#the americans au tbt.

[vipier-a]

is that … blood ?

SOMETIMES TRISTAN THINKS IT WAS MUCH EASIER WORKING AS AN INDEPENDENT AGENT THAN PART OF A PARTNERSHIP. he has more stability now than he did before, of course ; a house, a car, a stable identity, far more consistent pay, and overall less risky individual assignments. ( safety is a commodity, after all, and while the danger remains relatively high, he no longer risks his life at the same frequency. the agency prefers to preserve their instillations. ) the package came with a husband, too, which tristan still hasn’t figured out what to do with, despite the strict legality of the union and the very real marriage certificate tucked in the bedroom safe. many months have eased any initial suspicion between them, such that they’ve found themselves sharing a bed to sleep, to seek warmth when the stress of the job crashes over one of them. never had further lines been crossed until very recently, when a particularly rough mission left @k4ssa visibly raw and needy, a rarity in itself. he’d begun by curling into tristan as he always does, their bodies searching across the bed for the warmth in each other. things typically ended there — but on this occasion, before tristan knew it, cassian was pressing warm kisses to the column of his neck that turned insistent and heated until the two men found themselves in a tangle of sheets and desperate limbs, sharing gasped breaths and grasping each other tightly enough to bruise. cass sought in him a force to ground him back in his skin, tristan knew, among the many things he’d learned about his husband ; for his part, after some strategically placed stubbornness, tris allowed him to take, take, take until cass was satisfied, perhaps despite common sense and his own better judgment.

the challenge is that tristan has known for quite some time now that he’s in love with his partner. that makes fucking him somewhat more complicated.

as he stands in the kitchen of their home, absently washing the dishes in the sink to the soft sound of a john denver record drifting from the vinyl player in the living room, it occurs to tristan that he never expected to have the opportunity for such mundanity, even part-time. not fighting for his very life through every single assignment certainly proves less stressful than the former alternative. however, it certainly gives him more time to think than perhaps is ideal. he doesn’t exactly relish thinking about his individual assignments, and thus, his mind often falls to any other possible topic. the subject of cassian lingers on the periphery, as it often does, but now with more insistence in light of recent events. it’s been a number of days now, two of which tristan spent out of town on a spot of business that had unfortunately included a pesky confrontation with a man who clearly didn’t realize what he was dealing with. to his credit, he’d scored a hit with his pocket knife, along with a mild shiner to tris’s brow. tristan attributed it to momentary distracted sloppiness he had no plans to repeat. surely nothing to do with the events of the previous night and the lingering aches he’d still felt from them at the time. there had been no hiding the bruise above his eye from his husband, but he’d managed to conceal the knife wound for the past day and a half — although why he bothers pretending, he’s not sure, all things considered.

“ is that … blood? ” cassian’s voice asks from behind him in the kitchen entryway. tris starts briefly, then blinks over at the other man in confusion. cass’s eyes are glued to his lower abdomen and tristan’s fingers search out the spot on instinct. he can feel something warm and sticky seeping through the cotton fabric of his white tank top. a single glance confirms his spouse’s concern ; a generous stain has begun to spread from the precise stab wound he’d thus far managed to conceal. that’s awfully inconvenient, isn’t it?

“ well, shit, ” sighs tristan as though cass had pointed out something as utterly mundane as a food stain on his shirt. “ must’ve popped a stitch. ” almost reluctantly, he sets the sponge and the plate he was washing back in the sink and dries his soapy hands before sitting at a chair at the kitchen table to peel the fabric back from the leaking wound. he doesn’t mean to wince when he sees it, but he does anyway, despite himself. shit. as much as he hates to admit it, it’s not looking good — pesky, given the overall cosmetic nature of the wound. if he’s not careful, he could infect it, assuming that hasn’t already occurred. although he’s thus far remained silent, tristan has felt cassian’s eyes follow him since first he spoke, and finally, he lifts his gaze to meet the other man’s. there’s a steel there he recognizes that pulls his mouth into an impatient frown and he can’t help the roll of his eyes in response. “ oh, don’t give me that look. it was no big deal, barely a flesh wound. my stitch job was just shit. will you grab the kit? and do we still have that spare round of antibiotics? ”

[hydrangeasimagination]

The Brothers Three Masterlist P. 2

So... The first post apparently has too many links so I made another one.

PART ONE OF THIS POST

Dad Might ft. Big Bros Baku, Deku, & Todo

(Putting these under the cut for the sake of continuity)

= MANGA SPOILERS =

Key:

Fluff - 💕

Angst - 💔

Spicy - 🙊

Not so Safe for the Workplace - 💦

Dark Themes - 🖤

Death - 💀

Spoilers - ⭐

Not all headcanons are marked (there is a lot of them)

Chapters / Main Writing:

Full Tag

Side Stories:

Full Tag

How Mochi & Tenshi lost their virginity HCs [🙊] 

Mochi & Tenshi’s Contact Names [💕]

Drabble: Kotatsu Cuddles [💕]

Drabble: Recharging [💕]

Drabble: Christmas Cookies(Villain AU) [💕💔]

Drabble: Something There(Villain AU)(Hawks X Tenshi) [⭐💕💔]

Drabble: Nightmares [💔💕]

Incorrect Quotes Pt. 3

Red // A Poem [💔]

Clean (Kiyoi AU)(Overhaul X Kiyoi) + Art [🖤🙊]

Toshinori & Mochi hit with aged down quirk HCs [💕]

Home Sweet Home (Christmas Special)(Shinsou X Mochi) [💕]

The Way of the Househusband (Dabi ft. Shigaraki)  [💕]

Love Like You (Dabi’s S/O - Reader Insert)(Villain AU) [💕]

Loosely, Gently (Enji’s S/O - Reader Insert) [⭐💕💔]

Mochi Designs + Submissions:

Designs of Mochi by animesportboys​ & trashyloonastan‘s

Male & Female Mochi Moodboards [🖤]

All of the TBT Nonnies + Mitsu’s Dorm Room Design

TBT Animatic - “Forever Now” [💕💔]

Headcanons / Talking:

Full Tag

Mochi going from 0 to 100

Friends and Fam on Yanderes

Best Jeanist reacts to Mochi

Family learning Mochi isn’t a virgin [🙊]

The Admirers and Mochi as Disney Fairytales

Bros & Admirers react to Mochi saving them while yelling “vibe check”

Denki “Simba”ing Mochi + the Bro’s reactions

TBT Fam & Admirers react to Mochi censoring themselves

TBT Fam react to Mochi pulling the ‘no eyebrows’ prank

Mochi being vine famous and the type of content they post

Mochi eating cinnamon rolls and mochi

The Sports Mochi would play

TBT reacting to Mochi having a hickey [🙊]

If Mochi was taken away from their parents at a young age

Iida being a Mom Friend

Denki as Hitoshi’s Wingman, Kyoka as Momo’s Wingwoman

Volunteering at the Animal Shelter & Friendship w/ Koda

Genderqueer Mochi

TBT + Mochi and Dinner at the Todoroki’s [⭐]

Mochi on “Through Heaven’s Eyes” [💔]

TBT Family Unit at Mochi’s Wedding

Mochi making flower crowns + meanings

Future Mochi as a parent + TBT reactions to baby

How the TBT had viewed Mochi as a sibling in a short amount of time

Magnetic Quirk

Mochi on sweets thievery

How Katsuki keeps unwanted suitors away

1-A bets on Mochi’s Sleeping Arrangements

Mochi with ADHD

Katsuki & Mochi’s Bedhead + Hair

Mochi hiding & How Katsuki finds them

General HCs P. 2 [💕]

Hitoshi Asks

Artsy Mochi and Drawing Everywhere

Winter + Gift Giving

Cold and Clinging to Warmer Brother

Mochi on telling TBT they love them

Bone Quirk Mochi and Ruining Clothes

Mochi in Two Heroes Movie

Mochi on making food for Family + Friends

Future/Pro Hero Mochi seeing regretful biological parents [💔]

Mochi Having Bad Fever Dream [💕💔]

Internship with Hawks??

Why Bakugo Katsuki? + Before Bentō

More Mitsuki, Inko, and Rei

Iida being a Mom Friend P. 2

Bentō: Aftermath w/ Aizawa [💔]

Overhaul’s View on Mochi [🖤]

Fam on Heartbreak [💔]

Mochi getting along with Eri

Mistletoe w/ The Admirers

Mochi’s Friendship with Shoji

Mochi on dying Their Hair

Mochi on Katsuki’s S/O

Mochi on Self Harm [🖤]

Mochi hanging out with Kirishima and TetsuTetsu

Mochi getting the flu on Christmas

Chibi Mochi with the Admirers

Mochi and American Slang

Katsuki finding Mochi in a strange place

Valentine’s Day!!

Present Mic and Mochi’s Secret Handshakes

Chill Trio Hangouts

If Mochi Interned with Fatgum

Fandom Troubles

Hitoshi being a softy for Mochi [⭐ ch. 195]

Getting Guard Dogs

Speaking about Toshinori’s Spouse

The Possibility of Vigilante Mochi

More Kitty Mochi ft. Hitoshi

Mochi nearly collapsing [🖤]

Mochi on Nighteye’s Death [💀💔]

If Mochi Interned with Uwabami

Mochi getting buried in letters on Valentine’s Day

Asa & Recovery Girl on Mochi’s Scars [🖤💔]

Upon Asa being Protective

Mochi’s Abusers on UA + Mochi’s First Civilian Casualty [🖤💔]

Mochi with Wolf Quirk

Foreigner Mochi [🖤]

Mochi being sweet and oblivious

Mochi during the lock in

Mochi asking what “simp” means

Mochi getting a Tumblr blog

Bunch of Asks

Mochi having a sugar rush/crash

Tenshi / Villain Mochi AU:

Full Villain AU Tag

LOV reaction to Tenshi’s kitten sneeze

Tenshi making friendship bracelets for the League

Family learning Tenshi isn’t a virgin [🙊]

Tenshi cuddling with plushes

The League react to Tenshi being turned into a cat

Insight on how the LOV’s toddler Tenshi situation

Tenshi on self-care

Dabi and Tenshi on rough-housing

Tired Tenshi and Dabi after a mission

Underground on harming Tenshi [💔🖤]

If Tenshi was taken away from their parents at a young age

Things Tenshi has said to the Pros, Hawks, and Overhaul [💔🖤]

More Sleepy Tenshi

LOV at Tenshi’s Wedding

Muscular versus meeting Tenshi

How Tenshi first came to Tomura’s attention/meeting Kurogiri

Magne teaching Tenshi to intimidate people

Dabi calling Tenshi “kid”

Himiko gifting Tenshi a knife

Jin giving Tenshi a talk about safe sex [🙊]

Tenshi and Dabi on teasing eachother

Sick Tenshi P. 2

Tenshi vs Endeavor ft. Dabi is Touya Theory [💔]

Sick Tenshi P. 3

Redestro on Tenshi

Cold and Clinging to Warmer Brother

Prison Break: Shie Hassaikai Arc [⭐🖤]

Tenshi Having Bad Fever Dream [💔]

Video Games with Tenshi and Tomura

MLA Arc: Tenshi’s Presents for the MLA [⭐]

Incorrect Quote w/ Twice

Tenshi on Dabi’s Spouse

LOV on Heartbreak [💔]

Tenshi’s Pet Crow

Archangel (Hawks X Tenshi) Asks [⭐]

Chibi Tenshi vs The New Recruit

Twice and Tenshi going on an Adventure

Tenshi having metal arms [💔]

The Pros attempting to rehabilitate Tenshi

LOV Fam meeting the All Smite Unit

Meme with Tenshi, Dabi, Toga, and Nomu

Would Hawks ever view Tenshi as a sibling?

Hawks switching sides for Tenshi [💕💔]

Hawks: Original Intent(Archangel) [⭐🖤💔💕]

Archangel Angst [⭐🖤💔]

Other AUs:

AU where Tenshi is like Snowball from “Secret Life of Pets”

Traitor Denki AU: Mochi Reacts [💔]

Traitor Denki and Tenshi General HCs [🖤💕]

What if: Mom Night?

Ten Years Later TBT & Young Mochi + TYL Mochi & Young TBT

TYL Husband Hitoshi + Husband Neito & Young Selves

Traitor Izuku AU: Mochi Reacts [💔]

Quirk and Personality Swap AU HCS

TBT FAM & LOV finding out if Mochi & Tenshi would be forced into a quirk marriage if they weren’t saved [💔🖤]  

Teacher Family AU: Family Reactions [🖤💕]

Dad Might X Momnight AU - Mochi calling Nemuri “Mom”

Traitor Mochi AU [💔]

Cold/Distant Mochi AU [💔]

Mute Mochi & Tenshi AU [🖤💔]

Dad Might X Inko AU - Izuku & Mochi’s Reactions

More Traitor Denki and Tenshi HCs [💕]

Husband Hitoshi + Mochi Art - Babies?

Mochi dying on Work Studies AU [⭐💀🖤💔]

Pro Hero Mochi - Supporting Child Abuse Awareness

Husband Tamaki + Mochi Art - Babies?

What if Mochi met Hitoshi before UA? [💔💕]

What if Mochi met Himiko in their junior high years? [💕]

School Idol Mochi

Idol Mochi + Famous Musician Mochi

Idol Mochi + Cat Themes w/ Hitoshi

Idol Mochi + Stage Persona (Rock)

Idol Mochi + Shouto and Katsuki during make up exams

Idol Mochi + The LOV being Fans

Adult Idol Mochi + Merch

Cousin Hawks AU [⭐💔💕]

Cousin Hawks AU: About His Spy Work [⭐]

Traitor Tenshi: Getting close to TBT

Artificial Hero Mochi [💔💕]

Danganronpa AU(?)

Hogwarts AU

Hacker AU [🖤]

Fake Quirk / Actor AU P. 2

Deceased Mochi AU [💀💔]

Kakegurui Crossover P.1

Kakegurui Crossover P. 2

Kakegurui Crossover P. 3

Kakegurui Crossover P. 4

A/B/O / Omegaverse AU:

General

Omega Mochi asking Alphas to scent their belongings

Other classification and scents

Omega Mochi on Alpha Iida’s scent

Nesting Habits ft. AUs

Mitsu / All Smite Mochi AU:

Basics [🖤]

Differences

"Meeting” Uncle David

More on Uncle David

Mitsu is not the UA Traitor

Quirk Marriage

“Open Up Your Eyes”

All Smite Unit meeting the LOV Fam

Mitsu’s Love Interests

Nickname Origins

Fandom Troubles

Deaged / Baby Mitsu

Getting Guard Dogs

Speaking about Toshinori’s Spouse

Mitsu gets turned into a Kitten

Mitsu nearly collapsing [💔]

Smite being mother hen-like

Upon Asa being Protective

Asks About Mochi, Mitsu, Tenshi & Kiyoi:

Murdered Parents [💀🖤💔]

Blood Siblings? [💔]

Hair Dye Blabs

Doctors Troubles [🖤]

Early Life [🖤]

Playing Piano [💔]

If they never met found family? [💔]

What if AFO is their biological father? [💔]

About Eri [💔]

Anger Managing [🖤💔]

PTSD [🖤💔]

Hogwarts AU

Bunch of Asks

Immortality Quirk [💀🖤💔]

Comfort Space [🖤💔]

[allisonaergents]

5 Shows and Some Questions

Rules: Pick 5 shows, then answer the following questions. Don’t cheat. Tag 10 (or however many) people.

I was tagged by @ladyinrosso :)

All American

Roswell New Mexico

The Bold Type

Anne with an E

The Expanse

Who is your favorite character in 2?

Liz Ortecho

Who is your least favorite character in 1?

Asher Adams

What is your favorite episode of 4?

The pilot. I fell in love instantly just within the first minutes of the episode. 

What is your favorite season of 5?

Mmm, probably S1. Like I said the other day, I tend to always choose the first season of a show. Altough so far the four seasons are really good. 

Who is your favorite couple in 3?

Sutton and Richard (Altough I also like Kat and Adena)

Who is your favorite couple in 2?

Max and Liz

What is your favorite episode of 1?

The pilot. But also from s1: 109, 112. S2: 207, 210, 211, 215, 216.

What is your favorite episode of 5?

The pilot

What is your favorite season of 2?

So far S1, let’s see how s2 continues to develop, soon to tell. 

How long have you watched 1?

Since the first episode aired, so two years. It’s funny because I wanted a teen show with some sport in it, and when I saw the promo in the summer for All American, it was like, this is what I’ve been looking for. 

How did you become interested in 3?

A friend of mine watched the first episode and told me I should check it out. 

Who is your favorite actor in 4?

Amybeth McNulty, she is incredible. 

Which do you prefer, 1, 2, or 5?

All of them are so different, I can’t choose. 

Which show have you seen more episodes of, 1 or 3?

The Bold Type ‘cause it has more seasons so far. (I’m not much of a rewatcher). 

If you could be anyone from 4, who would you be?

I mean, Anne marries Gilbert Blythe... 

Would a crossover between 3 and 4 work?

Omg! A Modern AU of Anne with an E meets The Bold Type? Anne Shirley meeting Sutton, Jane and Kat? Someone write this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pair two characters in 1 who would make an unlikely but strangely okay couple?

Mmm, Jordan and Kia mabye? Just because if it wasn’t because Spencer moves to Beverly Hills, connecting Crenshaw and Beverly Hills, both of them wouldn’t have even meet. And he already was there for her for the dance. 

Overall, which show has the better storyline, 3 or 5?

Hard to tell, both shows are so different. TBT speaks of so many important topics regarding women, but The Expanse’s storylines are pure sci-fi excellence while also maintaing a relevant politics storyline. 

Which has better theme music, 2 or 4?

Definitely 4! Ahead by a century is perfect for Anne with an E!

I tag: @tangledstarlight @stevesharington @moonlightsdream @leilaorgana @leaiorganas @addy-hanlons @markblckthorne @saveyoua-seat @zohlaa @zoesrobbe

[fraismonet]

my full list of concept playlists. feel free to send in ideas.

dance with cherry margharita: you are at a club thats looks like 80s disco and the songs are playing makes you lose yourself to the rhythm, raising your cherry margaritas in the air for the cheers

nature asmr: your vision starts to blur as you step not the forest. rain starts to pour but you seem to not get affected by it you keep walking and the feel of relief surrounds you

sexy tunes: your hand is messing up their hair and their hands roam your body, the kiss gets passionate each second as you feel complete

rainy daze: you are sitting in front of your mirror with camomile tea in your hands, as the rain stumps on your window peacefully. you close your eyes and just listen.

kind asshole: black hair, check. leather jacket, check. cigarette, check. total asshole look but he has a heart of gold, saying sorry ben you bumped into him.

chill in bed: sunlight shines through the window making you feel like staying in bed even more and just singing along to these songs with your puppy next to you.

cherry cola & salty hair:  sunny summer day air is refreshing and the water is shinier than ever, you sip your cherry cola and have the time of your lives with your friends. **updated with more summery songs**

roadtrip: sun is shining up in the sky as you have been on the road for hours. the window is rolled down, wing blowing your hair as you sing along with your friends throwing your hairs up in the car.

self love: for the moments of self doubt. reminder to feel better again and always.

4 a.m songs: its 4 a.m you are looking outside as the moon is up, shadows of street lights creating a silhouette. you sigh and close your eyes while sitting in front of your window.

soft coffeehouse: you are at the cafe with your friends. the sun is shining bright as you feel the warmth even more with each sip, feeling of happiness bursts as these soft/indie songs play in the background.

disney classics: for the times that you want to feel as if you are younger again and waiting for disney classics to be on tv. maybe for screaming disney has no age too.

des’ christmas tunes: its snowing lightly and you are halfway through your christmas decorations. you stand back and look at them, even though you have much work to do you smile and feel festive.

reckless: for the moments that you feel badass - or want to be badass.

essentials 70/80′s: your tumblr friend minihmalist tried to do a list for the kind-of-badass moments and failed when she added songs that create a nostalgic vibe. still badass though.

slytherin pride: if you are a proud slytherin, this is for you.

ravenclaw pride: if you are a prouf ravenclaw, this is for you.

hufflepuff pride: if you are a proud hufflepuff, this is for you.

gryffindor pride: if you are a proud gryffindor, wait its in progress. send your recommendation songs.

tbt mixtape: a mixtape for the songs that i liked in the past.

studyblr songs: songs that i listen while doing lecture notes/ revision

jake peralta: character playlist, “he’d shout NOICE”

halloween: trick or treat people with kindness.

early mornings & sweet tea: calm mornings with very chilled songs and few energising ones.

walks in paris: this songs always remind me of paris and i may have listened them while i was there too so…

walks in london: these tunes cover london’s energy yet classy way of being.

airbus: in the air, bored, this playlist will be your company in the airlines.

walks & meditate: soft and relaxing melodies for the inner peace.

get fit: modified with some high motivation boosters, gym one.

malec: the mortal instruments stans, this is for our babies.

neon lights and cranberry vodka: the emo and angst also with classic rock bands and indie ones, complete opposite of my dance with cherry margharita one.

valentine: love songs that i created with my single ass.

klaus hargreeves: umbrella academy stans, here is the precious one.

runaways: you know that feeling of running off from your home w grou of friends adn just be reckless? no? well these songs can give that vibe.

royals au: prince / princess of a kingdom, attending the balls and training for the sake of your land, having royal friends of all kind and a spark of love interest.

eliott & lucas: for all the elu shippers out there. what a season that was.

taurus playlist

scorpio moon playlist

*cody fern’s characters*

ok he is an amazing breakthrough actor!

michael langdon: american horror story

jim mason: the tribes of palos verdes

duncan shepherd: house of cards

* favorite tunes*

my fave #1 bowie tunes:

my fave #1 queen tunes:

my fave #1 tom odell tunes:

*marvel *

peter quill would adore this playlist. and ofc guardians of the frickin’ galaxy!

thor          loki

bucky barnes

steve rogers

infinity war playlist that will make you either cry from sadness or excitement.

we’re in the endgame now

[generallynerdy]

All I Ask of You (Bucky Barnes X Reader, TBT Special, Part 1)

Summary:  A Marvel High AU! Because that’s original! You, reader, have had a huge crush on Tony Stark, billionaire, playboy, jock, since the day you met him. Your best friends, Natasha and Bucky, have tried to convince you, since that very day, that he isn’t who you think he is. In a stroke of luck, your crush, your best friend, and yourself end up cast as one of the most historic theater love triangles; Christine, The Phantom, and Raoul. Dealing with a bad past, living with your best friend, having to share a bed with said best friend, and also finding out a secret about the same friend that has to do with you were not on your list of ideal events this year.

Key: (Y/N)-your name

Today’s Playlist: Literally the entire Phantom of the Opera Soundtrack. But mostly the main theme, All I Ask of You, and Past the Point of No Return.

Cast: YOU! Bucky (James) Buchanan Barnes, Tony Stark, and basically every other MCU Avengers Character. (Note: I wrote this a long time ago, so some characters weren’t in the MCU at the time)

Warnings: Language, Extreme Overload of Theater Kid-ness, Bad Poetry

Status: Complete

Note: *Cringe* Okay so this was one of the first one-shots I EVER wrote, so I decided to post it as a Throwback Thursday type thing and I’m sort of regretting that. Screw it! Imma post it anyway.

    As a theater kid with singing abilities, it was my sworn duty to audition for my high school’s rendition of The Phantom of the Opera. What I didn’t expect was for both my crush and my best friend to audition as well. What was even more surprising was when we all landed the main roles.

    James was Raoul, Tony was Erik, and I landed Christine.

    This should be fun.

    I gasped as Nat pulled the cast list away from my face, smirking. “Congrats, (Y/N). Should be an interesting show.” I ripped the cast list from her hand and reread the list of characters multiple times as Nat’s expression only became smugger.

    “There is no way!” I looked at her for confirmation.

    “Yes, way.” Nat nodded. “You, the biggest playboy known to Marvel High, and your childhood best friend, who swore he couldn’t sing, by the way, landed the most historic love triangle in theater history.”

    “I wouldn’t say the most historic,” I mumbled under my breath.

    Nat ignored my comment, “Not to mention that the playboy just happens to be your crush of a few years, though I have no idea why.”

    “Natasha Romanoff,” I chided, “You have no right to judge my choice of men.”

    She gave me another smug look and raised her eyebrows, “No, but I can judge your choice of boy.”

    I found James right after school. He had been avoiding me all day, but I had my ways. Steve was quick to take my bribe.

    Steve blocked James from exiting out the back door of the school, where we usually left school together. I smirked to myself, knowing that if Nat were here she’d slap the back of James’ head for such a stupid move.

    “C’mon, Steve, please just let me out.” James groaned, begging.

    Steve shook his head loyally, arms crossed. “Sorry, Buck, you know I can’t do that.”

    James sighed, “What’s she giving you this time?”

    Steve glanced at his feet but didn’t reply. I took this as my cue and turned the corner into the hall. “Brownies.”

    James turned, frowning in defeat. Steve regained his confidence and relaxed a little, “You still need me, (Y/N)?”

    I smiled at him. “Nope. He should stick around now. Thanks for your help, Cap.” I used his schoolwide nickname and gave a little salute. As captain of the football (American, sadly), it was appropriate. He rolled his eyes and walked out.

    “So, Bucky-” I said dramatically, walking slowly toward my best friend. “Raoul, huh?”

    He sighed, “Uh huh…”

    I paused and we sat in silence. Then I burst out, ignoring my earlier decorum, “You should’ve told me!”

    He smiled, knowing that I wouldn’t be angry for long. “I’m not sorry. I don’t think I’m that great, anyway.”

    I scoffed, “Said every talented person ever.” He rubbed his neck self consciously until I grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him. Well, as best I could his strength. “SHOW ME!!”

    Bucky smiled devilishly, “You’ll have to wait ‘til practice.” He started toward the door.

    I frowned at the sing-song way he said it and followed him out the door, intending to continue bugging him about it. Unfortunately, the moment we stepped outside, Bucky broke into a run. I sighed and chased after him.

    We did this often as our sort of daily exercise, though Buck and I still ran with Steve and Sam sometimes. As football players, it was their duty. And me? I just don’t like being left behind.

    I was practically hopping up and down in my chair when the first practice began. I stopped when Tony walked in, though, because I didn’t want to make a fool of myself.

    Our director split us up into three groups. About one-third of the cast, including Tony, hadn’t seen the movie and were sent to watch it. Another third had seen the movie but needed to refresh their memory of the songs. Bucky surprised me by being in the final group with me.

    Since our group was ready to begin practice, our director assigned us songs to work on. She wanted us to work on duet or group members since we had the whole cast today. Tony and the others I had numbers with hadn’t watched the movie yet, so I could only work with Bucky. I didn’t mind, though. In fact, I was ecstatic.

    “Sing! Sing! Sing!” I chanted, waltzing circles around Bucky in the practice room.

    He chuckled, “(Y/N), I don’t even know what to sing.”

    I scoffed, “Raoul only has a couple big numbers with Christine.” I pointed to myself. “How about we try All I Ask of You?”

    He blushed a little, “Really? The romantic one?”

    I rolled my eyes, “Wow, Buck. Can’t even pretend to be in love with your best friend.” I taunted his acting abilities, hoping that he would give in.

    “Fine.”

    I cheered and hugged him around the neck. After setting up our music on my phone (Bucky had a flip phone, the old soul), we prepared to sing.

    Bucky took a deep breath from where he stood, opposite me. “No more talk of darkness-” He blushed when he noticed my jaw drop. With that silky smooth voice, he should’ve been on Broadway by now. It took him a moment to get the right key and he didn’t sing very loudly, but it was still impressive.

    “Forget these wide-eyed fears-” I zoned out a little, listening to his voice and his verse passed quickly. “I’m here with you, beside you, to guard you and to guide you.”

    I cleared my throat and began to sing. “Say you love me every waking moment-” Bucky smiled brightly at hearing my voice and I blushed deeply. He really knew had to make a girl feel great about herself.

    The song was over much faster than I wanted and Bucky had to go work on another number.

    I heard slow clapping behind me and turned to find Tony there. “Damn.”

    “H-How long have you-”

    He smiled, “Just caught the last verse. You have a pretty voice, (Y/N), is it?”

    I nodded, blushing. “T-Thanks.”

    “Actually, I’ve had my eye on you for a while now, weird as it sounds.” He said, causing my heart to skip a beat. “I was wondering if you want to hang out sometime?”

    My heart caught in my chest, “S-Sure!”

    Tony’s smile brightened, “Great!” He handed me a slip of paper with some digits on it. “Call me.”

    With that, he was gone. And I was dead.

    “HE WHAT?!”

    I giggled at Nat as she tripped in her ballet shoes after hearing my news. “He invited me to hang out with him.”

    “(Y/N), you can’t!” She exclaimed, standing once again.

    I put my hands on my hips, “And why not?”

    “Well for one,” Nat counted on her hand, “He’s sexist, a jerk, a playboy, and the only good things about him are his looks and money.”

    “You forgot the genius part, Nat,” I added, frustrated.

    She snorted, “Maybe in the classroom. He isn’t very street smart.”

    I sighed, “Nat, could you please be a little supportive?”

    “No! You’re going to get hurt, (Y/N), and as your friend, it’s my job to prevent that!”

    I clenched my fists. “I know what I’m doing, Nat! Stop trying to replace my mother!” I suddenly grew furious with her. Any other day I wouldn’t have been so upset.

    Nat’s expression immediately formed into sorrow and regret. “Shit, it’s today, isn’t it-? (Y/N)!”

    My vision grew clouded with angry tears as I stormed off, heaving my backpack onto my shoulder.

    I had stopped by the ballet/dance room to tell Nat what had happened and was now forced to walk the entire length of the school before leaving. This subjected me to inevitably pass every one of my friends.

    I first passed two of my teachers, Mr. Fury and Miss Hill. I noticed the latter look at me sympathetically while Fury kept a stoic expression.

    I then almost ran into Vision, who looked on confused. No one knew his real name. We just called him Vision because of his, and I quote, “insight into the vast world around us”.

    I stormed past the art room, barely giving Wanda any time to realize I was there. Bruce was too caught up in his work to notice me enter and leave the lab, where Tony would be if we hadn’t had practice today.

    Most of the guys were outside, in the exact direction I was leaving.

    Thor was on his way to football practice. “(Y/N)!” I ignored him. “Perhaps now is not a good time…” He mumbled to himself.

    Once outside, I passed T���challa and Scott Lang, who both looked confused, but decided not to pry.

    Pietro was running around the track before he noticed me and ran alongside me. “(Y/N), are you-?” He was cut off by a field goal who decided to sneak up on him.

    “(Y/N)!” I heard three voices call me. They had to be Bucky, Steve, and Sam. I was just as fast as them if I pushed myself, so I burst into a full-on sprint.

    I ignored Clint’s protest, then worry and confusion when he almost shot me with an arrow as I ran in front of his targets.

    I finally reached the school’s front gate and, instead of opening it like a normal person, hopped over it with little effort. Sam couldn’t jump the gate, so he would probably stop there while Buck and Steve continued. I continued my mad dash into the city and started to cross the street. Unfortunately, idiots weren’t rare on the roads.

    I stood like a deer in headlights as a black truck sped toward me. I thought for sure it was over until I was knocked to the side and the air from my lungs escaped me entirely. I felt myself land hard on the concrete. My ears rang and my head throbbed, but I managed to stand. Steve was rubbing his temples, kneeling near the ground where I had just been. I saw him and immediately began to run again. They couldn’t help me.

    I kept running as the noises and pain overwhelmed me. My ears rang, my head throbbed, and my entire right side cried out in pain. The engines and honking of the cars, the roar of voice, and basic sounds of the city contained my mind.

    I needed quiet. I need to think and I needed to breathe. I needed my mother.

    He found me under the cherry tree by the lake about 5 miles from the city. The plot of land belonged to my father. I hadn’t seen him for years and I didn’t care to either. I had always been afraid that he would come back to find me and haunt me. The last time he had been in the city was to bury my mother under the same cherry tree I sat below, 8 years ago to the day.

    Since then, I had been living in Bucky’s apartment. As long as he could remember, it had just been him. He had always survived on his own. My mother and I were some of the few people to help him along and Bucky felt it was his duty to return the favor.

    He approached silently and sat down next to me, criss-cross style. The only noise I heard from him was a quiet sigh as we gazed silently at the dead roses that drooped near the cherry tree’s trunk. They were the only marker of my mother’s existence besides myself and a couple old pictures. I had never changed out the roses. To be honest, it was a miracle they hadn’t blown away yet.

    We sat in silence for a few moments before Bucky put his hand on my knee calmly, which I could tell meant that he was there for me and he wanted to help. I gave in and hugged him, sniffling.

    “She’s just being careful, you know?” He sighed, “She’s just trying to take care of you.”

    I grunted.

    “Yeah, she could be more supportive, I agree, but you can’t blame her too much for taking care of you.”

    I sighed, exasperated.

    “She couldn’t have known it was today.”

    I was silent.

    “I know you’re sorry, (Y/N), but she doesn’t. Can you apologize to her? Please? That’s all I’m asking.”

    I whined a little, mumbling something.

    Bucky laughed, “Fine, home first. Nat second.”

    I smiled a little and he stood. Bucky always understood what I was trying to say, even if it wasn’t with words. He reached for my hand to help me up and I gladly took it.

    “C’mon, (Y/N). Let’s go home.”

    “Bucky?” I mumbled, turning from my side of the bed to face him.

    “Hm?” He murmured, eyes still closed and ignoring me from his side of the bed. Yes, we shared a bed. No, it was not romantic. It was completely platonic and friendly. As orphans, and two teens who couldn’t land great jobs because of our age, we didn’t have a lot of money for anything other than necessities.

We were working on getting two separate beds, but things had been slow since Bucky lost his job at Baskin Robbins when it closed down. I hadn’t held a job for months thanks to Bucky’s insisting he could handle the bills by himself, which was utterly ridiculous. So, I planned on putting out a job application to a couple places soon.

“Is Tony a jerk?” I asked, nervous about our ‘date’ the next day.

Bucky opened one eye, sighing. “(Y/N), do you think he’s a jerk?”

“No..?”

“Does he make you happy?”

“B-Buck!” I got a little embarrassed talking about it.

He rolled his now open eyes, “I’m not asking much, (Y/N), just that. Does he make you happy?”

“I-I guess so..I haven’t had enough interaction with him to tell, I think.” I answered slowly, trying to decipher my feelings.

“That’s all that matters,” Bucky said simply before sighing and closing his eyes again. “Now I want to sleep, (Y/N), so leave me alone.”

I scoffed, “You are such a grouch, Bucky.”

He grunted like an old man, “Yeah, you meddling kid, now get off my property!”

I burst into giggles and closed my eyes, too. “‘Night, Buck.”

“Sleep tight, (Y/N).”

“Don’t let the bedbugs bite.” I teased.

“That doesn’t work on me anymore. I’m not eight.”

“Aww, dang it.”

So Tony and I went on our date and had an amazing time- beyond amazing. We went out a couple times after that, thus becoming what we teens like to call ‘a thing’. At least I think that’s what we’re calling it still? I dunno, it changes all the time. I guess you could say he was my bae if you really want to call your significant other crap in Danish.

Natasha tried to convince me that he was an asshole, constantly piling recordings and quotes onto my desk at school. Bucky, however much he despised Tony Stark, was respectful and gave me my own space.

“How can you just sit while she gets hurt?!” Nat yelled at him furiously.

Bucky put a hand on her shoulder to stop her pacing and freaking out, “Nat, chill. He hasn’t hurt her yet.”

“Yet!” Nat exclaimed, “But we both know he will, James Buchanan Barnes!”

He rolled his eyes, “She’s capable of taking care of herself, Nat. If things get bad, she’ll get herself out. As friends, we’ll get her out of trouble when she needs it, but it isn’t our place to tell her who she should and shouldn’t date. Besides, we shouldn’t assume he’s going to hurt her just because he’s... imperfect. No one is perfect, you know.”

Nat scoffed, “You really want to bring him down, don’t you.”

Bucky glanced around the room as if looking for someone, then sighed. “Fine, yes.”

Nat smiled devilishly, “Got a plan, lover boy?”

“L-Lover boy?” He stammered, “Where did that come from?”

“I think you know.” She said, before clearing her throat. “Anyway, plan?”

Bucky sighed, “Just gather all the evidence you’ve got and wait awhile until he...makes a dumb move. Then I’ll tell you what to do.”

“So in other words, wait ‘til she catches him making out with some other girl?”

Note:

I’m not sure when I’ll post Part 2, probably the next time I get a Thursday post. If everything turns out right, that should be not next week, but the week after. Anyway, thanks for reading!

Part 2 is here!!

Requests are always open!

[judchuks1]

Business: Standards Alliance supports U.S.-Africa relations through TBT

Business: Standards Alliance supports U.S.-Africa relations through TBT

The Standards Alliance, a public-private partnership between the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), in coordination with the African Union (AU) and the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), is supporting U.S.-Africa trade relations through the appointment of a technical advisor for technical barriers to trade…

[iamgabrisan]

BOULO VALCOURT & BELLA (2017) HAYO: Haitian American Youth Organization of Kendall (#TBT 19th annual Fête) A year ago the legendary Boulo Valcourt gave a riveting performance at HAYO's 19th annual event. Bella not only got to meet Boulo for the first time, he joyfully signed her autograph book. The child was touched by his kindness. She knows all the music from his latest album : Kè Mwen Fè Mwen Mal / Au Coeur Ça Fait Mal https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/boulovalcourt. It was released around the time her grandfather was at the hospital. We played the album on the way to hospital visits and for grandpa who loved his music. Tonight we celebrate Boulo Valcourt. Thank you for the music which was part of the soundtrack of our lives and highlighted the precious memories we cherish today. Forever missed. Sandra Gabriel, Lmt HAITI⭐LEGENDS #BOULOVALCOURT #HaitianAmericanYouthOrganizationofKendall #restinpeace #wemissyou #HAYO #haitilegends #HAYOkids https://www.instagram.com/p/BhIfmY9gonT/?igshid=wz97mhfx874k

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

Modern Animorphs AU (part 2)

@jollysunflora : The second half of my complete list of modern AU Animorphs headcanons, approximately one per book.  

28. “Ax,” Marco says, “How come you can roll out ‘venti dulce de leche dark-chocolate frappuchino extra whip’ without batting an eye, but you giggle every time you have to say the word ‘soy’?”

“It has so many vowel—owl?—sounds, in so little space,” Ax says.  “That long sssssssssss, so pleasant on the tongue, but then that odd oooyyy ooy-yah?  All in the back of the mouth.  Very strange.  Sssoooy.  Ssususs-oooyaaa.”

“Also, he’s moved on from the frappuchinos,” Tobias adds.  “Now he keeps spending all our hard-stolen bitcoins on espresso mack... mach...”

“Espresso macchiato con panna,” Ax explains.  “Doppio.”

29. Cassie feels herself sweating as she props the laptop across the room from her, tools laid out and Ax unconscious on the table.  She never expected to find a YouTube video on how to perform brain surgery—and to be honest, it’s actually about “how neurosurgeons perform an orbitozygomatic craniotomy,” not intended to be a how-to manual—but it’s the best she can do under the circumstances, and so she’ll follow along for now.  

MM3.  “That’s the kind of strong leadership we need.”  Jake gestures to the full-color television (this year’s latest model) where a program of their current leader plays on a loop.  “Keeping the wrong kind of people out of this country, saving America for the right kind of Americans.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Rachel says.  She and Tobias and Jake are the only three Animorphs, except when Melissa joins them sometimes, and listening to their “Supreme Leader” blather on gets old sometimes.  “All I want to know is whether it’s true that within a few years people will really have phones that plug into their cars.  That’d be cool.”

Tobias rubs his eyes against the silk of his wing feathers.  They itch constantly, since he doesn’t have a gas mask to wear every time he goes out into the pollution-opaque air outside the way that his human friends do.  Jake and Rachel take bets sometimes, idly, brutally, about whether he’s the last raptor left on the face of the planet.

“Magnificent!”  Drode appears in their midst, and both the Berensons immediately point guns at his head.

30. Marco is lying on his bed the day after watching Eva fall, staring at a patch of wall above his dresser, when he registers that his phone has been buzzing for a while now.  It goes off so many times he assumes he has to be getting a call, but when he checks his notifications he just discovers he’s gotten seventeen text messages in the last hour.  

The first is from “Smurfette,” and says “Did you know that there is a type of food that involves baking a cinnamon bun inside of a donut?  We must secure as many of these as it is possible for a human to consume, as soon as possible!”

The next one, from “Hawkgirl,” reads: “found out recently that apparently ax still thinks you invented flea powder.  i told him that if youd invented flea powder wed all be a lot richer right now.”

“Team Dad” (not to be confused with “Real Dad,” which is how Marco lists Peter) sent along several invitations to team missions on League of Legends this afternoon, along with a threat to have Cassie play Marco’s avatar if Marco doesn’t join in.  “we both know that by the time you get back you’ll have only healing attacks and she’ll have trained it to apologize automatically for stabbing people,” Jake adds.

One of the many texts from “Julia Butterfly Hill” suggests that Jake has underestimated Cassie’s diabolical streak, because it’s a screenshot of a clone of his account which has had its name changed to HarambeWasFramed.

The real surprise, however, is the single text from “Xena: Warrior Princess.”  It’s a link to an article about a disaster in the local national park and the efforts to clean up the wreckage of an as-yet-unidentified craft which went down in the canyon.  Marco has to read it a few times to understand the point she’s making, because it’s all about what’s not there: the article makes no mention of any human bodies being found among the wreckage.  

Marco gets halfway through typing a reply to them all which informs them in no uncertain terms that he sees through their transparent attempts to cheer him up and doesn’t appreciate it, but he deletes without sending.  He can practically hear his mom’s voice saying it: he can focus on the fact that he’s still surrounded by people who love him, or he can focus on the negative side of everything.  And being constantly negative is no way to live.  

31. “Sharing this again, because its been 3 months,” Jake’s cousin Brooke posts on Facebook.  “Anyone who has any news at all about Saddler, no matter what it is, PLEASE contact my family.  Big brother, I dont know if youre still out there, but I miss you.  I miss you like crazy.”

Jake turns up his Spotify’s Offspring channel a little louder to drown out the sounds of Tom and his dad shouting at each other downstairs.  His eyes flinch past Brooke’s post, but they can’t move fast enough to prevent the thought that flashes across the surface of his mind: Is this going to be me a year from now?

32. Tobias texts Rachel and Jake an article from Audubon.Org, where several birdwatchers are going into ecstasies of scientific fascination at the bald eagle and peregrine falcon seen flying in close formation in a cell-phone video taken near a highway overpass downtown.  His only comment is, “Told you so.”

33.  In the aftermath, Rachel does a Google search: “PTSD treatment symptoms outcomes.”  She reads through the WebMD site, the NIMH page, the Wikipedia link to a DSM-5 entry.  She thinks of Tobias’s withdrawn silences, his antipathy toward so much they used to enjoy, but she thinks of other things as well.  How exhausted Jake seems any time they’re not on-mission.  How badly Cassie flinches when the school bell rings and doors slam.  How Ax seems to be gradually losing interest in the things—cooking shows, new condiments, human history trivia, These Messages—that once drew his fascination.  How last week Marco flicked an ant off the back of his hand and then went white like he’d just kicked a puppy.  How good it had felt when she’d hurt David, spreading the pain around, giving it back.

She catches an Uber to the clinic downtown, filling out forms in the waiting room based on the checklist written on her phone for “how to get tobias an ssri”: Yes, she often feels tense and worried.  Yes, her heart often races for no reason.  No, she hasn’t thought of ending her life.  No, she doesn’t feel out of control when she eats.  

She gets as far as developing a cover story—it’s about how she’s never felt the same since her parents’ divorce—but in the hallway to the office she panics and calls Cassie.  “Am I doing the right thing?” she asks, after she’s explained.

Cassie is silent for a long time, never a good sign.  “I’m not sure an SSRI would work on a bird,” she says at last, “and that’s even if we could figure out a dose that would work without killing him.  I know you want to help, and I think you should, but...”

Rachel hears what she’s not saying: but what if her mom asks too many questions?  But is this risk really worth it?  But what if the psychiatrist (the receptionist, the pharmacist) is a controller?  But isn’t it them, and only them, against the world, and isn’t that just how it has to be?

“The war won’t last forever,” Cassie says weakly, and Rachel hates her a little for it.  “When it’s over, when we get to tell everyone what’s happening...”

Rachel hangs up.  She goes home, morphs, and flies out to the woods.  

«You know I love you, right?» she asks Tobias later that evening.

«Of course I do.»  He sounds exhausted.  She’s never felt more helpless in her life.

34. The Yeerk Peace Movement, as it comes out, has a Twitter feed.  It is rather painfully obvious that it has been set up and run entirely by aliens who are doing their very best to communicate with humans, and not quite succeeding. Most of the posts are couplets, for some reason that none of the Animorphs can fathom.  

“Want to be On Fleek? When you see someone’s rights threatened, speak!”

“Don’t be a Belieber anymore - end slavery and even the score.”

“#tbt: Remember when we were symbiotes?  Give taxxon freedom your sympathy votes!”

“Nickelback is super lame, and keeping involuntary hosts is just the same.”

“Respect your host’s rights today, and make your human into your bae!”

35. It’s Marco who comes up with the idea for how to take down William Roger Tennant.  This is a guy, after all, whose cockatiels have their own Instagram account: he runs his fame on the internet.  

“It's simple,” Marco explains. “We start a hashtag—#notsonicetennant—and we make it go viral.  All we have to do is film this guy everywhere he goes, and eventually the yeerk will slip up.”

It proves not to be simple after all.  Their gif of Tennant twitching madly mid-EPA speech gets overshadowed by the news story about One Direction nearly getting poisoned with spiders at the same banquet. Ax does not understand the concept of hashtag, and keeps adding #notsonicetennant to his retweets of what Marco calls “food porn.” They train one of Tobias’s repurposed GoPros to follow poodle-Marco, but that becomes a meme mocking the world's most obnoxious stray dog rather than Tennant himself.

The plan finally, finally comes off when they pull out all the stops and just confront him in morph.  The smartphones that Rachel rigged up in the surrounding buildings don't pick up the thought speak, but the audio of Tennant screaming at the aliens to leave him alone comes through just fine.

When the scandal breaks, the internet (in truly predictable fashion) drops #notsonicetennant and starts using #tennantgate instead.  

Ax reposts an old photo of Tennant eating a quinoa salad—zoomed in on the salad—and tags it #tennantgate.  All of his teammates assure him they appreciate the attempt.

36. “All right, that’s just weird,” Marco says, looking at the final entry in the underwater creepshow they’ve been walking through for the past hour.  “All the other ships have been getting more modern as we’ve gone, but this one?  Looks like it was made in the sixties, at the latest.”

«The world’s creepiest museum curators are getting sloppy with the placement of bodies as well,» Tobias points out.  «There’s no way that many people could fit on a boat that small.  They’re practically falling over the sides.»

Jake and Cassie look at each other, seeing the same realization reflected in each other’s eyes.  Neither one of them wants to say it out loud.

Jake becomes the one to bite the bullet.  “Don’t you get it?”  He points to the ragged clothes, the emaciated bodies, the modern smartphone tucked in among the antiquated radio equipment.  “They were refugees.”

37. Rachel shuts the window on the library computer as soon as she hears someone walk into the room, but she can tell she was too late by the look on Jake’s face when she turns around.  

“Roy Ludvig, huh?” Jake says.  “Heck of a name.”

“He was at the T.V. studio when we attacked.”  Rachel looks down, picking at her nail polish.  “No civilians were supposed to be in danger.”

Jake’s expression softens, as much as it ever does.  “And now you’re scrolling through his Facebook, looking for something that’ll let you sleep at night.”  

“He’s got a grandson,” Rachel blurts.  “Jordan’s age.  He...”  She shrugs.  He’s dead, and it’s more or less her fault.

“Shouldn’t be looking on Facebook.”  Jake sets his phone on the library table next to her, taps the screen to bring up an official-looking report.  “You should be, say, borrowing my dad’s computer.  Sending an email from his account to ask for the guy’s medical records.  If you had, you’d know that Mr. Roy Ludvig had a heart condition.  That he had maybe a year to live, at most, and doctors said he might die at any old time.”

Rachel looks down at the report for a long time, and eventually looks up at Jake.  “Doesn’t make it okay, what I did,” she says.  “He’s still dead.”

Jake shrugs.  “You don’t have to forget it ever happened, but you do have to live with it.  Live, and fight another day.”

38. In the aftermath of Estrid's visit, Tobias is flying over the boardwalk when he sees a henna artist who clearly smokes way too much pot to be a Yeerk. He gets Ax, they morph human, and both get henna tattoos of Elfangor's name. (Ax had previously expressed an admiration for the human tradition of commemorating a lost loved one by making markings on one's body.) They know the tats will disappear when they demorph, but they're both glad they did it. The artist asks how long they've been together, and Tobias says in a scandalized voice, “he's my UNCLE!” Thus, Tobias succeeds in both of his goals: making Ax laugh, and reminding him he has family here on Earth. Honestly, the reminder doesn't hurt Tobias either.

39. “You know, not all squirrels are like that,” Marco is fond of saying after a morph goes wrong.  “Not all termites are horrifying worker drones.”  Sometimes it’s, “You know, some of my best friends are fleas.”

It’s Cassie, however, who gets the last laugh out of that one.  «You know, Marco,» she says as they swim away from the wreckage of the helicopter, «Not all ants are like that, right?  I shouldn’t say that all ants are killers, right?»

Marco stares at her in silence while the others snicker, watching him war between the two impulses: to keep the joke going forever, and to express his honest hatred of ants.  

«Come on.»  And now Rachel has joined in on the teasing.  «You’re just going to let that kind of besmirching of the ant community stand?»  

«Okay, okay!»  Marco gives in.  «Ants suck.  Yes, all ants!»

40. “Our experts have examined the video extensively, and near as we can conclude, this footage is genuine and unedited,” the newscaster says.  “Given how viral this video has proven to be, with over two million views since it was posted to YouTube on Wednesday, everyone wants to know: is this footage proof that aliens exist?  Is this a publicity stunt for the upcoming Fantastic Beasts sequel?  Or, as one YouTube commenter asks, did a Smurf just have sex with a centaur?”

«Potential new ally?» Tobias suggests.  He’s already tapping out a search for the original video in his modified tablet.

Ax laughs.  «Of course not.  He’s crippled.  A vecol.  Useless.  We must respect the privacy of his isolation.»

“You know what?  Fuck that,” Marco snaps.  He shoves to his feet, posture tight with anger.  “Just... Fuck that,” he tells Ax.  “I have ADHD.  Attention Deficit whateverthefuck.  I take a pill every morning to help me function because my brain isn’t good enough to filter stimuli all by itself.  I got a fucking 135 on the world’s most boring IQ test and I’m still failing half my classes.  I’m a vecol.  You think I’m useless, huh?  You gonna start refusing to talk to me because of some bullshit about ‘respecting’ my ‘privacy’?  Huh?”

«That’s different,» Ax says.  «You’re not...»  He doesn’t seem to know how to finish that sentence.  

«If he’s an exception, I hope I am too,» Tobias says more gently.  «I got screened for anxiety disorders as a kid, and I guess we’ll never know if I qualify or not, ‘cause my aunt decided that doctors cost money and if the test said I needed one then she didn’t want to know about it.»

Ax doesn’t answer for a long time.  He doesn’t seem to know where to look.  

«Let’s go tell the others what we found.»  Tobias taps a button to send the video to himself.  «We can talk more about this later.»

MM4. Tobias flinches when his phone makes the small ping sound that means he has an alert.  The new kid is the easy target in every school on the planet.  He wonders what it’ll be this time: another Facebook post where the semi-anonymous account Toby IsALoser tags him in another meme about how he has to pay people for sex because the sight of his body would make any normal girl run away screaming, another unnamed Instagram ping telling him he should kill himself so that no one has to look at his stupid fat face anymore, another Snapchat image of a puddle of vomit with the caption “me when I think of you,” an email with the most disgusting gif anyone could find after a quick search...

It’s not, though.  It’s an invite to join a private Facebook group, called The Sharing, with several hundred local members.  Most of the names Tobias recognizes are cool older kids from the high school.  Intrigued, willing to trust for the moment that this isn’t some ridiculously elaborate prank, Tobias clicks “join.”  

41. Jake looks around at the enormous open field, concrete pitted with openings and low hovels of corrugated steel and rebar.  He can see for nearly half a mile in every direction before the smog makes it impossible, and the tallest things around are the hunched hork-bajir.  “Where are we?” he asks.

Cassie frowns.  “This?  Jake, this is downtown Manhattan.”

He gapes at her.  “What happened to it?”

“Tall buildings are targets for drone strikes,” she says casually, turning away.  “The only way to be safe was to go underground.”

42. Marco doesn’t bother going to the house of the guy who photographed them, nor does he try to catch the kid before he uploads the video anywhere.  Instead he waits for the image to appear on YouTube, then becomes the first commenter.  “Sweet manip!” he says.  “Is that Photoshop, or can you do that in free programs like Gimp?”

43.  “EarthIsOurs-dot-tumblr-dot-com?” Marco says incredulously.  “What does Taylor do there, post pictures of her pet taxxon?  Reblog plans for planetary domination?”

«Judging from her archive history, she’s had this blog for many years,» Ax says.  «She recently changed the domain name, but some of the content on here is from as early as 2008.»

Jake and Marco get caught up in debating with Cassie about what exactly to send to her, but Tobias just scrolls quietly through Taylor’s old posts.  She didn’t lie about being beautiful, he realizes, or about being popular.  There’s a long blank period in her tumblr account in mid-2014.  And then she posted one selfie—just one—after the fire.  

He can’t bring himself to read the names that the trolls call her, or the discussions about how much money they’d have to be paid to have sex with her.  But there’s no overlooking the suggestions that she kill herself.  The posts are too numerous, too vitriolic.  

“Every chick ever to wander onto the internet has gotten that crap,” Rachel says; clearly she’s been reading over his shoulder.  “She should’ve developed thick skin, not joined the Sharing.”

Tobias thinks of the Facebook page made at his old school just to discuss the fact that he’s a chubby zit-face, of the posts which eventually overwhelmed his Instagram with death threats.  «Yeah, I guess,» he says.

44.  It takes a long time for Cassie to get home from Australia, but at least they’re not too worried for most of that time; she texts them her location and a brief description of the insanity that landed her in the Outback as soon as she gets in contact with Yami’s family.

45.  “None of this makes any sense,” Peter says.  “I’m hallucinating, or you’re delusional, or else—”

Marco sets his phone in Peter’s lap. “Check the timestamp, Dad.  I took that six months ago.”

Peter stares at the phone for a long minute, and then slowly looks up at Marco.  At a clear loss for words, he tilts his head back toward the screen.

“I know.”  Marco laughs, the sound wet with tears.  “That blond wig looks terrible on her.  But it’s really her, Dad.  I swear.”

46. “So they’re going to get the U.S. embroiled in another war,” Marco says.  “And this one with a country that can actually fight back.”

«Seems like,» Tobias says.  «Only why bother with all the secrecy and political wrangling?  Why not just send a couple mean tweets to Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un?  That’d probably do the job just as well.»

“No, it wouldn’t.”  Jake runs a hand through his hair, looking around at them all.  “The yeerks need a total war.  Everything the U.S. and its allies can pull out, against everything China and its allies can muster.  Our military has gotten too used to sending drones to fight its wars, to ‘tactical strikes’ against insurgents.  If the yeerks want half the species annihilated, they have to do a lot more than poke a couple of egos.”

47. “News flash,” Marco says.  “Your average suburbanite ain’t gonna accept a seven-foot-tall alien for a neighbor.  You know the number of times my mom’s been asked for proof of citizenship before she was allowed to vote or cash a paycheck or buy a car?  How many times she’s been pulled over by cops while driving the speed limit with her seatbelt on?  And she’s a regular old human being.  Toby’s right—the hork-bajir have a whole other fight coming if we ever win the war.”  

48. Rachel feels the blood drain from her face when she opens the Facebook message and sees the name attached.  David’s Facebook account has been defunct for almost two years now; there’s no one left who would want or even be able to access it from the outside.  Should be no one.

Miss me? the message from David’s account says.

Who are you? she types with shaking fingers.  What do you want?

I know what you did.  I’m coming for you.  I’ve got friends all over the place and they’ll find you.  They’ll kill you.  Amazing the allies you can get, when you know where the bodies are kept.  On the internet, no one knows you’re a—

Rachel hits “block.”  She tells herself that the screaming nightmares she has all that night and into the next are the product of having a stressful life, she’s an Animorph for pete’s sake.

She doesn’t stop shuddering every time she gets a message for the next two weeks, but she never hears from whoever (It wasn’t David. It couldn’t have been.) it was ever again.

49.  They stagger away from yet another hopeless fight, all of them injured, half of them missing limbs or bleeding to death.  Dragging their damaged bodies behind the first dumpster they find, they demorph, remorph, and force their minds to focus long enough for the long flight home.  It’s only when Rachel is in owl morph, staring around the dimly lit alleyway, that she sees the security camera pointed directly at their location.  

«They must not check it that often,» Marco says without much hope.  «Or else they’d be out here already to come looking for us.»

«Doesn’t matter,» Tobias says harshly.  «It had a perfectly clear view of all your human faces.  And that building is owned by the yeerks.»

They all stare at each other in dull shock as the realization sinks in.  They always knew this moment was coming—they could only be so careful for so long—and yet, on some level each of them hoped it never would.  

«Take one more night to be with your families,» Jake says at last.  «We evacuate everyone in the morning.»

Jake loses his phone, again, somewhere amidst all the chaos.  This time around he doesn’t bother to replace it.  It’s not like his mom is going to be wondering where he is, not anymore.  

50.  “So,” Jake says, “this is going to sound crazy, but—”

“Aliens are invading the planet, and you’re the only kid terrorist who can stop them?” James suggests.  “We do have wifi up here, you know.  You’re Jake Berenson, right?  You’re all over the conspiracy theorists’ forums right now.”

“Um.”  Jake runs a hand through his hair, starts again.  “Yeah, pretty much.”

James nods.  “In that case, you’ve got thirty seconds to convince me your story’s not a load of crap before I call security.”  

51. Ax secures their wifi in something a billion times better-hidden than Tor.  With that reassurance, they all end up starting blogs.

Marco’s is a rambling string of wry comments about everything from the invasion to his parents’ science projects.  Sample post: “Insider source (aka my mom): Visser Three has morphed human and eaten AN ENTIRE BAG OF MARSHMALLOWS in one sitting, ON MORE THAN ONE OCCASION.  Pass it on!”

Jake’s is the place that people go to find out how they can help, and to get his reassurance that the help means something.  Sample post: “As Barack Obama says, ‘We the people recognize that we have responsibilities as well as rights; that our destinies are bound together; that a freedom without a commitment to others is unworthy of our founding ideals, and those who died in their defense.’  This fight will never be over just as long as we keep supporting each other.  I can’t tell you how grateful I am to you all for the KickStarter donations.”

Rachel’s has beauty tips for the American girl on the run, light and self-deprecating enough that you often don’t notice the undercurrent of desperation.  Sample post: “If you want to be able to look at yourself in the mirror, try fixing your hair using reflective surfaces such as pots, ponds, or pieces of Bug fighter wreckage.  Alternately, just say ‘fuck it’ and never look at yourself again.”

Cassie’s tells people how to stay safe, and how to keep their environments safe as well.  Sample post: “Everyone please remember, it’s important to stock enough food and water for family pets as well as humans when retreating to an apocalypse bunker!”

Tobias’s has a lot of good-natured grumbling about everyday life in the valley.  Sample post: “In other news, my girlfriend’s mom is currently arguing with the smartest being on the face of the planet about where to put the new latrine facilities.  Sorry Naomi, but my money’s on Toby.”

Ax’s has a lot of food reviews, of course, but again there’s that undercurrent of desperation, almost like he’s trying to convince someone else (or maybe even himself) that humans are worth saving.  Sample post: “Marco assures me that there are no less than 23 distinct flavors contained within every sip of Dr. Pepper.  Just think of the years of experimentation and innovation it must have required to produce a drink which can inspire 23 different reactions from human taste buds, all at the same time.  Truly inspired genius.”

52. They run drills upon drills for what to do in case of a drone strike.  Using any morphs they have that can dig or build—mole, taxxon, elephant, beaver—the Animorphs create an extensive network of tunnels and shelters, posting guards at all times to keep their eyes on the sky.  The hork-bajir valley doesn’t show up on satellite imagery, which they only know thanks to Peter’s definitely-illegal fact-gathering missions on the darkweb, but they don’t know for sure whether an overhead camera would be subject to the same strange perceptual distortions they all experience when flying there as birds.  They nearly lose their precious secrecy when Naomi sends several emails from her work account, claiming she’s being held hostage and asking anyone who will listen to come rescue her.  Eva generates a hasty follow-up from the same account asking people to ignore “the prank that I now realize was in poor taste,” but none of them are sure it worked for the next several days.  

53. Rachel makes one last post on her nearly-extinct Instagram account.  This time the scrap of paper she uses appears to be torn from the back of a food label, but the penciled script is as intricate as ever.  It reads “Who wants to live forever? —Freddie Mercury, 1986”  

54. After it’s all over, Tobias retreats, he hides, but he keeps a thread of communication open.  Cassie shoots him an email with the subject line “Hawk patient with intermittent aggression and lethargy—any idea what could be causing it?”  Marco sends him idiotic memes that now feature the Animorphs’ names and faces.  Ax asks for constant updates on the new wing of Taco Bell being built downtown, and repays the favor by leaking confidential information about the search for the Blade ship.

And then he gets one of the stranger emails he’s ever received.  It’s an offer of a full legacy scholarship to Harvard University (which has just found the means to explain some inconsistencies in the records of one “Alan Fangor,” who graduated in the ‘80s) in exchange for Tobias teaching one class per semester on any subject of his choice.  He agrees, with the stipulation that all his classes be online.

The resultant course (Ornithology 442: An Insider’s Perspective) is like nothing the students who participate have ever seen before.  Tobias will write out rambling treatises on Why Blue Jays Suck or All the Ways Hawks Are Superior to Eagles with a thought-speak-to-text recorder.  He’ll deliver online lectures from a shaky webcam pointed into a nonspecific tree, occasionally wandering off for hours at a time to go hunting.  Students who ask him personal questions about Rachel get regurgitated mouse skeletons Fed-Exed to their campus mailboxes.  Essays that don’t demonstrate much effort get feedback such as “even I can tell this sucks and I have a seventh-grade education” or “my grandmother could make better sentences than this AND SHE’S AN ANDALITE WHO DOESN’T SPEAK ENGLISH.”  Assignments include “find one bird fact in a textbook and explain why it’s a load of crap” or “go film a Boston pigeon until it does something interesting, I dare you.”

Nevertheless, enrollment is so popular that Harvard has a three-year waiting list and charges students an extra $500 just to sign up.  When Tobias finds out about the extra fee, he promptly video-calls the Intrepid, gives Ax remote access to his computer, and explains why he needs Ax to convert the course illegally to a MOOC.  Harvard University fires him for breach of contract; Yale hires him on that very same afternoon.  

part 1 here 

[guylty]

Wake-y wake-y! It’s time for your regular Saturday update. How are you keeping, ladies and gents? Are you as glad as me that January is almost over (and not a horrible continuous funeral like last year)? I am sloooowly easing myself into the year. The flu is now fully gone (apologies for whining on about it for so long), I am back in the groove when it comes to work, and I notice that the days are getting longer again, benefitting me with beautiful sunrises as I sit at my desk in the early mornings.

In Armitage news, I enjoyed seeing the BoF trailer last night. Not only because of Daddy!Armitage (see right) although that it is a heart-warming sight, whether the hormones are raging or not but also because the little snippet looked quite suspenseful and interesting to me. I even enjoyed the soft American accent of Armitage as Daddy Cahalan. And did I hear a little Baritone rumble in the “Happy Birthday” singing? Totally wasted the talent there, but well, better than nothing. Most of all, however, I am curious to see how they are approaching the medical topic in the film. Years ago, the daughter of a close internet friend of mine was diagnosed with anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis. At the time, there was not much written and known about the disease, and the little information my friend found, was in English. I translated a whole article from a medical journal for her, reeling at what I was reading about the disease and the horrible medicalese jargon. My friend’s daughter’s journey was as harrowing as Cahalan’s, with much uncertainty. It took ages for the doctors to diagnose encephalitis, and much like Cahalan, my friend’s daughter was treated as a psychiatric patient, occasionally tied to her hospital bed, her life shattering around her… The trailer has brought it all back. I really hope I get to see this film.

On a lighter note, I admit I am not particularly up to date with artist pages at IMDb etc. But I did get the news that RA’s page on IMDb was finally updated to a slightly more current picture than his very pretty but old actor’s head shot by Claire Newman-Williams from 2009. We have now moved on to 2011, to one of the beard/short crop images by Matt Holyoak for Project Magazine *hooray*!! (In case you are interested, you can read my *ooof*s on Williams’s and Holyoak’s pictures under the links. Prehistoric pieces, as I wrote those so long ago, it was even before I started posting on me+r!!!) When I checked it out for myself, I was surprised to see that IMDb also has a section called “official photos”. And it contains an even *more* current image!! I have no idea who maintains this page for RA – is it an open source project?? – but it’s a nice walk through the years, and pretty to look at, too 🤤!

What’s your favourite? As you probably know, I am not a massive fan of the beard, and I usually like my Richards chunky, but I have to admit that I have a definite soft spot for thin Rich in the Justin Canning images from 2008. I like another one of RA in the light blue jumper from the same series, which I absolutely adore. Is it worth an *ooof*, do you think, even though it’s as old as the hills???

Ok, I got completely side-tracked by trailer and photos. And this is supposed to be the weekly round-up post. *tuttuttut* Let’s launch into the best of tumblr. Enjoy!

Can’t resist any gif set of Sir Guy. Thanks, riepu10

I think I am seriously hormonal. Here’s a Thorin drabble by life-is-righteous that appealed to m. And I don’t even lioke long hair on men…

And more hair play courtesy of Thorin – with an NSFW theme, so beware. By doublehiddenkitty

Occasionally, RH was painted with rather big strokes. And then there was surprising attention to detail. Such as the scar on Guy’s face, from when Marian punched him at the altar. Ghisborne has collected evidence. Part 1

… and part 2, by Ghisborne, too

Just as I was thinking to myself “nobody talks about John Porter anymore”, sammyjd made a tribute video to the hero. It’s actually on YT, but since sammyjd posted it herself on her tumblr, I’ll include it here – ‘cos Porter!

And while we are at it with Porter (I wish…), here is soft!Porter by ghisborne 

Ok ladies, this is not exactly NSFW stuff – and not exclusively Richard, either – but be warned. It’s hot… oh boy *fans herself*… Shirtless Hobbit cast. A feast for the eyes, ladies. Compiled by dwalintheprotector

Anyone need a new icon? Ofspellbooksandwords is providing 15 (fifteen) icons of Sir Guy, some of them gifs… I wouldn’t know which one I would pick… Or maybe… today I am in the mood for some smiley Guy. The second but last one!

*shrieks* Something new. To me. A deleted scene of Daniel with Patricia – very tender. Found by clematis70

And I am including an already known deleted scene pic of Daniel, just for clematis70’s hashtags… I feel you, girl, I feel you…

Caps from the BS interviews with Richard I posted the other day, put together in a gif by mezzmerizedbyrichard

In case you need a little RL fantasy involving Richard, here’s a suggestion by peanutbutternerd

An interesting AU where Richard is a male!Mary Morstan and this little scene happens. By roald-dahl-plass-universe

TBT that time when Richard sported a pony tail… by richards-smile

Triple treat by ghisborne in this round-up: Geraldine/Harry and height difference. Sweet

Wow, that’s what I call up-to-date: No sooner has the BoF trailer dropped, and we are getting the first gif sets. This one is by riepu10

And here’s another by ofgreengables. Richard totally rocking the open shirt look. (Is that meant to look really American? Go hot dad, go!

Hopefully that will last you for a cup of coffee.

Happy weekend, everyone!

Guylty ♥️

2017 Armitage Weekly Round-up #4 Wake-y wake-y! It's time for your regular Saturday update. How are you keeping, ladies and gents? Are you as glad as me that January is almost over (and not a horrible continuous funeral like last year)?

[fraismonet]

my -may be - concept/ mood playlists;

** scroll down for my marvel and hogwarts playlists, if you want you can send concepts. updated on july 8th with new playlists***

dance with cherry margharita: you are at a club thats looks like 80s disco and the songs are playing makes you lose yourself to the rhythm, raising your cherry margaritas in the air for the cheers

nature asmr: your vision starts to blur as you step not the forest. rain starts to pour but you seem to not get affected by it you keep walking and the feel of relief surrounds you

sexy tunes: your hand is messing up their hair and their hands roam your body, the kiss gets passionate each second as you feel complete

rainy daze: you are sitting in front of your mirror with camomile tea in your hands, as the rain stumps on your window peacefully. you close your eyes and just listen.

rainy daze (rescore): updated version of rainy daze, version 2019

kind asshole: black hair, check. leather jacket, check. cigarette, check. total asshole look but he has a heart of gold, saying sorry ben you bumped into him.

chill in bed: sunlight shines through the window making you feel like staying in bed even more and just singing along to these songs with your puppy next to you.

cherry cola & salty hair:  sunny summer day air is refreshing and the water is shinier than ever, you sip your cherry cola and have the time of your lives with your friends.

roadtrip: sun is shining up in the sky as you have been on the road for hours. the window is rolled down, wing blowing your hair as you sing along with your friends throwing your hairs up in the car.

self love: for the moments of self doubt. reminder to feel better again and always.

4 a.m songs: its 4 a.m you are looking outside as the moon is up, shadows of street lights creating a silhouette. you sigh and close your eyes while sitting in front of your window.

soft coffeehouse: you are at the cafe with your friends. the sun is shining bright as you feel the warmth even more with each sip, feeling of happiness bursts as these soft/indie songs play in the background.

disney classics: for the times that you want to feel as if you are younger again and waiting for disney classics to be on tv. maybe for screaming disney has no age too.

des’ christmas tunes: its snowing lightly and you are halfway through your christmas decorations. you stand back and look at them, even though you have much work to do you smile and feel festive.

reckless: for the moments that you feel badass - or want to be badass.

essentials 70/80′s: your tumblr friend minihmalist tried to do a list for the kind-of-badass moments and failed when she added songs that create a nostalgic vibe. still badass though.

tbt mixtape: a mixtape for the songs that i liked in the past.

studyblr songs: songs that i listen while doing lecture notes/ revision

jake peralta: character playlist, “he’d shout NOICE”

halloween: trick or treat people with kindness.

early mornings & sweet tea: calm mornings with very chilled songs and few energising ones.

walks in paris: this songs always remind me of paris and i may have listened them while i was there too so...

walks in london: these tunes cover london’s energy yet classy way of being.

setlist imagine dragons: evolve tour was fucking amazing so here is the tunes.

airbus: in the air, bored, this playlist will be your company in the airlines.

walks & meditate: soft and relaxing melodies for the inner peace.

get fit: modified with some high motivation boosters, gym one.

malec: the mortal instruments stans, this is for our babies.

neon lights and cranberry vodka: the emo and angst also with classic rock bands and indie ones, complete opposite of my dance with cherry margharita one.

valentine: love songs that i created with my single ass.

klaus hargreeves: umbrella academy stans, here is the precious one.

runaways: you know that feeling of running off from your home w grou of friends adn just be reckless? no? well these songs can give that vibe.

royals au: prince / princess of a kingdom, attending the balls and training for the sake of your land, having royal friends of all kind and a spark of love interest. 

eliott & lucas: for all the elu shippers out there. what a season that was.

taurus playlist

scorpio moon playlist 

camp half-blood: demigods, this is for you!

bop bop kpop: tunes that got me hooked for kpop

PRIDE!: love lOVE LOVE!

be my summer: summer love, from its beginning to end... will also do another one like this!! send ask if you want to see it

witches: witch vibes and lots of fleetwood mac, i mean it.

grwm: tunes i listen when i’m getting ready for a night out or just out?

art student: to please my inner art student

*hogwarts houses*

slytherin pride: if you are a proud slytherin, this is for you.

ravenclaw pride: if you are a prouf ravenclaw, this is for you.

hufflepuff pride: if you are a proud hufflepuff, this is for you.

gryffindor pride: if you are a proud gryffindor, this is for you.

*cody fern’s characters*

ok he is an amazing breakthrough actor! 

michael langdon: american horror story

jim mason: the tribes of palos verdes

duncan shepherd: house of cards

* favorite tunes*

my fave #1 bowie tunes:

my fave #1 queen tunes:

my fave #1 tom odell tunes:

*marvel *

peter quill would adore this playlist.              

thor &  loki

bucky barnes  &  steve rogers

guardians of the frickin’ galaxy!

infinity war playlist that will make you either cry from sadness or excitement.

we are in the endgame now.