#Also funny to consider: if Bill 'dies' and is in that half-dead state and is in Theraprism

[tswwwit]

Dipper gets saddled with all of Bills stuff when he dies and suddenly its a role reversal with him trying to reincarnate Bill

I imagine pretty much everyone is upset by this turn of events, including (especially) Dipper! But yes, getting Bill Back would be his top priority, if only to offload all this junk back on his thoroughly irresponsible husband.

[hypnotica-ships]

Where Do We Go From Here?

Crow's decision on whether or not he stays comes to an answer, and a nightmare that might become a warning, rears it's ugly head.

Phase 1: Part 5

Word Count: (About) 1,810

1//2//3//4//5//6//7//8//9

He manages to get a good trip on him, and on the way down delivers a final blow. Knocking Crow out, once again.

"...I did say...no promises..."

Greeted with the familiar sight of the infirmary ceiling, Crow, closing his eyes in pain, tries to shift off his cot, but only manages to roll on his side.

"You lost."

Opening his eyes once more, he's greeted by Holger sitting on one of the guest chairs reading a newspaper. He seems almost unscathed.

"Yeah...I had a feeling...considering I'm back here again."

"...You shouldn't take this defeat to heart though. You've shown me that you are capable of learning and improving. You even got a single hit in."

Holger places his newspaper down, giving Crow a good look at his face. There's a pretty gruesome bruise on the lower left of his jaw. Crow gives him a slight smirk in return.

"But...if this was out on the field for like, a mission, or something, then I'd most likely be dead right now. Right?"

"You may be far from ready to join in on mission work, but I have faith that you can get there. Even if it means extra training lessons...which I don't mind giving, that is, if you are willing."

"~Ooooh, personal lessons from Herr Holger himself, how fancy.~"

Holger places the newspaper back in front of his face.

"...Never mind, I take it back. Leave."

"Aw, come on, I'm just joking. I do...want to take some time to think about your offer though. I'm just...in a strange place right now."

"...That's...understandable. I do...hope you stay though, I...haven't had a challenge like you in a while. I rather enjoy this change of pace."

"~That's sweet, you like me, we're gunna be the best of friends.~"

"Tsch, go back to being asleep. You were much more tolerable that way..."

"Oh, in your dreams, you're stuck with me now."

Later in Guile's office, Crow sits and waits in silence for his Uncle to return from a meeting. He had time to think about his future. He's confident in his new decision.

"Crow. I wasn't expecting you. Can I help you with something?"

"...I'm staying..."

"Speak up, little bird."

"I said, I'm staying."

"R-really? What's with the change of heart all of a sudden? Holger didn't hit you on the head too hard did he?"

"No, I just....I have a lot to learn. Holger, he...managed to get through to me, and I respect him, sorta-kinda...I'm willing to give this place a shot. Well, as long as you keep me in Holger's unit."

"That can be arranged."

"Thanks Uncle Bill, I'll try my best to make you guys proud."

"One more thing before you go. The room I gave you was only temporary. Since you're staying, we're going to have have to give you a change of rooms."

"That's...fine, I guess. Where will I be lodging?"

"I'll let you and your new roommate know after lunch."

"...Roommate?"

Soon enough, lunch came and went, and Guile led Crow to his new home for the time being. It was a small room, with a decently sized window looking out onto the air field, and fitted with a bunk bed. Clearly, his new roommate already claimed the bottom bunk considering all their clothes were placed about it.

"It's...cozy I suppose. Hope the new roomie doesn't mind me tossing and turning at night."

"Oh, I doubt he'd mind...Speaking of, he should be here soon."

"You're familiar with them I assume?"

"Heh, so are you."

As Guile was teasing his nephew, the new roommate walked in.

"Crow. What are you doing in my room? I'm supposed to be meeting my new roommate. Get out."

"...Holger..."

"Have fun you two, don't kill each other, and stay warm!"

Crow and Holger both stood in shock looking at each other as Guile left the room.

"Unbelievable."

"Heh, I told you, you're stuck with me now. Didn't think we'd be this close though, in fact I think Uncle Bill is trying to punish us for something, but I don't think I'd get along too well with anybody else as much as you."

"Hmm, could be...worse, I suppose. Just don't touch my stuff."

"Same goes for you."

As Crow gets his things in place, he notices a picture on Holger's nightstand. It's of him and a someone close to his age, they seem close. Crow grabs it to get a better look.

"Crow, what did I just say?"

"What? It's just a picture you had out on display, I'll put it back. Who is this? You got a lover back home?"

"...That's my twin you heathen."

"Hey, whoa, watch it, I didn't know! They seems nice though. You two seem close."

"We are...we were separated at birth, and it was hard at first, but we pushed through. They...are a very strong person. I plan to spend more time with them when I'm done serving. I think you two would get along, you both are....like that."

"Like that? I think I get what you're trying to imply Mr. No-fun-allowed, I hope that after all of this, though, we can all meet for lunch somewhere or something. Just hang out, ya know? I think it'd be neat to meet your evil twin."

"Funny that you assume I'm not the evil one."

Smiling as he puts the picture back, Crow gets his stuff taken care of, and decides to take a rest.

"I think I'm gunna sit the rest of the day out, Holger. I hope you don't mind me missing our private lesson today."

"...It's alright, I'm somewhat beat myself, and one of my men needed help with some of his equipment. I'll be back after dinner."

With that Crow climbs onto his bunk and lies down, staring out the window as he drifts off into a much needed sleep. Taking in his new path in life, and hoping he chose the best course of action.

It's cold. It's dark. Crow seems to be alone, surrounded by a foggy mist, but he feels a distant presence. Looking off into the dark, he sees two shapes that vaguely resemble bodies. One lying on the ground, and one standing, but hunched over. Both are shrouded in darkness. They seem oddly familiar, if only he could move and reach out to get their attention.

Fortunately, he doesn't need to move, both of the figures were pushed closer by an unknown force. With the closer distance Crow could feel some type of energy radiating off of them. The one on the ground gave off a cold, weak, almost dead sorta feel, as if what was inhabiting the body has left. The other one felt heated as if anger and rage consumed it, it didn't seem like it was too familiar with it though, it was....uncomfortable in this state. It didn't seem...stable. This figure also felt as though it was staring at him, or was it through him, if he could only see them clearly.

With one last push, the figures were almost eye to with him now. Both still covered in darkness, but Crow could make out some of their features better. The figure on the ground was wearing a flack jacket, and had a similar form to Charlie, but he couldn't see his face since it was turned away on the side. It seemed to be lying in a pool of something as well. The standing figure was in a blue uniform, one that Crow was all too familiar with, he couldn't see the figures face though, it was covered in complete darkness, except for the eyes. The eyes were plastered wide open, an icy cold blue that Crow wouldn't forget. Holger.

Why were these figures here? Why were they so...grim? Crow with every ounce of his strength managed to move his arm to reach out to this 'Holger' clone. Right before he made contact, he was pulled away by a strong force that seemed to have a bright light behind it. The last thing he saw was the figures dissapearing into the dark as he was being blinded by this new force's brightness.

"Holger!"

Crow awakes in a cold sweat, the room is dark, it must be late. The only light is coming through a small break in the curtain, but it's enough to prove he's back on Earth. Back in his room. Back to normal.

"Crow, what's wrong? Are you alright?"

Holger was standing near the edge of Crow's bunk, seemingly half awake, but alert enough to see that something was wrong.

"I-ah...uhm, it's....it's nothing. I'm alright. Just a...just a nightmare."

"You look pale, are you sure? You're shaking as well...Crow..."

"I-I'm fine. I just, I get nightmares often, but....they...uhm...God this is going to make me sound crazy if I explain it to you..."

"Go on, I'm sure I've heard stranger. Plus, I doubt either one of us is going to get any more sleep tonight."

"Yeah...my bad. I...I get nightmares, yeah, but sometimes they can be, uh, prophetic. I'm just hoping...this one wasn't one of those..."

"Prophetic dreams? ...Interesting."

"See, I told you! I sound nuts! It was nothing, just forget it."

"What was it about? If you don't mind me asking. You did scream my name, after all..."

"I'm....not fully sure, it was kinda vague. You and Charlie, well, what I'm to believe was you two. You were both shrouded in darkness, and you were both....off. Charlie seemed...dead, and you were...not normal, you weren't welcoming to say the least. When I was about to make contact, I was pulled away by some...light? I think. Then it just...ended."

"...Not welcoming? ...Alright, if it was to be taken as prophetic, what would that mean? Charlie dies, and what? I become less nice? That hardly seems like much to worry about."

"Wow you don't much care for Charlie either do ya? No, I...I don't think I can fully explain what you were in my dream it wasn't just...that. I...ugh, I can't word it correctly, but it wasn't good, at all. As for the light, which you'd think would be a good sign, seemed like it did more harm then good. I felt defenseless for most of this experience as well, I just...I hope it wasn't a warning. It makes me feel sick thinking that these figures might become a reality..."

"...I...see, I suppose. I'm sure you have nothing to worry about, we make sure we can face almost anything before we go out on a mission. I don't think a little bit of darkness will turn any of us into monsters."

"Don't underestimate the power of darkness. It can and will take souls without mercy if given the chance. One can fall too easily into it, but I get what you're saying. You're right, I probably shouldn't worry about this it...it was just a nightmare after all..."

"Well...since neither one of us will be able to fall back asleep, would you like to make up for that lesson you missed out on earlier?"

"Yeah, actually, it might help me get my mind off things."

Continued in Phase 1: Part 6

[post-itpenny]

The Challenge

So this is completely ridiculous but I’ve had the idea for a while and just really wanted to try writing some Dead By Daylight.

Yeah this is definitely ridiculous.

There were few things they could take comfort in while trapped in this never ending nightmare that the survivors called “The Game.”

The first being that despite how twisted and horrifying the game was, it did still have some semblance of a set of rules that both survivors and killers alike had to follow.

The second being that for some reason, despite coming from different countries and languages, they could all understand each other. They heard each other in their own languages except or obvious accents. It was strange and unnerving, something that became more disturbing as more and more survivors came claiming to be from different decades.

Jane speculated it was because they were dead, explaining to the others the last thing she remembered was flying off the road thanks to some black ice. Adam added that he had been in a train crash which he was certain he should not have survived. It was Kate that pointed out she had been literally yanked out of reality by The Entity and dropped by the campfire. Several others could attest getting lost or just walking into the fog by complete accident.

Perhaps it was another rule they didn’t fully understand. But then again, communication was vital during a trial. Regardless of the reasoning of The Entity the survivors all agreed it was a small comfort being able to speak with each other.

Which led to how everything started.

Dwight, Claudette, Nea, and Jeff had been pulled into a trial. The anxiety that came with waiting for those in a trial to return never lessoned. There had been a handful of survivors that only lasted a few rounds before completely breaking, dying in a trial and not returning to the campfire. No one wanted to think about what may have happened to those few but the fear someone else would break was always present.

Fifteen minutes in and Dwight had appeared, his clothes muddy and torn. The look on his face said it all- a mori.

“Ghost Face,” he groaned, “‘Dette was hooked and I ran to help her. Should have known it was too easy since he had already gotten me once.” Dwight sighed as he shrugged off his shirt and took the offered needle and thread from Quinten. The Entity could repair broken bones and gored flesh; heck, it even fixed Dwight’s glasses more than once. But it was apparently not a tailor.

From across the campfire Bill shook his head as he took a drag of his cigarette, “how the hell did he get you so fast boy?”

“It wasn’t my fault,” Dwight snapped back with a slight whine in his voice, “I spawned in right next to the guy. I didn’t have a chance.”

Half an hour later the other three came back, Claudette seemed…. dumbfounded.

Nea was laughing hysterically.

“I would have paid anything the see his fuckin’ face!” She cackled. “You guys, guys! You won’t believe it!”

Apparently Nea had also tried to come to Claudette’s aid, hanging back in the tall grass as she saw Ghost Face pounce on Dwight. But then-

“So he’s fishing his camera out of a pocket and to take a picture and- an-“ Nea couldn’t continue, breaking into another fit of laughter. Claudette, who had seen everything, continued.

“Ghost Face took a selfie with Dwight’s body and Nea photobombed it.”

“He sat there for two minutes just staring at the stupid screen!”  Nea screamed between fits of laughter, Dwight gave  a huff of annoyance and half-heartedly shoved Nea off the log she sat on and flat on her back in the dirt, tears in her eyes with laughter.

Bill took another drag of his nearly dissolved cigarette and scowled. “That was bold but stupid, what if he turned around and stabbed you?”

“Oh come off it old man,” Nea scoffed, “pass me a cig from wherever the hell you get them from.”

“Nope, you’ll ruin your lungs.”

“Bill you-“

“So what's a photobomb?”

It had been Nancy that had asked, which considering it had been the 80’s last time she and Steve had checked no one could blame her. Confusion about slang did not change even if they could understand each other, the time gaps not helping. So it was explained what it meant to photobomb someone and as the realization of what Nea had done really started to sink in, most of the group could agree, it was hilarious.

But then two days later Ace decided it would be funny to sing “I Only Have Eyes For You” to the Nurse, leaving the apparition coming to a halt in her chase with Meg. He made it through the first verse before she seemed to pull herself together and swing at him with her bone saw. Ace died pretty quickly that round but that night at the campfire they were all in better spirits than they had been in a long time as they listened to Ace and Meg recount the story.

And so, the challenge was born.

There were several like Bill, Tapp, and Jane who saw it as reckless but even Claudette who was arguably one of the most level headed of them all pointed out that it wasn’t like anyone would die permanently. Plus, if it raised everyone’s spirits then wasn’t the risk worth it?

Even the survivors got bored with the monotony of one trial after another, so anything that could spice things up was welcomed by most.

It took some time to explain what a “meme” was, several failing since the best they could do was give examples that not everyone understood. But the idea got across soon enough and quickly led to Steve screaming “is that a cat?!” As the Demigorgon charged his way which led to Feng Min screaming “yeet!” As the Huntress threw a hatchet in Bill’s direction.

The Huntress didn’t seem to appreciate the humor as much as Feng Min did.

Perhaps the boldest came from Laurie who had at first been very much against the idea of taunting the killers in such a way. But she had been inspired, and there were very few things that could bring her as much joy as giving her brother any form of grief.

Kate and Quinten has been trapped in a corner of the ironworks, Michael staring them down as he prepared to strike-

But they were far more interested in Laurie who was standing an arm’s length behind him.

Michael lunged and they split in separate directions; Kate apparently being the unfortunate chosen as Michael chased her out of the ironworks and Quinten watched as Laurie followed right behind, just as stealthy and quiet as her brother could ever be. She followed him like this for nearly the entire match and when Michael did finally turn around to spot Laurie he skipped the usual protocol and went straight to a mori.

It was amazing and Quinten was well convinced Laurie could be just as dangerous as her brother given the right circumstances.

Many of them took turns playing like this, even at the risk of an early death the survivors found it worth it for just two minutes of a good laugh. They now had stories to share around the campfire aside from the mournful accounts of what they missed from their old lives. Even Jane eventually joined in, propping her arms up on a window ledge and holding a thirty second mock interview with an extremely confused Wraith with an imaginary microphone held out for his response.

They started repeating the antics of each other which infuriated some of the killers to no end. The Huntress especially really did not seem to like it when someone screamed “yeet.” But a challenge was still a challenge and the ultimate goal was to outdo each other.

Dwight often did not feel like a proper leader even though he somehow had found his way into the role. He didn’t like the idea of the others willingly throwing themselves in harm's way for the sake of a laugh. It already worried him to no end when Meg or someone else would lead a killer on the chase so the others could work on a generator. The theory that they would always come back as long as they had hope felt shaky to him at best. If The Entity could bring them back on a whim then surely it could just get rid of them if they proved too troublesome. It did make the rules of the game after all.

And yet…

Dwight was running as fast as he could, the leader of The Legion right behind him. He turned a corner and dashed for a pallet, hoping the killer had not reached a frenzied state yet. Dwight lept to the other side of the pallet and slammed it down in the killer’s face. He stood there for a moment as some speck of sanity seemed to snap and his brain went to autopilot.

Dwight dabbed and took off running again.

From behind him came a roar of laughter, spotting Nea he gave a grin as he dashed off into the cornfields of Coldwind Farms.

Later on he somehow made it out of the trial alive, giggling like mad as he sat down next to Nea.

“Did you see? That was amazing!”

“Y-yeah I saw you,” she stammered.

Dwight frowned, “look I know it’s not the most impressive but you still laughed-“

“That wasn’t me.”

“... what?”

“Dwight, that wasn’t me laughing. I was hiding in a corner, I wasn’t laughing.”

It was then Dwight realized the laughter he had heard was distinctly male.

Dwight slipped off the log in a dead faint.

[jennadrawsandgames]

Don’t Go Alone - A Creepypasta OC Story

Before I get into the story, I want to tell you all that this is an original character I created. A story told in a different person’s perspective. Other than that, I hope you enjoy.

-

I’ve never expected that this town was the heart of missing people. Just the other day, a report of three middle school children went missing. I was fazzing out whenever the news reports talked about the children, and their names. I mean, they didn’t matter. I’m not some type of investigator or police officer. I’m just an average teacher at the prep school downtown that opened just months ago. If I needed to know the children’s names, then I would care. Besides, their just about to become high schoolers. They can take care of themselves.

“Mr. Johnson, the principal was hoping to see you.” Katie, my TA told me as she dropped the class phone, snapping me out of a minor transition.

“Oh, okay. Thank you Katie.” I replied to the high schooler.

She looked kinda disappointed in me when I was just leaving the empty classroom. It’s like she’s missing something. I brushed it off so I can focus on what’s coming to me now.

The empty halls filled with lost papers of homework, little doodles, and missing papers of students. Just having the feeling I’m missing something myself. It must’ve been the coffee from this morning.

I managed to get into the office to meet with the principal, but everyone seemed to be depressed over something. It’s just washing over everyone. I just see the man waiting for me in the doorway like always.

“Good morning Johnson.”

“G-good morning sir.” I just felt so hesitant when the words came out of my mouth.

“Come in. I need to chat with you for a moment.”

He let me into the office. It was just filled with many papers of bills and missing papers of students and some teachers over the last few months. You can’t even see his desk with all of these papers from worried parents and government officials and complaints of how unsafe the school can be from the amount of people going missing.

“You must be wondering why I wanted you in my office.” William Woodrow gave me a grin hoping for the response I’ll give back.

“I was sir. You called me while I was preparing for my English classes with my TA when you called.” I replied back still feeling worried on where this conversation is going.

“Look, we’re not getting a good reputation with all these complaints of missing children and one of our own students going on a homiside just in October. I also looked into your resimay and your were in the army. Aren’t I correct Johnson?”

“Whoa-wait. What does being part of the military 4 years ago have to deal with being a teacher?”

“We need your help to find those missing children. I hate the school getting a bad reputation because the parents are coming to me instead of the government about their children.”

“Sir, I don’t want to look back into my military past. I never wanted to speak about it ever again. Please just let me be the thing I wanted to be-.”

“That’s why I’m not giving you an option. You do what you’re told to do, and you’ll do it.”

I went silent when he stated that to me.

“That’s what a thought. You and some other teachers will begin the search tonight, 7 pm. You’re the only one who knows how to use a gun, so you’ll be leading the group. I hope to see good results from you like always.”

I started to leave the room since that was the only thing he needed me for. My question is why Principal Woodrow making me and other teachers be a search party? Most of these children could be faking of going missing just to make is an excuse to not do school. I only signed up to become a teacher after leaving my past life behind. The tactics they’re teaching in the Army were very sketchy like we’re going for war against each other. I’m just a black individual trying to live a better life, not make it worse for myself.

The day continued on like how it should be, but I can’t get that thought out of my head. The principal has now gone insane. I just had to accept this offer. I need this job. If I lose the job, I lose everything. I wish it didn’t have to be this way.

It’s about 6:30 pm when some other teachers started to arrive at the meeting point. Most of them will back out of it and lie about the search. They eventually left at 7:00 out of the fact there’s no use to it. I went into the entrance of the woods all by myself. It sucked to not have others around me for support.

“Pussies. They pretend to be something they aren’t. Just man up and we’ll find out the truth.” I told myself since nobody was around.

The entrance to the woods is gone even from not making that much progress in. It gave me the chills to see only trees and freshly made foot prints from last night. This must’ve been where those children went.

It’s been getting darker, almost pitch-black. It feels like forever since I last entered in. Especially how I still found nothing. I was at the point of giving up when I found a stench coming from around the area. It smelled like flesh being cut opened just recently. I stepped onto a log, but it felt so squishy? The stench grew stronger the more I stepped onto these logs.

I looked down to see exactly what I was stepping on and was shocked. These weren’t logs at all. These were the children that went missing last night. I was so shocked that I couldn’t move at all. Fear just swallowed me up whole.

“You know, it’s funny to say for a man like you to be a fucking wimp and stand up for yourself.” A voice giggled around me.

“Who-who’s there? I got a gun and I’m not afraid to use it!”

“Andrew Johnson. English teacher at Pacific Prep. A private educational school for middle schoolers and high schoolers. It sucks how shady the government is to use students from that school as extermination weapons.”

“The fuck you’re talking about and how do you know my name?”

“That’s a secret for another day, if you can last. Everyone knows not to enter into my woods alone, or at least my father’s woods.”

I shine my phone’s flashlight around, hoping to find where the voice is coming from. This has to be a student prank.

“Show me your fucking face you bitch!”

“Aw.. You called me a bitch. Such an insult from a ‘holy man’ like you. You can say I’ve known you for a while now. Just hiding behind a mask.”

I managed to finally find some movement of a girl wearing one of the school’s uniforms? Half her face was covered with a mask that’s covered in blood. The worst part was how bloody the uniform was. I can see her holding a pistol of some kind. It was a custom made pistol.

“Uh oh.. You found me~.”

“G-get away you monster!”

She jumped down from the trees cocking the pistol up. I felt so defenseless when I met eye-to-eye.

“Who are you?”

“You can say I died in October, but never did. You can say the one who helped the government kill protesters that were fighting for their rights. You can also say I’m the girl who was falsely accused for many fights I’ve never started before getting suspended for breaking a bitches’ nose.”

“Evelyn Brooks? Holy shit. How are you alive?”

“I never died. I only escape. They thought I was the mouse, but I was really the cat with the mouse in my hands. Well bummer that you now know a lot. I could keep you alive, but that would never be fun.”

She didn’t answer my question. Well she did, but why like that? I just realized I still have my gun fully loaded, so I can get back alive. I quickly aimed at her arm and tried to shoot her, but she was already gone.

“Oh now we’re playing. Only one gets out alive.” Her voice rings inside my head as my hands gripped right onto the gun barrel. That’s when I felt a sharp object hit my back. I turned around to see nothing, but it happened again.

Shit, she’s too fast. I don’t even know where she is anymore. I need to think to get out alive. I’m already losing a lot of blood were also too deep in for anyone to hear a person. I just grabbed the gun and shot around the area hoping to hit the girl.

I ran out of ammo just at my second turning. This became bad, to worse. From at top, I see the girl firing shots at me. She was only grazed by some of the bullets, but nothing else. I was in complete shock how this girl survived that without being badly hurt. She definitely knows what she’s doing which makes it the worst part of it. She shot 5 times and all of the bullets hit me in my arms and legs. It just hurts to move anymore and dropped to the ground on top of the dead children’s bodies.

“You know, that wasn’t a bad fight you put up. The first one to manage a hit onto me. And I don’t go by ‘Evelyn Brooks.’ I go by Eve.” She says as she shoots the final bullet into my head and rips the knives out of my back. My body lies there as everything goes black.

-

“This is the daily news for today. This morning police officers found 4 bodies known to be the 3 children that went missing and the fourth one being the man of Andrew Johnson. A teacher for Pacific Prep. Before he was found dead, some teachers saw him enter into the woods near the town around 7:00 pm. He was the only teacher that fully consented to search for the missing children which the school funded a search party to find the students. Police also found a pistol that was there at the crime scene and looked into the gun and saw something they would never expected. Engraved within the gun, ‘Project EVE.’ Were theorizing that this gun to the owner was responsible for the murders of all of those peaceful protesters from October, to December.”

“We also heard about another student that goes to Pacific Prep, Skylar Evans, was considered dead by the government. Before she went missing last month, she was last spotted walking from a small cafe before heading to the school. They claimed to find her dead in the woods as well during the search party that happened earlier this morning. We’re not sure this is true, so we’ll keep the investigation ongoing. That’s all of the news for today.”

The television turns off with people surrounding the area.

“It’s nice to know you’re back from keeping the people away from our territory.”

“I did find someone hiding that was eating some flesh while I was on my way back. Her name, Skylar Evans, but she would be preferred to be called ‘Patient Ø.’”

“Thank you for the information Eve. We’ll have you get her to us tonight, so we can meet her.”

[chameleonwritess]

Feels Like Home (Ch 1)

Myriad of Stars

Not-So-Secretly in Love

Feels Like Home (Ch1 | Ch2 | Ch3)

Forever Starts Today (Epilogue)

Extras:

Infirmary Duties

Fandom: Percy Jackson

Pairing: Nico di Angelo/Will Solace

Nico's summer has been amazing thanks to Will but he isn't ready to face the following year when it ends. He knows there are going to be a lot of changes this year and that frightens Nico. Luckily, Will is there for him through everything.

Word Count: 7446

Read the whole Myriad of Stars series on AO3

Chapter 1- Demigods and Parents

Nico di Angelo was pretty sure that he’d had the best summer of his entire life.

Minus almost being destroyed by Gaia, of course, but he was grouping that with the rest of the year which had, quite frankly, been dreadful.

Still, as soon as the impending threat had vanished, Will Solace had stepped into Nico’s life and suddenly everything seemed to make sense. Nico had found not only a place where he belonged and could be himself but a person with whom he belonged and could be himself with. As the son of Hades, that in itself was a miracle Nico had never seen coming.

The fact that Will was attractive, funny, caring, utterly charming and the most infuriating demigod Nico had ever met just made everything so much better.

Of course, summer didn’t last forever, though. Nico knew it didn’t and yet he’d somehow hoped it would, causing reality to crash down around him during the last week of the holidays.

“My mom’s picking me up from Camp next week,” Will announced very suddenly one afternoon whilst the two were sitting inside Nico’s cabin, playing with some of Nico’s old mythomagic cards for the sake of nostalgia and because the two of them were huge nerds.

Nico’s eyes snapped up immediately.

“You’re going home?” he asked in a slightly strangled voice. So much for concealing his emotions.

“Not exactly,” Will said. Nico raised an eyebrow at him, wondering what that was supposed to mean.

“Meaning?”

“Well, I go to school but not properly,” Will started to explain, “We need a healer at Camp all the time and now that Lee’s dead, I’m the best healer we’ve got.”

“How does that work, then? I thought school was a full time thing?” Nico asked. He knew he’d been to school in Italy but the memories were very faint. He hadn’t even thought about going to school since; he’d always been too tied up in monsters, Titans, giants or whatever else was deciding to destroy the world.

“It usually is. My mum has a special agreement with the headteacher, though. I go to school for a few weeks each term so that I can collect all the work and then I return to Camp so that no one dies from falling off the lava wall or getting a leg sliced off in Capture the Flag,” Will explained.

“So you won’t be gone for long?” Nico checked. Will chuckled.

“Why, you gonna miss me?” he teased, nudging Nico’s leg with his own. Nico rolled his eyes.

“I was just thinking about how peaceful Camp would be without you. No Jackson bugging me, no Grace bugging me, no you bugging me,” he said wistfully.

“Hey!” Will complained, “we only bug you because we love you. Besides you were totally upset when I said I was going home after summer.”

“Was not,” Nico spluttered.

“Was too,” Will retorted.

“Not.”

“Too.”

“Alright, shut up, of course I was going to miss you,” Nico finally relented, shoving Will, who had decided to lean his body right over Nico’s, in the chest. It was suddenly dawning on Nico just how much he would miss Will, though.

Even before they’d started dating, Nico had still spent the majority of his time with Will and over the last month or so the two had practically been inseparable. Now he was going to have to go for weeks without seeing him. Nico already felt suffocated. Never had he expected to become so reliant on one person.

“Ha, that’s pretty gay,” Will smirked in retaliation to Nico pushing him. Nico inhaled deeply.

“I changed my mind, can you leave today?” he deadpanned. Will laughed and flopped down on his back besides Nico on the bed.

“I’m bored of mythomagic,” he stated.

“You get bored easily,” Nico shrugged.

“True, but I wanted to ask you something,” Will replied, looking up at Nico from the bed from what Nico assumed was not a very flattering angle on his behalf.

“Go on, then,” Nico encouraged with an unenthusiastic eye roll to accompany it.

“It’s going to be weird spending time apart after we’ve spent all summer together so I was wondering if you wanted to come over and stay at mine during the first weekend? My mom will love you, I can sense it, and she’s always happy to let my friends stay over,” Will offered.

Nico swallowed a lump in his throat. Meeting Will’s mom had not been something he’d ever even considered and being new to the twenty-first century, never mind just dating, made Nico panic a little that he had absolutely no idea how he was supposed to act around a mother.

The only parental figure in his life was Hades and Nico doubted he could just nip down to the Underworld to pay his dad a visit and ask a few questions about his love life. It wasn’t really the father-son relationship they had.

“Don’t worry,” Will jumped in, noticing Nico’s hesitance, “it’s just an offer and I don’t want you to feel like you have to. I know you’ve probably not done anything like that before but just so you know, my mom is lovely. She’s the kindest woman I’ve met. She already knows I’m gay and will be so thrilled to meet you. I can already tell she’s going to love you.”

Nico raised an eyebrow. People didn’t exactly have a habit of ‘loving’ him upon first encounters.

“Really?” Nico asked, surprising even himself at how weak his voice sounded. Will sat up on the bed and placed his hands on Nico’s shoulders, forcing him to look into his dazzling blue eyes.

“I mean it. I’ve never disliked you and people say the two of us are pretty similar. She’s also one of the most stubborn people I know. When I was younger she’d keep me quarantined if I got a slight tickle in my throat so if you think I’m bad, wait till you meet her,” Will reassured Nico. He smiled slightly at Will’s anecdote.

“It’s hard to imagine anyone more stubborn than you,” Nico smirked.

“I’m not just Apollo’s good looks and charms, y’know,” Will teased, sending Nico a wink. Nico laughed at the action and allowed his head to fall against Will’s chest.

“I’ll think about it,” Nico agreed. Will wrapped his arms around Nico’s chest and kissed the top of his head.

“Thank you,” he said, “it means a lot to me.”

Nico still felt anxiety bubble up inside of him at the thought of spending a weekend with Will’s mother but after everything Will had done for him, this was the least he could do in return, especially if it meant a lot to Will.

He just wished it didn��t feel like such a big deal to him.

Will had to return to his own cabin before long (ever since it was confirmed that the two were together, the Apollo cabin had taken to threatening Will in order to ensure he returned back each night) and Nico was left to his own thoughts.

He knew how much Will’s mother meant to him. It wasn’t really school that Will was going home to- it was Naomi Solace. He always spoke so highly of her which just made Nico even more anxious. Normally, he didn’t care what people thought of him. The first time he’d realised he cared about what Will thought of him was when he’d begun to realise that he viewed Will as a little more than just ‘that annoying healer’.

Still, he hadn’t exactly gone out of his way to ensure Will actually liked him. Never before had he felt the need to make a dedicated effort to ensure someone didn‘t dislike him..

It was terrifying.

Nico also had literally no clue how he was supposed to interact with his boyfriend’s mother. The only adults he ever even spoke to were Chiron, Mr D, Hades and occasionally Persephone if he was in the mood for an argument. All of whom were immortal beings- definitely not mortal mothers.

Feeling Cabin 13 growing gradually stuffier as his panic increased, Nico stood up abruptly and decided he needed to take a walk outside to calm his nerves and get some fresh air. It was still half an hour until curfew so luckily, the cleaning Harpies wouldn’t be around to tear his flesh apart just yet.

Instead of wandering to Nico and Will’s usual spot, Nico continued further down until he was sat by the far edge of the canoe lake where few campers ever seemed to go. Nico himself rarely sat by this side of the lake, despite its proximity to the Hades cabin.

If Nico had been hoping for some brooding time to himself, though, he was severely disappointed as a tall, dark figure appeared from the darkness of the trees and made his way to Nico’s side. Nico had recognised him immediately.

“Father,” he greeted, sounding distinctly unimpressed with Hades’s sudden appearance.

“Hello, son. It’s been a while,” Hades commented. Nico looked at him sternly.

“You closed off the Underworld so I couldn’t enter,” he pointed out. Hades chuckled nervously, a sound that seemed utterly strange coming from the Lord of the Underworld.

“That I did. I apologise. It wasn’t to prevent you or Hazel from entering, I assure,” Hades said awkwardly. Nico let out a sigh.

“What is it that you want?” he asked. Whilst Nico knew he saw his Dad far more than other demigods saw their Olympian parents, Hades still only tended to appear when he wanted something from him. Either that or he was going to gift him a skeleton chef to go with his skeleton Chauffeur, Jules-Albert.

“I just wanted to catch up with you, Nico,” Hades said simply. Nico raised an eyebrow.

“That’s unnerving,” he commented. Hades sighed.

“I still can never tell if you’re being sarcastic or not,” he complained. Nico shrugged. He wasn’t entirely sure whether he was or not, himself.

“Anyway,” Hades continued, “the Apollo sprout.”

Nico’s cheeks flushed, “Wait, this is about Will?”

“Oh, that’s his name. I couldn’t remember if it was Bill or Will. Yes. You seem… infatuated with him, correct?” Hades asked. Nico groaned and placed his head in his hands. The last conversation he’d ever wanted to have with his father was about his love life.

“Do you have to talk to me about this?” he asked.

“I’m not allowed to get involved with my son’s personal life?” Hades questioned. Nico nearly willed the ground to open up and swallow him. He was tempted to do it had he not known that Hades would just follow him anyway.

“Fine, yes, I’m happy with him. If you have a problem with it I don’t care,” he snapped. Hades looked almost taken aback.

“I have no problem. In fact, I’m quite relieved. He isn’t Jackson or Grace and he has a good sense of humour,” Hades said in an almost approving tone. Nico’s father’s words suddenly sunk in. How did Hades know that Will had a sense of humour?

“Have you been watching me?” Nico spluttered. If Hades skin hadn’t still been so deathly pale, Nico would have thought he was going red.

“Not exactly. I just like to check up on you sometimes. I noticed an abnormal amount of laughing so wanted to assure you were okay,” Hades explained. Now it was Nico’s turn to go red.

“Yeah, well, he does have a good sense of humour,” he mumbled. Hades nodded thoughtfully.

“Invite him down for dinner,” Hades suggested, “I’d like to meet him personally.”

“Please don’t threaten my boyfriend,” Nico begged, thinking how strange it was to refer to Will as his boyfriend in front of someone else for once.

“I would never. I simply want to get to know him better. If the Apollo sprout is important to you, he should be important to me, too,” Hades stated.

“He can’t eat food from the Underworld, y’know,” Nico added.

Hades glared at him, “Do you take me for a fool, Nico? I am well aware of that.”

“Of course, sorry,” Nico apologised, rolling his eyes, “I’ll have to discuss it with him. He- er- might be a little apprehensive about nipping down to the Underworld just for dinner.”

Hades nodded in understanding and if Nico didn’t know better, he would have said Hades almost looked hurt by his comment.

“I hear you’re going to visit his mortal mother,” he finally added after a moment of silence. Nico groaned again.

“Do you listen in to all of our conversations?” he asked, wondering exactly what his father had overheard.

“No. Just that one. I was planning to pay you a visit but noticed you were preoccupied,” he said. Nico flushed and tried not to think about what Hades had overheard or accidentally observed.

“I don’t know if I’m going to visit her or not, though,” Nico explained, “I’m… nervous.”

“Naturally,” Hades nodded, “my own relationship with Demeter has not been ideal over the years since I married Persephone.”

Nico didn’t point out that there may well be a reason for that. He also didn’t point out that Hades was definitely not helping his nerves calm down.

“Right,” Nico stated, “any helpful advice or were you just here to interrogate me?”

“I just wanted to see that you were happy,” Hades said, “I know it isn’t easy being my son. You deserve a good life.”

Nico had had this sort of conversation with his father before. Last time, he’d thought to himself that there was no way he’d ever be truly happy. Now he felt as though his old self really had been wrong. Life felt pretty great for Nico right now.

“Thanks,” Nico said, allowing a genuine smile to cross his face, “you don’t need to worry. Will does make me pretty happy.”

It felt weird to say so to his dad but it was the truth.

“I can tell,” Hades smiled in response, “I think the Harpies are coming. I should probably let you get back to your cabin.”

Nico nodded and got to his feet again. Hades had already turned around and was walking away back into the darkness.

“Dad,” Nico blurted out on impulse, before his father walked away. Hades turned around in shock. It was the first time Nico had referred to him as anything other than ‘father’ or ‘Hades’. “Thank you for checking up on me,” Nico finished.

Hades looked at him and gave a warm smile, something that looked so foreign on his usually cold and stern face.

With that, Hades vanished into the darkness and Nico was left alone again to clamber back up to his cabin before the cleaning Harpies swooped in to eat him for their dinner.

He’d made his mind up about what he was going to do- he was going to visit Will’s mom. Family was important, after all.

It was the last day of summer before Nico knew it and there was a very melancholic feel around Camp. Whilst some campers never went to school, instead staying on at Camp year-round like Nico planned on doing, there were an awful lot of people leaving for the year, some of them for good.

Percy and Annabeth were the first to say goodbye to Nico.

“We’re going to go to college in New Rome,” Annabeth explained to Nico when they caught him wandering past the big house, “but Percy needs to pass his SATs first.”

“It’s going to be a painful year of studying,” Percy added with a grin. Nico huffed a laugh. He couldn’t remember what going to school was like but from what he’d heard, studying was not a fun activity.

“Yeah, I don’t envy you,” Nico said. Percy shrugged.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back to visit soon. Probably sooner than I want knowing how things tend to go at this place. I don’t doubt that gods will have some new problem that needs fixing soon,” he added.

“Don’t you miss the days when you were told not to go on a quest and snuck your way onto it anyway?” Annabeth asked with a nostalgic sigh.

“I would gladly go back and smack my younger self. What was I thinking?” Percy laughed. Nico could sympathise with that.

“At least you didn’t go crazy and start raising dead spirits,” Nico pointed out. Percy laughed harder.

“True, true,” he said and before the three of them knew it, they were laughing about all the ridiculous trouble and near death experiences they’d had over the years.

Nico had never considered using humour as a coping mechanism considering laughing was something he rarely found himself doing, but as he found himself recounting tales with Percy and Annabeth, he realised the memories didn’t hold quite as much sting as they usually did. Nico absent-mindedly wondered if that had been partly Will’s influence on him.

“Remember the time I gatecrashed my own funeral?” Percy asked Annabeth. She burst into laughter again.

“I was about to go saying all this nice stuff about him and then he just wanders over like it was no big deal,” Annabeth said.

“Oh, Nico, what about that time you came over to my house on my birthday to tell me to take a swim in the Styx but got distracted by cake,” Percy reminded him.

“What was I thinking?” Nico asked with a laugh, “at least the cake was good.”

“Sally’s blue food is the best,” Annabeth agreed as Percy wrapped an arm around both her and Nico, squeezing them into a group hug. Nico reluctantly complied. He didn’t mind it anywhere near as much as he pretended to.

“I’m gonna miss you a lot, Nico. You’d better visit us in New Rome, too,” Percy said, “don’t pretend you don’t know me this time!”

Nico smiled sheepishly, “Yeah, sorry about that.”

“Hopefully this time you won’t be losing your memory,” Annabeth scolded as she gently smacked him on the arm.

“I never forgot you, Wise Girl,” Percy said fondly and Nico averted his eyes, already knowing what was about to happen. He scanned the inside of the Big House as he looked away, peering into the infirmary to see if he could spot Will. Will hadn’t said goodbye yet so Nico hoped he didn’t plan on leaving without doing so.

Percy and Annabeth didn’t kiss for long due to Nico’s presence which he was grateful for. He was also glad to notice that he didn’t feel any twinge of jealousy towards Annabeth at all anymore. Percy was just a normal guy to him now. A friend, even.

“I really am sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused you over the years,” Nico apologised. Percy shrugged.

“Don’t sweat it. I’ve caused you trouble, too. Besides, it’s what friends are for,” he grinned, using his knuckle to mess up Nico’s hair as Nico attempted to bat his hand away. Annabeth laughed.

“Look after everyone at Camp for us, Nico,” Annabeth smiled, “I trust you to make sure everything stays orderly.”

“As orderly as Camp Halfblood can get,” Nico pointed out as an appropriately timed fight broke out behind them on the volleyball court between an Ares and an Aphrodite kid.

“Don’t go breaking Will’s heart,” Percy added with a wink. Nico rolled his eyes and flushed red.

“Shut up,” he complained, “I will miss you guys, though. Camp will feel strange without you here.”

Percy and Annabeth smiled so widely at Nico’s admission that he almost regretted it. He regretted it even more when the two engulfed him in another huge hug.

“Goodbye till whenever we next see you, then,” Percy said. Nico nodded.

“Enjoy college,” he greeted. Annabeth smiled.

“Oh, he’s going to love it,” she smirked a little evilly. Nico chuckled and gave them one last wave as the two made their way over to the top of Halfblood Hill where they would undoubtedly be swamped with even more Campers wanting to say goodbye.

Camp really was going to be weird without Percy and Annabeth there. Nico had never really stayed without them there since the time he sent Percy off on the quest his sister died on. All of that felt like aeons ago to him, now.

“It doesn’t seem real, does it?” a familiar voice came from behind Nico. Will had snuck up on him and wrapped his arms around Nico’s waist which he’d usually complain about in such open view of all the camp but it was Will’s last day before he went home for a while and his arms were warm. It wasn’t because Nico actually liked when Will held him like this or anything.

“Percy and Annabeth have just always… been around,” Nico agreed, “I guess I can visit them but it just feels like they’re going away.”

“Jason and Piper are going to New Rome for the year, too, aren’t they?” Will asked. Nico nodded, hoping Will could feel the movement of his head against his chest.

“And you’re gonna be gone. Camp’s going to feel pretty lonely,” Nico pointed out. Will released his arms around Nico and grabbed his shoulders instead, turning him around to face him. His face didn’t look mad but Nico could sense a certain anger behind his eyes.

“That doesn’t give you an excuse to shadow travel off anywhere you like,” Will said, “you’d better still be here when I return each holiday.”

Nico rolled his eyes, “I know, I’ll stay here, I promise. I might go and visit Hazel once or twice but other than that-“

“Good,” Will interrupted him with a sigh of relief, “I think you have some visitors that want to talk to you, though.”

Nico turned around to see where Will was looking. Piper and Jason were stood at the other side of the Big House, observing the scene at a distance. Nico could already tell the two had been spying on them and sent a premature glare in their direction.

“Go on, I’ll wait here,” Will promised with a smirk. Nico nodded at him and made his way over to them.

“So,” Jason started, “this is it for a year.”

“Don’t say that,” Piper accused, “you can still come and visit us. Reyna, Hazel and Frank would want you to visit too.”

“I know,” Nico agreed, “I will do. I hope you both have a good year.”

“I’ll miss you, Nico. Stay safe at camp. We’re only an Iris message away,” Jason reminded him. Nico nodded and felt the beginnings of tears prickling his eyes. He quickly blinked them away but Piper was doing nothing to hide her tears.

“Aww, Neeks,” she sobbed and then threw her arms around him. Nico almost fell back from the impact but slowly embraced Piper back if slightly awkwardly.

“Don’t call me that,” Nico complained but there was no annoyance in his tone. Jason sniffed loudly and Nico glanced over Piper’s shoulder to notice that Jason too was getting teary-eyed. Nico lifted one of his arms and Jason took the invitation, enveloping Nico in a hug too.

As both Piper and Jason were taller than him, he found it difficult to breathe pretty quickly and had to stretch his neck to free his mouth.

“Guys, you’re kind of crushing me,” he spluttered. Jason and Piper released him immediately with apologies rolling off their tongues.

“We will really miss you,” Piper said.

“Yeah,” Jason added, “you’ve changed a lot in just the short space of time we’ve known you. I’m really glad.”

“Well, I think you know who to blame for that,” Nico smirked, throwing a look over his shoulder at where Will, as promised, was still standing.

“Take good care of him,” Piper said with a wink, “have you made up your mind yet?”

Nico took a deep breath in and nodded.

“I know what I need to do,” he said, “and Jason, Will may have helped me but you were the catalyst that set the reaction off. You accepted me when I felt like no one could and I- just- thank you,” Nico managed to stammer out.

Jason looked like he was going to cry again and before Nico knew it, he had been enveloped in yet another hug. Feeling left out, Piper joined in again, squeezing the two boys tightly.

“You really need to stop trying to kill me,” Nico gasped for breath, “There’s still plenty of monsters left to do that.”

Piper and Jason laughed as they relented their tight grip.

“Don’t die whilst we’re gone,” Piper instructed. Nico gave her a wry smile.

“I’ll try not to. Make sure Jason doesn’t get himself killed, too,” Nico said.

“I can look after myself!” Jason complained. Piper laughed and Nico gave a snort.

“Yeah, that’s what I’m worried about,” he said dryly. Jason rolled his eyes and pouted before taking Piper’s hand.

“We’d better go and say our goodbyes to Percy and Annabeth before we take off,” Jason said, “we’ll see you soon, Nico.”

Nico lifted a hand in a half-hearted wave.

“Yeah, I’ll see you.”

And with that, he departed and made his way back up the hill to Will. This was his next goodbye and he knew this one would be the hardest even if he’d only be spending a short time away. Luckily, he had until that evening. Whilst most campers left in the afternoon, Will’s mom worked a day shift at the hospital so could only pick him up later on in the day.

“You okay?” Will asked with a concerned look as Nico approached. Nico wiped away any stray tears that may have been remaining at the corner of his eyes.

“Yeah,” he lied, “just going to miss everyone.”

“Aw, you’re such a softy,” Will teased, hugging Nico from the side, “help me clear up in the infirmary before I leave? It needs to pass inspection.”

“You’re the one inspecting it, you nerd,” Nico complained with an eye roll. His complaints ended when Will pecked his cheek and grabbed his hand, pulling Nico inside the Big House.

As soon as they stepped inside, Will switched straight over into Doctor mode, something Nico was pretty used to by then.

“I need all the thermometers back in the tub on the second shelf up and bring me some latex gloves whilst you’re there- someone’s left medical waste on the table,” Will instructed. Nico nodded and turned around to go to the back before adding,

“Is that a shelf I can actually reach this time?” recalling an incident only a week or so ago.

Will raised his eyebrow in response as he turned around with stethoscopes in his hand.

“I doubt you’d complain much if it wasn’t,” he said pointedly. Nico blushed and muttered a quiet ‘Shut up’ before marching into the back.

Nico was pretty sure Will hadn’t been the last person in here because the boxes were a mess. Will was such a perfectionist when it came to organising the infirmary that Nico knew he’d probably need medical attention himself if he came in and saw the state it had been left in.

With a sigh, Nico shoved the thermometers in the box on the second shelf and started work sorting through the other boxes, attempting to return everything to their correct place.

Nico hadn’t remembered about bringing Will the gloves until a pair of hands tickled his waist and caused him to make an embarrassingly high pitched squeal, dropping the packs of gauze he was holding.

“Sorry,” Will chuckled quietly in Nico’s ear, sending a shiver down Nico’s spine, “what’s taking so long?”

Nico picked up the gauze and stood on his tiptoes to put it back in the box before turning around to face Will.

The son of Apollo was stood closer than Nico had realised and his hands were still hovering over Nico’s waist, ready to pull him even closer. Nico’s heart caught in his throat as he felt his breath catch. Will still had an uncanny knack of taking his breath away. It was very infuriating.

“It- mess- decided to sort it,” Nico said intelligently. If he’d been hoping to disguise from Will how much his sudden presence and closeness had affected him, he was doing a pretty lousy job.

“What?” Will asked, having not understood Nico, not surprisingly. Nico took a breath in and tried to remember how to compose comprehensible sentences as he looked up at Will’s blue eyes.

“Someone messed everything up. I was trying to sort it out again because I know you don’t like it disorganised,” Nico finally managed to say without sounding completely stupid.

Will looked down at Nico with a soft smile on his face. Nico was glad that it seemed he’d actually done the right thing.

“Thank you,” Will said quietly, leaning down so that his nose bumped Nico’s gently. Nico’s breath was taken away once again as Will’s hands tightened around his waist. He wondered if there was such thing as dying from spending too long too close to your boyfriend. Nico at least hoped his father would take pity and resurrect him if that did happen.

After what felt like way too long, Will finally tilted his head and captured Nico’s lips. Letting out a sigh, Nico reached up, wound a hand in Will’s hair and pulled the blond against him hungrily. Will was far too much of a tease and Nico wasn’t going to let him get away with it.

Will didn’t seem to be complaining as Nico kissed him back harder, though, instead letting his hands move from Nico’s waist to his back, one of them slipping underneath Nico’s black t-shirt and tracing the bare skin on his spine. Nico shivered at the touch, despite Will’s hands being as warm as always. Will was permanently warm. Nico suspected it was because he was Apollo’s son but he didn’t really care- he only cared about whether those hands were touching him.

Nico pulled back to take a breath for a second but Will had other ideas, chasing Nico’s mouth with his own and pressing their bodies together again. Nico felt his back touch the shelves behind him and he removed his hands from Will’s hair to place them on the shelves and push the two of them off. He hadn’t just spent all that time organising them for Will to ruin it, no matter what his tongue was doing as it slid into Nico’s mouth and elicited a gasp from him.

“Don’t ruin my tidying,” Nico murmured against Will’s lips.

“Nico, shut up and let me kiss you, I don’t care about the tidying,” Will muttered in response, not giving Nico a chance to respond further as he kissed Nico again, the hot press of his lips making Nico finally give in and decide that the shelves really didn’t matter all that much.

He allowed Will to push him back against them this time as the taller boy’s tongue returned to his mouth. Whilst Nico did like to be the one leading the kiss, drawing small noises out of Will and leaving him a blushing mess, he definitely was not about to complain if Will wanted to push him up against a wall and kiss him senseless.

“Nico,” Will moaned lightly, the sound of his name on Will’s lips causing blood to rush straight to Nico’s cheeks and possibly other places he was trying hard to ignore. Nico just pulled Will’s lips back to his.

The sudden sound of a horn caused Nico and Will to jump apart in shock, Nico’s head hitting against the shelf above him and Will’s nose bumping into his a little harder than anticipated.

“Ow,” Nico said, not entirely sure his mouth was capable of forming any more than a sound at that moment anyway.

“I guess it’s time for dinner,” Will said breathlessly, “I can’t believe I didn’t manage to clean the infirmary.”

Nico rolled his eyes at Will’s pout.

“Don’t blame me, I was trying to help. Besides, you’re the inspector so it doesn’t matter,” he shrugged. Will scoffed.

“It’s basic patient hygiene, di Angelo,” he said, sounding scandalised, “and don’t feign innocence, you were being too distracting.”

“I was literally just tidying a cupboard,” Nico pointed out.

“Exactly,” Will teased, draping an arm over Nico’s shoulder as they made their way out of the Big House and to the mess hall, “distracting.”

Nico blushed and rolled his eyes.

“Catch me after dinner- I don’t want to leave without saying goodbye,” Will ordered. Nico nodded in agreement.

“Me neither,” he said. Will gave his shoulder one last squeeze before releasing Nico and going over to the Apollo cabin, now consisting of only Kayla, Austin and Will.

Nico sat himself down at the Big Three table that was feeling even more vacant. Percy and Jason had both left, leaving Nico alone. He hated sitting alone to eat. He never would have admitted it to Percy and Jason but it did really help having them there when they’d first suggested the idea.

When Nico sat alone to eat, it brought back memories. Memories of buying Happy Meals in desperate attempts to speak to his sister. Memories of sitting trapped in a jar, surviving only off pomegranate seeds and thinking that no one was coming to save him- he would die alone.

They weren’t exactly memories Nico wanted to dwell on, especially now that his life was looking up for once, but the scars ran deep and no amount of happiness would ever truly dispel the nightmares and feelings of hopelessness that occasionally threatened to overcome Nico.

Absent-mindedly, Nico wondered if it would be at all possible for him to convince Chiron that he needed to sit with other people to stop his powers from playing up. Maybe Chiron would let him sit with Will if the son of Apollo played his ‘I’m a doctor’ card.

For a second, Nico was tempted to raise skeletons right there and then but thought better of it. Will would be leaving Camp in about an hour, anyway.

Distracted from his own memory with thoughts of Will, Nico happily bit into his pepperoni pizza.

Despite Will’s promise that he would say goodbye to Nico before he left, Nico spotted the son of Apollo leaving his cabin with a packed bag and heading in the direction of Halfblood Hill- not in the direction of the Hades cabin.

Luckily, Nico had been paying attention so muttering to himself in aggravation, Nico shrugged on his aviator jacket to guard against the cool evening breeze and stormed out of his cabin, not caring that the door slammed shut behind him.

Due to Will’s naturally larger strides (curse his long legs), Nico had to jog to catch up and finally reached him just as he arrived at the top of the hill.

“Going somewhere?” Nico asked pointedly. Will jumped at the sound of his voice.

“Ah, Nico!” he gasped, “uh, sorry, I was going to come and say goodbye but, well-“ Will broke off with a shrug and Nico raised an eyebrow at him. With a glance down the hill, he spotted a woman with curly brown hair, blue eyes as clear as Will’s. Her face was smattered with freckles and she wore a smile Nico would recognise anywhere. She was Naomi Solace- unmistakably Will’s mother.

“Oh,” Nico muttered, drawing his attention back to Will. He’d felt a hint of panic rise up inside him at the sight of Naomi accompanied with the disappointment that Will hadn’t intended to say goodbye to him. Nico was going to be spending a weekend with just her and Will way sooner than he was prepared for.

A thought suddenly hit Nico as to why Will hadn’t been going to say goodbye and it was completely and utterly Nico’s fault.

“Oh!” Nico repeated in realisation as he grabbed Will’s arms, “Will, I forgot to tell you- I made up my mind. I want to visit you at the weekend. I mean, if the offer still stands.”

Will’s eyes lit up immediately.

“Why didn’t you just say so, you idiot?” he asked and before Nico could even respond, Will dropped his bags and picked Nico up, spinning him round. Nico had to try hard not to shriek in shock as he grabbed Will’s shoulders to steady himself.

Still laughing, Will placed him back on the ground and hugged him.

“Of course the offer still stands,” Will promised, “do you want to meet my mom now? She’s heard a lot about you through Iris messages.”

Nico didn’t even think before he answered.

“Yeah, sure!” completely forgetting to panic. Will grinned and grabbed Nico’s hand, picking up his bags again and pulling Nico down the hill with him. They were through the magical Mist barrier before Nico knew it and he was faced with the most daunting task of his entire life. Talking to Will’s mother.

“Will!” Naomi Solace squealed as soon as the two demigods stumbled past the magical barrier. Nico didn’t even complain when Will released his hand so he could engulf his mother in a huge hug.

He was easily taller than her, resting his head on top of her’s as he hugged her. Nico guessed she was about the same height as he was.

“I’ve missed you so much,” she said, “you haven’t been overworking yourself, I hope. If you have a single blister on your hand from over-healing then I swear-“

Whatever Naomi Solace had intended to say next was forgotten as she pulled her son in for another hug. Nico couldn’t help but smile slightly as he observed the scene, despite the panic still rising inside him. At least Will would be in good hands away from camp; Nico doubted he needed to worry too much about Will overexerting himself.

Still, if there was a monster-

Nico shook the thought out of his head quickly. Will had always been fine in previous years. He was going to be fine now. His scent wasn’t as strong as Nico, Percy or Jason’s anyway- he wasn’t a son of the Big Three.

“Mom,” Will whined in complaint, pushing her away, “I’m fine, honestly.”

Despite his complaints, Nico knew how much Will had actually missed his mother. He never shut up about it.

Just then, Naomi happened to look up over Will’s shoulder and her eyes connected with Nico’s. He felt his heart rate immediately pick up in fear. She was going to hate him already.

“Will, I think there’s someone you might be forgetting to introduce me to,” Naomi said, raising an eyebrow at her son expectantly in a way Will so often did to Nico whenever he forgot to look after a wound or help out in the hospital. Nico was already starting to realise exactly why Apollo had been so taken with her. She had a lot of similarities to her son.

“Oh!” Will seemed to realise as his eyes shone. He grinned and walked over to Nico again, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards his mother. Nico allowed himself to be pulled and stood there in shock. “Mom, this is Nico.”

“So you’re the guy Will won’t shut up about when he Iris messages me,” Naomi Solace said with a sly smile. Nico felt his cheeks heat up. He was supposed to say something now.

“Um,” Nico started, “it’s nice to meet you. Will talks about you a lot, too.”

“Oh, does he?” Naomi Solace asked, turning to Will.

“Pfft, as if,” Will pretended but his mom just tackled him in another hug.

“You big softie,” she teased, “you do love your old mom after all.”

“Mom, stop, you’re embarrassing me in front of Nico,” Will complained, attempting to flatten his hair again when his mom released him. Nico fought the urge to run his fingers through it. Will’s mother was right there.

“It really is lovely to meet you, though, Nico. I’m really glad Will’s found someone as good to him as you,” Naomi turned to Nico again, still smiling.

“Good to me?” Will huffed. Nico elbowed him.

“Thank you, Miss Solace,” he said, “I do my best to keep him in check.”

“Please, just call me Naomi. Or mom if you want- anything’s fine by me!” Naomi said. Nico thought he would have felt a little bit awkward calling her ‘mom’ but it didn’t seem like she completely hated him so that was a good thing at least. “I don’t know how you manage- he really is a nightmare.”

“Trust me, I know,” Nico smirked, surprised at how easily he was managing to have a conversation. He hadn’t messed up. He could do this.

Will was apparently not as pleased with his achievement.

“Nico! Mom! I didn’t introduce you to each other so you could gang up against me,” he complained.

“You should have expected this, really,” Nico pointed out.

“Honestly, it’s like he doesn’t even know us,” Naomi shook her head in offense.

“Mom!” Will whined.

“Sorry, did you hear something, Nico?” she asked in a sly tone.

“Nothing at all,” Nico agreed with a shake of his head.

“I changed my mind, you’re uninvited this weekend,” Will huffed.

“You agreed to come?” Naomi asked suddenly, turning to Nico excitedly. Nico had never seen anyone look so glad at the news that he was going to be somewhere.

“Oh, um, I-I’d like to if you don’t mind,” Nico stuttered. Naomi grinned.

“Of course I don’t mind! The more the merrier. I’m sure you’ll help me wind up Will, too,” she said.

“I wouldn’t ever pass up the opportunity,” Nico promised. The tenseness of first meeting Naomi Solace was slowly easing away and he felt his shoulders relaxing. He wondered what he’d ever been so worried about. Naomi was lovely and she shone just as brightly as her son. Maybe Will hadn’t received his sunny disposition from his father, after all.

“Right, I’m leaving,” Will huffed, folding his arms stubbornly. Nico nudged him with his hip.

“So I really don’t get a goodbye?” he asked.

“Will, were you really about to leave without even saying goodbye to Nico?” Naomi asked in shock.

“I wasn- no- I just-“ Will stammered.

“Yes,” Nico interjected. Naomi looked at him sternly.

“It’s a good job your boyfriend actually cares about saying goodbye to you, then, isn’t it?” she pointed out. Nico’s cheeks flushed at the words. It felt weird for Will’s own mother to say that. Weird in a not entirely unpleasant way. “Go on, I’ll wait in the car and I promise I won’t look.”

“Mom!” Will protested, “that means you totally will.”

Naomi shrugged her shoulders and took Will’s bag, taking them back to her blue Honda.

“So I’ll see you this weekend,” Nico said after a moment’s silence. Will smiled at him.

“Thank you. I know this isn’t easy for you but you’ve already done such a good job just talking to her. She really likes you,” Will said.

“All I’ve done is insult you,” Nico muttered. Will laughed and put his hand on Nico’s upper arm.

“I know, but you’ve made an effort to find something in common with her and talk about it. You think you’re bad at talking to people but you just did a really good job of it,” he explained. Nico chewed his lower lip as he considered Will’s words. He hadn’t even been thinking about it like that.

“I suppose you’re right,” he conceded, “but I couldn’t have done it if you hadn’t been there.”

“I’ll always be here if you need me,” Will promised in a soft voice, pulling Nico even closer to him.

“Your mom is watching,” Nico reminded Will although he wasn’t really sure he minded, Will’s closeness sending a frenzy of incoherent thoughts scattering around his brain.

“I don’t care,” Will said, his breath dusting over Nico’s lips. Nico didn’t care either as he closed the distance between them, raising himself onto his tiptoes to plant a gentle kiss on Will’s lips.

Will pulled away way sooner than Nico would have liked but it was still enough to leave his head feeling fuzzy and his lips tingling with warmth.

“Goodbye,” Will said.

“Goodbye,” Nico repeated, releasing Will’s top from where he’d grabbed hold of it to kiss him. Will smiled softly as he trailed his hand along Nico’s arm, releasing it, before walking away towards where Naomi Solace was waiting for him in the car. Nico smiled and waved as he watched Will go before turning around and heading back through the magical border and up Halfblood Hill.

He only had to wait until weekend.

[florrickandassociates]

TGF Thoughts: 3x01-- The One About The Recent Troubles

HI GUYS I WROTE A LOT 

New season, new naming convention. Well, it’s either that or Diane Lockhart’s joined a reboot of Friends. Jokes aside, I don’t love the new naming convention (I never watched Friends) but I don’t dislike it either. It’s fine. What I do like is that we’ve dropped any sort of counting (unless you consider “the one” counting). (I am just now realizing that last season’s episode titles were more in the TGW tradition than I thought-- they were just another form of counting). Three seasons in, TGF is its own show (with its own titles!), and that makes me very happy.

I’m about to hit play on my third viewing of this episode. I watched at 5 am on the day it was released (worth it, tbh), then again with my roommate after work that same day.

This year’s previously montage works better than last year’s, but I still don’t love it. The selection of clips seems a little random at first: Liz talking about her father? The Assholes to Avoid case that I was hoping to avoid thinking about ever again? Okay…?

It’s time for some tone-setting! “I’m happy,” Diane states as the season opens. She’s in bed with Kurt, waking up in the morning. This is one of those statements that becomes important mostly because it’s so prominent. I believe that Diane’s happy with her life and happy waking up next to her husband, but I don’t think Diane is trying to make a Thesis Statement. I think she’s just expressing that she feels good. The writers, however, definitely want us to note that Diane starts out the season in a good, happy place. This is because they are going to slowly complicate and destroy Diane’s happiness. That’s not a spoiler-- it’s a prediction.

Kurt laughs. “You like narrating your life,” he comments. Interesting.

“You know, there are psychological studies that say, when people are happy, they look desperately for things to make them unhappy. But that won’t happen to us, will it?” Diane wonders. Of course it will. I know these writers. If there’s one thing they hate it’s writing more than a few scenes of a healthy marriage.

Diane and Kurt’s new bedroom confuses me. It has an arch that seems very low and I can’t tell if that’s the angle or not. Also, we only see the area with the bed, the bathroom, and a large sitting room in this episode. It would make sense for Diane to have a bedroom suite and a separate living room/dining room/kitchen, but the way this episode is shot makes it feel like Diane and Kurt only have that one space.

Now Diane’s asking Kurt for reassurance that everything’s going to be alright, and she seems moderately worried that he doesn’t sound certain when he responds. Maybe there are still some issues there…?

“What could go wrong?” Kurt asks, and right on cue, shit starts to blow up. (By which I mean the title sequence rolls.)

New objects/shots this year include: A tea set, aerial shots of a wine bottle, coffee cups (they discovered aerial shots this year and clearly liked them a lot), the same four purses from last year but arranged differently (looks cooler now), new images on the TV (bye, tiki torch nazis), and the entire set where they staged the explosions.

The third co-creator is still listed, because his name will be attached to this show for as long as it runs, but I really want to know: what did Phil Alden Robinson even do to create the show? Invent the basic sketch of the premise and the new characters? Just today I saw him credited in an article praising season 3, and it’s my understanding that he hasn’t even touched TGF since the pilot, back before the Kings signed on.

The Kings wrote this episode, but I didn’t need the credits to tell me that. Robert directed, too, which is only surprising because I wasn’t sure if it would be him or if it would be Brooke Kennedy.

Complaining about this now before I get any farther into the episode: CBS, FIX YOUR CLOSED CAPTIONING. Someone over at All Access doesn’t believe in apostrophes and it’s driving me up a wall.

After the credits, we resume with Julius talking about Carl Reddick, founding partner of RBL and civil rights icon. Julius has to be prompted to add on that last part, but Lucca doesn’t: she read about Reddick in history books.

Lucca’s dress for the interview shouldn’t work, but she pulls it off. It has several different colors and patterns, big gold buttons, and a ruffle down one side.

Here’s Liz’s comment on her father: “When my father died, I could think of no better way to honor his life than by taking over his partnership here.” We know that’s only partially true.

Next up is Reddick’s secretary of 15 years. She refers to him as “Mr. Reddick” instead of “Carl” and seems uncomfortable talking about her experience. Jay and Marissa, who have for some reason been tasked with creating promotional materials for the firm, notice her hesitance. Marissa asks what a typical day was like, and the secretary-- Cynthia-- starts to cry.

Cut to the RBL website, which is very boring and generic. “Who are you?” a publicity consultant asks Adrian and Liz. This reminds me of two things: one, Diane and Will’s conversation in season 4 about firm identity, and two, the fact that Hitting the Fan started off with the line “You’re stable.” Isn’t that very reminiscent of this episode starting off with, “I’m happy.”?! Yikes, we must be in for a ride…

Adrian’s answer is that they are a “mid-size Chicago law firm.” Really? That’s all you’ve got? The consultant pushes further-- he wants their story. Liz says their story is that they’re growing with new hires and a new floor. The consultant isn’t happy with that, either, because he seems to believe there’s only one right answer: they’re an African American firm, and that is their entire identity. Ugh.

When TGF first started, RBK felt like a firm that had an identity  and a mission-- a commitment to giving black lawyers opportunities for success in an environment where no one would be a token, coupled with a strong focus on civil rights cases (particularly police brutality cases). I assumed that was the shared goal of Carl, Adrian, and Barbara, but the firm’s gone through enough changes that I’m willing to accept that RBL might now be struggling for an identity. Carl’s dead, Barbara was always the one who would actually put her money where her mouth is (sorry, Adrian), Diane is (as always) interested in being profitable while looking like a liberal legend, and Liz accepted partnership because it was a lucrative offer that fell into her lap right when she lost her job at the DOJ.

Adrian says he doesn’t want RBL to be sold as an African American law firm. Hasn’t he pitched it as such in the past?

“Diversity is in right now. Black Panther. Black-ish. And diversity is something you have in sp-- in abundance,” the consultant says. My God, he’s terrible. He’s also using “diverse” and “black” as interchangeable words.

Adrian gets a reprieve when Jay and Marissa call him out of his meeting, but it doesn’t last long. Cynthia, Carl’s secretary, told Jay and Marissa that Carl repeatedly sexually assaulted her.

“He forced her for 15 years? Why would Cynthia stay for 15 years?” Adrian asks incredulously. “Seriously?” Marissa replies. Woah there. I agree wholeheartedly with Marissa but just because I’d write “SERIOUSLY?” in a recap doesn’t mean I’d ever say it to a name partner with that tone! (But really: Marissa’s very right. “Why would she stay?” is a terrible argument. Cynthia had bills to pay and a family (or at least a daughter) to care for. She likely didn’t have the luxury of looking for a new job. And that’s setting aside the fact that for decades, language around sexual assault wasn’t widely known!)

Adrian asks Marissa and Jay to keep quiet, and Marissa pushes back, asking if it’s so they can cover it up. Marissa! You’re not helping your cause here!

“Marissa, I don’t have the luxury right now of being outraged. That doesn’t mean I’m not outraged,” Adrian explains.

In the hallway, Jay suggests that Marissa give Adrian (and Carl) a break, since the Reddick name brings in half of their business, and if Reddick’s name becomes toxic, the firm could be in trouble. “Well, then, maybe it should be,” Marissa responds.

I loooooooove Diane’s new hairstyle! It’s been ten years; it’s time for a change.

Diane is about to head into the office when she notices Kurt went hunting the previous night with a gun he hates. And to make matters worse, there are blonde hairs on his jacket and Kurt won’t admit he went shooting with anyone. Well, I guess Diane’s happiness didn’t last very long at all.

Maia has a scratched cornea, so she’s wearing big sunglasses. “I wouldn’t wear those when you meet with the partners,” Marissa says, planting a bad idea in Maia’s mind. The sunglasses take two seconds to explain, and no one is going to fault her for this. If Maia didn’t get fired for not doing any work over a two year period, she’s going to be just fine wearing medically-required sunglasses to an internal meeting.

Julius wants to talk to Maia and explains that on the new website, they’re adding associate and partner bios. They just might not be adding Maia’s. “Don’t take it as a criticism. You’re doing a great job,” Julius says. This is basically the only circumstance in which I understand giving Maia praise: trying to keep her from causing a scene by stroking her ego.

Since Maia took off her sunglasses, she now appears to be crying. Since Maia lacks common sense, she does not explain why she is crying, leading Julius to keep heaping on the praise and explain the obvious (it’s about her parents’ scandal). Maia says she understands and that “this is all medical.” THAT’S SO VAGUE, MAIA. You’re looking for the sentence you just said to Marissa: “I have a scratched cornea.” I know this moment is supposed to be funny. It just makes Maia look impressionable (she took off the glasses) and slow (she can’t easily navigate out of this situation when the exit route is obvious). I already think Maia is both of those things, so I’m not complaining about this scene (I did laugh!), it’s just…  Maia, why???

Julius is so confused by Maia’s odd reaction that he goes straight to Lucca’s office. Lucca is pumping and doesn’t care who sees, because she’s the fucking best. Julius asks Lucca to talk to Maia about the website.

Diane’s still thinking about the hair when she arrives at RBL. Marissa greets her with an empty mug, I mean, with coffee. Diane asks what Adrian wants to talk to her about, and Marissa says, “I’ve been told I speak too much, so I won’t handle that.” If Marissa weren’t so good at her job she’d need to watch out.

Marissa tries to join Adrian and Diane’s meeting, and Adrian slowly closes the door in her face. Marissa walks away. I love it when this show emphasizes that their main players aren’t all of equal status at the firm, and this episode does a fantastic job of showing it.

Adrian explains the Reddick issue to Diane. He’s (wisely) chosen to go to Diane before Liz about this.

Adrian’s plan is to have Cynthia sign an NDA, and now there’s a “Good Fight Short” to educate us about NDAs. God, this show is weird and I love it.

“Think they’re maybe always in a red folder but I didn’t do my research that well” cracks me up.

“Let’s try to count all the red folders in the show today. You know what who cares just pay attention, put your phone away,” the song continues. Okay, show, I’ll listen to you and put my phone (on which I’m watching this show) away and go run my errands. That’s what you wanted, right?

A storm rolls in as Adrian and Diane pay Cynthia a visit. Thunder is dramatic, in case you were unaware.

Adrian tells Cynthia he knew nothing about Reddick’s behavior. He reaches for the NDA a little too quickly and Diane slows things down.

Adrian promises they’ll have sexual harassment training moving forward. Cynthia reminds him that they’ve always had that-- but partners never attended. Or, apparently, remembered that it existed.

Diane and Adrian hear pots and pans banging in the kitchen and realize that Cynthia’s daughter is home. That complicates things because the daughter anticipates the NDA and doesn’t want her mom to sign.

When Cynthia leaves the room, Adrian comments to Diane that “this house, it reminds me of my aunty’s house.” Diane just smiles, probably because that’s a reference she can’t understand.

The partners hold a secret meeting without Liz, which is certainly a way to handle this but probably not the optimal way. Liz should know what’s going on before any NDAs concerning her firm are created.

Liz notices that the offices are empty, and asks Marissa (who’s walking past) where everyone is. “I have no idea. I’m just staying on the sidelines today,” Marissa says unhelpfully. Great attitude. Very professional. As you’d expect, Liz is not satisfied with that answer.

Downstairs, the MANY partners of RBL are debating next steps. Why do they always pack these partner meeting scenes with so damn many extras? How many partners am I meant to believe they have?!

As we learned in the Assholes to Avoid episode, the most interesting thing about #MeToo is that it’s controversial and leads people to talk over each other. That’s what’s happening in this scene, but it works far better than the show’s last attempt at showing this idea. Unsurprisingly, when they have more to say than just “controversial topic is controversial” they do better.

And, I’m not sure where to put it so I’ll just say it here, I think the Kings have more to say about #MeToo, and a new (and better) angle on it because it hit closer to home. This plot isn’t a reenactment of what happened with Moonves, but the ideas it explores? Once you think about Moonves and the role he had in bringing TGW to life (and keeping it on the air), it’s all you’ll see. This plot is the Kings reckoning with how to move forward and create distance after a powerful man in no small part responsible for their own success turns out to be a serial harasser.

And that’s so much more interesting than “what if we took the Aziz Ansari thing but removed all nuance?” TGW, and TGF, wouldn’t have existed without Les Moonves. I’m pretty certain I’ve heard the Kings and Julianna-- and probably other cast members-- speak glowingly about him (before the allegations, obvs). He allowed TGW to flourish (and TGF to exist, which is kind of amazing when you think about it) while also enabling sexual assault all throughout CBS.  

The reason for this meeting? Now they want to pay Cynthia off. Diane suggests letting the story surface, emphasizing that Carl did good things and bad things. Diane also, wisely, notes that if they pay someone off, then it becomes the whole firm’s problem. But it seems they might have already paid someone off, so it’s too little, too late. RBK had, in 2012, agreed to cover all of Reddick’s sexual harassment suits. (This is, apparently, “standard” for CEOs, barf.)

I’d still like to dig into Diane’s “just own it” idea a little more, but I do see why the other partners (the ones who were actually there for the bulk of the time Reddick was) shut it down.

Then Wendy, the stenographer, speaks up: Carl Reddick assaulted her, too. If there are two, there are more than two, and I’m surprised that Liz is the first person to suggest this.

At home, later, Diane scrolls through Netflix (not a streaming site, this is Netflix’s layout with different shows), unable to decide what to watch. I’m sad to report none of the fake shows are any fun, and none of them are Darkness at Noon. I guess Darkness at Noon is probably on AMC All Access, behind a paywall…

Kurt arrives home and asks what Diane’s doing. “Figuring out whether to watch a German series about serial killers or a Scandinavian series about serial killers,” Diane replies. Haven’t we all been there? That’s scrolling through Netflix in one sentence.

Diane has “helped” Kurt pack for a trip, and THANK GOD, she’s not kicking him out (that’s how scenes where the husband arrives home to find his bags packed always go). She’s passive-aggressively packing for his upcoming trip she discovered on their credit card account.

Kurt’s going on a safari. Diane says she doesn’t shoot anymore (I guess since 2x10?) and wants to know who Kurt’s going with. Shouldn’t Kurt be telling Diane if he’s going to go on a safari?

Kurt senses something’s up and asks what’s wrong. Diane says work has her thinking about “men.” Then she tells Kurt she doesn’t think he’s being honest and says she doesn’t like pretending to be the “cool wife who overlooks lies.” Is “Cool Wife” a variation of “Cool Girl” and if so, can we get a Gillian Flynn novel about it, please?

Finally, the truth emerges: Kurt isn’t hiding an affair (though Diane briefly suspects he’s seeing someone named “Holly Westfall” again… idk, have we ever heard that name? Nothing’s coming to mind, because Kurt never cheated on Diane and Peter’s trial never happened.). He’s giving private shooting lessons to 45’s sons.

My GOD, Diane’s reaction.

I love how every time Diane says “safari” she says it with a little more disbelief in her voice.

Kurt says this is just a job; he’s being paid. Can he take someone else’s money then? How strapped for cash is he? This is like the “we’re defense attorneys!” line Diane always goes back to. SURE, but you don’t have to take EVERY case to be profitable.

Diane proceeds to start BANGING HER HEAD AGAINST THE WALL, REPEATEDLY. This scene is simultaneously comedic, dramatic, and ridiculous and I love it. I’m not sure how it manages to feel far-fetched and also character-driven at the same time, but hey, it works.

Diane storms out, saying she’s going to do something she should’ve done nine months ago: conjure up space bugs. Okay, no, she’s making contact with her FuzzyFuzzyCuteCute friend, but she’s doing so in a way that involves moving lots of flowers to her windowsill, and THAT’S HOW YOU DRAW IN THE SPACE BUGS.

In case I haven’t said it enough times, TGF in some ways seems more like it’s a continuation of BrainDead than TGW.

Diane talks to Tara and asks her to break her NDA (some legal nonsense) and come forward with allegations that 45 paid for her abortion. Tara asks Diane why now, and Diane’s answer is kind of bullshit: “because now it’s personal.” And it wasn’t before?! And that matters?! (I believe it from Diane, but come on. You need it to be personal to fight this as hard as you can? The fact that this administration’s policies are having catastrophic effects on families isn’t enough?)

Adrian finally shows Liz the interview with Cynthia, and Audra McDonald could win an Emmy for her reaction shots alone (I can’t say enough times how pleased I am with the addition of Liz). Adrian draws the curtains of Will’s office, I mean Liz’s office, to give them some privacy. Good move.

Liz wants to know if Adrian knew, and she has good reasons to believe he might have. For one, when they were married, Adrian asked how her parents were doing-- suggesting they might have reason to not be doing so well.

Liz goes into her bathroom (first time we’ve seen this set, though we’ve obviously known it existed from ~Willicia sexytimes~) (Not to derail this recap entirely, but does anyone else ever wonder how Willicia would’ve played in this day and age? I wouldn’t consider it assault or harassment because it was obviously consensual, but I don’t know that you can do a boss/employee romance plot as easily today as you could in 2011.)

Liz, through tears, confesses that her father didn’t always treat her mom (or “us”-- I assume meaning Liz and any siblings she may have) well. She’d always rationalized it as the part of “sharing him with the world” while he was “fighting,” but “he was just here.” God, this is devastating, and this scene is spectacularly done.

Adrian tries to comfort Liz, but she realizes something: Adrian put in the glass walls. She wants to know why. Was he trying to force Carl to be more transparent about something? Liz remembers her dad complaining about the glass walls. Adrian says it was just a design choice. Liz doesn’t believe it, but she’s moved on to other things. She’s putting on her jacket and trying to decide her next move. She angrily opens up the curtains even though she’s about to leave her office (just to show that she values transparency) and marches down to the partner’s meeting.

Everyone quiets down when Liz walks in. She grabs a notepad and a chair and begins to take an active role in negotiating payouts. Julius mentions Wendy, and Liz didn’t know about Wendy yet. Her reaction? A long pause, and then: “My dad raped the stenographer?”

Have I mentioned yet that Audra’s great? She delivers the line with a fantastic blend of anger and resignation. And I love the line itself, particularly the use of the word “rape.” Aside from Cynthia’s daughter, Liz is the first person in the episode to call Carl’s actions what they are, and it’s meaningful to hear the word from her. Liz isn’t shying away from what her father did; she is trying to figure out how to name it and address it. Pretty remarkable.

Liz volunteers to make the deal with Cynthia. She immediately begins to ask Jay for help, but she thinks again and goes to Marissa instead (and says “rape” again) to find out if there are any others. Adrian and Diane should’ve had Marissa on this yesterday.

LUCCA!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry I’m just happy to see Lucca Quinn, who is the best and does not get nearly enough screentime. Because Lucca is the best, she’s meeting with the partners. She thinks something must be wrong-- that she’s about to be fired (no!!! I don’t even like thinking about that!!). But nothing is wrong. “In fact, consider this a promotion,” Adrian says. He offers Lucca the position of head of divorce law. (What are the odds we get through this arc without a cameo from David Lee?)

People who know more about the law than I do, is this even remotely plausible? Shouldn’t this be Lucca’s specialty if we’re going to see her head it up? Have we ever seen her on a divorce case?

The guy they had hired to head up divorce law had “harassment issues at his last firm.” “And that’s a problem these days?” Lucca jokes, not knowing just how bad her timing is. No one else laughs. (I! Love! Scenes! That! Show! That! Some! Of! The! Characters! Are! Junior! Staff!)

Lucca does not seem to want this promotion, but she realizes she’s being told, not asked.

Meanwhile, Maia’s spending her work day staring at the company website. Adrian stops by to see her (guess Lucca didn’t talk to her) and console her about the website. Maia now chooses to explain her scratched cornea. She doesn’t explain it clearly, so Adrian continues with his speech. “This is not a reflection of how we feel about you. It’s a branding thing.”

I suppose the same could also be said of the fact that the main poster for this season of TGF features Diane, Adrian, and Lucca when the first two seasons had posters featuring Diane, Maia, and Lucca. Maia adds less value, to the show and to the firm!!!!!

(I don’t hate this Maia plot, I just think it’s silly and unnecessary, and Maia’s still done nothing to prove to me that she’s interested in her job and/or good at it.)

“You keep up the good work,” Adrian says. Forget good work. What WORK?

The partners fussing over the website has made it a Big Deal for Maia, and now she’s pissed! Luckily, Marissa’s there to teach her how to be a badass.

“I’m a third year associate, and they are treating me like I was hired yesterday,” Maia fumes. Well, are you doing the work of a third year associate, or are you doing the “work” of a new hire who hasn’t yet been staffed on projects and just stares at the company website all day? Hmmmmm?

Marissa blames this on “the curse of short people.” Is Maia short? She’s never seemed short. Rose Leslie is, according to Google, 5’6”, which is hardly short! Then Marissa starts rambling about “the volcano of Vulcan” and, whatever, Marissa, I think Maia’s problem is that she has scumbag parents, not that she’s short.

Marissa’s advice-- which is basically to be more confident-- isn’t bad advice. But that’s not why Maia’s not on the website. Maia could be Lucca levels of incredible and her name would still look toxic on the website.

Maia’s so awkward she makes me look confident.

Marissa commands a “tall lady” not to wash her hands after using the bathroom and what, that’s gross, why are you doing this Marissa?

Marissa has a gift for Maia: Sunglasses that are “cool.” Marissa then breaks the doctor-approved sunglasses. Seems… unwise.

New, cool Maia gets a theme song and a leather jacket. She makes quite an impression on the image consultant in the elevator, and he asks her out. She rejects him. Ha ha.

Liz and Jay head to Cynthia’s next. They remember meeting each other before. Liz mentions the NDA, and Cynthia responds, “Your father wasn’t a bad man.” “I don’t understand how you can feel that way after everything that he did,” Liz replies.

Liz seems like she’s close to getting a signature on the NDA when Naomi Nivola, the reporter from 2x05, appears at her door asking about sexual harassment. Cynthia’s daughter tipped her off. I’m very happy to see Naomi again, not because I think she’s a wonderful character but because I thought Adrian’s “starfucking” excuse was too weak of a conclusion to her plotline last season. I’m almost glad to know she still holds a grudge, because it doesn’t let Adrian off the hook for some shitty behavior. Adrian isn’t Carl Reddick levels of disgusting but he’s done some troublesome things (and the way he talks to the female characters is a little condescending, no??)

(I went to re-read my thoughts on 2x05 and Naomi as I was writing this, and apparently I said I thought an episode about NDAs as they relate to #MeToo would be interesting. Hah!)

It’s still raining.

“I’ll talk to Naomi, find out what she knows,” Adrian decides. “You?! No,” Liz replies. Adrian actually asks why not!!!

Liz goes to settle with the stenographer next, and, again, she insists on doing it herself.

Maia is holding an NDA and sitting out at one of the associate desks, surrounded by a bunch of black men (does the firm have female associates?). Maia’s holding a red folder, and while that should mean she’s working on a case, she probably just picked it up because it was BOLD LIKE HER. What are work files if not accessories to make you look badass?

Maia’s also got her feet up on the desk. YOU’RE AT WORK, GIRL.

Julius asks Maia to move her feet. “Yeah? What do you need?” she replies. Julius is too stunned to actually play rank. Maia takes this as a victory. She shouldn’t. She can do this once, maybe twice, before it stops being cute and confusing and starts looking like what it is: an entitled white girl acting out and being disrespectful. If she wants to create distance from her parents’ scandal-- the actual issue here-- then she needs to be mature and develop a plan to work around it. She could, for example, take on lots of charity work and write an op-ed about deciding to help turn her dad in, and what she’s learned about the world from having her world crash down. Acting out in designer boots, red lipstick, and sunglasses is going to make Maia look like the oblivious child of privilege she is.

Why does this show insist on saying that Maia’s biggest weakness is her lack of boldness? She’s just awkward. She’s plenty confident. She just expresses it poorly.

I know this is a comedic subplot but Maia does not really behave like a human being??? Who would have that interaction and then feel self-satisfied? This is her place of work!!! She looks ridiculous!! She just talked back to a partner!!

Wendy doesn’t want to sign the NDA, and she doesn’t want any money. She says she’ll never tell anyone, because “there are so many people who want to destroy men. Black men.” And she doesn’t want to be a part of it. Interesting perspective, not one I agree with but one I’m pleased the writers included because it adds some nuance to the episode’s exploration of #MeToo.

Naomi and Jay talk in a not-very-interesting scene that includes some weird and unnecessary close ups of Jay. Main takeaway: Naomi thinks it’s Adrian who assaulted Cynthia.

Don’t really get why it’s great that Naomi thinks it’s Adrian. I suppose she’s a good enough journalist she wouldn’t publish a story there was no evidence for, but Adrian being able to deny it without lying hardly seems like cause for celebration. And would Naomi really drop it if Adrian said he didn’t rape anyone?

Eric and Don bailed on the safari, so Kurt’s still around. He winces when Diane hugs him, and Diane doesn’t let it slip. Kurt, being Kurt, says nothing is wrong.

He goes to the bathroom, and Diane’s phone rings. It’s Tara saying she won’t come forward.

Diane joins Kurt in the bathroom (lots of scenes in bathrooms this ep) and notices he has a huge bruise on his shoulder because Eric or Don shot him. We don’t get to find out-- and neither does Diane-- because Kurt’s signed an NDA about the incident. HAHAHA!

Adrian has his interview with Naomi. He denies they’ve asked Cynthia to sign an NDA, and denies he harassed her. And that’s it, until Naomi reveals THE REAL STORY: Assholes to Avoid.

I wonder, IRL, how much this would hurt the firm. I also am still not sure why they took that damn case. 2x05 and whichever ep was Assholes (I mentioned I’m glad we’re not counting days anymore, right?) annoyed me more than basically any other s2 episode because they were tied up so neatly, so I’m happy to see both cases come back to complicate things.

Now shit gets weird. I assume this next scene is one of the “soliloquies” the Kings mentioned that the season would include, and I like the idea more than the execution. The characters taking turns verbalizing their inner thoughts in eloquent speeches to no one? Sure! I’m down! Diane suddenly beginning to talk to a Trump-shaped bruise THAT MOVES AND TALKS in the middle of an episode? I’ll just say I hope they’re not all like this.

“The footman to the king. I am married to the footman to the king,” Diane starts. Then TrumpBruise talks back (don’t love this impersonation). I think this would work just fine as a monologue, and I definitely don’t need the animation. I couldn’t see it the first time through and the episode was better for it.

Anyway, Diane’s upset that Kurt’s become a worthless servant to a family she loathes, and she connects this to her ongoing thoughts on the State of Masculinity.

“What has happened to men? Where did the real guys go? Why do we now have these snide little creatures with slicked-back hair and cologne? What happened to Paul Newman and Burt Lancaster? What happened to men who were slow to anger and responsible and who didn’t cry like whiny little bitches? When did Trump and Kavanaugh become our idea of an aggrieved man, quivering lips, blaming everyone but themselves? You’re not fit to kiss my husband’s feet. A truthful man, uncomplaining, never passing the buck, never punching unless he’s punched. When did he become the exception?” Okay. But toxic masculinity is not a new thing. This isn’t insightful enough for me to applaud it and it’s not offensive/wrong enough for me to actually want to dissect it. I like that the show’s taking risks and like the soliloquy idea but this is… meh.

Bruise starts talking about how happy he is. He’s taunting Diane (well, technically, Diane is criticizing herself) because she was happy earlier, and now she’s not and this asshole Bruise is sooooo happy.

So Diane’s solution is to leak Tara’s abortion. Interestingly, she imagines TrumpBruise calling her out on breaking Tara’s confidence. Implying that Bruise has a conscience (or enough savvy to push her buttons), even one fueled by Diane’s imagination, feels weird to me. Diane’s imagining Bruise has a conscience?!

FRANCESCA IS STILL AROUND!!! My wish to ditch Colin and keep his mom came true!

Francesa is singing “I Wanna Be Sedated” to her grandson. Of course she is.

I’m unclear on a few things with this scene: who is Francesca talking to? Does Francesca know them? This must be Lucca’s house (?) if Francesca is leaving and taking calls for Lucca, but why does Lucca have a land line, and why would a client be calling her on it?

Francesca has an Instagram. God, I would love it if that account existed.

Lucca’s baby is really cute. What’s the kid’s name? Is it Joseph?

Francesca tells Lucca she’s the perfect divorce lawyer. Anyone else feel like we missed a scene or three with this Lucca/divorce law plot? Why would Francesca say that? Does she know about the opportunity? Was Lucca working divorce cases and doing great? MORE LUCCA NOW.

Maia’s still wearing her sunglasses the next day (unclear if this is for medical reasons or because she doesn’t know when to just stop). She’s sitting in on a meeting of the partners about the new Assholes scandal.

Adrian says they need to get their story straight, that they didn’t know they were taking down the site. That’s blatantly false, and Maia speaks up to say so. Adrian says they didn’t. Um, they did. Julius asks Maia to step out, and Lucca, who has a seat at the table, defends Maia. Julius says “this should be a partner thing” and Maia gets up to leave. Lucca, who is also not a partner unless we did, indeed, miss multiple Lucca scenes, asks Maia for her opinion.

On her way out, Maia says RBL should “own it. Our client wanted us to take down a #MeToo site. We didn’t agree, but we took it down. Because we’re that good.” Meh. That’s really the only way out of this. But as a client, I would not be reassured by that, especially not if I had brought my business to a firm specifically because of its values.

Adrian takes Badass!Maia’s advice, word for word. And it works. This particular client also wants to know who Maia Rindell is. He typed in ReddickBoseman.net instead of .com (but WHY) and it landed on a “really really cool” page about Maia.

Liz and Adrian immediately go to find this cool site, and Adrian shows how hip he is by typing a url in the search bar. What pops up is a site with the RBL logo and several ~fashionable~ pictures of Maia and her Miraculous Sunglasses. It’s hilariously terrible. They’re not bad pictures, but it’s sooooooooooooooooo inappropriate and ridiculous. It’s also unnecessary, and I know I’m overthinking a sight gag (and it is an effective sight gag) but if Maia wanted to be on the website that badly, she could have, you know, SAID SO instead of making a fucking website.

Lol @ Maia staging a photoshoot at the office. Why wouldn’t she?

The website has the tagline “younger-tougher-smarter”. Well, one of those things is true, and you all know which one it is.

Cynthia’s back, in the office, to sign the NDA. She does.

Marissa’s prepared her research on Carl Reddick. She leaves it with Liz, in a green folder.

Diane goes to Naomi with Tara’s story. We don’t hear her tell it, so there’s a chance she thought better of it, but omg, how shitty, Diane!!!!!

Liz and Adrian share a drink. Adrian says he did suspect that Carl might have been having an affair, he just never thought it was assault.

“Your dad was really good to me, Liz. He’s the reason I have a career,” Adrian explains. “Me too,” Liz says, raising her glass. Damn. I don’t think those words were chosen unintentionally. Lots of layers to this scene.

Adrian decides to lighten the mood by mocking the image consultant. Liz, who’s wearing heels similar to the ones Maia was wearing earlier and has her feet up just like Maia did, comes up with an identity for the firm: “We’re a firm with no past. Not anymore. We’re starting over. That’s refreshing.”

Then they toast to Peter Florrick’s State’s Attorney campaign slogan/the writer’s perpetual favorite phrase: “New beginnings.” But it’s still storming, and the folder with all of Carl Reddick’s past misdeeds is sitting feet away. Dramatic!

As the credits roll, there’s an actual count of all the red folders in the episode. Heh.

I’m very on board with this season so far. Can’t wait to see what happens next!

Couldn’t all the episodes of this show (and TGW) be called The One About the Recent Troubles, though???

[femininebehavior]

since apparently you can get banned from tumblr for posting endgame spoilers instead of, yknow, actually being a reprihensible human shaped pile of SHIT, im going to trash this movie so fucking hard. ive been waiting for an excuse to rip this movie and its fan a new one

so basically it starts with tony stark being all emotional because hes dying in space but all the dramatic tension is removed because you already know hes going to live, and it’s also removed because tony stark is not a person people should feel emotional over. hes a pile of garbage given sentience, hes literally one of the worst characters in the mcu, which isnt saying a lot because any attempt by the writers and directors of the ACTUALLY GOOD MOVIES to make the characters interesting got flushed down the toilet in civil war and infinity war

so anyway captain marvel shows up, saves tony and nebula, then they make a plan to kill thanos because they found him. they find him, he says he destroyed the infinity stones, and thanos is dead 20 minutes into the movie. i applaud this choice because its actually genuinely funny. there are some parts of the movie that are enjoyable, and watching that purple scrotum chinned pile of refuse get his head chopped off was very enjoyable

then we move on to like 5 years later, scott lang aka antman finally comes out of the quantum realm or some shit, and thats when the seeds of time travel are planted. fun fact about time travel in this movie. it isnt like bill and ted time travel and it isnt like dbz time travel so it makes zero goddamned sense whatsoever. this is nothing new, time travel never makes any fucking sense, and trying to explain it will make even less sense than just fucking DOING the thing

anyway, they get the gang back together, hulk is now the unholy amalgamation of bruce banner and the hulk. he then dabs, blah blah blah, time travel bs, they get thor, hes fat now, his fatness is the focus of a lot of jokes that dont land and it just plays off like theyre making fun of fat people for being fat. his trauma is played for jokes, korg plays fortnite, blah blah blah.

so anyway while theyre Getting The Gang Back Together, tony has had a kid in the past 5 years. they really do a lot to humanize tony stark and the fact that he is happy with his current state in life where thanos won and hes trying to move on is very humanizing, which is odd considering that tony stark is a sub human pile of melted human waste

anyway, tony figures out time travel because they REALLY want him to be the hero instead of literally anyone else who is more deserving. they make stupid time travel suits which look ugly as shit and they wear over their normal costumes, which is really funny

the next like hour and a half of the movie plays out like a time travel comedy. tony and steve fuck up getting the space stone, they have to time travel AGAIN into steves past, he has an emotional moment seeing his former flame whose name i forgot because pretty much any mention of her past captain america 1 was to increase manpain. isnt fridging fun? speaking of fridging, they send clint and natasha to get the soul stone. because i said speaking of fridging, i assume youll be able to figure out the rest, but because i dont trust anyone who likes endgame to think critically about tropes, natasha dies so clint can get the soul stone. they really really REALLY could have done it the other way, but no, its not as emotional if a man dies for a woman or some bullshit. whatever, it was scarlett johansen so er character dying wasnt THAT much of a tragedy lmao

anyway everyone gets their stones, nebula gets captured by thanos of the past, and then a bunch of shit happens, new nebula from the past who still likes thanos brings him to the future, he starts going on and on and on about making a new universe and destroying this one. before that they make the infinity gauntlet, hulk snaps, brings everyone back, again... blah blah blah blah blah stupid shit that we all already knew was going to happen

anyway, thanos is back, because they REALLY didnt know how to introduce a villain that was good enough for this movie, whatever. they all go off to fight thanos, he beats thor captain america and tony stark up. the entire fight is 100% fanservice because as soon as other people show up from doctor stranges portals its a total EVERYONE IS HERE moment, which like. those are always enjoyable, every character from the past showing up to kick the bad guy in the dick. its a hard trope to fuck up and i congratulate the russo brothers for realizing this. captain america gets to hold mjolnir, he beats the shit out of thanos, thanos also gets to hold mjolnir, its just a giant 30 minute long fanservice party. everyone is here! blah blah i dont fucking care. anyway, the climax of the battle is thanos smacks spiderman out of the air while he has the new infinity gauntlet, he puts it on, and everyone starts making sure he doesnt snap. also captain marvels role in the movie is really really lame because she shows up for like the first 15 minutes, and then shows up for like the last 15 minutes. it fucking sucks, shes like the only good character in this entire movie.

anyway, tony steals the infinity stones, integrates them into his armor, snaps thanos and his buddies away, and then dies like a bitch. good riddance but also whatever, his death is treated like a totally emotional thing like hes redeemed himself even though hes basically done nothing to actually redeem himself except for killing thanos, which like, anyone could have done given the chance. it seriously pisses me off that they gave him the kill instead of someone who deserved it, like nebula. all signs were pointing to nebula and gamorrah from the past killing thanos, finally givng us some righteous feminine fury that this movie desperately needed. unfortunately, it doesnt happen. the battle is won, they have tonys funeral, and they remake the quantum time machine so they can let steve go back to return the infinity stones from whence they came. steve doesnt come back, and it looks like he got to live his full life like he wanted to, which i guess good for him because hes like one of the only good characters in the movie. seeing old man steve was nice, and he of all people deserved to be happy. the movie ends, everything is over, and i just wasted 3 hours and 10 dollars. congratulations me, you just wasted your life on a movie you knew you were going to hate.

anyway, whatever, tumblr ban me now, here’s my endgame spoilers. fuck you, and fuck you for banning people over shit like this instead of banning nazis and pedophiles.

[dancingalone21]

Boner

Summary: The reader moves into a new town and finds out something surprising about her gorgeous neighbor.

Pairing: neighbor!Dean x Reader

Requested: @whispersandwhiskerburn

~

Change.

You’ve never despised a word so much in your god damn life. It mocks you, rips every little aggravation from the world and throws it right into your fucking face. It’s turned your life completely and totally upside down. Then it spun you the fuck around just to make sure you’re officially screwed.

Having just moved from New York two weeks ago, you can now call Nashville home. Forget a different state, you feel like you’re in a freaking different reality. The friendly residents alone throw you for a loop. You’re slightly convinced that they have some ulterior motive. Then again considering the shady fuckers in your past, you could just be paranoid. 

Growing up in a big city has given you a tough exterior that the men around here seem to be intimated by. It must be the way you carry yourself, also the permanent bitch face that you’ve acquired over the years.

You’ve finally settled into your new country home, a charming ranch that looks like it was pulled right from Better Homes & Gardens. It’s nothing spectacular but it feels like a mansion compared to your old cramped one bedroom apartment back home.

To say you still feel like an outcast in your own neighborhood is definitely an understatement. The constant pleasantries from a lot of your nearby neighbors is exhausting. How the fuck did you end up in the Brady Bunch?

“You see that Infiniti parked next to Nancy’s car? That’s her brothers car.” Your nosy neighbor Mrs. Simmons points to a red house that’s a few doors down from your own. The woman acts like she’s filling you in on government secrets.

“Oh ok.” You barely mumble, wondering why the fuck you need to know that.

“Nancy drives a black SUV and her husband Bill drives a gray Tacoma truck. Just letting you know, dear. So you don’t get nervous if you see a car you don’t recognize. He visits from time to time.”

Is this ridiculous chick for real? In New York, if there wasn’t a random drunken bum passed out on your apartment steps then it was a good day.

“Oh! And you know the Winchesters live right next to you in the blue house. So the black Impala belongs to…”

“I’m sorry but I’m gonna have to get going.” You sweetly cut her off, enjoying the confusion that appears on her face.

“Are you sure, Y/N? There’s much more I need to fill you in on!”

“I have…a lasagna in the oven. I just planned on running out to check the mail and then you were were walking by…”

“Oh alright. Well stop by soon!” Mrs. Simmons sings finally moving in the direction towards her own house. Which just so happens to be directly across the street from your own. Ugh.

You rush inside hoping to avoid anyone else, glancing at the bad ass black Impala in your neighbors driveway. It’s a gorgeous car and it belongs to an even more gorgeous man. Of course he’s a gorgeous married man with a beautiful wife and two adorable little kids.

It’s freaking fantastic. It’s just what you need on your friggin plate. A daily reminder that you’re braving this lame world alone. A reminder that your own marriage blew the fuck up, barely allowing you to crawl out in one piece. A constant punch in the gut that pulls you out of your false sense of happiness.

You’ve only spoken to the wife briefly, a quick ‘welcome to the neighborhood’ and Kelly was off to her nursing job. Dean on the other hand is around more with the kids, he’s been nice enough to take care of some handy work around the house for you. Helpful bastard.

Aggravated that you don’t actually have a lasagna in your oven, you whine to yourself about the noises your stomach is making. Grabbing your phone and keys in a huff, it’s off to the stupid supermarket you go.

“Hey neighbor!” You automatically know who that deep, sinful voice belongs to. Demanding yourself to ignore him, you quickly make a beeline to your Honda Accord. The immediate blush on your cheeks is embarrassing enough. You don’t need to glance in his direction to know he looks hot as hell.

“What’s up, Y/N?”

“Oh. Uhh…just heading out for some groceries.” You look down to the ground and shyly tuck a few strands behind your ear, missing the boyish grin he throws your way.

“You?”

“I’m supposed to mow the lawn but I’m procrastinating. I’ve just been fucking around outside, tidying up the kids toys and stuff.”

“Sounds fun. I’m surprised they’re not outside running around like usual.” You smirk, thankful you’re not stuck in that particular hell just yet.

“The kids are at their grandparents lake house for the weekend. Kelly too. They’ll be home in a couple of days.” The flirty gleam in his eye flashes so fast you’re not sure if you imagined it.

“Ah. Why didn’t you go?”

“Eh. Didn’t feel like it. I rather have some me time. To feel like a normal adult for a little while.” He snickers loudly, scratching at the scruff on his chin and it’s annoyingly distracting.

“Makes sense…”

“So watcha doing later?” Dean asks mischievously, his sexy bowlegs carrying him dangerously closer to you.

“Just hanging out. You?” You nervously chew your bottom lip, for some reason this friggin man turns you to complete mush.

“Same. So since I finally have the house to myself. Wanna come over?”

“Uhh come over?”

“Yeah. I can make you dinner or we can just order in and watch a movie. I’m sure there’s something good on Netflix. Whatever you want.” He shrugs sweetly then licks his pink plump lips. Oh god, those fucking lips.

“Just the two of us?”

“Yup. Just you and me, sweetheart.”

“I…I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Oh. You mean the date in general or…”

“Date.” Your eyes widen, shocked at how casual he’s being about this. You don’t know him very well but you can usually spot a douchebag from miles away.

“Are you serious?”

“Uh yeah. If you’re not interested then that’s cool. I guess it could get complicated since we’re neighbors and if it didn’t work out…” Dean trails off, now awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.

“Yeah. Not to mention that your wife and kids are also my neighbors.” You snap before speed walking to get into your Accord.

“Wait…” Dean’s long legs are annoyingly faster so he quickly blocks your car door, refusing to let you get in.

“Sorry, dude. I’m not gonna help you cheat.” You scoff with a scowl before giving up and racing into your house. So much for buying mother fucking food.

“My…what?!” Dean calls after you, now hot on your tail but you thankfully bolt inside before he can follow you.

“Fuck.” He growls under his breath, banging on your door before he stubbornly marches around to the back of your house.

“Y/N. Open up!” He demands before deciding to just stroll right on in. Granted it’s not the best idea but Dean isn’t caring at the moment.

“Did you seriously just barge through the back door and waltz in here uninvited.” You groan meeting him in your kitchen.

“Well yeah but I have a legit reason.” He explains, ignoring the dramatic eye roll in his direction.

“Oh this should be good. Let me guess…the spark is gone in your marriage but you stay for the kids. So you’re actually a decent guy, just in a tough situation. Aw poor you.” You laugh humorlessly.

“There’s been a huge misunderstanding.” Dean states now clearly amused with this whole situation.

“I’m glad you think this is funny.”

“I do. I think it’s really funny actually.”

“Get out, Dean.”

“Who the hell told you that Kelly’s my wife? She’s my sister. And Amy and Brian are my niece and nephew.” He carefully moves a little closer to you, still unsure if you’ll believe him.

“What…but I heard Amy call you daddy the other day. When you guys were playing in the front yard.” You respond skeptically.

“She’s only two, Y/N. I try to correct her but it never sticks. Especially since I’m around all the time, I don’t blame the kid for being confused.”

Well this is…unexpected. Fuck. His words and actions actually seem genuine, you now feel your anger start to slip away. You better not be wrong about this, you hope to God that you’re not being blinded by his insane good looks.

“Why do you wear a wedding ring around your neck then?”

“It’s my mom’s wedding band. She died five years ago and it’s just something I did to feel close to her and it stuck.” He tells you, his hand tightly grasping the gold chain on his chest.

Hmmmm. Why the hell doesn’t the man have his own place? He’s in his early thirties. You know he owns his own construction company so it doesn’t make any sense.

“Why are you living with your sister? Do you have a gambling problem? Did you lose all of your money to some card shark?” You wonder giggling, not able to keep a straight face as you finish your questions.

“I have plenty of money! Thank you very much.” He smirks back feeling relieved that your demeanor towards him has changed. You notice his expression suddenly grow serious a second later.

“My brother in law died about a year and a half ago from a heart attack. With my sister being a nurse and her long hours, along with two little kids…she needed help. Babysitters weren’t cutting it and she didn’t like random people with the kids anyways. So I told her I’d move in and help out so here I am.”

“Oh. That’s…nice of you.”

“I’m really surprised you didn’t know all of this.” Dean rubs his hand over his face looking a little tired and now you feel like an asshole.

“How would I know if you or Kelly didn’t tell me?”

“I saw you talking to Mrs. Simmons who lives for neighborhood gossip. She’s just the worst. I thought for sure she would have told you all of that. She’s done it before with new neighbors.” Dean sighs heavily, giving you a grateful smile when you hand him a beer.

“She actually tried talking about you but I shut it down. I could only take so much.” You crack up pulling a cute laugh from his sexy lips.

“So how about that date?” Dean winks, slipping back into his charming self as he shoots you a drop dead smile.

“Yes definitely. How about you make dinner and I’ll bring the dessert? Maybe cookies or something. Oh! How about pie? It’s my favorite.” You reply excitedly.

“I’m not sure if you’re trying to turn me on but I have a boner now.” Dean grins wickedly making your mouth drop open.

“Wow, Winchester. You must really like pie.” You laugh out, now completely taken with the man before you.

“Yeah I like pie…among other things.” Dean bites his bottom lip while his eyes scan your body and you immediately feel your cheeks heat up.

Well, shit. Maybe change isn’t such a bad thing.

~

[softupshur]

F*ck This Place

A belated birthday gift one shot for @queen-of-upshur that I used as an excuse to try my hand at first person POV for Miles Upshur!  Enjoy <3

read on ao3 if you prefer

The signal died halfway through the second guitar solo of ACDC’s “Back in Black”. Not the kind of dead where it was crackling and popping throughout and you could see it coming. This dead air came out of nowhere. One moment I was rocking out to Angus’ sick riffs, and the next, the static was so loud that it made my ears ring for a full minute afterwards.

“Jesus H. Christ…” I turned the the volume down, and began my search for a station still intact, but no matter how much I turned the dial, there was nothing but dead air, save for two: traffic reports and the local hick talk show.

Considering I was the only one on the road, I’d learn a lot more listening to some bored host tell me about the local agriculture seminar. He was probably some small town nobody who told himself that hosting this show was just the first step to some grand scheme. Next he’d get the daytime slot, then radio host, and bam, he’d be the next Howard Stern. All because he bit the bullet and hosted the late night talk show no one was up to hear at this hour.

Whatever your plan is, good luck, local nobody. You need it more than I do because I’m pulling up to the entrance and this place isn’t going to know what hit it.

I pulled up to the toll booth but there was no one inside to charge me an arm and a leg--biggest surprise all day. I parked the jeep and took my sweet time getting things together. It’s not like anyone else was crazy enough to come here at oh my God o’clock or whatever time it was.

Before I checked my supplies, I pulled up the email that brought me here. I couldn’t believe my luck when it popped up in my account. Ratting out on Murkoff was a death sentence. Those bastards knew how to cover their tracks and knew to be ready for undercover operations. It made bringing them down impossible but with this tip, I could be the one who caught them by surprise. All the snoop jobs, bottom of the barrel stories, trespassing violations would be worth it when I got this story--how those bastards what they missed out on when they had the gall to fire me.

I set the email down and pat my pockets for the paper and pen. I grabbed the camera. It was ready to go with a fresh battery but I grabbed a spare for good measure. I shouldn’t need any more than that. I reached for my press badge, but I stopped when I realize that would give these fuckers my name. Best try to circumvent security. Can’t be worse than dodging bullets when I was reporting on the battlefield.

When I stepped out of the jeep, I hold back laughter. This place looks more like a mad scientist’s lair than a hospital for the mentally ill. You think Murkoff would know a thing or two about subtlety to dodge the lawsuits over the years, but who am I to complain? It’ll make a damn good opening image for the piece.

I held the camera on the place for a bit, then panned down to see I wasn’t not the first one here thanks to the Military vehicles blocking off the entrance.

Sweet, maybe I can catch some arrests on camera. I went to the front entrance but the door wouldn’t budge.

Great. I thought I would be a law abiding citizen and waltzed right in, but no, Murkoff wants me to work for it. Fine, if that’s how it’s going to be.

I walked around to the left side of my building and see my ticket in.

Scaffolding towered high and sturdy enough for me to climb and ended right at the second story window. Must have caught them in the middle of remodelling. As if this place could look any more over the top. I bet they were going to install gargoyles for some dimestore symbolism about how much this place sucked--seemed like something they’d do.

I couldn’t fight the smirk as I climbed up the mess. It seemed this would be easier than I thought, but once I climbed through the window, the lights flickered off, leaving me in darkness.

How like Murkoff to spend a fortune on making the place look like Frankenstein’s castle, but skip out on the power bill.

Oh well, that’s what the night vision was for. I switched it on, and made it into a brightly lit hall. For whatever reason half the doors were locked or barricaded, but there was one lab that was wide open for me.

When I walked in, the first thing I noticed was the cover dangling from the edge of the vent. Second thing was a dish on the counter. It was filled with severed ears of all things. Was it for some experiment? If so, who the fuck thought it was a good idea to leave it by the vending machine? Not good for a man’s appetite. Still, I snagged a quick shot of it, before hoisting myself through the vent.

If nothing else, I’ll give Murkoff this: these vents are much roomier than what I usually get, and they offer a good view as I wandered from room to room, but then I hear a ruckus below.

A man in patient’s garb ran through. He screamed something about “Walrider”. I panicked for only a moment until I realized this guy looked like shit, too mistreated and malnourished to be a match for the likes of me. I reminded myself all the patients were probably in the same sorry state and took a deep breath, then pushed forward.

The opening I came to was a lot higher from the ground than I expected. Not that it would hurt me, but there’d be no coming back up. Not like that mattered. I wasted too much gas and snack money getting here to turn around.

It was time to fuck this place up.

I dropped down just in time to see another patient saunter through the hall. Only this one wasn’t so weak and scrawny. Hell, this guy was twice my size, at least. I didn’t hear what he muttered, but the chains around his ankles echoed off the walls and made me shudder.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and looked back up at the vent. No way could I jump that high and I wasn’t growing wings any time soon.

Fuck.

As the giant lumbered away, I opened the first unlocked door I came across. A body that looked like a cheap halloween prop fell at my feet, like it was just waiting for me. I screamed like a little bitch.

Goddamn, someone or something had to have heard that. I dove into the room and slammed the door behind me. Shit. That was loud too. Oh God, the room was pitch black and everything. And that godawful smell...

I switched to the nightvision and scanned through shelves upon shelves of severed heads. They were sorted so neatly, like the plate collections grandmas seem to horde in their retirement, only this smell was so much worse than an old folks home. I had to hold back retches as I moved forward. I didn’t want to make noise and risk becoming one of those heads. Then I turned a corner, and wouldn’t you know it? It got worse.

Like a pig on a spit was a dead man. Bigger, beefier, and a thousand times more formidable than me, but not even all his armor and muscle wasn’t enough to save him from being skewered and left to die. At least I thought so until he had the gall to not be quite as deceased as I thought.

“The variants...they got out…” He choked out. “You can’t fight them...you have to get the fuck out of this awful place…” He faded to the mercy of death before he could say anything else.

Didn’t need to tell me twice. Damn the fortune this story would make me. I’d rather go back to battlefield reporting than die in this hellhole.

I hightailed it out of the room, but the whole place was blocked off. Probably thanks to other idiots like me who thought walking in here wouldn’t kill them. Maybe, I could squeeze through these bookshelves…

“Little pig.” The voice was low and gruff, followed by a big, meaty hand yanking me out of the shelves. It was the same patient I saw down the hall and he was even stronger than he looked, holding me up by the neck like I weighed nothing, even as I kicked and thrashed in an attempt for freedom. I also finally saw his face--no nose, no lips, a skinned forehead.

What an ugly motherfucker. It was like someone tried to fuck start his head with a cheese grater.

Heh, cheese grater. That was pretty funny. I’ll have to write that down if I survive this fall.

[tamboradventure]

Here Lies America: An Interview With Jason Cochran

Posted: 01/27/2020 | January 27th, 2020

In 2010, I decided to spend the summer in NYC. I was two years into blogging and was making enough where I could afford a few months here. Still new to the industry, NYC was where all the legends of writing lived and I wanted to start making connections with my peers.

It was that summer I met Jason Cochran, a guidebook writer from Frommers, editor, and the man I would consider my mentor.

Though we never had any formal mentor/mentee relationship, Jason’s writing philosophy, advice, and feedback, especially on my first book, How to Travel the World on $50 a Day, has been instrumental in shaping me as a writer. Much of his philosophy has become mine and I don’t think I would have grown to where I am without him.

Last year, he finally published the book he’d been working on about tourism in America, called Here Lies America. (We featured it on our best books of 2019 list).

Today, we’re going to go behind the scenes of the book and talk to Jason on what does lie in America!

Nomadic Matt: Tell everyone about yourself. Jason Cochran: I’ve been a travel writer for longer than I’ve felt like an adult. In the mid-‘90s, I kept a very early form of a travel blog on a two-year backpacking trip around the world. That blog became a career. I’ve written for more publications than I can count, including for a prime-time game show.

These days I’m the Editor-in-Chief of Frommers.com, where I also write two of its annual guidebooks, and I co-host a weekly radio show with Pauline Frommer on WABC. For me, history is always my way into a new place. In many ways, time is a form of travel, and understanding the past flexes a lot of the same intellectual muscles as understanding cultural differences.

So I have come to call myself a travel writer and a pop historian. That last term is something I just made up. Dan Rather made fun of me once for it. “Whatever that is,” he said. But it seems to fit. I like uncovering everyday history in ways that are funny, revealing, and casual, the way Bill Bryson and Sarah Vowell do.

What made you want to write this book? Before I began researching, I just thought it would be funny. You know, sarcastic and ironic, about Americans going to graveyards and places of suffering just to buy lots of tacky souvenirs, eat ice cream, and wear dumb t-shirts. And, that’s still in there, for sure. We’re Americans and we like those things. Key chains will happen.

But that changed fast. For one, that would have become a very tired joke. It wouldn’t carry for three hundred pages. Things clicked for me early on, on the first of several cross-country research drives I took. I went to a place that I wasn’t taught about at school, and it clicked. I was at Andersonville in rural Georgia, where 13,000 out of 45,000 Civil War prisoners died in just 14 months. It was flat-out a concentration camp.

Yes, it turns out that concentration camps are as American as apple pie. The man who ran it was the only Confederate officer who was executed after the war. Southerners feared the victors would hang their leaders by the dozen, but that vengeance never materialized. Not for Jefferson Davis, not for Robert E. Lee—the guy who ran this camp poorly got the only public hanging. And he wasn’t even a born American. He was Swiss!

But that’s how important this place was at the time. Yet most of us have never even heard of it, except for a really bad low-budget movie on TNT in the ‘90s in which all the characters bellowed inspirational monologues as if they thought they were remaking Hoosiers.

So just getting my head around the full insanity of Andersonville’s existence was a big light bulb—our history is constantly undergoing whitewashing. Americans are always willfully trying to forget how violent and awful we can be to each other.

And Andersonville wasn’t even the only concentration camp in that war. There were a bunch in both the North and the South, and most of them had survival rates that were just as dismal. So that was another light bulb: There’s a story in why our society decided to preserve Andersonville but forget about a place like Chicago’s Camp Douglas, which was really just as nasty, except now it’s a high-rise housing project and there’s a Taco Bell and a frozen custard place where its gate once stood.

And did you know that the remains of 12,000 people from another Revolutionary War concentration camp are in a forgotten grave smack in the middle of Brooklyn? We think our major historic sites are sacred and that they are the pillars of our proud American story, but actually, how accurate can our sites be if they’re not even fairly chosen?

What was one of the most surprising things you learned from your research? In almost no instance was a plaque, statue, or sign placed right after the historic event in question. Most of the monuments were actually installed many decades after the event. In the case of the Civil War, most of the memorials were erected in a boom that came a half-century after the last bullet was fired.

If you really get close to the plaques and read past the poetic inscriptions, it quickly becomes clear that our most beloved historic sites aren’t sanctified with artifacts but with propaganda placed there by people who weren’t even witnesses to the event. There was a vast network of women’s clubs that would help you order a statue for your own town out of a catalog, and they commissioned European sculptors who cashed the checks but privately grumbled about the poor taste of the tacky kitsch they were installing all over America.

We’re still dealing with what they did today. It’s what Charlottesville was about. But most people don’t realize these statues weren’t put there anywhere near the time of the war, or that they were the product of an orchestrated public relations machine. By powerful women!

I wrote a line in the book: “Having a Southern heritage is like having herpes—you can forget you have it, you can deny it, but it inevitably bubbles up and requires attention.” These issues aren’t going away.

Places we think of as holy ground, like Arlington National Cemetery, often have some pretty shocking origin stories. Arlington started because some guy got pissed off at Robert E. Lee and started buying corpses in his rose garden to get back at him! That’s our hallowed national burial ground: a nasty practical joke, like the Burn Book from Mean Girls. Dig a little and you find more revolting secrets, like how the incredible number of people buried under the wrong headstone, or the time the government put the remains of a Vietnam soldier in the Tomb of the Unknowns. They pretty much knew his identity, but Ronald Reagan really wanted a TV photo op. So they sealed all the soldier’s belongings in the coffin with him so that no one would figure it out.

They eventually had to admit they’d lied and gave the soldier’s body back to his mom. But if a thing like that happens in a place like Arlington, can the rest of our supposedly sacred sites be taken at face value at all?

It goes a lot deeper. At Ford’s Theatre and the surrender house at Appomattox, the site we visit isn’t even real. They’re fakes! The original buildings are long gone but visitors are rarely told that. The tale’s moral is what’s valued, not the authenticity.

What can visiting these sites teach us about how we remember our past? Once you realize that all historic sites have been cultivated by someone who wanted to define your understanding of it, you learn how to use critical thinking as a traveler. All it takes is asking questions. One of the most fun threads in the book kicks off when I go to Oakland, a historic but touristy cemetery in Atlanta. I spot an ignored gravestone that piqued my interest. I’d never heard of the name of the woman: Orelia Key Bell. The info desk didn’t have her listed among the notable graves. She was born around the 1860s, which was a very eventful time in Atlanta.

So I took out my phone and right there on her grave, I Googled her. I researched her whole life so I could appreciate what I was seeing. It turned out she was a major poet of her time. I stood there reading PDFs of her books at her feet. Granted, her stuff was dreary, painfully old-fashioned. I wrote that her style of writing didn’t fall out of fashion so much as it was yanked down and clubbed by Hemingway.

But reading her writing at her grave made me feel wildly connected to the past. We almost never go to old places and look deeper. We usually let things remain dead. We accept what’s on the sign or the plaque as gospel, and I’m telling you, almost nothing ever reaches us in a state of purity.

I figured that if I was going to probe all these strangers, I had to be fair and probe someone I knew. I decided to look into an untimely death in my own family, a great-grandfather who had died in a train wreck in 1909. That was the beginning and the end of the tale in my family: “Your great-great grandfather died in a train wreck up in Toccoa.”

But almost as soon as I started looking deeper, I discovered something truly shocking—he had been murdered. Two young Black men were accused in rural South Carolina for sabotaging his train and killing him. You’d think at least someone in my family would have known this! But no one had ever looked into it before!

Here Lies America follows their trail. Who were these guys? Why would they want to kill him? I went to where their village used to be, I started digging into court documents from their murder trial. Let me tell you, the shockers came flooding. Like, I found they may have killed him because they wanted to protect a sacred old Cherokee burial mound from destruction. There was this crazy, larger-than-life forgotten story happening in my own damn family.

My experience with that poet’s grave has a happy coda. Last week, someone told me that Orelia Key Bell and her companion are now officially part of the guided tour of Oakland. The simple act of looking deeper had revived a forgotten life and put her back on the record. That’s what visiting these sites can do—but you have to look behind the veneer, the way I do with dozens of attractions in my book. This is the essence of travel, isn’t it? Getting to a core understanding of the truth of a place.

A lot of what you wrote showed how whitewashed many of these historical sites are. How do we as travelers dig deeper to get to the real history? Remember that pretty much everything you see at a historic site or museum was intentionally placed there or left there by someone. Ask yourself why. Ask who. And definitely ask when, because the climate of later years often twists interpretation of the past. It’s basic content analysis, really, which is something we’re really bad at in a consumer society.

Americans have it drilled into them to never question the tropes of our patriotism. If we learned about in grade school, we assume it’s a settled matter, and if you press it, you’re somehow an insurgent. Now, more than any other time in history, it’s easier than ever to call up primary sources about any era you want. If you want to go back to what our society really is, if you want to try to figure out how we wandered into the shattered shambles we’re in today, you have to be honest about the forces that created the image that, until recently, many of us believed we really were.

Do you think Americans have a problem talking about their history? If so, why is that? There’s a phrase, and I forget who said it—maybe James Baldwin?-but it goes, “Americans are better at thinking with their feelings than about them.” We go by feels, not so much by facts. We do love to cling to a tidy mythology of how free and wonderful our country always was. It reassures us. We probably need it. After all, in America, where we all come from different places, our national self-belief is our main cultural glue. So we can’t resist prettying up the horrible things we do.

But make no mistake: Violence was the foundation of power in the 1800s, and violence is still a foundation of our values and entertainment today. We have yet to come to terms with that. Our way of dealing with violence is usually to convince ourselves it’s noble.

And if we can’t make pain noble, we try to erase it. It’s why the place where McKinley was shot, in Buffalo, lies under a road now. That was intentional so that it would be forgotten by anarchists. McKinley was given no significant pilgrimage spot where he died, but right after that death, his fans paid for a monument by Burnside’s Bridge in Antietam, because as a youth, he once served coffee to soldiers.

That’s the reason: “personally and without orders served hot coffee,” it reads—it’s hilarious. That is our national mythmaking in a nutshell: Don’t pay attention to the place that raises tough questions about imperialism and economic disparity, but put up an expensive tribute to a barista.

What is the main takeaway you’d like readers to take away from your book? You may not know where you came from as well as you think you do. And we as a society definitely haven’t asked enough questions about who shaped the information we grew up with. Americans are finally ready to hear some truth.

Jason Cochran is the author of Here Lies America: Buried Agendas and Family Secrets at the Tourist Sites Where Bad History Went Down. He’s been a writer since mid-1990s, a commentator on CBS and AOL, and works today as editor-in-chief of Frommers.com and as co-host of the Frommer Travel Show on WABC. Jason was twice awarded “Guide Book of the Year” by the Lowell Thomas Awards and the North American Travel Journalists Association.

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