#he still sounds and acts like sherman

[mostlysignssomeportents]

For 40 years, Big Meat has openly colluded to rig prices

On October 7–8, I'm in Milan to keynote Wired Nextfest.

Noted socialist agitator Adam Smith once wrote, "People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the publick, or in some contrivance to raise prices."

Smith was articulating a basic truth: when an industry grows concentrated, it grows cozy. Cultural differences between dominant firms are homogenized as top executives move from company to company, cross-pollinating attitudes and approaches. Ambituous, firm-hopping workaholic top brass make all their friends at the office, and so their former colleagues from one or two jobs back remain in their social circles.

Once an industry consists of half a dozen firms, the people running those companies constitute an incestuous financial polycule. They are executors of one anothers' estates, best men and maids of honor at one anothers' weddings, godparents to each others' kids. They play on the same softball teams and take family vacations together.

It would be heartwarming if it wasn't so costly to the rest of us. Remember Smith's maxim: "the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the publick, or in some contrivance to raise prices." Class solidarity among corporate executives forms a united front to screw us in every conceivable way, from corrupting our politicians to maiming and cheating workers to gouging buyers.

That's the basis of American antitrust law. When Robert Sherman was stumping for the passage of the Sherman Act, America's first major antitrust law, he thundered "If we will not endure a King as a political power we should not endure a King over the production, transportation, and sale of the necessaries of life. If we would not submit to an emperor we should not submit to an autocrat of trade with power to prevent competition and to fix the price of any commodity":

https://pluralistic.net/2022/02/20/we-should-not-endure-a-king/

Or rather, that was the basis of American antitrust law – until the Reagan era, when the fringe theories of the Nixonite criminal Robert Bork were elevated to a new orthodoxy. Under Bork's conception of antitrust, monopolies were evidence of excellence. If a company puts all its competitors out of business, that must mean that it is "efficient."

In Bork's fantasy world, the only way a company could attain dominance is by being so beloved by its customers that every competitor withers away. Governments that bust monopolies aren't protecting the public from "autocrats of trade"; they're overthrowing the winners of an election where you "vote with your wallet" to pick the best company.

But Bork and his co-fantasists couldn't quite manage all that with a straight face. They grudgingly admitted that a certain kind of bad monopolist could hypothetically exist, one that used its "market power" to raise prices or lower quality. Only when these offenses against our "consumer welfare" occurred should the state step in to protect its people.

This may sound good in theory, but in practice, it was a dead letter. The consumer welfare test isn't as simple as "If prices go up after a merger, punish the company." Instead, the government had to prove that the price raises came from "market power," and not from an increase in energy or labor costs, or some other "exogenous factor," like Mercury being in retrograde:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/10/you-had-one-job/#thats-just-the-as

And wouldn't you know it, it turns out that the mathematical models prescribed to distinguish greed from unavoidable circumstance inevitably "prove" that the monopolist wasn't at fault. Surely, it's just just a coincidence that the priesthood that understood how to make and interpret these models were Chicago School Economists who sold model-making as a service to companies that wanted to raise prices.

Pro-monopoly economists insist that this isn't true, and that their theory still has room to prosecute bad monopolies and cartels where they occur – more, they say this is already happening. In particular, they insist that "greedflation" can't be real, because it would require the kind of conspiracy that Smith warned of, and that their sickly antitrust enforcement is sufficient to prevent:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/11/price-over-volume/#pepsi-pricing-power

This strains credulity. After all, the CEOs of giant companies in concentrated industries openly boast to their shareholders about how they've used the covid and Ukraine invasion shocks to hike prices to increase their profit margins – not just cover their additional costs:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/23/cant-make-an-omelet/#keep-calm-and-crack-on

While excuseflation is new, open, naked price-fixing by industry cartels is not. Take the meat-packing industry, dominated by a tiny handful of giant corporations whose executives literally ran a betting pool on how many of their workers would get covid each week while working in their cramped, unventilated factories:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-55009228

These companies have seen their margins soar – up 300% over the lockdown – while their payments to ranchers and growers cratered:

https://www.reuters.com/business/meat-packers-profit-margins-jumped-300-during-pandemic-white-house-economics-2021-12-10/

All this might leave one wondering whether there isn't something a little, you know, "conspiracy against the publick"-y going on in Big Meat?

Let me tell you about Agri Stats. Agri Stats has been around since 1985. Every large meat packer pays to be a "member" of Agri Stats, and they each submit weekly, detailed statistics about every aspect of their business: all their costs, all their margins, broken out by category. Agri Stats compiles this into phone-book-thick books that each member gets every week, telling them everything about how all of their competitors are running their businesses:

https://www.agristats.com/history

The companies whose data appears in this book are anonymized, but it's trivial to re-identify each supplier. Tyson execs hold regular "naming process" meetings where they go through new books and de-anonymize the data. A Butterball exec confirmed that he "can pick the companies for rankings with 100% certainty."

As David Dayen writes in The American Prospect, these books are incredibly detailed: "bird weights, freezer inventory, and 'head killed per operating hour.'" Within the cozy meat cartels, Agri Stats acts as a clearinghouse that allows every business in the industry to act in concert, running the entire meat-packing sector as a single company:

https://prospect.org/power/2023-10-03-lawsuit-highlights-why-meat-overpriced/

As interesting as the list of Agri Stats members is, the groups that don't get to see Agri Stats' "books" is just as important: "farmers, workers, or retailers." Agri Stats also offers consulting services to its members. As an exec at pork processor Smithfield put it, Agri Stats advice boils down to four words "Just raise your price."

Agri Stats ranks its members based on how high their prices are – they literally publish a league table with the highest prices at the top. Meat packers pay bonuses to their execs based on how high the company's rank is on that table. Agri Stats meets with its members throughout the year to discuss "price opportunities" and to advise them to "exercise restraint" by restricting supply to keep prices up. When one Agri Stats member considered leaving the cartel, Agri Stats wooed them back by telling them how to make an additional $100k by raising bacon prices.

The reason Dayen is writing about Agri Stats now is that the DoJ Antitrust Division has brought an antitrust suit against them. This is part of a wave of antitrust actions brought by Biden's DoJ and FTC, who, along with his NLRB, are shaping up to be the most pugnacious, public-interest force against corporate power since the Reagan administration:

https://www.meatpoultry.com/articles/29124-doj-sues-agri-stats-for-complicity-in-meat-market-manipulation

All this enforcement isn't a coincidence. It comes from an explicit rejection of neoliberalism's core tenets: inequality reflects merit, monopolies are efficient, and government can't do anything. In Biden's DoJ, FTC and NLRB, they're partying like it's 1979:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/08/party-its-1979-og-antitrust-back-baby

What's amazing about the Agri Stats conspiracy to raise prices is that it's been going since the Reagan administration. It's a smoking gun proof that "consumer welfare" never cared about price-fixing and robbing the public (can a gun still smoke after 40 years?). There was never a time when consumer welfare antitrust cared about consumer welfare. It was always and forever a front for "a conspiracy against the publick," a "contrivance to raise prices."

Big Meat has been robbing America for two generations. Some of those stolen funds were used to corrupt our political process. The meat sector gets $50 billion in public subsidies and still gouges us on prices and rips off its suppliers:

https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news/2022/02/usda-livestock-subsidies-near-50-billion-ewg-analysis-finds

Which means that it's possible that we're simultaneously being ripped off with meat prices and that meat prices are artificially low. Try and wrap your head around that one!

The do-nothing, pro-monopoly neoliberal antitrust is a virus that spread around the world. The EU's antitrust laws were reshaped to mirror American laws after the war through the Marshall Plan, but since the late 1970s, European lawmakers and enforcers have ignored their own laws (just like their American counterparts) and encouraged monopolies as "efficient."

This Made-in-Europe oligopoly, combined with energy and grain shocks from Russian invasion of Ukraine, created the perfect storm for European greedflation. As food prices spiked across the EU, Austrian hacktivist Mario Zechner set out to investigate Austrian grocers' pricing. Using the grocers' own APIs, he was able to compile and analyze a dataset of prices at Austrian grocers:

https://www.wired.com/story/heisse-preise-food-prices/

When Zechner open-sourced his project, collaborators showed up to expand the project across other EU countries, and an anonymous party donated a huge database of prices stretching back to 2017. The data reveals clear collusion among the grocers, who raise prices in near-lockstep, and use gimmicks like cyclic price drops to hide their collusion:

https://github.com/badlogic/heissepreise

Not every grocer has an API, and even the ones that do have APIs could easily block Zechner and co from accessing their data. When that happens, they could – and should – turn to scraping to continue their project. They should also scrape grocers elsewhere, including in Canada, where grocers rigged the price of bread:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/25/deep-scrape/#steering-with-the-windshield-wipers

Because Big Meat's "conspiracy against the publick" isn't unique to meat. It's in all our food, it's in all our goods, it's in all our services. The fact that the meat industry was able to rob American buyers, ranchers and farmers for two generations under a 200' tall neon sign that blinked "AGRI STATS AGRI STATS AGRI STATS" night and day is frankly astonishing.

But there's never just one ant. If the meatheads running Big Meat were able to do this in broad daylight since the NES years, imagine what all the other industries were able to get up to in the shadows.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/04/dont-let-your-meat-loaf/#meaty-beaty-big-and-bouncy

My next novel is The Lost Cause, a hopeful novel of the climate emergency. Amazon won't sell the audiobook, so I made my own and I'm pre-selling it on Kickstarter!

#pluralistic #meat #monoopoly #price fixing #antitrust #austria #mario zechner #scraping #adversarial interoperability #greedflation #price inflation #market power #david dayen #agri stats #meat packers

[thislovintime]

Peter Tork, Davy Jones, and Micky Dolenz with Ben Savage, Rider Strong, Jeff Sherman, Danielle Fishel, and Rhino managing director Harold Bronson on the set of the Boy Meets World episode “Rave On” (aired on November 17, 1995). Photos by ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images, and unknown.

“‘I’ve sung Monkees songs all my life,’ quips Tork, 53, between chomps of a candy bar on the ‘Boy Meets World’ set in Hollywood. ‘I had almost forgotten how [to sing other songs]. I have never sung anything else in 30 years. In the shower, I sing nothing but Monkees songs. The same songs over and over. I sing all the parts. That’s all I ever sing.’

Well, not really. In fact, Tork released his own album this year, ‘Stranger Things Have Happened.’ ‘It’s kind of middle-of-the-road, up pop,’ he says. ‘Micky and [ex-Monkee] Mike Nesmith sing backup on a couple of songs. If it isn’t available in your local record store, you can get it by calling 1-800-Not-Ribs-0!’

In the ‘Rave On’ episode, Cory (Ben Savage) and Eric (Will Fredel) enlist the help of three of their parents’ friends (guess who?) after their plans to combine an underground party and a surprise wedding anniversary party backfire.

‘I was in the show last year playing the same character,’ says Tork, who plays Jedidiah, the father of Cory’s love interest, Topanga (Danielle Fishel). Dolenz also has previously been on the series as family friend Gordy.

‘My thing is I am, like, some guy who shows up [that] the parents had met 20 years ago,’ offers Jones, 49. ‘I sort of, like, house crash.’

The reason?

‘I’m here to protect you,’ he says wryly.

‘He’s the eldest, you see,’ pipes in Jones. ‘You probably figured that out.’

Yes, your birth dates were printed on the back of your first album, ‘The Monkees.’

‘They lied [about my age],’ Tork confesses. ‘They lied because they didn’t want anybody 24 [in the group].’

‘I didn’t realize that,’ says Jones, the youngest. ‘What’s your name again?’

‘George Harrison,’ Tork deadpans.

[...] The trio still seem to exude the goofy chemistry that endeared them to millions of teeny-boppers in 1966. Sitting in the empty bleacher area of the darkened sound stage, the group jokes and banters around. Though Tork has already chatted with the set visitor, he’s decided to sit in with Dolenz and Jones.

So what’s it like to be performing together and not playing the Monkees?

‘That’s all I have ever done in my life is to play a character,’ replies Dolenz, 50, who sports a tiny ponytail. ‘The Monkees was a character I played.’

‘No! No!,’ Tork retorts. ‘You were that character.’

Dolenz looks up at Tork. ‘Are you going to do this interview for me?,’ he says with mock disdain. ‘Thank you.’

‘I am here to keep the record straight,’ Tork says with a smile.

‘I always approached [the Monkees] as a part I was playing,’ Dolenz says. ‘I remember Bob Rafelson, the director and creator, talking about it and the original brief on my part was Jerry Lewis. They wanted a Jerry Lewis-type. They wanted a Huntz Hall-type. They wanted a Will Rogers-type.’

‘And,’ Jones interrupts, ‘a Peter Tork-type.’

‘You’ve got to remember, the reality was that the Monkees was not a band,’ Dolenz continues. ‘But a TV show about a band. We became a band in every sense of the word. But we do a lot of acting. Peter just did a thing on “Wings,” didn’t you?’

‘Yep,’ Tork replies. (Tork’s appearance as himself on ‘Wings’ airs Tuesday.)

‘I just did “The Love Bug” for a movie-of-the-week,’ Dolenz says. ‘I’m doing a series for USA called “Pacific Blue” where I play the mayor of Santa Monica. I’m also directing.’

Though Jones isn’t a big fan of sitcoms, doing ‘Boy Meets World’ is ‘a fabulous way of getting exposure’ for their upcoming 30th-anniversary tour.

‘What I find so incredible,’ Dolenz concludes, ‘is the entire project only lasted two years. I have had dinner parties that were longer than the original project. And here we are!’” - Los Angeles Times, November 12, 1995

//

“The networks and studio then (stupidly) told me the Monkees appearance was not be ‘an event’ for them unless I could get all four. Did I mention networks can be stupid? They ordered me to enlist Mike Nesmith, too. Micky had warned me this would never happen, but I valiantly tried; called Mike Nesmith at home. He listened to my pitch and, after a rather long moment of silence, in his slow Texan drawl, he flatly told me, ‘I'd really rather not.’ Micky explained that, for years, Mike was not very anxious to appear as a Monkee -- he'd moved on. [...]

Maybe a half-hour before our evening taping, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a tall, lanky fellow with dark glasses and big sideburns slip by me and into the dressing room area. Michael Nesmith had shown up! All four of the Monkees were here in the same place -- for the very first time in years and years. I could see them through the little window to the area, shaking hands, hugging, laughing. Unbelievable!

As a major Monkees nut from when the show originally aired on NBC, this was dreamlike. I couldn't figure it out. Mike told me there was no way he wanted any part of this. My friend, Harold Bronson, who co-founded and was running Rhino Records (and arguably the biggest Monkees fan in the world, next to me), explained to me that Rhino had recently re-released all the Monkees albums on CD and they had all gone multi platinum. Because the guys were all going to be gathered, he invited Mike down to take photos with Davy, Micky and Peter backstage on our set with their platinum records!

My boss, Michael Jacobs, found me gawking through the window, slapped my back and said, ‘Sherm? Go get him!’ He said that Mike Nesmith was physically here in this building and, as a producer, it was my duty to go get him to appear with the other guys. I explained, again, that Nesmith had turned us down. He repeated, ‘Get! Him!’ He literally pushed me through the door.

Sort of awestruck and scared at the same time, I paced up to the four guys. Micky saw me and said, ‘Hey Jeff, come meet Mike!’ I came over, shook his hand and introduced myself as the fellow who'd called him a couple of weeks ago. He stared at me a beat, then half nodded. Mike went back to talking to Micky and the guys. It was very warm between all of them. It was truly beautiful. I heard them talking about maybe going into a rehearsal hall together, ‘See what we sound like,’ Mike said.

My mouth dropped open. This was rock 'n roll history and I was standing right there witnessing it. All the guys were really into it, started making plans of when and where. I didn't want to interrupt this, sort of backed away. Turning, I saw my boss staring at me through the window, insistently pointing at Mike. I took a deep breath, walked back up. Mike slowly turned to me. I said something like, ‘So, Mike, you know we're shooting the show in a couple of minutes. Since you're here and since it would be such an incredible --’

‘I'd really rather not,’ he twanged. He stared me down, then returned to chatting with Davy, Micky and Peter about an out of the way rehearsal hall he knew about where no one would bother them. I backed out of the room, through the swinging door and Michael Jacobs said, ‘Well?!’ I explained that Nesmith did not want to be on our show. Michael explained that no one ever wants to do these things, but it was my job as a producer to get back in there and convince him. Two network people walked up and seconded that.

Fearing my job was on the line, I took a deep breath and went back in. Covering my abject fear and loathing with a nervous grin, I slowly walked back up to the guys who were all excitedly talking about meeting up and jamming. Micky, then Davy, then Peter saw me nearing again. I never got a word out. The last one to turn, very slowly and deliberately, was Mike Nesmith. Laser beams were shooting from his eyes through my soul. He slapped his knees, slowly stood WAY up and said one last time, definitively, slowly and with a deeper tone -- ‘I'd... really... rather... not.’ I think I maybe whimpered ‘'K,’ gave a wimpy finger salute and somehow escaped from the room.

Emerging again, my boss, the network folks and now our entire staff moved back from watching me through the portal. ‘Well!?’

‘He'd... really rather not,’ I sighed, and hurried off to look for something to drink and update my resume.

The rest of the night was dreamlike. The whole week was, in fact. It was electric rock 'n roll literally and emotionally in that t.v. studio. Great laughs, great energy. Everyone there knew this was a rare and special night. Even the moments with actor Dave Madden (Manager ‘Reuben Kincaid’ from The Partridge Family) were huge laughs. Everything was perfect.

Nesmith never did appear on the episode, but it was incredibly thrilling to see Micky, Davy and Peter perform live together. They sang live to playback tracks they'd recorded together earlier in the week -- and YES -- they really played and sang and REALLY PLAYED AND SANG amazingly at the session. I was there. What great musicians and vocalists they were together. What classic interplay and rhythm in their acting, as well! The episode was incredible and got huge, huge ratings. [...] I hope people will go back and watch the ‘Rave On!’ episode -- and think -- Mike Nesmith was just maybe 50 feet away!” - Art Brodsky, Huffington Post, March 4, 2012

#Peter Tork #Davy Jones #David Jones #Micky Dolenz #Michael Nesmith #The Monkees #Monkees #Boy Meets World #Boy Meets World: Rave On #1995 #1990s #1990s TV #Ben Savage #Rider Strong #long read #Jeff Sherman #90s Tork #<3 #Danielle Fishel #et al #Jedediah Lawrence #also one fave deadpanning a shoutout to another fave #really long read #but it's next to impossible to edit this down (particularly the second article) #sorry this is such a lengthy read #Los Angeles Times #Huffington Post #can you queue it

[maria-rayro]

School!au, heclie. part 2/?

One day Charlie pisses off Manny, and he waits for him after school and beats him up. Lonnit had gone through a similar experience in his previous high school... for some reason he was always seen as a nice punching bag. He sits on the curb, beaten and sad, his bike lying next to him, and he doesn't want to go home because his mom will get upset again. Hector watches him from the sidelines for a while, silent, and then, cursing his curiosity (and his crush, but he hasn't realized it's a crush yet; it's just that when Charlie walked into class, all so light and warm, in those silly glasses and a tie, his heart skipped a beat or two, and he somehow felt an urgent need to drink some water), he heads straight for him.

Hector helps him up and listens to him, walking with him all the way home, and this is... strange, of course. He's never done anything like this before. Anyway, yes, this is his first love, and he's confused. Charles looks grateful and smiles.

Because of him, Hector is late after school and comes home later than he should, for which he gets punished. But he doesn't worry about it; he's sure that even if he had come on time, his mother would still have found something to punish him for.

He and Charles begin to communicate little by little. Hector listens to everything Charlie tells him. He's always quiet, but he shows his interest in other ways: for example, defending him from Sherman, or taking him to some of his favorite places. At the same time, he can't help but notice that Charles communicates not only with him, but also with Mark, and it... oh, it makes him feel terrible, though he can't understand why.

He must have been acting too obviously tense during their walk after school that day (Lucinda is at work, he can take his time getting home), and Charles asks him what happened, expectantly getting no answer. Lonnit sighs. "Hector, really, what's wrong? Don't be silent, I beg you, say something," he says, trying to look Munday in the eye. The brunet stubbornly averts his gaze, his lips tense.

Charles still manages to stand up so that Hector looks at him, and Lonnit smiles softly, looking at him with a puppy dog look. Munday sighs. "Why were you talking with Mark?" the question sounds a little harsh and rude.

Charlie blinks in surprise. "Because he's my friend," he shrugs. "And you're my friend, too," he adds, smiling.

Hector is not satisfied with being a friend "too". He wants to be the only person Charles needs. But he doesn't say that, of course. He remains silent and smiles nervously.

He continues to occasionally watch from the sidelines how Charles interacts with others, with Mark. And he notices to himself that he is most disgusted when Charles is touched. When Mark hugs him, pats him on the shoulder, rubs his hair. It all makes Hector just clench his fists and turn away proudly with his lips pressed together. And in the evening, it makes him imagine how he could have touched Charles, too. But he wasn't used to this appearance of feeling, so he couldn't found bravery... he wanted to hint, somehow, so that Charlie would do it himself...

One day they were sitting together in a secluded place near the school - one of the ones that Munday had shown Charles - and Lonnit was saying something about his day, and suddenly he mentioned that Mark had taken his picture. To Hector's confused look, Charlie explained that Nestor was learning how to take portraits, and Kate and Jamie were busy and couldn't help him, so he agreed to lend a hand.

It was as if Hector had an itch under his skin. He wanted to ask if Mark had touched his face, but he knew how stupid and inappropriate that would sound, so he just kept quiet.

After a while, Lucinda snapped at him and slightly exceeded the usual level of violence that Hector had managed to adjust to, and so the next day the guy just looks and feels like a nightmare. His shoulder blades ache, his head hurts, and his arms are pierced with pain from any fleeting rubbing against the fabric of his shirt.

"Hector, are you okay?" asked Charles at one point when they were already sitting in their place after school. "You look just... especially pale? Maybe I should walk you home?"

"No!" says Hector somewhat sharply and a little more emotionally than he would have want.

Charlie looks at him anxiously, and then suddenly reaches out and gently touches his shoulder. "Hector, I... heard some rumors about your mother," Lonnit timidly begins. Munday's defenses kick in and he pulls away sharply, wrinkling his nose at the mention of Lucinda. Charlie looks at him sadly. "Look... I get that you don't want to talk about it, that you don't want to feel vulnerable and all that, but Hector... I'm your close friend, aren't I? You can trust me," he says, looking up at him with honest, puppy-dog eyes.

Hector presses his lips together, feeling utterly powerless in front of that stare. He looks away somewhat bashfully. "I don't like to talk," he says, and he hears Charles sigh sadly. Munday thinks for a few moments, and then suddenly lifts his shirt somewhat twitchily, showing silently the marks on his back. He holds the fabric for a couple of moments while Charlie silently examines his bruises, and then puts his hand down, letting the fabric cover everything up again.

"Oh, Hector... that's terrible, did you... did you go to the nurse? Look, I can get some ointment for the bruises tomorrow, that should help, though in general I'd rather you go to the police with it, but I'm already guessing you won't, so... yes, the ointment," he says anxiously quickly.

"Hug me," the words suddenly come from Hector's lips, quite spontaneously, out of place. He doesn't immediately realize what he's just said.

Charles doesn't seem to realize what he has just heard either, but after a few seconds he readily stands up and approaches him, first gently touching his shoulder to make him turn around and then enclosing him in a warm, gently hug.

Hector feels odd and a little embarrassed. At first he just keeps standing there, somewhat awkwardly, not hugging his friend back, but then Charlie suddenly touches his arm and guides it a little higher, clearly hinting. Munday hesitantly places his palms on his back, and Charles exhales with a smile, relaxing a little, and begins stroking Hector's back. "You'll be fine, Hector," he says, resting his head on his shoulder.

Munday is suddenly struck by a completely irrational fear, and he abruptly squeezes Charles's body in his arms, pulling him closer, and he groans a little surprised.

"Whoa, whoa, okay, boy, it's okay, but you're about to strangle me... we should cuddle more often, right?" utters Lonnit with a smile, but Hector keeps squeezing him like if Charles pulls away, he'll die. In the end, Lonnit just resigns himself, letting him do it.

He just hopes that Hector will feel better. And it works.

#charlie lonnit #hector x charlie #hector munday #heclie #tdim #the devil in me

[melchron]

Nightmare Time 2 Episode 3 Thoughts

I didn't get a chance to do this last time so I'm doing it now because I really do love these episodes

MIAH?!?!?!?

Can we talk about how good Jaime is at making music videos? This and Where I Wanna Be are amazing

Ok but where did Jaime get those Care Bear plushies? They look like they're from the iteration I grew up with and I want them

Jeff sounds SO good

If I remember correctly, Jaime said that Andrew noticed her nips in the bathtub scene and she had to edit them out. Thank god he caught that omg. And great editing on Jaime's part.

I love how passionate Frank is about Toyzone. He truly cares for this place.

OOOOUuUuUTT!!!

Death to Bezos

This is so TRAGIC!!!! Not Buddy please no!

I wish Miss Retro's was real so bad it feels like the most vibey place ever. This is the type of place teens in 80s movies hang out. Mutuals I want to be teens in 80s movies with.

STAAHP I'M SAAD

Jaime is so good as Sherman

Sugar Gliders seems like something I would have LOVED when I was little. Honestly I'd probably still enjoy it now.

Frank that is weird to say that right in front of Sherman

SHERMAN DON'T SAY THAT

I want his dino bowtie so much

Don't shame me!

Oh hello Lurch Marco

Ok but can we talk about how next episode we see how quickly the CaliforMIA trio had to grow up because of their financial circumstance. Like Sherman isn't wrong in his statement but his thinking behind it is

Call him out Holloway

Frank I love you but that was a douche move. She has mouths to feed at home!

"I'm not going anywhere." Can anyone tell me what foreshadowing is?

Oh uh uh I do not like this. Bad vibes. Bad vibes! Shelia stop that right now. Please don't treat Frank like your servant. Not the black man, you rich white woman.

Oh hi Becky :D

SheLIA WHAT THE HECK HE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING

PLEASE HE'S SUFFERED ENOUGH

Why do I want all of Sherman's stuff? Gimme the dino jammies!

YES TELL HER OFF FRANK

WAIT STOP SHERMAN DID NOTHING WRONG! DON'T TAKE HIS STUFF!!

Do you think Sheila's ever gone "Pull the lever, Marco. WRONG LEVER!" Because I do

It's a nightmare TIME. Get it right Frank

BARRY SWIFT!?!?! This name works on multiple levels and I love it. It works as a pun and a Flash reference.

Stop I'm sad again

Two weeks and your done grieving?

I wish rich people would do more cool stuff with their money! They're so boring and stupid. Give me your money if you're not going to use it properly

Oh hello Feast Or Famine

#Barlen #Helry #OTPIAH

The acting skills Frank

This episode is making me miss Toys R Us. Or when I went on my monthly trips to Claire's for Shopkins

I do kinda feel bad for Sherman in all of this. It's not his fault he was raised to believe he deserved his privilege simply because he was born with it. Frank really could've made him better if Shelia allowed him to

Shelia is brutal. She really didn't need to kill Ted

Frank is so good. He meant it when he told Barry that they were both making it out. He really wanted to and tried his best. And him saying sorry to Lex-

M-Make?!

So is Shelia part of the cult herself or does she just have access to it through Sherman's father

"I did." SHE THOUGHT! GET HER!

Frank: 👁👄👁

So like. does he have to get re-enrolled into school or?

Sherman. Babe. I know you're experience with being parented isn't the best but they don't usually do whatever you want them to

Yall Corey killed it. Never did I think I'd care about Frank this much

I LOVE NEEDY BEAST SO MUCH!

THRASH IS SO FUNNY! THIS FIGHT IS SO FUNNY! LITERALLY NO ONE IS DOING ANYTHING

Wait I just remembered the end! Kale's introduction is tragic actually. He just wants to die

Hey! Dennys is for the theater kids! Not the punk rockers!

This flirting is so awkward. They both think they're so edgy. Calm down sweeties

Not the "Hiya, Duke. Thanks for coming." Dblwjhslfnjd so he's that type of dad

I love Duke. He's trying not to overwhelm Rose and trying to make her feel comfortable with him. He's showing he has similar interests and trying to make her laugh and showing her that he'll listen. He's good at his job!

Rose looks like she's trying so hard to hide her fear. She looks so uncomfortable but she has to keep up the punk front. Guys she doesn't care at all trust her

What's wrong with Barbie, Rosarie?

Yo Holloway kinda scary ngl

She read you like a book and ripped you to shreds dang

Rose is adorable

God I forgot how demonic the killer track actually sounded. OOUOUUWAAHAHAHAH Jeff understood the assignment jeez

Shh bby don't think. Eat your pie. Everything's ok

The mess up in blowing out the candle

Duke. My guy. We all have the same knowledge you do.

DUKE! MY GUY! LISTEN TO HER!

Why doesn't he just like. move?

This must've been the craziest night for Rose. She met a witch and is now (in her eyes) responsible for her death

KITTY! So much pet lore this season

What??

Duke: :0

CAME TO HATCHETFIELD FROM WHERE?!?!???

Aww she keeps telling him even though she knows he'll never remember :(

Dude that's so much smoke!

HAILEY-

Wait why does she have honey for that?

Ted let me see you be kinder to your brother first and then we'll see about your own kids

POTSEED!!

THRASH IS SO FUNNY! I LOVE HIM AND COURTNEY! I LOVE THEIR VOICES!

Kale kinda cute ngl

Yes 👏👏 the character arc we needed. They're done being try-hard edgelords

Kale does not seem like he's strong enough to punch her that hard. Did the killer track give you super strength? I'm guessing since he also knocked out the audio guy

Skud looks like he has no idea what's going on (and tbf no one does). Thrash is stressed out of his mind. Needy Beast is funny

This music video is so great!!!!!

Noooo I don't want Kale to die :( I wanted him to get help!!

Rose: 👁👄👁

Holloway!!! Letting him have his moment of glory

This is SO. TRAGIC. Holloduke is tragic guys

Soooo what kind of potential do we have with Holloway Holiday working at Hannah's school?

I LOVE THIS VERSION OF THE THEME SO MUCH! I recorded the end of it back in November and I love listening to it every once in a while. The. Vibes. Also Irish Becky is back!

#starkid #hatchetfield #nightmare time #nmt2 daddy #killer track #nightmare time 2 #nightmare time spoilers #nightmare time 2 spoilers #mel thinks thoughts #long post #melchron the good book

[sheloooveswomen]

names - headcanon

masterlist

prompt: the meaning/origin of their names + their reactions to the definitions. i gave them middle names sorry if you hate them. i used google to find ones i saw fitting the character.

includes: billie dean howard, lana winters, cordelia goode, sally mckenna, audrey tindall, ally mayfair-richards, wilhemina venable, diane sherman, alice macray, mildred ratched, tammy, and xandra terrell.

☆ billie dean howard ☆

name:

• BILLIE = determination, strength

• DEAN = leader

• HOWARD = high defender, chief guardian, noble watchman

reaction:

• she wears a cocky smirk the whole time you read it out

• "We already know I'm in charge, babydoll. Now we know it's been destined since birth."

☆ lana winters ☆

name:

• LANA = shining light, sun ray, calm as still waters, precious, little rock, gentle, soft, tender

• MAUDE = powerful battler

• WINTERS = descendent of winter, time of water in german, in the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain it was a name for a person born in the wintertime having derived from the Old English word wintar meaning wet season

reaction:

• blushes as you define her first name

• feels a sense of pride and surprise for her middle name

• "Wet season? I could have lived without that."

☆ cordelia goode ☆

name:

• CORDELIA = heart, daughter of the sea(-god), jewel of the sea

• PRIMROSE = first rose (of spring)

• GOODE = begins in the days of the Anglo-Saxon tribes in Britain, it was a name for a person who performed good deeds or acts of kindness

reaction:

• she's an astrology girl so similar to her zodiac she loves learning the meaning behind her name and connecting it to her personality/life

• very thoughtful look on her face as you define her name

• "Why does my name sound made up?"

☆ sally mckenna ☆

name:

• LUCILLE = light

• no middle name

• MCKENNA = born of fire, fiery love

reaction:

• scrunches her nose when you call her lucille, she always hated it

• she was nicknamed 'Silly' when she was a kid because she was always goofing off, overtime it transformed into 'Sally' and she stuck to it

• "Born of fire and died in this hell hole? The universe is a cruel mistress."

☆ audrey tindall ☆

name:

• AUDREY = noble strength

• FAYE = fairy, loyalty

• TINDALL = modern version of tynedale, the valley of the river Tyne in Northumberland, derived from the Celtic word tina meaning 'to flow' and the old English word doel meaning 'valley'

reaction:

• "I am rather like a fairy, aren't I?"

• “You looked this up?! You’re so cute.”

☆ ally mayfair-richards ☆

name:

• ALLYSON = noble, exalted

• COLETTE = people of victory, victorious

• MAYFAIR = an exclusive residential/fashionable district in the West End of London, named after an annual fair held in the district until 1708

• RICHARDS = powerful, brave, ruler

reaction:

• loves the history aspect of her last name, must do research on her own

• "I wonder if my family has any genuine connection to that area."

☆ wilhemina venable ☆

name:

• WILHEMINA = resolute protection, wil meaning will/desire and helm meaning helmet/protection.

• ANNEMIE = he (God) has favored me, bitter grace, favor, sea of bitterness, drop of the sea, star of the sea, rebelliousness, exalted one, wished for child

• VENABLE = hunting ground, a derivative of venari 'to hunt', habitational name from a place called Venables in Eure, France

reaction:

• her first name is dutch/german so i did the same for her middle name

• "Hm...bitter grace? Fitting."

• secretly loves that you put the time into learning about her name

• MINA means love, this makes her roll her eyes dangerously hard

☆ diane sherman ☆

name:

• DIANE = divine, heavenly

• MARA = bitter in hebrew, joy in arabic

• SHERMAN = shearer of woolen garments

reaction:

• tries to hide her grin when you emphasize divine and heavenly

• "So I'm the descendent of wool shearers? I do like to knit so I guess that's something."

☆ alice macray ☆

name:

• ALICE = noble, truth, kind

• MARIGOLD = golden flower

• MACRAY = a name for a prosperous person, Gaelic form of the surname MacRay is Mac Rath, which literally means son of grace or son of prosperity

reaction:

• has you read it again, makes her all smiley

• "Marigold was my great grandmother, love her but mixed emotions on the name."

☆ mildred ratched ☆

name:

• MILDRED = gentle strength

• LOIS = superior, most beautiful, most desirable, renowned fighter, warrior maiden

• RATCHED = i couldn't find anything ?

reaction:

• rolls her eyes and nudges your shoulder when you draw out most desirable

• "I actually made up ratched when I got older. I read it in a book somewhere, can't remember but I liked it. Thought it was tough.

☆ tammy ☆

name:

• TAMARA = palm tree

• EDITH = rich, happy

• ROBINSON = son of robin, bright with fame

reaction:

• son of robin makes her laugh

• "I'm a rich and happy palm tree. All my dreams have come true."

☆ xandra terrell ☆

name:

• ALEXANDRA = helper, defender

• FAUVE = wild, uninhibited

• TERRELL = was a name for a stubborn or obstinate person, derived from the Old French word tirer, which means to draw

reaction:

• "Wild? Sure. Uninhibited...? Maybe. But I am not stubborn. Would you say I'm stubborn? Actually don't answer that."

#sarah paulson #american horror story #billie dean howard #ahs murder house #lana winters #ahs asylum #cordelia goode #cordelia foxx #ahs coven #sally mckenna #ahs hotel #audrey tindall #ahs roanoke #wilhemina venable #ahs apocalypse #mildred ratched #alice macray #mrs america #ocean’s 8 #xandra terrell

[cheerfulmelancholies]

Mysterious New Member-Chapter 4

Tezz suppressed a yawn as he closed down his computer's windows. The program he'd been running couldn't quite interpret what the markings meant, but the closest it had come was comparing them to Greek, though even that was a stretch based on some of them. An odd finding for symbols found etched on the walls of an alien structure. He was certain to have quite a few sleepless nights trying to figure it out. Tonight, however, would not be one of them. He exited his lab to go get some shuteye.

The following morning saw the team able to eat breakfast and go about their morning routines before a Storm Shock opened later in the afternoon. Vert, Tezz, Sherman and Spinner, Agura, and Stanford blasted through the portal to find themselves in the middle of a jungle-like Zone. They were immediately greeted by Kalus and his Vandals, who wanted a rematch from their last fight and were rather at home in the environment.

Roughly forty minutes later, with some well-played moves on BF5's part, the Vandals were once again beaten and the team rode through the Earth portal with the Key.

Vert sealed the portal and returned to the Saber, spirits high.

"Man, kicking Vandal butt sure makes a guy hungry," Stanford commented. "Who's up for dinner at Zeke's?"

"Only if it's an extra large, everything topping pizza with anchovies and pickles," Sherman replied, licking his lips.

"Come on, little bro! You can't put anchovies on pizza. I can accept everything else but that."

As the rest of his team bickered about the best choice for pizza toppings, Vert led the way back to base. After dropping off the Key and gathering the others, they headed out to Zeke's Diner.

They finished two hours later and while they were still getting out of their usual booth, a deep, uneven rumble sounded from just outside.

Stanford, having been closest to the window, parted the blinds to take a look. He gasped.

"What's wrong?" Vert asked, turning round to see the red-head's face lose some of its color.

"Isn't that our little spitfire pulling up?"

Vert and Zoom moved between the others to look. There the jet black Camaro sat, a space away from the Tangler, engine grumbling. Its paint was freshly waxed and it looked pristine as ever.

The scout was the first to speak. "What should we do? I really don't wanna get in her way again after the last time."

"Just cool it, guys. This is just a diner, there's nothing weird about us being here. Act natural, okay?" Vert backed away from the blinds before she could spot him.

"I take it that's the girl you chased down by mistake?" Agura asked, not missing the way the three boys' expressions changed to sheepish.

"We told her it was just a misunderstanding," Vert explained. "Besides, this is all just a coincidence." Was it though? The town she was headed towards was in the opposite direction of Handler's Corners. There was no logical reason for her to be all the way out here. Still, he wouldn't lose his cool. They were in their street clothes and as far as anyone was concerned, they were nothing more than a bunch of young adults with project cars. As long as they didn't seem suspicious, she'd have little reason to confront them.

He led the way out of the diner, striding out like he hadn't just been spooked. He eyed the Camaro as it idled several spots down. He pretended not to take notice and hopped into the Saber. As the others got into their cars and Zoom his bike, Vert spared another glance at the odd one out. He could tell Agura was wary as the Tangler lowered her seat, and as she sat down she gave a not-so-subtle stare at the Camaro next to her.

The tinted windows revealed nothing.

Vert backed out and hit the road, the others following shortly after. When they were no longer in sight of the diner he relaxed.

"Well, that was weird," Spinner said when the silence became too much. "I thought you said she was mad at you."

"She was," Vert answered. "Maybe she got a little frightened at the sight of all of us."

"I'm just glad she didn't get out to confront us," said Stanford.

Agura hummed. "What was she even doing there though? She lives miles away from Handler's Corners."

"We have no proof she actually lives there," Tezz piped in. "Perhaps she was visiting family and stopped by at Zeke's on the way back. We don't know anything about her. It's possible she may live in Handler's Corners and we're just unaware of it."

"Let's just try not to let it get to us," Sherman warned. "After the last time..."

Vert didn't miss the dig. "You're right, Sherm. Let's just forget about it." They sped in the direction of home.

Sometime into the evening, Sage called them down. "I have picked up another anomaly," she said, bringing up a screen. "I'm sending the location to your cars. Be careful, whatever it is, it's mobile."

The team nodded and ran to their vehicles.

"It's heading East," Agura reported, eyes on her dash.

"Now it's going South," said Sherman.

"Northwest," Tezz said seconds later. He scrutinized his screens. "That can't be right... Its output is dropping. If we do not reach it soon, it will vanish again."

"Alright, guys, full throttle!" Vert charged ahead. He steered the Saber in the direction of the anomaly, changing course whenever it did. Eventually, his sensors stopped picking it up. "Speed up," he called, slamming the accelerator. He would not let them get away again.

Sherman frowned at his dash. "I got nothing, Vert. It's gone."

"Over there!" The Tangler swerved left and raced towards a car with its lights off. A black car.

"Is that...?" Vert turned on his high beams. It was a Camaro. He grit his teeth.

"Her trajectory matches that of the anomaly's last known location," Tezz supplied.

"I knew it... After her."

The entirety of the Battle Force was after her, perhaps that was why she slowed to a stop and allowed them to catch up. She kept the engine running just in case, though they made no move to surround her this time. She watched the leader–the blonde guy from before–take determined strides towards her. She rolled her window down.

"Having another identity crisis?" she questioned his disgruntled visage. "How many jet black Camaros do you know?"

"You've got some explaining to do," he responded. "We've been getting some weird readings out here and they're coming from you."

She quirked a brow. "What's the matter? Haven't you ever been rejected before?"

"Her car is still letting off some unusual energy," came Tezz as he approached. "It's strange, the frequency doesn't fully match that of the anomaly moments ago, but it is still impossible for an ordinary car to cause such a thing." He came to a stop next to Vert. "Perhaps you are not aware, but there is something different about your Camaro in particular."

She gave him an unimpressed look. "Yeah, no kidding. Every time I drive it I get chased down by a bunch of desert weirdos. Hell if I know why."

"We aren't trying to hurt you, it's just that-" He had to step back to avoid taking the door to the abdomen while she got out.

Tezz, who had been too busy fiddling with his scanner, wasn't so lucky.

"I don't know what you call running people off the road, but where I'm from that's a pretty hostile move." Slapping Tezz's arm, she added, "Get that thing away from me and my car or else I'll put it somewhere that was better left unknown." She gave them all a wary glance. "Who are you people?"

"We're just, uh, filming for a movie," Spinner said from atop the Buster. He gulped when she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Do you really think I'm that stupid? I'll ask you again. Who are you and why. Are. You. Chasing. Me?" She looked back at Vert. "What kind of 'readings' are you even talking about?"

"Um..."

"And what do you mean my car's abnormal? You're the ones with project cars gone wrong. That one has a snow plow in the desert," she said, gesturing to AJ. "Just what are you freaks up to?"

Vert contemplated what to do. He couldn't keep playing the fool, they'd gotten too involved now. He glanced back to the others to find them just as lost. He sighed. "Maybe you should come with us. We can explain everything back at our base."

She laughed, the sound strained and hysterical at the same time. "Seriously? I'm not following you creeps back to your 'base.' I don't need to watch too much TV to know that's a bad idea. I'll take my chances out here, thanks." She made to get back into her car.

"There must be some reason you're out here," Tezz argued. "Aren't you looking for answers?" She gave him an odd look that he couldn't interpret.

"Depends whether or not you actually have any," she said after a pause.

"I think we will," Vert answered, "but we can't give them out here. If you come with us, we'll explain everything."

She glared at him, wary. "Diana," she said at last. "Diana Linden."

"I'm Vert Wheeler. And this is my team." He pointed out the rest of the Battle Force one by one, watching her nod after each introduction. "We're the good guys, okay?"

She pursed her lips. "Lead the way," she said as she fell back into her seat. "But if any of you tries something, I'm bolting."

He nodded and headed back to the Saber, motioning for Tezz to follow. They took off, the Camaro trailing back a few paces, and rode to the Hub.

Chapter 5: here

Chapter 3: here

#my writing #hot wheels battle force 5 #bf5 #fanfic #writers on tumblr #creative writing #mysterious new member

[carolingarts]

OVERWORKED my little fan project averages about 300 views per little snippet (with a couple of them about 500) and while that might depress some people and I'd like big numbers, I do freelance entertainment journalism so I know that even the most minor view counts that go above like, 50 views can still result in a profit. I see some people like it regularly but at this point I just want to build up my little dudes. So this post is all about ocs and character takes/headcanon!

WHO ARE THE MAIN PLAYERS IN OVERWORKED?

Sammy Lawrence (pre-ink ish), Pete Bixby, a sound engineer and Foley artist as well as a longtime member of the studio music department, and Alan Sterling - the director of an unnamed (and lost to time and canon cough cough) bendy short.

PETE AND ALAN?

Let's talk about Alan first.

Alan is originally from Kansas (specifically Lawrence Kansas) who grew up poor with his father a coal miner who attempted to unionize the mine he worked in and succeeded (sort of). This unusually liberal idea left Hank Sterling and his family persona non grata so they were ousted from town and moved to California where Alan was drafted but ended up drawing cartoons for Stars and Stripes because of his bad eyesight.

Alan learned teamwork from the army, and came back working for several studios where he followed in his dad's footsteps working for workers rights in animation studios. He married his wife Katherine (kitty) and they have twins, a boy and a girl named William and Elizabeth.

Alan is tenacious, brave, noble,takes no shit, and will die to defend his people but he tends to inspire with grand speeches but make stupid decisions. He's also blind as a bat which is bad news bears when your whole gig is drawing tiny pictures. He lives in fear of people finding out. To hide this he may or may not have a massive savior complex.

PETE BIXBY -

Pete started at JDS because his whole family has a background in theater. His father is an aspiring playwright who makes a living on Broadway as a stagehand, his mother is a costume designer of some renown in off Broadway shows and the family legend is that he has a grandfather who was a famous vaudeville magician.

He's genuinely funny and he'd be a great 'gag man' but he's pretty happy making stupid noises and doing cutting edge work taking Sammy's scores and Jack's songs and working with a couple of other guys in the music department to synch them and print them on film.

He's well liked by the guys at the studio and had a vague knowledge of Henry and how it used to be easier while he was here.

Mr. Drew's ink machine has thrown a wrench into his carefully orchestrated (ha get it) life by making his own job difficult thanks to pipes and leaking ink through electrical sockets. He learned the hard way not to touch it when Sherman (another engineer) got shocked pretty bad. Ever since then he and the other sound guys wear gloves and masks when using the equipment. It's pretty bad back there and that shit *stinks*.

They also have to keep the place clean ironically when the actors come into record and cover up the worst leaks with any posters they can scavenge.

Despite the extra work he's grown closer with the music department then he ever expected to since the ink keeps flooding the stairwell and they end up working late under Sammy's directions. Because they're stuck down there they're cut off from the rest of the studio unless animation interrupts their work which is *the most important*. Anybody can make shit move but they make them talk. Can animation do that? No. Fuck um.

It's not like anyone cares with them stuck down there anyway. They can keep themselves entertained just fine and hell their output is better than most anyway...

Except people say he's acting weird and they're acting weird but worst of all Sammy's acting weird. What the fuck.

SAMMY/MUSIC DEPARTMENT HCs

Just not this.

ANYWAY! Headcanons for my au!

SAMMY'S GOT A HISTORY OF TRAUMA - I feel like this is pretty common in Sammy Aus but he's got an obsessive need to please that he keeps to himself purely to because he's afraid to open himself to others. He defines his personality through his hyperfixation (music) and pleasing powerful figures.

This manifests in treating others like garbage because he defines his worth by his own output and the simple fact is he can't do it alone. **THAT SAID** He prefers to do so by inspiring individuals. In TIOL Joey describes Sammy's musicians as worshipping him.

Joey's a canonical liar and his musicians are grown ass adults but if I'm charting the ink's corruption I'm pretty sure the music department got hit first. It plays up people's emotions and insecurities. Before it attacked people individually (if their personalities were loud enough to warrant it) it manifested that sense of emotional support that came from being a unit.

(I just keep thinking about 'we couldn't get out of our department three times last month because the ink flooded the stairwell. Like how long were they stuck down there? Just breathing in the fumes? Slipping and falling in it?)

HE PLAYS MULTIPLE INSTRUMENTS - this stems from my modern au but he's able to play multiple ones. He plays banjo, violin, and piano

HE FINDS BENDY ANNOYING BUT HE DIDN'T ALWAYS -

Sammy's got a lot of headcanons about him being bored with Bendy or being frustrated with it. I think it's a combination of both - that he started out thinking it would be engaging and easy and he could just top the charts and move on. The arrogance and ego that led him down the dark path was aggrevated by the circumstances around him. He always was, he thought it'd be easy. He drowned metaphorically. Then physically.

SAMMY+THE INK+HIS DEPARTMENT

I'm pretty sure that while Sammy happily took out chunks of the studio he relied on his department and either sacrificed them first to the demon or tried to 'convert' them to his religion. 'The believers must honor their savior.' While it spread, he had his people locked in his department first accidentally than willingly.

In this au (and my personal headcanon) Sammy's transformation occurred privately but when he disappeared he'd either fed his department (or big chunks of it) to the demon or converted his 'sheep' into a true flock either by force or by persuasion.

THE INK-

Purely based on DCTL and TLO we know the ink is addictive, that it causes emotions to be amplified, and that it mutates people and generates objects. We also know it's everywhere.

In Overworked, the music department's proximity coupled with Joey's behavior left that group of people surrounded by it. Bring surrounded and abandoned was different than a bunch of teenagers surrounded by it, or a bunch of adults scared as hell of the stuff. They'd been scared into submission by their boss who, already driven into madness, praised their fortitude and work and so they became a tight knit group and began to distrust others in the studio. This made the group seem standoffish and people grew suspicious of them.

Beyond that, the more broken the mind the more it's amplified and the ink snaps the mind further. It reduces filters and social boundaries. People are essentially becoming inhuman after all! And. That's. A problem!

I could go into little details and I might (I love sadcat animator dad and wet sad cat composer and his herd of cats).

IF PEOPLE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS please hit me here, and check out part one here!

You can definitely find 'Overworked' on tiktok. Check out the up-to-date story here!

#bendy and the ink machine #carolingcosplay #batim #sammy lawrence cosplay #batim oc #original characters #this is an unpaid project

[hatchetfield-scarecrow]

Sherman was just hanging out at Toy Zone, HOW did Frank explain that to Lex?

#he still sounds and acts like sherman #and he still kinda looks like him and goes by sherman #so??? #frank pricely #sherman young #daddy #lex foster #yellow jacket spoilers #yellow jacket #nightmare time #nightmare time season 2 #nmt s2 spoilers #nightmare time season 2 spoilers

[openheart12]

Tales of the Heart

A/N: I was so stoked when I found out TC was filmed in NC because it’s finally good for something dihgjkdgjls I’m trying to keep this as gender neutral as I can since I don’t tend to write fics with real people because I try to respect them, but I had this idea and wanted to write it. I’m not completely sure how I feel about it yet though lol but it should be a couple parts!! 

Summary: During filming for The Conjuring, reader is living their dream of being an actor. They didn’t think life could get much better, but then again, they never expected they would fall in love. 

WC: 1,314

Pairing: GN reader x Vera

You were in Wilmington, North Carolina for the filming of The Conjuring that you were just casted in. It was a movie based on the paranormal investigator couple Ed and Lorraine Warren. The movie itself was actually based on one of their real life cases that you had spent hours researching on to prepare for your role, however minor it was.

Acting has been a dream of yours since you were little. The red carpet had always excited you and now you were just that much closer to achieving your dream. 

It was late February and a cold chill was raising goose bumps on your arms. You were on the way to EUE/Screen Gems Studios where the first day of filming was taking place. You were told filming would take just a little over a month and you had planned accordingly, bringing almost your entire wardrobe, but it was better to be prepared than sorry.

At least that’s how you justified it. 

This was your first time in the state and you were taking in your surroundings. The window was down, your hair blowing in the wind as you did some last minute research on your phone. You pulled up the first article you found; 

The movie was based on the Perron family case, a family of seven who lived in Harrisville, Rhode Island. In January 1971, they moved into a farmhouse where they began to notice strange things happening. It started small, Carolyn, the mother, would notice that the broom went missing or seemed to move by itself, she’d hear something scraping against the kettle, and she’d find small piles of dirt in the center of the floor after cleaning it.

It wasn’t long before the children started to notice spirits around the house. 

Carolyn  researched the history of the house and discovered that it had been in the same family for eight generations and that many of them had died under mysterious and horrible circumstances. 

She found a woman by the name of Bathsheba Sherman who lived on the property in the mid-1800s. She was rumored to have been a Satanist and there was evidence that she was involved in the death of a neighbor’s child, though no trial ever took place. She was buried in a nearby Baptist cemetery in downtown Harrisville. 

The Perron’s believed it was Bathsheba’s spirit tormenting them. 

The Warren’s made multiple trips to investigate. At one point, Lorraine conducted a seance to contact the spirits that were possessing the family. However, during the seance, Carolyn became possessed, speaking in tongues and rising from the ground in her chair. After the seance, Roger kicked the Warren’s out worried about his wife’s mental stability. 

The family continued to live in the house until they were able to move in 1980, at which point the spirits were silenced and the hauntings ceased. 

You let out an involuntary shudder. As excited as you were, you were also nervous. You didn’t think that a horror movie would be the start of your career, not that you were complaining. 

The car pulled up in front of the studio and you got out, looking at the building standing before you. You thanked the driver and gave him the information of the hotel you would be staying at.

You straightened your shoulders and took a deep breath before making your way inside. The first thing you noticed was the noise and the chaos. There were hundreds of video equipment scattered around and more people than you’ve ever seen before cramped together. You weren’t exactly sure of what to do so you stood off to the side, in a private little corner.

You took in everything, from the people to the millions of lights that were already beginning to make your head hurt. And for a moment, just a moment, you began to doubt if you could do this or not.

“Hey, you okay?” A soft voice called out to you.

“I’m fine,” you replied, turning to look at the person and stopping in your tracks. The voice belonged to no one other than Vera Farmiga, the star of the movie you were here to film, your idol, and the woman you had a slight crush on. Okay, maybe it wasn’t a slight crush, but nonetheless, you stood there in shock. 

“I’m Vera,” she said, offering her hand to you. You took it with a shaky hand. Her hand was so much softer than you expected.

“I’m Y/N.” 

“It’s nice to meet you,” she smiled and you returned it, still standing there completely awestruck. You had seen every single movie she’s been in, she was one of the big reasons you wanted to go into acting and standing in front of her, you were speechless.

“Vera?” A male voice called and the two of you turned your head to see James Wan, the director, walking towards you. Yet again, you were awestruck. You loved his directing and Saw was a favorite of yours. “I need you and Patrick to start getting ready. We’re going to start the opening scene of the Warren’s.”

“Okay, perfect. James, this is Y/N,” Vera introduced you and you gave a small smile.

“Hey,” you offered.

“Hey, you’re playing the student at the university, right?”

You nodded, surprised he remembered your role.

“I don’t think we’re going to film your scene today, so if you just want to hang out and get to know the other cast members, that’s fine,” he said before going back to work, leaving you and Vera alone again.

“Maybe we can get together for dinner later?” She asked and you swear you heard her voice waver just a bit, but you played it off as your ears playing tricks on you.

“That’d be great!” You exclaimed, a wide grin on your face.

“It’s a date,” she winked, walking away. A slight blush adjourned your cheeks and you felt very hot. The chilly air from earlier was now gone.

The rest of the day passed by rather quickly, you had stayed on set getting to know the gist of things and of course watching Vera. 

She was captivating while in her element, doing what she loved. You were entranced by her beauty. You didn’t think that there were many people who could pull off clothes from the 70s quite like she did. She even caught you staring a couple times, smiling at you when she met your eyes.

You also saw Patrick Wilson, the other star and other half of the Warren couple. You noticed their chemistry right away and couldn’t help but think of how you wished it was you playing Vera’s significant other. 

When filming finished for the day, you headed to your hotel room to get ready for your “date.” You were giddy with excitement and bouncing with nerves. A million questions were going through your head: what would you wear? What would you two talk about? Would it be awkward? Where were you going to go? 

You weren’t familiar with the area and you didn’t know if she was or not. Dinner on the beach sounded nice to you, but maybe she didn’t like the beach or maybe she would change her mind. There were too many things unknown and your nerves were starting to get the better of you. 

Just then a knock sounded at your door and you went to look through the peephole to find Vera outside. You opened it and she smiled, leaning in to give you a hug. 

“You ready?” She asked.

“Ready,” you responded confidently. She held her hand out to you and you took it, heading downstairs to the waiting car. “Where are we going?” You asked once getting seated.

“You’ll see,” she smirked. 

You smiled at the things you still had to learn about her as you got settled in for the drive.

#the conjuring universe #vera farmiga #vera farmiga x reader #vera x reader #lorraine warren #the conjuring

[paralleljulieverse]

‘Gentlemen like you are few...’: A Supercentenary Tribute to Irwin Kostal

1 October 2021 marks the 110th anniversary of the birth of Irwin Kostal, the musical arranger, orchestrator and conductor whose work helped shape the sound of the post-war American stage and screen musical. In this post we look back at the career of this remarkable 'music man’ with a particular focus on his collaborations with the equally remarkable Julie Andrews -- who, as it happens, shares the same birthday, so this post is doing double birthday honours.

A gentle, unassuming man, Kostal or ‘Irv’ as he was known by associates, was not one for the limelight. It’s possibly why he gravitated to the ‘behind-the-scenes’ art of musical arranging. Unlike composers, performers, or even conductors, arrangers seldom loom large in public perceptions of professional musicianship. They are, for the most part, the ‘invisible artists’ of the music industry: their contributions to the sound and experience of music are immense, but they remain largely ‘uncredited in records, liner notes or books or records’ (Niles 2104, p. 4). That Irwin Kostal would ultimately prove a rare exception to this tradition of thankless anonymity -- becoming sufficiently well-known to have his own name not only included on recordings, but emblazoned on the front cover alongside those of the ‘star’ vocalists with whom he worked -- is a testament to the singularity of his talents. 

Born the son of first generation immigrant parents in Chicago in 1911, Kostal claimed he was instantly ‘smitten’ by music when he saw a piano at the age of two-and-a-half, but his family was too poor to afford such luxuries. Moreover, his father -- a hard-drinking Czech with a fiery temper -- was ‘rigidly opposed’ to his interests in music and ‘could see no future in it’ (’Irwin’ 1962, p. 70). So Kostal initially had to content himself with listening and absorbing as much musical knowledge as he could indirectly. When he was eleven, his father finally brought home a broken player piano salvaged from a removals job and it provided the young Kostal with the launch pad he needed. 

Kostal devoted himself to his musical education with single-minded zeal. His formal training was intermittent -- enabled by a supportive mother who ‘surreptitiously managed to save money from her weekly allowance for my musical instruction’ (’Irwin’ 1962, p. 70) -- but he was a passionate autodidact who would spend countless hours studying and practising on his own. By age 15, he was already playing professionally with local touring bands, while also offering his own services as a piano teacher with, at one point, more than 40 pupils (ibid.).

When he wasn’t playing, Kostal would be found in the local library poring over musical scores and reading about the greats of the classical canon. He was particularly intrigued by orchestration and the possibilities it offered for varying the sound and feel of music. He recalls how he would take orchestral scores home and study all the parts learning ‘about musical instruments I never knew existed’ (Suskin 2009, p. 56).  He progressively worked his way through the music of the masters, going alphabetically: 

‘Bach...Beethoven, Brahms, Debussy, Elgar, Frank, Gounod, on and on through the alphabet...I tried to absorb everything. By the time I came to Ravel, Tchaikovsky and Wagner, I knew quite a lot about music in a jumbled way’ (Suskin 2009, p. 57).

While still in his teens, Kostal started to experiment with arrangements of his own, scoring a high school production of Uncle Tom’s Cabin with multiple variations on the American folk melody ‘Way Down upon the Swanee River’. ‘By taking away the rhythmic aspects and playing it in a minor key,’ he recounts, ‘I found lots of ways to play this song, making it fit the dramatics of the half-hour long story’ (ibid., p. 56). Thus, Irwin Kostal the arranger was born.

Throughout the 1930s and early-40s, Kostal honed his talents in a professional capacity, working with various big bands, before finally landing a job as a resident arranger for an NBC radio affiliate in Chicago. Following the war, Kostal moved to New York where, after a rocky start, he secured regular work as conductor and arranger on a number of long-running radio and TV variety shows including Your Show of Shows (1950-54), Max Liebman Presents (1954-56), and The Garry Moore Show (1959-63). It was demanding, fast-paced work with Kostal having to arrange and orchestrate hundreds of score pages a week, but it consolidated his musical versatility and capacity to work across a wide range of styles and forms (Suskin 2009, pp. 57-60).

Throughout this period, Kostal was also orchestrating for Broadway shows, racking up over 52 credits on theatre productions big and small (Allen 1995, p. 18). Many of these assignments were done in a ‘ghost-writer’ capacity including contributing work to such classic musicals as Wonderful Town (1953), The Pajama Game (1953) and Silk Stockings (1955). A major breakthrough came when Kostal was contracted to work in a credited capacity as co-orchestrator on the original Broadway production of West Side Story (1958) -- collaborating with Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim and Sid Ramin. It earned him his first Grammy Award and a subsequent invitation to arrange and orchestrate a string of other big Broadway musicals including Fiorello! (1959), Sail Away (1961) and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962).

The success of West Side Story also saw Kostal do repeat honours on the film version (1961) which would, in turn, earn him an Academy Award and kickstart a hugely successful Hollywood career. In 1963, Kostal was invited by none other than Walt Disney to take on the major job of arranging the songs for Mary Poppins (1964) which had been written by the in-house Disney composing team of Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman. The Sherman Brothers claim to have suggested Kostal because they were fans of his Broadway work and they wanted a bright theatrical sound for the score. However, Walt Disney demurred. He reasoned it was a period film and they needed someone who could write music for any style or era, suggesting they get the musical director from The Garry Moore Show instead. Cue mutual delight when it was discovered they were all referring to the same man, Irwin Kostal (Sherman & Sherman 1998; Suskin 2009, p. 65).

Kostal’s work on Mary Poppins catapulted him to new heights of mainstream success. It not only secured him another Academy Award nomination -- he lost to Andre Previn for his work on My Fair Lady -- but it also brought him a tidy fortune in royalties from the film’s best-selling soundtrack album (’Kostal’s’ $65,000′, 57). His fame -- and fortune -- skyrocketed even further the following year when Kostal was contracted to arrange the score for The Sound of Music (1965). His dazzling efforts on this box-office blockbuster confirmed Kostal’s status as Hollywood’s presiding musical wonder-boy and saw him walk home with his second Oscar. A string of other big screen musicals followed including Half a Sixpence (1967), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) and Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971). 

Many of these films were repeat collaborations because Kostal favoured working with people he knew and with whom he clicked personally and creatively. He would for example continue as the de facto ‘house’ arranger for Disney well into the 1980s, working on various assignments for the studio including Pete’s Dragon (1978), Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983) and the controversial re-recorded 1982 release of Fantasia (1940/1982) (Tietyan 1990). Kostal would also maintain a long association with the Sherman Brothers, acting as musical arranger for all their big screen musicals including the aforementioned Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) and Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971), as well as Tom Sawyer (1973); Charlotte’s Web (1973); and The Magic of Lassie (1978) (Sherman & Sherman 1998).

The other great collaboration of Kostal’s career was of course with Julie Andrews. Perhaps it was the fact that the pair shared the same birthday but Kostal had an extraordinarily sympathetic relationship with Julie and he would work with her more than any other vocalist. Long before they teamed on Poppins and The Sound of Music, Julie and ‘Irv’ were making musical magic together. Kostal was the arranger and conductor for Julie’s first two solo albums for RCA: The Lass with the Delicate Air (1957) and Julie Andrews Sings (1958) where his sensitive facility with a wide range of musical idioms from English classical to Broadway and Tin Pan Alley came to the fore. Reviewing the first of these albums at the time of its original release, one music critic lauded it as ‘a record to charm every member of the family...[with] a combination of sincerity and simplicity and wholesome sweetness...Thank goodness arranger and conductor Irwin Kostal met the challenge and set the ballads winningly without overpowering Miss Andrews’ light pure tones’ (RRS 1958, p. 5A). In a similar vein, another reviewer praised the second album for ‘its charming unforced version of standards, well known and almost forgotten...Miss Andrews still sings naturally and purely [and] the deft accompaniments played by an orchestra under Irwin Kostal are agreeably restrained’ (Masters 1959, p. 11).

In this early period Kostal also worked with Julie as guest star on several episodes of The Garry Moore Show, where he was resident musical director. In this context, Kostal was pivotal in helping establish the legendary teaming of Julie and Carol Burnett which came out of the Garry Moore appearances. He would go on to act as musical director for their breakout 1962 TV special Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall which would earn Kostal his first Emmy (Taraborelli 1988, pp. 172-79). He would secure his second Emmy a few years later working with Julie again on the 1965 variety special, The Julie Andrews Show (1965) where, among other highlights, Kostal scored a series of stellar song-and-dance medleys for Julie and guest star Gene Kelly. The same year, Kostal teamed up with Julie on yet another recording with the 1965 edition of the annual Firestone Christmas albums. 

It was however their combined work on the two big musical mega-hits, Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music, that secured the Kostal-Andrews partnership a place in the history books. A cultural phenomenon of the highest order, the soundtrack recordings for these two films remain among the most successful albums of all time. Mary Poppins held the #1 spot on the US national music charts for 14 consecutive weeks in 1964, beating out Elvis Presley and The Beatles (Hollis and Erhbar 2006, pp.72ff). The album for The Sound of Music sold over 9 million copies in its first four years of release alone, remaining in the Billboard Top 100 for an unbelievable five-and-a-half years, and becoming the highest selling LP of all-time in the US up to that date (Murrells, 1978)  The Sound of Music continued its record-breaking run abroad, dominating the international charts and holding the #1 spot for 75 weeks in Australia, 73 weeks in Norway and 70 weeks in the UK, becoming in the process the single biggest selling album worldwide of the 1960s (Harker, 1992, pp. 189-91).

Commentators have frequently singled out the combination of Julie Andrews’ soaring vocals and Kostal’s dynamic arrangements as instrumental to the phenomenal success of these two albums. ‘Miss Andrews glows--positively glows--right through the record groove, vinyl disc, amplifiers, speakers, and all other mechanical barriers,’ enthused one contemporary reviewer of the Mary Poppins soundtrack, noting how the ‘songs that Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman have written’ and ‘the handsome arrangements by Irwin Kostal have the perfect balance ‘of lilt and flair to provide Miss Andrews with an effective working basis’ (Wilson 1965, p. 109). Apropos The Sound of Music, another critic pronounced it ‘as good a reproduction of a score as has ever been made’, noting how it ‘presents Julie in a most appealing role and given the splendid musical direction of Irwin Kostal, her talent comes shining through...as a treat beyond measure’ (Moore 1965, p. B6). 

In total, Julie Andrews and Irwin Kostal would work together on six recordings, two musical motion pictures, two television specials, and a host of other TV appearances representing some of the very best of Julie’s musical work during her heyday of the 1960s. Considered alongside the wealth of Kostal’s other work across film, stage, television and recording, it’s hard not to concur with Disney’s Nelson Meecham who, on the occasion of Kostal’s passing in 1994, eulogised: ‘He brought the joy of music to more people than it is possible to count’ (Allen, p. 19).

Sources:

Allen, John F 1995. ‘Remembering a Music Man: On the life and work of Irwin Kostal.’ Boxoffice. August: pp. 18-19.

Harker, Dave 1992. ‘Still Crazy After All These Years: What was popular music in the 1960s?” Cultural Revolution? The challenge of the arts in the 1960s. Bart Moore-Gilbert and John Seed, eds. Routledge, London and New York: pp. 186-200.

Hollis, Tim and Erhbar, Greg 2006. Mouse Tracks: The Story of Walt Disney Records. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.

‘Irwin Kostal: Music in all its many forms is his life.’ (1962). The Province. 2 June: p. 70.

’Kostal’s’ $65,000 Poppins Score’ 1965. Variety. 10 March: p. 57

Levy, Charles 1964. Mary Poppins: About the stars and photo-story features [Press kit]. Buena Vista Distribution, New York. 

Masters, John 1959. ‘Off the Record: Enchanting Music.’ The Age. 7 January: p. 11.

Moore, Robert 1965. ‘Record Turntable: Julie Andrews out in front again in film album of”Sound of Music”.’ The Arizona Daily Star. 7 March: p. B6.

Murrells, Joseph, ed. 1978. Book of Golden Discs: Records that sold a million. Barrie & Jenkins, New York.

Niles, Richard 2014. The Invisible Artist: Arrangers in popular music (1950-2000). BMI, London.

Oliver, Myrna. 1994. ‘Obituaries: Irwin Kostal; Film, TV Orchestrator.’ The Los Angeles Times. 1 December: P. B8.

RRS 1958. ‘On the Record: ‘Lass with the Delicate Air.’ Bristol Herald Courier. 9 February: p. 5A.

Sherman, Robert B &  Sherman, Richard M 1998. Walt's Time: From before to beyond. Camphor Tree, Santa Clarita, CA.

Suskin, Steven 2009. The Sound of Broadway Music: A book of orchestrators and orchestrations, Oxford University Press, New York.

Taraborelli, J. Randy 1988. Laughing Till It Hurts: The complete life and career of Carol Burnett. William Morrow & Co, New York.

Tietyan, David 1990. The Musical World of Walt Disney. H. Leonard, Milwaukee, Wis. 

Wilson, John S. 1965. ‘The Lighter Side’. High Fidelity Magazine. 15: 4: pp. 107-111.

© 2021, Brett Farmer. All Rights Reserved.

#julie andrews #irwin kostal #musicals #classic film #the sound of music #mary poppins #Disney #Sherman Brothers

[thatringboy]

i for one will gladly read the percabeth angst you wrote on accident

thank you! this takes place between tlo and tlh

Dreams and Nightmares

Warnings: Desperate Annabeth

Characters: Annabeth Chase, Clovis, Jason Grace (unnamed)

Ships: Percabeth

Word Count: 852

Summary: Percy has vanished, leaving Annabeth with nothing but a dream she can't shake. She goes to the son of Hypnos for answers

His sweatshirt still smelled like saltwater from when he had chased Travis into the sea during the Counselor trip to the beach. That day was the first time in forever that they all got to act like kids and not soldiers. In her memories, the sun was shining, but not too hot, the sand was cool, Katie and Drew braided everyone’s hair and all of the boys got sunburnt.

Iris messages don’t work, Chiron is away again, Olympus has closed its gates.

Annabeth slipped her Yankee’s cap on her head, pulled her ponytail through the hole in the back and pulled the hood of the navy blue sweatshirt over the hat. Being invisible would not protect her from the rain.

The blonde quietly tiptoed across the Athena Cabin and slipped outside. Storms did not usually pass over Camp Half-Blood; Annabeth wondered if the weather had anything to do with recent events.

Bed empty, no note, shield left behind.

The door to Cabin Fifteen was always open for demigods with troubling nightmares. Annabeth’s inner voice told her that she was wasting her time, but she stepped inside, removing her hood and cap to become visible. Her heart thumped loudly in her ears and her thoughts drowned out the sound of the rain on the roof, yet did not form coherent words.

Clovis sat at the foot of one bed, no doubt waiting for whoever occupied it to fall asleep. If he noticed Annabeth entering his cabin, he made no move to acknowledge her.

“Good evening, Annabeth.” He whispered as to not wake those in the cabin.

The daughter of Athena sat herself down on a free cot and took off her combat boots without a word. The son of Hypnos crossed the room and sat down next to her with a quizzical look.

“Are you feeling alright? How can I help you?” He yawned in between sentences.

She sighed and laid down on the cot. “Bad dream, I want to see it again.”

The pot bellied boy nodded and rested a hand on her forehead, causing her to close her eyes and let sleep pull her under the surface of consciousness.

Annabeth opened her eyes to a black void. Her feet touched down on solid ground and she could feel Clovis entering the dream next to her, his form shimmering like a static TV.

“This it?”

She nodded and looked around, hugging the hoodie to her body despite not being cold. “He was here, I’m sure of it.”

The son of Hypnos took a deep breath and watched as a figure approached them. It was a tall young man with a sword in one of his hands, but it was not raised in defense. He wore no shoe on his left foot. His face was obscured by the darkness of the dream void.

Annabeth tried to run to him, but no matter how fast she moved, he stayed the same distance from her. She slowed down and held out her arms. “Percy! It’s me!”

Clovis didn’t have the heart to tell her that the boy before her was probably not the missing Percy Jackson. Instead, he watched the girl lower her arms and look around.

“Can you tell me where you are so I can find you?” She pleaded with the dream boy.

The faceless figure raised his free hand slightly and their surroundings changed to a glass bridge suspended over a canyon. The sun was out, but shadows still covered the head of the boy.

Annabeth smiled widely and looked around. “The Grand Canyon? Thank you, I-I’m sure I can borrow some Pegasi and a chariot from either the Apollo or Ares cabin. Don’t worry, I’m coming to find you, Percy!”

She nodded to Clovis and he ended the dream.

The daughter of Athena sat up on the cot wearing the first smile she had made in weeks. Clovis snapped awake next to her and watched as she gathered her things without waking the other sleepers in the Hypnos Cabin.

He stood up and followed her to the door. “Annabeth, wait.”

“Hmm?” She pulled her cap out of the sweatshirt pocket.

Clovis wrung his hands and stifled another yawn. “That dream… I wouldn’t trust it. Dreams that show you exactly what you want are either tricks or have double meanings.”

She grabbed his shoulders gently and stared into his eyes, her own grey ones burning with intensity and swirling with deep emotions that caught the son of Hypnos off guard. “I have to go find him, Clovis. We need him here at camp, I need him--”

Annabeth stopped herself and let go, staring down at her shoes. Clovis put his hands in the pockets of his cargo shorts with a sympathetic smile. “Go get some real sleep, Chase, you’re working and worrying yourself to the bone. Don’t make me make Sherman knock you out so that you finally get some rest.”

She chuckled dryly and put her cap on, turning invisible. “Goodnight, Clovis, and thank you.”

He waved at the muddy footprints walking away from Cabin Fifteen. “Goodnight, Annabeth, and good luck.”

#this isn't as deep as the other percabeth oneshots i've done #but i like it nontheless #i need more content of what annabeth did before finding the tlh trio #so i make it myself #asks #writing #writing requests #requests #riordanverse #the lost hero #heroes of olympus #clovis #annabeth chase #percy jackson #sfw #angst

[maxineswritingcenter]

Bray Road - Fox Mulder x non binary!reader part 6

Fic Drop 2021

- 

Mulder just finished speaking with the Sheriff when he spotted his partner. (Y/N) looked so tired. They were holding their head in their hands and had been like that ever since the boys in blue zipped up the body bags for Jason, his mother, and the other patient that had been attacked. He walked to them slowly and placed a hand on their shoulder. 

“You alright?” He asked. (Y/N) took a deep breath and looked up. 

“I don’t know. I know everything that happened was real, but it feels...I never thought that I would experience that again.” They shrugged, “On the bright side, the cops believed my story this time.” 

Mulder smiled a little and nodded towards the car, “C’mon, let’s head back to the motel.” They stood and the two began walking towards the rental car. 

“What about Winterfield?” 

“Cops are going to search the office now to find evidence of the albuterol and anything related to the DEA. The courthouse is going to have a search warrant by the morning.” 

“Mulder.” They said as Mulder started opening his door, “The full moon is tomorrow.” 

He paused for a moment and looked up in the dark sky and saw the moon was almost full. He looked back at his partner, “We’ll get him. I promise.” 

- 

The next morning, both agents made their way to the pediatrician’s office where there was already a search in place. They met with the sheriff as he was walking out. 

“Agents,” He greeted them, “We found some research regarding the albuterol in a safe in the crawl space.” He handed some of the paper work to (Y/N). They looked them over. 

“It’s like the scrawling of a mad man.” The sheriff said, "Talking about rituals and turning the weak into warriors. As far as we know, there are two other kids in the reports. Both of which were killed in the last attack. According to their parents, they only used their inhalers for emergencies or not at all.” 

“So the DEA was never able to take hold in their systems.” Mulder concluded, "That also means that Winterfield was trying to make more of him."

"That seems to be the case," The sheriff looked back at (Y/N), who was still reading, their face paler than before. The writings from when they were a child were disturbing, describing their body in great detail and how they were perfect to create the master race of lycanthropes.

"We suspect that he's in hiding, but we believe that he's going to come back for you, Agent (Y/L/N)." They looked up at the sheriff's words.

"What?" Their heart dropped.

"We would like to place you under house arrest at your motel until we can apprehend Winterfield. You will be with the best big game hunter in the area, as well as two deputies." The sheriff motioned to the large camo wrapped pickup truck in the other end of the parking lot.

"I-...Right. of course." (Y/N) looked down at the ground. Their fingers gripping the paperwork.

Mulder took notice to their hesitation, "Sheriff, can you give us a minute?" The sheriff nodded and went to speak with the hunter in the truck.

"(Y/L/N), what is it?"

They finally looked up from the papers to Mulder. He seemed genuinely concerned about them. There was a calming sense about him that made them want to relax, but, in this situation, it was nearly impossible.

"I understand why I need to be under lock and key, I do. But I don't feel right about not going after him too." They felt tears burn at their eyes. They were so emotionally exhausted after years of fear just culminating to this moment and they wouldn't get the resolve they wanted.

"Is this about your parents?" He asked.

They glanced at this eyes again, then stared back at his tie, "Partially."

"Aw, you're not worried about me, are ya?" He chuckled.

They met his eyes again, so green and full of determination. It's what (Y/N) liked about him. Fox Mulder may have been known around the bureau as Spooky Mulder, but no one saw the passion. All they saw were the Xfiles. And (Y/N) thought Mulder liked to keep it that way. He had been ridiculed his entire career. But he believed the weird, he believed the strange.

"Skinner didn't assign you as my partner," They blurted out without thinking much. But the fuel was already in the fire, they had to elaborate, "I made up the case file. I kept it secret from my friends at the office because I didn't want them to treat me like I was a joke. I took the case to Skinner and asked to be your partner. I knew you would take it seriously. I knew you would believe me." (Y/N) placed a hand on his arm and smiled weakly, "Please be careful. I don't want to lose anyone else." Before Mulder could speak, he watched (Y/L/N) make their way to the camo truck to speak with the big game hunter and the sheriff.

-

At the motel, they had been given a box of evidence from Winterfield's home to look through. The big game hunter, Rodger, was in the corner of the room facing the door, cleaning the silver bullets he had been given to him from the local jeweler in town. He was an interesting looking guy, the was tall and lean. But his hair was styled so one side of his head was shaved to the skin, 3 long pink scars ran from his crown to his temple.

He noticed their staring and nodded, "Bear."

"Excuse me?"

He pointed to the scars, "Grizzly in Alberta. Probably stood about twelve feet tall. Smacked me right here but I put three slugs between it's eyes. So I can handle your werewolf just fine." He loaded to shells into his shotgun.

"Bears act on instinct. When they feel their family or their territory is threatened they attack. This werewolf thinks just as well as he does as a human." They looked out the window and saw the sun lower in the sky, making their stomach feel like there was a sack of rocks pulling them down.

"You have nothing to worry about, uh...what are your uhh..."

"It's Agent."

-

The search in the woods around Winterfield's house wasn't showing any sign that he had been there recently. But what they did find was a body. In the basement of his home they found a decaying body shackled to the wall, almost mummified. But the anatomy was inhuman.

Mulder looked was looking over a map of the area that they had already searched, needing to use a flashlight now that darkness was setting in. He looked up when he saw the coroner, Dr. Sherman, making her way towards him and taking her gloves off.

"I've seen a lot of weird things, but nothing as crazy as that." She said.

"How so?"

"Well, when the guy died his bones had grown so much that they were splintering. His teeth were so large they cracked his jawbone. He died in a lot of pain." She said.

"Any similarities to the Mulligan boy?" The sheriff, who had walked up behind Mulder asked.

"Sort of. There were signs of the splintering and the cracks in the jaw but they had healed almost instantaneously. But I'm sure when the lab comes back with the results, they'll show DEA like you said, agent Mulder."

"Any luck?" He turned back to the sheriff.

"None. The dogs can't pick up a damn thing. And the tracks we saw lead off into the woods disappeared about a mile in."

Before Mulder could speak, his mobile phone started going off in his pocket.

"Excuse me," He said, stepping away from the group and standing by his car before answering, "Mulder."

"So we found some info on Winterfield." Frohike began, "Or lack of info."

"I couldn't find any family history on him. That is, until I found these articles from the sixties." Byers said, "His name was Lyle Montgomery. And when he was fourteen he went missing for a month in northern Michigan and when he was found, he was covered in blood but completely unharmed."

"There's another news article a month later from the same area saying that an entire family but one was mauled by a bear. The survivor was relocated, but we can't tell where because the adoption was closed." Langley chimed in, "But it was around the same time that we found the yearbook for Elkhorn high school showing their star quarterback."

"Winterfield." Mulder answered, "Thanks guys."

"You got it, Gunmen out." Frohike signed off and the line went dead.

As Mulder walked back to the group his phone rang again, he answered, "Mulder."

"Hey Fox, I think that uh we're not gonna find this guy. He outsmarted us." (Y/L/N) said.

"When did we start on a first name basis, (Y/N)? And it's not over, we're gonna find him." He said, his eyebrows knitted together in confusion at his partner's use of his first name. Not even Scully called him by his first name.

"No, I think I'm just gonna go home ."

"We can't go now. What happened to you wanting to finally end this? To move on from all this?" He was closer to the sheriff and the coroner now, who gave him confused looks as well.

"Fox, I need to go back home." They said again, more sternly this time.

Suddenly, his eyes widened, "(Y/L/N), is he there?"

"Yeah, I just need to hurry up and get home." There voice shook then, "I've decided to leave the bureau and just go home." They took a deep breath, sounding a little choked up.

"Goodbye, Fox." The line went dead.

"We need to get to the motel right now, he's got (Y/L/N)." Mulder had barely gotten the phone back in his pocket before running with the sheriff to his truck and leading the department towards the motel.

-

(Y/N) hung up the phone, a shaky hand setting it back down on the receiver. They avoided looking in the corner of the room where the majority of Rodger was still in the corner. They looked back at Winterfield. His hands were larger than usual and covered in dark hair. His eyes glowed red. He was spattered in blood from the deputies that he been outside and the big game hunter.

"You know he doesn't believe me." They said.

"Oh I know." There was a gravel to his voice that made it sound more animal, "But he's gotta write something when the FBI starts asking where you are." He grabbed their arm with his massive hand and began dragging them out of the room through the broken doorway.

"Wait!" They shouted, "Let me grab my bag. It'll be more believable for the crime scene photos."

"Fine," Winterfield let go, "Hurry up." He seemed on edge, turning his head from side to side as if he could hear something coming. They went to the side of the bed where their bag laid, there was blood from the hunter on it. Out of the corner of their eye, they saw the silver bullets.

Winterfield began angry, "Come on!" He grabbed them by the back of their neck.

"My bag!"

"Screw the bag!" He growled, pulling them outside. In the distance, they both saw the red and blue lights flashing and the sirens screaming the distance.

-

The cars screeched to a stop, the entire sheriff's department pointing their guns. Mulder called to the others, "Don't shoot, he's got a hostage!"

Then Winterfield seemed to shift before his very eyes, growing a long snout and large animal like arms and legs, all covered in thick dark hair. Still standing on his hind legs, he grabbed (Y/N) by their middle and took off into the woods near the motel.

"MULDER!" They called back, their voice fading into the darkness.

"(Y/L/N)!" He called back, leading the department and the canine unit into the woods after Winterfield.

"Mulder!" Their voice was farther away now.

"(Y/L/N)!" He stopped when he no longer saw tracks, looking around for any signs, "(Y/L/N)!"

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

Likes, Comments, and Reblogs are appreciated! 

Read part 7 here!

Taglist List:

- @theres-a-dog-outside-omg

- @bi-andready-tocry

- @nyotamalfoy

#Fox Mulder #fox mulder x reader #xfiles fic #xfiles imagine

[pleasancies]

Escape Attempt #1

wordcount : 1.8k+

cw : self harm, mention of past torture, suicidal behavior

tropes : lab whump, lady whump, failed escape attempt, manhandling, whumper as caretaker, sensory overload, wound agitation, blood (everywhere)

***

Previous Chapter

John laid her on the infirmary bed, the white sheets instantly turning red. He left, and Professor Clayton replaced his absence with Lisette trailing behind. He had accompanied Avis to the institute, wrestled against five foot long greenery and walked over the pile of carcasses, yet his coat and pants doesn't look affected at all.

"Fenrir, I wager I never properly introduced myself."

"I've heard about you. Get lost."

Clayton glanced at Lisette. She hurried to the storage room. His side leaned against the bedframe. He reached for Avis's ankle. He held it in a vice grip. Plastic casing rubbed against gaping wound.

Avis grit her teeth, ended up voicing a guttural groan instead. Her voice was strained as she managed a 'stop'.

"I'll stop if you let me work on you. Cooperate."

"Just kill me and get it over with."

Clayton twisted his grip. The burning sensation multiplied. "It would be a mercy. Don't you understand? You lost the choice to kill yourself the moment you're trapped with us."

"Watch me," Avis said between grunts of pain. The edge of the wound on her ankle skinned raw. She tried catching Clayton's hand, but he had withdrawn his hold. He went into his pocket. The shock stunned Avis's like a slap to her face.

"Alright, try. Right in front of me. I'll help you even. Say the word, and I'll turn on your shock bracelet to full blast. You'll scream and writhe under this bed until you shit yourself. After I'm sure you're dead, I'll took your brain and put it inside a warbeast. I'll save the handful of memories that makes you you. The next thing you know, you're tearing your comrades limb from limb and there's nothing you can do about it."

Avis didn't bother to hide the fear in her face. It was abhorrent. Even the most pro-monarchy man she met would squirm with the idea. She think back to the warbeast she'd slain. Their eyes, does it ever glowed the way a human would? The bout of nausea was back. Avis covered her mouth, swallowing a gulp of saliva.

Lisette was back. She was carrying a table filled with medical kit. There's a thin smile on her face. A cross between smug and content. Did she heard?

Professor Clayton doesn't wait for permission. He took a small screwdriver, methodically disassemble the ankle bracelet. The man is practically oozing with competence. His steps were hurried but certain. Years of experience in researching alien technology shows clearly in the lines of his face and the coat he wears.

Meanwhile, Lisette worked on her smaller scrapes and bruises. She cleaned her up, dabbing a soaked rag across her bloodied face. She started from the top, wiping up Avis's blood matted hair first. Cool water dripped from her neck. Avis supressed a shiver. The intern nurse's fascination to her scars and peculiarities had died down. Lisette didn't even seem to care if she is alive. She grab a clump of hair, pulling it from the base of the scalp. All that for Avis to lift her chin.

"Cut it out, Lise."

"Stop what? I'm taking care of you."

Avis let it slide. Frustration welled deep inside of her. She let Lisette tug at her shoulder, poke and prod the bruises on her back like it was nothing. Her fingers somehow managed to find every point her body hurt most and make it worse. She hated it, the way people would play others like a toy if they could get away with it. She looked down on the bed, watching her shaking fingers. Avis wasn't feeling particularly cold, but her hands just wouldn't let up. She wondered how they distributed their tasks or what Lisette and John will do after their internship.

"What's wrong?" Lisette asked.

"My hands."

Lisette frowned. Concern crossed her face. Even Clayton stopped.

It was Avis turn to ask now. "What's wrong with me?" As if anyone would give a straight answer.

"Nothing. The trigger serum wasn't exactly a full success is all." Clayton draw a small incision on her ankle. The pain was dulled. It flared slightly as he fully opened the second layer of bracelet clinging on to her skin. "The Fenrir formula adjusts it's effects depending on the host. You'll always get the same enhancements of course, but each of it's potency differs in each person. You and the first Fenrir weren't the same, obviously. Not even similar. We need to run some basic test first before your reeducation. During your reeducation, we'll recalibrate the trigger serum. And then, you'll go through this test again. Ready as ever."

The professor dips a wad of cotton to a small jar. He gently dabbed it against the skin. The oily fluid runs againt the burning wound, causing Avis to wince.

"Now, now, don't flinch. I assure you, your next test will be so much more this would feel like a gentle stroke in comparison."

Avis scowled at her doctor. Fucking fantastic. Another round of tests, surgeries, physically molding her into the perfect hound. And a long session of brainwashing, mentally shaping her until she could strangle her comrades and derive joy out of the act. Avis needs to escape. And she doesn't even know which research facility they held her in. Empire's Defense Department my foot, practically every Institute is made for them. It's simply the easiest way to gain funding.

Clayton and Lisette left shortly after. The entire session with John passed like a dream. He was strangely sheepish. Unlike yesterday, he doesn't bother to strap her arms and legs. Avis was too tired to notice. Or even think. She slept.

A couple of days have passed when her hands and legs stop feeling like stone. It was midday. There's no other patients but her. One nurse stationed near the door. The same one she'd seen when Lisette brought her here to recover from her bruised ribs. It doesn't took long for her to notice Avis was staring.

"Yes, Avis? Anything you need?"

"Uh, some water please." Avis looked away, heat growing in her cheeks. Is she really that obvious? Embarrasing. Valerie was nice. She was the only one who called her with her real name. Shame knotted in her gut. Just a minute ago she was thinking how to incapacitate her. If only Valerie knew the reason why Avis was staring at her.

Valerie set the glass to her bedside. "Next time, talk."

Avis mouthed a thank you. She stared at her drink, unwilling to touch it. The beige walls of the infirmary looks a lot like the first hospital she got into as a patient. It was a strike that had gone awry. She was separated from her friends. The Empire's officers doesn't care if she was young or a woman. She could still remember the faint taste of rubber boots in her tongue. Her broken leg had healed a long time ago, but the dull ache in her foot stays every winter. Back then, Emmett and Sherman hadn't joined their organization. James got arrested. Their old friends like Thomas and Mike were either too injured or busy dealing with the fallout. Nancy alone had to hold her in a bridal carry.

"Well? Aren't you going to drink that?"

"Sorry, Valerie. Just zoned out a bit."

The infirmary nurse sat beside her. "Had something on your mind?"

"Yeah, actually. Do you think I should be reeducated?"

"I'm not an expert opinion on that. You should consult your handler."

"No, I'm not asking for you to revoke my probationary status. I just want to know your personal opinion."

Valerie pursed her lips, her face drawn in concern. She glanced at the camera in the ceiling. It's too unreliable to pick up sounds or even the movement of her lips.

"I'm conflicted to be be honest. You... you did a lot of bad things to other people, but when I got to know you better, it's obvious that you're just lost. Those Heretical men used and abused you. You're one of the good ones, Avis."

"Thanks," Avis said. Her heart sanked. "I'm really sorry, though."

Before Valerie could react, she swung the glass to her face.

***

There are two major types of pain. Acute or chronic. There are other classifications based on what caused it for or how debilitating it is, but it was irrelevant. In the context of Avis triggers, there's three. All of them present in her current situation.

She was backed to a corner. The soldiers were split in two. A small squad were standing at the bottom of the stairs, while a couple of them guard the door she sneaked out from. Drops of blood trailed her departure. It formed a line, then a puddle below her wrist. Avis cradled her bleeding hand. A piece of tape still stuck on the edge of her wound. Her hand is throbbing, a continous pulse that quickens alongside her heart rate.

A man started to climb towards her and Avis brings her hand on the edge of the wound. Clawing at the edges.

"Stop," she said. "Took one step closer and I'll fucking eat you." She hissed, partly due to pain and a spontaneous urge to do so. The hiss turned to a groan as she dip her fingers in. The floor sways slightly under her feet. Red stained her hospital gown.

This is manageable, she insist. What was she thinking? She doesn't even know where she is. It's fine! People had run away without figuring out where are they are. But she's escaping an military complex. Stupid, reckless! But she doesn't have a choice right? Barnes had warned her. Clayton had fucking taunted her.

Avis shield her eyes from the light, blood running through her face. The buzz of fluorescent lamp almost drowned the murmur of conversation between soldiers. Her senses grew sharper with every hurt she inflicted. A dull ache growing on the base of her nails, gums, and joints. This time the transformation was slower. Passive, even. Slow enough, she could understand the change in her mindset. Her stomach was already empty before she did her escape, but now the hunger pangs were almost unbearable.

Avis taunted between gasps of breath, "Go on, shoot me like an animal."

The door at the bottom of stairs swings open. Someone spoke, and the voice sends a chill to her spine.

"Don't listen to her. She can't hurt you. She's not under the trigger serum."

Professor Clayton strides up the stairs. Avis's legs scrambles backward but there's only solid concrete behind her. His eye settled on her arms.

"You pulled off your IV. Are you afraid of needles?"

"No, just don't want to be drugged again. It's what you do. You'll wait until I let my guard down before testing."

Avis glowered. The armed guards advanced to protect Professor Clayton. Nothing they give is safe. Anything could be drugged. Food, medicine, even the air she breathed.

"The test wasn't due for a week. But I could speed things up for you. How about the day after tomorrow? How does that sound?"

She tackled him, but there was no power in her arms. Avis collapse on his chest, her vision darkened. Gravity rapidly dragging her feet. The last thing she remembered was her nails, puncturing Clayton's shirt and flesh.

Next Chapter

#whump fic #lab whump #lady whump #failed escape attempt #whumper as caretaker #manhandling #sensory overload #suicide cw #self harm cw #past torture #injury whump #bleeding out #wound agitation

[quicksiluers]

For the ship prompt, 30 and Grant/Julia or Grant/Sherman 'cause tourist Grant has been my headcanon ever since i read his memoirs

ok so this one....I had to stop writing at some point and I apologize for where I left it because if I didn't stop, I was never going to. I may continue this if people like it! And it's got a mix of both in there, cause you know I love them both :) But I'm thinking of going back later to add...if people like it enough, maybe lol

there should really be called "can Ali write under 1,000 word challenge?" and have me fail them all because each one has been way too long

“So they started thinking about making the part back in the 1860s because they thought of having something like New York City had with Central Park. Which, for my money, I think the Golden Gate Park is far superior. I mean, Central Park is great but this right here? It’s amazing. Does Central Park have a Japanese tea garden in it? I don’t think so. Anyway, so they really got into work on it around 1870…”

Grant nodded his head along, but his mind zoned out as he walked with the energetic redhead beside him. His enthusiasm was special, that Grant couldn’t knock him for.

Julia had planned to meet up with a friend of hers for most of the day and being the type of person not to sit around and do nothing, he had decided he would explore the city. San Francisco had always been a place he wanted to visit but never got the chance. They had already hit up a few of the more touristy parts, which while he enjoyed, didn’t really give him the feeling he was looking for from the city.

Julia told him to see if he could find a local to help him. Grant thought it odd, asking a stranger out of the blue to point him in the right direction, but he told his fiancé he would keep it in mind.

A hand grabbing his shoulder brought him out his musings, “Let me show you the Japanese tea Garden, it’s really incredible. It started as a village and a tea garden when they had the World’s Fair back in 1894. After the fair, they sold it off to the city who then hired this guy Makoto Hagiwara to take care of the garden. He was one of the main guys to be around to see it turn into what it is now and brought all kinds of Japanese animals for people to see.”

Grant hadn’t been sure what drove him to ask the redhead, Sherman?, for assistance. He had noticed him when he was crossing the street toward the park. It was hard to miss the red hair. Grant had been looking down at his map, trying to pinpoint the best spot to start when he passed the lanky stranger by. That was when he heard footsteps behind him and turned around, meeting the man’s brown eyes.

Now he found himself being pulled along the sidewalk, the ginger chatting away nonstop. How could he talk so much, so fast? The amount of information he was spewing out was dizzying.

“Hopefully the tea house isn’t too busy, it’s early enough in the morning where we should be able to get in,” Sherman explained happily, hand still gripping Grant’s shoulder. He tried to slip his way out of it but it was no use. Heat crawled onto his cheeks. Julia was the only person that was really able to pull him along like this. Their touch almost felt the same, though Sherman’s was stronger, firmer, and…

What are you even thinking?

“Hey, is the sun getting to you?” Grant felt pressure on his forehead, Sherman’s brown eyes staring down at him with concern. Unconsciously, he leaned into the touch, the cool feeling of it soothing him. His skin felt like it was on fire “You’re pretty red, do you want to sit?”

“Uh…,” Grant pulled back quickly, silently cursing to himself. Why had he done that? He coughed into his hand, trying to cover up his burning face, “N-no it’s fine, I just…”

“You’re not used to the heat,” Sherman injected, smiling proudly as if he figured it out, “Totally understandable. You said you were from Illinois right? That’s a different type of heat.”

“Sure…,” the word was drawn out, Grant nodding after a moment. That made sense, it seemed like the taller man already bought into it, “Yes, I guess that makes the most sense…”

“Well, we can get something at the tea house. Which is right over here, I think you’re really going to like it.”

Walking along the path, he tried to keep a good amount of space between them but it was too crowded for that. He felt his arm brush along the redhead’s a few times, the other man seemingly oblivious as he talked on and on about something else. At this point, Grant couldn’t keep track. Everything was too mixed up for him to focus. Why did he feel so weird? It was like butterflies in his stomach, which in itself sounded horrifying. He’d only ever felt like this around Julia and that was a whole other level. He couldn’t have…whatever was going on when he and Julia were engaged! What would she think?

All he needed was an excuse to get away from Sherman. That was it, simple as that. He’d go back to the hotel, tell Julia he hadn’t been feeling well, and just decided to hang out inside for the day. The idea of lying to her filled him with dread. He couldn’t do that, she would know in a second it was something else. Julia always had a way of knowing.

The whole situation left him confused and uncomfortable. None of it was Sherman’s fault, he was just being helpful. And he seemed concerned when he thought Grant wasn’t feeling well. It was Grant’s fault for making the whole situation seem weird.

Walking through the garden brought him a small sense of calm. The pathway was less crowded, allowing them to explore around. Sherman pointed out the different structures and described how they were built, how much time it took, and what parts of Japan they were popular from. Grant was absorbed into his descriptions, asking questions along the way that the ginger seemed to have every answer to. The uncomfortable feeling disappeared as they walked, Sherman pulling him over towards the pond and pointing out each of the fish that peacefully swam around.

“You seem like you know a lot,” Grant teased, crouching down to have a closer look at the fish. All the different colors caught his attention. He pulled out his phone, taking a quick look back at the suddenly quiet tour guide.

Sherman had been staring down at something but had turned his head quickly away. “Well, I do spend a lot of time around here,” he stuttered briefly, catching Grant’s attention. That was the first time he’d done that today, “I have a brother who brings his kids into the city a lot and they’re always asking questions.”

Taking a few photos, Grant stood back up with a small smile, “Well, that’s nice. I’m sure they love learning all about it.”

As they walked up to the tea house, Sherman talking a mile a minute again, Grant wondered what had made the redhead so quiet before. Had something caught his eye and made him shut up for a moment? That seemed out of the question.

Had he been looking at him?

What a ridiculous thought. Grant felt his cheeks heat up again, pushing away the notion.

God, why was he acting like this today? Couldn’t someone just be nice without anything behind it?

The tea house was special. They had gotten there at the perfect time, able to sit down a try out a few of the food options that Sherman liked the best. He also recommended the Sencha, which was a type of green tea that Grant particularly enjoyed. Though the weather was a bit warm, the tea brought with it a soothing sensation that he was in desperate need of.

Making a note of coming back, Grant pulled out his phone to take a quick photo for Julia. He tried to sit back a bit to get the photo and Sherman attempted to lean out of the shot, “No, it’s fine,” Grant reassured, waving his hand a bit, “You can stay in the photo.”

His red hair contrasted nicely with the greenery around them. The lighting was perfect too. It wouldn’t hurt to have one little thing to remember Sherman by.

Not odd at all.

They continued their journey through the park, Grant taking a particular interest when they were passing the pol field. A few horses were galloping around, seemingly warming up before a match was going to begin.

“Do you play?” Sherman asked, picking up on Grant’s flickering gaze as they slowly walked by.

“No, my father wanted me to but,” he paused, mind wandering off before he reeling it back in. No use in revisiting that, “I stuck with other equestrian sports.”

He felt Sherman’s eyes on him, that awkward silence falling over them. Maybe he didn’t mind the redhead’s constant talking

Eventually, they found themselves at the end of the park, crossing the street to walk closer to the beach. The sky was a perfect blue, with a few clouds peppering the sky. Waves rolled over naturally, a few kids crying out in glee as they rushed into the water, and others lounging on the beach sand without a care in the world.

“If we talked along the road here, we could go see the Golden Gate Bridge,” Grant felt Sherman’s hand press into his back lightly, turning him in the direction he was pointing, “It’s a bit of a hike and I wasn’t sure what else you had planned for the day…”

Grant glanced down at his watch, “I’m not sure I would have the time…”

The redhead’s face fell, only for a moment, before he nodded in understanding, “No yeah I totally get it. We walked the whole park which is pretty incredible as it is, that’s a lot of walking. And then we’d have to walk the whole way back because I don’t know what direction you were coming from or where you were sta-“

Reaching up, Grant grabbed the collar of Sherman’s shirt and pulled him down, pressing their lips together. The silence was almost blissful. His lips were warm, cracked slightly from the summer air. There was a lingering mix of sweetness and bitterness from the tea and cookies from the tea house. He moved to tilt his head before he caught himself, embarrassment rushing through him. What was he doing?

Pulling away, Grant took a few steps back from the redhead who was staring back at him in confusion. How could he have done that? “I-I’m so…,” he stuttered, hands shaking slightly. Before Sherman could say anything, he turned and rushed back across the street.

“Grant! Wait!”

The trees and people passed by in a blur, his mind spinning out of control. What was he doing? Kissing someone he barely knew, without even asking! He didn’t understand what had gotten into him.

It felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest.

#replies #writing prompt ask #an emotionally confused grant? my favorite type dfghjkl; #this was gonna get out of hand i could FEEL IT #anyway....thanks for tipsy giving me the idea of sherman never shutting up #and yeah it's San Fran cause why not #this park looks really cool btw i'd like to visit

[ichayalovesyou]

The Undiscovered Country (Live Reaction)

CAPTAIN SULU OF THE EXCELSIOR CAPTAIN SULU OF THE EXCELSIOR CAPTAIN SULU OF THE EXCELSIOR EVERYONE STFU HE DESERVED HIS OWM GODDAMN SHOWWWWW!!!! “Should we report this?” “Are you kidding??” I love him so muchhh

Oh this one is gonna be about racism isn’t it? Yup. I know people judge Kirk for his prejudice against the Klingons in this movie, and I wanna clarify that it’s still not okay, but I just... look back on all of his experiences with Klingons, and he became less and less chill with them as they kept doing stuff to him and his crew, torturing Spock, Sherman’s planet, torturing Chekov, the ugly decisions in A Private Little War then on top of that they killed a son he never got the chance to connect with because his ex never allowed him custody. They almost cost him the chance to bring Spock back on top of that too. I’m not saying it’s not right, and whether it’s justified is subjective, but I also know he learns his lesson in this film. It makes me think of Katara’s arc in S3 of ATLA, how much she hated (understandably) Zuko and the Fire Nation, how she almost killed the man who killed her mother, but then didn’t. If we can love her still with that character growth, I see no reason to suddenly hate Jim.

“Logic is the beginning of wisdom Valeris” god I love Spock, he’s grown so much ☺️ also maaaaan everyone is old now lol, wait?! Where’s Bones?! Oh there he is! Oh wow I can smell the traitor on Valeris she is acting extremely shady! Oh hey it’s General Chang!! I’ve heard of this guy!! Apoliticality hall of fame up in here huh ST? Damn. Klingons love them some Shakespeare lol. Nice Scotty! Ohhhh Chang that was a loaded question, oof thanks for saving your grumpy husband. Ooooh man I love dinner scenes like these, the tension, the delicate conversation, the unspoken words ugh hell yeah. Oof!

Chancellor made a DAMN good point there! Calling Kirk out on his shit before they left! Yessssssss!! Lol everyone is hung FUCK WHAT JUST HAPPENED??? OH FUCK OH FUCK OH FUCK!!! That Zero G effect is cool as fuck! Oh no oh no oh no oh no the war is being staged oh god oh no oh shit oh shit ohhhhhh no!! Ohhhhhhhhhh shittttt this is B A D. Ok so Klingon blood is pink? Huh.

Even with Jim’s prejudice he still values this peace than he does his feelings and that is a Captain Kirk ass thing to do. Bones being fucking AWESOME! Ohhhh nooooo, I liked Gorkon 😔 “Don’t let it end this way Captain.” Wowwww that was cool ass last words. “I sympathize Mr. Scott” growth 🌿 oh hey Sarek is back! Federation has an alien president now? Neat! Also I freaking LOVE Gorkon’s daughter, I am also growing progressively more confused by their kinda over exaggerated behavior in future TV shows? (I imagine they probably had a fanatical ideological takeover, kinda like the Vulcans and Surak but... violent.)

The defense attorney sounds like Michael Dorn??? I know it’s not him but still? OH MY GOD IT IS???? Cool! His name is also Worf? Weird. Awww Bones he’s GOTTA stop making me cry like this I can’t even do this oh man he’s breaking my hearrrrrt. Oh wow they really just listing everything “bad” Jim has ever done huh? Damn. CAPTAIN SULU IS BACK oh and he’s gone again damn. Ooooof penal colony punishment yiiiiikes, seems the Klingons have as outdated a prison system as we do now 😬 oh so Spock is distantly related to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle? Neat. Oh Spock don’t trust Valeris, I know you don’t know better yet but still 😬😬😬

Ooof this whole person thing is super interesting?? Who is this WOMAN whose informing them McCoy & Jim, I love her! I love this political intrigue murder mystery stuff!! Those Wargs look AMAZING wow, loving seeing TOS crew with a budget love it! “Not everyone keeps their genitals in the same place Captain.” OH MY GOD 😂😂😂 oh it’s McKirk hours boys, and awww even in a Klingon prison Jim’s prejudice is decaying. McCoy is DUDE WHAT IS WITH YOU?? And I agree, even as an old man Jim is a lil’ bit it a slut. WAIT CHRISTIAN SLATER???? That was a weird cameo. Even after he made out with that lady he was like “damn, what is wrong with me??” Lol

WAIT IS MATIRA A CHANGELING?? That transformation was VERY gooey?? I mean I know there are a bunch of shapeshifter races but still???? Hey watch McCoy is gonna give out from the cold first cuz he’s a southern damsel just you wait. Aaaaaand it took 5 minutes! 😂 he’s immune to dinosaurs but vulnerable to cold. Bullshit Uhura doesn’t know Klingon??? What was that?!?! Oh she’s not a Changeling. TWO KIRKS AGAIN???? How many times is this now, four? 😂😂

Now they’re close enough to kiss lmfao KISS DAMNIT! Aw. Uh oh. I have never, NEVER seen Spock this posed off ohhhh my god. OH MY GOD HE JUST SMACKED THAT SHIT OUT OF HER HAND. Ooof I need to sit down (I say sitting down) way to frickin kick Jim right in his soul with his own words damn Valeris... wow this is so GOOD, fuck. Oh man, the amount of personal strength, feelings of hatred and betrayal, and circumstance it takes for Spock to FORCIBLY meld with someone when we all know how he feels about consent 😨 this is like, the only ONLY situation I can imagine him, in character, EVER doing this to anyone. Wow... wow. Oh my god. OH MY GOD. Ohhhhhh wow, that’s gonna haunt Spock for the rest of his life... fuck.

SULU IS HERE TO SAVE THE DAYYYYYYY WE LOVE HIM!!! Awwww look at these too poor idiots regretting their moral transgressions :( they’re so married. Over here examining prejudices and stuff, I need to study this screenplay oh my goddddd. This is so GOOD oh my god. Kittomer Accord hours!! Here we go! Oh MAN Chang is a cool ass villain!! Here we gooooooooo!!! EXCELSIOR IS HERE TO HELP!! Aw Spones out here flirting before they go save peace in their time, love that! This battle tastes like a beautiful marriage between Balance of Terror and Conscience of A King 😍 YEAH SCOTTY!!! And thus, Kirk completes his character growth. Lol and then everyone claaaaaaped.

Man, Sulu and the Excelsior really deserved their own his Star Trek show, something I hope they will someday remedy! Awwww that little love letter to TNG and all future Treks at the end heck yeh ☺️

#star trek #star trek vi: the undiscovered country #the undiscovered country #Star Trek tos #star trek tos movies #tos liveblog #liveblogging

[sapphiics]

even numbers for the top 10 long answer asks !! <3

oooh thank you leah!! this is long i’m so sorry

2. Top five songs right now and why

Edge of Midnight by Miley Cyrus and Stevie Nicks

I’m really into Miley’s whole rock thing right now, and the song just reminds me of like Blondie and Kiss! and the lyrics hold up enough that I can not only enjoy the tune and musicality but sing along and actually enjoy it.

La Lune by Madeon and Dan Smith

i first heard this song in this instagram edit for one of my favorite ships, nathan and haley from oth, over a year ago and it is still one of my favorites. The best part is definitely the pre chorus, but the chorus itself is really good to. It just talks about how things don’t feel the same, and whenever I listen to it I get like a burst of energy I can’t even explain.

I’m just a kid by Simple Plan

That song sounds like a documentary of my life. I feel as if I’m wasting away and not doing enough (even in a pandemic where the whole point is to stay at home as much as possible) and I feel alone most of the time, like nobody cares about me. Plus it’s early 2000s grunge(?)/rock so It’s an automatic favorite.

Figure 8 by ellie goulding

Oh my not only is her voice so amazing in this song, the music just sounds good. reminds me heavily of 2014 type stuff, like when Calvin Harris and Avicii were in their prime, and it’s a song that I scream the lyrics to while dancingaround my kitchen at 2am while sweeping.

23 by Jimmy eat world

This is me and my older sister’s song. She’s a senior in high school and our relationship was very tumultuous for most of our lives, but we’re in a really good place right now and this song is one we scream together in our kitchen whenever rit comes on one of our playlists. I first heard it on one tree hill, and I showed it to her and the entire song is how you have to reach for what/who you want before you’re alone for the rest of your life, and it pushes me to reach for my dreams before life passes me by. I won’t always be young forever.

4. Least Favorite memory from school

I’m 9 years old sitting in the principals office.Fifth grade. I was such a mean kid, and I acted out a lot because of unresolved issues at home, and bullying form earlier grades. I remember picking on this new kid, and I found out his chrome book password and logged in to his computer. I got my chrome book revoked, and I just remember sitting there and having my counselor look me in the eyes and say ‘ you’re a bully. I’m sorry to say it but that’s what you are.’ i’m sad and ashamed and angry, because this was the woman who did absolutely nothing when I was getting horrifically bullied by this one boy in the third grade, who called me a mistake from god, but I was also horrified by myself for becoming the person J hate the most. Elementary School was just bad tbh.

6. Describe one of your favorite people: My Brother.

Technically my half brother (same dad) but even though he didn’t live with my dad as a kid he’s only ever known my dad’s family, and his kids call my mom grandma. He’s 18 years older than me, but we’re pretty close and I tell him almost everything about myself. He’s open-minded and really nice, and most of my best memories as a kid were with him.

When he first moved in with us, me all of 3, my sisters 6 and 8 respectively, and him a good 21, we barely conversed. He had school and multiple jobs, on top of learning to speak english. It wasn’t until my second oldest sister went to him, crying about how he never spent time with us, that he quit one of his jobs that week, and dedicated the next years to being someone who I have always counted on in every capacity.

My parents worked a lot when I was young, my dad gone to work at the airport early in the morning, and my mom finally getting the nursing job she wanted since she moved to America, so my brother took us everywhere. We lived within very short walking distance of an elementary school, so he took us to the park, pushed us in the swings, helped us ride our bikes, and spun us in this little yellow swirly thing, like a wide funnel with small railings that you sit in.

For my tenth birthday, he took me to the water park with one of my friends. My oldest sister’s fourteenth birthday, he took her to an amusement park with friends. My other older sister’s 12th bday, he took her and some friends to the movies. A girl in my sixth grade class had her parents surprise her at school by coming to lunch and eating with her, and I wanted the same thing. Not even thinking about my parents, cause I knew they were too busy, I ask my brother (and my sister-in-law) to come, and they did with my baby niece.

When Frozen came out, he took all of us to go see it. When Maleficent came out, he took us to the movies to go watch it. The very first movie we ever watched together was the Adventures of Tin-tin. I haven’t watched it since, but I recommend it to everybody I know. The night he proposed to his now wife, it was after taking all of us to go watch Mr.Peabody & Sherman, and to Johnny Rockets afterward.

Also he’s really funny, 6’2, and we have this long running joke on what year he was born. I still don’t know for myself, and I’ve seen documents, passports, and old photos. Gave me two perfect nieces, an amazing sister-in law, and hates on God as a joke. I don’t think I know a better guy.

sometimes when I sit with and talk to him and my sisters, this moment just happens where I’m looking at all of them and the epiphany of‘these are my siblings. nobody will ever be closer to me, both biologically and emotionally, than these people. I am you and you are me, just scrambled differently.’ Even though he has a different mom, he’s such an integral part of my life that he’s just automatically included.

8. Childhood Band I liked.

Fall Out Boy. I was a huge pjo fan, as were my siblings, and I watched those little mvs on youtube with viria(are they still a thing)’s art to fall out boy songs, and as a kid who was growing up and learning things at an alarming rate that has definitely messed up the way I understand my world, Fall Out Boy’s music was the perfect vessel to express my anger. I can remember the day in 2014 where a new pjo mv dropped, to the tune of The Phoenix by FOB.

this is already super long and gianna asked for ten so i’ll link the answer here

#long post #a day in the life #leah🦸‍♀️ #ask