#well hello. I wasn’t plan to talk about the episode but here we are

[artist-heart83]

Hold on I just realized something about the new chapter of Helluva Boss and I didn’t until I read some posts

ISNT FIZZAROLLI A SEX ICON OR SOME SHIT LIKE THAT?! WHAT WAS THAT KID DOING THERE, I- WHAT??

Vivzie let get me understand this shit. You made a deaf character, who was a kid, and say kid was fan of Fizz, but as far as I know, that fucking show wasn’t kid friendly at all and either is Fizz because somehow people? imps? who want to fuck him and that guy had tons of sexual merch

Wtf is this shit??? Man this lady definitely doesn’t know what she is doing, not wonder why the scene was controversial (obviously not by this reason, but get my point, something wrong was there)

[bobbin-buckley]

Hello, can I request Jinx x reader? Jinx fucking her girlfriend roughly with a strap-on after the reader got her excited with teasing and ran away from her just to piss her off.

oh god I really want to read this 🔥

Little Miss Tease

Jinx x Fem!Reader

Summary: You think teasing and running from Jinx is such a great idea, especially after you promised to let her use the new strap but one thing leads to another and your getting railed

Warnings: Smut, strap-on usage (R receiving), teasing, degrading, edging, slapping, thigh riding, orgasm denial, some smut under the cut

Requested

𒀯~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~𒀭𒀮

“This is what you get for teasing me Toots.”

Jinx presses her body flush against yours, hands gripping your hips as she guides you on her strap. Her nails digging into your hips, lips on your neck and marking you as hers.

Yes. That’s where you’re at right now. How did you get in this situation? Well let me tell you

Earlier that day, you and Jinx were heading to The Last Drop to visit. Well what Jinx didn’t tell you was she actually dragged you for a party.

This surprised you a bit because Jinx typically didn’t go to drinking, smoking and absolute maniac parties. It stressed her out sometimes, but she was feeling it for some reason that time.

“J-Jinx, are you sure about this?” You’d ask, even before entering the bar you could just see the lights flashing inside and loud music going on, the guards outside weren’t really paying any attention.

“It’ll be fine Toots. I’m just trying something different.” You wouldn’t deny those eyes, she can be pretty convincing and you hate that you give in so easily.

When you gave in she smiled and dragged you inside by the busy and distracted guards that were playing cards. Once entering you saw everyone dancing to the music crazily, drinking, smoking and some people making out in the corner.

That was your evening, nearly getting drunk and almost getting sold drugs. Jinx doesn’t drink, she had asked the bartender for juice. That’s always been the cute thing about her. You’re glad she doesn’t drink like you do.

At one point during the party she caught you playing cards with some weirdo, she thought for sure you were drunk but to a surprise you weren’t. You said you knew the guy, and he gave you a bunch of coins when you won twice.

She then pulled you away, and you both continued your evening mainly upstairs in Silco’s old office. The mood definitely changed when she entered that room, you knew it made her feel extremely upset about his death.

You knew the guy, a little anyway. Jinx introduced you to him once you both got together, he wasn’t fond of you let’s just say.

For awhile she was sitting on the desk and spinning the chair Silco used to sit in with her foot, and was talking to ‘him’ and trying to convince herself he wasn’t dead.

You didn’t intervene at all, knowing that would cause some anger in her. Every time she would be talking to herself you let her be alone, you know her too well that she’ll probably have another episode and you don’t want to see that. She’s been better.

Anyways, after you could tell she was relaxing a bit, you went up to her from behind and thought maybe some teasing could distract her. Beginning with her neck you kissed it all around, making her breath hitch.

“..Wh-what’re you doing?” She asked, making you smirk at her stutter.

“Nothin’ baby,” you continued kissing her neck and jaw, behind her ear.

For a bit she let you please her with kisses, but once you pulled away she turned to you asking why you stopped.

“No reason baby let’s go home,” you turned to leave but she grabbed your hips and turned you over to the desk.

She huffed and suddenly pinned you to the desk with her hands. Her crotch pressed against your ass, you gasped when you felt the bulge in her pants. She was wearing her strap the entire time? Did she plan this?

“You’re staying here. And when I’m done with you we can head home…and have more fun.” She chuckled, her hands let go of you and she moved to sit in Silco’s chair.

“Take off your clothes baby, then come here.” You obeyed to her commands and took off your clothes as she requested, you knew if you didn’t listen she’d be rougher with you and rip your clothes off herself.

“That’s a good girl,” she teased. Using her finger to signal you over, “so..Little Miss Tease here thinks she can leave me hanging. I don’t think so, princess.”

Jinx pulled you onto her lap with her hands on your hips, she placed her thigh between your legs. You felt your core becoming super hot and wet, just begging to be fucked at the moment.

“What makes you think that huh? I want you to tell me.” She tilted your chin up, admiring your neck and the tattoo you had recently got on the side. (Decide whatever it is)

You jolted when she pressed her thigh against your core, she could feel your wetness. “Cmon…tell me darling..”

She watched you bite your lip which made her smirk at your nervousness. “I-I just wanted to have some fun..” you spoke finally.

“Fun? Well I’ll give you fun.” Jinx unbuckled her pants and tugged them down so your bare pussy was against her bare thigh. “Since you’ve been bad, I’ll have you ride my thigh. And if you’ve been good riding my thigh, making I’ll let you ride this bad boy.” She patted the hidden silicone cock that was under her boxers.

You whimpered but agreed. That made her satisfied. “Great. Start riding baby,” she grabbed your hips and guided you on her thigh, your wetness drenching her skin. “Look at that, makin’ a mess all over me Toots.”

When you moaned at her words that only sped up her motions and took the chance to degrade you. “You’re such a whore, ya know? Only teasin’ me just to get what you want. I’m surprised you didn’t get drunk enough and just beg me to fuck you in front of everyone.” She rambled, god she was hot when rambling about such a whore you are.

Her degrading words and making you ride her thigh got you closer to your high. You blabbering random words about how much of a slut you are for her, that turned her on more.

“Gonna cum?” When you nodded your head she immediately stopped you, making you whine when your orgasm was then denied.

“Whhyyyy??” “Because darling, I want you to cum over and over on my strap.”

Instead of being mad at her, you nodded and she helped you move to where her strap was in her boxers still. She pulled them down so that you could see the bright pink strap, sitting there and just ready to be ridden.

She spat on her hand and stroked the silicone dick to lube it up and then lifted her hand to your mouth. “Spit.”

You did as she said and spat onto her hand as she added your saliva to her cock. “Good girl.”

Jinx grabbed your hips and lifted you onto her dick, your pussy wrapped around her fake cock. “There you go baby, nice and easy.” You moaned when she penetrated you, she let you adjust first though.

Once you were ready she guided your hips back and fourth, helping you ride her as she began kissing your neck.

A slap was suddenly hit to your flush ass, making you gasp and grip her shoulders tighter.

“This is what you get for teasing me Toots.”

Now you’re in the situation. See what you get for being such a tease for the entire evening?

She had you bounce on her now, and bucked her hips up into you. “That’s it, take it baby.” She slapped your ass again.

You cried at the slaps and mean comments, but secretly you enjoyed it.

“Such a slut, take my cock whore.” Jinx grabbed your neck and squeezed it a bit, not too much to hurt you of course.

“Gonna cum darling?” She asks after a bit of just edging you, she felt a bit bad for making you hold back your orgasms. “Cum baby.”

At her command you came apart on her silicone dick, your liquids dripping down the base to her thighs.

“Did so good for me Toots,” she picked you up but with the dick still inside you and laid you on the table. “Ready for more?”

“Yes mamas…”

[samandcolbyownme]

ZACH

okay girlie I've got a juicy one here so cute fluff into fucking filthy smut.

So basically Zach invites you onto the podcast (Jared is the only other person there and maybe Skylar idk anyway) and throughout you two are just flirting with eachother and you eventually go and sit on the couch next to Zach and he places his hand on your thigh and like stares into your eyes anyway I digress when the podcast is finished all of you go out for drinks and both you and Zach end up getting really drunk and end up getting a taxi back to your place and well you know and then after you two are just snuggly and it turns into cute fluff again

LOVE YOU POOKIE 🖤

Warnings: SMUT18+, strong language, friends to lovers, mentions of drinking, being drunk, heavy flirting, kissing, hair pulling, biting, scratching, hair pulling, oral (both), fingering, unprotected sex, creampie, filthy fluff

Word Count: 4.6k | unedited

I also wrote it as they walked home, no taxi, but that’s the only thing I changed. I realized after I wrote all of it.

─── ⋆⋅ ☾⋅⋆ ───

“Hello, hello, and welcome back..” Zach starts out, “..For another episode of Dropouts. Today.. oh boy, today we have the lovely, the talented, and the beautiful..” he gets closer to the mic and mumbles, “I must add..”

He leans back and you roll your eyes with a smile as he continues, “Y/n y/l/n everybody.”

Everyone there claps and you sigh, “I was wondering when you were going to text and beg to have me on.”

“I..” Zach laughs, “Listen, I did not beg, okay.”

You furrow your brows and tilt your head, “Yeah, okay. Sure.”

“Okay, I may have… what’s the word?”

“Embellished?” Jared asks with a laugh and Zach snaps, “That’s the word. I may have embellished the idea of her coming on today and guess what. It freakin’ worked so.”

“Yeah yeah.” You laugh, “what’s the plan for today?”

Zach shrugs, “You wanna meet Lady May?”

“She’s here?!” You ask, sitting up with excitement, “Fuck yeah I do. Bring her out.” You look around and Skyler stands up with her, “She’s taking her afternoon nap.” He says as he stands up to walk over to you.

“She can afternoon nap on me all she wants..” you gasp as he hands her to you, “Look at her! She is so sweet.”

“So, going back to that afternoon nap thing..” Zach says and you look over at him, completely oblivious to where this is going, “Yeah?”

He chuckles, watching you as you’re starstruck by this tiny creature, “Is that open to anyone or just..”

“Zach. Quite trying to sleep with all the guests.” Jared shoot and Zach scoffs, “I’m not trying to sleep with her I’m trying to sleep on her, god, Jared. Get your mind out of the gutter.”

You look up at Jared, laughing at him and you look at Zach, “you being both of your dogs and you might have a good chance.”

“That.. still doesn’t..” Jared sighs, “I’m just going to stop because I’m never going to get through that titanium skull you must have.”

“You get points for trying.” Zach finger guns him and sighs, “If my dog goes missing I know exactly where I’m looking first.”

“Good thing I’m smarter than you.” You smirk at Zach and he furrows his brows, “Mm, give me a second. I’m trying to figure this one out on my own.”

“Are you saying… that you won’t keep the dog at your house.” Zach points to you and you lift your hands and gently clap, “Wow, you must have been hitting the books last time I saw you.”

“You saw me last night, what are you talking about?”

“Whoooaaa.” Jared and Skyler yell at the same time, “Breaking news.” Jared laughs and Skyler scoffs, “So it wasn’t Zach just shaking hands with the milkman, alright.”

“Oh.. my god..” you close your eyes, laughing as you shake your head, “I didn’t.. need to know that, but okay.”

“I was actually in bed by eight p.m last night, alright. There was no shaking of the hands with anyone who delivers milk.”

You laugh, running your hand over the small dog laying in your lap.

“So, y/n.” Jared starts out, “I heard you got a brand deal with Huda Beauty? Going to be in some ads, huh?”

You nod, “that is correct.”

“What’s that, like makeup?” Zach asks and you nod, “Yeah, foundation, fragrances, beauty tools, all that jazz.”

“They’re going to make you play a saxophone? How cool is that!?”

You stare at Zach for a few seconds, blinking before looking at Skyler and Jared, “He amazes me with how fucking quick he is with this shit.”

“That’s just how my mind works, baby.” Zach claps his hands together, “So when does this brand deal go into effect?”

You lean in, “Hopfully next week-“

“Oh, hold on.” Jared points, “I think her mic stopped working.”

“That’s okay.” You get up, holding the dog as you maneuver around to sit next to Zach, “Does this work?”

“Oh yeah.” Zach nods and you smack his arm, “Not what I mean, but okay.” You look down at Lady and shake your head, “She’s just so cute.”

He smirks, “Yeah, I know, but do you have to be so conceited, I mean there’s an almost as cute of a dog sleeping on your lap.”

“Zach.” Skyler groans, “Would you stop flirting with the guest, you’re going to scare her away.”

Zach leans into the mic, “Um, I’m not flirting, okay. I’m just being nice to someone who just so happens to be extra gorgeous.”

You side eye him smirking as you shake your head.

The podcast continues to go good. There’s laughing, Zach being, well, Zach, and you get to talk about what’s going on with you in the next few weeks.

As Jared is talking, Zach slides his hand over, gently scratching the dog’s head, “She’s such a good puppy, isn’t she?”

You nod, “a hundred percent.”

Zach answers to Jared, but he doesn’t move his hand, he just rests it on your thigh, and honestly, it kind of turned you on.

Zach had pretty hands, which only made it harder for you to concentrate, but luckily, Lady was a good cover up for your eyes being on your lap - Zach’s hand.

Every now and then, his fingers would run up and down your jean clad leg, drawing circles and honestly, you didn’t think he knew he was doing that.

You guys were having a serious conversation, or trying to, at least, but you didn’t mind it.

Soon the podcast ended, and Zach wanted his dog back.

“No!” You whine, “I just want to cuddle her.”

“Come by later and you can have all the cuddles you want.” Zach smirks and you roll your eyes, “From you or the dog?”

“Whichever you prefer, my darling.” Zach lifts his hands and drops them back down, “No, but serious. We’re going out for drinks and we want you to come.”

“Fine.” You sigh, giving Zach back his dog, “This better be worth giving up that cute little thing for.”

“I will aggressively cuddle you to make up for it.” Zach walks up, wrapping an arm around your shoulder and you laugh, “Oh, no. That’s not-“

You laugh and shake your head, “Who’s driving?”

─── ⋆⋅ ☾⋅⋆ ───

“How’s it goin’?” Zach asks as he leans against the bar in front of you. You laugh, “It’s, uh. It’s goin’.”

“Need another drink? You can put it on my tab.” Zach waves over the bartender and motions to you. You order your drink and smile at Zach, “I think.. I’m about done.”

You laugh as Zach groans, “Oh don’t say that.”

“I’m just not.. I don’t know.” You look around, “Theres just.. a lot of people here.”

“Well, y/n. It is a Friday night and it is a public and popular place to go on said Friday night.”

You grab your glass as the bartender sets it down and you stop him, “Wait, can I get two tequila shots please?”

“Tequila? Oh girl, you’re trying to get me drunk, aren’t you?” Zach laughs and you shrug, “If I go down, I’m taking you down with me.”

“Oh no, no. That wasn’t the deal.” Zach laughs and you shrug, “it is now.”

Two shots turned into four and four turned into six.

“Holy shit.” Zach groans as he slams the last one down on the bar, “I need to get away from you.” You laugh and motion, but he shakes his head, “Correction I need to get you away from this bar.”

He grabs your hand and pulls you with him, stopping when he sees Skyler and Jared, “Hey look our people. Our good, friends, hey friends.”

Jared looks at you, “Is he drunk?”

You nod, “Yessir.”

“So is y/n. Where is she anyway?” Zach looks around before looking down at you, “Ohhhg shiiiit. There you are!”

“I never..” you laugh, “I never left.”

“Wow, that’s great, I-“ Zach walks away and Skyler laughs, “I’ll follow him.” You watch as he walks away after Zach and you shake your head, “I shouldn’t have drank so much.”

“Feeling sick?” Jared asks and you shake your head, “More like.. in my feels right now.” You laugh it off and Jared sighs, “You know what can help that?”

“What?”

Jared points behind you and you turn around to see Zach holding two bottles up and pouring them in his mouth.

“Oh..” you laugh, “No, no. He’s going to regret that.” You look at Jared, “That is so fucking funny.” You lay a hand over your mouth and follow him through the crowd over to Zach.

Zach sets the bottles down and everyone around him cheers. He looks at you and points, “Get over here.” He gives you a come here motion and you groan, laughing as you walk over to him.

He lifts the bottle up, giving you a shot straight to the mouth.

“Whoooa!” Zach cheers and he quickly gets the crowd to start chanting your name.

Everyone know who you were which made it more fun, in a way.

“Come on.” You laugh, stumbling down off small stage with Zach in your grasp trailing behind you. You turn around, “I think I’m going home.”

“What?” He sounds so sad, “Why?”

“I’m.. jus’not feelin’ it anymore.” You laugh slightly, “Im getting sad, I think I miss Lady.”

“Well, I have a solution.” Zach leans up against the wall and tilts his head, “ya wanna hear it?”

You laugh, nodding your head, “Sure, Z.”

“Maybe making out for a few minutes will help us figure things out.”

“Figure what out?” You laugh and he shrugs, “I don’t know, but it sounded good, didn’t it?” He raises his brows and you roll your eyes, “Fuck it. Why not.”

“What?” He looks shocked, “Really? I don’t think that would work.”

“Fucking kiss me before I walk aw-“

Zach cups your cheeks, his lips on yours and you drunkenly make out with each other as you lean against the wall.

Your hand slides up to grip his sweatshirt, pulling him closer, “Zach..” you mumble against his lips, “I think.. we need to.. go.”

“Go?” He pulls his head back, “Why?”

You raise your brows, smirking up at him and he gasps, “Ooohh, ohh, oh.” He nods, “Yep. Yeah, let’s..” he looks around, “They’ll figure it out.”

“Don’t you need to get your card?” You point to the bar and he groans, “Fuck, yes.” He grabs your hand, fingers interlocking with his and he pulls you with him.

He gets his card, signs the receipt in a drink scribble and you leave the bar.

“My house is just a block away. We can walk.” You point, laughing as you stumble down the street with him.

“Oooh, taking me to your house on the first date huh.” Zach looks over at you and you laugh, laying your hand on his chest, “Oh my god, that was not a first date.”

“I dunno..” he sighs, laughing, “With how much you stayed with me.. sure felt like it.”

“I was making sure you didn’t pass out and face plant, Zach. You’re not much of a drinker.” You shake your head, pulling away as you do a spin with his hand in yours above your head.

“Whoa, someone call dancing with the stars because this star, is dancing!” Zach announces as he points to you. You slap his hand down and laugh, “Will you be my partner?”

“Oh I don’t dance. I can’t to save my life.”

You step in front of him, taking his other hand, “You just.. it’s easy.. look..”

He tries, but he ends up tripping over your feet and his feet and he’s on his back looking up at you as you sit next to him on the sidewalk absolutely losing it.

“Are.. oh my god.. are you.. are you okay?” You ask as you continue to die laughing, “Fuck, Zach! I should have listened to you.”

Zach lays there laying, his one hand over his face as his other rests on your thigh. You look down, tilting your head as your laughter comes to a stop, “You have very nice hands.”

“Yeah?” He sits up, “That why you were looking at them instead of the dog in your lap during the podcast today?”

“How did you know?”

“I didn’t until just now.” He smirks, slowly standing up before pulling you to your feet, “But you didn’t push it away so I figured you had some sort or liking for it.”

“You’re annoying when you’re drunk.” You roll your eyes, walking away from him and he chases after you, “Yeah? Is that because you know I’m right?”

“Shut up.” You laugh, smiling up at him as you gently push him away.

“Where the hell is your house, y/n. Feels like we’ve been walking and falling forever.”

You start to laugh again, thinking about how Zach ate the pavement, “stop it that was so funny!”

“It was not!” He argues, fighting back laughter, “Okay. Okay. Maybe it was.”

You point, “my apartment is in that building.”

“My god you’re rich.” Zach shakes his head, “I’m jealous.”

“You have your own house, the fuck you mean you’re jealous.” You laugh as you walk up the steps to the door. Zach follows, “This is a lot prettier than my house.”

You roll your eyes, shaking your head as you unlock the door, “I’m on the top floor.”

“Is there an elevator, please don’t tell me we have to walk up all these steps.” Zach groans and you point, “Of course there’s an elevator, Zachary.”

“What did I tell you about calling me that?”

You furrow your brows, “That you like that I’m the only one who calls you that?”

He nods, “Yes ma’am.”

“You never said that.” You laugh as you push the elevator button, “But I’ll take it.”

Zach laughs, wrapping his arms around you, “I had fun tonight. Thanks for coming out.”

“Why do you sound like I’m dropping you off from a date?” You walk into the elevator, his arms still around you, “You came home with me.”

“Oh right I did.” He laughs and you spin around in his arms, leaning over to press the button. His arms tighten around you and you sigh, “I think we drank too much.”

“Why do you say that?” He looks down at you and you slowly look up at him, “I think I’m starting to spin.”

“Uh oh.” Zach leans back, “If you need to puke, do it away from us please.”

“I’m not going to puke.” You laugh as you step off of the elevator, “Follow me.”

He follows you down the hall and you stop to unlock the door, “Here we are.” You push the door open and walk in, “Home sweet home.”

You set your bag on the counter and Zach walks in, pushing the door closed behind him, “Woooow.” He looks around, “This place is nice.”

“Hey thanks.” You walk back the hall and turn around, “Are you coming?”

He raises his brows, “Is this the part where I get to aggressively cuddle you now?”

You scoff, laughing as you tilt your head, “Just get your ass in my bed.”

“Yes ma’am!” He salutes you with a serious look and you shake your head as you walk into your room. He walks in, kicking his shoes off as he holds himself up with his hand on the wall.

You walk over and grab a pair of shorts and a new shirt, “Im gonna change quick.” You can’t help but giggle as you watch Zach fight to not look at you, “I don’t care if you look, Zach.”

“Didn’t want to make anything weird.” He laughs as he takes off his shirt. You slip on your new clothes, “Zach, we’ve known each other for years, I don’t think anything can be weird.”

“Yeah, plus.” He kicks off his jeans and walks over to lay on the bed, “You had your tongue down my throat a few hours ago.”

You take a deep breath, nodding slowly, “That I did.” You laugh, walking over to sit next to him. He opens his arm, “C’mere.”

He lays his arm over you, pulling you back towards him.

You lay your head on his chest, your arm over his abdomen and you let out a content sigh, “Are you still drunk?”

“Uh huh.” He laughs, “Are you?”

“Uh huh.” You answer, tilting your head up to look at him, “Who was your favorite guest on the podcast?”

He laughs, “Now, I just feel obligated to say you.”

You smirk, “You can. No one’s stopping you”

“Yeah but then, mm.” He tilts his head, “Now that I think about it.. I think you’re my favorite.” You squint your eyes, “Is it because you’re sleeping here tonight?”

“Whaaaat? Nooo. No. Not at all, why would you ask that?”

You laugh, “Zachary.”

“You’re my favorite because you’re you.”

You smile, “I think you’re just saying that, but alright.”

“I’m not.” He brushes hair from your face, “You’re my favorite person.”

“Oh gosh. Okay. Now we’re getting all mushy gushy.” You scrunch up your nose, “I was already in my feelings once tonight, I don’t need to be in them again.”

“Why were you- are you good?”

You nod, “Just.. a lot of stress and shit, you know?”

He nods, “Yeah, but you know I’d drop everything for you. Hell, I asked to make out because I finally had the confidence to do it.” He laughs slightly, “Thanks alcohol.”

“I would have done it sober, Z.”

He looks shocked, “What?! Why didn’t you tell me!?”

“You never asked!” You laugh, rolling over onto your back. Zach rolls over, his face above yours, “Well, I may not be sober now, but do you wanna make out again?”

You reach up, pulling his head towards you. Your lips meet his and move in such a perfect sync.

You bite down on his lower lip, tugging slightly and he gasps lowly, “You really wanna go there?”

“I’ve been waiting to go there.”

“Oh shit.” Zach clears his throat, “Why didn’t you just say so.” He moves his body over yours and your knees rest against his hips.

He kisses down your neck and you drag your nails up his back, “Zach.” You whimper as he bites and sucks at your skin, “Fuck, I need you.”

He kisses back up, connecting his lips with you before sitting up. He works to take off your shorts and underwear as you pull your shirt up over your head and throw it.

He leans down, kisses down your chest. You pant as he takes your one nipple into his mouth and moan as he sucks, “Fuck, yes, yes.”

Your fingers lace through his hair, tugging as he gently bites down, “Fuck.”

He kisses down your torso, over to your hip and he brings a hand up. His fingers circle over your clit as his lips trail up and down your thigh.

He turns his head, his breath fanning over your needy core as his eyes lock onto you.

You stare down at him, lip pulled between your teeth.

His head dips down, tongue licking up through your folds and your back lifts from the bed, and moans escaping your lips.

You tilt your head back, the heel of your foot digging into his upper back as you whine, “That feels so good.”

His fingers and tongue switch places, causing your body to arch with pleasure as his fingers slowly slide in and out.

“F-fuck.” You gasp, your walls clenching around his fingers, “shit, shit, yes!”

Your hips roll and your fingers tug his hair. Your moans fly from your lips as he guides you through your first high.

His tongue circles your clit, flicking against it as his fingers slowly come to a stop.

You drop your hand to the bed, looking up at him with a smirk, “My turn.” You point with your thumb to the bed beside you and Zach raises his brows as he leans up, moving to lay next to you.

You push your self up, your fingers slipping into the band of his boxers. He lifts his hips as you pull them down, biting your lip when you see his cock resting against his pelvis.

You glance up at him and he smirks, flicking his brows up.

You smirk back, leaning down and situating yourself between his legs before dragging your tongue up his cock.

He gasps out, bucking his hips, “goddamn.”

You slide a hand up, wrapping it around him. Your lips attach to the head, tongue flicking and swirling around which earns low moans and groans from him.

His eyes flutter closed and his head tilts back as you start to bob your head, finding a good rhythm. His hand finds the back of your head, sliding down to brush your hair out of his view, “God, fuck.”

He bucks his hips, moaning as you work to take in as much as you can of him. Your eyes squeezing shut as you dig your nails into his thigh.

You move up a little, continuing to bob your head as he moans, “Fuck.. That’s my girl.”

You lift your head, looking at him as your tongue rests on the underside of the tip. He tilts his head, biting his lip as he takes in the imagine before him, “You are so hot.”

You smile as you lean back, crawling up to straddle him, “Says you.”

You align your lower half with his, sinking down on him with a loud moan. He pulls you forward, his arm wrapping around your waist, “you feel so fucking good.”

He moans as you lift your hips and sinking back down, moaning yourself, “You’re so big, baby.” You lick up his neck, moaning in his ear, “I feel so full.”

He moans at your words, his hands sliding to your ass to grip, guiding you up and down, “I swear..” he groans, his grip growing tighter, “You were made for me.”

“Fuck.” You groan, pushing yourself up. Your hands are planted flat against chest, nails digging into his skin as you bounce your hips fast.

Your eyes roll back and your head tilts to the side, “Fuck, fuck, yes yes.” You pant, eyes opening to look down at him.

He watches up at you, teeth sinking into his bottom lip as his fingers squeeze your hips, “That’s it, baby. Just like that.”

You keep your pace, moans growing louder by the second, “F-fuck.” You lean forward slightly, “I-I’m so..” you gasp, sinking you hips all the way before continuing to bounce them, “Fucking close!”

You lean down, your lips crashing onto it. He swallows each one of your moans, exchanging some of his own in between, “Cum, baby, cum for me.”

You moan against his lips, eyes fluttering shut as you guide yourself through your own high.

Once your hips slow down, Zach rolls you over, his own thrusts picking up where yours left off, “so pretty when you do that.” He whispers in your ear, “You’re gorgeous.”

You moan, arms wrapping around his neck, “Feels so good, Z. Feels so fucking good.”

He kisses up your jaw line, connecting his with yours, “You have me so close, baby.” You moan at his words, your legs tightening around his waist, “Need all of you, baby. Please.”

“Yeah?” He groans, his thrusts slowing down, “Tell me what you want.”

You gasp as you feel him thrust in, holding it there as your walls clench around him, “I-I, Fuck..” you whine, “Cum inside of me, baby. Please, please.”

Zach groans, kissing back down your neck as his thrusts pick up, “Feels so good.” He connect his lips with yours, your moans mixing together as his thrusts grow sloppy.

His thrusts slow down and he moans lowly, “Fuck, fuck.”

His cock twitches inside of you and you moan at the feelings, clinging to him as you feel him filling you.

You slowly make out, gasping quietly as you feel his cock slip out of you.

He rolls over and you turn your head to look at him, “ten out of ten.” He laughs and nods, “I gotta agree with you on that one.”

You smile and stand up, “That kinda sobered me up a little. I think I’m going for a shower.” You tilt your head, “Wanna come?”

“I don’t think I can do that again right now, but yeah, I’ll shower with you.”

You laugh, shaking your head, “Just.. let’s go.”

He follows you to the bathroom and you turn on the shower, stepping in once the water is hot. Zach follows you in, sliding the door closed behind you and his hands are on your hips, “Why haven’t we ever thought to do this sooner?”

You shrug, “No idea, but I kinda don’t want it to stop.”

He nods, “I can agree with you on that, too. Damn, we are on fire tonight, baby.”

You laugh, shaking your head as you reach for the shampoo.

After showering, you make your way back to the bedroom and you look at Zach, “Okay.”

“Okay .. what?” He asks as he dries off his hair and you drop your towel and climb into bed, “Now is when you can aggressively cuddle me.”

You smirk as his face lights up and he laughs, “Oh fuck yeah.” He drops his towel and gets into bed, moving over to lay right behind you.

His arm is under your head and his other is holding you close to him, “do you think there will be an outbreak of us making out in that club?”

“I’m going to die if there’s a picture of you lying on the cement.” You turn your head towards him and you both laugh.

“I’m sure there will be.” He scoffs, “I think us making out is better than me eating the sidewalks, you know?”

You nod, “Oh yeah, much hotter, but then again..” you try to hold back your giggle, “I had you on your back and that was a whole lot hotter than just kissing you.”

“Whoa, okay. Settle down, sparky. We’re cuddling.” Zach laughs, kissing the back of your head, “Mm. Your conditioner smells good.”

“Thanks.” You laugh, “I think we should try and sleep.”

“I don’t know, I like talking to you.” You can tell Zach was smiling, which only made you smile bigger, “I like talking to you, too.”

After two hours of just talking about anything and everything, you both passed out, tangled in each other’s embraces and as close together as you could possibly get.

Once you woke up, you rolled over, a relieved feeling washing over you when you realize Zach was still there.

His back was facing you, so you moved over, kissing over his shoulder which made him stir, “Hey, you’re still here.”

You laugh, “This is my house.”

He laughs and rolls over, “Just testing you, calm down.” You smirk and lean in to kiss him, “You hungry? I can make us a hangover breakfast.”

He nods, stretching his arm out, “I am, but I think it’s for something else.” He raises his brows and rolls over, “Spread’em for me, baby.”

─── ⋆⋅ ☾⋅⋆ ───

Thank you so much for reading! I love you all soooo much. My apologies, this is a lot longer than I thought it would be but I fell in love and couldn’t stop writing! Hope you enjoyed and I’ll catch you in the next one! 🖤

Likes and reblogs are majorly appreciated!

[lemotmo]

911 8x08 thoughts and freak outs!

Okay…

Well…

WOW…

OMG!!!

What do I say about this episode? 😶

Uhm…

Well, my first reaction was this: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! 🤣🤣🤣

And I mean this in a very good way! 😏

I’m just going to start with the thing that made me go AAAAAH! In the first place:

Eddie and Chris! That scene was heartbreaking and when Brad talked to ‘Edmundo’ about his estranged son it was a great moment. Eddie has started to realise he has to act NOW, because he son is growing up without him and he doesn’t want that gap to become any wider. 😭

Side-note: Fuck the Diaz parents big time! They suck! 😠

So Eddie decides to move to Texas, which is so very much the wrong thing to do. But I get why he’s considering it. The right thing to do for him would be to go to Texas, talk to Chris and telling him he needs to come home, back to LA. But I don’t think Eddie is ready for that yet. He’ll need some time to get there, but he’ll get there in the end.

Which leads me to that one scene with Buck. And OMG! In the seven years that I’ve been here, shipping Buddie, I’ve seen a lot scenes between them that suggested something more, but it was never really anything concrete… you know? 🤷‍♀️

This scene? It was like being hit over the head with a sledgehammer. Buck just walks into Eddie’s house and Eddie’s okay with that. He’s teasing him about the tablet and Eddie lets him. They know each other through and through. And Buck’s face when Eddie told him it was in El Paso? That was interesting. And of course he wants to help Eddie. It almost feels like they’re buying a house together for a moment there. But then…

Then when Buck’s sitting on the Diaz couch (yes… hello couch theory, great to see you again! 😂), his face falls and there is something there that wasn’t there before. Guys… we just witnessed the very early beginnings of Buck’s ‘OH’ moment. Eddie making plans to move will help Buck realise just how much he truly cares for Eddie. 🥲🥲🥲

So, this is it. This is THAT scene we’ve all been hoping for.

I feel unwell.

In a good way.

The Buddie-arc has officially begun. 😋🌈😁☀️

So unwell right now.

Still in a good way.

But oh… this is going to be such a good hiatus! That scene alone will inspire so many writers to write excellent fic, it will fuel us for months and ignite the fandom to speculate and theorise. It’ll be epic! 😎

I wonder if there’ll actually be a time-jump or they’ll just pick up where they left off after hiatus. 🤔

On to the rest of the episode:

Where was the Maddie storyline they talked about?

Athena’s storyline was actually nice this time. It is entirely possible that something flew over my head when it comes to her scenes as a police officer. But to my non-American eyes, it was a nice storyline. The cart cop kid was a little naive, but he was likeable I suppose. I don’t really enjoy watching people like that on YouTube, but for the show it was okay.

I unexpectedly really enjoyed the Brad storyline. Granted, him rescuing that woman and risking hurting her? That was iffy, but 911 is like HotShots in that respect, you know? We aren’t supposed to take it all ‘that’ seriously. So I can live with that scene. I love the growth in Brad and how he talked that guy from the ledge. Do we think that scene was based on the fact that Jon Bon Jovi talked someone from the ledge a couple of months ago? I think that’s where Tim got his inspiration for this.

So overall, I really enjoyed this episode and I have to admit that I didn’t really expect too much of it. But it managed to surprise me in a few ways. But mostly that Buddie-moment… it just blew my mind. 🤯

I can happily skip into hiatus now. All is right with my fictional TV-show world again.

😎😎😎

I'm off to read the post interviews now and answer some asks in my inbox. YAY!

[captainkirkk]

✩ WEEKLY FIC ROUND-UP ✩

All the fics I’ve read and really enjoyed in the past week-ish. Reminder: This list features any and all ratings and themes. Please look at tags and warnings on ao3 before reading.

The Magnus Archives/ What We Do In the Shadows (Crossover)

gaslight gatekeep girlboss by thepolysyndetonaddictsupportgroup

"Look, believe it or not, I had no intention of killing the Vampiric Council when I came here,” declares Nadja, sitting alone on the couch. “But Guillermo and I arrived at the first council meeting and did the whole, you know, the whole thing, the first day thing. Introductions and all that, yes hello wonderful to meet you, yes this is my bodyguard, yes he has slaughtered a tremendous number of our kind”--she flaps her hand absently--“normal first day things, you know? It was fine.” She pauses. “It got really fucking weird on the second day."

Or: Nadja and Guillermo seize control of vampiric politics, puppeteer world powers, and have the hottest of hot girl summers.

Unfortunately, they also really miss the stupid assholes they're in love with. With no way left to find them, they have no choice but to consult an Archivist.

DC/Danny Phantom Crossover

Teenage Hero Burnout #56: Interview With A Ghost. by STOVE

Red Robin, (aka Tim Drake) decides to host a YouTube series called "Teenage Hero Burnout'' after he makes a video by the same name talking about his own experiences. He interviews current and past heroes who started their careers as teens and discuss how it shaped their outlook on heroing & life in general.

(This fic is a one-shot. Teenage Hero Burnout is a hypothetical series that I will not be writing, but others are welcome to write their own episodes.)

All For the Game

One More Time (With Feeling) by elesary

Andrew Minyard went to sleep next to Neil Josten in their bed in Denver six years after graduation. He woke up on plane to Tucson between Wymack and Kevin, on their way to recruit Neil Josten, striker sub.

boyfriend privileges by mostly_maudlin

Andrew knows he treats Neil different. So why is it so bothersome that everyone else seems to know it, too?

Five times Neil gets boyfriend privileges, and one time it doesn't piss Andrew off.

SVSSS

The Peace Between Divine Pec- ah-hm sorry - uh…Peaks by AceOfDivineChlorophyll

Well, being kidnapped and tied up had to be the worst part of Shen Qingqiu's day right? Surely it couldn't get worse even if he was being presented to some new and upcoming demonic warlord as tribute after all it would all be mote when Luo Binghe escaped the Endless Abyss right? Well... unless the demonic warlord in question WAS Luo Binghe.

Thankfully... it might not end up going at all how he, or the demons, thought it was going to.

invasive blindfold removal surgery by postcardorigami

Part 1 of side effects may include indefinite photosensitivity

Oh, he thought absently, dizzily. Oh. I love him. I really, really love him.

That wasn’t a new thought—Shen Qingqiu had always known that he loved Luo Binghe. Thinking otherwise wasn’t a concept that had occurred to him. He’d loved him as a fictional character, as a sticky and eager-to-please disciple, as a troubled young man. He loved Luo Binghe the same way he loved the world around him: easily, wordlessly, endlessly, and in full acceptance of all faults and flaws.

But this- this felt like-

I think, Shen Qingqiu thought, for the first time in this life or the one he’d left, I think I’m in love with him.

And- and then-

I want to tell him where I come from.

or Shen Qingqiu, in order: hits the ground, pulls himself back up, and comes out. About several things.

Dreaming of Gardens in the Desert Sand by TGP

Huan Hua Palace master Luo Binghe never thought there'd be any reason to worry about the master that threw him away all those years ago. Surely, he was safe and cared for by the martial siblings he'd so thoroughly enamored.

Luo Binghe was wrong.

(Or, the one where the Jinlan City event doesn't happen and Luo Binghe's plan to slowly show he can be a righteous cultivator actually goes as he expected, with consequences he did not)

starry-eyed by shoutowo

"Shi-Shizun,” Luo Binghe says, going cross-eyed in an effort to see what Shen Qingqiu just placed on his forehead. “What is this?”

“A star,” Shen Qingqiu explains, while not explaining at all.

or, Shen Qingqiu has a sticker sheet.

Clone Wars

(you were) meant to save them by cjwritesfanficnow

The building was only five stories. With the gravity on Melida/Daan, it should’ve been over in seconds... but he—

just—

kept—

falling—

And then there was nothing around him, but he was still falling, down down down, infinitely, through space, stretched thin, twisted and pulled and the Force curled so tightly around him that he couldn’t tell where he ended and it began, and then—

And then he was falling straight out of a clear sky and down down down—

Onto another battlefield.

-

In which Obi-Wan is abruptly transported from the civil war on Melida/Daan to the Clone Wars.

(Alternately, in which I noticed how few clones there are in all my other fics, and this wouldn't leave me alone.)

Tactical Engagements by elwenyere

Even before he managed to open his eyes, Obi-Wan felt the tug against the base of his neck, the snarled thread of energy that only ever meant one thing: something had gone very, very wrong.

-----

Or, Cody, Obi-Wan, and the 212th are sent to Ringo Vinda with Anakin and the 501st, and it changes the field of engagement.

[spacemagicandlaserswords]

The Clone Wars 4.09 ‘Plan of Dissent’ Reaction Take 2

I think out of all of the episodes from the Umbara arc, this is my favourite. If it’s possible to have a favourite with everything that happens. There’s so much of the clones themselves in this episode. So much of their interactions and personalities and characteristics and lives.

Hello to Fives' very nice thighs and crotch. There’s just something about a clone lying on their back, legs splayed, knee bent, as they do mechanical work on the underneath of a ship. Insert your own references to the 2 nickels meme here. Also inserting the gif of Tech doing the exact same thing because I can.

There are definitely moments where Fives voice gets husky and it is very nice. I am not complaining at all.

Obi-Wan is looking rather boxy there

Krell completely changes when he’s talking to someone with equal or more power than him. Slimy bastard.

I know they mean arms as in weapons but every time they say ‘arm’ all can picture is crates full of actual arms.

That tiny head shake from Rex. He is so done.

Ugh that look up from Rex. Ugh.

Ahahahaha it definitely looks like Fives is about to burst into an earnest and deeply emotional ballad in the music video as part of his 90s boy band. So, the important questions are: Who are the rest of the members of this clone boy band? And what is their name? These things, I must know them.

Look at Rex’s big beautiful brown eyes there

Paused the episode only to realise Jesse has an exclamation mark on the front of his chest plate.

Tup waving his space screwdriver grabby thingy around to make his point. I think it’s a calliper? It looks similar to the one Tech has on his belt or in one of his 2000 pockets. Just noticed Tup has the same hairline as Tech too.

“I do think his desire for victory has blinded him to the fact that there are lives at stake. I’ve never seen a General with these kind of casualties.” – I love this moment from Jesse. Especially because he doesn’t go after Dogma, he just calmly but firmly points out what isn’t right about this situation. The adorable nose scrunch is also out in full force.

“I don’t have a better plan.” Rex, you always have a better plan

Fives: Why don’t we just do the same thing we did before!

Lmao Fives’ little chaos face as he explains his plan

Gif by @nickleister from this glorious post

REX THIGH

That ‘do it’ from Rex was very Palpatine of him

“Yeah, he wasn’t really flying. More like avoiding crashing.” Tup going for the jugular there

Omg that was not subtle at all. “What’s going on?” “Eh, nothing.” *awkward*

Oh, Rex and Fives are fighting. That line from Fives about them all being not just another number really hit home too.

I know this is supposed to be a serious moment and all that but omg Fives is built like an absolute unit. Boy is thicc.

Well this is going well. Fives, why are you standing underneath the fighter that Hardcase is barely able to control?

Fives: Hardcase, what are you doing?! Hardcase: If I knew, I wouldn’t be doing it! CACKLING

Who's the random clone helping out Fives and Hardcase? They’ve got different paint but I can’t tell who they are.

“Great, this can’t get much worse” Well now you’ve gone and jinxed it

Oh, so that’s where that shot of Fives standing there comes from. Who knew the absolute chaos that was going on behind as Fives stands there looking all gorgeous.

Fives: “Nothing’s out of control down here.” Hardcase: *actively destroying everything*

Omg the absolutely over the top agonised full eye and body roll that Fives gives while he draws out a long “Uh” to try and come up with a cover story for what they’re doing. 

That has got to be a homage or reference to Han Solo doing basically the same thing in A New Hope.

“That’s gonna leave a mark.” Hardcase, you just melted the door!

“No harm done.” Says Hardcase, standing amongst the ruin he has just created

Absolutely losing it at Hardcase’s cover story for what they were getting up to. To be fair to him, he actually sold it fairly well and it was a decently believable cover story to come up with on the spot. Fives, on the other hand, cannot lie to save himself. Rex is not falling for his bullshit one bit.

Aaaaaaaaaah Hardcase’s little wiggly sneaky fingers. You utterly adorable dork. He looks so pleased with his idea at the end too. It’s the best idea guys!

Hardcase is in. He wants chaos.

Anakin telling Fives that the trick to taking out a control ship is to hit the main reactor from the inside? Well that’s totally not going to come back and bite him in his shiny black asthmatic arse in approximately 20 cycles or so. 

Jesse and Hardcase’s doubtful scrunched up faces as the listen to Fives’ “plan” are utterly adorable

"I can’t help you, when you get caught." — That exchange between Fives and Rex definitely sounds like Rex has put up Fives’ crazy bullshit before. And you can tell how much Rex cares and knows this is the right thing to do yet he’s stuck and he can’t do anything to help them or protect them when the shit hits the fan.

If those fighters are supposed to be locked down, then why are they conveniently sitting outside?

I found this scene of Dogma and Tup in the barracks really uncomfortable. I’ve been trying to reserve judgement on Dogma and not be so harsh on him because I know what happens in the end and he seems like a fan favourite. But it really felt like he was bullying Tup into snitching on Fives, Jesse and Hardcase. I don’t know what Dogma and Tup’s connection to each other is. They seem fairly close so I’m going with close or best friends, if not batch mates. I know Dogma thinks he’s doing the right thing (I know, please don’t come at me) but it felt really uncomfortable watching him bully his best friend/batch mate and vod into doing what he wanted. I think I’m reacting to this so much because I relate to Tup so much. The constant anxious worry. Being bullied and peer pressured into doing things you don’t want to do (hello school trauma). Out of everything that has happened, and a lot of truly awful things happen in this arc, it felt like this was the worst thing Dogma did. Even if he didn’t mean it, that doesn’t excuse it. 

Paused the episode at the start of the next scene and Rex is standing there in the dark looking down at his datapad and fuck me is he a tall glass of water.

The look on Rex’s face when he sees Fives, Jesse and Hardcase fly off in the fighters! I mentioned this in my first reaction post but man, is that a multi-layered expression. Deep long suffering at putting up with their bullshit. Admiration and respect that the crazy bastards went and did it. Worry and concern about what they’re about to do and how they’re all going to deal with the fall out. And probably a bit of satisfaction and amusement that it’s going to piss off Krell.

“I’m just doing it for fun!” Hardcase knows what he’s about

Well that’s a shit fight

Is that a blimp?

Fives, telling Hardcase not to get an itchy trigger finger is like telling you not to be a chaotic little shit. Utterly pointless

Omg the supply ship is even sphere shaped, just with a giant rectangle in the middle. It’s just a B-grade Death Star.

“I’m sure the report will make your strategy more effective.” Rex you sly bastard

So I know everyone says clones can’t lie to save themselves but Rex was pretty damn believable right there, covering for Fives, Jesse and Hardcase. It didn’t feel like a cover story that was made up on the spot either, so Rex had to have come up with it already. He knew they were going to go off on their own hair brained mission, and, even though he was disagreeing with Fives, he still came up with a way to cover for them and protect them as best he could. So he’s bloody smart and cares deeply too. Ugh, I love him so much.

Rex running interference for Fives, Jesse and Hardcase

“Regarding, what?” CACKLING

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” asdf;lkj why are you so badass. Though it does feel sad that all of this has started to pit the clones against each other. And doesn’t that come back in an even worse way later on.

Oh look, it’s a trench run to a reactor! I wonder where we’ve seen this before!

That tactical droid didn’t consider Fives in his equations

Oh man as soon as Hardcase’s fighter got hit, that was the moment you knew he wasn’t coming back. 

That gesture Fives made to stop his fighter made him look like he was using the Force

Nooooo Hardcase what are you doing

“This is for the 501st. Don’t wait for me.” *sobs*

Hardcase calls Fives sir. Again, I am baffled as to what the rank system is here, though I’m assuming ARC Troopers are at least above standard clone troopers in some way?

“If I know Hardcase, we better leave.” That speaks to a lot of experience with Hardcase making things going boom

“Live to fight another day.” Dammit now I can’t see the screen through the tears. Hardcase had a little happy smile on his face too.

Guys, you only blew up half of it! Though I should imagine the rest of it went up too.

That smirk from Rex. He knew.

Very interesting that Tup’s here with Rex. I wonder if Rex took him aside after intercepting him and Dogma or if Tup came to Rex.

It’s a tiny moment but Fives jumps out of the fighter and there’s a shot of his feet and legs landing on the ground and his kama is swooshing around his legs looking all badass

Rex’s look of concern when he sees only Fives and Jesse. He knew.

Oh Hardcase

It’s an equally blink and you’ll miss it moment but this is where that gif of Rex glaring over his shoulder comes from. I think this is going to be like the “On your knees” moment for me. Definitely hot in isolation but now knowing that Fives and Jesse just told Rex and Tup that Hardcase died, it’s going to take me a while to separate what’s happening in the moment from the hot glare.

Rex trying to take the blame for Fives and Jesse and then Fives refusing to accept this and making sure Rex and Jesse don’t get hurt and the agonised way Rex says “Fives!” and Jesse’s worried expression the whole time and just aaaaaaaaaaah *pained noises*

“Oh, do you?” I hate Krell even more. Piss off you overblown bullfrog

Being executed for disobeying orders seems way too steep. I could understand being reprimanded but shooting someone because they didn’t do what they were told? At least Krell gets what’s coming from him in the end.

[andydrysdalerogers]

Yours Submissively ~ Devious

Steve Rogers X OFC Isabella Davis

Summary: Five Years after the events of Civil War, Steve Rogers has moved on from avenging and has started his own business, Grant Inc. He has a secret that would turn his world upside down. And he's good at keep that secret. Until he meets the woman with violet eyes that could bring him to his knees. Now his mission is to make her, his. But she is the key that could bring the world into balance... or chaos.

And she has no idea.

Series Warnings: slow burn at the beginning, smut, angst, sexual themes of BDSM, dom/sub dynamics, kidnapping, loss of virginity, (and a bunch of others that will come up)

A/N: the taglist is open! Only six episodes left!

Dividers by @firefly-graphics

Banners by me!

I do NOT give permission for my work to be translated or reposted on here or any other site, even if you give me credit. DO NOT REPOST MY FICS. Reblogs, comments, likes, and feedback ALWAYS appreciated

Previous: Incinta

Series Masterlist ~ Main Masterlist

Ring! 

Ring! 

“Hello?” 

“Hi Sharon, its Steve.”  

“Steve?” 

“Yeah, sorry to call. I just needed someone to talk to.”  

“Oh, is there a problem?” 

Steve sighed.  “Belle left.  She found out I was lying to her and she left.”  

“What about Bucky?” 

“He left as well.  Something about being on her side.  Haven’t heard from him.”  

“I’m so sorry Steve.  What can I do?” 

“Can we meet?  I just need a friend.”  

“Of course.  The club? Ten PM?” 

“I’ll be there Sharon.  And thank you.  I know we left it on bad terms.”  

“Its ok.  I know it wasn’t you.  See you in a few hours.”  

“Bye Sharon.”  

“Bye Steve.”  Sharon hung up and turned to a sobbing and gagged Belle.  “I knew he would come back to me. He always does.” She does a little dance and spin. 

Belle thrashed in her chair, screaming against the gag. She couldn’t believe what she heard.  Her Steve wouldn’t leave her like this. The tears streamed down her face.  

“We’re ready for her to be examined.” Beck came in to see Belle a mess of tears.  “What did you do to her?” 

“Nothing, just had a call she didn’t like,” Sharon smirked.  

“Oh,” Beck feigned interest, “from who?” The couple cackled at Belle’s sobs. “Get over it sweetheart,” Beck snarled. “We have some test to conduct to make sure you are at top notch condition.  I’m gonna make sure that you make as many heirs as possible for HYDRA.” He lowered his face to look her straight in the eye.  “I’ve always wanted a big family,” he whispered to her.  Belle thrashed as two goons came to carry her out to the exam room.  

“I need to meet with Steve in a couple of hours.  You good here?” Sharon asked.  

“Yeah, I’m good.”  Beck turned away from her.  

“What is up your ass?” 

“The fact that you just want to move on from me to Rogers.”  

“Listen baby, the only way this plan works is if I get close enough to Steve that we can slip him the poison.  We get the Avengers focused on saving his life, then we can do with Belle whatever we want. Baby, you know I’m yours.” She kissed him lightly on the lips. He grabbed the back of her neck and kissed her harder, shoving his tongue in her mouth.  

“Got it,” Bucky smirked as Steve hung up.  “They are utterly moronic. They are in an old HYDRA base, 20 miles north.  I know it well.”  

“Ok then we go,” Steve stood up. 

“We have to think about this,” Sam says.  

“NO! We are talking about my family.  My wife, my baby!” 

“We get that Steve,” Nat says rubbing his arms. “We are going to get them back.  But if we just barrel in there, they could kill us or worse, her.  Let’s just plan it out.”  

Bucky pulled the blueprints up.  “The base only has one level above ground.  When HYDRA fell, it had been abandoned, I checked.  However, I just checked local police and there have been reports of activity on the property. When checked, nothing is there, which tells me that they are working strictly underground.”  

“If they are underground then how was I able to connect to Sharon?” Steve asked.  

“That tells me that they are only one level down, which is good for us.”  Bucky tapped the screen.  “There is a secondary entrance that does directly to the second level of the bunker. Right below where they would be.  That’s where I suggest we enter. Should be fairly easy to infiltrate and extract.”  

“The tests they are going to want to run for fertility take three hours to run once it hits the machine,” Bruce explained.  “That’s our time frame.”  

“What if they do a standard pregnancy test?” Natasha asked. 

“Let’s hope they are stupid enough to skip it,” Tony grimaced.  

Steve looked at his team, his family.  “Three minutes, get what you need.”  

Belle kept trying to move her arm to stop the doctor from drawing blood.  He could see Beck’s jaw tick with frustration.  “Stop moving, you brat!”  He reached over and slapped her. He grabbed her chin.  “This is going to happen so unless you want the needle to go straight through your arm, stop moving.”  

Belle cried as they held her arm down to take what felt like two pints of blood.  “It should take a few hours Dr. Beck.”  

“Good, once we have the results, then the seduction can begin,” he commented.  

As the team headed to the jet, Steve stopped.  “Shit, what about Sharon?” 

“I will take care of it, Captain,” Vision said.  He transformed his body into Steve’s.  

“Ok, that’s weird,” Sam said.  

Steve stared at himself.  “Uh, ok.  The club is in Manhattan, corner of 3rd and 73rd.  House number is 373. The password to get in is Gemini.” Vision nodded and made his way out.  “Vision, you understand that…” 

“I must be rude about Miss Belle, yes I know.  Please know that while I am not comfortable with lying, I will do this to protect your family.  If you listen on comms, it is merely a ruse.”  

“Thank you, Vision.” Steve watched the android fly out of the tower.  He looked at the team.  “This is gonna work right?” 

Tony looked at him with concern. “Of course,” without sounding confident.  

“Great.” 

Quinten Beck couldn’t believe the luck he was having.  He found the HYDRA heir, putting into place a decade worth of research and longing to create a new Hydra. He had an hour to go before the results would be completed. All he wanted was to avenge his family.  The battle of New York took everything from him.  His whole family had been visiting the city when the aliens descended.  He survived by luck alone.  He had been in the store, buying something for his sister when a piece of building landed outside. It took days to recover the bodies of his parents, sister and fiancé.  

At first, Beck threw himself into work, trying to find ways to control incoming threats.  But Stark refused, saying that Stark Industries no longer created weapons.  Beck didn’t make a weapon but a way to stop incoming threats.  He was fired, throwing him into a tailspin.  He did research on the side as he worked menial jobs to keep afloat. Until he was able to create a false identity and get in with AIM.  

Beck snorted to himself at the thought.  Aldridge Killian was an arrogant piece of shit, but his work led Beck to finish his work. Now, if he held all the cards, the heirs of HYDRA, he could be unchallenged. He could control the world.  

He walked down to the cell holding the princess of HYDRA, the beautiful Isabella.  She was huddled in the corner, tear tracks down her cheeks, her violet eyes ringed in red. When Beck entered, she curled up more, trying to protect herself.  He kneeled next to her. “You know princess, your husband is the main reason you are here.  I would have been found but it just makes it sweeter to take what’s his.”  

“Don’t call me princess,” Belle whispered.  

“I’ll call you whatever the fuck I want. You know maybe I want a taste of what I have stolen.”  He licked his lips.  “See why the Captain chose you.” He pushed her down on the bed and lifted the gown to expose her to him.  His fingers dipped below her panties and swiped roughly at her slit. Belle screamed at the touch, so foreign to her.  Beck brought his fingers to his lips, rolling his eyes and moaning.  “So delicious. I’ll be back princess.” 

The team landed half a mile from the bunker to avoid alerting anyone of their approach.  Steve placed the shield on his back but kept his helmet off.  He wanted Beck to see him when he tore him apart.  How dare this man put his hands on his wife, his baby. He clenched his fist as Bucky took over to assign the teams.  

“Sam, you and Nat go to the front.  Make sure no one escapes that way.  Tony, Wanda, you will be back up to us.  Steve, you, me, Peter and Clint will go in together and split up to sweep. After the entrance, it splits two ways. Peter Clint, take the right and we’ll go right.  Then we can head up the stairs to the level where Belle is at.  Once we clear the second, Tony, Wanda, head on it.”  

“Take down anyone you meet,” Steve instructed.  “Except for Beck.”  

“Cap, maybe…” Sam started. 

“He’s mine,” Steve continued, ignoring Sam.  “If you find Belle, get her out, no matter what.”  

Bucky nodded.  “Let’s move out.” He let Steve walk out and stopped Sam.  “I’ll watch him.  I won’t let him lose himself.” Sam nodded as he followed his wife.  

The team enter with precision, sweeping the second floor, confirming it was empty as Bucky had predicted. “Cap, I’m sensing someone coming down the stairs,” Peter said over the comms.  

“Ok, Peter, Clint, hang back and have cover. Buck, right side,” Steve whispered into the comms. They took positions just as they heard footsteps on the stairs.  Two HYDRA agents rounded the corner, chatting.  Bucky grabbed on into a choke hold while Steve slammed his shield into another, knocking both out. Peter webbed them to a pole and the team moved up the stairs. 

Bucky flipped on his infrared on his rifle. “I see three on the first room on the right, two on the left.  There are only five rooms on this floor.”  

“Ok, Stark, Wanda, have you entered?” 

“Just entering the second floor now,” Tony responded.  

“Ok, we wait for backup,” Steve says.  He knows.  He knows he needs help to get to his wife no matter how anxious he is to get to her.  They needed to get to her alive and unharmed and charging into this battle would be detrimental to her safety.  As he waits for backup his mind drifted to a conversation he had with her when they were getting to know each other so long ago.  

“The world is safe again.  They don’t need Captain America.  So, I moved to business.  I was good in school with numbers. And people.”   “Would you?”  “Would I what?”  “Pick up the shield again?”  “Only if I needed to.”   “Like?”  “To save someone I love.”   Belle chewed on her pita to contemplate that. “So not to save the world?”   “Is my loved one there?”  “I guess so.”  “Then I guess I would save the world. Again.”  

He lifted the shield and placed it back on his back.  He would do anything to save her, and it meant saving the world. Tony and Wanda appeared behind them and the six of them looked into the hallway.  “One team, one door,” Steve instructed.  

They cleared four rooms quickly, when Steve heard a blood-curling scream from the last door.  It took Clint, Tony and Bucky to hold Steve back from rushing into the room.  “Wanda,” Bucky said, “form a shield.  Tony, Clint, if you get a clean shot, fire.  Peter, be ready to web up any escaping enemy.  Steve, look at me.” Steve turned his face to his best friend.  “Our priority is to get to Belle.  This is the biggest room. She’ll probably be in the back.  Ready?” 

Steve nodded and put his shield in front of them.  “Bucky?” 

“We have this punk. We are going to get them back.”  

Them.  

His wife and his baby.  

Wanda put her shield up and used her magic to open the door.  Shots began to hit the shield as Tony flew in and fired at the HYDRA agents. A couple stumbled out as Clint disarmed them. After a minute, the shooting stopped and Steve entered, Bucky right behind.  As an agent appeared, they were taken down. As smoke cleared, Steve saw her.  Her violet eyes red rimmed, a hand on her throat. She gasped when she saw him, but the hand tightened, making her whimper.  

“God, I love that sound,” Beck taunted. “Does she make that noise for you Captain? Bet I can make her do them louder and more often.”  

Steve clenched his fist and jaw.  “Let her go.”  

“See, I can’t do that,” Beck shook his head. “I need her to build the HYDRA empire. Just needed 15 more minutes for all the results.  I guess now, either you can watch her die or she can watch while I torture and kill you.”  

“Would you really injure a woman who is pregnant?” Steve asked.  He watched as Belle’s eyes widen.  She thought back to her visit with Bruce.  She thought it was just a bug, but Bruce wanted to make sure it wasn’t any side effects from her attempted kidnapping.  She didn’t dream that she would be pregnant.  

Beck’s eyes flamed with rage.  “No, Sharon would have told me if you… the test will confirm…” 

“You did a blood test but not a urine test,” Belle whispered.  Beck grabbed her throat tighter, and Steve took a small step forward.  

“Watch what you do Captain.  I have no problem tearing her throat out. Sharon said you were waiting to have a family.” Beck snorted. “Knew I should have killed that bitch. She said you told her you were waiting for a family.”  

It was Steve’s turn to snort.  “I knew she had been spying. Glad all that false information she got from Devon was worth it.”  Steve looked at his girl and smiled. “I knew she was up to something, my love.”  

“God, I’m going to throw up,” Beck sneered. He drew his weapon and pressed the barrel against Belle’s temple. “You have two options Captain.  Walk away, let me raise your baby to be the head of HYDRA or I kill your girl, your child and then you two.” He cocked the gun. “What do you say?” 

“Neither of those things are going to happen,” Bucky growled.  “Sweetheart, quando te lo dico, fai la cosa.”  

Steve looked confused until he saw the resolve on Belle’s face.  “Everything is going to be ok, sweet pea. I’m going to take you home, ok?” 

“I love you, amore mio.”  

“I love you, sweet pea.”  

“Now!”  

Belle rammed her elbow into Beck, causing him to loosen his hold on her and dropping the gun, setting it off.  She pushed away from him and towards Steve as Steve threw his shield. He caught her just as the shield hit Beck in the chest.  He doubled over and landed on his knees. Bucky aimed his rifle to his head. “Move and die.”  

Belle sobbed as Steve held her to his chest. He couldn’t look away from Beck as he whispered words of comfort to his love. “I’ve got you baby.  I’ll always come for you.” He looked at Bucky.  Bucky nodded and Steve backed himself and Belle out of the room. He scoped her up in his arms, she threw her arms around his neck as the rest of the team flanked them. He covered her ears just in time.  The shot echoed around them.  

The HYDRA revolution had been neutralized. 

“Steve?” 

He looked down at Belle to see the blood billowing on her shirt.  “No! NO!” 

Belle felt the tears in her eyes pour over.  She hadn’t felt the shot, but it seared through her body.  “I’m sorry Steve.  I’m sorry for running.”  

“No, you’re gonna be fine.” He was running towards the jet, as Tony flew forward to get it started.  “You and our little peanut are gonna be just fine.”  

Belle wanted to believe him, but her eyes clouded.  “I love you, Steve.”  

“I love you but this is not goodbye.  Belle?  Keep your eyes open!” 

“So tired, Stevie.” Her eyes slowly closed.  

“Belle!” 

“Isabella!” 

“NO!” 

Is this a bad time to mention that I am taking a few days off?

NEXT

Taglist:

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@tinkerbelle67

@before-we-get-started

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@saucy-sassy-sparkly

[woah-were-halfway-there]

Along For The Ride: Blueprint

Word Count: 5.5k

A/N: finallyyyyy here’s the blueprint blurb that is way too long to be an actual blurb

When he entered the room and saw the camera, Auston knew what was happening. He agreed to do a segment for an upcoming episode of Blueprint but wasn’t exactly sure what questions he’d be asked.

Practice ended about half an hour prior, so Auston’s hair was still slightly damp from his post-practice shower. Nonetheless, he was cozy in his sweater and sweatpants as he gently rubbed his left thumb over his wedding band, a gesture he tended to do when he felt a little uneasy.

After a couple more nods and quiet hellos, someone approached Auston and handed him a small microphone as he got situated on the chair in front of the camera.

“Oh, thanks,” Auston said while clipping the mic onto his sweater collar with ease. “Good?”

“Great,” the producer replied with a smile. “You ready for your feature?”

“I guess so,” Auston chuckled. “Still not sure what you guys have planned for this, but I’m happy to help.”

“We had this idea for a specific part of Blueprint that, well, we think fans will really enjoy, and it’s centric around you. So we’ll talk to you and ask you some questions from off-camera, but of course, if there’s something you don’t want to answer, you don’t have to. Sounds good?”

“Sure, let’s do this.”

Auston shifted in his seat once more as he watched the producer talk to the cameraman and ensure the lighting looked good. She said they’d begin in a few moments, so Auston waited patiently until his phone buzzed in his pocket.

The screen lit up once he took the device out of his pocket, and Auston couldn’t help but feel himself relax when he saw the picture of him, Carson and Mia that was set as his lock screen. The picture was from the night before his and Carson’s wedding that past summer. The evening of their rehearsal dinner. Carson was dressed in a silky white jumpsuit with her hair in simple waves while Auston was wearing dress pants and a light blue button-up that matched the little blue flowers that decorated Mia’s dress, the same blue Carson’s bridesmaids would be wearing the following day.

The photo itself was simple. Carson and Auston were holding Mia and had posed for a few pictures, but Mia, out of nowhere, glanced up at her mom and giggled. So naturally, Carson couldn’t contain her massive smile in response while asking Mia what she thought was so funny. Of course, Mia laughed again, which made Auston smile, too.

Auston couldn’t remember who caught the candid moment on camera but was glad they did. It was one of his favourite pictures, and even though there were pictures from his wedding day he could use as his lock screen, he loved the simplicity of that one.  

After realizing he’d just been looking at his phone for a moment, Auston then glanced down the screen to see the notification was from Carson. In the message, she told him that she and Mia were out grocery shopping and to let her know if there was anything he wanted in particular.

Auston was texting back a response when his phone buzzed with another text from Carson. This time it was a selfie of Mia wearing a hoodie and a little beanie, slumped against her mom and not looking very impressed.

“This tired girl misses her daddy,” the message read, making Auston smile again.

He immediately wanted to call Carson, even just to hear her voice and get a proper update on Mia, but the producer then announced they would start filming in 30 seconds. So, Auston quickly texted Carson, saying he was good with whatever groceries she got and would come home to snuggle his mini once he was done filming.

After that, he slid the phone back into his pocket and braced himself for whatever he was about to be asked.

“Ok, Auston, thanks again for doing this,” the producer said.

“No problem. Thanks for having me.”

“So, as most people know, this will be your first full hockey season as a dad. How does it feel?”

“Oh,” Auston replied, a little caught off guard by the question but quickly playing it off and smiling again before he continued. “Surreal. Mia… she’s just the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“Can you tell us more about her?”

Auston paused, feeling a little hesitant to answer, then nodded.

“I adore her. She’s everything good in this world. Yeah, there’s never a dull moment with Mia. She’s just so fun and curious about the world. She can be sassy, though, which her mother always says she gets from me. But it’s amazing to see her grow and watch her little personality form.”

“Amazing. As we mentioned, this is your first full season since becoming a dad, correct?” The producer asked, which made Auston chuckle slightly because he knew she knew the answer already but was trying to get him to talk more so they could edit his interview into clips.

“Yeah, that’s right,” Auston started and quickly thought of ways to keep going.

“Mia was born at the end of January. Wow, it’s wild that she will be a year old so soon. When she was born, I was lucky that the team was in Toronto already. I didn’t have to rush back and spend a flight alone, hoping I’d make it on time and be there to support her mom in whatever way I could. I know that’s not the same for many of the guys in the league, so I know how fortunate I was in that situation. I got to spend a few days at home as well. I was able to miss a game and spend those first couple of days at home, which was so important. Again, I was lucky too because I only had to miss one game, even though I may have looked into taking a leave if it came down to it.”

“Anyways, I was home after that game because we had a few days off. I was only asked to do shorter practices, then my first game back was in Detroit, I think. It wasn’t far, and we had another home game soon after, so I wasn’t even gone for a whole day. We had one more away game within the first week of Mia's birth. Again that wasn’t too far from Toronto, so I could be home quite a bit for that first little while. She was a little over two weeks old when the team went on a lengthy road trip. We were gone for close to a week, which was a lot for me, like. I’d get ridiculously anxious if I went so long without getting an update on how things were at home. That trip was pretty testing, but I knew I’d have to do it eventually.”

Once he finished his spiel, Auston blinked, surprised by how he comfortably just went on about all of that. However, with the way the producer, cameraman and other crew members were smiling and nodding at each other, Auston could tell they loved the content they were getting.

“That’s great, Auston,” the producer told him. “And what’s it like for you now to be away so much?”

“Being away from home? Oh, it sucks,” Auston replied bluntly, making everyone laugh and himself smile. “What? It does.”

“Wow, usually he’s more dramatic about being away than that,” Mitch spoke as he and Michael walked out from behind the camera. Auston assumed that the two guys were cutting through to go to the locker room, but they couldn’t keep on going. So instead, Mitchy stopped dead in his tracks to glance between Auston and the camera. “Wait, are you guys doing a feature on him?”

“Yeah, and you’re ruining the shot!” Auston laughed.

“Oh, well, that sucks,” Bunts said as he casually walked over and pretended to try to push Auston off his chair. “For you.”

“Get outta here,” Auston chuckled and pushed him away.

“What’s the feature about?” Bunts asked the producer as he walked back over to Mitch.

“We’re asking him about Mia,” the producer responded.

“And you didn’t want to ask ME?” Mitch asked disbelievingly. “I’m her godfather!”

“You’re on our list of people to ask for comments, Mitch. Don’t worry,” one of the sound guys explained. “We figured we’d talk to, you know, the one that’s a new dad, about his daughter first.”

“Ok, that’s fair,” Mitchy responded and continued walking. “Carry on.”

“You know, I’m offended I’m not getting asked about Mia,” Bunts stated while looking over his shoulder as he walked with Mitch. “We’re besties.”

“She likes me better,” Mitch scoffed.

“That’s not true!”

That was the last thing anyone heard from the two boys as they rounded a corner and disappeared out of sight.

After a moment, Auston just shook his head and smiled before looking towards the crew again. “Where were we?”

“You were telling us about what it’s like being away from your baby so much,” the producer reminded him.

“Right. Yeah, being away sucks a whole lot, and I’m sure I’m not the first hockey player-dad to say that, either. Being in a position where you’re gone from home so much and having a baby, you can’t help but think about everything you’re missing. There are milestones and other situations that will happen with Mia that I don’t want to miss, but given the type of job I have, I know it’s likely that I will. And that’s a tough pill to swallow. I’m so lucky because I have a partner… my wife, Carson, who is absolutely incredible. She holds the fort down at home while I’m gone and is the best mom to our little girl.”

Auston paused after that, feeling many things as he reached up to wipe away a tear. “I’m sorry, guys. I don’t mean to get emotional.”

“No, it’s ok,” the producer assured him. “Take your time.”

“It’s just- she’s everything to me. Carson, she’s my rock. I couldn’t do this without her, and I know it’s not easy for her with me being away constantly, but she never wavers in supporting what I do. She’s amazing, and sometimes I worry I don’t tell her enough. Like even just now, before we started this, she texted me asking if there was anything I wanted while she was out grocery shopping with Mia. I told her to get whatever, but I know that I’ll get home in a bit, and she’ll have picked up some of my favourite things and things I wouldn’t have even thought to ask for, but she knew I’d want. That’s just how Carson is.”

“Most of us here have had the pleasure of meeting Carson before, even just in passing, and from what I personally know about her, what you’re saying checks out,” the producer chuckled. “She seems like the type to pay attention to the little things.”

“Oh, yeah, like I never forget anything because she always remembers it for me somehow,” Auston replied, making everyone laugh.

“Ok, be honest,” a camera guy said. “Is Mia more of a mama or daddy’s girl?”

“That’s not even a question,” Auston scoffed. “She’s the biggest daddy’s girl. I always get called out for it, too, because it shows. Carson always gets grumpy about it because, well, I call Mia my mini. Out of Carson and I, she does look a bit more like me with the dark hair and eyes, which has Carson like, ‘of course, she couldn’t just look like you. She has to be a daddy’s girl too.’ And I just love it. I love that little girl so much. But Mia is very attached to her mom too, though. They’re partners in crime and rely on each other the most when I’m not home and just in life. Mia also has, like, her people. Aside from Carson and me, she’s got some really great people that she’s very attached to.”

“Like who?” Asked the producer.

“My mom is one, for sure. She and Mia have such a strong bond, and it’s easy to see. Whenever my family visits here, as soon as Mia recognizes my mom, she lights up and reaches for her. Then my mom would just hold onto her, talking with her and pout when someone else wanted a turn. I think us being in Arizona and with my family during the offseason helped develop that bond a lot, but Mia loves her whole family so much. She’s also very attached to Carson’s brother Nate and, as painful as it is to say, Mitchy. With Carson and Mitch being cousins, I think he and Nate remind Mia a lot of each other. She’s always giggling nonstop when she’s with either of them.”

“Mitch has made it clear how much he loves Mia, but what about the other guys? She’s quite popular with the team, isn’t she?”

“That’s an understatement,” Auston explained. “She’s got each of those guys wrapped around her little finger.”

The crew laughed at that and then glanced at each other momentarily before the producer stood up from her seat.

“Ok, I think that’s good,” she said and nodded at the cameraman to stop filming. “You gave us a lot to work with there, Auston. We really appreciate it.”

“It was no problem at all,” Auston replied, smiling as he took off his mic and stood up. “Is there anything more you guys need from me today?”

“No, no, you’re good. Go get home to Carson and Mia,” the producer told Auston as he handed her the mic.

“Don’t have to tell me twice. See ya guys.”

~*~

A couple of days later, Auston was back at practice thinking nothing about the feature he’d filmed. He knew if the filming crew needed anything more, they’d ask. So, it was easy for him to continue on normally focusing on hockey.

However, unbeknownst to him, it wasn’t just a regular day at practice.

Carson was outside the rink area, where the team would walk to and from the dressing room, talking with the producer and a cameraman. Mia chilled in her car seat on the ground next to her, blowing raspberries as she played with the ring toy she was gripping onto.

“Ok, yeah, so I’ll put this on and then just take Mia up to the glass, right?” Carson asked as she clipped the tiny mic the producer handed her to her sweater. “Is there anything you’d like me to say as we walk up?”

“Just introduce yourself and yeah, just do whatever you’re comfortable with,” the producer said, smiling. “We know that for you and Auston even to have Mia take part in this is huge, and we appreciate you letting us film this.”

“Oh, it’s no problem at all. We know this is a safe space for Mia, even if there are cameras. She’s with us too. I also really appreciate you asking if it was ok to film us rather than just assuming. I know Auston would too.”

“Of course, the players' and their families' privacy will always be something we respect,” the producer replied but was soon cut off by a squeal coming from Mia, who was looking up and reaching toward her mom. “Well, it seems like someone wants your attention.”

“Ma, mama,” Mia babbled while not looking away from Carson, showing how at almost a year old, she did in fact know who mama was.

“Wow, sorry, little miss,” Carson said, laughing slightly as she crouched down to take Mia out of her car seat. After standing back up, Carson immediately went into mom mode, adjusting the little fluffy beanie Mia was wearing and ensuring her jacket was zipped all the way up while mumbling about not wanting Mia to be cold. The producer watched, smiling, as the two girls had their little moment that ended with Carson kissing Mia’s head before looking back at the others. “Oh, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Take all the time you need,” the producer told her. “We’re ready whenever you are.”

“Thanks. I think we’re ready,” Carson replied.

“Great,” said the cameraman. “You’re good to start right there, and I’ll count down from five to let you know when we’re starting to film.”

“Got it.”

Carson nodded and smiled at the other two just before they started going over some final details and moved her attention back to Mia, who was leaning against her chest while taking in their new surroundings.

“I know, sweet girl,” Carson said as she reached up to gently play with Mia’s little curls sticking out from the beanie she wore. “This is a whole new place, isn’t it? It’s a little nerve-wracking at first, but we’ll see your daddy very soon.”

At that, Mia perked up and moved away from Carson’s chest to get a better look at her mom.

“Dada,” she repeated but sounded like she asked a question, which made Carson laugh.

“Yes, dada,” Carson explained, then tickled Mia to get some giggles out of her. “And Mitchy and Willy and Bunts. All of your favourite guys.”

Mia started giggling like crazy the more Carson tickled her. Still, soon her attention fell back to the two strangers standing nearby, and she immediately leaned against her mom again and clutched onto Carson’s sweater.

“Ok, Carson. Here we go,” the producer warned her about how they were about to start filming. “In five, four, three, two-.”

Instead of saying one, the producer pointed and nodded to Carson, signalling the camera was rolling.

“Um, hi,” Carson started, suddenly feeling very nervous. Similarly to Auston, when she felt anxious, Carson tended to fiddle with her wedding and engagement rings. It was challenging to do that as she held Mia, but when she glanced down at the little girl hiding her face against the fabric of the sweater she wore, Carson’s nerves faded because she was suddenly focused on ensuring Mia felt better. As someone who struggled with anxiety and often blamed herself for Mia seemingly experiencing the same thing, Carson was always the best person to help Mia in such moments.

“I’m Carson Matthews, and this is Mia. She’s a little shy with being around so many new people and in an unfamiliar setting, but we’re here to surprise the guys with a little visit. Hey, Mia, can you look at me for a sec?”

Mia hesitated momentarily as Carson tapped her, trying to get her attention, but didn’t want to move from where she was comfortably hiding against her mom’s chest. She slowly leaned back to look up at Carson, showing how her eyes were beginning to water from the unsureness she was feeling.

“Oh, my sweet girl,” Carson said, visibly melting after making eye contact with Mia.

At that moment, she forgot about the camera. She didn’t care about it anymore because Mia was her number-one priority over everything. Had she been more aware of the camera, she probably would’ve said maybe filming wasn’t a good idea. However, she became too focused on Mia even to remember the presence of others.

The producer and cameraman picked up on what was happening and debated cutting the camera, but they knew if Carson wanted them to stop, she’d tell them, and they fully respected that. So, they decided to continue filming to see how their little situation played out and was fully prepared to scrap the idea of that segment entirely out of regard for Mia’s feelings. However, they didn’t need to because they soon caught a very sweet moment between the mother-and-daughter duo and were highly impressed by how Carson handled everything.

“Mama,” was all Mia had to babble for Carson to know how she was feeling.

“I got you, baby,” Carson spoke softly before pecking Mia’s nose. In response, Mia wrapped her arms around Carson’s neck and leaned against her shoulder, to which Carson just held her and began rubbing her back. “Oh, I know. I know. It’s a lot seeing all these new things, isn’t it? But, you know what, look who’s over here.”

Carson then walked over to the large frosted glass sliding doors the Leafs go through to enter the rink. The doors opened and showed the team practicing on the other side, which piqued Mia’s interest. The Leafs were at the opposite end of the rink, so no one noticed the doors slide open to show Carson and Mia standing together. Carson squeezed Mia and pointed to Auston, who was slightly closer to them but was too occupied speaking with one of the coaches to realize he had visitors.

“Do you know who that is?”

“Dada,” Mia answered, not missing a beat and almost instantly seeming to be in better spirits as she focused on her dad.

“Yes, that’s dada,” Carson said, then placed multiple kisses on Mia’s cheek, making the little girl giggle happily. “Wanna go see him?”

Mia nodded, continuing to watch Auston until the doors closed again. “Dada!”

At that, Carson turned around to face the camera and look at the producer, resuming what they were doing prior.

“They don’t know we’re here,” Carson explained. “Well, Sheldon, the other coaches and Johnny do, but that’s it. The plan is that as soon as Sheldon calls for the end of practice, we go out there and surprise Auston with a visit. He got a ride out here this morning with Bunts and thinks that’s how he’s getting home, too, so he has no idea.”

A loud whistle blew on the rink side of the doors, making Carson react by turning around to face the doors again. However, she paused, unsure if it was the right time to go out.

“They’re finishing up, Carson,” one of the Leafs staff members said, smiling as she walked by, but not without waving as she went. “Hi, Mia!”

Mia squealed happily in response, seeming to recognize the woman.

“That’s our cue, little miss,” Carson told Mia before glancing over her shoulder at the camera. “Here we go.”

Carson approached the doors again, this time more confidently, as she strode into the rink area and walked next to the glass towards the bench.

The guys were huddled around Keefe, listening to the last bit of his spiel before ending the practice. Keefe spotted Carson walking with Mia and tried to contain the smirk tugging at his lips as he spoke, knowing what would happen when the guys noticed the girls’ presence.

“Alright, that’s it,” Keefe said, nodding toward the guys as the music they were blaring cut out. “You guys have a day off tomorrow. Enjoy it, and I’ll see you all at the airport on Sunday.”

With that, the group dispersed. The guys took their time getting off the ice, having a brief conversation with one another or going over to collect pieces of equipment before heading out.

Still, no one noticed Carson and Mia except those who knew they were there. John tried to get Auston’s attention, but Auston was too occupied talking to Gio as they each grabbed their water bottles.

Some guys turned around and began skating to the door so they could leave the ice. Once they saw Carson with Mia, they smiled and waved, knowing Auston’s day was about to be made and caught on camera simultaneously. So, they decided to hang around to see it all play out.

Carson tried to remain patient but wanted to get Auston’s attention so badly. Luckily, though, Gio turned around after a moment and spotted her. He smiled, then nudged Auston and nodded towards Carson so he’d see who was waiting for him.

Auston didn’t know what Gio was trying to show him, and it showed when he turned around, and his face lit right up upon seeing his girls on the other side of the rink waiting for him. He was smiling so wide as he skated over to them, not noticing the camera at first as he stopped in front of the two girls and leaned over the boards towards them.

“What’re you guys doing here?” He asked, still cheesing hard as he leaned over the boards more to give Carson a quick kiss.

“We wanted to surprise you,” Carson replied and nodded toward the camera so he’d see. “And figured I’d give you a ride home.”

“Ah, I see,” Auston said as he glanced over at the camera briefly, knowing they were filming to add to the feature they were doing on him for the Blueprint. He didn’t mind, though, because it didn’t take long for his attention to move entirely to the little girl who had been so patient and excited to see him. “Hi, mini!”

Without a second thought, Auston started reaching to take Mia from Carson. But, much to his dismay, Carson stepped away and shook her head, making Auston look at her with the most butthurt expression.

“Nuh-uh, you’re all sweaty,” Carson complained. “I just bathed her this morning.”

“Carse,” Auston pouted, not caring who heard. “You can’t not let me hold her.”

“You can hold her after you’ve showered,” Carson sassed right back, making the guys standing nearby break into fits of laughter over how devastated Auston looked.

“But that’ll take too long. I wanna hold her now.”

“Then you better get to the locker room and shower.”

Auston still looked at Carson with a pout and huffed dramatically, hoping she’d crack. It didn’t work, but luckily for Auston, something else did.

“Dada,” Mia said, smiling so wide as she reached toward Auston.

“See, she wants me to hold her,” Auston stated as a matter of factly.

Carson glared at him momentarily, then sighed in defeat before shifting Mia in her hold so she could properly pass Auston, their daughter. “You’re giving her a bath again once we’re home.”

“Hi, my girl,” Auston greeted happily as he moved away from the boards slightly, not acknowledging what Carson said.

Carson watched the two together and couldn’t help but smile at least a little bit. She loved them both and how much they loved each other so much. Then she shook her head and glanced toward the camera.

“I used to be his girl.”

“You still are,” Auston quipped, not even looking away from Mia but matching Carson’s sass with ease, even though she was teasing.

Carson rolled her eyes at that, her smile growing wider as she did, though. However, a familiar voice yelled from across the ice before she could say anything else.

“Is that Meems?” Mitch called out and was quick skating over.

“Mia!” Willy said excitedly and followed after Mitch, Bunts not trailing far behind him.

“Oh, there’s my favourite Matthews,” Mo stated as he joined as well and soon, most of the guys were crowding around, trying to say hi to Mia, and she loved every second of it. Of course, they were all happy to see Carson too.

“Would you back off,” Auston snapped at Mitch, who was trying to take Mia from him.

“You literally get to spend the most time with her. Let me hold her,” Mitch replied.

“She’s my daughter!”

“She’s my goddaughter!”

The two started bickering, making Carson facepalm as she waited for them to stop. Slowly, some guys made their way off the ice and nodded to Carson before heading to the dressing room as the arguing continued.

“Carson, can you tell him to stop?” Auston pleaded with his wife, sounding like a child who wasn’t getting his way.

“Don’t try to get her to take your side,” Mitchy scoffed, then looked at his cousin in disbelief. “Control your husband, Carse.”

“Both of you are ridiculous,” Carson replied, shaking her head. She had another sassy remark ready, but then she noticed Mia fighting so hard to keep her eyes open while leaning against Auston and decided to step in. “How about I take Mia, and we head home because it’s getting near her naptime? And Mitchy, you and Steph can either come over later tonight or tomorrow so you can see her before you’re both gone on your roadtrip.”

“Are you making food?” Mitch asked with zero hesitation, to which Carson nodded.

“I can.”

“Sold.”

“Sick invite,” Bunts scoffed and looked at Carson disbelievingly.

“You know you’re always welcome, Mikey,” Carson told him as she took Mia back, who let out a big yawn as she snuggled closer to her mom. She then looked at Auston and spoke again. “I’m trying to ignore that she smells like you now.”

“Hey, it’s not that bad,” Auston whined, then smiled down at Mia. “I’ll go shower, though, so we can get this tired girl home for a nap.”

He then leaned toward Carson, wanting to give her another peck on the lips, but stopped, afraid she’d move away and say he smelled bad again. Carson knew that’s exactly what was going on in his mind and felt bad for a second because she was just teasing, even though he definitely needed to shower. So, to let him know she didn’t actually care that much about how smelly he was, she closed the gap between them and stood on her tiptoes to catch his lips in a kiss.

Carson could feel Auston smiling against her mouth, which made her do the same. Then the moment was ruined by a loud noise, which made them jump slightly.

“My bad,” Willy stated as he bent down to pick up the stick he accidentally dropped. Mia looked at the blonde with a slight scowl because of the loud noise he made, which made Willy feel terrible. “Oh, Mia. Don’t look at me like that. I’m sorry.”

Mia continued looking at him, unimpressed, but her expression soon turned into a smile. Which was a given, seeing how much she loves Willy.

Carson and Auston looked at each other, trying not to laugh at the interaction between Willy and Mia, but they couldn’t help it. However, seconds later, Mia yawned and snuggled close to Carson again, reminding her parents it was almost nap time.

“Ok, we should really be heading home soon,” Auston said as he stepped through the open door so he could make his way to the dressing room. “I’ll go shower right now. Meet you outside the dressing room in like 20 minutes?”

“Deal,” Carson responded, earning herself a wink from her husband before he headed off.

Shortly after Auston left, the cameraman stopped filming, which Carson completely forgot was even happening still. The producer thanked her again for letting them film her and Mia before saying they would go off and film a few more little things for the feature. So, Carson took off the mic she was wearing and returned it before the producer and cameraman went back through the sliding doors and out of sight.

Carson stayed in the rink area for a little while, talking to Mitchy and the few guys that still lingered around, but it didn’t take long to notice Mia’s cheeks getting rosy from being around the ice for so long. Mitchy saw Carson realize Mia was getting cold and witnessed her shifting into mom mode like he had so many times before. It made him really happy seeing how incredible of a mother his best friend was turning out to be.

All the guys she was still speaking with understood and figured they should probably head to the dressing room and change out of their gear.

Once they were back in the warmth of the lobby area, Carson got Mia settled back into her car seat with a fluffy blanket, then put a baby sensory video of dancing fruit on for Mia to watch as they waited for Auston. The video was enough to keep Mia occupied for the roughly 10 minutes it took for Auston. She was on the verge of passing out when Auston finally joined them and barely even reacted as he approached them because she was so focused on her video.

Auston just chuckled, knowing how much those sensory videos put Mia at ease, and he decided not to disrupt her as he approached.

“Ready to go?” He asked Carson as he grabbed her coat from a nearby chair and held it up to help her into it.

“More than ready,” Carson replied as she put on the coat and turned to face Auston again as she zipped it up. “Thanks, babe.”

“Of course. And ok, let's go. I’ll drive us home.”

Carson nodded in response, appreciative of his offer because, similarly to Mia, she was getting tired and ready to crawl into bed.

“After we get home and put Mia in her crib, wanna nap with me?” Carson asked as Auston grabbed Mia’s car seat to carry her out to the car.

“I would love to,” he answered, smiling as he stood back up.

Auston then wrapped his free arm around Carson and held her close as they made their way out of the practice facility, not knowing the cameraman and producer were nearby catching this one last sweet family moment on video.

[secrets-of-everwich]

01-1 The First Disappearances

[Click]

{Callie:}

Hello, this is Callie Hewitt, recording on the 28th September 2021. Right, that’s all the professional stuff out of the way. I think. I wasn’t planning on talking about the Florences this early on, but they are the first disappearances here in Everwich, so…

This all took place over 200 years ago, and revolves around Henry, Esther, Katherine and Charles Florence, the original inhabitants of Everwich Manor. Obviously some details may be a little inaccurate to what happened, since there’s not that many firsthand accounts from back then, if there were more they’ve… Been destroyed.

This story starts on the 1st December of 18 [radio static hiding the year], when Katherine, a 15-year-old girl of parents Henry and Esther Florence, was having a ball for her birthday. By all accounts, this ball was going well – Katherine was finding a suitable suitor for her to possibly marry in the future.

Later newspaper reports show a James Beaumont, then 18, about Katherine, and the events of the ball.

‘I was, perhaps, the one to know Katherine the best. Our families were friends, and when she came of age we were to be married. Whilst I was not familiar with her family – least of all her younger brother – I did, in fact, spend a lot of time with Katherine. She was a headstrong girl, knew what she wanted. For instance, she would often explain to me how she read Mary Wollstonecraft. Whilst I do not agree with said book, she definitely was passionate about it, there was no question with regards to that.

The last time I saw Katherine? Well, that would be her 15th Birthday. An amazing ball, truly spectacular. The evening began with plenty of carriages pulling up at the Florence household – their manor in Everwich. Nice town, I always enjoyed visiting. We walked through the entrance hall, which looked nice. The ballroom was right at the back of the house, meaning we had a bit of a walk. It was rather unusual, but not unwelcome.’

Quick note from me! The ballroom is, indeed at the back of the house. If anyone needed clarification.

    ‘When we got to the ballroom, it was already full of people. I noticed Katherine immediately however, she was the centre of attention. As she ought to be. Her ginger hair was pinned up in an elegant bun, and her dress was a light orange colour. I think I saw Charles there, too. I can’t say for definite. But obviously, there’s already been the obituary for Charles.

    ‘The evening passed happily, I danced with Katherine a couple of times, I watched her dance with her close friend, Marie. Marie Everly. There was an orchestra, yes. No, nothing happened in the ball, nothing strange at all. The evening passed, until it was well time to leave. After that, I didn’t see Katherine. It was a shock, I must admit, to discover her disappearance.’

So, we know that there was a ball. Oh, my source! This was taken from Henry, Esther and Katherine’s obituary in The Everwich Post, from the 2nd January of the same year.

Not much is known about Charles Florence, other than he was the very first disappearance. The newspaper report with his obituary is nowhere to be found – and believe me, I’ve done some digging. The newspaper got similar reports to James Beaumont’s from friends of Henry and Esther, but, there’s not enough difference for it to be useful for this. Perhaps I’ll do a later episode going more in-depth, if that’s something whoever is listening is interested in!

What seems to be the general consensus, however, is that Charles disappeared sometime during the ball, on the 1st of December. During this time, Henry, Esther and Katherine seemed to tirelessly look for him for the next month, until the 1st January, when the rest of the Florences disappeared. I’ve tried to look for something that explains how, why, whatever, but… Absolutely nothing. Someone’s gone to extreme lengths to cover up specifically this disappearance.

And now for a quick intermission where I tell you guys about the sponsor for this episode! Just kidding, there’s still only one of you listening so absolutely nobody would ever want to sponsor me. However, I will sponsor- Myself? Everwich Manor is doing special show-tours next month, with the first being the 2nd of October, and then every Saturday afterwards, and also on Hallowe’en, when there’ll be candy as well!

Back to the episode. Whilst the rest of this may have made it seem like Kitty was the focus of this, it’s actually Charles I’m more interested in, due to both the lack of information, and some rumours that have been in newspapers since his disappearance.

The Everwich Post has multiple articles about sightings of ‘The Everwich Ghost’. What does this have to do with Charles, and the Florences? Well, I have a theory that the Everwich Ghost is Charles, doomed to live in Everwich for years, never aging! Of course, this is all speculation- Wait I haven’t said who the Everwich Ghost is yet…

This is from an Everwich Post report from 1985, which, from what I could find, was the best description. This is from reporter Emily Morris.

    ‘Everwich Ghost Confirmed?

    ‘It’s common knowledge for those who live in Everwich that throughout the years, a ‘ghost’ has lurked in the shadows, often killing those who see it. However, this urban myth has – until now – not had any proof.

    ‘The ghost, often described as a small child – most sources agree male, though there are some sources that suggest otherwise. Said to have white, curly, shoulder-length hair, deathly pale skin, and Victorian clothes, the Everwich Ghost’s first appearance is generally agreed to be in the 19th century.

    ‘While walking on Manor Road after dark, I heard a cry out in a nearby alleyway. I asked who was there, and only heard a cry for help. Instantly, I went to investigate, assuming it was a small child. It sounded like one.

    ‘When I did investigate, I saw a small child, not dissimilar from the descriptions. It seemed almost like they were glowing, like a ghost. I managed to get a photo (below), before the child ran away.

    ‘While this doesn’t confirm the existence of the infamous Everwich Ghost, it does make you wonder: What is happening in this town that nobody knows about?’

The picture shows exactly the description in the newspaper article, but blurry. It’s hard to make out whether the Everwich Ghost is just a hoax made to get reads on the paper, or if this was a genuine sighting, but this is one of the most recent supposed sightings, so I thought it worth mentioning.

What’s interesting, though, is that the Everwich Ghost stopped being sighted recently, around 10 years ago? It’s hard to tell. But I believe the Everwich Ghost is Charles, because the description matches… Well, not any portraits, there’s no portraits of Charles. But the curly hair seems to be a trait of the Florences, and a young, Georgian, male-presenting person would match who we can assume Charles is.

Overall, there isn’t much more information on the Florences, mostly Charles though. As I said before, it seemed like all the information got… Destroyed? Stolen? I don’t know. But there… Isn’t more. That’s it. Um, yeah. Thank you for listening, if you have, and I hope you enjoyed! This is Callie Hewitt, signing off!

[quieter] I don’t like that signoff. I should do a different- Oh it’s still on.

[Click]

[omegaremix]

25 Years Of Discovery.

January 1st, 2000 came with such underwhelming results. Didn’t help that last summer I had to permanently cut ties with a Judas sorority cousin after a public screaming match in front of family, neighbors, and strangers. I also pissed away the ones closest to me, my circle of “friends” from Brentwood. The liars, narcissists, victim-blamers, and the ones who left me out to dry all alone in parking lots because they were too awesome having fun in groups. Now you see why I had to spend New Year’s at the neighborhood church, pining away three hours until midnight arrived and even I couldn’t have that. A mother arrived with two screaming kids at 11:30 PM and all the while she’s running around the aisles between the seats, shuffling around like crazy catching them to stay put and she acted like a stereotypical soccer mom in the process. The most anti-climactic way to celebrate anything ever.

As my former friend Victoria said: “sometimes you have to go through the worst to get to the best.” Nice one, sweetheart. The best isn’t guaranteed no matter what people suffer through. The following Summer saw myself dealing with even more fallouts and the unpleasant surprises kept delivering.

What became of a Summer job working at the pool supply store with my friend Dede became a weekend bully convention. Dede, who got me the job, showed his true colors when he stood and laughed at me as two co-workers swung boxcutters at me. Store managers who heard my concerns nodded their heads and promised action, but in the end did zero. Showing up five minutes early for my shift wasn’t enough for Dede, however, and the Ever-Controlling One wanted me to work more days. "Who cares about your well-being?", he argued, because according to him it was all about him and his job. After daily dealings with his elitist prima-donna starfucker attitudes and half of the store talking about me behind my back, I no-showed him and shut him out for good. The next morning, he called my house while I was sleeping. “Why did you quit on me?” he asked. No “hello”, no “what’s wrong”, no “hey, everything OK?”. I answered by hanging up on him. Good-bye and good riddance to a self-important narcissistic asshole. But, I still had one out left in the deck. That out was Anna.

Anna and I had plans to meet up at Ocean City where she lived. Eight months of weekend online chats, pictures, cassette trades, hand-written letters (!), and Sunday night calls in the making. Here was a 5’8” pale Polish girl of straight neck-length brunette hair, green eyes, mid-cut shirts and tight jeans. Cute, flirtatious, charming. She came across so amorous and complimentary in such a way I never felt from anyone before. We’d trade notes about my struggles dealing with prima-donna underground musicians and egocentric writer-critics. She had her own drama with friends, co-workers, and exes- while recapping last night’s episode of Saturday Night Live. It was one of the few shining points of a dismal few semesters at community college. All fucking week I looked forward to those two hours talking to her on the phone. The time was right for me to come visit. She wanted it to happen. We made plans well in advance in what would be a unique event for me. To meet someone in a different state via Greyhound and experience something totally new would be exceptional.

Sunday night comes and I get a phone call from her to verify that it’s a go…it’s not happening. She broke the news to me in a sad let-down tone. Our plans were canceled. What was it? Was it because I was quiet about her mixtapes she sent me? Or was it because I saw no indication that she didn’t keep base with her folks that I was coming over and maybe her cover was blown? To this day I don’t even know. She never gave me a reason. They usually don’t. Real nice how some people show their interest in you, take it all back at the last minute and ultimately string you along for a few more miles before leaving you on the side of the road and drive away, never to be heard from again.

It’s June 19th and Summer was on life support. The only saving grace was spending 4th of July at a friend’s house. Then it finally died. I had close to nothing. No job, no pursuits, no movement, nada. Only a Playstation, bike rides to the library, and some trips to the bookstore to buy whatever music with what little money I still had. I was grateful in no longer having a selfish self-centered superstar for a friend, manager, and connection. On the other hand, Anna made me feel dejected because our plans were no more with no reason why. The season now became an excruciating waiting game for Autumn for a final unbearable semester at Suffolk Community.

I was already one year into listening to WUSB. They were the only game in town that played industrial and underground hip-hop. I tried hard to distract myself from recently losing the chance to see Anna, so radio was the drug of choice. I had plenty of blanks to run record on during my late-night shoot-’em-up sessions. Dubbing had been my weekly ritual since the Brentwood era. It was our way of capturing the moment. Downloading and streaming was in their infancy, and we didn’t have the permanence of online archives or YouTube. If you missed it, that’s it. Four, five, six tapes were lined up for the record button with one set aside to be transferred on. That was the beauty of dual tape decks, consolidation, and re-recording. Hit the red dot and let the chips fall as they may. Up on the itinerary: one of the four hip-hop slots our station had on the grid. Ghetto Radio, Street FM, The Basement, or Eminent Audio. Those slots never played the commercial -ish at the time, and they were four reasons why I returned to hip-hop after mostly abandoning it by senior year.

So, this happened: two of Eminent Audio’s dee-jays decided to play some short snippets of Seventies’ jazz, fusion, funk, and groove. Some late Seventies’ groove-line, and some Eighties’ R&B. The classics spun in short 20-30 second bursts, one after the other. It all started with Gang Starr’s “The Planet” which sampled Taj Mahal’s “The Cuckoo”, followed by Steve Davis’ “It’s All Because She’s Gone”, then Galt MacDermot’s First Natural Hair Band’s “Ripped Open By Metal Explosions”. Nas’ “It Ain’t Hard to Tell” and Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature” were also thrown into the mix.

And then, the Ace in the deck: Les McCann’s “Vallarta” ('77).

It played in the tinniest quality, as if it was trying so hard to push itself out of a drive-in movie speakerbox. It hit. It fucking hit like no other. Those feelings of watching those big money shows and ginger'd moms from Indianapolis deal with divorced life and her two kids, as I remember seeing it in my Brooklyn youth. Richard ‘Groove’ Holmes’ “Onsaya Joy” hit in the exact same fashion, too. Then Bob James’ “Caribbean Nights”. I was absolutely stunned out of my fucking mind.

The following week, Asmar (The Basement), always one to keep it real and spit consciousness, played Lonnie Liston Smith & The Cosmic Echoes’ “Expansions” (‘75). Then the comedown: “Aspirations” and finally “Colors Of The Rainbow”. None more accurate to describe the sounds and tonality of an isolated and introverted down summer. At that point that week’s Basement ended and it completely settled in.

It was all over for me.

The sampling parade and Lonnie Liston Smith songs tied into an era, a Borough Park childhood of spending days sitting at home playing with an Atari 2600, watching game shows (with surprise devils, computerized dragons, and lightning bolts), and late Fifties’ Looney Toons on a RGB-lens projector television. The days of my Brooklyn years continued on as an Eighties kid on the island when some of the most memorable moments, believe it or not, were these television station i.d.’s, opening and end credits, and production logos. 11 Alive, WGBH, WABC’s 4:30 Movie, WCBS’s The Late Show Intro, WPIX Channel 11 Film Festival, PBS, Magnetic Home Video, World-Northal, Viacom’s ‘V’ Of Doom, its sister Screen Gem's 'S' Of Doom, and chuckling pinball sounds with Peignot type…I can go on. They stayed with me the whole time. From that point on, I started staying in touch with myself. I always missed those obscure years living in Brooklyn. You miss them because you feel you haven’t had enough of them. Take all those moments, connect the dots, connect the stars, and get everything out of what you can that had everything to do with the era.

I started buying my own vinyl before the turn of the millennium, shortly after I started going to record stores. Only after WUSB’s Summer programming did I start pursuing the classics whenever and wherever I could. It was one way I had to keep up. A trip to what was Bay Shore’s Special Sauce, a skate and ski shop, once sold bins of vinyl records and was the first of many vinyl splurges. When I wasn’t crate-digging, I always referred to the-breaks.com, one of the first sampling sources on the net, way before WhoSampled took the lead it has now. Meanwhile, classic Seventies’ Saturday Night Live episodes followed and later discovered that my significant Yenny had GSN. You could imagine her level of tolerance to have her record these old shows for me on the regular. No, I lied. She was pretty cool about it.

YouTube came halfway into my stay at Stony Brook and I re-discovered those i.d.’s, credits, and logos. It was when I got deeper into collecting and finding those key artists that matched where I came from. John Tropea, Vic Juris, Chick Corea, and Esther Phillips. more Lonnie Liston Smith, Eric Gale, and Les McCann (again). Another very important kicker was my very first jump into library music. (Hello, KPM. Nice to meet you.) That's where I found Alan Hawkshaw, Brian Bennett, and Alan Parker. In fact, it was Parker’s “Unlimited Love” that was used for one of WABC’s movie intros-. Down the road towards the end of the Aughts, my vert first trip to High Fidelity’s old location in Amityville had me discover Phil Upchurch and Billy Cobham. That visit showed me to shop by year of release and gamble on artists I knew totally nothing about. That explains why I have two Karla Bonoff records, The Olympic Runners, Stuff, Maynard Ferguson, Urbie Green, and Ramsey Lewis.

I got re-acquainted with KPM after the turn of the decade, and made an entire mixtape / playlist dedicated to nothing but these sounds. Just so happened that I listened to nothing but Seventies, jazz / fusion, funk, groove line, and soul sounds for that entire Autumn and during Hurricane Sandy. The ultimate point of no return was when I found two very essential groups: Vinyl Archeologie and Reef Ali’s Vinyl Frontier. Could you imagine all these rare and obscure finds for samplers, crate-diggers, and producers they collectively unearthed? The sounds always featured on these groups (as well as Breaks & Samples and The Real Digging And Archeology) have shown me that it all goes to a whole new level.

These above groups are (all) the figurative time machine that takes me to places that no longer exist, ones which I’ve never experienced or been to, but felt like I have. They’ve extended my interest in jazz, soul, classic R&B, funk, groove, and fusion. To this day, they still do. This first-ever “jazz, fusion, rare groove, obscurity, resonance, vinyl finds, and sampling” showcase that aired on my radio show (Summer '13) not only made part of a personal summer mixtape, but symbolizes an all-too-important moment in my timeline with an addict ex-. Because of them, once-unknowns are now all-to-familiars to me. Gordon’s War, Starfire, Sass, Champaign, McNeal & Niles, and perhaps one of the most magical of them all, General Lee & The Space Army Band.

Since then, my affinity for these sounds have all but solidified. In the last few years, I discovered the Music DeWolfe, Patchwork, and Themes International library labels. Vinyl Archeologie and Vinyl Frontier have continued to unearth classics, resuscitate legacies, and renew interests in original artists. Omega is still doing bonus sampling / crate-digger broadcasts, and I’m always returning to find those classic programming moments for myself. With the help of Shazam and YouTube comments, I finally bullseye’d Otto Cesana & His Orchestra’s “Hi!”, Syd Dale’s “Cuban Presto”, and Reg Tilsley’s “Hold The Road”. I’m still unearthing new finds in the form of Emily Remler, Eddie Russ, Teddy Lasry, Tomorrow’s People, and Walt Barr. And, it seemed like only yesterday (Spring / Summer '18) that I once dropped $1,500 to all of the island’s record stores for post-surgery shopping therapy, and I did another record-store tour (Spring / Summer '22) in a winner-take-all fashion for double the price. If there was jazz, soul, fusion, whatever - it was mine.

I can’t say that the unreliables above (my former manager "friend" and the Jersey girl) made for vinyl music to happen. They’re isolated incidents. The sounds that our hip-hop dee-jays made possible happened regardless. I just happened to catch it. I still have the original recordings and digitized them last this year. How wild is it that the Summer has been salvaged from being a total bust for being in the right moment at the right time? How wild is it that one moment has carried on and still thrives to this day? It will continue to keep going because there’s always be something waiting to be discovered all over again. And as long as that does, the self-discovery continues, the broadcasts continue, the spending sprees continue, I continue. Here’s hoping you’ll do the same in your own right.

[myveryownfanfiction]

18+ MINORS AND THOSE WITHOUT AGE IN BIO DNI

requested by @onedirectionlovers2014

Request: Well I watched one of the Halloween episodes tonight and thought about something like the reader wearing a slutty costume to get Dan riled up after an argument and he gets really jealous and protective and tries to keep her covered all night and then they go home and he punishes the reader, ya know kinky see basically

warnings: jealousy, arguing, swearing, smut, edging, soft!dom Dan fielding

tags: @illiana-mystery, @eclecticwildflowers

AN: this got longer than I thought it would. Enjoy!

Grumbling to myself, I drove back to my apartment. Dan was so infuriating sometimes. How dare he tell me what I could wear and couldn’t wear. It wasn’t like it was provocative. It was just a modified morticia Addams costume, a pure black outfit. Tight sure but nothing like it could have been. What was his big idea? As if he didn’t act like Gomez when we were alone anyway. Huffing, I slowed down as I saw the costume store. Smirking, I pulled in and parked. I spent less than ten minutes there before pulling back out and finishing the drive.

I got changed into the new costume, which was basically a corset and underwear, before getting back in my car and driving to Harry’s. When Harry opened the door, he whistled.

“wow (Y/N). A little…much isn’t it?” I shrugged.

“a little pay back for Dan.” I told him as I walked in. “He tried to tell me what to wear. This is my response. Get him a little riled up.” Harry rolled his eyes as Christine appeared behind him.

“leave us out of this. Please.” Christine moaned. I winked at her. “no promises.” I laughed. “He here yet?” Harry shook his head. I nodded and moved further into the apartment to mingle with the guests that were there. No one really commented on my costume, other than the few who made a show of looking me up and down. I laughed it off, knowing no one would touch me because of Dan. The door opened and I turned to look at who walked in. Dan looked around, wearing his Gomez costume as planned. I smirked to myself as I walked over. “Hello Mr. Addams.” I cooed as I wrapped my arm around his. Dans eyes nearly popped out of his skull.

“(Y/N)! What the fuck are you wearing?” He asked as he shrugged out of his coat. He tried to drape it across my shoulders but I slipped away from him. Giving him a dirty look, I walked off to find Harry.

“yep. It’s started.” I complained to him as I leaned against a wall, taking small sips of the drink Harry had handed me. “He keeps trying to cover me with his coat.” Harry chuckled.

“what did you expect?” He nodded towards Dan who was talking to Christine but shooting glances over at me. “He thinks that only he can see what you’re showing off.”

“probably.” I shrugged. “Well here he comes. Better dash.” I laughed and went to step away. Dan grabbed my arm and pulled me into him. His coat as draped over my shoulders as he stared at me. I gulped as his eyes flickered down before coming back up to meet mine.

“we’re leaving.” He muttered. Shooting a look at Harry, he nodded. “Thanks for having us Harry. See ya tomorrow night.” I followed Dan out to my car. “I took a cab. Keys?” I handed him my keys, tugging his jacket closer to me as the chill blew through.

“my apartment or yours?” I asked, getting into the car. Dan huffed as he got in and started it. The drive was silent as I noticed we were headed towards his apartment. “I’m sorry.” I apologized. Dans eyes flickered over to me.

“for what?” He asked. “It’s my fault for starting that argument.”

“that. And…” I vaguely gestured to myself. Dan nodded.

“I hope you know you’re going to be punished for that.” He said. I nodded. “You should have just stuck to the plan (Y/N). But I can’t say I didn’t enjoy seeing you like that.” I blushed a little as he pulled up to his apartment. "But only I get to see you like that from now on. Agreed?"

"Yes sir." I responded. Dan nodded and got out of the car. He opened my door and held his hand out for me to take. I put my hand in his and let him help me out of the car. Dan wrapped his arm around my waist and led me through the lobby to the elevator. During the ride, he hugged me from behind with his chin on my shoulder. I leaned back into him, knowing that this was all of the sweet Dan I was going to get for a while.

"When we go in, I want you to strip and lay on the bed, face down." he said as the elevator doors opened. I nodded and took his offered hand as he led me down the hallway. He paused outside his door before unlocking it and ushering me. I beelined for the bedroom and started stripping off my clothes. Climbing on the bed, I laid down with my face buried in the pillow. I could hear dan walk in and hum appreciatively. He ran his hand along my back, rubbing circles between my shoulder blades. “Good dear. Very good.” I heard him open the drawer before I felt him tie my hands to the headboard. He also slipped a blindfold over my eyes, kissing my shoulder before pulling away. “Are you ready for your punishment?” He asked.

“yes sir.” I whispered. Dan chuckled and ran a hand down my back.

“Ten should do it.” He murmured to himself before his hand came down on my ass.

“One.” I yelped. Dana hand came down again. “Two.” I kept count until I was a squirming mess. “Ten.” I breathed out. Dan hummed as he slid his arms under my torso and flipped me over.

“You did so well for me.” He whispered as he kissed me. “I’m not quite finished with you yet. But I do think you deserve a bit of a reward my dear.” I whined as Dan trailed a hand across my stomach. “Would you rather have the blindfold off or the restraints?” He asked, voice low and stern.

“blindfold off sir.” I said instantly. The restraints were a comfort by now and I while I loved how Dan looked, there was something about the way he looked while fucking me into oblivion that just made him that much more attractive to me. The blindfold was pulled off, making me close my eyes and turn my head to try not to blind myself.

“color?” Dan asked, watching me carefully.

“green sir.” I answered quickly. “Just wasn’t expecting it to be that quick sir.” I explained when I saw the look on his face. Giving Dan a small smile, I squeezed the restraints. He nodded slowly before leaning down to kiss me again.

“you’ll tell me if it changes, right dear?” I nodded again. He kissed me again before standing up straight to take off his costume. “Good.” I bit my lip as I watched him, fighting back the usual urge to wolf whistle when he shrugged off his shirt. That would have earned me another spanking and the blindfold back, probably without sex tonight. After slipping off his boxers, he climbed on the bed and laid down on top of me. “You are not allowed to cum until I tell you too. Understood?” I met his eyes and nodded.

“yes sir.” I whispered. Dan smiled before kissing me fiercely, thrusting into me at the same time. My moan was swallowed by dan slipping his tongue in my mouth. I slowly sucked on his tongue as he pulled out. Chuckling, dan planted his forearms framing my head and buried his head between my neck and shoulder. I felt him kiss, nip and suck there as he picked up speed. “Please sir.” I whined as he set a pace that was far too slow. “Faster.” Dan gently bit my neck before pulling back completely.

“faster dear?” He asked, his eyes shining brightly. I nodded. “You should be careful what you ask for darling.” He laughed as he started to pound into me. I screamed out his name at the change in speed.

“dan!” I screamed as I felt the coil tense deep in my stomach. “Dan! Please! Please sir! I need…need…please!” Dan chuckled above me before slowing down. “NO!” I cried, grabbing the restraints and holding on until my knuckles turned white.

“what did I tell you my dear?” Dan asked, pressing kisses to my cheeks. “You can’t cum until I tell you to. And it is far too soon for my liking.” He kissed me again before slowly thrusting into me. I whined as the tension turned into a simmer. “Aw is someone mad?” He teased as he nipped at my neck again. “What if I…” Dan broke off as he resumed the previous speed he had. I cried out as I tugged on the restraints, frantically trying to find purchase on something while Dan moved his kisses to my chest.

“sir! Please!” My voice was somewhere between a scream and a whine, making Dan chuckle against the base of my throat. I tugged on the restraints again, desperately trying to hold back my orgasm. Dan bit my neck again as I pleaded with him. Instead, he slowed down to an unbearably slow pace. “I don’t…know…how much…more I…can take…sir.” I panted. Dan ran his nose down my jawline and I got a good look at him.

His hair was matted with sweat and his cheeks were dusted red. His eyes shone and his lips were swollen from kissing me. Dan was panting just as much as I was, his chest heaving with each breath. I swallowed thickly as I watched a bead of sweat run down his throat.

“Color?” Dan asked, slowly thrusting into me now.

“Green sir.” I breathed out. Dan nodded slowly.

“are you sure?” He asked, concern edging into his voice. I smiled up at him, equally as sweaty and red.

“I’m sure dan.” I broke out of our roles to reassure him. “At this point, I’m just ready to cum. You’re doing amazing. Just please for all that is good…” i trailed off as Dan chuckled, letting his head fall to my shoulder.

“alright my dear.” He picked his head up and kissed me sweetly. “Honestly, I’m not sure how much longer I can hold off either.” Reaching up, Dan undid the restraints and laughed as my arms came around him the second they were free. He brushed his nose against mine and started to thrust into me more deeply than before. His speed gradually increased until I was whimpering and burying my fingers into his sweat soaked hair.

“sir. Please.” I breathed out as I felt the coil tighten past the point of no return. “I can’t…” Dan leaned down and kissed my cheek.

“Cum for me my dear.” He whispered as my orgasm crashed over me.

“DAN!” I screamed as I held onto him as tightly as I could.

“(Y/N).” Dan grunted as he stilled, spilling into me. He pressed a kiss to my forehead, waiting until I had calmed from the aftershocks before pulling out. He laid down next to me, hand on his chest as he panted.

“I’m so doing that again.” I laughed as I turned my head to look at Dan. He grabbed my hand and pressed it over his heart.

“I think the fuck not.” He breathed out as I laughed, feeling his heart pounding in his chest. “But god do I love you.” He leaned over to kiss me before getting up, heading towards the bathroom to get a rag to clean me up.

“I love you too.” I whispered.

[cbsghostsmetasandtrevor]

CBS Ghosts - Hello! - Haunting Regrets

Warning - Spoilers May Appear.

Thor seems to be the only one excited about this.  

Plan is working!  Meanwhile, look at everyone else’s faces.  Hetty’s in the window, clearly worried about Sam, and everyone else looks disappointed and upset.  

I love how Sass points out how terrible it is and both Trevor and Flower are sitting rather close together and upset.  It's clear that they definitely feel bad about the situation.

OKAY OKAY! Isaac doesn’t care - he’s too upset about Hamilton.  I like the way that he’s sitting - it’s the same way that Trevor sits in TB when he’s sulking and upset.

On the other hand, Isaac shouldn't you care A LITTLE about Sam?

Also, notice that Trevor and Flower are also leaning back in a somewhat sulking manner.  Isaac sulking is surprisingly adorable.  We should see this more often.  

Side note - anyone wonder if he sulks when Nigel comes and goes during their “keeping the peace talks” over the years? I'm willing to bet that he does.

I love this - Alberta calls Isaac ‘Soldier Boy’ - which makes me wonder how close they actually are.   (We see hints of a rivalry and a deep friendship in later episodes of season 2, so very curious). Meanwhile Trevor’s got no issues talking about how he used his power for Isaac.  This is a subtle flex.  He wants the praise.

I wonder if the reason that Trevor mentions this BECAUSE he’s the one that COULDN’T get his power to work during the ‘Haunting’ and so he’s like ‘SEE I’m not as useless as you all think.’ (Even though I am certain that NONE of the ghosts would give him trouble about that - it's just an insecurity thing).

I like that he’s picked up on Jay’s name and seems okay and not as tired as the other ghosts are when they use their power. He's pretty strong.

I like how Isaac doesn’t downplay Hamilton’s accomplishments, even though he could have.  Instead, he admits that he’s impressed almost.  

(Mind you - I wonder if Trevor would’ve just agreed or disagreed knowing how terrible Isaac’s feeling?) I’m sure that he would’ve let Isaac tell the lie (since he lies about his pants - which is stupid, let’s face it).  Just because he knows that Isaac may need that to feel better.

Trevor’s just like “yeah, you know where this is going.”   Isaac Higgintoot is 15 letters AND Trevor would've had to delete Hamilton's name. So that's ALOT of WORK.

Sass and Alberta look like they know that it wasn’t much (they’re so side-eying Trevor here) and even Flower’s like ‘aw’.  Visually, I really like that image of Trevor and Flower on the couch.  They’re kind of cute together.  

But I also like the four of them on the couch together because they just fit well.

OMG!  Trevor is like panting and breathing heavily.  Meanwhile, Isaac could care less since he’s like ‘I’m a footnote’.  Interesting thing here is that Isaac apparently thought he did enough to be in history books?  Despite the fact that he wasn’t really around in certain situations - like the ones listed in the history books?  

Is it possible that he'd been lying to himself all this time?

Side note - he thanked Trevor, right?  Because somehow, I imagine that he doesn’t because he’s disappointed in the results, in which case, poor Trev.  He literally worked for hours to type that up and look for him and he’s panting as if he’s run a race and Isaac’s just like “this is it???”

I mean, I still feel bad for him, especially here.  He’s like “I’m rarely mentioned - only one FOOTNOTE”... on the plus side, I LOVE ‘I’m literally a footnote in history’ is a hilarious line.  I also like that he’s just laying back totally not himself.  It shows how deeply affected he is by it.  I wonder if it’s making him flash back to getting into the ‘Free Masons’ and being excluded or if he puffed up his importance after his death and bought into his own hype.  

Maybe after he died and he had to stay with Thor/Sass who probably gave him a hard time about his death and seeing Nigel (who he killed), made him hype himself up to feel better?  I mean, he is really into being considered their leader.  He wants and expects the respect.

LMAO - Pete tries to make him feel better and Trevor’s making a joke that his school was a not as good school.

I feel like part of the reason he does this is 

A) because it’s too sad and serious (which we know that he doesn’t like Ala ‘this {talking about my death with my parents} is so depressing - talk about something fun’.  

B) because Isaac might not of thanked him for his efforts.

and / or C) because he’s feeling bad about his idea driving Sam crazy and wants it to be funny. He doesn't want to think about his guilt.

Trevor very much likes avoid sadness - he’s the fun-loving frat boy and wants everyone to be happy and have fun, so I could see his ‘jokes’ as an attempt to deal with that.

OMG THOSE SIDE EYES.  Flower and Sass are just like “the fuck you doing boy”.  Flower may also be regretting sitting so close to Trevor right now.  

I wonder if aside from Maybe Pete, any of them know what a “safety school” is?  Does Trevor making this joke make any sense to them?  Also, it’s telling of Trevor’s intelligence that he thinks Dartmouth is a safety school.  

According to Google (because Google is right about everything) - Dartmouth in an Ivy League school started in 1769, with their admission requirements basically being a Straight A average and top twenty-five placement in their graduating class.  They require recommendations and high test scores and 6% admission rate.  

IDK what it was like in 1987 when Trevor would’ve graduated HS and gone to college, but I can’t imagine it was some terrible choice.  So, this says ALOT about Trevor’s intelligence (which often gets ignored because his dumbass decision when he died).  

But again, would ANY of the ghosts even know what a ‘safety school’ is?

It’s so interesting that Isaac has never mentioned musicals or that the three on the couch seemed ‘surprised’ that he’s really into the musical thing.

Again with these three - Isaac acts like it should be such a surprise, but Sass is just like “huh, military type = Isaac, yeah no”.

Flower is nodding along eagerly - IDK if she’s confused at this point or mocking him a bit.  

Trevor’s just like “Yeah, Bro.  Totally.” He's the type to tell people what they want to hear.

And Isaac has no idea. It’s so funny.  I wonder what Alberta was doing here - she, Thor and Hetty are in the room, but aren’t seen at this point.

I love this move by Isaac - it’s AWESOME.  IDK what it is but there’s just something about it that I like.

And lastly, we have Pete.  Not at all surprised either and not knowing what to do.

ANYWAY, the most of the ghosts are feeling bad.  While some are rather focused on themselves, but no worries guys - your new best friend will be back soon!

Thanks for reading!

Feel free to discuss.

[rewatching-sam-and-dean]

The Pilot (Part 3 of 3)

So, this post will wrap up my Pilot episode commentaries, reviews … whatever they should be classified as. Again, thanks to everyone who checked out Part 1 and Part 2. This one took me ages because I ended up writing about the whole rest of the episode. And here I thought Part 2 took me a long time. But, for anyone who takes a minute to read this one, thank you. And please feel free to comment with what you liked best (or didn’t) about the Pilot.

[For anyone who might have seen this post already, I’m reposting since I needed to fix some things and Tumblr wasn’t cooperating.]

On the Road Again

(Alternate Title: Sam and Dean Brothering)

My commentary and more pic edits are under the cut …

THE CASE

ABOUT ME: Alight, so honesty time, I don’t really like horror. Yes, I watched the mainstream ones that came out in the theaters when I was in high school and university (Hello, Mr Padalecki in House of Wax), largely because it was something to go do with friends, but it’s certainly not a favorite genre of mine. I’ve never seen ones like The Exorcist and I don’t plan to. However, SPN, even in the early seasons is more like horror lite, but even then there are episodes I won’t watch while going to bed because I don’t want that crap swimming around my subconscious while I’m sleeping. But all that being said, I generally don’t mind the creep factor on the show, and I like some of the monsters, but the relationships, especially between Sam and Dean are what hooked me on the show. All this is just to explain why I generally probably won’t talk that much about the cases of the week unless they are very relevant to a plot arc or I really like/hate them.

THE MONSTER OF THE WEEK: Anyway, The Woman in White is a pretty decent first ghost to set up the show, and the case shows us what the Winchesters do when they hunt and what they know about the supernatural world. The MOTW gives us some classic horror tropes (the cheater gets killed, ghost kids are creepy as hell), and it sets up some classic SPN tropes (shooting ghosts and blood splats, anyone?). I think the ghost is sufficiently creepy. The case is fairly straightforward, but it’s not like I usually tune into the show for the mystery alone, so that’s fine with me. I think the effects are pretty decent for the ghost given when it was filmed, though the glitchy-ness makes it feel a little too much like computer effects, at times. Still, the only part that really stands out to me in a bad way is when the ghost kids zoom over to their ghost mother and … latch on to her? Whatever they are doing, it looks weird, to me, and kind of awkward, and it sort of takes me out of the moment. Overall though, I think the ghost and the first case are a good start to the show.

WORKING TOGETHER AGAIN

GETTING STARTED: When Sam and Dean first start working the case, we really start to see who they are as people and their dynamic. Surprising to no one who has watched the show, Jared and Jensen do a phenomenal job of selling Sam and Dean as siblings despite not looking much alike. Their frequent bickering and physicality paint a very convincing picture of siblings dynamics between people who grew up together. As someone with brothers myself, their teasing and the occasional smack feel on point to me.

When they get into the car, the show sets up how Dean and his Dad live and support themselves, as well as Sam's vague disdain for scamming credit cards. But one of the most classic of all SPN imagery and concepts is set up here with Dean as the driver, picking the music, with Sam riding shotgun. If this isn’t also a metaphor for a good portion of their relationship, I don’t know what is; Dean is the boss and Sam is expected to follow (except when he doesn’t). On a similar note, later in the episode, the irony of Dean calling Sam a control freak when Sam shoves his chair away from the computer is … phew. Dean, my friend, you are a black pot and Sam is your kettle. Anyway, not only does the way they act around each other, and play off of each other, more then sell them as brothers, it starts to reveal who they are.

Dean is a snarky smart-ass who clearly has little respect for authority (when it isn’t his dad), as he has no problem lying to or even mouthing-off to law enforcement. To him, they are civilians poking their noses into monster business, so he can’t be bothered to pretend to respect what they have to officer. Sam kicks Dean under the officer's sight line for his flippancy, and aside from being a classic sibling move, this suggests he has more respect for authority (when it isn’t his dad) and the law in particular (as a hopeful future lawyer, this is not a surprise) than Dean. It also shows he’s more cautious and less brash than Dean, not wanting to draw too much attention to themselves by being snarky or confrontational.

Besides starting to establish who our main characters are, this early part of the case starts to reveal the complexity of how Sam and Dean feel about each other. Clearly, there is a lot more volatile emotions simmering away than simple sibling rivalry. Sam seems to resent Dean siding with their dad over him, and both his dad and brother's for hunting and revenge. On the other hand, Dean is clearly not over Sam leaving (abandoning him, their dad and the mission) and is seemingly itching for a bit of a fight. All it takes is one statement from Sam about their mom being gone no matter what they do, for Dean to break. As I mentioned in (I think) my Part 1 discussion, this moment, paired with the introduction scenes with Mary, makes a lot of sense. Dean is pissed that Sam doesn’t seem to take the mission seriously enough, while Sam truly can’t remember her, so it’s impossible for him to feel the same connection to dad's mission of revenge as Dean. Despite growing up together, these boys clearly did not have entirely the same childhood experience (which of course, we will see more of later). Despite their tension, it’s also clear that these brothers care about each other and are comfortable together. They speak at the same time (jinx!), showing they are clearly in sync. They are both annoyed and amused by each other's teasing, especially Sam reluctantly smiling at Dean's snark. They sit so close that they’re practically on top of each other, which they definitely would not do if they didn’t like each other and weren’t comfortable with each other. And, they express their care for each other in their own (jerk-bitch) emotionally constipated way. The latter is especially true for Dean of the no chick-flick moments. Even after years apart, these guys clearly have a close bond, despite their issues.

DIVIDING AND CONQUERING

HOW THE WINCHESTERS WORK: Even when detained by the police, Dean, we see is holding true to his fearless and flippant persona as he gives the cop interrogating him little respect and a lot of attitude. We also find out a little more about Dean and John. They clearly think ahead, setting up systems for finding each other in the inevitability of them getting separated (the coordinates in the journal). This is something I love seeing in the show later with Sam and Dean, their code words and contingency plans. These are aspects of the characters that really make them feel real and competent, and I wish we got more of this throughout the seasons. When the officer gets called away, we also see that Dean is resourceful (hello, Clippy!), and can pick a lock.

Meanwhile, we see the first hints os Sam's true super power, puppy-dog eyes. Still, they must not be up to full power after years off the job, as the widower ends up storming off in an offended and guilty huff. Next, as it turns out, Sam was the one who called in the tip that cleared out station, giving Dean the opportunity to make his escape. I love that Sam does this for three particular reasons. First, it shows that he’s smart and resourceful, and, despite his desire to no longer be a part of the hunting life, thinking on his feet is clearly still very much a part of him. Secondly, and related to my first point, this move shows how he and a Dean are a team, even when separated. Sam knows that if he gets Dean an opportunity, he will find a way to use it and escape. Finally, this little move of essentially prank calling the cops, reveals more about Sam. Mr. Future Lawyer is not above breaking the rules if it means helping his brother. This confirms to us that Sam isn’t exactly the straight-laced guy he appears to be at the start of the episode.

A couple more things that stand out for me, while the brothers are on the phone, is how proud Dean clearly is of Sam fior making that call into the police (one of us! one of us!), and Sam is full on smiling while discussing his recent misdemeanor. Whether he likes it or not, a part of Sam enjoys this. He is having fun hunting, or at least hanging out with Dean, and Dean is loving having Sam back.

REUNITED FOR NOW

(But really, for the next 15 years, give or take a few separations)

BETTER TOGETHER: So, not-unsurprisingly, Sam gets attacked by the ghost. He is a faithful guy, which already seemed pretty clear from his vibe when he’s first introduced in the episode, but it’s nice to have confirmed. The ghost doesn’t care and basically sexually assaults him so that she’ll be justified in killing him. I mean … bad form, Constance. Dean shows up shooting her in the face, which distracts her just long enough (despite not being salt shells - is this when they get the idea to start using salt shells, I can’t recall?) for Sam to crash the impala into the house, effectively taking her home. So, Sam helped save Dean by giving him a chance to get out of custody, and Dean helps save Sam by distracting the ghost so Sam can bring her back to the house. I like how they both save each other, or give each other the opportunity to save themselves. This establishes that they are both capable alone but better when they work as a team.

So, besides my comments on the screen shots above, a few more things really stand out for me in the final parts of the episode. Sam, who just crashed a car into an abandoned house, was attacked by a ghost, and has now been threatened by his sibling, is again smiling. This weirdo is having a good time, and I love it. I keep pointing this out because I don’t think I fully noticed just how much Sam smiles in the Pilot when I watched it before, and a lot of the time it’s with Dean or just after breaking the law or being attacked. It really adds some interesting nuance to Sam, who is not simple the straight man, and informs his conflict over going back home.

Another thing that stands out to me here is just how desperately Dean wants Sam to stay with him. We can practically feel it through the screen. A part of him was clearly starting to hope that now that they found their groove again, Sam might just stay with him, that maybe he would blow off that law school interview after all. He is clearly crushed when Sam says he has to get back, and we pretty much see him scrambling to pull his armor back on to protect himself from Sam's rejection. It’s almost heartbreaking, which is a testament to Jensen's acting, as well his and Jared's chemistry and ability to make these guys seem real. In just about 45 minutes, we are invested in these characters and their relationship. Jared does a good job with Sam, too. We can clearly see his conflict; he did have fun hunting with Dean, it’s clear that he had missed Dean, and I think a part of him wants to stay with Dean. But Sam is stubborn, and more than that, he has built a new life for himself, a plan. Still, when he offers that olive branch when they’re saying goodbye, of him and Dean hanging out some time soon, I believe that he wants to, but I’m not sure if either of them believe it will happen. It’s actually sad to think they are going their separate ways, and we’re already rooting for them to stay together.

Finally, the episode comes full circle with Sam finding Jess on the ceiling (not pictured above because it just creeps me out, like with Mary), the fire, Dean saving him again by pulling him out of the fire, and Sam picking up his father's mantel of vengeance. At this point, Dean has been fully established in our eyes as Sam's protector, and Sam has been established as our doubly tragic hero who is now on his own mission for revenge.

FINAL THOUGHTS: One last thing that I forgot to mention above that I love about the Pilot is the humor that runs though it. It’s not uproariously funny or anything, but it has nice doses of humor throughout. A good amount of this comes from Dean who is established as a funny character, but funny moments also come from a lot of the brothers' interactions. Their squabbling and backhands, or digs on each other, add a nice bit of realism and lightness to what could otherwise be an unrelentingly dark episode. I love how this becomes an established part of the show later, I think starting especially in Season 2. In later seasons, though it does get a little too heavy handed for me on occasion. I think it’s ultimately a big part of what mane Supernatural different. That and Sam and Dean's general unhingedness regarding each other.

Regarding Jess, as much as I like her character and believe Sam would have eventually returned to hunting regardless, now that Dean is back in his life, I think it makes sense that she dies here, giving him that push. It gets them going on the hunt more quickly. Also, I read somewhere that the writers had toyed with having Jess be possessed. I’m truly glad they never went that route. I think it’s much more poignant that she was just a good person, who Sam loved. It’s more tragic, more painful him him to lose her as she is in the Pilot, and it’s ultimately a more pure relationship.

At the end of the episode, we are left with a lot of questions to speculate on, and even more that we want to find answers for. This, besides establishing the characters, is just about the most important thing a Pilot can do. It leaves us curious and wanting to know more. Would Sam have seen Dean again if Jess hadn’t died (yes)? Where is the dad? Why is he leaving them coordinates, instead of just calling or texting them? When are we going to see him again. What is going to happen to Sam now that he’s lost Jess in this way? What will this mean for the brother’s relationship going forward? What killed their mother and Jess? Why? What other kinds of scary crap are the boys going to come up against?

Will we find some of the answers in Season 1, Episode 2, Wendigo (I mean … mostly, no)?

Well, this ended up being way longer than I planned, so if you made it to the end, thank you so much for reading! Please feel free to comment or reblog with your thoughts on the episode!

To be Continued …

… in Wendigo, Part 1, coming soon-ish …

[lovecolibri]

SaL anon here friend and, well, that was an intesting start to LS. So my quick review is I loved the 126 interactions, both during and outside of the emergency, apparently this is Tim's strong suit since it involved the actual ensemble and felt world's away from where the OG interactions are now. I absolutely hate the Owen plot, it makes no sense and is giving me flashbacks of another show's awkward attempt at a white supremacist storyline, but with thankfully less visions 🙄🙄🙄. And then

we have the Tarlos storyline. I'm not outright against it, even with how nonsensical it is. You and I are veterans of Plothole NM, we've seen worse. But that storyline has a lot of heavy lifting to do and it already started on a bad note. I know the reason Carlos hasn't brought this up in 3 years is the writers didn't know it was happening till a few months ago (planned since S1 my ass Tim) but I'm going to need an onscreen explanation, this is talk that should have happened. And I do want to see Carlos have a plotline that's his own where he gets to grow and his issues are addressed, the character deserves that. But they better be careful how they handle it cause the scene last episode and interview clips I've seen aren't encouraging. I'm not super thrilled at the "I'm a bad friend" line from Carlos, addressed to his FIANCE, who he just dropped this huge bombshell on. And since we know Iris isn't signing divorce papers next episode, that she's apparently "vetting" TK next episode (seriously girl, take a seat), and her and Carlos's friendship is going to make TK feel like an outsider, this character has got me super wary. Maybe it's an overreaction, but we just got done with a show where a straight woman got in the middle of the queer couple and was frequently prioritized, I'm don't want to see it again. If she says one mean or judgmental thing to TK I'll shove her in the plothole she crawled out of.

Hello my friend! It was so good to not only have some weewoos back, but my watching ritual is going to my grandmas to chill, watch together, and talk about the show after while we work on puzzles so I overall had a great Tuesday (aside from constantly thinking it was Monday lol). I also really enjoyed the 126 and the interpersonal scenes. Everyone bagging on Owen all episode was hilarious to me personally, the Judd/TK dynamic is as delightfully brotherly as always, Nancy and Mateo are adorable, and Nancy calling Tommy out was SO funny, and Brianna’s delivery continues to be on point. I wanted more Marjan and Paul as always but they also got their quips in and seeing the teams in action felt good! I agree that things definitely felt way less forced than OG felt this season.

NGL you said “thankfully less visions” and I was *scrambling* to remember what happened in OG 911 about visions before I realized it was about RNM s3 and I had just fully suppressed that stupid vision plot from my brain 🤣🤣🤣 I do think this show will handle things better than RNM did, but that is saying absolutely nothing because RNM did it SO badly sooo 🤷🏻‍♀️ My main gripe with this, as with most of Owen’s storylines, is that they are centralized around NO ONE ELSE in the main cast, and since he gets most of the screentime, it’s going to mean LESS time for everyone and everything else. Judd and Grace and Tommy are all involved in each other’s “personal” storylines even just as someone to talk/vent to, plus Tommy has TK and Nancy as well to talk to, TK and Carlos obviously have each other as to Mateo and Nancy, we’ve had some great Paul/Marjan stuff especially last season and when the show started, we had lots of good Owen/TK and Judd/Owen scenes, plus a few good scenes with Owen and Tommy or Michelle as captains. Even Billy had a connection to Judd and Grace, and wanted to be over the 126 so that wasn’t entirely separated either, but everything else for Owen has been focused outside of the team. Even the Owen/Marjan stuff in the opener last season was them being separated most of the time and unaware they were both in the same place. And here’s the thing, I LIKE the Owen scenes with the main characters! I like the banter, and he has some really great moments as a dad/father figure and as a captain. But every time it becomes all about a character outside of the 126 it just falls SO flat for me. So add to that mess the fact they want to address white nationalism in Texas by having him go undercover for the FBI? Hard pass. I care zero percent about what they do with this storyline. I HOPE they at least use Owen’s love for his team and the diverse minorities they represent as an anchor point for this storyline but still. Can we go back to him having cancer and trauma and dealing with it by being a good captain and making sure his team takes care of their physical and mental health please? (I’ve been re-watching s1 and like...there was some GOOD stuff there with him and the team and I miss that energy!) I will say I am SOOOOO excited to see him and Andrea Reyes being wedding-zillas about the Tarlos wedding because THAT is the kind of Owen shenanigans I can enjoy!

As for the Tarlos storyline I’m willing to see where it goes for sure because I do think Tim had the thought ages ago (without considering how the characters have changed since their first concept came to be while planning s1) and I also think it’s going to give US some good backstory and depth for Carlos, and it’s going to give RAFAEL some meaty stuff to work with and stretch his acting chops which will be fun to see. HOWEVER. My main gripe is just...the sheer number of MASSIVE plotholes/questions this storyline creates, and a lot of that has to do with them never leaving ANY clues that this could be a thing. 

Andrea (and possibly Gabriel) knows? Because a) this 100% should have come up as part of the reason for the s2 misunderstanding about why Carlos hadn’t told them about TK even if it was a vague and cut-off conversation we weren’t fully apart of. And b) HOW MUCH and WHEN did she know? Because if she’s known all along it’s WEIRD that it hasn’t come up even accidentally at all especially in s2, AND it doesn’t track with Carlos saying they did it for “normalcy” reasons if they were dating other people and no one seems to have known anything about it by the way they have all acted for 4 seasons.

As stated above, Iris was dating someone for ages before she disappeared! And no one said anything about her “stepping out” on her husband? Was everyone in the know that it was a sham? And if so, then why do it at all? 

Also, Iris wasn’t doing it to use his medical insurance since she wasn’t diagnosed until after she was found and at that point she was still refusing treatment. 

If she HAD been using his insurance recently and the “marriage” was an excuse to keep her coverage up all this time, wouldn’t Carlos have been getting her insurance statements when they paid a bill? And getting the bills for her deductibles and stuff? Surely TK would have seen the mail at this point?

Carlos was allowed to help in the investigation and was never under suspicion himself? Even when they found the truck and blood, he was allowed to take part and it never once came up that he shouldn’t be allowed because he was legally her husband? 

Wouldn’t it have come up when they were talking about wills that legally half of everything Carlos has or has bought (INCLUDING THE LOFT) legally belongs to his wife? (ONE good thing is that we didn’t get this reveal while Carlos was unconscious in the hospital, can you even imagine?!)

I KNOW there are more things I’m forgetting but that’s just questions off the top of my head and it’s already so much! Had Timmy put in like, the barest effort to include some crumbs, we all could have had an OH SHIT THIS is what *xyz* scene was about?! Which could have been fun! But by dropping it entirely only to bring it up in season 4, it’s just created a bit of a mess. Hopefully we get the answer to some of these questions in the next couple of episodes but none of that changes that the actual build up SHOULD have been there because there were ample opportunities to sneak hints and instead it still just comes out of nowhere. 

As for Iris herself, I’m already really heated about the slap because like, that was SO unnecessary. Like a hug, then playful punch to the arm, then hug again could have had the comedic effect I know they were going for, but using a full on bitch slap across the face is NEVER funny. Can you imagine if Eddie had slapped Shannon when she returned after ghosting him? Why is it okay in this case then?? ANYWAY, I know what they were TRYING to do but it absolutely did not work for me. I’m also a little leery of how they seem to have “cured” Iris off screen after the last we heard (in season ONE) was that she didn’t want treatment (though maybe the mentioned her when they mentioned Michelle leaving? I honestly don’t remember). I’m just not sure what they are planning to do with her, and if it’s going to work, especially if they make her the “bad guy” keeping Tarlos apart by holding the divorce papers hostage. I have avoided the interviews because as much as I would like Tim back on OG for his arc planning skills, mostly coherent storylines, main character focus, good emergencies, and overall tight ship running, I still don’t particularly want to hear what he has to say 🤷🏻‍♀️ I think we could get some good stuff of TK talking out his feelings which will be nice and I do feel like this is different from the sponsor thing last season because Iris isn’t a legitimate prospect for Carlos. However, I’m absolutely with you. “If she says one mean or judgmental thing to TK I'll shove her in the plothole she crawled out of.” I’m zero percent attached to her character, we barely even saw her in s1 and it’s been ages since then, and I’d much rather see Tarlos scenes of them working this out between them rather than a bunch of scenes with her instead but we’ll see how things go!

I am excited about the Tommy storyline though, and I was excited to see D.B. Woodside since I loved him in Lucifer. Mostly though, I’m really hoping to get more Marjan, Paul, Nancy, and Mateo because like...damn. It’s about fucking time. No matter what, at this point I am curious, excited, and ready for more!  

[donkeydispatch]

The visitors #1

I was one of the first one, maybe one of the luckiest. See, my Visitor was probably one of their scientists, not one of the tourists that would come later. The tourists, they didn’t care about us at all, but the early ones, they wanted to observe and study.

It was just a weird sensation, at first. A tingling in my toes. A pressure in my temples. Nothing so out of ordinary that it would worry me. Then the constant impression of being watched — that was more unnerving. Now the symptoms are well known, obviously, and everyone recognizes what’s happening when they start, but as I said I was one of the first one. We didn’t know anything, then. I just thought I was stressed, a bit burned out, losing my mind a little. Like everyone else on this fucking planet, you might say.

Anyway. It came and went and I didn’t do anything about it, until I found myself in a random house surrounded by confused and angry people with no memory of how I got there.

“Sorry,” I said, “where am I?”

“In our house, as we’ve been yelling at you for the past ten minutes, and we would like you to kindly fuck off if you don’t want us to call the police.”

I fucked off and looked around, and I wasn’t very far from my home, just a couple of blocks away. I thought, I must have zoned out somehow, had a little episode. Let’s not see too much into it, right? Still, I was getting a little bit worried, now. Shrinks aren’t on my budget, so I did the next best thing and went on the good ol’ internet to see if anyone was having the same stuff happen to them.

Two theories quickly appeared: carbon monoxide, and aliens. I went with the first one and got a CO monitor, and apparently my boiler works very well and isn’t trying to poison me. That was the good news. The bad news was… well, option two. Aliens.

For the next few days, it was back to normal. Tingling toes, pressured temples, constant paranoia. All good. Then I heard the Voice. Not in my head: in my whole body. In my soul.

HELLO.

“Uh… Hi?”

Silence. Apparently, this friendly voice didn’t plan ahead too much.

APOLOGIES FOR INCONVENIENCE FROM VISIT. PRELIMINARY STUDY IS OVER. DO YOU WISH TO BE INFORMED OF THE RESULTS?

Again, I saw two possible explanations here: either Elon Musk or some other asshole had put some device in my head while I wasn’t looking and had sold my brain off to some telemarketer… or aliens.

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

Silence, again.

APOLOGIES FOR CONFUSION. YOU ARE SUBJECT #73 (NUMBERS RANDOMLY ASSIGNED) IN OBSERVATIONAL STUDY OF HOMO SAPIENS ON EARTH. OBSERVATION PHASE IS NOW CONCLUDED. ETHICAL BOARD REQUIRES US TO OFFER RESULTS TO SUBJECTS AFTER INVESTIGATION.

If this is how I become mad, I thought, my madness is weird and boring at the same time.

“Who are you? How can I hear you? How can you hear me?”

ANSWERS: QUESTION OF IDENTITY DOES NOT MAKE SENSE TO OUR SPECIES. SCIENCE TOO ADVANCED TO BE EXPLAINED TO HOME SAPIENS. SAME.

“Well that’s a cop out. Fine. Give me the fucking results.”

[shinahbee]

Feb favorites 2023!

GREETINGS

Feb 12/2023

Hello,

Welcome to the February monthly favorites, I was actually on time this month and I have some good reads to share, which is surprising since last month I talked about this possibly going downwards in terms of being interesting.

Just a note that I have updated my etsy store recently with some new goods, please check that out with the link below if you are interested. I am planning to make handmade pins, magnets and shaker charms for future updates, but it still in the works at the moment. Not to mention I’m currently without an internet service while writing this because some a**hole who was supposed to switch our service deleted our old account and could not activate the new one…I swear people, how did you get hired if you keep F*cking up like this? So if you see this up, it means that I finally have internet again.

I have a Valentine’s Day bundle up on the shop that includes 2 new bookmarks and some stickers, if you would like to get them before Valentine’s Day please order it soon!

Your support would mean everything to me!

http://shinahartshop.etsy.com

Okay then …

                                          Happy reading!

Alice in borderland 2:

If you have read my Alice in borderland review before this will just be a continuation of that. The second season was okay, I didn’t feel like there was anything outstanding in terms of the “life and death” aspect of the game. I think the only part that stood out to me was the jail cell game where people had to find the mastermind through lies.

But Netflix can we please stop with the unnecessary sex scenes…it really does not add to the story it just takes you out of it and really does not need to be there.lol. This is literally the prime example of what I talked about in my last monthly favorites.

Anyways, other than that the ending didn’t really make sense to me as to how these people got there in the first place. But judging from how it ended it looks like there may be a continuation? Who knows.lol.

The last of us:

Okay I know there is a show right now airing on HBO and my friend and I are watching it together but before that, I have watch the entirety of someone’s game play so I know the story well, and it’s a really good game, I can’t play it myself cause I’m not good a shooting games lol, but I will watch other people play it instead, and live vicariously through their experience. I have only seen the first two episodes so far and even though it feels like if you know the game you know who these characters are, it wasn’t really indicated who was who and their importance, but I guess that it what TV shows do, my friend watches the walking dead and she enjoys theses shows so it wasn’t that had for her to follow, which is good.

Recap:

I’m just going to put up the ongoing list only. I also eliminated some titles because they are now completed or I dropped them for now

Ongoing

Liveta (hiatus)

Pearl boy

The third ending

One night mate (hiatus)

Night fragments (hiatus)

The pizza delivery man and the gold palace (hiatus)

The foul (hiatus)

Killer crush

The insatiable man

I became a lousy side top

Updates on ongoing titles:

There is only one we need to talk about this month…

Pearl Boy:

Oh boy here comes the landmine, there was so much drama concerning the latest chapter (chapter 70) and honestly there should have been a trigger warning is to what you’re about to experience. This chapter I have not read yet and I don’t think I will read until the English translation is out, because it has a lot of uncomfortable things in it…ie. R*pe and assault and the classic UB’s. But how that chapter ended up like that ties in with the overall story, of jooha wanting to escape his past and inevitably having to be forced to go through it again, this time taking the last bit of happiness he felt in just one day…that’s how it gets you, the author had stated many times that her story goes from two extremes and you won’t know when that will happen. Which is why when I update you on this story I always say that it is anxiety inducing every Saturday. This chapter from what I’ve seen in the spoilers, was the worst these characters have had it.

Dooshik trying to find where jooha is located and probably having to witness the assault and have a mental shut down is what I’m guessing will happen. And jooha having slowly recovered a little will again fall into despair and want to end his life…I really hate this, but things like this do happen to people and all because of one as*hole who has nothing better to do but harass boys….WTF is wrong with these people?  people on twitter were also complaining about the story and how it just became traumatizing and disgusting, which is funny to me because if you have read the story from the beginning it was like that from the start, clearly these people have selective memory or read the story in the middle or something because what they are saying makes no sense.

I knew from when the author drew fan art of the series I dropped called “married man/missing love” that she had read all the torture P*rn stuff and possibly decided to use that. So I kind of already suspected this scene, and honestly I think it’s used as a shock factor and nothing more. It wasn’t shocking to me but it is getting repetitive to see this scene in a lot of works. I do agree with the fact that some people stated that it’s not original and recycled from other authors, but in the context of the story it made sense, so it wasn’t out of the blue. Still seeing characters you love suffer like this honestly made me cry especially in chapter 71 which is the one from last Saturday, the looks of despair and embarrassment and guilt was really portrayed well, and dooshik just went from being conscious to “I’m going to slaughter them all….” As much as I do want that, it’s going to break his mentation, he wasn’t able to protect the ones he love in his past from abuse and this time he thought he would be able to, I know for sure he’s going to blame himself for everything.

And after seeing the earlier premonition of dooshik on a stretcher, there was a gunshot at the end of the chapter. I really hope that douche didn’t make jooha shoot dooshik cause that will definitely be the end for the both of them. I still really want for jooha to have his moment and this could be the time for him to stand up on his own and fight back. Jooha had been feeling guilty of being happy and having nothing to give back to dooshik for all the love he has received from him. He even prayed for his mother to give him the strength he needs to do one good thing for him. I hope this isn’t going to go the way I think it will let’s just say that.

In summary I knew that a*hole was bad news when he was first introduced but y’all simp for people like that and I’m worried for all of you. Lesson 1 don’t approach people with money you know they’d be doing shady sh*t with all of that.

Welcome to some spicy reads (21+)

Okay I’ll do my best to remember as much as I can about these stories, I have read them a while back so I don’t remember much.

Secondo Piatto

““The sympathizing romance between two men letting go of their unrequited love?!

Tae Hyun-wook is the young team leader in charge of the Violent Crimes Unit who graduated from the National Police University. He believed that someday he’d marry Heesun, his female friend for whom he bears a long-time one-sided love.

“Hyun-wook, I’m getting married.”

At the announcement of Heesun’s marriage, Hyunwook pretends hard to look calm and congratulate her. Besides, to help her prepare for the wedding, he even stupidly meets her in a restaurant called ‘Secondo Piatto’ in an attempt to put on a prideful act… Seo Wonyoung is the owner and chef there. He’s an old friend of Minseok, Heesun’s soon-to-be husband.

But the detective’s intuition tells him that there’s something odd in the way Wonyoung looks at Minseok…? At first he pretends it’s just a passing coincidence, but he proves himself right on the wedding day, when he sees Wonyoung, on his knees, crying out for Minseok in the empty restaurant…!”

This is a really good story, let me just say that now instead of leaving it to the end. The struggle to leave something behind and starting something new is a really hard thing to portray especially in fiction because you can technically just make these characters get over something quickly if you write it in, but it won’t resonate with people if it seems like the process was rushed. This story is slow portrayal of two people getting over their unrequited love of a married couple.

At first I was like..okay how many of these have I read now? Wonyoung and Hyunwook had been in love with their best friends for the longest time and when both their best friends met and decided to marry, they were in shock since they thought that they would be the potential partners for them. They all met and the groom (minseok) and the bride (heesun) decided to have their wedding venue at the restaurant that wonyoung managed since he was a really renown chef who studied in France and moved back to korea and take over his family’s restaurant “Second Piatto” Wonyoung already had accepted the fact that his best friend would not return the feelings of a gay man and decided to bottle those feelings up and hopefully it will pass. When he met hyunwook and the bride heesun he could tell that they were close, it was later at the wedding day when hyunwook revealed to wonyoung that he was in love with heesun but that didn’t matter since it’s over now and they should put their feelings at rest. Hyunwook mainly didn’t want wonyoung to interfere with their relationship since hyesungk and minseok seems to be happy together. The result of that is the two of them getting wasted and getting in bed with each other.  After their first night together they acknowledge that it was a mistake and they took it too far. But seeing wonyoung being in a mess with his feelings hyunwook couldn’t help but want to support him, at first it just meant satisfying his desires to be with minseok, but evolved into wanting to stay close with him until he is able to move on. Wonyoung didn’t really like the idea that hyunwook cared about him so much, but after a night of drinking with some old classmates he had realized that minseok can’t be there anymore whenever he called since he’s happily married now. So after minseok left the party to go home to his wife, hyunwook called and one of his classmates asked him if he can pick up wonyoung since he is pissed drunk and can’t move. Hyunwook hurried over to the place and piggy backed wonyoung home. They decided to be there for each other until they both are able to move on with another person. That night when they were having sex, wonyoung told hyunwook about his first relationship and how it ended up with the guy almost committing suicide because ending a relationship to that person would be devastating and that guilt had stayed with him throughout his life.

Just a PSA, this needs to be said but what that person does is not your fault don’t let a person threaten you with their life, I know some people who would do that an blame it on you. Just remember it’s not your fault and you are not responsible for their actions. Which is what hyunwook said to him and it needed to be said.

The part I like the most in this story so far was this scene where wonyoung opens up about that to hyunwook and just buried his face in the blanket, and hyunwook just holds him in his arms affectionately, I don’t know why but that was really romantic to me than all the sex scenes combined.lol. It’s the way that he held him, his body looks really strong and warm and I was in love with hyunwook at this point, he is one fine man ladies and gents…

So for a while they spent their time together, wonyoung giving hyunwook food when made too much, and hyunwook visiting wonyoung when he was sick and took care of him, they spent a lot of their time together even though they weren’t officially dating or anything, hyunwook was slowly putting wonyoung first before anything else which signifies that he really does care about him.

Soon afterwards when hyunwook and wonyoung met up with minseok for drinks, hyunwook slowly realizes that minseok likes to be affectionate towards wonyoung, and although one person just behaves that way in a brotherly aspect the other does not feel that way. This made hyunwook a little jealous and call minseok out for it, knowing that minseok would never be replaced inside wonyoung’s heart he decided to go on a blind date set up with one of minseok/wonyoung’s friends.

She was the girl that picked up the call at the drinking party with the classmates, I mentioned earlier and had told minseok that she’s like to go on date with hyunwook if he’s single and interested. Hyunwook knows that the thing he has with wonyoung will end as soon as they are able to move on so he took the first leap and went on the date with the friend.

It had been days since he had been in contact with wonyoung, ever since the drinking night with minseok they had decided that maybe it was time for them both to move on. Hyunwook and the girl was doing well on their date until they went to a nearby café and found wonyoung there with some other guy. Hyunwook didn’t like the way he was touching him, it seems forceful and disrespectful, so it had been on his mind the whole date. The girl noticed that he hyunwook didn’t seem like he was alright and hyunwook admitted that he was sorry and that he had someone else he was in love with and thus ended their date.

He went to go see wonyoung at his apartment and found wonyoung coming back soaking wet from the rain. Possibly running away from the other guy when he forced him to do things he did not like, hyunwook noticed the bruise on wonyoung’s lip and confronted him about going to see partners that were abusing him. They had a scuffle which then made hyunwook confessed that he liked wonyoung and that’s why he’s here, but wonyoung didn’t want to admit that he already caught  feelings for hyunwook and was afraid to move on from his comfortable place of being in love minseok. But later he began to accept hyunwook’s affection and went on a date with him, still finding ways to reject him, they met up with heesun and minseok for dinner because it turns out that heesun is now pregnant and they wanted their best friends to know about it first. All the other two could do was congratulate them on the baby, they talked about how they were in the past and how different they are now after heesun and minseok got married. They asked hyunwook how the blind date went and hyunwook said they weren’t compatible and said he liked someone else.

After the 4 left, wonyoung took care of the drunk hyunwook and drove him back home to his apartment, in the car he answered all of the questions hyunwook asked by text in order to get to know him and ended up saying how a straight man can never really fall in love with someone whose gay and how he can’t give him a family and children which is what ultimately societal depictions try to push on us, so this part made me cry a little, these characters are in their 30s and so am I, so I understand thinking about your future aspect in life.

Hyunwook had sobered up at this point and addressed all of wonyoung’s concern saying that he’s not straight anymore and had not been for a while since he met him. All hyunwook wants to do is think of them dating now and not worry about the future when all there is now is the present, so finally wonyoung accepted hyunwook’s feelings as well as his own and try out this new relationship.

I’m going to stop there since the next part has a lot to unfold but, I’m really enjoying this manhwa so far, it’s different from the ones that just have repetitive stories and it’s really heartwarming. Please support the author by reading it on its published platforms.

Tread lightly on thawing ice:

If you are familiar with series like the Untamed (MDZS) or heavens official blessing and any of that danmei genre then this is one that falls into that category. I have to say after I finished anything MDZS related back in the day, I could not find anything that came close to being as good as that series, I have read the authors other works and did not like any of them. This series is from another author, I’m actually not sure if it is Chinese manhwa adapted into Korean but I have seen both titles in the respective languages so I’m not sure. I read this in Korean so I’m just going to assume that it is a Korean original story line.

This manhwa starts off with a battle between two clans and goes into a scene that I’m assuming is a time skip between the two characters. Then it cuts into a scene with a young man going off to see his master and on his way he saw a male slave being abused by one of the attendees to his master. He rushed over and saw the man looking pale/thin and bruised all over and wanted to confront the attendant for his abusive behavior. This is a time period where the slaves have no rights and social status is the hierarchy, and since the young man was the 3rd disciple of the grand master he had much more authority than the attendant. He helped the slave up and escorted him where he needed to be, it turns out the slave was a maid of his master (the grandmaster) and so he took him to where is master was. Upon arrival the master was so happy to see his disciple, but seeing the maid in tow made him a little anxious…hmmm. I wonder why? The disciple, Kangho thought it was weird that his master turned a blind eye to his personal maid being beaten, since he’s always known his master to be a kind and generous man, but he was intrigued by the maid who can barely stand on his feet and really wanted to help him. So he had asked his master if he can investigate the matter, the grandmaster was against the idea but kangho seems to like to do things his way. Kangho had followed the maid a couple times and assisted him and learned that his named was woo, so he addressed him as such in a friendly matter. The attendant saw that the maid was getting special treatment and decided to remove him from the estate and made him live in the woods without food and under poor living conditions. He was basically banished here to die on his own. But upon noticing this removal, kangho visited the maid and gave him survival equipment, medicine and food. Woo didn’t like the idea that kangho was there to support him, it turns out that woo was once a grandmaster in another estate that fell under attack and had been betrayed by his own people, he was almost murdered by his general and fell off a cliff with a young boy in his arms, that boy was …you guessed it…kangho.

Young kangho was apparently a lost relative of the other grandmaster and it was woo who found him and took care of him while he was at his estate. But the two clans had raged a war and kangho and woo ended up falling off a cliff and the other clan grandmaster found them and woo was near death.

Woo wanted to stay in the enemy clan and watch kangho grow up despite the grandmaster telling him off to go back many times, he even tried to disfigure himself in order to not be recognized. The grandmaster let him be and just treated him like a shadow that didn’t exist, which is why all the abuse happened and he did nothing for him. In the end woo ended up staying in the enemy clan for 10 years since that time and not once had he ran into kangho cause the grandmaster made sure they didn’t cross paths, until now.

Kangho was insistent on helping woo out in any way, but it seems that woo had did all he could to behave like a slave and take nothing from him. After that night when woo had been attacked by wolves, kangho had confronted his master about the abuse and told him that he wanted to take custody of woo in his household, and so the grandmaster transferred the rights to kangho and now woo was now in his custody as a maid. Kangho then showed woo to his room which was very extravagant and not fit for a slave, kangho apparently just used the slave custody as an excuse to rescue him, he meant to treat him like a guest and not his personal maid. But no matter how much kangho gave him, woo never took anything from him and that made kangho really upset.lol. He is so cute…

I’m going to go off tangent and say that kangho…man he’s so pretty, he is actual eye candy, a lot of characters in this series is like that too, woo is really pretty as well. It’s just a nod to the artist who made this manhwa so gorgeous. But kangho though…he is so fine. If anyone has ever watched the anime “Basilisk” this webtoon reminds me of that art style

Anyways, back to the actual story. Kangho was obsessed with getting woo’s attention and in some cases woo accepted kangho’s kindness because he knows from the past that was just how he is. There were reasons why woo avoided kangho and that was because when they fell off the cliff kangho was severely injured and woo had actually in his last breath moved them both into a secret location that belonged to the enemy clan, the grandmaster was there and woo told him that kangho was his blood related nephew. Woo had momentarily died at that point and the grandmaster was going to leave it at that since he wasn’t able to revive him. Kangho woke up and was looking for woo and upon seeing his dead body, he tried to take his own life multiple times. This made the grandmaster seal away his memories. The grandmaster was worried that if woo and kangho were to be together often those memories may resurface as well as the pain that he had to bear.

That didn’t stop kangho and woo from being close though, they both enjoyed each other’s company and wanted to know the other better, which really leads to them having a romantic attraction towards each other to a certain degree. But the grandmaster had met up with woo a couple times and had suggested to woo that if he wanted stay he will need to obey him and with that made him drink poison everyday so that woo’s body will be under the grandmasters disposal when the time comes, there was also a maid named Yeon jin, I don’t really know what role she plays as of yet but she had been threatened by the grandmaster and others to spy on woo and report on his activities, as well as give him the poisonous soup to drink each day. Yeon jin also had spent a lot of time with woo so she somewhat knows that he is not a slave, his mannerisms were not like a slave but as an important figure, so she had been secretly removing spoonful’s of soup each day so that woo would not get poisoned.

As time went by the two of them became a lot closer and kangho noticed a lot of things about woo, despite being a slave he was literate and smart, if it was not for his weak body and not having spiritual energy, he would have made woo one of his guards. As much as woo wanted to stay by his side he knew that would mean triggering his lost memories, pain and he didn’t want any of that, he asked the grandmaster to take him in because he wanted him to live happily. This made woo request to leave the estate as soon as possible, kangho had been looking for a place where he could send woo to if he wanted to leave, but he didn’t think he would do it soon. The 1st disciple who had always disliked kangho, had found out that this maid was not an ordinary person and upon further inspection, he noticed that he looked like the other clan’s grandmaster woohyo ( which is woo's actual name). While the clan had sent some guards to search for the grandmaster for 10 years, his suspicion was confirmed when he plotted a scheme to lure out woo and confronted him. He wanted woo to join him in his plans and promised to restore his honor and title. Woo didn’t want any of the sort and still played the role of a servant to the end despite being confronted. Later on woo decided he wanted to stay after all to help kangho overcome all of his enemies.

That’s where I’ll leave it for now since the manhwa is still ongoing at this point. I really like it, it’s not like the average master and disciple plotline so it was really interesting when I first read it. Of course the art is what made the tory so appealing in the first place so props to the artist for bringing this story to life. If you get the chance to read it please do, you can read this on ridibooks in Korean and in Chinese elsewhere, not sure about that one. I hope this will be available on other platforms soon because it is very underrated but deserves a lot of attention.

Trash segment (21+)

a.k.a the part of the series where I shit on your favorite manhwa/manga/webtoon etc. Joking but not really, you have been warned.

This is the new section where you’re going to find titles that I dropped and the reasons why I discontinued the series all together, fair warning if you triggered by people criticizing your favorite series then you may want to skip this section all together. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and not every series that is “popular” or well liked by others will be like by all...therefore if there is content that makes a person uncomfortable enough to stop the series, that is on them and please don’t judge them for their morals.

Trash List:

Love or Hate

Yours to claim

Wistful summer

Anti-p.t.

The sound of fire

Kiss damnation

Cherry blossoms after the winter

Chasing Mr. CEO

Who’s a sweet cheater?

Another sequence

Love is a fantasy

Missing love/married man

My reason to die

I’m just going to say this, the only reason I read this was because the main guy looked a lot like sunghyeon (secret relationships) and that was the only thing that drew me in. But I’m going to be honest, it was really underwhelming, I mean if you like shoujou manga and like watching k-dramas then sure this will be up your alley. The only difference is the girl is a professional athlete or something and she can fight, which is all good but she comes off as quite a selfish person and I don’t enjoy that type of personality, it makes her character seems really one dimensional, to make her more interesting they had to give her premonition powers .lol.  I would kind of compare it to something like horimiya, where the girl discovers something about a certain student that she can’t help herself but be drawn to him and there was nothing that indicated that chemistry, so it was just weird to me how she just started to be interested in him out of nowhere…literally chapter 1, he’s done nothing but call her a pervert and she’s was like…I’m in…it happened so sudden and there was no reason for it.

Yeah so I’m probably going to drop this, I’m not really into reading generic shoujou webtoons or manga for that matter, years of reading the same thing will do that to you.lol. Though if I have to give this manhwa credit to one scene I thought was good

Was when the two characters meet again later in life and she came to borrow money from him, just to see him again and he told her to leave cause it’s dangerous and gave her money for a cab fare, but took said money and placed it in the back pocket of her jeans…lol. It was kinda hot, not going to lie. But other than that…nothing seems to stand out, the guy is also nothing special I just thought the way he looked like sunghyeon would be a good way to be interested in shoujou manga again…but nope.

ANIME?  Haven’t watched a single anime in a while…lol.

Still lacking in the music department so let me know some of your favorite songs to listen to.

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Ending note:

Hey! You’ve reached the end, something a little different this time with all the shows huh? I’ll try to incorporate more of everything but as you can tell somethings have been left on the back burner for a while now.

I have a few more that I have read recently but waiting for the season finale to really talk about it here, so they will be included in the next update.

Like I said earlier I have a new shop update on Valentine ’s Day themed stickers and bookmarks so please check out my shop and support me! I will be forever grateful to you!

Check out my other social media and follow me for more updates, thank you for reading and see you next month.

sheena