#they have subtle dad and son banter sometimes

[crazymochacchino08]

im ngl tumblr feels more … safer? idk

anyways here’s sum more oc doodles starring these idiots called: director manford (the bearded vulture) and quinn (the red panda)

not so good at character design tbh lol

[einsteinsugly]

Fictober 5. January 2007. Moving Mountains.

His heart has never felt so barren. So empty, so disheartened.

Slowly but surely, his childhood home has been dismantled. Its remnants have been hauled away, and solemnly packed into boxes.

His daughter, however, is disrupting the solace. "You're carrying that box."

Her boyfriend, in turn, rolls his eyes. "You always say you're strong."

Eric attempts to ignore the banter; the dumbassery, if you will. For the last time, the not so little dumbasses have been running around the 'ol Forman abode. Dismantling the past, for the sake of an uncertain future.

A tiny redhead defiantly smirks. "Like headless chickens, Daddy?"

"Yeah, like headless chickens."

Tears well in his eyes, and he blinks. He misses the good 'ol days, and if he goes back even further...

"Well, it's Ani's china, and I'm not fragile." Leah is strong and robust. Just like her mother, back in the day. But six inches shorter, and with a substantial amount of sass. "Maybe we should give it to Betsy. She'll break everything into a million little pieces..."

He feigns a fatherly tone, as the newfound head of the family. "Both of you, you're ruining the moment."

It's so strange, this feeling. It's nostalgic, somber, and oddly dutiful. It's hard to put into words. It's word salad, as his mother says.

"Have you been crying, Dad?" Leah sounds just like her mother. Hook, line, and sinker. "Oh my God, you totally have."

But her mother would give him a comforting hug; instead, their daughter is instead at a loss for words. So she sputters, like that 'ol garden hose out in the back.

"You know, if you try not to think about it, maybe the feeling will just go away."

James groans. "That's worked so many times before."

Leah sticks her tongue out at him. "Shut up..."

A particular brunette is now in the doorway, making her dramatic entrance. "She has a point."

Betsy lunges for the box, and James sighs. "When Betsy agrees with you, you know there's a problem."

"Step away from my grandmother's china." His mother, eagle eyed, rushes over. And grabs it, amongst the bickering children. "I'll carry it myself."

Dramatic and exasperated, Betsy huffs and puffs, like she'll blow the entire house down. "Fine. I was just trying to help."

Mom attempts a firm, but sweet tone. Like reprimanding a child. "Remember, don't pick up anything that says 'fragile' on it."

"It's the Kelso rule," James affirms, with a signature smirk, "That, and if Betsy wants to help out, there's probably an ulterior motive."

Betsy rolls her eyes. "You don't have to rat me out."

"Yeah, I do," James proclaims, "You want to endear yourself to your new mother in law, across the street."

"How did you know?"

James chuckles. Like father, like son. "Your master plans aren't subtle."

*****

They're eating at the dining table, for the very last time.

With turkey sandwiches in hand, the feeling's somber. And final, like his father's coffin lowering into the ground.

"Okay, cockroach, foot, nuclear bomb." Leah unleashes a foot, and James a cockroach. "Foot. I win. I don't have to carry the dining table. Just the chairs."

"Pop would threaten to put his foot up all your asses, but I won't do that." Eric is not his father, and he never will be. But he can try, a little. A firm hand is needed, sometimes, to rein in all the shenanigans. "Only if I catch you going to second base with my daughter, again. Jimmy Dean."

James groans. "It could've been worse."

Hyde chimes in, on behalf of his raven-haired son. "Good luck with that, Forman."

"Well...I'll give him a very stern talking to," Eric amends, with an awkward sigh, "It didn't used to be the Forman way, but now, I guess it is."

A long, uncomfortable silence emerges, and it's overwhelming. Everyone is staring at him, like he's the new patriarch that can't fill his father's shoes.

And they're right, but his wife's glare is softer. A bit more understanding, if you will.

He abruptly stands up, snapping like a wishbone. "This is...weird."

With that, he awkwardly departs. And breaks into a million little pieces.

*****

It feels so overwhelming, so surreal.

His jaded eyes fill with tears, about to bury his head in his hands, as a familiar redhead enters his view. His wife, of nearly twenty-four years. The girl next door, the woman he loves and honors.

And she dutifully does the same, refusing to obey the whims of her whimsical husband. Unlike many of her foremothers in decades and centuries past, exempting a couple of rogues.

But that was in the distant past, before they were even blips on the radar. A simple little thought, in a teenaged girl's mind. A distant someday, which is now a firm yesterday.

In the here and now, the relatively recent past surrounds them, swallowing them whole. Wrapping them in creature comforts, like a cocoon. Creature comforts that are fading away, into the photo albums of yesteryear.

Until, in the blink of an eye, they're gone. Like dust in the wind, like his…

"It's so weird." The inevitable, resounding words spill from her mouth, like spilled milk. "I can't believe the house is…"

Click, click, click. A bright red Viewmaster filled with impeccable scenes, crystal clear memories, enter his meandering mind. The Vista Cruiser, awkward family dinners, basketball games. Camping in the backyard, stargazing. Looking for the Big Dipper, even on the cloudiest of nights.

Looking above, an overcast sky uncomfortably greets him. Filled to the brim with uncertainty, the tears fail to truly fall. Nor does a ray of hesitant, hopeful sunshine enter his blurring vision, as he hastily wipes away a stray tear.

"Um…yeah." That's all he can muster, glancing at her uneasy expression. Like her innards are twisting, like the chains of a tire swing. Round and round she goes, where she stops, nobody knows. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Donna winces a bit, as he anxiously grabs her hand. "That turkey sandwich is…"

"Scrambling your insides?"

She nods, with an awkward gulp. "Like eggs."

He attempts to distract, like the purposeful antics of Leah and James. "I happen to make the best eggs east of the Mississippi. Or the best can of Campbell's soup, if you so choose."

Nostalgia playfully distracts, as she pulls him close. Just like the good 'ol days. "Peasoup?"

"I don't know if Campbell's makes peasoup..."

"I know it's hard, Eric," She interrupts, wiping away his emerging tears, "But we've already talked about this. Let's think about the future, okay? Not the past."

"Yeah, it hurts too much."

She kisses him briefly, before breaking away. "It's a new day, let's go."

And, burdened with uncertainty, he reluctantly follows her lead.

[gisachi]

hmmm i'd like to see how desperate they can be. Kiss prompts #14 for shinran, maybee? thankyou 🤟

Thank you for the request! Wanted to do a trope and this is how it turned out. Hope this is an enjoyable read. 💖

14. A kiss so desperate that the two wind around each other, refusing to let go until they are finished. (2,374 words)

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In her seventeen years of existence, Mouri Ran has never met a person as infuriating as Kudou Shinichi.

She isn’t a particularly spiteful person. In fact, she’s always so welcoming and positive. Her well-earned reputation in school as the top of her class and her father and mother being one of the best detectives and lawyers in town do not in any way inflate her ego and turn her into an arrogant prick. If any, others spite her, never the other way around. (Though no one - ever - has brought it upon themselves to hate on the ray of sunshine that is Mouri Ran.)

As nice as she may be however, Kudou Shinichi always seems to get on her nerves.

Perhaps the only thing he inherited from the world-famous but humble Kudou Yuusaku and Fujimine Yukiko are their physical attributes. Sharp jawline, charming eyes, straight nose, pearly teeth, prominent Adam’s apple, broad shoulders, lean body…in short, fine. Good-looking. Hot maybe, yes. But she cannot let just that overshadow his absolute cockiness.

For instance, Ran is grateful for people who correct her mistakes, however seldom they may happen, but everytime Shinichi does it - in front of the class, brandishing a proud smirk at the end of it all - she feels the veins on her temple pop. She never cared at first, but when done habitually (and consciously?) by the same person, an underlying urge to punch him straight on the face arises. She knows she is nice but her patience isn’t eternal.

The rational half of her tells her to ignore him, but the petty half of her screams at her to give him a taste of his own medicine. So she revels inwardly at the hooded stare he gives her back whenever she contradicts a portion of his answer in Japanese History class, and restrains her satisfied grin when she corrects his negative integers into positives on the board during Math.

The class takes the toll in this twisted brain battle, because one-on-one debates between the top two students lead to extended fourth period and lesser lunch time. On the bright side, the lazy and unprepared don’t get to recite, so they let the two be.

Their academic tension spills even to athletics. Admittedly, he’s great at soccer, no surprise for an Ace. Her attempts at scoring a goal every time he gate keeps always end in failures, but what irks her more are the deafening screams of his fangirls behind the rails and his annoying wave like he’s some celebrity, beaming proudly like she hasn’t given him a hard time. (She hasn’t.)

But if he has soccer then she has karate. His powerful leg muscles are no match for her deadly roundhouse kicks. Shinichi has begged for his life once - when she has him pinned down between her legs on the floor in front of their classmates for a test of strength. Then he hasn’t brought that up ever again. That’s her win, not that she’s counting. (But really, that’s her win.)

He breathes, she’s annoyed.

When their gaze meets in the hallway, she is tempted to hold it and see if he’ll turn away first.

When he utters her name (“Mouri-san”, husky and sonorous), she wants to utter his back with twice the spite and snark. One that can bite. Tingle. Keep him up at night.

“Sometimes I wonder if you want to kill each other or kiss each other,” her best friend Sonoko brings up during lunch, and that’s just about enough to turn Ran’s mood into sour.

“I do not want to kiss him!” she reacts in a guilty way, and coincidentally they hear a resounding “I do not want to kiss her, barou!” along the corridor, only for Makoto and a grimacing Shinichi to appear on the door frame the next second, and their eyes meet, only to look away immediately.

“Maybe it’s you and Kyougoku-san who want to kiss each other,” Ran says bitterly, attempting to get back at her friend upon seeing her and Makoto exchange knowing glances.

“Mm, yeah maybe we do.” Sonoko grabs a bite of tamago sushi from her bento. Ran rolls her eyes.

“What? At least I’m being honest,” she chides, but Ran is already too engrossed glaring (rather salaciously, in Sonoko’s opinion) back at Shinichi to hear her or even notice her being an audience to their subtle eye makeout.

What do the other girls see in him? He’s a conceited, competitive brat who likes to pit with her for the fun of it. Sonoko says he’s not as annoying as she makes him out to be, which is about the only time she doubts herself because Sonoko does get annoyed easily. But Ran sees Shinichi in the hallway and she recalls the shameless bites and banters and sparring bruises and classroom debates and yep, her blood boils for this lad.

On Valentine’s Day, Ran makes chocolate.

More like, she helps her mother make one for her dad. For everyone’s sake and their stove’s. Since there are excess ingredients, why not? She doesn’t know for whom and why though, she just makes it.

(“Oh, you have a boy in mind?” “None, kaa-san.” “Let me guess, Yukiko-san’s son?” “NO!”)

She’s greeted by girls pooling outside the classroom. Sneaking a peek at the tag of a daintily wrapped box one of the underclassmen holds, she isn’t surprised to read Kudou Shinichi’s name on it. The subject appears behind her, and the girls line up and squeal in glee, and he greets them all while she huffs, not sparing a second look at the commotion as she makes a beeline for her seat.

She doesn’t understand why he always ends up alone with her after class when they both know that’s not the best idea. Their homeroom teacher just cannot read the atmosphere, because this is the third time he’s designated the two as class reps for student affairs work. This time, it’s a campus tour for visiting students. She hates it because she and Shinichi can never agree on anything.

“I’ll sketch the route, you do the tour,” she says.

“No, you do the hosting, I do the planning,” he counters.

“Aren’t you better at talking?” Ran sneers, remembering the chaos of fangirls and all annoying flowery words he’s probably said back. “Or don’t tell me it’s just the confidence and charm overcompensating for the lack of substance?”

“I can plan and I can host well, but I do the planning now ‘cause I did the talking in our presentation last time while you rested at the back and let me do the bulk of the task but thanks,” he rises from his seat and leans his body on the desk next to her, “for thinking that I’m charming.”

“I didn’t— I wasn’t—!” Ran’s cheeks heat up in fury or embarrassment or both. “I’m just saying this task is the best time to utilize your charisma!”

“But aren’t you charismatic yourself, Mouri-san? As expected from the daughter of a lawyer mother and a detective father?”

“No- I mean, yes, whatever, but we need charm and-”

“And I have it? What do I say? Is this your roundabout way of making me admit that you’re charming too?”

“I wouldn’t do anything like that, baka!”

He holds her challenging gaze, long and hard.

“In any case, I refuse. I plan the routes.”

“No, I plan the routes, you do the talk. No ifs. No buts.”

“This is just a simple assignment, Mouri-san! Why can’t we agree for once?” he snaps, stepping forward.

“Exactly! This is just a simple task, Kudou-kun! Why do you have to be so overbearing?” She steps forward.

“I am not overbearing. You are!”

“No, you are! You’re the hardest to deal with! I can’t even stand being near you! You’re the absolute worst! You’re—”

And then he’s hovering over her, sealing her lips shut with his own.

It happens lightning fast. He's in a respectful distance one second and then he’s hogged all her space and claimed her lips the next. Her heart rate has already gone up at the start of the bicker but now it’s literally flown off the charts.

“Kudou-kun—!” Ran gasps when her back hits the wall of the classroom, disconnecting their lips for a second. “I’m... not done...speaking—”

“And we’re not done kissing,” Shinichi angles his head for another searing kiss and that is enough to turn Ran into a puddle of melted flesh in his arms. Doomed they will be if students outside the window look up their floor and catch her back pressed suspiciously against the glass with his body the only thing keeping her upright. She can only pray they won’t. Because she doesn’t push him away.

Maybe she doesn’t care so much about being seen? Or maybe she doesn’t have the mind to think of anything else when his scent and his taste and his touch take over her senses and it still isn’t enough. This she realizes as her hands cup his warm cheeks to deepen the pressure of their connected lips, both red and swollen from the fiery mutual exchange. She kisses him with no intention of stopping. She kisses him like she’s making up for the moments her subconscious wanted to but didn’t. The tightening arms around her waist and desperate push of tongue in her are all she needs to understand that Shinichi must be thinking the same thing.

(“Mouri-san,” he sighs in her mouth. “Mm, Kudou-kun,” comes her lush reply.)

Only when she feels herself blacking out from lack of oxygen - or the fact that she feels hands untucking the hem of her school uniform from her skirt - does she unconsciously push his chest away, giving them an inch of space.

Stunned and breathless, they separate with the thought that what they share may have been too much for a first kiss. Achievers always aim for too much; anything less and they die. Too much is always too good.

For a first kiss, theirs is pretty characteristic.

“Huh.” She utters low. Any sound will do to kill the awkward silence that has stretched on for too long.

“Well.” He speaks, a little strained, but coughs his throat clear and gets himself together. “If you may...continue with what you’re saying, Mouri-san.”

For someone who’d just kissed her heatedly in an empty classroom in the middle of an argument and was so close to successfully getting his hands under her shirt, Ran is pretty impressed at how he manages to remain courteous in addressing her.

“Y-You’re the absolute worst,” arms still wrapped around his neck, she begins, but doesn’t remember what she’s supposed to say next. All coherent thought has flown out the window when his lips meet hers five minutes ago. She has no choice but to rely on the power of impromptu speech. Like Shinichi said, she’s good at that, kind of. He can probably hear her pulse palpitating on her wrist as she speaks.

“You’re...You’re such an airhead and you think so highly of yourself just because you have so many fangirls. Kuroba-kun or Hattori-kun from the other class are better and much more handsome than you, would you believe? You’re not the only charming guy in this school, Kudou-kun! And you don’t have to correct my flimsy academic mistakes in front of the class for a moment of schadenfreude, damn it! You annoy me to no end! I was this close to giving you my chocolate but good thing I didn’t because you know what? You’re annoying. Truly. You’re so full of yourself and I don’t like you for that and, y-you’re annoying and...and gods I hate you so much I’ll kiss you to death—”

She’s ready to tiptoe but his hands on her waist hold her still.

“What?!” she snaps, not sure where she’s more pissed at, the guy she’s about to kiss or the guy she’s about to kiss stopping her from kissing him again.

(A third option is herself but she’s already established her seething self-loathe when she chose to kiss him back.)

“I-I should be asking that, Mouri-san, what?” he stammers over her lips. “I... Give me your chocolate.”

Ran blinks, partly confused, partly surprised. She tries to comprehend how that is a proper response to whatever she just said (which by now, she’s already forgotten - or at least, in the process of forgetting).

“Give me your chocolate and I’ll eat it even though the chocolates I make with mom surely taste better but I’ll take what you made for me anyway. Don’t even get me started about how much I think it’s funny that you’re thinking about me as you make your chocolate, I mean, wow, there’s always that possibility, but still, wow. I-” he catches his breath, continues, “I’ll give you a better one on White Day. So please give me your chocolate.”

She doesn’t know what to make of the string of words that spew right out his mouth, but she can feel her face tightening to a grimace. Surely now, she knows she’s better at impromptu speech than him.

“You really expect me to give you my chocolate after you insult me? Wow, you really are an ass!” she shouts, as if she hasn’t mocked him the same.

“An ass who’s rejected every single chocolate given him except for one,” he says. His gaze locks her eyes, then her lips, then her eyes again. “And he’s even begging for that one chocolate, how ridiculous is that.”

Ran holds her breath, feels her face burn from his blazing irises.

“You don’t say-”

“I do say.”

His lips twist mischievously, too handsome for her heart to take.

“And you did say something else a while ago. Something equally interesting.” He cranes his head lower. “You said you hate me to death?”

Ran feels her toes tipping to balance.

“...Yes,” she lets go of his nape, hands sliding down to the plane of his chest and crumpling his shirt in her fists. “I hate you so, so much.”

“Oh by all means,” he leans in to swoop her lower lip gently between his teeth, smirks as he pulls it for a soft tug, “hate me all you want.”

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[matan4il]

Buddie 316 meta

I've talked about this before, but I will seriously never be over Eddie and Buck as battlefield boyfriends (with all of that trope's glorious homoerotic tradition), which is how the episode starts. They’re a team through and through and it’s a kind of commitment and care and intimate knowledge and understanding of each other that I adore Buddie having. That’s how we get them looking through the burning building’s hallways together at the start and that moment of Eddie saying, “you wanna do a rope rescue? Of course you do.” An exasperated husband who knows his partner so well, it’s so domestic, but then he also doesn’t discourage it, just... “yep, that’s my husband, the rope rescue loving idiot!” (which Eddie is as well, so we know he actually gets it). Honestly, Bobby didn’t even have to tell Eddie that he’s going with Buck, it was a given. Of course Eddie will jump over the gap between the buildings’ rooftops onto a burning building whose roof might collapse any minute now to have his hubby’s plan executed and be there for him. He always will be, maybe with a bit of fond eyerolling, but at the end of the day, he’ll always have Buck’s back.

* * *

When Buck invites everyone to party, Eddie’s the first one to respond with that he can’t. Why? From a storytelling perspective, because that’s who the show knows would be the first one there, to celebrate with Buck. So that’s the most meaningful ‘no’, especially when we know how much Eddie and Buck hang out together outside of work anyway. But then, notice Eddie doesn’t reject Buck’s invite because he doesn’t want to or doesn’t care. Nor does he ditch Buck in favor of a romantic partner, like the rest will after he leaves. No, Chris needs Eddie and as a dad, he will always have to put his son first. Yet, he counter-invites Buck. Sure, it’s done jokingly, because he’s sure Buck wouldn’t be interested in trading a night out celebrating at a bar with friends for a sleepover with a bunch of 9 year olds (and he’s right), but he still does it. And Buck, taking his lead from him while also thinking the rest will still join him at the bar, says no with another bit of banter. But this is in part their issue, right here. Because everyone else ends up not being able to come along. And if Buddie could have had that same exchange only without the joking, maybe Eddie would tell him that he actually would for real love to have Buck there, a bunch of kids sleeping over or not. And Buck would be reminded that he’s wanted in the Diaz household, always, he might have felt less alone. But there’s a lot of communication that’s still getting lost between these two and needs resolution. Thing is that even in this scene which is about *everyone* in the 118 rejecting Buck’s celebration, Eddie’s no is still first among them in its importance to Buck and different in its dynamic. I’m here for ALL the subtle reminders of Buddie’s special connection, no matter how small.

* * *

Let’s take a second to talk about how the show emphasized the importance of having a romantic partner in this episode. I have to admit, it was a bit cringeworthy to me. I don’t like this idea that if you don’t have a spouse, your life is somehow emptier. I get that the show did this in order to bring up Abby, in preparation of her return in the next ep, but it’s absolutely untrue and unfair to all the people out there who have made the choice to be alone rather than, for example, be with the wrong person and who find a lot of self fulfillment in their life and in their choices. That’s not just valid, it’s important. But then the show redeems itself to a degree by having Buck’s resolution play out as it did: Maddie reminds him not that he will at some point be in a romantic relationship again, she reminds him that he will always have her. That while she sometimes had to leave, she never really left him behind. She always took him with her and that’s why she came back to Buck. So he will never be alone thanks to the power of sibling love. And that is beautiful. That doesn’t resolve everything for Buck, obviously. I usually analyze in these posts what we’ve already seen and try not to make predictions for the future, but in this case, I will. I think things with the 118, maybe most especially with Eddie, remain unresolved and it’s again a set up for the 317/8 finale, so they can be resolved then. If you were content with this ep, great! But if its ending doesn’t feel like enough, I hope you can find comfort in how the show did good with at least valuing the bond between siblings and in how we’re probably going to see these issues revisited, addressed and then resolved in a much more satisfying way next week.

* * *

I just wanna take a small second and give a shout out to Buck’s growth over the seasons. When everyone else leaves him, he still goes to the bar alone, but whereas in s1, he would have hooked up with a random girl and had meaningless sex to forget his trouble, now he spends his night talking to an old man and finding meaning in this interaction and caring about someone who was a complete stranger at first, but by the end of the ep, Buck has practically adopted him. Especially in light of Abby coming back and how scared Buck was to let go of her because he might revert to Buck 1.0 without her, I stan seeing how far he’s come.

* * *

When Buck tries to tell the team about Red and his own fear that the same thing might happen to the 118 and he’s looking for reassurance that it won’t, the first person he looks at is Eddie, stressing the words “to us” while he does. It echoes the way Eddie asked him in 306, “did you ever stop for a minute to think what that could do... to us?” (both emphasizing ‘to us’ to each other), a nod to how a lot of times these two talk about the team, but on some level, they’re referring to each other just as much, if not even more. And Eddie is quick to return Buck’s gaze and tell him that his fears will never be realized, Eddie even stares at him while Buck is looking away and uses Buck’s own fearful words, reflecting them back to him in a more positive way (hi, mirroring boyfriends). They’re constantly framed together by the camera throughout this whole conversation. And while the others say contradicting things, Eddie is the only one who’s only ever reassuring, while the others look to him to find a way to help Buck. It’s a small thing, but it gives me all the Buddie feels in this scene. The team remaining a family is important to Buddie, but we’re wordlessly and repeatedly shown that it’s especially important to them in the context of each other, it’s a running theme that I very much appreciate.

* * *

Since I mentioned ep 306, Buddie post lawsuit, I have to say that also happened to be the only other time when Buck clearly states to another person (until this ep and his talk with Maddie) that sometimes he feels like he gets left behind. In trying to explain to Eddie his decision to go ahead with the lawsuit despite possible repercussions, Buck said it felt like they were moving on without him. Different words, same sentiment and once more, we have Buck confiding in Eddie more than in any other person. It took months for him to be able to verbalize this to Maddie and so far, his sister and Eddie are still the only two people he explicitly has done this with. I think about the level of trust and care that Buck must feel when it comes to Eddie that allowed him to do that (and yes, fear of losing him, too) and it makes me glad that they have that. That Buck could speak to him like that. And again, I mentioned this in my post about what Eddie does for Buck, how Eddie understood right away Buck’s hurt and sense of abandonment and he came back to Buck immediately by putting away all of his anger because Buck needed him to and that feels even more significant after 316 and I’m crying, kthnxbi.

* * *

Buck mentions to Maddie how painful it is to have someone that you love so much look at you and not see you. And I’m just over here, wondering to myself if it isn’t in a sense what’s going on with Buddie. They love each other and they look at each other, constantly, but there’s a part of each other they don’t see yet. Which is maybe why they’re so oblivious to their own feelings right now, a protection mechanism from that pain of not being seen, not completely, by someone who matters so much. IDK if the show will let them become canon, but if it will, just imagine the moment when they get to see each other fully... I swear, I will cry forever.

ALL OF MY LOVE AND GRATITUDE to @riarklus​, can we just collectively agree for a second that she’s brilliant and that her gifs are art? Honest to God masterpieces that make me wanna cry with their beauty.

[blackasmidnightcats]

Tagatha Dads Au

Kinda like the Uncle au but Dads! Edition

Basically August Sader vs Arthur Pendragon

August is one of Callis's oldest friends and was her closest colleague when they were both teaching.

They were always in contact with one another and after Callis adopts Agatha and August finally meets the baby girl, he decides to be the official unofficial Dad to the girl and has been very involved with Agatha's life since.

Callis and August's relationship is up for debate (personally I'd want them to stay as very close friends dedicated to their brilliant daughter but they could still end up together)

Ever since getting divorced, Arthur has dedicated his remaining life to two things: Tedros and his company. He doesn't feel like dating anyone anymore.

He's more of a Mom really than a Dad. Fusses over Tedros constantly.

Especially when the boy gets all depressed.

Lives away from Tedros but skypes constantly. Misses his boy dearly.

Does not notice his childhood friend, now his secretary, Gremalaine's very obvious feelings for him. She doesn't push.

He's also a recovering alcoholic and tries to remain clean for Tedros but he does sometimes indulge in wine when work gets too much.

August and Agatha love each other to the moon and back. He loves to spoil her constantly and WILL make anyone suffer if they hurt Agatha in anyway.

When Agatha becomes August's student, she made him promise her not to treat her any differently than any other student. He doesn't in his own class but will brag about her to anyone in school when their class is over.

He's very fashionable with turtle necks, coats, and suits as his main aesthetic.

Is concidered a Silver Fox.

August and Arthur have not met yet but they have heard of each other. Athur has heard of him because he was Tedros's teacher and August has heard of Arthur because who doesn't

They officially meet when Arthur was called for a Teacher-Parent meeting and both have decided that they did not like each other at all.

They're content with the fact that they never have to spend time with one another beyond school. Their children proved otherwise.

August begged Dovey to let Agatha change partners for a project because he will not have his little girl and that Pendragon boy stay in the same room alone for even a second. She'd kill him, he says.

Dovey dooesn't change it because Tedros has been fluncking her subject and Agatha was the best bet to help him.

Arthur didn't know about August and Agatha's relation so he was indifferent to it. He was concerned when he heard that Agatha was the one the got Tedros and Sophie together and that she was still friends with Tedros's worst ex though.

They didn't really think that Agatha and Tedros would get any closer but Merlin loved to point out to Arthur that Tagatha cut together. Arthur thought that he was delusional.

August and Reaper agree that Agatha was better off without getting involved with the Pendragon boy and couldn't wait for the project to be over.

Tagatha get together and both Dads are in shock. They couldn't process the idea.

Arthur is shocked because his son was now dating the girl that got him together with the ex that almost sent Tedros insane. What was his boy thinking?!

August was shocked because he'd never expected that Agatha would date anyone while still studying and to a boy like Tedros no less.

Everyone, especially the Dads, thought that Tagatha wouldn't last very long. They did and everyone now has to process that they'll have to get used to the idea of Tagatha being together and have to get along with each other.

August and Arthur don't really know what to do whenever they see each other.

Tedros hasn't been doing a good impression on Agatha's family but the boy still tries his best because he loves his girl very much.

Agatha has done a number on Merlin and maybe on Tedros's other uncles but Arthur doesn't completely trust her just yet and might be projecting his own failed relationship with Gwen on his son's relationship.

It takes many several tries but Tedros manages to charm Agatha's family with his sincerity and devosion to Agatha and they all admit that he's okay.

They do threaten him from time to time but it gets more playful and playful cause they know that Tedros would die for Agatha and vice versa.

Agatha has more or less won over Tedros's family already and she suprisingly gets more involved with his family's affairs than wanted.

She had her hand with Arthur, Gwen, and Lancelot's broken friendship.

Arthur has moved into town because he wanted to keep a close eye on Tedros and after Tagatha happened, he somehow finds himself spending more time with Agatha than both of them want.

The reason for this is because Tedros hasn't been having a good year because of some dude named Ryan or something and Agatha's been spending time with Tedros cause she wants to be with her man while Arthur visits his son for the same reasons and they kinda bond.

Agatha's very patient with Arthur even though she's kinda akward around him and Arthur still doesn't trust this Agatha girl and judges her severely because of it.

They get better but it takes a while and it involves Arthur being a jerk again and Agatha having enough and just calling him out on it and they sort of get more akward because Agatha does not want to handle this and Arthur's pretty ashamed of himself. Tedros took notice and they all just kinda worked it out.

After that dilema though, Arthur and Agatha have been on generally good terms with Arthur thinking that she's the best choice for Tedros and Agatha sort of just became fond of Arthur because he reminds her so much lf Tedros and they both work it out.

August and Tedros were more amusing.

Ever since they started dating, August has been on Tedros's ass subtly.

He sometimes brings up the previous crushes that Agatha had before and poke fun of the boy's less than impressive choice of style and would make Tedros involve in school work that Tedros wouldn't usually take.

He takes it with stride but admittedly all of them were tough but for Agatha then sure, he'll handle it.

Dovey had to intervene but August just found more subtle ways to annoy the boy.

They get together during gatherings and August wouldn't leave Tedros alone.

August finally admits that Tedros could be good for Agatha but only because he knows that Tedros would offer the world to Agatha and he was one of the people that helped Agatha with her confidence issues and that he doesn't want Agatha to change into someone that she's not.

They get better and their banter becomes more playful.

August doesn't know what to do with Arthur though.

They acted civil for more than a few seconds before insults were thrown.

Tagatha doesn't really know what to do because the both of them were being ridiculous.

August has always had this instinctual urge to snark and sass Arthur. He doesn't know if it was because Arthur reminded him of all the uglier sides that his son seemed to have inherited and that very son was now dating his baby girl and maybe he wants to make an example or something but it seemed to be most likely cause that he likes to tell himself.

Arthur is more or less reacting to all of this and it only gets worst.

He really could not believe that this was the man that Agatha looked up to.

But then he chalked it up to the nerves that August might be feeling because Tedros was dating Agatha and Arthur thought that if Agatha was his own daughter he would react the same way too.

Tagatha had a talk with their respective fathers and both agreed to be civil to each other especially in front of the children.

Speaking of children, they both hate it whenever Merlin would talk about that topic. Both were not ready to be grandfathers just yet. It's the only thing that they agree on. Begrudgingly.

August is very annoyed that the whole Pendragon family and friends (lead by Merlin) are all trying their best to make sure that Tagatha stays together. He was more suprised that Arthur was the same.

It all still felt very surreal until they caught Tagatha making-out.

Suddenly everything seemed to be very, very real. And they had the odd thought that they'll be seeing each other for the rest of their lives.

[tacanderson]

Super-Borg Chapter 1

My book, Super-Borg Dies, is out now. You can purchase it here or read the first chapter below. You can also sign up for my newsletter here. 

Chapter One

“Stupid wannabe superhero,” a bulky man holding a metal pipe said, swinging it at Super-Borg, “why don’t you go home and read your comic-books?” Super-Borg had already disarmed the man of his gun but was surprised by the man’s resourcefulness when he pulled out a metal pipe. 

Super-Borg ducked the wild swing and brought his clenched, reinforced glove up into the man’s jaw, shutting him up. He hated banter. He stood over the unconscious man, catching his breath and wiping rain away from his goggles. His black exoskeleton-enhanced, military-grade personal armor creaked when he bent over and zip-tied the man’s hands behind his back. 

As he stood up, two bullets struck Super-Borg in the back. The carbon-fiber reinforced plates in his suit absorbed most of the blow, but it still hurt. He dove behind a garbage can as another shot fired; it didn’t provide much protection. He spotted the shooter standing fifty yards away, which placed Super-Borg directly between the shooter and the Space Needle. Super-Borg bolted from his cover, staying low to the ground. 

Even in a crouch, his powered suit allowed him to cover half of the distance quickly. He straightened up and then, as more shots whizzed by, he jumped, letting his suit propel him eight feet into the air. At the peak of his jump he threw a disc, about the size of a hockey puck, at the gunman. The disc struck just above his eye, and he crumpled with a grunt. 

Super-Borg landed and slid on the mud, crashing into a bush. He stood up, extricated himself from the bush and picked trash off his mud-caked suit. It wasn’t the most graceful landing, but it worked. Super-Borg sprinted over and zip-tied the man’s hands behind his back. “Let’s hope the cops find you before your friends do,” Super-Borg said to the unconscious man. “And hopefully the cops aren’t your friends.”

A bullet struck the tree next to him, and he ducked instinctively, jumping behind the tree. All this gunfire was bringing more unwanted attention. Yelling echoed through the vacant grounds around the Space Needle. What few lights that worked did little more than create small lighted cones of rain and mist. His disc was at the base of the tree but he didn’t bother to pick it up. He had lost so many that people were collecting them and reselling them online. Periodically he changed the design of the “SB” stamp he put on them, just to make the older discs collectible. People were funny. Even with all the chaos and economic instability, people still collected things. 

 The Space Needle, with its boarded-up gift shop and graffiti-covered cement supports, loomed ahead. The Neuro-syndicate was a gang specializing in the theft, production, and sale of neuro-enhancing drugs. Neuro enhancers were used by everyone: from corporate employees trying to stay sharp while they put in twelve-plus hour days, to professional gamers looking to get an edge in their next online tournament, or even school kids looking to pass their prep-school admissions tests. While it would be hypocritical for Super-Borg to object to people using neuro enhancers, the Neuro-syndicate killed people, and the stuff they cut their neuro enhancers with caused long-term brain damage and sometimes death. When neuro enhancers weren’t covered by a person’s corporate benefits plan, the black-market stuff was all most people could afford. 

Super-Borg was there to stop the Neuro-syndicate from making a major sale, but he did not expect them to have this much armed support. The deal must be bigger than he thought. 

“Super-cycle, deploy the drones and release smoke bombs between my location and the Space Needle.” Super-Borg used drones for several purposes. He was surprised more supers didn’t use them. But most supers weren’t rich. Super-Borg wasn’t Bruce Wayne rich, but he was rich enough, and after dropping out of med school he had earned a degree in engineering, so he could build most of his own equipment. He relied on drones to survey his surroundings and record his excursions. He used the recordings to make videos he released online to his followers, to watch for his own personal training, and he occasionally used them as evidence in court. Drones were also invaluable for providing a distraction. He could see the small flock of drones in the heads-up display built into his goggles. Soon dense smoke filled the park. 

His super-suit featured large, modified high-tech goggles that provided a heads-up display and video link from his drones, an open-face reinforced motorcycle helmet, and a face mask covering his nose and mouth. The mask was wired to receive his voice commands, amplify and alter his voice, filter out all smoke and toxins, and supply extra oxygen when he was exerting himself like right now. Sensors in his suit adjusted oxygen levels as needed. 

People yelled loudly, calling out to each other in the smoke, trying to get a handle on what was going on. An occasional shot rang out when someone saw — or thought they saw — something. 

An alert on his display warned him that his heart rate was elevated. He closed his eyes and focused on his breathing. “Keep it together, SB.” Super-Borg took a deep breath in and slowly let it out. “Someone has to do something. This is what you do. This is who you are,” he said, repeating the oft-invoked mantra. He took a deep breath, “Up, up, and away,” he whispered, and sprinted for the Space Needle.  

_____________________________________________

Who brings rocket launchers to a drug deal? Super-Borg thought, running to get clear of the falling Space Needle. Beams, bolts, and concrete built to survive a 9.1 earthquake began to scream as if in unbelief that they had finally failed. As he ran, Super-Borg was still looking up at the falling Space Needle. It was like a bad dream. He was trying to not run directly in the path of the falling mountain of architecture, but there seemed to be no escaping it. He tried to change direction and tripped — over what, he didn’t know — and fell sprawling into the mud. He cursed himself for not watching where he was going, scrambled to his feet — determined to watch where he was running — and kept his head down as he ran. He was so intent on running and watching where he was going, that he failed to see the furniture dropping out of the old top-floor restaurant. A chair slammed on the ground immediately in front of him. He didn’t have time to hurdle it, so he tried to kick it, but his foot got stuck in the armrest and he fell again. Debris and concrete rained down. He curled up into the fetal position as Seattle’s most iconic landmark buried him.

_____________________________________________

Trent was coughing on water and his head was throbbing, but he wasn’t awake enough to open his eyes. 

“Trent? Trent, can you hear me?” His father’s voice sounded like it was coming from very far away. “Trent, I need you to wake up.” His head shook slightly, and water sloshed around the side of his face, like it was bobbing in the ocean. 

Trent’s eyes snapped open, his head hurt, and he was still coughing. 

“He’s awake,” his father said, sounding relieved. “I think he’s okay.” His father was looking at him, but he wasn’t talking to him. 

“That’s great, Mr. Daeshaun,” a woman’s voice said from overhead. “Help is on its way, just hang in there.” 

It came back to Trent then. Headlights swerving into their lane. His dad swearing. Tires screeching. The world spinning. 

“Trent. Buddy. Can you hold your head up? I need to let go.” Trent realized that his head was being held up out of the water by his dad, who was turned around from the driver’s seat — one shaky arm holding Trent’s head up so he wouldn’t drown and one hand pushing against the steering wheel, giving him the leverage that he needed to reach Trent. Trent nodded and lifted his head up. 

“Mr. Daeshaun, how are you doing? How are your legs?” the woman asked, with an intentionally calm voice — not emotionless or robotic, but not worried either, just appropriately concerned. 

“I still can’t feel my legs. I’m feeling light-headed.” Trent’s dad glanced back at Trent and then added with the best smile that he could muster, “But I’m fine. I got my boy here with me, so everything will be okay.” Trent’s dad was a cop, so he knew how to lie convincingly. 

Trent was twelve and knew when his dad was being a cop and when he was being a dad. Right now, Officer Daeshaun was in the driver’s seat, and everything would be okay. Trent knew when his dad put on his work persona in front of him: it was either because he needed immediate and unquestioning obedience, or when he needed to lie because whatever was going on in the world was out of his control and he couldn’t face his son with the truth. For the first month after his mother died, he lived with Officer Daeshaun and didn’t see his dad much. 

Trent always thought he looked like a faded version of his dad. He had seen pictures of his dad as a kid and they looked so much alike, except Trent had his mother’s lighter Indian skin. His mother was beautiful, but he had always wished he had been darker like his dad. He spent a lot of time looking at his dad’s complexion and had learned what the subtle changes meant. He could tell when his dad blushed because his cheeks and ears turned a richer color of brown. When he was sick or light-headed, he looked like the chocolate Easter bunny Trent had forgotten about for almost a year that had developed a gray-tinted film over the surface. His dad looked like that now. 

“Dad, what’s wrong?” 

Officer Daeshaun looked back and met Trent’s eyes, “We were in an accident. Help is on the way. It will be okay.” 

“Dad, you’re shaking. You don’t look good.” His dad was shivering severely. 

“Don’t look good? You calling me ugly?” The laugh that followed was weak — even weaker than the joke. Trent said nothing. 

Trent’s dad sighed, “The wreck was pretty bad. We’re lucky to still be alive. My legs are trapped. I also think I lost a lot of blood.” 

“That’s why you’re shaking so bad?”  

“Probably a combination of shock and the adrenaline wearing off. But the blood loss isn’t helping.” 

“Mr. Daeshaun,” the voice spoke from their car speakers, “the paramedics and the police are arriving now.” Trent could see the flashing lights and hear the vehicles pulling up. “I’m in contact with the officer in charge. I will leave the line open until you are both out of the vehicle.” Neither Trent nor his dad bothered to respond. They were both transfixed by the emergency vehicle lights. 

“Mike?” They could hear footsteps and the sound of a belt full of equipment bouncing as the officer it was attached to ran toward them. “Mike?” A flashlight moved closer, breaking away from the emergency vehicles parked along the road, like a bright white scout sent out from the hive of flashier, colorful lights. 

“Here. We’re here.” Trent’s dad called out. Tears filled Trent’s eyes and he wasn’t sure why, he tried uselessly to wipe them away with a wet hand. 

Light filled the windshield and then came around to the driver’s window. The car had rolled into the lake, but they were near the shore where the water was shallow. Trent sat in the backseat, passenger side — his dad still preferred him to ride in the back so the airbags wouldn’t hurt him if they were ever in a wreck. Trent almost laughed as the tears ran down his face. The one time they were in a wreck, and the airbags failed to go off. 

“Mike, thank God you’re alive.” It was his dad’s partner, Jose, and Trent knew he was crossing himself. His dad teased Jose about how much he crossed himself and uttered little prayers. Trent was glad Jose was praying for them. 

“Jose, Trent’s in the back. Get him first.” The flashlight turned its stare on Trent and panned back and forth.

“Trent, you hurt?” Jose said.

“I don’t think so.” 

“Trent, can you unbuckle yourself?”

“I think I can,” Trent said, reaching down until he found the buckle and unlatched it. 

“Bring me a stretcher,” Jose yelled back toward the flashing lights. “Trent,” Jose said, in his soft, but still firm, everything’s going to be okay if you do what I say voice, “I’m going to pull you toward me and then out. Okay?”

Trent nodded and slid toward Jose. Large hands reached in and grabbed him. Trent began coughing again.  

_____________________________________________

Super-Borg woke up coughing on dust and his whole body was in pain. His mask had come off, it was dark, and dust filled the air. He was trapped and concrete dust coated everything, forming a sticky paste as it mixed with the rainwater. His head hurt and his ribs screamed in pain when he coughed. “Broken rib, great.” The display on his goggles wasn’t working. There was a cold breeze and drops of rain splashed around him. His leg felt trapped, and he didn’t have much room to move, but he was thankful to be alive. Trying to lift the slab of 1960s concrete that trapped his leg proved impossible as there was no power from his suit, and without it he wasn’t strong enough. 

A sharp pain in his knee pulsed like someone was stabbing it with an icepick in time with his heartbeat. The concrete rock kept him from bending his leg, but he moved his toes and then his foot. “I don’t think the leg’s broken, that’s good.” There was a large gash on the armor over his chest where a large piece of rubble had bounced off and broken his ribs. He was lucky to be alive. 

He coughed again and forgot about the icepick in his knee as pain shot through his chest. He could feel his ribs shifting when he coughed. Between the dust and the broken rib, it was hard to breathe, and he felt light-headed. 

“I can’t believe they dropped the Space Needle on me. What the hell?” His voice was rough and scratchy from dust and coughing, but talking to himself helped to keep him calm. 

No power in his exoskeleton or in the goggles meant the suit was in sleep mode, out of power, or the impact had somehow shut everything down. It was also possible the suit was critically damaged, but he didn’t want to think about that. Opening the cover of the touchscreen on his arm, he poked at it a few times. Nothing happened. He coughed again and grimaced through the pain. The suit would need a hard reboot. 

Lifting a panel built into the armor on his shoulder, he flipped open the small breaker box. Sliding the switch inside to the off position, he counted to three and then slid it back. The slow, electrical whining of his suit waking up filled his little cave. He lay back, exhausted but smiling.  

Looking at the screen on his forearm, he could see his suit’s power was at 20 percent. There was also a problem with the right knee joint. All of his drones were still circling the area, collecting data. They reported that his immediate vicinity was clear — the Neuro-syndicate must have bolted. The police weren’t there yet, but an alert told him they were on the way. Super-Borg had no desire to talk to the police. They disliked supers, and Super-Borg was a vocal critic of the privatization of the police force. Whenever he had to deal with the police, they went out of their way to make things difficult for him. He still respected the badge, but he knew even his dad wouldn’t like what had become of the force. His best option was to try and get out of there quickly and quietly, and file his community marshals incident report later. 

With the power restored to his goggles, he turned them to night-vision mode and located his mask. He braced himself, then used the power of his suit to lift the chunk of man-made rock off his leg. Even with the suit doing most of the heavy lifting, his ribs still screamed at him. The rock shifted and he stopped, catching his breath, trying not to cough.  

Taking a slow breath, he repositioned his hands and lifted again. The concrete slowly shifted, causing a small avalanche of rubble to fall on his helmet. 

He slid his leg out and slowly stood, leaning against the same rock that had been trying to crush him. There was a piece of rebar wedged into the knee joint of his suit. The rebar had cut a large gash in his leg. Blood dripped down his suit, mixing with the dirt and rainwater, but he thought how incredibly lucky he was that it had not skewered his knee. He grabbed the piece of metal and pulled it free, inhaling sharply as it dragged across the cut. The mechanized joint on his suit was useless, but he could still bend his knee.   

It was only a few blocks to where he had parked his motorcycle. He hoped no video of him limping away from the scene would turn up online. 

He made it to the super-cycle without any hassle. He called it a super-cycle, but it looked like any other motorcycle. That was the point. He pulled a large, black hoodie from the storage compartment under the seat and covered himself up. As he rode away, shame and embarrassment flushed his cheeks. This was bad. He would have to call his publicist. 

  _____________________________________________

Super-Borg Limps Away from Destroyed Space Needle

 We are receiving reports that today’s collapse of Seattle’s iconic Space Needle happened during an altercation between the Neuro-syndicate and the community marshal known as Super-Borg. Amateur video of Super-Borg fleeing the aftermath of the fallen Space Needle has been posted online.

Today, Super-Borg has given more fuel to the fire for those who think the community marshals cause more harm than good when he was involved in an altercation that resulted in the collapse of the Space Needle. Losing the iconic Seattle structure has many residents calling for the disbanding of the community marshals. While some call them superheroes, others call them reckless vigilantes. 

Fredrick Harman, the owner of a vegan hamburger truck called, Where’s the Beef, who lives in an apartment near the Space Needle, doesn’t see the purpose of the community marshals anymore. “They just run around playing superhero and doing more damage than they prevent. We lost the Space Needle today. Is it worth it?” 

Deputy Veishea of the local community marshals’ office has continuously stated that because the police are now privately funded, their priorities don’t always align with those of the public. 

The Space Needle is owned by the city and has been condemned for years, so there were no police assigned to the area, but they are looking into the use of banned weapons and explosives that reportedly brought it down. 

From The Seattle Wire

[rainymeadows]

I rewatched Eternal Diva and this time I took notes as I went through

Dive under the cut if you dare to experience my mad in-the-moment ramblings (warning for spoilers for pretty much the entire prequel trilogy)

-          Don Paolo’s voice sounds like what Papyrus’s voice probably should

-          Winter Layton is precious in that giant coat

-          Janice is so pretty omg an angel

-          Layton geeking out over the Detrogan is goddamn adorable

-          I love how everything is greyed out in Janice’s flashback

-          Suuuuuuuuper subtle indication that maybe “Janice” seeing how young this little girl was is what prompted her to find a way to put an end to this whole thing

-          Whether it’s a moped or the Laytonmobile, Emmy drives like crazy XD

-          Bitch you ain’t on Top Gear

-          God her big sister relationship with Luke is adorable tho

-          Aaaaaaaaaaaah Layton smiling at their banter dad’s so happy for his son

-          They did such a good job reusing the game’s music for this movie

-          The opera house looks so cool but so precarious – my first thought upon seeing it was ��when is this thing going to sink”

-          I MEAN IT’S ON A CLIFF

-          Janice’s voice is so pretty TToTT

-          I like that they kept the Japanese vocals for her singing

-          SONG OF THE SEA-SHADOWING

-          I hate that Layton and Luke were the ONLY people to honestly applaud the performance. Everyone else is a DICK

-          First time I saw this dude, I thought “that’s a puppet, no ordinary person moves like that even in animation”

-          Once again, Layton putting a polite and gentlemanly spin on “fucked if I know, my dude”

-          Lol I love that even the people who didn’t applaud and thus apparently knew what they were in for weren’t down for dying

-          Fuking cowards

-          Layton is always DTF (down to fight)

-          GROSKY OF THE YARD

-          FUCK YES

-          This dude’s manliness is infectious

-          “Gee, I wonder who’s behind this-“ *Descole’s theme starts playing* “-oh well never mind”

-          Honestly who else but Descole would be this fucking extra tho

-          Gotta admit I love the twist of the opera house being a ship, I was totally expecting it to just go plunging into the ocean at a moment’s notice

-          Aaaaah the CG in this movie is really well done

-          Layton’s angry face is kinda ridiculous but I love it

-          I love that it’s pointed out like “where tf did all these sharks come from”

-          I prefer Cartoon Saloon’s Song of the Sea, but this one’s pretty too

-          Lol as if a MAN-EATING SHARK could keep down GROSKY OF THE YARD

-          I’m surprised he can see over the top of his chest hair

-          God, the detrogan is such a cool instrument and I really wish something like it existed irl

-          Ah, it’s only like fifteen sharks, Grosky will be fine

-          I love the air of mystery surrounding Oswald Whistler

-          Layton’s hat is made of 100% pure uncut husband material

-          AAAAAAAAAAAAAH I LOVE HOW PUZZLES ARE USED IN THIS MOVIE IT’S SO GOOOOOOOD

-          I’m so glad they didn’t scrap it entirely coz I mean they’re so integral not only to the Layton games, but Layton himself

-          This music box tune kinda gives me Gravity Falls vibes tbh

-          I think the backing melody sounds pretty identical to the tune’s intro

-          I love that this movie actually lets us see inside Layton’s head and his thought process, it’s so much better than just having him put everything together seemingly offscreen

-          Tbh any puzzle where “the night sky” is the solution is bound to be a good puzzle

-          I just fucking love the implied MASSACRES in this movie

-          God Luke is so goddamn precious

-          Pffft pumpkin dude is so subtly duplicitous

-          Okay I have ot pause for a bit to rant about layton’s design because it’s SO GOOD. Warm colours make him seem welcoming and kinda comfy and the simple facial features, while a bit Ditto-esque, do combine nicely with his overall shape to scream “friend”. Professor Layton is friend shaped. And of course there’s the popped collar to show that he’s cool, the high collared shirt gives a scholarly vibe, his shoes which I stg are plimsolls show a practical side and of course the quintessential top hat shows that he’s a Gentleman first and foremost. Add the amazing voice to that and BOI I DIE

-          Although I can’t help imagining that gif with the teddy bear slapping eyebrows onto its face to look angry whenever he gets mad

-          Luke is not friend shaped. Luke is son shaped.

-          Precious bab shaped

-          Wpw a sea captain I would never have guessed other than the “sailor” accent and the fact that you’re wearing a sailor’s uniform

-          Ugh I love these quiet moments where things can sink in and characters can just talk to each other, I really wish more movieswould do this

-          I love that even if you don’t have a literal look at his thought processes, you can still see Layton THINKINg

-          Agh Amelia is SO CUTe this series is so good at designing beautiful women and cute girls while also making them look DISTINCT

-          I like that they hinted at her intelligence by having her solve the puzzles by herself

-          One advantage a film has over the games is that the visual novel format kinda limits the dialogue, coz it’s hard to convey one charafter talking over another

-          I really like the side characters. They’re simple, yes, but they don’t really need to be complex

-          I will admit that the limits of Layton’s simple facial features means it can be hard to tell who/what he’s looking at sometimes…

-          “that man” asked me to write an opera, huh

-          WHY DOES NOBODY ASK WHO

-          Fuck descole’s theme is SO GOOD

-          WHERE DOES HE GET THE FUNDING FOR ALL OF THIS THOUGH

-          And Grosky boards the ship just in time for it to blow up XD I love this dude

-          I can only imagine his gigantic pecs act as a flotation device

-          Layton preventing Luke from looking at the exploding ship THIS MAN IS SUCH A DAD HE’S SO GOOD

-          I love this scene with Emmy investigating because these parent’s appearances are just enough to make it ambiguous whether they’re Nina or Amelia’s parents

-          Seeing them all wrapped up in blankets is kinda cute tbh

-          LET. THEM. SLEEP.

-          I wonder what Layton uses to keep his hat on?

-          Lol Emmy pushing a fossil aside to look at the map

-          I can only assume, given that they set off from the White Cliffs of Dover, that this island is SOMEWHERE off the coast of mainland Europe in about the same region as Spain

-          Ugh I LOVE Emmy’s uppercrust accent, the fact that she sounds like such a refined lady is such a fun contrast to her literal arse-kicking

-          Also this is totally BBC news lol

-          I love the detail of the historian’s scrapbook being kinda hodgepodge with bits falling out

-          And I love the Ambrosia Seal being super detailed but the subtle incorporation of a sheet music design

-          Gotta admit I totally thought this little banquet was poisoned on my first watch

-          Lol I love that pumpkin guy just KEEPS POURING THE WINE

-          Ugh that beach looks SO PRETTY, I want to go there

-          Janice is totally crushing on Layton, pass it on

-          D’awwwwww luke trying to befriend ‘melina’ is SO CUTE this boy must be protected at all costs

-          Layton how did you hear what she was humming from all the way over there

-          Why do so many anime characters have inexplicable super senses

-          Those wolves’ eyeliner is on point lol

-          “I’m not built for running” lol mood

-          FUCKING HELL DESCOLE WHO IS FUNDING ALL YOUR SHIT

-          HOW MUCH DISPOSABLE INCOME DO YOU FUCKING HAVE

-          Admittedly on my first watch I wasn’t as familiar with descole’s theme, but I saw that castle and I just thought “it’s descole, only he can be that extra”

-          The twist of using the cages for personal protection rather than to trap the walls is simple, but so clever

-          I love that Mr Whistler was one of those accidentally trapped outside. Keeps suspicion off

-          And I love Layton saying “well that solved PART of our problem”

-          YOU SHUT UP LADY THE PROFESSOR IS AMAZING

-          And then he trips and falls lol that’s what you get for wearing old man shoes

-          “Even a good gentleman needs to get some exercise!” pfft

-          Oh hey, they found the starter house that Descole was using while he was building that castle. I wonder what texture pack he’s using?

-          And here Layton puts MacGuyver to shame in the most Ghibli way possible

-          I’d love to see someone try to build this thing XD someone call the Mythbusters

-          Bjut I adore how even LAYTON isn’t sure how this fucking thing works

-          Fucking NERD

-          Yeah, these filmmakers were TOTALLY influenced by Ghibli

-          This is so Castle In The Sky, it hurts

-          “Hang on tight! NOT TO THE PILOT!” – best line in the movie

-          You can’t escape it, Layton. You is a dad

-          DID YOU GUYS NOT SEE LAYTON LAPUTA-ING HIS WAY IN

-          It’s great how all those puzzles seem like they could be ripped straight out of the Layton games, complete with outside-the-box bizarre thinking required to solve em

-          I’m so proud of Luke for solving it!!!!! Such a good boy

-          RUDE

-          Yeah, just stand in the middle of the suspiciously empty room, I’m sure nothing will go wrong

-          That’s what you get for shoving Layton aside, bitches

-          Lol I guess luke could just step through the bars if his head was a bit smaller

-          DESCOLE HOLY FUCK YOU ARE THE KING OF EXTRA

-          “humble scientist” GOOD GRIEF WHAT A LOAD OF SHIT YOU DRAMA QUEEN

-          I love that Emmy can FLY A PLANE

-          Holy shit grosky there are better ways to signal for help

-          And LESS GROSS WAYS TO DRY YOURSELF OFF IN A PLANE

-          Yeah, see, you lost your knickers

-          Ugh, god. I adore this scene with Layton in Melina’s room. It’s so quiet, the soft evening lighting… aaaaaaaaaaah so peaceful, but you can still feel the tension in the air, especially after Melina comes in

-          Oh my god, Layton plays like an angel *swoon*

-          The lack of background music in this scene is what makes it so perfect, the tension is so REAL

-          Lol I love the historian just standing there like ‘welp there they go’

-          NOOOOOOOOO LUKE DON’T CRY

-          BIG SIS IS HERE

-          Oh fuck yes

-          EMMY I LOVE YOU

-          God she and grosky are so fantastic XD

-          WHERE DID YOU LEARN TO FIGHT LIKE THAT EMMY

-          Somehow emmy gives me Michelle of the Resistance vibes

-          God, I kinda love it when you can tell Layton’s already put it all together and is just biding his time

-          AAAAAAAAAAH I love the subtle resemblance between Layton and what you can see of Descole’s face

-          In hindsight, that… stole? Is that what it is? The fur thing isprobably to hide his face shape because it most likely ups his resemblance to Layton

-          But he’s totally wearing black converse like the extra hipster nerd he is

-          God, I can’t even imagine the nightmare of having your memories overridden and personality suppressed

-          Aaaaaaaaaaaand here’s the summation. I love this part in pretty much every Layton thing

-          “Assisting you was the scientist, Jean Descole!” Descole: lol hi

-          LAYTON YOU ARE SUCH A DAD I LOVE YOU

-          Him being gentle with kids is so sweet

-          Also damn this backstory is a lot. I can’t imagine the pain of losing a loved one, but I’m not surprised a father would do anything he could to keep his daughter alive

-          “When did you realise I was involved” “ur an extra bitch who lives for drama, who else could it be”

-          That brief bit of Luke without his hat just makes him look even more BABY BOI MUST PROTECC

-          Okay real talk when did Janice get hold of the key

-          I’m guessing it was in the commotion when Mr Whistler grabbed Luke

-          SUCH A GOOD TWIST I LOVE IT

-          My heeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaart goddammit

-          In hindsight, the hint of Janice wearing Melina’s pendant was really subtle and clever

-          GODDAMMIT DESCOLE CAN YOU STOP BEING EXTRA FOR LIKE TEN SECONDS

-          It’s kinda cool that he’s an archaeologist too though. It really does run in the family.

-          The way Descole and Whistler’s schemes intertwined was really cool

-          Yeah, it just wouldn’t be Descole if there wasn’t some over-the-top machinery

-          YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS MAGIC MUSIC THIS IS MY SHIT

-          When escaping from a crumbling castle, do be sure to grab your boy.

-          AAAAAAAAAGH THE SCENERY IN THIS MOVIE IS SO FUCKING GOOD

-          Good lord, there it is. Descole just can’t function unless he has some ridiculous Humongous Mecha at his command

-          This thing looks especially monstrous and I love it

-          I don’t think I’ve seen ANY faults in this movie’s animation, jesus Christ

-          Descole, did you learn nothing from the attempted excavation of Troy? It’s very possible that your efforts to unearth Ambrosia will be what destroys it!

-          Aaaaaaaagh this flying scene is intense as FUCK

-          Layton and Luke are SUCH A GOOD TEAM

-          WHAT IS THIS MUSIC I LOVE IT

-          Luke you are SUCH A GOOD BOY

-          Sorry but you’ll never be mob tho

-          Mob is perfection

-          JESUS CHRIST DESCOLE ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL A CHILD

-      ��   I was about to ask where that explosion came from but then I realised it was probably a petrol-powered chainsaw

-          Layton who told you that you could look this goddamn epic

-          But I love that he’s taking on the sword-armed Descole with a PIPE

-          That footwork tho

-          Layton must be an amazing dancer

-          So cool that he’s patiently explaining why Descole was wrong

-          Sun, stars and sea. I feel like that’s a Dothraki term of endearment meant for oceanfairing

-          MORE MAGIC MUSIC I AM BLESSED

-          AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH I LOVE THIS SO MUCH THIS IS THE FUCKING COOLEST

-          I’M SUCH A SLUT FOR MAGIC MUSIC GODDAMMIT AND THIS IS DOUBLE TEAMING ME WITH SINGING AND PIANO

-          I do enjoy that despite its emergence, Ambrosia is still partially submerged. Some movies would’ve had it rise from the sea completely

-          Lol at Descole losing his shit because SOMEONE ELSE found the answer

-          Yeah, bad idea attacking someone right on top of your humongous mecha’s control panel

-          “DESCOLE!” dude he’s fine you really think he’d die

-          I was going to ask why Emmy didn’t use her plane but she probably couldn’t get to it in time

-          Yeah, this is SO Ghibli. The gigantic industrialised machine self-destructing on the ruins of an ancient civilisation lost to nature

-          Noooooooooo don’t do this to me movie, nothing kills me like sad flashbacks

-          Ow my heart

-          This hurts

-          “I’m sorry, Father. I’ve only ever brought you grief and sadness, haven’t I” as someone who’s struggled with depression this is a whole-ass mood

-          NO THIS HURTS STOP IT

-          Also the lil detail of Whistler’s waistcoat being the same shade of purple as Melina/Janice’s dress

-          NOOO DON’T MAKE LUKE SAD

-          “I’m so glad all of you were my very last memory.” Damn that line hits hard

-          GIVE THE GIRL A HUG, LAYTON

-          I said a hug, not a hand on the shoulder, she needs a HUG

-          Seeing the destroyed detrogan really hammers it home, huh

-          It’s very kind of Grosky to let Whistler play one last time in memory of his daughter

-          When I got into the Layton series, I was no expecting to be hit so hard with the FEELS

-          “Do you know that a man is not dead while his name is still spoken?”

-          GNU Ambrosia, I guess

-          Ugh it’s so PRETTY tho

-          Fucking sparkles and shit

-          D’awwwww, I love the image of Luke patching up the wolves, he’s so sweet

-          Knowing the truth about Emmy and seeing her being so happy with Layton and Luke makes it really painful :’(

-          The world needs more of Layton with a big, happy smile

-          Awww, Author Lady and Pumpkin Dude kept in touch

-          GROSKY GOT HIS UNDIES BACK

-          Ugh seeing Layton and Luke peacefully listening to that music is SO CUTE and SOFT

[five-wow]

9.20 thoughts! this got very long, just as an fyi.

not even a minute in and some guys sold a teenage girl a gun. oh boy.

on the plus side: i remember which episode this is now! it’s the one with the gun that somehow has a connection to lots of five-0 members’ lives!

the banter between those two cops was really fun (and not as stilted as it sometimes is when a random Cop Or Security Duo shows up!) and then one of them got shot and something like that kind of HAD to happen but i’m still sad

OKAY so the first connection is that junior is friends with one of the guys who sold the gun and the guy shows up at HQ and i was like, oh no, but then he tells junior what he did!!! that’s so good!!! i’m weirdly proud of this very minor side character who did a very bad thing

DANNY. THERE’S DANNY. i technically knew he had to be in this episode somewhere because i’ve seen photographical evidence of it here on tumblr, but THERE HE IS. YAY. i mean, i love almost all of the main cast, but i think part of the reason why it took me a month to watch the previous episode was because danny wasn’t in it. it still just doesn’t feel right. it’s like there’s something missing. and here that something is!

junior and his buddy leave and steve and danny are alone in the office and steve said something case-related directly to danny and i’m weirdly excited about that, too!! my bars are literally so low.

BABY STEVE. baby steve is watching inspector gadget, oh my gosh, aw.

i love how doris is supposed to be there and she picks up the phone and tells mini steve to turn down the tv, but we never see any part of her except a hand and some hair because they didn’t hire the actress for this episode. so subtle.

i am... so conflicted about this scene. on the one hand, mini steve is super cute. on the other, we’re probably supposed to like young john here and think he’s a Good Dad but i just... kind of low key hate everything he does. he looks annoyed when doris tells him the call is for him, like she’s bugging him somehow after being the one who picked up the phone in the first place, and the whole “i have to go to work. take care of your mom while i’m gone, okay?” that he says to steve is so bad, omfg. steve is what, five? i know the “man of the house” thing is very common in media but it’s! so! stupid! doris is a grown woman and steve is a tiny little boy - doris has to (and can!) take care of steve, not the other way around, god. /rant

oh! we do get a full body shot of doris but it’s blurry doris! and she’s SUPER PREGNANT which makes the fact that john let her get up to answer the phone in the first place kind of bad too, actually, oh boy.

doris: “john, if something was wrong you’d tell me, right?” john: “i’m not gonna lie to you, i don’t know. just lock the door behind me, i’ll try to call you as soon as i get this straightened out.” OMG WHAT. okay a) this is hilarious knowing as we do that doris was actually a highly trained cia agent/assassin and probably way more skilled than john and outranks him by far, fjdkfd, and b) i’ll give john a little credit for being somewhat honest and not just going with “no, everything’s totally fine, don’t worry”, but the answer he does give is almost worse because it’s so incredibly vague, holy shit. he says “i’m not gonna lie to you” and he doesn’t, but he also doesn’t tell doris who called or what they said or why he’s suddenly leaving for work in the middle of the night or why he thinks she needs to lock the door.

i’m only six minutes in at this point. i’m talking too much oh gosh

WAIT WAIT WAIT. john is offering himself up as a hostage, alone and unarmed and without backup, and THAT’s the “oh, i don’t know if there’s something wrong honey” situation he was leaving for? john. the fuck. now the “i’m not gonna lie” was definitely a lie after all.

the guy with the gun: “you’re such a good boy, john.” i respectfully disagree, my man.

the guy with the gun apparently killed his business partner and john arrested him (of course) and he and john have a talk about it where the guy is like “i shouldn’t have gone to prison!” and john is like “you got off lightly!” and it’s okay but. john is so smug about it and i hate that. he’s probably supposed to look bad ass and cool but i just. i just really dislike it. it’s this macho man thing and i’m not into it at all.

guy with gun, talking about his son: “you made sure he grew up without a father.” this, um, kind of made me laugh, because apparently that’s one of john’s specialties - for this guy’s kid by sending him (probably deservedly) to prison, sure, but later also his own kids by sending them away, fdjfkd. wow.

ooohhhh the gun guy said “steve, right?” and the frame kind of flipped to present day steve and that was very cool! i loved that.

2010 danny! and he’s talking to grace on the phone!!! already love it.

i also love that they gave him a baseball cap, presumably to hide the kind of obvious difference in hair that nine years brought.

danny kind of snubs the local food and it’s very 2010!him, but oh danny. it’s not the poor shop owner’s fault that your ex dragged you there against your will.

oh BOY. the shop gets robbed and the owner shot (which was expected, of course, when a main character wanders in there at night), and then danny asks the random woman shopping there to keep pressure on the owner’s wound until the ambulance gets there (which... he hasn’t called, and he also hasn’t told her to call for one, so that, uh, might take a long, long while) and then he takes the shop owner’s shotgun and RUNS AFTER THE SHOOTER. which is very heroic of him but also makes every single complaint he has in season 1 about steve’s daredevil approach to law enforcement VERY IRONIC.

oh, danny loses the guy and NOW he calls it in, fjdkfkd.

jerry is doing some smart tracking thing on the computer and it’s pretty regular h50 stuff but there’s an email adress on the screen that’s literally “gunlover[bunch of numbers]” and i’m screaming oh gosh

they already found the girl! but her dad is understandably not that jazzed about letting his daughter be investigated for murder. but good job on tracking her down so quickly!

2015 tani at a party!!! aww.

ohhh gosh koa is target shooting with the gun, which probably means he’s going to end up getting framed for something, oh no.

oh boy, tani has the same concerns so she confronts her boyfriend about it but she also knows her boyfriend’s in a gang and then the police comes knocking at his door about a murder, so that’s not going to end well.

ooh, 2015 tani was a police informant! and she’s talking to a pretty cool female detective and i appreciate that, even though you’d have to squint to count this scene as passing the bechdell test because almost every sentence references tani’s boyfriend, the boyfriend’s gang or tani’s brother.

steve and danny are interrogating a suspect together!! i might be completely wrong, but i feel like we haven’t seen that in a while.

suspect: “i don’t know if either of you guys are married, but even if it goes south, you can’t shut down some of those feelings, you know? like the ones that go right down into the core.” HMMM. INTERESTING. the camera is literally on danny’s face for a good portion of this, gosh.

they close their main case and i thought for a moment there was going to be some big twist because the episode isn’t near over yet, but instead they realize that this gun was used for a whole bunch of other crimes. it’s a “community gun”! i love that term, wow. how nice and cooperative of them all, sharing this one piece between them.

danny recognizes his case from the ones on the screen!!! and he tells the rest of them that he went to get a bite to eat on his first night in hawaii and that the store was robbed, and i’m kind of glad that at least the team seems to recognize that this is extraordinarily bad luck, ha.

also, steve barely reacts to danny’s story, so i’m taking that to mean that he definitely already knows it. which would make total sense! this seems like the kind of thing danny would rant about at some point during one of his “why i hate hawaii” tirades in season 1, but still, i like that. they know each other.

fjdkfjdk i LOVE how the whole team is standing there and piecing together the fact that they have connections to a ridiculous number of the crimes committed with this one gun, and jerry keeps commenting about how freaky it all is. this is so much fun, awww.

young john gets shot but of course he was wearing a vest, because he can’t die yet, because he needs to save that for a moment much later when he’s scarred his kids more and when he can die horribly on the phone with his son.

OKAY BUT “d. lukela”!!!! i’ve been watching the john bits very sceptically at this point but THIS I DID NOT SEE COMING and i ADORE IT.

john: “listen, duke, i’m not gonna lie to you man...” WHY do you keep saying that john, omfg. at least this time you’re telling the truth about not lying, i suppose. 50% not lying about not lying isn’t much, but it’s a start.

steve!! remembers!! that night!! and it’s because he was six and really scared because he knew something was wrong oh nooo

danny and tani talking in the car is super nice!!! and danny gets to drive the camaro for once which, wow, that’s pretty shocking

ahhhhh, the only thing this danny+car scene was missing was steve and then he CALLS. very good.

i just. listen. i just love danny. the way he keeps butting into the tense conversation between tani and this guy she used to know who she put in prison? it’s both hilarious and secretly very kind, because it’s making the moment so much more bearable for tani.

danny and tani find the guy from the convenience store robbery and he just turns around and puts his hands on his back to be cuffed when they ask him to! he doesn’t pull out a gun from somewhere or even try to run away! holy shit!

duke and steve are in california rounding off steve’s dad’s case and of course they get shot at before even knocking on the door and then the suspect runs for it, too. maybe it’s just steve. maybe their work would be a lot easier if steve’s presence didn’t magically make all the suspects shoot and run.

and the gun gets put away in a box in evidence storage, closing the case(s). aww. that’s a nice end.

okay, so, as much as i complain about john mcgarrett, i did really enjoy this episode very much! it was a really fun idea to have this gun travel around the island and use it to show little parts of characters’ backstories and i liked the execution of it too, plus the pacing was good and it had some funny moments and it had (very importantly) danny in it. and tani’s background!!! i think that was the one that surprised me most, because danny being a good cop with bad luck and steve having a not-so-great dad are a bit of a given at this point (though i still enjoyed seeing that, too!), but we knew precious little about tani’s life before five-0, and apparently there’s a huge story there. knowing what this episode showed us, i kind of want her to have a conversation with kamekona at some point - they both had a youth where they (almost) went the wrong direction, and they both got out of that in part for the sake of their brothers, and then they both ended up in the five-ohana somehow, which is probably not a place they ever saw themselves. i don’t know, i just love the idea of this unexpected friendship/understanding between two characters who don’t seem to have a lot in common at first glance.

also, more general comment: the funny thing is, until i watched this episode i hadn’t realized how much i missed this silly show and its silly characters over the past month. i totally did that not-watching-it thing to myself (not even intentionally, but still) and clearly it was more of a mistake than i realized because oh my god it felt good to see them all on my screen again, gosh. :D

[minijenn]

Notes for Blendin's Game.

Under the cut! 

Characters: Dipper, Mabel, Steven, Connie, Soos, Blendin, Soos’s Abulita, Amethyst, Stan, Wendy, Candy, Grenda, Greg, Time Baby, cameos from younger versions of characters (Soos, Wendy, Tambry, Robbie, Greg, Steven, the Gems, ect.)Setting: Mystery Shack, Soos’s house, Globnar stadium, laser tag placeEpisodes to look at: Blendin’s Game, some flashback SU episodesTone: action, drama, angst, hurt/comfort, family, friendship, lore

• Start the chapter dramatically off in the future (207012) with Blendin Blandin escaping from the Time Paradox Avoidance Enforcement Squadron, though he is of course eventually captured (keep this pretty close to the episode) • Upon his capture, Blendin invokes Globnar and names Dipper, Mabel, and Steven as the tributes he wants to face off against, in order to get revenge against them for what happened in Lion and Waddles (cut ominously on this) • Cut to the present, with some fun with the kids (and by kids this includes Dipper, Mabel, Steven, and Connie) and have it play similarly to the episode, with Soos helping them out with the vending machine; highlight how helpful and loyal he always is • After leaving however, Soos accidentally leaves his wallet behind, and of course the kids, quite curious, rummage through it (add some original humor to this); after a little of this, they discover that today is Soos’ birthday, even though he failed to tell anyone about it • To show their appreciation for all Soos does for them, the kids decide to throw him a surprise party; they get Amethyst (the other two Gems are on a mission), Candy and Grenda to help them with this endeavor, as well as Greg (have some birthday related lines in here, like how the twins have always shared a birthday and the kind of parties Greg used to throw for Steven when he was younger (with the Gems’ help sometimes)Side note:  Be sure to include original SU content in here! • When the kids get Soos to come to the party however, he’s visibly upset as opposed to excited and it doesn’t take long for him to leave, much to the kids confusion (maybe make this part a bit longer, perhaps include some subtle foreshadowing about Soos’ lost connection to his father upon seeing the close bond Steven and Greg have)Side note: Maybe include some references to So Many Birthdays in here (check transcript) • Right after this, Stan and Wendy show up and explain to the kids that Soos has always mysteriously hated his own birthday for reasons unknown; perplexed by this but still wanting to make the handyman feel better, they all eventually decide on going to the local laser tag place to have some fun, as that’s one of Soos’ favorite activities • Have some fun as they arrive (be sure to include original banter in here!), though before the game can even start, the twins, Steven, and Connie accidentally wander into a time portal that brings them to an enclosed room in 207012 • Here, they encounter Blendin, who explains that they are to participate in the gladiatorial competition known a Globnar, the winner of which gets one free time wish • Include some humor about Connie not really needing to be there because she wasn’t there in Lion and Waddles but her still staying there nonetheless because Blendin doesn’t care • With a little humor, the kids devise a plan to make their escape and easily carry it out (let this vary from the episode a bit); they swipe one of the time travel devices from an official, but instead of using it to go back to the present, they instead travel back ten years from the present instead • After evading Blendin and his escorts, the kids fretfully realize this fact (have these realizations be pretty funny); matters are only made worse when they realize the time machine is broken, though Dipper claims he can fix it with some tools • The kids decide first to try and find some tools at the carwash, since its relatively close to their current location; as they travel to it, include the joke with the kids encountering a younger version of Wendy, who finds Dipper to be cute (play this pretty close to the episode) • Soon enough, the kids show up at the carwash, managing to sneak past a younger version of Greg (who is in the midst of panicking as he desperately looks for something, setting the B plot in motion) though none of the kids stick around to realize what (though imply that its baby Steven) • They discover that there’s pretty much no tools in sight, though upon realizing that the Mystery Shack would certainly have some tools lying about, the set out there instead • Before cutting, however, focus back on young Greg and reveal that what he’s looking for is baby Steven, who seems to have mysteriously disappeared (coinciding with the present Steven being in the past) • Cut to the kids making it to the Mystery Shack, and maybe lengthen this part as they evade Stan (again, not wanting to mess with the past too drastically); there, however, they briefly encounter a 12 year old version of Soos, so keep this pretty much the same, until Abuelita shows up, reminding Soos about his birthday party • Dipper manages to fix the time machine, but the kids decide to stick around in the past for a bit longer to try and figure out the real reason why Soos seems to have such disdain for his birthday in the present • As they depart, Greg arrives at the shack, still distraught as he informs Stan that he apparently lost Steven; make this humorous as Stan reacts stoically, not proving to be much help in finding him (also include Greg being somewhat afraid to tell the Gems about this) • Cut to the kids sneaking into Soos’ party, and at first it seems as though he’s having a wonderful time, though he is most excited about his dad coming to the party • However, these hopes are quickly dashed as Soos’ dad does not in fact show up, but instead only sends him a postcard, greatly disappointing the young Soos (much to Abuelita’s severe frustration) • Include a brief joke encounter between Greg and Blendin (and his escorts) as Greg is still searching all over town for Steven (though he doesn’t get to say his name to Blendin fortunately) though Blendin is completely unsympathetic of course (again, make this funny) • Of course, the kids feel terribly sad for Soos in light of this (try to make all of this hit home a little more) and so they develop a plan to help him by beating Blendin in Globnar and winning the time wish for Soos • After a while of this, Blendin and his escorts arrive at the party, where the kids finally turn themselves in • Before cutting to the future, go back to Greg again, who has just about given up hope; with great regret, he finally goes to tell the Gems that he lose Steven; have their reactions to this be just as panicked as his are when they demand to see where Greg last left him; cut away as they set off • Meanwhile, the kids are taken to the arena of the future to compete in Globnar, presided over by Time Baby (make this funny as well as tense) • The games begin, and be descriptive about them, showing off each of the kids’ skills utilized in them as they square off against Blendin (who has trained himself for this very occasion) in them; by the time the final challenge rolls around, they’re at an impassive tie • However, the final challenge, ironically enough, turns out to be laser tag, which the kids easily triumph in and successfully beat Blendin in Globnar overall • Time Baby tells them that they not only get the free time wish, but they also get to decide Blendin’s fate; however, instead of being cruel, they actually decide for him to be spared (as well as to give him decent hair, maybe something else too) • The kids unanimously agree on giving the time wish to Soos, so Blendin accompanies them back to the present to do so; Soos is flattered by this gesture, however, instead of wishing to see his father again, he wishes for the kids to be cleaned up (and for a slice of infinite pizza), claiming that he doesn’t need his dad since his friends are always there for him instead (maybe make this part longer, just as heartwarming) • Cut back to ten years in the past, with Greg taking the Gems back to the carwash as that was where Steven seemingly vanished from; however, much to Greg’s surprise, baby Steven is right where he left him, so of course he’s relieved though the Gems are anything but impressedSide note: Cut back to Greg’s search for Steven every now and then (maybe parallel this to how Soos’ dad is absentee) • Make it humorous as the Gems return to the temple, disgruntled; as they pass by the shack, go back into the usual end of the episode • Soos wanders by the shack and finds the screwdriver the kids left behind right as Stan is firing his handyman (include a line in here about him wishing he had never let Greg go as an employee) • End the chapter with Stan hiring Soos on the fly to be the shack’s new handyman, and make it a touch more heartwarming as Soos gladly accepts this position (foreshadowing the eventual father/son bond between Soos and Stan)

Cryptogram (Rev. Ceasar):In a Globnar battle, One cannot waver,Only hope that the oddsAre ever in your favor

Untranslated: FK X DILYKXO YXQQIBLKB ZXKKLQ TXSBOLKIV ELMB QEXQ QEB LAAPXOB BSBO FK VLRO CXSLO

[overworkedunderwhelmed]

LadyNoir July, Day 28: (In Love With a) Laugh, Part 5

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 (Coming Soon)

Works are collected on AO3 | Fanfiction.net

Alya eyed Marinette suspiciously. She knew the girl was not listening to her wax philosophical on her articles; she’d learned the signs of that tune out weeks ago.

Luckily, she was also able to multi-task. She’d learned the trick long ago, knowing Marinette would technically tune out for her more pedantic topics in particular.

Say what she wanted, Marinette was always much more interested when the topic ran to damage reports or identity clues. To thoughts of what Hawkmoth was after or who he might actually be beneath the mask.

But subtle Marinette was not.

Her friend was totally distracted and resembled a startled rabbit the instant Adrien entered the room.

Marinette had barely settled down by the time the first lecture had finished.

She had yet to respond to a single one of her notes, but her face kept getting a bit more pale as she read each one.

Alya crossed her arms over her chest. Noting the not-so-subtle direction on her friend’s eyes. She could wait until lunchtime and then she was going to get to the bottom of this mess.

By the time, Alya had cornered her over by the lockers, Marinette was half ready to pass out from the anxiety. There had to be some other way. Flirting with Adrien? There was no way she’d survive it.

Not even for all her worried for Chat Noir.

“Alright, girl. Spill.”

Plastering a super fake grin on her face, Marinette forced her eyes overly wide and guileless as she could muster.

Alya’s narrowed eyes were a pretty sure sign that she wasn’t buying the act. Any further doubts were erased with her deadpan, “Really? That’s adorable.”

Marinette pouted, her fingertips anxiously pressing together. “This is going to seem like a weird question.”

“Oh?”

“How do you flirt?” Marinette frowned.

Alya smirked, her hands crossing her chest. “Is that all?”

“With a guy...who’s a friend.”

Alya quirked a doubtful brow at that. “Just a friend?”

“Yep!” Marinette’s voice jumped half an octave higher without consulting her, she smiled, sweetly hoping it would cover the omission. “Just a friend.”

“And why haven’t I heard about this friend?”

Marinette flinched. Alya always was too canny by half. “I sometimes play Ultimate Mecha Strike III online after Dad crashes, and this one guy has been super fun to trounce. I just kind of found out he’s not quite so happy as he pretends, so I’ve been trying to cheer him up, trying to get him to laugh.”

“You really are the sweetest. You know that right.” Shaking her head, Alya ruffled Marinette’s bangs affectionately.

Marinette beamed. “Thanks...but I’ve had no luck. No matter what I do, I swear I just cannot get this boy to laugh. I’ve tried jokes and banter. I’m literally trying my awful attempts at flirting as a last ditch effort.”

“You’re not bad at flirting, M.”

Marinette shot her a pointed look.

“Right,” Alya countered, “but it is different thing when it is joking and when it means something to you. The more anxious about it, it just gets that much harder to do…” Alya trailed off.

Blinking, Marinette nodded, pushing the conversation forward. “Right. That’s why I kind of wanted to practice to make sure it would make an impartial person laugh as well.” She paused as Alya hadn’t jumped in as she usually would. “So what should I do?”

Alya had been staring, off in her own world. She shook her head when she’d noticed Marinette’s eyes on her. “Huh? Sorry. Let’s grab some lunch while we puzzle this out.”

Alya tapped her foot as Sabine Cheng rushed to pull together lunch at the kitchen table.

Marinette might have unwittingly provided her own solution to her terrible shyness around Adrien. She just couldn’t know he was there. But how could she pull it off?

Nino kept insisting that Adrien actually had this wicked sense of humor, one his Dad definitely didn’t approve in his carefully crafted public image of his own son.

Marinette was busy, writing down a list of items.

Alya took a peek over her shoulder at counter, squinting in disbelief. “Puns? I thought you hated those.”

Marinette rolled her eyes. “I’m definitely not a fan, although every once in awhile I hear one that will make me smile rather than groan.”

Alya’s eyes narrowed. Despite the explanation, Marinette hadn’t slowed her speed, her pen still scratching over the paper furiously. “So this guy likes cat puns?:”

“Yes, he’s a huge fan of Chat Noir and he is positively awful about them. Pawful, in fact.” Marinette winced at her own correction. “Seriously, it’s almost like playing games with my Dad, he’s so ridiculous about it.”

Alya quirked a brow. It was funny, Marinette was so overt and so over the top about her feelings for Adrien, but that kind of subtle and understated affection very much tracked with her own interactions with Nino.

It begged the question: if Marinette cared for this guy -- and she clearly did or she wouldn’t be so invested and worried -- then why was she keeping this guy under the radar?

Marinette deserved every bit of a chance with Adrien. And the boy was an absolute fool if he didn’t take her up on the offer -- assuming she could actually manage to stammer it out.

But if that didn’t work, it sounded like she actually had another beau waiting in the wings. One she cared about enough to even consider the risk in making a fool of herself in front of Adrien.

After only a moment's hesitation, she shot off a text to Nino.

Marinette walked back to school side by side with Alya. Some of these lines were just over the top, but she was channeling her best Chat Noir to pull it all off.

But Alya was just being impawsible.

Alya had just about died laughing when they were going through one of the crosswalks, which was definitely bode well for her later chatter with Chat Noir, but as a far less helpful sign for both of them getting back to school in one piece.

Seriously. Some of these jokes weren’t that funny. She’d heard them herself often enough to know.

Were it not for her superhero side gig, she might really have struggled to drag Alya bodily out of the crosswalk -- it wasn’t the first time she’d had to do that for someone -- but even now Alya smirked down at her phone.

Of course, if she were not Ladybug, she probably wouldn’t even know Chat Noir well enough to be rightfully concerned about him.

Alya couldn’t help but laugh. Marinette was so committed to this little project, but she still was offended by the puns and couldn’t help but wrinkle up her nose in frustration. Nino better get here quick with Adrien, while she was still up to these antics.

He had just texted back that he was inbound when Marinette had hauled her bodily from the intersection. At least she was paying attention.

"So have you figured out which ones you might use?"

“Not entirely sure yet.” Marinette mused aloud. “He’s pretty quick on his feet...in the game, you know...so I just have to figure out what he’s likely to say to figure out how to respond.”

Adrien had sighed when Nino had dragged him to an out of the way cafe. At least they both had managed to dodge the Gorilla, and he’d managed to sneak in a little bit of an extra snack that would make his nutritionist break into fits.

Luckily, he could burn the calories off in no time at all.

He was just finishing up his requisite phone check in when they had spotted Alya half a block ahead. Nino waved, grinning like a maniac.

She looked up and smiled, before her eyes snapped back to Marinette.

The shorter girl hadn’t noticed their approach and kept speaking to Alya. Her pigtailed bobbed as she shrugged, her hands lifting in the air as her head tilted. “That’s impawsible. There’s no way there is someone better fur me than you.”

Adrien felt the blush color his face, even as he’d covered his own mild embarrassment with a chuckle. Even untransformed his hearing stayed a bit better than it had always been. He knew he heard that inflection and emphasis that pushed her comments into punning territory.

Alya grinned, as Marinette turned around, blue eyes wide and mouth gaping. “See, Marinette. I told you that one would work.”

“Bye, bye, little butterfly.”

Chat Noir felt the sweating beading up beneath his collar. Today had already been to warm before they both had to run across the rooftops of Paris in the midday sun.

He hadn’t been back in class from lunch for long before the inevitable scream rang out across the school yard, leaving them all to scramble from the classroom to safety -- or in his own case -- to transform and take the Akuma out.

The fight had taken quite some, leaving them both a little breathless once the Akuma had been caught up on the rooftops. He barely was able to keep the Akuma distracted and moving away from her so she could successfully deploy her Lucky Charm.

Smiling, she extended her fist, which he met, if a bit wearily. “Pound it.”

“Sorry, I wasn’t better help, My Lady.”

Ladybug, who had been gearing up to get moving back towards her other life, turned back to him with a frown. “What on earth do you mean?”

“It’s just,” he sighed. “I was barely able to keep the Akuma focused on me. What sort of a protector am I if I can’t do that for you?”

“What are you even talking about?” Ladybug was standing over him, her arms crossed. “You’re not my protector, Chat Noir. You’re my partner.”

He scowled. “I’m a pretty useless one if I couldn’t keep you from getting hit.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s impawsible.” Ladybug lips twitched, humor dancing through her own sincerity, as she tapped her finger to his nose. “There’s no way there is someone else better partner fur me than you.”

Blinking, he gaped at Ladybug. Well, that was uncanny.

Her too blue eyes bore into him, shimmering with concern. “I mean it, Chaton. You’re my purrecious furend.”

His eyes flew wide as he felt his back collide with the stone chimney as the earth had shifted beneath his feet.

“Sorry, Chat,” Ladybug winced as her earrings beeped. “I’m going to need to get moving. Are you sure you’re okay?”

Chat Noir swallowed against the hard lump that had formed in his throat, before nodding.

[marjaystuff]

Elise Cooper Interviews Nelson DeMille

The Deserter by prolific author Nelson DeMille is co-written with his son, Alex DeMille.  Readers will not be disappointed.  After all, what is there not to like with a DeMille novel.  It has a thrilling mystery, engaging characters, and humorous/sarcastic banter.

The story seems to be based on Bowe Berghdal, a US soldier stationed in Afghanistan who walked away from his post, had two of his peers killed trying to find him, and was caught by the Taliban who kept him in supposed captivity. But then the plot takes a twist and turn. Delta Force Army Officer Kyle Mercer, the Berghdal supposed character, has escaped the Taliban by beheading his captors and fleeing to Venezuela. After being spotted by an old army buddy the top military brass decide to send two members of the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) to that socialist evil country to find Mercer and bring him back for trial of desertion. Scott Brodie, a former infantry soldier in Iraq, now a top CID investigator is teamed with Maggie Taylor a former Civil Affairs E-5 in Afghanistan, who is working for CID. While Brodie is wise-cracking, arrogant, and someone who has trouble following orders, Taylor is a by the books person who tries to rein in Brodie.

As the investigation takes hold it becomes apparent that there is more behind Mercer’s desertion.  Brodie and Taylor find disturbing and treacherous secrets by lofty officials in the military and intelligence agencies. The question becomes has the government been involved in immoral activities, in other words it is the deep state implementing unethical deeds.  This is what DeMille is best at, offering conspiracy theories to make a riveting storyline.

The DeMilles have written a classic Nelson DeMille book that has politics, espionage, and suspense. Readers are taken on a roller coaster ride in this action-filled story. An added bonus is the description of Venezuela in historical terms where it has become a “country on the edge, economically desperate, with weak and corrupt institutions and a government openly hostile to American interests.”

Elise Cooper: Why CID officers?

Nelson DeMille: This profession was chosen because they can travel anywhere in the world. If we had chosen local cops then the setting would be stuck in a particular municipality or if Federal Agents like the FBI they would be limited to mainly traveling around this country.  The CID has authority wherever this is an American military base.

EC: Why have a co-author?

ND: It was proposed to the publisher as a co-authored three book series.  Before deciding on my son Alex, I had another co-author.  The plot did have a CID guy partnering with a female.  But the setting was in Paris, which has no life to it.  What is the worst thing that can happen there; the character would eat too much rich French food? Plus, the first-co-author was just a schlub. After Alex took over, he decided to set the story in a dangerous place, Venezuela, and really developed the female character.  Now the story took on a new life.

EC:  Bowe Bergdahl influenced the bad guy character?

ND:  Somewhat.  He was the impetus of the novel, but there was a departure from his story compared to what happened to the character.  Alex did a lot of research so we had a feeling for the case.

EC:  What was it like writing with your son?

ND:  It was a challenge.  We would email each other back and forth.  He wrote the first draft of every chapter and I played editor.  I also did some inserts, re-writes, and did an overall tough editing.  When it was completely finished we went page by page looking it over.

EC: What was it like writing with your dad?

Alex DeMille: It was educational.  I was optimistic and knew it would work since he has been writing novels for so many years.  This time around I did not feel his equal. I took all his feedback seriously.  After all, the book had his name on it so it had to be a good story.

EC:  You like to have CIA characters with the name Ted?

ND: You are referring to Ted Nash, the nemesis of John Corey. This book had a CIA character named Ted Haggerty. A funny story.  We have charity auctions for naming book characters.  Someone named Ted Haggerty won it.  The “Ted” stuck me and I decided to hold on to that name and introduce him as a CIA character.

EC:  Compare this book’s hero, Scott Brodie, to John Corey?

ND:  The common denominator is that they both are cops so they have the same mindset. We changed Brodie purposely by giving him a rural background from upstate New York rather than growing up in East Manhattan.  We also made Brodie’s thinking different than Corey although the sarcasm is the same. Both are arrogant, smartasses, macho men. Much of this banter and the military jargon was written by me.  

AD:  Brodie is the architype that my dad writes, the wiseass intelligent rule breaker, but I made him more responsible than Corey who takes pride in people underestimating him. I wrote this book in the third person, similar to what my dad did in his earlier novels. I wanted to distinguish this book from the John Corey books.  

EC:  Was Operation Phoenix and Operation Flagstaff true?

ND:  Operation Phoenix, yes but not Operation Flagstaff; although I hope it seemed realistic and plausible.  Someone once said Afghanistan is Vietnam without the jungle. Both are guerilla wars.  In Vietnam, the killings were up close and personal, while in Afghanistan the drones do the killings of a bunch of Taliban.  In both cases there were civilian casualties.  In Vietnam, the CIA recruited army officers to do their dirty work. In the book, we wanted to make Operation Flagstaff similar to Operation Phoenix, which is why there is this quote, “Special Ops became black ops when the CIA got involved as happened in Vietnam.”

EC:  Did you read any of your dad’s books for background?

AD: I read the book before this one, The Cuban Affair. Because I adapted the screenplay, I read Spencerville numerous times. I did read The General’s Daughter and Up Country because the main character was a CID officer. Some of the darker scenes I wrote humorlessly, but my dad is really good at being able to write some humor where life at its worse. Sometimes my dad would add some humor to it.  

EC: What research did you do?

AD: I spent a lot of time on Google maps to make a map of Caracas. I had a sense of what the topography was like.  I also found videos on YouTube and spoke with a number of Venezuelans who left and were able to give me the subtle cultural and political understanding.

EC:  How would you describe the bad guy, Kyle Mercer?

AD:  He was patriotic and a member of an elite force.  Mercer was taken advantage of by the powers that be and came to a place where he no longer respects authority.  Because of what he was asked to do he lost respect for himself.  I would compare him to the Frankenstein monster character.  They were put on this destructive path, but it was not their fault.  

EC:  Where is the relationship going with Brodie and Taylor?

AD:  I like to tease what will happen like a TV show such as “Friends” with Ross and Rachel. Both are very job oriented and are tied to the career.  They want to be good partners and not wreck it up sexually.  I want it to be organic to the story.

EC:  What do you want the reader to get out of the book?

ND:  My intention is not to run down the military.  I wanted to make it clear that even though my bad guy is military, he is rogue, and is not what the military is about.  I did contrast him with the CID officers Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor to make it clear this was not an anti-military/ anti-war book. It is about people who volunteered to serve, some doing it right and some doing it wrong.  I am personally pro-military and hope it comes out in the story.

EC:  Can you give a heads up about your next book?

AD:  The setting is in Berlin. It will be out in Autumn 2021, and Brodie will still partner with Taylor.  In the next book, my dad and I will not do this back and forth editing, but will have a different process than what we did with this book.

ND:  I am working on the eighth John Corey book, probably out in 2021, and called The Maze. This book opens exactly where Plum Island opened, with Corey at his Uncle’s house and chilling on the back porch.  He hears footsteps and sees Beth Penrose, a Suffolk County police detective. Since he is now estranged from his wife there is a little re-spark between John and Beth.  She offers him a job as a private investigator in the Hamptons.  After he takes the job, he gets involved in something much bigger than he thought.  

EC:  Is there going to be a TV series on John Corey?

ND:  Still working on the series.  The screenplay for the first proposed episode in the TV series changed everything so much he was not even John Corey.  It made no sense and was just awful.

THANK YOU!!