#anyway. will graham everybody!

[freetheworms]

@petrowriting your tags are too good to lose inside the tumblr machine

Would you like to talk about what happened to Frederick Chilton?

[goldensmilingbird]

I love how in PV Felix was tied to a ring that he couldn't take off because he was cursed

And how in the show he is tied to a ring that he can't take off because his life literally depends on it

That in both cases there is this feeling that his life is not fully his (more literal in the show's case), and he tries to take back that control by making some morally questionable choices

That's pretty much what Felix is about to me

He just really doesn't want to get doomed by the narrative

[cannibalovers]

jack coming back, showing pics of the crime scene to will AND molly, pressuring him to come back and molly telling him that she would be satisfied knowing he did the right thing and that he should go and Will actually going made me actually shed a tear.

[scifibabee]

Scifibabe's '24 Kinktober Masterlist

hi y'all, so stoked to have you here!

below are links to each day’s prompt with a brief preview of the fics. click the links to find full summaries, relevant tags, and the ao3 link :)

xoxoxo,

Grace

Oct. 1: Handjobs – Caught In His Desire

ft. Hannibal providing his particular brand of "help" while Will's mind is on fire

Oct. 2: Voyeurism – Press Play for Horror

ft. a sex tape left for Jack, they flip!, and a bonus Jimmy + Zeller appearance

Oct. 3: Public Sex – Neon Desire

ft. bathroom sex, and top Will/bottom Hannibal

Oct. 4: Sensory Deprivation – In Hannibal's Hands

ft. autistic Will, an established relationship, and coming untouched

Oct. 5: Rough Sex – Where It Hurts

ft. vulnerable bottom Hannibal and protective top Will

Oct. 6: Anonymous Sex – Predators in the Night

ft. alternate first meeting, dark Will, top Hannibal, and more bathroom sex

Oct. 7: Virgin – Seduced for the First Time

ft. fun use of Will's empathy, top Hannibal, and a light daddy kink

Oct. 8: Cock Warming – Where Thought Dissolves

ft. agitated Will, Dom Hannibal, and subspace as therapy

Oct. 9: Praise Kink – Devour You Whole

ft. manipulation, Hannibal catching feelings, and insecure Will

Oct. 10: Face Sitting/Overstimulation – Not So Fast

ft. needy omega Hannibal, and sleepy but enthusiastic alpha Will

Oct. 11: Knife Play – Want to Feel You from the Inside

ft. what if Will showed up at Hannibal's after being released from the BSHCI with a knife instead of a gun?

Oct. 12: Breath Play/Dirty Talk – Breathless Submission

ft. under-negotiated kink but everybody has a good time anyway

Oct. 13: Aftercare – In the Quiet I Am Yours

ft. an established relationship and Will gently surfacing from subspace

Oct. 14: Collaring – In the Temple of Our Minds

ft. a collaring ceremony in their shared memory palace

Oct. 15: Teasing – Just a Touch

ft. Will stuck in a vehicle with Jack and Alana while Hannibal sends him provocative texts

Oct. 16: Nipple Play – Marveling at a Spoon

ft. stoned Hannibal, need i say more?

Oct. 17: Period Sex – Where Flesh Bleeds and Hungers

ft. trans Will, some mild gender dysphoria, and a Hannibal all too eager to make his Will feel better

Oct. 18: Massaging – Gentle Revelations

ft. non-sexual intimacy and vulnerable Hannibal

Oct. 19: Fisting – Hush Now

ft. daddy!Will, need i say more?

Oct. 20: Cuckolding – After Everything We've Been Through

ft. a woman who looks suspiciously like Alana, straight smut (stick with me pls), possessive Hannibal, and Will crying during sex.

Oct. 21: Bath Sex – Something Sacred

ft. mute Hannibal recovering from his wounds post-fall and a very tender Will

Oct. 22: Thigh Fucking – Vocal

ft. a shared motel room with only one bed, a darker Will, and bonus best friend Bev POV

Oct. 23: Breeding – In Our Own Way

ft. Will matching Hannibal's freak

Oct. 24: Somnophilia – call it love (because it is)

ft. Hannibal being creepy set sometime during S1

Oct. 25: Pussy Slapping – Count

ft. Will's been naughty!! with another appearance of trans Will :)

Oct. 26: Pegging – A Hollow Imitation

ft. an intense level of pining, Molly being a great sport, and Will coming to some rather obvious conclusions

Oct. 27: Hate Sex – Into the Abyss

ft. feral, animalistic sex following a violent altercation, and top Will

Oct. 28: Impact Play – Hurt Me

ft. Will needing release after a long day and Hannibal being only too happy to provide

Oct. 29: Branding – Blade Kissed Flesh

ft. a very possessive Will Graham and a happy-to-go-along-with-it Hannibal Lecter

Oct. 30: Sex Pollen – Into the Woods

Chapter 1, Chapter 2

ft. magical realism, Will's Becoming, and a lot of outdoor sex

Oct. 31: Free for All – I'm So Hot

ft. SELF-CEST and hand wave-y time travel stuff

[tagedeszorns]

SPOILERS for "Fulgrim - The Perfect Son"

You were warned - Spoilers ahaed!

Okay, so it finally has happened. Pigs are flying, dogs are walking backwards and I am admitting that I'd rather read a Fulgrim-novel written by Graham McNeill than this one.

But to get to this point ... let me take the long route!

First - imagine a novel about a Primarch. Let's say Guilliman, because the Ultramarines are the example for everything. Let's say he returns. (Bear with me, I am not talking about how it actually happened for him!) And it is not explained at all, why he's back. What's his motivation. How? Don't ask stupid questions! Anyways. He's back. Now, what about his Legion? What about Calgar? Sicarius? His Librarius? Well, never mind, they don't matter, because (galaxy brain moment here!) - they don't exist! Instead they are replaced with a cast of new characters you never heard of before, but you are supposed to take as "have always been his favourites". And those characters are as generic as they come. Absolutely bland. Plus, Guilliman isn't even there most of the time. Also, apparently the Emperor is no longer a factor for anything.

That's the setting Jude Reid throws at the reader, just with Emperor's Children.

Okay. Okay. I can live with new characters. But maybe at least tie them with the rich history of the third? With all its glory and trauma? Harmony? Canticle City? The Phoenix Conclave? Anything? No?

Well. Then give them a gratious amount of Sex, Drugs and Rock'nRoll, because that's what they do in 40k? No? A bit? So Noise Marines aren't Slaanesh's sledgehammers any longer? Maybe remember how cool Eidolon and his Kakophonii screamed that White Scars ship to rubble or how Ramos tore down the Medean Gate on Luna? No? And the drugs are just some kind of better stims now? Like the stuff Lance Armstrong takes on a daily basis?

Well. Okay. No History, none of the cool guys ... maybe some Dark Prince-fuckery? No? Oh. The word "Slaanesh" is two times in the whole book and it's with sorcery, not normal EC or Fulgrim? And Dark Prince or She Who Thrirsts ... ah, nevermind. So, no Youngest God at all.

Well, Fulgrim is the mightiest servant of Slaanesh and he's the title character of the novel, so it's okay. Enough slaaneshi shenanigans for everyone! No? Fulgrim is there for about 5% of the novel and we never get his POV? Oh. Okay. Well.

Yes, I am disappointed. After Marc Collins gave us the great new Eidolon novel, I had high hopes Games Workshop wanting to bring out the coolness in the third Legion again.

But instead we got the most generic Chaos (not really) stuff ever. You could replace everybody with Red Corsairs and Fulgrim with the Tyrant and nobody would notice any difference.

And now I am back to the beginning. Why McNeill's EC may be horrible but way better than Reid's.

Because they are over the top. Because they are the superlative of extra. Because they are divas. Because they are trying to be cool AF. Because they are mean fuckers.

Reid's EC are what I always thought I wanted (my Midas-moment, if you will): Swordsmen. Duelists. But it turns out, that it is possible to fall to Slaanesh and hate excess (yes, Tamaris, the main char, is very offended by excess). Damn, girl! Take a page out of Ian StMartin's book and look up what excessive swordsmanship does for Lucius!

So, taking everything slaaneshi from the EC didn't do them any good. Apparently they are now Chaos Undivided, swear by "Gods" instead of their chosen patron God and such. Much generic. Wow. Sacrificing like they are the Word Bearers we have at home.

The ideal solution would be a mix of both: McNeill's extra queerness (because Reid's chars are giving off the most cis-het vibes I ever got from anything Warhammer! Even the Chaos Sorcerer reminiscing fucking Fulgrim is as sterilised as possible. I bet Reddit-Warhammer loves this book, because none of them pesky gays and their sexytimes!) and excessiveness and Reid letting them keep their beauty and dignity. It's very telling that the most erotic moment of the book is the main character kissing the guy he just killed.

Because that's the GREAT plus of this book. Finally! Beautiful Emperor's Children! Beautiful Fulgrim! Plaese, give me more of this! And they are (mostly) honourable! Awww, yiss! Yes, Reid is falling back into the way too familiar "uglyness and betrayal"-trope soon enough, but an effort was made.

But that's not enough to work as saving grace.

The novel is very clearly what @paniwarhamauser called "saturday morning cartoons to sell toys", because every buyable unit is mentioned and described very clearly.

But what this book is lacking, is a soul. An understanding for the EC's (and Fulgrim's - but the Phoenician barely features in the novel, so I will leave him out on this) unique tragedy, drama, history and power.

I am glad we got the great "Auric Hammer"-book (please let Marc Collins write more for EC! He gets them! Raging Eidolon gives me life!). And we still have Josh Reynold's superb Fulgrim-novel. But this new one is not for me.

I mean, we EC-fans have a lot of great novels and stories, compared to other Legions (poor Raven Guard for example). So I really shouldn't complain.

Well, rant over, I am calm and collected again and will continue reading the pleasant Alpha Legion-stuff I have left for the Fulgrim novel (may contain traces of Fulgrim). 😁

[kupo-theincendiary]

Nathalie is resigned to find herself withdrawing to the empty balcony before the end of her own wedding. They won't miss her-- it's Emilie they're here for, and Emilie they'll get. She is happy to stay as a helper, as the lines drawn across the page of Emilie Graham de Vanily's life. This is what they are used to, Nathalie loving and working and Emilie shining. At the end of the day, Emilie will come back home and tell Nathalie she loves her, and it will be like the first time she said it, standing over Gabriel's grave, and Nathalie will know that she belongs in this family.

It's wonderful to watch her out there. Emilie spins between conversations, catches the light and shines around a glowing smile and makes the world fall in love. They congratulate her on the match, let her brush them off when they ask about how fresh the soil is over her last spouse, and they dance. Everybody dances with Emilie. Except Nathalie, but that's okay. Tonight, that isn't the place she's been given.

"Are you alright, Nathalie?*

She straightens, relaxes-- she wishes he'd stop asking that. But Adrien sometimes works in repetition, and she supposes there is logic in him running like clockwork every once and awhile. She tries not to parallel herself to a boy who has been told to be perfect and can't help but do what he's told. She knows it's different. She also knows what Emilie asks of him isn't wrong. Everything they do is for him. He owes Emilie obedience.

"Yes," she says, and remembers to smile. "It's a wonderful day."

"You're not going to dance?"

"I'm not much of a dancer."

"I've seen you and Mummy dancing before."

"That's-- not in public."

He nods. It's a sentiment the whole household knows. What stays inside against what gets to come out at parties, at work. They breathe it-- Adrien was raised on it, but Nathalie took it in herself, dropping out of college to help the Agrestes and hiding anything that might make them let her go. When they finally learnt her age, it changed very little.

"Just-- make sure you enjoy yourself."

"I am enjoying myself," she says, and looks at him. Just freshly a teenager, unsure of himself, and her family. Family. "I get to talk to you."

He laughs a little, like it's bullshit. It's not. She hates being disbelieved, but she stands and doesn't call him out.

"There you are!" Emilie rushes up to them, all fluttery gold and white. "I saw you two om the balcony together-- what are you doing all the way up here? My favourite son and my beautiful bride."

She kisses Nathalie. It takes her by surprise but it's nice and anyway, it's Emilie.

"I was just reminding my mum to enjoy herself," says Adrien, with a sideways grin at Nathalie.

Mum.

Nathalie has never been a parent. She was set on it as soon as it was suggested to her. She is not a teacher, not a protector-- she is a worker and a fighter and to Adrien she is a friend, first and foremost. But it's a good word-- mum. It finalises the marriage. She is with them, one of them. She is family.

She'll take being a mother for that.

But Emilie frowns. "Nathalie's said she doesn't want to be a mum."

"It's fine," Nathalie tells her, firm.

"Nathalie isn't your mother," says Emilie. "I'm your mother, why would you want to have another one?"

"But she's marrying you, I thought--"

"I understand the confusion," smiles Emilie, "but she's just my wife."

"Isn't she--"

"Don't call her your mum," says Emilie. "She's not actually related to you-- you know that."

She touches her rings.

Nathalie closes her eyes, and smiles flickeringly.

"Of course," says Adrien.

Somebody Nathalie doesn't know pushes his way onto the balcony. He shakes Emilie's hand enthusiastically.

"Lady Graham de Vanily," he exclaims-- "and the wife!"

A week later, Emilie calls them for a family meeting. Nathalie shows up, and Adrien stares at her hollowly.

"But you're not our family."

It's not his fault.

Emilie laughs it off for the both of them.

[tayasui-mono]

Aaaaaaaa geez, s1e7 "Sorbet" is so brutal. Hannibal goes to Bedelia and she's like, "Oh your human veil is so nice but it must be lonely" and Hannibal is all smiles because of course, he loves being acknowledged just like everybody else so then he's like "I have friends, we're friendly" and she's like "you're my patient and colleague, we aren't friends" and to soothe that burn, she gives him some champagne? wine? Anyway he asks for something pink.

Then Will comes to see him and Hannibal's indirectly poking around asking, "Am I your therapist or are we having conversations?" and it's so embarrassing, but then Will's like "Yes, is the answer to that" all vague, and you're like phew. Okay, fine. THEN they get to discussing the Chesapeake Ripper and Hannibal alludes to maybe the Ripper not being a solo criminal and, Will, BRUTALLY, goes "Oh now HE has a friend?" And then he LAUGHS. And it's infuriating too because where does Will freaking Graham get off laughing at the Ripper being friendless, the only vague friendship he has IS with the Ripper!

Even prison didn't do Hannibal this dirty. Having his toilet taken away? If this was me, this day alone would give me pre-sleep anxiety for the next 2 decades

[cringearenachamp]

The Trial By Fire Debacle, Part I

(this party sucks... i'm bout 2 ditch)

If Steve didn't want to come back to Journey after Street Talk, he EXTREMELY didn't want to come back to Journey after For the Love of Strange Medicine. Both of his solo albums were about making steps forward on his own and trying to find his own independence, and each of those experiences were cut short for various reasons, many of which were outside of his control.

In this circumstance, though, it's at least partially Steve's fault: not leaving the band cleanly the first time around meant that he was still tied to them and to their label, and thus both still had a certain amount of leverage over him. He wasn't fully free-- that sword of damocles was always dangling over his head. The first time he tried to release a solo album in 1988 or 89-- Against The Wall-- was shelved because of that leverage (honestly though FTLOSM is SO much better). Why didn't he just leave the band? Pride, for one obvious reason. Maybe a little bit of denial, too-- he wasn't in the best head state at the time, and he might've been thinking in far more short-term ways without thinking of any long-term ramifications, simply because he was in panic mode. Avoidance, shame. There might have been financial reasons to remain tied to the band, too, though: he had to take care of his dying mother while working on the Raised on Radio album, and then other relatives of his passed away as well. There might have been various things in his life, including that, that made having some kind of income more desirable despite the money he already made with the band. Who knows really, though!

Anyway(~~~), as mentioned, the record label Steve had a contract with was the same record label that Journey was signed to. That label knew they'd make more money with a Journey album and a reunion-- band reunions were popular at the time, and the Eagles one was perfect boomer bait (my parents went to one of those shows lol)-- than they would with a Steve Perry solo album. In the end, he was able to release that album, but all promotion of it was tied to agreeing to do a Journey album next. (A mutual also mentioned that the song Anyway off of FTLOSM, his sort of apology song to the band, might have been a label ~requested~ addition, which makes things even spicier... still seemed pretty honest and introspective in execution, though, regardless of how much he was made to write it)

Steve had been able to start to figure himself out and grow at the cost of avoiding all his past stuff with Journey. Now he had to face all of it. To make matters worse, he had performed through a bout of walking pneumonia on what would turn out to be the final dates of his solo tour that seemed to noticeably weaken his voice. Or, at least, it hadn't fully recovered by the time he had to get in the studio with Journey. The last time he had to perform with the band when his voice wasn't in prime condition was 1991, during a memorial concert for tour promoter Bill Graham. In a 2018 interview he called it (paraphrased) one of the worst experiences in his career.

Apparently this was something of an impulsive decision on his part-- a lot of his appearances with the band have been like that (his first exit from the band also seemed impulsive, at least in execution). His voice was definitely rougher than usual-- at times it was a bit reminiscent of Rod Stewart-- and he forgot the lyrics to one of the verses of Faithfully (and all the lyrics were taped on Jon's keyboard). It was also tuned down, and this is apparently something Neal hates to do. He was also kinda trying to hype everybody up but it was a memorial concert and everybody was probably blazed out of their minds anyway because the Grateful Dead had played before them, lol. The body language between everybody seemed really awkward and stiff. Steve used to really enjoy connecting musically with Neal: that was probably something that didn't happen here. And that seemed to hurt a lot. To outside ears and eyes this didn't seem *that* bad, even if it wasn't ideal. But Steve was already a perfectionist, so he probably saw this as multiple kinds of disaster-- made worse by having to do it all in front of Herbie and Pat Morrow (friend of Herbie's and road crew bigwig), his Nemeses within the band basically-- so it wouldn't be a surprise if he was catastrophizing a bit. Fast forward to the Trial By Fire sessions, and all that shit was probably in the back of Steve's mind.

His voice was noticeably weaker and raspier even than on his last solo album, but I don't think it detracts from anything. He's always been good with working with what he has, even if he himself is highly critical of it. The music was... well, in my opinion, it was a mix. There was a TON of songs, though. I'd argue a bit bloated, but at the same time, I understand the context: it was the first album by them in ten years, and they wanted to give the fans (and the label...) as much as they could. Message of Love has that darkness motif again: "I walk alone in the dark/without you/and deep in the shadows I run/without you". The very next part, too: "And here I stand/the king of fools/now love's here/where are you?" That, to me, is like, "yeah, I'm a fucking idiot for how I handled all this and I feel like an idiot. But I missed you, did you miss me?" Even if this was something forced by label bullshit and his own mistakes, he still missed Neal, at least, and he wanted to make it work for him.

(he probably had this shit taped up to his various engineering console doohickeys)

A lot of the songs on the album, including Message of Love but also Forever in Blue and If He Should Break Your Heart, deal with unrequited yearning for someone already in a relationship. Can't Tame The Lion references both Don't Stop Believing ("one night in Detroit, I swear I saw you, standing there") and Stone in Love ("one summer of dreams, down by the river"). There's also a part where he sings about "the embers of reckless years", and, well, Steve feels a certain way about a certain guitarist's recklessness. This song in and of itself is something of a love song to Neal's playing, and it ends, appropriately, on a solo from him.

One More is an interesting, sort of abstract one. Lots of religious imagery but it doesn't necessarily seem happily-religious-- it's an angry song, and the imagery sort of apocalyptic (which matches the album cover, a bit). There's a demo Steve sung on before FTLOSM called 'Lost Angels', which also has religious motifs but in a similar sort of uneasy or even critical vein that hints at a belief in god but a distrust in or outright dislike of religious authority (in later interviews, he says he considers himself agnostic, basically). At first I wondered if this added extra layers to his dislike/distrust of Jon Cain, but Cain wasn't actually super religious at this point, so I think it was more like both of them were working through some things and eventually arrived at VERY different conclusions (Lost Angels is a VERY important text in itself, though, so that'll be its own post...!).

Then there's the big hit.... When You Love A Woman. Yawn. It smells like Jon Cain in here all of a sudden. Not my thing! So of course this is the one that exploded and was nominated for a Grammy and all that. There's a sad irony to it, as well, if so much of Steve's life in the early 90s was about self-actualization and exploring himself and there he is, stuck back in the place that had stifled that self-actualization, singing ballads about women (not that he hasn't loved women in his life-- more that a particular expression of it is there as a harder-set expectation again). Then again... something for the lesbians! Ha.

So musically it isn't perfect or at least isn't 100% my thing, but I still found a lot interesting on here, and it's very clear from the lyrics that Steve really wanted to make Neal happy and felt a lot of angst over being good enough for him/the band (and even more than that, he really wanted Neal to see him). The fact that Neal agreed to move on without Herbie must have given Steve a lot of hope that things could work out and that Neal would understand his side of things; he definitely thought Herbie was *THE* problem. And he was one *of* the problem*s*! Of course... things are never as simple as you'd like.

And of course this couldn't be a single post! There's so much drama around this time, and some of that will be talked about later...!

*UPDATE*

-i have to keep it 100 with the 'it smells like jon cain' joke for the ballad: steve can be JUST as much of a sappy cornball lmao

-the steve-trying/exploring-christianity-again angle was something i didn't know when i first wrote this and the other TBF essay and that makes certain lyrics extra ambiguous because if there's one thing i know about christian rock dorks it's that they love singing about jesus like he's their boyfriend. like having it be about neal is cute but it could just as well be about the literal jesus fucking christ. lol

[klm-zoflorr]

Fanon Lukas family tree!! Well, it's for my AU, but I'm sure we can make it work for canon as well ahah

& dark mode... it looks cool okay

I've been working on it for a month lowkey, ever since I started on that Evan/Naomi wip, just... Slowly building up lore and a story and characters and rough estimates of ages and tidbits of brainstorming and a timeline and daddy issues and coming up with names and in this case, well, superpowers too because that's what the AU is about. But anyways, I'm super excited to dig in further, because YES all of these characters pretty much have some amount of personality and interesting details about them so far. Woohoo!! It's also interesting for the same reasons Gerry is interesting; because powers pass down genetically!! Yeehaw!! I get to give them all slightly different versions of the same powers and see how it informs their relationships!

You can see here what was basically my very first version of it. How underdeveloped! It grew a lot, damn. Also some minor changes I made along the way, as for the reasons why... Well they're pretty interesting if I do say so myself, I'll talk about those later. Have fun spotting the differences if you'd like lol

Still, a few general notes so far:

I believe the only Lukases mentionned in canon are Peter, Mordechai (in the 1800's), Nathaniel (owner of their cargo company so presumably some sort of patriarch), Conrad (the guy who talked to the astronauts before shooting them into space) and Evan Lukas. To that I added Virginia, an OC but like come on we need some women represent around here. I've always interpreted Nathaniel as being Peter's uncle, so i put him there. Nathaniel should be the one in charge in my mind too, so I made him the grandfather of the main line/evan's line (because evan is sort of the main character here). I also wanted to keep peter away from the main branch because... Well i don't know. I just didn't want him to be Evan's dad I guess. Or else, you've got that specific branch of the family that gets all the spotlight and important canon characters, and everybody else kinda sucks. It's not ideal!

I originally planned on leaving Peter's branch of the family pretty blank to be honest just because I wasn't super invested into him. I thought he had a sibling and a few nephews and that was it. But then I relistened to mag159, realised he had 5 (wait, 4? Oh shit, did i fuck up. Uhhhhhh) A FEW siblings and that two of them were named, Judith and Aaron. So that was interesting!

Mostly the beginning of it was just figuring out the ages to get an idea of how they should behave and how it all fit in and how far down the line they should be, and then building around it.

Oh, yeah, and based on the few canon names we got, I tried to find names that fit in. The style was... Well. The lukases' names sound to me like they're very basic. Kinda trendy, kinda... What I thought about was "cute" actually. So i tried to keep the same vibe for the rest of my made up guys. Wee-woo. Annnnd ive been rambling again.

Oh, oh right, wait no don't leave yet there were still thing I had to talk about. Few important details I knew about at the beginning stages:

-Evan's mother is a Lukas, and she's very opinionated but kind

-I wanted Nathaniel's eldest son, the one who became Graham (no, not notebook eating graham) to have a son who resents him very much. So i did that

-Adeline! She's old as balls. And very nice. Iwant her to be my grandmawmaw

-oh, right, Mordechai 2!!! For him I thought of the power first, basically he can show you things that happened in the past without having witnessed them. It's a pretty great ability imo.

-Oh, yeah, uh, every Lukas passes down their family name no matter their gender lol.

[secretsocietyofgamejumpers]

WIP: “The First Day”

Here’s a short Sparks Fly story based on @badbugbotblood’s tags on @shitpost-it-tristan’s post about Markowski!

“Oh, what’s the use?” Private Markowski muttered, burying his head in his hands as he wheeled a cart of assorted hors d’oeuvres towards the unlabeled plug hole at the edge of Game Central Station. “Just you wait…nobody’ll come to this thing anyway.”

Private Sparks swiftly descended the ladder she’d been standing on. Dropping her string of twinkle lights, she clasped her boyfriend’s hand. She could feel Markowski trembling–his nerves were obviously shooting right to the ceiling. “Oh, ‘Kowski, please don’t think like that!” she pleaded. “Your idea to set up a support group for people scared of Cy-Bugs was genius! Just…genius!”

“Tell that to the boys,” Markowski grumbled. His mind replayed the moment he’d revealed his plan to the other soldiers in his barracks. He remembered Kersavage laughing his head off. “‘Kowski, don’tcha know?” the gruff soldier had guffawed. “It can’t be a group if there’s only one person!”

“Oh, how many times do I have to tell you to stop listening to what that old snot-rag has to say?” Cyndra cried. “He’s just doing it to get a rise outta you! And besides, it’s not just us that’ve had runs-in with the bugs.” She gazed out across the wide expanse of Game Central, her eyes landing on the plug leading to Sugar Rush. A few stray teddy grahams and starlight mint people were milling about. “Think of those poor candy kiddies from Sugar Rush. Just ‘cause the game gave those bugs a sweet tooth didn’t make ‘em any sweeter!”

Markowski chuckled a bit, but Cyndra’s comment did little to improve his mood. “I’m runnin’ a support group, not a daycare!” he protested. “I don’t wanna be the only grown-up in the room!”

“Well, you’ll have me,” Cyndra pointed out, slinging an affectionate arm around the scared soldier’s shoulder, “but I bet the turnout’ll surprise ya.”

Markowski nodded, still not entirely convinced. He reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a set of index cards–his speech for the evening.

“Thank you all for coming,” he announced, his voice wavering as he read off the cards. “I know why you all came…’cause, at one point or another, you’ve been bugged by a bug…AAUGH! Why is this so cheesy?”

“I think it’s cute,” Cyndra volunteered.

“Oh, why do I have to try and be clever?” the private wailed.

“You don’t have to try to be clever, ‘Ski.” Cyndra patted his shoulder lovingly. “You already are.”

“No, no, Cyn–let’s face it.” Markowski wailed. “I–I can’t do this! I can’t run a support group…I’m the one that needs one!”

Cyndra’s heart broke at her boyfriend’s defeated expression. She wrapped her arms around him. “Forget what Kersavage said. You’ve got one…right here.”

The two embraced, basking in the sweet silence of the edge of the station and each other’s company, for what seemed like an eternity…

“EWWW!” A loud, grating voice interrupted the moment. “Cootie central!”

Cyndra, a bit miffed, broke off the embrace to find the source of the sound. A small crowd had begun to gather outside the plug-hole. Most of them were from Sugar Rush, as Cyndra had predicted: a few candy corn children and hard-candy hearts were scattered amongst the racers–tonight’s attendees included a cupcake-hatted girl, a chick with a cherry-red hat, and a platinum-blonde girl with a strawberry top.

“Just so you know, they dragged me here,” the strawberry racer growled, pointing out the other racers with her pink lolly.

There was one more racer in the crowd–a spunky girl with licorice hair and a cupcake-wrapper skirt, the source of the anti-cootie comment. She was sitting on the shoulder of a man nearly as big as Markowski, clad in oversized overalls. Cyndra recognized them as friends of the sarge.

“What’d I tell ya, M?” Cyndra playfully elbowed her boyfriend.

Markowski waved, grinning awkwardly at hqqqq is guests. “W-welcome, everybody!” he squeaked out. “H-have a seat.” He gestured to the circle of chairs in the center of the room.

But as his eyes fell upon Ralph, all the nervousness in them disappeared. Markowski’s eyes narrowed as he approached the wrecker.

“Why are you here?” he asked accusatorily. “Trying to scout out whose clothes to steal next?”

“Clothes to steal?” Cyndra cocked an eyebrow.

“Long story,” Markowski whispered back.

“If ya don’t wan’t me here, I’ll drop off the kid and go…” Ralph began to turn around, but Cyndra grabbed his arm.

“Give him a chance, ‘Kowski.” Seeing his reluctance, she smiled sweetly at Markowski. “You’re good at that.” She kissed Markowski on the top of his head. As the private’s expression softened, Vanellope cringed once again. “They should really rename this game to Hero’s Cooties!”

The support group was soon situated in their seats, and Markowski shakily retrieved the speech cards from his pocket.

“Thank you all for coming…I know why you all came… ‘cause at one point or another…”

The private took a deep breath and placed the cue cards back in his pocket.

“Actually, I…don’t…know why you all came.” Markowski stood taller, his breath becoming more steady. “And I don’t want this night to be all about me. I want it to be about all of us, together.”

Cyndra beamed as she watched her sweetheart speak. “We’ve all had different experiences with the Cy-Bugs...so why don’t we all go around the circle and share?”

Everyone seemed to shrink at Markowski’s request. Even though they’d come to share, the task was still daunting.

Markowski gulped as he realized it was his time to step forward. “Guess…I’ll…go first…” Cyndra sensed his distress and rose from her chair, grasping his arm in solidarity.

“I remember the first day on duty…when those hangar doors opened that first day, it was like…like the jaws of hell. I’d seen pictures and posters of the bugs…I thought I knew exactly what I was in for.” Markowski shuddered. “But it’s different when you’re up close and personal with ‘em. Those big green eyes staring right through me…those teeth, they make sharks look like they’ve got baby teeth.” He sighed. “You never stop being scared of the Cy-Bugs…you just get used to them.”

The other game characters were listening with rapt attention to Markowski’s speech. Suddenly, the floor creaked as Ralph rose to his feet.

“I remember I thought you were the biggest wuss in the world when you ran away from that roach on my shoulder,” he admitted, stuffing his thumb in Vanellope’s mouth as she began to chuckle at the embarrassing story. “But now that I’ve had a heaping helping of those Cy-Bugs, I’d’a locked myself in the closet so I didn’t have to deal with ‘em!”

Markowski was a bit taken aback by the large man’s honesty. “So you don’t think I’m a big wuss?”

“Not until I get to know ya better!” Ralph smiled, offering his large hand for a shake. “Friends?”

Markowski chuckled, accepting the handshake. “Friends.”

A sniffling sound soon redirected the private’s attention. It was Candlehead, sobbing her little eyes out as Jubileena comforted her.

“You all right there?” Markowski asked.

“I’m scared to leave my house…even when I’m going to race!” Candlehead blurted out. “Wh–what if they’re not all gone?”

Markowski’s heart nearly broke in two at the sight of her tears.

He knelt down to the little girl’s level. “Hey, ya wanna hear something super cool?”

Candlehead nodded.

“We soldiers have got our own trackers to see if there’s any cy-bugs around.” He gave a quick demonstration of the device. “And I think my boss has a couple of extras. I’ll ask her if she can get you one of ‘em. Cool, huh?”

Candlehead’s face brightened. “Oh, thanks, Mr. Soldier Guy!” She hugged Markowski around the waist.

“Whoa! I want one, too!” Jubileena exclaimed.

The other racers and candies in attendance gave shouts of agreement.

“Whoa, nilly!” Markowski chuckled. “Some of you are gonna have to share!”

Then the strawberry-topped racer spoke up. “Can…can I have one, too?”

Everyone’s eyes turned toward Taffyta. A mascara-filled tear was slowly dropping down her face. “I know I’ve been acting all tough, but I…I’m scared too! I’m scared every time we go up Cupcake Mountain ‘cause I’m scared I’ll see a big bug at the top! I’m scared every time we make the jump that I’ll fall into a pit and get crunched up by one of them! I can’t be the greatest racer ever, ‘cause I’m scared!”

Vanellope was the next to speak. “Taff…being scared doesn’t mean you can’t be great! I mean, look at me! I spent my whole first race feelin’ like I was gonna vurp. I almost glitched right off the track! But now look at me! I’m the greatest racer ever!”

“Ex-cuse me?” Taffyta’s eyes narrowed and she smirked. “Who won the Winner’s Cup five times in a row last week?”

“Who dodges three gumballs without stopping every time?” Vanellope shot back.

“Looks like they’re cured,” Cyndra said as she and Markowski watched the friendly rivals banter.

“Told you this was a great idea.”

There was a loud clearing of a throat. Cyndra and Markowski looked around the circle for the source–but soon found that it was coming from outside the plug hole.

Markowski’s jaw dropped as he saw who was standing there: Kohut, Loya, van Pelt, Marco–and Kersavage!

“Pardon us…are we late?” Kohut asked.

“N–not at all!” Markowski stammered. “C-come right in!”

The soldiers took their seats.

“Anyone have anything to share?” Markowski asked.

“I do.” A deep voice grunted–and none other than Kersavage stood up.

“Listen, ‘Kowski. I know I give ya a hard time. But all of us have been through hell an’ back in this game. Even me.” He sighed. “Every mornin’ I stand there on the battlefield, lookin’ up at the tower, and I think, ‘Why are we doin’ this? Why do we have to stand here and risk our necks while the player gets all the glory?’ You know…we all act like we’re not scared of the bugs…but that’s not it. We all just learned quick how to get used to ‘em.”

Markowski’s eyes widened as Kersavage repeated the same words he’d spoken. “Kersavage…”

“I know…this is so unlike me, eh, ‘Kowski? But it’s true. An’ I’m not the only one.”

“Wh-what do you mean?” Markowski asked. “What are you talking about?”

A knowing smile appeared on every soldier’s face as they all turned toward the plug hole, where one more figure had joined the party. Markowski gasped, a mixture of shock and joy filling him as he recognized the figure as none other than his commanding officer.

“I’ll tell you what he’s talkin’ about.” Calhoun strolled over to Markowski’s chair. “You thought Kersavage was tough? He’s a puddle compared to this here ice block.”

Kersavage sneered, but Calhoun barely noticed as she continued. “But if there’s anything that can melt an ice block, it’s a warm heart. That’s why I came tonight.”

She turned to address the crowd, in particular her soldiers, with a steely glare. “When I see the cy-bugs, I don’t see what you all see. Every bug I see looks like him.” She didn’t have to specify who “he” was–every soldier knew the story. “I relive that day every day of my life,” Calhoun sighed wearily. “Even though my memories are just a bunch of ones and zeroes…somehow, the pain is real.”

Seeing the soldiers’ sympathetic faces, Calhoun pressed on. “I know I’ve been harsh. I have to be, or else you all will turn into piles of marshmallow fluff. But,” she concurred, “I do it because I care. I don’t want any of you making some pebble-brained mistake that gets yourself or your friends killed. Because I know the feeling. And I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.”

Markowski stood, slack-jawed and bug-eyed, as he listened to Calhoun.

TO BE CONTINUED.

[90sbee]

The patrol is over

Leon S. Kennedy x Ashley Graham

2k words. Also on ao3

As Leon and Ashley await for the helicopter to take them to safety, Leon is slowly spiralling, full of concern still. It is then that a ghost from his past decides to visit him.

What can I say, I had this idea already and then I saw Leshley Week... It was like the perfect excuse to write and post this one. Also this fic is quite silly but, hey, I love writing Leon's pov. Also @lightning-hawke is a sweetheart and she made sure that this was readable. Everybody please thank you to this brave soldier who had to face my 3am delusional writing.

Content: All Leon's pov, angsty and sad but also. Cathartic. Ash is asleep the whole time cos baby needed a nap after all that. Spooning, protective!Leon.

Warnings: Hallucinations, anxiety. Mention of guns, knives, zombies. Sleep deprivation. And I think that's it? Yeah, this is actually SFW, for once, haha.

It’s been three hours. Maybe four. Perhaps five.

Leon can’t sleep. He has tried it, though, but his body is still running on adrenaline and anxiety and he doubts that he will actually get some rest today.

Whatever. He has had it worse.

Ashley is passed out on the bed, curled up into herself, softly snoring. Leon blinks, trying to keep his eyes open. Even if his body is exhausted, his mind is still rushing through all the different scenarios in which this could still go wrong, heart rattling inside his chest.

What if Luis was wrong? What if the Plagas is still inside them? What if he ends up falling asleep, body going slump on this old chair and when he wakes up, he has hurt her?

God. Such idea gives him goosebumps, and he sits even farther from the bed.

What if instead, it is her? What if Ashley opens her eyes and tries to attack him?

Leon eyes the knife on the nightstand, the guns on the floor.

He knows he wouldn’t use any weapon against her, anyway. But if she hurt anyone, he’d be responsible.

God. Fuck responsibilities and guilt. It would’ve meant he had failed.

His blood runs cold then.

A failure. Assigned on what was, probably, the most important mission in his life. The president’s daughter involved, and what was supposed to be one of the top agents in the country, ruining everything. Returning a shadow of a woman, a timebomb.

Leon hides his face in his hands for a while, trying to catch his breath.

He knows he is spiralling.

He has to keep some faith: faith in Ashley, faith in Luis.

In himself, even if he is not used to it.

He looks at her, pursing his lips.

She breathes so calmly. Expression soft, features finally having some well-deserved rest. She is so gorgeous too. A soul too kind for him. He feels guilty for refusing to accept her proposal, though he is aware that being her bodyguard would have never actually been possible.

He blushes slightly, knowing that she at least wanted his company for a little longer. Maybe he is not so useless after all. She had also asked him to hold her to sleep, but he had simply shaken his head. “You’ll be fine, I promise. You’ll probably have a better rest taking up the whole bed”.

He sighs, crossing his arms. Leon is not sure how long it will take until the helicopter arrives. He hopes it is soon, because his head hurts and he feels hungry but he can’t leave her side and he definitely doesn’t trust the police officers next door.

No, scratch that.

He wishes the helicopter never arrives.

Because that means it is all over.

His gaze softens as he looks at her, feeling his heart pulling at its strings. For a moment, he considers it. A life with her. Visiting her at the White House. Maybe indeed fighting to accept the bodyguard position, his hand on her back as he keeps her safe once more, the sound of her laugh. The idea of getting acquainted with her shampoo brand, learning her favourite colour, kissing her forehead.

He is spiralling again, but this time in a more dangerous direction. Leon cracks his knuckles, yawning.

There is no point into wasting time thinking of all this. He can’t afford to lose footing in reality. And the reality is forcing him to remember that only a few hours they had both been fighting a Plagas, and he can’t be completely sure that the coast is clear. The mission isn’t over until she is back home, until they both reach American ground.

His foot starts hitting the floor quickly, as his headache gets even worse. He has to keep himself awake, he can’t lose focus.

At any given point Ashley could wake up and look at him with those soft doe eyes and ask anything, anything from him and, god, he’d give her the world, but first… But first he has to make sure that they’re both safe.

She’s make him feel like a worthy prince.

He can’t lose the princess for being careless.

He feels thirsty but he doesn’t even want to move his eyes away from her. His heart picks up when he thinks her chest stops moving up and down, but he realises it is his mind playing tricks on him as she sighs again.

Fuck. He is really losing his shit. He’s been trained for this crap. He barely sleeps anyway.

He curses in a whisper and looks down, grabs the water bottle next to his foot and sits down again.

That’s when he notices there is someone else in the room.

How? How would that be possible? There is no fucking way. It takes him just a second to fucking comprehend what is going on, but in an instant he has his knife on his fist, standing up as he approaches the figure, ready to attack the stranger.

The knife doesn’t hit anything.

Leon stills his movements then, realising that he recognises the face in front of him: the dirty-bloodied uniform, the stupid toothy smile, the look of hope in his eyes.

It’s him. The ghost of his younger version, the one from Raccoon City, stands before him.

“Fuck off,” Leon groans. He knows now that he is hallucinating. “Go away,” he pleads, in a growl, sitting down once more. His fucking head feels like about to explode.

“Buddy, I don’t think I’m going anywhere,” answers the more excitedly voice.

Leon considers replying, but he doesn’t want to wake Ashley up. The poor thing has already gone through too much, the least she needs at the moment is the man that is supposed to keep her safe having a full-on discussion with himself.

Fucking insane. He hides his face in his hands.

It’s not the first time it’s happened, that’s for sure. He’s gone through it all: hallucinations for being sleep-deprived, sleep paralysis after the most excruciating missions.

Most of the times it’s not even monsters, or zombies. Most times it’s people he knew: Annette, Ada a couple of times too. Last time it was Marvin, his body bloody and his eyes white as he swears he could hear his cries of pain still.

He wonders if maybe Luis will join as well, sometime, another painful reminder of his failures.

But himself? This was new.

“What the fuck do you want?” he mumbles. It Is stupid, Leon knows that. But perhaps by talking to this ghost of himself he could get rid of it faster, make sure he can go back to guard Ashley.

“Heh, I think it is obvious what you want,” the high-pitched voice replies. Leon looks up a moment, seeing the rookie sitting on the floor next to the bed, pointing at Ashley.

“Very funny,” Leon groans.

“What? Are you gonna deny it? I’m literally you.”

“Just, shut up.”

Surprisingly, that works. When Leon looks up once more, the figure isn’t there. He yawns, rubbing his temple. Maybe he is gone, for real. Maybe his mind will stop playing tricks on him now. He resumes his watch, his whole attention directed towards Ashley.

He is not even sure what time it is now, but he hopes it won’t be too long. At this point, he is being more of a nuisance than an actual help, a real protection for her. He knows he will have to sleep soon.

Not yet, though. Not fucking yet. He has to fucking hold on, try to keep it together.

“Hey, maybe you should get some actual sleep,” the voice suddenly interrupts him, now coming from next to him.

Leon almost stumbles from his chair, heart racing.

“Jesus fucking Christ!” he half-shouts, and immediately purses his lips, embarrassed.

The rookie, the fucking rookie, sitting down next to him.

“Sorry, just trying to help,” he mumbles.

Leon shakes his head. He doesn’t want to say anything else. He is sure he almost woke Ashley up. He decides to acknowledge this presence, since it is becoming quite clear that it is not leaving for now.

“What do you want? Don’t fucking say Ashley, I swear to God,” he whispers, ashamed.

“Well, you’re the one that should know that. Your brain is literally hallucinating me at this point.”

“Yeah, no shit, Sherlock. I can’t sleep yet,” he replies, crossing his arm as he stands up, trying to walk around the room a little, forcing his body not to pass out.

“You look incredibly nervous, dude,” his younger version chuckles, seemingly amused.

“I’m not.”

“Why are you walking around, then?”

“Well, someone has to make sure the president’s daughter doesn’t die on my watch. I’d say that’s some pretty big responsibility,” his heart is about to get out of his chest, and he is sweating.

The headache is now deeper, more annoying.

“She is safe now, Jesus Christ. Give yourself some credit, man.”

“She is not,” Leon suddenly replies.

“She is. Don’t you trust Luis? Do you think he would have lied to you?”

That does stop him in his tracks. Perhaps the rookie has a point. Leon nods, slowly. In the darkness of the room, he looks at his arms. The veins are normal still. He hasn’t had any weird visions since they got the Plagas expelled.

Well, except for the unpleasant vision that his own mind conjures. Maybe even more annoying than Lord Saddler’s ones.

He doesn’t acknowledge the rookie, though, but he comes back to sit on the chair.

“How many hours has it been now?” this ghost insists.

“I dunno.”

“You do know.”

God. He didn’t remember his younger voice being that annoying. Leon inhales, trying to calm himself down.

“Five hours,” he replies after a moment.

“If any of you were still infected, don’t you think the Plagas would have acted up by now? Also, Lord Saddled is dead now. There is no one controlling the Plagas now. All the Ganado died, remember?”

Leon hates that the little kid is right.

“I guess that’s true,” Leon admits.

The rookie laughs.

“She is fine. You don’t need to keep watching over her like a creep. I mean, not that we are being creepy…”

Leon interrupts himself: “Just go to the point, man”.

The rookie looks up at him, glittering eyes full of hope and a gentle small on his face.

“Look, I thought I was the rookie here, but you’re being a whole amateur now,” he stands up, in silence. “The patrol is over, rookie”.

Leon looks at himself. That shadow of himself, too full of hope and of light. He blinks, still processing the rookie’s words… His own words, echoing from and inside his head.

The patrol is over.

Fuck.

He slumps on the chair, eyes welling up with tears. For a moment, he lets himself cry in silence, under the soft sound of Ashley’s breathing. He breaks down a little, feels pity for himself, as well as relief. He dries off his tears with his palm, trying not to be too much of a mess in case she wakes up. He should be strong still. He needs to be.

By now, the headache is unbearable and his eyes hurt, a combination of exhaustion and the tears. But he knows it’s true: they’re both safe. He saved her. Ashley is safe. And even if he can’t have her, if this story ends in a few hours, he can still breathe without regrets. He can even make sure that their last memories together are something pleasant, something nice and comforting.

Leon tries to calm his breathing. He looks up, still curious as to whether the old presence is still there, but not anymore.

No more ghosts in the room. Just Ashley and him now.

With heavy steps he moves towards the bed, dizzy by now. He lies down on the bed and allows himself to breathe against Ashley’s shoulder, timidly holding her from behind. He grips her body close to his, knowing this is the only and last time he’ll have this chance. And even if she is half-asleep, Ashley sighs, content on her sleep, as Leon closes his eyes, finally allowing himself to rest.

The patrol is over and so is their story. But for a while, they can still lie close together, in the dark. Both finally safe, at last.

My brain actually wanted to be mean and make it Marvin instead of Rookie Leon but you know what. I don't need to break my heart like that SO much. Let Leon be angry at himself, it's fun, lol.

[malwaredykes]

To: LUCKY 38 PRESIDENTIAL SUITE TERMINAL

From: Leigh Stasik

Subject: BIG DAMN BUGS

Hi there everybody!

So, it's day 5, and Joshua Graham continues to get on my nerves. I've received a lot of clear signals that the feeling is, of course, mutual. I don't think he's very happy about what I've been doing—or, more accurately, what I haven't been doing. Because he really, really wants to put me to work, in the sense that I'm to run errands for him, and I don't wanna do that. He doesn't agree to help me find a way back home, though, until I help him resolve his business. This, indeed, is a very unsatisfactory situation, as I am essentially being held hostage by the man, and I'm not pleased about him trying to act all kind and compassionate about it. I think he thinks he's doing me a great favor by “humoring” my “condition” (hahaha!) insofar as he hasn't gotten outwardly mean or violent about it. He's a hateful little man, quite homogeneously so with the Legion past of his that he claims he has long since abandoned and healed from. I in turn feel rather hateful whenever I have to listen to him go on and on about the love burning within and without him… Love for what? Vapid goof. Disgusting. I'd mess with him more, but I don't want to upset people here. But oh, how I want to mess with him. At least I know that if he tries to harm me, he won't last very long. I sure do love to hurt those who think themselves indestructible. Am I right? Who's with me?

I went out into the valley with Waking Cloud today, to disarm some traps set up by the White Legs on one of the bridges. She's so sweet! Not going to lie, I'm still a little surprised I managed to make friends here; it's not like I was going out of my way, as I had my own tasks to tend to, and didn't want to bother anyone.

But, anyway. Around noon the sun got reeeeaally harsh, so we decided to sit in the shade for a little while, right by the river, dipping our legs in the water. There's something about the smell of fresh flowing water, right above its surface, when the sun and the heat pull vapor out of it. We talked about a bunch of things. I think I've mentioned this already, but she's a midwife; we discuss medicine a lot, which is fun. She's taught me a lot about local herbs, their properties, and how to get the best results when preparing them. I told her about my hopes for cultivating some of Zion's plants and fungi back in the Mojave. In the end, she asked if perhaps I could stay in Zion. Gosh… What a touching suggestion. But I have family at home! I've got a dog and an eyebot to put through college! But I will return one day, I'm sure. I hope so. Maybe any of y'all wish to come along?

Soooo… We pressed onwards and then I saw them. A small pack of cazadores, nothing unusual for me, though their wings had a yellow tint to it, much paler than the bright orange I'm used to. Cloud was shocked by my nonchalant reaction, how I just pulled out my rifle and got ready to dispatch the creatures if needed, and I didn't understand until one got a little closer. That thing was huge! At least twice the size of the cazadores you'd see in the Mojave! And its chitin was a lot thicker, so it didn't go down with one or two shots. That was crazy. We did manage to hunt down a few, and the two that remained fled. Upon closer inspection, everything about these cazadores was bigger and more messed up. The stinger, the poison glands… Geeze. I wonder if the increased size comes from better air quality. Higher oxygen levels in the atmosphere did cause bugs to evolve larger in prehistoric times. I kinda want to try and make turbo out of these, but I don't think that's wise. I don't have the proper equipment with me to test the precise contents of this venom, and I can't exactly do a taste test. Oh well.

Ronnie-honey, aside from the surprise gift I can't wait to show you, I have a few mechanical tchotchkes for you to take a look at when I get back. You might be able to make sense of them, because I sure can't. I pulled one of them out of this airplane wreck I stumbled across. Well, you'll see.

Raul, Cloud gave me this recipe for agave candy that she makes for her kids. It takes time to prepare, but it's genius. I am so making it for you. And that's final. No ifs or buts. I mean, I'm gonna make it for everyone, but especially you.

Anyway. I need to get a good night's sleep this time. So, write to you later! Love you all! Take care!

Leigh

[unpopularvivian]

Incorrect Ttte Quotes 242:

*The engines are stuck in a glue trap and are trying to get out*

Thomas: Augghhh.... Who the hell put glue on the tracks anyways??!

James: And what is this glue even made of?!?! It's really sticky for no reason!!!!

Rosie: How are we going to get out?!?!

Diesel: Hmmm.... I got it! I will have one of the engines that isn't stuck in the glue trap light it on FIRE!!!! This will make the glue harder and less gooey.

Emily: Do you really want to burn the glue so that we can all DIE?!?!!?

Diesel: Well, do you want to be stuck in this forever?

Rosie: It's still gonna be painful!!!!

Galloping Sausage, holding a lighter: Too late. I already lit it.

Graham Cracker: *Pointing to the glue trap* It's lit!!!!

*Everybody in the flaming glue trap are screaming in pain*

[daisyjonesgf]

u just want me to blow up ur inbox tonight (jkjk)

and i literally just sent in an ask too, but JEALOUS GRAHAM??? HELLO??? (🥺 this him?)

angel was quick to introduce graham to everyone she knows cause deep down a part of her already knew that graham was going to be the one she spent her life with and hopefully every life after this one.

when she introduced him to tripp? This dumb dumb man took one look at graham and thought ‘i can definitely steal angel from him and he wouldn’t even notice’ (for some sympathy points we’ll say that tripp’s been in love with angel since sophomore year of high school) but after many, many failed attempts and a very stern discussion about how he was being disrespectful to angel and her feelings he finally stops and apologizes to graham (they’re like two kids deep by then, he pulled out all the big stops while graham was away on tour, joey (joseph) has literally had to shoo him away like a fly)

-❤️‍🩹

actually I do, this is sm fun, my brain is working rn and I love it

THAT'S LITERALLY THE EMOJI I WAS THINKING OF, GRAHAM IS SO 🥺

angel having a party not long after meeting graham and inviting everybody she knows, totally not bc she wants everyone to meet the man she's already fallen so in love with, and she's got the biggest smile as she introudces him to everyone, tells them he's in an up and coming band

tripp (who I'm still picking out a fancast for, maybe adam brody or OH heath ledger) meets graham and like almost laughs bc that man has such puppy dog energy, and angel is a force of nature he doesn't think there's anyway this could last but it does. tripp was totally angel's senior year prom and homecoming date two years in a row 'as friends' except the time it was her ex bf, and he's been her ride home from so many parties, partied with her, and just assumed it'll eventually happen

angel really does care about tripp which is what makes is so hard for her to just cut him off, there are multiple times she tells him to knock it off especially bc graham is like 🥺

like at first she was defending tripp but then it reaches a point where graham will be like, "of course i trust you, angel, but he's in love with you, I mean who wouldn't be. but you know, he's the rockstar-"

"graham, you're a rockstar."

"yeah, but you know what I mean"

"no, I don't, I love you, not some guys with a ridiculous ass stage name because he thinks it makes him sound cooler, just you."

but when graham is away on tour and angel is two kids deep and very stressed out, tripp is pulling out stops hoping she'll still pick him, like when chessie's birthday happens during one of the tour dates and then harrison gets sick so angel can't fly out to the show to celebrate with the band (plus she's so worried about her baby being sick and lowkey breaking down bc her mind runs at 500 mph), tripp is offering to throw a birthday party for chessie, and graham feels terrible for missing his daughters birthday when tripp literally put a party together. and his son is sick and angel is dealing with that all alone.

tripp is buying gifts, taking the kids to Disneyland, and angel doesn't want to refuse but it is so overwhelming bc like she knows she wants her but she doesn't want him and she breaks down to joseph about it one night and he gives tripp the big talking too.

"listen, man, you're a great friend, I care about you and I'm sorry you're in love with my sister. don't try to deny it, but she's married, she has a family and she can't deal with you trying to win her over and making her feel like she owes you something because of all you're doing when she's not gonna pick you. she loves her husband, she loves her family, we're adults now, you need to pack it up and find someone else. or I'll fucking punch you or something, I don't fucking know, but chill out."

and tripp apologizes to angel and when graham gets back he meets up with him alone and apologizes to him too, and tripp ends up marrying a model he meets literally right after. who becomes the light of his life and he writes so many love songs about her.

[after-nine-at-the-oasis]

Watched episode 3 of The Rookie!! It was great, I really enjoyed it :D

Wesley continues to go through it 😭😭 I'm glad we're not pretending Angela doesn't notice or is stupid (though let me tell you that unplugging of the earbuds STRESSED ME OUT!! xD) but thank goodness she didn't totally figure it out xd. On the other hand, someone stop Wesley from suffering so much lol

Also that dinner between Wopez and Jayla 💀 I would assume it's more to highlight Nyla and James's conflict with all that this season than anything else, but poor Angela and Nyla just trying to have dinner xD like the chicken comment was great lol

Girl Celina was right the whole time 😭 Nolan WAS spinning out and bro needed help xd. See because if you'd just BROUGHT SOMEONE, NOLAN!! You could've gotten both things done, but whatever xD. Celina really should've done that spell lol. Anything helps xD. Good on her for looking out for him, and for everyone finding him so quick :). Nice to see Bailey again 🥰🥰🥳 :D! And her not even being able to get in was great xD. I'm glad Nolan realized it was overkill but it was kinda quick lol. Still, glad he's gonna try and get rid of it xD. Also maybe area 51 wants an upgrade was wild 💀 fair though xD

Also Tim making it in and wanting more tickets to tell how was amazing xD icon lol. Speaking of Tim, the bet was found out o.o and continued anyway xD. I do think he was trying to take the blame but also, yeah Lucy it was his suggestion lol. He didn't say you weren't participating. But she does have a point, but their faults still. And AAHHHH Rachel's back :OO :D!! Hey girl!! It sucks that she's been going through it :((, but it's nice that her and Lucy can reconnect <3. And I'm glad she and Tim are on good terms!! All good :).

Bro these Rookies 💀 they were really funny together though, I've gotta admit xD. With both wanting to look good for Rachel and in the house. And they did catch the guy! Great job, guys :D. I love how shocked everybody was lol xD. Buuuut, still, huge mistakes were made 😬 at least they're not fired yet xdd the PR stuff is a good excuse for a lot of stuff this season ngl :) fun layer!

Smitty was low-key an icon today by the way lol. And everybody did great at their jobs! Gray was going through it in that regard but you know, with these fools xD

I'm super interested in the next episode!! It looks super fun and intense :O. Looks like we'll see some great Nyla Angela action, Bailey's back of course :)!! (and it looks like she's at Lucy's lol), and we'll see everybody dealing with a serial killer :o. Also it wasn't shown in the promo but the thumbnail for the promo was a wopez kiss so, holding out hope for them xD. It could be the end/resolution of this whats-his-face Graham or whatever storyline, which would be sad because the end but good because thank goodness 😭 set his man (Wesley) free xD

And there'd still probably be repercussions from that lol, like dealing with the detective, and Wesley dealing with the emotions

Anyway!! It was a great episode, I loved it, and I'm excited for the next one :D!

[insimpleforms]

Tag people you want to get to know better!

tagged by @paddington-two ily dani 🫶🫶

Last song: the future is a foreign land by ghost ... i keep gritting my teeth and repeating "55 years from now that dark fascist regime might be gone" 🙃🙃🙃

favorite color: i dont knoowwww but i do love a deeper color, navy blue hunter green wine red etc

last book: im in between rn, i finished the only good indians by stephen graham jones abt a week ago and mostly liked it and once im done w my current wip im gonna start crime and punishment! (im withholding it as a motivator dfkjglk)

last movie: y tu mama tambien! it'd been on my watchlist for years and i finally got around to it, i rly liked it :)

last tv show: im like halfway thru the decameron on netflix, v silly but entertaining. i love an everybody-sucks-here drama i confess

sweet/savory/spicy: savory food + sweet drinks <3

relationship status: single but also ? re: wanting one, so. Dont worry abt it :)

last thing i googled: 13th century english LMAO

looking forward to: buying ghost tickets!!!!! if my friends dont get back to me soon abt coming with im just doing it anyway istg I Have To Make This Happen

current obsessions: ghost + nameless ghouls. still. obviously. surely i wont be like this Forever but its been a year now so anything can happen

im tagging @fairykisser and @tinyluvs just to keep it going but no pressure :)