#Based on that one scene from The Simpsons

[littleneko2296]

Wouldn't be the last time Bowser cut his brother's hair like that.

Morton Koopa Sr. (c) Dannywaving (from YouTube and DeviantArt)

[callsign-dexter]

Knight in a Hawaiian Shirt (18+)

Request: Ok, I saw Top Gun Maverick again what feels like the 100th time, and I still love it so much ! It gets me goosebumps during so many scenes !

So I was wondering if you'd consider a Bradley Bradshaw imagine where he lays his eyes on a girl at the Hard Deck, who currently has a nasty conversation with a weird guy and Bradley notices how uncomfortable she feels, so as the gentlemen he is, he saves the girl, acting like her boyfriend and she's more than happy about that. After that they meet up regularly and she even stays over at his apartment from time to time (just cuddling) and one night as he holds her close, whispers in her ear that he loves her and thinks he's asleep, but you hear him, kiss him and if you like some smut, but if not, then just even more cuddles 😊

Pairings: Bradley Bradshaw x Reader

Warnings: angst, fluff, smut

Masterlist

A/N: @gunsandguardians and @imagine-all-the-fandoms prepare yourselves for some Bradley Bradshaw smut!

Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw was having a day, no scratch that, Bradley was having a rough week. His jet had several malfunctions, he had meetings non-stop, Beau ‘Cyclone’ Simpson was breathing down his neck to get certain numbers and data, and to top it all off he and the rest of The Daggers took on a teaching position and the new Top Gun cadets were putting them through the ringer. He had to teach a multitude of young versions of Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell and Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin. Also, all the females in the class were flirting with him and it was making his jaw tick and teeth clench. It was Friday which meant that it was time to let the load off and relax. Everyone had decided to go to The Hard Deck and he agreed very quickly and now he was leaning against the wall on his fourth beer of the night and he could practically feel the tension melt away. He had showered at the base getting rid of the smell of jet fuel and had changed into his typical Hawaiian shirt, white undershirt, jeans, and shoes. “What a day.” Jake said coming up to him, usually he was cocky and could match the energy but even he was admitting it was a tough day. After the mission the tension seemed to die down between them and they actually became friends.

“Day? What a week.” Bradley said, taking a drink and Jake nodded.

“You got that right.” Jake said 

“Bagman get over here so I can beat your ass at pool.” The voice of none other than Natasha 'Phoenix’ Trace said.

“You’re going down.” Jake said and started to walk over to her after patting Bradley on the shoulder. As the atmosphere around him grew into the usual Friday night crowd. He was tending to blend in with the crowd not looking to hook with anyone but that doesn’t mean he could still look around. 

“Hey.” Robert ‘Bob’ Floyd said to him and he was turning to look at him.

“You just got in here?” Bradley asked and Bob nodded.

“Yea, I needed to talk to Maverick and Cyclone about taking maternity leave.” Bob said he was married to his high school sweetheart and they were expecting a little boy. Finding out he was married shocked everyone.

“How is Marie and the baby doing?” Bradley asked

“She’s doing well. Ready to be done with the pregnancy especially since it has been so hot. Baby is healthy and stirring up trouble. I won’t be staying long.” Bob said

“Good. Yea I might not be staying long either. It’s been a tough week.” Bradley said and Bob nodded. Bob was then being pulled away by Phoenix which once again left Bradley alone. Throughout the night everyone had come up and talked to him and he mingled around. Currently everyone was crowded around the pool table and dart board. As they talked and mingled with each other and other patrons in the bar. At some point Natasha came over and started talking to him about a show that they were both watching. As he listened and gave input a distressed female voice, yours, and a very drunk voice came to his ears and he looked over in that direction. 

When he looked over, he was quickly breath taken at how beautiful you were. He wondered if his father, Nick ‘Goose’ Bradshaw, felt about his mother, Carole Bradshaw. As he was admiring you the more of the conversation he heard and the more he concentrated on your body language and face. He could see how uncomfortable he was. Being the gentleman, he was raised to be he wasn't going to stand for a female to be harassed and was surprised he hadn't had the bell rang or thrown out but after seeing the crowd in the bar he understood it would be hard to keep up. “Are you even listening?” She asked, snapping her fingers in front of his face and he turned to look at her.

“No sorry.” He said and she looked to where he was looking at.

“She's cute but I don't like how close that man is. She's very uncomfortable.” Natasha said and he nodded.

“I'm going to go do something about it.” He said and she smiled.

“Go be her knight in a Hawaiian shirt.” She said, pushing him. 

“I plan on it. I'll talk to you later.” He said and she nodded and he began his walk over to you. As he got closer the better, he could hear and it made his blood boil.

“How about me and you go back to my place and we can have some fun.” The man smirked.

“I'm not interested. Leave me alone, please.” You asked, trying to look for an escape.

“Oh, come on. I'm a lot of fun I promise. I can leave you satisfied.” He said

“I told you I'm not interested. I need to get back to my friends.” You said 

“I think they'll understand.” He said as he touched your arm and you flinched and was about to say something when Bradley beat you to it.

“They you are, Babe. I've been looking everywhere for you.” Bradley said and both you and the man looked up at him as he slung and arm around your shoulders.

To be honest you didn't want to come out tonight but it was your best friend’s, Shiloh, birthday and he wanted to go bar hopping. He begged you and after so long you finally agreed so you, him, his fiancé, Blake, and 3 other friends, Makayla, Rebecca, and Ruby, went on a bar hopping spree. As the night grew and you had been to several bars you actually started to ease into it and have fun. After visiting 3 other bars, you had barely drunk anything, so he decided to go to a cute little bar on the beach. He had about it and talked highly of it and what really sold you was the fact that it was a Navy bar, something about men in uniform did something to you. You had just arrived and had made your way over to a table and looked around. “This is cute.” Shiloh said, looking around.

“It is! Oh look, men in uniform!” Rebecca said practically squealing. 

“Would you keep it down? You'll get their attention.” Makayla said blushing but she couldn't deny that they were all good looking. You scanned the group but one caught your eye. He had a mustache and was in a Hawaiian shirt instead of the Khaki uniform. As you stared and daydreamed Blake spoke up. 

“I'm getting drinks. Everyone want something?” Blake asked

“Yes!” The group said and you nodded. Everyone told him what they wanted and he was off. It wasn't a few minutes later and he was coming back with drinks in hand. As the night went on you engaged with the group topic at hand and your attention forgot all about the man in a Hawaiian shirt. 

The 6 of you stayed longer at this bar, which you learned was named The Hard Deck, then any of the others but you weren't complaining. As the night went on you needed to use the bathroom so you nudged the closest person to you which happened to be Blake. “Hey I'm going to the bathroom; I'll be right back.” You said and he smiled and nodded.

“We'll be here.” He said and you chuckled and then left. You squeezed your way through and to the bathroom. You got in and to a stall and quickly did your business. Once you were done you walked out and washed your hands and headed out. You didn't get far from the bathroom before some sleazy drunk man was trapping you. 

“Hey beautiful lady.” He said and the stench of alcohol hit your nose and made it scrunch up.

“Please leave me alone.” You said trying to push past him.

“Oh, come on. I just want to get to know you better.” He said now smiling and it made your stomach flip.

“Please leave me alone. I need to get back to my friends.” You said and then his hand came to touch your arm and you tensed up.

“How about me and you go back to my place and we can have some fun.” The man smirked.

“I'm not interested. Leave me alone, please.” You asked, trying to look for an escape.

“Oh, come on. I'm a lot of fun I promise. I can leave you satisfied.” He said

“I told you I'm not interested. I need to get back to my friends.” You said 

“I think they'll understand.” He said as he touched your arm and you flinched but he wasn't paying attention to it.

“They you are, Babe. I've been looking everywhere for you.” A male voice said and both you and the man looked up at him as he slung and arm around your shoulders. He leaned down to your ear “Just go along with it.” He said and kissed your temple.

“Who the fuck are you?” The drunk man, you didn't even know his name, said.

“I'm her boyfriend. I've been looking for her everywhere. I got out of work late and was late getting here.” He said the tension you had melted away.

“I'm sorry I didn't wait for you. I wanted to get here and get a good table.” You said 

“It's ok, Babe.” He said and then turned towards the man who looked pissed. “I think it's time for you to leave. Leave before I have Penny ring the bell and you have to pay for everyone's round.” He said.

“Fucking bitch.” The drunk man said. 

“Penny!” The mustache man said and Penny looked over “Ring the bell. We have someone being disrespectful to a woman.” He said and she smiled and nodded. The sound of the bell rang and cheers erupted throughout the bar. The drunk man grumbled and walked off.

“Thank you so much.” You said looking up at him while moving to be in front of him and he looked down at you and smiled.

“It was my pleasure. I'm Bradley.” He said 

“I'm Y/N. I'm here with friends that decided to go bar hopping for another's birthday.” You said and Bradley smiled.

“Your group picked a good place to stop. The Hard Deck is a very nice place to be.” Bradley said and you nodded.

“I can agree with that. We've stayed here the longest out of all of them. I can't thank you enough for saving me from that man.” You said 

“I couldn't let a beautiful girl like you be harassed. My mom would beat my ass if I did.” He said and you chuckled. 

“Your Mom sounds like a smart woman.” You said

“She was. I lost her when I was 18.” He said 

“Oh gosh. I'm so sorry.” You said and he smiled. 

“I want to take you out on a date.” He said and you smiled.

“I would like that.” You said pulling out your phone and handing it to him and he was quick to grab his. You put your number in his phone and he put his in yours. 

“Pick you up at 7 tomorrow night?” He asked and you smiled up at him.

“That'll be perfect. I really need to get back to my friends.” You said and he smiled and nodded. 

“Can I walk you over to them? Just so nobody tries anything unwanted.” He asked and you smiled and he was already winning you over.

“I would really like that.” You said 

“Lead the way.” He said and so you did. 

“There you are! We were worried but then I saw you with this hunk of a man,” Shiloh said visibly checking him out but so was Blake “I knew you were good.” He said and you laughed.

“This here is Bradley and he saved me from a drunk man and got Penny to ring the bell on him.” You said

“Well, it's nice to meet the man that saved our girl.” Blake said and you blushed and then introduced everyone to him.

“Nice to meet you all.” He said 

“Yo Bradshaw!” Another male voice yelled and everyone looked over. 

“Now I have to go. I'll pick you up at 7 tomorrow night.” Bradley said the last part was directed at you.

“I'll text you the address.” You said

“Sounds perfect.” He said and then he was leaving as he was back with his group. You turned to yours and everyone was smiling.

“Oh, shut up.” You said and everyone laughed. The rest of the night consisted of you and Bradley sneaking glances at each other and blushing while looking down and smiling, Bradley would throw winks at you occasionally. You couldn't wait until tomorrow night.

The next day you were anxious about your date with Bradley that night. When you had gotten home the night before you sent him a quick text thanking him for saving you and your address. As the day grew on leading up to the night you were trying to figure out what to wear and sending text messages to everyone. 

3 hrs before the date there was a knock on the door and you were quick to go and open it. Behind the door was Blake and Shiloh. “We've come to help.” Blake said.

“I really don't need help.” You said but they looked you up and down and Shiloh pulled a face.

“Oh, Sweetie, you need us.” He said

“Is what I'm wearing that bad?” You asked

“It's not great.” He said as he led you to your closest and sat you down as he started to go through your closet with the occasional ‘no’ ‘definitely not’ ‘why do you still have this?’ you just sat back and smirked and chuckled at your best friend’s tactics. You loved him dearly and trusted him full heartedly. 

“You helped me pick some of this out. Just remember that.” You said and he stopped and looked at you.

“Yes, I remember. Everything is great but not for a first date with a hunk of a handsome man.” He said and you looked over at Blake.

“Do you hear your fiancée?” You asked

“I do and I agree.” He said and your mouth dropped open and you let a little scoff but it was a playful one. 

“Oh, this is perfect!” Shiloh finally said and pulled out a cute shirt that complimented your eyes. He held it up to you and nodded in approval “Yup this is the one.” He said and then handed it to you and then he went to your chest of drawers and started to root around them until he found a nice pair of jeans and then grabbed some comfortable shoes. 

“What would I do without you?” You asked

“Be unfashionable.” He said and you chuckled. You got dressed in your bathroom and then came out and they were both giving their approval. By the time you were done it was 7 and there was a knock on the door. Before you could even get out of the bedroom Blake was rushing to get the door. You could hear them laugh and talk and then you were walking out.

“You look beautiful.” He said 

“Thank you. You look handsome.” You said and he smiled.

“Thank you.” He said 

“Alright you two. Don't stay out too late and don't get into trouble. Call if you need anything.” Shiloh said as he was ushering the two of you out and closing the door behind you both.

“Sorry about them. I wasn't planning on them being there.” You said as you both walked to his Bronco.

“Nonsense. It's nice to have friends like them two.” He said 

“Yea they're pretty great. So, where are we headed?” You asked

“I hope you like Thai food. There is a place that has really good curry and pad thai.” He said 

“Thai food is one of my favorites.” You said as he drove to the restaurant. The car ride was filled with small talk and getting to know each other. When you arrived, he parked and was quick to get out to open your door. “Thank you.” You said.

“Anything for a beautiful woman like you.” He said and you blushed like mad. You both walked in and he gave them his name and you both were quickly being led to a table outside.

“I love the smell of the ocean and the sea breeze.” You said and he smiled.

“I love it too.” He said

“It seems we have a lot in common.” You said and he chuckled and nodded.

“It seems like it.” He said the date went smoothly. You both ordered the same thing and the same drink. You both laughed and shared stories until the restaurant started to close and both of you were forced to leave. “Want to walk the beach?” He asked as the sunset and casted a golden glow over everything and made him look much more attractive.

“I would love to.” You said and so the two of you set out walking the beach. Your pinkies touched each other and danced until your hands were coming to hold each other's. Both of you ended up sitting on the beach watching the waves crash into the beach and the moonlight lit everything up. It was a little chilly and he could tell so he brought you into his side. You laid your head on his shoulder testing the waters and when he brought you closer and didn't push you off you knew it was going to be great. It was getting late and you started to yawn.

“Are you ready to go back?” He asked

“Not really but it's getting late.” You said and he smiled. 

“I would love to continue this on another date.” He said and you smiled looking up at him as he looked down at you.

“I would love that.” You said and he was kissing the top of your head. You both got up and headed to his Bronco. He held your head on the way there and held it when he was driving you home. When you arrived at home, he walked you to your door and waited until you were inside before he left. It was dark when you got in which meant that Shiloh and Blake were gone. You smiled to yourself as you changed into something comfy. When you sat on your couch your phone dinged.

Bradley Bradshaw: Had a great time tonight. Can't wait to do it again.

You smiled and giggled and started to text back.

I had a great time too. How about next Saturday?

You didn't have to wait long before he responded.

Bradley Bradshaw: That sounds perfect.

How about a picnic on the beach at sundown maybe in the back of your Bronco?

Bradley Bradshaw: I would love that. Consider it a date.

You giggled and kicked your feet. You couldn't wait until next Saturday. You texted your friends letting them know you were home and that you had a second date and they all texted back in the group chat almost immediately. You answered and when everything seemed to calm down you put your phone next to you and turned on the TV already thinking about what to make.

Saturday rolled around and you were less nervous about this date then the one before and you had to admit to yourself that you were actually starting to fall in love with the mustached Naval Aviator. He has been the perfect gentleman to you and he considers your feelings when it comes to things. Throughout the week you two have been texting nonstop and some late-night phone calls were thrown in there as well and each time he had you blushing like mad and feeling things that no other man has made you feel. Throughout the week you were thinking of what you should bring on this picnic in the back of his prized Bronco. As the two of you talked and what seemed like 100 questions were asked you had some idea what to pack and a lot of it was your favorite foods. 

As the days rolled on and it was getting closer to Saturday you were beginning to feel nervous and maybe second guessing everything but as you talked with him more and more all of those feelings went away. When Saturday rolled around and he was knocking on your door and you answered it the nerves seemed to have gone away fully especially when you saw him standing there with a bouquet of your favorite flowers and your favorite chocolates that you had gone on about and how hard they both were to find. “Hi.” You said breathlessly and he smiled.

“Hi.” He replied back. “These are for you. I know you said they were both hard to find but when you have the right people and they owe you favors you can get them easily.” He rambled on and you just continued to smile and you leaned up and kissed him to get him to stop, sparks flew and you hoped they flew for him too.

“Thank you so much.” You said when you broke away. Then you realized that it was your first actual kiss that you both shared and he had this stunned look of love on his face and in his eyes. 

“You’re very welcome.” He said breathlessly.

“Let me put these up and the flowers in a vase and grab the basket then we can go.” You said and then turned around and walked into the kitchen and he followed and shut the door behind him. You both agreed that you would be the one to make the picnic basket since you knew more about food and how to cook. He did say he could cook but had no clue on what to include so you said that you would handle and boy was he glad you did. He watched you move effortlessly through the kitchen and grab a vase, fill it with water and then cut the flower’s stems and put them in. When you were done you turned to him “Alright, I’m ready to go. Do you care to grab the basket?” You asked and he smiled.

“I would love to do anything for you.” He said and you blushed and he smiled as he grabbed the basket and the both of you headed out of your house making sure to lock it and to his Bronco. He carefully put the basket in the back and opened the door for you and then got into the driver’s side and headed off to the secluded spot on the beach that he loved to go to when he needed to get away. 

“So where are we going?” You asked

“It's a secluded area of the beach that I go to when I need to get away. It’s so peaceful and the sunset is breathtaking.” He said and you smiled already knowing that you’re going to love it. As he drove, music played softly and you both were getting to know each other more. 10 minutes later he was pulling into the spot and then he turned around and backed the Bronco up so you both could sit on the tailgate or in the back like you both planned on it. He helped you up into the back and you got comfortable and then he was falling right behind you. You opened the basket and the both of you got what you wanted out and the date started, well it started when he picked you up but it really started when the sun began to set. You snuggled into him and he embraced it. The date went smoothly and you both were having a great time. The waves crashing against the rocks, the warm sea breeze that was slightly misting, and the music he had softly in the background was making it perfect. You could get used to this.

“This is perfect.” You said and he smiled.

“You’re perfect.” He said looking down at you and looked up at him. The sunset was casting a beautiful glow across his skin and it made him that more irresistible. You don’t know how long you stared at each other but you both were slowly leaning into each other until your lips were touching and once again sparks flew. You two only broke apart when air was needed and then you were turning to look out at the sun setting behind the ocean. The date lasted until the food and drinks ran out and the sun fully set. A lot of laughter filled the night and a lot of talking did as well. All too soon you both were cleaning up and getting back in the front and then he was driving you home. 

“I had an amazing night tonight.” You said as he pulled into your driveway and he parked. He turned to you and smiled.

“I had an amazing night too. Hopefully we can continue this.” Bradley said and you smiled and nodded.

“I would love that.” You said and you both were getting out of the Bronco and he grabbed the basket and headed to the house. When you got there you unlocked the front door and turned to him and he leaned down and kissed you and of course you kissed back. His mustache tickled you but it wasn’t uncomfortable when you broke apart. “Good night, Bradley.” You said and he smiled as you took the basket from him.

“Good night, Y/N.” He said and you smiled and turned to open the door and walked in and closed it. He waited until you were in and the door was locked before walking to his Bronco. He got in as his phone dinged. 

Had a great time tonight. Can’t wait to do it again.

Bradley Bradshaw: Name the place and time. 

Yup he was truly a keeper. You couldn’t wait for more dates and adventures with him.

1 month later (4 weeks)

You and Bradley had been dating for a month now and that time had been amazing and he was amazing. You and he had been non-stop talking and you both had been on multiple dates. You both had spent nights with each other but it only consisted of cuddles. Tonight, you both were at his place for date night, he brought up in a simple text one Friday afternoon. He offered to cook you your favorite meal which happened to be steak fettuccine alfredo with garlic bread, it turned out to be his favorite since childhood. You had agreed for you to be over at his place at 6 PM right as soon as you got off from work for the weekend.

6 PM on the dot and you were knocking on the door of his apartment and he was opening the door and the smell of food hit you and your stomach growled. “Someone sounds hungry.” He joked and you grinned bashfully.

“Starving. I didn’t get time to eat lunch today.” You admitted

“Baby, you can’t be doing that yourself.” He said as he started to usher you in and taking your jacket off and taking your purse and putting them away. 

“I didn’t mean to, it just happened. We just got really busy.” You said as he made you sit down on a chair that he pulled out for you.

“Well, it is a good thing that food is ready.” He said as he plated up a plate for you and put garlic bread on the side for you. He brought it over to you and set it down in front of you and then went to the fridge and got your favorite wine cooler and opened it for you and set it down in front of you. The smell of the food hit your nose and your stomach growled once again.

“This smells delicious.” You said as he sat down with his food and choice of drink.

“Eat up. Can’t let my Baby starve to death.” He said and your stomach filled with butterflies as you took your first fork full of the delicious food. He watched you as you took a bite and your eyes closed. You practically moaned at the taste and smiled and took a bite. “How is it?” He asked after he swallowed.

“Delicious.” You said and as you opened your eyes to look at him “You can cook this anytime.” You said and he smiled.

“I plan on it. It’s actually my mom’s recipe and she said it was one of my dad’s favorites.” He said and you smiled at him. You and he had talked about Carole and Goose and from the stories you could tell that they loved each other and they were good people. You had lost your parents at an early age and were raised by your uncle. As the both of you ate supper you both talked about anything that came to your mind and after several plates and your stomachs were full you both moved to the couch leaving the dishes for later. Dessert would be had later both of you being too full of the delicious meal he had cooked up. Work had worn you out that you were close to falling asleep, he had put on the show you both were currently watching together. He had turned you both to where you both were laying down on the couch. “Stay the night?” He asked and you turned to look up at him.

“You want me to?” You answered his question with a question.

“Only if you want to.” He said 

“I would love to.” You said he smiled and kissed you and you kissed back and then you turned to continue watching the show. It was harder and harder to keep your eyes open and you closed them. Bradley felt your body relax further and he cuddled you more. 

“I love you.” He whispered in your ear thinking that you were asleep but you weren’t. You turned in his arms and leaned up and kissed him and he kissed you back. Once air was needed you broke apart and looked at each other.

“I love you too.” You said smiling and he smiled back. This was the first time you both said that you loved each other. You both just stared at each other and then you both were leaning in and kissing each other feverishly. You both sat up and then he picked you up and headed off to the bedroom he gently laid you down and climbed on top of you gently. He kissed you and then he started to your jaw and started to nip you gently and it brought an ache between your legs that needed attention. He kissed and nipped his way down to your neck where you turned your head to give him better access, his mustache tickled you but it wasn’t uncomfortable it just added fuel to the fire. You let out a low moan that you couldn't help and you felt him smirk on your heated skin that was just getting hotter by the second. Bradley came up and you turned your head and looked at him. His eyes held something in them almost like asking if he could continue and you nodded. He slowly took off your shirt and you helped him and now you were in your bra and pants. 

“Tell me if you want to stop.” He said 

“Keep going.” You said and he nodded and continued. He slowly undressed you until you were fully naked in front of him.

“You’re so beautiful.” He said and you blushed as he ran his hands up and down your sides. You made a move to the bottom of his t-shirt and he got the hint and took it off and added it to the pile of your clothes. You couldn’t help but stare and look him up and down, the Navy sure did him good. “You like what you see?” He asked.

“I do but I want to see what you have under those pants.” You said somehow finding the boldness and you could tell he loved that because he started to shed his pants and then his underwear. His cock sprang up and slapped his rock-hard abs. You only became wetter looking at him, he had the full package and you couldn’t believe it was all yours. “Fuck I definitely like what I see.” You said and smirked and then he smirked.

“I like what I see too.” He said looking you up and down. He then suddenly attacked your lips and licked your bottom lip and you parted your lips and your tongues fought for dominance he caressed your body. He brought one hand to the one place you needed him; he ran his hand through your folds and you moaned into his mouth he kept going until he pushed two thick digits into you and a wonderful stretch was welcomed. Bradley fingered fucked you as you both French kissed each other. He was getting you close to coming and he could tell and then he was pulling out of you and he broke the kiss. You were about to say something but he slid into you in one swift motion. 

“Fuck that feels good.” You moaned as he fully bottomed out of you. You were no virgin but it had been awhile since you had sex and each time you were never left satisfied but Bradley was satisfying you and it was only the beginning. 

“Talk about feeling good? You’re gripping me like you were made for me.” He moaned and you looked up into his honey brown eyes that his pupils had pretty much taken over. “You ok if I start moving?” He asked.

“Fuck yes.” You said and smirked and started to thrust his hips into yours and it brought you to seeing stars. “Fuck, Baby. You’re so big. You’re perfect.” You moaned as your hands went to his shoulder blades and gripped, fingernails leaving indents in his skin. He continued to thrust in and out of you making you feel good and in turn you squeezed him and made him moan.

“Keep doing that and I won’t last long.” He said 

“Fucking shit. You’re hitting all the right spots.” You moaned “Go faster.” You said but it sounded more like a demand and he was willing to fill that demand. He started to thrust faster and you started to get closer to that orgasm that was rapidly building. Moans and pants from both of you were filling the room and sweat started to break out on both of your bodies. 

“Fuck, I’m close.” He moaned and that dam was about to break.

“Me too.” You moaned and then he was attacking your lips again and then was kissing and nipping at your jaw again. His mustache scratching you just added to the pleasure and you loved it. You could feel him start to get sloppy and knew he was getting closer. 

“Cum with me.” He said almost demanded as his hand came down to your clit and started to give it attention and in turn it was bringing you closer. It wasn’t long after he nipped your neck and tugged on your clit you were squeezing him and coming on his cock and then he was stilling inside of you and painting your walls white. You both started to come down from your high as he pulled out of you and fell to the side of you. Both of you were sweaty and panting but you both didn’t care as you laid beside each other fucked out in bliss. 

“I love you.” You said and looked over at him and he looked over at you.

“I love you too.” He said and you smiled and kissed him and he kissed you back. He turned down the covers and the two of you crawled under them. He brought you into his chest and cuddled you. You yawned and he chuckled. “Go to sleep. I’ll be here in the morning.” He said and you nodded and slowly closed your eyes and snuggled your head into his chest and fell asleep and once he saw your breath even out and he knew you were truly asleep he allowed himself to fall asleep.  

You knew you had found the one and you had to thank a drunk asshole for that. If he hadn’t tried so hard to get you to go home with him then you wouldn’t have met your amazing boyfriend that had faked being your boyfriend at the beginning. You both loved each other and that is all that mattered. 

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[missmarveledsblog]

Hand on heart (Jake Seresin x Singlemom!Reader ) chapter 8

Summary: Benny meets with Admiral Simpson while Jake and Peach can't stop flirting only for Jake past behaviour to scare her off, jake comes home only to find a new obstacle in his way

Warning : toxic parents , Jake being clueless , insecurities and jealousy , fluffy moment , some angst . slowish burn

previous part

Maybe it was just her body and mind losing it , or the time of life that just… yearning for something . All the excuses , rationalisations that ran through her head than the one fact she was trying to hide . Then looking into her living room , two large tall men entrusted in serving their country are currently sitting with her toddler. She was almost lost between the two men until she would plotter around hand each man a tea cup then take her seat as they enjoyed make believe tea and bluey on the tv . both enthusiastic , complimenting the non existent liquid making the toddler giggle and laugh excitedly . her ovaries ready to explode at such a sweet scene before her snapping sneaky picture especially when belle decided that accessories would be a much better tea experience . her little hand holding out various tiara to her brother and friend both hesitantly placing the plastic on their head.

“ pretty princesses “ y/n fought hard to keep her from breaking out for laughter.

“ I think mommy needs a crow too belle” Benny smirked.

“ Mommy rocks the crown's dearest brother “ she winked, placing the pink tiara on her head only here a knock on her door . the rest of the dagger squad standing there cupcakes in rooster hands. “ We might have to give some of y'all hats” she mused, leaving them confused til they caught sight of the two men , little teacups in hand and silver painted plastic on their heads .

“ good thing i brought cupcakes to this party “ rooster beamed heading into the living room holding the box up in a celebration .

The rest of the day was filled with laughter and joy, something desperately needed til the toddler was falling sleep where she sat, signaling for bedtime, only for her to come back after settling Belle into bed and getting to her sleep but it was a surprise to see hats and crowns still atop of their heads talking about base , training and all it entailed , sharing old stories of the academy . it was hard to take them seriously sometimes. Fanboy had belle's bunny hat barely on his head ,javy had a normal pink beanie with slight relief on his face when belle handed it to him , bob and rooster had neon purple and pink crowns on their heads . Phoenix had a fluffy crown on her head with payback had a pink bear beanie on his head with a printed tiara . a funny sight to see with such a normal conversation with silliness mixed in. yet her eyes forced to look anywhere but the blonde , things in her home being more interesting or the fact every time she did find herself looking at him she almost lost in the sheer presence before snapping out of it.

Jake didn’t think of anything, not the fact that he and his friends looked ridiculous in fact he took it in stride , how his heart warmed up at the toddler giggles and laughter, how he knew once he would go home it wouldn't have that warmth , it wouldn't have them there . He was so focused on how the two that came into his life and made him wish for things he never knew he wanted like them . The way she didn't have that sad , stressed emotions that took hold of her . how she was in a carefree mood . The weight of the world and a past she couldn’t control shifted even if it was just that moment but he loved her , loved her laughter was his favourite sound , the big wide smile was his favourite sight . Anyway, to help her made him the first offer , first to do something simple just to help her that made both Benny and Nat shake their heads with a smile, the obvious signs right in front of both and yet the obvious of the two. how once one looked away the other looked. silent glances , playful touches all signs of returned affection and yet fly over their head, not registering in their heads . even how he lingered longer till he left. back home to his home that now didn’t feel much like home , now he was wondering did it ever feel as such.

Benny knew he needed this , this reassurance one that would tell if it was going to be a good or bad thing . getting the acceptance to transfer to San diego. Main thing was that he wouldn't be locked up , his little sister wasn't going to be hurt. It was no secret due to their parents' lack of care , and lack of parental presence that he and Kai took over that , even with the love and care of their grandparents. They were protective over their baby sister . when they found out she ended up in the mess she ended up with belles dad not her smartest moment but they understood why she did it . But nonetheless they were at her side , sending money home , being there for appointments when they could and when it came to the big thing both pitched in with their grandmother to make sure that Y/n wasn't stressed that time she was still with the stupid man. When she moved back home , when Belle was born they would find a way to be there to help as much as they could for their baby sister. she in turn would do whatever she could to look out for them too . She was dealing with a mess she didn't ask for , another way for their mother to still somehow cause chaos despite not being around in more than a decade . Now here he was making sure that everything could be ok , to get answers they knew they wouldn't get from the incubator of a woman because that's all she was , she was never a mother , never comforting or warm just in her own world . so now here benny was trying to do what the adult in life failed to do so .

“hey , i hope you weren’t waiting long “ he turning to see beau simpson standing almost nervously looking around .

“ nah i just got here please take a seat” benny stood waiting til they both set the waiter cane leaving menus for two men before leaving once more .

“ Hear you are being stationed here , I'm sure you and your wife are excited about it all “ beau eyes barely coming to his .

“ yeah she very happy , she got a teaching job to i meet with realtor tomorrow check out few places while y/n in work and belle in daycare “ he watched the admirals reaction , watched her face fall almost saddened at their name almost guilt ridden . “ have you told your wife about all this”.

“ i have she not happy , thinks i'm an asshole and coward just like everyone else” A dry laugh coming from his mouth as the waiter came back both men ordering lunch filling in small talk while they waited till the food was on the table.

“ why didn’t you do all this back then” Benny finally asked .

“ because i was heart broken and first you mom denied she was mine i was young which was my excuse back then but honestly i was afraid to believe it all , yet part of me stayed in background like subconsciously i knew so i watched her growing up til i was deployed and transferred different post then i was thinking of my career , rising ranks and knowing it was not good to bring a child into the mix that i wouldn't be there for her like i wanted” he sighed knowing it was so stupid now . “ I loved your mom. I wanted to make her mine , marry her take her from all that crap you know when i asked her if there was a chance she told me no , she told me to keep us where it belonged as a memory” he winced .

“ she's incapable of loving anyone , but you still should of stepped up i mean yeah deployments and stuff not easy but y/n had a right to know instead of seeing you as some uncle that left her like all the adults did in our lives , look my mom she good at bending people to her , i don't dispute that you thought you were in love with her but your weren’t kids , you know that you should of been a man , been an adult in this situation” benny kept his voice steady and his fist clenched . tired of the excuse these people used and yet in the same part he understood .

“ i know ok i know i screwed up , you don't think i don’t , it kills me that i failed not only y/n but everyone , i wanna make it right i know i can make it right” beau looked broken , the weight of his own stupidity and guilt evident in the man's voice and he could see that love he woman that used him for her own entertainment .

“ she'll come around , i mean do the dna test confirmed but give her space as strong of a front that girl will give she will rationalise and analyse everything til she will be pissed i mean i ain't too happy with you either but i aint about me, but man to man i will drop you where you stand if you hurt her again” a pure promise in his tone superior or not that was his little sister and nothing was more important than his family not to Benny anyways .

“ I will set it up, I can get it done as soon as she is ready” beau nodded, unable to say more but the fact that a chance couldn't happen well made him warm up inside even if that chance was microscopic it was a chance .

Trying to pretend everything was normal seemed more of a battle than it first appeared . seeing the man that was her father and a confirmation of paper that mav went with her. Then there was the fact of the blonde fellow texan that was making her stomach flutter every time she was in his vicinity. that feeling she failed to see being returned , the way the touches lingered longer , the tone of their conversation , stolen glances when the other was unaware . oblivious to the two and obvious to everyone around . The way this man was able to keep her spirits high , to be there in a time she couldn't have foreseen , even after coming back from the hospital to get her swab done Jake had a coffee and a box of baked goods and a baby chino for Belle . The fact she noticed the car seat in the back of his truck and tilt head , Jake just told her that he got it from a friend so they could carpool like it was the most minor thing. The only thing that held her back was the fact of fear , the fact of Jake's way of life kept rearing its head . When they went to the hard deck she could feel her jealousy rising with every woman that shamelessly flirted or held his attention. She would bite her tongue, remind herself to keep her facial response undercover especially with the smirk on Nat's face then she would find a way to go home .

It wasn’t only the hard deck but unlike the hard deck it wasn't so easy to quell her emotions. at first it was the usual she would play a game or two of dog fight football . then it was to the beach building castles with belle making shapes in the sand til the guys practically took the toddler to splash in the shallow end of the water . watching in admiration snapping pictures til a group of women walked up to the guys that didn't matter , what matter was the women that flirted with jake with belle in his arm , touch him and touching her little girl. it was there and then she felt her stomach twist and sick feeling of her daughter being used in an instrument of their flirtations . not a second though she stormed toward the group before shooting the men holding her arms out only for belle to dive to her.

“ is this your sister” one of the girls giggle .

“ now im her mom , guys if your gonna flirt with bimbo dont use my daughter to do so” she glared before heading up the beach while nat copied.

“ idiots , especially you “ was all she said looking directly at Jake .

“ They wanted to see the baby is all … right” bob asked confused .

“ they wanted to make one” nat rolled her eyes.

“ I wasn't .. i didn’t do anything i wasn't flirting” jake began only to realise what a big mistake he'd made , all the progress to show her he wasn't about that life anymore only to do it in a way that involved her daughter. Each male of the dagger squad stood head bowed down in guilt.

“idiots”nat huffed walking off .

She stood in the carpark feeling stupid , the way she thought , believed it was different ,that it could be different.

“ hey you ok ?” She turned to see jake panting looking at her and belle .

“ I forgot you brought me here” she couldn't look , she felt like a teenager in a sense . shuffling belle on her hip and bags in her hands.

“ You wanna go home? “ stupid answer , knowing she did and the nod of her head to confirm it.

She barely spoke about him and then when he dropped them off she told him thanks and goodbye and went into the house . He for once felt the weight of his past coming hard and fast. He usually never cared for it, even wore it like a badge of honor . Now it stood in the way , it was stopping him from what he really wanted. heading to the door needing to make it right . knocking he stood firm watching the door open and her facing him .

“ Did I forget something?” her head tilted.

“ I'm not that guy anymore , what you saw wasn't that guy , just listen to me please , hear me out” he almost begged standing at her door . He could visibly see her deciding before she stood leaving the door open for him to enter.

“ We can talk when Belle goes down for her nap” was all she said as she got the bottle of milk. nudging him to take a seat while she headed down to the hall . He sat looking around the sense of home once more washing over him like it alway did once he was in this house . Then he heard the door closing gently , her softer footsteps down before she was standing shifting from foot to foot.

“ You wanted to talk?” she finally spoke .

“ I wasn't doing that i would never use belle like that , I would never use belle in away shape or form and i'm so sorry to you to come across away, i stupidly didn’t see it because all i can see now is you and that little girl , i know i said when we first met and the moment those words came out if my mouth well i no longer believed em , all i can think about since that day was you and belle and how my life would be so much better to do what i should of … i need you to know the man i was is no longer that man anymore , jesus christ this has never been so hard “ he sighed looking down at his hands .

“ what you mean “ feeling a need to comfort the man even though another part of her wanted to shield herself. “ look i don't care if you flirt , sleep around that aint my business but when my daughter is in your arms and strange women are touching her to get to you , that when it a problem so in future least call me or wait til i have her out of that situation, i don't know what y'all were even thinking “ .

“ I didn't notice them flirting , can't you hear me ?” his voice cracked slightly. “ I don't see them , I used shit i used to be able to spot it. Hell, I was better at that then breathing itself and then you come into my life and it like I can't see anything but you “ he stood .

“ Jake … what?” her mouth falling over and trying to digest the words he's speaking. the realisation of everything washing over her and filling her senses . but it wasn't that easy , it wasn't just to throw herself into his arms no she had to think about it all , there was everything else after the fact . there was work and more importantly enough belle . if she and jake did give in and it ended badly she would have to work around the man daily , her new friends and then belle would lose out on someone she'd grown towards .

“ y/n ?”

“ i need to think this over , before anything I need time to think” was all she could say . it's not like he didn't understand that .

“ take all time you need” he smiled sadly . “ i better go” .

“ i just need to think ok” she smiled weakly .

“ whatever you decide i will be right here no matter what “ he hugged her before heading out the door , to his truck and home but this wasn't home and he hated that .

two days since that day , that day she told him she needed to think it over , it wasn't like thing changed between them but it still didn't feel the same . during work the banter effortlessly flowed and it still feel strained. coming back to his apartment ready to have a hot shower let the day melt away picking up his mail freezing in his spot . He'd seen enough of them to know what it was . the only reason he was opening it was to see the duration , that part was when he saw that it was for three months that when he felt the reality in it all. the knock on his door made him snap back to earth opening it to see y/n standing her eyes looking at him , then the piece of paper in his hand .

“ how long?”

“ three months … what going on ? , is belle ok , you ok ?” .

“she fine nat and turkey boy are bring her to get fries, was wondering if you wanted to help me out ?” a lie , clear day in her words but the words that she did want to say died when she looked at the reality of life just from a scrap of paper , maybe it was better to just be friends after all .

" of course what friends do right" almost saddness in his tone and confirmation of what he was fearing .

" exactly what friends do"

next part

Taglist : @zara-aliza08 @stoneyggirl2 @lyn-js @emma8895eb

thank you reading , let me know if you would like to be added to taglist ♥️

[ckret2]

How do you (personally) rank the validity of different canon sources?

Ex. Show, Books, Livestreams, Panels, Deleted Scenes ect.

Disclaimer ahead of time that this is solely for my own personal canon-compliant fic writing purposes and I don't expect anyone else to follow this or even think they're obligated to write canon compliantly

Tier one: the show is more canon than the books, but only 1% more canon. In defiance of Alex's decree, I do treat Little Gift Shop of Horrors as canon.

Tier two: everything in the books (plus the books' tie-in websites, like Shmeb-You-Unlocked or TINAWDC) is canon UNLESS it's contradicted in the show. If there's a contradiction, usually the show wins, but it has to be decided on a case-by-case basis. Sometimes contradicting book info take precedence over show info if the book's info is better. The best outcome is when the info can be smoothly synthesized. (Note that having to weigh a book against the show only applies to CONTRADICTIONS; if the book just ADDS ONTO our knowledge of the show in a way that doesn't actually contradict it, it's automatically canon.)

Also in defiance of Alex, I consider Time Pirates' Treasure wholly canon, with the "official" timeline being one of the ones where they get the treasure and all of the other choose-your-own-adventure branches being things that happened in neighboring parallel timelines.

Out of the books, Journal 3, TBOB (+TINAWDC), and Lost Legends (+Shmeb-You-Unlocked) are the most canon. TBOB takes precedence over Journal 3 on matters where TBOB's lore is clearly intended as an upgrade on prior ideas (ex: the shaman's portal and the pyramids). Dipper & Mabel's Guide, Time Pirates' Treasure (+ the Axolotl page), and Don't Color This Book are secondarily canon. Lazy screenshot-based novelizations of existing episodes are whatever.

I choose to selectively semi-reject some of the skeevier conspiracy theory claims in the books as "Bill's lying about these": outside of those exceptions, going "there's no evidence Bill's lying about this part but I've decided that he is just because I don't like it" is the coward's way and dishonorable.

Info in the Bill Cipher AMA is third tier canon, since it was written in-character and comes directly from Alex. (Some quotes from the AMA were recycled directly into TBOB + TINAWDC.) Gus Burnside's twitter account is also third tier.

For the first three tiers, all info is canon unless something in a higher tier contradicts it.

The Cipher Hunt is 3.5th tier.

All out-of-universe materials—livestreams, panels, interviews, DVD commentary, tweets, doodles & concept art, etc—are fourth tier. If it's contradicted by anything in the higher tiers, they take precedence; but, for lack of a conflict, out-of-universe materials fill in the gaps. But the person involved matters: show writers' statements on the characters are more canon than voice actors' statements. If fourth-tier materials contradict each other, the newer one takes precedence. Fourth-tier materials can be selectively ignored if so desired, but better to find a way to twist them to make them work.

The Gnome Gemulets game is fifth tier; all the lore from it is canon, but the events may or may not have actually happened, or else only loosely happened like that. Gnome Gemulets may occasionally rank higher than the out-of-universe materials.

Disney.com flash games and the like are semi-canon; you CAN take lore and details from them if you want but the events probably didn't literally happen unless you really want to make it work. Okay to imagine that events happened that were loosely inspired by the games.

Deleted scenes and cameos (ex: Bill in the Simpsons) are semi-semi canon. They probably didn't happen, especially if it contradicts canon; but you can freely take ideas and vibes from them and use them as examples of the kinds of things that could happen (ex: Bill would try to con people into buying crypto just for the heck of it).

Unwritten episodes are semi-semi-semi canon: they definitely didn't happen, but by god, you could MAKE them happen.

The How Not To Draw Grunkle Stan short is as yet unknown. Under normal conditions it ought to be semi-semi canon, but since TINAWDC did some stuff with the Henchmaniacs escaping to reality shortly before this clip came out about Bill escaping to reality, there's a slim possibility this is part of a budding storyline about Bill & the gang in the real world, so I'm reserving judgment for now.

[smallishzine]

very important official zine stuff for real this time guys please spread this around

we realized we haven’t asked you what you want this zine to be, so here is poll with some different options for things we could do, but this still won’t set things in stone cause we’re aware that we’re working with a relatively small albeit amazing awesome and extremely appreciated audience, but it’ll give us a good idea for what direction you want the zine to go in.

some examples of what we mean for added coherence, please read before voting unless you wanna be like that guy in the Simpsons movie:

an eras tour zine (yes this is a Taylor swift joke shut up if you’re judging us you’re wrong) would be like different pieces dedicated to each, for lack of a better word, “thing” that Joel has done. @/inthelittlezine is a great example of this concept, except the mod has far better organizational skills than we ever could hope to

tourism brochure would be like we pick a specific thing Joel, such as esmp 1 or 2, or x life, or one of his hardcore/survival worlds (I haven’t listed Hermitcraft season 10 cause that’s still in progress but if you guys really really wanna, that too), and make an in universe guide to it expanding upon the lore and characters and builds and stuff. @/scarland-artbook is an amazing example of this, though of course we would be a much smaller scale of a project.

do you wanna tell a story? Or ride our bikes around the halls? We can’t help with the second one, we’re not very sporty people, but this option is both the most difficult and dangerous to the success of the zine, and the one that intrigues me specifically the most. Like, guys, I know I’m polling this, but I’m secretly hoping that this one wins. Like all the hoping. Ever. But I’m not gonna just say yeah let’s do this because if like only three people also wanna this zine will never get made and I will be really, really sad. This option is basically do we wanna take something Joel has done and work together to create an original universe/story based off of it, each contributing a small part of the story in comic or writing form. Unless you’ve been living under a rock and/or this post broke containment sorry if it did I assure I’m usually mostly sane, you probably know where I’m shamelessly stealing taking inspiration from. We heart you @/hotguycomiczine. If we went with this we would obviously create our own universe and storyline, and we’d try to base it off of one of Joel’s characters if possible. Also, if we went with this, we’d start the mod and application process and stuff and once we knew everyone who was going to be in the zine then we’d all get together and start working on the story, and this is the part I’m worried about because if we’re all stumped then I guess the zine is out of luck and I’d be sad. Also even if we did do this, like preemptively temper your expectations I am no where near as good as the legends at hotguycomiczine at organization and promotion and story writing and all that good stuff. However, if you have an idea for a story and want to share, send us an ask cause we might just end up using it.

I think the last two are mostly self explanatory.

please reblog for reach.

[attemptsonherlifepdf]

a streetcar named marge: a character study of marge simpson through the lens of tennessee williams

trigger warning for brief but not graphic mentions of assault & abusive behaviour throughout

wacky, absurd comedy ‘the simpsons’ has been airing since 1989 and remains an integral part of the pop culture ecosystem. its self-referential humour and parody structure work in conjunction with one another to effectively satirise the lives of lower-middle class america. set in the town of springfield, that shares its name with approximately thirty other towns across the states, the simpsons strikes the balance between relatable and outright absurd that keeps the show entertaining. the show slots neatly into the cultural zeitgeist of the 1990s and 2000s, and has constructed spoof after spoof of the significant political, social and pop culture moments of each season’s respective time period. most notably, the second episode of the fourth season titled ‘a streetcar named marge’ draws on tennessee williams’ ‘a streetcar named desire’, using the histrionic character of blanche dubois to create commentary on marge’s role in her relationship with her husband, homer. the episode’s main plot follows marge auditioning for and starring as blanche in springfield’s local production of ‘a streetcar named desire’ and depicts parallels between blanche and marge’s romantic lives. homer is likened to stanley kowalski, famously portrayed by marlon brando in the 1951 film adaptation of the play; a brutish, loud ‘uncouth lout’ who dominates both his wife and delicate sister-in-law. the core themes this comparison explores include the notion of animalised masculinity, marge’s passiveness and invisibility, and the idea that the character of blanche is used as a vehicle for marge’s unexpressed feelings regarding her husband.

williams’ descriptions of stanley throughout the play draw on a notion of animal masculinity; stanley is described upon his introduction to the audience as having ‘animal joy his being [which] is implicit in all his movements & attitudes…his heartiness with men, his appreciation of rough humour, his love of good drink and food and games…’ this description paired with blanche’s comment that he is ‘a little bit on the primitive side’ demonstrates the beginnings of a semantic field of animalism, characterising stanley’s masculinity as almost being below humanity, simply base and primal in comparison to his more humanised counterparts such as mitch and steve. we can also see these traits, particularly ‘rough humour…love of good drink and food’ echoed in homer simpson’s characteristic obsessions with food and beer that are consistent throughout the entire shows run so far. similarly, ‘a streetcar named marge’ has lewellyn sinclair, the director of springfield’s ‘a streetcar named desire’ production, aim to depict that ‘blanche…is a delicate flower being trampled by an uncouth lout-’. additionally, lewellyn gives ned flanders (who plays stanley) the direction that he is ‘pulsing with animal lust’, again referencing williams’ construction of animal masculinity that encourages the audience to view stanley’s desire as less than human.

to add to this semantic field that both the original play and simpsons episode share, ‘a streetcar named marge’ recreates the infamous ‘stella!’ scene wherein stanley screams his wife stella’s name from below her balcony in a desperate attempt to win her back after physically assaulting her. the simpsons replaces the original incident of domestic abuse with an example of homer’s weaponised incompetence instead, where he fails to pull the lid off his can of pudding in marge’s absence as she rehearses next door with flanders: ‘[screeches] oh no! …so i can open my own can of pudding, can i? shows what you know, marge.’ he then shouts ‘marge! hey marge!’ in the garden while marge looks on from flanders’ bedroom window, referencing stanley screaming for stella below her balcony. marge comments dryly, ‘keep yelling, you big ape.’ the use of the insult ‘ape’ serves to contribute further to the characterisation of homer / stanley as animalistic and dehumanised. both the simpsons and williams animalise masculinity to demonstrate the danger of it, presenting it as uncontrolled and wild in comparison to the average male. in this moment, the simpsons subverts the narrative of the original play. in williams’ original, stanley’s screams draw stella downstairs to him and they embrace as she ‘forgives’ his abuse. in the simpsons’ version, marge instead responds with contempt for her husband and appears disgusted and unforgiving. in the wider context of the show, marge is largely portrayed as a very passive housewife character, including in this episode. in the opening scene of this episode, the following exchange takes place:

HOMER

and where exactly are you going?

MARGE

i’m auditioning for a play.

HOMER

well, this is the first i’ve heard about it.

MARGE

i’ve told you several times. it’s a musical version of a streetcar na-

HOMER

excuse me, marge! i think if you told me, i would remember. i mean, i’m not an idiot!

MARGE

hm. well, i-i thought i told you. i’m sorry honey.

HOMER

it’s okay. we’re none of us perfect.

the audience is shown marge informing homer of the play multiple times before this exchange, to which he repeatedly and absentmindedly replies ‘sounds interesting.’ despite being in the right, marge timidly apologises to homer and accepts blame she does not deserve. this interaction contrasted with her later contempt for him demonstrates how the role of blanche has encouraged marge to see her husband’s flaws rather than ignoring or tolerating them as she usually does. additionally, marge’s initially failed audition again presents her as passive and defeated by her husband’s lack of support. lewellyn witnesses marge’s phone call to homer and recognises blanche’s delicateness and defeat in her:

MARGE 

(into the phone)

homie, i didn’t get the part. you were right. outside interests are stupid.

LEWELLYN

wait a minute.

MARGE

(into the phone)

[groans] i’ll come home right away. alright, i'll pick up a bucket of fried chicken, extra skin…rolls, chocolate cream parfait-

LEWELLYN

[snatches phone from marge]

stop bothering my blanche!

marge’s admission, ‘you were right. outside interests are stupid’, shows her beaten down by homer’s lack of support for her interests and suggests that she was ‘stupid’ for branching out outside of her duties as a parent and housewife. this echoes blanche’s eventual exhaustion and ‘defeat’ after stanley’s aggressive, dismissive and abusive treatment of her.

marge’s attitude towards abusive behaviour in general is notably submissive: when rehearing the scene where blanche breaks a bottle in order to attack stanley and defend herself, she struggles to get into character and gives a lacklustre performance. lewellyn encourages her, ‘passion, mrs simpsons, this man disgusts you.’ in a later rehearsal a few scenes later, marge argues, ‘i just don’t see why blanche should shove a broken bottle in stanley’s face. couldn’t she just take his abuse with gentle good humour?...i just don’t see what’s so bad about stanley.’ this is a clear reference to her relationship with homer, wherein she has consistently, throughout the show so far, responded to his boorish behaviour with passive disapproval, attempting to make light of the ridiculous or unkind situations that homer creates with his behaviour. lewellyn retorts with ‘stanley is thoughtless, violent and loud. marge, every second you spend with this man…he is crushing your fragile spirit.’ lewellyn’s description of stanley is interposed with homer’s comedic but frustrating attempts to use a vending machine wherein he screams and charges at the machine, and proceeds to honk repeatedly at marge from the car to rush her into leaving. this pushes marge to a breakthrough where she suddenly becomes genuinely angry at ‘stanley’ / homer, directing that fury at her stanley (flanders), who’s face morphs into homer’s:

[car horn honking]

HOMER

marge, move it or lose it!

MARGE

[lunging at flanders]

♪ i'll twist this bottle in your face ♪

LEWELLYN

hallelujah! i’ve done it again!

ned, you’re supposed to overpower her.

FLANDERS

[straining]

i’m trying, im trying!

this scene exemplifies the extent to which marge is usually subdued and quiet, by creating a stark contrast with the outburst she has here. lewlleyn’s reminder that blanche is ‘disgusted’ by stanley is reminiscent of marge’s very real but very repressed disgust at her husband. marge’s demeanour in the episodes leading up to ‘a streetcar named marge’ is largely resigned to homer’s typically thoughtless behaviour. comparing her usual quiet disapproval with her strong reaction to homer in this scene demonstrates the extent to which she usually fits the descriptions of blanche so far in the episode - that of a ‘delicate flower’ with a ‘fragile spirit.’ these comments on blanche’s character oppose those of stanley and paint the two as contradictory. stanley is a brutish ape whilst blanche is the flimsy rag doll in his grip. ‘a streetcar named marge’ relies upon this contrast to illustrate that marge and homer’s relationship is dominated by homer’s careless masculinity which serves to leave marge feeling resigned, defeated and unheard. however, while blanche becomes weaker over the course of the play and becomes less like herself due to stanley’s behaviour towards her, marge also becomes less like her usual self due to homer but becomes stronger and more assertive instead. the character of blanche serves as a vehicle for marge’s repressed resentments and frustrations and facilitates both her and homer’s understanding of their relationship.

homer’s eventual understanding of marge is illustrated by the final scene of the episode; homer congratulates marge on her performance as blanche and explains, ‘it really got to me how…blanche was sad, and how that guy stanley should have been nice to her…the poor thing ends up being hauled to the nuthouse…when all she needed was for that big slob to show her some respect.’ marge’s demeanour shifts and she reacts with ‘...homer, you got it just right.’ homer muses, ‘hey, you know, i’m a lot like that guy…like when i pick my teeth with the mail and stuff.’ the classic structure of a sitcom like the simpsons requires that things are resolved or return to the status quo by the end of each episode, and while marge and homer’s relationship becomes peaceful once again due to homer’s realisation, it is not necessarily returning to its previous state; if it did, their relationship would be strained due to homer’s lack of consideration for marge’s feelings. instead, marge finally feels seen. marge is understood and has asserted herself. as is suggested by the play’s title, ‘a streetcar named desire’ has desire itself as its core and central theme. the audience are shown stanley’s desire for sex and power, blanche’s desire for validation of her beauty, stella’s desire to have stanley’s baby. these desires are what drive the plot of the play and motivate each character to act in ways that push their desires into being realised. similarly, in ‘a streetcar named marge’, the audience are shown homer’s desire for food, drink and so on but more significantly, marge’s inherent desire to be seen. she makes repeated attempts for her family, particularly her husband, to notice her and take an interest in her endeavours which is consistently ignored until the end of the episode. the opening scene exemplifies this:

MARGE

i haven’t been in a play since high school…and i thought it would be a good chance to meet some other adults.

HOMER

(not looking away from the television)

sounds interesting.

MARGE

you know, i spend all day alone with maggie…and sometimes it’s like i don’t even exist.

HOMER

(still looking at the television)

sounds interesting.

marge’s invisibility within her family and within the wider context of springfield is interestingly addressed in raphael bob-waksberg’s fifteen-tweet poem entitled ‘does marge have friends?’ the poem explores marge’s role in the show via the lens of her relations to other people, e.g ‘who are marge’s friends? is helen lovejoy a friend? sarah wiggum? agnes skinner?’ the third stanza questions ‘who tells marge to leave the brute, knowing she won’t? ‘you don’t have to stay. you deserve so much more.’’ the use of ‘brute’ to describe homer is a sentiment that ‘a streetcar named marge’ hones in on, and is a descriptor that we can again see paralleled with the original ‘a streetcar named desire.’ as previously explored, stanley is described as ‘primitive’, a familiar adjective in the context of homer. additionally, bob-waksberg uses a hypothetical voice to tell marge ‘you deserve so much more’ to illustrate that there is no real friend in marge’s life to tell her this themselves. in williams’ original play, blanche’s isolation is also addressed and it is shown to make her an easier victim for stanley’s abuse; eunice reassures stella in the final act ‘she couldn’t stay here; there wasn’t no other place for her to go.’ blanche is alone aside from stella, who has her institutionalised, and this makes her all the more vulnerable as she has nobody to tell her not to accept abuse. this is another way in which ‘a streetcar named marge’ subverts source of its parody; where blanche is abandoned and becomes weak and ‘mad’ from stanley’s abusive behaviour, marge is empowered by the character of blanche and experiences the opposite of abandonment - she is finally seen and acknowledged. 

‘does marge have friends’ also touches on another moment where marge can be likened to blanche in a more roundabout way. as a succinct character study of marge, the poem alludes to her relationship with maude flanders. stanzas six to ten speculate on the nature of their relationship, asking ‘does she [marge] see in her late neighbour a cautionary tale? seldom-remembered, semi-anonymous maude - could this fate too befall marge?’ this is vaguely reminiscent of blanche’s relationship with stella in the sense that marge mourns maude and blanche mourns stella and while their respective reasonings are different, the central theme here is the mourning of a fellow woman for her ‘smallness.’ while marge mourns maude’s invisibility and sees the same in herself, blanche mourns stella for being dominated by stanley, a ‘common…animal’ and mourns stella’s insistence on forgiving his abusive behaviour as she does in the infamous ‘stella!’ scene. blanche says to her ‘you go out with a man like that once, twice, three times when the devil is in you, but to live with and to have a child by? well then i tremble for you…’ to blanche, stella is a cautionary tale of the consequences of accepting abusive behaviour from a ‘rough’ man, and as bob-waksberg puts it, ‘could this fate too befall’ blanche? it can and it does, as she concludes the play having been assaulted by stanley herself. it can be argued that blanche’s mourning of stella matches the way a hypothetical friend would mourn marge’s relationship with homer, worrying about her wellbeing in the face of his carelessness and strong personality. furthermore, bob-waksberg describes a hypothetical scenario between marge and maude that echoes blanche’s encounter with the local paperboy: ‘perhaps, once at a summer barbecue, when both were still alive, maude grabbed marge's hand under the table and held tight. what prompted this sudden connection, this sudden expression of— what was it, warmth? the two weren't close— acquaintances, sure, had they ever even hugged? and yet here they were, holding hands, silently, secretly, while their children shrieked and their husbands grilled the hot dogs.’ this moment depicted in the poem is soft, mundane and warm. in ‘a streetcar named desire’, scene five demonstrates these same themes, wherein blanche says to the paperboy ‘i want to kiss you - just once - softly and sweetly on your mouth.’ the direction then follows, ‘[without waiting for him to accept, she crosses quickly to him and presses her lips to his.]’ this exchange shows blanche seeking the same ‘sudden expression of…warmth’ that bob-waksberg discusses, echoing the same principle that in this interaction, ‘the two weren’t close.’ it must, however, be acknowledged that blanche’s advances on the young paperboy, while seeking warmth, were arguably predatory where marge and maude’s interaction is less romantically charged and more platonic and equal.

the final parallel to be noted between ‘a streetcar named marge’ and ‘does marge have friends?’ lies in the final five stanzas of the poem. bob-waksberg describes marge in her garden on a sleepless night, encountering maude over the fence: ‘maude, pale as a sheet, her eyes wet with tears.’ she goes on to say to marge ‘it’s not the calm before the storm that frightens me, it’s the calm that follows.’ this is evocative of blanche’s rise and fall through the play; the ‘storm’ in question being the assault carried out by stanley and the ‘calm that follows’ being her subdued but also hysterical, dreamlike-state in reaction to the assault that results in her being institutionalised. ‘a streetcar named marge’ depicts this ‘descent into madness’ by having marge / blanche fly around the stage on a harness with flashing lights and a smoke machine in the background, in typical overexaggerated simpsons fashion.

at its core, the simpsons is about dysfunctional american families. homer is both a ridiculous and exaggerated buffoon character but circumstantially lives the life of the average working class / lower middle class american man that stanley kowalski also lives. while homer’s unsupportive behaviour towards marge is often played off humorously throughout the show’s run, ‘a streetcar named marge’ uses the intensity of williams’ play to construct a legitimate criticism of homer’s actions and a commentary on marge’s invisibility, unexpressed resentments and her experiences of marital dysfunction. as the title suggests, ‘desire’ itself is at the core of both williams’ play and the simpsons episode based upon it, and marge’s inherently repressed desire to be seen and appreciated is finally realised via the adoption and subversion of williams’ classic play and its connotations regarding the transfer of power between characters. marge is finally seen by homer, and she no longer has to depend on the kindness of strangers.

[new-employeeamillion]

April has already had a ton of animation/pop culture news that some of you might want to know my thoughts on. So here’s my 2 cents on all the announcements that matter to me.

-New Warner Bros. movies

I still don’t know if this is an April Fools joke. Announcing 3 new animated movies, each based on a classic IP (Looney Tunes, Tom & Jerry and The Flintstones) seems too good to be true. But after selling 2 Looney Tunes movies to a tiny distributor (Ketchup), I can see what they’e trying to do. They know animated movies drum up a lot of attention online these days, even the ones that can’t make much money. It’s sad that it’s reached a point where making movies and releasing them is the bare minimum for good publicity, but I’m going to support the hell out of these movies as they approach their release dates.

All these franchises have had fully animated theatrical movies now, but I can only wonder what the next step will be. I do hope The Day the Earth Blew Up gets a follow-up, because that’s the most fun I’ve had with a movie in a theatre in a long time. With the Flintstones movie, all I can imagine is the tape message scene from The Simpsons Movie but with Fred and Wilma. I don’t know why, but that’s where my imagination goes. Perhaps it won’t be that deep though. Speaking of which…

-The Simpsons is renewed through to Season 40

It’s a year with a number in it and The Simpsons is still on TV. I don’t think FOX has ever renewed 4 new seasons at once, they usually just give it an extra 2 every 2 years. I can’t say I’m the most excited guy in the room, because I don’t want to predict what the next cast/crew loss will be and how that’ll leave the show getting even more distant from its roots. Like I know they’re keeping it on as long as possible for the meme, and I am morbidly curious to see how long, but the future has never looked less assured. I have been catching up on the Matt Selman seasons, and they can be enjoyable, but it’ll take a miracle to keep that level of quality up for the rest of the decade.

I guess the miracle comes from the shorter seasons they’ve got now. They’ve been airing 18 annually on FOX recently, with 4 being turned into specials on Disney+. Now the FOX episode count has been cut down to 15 annually. Maybe they’re finally learning to strike a quality over quantity balance, maybe the budget is getting lower, or maybe the show has so many episodes now that an 850th won’t spark much anticipation. Either way, I’ve got mixed hopes.

-South Park’s 27th season

They’ve apparently fully planned it out ahead of time this year, taking influence from news stories that you can bet your bottom dollar will be irrelevant when it drops on July 9th. I’m still interested to see what South Park does next as well, but it hardly feels like it’s still running anymore. I know Trey and Matt have been embroiled in legal battles, and they’ve been busy on other projects (again again). But the fact they’re breaking code and planning stories months in advance will definitely lead to interesting results. Maybe not great, certainly not Season 5-8 great, but who knows?

-Doctor Who’s doing an episode about cartoons

We’re going back to the Land of Fiction with this one. This rubberhose guy might make the rounds on animation social media for a week, but the more I see of his episode, the more it looks like an experiment first and a story second, like the Beatles episode last season. I mean this is the third year in a row they’re doing “What if [20th century media] got corrupted and destroys the present?” I can count on the rubberhose guy to leave an impact, and on the leads to be entertaining, but this is already looking like the season’s highlight to me. I can only hope they’ll spend part or the rest of it fixing last year’s finale. Fingers crossed. Brave heart, fandom.

-Nintendo Switch 2

Looks expensive. Not PS3 expensive, but inflation is a cruel force of nature. I won’t get it at launch based on that, and the fact I usually wait for the big 3D Super Mario game before getting a new Nintendo console. I got 3D World with my Wii U, Odyssey with my Switch, and whatever they’ve got next is going with my Switch 2. The games and features they have announced look exciting, but again, I’ll wait for more games and a price drop, and get as much out of my Switch as I can.

That’s all, folks!

[sunlightmurdock]

Ceasefire | 1.0 | Bradley Bradshaw x Reader

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter | Masterlist

Synopsis: Bradley Bradshaw is in San Diego, summoned to Top Gun for the first time. Commander “Hyde” Simpson is his flight instructor, and she doesn’t have time for schoolboy crushes.

Warnings: ex-husband!beausimpson, divorce, age gap (rooster is somewhere between 26-28, reader is 38), power imbalance between instructor and student aviator, swearing, angst, rooster being a himbo x

…

It’s a perfectly fine afternoon. The sun is shining, the sky is clear and there’s a breeze that makes this late summer heat that much more bearable. And yet, nothing feels too bearable for you at the moment.

Your chest shudders as a heavy sob wracks your body, tears pouring freely down your cheeks. Traffic continues to your left. You’ve been pulled over for the past eight minutes because you were crying too hard to keep your eyes open anymore.

All those years ago, when you had first gotten your wings, you had been so sure of yourself. You went through flight school. Went through a stint of living on base. You’d heard just about everything that those men could have said about you. The jokes about fucking you, or you fucking someone else, someone more superior. Back then, you had held your chin high and promised to defy every single one of them.

Now, you’re crying on the side of the road because all of it came true. It all came back to sex. You fucked Beau, your superior. It hadn’t been about rank, or career progression — but that’s all anyone saw, even after you married him. Now, you fucked Bradley. Your student. You know how they’ll paint it. That you abused your power, you came onto him, promised him a fruitful career or something stupid like that.

No one knows yet that it’s Bradley. As much as Jake Seresin can be a cocky little shit, you saw it in his face that he didn’t want this to come back on you. Even when your jaded soon-to-be ex-husband lifted the poor kid right off of his feet and slammed him into a wall.

Always cool, Jake had denied every accusation that Beau could have thrown his way, shoved the admiral off of him and straightened out his uniform.

You lean your head back against the headrest and gasp for air, fighting off the clutches of hyperventilation as best as you can, wondering how you could have let yourself risk your career like this. As you squeeze your stinging eyes closed, you see Bradley’s face. Staring at you from the other side of Jake and Beau’s brief altercation.

He was asking you for permission, silently, you know that. Permission to end this and own up, tell Beau the full truth finally. But he hadn’t, for your sake. For your sake, he had hauled Jake down the hallway and broken up the scuffle.

You hadn’t been expecting to be yelling at your ex-husband to put down one of your students today, is all. You’re blindsided and the emotions are all hitting you at once. You know that Rooster will come looking for you, either now, or later.

The mature thing to do would be to text him and tell him that you need some time alone. After Beau’s tantrum, you’re not feeling too mature about things.

Aching in your chest, pounding in your head, it feels fitting when the already grey sky starts to pour. Silence fills the car as your breathing starts to even out. Shame takes the space of your jagged breaths. You think back to that wild kid who had worked so hard to surpass everyone’s expectations. How you have let her down since then.

Running from the scene wasn’t your best moment. This entire summer has been an endless string of poor choices, and the man who promised to cherish you for the rest of his life is hell-bent on making sure they catch up to you.

Rain coats the windshield, pouring heavy onto the roof of the car. The clouds roll in and the sky goes grey. You’re not sure how long you sit there sobbing, but it’s long enough for the storm to be right over you, that fine sunny day long gone.

Beau’s behaviour today is going to raise a lot of questions. He might be known for his temper, but he isn’t known for assaulting pilots in broad daylight. It’s already common knowledge that your marriage failed and the divorce is messy.

Questions lead to digging. Digging, prying — there’s really no difference there. Someone probably wouldn’t have to dig too far before they found evidence of how you chose to spend your summer.

The second that word gets out that you slept with one of your students, you’re finished. Your career, and everything you worked so hard for, it’ll all be gone. It certainly wouldn’t look good for Bradley either.

On the other side of town, Bradley drums his fingers along the leather of his steering wheel. He spent too long staring just now, so now he’s forcing himself to look away. The pine scented freshener dangling from his rear view could probably stand to be replaced soon.

He shouldn’t have cornered Hondo for this information. He shouldn’t be here. He shouldn’t have let your husband lurch for Jake like that. It was just a little stand-off, no one walked away from it hurting except you. Bradley put you in this position, he knows that.

Swinging open the door to his truck and stepping out into the fine rain, Bradley’s going to fix it. He walks up the driveway, blindly confident because that’s the only thing stopping him from turning around. He lifts his hand and knocks four times loudly against the door.

It takes a while, and Bradley’s just about to lift his fist and knock again when the door is pulled open. Beau stares back at him. Bradley inhales deeply.

“Hey.” He says quietly. Beau stares at him, cold and just as angry as he had looked in that hallway earlier. The rain is starting to pick up now. It’s grey and the afternoon breeze is on its way to becoming wind.

Bradley swallows. He was so sure he would be able to get through this without it leading to a fight, until he looked Beau in the face. There are two things Beau knows for certain — one: he never gave Bradley this address. Two: Bradley is also one of your students.

“We need to talk.” He exhales in one swift breath. Beau blinks. It’s a minuscule movement, but Bradley watches his fingers curl around the door. He doesn’t move. “I know this has got to be hard on you. But I need you to know that it’s not just sex.”

There’s a pause. It’s not that long. It just feels longer because Beau is silently piecing it all together. The young pilot in front of him is the one that has been screwing his wife.

“It was — but it’s not now.” It was just sex. He still hasn’t clocked that he should just shut his mouth. He should stop talking about all the sex he has had with Beau’s wife. Standing just inside the threshold and gripping the doorframe for support, Beau gives him one last chance.

“Bradshaw. What are you saying?”

Bradley shifts on his feet. The nervous energy is just buzzing through him. He can’t stand still. He’s been waiting eleven weeks to get this off of his chest. He almost pushes his hands into his pockets. He wipes them on his jeans instead. Closing his eyes, he bites the bullet.

“It’s me. It wasn’t Jake,” Bradley confirms Beau’s suspicions. “Look, man, I love her. I’m in love with her.“

Silence follows. Bradley considers that a green light to keep talking.

“She’s incredible. She makes me happy, and I- I think I can make her happy too. She deserves—“

He doesn’t get a chance to finish. If they were friends, Bradley might know that Beau had played as a defensive back through all four years of college and had broken eight guys’ collarbones over the course of his time there. Bradley grunts loudly, the air knocked from his lungs as his back slams into the stone paved driveway.

“You think you know what she deserves, you little shit?” Beau spits, his saliva spraying across Bradley’s cheek and making him cringe back, his head hitting the stone.

To add insult to injury, Beau’s shoulder slams into his ribs as they make contact with the ground, winding him even more. Bradley doesn’t have time to register that. His blinking eyes go wide as he watches Beau reel back and ball his hand into a fist.

“Stop, stop! — Wait, Cyclone — Admiral Simpson, shit!” Bradley reasons, gasping and out of breath, struggling to pull his hands free to raise them in defense. You’re going to kill him if he punches your husband. But this is happening either way, no ifs, ands or buts. Bradley watches as Beau winds back his arm. It’s a split second call.

Bradley throws all of his weight into the roll, knocking Beau off balance right as his hand comes down. Beau’s knuckles slam into the stone at the same time as he is tossed off of Bradley, his wrist bending awkwardly under the full force of his weight.

Between their out heavy breathing, they both hear the sickening crunch that Beau’s wrist makes. Bradley leaps onto his feet and turns quickly as your ex-husband rolls onto his back, clutching the injured appendage. Shit. He broke your ex-husband’s fucking hand.

“Fuck!”

“I told you I just wanted to talk!” Bradley sighs, putting his head in his hands and pacing away from Beau, then pacing back. Beau growls into his unbroken hand, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Fuck, are you okay? — Should I call someone?”

“I’m fine!” Beau snaps back. He’s not, he knows just as well as Bradley does that something is broken. Pulling back, he looks to the sky as the rain soaks his white t-shirt, still clutching his injured wrist. He’s got no choice, he can’t drive like this.

Pushing himself to his feet, Beau starts down the driveway. His shoulder slams into Bradley’s as he passes him. “Drop me off at the hospital.”

Bradley’s eyes go wide, he spins to watch Beau walk over to his car.

“You fucked my wife, you owe me.” Beau calls out without looking back, still clutching his injury. Bradley swallows. He could refuse, sure, but he doesn’t know what the right play here is. You would have the right answer, he’s certain. He fidgets awkwardly, stuck between staying and going. Beau’s voice booms from behind him. “Now, Bradshaw!”

Bradley sighs.

They each slide wordlessly into the front two seats, and Bradley starts the engine. He bites his cheek as the radio kicks in. He just has to say something.

“I fucked your ex-wife, not—“

“She was still my wife up until I signed those papers at 10:56 this morning.” Beau bites back, leaning his head back against the rest and squeezing his eyes shut. His wrist is swelling already.

Bradley shuts his mouth. He knows better than to speak further. The drive to the hospital is silent, other than Bradley’s seventies playlist playing faintly through the speakers. Neither one of them dares move to turn it off.

Beau’s still furious, walking six strides ahead as they enter the emergency room. Bradley trails, his hands pushed deep into the pockets of his jeans. Luckily, there’s a baby screaming as they fall into the metal seats to complete Beau’s paperwork — Bradley can’t stand any more silence.

“You can go now.” Beau spits, struggling to grasp the pen with his non-dominant hand to fill out the insurance forms. The younger pilot taps his foot against the linoleum impatiently at his side, taking no notice. Beau shoots him a look.

He wouldn’t have thought twice about leaving Rooster’s dumb ass here by himself.

The traffic’s heavy in the emergency room for a random weekday afternoon. Rooster busies himself counting the bloody noses and watching the six year old opposite him frown at the Where’s Waldo book in his hand.

“Right there. Behind the lamppost.”

Beau looks up from the paperwork, his features furrowed in a blend of anger and concentration. He glances over at Bradley, then follows his gaze to the book. You’ve got to be kidding.

Bradley turns his head, lips pursed as he looks down at Beau’s struggling left hand and the pen sitting limply between his fingers. “Here. Let me do it.”

“No, no — you keep looking for Waldo, kid. I’ve got it.” Beau snaps back, sarcasm dripping from his tongue. Bradley rolls his eyes as he reaches harshly across. He successfully tears the clipboard and pen from the admiral, but not without first knocking into his blackening wrist.

“Fuck!” Beau whispers. The little boy looks at them over the book, wide-eyed. Bradley’s jaw ticks. He shoots your husband a stern look.

“So, is Beau short for something…?”

“Jesus Christ.” Beau mutters, rubbing a hand harshly over his face. Three and a half hours later, the sun has set and Beau’s still waiting for his X-Ray. Bradley’s half-awake, arms folded over his chest and his eyes closed at his side.

Beau’s phone splits the silence just long enough to startle Bradley awake. He’s just blinking, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as Beau answers it.

“No. You really think she would want to talk to me after what I did? — No, Bernie, I’m at the hospital.”

Bradley sits forwards and yawns, leaning his elbows on his knees. The kid that was sat opposite him has been seen and has gone home now. He considers reaching for the book on the seat he was in.

“Her boyfriend broke my fucking wrist.”

Bradley scoffs, closing his eyes again. The conversation continues at his side, but he isn’t listening anymore. Beau exhales a quick goodbye and they fall into silence once again. It doesn’t last long.

“You should go.” Beau decides. Once again, Bradley ignores him. He’s sat here this long, he can stand to sit a little longer. “I mean it. She shouldn’t be on her own tonight.”

It’s the first thing that they’ve agreed on all day. Bradley turns his head to look at Beau over his shoulder, mulling the idea over for a moment.

“How would you get home?”

“I’ll get a cab.” Beau answers.

Bradley bites his cheek, pursing his lips. “You’re sure?”

“Sure.” Beau shrugs again. Two birds, one stone and all that crap. He doesn’t have to listen to Bradley snoring anymore and he’ll know that you aren’t crying by yourself tonight.

Bradley pushes himself up from the seat, fishing his keys from his pocket. “Sorry. About the wrist, and about… uh…”

“Don’t.”

“Right. Good luck with the X-Ray.” He finishes. Beau watches him walk away without a word. Glancing down at the swelling that has now spread across his entire fist, he presses his lips into a tight line.

He can’t imagine ever being okay with this. In fact, he’s certain — he’ll never make peace with it. That kid’s not right for you, and he never will be.

The first thing that Bradley notices when he slips back into the driver’s side of his truck is the thick cut through his bottom lip. It’s swollen and hot. He stares at it in the mirror in the sun visor, pushing his tongue out and dragging it across the cut. It could have been from Beau, sure, but it’s probably just from Bradley biting his own lip as he had hit the ground.

He hadn’t noticed. It hadn’t hurt. But he knows that you’ll notice. And you do — it’s the first thing you see when you pull the door open to him.

“What happened to your face?”

“Promise not to get mad at me.” He pushes inside and grabs your hips to walk you with him. The kids are at your mother’s. You’re all alone.

Immediately, your eyes narrow. You know better than to agree to terms as stupid as those. “What did you do?”

“I went to see Beau — wait, wait, don’t get mad,” Bradley breathes out, his thumbs dipping under the fabric of your t-shirt to stroke softly at your hips. “I love you, Hyde, and he’s hurting you. I wanted to make him get it.”

A deep sigh slips your lips as you press forwards, resting your head against his chest and closing your eyes. You’re too exhausted to argue, and whatever has happened is clearly already done. “And how did that go?”

“He tried to punch me and I think he broke his wrist. But it wasn’t my fault, I swear.”

…

Tags: @cherrycola27 @mak-32 @khaylin27 @stoncms @shanimallina87 @cool-ultra-nerd @angelmavmurdock @gingerbreadandpaper @mizzzpink @whisperofsong @throwinsauce @perpetuelledaydreaming @n3ssm0nique @thedroneranger @abaker74 @marantha @ghxst-heart @diamond-3 @shawnsblue

[cynixkissr]

small details i’ve noticed through rewatching top gun: maverick (mostly beau simpson focused oops)

beau simpson details:

• likely has family and is a dad and/or husband. there’s three photo frames on his desk, of what look like a young graduating boy and girl, and a singular woman. could be wife and kids.

• actually cares deeply about the pilots, more so than he ever truly lets on. pay close attention to the things he says and why he doesn’t want maverick flying them.

• there’s a crack in his voice during the tower scene, for the uranium mission. when rooster wants to go after mav, he says to comms “tell him there’s nothing he can do for maverick. not in a goddamn f-18!” and it’s in the “do” part. he says it so fast, it’s very easy to miss, but it says a lot.

• beau wears a wedding ring. small, medium to thin band, just above his knuckle. maybe gold, might have a diamond in it—it’s SO hard to tell. but it’s noticeable in one shot where they pan to his side as he’s got his arms crossed in the tower, and at the end when he walks out to nod at maverick. he places a hand on the rail, and if you look closely, you’ll see it. it’s on the same arm/hand as his watch.

• he has two jet figurines under his PC monitor. they’re placed on each side diagonally, facing right. likely f-18s, i assume.

• also has a whole conference table in his office

• leaves his sunglasses case-less smh. in a shot of his desk, you can see them sitting atop a wooden box. they’re folded, but the lenses are facing out and they’re still within an arm swat reach… (i only point this out as someone with glasses. it’s SO infuriating lol)

• has a fucking golf bag (with clubs) in a corner to the catty-corner side of his desk

• manspreads. that’s all. can be seen doing it from the comfort of his own desk chair as he barks at maverick. ridiculous. kinda hot somehow.

__________________________________________

non-beau-related details:

• “hold my hand” can be heard playing very very faintly at the hard deck when maverick goes to pay off his debt to penny

• maybe others noticed this already but rooster is the only one to show up outside of uniform, in the beginning scene with the squadron

• phoenix’s black ace patch is a reference to VFA-41 — an F/A-18 strike fighter squadron, known as the “black aces” that are based in lemoore, california.

• similar thing goes for ramp agents and anyone that can be seen with “VF/VFA + number” on their vests. they’re references to real f-18 squadrons.

• another thing for natasha/phoenix is that she occasionally wears a silver band on her index finger. it can be noticed at the introductory bar scene when she goes to take a shot at the pool table. it’s on her right hand (opposite to the one she wears her watch on, if that helps). i say “occasionally” because it’s not in every scene or promo pic. it’s likely just an accessory when she’s on base.

-

uuhhhhmmmmmm uhm uhm uhm okay yeah so embarrassingly that’s all i’ve got! if i notice anything else, i’ll try and remember to add it to this though. feel free to drop anything you’ve noticed and i’ll put it in here! :)

[hjgouldmusic]

ok so i just got finished playtesting the next watcher update, and with all the talk about watcher spoilers going around right now i think im just going to leak everything now so nobody has to worry :3

im gonna start by saying it wasnt just an update to watcher, but to base game and downpour too because they actually merged all of the campaigns into one long one called "the rainworlder" and you unlock each slugcat as you go through the different rain worlds

they FINALLY made artihunter canon, youd better believe i was cheering for every single second of the 32 minute long makeout scene

they also added a two-way mark of communication which i know the community has wanted for some time, although ill admit it was a bit jarring when moon started speaking with the voice of marge simpson but hey rain world has always been a bit esoteric

the monkland region was really well made, and the plotline where we learn about monk's past misdeeds was really eye-opening and has given me a new perspective on her character (mightve raised the age rating with how graphic it was though)

i think them retconning enot into being canon was a bit of a bold move, but really expands on the lore of the game by explaining why some of the new regions (like the ikea region for example) kept turning red for no reason

my main gripe with the update was them removing the fast travel feature of the passages and just replacing it with the ability to give the current slugcat a burger upon use, when i asked the devs about it they just said "people wanted watcher to be able to use passages so thats what we did idk"

my other main gripe was that there was just way too many snails. and the new killer death snails in the "oops- all drainage!" region are so frustrating to fight against but it might have been my fault for choosing the "im going to burn your house down" difficulty

loved the new ending where survivor saved princess watcher from five bowsers' castle, the announcement of monk's mansion at the end was hype af

never figured out how to use spearmaster's new hand stand ability :( there was a keybind in the settings but it didnt seem to work in gameplay so i just needed to resort to their disc form for the tightrope segments

idk why they added deepnest to the game i thought we already had shaded

i thought the inclusion of jonesy from fortnite was cool, but the 14 minute long staring contest between him and chasing wind that ended with them saying "guess you could call us the watchers" in unison was an admittedly weird choice

some of the regions felt way too green, and i dont mean there was like plants and stuff everywhere, i mean they put a green filter over the gameplay for a good chunk of the game

i still dont know what it means to "spin a riv and gourm it" even though rivulet kept saying it like a catchphrase throughout the game. wasnt helped by the fact that every time they said it, they would do something completely different

they turned saint light blue

i will admit i cried when monk and survivor's parents appeared in the clouds and said "never forget who you are... Slugcat™" and then third sibling came out of the bushes and was like "i will show you the way, my siblings, to Rain©™ World®™℗: The©℗®™® Watcher℗™®©™℗⨂©℗✓✓✓". such a powerful moment

it was nice to finally get some clarification on what team cherry has been doing all this time. finally got the silksong release date, but the choice to release it as the next rain world dlc definitely caught me off guard. hopefully the devil may cry fans arent too upset about that

i think youre all gonna love the update :3 it releases yesterday btw

[fruitkingfrog]

[ID: A full page drawing of Orion holding Lightray, Orion’s hands are under his legs and Lightray is playing with Orion’s hair, they are looking into eachothers eyes and smiling. Behind them is a rainbow Mother box inspired circuit pattern, with seventeen alternate universe versions of them in the various borders and fifteen much smaller alternate universe versions of them over the borders. The word "Multiverse" is framed in dots on the frame on the left. End ID]

late 2021 Lightrion week day 6 - Alternate Universe! &

New Gods November 2023 - Week 4, Day 4: Alternate Realities!

once upon a time it was said that only one version of the New Gods exist across all Earths, but its rarely reflected after that. Most of these AUs are canon, some after 1/2 canon (featuring only one of the duo), and some are my own ideas :D This december is going on three years since I got into New Gods!

 commission info & ko-fi links available on my pinned post♥! 

♥ reblogs appreciated! do not repost/edit/etc

Closeups, detailed IDs under cut:

[ID: Box one: Orion and Lightray from DC, depicted as anthro cartoon dogs from the neck up. There is a purple background with black kirby krackle behind them.

Box two: Thorion and Bald’r with their foreheads pressed together, smiling and looking into eachothers eyes. Their hands are clasped in front of Bald’rs shoulder. Thorion has shoulderlength blond hair and wing-like ears on his helmet, which exposes his face. Bald’r has black hair, and wears a blue cape over his armour.

Box three: Lightray as a Blue Lantern holding off an attack from Orion as a Red Lantern. Orion is snarling, striking at Lightray with claws and spitting red acid. Lightray is smiling at him, reaching out one arm and holding Orion’s wrist in the other. Blue and Red kirby krackle surround each of them.

Box four: Two anthropomorphic dinosaurs, one is red, blue, and yellow with a spiky back and saber-teeth, he is wearing a helmet. The second is a white and yellow pterodactyl with a red and black symbol painted on his chest.

Box five: Two mech suits, Orion’s slightly in front of Lightray’s. Orion’s has his helmet, a pink face, blue collar, and red shoulders. Lightray’s behind him has his gold headpiece and flames coming from the top. Orion and Lightray sit side by side on the shoulder of Orion’s mech, faced away from viewer. Lightray is reaching over to Orion’s thigh and they are watching a sunset together.

Box six: Hunter and Neon Black, two men closely resembling Orion and Lightray, but with thicker armour and darker clothes. Hunter is turned away but looking over his shoulder, while Neon Black is pressed into his chest and smiling.

Box seven: Orion and Lightray based on the style of Mike Mignola, Lightray is thin and wearing a white top with a gold V mark, and long gold gloves that reach up his arms. Orion has a low cut red shirt and blue shoulderpads. He and Lightray are smiling at eachother.

Box eight: Future State Orion with a matching Lightray, their heads are pressed together and they're holding eachother's faces and smiling. Orion has pink skin and flaming hair, Lightray is similar, both have gold headpieces resembling their usual counterparts.

Box nine: The top of two mock-Simpsons style figures, one with a red/black bowlcut and one with orange hair and a silver headpiece with a "v" on it, meant to be Obrian and Flightrisk from Radioactive Man.

Box ten: Lightray faced away from the viewer, glaring at Orion, who is lacking a helmet and has long, wild hair. Orion has a darker outfit based on his Gods and Monsters uniform, with a silver harness. Barda is next to him in an outfit similar to her regular one, she looks concerned and is reaching to pull Orion back. Behind them are buildings from New Genesis.

Box eleven: Orion's death scene from Gods and Monsters, Lightray is holding Orion back while Highfather's staff kills him.

Box twelve: Orion standing with his hand by his hip, Lightray is flying by his side and smiling with his hands raised, drawn in a Jack Kirby inspired style.

Box thirteen: Young Justice Orion looking back at Lightray, who is smiling at him.

Box fourteen: A sketchy drawing of Lightray and Orion, using unused New 52 designs. Lightay has goggles and red gloves, Orion's helmet has more pieces to it and his top is sleeveless.

Box fifteen: Highfather Orion from The Dark Side leaning into a kiss from Lightray, who is playing with his hair.

Box sixteen: Batman Beyond Lightray looking worried at Orion, who is faced away from the camera. Lightray has his eye injury and bandage, Orion is maskless.

Box seventeen: New 52 Orion and Lightray relaxing on the grass. Lightray is pressed into Orion's side with a knee over his stomach. They're smiling at eachother.

Final image: Several small figures, showing Lightray and Orion together as they appear in Scribblenauts, New 52, Source of Freedom, The Dark Side, Mike Mignola, Lantern corps, DC Mech, and Dark Multiverse. Lightray from Superman/Batman: Generations and Earth-51, and Orion as his 80's costume, Kenner Super Powers, two Lego forms, and his clone from The Great Darkness saga.

END ID]

1: Orihound and Lightstray from the New Dogs (Earth C-Minus). Inspired by the art in their first/only appearance Captain Carrot and the Final Ark #3, by Scott Shaw, Scott Koblish, Tom Luth, and Drew Moore.

2: Thorion and Bald’r the Lightbringer of the New Asgods (Amalgam Earth). Inspired by the art . 

3: Lightray and Orion as members of the Lantern corps, designed by me. In this universe, an Apokolips-raised Orion loses all sense of control when given the red ring and decimates the population of Apokolips, then turns on Atrocitus for manipulating his mind. Seeing a threat to all Lantern Corps, Lightray of New Genesis volunteers to defeat Orion and retrieve his ring. Lightray’s design is based on his formal wear from volume 3, Orion’s is based on his rebirth uniform. OK i dont know if they can work out in this one honestly i just thought it’d be cool, theoretically 

4. Lightraydactyl and Orionodon, designed by me. The JL fighting Darkseid instead of Orion is a pet peeve of mine, but Jurassic League didnt even leave room for the New Gods to exist. i love the dinosaurs comic though Lightray was pretty straightforward, Orion’s design took inspiration from Darklyoseid’s canon design by Juan Gedeon, a sabertooth tiger (for Tigra), and Orion’s main universe costume for the colours.

5. Orion and Lightray Mechs. DC Mech killed Orion off in issue one boooooo! but it did mean i didnt have to design my own for his (Lightray's is mine though). This was inspired by one of the covers for Pacific Rim, because I will be thinking about a pacrim AU for them forever now.

6. Hunter and Neon Black. These guys aren’t actually LR and Orion, just two random inmates disguised as evil versions of them iirc, but I liked Neon Black’s design.

7. Orion and Lightray, Mike Mignola’s scrapped 1990′s New Gods animated film designs.

8: Orion and Lightray from Future State: Green Lantern, Lightray was designed by me.

9: O’Brian and Flightrisk of the New Guards from Radioactive Man.

10. Orion and Lightray (and Barda) from a personal AU of mine, using designs inspired by the Gods and Monsters film.

11. Just the Gods and Monsters death scene, to break things up.

12. Orion and Lightray inspired by Jack Kirby’s art.

13. Young Justice.

14. Scrapped New 52 Lightray and Jim Lee’s unused Orion design.

15. DCAU/Batman Beyond

16. Superman: The Dark Side. I was going to make Lightray transparent at first, like ambiguously a hallucination or a ghost or something but i didnt like how it looked all that much.

17. New 52 - I sometimes like to imagine these guys are from like a Pocket dimension modeled after the Fourth World, where everyone is shallow and awful like n52 canon/fandom perception.

18. Minis - Scribblenauts, Lightray's older appearance in Superman/Batman: Generations (he has an earlier appearance similar to his main universe suit, but with a yellow tone), New 52, Source of Freedom Orion plus the miscoloured Lightray that appears twice, The Dark Side, Earth-51 Lightray, 1977 Orion, Mignola again, Kenner Super Powers Orion, Lantern Corps AU, Orion effigy from The Great Darkness Saga, both Lego Orions, original illustration colours, DC mech, and Dark Multiverse: Flashpoint.

a few months ago i got to finish with this very long term project :D thank you to everyone who encouraged me with kind words while working on this :D The final Lightrion week pic is finished and ready to post whenever i get around to it.

[artstar07]

This artwork I made after a long hiatus is inspired from Mesoamerican culture, Maya and the Three and the Simpsons Mayan intro for Treehouse of Horror XXIII. I was working on a new episode for The Snack Pack Life, which is based on The Casagrandes Movie, but the focus is on Nahuatl mythology, which is full of bloody parts.

It shows Branch, Poppy, and my trollsona, Rose as Mexica with Rose as an empress, Poppy is one of the leaders of a province, and Branch as a jaguar warrior, looking at the decapitated head of Creek as an impostor who was tricked into becoming the sacrifice. There are three birds in the scene, a parrot, an eagle, and a crested caracara, which have unusual colors and glowing auras because these three are not what they seemed to be.

Warning, this picture is gory because it is true that the Mexica practiced human sacrifice but it was done on their special occasions to appease their gods.

[venus-is-thinking]

Deciphering the DRDT Character Playlist

Hello DRDT community! @accirax and I took a look at the official character song playlist [remade version bc it got deleted or privated] and decided to take our own shot at figuring out whose is whose and what it means. It's pretty late, but we have at least some sort of a guess with reasoning for every song!

We used a combination of Genius lyrics, the vocaloid lyrics wiki, and google translation of Japanese lyrics in the YouTube description to get a decently functional interpretation of every song. Our theory goes through the songs in the order they show up on the playlist (we're pretty positive it isn't kill order), which means our confidence varies heavily from song to song. With that being said, let's go!

Diamond is Unbreakable by Yunno Kago: Ace Markey

This song does not have many lyrics, so a lot of our guess is based on vibes (though it gives much more than some other songs). The rock instrumental with more yell-based vocals feels like it suits Ace though, and I feel safe to say that Ace has had a breakdown (and may have many more in the future).

Sing Along by Sturgill Simpson: Teruko Tawaki

This song fits Teruko quite well. It has an edgier sound to it, but it isn't completely uncaring if you look at the lyrics.

I can't go on living alone now that you're gone You done me wrong, so here's your song

It reminds me of the scene where she plays with the cacti. She clearly misses Xander (and possibly others in her past), but that obviously doesn't stop her from feeling betrayed by them either.

There are a lot of lyrics about bitterness too (ex. "words can stab as deep as night," "bitter air and the winds of spite"), which reflect how Teruko has been treating the rest of the cast in Chapter 2. It's a duality of caring too much and acknowledging the harshness of the world, which encapsulates Teruko's character quite well.

RUNAWAY by half alive: Hu Jing

Not gonna lie, we were struggling on this one. This song is pretty much entirely predictive of a character arc that Hu might have later on. We're predicting this based on Hu's secret quote, which is basically the only reason we gave this song to her: "I want to pay for what I've done. But even then, I still want to live."

This implies that she has not paid for "what [she's] done," which probably relates to her secret. I know a lot of people think she might be the hopeless child, but I'm far more partial to the theory that Hu is the one who poisoned her competition. If she hasn't paid for it, it's possible she feels like she ran away, from the situation which could open the door for her handling those feelings later on.

cartoons by Louie Zong: Rose Lacroix

This entire song is about drawing and thought processes, which both relate to Rose's character pretty strongly. The recurring lyric of "it's all just cartoons in [her] head" makes me think of her photographic memory, which takes real life and permanently stores it in her mind.

There are also lyrics like "feeling every day the same" and "trying to make that old deadline" that strongly relate to her background with the Spurling Foundation. She feels like she's just watching the rest of her life go by as a corporate slave, and those feelings are wrapped up in a light and airy song, matching Rose's demeanor.

asymptotic by Louie Zong: Charles Cuevas

This is a silly little nerd love song. As a CharWhit shipper, I definitely think that there's a strong chance that this relates to Charles' feelings about Whit, calling him a "cutie face in x-y space" and other such things. It's pretty simple, but it's true that, romantic or not, a lot of Charles' character arc thus far has revolved around his relationship with Whit and realizing that he does enjoy spending time with his classmates.

However, notably, there's also the lyric "I'll forget," which made me start thinking about Charles' past he forgot about.

Asymptotic, obliquely Here's the point of this speech As close as we could ever get, you'll be just out of reach

This reads to me as being about Charles' memories or the older brother he doesn't remember losing. As close as he can get to remembering or understanding what happened through things like the secrets motive, it won't be the same as actually returning to that past or remembering it in full. Maybe that's reading into things a little too hard, but I think the interpretation is there to be read.

A Mistaken Belief of Love by Niru Kajitsu: Eden Tobisa

I'll be direct: this relates to our theories about how Eden is the Chapter 2 killer. I'm a particular proponent of the interpretation that Eden didn't believe Arei when she said she wanted to be friends and decided she wanted to escape back to her old life, to the girl she kissed. I'm not going to go into that Eden theory now, but @/1moreff-creator and @/thebadjoe have a great thread going back and forth which goes over a lot of what I personally believe to be true.

If you assume that Eden is the killer and wanted to be Arei's friend but gave up on the possibility when Arei snapped at her, the lyrics start to make sense. "Then I'll kill you at our rendezvous" would clearly relate to Eden summoning Arei to the playground just to kill her. "I just wanted to mistakenly believe that you loved me" relates to Eden's feelings towards Arei and the rest of the class, but that "mistaken belief" was shattered, causing her to kill.

Shunran by John/TOOBOE: Arei Nageishi

This song chronicles Arei's entire character arc, from prologue to death. It starts out much more aggressive and unfriendly, saying things like "I won't pay attention to small fry" and "I become angry easily." However, there's a recurring lyric that shows how she actually feels.

They say that praying to be loved is a sin. It has such a sweet scent.

Arei desperately wants to be loved, for people to be nice to her, but she's learned over the course of her life that she couldn't have that. Still, she can't help but want to be loved, so even when she knows that David is a manipulator, she still listens to his words. Even when she knows she's been awful to Eden, she swears she'll do anything to prove to Eden that she's serious, that she really does want to be her friend.

I pledged a ceasefire. My personality peeled off and fell because I have the courage to accept disappointment

As the song progresses, that desperate desire to be loved creeps its way into the actions the singer takes as well. Arei was willing to put aside her meanness she learned as a defense and try to stop the fighting, try to become friends, because she's strong enough to try even if she might fail. Through it all, all she wants is to be loved.

Yesman by Niru Kajitsu and Hachiya Nanashi: Nico Hakobyan

This song has a lot of lyrics relating to how the singer expresses scorn or insults. We know that this is a focal point of Nico's struggles with communication: they don't know what comes across as hostile or helpful.

However, as the song progresses, it gets more purposefully aggressive. There's a particular set of lines that seem to relate to how Nico interacts with Ace. They can tell Ace that they hate him, directly, and no one even blames them.

You could say that and you're still just a kid. How amazing!

This, in my mind, relates to Nico saying that they'll kill Ace (and clearly meaning it), but Hu still babies them. They can get away with all kinds of things.

There's no reason for me to turn back now, huh? I was caught in my own trap

Nico then, realizing that they can get away with a lot, goes after Ace, trying to literally kill him. They were caught, though, explaining the second lyric here.

The song also has a prominent lyric: "I'm an introvert, just waiting." There are variations on this, but I think it gets across the core idea: Nico is quiet, but they're still a part of the story the whole time, waiting for an opportunity to get their way.

Undead Enemy by Suzumu and Giga P: David Chiem

This song hinges around David's false persona of smiles and motivation and his true self who hates everything and everyone.

For whatever reason, he put on a mask symbolizing The leading role he had yearned for in the past.

Here, David is choosing to put on that motivational speaker persona.

And, from the next day onward, The unhappy boy's smile did not falter, He was even loved by someone

David then keeps up that happy and inspirational self, without fail, so that the world will love and accept him as the Ultimate they expect him to be.

However, the lyrics are filled with more hateful lines that sound more like him in Episode 11.

Slander and criticize, and then, I won't need anyone else. Just leave me alone

I act spitefully in disgust and force a smile

While he pretends to be happy and good, he knows himself to be much worse. This song focuses on those true colors.

Drawing Pins by Nothing but Thieves: Levi Fontana

Levi is a very pensive character. The main line of the song is "tell me what you did it for, 'cause I can't figure it out." That could relate to Levi's apparent struggles to understand others and what the "correct" thing to do in social situations is, like when he asks others how to handle the situation with Ace. I also like the interpretation that he could be talking to himself, wondering why he did what he did in the past. (Whatever mysterious past Levi has, it's clear that he did some things he's not thrilled about, and he seems to have a lot of feelings surrounding it.)

What do I have to do To be loved, loved by you

I'm personally not an AceVi shipper, but this line would definitely relate to Ace. Levi messed up in the first trial, threatening Ace, but in Chapter 2, he's trying to make up for it. Nothing he seems to do works, though, so he's at a loss as to what he could possibly do to make it up to him.

Hi-Fi Evolution Theory by Keu Studio: Veronika Grebenshchikova

Disclaimer, we had to put this song through google translate, so our lyrics might not be entirely correct.

Given that, though, I'm pretty confident this song must be Veronika's. There are a lot of lyrics that indicate her, but the most important ones surround what we've most recently learned about her: she can't stand boredom and will do just about anything for fun.

But is it selfish to have fun?

The one who laughs last is the winner

Even though Veronika knows that enjoying the killing game or possibly even working against the group's best interests in it is stupid at best and evil at worst, she'll still do it as long as it keeps her entertained. If she's selfish, she's selfish; she'll do it either way.

tip toes by half alive: Min Jeung

This song heavily ties into Min's outlook which she explains in her bonus episode. The lyrics mention a "need to be known," or a "pride" that's "screaming." She internalized a core need to become an Ultimate to keep her going forward and to preserve her hope.

She does want to change her behavior, though.

My future will listen to me, Listen to me, listen to me

Min is trying desperately to find a life for herself now that she's become an Ultimate. She wants to learn how to live after she's achieved the goal that her entire life has centered around. This song is her searching for the life that she wants to live in spite of her previous experience.

The song also sounds sort of desperate with its repetition of "listen to me" and the overall vibe of the instrumental. This fits in with Min's increasing desperation as she realizes, at the end of the first trial, that she won't have a future to figure out anymore.

Polygonal by fallstay (ふぁるすてぃ): Xander Matthews

This one was also put through google translate, so apologies for any mistranslations!

This song makes sense for Xander if you consider his clear survivor's guilt, visible through both his bonus episode and his secret quote, which is, in the most literal way possible, the dictionary definition of survivor's guilt. It mentions a "life full of mistakes" and describes other similar thoughts.

I'm dizzy and it hurts so much that I feel like throwing up

The urge to scream and someone's loud sobbing

That's my pain

These all feel like ways Xander interprets his past, which is his pain. We already know that Teruko accidentally running into him and hitting his eye hurt so badly he passed out, which is a step beyond "dizzy." Someone could be sobbing about his past; maybe it's even him. The things in his past that haunt him are what shape who he is and his actions, and that's what this song is about.

Spitfire (05 Version) by The Prodigy: J Rosales

This one has like one lyric. The vibes fit J though, and I don't really know who else's it would be or what other song would be hers, so it stays.

desk rotation by RQ laji-2: Arturo Giles

I'm not gonna lie. This is an instrumental. We have no idea what it means. This was process of elimination. I don't know what other song Arturo's would be so he gets this one.

(In all seriousness, you COULD give this one to Hu because it's music and she's a musician, give Arei the more hopeful RUNAWAY and give Arturo Shunran. The beginning of Shunran fits him decently, but I think the interpretation sort of falls apart in the middle of the song, at least given what I know about his character, and I think it fits Arei much better.

After we read some other theories, too, we think there's a viable shuffle that goes like this:

desk rotation: Hu (musical connection) tip toes: Arturo (generally prideful, future emphasis contrasting with his secret forcing him to think about the past) asymptotic: Min (abstracted to apply to the life she wants to seek out, math works as Ultimate Student) RUNAWAY: Charles (relating to him "running" from his past memories, positive growth arc)

While I still like our initial interpretations for Charles asymptotic and Min tip toes, I like the handling of RUNAWAY and desk rotation better with this one.)

For whatever it's worth, I also think there's a slight possibility that desk rotation is a placeholder song. It's a complete instrumental (all other songs have at least SOME lyrics), so it wouldn't be too insane to me if they had a song that they decided was just too spoiler-y to be released to the public. In that case, I think it's possible desk rotation will one day be replaced with a different song. Realistically, though, it's probably just here and we have to figure out what the hell it means.

Good Grief by Bastille: Whit Young

Whit obviously lost his mother at some point, who he clearly idolizes. You can see the glowing way he talks about her in the laundry room with Teruko and Charles, and his secret quote is literally "We tend to idolize the dead." He loves his mother, but given his secret, it's clear that she is dead.

This song is about grief. Whit represses a lot of his emotions, so I expect he hasn't yet felt his grief in full and hasn't processed it. He has, however, made it very clear that he struggles with loneliness, and that has a lot to do with his loss. I think that, over the course of the story, he's going to have to actually process grief and experience sadness. While it's possible that'll just be due to the feelings he has surrounding his mother, given that he's in a killing game, I think that he'll have to confront personal loss again to have this arc.

Regrettably, I think that that'll probably come in the form of Charles dying, likely as a Chapter 3 victim. Others have theorized on that, but suffice it to say that, narratively and based on hints they've dropped, I think it's probably true ( :( ). Whit, as he clearly cares about Charles, would then be confronted with grief again. He'd have to endure it and learn to deal with the loss.

On the plus side, I'd expect he'd be likely to survive afterwards.

[genericpuff]

Soo to understand some things because i get what's happening in LO only from Tumblr;

Apparently now there are two Titan villains Ouranos and Kronos for... reasons unknown

There's a prophecy of Apollo overcoming Zeus that makes no sense

Persephone is the one responsible for winter so Rachel proves she doesn't understand the meaning of the original myth of Hades and Persephone that's a metaphor for changing seasons / life and death

Kassandra is the one to tell it even though she was cursed by Apollo her prophecies to never be believed and also she's part of the plot even though Achilles in LO is very young and she's part of the Trojan war so... Rachel messed up the time periods

Eros and Psyche believe her as well which again doesn't make any sense because Kassandra's gift was also her curse that led to her downfall

I am sure there are more but Rachel just keeps adding plots and plots to no end trying to make things more interesting apparently? Idk so far the series is an overwhelming burn out 😅

Kronos was used as the midseason finale villain for people who are on free to read episodes, Ouranos was used as the actual midseason finale villain for people who are on FastPass, with Apollo as just like, an accessory. IDK if this is foreshadowing for Ouranos to actually 'return' (literally I have no idea how Apollo overthrowing Zeus will lead to Ouranos being revived but god knows at this point) but there are definitely WAY too many villains going on for a story that's meant to be just a romance/drama series

The prophecy for Apollo overthrowing Zeus is literally just the prophecy of "descendants of Ouranos use fertility goddesses to overthrow their predecessors" (so Ouranos used Gaia to gain power over the realms < Kronos overthrew Ouranos using Rhea < Zeus overthrew Kronos using Metis, even though most of the credit technically goes to Hera for handing herself over to Kronos in an attempt to poison him under the guise of them having a "relationship"). And yeah the implication is that the fertility goddesses in LO are limited to ONE family line that's been passed down since Gaia/Ouranos like the freaking Avatar, which KINDA REINTRODUCES THE INCEST BTW-

100% , I feel like it was her attempt at giving Persephone a "flaw" but this doesn't work because we've seen Rachel retcon aspects of Persephone to make her perfect before (the green hands) and it's not cool that Rachel can only give her a "flaw" by taking away the legitimate strength of the one other character who's CRUCIAL to the original story this series is based on.

More of Rachel trying to give lip service to the myths to sound smart even though it literally makes everything fall apart

Right, and this is such a massive plothole that happens TWICE within their respective episodes

This one time Rachel described her writing process as that scene from the Simpsons where Homer Simpson tried to force two jigsaw pieces together, and frankly, I think we should have taken that blatant foreshadowing more seriously because it's clear she's just trying to make circles fit in square holes with the mess that is this narrative.

And yeah, presumably the series is gonna end by mid 2024 so the estimates right now pin the series ending in 15-20 episodes, 30 tops. I have no clue how she's going to wrap all this up when she's still establishing new things. Even experienced professional writers wouldn't bother with trying to save this wreckage as it is, it would literally be sent back to the drawing board, but it's being left up to Rachel who's NOT an experienced writer to figure out how to end it on the fly. We're not in for a good time with this LMAO

[blood-gulch]

grace blood-gulch's s14 episode ranking list because i am so special and have lots of thoughts on every episode ever :)

Tier 1 - legitimately good quality content i recommend viewing

Room Zero - as someone who was personally Waiting those multiple years to see that rvb animated episode be finished i was so excited by this one. also i just love the animation + attention to character details in the og one. even though it doesnt really add much to that original base, newer fans should watch it to appreciate the animation cuz its cute. especially fond of every character detail moment like church running backward and using his hand to slide or the earliest iteration of grif being canonically animated as fat. idk i love it a lot and i think its p cute and well worth the watch. it's also the first episodically which is neat. good opener for s14.

The Brick Gulch Chronicles - look its stop motion lego and its cute as fuuuuuuck. the plot being sarges bday is adorable. literally awesome.

Fight the Good Fight - okay i just find it cute and quirky and generally enjoyed watching it quite a bit :) it made me laugh. the [Red] team gag was good. it reminded me of the similar gag from the simpsons in the kamp krusty episode. my dad always makes jokes about that specific gag so ahh. definitely worth the watch but understandable to skip.

Caboose's Guide to Making Friends - its just really fucking cute idfk

Head Cannon - This one's just really funny and also adds on to a scene that already was fun in a good way. Enjoyable. Highly recommended.

Get Bent - I wish sarge was still an old woman but dykenut and church bisexuality balances it out. i also wish we had female tucker. it makes me sad we didnt get female tucker.

Red vs. Blue the Musical - The reds' song is about weapons and the blues' song is about church killing himself. 10/10. no notes. perfect summation of rvb in like 10 minutes.

Mr. Red vs Mr. Blue - genuinely delightful like a distilled everything i like about tucker. he's really fun here. also sister is fun here.

The Triplets & The "Mission" - The triplets own hard. the scene with wash connie and south at the end always makes me smile. ohio girl youre fucking crazy but youre everything. I love you.

Tier 2 - Decent content. You can skip but still somewhat worth ur time.

From Stumbled Beginnings and Why They're Here - Mostly fun. Asterisk mostly. There's an episode between these two that's technically an episode trilogy you should skip. Otherwise is pretty fun.

The #1 Movie in the Galaxy: 3 - This is silly and fun. I enjoyed it. It's also short.

Meta vs Carolina: Dawn of Awesome - look man its a death battle. if you like death battle youll have fun. if you hate death battle you can skip it. shoutout sarge deadbeat dad implications though. i cant even be mad its just not the character id expect them to do that to...

Grey vs Gray - i found it fun :) nothing stand out tho. skippable but not egregiously bad.

Immersion: The Warthog Flip - Look if you Like seeing science stuff yeah its a good watch. if you dont like that you can skip it. I like the math and science though. you don't lose anything in skipping though.

Tier 3 - Meh

Orange is the New Red & Invaders from Another Mother - theyre not bad but aged... poorly. i thought they were funny when i was younger but i watched funhaus actively then. i dont know how this would fare to a non-FH fan. Desert Dance [Spins]

Red vs. Blue vs. Roosterteeth - I KNOWWWWW THERES A LOT OF NOSTALGIA its just .... not very funny. its creators meeting their characters but its also odd in a strange way. you can watch it if youre curious enough. i liked the end voice over of s14 a lot tho so like maybe watch it and if youre bored skip to the end lol

Tier 4 - Drink a lot or watch with friends to experience enjoyment

Club, Call, & Consequences - look man the only way youre enjoying this is if you are a hardcore lolix guy or you are wasted out of your mindddd. im sorry who the fuck is siris. i honest to god thought siris was a bit as a joke on the whole thing of "grif simmons and hammer" from earlier. they never even mention siris again. who the fuck is siris. i felt like i was like lied to or something . sorry siris is so fucking funny. well he didnt have a personality but thats ok. i dont know if he actually exists.

RvB Throwdown - Get Miles Luna out of the booth. never let him rap again.

Tier 5 - Bad. Skip it.

Fifty Shades of Red - Fifty Shades of Red has possibly one of the worst jokes in the series that immediately assassinates Tucker into a pretty fucking awful light and retroactively ruins his character for the preceding 13 seasons. I honestly recommend skipping Fifty Shades of Red to avoid that one tucker joke. its not necessary and contributes nothing. The rest of the episode is fine and on the level of stumbled beginnings & why theyre here. but god that one joke is so bad i can't in good faith recommend it. it just leaves me fuming LOL i could write an essay as it being the origin point of post s13 writers room tucker hate where they start trying to make him an irredeemable asshole & dont understand his whole deal for the rest of the series.

[feministsouthpark]

South Park Filler Guide - Season 6

Link for Season 1  Link for Season 2 Link for Season 3 Link for Season 4 Link for Season 5

The classifications are CANON (an episode with major storylines present), LORE (in which we get significant backstory or world building, but could be skippable)  and FILLER (completely skippable episodic storytelling, not connected to overarching story arcs)

PLS my analysis will have spoilers, if you’re a first time viewer, just scroll to the bottom and read the list and only read full text if you are familiar with the content of the show already! No season has a clearer narrative structure than season 6, which is reflected both by my choice of images and the fact that almost none of them are considered to be filler. What might be new for some of you, is the correct order, since I listed this one in production order, so don't say "Jared has Aides" is the season premiere, because it isn't. "Freak Strike" is the season premiere, and I'll ask you to follow this order if you're a first-time viewer. S6E1 Freak Strike is CANON

Because the first scene exists to remind viewers of S5E13 and its long-term consequences with a trick reveal. If you watched it in TV and saw another episode as the season premiere, you missed out on this joke. The episode otherwise cements Butters' place in the group. S6E2 Jared has Aides is CANON

Some of what the boys do to Butters has to be canon, since his later villain arc is based on his experiences of being bullied by his "friends". S6E3 Asspen is CANON

The Stotch's get really friendly with the Marshes and the Broflovskis, which bonds will stay alive and sometimes Butters gets included because of this, even after he is ceremoniously kicked out of the friend group. S6E4 The Terrance and Phillip Movie Trailer is LORE

More bullying Butters shenanigans. Butters will mention events from this one and the next one, and in-series they add to his breaking point, but these two episodes can be omitted if we're looking at this list rationally. S6E5 Fun with Veal is LORE

This whole arc is really a journey of self-discovery for the boys, however this one is not for the long-term consequences. S6E6 Professor Chaos is CANON

They had it with Butters and Butters had it with them. Diane dies, Tweek gets into the group, Butters gets a new persona. S6E7 The Simpsons Already Did It is CANON

Basically every arc from Professor Chaos continues. S6E8 Red Hot Chatolic Love is LORE

I really hate to say it, because this episode is really fun, but other than giving Tweek the same amount of screen presence as Butters, this is pretty much a nonexistent thread in an already jam-packed season. But it shows how much they care about the idea of replacing Butters with Tweek. S6E9 Free Hat is LORE

Again, it's one of those episodes that show the boys' commitment to the fourth friend replacement bit. S6E10 Bebe's Boobs Destroy Society is LORE

Again, even further commitment to the bit. S6E11 Child Abduction is Not Funny is CANON

This is the last main Tweek episode, and we have to include AT LEAST one. And this one features both Randy's emergence and a plot with an intruiging side character, Dr. Janus. S6E12 A Ladder to Heaven is CANON

Another major change happens, when Eric drinks Kenny's ashes and his soul. This is a big part of the Kenny rebirth storyline. S6E13 The Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers is LORE

This one doesn't make sense without the context (Kenny's soul in Eric's body) but doesn't provide further context, except that the costumes will be reused later. S6E14 The Death Camp of Tolerance is CANON

Herbert Garrison's triumphant return as the fourth grade teacher is finally here! Also an interesting bit is both Tweek and Butters being present in the episode's beginning, but only Butters stays relevant to the story. S6E15 The Biggest Douche in the Universe is CANON

Kenny's spirit moves on from Eric to Rob Schneider and then dies again. Big events. S6E16 My Future Self n' Me is CANON

Stan learns about Professor Chaos, we see the first glimpses into Eric's possible future and not plot-related, but we have to give props for this episode incorporating the first sighting of Craig's gang! S6E17 Red Sleigh Down is CANON

Kyle helps Eric, while Kyle 2 helps Mr. Hankey. Jesus sacrifices himself and Kenny is resurrected in his place as a christmas miracle, finishing the season and the 'Kenny Dies' arc.

SPOILER-FREE RUNDOWN

Again, CANON means you should watch it, any episode with the LORE label will have an explanation that helps you decide if you should include it or not. S6E1 Freak Strike is CANON S6E2 Jared has Aides is CANON S6E3 Asspen is CANON S6E4 The Terrance and Phillip Movie Trailer is LORE* S6E5 Fun with Veal is LORE* S6E6 Professor Chaos is CANON S6E7 The Simpsons Already Did It is CANON S6E8 Red Hot Chatolic Love is LORE** S6E9 Free Hat is LORE** S6E10 Bebe's Boobs Destroy Society is LORE** S6E11 Child Abduction is Not Funny is CANON S6E12 A Ladder to Heaven is CANON S6E13 The Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers is LORE*** S6E14 The Death Camp of Tolerance is CANON S6E15 The Biggest Douche in the Universe is CANON S6E16 My Future Self n' Me is CANON S6E17 Red Sleigh Down is CANON *If you need more context of Butters being the fourth friend **If you need more content of Tweek being the fourth friend ***If you need more content of Eric sharing his body with Kenny

CANON counter:

S1: 9 out of 13 S2: 3 out of 18 S3: 6 out of 18 S4: 10 out of 17 S5: 8 out of 14 S6: 11 out of 17 Overall: 47 out of 97 Personal notes: My favorite season ever, I'd honestly recommend watching it all without any episode skipped, the whole thing carries on so nicely. Possibly the most plot-heavy season out of the first 18 seasons anyway.