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luna-andra · 3 months

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The Shadows Return | Simon 'Ghost' Riley x OC Retired AU | Chapter 5: Apologies

Summary: Ghost has to make up for lost time somehow, and figure out what the hell is going on in his backwater village

Author's Note: Already working on chapter 6, this story is starting to ramp up!

Content warning: slow burn, eventual smut, 18+ only, fluff, mentions of mental health

If this is the first time you're seeing this, Chapter 1 is here. You can find the rest on my masterlist! Next chapter

Word count: 5.8k

Johnny only caught the tail end of their conversation. Andra sounded pissed. Oh yeah, she really gave the door something to fear with how hard it slammed. Johnny turned to Simon’s direction, “What happened?”

His glare could cut a man. “Nothing.”

Johnny went to open his mouth but said nothing. He came back to the front for something work related, and he really didn’t want to get in the middle of whatever went down between the two.

He knows Simon has been reclusive the past several days. Or has it been a few weeks now? Either way, this was feeling like one of his inevitable episodes. The kind that makes him shut everyone out, starting with the people less close to him. Johnny gauged it that way, and he knew if it came down to Simon shunning him out, then it’s getting bad.

Johnny put down the tablet on the countertop beside Simon’s arm. “Thomas completed the diagnostics on the red sedan, call ‘em for me will ya’?”

A comprehensive grunt was all the acknowledgement Johnny was going to get out of Simon right now. He pivoted on his foot and headed straight back into the garage. A minute later, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

Thank you for helping me out these past few months.

Johnny’s lips fell into a thin line on his face. Does this message have anything to do with what went down in the lobby? He didn’t like how finite her words sounded, like she was bidding the both of them farewell out of her life.

Andra took a while to respond back to Johnny, giving him time to focus on the brake pad change he needed to finish up. He wiped his hands clean before picking up his phone.

Sort of.

Okay, yes.

I don’t want you to feel obligated to keep in contact with me now that everything is gonna go back to the way it was.

Johnny sighed, shaking his head softly as his fingers flew across the screen. You’re OUR friend now, you’re not getting rid of us that easily, lass. He made sure to put ‘our’ in big letters.

This would pass. Johnny knew that, Simon would come around once he’s had his fill of solitude, but Andra didn’t see it that way. Understandably so, she had every right to be upset. She’s given Simon a level of grace and patience that would only come from a caregiver. Johnny has noticed the way she would shake her head and sigh after reading the short, one-worded messages she would get from Simon, and to be frank, Johnny couldn’t excuse his best friend’s behavior any longer.

He could feel a pair of glaring eyes burning into the back of his neck from his supervisor, so Johnny shoved the phone back into his pocket and returned to work.

Simon was being a real prick.

-----

It was Andra’s first Sunday morning with her truck. After she picked it up from the shop, she drove it around for a few hours, having to blow off the irritation she felt after that interaction with Ghost.

It was running, alright. She made it drive out to a neighboring village and then back home. Even when she came home, the spurn of Ghost treating her that way kept nagging at her like a mosquito bite on the back of her neck. It shouldn’t have bothered her for days on end, but it did.

But today was Sunday, and Andra was determined to start the week off on a better note. Fixed truck, crop rotation was only a few weeks away from a new season, she had much to look forward to. Along with an empty seat at the stand.

She thought until a familiar truck drove up her driveway.

Andra finished tethering her trailer to her truck and went out to meet Johnny at the front. “Hey, what are you doing here?”

Johnny shut the door and hit the lock button on the key fob, setting off the short chirp of the horn. “What does it look like? You didn’t think I was gonna stop comin’ just because you got your truck back, did you?” He clicked his teeth and shook his head with faux disappointment and a smirk. “Besides, I like havin’ more money in my pocket from not goin’ out to the pub to drink it away, our Sunday mornings have been keepin’ me sober.”

She couldn’t help the smile escaping her. “That’s good to hear. I’m almost done loading everything, just help me with the table and chairs.”

“You got it.”

Autumn never fails to bring the gloomy overcast for majority of the season. And with the temperatures dropping enough, it allowed for Ghost to wear a light hoodie to keep the misty sprinkles of rain off of him. He tried to ignore the out-of-place energy that worked hard to veil over him. It was one thing to wear the mask in the shop, or when he was at least around Johnny, but going to the farmer’s market made him feel severely out of place.

He took one more second before grabbing the paper-wrapped parcel and left his truck, then followed the sporadic groups of people heading towards the vending stalls.

To think he had driven past this parking lot several times on Sundays and never thought to shop here. Ghost didn’t even like doing his own grocery shopping, that’s why he spends so much money on grocery deliveries. And purchasing anything else felt like a waste on him, unless it was ammunition and new guns.

As he neared the rows and rows of stalls, the chatter of customers and sellers became coherent. If people were looking at him, he paid no attention to the curious and apprehensive eyes. He was looking for Andra, gripping the now faintly damp parcel a little tighter. After wandering through the second row, Ghost spotted the forest green truck chockfull of crates of vegetables, parked in reverse and the tailgate open to the little figure with chestnut brown hair, loosely curled.

Her hair has grown.

That’s what happens when you don’t see someone for a while, Ghost sniped at himself.

He rounded the corner and strode closer to her stall, customers in his path giving him a wide berth, and caught sight of her lost in concentration as she packaged a customer’s brown paper bag. Her warm smile of farewell did something to his stomach. It was his turn to approach her.

Andra lifted her head long enough to see him, and her face relaxed from the smile she had. “Hi, stranger.”

Whatever he had prepared to tell her, it went off like a land mine and left him with nothing. There was a passive-aggressive tone in her voice, not that he blamed her. He basically cut her off with nothing to justify as to why. Guess this was part of seeking forgiveness.

“Surprised to see you here.” She kept prepping more brown bags as she waited for his response. “Or were you looking for Johnny?”

“No, he’s probably trying to slip out of his date’s bed.”

Her eyebrows lifted. “So you knew about his date with the girl from the chip shop, too? Glad to know he didn’t get the cutoff I did.”

His eyes looked down at her moving hands. “I deserved that.”

Andra stopped concentrating on the bags and rested a hand on her hip the way a fed-up mother would. “You deserve a lot of things, Ghost, but I don’t have it in me to be cruel.” Her eyes caught a glimpse of what Ghost was clutching to before she looked back down. “Found something you like at one of the vendors?”

“Actually,” his hand placed the wrapped parcel onto the table and slid it towards Andra. “It’s for you.”

Andra's expression shifted to curiosity. “Is it some kind of peace offering?” She picked up the rectangular parcel, probably knew what it already was given the shape and the weight of it.

“You could say that.” Ghost watched with apprehension as she meticulously peeled back the wrapping, sliding out what she discovered was a hardback cover of the next book in the series she was reading.

Her eyebrows relaxed; a softness overwhelmed her eyes. “You got your hands on a hardback?” she tilted the book to see the pages. “With the sprayed edge?” Her fingers traced the pattern of sigils and swirls decorating the pages. “This is a special edition…” Andra looked back up to him, her expression had his insides tangling. “I haven’t even seen one of these.”

Ghost didn’t know what to do with his hands, so they stayed by his side clenching and relaxing over and over. “The cranky, old stager that runs Raven & Crow helped me get my hands on it.” He wasn’t going to bring up how much of a pain in the ass the geezer was for him, nor was he going to bring up how the old man knew immediately who he was trying to get this for. He told Ghost a lovely young woman was coming in frequently looking for the sequel, but by the time she showed up, the one or two copies he ordered were gone. The payoff was well worth it.

Andra held the book to her chest like a schoolgirl clutching a textbook, tapping her index finger on its back. “I’ll have to think on your apology.” Ghost was about to nod when she gave him a smirk. “Okay I forgive you.”

His shoulders fell and he let out a gentle laugh. “That’s wonderful to hear.” There was a couple of people behind him that formed a line, agitated with how long they have been waiting. “I’ll let you get back to your business –“

“I have an hour here left,” Andra spoke up before he could move. “If you want, I have another chair that you can pull up. That’s if you don’t have anything else to do…”

Ghost stepped aside to let customers walk up. “I was going to find things to keep myself busy. I’ll help you bag, but I can’t guarantee I’ll be as useful as Johnny.”

Andra laughed hard at that. “You give him way too much credit.”

It had been years, more like decades by now, since Ghost had done any sort of grocery bagging. It brought him back to his first part-time job at the corner convenience store he had during his last few years of secondary school. The money always found its way into his mom’s wallet or purse when she wasn’t looking since she never accepted it from him directly. It was unfortunate when his dad got a hold of it, using it for booze and drugs instead of the water and heat bills. It was even more unfortunate when the old man ended up with a bloody nose for leaving them cold.

Ghost enjoyed watching Andra work in her element. This was her expertise, and everyone delighted in her energy. It even had Ghost grinning beneath his mask. There were a few patrons that gave Ghost double take looks as if they wanted to say something but didn’t.

He found himself scanning the faces of her patrons and passersby that took a glance at stalls here and there. Old faces, young faces, faces of children, faces shrouded by umbrellas or hooded jackets. And a face that he swore he’s seen more than once, coming around again and again in the time he decided to sit down with Andra beneath the canopy. The person’s behavior and body language made him tense.

Andra’s patient explanation about difference between the various species of squash and tomatoes pulled him away from the man that caught Ghost staring him down.

“The B grade-lookin’ veggies go in that crate,” Andra pointed behind her. “I take them for myself, or in this case I’m gonna take them to the ranch for the breeder’s animals.” There was excitement in her voice. “I’m gonna visit my new goats.”

His eyes went back to the spot the man last was, only to find someone else in his place buying from another vendor.

“I remember you saying something about them.” Ghost recalled, suddenly feeling shame since it was on the day she was picking up her truck. “Are you taking them home?”

Andra shook her head. “No, they have a few more weeks with their mama.”

Ghost looked at her with mild surprise. “There’s multiple?”

“Just two, they’re twins.” Andra said goodbye to the last customer for the day and started to pack up. “Would you like to come with me to meet them? Since it sounds like you have time in that busy schedule of yours.”

Ghost didn’t miss the nibble Andra took at her lower lip. “I can fit some time in.” He quipped back.

-----

The book looked like it belonged on her shelves. Andra grinned to herself as she angled it just the right way to stand out, giving the book its own moment of fame amongst her collection. A really smooth apology gift, in her opinion. Andra was simply happy that Ghost came back around.

Even though Ghost didn’t explain his sudden absence, Andra had a feeling that this was one of those times Johnny had warned her about. She just wasn’t prepared for how much it would impact her. At least he seems to be doing good; the bags underneath his eyes weren’t as dark as the last time she saw him.

Andra locked up the house with a happy Sammy in tow, letting her roam free off of a leash. She was bringing Sammy along to meet the new goats, part of the process of making sure the animals weren’t going to be a threat to each other and getting used to each other’s scents.

Ghost had transferred the crate of B-grade veggies to the bed of his truck on his own accord. Andra was about to ask when he started, “You mind if we take my truck?” He scratched the back of his masked head sheepishly. “I only ask because I got more leg room in mine…”

Andra held back a giggle as she approached the passenger door. “Not at all, as long as you’re okay with Sammy in the back.” He gave her a nod of the head, leading Sammy to the back of the opened tailgate and shutting it once she hopped up. “I’ll punch in the address in your Maps.” She slid in for what started to feel like an all-too familiar truck, and realized she didn’t have to adjust the seat like she’s done before. Andra tried hiding the grimace from the blossoming thought of another woman being in his truck.

She realized how ridiculous that was when he easily passed an open phone to her. Not even to his navigation app, but the home screen with the default earth background still on it. Before opening the navigator, she opened the camera and angled the phone to catch a shot of her and Ghost on the screen. “Hey.”

Ghost glanced in confusion, and blinked after he heard the sound of the fake camera shutter. He shook his head with a soft laugh and started the truck. “I trust you with my phone for the first time and you’re over there snappin’ pictures.”

Andra’s fingers tapped against the screen as she typed in the address. The navigator started and Andra placed the phone on the dock Ghost had set up on the dashboard. “Who told you it was a good idea to do that?”

Ghost shifted the truck’s gear to drive and made a U-turn to drive towards the shared road, the navigator chiming away its directions. The ETA displayed a twenty-minute drive, and Andra comfortably filled the silence with conversation.

He missed how magnetic her energy is, making his guilt come back with a vengeance. But listening to her talk about how business is going, how the truck has been running better than it was before, and how she was preparing for the winter season made all of that melt away.

If Andra wasn’t holding it against him, he needed to put it to rest.

“And what about you?” Andra turned to Ghost. “Anything interesting with you?”

Her sudden pivot to him threw him off. “No, just work.”

She sat up in her seat, her eyes still fixated on him. “Just work? You don’t have any hobbies, or places you like to go to mull things over?”

Ghost just shook his head. He didn’t really know what to say. Okay, that was a lie, but he didn’t want to go in depth with how he got too close to her, how her jasmine and vanilla scent wouldn’t leave him, the same way her scent was now filling the cabin of his truck once more. He didn’t want to explain how feeling her silky skin took days, weeks, to leave the calloused pads of his hands, and how it took all of his will to pull away from her.

Andra continued. “Or how about a night out at one of the pubs to find yourself a pretty lady to share the company with only to regret it in the morning?”

He fought the urge to roll his eyes. “I’m not Johnny. And what about you?” He challenged. “Found a lad to take you out on the town?”

She laughed at that. “No, there’s no one coming to pick me up and bringing me back before eleven.”

Ghost’s hands gripped the steering wheel a little too hard. So, who’s black sedan was driving down the road then? His motion sensors had alerted him of a car he’s never seen before a few times throughout the time span they weren’t in contact with one another. He thought about looking up the license plate a few times, but let it go out of respect for Andra’s privacy.

That hesitation went right out the window with this new development brought to him.

Andra shifted in her seat, relaxing further into the drive. “I guess we’re alike in some ways.”

“How do you reckon?”

“Too busy focused with work to let anyone else into our lives.” There was a tone of sadness in her voice she was trying to hide. “But I have a feeling you’ve grown too comfortable with being alone.”

Ghost felt like she was peering into him, and he didn’t know how to feel about that.

Andra took a second to speak again. “Did you distance yourself from me because of…” she couldn’t finish her question, but she didn’t have to for Ghost to know what she was alluding to.

Every muscle in his body tensed, and his mouth went dry.

“Your destination is on the right.”

The navigator interrupted the tension between the two of them. Ghost turned into the gravel road, passing underneath the wrought iron gate that displayed Blue Crescent Ranch.

Ghost parked a distance away from the other vehicle on the property and killed the engine. Andra looked straight ahead as she murmured, “You don’t have to answer that, sorry I brought it up.” Before she could open the passenger door, Ghost reached across her and stopped her, his hand gripping hers.

Andra’s head twisted to face him, her honey eyes wide with question. Fuck, that look did things to him. “It wasn’t your fault.” That wasn’t necessarily a lie; he wouldn’t blame her for his self-destructive tendencies. “I needed some time alone.”

Her eyes darted back and forth, looking into his eyes as if she was trying to delve deeper into a place she shouldn’t be. But she nodded. “Okay.” That single word was charged with so much trust and understanding, it twisted his heart.

Ghost removed his hand from hers, pulling himself back from the extreme close proximity he had put them in. “Let’s go meet your goats.”

A smile returned to her lovely face. “Okay.”

Andra couldn’t say enough good things about Jasmine. She had met her at the farmer’s market – shocker – a few years ago and stayed in touch with her here and there after she had bought the chickens off of her. In truth, Andra wanted to be close friends with her, but both of their jobs kept them busy enough to not have any time to catch up very often.

Such was her life about all of the cool and wonderful people that have come and gone in the past years.

-----

A gorgeous, umber, brown-skinned Jasmine strolled out from her lovely cottage home to meet her guests, sporting fitted blue jeans and a long-sleeve plaid shirt and boots, her dark kinky hair wisping in the gentle breeze. Her jade green eyes crinkled with her smile as she went in for a warm hug, and Andra accepted her graciously, taking in her scent of orange and bergamot on her hair. “So good to see you again,” Jasmine greeted, her accent just as rich as Ghost’s.

She pulled away and acknowledged Sammy’s bubbly presence, giving her a good rub down and cooing praises. After the happy canine had her fill, she found Ghost lingering behind Andra like her shadow.

Before Jasmine could ask, Andra reached out to Ghost, summoning him to her side. “Jasmine, this is my neighbor, Simon, but we call him Ghost.” Something about saying Ghost’s first name made her stomach flip, and by judging his body language, it must have done something to him, too.

Jasmine extended her hand out politely, and Ghost shook. “A pleasure to meet you.”

“Likewise.”

Jasmine turned to Andra and waved for the two of them to follow her, walking on a path that led them to the acres of rolling, green fields. “Ready to meet your kids?”

Andra beamed a wide smile. “I’ve been thinking about them all week! How did mama do during labor?”

“She did so good!” Jasmine turned to Andra once she walked beside her. “I had those kids delivered in the middle of the night. She started contractions early in the day, I had everything prepped for a week now.”

Andra crooned an ‘aww’, the smile on her face growing brighter. Talk of the goats made the conversation in the truck fade away, and it felt like Ghost was putting it on the back burner as well as he started asking Jasmine about her ranch.

Jasmine had inherited Blue Crescent Ranch from her family and cared for her aging father while running everything. It was massive, and from the look of it she had several employees to help her take care of all of the animals. Goats, sheep, cows, horses, alpacas, and some emus.

They arrived at a cowshed that was housing the mother goat and her kids. “I am letting them bond before they go out and meet the rest of the goats, so that means Sammy is going to meet them before the rest of the flock.”

Ghost stood at the entrance of the cowshed. “I’ll let you have the first moments with ‘em.” He crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned against the doorway.

Andra nodded and handed him her phone for him to hold on to, then kept following Jasmine to the back stall. Jasmine’s voice was low, “So, your ‘neighbor’?”

Her cheeks warmed at the insinuation. “Yes, my neighbor.”

“And when did you start talking to your neighbor who happens to wear a mask?” Jasmine’s eyebrow shot up.

Andra looked over her shoulder to make sure they were out of earshot and found Ghost occupied on a phone call. “We met in the summer, he found me off the side of the road after my truck died on me, and fate had it that he’s a mechanic and he helped me get it fixed.”

“Right,” Jasmine nodded as if she’s processing this information, “And why the mask?”

Andra leaned against the wooden post she stopped beside. “He’s ex-military, I don’t really know why.”

“Have you ever seen his face?”

Boy, she was getting the full interview right now, and it had been so long since she thought about what she felt about his decision to hide behind a mask. It was unsettling for the very first time they met, but when Johnny treated it with just as much normality as if it were a N-95 mask, Andra never pushed the subject with Ghost.

“No.” Andra answered, trepidation apparent in Jasmine’s eyes as if what Andra was saying was completely insane. It probably was. “But I respect it.”

Jasmine blinked. “So I have no description to go by but a man in a skull mask if you ever go missing.”

Andra nudged her. “He’s nice. He’s never given me a reason to feel in danger and I’m friends with his best friend who served in the forces with him.”

“I think I’ll stop asking questions while I’m ahead.” Jasmine started walking again, and Andra followed. “Here they are.”

Andra squealed as she saw the two little black baby goats nursing on their sleep-deprived mother, little tails wagging faster than Sammy’s ever could. Sammy’s nose pressed against the bars of the enclosure, sniffling curiously.

They were adorable. Both of them were jet black, one of them had a tuff of white on the end of its tail.

“Both of them are boys,” Jasmine began to open the stall while Andra commanded Sammy to stay, “Did you want to come in?”

Andra was so ready to meet them. She had to gain the trust from mama first before she could get close to the kids, and it took a minute before mama allowed them to hop onto her lap. She sat on the clean bed of hay with the babies, giggling in immense joy as they sniffed and licked her.

Ghost met up with them after attending to his phone call to find Andra snuggling the baby goats. She caught his silhouette in her peripheral and looked up with a wide smile. “Aren’t they precious?”

Andra swore he was smiling beneath that balaclava. “You got names for them yet?”

Her focus returned to the wily kids competing for her attention, thankfully she had two hands to pet both of them. “Oh yeah, I got names for them already.” Andra picked up the jet black kid to showcase him to Ghost. “This one will be Phantom,” then she picked up the other in the same fashion, “And this one is Shadow.”

Did his eye twitch? It made her mischievous grin harder to hold back. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

“You had things to say about me naming my chicken Ted, so I figured I’d take a page out of your playbook.”

Jasmine was holding back her laughter and turned away.

Andra was too consumed by the copious amounts of affection the animals were giving her to realize what Ghost was doing until it was too late. “Andra.”

Her head shot up at the sound of Ghost saying her name to find him holding up a phone in a similar angle that she had done not too long ago, crouching down to make sure he had her in the frame. “Say payback.”

Ghost took the photo, and her mouth went slack in surprise. “Is that my phone!?”

Sammy trotted happily up the steps of the front porch and sat with a windshield-wiper tail on full blast, patiently waiting for Andra to open the front door. The energetic dog darted inside seconds after Andra swung the door open and left it open behind her. The two of them lingered on the front porch, Andra leaning against the threshold and Ghost standing close with his hands fisted in his jacket pockets.

“Thank you for coming along with me.” Andra started. “It was good seeing you again.”

“It was a pleasure.” Ghost looked out to the gray skies, the sprinkle of rain continuing its descent like it had been the whole morning. “I hope I didn’t make your friend uncomfortable.” He turned back to Andra to gauge her reaction.

“Oh no, she’s really lovely.” Andra’s lips turned up into a grin. “She’s just looking out for me.”

Ghost nodded. “I get why she was asking if you knew what I look like underneath the,” he pointed a finger to his masked face.

Now it was Andra’s turn to look away, nibbling at her lower lip from learning that he still heard what they said. “I just told her that... I respect it, and I honestly don’t mind.” His eyes were intense when she looked back at him, and her insides turned hot. “Is that weird?”

He let out an amused huff. “Completely bizarre.”

Andra shifted her weight onto her other foot, standing straight now and looking up to meet his gaze. “I respect your choice to remain hidden.” Her hands began to feel warm and clammy. “I had made the assumption in my mind that you pretty much wore it through your time in service, and – I don’t know...”

Andra struggled to manifest the thoughts into words even though this was something she has thought of before, but Ghost waited patiently, giving her his full attention to what she had to say. “Maybe it’s a physical metaphor of not being able to put that all behind you. As if the shadows have returned.”

Ghost looked extremely uncomfortable from her deduction. “The shadows haven’t returned, they just never left.” It sounded like he was struggling to keep his voice from faltering, and instead his response came out gruff.

Andra’s heart dropped to her stomach. His shadows were comparatively darker than hers, but they both had shadows all the same. She recognized that conviction in his words, believing so firmly that he’s still damaged and haunted by things that won’t stay buried. Her eyes softened once her gaze returned to his. “I hope this doesn’t mean you’re gonna disappear on me again.”

The pleading in her gaze pierced him in the chest. “I’ll do better.”

Her face turned up with a glimmer of faith. “I’ll accept that.”

“I’ll do you one better.” Ghost removed his hands from his pockets, palming his phone in one. “If you’re not doing anything Saturday morning, I would like to take you somewhere.”

Andra held herself back from looking too eager. “Are you asking me out on a date?”

“Doesn’t have to be a date. Just a little morning excursion if weather permits.”

Ghost really was trying, and it swelled something fierce in her heart. “Then I accept this invitation for our not-date.”

“I’ll see you Saturday morning, then.” Ghost left her front porch and hurried off to his truck to avoid getting rained on. Andra watched his truck drive back down the gravel path and make the left turn onto their shared road.

Her phone started to buzz in her pocket, Jasmine was calling to finish the conversation they had started. “Hey, no I’m free I just said bye to Ghost – oh my God, you’re impossible.”

-----

Ghost booted up his laptop after receiving Laswell’s brief message letting him know she sent over any information she could dig up with the license plate number he had given her. He had called her when they were at the Blue Crescent Ranch and while Andra was fawning over her goats. Shadow and Phantom... that woman. Ghost muttered a curse to himself after looking over the registration documents.

It was a dead end.

The license plates were registered under a 65-year-old woman, and the make and model of the vehicle did not match the black sedan that were sporting the plates.

Ghost sighed and leaned back in the chair, staring at the screen as he pulled off his balaclava. This new development put his defenses on high alert. There shouldn’t have been any reason for a person driving with stolen plates to be coming down their road as frequently as this one has been. Shouldn’t have stolen plates at all. A one-time occurrence wouldn’t be enough for him to look into it, but after reviewing every motion sensor alert, this car had traveled down the road and back a total of seven times since July. A week after Andra had gotten her truck from the shop.

It was now September.

Ghost detested himself for feeling some kind of relief when Andra first had told him she wasn’t seeing anyone. He still felt that way, but the distress of this unknown person superseded that. He also remembered that Andra didn’t have any form of security on her property.

He would have to rectify that. She would most likely agree with him that it would be rational to set up at least a few cameras around the outside of her house, and maybe he could convince her to set one up near her mailbox as well. There were a couple of spare cameras he had in storage from when he first set up his own security system back when he moved in.

Johnny, much to his chagrin, had helped him set up the cameras. He had set up his own at his flat, but it seemed like he only checks his doorbell camera every time he gets packages delivered as of late. He wasn’t as concerned about being hunted down the way Ghost was; the 141 had faked his death a year before they had actually completed their contract. It seemed like no matter how many times Ghost had faked his death, it felt like someone out there still knew that he would never stay dead.

Christ... Ghost rubbed his burning eyes and closed the laptop. What was he doing? He recalled what Price told him the day they were on their flight back home. Let Simon have a life now. It was clear what he meant; put away the mask, live a civilian life, find a nice woman, or man, to warm his bed.

Ghost wouldn’t allow himself the luxury of living, he managed to sabotage any connection that wasn’t Johnny, Price, or Gaz. He was certain Andra would have told Ghost to jog off after the cold shoulder he had given her.

Until she hadn’t.

And then she had to go and showcase how much she just might understand his issues. Her metaphors of shadows made his knees feel like they were ready to give out. It was like he was out in an open field with no cover, and she had him in her sights of a scope. Vulnerable.

Ghost picked up his phone sitting beside the closed laptop and found himself looking at the photo she had taken in the truck. He saw her cheery smile on the screen, reaching up all the way to her eyes. With his unexpecting glance in her direction in the background. There was an iridescence about her eyes, it had him looking for what felt like several minutes. He didn’t want to think about what those eyes looked like the day she left the auto shop.

A message from Andra startled his train of thought. What’s the dress code for our morning rendezvous?

The corner of his mouth turned up slightly as he responded. Wear sensible shoes for walking.

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diagnosedpsychosis · 9 months

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hi! I don’t know if you’re taking requests but could you possible write a aaron x bau!fem reader piece based on the episode in s10 where Hayley’s dad still blames Hotch for her death and then Hotch starts to self deprecate and is truly hurt but his words and pushes the reader away unintentionally but then it ends in fluff :) love your work btw!!

YESS!!! This is sooo good!!! Sorry it took so long for me to write and post. Thank you for the request and I hope you like it. (fingers crossed it makes sense cause I finished it half asleep) <3

Word Count: 2.5k

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You didn't know what you'd done wrong. If you'd made a comment, or acted in a way Aaron wasn't fond of, you were sure you must've done something otherwise why would he be avoiding you like the plague?

You'd walk into a room and he would look anywhere but at you. He'd interact with the team, encouraging input and suggestions, but would blind side and ignore anything you'd say, no matter how sound it was to the case. It was almost as if you were invisible, a ghost Aaron couldn't see nor hear.

And he was your boyfriend, and had been for years now.

It's been a couple days since he started acting weird, right after having to pick Roy, Aaron's ex father in law, up from the police station after he'd broken into his old store and tried to 'open up for the day'. Your heart was with the older man who was suffering from Alzheimer's, unable to even begin to imagine going through what he was.

Memories were stripped from him, his reality all over the place as something he thought had only happened yesterday, actually happened years ago. And that happened almost every day.

You'd tried calling Aaron and if the phone didn't go straight to voicemail, it'd drag out, letting you get your hopes up that he'd pick it up. But he didn't. He just kept letting it ring. Even all of your text messages. You didn't know how he was feeling after the whole Roy ordeal, but thinking he might just be a little low you kept to a non overbearing amount of texts, wanting to give him space if that's what he needed. You didn't know what it was he needed though, after all he'd barely spoken 10 words to you in the last 4 days and you were losing patience.

You had tried cornering him at work, in the kitchen but he managed to slip away every time someone walked in. You'd gone into his office and locked the door behind yourself, telling him you needed to talk, but in return he'd tell you he was busy and would then unlock the door himself and not so nicely see you out.

You tried not to take it personally. Maybe he was treating everyone like that?

He wasn't.

Your blood boiled and your heart hammered so loudly in your chest you heard it in your ears. You watched Aaron leave his desk and walk into the conference room where he made conversation with Derek and Emily for more than 5 minutes. He couldn't even give you 5 seconds but he was giving them much more.

Then you watched him stop by Rossi's office on the way back to his, hearing his faint laugh and seeing his soft smile as he turned around and shook his head.

Forget it. Forget him.

You had kept trying to talk to him over and over and over again, and he couldn't spare you a single minute. You were pissed, and so you decided you were leaving early. With a huff you stood up from your seat and with a bit too much force slid your chair back under your desk. All of your team mates immediately noticed your mood, even Derek and Emily when the sound of your chair hitting your desk startled them.

"Y/n, are you alright?" Spencer had barely even gotten the question out before you were grabbing your completed case file and storming up to your boyfriends office.

"Just dandy" You grunted in response, feeling eyes burning into you as you walked up the flight stairs with heavy steps before flinging open Aaron's office door and walking inside without knocking.

His head shot up and his eyes briefly met yours in a deep frown before looking down to your hand and the case file you were gripping so hard your knuckles were turning white.

"Done?" He asked, looking back up at your face. He waited for an answer, frown hardening as you walked up to his desk, slapped the file down and turned around. If he wanted to play the silent game then so could you.

"Y/n?" He called out to you when you didn't answer him. You grabbed the door knob to his office, slamming the door closed behind you as you exited his office and descended the steps back into the bullpen. You felt a thousand pairs of eyes on you, ignoring them all as you grabbed your already packed bag and headed out the bullpen and towards the elevator.

You were too busy listening to your heart hammering in your ears to hear or notice Aaron following after you. You pressed the button for the elevator over and over again, hoping it'd make it open faster.

"Do you even care that you just caused a scene?" You jumped, not expecting to hear Aaron at all, let alone so close to you. But still, you ignored him.

"Silent treatment? How old are you, 5?" Aaron asked and yet you continued to stay silent. A slow, humourless huff left him as the elevator doors opened and you stepped inside. You turned around, now facing him as he stood a couple meters back from the doors.

The second you had turned around and Aaron's eyes met yours his eyebrows furrowed in confusion, face softening at the defeated look on your face as you stared right back at him.

"Honey, what's wrong?"

"If you can't put aside one minute of your day to talk to me, why would you think I wouldn't do the same?" You replied, Aaron standing speechless as the doors closed the second you'd finished talking. He stared right back at his reflection, contemplating going after you. He thought about it, but came to the conclusion that maybe you needed some space to cool down.

You were mad, but still you'd hoped Aaron would follow you past the elevator. You wanted him to come after you, to figure out why you had left and to problem solve and apologise. But he didn't and you realised it after being home for half an hour.

Aaron wanted to go after you, hell you were the love of his life and clearly hurting over something, but he was letting Roy's remarks from days before get to him.

'You make a mistake and I lose my daughter.'

He was terrified of making another mistake and losing you too. He'd already lost Haley twice, once from the divorce and the second time to Foyet, so losing you would absolutely break him to the point of no return.

So he kept his distance. He couldn't make a mistake that'd hurt you if you weren't around. He was willing to do whatever it took to keep you safe, even if it meant hurting himself. He thought he was helping, but he didn't realise he was hurting a lot more than just himself.

Hours passed before Aaron finally decided enough was enough. He could barely work, thoughts of you wrecking his brain as he tried so hard to figure out what was wrong with you. For such an intelligent profiler, he could be a pretty dumb boyfriend.

It was yet to click that him distancing himself from you was why you were irritated, but he was soon going to find out.

He left work before anyone else which was a surprise to the rest of the team as it was exactly 5 o'clock. He grabbed flowers on the way to yours and even picked up your favourite food, hoping it'd be enough to at least let him in. So when he knocked on the door and you opened but left no room for him to squeeze in he realised it was a lot more than you just being irritated. It was serious.

"Hi" He said softly, not wanting to scare you off and cop a door to the face. You stared up at him blankly, your hold on the door knob tight as you itched to close it.

"What do you want, Aaron?" He usually loved the way you said his name, but not now, not when it's so clear you don't want to see him.

"Can I come in?"

"No" Your answer made Aaron rear back in surprise.

"No?" He repeated your answer, the flowers in his hand no longer pressed against his chest, but dangling down at his side.

"Do you wanna know why?" You asked, not giving him any time to answer before you continued.

"Because you're too blind to see what's wrong. Too busy to even spare me a glance, or talk to me when I'm trying to talk to you. Was this what it was like with you and Haley, because if it was it wasn't a relationship" You didn't like bringing Haley up to Aaron. You knew in some ways he was still healing from their divorce and her death, but you also knew that deep down she'd never liked you.

You were new to the team around the time of their divorce and as much as you tried to be the kind of person that was still friendly with their bosses ex, she never gave you the time of day. She'd been threatened by you since day one, even though her and Aaron weren't together anymore.

"So tell me what the hell I've done to push you away from me or I'm never inviting you inside again" Your heart was racing, chest heaving and you stared up at Aaron. Your frown softened ever so slightly as you watched a range of emotions flicker across his face before settling on sadness. He sighed as rubbed his eyes before answering.

"You didn't do anything wrong. You're perfect, you always are. I just-" He paused, tilting his head back and staring up at the roof. Your eyebrows furrowed more. Aaron never had a hard time sharing anything with you, even his emotions, but right now he was struggling and it made you feel bad for forcing an answer out of him.

But you had to. You couldn't continue walking on eggshells around him and wondering when he'll even look in your direction next.

"Roy's never going to forgive me for what happened to Haley" You shook your head slightly, not understanding what Roy had anything to do with you.

"I don't-"

"He made the point that I made a mistake and it got her killed. And I'm just worried that if I make a mistake when you're around..." Aaron drifted off and your heart hurt for him.

"Oh Aaron" You sighed, opening the door further and taking a step out to meet him. You pressed your hand to his chest and dipped your head to meet his eyes. He reluctantly returned your gaze.

"You can't tip toe around me for the rest of your life. If something happens then something happens. It'd never be your fault" You tried to reason with him, but he was still quick to shake his head.

"But y/n-" You cut your boyfriend off, not wanting to hear him blame himself for something that hadn't even happened yet, if ever.

"No buts Aaron. No but's, no if's, no maybe's, no what's. You can't keep avoiding me on the 1 in 100 chance I could get hurt" Aaron sighed, placing his hand on top of yours against his chest.

"I'm not a fan of the 1 in 100 odds" He mumbled, staring down at your lips, not wanting to look into your eyes when he was feeling so sensitive and vulnerable.

"And I'm not a fan of you blaming yourself for something you didn't physically do" You whisper back, bending your head, trying to catch his eyes. When he finally looks up and away from your mouth you offer him the smallest, but most comforting smile you can muster up.

"Honey, you know you did everything you could to protect Haley and Jack. Protective custody, moving them far away from you, cutting off contact until you knew they'd be safe" You list of some of the many thing Aaron did to prove how much he loved and cared for his family. You remember how hard Aaron was taking it when he didn't know where Jack and Haley were and couldn't contact him. It was killing him but he didn't dare force an answer out of anyone because he knew it was what was best to keep them safe.

"It wasn't enough though" Aaron whispers and whilst he still sounds guilty about it, you can hear the slight tension lift in his voice. You're slowly easing his mind and his conscience. You moved your hand from his chest, his arm dropping back down by his side as you bring your hands up to cup his face.

"The point is you tried, and you did everything you yourself could possibly do. Sometimes the bad slips in and takes personal trophies, but you didn't make them feel scared, you made them feel safe and loved" Aaron's eyes are bouncing back and forth between yours, his eyebrows losing some of their tension, finally letting his face relax.

"Roy-"

"Roy owned a store. He never had to get the bad guy and come home all in one day" Your little remark makes Aaron's top lip twitch upwards. You lift yourself up onto your tippy toes, bringing his face down to meet yours as you press a soft, light kiss to his lips.

"At the end of the day all that matters is that you've got a son at home, that loves and adores you. He's not sheltered as much as you wish he was. He knows what happened and it's gonna hurt him for a long time. The memory is gonna hurt him, not you" Aaron presses his forehead against yours, exhaling a deep breath he'd been holding in for days. You were his comfort person, you always knew what to say and do, and if anything now he just felt unbelievably stupid for avoiding the one person that made him feel better.

"Now... What the hell are you still doing here?" Aaron frowns, pulling back slightly, worried for a split second that you're still mad. But then he sees your smirk.

"What?"

"I thought what I said was a pretty good hint towards the fact that there's a little boy somewhere that needs you" Aaron holds up the food he'd bought you and the flowers, shrugging as if to say 'but I'm here to see you'. You laugh, pressing another kiss to his lips.

"I can wait a day or two" Aaron huffs out an airy laugh as you take the food and flowers before retreating back into your apartment. You grin up at him as he watches in disbelief. You're actually not letting him inside.

"I love you" You whisper, grabbing the door knob and slowly closing the door. You pause, staring at Aaron waiting to hear him say it back. He laughs again, shaking his head as he starts slowly backing away, already looking forward to seeing you next.

"I love you more."

#aaron hotch fanfiction #aaron hotch fic #aaron hotch fluff #aaron hotch hotchner #aaron hotch imagine #aaron hotch x reader #aaron hotch x you #aaron hotchner #aaron hotchner x female reader #criminal minds

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saphushia · 1 year

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DEUCE TRIED TO BEAT ACE WITH A LARGE STICK WHEN THEY MET????????????????

oh my god i get to tell you this i'm so happy. this is going to get long because i just. adore how fucking cringefail deuce is at the start of the novel. the manga is great but it's so important to me how badly this man can fuck up within 10 minutes of meeting a stranger. his ass does NOT know how to keep his foot out of his mouth

going behind a read more bc long and spoiler filled (specifically heavy spoilers (essentially an abridged play-by-play of the first chapter) for Ace's Story book 1 and a little bit of the first chapter of the Episode A manga adaption)

if you don't want spoilers but are curious uhhhh basically deuce got a lil hangry ^-^ thats all ^-^

so, in the manga adaption, deuce pretty immediately warms up to ace, yeah?

yeah. deuce is pretty fuckin easy in the manga. meanwhile, in the novel, when ace immediately asks for help...

(if it's unclear, all first person is referring to deuce, the book is written from his POV)

in fact, deuce manages to fail basically every speech check in the first conversation they have together. i'm not kidding look at how fucking bad he is at this.

my man falls ass first into a rant to a guy he just met and manages to find himself saying 'wow why don't you go cry to your mom and leave me alone to be depressed' to a man who's mom literally died in childbirth. less than 5 minutes after meeting the guy. and the best part? HE KEEPS GOING.

he's gotta stop there, right? surely? surely even a man who's been stranded on an island alone for 3 days can tell when he's got his foot so wedged in his mouth he's practically deepthroating it? NOPE!

at this point, you'd think there's literally nothing worse that he can say. you would be so, so wrong.

MY MAN. MY GUY. i want to hammer in the fact that deuce managed to fuck up a conversation this badly with a man he's literally never met within like, 15 minutes at most. deuce then proceeds to recover from this utter failure at conversation by just. walking away into the woods and proceeding to continue slowly starving to death for several days whilst avoiding ace. he also eats ants on at least one occasion. this isn't really relevant to the hitting ace with a stick thing but it's important to me that you know that. he also despite all of this has this gayass moment

again, not relevant, but important to me that you know he saw ace failing to sail on the worst raft you've ever seen and still called him 'dashing'. now, at this point, deuce has been without food and with only minimal water for days- probably close to a week, though it's a bit ambiguous. and my guy, brilliantly, thinks to himself 'well. ace doesn't look like he's starving to death. what if he has food?' and sneaks behind ace, following him until he sees ace with a huge fruit (the mera mera no mi).

all of this... deuce sneaking up on ace planning to fight him for the fruit, kill him if he needs to, because he's the son of roger... and you know what ace fucking does??? you wanna know what this giant depressed puppy of a man fucking says to a guy who was abt to bash his brains out??

"nice stick!" and deuce just fucking. starts sobbing on the spot out of guilt while they argue both trying to get the other to eat the fruit. they are. so stupid and i love them so much.

so yeah. deuce's first ever interaction with ace is loudly announcing that he'd want to kill himself if he was the son of roger, and his SECOND interaction is him attempting to kill ace with a stick because he's hangry. i love him so much he's so fucking shit.

tldr you're not you when you're hungry and also you should all read the ace novels. because of this and also because ace and deuce get cockblocked on a gay ferris wheel ride by a marine just deciding to jump in the gondola with them and sit there menacingly until ace breaks the door and just jumps out to escape her monologuing abt her traumatic backstory

#this got away from the original question a bit but i don't think anyone will mind #i say this every time it comes up but god i need to finish the novels #it also drops some hints to the meaning of ace's misspelled tattoo and i desperately need to see if it says more on it #talking #one piece #answers #dontmineit #portgas d ace #masked deuce #deuce one piece #i find it so funny the dichotomy between their meeting in the manga vs novel #let me tell you i was fucking losing it when i read it #i love the manga but i do feel like it goes VERY hard on the depressed/self destructive angle #while the novel feels less in-your-face abt it which feels more fitting #manga is like he's always brooding and depressed meanwhile novel feels more like a friendly guy with severe baggage below the surface #tho the manga does fascinate me wrt his relationship to his crew #because the manga (to me at least) paints ace as a beloved captain #but arguably not a very good one #and i don't think it even does that on purpose #but it's fun to roll that thought around my head #anyways

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ananke-xiii · 10 days

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"The Born-Again Identity" is one of those SPN ep that I like despite the fact that there are so many things in it that drive me a little bit insane (truth be told, in part it's only my fault cause I can never completely turn up the "suspension of disbelief" volume and I go to a default "but why?" mindset everytime I see something on screen, so okay it's a *just me* problem). However, I do think that S7 was not that bad and it had some quite intriguing and original ideas while the execution was... well, let's say clunky. So, all in all, I think this episode is kinda cool.

the things that drive me a little bit insane:

the imagery of sam desperately running alone in the night along some tracks in a supposedly dangerous part of town. The "derailing" and "going off the tracks" symbolism was a bit on the nose; him buying drugs from the "tweaker" and sleeping with the guy in his car: mmm I feel like that was, like. a lot. to be just thrown away like that.

sam being admitted to the hospital with no mention of said drugs use and the whole scene with the doctor telling dean that they had to put sam in the locked psychiatric floor. I don't know, it also feels like.a lot. and.all of a sudden. they could ease into that way better, it's too ham-fisted as in: we have to find a way to put sam in an horror asylum-like facility in less than 5 minutes for the ep to make sense. so that what feels like to me.

daphne. everything about her drives me insane. I have a whole story where she has to clean up the mess dean has made and hide the body of the demon or something. she'll later start her own private hero's journey to find emmanuel and bring him back to their white picket fence life so perfect and so based on manipulation and stockholm syndrome.

the demons showing up at the grocery store. like what? it was established just a few scenes before when dean told the demon that he was "hands-off" or something and that the demon was actually looking for emmanuel. so why oh why would the other demons look for dean when there's emmanuel.alone.in.the.car. nonsense.

that one demon torturing sam with the electroshock. what was the point? why were demons there anyway? weren't the brothers hands off? maybe i missed something here but to me just felt like "asylum ep= electroshock scene is a must" and meh.

sam leaving the hospital.just.like.that and "swapping place" with cas. i'm sorry, what? i won't even comment on meg being suddenly hired as a nurse cause okay i want to give the writers that, but wtf? oh okay, this guy that has just showed up here (and has definitely possibly murdered 4 or 5 people at the entrance) is maybe not okay, let's not call his wife or someone, let's just lock him up. whaaaaat?

the quite intriguing and original ideas:

the cas/sam parallel: they are both evidently mentally unstable for very different reasons. cas has, in a way, "left the life" and dean, of all people!!!, is not 100% cool with him regaining his memories because what if he leaves???? sam is quite literally very close to leave life in general because the trauma is affecting his body in an irreversible way. they are both "born" again identities at the beginning and at the end of the episode. Very cooooool.

sam and lucifer interactions: the actors really did their job well in this ep cause everytime I watch it I'm exhausted, like I can't bear to hear Lucifer talk and talk and taunt and I definitely feel worn out like sam. I think Jared works very well with Mark Pellegrino, too bad that the whole Lucifer storyline was a mess in later seasons cause the actors had great chemistry.

meg. every scene with meg is just joy for me. and her storyline? left alone looking for "friends"? sure, she totally plans to use cas as her ally but what's new? (jokes aside, there's a whole pattern of women manipulating and using cas, am i the only one seeing it???).

marin. first of all, hello abigail????? (hannibal memories flooding in). second of all, cool MoTW-Not-So-Much-MoTW story. ofc she's a sam's mirror used to basically explain what happened to sam but the ghost who's tormenting her is also her brother and he must die-die-die because he won't let her go. hello??? paralleling sam's hallucinations with sam's issues with dean was super intriguing and too bad that the MoTW was Not-So-Much-MoTW cause marin's story was maybe not even 8 minute long.

bonus: "Peace of Mind" from S14 echoes this ep brillianty, they even cast one of the same actors (the doctor/the mayor) and they used the same surname for sam (sam smith/justin smith). cool cool cool (although unrelated to s7).

#cw: drug mention #cw: torture #cw: mental illness #spn #supernatural #spn rewatch #spn season 7 #the born-again identity #sam winchester #castiel #meg #spn daphne

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seeminglyranch87 · 2 months

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Taylor & Travis Timeline

April 2024 - Part 1

April 1 - iHeart Radio Music Awards (x)

Taylor won the following iHeart Awards for 2024

Artist of the Year

Pop Artist of the Year

Tour of the Year

Best Lyrics - Is It Over Now

TikTok Bop of the Year - Cruel Summer

Favorite Tour Style

Taylor accepted these awards remotely

April 2 - Travis speaks to People promoting Kelce Jam music festival (x)

Kelce, 34, tells PEOPLE, "I'm the happiest I've ever been. I'm a guy that some people say is glass half full, half empty, and my glass is all the way full. It's all the way full." "I'm oozing life right now,"

"It's just so much fun getting into when you win the Super Bowl, all these doors open, and so I've just been going through all these open doors, experiencing life and just appreciating the people that have got me here and also staying high and meeting new faces."

"It doesn't feel like there's much chill in my life. Everything seems to be full throttle and just moving at the speed of light, and that's how I kind of like it. I like it to be up pace. I like to have just exciting things going on. And sure enough, I'm out here in the entertainment world trying to dabble into that before I get back locked in on football and knowing that that's going to be my focus until I'm done playing."

"But to dabble around in the entertainment space is something that I'm really interested in, it's just going to be an amazing opportunity to get out in front of Kansas City and just celebrate the Super Bowl win one more time." Travis says referring to Kelce Jam.

ETonline release 8 minute interview with Travis (x)

youtube

Speaking of his trip to the Bahamas with Taylor Travis says "t's just a lovely place down there isn't it you can get it all down there, all the love in the world

"you make it all work is it just you prioritize what's important yeah I mean I think we're both very career driven, I think we both love what we do and you know any chance that I can you know show my support to her and knowing that she's shown me all the support in the world throughout the season it's just been an amazing experience you know getting to know Tay"

Travis spoke to Associated Press (x)

"The only thing I can learn from [Taylor] that translates into how I can perform is just how relatable she is on stage. She’s very comfortable. She brings everybody into the room with her. She makes it an intimate setting even though there’s 70,000 people at every show. It’s pretty impressive.”

Travis speaks with The Hollywood Reporter (x)

You’re producing your second festival and taking part in the live music space, while Taylor Swift put on one of the biggest live music events of all time last year with her Eras Tour. Did you learn anything from watching her do that? (Laughs.) I did: Don’t try and be Taylor, that’s what I learned. Yeah, she’s on a whole other stratosphere. She’s the best at what she does for a reason. It’s because she’s so articulate and just very dialed into every single thing that she does. And that’s the beauty of it. I’d be silly if I ever tried to take anything from what she does, other than just enjoy the people that show up. I think that’s one thing I could probably take away: She really relates to the people she’s performing in front of, and so I’ll take that. Her four-hour concert is not easy to do … It’s impressive.

April 3 - New Heights Ep. 84 airs with special guest Arnold Schwarzenegger. Jason & Travis Kelce film episode in LA after flying in from Philadelphia together with Taylor.

April 4 - Are You Smarter Than A Celebrity filmed in LA - Travis confirmed to host

TikTok - waitress who served Travis over the weekend in Ohio shares that Travis knows all 300 Taylor Swift songs in sweet interaction (x)

April 5 - Are You Smarter Than A Celebrity day 2 filming in LA - Travis to host.

Taylor promotes her up coming album The Tortured Poets Department according to Billboard (x)

The two week countdown to 'The Tortured Poets Department' is on — and to celebrate, Taylor Swift unveiled five new playlists featuring songs from her first 10 albums representing a distinct phase of heartbreak. ⁠ ⁠ Four of the playlists are named after the taglines of previously announced deluxe editions: “I Love You, It’s Ruining My Life," “You Don’t Get to Tell Me About Sad,” “Am I Allowed to Cry?” and “Old Habits Die Screaming." The fifth one is dubbed “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” after one of the song titles on 'Tortured Poets.' ⁠ ⁠ Each playlist also features a voice note in which Swift speaks about her personal experiences with each phase, inspired by the stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.⁠

Just checking in, how is everyone?

Are You Smarter Than A Celebrity filmed in LA - Travis is host

April 8 - Taylor reveals lyrics to TTPD (x)

Perfectly timed with the solar eclipse - personal photo taken on iPhone today - USA

Are You Smarter Than A Celebrity filmed in LA - Travis is hosting

April 9 - Are You Smarter Than A Celebrity filmed in LA - Travis is host

Travis & Taylor papped driving in LA (x)

April 10 - New Heights Ep. 85 airs with guest Dave "Lil Dicky" talking about Travis dating Taylor (x)

1:16:50 (x)

LD: how you guys doing with all this? Travis beams; "I'm having a blast in life baby, just flying high, enjoying it all!" Lil Dicky says "your most popular Popstar and beloved musician somehow met your most popular beloved athlete and they actually fell in love..." Travis replies "I don't know how I did it because she does not, she wasn't into sports so I don't know how the f**k I did it? Lil Dicky responds "well you did it because you said you called her out on..." Travis answers "I know exactly how I did it!"

Are You Smarter Than A Celebrity filmed in LA - Travis is host.

April 11 - New Heights podcast recorded live with Jason & Travis Kelce at Nippert Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio

Travis dances to Shake It Off and tells the audience this is one of his favourite songs, Jason says it's Wyatt's favourite too (x)

April 12 - Are You Smarter Than A Celebrity filmed in LA - Travis confirmed to host

Taylor & Travis seen leaving Sushi Park restaurant - LA

April 13 - Taylor posts (x) with lyrics “I wish I could un-recall how we almost had it all.”

The photo reveals that Aaron Dessner is a collaborator.

Travis & Taylor attend Day 2 of Coachella. They are first seen side stage for Bleachers with Jack Antonoff then escorted to the pit for Ice Spice and others through out the night. (x x x x x) Taylor is wearing a New Heights cap

April 14 - Taylor releases another clue in the lyrics of Peace - CONDUCT on Apple Music.

April 17 - New Heights Ep. 86 airs. Jason & Travis Kelce talk about experiencing Coachella (01:07:50) (x)

Jason "we know who you went with, we saw the pictures. All right we know who you went with"

Travis "She's [Taylor] supporting the New Heights"

Jason "Big New Heights supporter - yeah sold out of the green hat real quick"

Travis "It's a good color green"

Jason "How was Coachella different? I expected you guys to be backstage like mostly with the musicians right but it seemed like you guys are in the crowd?"

Travis "I'd like to see it front from the fans perspective like the people that actually cuz I am a fan of music I'm a fan of live shows. I want to see it from the front of the stage. We probably could have finessed it that way but I think it's just that much more of an experience if you're in the uh if you're in the pit man if you're in the the madness with all the uh all the fans. It was awesome though."

Go to previous update -> March 2024 part 3

Go to next update -> April 2024 part 2

Return to the timeline

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chuckle-lore · 1 month

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Episode 5- February 27th, 2021- 10th Chuckle Lore 🎉

Lore(?)-

20:28 Charlie plays golf and Ted spies from afar. Every stroke Charlie goes over par, Ted breaks a finger/shoots a puppy (wether he does both of these or switches off from one to another is unclear)

36:29 Schlatt is stuck in the atomic cube. What exactly is the atomic cube? I’m not sure, all I know is that it also has atomic locks.

There used to be a fourth member that no one else remembers

37:47 Charlie mentioning money reboots Schlatt

49:32 Charlie is in the Void Dome and he can’t remember the face of his own mother

The reason I added (?) to the lore is because I’m not sure if I can consider it canon. Throughout the episode Charlie mentions that is isn’t a episode recording but instead a practice run to see what jokes they will include for the real episode and in the end Ted reveals that he was secretly recording the whole time which leaves me in a pickle. Schlatt and Charlie were playing along with all the bits/potential lore BUT that was when they thought this wasn’t an official episode, the validity of this episode’s lore is rocky at best but there is some lore that is much more definite…

With the reveal of Ted secretly recording episode five, we get more firm confirmation of Ted’s morally dubious and manipulative character.

Also Charlie making various remarks about how he was probably not going to be in the next “real recording” shows how much he did not want to be there and was most likely an attempt to leave the podcast all together. Not to go all Matpat mode over here but it seems fairly likely that Ted is making Charlie be in cs against his free will and possibly Schlatt too to an extent considering both men have discussed their distaste of Ted in previous episodes (mainly episode 2). I believed that Schlatt is under a contract and is being paid just enough to stay meanwhile Charlie is more peer pressured by Ted to keep going.

Thoughts:

Jumping back into an older episode after watching a streak of the newer episodes definitely threw me off. The editing in this at times almost felt like they were jangling keys in front of me so I can keep watching and the worst part is that it worked. There would be times that I would start to zone out and all of a sudden Ted has Hatsune Miku’s hair or a sound effect goes off and I am paying attention again.

Also this episode put in perspective how much current cs shoves in sex stuff. The whole I was just waiting for some kind of sex joke or ten minute long gag about how Schlatt wants to put his junk into something and to my surprise, there was nothing extremely explicit, I don’t even think anyone said the word fuck in the whole episode. The only explicit reference we get is when Schlatt moans after high-fiving Charlie too hard and it was the funniest part in the whole episode. This is probably a hot take from me but I think cs is becoming over saturated with sexual stuff and bits like the high-five moan would not of land half as hard if it were placed into current episodes. If anyone wants to have a discussion about this I am more than happy to talk to y’all.

Overall I think this episode was fine, it had its iconic moments but I don’t think I would actively search for it, 7/10, :)

Things I noted:

I miss the fanart in the beginning of the episodes. I want it back so bad.

Schlatt’s voice sounds higher(?) than his voice in newer episodes

Ted’s hallway kept changing colors

Older episodes were DEFINITELY caters to visual watchers

I’m so upset that I can’t tell if this episode is canon or not because there being a fourth member that was erased from existence would of been so cool for the lore.

(Original notes + favorite comment interaction? under the cut)

Funfact: I can’t draw Schlatt for the life of me

#ep. 5 #chuckle sandwich #chuckle sammy #chuckle lore #ted nivison #jschlatt #schlatt #charlie slimecicle #slimecicle #Youtube

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archiveikemen · 1 year

Text

Liam Evans Main Story: Chapter 0

I do not own any of the Ikemen Series content being uploaded on this blog, everything belongs to CYBIRD. Please support them by downloading and playing their games.

read this before interacting with my posts

warning: mention of suicide attempt

Episode 0 contains major spoilers for Liam’s main story. Please proceed at your own discretion if you have yet to read the main story.

…

Liam Evans, stage actor. That’s my job.

On tonight’s stage as well, I will leave “myself” behind and play my role.

Liam: Thank you for coming to our play tonight!

…

I have another job.

That is—

I’m a member of “Crown”, an imperial organisation under the direct command of Queen Victoria.

…

Victor: Well then— are you ready, gentlemen?

Liam: Of course, Victor. It's been a long time since we last went on a mission together. How exciting.

I changed my clothes immediately after my performance ended, and went from being Liam the stage actor, to being Liam the member of Crown.

Harrison: Calm down a little. Getting too carried away will only result in you being hurt.

Roger: I mean, I can patch you up if it's not a serious injury. But if you die, that just means I have one less person to help me with my research.

Liam: Thanks, Roger. As expected of a former doctor.

It was rare for every member of Crown to be present, and everyone was chatting away.

We’ve never once collectively agreed on anything, but neither do we intend to ever do that. Because that’s what makes us Crown.

William: — Looks like Crown is ready, Victor.

Victor: Ahaha! Good. You lot are so carefree and wonderful as always. Well then, shall we begin?

Victor: Tonight — we pledge ourselves to evil.

…

(Heh, our target for tonight is loaded.)

Amongst the townhouses that lined the streets, it seemed like our target lived in an especially luxurious mansion.

(Even when you have that much money, it’s so easy for your life to come to an end.)

For caution’s sake, my partner Harry and I were to trespass into the mansion 5 minutes later than the others.

(4 more minutes.)

However, it was a bad habit of mine to be unable to keep quiet during times like this—

Liam: … By the way, how did you join Crown, Harry?

Harrison: Of all times, you’re asking me that now?

Liam: I’m kind of bored, so…

Harrison: Weren’t you there when I first joined Crown?

Liam: “I’m not interested in the prosperity of England and other people's freedom. But—”

Liam: “I’m interested in what you guys are doing, therefore you should let me become one of your members.” … Right?

Harrison: Since you remember, then don't ask. That’s all I said to join Crown.

(You still don’t talk a lot.)

I deliberately shrugged my shoulders in an exaggerated manner to show that I wasn't satisfied with his answer.

My partner was the kind of person to give bothersome answers in times like this.

Harrison: I get to use my curse to earn money. Moreover, I have Her Majesty the Queen backing me.

Harrison: It’s a wise choice for people born with curses to join Crown for survival.

Liam: …

Liam: … Even if you have to kill?

Harrison: Everyone has the right to different opinions on whether it’s a wise choice.

(I take it as he doesn't want me to probe any further.)

Everyone had their own reasons for joining Crown.

But I know one thing for sure, and it's that I wouldn't be in Crown if it wasn't for “something”.

Harrison: Hey, Liam. Why did you join Crown?

Liam: I…

(The reason why I joined Crown…)

…

I was once admitted into a mental hospital for a certain reason.

White, empty walls. Uncomfortable examination clothes. Painful treatments that had no effect.

— There was no knowing when I would be released from that place.

I didn't know whether I even wanted to leave.

One day, I leaned out of the hospital’s window feeling absentminded and lethargic.

Suddenly, someone grabbed me from behind.

Victor: With your hands stretched out like that, you look like a bird. Unfortunately, humans don’t have wings.

Victor: So if you fall… yeah.

Victor: Since you’re feeling lost, I have a suggestion for you. What do you think about using your life to serve Her Majesty?

Liam: … Her Majesty?

Victor: I’m currently on the search for members to join an organisation that carries out missions under secret orders from Her Majesty.

Victor: The organisation is a group of people who “fight evil with evil”.

Victor: So I’m here to ask if you're interested in joining. I guess you could say that I’m some sort of scout.

Liam: … Why me?

Victor: The first reason is because you have a curse. And the second reason is— I want you to release the dark side of you.

Victor: Then you will be free to fly around in the pitch black darkness.

Victor: I’m just kidding. Hey, hey, didn't I look cool saying that? Ahaha, this is fun!

There was something off about the words and actions of the man with beautiful eyes and long hair.

But I wasn't any more normal than him either.

There was only one reason why I decided to join Crown.

And it was that someone reached their hand out to me.

Victor: Now — pledge your allegiance to evil. Nice to meet you, Liam Evans.

…

(But I can't possibly tell others that my reason for joining Crown is that small.)

My reason felt too insignificant.

Liam: Hmm… I forgot!

Harrison: Oh well, it's not like I was interested in finding out. Anyway, 5 minutes is up. Let’s go.

Liam: Ah, wait! Maybe it was just because I liked you.

My partner’s special ability enables him to know when someone’s lying. He definitely saw through my lie.

But I was grateful that he didn't expose me for lying.

Liam: Ah, I’ll make myself disappear just in case.

Harrison: No one will be able to recognise you this way. How very convenient.

Liam: I know right?

I used my abilities to disappear and followed after Harry.

My reason for joining Crown was unclear.

The fact that I was a stage actor wasn't worth praising either.

As long as I’m useful, they won't get rid of me.

(There’s one thing I can never tell anyone.)

And it was my special ability to disappear.

…

I wanted to erase myself from existence.

But the words of “that person” who died saving me from that fire were the only thing keeping me alive.

I was confined to this world.

…

By the time we entered the mansion, the interrogation process had already ended.

After scanning my surroundings, I made myself reappear.

Liam: By any chance, is it our turn yet?

Will’s fingers danced across the piano in the mansion.

(I wonder what song this is? I’ll ask Will about it later.)

Will narrowed his blood red eyes sharply.

(Ah, he’s going to use his special ability.)

He used his ability to “make others obey his every command” and sang along with the tune playing on the piano.

An anguished look appeared on the target’s face as he held a knife to his own neck—

Kate: Um… excuse m—

Kate: — mmph!?

A girl stood next to the man who died because he was controlled by Will's special ability.

(This girl…)

The blood that spurted out soaked her pretty face.

(Is she involved in tonight's mission? This wasn't written in the protocol, though.)

Alfons: My, my… I wasn’t expecting an audience tonight.

William: Now look who we have here, aren't you the little robin I met earlier today?

Kate: Um…uh… eeh…?

(Huh?)

Liam: She’s acquaintances with Will? Does she know about us?

If she was an acquaintance of Will’s and meant to be there, then —

I thought to myself, “she’s safe”.

Because if anyone were to find out about Crown’s secret, they would be silenced.

William: We merely exchanged a few words on the streets, Liam. She doesn't know about ‘Crown’.

(Does that mean that they don't actually know each other, and she’s here by pure coincidence?)

(Wow, she’s one very unlucky girl.)

I suddenly made eye contact with her.

Her eyes were filled with fear and anxiety, it made me feel sorry for her.

Liam: Then we’re in trouble. What should we do…?

I stared into her eyes and a thought surfaced in a corner of my mind.

I was always looking for an excuse to disappear.

So I needed a reason to remain in this world.

Therefore, while playing my role as a stage actor, I condemned evil as a member of Crown.

(Does this girl want anything from me…?)

(Does she need me?)

If there’s anything you want from me,

(I’ll stay alive for you.)

#ikemen villains #ikemen series #cybird ikemen #cybird otome #otome #ikevil main story #liam main story

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jeffannieftw · 10 months

Note

If you had to pick an episode for Jeff and Annie to get together, which one would it be?

Hmmm excellent question

I think that, because it’s community and the focus has never been on relationships too much, I would’ve liked them doing relationship stuff on the sidelines. Like—

Maybe have them just hook up in season 4

add a scene at the end of the Christmas episode where everyone else has gone home and they are laughing about the day and Annie is helping clean.

She says something like “sorry if I made that get out of hand. I know I can be… dramatic… and too much”

And Jeff can say something like “cmon Annie. You’re never too much. You’re a perfect amount and make every situation better even when you make it worse”

He goes to move into the kitchen, or tries to ruffle her hair but she catches his hand, looking gobsmacked, and they look at each other

End episode

Then the next episode is the body switching episode (a lot of people say the best ep of season 4 and that’s fair, except troy treats poor Britta like crap)

Start it with Annie waking up in Jeff’s bed and sneaking out

Maybe they are kind of avoiding eye contact that day

When Jeff has his speech to Troy about how he wishes he was brave enough to commit to a relationship, maybe a line about how knowing troy makes him feel braver? Implied he’s thinking about Annie

At the end of the episode he goes to talk to Annie and it’s obvious he’s going to suggest they actually date but before he gets there she cuts him off and says:

“Jeff, knowing you has really helped me relax. I love that I don’t always have to be thinking of the future! I can just live my life and see where things go. I guess I’m more mature now!”

As she wanders off, it’s clear that Jeff is devastated

Then never address it again in season 4

In season 5, maybe one glance in the first episode that makes it clear that they aren’t sure where they left off

In the polygraph episode just add a line where pierce conveys to the gang

“did you know Mr. Winger and Ms. Edison have been seeing each other since they got back to greendale?”

Everyone is shocked

Jeff cries out “how could he know that”

Annie is like “pierce promised our monthly coffee catch ups were confidential!” Or something

Then when questioned, both insist “we’re casual! It’s casual!”

The rest of the season, their interactions are a bit different. They hold hands when people aren’t looking, he’s shown holding her food or bringing her coffee.

Season 5 finale

in the show has the Jeff-Britta engagement. If we really need to keep that we can have Jeff/Annie say they’ve ended things at the start of the episode.

But I say we get rid of the subplot.

Maybe instead he and Annie are talking about ending things in their casual relationship since it’s ~casual~ and they are going to have to separate when the school is closed.

And maybe she’s like “it works out; Abed wants to downsize to a cheaper place anyway; I’m going to transfer out of the city because city college doesn’t have forensics so I guess I’m moving.”

Both are sad

After Jeff’s burst of emotion that opens the door, Jeff stops Annie at the end of the episode

He says “I’m tired of pretending not to have emotions. I don’t want us to be casual, we saved the school so you can stay” and she’s like “but abed already found a one bedroom”

He’s like “move in with me.” She agrees.

Then in season 6, they just are together but it’s only shown in a few throwaway lines an episode

She can even still leave him for her job in the finale if they want it to be sad, but I’d prefer if in their last scene together, he’s like “I’ve never left Colorado but I’ve always wanted to travel, can I come with you?”

Because I hated that Jeff never got to go anywhere in his life

I think this way would lead to minimal changes, like max one subplot would need changing and like one minute’s worth of scenes for every episode I mentioned.

In conclusion:

hook up in season 4 Christmas ep; get outed in the polygraph episode; make it official in season 5 finale

#jeffannie #jeff x annie #annie x jeff #nbc community #community #annie edison #jeff winger #community tv #ask

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g5mlp · 11 months

Note

imo, what do you think G5 does better than G4, and vice versa

G4 started on a very strong foundation and was the result of a coherent vision being executed with a minimum of corporate meddling. It also was given a lot of time to fully develop its world, and the show's production wasn't transferred to a completely different creative team at any point. It's hard to beat that.

G5 was developed first and foremost with the intention of producing a good story for a good movie that could perform well in theaters, and creating the rest of the franchise seems to have been kind of secondary to that (who cares about the consequences?). Obviously, it didn't get to be released in theaters, but the movie is still probably the strongest part of G5 so far. I haven't watched the G4 movie yet but I think most people who've watched both consider the G5 movie to be better.

G4 benefits a lot from its main characters. Twilight is a know-it-all and she basically allows the show to introduce whatever random advanced magic they want, which is pretty convenient. Pinkie gets to break the fourth wall. All of them have strong unique personalities and are larger than life, and it's great fodder for episodes that explore their flaws and how they handle new or difficult situations. G5 doesn't benefit nearly as much from this kind of energy.

On the other hand, G5's main characters are less likely to get into an argument with each other or get annoyed by each other. They're chill and generally seem more like real people than over-the-top cartoon characters. I think the conflict in early episodes of Friendship Is Magic was for me a bit frustrating to sit through at times, so G5 generally having less intense character conflicts is not necessarily a downside for me.

Some of Make Your Mark's character portrayals are confusing to me. In particular, Sunny's ultimate ambition was achieved in A New Generation and she wasn't given any meaningful goals or motivation to replace that, and Zipp's detective cosplay is shown without any hint of irony or any lampshading, as though she were actually doing a good job. I think Zipp will end up being hired by Hitch by the end of Chapter 6, but they could have picked a better way to get there, like if they properly showed her learning how to be a detective instead of just having her bring out her pointless magnifying glass or recording voice memos. I don't think G4 had these kinds of issues, and it was generally clear what the characters' motivations and desires were.

G4 has better writing, pacing and humor, especially compared to Make Your Mark. There are a number of scenes in the latter where the plot doesn't progress and the characters accomplish nothing.

I liked "Dear Princess Celestia". It seems to have been generally a good way to make sure that each episode actually had a meaningful moral. Make Your Mark is a bit messy on this front, as are some later G4 episodes. I think in some cases Make Your Mark attempted to have two characters independently realize the same moral, but it didn't seem very justified or meaningful.

Make Your Mark's big ambitious idea seems to have been to put Opaline and Misty into basically every episode, even though Opaline stays in the castle and can usually only interact with Misty. It works, and the portrayal of Misty is very interesting and not something G4 was able to do, but there are a few episodes where it's just an unnecessary distraction that doesn't meaningfully progress the plot.

I think it was probably a mistake for them to have two concurrently running shows that needed to be coordinated together, even if it was necessary in order to allow MLP to have some sort of presence outside of Netflix. The need to avoid continuity issues produced weird results like Sparky not appearing in Tell Your Tale until September 2022 even though he was introduced in Make Your Mark in May 2022. Tell Your Tale does demonstrate you can tell a good story in 5 minutes, but it seems to be held back by having to be secondary to Make Your Mark. They don't seem to introduce new recurring locations, for instance, and there are still a bunch of continuity issues in spite of the efforts to avoid creating them. Having concurrently airing shows on YouTube and on Discovery Family worked in G4 because the Equestria Girls shorts were literally in an alternate universe and couldn't really affect the Friendship Is Magic episodes.

G4's music has a certain charm to it, or at least the well-remembered songs do. Sure, it's Daniel Ingram using the same instruments over and over (aside from the orchestral arrangements in seasons 8 and 9), but he didn't otherwise restrict himself to a particular genre or style in his songwriting. The music of Tell Your Tale and Make Your Mark is consistent in terms of production quality, but maybe too consistent. All of it is made to sound like it could have been on the radio in the last 10 years, and some of the songs sound a little too much like they were precisely modeled on, you know, "I Gotta Feeling", "All I Want For Christmas Is You" or "Uptown Funk". A New Generation's music is easily more memorable, but it's harder to compare since it only has a few songs and they're so qualitatively different from everything before and after.

G4 tends to miss the mark when it tries to incorporate allegories for social issues, and it doesn't help that (at least in season 1) they made Pinkie sing about the respective situations. A New Generation does it quite well, but the rest of G5 basically doesn't bring up those themes again (aside from Make Your Mark Chapter 1, and the less said about it the better).

A New Generation's 3D animation is beautiful, but the way they got Atomic Cartoons to use Boulder Media's leftovers was clearly not very good. If Hasbro had kept the animation in-house they might well have avoided some of the silly production problems that Make Your Mark ended up with. The show being 3D also evidently massively restricted what locations they could explore and what non-pony species could be shown, and it was probably pretty expensive too. I think it's probably for the best that Make Your Mark isn't going to be the main show in 2024. Friendship Is Magic's animation did not suffer from this kind of weird inherent logistical flaw. It was simple and not detailed but looked fine, and was appropriate for the resources that they had to produce the show.

I know some people still hate how Tell Your Tale looks but it doesn't seem to be something that Hasbro was ever concerned about, oddly enough, given that the show looks exactly the way that it was internally pitched within Boulder Media in 2019 (even though they didn't end up making the show themselves). I personally don't mind it, although it looked a little weird to me at first. It's nice that they tried something different and gave the ponies stylized and varied body shapes, which G4 didn't have much of aside from, like, Bulk Biceps.

G5's first-party toys generally seem to look better and more show-accurate than G4's, but G4 seems to have had a lot more variety and just generally more stuff in the toy line.

The G5 tie-in video games generally seem to be better and more fleshed out than most of the G4 ones (aside from My Little Pony World, in which nothing of importance happens).

Overall, I think G4 would win in a fight. G5 is only two years old, though, so maybe if we wait a few more years it will be a more even match. Or not.

This post represents my own opinions and not necessarily those of the other admins of this blog. I may be biased or wrong and there may be gaps in my understanding. ~overcast

#my little pony #mlp g5 #mlp g4 #mlp

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saltygilmores · 1 year

Text

Thoughts While Watching Gilmore Girls, Season 2, Episode 13 ("A Tisket A Tasket") Part 5, I Give Up

Just for funsies here's Jess calling Dean an idiot and Idiot admitting it.

Before I continued to slog through this absolutely mind numbing DALA (Dean and Lorelai Affair) episode, I uttered 6 words that I hope won't come back to bite me in the ass: "This can't possibly get any worse." Ahahahahahaha. There are 14 minutes left in the episode. I'm fucked. I've been on this one way too long and I'm determined to finish this. I'm just going to enjoy this Literati on a Bridge break. I'm going to my happy place where Dean doesn't exist and Rory is an orphan because Lorelai (and Chrisopher) don't exist and every episode is just 45 minutes of this.

"I'm so much happier here." R: "Why were you screwing with Dean an hour ago but you're suddenly being nice to me?" J: "Well it's the screwing with Dean that's an important step to getting here so I could be nice to you."

Ugh he took the fucking Quarter On A String so now I have to suffer through that fucking Lost and Found episode. God damn it Mariano! Why are the pretty ones always so dumb?

Did I mention that he is so pretty. I'm legally obligated to say that at least twice per Jess Episode. After Rory and Jess part ways, we cut to Rory returning home with a bag from the bookstore and Lorelai immediately shifts full gear into Weirdly Suspicious & Passive Aggressive Mode. When Rory admits she visited a bookstore and had a slice of pizza with Jess (oh the horror!) then goes to her room, Lorelai immediately shuffles her passive aggressive, suspicious little feet right in after her. 90% of the time that Lorelai and Rory meet to talk on their couch after Rory has just departed from the company of Dean or Jess, especially at night or at the end of the episode, it means Lorelai is about to dish out some horrible, horrible wisdom/life coaching. The Couch is where we have witnessed many classic mother-daughter bonding moments, such as the time Lorelai asked Rory to make sure Jess got his rabies shots before she slept with him. Ah, the couch.

Mmmm yep. *collects money*

SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGH. Here we go. I think it was the great Michael Scott who once said, Why are you the way you are? Honestly, every time I try to enjoy something fun or exciting, you make it...not that. I hate so much about the things that you choose to be.

Ya know, I stan Rory more and more lately with how she stands up for Jess. Sorry your mom's a bitch. How many more tmes I can rant into The Void about Lorelai's unhealthy grudge with Jess? How many more times can I point out that Lorelai has only had one prolonged interaction with Jess, while she's known Dean twice as long and he's been rude and used a condescending tone of voice with her many times, including the first time they met (on Willy Wonka night) and it literally just happened again moments ago. It's just mindblowing to me how she will not let this FUCKING GO and SIXTEEN years later in AYITL when she is married to his uncle she is STILL making digs at him over him being rude to her when he was 17, joking about how he should have a baseball thrown at his head.

I honestly don't think I could love Rory Gilmore more at this point. Bless her rationality and sweet heart and cute rose sweater that looks like a swirl of that strawberry icing you squeeze over instant oatmeal. Are you witnessing a historical moment right now? The birth of a Rory Stan? Sort of. It won't last forever, but since I won't go past season 4 anymore, then yes.

The "things she's seen and heard" are just her regurgitating what Dean told her 5 minutes ago. LOL. She just took this kid's word as gospel, without even questioning it. The DALA is so fucked up, man! Lorelai is way too concerned with the lives of teenage boys! If Dean told Lorelai to jump off a bridge would she do it?

I really wish this were my gritty unrated Gilmore Girls spinoff titled The Hollow because I would have someone on this show actually acknowledge that Jess is honestly something of a miracle. His father abandoned him as a newborn, he had a tumultuous, negligent, inconsistent, possibly even abusive upbringing. His mother drank while she was pregnant with him. He grew up watching unsavory men in his mother's life circle in and out like a revolving door (according to Liz The Worst, one of them even died). Yet he doesn't turn to any real crime, drugs, alcohol, or even sex (okay, well bless his heart he tries there but people seem to cockblock him at every turn). HE SKIPS SCHOOL TO WORK AT WALMART. In real life kids like that are really lucky if the worst path they go down after that kind of chilhood merely involves them stealing loose change from an old fucknugget like Taylor Doose who deserves to be stolen from anyway. That bridge should have been fixed 10 years ago. Here's some of the train wreck. There were no survivors.

If Dean needs someone to talk to that badly he can get a diary or a dog or a sock puppet or like, one fucking friend his own age. I think half of the issues of this show could be solved if these people had more friends. Can't Taylor Doose swing some kind of town wide Bid-A-Friend Auction? Or emotional support animals?

Sure but like, did you ever stop to think that you and Dean are actually his only "enemies" and it's completely one sided because he couldn't care less about you, and also, your enemy is a 17 year old boy and you're a full grown adult lmao. Crazy lady. I wonder how Jess feels knowing he's the most exciting thing that's ever happened to a town full of boring nobodies who will go nowhere and do nothing while he will eventually makes millions of dollars from his best selling novels that get turned into blockbuster movies. Maybe someone will even make a movie about his life. I'm going to think about who could play Milo/Jess in a movie about himself while Lorelai yammers on and remains in denial about how insane she is. What do you think? Lorelai says Rory is "So young and naive, so nice and gives everyone a chance"; what she's really saying is "Jess doesn't deserve a chance, not even from you." I stoppped watching at this point and only skimmed a few more seconds. I saw that Rory stormed off, Lorelai and Rory fight over it at FND, Emily is confused, Lorelai says "I didn't like Dean at first because I didn't know him, I don't like Jess because I know him." You know what, there are times when this show starts to get my under my skin so much that I’m just not enjoying it and there’s no point in finishing the episode. In conclusion, Lorelai sucks and ruins everything and my number one Hill To Die On will continue being that Dean and Lorelai are sleeping together because there is no other logical explanation possible for why she talks about him like this. Goodnight!

Edit: guys, sorry that I was so enraged with Lorelai The Worst that I managed to gloss over the fact that Rory and Jess went on a Book Shopping and Pizza PRE-DATE 😍😍😍😍 THEIR FIRST ONE!

In my Gilmore Girls spinoff The Hollow we would see every minute of every Pizza and Book date and pre-date I promise you this 🥰 No skimping!

#gilmore girls #denise rewatches gilmore girls #gilmore girls season 2 #a tisket a tasket #a-tisket a-tasket #literati #rory gilmore #jess mariano #Lorelai Gilmore #ARRRRRGHHH #RAGE #BUT A PRE DATE #I CANT WAIT FOR THEIR HOT DOGS AND RECORD SHOPPING PRE-DATE

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