#owen grant is a nice guy

[fear-of-flyers]

hey bae! for your little request thing kent, enemies to lovers, one bed trope. you know the vibes

for the purposes of this we’re going to pretend that it’s hot enough to swim in NH before july 😭 also the reader wears a bikini but it’s (otherwise) gender neutral

“okay guys, everyone’s gonna have to share a room! there are two down here and 3 upstairs, i get the master. buddy up!” luke said.

you were at the hughes’ lake house in new hampshire for spring break with an odd group of boys and their partners. “I can share with mark” ethan said, claiming his roomate for the week. as they went to claim a room you heard “i call briss” and “i want bords” from thomas and brendan respectively, the two of them high-fiving and running upstairs. “obviously owen will stay with his girlfriend and matty with his” luke said, as they went to put their stuff in the downstairs rooms. “that leaves- oh” luke trails off, promptly turning to grab his bag and head upstairs calling “sorry” behind him

you turn and look at the one person left, “you have to be fucking joking” you say, rolling your eyes . “you wish sweetheart. guess you’re stuck with me.” kent replies, “lead the way” you groan and grab your suitcase, walking upstairs. "the one on the very end to the right is open!" briss calls, seeing you at the top of the stairs, before cringing when he saw kent behind you.

you and kent... often disagreed, to put things nicely. the two of you were always at odds since meeting at a party after a win, kent bumping into you and spilling his drink all down your front, only half apologizing as he ran off to do god knows what. granted, he had since tried to make it up to you but for whatever reason nothing seemed to be enough for either of you. that's why you couldn't believe your luck when you got to the room and opened to door to find one bed.

"looks like we're sharing a bed too." you say, turning to kent as he makes his way further into the room. "look, i'll be civil if we can both agree to suck it up for the week, i'll stick to my side of the bed and you'll stick to yours." kent nods, "you can ignore me outside of this room the whole week for all i care, just don't be an asshole here." at that kent smirks, "you got it princess, your wish is my command" he says holding eye contact, a move that makes you shiver. you look away quickly and step back. when had he gotten so close? and why he was affecting you like that? why now after knowing him for so long?

breaking you out of your trance luke popped his head into your room “hey, we’re heading out to swim in like 10 if y’all wanna come too” he says. you and kent both nod in agreement “yeah, let me finish unpacking.” you say. luke nods, closing the door behind him. with that you turn to unpack, kent in the bathroom changing, and as you reach the dresser you feel yourself smile a bit. kent had lefy the top drawers on the dresser empty for you to use. you filled the drawers, grabbing your favorite bikini to change into and sit on the bed to wait for kent to finish up.

you stood up as the bathroom door opened, ✨admiring✨ the way kent looked. “thank you” you find yourself saying, “for the top drawers. i appreciate it.” kent smiles softly, “of course” he says, holding the bathroom door open as you slip inside, quickly changing, cringing a but when you realize that you left your cover-up outside. accepting it you open the door and leave the bathroom, keeping eye contact with the floor. you can feel kent’s eyes on you as you cross the room and throw the cover-up on. “it’s nice, the bathing suit i mean. i- you-“ kent says, “you look nice, i mean. yeah.” you smile, a bush rising on your cheeks for what feels like the hundredth time that hour. “thank you” you say, “are you ready to head out?” kent opens the door by way of entering and the two of you grab drinks from the fridge and towels before heading out to the dock with the rest of the group.

you lay down with olivia and audrey to tan as kent runs off to join the boys, playing around with a beach ball. everything is calm as you talk with the girls, grateful for the break from school and the privacy of the hughes' lake house. then, about an hour after you lay down you feel something dripping on you. opening your eyes you see owen, leaning over the three of you. "i've been elected to come and get you guys to swim" he says "now, don't get me wrong i feel bad about interrupting your girl time or whatever, but this is for the good of the group according to luke." you roll your eyes "they knew what they were doing in sending you" you say "i'll get up i guess, just stop dripping your hair on me" olivia adds. owen smiles, quickly pecking olivia on the forehead before making his way back to the edge of the dock, turning to make sure you were following.

hours later you found yourself sitting around the fire, drink in hand with soft music playing in the background. you were in between luke and briss but you could feel kent’s eyes on you from across the circle of chairs. despite how you thought you felt, you found yourself struggling not to look over. over the course of the day you found yourself getting along with him more throughout the day. and, now that things had calmed for the evening you found it hard to look away. giving in you tuned from your conversation with brendan to see kent smiling softly at you. you smiled back and waved but, to your luck owen saw.

“y/n and kent playing friendly?” he says, drawing the attention of the group. “what, no” kent says, shaking his head. “don’t even try to lie,” owen says “i saw you staring at them” kent just shakes his head “you wish power” he says, but the blush rising on his cheeks says otherwise. “maybe they don’t hate each other” matty says, looking between the two if you. “i’ve never hated him” you say “i just hold a grudge. plus, it’s not like he’s been all that nice to me either.” as you look back over to kent he looks almost ashamed. “i think i’m gonna head up to bed guys.” he says, getting up and walking inside. “yo dude, what?” owen says, starting to get up. “no, owen let me” you say getting up and following kent inside.

when you get upstairs you see kent on the edge of the bed with his head in his hands. you knock gently on the door frame and walk a few feet into the room. “hey, everything okay?” you ask. kent shakes head “no. i feel like an ass." he replies "i never hated you. in fact i feel quite the opposite. but instead of dealing with my feelings i chose to be an asshole which wasn't right of me at all. it truly hit how bad i was when you said that you never hated me even though you had every right to. i don't expect you to forgive me but i wanted to offer an explanation."

“oh” you responded, sinking onto the bed next to him. you had never even considered him liking you. “yeah.” kent said, “anyways, i was serious about going to bed. see you tomorrow?” you shook your head “nah, i’m tired too. i’m gonna stay up here and sleep if you don’t mind.” you replied getting up and walking over to the dresser. “of course i don’t mind. it’s your bed too y/n.” at that you turned around, a look of surprise on your face. “what?” kent asked thoroughly confused. “you called me y/n. i don’t think you’ve ever called me by my name before. it was always ‘y/l/n’ or a stupid nickname” you said, a smile taking over your face. “i don’t think call you ‘kent’ ever either though. any how, it was nice to hear.”

with that, the two of you got ready for bed. it was surprising to you how easily you moved around each other now that you let go of the tension. you brushed your teeth and did your skincare routine while kent brushed his. finally you were finished in the bathroom, you turned all the lights off while kent turned a fan on because, as you learned, neither of you could sleep in silence. finally the two of you climbed into bed facing away from each other and, after saying “goodnight” to each other, you fall asleep.

you found yourself the next morning feeling super well rested after one of the best sleeps you’d had in a while. you open your eyes and come face to face with kent, realizing that your arm is over his hip and his legs are tangled with yours. blushing you move your arm, “hi” you say. kent looks at you and smiles eyes full and fond, “hi.”

#kent johnson #kent johnson x reader #kent johnson imagine #columbus blue jackets #hockey imagine #umich hockey #umich hockey imagine #fear of writing #my writing

[ramblingdisaster73]

Rambling thoughts as I rewatch 4x09 “Road Kill”

I thought it would be a younger version of herself from the promo & Natacha’s interview before the episode aired – BUT – I FUCKING LOVE how they did it. This is my favorite of all the ‘begins’ episodes from both 9-1-1 & LS

“Is that Marjan?” x3 – trying to figure out if the 2 Paul ones were the same one and the edited it weird or if it was in the script that he said it twice

You helped with that Tumor cake Marj.

I love that he doesn’t believe that she sold the bike & got $200 more.

So not subtle about the party – but these people are so happy to get her back and I love it.

Acts of service really is her love language

I love that the girl made it out of her relationship – I also love how they showed her doubts – that was so real. It isn’t easy leaving bad relationships – but in the end she overcame her fear – with the help of Marj.

The season of sisters – so funny. I am trying to figure out who is next – We know that Grace has 2 (Sierra’s irl sisters), Carlos has 2, and Marjan has at least 1.

As someone that performed in those 4-hour recitals – I agree -they get long and tedious – but can be absolutely adorable and hysterical at the same time.

This is actual a pretty decent spread – but yeah – that is kinda a lot of canapes

You are ALWAYS extra

They are so fucking adorable – they definitely dodged an LED bullet

Once again – they kill it with the music.

The thing about the red car – my guess is from Marjan’s memories – did the Mom crawl out of the car and die, then the father moved to the passenger side of the car? Because Marj was in the back on the drivers side behind her friends Dad. The placement when adult Marj checks them out confused me.

This is her second accident in 2 seasons

How long did she have to sit with her dead best friend and his parents after their accident?

I love her origin story – so much of who she is, why she is who she is, is so beautifully consistent with her character the last 3.5 seasons

We learned so much new info about her

Mateo gets very emotional when the people he loves are in distress – he showed us this in the first season when they found out Owen had cancer, it has continued through out the seasons. It makes sense that he would be as worked up as he is.

Good thing Grace is always at work when they need her

Kinda find it funny that the cop stays at the house while 3 firefighters go investigate.

Sucks for Rick – getting murdered for being a nice guy.

How does this cop NOT see the dead body or blood?

Grant did not cover it up that well

I also thought Grant was for sure going to kill the cop when he started walking back to his car.

The makeup department did an amazing job

TK reliving the events of who knows how long ago – this timeline taunts me daily – from Carlos’ kidnapping and now this

The acting this season has been phenomenal

“I hate to ask you this, but was she the victim or the perpetrator?” Carlos Reyes – I mean, it’s a fair question.

How the fuck did this dude bail himself out? Was the bail amount $5?

I think it is interesting that Marj was called Mouse when she was younger, but how that accident changed how she presented herself. She took her BFF’s mom’s advice and lived her true self – not as someone that was remotely quiet or shy.

This cop wasn’t at all suspicious of this dude? Like didn’t even bother running the plates?

She lost so much blood – I love that she used some of it to put up the ‘126’ on the wall.

Get a sister – Get a killer = season 3 of LS

This whole episode is so well done

“That girl can’t just see the sites like a normal tourist?” Paul ‘exhausted’ Strickland

Of course Grant borrowed his dad’s RV for a trip – guess he just never said how long that trip would be.

Survival instincts are crazy

“Are you a liar?” – child Marjan to Adult Marjan

His constant use of the word ‘friend’ gets super annoying after like the 3rd time he said it.

It is awesome how they had every part of the 126 (with a late cronut assist from Tommy) helping to find Marjan – and similar to 4x04 – Marjan saved herself – but had help in finishing the job

So I guess it is: get a sister – get a killer – save yourself from the killer – your family assists you getting medical help

The scene in the tunnel – The terror in Marjan’s eyes was something I FELT. Not just saw – but FELT

Flare to the neck – nice way for an abusive killer to die

Kinda happy it was extra painful, even if it was quick

Off topic – but I have been watching A LOT of Stranger Things – so the scene of Paul, Judd, and Owen all being on their radios made me laugh and think of the kids/teens (mostly the never-ending story scene)

Now Kylie will never have to look over her shoulder for her abusive ex again.

Owen’s face at the truck after they find the old man’s body – perfect expression of fear and grief.

I am so glad they cut the Nanteo scene in the hospital

Give them development, but this wasn’t the time

Super cute TK sleeping on Carlos

I do hope that they do something with what they have been sorta building up for them

SO FUCKING OVER THE DIET/NEGATIVE FOOD REFERENCES

None of these people do well with R&R – not a single one of them – But I think Grace and Owen are the worst

“It could be that our daughter just don’t got no interest at all” Judd Ryder – good luck buddy

“Who is here for Marjan Marwani” EVERYONE

“Why you guys first? Fine just don’t take too long.” Mateo being the youngest brother.

Another great quotable episode

I did love the reveal of it being a younger Marjan, showing us her parents

This was such a strong episode – from top to bottom, every member of the cast & crew really gave it their all – and it shows.

She looks so small in that hospital bed with her found brother & adopted dad, then her smile when she gets the flowers from her parents – such a great ending scene.

Looking forward to the rest of the season – It just keeps getting better.

#911 lone star spoilers #911 lone star season 4 #marjan marwani #126 firefam #episode 4x09 #ramblingthoughts

[alwayslostinmangaland]

My ( unlikely) theory is that maybe Owen almost die trying to rescue Judd and almost losing a parent makes Tk realize that he needs closure when it comes to his mom and him and Carlos decide to go to New-York together so he can visit her grave and get to spend time with his brother.

What makes me lean towards this theory: I feel like the grief storyline is not done for Tk. I also feel like Rafa’s interview where he basically mentions that while both guys could propose at any moment, he feels like they still have things they need to talk about and things to go through before they reach that stage kind of make sense. I do feel like they made so much progress and learned a lot on how to communicate and what they want and need from their relationship but I would be lying if I was saying that I don’t think they still have things they probably should work on before they commit to marriage.

What makes me lean towards a proposal instead: Lone Star like many shows with an ensemble cast tend to skip a lot of key moments ( for Tarlos, the talk about the blow up at the station, their break up and the talk about their breakup and deciding to get back together in 3x04 comes to mind) and that makes me think that most of these talks I want them to have and the work I’d like them to do on themselves, as individuals and as a couple, are probably never gonna happen on screen and I should take for granted that they either have already happened offscreen or will happen off screen so maybe the writers felt like a proposal/marriage discussion may be the perfect time because of that and that they have indeed 100% reached that stage in their relationship.

Luckily, while I’m just an occasional fanfic reader, the Tarlos fandom has some of the best fanfic twitters I’ve come across and a lot of them managed/ are managing to write wonderful stories that fill the gabs I feel should be filled for an immediate proposal to be satisfying. I think it’s a shame that I feel the need to read fan fictions to filled the gaps ( and not only when it comes to Tarlos don’t get me wrong and I do think and wish these scenes would actually be canon and on screen but for an ensemble show like this one, I can understand why it’s this way and I’m mostly okay with it.

And despite everything I’ve just said, I do think they made so much progress on their communication this season and they have grown so much this season, as individuals and as a couple and I feel like they did show us that they’re endgame(not that I had doubts!), and are now strong enough for marriage to be in the cards.

And of course it would be a nice parallel to the pilot and a nice way to close the season since they started it on a sour note.

And I’m gonna lie, Tk has been giving Carlos the “I’m gonna propose to this guy” eyes since 3x04. Also, the “father in law” comment from Carlos speaks volume on how it’s clearly in the near future for these two.

#tarlos #speculations #911 ls spoilers #911 lone star spoilers

[after-nine-at-the-oasis]

Promo time!!

Hi Grace :))

Ope?

OPE O.O

Dramatic speech?

YO IS THAT THE AMBULANCE BLOWING UP???!!??!?!???

No okay it looks like a different one

A FUNERAL???

Oh okay just a fancy thing

OOGH can we talk about Tommy's HAIR there :OOO ❤️❤️

Ohhh a cancer thing!! But also ? Like both but not quite ?!! lol

Hmm dramatic speech

OPE CRAP THAT EXPLOSION AGAIN

OHH NOOOOO

UH OH UH OH UH OH O.O

THAT'S A LOT OF BLOOD

AND ALSO DEBRIS xd

Who is this guy???

OHHH NOOOO 😳😳😳😳😬😬 NONE OF THIS LOOKS GOOD 😭😭

Y'all I am STRESSED 😭😭😭😳😬 xdd

Can we not get ONE WEEK XD

ONE WEEK of rest lol xD

That's the last of my last thoughts! Now it's time for the. . .

REVIEW

I absolutely LOVED this episode!! It was so good. And the DRAMA y'all!!! The ANSGT!!! Lovely lol xD <333. Seeing Marjan's side interspersed the others looking for her was just mMH! Amazing :DDD. Also I am LOVING these Marjan storylines we're getting!! A slay for real :D. She deserves it and she is serving SO HARD!! I don't usually say serve but it felt appropriate here lol. Anyway yeah it was an amazing, and super emotional 😭😭💔, episode :DDD!! So great 🥰🥰❤️. And so many nice happy moments in the beginning!! Or sweet moments :D. Especially with the rest of the 126 been after they find out she's missing but also on Marjan's side, like with Mouse, even if (though) she was just Marjan hallucinating herself :)). Anyway!! Lovely ❤️❤️❤️❤️.

Now it's time for the individual parts!

Okay so since I'm watching the next episode a few days late, probably sometime this weekend, it's currently the Thursday after the next episode lol. Sh xD. This will most likely be pretty short though because I have a lot going on.

Tommy! We didn't see her much but she was so sweet at the end :)). I'm so sorry for you having to sit through that ballet performance girl xDD. But yeah, she was great at her job I'm sure lol. I love her <33 🥰.

Grace! I love her :)). As soon as Judd said he knew what to do I was like :DD :O Grace!! So that was why she had to work ;)). Like plot wise I mean lol. Anyway, she was great at he job 🥰🥰. And great when we saw her at the end too of course :).

Paul, Judd, and Owen! I'm pairing them up in their groups lol. I love them :'D. They were great this episode, adorable and funny in the beginning XD, and great at finding Marjan later on :)). I'm so glad they did, too <333. And Marjan and Paul at the end ❤️❤️❤️🥰😭. My besties <33.

Mateo, TK, and Carlos! Mateooo 😭😭😭❤️💔. My poor boyy <333. I love him :'((. Also I just have to mention the Tarlos conversation at the beginning - amazing xD. I love them so much lol <3. I'm talking about the bit about firing Owen lol. Anyway, they were all great at their jobs!! They all played a big role in finding her :)).

Marjan! Our lovely girl :'). AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!! She did so good this episode 😭. She slayed so hard :D. Everything she did to escape and fight Grant was just incredible, especially given that she was actually (physically) doing it all alone. Like, dude, she was in a car crash and then she got SHOT o.o! Girl was going through it xd. And I REMEMBER saying last week (not technically by the time I'm actually writing this but shhh) with the promo "maybe that's young Marjan or something?" but I didn't think I'd be RIGHT!!! Not totally, anyway xD. Then I was like, okay so she's not real, but Marjan hadn't seen the car yet, so how is she imagining her (after other people didn't acknowledge her)? And then it WAS MARJAN!!! I also figured the flowers would be a family member using the nickname and I just- aGH!! And I'm so proud of myself for guessing that (and the whole thing in general lol) :DD! Anyway, I feel awful for her - hasn't she had enough traumatic car crashes?? As a kid, in the beginning of season 3, and now?? - but she was amazing this episode :')). Everything with finding out it was her was just 😭😭😭. And even before then, just for Mouse thinking she's a separate character, and then it's extra heartbreaking when you think back on it after finding out it was Marjan :'((. D':, but also :')) because it was just so good xd. Anyway, yeah <3. She did amazing at her job this episode (staying alive xdd). I love her so much ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🥰.

Overall, I really enjoyed this episode! I thought it was super amazing, and I'm glad we got to see all of the 126 (minus Tommy unfortunately) helping find Marjan - that was really great :'). They're my family your honor 😭. I don't mean that literally, just kind of in a "they're my babeys" kinda way xD. Anyway, we got to see everyone, but we still got a good focus on our wonderful girl Marjan <333. She did so well, and I am so glad she's okay 😭😭😭❤️ xd. I'm also lowkey kinda glad Mouse wasn't real, because any more casualties (not that I'm sad about Grant, but I just mean like, other people) from that crash would just be extra heartbreaking :'((. Still, knowing it happened to Marjan is just :'((( 😭💔. But, yeah :'). I loved the episode, I thought it was absolutely amazing. Everyone was go great 🥰. I'm so proud of all of them, especially Marjan <333.

So yeah! I loved this episode, I thought it was great. The next one looks crazy! This has been my review of. . .

9-1-1: Lone Star, Season 4, Episode 9: Road Kill

It was so good! The next episode looks really interesting. I'm excited! I'll be back next week with my review of. . .

9-1-1: Lone Star, Season 4, Episode 10: Sellouts

See you then!

#9-1-1 lone star #911 lone star #oasis's 9-1-1 chatter #WHOOO I FINALLY DID IT #I was gonna watch the next episode today (10) but I'm glad I didn't say so earlier bc it's just past midnight and I think I'mma just save #it for monday (I'm off school and I'm busy tomorrow) #but!! I knew I needed to get this out first #it's currently saturday night (well sunday now) but I probably won't post this immediately just so I can try and post the reviews in #order lol #when I was thinking about watching it during the week I figured I wouldn't but now thst I have more time I might try #though we'll see bc I have another week for 9-1-1 so I might do this one and tgd and not worry about it xD #ANYWAY #yeah :)) #love you guys 🥰🥰🥰❤️!!! #byeeee :))) :DD <3333 🥰!!!!

[adorethedistance]

City Slicker, Cowboyfriend - Owen Joyner x Reader

JATP masterlist

Warnings: Swearing, nerves, mentions of covid.

Words: 2163

Summary: You’re starting to have doubts about moving all the way to Norman until a shopping trip to Ikea turns into the meet-cute you’ve been waiting for.

A/n: This isn’t a request or one of my Valentines day fics, this is just something that I have had stuck in my head ever since Owen posted this on IG and bc I’m facing total writers block with my other pieces I cranked this one out in a few hours to get the ball rolling again. Hopefully. Enjoy this totally unproofed, fluffy madness!! (Because who doesn’t need more Owen content in their life?)

There are perks to moving and one of them is undoubtedly: shopping. For furniture, home decor, kitchen utensils, whatever! Granted, shopping alone can be tedious and, for some, like pulling teeth, thus, I’ve enlisted the help of my best friends Leila and Chelsea. I didn’t even have to bribe them to come because everyone loves getting lost in Ikea. It’s one of the best things about the human experience.

“It’s been so long since I’ve been in an Ikea,” Leila says to no one in particular as we walk through the onslaught of staged bedrooms.

“What?! Are you telling me you don’t get meatballs and lawn chairs on a weekly basis?” My exaggeration makes Leila laugh as she steps into one of the display kitchens. Looking between me and Chelsea she asks,

“What would you do if I turned the handle then a jet of water sprayed out?”

“Die, I guess.”

The three of us continue through the faux house displays and past the mattresses despite Leila’s urge to jump on every single one. As we walk through the section of different lighting features, I sigh with a frown as I think about college. I changed my bachelor’s to an associate’s so I could graduate in two years. Chelsea’s parents moved out here at the end of our senior year in high school, and she moved with them to study in Norman. Leila in turn went to Arizona for an athletic physical therapy gig, leaving me to face college alone in L.A.. In the two years the three of us were apart, we missed each other more and more, and after determining which of the three states we lived in was cheapest, we packed up and headed East. Covid kind of delayed our plans. But after a few months, I picked Leila up from Arizona and together we chased open job opportunities into Norman, Oklahoma. The three of us found an apartment space to live in together and thus, we ended up in Ikea on this fine Sunday afternoon.

Snapping back into reality I see Leila standing directly under a light that’s hanging very low from the ceiling. Once standing directly underneath it, she pulls down her mask and opens her mouth, rising to her toes to eat the fixture.

“Leila, don’t you dare fellate that light bulb! You’re gonna get us kicked out.”

I swear I’m practically their mom when it comes to behaving in public. Figuring they can’t hurt themselves in the college dorm section, I lead them quickly through it and into the giant furniture warehouse section. On the far wall, I see a large poster of a couple smiling brightly behind Chelsea, but I don’t bother to read the text. Leila and I spot the poster at the same time, and the imagery jogs her memory.

“Chelsea, how’s Hunter? Haven’t heard from him slash about him in like a week,” she asks about Chelsea’s boyfriend of a year.

“Oh, yeah, he tore a ligament in his wrist.”

“What?!”

“Yeah, I guess he moved it wrong or something and put too much stress on the area that it just tore. He was moving hay bales into the horse stables.”

“As opposed to the chicken stables,” Leila judges under her breath, which makes me snicker as a result.

“I still can’t believe you’re dating a literal cowboy,” I interject, “Like, I know we’re in Oklahoma, and he’s from Tennessee, but we saw Texas on the way out here and that’s cowboy country. Norman seems more...” I trail off in search of delicate phrasing.

“Just barely marry your cousin territory, but still downing chewing tobacco whilst driving a lifted truck?” Leila hits the nail squarely on the head.

“Yeah, that sounds about right-” Before I can continue giving my thoughts on Norman, I cut myself off at the sound of laughter behind me.

“Sorry. We weren’t trying to eavesdrop, that was just really funny.” When I turn around, I see a guy roughly our age dressed in all black with bleach-blonde hair, speaking through light, broken laughter.

“No worries,” I dismiss the apology as we pass by one another, and out from the dressers section. The three of us continue into the different sections, and come to a stop once I see we’re exactly where we need to be: dining room shit!

“Cowboy boyfriends aside- oh my gosh: cowboy boyfriends. Cowboyfriends,” I say getting lost in my new terminology. Both of my friends share a mix of laughter and gasps and my ingeniousness. “Anyway. Cowboyfriends aside, how is Avery?” I ask Leila who begins blushing madly.

“She’s really good. We were just making plans for our three year anniversary, which reminds me to tell y’all I’m flying back to Phoenix to surprise her.”

“Awwww,” I nearly tear up and the sweet image of Leila and her girlfriend reuniting, “Y’all are so cute. Both of you and your partners. You know, being the only single friend in this group has made life suck a lot. Y’all are so happy and in love and not dead inside. Honestly? Get fucked both of you.” Despite my harsh words, the three of us break into a lighthearted conglomerate of laughter.

“We’ll find you someone… eventually.” Leila pretends she also can’t hear the last part of her sentence despite being the one saying it.

“I know, but I don’t think it’s in the cards for me to find love in Norman. I don’t need a cowboyfriend, and we’re not gonna find a true city slicker here either.”

When I finish my statement, I see our blonde friend seems to have followed us. I observe he comes to a stop in front of another guy in a flannel with a shopping cart. The way they jump into conversation with one another parallels the animated body language Leila, Chelsey, and I share. I continue to watch their exchange as Chelsea speaks up.

“Maybe you need someone right down the middle.”

“Yeah, like a guy who drives a truck but uses it to transport Ikea furniture instead of a whole ass tree that he’ll carve into a chair.” A small laugh escapes my lips, at both Leila’s statement, and the scene ahead of Blondie pretending to strangle his friend over something. I’m snapped out of my nosy yet endeared stare as a third guy appears. He’s a sandy blonde with billowing locks tucked under a trucker hat. And he came from behind me and my two friends to place something in their cart which keeps his back toward me. When he turns back around, my mind goes blank. Any thoughts of shopping for dining room chairs has left my mind. He is wearing a face mask, but he has such nice eyes that he could have a giraffe snout under the mask for all I care. I see him look up from the shelves, directly into my eyes. We stay locked for a moment before he breaks away and turns to his friends. I slowly turn to my friends too who are both giving me the exact same look of excitement and conspiracy.

“He’s really cute,” I sigh out with a laugh, swooning much louder than I’d have preferred.

“He has a face mask on,” Leila points out, her expression dropping from excited to cynical.

“Still! I can just tell.”

“Girl, what are you doing? Talk to him!” Chelsea whisper-shrieks.

“Shhh, I cannot take you anywhere!”

Glancing back at the handsome stranger, we connect eyes once more and I feel my face heat furiously as I realize he was already looking at me. I’m the first to break; I consult my friends for the best course of action and as I’m turned 180 to face them, Chelsea starts pretending to hyperventilate excitedly. Leila looks over my shoulder for me, discreetly surveying the other trio in the dining chairs aisle.

“Don’t look now, but he’s talking to his friends and looking between them and you.” I can hear in her voice she’s trying her best not to smile despite wearing a face mask.

“Should I give him my number?”

“Yes!”

“What are you waiting for?”

“I’m nervous! What if he’s gay?”

“Will you just get over there? I promise you a gay man would not be wearing what he’s wearing right now. Maybe a lesbian,” Leila adds for good measure.

“You guys are freaking me out, I need you to leave so I know you’re not judging my flirting.” I shoo my best friends out of the aisle as inconspicuous as possible. Kinda wish blondie would’ve done the same because when I turn back around, the other trio hasn’t moved and the only one looking at me is the one in all black. He quickly averts his eyes though and I take one last deep breath before walking over to the stranger. I tilt my chin up ever so slightly to fake a sense of confidence that I unmistakably don’t have right now.

“Hey.” Really, Y/n? Hey??

“Hey,” he greets back breathily. Why is he nervous? I’m the one who gets to be nervous! Man, he’s really cute. I can’t fuck this one up. I’m not doing so stellar right now. Perhaps you should say something else, dipshit?

“Uhm,” I should’ve scripted this. “I just wanted to say that-” You’ve got this. Don’t be a bummer. “I-uh, I think you’re really cute and I was wondering if I could give you my number?” My speech is slow, each word deliberate in spite of the fact that I feel like I’m having an out of body experience right now. I’m not the one in control of the words that are coming out of my mouth.

Upon realizing why I walked over, blondie’s friends take the question as a sign to leave and less than inconspicuously back away from the two of us. Trucker hat spares them one last glance over his left shoulder and judging by the look flannel gives him, they were definitely talking about me in their team huddle.

“Uh, yeah. I was gonna ask for your instagram- if you have one, that is.”

“I’m cool with both.” The two of us reach for our phones and unlock them with anxious hands. I move to hand him my phone with instagram open, and he trades me for his which has a new contact open. I type my name and put my favorite heart emoji next to it after triple checking the number is correct. Wow, you’re just so ballsy today, Y/n!!!!! I give him back the phone, scanning the instagram account he’s just opened and followed for me. I hear him exhale a little harder as a small laugh and can only imagine it’s from the stupid heart emoji.

“Owen,” I say in a hushed, endeared voice, fully not intending to say it out loud. “You have a million followers?! Oh, you’re an actor. OH… You’re an actor.” I really don’t need to be speaking my entire thought process right now in the middle of this Ikea. Exhaling a small laugh of my own, I see we already have a small bunch of mutuals, one of which is… Chelsea??? Looking up from my phone I turn around to see Chelsea and Leila watching the interaction from around the corner of one of the industrial shelves.

In the flurry of scattered likes, I see him find my account and follow me back. I accept the request, nervous of what he thinks of me without a face mask on. What do I think of him without a face mask on? Going back to his account, seeing his entire face is even better than just his eyes. I was right, Leila: he is cute.

“You’re really pretty,” I hear him almost sigh as he combs through the grid of my account. The comment makes my heart beat all the much faster and I finally look upward to get a glimpse of Owen in the flesh. Still as beautiful as the last time I checked!

Sparing a quick glance over my shoulder, he looks back down at me and laughs,

“I think your friends got tired of waiting.”

“I think yours did, too.” The other members of our trios come back into the aisle we had kicked them from more or less two minutes ago. We connect eyes once more and stare longingly, wordlessly at one another, so lost in each other’s beauty our friends have to break up the staring contest of infatuation.

“Y/n?” I hear Leila behind me.

“Uh, well, I have to get back to chair shopping, but- text me later?”

“For sure.”

“For sure,” I mimic his voice.

“Guess I’ll see you later. Y/n.”

“Yeah.” And with that, we’re pulled apart by our respective best friends, through the vast expanse of the Norman Ikea.

“What was that?” Chelsea asks, excitedly linking arms with me.

“I don’t know I- Wait, you have some explaining to do!”

*** 

Taglist: @caitsymichelle13 @kaitlyn2907 @itz-jas @crybabyddl @kcd15 @kinda-really-lost @calamitykaty @morganayennefertyrell @n0wornever @dream-a-little-bigger-x @mrstodorooki @vicesvsvirturesfanfic @curlybrownhairedboys @amazinggracy @kaitieskidmore1 @asdfghjkl-fanfics​ @ghostlygreenbean @juliefromaustralia @merceret​ @jemimah-b99 @ifilwtmfc @thesweetestsinner​ @imsydneywalker @lovesanimals @thebloodthirstyvampress @bumbleberry-pie @losers-club6 @tefilovesreading​ @dmcfarland1@joynerxmercer @kexrtiz @talk-on-the-street @phantompogues @konciousdreamer @sunsetcurvej @warmnesss0ul @lilyjoyner 

#Julie and the phantoms #Julie and the phantoms fanfiction #Julie and the phantoms fanfic #Julie and the phantoms fic #Julie and the phantoms writing #Julie and the phantoms imagine #Julie and the phantoms oneshot #Julie and the phantoms one shot #Julie and the phantoms fluff #Julie and the phantoms smut #Julie and the phantoms angst #Julie and the phantoms x reader #Owen Joyner #Owen Joyner fanfiction #Owen Joyner fanfic #Owen Joyner fic #Owen Joyner writing #Owen Joyner imagine #Owen Joyner one shot #Owen Joyner oneshot #Owen Joyner fluff #Owen Joyner smut #Owen Joyner angst #Owen joyner x reader #Owen Joyner x y/n #Owen Patrick Joyner #Owen Patrick Joyner fanfiction #Owen Patrick Joyner fanfic #Owen Patrick Joyner fic #Owen Patrick Joyner writing

[herinsectreflection]

One thing that I think is pretty minor but cool about the show as a whole is how every character very clearly had a "type" when it came to their love interests, but those love interests never felt like repeats or obvious substitutes for each other.

Buffy was consistently attracted to dark and dangerous types, older men, emo boys, and people who had an air of mystery or were loners for some reason. Angel and Spike are obvious examples, and Dracula too, but also Riley - he was supposed to be the nice farm boy but was also an undercover secret agent addicted to vitamins. Faith fits this paradigm too if you want to read it that way. Robin was an older guy with mysterious motivations. Then there's Owen, Scott, Parker, Ford - all who give off the impression that they write tortured poetry in their bedroom. You can see Buffy yearning for a connection after feeling so isolated because of her calling, partially looking for someone who can understand the darkness within her, but more importantly for someone who understands what it's like to feel alone and not understood.

Same goes for the supporting characters. Xander is consistently attracted to assertive, powerful, women who speak their mind - Cordelia and Anya of course, but also Buffy, Faith, and his series of demonic beaus. This is almost certainly linked to his own insecurity, lack of confidence and difficulty he has transposing his feelings into sensical words. Willow likes quiet, kind people with a gentle sense of humour like Oz, Tara, and Xander (he could often be unkind to others, but Willow specifically received kindness from Xander when they were little; she sees more of that part of him), probably because of the lack of softness from her parents and get peers growing up, as well as a fear of the less soft part of herself. Kennedy is the outlier here, which I think is at least partially why that relationship felt off to so many people.

Giles has a much smaller sample size, but Jenny and Olivia are both mature, intelligent, and sexually assertive. Cordelia is of course exclusively a moron-sexual, judging by her history of Xander, Doyle, Groo, Devon, pre-AtS Wesley and post-AtS Angel. Spike likes women who are mean to him or beat him up, which I'm sure has nothing to do with getting murdered by his future girlfriend/mother figure. Angel likes blondes he can become emotionally dependent on (or in the case of Cordelia, a brunette he can become emotionally dependent on). Faith is attracted to anyone and everyone romantically involved with Buffy for some reason.

It's a nice way of showing consistent characterisation and grants minor romances an immediate believability. It helps us understand these characters and their patterns. People often have unconscious patterns that they repeat throughout their life, and the writers understood that, and understood what those patterns would be, without it really being a big focus.

#btvs #Buffy Summers #willow rosenberg #xander harris #meta #general

[sonnetthebard]

This is kind of a crack idea, but I don't really care and I'm throwing it out anyway

Curt and Owen have to go undercover in a show for a mission(keeping an eye on one of the members of the cast maybe?). The show? Either Spies are Forever or a Hatchetfield show, take your pick -S

S anon... you have been waiting a while for this, and I apologize. With Headless, I needed a moment to recharge. So this is going to be a Modern! SAF fic. And as a treat, we're going original cast in an AU. That's right folks. Extra meta content. You asked for crack, you're gonna get crack. Please note: Most of the stories pertaining to the real people involved in this oneshot are made up based on what facts I know about them/ what I’m able to pick up on personalities. I don’t know any of these people personally, though. This is going to be such a ride, so buckle up.

Genre: Comedy/ Action/ Fluff

Words: 5639

TL;DR: Curt and Owen take the stage in order to monitor Chimera and one of their operatives. The thing is, they only have a vague clue as to who they're going after: he was one of the writers.

TW: Swearing, Guns, Fighting- But not much, this is mostly just gonna be a joke.

_________________________________________________

"Next we have... Curt Mega?" The longer-haired one read off, looking at Curt. "Cool name! We might have to use that- if, of course, that's okay with you."

"Oh... yeah, that's fine." Curt chuckled softly.

What, precisely, was Curt doing? Only the thing he'd vowed to Owen that he would never do (other than, of course, leave him): auditioning for a musical. Owen was a total theatre kid, and he'd done his share of musicals. Curt was always in the audience, but he'd jokingly told Owen that he would never be joining him up there. But... here he was. In an audition room. Curt never broke promises, not even joke ones. But these were... extenuating circumstances. In other words, this was for a mission and he had no doubt that Cynthia would actually kill him if he didn't follow through with his orders. Owen gave him a sly, triumphant smirk from across the room, where he was waiting for his audition. Curt got up, following the guy back further into the studio where they were holding auditions.

This mission was an odd one. It was monitoring a potential operative with Chimera Worldwide. Sure, they had the world by storm now- but A.S.S. was getting intel telling them that they might be breaching the privacy rights of people all over the world. In fact, Chimera may be a lot more criminal than they would seem to the naked eye. There was evidence coming to light of plots that could very well end in world domination. The worst part: apparently they were pretty plausible. One world government, puppeted by Chimera. That's why MI6 had sent Owen, and A.S.S. had sent Curt. They were their best agents, and a duo that had proven to work well together.

What did all of that have to do with a musical? To the average joe, nothing. Oh, Chimera had done well. They'd even declined to offer these guys a production grant so as to not seem shady. But... the A.S.S. had reason to believe that one of the writers and producers for the show that they were about to audition for was an operative for Chimera. Now, this play in and of itself may be an independent project. It may have nothing to do with Chimera. But... it was looking like the easiest way to monitor this operative, and so here Curt and Owen were. Owen was thrilled! He loved doing shows. He usually had to slot them into his schedule carefully, though. He couldn't do them during missions. So a mission where he was doing theatre was basically a dream come true for him.

Curt and Owen had chosen roles according to their experience with theatre. Curt had chosen to keep his name as his theatrical stage name, and Owen already did keep his name as a stage name. It was risky, but it also provided their names with a solid cover in the world outside of espionage. Owen had a legitimate resume built. That was why he was going for the lead, currently named 'JB' for 'James Bond' (subject to change). Curt, on the other hand, had stolen his resume from another actor named Curt Mega (who had fully agreed to that and signed an NDA and luckily enough happened to look like Curt). He had literally no acting experience, so he was going for a smaller role: The Informant and Ensemble. Both would likely have eyes on different parts of the production process and the cast. Hopefully they'd get a good idea of what was going on and who their target was. Maybe they'd even get to eliminate the threat! That was Curt's favourite part of missions.

"So, Curt... you did Glee?" The guy who had initially called him asked as they walked.

"Yep!" Curt lied.

"I recognize you! You were one of the Warblers- nice job on that solo in Uptown Girl, by the way." The man chuckled. Oh good. He was passable as the other Curt Mega. "I did Glee too. I was only there for, like, an episode though. But my buddy Darren... well, you probably know him."

"Yeah. He did a phenomenal job as Blaine." Curt smirked. Darren was also on an NDA. The government was being extremely careful.

"I'm Joey Richter. Me and my friends Brian and Corey wrote this show." The man introduced himself, extending his hand. Curt took it, giving him a firm shake. Joey smirked. "Damn... you've got a good shake."

"Thanks." Curt chuckled. He liked this guy. It was hard to imagine right now that he could be talking to an agent for one of the greatest evils known to man since... probably the Nazis. "I'm Curt... I mean, you know that, I just..."

"Yeah, I get it." Joey chuckled along with him. They walked into a room. Inside there were four other men. Two sat behind a table, Curt's supposed 'resume' and headshots laid out in front of them, a stack of papers on the side. Two other men shared a piano bench stationed by a keyboard. None of them were dressed particularly formally. Actually, they were all dressed pretty similarly to Curt. Short-sleeved patterned button-ups were about as formal as it got. So Curt and his black, white and gold striped short-sleeved button-up were in good company. "Hey, guys! This is Curt!"

"Hey! Welcome to the auditions for Spies are Forever!" One of the men behind the table smiled brightly. God, all of these men looked... so innocent. Curt couldn't see any of them being traitors to their country, much less mankind.

"Okay, so that's Brian. The guy beside him is Corey." Joey introduced. Corey waved. "The two guys at the piano bench are Clark and Pierce, our composers and band."

"Hey, Curt." Clark smirked.

"You brought your sixteen bars?" Pierce checked.

"Yep." Curt nodded, popping his 'p' and passing him the binder with his sheet music in it.

He'd brought Being Alive from Company, which Owen said was "such a cliche" and "a terrible choice for a comic show", but it was the song Curt felt most comfortable singing. So he was singing it anyways. Owen was very adamant that Curt had to be careful to actually be cast in the show, but Curt held that that song was his best chance. Curt had always thought he was an okay singer. He had his range that he shined in, and he used that. He never performed though. He wasn't that good. That's why he was going for a mostly non-singing role. He went over his cut with Clark, who was actually the one who would be playing for him. Then he cleared his throat, took a deep breath and gave it the old college try.

The odd thing, Curt thought, was that they seemed very into it. Either they were being very nice to him or they were genuinely enjoying the performance. Curt was a bit surprised by that. Owen was the performer among the two of them. Curt supposed it could just be the song. But then... something else unexpected happened. They asked Curt to do his cold read as 'JB'... and change the name to his own. 'Agent Curt Mega'. It was all getting a bit real for Curt. They liked him. And they liked his cold read. They were laughing during his cold read- and at all the right times! Curt was very confused. This wasn't where he was supposed to shine. He walked out of the audition room, and Owen was called in.

Owen really could not have come out sooner. Curt was anxious. What had he just done? He had given it his best because he thought that the best that could get him was ensemble. Was it going to get him more? Was he ready for more? He was past the point of no return, but... God, what had he just done? Owen came out of his audition, smug and content with himself. Apparently they'd asked him to read multiple sides. Curt hadn't the heart to tell him they'd asked him to read for the lead. A few days passed. Curt almost forgot that he'd even auditioned. That it had been so successful. Basking in the California sun could do that to you. But three days later, it all came back to him all too vividly.

"Curt, I got the email!" Owen announced from where he was lazing on the couch across from Curt in their hotel room. He sat up quickly, eager.

"What does it say?" Curt asked eagerly, sitting up with him. Owen scrolled down on his phone.

"Well... I'm in the show..." Owen furrowed his brows. "But... not in the role I thought. I got Deadliest Man Alive."

"Oh." Curt frowned. "I'm sorry. I know you really wanted the lead."

"It seemed like a juicy part." Owen hummed, still a bit dazed by the rejection. "I was looking forward to it."

"I know, babe." Curt sighed, getting up and wrapping his partner in a hug. "Maybe this one will be even juicier!"

"Maybe..." Owen nodded. "Thank you, love. For trying to make me feel better."

"Yeah, no problem!" Curt smiled softly.

"Did you get your email?" Owen asked.

"I... haven't checked." Curt admitted.

"Well go on, then! Sit! We'll check together!" Owen urged him. Curt sighed, sitting beside him and opening his email. Owen peered over his shoulder. The email from the Tin Can Bros was the first one that popped up right at the top. "Open it, Curt!"

"Okay..." Curt chuckled nervously, pressing the email to open it. He scrolled down, sighing in relief. "I got in, O."

"Congratulations!" Owen cheered, grinning. he was genuinely happy for Curt, and excited to be in the same show. "What role?"

"Let me scroll down..." Curt chuckled, before his heart stopped. Naturally, his laughter stopped with it, and his face fell.

"Love, what is it?" Owen furrowed his brows, concerned by the sudden mood shift. Immediately, his mind went to the worst-case scenario. "Curt, is there anything in there indicating that we might be compromised?"

"No..." Curt shook his head, staring at the role.

"Then... darling, what's wrong?" Owen blinked, before looking over his shoulder. His face fell to a state of shock almost equal to Curt's when he read the words, bolded on the screen: We would like to offer you the role of 'JB', renamed Agent Curt Mega. "Oh..."

_________________________________________________

Rehearsals for Spies Are Forever were potentially one of the best times Curt had ever had. Everyone loved him! Apparently, his voice was much better than he'd given himself credit for, as was his acting. Even Owen admitted it. It turned out Curt was perfect for the role. The songs fit right for him, the personality was spot on... the spy was even gay! It was as though it was written specifically for him to perform. Curt truly was having the time of his life. And Owen was loving the role of Deadliest Man Alive. It turned out it was a significantly juicier role than Curt's- funny, dark. And he even had a minor side comedic role to take on, Dick Big. So he could flex his chops in different area. There was a bit of a minor complication with the characters, though.

It turned out Curt's was not the only name that they'd liked. The Tin Can Bros had thought Owen's name was absolutely perfect... for Curt's partner turned villain. Romantic partner turned villain, to boot. They liked the ship name Curtwen. Ironically, both Owen and Joey were playing versions of Agent Owen Carvour- Owen playing him when he was in disguise as Deadliest Man Alive, Joey playing him out of disguise. Owen didn't make a fuss- he couldn't in the position he was in. But he didn't like being portrayed that way, or his name being used that way. The truth was, Owen had used to be morally grey. He'd had a phase where he'd almost betrayed his country and Curt. He'd very nearly done some terrible things. He wouldn't way who for, but Owen had implied it might have been Chimera. But he and Curt had worked through that, and he saw the error of his ways. It hurt seeing his name associated with villainy again. But for the sake of the mission, he literally could not complain.

As for the mission, they weren't really getting too far yet- and that wasn’t for lack of effort. As hard as finding a balance between rehearsal and espionage was, they’d managed to find a routine and stick to it. The work they were doing really should have been productive for them. They'd bugged all three writers and the two composers, but HQ (who was monitoring those so that the boys could focus on rehearsing so that they didn’t become too suspicious) was saying that they'd not gotten any suspicious activity from those except for Joey constantly being with an unidentified girl. But it seemed like that was his girlfriend and not another operative. So either this operative was smart and onto them or taking a hiatus from their work. Background checks were pretty clean. They were going purely off their interactions with these writers, which wasn’t really helping. All five of them were lovely. All five of them were also extremely smart. And all five of them had acting experience. Right now, though... Joey, Clark and Pierce weren't their main suspects. Joey was just too genuine to be bad, as were Pierce and Clark. Plus, if we're looking at technicalities (as Owen tended to), Clark and Pierce were composers, not writers. It was between Brian and Corey- unless something changed. Truly, it was anyone's game.

Owen and Curt were on break. It had been a hard day of rehearsal so far. Curt had just had to rehearse his pseudo-love-song with Mary Kate (who was lovely, but he was a bit jealous of- Owen had called her 'gorgeous' on multiple occasions now), and though it wasn't physically or musically demanding it was hard not to just start laughing. Especially with Curt, a gay man who had experienced this before. And Lauren played his meddling mother during the song, which only made it harder not to laugh. His own mother had no idea what he did or who he was seeing, and it was better that way. She just thought he was a single banker. He liked Lauren’s version of his mom better. She was way funnier. It had taken a bit of time just to get a run in where Curt wasn't giggling the entire time. The song was just so well written! He knew it was so unprofessional (and Owen had certainly reminded him of that) but he couldn't help it! And the Bros were laughing with him, so it was all good. He was glad to be on break, because his sides were killing him. He scrolled through his phone, checking for anything from HQ, before he felt a hand on his back.

"You know, Curt, I don't know if I've told you this lately but you're really, really great!" Joey told him.

"Thanks, man." Curt chuckled. "Thanks for the opportunity!"

"Thank you for coming out for our show!" Joey smirked. His voice dropped to a lower volume. “Listen... you and Owen are dating, right?”

"Yeah..." Curt furrowed his brows. He and Owen had chosen to be open about that. They were all pretty supportive of the LGBTQ+ community. The actor playing Susan and The Informant had even confessed to him that they thought they might be nonbinary- maybe even female leaning. 

"Okay, so for the whole anniversary thing..." Joey fidgeted a bit nervously. "I mean... I've got an anniversary coming up, and, like, it's not my first, but... I think I’ve used every trick in the dating book at this point, and-"

"Wait, you're dating?" Curt blinked.

"Oh! Right, you're new!" Joey started to laugh. "Um... yeah! It's me and Lo."

"You and Lauren?" Curt smirked. He chuckled. "I knew it!"

"We're not public about the relationship yet, though, so... keep it quiet?" Joey pleaded.

"Oh yeah, you're safe." Curt assured him.

"So... any ideas?" Joey asked. “I really want this to be special for her.”

"Have you guys done the beach yet?" Curt offered. "Like, just a picnic- something you both love to eat- out on the beach."

"Yeah, did that two years ago." Joey sighed.

"Alright... how about a museum?" Curt offered. "It can be any museum that has something the two of you could bond over. But... I mean, Owen is super into experiencing art together."

"That we haven't done... not by ourselves on a date." Joey considered. "It doesn't even really have to be art, does it?"

"Nah, that's the beauty of museums! There are museums out there for everything." Curt smirked. “Maybe you two could go to a movie museum.”

"That’s probably more our speed.” Joey chuckled. “Thanks, man!”

"No problem.” Curt winked playfully. Then, he got an idea. He trusted Joey, so hopefully this worked. “Hey, can I ask you something?”

"I mean, I kinda owe you one." Joey chuckled. “Ask away!”

"Have you noticed anyone... acting a bit weird? Like... different from the way they usually do." Curt whispered.

"I... think I know who you mean." Joey nodded. "With Mary Kate... I think she honestly just misses Sean, you know? The rehearsals are a long time for her to be away from him. Those two are so close."

"Yeah... yeah, that must be hard on her." Curt hummed sympathetically. That... wasn't what he'd been going for.

"But I don't know what's going on with Brian." Joey confided in him. "I mean, it's not like he's been acting weird, per se, but... I mean, he always used to be down to just hang after work. But recently, he's been too busy to do that? I honestly thought it was just me who was picking up on that, but like... you're noticing it too?"

"Yeah. Yeah I am." Curt lied, all the sympathy he could muster in his tone. Bingo. He'd just gotten some really, really good intel there. If there was anyone who would be able to know when one of the writers was acting shady, it was Joey. They were his best friends. And Curt tended to agree with Joey anyways. Corey just didn’t give off villain vibes. Neither did Brian, but out of the two of them, Brian gave off more. “Glad it’s not just me.”

"What's he saying about me?" Brian rolled his eyes playfully, approaching his bag from behind them to grab something. Shit. He must have heard his name. 

"Uh..." Joey blushed.

"Oh, he was just telling me about how you two met." Curt lied. Joey gave him a questioning look. But Curt remembered him mentioning it in another one of his longwinded vents. "U of Michigan, Freshmen year. You two got into a lot of trouble."

"He's not telling you any of the bad stuff, is he?" Brian teased.

"Nah, man- I respect the bro code!" Joey scoffed playfully. Curt gave Joey a wink, and Joey gave him a grateful look in return. The wink hadn't gone unnoticed by Brian though.

"Oh god, he is telling you the bad stuff, isn't he?" Brian groaned playfully. "Listen, if Lauren asks, none of it was us."

"Oh don't worry... I'm great with secrets." Curt chuckled. He kinda wanted context now. Knowing those two, it was nothing serious- Joey had a heart of gold. He wouldn't be involved in anything bad. Especially not with his soon-to-be-girlfriend. So probably pranks, or other such shenanigans.

"Guys... I already knew it was you." Lauren rolled her eyes. None of them had noticed her by her own rehearsal bag picking up her water bottle. "It was so obvious... I may have believed you when you blamed Holden like... once? Twice? But you literally signed off half of the time."

"We did?" Joey blinked, looking at Brian.

"Okay, look, some of the time... I was pretty proud of our work." Brian defended himself.

"Dude!" Joey started to snicker. "And here I was keeping secrets from my girlfriend for you!"

"Sorry, Joey." Brian winced. 

“Eh, I guess I have to forgive you.” Joey rolled his eyes, chuckling. “You’re my best friend.”

“Hey, what’s that?” Lauren asked, noticing a pink piece of paper sticking out of Curt’s rehearsal bag. Curt blushed profusely. That was the letter Owen had written to pick him up. he took it everywhere with him in case he panicked so that he could read it, remember those days and calm down. It helped. He’d meant to keep it hidden. 

“Oh... it’s nothing.” Curt lied. 

“It’s not nothing, is it?” Lauren smirked. She gave him a genuine look. “Is it personal?”

“Oh, it’s nothing too bad.” Owen chuckled. Curt blushed further, feeling Owen wrap his arms around his waist. When had he gotten there?”

“What’s going on over here?” Corey asked, joining them. It seemed they had formed a rather large clump. 

“I think Lauren might be about to read the first letter I ever wrote to Curtis.” Owen smirked triumphantly, clearly not embarrassed by that prospect. 

“Ooooo romantic!” Tessa teased Curt. When had she shown up? God, for a spy, Curt was not very observant. He took a brief look at his surroundings. Ah. Everyone was there. Fantastic. 

“Oh hell yeah I am!” Lauren smirked. She plucked the paper out of Curt’s bag. 

“Oh god...” Curt groaned. 

“You okay with this?” Corey checked with Curt. Curt nodded reluctantly. 

“I mean, as long as O is.” Curt sighed, relenting.

With that, Lauren used the rest of their break to overdramatically read out Owen’s letter. Curt was a blushing mess, and Owen was grinning like an idiot. Evidently he was proud of himself- as he should have been. It was a good letter. At least Curt and Owen now had an idea of who to look into: Brian Rosenthal. It was a bit odd to think that Brosenthal might be a Chimera operative. He was a funny, quirky... he didn’t seem ruthless enough. Maybe they were wrong. But this was literally all the intel they could get at the moment. Mind you, they needed concrete evidence before they could actually do anything, but... at least they had a lead. Even if it was a weird one. The thing about espionage was that leads were usually weird. So they... well, they managed to bug all of the writers’ houses a bit more to give HQ more to work with, but especially Brian’s. That way the minute they had solid evidence, they could act. Well... not the minute. More like within about twenty minutes. But same difference. There was nothing else they could do. 

________________________________________________

Nothing happened through the rest of the rehearsal process. Literally nothing. No one did anything suspicious. Honestly, Curt and Owen were starting to think that their superiors were wrong. They were performing their shows- with excellent reception, might they add. People were loving Curt. The real Curt Mega was getting huge acclaim on Curt’s behalf. And the fans... well they were going mad. It was looking like the show would be a huge success- which meant two things. One, Curt was going to have to do more theatre. Cleary he was good at it. Two, his life as a spy was about to get more... complicated. IT turned out these guys had a bit of a cult following because they had been involved with a theatre group called Team Starkid? Curt knew about them from his mission briefing, but honestly he’d never thought that they were that big of a deal. When he’d confessed that to Owen he’d gotten a long lecture. Apparently Owen was also a fan, and that was half of why he was so excited to be doing this show. But that was a topic for another time. 

It was about the third show in when they finally got the evidence they had been looking for. It... was not when they’d planned to find anything. Actually, it was at the least convenient time. Between acts. It was also in the least expected way. Curt had to get his props for the top of Act Two. Owen decided to go with him, mostly to make sure he wasn’t a total and utter child. Honestly, they just meant to get their props before places. They were the only ones in that area backstage- the stagehands were resetting the stage and helping with costume changes/ tech issues. Well, they thought they were the only ones backstage. They should have been. But it turns out that someone else had anticipated the lack of people, and was using that to his advantage. At first, all Curt and Owen could hear were murmurs- not distinguishable in the slightest. Bey both gave each other a look before pulling out their real guns (which they hid on their costumes just in case) and following the sound. And that was when they saw him. The culprit behind all of this: Bri- Corey Lubowich? They lowered their guns a bit, staying dead quiet. That wasn’t what they’d been expecting. {erhaps this was a false alarm. 

“I am in the middle of a- no, I get that my work with you is important! Believe me, I know!” Corey hissed. “I just... tonight is one of my shows! I’m going on as the Prince! I- well can it wait half an hour? I mean I’d prefer two hours, but if I have to whip out my laptop backstage, I- well I’m kinda insisting on- come on, you guys know my theatre is important to me!”

“Okay... so we were wrong...” Owen whispered. 

“We don’t know that...” Curt reasoned. “It could be his family.”

“Of course I’m loyal! When have I not done what you said? I have sacrificed so much for you!” Corey fumed quietly. “Chimera is my life now! Not theatre, not my family or friends. Chimera! Do you know how fucking weird that is for someone my age?! I’m too young for all this corporate shit! No! No, of course that’s not what I’m saying just- can I have my night? Come on, this is really important.”

“Okay, I take that back.” Curt blinked, stunned. He was just a bit too loud. Corey’s head snapped in their direction, and both men raised their guns. Corey’s eyes fumbled, and he pulled out a gun of his own, haphazardly aiming it at them. 

“Okay... shit, guys, I’m going to have to call you back... we’ve got a situation.” Corey muttered. His face fell and he rolled his eyes, unimpressed. “No, not a theatre situation. An us situation. I’ll fill you in- look, they have guns. Just- I really don’t have the time for this anymore- NOT MY JOB WITH YOU! This conversation! Jesus, I’ve got two guns pointed at me! Let me go! Okay, fine! Bye!”

“You...” Curt spat, glaring at Corey. 

“You guys finally figured it out...” Corey sighed, raising his gun fully at them. 

“You know who we are?” Curt blinked. 

“How?” Owen asked him coldly. 

“Chimera has eyes and ears everywhere.” Corey rolled his eyes. “Just like in the show. I knew you were coming, and I knew you were looking for me. I just didn’t think you’d actually find me.”

“Are you insulting our intelligence?” Owen scoffed. 

“No. I just thought I set up Brian pretty well.” Corey admitted. “It was pretty easy, too... all I had to do was point out to Joey that Brian wasn’t coming to as many of our hangouts as he used to. You trusted Joey. Joey relayed that to you. Threw you completely off my scent.”

“Yeah, aren’t you just the friend of the year.” Curt rolled his eyes. “You threw your bro under the bus.”

“You’re lucky we didn’t get a false tip-off and eliminate him.” Owen hummed in agreement. “You’ve no clue the kinds of things that could set our superiors off.”

“Well... It’s Brian. The chances of him doing anything sketchy are slim to none.” Corey reasoned. 

“Corey, I’m going to need you to put that gun down and put your hands behind your head.” Curt sighed. 

“Alright, guys, places!” Joey called out to them. Everyone was backstage- except, oddly, Lauren (who was usually pretty punctual on cues). Shit. Their timing was awful. “You can play with the... are those our prop guns?”

“No... those are too modern.” Brian furrowed his brows, approaching them to get a closer look. He blinked before stumbling back. “Holy shit, guys... are those real guns?”

“Yes, they are... and you’re going to need to stay back.” Curt told them levelly. “Lubowich, gun down, hands behind your head.”

“We outgun and outman you.” Owen reminded him. The fact that Corey was so reluctant was astounding. “And we have a license to kill if you don’t cooperate.”

“Okay, guys, what the fuck?!” Joey exclaimed. 

“Can we just... put the guns down and talk this out?” Tessa pleaded. 

“No... we can’t.” Curt shook his head. “My name is Agent Curt Mega, American Secret Service. My partner is Owen Carvour, MI6.”

“Our credentials...” Owen muttered, pulling them out with one hand and holding them out to Brian, who was closest. He hesitantly took them. Corey shot Owen while he wasn’t in peak position to shoot him. Curt shot Corey back with no hesitation. Neither shot was fatal, Corey’s hitting Owen in the arm and Curt’s hitting Corey in the shoulder. The impact was enough to make both men stumble back. Owen stayed on his feet, but Corey fell. Curt kept his gun trained on Corey. 

“Holy shit, they’re not lying...” Brian mumbled. 

“Okay, Corey... what the actual fuck, man?!” Joey fumed, definitely feeling a bit betrayed. 

“Corey... why are you fighting the secret service?” Mary Kate asked coolly, trying to be the level-headed one. 

“He works for Chimera.” Curt told them, knowing they might not get a clear response from Corey for a bit. 

“The assholes who wouldn’t fund us?” Brian groaned. Corey grunted in admittance. “Come on, man! This just keeps getting worse and worse!”

“Okay, guys, I’m here. Sorry I took so-” Lauren started, rushing out. She saw the scene playing out and blinked. “Holy fuck! What’s going on?!”

“They’re actual fucking spies, Lo.” Joey hissed. “All three of them.”

“Pretty sure Curt and Owen are the good guys.” Brian added in a whisper. 

“Oh yeah, Curt and Owen are definitely the good guys.” Tessa gulped. 

“Corey is an agent for Chimera.” Curt explained. 

“Please tell me this is an elaborate prank.” Lauren chuckled nervously. 

“No, Lo... this time it’s real.” Joey sighed. 

“Okay, but... Chimera’s just a huge global corporation, right?” Mary Kate reasoned. 

“Not really.” Corey croaked out. 

“They’re plotting world domination.” Owen grunted. 

“Corey...” Joey breathed. 

“World domination makes it sound bad.” Corey grimaced. “We more just want control over every world government... and then maybe to take all of them out and form one Chimera government.”

“That doesn’t make it sound any better.” Tessa winced. 

“Why?” Brian asked Corey, hurt. “Why are you doing this?”

“Honestly, I just needed a bit of extra money in college.” Corey muttered, trying and failing to find his footing. Clearly he wasn’t a field agent too often. 

“So you turned to espionage?!” Lauren scoffed incredulously. 

“Honestly I started as a delivery boy and then I found out some shit I should never have known...” Corey sighed. “It escalated really quickly.”

“God, this is a mess.” Joey groaned. 

“Curt, love, can you give our superiors a ring?” Owen prompted him. “I’ll deal with our former friend here.”

“On it.” Curt nodded, pulling out his phone. 

“So... do we stop the show?” Brian asked Owen as he pulled out a zip-tie- another essential item Owen always kept on him, even in costumes.

“Oh no... the A.S.S. is the epitome of discretion. Believe me, you’ll have no clue what’s going on. Just see if you can find a friend in the audience to go on for The Prince.” Owen told them, tying up Corey and forcing him onto his feet. “Owen will take him outside and... he should honestly be ready to go on after We Love The Prince.”

“Holy shit... okay...” Lauren sighed. 

“I’ll make an announcement that we’re having technical difficulties...” Joey planned. “Let’s, um... just take a moment to breathe and get back into the right headspace.”

“We’ll be back in a moment.” Curt told them as he and Owen took Corey outside. 

“Rot in hell, you asshole!” Brian called after him, sniffing. Was he... crying? You know what, it was completely fair. That was one hell of a betrayal. 

So Curt and Owen passed Corey onto their superiors, and Spies Are Forever was able to go on. They got Nick Lang to play The Prince, which only made the fans more excited. Curt and Owen were allowed the opportunity to finish their run with the show- which Curt was so, so grateful for. He loved theatre. he never thought he would, but he loved it. And Owen loved that he loved it. Spies are Forever was the first of many shows for Curt. He got into the habit, like Owen, of doing shows between missions. In fact, he actually got to make Owen a little jealous later on- he got into a Starkid show. Mind you, they knew who he was. Fully this time. They even supported him- helped him build a public backstory. The real Curt Mega’s wife even played wife to him publicly when she needed to. It was a new start in Curt’s life and one that he hadn’t even known he needed. Finally, everything seemed like it was okay.

#spies are forever #saf modern au #saf #pure crack #meta #tin can bros #tcb #owen carvour #agent owen carvour #curt mega #agent curt mega #joey richter #brian rosenthal #corey lubowich #mk wiles #tessa netting #lauren lopez #esther fallick #mary kate wiles #i am so sorry yall #listen #I was just vibing writing this #the request was pure chaos #I sincerely hope that none of the people involved in this ever see it #but if they do #my most sincere apologies for absolutey butchering your personalities

[sepublic]

The Castle Car and the Train to Nowhere!

           This was SUCH an amazing and compelling finale, y’all! The way all these things come together, how it just culminates in humble, silly, yet REAL apologies… Concessions, the parallels in the denizens and one another, I love it SO MUCH!

           Firstly, what started as a funny gag photo with Jeremy, Kez, and Morgan, and the meaning expanded upon- SSSOOO clever, like everything in this entire damn series! But also the grief and symbolism, how Morgan is literally like a prison for Jeremy… And she wants to keep him, hold onto him, but she’s not letting him be his own person, and it reminds me of Min not wanting to be left behind by Ryan! And how Morgan takes things personally against Kez for just being herself, for this accident, at Jeremy for leaving her… And how Min learns not to be mad at Ryan and vice-versa, that they FINALLY learn to say sorry!

           There’s so much to unwrap… Jeremy going on his journey, but he never really left, just like Ryan going off but not REALLY progressing! And this theme of progression and journeys, wanting to get it over with and rush it, feeling like you’re trapped and not getting anywhere… Wanting a plan or a destination, but as Kez said, sometimes it’s just about the journey! To just live in the moment, to enjoy and appreciate what happened… To not stay stuck over the past, while also taking responsibility, mutually admitting where you went wrong! Making concessions because you LOVE a person, you want them to be their own!

           How Kez really didn’t just mean to, just like Ryan can sometimes be thoughtless… How the passengers learn to help the denizens and vice-versa in their examples! Jeremy realizing he never really left the fog, and when he figures this out with Kez’s help, in a sense he goes back to where he started; And only by returning can he start anew his ACTUAL journey, just as Ryan goes back home to reunite with Min, and starts off this whole sequence! And GOD, the horror and creepiness of Kez luring them in for a trap, dragging them along without really telling the plan, no trust and how Min feels like he can’t trust Ryan who just brings him and doesn’t slow down…

           UGH IT’S SO GOOD, and how Kez and Morgan learn to confront their issues, how Kez just wants to make up- And Morgan is rooted in place, stuck in the past, maybe kind of like Min? The culmination of Kez being a welcoming bell for people… AND RYAN FINALLY GETTING TO RING HER, we’d never seen ANY ringing and we finally got it! For a moment I thought it’d cut to an actual bell ringing as we see Ryan and Min at a real-life place to check in for their journey… But no, we got it! God, the wordless trust as Kez fully understands and bows her little head, eyes closed… Kez is phenomenal, 10/10, one of THE best denizens in my opinion, alongside Lake!

           Just GOD, the motif of the train and passengers and journeys, the denizens going on their own journey… I must say, with how the denizens can actually leave to hound after the passengers even after the puzzle is done, even taking advantage of the local tech- It all seems very unintended, doesn’t it? And Amelia, lol, we get to sort of see her take-over; We know it happens across Book 4, and we see the effects with how she’s trying to figure out the Steward and take Ryan and Min’s boots for her own experiments, only to mess up and cause the Steward to self-destruct! It’s kind of hilarious how everything stops for a moment and Ryan and Min have no clue WHAT happened, they don’t know who One or Amelia are, they heard their voices last time in that Party Car and that was about it… Hilarious.

           But damn, Amelia just abandoning everyone and telling them they’re on their own, it’s a contrast to how these people are reuniting and finding solace… Well besides Judge Morpho, I’m glad she’s alive after all- I was afraid she’d be decked into the fire, but no, just out the chimney and gone! She really is unkillable, huh… And the Cow Creamer came back, she’s with her kid again! She’s a good and mature mom… And I SAW Kez’s apology coming and I loved it! And Ryan, Ryan wants to move on, he wants to get away and progress and he’s impatient, but he needs to learn to appreciate the journey, even if he has been feeling trapped and held down…

           UGH IT’S SO GOOD, learning to stick with one another! The character themes, the clever bits of worldbuilding across the seasons, coming together like one giant puzzle as we learn and understand more about the setting, even retroactively, as well as some characters… The storytelling is SO concise, sweet, and to the point! Morgan gets to still cope with her own feelings on her own, that theme of enjoying and appreciating what you DID go through, as part of that theme of progress and learning to move on, while still taking it slowly enough to actually take in what’s happening!

          There’s accountability with the apologies, admitting you did wrong, that you’ll actually learn and progress from here, instead of staying in the same places and repeating the same mistakes… It’s wonderfully cheesy but also heartfelt, I ADORE how this show isn’t afraid to be dark and twisted like Book 3, but then have a happy ending like this; It’s the RANGE that is granted by the setting, premise, and anthological story-telling!

           Amelia doesn’t learn, not until she meets Tulip- And it’s SO fun thinking of how these characters all indirectly and directly interact and come together, the parallels… Amelia meets Ryan and Min, then later inspires Grace, she meets Tulip, who frees Lake who meets Jesse… And Tulip’s efforts get Amelia to change for the better, leading her to eventually meet Grace again, as WELL as Simon, and then Hazel who she made! It really is an interconnected web, a story that overlaps and all comes together as one great end-product and recipe, and DAMN if I’m not salty we’re not getting the rest! We’re missing out on a whole second half… But maybe in graphic novel or book- There’s hope and freedom in that medium, let’s not forget!

           Well guys, this was a PHENOMENAL season, and a wonderful way to end the animated version of this tale… Although hopefully, the story continues on in other formats- And who knows, maybe the animated medium CAN be retained, if this does well enough. We’ll just have to wait and see… But in the meantime, this was a wonderful way to end things, and I genuinely hope that Owen Dennis can tell the rest of his story, perhaps in literal books; All of them, Books 5-8, as well as the resolution to Amelia and Hazel! This was purely amazing you guys, and it really made my day… THANK you, Owen and crew, for everything and Infinity Train- I mourn the destination and end after having reached it, but as Kez taught us, you just gotta appreciate the journey, and what mostly certainly DID happen…!

           Even unintended, this works as a nice goodbye to the animated form of the series; So what better way to end, than with a song that makes the most of the animated format? And a song taking inspiration from the Infinity Train and the friends met there… I’ve always wanted to see a passenger incorporate those experiences creatively like that! Who knows, maybe Tulip did so with her games… And in the meantime, I’d love to see a reference to Chicken Choice Judy in a future Book, perhaps just a glimpse in modern time to see how they did! But then again, Owen does like his ambiguity; And even if Chicken Choice Judy didn’t make it, I think Ryan and Min can both agree that the brief tenure was still worth it, no anxiety over the destination- They’ll get there, WHEN they get there, as Min said… They don’t need to control, just adapt and survive! No knowledge nor certainty, no guarantees required- They have their hope, faith, their past, and one another as guidance to keep company, and they’ll never be alone from hear on out! They can learn to let go, and move on… Just as Jeremy moved on from the death of his own lover (and child), so hopefully Amelia can learn as well, too. We’ll see…

           Until next time you guys… Like Ryan and Min, let’s appreciate what we did get, and keep ourselves open to our next destination, whatever it may be, if nothing; The journey was still enjoyed and happened! To our next destination, or shall we board off at our final stop- We’ll just have to wait and see.

#infinity train #infinity train book 4 spoilers #infinity train spoilers #infinity train book 4 #infinity train duet #infinity train ryan #ryan akagi #infinity train min #min-gi park #infinity train kez #infinity train amelia #amelia hughes #infinity train morgan #speculation #analysis

[hookedonapirate]

Book Sneak Peek

A/N: For those of you who don’t know, I’ve been converting A Helping Hand to an original novel. After months of frustration from not knowing what to leave and what to take out because of the ridiculous length of this story, I’m finally close to being finished with it. It’s currently in the process of being edited and polished. This is a sneak peek of my new book. Unlike my first novel, this one is set in "The Big Apple” just like AHH. It features Harper and Audrey (Emma and Elsa in AHH) from Follow My Lead, and Derrick, Elisa and their daughter, Gracie, make an appearance at the end. 

I also wanted to let everyone know I will most likely be taking A Helping Hand down, even though I’ll be self-publishing. I know I said I wouldn’t, and actually I’m really sad about it, but after going through it, I realized it’s completely full of errors, misspellings and whatnot. Plus, I didn’t just change the names of characters and remove ouat elements; even though it’s the same story and the scenes pretty much follow the same sequence, apart from what I took out or added, I’ve made A LOT of changes to it, and I don't really want another version of my book out there. I encourage you to download A Helping Hand while you still can. But I will definitely let everyone know before that happens.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy another sneak peek!

I groan into the fluffy pillow my face is burrowed in. My head’s pounding, I feel like someone drilled a hole through my skull, my throat is dry and nausea lingers in my stomach. Slowly dragging my arm away from under my face, I open my eyes to a dim room, the curtains shielding any sunlight trying to burst through.

I take a minute to roll over, my eyes adjusting to the room as I lift my head slowly, taking in my surroundings. 

Nothing seems familiar. 

Granted, the guest room in my brother’s apartment is not very familiar either, but at least it reminds me of Brady. This room does not. It’s too pink and girly.

“Where the hell am I?” I grumble hoarsely.

I’m surrounded by pale pink walls and white furniture—a chair decorated with pink, frilly pillows, a bookcase lined with romance novels, a vanity and a nightstand with a pink, furry lamp. The curtains are made of white lace and there’s a large wall hanging that reads in large, cursive writing, Be your own kind of beautiful. 

My eyes scan the comforter, which is also pink, along with more frilly pillows.

This is definitely not my brother’s guestroom.

This is definitely a chick’s room.

My eyes widen in horror at the revelation.

This cannot be happening.

Gathering further evidence to solve the mystery as to how I ended up in some woman’s bed, I sharply lift the covers and peer underneath them, seeing that, yep, I’m bare-ass naked.

“Fuck.”

I let my head sink back into the pillow as I drag my hands over my face. I can’t believe my first night in New York, I hooked up with some random woman.

I went to the bar with those intentions in my dispirited condition, but I don’t recall picking up anyone. In fact, I have no recollection of last night beyond the bar. Which means I was way too smashed to hook up with anyone.

I need to leave. I’m not the type of guy to fuck someone and run off the next morning without at least buying her coffee or getting her phone number. To be honest, I’m not the type of guy who does one-night stands, but I’m in no shape to be involved in anything resembling a relationship. 

 Judging by the breakfast she’s making, this woman has other plans. The door is closed but I can hear dishes clanking around in the kitchen. And as I spot my clothes across the room, I doubt a woman expecting nothing more than a one-night stand would go to the trouble of picking up my clothes from the floor, folding them neatly and setting them in the chair. She certainly wouldn’t be making me breakfast.

I sit up slowly and place my feet on the floor, hoping this will stop the room from spinning around me. I drop my face in my hands and groan. I haven’t felt this hungover in years. I eventually stand up and grab the knitted blanket I’ve been sleeping on, securing it around my waist. I go to the window and pull back the curtain.

I’m on the third floor, judging by the number of windows beneath her unit. I remember little about the surroundings, but I do remember seeing the pancake house directly across the street and I remember thinking about how much I missed my mom’s chocolate chip pancakes. I also remember the bar I went to last night and seeing the barbershop next to it and thinking how badly I need a haircut. The names of the establishments are all the same. Which means only one thing. 

The woman I slept with last night lives in the same building and floor as my brother. 

Fuck.

I have a feeling this won’t end well. I let the curtain fall into place and turn around when I hear a gentle knock on the door.

Shit. 

I swallow thickly as the door opens. Panic flares inside me as I try to think up a way to get out of the pickle I’m in. I scramble toward the chair which holds my clothes.

“Owen, you awake?” 

I whirl around until I’m face to face with the most beautiful green eyes and golden hair I’ve ever seen in my life. I drag a hand through my disheveled hair, my eyes traveling down her body. She’s wearing a thin, pink bathrobe, exposing a pair of long, sexy legs that go on for days.

Legs I can definitely imagine wrapped around me.

Damn, I hit the jackpot last night. 

She’s beautiful, which is either a relief or extremely dangerous; I can’t decide which one.

She strides over to me, bearing a glass of water and a cheerful smile. I’m still stunned by how beautiful she is. “Morning, sunshine. Sleep well?” 

She’s teasing me and I like it.

How in the hell did I forget a night with a woman like her? I must’ve been out of it. “I have a splitting headache and the room is still spinning.” I press my fingertips against my temples, feeling them pounding underneath my touch, “Other than that, I’m perfect.”

“I can imagine,” she says with a giggle. 

Her giggle is the most delightful sound I’ve ever heard in my entire life, even with a splitting headache. 

“Here, I got you something that might help with that.” She offers me a glass of water and some aspirin.

“Thank you.” I graciously accept the aspirin and water, deciding this isn’t so bad. 

“What, no ‘thank you, beautiful’? Guess you’re really not feeling well,” she says playfully. 

Fuck. I even called her beautiful, which means I was laying on the charm pretty thick last night. I offer a frail smile, despite feeling terrible. Not only because of the alcohol. I feel terrible for getting her into bed while I was inebriated and miserable from my breakup. And she was probably drunk too, which makes me feel even worse. Although, she doesn’t appear to have a hangover. Maybe she’s one of those people who doesn’t get hangovers after they get drunk. If she is, she’s pretty lucky.

I swallow the pills, and as I wash them down with water, I know the right thing to do is tell her I’m not ready for a relationship or a woman in my life, but how can I? I don’t really want to see her smile dissipate, especially since she turned out to be so nice and sweet and beautiful.

I lower the glass and close my eyes briefly, the coolness of the liquid feeling quite soothing against my cracked lips and dry throat. Damn, if only I could remember exactly what I did to this woman with my mouth as my tongue slashes along my lips. If only I could remember what she did to me with that lush mouth of hers. A shiver skates down my spine. I try to shake the thoughts from my mind and try to speak but struggle to find the words. It’s difficult when this woman is staring at me with those intense green eyes. I desperately want to scoop her into my arms and kiss her senselessly, creating new memories of having her in bed, but I know that would only end very badly. Even more so than it’s already going to. The last thing I want to do is lead her on.

Somehow, I manage to refrain from kissing her. “Listen...I don’t remember much about last night and you’re…” My hand makes a grand, sweeping gesture down her form, “drop-dead gorgeous...and I’m sure last night was incredible...but my girlfriend just dumped me and my head’s a mess right now, so, I...” she eyeballs me in confusion as I will myself to continue, “I think we should just be friends.” At the same time, I reason with myself that we’ve already done God knows what, so there’s no harm in a quick kiss on the cheek, right? Besides, I may not be ready for a relationship, but I’m still a gentleman.

I step into her space and casually lean in to kiss her cheek. She smells like strawberries and cream and I can hear her breath hitch as my lips brush along her skin.

“Whoa, what are you doing?” She places her hands on my chest to push me away.

I quickly pull back to give her space, apologies leaving my lips. “Sorry, I just figured since we had sex—”

Her eyes practically pop out of her head. “Wait, you think we had sex?!” 

Well, duh. I shrug. Why else would I have slept naked in her bed and why else wouldn’t she be fazed by my nakedness underneath the blanket? “Didn’t we?”

She dissolves into laughter, to my complete and utter humiliation. “Oh no, no, no, no! We did not have sex.”

Please let me know if you would like to be added or removed from the tag list for future updates and sneak peeks.

@onceuponaprincessworld @teamhook @artistic-writer@ilovemesomekillianjones @hollyethecurious @gingerchangeling@ultraluckycatnd @kmomof4 @searchingwardrobes @snowbellewells @let-it-raines @wellhellotragic @itsfabianadocarmo @lfh1226-linda @sophiaaz @becausetheyrehappythisway @thislassishooked @hookedmom @resident-of-storybrooke @kateroselin @kday426 @sals86 @lawgeeks @yasbio2015 @xsajx @delightfully-difficult-pirate @snowbellewells @wanderingjpg @squidvisious @tenaciouskittynight @biefaless @animatedshorts @lassluna @melsbels @meat-pie-with-sauce @roseyflush @tiganasummertree @nowforruin @qualitycoffeethings @nikkiemms @oncechicagolove @theonewiththeory @lostinwonderland314 @darkcolinodonorgasm @carpedzem @maguilar1028 @mayquita @courtorderedcake @shady-swan-jones @timeless-love-story @laschatzi @officerrogers @spartanguard @andiirivera @ouatpost @jarienn972 @winterbythesea @winterbaby89 @distant-rose @xhookswenchx @tiganasummertree​

#original novel #self promo #romance book #sneak peek #my book

[bbywonu]

soulmate au. vernon.

masterlist

part one

!girlgroupreader x vernon

a/n: feedback is welcomed and would be much appreciated. have a wonderful day loves <3

requested: no <3

summary: in which you and your soulmate are connected by physical pain. 

word count: 1.4k.

I laughed along with Ingrid and her boyfriend as they had told a funny story to our friends. Owen had decided to fly over here to surprise Ingrid and to congratulate us on another successful album. I thought it was sweet the way he looked at her every time she would let out a laugh, or how he would look at her with stars in his eyes whenever she would speak. I also however found it mildly disgusting. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good love story here and there, but I hate people. People are the worst.

Have I ever had my heart broken? No. Have I ever broken a few hearts? Sure. My problem is that I always self sabotage relationships. I had grown up listening to stories about the origins of soulmates and how we “shouldn’t give up hope because ours are out there somewhere”. At first I believed it because how could I not? I would wake up with bruises and then maybe feel a little pinch here and there while I was in class, and every so often have to go to the nurses office to lay down because suddenly I have a huge headache. 

I would keep myself up at night thinking about what my soulmate was like. I couldn’t wait to meet them, and knowing that I didn’t have any information about this mystery person, my heart yearned. With a heavy heart, I gradually tried ignoring everything I had learned about soulmates. I mean, what were the odds that I would actually meet my person? I dated a few times in high school but was never truly satisfied because deep down, I knew that I could have someone out there that was just for me.

So here I was on a Thursday night, at the studio with a bunch of friends and coworkers celebrating our groups new album release. We were currently in South Korea were we would be performing at MAMA in a few days. Needless to say, we had all been in high spirits recently. I put down my glass of apple cider that my manager had jokingly given me, regarding that I wasn’t quite the legal age yet. I took a quick glance around me and decided I would get a breath of fresh air. 

I plugged in my earbuds as I walked through the cold air and into the night. I came to a stop beside the Han River as I decided to admire the Banpo Bridge in the distance. I usually couldn’t get out very often thanks to our tight schedules. It was times like these that I knew I shouldn’t take for granted. I took a picture for my instagram story and began walking back to the studio. As I turned to walk back, I tripped over my own two feet falling down and scraping my hand in the process. 

“They’re gonna feel that one.”

-

Arriving at MAMA, I couldn’t help but play with my fingers I was so nervous. Thinking about how many idols we would be seeing and meeting made my stomach, though I was really only familiar with a few. We had been practicing our dance routine for this performance for quite some time now, and even though we had everything down, I still felt anxious as we got ready backstage.

“Vera! You look so good!” Mina complimented.  

Vera laughed as she sent her air kisses. We had decided to change up our look a little for our new album, seeing as we went with a darker theme. Though we weren’t complaining, we looked like total queens. I was excited to see who all would be attending the event, as I hadn’t checked beforehand.

We were led by our manager to another section in which we had a few minutes to warm up. Deciding that we were all warmed up, we started joking around with each other for a few minutes as it was almost our cue to get on stage. I saw that some of our staff was carrying water bottles, so I decided to run over and get some before we were called out.

“Y/N!” I heard someone call out. I turned around to see my manager waving at me to come over. I gave her a thumbs up and quickly thanked the staff member as I began to jog back towards her. I turned too quickly and slammed my hip into the table right next to me. Before I could let out a groan in pain, I looked out of the corner of my eye at someone who also seemed to be bent over in obvious pain. I regained my composure as I stood up and kept staring at him. I scanned my eyes over his group members who began teasing him over his misfortune. My eyes made contact with one of his members who seemed rather intrigued with me.

Much to my dismay, our manager pulled me away before I could even think about what just happened. Maybe it was just a coincidence? Right, it couldn’t have been anything but a coincidence. I looked back at his group to see that him and his group members were talking avidly amongst each other.

As we performed our title song, I felt myself become less anxious as our execution so far was flawless. Singing next to my members, my mind wandered to the guy backstage. Come to think of it, he was quite attractive, remembering the short moments I had stared at him. I shook my head focusing more on our performance as I had almost missed my verse.

We walked backstage as we all had smiles on our faces from how well our performance had gone. Mina and Vera were chatting excitedly amongst the staff members as they thanked them for their hard work. Ingrid gave me a quick hug as she spotted Owen talking to our manager. I winked at her as she stuck her tongue out at me playfully. I caught up with Vera and Mina as we walked back to our dressing room.

“Whoever my soulmate is, I’m going to fight them.”

“Why?” Mina asked.

“Why?” I held back a chuckle as Vera looked at her as if she had two heads. “Why? Because when we transitioned into our dance break, I felt like Thor had just hit me in the shin with Mjolnir.”

“Maybe your soulmate is a soccer player”

“Well he’s not very good.” She said as we all let out a chuckle. Regarding soulmates, I felt as if Vera and I were on completely different spectrums. She was absolutely obsessed with anything and everything to do with soulmates. Even though that odd incident happened earlier, I shook it to the back of my mind feeling quite silly.

We turned the corner and I made eye contact with the same guy before. He smirked a little before calling out to the guy who had been in pain previously. My breath hitched a little, feeling nervous that I would soon make eye contact with him. I felt my cheeks get hot as we gradually made eye contact. There were so many thoughts racing through my mind, though they were cut short when I suddenly felt a dull pain shoot through my right shoulder. I looked over to see that Mina was laughing at Vera, who I suspect was the cause of my pain.

I was about to ask her why she did that when she nodded her head in the guy’s direction. I looked over to see that he was rubbing his shoulder as well. Through the laughs of his group members, our eyes connected and he gave me a shy smile as he walked over. My heart raced more and more as he got closer.

“Hi, I’m Vernon.” He said with a small smile. His cheeks were flushed a light pink as he rubbed the back of his neck in anticipation. I smiled at how handsome he was. I still hadn’t fully processed what had just happened yet. Realizing I was staring, I looked down shyly as I felt my cheeks get even hotter.

“Hi, I’m Y/N.” I let out a small chuckle as I looked up at him. This all felt so surreal. No relationships or meetings that I have had in the past with anybody could have compared to what my heart felt for him in this very moment.

“Nice to meet you Y/N.”

I could already hear the squeal Vera would let out when she would soon learn that I had met my soulmate. Maybe she wasn’t totally crazy to think that all of those old folk stories were wrong after all. Oh dear, is it too early to say I’m in love?  

#vernon imagines #svt imagines #svt imagine #seventeen imagine #vernon imagine #svt scenarios #svt blurbs #hansol vernon chwe #vernon #seventeen scenarios #vernon soulmate #seventeen soulmate au #soulmate au #svt soulmate

[ashintheairlikesnow]

💌 for Kauri please? (hmm possibly with Owen hmmm)

(Also, from Anon: (I'm not sorry for who ever gets involved with this) 💌 & Owen - apology sex

CW: Owen is an abuser and uses abuser logic, emotional abuse, emotional manipulation, domestic abuse, pet whump, box boy, bbu, dubcon

-

Sometimes, there are moments like this.

"I'm sorry," Owen says, and lays a hand on his back. Kauri doesn't look at him, keeping his chin resting on his knees, arms around his legs. Tears still blur his vision, hot and demanding, even as his eyes ache and his head throbs from the ones he's already cried. His lip throbs, one his wrists is already bruising visibly, only a few hours after Owen's hand had been closed around it. "Hey. Kaur-Bore... you hear me?"

"I hear you," Kauri whispers, but he doesn't look. If he looks into Owen's green eyes, he'll fall all over again, and he knows it. The warm hand at his back rubs gently, up and down, and Owen shifts closer, leans in to press a kiss to his hair. Kauri has to lock his jaw to keep from tilting his head into it.

"I wasn't thinking," Owen says, lips barely moving against a black curl. It makes Kauri shiver, liquid warmth pooling inside of him. "I wasn't. It was stupid of me, Kauri, so stupid of me. I was the rocks for brains this time, yeah? Not you, this time it was me."

Kauri takes a breath and tells himself Owen doesn't mean it. He never means his apologies. His eyes closed, he pretends he's somewhere else, with someone else, that it isn't going to end the way it always, always ends.

Apologize. Hurt again. Apologize once more. Round and round.

"You nearly broke my arm," Kauri says. His voice stays steady. "Right in front of the neighbor down the hall, you nearly did."

"You're my pet, it's none of his fucking business what we do." Owen sighs, moves around in front of him. Kauri senses the shift in the weight on the bed. When Owen's hands are on his, he lets them be pushed down to balance himself, lets owen slot between his legs. The sapphire and white-gold necklace he wears for a collar shifts, too, a jewel in the hollow of his throat. Owen pushes him onto his back, and Kauri doesn't stop him, but he doesn't go eagerly either.

He keeps in mind his swollen bottom lip, bitten to bleeding. The ache in his arm, wrenched nearly out of its socket. The terror as he'd been shoved back into a wall.

"I was just saying good morning," Kauri says. He can feel Owen looming over him. "I don't even know his name."

"Kaur-Bore." Owen shakes his head, and there's a patronizing little smile in his voice that Kauri can see without ever having to open his eyes. "You and I both know that you don't have to know anybody's name to be a little slut around anyone hot. I know what they train Romantics for."

Kauri's chest twists in a new kind of pain. "Mr. Owen... I'm made for you."

"Yeah, because I'm the one who keeps you here. If I let you walk away, you'd be sucking off some guy on a park bench in a week or less. It's not your fault, Kaur-Bore, it's just how you're made."

Kauri swallows, again and again, until all the words that clump together in his throat are forced down. He forces down the tears. He forces down, beneath that, a white-hot anger that he cannot afford to show. "You hurt me," He says instead, and there are so many layers to those three words he knows Owen can't begin to hear.

He just wants to be loved.

He wants to stop having to force down his thoughts and pretend they don't exist.

He wants-

He wants to say good morning to a neighbor without feeling eyes on his back and a hand closing tight around his arm.

"I know." Owen is quiet, and then takes his hand and pulls the bruising wrist to his own mouth, kissing along the place where you can damn near see fingerprints. "I know I did. I'm so sorry, Kaur-Bore. I'm so sorry. You were just saying hello, right? You didn't mean anything by it."

"I didn't-... I didn't. I just... wanted to pretend, for a second, that-... that-"

"That we're a real couple?"

Kauri opens his eyes, and catches the lopsided smile Owen wears, bittersweet and with some anger Kauri can't quite fathom underneath it.

"I wanted to pretend that, too. I wanted to be a real couple," Owen says, voice low. "But I have to settle for pretending, like this. Pretending is hard, Kauri. It makes me... makes me angry, sometimes, having to pretend. That you're not the real thing."

If being called a slut had hurt before, then being reminded that they aren't even really a couple hurts far, far more. "I'm not him," Kauri whispers, and his own anger rises, too.

"No. You're not Vince. But... but we can pretend. I can be better at pretending." He rubs a thumb over Kauri's swollen lower lip. "I bit you. I'm sorry for that, too."

Kauri might like hearing it if he thought it meant he wouldn't just be bitten again, and apologized to again, over and over until nothing means anything unless it's touching him.

"Mr. Owen..." He's going to crack apart. Shake down into powder, disappear entirely. He throws his arms up around Owen's shoulders, and feels the way Owen briefly tenses and then relaxes down on top of him. Covering him with his weight, and warmth. He can feel Owen from forehead to knees. He isn't alone. Not here. Not right now. "Please. Please just... let's stop talking about it, okay?"

"Okay, okay. But you believe me, right? That I'm sorry for losing my temper?"

Kauri swallows.

No.

"Yes," He says out loud, with all the sincerity he can fake. He's an amazing liar.

All the sluts like him are.

Owen grins. "Good. Good, good... now... let me show you just how sorry I really am..." He kisses Kauri's jaw, over his neck, sucking on the skin there until Kauri starts to move against him, rolling his hips in short little lifts. They both start to harden, and when Owen pulls back to take Kauri's shirt off he raises his arms. He drops his hands down to undo Owen's zipper. Their mouths meet and his lip burns where it burst but it doesn't hurt as badly as the bright hot pain in Kauri's chest.

He buries himself in it, in his hand moving against slick hot skin, in Owen's hands pushing his legs up, bent at the knees until he's nearly in half. He loses the pain to cold slick liquid on fingers inside of him, to the pleasure of Owen using one hand to open him up while the other strokes him off with steady certainty.

Owen kisses him, and he moves his tongue just right. Arches his back in a perfect show of lust, lust he even makes himself feel, after a while, because being wanted, and wanting, is better than facing what his life really looks like.

"I'm so sorry I hurt you, Kaur-Bore," Owen whispers against his hair, deep inside of him, hitting just right over and over until Kauri scratches fingernails down his back and cries out for more. "I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry, I won't hurt you again."

Yes, you will.

"I know-... I know-... Mr. Owen, please, h-harder-"

At some point, he forgets the pain entirely, and all he feels is Owen's skin hot and sweaty, his own electric and charged like lightning at every lingering touch, and the way he is so full of Owen there isn't any room for anything else.

"I-I love you, Mr. Owen-"

"I know," Owen answers. The headboard rocks against the wall in time. "I know, I-... know, fuck, good boy, Kauri, good boy-"

The loneliness in him is buried by the overwhelming crest of pleasure and the way he calls out Owen's name.

In the middle of that single moment, he... almost does believe that Owen really is sorry.

Maybe Owen believes, just for a moment, that he's Vince.

Maybe they're both pretending this is real.

-

@finder-of-rings @endless-whump @arlin-always-writing @thefancydoughnut @newandfiguringitout @doveotions @pretty-face-breaker @gonna-feel-that-tomorrow @boxboysandotherwhump @oops-its-whump @cubeswhump @burtlederp @nonsensical-whump @whump-tr0pes @autophagay @whumptywhumpdump @whumpiary @orchidscript @outofangband @eatyourdamnpears @hackles-up @grizzlie70 @mylifeisonthebookshelf @keeper-of-all-the-random-things

#whump #erase to control #owen grant is a nice guy #creepy whumper #intimate whumper #obsessive whumper #noncon tw #dubcon tw #box boy #box boy universe #bbu #captivity #pet whump #pet whump bbu #noncon kissing #dubcon kissing #abusive relationship tw #emotional abuse #emotional manipulation #domestic violence tw #possessive whumper

[0bianidalas]

The unsolicited AlexReggie ship manifesto

DISCLAIMER: This is obviously meant as a rant post about a ship I can enjoy in fandom spaces and not an actual request from me to make AlexReggie canon in the show or any of the sorts. I am quite happy and excited about the actual canon LGBT+ ship of this show, which is Willie x Alex. Do not get that twisted.

That being said, let me talk to you about the amazing, entertaining dynamic Alex and Reggie have that makes them super easy and fun to ship them:

I wanna start off by saying that I’m mostly writing this because I feel like they are either unfairly underlooked or just grossly misread; and I’m more upset about the latter. (Someone on this hellsite actually had the nerve to say Alex doesn’t take Reggie seriously so. I just had to get this off my chest)

So what’s this amazing, entertaining dynamic you speak of?

Alex and Reggie are best friends. That much is clear from the very first minutes of the show. It’s not Alex is Luke’s friend who’s friends with Reggie or the other way around. They’re all best friends. 

In fact, Alex and Reggie’s very first interaction is just about the sweatest we get to see them. Their first interaction:

Reggie goes over to Alex to compliment him specifically on how he played at the rehearsal which leads us to a lot of grey areas of headcanoning (was Alex the last to join and so he was shy or nervous around the others? Maybe Reggie just likes to compliment him for some reason, or my personal favorite: Reggie knew Alex was anxious about playing the Orpheum so he thought Alex needed reassurance of his awesomeness? ), but the matter is: Reggie thinks Alex is awesome. 

However, them being sweet best friends is not their entire dynamic (and thank God), no. Alex and Reggie are the quippy best friends, they’re the Vitriolic Best Buds (type one– with Reggie being more on the ‘unaware of the vitriol’ side): 

“A very good measure of how good your friends are is how much you can insult them without them taking offense.”— Heliomance

When two people who are the very best of friends behave like the very worst of enemies.

Alex pokes fun at Reggie saying “he can see you” when Carlos asks if the ghost is “hiddeous”. Reggie makes fun of Alex for crying and being “a very emotional person” (even when Alex isn’t even there). 

But at the end of the day, and this is where I wanna emphasize: they’re the ones to show care first and immidiately for each other. 

It’s stated that their friendship runs deep between all three of them (Luke, Alex and Reggie), but I’m not gonna write the manifesto for the OT3 yet so bear with me: 

In episode 1x02: when Alex complains about them not giving him a hug when he was crying in the “void”, Reggie goes to hug him without hesitation – for Alex to turn him down because, again, that’s their primary dynamic. 

Same episode, a few minutes later: Reggie gets overwhelmed about Ray crying and asks to see his parents and Alex turns to him and sotfly goes “Yeah”

In episode 1x07: when Alex is upset about Willie and Reggie gives him a reassuring comment about how there’ll be others which Alex takes greatfully and openly. 

Episode 1x09: after Alex has said goodbye to Willie and Reggie goes over his shoulder to ask him if he’s alright

Same episode, a few minutes later: when Reggie voices his concerns about what will happen to them if they cross over and Alex turns to him, again, his voice softer than it usually is when he speaks to Reggie, and tells him that “It’s not like we have a choice”, to ease him up a bit. 

What I mean to say with this is: Luke is, as I can read in the context of what we’ve seen in the first season, the least emotionally intelligent out of the three of them and so since Luke lacks in that department–> it means Alex and Reggie have each other. 

Again, they’re like – really best friends when you truly look. Mostly because Luke suffers from his trope of the front-man and main male protagonist, so he’s capable of going on his own or with Julie to explore other bonds while Alex and Reggie have less and lesser and a lot of that is spent with each other. 

Alex tells Reggie about Willie, Reggie pays attention and actually cares about the stuff he’s learning both from Alex as an extension of Willie and then about what he can get from the rest of the world. Alex and Reggie – most of the time during the season – are on the same page about stuff and together, while Luke is off doing his own things, mostly with Julie as she is the protagonist. 

Granted, Alex main focused relationship is with Willie (and I’m super greatful for that), but after Willie, and this is where I take no criticsm, it’s Reggie who comes on the list. Not Luke, not Julie or Carrie– Alex immidiate secondary focused-dynamic as of Season 1 is Reggie (if only slightly tied with the boys as a trio itself, obviously). 

Then there’s the aspect of them individually and how they contrast each other. Alex is obviously the smarter of the three and Reggie falls further on the scale, all the way to the side. That makes them a little the Smart Jerk, Nice Moron trope except Alex isn’t that much of a jerk all the time. However, it works, because not only it makes up for great comedic bits (literally all of their scenes together omg) but also because you can’t have one without the other or it’d be awfully unbalanced.

The “rhythm section” duo

Yes, I even wanna talk about the symbolism of their instruments too and how they’re linked through that. Drums and bass are not only essential to any band but they’re also very important and rely on each other. I’m no music expert at all, but even I know one usually follows after the other to keep the pace of the rhythm. 

This article has some many interesting takes on the relationship between the drummer and the bassist: 

“A drummer’s comprehension of the role of bass guitar is often far greater than most guitarists.”

“Everyone in the band is of course on the team, but the bond between the bassist and drummer is something so deep that it usually takes a long time to develop.”

“Bassists and drummers are the rhythm section together, meaning one instrument consisting of two parts.”

“Simply put, the bassist and drummer really are the rhythm section. It’s not the guitarist and certainly not the damn keyboard player. That can be an unclear distinction at times, but I feel strongly about it. Bass and drums should be an inseparable pair, sonically speaking,” he continues. “That’s not to say that all kick patterns should be followed to the tee, but there should be an obvious and palpable awareness of what each other is doing. There are too many nuances to list that can go with or against that grain. In short, bass and drums should always be intertwined like hot, sweaty lovers having the rawest, musical sex.”  —  Miles McPherson

I find the whole ✨semiotic✨ of this very poetic on its own, but it’s also an OT3 thing I’ll get on later, I think. 

Ultimately, Owen and Jeremy make it work, too. Duh. Their chemestry on screen really gives you the vibe that despite all the times Alex looks at Reggie like he’s fed up and wants to die all over again ("I wish I couldn’t see you”), Alex still finds him endearing and just…he loves the guy. And obviously Reggie – the heart of the boys trio– just loves him right back: 

I just think they’re cute and funny and even when I’m not shipping them, I’m still appreciating them from a mlm solidarity pov (bc Reggie is definitely bi) and whoever said that Alex doesn’t take Reggie seriously or ever tries to even imply Alex wouldn’t set the whole world on fire to keep Reggie warm is just not watching the same goddamn show.

#jatp #julie and the phantoms #alex x reggie #reggie x alex #alex #reggie #yes it's almost 1 am and my head is FULL of ALEXREGGIE UNDERRATED SOULMATES #long post #meta #otp: come on reginald

[marvelling-at-marvel-blog]

So after watching 911 Lonestar I actually on a whole enjoyed this episode.

Postives

- It was nice to see Owen outside of Gwyn even briefly

- Paul's storyline. I have wanted to see more of Paul for a while and Brian did an amazing job and I enjoyed seeing his family dynamic.

- Paramedic TK

- TKs little smile about his little bro at the end of the episode, his going to be an amazing big brother

- Mateo, Paul and Marjan moments. I love these guys togther.

- Nancy. Enough said.

- Judd teaching TK to drive the truck and TK backed it into the pole

Negatives

- No Carlos. At this point I dont need more Tarlos on my screen (Ok I konda do and I would very much like it) I just need to see Carlos. This on the back of him having two minutes screen time last week despite an advertised team up. That is now 2 episodes this season he has not even appeared in, every other main character bar Grace has appeared in every episode and Grace only missed the crossover episode. I don't understand how Tim called mentioning him in the crossover episode as fan service and giving every character thier time but then goes and neglects Carlos for most the rest of the season where is the service in that. Especially seeing Carlos was the most undeveloped character of S1. For those saying it is not all about Tarlos and its an ensemble show. Yeah it is not all about Tarlos and I am not asking for them to dominate the show but an ensemble show should use you know, all the characters. I just don't understand how you don't use an amazing actor who loves his character as much as Rafa. What. A. Waste.

- Owen saying I am going to be a dad to his son. WTF WAS THAT. YOU ARE A FATHER! Granted not a great one at the moment but still. EUGH. That infuriated me.

- The fact that Carlos was not a part of TKs decision to become a paramedic. Would have loved to see TK talk through his idea with him

#tarlos #911 lone star #911 ls spoilers #owen strand #carlos reyes #tk stand #paul strickland

[iamtrebleclefstories]

The Little Bit of Hope I Cling To - Part 3

Izzie goes to Grey Sloan looking for Bailey, Meredith, or Alex. She meets Dr. Karev instead

*takes place early s15*

Part 3:

——————

The next few months went by quickly. Izzie’s surgeries had gone well and she was undergoing IL-2 treatments again in hopes of killing the cancer. While she was working hard to fight her cancer, she hired a caregiver to make sure her mom was okay. About a month after her last surgery, Izzie was discharged from the hospital. With Maggie living with Jackson and Amelia living with Owen, Izzie, Geo, and Piper all moved into Meredith’s house. For about two weeks they’d been living there and Izzie was bored out of her mind.

“I need to get out of this house,” Izzie banged her head against the kitchen island. “I need to go to work. I can’t sit here all day doing nothing. I’m a freaking neurosurgeon.”

“Trust me, I get it,” Meredith chuckled. “Why don’t you just ask Alex for a job? I’m sure he’d be willing to move some things around for you to work at least a few hours throughout the week.”

“You’re kidding right?” Izzie picked her head up from the counter and raised her eyebrows. “He’s not going to give me privileges. Have you seen the way he’s been hovering these past three months? He didn’t want to discharge me. The only reason I’m here right now is because Jo said it was ridiculous to keep me in the hospital and that she was my surgeon, so she was the one who got to clear me to go home.”

“Maybe you should talk to Jo then? Get her to soften him up. Tell her to tell him that she’s prescribing work because mental health is just as important as physical health when it comes to fighting cancer,” Meredith suggested as she readied the kids lunches for school. “Does Geo like carrots?”

“Not really, but put them in his lunch box. He needs the vegetables,” Izzie played with the hem of her sweater. “You know, I think I will talk to Jo. I need this. I need to work. I don’t care where. I’ll even work in the clinic if I have to. I’ll see if she can talk to him for me. She’s the only one he has a hard time saying no to... When the hell did he get so whipped?”

“Oh, just somewhere around six years ago,” Meredith laughed. “He’s been whipped since before they even got together.”

Izzie popped a couple blueberries into her mouth, “Tell me how they met. Every time I ask either of them, they try to change the subject. I don’t know if it’s because I’m the ex-wife or because they don’t like talking about it and being all mushy, but I really want to hear about it.”

“Well, Jo was an intern and Alex was doing his first year of fellowship. They met because Jo was on his service one day. He was a jerk the majority of the day. So, Jo told him that he didn’t have to worry about being nice to her because she had no plans on sleeping with him, since he’d already slept with all of her friends. Things obviously worked out very differently,” Meredith smirked.

“Of course he slept all her friends first,” Izzie chuckled softly. “But how did they get together? I’m still not understanding. Did they end up falling into bed together or something? Alex and I had sex in a supply closet while you had your hand in that guy’s body holding a bomb.”

“Wait, that’s happened?” Meredith raised her eyebrows and laughed when Izzie nodded embarrassed. “I can’t believe you guys... But anyway, no that’s not what happened. A few months later, they became best friends after going to Bailey’s wedding. They would hang out all the time and drink beer like old buddies. I kept asking Alex why he didn’t just ask her out already and he insisted that there was nothing going on between the two of them. Fast forward six months and a whole lot of complicated things, and Alex finally told her that he was in love with her. Then they kissed.”

“Hold on, he said I love you before sleeping with her first?” Izzie asked in surprise.

“Yup,” Meredith grinned as she nodded. “You know, they were a thing for entire week before having sex? He kept chickening out because he said he wanted it to be special. Jo on the other hand was desperate to jump his bones, haha.”

“He really did change,” Izzie shook her head in disbelief. “Jo is good for him. It’s like they were made for each other.”

“I’m glad you think so,” Meredith said as she finally sat down to drink her coffee. “I was a little worried at first when you came back. Not because I doubt Alex or anything like that. I know Alex would never leave Jo. He’s willing to die, kill, and go to jail for, in love with her. But I was worried that you would try to cause problems. And I was worried for Jo. She’d been through a lot in her life. Maybe even more than me, but she’s always smiled and been happy. I was worried that being your surgeon would cause her to lose some of that. She never did though, and she still hasn’t.”

“Honestly, I kind of fell in love with her. So I completely understand,” Izzie chuckled. She really meant it too. Jo had been wonderful in the past few months. She didn’t know how to even begin thanking the woman for all that she’d done for her.

“I’m going to the hospital. Are you coming with me?” Meredith asked.

“Yeah,” Izzie nodded. “I’m going to go upstairs and and get the kids.”

***

“Jo, come on babe. We’ve got to go or we’re gonna be late,” Alex yelled from the opposite side of the loft.

Jo sat in the bathroom staring in disbelief at the pregnancy test she held in her hands. After months of trying and receiving negative test results, Jo finally saw the answer she’d been hoping for. She hadn’t planned on taking a test this morning. She usually did one every few weeks. Today she’d seen the box under the bathroom cabinet and decided to take it.

Truthfully, as much as she longed for it, she hadn’t expected those results. She hadn’t expected the little flutter in her chest and the prickling of tears in her eyes when she saw the two little lines she’d prayed for. It was positive. She was pregnant.

“Jo, we really need to leave. Let’s go,” Alex knocked on the bathroom door, startling her out of the moment.

Taking a calming breath, she called out, “Coming! Just need to wash my hands. Wait for me in the car.”

Alex grumbled something she couldn’t quite make out. Jo waited until she heard the loft door close before walking out, the positive pregnancy test clutched tightly in her hand. She crossed over to the other side of the loft and placed the test in her nightstand, hiding it underneath a couple articles she’d been reading. Grabbing her purse, she steadied herself and schooled her expression so as not to alert Alex of her newfound knowledge.

She jumped into the passenger seat and pretended like it was any other day. As much as Jo wanted to just blurt it out, she wanted to take a blood test in the hospital first before telling Alex. She wanted to be sure, and she wanted it to be special.

They arrived just as Meredith and Izzie were walking towards the hospital entrance. Alex and Jo hopped out of the car and greeted the two women warmly.

“What are you doing here?” Alex turned to Izzie. “You should be home resting.”

“I came to talk to you about letting me work,” Izzie gave Jo a pleading look. “Jo said that my mental health is very important to my reconvert and she suggested that I do things I love and get back to as normal of a routine as possible.”

Understanding what Izzie was trying to tell her, Jo nodded, “Yes. That’s right. She should be getting back to her normal routine, which includes work. Not as many hours as she was working before, but she definitely needs to do what she loves. She needs to work. Doctors orders.”

The three women looked over at Alex expectantly. His eyes flitted back and forth between them and he eyed Jo skeptically, “I feel like you guys are ganging up on me.”

“Come on, Alex. Let her work. She’s okay and she needs this,” Jo looked at Alex with wide eyes that she knew he wouldn’t be able to resist.

“Fine, you can work in the clinic,” Alex sighed as she addressed Izzie. “But no heavy lifting or exerting yourself. And I’ll grant you privileges to work on simple neuro cases that come into the ER, like clipping aneurysms.”

“Ah! Thank you!” Izzie jumped in excitement and gave Alex a brief hug. “Best chief ever!” She turned to Jo and smiled, “And you are amazing! I get to put on some scrubs for the first time in months.”

Alex rolled his eyes, “I’m going inside. See you guys later.”

The ladies walked over to the coffee cart and got in line to place their orders. Once up at the front, Jo asked for her coffee, “Hi. Can I get a a regular coffee, two creams, two sugars? Actually make it decaf.”

“Decaf?” Meredith looked at Jo quizzically. “Why are you getting decaf? You live off of expresso shots.”

“That’s true, every time I saw you with a cup in your hand, it was always something with expresso in it,” Izzie tilted her head in confusion. “You thrive off of caffeine.”

“I just... didn’t want it today,” Jo shrugged, hoping that would be a good enough explanation to distract from the fact that she’d only ordered decaf because she may be pregnant.

“Since when do you not want caffeine?” Meredith questioned.

Izzie gasped, “Oh my God! Are you pregnant?”

Jo froze in surprise. She’d always figured that if she were to get pregnant, Meredith would be one of the first to know. Ever since she and Meredith got closer, the order of people finding out would be Meredith, Alex, Link, Ben, and Bailey. She never once expected that her husband’s ex-wife would be on that list, let alone figure it out before anyone else. So, that’s why she just stood there in shock, I unanswering.

“Oh God, you are pregnant!” Meredith exclaimed.

“Shhhh! Keep it down. I don’t need everyone to know that the chief’s wife is pregnant before I even tell him,” Jo looked around frantically, hoping that no one else heard what happened.

“Wait, he doesn’t know?” Izzie asked.

“No. I found out this morning as he was rushing me to get out of the house,” Jo scanned the area and spoke in a hushed voice. “The car on our way to work didn’t seem like the appropriate time to share this life changing news. I want it to be special. Plus, I really want to take a blood test first to be sure.”

“Well then what are we waiting for? Let’s go do the test right now,” Meredith urged.

“We can go to the clinic and do it in one of the private exam rooms. It doesn’t open for another hour, but I can take the test for you and no one will ever know,” Izzie grabbed Jo by the hand and started walking away from the coffee cart, motioning for Meredith to follow. “Come on, let’s go!”

***

“You know what I just realized?” Izzie wondered out loud.

“What?” Meredith and Jo said at the same time.

“Oddly enough, this isn’t the first time I’ve run a pregnancy test for someone Alex may have knocked up,” Izzie chuckled as she thought back to events of over a decade ago.

“Alex knocked someone else up? Alex has a kid?” Jo’s eyes widened and her voice raised in pitch.

“What? No! No, no, no... when we were second year residents his ex-girlfriend Rebecca thought she was pregnant and I ran a pregnancy on her that came out negative. She was having a hysterical pregnancy,” Izzie explained as she removed the needle from Jo’s arm and disposed of it.

“Ooh, I forgot about that,” Meredith gasped. “That girl was insane. Actually crazy.”

“Wait, is this the same girlfriend that peed on your couch?” Jo turned to Meredith.

“Yup,” Meredith nodded. “Ava—or Rebecca was her real name. She was a patient that Alex saved and she fell in love with him... and then she went crazy.”

“I’m not crazy,” Jo looked back and forth between both women. “I know I have had my moments, but it was really was positive.”

“Jo, we know you’re not crazy,” Izzie laughed. “Trust me, we know crazy—I was crazy for a minute there. I had a brain tumor that caused me to hallucinate my dead fiancé.”

“I’m going to take these to the lab and put a rush on them. Go about your day like normal and we’ll meet for lunch to give you the results,” Meredith squeezed Jo’s shoulder as she walked out.

Jo watched as Izzie cleaned up the supplies they’d used for the blood draw, “I’m sorry. This must be really weird for you. You just ran a pregnancy test for your ex-husband’s new wife. It’s not exactly something I’d be thrilled to do. But then again, my ex-husband was a horrible human being, so let’s be glad he never procreated.”

“You were married before?” Izzie paused and looked up at Jo.

“Uh—yeah... it’s a very long story, but I was in an abusive marriage with a man who almost killed me on multiple occasions. I ran away, changed my name, and never divorced him. But then a little over a year ago, he died after being hit by a drunk driver, and I was free.”

“I can’t even begin to imagine what that must’ve been like for you,” Izzie frowned sadly. She felt like there was still so much she had left to learn about the woman Alex married. The resilience after so much hardship and the ability to smile after enduring so much pain were encouraging. “If you are pregnant, this baby is going to be very strong.”

“Thanks,” Jo smiled as she stood up. She looked over at Izzie and opened the door. “Come on, let’s go get your scrubs.”

***

Hours later, the three women met outside the ER to read the results. Jo was fidgeting nervously. Everything within her was on edge. She knew she was pregnant. She had to be pregnant. The stick she peed on this morning had two lines and she was almost positive her labs would reflect the presence of child in her uterus. Sure, she didn’t really have any symptoms yet, but the entire morning she thought back and realized that her last period was over six weeks ago. She’d been so busy with Izzie’s case and her fellowship, that she’d failed to notice.

Meredith held the paper in her hands, “Do you want to read it or do you want me to do it?”

“You do it,” Jo bit her bit anxiously. She watched as Meredith slowly unfolded the paper, Izzie leaning over her shoulder to see the results. “I think I’ll chicken out if I do it. Which sounds stupid because we want this. We’ve been trying for months, now. But for some reason, I just feel like I want to puke.”

“Well, that might just be the morning sickness talking because you’re definitely pregnant,” Izzie shared, a wide grin dawning her face. “Congratulations!”

“Yup,” Meredith nodded, an equally large smile gracing her features. “Your hCG levels indicate that you are pregnant. Probably six to seven weeks along.”

Jo took a deep breath, “Oh my God... I’m pregnant.”

“You’re pregnant,” Meredith chuckled and gave Jo a hug. “You two are going to be the very best parents to this baby.”

“I need to tell Alex,” Jo finally said, some of the shock beginning to wear off. She got up from the bench she’d been sitting on to go to his office when Izzie stopped her.

“Woah, hold on a minute. You can’t just go barging in and say ‘we’re having a baby.’ You gotta do something cute,” Izzie insisted. “And you’ve got to plant a camera to record his reaction when you tell him because we definitely want to see that.”

“You’re right,” Jo nodded. “That’s why I didn’t tell him this morning. I want it to be special.”

“It’s going to be special no matter what you do,” Meredith placed a hand on Jo’s shoulder. “It’s special because the baby is special, and your love is special. However you decide to tell him will be special.”

Jo took in Meredith’s advice and decided that it was true. But it didn’t make her want to abandon the thought of a sweet gesture any less. Deciding what she wanted to do, Jo made arrangements to set her plan in motion.

By the time she and Alex got off work, there were only a couple things she had left to do before telling him about the baby. Meredith had stopped by the loft early to plant the items she’d need for her pregnancy reveal. As they pulled into their parking space outside the loft, Jo felt her heart begin to beat rapidly.

She turned in her seat to look at Alex, “So, I have a surprise for you inside the house. It was delivered early so you’ve got to keep your eyes closed until I tell you. Promise you won’t open them until I say so.”

Alex sighed. He was tired and really just want to shower and go to sleep, but his wife had taken the time out of her day to surprise him. The least he could do was be grateful, “Okay. I promise.”

Jo led him up into the loft with her hands covering his eyes, much like the first time she’d surprised him with their couch. She stopped him right in front of that very piece of furniture and removed her hands, “Ta dah!”

“It’s our couch... the couch you already surprised me with six years ago,” Alex made a face.

Jo slapped his arm, “Not the couch you dummy. Look at what’s on it.”

“It’s a box of pizza. Not that I don’t love pizza, but why?”

Jo released an exasperated sigh, “You have to open the box first, you dummy.”

Jo watched as Alex leant down and slowly opened the box up, revealing the message inside. Congrats on being promoted to Dad. She watched his face contort with a variety of emotions before meeting hers with a look of wonder.

“You’re pregnant?”

“I’m pregnant,” Jo nodded. “Probably about six weeks or so.”

“We’re having a baby,” Alex stood up from his position of being hunched forwards to wrap Jo in his arms. “Oh my God. We’re having a baby!”

“We’re having a baby!” Jo laughed and released the breath she’d been holding. “We’re going to be parents!”

“Hell yeah, we are.”

#jolex #alex karev #jo karev #greys anatomy #jolex fanfic #jo wilson #grey's anatomy #jo x alex #greys fanfic #greys au #meredith grey #izzie stevens #merjo friendship

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Games With Trish: The Last of Us Part II

Granted, I didn’t actually play this myself but watched my brother play it instead. Still, I’m kind of glad he had the controller because the game looks so difficult and scary. Overall, I absolutely adored the game and it has so many good things. For that reason, I’ll say the bad things first since there are very few.

I know this game was very controversial, but this is my personal opinion and thoughts, not facts. Let me know your opinion if you want (as long as you’re kind and polite, please!). 

Long rant and spoilers under the cut!

Bad things

I have two main things to complain about in the game: the violence and its heavy emotional charge. Now, I don’t necessarily hate them because not only does it make sense that it’s a violent game taking place in a post-apocalyptic world where it’s kill or be killed, but it also goes along with the message of hate and revenge the game wants to tell. 

Still, the game gave me a lot of anxiety and I didn’t enjoy it as much as I could have for this reason. I averted my gaze a few times (when they break Yara’s arm being one of them) because it’s so brutal. I’m also a very sensitive person, so each time we played it was so tense and sad that I ended up exhausted. Every time a character died it was so harrowing... Abby’s Day 3 was so intense that I was a little overwhelmed, and Yara’s death was like the final straw and we had to take a break from the game. Characters also die so quickly, which is realistic, but it didn’t give you enough time to react before you were thrown into another scene or shootout. Between how frantic some scenes are and how brutal or tragic, I had to ask my brother to pause it a few times. The game really doesn’t give you a moment to breathe. That’s it, that’s my only complaint about the game. Now on to the good things.

Characters

First of all, and always my favorite thing about any story: the characters. Ellie is my all time favorite character, and even if I don’t agree with her choices and actions in this game, I can still empathize with her and love how complex and deep she is. She’s just human, and she is traumatized, so she does some questionable things.

Obviously, Troy Baker’s and Ashley Johnson’s performances are flawless, but Druckmann’s dialogues and writing is so... human. The characters interact like real people, they are spontaneous and natural, they have intimate moments of love, anger and a wide range of emotions. These characters fidget, frown, smile and have a myriad of human gestures (also improved with the amazing, mindblowing Naughty Dog graphics) that make them feel real. You can feel the emotion pour out of every gesture, every look, every expression.

I know Abby is also a controversial character but... I adore her. Of course we are meant to hate her at first, but the more time we spend with her, the more I grew fond of her even if I missed playing with Ellie. I couldn’t help but to admire Abby’s brute strength and bravery, even when she faces her fear of heights. When she tells her story, you understand her motivations as much as her actions hurt. Joel (like every character in this game and every person in that world) was not a good person, no matter how much we love him. Besides, at the end of the game it’s hard not to feel for Abby. She loses everyone as a direct result of her own revenge that she very much ends up regretting. When Ellie finds her at the end, it was hard to even tell that was Abby, I literally didn’t recognize her. So it was nice knowing that she found redemption and got her happy ending with Lev, her new family.

The side characters are all amazing. I was especially fond of Lev and Yara (Lev is an adorable little boy that must be protected, I just wanted to hug him) from Abby’s part and Dina and Jesse from Ellie’s part. I also loved Owen, Nora, Manny, Alice... everyone. Even Mel, who seems a bit more bland in comparison, has a defined personality. 

The plot

It is so well written, it makes so much sense, coherently and thematically, that I don’t understand some complaints. It’s also so compelling! People complain that Joel’s death made no sense and was just for shock value? It was a direct consequence of his actions at the end of the first game when he killed lots of people and literally doomed humanity out of selfishness. I still love Joel and I’m glad he saved Ellie, but this can’t be denied. Besides, the game deals a lot with the consequences of the characters’s actions, so it makes perfect sense to me.

Everything that happens in the plot and the story has a point. You kill lots of people as Ellie to avenge Joel, but then you get Abby’s point of view and grief the loss of those same characters. The game tries to make you feel for every person, which is why they all have names and their friends call out to them when they are shot. The main goal of the game was to get you to feel empathy for the ‘bad guys’. The point was that there are no good or bad guys in this story, only people with personal perspectives. Ellie and Abby are just two women who felt they were in the right. And in a way, they both were.

I just think the plot was coherent, with lots of interesting things, twists and surprises. Overall, it was realistic. There were no deus ex machinas, no crazy expectation subversions (because the twists were well established) and to me it felt like everything that happened had a meaning, as heart-crushing as it could be.

The themes

Now, this is one of my favorite things about the game. I read that Druckmann said that Ellie and Abby would have been friends in another life, and I agree. They are two sides of the same coin, or two different moments in the process of recovery from trauma and grief. 

Abby got her revenge and is dealing with the consequences of it, with the guilt and the rejection of those that don’t approve of her hate and resentment. When she got her revenge, she didn’t feel better (in fact she felt worse) so she does something good to change that. She literally returns to Yara and Lev to make amends for killing Joel, and in it she finds a new family. In the end, Abby actively choses not to do bad things anymore (even to the point of refusing to fight Ellie) and let go of that hatred.

Ellie is in the first stages of grief, needing to look for Abby until she kills her for what she did to Joel. There are some hardcore visceral moments that show the dark side of revenge, like when she finds Nora or attacks Mel and Owen. Even when Abby lets her go she still can’t forget about Joel’s death. It was a nice respite in the farm with Dina and JJ, but her guilt and PTSD don’t leave her and she has to go again. She is literally going through what Abby already lived, hence why she tells Ellie ‘I’m not doing this’ when they meet at the end of the game.

Ellie and Abby were on the same path even if they started on different places. Abby had done terrible things for Isaac as a Wolf but finds redemption when protecting Lev. Ellie mostly wanted to live a happy life until her father figure was taken from her. They meet common ground at some point and then go on their own paths again, which is why the game didn’t end on the theatre.

The first Last of Us was about love, but Part II is about hate. It speaks about how hatred and revenge never end, an eye for an eye and everyone will end up blind. The characters have to make conscious choices to avoid it ruining their lives even further and that’s why the ending is so good. More on that later.

Little things

The setting is incredible, it feels lived in and sometimes it’s absolutely gorgeous. Every place has a history and some of them are just so cool. The musem with the flashback of Joel and Ellie was one of my favorite places, as well as the aquarium. Also, the part of the game where you go to Ground Zero? Terrifying! I was freaking out only watching my brother play, and I’m impressed that they managed to make it feel so dark and ominous. It’s brilliant that they thought of putting something like that in the game, as scary as it was.

The game has so much attention to detail, from how you always find alcohol and scissors in places like kitchens or bathrooms to how accurate the animations are. I was blown away when I saw the trailer with how you crawl under cars and cock the guns and everything, and the game has so many details like those.

Even the AI was insane, NPCs have dialogues if you let them speak and they are so smart. They turn around in the middle of their walking, like real people would, and make it extra challenging. I was so impressed with the AI.

The music was phenomenal as usual. The score just pulls the correct emotions out of you, whether it is making you feel the adrenaline with the drums or feel nostalgic or just make you sad with the guitar.

The ending

Finally, the ending. I think many people didn’t like it, but to me it was perfect. I was so convinced that either Ellie or Abby were going to die, or both! I was relieved that they both lived, and in a way that made so much sense. To me it was a satisfying end to everything that had been set up, a coherent end to all the themes and the message that the game sent. Revenge is bad, let go of that hatred or it will consume you.

Ellie can’t kill Abby. She spent so long thinking about Joel in his last moments, about how she was helpless and couldn’t save him, and that fueled her anger and hatred. Her survivor’s guilt from the first game only got worst when it meant seeing her father figure die. Still, when she is about to kill Abby she thinks about him in a different way. She sees him fondly, with his jacket and coffee and playing guitar. She doesn’t see him bloody and dying as he was that dreadful day. That’s why she doesn’t kill Abby. 

Abby and Lev find Santa Catalina after everything they went through. IT’s Abby’s ‘reward’ for not going after Ellie again after what happened with Owen, Mel and everyone. They get their happy ending together as a family: Lev can be himself and feel safe even with everything that he loss, Abby can start forgiving herself for her guilt and honor both her father and Owen by returning to the Fireflies. She was lost in the darkness but found the light. It’s also symbolic that she isn’t as buff or has her long hair because she’s letting go of the reason why she had them.

Ellie lost everything. She couldn’t let go of her hatred and in doing so she was left completely alone, which was her worst fear. She risked everything and the only thing she had left, which was Dina (the representation of a happy life) is gone. It was also heartbreaking that she couldn’t even play guitar (as a guitar player myself and music lover, that hurt me profoundly) because she lost her fingers as a consequence of her attempt at revenge. 

I saw theories that Dina was actually waiting for her somewhere else because Ellie was wearing her bracelet, and I hope so too. It seems strange that Dina would abandon her dream of living in a farm if she was staying with Ellie, but I still want to hold on to that hope. I shipped those two so hard, and I really want Ellie to have a somewhat happy ending.

The last few minutes were beautifully tragic. Bittersweet. Ellie is alive, but leaves everything behind, all of her belongings (including Joel’s guitar) in order to move on. It was the only way she had to let go of her grief from Joel’s death and start a new life instead of repeating the vicious cycle of revenge. Just... powerful and moving.

Amazing lines and scenes

My brother knows me well and he said that my favorite scene would be the one in the museum with Ellie and Joel, and it probably is. It feels like a continuation of the first game and it’s a sweet father-daugther (parent-child and found family tropes are my weakness) moment in which Joel tries to make Ellie happy with the nerdy things he knows she loves. 

I also adore all the moments between Ellie and Dina. They are adorable and they just feel like a real couple, caring about each other and joking and flirting. 

All of the flashbacks were emotional and amazing, but my favorite is probably the last one. When Ellie tells Joel that she wants to forgive him? When he says ‘if I had another chance I would do it all over again?’ I’m getting choked up just thinking about it. I think that’s actually my favorite scene in the game.

Another one of my favorite lines was ‘hey, you’re my people’ from Abby to Lev. It’s so important and such a turning point for Abby, because if it weren’t for Lev she might have killed Ellie and Dina in the theater. She cares so much about him that she keeps going. And that line is the first moment we really see how much that kid meant to her.

Final thoughts

This was probably the longest rant I’ve written here, but The Last of Us was already my favorite game and Part II only topped it for me. The few bad things are greatly overpowered by the countless good things. The game just left a mark on me and I will never forget how it made me smile, laugh, gasp, cry, cringe in fear and overall... just feel in a way nothing had ever made me feel before.

#games with trish #the last of us #tlou #the last of us part ii #rant #the last of us 2 #the last of us ii

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F9 Post-Credits Scene Explained

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This article contains F9 spoilers.

So quick question: How many folks in your theater stayed for the end credits of F9, the 10th film in the Fast and Furious saga? I know I can say everyone did in mine. That’s because with summer blockbusters back, we’ve all remembered our training to be good little Pavlovian dogs and stay for a treat after the film fades to black. And F9 just gave a juicy one too.

In a nondescript gym/vaguely insidious lair, Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw beats a full-sized punching bag until his knuckles probably bleed. Only then do we realize he’s keeping some poor bastard wrapped up inside of the target. Full disclosure: I wasn’t sure if that was Otto—the sniveling silver spooned traitor who was working with John Cena’s Jakob in F9. He was honestly too smeared in blood to know for sure, but whoever it is, he’s having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

Be that as it may, that’s not the point of this scene. It’s just to let you know Deckard Shaw is still up to Deckard Shaw shit. Even after saving the world with Luke Hobbs in the spinoff movie, it turns out Shaw’s still not a nice guy. But perhaps it’s good to be reminded of such things because a moment later, the one-time arch-villain hears a knock at the door. Who could that be?

None other than Sung Kang’s Han Seoul-Oh! The man he left for dead in Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and Fast & Furious 6.

If you don’t remember the ins and outs of their backstories, let’s just say they have significant beef. Back when the third Fast and the Furious movie was not set in the distant future, Kang’s Han died in a fiery freak accident during a Tokyo drifting race. Only later do we learn that his vehicle was sabotaged by Deckard Shaw as an act of vengeance for Han and the Family™ putting Deck’s little brother, Owen Shaw (Luke Evans), in the hospital. So he runs Han off the road and calls up Dom Toretto so he can hear the sound of the explosion that is about to engulf poor Han.

BUT we now know thanks to F9 that was a double fakeout-blind of an accident. Deckard engineered it to kill Han in what would look like an accident to the other racers, but Han knew it was coming and in turn planned to use it to fake his own death while working for Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell), who was helping Han protect a young orphan named Elle (Anna Sawai), whose blood contained the key codes to a satellite program which could take over the world.

Got all that?

So Han “died” and Deckard Shaw went on to get his face busted in when he engaged in a duel with Dominic Toretto wherein both men wielded wrenches like they were broadswords. Poor Shaw never realized that “in a street fight, the street always wins.”

And yet… even though the family sent Shaw to prison as their own act of revenge on Han’s behalf, in the next movie they would help Shaw escape because of contrived plot mechanics I will not recite here… and then they invite him to the cookout at the end. Granted, Shaw saved Dom’s infant son to garner that invitation, but he still murdered a member of the family. For at least two films though, Fast and the Furious wanted you to forget that.

It outraged a fair number of fans, and it frustrated Justin Lin too, who created Han with Kang way back before he even knew he’d make a Fast and Furious movie. Yep, Han first appears in Lin’s second feature, Better Luck Tomorrow (2002). To see the character just blatantly ignored by The Fate of the Furious is what brought Lin out of Fast and Furious retirement.

“That was a fucked up move on [F8],” Lin told Esquire last year. “Han is special. It really made no sense and, as an Asian-American, it kind of did shake me to the core. You’re like: ‘Wait, did we just get reduced to a fucking character that you don’t even address? That nobody fucking cares about anymore? Are we fucking back to Long Duk Dong shit again?”

So Lin returned to the series he made a phenomenon with the express purpose of bringing justice to Han. Strangely, however, it was not revealed that Dom and company knew Han was alive this whole time, which still makes their chummy relationship with Shaw in the last movie bizarre. Even so, the end credits scene promises bringing Han back from the dead is just the beginning of the franchise’s penance.

What does the post-credits scene set up? A heart-to-heart, and maybe a fist-to-fist, between Han and the man who tried to send him to the morgue. If Shaw wants to truly be family, it’s time for him to earn it. That look on his face suggests it’ll be a lot of work.

Maybe in Fast and Furious 10…

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