#tommy's favourite movie being love actually...

[bi-chimneyy]

okay so during "buck, actually", maddie and chimney sing karaoke of "islands in the stream" - the next time jlh sings that song it's during maddie and chimney's wedding and then buck and tommy's kiss - madney and bucktommy are so connected I swear

[leiazsolo]

Regarding Tommy (AKA Stop hating him for the “Begins” episodes)

So I’ve been seeing a TON of hate for Tommy specifically because of his behaviour in the ‘Begins’ episodes and how he “shouldn’t be forgiven” so I’m getting fed up and decided to to a TIMELINE of Tommy & why we don’t need to be spoon fed his ‘redemption’ because we saw it across 10-ish years of flashbacks in the Begins episodes and can learn to understand that some stuff can just be implied with storytelling rather than treating the audience like babies and spelling it out for them. I will be starting with his first chronological appearance NOT his first on-screen appearance.

Starting Approx. 2005-2006 2x12 “Chimney Begins” now I’m not sure exactly what dates the episode here but google tells me it’s set around here, If I’m wrong let me know.

This was the big episode of Tommy being an asshole, I will not deny he was an asshole. He was one of the primary assholes of this episode along with the old captain. Let’s look at this episode with what we know about Tommy now, not what we knew then.

Tommy was a closeted gay man in a male-led, white-led field (presumably gay, we haven’t had his label yet) working under a captain we know is Homophobic, Sexist, and Racist. He also was a white man in a white male field back in 2005, prejudice was still a huge thing in 2005 (and still is but we’re not here to talk about that) and this episode shows this well, because it had to fit with the ‘times’. Tommy was an aggressor to begin with Im not going to deny this, but do you know who was also there, standing by and watching the rest of the 118 treat Chimney like shit for MONTHS? Eli! Yes lovey Eli who eventually helped get Chim into the field and let him stay with him in Boston. Yes he ended up being a good guy, but that doesn’t excuse the months he spent staying quiet watching the 118 mistreat Chim. You’ll see this theme pop up again later, funnily enough. Eventually we see Tommy and Chim become civil, after Chimney saves his life. He goes on to befriend Chimney, telling him his favourite movie is Love Actually (that’s fruity) amongst other things.

Fast forward to somewhere between 2009-2010 2x09 “Hen Begins” aka the next time we see Tommy chronologically and the first time we meet him in the show. We know a rough timeline as Sal says his girlfriend took him to see the new Twilight movie, and they reference the Edward vs Jacob, which means it’s most likely New Moon or Eclipse as that was more heavily a marketing thing for those two than the first one. This is also the first time Tommy is implied to be gay (He doesn’t deny the accusation and instead jokes about kissing Sal/Chimney) Now at this point in time I know this probably was not planned, but is something to look back at.

Tommy is this episode steps back from being an aggressor, he is still working under Gerrard and still closeted. He is still a part of the problem, but other than being present in the episode and in the scenes where Sal and Gerrard acted as aggressors, he didn’t actually contribute verbally to the mistreatment of Hen. The primary aggressor for Hen was Gerrard and remained to be Gerrard throughout the episode even when her co-workers saw her doing good things. And going back to Eli in Chimneys episode, guess who was also a bystander to Hens mistreatment, filling a similar role to Hen that Eli filled? CHIMNEY. He stood back for also presumably months, didn’t defend Hen against their co-workers, and just let what happened to him happen to her. Then, at the end of the episode it’s revealed multiple members of her team submitted complaints against their captain for the mistreatment of Hen, I’m willing to bet that he was one of those people, him, Chim, and even potentially Sal as he was less of an ass by the end. By the end of her episode we know they are now friendly at work and he thinks she’s a good firefighter.

Skip forward to 2014-ish, 2x16 “Bobby Begins Again.” We immediately see the team meshing, Chim, Hen, Tommy, and even Sal. 9 Years have passed since he met Chimney, and 4-ish since Hen and it’s implied they’re a friendly unit, Tommy is still closeted, and has been working under a rotating number of captains (six to be exact), but has clearly become a better, and more accepting person, the world is changing and he isn’t being held back with the times. He goes out for drinks with Hen & Chimney, laughs with them, has an overall good time being their friend and seeming enjoying working under Bobby for another 4 years, we even see them smash his face into a cake at a surprise leaving party they’ve thrown him. We know Buck took his place at the 118 which was not long before S1 began, so we’re assuming he left the 118 2017/2018.

This is the last time we see Tommy until 7x03, presumably set in 2023/2024 “Capsized”, a whole canonical 16-18 years after we first meet him, and 6 years since he left the 118. In those 6 years we know he:

A) is still friendly with Chimney, we know from 2x14 when he phones him to drop the fire retardant on the house. He is also mentioned to still be in contact in 3x16

B) Has come out/discovered his sexuality.

C) Is obviously not bigoted, or at least as much as he was back in 2005-ish.

In terms of Hen we can assume they haven’t really stayed “friends” since Tommy left, as she states in Capsized that she forgot he worked there. She worked with him for 8-ish years, I’ve worked with people for that length of time and don’t talk to them now, doesn’t mean I hate them, we just don’t really have reason to talk anymore. I just think their friendship was more a “we’re work friends” kind of relationship rather than a “we’re in each other’s lives” one, which is a completely normal and valid relationship. Whereas with Chim we know they’ve remained at least acquaintances to chat, and friends enough that Tommy would risk both his life and job to save Bobby.

At this point in the timeline it’s been approximately CANONICALLY 16-18 years since we met Tommy, and the fandom is still asking for his character to be held accountable for things he said all those years ago, when clearly in the canon of the show has been forgiven. At this point in the show I really don’t think we need to be spoonfed this narrative, it would feel clunky and weird to see an apology on screen for something that’s clearly been addressed off screen. It would frankly be a waste of the limited airtime we have this season.

I also think it’s super important to remember that Tommy wasn’t planned that far in advance, we know he was bought back by Minear because he wanted the person who was part of Bucks coming out to be someone the audience had already met before & Lou was both available and willing to do it. If they had been planning this exact storyline since season 2, maybe Tommy would have been portrayed differently, who knows.

I get we love Buddie and we want Buddie so much, I am not and never will jump ship from Buddie, I love that Tommy is Bucks first boyfriend, I just hope Eddie gets to be his last.

I’m also super glad we’re getting Bucks coming out separately from Eddies potential future coming out, I am on the (seemingly) small majority that thinks that would have been way too much to happen all at once, and also the characters deserve to have their own coming out stories not to be lumped together.

so yeah. TLDR; Tommy has evolved over 16-18 years, 10 years of which we saw across the Begins episodes, and if we want to be spoonfed his accountability for his behaviour in the begins episode, we should also be asking the same from Eli and Chim.

[leothil]

It's also funny that we know more about Tommy after one episode than we knew about Ana after the several she was in. Heck, I'd go so far as to say we know more about him than we knew about Taylor Kelly! What were her hobbies? What did she ever do besides be a reporter? I have no idea!

Yes, he had the benefits of being in three begins-episodes that told us 1) his favourite movie is Love Actually, 2) he had a girlfriend, 3) he has a sick scar. But the way we got introduced to him in 7x04 specifically really shows that when 911 wants us to care about a character, they can make us do it.

(Don't even get me started on Marisol. What does she like besides her brother and fixing up her house? Nobody knows!)

[mandoalorian]

Look For The Light [Joel Miller x F!Reader]

Prologue: Part I

Summary: You are a hardened survivor trying to navigate your way in a post-apocolyptic world when you bump into an old friend who goes by the name of Joel Miller.

Warnings: the reader is slightly younger than Joel, say a 10-year age gap? All TLOU relevant warnings such as gore, violence, guns, drugs, and cursing. Joel has an anxiety disorder which parallels his portrayal in the games. Diet talk. Expect smut later on… [Please do not read if you are under the age of 18!]

Author’s Note: I can’t believe it has taken me so long to write a full-blown Joel fic. Those of you who know me well know that I became a fan of TLOU in 2019, just a year before I became a fan of Pedro. I was elated when it was announced he’d been cast as Joel and thus far, I am thrilled with his performance and the many themes of the TV show that have stayed true to the game/s. It is everything I could’ve asked for, and more. I feel as though there is no better person qualified to write a ‘re-write’ per-se of the game/TV show, and I aim to release chapters in time for the new episodes coming out. 

Word count: 6,800 words.

Masterlist | Want to support me? | Listen to 'Look For The Light' on Spotify

<Please remember to reblog to show your love and support! Reblogs give me the motivation to continue the series, and motivation means that I’m able to pump out chapters quicker than usual!>

________________________________________________

Sarah had been sitting on the patio since she finished middle school at noon, waiting for her dad to come home from work. Every school in the US was let out early today for some unknown reason. Government orders. But when Sarah’s dad called her at four-thirty and told her that he’d be home at nine, she thought little of it. This often happened, especially this season. With it just being him and Tommy, working on big contracting jobs often took some time, but Joel often reassured Sarah that it was better that way. Despite their constant brotherly bickering, Joel and Tommy were hard workers and made an excellent team. When Joel heard how disappointed Sarah was that he would be home late, he told her that she could take some money out of his wallet, which was located in his bedside drawer. He told her she could order a pizza and stay up late to watch a movie, and if she got bored waiting up for him, then she could visit their neighbours—the Adlers. They weren’t remarkable company, but they were kind people and they adored Sarah.

Sarah’s mind worked fast as soon as her father hung up the call and it didn’t take long for her to concoct a plan. If she recalled correctly, there was a cheese pizza in the freezer, so instead of ordering take-out, she opted to take her dad’s money and his favourite (yet broken) watch to the jewellers to get fixed. Luckily it wasn’t too far and she managed to get there before five, which was closing time. Sarah was elated that she was able to do this for her father. He always complained about his broken watch, and he was so busy that he was never given the opportunity to get it fixed.

She placed the broken watch on the counter, alongside a twenty-dollar bill, and she offered the gentleman who worked in the store a small wave ‘hello’. He was an older man with white hair and crow’s feet by the corner of his eyes, a sign that he’d smiled a lot during his lifetime. 

“Oh, hey Sarah. How’s your dad?” The man, who according by his nametag, went by Eric, enquired while picking up the wristwatch and examining the damage. 

“He’s good, thanks. Working late tonight,” Sarah hummed absent-mindedly while she admired the many antiques and trinkets which were dotted around the store. This wasn’t your traditional jeweller—but somewhat of a pawn shop where you could buy the occasional bracelet or diamond ring. “Actually, it’s his birthday tomorrow. Was hoping to get his favourite watch fixed.”

Eric chuckled heartedly. “Well, you’re in luck, kid. Looks like it just needs a new battery. That’ll get it ticking again.” After a few short moments, he returned the repaired watch to Sarah. Eric slid the twenty-dollar bill back over to her.

“No no,” Sarah surrendered her hands. “That’s your payment,” Sarah put the watch in her backpack. “Please take it.”

“Your father is a good man, and you’re a sweet kid—doing this for him. Don’t worry about the payment, I—” Just as he was about to finish his sentence, an older woman came charging into the front of the store, appearing panicked and dishevelled. “Honey, what’s the matter?”

Sarah identified the woman as the shopkeeper’s wife and noted her shaky hands and rapid movements. She was in a frenzy.

“We have to close the store,” the woman said quickly. 

“What? Why?”

“We have to close the store!” the woman repeated this time shouting, and switching over the ‘Open’ sign to read ‘Closed’. She then turned to Sarah and grabbed the young girl by her arms. “You need to go home. Now.”

“Wh—is everything—” Sarah couldn’t even finish her sentence when the lady began to push her out the front door. Within seconds, the door to the store slammed shut and locked, and the blinds flew down. 

Sarah stood outside the jewellers for a few moments, her brain trying to register everything that had just happened. It wasn’t until an abundance of fire trucks and police cars zoomed past her; their sirens were deafeningly loud. Sarah heard some screams in the distance and took that as her sign to head home. She hoped that her dad would get home at nine as he promised.

The streets were eerily quiet on the walk home, and there wasn’t a soul in sight. Sarah noted the lack of cars on the road. She wanted to take her time to travel back to her neighbourhood—after all, her father wouldn’t be back for hours and she had plenty of time to kill, but the more she began to think about the things she had seen, the more she found her footsteps were speeding up into a fast pace.

When Sarah arrived home, she fumbled with the keys to unlock the front door. The sky was growing dark now and she wondered what she could do with herself to keep occupied while she waited for Joel to return home. Mrs Adler, the Miller’s neighbour, called for her, and Sarah turned to see the nice lady relaxing on the front porch, next to her mother who was much older. Sarah picked up the keys and pondered across the Adlers’ front lawn, and over to their porch, greeting Mrs Adler.

Sarah spent the rest of the evening with the Adler’s and their dog, Mercy. By eight-thirty, Sarah headed home, but not before taking ‘Curtis and Viper 2’ from Mrs Adler’s DVD shelf. Mrs Adler was fine with Sarah taking the movie. She described it as a boyish film, anyway. Sarah watched the movie and cooked her frozen pizza. By midnight, she found herself becoming increasingly worried about why her dad hadn’t returned home at nine like he had promised. Usually, she would be okay with it, knowing the nature of his job-- but with the strange occurrences that had been happening today, something felt off. 

The pale crescent moon shone like a silvery claw in the velvet night sky. When Joel finally pulled up into the driveway, he sighed, rubbing his tired eyes. He wasn’t getting enough sleep, and he was beginning to feel the effects of the long laborous hours on the same damn job. Tommy left at nine but Joel stayed back for a few hours to tie up loose ends. At least now he was paid, and he could forget all about it. He remained in his seat for a little while, listening to the end of the radio broadcast.

“—Indonesian minister of health released a statement today stating that the government is doing everything in their power to maintain the spread of the Cordyceps infection in Jakarta.”

Joel turned off the radio and left his truck. His mind was far too preoccupied to understand the severity of what was going on in the world around him. As he sauntered to the front patio, he cursed himself for being home so late knowing that Sarah would have been disappointed in him.

To his surprise, he heard Sarah’s voice the second he opened the front door. She’d stayed up for him.

“You said you’d be home at nine,” Sarah grumbled, her lips pulling into a frown as Joel walked through the front door. Her eyes felt heavy but she had stayed awake this long, anticipating her father’s return. She wasn’t going to fall asleep now. Her determined mind stopped her from doing that. The young girl looked up at the wall clock above the television and her frown deepened. “It’s almost one in the mornin’.”

Joel removed his brown work jacket and brushed down his t-shirt before sliding out of his shoes and shuffling into the living room. The room was illuminated by the amber lantern on the coffee table. His gaze was immediately drawn to a little brown moth, hazily dancing around the lantern before settling down atop it. If he was in his usual teasing mood, he would have pointed the moth out to Sarah, knowing it would scare her, but instead, Joel just ignored the insect and slumped down onto the sofa. Joel spread his legs and leaned back, pulling out a yawn. What a day.

“I’m sorry kid,” Joel finally said, feeling a genuine sense of guilt. “Rough day. Bad traffic.”

At least that wasn’t a lie. The roads had been hectic, with people swerving chaotically and more sirens in the neighbourhood than Joel had ever heard. 

Sarah hummed knowingly. She’d been hearing the panic outside too, and the news broadcasts on the television had been secretly terrifying her to the point she couldn’t bear to watch. Something about an infection from Jakarta having sightings in the city. Not much was known about it, but Sarah was just glad she lived on the outskirts of Austin, Texas.

She’d be okay and so would her dad. 

That’s all that mattered.

“Sweetie, what are you still doing up? It is way past your bedtime.”

“Oh! But I got you something,” Sarah beamed and reached down the side of the sofa, bringing up a white box. Joel looked at Sarah with surprised eyes and held the weighty box in his hand.

He opened the box, not exactly sure what to expect from his fourteen-year-old daughter, only for it to be revealed that she had gotten his favourite watch fixed. The watch had been broken for quite some time and Joel, being the busy man that he was, never got the chance to fix it.

When Joel didn’t respond to the gift, Sarah interjected, feeling the need to explain herself. “You kept complaining about your broken watch so I figured…”

“I—honey, I love it but I think it’s broken,” Joel tapped the watch face and held it to his ear, checking to hear for its ticks. Sarah, in a panic, grabbed her dad’s wrist to inspect the watch for herself, only to see that it was working in perfect order.

“Oh ha ha.” Sarah mocked as her father snorted a chuckle.

“Where’d you get the money for this?” He inquired, quirking an inquisitive eyebrow.

“Drugs. I sell hardcore drugs.” Sarah joked with a smirk, pleased with herself for getting her dad a present that he truly liked.

“Oh good. You can help out with the mortgage then.” Joel countered and Sarah laughed, snuggling into her dad and resting her head on his lap.

“You wish.”

Joel turned on the television and despite it being late, settled on an old war movie to watch. Sarah hated those old black-and-white films, and it didn’t take her long to fall asleep. Taking his daughter in his arms, Joel picked up Sarah, carried her upstairs, and tucked her into bed. Placing a kiss on her forehead, Joel remembered just how lucky he was to have Sarah in his life. She kept him grounded—she kept him sane—and she gave him reason to keep going. 

By the time morning rolled around, Sarah was the first to wake up, as usual. Joel pressed snooze on his alarm three times, before his fourth and final alarm—being Sarah—came into his bedroom, opened up the curtains and let in the blinding golden sunlight which enveloped him. Joel winced as he felt the rays burn his skin, and turned over, putting a pillow over his head in frustration.

“Get up, dad,” Sarah announced. “It’s your birthday and I am making you special birthday pancakes.”

The pancakes were more so for Sarah, but her dad’s birthday was the best excuse to make them. She’d make rainbow funfetti pancakes with cream and syrup and strawberries. They were her all-time favourite breakfast. If he was lucky, she might have even stuck a candle in the top and sung ‘Happy Birthday’ to him.

That got Joel’s attention. “Birthday pancakes?”

“Be downstairs, dressed, in five minutes,” Sarah said before leaving her father’s bedroom.

Joel crawled out of his warm bed, the pancakes being the only motivation he had to actually get up, and pulled over the same navy blue t-shirt that he was wearing the day before. Buckling up the belt of his dark wash denim jeans, he shuffled down the stairs and into the kitchen.

“I don’t smell pancakes,” Joel frowned. “But I do smell coffee.”

Already preparing her father’s daily black espresso, Sarah sighed. “We don’t have any flour,” she replied, just as disappointed as he was. “You must’ve forgotten to pick it up. I guess you forgot the birthday cake too?”

“Damn it,” Joel huffed, realising that hopping to the grocery store yesterday must have completely slipped his mind. “That’s okay baby girl, I’ll make eggs.”

Eggs were fine, but they weren’t part of her convoluted plan to give her dad the best birthday imaginable. Sarah supposed that it would be okay and that the both of them were still able to spend the day together.

Sarah placed her dad’s coffee on the table. “Your shirt is inside out.”

The young girl helped her dad set the table and poured out some orange juice before taking her seat and eating her breakfast. After fixing his shirt, Joel sat down and turned on the television before digging at his eggs.

‘BREAKING NEWS: Cordyceps Brain Infection comes from contaminated food, spokesperson says. Total number of infected rises to 5000.’

“5,000?” Sarah repeated in disbelief. “Where is this infection spreading?”

“Jakarta,” Joel replied, stuffing a mouthful of bacon into his mouth. “Heard about it on the radio yesterday. Those poor people…”

“What kind of food is contaminated?” Sarah asked, to which Joel could only shrug in response.

“I don’t know honey, but don’t worry. We’re fine over here.”

Just as Joel and Sarah were finishing up their eggs and bacon, they overheard the front door swing open.

“Well well well, happy birthday old man,” Tommy Miller strolled into the kitchen with ease ruffling his older brother’s already messy bed hair playfully.

“Old man?” Joel countered, dropping his fork to the plate and acting mockingly offended.

“Old. Degenerate,” Tommy corrected and Sarah stifled a laugh. “Hey, I thought we were having birthday pancakes.”

“No flour.” Joel and Sarah replied simultaneously knowing that those two words offered enough of an explanation.

Tommy grumbled in dismay. “Well, in that case, I’ll see you guys later.”

When Tommy left, Sarah and Joel erupted into a fit of laughter. Tommy lived in the neighbourhood so it was often he would just pop in for a few minutes only to leave again. Now that he had the day off, Tommy would most likely spend his day in a bar playing pool, or hitting on girls that were way out of his league.

“No but seriously, what are we doing today?” Sarah asked, clearing her plate and heading over to the sink to wash her dishes.

“Well I got to pop out to the city for a little while. I promised an old friend I’d help her with a favour. You remember your old nanny?”

Sarah beamed at the memory of her. “Of course! Can I come with you?”

“No darling, I won’t be there long. She just wants me to take a look at her shower. She’s got a place up in Austin now.”

“Nice,” Sarah smiled. “She always did want to move to the city.”

“I should be back in time for dinner, and this time I’ll grab a birthday cake from the grocers,” Joel promised. Sarah offered him a hug.

“Okay daddy, do what you gotta do. I’ll see you later.”

The traffic was even worse than yesterday. The roads that led into the city were filled with people who were seemingly fleeing, all speeding in opposite directions. There was an accident on the quickest route so Joel found that he had to go through back alleys and side streets in order to get there as quickly and safely as possible. He didn’t understand why the roads were so hectic, and his mind was too preoccupied with the thought of seeing you again after so long.

Joel wasn’t sure whether or not he had done the right thing when it came to rejecting the new contracting job that was proposed by a local business, only to take on a free favour for the girl who used to babysit his daughter. You had done more than enough favours for the Miller family; having been there for Sarah ever since she was a little girl. If Joel had to be honest with himself; you were as much of an influence on Sarah as he could’ve hoped for. Being a young, single dad had its difficulties and Joel’s job often meant that he had to work long hours away from his daughter. As Sarah got older she understood why her dad would have to leave so early in the morning and come back so late at night. He was simply doing it to take care of her.

But when he wasn’t around, you were the reliable force that protected Sarah and watched over her during the day. You took her to kindergarten and later elementary school. You sat with her during the late evenings, helped with her homework and even cooked her dinner. Despite the ten-year age gap between you and Sarah, the two of you had become quite close, and according to Joel, you were simply a terrific girl; well-mannered and gentle. Your personality had an influence on Sarah, and Joel certainly couldn’t complain about that. He was so proud of his daughter. That’s why Joel was prepared to do this job as a favour to you, much to Tommy’s dismay.

Tommy being Tommy, always had something to complain about.

“This is un-fucking-believable. You got to earn a living Joel—and I do too. You sacrificed a legitimate job to help fix Sarah’s old nanny’s bathroom plumbing. And shit man, you ain’t even a plumber.” Tommy was midway ranting to Joel on the phone when he pulled up outside your apartment. After moving out of your family home, you found a place in central Austin, where you were living with your boyfriend. The commute to work was much easier now that you lived in the city. You’d scored a secretary job in a corporate office down on Congress Avenue. 

“We are doing fine for business,” Joel sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance. It was times like this when Joel would wonder about the fine line between love and tolerance. Tommy was never going to let his brother forget about this. “I just owe this girl some favours.”

“You just want to get in her pants.” Tommy snarked back, the vulgar words dripping from his tongue.

“And you better watch your mouth boy,” Joel warned, his tone darkening as he immediately found himself getting ticked off by his brother’s comment. Tommy was always one to jump to accusations. “Just a favour.” Joel reminded before promptly hanging up the call. 

Joel slid his cell into his jean pocket and took a deep breath. He hadn’t seen you in months. Not since you moved away. He felt his palms get just a little sweaty with nerves as he approached the front door to your building. Apartment number 13. After a brief moment of coaching himself, Joel pressed the button to buzz into your apartment.

“It’s me—Joel—uh, Miller—Joel Mil—” where were these nerves coming from?

“Come up!” your cheery voice interrupted him and he heard the electronic front door click open. Joel said a silent prayer hoping that you couldn’t sense his anxiety through the intercom. He had forgotten to take his medication that morning.

Noticing the elevator was out of order, Joel had no choice but to take the many flights of stairs that led up to your place. The walls in the hallway were painted a dingy brown and several cracks laced the webbed corners. When he got to your floor, he wiped away the beads of sweat that laced his hairline and noticed that the door to your apartment was already wide open, beckoning him to come in.

He lingered outside for a moment hesitantly, peeking around your front room; but you were nowhere in sight. He scratched the back of his neck before calling your name. It would be rude to just enter your apartment without you knowing. 

When there was no response, Joel called your name again. He proceeded to take a step into your apartment and shut the door behind him. It was very small; just a sofa and a small TV and a bookshelf in the corner. Your kitchen was adjoined to your living room, and there were only two rooms towards the back. He assumed one must have been your bedroom, and the other… he heard a rush of water running. The bathroom.

The door was shut and Joel took a few steps, calling your name as he got closer and closer to the bathroom.

“I’m in here!” you called back. “Uh—you can come in—but please don’t laugh.”

Joel quirked his eyebrow as he pondered what could be beyond the door. He slowly reached down to the door handle. 

“Are ‘ya… are you decent?” Joel asked awkwardly, noting that the shower was still running.

Another moment of silence before your timid voice responded. “…I suppose…” 

Joel pushed down on the bronze door handle and let himself into the bathroom, only to be enveloped by warm, thick, humid air coming from the running shower. His immediate response was to choke back a cough as he squinted his eyes, trying to navigate where exactly you were hiding. You were behind the fogged-up shower glass, on your knees and sopping wet. You made no effort to remove yourself from the running water, even when Joel had already entered the room. You were adamant you could get this fixed yourself.

“Damn it!” you cursed loudly, finally withdrawing yourself from the shower and crawling out of the bathtub. You were never one to give up easily, but meddling with this shower was like fighting a losing battle.

You looked up at Joel whose large hand was covering the smirk that grazed his lips. He was trying so hard not to laugh at you. His broad shoulders were adorned by a brown jacket and his dark locks of hair seemed to be adorned with just a few grey specks—and hell, if he wasn’t staring at you with the utmost judgement—you might have even considered just how attractive he looked.

“You good?” Joel chuckled, the corners of his chocolate eyes creasing with elation. You stood up to meet his level, ignoring the fact your t-shirt was now stuck to your skin and water droplets were falling from your hair.

“Do I look good?” you snarked back, narrowing your eyes.

“Well—” Joel raised an eyebrow, eyeing you up and down. You felt your cheeks heat up under his gaze and you sheepishly looked down at your feet, hoping he wouldn’t catch your earnest reaction. “What happened?”

“Thought I could be all big and clever and try and fix this damn shower by myself,” you admitted, feeling silly for even giving it a try. “Thought that if I fixed it, I wouldn’t have had to waste your time.”

“Ah,” Joel nodded, stepping aside from you and hesitantly approaching the shower. A few stray streams of water jumped out at him. “You ain't ever wasting my time.”

You fiddled with your thumbs as Joel pulled out a wrench from his back pocket. Without hesitating, he stepped under the hot water and began to adjust the shower faucet, tightening the metal valve located under the head of the shower. The wrench kept slipping however and Joel ended up placing it on the side of the tub, opting to use his strength to tighten the valve. You watched as his grip tightened against the faucet controls, his biceps flexing as he let out a quiet grunt. The main flow of water came to a halt and the condensation in the room began to slowly fizzle away. Small drips of water fell from the leaky showerhead, but for the most part, Joel fixed your problem in just a matter of minutes.

Scratching the back of his neck, Joel ran his finger down one of the pipes that joint into the valve. “You might need to get your pipes checked, could be rust or—”

“Fungus,” you cut him off. “It’s gross, I know, but a neighbour was telling me she had the same problem with the faucet in her kitchen. Damn water wouldn’t stop running. She had some guys come around and they found this gross, fungus-type thing growing in the pipes.”

Joel made no effort to hide the disgusted look on his face. 

You sighed, knowing you’d have to call a plumber over to investigate your shower further. You really didn’t need the extra expense right now. But then you remembered just how grateful you were that Joel travelled all this way to do you the favour of fixing your shower—even if it was a temporary solution. You walked over to the man and gently interlinked your fingers with his, your cautious movements taking Joel by surprise. 

“Come on,” you said softly. “It’s slippery. Let me help you out of the tub.” You noted how your hand fit in his. It was much smaller, and even though you wanted him to hold onto you for support, it felt more like you were holding onto him.

Joel graciously took a step out of the tub, and you realised he didn’t need to hold onto you whatsoever. You took a towel from the radiator and wrapped it around his shoulders; a pathetic attempt at getting him dry.

“I should’ve brought a change of clothes.” he huffed, running his now empty hand through his short hair.

“I have something that might fit,” you smiled. “I mean—not my clothes of course, but my boyfriend, Michael… well, he’s probably the same size as you.”

Boyfriend?

It took a second for Joel to register the word. For some reason, he’d made the assumption you didn’t have a boyfriend. But then again, it had been a while since he last saw you, and now you lived in the city with your corporate job and your brand-new life. Just when Joel thought he knew everything about you, he realised that there was now so much more for him to learn. He followed you into your small, box-shaped bedroom and into the closet.

You searched through a pile of clean laundry that was mixed with both yours and Michael’s clothes. 

“If you see anything you like, just take it. Michael won’t mind.” You offered.

Despite your assurance, Joel reluctantly knelt and searched through the pile of clothes. Amongst your many shirts, pants and colourful pyjamas, Joel finally found a light grey sweater and a pair of matching sweatpants to wear. As he pulled them out from under the pile, he couldn’t help but notice a lace lingerie set that was placed delicately underneath. Deliberately, at the bottom of the pile. His eyes were drawn to the piece and his grip on the grey fabric tightened as he imagined you wearing the set. The thoughts invaded his mind without choice and Joel cursed himself for not fighting them away.

He finally stood up and turned to face you, only to immediately retract back when he saw you pull off your t-shirt. Catching a glimpse of your bare back, Joel swallowed the lump in his throat and turned to face the poorly painted wall behind him, not wanting you to feel uncomfortable upon you discovering that he had seen you like that.

You had in fact told him that you were going to change out of your wet clothes too—around about the same time he noticed your lingerie. He was just too distracted to have heard.

Dropping your soaking wet jeans to the floor and letting them pool around your ankles, you pulled up your favourite, fleece-lined black leggings and wrapped your wet hair into a towel. Now dry and cosy, you turned back around to Joel who was staring at the concrete wall, waiting patiently for you to have finished.

“Joel?” you asked.

“Y—yeah?” Joel stuttered, clutching onto the sweats. 

“You found something to wear?”

“Yeah.” Joel confirmed, smiling softly and showing you the grey sweats that he had picked out, almost as if he was asking permission—again—as to whether or not he could take them. 

He was such a sweetheart.

“Perfect,” you returned his smile. “You can get changed in here. I’m going to head into the kitchen.”

Before Joel could reply, you left your bedroom and gently closed the door behind you, allowing Joel to get changed in privacy.

You opened up the refrigerator and took out a batch of chocolate chip cookies that you’d baked the night before. Heating them up in the microwave, you prepared them neatly on a plate and placed them down atop the small table that segregated your kitchen from your living room.  Just as you were finishing up presenting the cookies, Joel exited your bedroom and you felt your heart blossom in your chest when you caught sight of him.

You were so used to seeing Michael wear those same grey sweats all the time, you hadn’t even prepared yourself for how they’d look on Joel. For the same garments, you’d imagine they would look identical—but you couldn’t have been more wrong. They fit on Joel’s body like a glove and tugged on him in all the right places. The light colour highlighted his slender waist and broad shoulders, and the way the waistband around his sweatpants was just ever so slack…

Joel cleared his throat and you felt your cheeks heat up as you snapped out of your daydream. 

“Looks good,” You nodded your head with positive affirmation and then your eyes quickly darted to the cookies on the table behind you. “Cookies!” you announced, happy to have found a reason to change the subject. Joel shuffled towards you and eyed up the plate of cookies.

“Oh wow—chocolate chip?” Joel smiled. “Those are my favourite.”

“Sarah’s too,” you beamed. “I remembered. Would you like to try one?”

“I—I would love too,” Joel grinned and extended his arm over to the plate. But then he abruptly stopped himself. “But—ah, I’m on Atkins. And I’m doing so well…”

“What’s that?”

“Oh,” Joel grumbled. “Just this dumb diet thing. I’ve basically been cutting out carbs. Lasted nearly two weeks so far.” 

Your frown deepened at his admittance. “That doesn’t sound healthy…” 

“No, well, neither is this.” Joel prodded his tummy. 

You wanted to tell him not to diet—that he didn’t need to. That his body was damn well gorgeous just the way it was.

But you didn’t want to overstep any boundaries.

“Take them home for Sarah?” you offered.

“She’d love that,” Joel smiled and inched towards you. There was barely any distance separating you both now, and you couldn’t recall a time when you had been this close to one another. “Thank you.” His words were so genuine, so real, that they sparked butterflies in the pit of your tummy and you held back a smile. You held it back because, without any restraint, you’d be grinning like an excited little girl. 

“How is Sarah?” you asked, looking up at Joel.

If you took just one step forward, your chest would be touching his. 

“She’s good,” his voice had lowered an octave and that Southern twang in his accent became all the more prominent. “I’m sure she’d like to see you. You should come over sometime for movie night.”

“I—I would love that,” you admitted. Movie night with Joel and Sarah… just like the old days.

“She’s really into those horror movies now she’s getting older…” 

It was like some kind of mystic energy was pulling you both closer to each other. It wasn’t conscious, and the movements were small, but as your bodies got closer together you noticed the way Joel’s voice trailed off into eventual complete silence. And then, like magic, the curve of his nose bumped into yours and you let out a small giggle. The proximity of each other felt so intimate and yet you couldn’t bear to draw away from him. You wanted him to touch you, hold you, bump noses with you again… 

Joel’s eyes became dark and lust-filled as his gaze flicked down towards your mouth. Your eye line followed his and you observed his pretty pink lips that were framed by his moustache, all the same. You both wanted the same thing.  He wanted to kiss you, softly and delicately—and he wanted to cradle your face as he relished the moment. And equally, you wondered what it would be like to kiss him, if his light stubble would graze your skin or if it would tickle you and make you erupt into a fit of giggles. You wondered if his hair would be rough and brassy or soft and fluffy. 

You cautiously extended your arms and placed both your hands into his still-damp hair, threading your fingers through the roots to the tips. As a response, Joel closed his eyes and hummed in contentment, the vibrations in his chest sending chills through your own body. His own hands swung down to your hips and he bravely pulled you in closer to him. 

Joel opened his eyes and brought one hand up to your shoulder and then gently cupped the side of your cheek. You leaned into his palm and he swept his thumb over your bottom lip. Bumping noses with you again, this time he did not draw back. You could feel his breath fan over your lips and you pushed your chest into him and opened your mouth when---

Ring.    Ring.    Ring.    

The alert of Joel’s ringtone made him jolt back from you and stumble even a few steps further. You stood there, as still as could be, your brain desperately trying to piece together what just happened. 

You almost kissed Joel Miller.

“Shit, it’s Tommy,” Joel explained. “I should take this.”

Breathlessly, you nodded, and all Joel could do was shoot you an apologetic look before flipping open his phone and holding it to his ear.

“Joel—Joel—I need you to come to pick me up. I’m in jail.” A brief moment of static buzzed through the line but Joel heard Tommy loud and clear. He wished he had misheard.

“You what—” Joel placed a hand on his hip, taking a second to process his little brother’s words. “Why the hell are you in jail, Tommy? What did you do?”

Your eyes widened when you heard what was going on. Tommy in trouble?

“I—it wasn’t my fault—”

“It never is,” Joel grimaced.

“I was at Linkin’s Bar down by the Creek and some guy just started attackin’ Isabella. Grabbed a hold of her and wouldn’t let go… so I smashed a bottle in his face. Knocked him to the ground. That showed the fucker.”

“Jesus Christ Tommy,” Joel sighed.

“You’d do the same,” Tommy called out. “Isabella’s only small, and she couldn’t defend herself. Anyway—I need you to come to the County Jail and bail me out. I’ll pay you back, I promise. I just can’t stand to spend another moment in here.”

“Alright, I’m on my way, but I’m in Austin. Will take me a while to drive back up that way.”

“Just get here quick,” Tommy practically begged. “I—I think there’s something wrong with the officer. He keeps twitchin’ all funny. People have been acting weird, Joel.”

Joel shook his head and let out a deep sigh. “Whatever Tommy, I’m on my way.”

As soon as Joel put his cell back in his pocket, you placed a caring hand on his forearm. “Is Tommy okay?”

“He’s always getting into trouble, that boy.” Joel sighed. 

“You take care of your brother. You’re a good guy,” you said softly. “Maybe… maybe we can plan that movie night for tomorrow, huh? I get off work at five.”

Joel smiled. A good guy. That was all he wanted to be. And making plans for movie night with Sarah? Joel felt a buzz in his chest. She would love to see you again. “That sounds good.” He said casually, trying to hide the fact he was beaming inside. 

“Alright,” you returned his smile and then nudged his side playfully. “I’ll see you tomorrow then. And I’ll bring the cookies.”

“See ‘ya.” 

Joel turned around and left the apartment without another word and you stood there, your heart racing, still reeling from what had happened just minutes prior. You’d hardly lost track of time when Michael came through the front door. 

“Hey, who was that guy I just saw leaving? He kinda looked like me.”

Michael wished he looked like Joel, but you assumed that remark was made in reference to the outfit that Joel had ‘borrowed’.

“I—” immediately you felt defensive. Not that you needed to be, because technically, nothing happened. Was there any need to be defensive over mere feelings? “It was the plumber.”

“Oh. He fixed the shower?” Michael asked, stealing a cookie from the batch you had baked. 

“Yeah—hey! Don’t eat those. They aren’t for you.” You warned, but Michael was already swallowing his first piece.

“Huh?” Michael chortled. “It’s not like you need to eat them, looks like you’ve eaten enough already.” He said with a snide look. 

You felt your jaw slacken slightly at the comment and resisted the urge to tell him exactly just who this ‘plumber’ guy was, and how much you wished you had kissed him in that heat of the moment. 

You didn’t respond but instead watched Michael eat two more cookies. Your lips curled into a frown, knowing you’d have to bake another batch, but at least this time they would be fresh for tomorrow’s movie night. 

For the first time in weeks, Joel felt he was finally able to relax. He took the drive home slow and steady and turned up the car radio to drown out the ongoing sirens in the distance. The song ‘Future Days’ by Pearl Jam played, and Joel decided he would take up learning it on the guitar when he got home. Now that he had a few days off from work, he could put his feet up and do whatever he wanted. He looked forward to seeing you tomorrow, but now he just had to head on to the grocers, like he had promised Sarah, and pick out a birthday cake.

He found a red velvet one with buttercream icing, knowing it was more Sarah’s favourite than his own. Joel liked fruitcake but he knew that if he brought a fruitcake home for Sarah, she’d just sit there disgusted and pick out the raisins. He’d rather she was satisfied.

Joel brought the red velvet cake to the cashier and opened up his wallet, preparing to pay.

“I��m sorry sir,” the lady behind the desk said. “I can’t sell you this. I’m afraid all wheat-based products are being recalled due to the Cordyceps Brain Infection.”

Joel furrowed his eyebrows together in bewilderment. “The Cordyceps--? I thought that was all the way in Jakarta?”

“You haven’t heard--?”

Just then, alarms began ringing in the grocery store and an automated voice boomed through the speakers. The cashier froze and her eyes widened as soon as she recognised the voice. “This is an automated message. This is a red alert warning from the United States government and the CISA. Please stop what you are doing and return home immediately. Lock your doors. Do not let anyone inside.”

The message repeated repeatedly, and the entire store erupted into a panic; including the cashier standing before Joel. 

“What the hell is happening?” Joel asked, his gaze darting around the store. He watched a stampede of people head towards the fire exit, clambering and yelling frantically.

“You have to go.” The cashier replied before running off into the crowd.

Joel headed towards the entrance, thinking he could leave that way where it was less crowded. He had no comprehension of what was happening, but he knew for certain he wouldn’t leave Tommy behind.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Prologue: Part II

[ranbling]

I think if 911 wants to give Buck and Eddie different endgame pairings they should make sure to actually flesh them out and not frame every interaction as a complete opposite of how Buck and Eddie act

(except for Abby, Shannon and Taylor) all of their love interests can be treated as self-inserts. They have like two personality traits (i'm not counting knowing their favourite movie or that they're obsessed with death or actor's headcanons as personality traits/backstories).

They somehow manage to frame every interaction between them and their love interest in a way that shows Buck and Eddie get each other in a deeper level. Eddie has panic attacks at the thought of Ana and him are a family? There is Buck being part of their family

Natalia is invested in Buck's death? Eddie is Buck's safe place and Eddie is the one who welcomes him back into the land of living

Tommy doesn't dress up for a theme party that Buck is organising? Eddie was the one to actually come up with a costume for Buck and him

Like... At least try to give them a love interest who is not just there to be a mirror to Buck and Eddie

[maarriiii]

Simp (Part 2) | Wilbur Soot

A/N: Oh wow, thank you so much for all the love for the first chapter!!! It means a lot. Also, i have another fic called Happy (Sad) New Year if you’re interested in seeing. And another thing is that I might update this series weekly.

Summary: You might have a crush on Tommy’s cute tall friend with the glasses.

Pairing(s): CC!Wilbur Soot x gender neutral!reader, CC!Wilbur Soot x actor!reader.

Warning(s): None.

italics: streams

my masterlist :))

~~

After your Twitter interaction with TommyInnit, The same thing happened again, funnily enough, was with a friend of Tommy’s and fellow streamer. You recognized him from the first vlog you’ve watched of Tommy’s, the cute tall one with the glasses. Wilbur Soot was his name or at least that was what people called him. Again, your fans tagged you in various posts, moments caught from his stream. In one of those clips, he jokingly banged his fist on his desk.

“That was suppose to be me, chat! I like them first! It’s not fair. Tommy keeps rubbing it on my face.”

There was another one where he talked about when he first liked you.

“I found this soundtrack, right, chat. And it was from this movie. I searched it up, watched it and just immediately it became one of my favourite films. They played one of the characters in it and I found out they wrote a song from the soundtrack that coincidentally is my favourite.”

The thing that got you though was when he complimented your singing and writing in the song that you wrote. You remembered being scared shitless for that particular role for two reasons. One, you never sang in front of that many people before and it made you nervous. Two, although you loved writing songs—you have a journal filled with unfinished songs—you didn’t think you had the ability to write one that was vital to your character’s arc.

“They have a very good voice in my opinion, no, a great voice actually. And that specific song was quite relatable for me—I’m pouring my heart out here, chat, and here you are calling me a simp. Fine, go ahead, call me a simp. I don’t care. Maybe I am a simp. What about it, chat?”

You thought it was really sweet how he thinks of you and you couldn’t help the slight fluttering in your heart and the butterflies in your stomach when his fans tell him that he has a crush. Also his cute smile didn’t help at all with the sensation growing inside you. Honestly, you could just watch a video of him smiling over and over again.

For days, you keep thinking about him which was frustrating and exciting in some way. You felt like a teenager again, crushing on a boy that smiled at you in passing. You haven’t told anyone about it, knowing that everyone was going to tease you if they knew and would try to convince you to reach out to him. You wanted to, badly even, but life in the spotlight has its ups and downs. You don’t want the paparazzi to be crowding and violating this man’s private life just for the sole reason of trying to find out who you might be dating next.

You were scrolling down YouTube again, filling the time as you sat down in the hair and makeup trailer, when you came across a band. From experience, artists you found on YouTube most of the time was your cup of tea so you clicked on the video titled ‘Taunt’ by Lovejoy. The already enjoyable song got more enjoyable when you saw the familiar face that had been invading your mind. You eyes grew wide, your head no longer bopping, and finally that feeling in your heart returned.

“Don’t smile too much. I’m doing your powder.” One of the makeup artist spoke, moving a brush across your cheeks.

“Oh shit, sorry Sloane.” Yet, you smiled again as the video plays out.

Sloane smirked, looking at your phone screen. “Know one of ‘em? Is that why you’re smiling all of the sudden?”

“I know that tone.” You glared at the older woman beside you. “And yes, I do know one of them if you must know.”

“Which one?”

“The one with the glasses and the hat. The tall one.”

Sloane leaned closer. “He’s cute.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah, I can see why you’re into him.”

“I did not say that I like him.”

“You didn’t have to.” Sloane pointed the brush she was holding at your face. “Your smile already did.”

~~

When you realized Wilbur Soot have a band, the obvious choice was to go on a rabbit hole of listening to their entire discography. It took a few listens but their songs grew on you and eventually made their way into your various playlists—some grew annoyed listening to you repeating their songs. Now that you found a perfect opportunity to try and talk to Wilbur, the only thing that’s left was the execution. You didn’t want to make it too obvious that you’re trying to reach this guy. You could only imagine the article they would write about and you didn’t need to be ask about “a mystery guy” when doing press junkets later on.

“What are you scared of? You’re just posting about this band that you like. You’ve done it a million times.” You said, trying to calm yourself.

With one last inhale and exhale, you began typing. Your heart beating vigorously with each letter that you pressed. It was incredibly ridiculous how nervous you were. You kind of wished someone was there to give you some emotional support but alas you were alone in your trailer.

“Okay, that’s good enough, I think. Not too long, not too short. All that’s left to do is post it.”

Your thumb hovered over the button, still contemplating whether or not this was the right choice. Maybe you should’ve chosen the lowkey route. Just slide into his DM’s like many of your friends did. What if he doesn’t see it? What if he doesn’t interact with it the way his friend Tommy did? What if he turns out to be an absolute dick? The possibilities were endless.

When the waiting and the doing absolutely nothing began eating you out, you decided it’s now or never.

“Fuck it.” You closed your eyes, pressed the button and the deed was done.

[user-needs-new-hyperfixation]

Thanks for the tag @seeingteacupsindragons!

Rare writer ask game: name three pieces of media that are not novels/short stories or movies/TV that were formative for you, and tag three people.

Oh damn, this is tricky and I love that. I don't know how much any of these are connected to my writing specifically, but they were formative to who I am and obviously that's always gonna tie into my writing somehow.

1. Ocarina of Time. It always will be one of my favourite video games, and the kind of games I like now are still often reflective of what I liked about it. Also, I said recently in another ask that Sparrabeth was my first ship, and it was definitely the first one I went all in on, but Link/Sheik was probably actually where I started (that Bolero of Fire bit, am I right?) Sheik was also probably technically my first queer fictional crush.

2. This feels cringe to admit 😅, but Adam Lambert's Glam Nation tour. I was 19 and juuuuust starting to internally acknowledge and accept myself as queer, and I would watch all the videos from the concerts and dance along in my room and sigh dreamily over Tommy Joe Ratliff's knees buckling while he got snogged within an inch of his life. It was the first time I remember being excited about being queer, because it seemed so damn cool. ("Fun" side note; writing this made me go "the heck ever happened to Tommy Joe anyway?" and apparently now he's a far-right Christian Trumpster, so that's a thing that happened. Somewhat disorienting that he was a little part of my journey away from that and then he went into it. Booooo.)

2. This song. One of my earliest memories is of my dad holding me and singing this song to me. I still can't listen to it without tearing up. And really just a lot of music I associate with being a kid in the 90s. There's so many songs that take me back to my mom hitting record on the tape deck when they came on the radio, to the way my dad whistled along to classic rock. But this one is right down at the foundation.

Tagging (as always no pressure!) @hergan416 @shreddedleopard @soapy-soartp

[lil-melody-moon]

Hello, love! I hope you’re doing well❤️

You know I love the way you express yourself when it comes to talk about music. It’s always so satisfying to read how passionate you are for the bands and songs you love so I wanted to ask you a few questions.

I’d like to name this section…Let’s talk about The Who!! (I’m sorry, I’m sorry HAHAHA) All right, let’s get started with the questions:

- How did you find out about The Who? What made you fall in love with the band?

- What’s your favourite album? And your favourite song?

- Have you seen all of their movies? (Tommy, Quadrophenia, The kids are alright…) What are your thoughts on their movies? (I haven’t seen any of them but I’m looking forward to seeing Tommy cause it’s my favourite The Who album)

- Why is Keith Moon your favourite? (I know you love drummers😏 but I’d like to know what makes you love Keith so much)

- Some people like to compare The Who with Led Zeppelin to the point they say The Who is way much better than Led Zeppelin. I’ve heard they say that Who’s Next is better than Led Zeppelin IV. I think they’re both good bands with great musicians but I don’t think I’ve heard The Who enough to form a solid opinion on who’s the better band so I’d like to know your opinion since you listen to both bands.

- And for the last question: If you could go back in time, which The Who concert would you like to attend and why.

If you want to add some more information about them such as fun facts or things you’ve recently discovered/learnt about them, please do it.😂 Thank you so much for taking your time answering my silly questions. I’m getting my revenge for pushing me into Def Leppard (Just Kidding, I love you Mel❤️)

Hello! I'm kinda fine, thank you <3

Uuuu, I like the sound of that! Let's start then, shall we? :3 I'll tag you additionally if something breaks @jimmysdragonsuit13

How did you find out about The Who? What made you fall in love with the band?

How did I find out about them…Oh God, we gotta go back toooooooooooo… 2008 actually. Tiny me walked into the living room when mom was watching CSI: Las Vegas and you know. I knew mom loved watching tv series with murders and what not so I stood in the hall, looking at the tv, curiously and then came the intro, short version of "Who Are You". I heard them for the first time that evening and tiny me was blown away. Mom eventually noticed me, because I walked in the living room and asked her if I can watch with her, silently hoping this intro will play again and I was blown away again by the instrumental at the very end.

I've watched all three series with her - I actually need to give them a good watch sometime soon - and I know one day I've asked her about the intros. She didn't remember the band's name, but all she told me was this: "Those songs are long and kind of weird. This band was weird, let's begin with this. Crazy, destroying everything, but how they were called again?" and she didn't recalled sadly and I wasn't interested to the point of searching by myself - mind you, I was at primary school, had it really stressful, was bullied, searching for a band and get into them, especially if they were old was the last thing on my mind back then. So I gave it up, just enjoying the intros.

Now, let's skip to me being in high school. I think to 2016, it was probably this year that I started get into music with mom's and dad's help mostly, but also the guy I really liked. This was my Metallica phase, strongest one, and the second one out of three, and Japanese music phase, but anyway. I know that while mom searched for music to download we stumbled upon The Who - I remember the fragment which was played and it was that moment from the tv program, where Keith blew up his drum kit. It was short, so I didn't get to listen to them well, but mom somehow recalled my question about CSI intros and she told me, it was them XD But she cut my curiosity short by saying that they aren't very good, dad agreeing with her. I was very susceptible to their opinions back then so I gave up on them again.

Just to rediscover them in the last year at May or June. TV Station randomly played "My Generation" and while dad was complaining - he hates them - I just listened. First time without any breaks and like, I was "Okay, they're fine" for most part. Enter the drumming instrumental break tho and from "Okay, they're fine" I just sat there, listening, saying to myself: "THAT guy is GOOD", but I couldn't see him properly back then. Skip to July, when I started using Instagram again, and the app was like: "You know? You forgot about someone" showing me Keith Moon. It was this photo:

So the usual, totally wasted Moon <3 But you know, I didn't connect that he was the guy I considered this good. Skip ahead a few weeks and tumblr showed me gifs with him - and I think it was YOU who reblogged this gifset - when he was totally elegant and I was like: "That's… That's Moon?!" reading in the tags what band he was in. And like from this day I just wanted to find an opportunity to listen to The Who, but dad came in with "I will show you Deep Purple now" and I skipped a few chances on getting "Who's Next" album at the record store, actually feeling that I should get it, but I somehow didn't for some weird reason.

I was fucking hesitant. Like, I remember finding this album, staring at the cover, thinking to myself: "That's Moon's band, the one he was in…" and you know, I almost reached for it, but I didn't for some reason - later regretting it big time, but like, skip a little bit more (this is a span of a MONTH I think) and Spotify randomly played "Love Ain't For Keeping" from this very album, actually throwing me so off guard, because I always heard their more chaotic songs and this one just entered, with the drumming, the good guitar, Roger started singing, the lyrics flowed SO WELL. I was blown away for the fourth time in my life by them XD

And I think that I only waited two days to listen to the entire album and once I did, fifth time being blown away has to enter the stage. With this, we can go to the second question of this part of the "Let’s talk about The Who!!" (I love the name!).

So, what made me fall in love with the band. …I gotta start from this… The thing that made me blink and stare at the tv when I was 10, literally hypnotized, the one that made me actually consider giving them a try is the fucking drumming! I MEAN, DID YOU FUCKING HEARD THAT?! I know you did, that was rhetorical XD Just the way Keith plays it's like… It's the ideal way of playing drums to me. There's literally nothing better for me than to hear the beating on the double bass drums from him, not to mention the constant fills, the way he just seems to use every single drum, even if his drum kit looked like this:

This guy was all over his instrument, actually making it sound like a freaking lead one, and you can't tell me, nobody can't tell me that The Who had other lead instrument than the drums. I mean, you only have to compare one song to 1978 and any other one after that year. I will never say that Kenney or Starkey are bad drummers, far from that, but the fucking emptiness in later songs after 1978 is unbearable for me. And not like I listened to only one song and said: "Nope, I'm sticking to the albums to 1978" and that's that, no. I actually listened to a few where Kenney played on the compilation album I got for myself and I just couldn't stand the shift. I can't shake the feeling that the songs after 1978 are a shell of what they could be, so for my own sanity I decided to stick to the albums to the 1978 and that's that and I'm happy. I'm a really happy lil Pole now <3

Second reason would be the lyrics. And now get this, I'm never, almost never paying attention to lyrics, especially when I listen to a song for the first time, but like… Pete is a genius at lyrics. Probably the most free to interpretations pieces of poetry/lyrics I have ever seen. It happened a few times that the meaning that Pete wanted to get through the lyrics was totally different to how I felt about the song, but like if both interpretations work for both sides, it's good. This is how you actually write good poetry and I tend to think of The Who's lyrics like that. Taking a fragment of "Who Are You" as an example, which is probably my most favorite fragment of any lyrics Pete wrote:

I know there's a place you walked Where love falls from the trees My heart is like a broken cup I only feel right on my knees

I spit out like a sewer hole Yet still receive your kiss How can I measure up to anyone now After such a love as this?

Such tiny details in lyrics, lovely ones are really scattered everywhere in the songs and they get me every time. "Love Is Coming Down" is entirely like this, the instrumental actually giving more than the lyrics, they being only as another instrument, at least I feel about them like that. Which also brings us to third reason and that being Roger's vocals.

I freaking love his voice. The way he can express emotions is like nothing else I heard before - not saying that Robert Plant is in any way worse, he isn't, but like their screams of emotions can't be compared. "Love Reign O'er Me" settled the bar too high for me, sorry Robert! But like, Roger also has that specific tone of voice that gets to me. I can't explain what is it, but it's just good to listen to you know - even when he speaks, it's just making me a bit tingly inside - also his laugh is adorable, not to mention his smile!

And like, John Entwistle can't be listed as fourth reason, but I actually like his playing, like a lot and I can't skip on him. I like all of them, I really can't skip on John XD He has such a nice style of bass playing and I'm definitely not a fan of this instrument XD John is such a big exception as Paul McCartney is. Making me like bass in songs is almost impossible, so this guy literally achieved the impossible.

All of THAT, would sum up the answer for your first two questions. Now, let's move to the next ones, shall we? :3

What’s your favourite album? And your favourite song?

Favorite album would be "Quadrophenia" and I doubt that will change, even if I finally listen to "The Who Sell Out". "Quadrophenia" is so much deeper than "Tommy", at least for me. You know, it's that kind of album that when I've listened to it for the first time, I knew it was my favorite from the get go, the one that spoke to me right away. It actually carries a somehow heavy story that can't be shown in any other way than through music.

Everything is put perfectly, from the first sounds of sea to the last sounds of insane drumming at the very end, but let me just state why I feel like that towards this album. There are literally no skips on this one for me, each song is unique, but it only makes sense if you listen to it with the rest. It's also the case where the lyrics got my attention. I have a weird case of not listening to lyrics, but here, when I've listened to it for the first time, I had to check out the lyrics to "Cut My Hair" because something just brought my attention to it. One listen was for the music, second listen for the lyrics and I got the grasp of the story that this one tries to tell, even seeing two acts in this one. I will part the album in two while talking about songs if you don't mind <3 First half being from "I Am The Sea" to "I've Had Enough" and second beginning from "5:15" and ending at "Love Reign O'er Me".

The shift that happens between "The Dirty Jobs" to "I've Had Enough", followed by the masterpiece that is "5:15" - the first song I've heard from this album, fun fact - which gives an amazing feel of traveling far away from everyone, just wanting to disappear is insanely good. I usually stick to the second part of the album, because like the first half is focused on showing Jimmy's (the poor sod that is the main protagonist of this story) everyday life, the second shows him actually losing everything bit by bit - I'm talking about this album for the third time, it should be my bachelor degree by now XD - and that is what makes this album shine for me.

Let me just sum up the songs of the second half real quick - mind you that I didn't read the lyrics and this is my interpretation from what I feel from the music, heard from lyrics, got emotionally and saw in the movie:

5:15 - a journey by a train to nowhere, just far away from the everyday routine after losing everything, literally everything (this is so well shown in the movie!)

Sea and Sand - actual feeling that can be described as calm after the storm, just calm loneliness, the urge to disappear from life, from existence

Drowned - wanting to come back to the sea, suicide attempt, failed, but it's still there, feeling of helplessness

Bell Boy - meeting the idol that is not who Jimmy imagined to be, feel of betrayal, the biggest one (you can even say that Jimmy's world crumbled at this point)

Doctor Jimmy - insanity, all of the personalities coming out, one or two always triggered after alcohol or drugs, the feeling of not caring about anything and anyone even about himself

The Rock - the grand final, giving up on life, struggling before doing so, regret of being born, everything that happened is just too much and here is the second suicide attempt

Love Reign O'er Me - an emotional ballad that sums up the feeling of the entire story, it doesn't give a conclusion, the conclusion if Jimmy died, riding off the cliff or not is up to you (I usually go with the conclusion that Jimmy drowned, but his body was washed ashore on an abandoned island and now his soul is stuck there, as he's too troubled to go to the afterlife, maybe meeting similar soul there, but like that is the ending I'm usually going with).

All of that, all of the second half of the album is the best piece of music I have ever heard. Not only the story but musically it's just… As a whole it's probably the best album of the 70s for me, but also, I think I kind of feel sorry for the poor sod that is named Jimmy, connecting to his "trying to fit in the world" a bit too personally. Like, seeing/hearing his struggle, his hesitation, just trying to find a place for himself in the world that certainly "is not for him" just got to me. Additionally there comes the open ending and like my conclusion is one of the many you can come up with really. And there's also the repeated theme that plays throughout the entire album, the main theme of Quadrophenia, it's just so good to listen to. Sad, melancholic with a bit of hope/calling for help. As of now, you should know I love sadness in music, so that was a given I would be attached to this album.

But now, going to my favorite song. I certainly have a lot, like: "My Generation", "A Legal Matter", "The Ox", "Cobwebs and Strange", "Happy Jack" (drumming, OMG, DRUMMING IN THIS ONE), "Overture", "1921", "Eyesight of the Blind (The Hawker)", "Underture", "Pinball Wizard", "Tommy's Holiday Camp", "We're Not Gonna Take It", "Love Ain't For Keeping", "The Song Is Over", "Getting In Tune", whole "Quadrophenia", "Slip Kid", "However Much I Booze", "Squeeze Box", "Trick Of The Light", "Love Is Coming Down", "Who Are You", BUT there is one that isn't listed here and was mentioned up above.

And that, my dear friend, is "Bell Boy". There are three reasons for that. First reason and the main one is the fact that Keith Moon is singing in this one. This is literally all it took to make me love this song and it happened immediately - just imagine me listening to this one for the first time, suddenly hearing Keith, I was NEVER this happy before XD Second being the opening of the song. It begins with Keith's drumming, what can I want more? XD Third reason, this song is absolutely catchy. I have no other reasons, they are pretty simple, but like, I can't help but love this song! Plus there's this part of the lyrics where Keith sings - with a very pretty voice of his:

Some nights I still sleep on the beach Remember when stars were in reach Then I wander in early to work Spend my day licking boots for my perks

And I kind of tend to imagine him sitting on that beach at night, looking at stars, everything silent, only the sound of sea heard. …Just a calm image that is appearing in my mind each time I hear him start singing this verse, but that is a detail. Moving on!

Have you seen all of their movies? (Tommy, Quadrophenia, The Kids are alright...) What are your thought on their movies? (I haven't seen any of them but I'm looking forward to seeing Tommy cause it's my favourite The Who Album)

Not at all, but I saw "Tommy" and "Quadrophenia". I'm slowly getting to watch "The Kids Are Alright", but I'm a bit hesitant about this one. Dunno why, I just am - something is telling me to wait with it XD

My general thought about those two is that they are okay, like really okay, but like, they could be better, especially "Quadrophenia" and so I will go with this one first!

So, as you know it's my favorite album and I have to say that the movie shows the entire plot very well. It's rough, actually being very similar to the photos that were done for this album specifically and it gives away the vibe of 1965 (I think) very damn well, comparing it to the photos. Actors are okay - the one who plays Jimmy stole my heart, I can't help but have a crush on this poor sod, all the reasons you've already read, so I won't repeat myself, but I do have a few things that itches me about this movie.

The order of the songs and that some of them were cut out of it. Don't get me wrong, I know there had to be changes made, some songs are replaced by the actual acting and that's cool, but mixing the order of the songs is totally different. I'm talking specifically about the moment they've played "Love Reign O'er Me". It threw me so off guard at first, it was just not sitting well with me. This is a freaking conclusion song and they threw it right before "Bell Boy" started to play, before the scene where Jimmy sees his idol working at a hotel as a bell boy. The song playing in the background saved me from a rant when I was watching it with a friend, but ya know, it was just the worst moment to play it, like come the fuck on XD

And I have a very big BUT to Sting being in this movie. Like, this guy is a brick, he can't fucking act, he has a poker face the entire freaking time, like move a muscle on your face! XD But there also was that motif in the album that each band member had his song, "Bell Boy" being Keith's song, making the character Ace Face his character and Sting does not do well in that character. I mean, after listening to the album, knowing about it, knowing how Keith was it just doesn't add up at all. It would probably, or most definitely, look different if Keith was still alive at that time, because Pete clearly stated in one interview (if I remember correctly) that there were plans in 1978 to make the "Quadrophenia" movie and for all members of the band to be in this one, so I think Keith would automatically play as Ace Face - just like it happened with Uncle Ernie in "Tommy", BUT THAT LATER - and the interpretation of the character would be accurate with the source material. This is what ticks me off personally a little bit, but like I have no right to blame anyone and I won't.

Overall the entire movie could be much worse, I'm kind of happy with what I saw. So now… Moving to "Tommy"…

I'll be honest with you, I've watched the movie first, then listened to the original album and while I like the original score much more, I can't say a bad word about the musical. It's sometimes weird, fucked up, scenes are very long, they made me uncomfortable due to the fact how Tommy is treated - I literally feel so sorry for him the entire time, I almost hate every character in this one - besides two, Tommy and one more, but that later, and God, how happy I was at the very end! This musical makes a nice loop actually and I won't spoil it for you, but like, remember the opening scene on a mountain when you'll watch it, just remember it <3

Some songs are changed, like very changed, I love some changes, I hate some, but like, all of them fit the artists in the musical, so that's good. I don't have to like everything, but like this musical did something. I actually told myself at the beginning of the last year when I've dropped out of anime and all the fictional worlds for good that I won't fall for a fictional character. I meant it only for animated guys, the ones in games - you know, a bunch of lines/pixels - but I didn't think about actors and characters they are playing. I started watching movies very recently, actually enjoying them more and more and this movie, this freaking musical made me break the promise. Uncle fucking Ernie stepped into my life and I was a goner! LET ME EXPLAIN!

I knew, I was aware that Keith plays in this movie. My freaking bestie send me some gifs of him from this musical on Discord and even then I was like "This is probably from "Tommy", I bet my ass it is" and I was right. I know what character Uncle Ernie is, but like my bestie said "You always liked the worst, it doesn't surprise me anymore" and that's kind of typical for me. But this had five stages actually.

First being the scene where he showed up for the first time in that small window of his. I leaned in the direction of the tv, this scene was pretty dark and it was a bright afternoon and I was like: "That's Keith, isn't it?" not being sure 100%, but I was excited. Second, then came the scene where "Fiddle About" is playing. And I swear it to you, I fucking swear it to you, I've never was laughing and feeling embarrassed to the point of blushing and curling on my bed ever in my entire life. Not gonna spoil this beauty, but this musical and Uncle Ernie destroyed the word "fiddle" for me XD Third being that one tiny scene where Tommy is famous already and Uncle Ernie has a cameo there. He is somehow changed, the outfit and general look, vibe totally the same, creepy older guy, but like… The fact that I thought: "Oh… You look good…" should be a big red flag for me, but I carried on. Bring in the fourth stage where "Tommy's Holiday Camp" plays. Uncle Ernie is totally changed in this one, probably trying to look friendly and that made me say out loud: "Oh fuck, now you look hot" and that just started a wave of things. Fifth stage being a few days after the movie, having a conversation with myself that went like this: "You remember Tommy, right?" "Yep" "Remember Uncle Ernie?" "How could I forget?" "You would let him fuck you, wouldn't you?" "…" "…" "Yes…" And that brought up this post, which is still a big state of my mind, ESPECIALLY during horny days and it also brought up a big au where I've made a self-insert in this musical, went for a uncle-niece trope and actually worked on it so hard to make everything work as I wanted, that I'm proud of this personal fuckery I've made. In conclusion, I love this fucker and that's that <3 (Hmhm, I will watch "Tommy" at my horny days with friends, this will end well)

Also, a fun fact! I vaguely remember that I've watched this movie when I was tiny, I could be 3 back then, but I remember two scenes from it. The one when it's shown how Nora is disgusted by Tommy when he's already famous and she's sitting in that white house of theirs, all rich. I remember this scene because it's just turns weirder and weirder, but no spoilers for you ;3 And the one where "Tommy's Holiday Camp" starts, Keith as Uncle Ernie having his second 5 seconds of glory. Just a random fact <3

Why is Keith Moon your favourite? (I know you love drummers😏 but I’d like to know what makes you love Keith so much)

…Oh My God, this will get emotional…

Okay, first of all! Keith is the guy who started my obsession with drumming. He set the ideal type of drumming style that I love, with those short intros to CSI. Sure, I could forget about him in those longer breaks between encountering The Who once in a while, but unconsciously I always knew what I was searching in drumming. That would actually explain why I was always bored when I heard the drums going in one rhythm, without any changes in songs. I just had a type, thanks to who I've discovered in the last year.

Second would be his personality. I still don't know a lot about him - still hunting for a book about him! - but from what I know, knowing what flaws he had, how he acted around people, just the tiny details I could catch here and there, watching documentaries, especially that one that made me hysterical at the very end… I don't know, I just got so attached to him in such a short span that it's insane. One week I was cautious about him, knowing how much he drunk, how much drugs he took. Second week I started getting attached, just to fall in love with him in the third week. Sure, that one documentary had a lot to do with it - it was talking mainly about his last day of life and talking about his life in short, but what was okay was the fact that his girlfriend was in it, talking about him as well - and you know, I learned a lot at that day, the fact how he died bringing the previously mentioned hysteria and I just… It was the day that started the rest of the reasons of why I like him so much. It just kicked everything in.

So third reason that appeared at the same day would be the fact that I saw a mirror image of my dad in him. And I'm not joking here. Mostly in the behavior and addictions. My dad's a tame version of Moon in those two aspects, except drugs luckily, but like, seeing how Keith died and knowing damn well that he and my dad had the same drinking addiction and knowing how bad it was with dad - alcohol was slowly killing him, it was slowly destroying my family - I saw in that moment that if not one accident that happened and if not my mom's constant fight for dad to stop drinking, my dad would end the fucking same as Keith. And like, I think my mind made that connection, caused a hysteria, understood the tragedy and I think I started to feel sorry for Keith to the point of the insanity that is now.

Which also brings us to the fact that I started seeing a handsome guy in him. No matter the age, I just see a handsome, exactly my type of a guy. And like I know I sound insane, but for the entire life I felt like I was searching for something. This feeling only getting stronger two years ago when I got interested in music, started listening to older bands and you know. I've jumped from The Doors to The Beatles, from The Beatles to Led Zeppelin, from Led Zeppelin to Deep Purple just to jump from Deep Purple to The Who, this day making the feeling of searching disappear. Like, I've found Keith, that's all I apparently wanted. Keith is a special guy to me and I can't help it but love him to the point that I decided if I don't have a boyfriend now, he'll get the entire love I can offer, even if it's only in form of fics or scenarios in my head.

And like, something else happened as well. I sometimes have strange dreams where I can see the dead ones and I had one like that with Keith. I can't tell you what exactly happened there, because I don't remember, but like, one fragment remains: I was sitting with him on a white floor (it's always a white space) across in close proximity. We were talking about something, dunno what, but Keith was so happy. He was actually beaming with happiness, making me laugh with something he said and from here I only know that he got closer to me, but what did he do? I have no idea, yet I felt tingly all over my body the entire day. I feel tingly when I think back to that dream, but like, that happiness of his was so real. And this dream happened a day after I heard "Love Ain't For Keeping", day before I've listened to "Who's Next". And funny thing, after I listened to the album, I heard in my mind: "Finally back at home". Just a thought crossing my mind randomly. I can't explain that as well.

But the attachment grew to the point of how it is now. I don't know, I just feel like at home with him around. Even if he's just in the music, he's still around and even the thought of that brings a smile on my face. Also a lot, and I mean A LOT of The Who's lyrics makes me think about him, bringing in the slight urge of taking care of him. "Love Is Coming Down" is probably the best example for that, but like the scattered fragments of beautiful poetry I've mentioned earlier… I was talking about the fragments that always makes me think of him. And sure, yeah, I ship myself with him just for fun, to make most of my loneliness go away, but like I do feel a strong connection to him. I don't know if it's a soulmate thing, if it's attachment, if it's just a simple human sympathy or if it's just a woman's lonely heart going insane, because it thinks that it found the second half, but like… Keith is special for me for all of those reasons and I think I could find many more, but those are the most important ones.

I feel like a piece of me that should be in the place finally got in and I'm happy with that <3

Some people like to compare The Who with Led Zeppelin to the point they say The Who is way much better than Led Zeppelin. I’ve heard they say that Who’s Next is better than Led Zeppelin IV. I think they’re both good bands with great musicians but I don’t think I’ve heard The Who enough to form a solid opinion on who’s the better band so I’d like to know your opinion since you listen to both bands.

Oh God, I've never compared them. I mean, okay, I did two times. Once because I wanted to decide who's got his ass on the first place of favorite drummers - this was a hell! - and second while answering on one of your questions, but now that I think about it…

It's still difficult to choose, because both are great bands and their style is completely different in everything: bass, drums, lyrics, vocals, guitar, everything. And I know that people love to compare, I don't do that, unless I have to decide on the ranking, but that's like personal thing.

I would say who is better depends on the music taste, because some will love The Who, hate Led Zeppelin and the other way around (my dad hates The Who, loves Led Zeppelin) and honestly if I was asked about that, like I am now, I would have to compare them depending on my taste, so I would have to do the same as I did a few months ago to make it clear who's on the first place on my long long LONG list of drummers. Album comparison doesn't make sense for me, because you can clearly hear that "Led Zeppelin IV" has a totally different vibe than "Who's Next", but then it's also a matter of music taste and if there's no skips on album.

But if it comes to solely my opinion, so coming back to the struggle on who's better, John Bonham or Keith Moon, I'm gonna say that Keith is slightly better than John and that makes The Who automatically be better than Led Zeppelin for me. But again, slightly. It's such a small difference that they could be both on the first place if I didn't want a clear answer.

Then again, it's a funny situation, the comparison of drummers. I remember saying at August that if I ever find a better drummer than John Bonham that'll be a miracle. I shouldn't have said that, you know? XD

And for the last question: If you could go back in time, which The Who concert would you like to attend and why

Ack, fuck, I only watched two of them XD But there are two, most definitely!

The one from Charlton from 1974, the last one I've watched and the second. It was a good concert really, Keith was incredible - and they played "Bell Boy", I would pay everything to be there and hear him sing!

And the one concert I didn't watch and just had to search where it was and what year it was, it's the one from Kilburn from 1977. I only saw one fragment of it, one song, but like, if Keith was acting like a bastard who wanted to piss everyone off the entire time, sign me the fuck up! Plus, it's the concert where he wears this costume - it's mainly purple and white, all sparkly!

I love it! I even specifically searched for this photo to get it on my facebook header - yes, Moonie is even there! - because I wanted this specific Keith, from this specific time and in this specific outfit! I just love him in this one. Fuck I need to watch this concert one day XD

And please, the only thing I've recently discovered was a fragment of an interview, when Keith was talking about how he destroyed every room below his one in a hotel by making the waterbed break, water destroying the floors and ceilings while he was sitting on in his chair, looking like: "Well, that happened" as if he didn't expect it would break XD I love this idiot so much, I can't fucking express it properly XD Oh come on, they weren't silly, I had a blast with them! Oh, your revenge you say… Well then mischievous grin Expect to receive something soonish ;3 (Love you too, take care! <3)

[windsweptinred]

Fandom love but make it Cillian Murphy: what’s his best role and why?

His BEST role?? Uff, would you accept a dissertation on the matter? To be handed in in a years time. With the conclusion being why I believe it should be Destiny of the Endless? Seriously, he's got the cheekbones and the eyes to be Toms big brother.. And the voice and the aura... But anywho, enough on my fan casting. 😅

But yes, his best role 🤔. I think I'll have to come at this from a 'My personal favorites' point of view or I will actually be answering you with an essay!

Obviously, let's get this out the way. He was phenomenonal in Oppenheimer and deserves every bit of acclaim he gets for it.

I will forever love him in the Dark Knight Trilogy. Was it the acting prefromance of his life? No. I think in one movie he only has a few lines. 😅 But I love Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow, I have ever since the 90s Batman cartoon. He's my favourite Batman Rogue. I went into Batman Begins excited for Scarecrow... And came out having met Cillian and those supernatural blue eyes of his. And have been in love ever since. 😅 So yes, the Dark Knight trilogy will always hold a special place in my heart.

I actually have a real soft spot for him in Red Eye and Red Lights. Red Lights for the premise, Red Eye because Jackson Rippner... (Jackson Rippner, subtle 🤣) is a charasmatic little dick.

Tommy Shelby from Peaky Blinders has to reign supreme. The fact that Cillian is able to portray a man of so many contrasts, loving yet glacial, strong yet shattered, dark yet light. And make the character feel so REAL. There's just something he manges to craft with Tommy, this almost inhuman man, who at the same time is loved as an everyman. Able to appeal to so many. I think Tommy is one of those characters Cillian will always be associated with, and with good reason.

There's some of Cillian's work I have yet to see. But those for now have to be some of my favorites. How about you @tickldpnk8?

[petrichor-idyllic]

Hi! I was wondering if I could get a Brenda x Fem!Reader where Brenda is sort of the Reader’s gay awakening and the boys all tease the Reader about her crush on Brenda?? All when they first meet her please. Love you! Hope you’re doing well 🥰🥰

YESSSS FINALLYYYYYY.

Brenda is easily my second favourite character. I feel like my favourite is obvious at this point. Ik people hate on her in the books (and love her in the films) but I think she was an interesting character.

Definitely a crush of mine so I'm happy to actually write for her.

Though, this one is a bit shorter because writing dialogue from the movies for every single fic is seriously starting to slow me down lol- I'm doing this bad boy from memory. And since this is a simpler idea that takes place in a short space of time- less words, yanno. Hope y'all understand.

AWAKENING

MASTERLIST | BRENDA MASTERLIST

SUMMARY: See above. Movie based fic.

WARNINGS: Inappropriate language, the Scorch, no actual romance because the prompt is all about teasing and you being a disaster gay, mention of Newtmas because even if Tommy doesn't see Newt that way- it's pretty much canon that Newt had a thing for Thomas. WICKED being WCKD because movie.

The boys were thrilled when a girl showed up in the Glade. They thought that they'd finally have a shot at flirting and maybe even get somewhere with it.

Luckily, Alby was there to shut that down real fast.

And you took no interest in any of them.

You liked them plenty enough. Minho's protective and funny. Newt's realistic. Frypan is a good cook and keeps spirits up. Thomas is brave. Teresa is... there.

Teresa. That's an interesting one. She's pretty by any means, but you never really liked her. She distracted Thomas and clearly has different views to the rest of you- which became obvious when you escaped WCKD into the Scorch.

Dealing with Cranks and losing Winston was a tough blow. And now you have Aris, who is quiet but smart and a useful addition to the group.

So when you broke into a factory to escape a lightning storm (where Minho nearly died), you face a bunch of chained up Cranks.

The next thirty seconds or so are pure chaos of unbridled screaming and fumbling of lights.

"I see you've met our guard dogs," an unfamiliar voice says, the grinding of a door startling you all as you back into a huddle.

The girl has short hair and casual clothes, not that much different to the ones you used to wear in the Maze. Minho yanks you behind him.

"Stay back!" He shouts, but the girl weaves through the infected, seemingly completely unfazed as she reaches you.

"You guys look like shit," she scoffs, smirking. You stand on your tip-toes, peaking over Minho, your heart skips a beat when she makes eye contact with you.

Her smirk grows and he eyes flicker before she turns around.

"Come on, follow me." She pauses, looking over her shoulder. "Unless you wanna stay here with them."

Thomas takes the lead, as per usual, and you all cautiously follow, desperately trying to avoid the walking corpses.

She tells you all her name and monologues about the factory and some guy called Jorge without even looking back at you guys.

"No one's come out of the Scorch in a long time- you've got him curious." She looks back, making eye contact with you. "Me too."

You feel warm, looking away and stumbling slightly over a rise in the floorboards, which leads Newt to having to catch you.

It's awkward as you walk into a large office room, a man looms over a desk as Brenda gets his attention. He turns and starts speaking, but you can't seem to focus as Brenda takes a seat a few feet away from you.

You've never been attracted to anyone before, but as Thomas talks to Jorge, your gaze is locked in the girl sitting on the sofa.

She's confident, sarcastic and seemingly playful, whilst also completely remaining in control.

She notices you staring, smirking at you and looking you up and down. You immediately look away, your face burning, eyes cast at the ground.

Oh God.

She's hot.

Are you... gay?

You'd never considered it before, especially when Teresa came up and you didn't feel anything for her. But I guess she just wasn't your type.

Your type is apparently sarcastic street rats who could probably kill you with their bare hands.

Figures.

Though, you probably should've figured it out when you spent the only life as you remember surrounded by boys and didn't fancy a single one.

Is this the gay panic Newt spoke about when Thomas appeared?

You look at Newt, who is already looking at you, squinting. He looks between you and Brenda before grinning.

And that's when you all get grabbed.

Brenda stands up, grabbing the back of Thomas' neck and scanning it. Brenda's face drops as she stares at the machine.

She looks at you, guilt crossing her face for a second.

And then you get tied up.

Hanging from the ceiling as you all desperately squirm, shouting at Minho to shut his mouth as he makes relentless sarcastic comments, which just further dampens your mood.

"Yanno, (Y/N)," Newt snickers, "I don't think I'm a fan of your new girlfriend."

"Huh?" About four different people respond.

"Shut up, Newt- now is not the time," you try and pull yourself up, fiddling with the restraints keeping you air-born. But it's no use.

"Yeah, well, it's not like we have anything bloody better to talk about."

"The shuck's he on about?" Minho grumbles.

"Nothing." You dramatically cross your arms, which is actually quite a comedic sight since you're upside down.

"She has a crush on our kidnapper."

"What?"

"What?"

"Come again?"

They all look at you- well, they attempt to. Frypan is unvoluntarily slowly spinning.

"I don't! Newt's just... bored?" That's the best you could come up with

"Bored?" He barks a laugh. "You were totally checking her out, shank."

"I wasn't!"

"You were."

"I was not!"

"You absolutely were."

"She is pretty cute," Thomas says, and you inwardly cringe, not wanting to seeing Newt or Teresa's reaction to that one.

"Yanno," Minho says, "that makes way more sense. You like shuckin' girls; I knew it wasn't me."

"Shut up, Minho," at least three of you say.

"So, how exactly are we gonna get out here so (Y/N) can get herself a girlfriend?" Minho continues.

"(Y/N)'s girlfriend is the reason we're tied up," Frypan corrects.

"Can we please not call Brenda my girlfriend?"

"Too late."

"For shuck's sake."

That's when Jorge returns, asking questions about the Right Arm and nearly sending you plummeting into the abyss below.

So, you come up with a plan to escape.

"Minho, put your back into it, dammit!" You shout as he tries to push Teresa.

"I'm- Shuck! I'm tryin'!"

It's actually disastrous.

How you all managed to get out of the Maze alive is an absolute mystery to you.

Somehow, miraculously, you manage to force Teresa onto the platform surrounding you. And then Janson's whiney voice comes through a loud speaker.

So, it becomes a mad rush to escape.

Which then goes terribly when one of Jorge's men attacks you.

Thomas manages to hold his own, but when the man gets his gun back, you're on the verge of accepting defeat.

It's been a long day.

That's when a gunshot rings out and the guy's body hits the floor. You all look up to find Brenda standing there, gun in hand.

She looks directly at you. "You okay?"

You feel small and fuzzy under her gaze. You're starting to understand all the fuss the Gladers had about women.

You nod, stiffly and awkwardly.

"Okay, come on, we gotta move." She waves you all towards her, and it takes you all a second but you follow.

"Hey, maybe your girlfriend isn't so bad after all," Minho jokes as he slips past you, taking the lead.

"Shuck off, Minho- she's not my girlfriend," you whisper-yell as you storm after him.

"Yeah, a girl can only dream, right?"

This was pretty fun to write, but sorry for no actual romance, unfortunately after this there's a dramatic group split and then nothing really slows down until the end of the film and I simply could not bring myself to do another entire movie piece. So, just a fun little unserious one-shot.

I hope this is satisfactory for now, aha.

And I hope you enjoyed :))

[firefighterkinard]

Tommy's favourite movie being Love Actually and his immediate suggestion being The Wedding Singer, oh he is absolutely a rom-com man.

[kananjarus]

get to know me 🌻

tagged by @daydreamey thank youuuu

do you make your bed?

not all the time tbh

what’s your favourite number?

7, 23, and 48

what is your job?

park ranger of administration. but soon I'll just be a standard park ranger that actually gets to go outside instead of being stuck inside of an office every day :)

If you could go back to school would you?

absolutely. I would be a full time student if I got paid for it. there's so much in this world to learn, like literally an infinite amount of knowledge out there. I want to collect degrees like pokemon cards

can you parallel park?

yeah!

a job you had that would surprise people?

I guess working in yosemite natl park. the best job I had there was working as one of the raft attendants but ppl like hearing I worked at the pizza deck when my summer job ended. that's where most of the climbers hung out when they weren't at camp 4 and I remember taking tommy caldwell's pizza order a few times lmao. he's a pretty chill dude

do you think aliens are real?

yes, but it always annoys me when they are depicted as overly anthropomorphic. like, in this universe of billions and billions of stars, you're going to tell me this alien has a human face? where's the logic? the imagination???

can you drive a manual car?

no but I would love to learn!

what’s your guilty pleasure?

everyone rags on people who play fortnite because I guess its meant for 12 year old boys and its cringe but I love the fuck out of that game. yes it is ridiculous but it's one of the few games I'm actually good at 

tattoos?

I have a small one on my shoulder but I've been meaning to get more

favourite colour?

🩵💙🩵

favourite type of music?

I'll listen to anything but lately I've been into more edm / house stuff like freg again, goth babe, and cd ghost. but also. chappell roan. I'm BLOWN AWAY by her

do you like puzzles?

sometimes lol

any phobias?

heights. also cockroaches

favourite childhood sport?

swimming! I miss it all the time but rec center memberships are pricey

do you talk to yourself?

all the time

what movie(s) do you adore?

oh goodness. most star wars films. interstellar. the old guard. lord of the rings. ever after. practical magic. I'm having one of those moments when I forget every movie I've ever watched and loved uh.......fury road

coffee or tea?

coffeeee

first thing you wanted to be growing up?

I think it was an archaeologist? I have the degree, I hope I get there someday 🙂

tagging: @rogerzsteven @spaceprincessem @eddiebabygirldiaz @mellaithwen @buckttommy @i-had-bucky

[albonoooo]

what is your comfort media? like a book, show, movie, a race ect. (ps, i liked ur suggestions too!!)

amazing question, i've got a whole list anon!! i'll try to sort this into categories so it doesn't get too chaotic.

movies

die wilden hühner (trilogy). i have seen these films countless times, i've laughed and cried at them countless times and they make me immeasurably happy. i rewatch them at least once a year. i can't put into words how much i love them. (the third one lacks a little bit of the magic of the first two, but it's still amazing.)

vorstadtkrokodile (trilogy). a very close second, i saw them for the first time in primary school and have rewatched them many times since. the theme song used to make me feel invincible and hannes was one of my first ever crushes (i think i already said this in a tag game some time ago). (the first one is definitely the best!! the third one especially kinda doesn't have the same feeling to it, but i still love them all.)

sherlock holmes movies (the ones with rdj and jude law). something about them just tickles my brain right and i could watch them on a loop.

shows

deadliest catch (reality tv). there's nothing inherently comforting about it, quite the opposite actually, but i was obsessed with this show as a kid and if i had the opportunity now, i'd still be watching it all the time. it's so fascinating to me and just the right amount of engaging to not be overwhelmed, but also not get bored. that being said, as with all things, i did get very attached to the people in the show and cried several times over the course of it when some of them passed away.

books

the gemstone trilogy by kerstin gier. my most reread books by a country mile. are they perfect? no. are they perfect to me? yes. i gobbled these up the first time around and they're my go-to remedy for a reading slump. the only thing i don't like is the ending 💀 there is a movie trilogy that was made based on the books and they rewrote the ending, but it's still bad lol. (the second book, sapphire blue, is my favourite out of the three!)

youtube videos

the man, the myth, the legend, mike's mic. specifically, his appropriately unhinged recap of pretty little liars. top tier rewatch material. he's hilarious and i could listen to him speak for hours. have i ever watched pll? no. everything i know about it, i've learned from mister microphone and i'd like to keep it that way.

this performance of swan lake. i don't know anything about ballet and i'm not really that interested in it, but something about this is so soothing and relaxing to me. and, obviously, the music fucking slaps. tchaikovsky really ate with this.

honourable mentions

carlos sainz's interview on the 'p1 with matt & tommy' podcast has helped me fall asleep more times than i'll ever admit.

yakari was probably my favourite show as a child. it's been many years since i've last watched it and it would possibly bore or even annoy me now since it's tailored to small kids, but i can still recite a worrying amounts of episodes' content by memory.

from the bottom of my heart, i am sorry this got so long lmao. thanks for the ask, this was a really fun one!!

[dickarchivist]

I'LL COME BACK WITH A BETTER QUESTION (hopefully) BUT before I forget 🤣

This is a question for any and all that are willing to answer 👀

What...?!

Is their favourite Ghibli movie????

and do they wanna snuggle up and watch it with me? 🤣

I love Ghibli and I thought it was a cute thing to ask (｡>//﹏//<｡) (maybe I'll think of something more adult and spicy next time)

okay bye bye 😘💜💜💜

Ghost: oh! This one is rather easy, it's-

Phantom, excitedly: HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE!! That's the best one! It's the best!

Wraith: Athena and I like-

Phantom: it's got everything! Magic, action, A DOG!! And Howl????? He's me! Cool, suave, capable, gets all the ladies~

Banshee, rolling his eyes, smiling at his brother: Insecure, obnoxious, has too much stuff, has a hard time being genuine. I like Totoro the best, by the way.

Phantom: okay big guy but the way Howl turns into a B--

Specter, covering Phantom's mouth: shut up, you've said enough. We get it, you have a hard on for Howl's Moving Castle. Castle in the Sky is my favorite.

Dax'Malkin: I like Kiki's Delivery Service. It's a good reminder that taking breaks can actually improve your work. You cannot serve from an empty vessel after all.

Athena, loudly: WRAITH AND I LIKE PONYO!!!! Ugh! Tommy you're so rude sometimes!

Ghost: ... I like The Cat Returns, if anyone is still listening.

Stone: No one listens to you, Ghostie Boy. I'm a fan of Grave of The Fireflies.

[aringofsalt]

ok. i'm rewatching 911 and am in season 2 currently SO for reasons (aka i'm writing and why would i actually write the story when i can do weird research stuff instead). tommy timeline thoughts.

lou was 33-34 in 2018 when season 2 was being filmed/aired, portraying tommy in 2010 (hen begins) and 2005 (chimney begins). assuming the show is mostly present day at this point (lol) that would put tommy (if he was lou's age at the start) between 47-52 now. i guess with some fudging he could be like anywhere in the 42-50 range but any younger than that and his backstory wouldn't really make sense if he was in the 118 by 2005, had presumably gone through training, been at the firehouse for a while, and been in the army prior to all that. i think. i don't know how long "being in the army" takes.

ALSO facts i've picked back up on so far that i will probably want to reference at some point

chimney begins (2005) they reference tommy having a girlfriend (gerrard going "so when's your girlfriend coming to make us dinner" or something similar). also his favourite movie is love actually which i have never seen but it's adorable that he likes romcoms

hen begins (2010) they have the conversation about twilight and that other guy makes the joke about tommy being "team jacob" and he reacts with the jokey kiss instead of being weird about it. i am trying SO HARD not to read into the way he pauses for a second before reacting because there's no way they had this planned back then 😂

i haven't gotten back up to bobby begins again but that's when he leaves the 118, will add to this when i get there

broken (2019) he's with the 217 and chim calls him to bring the water plane to the cul de sac that exploded

some time in the middle here he's moving to lafd air ops

2024 he comes to help with the hurricane

[hookechoes]

🥤🍄 🧸📚 ❄️ 🦴 <3

🥤 ⇢ recommend an author or fanfic you love

Damn, okay, this one's beatle fandom specific, but Widow by abromeds is one of those fics that I've read so many times and love so deeply that I have, more than once, accidentally cribbed a phrase or sentence from it in my own writing.

🍄 ⇢ share a head canon for one of your favourite ships or pairings

We've talked about this privately but one of my favourite little pet headcanons about the Shelbys growing up is that when they had to sleep all curled up and smushed together on the floor of the January, little Ada would curl up behind Tommy and wrap her arm around him big spoon style and he would feel very comforted and safe and protected, despite her being half his size and years younger.

🧸 ⇢ what's the fastest way to become your mutual?

Talk to me in replies/DMs/asks. If we have some fandom in common and you tag your posts, I'll probably follow back lol

📚 ⇢ what's the last thing you wrote down in your notes app? 

My grocery list for today lol. But that's not interesting, so the latest actual non-list thing I wrote in the notes app was a little criminal minds minific from JJ's perspective when she and Hotch were deciding to keep Emily's survival a secret.

❄️ ⇢ what's your dream theme/plot for a fic, and who would write it best?

Someone give me SOMETHING pre-war tommyada centric I literally don't care who

🦴 ⇢ is there a piece of media that inspires your writing?

They all kind of do, with varying degrees of efficacy. Any show or movie that implies a past incident but doesn't particularly elaborate on it is like a gateway to paradise for me, so Peaky Blinders in particular is really rich in that way (we don't talk about the fact that I haven't actually published any PB fanfic)