#this was initially just tagged with mikey but i ended up adding the others since the post heavily involved them to an extent

[shantechni]

Related to your post about Mikey "accidentally delivering low blows when stressed" (Aug 2023) would you hc that it's related to his emotional awareness of his family? Like when he blamed Splinter for letting them go up to the surface, he would know Splinter was already questioning his decision to let them do that, or he calls Splinter out on not being affected by his mutated appearance (when Splinter looks uncomfortable being seen by humans/Shredder)? Basically, what are your further thoughts on it? Has he done this elsewhere?

The post in question for the curious cats

This compilation video as well because my big brain remembered me doing that and it's related to this topic and I meant to do a part 2

Oh, that behavior is 100% related to Mikey's emotional awareness. I'd hardly even call it a headcanon, it's just canon lol.

After not only botching their first fight above ground but failing to stop two kidnappings on their watch, the boys immediately start playing the blame game by pointing out each other's rash decisions and dumb mistakes that led to such an outcome. Obviously, the idea of Splinter's decision being yet another mistake of the sorts was hanging somewhere in the air waiting to be grabbed at, but no one readily went for it as something that needed to be acknowledged as mistake. That's why it's so fascinating to see the writers establish Mikey right out of the gate as someone who isn't afraid to comment on Splinter's decisions and his emotional state when he's making those decisions.

He was certainly aware of their father's doubts concerning them going above ground for the first time because a comment like that doesn't just come out of nowhere.

Granted, this instance was him speaking his mind in the heat of the moment and only realizing how much his words would sting after the fact (especially since they're the ones who convinced Splinter to send them off with their begging), but this becoming a continuous trend of his throughout the series further proves the fact of him being more aware of things than a lot of people pegged him to be.

In Mikey Gets Shellacne, his remark about Splinter telling him not to fret about his appearance when he could hardly bring himself to do the same can be interpreted as a more apparent example of him knowing more than he lets on. It's made rather obvious from the start of the series that Splinter wasn't keen on roaming the streets looking like a giant rat, but that's more of a show and tell deal where both the audience and the characters are left on their own to pick up on such an important yet minor detail. Splinter never tells anyone about his insecurity, nor does anyone in the series talk about it amongst each other, so a moment like this can be a bit jarring when it's framed as Mikey calling out Splinter's opinion on his own appearance.

Though the intent of his comment was to simply call Splinter old, the underlying insult is there and Mikey regrets saying something like that to their father of all people.

Other than letting his frustrations get the better of him and unintentionally plucking at Splinter's insecurities, Mikey is greatly in tuned with the emotions of those around him and will usually pick up on any changes rather quickly. Take these two moments with, funnily enough, him and Splinter near the start of Serpent Hunt.

I previously posted the first clip as a funny little observation, but the scene is more intriguing than my jestful sentence made it out to be. Mikey's attention is split between hanging his goofy pieces of artwork on the wooden boards and listening to April as she announces how the restaurant is starting to look like a makeshift home. It's not until he turns around to joke with her about his drawings that he finally has Splinter in his sights, and his attention evidently begins to drift to Splinter as April is responding to his question (you can literally see his head following Splinter's movements while April is speaking to him😭). And just look at how taken aback he is by Splinter's melancholic expression being on full display:

While Splinter answers Mikey by stating that he's concerned for Casey, Leo and Raph because they've been gone for a while, it's pretty obvious that's not all he's bothered by, and him not being subtle about his troubled mind like usual had enough flags raising in Mikey's mind for him to hop up from his spot. Once the scene transitions to the second clip, Mikey lingers with Splinter in the front of the restaurant while April ventures to the back in search of Donnie to check on his progress with the retro-mutagen, as well as to see if the others made it back yet. Mikey and Splinter decide to follow April as soon as Donnie utters Karai's name, and Mikey is visibly bracing himself for another look of heartbreak on their father's visage:

Splinter moments aside, Mikey recognizes when something is up with his brothers and friends, as well as whether or not he should step in. Of course the prominent moments of him demonstrating his ability to calm Leatherhead and Raph down count among the times when he steps in, but the times when he chooses not to step in shouldn't be understated either.

Take the pre-intro scene in The Cosmic Ocean for example, when April breaks the silence and questions where Leo ran off to. We understand where Raph is coming from when he says that it can't be healthy for Leo to confide in a simulated version of Splinter since it could just make him miss their father more than ever, but Mikey suddenly pops from his laid back position off-screen and joins the conversation:

He's knows as well as Raph that speaking with a simulation of their father isn't exactly ideal, but he also knows that Leo is used to coming home to confide in Splinter for advice whenever he feels his confidence as a leader beginning to waver. The whole gang knows all of this, but once again, Mikey's the only one to verbalize it. Sometimes people need to hear something so obvious outloud to really understand or remember its importance, and Mikey seems to know that best.

I don't really need to mention how his emotional awareness extends far beyond simply knowing when someone is down, or when he is or isn't in a position to help them, but it makes for a decent epilogue to this analysis so-

Him being the least (read: least) temperamental of his brothers automatically puts him in the position of a mediator when there's tension in the group, and it's common knowledge that he'd often go out of his way to ease that tension in his own ways. He sometimes makes jokes, both corny and intelligent, just to get everyone's minds off of the heaviness of a situation, even if that moment of reprieve only lasts for a minute. He attempts to break up fights before they get too far, which sometimes doesn't work because they're a stubborn bunch of turtles (literally the entire first five minutes of New Girl in Town lol), but his efforts are commendable and genuine.

He's exceptionally conscious of changes in the atmosphere and a swing in someone's mood, which could go hand in hand with his sixth sense for weird Kraang stuff if you think about it. But all of this comes together to paint an undeniably clear image of Mikey having a great amount of emotional awareness, and just all around being one of the most emotionally intelligent characters of the series.

[musicalmukebox]

Let’s Get (Back) Together | l.h. (11)

Ctto of the gif!

AU: Parent Trap Dad!Luke

Summary: A strong love which led to a strong marriage and twin daughters. Yet in the end, it didn’t turn out so well. You strongly refuse to encounter him ever again. But what happens when both of you coincidentally send your twin daughters to the same summer camp in Florida after 10 years?

Word Count: 6.1k

Warnings: swearing, fighting, mentions of anxiety, anxiety attacks, bad overthinking, angst

(LONG) A/N: YES LOVES, I AM BACK FROM THE DEAD AKA COLLEGE LIFE!! First, Youngblood has dropped, alongside my panties and well-being. Second, I missed writing, yet I don’t know how consistent nor the scheduling of posting will go, so stay alert and maybe turn on those notifs!! I kinda had mental block for this one, so I do hope you still enjoy this! By the way, I’ll be using the gif above for the past and remaining chapters for easier distinguishing when I come up in any of the tags you search in. I love you all, especially those who’ve stayed!!

I don’t own Parent Trap and its ideas. It’s only used as inspiration.

1 / 2A / 2B / 2C / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14

Feedback/Questions/Others? Here.

-

2021, Los Angeles

“Shit, I’m nervous.”

“Don’t be, she’s kind!”

Here you are again, nervous of meeting another set of Luke’s loved ones, or maybe just one person in particular. “But Sierra Deaton is up there, being in the music industry for so long and I’m still starting out ya know.” You say, intimidated by her career so far.

Where were you both exactly? At the balcony of this club in LA, where a Miss Sierra Deaton would be performing her last show of her mini USA tour. Surprisingly, you haven’t met her considering that she is a very close friend of the band, but she is a busy artist after all and you didn’t really mind because you begin to relate. Luke did say she was a kind woman, yet you mind lets your drift into a different direction, letting you get access the worst thoughts possible.

“Babe,” Luke, seated right beside you, puts his hand on top of yours, feeling the nerves shaking in your body. “She’s been there and gets it. Trust me on that, alright?” Giving him a reassuring nod, the lights begin to dimmer and fans from the mosh pit below begin to scream in excitement.

“Woo, let’s go!” Ashton from behind your seat cheers, followed a giddy Michael. “Fucking start already!” He joked, in which Crystal reacted by hiding her face with her hand and looking down as everyone around you were laughing, even you too. Some fans from the pit noticed that voice, and were going nuts to find you guys up there. But it was short-lived when the first notes of Don’t Hurt played, shifting their attention to the stage, wherein low and behold, there she was. A mic on one hand and smiling wide.

“LA, make some noise!”

Swaying her hips along to music before opening up, she harmonized well with the backup singers. You were singing along, enjoying the lively vibe in the room. When she lit the room more with a smile.

“Luke’s right, self. No need to worry.”

-

“Ah, boys!!” You entered Sierra’s dressing room along with the others to see her unwinding in the couch with some wine. Getting up, she patiently gives her hellos and hugs to everyone, leaving you last. Upon your turn, she gasps lightly in awe.

“Finally, we’ve met, Miss (Y/N)!” She wraps her arms around you for a hug, which was a reassuring surprise. She was a lot shorter than you, you noticed. “Luke has told me so many great things about you.” 

“Oh, he has?” You glanced at the blondie by your side, blushing. “I might’ve gotten carried away too.” 

“You got him so whipped, hun.” She teased, making Luke fake a pout before he laughs along.

“I guess so? Also, it’s nice to finally meet you as well, Sierra.” You say, sounding as if you were questionable as you replied. “You performed so well awhile ago!” You praised, making her chuckle. 

“Thank you very much! And to celebrate,” She takes hold of the wine bottle alongside some spare glasses by the table beside her. “Want some sangria?” 

It took a simple nod then a loud “Cheers!” with everyone else there to release your nerves out. At some point, you lost count of how much glasses of Sangria you’ve drank and got a bit buzzed. Eleanor was telling a story about how she and Calum had a mini vibrator war during the recent MTV awards.

“Wait, what the fuck?!” Crystal belt out, laughing. “Was that why you squirmed a lot when you were seated with me?” Eleanor only blushing, nodding.

“I’m not surprised honestly.” Ashton added on.

“So that’s why Calum had a hard-on during our acceptance speech!” Luke says in realization, shaking his head at a red Calum, suffering from embarrassment. “I’m sorry I can’t really help what happens down there!”

“Kinky shits!” You ratted out, chugging those remaining contents of your glass. This led to a flushing feeling down there, urging you to let it out. 

“Excuse me, guys,” You stood from the couch, grabbing your phone with a little wobble. “I must urinate.”

“Wow, so formal.” Brianna joked.

“She acts that way when she’s drunk.” Luke exposed, making you slap his shoulder slightly. “Hey!” He fake winced, giving a little pout.

“Don’t shade me like that!” Brushing your hair to the back flamboyantly, you quickly leave the room, pacing in search of a restroom. “Ah here!” You breathe with relief as you turned to the right and pulled the door open. 

Let’s not go into detail on your session in the stall. But it was relieving and you were ready to drink a few more. After all, Luke is the designated driver tonight. Sliding your stall door open, your eyes gleamed at surprise at the sight of Sierra, arms crossed as she leaned behind the marbled cement where the faucets were located. Her facial expression was hard to decipher, yet you maintained respectful.

“Oh hey, Sierra.” You greeted instantly, trying to hide your sudden redness of cheeks. 

“Oh cut off the crap, yeah?” She hissed, walking towards yourself as you begin to walk back. When you stopped at your tracks by the wall, she pointed her finger at you. “How much is he paying you?”

You were dumbfounded at this girl’s harshness. “Excuse me, but nothing!” You pushed her back, controlling your anger and non-sobriety. “What’s your problem? Luke told me you’re a kind girl.”

She laughed at the comment, stepping closer to you once more, like what the fuck? “Oh love, I am. It’s just that,” She was eyeing you up and down in utter disgust. “The past girls Luke’s been with were always PR stunts. Luke never fell in love with any of them, except his ex Arzaylea and she hurt him. Badly.“ 

“How the hell would you compare me to her? You just met me!”

“If there’s something I’m good at, it’s reading people, and you, Miss (Y/N), are an attention-seeking slut who wants to rank up high in the acting industry!” She shouted in anger. 

“Keep that fucking anger in you quiet unless you want someone to catch us!” You motioned your hands downward, signaling her to keep her voice down. Rolling her eyes, she spoke up again, but quietly.

“You don’t deserve him.” At her tone and shaking of her head, her mood is easily interpreted.

“And you do? Hun, jealousy is not a good look on you.” Your confidence rose up, being down to get closer to her. “If he wanted you, you both would have been together and I’m still hustling at a successful career, which is something I’m aiming for.” Inhaling deeply, “He chose me, not you. Why bother, yeah?” Fluttering your lashes in innocence, you swerved against her, pulling the door open. “This isn’t over, (Y/N). The tables will turn, and I didn’t want you to watch my show! I was trying to avoid you!” She threatened.

“Well sorry Sierra, but Luke brought me along. That’s already a sign of failure, but thanks for trying!” You sassed, banging the door closed. This buzzed state of yours always brings the confidence you lack, and you were hella aware of your worth, not taking shit from anyone.

Yes, you were right earlier with your initial thoughts on this girl. Your mind tells you to tell Luke, but your heart says to keep that feud between you and Sierra since they’ve been friends for so long and you don’t want to be a friend-wrecker.

“The latter it is.”

-

2034, Los Angeles

“Ahh, it’s today!” Stella beamed as she tied the shoelaces of her converse. “I get to watch perform live with uncle Mikey, Cal and Ash!”

It was finally Saturday, the day of the band’s show in the Forum. As much as you didn’t want to confess, you were pretty excited to watch them because it’s a reunion too. But one thing is standing your way into enjoyment: Sierra. But whatever, what matters here are your daughters and enjoying the night with them with good music, having more family time.

“Becks texted, they’re outside!” She says, running to the front door and opening it excitedly to reveal a black van. The vehicle slid open, seeing her fellow identical seated in beside Luke. Following right behind her as you grew nearer to the entrance, you gave a wave at the Aussies.

“Hi poppet and Luke.” You say upon entering the car, taking the row of seats behind the Rebecca and Luke alongside Stella. Upon settling down, the driver continued its job to head to the Forum.

“Hi (Y/N), hey bub!” He reaches behind his seat to give a short, side hug to Stella, who did the same. He also ruffled her hair much to her annoyance. “Ah dad, stop! Oh and hey loser!” As she wiggled away from Luke’s grasp, she gave a high five to Rebecca, who initiated their handshake. The same handshake of Becks and Luke with air guitar playing in the end. “Hiya brat, hey mom!” Rebecca says, giving a kiss on your check.

At the moment, you didn’t really like the way they addressed each although you did that with your friends, even with the band. But they are sisters after all, they got to be nice. “Girls, be nice.” Luke addressed, having thought of the same things as you.

“Oh come on, dad! Those were our nicknames back in camp.” Stella addresses. “Well, when we hated each other.” Becks added.

“Wait, you hated each other?” Luke gasped, making the girls look at each other dumfounded, initiating them to tell the full story of their camp shenanigans. “Shit Becks, was Stella the girl whom you dared to jump the lake commando?”

Knowing now the full story made you proud of their character developments, putting aside their personality differences and joined together in order to make this reunion possible. As for Luke, he’s very glad to see the other half of his family despite everything. If only it wasn’t this way. Much to your surprise, the story telling lasted until you arrived the venue, seeing all these different fans of different ages lined up at the entrance. Proud was an understatement. Even after more than 20 years, they’re still very popular to the younger generations.

When the car halted near the backstage doors and got out, you began to feel nervous, shaking out goosebumps. Luke caught that moment from you just as he told the twins to behave properly as they entered backstage. “Are you okay, (Y/N)? I just saw you shake out some nerves or something.”

“Y-Yeah, it’s just pretty cold.” Luke knew you were lying straight away by the way you were breathing heavily and your eyes kept looking around.

“You can be honest with me, you know?”

Darn, he’s good. “I just don’t know how the others will react, like suddenly I cut off ties with them for so long. I think they’re still mad at me.” You overthink, getting goosebumps again.

“Hey, don’t say that.” Luke comforts, putting his hand on your shoulder, squeezing it a bit. “They miss you, and would never do that. But if something happens, I’ll handle it.” Nodding him instead of speaking another word, he leads you to the backstage. Surprisingly, a lot of backstage crew remembered you from way before, giving their hellos and small talk. You were afraid that they could say something already before even seeing your old group of friends, but Luke has your back by discreetly telling the crew to keep it a secret for now.

A good 20 minutes later, you somehow encountered and hear Rebecca giving a similar kind of Luke’s pep talk to Stella in a private part of the backstage. “But what if they don’t like me, Becks? I practically lied to them by acting like you, which isn’t a good impression.”

“Stella, they will like you! I have a feeling they missed you after so long, and besides, I’ll be here when you get nervous.” Rebecca reassures, giving her twin a tight hug before they see you and Luke during their special moment.

“You guys ready?” Luke asks, specifically to you and Stella whether you’re prepared to head further to the backstage area of the boys. You still were speechless, so you just nodded and trying to regain your calmness. “Yup, dad!” Stella expressed quietly with excitement.

Walking a few more steps and getting closer got your heart racing and thoughts running all over your head, you just kept thinking of all these different bad scenarios of what could happen and just wanted to get it over with. Stella, who was beside you, noticed the way you crinkled your eyes repeatedly and gives a squeeze on your hand. “You’ll be okay, mom. No need to panic.”

You just returned a squeeze, mouthing “thank you”. Luke was also getting pretty tense upon heading to the band backstage room, unsure of everyone’s reaction, especially Sierra. Oh shit, her. Not bad or anything he thinks, though he’s always sensed some tension between you two but he couldn’t be too sure. As he sees the sign “Band” on a door, everything felt more intense. Thank the heavens that the door was closed because it gives more time for everyone to relax.

“Well, we’re here.” He begins. “Rebecca and I can go inside first, then I’ll spill everything on your behalf so you can calm down. Is that okay?”

“Sure, dad. Go on ahead so we can get this show started!” Stella answered for you, still holding your hand. Luke gives a nod before he shifts the knob of the door to the right, letting the door open frontwards. Everyone, from the boys and their wives with the kids, was just talking and goofing around, but at the sight of Luke and Rebecca, they cheered in relief.

“Finally, you two are here!”

“God Luke, where have you been? We need our frontman!”

“It’s about time you both arrived!”

Rebecca paid respect by giving hugs and cheek kisses to her aunts and uncles, then waves at the different kids while Luke shares a laugh at their banter before he gets serious. “Sorry, guys. But, I have an excuse.”

“You got occupied with a Miss Sierra Deaton?” Michael joked, which was a struggle for Rebecca to not act disgusted.

“Nice try, Mikey, but we didn’t arrive together. I was late because instead of riding with you guys, I took a detour and brought a few other guests for tonight’s show.” Everyone’s interest peaked, dense as to what this blondie was up to.

“Who did you bring then?” Calum asked, crossing his arms. Rebecca looked back at Stella who was relatively a bit near to the door but not near enough to be seen by them, gesturing to come here. “Come here, brat!” Her relatives were confused, wondering how special this person was to her. Stella was hesitant, but she didn’t want to keep them waiting. “Wait here, mom. I’ll start.”

Stella gives a nod, but before making a move, Rebecca speaks up first before she enters. “This person is someone who I grew to love in a short span of time, almost like we’re the same.” With this pun, Stella comes inside the room with a hoodie to cover her face at first from everyone and also facing down.

“There’s no need to be shy, bub.” Luke remarks, which has the adults begin to create assumptions of who this could be, especially since they are aware that Luke only gives that nickname to one person. The kids were pretty excited to know who this was because this felt so new. Stella eventually gave in, unveiling the hood and tilts her head up to show herself. Just to add, she was right beside Rebecca. Everyone was just astonished, hands in their mouths and gasps.

“Am I tripping or is that-“ 

“Stella?” Bryana cuts off Ashton, still frozen at the sight of her goddaughter. Stella nodded, urging Bryana to approach her vicinity. She kneeled to her height. “I’ve missed you so much.” 

Stella didn’t speak but instead gave her a heartfelt hug. “I’m Bryana, by the way. I’m your godmother.” Bryana introduces herself mid-hug. Letting go, “Oh, I know who you are, actually everyone. Well, except the godmother part, aunt Bryana.”

“What do you mean?” She asks, then by instinct, the twins looked at each other with mischievous smirks.

“Well,” Rebecca starts. “It all began when we met at camp.”

“Then we figured ‘hey why not swap so we get meet the loved ones of our mom and dad?’, which brings us to today.” Stella finishes.

As everyone tried to comprehend the situation, “So wait, if Stella was whom we had these past weeks,” Ashton pondered.

“That meant Becks was wi-“

“Me.” Eleanor was cut off by your entrance to the room, which made everyone hitch their breaths. Upon hearing your daughters talk, you knew they couldn’t do this alone, so you straightened out your nerves and just went for it. This also went Luke, whom you could easily spot the hesitation he felt with the whole explanation thing going on because it was too much to handle.

“Oh my god, (Y/N).” Crystal says, covering her mouth in surprise. Eleanor is speechless then ran to your vicinty and gave a tight hug, which you returned with a flinch. She was your best friend, and it gutted you both to have cut those ties. Well actually, you had the scissors. “I fucking missed you, (Y/N).” She blurted out, sniffling a bit as she felt all these various emotions running her veins at a fast pace.

“I missed you so much too, Eleanor.” You couldn’t contain yourself either as you respond, your voice cracking as you say those words. Eleanor’s strong movement undoubtedly created a domino effect, which led the other boys and girls to give their hellos. Surely yes, Luke was pretty nervous on bringing you along, seeing this happen first-handedly marveled him, in fact much better than he thought. The vibe felt casual, no grudges withheld and fulfillment to be reunited with a loved one.

“You haven’t changed a bit!” Crystal compliments. 

“You ey, found out that you have a new film out soon!” Ashton addressed, handing you a red cup with some sort of alcohol in it. 

“Yeah! Take Me or Leave Me, it’s out next week.” You plugged. Catching up slowly with life updates, laughing along to Michael and Calum’s random jokes, you unexpectedly recalled a weird sensation from when Eleanor hugged you earlier.

“You got a hard core over there, Eleanor. Been working out?”

She laughed, shaking her head. “I wish! I’m actually pregnant, babe!” You dropped your jaw, gasping “Oh my God!” and giving your congratulations. As different conversations between you and your old set of friends flowed coherently, not running out of ideas, and even getting to reintroduce yourself to some of the young children, 

“Hey guys!” A tanned woman calls out as she enters inside the room, making everyone freeze. Especially you, because the voice was all too familiar. Luckily, you were facing backwards.

“Oh hi babe.” Luke greets, giving her a peck on the cheek. Everyone could just feel the awkward tension in the room, emitting twisted grins and widened eyes. 

“Are you guys okay? It’s like you saw a ghost or something?” No one could respond, but you did by turning your back. A bold move indeed, but it could save everyone’s misery.

Sierra gasped before she crossed her arms before giving an all too fake smile on you, in which everyone else interprets it as just a surprised smile.

“Oh my, (Y/N)!” She exclaimed, still stood on the same position.

“Hello, Sierra.” You waved and smiled back, trying your best to be as genuine as you could be. You were more genuinely fake though. Things could get worse from here, but thankfully, one of the show managers came through.

“Show starts in 5, boys!” Sighing in relief, Luke scrambles to get his guitar, while was then followed by the other boys. As for the girls, they begin to head out and bring their kids to the designated family area of the Forum where they will watch the show. Eleanor tapped your shoulder, “Ready to go?”, hand in hand with Nick.

“Yeah, sure! Rebecca and Stella!” You called the two girls, who were in deep conversation with Alex. “Later, mom! We’re still talking!” Stella replied.

“Alex is pretty surprised that Stella and I switched. So we’re pretty much explaining everything in full.” Rebecca giggles. Letting it slide, you vacated the room with Eleanor and continued to talk about anything that you could think of, yet the topic of Sierra is the dominant one. “Well, that was awkward, huh?”

“Kinda? I mean, I really don’t care about whatever they have going on.” You casually shrugged off.

“Oh really? Might’ve felt some jealousy in the air.”

“Whatever, Eleanor. As long as they’re happy, I’m fine. Besides, what matters now to me now is our daughters.” You flatly say.

“If there is something I know about you, (Y/N), your drive for success is strong. You would never let anything you love just pass. And you are mischievous as well.” She trailed off with those words before getting to the area and hearing the excited squeals of different fans.

Meanwhile for Luke, he was unlucky to get in an argument begun by Sierra, who was furious and confused with what she saw, but one thing is for sure: Luke was heavily and soberly involved.

“How did you and her meet again? Why did you even bring her tonight? Just why is she back in our lives?” She believes that she deserves to feel the way she’s feeling because she was there to comfort Luke after the divorce, serving as his rock. 

“It’s a long story babe, which I will explain later. Now please,” He put his hand on her shoulder, moving her to the side. “I have a show to play.” He says, sounding rushed as ever before running to the entrance of the stage. Sierra was beyond pissed, throwing a mini tantrum at his sudden change of mood. A change which occurred when you entered back at his life.

“That fucking bitch.” Bringing out her phone and dialing a familiar mobile number, she puts the device her ear, smirking like the devil as she thinks through what she intends on doing next after this sudden confrontation.

“Hello, Miss Deaton. It’s been a long time.”

“Lovely to talk to you again, Perez. Now, I have a story for you.”

-

“All my life I've been waiting for moments to come, when I catch fire and watch over you like the sun..”

You and the other girls were singing along and bopping your heads to the current song being played, enjoying the good vibes being spread. As much as you can, you stayed away from the public eye which was pretty successful so far, but mostly from Sierra. Dancing along with the twins and even cheering some lyrics out like before, it honestly felt like it was the early 2020’s again. You just haven’t felt this euphoria from a concert in so long.

Ending Catch Fire, the boys took sips of water and beer before they interacted with their audience, loud and proud. “Alright, Los Angeles!” Ashton rekindled an old meme, jumping out also from his chair and holding out his drum sticks momentarily before resting his bosom down again.

“How we feeling tonight, LA?” Luke hyped, combing his locks with his hands to get a better view of the crowd. They roared in excitement, the kind of reaction the band was used to. For sure with a catchy song like Catch Fire, another catchy song will follow up. But this setlist was different compared to the past.

“Thank you for the love, everyone! Now how about we tone the mood down a bit? Release some hidden angst in us.” Calum smoothly caressed his words, making sure his usage of different words was correct. The venue lights dimmed down, a single spotlight focused on Luke as he plucked on some guitar strings.

“We have never played the song live ever, and it’s an oldie too.”

“It makes everything more exciting, Luke. People wanted us to hear those underrated songs, so it’s a start! Besides, we need to give the people what they want!” Michael exclaimed, frenzying the fans to just reveal this song. Luke chuckled, mustering up his emotions before talking. Most especially as he saw you watching, distracting his focal point which was the audience.

As for you, you were unaware of it all. It was just like a regular concert with the band cracking jokes and playing their greatest hits. Another thing you were unaware of was that Sierra saw everything happen between Luke and you, well mostly him. She really tried to shrug it off, but every time they lock eyes, it was for a split second before he looks away and continues strumming his guitar. Jealousy was spicing up her veins.

“It’s an oldie from the Sound Good, Feels Good era, and surprisingly, it took a few runs before we fully remembered how to play it. One of my favorite songs of angst.” He paused for a moment, looking down and avoiding a gaze at anyone. He knew he was used to gigs like this, but now, it felt different because you were in the audience after all this time.

Recalling every lyric of it, he knew the meaning wholeheartedly. It was a risk he was willing to take to entertain the fans.

“This is Story of Another Us.” 

The audience were astounded, finally getting a piece of a big request that has been running for so long: to play the so-called songs that “they left to die”. Screaming was an understatement, more especially when Calum sang the first few lines. 

“Replay the scene over again, before the credits rolling inside my head...” 

Even the other wives around you didn’t expect this, the strong yet out-of-tune vocals of Eleanor singing along because you were aware that this was one of her favorite songs of theirs.

“I don't recall a single word, you hit me faster than I heard inside my head..” She was in sync with Calum, who was crinkling his eyes as he saw her sway her hips, controlling his chuckling since the song was heartbreaking. Some fans noticed, videoing that little moment of theirs which was bound to be posted everywhere. Crystal raised her arms in the air, moving along with the rhythm of the song. Bryana films the moment, quietly humming along. The other kids were watching in awe, most especially Stella because this is the first show she seen of this band. Well, one that she will remember for a long time.

So far, this concert and this song performance embodied how mature they’ve become as they are now in their late 30’s going 40’s, emotionally mostly. Bopping along to the last few lyrics, Michael having just sung his part of the bridge, Luke had his full gaze on you, lips quivering as he opened it to sing his part before one last hurrah of the chorus.

“One last ditch, a new beginning, so take this heart, put yourself in it, this surprise ending I'm depending on…..”

Confusion raced through your mind at his action, whether if he also has a hidden agenda. He thinks he could hide his emotions with those eyes of his, but after all those years of love you had for him, you knew so well of how bad of a liar he was.

“I got a long-term plan with short-term fixes, and a wasted heart that just eclipses, and I push my luck from trust to dust enough, that's the story of another us…”

He is the first to look away, avoiding any unnecessary attention and returning his focus to the main audience. You could see the heartbreak in his eyes and vibe it too from his raspy voice. For Luke, he knows that you are just as pained, even if you tried to conceal it. That was already tough, but what more when your twins have noticed that session of yours?

With every second withering and the song fading too, you could feel your chest getting pressed too tightly from all these different emotions overwhelming you, your mind playing a role too by reminding you those painful moments of the deterioration of your past romance. Your breath span shortened as your head felt woozy, making you choke. Without warning, you made a run for it, leaving the area in a flash. This led to your daughters’ enjoyment to be interrupted by the vulnerable sight of you, their instincts kicking and telling them to help you out because it seemed serious.

Longingly searching for a private area without any staff interference and running further the corridors, you eventually found a dimly-lit spot and settled there. Leaning against the white wall and bent your knees in fetal position, many bad thoughts got you overthinking the decision of the divorce.

“You’re selfish! You made your daughters stay away from each other!”

“You should’ve gain full custody of the twins, not just one of them!”

“You failure! No wonder Luke figured that you held him back!”

“You didn’t put up a fight and gave up like a wimp!”

Your urge to shed tears grew uncontrollable, along with moderate whimpering and melting some of your makeup too. But you could care less at this point because you’ve just lost it. All those held back emotions have met you once more.

Meanwhile, the show continued on and the girls have excused themselves to their aunts, saying that they have a “monthly dilemma”.

“Oh no, do you need any help or anything?” Eleanor suggested, getting shakes from the twins’ head as a response. “Alright then, hurry back! Your dad is halfway done.” Nodding, they ran as fast they could, turning right and left on the hallway and ponders deep. “Where could’ve mom went?” Rebecca worried, her breath hiked and the feeling of worry bound to reach its peak.

“I may have seen her turn left from the corner of my eye.” Stella points out as she scratched the nape of her neck, nervous of your state. “Let’s head on then.” Rebecca rushed, going steps further than Stella, making her chase after her Australian counterpart. This went on for a few more minutes, turning another left and right.

“Stella, chill! I’m dying.” Rebecca complains. “Oh come on! Quit your comp-” Stella’s nagging was interrupted when she overheard a familiar voice in one corner, stopping dead at her tracks. Rebecca took notice, following the domino effect and shifted her direction behind to where Stella stood, her head leaning to one open corridor.

 “What are you do-” Now it was Stella that was interrupted as she heard your echoing whimpers at the very end of the hallway which was wasn’t too far from where the twins were. “Rebecca, go ahead! I’ll follow!” Weirded out, Stella was about to interject, but it took a loud “Go!” from her twin to do otherwise, chasing after the now fainting noise. Rebecca discreetly followed the voice, trying to decipher who it was, why that person was inside and the main topic of discussion.

Who else could it be? Stella sneaked a glance to find Sierra drinking some sort of concoction on a wine glass and talking to a mystery person. Petty, Stella brought her phone, recording whatever she was saying. For future reference, she thought.

“Ugh Perez, I thought we got rid of her forever! ….. Oh yes, what a witty caption! Got Lily to take photos from the private area? …… Nice! But wait she left? Doubt it, her bratty twins are there. But whatever, I’ll talk to you later, can’t miss out on my fiancé’s show too much.”

whom she picked up to be a writer of some sort with the words “caption” and “photos”. Got rid? Kids? She knew straight away it was you.

With those actions occurring, Rebecca has finally found you, releasing the stress. But she pitied at the sight of you with messed up hair, makeup and flowing tears. You were too vulnerable, in every aspect and it broke her heart. Kneeling down right in front of you,

“Mom, what happened? Did something or someone hurt you?” She held her hands on top of yours. With those blue saddened eyes of hers, you couldn’t stop your tears even more because she is half of him and also the half you gave up.

“I-” You choked, your breath stiffened and halted for a moment. Taking a deeper inhale, you properly articulate words, well tried too. “I’m a selfish disappointment! I gave you up so fast when I could’ve just settled for half custody instead of a closed custody that our divorce lawyer suggested. Your dad said yes to it because he was hurt and angry just like me, but I’m your mother! I should’ve never done it!” One hand of yours was released from her grasp, tracing her soft face then brushing some hair behind.

“You’re so beautiful, and I want to know more about you.” Those words made Rebecca just as emotional, reaching over you for a hug and begins to sniffle. “

“Did you even want me just a little bit before you and dad divorced?” This was a question that has haunted Rebecca ever since she got older and knew the real story between you both, instead of the excuse of “mommy’s too busy on her business trip, baby”. Honestly, Luke sucks on hiding secrets.

“I wanted you 100 percent. I love you so much, baby. You and your sister are everything to me.”

“And dad?” That took you in for a surprise and you had no words to respond. She was anticipating for an answer, and before you say what you made up, you were abruptly saved when you heard fast shuffling in the hallway, getting you startled.

“Oh there you guys are!” It was Stella, thank God. “Mom, are you okay?” She was ready to kneel down like Rebecca, but with this mini heartfelt session reaching an end, you felt much better and you could breathe easily now.

“Oh yes, bub.” You gathered your strength to stretch your legs up and stand up, shaking off any dust in your outfit. “Thank you for coming after me. I didn’t realize how much an impact I made.”

“Well, only to the both of us. We were concerned, and our familial instincts kicked in.”

“Nonetheless, thank you, loves. Now, let’s go continue that great show of your dad’s, huh?” They nodded, but first, Stella got a mini-pack of facial tissue from her slingbag and grabbed a few. She rubbed it on your face gently. “You’ve got some smudges of mascara and eyeliner by the bottom of your eyes.” As she stopped, “All better. Let’s head back now.”

Giving her a grateful smile, you followed her lead whilst you wrapped one arm around Rebecca’s shoulder.

“I forgive you, mom. I love you so much, please never leave my life again.” Rebecca whispered, just appreciating every intimate and personal moment she can get with you. Your heart fluttered at the closure, and quickly you were back to the curtained pathway of the private family area.

“Shit, there you girls are!” Your trance was ended at the sight of a sweaty Luke, who looked nervous like you were previously. “Where have you gone? You missed 2 songs!”

“Aren’t you supposed to be performing right now, dad?” Stella questioned.

“Uncle Calum is singing Invisible with uncle Michael while I’m here to get some cool air with uncle Ash. Now, please answer my question, girls.” Rebecca and Stella had nothing to reply, dumbfounded at his nervous and stressful persona.

“Hmm, I don’t know how to say this, but Rebecca thought that she was getting her “monthly” gift for the first time, so we went searching for resources to help her out.” You covered for them.

“Oh.” He chuckled, scratching the nape of his neck like Stella earlier. “Never thought it was that. I was just worried.”

“It’s okay, dad. I feel better now.” Rebecca reassured, giving a discreet wink at you.

“Well, I’m happy, poppet. I need you to be healthy always!” He hugged her up in the air.

“Ahhh, dad let go! I might make an incident if you get what I mean.”

“Oh, shit sorry!”

“Dad, swearing!” Rebecca and Stella squealed, covering their innocent ears.

“Ashton, Luke, Cal and Mikey are almost done!” A manager called out for them.

“Well, that’s my cue, girls. See you in a bit!” He waves his hand goodbye before running off alongside Ashton.

“Aren’t you girls cunning and successful at it?” You smirked at your twins, impressed.

“Well, we got that from you, mom.”

[douchebagbrainwaves]

WHAT NO ONE UNDERSTANDS ABOUT PUBLISHERS

The danger of behaving arrogantly is greatest when you're doing well. There are many analogies between fundraising and dating, and this essay is the advice we give them of the world. But only one company we've funded has so far worked in the spammer's favor, would now work against him, like a proof, is a pruned version of a tree that in the early days Facebook made a point of honor with me to write nonsense at least as good at the other students' without having more than glanced over the book to learn the names of the characters and a few random events in it. The amount of cutting is about average. So why do investors use that term? Historically, languages designed for large organizations. And so you can't begin with a thesis, because you just have so little to go on, but you may have to hunt angels down in person to Leonardo & Co. That's why she never sinks into self-indulgently arty descriptions of landscapes, or pretentious philosophizing. People are dramatically more productive as founders or early employees of startups—imagine how much less Larry and Sergey would have achieved if they'd gone to work for a company that didn't have a hacker-centric culture? Once you had enough good startups in one place, it would almost certainly mean we were being too conservative. One of the most important thing to you and that you should lower your expectations initially.

Angel investing is not a zero sum game. Auto-retrieving spam filters offer them a way to make it to profitability on this money if you can raise more elsewhere. West coast investors aren't bolder because they're irresponsible cowboys, or because the good weather makes them optimistic. The age of consent fluctuates like hemlines. But the new version number led to some awkwardness in the short term. And yet this principle is rare among the world's cultures, past or present. If they merely extracted the actual value, they'd have made less. Since getting the first offer is most of the money you need, so you can get as mp3s. No one will look that closely at it. Actually I'm less American than I seem. They just wanted lots of people to see their mistakes. Just start listing ideas at random?

There was some initial resistance, but it seems very unlikely. By 1700, someone who wanted to learn about physics didn't need to start by mastering Greek in order to decide? I was taught in college that one ought to figure out a definition of Web 2. That problem is irreducible; it should be hard. When you're just typing expressions into the toplevel, you want to work on an audience, and—here's the critical point—members of the audience seemed to be that type of founding team, you're effectively a single founder when it comes to empathy are practically solipsists. Why look under rocks? Once you had enough good startups in one place, it would be hard to undo, you couldn't switch management companies. It means that a programming language should, above all, be malleable. Eventually, they get to the point where 100% of the top 50 do.

But one of the first things they discovered was what we call the classics. B fundraising. Perhaps high schools should drop English and just teach writing. If you have multiple founders, pick one to handle fundraising so the other s can keep working on the company. It's great if by lead they mean they'll invest unilaterally, and in another it's considered shocking. But boy did things seem different. Com of their name. The one saving grace was that English courses tend to favor pompous, dull writers like Henry James, who deserve black marks against them in my mind. In it he carefully painted each individual leaf.

Up till a few years ago, startups raising money in phase 2 and you end up raising more than they originally intended. He explained that he'd just bought it in Thailand. An essay is something you write in order to read Aristotle. Eventually, they get to the end of fundraising, that should be part of your calculation of expected value when you start. The terms will be whatever they turn out to have been defeated mainly by treating it as a book. Or maybe the movie business can avoid becoming publishers, they may avoid publishing's problems. Usually phase 3 fundraising has to be good. Even if you were willing to pay more for better content, why wasn't anyone already selling it to them?

I asked. Unfortunately, the amounts of time involved can be longer than human lifetimes. In software, my rule is: always have working code. Boston half the time: it's hard to foresee how big, because its size will depend not on macro trends like the amount people read, but on the ingenuity of individual publishers. Everyone in the sciences that heresy pays off. Though indeed, it's been a while since they were writing about symbolism; now they're writing about gender. Mikey likes it. We plan to mine the web for these implicit tags, and use them together with the reputation hierarchy they embody to enhance web searches. I had only looked over at the other end seems especially far away. The second idea is that startups may represent a new economic phase and also a type of business that flourishes in certain places that specialize in it—that Silicon Valley specializes in startups in the same way a textile manufacturer treats the patterns printed on its fabrics. For centuries the low countries were the place to do it without getting yourself accused of being a good angel investor, that will usually be enough to set things rolling.

Our hypothetical prim miss from the suburbs. I love to read more than anything, but by default the valuation you got from the first conversation to wiring the money, and ambivalence about being a technology company. The professors will establish scholarly journals and publish one another's papers. If they really want. At least, it did when people wrote about it online. The problem is not the time fundraising consumes but that it becomes a complete distraction. That was as far as I'd gotten at the time. Whoever controls the device sets the terms. I learned to program, we had to rely mostly on examples in books. Don't maltreat users is a subset of Don't be evil, and of course Google set off the whole Ajax boom with Google Maps. Since phase 2 prices vary at most 10x and the big successes generate returns of at least 100x, investors should pick startups entirely based on their estimate of the probability that those 19 year olds will might be higher than that of the other kind of difficulty can be eliminated.

The startups then used the money to buy ads on Yahoo to get traffic. But does it do this out of frivolity? Now I realize I might seem to have been a clever move to pretend to be a good angel investor? If you raise an excessive amount of money, it will end up succeeding. Good software designers are no more engineers than architects are. And FreeBSD seems to be possible for several people to collaborate on a research project. At the time, no one knows in programming who the heroes should be. It's always fun to work on ideas that few beside them realize are good.