#welp it's not surprising lol 😅

[destinyc1020]

Yikes..... 😬

[bluginkgo]

Welp, ep7 didn't kill me! ... the depression post ep might- (Theories/Rambles)

Anyways! Ep7 oh boy, it was full of surprises even for me. The animation, the intense battle scenes, everything about it was AMAZING! Of course, that's just my opinion :3 (feel free to yeet it into the stratosphere)

Get ready for word diarrhea and some shaky and loose thoughts on the ending and what may happen next. Fair warning, my theories are pretty wacky, so somethings may sound way out there. XD

Spoilers duh, oh and gore warning? Kinda?

I mean... that scary *ss mother facking thing towards the end- you know what I'm talking about if you watched the ep 😅

This puzzled me a bit, but the more I thought about it, I suppose the more it makes sense (give me a hot minute, I'm slow ok 😅).

The lockers act as a storage container for the solver drones. But what about the image from ep6? It seemed like they had free reign over the office and could come and go. Even as far as a sentinel cuddling up to Nori. But that's the thing. Later we see that Nori and Yeva were the only ones that have been the MOST successful with the absolute solver experimentation. The others, were either corrupted or were unaffected.

That means, in the time that the patches were given to the drones experimented on, was the time that they were allowed to be in the office. But as the patches and experimentation progressed, they were moved down for more security.

Soooo V. What are my thoughts on her and her whereabouts? The shot of the hall with the sentinels did not make it into the ep. Sure, it is probably fairly easy for them to get that shot. Especially if they kept the rig of the hall, throw around some sentinel bodies, and make the light go out. But this lack of V is what's making me still believe she's out there. Delusional, I know. But we don't get to see her eldrich form. This is the Absolute Solver that has been chilling in the labs, and simply recreates the hologram of all the drones it was ever a part of.

If V does not return by ep8, then I will lay her to rest properly. Until then, I'm marking her as MIA. She may be out there, she may not.

Alright, so the crucifix is also recounted as "failsafe USB (606b)" or at least that's how I see it, given the crucifix is just one fancy usb.

Now, the other time we did see the 606 was in the beginning of ep5.

wdOS_606 is basically the code that kills the drone and its core. So, effectively, that crucifix works as a kill code for the absolute solver. The timeline of events probably happened like this: Nori was showing signs of the Absolute Solver progressing much faster than any other drone the teams have worked with. One time, Nori went Absolute Solver crazy, the placement of the image that is also seen in ep6 suggests that this was the first or one of the first times Nori went rogue. The teams then decided to contain her better and suspended her by the chains, all the while waiting for the failsafe USB to be completed. At least, that was the plan. "Don't all die and almost let it out again lol. We're pretty mad but mostly scared about that." subtitle backs it up.

Now this.

This entire sequence seems rather interesting. Absolute Solver, at its best, understands emotions on logical level. Its more like a math equation for it. As in: Bad things happen = changed and more subdued personalities. But with N, I suppose it found it rather interesting to watch him. Despite all of the bad experiences he may have had, he remained his happy self. The solver even went as far as quoting him.

That type of innocence, despite the horrors he has seen and committed, most likely amused the solver. So it allowed the team to retain those personalities and traits- also knowing that it could easily get rid of them if it really wanted to.

Uzi's administration rights still hold up. It seems that in this moment, the solver attempted to completely corrupt N and have him as a mindless drone that followed orders. Buuuut Uzi's admin rights denied that, saving him from becoming the solver's puppet and being what he was back on Earth during the massacre of humans.

Eating is often referred to in this episode. Seems that I was somewhat right in regards to the Absolute Solver being the core of Copper-9 now. It has grown rather large, and taken possession of the entire planet. To maintain that, it needs sustenance. Be it in form of biological and mechanical life, or the planet itself.

So J destroyed the only means of getting off the planet, and the possibility of saving themselves or the planets for the gang- of course there's still the pod that J is using, but that will not be given up without a fight.

The issue here I have is... to whom did J give her loyalty to? Couple theories:

To Tessa- J has NO idea this is not Tessa, and is following her old boss just like in the days of the manor.

To Absolute Solver- J knows this is not Tessa, but still is loyal to it.

Issue: If number 1 is correct, then why follow through the plan with destroying the pod? It seems that was the case all along when Tessa told J to "mind her ship." Furthermore confusing to me is her comment.

Tessa: Her (Cyn) last known act was siccing you lot on other human exo-planets.

N: But why?

J: That's what we're trying to figure out, bozo.

J's line can be taken both ways. As 1- J is actually trying to figure out why Cyn is acting up. As for 2- this was simply a cover up for the whole plot.

It seems here that the drones that were previously worked on simply stayed in their lockers and their corrupted form. But that was something that made me wonder. The drones were all corrupted with the Absolute Solver to some degree. They were all given patches of the solver- some had effect and others didn't. But that still means that there were a lot of drones that had their cores corrupted and look like Heart. Here's the question.

Why didn't they simply leave? Nori's corrupted core is fully sentient, despite being possessed by the solver the most. Of course, there is the possibility that whatever Nori created in the cathedral simply took those cores and dragged them into the center. Further growing itself. Ah, well I kind of answered my own question there.

So the largest number I could count was 129 on this list. Meaning, there were at least 129 drones experimented on. Seems to follow the crazy theory I had of the Absolute Solver taking control of the core. 129 minus 2 (Nori and Yeva) cores will definitely make a great impact/engrave itself into the planet in such a way and thus manifest the corridors of flesh and hands that go all to the way to Cabin Fevers camp ground.

It also seems that the Absolute Solver, instead of being injected straight into the drones, was done in patches. Now, my knowledge in computer language and science is non-existent, but it does make me wonder. Yeva has 2.1.8 patch, while Nori was still "in progress." This either implies:

Nori had a newer patch and this was the one that caused her to go so berserk they had to restrain her in the cathedral.

Nori did not have a new patch, the one that Yeva has was the latest one and Nori simply was not faring well in the transition.

Something I noticed/finally grasped on my 3rd watch through:

Who the hell is "they?" Well, my tired brain finally decided to kick in and work. "They" were the scientists. So the crucifix was something that the humans only now figured out how to make. The kill code that would put the Absolute Solver down. That was why the Solver was on Copper-9. It needed that crucifix, so it could get rid of it. "They kept cutting my feed." Most likely referred to when the hosts would become possessed by the solver. Just as seen with Nori, the second they went crazy, it was a quick shut down, thus cutting the feed for the Absolute Solver as it tried to figure out what they were doing.

So, just as many have theorized, Nori did cause the core collapse, but not in the way that I expected it. It's rather funny that instead of this being like a full Absolute Solver possession that caused this on purpose, was simply one bad event after another. And I love the show for this. Despite having the route that the Absolute Solver could have just imploded the planet on purpose and on its own (by possessing a host), it was instead a sequence of events that is similar to humans and their downfall. Nothing orchestrated, but just a compiling effect that created one huge problematic black hole.

So this page does give some insight. The Absolute Solver sent DDs to wipe out the other solver hosts. (I'll touch on this in a different post) And the DDs were either referred to as "pets" by the Absolute Solver (which is more likely, as it called Uzi a "puppet") or a term that Nori coined. "Puppet hosts with nerfed ___ the entity-ensures control" The nerfed ___ is most likely their cores/thought process. As in, Administration CYN is what nerfed their abilities to remember anything regarding their past, and used that to control the DDs.

This was something I couldn't kind of settle with. Events wise, it can be assumed this is all happening at the same time. Just as Uzi is getting through the mine shafts and picking up the lantern, Tessa is blowing up the computer and nomming on Doll, and N is being dragged through corpse walls and being saved by Heart.

It was Doll- Although, the more I looked at this thought, the less likely this became. Doll's was intact when she came to warn Uzi, and stayed there until Tessa entity ate it towards the end of the episode. We have yet to see an instance where a core entered the Absolute Solver form and returned back to the core form without taking any damage. Specifically in J's case, the solver form was blown up and only then returned to the core form. Nothing was in the mine shafts that could have possibly injured it enough to go back to the core form and sneak back into Doll's body.

Tessa...uhh whatever the fack she is- Based off of Doll's getting attacked scene, the entity seems to have a rather quick ability in switching forms. So I wouldn't put past it that the entity attacked Doll, saw that another part of the Absolute Solver was trying to chase N down, and just went along with the rest of the solver to hunt him down.

On my first watch through, I was worried that N would go crazy from breaking rule 1 of robotics: Not to injure humans. Granted, in the first watch through, everything went so fast that I barely had any time to grasp anything. After the second watch through, it becomes quite clear and apparent. The Absolute Solver took the rules of robotics out of the DDs. I mean, how else were they supposed to attack and kill the humans back on Earth. Furthermore, Tessa was not a human. So even if N did still have the rules of robotics programmed into him, they might not have set off. Why the "might not?" Because of the sentinel. Perhaps because the sentinels were created by humans, their ai is much simpler, but when that dingo bit Tessa, it had an aneurysm. It detected blood, and thus, the ai deduced that the sentinel just injured a human and decided to alt f4 itself. Would the same happen with N? I'm not quite sure. Given that the solver programmed the DDs, it could be either instance: Take the rules out completely or enhance the rules so that blood isn't what triggers the rule breaking.

This is something that made me wonder. Did the DD trio go to any other exo-planets previously? I took this scene in two ways:

This has happened before. The solver knows that N will continue to forgive the Absolute Solver because something similar has happened before. As in, the solver is out to kill a planet, it does that, but in return sacrifices any DDs that might have been there to get rid of the potential solver hosts. The backups are booted and sent to a new planet.

This is the first time this happened, but the solver has previous experiences. Just as the solver had made N forget about his time in the mansion and the bloodbath of killing humans, it can do the same thing. Kill N, and make his backup version forget this ever happened.

This one single frame made me wonder a bit too hard. The little nulls I assumed to be miniature and contained blackholes. But then when N dove under one... there was collision? A black hole, as far as I understand (which isn't very much ;w;), is something that cannot be touched. It warps time and space, so how are you supposed to be able to touch it? But I'm quite sure my tired brain is just thinking too much about simple details.

For some odd reason, I always thought that the solver wings were more flesh, and thus couldn't take too much damage. Proven wrong again! Uzi withstood N's firing and her wings came out undamaged.

Main question for me: Why would the Absolute Solver eat the core? Specifically in drone form/possessing a host. If it was the hole that's in the cathedral, I can understand that somewhat better. But what does a solver drone gain from eating another corrupted core?

Perhaps acts as a power boost? Whatever the corrupted core can do, the powers are transfered uhh... somehow?

Simply sustenance, and a way to get rid of Heart, you're thinking too deep into this Ginkgo (more likely option) Plus, backed up by Tessa entity eating Doll's core and being unaffected. Perhaps it just remains in the body as a source of energy.

IC-0n IS THAT YOU?! XD But in all seriousness, this scene was intense. The animation, the music and sound effects, the lines, everything was executed perfectly and created the monstrosity that may or may not haunt my nightmare tonight :3

My first thought was, "OH YOU! YOU FINALLY SHOWED UP! ...... GO AWAY!" This entity... uh I'm not quite sure what to call it yet, has been teased all the way back to the poster. And I would like to bring back something I said a bit while back. "What if the double x'ed character is someone we already know... but is dead? A character that is confirmed/somewhat confirmed to be dead can return back to life, and their body forced to move by the absolute solver." (I will be delving deeper into debunking this in another post.) Welp, that does it. I had the idea, just didn't know who the fack it was. XD So we get a drone, wearing Tessa's skin.

In hindsight, there was a big fat foreshadowing that I took for granted. This thing.

The drone body is a WD, and clear as day 1001 written on the core. What does it mean? Ah well, I'm actually not too sure. Going with the 002, 048, 029, etc. numbers, I can only assume 1001 is something the Absolute Solver made and gave it that number, possibly suggesting that there is more of these monstrosities out there.

So. Another "sacrifice." Why the quotation marks? Well... the first "sacrifice" was V and I'm still calling her MIA. Ginkgo, its clearly shown Uzi is most likely not gonna make it out of this one- shhhhhhhh, there is no war in Ba Sing Se. I will call Uzi MIA as well.

She's dead. The core was charging up behind her, much like it did when Nori's null hand fell, and when IC-0n- I MEAN- Tessa? The entity, jumped in. Uzi might just be the thing that sets the next core collapse- even the planet collapse- off. What Uzi is seeing, is just something that the Absolute Solver might have conjured up as her last memories before the imminent shut down.

She isn't dead. You see, this entire shot has me puzzled (nothing new lol). Your evidence for this one Ginkgo? Two images.

These scenes might not be much, but I will try to grasp at air here. It's unclear where Heart goes to. I mean there are two routes, one of which sounds more likely. First, she's going into the core because it connects to the entirety of the mine shafts and the core. Second, she's gonna use a door off to the side to go to the mine shafts and the same place that N gets dragged through. Why am I using these as poor evidence? Well, we've had 2 characters enter dark spaces full fo solver flesh and still make it out. Ginkgo, Uzi is literally falling in that scene, there is nothing to stop her fall. Yeah I know, like I said, I'm grasping at air with this one. Buuuut, the mind scape theories sound more fun, promise! ^w^

First off, where the HELL could this possibly be?

A memory/mind scape the Absolute Solver created: This has to be Copper-9, based off of the two iconic moons to the top right. A memory, because this could be either the first core collapse, or Uzi viewing the destruction of Copper-9 from another solver entity's point of view. Mind scape as in this is where the solver drone minds go to. Every solver drone that has been consumed by the large Absolute Solver in the cathedral, had their own personalities and thoughts. To keep them all from clashing and acting out, perhaps the solver takes the hive-mind plane and creates spaces that the solver drones can warp through.

The "ascension" plane: Ginkgo, that's it, to the hospital you go chop chop. /j Anyways, why am I even bringing something like this up? Well, Uzi's mural says this.

There are two routes here: succumb to be the host of eternal entity, or ascend. Ascend to... where? And how? Here is where the more intense crack theories enter (or at least for me). This space is the hive-mind of the solver, yes, but this is where Uzi's internal battle against the Absolute Solver will happen. We all know that the last mural will be of N fighting off the Absolute Solver (most likely). But what if he had outside (inside technically?) help. While N may hold out against the solver, he may need help to finally break through and finish it off. Who would be a better candidate than Uzi? She has now, for better or worse, become part of the large amalgamation that sits in the core. Perhaps with the strongest hosts in the hive-mind: Uzi, Nori, Yeva (maybe, I'm not quite settled on her yet), and Cyn, they will all be able to stop the solver for good on Copper-9. This process is the ascension. Instead of succumbing to the Absolute Solver within the hive-mind scape, she will fight once again. This time around, coming out victorious and ascending to uhh... I'm not quite sure yet? Robo-heaven? Returning back into her corporal body? Becoming the next Absolute Solver but with less need to rule the world? (Ah, well she might still actually rule the world just for the fun of it XD) Honestly, it's far too late for me to be thinking any more. I might add on to this later on.

Is it a rather optimistic take on the ending? Perhaps, but I need a little optimism right about now. ;w;

Want more of my stupid rambles? This has 3 other parts! ;w;

[kakiastro]

Astrology of the Super Bowl ‘24

Welp it’s that time of year everyone! For USA folks at least lol

Let’s break down the chart of the event.

Whole sign system

This year, the Super Bowl has a Leo rising with ruler (Sun) in Aquarius 7h.

-expect the unexpected this year lol.

-Sun-opposing Ascendant tells me that there’s going to be a few shocking twist this year. Maybe we’re betting on one team as the winner but it may end up being the other.

-I think this aspect is going to be remembered a lot for its halftime show . I don’t know what usher has up his sleeve but I expect some surprising guest. The reason I say this is because Leo rules entertainers and it’s in aqua which rules over shocking events and unpredictable.

-another thing that makes me think this game is going to surprising or shocking in some way is the 5h. 5h rules over entertainment and big events. The Super Bowl is one of the biggest events in this country. It has a Sagittarius 5h with ruler (Jupiter) in the 10h Taurus, it’s also not far from Uranus which is conj MC.

-so Sagittarius expands over anything, this is a big no doubt but ppl are going to be tuning in. Whether it’s because of the swift/kelce love craze or you just want to see an exciting game, this is the year!

For the game itself, let’s look at Mars and Mercury. Mars rules over physical activities, athletes and sports overall . Mercury rules over strategy and communication. You need both things to for the game off football.

Mars Capricorn 6h and Mercury Aquarius 7h. Mars is what I’m really paying attention too because look at those aspects👀

-Mars is exalted in Capricorn so this game is going to be strategic and both teams are going to put their all in this game. Capricorn is the hardworking sign. With it being in the 6h, the house of work, it’s really doubles down on the work hard bit.

-Mars has a 29°(Leo degree). Now the 29° is considered a critical degree, it’s the last degree of the zodiac cycle. It’s known as a karmic degree as well which means it’s finishing up something. It also signifies long term fame. It makes sense for the overall energy of the game for both teams. Trying to get that ring to signify their legacy, both teams have been in the Super Bowl recent years. Capricorn rules over legacy and status after all.

-Mars is closely conj Venus this year as well. Venus is the planet of love, beauty, and finances! I wonder how many ppl are betting huge amounts of money this year? I feel like there’s going to be lots of ppl owing ppl money because Saturn is in Pisces 8h. Pisces rules over illusion and the 8h rules over other people money and debts🫠

-another thing that’s sticks out too me is the Mars-Pluto aspect. This also backs up what I’ve been saying about surprising things happening this year. I hoping this will be a non injury game but this can indicate injured players on the field or it can indicate an intense gameplay between players. Pluto rules the 4h of this chart which rules over home country, intense fan bases this year but this also indicate lots of hate between fan bases may be spilled during this game.

So the Moon is in Pisces this year conj Neptune and I’ve already touched on the Saturn Pisces bit. All of these placements are in the 8h

-moon rules over the emotions of the people. Idk this game may feel like a fever dream is what I’m feeling😅 with Saturn being here, there’s going to moments where we snap back to reality lol

-the 22°(Capricorn degree) also known as kill or be killed degree. It also rules over long term legacy.

-regarding Mercury Aquarius, a lot of unexpected play calls or things you didn’t expect to happen.

I swear the energy of this game is about , shocking events, legacy, money and usher😭😅

Let me know what you all see in the chart that stands out to you

[dragons-and-magic]

oooh I got some two character dynamics here from my au that I would love to see hcs on if it’s alright:

Nia and kana

kana and duke

Rebecca and bear

(For this ask game) Of course it's alright! Let's see what we got here.

Nia and Kana Headcanons/Dynamics

Okay, I haven't watched too much AEG. But I'll do my best!

I know Nia loves animals. So what if Kana tells her about different animals they have Japan? And they end up doing a little research project on them together? Might be cute. I don't know.

This next one kinda connects to the first. I also think Nia would help Kana learn how to slow down. This could fit into a episode maybe were they're trying to observe some wild animals and Kana keeps getting too excited to sit still, or is moving to fast. Thus, scaring off the animals. (I have a gut feeling that this is literally an episode that they've already made. I can't say, because I haven't watched it enough. But I just feel it for some reason. Lol.)

I want to put more for them. But I don't think I've watched enough AEG to do so. (Putting that on my to-do list for sure.) I hope these are okay.

Kana and Duke Headcanons/Dynamics

OH MAN. This would be so funny. You would be hearing a lot of "This would never suit his grace!" Lol! I love Duke. Or old Grandpuff as they like to call him! Let's see what we can do with this!

I feel like they would get off to a bumpy start. Kana can't figure out why Duke is such a grump. And Duke is getting driven crazy by how energetic and impulsive Kana is.

But, as is the way in most of these stories, things get worked out. I imagine Kana gets herself in some trouble and Duke helps her out. Then she understands why he has all these rules and sayings and they're actually quite useful. And maybe she even helps him to loosen up a bit have a little fun once in a while.

Also, she ends up being one of the only engines besides Sir Handel and Peter Sam to call him Grandpuff.🥹💖 (Girly gains a new grandpa! Woo!)

This actually ended up being super cute! Now I want to see Duke show up in AEG. Welp, onto the next character set!

Rebecca and Bear Headcanons/Dynamics

Oof. This one is tough. I'm gonna be honest. I've only read fanfiction with Bear. None of the actual books he's in. So if he's horribly mischaracterized, I apologize. (I need to get the original series books. I'm missing out.😭)

I have a feeling they would get on nicely. Bear is surprised that Rebecca isn't the least bit frightened of him. I imagine he's used to people being intimidated by him and the growly noises he makes. And also because he's a diesel.

I just had a thought about Rebecca feeling bad about her wheel slip problems. And Bear (and maybe even Boco), sympathizing with her. Since they too have design flaws that effect their work. It's like an engine disability support club! That would be so cute!

Well, that's all I've got. Sorry I couldn't put more. I've discovered I'm not great at thinking up headcanons.😅 But I hope you like them regardless.

Thanks for the ask!

[waynes-multiverse]

Aaaah this chapter had so many awesome gems! I loved it! 😍💎

Denise is so sweet and caring 🥹 I love that she's the reader's aunt, too, and that there is a straight connection to Cassie and everyone

And I had a feeling when grief counseling was mentioned that she'd run into Beau 😁

Tastes like damn soil water! You made a grossed out sound and spat it back into your cup.

Hahaha I loved that little easter egg to Smoke Eater! I haven't gotten far in that series yet, but even I understood that one 😂👏

“Let’s go around, introduce ourselves, and share something interesting.

Oh God, my worst nightmare whenever someone suggests that 😂 I'm with the reader on that one: is watching TV interesting enough? lol

Beau’s brows rose as his lips twitched upwards.

Ooop, someone likes himself a professor 😏 (Thank God she's English Lit and not Paleontology 😆)

“Do you think you have the right man?” you asked, speaking of Walter.

I honestly have such a soft spot for Walter 🥺 (Also, Seth Gabel is such a good actor 👀) I didn't like Paige because I thought she was taking advantage of him. I was surprised to find out in the end she actually had feelings for him. That kinda came out of the left field 😅

And I totally understand why reader feels guilty over Mary's death, but it really wasn't her fault. I hope she can forgive herself at some point ❤️

“Just a couple months before the wedding, I found out he’d been cheating on me with his college girlfriend…pretty much throughout our whole relationship,” you said.

Jesus effing Christ! No wonder she's so upset and wanted to move 🙈 What a giant ass-douchface her ex-fiance was. Honestly, that scum doesn't deserve her tears...

I absolutely loved their little get-to-know coffee date! 🫶 It was exactly what they both needed. Let's be honest, their past meetings were a bit awkward, considering the circumstances (tete-a-tetes with new husbands and murder investigations) 🤣

He offered you a napkin. “Sorry it’s not a tissue.”

I snorted 😂

Cassie and Jenny shared a certain look—the kind these women donned when they were having a private conversation with just their eyes. This time, it seemed to be about him.

Gaaaah, I felt through Jenny throughout this chapter. I got all the little hints you dropped and loved the way you described her silent pain 💔

“Crazy, Stupid Love,” Jenny grinned, holding up the DVD cover. “For Ryan Gosling, of course.”

This is my favorite movie, btw. I just watched it last week again lmao 🤣❤️

“Okay now, just pivot on this corner,” he instructed. “Pivot!”  Jenny nearly dropped her end out of sheer aggravation. Her blue eyes cut down to his. “If you say pivot one more time, I’m gonna shoot you,” she snapped.

I DIED!!! 🤣🤣🤣

“Threatening to shoot the sheriff.

Zep, it's too much! You're killing me 🤣💀

And did you have to make that hunk of a man move furniture? And SWEAT???? Dear fucking Lord, I-I- I'm not alive anymore. Pretty sure, yep... 🥵💦 (I was full with Denise with this one. And I could just imagine her gloriously shameless face the whole time as she thirsted over him 😆)

“Okay, cowboy. Let’s ride,” you said. And you even surprised yourself with the flirtatious note in your voice.

Wooohooo! Are we having another date? 👀 Welp, if she's not getting on a horse for Cormac, maybe Beau will actually do it for her 😝

Can't wait for all the riding... I mean horse riding next chapter! 😏😍🤍

Take Me Home - Part 3

Pairing: Beau Arlen x F. Reader 

Summary: You are another lost soul at Sunny Day Excursions. You’re aiming to settle in Helena, Montana, where Beau Arlen is the new sheriff in town. But you’ve both got a past you’re running from. 

AN: I’m being continuously blown away by your lovely responses on this story. Thank you so much! I truly appreciate all the love for our cowboy sheriff and where TMH is going.

Word Count: 6.6K

Tags/Warnings: Angst, hurt/comfort, a heart-to-heart, flirtations, and invitations taken…

❤️ Series Masterlist

Part 3: Welcome Home

In the next twenty-four hours after Mary was found, the police’s investigation led them to a man named Walter. He’d been living in the woods, and was suspected of stalking the camp for days. 

He was arrested as a prime suspect in Mary’s murder at Sunny Day Excursions, along with Paige’s; even though they’d yet to find her body, the police did confirm that she'd never made it home to New York.

They also found Luke later that night. His body was pierced to a tree by an archer’s arrow. 

The campers were sent home shortly after Walter was arrested. 

And three days later, your aunt Denise gingerly took a seat on the edge of the couch you’d been lying in all day (and all week so far). She swept her fingers over your greasy hair in both comfort and affection. 

Denise Brisbane was your mom’s sister. She was a private investigator here in Helena. And as you found out, she actually worked with Cassie Dewell, the woman you’d met at the camp, who was still in search of a missing backpacker.

“You’ve barely moved in days, honey,” Denise said.

Her face was sympathetic and sad, watching you. Though you felt the sting of guilt, feeling like a burden that had just been unloaded on your aunt, you didn’t want to leave your warm blankets. Your body felt heavy and useless.

“Good news though. The rest of your stuff ships in tomorrow,” she said, continuing to pet your hair. “I’ll help you move into your new apartment. How does that sound?”

You gave a weak nod. “Thanks.”

She sighed. “I’m not trying to kick you out, hun. I just think it’ll be good for you to start getting on your feet.”

You agreed, wordlessly. In your head, you knew she was right. You couldn’t sleep on her couch forever, and perhaps more importantly, you couldn’t let this beat you down forever.

“You sure you don’t want to talk about it?” Denise asked, squeezing your shoulder. “Your mom wanted to get the first flight out here, but I told her I’d take care of you until you go home for the funeral.”

You were grateful for that. As much as you loved your mother, you didn’t want to be smothered right now. Your mom’s version of comfort could only include a heavy dose of smothering. The one thing you had been able to do was call Mary’s parents.

That had been a long and painful conversation. After which, you slept like the dead for two days straight.

Denise broke you out of your wandering thoughts when she handed you a business card. It had a banyan tree emblazoned on it, along with the name of a grief counseling center.

“Cassie’s actually been going here, and she’s liked it so far,” she said.

At your furrowed look of confusion, she added, “Look, it’s okay if you don’t want to talk to me, but I think it would be good for you to talk to someone. Maybe someone who understands what you’re going through.”

You sighed and flipped the card through your fingers. You really, really didn’t want to go. You could already what your father would say if he knew you went to a grief counselor. His form of “therapy” was the growing collection of bourbon behind his desk.   

But if it meant you’d stop being a lump in your aunt’s living room, then maybe you could give it a shot.

“Okay,” you nodded. Your voice was a bit coarse with disuse. Denise gave you a smile, and a warm hug that felt like home. She even offered to make your appointment for you.

You were a little annoyed though. Now you’d have to actually get up and put on a bra.

“Maybe shower first, huh?” she advised, while she helped you get up.

“Yeah, yeah,” you replied.

A hot shower, washing and styling your hair, putting real clothes on, and overall making yourself presentable actually made you feel human again. You even surprised yourself by putting on a bit of makeup.

Once you made it to the grief counseling center in your car, however, you sat in the parking lot for a minute. You had to take a moment to breathe. Because you knew you were going to be asked what happened. You were going to have to get into it all over again.

Even after you were able to leave your car and brave through the carpeted halls of the building, your hands were shaking. At the reception desk, an older woman directed you down another long hallway to the group session. It was the only one available on short notice, but she promised that if you found the session helpful, she could help you book another group session, or even a solo session.

You weren’t sure if you were ready for “solo,” but a group appealed to you. Maybe you could just sit in the back and let the others talk.

The counselor, Tom, greeted you when you walked into the right room. It was a small room with a bunch of chairs formed in a circle at the center. No room to hide, you thought with growing unease. You glanced over and saw that there were a few people already milling about, making small talk in a cluster near the circle.

“We’re gonna start here in a few minutes, but until then, you can take a seat,” said Tom. “There’s also coffee and cookies over there, if you like.”

Coffee. Coffee was warm, and it might settle your nerves and help you perk up a bit. You thanked him and went for the carafes on a small table in the back. You poured some coffee into a Styrofoam cup and poured a little sugar and creamer into it, but after you took an experimental sip, you immediately regretted it.

Tastes like damn soil water! You made a grossed out sound and spat it back into your cup.

“Yeah, wouldn’t recommend the joe,” drawled a familiar voice. 

You turned sharply to find Sheriff Beau Arlen. He gave you a sympathetic look as he reached for a cup of water. Seeing him took you by such surprise, you gasped with a slight flinch, accidentally spilling some scalding coffee on yourself in the process. 

You held the cup away from you fast, but a few drops still flecked on your jeans, and even his boots. 

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry,” you gasped again. Beau just smiled good-naturedly and grabbed a few napkins off the table.

“It’s all right,” he said. “I’m the one who snuck up on you. Accidentally, I might add.”

He handed you the napkins so you could soak up the coffee from your hand and arm. Meanwhile, he took your half-empty coffee cup and tossed it in the garbage. Your damp wad of napkins joined the cup.

And when you finally looked up at him again, you both found yourselves smiling, despite where you were. It was the first time you’d been able to smile in days.

“Sheriff Arlen,” you greeted. “I did not expect to see you here…”

His smile faltered at that, but his hand reached back to sort through his short hair at the back of his head. 

“Ah, call me Beau,” he said. “I have a feeling we’re about to get to know each other better.”

You agreed to that, just as you agreed to join him for a seat within the circle of chairs. He leaned back in his chair and swept a hand through his hair again, perhaps in a nervous gesture. You glanced over at him, saw the way he smoothed a hand down his jeans when his knee started bouncing…

Could he be as anxious as you? You had to wonder why he was here, for grief counseling of all things. The thought sobered you as more people filtered in and took their seats. Tom eventually got things started from his spot across from you in the circle.

“Okay, we’ve got a couple of first timers to this group session, so tell you what,” he said. “Let’s go around, introduce ourselves, and share something interesting. Whether it’s what you do for a living, a new hobby you picked up, or keeping it even more simple, something fun you did this week.”

You looked down at the folded hands in your lap. If binge watching entire seasons of Succession and sleeping until noon every day counted as something fun, then you were all set.

The introductions started to his left, so it took a while before it got around to you. There was that little flutter of nerves in your stomach, like you were a kid again, and it was the first day of school (but worse).

Luckily, Beau was before you. You were curious about what he would share as he let out a subtle clearing of his throat.

“Hi there, I’m Beau Arlen. Some of you know me as the new sheriff over at Helena PD.” He greeted everyone with a short wave, though he tossed you a smiling glance. “You might also be able to tell that I’m from Texas. Born and bred in Houston. I moved up here to stay close to my daughter, who’s living here with her mother…my ex-wife.”

He tacked on that last bit after a slight pause. But he recovered quicker than you could process and gestured to you next. You forced yourself to perk up, putting your “teacher’s hat” on as you tried to meet everyone’s eyes. First, you gave them your name.

“I’m also from out of town, from Chicago,” you said, glancing at Beau. His expression was encouraging. It gave you the small boost you didn’t know you needed. “I’m a college professor, formerly of the University of Chicago…but I start at Caroll College in the fall.”

Beau’s brows rose as his lips twitched upwards. You tried not to blush as you passed on the introductions to the next person.

The session itself was light overall. Tom talked about the stress that often came with the unknown—with moving past a challenging time, or tackling a new project, or even moving to a new and unfamiliar city. He didn’t force everyone to chime in about themselves, but the ones who were ready to share took the floor one by one. And by the end, you thought that you’d gleaned some useful tidbits just by listening.

Hell, maybe you’d even come back here.

When the session was over though, you were kind of relieved. You grabbed your purse and got up to leave.

“Well, that was relatively painless,” Beau said, also getting up from his seat.

“Yeah, wasn’t so bad,” you replied. Your name fell from his lips in the form of a question, earning your expectant gaze.

“Listen, uh, can I buy you a real cup of coffee?” he offered. “We might not have met under the best of circumstances, but I just heard recently that you’re Denise’s niece. Well, I’m friends with the gals over at Dewell & Hoyt, your aunt included, so I just thought it’d be good to get to know each other, being that we’re both kinda new in town, and—”

You set a light hand on his arm. That one touch was able to stop his rambling, along with the sight of your amused smile up at him.

“Coffee sounds great,” you said.

You decided there was no real harm in meeting him at the nearest coffee shop, just a few minutes away.

It was hard not to associate the sheriff with that terrible night at the camp, but you knew that wasn’t fair to him. He seemed like a nice guy, and by the way he talked about his daughter, maybe even a good man.

In your experience, a good man was hard to find.

“So, what do you teach exactly?” Beau asked. He’d just finished telling you about Emily starting a summer internship with Cassie and Denise at the private investigation agency. Like father like daughter, you’d remarked. Beau’s soft, but proud smile had been telling.

“English literature,” you replied to his question, sipping at your cappuccino. He was drinking a hot French vanilla latte, which kind of amused you. You had expected him to order an Americano or something.   

“Oh, yeah? What sort of classes?” he said.  

“The greatest hits, basically,” you explained. “Composition, English grammar, Shakespeare…Twentieth Century British Literature.”

“Oh, is that all?” he chuckled. It charmed a smile out of you. 

“I don’t know why I asked. I didn’t even go to college,” Beau said. It finally succeeded in making you laugh.

“Straight to the police academy, then?” you asked.

“Like a cannonball, heels a blazin’,” he said, miming a gunshot with his hand. 

“Like a rhinestone cowboy,” you teased. And you felt brave enough to hum the riff of the Glen Campbell song. 

Beau shook his head with a grin. He’d seen you, all tightened up and anxious throughout the group session, even though it had been pretty lightweight. He could relate to your discomfort. He’d made a conscious effort to talk very little about himself and gave the others the room to tell their stories.

Beau liked seeing you more relaxed though. He liked your smile, the glimpses of your sense of humor shining through. He liked that he was somehow able to bring that out of you for a while. 

“I still can’t believe you're Denise’s niece,” he said, once again shaking his head. “What a small world.”

“Yeah. I’ve been crashing on her couch for the past week,” you admitted. “But I have the rest of summer to settle into my new apartment, starting tomorrow. I’ve got my whole life shipping in on a truck.”

Beau nodded at that. He contemplated whether it’d be appropriate for him to offer you some help with that. The question was on the tip of his tongue, until he saw the way your mood saddened. You sat contemplating your coffee mug.

“I asked her to come,” you confessed. When your eyes met his, they shone with the beginning of unshed tears. “The camping trip was Mary’s idea, but I asked her to come with me to Helena for the week. She wouldn’t have been there if it wasn’t for me.”

Beau let out a deep breath and met you with a more somber, understanding gaze. 

“It wasn’t your fault,” he said. He was reminded that they had Walter in custody. He wasn’t yet willing to break and confess to the murders at Sunny Day Excursions, but they had him.

“I promise, we’ll get justice for Mary,” Beau added. You sighed and wiped a tear from your cheek.

“Do you think you have the right man?” you asked, speaking of Walter.

“I do,” Beau replied. “He’s being stubborn, but all the evidence points to him.”

You nodded gratefully, but you had to try and breathe through your tumultuous emotions, the way your heart was cracking with pain. You didn’t want to break down in the middle of a damn coffee shop.

Again, Beau wrestled with the inclination to cover his hand over yours. He felt like he was toeing the line between his professional capacity as a sheriff, and the fact that you were his friend’s niece. He wanted to comfort you the best he could. But sometimes, words just weren’t enough.

You took a half-hearted sip of your coffee. By now, it was lukewarm, if still tasty and sweet. It was healthier than whiskey, you supposed.

“She was like…like my sister, you know?” you said. “I feel like I failed her.”

Beau shook his head, his dark brows furrowing. He didn’t know how many times he could say it wasn’t your fault, knowing you probably wouldn’t ever believe it.

That struck a familiar bell.

“Look, I uh…I understand what you’re going through,” he admitted. Your watery gaze found his again. Your head tilted in interest.

He sighed before answering your unspoken question. “I lost my partner on the job, now a couple years back.”

“I’m sorry,” you replied, and your sympathy was as genuine as his had been for you. “I’m guessing you two were close.”

Beau’s lips quirked at one corner. “He was like my brother. Matter of fact, I think it used to make my own brother jealous.”

You processed that with a sad frown, though your brows soon rose in curiosity.

“You have a brother?”

“Yep,” Beau nodded. The brief shadows in his eyes lifted at the merciful change of topic. “Good ole’ David. I still call him Davey, even though he hates it.”

A smile played on your lips. “Older or younger?”

“Younger, by a few years,” he replied. There was a more natural gleam to his smile then. “He’s a hotshot doctor back in Houston.”

He teased, but you could see there was pride behind his eyes. It reminded you of the way he got whenever he talked about Emily.

“So you know my story. What brought you to Montana?” he asked. He wanted to see if he could help you get your mind off Mary. He didn’t know that he’d just pulled the pin on a whole other grenade. 

You let out a wry chuckle. 

“Uh, oh,” Beau said warily. 

You nodded. He did tell you his story—ex-wife with a new husband, daughter, a new job in Montana—though you still didn’t know why he was going to grief counseling. If it was because of his partner, you could understand that…but you also didn’t want to pry.

You also knew it was only fair to answer his question.

“It’s not exactly like your situation but…I was engaged,” you said at last. 

Past tense, he noted. 

“Good guy?” he asked. 

“A firefighter,” you replied. Though you knew well the rivalry that sometimes existed between cops and firefighters. Beau’s growing bemusement told you he was thinking along the same lines. 

“Ah, a smoke eater, huh?” But his smile faded. “Did something happen to him on the job?”

“No,” you said, again with that weary chuckle. It was hard for you to get this out, but you’d been wrestling with it for over six months, damn near a year. It was enough. 

“Just a couple months before the wedding, I found out he’d been cheating on me with his college girlfriend…pretty much throughout our whole relationship,” you said. 

Though you promised yourself that you’d never cry over this again, today had already been incredibly difficult. The tears came, and you couldn’t stop them. 

Beau's brows had risen high in surprise. Then, a deeper sympathy settled in his eyes.

“Jesus. How long?” he asked.

“We were together three years, engaged for about another one,” you said. “Almost four years of my life, just…”

You mimed a puff of smoke blowing out of your hand. 

“Yeah. I know the feeling,” Beau said. His tone was wry as he dragged a hand over his beard. You gave him an apologetic look.

“I’m sorry. I know my story doesn’t compare with a marriage,” you said.

“That’s not what I was gettin’ at,” he replied. “But I get it. You start to think, what the hell was it all for? …Except for my daughter.”

“Yeah. Unfortunately, I don’t have an Emily,” you said. At the same time though, you were very glad you never had kids with that man.

Beau frowned when he saw the way your face fell further, becoming distant, and lost in old memories. 

“Afterwards, I…I checked out, you know? I could barely focus on my students, my family, my friends.” Your nails drummed on the countertop. You shook your head as it all filtered through your mind again. “But the last straw was that my dad tried to get me to work things out with him, and I just…I lost it. Beau, I absolutely lost my shit.”

Beau grimaced. “What made your dad think that would work?”

“He’s a retired firehouse chief,” you said, with a purse of your lips. “He’s always had a soft spot for Michael.”

“Michael, huh?” Beau quirked a brow. “That come with a last name?”

You shot him a look of amusement. 

“What, are you going to run his LUDS?” you joked, but you couldn’t prevent a sniffle as a new wave of emotion threatened an upswell.

You felt pathetic. This man was the whole-ass sheriff of this town. He probably had more important things to do than listen to you complain about your imploded relationship. But you were also Denise’s niece. Maybe he just felt sorry for you.

He offered you a napkin. “Sorry it’s not a tissue.”

In his eyes though, you didn’t see pity. Just kindness.

“It’s okay. I can brave a scratchy napkin,” you said, laughing a little. “But after that, I knew one of two things was going to happen. Either I was going to break open my dad’s gun safe and shoot the bastard in the ass, or I had to get the hell out of Chicago. My mom and Aunt Denise suggested I come here for a visit, just to clear my head. That turned into scoping out jobs, and then apartments… Now I’m here.”

That fell between you for a moment as your companion processed it all. In hindsight, you probably shouldn’t have mentioned that whole bit about possibly shooting your ex, but he took it in stride. 

“Well, for what it’s worth, I’m glad you are,” Beau said. “Here, that is.”

You couldn’t help but blush; at his words, the deep green of his eyes, and the sincerity of his smile.

“Likewise, Sheriff,” you said.

He smirked. “Also glad you didn’t go shootin’ people in the ass.” 

You covered your face and laughed. 

Beau walked you to your car like the gentleman he was, even though it was only late afternoon. You opened the driver’s side door, but you lingered there. You turned back to him, curling a strand of hair behind your ear.

“Thanks for the coffee, and for letting me ramble, and vent, and soak up a few dozen napkins,” you said. You laughed a little in embarrassment, but he waved it off.

“It wasn’t as bad as all that, but good luck movin’ into your apartment tomorrow,” he said. Then it was his turn to hesitate. “If you need some help with that, just let me know.”

You blinked, mouth parting in soft surprise.

“Oh, thank you but…I don’t want to trouble you,” you said.

“You wouldn’t be. That’s why I offered,” he replied, smiling down at you in a way that had you melting a little bit more. “I’ve got an early shift tomorrow, but after, I could probably pull in Cassie. Maybe even Jenny, if she’s up for it. She’s one of our deputies at the PD.”

Beau recognized your hesitance.

“It wouldn’t be any trouble, I promise,” he said, holding a hand over his heart. “We’ve gotta welcome you to the neighborhood, don’t we?”

You were still a little unsure, but you agreed to it with a thank you, along with a more shy, sweet smile.

Beau liked that smile too.

Later that day, Beau remembered it was his turn to host the ritual movie night Friday with Cassie and Jenny. His trailer was too small to have it inside, so they set up Cassie’s projector out in front, by the fire. According to his friends, he was going about the night with too much cheer.

“You’re entirely too smiley to have just come from an afternoon of therapy,” Jenny pointed out. She uncapped her second beer, then passed him the bucket. He waved her off; he was still nursing his first beer of the night. If he stuck to his plan, then it’d be his only beer of the night.

“Aw, it wasn’t so bad, actually,” he said. He explained that you had been there at the group session. The moment your name was mentioned, Cassie and Jenny both raised their brows.

“Really?” Cassie remarked.

“Yeah. Losing her friend really shook her up. Understandably,” Beau said. His gaze lowered when he played through his afternoon with you in his mind. Though your situations were different, both in your lost friends and lost relationships, he realized just how much he’d understood and connected with a near stranger.

That kind of thing didn’t happen to him often, if ever before.

“But, she’s actually moving into her new place tomorrow,” he added, breaking himself out of his own head. “Speakin’ of, would you two have the time to help her and Denise out? I already said I would come by after shift tomorrow.”

Cassie and Jenny shared a certain look—the kind these women donned when they were having a private conversation with just their eyes. This time, it seemed to be about him.

“What?” he asked, his hands spreading wide.

“Nothing,” Cassie said, smiling. “Sure, I can come.”

“Yeah,” Jenny agreed, “barring nothing too crazy happens on shift.”

Beau inclined his head. “Knock on wood there. Anyway, what’re we watching?”

“Crazy, Stupid Love,” Jenny grinned, holding up the DVD cover. “For Ryan Gosling, of course.”

Beau rolled his eyes.

A few months ago, he wouldn’t have expected that he’d make friends with exclusively women in this town, but he only complained about it in times like these.

Though as it turned out, he enjoyed the movie. There were as many hilarious scenes as there were poignant ones. By the end of the night though, he was beat.

Jenny helped with the cleanup, but she ended up taking off first. It left Beau to put away the fold-up chairs with Cassie.

“So, tell me,” she said, in a leading tone and with a teasing smile. “You crushing on Glamper Girl for real now?”

Beau shot her a wry look.

“She’s not a glamper anymore,” he pointed out. “And I’m not crushing like some teenager. I just want to help her out. She’s been through a lot…and she’s Denise’s family. It’s just the right thing to do.”

Cassie laughed. “That’s a lot of over-explaining you’re doing right there, but okay, Beau.” 

He rolled his eyes, but he had to smile. “Okay, that’s it. I’m gonna have to insist you get off my property.”

“Off what, your tin can?” she retorted.

“Hey! She can hear you.”

Beau wiped the sweat from his brow strategically while he carried his end (the heavier end, he might add) of your couch. He and Jenny were trying to get it up the stairwell to your apartment on the second floor.

“Okay now, just pivot on this corner,” he instructed. “Pivot!”

 Jenny nearly dropped her end out of sheer aggravation. Her blue eyes cut down to his.

“If you say pivot one more time, I’m gonna shoot you,” she snapped.

Beau whistled in amusement. “Threatening to shoot the sheriff. Now that’s at least a misdemeanor.”

Right as he could almost see the fumes coming out of his deputy’s ears, you hustled up the stairs to help them. You picked up the middle to make it easier.

“Okay, we can do this! I think we can just tip it on its side to get it around the corner,” you said.

To everyone’s relief, your suggestion worked. Denise held the door open while the three of you got the couch up to the second floor, then into your apartment. Once the couch was successfully in the living room, you went to the kitchen and grabbed a few bottles of water out of the fridge. You handed one each to Beau and Jenny.

“Thank you guys again so much for doing this,” you said, still catching your breath. You surveyed all the boxes and furniture you all had brought in, and you realized you were crazy to think you and Denise could’ve done all of this by yourselves.

“It’s our pleasure,” Beau nodded. He gestured to his sweating face and neck. “But do you have a towel or a rag or something? You’re about to be mopping me off the floor in a minute.”

“Yeah, of course. Hold on,” you said. You went back into the kitchen and retrieved a clean hand towel. Beau used it to dry his face, neck, and the top of his chest.

You tried not to stare at the flash of tan skin near the collar of his plain gray shirt, or the wet spots clinging to his back. The sleeves were tight around his arms and across his chest, leading you to believe that despite being in his mid-forties, he kept himself in shape. 

Meanwhile, Jenny drank her water, and pretended not to notice you staring at her boss. Part of her was amused, but a good part of her felt an unfamiliar sting as well.

“Okay,” Beau clapped a hand on his jean-clad thigh after he drained his own water bottle. “What’s next?”

Your face warmed, because you knew what your aunt was about to say before she said it.

“Oh, I think it’s just your bed, right honey?” she asked you.

“All right, let’s do it. Frame, headboard, box spring, and mattress, I assume,” Beau said, rubbing his sweaty hands together. He stretched his arms in preparation.

Again, you had to admire the way his shirt pulled across his tall, broad frame. But you followed after him when he started heading out the door.

“Wait, you shouldn’t do it by yourself!” you called out, and quickly followed after him.

Denise shot Jenny and Cassie a highly amused look.

“That's what she saaaid,” Denise sing-songed. The other two women grimaced.

“Wow. That’s your niece!” Cassie exclaimed.

“And technically my boss, thanks,” Jenny added.

“What, they’re cute, aren’t they?” Denise said, gesturing at the way you and Beau left.

“This from the woman who’s been lusting after that man since the minute he got into town,” Cassie retorted.

“Well, I’m woman enough to bow out when I’ve been thwarted. By my own blood no less,” Denise replied, but her mischievous smile said it all as she breezed back into the kitchen to start unpacking the silverware for you.

She knew for a fact that you’d made dinner for later—and not just because she’d told you how much Beau liked lasagna.

Beau accepted your help, along with Cassie and Jenny’s in bringing up all the parts of your bed. He just insisted on utilizing his own power tools to put it together.

That was how you found yourself holding the headboard up straight while Beau made sure the frame was aligned. It wasn’t as easy as it looked; the wood panels had to slide into the notch in the headboard just so, before he could start drilling the bolts back in.

“Damn it,” he muttered, when one panel of the frame nearly slipped out of his hand.

“Can you actually use that power drill?” Cassie asked. “Because you’re pretty hopeless with cars.”

Beau rolled his eyes, despite his smile. “Save the belittling for later. Tryin’ to concentrate.”

After a few more minutes of sweating, mild cursing, and internal praying, you, Beau, and Cassie managed to get the bedframe put together with the headboard. Then the box spring, and finally the mattress. It marked the official end of moving in.

While Beau, Cassie, and Jenny took a much-deserved rest sitting on the couch with a round of beers, you went to the kitchen where your aunt had already preheated the oven for you. Now you just needed to pull out the two massive pans of lasagna you’d prepared the night before—as a thank you for everyone who came to help you.

Denise sidled up to you and touched your arm to get your attention.

“Good job inviting our dear Beau to lift furniture for us,” she whispered, waggling her brows. You shot her a look and shushed her.

“Do you always flirt with him like this?” you asked incredulously.

“Well, I might have to do it less blatantly if he’s gonna keep playing Mr. White Knight for you,” she teased. 

“He is not. He’s just…nice,” you whispered back. “So are Cassie and Jenny.” 

Denise gave you an amused look. “Mhmm.”

You rolled your eyes and focused on getting dinner ready.

Within the hour, the five of you were sat at your new modest dining table between the kitchen and the living room, eating lasagna and drinking iced tea. Jenny and Beau had beers alongside them, and conversation drifted from how you intended to set up the apartment, to Cassie’s still open missing backpacker case.

The parents were even more worried now, saying it was out of character for him not to check in with a phone call, despite the email he’d apparently sent them a few days ago. Beau had agreed to give Cassie whatever help she needed on the periphery, especially if further evidence revealed itself on the backpacker’s whereabouts.

Beau was already on his second helping of lasagna when he raised his gaze to you, right across from him at the table.

“Clearly you get your cooking skills from your aunt, because this is fantastic,” he said.

Denise twittered. You blushed a little as you smiled.

“Thank you. I’m glad you like it.”

There was a short lull, filled by the tapping of silverware on plates, before Denise spoke up.

“By the way,” she said, looking to you and Beau. “Did you two have a productive time at grief counseling? What did you talk about?”

It was a well-meaning, but perhaps intrusive question. Both you and Beau tensed up. Cassie gave Denise a warning look. 

“Oh, I’m sorry. You guys don’t have to answer that,” Denise amended. 

“Um, it’s okay,” you replied. “It wasn’t too bad…I think I might go again.”

Beau had a warmer smile for you. “That’s good.”

You were able to return his smile. You turned to Cassie next.

“You went there for a while, right?” you asked. Cassie nodded. 

“It was helpful,” she said. “I’m glad you’re getting something out of it.”

You took that with a nod, and returned your gaze to Beau.

“Have you been going there long?” you asked him.

He tilted his head. “Actually, yesterday was my first time too.”

Your eyes widened. “Oh, really?”

Cassie was intrigued at the way this little scene was playing out. Thought she caught the look on Jenny’s face while she watched it too. Like Jenny was studying them, not sure what to make of it all.

Beau wore a self-deprecating smile.

“Yeah. Just…hadn’t gotten around to it,” he answered you.

There was a heaviness in his voice and in his eyes that you didn’t miss, but you didn’t want to make him uncomfortable in a room full of people, even if they were his friends. 

“Well, I’ll go again if you do,” you offered, a bit bolder than you felt. Beau met your eyes across the table, and his lips lifted at the corners. 

“All right,” he said. “You got yourself a deal, miss ma’am.”

You fought against a blush rising up your neck. You glanced down and took a sip of your iced tea. 

“Look at you. Pulling out your ‘sheriff’ voice,” Cassie teased. 

“Like a rhinestone cowboy…” you sang into your glass. Your smile peeked out around the corners of it.  

Most of the table laughed. Jenny smiled, but opted for drinking her beer.

Meanwhile, Beau gave you a mock look of betrayal. His true amusement shone through his eyes. 

“I see how this is. Gang up on the Texan time,” he remarked. 

That gave Cassie an opening to ask you something, and hopefully get to know you better. Already she had an instinct about you: she liked you. And clearly Beau seemed to as well. Cassie tended to be more cautious about people, even if you were Denise’s family.

“So how are you liking the Midwest so far?” Cassie asked you. 

“So far? It’s the fresh air I needed,” you replied. 

“Oh, you should check out that art studio you wanted to see,” Denise chimed in. 

“You’re an artist too?” Beau asked, raising a brow. You chuckled.

“No, just an amateur with a handful of brushes,” you replied.

You remembered the peace you’d gotten while painting in sight of the mountains. But when you got to Denise’s house, you’d hidden away those canvases, not wanting to be reminded of that week at Sunny Day Excursions. And of Mary. 

“Oh, but have you gone horseback riding yet?” Denise asked. “I know you were gonna try on your camping trip—”

You loved your aunt. You really did, but she also had a knack for putting her foot in her mouth. The others quieted as you dimmed at the actual mention of that God-forsaken place.

“I tried,” you said. “I never actually managed to make it on the horse.” 

“Aw, well if you ever want to go, there’s a stable in town. They give lessons too,” Denise said.

You nodded and forced a smile. You went back to picking at the remnants of lasagna and salad on your plate.

When everyone began to filter out of your new apartment, each with their own set of well-wishing and a container of leftovers to take home, Beau ended up being last to leave. You had followed him to the door, where you handed him his tupperware of leftovers, and he thanked you in appreciation.

“Now I just need a microwave,” he said. “My toaster oven’s been on the fritz.”

Your brows rose in amusement. “You have a toaster oven, but not a microwave?”

“Well, let’s just say my trailer doesn’t exactly have a whole lot of space for appliances,” Beau replied, chuckling.

You smiled at that. You hesitated, but you eventually touched his hand that held the tupperware.

“Thank you again for coming here, for helping me…and for yesterday,” you said.

Beau almost didn’t realize it, but his face was getting warm. As warm as your pretty smile.

“Well, you’re very welcome,” he said. “And just puttin’ it out there, I may or may not have been riding a horse before I could walk. First memory I have is my dad putting me on Old Bess when I was four. She nearly kicked me off…not that that would happen to you. I’m just saying—” 

“I see.” Your giggle ended with a smirk. Beau tended to ramble. You weren’t sure if it was a nervous tick, or just a facet of his upbeat personality…but you found it endearing.

He leveled you with a grin. “Listen, what I mean to say is, if you’re serious about wanting to learn how to ride, I could teach you. It’s not that hard.”

You bit your lip, mentally beginning to weigh out the pros and cons. To be honest, you still had reservations, both on riding a horse, and on Beau being the one to teach you. Was he just being nice, your “friendly neighborhood sheriff,” or was your aunt onto something?

…You weren’t sure, but your instincts told you that at the very least, you could trust him with this. And trust had become hard for you to give any man.

“Okay, cowboy. Let’s ride,” you said. And you even surprised yourself with the flirtatious note in your voice. 

Beau’s grin kicked up a notch. You then exchanged numbers so you could hash out the details of when and where to meet sometime soon. Hopefully soon. 

Then you wished him a good night. 

“G’night, darlin’,” he said. He lingered in the hallway for a parting grin. “And welcome home.”

Your answering smile warmed him, long after he left your door.

AN: *rubs hands together* We're really getting into it now. 😂 Finally we have the big reveal of why she left Chicago, and the start of her and Beau's bond. You'll see more of that, and of Emily, in the next chapter...

Next Time:

You gasped and gripped even tighter with your thighs. With almost everything you had.

You were still far too unsteady for comfort on this damn horse. The poor animal whinnied, tossing his head back with a huff. Unfortunately, that just made you tense up even more as you held onto his neck. 

Beau tried not to laugh. You looked like a cat clinging to the edge of a bath.

“Okay, you needa relax a little,” he said. “He ain’t gonna buck you, long as you don’t give him a reason to.”

You shot him a narrowed look.

▶️ Keep Reading: PART 4

Ko-Fi Me ☕

Series Masterlist

Big Sky Masterlist

Main Masterlist

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[lilbit-of-kizzy]

Watching Doctor Who with vague gif knowledge of the last 3 seasons sure is fun lmao

"oh I wonder who the MI6 guy is gonna....uhhhh oh 😅"

[shelltasticday]

Hey! It's me again and it's ok,i asked just to make sure but sorry,i should've see your list about the requests before to ask 😅,but look,i have another request that would probably be easy to do (but if you don't want to,just ignore it ok?)

It's a reference from 2012 tmnt when Leonardo sees karai for the first time,like,he was searching for his brothers kinda pissed because they never listen to him and he is the leader and all that stuff,so when he see her knowing she's from the foot clan they fight but,more like to release the tension but Leo feel enchanted by karai,in the end she's just go away saying her name and that they will see each other again.

So,the idea is Rise!Leo x reader (female or neutral, your choise) in this scenario,i think this would be so different and probably funny because well,it's Rise Leonardo we talking about lol.

Hello again, and no prob. Thank you for the request, I had fun writing this, I tried taking the scene you mentioned as a base while having fun molding it to something more likely to happen to our dearest Leo. Idk if you wanted something this long but I'm a sucker for somewhat flirty fight scenes so… Hope you like it! It's love at first fight hahah get it? ba dum tss

Leo's first meeting with a foot recruit reader (Scenario)

It was a quiet night for Leo, sometimes he liked going to the surface alone to take a breather and practice some skateboard tricks on railings as everyone slept in the big city. He was sitting at the edge of a roof, enjoying a warm slice of the pizza that for Hueso's relief, Leo had ordered to go.

The cold breeze and lights helped his mind to slow down for a moment and process his day, it was so easy to let go and just relax as his thoughts came and went with no trouble. He was wondering if he should go and rent a Lou Jitsu movie before heading back home when… down an alley, he notices shadows moving, catching his atenttion.

At first, he attempts to ignore it, but mind Raph appears to nag remind him that as a "hero", it's his "duty" to at least make sure it's no trouble. And so, he sighs, closes the lid of the pizza box and descends jumping, landing as quietly and as near as possible to the place he saw the movement.

His eyes adjust to the shadows and he sees… nothing. Huh…

"Welp! Nothing to do then!" Leo says, standing tall and turning around to go back to his snack but, because things always go wonderfully for him, instead he finds himself surrounded by a number of foot clan recruits. "Guess I spoke too early" he says. Everything is still and silent, it's a matter of who makes the first move.

Leo's voice is the one breaking the atmosphere "Look, it's late, you're all probably tired from doing Foot-sy things all day. How about we just say you surrendered and I let you go home after a crimeless-fightless night, yeah? How about it?". Two recruits jumping onto him to attack was the response, to pretty much nobody's surprise. "And I'm supposed to be the face, huh"

Being honest, Leo fights his way through the group rather quickly, a small number of enemies wasn't a problem anymore. Dodging, jumping, some hits here and there and there they went, to the floor. He grins for a moment, admiring the short time it took him to get everyone knocked out, thinking how much his abilites have improved. Well, anyways!

He makes the motion of dusting off his hands, leaning his body on the handle of his sword and ready to enjoy the rest of his night when again, something caught his attention. Though, this time, it wasn't a noise, nor movement he saw… it was like he was being watched still, the presence of someone else he hadn't detected before.

Leo took his sword once again, not moving from where he stood. He looked right… then left… no, it was… it was from above. He rose the sword, making it as if he was going to sheathe it, using the reflective surface of the blade to try to see what or who was behind him… and then he saw it, a metallic glint. His eyes widened for a moment, but he had just enough time to turn around and deflect the kunai that came at high speeds towards his back.

More and more kunai flew at him from different directions, all of which he either deflected or dodged, but still, it was a speed and quantity that had him struggling to find the source of the attacks. The mysterious enemy, on the other hand was realizing that the distant approach wasn't going to work, time to change the strategy then.

With a flash and swift movement that would've taken anybody else off guard, you jumped from the dark, charging forward with blades coming out of your gauntlets as your main weapon. It was like slow motion, when you two met eyes, the wind moving some hair out of the visible half of your face, the ends of his mask floating along… and then time sped up again with the clash of the sword blocking you once more.

The defensive move made you jump back a few meters away, landing with your fists ready for anything else. Leo finally had an objective, but what surprised him was that he heard a chuckle. "I'm impressed, so what the others say it's true… Well, that means there's something entertaining in this place" you said.

You had been called to the city to join the main group of the foot clan as it was progressing in completing the dark armor, and had heard from other members and leaders about some mutant turtles that were a hindrance towards the cause, causing constant trouble among the ranks with impressive skills that they would mention here and there.

And well, you considered yourself among the best fighters of the whole clan, if not the very best, so you totally had to put that to the test. Maybe that way you'd at least have some decent fights if they could keep up with you, or even one-up you… turns out that's the case.

Leo had no idea what you were talking about from the look of his face. "Uh, and you are?" he motioned at you with one hand, kind of expecting a presentation. "Your opponent, that should be sufficient for now. Don't drop your guard so quickly!" you responded. You went back to the attacks, swinging your fists targeting mainly the chest and lower body.

The turtle moved swiftly, he managed the sword amazingly quickly to block everything he couldn't dodge, moving in circles to try getting himself behind you and twirl his weapon again to land a hit. All the movements were quick, the clash of metal sounding time and time again as you were now standing with your arms in front of you in a defensive manner.

You repelled the sword and tried to distract him with a new wave of kunai, however something you didn't expect happened. He swung the sword at… the air? Then a blue circle of light appeared in front of him, and whatever that was, it engulfed every single projectile inside it, like a void.

Then another circle opened to your side, and the knifes came out flying in your direction instead, making you drop to a squat to avoid them. This got a laugh from him. "What? Kunai-d you see it coming?". Oh, that was… bad. Your brow visibly furrowed, deciding to round kick him from where you were on the ground, sweeping his feet and making him fall on his back as retaliation.

Now you were the one laughing. "I'll admit you got me in turtle shock for a second there". For a moment, you two laughed at the pun. "You're not half bad" he said, sitting up. "Funny, I was going to say the same about you", you answered, returning the grin although the mask you had on would hide it.

Next moment, you were back at it. One kick here, one cut there. Seen from afar, it looked like a dance: push, pull, step forward, step back, one side, the other side, a turn, repeat. Your movements and his looked almost coordinated, like a pre-choreographed fight, one you knew by heart and were acting out perfectly.

Breathless, you two stopped at the same distance from eachother, his sword to your neck, and a knife of yours to his. And all was still again. Then, something gave off an alarm in your pocket, a signal that your presence was required somewhere else. You heard it sound twice and you almost wished it would stop but you had to go.

In the blink of an eye, you were now meters away, on a rail to have a higher ground again. Leonardo dropped his arm to his side, putting the other hand to his chest and acting all hurt as he said "Hey hey hey, I thought we had something special here and now you're leaving. What, is there another blue turtle you gotta go fight… em, sorry, didn't catch your name".

You laughed once more, well, after all that you at least had respect towards his as an opponent, so why not? "The name is (y/n), we'll see each other again!". And with a puff of smoke, you were gone.

Leo stood for a moment to allow his heart to slow down, it felt like you had fought for hours but somehow it didn't seem to have been too long. He dusted himself off, looking over to a few cuts on his arms, nothing too bad honestly, but far more than he expected or felt happening.

Slowly, more tired, he goes back to the roof to retrieve his pizza, and he stares into the sleeping city before him one more time, not knowing precisely what he feels.

That fight was so… interesting, the way you two moved from one point to another, the way you joked back at him, the way you two had a smile on your faces for that last part of the encounter. The way you were both giving it your all but also somehow wanted it to last longer, as if you weren't adversaries but rather sparring partners having fun. Fun… Hmmm.

He picked up the box, still a bit warm, and started heading home. Thinking that, if you were to meet again he'd have to train a little more, and that if each time you met was going to be that fun… well, he wouldn't mind if it happened more often.

[kaycapo]

Maybe draw how the others would react to MT loosing all of their memories lol

IM SORRY I READ THIS WRONG😭😭 when you said reacting, I thought u meant something like, MT just lost his memories and the gang is experiencing that like JUST THEN, but now I realize u meant what the gang would be like... Welp (thank you for the ask anon!)

I feel bad for not answering this properly, so if you want, you can see what they’d be like underneath here, but I don’t want to draw it right now so it’s just writing, sorry😅

second: she’s be very surprised but relatively happy, she’d even try to help him to be good, since he lost his memories and he won’t remember being bad

green: he would refuse to believe that MT just somehow lost his memories, green would act cold towards MT and constantly try to catch him lying and keeping a close eye on him, green would also try to convince the others that MT is most likely lying and he shouldn’t be trusted

red: red would be shocked, but happy, but he’d also feel a little bad since MT lost all his memories, meaning he’s forgotten his own name (I assume) and all the good stuff that may have happened to him (Like, happy times) 

blue: blue would would happy, but suspicious. she’s find it a bit hard to believe that MT lost his memories, and keep a close eye on him, but she would help second in trying to make him good and wouldn’t worry about it all the much

yellow: yellow would most likely spend a lot of her time trying to find out what happened to MT to make him loose his memories, but she’d be happy that MT won’t really be a problem anymore

purple: purple would be extremely confused and shocked, in complete disbelief that MT lost his memories. (I HC that MT forced purple to help him and betray the colored gang) but purple would be really happy, thinking he’s finally free from MT’s grasp, but he’d stay far away and maybe help to try to make MT good

[thedevillionaire]

2 for you, and then 6 & 7 for Cerberus and Kia? If it's not too greedy to ask three at once.

Of course. 💕 No greed detected!

2. what in your fiction has turned out differently than you expected when you began? what has always remained the same?

Dear gods, so much has changed. I have been writing in this world, with greater or lesser regularity, for literal decades, so there's been more than a few "welp, that's not how I thought that would go" moments. Many more than a few. SO damn many more. Honestly, though, the biggest surprise has been...here. Cerberus's path has taken many unplanned and unexpected turns, but nothing even near less planned or expected than, uh...part-time snzfucker sex symbol. 😂😂 But so much has remained the same. Like, say, my total lack of a coherent beginning-middle-end plot arc. It's been just a bunch of stuff that happens since the start, and it still is. Happenings happen. But my focus with those happenings has long been, very regularly: (a) interpersonal relationship related in some way, (b) probably got a supernatural power or two in there somewhere, and (c) wow, these people are really good-looking. And I used to get really annoyed with myself for only being able to long-term immerse in this one world, and I've tried to kill it off and work with new OCs in a new setting multiple times. Some of these attempts even resulted in a few fics here and there, but not ever for long. These days I just roll with whatever. The Underworld and its various populus are the creation that ate my brain, and fine then, so be it. 😅 I mean. I love what I love.

6. what would their dæmon be?

Answered for Kia here, and now it's under-the-cut time!

For Cerberus, the jaguar, and particularly a black one, because he's Aesthetically Consistent™️- this is a rare, intelligent and immensely powerful animal, usually solitary and self-reliant by nature, and one that also happens to be imposingly beautiful. Because aesthetics. Of course.

7. do you have a favourite scene of theirs in canon, or in your own work? what scene have you always wanted to see or write for them?

Kia's answered for here - same place as the previous link, as it happens! For Cerberus...arrgh, nope, I can't choose. I have literally sat here thinking about this for, ooh, way too long, and I still don't know. I keep changing my mind. He's my favourite and I love everything* about him, honestly. That is such a non-answer and I'm really sorry about that, but every time I try to commit to something, I'm deleting it a second later because, no, there's also this. I do know what scene I want to write for him, though, and I can't do it because it hurts my stupid heart too much and I am genuinely incapable, which is the moment he breaks down after the death of his best friend, at the point where he has no choice but to face that he can't change what happened, he can't fix it. I've tried to write it several times, and failed. But I wish I could, because it's such a pivotal moment, and it's as emotionally shattered as he's ever been, and it's important in both the short and the long term as regards his story. *okay, almost everything. We argue, lol.

[real-jane]

ok but why did I think you were British for the longest time?? lol there is no indication of that anywhere but my brain went "no it's true trust me" 😅

LMAO welp. I almost exclusively consume British media other than MCU stuff so I’m not totally surprised! 😂😂😂

[destinyc1020]

No surprise here that Tomdaya is a strong couple that has lasting power in the eyes of body language experts! 😏

Haven't we been saying in here for ages that it would really take smthg truly WILD to break Tomdaya up lol 😅

OUCH! 😬🤣😅

Welp.... There you have it folks lol 😆

Let's see if this guy's predictions come true.

Although, I will say.... that it does seem like most of his assessments about these celebrity couples seem kind of spot on, and have been the same things I've been thinking for a while now....👀

[meltingpointmp3]

Jxkandkaa omg its fine!! Sometimes tumblr is weird with asks so its fine!! I just assumed it got lost in space (because I have bad luck with sending in asks) BUT you're welcome!! Its the new year already and so much is happening both if you are a multi fan like myself and also within nct (like xiaojun apparently is an actor now? We stan, plus jaehyuns drama is coming out soon and doyoung i think? That and our lord and savior nctinfo is gone :c forever crying in the club) so life is interesting fandom wise.

Life wise *eyes the entire world* welp we don't talk about that lol. Oh I also saw you won the kai giveaway, congrats! ^_^ but yes indeedy also a fellow sagittarius, the best combo ever is being anna AND a sagittarius! I'm happy your holidays were nice, I hope overall life is also good for ya! Oohh idk why but I just pictured smurfs but in that neon green color nct uses and its making me laugh more than it should

naprawdę? to zabawne xD czuję się jakbym otoczony przez setki Marek lol jakby wszędzie mnie śledzili

i also have bad luck with asks. i was often send something and then wonder: did it get lost? did they not get a notification? were they too busy to reply? am i being hated??? lol it's "fun"

yup, actor dejun was a bit of a surprise 😸 hope he gets more roles in the future! i'm also curious about jaehyun and doie's dramas but i won't be surprised if they end up not being my taste haha 😅 i'm kinda picky. do you watch a lot of dramas?

life without nctinfo is already hard and it's only gonna get harder once comebacks start... it's probably easier for people who are on twitter a lot but i'm not so they were my main source for updates. of course, i do understand their decision and respect it but they were doing such an amazing job and they'll be missed forever 😿

lmao it is a funny vision indeed. i grew up on the old smurfs cartoon haha 🤣 i'm still a big fan 👍

ciągle szukam w pamięci, ale ostatniego marka pamiętam z gimnazjum... ale na bank gdzieś się jakieś Marki ukrywają, tylko ja mam pamięć dziurawą jak sito 😂😂

btw it's FREEZING in poland right now. i love snow but it's -13°C right now and it was even colder in the morning. and in my bbf's town it was -26°C in the morning 😬😬 insanity.

[thefrstofficial]

Hey Frst Fam! As always, I have to start out by thanking each and every one of you for your love and support on this journey! So….without further ado….the big announcement is: our new album will surprise drop tomorrow!! 😱😱 Actually….I’m just punkin’ ya lol. The real announcement is, we’ve got Covid-19, and are going to be leaving social media for an extended time. Now I know you’re thinking, “but I had Covid and it wasn’t that bad!” True true…. In this case though, I’ve struggled with chronic asthma for many years and this is generally considered to be one of the highest risk factors for Covid-19 related fatalities and ventilator support, at times supposedly more than some heart diseases & cancers (not all of em, Duh!) I know the other half are saying, “serves ya right for not social distancing!” Welp, just to prove that none of us have control over our lives, we haven’t left the house or studio in 2 years. I’m not kidding. And no we’re not rich, we’ve been eating the same hotdogs every night since then LOL Nonetheless I’ve cheated death at least a dozen times in my life and I feel so grateful to have even made it this far! If you’d like to help, please jam the f#ck out of all our songs on your fav streaming service! Our streaming profits have always been donated to a wide range of charities since our 2018 debut, but everything you help us raise will temporarily help us cover our medical costs and bills. If there’s one last thing I could share, it’s “please remember, every single action you take affects someone else. Every single one.” Goodbye for now, Goodbye (maybe) forever, Or maybe just ‘Bye, Felicia!’ 😅 - Mikei 🖤 … #covid19 #covid #covidpositive #thefrst #mikeigray #frst #cdc (at The Frst) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cb-dL-Ruh9G/?utm_medium=tumblr

[nico-drives-badly]

Welp, I’ve been tossing and turning for ~4 hours and my brain’s starting to repeat the same part of my daydream over and over again, so now’s probably a good time to check out that inbox huh? 😂😅

Thanks in advance to everyone who took the time to send in asks! I’m surprised I got as many as I did lol, and y’all came up with some really fun questions and ideas! ^_^ I’ll answer as many of them as I can tonight, and if there are any asks left over once the sun rises, I’ll work on answering them over the weekend. Stay tuned! 🤫

I accidentally took my ADHD pills before bed, which means my brain will be wired all night and I won’t be able to go to sleep.

Plz spam me with asks so I’ll have something to do at 3:42 AM when I’m too tired to be productive and my brain starts to hyperfocus on my bedroom wall

[destinyc1020]

I loved your review of Challengers!!!! I watched the movie 3 times now and although I love the vibes the film gave me, I had big issues with the script and overall's Tashi's arc. I felt that the male characters were more interesting as ppl and their story of a close friendship turned rivalry to ending with both of them not speaking for years was quite compelling. I honestly just thought Tashi was a symbol for them tbh. this is where I blame the writer Justin cause the reason he made Tashi black was because he was inspired by Serena and Naomi Osaka however, this film is very apolitical. Outside of the mention of the alleged racist tennis opponent, her race is never mentioned. Her black father isn't even present in the older Tashi scenes. So what was the point of taking such good care of her white boys' line?

The last point is not going to be a point but a link. It discusses how Zendaya is the next leading lady of the generation. I have some thoughts but I hope you can read it so we can discuss. I do think that one critic has some inflammatory comments on Z that I feel are more personal than biased, but as a dark-skinned black woman, I can understand where that frustration comes from. It is tough because it is a lot and I appreciate if you do want to add any more discourse because I do feel Z sometimes is separated apart because she biracial black woman the bigger issue is Hollywood as an entity but using that white boy line kinda justify it for me.

https://www.vulture.com/article/zendaya-challengers-leading-lady-debate.html

Whew!!! Anon....this was a very deep and interesting read! Thank you for your kind words Anon about my review. Like I said, I'm always 100% honest on here about how I feel lol. 😄

I'll just say this, that overall, people are going to have varying opinions on someone's acting or just a film in general. I look at films and an actor's performance as just something that is subjective.... One person may LOVE a film or an actor's performance, and another person may think the film/acting was just "So-so". It's just like a piece of art. We can all have various different tastes, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that necessarily? Sometimes, our life experiences, exposure, and world view can shape how we view certain films or pieces of art. So, I am not even surprised that one of the critics in this article doesn't really care for Z's acting/films, etc... It's her personal opinion I guess.... 🤷🏾‍♀️

I'm a little iffy as well on Justin's writing tbh.... I remember when leaks of the script/screenplay FIRST came out, people were cringing lol. 😅 I'm glad that the film version wasn't as cringe-worthy as some people felt the film would be. I still would have changed some things about the writing.

But hey, sometimes, you don't need a picture-perfect film with picture-perfect characters. Sometimes, life is complicated, PEOPLE are complicated, and you don't need an ending that's tied neatly into a nice little bow with a "happily ever after" attached.

With that said, I'll comment and provide my reaction to some of the points in the article you just linked:

Whew... Welp...She made some interesting points. I know this will probably ruffle a few feathers here, but she's definitely coming in with some hard-hitting thoughts and feelings.

I've been saying this about Hollywood for years... The fact that monoracial, YOUNG, desirable, darker-skinned black women are basically ignored in Hollywood.... I do agree with her statements on this. I am a huge supporter of Z, and I love that she has the type of power that she has in Hollywood, but I do also feel for my darker-hued sisters as well. 😔

With regards to race.... Don't get me wrong, I don't need films where black people (black women especially) have to address RACE in every single role that is given a black person. Is it just me?? But sometimes, it's just REFRESHING to watch a movie, see a black person onscreen, and NOT have to think about race. 👀 We already have to deal with race and think about it just about every single day, 24/7... That can at times be exhausting. Sometimes, when you watch movies, you just want to ESCAPE...Escape your problems, escape reality, escape real life, or just escape what's on your mind atm, etc... You don't need a constant reminder of societal issues, and views of "blackness" in every single film that features a black person. At least, I don't feel that way.

But I do feel like certain elements and ways that woc (black women in particular) are portrayed onscreen DO play a huge role in how we are viewed in society, how we view ourselves, and how certain stereotypes are continuously perpetuated. 🤷🏾‍♀️

Anyway, I still hate that "white boys" line lol. It just seemed cringe to me, and totally out of nowhere lol. 😅 I'm like, do people even talk like that in REAL life? I doubt it lol.

Hmmm....interesting take.... 🤔

.

I meannnnn....I DO have to agree w/her statement on Timmy and Zendaya in the "Dune" franchise. I sense more platonic/"Friendship" chemistry btwn them, than actual sexual or sensual chemistry tbh. 👀

Whereas, I felt like she and Josh definitely seemed to have tangible sexual chemistry onscreen in "Challengers". Sometimes, you can know someone a little TOO well, that when you act with them in romantic scenes, it's not really believable because you two are like brother and sister vibes irl with each other lol. 🤣 I think that's the case w/Timmy and Zendaya onscreen.

.

While I don't agree with her that black people should ONLY work with mostly other black people onscreen lol, I will say that I agree with her part highlighted above. I've been saying for a while now that I'm really curious to see how Z would fare in a film directed by a black director, surrounded by a primarily black cast. 😊

.

With all of this said, I have to admit, this little part right here made me smile...

I can see it too! The Academy LOOOVES indie films like these. 😊😃

Anyway, great read Anon! 👍🏾 Thanks for sharing! It was good to get dual sides of the coin from their differing opinions.

[destinyc1020]

Confession Sunday:

Im watching Palm Royale on apple tv, ok show, bt i mostly like cast, sans Kaia Gerber...wow that young lady cannot act 😭 i dnt even think she has more than 5 minutes of screen time per ep bt she somehow struggles with that. And gurl is supposed to b playing a manicurist... who is trying to become a model 😅 Nepotism is def working in her favor cuz shes getting cast for a lot of these side roles bt even if shes nt the main character i can see her trying to act (instead of acting). I cant even pinpoint what exactly she struggles with cuz i think its just a mix of everything (voice, lack of emoting, etc)

Welp! No surprise there!😅 Kaia is not going to improve if she doesn't work on her craft. Plain and simple. And it's actually doing her a disservice (if you ask me) to be putting her in all of these roles when she's not really ready (imo). When you have singers, and even wrestlers acting better than you, then there's a problem lol. 😅

i can see her trying to act (instead of acting). I cant even pinpoint what exactly she struggles with cuz i think its just a mix of everything (voice, lack of emoting, etc)

Ouch....That's never a good thing. You should never be feeling someone acting. If you're feeling someone acting, then that means they haven't embodied the character they're playing well enough, and it's just coming across as disingenuous. I have heard that Cindy herself was an awful actress when she was younger and tried dabbling in acting also lol... So, maybe the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree lol. 😅

Laura Dern is a good friend of the Gerbers and is an Executive Producer of the show, so some fans speculate that Kaia probably got this small role due to her. It wouldn't surprise me.

Meanwhile, REAL actresses who can actually act are losing out on roles because some Nepos have connections in high places. 👀 I'll never forget that one Anon of mine who spilled some tea that some actresses were upset that they lost out on a role to Kaia Gerber lol 😅

Sometimes, you just have to know what your strengths and weaknesses are and just accept them. Beyonce wasn't the greatest actress either lol, and guess what, she isn't acting anymore lol. But I always say that there's always room for improvement.....for anyone! Even decent actors. One can always improve. So, if Kaia wants to improve, she might just have to work hard at it. Getting acting lessons, maybe even teaming up with a vocal coach, etc...