#we’re spending a week in nyc and not gonna lie if I don’t get my romantic picnic date in Central Park under the cherry blossoms I will riot

[sword-and-stars]

Three years later and I’m finally getting my fucking honeymoon

#we’re spending a week in nyc and not gonna lie if I don’t get my romantic picnic date in Central Park under the cherry blossoms I will riot

[hwrryscherry]

The one with the Christmas Eve, eve.

blurb: Harry and Model Y/N are spending christmas in the French Alps with their families and suddely realizes they didn’t have any time to go christmas shopping this year.

word count: 2.8K

author’s note: Heeey guys, so I'm editing with my phone and I'm not able to add the "read more" tag but I'll do it in the morning🥰 I hope you enjoy♥️

christmas song of the day: Sleigh Ride by The Ronettes

December 23rd, 2020.

house near La Clusaz

— What are you doing? — You'd ask Gemma a you arrived at the first floor leaving the stairs behind you. You observed your sister-in-law with a bunch of wrapped boxes on her hands as she walked towards the huge christmas tree settled on the living room on the left side of the enormous fireplace. Gemma crouched down beside the tree and placed the enveloped boxes on the foot of the tree while you walked towards the big and comfortable brown sofa and sat on the same prop for your things.

— I'm putting the presents here. They were up there in the room and I already started to think it’d break or something — The woman told you while placing the boxes under the tree — And also because it looks nicer like that though. You and Harry should put yours here too.

— Sure, it looks more like home this way — You said agreeing with Gemma and then got up and walked behind the sofa where you placed your palms over it  looked at her — I'll get them, they must be in Harry’s suitcase — You smiled tenderly at her and walked again to the stairs, where you went up step by step until you reached the top floor and walked up to your room. When you opened the door carefully since when you left the room Harry had just entered the shower, you came across Harry with a towel wrapped around his hips giving you an excellent view of his exposed chest and arms tattoos as he placed the items of clothing he planned to wear on the bed.

— Love, I was thinking that we should've gone skiing yest... — Harry started to say the moment he noticed your presence in the room.

— We have a big problem, Hazz — You interrupted him bringing all his attention that were previously in the clothes for the you. He noticed the look of despair that you had on your face and felt the concern take over his body — A huge problem! — When saying this, you rubbed your palms on your face and Harry approached you in a quick pace, gently touching your arms.

— What happened? Are you okay? — Harry'd ask while carefully examining your face and body with his green eyes looking for any sign that you'd have been hurt in any way.

— I'm okay, that's not it! — You said taking a deep breath and then sighing to take your gaze against his — We forgot that we had to go christmas shopping — You'd say with a long breath coming out of your nostrils as you watched Harry frowing in completely silence as he actually noticed that none of you remembered of buying any gifts. The thing is, with Harry filming Don't Worry Darling and you doing so many shootings you both would always say "oh let's go tomorrow" and then you'd never actually go and it turned out that you totally forgot about it — How could we forget it? Oh my god, your mom's gonna be so upset and today is Christmas Eve eve, there's no way we'll find something for them and I panicked and told Gemma that their gifts were up here and...

— Love, love, love — Harry'd interrupt you as he rushed towards the bed and grabbed his clothes to start dressing up — Let's not panic! There's a christmas market down in La Clusaz. I bet there must be something good left! — Harry would say trying to convince himself more than you actually. He'd feel completely bad and shattered by giving no presents to his family. But he was kinda right though. The house you rented were up in the mountains but a fifteen minutes drive would take both of you to a commune that had a beautiful Christmas Market and as christmas day is so close it probably should be open.

— Yeah, sure! — You'd agree going directly to the small closet there was in you guys bedroom that you organized both of your clothes in there yesterday and grabbed some warmer clothes because it was probably the coldest it's ever been since the day you both got here, but thank god it wasn't snowing at this moment.

— Ok but what if they want to come with us? — Harry said as he put on his sleeves and later on his snow coat alongise with his beanie.

— We'll tell them we're going on a date! — You'd fastly say back as you changed your sweatpants to a legging and following it with jeans, and then changing your hoddie for a heavy coat of yours and your slippers for snow boots — I'm sure they won't try to follow us on our date.

— Yeah that'd be weird! — Harry would agree with you taking his phone and putting it inside his pocket and then his mask. Remember how the mask made your face warm in the summer? Thank god it makes your face warmer now. — I'll go downstairs and starts the car and then I'll just say that I was planning it and ye' didn't know.

— Ok! — You'd tell him as you searched for your phone on the mess sheets from the bed, as you found Harry's gloves, you'd take it in your hands and show them to him — Won't you use it?

— No, I'm good! See you downstairs! — Harry'd say as he left the room and walked downstairs leaving you alone in the room. And also, unlike Harry, you weren't wearing a beanie when you got downstairs.

— Oh, you look pretty! — Anne would say with a big smile on her face at the moment she'd see you leaving the stairs while putting your gloves on. She'd come closer to you with your newly washed mask on in her hands — We didn't know you both were having a date, dear! — She would complement as you'd put on the mask on your face feeling a little tense from her words. It's not like you don't know how to lie, you're good at it. It's just that you love this woman so much and it's hard to lie to her.

— Oh yeah, I didn't too! Harry said it was a surprise! — You'd say while putting your phone inside your 2005 Re-edition Prada bag that was actually last christmas gift from Harry. God, you wanted this bag for so long and you got so happy when Harry gave it to you that you couldn't stop thanking him for almost a week after christmas — We should be back soon, though! I don't know how much time is gonna take — You'd add stoping your movements and looking at the shorter woman's face.

— It's okay, darling! — She'd say giving you a warm hug before walking with you towards the door — Now go have some fun! — She'd say happily as you walked towards the car that Harry had rented too. God, the air felt so cold. Of course you lived in NYC for years, and you are used to snowy weather but this feels ten times colder. You'd rush into black SUV that Harry rented feeling the warmness almost instantly when you sit in the passagers sit and put on your sit belt.

Harry started driving directly to the commune center with the GPS instructions and honestly, you were glad that you had a GPS because you could never tell the difference on the way because all you could see was snow and mountain until you got in center. 

You both were so surprised when you left the car after you had parked it. Of course, it was dead cold but it was so pretty. It felt like you were inside a christmas movie with all the lights and decorations and the cute houses with all those people going ice skating and walking around the christmas market with a christmas song in the background. It felt like a heaven made of christmas.

— This must be what heaven looks like — You'd say as you and Harry walked hand in hand towards the christmas market getting a chuckle out of Harry. He knew how much you love the christmas spirit and all it came together with it. It just felt so great, and he learned to love it just as much as you do with the time.

— Do ye' have any idea on what we should buy? — Harry asked as you both first entered the market that was actually a little too crowed for being so early in the afternoon.

— I think that for your mom, we should get her new crystal bowls because you broke hers last christmas and for — You'd say casually remembering last christmas when they were all playing games together and Harry was a little too excited about winning the game and a little too wine drunk too to realize that he was one step away of breaking Anne's brand new crystal bowls.

— Hey, I still feel bad for that, let's not talk about this! — Harry'd say on a playful way making you let out a chuckle as you looked at the many stands options of presents to buy.

— Ok, I'm sorry! But anyway, I think we should get Gemma something classy and cute, maybe with a little...

— Pride and Prejudice vibes — Harry'd interrupt you making you turn your gaze to him seeing the boy with raised eyebrows at you — You say this every year!

— Yes, and she loved all the gifts we gave her in the past 2 years! — You'd say convincingly as you started to walk inside the market basically dragging Harry with you — Imma buy my mom a light spot necklace, you know? That one with only a small diamond in it? She's obsessed with it lately.

The first thing you'd buy would be your mom's necklace.It'd take you a while to find it, but it was so worth it because it was just like the one you have and you knew she would love it. The cute french woman, the seller was an old lady with white hair and a very sweet voice and it's been a while since you've put your french in work so it would really nice to talk to her. She'd tell both of you that she plans on spending christmas with her grandkids on their house and then later appreciating the christmas fireworks. The thing is that both you and Harry loved to know people's story, it's easier to understand and like someone when you know it's story of life and what made it be who it is.

Later you'd start looking something for Michal, which was probably the hardest thing ever because Michal is the kind of person that will like whatever you give to him so it's hard to think about something special and it's a proven thing when it's already the fifth stand that you ans Harry stops at to look for something to him.

— Why is this so hard? — Harry would say looking through some very cute sweaters.

— I know right! — You'd add as you looked through the many jewels it had on the stand — I'll go finding something for Gemma, and you find something for Michal! — You'd say starting to walk away from him and being stopped by the man's rough voice at you making you turn around to look at him.

— Why do I have to choose anything for him? Why don't you do it? — He'd say making you go silent for a moment as you thought about a good excuse about him finding it alone. You know Michal likes anything but you don't want to be the one to find the "wrong" anything.

— I mean, you're a guy! You know what guys want for christmas, love — You carefully say touching his arm as you approached him — And by the way, you've known the guy for five years, and I know him for two years so you'll do it! — You'd say with a convincing smile on your face as you petted his arm.

— Ow so that's the game? 'Cause I've known Gemma for 26 years! — He'd argue back.

— Yes, but she likes me better! — You'd say grabbing a bracelet with the letter G in it and observing it closer to your eyes.

— What do ye' mean she likes you better? I am her brother! — He'd say making a huge deal about the "brother" part. You'd roll your eyes at his little drama and then you'd show him the bracelet.

— Yeah, whatever! — You'd say — See, you could ask if you can buy this bracelet with the letters G and M and I think it would be the perfect gift for him! I'll go find Gemma's one! — And you'd leave. Harry would be kinda shocked on your presenting skills. It surprises how you can see one thing and transform it into the perfect christmas gift ans he knows that you'd call it your natural talent and maybe it was.

For Gemma, it would be a lot easier and right after Harry finished buying Michal's gift, he'd help you with Gemma's gift. You'd buy her two of them because it was just perfect for her. First, Harry would find a beautiful journal with major vibes from Fairy Academia and you both think it would be so useful for Gemma because she's always travelling and discovering some new things and with this journal she could write it down and read it 50 years from now and remember the good old days and the great experiences she experienced. And the second one, you bought her a bracelet that had "sisters by heart" written in it because you and Gemma had the best relationship ever and you knew you could count on her through the good and the best at this is more than what you could ask for.

At last, you both bought the crystal bowls for Anne and god, it was the hardest thing to find. Specially because it was already Dec 23rd and most actual stores was closed now. When you finally bought it, all you could do was to tease Harry about it asking him to please don't break those too. Poor Harry, he really felt bad about it and he really wishes he never made such a mess but it became a funny story to tell and to tease him about.

Later on that day, you'd grab some lunch too because you finished your shopping by just a couple of hours before it was actually dark and you'd just agree that what you and Harry said to Anne didn't have to be a total lie and you could actually have a date and enjoy some alone time.

You both would choose a very cozy restaurant called Les Rhodos, for the grace of god it wasn't very crowed and you both chose a sit by the window so you could eat with the most phenomenal view of the snowy mountain. The restaurant had a lot of details in stone and wood which brought all the alps vibes to it.

You'd both chose burgers to eat and it would honestly taste like one of the best burgers you've ever eaten in your life. Harry'd order a special type of beer to him that was literally green. You don't know how, but it was. You'd talk. You'd talk about last christmas, this christmas and what you expected from next christmas.

— Do ye' think that we'll ever tell them about we forgetting to buy their gifts? — Harry would ask in your drive back home while you admired the sunset by your window. The sky was lilac with a bit of orange and pink and for a moment you felt like you were inside the movie Brother Bear from Disney and all it missed was the northern lights, which you'd totally search on google if it happens in the french alps and you'd find out that it's possible but also really rare.

— I definitely think they'll notice it, H! — You'd say trying to contain your laugh. It's not like you both bought the worst gifts in the world; you bought amazing gifts but it's not what you usually buy and your families will notice it, but they'll appreciate the fact that you both really tried to get them something nice and I mean, it's christmas. Enjoy the holiday experience.

#hwrryscherry #harry styles imagine #harry styles imagines #harry and y/n #harry styles and y/n #harry x reader #HARRYxMODELY/N #HARRYxMODELxY/N

[theydontknowaboutusimagines]

Someone Special - Harry Styles Christmas Series (Part 5)

Part 4

The Next Week

You were currently in the studio recording the songs you had written during your short stay in New York. Tuesday morning was slowly approaching as you sang another take of the last song before you were ready to call it night. When your producer gave you a thumbs up, you took off your headphones and left the booth. 

You sipped some water, while you waited for her to playback the song. You sat down as you listened to the rough cut of the song. Vocally it was perfect, but you knew there was a lot that would need to be added in before it sounded the way you wanted it to. 

“So, what do you think?” You asked. 

“I think we’ve got all the songs we need to make this your best album yet,” she said. “But I do have a question for you.”

“What’s that?” you asked. 

“What happened while you were in New York?” She asked. 

You froze looking over at her, “What do you mean?” 

“I mean before you left all the songs we had for the album were miserable, woe is me, songs,” she said. “Now, those are fucking brilliant and ace, but then you got in a funk. I was all for you getting a new change of a scenery and getting out of LA, but there’s no way just a simply stay in a swanky NYC hotel produced those songs.”

“And why don’t you believe that?” You asked not making eye contact with her. 

“Well, I mean, it’s not like there weren’t pictures of you out with Harry fucking Styles at an SNL afterparty,” she said. “So, I’m thinking that might have helped.” 

“Yeah, I don’t think so,” you said. “Yes, I met him while I was in New York. Yes, we hung out a few times and yes, I went to SNL and to the afterparty, but I highly doubt that has anything to do with me getting out of my writer’s block.” 

“When did you write the first song?” She asked. “Was it before or after you met Harry?” 

You didn’t answer right away because you knew once you did she would think she was right. And once she thought she was right, she would then ask if something happened between the two of you. Now, while nothing happened, something almost did happen, though and you really didn’t want to get into that with her right now... or ever. 

“After,” you sighed. 

She smirked crossing her arms, “How soon after?” 

Fuck, you thought to yourself. 

“The next morning,” you said. “But it still doesn’t mean anything.” 

“Weeeelllll, I wouldn’t say that,” she said. “What happened between you two?” 

“Nothing,” you said. “We’re friends... we were just getting know each other.” 

“With or without clothes?” She smirked. 

“Seriously?” You cocked an eyebrow. 

“I’m sorry! I’m joking... mostly,” she said. “But either way, whatever did happen or didn’t happen, meeting him seemed to be a good thing for you. You definitely came back in different state of mind.” 

“I’m not exactly sure how I should take that,” you laughed. 

“Take it as a compliment,” she smiled. 

“Thank you,” you said. “Well, I think I’m going to head out of here and hopefully get home before the sun rises. Same time tomorrow though?” 

“I’ll be here,” she said. 

“Sweet,” you said. “I’ll see you then.” 

After gathering your things, you walked out of the studio, getting into your car and heading home. During your drive, Alexa’s words replayed over in your head, which brought you back to the almost kiss that happened with Harry. And not only did you have that to think about, but there were also photos of you and Harry arriving at the party together, which has brought on a lot of rumors you don’t need. 

You weren’t shocked about the photos because there were tons of cameras there, so you knew it would happen, but having that add on to the fact you almost kissed him is taking things to a new level. Since leaving New York, you pushed what happened that night to the back of your mind. Traveling, unpacking, and getting used to the jet lag and then working in the studio, gave you the distraction you needed. 

But now, you are lsat in your thoughts. You still thought it was simply just a in the moment and perfectly normal human attraction thing and a not you have feelings for him thing. There was no way it could be the latter because you just met him and barely even knew him. Yet you found yourself ignoring Harry. 

He had sent you a couple of texts and called you once since that night, but you haven't responded. He had told you he was in LA for a few days before he had to head back to the UK and he wanted to hang out with you. You felt bad not answering him, but whenever you thought about seeing him again you felt this strange feeling come over you.

So, instead fo typing out a response, you simply busied yourself. You pulled into your driveway when you got to your house and headed inside. You put your bag down and your keys onto the table before heading to your bedroom. You undressed before stepping into the shower for a quick rinse off. Once you got out, you dried off and pulled on some clothes before practically jumping into your bed and pulling the blankets over you and falling asleep. 

**

Harry looked at his phone for the third time in less than a half hour and there still wasn’t a response back from you. He would be leaving for the UK tomorrow and he was supposed to filming a skits for the Late Late Show all day. 

“You going to tell me why you’re glued to your phone more than usual?” James asked. 

“Oh, uh, it’s nothing,” he said. 

“Just like those pictures of you and Y/N are nothing?” James smirked. 

“Exactly,” Harry said. 

Hm, maybe the pictures were why you weren’t responding. Harry could tell himself that, but deep down he knew the truth. It was because of the almost kiss that happened. He felt so stupid for putting not only himself, but you in that predicament. He knew it was simply the drinks flowing through you and he was without a doubt attracted to you, but it was nothing more than that. 

At least, thats what he kept telling himself. 

“So, you’re saying nothing happened between the two of you?” James asked. “Jeff said you two were pretty cozy.”

“Remind me to hit him the next time I see him,” he mumbled. “But we were not cozy. We were friendly, because we’re friends. We literally just met and that’s all it was.” 

“Then, why do you want to hang with her again?” James smirked. “I mean you don’t even hang out with me that much.” 

Harry sighed, “I don’t know. I just like talking to her, s’ all. Plus, after this week, I don’t know when I’d get to see her again in person...” 

“Hm, friends,” James said. “Alright.” 

Harry rolled his eyes, “I’m gonna go get ready. We’re on in ten, right?” 

“Yep,” James said. 

Harry went into the dressing room to change into his first outfit. He wasn’t sure why he had agreed to this skit in particular as he thought about going out into traffic and the possibility of getting run over was quite high. Okay, maybe not that high, but the chance was still there. Harry found himself checking his phone one last time before heading out to set. 

So, far everything with the skit was going great and it was a lot more fun than what Harry thought it would be. They were almost done filming when Harry ran out to perform Kiwi. When he was up on the makeshift stage, he looked out into the traffic and saw you in your car with a wide eyed look and a slight grin on your face. 

Smirking a bit, he hoped down from the stage and made his way over to your car, brushing up against it before making his way to the window. You weren’t sure what was happening, but seeing Harry Styles performing in the middle of the crosswalk at a right light was not what you expected on your way to the studio. 

“Can we talk?” He asked when you rolled your window a bit. 

“Um, pretty sure now it’s the best time,” you said looking over at the light that was now turning green. 

“Just... if I text you a place to meet, will you come?” He asked. 

“Yes, sure,” you said quickly. 

“Great,” he said. 

“HARRY! LETS GO!” James shouted. 

Drivers honked their horns as Harry rushed back over to the sidewalk and at you to drive on. You shook the thoughts from your head as you pressed the gas, wondering if what you just agreed to under pressure was actually a good idea. 

**

A few hours later, you were on your way to the address Harry had sent you. Turns out it was actually his house and you weren’t sure how you felt about that either. Due to what this little meeting with harry, you were unable to concentrate at the studio and ended up calling it early. You knew you would have to explain why you hadn’t answered his previous attempts at meeting up and that the only reason you did this time was due to the fact he literally confronted you in the middle of the fucking street, but that was besides the point. 

You also knew the almost kiss would most likely come up and you really hope he also agreed that it wasn’t anything seeing as how you both were not looking for love anytime soon. Actually, better yet you really hoped you just imagined the almost kiss and he forgot all about it and doesn’t bring it up. 

But that would probably be a little bit of too much of wishful thinking. When you arrived at his place, you didn’t know how to feel. You didn’t know what was going to happen once you walked through that door, but you just hoped that it didn’t effect your blossoming friendship with him. Because despite the almost kiss, and the rumors that now swirled around the two of you, you did enjoy spending time with him. 

You enjoyed talking with him and just being around him, so you would hate to lose that just because of one teeny tinny almost didn’t even happen kiss. You took a deep breath before getting out of your car and walking to the front door. You were mid knock when you heard the door unlocking and opened. 

“Hey,” Harry said. “You came.” 

“I did,” you nodded. “But then again I said I would.” 

“Well, I didn’t know since you haven’t really responded to any of my texts over the last few days,” he said. 

“Um, yeah, about that, I’m sorry. I’ve been uh... in the studio and stuff,” you said, which was an entire lie. 

“Oh, I thought you might have been ignoring me or something,” he blushed. “Especially after leaving the party so quickly...” 

You sighed walking inside and sitting your things down, “I really am sorry about that, too,” you whispered. 

“Why did you leave so quickly?” He asked. “I mean, I understand you leaving, but not without saying goodbye.” 

You bit your lip, turning away from him, not answering just yet. 

“Was it because of...” he sighed. “Was it because of what almost happened between us?” 

You sighed running your hand through your hair, “Honestly, partly... yes,” you said. 

“Damnit, I knew it,” he sighed. “I’m so sorry about that. I didn’t want that to happen, I swear. I think it was just everything that was going on and the drinks and I-.” 

“No, it’s okay,” you said. “The same for me. I just-It took me by surprise as all, and my fight or flight kicked in, I guess.” 

“Okay, wow, I’m so happy to hear you say that,” he said. “I really thought I fucked something up and I would have hated that because I’ve really enjoyed talking with you.” 

“Same here,” you smiled. “So, now that we’ve cleared the air, we’re both agree that there’s nothing here? Just friends.” 

“Just friends,” he smiled. 

“Cool,” you said. “That was easy.” 

“Well, it helps when we both agree on it,” he laughed. “It would have been really fucking awkward if one of us liked the other.” 

“True,” you laughed. 

“Anyway, since you’re here and we’re just friends, would you like to stay for some pizza?” He asked. 

“I don’t see why not,” you smiled

“Great,” he said. “It just got here, so i should still be warm.” 

You nodded walking behind him and grabbing two slices and sitting down at th table. 

“So, you’ve been in the studio?” He asked. “How’s that going?” 

“Pretty good,” you said. “I’ve got all the songs for the album recorded. We just have to add in some production stuff to the ones I recorded yesterday and then there’s making the track list, and a shit ton of other stuff, but the album is close to being finish.” 

“So, we’re looking at another six months before release date?” He joked. 

“Basically,” you laughed. 

“Will I get to hear any of these songs soon?” He smirked. “I mean since we’re friends and all.” 

“That depends,” you smirked. 

“On?” He asked. 

“If I get to hear any from Fine Line,” you smirked. 

“I believe I could arrange that,” he said. 

“Then I guess I could arrange it for my album too,” you smirked. 

He laughed taking a bite of his pizza. “Speaking of your album, although it’s really not got anything to do with it, but I noticed you’re going to be performing at the Jingle Bell Ball in London in December.” 

“I am, yes,” you nodded. 

“And so am I,” he said. “Which means, we’ll both be in London and I’d love to show you around... maybe show you some fun Christmas things we do over in the UK.” 

“That could be fun,” you smiled. “But you don’t have to go through so much trouble for me.” 

“No, trouble at all,” he said. “You said you wanted to make this the best Christmas you’ve had by doing all the Christmas things, so why now not carry that over in London with you.” 

“Well, if you’re offering, I can’t say no,” you smiled. 

He smiled back at you taking a sip of his beer. After the two of you finished eating, you helped him clean up before heading out to the backyard. You both sat down, looking up at the stars of the night sky as you chatted about various things. Many jokes were made and laughs filled the air. Any awkwardness or unweary feelings were completely gone. 

When you notice how late it had gotten, you decided it was time to head back, so Harry walked you to your car. 

“Thanks again for coming over,” he said. 

“Thanks for inviting me,” you said. “And I’m sorry again about before... and being weird about it.” 

“It’s fine,” he said. “Like you said, we’re just friends, nothing more. What almost happened that night was just a fluke and it’s not going to happen again.” 

“Exactly,” you said. 

“Well, I’ll guess I’ll see you in London then?” He asked. 

“Yeah, I guess you will,” you said. 

“Great,” he said. “Just promise me one thing?” 

“What’s that?” you asked. 

“Don’t uh.. don’t ignore me until then,” he laughed. 

You blushed, “Don’t worry, I won't,” you said. 

He nodded wrapping you a hug and you hugged him back. You felt your heartbeat quicken and a strange feeling in your stomach at his touch, but he pulled back from you just as quickly as he had placed his arms around you. However, the feeling inside of you was still there and so was the lingering of his touch. 

“Well, goodnight, Y/N,” he said. “Text me when you get home, so that I know you made it safely.” 

“I will,” you nodded. “Goodnight, Harry.” 

You gave him a small wave before getting into the car and driving off. On the drive home, you thought about your night with Harry, the conversation, and lastly the hug. You went in wanting everything to be okay with the two of you and wanting you two to continue having this budding friendship. 

And that’s exactly what happened, yet you found yourself feeling a little bit disappointed at that. 

**

I know you were probably hoping for some drama this update, but I promise it’s coming! 

#One Direction Imagines #Harry Styles Imagines #Someone Special #12 Days of Christmas - Harry

[lcyalty]

i don’t feel like making a joke to break the ice so here’s one of my favorite tiktoks: https://vm.tiktok.com/s1rSS5/ . anyways, hiii, fed admin sabrina here :) time to check off the introductory personality checklist: i’m 20, a leo, a slytherin, a woc, a pre-law major on the east coast, uhhhh harry styles and marvel trash, i play over 10 instruments, i prefer the thigh over the chicken breast, and i’m really happy u all r here and joined my little creation :’) smack that read more to learn abt my children daisy moretti and jude valentine so we can plot !!

                                                             DAISY MORETTI.                                                  pinterest: https://pin.it/7unKPi8                                                                     the basics: full name: daisy mia moretti | hometown: the bronx, new york | zodiac: aries | orientation: bisexual | employment status: intern on the news broadcasts floor | positive traits: social, determined, hardworking, attentive, confident, smart | negative traits: rude, irresponsible, cunning, cutthroat, insensitive, selfish

the backstory:

here’s the best way i can describe daisy: take the love for fashion and luxury of carrie bradshaw and cher horowitz, mix it with the power and intensity of olivia pope, and add in all the meanness of every single rude, b*tchy person you can think of. that’s her.

daisy was born to a huge italian family who all had odd jobs; her dad specialized in fixing the batteries on smoke detectors. her mom ran the laundromat down the street. a lot of her uncles owned car detailing businesses and she had a couple of older cousins who were janitors or low-level staff members at the local middle schools. while her family was fine with this, because hey, it paid the bills, daisy, who had always had expensive tastes from the start, turned her nose at it all.

she, unsurprisingly, became the first in her family to make it past high school. daisy did absolutely every major, resume-boosting thing while she was in school, because she learned very quickly that she liked power and being better than others. there was something she loved about coming home from school and getting to brag about her debate team win while her cousins could only nod. 

she was great at school, and she made sure everyone knew. she did mock trial, debate, sga -- she even joined the environmental club just for the clout. and then one of the people in her model un group said she should run for president one day.

it made sense. daisy likes power, she likes bossing people around and always being right, and she doesn’t take shit from anyone. she’d be a fantastic fucking president. so, naturally, after finishing college and pushing through an internship she didn’t really like just so she could have another bullet point on her resume, daisy applied for an internship at masters international. she knew she’d get the gig, obviously.

daisy loves fashion and luxury. she spends majority of her money on vintage chanel tweed matching sets to wear into the office, she has red bottoms that give her four extra inches of height, and her foundation costs over a hundred dollars. you’d think she’d want to be on the floors that deal with vogue and help organize new york fashion week, but that’s not going to get her a presidency, duh. daisy interns on the floors that handle the news broadcasts so she gets firsthand knowledge on all the shit, political or otherwise, that goes down in the country.

i would love to type more but i don’t want to hint at anything that points to her secret, so i’m going to explain a little more about daisy’s personality

she’s so, so controlling and bossy. she wants to be the absolute best at everything, and the shining star of it all. daisy’s definitely an attention hog, and she’ll bust her ass on her work to make sure she’s better than everyone else on the floor with her. 

daisy’s very picky about who she hangs out with. as a future presidential candidate, optics are very important, obviously. she only surrounds herself with people she deems to be good for her image, and she’ll gladly let you know that she thinks you’re too shitty to be around. she cares a lot about how she appears to other people, you know.

daisy is selfish and rude, and truly doesn’t care if she hurts someone’s feelings. she speaks her mind and has absolutely no filter -- which gets her into a lot of trouble, i’m sure you can imagine. 

wanted connections:

enemies: if you need a bad guy or work rival in your character’s life, i wholly volunteer miss daisy moretti as that bad guy. it’s not hard for her to make enemies when you consider her personality.

ex: please please give me an angsty ex plot filled with depth and all the details. there’s gotta’ be a reason why daisy wants to be not only the first female president, but also the first president without a spouse, after all.

hookups: listen. she has needs.

                                                            JUDE VALENTINE.                                                   pinterest: https://pin.it/1dfK9dE                                                                 the basics: full name: jude lee valentine | hometown: tuscaloosa, alabama | zodiac: gemini | orientation: heterosexual | employment status: corporate attorney for masters international | positive traits: friendly, warm, sociable, extroverted, smart, witty, energetic | negative traits: compulsive, secretive, disloyal, impulsive, ignorant, desensitized

the backstory:

picture it with me: a ranch. nice pale green shutters and a huge yard. there’s cows in this picture, too, and horses. there might even be goats. there’s a tractor by the two ford trucks, a dog sleeping on the porch, and not another house for another twenty minute drive. this is what jude valentine is used to. he’s a country boy from alabama, equipped with the southern accent and everything. yes, he has a pair of cowboy boots. yes, he brought them to new york with him. yes, he pronounces creek as ‘crick’.

jude is a very sweet boy. he was quarterback in high school, got good grades, and every sunday he went to church with his family because Bible Belt things. homeboy is named after a book in the Bible. he’s all about southern manners and hospitality, about treating people kindly and always putting others first, and he always keeps his morals in check. or, he used to.

when you’re home it’s hard to stray away from what you’re used to. the same held true for jude in college, because even though he went to u of alabama (can you hear him yelling roll tide), he was still in his home state so he felt those morals still stuck with him. but then he applied for law school and got a full ride to nyu law, and whew, the Temptation

‘cuz you see, jude was always a sweetie pie. he still is! in high school he was super popular because he was tall and cute and athletic but funny and brought extra biscuits from home to hand out in homeroom. i’m not gonna lie, he’s charming af. he’s smooth and he has good jokes. the girls loved him but the little sh*t had a purity ring.

but then he got to nyc for law school and let me tell you. alabama is not close at all to manhattan, now is it. jude was fine the first couple of weeks, just worked on his case briefs in his shoe box of a starter apartment... but the women. homeboy started sleeping around a LOT after a while. y’know wet dreamz by j cole where he’s like haven’t been inside p*ssy since i came out one? yeah, that was jude until ny, and he’s very much still like that

is jude still the sweetest, nicest guy ever? yes. is jude still the type of guy to knock on your office door and ask if you want to walk to get coffee with him even though you guys have probably never met? yes. is jude the first guy on the dance floor when there’s a midnight party on the rooftop? yes. is jude the type of guy who’ll fuck with you and say no, he only listens to music made by a spoon and a blade of grass if you think he only listens to country music? yes. but he also has slept with at least twenty different interns and employees at the office, so.

he also dabbles in the occasional little pill when he’s got eight depositions to write up before tomorrow but he was too busy screwing some chick the night before. he first did this in law school. but we don’t worry about that.

stop it, i know what you’re thinking: sabrina, come on. so he sleeps around, okay. what’s the big deal about that?

here’s the big deal: he’s engaged.

lil (i say lil but he’s 6’3” while i’m only 5’0”, so lemme stfu) cupcake jude is a cheater. he’s got a whole fiancée and yet he still sleeps with other women, and each time he’s like no, okay, that was the last time for real, but then there’s a new intern at the office and the higher ups always throw the new people at him because he knows how to make people feel comfortable, and his country accent is cute and refreshing among all the new york bs, and the whole attorney thing certainly isn’t a negative, and, well. he gets tempted. and afterwards he always tells the girl okay, please, can this stay between us.

u wouldn’t know he’s engaged either bc it’s not like he’s wearing the engagement ring, now is he

i’m staying hush on daisy’s secret but jude’s is that he’s cheating on his significant other with people in the office. is he still a nice guy? heck yeah, but also, you have to be a certain kind of messed up to keep cheating on your s/o and just not tell them. that’s a lotttt of lying you’re just comfortable with. oh, what’s that? you’re threatening to tell his fiancée that you two slept together because you think she deserves to know? well. he’d hate having to do it, but... jude’s not above knocking someone down if it means his secret stays hidden.

wanted connections:

hookups: literally i will take as many hookup plots i can get. doesn’t matter if they’re an intern or an employee; jude will sleep w them and then make them promise not to tell anyone in the office afterwards because “wE’rE nOt sUpPoSeD tO sLeEp wItH cOwOrKeRs” but we all know why he wants to keep it under wraps. this also doesn’t have to be an only connection; he can be friends w someone but also hook up w them on the low too

fiancée: this one is huge for me so pls pls message me if ur seriously interested in this plot and we’ll talk !!

friends: this one is so easy bc jude will literally make conversation with a chair. he’s super sociable and fun and approachable and he loves making friends !! give me some ppl he can pester during lunch break and throw balled up pieces of paper at

best friend: he’s gotta have that one person that he just clicks really, really well with. jude talks to everyone and he’s super friendly but this person is his confidant. he goes to them w almost all of his problems and rants to them and asks for advice and likes to just be around this person. trusts them w his entire life. hmuuuuu :)

ex: listen. we all need a good ex plot and this person is probably the only one in the office jude isn’t bringing a complimentary donut to

sister: jude has a younger sister and honestly she was gonna be a npc but the idea of him looking out for her at the office and getting all (ง•̀_•́)ง when ppl r mean to her is smth i reeeeally like. or maybe they actually don’t get along that well and bicker a lot but there’s still that underlying hey i’ve got your back. you piece of shit. type feel going on !!

#MASTERS.INTRO #shoot ya plot shot w me on discord or tumblr ims !! :)

[jq37]

May we have a recap, please? :)

**spoilers for panic at the art show and home for the holidays**

OK people. I actually don’t have a ton of commentary on these two so I’m gonna try and keep it (relatively) short and sweet [Edit from Future Me: Failed Step 1].

Also, iirc, this is the week Dropout starts streaming new Fantasy High eps on Wednesdays which is very dope and I am very excited for. I probably won’t do full on recaps like I do for normal eps because, lbr, I don’t strictly have the time to be recapping these eps at all and it’s pure stubbornness that keeps me from making wiser time management decisions. But, rest assured, if I have an Opinion, you will hear it whether you want to or not. 

Anyway, on with the show. 

Last recap, I mentioned that this ep was giving me Aelwen house party vibes and now it reminds me of that ep in another way: Everyone rolled like TRASH almost the entire ep. It was so frustrating! They barely got any hits in until like halfway through the ep.

(Aw man, I just realized I’m gonna have to remember which spelling of Aelwen is correct again now that FH is coming back.)

I love how Murph is immediately like, “I need to make sure my wife doesn’t die during this fight avenging her fictional husband.”

Isabella also has Aelwen’s trick of poofing around the battlefield which is annoying as hell (ha) for the group.

Siobhan hilariously casts fear on Priya just to be spiteful. I thought she was doing it to help the evac process but no. It was a purely spiteful action. Bless. 

When Kug turns into an ape he, of course, turns into *the* NY ape, King Kong. 

“I roll a nat 20 on an epic shit.”

When Brennan was describing Kingston’s spectral New Yorker Guardians I was already thinking about that one part of Spiderman 2 (the OG Toby Mac version) and then he straight up said, “You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us,” and I lost it.

“Deny the stairs the pleasure of my feet.” Emily is a poet.

I want to know what makes a pigeon spicy more than anything. 

The fact that Brennan killed Ox AGAIN and then immediately looked into the camera and let the audience know the dog was fine because he clearly Oracle stared into the future between eps and saw the entire internet sharpening their pitchforks  was so funny. 

About midway through the ep, Pete tries and fails to send Isabella back to hell and Isabella starts monologing about her plans and connection with Robert Moses (she stole the list from Santa and is/was gonna marry Moses apparently). I wonder if Brennan was like, “These players are for sure gonna murder her without getting any useful info out of her unless she goes full Bond Villain right now.”

And, proving my point, Emily immediately does 56 points of damage, royally f-ing Isabella up. 

This is a really civilian heavy fight which feels weird in a way the FH fights never did. Like, these aren’t even civilians who live in an adventuring town in a fantasy world. These are just normal ass civilians in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

Pete fails a wild magic roll after failing to teleport into the building and then gets a choice of getting really strong (which prob would have let him bust down the door) or to teleport in (which is what he does and exactly what he wanted). Very clutch when the dice rolls play into the story like that.

Kingston lightning bolts Isabella’s hair off which is just malicious but also totally called for.

On her next turn, Sophie gets hurt on purpose to get low enough to activate her ring, lets her hair burn for long enough to shorten it to a cute bob, insults Isabella, then knocks her tf out. 

I love that Emily took one of her teeth (a seemingly crazy move) and when called out by Lou was like, “It’s a link to Robert Moses” (a completely reasonable answer). That’s the Axford one-two punch.  

I didn’t mention it before but, Willie the golem is here, first immobile but then brought back by Misty. Post fight, he says he was somehow brought here by one of the evil factions of the city and says they’ll talk about it later. Also, Misty makes out with him (DON’T KINKSHAME HER).

With a high insight roll, Kingston is able to deduce that the group was ambushed (though not by Priya) and that their victory was a really important one for the fate of the city. 

(Sidenote: The amount that Pete is Over Priya in this ep is so funny.)

Back at Wally’s (which is where Kug is now staying) Wally has gotten Kug a dog bed to sleep in and fancy charcuterie cheese because he and Ricky are the only pure-hearted people in NYC. 

At the same time, Pete and Kingston have a very sweet heart to heart and then settle down at Kingston’s place to chill and listen to jazz. Idk how else we expected this to resolve, considering this is a Brennan Lee Mulligan DM’d show where the sacred pillars are Teamwork, Friendship, Communication, and Making up an NPC on the Fly Because One of Your PC’s Decided to do an Insane Thing. 

Next up is the Christmas ep and Brennan, Emily, and Zac are in sweaters for the occasion. 

Well,actually it’s the 21st and Emily immediately clocks that that’s the solstice. 

Are cookies the good carb?/Absolutely not. But have fun with your life. (I love Ricky’s soft jock energy.)

“I run deliveries,” Pete says to Kingston’s parents, not technically lying but also not being completely truthful. Misty would be proud. 

Going over to Misty, it seems pretty clear at this point (and it’s confirmed in the promo for next ep) that Misty’s fairy business is some kind of de-aging/reincarnation for herself. I wonder how many of these she’s done so far. She said she’s been around for, what? 200, 300 years? Assuming she’s been doing then reincarnations at about 65-70 years old and she reincarnates to around 25? Maybe 6 times? Idk. Just spitballing. 

Saucer of milk to keep the faeries from stealing her (non-existing) children. Faerie lore is wild y'all. 

Did you take another level of warlock?/Yeah bitch.

The fact that since Sophie has joined a monastery, she’s only taken Warlock levels and no Monk levels is very funny from a story perspective. It’s like, she finally comes to this sacred place to be trained to her full potential and she’s just spending what should be her sparring time playing with her cat in exchange for spells. Wild. 

Emily’s cat-like, self-satisfied grin when Brennan is like, “So you just jerry-rigged yourself clairvoyance powers, huh?” is so good. 

And she did it on the fly because Emily Axford is winning D&D. There are no points but she’s winning.

So, uh, Emily does, two things, very in character right after the other:

Thing number one: She send her unseen servant to spy on her family. Her dad seems hardline, “F, Dale. Whatever. Family first. She needs to get over it.” On the other side of the spectrum is her mom who is very upset about the whole affair with her siblings falling in the middle. 

The second thing she does, very casually I might add, is have her unseen servant BURN DOWN HER HOUSE SO SHE CAN COMMIT INSURANCE FRAUD.

EMILY

Everyone loses their minds and rightfully so. What a wild-ass swing that no one could have seen coming. I love it. 

“I look in my backpack which is now my home[…]" 

I almost forgot that Ricky was a fire fighter who would not abide that nonsense until Brennan decided to cut to him. 

Ricky just dolphin swims across the Hudson in 2.5 mins to go put out the fire that Sophie set. Amazing. 

Ally mocking Emily/Sophie: Truthfully, I don’t know what happened.

"I love John McClane, because he loves his wife.” WALLY

Wally: Oh we’re gonna tell a lie on Christmas.

“This is what winning looks like.”

I would really like to know what trace stuff what on the drugs Pete got from 7 but Ally rolled too low to figure it out.

“I disassociate fully." 

Well it took him a long ass time but glad to have Pete on the selling drugs to kids is bad train. Choo-choo, dude. 

7 saying you can hack in real life in reference to his AK-47 has the same energy as Hardison using the word hack in literally any semi-weird episode of Leverage. 

SOCIAL MEDIA IS VOLUNTARY PANOPTICON

So Kug goes with Wally to David’s house disguised as a dog and, despite that, blurts out that he’s his dad immediately. Well, he tries to. The Umbral Arcana stops him, unfortunately. 

"I lick my son’s face.” KUUUUG. 

Sophie showing up with a raw goose and hellish rebuking it is so metal and it’s a shame no one got to appreciate it. 

Me when Sophie’s Mom changes into black top in solidarity for Sophie’s mourning: F EVERY OTHER NON-SOPHIE BICICLETA. I RESPECT YOU. 

Kingston is hustling very hard to get his man Pete a job which is a very Kingston move. That’s how guys like that show affection. 

Didn’t mention it before but Kingston’s parents and Mom specifically adopting Pete is very cute. 

Sidenote: Idk what 7 was talking about Pete trying to stay low profile. He wears a cowboy hat (now a ZEBRA STRIPED one, courtesy of Kingston). I think the subtlety train has sailed my guy. 

Esther shows up at the firehouse, carrying presents for her mom and grandma and looking for Ricky. The says that she’s kinda dealing with something and it feels good to be around him (beat) magically speaking. Sure. I’m gonna keep my Hercules soundtrack on hand just in case anyway. 

I think Ricky is the only person who, with no pretense, could give his crush a sexy calendar featuring him.

Anyway, turns out Esther’s mom and grandma are the furies of Tompkins Square and she’s fated to join them or something. 

Esther causally: I defy you, I defy the prophecy.

The fury thing would explain why Esther’s mom would have cursed Kug. They are famously magical punishers.  

Ricky is a magically certified Good Boy but we been knew.

Zac’s restraint to respect Esther’s personal boundaries in lieu of getting a lore drop to stay true to Ricky’s character is amazing. Mad props.

So we slide over to Misty’s Christmas party which Stephen Sondhein is attending and him having a character card kinda killed me. 

There’s a post on tumblr somewhere about playing faerie  incapability for impoliteness against a vampires need to be invited in and that’s what I thought about when Moses and his vamp friends showed up at Misty’s house.

Robert tries to talk Misty into striking a deal with him for protection from Titania. She’s very much not having it.  

“You know Robert, I love a comedy and I love a farce. I’d like to remind you of who it is that started this and it’s not me and it’s not my friends but I can assure you Robert Moses that we will be the ones to end it if you do not. Do you understand me?” Damn. That’s a mic drop from Misty. 

[As I’m editing this, I’m realizing I somehow lost a BIG chunk of text. I’m not gonna write it all up again but the Cliffnotes are as follows:

Between the Solstice and Christmas, the gang goes Grand Central Station to see the clockwork gnomes that live there because trouble is apparently afoot. Some size changing nonsense happens and Pete shoots a dog (with mini bullets, the dog is fine). Lou is enchanted even though Kingston is not (a common theme with him). Ally and Emily are on the same nonsense wavelength (as usual). 

There are dope magical dragon trains under Grand Central Station that go to the shadow realm which is a place I’d like to know about. Kingston has never seen these trains before even though you’d really think he would have.  

Murph says Gnome Rights which is wild if you know what Naddpod is like. 

Anyway, the high priestess of the gnomes passed out the other day and they figure out it was due to pixie magic which is suspicious. They also know they pixies have access to a “time stone” which leads me to believe that it’s Brennan and not Aguefort who thinks that Chronomancy is the most powerful magic of all. 

Sophie and Jackson go to Dale’s grave on Christmas. Jackson explains that the Order of the Concrete Fist is basically a literal school of hard knocks. A counterbalance to all the reach for the stars dreaminess that comes with NYC.

Dale was their chosen one who was supposed to stop the monastery from falling when some unspecified badness crossed over to this side, but when he went to the place where he was supposed to get guidance, there was no one there (clearly tying in to what Dale said to Sophie last time they talked. I wonder what she needs to get to the top of? Empire State maybe?).

Watching Murph watching Emily, his real life spouse, play at grief for her fictional husband and do some truly insane things is so funny because you can clearly see him thinking, “I am married to this woman,” which, in fairness, is probably the main thing he’s thinking when he’s playing D&D with Emily.

I’m probably missing something but that’s all I remember. Back to post-Christmas!]

So it’s opening night at Misty’s show and, somehow, Ricky’s first show ever. 

I love that Don Confetti is there because of Siobhan’s offhanded comment for a handful of eps ago about him being a supporter of the arts.

Anyway, everything is going great until the second act when Titania busts in through the mirror which is *not* is storage as Misty requested but on stage. It’s a theater fight, y'all! And not the West Side Story kind although if that doesn’t come up I will be very surprised. 

“Let’s kill Titania!” –Misty in the promo

Just going straight to 11, huh Misty?

See y'all then!

#dimension 20 #the unsleeping city #d20 #asks #kickmuncher3

[mymostimaginaryfriend]

QOTS 4x13 Reaction Post

It’s the finale AKA  my very own reenactment of that taste-testing kombucha reaction meme!  

Yup, that’s the one lol. 

I feel like this ep will require a few rewatches to process BUT the good news is: Marcel lives! Oksana lives!  King George lives! Chicho lives!  (er...the Judge lives?) and the unexpected guest we’ve all been waiting for...LIVES.  James ends the season alive and in Teresa’s company and fully available for S5.  It’s a miracle.

About that--well damn guess we know now why the crew was piiiiiissed the network released those promo pics.  They kept James out of the previouslies and Peter out of the opening credits because he was supposed to be a literal last second surprise.  They even shoved an Eddie red herring in there last minute to throw us off (bless Bailey b/c THAT is a thankless role omg.  I can count on one hand the number of people who needed an Eddie update and they’re all related to the actor).

But gotta love the writers knowing they finally had PG for the finale and then packing the ep with as many James parallels/references as possible.  Oh did Javier lie to protect the woman he loved? Fancy that. Interesting choice of goodbye between Javier and Pote, can’t put a finger on where we’ve heard “Take care of her”/”Always” exchange before.  And O RLY to “If you had trusted me I could have protected you” and on and on.  Who knows if the specific parallels mean anything or the writers were kids in the James-is-finally-available-to-reference-in-the-script-again candy store but I’m looking forward to finding out in S5.

What’s weird is going out of a finale we don’t really have a clear view of S5.  With the Judge surviving the season, I’d think Teresa would stick around in NOLA for unfinished business.  But with Oksana’s scaryass cousin beckoning Teresa further down the Queenpin path, NYC sounds like an option as well.  Can’t wait to see who they cast as Kostya.

And as thrilled as I am that James showed up to tell Teresa the title of the episode (very considerate of him lol), who is this “they he speaks of? It’s a cliffhanger but a wide-open one.  We have no idea really what is next.

One hopefully good omen for Season 5 is Teresa had FIVE scenes with three different women characters this episode and I hope in my heart that  those dark Bechdel Test failing times of midseason are gone forever more.

As for the rest of the episode--

Damn, I knew Javier’s death was pretty much inevitable but what a way to go. And in true Javier fashion, he managed to double down on the deception consequences til the bitter end, backing Teresa well and truly into a corner before confessing.

And wow, the confession scene was amazing for Alice and Alfonso.  I loved both of their acting choices.

Good thing James is back though because apparently he is the only person on this entire show who can successfully shoot someone?

All that Randall/Javier chase scene needed was some Benny Hill music. What in the world lol. 

Okay I might be using humor to heal the sadness of seeing Alfonso go because Javier levitating amidst the flames to take down Randall made me scream and not in the way they intended.  To be fair, I guess Javier’s athletic ability of jumping out of trunks was foreshadowed last week.

SEE YOU IN ANOTHER LIFE, BROTHER. There has to be a take Ryan used the Desmond accent on that line, right?!  Give us the deleted scenes, QOTS! Oops he said other side. I still want deleted scenes tho.

Hellloooo S2 Queenpin outfit.  So it’s gonna be like THAT, huh.  And did anyone else think Eddie was wearing a wire at first in that scene??

But at the same time, the Queenpin transformation wasn’t as literal as I feared going into S4.  She’s still OUR Teresa too.

Curious to where her journey goes next

And curious to see how they fill in the James blanks.  What’s he been doing the last 9 months?  Is he a free man now or on the run?  And the really important questions such as: does he have like 10 extras of that exact same leather jacket stashed in safe houses across the country?

SO glad it got early renewal so we can find out.

And just like that we’re in hiatus again.  While this Season may not have been what I wanted it to be, or what I believed it could have been, at the end of it I’m still so thrilled I get to spend at least one more season with these crazy fools and you wonderful people.  THANK YOU to everyone who messaged me, commented, reblogged, tagged and to everyone who posted content--you made this season more fun than it had any right to be lol and I’m so grateful for you!  

Here’s to a fic-filled hiatus and an amazing Season 5! 

#queen of the south #qots #qots season 4 #my reaction posts #qots s4 e13 #qots spoilers

[miguel-manbemel]

Aspects & Fanfics Ep. 21: Whatever Happened to Honesty and Logan?

The release date for this episode is coincidental. Today, it’s the fifth anniversary of the first introduction of the Teacher Guy on Vine, and this episode of the fic is partially focused on Logan. So, it serves to celebrate the anniversary too. Happy birthday to Logan.

For new readers, it also features an original character that I introduced in the fic, a representation of Thomas’ Honesty, still without a name, because I want to wait until Deceit gets his name to give a name to Honesty. The description of this character appears on the second episode of the fic, “The Trouble with Honesty”. Basically it’s a classic British gentleman wearing a gray suit with a yellow bowtie and a yellow umbrella clinging from his arm. He also wears a bowler hat, and speaks with a posh, old-fashioned RP British accent. When introduced, he was the orange Side, so the umbrella and bowtie were orange, but I changed it a few episodes ago. The quirk of this character is that he shares the same body with Deceit, so they use it in turns. Sometimes Deceit comes out, other times Honesty comes out. They both can speak from the same body in a Gollum fashion. Lately, the Side that is out can project a “holographic” image of the Side that is in, who can speak as if he was out, but he can’t touch anything. I hope this little summary can be of help.

And now, I leave you with the episode. If you want to read previous entries, you can find them right here. And as always, thank you to anyone following, liking, reblogging, or simply reading. You’re appreciated. Until next time.

SYNOPSIS: Honesty has been hiding something to the other Sides. Due to the fusion that happened when fighting the Dark Master long ago, Honesty is disappearing into Deceit and soon he will cease to exist. Logan has the idea of getting from the Dark Master the knowledge to revert the fusion so that he can teach it to Thomas. However, when Logan tries to steal these memories from the Dark Master, he overloads, and that makes him lose his memories of the last 20 years of his life. Thomas must find a way to restore these memories before he goes to sleep, as then it will be irreversible.

WARNINGS: There is a scene of Logan being apparently electrified, some moments of mild angst and brief moments of prinxiety. The end card is pure platonic logicality.

EPISODE INDEX

[Thomas is checking his agenda, while he also has his laptop over his legs]

THOMAS: Okay, so I have to finish writing this for today, then tomorrow I have to take that photo-shoot in the morning… then the day after tomorrow… oh, yes, I have that meeting in NYC, I almost forgot! So tomorrow evening is flight time. Ugh, I hate flying at night. And also, in the evening after the New York meeting, I have to go to see that Broadway show where my friend appears in. He invited me and I can’t miss that. And next Monday, when I’m back to Gainesville… yes, it is the first day of filming what I must finish writing today, and in the evening, I have a recording session for a new song… [sighs] You know what? In weeks like this I wish I was like Deceit. No, I don’t mean a good liar to invent the excuse that I’m sick to stay in bed all week. I mean that I’d wish to have six arms like him to do all these things at the same time… although the thing about being sick is an idea too…

[intro sequence]

THOMAS: What is up, everybody? Yes, it is a very busy week for me. But apart from all of that, I must also dedicate all the free moments I have to spend time with my Sides, trying to find a way to turn Roman back into a Light Side. I mean, we love him in any form he has, but since he turned into a Dark Side, that has affected my creativity. It’s getting increasingly difficult to create things, as if Roman had more difficulty as a Dark Side to let himself get carried away in the creative process. And it also doesn’t help how much he misses Virgil, that distracts him so much. And Virgil isn’t having a good time either. Not only because of the stress I’m feeling in the past few days with so many things to do at the same time. He also misses Roman, and that heightens him, and therefore makes me feel anxious like in the times when Virgil was a Dark Side. [sighs] I don’t know if I’m gonna be able to make it through it all.

PATTON: [rising up] Of course you will, kiddo. You just have to believe in yourself, and in your own capacities. You can do this!

THOMAS: Thanks for the encouragement, Patton, I really appreciate it, but… this is getting really hard.

ROMAN: [rising up] Thomas, nobody said that the road to fame and glory would be swift and easy. Remember that line from that movie? “You want fame? Well fame costs, and here is where you start paying, in sweat.”

THOMAS: I never wanted fame for the sake of fame, Roman. I’m contented with just living off my acting and singing and making people happy, that’s all.

VIRGIL: [rising up] In fact, I think the idea of getting more and more famous is one of the things that heightens me most. You don’t even want to consider yourself famous at all, as if denying the fact that your fan base is scattered all around the globe and could fill several dozens of soccer stadiums. I mean, you have millions of fans all over the world, all ready to see anything you come out with as soon as you release it, and you don’t consider that “fame”?

THOMAS: [nervous giggle and anxious face] Thanks for getting me more stressed, Virge. I’m glad to see that, despite the circumstances, your skills are still on point.

VIRGIL: Sorry, Thomas.

LOGAN: [rising up] Thomas, the key to avoid getting too stressed over a huge load of work is carefully planning your activities. We’ve talked about this several times already, remember?

THOMAS: Yes, I know, but… when you have so many things in your head at the same time, it gets so difficult to plan everything. Especially when you add your “Master” responsibilities. Ugh, I still don’t like using that word to refer to myself.

HONESTY: [rising up] You should not do that, however. Remember that the first step in getting to know your powers is accepting them as part of who you are, and that includes embracing your nature as the Light Master of your Mind Palace.

THOMAS: Yes, I know, Honesty, but I… [suddenly realizing Honesty’s out] Oh, hello, Honesty. How are you doing? It’s been ages.

HONESTY: Why does everyone tell me that every time I show up?

THOMAS: You don’t show up much often lately, and the other Sides don’t see you either. Even Deceit is starting to worry, cause you stay out of reach even for him now.

HONESTY: Well, I do also have a right to disappear every once in a while, don’t I?

VIRGIL: Disappear every once in a while? More like appear every once in a while.

ROMAN: But why do you want to disappear, though? Have we done something wrong or…?

HONESTY: No, no, no! Of course not! There’s nothing wrong between us! However, you’re asking it as if I was leaving you behind for good. Guys, I’m still here, I’m fine and I still love you all. Stop worrying so much about me.

THOMAS: Okay, okay, as you wish. You’re your own Side… well, not completely now, but we still appreciate you the same. I hope you remember that.

HONESTY: Of course I do, and, like I said, I do appreciate all of you too. But seriously, don’t overact on this. I’m fine, and I’ll keep on being fine.

PATTON: As for me, I miss our afternoons of tea and cookies. It’s been ages since we had the last one.

HONESTY: I miss them too, Patton. I promise that soon we’ll have another one… [suddenly concerned] but now, if you excuse me, I gotta go.

THOMAS: What? So soon?

HONESTY: Yeah, sorry, I have… something to do.

THOMAS: But…

HONESTY: Bye, gentlemen!

[there’s a yellow flash around Honesty and when it disappears, Deceit is in his place, he shows a face of utter confusion]

DECEIT: How… how did I get here?

THOMAS: What? You don’t know?

DECEIT: [sarcastic] If I knew, I would certainly ask, don’t you think?

PATTON: Well, basically Honesty was here. Then, he said he had to go, and then you appeared in his place.

DECEIT: What? Honesty came out?

ROMAN: That line would sound so stupid out of context, bearing in my mind we all have been out for so long…

DECEIT: Why didn’t I sense him?

LOGAN: You don’t remember anything of what Honesty has done?

DECEIT: No, nothing at all. I was in my room, and then, the next moment, I was here with you.

LOGAN: This is disconcerting. Something doesn’t seem to be right with you two, even though Honesty tries to deny it.

DECEIT: Wait, wait. We’re talking about the same Honesty, right? I am the liar of the group. Honesty would never tell a lie, at least not without a good reason, would he?

LOGAN: Well, that’s how it should be, but, too many things have happened lately with you two and we still don’t know the effects they had on you two in the long term. Maybe something’s happening with Honesty and he doesn’t want to tell us.

THOMAS: Great, as if I didn’t have enough things to worry about, now this.

DECEIT: Do you think Honesty is endangered somehow because he had to get fused back with me? That would kill me. It’s my fault that he had to renounce to his body after all.

LOGAN: My advice is that you bring him out, Deceit, so he can tell us what’s going on.

DECEIT: Okay, I’ll try, but as I told you, I don’t sense him, so I don’t know if it’s going to work.

[Deceit points at the empty space where Honesty usually appears. Nothing happens]

DECEIT: I’ll try again.

[Deceit points again, and still nothing happens]

THOMAS: How can this be? He was talking to us just a minute ago, and now he’s out of reach? Could he be in autopilot?

DECEIT: No, that cannot be. We can’t get in autopilot if one of us doesn’t want to be, and I’m not in autopilot.

THOMAS: You’re right, Honesty told me long ago. Then, I don’t know. If only we could go to find him in the Mind Palace like we use to do with other Sides… but he’s inside of you, there’s literally nowhere we can go to to find him… because I cannot get inside Deceit’s “Mind Palace”, can I?

LOGAN: No, Thomas, I’m afraid not. We’re not complex human beings, we’re more simple aspects. We’re not developed enough to hold a Mind Palace inside each of ourselves.

VIRGIL: Also, you’re not a Russian doll to have spaces inside of spaces inside of spaces.

LOGAN: Of course he’s not a Russian doll. He’s a human being, and he’s American. Inside of him there are only his organs.

VIRGIL: [sighs, then frustrated] Will there ever come a time when I, among all Sides, can say a metaphor of any kind and you don’t take it literally, Logan?

PATTON: But wouldn’t he look cute as a doll, Russian or otherwise?

DECEIT: Logan, I think I have an idea. Could you get a grasp of my memories like you did long ago? When you did the opposite, showing Honesty your memories, you unlocked the block between us. Maybe it could work again.

LOGAN: I don’t know if it’s a good idea, Deceit. Remember that the last time, we almost lost you.

DECEIT: But that was because I was a Dark Side and I was corrupting Honesty. Now, we’re both Light Sides and therefore there’s no chance for corruption. What could go wrong?

VIRGIL: Usually, when someone asks that question is the exact moment when things start going wrong…

THOMAS: Dee, this could be risky.

DECEIT: I know, Thomas, but even so, I wanna take the risk. Please, Logan. Check my memories. If nothing is unlocked, at least you could find out something useful.

LOGAN: [sighs] Okay, if you’re sure… [approaches Deceit and puts his hand on Deceit’s chest] Here we go.

[Logan starts shaking as if he was being electrified while Deceit looks at him expectantly. After a few moments, Logan takes his hand off and returns to his spot]

LOGAN: [concerned] Oh, my goodness…

DECEIT: [scared] What? What did you see?

LOGAN: I didn’t expect to see that.

DECEIT: [anxious] What? What?

LOGAN: I saw Deceit’s and Honesty’s memories of the last months and I saw everything about the issue. It all started with the fusion of Honesty into you. When he blew up his own body to get into you and overthrow the Dark Master that was possessing you… something happened to him. I’m positive that you know how his key color changed from orange to yellow.

DECEIT: Yes.

LOGAN: That was not the only thing that changed. Honesty has literally fused partially with you. Now it’s not that there are two aspects in the same body. Now these aspects are stuck and mixed together, sharing functions, as if you were Siamese brothers. And the worst is…

DECEIT: [very anxious] Finish already!

PATTON: Easy, Deecey, don’t jump into the… highway to Hell just yet!

DECEIT: It’s not a moment for jokes now, Patton! Logan, come on!

LOGAN: The worst is… like the more time goes on, the more you two are fusing into one single aspect at all. Soon, there will be only one of you at all.

DECEIT: But I thought, being Light Sides, we couldn’t corrupt each other!

LOGAN: This is not corruption. It’s not like the other time when one Side was destroying the other. What is happening now is that all the essence of one Side is joining the other Side. Have you recently felt a change in your behavior of some kind?

DECEIT: I don’t know…

THOMAS: I do, though. The other day, when Virgil and I went looking for you into your room, when we were leaving you said “after you, gentlemen”, just like Honesty usually speaks, even with the British accent.

PATTON: And now I remember another time, when you said you had to go to your room to do “something”, in a cryptic way. What was that something, Deceit, and why didn’t you want to tell us?

DECEIT: Well, it was nothing special. It’s just that I wanted to make some tea and I was ashamed of saying it, because I’m not good at it and I didn’t want you to try it before I could practice, so… [sudden face of concern] Wait. I never liked tea! Unless it was served with Patton’s cookies… those were the only times I could enjoy it, because I liked the taste of his cookies mixed with the tea. And now I was making tea to drink it alone on my own? What is going on?

THOMAS: Then Logan is right. It’s happening. Those are traits that belonged to Honesty, and now you’re acquiring them as your own.

DECEIT: What’s gonna happen if this process continues?

LOGAN: You already know what’s gonna happen. When the process is completed, Honesty’s consciousness will cease to exist and you will take his place in everything he used to do as a Side. Basically, Honesty will be no more.

DECEIT: [horrified] Oh, no…

LOGAN: And I’ve seen Honesty knows. He has raised a barrier around himself, like a hermetic egg that separates him from the rest of you, trying to stop the process. It works partially. The process is going really slow when he’s inside that barrier, but not completely so the fusion is still eventually going to happen. He only comes out from time to time, because sometimes the barrier gets weak and he needs to get out to recharge it from the outside. When the barrier is fully charged and he closes it around him, it is completely hermetic and he can’t sense anything from us when he’s inside. If it gets weak, he starts feeling us and that’s the signal he uses to get out and recharge. When he has to get out, he takes advantage of the memory lock mechanism that you two had in the old days when you didn’t know that each other was inside of you and forgot what the other did while he was out. That mechanism was still there in you. Back then it was just triggered when you changed places without control, but now Honesty has decided to use it on purpose so that you didn’t know what he was doing when he was charging the barrier. And as I’ve seen in his memories, he’s been hiding everything from us because he doesn’t want to worry us or be a burden, especially now that we have the problem with Roman. He doesn’t want to distract us from fixing Roman’s problem.

DECEIT: My goodness… and this is all my fault. If only I had been smarter and didn’t let the Dark Master trick me, Honesty wouldn’t have had to fuse with me to fix my mistakes.

THOMAS: It’s not your fault, it’s the Dark Master’s fault. We didn’t blame Roman when he tricked him. Why would we blame you?

ROMAN: I know the feeling, Deceit. Don’t get carried away by it. Trust me, it will only hurt you and you would get nothing in return other than pain and sorrow. However, Honesty shouldn’t have hidden this from us. My problem is nothing compared to his. Light or Dark, I’ll be okay, but he… he could… We gotta do something to help him! Now I feel guilty too, because he’s hiding this because of me!

DECEIT: Yes, but what can we do? Perhaps if I change places with him? No, I’ve tried and his block doesn’t let me do it.

LOGAN: Yes, and he placed the block without saying a word to you precisely to stop you from doing that, because if you changed places, the process would take the opposite way. Honesty would absorb you and you would cease to exist, and he doesn’t want that. I’ve seen in his memories that he prefers to disappear himself rather than seeing you disappear, because he feels a deep fraternal love for you. He considers you his brother and is willing to sacrifice himself to save you from his destiny.

DECEIT: [emotional] I… I do love him too as if he was my brother. In a way, I think we really are brothers, both physically and emotionally. No one knows him better than me and no one knows me better than him, for obvious reasons. He’s the only one in this world I could never ever tell a lie, not only because I could never deceive him, as he knows all my memories, but also because I couldn’t find it in my heart to deceive him… And yet he’s taken me aside of his problems when he needed me most. Gosh, he’s going through so much and he’s going through it all alone… I must do anything it takes to save him. Isn’t there any way to revert the process?

LOGAN: The only thing that comes to my mind is Thomas.

THOMAS: Me? What can I do?

LOGAN: The Dark Master managed to create a full body of his own for Deceit when he was about to fade away. Maybe you can do it too if you learn how to do it.

THOMAS: So much pressure… I feel like such a failure for not knowing how to do what you say that I can do.

LOGAN: Not knowing something is not a failure, Thomas. Neither it is not being able to learn that something on the first, second, third or whatever number of tries. The failure would be not being willing to try, and if there’s one thing you’re always willing to do is trying to learn.

THOMAS: You’re right on that, Logan. I love learning new things and I always do my best on that. I won’t do any different this time. I’m ready when you’re ready, Logan.

LOGAN: I knew you would say that and I’m proud of you, Thomas. Then, it’s time for you to learn how to be the Light Master. The problem is… that none of us know how to teach you at all or who could teach you.

THOMAS: Then we’re right back to where we started. How am I supposed to start learning if I don’t even know what and how should I learn?

DECEIT: [frustrated] Dang it! We’re on a dead end. And it’s all because of the Dark Master! That… father of a virgin! For him it was so easy to use these abilities. I wish we could grab him, steal all of his knowledge and transmit it to Thomas.

LOGAN: Hey! That is an excellent idea, Deceit.

DECEIT: What? I was only venting… Can we do that?

LOGAN: Yes, I think we can, thanks to Roman.

ROMAN: Me? How?

LOGAN: At this moment, the Dark Master is trapped in Sandersia as a fragment of his former self that has taken the shape of a Sandersian to keep on existing. He has some power, but not enough to be a danger, especially now that Remus’ black cauldron is safe again behind the barrier in his room and you are alert of his existence. If we could get to the Dark Master, you could use your Creativity powers to hold him still while I get all of his memories, like I just did with Deceit. Then, with that knowledge at my disposal, I could assume my role as teacher and properly teach Thomas how to use his Master powers.

ROMAN: That… could work. But couldn’t it be dangerous? We’re talking about absorbing the knowledge of an entity that is pure evil, even if now he’s incapacitated. Couldn’t that have some sort of secondary effects on you?

LOGAN: You have a point, certainly. He’s neither an ordinary Side nor an ordinary Sandersian, and therefore we don’t know if there could be any secondary effects on me… But if we don’t do something soon, we could lose Honesty. And I don’t wanna lose anyone of you. Not again. It was painful enough when we lost Ira. Maybe I didn’t show it, because I struggle with showing my feelings, but it was the worst pain I ever felt in my life. I don’t wanna feel that pain again, and I’ll do everything I can to make sure I don’t lose again any of my… that is a strong word but I can’t think of anything else to describe it… of my loved ones. I have the intention of saving Honesty, then help you and Virgil get reunited permanently and then carry on with our lives as it should be. I don’t care what happens to me.

[Roman tears up, then approaches Logan and hugs him. Logan shows a face of shock and starts blushing. He’s so stunned that he doesn’t hug Roman back]

ROMAN: You’re already teaching me a lesson, Logan. A lesson of bravery, loyalty and friendship. You would make such a great prince indeed… I never realized how much I admire and love you despite how different we are.

LOGAN: [nervous] This is a little overwhelming… I’m not accustomed to this kind of signs of affection…

ROMAN: [making a gesture of stepping back] Oh, I’m sor…

LOGAN: [hugging Roman back] However, I think I could get accustomed to this quickly.

[Roman smiles and squeezes Logan a little bit in the hug. Then Deceit, Virgil and Patton join in a group hug]

THOMAS: I’m so proud of you, Logan. But we don’t want anything bad happening to you. Are you sure you want to go through this?

LOGAN: [heartwarming smile] Yes. Whatever it takes so that we can repeat these group hugs more often… [suddenly nervous] Uh… for scientific reasons, of course.

THOMAS: [smirk] Of course.

[everyone returns to their own spot]

ROMAN: Okay, if you’ve made up your mind, let’s get down to business… to def…

LOGAN: Roman, please, not again.

ROMAN: You’re right, sorry. It’s not the time for Mulan lyrics right now. What’s the plan?

LOGAN: When you were fused, Romulus said that no one could escape from him while they were in Sandersia. I presume the same happens with you, Roman.

ROMAN: Yes, that’s right. I never meddle in any Sandersian’s life, but if I wanted, I could find them no matter where they were and bring them to my presence.

LOGAN: That means you could find the Dark Master anywhere he was and bring him wherever you want.

ROMAN: Yes.

LOGAN: And then you could trap him and stop him from running away.

ROMAN: I mean, you said it yourself, we’re talking about the Dark Master. I don’t know how much power I could have over him. But if he was subjected to the rules of Sandersia as any other Sandersian, I could.

LOGAN: That’s exactly the plan. We go somewhere in Sandersia, you force the Dark Master to show up, then trap him so that he can’t move and I get his memories.

ROMAN: And then, what do we do with him?

LOGAN: Well, I’d be happy to get rid of him for all eternity, but unfortunately, we need him inside the Mind Palace, you know why.

ROMAN: Yes, I think I’ll never forget why.

LOGAN: After we’re done, you expel him as far away as you can and we return home and start training Thomas.

ROMAN: Sounds like a plan. Are you sure you’re ready to do this?

LOGAN: As sure as I’ll ever be, Roman.

DECEIT: Well, then what are we waiting for? Let’s do it. Off to Sandersia!

[Thomas and the Sanders Sides sink down into Roman’s room, then they enter into Sandersia. They walk a couple of miles away from the door until they stop]

ROMAN: Well, this place looks as good as any to start working. Are you guys ready? Especially you, Logan. As I told you, I don’t know if this will work and if it does I don’t know how long I’ll be able to hold him. Be ready to do your thing as soon as I get him.

LOGAN: I’m ready when you’re ready, Roman.

THOMAS: Be careful, guys.

ROMAN: Okay. Let’s go.

[Roman rises both hands. At first, nothing seems to happen, but after a couple of minutes, the Dark Master falls down from the sky, crashing in the middle of them]

PATTON: Wow… that was a hard fall… It still is, it’s November…

DARK MASTER: [rises up] Ow! That hurts! What? You? What are you doing?

[Roman points at the Dark Master without saying a word. The Dark Master tries to move, but he can’t no matter how much he struggles]

DARK MASTER: I can’t move! What is this all about? How dare you do this to me! Let me go!

LOGAN: [approaching the Dark Master] Don’t worry, we’ll let you go, as soon as I get what I need from you.

DARK MASTER: What?

[Logan sighs, and after a second of doubt, he puts his hand on the Dark Master’s chest. Then, he starts shaking. At first nothing seems to be different to what happened with Deceit, but after a moment, he starts groaning as if he was in pain]

THOMAS: Logan! Are you okay?

DARK MASTER: [face of understanding] Oh, so this is what you’re doing. [evil smirk] Let’s see if your little nerd can handle so much knowledge.

THOMAS: Something’s going wrong! Logan, step back!

LOGAN: No! Not yet! I’m not done yet! [in pain] Aw!

THOMAS: Logan, please! This isn’t normal!

[The Dark Master starts giggling with an evil face]

DARK MASTER: Leave him alone, Thomas! He wants knowledge and he’s ready to pay the cost of that knowledge!

THOMAS: The cost…? What cost?

LOGAN: I’m… almost done… but I… I don’t know if I can hold on.

THOMAS: Please, Logan, don’t overdo yourself. I don’t want you to put your life on risk!

[suddenly, Deceit transforms into Honesty]

HONESTY: Logan! What are you doing!? I felt a huge force that crossed my barrier! What is going on!?

LOGAN: Honesty? I’m doing this for you! I’m getting the knowledge to save you from disappearing!

HONESTY: Then you know… But I don’t want you to be endangered because of me!

LOGAN: [struggling voice] Just… a little… more…

[suddenly, lightning sparks are seen all around Logan’s body]

LOGAN: I’m… overloading… I must let go… [tries to get his hand off] I can’t… My hand is stuck!

HONESTY: [scared] Logan!

[The Dark Master shows an ominous smile]

LOGAN: [with a voice of pain] Help me…

THOMAS: [running to Logan] I’m going, Logan!

[Thomas approaches Logan and tries to hold him, but as soon as he touches him, there’s a huge spark and he pulls his hands back in pain]

THOMAS: Ow! I got shocked! I can’t touch him!

HONESTY: Deceit can get him with his gloves! I’ll send him to you!

[Honesty changes to Deceit]

DECEIT: What’s happening!?

THOMAS: Quickly, Deceit, get Logan off the Dark Master! You’ll be protected thanks to your gloves!

DECEIT: Okay!

[Deceit grabs Logan. The gloves protect him, but he can’t move Logan]

LOGAN: [weak voice] Please… help me…

[Logan faints, and the Dark Master laughs evilly]

DECEIT: [scared] Logan! [struggling and yelling while he pulls with all his might] Nnnngggghhhaaaaaaaa!!!!

[finally he manages to unstick Logan off the Dark Master, and they both fall to the ground. The sparks surround Logan for a couple of seconds more until they fade away]

DARK MASTER: [with an evil smirk] Well, that surely was an electrifying experience! Does anyone else want to feel it?

ROMAN: [angry] Just shut up, you monster!

[Roman moves his arm and the Dark Master is propelled away until he gets lost in the distance, then Thomas and the Sides go to check on Logan]

THOMAS: Logan? Logan, say something, please.

LOGAN: [unconscious] Nnggghh…

PATTON: Logan… please, wake up…

[Logan opens his eyes]

LOGAN: Where… where am I?

DECEIT: [hugging Logan] Thank goodness, Logan! Are you okay?

LOGAN: [confused and uncomfortable] Do… do I know you from somewhere? And how do you know my name?

DECEIT: [stops hugging him] What? What do you mean?

THOMAS: Logan, what are you saying? Don’t you remember us?

LOGAN: I… I’m confused. Is that you, Thomas? I do remember you, but… you’re so old now… I also remember Princey, although I had never seen him with that outfit before, and certainly not so tall. [pointing at Patton, Virgil and Deceit] Who are these other people, though?

PATTON: Logan, don’t you remember me? It’s me, Patton!

LOGAN: I’m sorry, but I’ve never seen you in my life.

PATTON: Guys, this is not good.

THOMAS: Wait a second, guys, let’s not panic. What is the last thing you remember, Logan?

LOGAN: [rising up] Well, you were studying for your Math test. You know, the one with algebraic fractions. Don’t tell me you didn’t pass it. We worked so hard on it.

THOMAS: That… that was when I was in school, Logan. I’m 30 years old now. It’s been nearly two decades since then, I’ve even graduated as a chemical engineer in college. Have you forgotten the last 20 years of our life?

LOGAN: That can’t be, Thomas. That doesn’t follow logically. You, a chemical engineer? You were always headed towards dramatic arts and music.

THOMAS: And I work in that now, but I did graduate with a bachelor degree of science. Besides, how would you explain logically that I’m suddenly a grown up adult? No wonder you only remember Roman. Back then, he and you were the only Sides that had appeared before me, not counting Virgil, because he only appeared sporadically at that time and I think you didn’t get to meet him up until later. But I did mention him to you. Remember Anxiety?

LOGAN: Oh, so that is Anxiety? Nice to meet you at last, Anxiety. I’m Logic. Thomas has mentioned you so much.

VIRGIL: [confused] Yeah… sure… Nice to… meet you… too, I guess.

LOGAN: Is he always so eloquent, Thomas?

THOMAS: Forgive him, he’s… shy.

VIRGIL: What?

[Thomas makes a gesture to Virgil asking him to play along]

VIRGIL: Oh, uh… yes… I am, sorry.

LOGAN: It’s okay, nobody’s perfect, as Princey can attest.

[Roman emits some offended Princey noises]

THOMAS: Patton appeared later on, that’s why you don’t know him at all. And Deceit, back then, was a Dark Side that hadn’t shown up yet. Not anymore, though.

LOGAN: I see… And you’re saying that I know all these people and I have forgotten them? But, how could this happen?

THOMAS: It’s a long story, really long if it covers 20 years… How are we going to restore your memories back?

ROMAN: I knew there were going to be secondary effects, but I didn’t expect this.

LOGAN: Well, if you say that there’s 20 years of my life that I don’t remember, obviously you don’t have time to tell me all of that, unless you can live without working and therefore without food and health care, not to mention sleep, rent, et cetera, for the next two decades.

ROMAN: Yes, Teach, we had figured that out already.

LOGAN: Luckily for you, and for me, I guess… there’s a way to restore my memories.

THOMAS: How?

LOGAN: I’m your acquired knowledge, Thomas. If my memories were truly gone, they would be gone from you as well. As you seem to remember everything that I don’t, that means that my memories are still inside of me somewhere, only that, for one reason or another, they’re blocked from me and I can’t reach them. If you find a way to break the block, these memories would return to me.

THOMAS: Sweet. And how do we break that block.

LOGAN: Well, I need a memory that is strong enough to break the block, but you mustn’t tell me. I have to make the effort to find it out for myself with some clues you give me. For instance, take me to places I used to know, or give me things that you think they could help. Things like these.

THOMAS: I think I get it. Stimulating your memory can make these lost memories return to your mind naturally. Well, then I think we have no time to waste. Let’s return to Roman’s room.

LOGAN: Okay… by the way, what is this place?

ROMAN: This is…

PATTON: Don’t tell him, Roman. Give him clues so that he can remember by himself.

ROMAN: Oh, right. [choosing his words carefully] Well, it’s a place… um… where we have been several times already. It is connected to my room and it’s populated with, uh… characters created by Thomas and me.

[Logan looks at Roman with a blank stare]

THOMAS: Anything, Logan?

LOGAN: Nope, sorry, I got nothing at all.

ROMAN: Well, here is where Virgil… I mean, Anxiety, and I… lived the most important day in our lives. And you were there to witness it.

LOGAN: The most important day in your lives? Like what?

ROMAN: Another clue… that day I wore a royal outfit with seven gems on my chest representing the seven colors of the rainbow, which also represented each one of you close to my heart.

LOGAN: Each one of us? Seven gems? But there are only four people here other than Thomas and me. Who are the other two? I don’t remember them at all.

ROMAN: [sighs] It’s pointless. Our wedding and Sandersia clearly are not gonna help him regain his memories. We need something stronger.

LOGAN: Wedding? So you and Anxiety got married? My congratulations to you. I would have liked to see it.

VIRGIL: You saw it, Logan. You saw it. [sighs] Let’s go back home and look for something else.

DECEIT: But we better hurry. I don’t know if we’ve got much time.

THOMAS: Why are you saying that?

DECEIT: Guys, now I’m feeling Honesty. And that means that his barrier has got broken, perhaps by the energy unleashed while Logan… you know. And that means… the clock is counting for Honesty.

THOMAS: Why, you should have told us sooner!

LOGAN: I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I was going to tell you that, indeed, we haven’t got much time.

THOMAS: I’m afraid to ask. Why are you saying that?

LOGAN: Well, Thomas, you must restore my memories before you go to bed tonight.

THOMAS: And why is that?

LOGAN: Because if by that time my memories are not accessible, they will be deleted when the memory reorganization process happens while you sleep. And that means that you will forget everything that I have forgotten, and all the other Sides too. And it will be irreversible.

THOMAS: Then I mustn’t sleep, by any means. No sleep tonight. Jeez… Fanders would kill me if they heard me saying this.

LOGAN: Well, that would buy you some time, but it’s not realistic to think that you will resist much time without sleep. You could get an extra day, two at most, but the more time you spend with sleep deprivation, the worst we will work and the lesser the chances that I get my memories back. And eventually you will fall asleep anyway, whether you like it or not, and everything will be lost.

THOMAS: I’m sure it’s not so bad. I can resist sleep for as long as I want.

LOGAN: [calm] Falsehood.

DECEIT: Well, glad to see that that part of him remains okay.

VIRGIL: The one time that I’m in a safe distance from him when he says “falsehood”, and he decides not to screech it. I wonder if he likes the idea of me getting deaf on that ear, or something.

THOMAS: Okay. Then there’s no time to waste. Let’s go back home already.

LOGAN: Lead the way, then. I have no idea where to go.

THOMAS: Just follow us, Logan.

LOGAN: And as I said before, how do you know my real name?

THOMAS: It’s a long story.

[Thomas and the Sides start walking to the door to Roman’s room. Midway, Honesty appears]

HONESTY: Don’t stop walking, I will follow you.

DECEIT: Honesty. Why did you hide your problem from us?

HONESTY: I didn’t want to be a nuisance. You were busy enough already trying to help Roman.

ROMAN: Don’t put me as an excuse, Honesty. Your trouble started before I turned into a Dark Side, and even if it didn’t, you are in more danger than me. I can perfectly wait until you’re safe and sound.

HONESTY: Okay, fair enough. It’s just that…

DECEIT: What is it?

HONESTY: You went through so much, Deceit. I didn’t want you to fall apart again because of me. It was so hard to get you out of the pit you had fallen into. I didn’t want you to suffer again because of me.

DECEIT: And you pushed me aside, just like that. How am I supposed to take that, Hon? Do I have to infer that you consider me weak and worthless? That you don’t trust in me having any strength of my own to cope with issues? Because that offends me. I may have had a time of weakness, but I’m here now, that should say something. And what does that say about you? You’re Honesty, you’re not supposed to lie. Lies are my job. Even white lies are in my department.

HONESTY: You know it would never be my intention to belittle you, Dee.

DECEIT: [angry] Then don’t belittle me! If you had been honest from the beginning, maybe we would have been able to help you sooner. And maybe you wouldn’t be on risk of disappearing now. [switching to a sad, but still angry voice] Like I said earlier. No one knows me better than you and no one knows you better than me. But this is the first time since we became friends that I have felt like I don’t know you, and I don’t like it. You were the only person in this world I could never tell a lie. You still are. And yet you lied to me, because a lie of omission is a lie too. And it hurts, because I love you and I don’t want to lose you.

HONESTY: I’m so sorry, Dee. It’s just that… I didn’t know how to react when I felt what was happening to me. I only knew I didn’t want you going through any kind of pain. And I obviously made the wrong choice because I have hurt you. I’m terribly sorry. It’s a shame that one of us always has to stay in hologram form now, because I really need a make up hug right now, and I can’t touch you. Please forgive me.

DECEIT: [sighs] I’m not mad at you, I’m just scared for your safety. Just promise me that you will never do something like this again, and we’ll be even. If something ever bothers you again, even in the slightest, I wanna be the first in line to know. Promised?

HONESTY: Promised. From now on, I will never leave you out of my problems. That’s what friends are for, and we are friends. Because we’re still friends, right?

[Deceit stops walking and Honesty does the same. Deceit looks at Honesty right in the eye]

DECEIT: Even more than that.

HONESTY: What?

DECEIT: I do consider you my brother too, Hon. That’s why I’ll do everything I can to save you.

HONESTY: [emotional] Thank you… dear brother.

ROMAN: [calling them from a distance] Guys, are you coming with us?

DECEIT: [starts walking again] Sorry, Roman. We were just bonding as brothers.

HONESTY: True, true.

ROMAN: Glad to hear that, but we gotta go.

[The gang keeps on walking. Soon they reach Roman’s room]

ROMAN: Does this place look familiar to you, Logan?

LOGAN: No, sorry. Nothing looks familiar to me.

ROMAN: Didn’t think so. I didn’t let you into my room until much later than what you remember.

HONESTY: Maybe if we go to Logan’s room, something there could inspire his memory?

VIRGIL: It’s worth a shot.

[Everybody sinks down, then they rise up in Logan’s room]

DECEIT: Well, Logan?

LOGAN: Who did redecorate my room?

THOMAS: What?

LOGAN: I mean, I used to have a student desk chair in my spot, where I could sit to listen to the teacher.

THOMAS: Logan… you are the teacher now. So, I guess it was you who redecorated everything.

LOGAN: Oh, that makes sense. I couldn’t keep being a student for 20 years, could I?

THOMAS: But what do you eventually think about your room, Logan?

LOGAN: Well, despite my initial reaction, I think it is… adequate.

THOMAS: And did any new memory come to you at all?

LOGAN: Sorry, Thomas.

THOMAS: Okay… Let’s try something else…

PATTON: Maybe if I show him this… [takes his cat hoodie off and shows it to Logan] What do you think about this, Logan? I never take it off because I really love it.

LOGAN: Um… good for you, I guess. I’m glad that you like felines.

PATTON: It’s not just that I like cats. It’s just that this hoodie makes me feel warm.

LOGAN: Well, that’s the purpose of any outerwear, or any garment in general, to protect you from the harness of the elements, specifically cold temperatures in this case.

PATTON: It’s not that the hoodie is soft and warm, which it is, by the way. It makes me feel warm because it was given to me by someone very dear to me, someone that I hold deep in my heart. Someone I look up to and respect very much, for his wittiness and his kindness.

LOGAN: [unsettled] Please… Patton, it was? I’d thank you if you stop. If there’s one thing I don’t like at all is feelings. I don’t have them, so I don’t understand them, and things that I don’t understand don’t have a place in me at all. It’s good that you know someone so nice, whoever it is, but I’d prefer if you keep their description to yourself, or at least avoid talking about feelings in front of me.

PATTON: [with a face of sadness and sorrow] O… okay, sorry Logan. I didn’t mean to bother you. Guys, this won’t work either, I’m sorry…

VIRGIL: [a little mad at Logan] How can you not remember that hoodie? It was given to Patton by…

PATTON: [interrupting Virgil] It’s okay, son, don’t tell him. It’s not his fault that he can’t remember and I don’t want to make him feel bad about it, it would be useless.

VIRGIL: As you wish, dad.

LOGAN: [confused and slightly worried face] I’m… I’m confused. If I have offended you somehow, Patton, I apologize.

PATTON: [with an over the top smile] Don’t worry, Logan. Let’s just focus on finding something else.

VIRGIL: [knowing very well what that over the top smile means, looking at Patton with a slightly worried and emotional face] Yeah, let’s.

DECEIT: Maybe if we take the route to the things he likes, we could click on something.

THOMAS: Good idea. Maybe… that course that I couldn’t take yet, because I’ve been busy as heck. But I promised I would take it for you, and I will.

LOGAN: Good. I love that you are willing to learn something, Thomas.

THOMAS: Do you have any clue of what course I am talking about? It’s about something you really enjoy.

[Roman starts humming the tune of the song “Stars” from “Les Miserables” trying to give Logan an extra clue]

LOGAN: Please, Roman, do not interrupt us with sing-songy-make-believe music. You know I hate theater.

ROMAN: Look, one thing you remembered!

LOGAN: Sorry to disappoint, but me hating theater is one of the memories that I didn’t lose, I have always hated theater since childhood. I just don’t get it.

THOMAS: Stay with me, Logan.

LOGAN: I didn’t move from here, Thomas.

THOMAS: It was an expression… Whatever. Do you remember anything about the course I was talking about?

LOGAN: [a little frustrated] I… I’m sorry, Thomas, I’m afraid this won’t work either. I don’t know what you are talking about.

THOMAS: [sighs] We’re wasting time. Nothing seems to work at all.

PATTON: Maybe we should take a break, to lift our spirits up and refresh ourselves to keep on looking. I could bring some cookies if you want.

THOMAS: No, it will be better if we all stay here, in Logan’s corner. If we can’t bring his memories back here, I don’t think we’ll have any better luck anywhere else. But we certainly need a break, because we are totally blocked.

LOGAN: I’m terribly sorry, guys. For some reason I can sense that there’s an urgent need to bring my memories back, but there’s nothing I can do.

THOMAS: It’s okay, Logan. It’s not your fault.

LOGAN: Maybe if we take some soft drinks or a snack, as Patton suggested, we could feel refreshed and ready to start over again. I’ll go check what’s on the fridge.

THOMAS: Okay, Logan, it’s your room. Do as you want.

[Logan goes to the fridge and opens it. After a few moments of checking its contents, something calls his attention]

LOGAN: What’s this?

THOMAS: What?

LOGAN: [returning to his spot] It’s a jar of what looks like some kind of berry marmalade. Its label reads… “Crofter’s Organic”. Is this my face drawn on it? What’s this? I had never seen this thing in my life.

ROMAN: Logan must be really out of it if he can’t even remember Crofter’s.

THOMAS: [his face lightens up as if having an idea] Why don’t you try it, Logan? See if you like it.

LOGAN: I don’t think so, jelly is disgusting for me.

[every Side in the room shows a face of utter shock and disbelief upon hearing these words, Roman even gasps loudly]

THOMAS: Just for scientific reasons, as you like to say. Maybe you could be surprised.

LOGAN: Okay, if you insist, but I don’t see how this could be of help at all.

[Logan invokes a spoon, takes a spoonful of Crofter’s and gets it into his mouth. Suddenly, he shows a face of shock]

LOGAN: It… it’s delicious… this Crofter’s…

THOMAS: Do you like it?

LOGAN: Like it? LIKE IT!? I LOVE THIS!

[Logan starts devouring the whole jar as he usually does. Suddenly, he stops and his body starts shaking. Some sparks appear around him, until there’s a huge flash, then he stops shaking]

THOMAS: Logan… are you okay?

LOGAN: [unconcerned] I’ll always be okay if I have my Crofter’s with me, Thomas, why are you asking?

THOMAS: So… you do remember?

LOGAN: I do? [suddenly realizing] Yes, I do! My memories are back!

[Patton shows a face of happiness, the other Sides smile]

THOMAS: Yes! I knew Crofter’s would work!

LOGAN: I’m so sorry, guys. This detour has been my fault, I should have retreated earlier when I sensed something was failing.

THOMAS: It’s okay, Logan. The important thing is… was it worthy? Did it work?

LOGAN: Yes… Unfortunately I didn’t get all of the Dark Master’s memories, but I did get enough to teach you what we need. Soon, if you follow my instructions, Honesty and Roman will be safe and sound.

DECEIT: Cool!

ROMAN: Awesome!

THOMAS: Then I guess we should start working. How do we do this?

LOGAN: It’s late now, Thomas. We’re starting tomorrow, after you finish your morning commitments and before you jump on that plane.

THOMAS: [sighs] Dee, can I borrow one of your extra arms, please?

DECEIT: No, but I wouldn’t mind the being sick excuse to gain some extra time.

THOMAS: I was just kidding back then… But Honesty, will you be okay if we wait until tomorrow? I don’t want to wake up tomorrow and find out that it’s too late.

HONESTY: Don’t worry, Thomas. I think I’ll be fine until tomorrow, the process will take a lot more time to be completed, so we have plenty of time.

THOMAS: Then, it’s settled. Tomorrow I start training. I hope I can do it.

PATTON: You can do anything you set your eyes on. And we’ll be rooting for you all the time.

[all the Sides nod in agreement with a smile]

THOMAS: Thanks, guys.

ROMAN: Well, guys, I’ll better be going. I’ve been too much time with you now and I don’t want to corrupt you.

VIRGIL: Hopefully this will be one of the last times you have to say this. I miss you so much, even if we see each other everyday for some time, each hour we’re apart hurts.

ROMAN: I miss you too, but Honesty has the priority now. When he’s safe, we’ll start thinking about me. Bye, guys. [blowing a kiss to Virgil] Bye, Virgil, I love you.

VIRGIL: Love you back, Roman. Good night.

ROMAN: It will never be a good night completely without you, Virge. [sinking down] Goodbye, my love.

VIRGIL: [sinking down] See ya tomorrow, guys.

LOGAN: Patton, don’t go just yet, I need to talk to you later, alone.

PATTON: Okay, Logan.

DECEIT: We’ll go get some rest for tomorrow, then. I can’t wait to be two separate Sides again so that I can give you that make up hug, brother.

HONESTY: Me neither. [disappearing] Bye, guys.

DECEIT: [sinking down] See you tomorrow, guys.

THOMAS: See ya, guys. I’m going too as I need to rest for tomorrow, so, until next time, take it easy, guys, gals and non binary pals. Peace out!

[end card]

[Thomas has just left. Now Logan and Patton are alone in the room]

LOGAN: Patton, I just wanted to say…

PATTON: Yes, Logan?

LOGAN: … I wanted to apologize to you again. Now I remember everything and I know exactly why I hurt you so much. I belittled your words of affection towards me and I’ve made you feel bad. So, I’m sorry.

PATTON: It’s okay, Logan. You weren’t yourself earlier. Now everything’s fine again, and that’s what matters.

LOGAN: I’m also glad to be myself again. There’s so much I had forgotten that I don’t want to forget ever again.

PATTON: Like Crofter’s. I don’t know how to take that we showed you all kinds of things related to us, and it was a jar of Crofter’s what brought your memories back. Do you care more about Crofter’s than you care about us? [faking offended voice] I’m kinda… jelly about it.

LOGAN: That’s not completely accurate, Patton. Do you want to know the reason why Crofter’s worked?

PATTON: I’m intrigued, Logan. Why?

LOGAN: You know how much I love Crofter’s. It’s because of its taste and quality, but it’s also because it’s one of the few passions in my life that I can share with all of you, guys, without exception. We all like Crofter’s, and I have so many heartwarming memories of me eating Crofter’s with you, guys. That is what unlocked my memories, the memory of me sharing Crofter’s with my friends.

PATTON: [squealing] Awww!

LOGAN: But, please, don’t tell the others. It is a little overwhelming for me to share my feelings, as you know and I… I don’t know how to do it. It makes me feel awkward and I just don’t want to make a fool of myself.

PATTON: But Logan, you mustn’t be afraid of sharing your feelings. It’s part of who you are. And we love you just the way you are. And trust me, sharing your feelings with us would never make us see you as a fool. On the contrary, we know how much you struggle with expressing your feelings, and we would appreciate you even more. Don’t ever be afraid of being yourself, cause you being yourself is the reason why we love you.

LOGAN: I’ll try. Do you know what has been the best thing coming out from this mess?

PATTON: What is it?

LOGAN: That I got to experiment again the honest feeling of trying Crofter’s for the first time.

PATTON: Good for you, Logan. Do you want me to bring some Maria biscuits so we can spread some Crofter’s on them?

LOGAN: That would be a satisfactory experience, Patton.

#thomas sanders #sanders sides #sanders sides fic #fanfic #roman sanders #logan sanders #patton sanders #virgil sanders #deceit sanders #sympathetic deceit #sanders sides fanfic #prinxiety #romantic prinxiety #platonic logicality #aspects and fanfics

[thetenthdoctorscompanion]

A One Shot Series - Peter Parker/OC

Word Count: 2464

Warnings: Guns, Spidey Violence, Language

MASTERLIST | PREV | Two

“I thought we were watching all three of them.” 

Ned was sitting on his bedroom floor, watching forlornly as Peter packed up his stuff. The credits of A New Hope was still running on the TV, their massive bowl of popcorn only half empty. 

“I’m sorry, man,” Peter said lamely. “But you heard what Burger said. If I flop another English assignment she’s gonna make me come for extra help. I just don’t want to risk it with band and robotics and everything.” 

“I know,” Ned sighed. “I could always help if you want? I’ve got to work on Spanish, and you’re way better than me.” 

“Ned, if I stay here, we’re gonna watch Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and the prequels before we remember we have homework.” 

Ned didn’t even bother trying to hide his smile. 

“Yeah, that’s a good point.” 

“Hey, I’ll text you later though, okay?” 

Peter leaned down, pulling Ned into their handshake before grabbing a last fistful of popcorn. 

It wasn’t technically a lie, he thought as he sat on the roof of a nearby high-rise. He did need to work on his English assignment, and if he stayed at Ned’s the chances of that happening were very low. And he’d never actually told Ned he was going home to work on the assignment, so really he was in the clear. What would Ned know if Peter was working on his homework on a NYC rooftop instead of in his bedroom? 

It was one of the reasons Peter liked the weekend the best. It was a lot easier to go out when there was no place else he had to be. He could tell Aunt May he’d be at Ned’s for a Star Wars marathon. He could tell Ned he was leaving early to work on his homework. And if one or the other called him out on it, he could say he’d been at the library. It was the perfect system. 

As far as his respiderbilities were concerned—spider responsibilities, patrol route, he was still working on his monologue terminology—it had been a pretty good day. He stopped one mugger, found a lost dog, and stopped a jaywalker who was nearly hit by a messenger bike. He rewarded himself with some chicken nuggets and spent the rest of the evening actually doing his homework on rooftops, always keeping an ear out for potential trouble. 

 By the time his work was done, it was quiet in Queens. Quiet as it could be, anyway, crime-wise. But it still felt too early to go home. The sun had only just set, and there was plenty of time for things to go south. Peter figured he’d spend a little extra time scanning the dumpsters for parts before heading home. 

“Oh-ho-ho, sick,” Peter cheered, unearthing a set of walkie-talkies from a pile of cardboard. 

 A nail salon had recently moved into the old Radio Shack, and it seemed like they were still going through some of the inventory that’d been left behind. Peter had been scrounging their garbage for a few weeks now. It was a damn goldmine. 

“Tch, this is Spider-Man,” he mocked into one of the radios. “Tch, I repeat, Spider-Man to Iron Man, over. Tch, this is Iron Man. You are a go, over. Tch, Iron Man, I have located the aliens. They are heading your way North up Broadway. I repeat, the aliens are moving…” 

Crunch. 

Peter stopped dead, eyes wide. It wasn’t the sound so much as his senses. All his hair stood up on end, his eyes and ears instantly scouring the area. He dropped the walkies, heaving himself on top of the dumpster and leaping into action. 

 The disturbance was three blocks east of him, and it was with a jolt of surprise that Peter recognized the bodega. The front grate hadn’t been pulled down yet, the lights inside casting a yellow glow on the sidewalk. He could see two—no, three people inside. One man in black was ransacking the shelves, grabbing candy bars, lighters, lotto tickets. The other was taller, and had his back to Peter. All his attention was on the counter, and beyond him, Peter could just see a pair of shaking hands up in the air. 

“Yasmin?” 

The taller man shifted, saying something to his partner. That was when Peter caught sight of the gun. There was no time to think. He swung across the street, sticking to the side of the building and sliding down the bricks. The side door to the store was mangled, pried open with some kind of crowbar that had broken the lock. That must’ve been the sound he’d heard. It seemed impossible that the Delmars wouldn’t have heard it upstairs, but it didn’t sound like anyone was coming to help. Peter took one steadying breath, and slipped in through the door. 

It took a few seconds before they noticed him. The taller man was still holding a gun on Yasmin. Peter could see now that his other hand was holding a lumpy pillow case, undoubtedly filled with the money from the open register. Yasmin had backed up as far as she could, but her entire body was shaking, her eyes locked on the barrel leveled with her head. The snatcher froze halfway through emptying the fridge, his pale face staring at Peter with wide eyes. 

“Yo, who the fuck is this?” 

“Hey guys,” Peter said with a wave. “Is it too late to order? I kinda wanted an egg sandwich.” 

The gunman swung his weapon around, but Peter was ready for it. He webbed and ducked, scaling the window as he shot another web at the snatcher. The second web hit, anchoring the thief to the refrigerator. The first one, however, hadn’t worked so well. 

Bang! 

The gun went off, shattering the glass panel of the front door and prompting Yasmin to scream. 

“Shut up, bitch!” the gunman yelled, whirling toward her with the gun webbed to his hand. 

“No, no, no!” 

Peter jumped from the ceiling, grabbing Yasmin by the shoulders and pulling her down to the floor just before the gun went off again. He jumped back to his feet, vaulting over the counter and kicking the man in the chest. It sent him flying back into the window, and gave Peter just enough time to reactivate his web shooters. He shot rapid fire, one after the other, until the man was safely cocooned against the glass. 

“That’s just not cool, man,” said Peter, winded. “Don’t you have any respect for local businesses?” 

“Yo, dude, we just…” 

Peter shot another web at the snatcher, shutting his mouth for him. 

“Like I said. Not cool.” 

He extended his arm again, webbing the gun and yanking it out of the crook’s hand. It shot into his own, and he grabbed it just in time for Mr. Delmar to come running down the stairs. He held a baseball bat tight in his hands, wild eyes scanning the room. They found Peter in an instant. 

“You!” 

“¡No, papi!” 

Yasmin had unstuck herself, running forward to catch her father before he could whack Peter into oblivion. It occurred to him now that holding a gun and wearing a mask in the middle of a crime scene probably wasn’t the best look for him, even if he was in red and blue. He gingerly placed the gun on the counter, the barrel pointed away at the far wall, just in case. 

“No! Uh, uh—lo siento! No es, uh…that’s—that is not mine!” 

It did not look like Mr. Delmar believed him. Somehow, even though his hair was tousled and he was wearing a stretched out Mets t-shirt, he managed to look even scarier than the two armed robbers Peter had just webbed up. But Yasmin stepped in front of him, caressing his shoulders even though her own were still trembling. 

“Papá, está bien. ¡En serio! Este es el que me salvó. Está bien.” 

Slowly, Mr. Delmar dropped the bat. He pulled Yasmin into a tight hug, burying his face in her hair. Peter tried to give them as much privacy as he could. He kicked the glass shards closer to the exit, nudging them along quickly with his shoes in lieu of a broom. Then he picked up the discarded pillow cases. The one with the money he placed back on the counter. The snacks he began putting back in place as best he could. 

“Who are you?” 

Peter looked up from the bag of jalapeño chips he’d been studying. Mr. Delmar was watching him warily, but not as worried as he had been before. He was still holding his daughter in his arms. At his words, she turned to look at him too—dark eyes wide, with her bottom lip pulled between her teeth. Peter quickly cleared his throat. 

“Uh, nobody really. I was just, you know, swinging by. Thought you could use a hand.” 

Their eyes flitted to the criminals currently restrained in their store, and he grimaced behind the mask. 

“I don’t think you have to worry about these guys. You should totally still call the cops, though. This stuff, it—it kinda dissolves? Not for a couple hours, of course, but uh…you definitely need to get these guys out of here.” 

“Hey, you’re the vigilante,” said Mr. Delmar. “Isn’t that your job?” 

“Vigila—woah! No, I’m just, uh…you know, I’m not really equipped to do the—the removal part? I just do the catching. You know, sorta…pew pew!” 

He mimed shooting with his hands, accidentally shooting another wad of web across the room. It knocked the middle can of soda out of a precariously organized pyramid, which—miraculously—stayed standing. Peter gaped, quickly shut his mouth even though they couldn’t see it, and crossed his arms impressively. He couldn’t have done that again if he’d been trying. 

“Well, here.” 

Mr. Delmar kissed Yasmin on the head and moved behind the counter. The moment Peter saw him reaching for the pillow case, he scrambled back. 

“Oh, no, no, no! I—I don’t want your money!” 

“You saved my daughter,” he insisted. “You saved my store, my family. Please.” 

“No, really, Mr. D—uh—Mister. I just wanted to be uh…helpful.” He nodded with finality, desperately looking for something to change the topic. “I—I’m sorry about this door, though! The lock really looks toast.” 

“I’ll have someone fix it tomorrow.” 

“Yeah, but for tonight…” 

Peter flicked his web shooters again. The door filled up with web after web, spanning the space where the glass panel had been and locking the warped doorframe in place. He stood back, looking at his work with pride. 

“There you go! That should hold you over until someone can come and look at it. It’s pretty strong, if I do say so myself. Nobody’s getting in or out of that one! Ha…ha, and uh…that means I…can’t…leave…” 

Someone let out a breath of laughter, and he turned to see Yasmin watching him in awe. Not for the first time, Peter was sincerely thankful his face was hidden behind a thin layer of cotton. 

“There’s a back door through the kitchen,” Mr. Delmar instructed. “Are you sure you won’t…?” 

“Yeah, really, I’m fine. Uh—well, can I keep the chips?” 

They both stared at him, and Peter tried to keep his cool. It worked for everyone else, right? 

“Sure,” Mr. Delmar said, clearly amused. “You can keep the chips.” 

“Sweet. Well, have a good night, sir!” 

“Hey, thank you. Can you show him out, mija? I’m keeping an eye on these two.” 

Yasmin nodded, swiftly kissing her father on the cheek before she ducked through to the kitchen. Peter waved at the two criminals, gave a small salute to Mr. Delmar, and followed her back. 

It barely could have been ten minutes, but the streets seemed way darker than they had before. A breeze blew through the alley, washing them with the scent of rain and wet garbage. Peter didn’t mind. He was more concerned with the way Yasmin shivered, her dark curls blowing across her face. 

“Hey, um…are you gonna be alright?” 

“Me?” She laughed, her voice still unsteady. “I should be asking you that. You just took down two guys with guns. I just…screamed.” 

“Well, in your defense, they probably caught you off guard. I already knew what was going on when I stepped in.” 

“Why did you? Step in?” 

She was staring at him again, that same look on her face. Peter realized somewhat nervously that was the look girls were supposed to give superheroes. That was the way people looked at Iron Man, Captain America, Thor. No one had ever looked at him like that before. Sure, he’d saved a couple of people, but it was usually sidewalk stuff. He could swing away before anyone started asking questions. That wasn’t an option in the bodega. The thought probably should have made him worried, but he only felt a slimy knot of pride in his stomach. 

“I just wanted to make sure you didn’t get hurt,” he said finally. 

Yasmin smiled. 

“You just saved my life. I can’t even…thank you.” 

“Hey, don’t worry about it. Really. Just keep selling these jalapeño chips, alright?” 

With a rush of adrenaline, he ran at the opposite wall of the alley. He scaled up the bricks, back flipped, and launched back to land on the side of the building. He was about to jump when Yasmin called for him again. 

“Wait! Are—Are you seriously not gonna tell me who you are?” 

“I told you,” he said, clinging upside down to the wall. “I’m no one.” 

“I can’t tell my friends that no one saved me.” 

“Why not? Worked for Odysseus.”

She giggled, and Peter swore he would’ve been able to hear the sound from Brooklyn. 

“Watch it. Otherwise I’m just gonna call you the Amazing Smart-Ass.” 

“I don’t know. That’s got a ring to it.” 

“Seriously, though,” said Yasmin. She wrapped her arms around her torso, and stared up at him in the night. “What do you want people to call you?” 

Peter hesitated. He liked working in obscurity. He loved helping people, stopping crime, but he was well aware that the longer he did it, the harder it was going to get. When you made a name for yourself, the police took notice, the press took notice, and the bad guys took notice. It would get a lot harder to just sneak out every day and go swinging down Park Drive when people were actually looking for him. 

But hanging upside down, that knot of pride was slowly sliding its way into his throat. It pushed out the words against his better judgment. 

“You can call me Spider-Man.”

THREE

#peter parker oc #spiderman oc #marvel oc #ocappreciation #spider-man oc #stories #marvel stories #spiderman stories #holding onto you #brittney writes

[heathercoladogmom]

You Talkin to Me? (My First & Last 5 LYFT Rides)

On day 1 of self-employment, I decide to pick up a LYFT request while on the way home from the mall. 

Before I continue, let me preface this story with a few important facts about me.

- I’m an introvert through and through. I don’t go out, I stay in. I spend most of the day avoiding eye contact with strangers who might begin to converse with me. Hell, I spend most of the day avoiding eye contact with people I KNOW to avoid conversing with THEM. Anyway, point is, I’m not a people person (but I can fake it really well). 

- I have no sense of direction. Don’t tell me street names, because it means nothing to me. I get lost with Google Maps. I get lost in my own town driving home from Aldi EVERY TIME.

GREAT! So the stage was set for me to pick up my first LYFT passengers. With my charming personality, navigation skills and sweet-as-hell 2010 Silver Mazda 3 my Nanna just turned over to me, I was ready to drive. 

I arrive at my destination. I cannot roll down the windows because I have the child lock on. This prevents Bree from playing with it mid-ride and sticking her giant dog head out the window while I yell from the front seat MOMMY SAYS SIT DOWN. 

Three guys, late twenties, approach the car. Fuck the windows, they aren’t working. I unlock the doors. I’m sure this is perfectly safe. Just get in the damn car people.

But they are pretty big guys and this is a teeny, tiny car. Two of them get in the back, knees up to their chins. The third gets IN THE PASSENGER SEAT. Isn’t this a LYFT no-no? I mean, I guess he had no other choice, but this is weird. 

“Um...sorry it’s a small car. Do you want me to turn the air up? Where are we going?” 

Everyone is apparently comfortable. They’re headed toward Paterson. No problem. They start joking around and laughing. I am wildly uncomfortable with what is going on in my Nanna’s little car. At this point, I am grateful I swapped out her “Happiness is Being a Grandparent” license plate holder for a generic one.

“Yo, how long you been doing LYFT.”

I decide right then that rule #1 of self-employment is always be selling yourself. Fake it till you make it, right?

“About a week.” (LIE. This is my FIRST ride EVER.) “I’m actually a pet-sitter. I just do this on the side.” (WHAT SIDE? Everything is on the side now, bitch, you’re self-employed.) 

“Oh yea, be your own boss. A pet-sitter? You like, go into peoples houses or....”

“Well, yea. But I don’t stay over. I...”

“How old are you?”

At this point, his other friends chime in.

“That is RUDE. You don’t ask that man...”

“Oh, it’s okay. I’m 30.”

“You don’t look 30.”

“Thanks. Ugh, so you guys doing something fun tonight?”

“We’re gonna try to rent a car. Maybe go to the city.” 

“That’s cool.” 

I look at the arrival estimate. 2 mins. YES. 

“Okay so turn....whoops ya missed it. Thats okay, um the next one then.”

We approach the second turn. DON’T SCREW THIS UP HEATHER. We make the turn. We find the drop-off location. Everyone is out of my car. They do not tip, but give me 5 stars. I make $8 on this ride. After, I need to go home and recuperate from the trauma. 

Day 2. First ride is easy. Pick-up at the hospital across the street, drop-off in my hometown 3 minutes away. $3.50 ride plus $2 tip. 

Okay, on to the next. 

Pick-up at oral surgeon in town. 

“Are you Heather. Is this LYFT?”

“Yes sir. You can get in the back. Where are you headed?”

“Franklin Lakes.”

This is the town I used to work in. I find this a little comical, but am relieved to know the area. I start to drive.

“How long have you been doing LYFT?”

I go through my script. 

“Do you know the suicide rates of NYC taxi cab drivers has increased tremendously due to people like you driving for Uber and LYFT?” 

“I did, um, not know that.”

“It used to cost them $1,000,000 to get a medallion. You know what they are worth now? $80,000. Lots of guys committing suicide over this.” 

“Wow. That’s awful....I...”

“But the whole industry is changing. We’re going to have cars that drive themselves. You’ll see. There won't really be a calling for any of this. In the next 5 years, you’ll see it.”

Christ. How much longer is this ride? 5 minutes. Okay, great.

“Yea, well that is very interesting sir. OH, which building is it?”

“This one. Drop me here. Thanks. Do I tip?”

“If you like.”

“Here’s cash. Always take cash. It’s better. Bye now.”

I make $15.50 total for this ride. 

On the way back, I pick up another passenger. She gets in the car and immediately covers her entire face with her hoodie. I check where we’re headed. QUEENS. FUCKING QUEENS? ARE YOU KIDDING ME.

See, here’s the thing with Uber & LYFT. As a driver, you only see the pick-up location. You don’t know where the passenger is going until THEY GET IN YOUR VEHICLE AND IT’S TOO LATE. 

Okay, so Queens. It estimates an hour. Should be decent money.

I’m not the best city driver. My heart is in my throat the entire time this ride is happening. The woman is sleeping in the backseat of my car. While weirded out a little, I am thankful she isn’t awake to watch my struggle. 

After navigating through crazy construction, we arrive at her destination. I wait a few seconds before realizing I would have to awaken her. 

“Miss? Miss? Excuse me, Miss?”

“What, OH.”

“Yea, we’re here so...”

“Okay thanks. Bye.” 

I make $65.60 for this trip with no tip. It takes me 2 hours to get home. I cannot pick up any passengers on the way back (NYC LAWS AND STUFF).

I pick up one final passenger the next day. Easy ride, but the Queen’s ride has sent my anxiety into overdrive. 

When it’s all said and done, I end up with $100.92 in my pocket for about 4 hours of work. I ultimately decide doing LYFT is great for normal people who like other people and know where they’re going. For me, it sucks. On to the next. 

#self employed #girl boss #dogmom #lyft #lyftdriver #experience

[steamishot]

christmas eve

this year is the second time i’ll be spending christmas in NYC! it’s snowed quite a few times already and we experienced a snow storm recently. the weather fluctuates between 45~ (not that cold) to 31~ (kinda cold) and i adjust the layers i wear accordingly. with the right winter gear, winter hasn’t been so bad. i think i feel less cold being here this year, because i’ve already been in the area long enough to gradually transition vs. coming here from sunny california and experiencing such a drastic weather change. i’m glad i got to experience a snow storm, because there was no snow storm at all last year, and it barely snowed.

matt has been on electives, which is only 3-5 hours of work M-F. we’ve never spent this much time being home together. on one hand, it’s nice. on the other hand, it can be annoying sometimes because it’s a small space. i go back and forth between wanting him home, and wanting some space lol. i’m happy that he finally has time to unwind for more than a week, after consistently working for like 8 months now without a vacation. he’s been sleeping so much - will sleep the full night and then take naps during the day. he also recently got the pfizer vaccine and had arm soreness and fatigue afterwards. i realize i’m also slow at adjusting. i have to adjust to him being away, but also adjust to him being at home. it’s a lot to learn with his erratic schedule. oddly enough, he tends to sleep earlier when he doesn’t have to wake up until 7:30am than when he has to wake up at 5:30am.

i’ve been inspired by my childhood friend/running buddy D who recently passed her DPT exam and can officially practice as a physical therapist. on the side, she makes succulent arrangements. it started as a hobby she picked up in PT school, and she sold them to friends/family to fund her education. it evolved into a small business this year while she was studying for boards. this past weekend, she was able to host a pop up shop in front of a boba shop and had a great turnout. not gonna lie, my initial reaction was comparison and i felt like a real loser. not only does she have a stable career that she’s passionate about, she’s also successful in her small business. i think i’m also way more prone to comparison with her, because we’re the same age and have similar backgrounds (our dads are best friends). anyway, i had to remind myself to be happy for her, and that she got where she is because she put in a lot of hard work. 

i completed the ux/ui bootcamp back in feb 2019, but i have done very little for it afterwards. i’m still helping my dietitian friend out with her website. she recently gave birth to her second child, and i went on a design hiatus after my move - so it’s been a quiet few months. it’s easy and comfortable to do my current HR work while also being compensated overtime. however, WFH seems to be coming to an end in the next 3-6 months and it’s finally time to move forward with my life and find a new job. 

i learned that my brother and i share similar qualities. neither of us have developed much grit in life, and we just give up when things get hard. we’re the type of people content with coasting by in life. luckily, my parents are able to financially support themselves, but i feel guilty that i don’t have the mentality that many asian americans (children of immigrants) do: of doing financially better than the last generation. my dad hustled and took a lot of risks to get to where he is today. perhaps when i have children or a sense of responsibility over someone else’s life, i’ll have an innate strive to hustle harder. my brother has a BS in chemical engineering, and a MS in electrical engineering. he’s been at the same job since he graduated college, even though i’m sure he could be compensated way more elsewhere. for whatever reason, he’s doing an online BS degree in computer science as well. however, it’s a course that goes at your pace. it’s been like two years and he still hasn’t completed it. 

for a long time, i used to look up to my brother who is 2 years older than me, and think - if he was making X at age X, then i’m okay. however, i should be looking up to more ambitious people - upward comparison, not lateral comparison haha - if i want to become inspired.

in regards to ux/ui, i always felt i wasn’t “passionate enough” about the work. like i would blank during an interview because i couldn’t articulate why i was doing this. i’m scared because of my lack of experience (transitioning careers), and scared just because i lack confidence. i haven’t had a formal interview in almost 4 years. i’m pretty sure i scared myself into not trying at all, just to avoid failure. and that’s what i want to improve on. to just try. and develop grit. finish my portfolio. and at least apply to jobs. i was fortunately able to maintain my current job amidst a pandemic and have an easy and restful year, but now, it’s. time. to. put. in. WORK! 

[jack-fletch]

down to business → jack & michael

TAGGING → Jack Fletcher & Michael Young LOCATION → 23, NYC TIME FRAME → Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Jack was set up and ready to go. He had the best booth in the house — thanks to his girlfriend, of course — his business plan was set up and ready to go, tucked away neatly in his briefcase underneath the table. There was a large bottle of water, just to keep things professional here for now, and he was wearing a particularly expensive suit: this wasn't his first rodeo. Michael Young was a great bid. He had talent, talent that had been overlooked by the Clippers clearly, given their shitty offer; something that Jack planned to correct almost immediately after Michael agreed to accept Fabray & Fletcher —something that he was definitely going to do after this meeting. Checking his watch, Jack looked back to the entrance. Young should have been walking on in at any second but Jack had worked with a lot of athletes and he knew some of them could be divas. Fortunately, he was prepared to wait.

Michael: Michael was just returning from another outing with Katie; he didn't even realize how active his girl was. When he first messaged Allie to wish a happy birthday he genuinely did not expect her to be this open to welcome him back into Katie's life. A happy birthday card along with a present and a Christmas card was hardly parenting and he knew nothing about it. But now he was finally at a stable place in life, he felt like it was the right moment. And now, having been spending so much time with his girl, he was falling in love with her more than he thought was possible. Bumping into Jack Fletcher was only a cherry on top. He was almost a legend in their world for the deals he was making, it felt like whatever he touched turned to gold and not every player could get Fletcher on board. Michael was lucky. He was not sure about the Fletcher's fee, but he also knew that he could count on Marcus if this turned out to be too much, at least in the beginning. He was wearing a shirt with his sleeves rolled up --- he didn't have a lot of time to dress too nicely. Walking into the busy restaurant, he was greeted with enthusiasm and professionalism by the host and led to the reserved booth. Michael was feeling relaxed at best, things were going so well in his life that even if this did not, he knew that something else will. ''Hey, man,'' Michael smiled and extended his hand to shake Jack's. ''Hope I'm right on time.''

Jack was happy to see that Michael didn't keep him waiting too long; something that showed him he was serious about giving him a shot at representing him. Glancing up from his phone as he finally heard Michael's voice, Jack donned a bright smile and got to his feet in order to shake his hand and give him a proper greeting. "You're right on time, very punctual. I appreciate it," he chuckled, returning to his seat and gesturing for Michael to sit facing him. "Before we get into business, you want anything to drink or eat?"

Michael: Michael took a seat opposite of Jack so he could face him well and at his question his eyes glanced over the menu. Flipping it over, he thought how he wasn't particularly hungry to begin with, so he turned over to look at the drinks. ''Uh, sure,'' He already knew what he wanted as he turned around to look at the waiter. ''I'll have a bourbon straight.'' Michael was aware that his choice of what alcohol to consume was not rocket science, but it was social science. He didn't mess up a meeting since his college years, so he knew how to handle this, too. Looking to Jack, he waited for his future representative to order as well.

Jack watched as he took the menu and smiled as he went straight for the drinks. Nodding his head at his choice, the agent glanced over to the waiter to put in his own order. "Make that two. The good stuff, alright? Thanks, man." Of course, by the amount of time he'd spend here over the past few weeks, Jack was familiar with all of the waiting staff. Something which came in handy at times such as these. This restaurant had essentially been his office while the NY office was being set up. "This is on me, don't worry. I won't burn a hole in your pocket ordering the expensive stuff. Especially since I know there's room in your pocket for a lot more than what the Clippers agreed to," Jack began, clasping his hands together in front of him. "Look, I'm cut the crap here. I think you're underrated for the talent that you have. Overlooked, however you wanna put it. You're not gaining enough recognition, not in my eyes, and that's down to the deals that your representation was making. I'm the best in the business, I won't lie about that. Not only could I secure you a better deal but I could make sure you were a household name, too. More money, better deals and no funny business."

Michael: smiled as Jack followed his choice of a drink and watched as the waiter nodded straight away. ''I wasn't worried, but thanks, man.'' He let him know and leaned in because the guy went straight for business. The way he talked about Michael really tightened a noose around his ego; he knew what to go for in Michael's case. ''That's true, I've been kind of struggling,'' It was an understatement of the year. Once cut off from his father's connections and wealth, Michael was as inexperienced as anyone else and had to work to earn everything that he got. ''When I was signing my contract with the Bulls, I opted for the wrong agent. Rookie, so to speak. He did his best I guess, but the lack of some practical knowledge did its part.'' Michael wasn't about to badmouth Garcia, even though he didn't do a great job to begin with. ''I was caught in a really undesirable position, so I assume this is why the Clippers offered a the deal that I've got. They saw an opportunity and took it.'' Michael shrugged, entirely aware of the fact. He liked the confidence that Fletcher radiated with as it was exactly something that could get him the deal that he wanted and felt like he deserved. ''All of that sounds pretty great, but I'm curious as to what's your approach gonna be in this whole thing. How to sell a player that's already been bought?"

Jack listened in to what Michael had to say. Clearly, he was new to the game so to speak and wasn't entirely in the know about how the business side of the sports world worked. It could be pretty shady at times; people just wanting to get a good deal and the cheapest price. At his question, Jack smiled; having anticipated something along those lines. "You've been bought, sure, the Bulls have passed you along to the Clippers but the stipulations of your contract with the Clippers aren't in concrete yet," he shrugged. "I'm not here to make the Bulls more money, I'm here to make /you/ more money. A higher wage. I'll play hard ball with the Clippers, do what I always do. They already put the deposit down for you as a player by paying the Bulls for your trade. I'm just making sure they pay the rest and that it goes straight into your bank."

Michael smiled as the waiter brought their drinks -- they were rather fast, too. Addison was not joking when she spoke highly of the restaurant, regardless of the fact that it was hers. The service was better than expected. He took a sip of his drink, listening to what Jack was saying and nodding along with it. ''Makes sense,'' He muttered to himself at the way the agent explained it. Laying it all out like that, Michael himself could see the cracks in which representatives played along and wormed their way into getting the players better deals. But in order to do that, you had to be a talker, which Fletcher obviously was. ''Aight,'' Michael swallowed another sip. ''Sounds tempting. What about your fee? How does that go? I'd need to include my financial adviser but I'm most definitely interested.''

Jack reached out for his drink, thanking the waiter by name before taking a quick sip. That burning sensation hit the back of his throat but it only worked in boosting his confidence there and then. There was a fine line between confident and cocky, Jack liked to think that he did a fine job of walking it without ever crossing over to cocky. "By NBA regulations, I can't take more than 4% of your playing contract. Which, of course, is your annual salary," he stated simply. "As for endorsement contracts, which is where you're gonna make more money than you could imagine, we get 20% and we only get that much because we get you the best endorsements possible. More money than you could spend in ten lifetimes."

Michael: ''Yeah, well, we all know what happened to Durant. The guy doesn't have much choice rather than to re-signs with the warriors and take a paycut. Which is kind of what happened to me only I transferred.'' Michael commented, thinking about what Jack was presenting to him. ''So, we are talking about a max contract here, right?" Max contracts were mostly reserved for the players who were the franchise cornerstones and every once in a while, they would get a surprise deal. Michael was hoping he could be one of those surprise players. ''We're talking a big game here, but your reputation precedes you so I'm willing to give this a shot.'' Michael concluded.

Jack nodded his head along, seeing that Michael was clearly in the loop about certain aspects of the ups and downs of the business. With a confident grin, he bobbed his head along to let the athlete know that's exactly what he had in mind. "Yeah, right," he assured him. "I have every faith in you, your abilities and this partnership being something that could be legendary." Jack added enthusiastically. The response Michael gave him was definitely one he was pleased with and Jack raised his glass to clink with his. "Let's give it a shot. And with your stats, it'll be a nothing but net," he chuckled. "You're making the right call here."

Michael raised his glass to clink against Jack's. He was pretty confident about the whole thing: he got one of the best agents of the current NBA streams and you don't just refuse an offer when it basically falls into your lap, especially not this one. Michael knew he still had a lot to discuss in terms of the actual business side considering he was just a player, after all, but he had never heard about a bad experience with Jack Fletcher and he had no doubts that he just scored a bullseye. ''Sounds promising,'' Michael nodded and finally the glass clanked against one another. ''I'll be going back to L.A. by the end of the week. Should I schedule an appointment so we can finalize this?"

Jack took a sip of his whiskey after their cheers in good fashion, looking forward to what was ahead; not only for himself but for Michael, too. He had a very promising future ahead of him and Jack would be happy to stand behind the scenes and secure what he could for him. "Absolutely," he nodded. "I'll fly out to accommodate whatever time's good for you."

Michael smiled with a nod. ''Sounds like a deal, man. Looking forward to working with you.''

#para #para: dtb

[wbwest]

New Post has been published on WilliamBruceWest.com

New Post has been published on http://www.williambrucewest.com/2017/05/05/west-week-ever-pop-culture-review-5517/

West Week Ever: Pop Culture In Review - 5/5/17

In TV news, we got the first trailer for Marvel’s The Defenders series on Netflix. I dunno, y’all. I’ll be the first person to tell you that I’m behind on these shows. At this point, I’ve only seen Daredevil season 1 and Jessica Jones. No DD S2, no Luke Cage, and no Iron Fist. Sorry, kids, but there just aren’t enough hours in the day. Daredevil was a worthy bingeing experience, as each episode ended on a cliffhanger that MADE you have to check out the next episode immediately. Jessica Jones, not so much. It took me about 3 months to get through that show. Now, I enjoyed it, but it didn’t demand that I consume it immediately. I’m eager to catch Luke Cage, but I wanna go in order, so that means I’ve got to meet the Punisher and Elektra first in Daredevil season 2. So, even though The Defenders comes out in August, I’ll be lucky if I get to it in 2017. Anyway, I told you all that to make you see that my level of enthusiasm for this probably isn’t as high as yours because I’m so far behind. That said, I thought this trailer looked hokey as Hell. The scene where Murdock comes into Jessica’s interrogation felt like a bad fan film. Shit, the whole thing felt like a bad fan film. Remember when Playstation Network aired that Bendis Powers show? Yeah, it looks like that. Something about the cinematography of it all. And then they had to do another goddamn hallway fight. WE GET IT ALREADY! I just don’t know about this one right now..

In other TV news, there are talks of a Roseanne revival, with ABC and Netflix interested bidding on the project. Laurie Metcalf, Aunt Jackie herself, reported that contracts have been worked out, so now they’re just trying to sell the series. Right now, Roseanne (does she currently have a last name?), John Goodman, and Sara Gilbert would star, while Metcalfe says she’s on board in some capacity. It’ll be interesting to see how they pull this off, ya know with Dan being dead and all. Still, it ended with one of the most maligned series finales in television history, and they’ve got a chance to basically erase it. How many shows can say that? Anyway, I was never a huge Roseanne fan. They were just so poor and depressing. Are they gonna lose the bike shop? Are they gonna lose the loose meat restaurant? Is Fisher gonna stop beating up Jackie? I know their struggles resonated with certain folks, but not me. I actually liked the Lottery Season because I could say “Thank God their lives aren’t such shit anymore!” Anyway, I’d bet money on this happening, so it’s now just a matter of where it’s gonna air. The big question is in which “universe” it will be set. After all, the finale basically laid out that everything since about season 4 of the show had been a lie, since Darlene actually ended up with Mark, Becky was the one with David, Jackie was a lesbian, etc. So, would we get the “true” Roseanne, or just more of what we’re used to? And with Mark dead, and David on The Big Bang Theory, I don’t really expect much from those characters anyway. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

I was on my own last weekend, so I took the time to watch TV and catch up comics. Well, I didn’t really watch TV, but it was on in the background. It provided the soundtrack to my comic time. What did I watch? CMT – Country Music Television. Yeah, yeah, you hate country. I don’t care. I grew up on it, so it has a special place in my heart. Anyway, when I saw Brad Paisley’s new video for “Last Time For Everything”, I KNEW I had to share it with y’all. This thing is a love letter to children of the 80s, complete with tracking/tape distortion lines. I don’t wanna spoil anything, so just check it out. Don’t worry – the song’s not about drankin’, or a dead dog, or his wife left him; it’s just a song about appreciating things when you have them because they won’t always be there.

The backdoor pilot for the Black-ish spinoff aired this week. Oh, you don’t know what a “backdoor pilot” is? It’s when an established show gives up one of its episodes to try to launch a new show. Since it already has a built-in audience, it kinda tricks viewers into watching a new show that they otherwise wouldn’t have checked out. Married…with Children had, like, 4 of them. Anyway, in Black-ish, Zoey went off to check out college, made a new best friend, and pissed off the Black Student Union. The whole episode was kinda hokey, but it worked. Chris Parnell was the spineless dean, which is basically every Chris Parnell character these days. And I love how they worked Deon Cole’s Charlie into the plot. If the spinoff gets picked up (I mean, why wouldn’t it?), I hope he gets a bigger role there than he has on Black-ish. If Black-ish is a modern-day Cosby Show, then this is its A Different World. And there ain’t nothing wrong with that, really.

If you like useless gimmick items as much as I do, then make sure you pick up your Frork from McDonalds today. To celebrate the release of their three new Signature Crafted Recipes (Pico Guacamole, Sweet BBQ Bacon, and Maple Bacon Dijon), they’re releasing a utensil that they know nobody needs, but hey, why not? The Frork is basically a fry holder, where the fries act as the tines of the fork. In the infomercial, complete with Anthony Sullivan appearance, they claim the Frork will help you scoop up the toppings that fall off your overflowing sandwich. I swear Anthony Sullivan killed Billy Mays ‘so he’d get ALL that sweet infomercial work. But I digress…If you would like a Frork, check this link to see if one of your local McDonalds locations is giving them out today.

Things You Might Have Missed This Week

HBO has hired writers for FOUR potential Game of Thrones spinoffs. So, get ready for Match of Chairs, Bout of Seats, Mother of Dragons and, my personal favorite, Tits & Swords.

Warner Bros has pushed back its theatrical animated Scooby-Doo film two years to 2020.

Girl Meets World is officially dead, as creator Michael Jacobs was unable to find a new home for the series.

While this news is about a month old, FXX has decided against a fourth season of Man Seeking Woman, which wrapped up its 3rd season in March. The season finale was a fitting series finale, so I ain’t mad.

Hot on the heels of its premiere, Hulu has renewed The Handmaid’s Tale for a second season.

Surprising no one, Fox canceled the freshman drama Pitch, about the first female major league baseball player. Following on their heels, NBC canceled the Wizard of Oz update Emerald City.

It was reported that Gabriel Luna’s Ghost Rider will be returning to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. for the season finale

Speaking of Marvel TV, we got our first cast picture from Inhumans. KILL IT! KILL IT WITH FIRE!

We also got our first look at the cast of Marvel’s Runaways on Hulu. They look like the comic, but I still hate that they aged Molly. I like her more as a precocious child to balance them out.

A strike by the Writers Guild of America, which would’ve affected all corners of entertainment, was narrowly averted at the 11th hour

Morning Joe hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski revealed that they’re engaged. Man, they shit in the company ink! That’s the saying, right?

The biggest TV news of the week was that Ryan Seacrest was announced as Kelly Ripa’s permanent cohost on what will now be called Live with Kelly & Ryan. This bothered me so much! First of all, I was really kinda hoping an underdog, like Fred Savage, would get it. And if they had to go with a media person, they had Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen on the list. But Seacrest?! The dude’s empire is based in LA and, yes, he has an empire. He’s a modern-day Merv Griffin, producing Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Shades of Blue, and Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest. He also has a daily syndicated radio show, On Air With Ryan Seacrest, as well as hosts the weekly American Top 40 countdown. With all that going on, you’d think he’d stay in LA instead of taking a job from a New Yorker. Instead, iHeartMedia has built a radio station in the ABC Studios building so that he can do his radio show immediately after taping Live. The plan is for him to stay in New York Monday-Thursday to film Live, he’ll pretape Friday’s show on Thursday, and then he’ll spend Friday-Sunday in LA.

But that’s not ALL the Seacrest news this week. You see, talks of an American Idol revival have heated up again. I wrote about it a few weeks ago, when NBC and Fox were both interested in the show – NBC especially because they could, then, reduce The Voice to one cycle a year. Those talks fell through, but now it appears that ABC has gotten into the game, with one stipulation: there’s no Idol without Seacrest, so the show would have to move to New York so he could continue to host. The show’s production company, Fremantle, insists that it stays in LA. ABC wants to announce it during the May upfronts, which occur in two weeks, for a Fall 2018 premiere (yeah, it ain’t gonna be ready by this Fall). So here’s the plan on how that would work: Fremantle wants to air Idol on Sunday nights from LA, where Seacrest would then fly to NYC after the show in order to make it in time to film Live Monday morning. After filming Monday’s Live, he would then fly back to LA for the Idol results show. Once that’s over, he would fly back to NYC in time for Tuesday’s Live. My God! The live portion of Idol is only 10 weeks, but that is a grueling schedule that I wouldn’t wish on anyone. So far, however, it seems that ABC’s plan would be to air Idol on Mondays, to go head to head with The Voice, so this plan wouldn’t work.

Say what you will about Seacrest, but I’ve always admired the dude’s work ethic. He doesn’t seem to know the word “no”, and he’s constantly building his brand. With the exception of the short-lived On Air With Ryan Seacrest TV show (which is conveniently missing from his Wikipedia entry), he doesn’t really fail at anything. I guess hard work and determination really can take you places. I’ll tell ya, back when he was hosting Click and Gladiators 2000, I had NO CLUE he would become as big as he is. He makes me wanna go out and get 3 more jobs. Then again, I wouldn’t have his net worth of $330 million, but it’d be a start. Anyway, for taking all the jobs, while growing in power, Ryan Seacrest had the West Week Ever.

#80s #Comics #Country #Marvel #Music #Television #West Week Ever

[helloletstrythis]

We Meet Again...

Hey friendz,

It’s been a while since we wrote to you.

But we’re back.

If you’ll have us.... 

Yeah?! Okay! Great! Let’s catch you up!

a LOT has happened in the last year.

I got married. 

Lauren got married. 

Wedding planning takes a LOT out of your time. Even if you’re like me and started off the process by being like.. “I don’t want to worry about the details. I just want to have a fun day and celebrate our love...” at the end of everything you end up like... “If my mom’s cousin doesn’t like the way we’ve arranged the flowers what are we even doing here??!!?”

It’s a shame that rom-coms don’t show a lot of those real life stressful wedding moments. And they try to make brides look like the worst people ever. Poor Katherine Heigel.

But honestly, Lauren’s wedding was a freakin’ blast. My husband and I had so much fun. Their wedding was two weeks before ours and it was a nice moment to just relax and not worry about our wedding for a second and have fun.

And my wedding was amazing. I was so stressed up until and through the rehearsal dinner. And then after a good(ish) night’s sleep. (I woke up at 6am cuz I was so excited.) I decided that I didn’t want to worry and I wanted to have fun. And I had so much fun. It’s so incredibly moving to see all your family and friends there to celebrate your marriage. Like.. What?? This is just me and my love. We love each other. And all these people here are excited and like traveled miles to drink champagne with us and be happy for us that we are happy and there’s a lot of happiness and hold on I’m crying again. 

Right before our wedding my husband and I made another huge life decision. We packed up our tiny one bedroom apartment in Queens and we moved to Pittsburgh. We had been talking about moving to Pittsburgh for a while. And we considered other cities to move to as well, LA, Toronto, Boston, Orlando... But after being away from home for 10 years we were ready to be home with our families.

My family is in Pittsburgh, and my husband’s is in Ohio. So we are lucky that we are so close to everyone now.

How has the move been?

I could smile and nod my head and say what I say to people all the time which is... “It’s a big transition, but we’re loving it.”

That’s the log line of my life right now.

And it’s the truth!

But there’s a lot of details that lie in between those two things. Our jobs are not what we thought they’d be. We haven’t really made that many friends. We really miss our friends in NYC. I haven’t been doing or seeing comedy at all. Sometimes it feels like no one here really understands our senses of humor. I constantly feel like I’m saying... I’m joking. People are offended a lot easier outside of NYC. And I miss the hustle of NYC a lot. Being constantly motivated and feeling like every time you successfully leave your apartment you’ve at least accomplished something. I miss Seamless. And amazing food that could be delivered to your door at all times of the night. I miss Queens. I miss our apartment. It was small, and shitty, and the lady upstairs played the same movement of the same piece on the piano at 4 o’clock everyday for the entire year that we lived there, but it was a small thing that was ours.

But here on Sundays, we have dinner with my parents, and sometimes my aunt and uncle, or I get to see my nieces and nephews and for one brief shining moment I am in complete joy. And honestly, I wouldn’t trade that for a rent controlled apartment in the lower east side. 

And you can breathe here. Sit on the deck and write and no one yells at you or tries to steal your purse. And I turned off email notifications on my phone. And driving is cool! We’re buying a car. And looking at houses. And really thinking about our future. 

So.. it’s a big transition, but we’re loving it!

I spend a lot of time reminding myself what I’m working toward--the goals and the plans of my future. I often forget to enjoy the moment. I keep telling myself that this is a transition time period. But then I feel time slipping by and notice myself not noticing how I’m feeling or what’s really happening... It’s like Emily says in Our Town (Thorton Wilder)

“Do human beings ever realize life as they live it? Every--every minute?” 

I read this the other day and it struck me more than it ever has before. And I’ve read it a thousand times.

I’m not doing that. I’m not realizing my life right now. I’m letting it pass me by. And look at Emily--she died! She died young. And she’s telling us... don’t let life pass you by. Don’t think of life as a transition. 

It’s good to have goals. And to think about your future. And to go to work and remind yourself why you’re there. For your future. But there’s also something to be said for seeing where you are--even if it’s not quite where you want to be yet. 

So this is commitment I’m making to myself. To see the world around me as it is. In the moment. To take note of the time that is inconspicuously flying by. And share it here with you. 

Here’s me right now: What I’m eating: Too much fatty foods. I need to get them veggies and acai bowls back into my routine. Honestly, a lot of ham and cheese sandwiches and BBQ potato chips... What I’m wearing: My new Point Park sweatshirt my husband got me for my birthday. I love it because I’m really excited to be going back to school. (I’ll drop in more deets later.) And it was so thoughtful of him. And It’s so comfy. And I sort of feel like the West Wing cabinet crew when they work on a Saturday and have their YALE sweatshirts on. What I’m drinking: Gin. Who knew? But all of a sudden I love gin. Gin and Tonics. Bombay Sapphire. The bitter-er the better. Extra lime please. I think it makes me feel like a flapper in the 20s and I like that feeling right now. What I’m working on: The Masterclass with Aaron Sorkin. It’s an online class. It’s really cool and motivating. I love listening to the way he talks about his writing. Since he comes from an actor/musical theater background like me I feel like I really understand the way he talks about writing. And some things that have always been unclear to me just suddenly make sense.  Also working on a few scripts that I just can’t get around to finishing. I hope that writing more consistently helps me push through. But I’m really not sure-- I feel like I’ve got the yips a little bit. What I’m watching: Not currently binging anything. But been picking up and watching LA to Vegas. It’s a cheese half hour network sitcom--which is so against my vibe lately--but I’m really into it. So I’m going with it. Also if I was still in college I would say that the girl in it is a good type to tell agents of who I am. Old habits die hard. What I’m worrying about: I mean, money always. And buying a car. It’s really weird to like all of a sudden need a car and not know anything about them and not really have talked about them with like coworkers and things for years. It’s gonna be fine I know. But I’m stressing. What I’m listening to: Cardi B’s new album. I listened to Get Up 10 the other day and had a visceral emotional reaction to it. Cardi B got up 10 and I will too. Flip side and flip mood--feeling a lot of Lana Del Rey lately. It’s almost summer--prime Lana time. Plus, every six months or so I really dream about California. I think about LA and the mountains and Disneyland and not wearing winter coats, and it’s the way I cheat on whatever city I’m living in. I love California. Hoping to get out there soon. Ways I’m treating myself: Sunday nights... husband watches Walking Dead, and I take a minute to myself. Right now I’m writing to you. But sometimes I work on other writing stuff. Or do a face mask. Or hopefully I’ll start running again soon. Also, buying a lot of coffee when I really don’t need to. It feels like a small luxury I can afford right now... and that makes me feel good inside. This was a long post, but I wanted to challenge myself to keep writing. Thanks for listening. Thanks for being patient. Thanks for being my friend.

Em

#Hello Let's Try This #helloletstrythis #blog #feminism #women who write #ladies who write #funny ladies #writing #creative writing #story telling #our town #millenials who write #writers block #free write #lana del rey #living in the moment #stories #beautiful women #strong women #ladies #girl power #Cardi B #playwrights #screenwriters #nyc #life in nyc #pittsburgh #burgh