fantastic! 3

This week has been really good for finding answers to some of the questions I hadn't quite sussed out for this story yet. I keep a longrunning set of notes with plotpoints and various other details for stories like this to help keep everything straight. One of the reasons I was so hesitant to start posting (even over 20K into it) was because I didn't have those answers, so it feels great to have found some of them along the way as things start falling into place with the writing.

For those that don't follow me over on Tumblr I'm releasing a sneak peek every week in the form of AU gif sets of at least one scene in the upcoming chapter. They're a lot of fun to make. You can find them over at .com and just look up "Love Me Twice" in the search for my blog and you should be able to find them. Those are posting every Tuesday.

[lurkeresq]

“The Washington Post keeps track of all the victims of police shootings. Let’s look at some of the tragedies of the last 3 years.

In 2017, Police shot and killed 223 black men.

Most of the victims were armed. 131 had a gun. 35 had a knife. 21 were unarmed.

Many of the victims were fleeing the scene of the crime, on foot or by car.

Let’s focus on the most brutal cases, where police killed an unarmed victim who was not fleeing the scene of a crime.

There were 9 unarmed people who were shot. You can Google the names of each one to see what happened.

The first name on that list was Jean Pedro Pierre. You can watch the video of the encounter here:

https://youtu.be/4y9s0jRajdc

In short, Jean punches one cop, gets tased ineffectively, drags the cop around by his feet for about a minute, charges towards a second cop, then gets shot.

The second is Brian Easley, who took hostages in a bank:

https://www.mdjonline.com/news/cobb-officer-who-killed-man-in-bank-standoff-cleared/article_6eabd398-b607-11e7-879a-27eff6a5c746.html

The 3rd is Dejuan Guillory. Circumstances are unclear, it sounds like he got in a verbal and then physical altercation with a cop, then walked away, then the cop got him on the ground and shot him. At some point, Dejuan’s girlfriend jumped on the cop’s back and bit his neck. This one’s totally not obvious to me, the victim was needlessly aggressive, but it could also be that the cop lost his temper and murdered Dejuan, in which case the cop should definitely be in jail.

https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/death-dejuan-guillory-article-1.3315102

4th, Marc Brandon Davis, I can’t find enough information to comment on.

5th is Ricco Devante Holden. Sounds like he was drunk, got in a fight with a cop, got tased, fought his way into a police car, and then got shot.

https://www.ktbs.com/news/man-killed-in-altercation-with-police-chief-has-criminal-record/article_ebb7aba0-3f2e-11e7-b3a0-fb770fb2376c.html

6th is Jordan Edwards, a 15 year old victim. You can watch the video here:

https://youtu.be/l2M75moIXFY

It’s kind of chaotic — the cops are breaking up a party, someone starts firing gunshots outside, people are fleeing, one car ignores multiple police demands to stop and keeps driving, one officer shoots. He says that he was worried that the car would hit him or his partner, it looks like he made the wrong call. The officer got a 15 year sentence for the shooting.

7th is Alteria Woods, a 21 year old pregnant woman hit in the crossfire during a SWAT raid. Cops claim that her boyfriend used her as a human shield. There are not a lot of other details available:

GIFFORD, Fla. - A 21-year-old pregnant woman was killed during a Sunday morning shootout amid a SWAT raid at Florida…www.cbsnews.com

8th is Nana Adomako, who went into a Verizon store, grabbed a phone from an employee, hit him, and threatened to kill him. The officer found Nana outside, got into a fight with him, couldn’t win the fight even with the help of his police dog, and shot the suspect:

FREMONT, Calif. (KGO) -- The brother of a man Fremont Police shot and killed last week is talking with ABC7 News about…abc7news.com

9th is Darrion Barnhill. Officers approached him after being called for someone beating on a door, they found he had multiple outstanding warrants for assault (and his girlfriend had filed for protection from him). He assaulted the officers, threw one on the ground. Officers tazed him and shot him, it’s not clear whether they could have simply tazed him.

CLOSE A 23-year-old man was shot and killed Tuesday night by Henderson County deputies after officers responded to a…www.commercialappeal.com

These are just the unarmed victims of 2017.

Maybe I just picked a bad year?

In 2019, the number of similar victims (unarmed, not fleeing from a crime) dropped to 4.

We have Atatiana Jefferson, who died from some very bad police work, the cop acted like a prowler outside her house, and then shot her through her window:

https://youtu.be/UHFpP8Vma_0

But we also have Channara Tom Pheap, who assaulted a cop. He choked the cop, grabbed the cop’s taser, and used it on him:

Knoxville Police Department Officer Dylan Williams was justified in fatally shooting Channara "Philly" Pheap in August…www.knoxnews.com

We have Melvin Watkins, who came to a party, had a few drinks and got into a fight. Other partygoers called the cops, hoping they could escort him away. For unclear reasons, the officer shot Melvin instead. This looks like an unnecessary homicide:

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - The wife of a man killed by an East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office (EBRSO) deputy Saturday…www.wafb.com

And we have Kevin Bruce Mason, who threatened to kill a cop and later got shot. He’d shot a cop earlier in his life.

A man was found dead inside a Northwest Baltimore home after a Baltimore police officer fired shots at him during an…www.baltimoresun.com

When we talk about lots of unarmed black victims, murdered by police, it’s rare. It’s often people that are assaulting cops. It is sometimes cops that have lost control of a violent situation, after having already tried using a taser.

It’s not always George Floyd or Philando Castile or the other, most tragic events you see on the news. These tragedies do happen. Innocent black men are killed by the police. Several people get killed for holding a toy weapon, every year. Those cases are fucking tragic, as well. But the average black man killed by police is armed with a gun, fleeing the scene of a crime, or assaulting an officer.

Are you surprised by this? Does this sound different than the news you read?

As riots begin to sweep the nation, NPR writes about police brutality.

They give examples of how black people have died:

We wanted to learn more about each person’s final moments before the police ended their lives. Here’s some of what we learned:

Eric Garner had just broken up a fight, according to witness testimony.

Walter Scott was going to an auto-parts store.

Philando Castile was driving home from dinner with his girlfriend.

Eric Reason was pulling into a parking spot at a local chicken and fish shop.

Dominique Clayton was sleeping in her bed.

Breonna Taylor was also asleep in her bed.

I recognized some of the names. Eric Garner. Philando Castile. Breonna Taylor.

And I didn’t recognize some of the other names.

“Dominique Clayton was sleeping in her bed.”

That sounds horrible. A cop murdered a woman sleeping in her own bed. Why would a cop do that? Google the name:

A Mississippi officer has been taken into custody for the murder of a 32-year-old woman who was reportedly his…meaww.com

The cop was having an affair with the murdered woman. But he didn’t want his wife to find out. NPR is billing it as racist police brutality, when it’s a love affair between a white man and a black woman. He’d bought her a car and was buying her a house. I don’t know what to call it. A tragedy? Domestic violence? Not police brutality. It appears that he’s still under trial for her murder.

Or, NPR says,

“Eric Reason was pulling into a parking spot at a local chicken and fish shop.”

You can watch the video of what happened:

VALLEJO - The city of Vallejo has released four videos showing a resident pulling a gun on an off-duty cop as the two…www.mercurynews.com

Eric Reason and an off duty cop got in a fight over a parking spot. Eric went to his car, got a gun and shows it to the cop, threatening him. The cop got his own gun out and killed the man. The cop shot him as he was running away. A fucked up incident in many ways! Also, both men are black!

A lot of the cases are ambiguous. Walter Scott got stopped in traffic, ran from a cop, got in a fight, got tased, kept running. Cop shot him in the back. Pretty awful, sounds like incorrect police behavior. But NPR only reports that Scott was driving to the store.

NPR gives the impression that if you’re black, you’re not even safe in your own bed. You can’t even pull into a parking lot safely.

The reality is that you’re usually safe, as long as you do not wave a gun at cops or assault them.

The number of unarmed police shooting victims has declined since 2015:

The news publicizes the shit out of the worst cases, because that’s what gets clicks. And it has consequences. The riots right now are one consequence. And people are dying.

As of June 2, 2020, eleven deaths have been confirmed during the George Floyd demonstrations.

In today’s social media dystopia, you can watch the people dying. Here’s one black man who was killed by looters.

https://twitter.com/stillgray/status/1267945466357927936

And violence has generally risen in some cities. In Chicago, shootings soared over the weekend, 92 people were shot, 27 were killed:

27 people were killed and at least 92 were wounded by gun violence in Chicago’s most violent weekend of the year so…www.wifr.com

And, if you’ve forgotten, we’re still in the middle of a pandemic. People of color have been disproportionately represented among the 100,000 Americans that have died so far. We’ll have to wait and see if these mass gatherings accelerate the spread of the virus.

The sad reality in all this is that blacks in America really are struggling. But police brutality is only one of their worries. Black people are unemployed and impoverished at high rates. Many live in violent communities. The murder rate in Black America is 6 times what it is in White America. About 8,000 black lives are lost to murder every year, mostly young black men in big cities shooting each other.

And the murder rate has gone up, as of late. After 2 decades of declining, America’s murder rate went up in 2015 and 2016:

Some people think the increase in murders is because of less policing that started after the Ferguson protests. Others say that it’s because black people are afraid to call the police, because they think that the police will murder them, now more than ever.

Regardless of the cause, black people need safer communities.

This is not a struggle between good guys (BLM, antifa, white liberals) and bad guys (cops, Republicans, the alt right). But I see people on Facebook saying that, every day.

This is a very complicated discussion about how to make black neighborhoods safer, how to reduce criminal behavior in black neighborhoods, how to help with poverty, how to help with mental health, and how to improve policing.

Let me be clear. None of these protests will help black communities. People have lost lives. They have lost apartment buildings that have been burned down. They have lost the stores they need to shop at and work at.

This will trigger even more white flight to the suburbs, leaving poorly funded, segregated schools, and less jobs and opportunities for the people left behind.

And this will likely empower the Republicans. If the Democratic mayors and governors can’t provide law and order, voters will turn to the alternative.

I don’t have the answers to fixing our world. I think this event is ultimately driven by high unemployment and inequality. It’s driven by tribalism and dehumanizing the other side. I think police brutality is just the catalyst. Once this is over, I think we’ll have to work on improving all of these things. But, at the moment, all I can say is:

Stop the fucking riots.

Keep the protests peaceful. It’s the only way to win.

WRITTEN BY

The Gift Of Fire”

[sweetlysilentt-blog]

Apartment 509 (Part two)

Pairing: Roommate!Fuckboy!Tom x Reader

Summary: You move into the apartment.

Apartment 509 (Masterlist) | Part One

If you’d like to be tagged in this mini-series feel free to add yourself to the Apartment 509 Tag List, or just shoot me an ask! Happy reading!

“So, what do you think about Y/N?” Jacob piped up, stirring his cup of coffee as he took a seat at the kitchen table. Tom let out a snort, stirring his own cup of coffee, adding two sugar cubes into the dark liquid.

“What do you mean ‘what do I think?’” Tom turned on his heel to look at his friend, brows furrowed at his straight forward question.

“Well it’s obvious Y/N gets to you, I haven’t seen someone fight back against you and live.” Jacob grinned, earning a scowl from Tom in response, he just had to throw that in his face.

“Just get to the point.” He muttered, taking a seat across from him, as he sipped the caffeinated drink. The only drink that could wake him up in the morning.

“My point is, I think you like the challenge, for once a girl doesn’t want to jump in your pants and it drives you crazy.” Jacob grinned, raising his eyebrows as Tom chewed on his bottom lip.

Jacob did have a point, no girl had ever turned him down before, let alone talked back to him. He wasn’t sure what to really make of it, all he knew for certain was he didn’t like not being in control.

“She’ll come around, they always do.” Tom spoke up after a few minutes of sitting in silence, his eyes zoning out a bit before Jacob’s voice pulled him back to reality.

“What makes you so sure?” Jacob questioned once more, “She’s not very fond of you.” He added on, studying his friend as Tom grinned slightly.

“I can just feel it.” Tom shrugged, sipping his coffee as he stood up, grabbing his gym bag. Each day of the week he’d go to their local gym, he had a new found love for boxing recently, plus it always scored him a new girl who he’d eventually end up hooking up with later.

“So, are you really cool with Y/N rooming with us?” Tom asked his mate once more, earning a grown in response. “Yes Tom, now go before I tell the manager I’d rather have only Y/N as my  roommate instead of you.” His friend joked, causing Tom to snicker in response, a smile on his lips.

He exited the apartment, walking over to the elevator, pressing his thumb against the down arrow, his foot tapping against the ground as he waited for it to reach his level. Once it arrived he stepped on, the elevator being empty, just the way he liked it. Since it was just him in the elevator it gave him some peace and quiet, and some time to think.

He already had it set in his mind that once he got to the lobby that he was one hundred percent going to chew out the manager. But aside from that, something else kept nagging him in the back of his mind, the only frustrating issue being he couldn’t place what it was.

His eyes flickered up to see he was now at the lobby level, the elevator doors springing open, letting him walk out as he made his way up to the front desk.

A fake smile became plastered on his face as the manager, Eric, made eye contact with him.

“Ah! Hello Tom. How are you this fine morning?” Eric greeted him, his pitch high an his smile bright, his whole persona irritating Tom.

“If I’m being honest, not so well Eric,” Tom sighed, shaking his head as Eric’s face fell, “You see, the other day I found out that my extra room had been put up for rent without my knowledge, even when I told you not to.” Tom all but growled out, glaring at the man in front of him.

Eric shifted uncomfortably, avoiding eye contact with Tom as he clicked around on the computer, before focusing on Tom again.

“The girl was desperate alright? I wasn’t just going to say ‘no,’ so I gave it to her.” Eric stated bluntly, the words he used to describe you shocking him, was he talking about the same person?

When you arrived at his door the other day you seemed confident, well put together, not even close to desperate.

“Why did she seem desperate to you?” He questioned, his curiosity getting the best of him now more than ever.

“It’s really none of my business to share.” Eric stated firmly, causing Tom to frown, his mind filling up with millions of questions.

The main one being, what were you hiding?

“Alright, I’ll cut you a deal, I’ll let this slide this time, but don’t go behind my back again and let a stranger rent out my room without my permission” Tom snapped, his jaw clenched as Eric nodded, cracking his knuckles anxiously.

The door to the building complex opened suddenly, the bell on the top of the door ringing throughout the empty lobby.

“Well hello to you too Thomas, aren’t you just a lovely cup of tea in the morning.” Your voice rang through his ears, causing him to spin around, coming face to face with you.

He let out a short laugh, his curls falling down into his eyes a bit as you smirked a bit.

“Aw Y/N, did you miss me that much already? I mean I know I’m irresistible but damn, so soon?” He teased, watching your lips turn into an amused smile.

“No, in fact, I missed Jacob.” You stated, before adding, “But it’s clear that you missed me, even if I was in your dreams” You winked, before heading to the elevator, leaving Tom to stare off after you, his heart beating quicker than usual.

What was going on with him?

He shook his head, rubbing his eyes in the process as he snapped himself out of the gaze, bidding Eric a goodbye, before heading off to the gym. However, you on the other hand were heading up to your new apartment, eager to set up your new room.

Your knuckles hit the door once more, the feeling of deja vu coming over you as you waited for Jacob to open it since Tom was clearly out. Jacob on the other hand thought Tom had left something behind, making him slightly confused as to why he’d be knocking on the door.

“Coming! Coming! Dude did you forget you had a key?” He swung the door open, his eyes widening a bit when he saw your small figure standing in front of him, a soft smile on your face.

“Oh. Hey Y/N.” He greeted, a smile of his own appearing on his lips, as he rubbed the tiredness from his eyes, your body shifting slightly as you continued to awkwardly stand there. “Oh shit, sorry, come in. I keep forgetting that you’re living here now.” Jacob chuckled, stepping aside to let you enter.

“No worries, at least you’re accepting of me being here, unlike Tom.” You muttered the last part, but Jacob heard you anyways, his face scrunching up in confusion.

“He’ll warm up to you, he’s just not used to girls rejecting him.” He grinned, making you snort in response, rolling your eyes. “You’re actually the first one that ever has.” Jacob added on.

“He’s such a fuckboy,” You blurted out, making your eyes wide, you never intended to say it aloud, just in your head, but the words accidently slipped out, “Shit don’t tell him I said that.” You pleaded, causing Jacob to laugh.

“Your secret is safe with me.” He winked, walking back over towards the kitchen table where his paperwork was.

“Oh, Y/N I meant to tell you, your room is all prepped for you to move into, so feel free to make it yours.” He smiled, pointing you off in the direction to go start moving in.

Already you could tell that Jacob was going to be your favorite roommate.

With a smile you thanked him before spending the afternoon moving in, placing around what little furniture you owned, along with your clothes, school books, and other personal belongings. The room already started to feel more like home, giving you a warm fuzzy feeling.

This was already better than what you had been living in prior to moving. The thoughts bringing back bad memories. You let out a sigh of content, exiting your room until your eyes locked with Tom’s, a girl clinging to his waist. A faint smirk fell upon his lips as your eyes flickered between him and the mystery girl.

Oh how you wished you could smack that smirk right off his face. You knew exactly what he was doing, trying to get you to cave, but you weren’t that easy. If he wanted to play games, then so be it.

“Ah! Y/N, so glad to see you’ve settled in nicely.” Tom greeted you, a smug smile on his lips as his hands gripped the blonde haired girls waist tightly.

You gave a fake smile to the both of them, placing one of your hands on your hip.

“Oh yes, I’m settled in nicely.” You tilted your head to the side a bit, a smirk of your own appearing.

“Oh my- how rude of me, hi, I’m Y/N, what’s your name?” You turned to the blonde, a bright smile appearing on her face, showing off her perfect white teeth.

“Lacey.” She introduced herself, her lips glistening with glass as she blew a bubble, letting it pop loudly, as you nodded in response, eyebrows raised.

“Wow, you were right Thomas, she does just sleep with whoever, I owe you ten bucks.” You gave a dramatic look, pouting slightly as you watched the girls face contort into pure rage.

“You’re such a dick! Fuck you!” She shouted, slapping Tom in the face before storming out, leaving Tom awe struck.

Your eyes were wide, surprised she slapped him as laughter filled up the room immediately, causing both of you and Tom to turn, seeing Jacob’s body shaking from laughter.

“Stop laughing, this isn’t fucking funny!” Tom seethed, glaring at you from the corner of his eye.

“No, it’s actually pretty funny.” Jacob chuckled, earning a scowl from Tom in return. He hated not being the one in control, it drove him mad that you had power over him already.

“Listen here princess, you may think you’ve won this round, but this is my apartment, and nobody messes with me and gets away with it.” He growled out, his eyes narrowing at your small figure.

“Well Thomas, it seems as though I already have.” You crossed your arms, a smug smile on your lips, the tension thick between the both of you. “But, I will admit I’m curious about what you’ll do to get back at me.” You winked at him, your confidence high as you smiled at Jacob before heading back to your room.

You weren’t sure how long this facade version of you could last, Tom was breaking down your ‘tough’ exterior each chance he got. Soon enough the true you would come out, and you were in  no way ready for that.

As you shut your door, you heard Tom talking to Jacob, their voices in a hushed whisper making it difficult to understand, however you caught onto the last thing Tom said, making your heart stop for a split second.

“She’s playing us, and I’m going to find out why.”

- ❁ - 

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[classic-rock-roller]

1. You’re with Bonham and Tom one day and for some reason, Tom won’t stop insulting Kevin. There’s not a single aspect of his being that’s not under Tom’s scrutiny, and after a while, Bonham’s had enough. She turns to him and says, “Fucking quit will you? I know you don’t like him but you don’t have to go so far out of your way to be an ass. He’s still a person, and you need to –!” She is cut off when Tom punches her squarely in the face, hard enough that she falls on the ground. You’re about to say something when Tom says, “If you still associate with him then you’re worse than he is. I can’t believe you still let her hand around, babe.” Before you can respond, Bonham gets up slowly, and you see her hands shaking. “If that’s how you feel, fine. I’m going home.” She walks out before you can stop her. What do you say to Tom? How does he respond?

“Stop being an ass, Tom. You know I still talk to him too. Now I have to go catch up to her.” I follow after her to calm her down and apologize for what Tom said and he screams, “Wait! Hon!”  

2. At the party mentioned in the last set, you and Tom go over to Bonham and Kevin, and everyone is surprisingly civil with each other. Kevin says that he’s got a new girlfriend, and Tom asks him who. Kevin just looks at Bonham and then back to him and says, “…….is it not obvious. I’m with Bonham.” How does Tom respond, and what do you and Bonham say?

Tom: Oh... (under his breath) ow...(louder) That’s great! I’m so happy for you. 

He only says that because I dig my fingers into his arm to stop him from being an ass. 

Me: That’s great. I’m so happy for you guys! 

And I pull Bons and Kevin into a group hug. 

Me: My two best friends together. That’s great! 

Bons: ...I didn’t expect you to act like that, Tom. 

3. You and Kevin and Randy and Bonham are out to lunch one day and she’s really jumpy. Every time there’s a noise she jolts and turns to see. Randy asks her what’s wrong and she says, “I can’t get over the feeling that we’re being watched. Can anyone else feel it or am I crazy?” Kevin says, “I mean, you are crazy, but not for this. I’ve got the same feeling.” How do you and Randy respond?

Me: I mean I always have that but that’s because the paparazzi always follow us. 

Randy points to a guy trying hard to blend in with his huge ass camera. 

Randy: Yeah there’s one right there. Maybe that’s why you have that feeling, Hon? 

4. You and Tom are due to hang out with Bonham and her friend Jay one day, and you hear them having a conversation through the door to her apartment as you walk up. You reach up to knock, but not before you hear her tell Jay, “I’ve been trying to help Kevin through rehab, and we’ve really connected, but he’s telling me things I never even thought could be true…I don’t think anyone knows about the things he ’s told me, not even BabyCarrot. I don’t think she knew him at all.” Do you and Tom listen for Jay’s response? If you do, what does he say? What do the both of them say when you walk in? How do you and Tom react to what you heard?

Tom wants to listen but I knock before he can hear anything else. When Bons opens the door she goes, “You heard all that. Didn’t you?” 

Me: Yes, and I’m so glad you can get through to him. I tried and tried for years to get him to open up to me and he always said he didn’t want me to know how fucked up he was. I’m so glad he’s talking to you. You can help him get better. 

Jay: I told her she’d be able to help him get better. He can’t keep all of that he needs someone to talk to. 

Tom: Jesus, I didn’t realize he was THAT deep in. He really does need help. 

5.  Bonham shows up late to your house to go out with you and Tom and Tom’s friends one night. You see she’s got scratches running up her arms and a black eye that was poorly covered with makeup. “You look like shit, what happened?” Tom asks. Bonham says, “Kevin tried this new drug called spice and he had a bad trip. He came after me. Mrs. Cooley, our neighbor, called the cops. When they got there they put him in restraints and sedated him. They’re keeping him at the hospital overnight.” How do you, Tom, and Tom’s 3 friends respond?

Me: I’m going to kill him. He could hit, punch, and kick me, fine. But he can’t hurt you and I know you wouldn’t normally let him so he must have been like really coked up. I’m not letting him hurt you anymore. 

Tom: Whoa, whoa, calm down there, Hon. 

Eric (Tom’s Bassist): Wait, Kevin beat you when you dated?

Fred (Tom’s Drummer): Whoa, dude, are you ok? Should we take you to a hospital? Let me get you a bag of frozen vegetables for your eye. 

Jeff (Tom’s Lead guitarist): Whoa, that's crazy! I hope they can figure out what made him go insane. 

6. Bonham is joining you and Kevin and your sister and Axl and their kid on a trip to the beach. When you get there everyone is ready to go in the ocean except Bonham, who’s got a loose-fitting button down shirt on over her bathing suit. “Come on, don’t be a prude. Take the shirt off.” Axl says. “No,” Bonham says. “I don’t want to.” “Come on,” he says, and reaches for it. “No! Quit it!” Bonham says, before he successfully removes the shirt. “Oh shit…what happened there?” he says, regarding a large and curving scar across her back. “This is exactly why I didn’t want to take it off!” she says. “What happened to you? Do we need to call the cops?” your sister asks her. “NO, we don’t, they can’t do anything about it. I was hanging out with the boys (QR of the 70s) when me and Randy first got together and Kelly pulled his knife on me saying I was going to ruin the band. I tried to run and he got me across my back. Happy?” You were unaware of this. Kevin seems to be too. How do you, Kevin, Axl, and your sister respond?

Me: What?! I’m going to kill him. I’ll fucking hunt him down and kill him. 

Kevin: I know where he lives but I really don’t want to bail you out of jail, sweetheart. So you’re not going to go kill him. 

Axl: Whoa, whoa, whoa, you’re a little hot head there BabyCarrot, calm down. 

My sister: Whoa, that is insane. I’m glad you’re ok. 

7. You and Tom are hanging out one day when Kevin calls and asks to come over. Tom says he doesn’t care, so you let him come in. He sits you two down on the couch and says, “I need to ask you both something. I want your blessing to marry Bonham.” You’re confused, but Tom voices your confusion perfectly. “Why are you asking us? We aren’t her parents.” Kevin responds with, “I know, but you two are her closest friends, and if you say yes, I have a feeling she’ll ask you to give her away, Tom. Her dad won’t make the effort to come up here and her mom doesn’t like cameras. That’s beside the point. Will you let me or not?” How do you two react? What does Kevin say to your answer?

Tom and I are both surprised. Him mostly at being told he’d probably give Bons away and me that Kevin wanted to ask us. 

Me: Of course you have my blessing. You’re both my best friends. I’d love to be a part of your wedding. 

Tom: Yeah, of course, you should marry her. You both love each other. It’s quite obvious and if you need me to give her away I’ll gladly do that. 

Kevin (getting choked up and pulling Tom and I into a hug): Thank you guys so much. This means so much to me. I’m glad I have your blessing to marry her. 

8. You and Tom are about to get busy one night, and it’s really late (like 3 AM). Suddenly, the house phone rings. You both ignore it, but the answering machine picks up and it’s Kevin. He’s hysterical. “I found her on the floor and I didn’t know about it she didn’t tell me and just there’s so much blood oh God I have to call someone else oh God oh God oh–…..” Do you go see what the problem is? If you do, what is it? What happens when you get there?

I push Tom off me and run to the phone, “Kev, calm down, ok? Tell me what’s wrong. Assess the situation. Call 911. I’ll be over in a minute.” 

Tom is still laying on the bed and looks at me while I get dressed. “You’re seriously going over there?” “Yes, that’s my best friend. I’d give my life up to protect her. Are you coming or not?” 

He pulls on jeans and a tee and we speed over to Kevin and Bons’ house. The paramedics are there and taking her to the hospital. Kevin is pacing and going, “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.” While holding their newborn. I go up to him and take the baby and go, “Kev, calm down. What’s wrong?” “She didn’t tell me she was hemorrhaging again and she collapsed on the bathroom floor. Oh god.” 

I hug him and go, “It’s ok we’ll go with you to the hospital, ok? Here hold Emma while I go get the diaper bag and her car seat.” We wait in the ER waiting room until the doctor comes out and tells us she’ll be just fine and that Kevin did the right thing calling 911 when he did. 

9. You and Bonham thought it would be a good idea to go on vacation with Tom and Kevin so they could work through their issues with each other. It goes generally well, but one night each pair goes their separate ways so you can all have a single date. You and Tom are heading back to the hotel room when the key won’t work. “Wasn’t ours 203 not 205?” you ask. “No, I’m positive it’s this one.” Tom says. He jiggles the key around until the door opens, but you soon realize you were right, this isn’t your room, when you see Kevin sitting on the bed and Bonham on her knees in front of him. How do they react to seeing you and what do you two say?

Bons grows red and I cover my eyes while Kevin screams get out. 

Me: I’m sorry, I’m sorry. We didn’t mean to see this. 

I pull Tom out of the room and over to our room. He’s blushing just as bad as I am and it kind of killed the mood for us for the rest of the night. 

10. On the plane on the way home from vacation, you doze off, exhausted. About halfway through the flight, Bonham nudges your seat with her foot. “Psst. Wake up.” You look around groggily but when you see where she’s pointing you stifle a laugh. Kevin and Tom fell asleep, their heads resting together. How do you respond? What do they say when they wake up?

Me: Aww that’s adorable. 

I pull out my camera and take a picture. We need photographic evidence. 

When they wake up the kind of look at each other and Tom nestles back down. 

Kevin: What are you doing? 

Tom: I don’t care. I’ve grown to like you and I’m tired and comfortable. 

11. You’re in the studio one day helping Tom and his band and Kevin is spam calling your phone. You ignore him until the studio secretary comes in and says, “Mrs. Keifer, we have someone on the phone for you.” You answer it and before you can say anything, Kevin spits, “Is Bonham with you?” “No, why?” you ask. “I found her ring on the ground in the driveway, her phone’s on the counter and nobody knows where she is.” How do you respond? What do you do?

Me: I think I may know where she is. 

I excuse myself from the recording booth and go drive out to a secluded little park where Bons and I used to go when we lived together. I find her sitting on the bench we used to sit on.

Me: Care if I sit next to you. 

I sit next to her and she rests her head on my shoulder. 

Me: What’s wrong Bons?

Bons: I just don’t know if this is right. I love Kevin but I didn’t think this was how it was going to end up. I thought I’d be married to Randy and you’d be married to Kevin. 

Me: You love Kevin right? I can tell you do. You both love each other and life isn’t written in stone this was just where we ended up. 

Bons: I do love him and I want to marry him. 

I drive her back home (she walked there) and when we get back Kevin pulls her into a tight hug. When he pulls away I can see the tears in his eyes, “Where did you go? I was terrified something happened to you.” 

____________________

1) Sean and Kevin have decided to try some edibles that Sean found from a friend. Sean seems to be fine, but Kevin is still high like three days later. On numerous occasions, he’s told you and your singer, “This is all a dream.” One day Sean, being a smartass goes, “Why don’t you go out in the cold to sober up?” Kevin goes, “Maybe I should.” Before promptly stripping down to his boxers and running out into the -12 degree weather. What do you, your singer, and Sean do?

2) You and Rudy are sitting with Kevin, your singer, and Mal and Eddie at the dinner table and you can tell Kevin is a bit coked out. Your singer puts down her fork and goes to Kevin, “Quit the booger sugar, Kevin.” Kevin looks at her, “Booger sugar?” “The cocaine, Kevin.” “Why didn’t you just say that?” “Because your children are present.” How does Kevin respond and what do you, Rudy, Mal, and Eddie say?

3) Tom has been trying to get Kevin in trouble for coke possession for a long time. One day, Kevin gives him some coke and he calls the police on him. This results in both of them being jailed (Kevin for dealing, Tom for possession). When you both go down there to bail them out how are they to each other, what did the do the four hours they were locked up, and what do you and your singer say to them?

4) Your singer and Tom have finally had a kid you and Kevin (who have been newly married) have come to visit them in the hospital. You’re holding your goddaughter and Kevin has is arms wrapped around you and is resting his head on your shoulder. He goes, “You realize we’re going to spoil little Cassie here, right?” How do you respond and what do Tom and your singer say?

5) You and your singer just got back to her and Kevin’s house to find him dressed in a Spiderman suit trying to climb the side of the house. Sean and Rudy are watching from the ground and you go over to them. You nod towards Kevin, “What’s dummy over there trying to do?” Rudy looks to you, “Climb up the side of the house like Spiderman.” Your singer says, “Well he seems to be succeeding.” Right as she says this, Kevin falls and lands on his back in the grass. What do you, your singer, Rudy, and Sean say to him and how does he respond?

6) Your singer and Tom have had their second kid and you and Kevin go to meet your godson. When you get there, your singer smiles at you and hands you her son. “This is Samuel Kevin Keifer.” Kevin stops and looks at her before saying, “You gave him my name for his middle name?” Before your singer can say anything Tom says, “Trust me, it wasn’t my decision. If it was mine it would have been Carl.” “And I’m not giving my son his father’s first name as a middle. You even hate it because you go by Tom or Thomas.” How do you and Kevin respond and what do your singer and Tom say?

7) You and Kevin go with your singer and Tom when they take their kids, Cassandra and Samuel to Disney. Your singer has just gotten four-year-old Sammy settled into the stroller and Tom is holding six-year-old Cassie when your singer goes, “We made it to the happiest place on earth. It’s 9 am. I got a schedule every minute of our day until 9 pm. Pay attention and stay close.” How do you, Kevin, and Tom respond?

8) It’s the middle of the day while you’re in Disney and your singer goes to Tom, “Do you mind pushing Sammy in the stroller while Bons and I take Cassie to go visit the princesses?” Tom looks at her and goes, “No, I’m not going to push him in a stroller, okay? He’s four.” She gives him the look and goes, “Just push him in the stroller.” What does Kevin say and how do you and Tom respond?

9)  You’re still in Disney and while there you and your singer jokingly get in line to meet Gaston while Kevin and Tom watch the kids. Tom says, “Oh, great! Now my wife wants a photo with Gaston. Perfect!” Kevin looks at him, “Do I detect some jealousy in there, Tommy?” How does Tom respond and what do you and your singer say once you get back to the two of them?

10) It’s pretty late in the day and Cassie has been doing good with keeping up but she’s clearly getting tired. She says, “Mommy, my feet hurt.” And before your singer can even get a word out of her mouth, Kevin goes, “Well, hurry up. Make believe your feet aren’t sore. This is Disney, use your imagination.” How do you, your singer, and Tom respond?

11) It’s the middle of the afternoon and it’s very hot. Kevin goes, “You know what I want to ride? A park bench in the shade.” Tom goes, “If something isn’t in the air conditioning. I don’t want to go.” Your singer looks at the two of them and goes, “Oh, something you finally agree on.” How do you, Kevin, and Tom respond?

@osbournebemydaddy your move Bons :) 

[h-styles-babes]

So this is a sneak peek at the new thing that I’m working on. I tried to pick a section of the first chapter that didn’t give too much away as far as plot goes, so I hope you guys like it still. If it gets a good response, I’ll start posting once I have more chapters written. Thank you so much for the interest in seeing a little snippet of this story. I’m quite happy with the way it’s turning out so far, and I hope you guys will like it, too. Let me know what you guys think! xx

The Long Road Home

“Jesus, darlin’,” Eric whistled. “Surprised yeh stuck around after seein’ him when yeh walked in here.”

Sia sighed, pulling the speared olives out of her drink. “Me too, but this is my spot. He can’t have it.” She pulled one off and popped it in her mouth, chewing and swallowing before continuing. “Twat gets everything else he wants. This is mine, though. Long as he doesn’t see me, we’re good.”

Eric began nodding as Sia popped the second olive in her mouth. His eyes trailed over to the table her ex was sat at, only to see that the lad’s eyes were trained on her, brows furrowed and mouth popped open in some expression he couldn’t decipher. He didn’t want to burst her bubble, but he felt he owed it to her to warn her that there was a very real possibility that he’d be disrupting her peace. 

“Hate to break it to yeh, love, but he’s looking right at yeh with this dumb expression on his face.” He watched from the corner of his eyes, pouring another mug of draught, as Harry craned his neck trying to get a better look at the woman sitting at the bar. “Think he’s tryin’ t’ decide if it’s actually you.”

Sia, against her better judgement, peeked over her shoulder, looking right into Harry’s searching eyes. She whipped her head back forward, hunching her shoulders again. “Fuck,” she spit, quickly picking up her glass and downing the rest of the drink. “Shouldn’t’ve done that.”

“He’s comin’ over here,” Eric warned, keeping his eyes on the glass he was drying in his hand.

“Bloody perfect,” Sia huffed under her breath. She fixed her gaze on the bar top, hoping that if she kept her head down, Harry’d get the hint and walk away without talking to her. She’d cut him out of her life for a reason, and he had to realise that. He was daft sometimes, but he wasn’t a fucking imbecile. 

Anastasia felt when Harry dropped into the empty barstool next to her, the energy that he carried around with him washing over her and making the hairs on her arms stand on end. She could smell him, too, the same scent that always lingered on his skin—the same body wash he’d been using for years, the same laundry softener that she knew Anne had been washing his clothes with since they were kids, and the Tom Ford cologne he’d taken to around his nineteenth birthday. She hated that she knew so much about someone who felt like a perfect stranger to her now, but she couldn’t help all the innate knowledge she held about him. They’d known each other since primary, for crying out loud. She was bound to know all these things about him. It didn’t help the ache in her chest at being so close to him, though. 

“Sia,” he breathed out, his deep voice startling her. She hadn’t heard his voice since this time last year, when he’d whispered one last goodbye against her mouth before walking out the front door of her flat. 

“Styles,” she acknowledged with a single nod of her head, not looking up at him. She couldn’t. She wasn’t ready for that. She used his last name in greeting to keep things impersonal. She’d called him H or Haz for most of their lives. He didn’t deserve the nickname. She was sort of upset that he’d even used her nickname, the one he’d given her long before Sia the musician had become known. The first time they’d met, he’d said that Anastasia was a mouthful, and when she’d expressed her disdain of the nickname Ana, he’d started calling her Sia. Now everyone called her Sia, even her parents. 

“What are yeh doin’ here?” Harry asked, confusion clear in his voice.

Sia snorted at his question. She nodded her head in thanks when Eric placed a full pint in front of her, obviously sensing that she needed more alcohol. “I’m having a few drinks. What are you doing here?”

“Didn’t mean the bar,” he quickly amended. “I meant America. LA.”

“I live here,” she shrugged, taking a sip of her beer, swiping her tongue across her top lip where some of the head had stuck to her skin. 

“Since when? Last time I saw your mum, she didn’t say anythin’ about it.”

Sia finally peeked a look at him from the corner of her eyes, watching as he dragged his hand through his hair. It was a habit he’d had for as long as she could remember, but it was strange seeing him do it when his hair was so short. For the last four years of their friendship, he’d been growing it out, and now it was the shortest she’d seen it since their early years of secondary. 

“When’d yeh last see my mum?” she asked, curious since her mother hadn’t mentioned anything about Harry the last time they’d spoken just a few days ago.

“About a month ago. Was filming near home and stopped in for the weekend. She was round my parents’ house when I showed up.”

Sia was slightly affronted that her mother hadn’t mentioned anything, but then, she thought it was maybe for the best that she hadn’t. Even the mention of Harry’s name out of anyone’s mouths made her a little uneasy, and she was sure her mother knew that. 

“Been living here since March,” she supplied. She took another sip of her beer. “Working with a producer that’s based here. Choice was easy.”

She saw Harry’s eyebrows shoot up, his eyes sparkling with an excitement. He knew how much that opportunity meant to her, to be able to work with a music producer, doing what she loved and what she’d gone to school for. Her mum hadn’t said anything to him about Sia getting a job in the industry, so this was amazing news for him. 

“Yeah? That’s great! Who’s the producer?”

She rolled her eyes at his enthusiasm. As far as she was concerned, he didn’t get to be excited for her anymore. When she’d heard from Anne about him landing the role on the new Nolan film, she’d rolled her eyes in her head and sipped at her tea, offering his mum a hum that she hoped didn’t seem too rude. She loved Anne, but she knew her son had broken something inside of the girl, so she wasn’t too surprised by her lackluster reaction.

“Does it matter?” she asked.

Harry’s face dropped instantly, brows furrowing, lips frowning. “I mean…”

“Just stop,” she urged, pushing back her barely touched pint. She grabbed her purse from her lap and dug around for some bills to cover her tab. “This is weird. Stop acting like everythin’ is normal.” She stood and tossed the money on the bar top, sending a nod at Eric, who was at the other end of the bar, tending to someone else but keeping his eyes on Sia. He nodded back, acknowledging her thanks and goodbye. 

“I’m so—”

“Don’t apologize, Styles,” she warned, slinging her purse over her shoulder. “Little too late for that, don’t yeh think?” Sia turned to walk away from him, hating the way her heart squeezed in her chest. She clenched her teeth against the tears that were threatening to collect in her eyes. She’d been in his presence for two minutes, and a year’s worth of built defenses and hardened exteriors were crumbling. She hated him for making her feel like this. 

“Wait, Sia,” he called, hopping up from his seat to follow after her. “Lemme walk yeh home. It’s dark out.”

“Don’t fuckin’ bother. Been gettin’ by fine on my own. Yeh don’t need to pretend to care now, Harry.”

The door to the bar slammed behind her before Harry could even open his mouth to form a rebuttal.

[clubsocial-india]

New on Sports Illustrated: Miami's D'Eriq King Wants to Be the Next QB to Prove Size Doesn't Matter

D'Eriq King has led Miami to its highest ranking in three years ahead of a Saturday clash with No. 1 Clemson that gives the 5'10" King a chance to measure himself against Trevor Lawrence.

In the middle of the College Football Playoff championship game last January, when transfer quarterback Joe Burrow was leading LSU to the national title, D’Eriq King put himself on the market to make his own transition. The quarterback entered the transfer portal and tweeted his intent to leave Houston for a Power 5 program.

Time was of the essence. King had agonized over the decision to leave his hometown school and his family, and by the time he entered the portal he left himself with just a few days to make a decision and enroll for the winter semester at his new school.

Several programs expressed interest, but Miami showed the greatest urgency. The Hurricanes coaching staff reached out and asked King to visit Coral Gables that weekend. Their pitch wasn’t suited to a home visit or a phone call—and that had nothing to do with showing off the glamour of South Beach at a time when most of the country was shivering.

“I really wanted him to see who we were in person,” coach Manny Diaz said. “I wanted him to watch our players go through a workout, see that we were serious about winning down here. We really have a culture that is intact but just needed a leader at the quarterback position to make that shine, make that come out. I think there’s always a perception of who Miami is on the outside versus who Miami is on the inside.”

On the inside? Diaz, his coaches and players came off a dismal 6-7 season in 2019 with a renewed commitment to restoring The U as a football power. That meant dispelling an external reputation of being more interested in having a good time than playing good football.

Miami Hurricanes head coach Manny Diaz runs out of the tunnel before the second half of a game against the Virginia Cavaliers on Oct. 11, 2019.

“Being outside the program, you hear a lot of guys say all the Miami guys do is party,” King said. “You hear they’re late to workouts, missed this, missed that. When I got there and watched them work out, I didn’t see any of that.

“I mean, it’s Miami—it’s one of the great cities in the world. But I didn’t want to see the city or the beach as much as I wanted to meet the guys and see the tape.”

Thus a match was made in Miami. A city rife with distractions became the site of a shotgun winter marriage of two hyper-focused parties. A quarterback serious about showing he can be a Power 5 star (and NFL prospect) meshed with a program serious about making a comeback.

The results to date speak for themselves: the Hurricanes are an impressive 3-0 and at No. 7 in the polls have their highest ranking in three years. King is in the top 15 nationally in total offense (297.7 yards per game) and pass efficiency (a 153.85 rating) while leading the No. 7 scoring offense in the country.

Now comes the big yardstick game. On Saturday, Miami will visit No. 1 Clemson, the Atlantic Coast Conference kingpin that has won 22 straight league games. Not only will this showdown take the measure of the Hurricanes as a program, but it will give King a chance to measure up against the gold standard of college quarterbacking in Trevor Lawrence.

Lawrence is the NFL prototype, standing 6'6" and possessing an arm that makes scouts’ pulses pound. The 5'10" (at best) King has spent most of his career fighting the criticism that he was too small to play quarterback: he was once the eighth-string QB at Manvel High School; he was recruited by Baylor and others as a defensive back, even though he never played that position; he was shuffled out to wide receiver and kick returner for a while at Houston.

If he can be King for a day in Death Valley? If the Hurricanes can score a seismic upset? Then the U-turn at The U is really on.

D' Eriq King runs the ball against the Louisville Cardinals on Sept. 19, 2020.

Keshon King will be in Clemson Saturday. Of course he will. He hasn’t missed one of his little brother’s 38 college football games, and that sure isn’t going to change now that D’Eriq has reached the biggest stage yet.

When he was a student at Sam Houston State, Keshon drove two hours home on Fridays to watch D’Eriq play high school ball. That tradition continued when D’Eriq suited up for the Houston Cougars. This season Keshon has made two trips to Miami, one to Louisville, and now there will be one to the Upstate region of South Carolina.

It’s even more important for Keshon to be there this year despite D’Eriq’s distance from Houston. Because their father cannot be there.

Eric King died of a heart attack at age 48 in February, not long after his youngest child moved to Miami. That compounded the angst of being away from home for D’Eriq, leading Keshon to spend a couple of winter weeks after the funeral in Coral Gables to help D’Eriq cope.

“Dad was the one who always talked football with us,” Keshon said. “I can fulfill that role with him.”

A former player himself, Eric had coached both his sons. He and Cassandra King raised all four of their children (Calandria and Erica are the girls) in a sports-loving, competitive household.

“The only person who can stop you is yourself,” Eric King taught his children. “Be a leader in everything you do.”

Some star athletes aren’t wired for leadership roles. D’Eriq is. Shortly after he enrolled at Miami and started winter workouts with his new teammates, he set up group texts with every position group on the team. He texted them daily, “because I was the new guy and needed to show them I cared about them.”

“Even outside of football, people gravitate to him,” Keshon King said. “He’s very selfless.”

D’Eriq is selfless enough that when he scored his first Miami touchdown, against UAB on Sept. 10, he turned down the program’s sideline prop—gaudy touchdown rings. Instead, he took the rings and gave them to a couple of offensive linemen.

That selflessness led him to go along with Houston coach Dana Holgorsen’s odd plan to basically tank the 2019 season, which was supposed to be the quarterback’s last year of college. After starting 1-3, the first-year coach of the Cougars told King this was shaping up to be a lost season—for the team and for the player’s NFL hopes. So he suggested a redshirt season, and sat down with the King family to sell them on it.

“Very strange,” was Keshon’s description of it.

Still, D’Eriq bought in and said publicly that he would stick it out in Houston. But this was his third head coach (Tom Herman, Major Applewhite and Holgorsen) in college, and after a 4-8 year led to staff changes, he also was looking at a fourth offensive coordinator in 2020. After seeing what some instantly eligible quarterback transfers had been able to do elsewhere, King started envisioning himself in that role.

That led to the transfer portal, and that led to Miami. It also led him to Rhett Lashlee, the new coordinator Diaz hired to energize what had been a dreadful Hurricanes offense in 2019. Lashlee’s track record was attractive to King.

The former Gus Malzahn protégé played fast and emphasized the running game like his mentor. But at SMU, his most recent stop before Miami, he added a new element: some Air Raid passing principles. That led to a very successful season with another transfer quarterback, Shane Buechele from Texas.

“I had some very bright people tell me, ‘You need to take a look at what Rhett is doing at SMU now,’“ Diaz said.

Buechele threw for more than 3,900 yards and 34 touchdowns as SMU went 10-3 last year. Lashlee put on some of that SMU tape for King when he visited Coral Gables last winter, showing him how it could work with him taking the snaps. The two of them also looked at Miami’s skill talent and liked what they saw. Diaz added the last video piece, showing King what vintage Miami looked like when it had a big-time quarterback—guys like Heisman Trophy winners Vinny Testaverde and Gino Torretta, plus national championship winners Ken Dorsey, Steve Walsh and Bernie Kosar.

King was sold, and it didn’t take long to sell himself to his teammates. Coaches often like taking in older transfers because they’ve been around the block and gained enough knowledge to know what really matters in terms of being successful.

“He’s a mature kid,” Lashlee said. “He’s got that experience. He’s just a very consistent young man, he’s the same guy every day. I think that helps me as a coach and helps our offense to know that we’re going to get his best. I think that is slowly but surely becoming the personality of our offense, because he’s our leader.

“He’s so even keel, so consistent on game day. We can put him in position where he can just go play and react. He’s capable of doing a lot mentally, but let’s just let him go react and play football.”

King’s improvisational flair and athleticism helped him produce a whopping 50 touchdowns in 11 games in 2018, 36 passing and 14 running. That was the guy who set the Texas high school career passing touchdown record, breaking a mark previously set by the player he’d one day like to be—Kyler Murray.

Murray, also standing shorter than 5'10", became the No. 1 pick in the NFL after a Heisman Trophy season at Oklahoma. His pro career is off to a promising start. King has looked at that track record and said, “Why not me?”

“I think [Murray] has opened some eyes at the position,” King said. “You don’t have to be 6'4" or 6'5", you just have to be able to make plays and be a leader.

“I’ve played quarterback since I was 4 years old. I’ve had an endless amount of people who said I was going to be too short, and I’ve kept playing quarterback. I still hear it every single day [about the NFL].”

There is still some chip on the shoulder from his days as a high school eighth-stringer, assigned a bottom-row locker in the junior varsity locker room. Just being able to take the field as the starting quarterback for a top 10 team at Clemson, and facing Trevor Lawrence, is a destination moment of sorts for D’Eriq King.

A guy this serious about winning won’t look at it that way, though. The desired destination is walking out of Death Valley alive and well and victorious sometime near midnight Saturday. If King and the Hurricanes pull it off, this shotgun winter Miami marriage could really become a beautiful relationship. 

October 08, 2020 at 05:10AM Miami's D'Eriq King Wants to Be the Next QB to Prove Size Doesn't Matter from Blogger https://ift.tt/33F5cBp

[kenzieam]

Embers and Ash - Chapter 3 (Eric X OC)

Rating: M (violence/torture/swearing/smut:p)

Notes/Warnings: Upcoming Trigger Warnings

Genre: Drama/Angst

Thanks everyone for the re-blogs and support!!! IT IS SO AWESOME!!!  

Please enjoy more of Eric and Fox!

@emmysrandomthoughts @beautifulramblingbrains @iammarylastar @tigpooh67 @bookwarm85 @frecklefaceb @mom2reesie @elaacreditava @badassbaker

************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Fox sagged against the wall. Her arms had long since gone numb, extended on either side of her like she was being crucified. She'd lost the baby; there'd been blood, but not as much as Fox had expected. Perhaps the fates were being kind and allowing her to keep him until she was rescued, not be discarded and disposed of here in this sub-basement hell. With her luck however, she'd probably just develop a fatal infection and rot away here underground. One way or another, Fox thought gruesomely, Tom is going to make sure she died below ground. Another two days had passed, Tom had not approached her again, but she'd seen his leering smirk through the door more than once, his knowing gaze stripping her bare, knowing exactly what he had done and what it was currently doing to her. I'm going to kill him, even if I have to die beside him, he will breathe his last before mine, Fox vowed.

Thoughts of Eric both tormented and supported her constantly. Memories of the look in his eyes as he hovered above her, their lower bodies pressed together; the love and relief and release and tenderness in his stormy grey gaze both broke and strengthened her heart. The way his touch felt as his fingers caressed her cheek, her collarbone, the curve of her breast as he murmured against her skin gave her both comfort and pain. Although she would fight for her life with everything she had, Fox knew that the odds of a happy ending in her story were slim. Part of her hoped that Eric would find her, no matter how long she'd been dead; if only for the closure it would give him over never knowing for sure what happened; and part of her hoped that Eric's last memories of her would stay the clean and happy ones from their last night and morning together; Fox sassing him and slapping his bare ass, sharing breakfast and their final kiss that tasted of butter.

She was so tired.

Tom's face appeared in the window again. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Zeke!" Eric barked as he burst into Dauntless central security, the area of the compound where Zeke and the other leaders charged with defense and protection worked, where all the guards gathered, where the weapons and equipment were stored and soldiers were dispatched from. Four and Tris panted behind him; he's set a blistering pace down here, the fastest of the three of them when it came to sprints. Zeke looked up from the group of soldiers he was giving orders to and nodded, giving the last few instructions before sending them out. Another team waited for him but he jerked his chin to Eric and walked to a far corner. He waited for them to gather around him before sighing, his hands on his hips.

"I gotta run something by you guys." Zeke said. "I don't know, but something just doesn't feel right about this."

Eric frowned at Zeke. "What do you mean"

Zeke exhaled. "All those factionless I was telling you about....they're gone. My men haven't seen anything since Fox was abducted."

"Could be the weather." Four speculated.

Zeke nodded. "Maybe. But I just have this hunch....how did whoever took Fox know where to ambush her? The more we look at where Fox got grabbed, the more it looks like a planned-out mission. They had a body for distraction, they knew exactly where Fox was going to be, they effectively got rid of Bronson, but in such a way to slow us down long enough for a hell of a head start. How? My gut tells me they had help, from someone here in the compound. That's why we're talking here, I can't say for certain my office isn't bugged."

Four frowned, unconvinced; but Eric was listening closely. You could almost hear the gears turning in his head.

"They'd need access to private phone lines, travel itinerary.....they'd have to be hooked to the locator beacons of the trucks....who has that level of access?"

"Not necessary if you know your way around computers." Four said grimly. "And were careful to not leave tracks."

"How do we find them?" Tris wondered.

"I'll pull my best men, we'll go over the compound's camera footage during the time Fox was at Amity, see if we can pick up anyone acting strange. We'll go through all incoming and outgoing phone calls too.....see if anything is suspicious in the locator beacon program, any flagged processes or access code written in. It'll take time, that's hundreds of combined hours of footage, thousands of logged calls and messages. We have to talk to Max, get the manpower for that."

Zeke nodded in agreement. "I'll pull a small team together to help you."

Eric shook his head. "I gotta go out looking, I can't stay in here looking at camera footage."

Tris nodded. "I'll go with you."

Zeke pointed with his chin to the group of soldiers still waiting for instruction. "You can go with them, we've divided the city into a grid and we're searching each block from top to bottom, it's slow but thorough. We have a few long-range body-heat scanners from weapons development; but they haven't been tested in real time yet, I don't know how accurate they'll be."

Eric nodded and looked back at Four. "You'll talk to Max? Get started on the cameras?"

Four nodded. "Yeah, I got it. You two get out there looking. I'll be in touch." He paused. "The more I think about this, the more it makes sense. Zeke is right, someone is a mole or a spy. Leave your phones back here, they may be compromised. Take some generic radios instead."

Zeke pointed to a row of lockers. "You'll find armour and suits in there. I'll brief the team while you change."

Four turned and jogged out while Tris and Eric moved to the lockers. They dressed quickly, the padding and armour making Eric look larger than life, like a moving mountain; the thunderous expression on his face not helping to dispel that. Energy crackled around him. Tris' gut churned with anxiety. Zeke was right, this hadn't been a seat-of-your-pants type thing; they'd planned this, for weeks or months even and they were good....and they'd had Fox for going on three days now. Tris tried not to think about what they were doing to her, what they'd already done.

'"Ready?" Eric's voice broke into her thoughts. Tris looked up at him unguarded briefly and Eric's resolve faltered just for a moment.

He bit his lip and muttered. "If I think about what they're doing to her right now I'll go crazy." His voice wavered slightly before lowering into a growl. "I will tear them to pieces and bathe in their blood when I find out who did this."

Tris didn't doubt him. Eric was the last person Tris would want to provoke at the best of times, but especially when it came to Fox. He'd mellowed since initiation with her in his life, but was still coldly capable of being the man Tris has seen during training. His love for Fox was unfathomably deep and so was the depths he was willing to go for her. She could only hope they weren't too late, she couldn't and wouldn't think about what Eric would do if they failed to save the woman he loved.

Turning, they jogged back to Zeke's side just as he finished giving directions.

"You all know Eric, and this is Tris, they are in command. Pierson, you run the plan by them, got it?"

A tall man with a serious expression nodded and at Eric's command, the team sprinted to a convoy of armoured trucks idling just outside the blast doors. Eric, Tris and Pierson climbed into the lead truck and Pierson pulled a map from his vest, pointed to the northwest corner of a city map, now bisected by a large red grid.

"This is ours. With your permission sir, we'll split into teams. Orders are to search entire area, top to bottom and below ground. Every structure, landmark, everything. Once done, we mark this map, radio in complete and set a yellow marker flag."

Eric nodded ascent, gaze locked outside, missing nothing as he roared down the street. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________

They found nothing in that square and after consulting the map and radioing Zeke, Pierson directed Eric to the next unsearched square and they began to search again. Zeke had implemented a mandatory eight hour cut-off for the teams. After eight hours of searching they were required to return to Dauntless for eight hours of rest. Eric was silent as Pierson drove the lead truck back. He'd said little to Tris as they'd searched, the air around him humming with concentration.

They reached the compound and Pierson's team disembarked. Maintenance staff swarmed to refuel the trucks so the next shift could leave. Eric remained in the cab.

"Eric?" Tris asked as she started to climb out and saw him.

"I'm going back out." Eric replied.

"Zeke wants us in eight hour rotations, we should take a rest."

Eric turned his gaze to Tris and she shivered. His gaze managed to be both seething and haunted. His skin was pale and shadows were forming under his eyes.

"I'm not stopping." He said with finality.

"You'll collapse soon." Tris replied.

"I'll jump off that bridge when I get to it. Right now I'm still looking for her." Without waiting for Tris to reply, he turned his gaze back out the windshield. Tris huffed and dropped out of the cab. After a quick bathroom break, she grabbed two sandwiches and bottles of water from a table in the corner and climbed back into the truck. The next shift of soldiers was due to head out in a few minutes, and were milling around gathering last minute equipment.

"Here." Tris held out the food.

Eric turned back to look at her and smiled briefly. "Thanks, Tris." He watched her in surprise as Tris sat beside him. "You're going back out too?"

Tris nodded. "I can do another shift."

Tris stopped after the next eight hour rotation and lay down on a cot in the security dorm to sleep. Eric headed back out, his jaw set. Tris was waiting for him when the shift returned and was fully prepared to drag him to a cot and tie him to it to make him rest, but he left the truck himself, swaying on his feet. Silently he allowed Tris to help him to the nearest cot and collapsed onto it. He was unconscious before Tris could pull the covers over him.

He slept through the next rotation but was awake when they returned, pacing and waiting. Tris climbed down and stepped towards him. It had been forty hours since they had started searching.

"Anything from Four yet?" Tris asked, unsuccessfully stopping a yawn.

"Not yet. I talked to him a few minutes ago. He's got three guys plus himself reviewing footage, and Max pulled two more from IT to help."

Tris nodded, stumbling as she grew slightly dizzy. Eric gripped her shoulder and pulled her towards the dorm. "Get some sleep, Tris. I'm heading back out." After helping her to the nearest bed, Eric squared his shoulders and turned away. The last thing Tris heard before she fell asleep was Eric barking orders to the soldiers. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________

The teams continued searching in shifts, meticulously covering every square inch of the city. Eric pushed himself past all limits of endurance, collapsing into a cot every few rotations to sleep like the dead for a few hours before waking and heading out again on the next round. Tris stayed searching with him, but was not able to keep up the near-manic pace Eric pushed himself to. The factionless were scattered and the few that the soldiers captured had no information. This frustrated Eric to no end, but Zeke was not surprised. The group he'd been worried about had been different than your average factionless; they seemed organized, committed to something; as if they had an inspirational leader who had found a common goal to work towards. These factionless had vanished after Fox was abducted, and none had shown themselves yet, they'd gone to ground, it seemed, and the only way to track them would be to find the Dauntless traitor. Their leader was proving to be a smart and cunning opponent. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Six days after Fox was ambushed, after four days of relentless searching; Four finally had a potential lead with the camera footage, but he forced himself to wait and confirm it with matching phone records. It would be disastrous to jump the gun and potentially tip off the informant; making him go into hiding, than to take a few extra hours to make sure they had found the correct information. His men found the supporting calls they had been searching for after a further three hours of non-stop searching and he grabbed a radio and contacted Zeke.

"Zeke. We've found the traitor, radio Eric and Tris back in. We'll wait until they get back to move in."

Zeke answered affirmative and contacted Eric.

"Coulter." Eric said gruffly. He'd pulled the squawking radio from his belt and then proceeded to nearly break an ankle tripping over a crumbling pile of concrete. Tris, a few feet away from him, stopped and waited, her hands on her hips.

"Four says they've found the informant. They're waiting for you to return before they move in."

"Roger. We're coming back right now. ETA 45 minutes."

Eric shot Tris a small hopeful glance before snapping back to the radio and bellowing for all teams to meet back at the trucks, triple time.

The wave of Dauntless soldiers running back to the truck like the devil was on their heels would have been humorous under any other circumstances, but Tris found herself pacing impatiently beside Eric until everyone arrived. She tried not to think about how long Fox had been held captive, tried not to think about what they would find.

Pierson hadn't even brought the truck to a full stop before Eric threw open the passenger door and leapt out, taking a few running steps to avoid falling. Tris leapt out behind him and stumbled slightly before following Eric over to where Four, Zeke and Max waited. Four pulled a folder out from under his arm and opened it. He passed out a photograph, a screen capture from a security camera.

"This was the first bit I found. This area of the complex is only typically accessed once weekly to change out the computer drives, and it's the central data hive where everything gets filtered. If you wanted to find out something fast and in a place not monitored religiously this is it. We rely on camera coverage and a door code to protect this room; plus it's located in a secure area of the compound only certain faction members even know about. You can see that he knows where the cameras are and does a pretty good job of avoiding them, but he forgot about the overlap on cameras 2-1 and 2-2 and this showed up.  It's not enough for an ID but his uniform is clear enough to give us an indication of which faction members to focus our phone record search on. It took a few more hours, but we found a few anomalous outgoing calls to unknown numbers. We cross-checked and found more outgoing calls going back to the start of initiation training this year; when Fox first came to Dauntless. We haven't been able to track the receiver, but the person whose cell called out and who I think is seen on the camera is a guard named Scott Ellis."

"Scott?!" Max growled. "He's one of my most trusted elite squad."

"With more access than your average Dauntless guard." Four pointed out. "Where is he now?" Max growled, betrayal blazing in his eyes.

Four pulled out a tablet and tapped the screen. "He entered his apartment three and a half hours ago and hasn't left. He's on temporary medical leave due to a shoulder injury and hasn't been a part of the search."

"Convenient." Eric spat. "Where's his apartment?" He tensed to move and Max stopped him with an arm across his chest.

"Meet us down at Isolation cell nine." Max said, his voice implacable. "We need him alive to tell us where Fox is and you're not in the right frame of mind right now."

It was on the tip of Eric's tongue to tell Max that he wasn't either, but he stopped himself. With a curt nod he turned and stomped away.

Max looked at Zeke. "Call up three of your men to assist, meet us at -?" He looked to Four.

"Apartment 3d in the West tower."

Zeke nodded and pulled out his radio.

"What are we going to do?" Tris asked.

Max turned his burning gaze to her. "We're going to take him down to cell nine and ask him who he's been calling and where they're keeping Fox. And if he doesn't answer, we'll persuade him........If that fails, I'll give Eric five minutes alone with him."

Tris nodded, shivering slightly. Max spoke again. "Go to the infirmary and speak to Dr. Lynch. Tell him to stand by, we will be needing him later for a code grey. Meet us at the apartment after."

Tris considered asking what a code grey was, but decided against it. Nodding, she turned and left.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tris jogged into the isolation wing and stopped. Eric was pacing back and forth, his face dark. Max and the others hadn't arrived yet.

"Eric, what's a Code Grey? Dr. Lynch said to tell Max to 'stop going for the head so much'."

Eric stopped pacing and rubbed his jaw, stubble rasped. "Code Grey is used when a suspect is being uncooperative while questioning."

Tris made a face. "That's the official answer....what's the real one?"

Eric sighed and leaned against the wall. "It means Lynch is going to have his hands full for awhile....we always get our answers, it's just a question of how much pain is going to come first."

"So you've been part of one?"

"Several."

"Do you do the questioning?"

"Sometimes...usually I provide the incentive to talk." "How long does it normally take?"

Eric raised his eyes to meet Tris'. The look in them was colder than Tris had ever seen and she felt a genuine shiver of fear. "I've had results in as little as five minutes.....and as long as four days."

"We don't have that kind of time now." Tris replied.

"I'm not going to draw it out." Eric growled, pushing away from the wall as a commotion reached their ears.

Max, Four and Zeke appeared, three of Zeke's men's holding a fourth between them. If the restraints didn't give away that this was their traitor, then the bloody nose and slightly dazed expression did. Max was flexing his fist.

The soldiers disappeared into cell nine with Ellis and reappeared a few moments later.

"Suspect is secure, sir." Tris caught a glimpse of Ellis sitting upright in a wooden chair, his wrists and ankles bound to it with heavy leather restraints.

Max glanced over at Eric before entering. Eric followed him. Four leaned against the far wall as Zeke's three men waited at military rest.

"Zeke?" Max called.

"Coming sir." Zeke replied. He glanced at Tris. "I'd stay out if I were you." Tris nodded and moved to stand beside Four.

"Have you ever helped with these?" Tris asked, not sure she really wanted to know.

"No, Eric rarely needs help." Four replied. "I don't have quite the persuasive powers he does."

Tris stopped a shiver. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Max stood tall in front of Ellis and waited. Ellis had helped bring suspects down here before, he knew what he was in for.

"You know what's coming, why don't you just tell us what we want to know?"

Ellis shook his head, sweat dotted his brow. A low growl escaped Eric's chest as he paced like a caged animal by the door. Zeke stood between him and Ellis, although he doubted he could stop Eric if he really wanted by.

"Where is Fox?" Max asked, his voice low.

Ellis didn't respond.

"Who were you sending information to?"

Again, Ellis shook his head.

Max glanced over his shoulder. "Eric? Just a light one."

Eric strode past Zeke and stopped. Drawing back his fist he punched Ellis in the jaw and although he was holding back, Zeke couldn't stop a wince at the sound. Ellis spat out blood and one tooth but remained silent.

Max glanced at Eric again, and Ellis' head snapped to the side as Eric punched him again. Ellis groaned this time as another tooth joined the first.

"Why aren't you talking? You know we won't stop."

"Fuck you." Ellis grumbled. His head snapped again, Eric wasn't holding back as much now. Ellis squeezed his eyes shut, took a few moments to regain himself. Eric moved to stand by Zeke.

"Tell us. Why did you betray me? Why are you helping them?" Max's voice was becoming lower and more dangerous. The energy around Eric was becoming scary.

"Say something." Eric purred, his voice causing Zeke to shiver.

"Fuck you!" Ellis barked. "He'll kill me if I tell!"

"We'll kill you if you don't, now, who?" Max repeated.

Ellis fell silent again.

"Fuck this." Eric growled, pushing past Max, pulling his pistol from his belt as he did so. He pointed it at Ellis' head.

"You kill me and you'll never know." Ellis snarled.

"Who said I'm going to kill you?" Eric jerked the pistol down and fired. Ellis' left knee exploded in a blossom of blood and Ellis jerked in the chair, screaming.

"Tell us!" Max barked.

"Fuck you!"

Eric ripped a knife from his vest and stabbed downwards savagely, right through Ellis' right hand, impaling it to the chair arm. Ellis pistoned his good foot as much as the restraints would allow and howled. Zeke was happy the cell was soundproofed.

Pulling the knife back out, Eric drew it lightly along Ellis’ throat. “Ready to talk yet?”

Panting, blood trickling down his chin, Ellis swallowed hard.

Eric glanced over at Max and Zeke felt a thrill of alarm. He’d been present to a few of these interrogations, but he’d never seen such a ruthless and inhuman look in Eric’s eyes before. It was like he was devolving right in front of him. Zeke hoped Ellis would talk soon, or this would get very bad and very messy, fast.

Eric waited a moment then drew the blade across Ellis’ cheek, carving him from his ear to the corner of his mouth. Ellis made an animal sound of pain but didn’t speak. Wiping the blood off the blade on Ellis’ sleeve, Eric replaced it in his vest and cracked his knuckles.

“I’m through playing.” He said lowly, all traces of Eric gone. He pulled the pistol out again and Ellis’ right knee disappeared.

“Eric.” Max said warningly. “He can’t talk if he’s dead.”

Eric leaned forward and murmured into Ellis’ ear. Zeke didn’t hear what he said, but whatever it was made Ellis’ eyes open wide in horror. Eric took a step back and waited.

“His name is Tom.”

“Why did he pick Fox?” Max asked.

“They’re both from Amity. I mentioned a new redhead initiate with a sweet ass to him and he got real interested, had me get more information on her.”

“Why her?" Max asked, his voice sounding almost sad.

“Something about her getting him thrown out, something about an orchard and a grave.”

Eric went motionless, a low growl rumbled from his chest.

“Where is he keeping her?” Max gritted.

Ellis fell silent. In the blink of an eye, Eric pointed the pistol again and Ellis’ left foot blew apart.

“In a sub-basement!”

“A sub-basement where?!” Max roared.

Ellis hesitated again and Eric raised the pistol a forth time. Ellis’ right foot exploded.

“Eric.” Max warned again.

Blood streamed across the floor, disappearing down the drain in the centre. The smell of gunpowder and blood and terror was starting to get overwhelming. Zeke’s ears rang from the gunshots. This was getting out of hand, this was definitely the worst interrogation he’d ever seen, the fastest to get ugly and Zeke knew that Eric wasn’t done yet. Nothing was off limits right now, not with Fox’s life in question.

“Talk goddammit.” Zeke muttered.

Ellis exhaled raggedly. Eric stepped forward and stomped on the remains of his foot. Ellis gave a gargling wail before shouting. “The old Cook County jail, four stories below-ground, in an isolation cell!”

"How do we get in?"

"The building above-ground is just rubble, but they use a hidden entrance in the northwest corner; I don't know of any other entrances!"

Eric ground his foot down and Ellis choked back another wail. "Okay! There's another way in, on the west side, by an old sign that says 'Parking Lot B'! That's the only two! I swear, every other one is collapsed!"

“How many men with him?” Max asked, looking a little shaky, his eyes flicking warily to Eric.

“I don’t know an exact number, no more than twenty!”

“Try again.” Eric purred. When Ellis didn’t respond Eric placed the pistol under his chin and lifted his head. At the look in Eric’s eyes, Ellis went even paler and he swallowed, his breaths rasping in his chest.

“Thirty.” He murmured.

“Are they on alert? Expecting us?”

“No! He’s an arrogant fuck! He’s sure you’ll never figure it out and he thinks I’d never talk because I need what he has!”

“And what’s that?” Eric asked.

“Shard.” Ellis breathed, dropping his head. Eric snapped his chin back up with the pistol.

“Did you say Shard?” He growled.

“Best cook in the city.” Ellis muttered, beginning to lose consciousness.

Eric took a few steps back and raised the pistol, Max reached over and rested his hand on Eric's arm.

"Don't" He said quietly. "He gave us the information."

Eric turned his head to look at Max and a cold wave of dread washed over Zeke. There was nothing in Eric's eyes right now; no emotion, no humanity, just....nothing. Max held his gaze steadily, something Zeke wasn't sure he would have been able to do.

Eric began to lower the pistol slowly and Zeke exhaled in relief, then jumped in shock as Eric turned his head back and raised it again, a shot ringing out. Ellis sagged in the chair, part of his skull and brains now painting the wall behind him, his remaining eye crooked in it's socket.

Eric turned back to Max. “Cancel the Code Grey.” He growled.

“He might have had more information.” Max retorted.

Eric shook his head. He strode past Max and Zeke, opened the cell door and left. Max glanced at Zeke before following.

[networkingdefinition]

Leo Quotes

Official Website: Leo Quotes

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Every drama requires a cast. The cast may be so huge, as in Leo Tolstoy’s ‘Anna Karenina,’ that the author or editor provides a list of characters to keep them straight. Or it may be an intimate cast of two. – Nancy Kress

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Give like the sun, and the whole world grows tall. – Atticus

Funny People is my favorite performance of myself to date. Even though it’s a comedy and there are serious moments, I really felt like Leo felt like a real person. It didn’t feel like I was playing myself. Whether it’s a comedy or drama, I just try to make it as realistic as possible. – Jonah Hill

Here comes the sun. – The Beatles, Here Comes The Sun

I am a Leo, and I love to be active and creative. – Howie Dorough

I carry around this little lion named Leo, which I’ve had for as long as I can remember. – Shawn Mendes

I did imitations of anyone who came to my parents’ house, and that was my identity at school – if there were ten minutes to lunch, and the teacher was done with the lesson, he’d say, ‘Okay, Leo, get up there and do something.’ – Leonardo DiCaprio

I do wish everyone would call me Leo. It’s not that I don’t like Melissa. But the more I hear it called out, the worse it sounds. – Melissa Leo

I don’t believe that my first name is Leo or that my last name is Tolstoy. I’m a storyteller. – Robert Ludlum

I had a bulletin board in my bedroom with every picture of Leo ever taken – keep in mind, this was pre-‘Titanic’ and pre-Us Weekly, practically pre-Internet. I had to buy ‘The Leonardo DiCaprio Album’ and cut out my favorite pics. – Jenny Han

I have such an ego ’cause I’m a double Leo. I can’t let go of me, you know, so it’s very difficult for me to be somebody else and not me. I’m so into me. – Paul Mooney

I like art history and art criticism. Leo Steinberg has always been my favorite. He’s very original, very accurate and acute. – Helen Vendler

I listened to the veteran wrestlers that had tons of experience, like Leo Burke. I was never really alone. – Robert Maillet

I met Leo Fender, who is the guru of all amplifiers, and he gave me a Stratocaster. He became a second father to me. – Dick Dale

I read a book called ‘Transatlantic’, which is a history of the great shipping lines. Also, of course, I had read about the Titanic and saw Leo drowning at the end of the ‘Titanic’ movie and all that stuff. – Erik Larson

I really do not care that Messi isn’t scoring every match. Leo always produces match-changing moments. – Gerardo Martino

I thought back to my middle-school experience of having slumber parties and watching Romeo + Juliet and staring at Leo and thinking about my first kiss and what I wanted it to be like. And when you have your first real love, it’s an epiphany, you know? It’s like a whole new world. – Bonnie McKee

I would like to have an assortment of words, but what can I say about Leo? He is breaking all the records, and those he will still beat. He makes the public always expect something special from him, and he delivers it. – Ernesto Valverde

If Leo is at his level, it’s going to be very difficult to find a solution to stop him. – Luis Enrique

I’m a huge fan of Don Leo Jonathan. I love that era of wrestling. – Cesaro

I’m a leo, and damn proud of it. – Unknown

I’m a middle child, so I have middle-child syndrome. With a middle child, you always have to take in everything and adjust and maybe compromise a little bit so you’re able to see both sides of an issue. I’m also a Leo – I love astrology – so that affected me, just being a lion. – Jessica Williams

I’m Pisces with Leo rising. The Pisces part is the dreamer. The Leo says, ‘Let’s execute.’ – Quincy Jones

In the summer of 1866, as Leo Tolstoy prepared for his serialized novel ‘War and Peace’ to be published as a single volume, he wrote to illustrator Mikhail Bashilov, hoping to commission drawings for the new edition of the novel, which he referred to by its original title,1805.- Alexander Chee

It is a pleasure to see Leo, an Argentine, as the top scorer in the Champions League. – Gerardo Martino

It is an honour and a pleasure to be able to play with Leo Messi. I want to learn. He is the best player in the world and in history. I am delighted to be able to share costumes. I want to learn a lot from him on and off the field. – Ousmane Dembele

It is best to be born in April or August when the life-giving Sun is in its exaltation sign Aries or Leo, its home, for then we enter the sea of life on the crest-wave and are backed in the battle of existence by an abundant fund of vim and energy. – Max Heindel

It would not be honest if I did a review, because I’ve worked with Leo Messi, whom I consider the best player I’ve seen. I cannot comment or compare with Cristiano Ronaldo because I have not worked with him. That is not to say that I do not have as much respect for Cristiano as a footballer. – Frank Rijkaard

It’s an incredible feeling when you look across the dressing room and see Andres, Leo, Luis and Sergio Busquets, and everyone else. They are players I used to watch on TV or play with on PlayStation, and now I am sharing the same dressing room. It’s incredible for me. – Philippe Coutinho

I’ve always heard Leo saying he is happy at Barcelona. I’ll take the message that he is very comfortable here. – Luis Enrique

I’ve never met a player like Leo Messi. Julen Lopetegui

Lauv comes from the Latvian word for lion, and my mom’s side of the family is from Latvia – it’s a place I’ve been probably 15 times or more. I’m also a Leo, and my real name, Ari, means lion. – Lauv

Leo admires and is admired, loves and is loved. – Linda Goodman

Leo Burke was an unbelievable trainer. Him and Tom Prichard. Tom Prichard was not a big guy. And I learned a lot from him. – Mark Henry

Leo couldn’t deliver Mr. Martin Scorsese his Oscar with ‘The Aviator’, but I will go on record to say I will do so in ‘The Departed’. – Anthony Anderson

Leo Durocher was our manager and he brought Willie up to me and said, ‘This is Willie Mays and he’s your new roommate.’ You could see right away that this young man was a natural. He had those real big hands, great power and speed and would catch everything hit in his direction. He’s the best center fielder that ever lived, no question. – Monte Irvin

Leo Hurwicz is the father of mechanism design theory and has inspired much of my work, and Roger Myerson is an old friend and collaborator and a tremendous economist. – Eric Maskin

Leo is the best player in the world; that is very clear. – Thiago Alcantara

Leo Messi is a little football God. I love playing alongside him. We understand each other without needing to talk. – Dani Alves

Leo would also be unstoppable if I played him at full-back. Messi is simply the best there is. – Luis Enrique

Leo, sadly, has Parkinson’s, but he used to cook all sorts of dazzling things. – Jilly Cooper

My father, Leo Henry Brown, really was talented – he could write. He had a gift, and he had a great, sly humor. – Angie Dickinson

My kids and I make pasta three days a week now. It’s not even so much about the eating of it; they just like the process. Benno is the stuffer, and Leo is the catcher. They’ve got their jobs down. – Mario Batali

My life as Mrs. Leo Durocher and baseball come first. – Laraine Day

My sign is Leo. A Leo has to walk with pride. When he takes a step, he has to put his foot down. You walk into a room and you want people to know your presence, without you doing anything. – Wesley Snipes

Norbert Leo Butz is a master class in energy. – Lauren Ambrose

Of course there is ‘Messidependence.’ It would exist in any team in the world, but when he is not there, we also have to play and try to win. Leo is fundamental for us and marks the style; it is well known that he is the best in the world for something. – Ernesto Valverde

One might say Leos possess a kind of instant passion. – Linda Goodman

Ronaldo leaving would seem to have ended the competition between Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo because people rarely mention one without mentioning the other. A lot of people are interested – me, too – to see how it will affect Real Madrid’s football and what they might do in the transfer market. – Ernesto Valverde

So I think it was a good thing It was a little surreal watching Leo scream ‘I’m not going to die today!’ with our music playing – that was the last thing on my mind when I wrote the song. – Jon Crosby

The first time I met Leo Messi, I didn’t know who he was, only that I couldn’t believe the boots he was wearing. But he is like a brother to me. It was at the start of 2005, when I was with the Argentine under-17 squad and I saw him chatting with Ezequiel Garay and some other players about the boots he’d brought back from the U.S.A. – Sergio Aguero

The Kate Winslet thing has been a shocker. I was like, that is the most ridiculous claim. Amazing, obviously. She’s been my idol since I re-enacted ‘Titanic’ and fell in love with Leo. And it’s a privilege to be called the next anything. But I suppose to be the next you is all you can do. – Florence Pugh

The Leo contains the essence of royalty. – Linda Goodman

The vibration of Leo, ruled by the Sun itself, is almost tangible, a thing you can actually feel throughout your whole being in the presence of a Lion or Lioness. — Linda Goodman

There are no words to describe Leo. He continues to break records every time one is put in front of him. – Gerardo Martino

There is something fundamental about Leo in terms of what he transmits to the supporters and what he transmits to the opposition when he starts to run at you. And I speak from experience. – Ernesto Valverde

There’s no really signature Leo DiCaprio role, like Jack Nicholson is Jack Nicholson no matter what movie he’s in. – Dennis Christopher

What I’d most highlight about Leo Messi is his huge sense of responsibility for the team. It shows in every game in every competition. – Ernesto Valverde

When I played Leonardo DiCaprio’s mother, they liked that Leo had very hooded eyes and a rounded nose with a ball. They said, They look like they could be mother and son. – Ellen Barkin

When Leo takes the record from me, it will hurt a little. But it’s not just anyone taking it away. It’s not a normal person. A Martian is taking it from me. That makes me feel a little better. – Gabriel Batistuta

You know, I am a Leo. Lion is a giant part of me. – Patrick Swayze

[clickbank-storefront-bestselling]

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[equitiesstocks]

Leo Quotes

Official Website: Leo Quotes

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Every drama requires a cast. The cast may be so huge, as in Leo Tolstoy’s ‘Anna Karenina,’ that the author or editor provides a list of characters to keep them straight. Or it may be an intimate cast of two. – Nancy Kress

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Give like the sun, and the whole world grows tall. – Atticus

Funny People is my favorite performance of myself to date. Even though it’s a comedy and there are serious moments, I really felt like Leo felt like a real person. It didn’t feel like I was playing myself. Whether it’s a comedy or drama, I just try to make it as realistic as possible. – Jonah Hill

Here comes the sun. – The Beatles, Here Comes The Sun

I am a Leo, and I love to be active and creative. – Howie Dorough

I carry around this little lion named Leo, which I’ve had for as long as I can remember. – Shawn Mendes

I did imitations of anyone who came to my parents’ house, and that was my identity at school – if there were ten minutes to lunch, and the teacher was done with the lesson, he’d say, ‘Okay, Leo, get up there and do something.’ – Leonardo DiCaprio

I do wish everyone would call me Leo. It’s not that I don’t like Melissa. But the more I hear it called out, the worse it sounds. – Melissa Leo

I don’t believe that my first name is Leo or that my last name is Tolstoy. I’m a storyteller. – Robert Ludlum

I had a bulletin board in my bedroom with every picture of Leo ever taken – keep in mind, this was pre-‘Titanic’ and pre-Us Weekly, practically pre-Internet. I had to buy ‘The Leonardo DiCaprio Album’ and cut out my favorite pics. – Jenny Han

I have such an ego ’cause I’m a double Leo. I can’t let go of me, you know, so it’s very difficult for me to be somebody else and not me. I’m so into me. – Paul Mooney

I like art history and art criticism. Leo Steinberg has always been my favorite. He’s very original, very accurate and acute. – Helen Vendler

I listened to the veteran wrestlers that had tons of experience, like Leo Burke. I was never really alone. – Robert Maillet

I met Leo Fender, who is the guru of all amplifiers, and he gave me a Stratocaster. He became a second father to me. – Dick Dale

I read a book called ‘Transatlantic’, which is a history of the great shipping lines. Also, of course, I had read about the Titanic and saw Leo drowning at the end of the ‘Titanic’ movie and all that stuff. – Erik Larson

I really do not care that Messi isn’t scoring every match. Leo always produces match-changing moments. – Gerardo Martino

I thought back to my middle-school experience of having slumber parties and watching Romeo + Juliet and staring at Leo and thinking about my first kiss and what I wanted it to be like. And when you have your first real love, it’s an epiphany, you know? It’s like a whole new world. – Bonnie McKee

I would like to have an assortment of words, but what can I say about Leo? He is breaking all the records, and those he will still beat. He makes the public always expect something special from him, and he delivers it. – Ernesto Valverde

If Leo is at his level, it’s going to be very difficult to find a solution to stop him. – Luis Enrique

I’m a huge fan of Don Leo Jonathan. I love that era of wrestling. – Cesaro

I’m a leo, and damn proud of it. – Unknown

I’m a middle child, so I have middle-child syndrome. With a middle child, you always have to take in everything and adjust and maybe compromise a little bit so you’re able to see both sides of an issue. I’m also a Leo – I love astrology – so that affected me, just being a lion. – Jessica Williams

I’m Pisces with Leo rising. The Pisces part is the dreamer. The Leo says, ‘Let’s execute.’ – Quincy Jones

In the summer of 1866, as Leo Tolstoy prepared for his serialized novel ‘War and Peace’ to be published as a single volume, he wrote to illustrator Mikhail Bashilov, hoping to commission drawings for the new edition of the novel, which he referred to by its original title,1805.- Alexander Chee

It is a pleasure to see Leo, an Argentine, as the top scorer in the Champions League. – Gerardo Martino

It is an honour and a pleasure to be able to play with Leo Messi. I want to learn. He is the best player in the world and in history. I am delighted to be able to share costumes. I want to learn a lot from him on and off the field. – Ousmane Dembele

It is best to be born in April or August when the life-giving Sun is in its exaltation sign Aries or Leo, its home, for then we enter the sea of life on the crest-wave and are backed in the battle of existence by an abundant fund of vim and energy. – Max Heindel

It would not be honest if I did a review, because I’ve worked with Leo Messi, whom I consider the best player I’ve seen. I cannot comment or compare with Cristiano Ronaldo because I have not worked with him. That is not to say that I do not have as much respect for Cristiano as a footballer. – Frank Rijkaard

It’s an incredible feeling when you look across the dressing room and see Andres, Leo, Luis and Sergio Busquets, and everyone else. They are players I used to watch on TV or play with on PlayStation, and now I am sharing the same dressing room. It’s incredible for me. – Philippe Coutinho

I’ve always heard Leo saying he is happy at Barcelona. I’ll take the message that he is very comfortable here. – Luis Enrique

I’ve never met a player like Leo Messi. Julen Lopetegui

Lauv comes from the Latvian word for lion, and my mom’s side of the family is from Latvia – it’s a place I’ve been probably 15 times or more. I’m also a Leo, and my real name, Ari, means lion. – Lauv

Leo admires and is admired, loves and is loved. – Linda Goodman

Leo Burke was an unbelievable trainer. Him and Tom Prichard. Tom Prichard was not a big guy. And I learned a lot from him. – Mark Henry

Leo couldn’t deliver Mr. Martin Scorsese his Oscar with ‘The Aviator’, but I will go on record to say I will do so in ‘The Departed’. – Anthony Anderson

Leo Durocher was our manager and he brought Willie up to me and said, ‘This is Willie Mays and he’s your new roommate.’ You could see right away that this young man was a natural. He had those real big hands, great power and speed and would catch everything hit in his direction. He’s the best center fielder that ever lived, no question. – Monte Irvin

Leo Hurwicz is the father of mechanism design theory and has inspired much of my work, and Roger Myerson is an old friend and collaborator and a tremendous economist. – Eric Maskin

Leo is the best player in the world; that is very clear. – Thiago Alcantara

Leo Messi is a little football God. I love playing alongside him. We understand each other without needing to talk. – Dani Alves

Leo would also be unstoppable if I played him at full-back. Messi is simply the best there is. – Luis Enrique

Leo, sadly, has Parkinson’s, but he used to cook all sorts of dazzling things. – Jilly Cooper

My father, Leo Henry Brown, really was talented – he could write. He had a gift, and he had a great, sly humor. – Angie Dickinson

My kids and I make pasta three days a week now. It’s not even so much about the eating of it; they just like the process. Benno is the stuffer, and Leo is the catcher. They’ve got their jobs down. – Mario Batali

My life as Mrs. Leo Durocher and baseball come first. – Laraine Day

My sign is Leo. A Leo has to walk with pride. When he takes a step, he has to put his foot down. You walk into a room and you want people to know your presence, without you doing anything. – Wesley Snipes

Norbert Leo Butz is a master class in energy. – Lauren Ambrose

Of course there is ‘Messidependence.’ It would exist in any team in the world, but when he is not there, we also have to play and try to win. Leo is fundamental for us and marks the style; it is well known that he is the best in the world for something. – Ernesto Valverde

One might say Leos possess a kind of instant passion. – Linda Goodman

Ronaldo leaving would seem to have ended the competition between Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo because people rarely mention one without mentioning the other. A lot of people are interested – me, too – to see how it will affect Real Madrid’s football and what they might do in the transfer market. – Ernesto Valverde

So I think it was a good thing It was a little surreal watching Leo scream ‘I’m not going to die today!’ with our music playing – that was the last thing on my mind when I wrote the song. – Jon Crosby

The first time I met Leo Messi, I didn’t know who he was, only that I couldn’t believe the boots he was wearing. But he is like a brother to me. It was at the start of 2005, when I was with the Argentine under-17 squad and I saw him chatting with Ezequiel Garay and some other players about the boots he’d brought back from the U.S.A. – Sergio Aguero

The Kate Winslet thing has been a shocker. I was like, that is the most ridiculous claim. Amazing, obviously. She’s been my idol since I re-enacted ‘Titanic’ and fell in love with Leo. And it’s a privilege to be called the next anything. But I suppose to be the next you is all you can do. – Florence Pugh

The Leo contains the essence of royalty. – Linda Goodman

The vibration of Leo, ruled by the Sun itself, is almost tangible, a thing you can actually feel throughout your whole being in the presence of a Lion or Lioness. — Linda Goodman

There are no words to describe Leo. He continues to break records every time one is put in front of him. – Gerardo Martino

There is something fundamental about Leo in terms of what he transmits to the supporters and what he transmits to the opposition when he starts to run at you. And I speak from experience. – Ernesto Valverde

There’s no really signature Leo DiCaprio role, like Jack Nicholson is Jack Nicholson no matter what movie he’s in. – Dennis Christopher

What I’d most highlight about Leo Messi is his huge sense of responsibility for the team. It shows in every game in every competition. – Ernesto Valverde

When I played Leonardo DiCaprio’s mother, they liked that Leo had very hooded eyes and a rounded nose with a ball. They said, They look like they could be mother and son. – Ellen Barkin

When Leo takes the record from me, it will hurt a little. But it’s not just anyone taking it away. It’s not a normal person. A Martian is taking it from me. That makes me feel a little better. – Gabriel Batistuta

You know, I am a Leo. Lion is a giant part of me. – Patrick Swayze

[clickbank-storefront-bestselling]

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[junker-town]

How Super Bowl media got to be so annoying

And a taxonomy of what a Super Bowl interview looks like.

A little more than a year ago, Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton shuffled up to the podium on the Wednesday before Super Bowl 50, fielded a question that was some variation of “What does it mean to you to be playing in the Super Bowl?,” sighed a deep, deep sigh, and said:

You know what’s confusing? How can I reword questions I’ve been asked so many times? Golly. Nothing pretty much has changed since I’ve seen you guys 24 hours ago. I had an unbelievable sleep, but yet I’m up here again. It’s cool. It’s like I don’t know how you want to say it. I sound like a broken record ...

Now, perhaps Newton should have seemed more grateful. After all, the only reason why he was giving a press conference for a third straight day was because he was about to star in one of the biggest sporting events on the planet. But bear in mind that fatigue is cumulative, and this wasn’t just about Super Bowl week. Newton also answered questions the week prior for local media, and before that every week during the regular season and playoffs because in 2015 he was simultaneously a) the NFL’s best player, and b) the NFL’s most controversial.

“At some point, man, you just get tired of the same questions, you're tired of talking about the other team,” safety Roman Harper, Newton’s teammate last season, told me. “For me, like the first year [with the New Orleans Saints], I was overhearing about who the Indianapolis Colts were, and how great their offense was, and Peyton Manning, and Marvin Harrison, and Reggie Wayne ... and that's all we talked about.

“You talk about these guys in a positive manner, because they definitely deserve to be there, but at some point you're just fed up.”

It’s OK not to like a player. Love and hate is sort of central to being a sports fan. No one should ever base that opinion on what players say during Super Bowl week, however.

In past years, if a player was gruff or refused to talk to media, the news cycle became a referendum on his character — or worse, a referendum on a generation of players and their sense of entitlement.

Which is weird: Who isn’t wary of giving away their thoughts to people they don’t know to be used out of their control?

This isn’t just my opinion, by the way. Jerry Green is one of three reporters to have attended all 50 Super Bowls as a sports writer. He remembers the kerfuffle that Marshawn Lynch created when he showed up to media day so he would get fined. It was nothing new for Green.

“I think if he doesn't want to talk, he doesn't have to,” Green told SB Nation. “It made me remember [1970-71 Dallas Cowboys running back] Duane Thomas, who had the same kind of situation.

“Thomas would be sitting on a bleacher seat wherever the Cowboys were training, and a bunch of us sat around him and tried to talk to him, and he remained stoically silent. Then he'd ask what time was it, and he'd find out and he could leave.”

The NFL mandates four set time periods when players have to face media during Super Bowl week — Opening Night on Monday and an availability session each day on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Things were much less regimented for Super Bowl I. Rather than meet players at tables in hotel ball rooms for a prescribed 45 minutes, reporters went to players’ individual hotel rooms whenever players had down time. Sometimes players didn’t want to talk, but when they did, their conversations with reporters tended to be more substantive than they are now.

The Super Bowl was much, much smaller then. Green remembers covering the game at a time when he wasn’t sure it would be popular enough to be played the following year. Since, he has watched the Super Bowl’s intimacy gradually erode.

“If you wanted to talk to [former commissioner] Pete Rozelle, you could call up and get one of the PR guys, and he gets you through,” Green said. “You see Rozelle, he knows who you are, he talks to you. He took a bunch of us out to dinner at a championship game in Washington. Things like that.

“Roger Goodell, I don't even know if he eats dinner.”

***

INTERLUDE: A taxonomy of the questions that reporters asked Patriots safety Patrick Chung on Wednesday

(paraphrased, and with variations)*

Questions about Atlanta’s offense (12)

What’s the best way to stop Atlanta’s offense? (4)

How do you contain Atlanta’s explosive receivers and running backs? (3)

What about Atlanta’s speed on offense? (1)

What did you learn about Matt Ryan this week? (1)

Does prepping against the Patriots’ two running backs every week help you prepare to play two running backs this week? (1)

What’s the hardest things about stopping Julio Jones? (1)

Is Julio Jones the best receiver you will play this season? (1)

Questions about Tom Brady (7)

How good is Tom Brady? (3)

How often did Tom Brady get picked off in practice? (1)

How do you think Tom Brady will be remembered? (1)

I heard Tom Brady say that it was nice to be on the practice field? (1)

How does playing against Tom Brady make you better? (1)

Questions about Bill Belichick (6)

What will be Bill Belichick’s biggest legacy? (2)

How is Bill Belichick such a consistent coach? (1)

How does Belichick separate intensity and relaxation during Super Bowl week? (1)

What is Steve Belichick like compared to his dad? (1)

What is the strangest thing you’ve seen Bill Belichick do in a game plan? (1)

Questions about non-Brady teammates (6)

What did it mean to hear Chris Long talk about making the playoffs? (1)

What were your impressions of Malcolm Butler today? (1)

What changed for Malcolm Butler after he made that Super Bowl interception? (1)

Are you sick of the whole Rutgers thing yet? (1)

What did you tell Eric Rowe when got to New England? (1)

What was it like watching LeGarrette Blount’s rugby-style run (1)

How are the Patriots a family as a team? (1)

Questions about the Patriots’ defense (6)

What is it about the Pats system that you can thrive in it? (1)

The Patriots defense is so multiple, how is that an advantage? (1)

What kind of player are you? What's your role? (1)

How would you describe your defense? (1)

How often are adjustments happening snap to snap? (1)

The Patriots do unconventional things in the secondary. How aware do you have to be? (1)

Questions about how Patrick Chung feels about this Super Bowl (5)

What makes this Super Bowl different? (1)

How is the training different here compared to Boston? (1)

What has been the highlight of your trip to the Super Bow? (1)

What is your biggest life lesson from making the Super Bowl? (1)

Is being at the NFL Super Bowl a dream come true? (1)

Questions about Mexico (4)

Are you excited there’s going to be a game in Mexico? (3)

Do you know some words in Spanish? (1)

Questions about how Patrick Chung is feeling (4)

Are you tired? (1)

What has this week felt like? (1)

Did it feel good to get on the field today? (1) [Answer: “Yeah, I actually got to play some football and not answer a bunch of questions.”]

How’s the week going so far? (1)

Are you having fun? (1)

Questions about Thailand (4)

Can say hi to our fans in Thailand? (1)

Have you ever had Thai food? (1)

Have you ever been to Thailand? (1)

Do you want to go to Thailand? (1)

Questions about winning the Super Bowl (3)

When celebrating in the locker room, how does Bob Kraft decide who gets a hug or hand shake? (1)

What would you do with your $100,000 for winning? (1)

What will it take to win on Sunday? (1)

Questions about Patrick Chung as a person (3)

What has been the influence of your parents? (1)

How have you matured from when you left the Patriots and came back? (1)

Who has impacted you most on this journey? (1)

My dumb questions for this story (1)

How do you deal with the frustration of answering the same questions all the time? (1)

Do you get bored and play games in your head? (1)

Do you like doing this in the morning or the evening better? (1)

*Note on methodology: If one reporter asked multiple questions that were all probing for the same answer, I counted it as one question. For example, “How good is Tom Brady? What makes Tom Brady so good? Is there anybody as good as Tom Brady?” all count once for “How good is Tom Brady?” Chung was asked more questions than are tallied here. This is not a peer reviewed study.

***

When I asked Green why it all changed, he blamed me.

“The difference is you. There was no such thing as blogging and Internet and all that, and very little television,” Green said. “We had time to get to know players personally. Especially during the season with the beat writers. I could go into the locker room whenever I wanted during the season, except the one time [1965-66 Detroit Lions head coach] Harry Gilmer got angry at me and threw me out.”

Gilmer got mad at Green for publishing comments by defensive tackle Alex Karras that disparaged the head coach. But despite the dust-up, Green was eventually allowed back in the locker room, and more. Reporters used to go to and from road games in the team plane, where they had even more one-on-one time with players and coaches.

It’s difficult to imagine reporters ever having the same candid interactions that Green had with players and coaches. He is one of the men in the famous photo of Joe Namath being interviewed poolside at his hotel before Super Bowl III. One of Green’s favorite stories is about a chance run-in with Vince Lombardi at the LA Coliseum after the NFL-champion Green Bay Packers had beaten the AFL-champion Kansas City Chiefs.

“Lombardi was flipping a football and he was asked if it was an NFL football. And he didn't answer,” Green recalled. “Then he flipped it again and he caught it, and the same question was asked. And it was asked a third time, and he caught it and looked at us and said: 'Yes, it's an NFL ball. And it runs better, it catches better, and it throws better, and damn it you made me say it.'”

Green has been a distinguished sports writer his entire he career. His experience and depth of historical knowledge makes him stand out even more today at a time when it is especially difficult to get substance out of simply interviewing people at the Super Bowl. Everything started going down hill beginning with Super Bowl III, according to Green, when the NFL introduced availability periods that reporters had to ride buses to attend.

Over the years, more and more reporters have shown up to the Super Bowl to spend less and less time with players who don’t have a choice whether they want they want to show up. The setup is bad for reporters, bad for players, and bad for anyone who wants to learn something meaningful about some of the best athletes in the world.

***

Asides from Patrick Chung’s last few minutes at the podium

5:07 p.m. CT

Chung: Yo, what time is it right now.

Me: 5:07

Chung: Oh my god.

Me: I’m cataloging all of these questions.

Chung: So we’ve got 8 minutes left? Jesus.

5:08 p.m. CT

Patriots Staffer: What’s going on, Patrick?

Chung: What up.

Staffer: Not much, I think we're almost out of here.

Chung: Thank god, I want to go to sleep, man.

Staffer: Long day?

Chung: Oh my god, I'm so tired. I went straight from practice, straight here, I had two drum stick chicken wings. And that's it.

Staffer: That's not enough.

Chung: After this I'm going to get myself a big ass meal.

5:11 p.m. CT

Staffer: What are you going to have?

Chung: Anything that's good, I'm going to eat it.

Staffer: I want some tacos.

Chung: I would love some tacos. Is there Mexican food around here?

Staffer: I don't know, I haven't had tacos yet since I've been here.

Chung: They have a lot of good Spanish places around here.

Me: What do they usually get you?

Chung: Like regular hotel food, like steak and chicken.

Staffer: You want some tacos, some barbecue.

Chung: I want some enchiladas.

Staffer: Yeah, are you an enchiladas guy?

Chung: I love enchiladas. They've got to be good, though. They can't be like --

Staffer: -- Yeah, anything that's sort of messy it has to be really good.

Chung: Yeah, the meat has to be good.

5:14 p.m. CT

Chung: Is it 5:15 yet?

Me: 5:14.

Chung: Fuck it, I'm out.