#you guys just need to accept that this is a pretty mid season and that's it

[resident-sean-expert]

my assessment of the wwdits fandom rn :

[jaegerisim]

Vent post y'all are gonna hate me for.

I viscerally hate how the Duffers treat most of their non white or queer characters and I hate even more viscerally, how y'all big byler blogs in your circle jerk of other 5 big byler blogs casually like to ignore many red flags the show has.

Y'all like to say: "tHe DufFeRs ArE gReAt WrIteRs" and it's like girl, who are you lying to??? They aren't top shit writers at all. The Duffers are pretty mid imo. Yeah, they run a good show that's fun to watch and theorize abt , but that doesn't mean they're good writers cuz they're not.

1. they completely side lined Will during s3 for the sake of their straight romances: lumax, jancy, mlvn, duzie and partly stobin (even if stobin wasn't endgame, thankfully, Steve's intentions were clearly wanting to date Robin and they gave it a lot of screen time). Will was sidelined bc he didn't fit the straight romance plotline bc they planned to make him gay or whatever. Now in s4 Will and his feelings have been used as mlvn toilet paper. Yes, we like to say this is build up for byler but canonically, Will's feelings have been used to clean the shit mlvn leaves behind.

2. Billy was sympathized a lot during the last 2 seasons. They gave him the sad backstoryTM in order for ppl to feel sorry for him. Billy's backstory is literally Jonathan's but whatever.

3. El's anger issues are constantly girlboss-ified. They down play her bullying situation and literally just use it for El to be a ''girlboss" without realizing how triggering that is. As someone who has lived bullying, seeing it be ignored by canon and fanon is super sad. The whole Rink-O' Mania experience must have been so traumatizing for her yet, everyone absolutely forgets abt it 🤷🏻‍♀️

4. Robin, Erica and Argyle are stereotypical characters. Robin is the quirky lesbian with social anxiety, Erica is the badass black woman and Argyle is the Latino stoner that sells weed to white kids and works as a pizza delivery guy.

5. Altho Argyle and Eddie both do drugs, (Eddie actually sells K-12 to a minor and nobody batted an eye. He has a huge fan base). Eddie is held in a pedestal bc "poor thing 🥺 he lives in a trailer with his uncle 🥺". Tell me a single fact you know abt Argyle that isn't "he smokes weed", "he is Jonathan's only friend", "drives a van" and "he works at a pizzeria". Exactly, Eddie is given a useless backstory and Argyle isn't.

6. Dustin stopped being important to the plot sometime around s2 and s3. He is only there to curse and be mildly funny. My guy needs to hangout with ppl his age cuz he only hangs out with seniors.

7. El needs to stop having so much "I'M THAT BITCH" screentime like I need in s5 for El's arc to not just be her becoming more powerful and falling in love with Mike. I need the Duffers to explore her trauma and problems.

8. Angela should have been run over by the van.

9. Patrick should have been given a backstory that isn't the basic "strict black parents that hit their kids cuz they are a disgrace". Patrick's backstory is actually racist af, fight w the wall.

10. As Lex already said, they didn't trigger tag the ep where Jason and his friends assault Lucas and Erica. Like wtf? Why was that necessary? Why did I have to see a black boy being held at gunpoint by some white guy?? Was it relevant to the plot?? I don't think so. And then I've got to see ppl online be like "Jason wasn't that bad. He was just mourning" like bitch you can stfu. This is what happens when you make the racist assholes conventionally attractive.

Also the fact that Lucas's arc is fulfilled by him fist-fighting Jason and "embracing his weirdness" aka accepting he is black. His arc was not fulfilled at all cuz that ending spoke so loud to me. It showed how little empathy ppl have towards the struggles poc ppl living in the Midwest have. Y'all circle jerks can only see racism when it's super obvious.

Furthermore, parents complained when ST showed "an excessive amount of smoking" yet nobody batted an eye when Billy tried to run over Lucas, when Erica (an 11 y.o ffs) was chased by white kids or when Lucas was held at gunpoint by Jason.

All of this happened while they focused on Max's guilt and mourning that, yeah, are important but certainly not less important than racism!!!

11. In s3, they gave us that whole Nancy vs The Bigots arc that was honestly just triggering and useless. It didn't help Nancy's character at all, quite the opposite it put unnecessary angst.

12. Lonnie being presented as an abuser just for him to never be spoken of again. Can we please get to explore the trauma he left the Byers's with?

13. The fact that both queer relationships are considered "sloppy seconds" is extremely sad. Both Vickie and Mike are rebounding from their failed relationship with Robin and Will. These 2 ships have caused more commotion than Jancy and Jopper together! (These last ships are technically sloppy seconds too but everybody forgets that. Shocker!!)

14. Last but not least, ppl blame Argyle for being the one to get Jonathan into smoking weed as if Jonathan probably wasn't the one looking for it. Let me tell you, that you only find weed if you look for it.

[circlebuttons]

Buzz cut Season

Pairing: Rafe cameron x fem!reader

Warnings: Mature Content Minors DNI, Somnophilia, Smut

Word Count: 1,433

It's late saturday mornings and you were still sleeping, your classes had been brutal all week and today was your first day to just lay in bed. You feel the bed dip behind you and your blanket lift, so you simultaneously turn, knowing your boyfriend has made it back to bed. It wasn't unusual for Rafe to get in bed at strange times or disappear and suddenly reappear, so eventually it just became second nature to accept him in your bed whenever. He wrapped his arms around you like he would every morning without fail, the pull of his arms helps bring you somewhat towards consciousness although your eyes stay closed, prompting you to tiredly mumble, "Good morning baby" as you turn your face into his chest.

"Morning beautiful", he whispers down to you and after some time of holding each other you can feel his hands slowly travel down to massage your hips and ass, telling you that he was in the mood bright and early without even needing to look at him. You put a hand to his chest and half consciously turn back over, not in the mood to entertain Rafe's high sex drive. "Baby" he whines pleadingly in your ear pulling you from falling back into a deep sleep again and if you didn't know better you'd think that the kook king whining and begging in your ear was a dream.

"'m tired" you mumble at him with a frown forming on your sleeping face. Although your boyfriends makes incessant reminders that you could quit everything and be taken care of, you still go to school full time. You cater to your majors demanding hours and Rafe struggles to grasp the concept of the working man's fatigue, causing little hiccups here and there in y'all's relationship.

He mutters against the shell of your ear, "Just let me eat it? Huh, pretty girl?" A small smirk grows on your lips as you gently nod. You had called Rafe an eater to his face once and he completely denied it like you don't know him better than he knows himself, but it's not like you're complaining.

"Not too much though" you softly mumble out, creating an understanding that there is no such thing as four rounds and overstimulation at the ass crack of dawn. Rafe hums out a half assed understanding as he trails light kisses down your neck and eventually to your hips, until you fall back asleep.

He moves smoothly under your blanket, it's lightweight and allows him to comfortably place his hands firmly on each side, so that you're laying on your back allowing your head to settle back into the pillows.

his hands work to softly and slowly part your legs lifting one leg up so that he can trail kisses on the backside and inner skin of your thigh and letting the other one rest out flat.

he leaves kisses in his path placing a final one on your pubic bone right where the white manufactured bow on your underwear sits. he mouths at your stil covered pussy making your body begin to stir. "rafe" you huffed out annoyed that he'd think it was a good idea to tease you mid sleep. "I hear you" he mumbled, before he hooked his thumbs into the waistband of your underwear and gently slid them off, returning to you and this time splitting your legs open on each side in a funky frog position instead of letting your legs rest on his shoulders like he normally would.

you whine at the stretch, annoyed that he's being extra, but content enough to lull back asleep. rafe loved the positions you guys could try due to your flexibility, matter of fact it was the only thing that kept him as your acrobatics partner on the mornings before he played golf.

He readjusts his hands to slowly spread you apart, mesmerized by the glisten of how wet you had gotten in such little time. He places his tongue flat against entrance and drags it all the way up, stopping to suck on your clit. He repeats his motions, trying his best to keep a slow and calm pace despite the quiet whimpers that begin to slip past your lips. He drags his tongue through your pussy one last time before sucking your clit into his mouth, not as gently as the first time. His tongue moves across your nerve, creating suction as if he's trying to drink you from the source and he doesn't release your bud until you arch your back and loudly whine out his name, your hand briefly reaching down to push away his head, regardless of the barrier created by your sheets.

Rafe becomes aware of your newfound consciousness and uses that as his advantage to make you cum quicker. He laps up whatever wetness had begin to run across your pussy and makes it a point to push his tongue deep into you. He nods his head side to side, burying his tongue further, and humming vibrations through your core. "Shit! R-rafe!" the stimulation makes you cry out and your thighs jolt closed, but hes quick to keep your legs spread, locking his arms on top of them and holding your waist so you'd be held firmly in position.

You struggle against his arms and he pulls his tongue out of you with a slurp, and just as quickly he begins to sloppily eat you out. Even though you've made no progress you can't help but to thrash against his restraint, crying out high pitched and whiny moans, which only encourage him to moan against your clit with what seems like a nonstop humming.

You could feel yourself reaching your high. Your hands shot down, quickly moving under the sheets, reaching down to grab his hair and pull his head away, but the feel of his rough buzzed head instead shocks you fully awake. "what the fuck?" you continue to grab at nothing until the realization sets in. he was gone this morning getting more than just a trim. you feel him smirk into your skin as you try to push his head back fighting overstimulation. He loved the way you'd grab him like you're torn between pulling him away from and pulling him closer to your pussy, like you can't decide if the pleasure is too much or if you want to cum. But he always ended up making the decision for you as his hands harshly holds down your hips, making you crumble over the edge, stuttering as you fall from your high.

Your orgasm is drastically different from the few moments prior when you were sleeping, it's hot and intense, shaking your body, making you cry out, "Fuck, Rafe!" You shove the covers off of you two and he looks up at you with his blue eyes one tint away from being black. You let your head fall back and thighs close tight around his head. It made sense now why he wouldn't let your legs touch his head and why the soft texture of his straight hair was no longer tickling your skin

He follows your comedown, cleaning you with his tongue,while you take a moment to catch your breath, both of you sitting in silence as he places soft kisses back up your body until he's hovering over you.

"I know you're tired but you did so good" He's speaking softly to you but the only thing in your head is that you can't believe that he actually buzzed all of his hair off. You sit up to get a better look. "Holy shit you did it" you gasp out as he leans down to kiss you, he had mentioned wanting to cut his hair once or twice before but never had. you look up at him in awe, hands caressing his head and face.

"Do you like it? Or i mean think it looks good? He quietly asks you as his eyes shy away from yours and you can detect his need for your validation.

"I love it! I think you look great baby" You tell him with a big smile, his eyes quickly lock in on yours as he mirrors your smile. As much as Rafe loved to come off as confident and stone cold you knew it was important to give him just as much reassurance and as many affirmations that he gives you, but what you didn't know was that every time he flashed that boyish smile at you, you were healing his soul piece by piece.

[literaryslapshot]

wordless apology being accepted

pretty pls need this with sidney, can be coach!sidney or not, whatever you wanna do 💞

february prompts | coach!sidney x fem!reader

remember how y'all said you wanted the angst....yeah...

"hey, ryan's doing great in practice. he is the best kid a coach could ask for, really," sidney gave his players parents praise in the stands. it was thirty minutes until puck drop. occasionally before games sidney would go up in the bleachers and talk to parents while he could. he wanted to keep the relationship with his player's parent's strong, knowing that he was for their kids just as much as they were.

he sat next to y/n right before going back down to the bench on the ice. his hand subtly rested on her thigh as he listened to you talk about all you did that day, the parent meetings after class. he wished that he had time to actually talk to her, had time to sit with y/n and hear her go into more detail. but mid season he has to find a little bit of time to sit with her where he can.

"carter's getting better every day. i talked to the coach from arizona state today, he called wanting to know about him." sidney said, taking some of the popcorn she held in her hand. whipping her head to make eye contact she felt a few butterflies fluttering about in her stomach, college coaches already?

"but he's a freshman? are they even allowed to reach out when they're freshmen?" those were the questions that y/n was able to put words to, but in her head she had a thousand and one roaming about.

"all i told him was that he's everything a good program needs, he'll only get better with time, but to give me a call in a couple more years. coaches can go look and scout players as young as they want, but typically they don't get offered until they're a junior," sidney explained, "but if they're good...which carter is, then yeah. they can call, i got calls when i was in the eighth grade."

y/n felt intimidated, she isn't ready for conversations with college coaches and she knows carter isn't either. y/n just wants carter to enjoy the innocence of it all before dollar signs get thrown in his face.

"ten minute mark, i better get down there. want me to meet you guys at the restaurant?" she nodded her head and gave him a kiss on the cheek for good luck. by now parents had put two and two together of y/n and sindey's relationship. she had been approached and so has sidney, but for the most part it's been supportive. a few rumors here and there, but how can they complain when their son has the best coach in the country?

sidney starts to walk down the steps and takes a second to get somewhat of an outside perspective on warmups. hands in his pants pocket watching the opposing team but his thoughts were interrupted when a man approached him.

"i have a, uh, question," the man seemed nervous. he was stuttering over his words, not in a drunk way but he was extremely anxious over something. "can you maybe tell me," he took a breath before moving on, "which one my son is?"

sidney was taken back- no, he was floored. is this a joke? is this man serious?

"are you joking with me man?" sidney asked, taking a half step back to face the mans body with his. but from the way sidney looked in his eyes, they were nearly glossed over with fear and intimidation. the man shook his head as he looked on the ice again.

"i've been out of his life, i haven't been a good man and i'll be the first to admit that but, please i gotta start somewhere. saw his picture in the paper and i recognized him from the letters and stuff my mom sends me- his name's carter."

sidney pulled his lip between his teeth. he felt his leg start to shake and his stomach coil from anger, his hands grew sweaty as he balled them up in fists. he looked this man, this small weak man in the eye, he leaned into his level, "your son is number eighty in black. now get the fuck out of my arena before i have you kicked out, you fuckin-"

before sidney could say what he wanted to he felt y/n's hands on his chest pushing him back, "go to the bench, i'll handle him."

sidney looked down at her then back at the man behind y/n. he was still raging with anger on the inside, but did as told and walked down to the bench. when he got down there he watched as she talked to him a little bit before walking him out of the arena.

"what the hell are you doing here, john?" y/n finally asked as they stood out in the cold. she had kept in vague contact with john, trying since they divorced when carter was five to get him to come by at least once. for a birthday, christmas, or even an easter. but he never did.

occasionally he would send a gift card or a card with some cash, but y/n wasn't fully convinced it was him. she had her suspicions that his mother did it. she was involved in her grandson's life; she repeatedly apologized for her son's actions and for his absence. she was just as disappointed as anyone else was.

"'cause i feel horrible, y/n." was all he could say. it was all he had been thinking the past year. "i...i started going to therapy, and i've been trying to get the courage over a year and i just...i wanna be involved. i wanna be there, i wanna get to know my son."

"well you should've thought about that before you walked out on me and your son with your secretary, john. you should have thought about that before you chose a woman who was barely twenty years old over your wife and your child, you had the chance but you lost it."

y/n had so much more to say. she had thought for a long time what she would say if she got the chance. she often rehearsed in her head all that she would say, all that she would yell and scream at john for. she thought about all of it.

"y/n just give me a chance!" john shouted, taking a step closer to y/n not caring about the people who were walking past.

"no. it's not my chance to give. if carter wants to meet up with you then i'll get with your mom, but i could care less. to me you're a fucking loser, john." she felt tears begin to fall down her cheeks as she looked the man she loathed in the eyes for the first time since she last saw him after the divorce was finalized ten years ago.

"leave, just leave. this isn't how carter would want to see you for the first time in ten years anyway," john ducked his head and walked toward the parking lot. y/n turned and went back into the arena to where she was sitting.

a few parents asked her if she was okay, those who knew her and carter's story giving her a hug and a pat on the back. she was appreciative of those around her who supported her and her son.

y/n could barely focus on the game that had already started when she sat back down, her perspective and head space too foggy to even comprehend the game unfolding before her. all she could do was think about the worst days of her life replaying over and over in her head. she was replaying the minute she found out about john's affair, when she packed up her and carter's things and went to her parents house for the time being. she was replaying the divorce meetings, the arguments, the tears.

she was replaying having to explain to her five year old son where his dad went and why he wasn't going to be at home anymore. y/n hadn't gone into full detail with sidney about all of this yet. their relationship was just a few months old and she wanted to protect carter as much as she could. y/n knows and trusts that sidney was and is a good man, but she wants carter to tell what he wants to, not tell for him.

but now she will probably have to.

-

she went ahead and sat in sidney's office, she walked down there a few minutes before the last period ended. she knew that carter had a couple of points on the board, but y/n couldn't remember how he got them. her mind was full of remembering the worst years of her life with her ex husband.

she sat in a chair next to his desk, silently staring at the mess of practice plans, rosters, and scheduling papers strung along his desk. he walked in and shut the door behind him with a thud, plopping his game folder down on his desk. he didn't sit down, he stood with his hands in his pockets looking down at her as she remained sitting.

"you okay?" he asked. she could tell that he was tense, she couldn't figure out why though. they had won the game, the boys played well, and he didn't have anything to worry about. why was he so tense?

y/n nodded her head in response.

"i'll uh, make sure that he doesn't come to another game again." sidney sat down in his chair, resting his chin on his hand. there was an awkward tension in the room. sidney didn't know much about her past marriage, she didn't reveal too much to him. but now he had more questions than ever, he wanted to ask but it was clear she wanted nothing but to keep everything bottled at the moment.

"he seemed like a dick, don't know why anyone would want to marry him." sidney muttered, moving a few things around his desk. but y/n heard him loud and clear.

"what did you just say?" she asked, speaking for the first time since he walked into his office. oh no. he registered what he said, he didn't think before he spoke. he just let his thoughts flow freely off his tongue, shoulda held that one in.

"i- i didn't mean it, y/n i-"

"no, you think i don't regret being married to a man like that? one who was a complete horror of a man? who cheated, who left his wife and child? do you think i'm not embarrassed?" y/n felt tears brim her eyes and she stood up in front of him.

"y/n you know that's not what i meant," he stood up with her and walked around the desk. he put his hands on her shoulders but she slapped them away walking toward the door. she quickly opened it and headed toward the stairs. he thought about running after her but he didn't want to cause a scene. walking back into his office and closing the door he took a spare hockey stick that sat in the corner of the small space and smashed it as hard as he could against the wall, solving his anger in just that moment.

he fucked up.

-

sidney saw a text from carter which had him gathering his keys and putting shoes on his feet.

hey mom hasn't stopped crying since we got home, you know something i don't?

sidney picked up a to-go order on the way to her house, he knew that she wouldn't have eaten anything since leaving the arena. when sidney walked into her house he saw carter sitting at the dinner table eating a bowl of soup watching youtube videos on his laptop. "everything okay?" sidney asked, dumb question.

"i don't know, when i got in the car she was crying. i asked what was wrong and she just shook her head, i thought you guys broke up or something. did you?" carter asked, pausing the video.

"no, we didn't. it's not my place to tell you what happened, but i'll go talk to her." sidney patted carter on the back and walked toward the back master bedroom. he softly knocked on the door, he tried turning the doorknob but she had it locked. "y/n?" he softly asked, knocking again.

he heard sniffles and light footsteps across the wooden door. she unlocked the door and opened it. his heart softened at the sight, her eyes were puffy and her lips were chapped, she wore soft clothes.

walking back to her bed she got in it, pulling the covers over her legs. sidney sat at the foot of her bed and handed the greasy paper sack to her, his form of an apology in that moment. she took the bag and looked inside, a little grin coming on her lips as she saw the bag was full of fries.

she ate the fries in silence, her brain is dull and her head is hurting from crying for two hours straight. sidney sat on the bed with his hand on her leg, just hoping she feels comforted by his presence. he thinks she is, since she didn't take the bag of fries and kick him out.

she sat up, setting the now empty bag on her bedside table, leaned forward to take his hand in hers. sidney scooted closer to her on the bed when she folded her legs. then she gave him a kiss on the cheek, accepting his apology that came in the form of fries.

"i'm sorry for what i said y/n," he whispered again, pressing his forehead against hers. "it slipped out, i shouldn't have said it, i didn't even mean it i-"

"shh, you're forgiven sidney." y/n placed both hands on either side of his face, keeping her forehead against his. she sniffled and sidney parted for a moment, pressing his lips against her soft skin, taking both of her hands in his.

"you don't have to tell me anything about your marriage right now, but i promise, you say the word and i will make sure that he never steps foot anywhere near you or carter again." he tucked some hair behind her ears and kissed the top of her hands.

y/n shook her head, "you don't have to do that." she scooted back toward the pillows that leaned against the headboard, sidney moved on the bed to sit next to her. he put his arm around her shoulders, kissing the top of her head while she laced her fingers with his.

she told him everything that happened in her marriage; she told him about the way john would speak to her in such degrading ways, how john never really made efforts to go to carters special events, how he would make excuses and say things he's in preschool how special could it be? she explained how she found out about john's affair and the messy divorce. right after the divorce john left the state and she never heard from him until five years later. y/n explained how john's mom still keeps in contact with herself and carter, and that she sends john letters and cards with pictures of carter.

sidney felt himself boiling with anger inside, how could someone be that bad of a person? why would anyone want to do such a thing?

"this was the first time in...years that i had seen him in person and it just brought back, everything." tears began to flow through once more and sidney wrapped both arms around her and pulled her in as close as she could. "i don't know what i'd do without you."

[thiscanbegood]

WHAT IS THE SECOND FUNERAL?

So I've been going crazy trying to figure out a timeline of events based on the episodes descriptions we got. We know Luca makes an appearance and that something happens to Marcus that makes him lose his focus enough for him to need a moment to get his groove back (which we all are pretty sure it's his mom's passing). All of that happens from the start to mid season.

BUT there's a mention of a funeral at the last episode.

Some people are guessing Donna's or Jimmy's but I feel like their passing in last ep would be such a huge cliffhanger that giving it away in the description like that just doesn't makes sense. Plus, Carm hasn't been seen actually processing his grief for losing his brother, Donna passing would be another huge blow and we wouldn't get to see each process separately, consecutive and similar punches might be cool in a fight but in a tv series would feel too much.

My guesses are on either one of these two (or a mix, they aren't mutually exclusive):

1. Something like a Michael's funeral redo for Carm. Giving him more closure and acceptance, maybe get in his brother's head somehow (his real head and not the persona's he liked to use with his weird messages and catch phrases) to understand his suffering and why he kept Carm away.

2. The Bear is gonna be put to rest. Either by an accident that compromises the building or by money problems (considering Mr. Eleven Mad is going cray cray with the budget making daily changes to the menu), the restaurant closes and the crew morn the loss. In this case (love this plot, have to admit) I think we'd get a light at end of the tunnel kinda thing, like Syd having an offer in the bag to open her own place (maybe the opportunity she gets) and take the crew with her or some investor looking to put money on a sydcarmy's restaurant.

Anyway this funeral goes, I think the restaurant is gonna finish the season in very shaky legs even if they get a star, like the opposite of the end of S2, which was "disaster just happened with this guy in the freezer but good things ahead maybe", S3 could be "great thing just happened but there's an incoming disaster, stay tuned for S4" lol.

Let me know what you think the another funeral is going to be if you want, would appreciate it!

[jade-kyo]

RvB 20th rewatch: s12

Aaaagahhahhsjshaj the mid point to the end…. Fucking agony

I never noticed the cabose written in bullet holes on the wall. Nice reference.

“I AM FUCKING AWESOME” that single moment made me fall in love with Felix…. Yeah that didn’t last

“Yay I have friends!” Me too Caboose

“You’re oddballs that don’t exactly fit in” I feel like the Chorus trilogy is just a love letter to what these characters represent to… well people like me who found comfort in a group of loser assholes finding strength and connection in each other

There is a warthog that is absolutely freaking out in the background AGDKHAKSHS

AYO Ray and Michael cameo!!!

SURPRISE MOTHERFUCKER

Grif’s mental breakdown

Hmmmm thinking about Locus and Felix not being able to return to normal life after the war…

AAAAAHHHH THEIR STRENGTH IS THEIR IDIOCY

I do feel that sometimes they overuse animation in this season… I think animation should be reserved strictly for the most necessary and funniest of bits and bad ass action scenes

Caboose gets to be the one with a good bad idea!!!!

WHY SNOWMAN

DR GRAY!!!!!! MY BELOVED

It really was a big brain move to make the feds actually not evil at all and kinda just as pathetic as the rebels

HOLY SHIT HES BILINGUAL PLEASE DONT KILL ME

“You give meaning to meaningless objects and meaningless people and then risk your lives to protect them, where’s the sense in that” I’m telling you this arc is a love letter to what this show means

Gray is unhinged- she fits right in!

Bro just got incinerated

FELIX YOU RAT BASTARD

I felt so betrayed- in hindsight I really should’ve seen it coming but I thought Felix was funny

Yo I never actually caught that Locus hands the grenade to Carolina- for some reason I always thought she just had a grenade on her

CAROLINA BABYGIRL!!!!!!!

YOU FUCK!!!!! (Just so we’re clear that was an absolutely necessary animated bit 👍🏼)

AAAAHHHH EPSILON AND CAROLINA MY BELOVED AHSKHAKSHSKHSKSH

THEYRE SO SILLY

DELTA!!!!!!

THETA!!!!!

I love the fragments ajkdhakshksh

“Just you and me sis” I AM SO NORAML ALANSKLA IA AMANA SNORNSMNSK JAKAHSNLAJANKSJSKSHWKBSKSNKSHWKSHMSK

PSYCHOANALYSIS FOR EVERYONE!!!!!

Love that Caboose is the only one who didn’t do something to the ship

I AM AN EMOTIONAL TIME BOMB Jesus Christ

“I believe he said he was paid in babies”

Lopez a real one for being the only one to remember Doc

Love the conversation between grimmons back at the crash site. nuance about Simmons and leadership or something… if you catch what I mean… Restoration (what who said that)

“MY LIFE JUST FLASHED BEFORE MY EYES!! IT WAS AWESOME!!!” Quoted line

AAAAAHHHHHHH TUCKER AND WASH!!!!!!!!

Dr. Gray my beloved

TUCKER CABOOSE MOMENT!!!

Wash was pretty dumb to just accept Freckles without question but also I never questioned it either so I can’t exactly judge

CABOOSE MY BELOVED AHAJSJAKDHKSJSKDN

SO SHUT UP AND GET OVER IT!!! Caboose finally gets to be the one to tell someone to shut up!!!!!

“Just say you’re sorry” agskahkshskjsksAJGDKAHSKHDKSGSKVDKDJKSN THEY CARE ABOUT EACH OTHER SO MUCH

CHURCH TUCKER MY BELOVED!!!!!

“Seriously? That’s it, no ‘I’m sorry’ nothing?” Carolina I feel you but also if these guys weren’t completely emotionally constipated at all times I probably wouldn’t love them as much

Also Tucker and Church’s little moment of poking fun at Carolina is so cute omg

Trocadero you are truly something to behold

TUCKER YOU ARE THE BEST OF THEM!!!!!!!

Imagine if Tucker and Church had also gotten caught in Locus and Felix’s teleporter… wouldn’t that have sucked please god I already have a big fic I’m planning I don’t need another

COLONEL SARGE

Why is Carolina so damn BIG next the chairman in that picture ajhdkahsj

P.S. suck our balls

Being completely honest I do think s12 is a little bit of the weak link in the chorus trilogy. It’s not bad but I just find more enjoyment in s11 and s13 but it is possibly Tucker at his best GOD I love him… anyway, pain 🙂

[boba-beom]

ᥫ᭡⋆｡˚⊹  I Like U (sorry, I never meant to) | part 1 — 'don't drop her!'

pairing: beomgyu x gn!reader

genre: fluff, romance | non-idol au, strangers to friends to ???

synopsis: after meeting one of your best friend’s friends, you initially found him attractive and thought he’d be a careless crush that would soon dissipate into nothing. that is, until a series of events proved you wrong and perhaps those feelings lingered longer than they should have. would something become of it?

warning(s): slice of life, slow burn(ish), mentions of food, physical affection, bickering, more mentions of star signs, I will try my best to make it as gender neutral as possible as some parts are based off from my perspective. if there's anything I've missed, let me know!

wc: 3.2k

a/n: this celebration I am referring to is very big in the filipino culture. it's called a philippine 'debut' (deh-boo). it's to celebrate one who is coming of age, entering adulthood as a young woman.

prev || masterlist || next

5 months have passed since your first interaction with Beomgyu. however, it was not the last time you had interacted. after you accepted his follow request and followed him back on instagram, you've been going back and forth liking each other's stories, recommending songs and sharing playlists with each other after you found out he also listens to the same niche artist as you. you may have overreacted, but none of your friends knew the artist until you saw his story with your favourite song posted to it.

to think that this happened over the course of the summer vacation, you were almost unfazed that you would be meeting him again for Tara's birthday. almost. you were extremely excited to visit the island again, after discussing Tara's 18th birthday celebrations, along with receiving her invitations through the post. you told yourself that all thoughts unrelated to Tara's birthday were to be pushed to the back of your head, making sure that this was going to be unforgettable and you wanted to prioritise that.

Tara has always been one to be interested in star-gazing, knowing things about star signs; whether she can guess people's star signs based off of their personality traits, or even upon first or second meeting.

you recall the facetime call you had with your best friend just a couple of days before your trip to the island. she had asked a huge favour from you — which was to help with the decorations. after knowing Tara for more than half of your life you know that they will go above and beyond when it comes to celebrations. be it weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, seasonal holidays; her and her family will do the most and it's their branding at this point.

now that you're back on the island again, you've missed everything about it. the greenery of the fields, trees arching over roads creating beautiful tunnels by nature, the fact that your best friend lives by the beach and how beautiful it would be to watch the sunrise and set with the sound of the waves rolling over the shell beach.

"hey, we've got guests coming over just after lunch. we can decorate later this evening, is that okay with you?" Tara wraps her arms around your shoulders, interrupting your gaze on your phone from the pictures of the sunrise you took earlier that morning.

"yeah that's no problem, need me to help you with anything?" you tilt your head to nudge her temple, responding to her affectionate gesture.

"actually, could you just finish the rest of those centre pieces, please?" you hum in response, "oh, and I heard Beomgyu's going to be on his way soon." she shrugs, walking out of the living room to call her other friends to discuss the time for cotillion practice.

Beomgyu. it's been a while since you've seen the name, let alone hear it. you wonder if it'll be a little awkward seeming as the last time you spoke was mid summer. there's not a lot you know about this guy, really, other than the fact that his texts are completely opposite to how he is in person; pretty dry.

pushing those thoughts aside, you pick up the glue gun and start gluing a small assortment of three to four blue and yellow roses in the small glass, cylindrical centre pieces. each centre piece had table numbers handwritten in pretty cursive handwriting, remembering that it must have been by one of Tara's friends.

each cylinder had mini battery-operated fairy lights, pulling the vision together. though there were several elements left for the remaining decorations. the completed ones were starting to look really pretty altogether.

you gather the completed centre pieces and place them in a brown cardboard box, ready for the next batch until you hear the familiar tone of Tara's voice greeting someone by the front door.

"hey Beomgyu, you're super early." you hear her laugh, "y/n's inside, you remember them, right?"

"of course." he says, walking in and making brief eye contact with you sitting on the carpeted floor.

your eyes widen slightly, brows raised and unexpected to meet him again. his hair has started to grow a little longer compared to the last time you saw him. the front pieces of his hair just about grazing his brows, and the back just touching the bottom of his nape.

"y/n?" he calls out, snapping you out of whatever it was that you were stuck in momentarily, "I asked if you need any help?" now he's sitting in the armchair by the window.

"oh. no I'm good, almost done anyway. Thank you though." you politely smile up at him, watching him take his phone out of his pocket and turning it on.

"suit it yourself." he shrugs nonchalantly, his eyes leaving yours and onto his phone's screen. you scoff a little, ignoring his response.

it was silent in the living room for almost an hour, just the occasional mini conversations between you and Tara, or Tara and Beomgyu talking about certain points of the cotillion. they were partners after all.

once you've finished with the remaining smaller decorations, you stand up to stretch before walking over to start the final decoration — Tara's name decor — which was to be placed by the display near the front inside the venue. it was her first name along with her middle name, and although they weren't long, you were aware that the process would be. having to sketch out her name in cursive, then to paint it in gold and to glue gold glitter all over it.

Beomgyu, on the other hand, started the large '18' cardboard cutout with collage photos of Tara from the photoshoot that she took a couple of months back. the pictures were beautiful, especially the few from the beach. she was standing where the mini waves were just touching her feet while she was wearing a long, black chiffon-layered dress with a spaghetti-strap. the sunset in the background created a pretty silhouette with the layers of the chiffon dress blown in the wind, and you were then starting to realise that your best friend is about to be a young woman. the thought of that was almost enough to make you emotional. almost. there's still two more days until the big day.

you start on the sketching, outlining the letters on the A1 styrofoam board, until you hear Beomgyu playing some songs from what you thought was the playlist he recommended to you. you pause for a second or two, trying to figure out which song it was and it was one of the first songs that you recommended to him months ago. smiling to yourself, you assume he compiled songs from both playlists and created a new one after listening further in the playlist.

"Beomgyu, y/n, I need you here." Tara calls after you both, her brows are scrunched up and eyes narrowed at the screen of her laptop as she watches a cotillion choreography that she's inspired from.

the sandy, blonde-haired male looks over at you, his head tilting towards Tara, essentially letting you get up and go to her first. he follows after, trailing a little behind you as you take the seat beside Tara while Beomgyu stays standing behind the both of you, just about leaning over your head.

"okay so," she starts, "I'm thinking of adding an extra move, but it's just at the very end." you watch the video as she presses play and observe the way the debutant's partner gave her a few twirls before preparing to lift her by the hip, then doing half a turn while the debutant was lifted.

you notice the way Tara pouts as she pauses the video and looks over to you and Beomgyu. your brows almost knit together, thinking that it would add a nice touch to the end of the cotillion, but realistically this was all in Beomgyu's hands. literally.

"personally, I think it would look really nice. and I know for a fact that your dress is going to look beautiful during that turn." you replay the video as the three of you rewatch it and notice the way the debutant's dress flows slightly in the air, almost in slow motion. it also reminds you of that one picture from the photoshoot and you were so sure that they'd regret it if they don't try it out.

"I don't know. the debut is in two days and tomorrow we're literally going to be spending the day to decorate the venue, and then—"

"Beomgyu, calm down, you haven't even tried it yet." you turn around and look up at him rolling his eyes at you. "try it out before the rest arrives for practice."

"y/n, are you being for real right now?" his lips twist, he's not convinced just yet, you think.

"come onnnn, Beomgyu try it out~" you sing song, "for Tara." you put your arm over your best friend's shoulders, bringing her in closer while she pouts at him.

it's always hard for Beomgyu to turn Tara down for anything. you'd think their relationship is pretty tight, but as they grew up together and being only two years apart they have that sibling energy about them. Tara is Beomgyu's weak spot, and this is the first time you've witnessed it.

"okay, fine." he sighs, defeated, but you see him smile over to Tara while ruffling the top of her head. you had no clue that you had been staring at the interaction between them for a second too long until Beomgyu calls out your name again. "you need to make sure I do it properly, I'm doing this for Tara." his voice was a little stern towards you, but it didn't bother you too much. he sounded quite defensive over the fact that he isn't doing this because you convinced him to, but you knew that that was exactly the reason why.

Tara makes her way out the back door into the garden, it was big enough to fit six pairings for the cotillion. to your surprise, she's only just told you that they have been practicing for three weeks and they only managed to remember everything the week that had just passed.

you sit on the stool by the door, facing the garden as you wait for the two to get into position for the ending of the cotillion. the pair face each other for a couple of seconds before Beomgyu twirls Tara twice, preparing for the lift. he lifts her hip onto the side of his leg, attempting to pivot in place for the turn with the other leg, but they stumble a little and Beomgyu lets go of Tara. you stand up as quick as you can to catch Tara from tripping forward and falling over.

"don't drop her!" you shout at Beomgyu. he looks at you with bland eyes, deadpan towards you.

"well, this was your idea, right?" he huffs. "I'd like to see you try."

"am I her partner?" you retort, your hands still holding onto Tara's forearm while she stands properly.

"guys, it's fine. Beomgyu, let's try again." Tara looks directly into your eyes and then Beomgyu after, her way of getting the both of you to stop arguing.

after a few attempts of the ending routine, it eventually got better to the point Tara wanted to try it out along with the music to make sure they get the timing right. you also suggest to take a video so they can review it after and they both agree. your index finger hovers over the space bar, patiently waiting for Tara to indicate when to press play.

you watch them do the routine once more until the crucial part came about, "okay, and now!" you shout as soon as the music reaches the part where the lift starts.

you watch beomgyu lift Tara steadily with a clean landing — no stumbling over or minor trips in sight. the music fades as it ends and you end the video before applauding them while you make your way toward them.

"see, I knew you could do it." you nudge Beomgyu, passing him the phone and notice the corners of his lips twitch upwards as he watches the successful move.

Tara's pleased to say the least, looking over at the phone at the same time and giving you the biggest smile.

"I know I'm terrible at thinking of things and adding things last minute, but I think that was one of my best ideas." she crosses her arms, proud of the decision she made regardless of the trouble it caused, especially between you and Beomgyu.

"yeah, you're lucky your partner was eventually convinced to do it." you tease.

"okay, okay. I get it. at least we've got that sorted out now." Beomgyu sighs, not amused with you repeating how you were right.

after heading back inside the house, you check the time and it's still early for the rest of Tara's friends to arrive for the practice. thinking of getting food before they arrive was the best idea, but Tara was called to have a dress rehearsal in case of any more altering. so it was down to you and Beomgyu to go and get food.

༺ ༻

you were grateful that the weather was good for a nice walk; the air was mildly warm with the smallest bit of breeze blown through your hair every now and then.

following Beomgyu in silence wasn't as bad as you thought. he walks in front of you, and you notice the wire of his white earphones dangling out of his pocket while he had the other in his ear.

"what song are you listening to?" you spoke up a little quieter than you expected. luckily you were just around the corner to the pizza shop, so you both stop once you cross the narrow, one way road.

"over eighty-five." he glances at you, holding eye contact for what felt like a minute to you and turns around to walk into the pizza shop.

he left you dumbfounded, remembering that that was the song that started the whole exchanging songs ordeal. you mindlessly blink at the shop front a couple of times before following suit, waiting behind him as he orders four boxes of pizzas for the group later on.

his voice is gentle when he talks to the owner of the shop. there's a lot of people in this part of the island, and everyone knows each other, if not, know of each other.

the way they exchange in conversation seems like he comes here often, the middle-aged man laughs at a bit and you see how endearing it was to see the interaction.

nevertheless, you had to set aside that it could potentially be the fact that the leo in Beomgyu is loving the attention, or it could even just be the big heart in him. either way, quietly observing them kept you entertained until he walked toward you, waiting beside you.

"Beomgyu?" your voice a little louder this time compared to earlier. he turns his head towards you, raising his brow with a hum. he isn't as firm as he was earlier, and he could physically see your shoulders relax in the smallest way possible. "can we go see that coffee shop that we walked past on the way here?"

to his surprise, that was not what he was expecting. he can sense that you've been tip-toeing around him since he arrived at Tara's house, but that doesn't mean he doesn't like you.

"yeah, we can do. we'll take the shortcut there, it'll be quicker on the way back too." he flashes you the same gentle smile he gave you the first time you met, and you notice a small dimple that disappeared not even in a fraction of a second. kinda cute.

༺ ༻

as soon as the pizzas were ready, the shop owner bids the both of you goodbye with a polite smile. you and Beomgyu split the pizza boxes to carry them back while you take up a different route, again, leaving it up to the island boy.

"how long are you staying this time anyway?" he asks you, half turning his head to face you but also making sure he watches where he's walking.

"oh, we're leaving the day after Tara's birthday. so not long, really." you reply with a shrug that he wasn't able to see anyway. you had hoped to stay longer than last time, but it was just about the same amount of days.

"I see." you almost miss his response with his quiet voice, along with a car that had driven past the both of you. but you wonder why he asked, though you knew he was probably curious like the others.

"is Soobin coming for the cotillion practice?" you remembered Soobin abruptly, he was more approachable compared to Beomgyu from the first time you met, and you remember everything clearly.

"yeah." there he is with the short responses again. you almost thought you had somewhat managed to get through to him, but it's going to be tricky with someone like him. you can't read him just yet and you're curious whether it's the same for everyone or it's just a 'you thing'.

after walking for a few more silent minutes, you see the cute, rustic coffee shop that caught your eye from earlier. this time, you were able to scan through the menu that's hung up outside on a brown clip board, reading out the set menu and the coffee of the day.

you balance the piled pizza boxes on your hip as you take your phone out to take a quick photo. Beomgyu doesn't hesitate to take the boxes from your hold and pile it on top of his.

your brows raise from the action, looking up at him with a smile followed after. "oh, thanks."

"just so the pizza won't fall. we have people to feed." his response was blunt but you still thanked him for the gesture. he faces to the side while he waits for you to finish taking your pictures, but you couldn't ignore the way the sun shines over him and some shadows from the lamppost lay over him.

you love taking photos in general. some say you're talented and you should be a photographer, but you just find it as a hobby and you don't want to take that fun aspect away.

finding a photogenic subject with a beautiful background was not easy to find, until you turn around to see exactly that. you had no second thoughts to take a picture or two of Beomgyu's side profile — to which you were extremely fascinated by — only capturing from his shoulders and up.

"let's go? I think they'll be there soon." Beomgyu speaks up, eyes meeting the sight of you holding your phone up and facing him, causing you to swiftly tuck your phone back into your pocket and reach out for the two boxes that Beomgyu took from you.

he turns quickly, so you miss and briefly grab nothing but the air where you were initially reaching out for.

"it's okay. I got it." is all he says before he continues walking in the direction of a different shortcut. a smile is twitching upon his lips as he senses you trailing behind him in confusion. if there's something you didn't know about him, it's that he's extremely observant, and his peripheral vision never fails him.

taglist: @bb-eilish @iggynor4 @ericyjun @bluejin0812 @luvsoobs @yeonyeonyeonjun @junniieesbby @kyrkitten @hyuntaena @day6andetcetera @amethysts-1620 @gorechoi-backup @dainsleif-when-playable @choiwrld @yjusei @feyregels @ahnneyong @potaeto-writes-on-wp @wccycc @lizdevorak @fairybin @laylasbunbunny @acaiasahi @ttyunz @cha0thicpisces @fairybinie @vatterie @yunkiwii @aprilisque @baekberrie @ashxxkook (let me know if you want to be added to this series taglist or fill this form to be part of the general taglist!)

© boba-beom ; all rights reserved. do not repost, copy, alter or translate in any way or platform.

[letsrilakkusu-blog]

OnlyOneOf appreciation + concert experience

My love for OnlyOneOf is new but immense! I only discovered them recently but fell into them so fast and so hard that I decided to travel out of state to attend the last stop of their Grand America Tour!

A little over a month ago, my YouTube recommendations included a music video for "because" by Rie. As a BL enthusiast, I clicked because I saw two guys kissing in the thumbnail LOL, but I was pleasantly surprised by how good both the song and the video were. When I looked into it more, I found out that Rie is a member of OnlyOneOf, and that he was playing a couple in the MV with fellow member Junji! I also learned that "because" is the fourth in a series of six solo songs released by the group as part of their undergrOund idOl project, which explores themes of love and acceptance in support of the pride movement. The songs are all fantastic, each a different style to reflect their individuality, and the MVs, which feature the members paired off as couples, are beautifully shot and feel very intimate without fetishizing. I was so impressed with their music and the messages they were sending that I felt the need to look into them further.

In the comments on their solo videos, the song I saw mentioned most was libidO. I checked out the MV, then the "Guilty Pleasure" choreography video, and then a bunch of live performances. I was shooketh, it was soooooo sensual. I read that it received a lot of hate in Korea for being "controversial", but the boys stood by it and explained that the song is about a young man experiencing first love and exploring his sexuality, eventually deciding to leave it to instinct and primal desire aka libido. The MV and choreography express this concept perfectly, and honestly, it's so tastefully done in a way that is sexy, but not egregiously so, that I see no room for complaints.

I was hooked enough to do a deep dive into the rest of their discography where I found countless other songs, both title tracks and b-sides, that I loved. I'm not sure how to describe their sound in technical terms, but it's different and more experimental than most K-pop out there. They have a lot of songs that are mid-tempo, smooth, and sexy, and the way they process their vocals gives them this kind of ethereal, breathy effect. They have a very distinct sound and regardless of whether the song is an upbeat banger like seOul drift, a mid-tempo bop like gaslighting, or a slower, sentimental track like OnlyOneOf yOu, you can tell it's them. It's pretty niche, which unfortunately means less general public appeal and popularity, but I appreciate that they stay true to it and hope that one day it catches on. Either way, I was sold.

Of course, just because I like a group's music doesn't mean I go all out and commit myself as a fan. But I felt compelled to check out OOO's other content because I was curious about the group dynamics, seeing as how they seemed very comfortable acting as couples for their solo songs, libidO, and skinz. I'm sure this is true with most groups, but they are completely endearing crackheads! They are fun and silly, have great chemistry with each other (they are basically shipping themselves), and they show off their crazy abs on camera a LOT lol. I got sucked into them real quick.

One week later, I was pretty much a newborn lyOn club, and I was aware that they were touring in the US at that time. I still have huge regrets of not being able to see Seventeen in concert last year because I also found them while they were in the middle of their US tour, so I didn't want to experience the same thing with OOO and decided to check whether there were still tickets for any shows available. I live in Hawaii so it's not like I can just hop around the continent to see them, and I was in the middle of my busy season at work, so I had a lot of limiting factors. However, I saw that there were still general admission tickets for their show in LA, which was after my big work deadline. After finding a pretty good deal on airfare, I bit the bullet and bought concert tickets for me and my husband (bless him). YOLO, am I right??

In the few weeks before the the concert, I got more and more hyped and as I continued to fall even deeper into the lyOn den, I started to get a little greedy. I really wanted snapshot tickets for my two biases Nine and Yoojung. I was scouring Reddit and twitter in search of anyone selling, to no avail. But it's okay because two days before the concert, I was able to snag a VIP ticket from a kind Reddit user who was selling theirs because they could no longer attend the show. So even though I couldn't have individual polaroids with my favorites, I would be able to do a hi-touch with all of the members, plus a group photo! Ahhh!

04-30-2023 - GRAND AMERICA TOUR LOS ANGELES

The LA show was held at the Avalon Hollywood, a nightclub which doubles as a concert venue. We arrived at the venue and started lining up for VIP at around 4:15. Once they started letting VIP into the venue, my husband (again, bless this extremely supportive man) went to go stand in the general admission line while I went on ahead. I'm pretty shy and everyone around me was with another friend, so I didn't really talk to anyone while waiting. But once we got let into the room where the hi-touch and group photo were happening, the girls in front of me started freaking out so naturally I freaked out with them hehe. It was comforting because it was the first time doing hi-touch for all of us.

The hi-touch/group photo happened so fast, I wish I had a little more time to soak it in. I high-fived each member and definitely looked at them while I was doing it, but the only one who I can clearly remember now is Yoojung. The man is so beautiful that he dazzled me into remembering only his face, even over my number one bias Nine! xD For the group photo, I stood behind Junji and Yoojung and was probably cheesing so hard, I hope I come out looking okay in the photo lol. And that was it! But even in such a short time, I could sense the members' kindness and sincerity. They are seated for the group photo, but they stand up for the hi-touch and thank each fan as they go by. And then after the photo is taken and we're exiting, they stand up again and turn around to greet us on our way out. I was starstruck. Ugh, next time maybe I'll splurge for VVIP so I can get a few more seconds with each member~

The venue was standing only, so VIP got to enter after VVIP was all settled in. I'm a shortie, and I had done my research prior so there was a second-floor balcony that I was aiming for. Luckily, it was still open when I got in so I made a dash for it and secured a spot against the balcony railing, with an unobstructed view of the stage below. It was perfect for me and since the venue is small, I still felt so close. My husband joined me once general admission was let in and to his joy, there were couches behind us that he could rest on lol.

The concert itself was absolutely amazing! The boys, who I'm sure were exhausted as this was the last of an 18-stop tour over the course of one month, brought 110% of their energy to every performance. Before seeing them live, I was thinking that maybe some of their choreography just looks cool because of good camerawork, but I was wrong, they really are that cool. Moments I can't believe I saw in real life:

The entirety of skinz, especially Yoojung and Mill's body rolls, and the KB/Yoojung moment in the second verse

The chest popping in gaslighting

THAT part by Yoojung in the final chorus of chrOme hearts

Crazy chemistry between Junji and Rie during be mine

Iconic libidO crotch grabbing by Nine

KB destroying his shirt during a sOng Of ice&fire

Rie saying "OMG pleeeease everyone, jump!!!" for angel, and everyone really jumping!

I had also seen someone on Reddit who was disappointed after attending OOO's first show because they felt they weren't singing live (I'm thinking it was a sound mixing issue rather than the members actually not singing), but for this concert I could definitely hear them over the backtrack and they were so good! During one of the breaks, they took requests to sing parts of songs that they wouldn't be performing, and this was another testament to how well they can sing. I was screaming because I got to hear a bit of byredO live.

Just as they gave their full energy for their songs, they did the same for their ments in between. They are so personable, sweet, and funny, and full of fan service! They also tried their best to speak in English when they could, which was extra endearing. And I may be delulu but they definitely waved in my general direction of the balcony a few times, so I excitedly waved back! At the end when they took the group photo with the audience, they accepted pride flags from fans and set it in front of them or draped it over their shoulders. Stan these supportive, inclusive kings. *Flag not pictured below because Studio Pav doesn't have Pride :\

The very last song was OnlyOneOf yOu and it was magical hearing them sing this beautiful number while the crowd held up their phone flashlights and swayed them to the beat. When they finally left the stage, I was overwhelmed with happiness, wishing the concert could go on for like three hours more, and a certfied lyOn. I'm totally rooting for OOO's success and hope they come back to America again someday soon!

[ozma914]

Wake Me When Valentines Day Is Over

Note: I stumbled upon this post from 2006 recently, and thought it gave an interesting look at my viewpoint at the time--after my first marriage, but before my second. In other words, I'm much happier now.

 What am I doing February 14th? Let’s see: I have a doctor’s appointment that day, and not with the “Love Doctor”. I’ll fit an early dinner in -- just me, with no chocolate for dessert in any form. Nor do I plan to buy myself, or anyone else, jewelry.

What do I have against Valentine’s Day? For starters, I was one of those Charlie Brown type kids who waited hopelessly by the mailbox for a Valentine that would never come. Eventually I got married – on Valentine’s Day. I’m no longer married. Get the picture? I could have just as easily gotten married on Christmas, and spent the rest of my life shooting at Santa’s sled with guided missiles.

 I’m as romantic as the next person. Well, the next man. I’m up for hand holding, candlelit dinners, full body massages, and lingerie. Lingerie’s questionable, of course: Sexy female underwear is a gift for the giver, not the wearer. Personally, I love lingerie – but I’d never wear any. It’s uncomfortable (Okay, I assume), overpriced, and under covering, but it sure looks good on women …

Where was I?

The point is, I'm smart enough not to gift a microwave, or a new vacuum cleaner. Okay, once, but that was a joke, I swear, and the bruises healed.

Guys, it is not the thought that counts. It’s vital to understand that. It doesn’t matter how much you love that pair of season tickets to your favorite sportsball team. Also, you get no brownie points for recognizing that your lady needs a new mop. You can put on all the lovely wrapping and pretty bows you want, and she’s still going to wrap it around your neck.

After that it gets a bit more difficult. Candy is iffy, for instance. You might get the, “I’m trying to lose weight!” cry. “Don’t you care about me? How can you torture me like this?”

You could always give her a dozen eggs, but jewelry would be cheaper.

 Just to clarify, I’m trying to lose weight, and yet would still gladly accept chocolate as a gift. In case anyone was wondering.

Cards are great, of course, but they don’t qualify as the gift – they go with the gift. Also, on this holiday funny cards are not funny. Go for something with poetry in it, and not poetry that starts with, “There once was a man from Nantucket”.

Flowers are generally safe, unless she’s allergic. Buying flowers goes against a man’s instinct: He doesn’t understand the point of something that doesn’t feed anyone, do anything, or provide entertainment, and soon becomes ugly and worthless. The parallels to your average politician are obvious.

Still, Valentine’s Day, like a wedding, is for women, not men. So going for the flowers seems like a good idea, until you consider the fact that certain flowers mean certain things. This flummoxes men. What do you men, yellow roses mean something different than pink roses? They’re flowers, man! Who made these rules? Who cares?

Yes, it's cheaper to pick something out of the yard, but tell me where you'll find this in mid-February.

 Well, the women care, that’s who. Get on the internet, ask a florist. You’ll soon find that baby’s breath has nothing to do with projectile vomiting, and that presenting a lady with black roses may not bring the reaction you’d hoped for. You might even be startled to find there actually are flowers other than roses. Carnations are more than condensed milk, fellas.

If all else fails – and it will – there’s another choice: Jewelry.

Yes, it's expensive. Get over it. Many women like sparklies, and I’m not talking about the finish of your new fishing boat. Speaking of which, if you’ve bought any “boys toys” in the last year, she will inevitably compare the value of her gift with the value of the toy. She may think, “He loves his boat/gun/four wheeler/golf clubs more than me!” She’ll be right, but believe me, admitting that is not the answer.

So suck it up, and get her the jewelry. And if your own toy is a brand new bass boat, add in the flowers and a really nice card, the one with three digits in the price. Think of it as insurance – you want to avoid those sudden glares that seem to happen out of the blue, which can lead to raging battles when you admit not knowing why she’s mad. You’re guaranteeing a peaceful home life and a contented significant other.

At least, until her birthday. You’ve got that marked on the calendar -- right?

  http://markrhunter.com/ https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/"Mark R Hunter"

[writtendaydreamm]

One Rule

Daniel had one rule he followed on race weekends. No sex.

Warnings: 18+, NSFW, smut

It was a Grand Prix weekend and the first one y/n’s been able to attend all season. While Daniel was excited to have his girlfriend cheering him on during qualifying today, he wasn’t too thrilled about what a tease she’s been as of late. She was proving to be quite the distraction. Not exactly what he needed leading up to a big race.

It was a bit out of character for y/n. She normally tried to be as unassuming as possible during race weekends. The last thing she wanted was to jeopardize Daniel’s focus or performance. She mostly stayed out of sight and out of mind allowing him to get into the right headspace. She understood being a driver’s girlfriend required sacrifice. Fortunately for her, Daniel never asked for much. He really only had one rule during race weekends. No sex.

Now, if you know Daniel, you know he’s not really a follow-the-rules type of guy. He was more of a rule-breaker if anything. So for him to even have a no-sex rule at all, meant it was something he took seriously.

This all started very early on in his career after a horrible performance during a race he happened to have sex prior to. Needless to say, that race was one of the worst he’s ever had. Whether that incident was a fluke or if the sex really did affect his performance, only God knows. Either way, since then Daniel made it a rule to never have sex before driving. Whether that be for free practice, qualifying, or the actual race.

In accordance with his no-sex rule, the couple kept it PG these past few days sharing nothing more than some chaste kisses. It was driving Y/n up the wall. This rule never really bothered her before. But it had been so long since she and Daniel got to spend any real time together. It’s probably been around a month since they last saw each other in person. Every part of her missed him. His presence. His touch.

If she weren’t so desperate for him, she’d be impressed by his willpower. If the roles were reversed she would’ve given in by now. Y/n was not making it easy for him at all. Teasing him every chance she got. But to no avail. Dan still hasn’t budged

Y/n was just about ready to accept defeat until last night when Daniel’s resolve started to show signs of wavering. In a last-ditch effort to try and turn Daniel on enough so he’d finally fuck her, y/n wore nothing more one of than his t-shirts to bed. She was hoping for the best, but not expecting much. Daniel was already settled under the covers, headphones on, and ready for bed by the time she got there. But around a few minutes after she joined him, he got up to take a shower. Odd, since he had already taken one just before bed. Then after hearing a faint but familiar grunt coming form the bathroom, it clicked. He was taking a cold shower to get rid of his boner.

So when Y/n got dressed this morning, she didn’t choose the skimpy summer outfit she was wearing by chance. It was a calculated decision. One that would hopefully break whatever was left of Daniel’s resolve so he’ll finally toss that no-sex rule out the window.

When y/n asked him to tie her top from behind, Daniel nearly lost it right then. All he wanted to do was pepper kisses all along her neck and shoulder. How he wished he could just turn her around and pepper kisses along her breasts that were supported by nothing more than this flimsy top. But remembering his rule, he took a deep breath and pushed those thoughts aside.

Today was qualifying and Daniel was determined to earn a starting position within the top 5. He needed to be laser-focused on driving his race car at its limit today. Getting everything he can out of it. He had half a mind to lock y/n up in his car for the rest of the day the way she was acting right now. She was being a total tease the entire drive from their hotel to the circuit. Doing all the things she knew would turn him on. Like playing with his curls. Lightly massaging that spot on the nape of his neck. Running her hands over his thighs. Hiking her already short skirt up even higher.

Daniel knew exactly what she was doing. It’s not like she was being shy or discreet at all. And as much as he wanted to give her what she wanted, to rip the delicate fabric off her and take her in the back seat of his McLaren right then and there, he couldn’t shake the thought of his no-sex rule from his mind.

Swallowing hard, Daniel used every last bit of his self-control to resist her. He was so tense, his grip on the steering wheel had turned his knuckles white. Relief washed over him seeing the circuit was only a few minutes away now. He wasn’t sure how long his will would’ve lasted.

When Daniel finally parked the car, there was no denying the very visible tent that had formed in his jeans.

“Y/n,” Daniel groaned irritatedly. There were going to be cameras everywhere. There was no way he could walk out of his car like this.

She quickly feigned innocence. “What?”

He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. “You know what. I can’t go out on the paddock like this right now.”

“Well all you have to do is let me help you take care of that then,” y/n pouted.

“Y/n, c’mon now. You know we can’t,” Daniel reminded her. His voice lacked any actual conviction though. “I just need a second to relax.”

Daniel closed his eyes, started to take deep breaths. In and out. In and out. It seemed to work as the tightness in his jeans started to let up.

That feeling didn’t last long though as y/n used this moment to feel him up through his jeans. Daniel’s eyes shot open as he inhaled sharply at the feeling. His hand gripped her wrist tightly but made no effort to remove her hand.

Y/n’s pussy throbbed at the feeling of how hard Daniel was for her and at how miserably he was failing to contain himself.

“The last time I fucked a girlfriend before a race I had the worst race of my life y/n,” Daniel warned her weakly.

“Well obviously, your ex wasn’t a good enough fuck,” y/n countered, her hand squeezing him through his jeans just a little. “If you won’t fuck me then at let me at least suck you off baby. How about that?”

Daniel couldn’t think straight. His mind wanted one thing, and his dick wanted something else. Her suggestion seemed like a good idea. It would be like a loophole. It wasn’t technically the same kind of sex that his rule referred to. A blowjob should be fine, right?

He took a glance around the parking lot to make sure no one was there. His McLaren was tinted pretty dark, but not dark enough to conceal them completely. A little part of him hoped someone would be outside so he had a reason to resist her. But a much larger part of him was incredibly eager to feel y/n’s lips around him.

“Fuck it,” Daniel grunted under his breath, throwing caution to the wind. He released his tight grip on her wrist and instantly took her lips in his for a hungry kiss.

Y/n smiled against his lips as she started palming him through his jeans. She pulled away, shifting in her seat to better face him. Her hands eagerly began undoing his belt and jeans.

Once she got them undone and Dan helped her pull them down mid-thigh, his dick sprang up. Wasting no time, y/n began pumping him with her hands.

Dan threw his head back in pleasure. He ran a hand through her hair, fingers lightly raking her scalp. As good as this felt right now, he knew how much better her lips would feel around him. His hand on her head began pushing her face towards his dick.

Y/n scoffed at his impatience but she figured she’d teased the poor guy long enough. Rather than fighting his hand, she allowed him to guide her head closer and closer to his dick. When she got close enough, y/n dribbled a little spit onto it.

“Fucking hell, y/n,” Daniel moaned. He may have controlled his urges for her all weekend, but it wasn’t easy. He was ready to let go and reach m the release she was about to bring him to.

When y/n finally wrapped her lips around him, he bit his lip hard to hold in another moan daring to slip out. She focused on his tip, swirling her tongue around it. Her hands pumping the rest of his dick her lips had yet to run across.

When she felt satisfied with the attention had given the tip of his dick, she released him from her mouth with a pop. The cool air from the AC still running was a stark contrast to her warm, wet mouth.

Her tongue licked a stripe from the very base of his dick, up to the tip before taking him in her mouth again. She did this a couple more times before finally sinking her mouth down on as much of his dick as she could handle. He gathered her hair into a makeshift ponytail so as to keep it out of her way and to give him a better view.

Daniel could no longer hold in his moans when he felt her start hollowing out her cheeks adding extra suction as she bobbed her head.

“It feels so fucking good, baby.”

Y/n began moving her head up and down faster at the praise.

“Yeah baby, just like that. Just like that,” Daniel instructed her, his voice hoarse and husky. Both hands were now on her head helping to guide her up and down at the exact pace he needed. He was getting close.

Y/n took her mouth off him, needing some air. Daniel let out a low groan as he saw what a wreck she looked like. Her eyes were tearing, lipstick smudged, saliva all around her mouth. What a fucking sight. With his hand still on the back of her head, he brought her face to his for a wet, sloppy kiss. Y/n kept pumping his dick with her hand as their tongues battled for dominance.

Daniel pulled away first, missing the feeling of her lips on his dick. Y/n went right back to sucking on him bringing him closer to his peak.

With both hands holding her head steady, he started moving his hips up into her mouth. Daniel couldn’t control himself anymore. It started off slow and steady. But quickly, it grew rough and fast. Y/n gagged a few times as he hit the back of her throat. Her hands were on his thighs bracing herself as he chased his orgasm.

“I’m close y/n, I’m so close,” Daniel groaned.

His hips were unrelenting as he fucked her face. The rhythm he had going turned erratic. After a couple of firm thrusts, he reached his orgasm coming in her mouth. A satisfied moan left his lips as his hands let go of her head. Y/n tried to swallow as much of his load as she could before bobbing her head up and down his dick a few more times for good measure.

“That felt so fucking good y/n,” Daniel said still trying to catch his breath. He stroked her hair lovingly, trying to tame the mess he created.

Y/n just pecked him on the lips before plopping back into the passenger's seat. After fixing themselves up, the couple walked hand in hand towards the paddock. They shared one last kiss before Daniel went off to prepare and suit up for qualifying.

Out there on the track, he was surprisingly the most relaxed he’s been in a long time. He was in tune with his car and making better decisions on the fly. His lap times decreasing with every lap he finished. At the end of the last round of qualifying, Daniel managed to secure the third starting position for tomorrow. The best starting position he’s had with McLaren so far.

Maybe that no-sex rule was doing more harm than good.

When he entered his McLaren motorhome he was immediately greeted with a big hug from Y/n. “You did so amazing out there Danny.”

“Reckon it had a little something to do with that mouth of yours aye,” Daniel said cheekily, running his hand along her back.

Y/n slapped his chest playfully. “Well, I mean at least now you know that stupid rule of yours was just bull shit.”

“Nah I’m not so sure,” Daniel started, before shooting her a wink. “I think we need to test it out again tomorrow before my race. See how well I perform then.”

[galvanizedfriend]

I was just here thinking about how I've been in this fandom for roughly three and a half years now and how it all came to pass and how life is a bitch, you know.

I was just minding my own business, lalala, and then a freaking vampire teen show on the CW decided not to give me my promised endgame, and that made me so ??? indignant ??? I had to start reading and writing fanfiction. And now three and a half years later I'm still here, more obsessed with the pairing than I had ever been while the shows were airing, all because they wouldn't deliver on this basic promise.

I mostly dislike everything that happened to the TVDu after S5 of TVD. Few scenes here, few characters there, whatever. But I didn't enjoy it anymore. It didn't SPARK JOY. And yet I was really chill about it. I see people getting legit mad at showrunners and stuff, and while I understand the feeling, I never really shared that hatred because I was always willing to accept that TVD was just going to be bad. And there's nothing wrong with that! lol I enjoy the bliss of crappy TV. Bad, absurd, nonsensical shows can make for really great entertainment. Not everything has to be Six Feet Under, you know. And when I started watching TVD, I think mid-season 3 was already airing, or maybe s4 was about to start, so I had a pretty good idea what I was getting into, never had any expectations about what a teen drama on the CW was or was not going to deliver. I was chill.

So when it went from bad-but-actually-good to just bad, I was just shrugging, rolling my eyes and going 'ok', because all I wanted was my endgame. That's the only reason I was watching it. I was never drawn to TVD as a whole, the storytelling was never that compelling to me, the world building never truly gripping, and while the first 3 seasons were REALLY good (S2 and 3 are awesome, come on), what kept going back every week was Klaroline. And I figured, even after S4, one day the crossover will happen, they will bring those two back together. There's no way they're just gonna throw this out. I was willing to wait patiently for it. However long it takes.

Not really though, because I ended Marie Kondo-ing the shit out of that and quit TVD on S7 and couldn't make it past the beginning of TO S3, so I dropped both. But every six months I would hop on Google and type 'Klaroline crossover'. Something told me one day it would come. When S5 was finally announced, I felt PEACE, man. I was like YES, FINALLY. I KNEW IT. I felt REWARDED. I EARNED this.

And here's the thing about me: all my ships die. It's just a curse I carry with me that I'm sure I will pass on to my children, and my children's children, and their children after that. The curse of being eternally heartbroken and frustrated over fictional characters. It's awful here, guys. Real life sucks and then THIS, you know. So unfair.

It's so, so rare for me to actually have a ship that gets me INVESTED. Even when I like characters/a show/a pairing, for me to have PERSONAL FEELINGS towards them, it takes mountains moving and planets aligning. And so far, whenever it has happened, someone died. I NEVER got my endgame. EVER. And when I wrapped myself around Klaroline like a snake around a little calf it wants to devour, it was because I, fool that I am, thought there was NO WAY a teen vampire show wasn't going to give me my endgame, especially when they had been hinting at it for YEARS. TVD LITERALLY ends with them saying Klaroline was endgame. I had just had my heart ripped apart by The Good Wife and Homeland. Torchwood, my OG fandom and only other time I ever got into fanfiction, killed my soul. Cowboy Bebop, my baby Yokie ship? Dead. Beautiful, poetic, I fully support it - but also, consider my heart.

I saw these two vampires, VAMPIRES, and I thought: wow, I'm finally safe. It's the BASIC understanding of teen shows that ships need to happen. You don't cheat teenagers, dude. You don't break their hearts. That's just mean. And then when S5 was announced, I knew I had been right all along. I watched that mess and I was like "They have Nazi vampires in this season and Klaus is out there saying shit like 'They hate me because of what I am' [a hybrid, not a mass murderer psycho who's also essentially an asshole *affectionate*], but hey - it'll be fine. Klaroline will be endgame. Nazi vampires don't matter. Klaroline matters."

I was chill, dudes. I was very chill. Compared to how vitriolic people have been about TVD over the years, I was just CHILL.

And then they betrayed me. While I will argue that Klaroline ended up being *the* endgame pairing, since Elijah essentially worked to get Hayley killed (hahahaha dude wtf), and Caroline and Klaus were *it*, as we always knew they would be, I was just... Livid. I could not BELIEVE what those bitches had done to me.

This was me:

They put me through NAZI VAMPIRES, YOU GUYS. Klaus was like 'Oh no, they are killing wolves, because they are LIKE ME' when he basically spends his entire TVDu career HATING and KILLING wolves himself. And it was all for NOTHING.

I can take shows like The Good Wife killing my ships. I was destroyed, but I can take it, because shows like TGW aim to be 'superior drama'. They are going for the awards. I don't feel cheated by them. But The Vampire Diaries? Are you effing kidding me?

I had been watching TVD for years before that fateful day in August 2018 when Klaus turns to glittery dust without having ever felt like reading fanfiction. But I remember I finished that episode, got my computer, and went straight to AO3. From the ashes of my indignation, an urge was born. And I've been here ever since.

I wasn't even asking for a *good* finale. I had long abandoned any notion that this show, which featured Nazi vamps and a snowflake baby that grows up to kill the mom who basically raised her all by herself, was going to give me *good*. I just wanted it to BE, period. All I wanted was to collect my fan service and be done with it. I'm easy to please, I'd be happy. If they'd given me that, I would probably not be here right now. AND YET.

Why am I writing all this? I have no idea. I was just thinking about it. Life, huh? Just as pointless as this post.

[bookshelf-in-progress]

The Christmas Card Caper: Part 1

Well, this is embarrassing.

After arranging the Inklings Christmas Challenge and fiddling with at least four different story ideas for the past two months, it looks like I’m not going to have anything ready in time for the deadline. I guess I was right in saying that Christmastime was a difficult time to get writing done--between holiday stuff and work, by the time I had time to sit down for writing, the Christmassy atmosphere I so desperately wanted to have in the story was hard to capture.

Even though I couldn’t pull a story together, I have managed to do some Christmas reading. I love Christmas mysteries, and I’m always on the hunt for more stories within the very specific subgenre of “mysteries where Christmas traditions are used to hide stolen jewels”. I’m pleased to report that I found another one! And it’s in the public domain! Since I can’t post anything of my own, I figured I may as well provide something Christmas-y for people to read. And, you know, I make up the rules, so I can do what I want.

“The Christmas Card Caper” by Glorya M. Hayers is a short story from her long-running Alfred Quicke series. While her work has nowhere near the acclaim of L.D. Melbray’s Morrick Hopeley stories, she still stands as a key writer of Coregean “Golden Age” mysteries, and while this is far from her best work, I think this story is a pretty decent example of her style. It mixes mystery and comedy in one twisty, madcap conundrum that needs to be unraveled by the idle-rich amateur detective, Mr. Quicke. Since it’s a longish story, I’ll be posting it in several parts, but I wanted to get at least one section transcribed and posted before the deadline.

Many thanks to the incomparable @isfjmel-phleg, who arranged the interlibrary loan that finally brought this story into my hands after a long and fruitless search. (And thanks to you guys for not mocking me for my failure to complete my own writing challenge).

The Christmas Card Caper

Lady Norina Quicke’s Loriston townhome was always the picture of a respectable Coregean Christmas. The tree dripped with ornaments, the banisters and doorways groaned under greenery, and her children came home on Christmas Eve to enjoy the festivities with her. Alfred Quicke had obeyed the yearly summons, but instead of enjoying the season’s comforts, he was crouched beside the Christmas tree, engaged in one of the most difficult battles of his life.

The battleground made for a fascinating, if not a purely traditional, Christmastime tableau. Young Alfred Quicke, lean and knobby, with ears protruding outward beneath a pile of carefully-groomed brown hair, and eyes that seemed just a touch too sharp for a rather vacant-looking face, wrestled with a white box from Tremble’s department store and a selection of now-rather-crumpled red paper and white ribbon that both seemed opposed on a spiritual level to serving as coverings for the box.

Lesser men would have abandoned the fight hours ago, but Alfred Quicke was never one to accept defeat. This confounded package would be wrapped by Christmas Day. Paper and string were beastly difficult to maneuver, but at last Quicke wrestled a good measure of both into submission. The paper was mostly around the box, held in place by a length of ribbon secured, for the moment, by his finger resting upon a crucial junction. He needed only the final knot to hold everything in place.

As Quicke prepared for his final maneuver, a pale-haired young man strode into the parlor.

“Still at it, Quicke?”

Quicke’s iron concentration faltered. His finger slipped, the ribbon went slack, and the package fell into slovenly deshabille.

Mr. Quicke’s hands made a similar mess of his hair while his eyes stared daggers at the intruder. “You’ve ruined me, Brem! A morning’s worth of work, gone, because you have no sense of decency. I’ll bet you run past golf games and shout mid-swing. Invade medical theatres and startle scalpel-holding surgeons. Head to Rhosemore and--”

Mr. Quicke did not explain what manner of mischief Mr. Sloe could cause at the royal palace, because the offender, immune to Mr. Quicke’s long speeches, stretched himself across a sofa and asked, “Why didn’t you get it wrapped at the store? They have entire counters of girls there who’ll wrap it up for a handful of narries.”

Mr. Quicke’s eyes brightened and his color rose. “It’s about the experience, Brem! May as well ask why I don’t pay someone to eat Christmas dinner for me, or to travel ‘round the world in my place. You don’t experience life by paying other people to do things for you.”

“No, but you do miss out on a lot of life when you spend half of Christmas Eve wrapping paper around a parcel.”

Quicke hefted himself to his feet and looked upon his friend with feigned exasperation. “What else am I supposed to do, I ask? I invite you for Christmas because I can’t bear to think of you vegetating in the club ‘til Twelfth Night, only for you to spend all your time following my sister ‘round like a puppy.”

Mr. Bremmigan Sloe grinned. “She’s a wonderful woman, Quicke.”

“Glad you think so,” Quicke said. “I can’t see the appeal myself, but judging by the number of times you’ve taken her to dinner in the past six months, you must take some pleasure in her company.”

Sloe’s smile softened like candy left in the sun. “She’s one-of-a-kind. The only woman for me.”

Mr. Quicke examined Mr. Sloe. “I could do worse for a brother-in-law,” he conceded, “but I suggest you wait until after the holiday before making any definite plans.”

Brem went white. “What do you mean? Does Dot expect...?”

“Dot expects nothing. Like the butterfly, she floats aimlessly through the day, taking each moment as it comes. I’m merely issuing a friendly warning for caution. You may change your mind about Dot when you see the creature she becomes when consumed by the frenzy of charades.”

“Charades?” cried a female voice from the hall without. The woman who came after it was the one-of-a-kind girl herself—Dotsella Quicke, in all her five feet and two inches of golden-haired glory. Brem was far from the first man to fall for the youngest Quicke’s delicate elfin features, but he was the only one Dot had permitted to remain in attendance on her so long—and the only one who’d lasted long enough to see Dot at Christmastime.

“Charades,” Dot said, “is a cracking game, and you’d better not try to cry off like last year…”

Miss Quicke’s tirade trailed off as her gaze slid from her brother and toward the mess of paper he had left near the base of the Christmas tree.

“What’s this?” She knelt next to the uncooperative package. “Alfie, is this yours?”

“It’ll be mater’s, soon as it’s wrapped.”

“If we leave that up to you, it’ll be an Easter present.”

Such disdain, coming from a younger sister, would have been too much for any older brother to endure. But before he could object, Dot began gathering the loose ends of paper and ribbon.

“Don’t bother. I’ll finish,” Quicke said.

“I’ll have it done in a flash,” Dot replied. “I’ve spent veritable weeks wrapping gifts for the Duchess’ orphans.”

Perhaps she had—the Christmas party for the orphanage had dominated Dot’s time since November—but it didn’t give her the right to wrap the present so easily. Where was the struggle? The hard-fought victory?

Mr. Quicke objected, “I was nearly finished.”

A roll of the eyes showed Miss Quicke’s opinion of his claim as she tied the final knot in place. She placed the package under the tree and said, “And now you are finished.”

“It’s the experience, Dot. You’ve deprived me of the satisfaction--”

“I’ve saved you from embarrassment--”

“--of gaining a worthwhile skill--”

“Mother would have disowned you for such a gift--”

“Now I’ll never know if I could have--”

 “Children!” scolded a female voice.

The siblings, who had forgotten they had even Mr. Sloe—watching in rather terrified awe—as a spectator, fell silent as they realized they’d gained a second. Lady Norina Quicke stood behind Brem’s sofa, stiff and stern.

“Such bickering! At Christmas! I thought you outgrew such things long ago.”

Mr. Quicke smoothed his hair and stepped forward. “A mild misunderstanding, Mother.”

“I hope that shall be the end of it. There are much better things to do at Christmastime.” Lady Norina lifted her hand which held a stack of letters. “The post just arrived. These are addressed to Dotsella.”

With a gasp of joy, Dot took the letters from Mother and settled on the sofa to open them. Brem, producing a letter-opener, slit the envelopes, and Mother watched while Dot squealed over the contents.

“From Aunt Embella! She’s still in Faysmond!”

“Taysie Noreck! I haven’t seen her since we were in school!”

Alfred Quicke, uninterested in the communications between old schoolfriends, occupied himself with the mystery of the wrapped present. How had Dot done it? So far as he could tell, his youngest sister possessed supernatural power over paper and string—the construct defied the laws of physics.

His investigation, which could have lasted until Christmas morning, ended when he heard Brem tell Dot, “Last one.”

Quicke looked up as Dot took the card. Even from the outside, he could tell it was no ordinary two-narry greeting card. The envelope was deep green, of thick and expensive paper; the direction, though water-stained, was written in white ink. Quicke, curious, joined his mother behind the sofa to observe the opening.

The card, when Dot removed it, showed a picture of a door, decorated with Christmas wreaths and garlands. The interior of the card showed a Christmastime parlor scene. Cutout images of three smiling children, dressed in the style of Queen Edella’s day, stood upright when Dot held the card open. Between them, a Christmas tree adorned with painted candles and ornaments, unfurled itself, and beneath the tree, instead of toys or presents, there sat a single golden ring.

The ring was no paper construct—it was real and whole and shining gold, and bore an enormous deep-green, oval-cut stone surrounded by brilliant diamonds. A thread tied it to the strip of paper that formed the trunk of the tree.

Dot gasped when she saw it. She gazed dreamily at the man sitting next to her. “Oh, Brem!” She snapped the thread, plucked the ring from beneath the tree, and slid it onto the fourth finger of her left hand. It fit perfectly.

“Oh, Brem!” Dot cried again. The card fluttered to her lap as she threw her arms around Sloe’s neck. “Yes! Yes! Of course I’ll marry you!”

Brem seemed stunned by Dot’s exuberant reaction, but he returned the embrace, accepted Quicke’s congratulating handshake, and endured the admonitions of Lady Norina, who found these newfangled surprise engagements a lot of fluff and nonsense.

Drawn by Dot’s screams of joy, it wasn’t long before every member of the family—Father and the other siblings, a handful of aunts, nieces and nephews, and even a good portion of the servants—had gathered around to admire the ring and share in Dot’s good news.

“It’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever seen,” Dot kept saying. “A Christmas proposal! I couldn’t have asked for better!”

Brem—who had been the only child of a reclusive man—seemed overwhelmed by the chaotic convocation of the entire Quicke clan. He was white as a sheet, and could barely stammer replies to the congratulations thrown his way.

When the furor began to calm, Sloe slipped out from the crowd and gestured to Quicke. Quicke, bemused, followed him into a hallway that seemed a silent sanctuary after the noise of the parlor.

Brem was frantic as he faced his friend. “Quicke, you have to help me.”

“Gladly,” Quicke said. “I’d be honored to stand as best man.”

Sloe threw his face over his hands and groaned. “Don’t say that.”

Quicke was offended. He thought of Bremmigan Sloe as one of his closest friends, and as brother of the bride, he had double-right to the role. He hadn’t thought Brem so devoid of feeling. “Naturally, if you’d prefer someone else--”

Sloe seized Quicke’s hand in desperation. “Quicke, listen to me! I didn’t send her that ring!”

There were jokes, and then there was insanity. Quicke suspected the latter. “Don’t be coy. Who else could have sent it?”

“I don’t know! Not me!”

This required new calculations. “You didn’t propose to my sister?”

“Not on purpose!”

“Then who sent the ring?”

“I wish I knew. I’d wring his neck. Going after my girl and putting me through... this. It’s inhuman.”

“The card wasn’t signed?”

“Not a mark on it. And no return address.”

Brem handed card and envelope, both forgotten in the hubbub over the ring, to Mr. Quicke. The only marking on the card was the printed message, “Best wishes to a Christmas angel.” That seemed romantic, but then why was there no signature to take credit for the gift?

The envelope showed no direction indicating where the card had originated. The only writing showed the address of the Quicke home, and even that was smeared where it apparently had been showered with snow.

Who could benefit by sending a gift in such a manner? An ordinary gift-giver would have signed the card. A rival suitor—even one hoping to play the secret admirer—would have signed to prevent this confusion. Somehow, this ring had come into Dot’s hands, but the question was, why?

“What am I going to do, Quicke? I’m not ready for marriage. I’m still living in the rooms at the club. I’ll need a house, a staff, and I was hoping to wait for that money I have coming from Uncle Andras--”

Mr. Quicke found such worries a secondary concern. His attention was still on the card and envelope. Where had they come from? There must be some clue, some way to track...

With a cry of victory, Quicke pointed at the top right corner of the envelope. “There’s the answer!”

This startled Brem into silence. “What?” He peered anxiously at the envelope. “Where? Who sent it?”

“Someone in the nobility,” Quicke said. “Or with noble connections. There’s no stamp. This letter’s been franked.”

Brem examined the scribble of ink. “By whom? I can’t make head or tail of it.”

“Someone can,” Quicke said, “or the post office wouldn’t have sent it.” Quicke’s finger shifted slightly to indicate the postmark. “This post office, right here in Loriston. Someone there must be able to identify it. We track down the house this card came from, and we’re that much closer to finding the man who sent it.”

For the first time since the ring appeared, Sloe appeared as though he wasn’t in immediate danger of apoplexy. “Quicke, do you really think you could find it?”

“I shall brave the cold streets of Loriston for your sake. I can go to the post office this minute.”

“Oh, capital! Off we go! Where’s my coat?”

Quicke gave him a sharp glance. “The betrothed slipping away from his beloved on the day of joy? That won’t do. You stay here and keep Dot happy. Enjoy Christmas Eve.”

“Enjoy? Enjoy?”

“You have my word that the mystery will be solved by Christmas Day.” Quicke started toward his rooms, already planning his investigation. “In the meantime, try to convince Dot of the benefits of a long engagement.”

[4stars-uswnt]

My Muse, My Valentine [Christen Press x Reader]

requested by anon: Not sure if you’re accepting any request but can you write a cp x photographer gf where her gf surprised her at man u, like her gf secretly transfer there to be with cp. Thanks

A/N: please ignore some of the inconsistencies this story has with reality :) but anyways... hope you enjoy and have a happy Valentine’s Day (tomorrow) and remember it’s a day about LOVE, whether that be romantic, platonic, familial, or self ❤️

“I’m gonna miss you,” you whine, as you watch your girlfriend pack her suitcase.

“I know, babe. I’m gonna miss you too, so much.” Christen leans down to quickly peck your lips, before continuing to fold her clothes.

You and Christen had been dating for almost three years now, having met after you’d photographed one of the USWNT’s matches. You instantly felt an attraction to the curly-haired forward, your camera always drifting towards her wherever she was on the pitch.

After you’d posted a couple of your photos on your Instagram, which Christen made a point to like and repost, you gathered up the courage to approach her after a game, and thus began your relationship.

With yours and Christen’s busy schedules, it was sometimes hard to find time for each other, but you made it work, sharing an apartment in Portland during the offseason and flying out for matches when you could. But being a sports photographer did have its benefits, as your work often led you to spending more time with your girlfriend and admiring her speed down the field and score goals.

But now, with the pandemic, as the NWSL was struggling to field games,  you found yourself with little work. Christen herself was not quite satisfied with the league’s plan for the season, so when Tobin proposed the idea of going to the WSL, she desperately wanted to, yearning to get back on the pitch.

At first, when Christen approached you with the subject, you immediately opposed, not wanting to be so far from your girlfriend for such a long amount of time. Additionally, with COVID, it would be nearly, if not completely, impossible for you to visit. But after a blowout fight and discussing it further, you realized that this is what would be best for Christen and her career.

“Do you have to go?” You pout, sitting up and moving to the end of the bed.

“You know I do, (Y/N/N).” Christen playfully rolls her eyes.

“Humph.”

“Babe, come on, don’t make me feel worse about leaving you.”

“Then don’t,” you quip, grabbing your girlfriend by the waist, pulling her down on the bed with you.

“Babe!” Christen squeals, as you blow raspberries into her skin.

You lift your head from the crook of her neck, your eyes locking with hers. “I know that you have to go,” you admit seriously. “Doesn’t mean I like it, but I know that this is what’s best for your career.”

“Thank you, (Y/N),” she says earnestly, giving you a small smile. “We’ll text and FaceTime everyday.”

“I’m holding you to that.” You cup her face and bring her in for a kiss, savoring the feeling of her soft lips on yours. “I also know that you’re gonna kill it over there in Manchester. The WSL isn’t gonna know what hit them.”

Christen ducks her bashfully, a small blush arising on her cheeks. “You know I love you, right?”

“Of course, Chris. I love you, too.”

“Good.” She gives you a quick peck, as she gets up from the bed. “Now, either quit bothering me or help me. My flight is early tomorrow morning, and I haven’t even finished packing.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

—————

It had been a little over five months since you’d dropped Christen off at the airport and she left for Manchester. Despite the constant texting and the nightly FaceTime calls, you couldn’t help but ache for your girlfriend. Without her, the apartment was lonelier and the bed felt bigger.

It had helped that your work had started back up, first with some freelance work and then with the NWSL fall series starting, which gave you something to do and kept you fairly busy.

Currently, you were sitting at the kitchen counter, sipping on a cup of coffee, as you edited some photos for the Thorns. Just as you were saving your work and closing Lightroom, about to shut your computer, a ping alerts a new email in your inbox.

Switching tabs, you notice the message is from an unfamiliar address, so you presume it’s a new client. You click and open it, your eyes widening, as you scan the email:

Ms. (Y/L/N),

I noticed your professional portfolio through many referrals, particularly your work form the World Cup. I am writing on behalf of the BBC News Media Centre, and we’re looking for an excellent sports photographer to join the team, specifically to cover the FA Women’s Super League and the Premier League.

Your experience is outstanding, adn your work speaks for itself. I think you’d be a great fit for this role, and I’d love to tell you more about it and hear more from you.

Would you like to set up a phone or Zoom call soon? If so, let me know when you’re available.

Best,

Charles Smith

Director of Media Relations at BBC Sport

You quickly reread the email, and then reread it again, just to make sure you’re not dreaming. This was too good to be true. But you shake yourself out of your stupor and quickly type out a response to set up a phone call as soon as possible.

After hitting send, you shut your computer with excitement and throw your hands up in the air.

“Yes!” You exclaim into the empty apartment, as you throw your fist in the air and jump off the barstool.

Knowing you needed to distract yourself, otherwise you’d just be staring at your computer, eagerly awaiting the response, you decided to go on a run.

Jogging through the city, you think of your girlfriend and your potential reunion if this job offer worked out. You decided that if you did in fact take this position, you’d surprise Christen at one of her matches, hopefully one that you’d be able to photograph.

As soon as you arrive back in your apartment, you make a beeline for your laptop. You anxiously open your inbox and beam when you see Charles had replied to set up a Zoom call at 9:30 tomorrow morning. You excitedly type out pleasantries, telling him you’re looking forward to it.

For the rest of the afternoon, you were in an increasingly good mood. So later that evening, when Christen called you for your routine FaceTime, she could tell something was up.

“Why do you keep smiling like that?”

“Can I not be happy to talk to my girlfriend?” You tease, a huge grin plastered onto your face.

“You can,” Christen trails off, not quite believing you. “But you have the weird giddy look you get when something’s up?”

“Nothing’s up. Just had a good day,” you shrug nonchalantly.

“Okay,” the forward accepts, still eyeing you suspiciously. “Anyways, you know She Believes is in a couple weeks, are you working the tournament?”

“Yup,” you nod and make a mental note to mention that to Charles tomorrow.

The two of you continue updating each other, chatting about topics ranging from what you had for breakfast that day to re-inc’s upcoming drop.

“Alright,” Christen yawns. “I think I’m gonna call it a night.”

You check your phone and see it’s 5:37 pm, meaning it’s almost midnight in Manchester.

“Okay,” your eyes softening at the sight of your sleepy girlfriend. “Good night, Chris. I love you.”

“Love you, too, babe. G’night.”

After ending the call and shutting your laptop, you head into the kitchen to make some dinner for yourself, getting on with your evening.

—————

The next morning, you anxiously await for Charles to begin the Zoom call, nervously bouncing your knee and biting your lip.

“Hi, (Y/N),” Charles greets, his face appearing on your screen.

“Good morning. Or rather good afternoon?” You correct with a light chuckle, to which he reciprocates.

“Well, as you know from my email, we are looking for a photographer to join our team, and from many referrals, you seem to be a very good candidate,

“So, I was thinking maybe we could look at your portfolio really quickly and then hash out the logistics to see if this is something that could work out.”

“Sounds good,” you agree, as you pull up some of your best pictures and share your screen.

The two of you look through your photos, many from the 2019 World Cup, some of the Olympics, and a few from random NWSL games.

“Well, (Y/N), your work is quite impressive. If you’re ready, and you’re seriously interested in this position, we can talk specifics, scheduling, all that good stuff,” Charles offers.

“I’m definitely interested, but can I just preface by saying that my girlfriend is a major part of this decision, so depending on what she wants to do at the end of the season will impact my contract.”

“Oh?” He raises his eyebrows, clearly not expecting your candor. “Your girlfriend plays in the WSL?”

“Yeah, well, technically only for this season. Her contract is up in May,” you explain.  

“(Y/N), to be completely frank, we’re looking to hire because a couple of our photographers had some personal issues due to COVID and had to leave mid-season,” Charles reveals. “So if it turns out that your girlfriend wants to go back to the NWSL, then we can work that out. And if she wants to stay, and you end up liking it here and you fit in well, we can also work that out. We’re pretty flexible.”

You sigh in relief, giving him a small smile. “Wow, thank you so much. So what would my contract look like?”

“Well, we can sign you to three month contract with the option for extension,” he offers, as you nod along enthusiastically.

“That sounds great,” you exclaim, beaming. “And just to let you know, I’ve already signed on to work the She Believes tournament from the 18th to the 21st.”

“That actually aligns with the WSL’s international break, and there are a couple Premier League matches that weekend, but I think we can manage, so that shouldn’t be an issue.”

“You guys are too kind and so flexible. I really appreciate it so much,” you say earnestly.

“It’s really just us being desperate for a good photographer,” Charles jokes.

“Either way, I’m grateful for this opportunity.”

“We’re excited for you to join our team,” he reciprocates. “So, in terms of when you’ll begin, I honestly would like you to come over as soon as possible so that you can get settled and get acclimated.”

“I am honestly ready to start whenever you’ll have me.”

“How about next week? The Manchester Derby is on Friday, and honestly, given your portfolio, I’d love you to photograph that match,” the British man admits.

“That’s perfect!” You were in complete awe of how perfectly everything was working out. Photographing a Man United match as your first job meant you could surprise Christen, maybe as an early Valentine’s gift.

“Great,” Charles smiles.

The two of you discuss and finalize your contract and the logistics of you starting the job. Once everything’s settled and you each have the information you need, you wrap up the call.

“Well, thank you so much, Charles, for this offer, and I can’t wait to see you next Tuesday.”

“I can’t wait to work with you and meet you. See you next week. Cheers.”

After ending the Zoom call, you begin to make a COVID test appointment, book your flight, and arrange your hotel room for the few days that Christen doesn’t know you’re there, preparing yourself for moving across the world.

—————

After landing in London, getting settled into your hotel, and meeting with the BBC team and the other photographers, you were now on your way to the Manchester Derby.

In the back of the black cab, you pull out your phone to text a good luck text to Christen.

It was difficult to keep your surprise a secret, especially when you were actually in England, because it was much more difficult to FaceTime without her noticing your change in setting. You had to make up the excuse that you were swarmed with editing and preparing for the upcoming Thorns trainings.

As you pull up to the Academy Stadium, you hear your phone ding.

Chris ❤️

Thanks babe. Miss and love you 😘

You quickly type out a response, before heading into the building.

(Y/N/N) 💗

Love you too. I miss u too but go kick butt.

The match was exhilarating. Not only were you a sports photographer, but you were also a huge fan of the game, enjoying a good game when you see one.

You watched in awe, the level and style of play significantly different from than NWSL. While snapping hundreds of photos of both teams, your camera would always somehow land back on your girlfriend.

Your heart ached for the curly-haired forward, as you missed her dearly. Until you saw her back on the pitch, you hadn’t really realized that you missed watching her play the game that she’d mastered, her movements around the pitch and on the ball effortless and elegant.

As the ref blew the whistle, signaling the end of the half, you scroll through some of the photos you’d taken, deleting some of the blurry and unfocussed ones.

A smile immediately forms on your face when you see a picture of Christen during warmups with a huge grin on her face. You spend all of halftime editing said photo and putting together an Instagram post for your girlfriend.

About fifteen minutes later, the teams take the pitch and you go back to doing your job. Throughout the second half, you could tell that Christen was getting increasingly frustrated, her team getting down 3-0 with only about five minutes left.

You watch as the players high five and hug each other, and you want nothing more than to run onto the field to be with your girlfriend, but you had a plan to stick to.

As the team goes back into the locker room, you pull out your phone to post a photo on Instagram and then you shoot a quick text to Tobin:

(Y/N)🤓:

toby go check out my ig post :))

Back in the Man United locker room, after Casey went through her post match speech, Tobin checks her phone and sees a text from you. The injured forward playfully rolls her eyes at your message but follows your directions.

Upon opening the social media app, Tobin raises her eyebrows, her eyes widening. She glances across the room to see if her best friend had seen your post, but Christen was minding her own business, changing into sweats after her shower.

“Chris!” The older forward calls over to the other woman. “Have you seen your girlfriend’s Instagram post?”

Christen furrows her brows in confusion. “What? No, what is it?”

Tobin waves her friend over and shows her the post:

Liked by mrapinoe, ashlynharris24, and 638,231 others

yourusername: My muse, my valentine.

“As I sat and looked at her

and the rolling hills she sat upon

I thought,

what amazing luck I have

that the world had created

such beautiful things

and given me the eyes to see them.”

- atticus

tagged: christenpress

- - - - -

mrapinoe: Stunning pictures, (Y/N). Love you guys 💖

alikrieger: These photos are 🔥🔥🔥🔥

alexmorgan13: love this 😍😍

cdunn19: Beautiful!

glennondoyle: Love love love love this!!

ashlynharris24: Holy shit! Are you in Manchester????

↳lavellerose: Was this today??

↳sammymewyy: Oh my gosh it was!

↳kellyohara: Valentine’s Day surprise for Pressy?? 👀

Christen zooms in on the photo in the center, her eyes widening when she realizes that it is from today’s match.

“How did she get that picture?”

Tobin mentally slaps her forehead at her friend’s denseness. “Knowing (Y/N), she probably took it.”

“But that’s impossible. She’s in the States,” Christen states and shakes her head, dumbfounded.

“Actually,” you speak up, stepping into the locker room, deciding to make your presence known. “I’m right here.”

“(Y/N)?” Your girlfriend looks up at you, her mind in a state of shock.

“Hey, love,” you greet shyly.

Once her mind caught up with reality, Christen runs and jumps into your body, kissing you passionately but briefly and wrapping you into a bone crushing hug.

“I can’t believe your here,” she whispers into your neck. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too, babe, so much.”

Unwrapping herself from the hug, Christen stares at you in awe. “What… how are you here?”

“We can talk about that later,” you give her another quick kiss. “But right now, I just wanna spend time with you. Maybe we can grab some dinner? You can show me around Manchester, considering I’m gonna be spending a lot of time here.”

Your girlfriend looks at you puzzled, but you just give her a wink with a small smirk on your face.

“Well, c’mon lets get out of here.”

—————

Back at Christen’s apartment, the two of you sit down for a nice and casual, but romantic, dinner you’d prepared along with a bottle of red wine.

After catching up, the forward finally decides to address the elephant in the room. “So how are you here? What’s going on, (Y/N/N)? You said earlier that you’d be spending a lot of time in Manchester, what does that mean? I’m so confused. Not that I’m grateful that you’re here right now and that I get to see you, but I thought you were working She Believes, and—“

“Chris,” you cut off your girlfriend’s endearing rambling. “Babe, you’re rambling.”

“Sorry,” she blushes, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

“I got a job with BBC Sport till the end of the season,” you answer her parade of questions.

“Does that mean what I think it does?”

You nod, while taking a sip of your water. “It means I’m yours if you’ll have me.”

Not having the adequate words to express her joy and excitement, Christen gets up from her chair, walks over to sit in your lap, and connects you lips for a searing kiss.

“I can’t believe you,” she breathes, rubbing her nose against yours. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” you quickly peck her lips while rubbing circles on her hip. “But as much as I love you and all this romance, we gotta get going soon.”

Your girlfriend tilts her head in confusion.

“Do the words ‘She Believes’ ring a bell?” You tease. “If I remember correctly, our flight leaves in a couple hours.”

“You’re coming with me?” Christen asks, her brain trying to wrap around the fact that her girlfriend, who she hadn’t seen in almost five months, would now be living with her in England and flying back to the States with her for the next week.

“Of course, Chris,” you give her a cheeky smile, along with a kiss to her nose, as you quote a book Becky had convinced the whole team to read. “You should know by now that I’d follow you anywhere. You’re the only good thing left in this world.”

[jj-babebank]

Room 107 // chapter I // JJ Maybank (smut)

I have started my first JJ story, which will consist of several chapters that I will constantly be updating. The story picks up where season 2 leaves us. TW: Contains mentions of drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, sex and violence. 

Chapter 1 can be found below.  Oh, and - please feel free to submit requests, I tend to write a lot ;) 

Enjoy xx

Chapter 1 - La Guardiana

Days had passed since the Pogues had last seen civilisation, maybe even weeks. The sun was hotter than ever, with close to no wind to mask the warmth. JJ was taking this particularly badly. 

“I’m so done with eating bananas, man,” he moaned, kicking a pebble as he trotted a little behind the rest of his friends, “Can’t we just stumble across an oasis or something and end up in, like, an actual city?”

As if on command, his friends stopped in their tracks, the girls awing and the guys smiling happily. 

“We just might, JJ,” said John B, looking at the city unfolding itself in front of them in the distance, “We just might.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I’m actually starving,” laughed Sarah, nudging John B’s arm, “Don’t tease!” “Hey, so am I,” he cooed, “First joint we find, we’re going in for food.” Kiara rolled her eyes, “As much as I would love to accept that offer, let me remind you that we have no money.” Sarah nodded, “Mhm, nothing at all.” “Nada,” John B looked at the two girls sternly, “And when has that ever stopped us exactly?” Kiara rolled her eyes once again, smirking at her friend, “Alright, I suppose a good meal would give me the energy I’d need to run a marathon after getting caught not paying.”

The group continued walking down a not too busy street, studying the buildings, looking for a restaurant, cafe, diner - anything, really. They hadn’t had a proper meal in God knows how long and they were famished. They couldn’t help but notice how all the buildings on the street were of the same height - no more than four storeys each, all painted in different colours. If they hadn’t known any better, they’d have thought that they had left the United States of America altogether, although one thing was certain - they were definitely not in the Outer Banks anymore. 

The street wasn’t crowded at all, there were hardly any cars or people lurking about. JJ concluded that this was probably an unpopular area of whichever city they were in. This would also explain the lack of supermarkets and restaurants. He really wanted to ask his friends to stop for a little break - his throat was so dry and his legs could barely hold him up anymore, but he knew better. The longer they walk, the faster they’ll find what they are looking for. Having no indicator of the time on them wasn’t helping either, hell, they could have been walking for 12 hours for all he knew, and with no result. 

“Maybe we should just ask someone,” Pope suggested, “Neither of us is a wanted criminal anymore, I’d say we have nothing to worry about.” John B smirked at his friend’s remark, but ultimately agreed to ask the first person they ran into where the nearest food joint was. Turns out, they were standing right in front of it. 

“La Cubanita Hotel and Restaurant” it spelled out in bold, red letters. The building was narrow and a light shade of blue, totally contrasting the obnoxiously coloured sign planted in front of it. Much like the rest of the buildings on the street, it had no more than four floors, each consisting of a row of Spanish windows with brightly coloured frames. The Pogues looked at each other with a hint of uncertainty before John B lead the way into the building. 

On the inside it looked like a typical diner - tiled floor, red and blue booths, a long bar accompanied by bar stools and, cheesily enough, a boombox. JJ guessed that the way to the hotel was through the back, but he didn’t put too much thought into it. The place seemed dead, with only one of the booths being busy. It was either an off-peak hour or this city was actually a ghost town. 

The group sat at one of the booths on the other side of where the other people were and JJ took a second to observe them. A group of bikers, all wearing stereotypical biker outfits from leather jackets down to bandanas. They were in their mid 50s and were all smoking indoors, drinking what looked like whiskeys, despite of the blazing sun still very much being out. JJ had to give it to them though, they did look pretty darn cool if he did say so himself, and those cigarettes looked eerily appetising to him at this given moment. Oh, what he’d give to have a sip of whatever they were having and a long, much needed drag of one of their cigarettes. He was so lost in his daydream, he barely realised Kiara poking him in the arm. 

“JJ,” she urged, “Waitress is here!” In this moment JJ turned his attention to the new subject in question, their waitress. She was standing at the foot of their booth, wearing her uniform, black and red, holding a pen and a notepad, chewing a piece of gum, waiting for his order. Could this place get any more stereotypical? JJ thought to himself. “So what’s it gonna be, handsome?” She said, not even bothering to look in his direction. “Uh…” JJ fumbled with the menu, “I’ll just have whatever they’re having.” He said, pointing at the bikers in the booth across from theirs. The woman rolled her eyes, popping her bubblegum. She took the rest of the Pogues’ orders before disappearing somewhere behind the bar. JJ followed her with his eyes, blocking out the conversation his friends were currently having. The waitress came back out of what he assumed to be the kitchen and handed the paper with their orders to another girl behind the bar. JJ guessed she was the barmaid, and boy was she a bit of him. 

She was wearing the same uniform as her colleague, although JJ had to admit - it looked a whole lot better on her, at least from what he could see from above the bar. Her hair was long and brown, half of it tied up effortlessly, and slightly messily, although JJ didn’t mind one bit. He watched her as she took the paper from her colleague and went to fetch the drinks written on it. He couldn’t make out what exactly colour her eyes were, and quite frankly - he didn’t really care, she was gorgeous regardless of what her eyes looked like, and she looked around his age. Had the sun and heat gotten to his head, or was it just the fact that he hadn’t touched a female in so long, he didn’t know, but if there was one thing JJ Maybank was notorious for, it was his ability to pull any girl his heart desired effortlessly. This is why he excused himself from the table and, albeit his friends’ confused looks and comments, he made his way towards the bar, sliding into one of the stools directly across from the girl. 

She looked up at him, “Can I help you?” “Brown…” JJ mumbled to himself. “Excuse me?” She said, this time sounding slightly annoyed. Her eyes were brown, JJ thought, brown and sexy. He coughed, trying to compose himself and gave her his signature Maybank stare. It worked wonders back home, surely it would work wonders now again. “Name’s JJ,” he said suavely, “I’m not from around here-“ “Clearly,” she muttered, picking up a bottle of whiskey. JJ assumed it was for him, “Aren’t you a little young to be drinking, JJ?”

JJ smirked, “What can I say, I have the face of a boy but the body and mind of a man.” The girl snickered under her nose, “Sure. Well since you’re here, make yourself useful and bring your drinks over to your friends,” she gave him a fake smile, placing a tray with their orders on it in front of him, after which she turned her back to him and walked towards the back of the bar. JJ was too busy observing her behind to notice the other waitress standing next to him, her arms crossed in front of her chest. “Should I take that or will you?” She said, waking JJ up from his everlasting daydream. “Oh, uh, don’t sweat it…” he said, picking up the tray and carrying it over to his friends’ booth. “So much for customer service,” Sarah laughed. “And to think my dad says I’m hostile to our customers,” Kiara muttered out. JJ took his seat next to her, his eyes never leaving the bar. “La Guardiana,” Pope read out loud, “This place is called La Guardiana, and apparently we’re somewhere in Florida.” “Florida?” John B said, confusion dripping through his words. Pope nodded, pointing at some text on the bottom of the menu. 

La Cubanita Hotel & Restaurant **, 97 Diego’s Crescent, La Guardiana, FL 

“Holy shit, we’re in Florida!” John B whisper yelled. Sarah laughed at his reaction, “Calm down now, Sancho, let’s not draw any attention to us,” “Yeah, you might wanna tell Casanova here that,” teased Pope, nodding his head in JJ’s direction, “Was it really worth it to potentially blow our cover just to talk to that girl?” JJ snapped at Pope, “Hey, man, just ‘cuz you don’t have the nuts to go over there and talk to her yourself,” “Yeah, I really want to attract the staff’s attention, you know, even more than we already are, seeing as we’re the only other busy table at this place.” “Your food,” the waitress from earlier was back with some of the Pogues’ orders. They waited for her to be out of earshot and JJ spoke up, “Relax, P, I bet you I can charm the pants off that girl and we won’t even need to sneak out without paying!” Pope gave JJ a fake smile, “Mhm, I’m sure she’s gonna be so deep under your spell she won’t even notice us leaving without paying a cent." JJ rolled his eyes, picking up a toothpick from the table and placing it between his teeth. “Might even offer us a place to crash, you know, because she’ll be so captivated by you.” Pope continued to tease. “Yeah, chicks totally dig this whole I’m homeless and I haven’t properly showered in like 15 days look you're going for,” Sarah joined in on the teasing. Kiara laughed and added, “Yeah, and the bit that’s gonna fully seal the deal for her is that you have literally nothing to offer her, like 0 dollars.” Everyone was laughing while JJ just crossed his arms in front of his chest and turned to look out the window, “Talk all you want, guys, but once we get that gold back, you’ll see who’ll dig what.” “The rest of your order,” he recognised the girl’s voice. It was her bringing their food over this time. She placed John B’s plate in front of him and then made her way around the table, next to where JJ was sat. She handed him his plate and bent down slightly, so that her lips were on the same level as JJ’s ear, “Next time you decide to share your criminal plans, you might wanna talk a bit more quietly.” She whispered, setting his cutlery down for him, “Oh, and, you might be charming wherever you come from, but your friend’s right. That shit doesn’t work around here.” She said, patting him on the shoulder before walking away. JJ didn’t waste time sitting around to listen to his friends pass comments about what had just happened, he downed his whiskey and practically chased after the girl. “I’m guessing you’ll want another one?” She said, not even turning around. JJ wondered how she knew that he was there. When she turned to face him, the bottle of whiskey was in her hand. “Let’s see… Do I pour you another one and close my eyes about you planning to leave without paying, or do I do what anyone else in my position would do and call the police on you? Hmm…” she pretended to think, her eyes never leaving JJ’s now panicking ones. “Please don’t call the cops,” he blurted out, the whiskey hitting his brain and making him stress out more than he wanted to admit to, “Look, we - we were in a boat accident, we don’t even know how we got here, hell - we didn’t even know where we were up until 10 minutes ago! And we - we don’t have  any documents on us, we don’t have any sort of identification, what would you -“ “Relax, kid,” the girl smirked, picking up two glasses and pouring a generous amount of whiskey in both of them, “I won’t rat you out.” She said, handing JJ one of the glasses and raising hers for a toast. JJ clinked his glass with hers, a large smile growing on his face, his dimples becoming very prominent, “Thank you, really… That means a lot.” The girl took a moment to observe JJ, then to look at his friends having a heated conversation at their booth, all of them practically stuffing their faces with food in an almost animalistic sort of way. Could this boy really be telling the truth? Could these kids have been lost at sea with no place to go? She looked back at JJ who was also looking at her. Despite the smile plastered on his face, she could clearly see that he was extremely nervous still. “Hey,” she said, “I told you to relax, didn’t I. I won’t charge you for your food, in fact… I might even have a place for you to sleep and clean up tonight.” JJ’s eyes grew wider at her words, “You what?” She leaned in closer to him over the bar and lowered her voice so that he would be the only one to hear, “Hotel upstairs, my aunt owns it. She’s currently out of town with my cousin. Should be back next Thursday. I think I can fit you and your friends in. You just have to promise to be on your best behaviour.” She said, pulling away and taking another sip from her drink. JJ couldn’t believe what he was hearing. It was too good to be true. She was hot and she was willing to help? This must have been his lucky day. Sarah could suck it, and so could the others. Clearly this girl was into him. Why else would she be offering to help? “So, uh, what’s in it for me?” He asked, a hint of mischief in his voice. The girl opened her mouth, but before she could speak, the other waitress groaned from behind her. “Samara, how many times do I have to tell you?” Her croaky voice rang. The girl, who JJ had just learned was called Samara, rolled her eyes and repeated with her colleague, “No drinking on the job, yeah yeah, I know. But Heather’s gone and so is Conner, so who can tell me what to do, really?” She said, finishing what was left of her whiskey, “Besides, Georgia, as far as I’m concerned, since they’re both gone, that leaves me in charge, no? Now get back to work,” she said, making her colleague roll her eyes at her. Samara turned around to face JJ again, giving him a wink, before disappearing into the kitchen. JJ couldn’t believe his luck. He swung his arm over the bar and picked up the bottle of whiskey to pour himself one more drink before returning to his friends. “Guys-“ JJ tried getting their attention. “So what are we supposed to do now? We’re totally screwed!” “They’re gonna call the police on us, hell, they probably already have! The cops could be on their way!” “Guys!” JJ yelled, catching even the bikers’ attention. His friends looked up at him, worry filling all of their eyes. “You’ll never believe what I’m about to tell you, oh, and Sarah? You can eat your words.” He smirked before telling them what had just happened. “Hold on,” said Kiara, her face revealing her confusion, “So this random girl in this random place just randomly said that we can crash here until when?” “Next Thursday, or was it Tuesday? What day is it today?” JJ scratched his head. “JJ!” Kiara slapped his arm, “What if this is a trap? It sounds too good to be true doesn’t it? Like, what’s in it for her? We don’t even know her! What if she’s a murderer or something?” “She’s right, you know,” Cleo chimed in. “She is,” said John B, “But we have nothing to lose, literally.” Pope nodded, “I’d usually agree with Kie, but John B’s right. We have nothing to lose. And what if she calls the police? What could even happen then? We get put in jail for agreeing to sleep in a hotel for free? Come on, guys, I’m sure we can all agree that a bar of soap and a normal bathroom would do us good. I mean, we stink.” Everyone laughed at Pope’s remark before Kiara turned to JJ again, “So what’s the plan?” Realisation just struck JJ that he didn’t in fact know what the plan was. Samara had told him virtually nothing about how any of this would go down. Where were they supposed to meet? Was she going to take them to their rooms? Would they all be sharing one room? He was so busy thinking about how all of this would go down, he barely noticed Samara herself passing him a note. It was taken out of her colleague, who JJ now knew to be Georgia’s notepad. The note read in messy handwriting:

Bring your friends to the lobby. Straight down the hallway by the bathrooms. 

JJ turned the piece of paper towards his friends and they all got up, rushing towards the hallway by the bathrooms.

[whatisthiswritingthing]

Puppy Love - Emily Sonnett x Reader

During their off season training, Emily meets a stranger and her dog. 

Note, I’m not wild about the ending, so I may repost with a different ending

“Just smile and wave Sonny,” Kelley nudged the younger defender next to her.

Kelley and Emily saw the same woman with her dog on the far end of the field they practiced on in the off season every morning. The woman was usually throwing a worn looking ball for the large German shepherd who would quickly chase it and return it before eagerly sitting and waiting for it to be thrown again. She would always glance up when the pair of defenders would enter through the opposite side of the field, quickly leashing her dog before beginning to take the dog for a run.

Other than the brief glances, they never interacted. The dog owner seemingly knowing the pair were there for a focused workout and was considerate enough to give them the space.

Even with the minimal interaction, Sonnett somehow found herself looking forward to seeing the stranger and her dog each morning. They were always there mid-morning, when people should be at work, and she never seemed rushed, and never interfered with their workout. The woman undoubtably gorgeous, athletic looking physique, long blonde hair always pulled into a high bun. The dog was large, midnight black, and incredibly well trained; always following the first command and never straying when others entered the field.

Kelley had noticed Sonnett following the woman’s actions while she leashed her dog and prepared to leave the field one morning, “just wave at her! We see her every morning, its going to be weird the longer you don’t.”

“You wave at her if you think it’s important!”

“Ok,” the brunette shrugged, enthusiastically waving at the dog owner when she had glanced their way, giving her a large grin too.

The woman in return cocked her head to the side, not expecting the attention, but waved and smiled in return. She glanced down and said something to the dog at her feet. Both defenders broke out in large grins when they watched the seated dog lift one paw and swat it through the air a few times before returning it to the ground, giving his own slight wave. She glanced down to her dog, obviously praising him, when he stood, and his tail wagged eagerly. The pair began to jog out of the park.

“There, now you just need to wave on your own,” Kelley teased while they continued to get their boots on.

“I’ll wave tomorrow,” Sonnett mumbled, blushing slightly. She had never spoken to this woman or seen other than from the other side of the field, but felt oddly better when she saw her every morning.

“It’s a wave Sonny, it’s us being social, it’s us appreciating she lets us have the field, it’s us appreciating she is considerate enough to keep her dog on a leash when we get here. Do I need to continue?” Kelley nudged the blushing defender again, “so stop thinking so much and just fucking wave kid.”

The next morning, the field was empty when the pair arrived, a first in over a month.

“See Kel! It wasn’t just a wave, we scared her off!” Sonnett challenged.

“Really Sonnett?” Kelley started, already exasperated with this conversation, “It was a wave!” she made a point of enunciating each word.

Suddenly their quiet bickering was broken up by the thudding of paws across the grass. Both soccer players looked up to the see the large shepherd running after his ball, skidding to a stop to pick it up before and speeding back to his owner. Kelley nudged Sonnett, giving her a look to prove her point, pointing to the dog.

They watched as the ball was thrown a few times, the dog and owner slowly working across the large field, making their way closer to the pair on the bleachers. Both were impressed as they watched the ease and distance in which the woman could throw the ball.

The woman finally glanced in their direction after another throw, she visibly cringed when she saw the soccer players waiting on the bench.

“Shit, I’m sorry guys, I didn’t see you over here,” she began to immediately apologize, turning back to intercept her dog.

“Nah, don’t worry about it, we just got here,” Kelley stood and walked over, gently tapping a ball at her feet as she went.

“Let me grab Orion and we’ll be out of your way,” she turned, called the dog back over. The dog quickly trotted back, dropping his ball, waiting to be leashed again.  

“Why don’t you guys stay? You obviously just got her, we can practice over there,” Kelley motioned to the goal closer to the bleachers, “you good with that Son?” the blonde timidly smiled and nodded along.

“You sure?” the dog owner double checked.

“Of course! You always leave when we get here, more than enough room for all of us,” Kelley waved her off, “I’m Kelley by the way, and this is Emily,” she motioned between themselves.

“Y/N,” she offered in return, “this is Orion,” Y/N motioned to the dog sitting patiently sitting next to her.

“He’s gorgeous, can I pet him?” Kelley took half a step forward, reaching a palm out to allow the dog to sniff her.

“For sure, go ahead O,” Y/N tapped the dogs head, Orion raised a paw to be shaken as Kelley approached.

“Aww Em, he shakes!” Kelley cooed while she knelt down, shaking the paw gently before slowly reaching up to pet his head. When the dog didn’t seem worried about the attention, the defender brought up both hands, beginning to scratch his ears with one hand while the other slid along his back.

Y/N smiled as she watched the smile on both the new friends faces, it dropped slightly at how hesitant the other soccer player seemed, assuming it was because of the dog she tapped his butt to get his attention. When the dog turned, she showed him the ball before throwing it as far as she could in the opposite direction, Orion quickly running after it.

She looked back to the pair, making eye contact with Sonnett to apologize “I’m sorry, he’s big and a little intimidating, I’ll keep him over here. Nice meeting you guys!” she tossed over her shoulder before jogging away, calling Orion to direct him away from the soccer players.

“The fuck Son, you love dogs. I didn’t think you were scared of big dogs,” Kelley touched Emily’s elbow, concern lacing her tone while she watched the younger woman. Seeing the bashful blush on her face, Kelley began to smirk. “Or are you scared of hot blondes with big dogs?”

“Shut up,” Sonnett mumbled before jogging away, stealing the ball at the other defender feet.

“Oh it is the second thing!” Kelley jogged after her, “she seems super nice! Talk to her, play with the dog, play with her,” she waggled her eye brows suggestively at the end.

Sonnett just blushed deeper, biting her lip, she glanced to where Y/N was throwing the ball again. It was a warm fall day, leaving her in fitted joggers and a t-shirt. The t-shirt was tight around Y/N’s bicep, stretched across the width of muscular looking shoulders. The woman was clearly athletic and strong. Sonnett watched as her arm and back flexed while she threw the ball again. How she easily caught the large dog in her arms after tapping her chest for a trick.

“Ow, the fuck Kel?” Sonnett whipped around after the ball gently hit the side of her head. Glaring at the other defender who just laughed, Kelley came forward and collected the ball at her feet, before taking a few steps back.

“You should probably go get this,” was all Kelley said before kicking the ball toward the dog and owner.

“What the fuck Kelley?” Sonnett continued to glare, “this isn’t us staying out of each other’s way!”

“No, but it’s me getting you to talk to the pretty blonde,” Kelley called over her shoulder as she walked towards their bench.

Sonnett sighed before jogging over to retrieve the ball, they clearly weren’t practicing at all today.

“O no! That’s not yours,” Y/N called as the dog latched his teeth into the ball.

“I am so sorry, Kelley apparently forgot we were playing on the other side after only five minutes,” Emily began to apologize as she got closer, watching as the dog sunk his teeth further into the ball.

“Fuck,” Y/N mumbled as she watched the ball deflate slightly in Orions mouth, “uhh don’t worry about it. But I think I owe you a new ball,” she motioned to the dog happily nosing the deflating ball on the ground.

“Nope, Kelley definitely owes me a new ball,” Emily smiled at the defeated look on the other blondes face.

“I’m really sorry, he has a soccer ball at home we play with,” Y/N continued to try and apologize.

“Oh no, we are fully blaming O’hara over there,” Sonnett pointed to the brunette defender on the other side of the field who was pretending to not watch the interaction. “Orion can have that one, we have plenty more where that came from.”

The pair watched while Orion bit harshly into the ball again, more air squealing out of it.

Sonnett smiled at the dog who was enjoying his new toy.

“Are you sure?” Y/N confirmed again, Sonnett gave her another reassuring smile and a nod.

“Absolutely! He is better with it than that one is any way,” she nodded her head to the defender now juggling a second ball.  

“Well thank you Emily, tomorrow I’ll make sure his teeth stay out of any of your balls,” Y/N gave a reassuring smile. Sonnettt smiled in return, the pair just staring at each other before the dog nosed the deflated ball to the defender.

This time Sonnett did lean down to pet the dog, who happily accepted the pets and scratches to his ears before trotting off and waiting for Y/N to throw his ball again.

“It was nice meeting you Y/N,” the blonde said sincerely before jogging back over to the ither side of the field.

The next morning, Y/N and Orion were already in their normal spot playing fetch when the defender arrived at the other side of the field. While they got ready, they both missed the dog and owner approach them.

As they both stood up, the pair, Y/N with a new soccer ball sitting under her arm. Both defenders smiled and watched while Y/N dropped the ball and kicked it forward slightly, Orion trotting after it. The soccer players expected the dog to sink his teeth into it like he had the day before, but both giggled when the heard the command from Y/N.

“Nose only, O,” the dog obediently listened, pushing the ball forward a few more feet closer to the soccer player, “figured you guys would need a new ball since your other one had been stolen.” The blonde smiled at both of them.

“You didn’t need to do that!” Sonnett began, only to stop as the ball was pushed in her feet, Orion sitting proudly behind it, tongue hanging lazily out the side of his. “Good boy,” both defenders knelt down and began petting the dog.

Y/N waved them off, called Orion back over, “it definitely needed to be replaced,” she winked and jogged away before they could say anything else.

Sonnett pulled the ball onto her toe and tapped it up into her hands, eyebrows creasing when she saw something written on the ball.

I THINK THESE WORK BETTER WITHOUT TEETH IN THEM.

Was written in bold sharpie, signed with Y/N’s name and her number.

“You are texting her as soon as we finish training!” Kelley stole the ball, inspecting the writing. Sonnett blushed and watched the blonde and her jog out the far end of the park.

[my-mt-heart]

TWD 11x07 “Promises Broken” Review

Huh. It’s funny how an episode typically meant to ramp things up before a mid-season finale (or however it works for a three-part season) feels like TV purgatory to me. There’s the illusion of story movement. For example, Maggie and Negan are able to devise a new plan together. Eugene and Lance have a tense confrontation that potentially  leads to a revelation about the communities. Daryl’s and Leah’s encounter with a random family shows a different and perhaps useful side of Leah. Ultimately though, it’s all just more set up. We land in the same place we started, wondering when the hell any of it is going to fold together and have a big impact. In case I haven’t stated it enough, the pacing this season is really testing my patience…

To no surprise at all, Maggie and Negan start off having the same damn exhausting argument they’ve been having this whole season . “Let’s go back home.” “We can’t.” “But--” “No.” The only difference is that by the end of it, they make a pact with each other. Negan will stay and help infiltrate the Meridian and Maggie will accept Negan as an upstanding member of the group. I’m bumping against a few things here. First of all, since when does Negan spending a few days with the whisperers make him an expert on masks and herding? Didn’t season 10 establish that he could never truly navigate their way of life? Points off for bending continuity to advance the plot (a centimeter or two), though I will say building up an army of the dead to attack the Reapers is a pretty cool idea considering they don’t have enough live people to do so (yet). 

Second, and I can’t stress this enough, what. is. the. fucking. point of focusing so much on a dynamic we know has zero chance of growth? Sure, Maggie gets to hear Negan’s perspective on the war against the Saviors. And yes, Negan does admit if he could do things differently, he would...by killing every last one of Rick’s and Maggie’s people. So essentially, he’s still not sorry for the pain he caused Maggie and therefore, Maggie still can’t begin to forgive him. I’m not saying I want or need an emotional breakthrough between these two, only that I’m tired of precious screen time being wasted on a lost cause. Honestly, Father Gabriel turns a bigger corner and all he does is spy on a Reaper who’s talking to God, reminding him to keep the faith alive instead of having to play God himself and kill everyone. Elijah seems to be headed down the opposite track, mentioning to Maggie that he wants revenge against a particular undisclosed Reaper (Pope? Carver?), and I imagine that drive is only going to get stronger now that he has confirmation his sister is dead. He finds out while walking with the herd, spotting her as a walker. Maggie very sweetly offers him comfort, taking his hand as they head toward the Meridian.  

You all know by now I’m not the biggest fan of the commonwealth arc, so apologies if it’s obvious I’m rushing through my discussion of it. Just a few things to note. Ezekiel getting the medical attention he needs (antibiotics, painkillers, IV fluids, lollipops) feels like an anticlimactic, short-term solution to an issue that’s been building up for over a season, but it also just leaves me with more questions, especially with the latest filming spoilers that I won’t go into here. In short, I guess I’m just curious why it’s going to take so long for all of this to fully pay off. The man has suffered long enough. Give him Jerry back at least. 

Also, is anybody else really sick of the one-note douchebags like Deanna’s sons, Gage, and now the guy I’m assuming is Sebastian Milton? I just find his scenes in this episode really obnoxious, and the less I see of him the better (I know I’m going to be seeing a lot of him). At least Eugene gets a good punch in. Too bad it gets him in more trouble though. For reasons I don’t understand, the CW expects him to realize the severity of his actions despite being unfamiliar with the town hierarchy . Lance, who clearly has a hidden agenda, uses this as leverage to get information about Alexandria/Hilltop and it looks like Eugene might be ready to share. Whether he actually does or not is still left open, but I think we can safely guess the CW will end up at Alexandria’s gates eventually. As for Yumiko, she’s not having any luck getting through to anyone, not Pamela Milton and not her brother, Tomi, who insists it’s a bad idea to mess with the system. Apparently he’s right because even just talking to Yumiko gets his ass dragged away by soldiers.  

Meanwhile, Daryl’s and Leah’s arc is shaping out exactly how I expected it to, albeit painfully fucking slowly. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that while on the hunt to find Maggie’s group, the two of them walk alongside a river, a visual reminder of what brought them together all those years ago, not only for us, but for Daryl. He’s questioning the source of her strength, whether it’s Pope’s leadership or her independent thinking. He’s beginning to see two sides of her, the one that reigns in the present and the one that he remembers from the past. The next step is figuring out which one is really at her core. For strategic reasons, absolutely. He needs to know if he can somehow team up with her to defeat Pope who (for now) poses the biggest threat to him and his family. 

But let’s also keep something else in mind. Norman Reedus has spoken about the importance of playing it from both sides, conveying a really good manipulator as well as someone who still cares. I understand why this might lead some to wonder and stress over where Daryl’s heart lies. Personally, and not to sound controversial, I think it’s okay to see both of those layers. The entire purpose of Daryl’s journey this season is to challenge his character not to let a dark past consume him again, and for someone who still bases his self-worth on “never leaving anyone behind,” moments of confusion are bound to happen.

Indeed we do start to see that confusion after Leah and Daryl follow a (random) man to a house where he, his fatally wounded wife, and his young son have been holed up. Leah’s humanity comes through in a moment that is surely triggering for her, having been a mother herself once upon a time. She lets the man and son go free despite Pope’s orders to take out anyone they come across while Daryl puts the wife out of her misery. Once again reminded of the Leah he knew in the past, Daryl feels it’s safe to try to confess everything to her, though (thankfully) he doesn’t get the chance. 

Don’t be too hard on him, friends. Clearly, his hero complex is showing again, but also? Leah’s striking resemblance to Carol probably isn’t helping matters. It becomes dangerously easy to believe in someone he may not actually know too well when he’s able to connect her to someone he wholeheartedly does. After all, he has seen this narrative play out before through Carol, one where a woman finds her way out from under a cruel man’s thumb and reclaims her inner strength, becoming her family’s great protector. 

I have very little doubt this is a false redemption narrative. At some point, Daryl’s lies are going to come out in a way he didn’t plan and Leah is going to snap in a way that forces Daryl to accept that, despite all his efforts, not everyone can be or deserves to be saved. Fingers crossed that Carol plays a role in that. We still have three episodes to go in this arc, so I am not giving up hope on that front. That being said, we have three episodes to go in this arc, and at this snail’s pace, it feels like there are still a million more steps that need to be taken before we get to the good stuff. 

Unfortunately, we don’t have the luxury of speculating on what’s in store for episode 8 because unless I missed it somehow, AMC+ did not put up a promo. Um, the fuck? Does that mean those of us who have AMC+ might be going in completely blind? That could be fun. Or that could be really annoying. I haven’t decided yet. Apologies again if this review feels sparse. I just wasn’t feeling this one.

EDIT: Okay. Saw the 11x08 promo. Initial takeaway, nothing much. Still digesting though. 

11x01 “Acheron Part 1″ Review

11x02 “Acheron Part 2″ Review

11x03 “Hunted” Review

11x04 “Rendition” Review

11x05 “Out of the Ashes” Review

11x06 “On the Inside” Review