#I mena i love both it's just funny

[i-wasnt-ready-for-this]

Why does Melovin sound like this:

[findingblissinignorance]

tell me you're gonna be alright (Shakarian)

Happy holidays to @wasdplz for @masseffectholidaycheer!

Garrus and Shep have such a great relationship, I hope I was able to do it justice and I hope you enjoy!

It is also here on Ao3

.

It was funny the way the universe worked. One moment Garrus was preparing for a suicide mission and then his commander and best friend was suddenly suggesting something he had never seriously considered. Not that he hadn’t thought about it at all, but she was not only technically his superior, but also of an entirely different species. Anytime the thought may have crossed his mind, usually after a few drinks if he was honest, it had always been quickly dismissed. That was until she was there asking to test his reach and her flexibility. He was a little awkward and nervous about it, but he respected her and it would actually be nice to have some of the tension relieved, so why the hell not?

Fast forward a bit and now he can’t imagine life without her. While they had been apart, he tried to push the thought of her to the back of her mind with little success. When he scanned through Alliance news, he told himself it was to keep an eye out for any sign of the incoming invasion, he definitely wasn’t just looking for anything that mentioned Commander Shepard. However, the moment he saw her again on Menae, he knew he was done for. His homeworld was burning behind him and the galaxy was beginning to fall apart around them, but he didn’t want to let go of her hand. It didn’t take him long after that to realize just how deeply in love with her he was. It was a relief when he found out she loved him too. Maybe they didn’t have the most romantic of beginnings, but Garrus wouldn’t change it for the galaxy. 

Garrus had been laying there quietly, watching Shepard as she slept, a rare occurrence these days. She had almost seemed peaceful, but he had noticed the sharp intake of breath. Another bad dream, Garrus had no doubt. Cyan had been trying to hide that from him, trying to ease his worry, but he knew her too well at this point. The dreams were becoming more and more frequent as this war went on and he was concerned.

“I can feel you staring at me.” A single blue eye opened, staring up at Garrus now. There was a slight twitch of his mandibles. “What are you thinking about?” 

He hummed in thought a moment before answering. “How in that last fight I outnumbered your kills 3 to 1.” 

“What!?” Both of her eyes shot open now, but her look was quick to change from surprise to a glare once her tired brain had the chance to catch up. “Oh ha ha. In no universe would that ever fucking happen.” Cyan let out a groan as she stretched her arms out above her, attempting to rid herself of some of the stiffness without moving out of his arms. “I can’t believe you’d waste your time on fantasies like that.”

“Oh trust me, I waste plenty of my time on fantasies involving you, but, uh, none of them are quite like that.” The both of them laughed as she relaxed against his chest once again. He was sure that he couldn’t be very comfortable, at least by human standards, but she never complained about it. They fell into silence for a moment and he was just thinking she had maybe fallen back asleep when she spoke again.

“What were you really thinking about?” Her tone was surprisingly serious and it made him hesitate. That was one thing he had in common with her. They both were so used to keeping things close to their chests. Around each other they did open up a little more, but he knew there was a lot she still kept hidden and he still always had the urge to just laugh everything off with a bad joke. She had pulled back to look at him now, a few strands of her dark hair falling over her face. 

“I was thinking…” Garrus carefully tucked her hair back behind her ear, buying himself a moment to think. He was never good at this kind of thing, but he wanted to at least try. “I know we kind of stumbled our way to where we are now and I know it is difficult to find time to be happy between the fighting and the worry and everything, but I’m glad I have you. There is a lot that has gone wrong and there is a lot that I know that I’ve done wrong, but this? You? It’s the one thing I know is right in this whole galaxy. Without a doubt. Getting to be in love with you makes this all a hell of a lot easier.” His finger gently brushed along the edge of the scar that went across her face as she smiled at him. “I'm worried about you though. I can only imagine the stress you have been under and losi-”

"I know." Cyan interrupted him softly. Her smile had faded and he could see the turmoil of everything she was feeling. Anger, fear, despair. She allowed him a small glimpse of it all before taking a moment to rein it back in. "I want to talk to you, I do, but I can't. Not until we get through this. I'm afraid if I start breaking I won't stop until there's nothing but a million pieces of me shattered across the floor. We don't have time to put that back together right now." She put a hand on his chest. "After, I promise. If we get through this, I will gladly tell you everything. Nothing held back. You have my word."

His hand covered hers. "Good and when we get there I will gladly help put you back together." 

“When? I thought you always liked to expect the worst? Something about being pleasantly surprised?”  

“Let’s just say I found something that made me want to be more hopeful.” Garrus gave her hand a squeeze. Before either of them could say anymore, they were interrupted by the chirping sound of the intercom followed by the voice of Javik.

“Commander, it is time. We’ve reached the Citadel and I would like to accompany you to the station.” 

“Of course, not a problem, Javik. I’ll be down in a moment.” She replied with a heavy sigh. Only Commander Shepard could seem completely unfazed about talking to a 50,000 year old Prothean. Garrus himself still had trouble wrapping his head around it, but he shouldn’t be surprised by her at this point. Shepard had a way of completely changing the galaxy while barely batting an eye. “I guess it’s back to it then.” Cyan moved to roll out of the bed. He was reluctant to let her go, but he knew now wasn’t the time to be selfish.

It didn’t take her long to get ready. The days of wearing a formal uniform had long since passed, even when going to meet with a member of the council, so she just threw on a set of crumpled fatigues. By the time she had smoothed down a few stray hairs and splashed a little water in her face, the seriousness had left her expression and there was no hint of the turmoil from before. Garrus was leaning against the wall near the door watching her. “Are you coming or staying on the Normandy?” She asked as she stopped in front of him.

“I think I’ll stay this time. I highly doubt that your Turian boyfriend is invited to your secret meeting with the Asari councilor and I can’t imagine this trip is going to take very long so I won’t be able to help the refugees much anyway.” 

“You could always keep an eye on Javik.” 

“As entertaining as I’m sure that would be, I’m not really in the mood to hear about how us primitives are going to be wiped out because we are so pathetic.” Garrus said, mimicking Javik’s tone as best he could. It wasn’t the best impression, but it made her laugh. 

“That’s fair enough.” Cyan chuckled as she pressed up on her toes to place a gentle kiss on the corner of his mouth. “I’ll see you when I get back then.” As she went to leave her quarters, Garrus followed and reached out to lightly grab her wrist before she reached the elevator. She stopped and looked at him. “Wha-” Before she could finish her question, he leaned in for a real kiss. “Hello there.” 

“Hey.” Garrus stayed close, resting his forehead against hers and closing his eyes. One last moment of sincerity. “I know you don’t want to talk about it right now, just… don’t forget I’m here to help however I can. You don’t have to shoulder it all.”

“I know. I’m fine.” She reached up to caress his cheek with a soft smile on her face. They stayed like that for just another moment longer, both of them stealing the seconds of intimacy before it was time to put the walls back up. “You know, there is one thing you can do for me.” Her smile turned into a smirk as she pulled away from him and he knew it was time to let it go for now. “When I get back, I would be very interested in hearing about those other fantasies you mentioned. What do you say?”

“I will be waiting right here for you so we can discuss those in incredible detail.”Garrus tilted his head and lowered his voice a little. “I might even show you a few things, just to make sure you understand.”

“Sounds perfect.”

“Please someone throw me out of an airlock.” Both of them looked up quickly at the Prothean neither of them had seen in the elevator. Javik’s arms were crossed and Garrus would say he looked unimpressed, but he was pretty sure that was his default expression. 

"Javik, what are you doing up here?" Cyan put some space between her and Garrus, even though their relationship was no secret at this point. Something about trying to keep some level of professionalism though they both crossed the line often enough. “I told you I'd be right down.”

"You were taking too long and now I see why.” 

“Just how long have you been standing there?” Garrus asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Long enough.” Javik answered dryly.

“Okay, well I’m ready now, so let’s go.” Cyan cast Garrus an apologetic look as she joined Javik on the elevator. “We’ll talk later, Garrus.” There was a pause before she added. “I love you.” 

“I love you too.” As the door closed, Garrus was sure he heard a muttered comment about primitives before he was standing there alone. 

There was a time he had thought that he wouldn’t find love and he had been fine with that. There were more important things. Now here they were at what might be the end of everything and there was nothing more important to him than her. But the universe had to keep its sense of humor and so she was the one who had to be in the middle of all of this. Still, he would do everything in his power to get her through this. After all, there is no Vakarian without Shepard.

[otakebi-cam-wao]

pd101 japan the girls ep 6 by a harowota

let's go brain flowing

after this we will get 35, okay okay, i dont worry (lie)

i wonder if one twin stays and other doesn't

ohhh positions interesting

cannot get used to Momoka's hairstyle...

so they must do a lot

extra 100k votes?!

ohhh first love by utada hikaru

oh so double points for run run

if they don't get 1st they get 0 votes, that's like... cruel, at least 1/2 of the votes idk...

of course kassa goes first to choose

in order makes sense

they trying to guess what she chose

i love how everyone gets while one goes for a song

awwww Momona and Kokoro are so cute

Kassa going for a rap one wow

Ran ran to chose a song?

rocketeer? if she choosed run run i could have done a pun

Miu trolling Ran

lol Kassa being Kassa

Suzu and Ran

ohhhh Tsuzumi loud funny bby

oh Amuro Namie Hero

AYANEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

cute ayane

Koto went for the challenge!!!

Nagomi bby!!

nice first love

Nagomi is so cute i cant

First love is full now, no one can take it ooooo

nice Keiko and Rinon back together (sad, no Fuka)

everyone is surprising everyone lol

Kotone got worried somehow?

so sad to see the song u want to get full before you can choose

egg bby Hina!!!!!! (for me she's a chick bit wanting to fully leave the egg tho 🐣)

this goes too fast for my writing!!!! nice

KOTONE!!!!!!! w Kassa!!!

the pun!

Momoka wanted rap so bad but got full both, sad

Kokoro hugging Momoka awww

they get full quickly aaaa

wanna see what Haruka chose

OMOKAGE WITH KOKORO let's goooooo

Yurara... wadada??

ohhh she chose RUNRUN

wadada has no one! lol

(me not knowing other song than first love and antifragile? maybe i do but not by title or artist well i now amuro namie but can't remember the sing lol)

the remaining ones got wadada ofc

okay antifragile team

Ayaka doesn't want to apparently

Miyu leader agai, she was nice, good leader

whos center? everyone (ok no)

pls not Rimika (dunno why)

lol everyone vote for themselves

they went to request help to decide

Miyu center and leader nice (NICE NOT RIMIKA)

FIRST LOVE TEAM!!

lol no one wanted to ve leader, they just saw at Rino, all introverted

I can't choose a main vocal, but Ayane or Nagomi pls

ofc Ayane wanted to (but the only one who wanted to?)

i somehow get her

oh omokage (kokoro leader?)

mena and kokoro candidates for main vocals?

calm bby (mena)

kokoro is so nice

okay Shut down, so kassa leader? big bby becoming leader is surprising

kokona wants main rapper, not surprise, but Kotone?

ohhh i remember this song cuz of tiktok

okay, Kokona, but yes, give your best Kotone!

rocketeer now, big group

main dancer/center? who? Ran? (who's leader btw?)

Ran is amazing, i agree Rin

yes center ran

hero vocals is yui

and bijin rapper keiko

wa da da center ayano

shine a light... i think everyone is scared to anything

chiharu leader ooo

so organized!!! writing all

run run center?

they're the risk takers

freestyle to decide

i can't choose myself

JOA CENTER! good luck

but sad everyone specially koto, c'mon, you can do it!!!

Evaluation already?! (like if i didn't know already)

lol sleepy rio

im amazed at the people

OMG THE ALIENS DRESS KAELA!!!

何それ？そのエイリエンドレス！カエラやっば

let's go everyone!!!!

i wanna see the fits for everything lol

nakasone explaining run run's trick

wa da da time

name name? madada... lit what they want

karen let's go!!!

ofc training first

before hand, i hope Mikoto and Rin get it, but also Karen

ohh now I remember this song (i need a p101 playlist on apple music, cuz yeah why not)

LET'S GO KAREN!!!

i want Mana to leave for unreasonable reasons (slightly looking like someone i know irl and hate)

they won't sing a thing then? fr?!

LETS GO MIKOTO!!!

sad Karen, she's a vocalist and it's in the bottom of the ranking! poor Karen, wanna hug her

who's the loner with hard tome?

ohhhh Rin, poor Rin, her suggestions are rejected, that's sad and i know that cuz school

c'mon nakasone, give them the words they need

nakasone stop being so mother

i want you as a mom and i have no mommy issues (as far as i know)

nakasone saving a group

new rin suggestion got accepted

yumeki is too tough, boy you're younger than mana!!! feels weird (i hope he's just evily edited)

show time, gonna just watch write after

nice, i was as nervous as nakasone

i can't see any appeal on ranka!!! talent yes, but appeal nope, even I'd say it's negative appeal, even if she's sweet spoken

hope karen has more votes than ranka, and maybe mana

VOTES!!!!

7th mikoto and 6th miyu? nooo MIKOTO NOOOOOOO

karen 5th and rin 3rd

ayano 3rd

RANKA GETS THE 10K VOTES?! (yes, I can't like her)

Hero team!

Heroes is the name... ª

training time

Yui leader lets goooo

a vocal battle between tsuzumi, yui and shizuku

yui main vocal

shizuku is funny even frustrated for not getting the main vocal part

they'll arrange it

poor mayu, she's not good singing

this groups feels so nice to hang out with

shizuku trying to escape from the classical training? wow or kinda escape from it

one day i'll compilate the H!P girls every produce girl remins me of

i'm just mesmerizing this group cuz i love singing and people singing

awwww tsuzumi is sorry cuz she was called to ad libs practice for ad libs added on yui solos?

and yui is worried, i mean, yeah, it's kinda weird but, both can do it, i know it

poor Tsuzumi, she's such a cute emotional bby...

thelma!!!! lowkey missed her lol

thelma is being the nice neesan tsuzumi needs

awwww tsuzumi gets letters from the other ao haru girls (eliminated)

shizuku can get away and stray from classic

mayu has it hard, but hong ee, and thelma support her, they're both cute trainers

btw, i forget shizuku dyed her hair blonde

let's go!!!! i have faith on Mayu's improvement

let's goooooo

wiiiiiii yui!!!!!

woooooo tsuzumi

i got the chills w mayu

and shizuku singing less classical

iodawuisrbfghiodfshgiudfsh yui

aaaaaa shizuku i got even emotional

the harmonies between tsuzumi and mayu, or shizuku and yui

and shizuku and tsuzumi

tsuzumi's ad libs!!!

i wanna cry, i got the chills!

oh my, i want the 4 of them to get 1st of the group

positions... osdfbhgyuhdfs

ofc mayu last, shizuku 3rd, is sad!!!! i don't want to

yui 1st! even tsuzumi is happy, yui don't cry!!!

run run's team?

yes, w fighters nice name

let's go risk takers

i just feel so much problem here to come up with something, or idk, something?

i can't see this, is something, idk

sakura's acrobatics, okay

nooo yuuki and koto feel preassure

nakasone time w the group, after yumeki being a bit tough on joa

nakasone group therapy for improvement, makes me emotional

joa can't find herself?

time to watch

1st: WOW

2nd: wanna rock those outfits as well

and the end poses wow

JUST WOW

i don't one anyone to get last

yuuki's words

Mitsuki gets 0 votes sad.... i just can't with these risk takers, i want all of them to be 1st of the group

congrats joa

this is too tense!!!

shine a light team!

hina forgot to use her mic, so cute, the egg bby

i hope miu is not evil edited here

so miu became leader tho chiharu was originally, miu main vocal tho

i'm curious bout the arrangement

really raised up the key...

ohhh so how miu ios working made chiharu feel weird bout being leader

lee hongii makes me laugh he's cute helping the girls, like that funny uncle or something

poor chiharu, i cant

hazuki's low notes

okay show

ohhh hazuki got out of key a bit

and chiharu

hina's voice makes me want to hug her (well her existance, she's bby)

this also got me the chills, emotional and all, less than hero, but a lot

yeah thelma, kuyashii

positions, i want hina 1st, but doubt it

i don't wanna say

HINA FIRST!!!!! BBY FIRST

🥚BBY FIRST🐣

so cute, sorry bby, i doubted you!

i want next episode soon for first love!!!

Ken the 390 needs to be shown more as trainer!!!!

NAKASONEEEEEE MOTHER!

[sarascamander]

The second book, Two For Joy, is kind of heartbreaking. It was in Romeo's pov and in book 1, which is Chad's pov, I don't really love it. I Mena I love the characters and the plot but I don't actually root for them, but this book totally change them.

I think it's because being in Chad's head is different from Romeo. Chad basically hates himself and has a lot of inner turmoil so being in his head, we see him as he sees himself so I don't quite love him. And Chad sees Romeo but there was a lot of justifying and hatred in the way he sees him too so it's hard to completely root both of them.

But Romeo's pov is so different. I LOVE Chad in this book because Romeo adores Chad. He looks at Chad and sees all of his goods and just painted him in the way that makes it so easy to fall in love with him because that what happened to Romeo. He fell for Chad and is still falling and now I'm falling in love with Chad. And unlike Chad, Romeo was confident of who he was. He knows he's a killer. He knows he's a monster and the walk on the memory lane from his past is not an attempt to explain why he is the way he is and justified what he did, but just a chance for us to see where it all started and I love that.

The first part of the book I was totally giggling and blushing because they're just so sweet to each other. Totally married, domestical vibe even in a jail cell lmao. And they're so funny too, I just love them. But the second half got me STRESSING. I was begging, on my knees for everyone to LEAVE MY BABY GIRL CHAD ALONE. Everyone is turning on him and I'm so pissed at everyone because Chad is literally a messy, pathetic, and depressed, cinnamon roll who deserves the warmest, most fluffy hug EVER. The only person who's agreeing with me is Romeo and Zac 😭. I was really wishing Romeo somehow escaped that jail and murder everyone for even making Chad frown.

(I warned you before didn't I? being in Romeo's pov really makes me fall in love with Chad. I'm basically his mother now and he's a stray kitten I found.)

It's kind of sad seeing how Chad and Romeo's connection with Magpie is being twisted and manipulated by the media and that copycat. It was a pure symbol between the two of them, not for these people to ruin it 😭.

Anyway, my heart goes out for Chad. He literally deserves an apology from everyone. EVER SINCE BOOK 1 I'm telling you. Even though I wasn't in love with him at that time, even I know how much the people around him are screwing with him.

Bc what do you mean your fiance sold your classified information for money, your bestie sneaks behind your back to get a promotion you repeatedly said you want, you get shamed by your coworkers for leaving because you've nearly had a panic attack watching you DI in hospital AND you get depromoted into desk duty because of one accident (happens when he almost have the said panic attack). I don't even blame him for falling for Romeo, he's the only human being that is being decent to Chad at this point.

And now in this book people are villainising him, shaming him, casting him out, suspense him from his work and act as if he was sick in the head. They all think he's becoming a serial killer just because he love Romeo. Like dude??? This is literally how I see him:

This is literally Chad 💀. You think he killed 3 people? Bro cried harder than a baby when his dog died. And you think he can kill people? Be for real rn.

[bitchyfoxymama]

I just read Doppelganger (10/10 Poe is daddy) and it reminded me of the time when I showed my cousin the Empire Magazine cover promoting the Aladdin remake bc we both love Aladdin and when she saw Mena Massoud, she actually said "Is that Oscar Isaac?" I WAS WHEEZING

Omg anon that’s so funny 🤣🤣 Poe is def a space daddy bonus points bc Oscar likes fans calling him daddy hehe

[foli-vora]

more than words - pt.1

A/N: I’ve had this in my head for forever and a half so it feels good to finally sort my thoughts and random notes out. Hope you enjoy!

Summary: The one person who you thought would be happy for you finally getting with someone decent was your best friend. After all, he had set you both up. Who would’ve thought he’d be the reason it all falls apart?

Pairing: best friend!Benny Miller/f!reader, Frankie ‘Catfish’ Morales/f!reader

Word count: 1.6k

Warnings: alcohol consumption, swearing, mentions of sexual acts/sexual refences (no smut yet but it’s coming so this is strictly 18+)

pt.2 / pt.3 / pt.4 / pt.5 / pt.6

+++

Wednesday nights were pizza nights. A rule established in the early stages of your friendship with Benjamin Miller – a loud mouth, golden hearted ex-spec ops mess of a human being. A chance meeting one stormy day on the freeway, led to something you weren’t expecting – a friendship, and a solid one at that.

“– she damn near tried to suck the life out of me!”

“Jesus Ben, there are kids a table over.”

“So? They shouldn’t be eavesdroppin’ on conversations that don’t concern them.” He grins lopsidedly at your scowl of disapproval, ripping off a mouthful of pizza and humming as he chews it, head swaying to the faint music playing behind the bar. “You’re payin’, by the way.”

You snort quietly, “Don’t I always?”

He recoils, blinking in playful surprise. “Excuse you? I paid last…” he trails off, eyes rolling to the wall as he thinks but a frown soon pinches his brows. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is that I love you and I appreciate you.”

You laugh quietly, shaking your head as you signal for another round. “Anyways, reverting to our previous topic before you got carried away with your blowjob story.”

He makes a noise, snapping his fingers as he tries to rush chewing and swallowing his mouthful. “So,” he starts, “I’ve got a friend…”

You groan immediately, letting your head lull back. “Ben –”

This wasn’t anything new. Benny took it as his own personal mission to fix you up with anyone he thought could give you a good time and treat you well. Friends, colleagues, Hell – even his brother at one point. Will was lovely, by all means, but not your type. Both you and Will had agreed you were not a match in the slightest early in the evening, enjoyed a night of beer and pool, and then went your separate ways.

Although, now that you thought about it, Ben hadn’t mentioned setting you up with anyone for a long while. Not since before his mysterious trip.

You still didn’t know anything about it, other than he and some old work friends went on an apparent ‘vacation’. It was more than that – you knew it, and he knew you knew it, but you didn’t push the topic. Instead of interrogating him, forcing question after question on him, you let it go, sensing it was something he really didn’t want to talk about.

He had returned from that trip a few months ago, heavy with exhaustion and usually bright eyes dull and weary. You tucked him into your bed, and left him. He slept for hours. It wasn’t until much later that evening that you crept in to see how he was doing, and found him thrashing silently in the sheets, sweaty and incoherently mumbling, face pinched and puckered in pain. You didn’t wake him. Instead, you knelt beside the bed, softly stroking along his forehead until his erratic movements and breathing calmed. You didn’t bring it up.

“I know, I know,” he threw his hands up in defence with a small grin, “but I think you’ll like this one.”

“That’s what you always say.”

“No, I mean it this time. He’s a real good guy – one of my closest. I think you guys would really hit it off. I haven’t tried to set you up before because he was with the chick but she upped and left him alone with the baby and –”

“Sorry, what?”

“What?”

“He has a baby? Like a… like a child?”

Benny frowns defensively, “You’ve always said you want kids!”

“It’s still a huge commitment, Ben.”

“Jesus, I’m not walking you down the aisle! Just meet him and see where it goes. If it ends in some good sex, you say ‘thank you Ben’ and we move on. And if it ends in something more, you guys take it slow and buy me wings as a thank you.” He shrugs, looking thoroughly impressed with himself, and reaches for his beer, polishing it off in one swig.

“And what if it ends in bad sex?” You challenge, crossing your arms on the table and leaning forward to eye him critically.

He scoffs, “Woman please. I know my brothers. You’ll be in good hands.”

You take a moment to thank the waitress as she stops at your table with your beers. She lingers just a little on passing Ben his, an act he didn’t miss as he shoots her a wink and a honeyed, thanks sugar. She smiles, cheeks flooding with colour before she turns and waltzes off towards other customers, swinging her hips as she goes.

You’re expressionless when he finally turns back to you, “Sugar?”

“Shut your mouth.”

Façade cracking, a snicker falls past your lip and you chuckle. “Alright,” you concede, “you’ve got my interest. What’s his name?”

“Fish.”

… what?

“Come again?”

“Francisco – we call him Fish. Catfish, actually.”

“Your age?”

“Bit older.”

You sigh deeply, rolling your head on your shoulders in thought. You were curious, no doubt about it. Despite never being able to make anything last long-term out of the list of men Benny had set you up with, none of them were bad guys. They were all kind, funny and incredibly respectful. One great thing about Benjamin Miller was that he had an impeccable taste in character.

“I don’t know, Ben –”

He slips his phone from his pocket and swipes away at his screen before wordlessly handing you the device. It was a photo, taken from one of Benny’s many weekend trips into the wilderness. Your eyes are dragged from the incredible background of snow peaked mountains and lush green forests to the man standing beside Benny, tucked under his arm. Average build and height, a well-loved trucker cap hiding dark hair. Warm brown eyes, crinkled from a large dimpled grin between dark patched facial hair.

Benny, seeing the sudden spark of interest, grins around his beer bottle. “So, I’ll slip him your number?”

You tighten your jaw and hand his phone back, sniffing impassively as you reach for your beer. “If it means you’ll leave me alone, then fine.” You mutter coolly, ignoring his quiet chuckle.

+

“Wait, wait – you have a best friend and it’s not one of us? I’m cut, Benny. Cut real deep.” Santiago Garcia was curious, to say the least. For years, he had known the youngest Miller and he had never mentioned anyone beyond their little circle or their families. “She cute?”

Benny huffs a chuckle, leaning across the pool table and lining up the final ball. “Hell yeah, she’s cute.”

“Where you been hiding her?”

“She moved away – only came back late last year.”

Santi hums, “Ironhead – she cute?”

Will half smiles, dragging his attention away from the pool table to shrug. “She’s alright.”

His bait works. Benny snaps it up – hook, line and sinker. He stands abruptly from his shot, cue just skimming the white ball, and points an angry finger in his brother’s direction, “I won’t take that shit. She’s a damn angel and you know it.”

Will chuckles to himself before returning his attention to Santi. “Yeah, she’s cute. Show ‘em.”

Benny briefly steps away from the pool table, opens his phone and brings up your Instagram profile, throwing it to Pope and letting him scroll through your feed.

“How come you’ve met her and we haven’t?” Pope aims his question at the older Miller brother, currently bent over the table and pocketing the black ball.

He half shrugs, straightening. “He set us up. It didn’t work out.”

Santi’s face puckers into a teasing glower, and he pouts at the younger Miller. “So, what? You set everyone else up and just leave me to die alone? What’s that about, Benjamin?”

Benny holds his arms out in obvious exaggeration, gesturing deliberately to himself. “You’ve got me.”

Frankie quietly sips his beer and watches in fond amusement, content to stay in the background and away from the bickering. Like Santi, his interest had been piqued but he was somewhat nervous about the situation. He already had feelings of apprehension returning to the dating scene after the shit show of a year he’d had, and those feelings tripled when it came to potentially dating someone close to one of his longest friends. He hadn’t dated in years. He was rusty. What if he disappointed you and Benny ended up kicking his ass? It could get messy real quick.

“I don’t know, man.” He finally pipes up, crossing his arms comfortably across his torso and reclining in the bar stool after peaking over Santi’s shoulder and at the screen he was lazily scrolling through. Ha. Way out of his league. “This kinda shit never works.”

“You sayin’ she’s not good enough for you?”

Frankie shakes his head, rolling his eyes. “You know I’m not.”

“Sounds like you are.”

“Quite the opposite.”

“I’ll take his spot. Give me her number.” Santi holds a hold out, clicking his fingers impatiently when Benny merely rolls his eyes. Pope grins, settling back into his seat and elbowing Frankie softly. “I think you should go for it, man. She seems great, and you need to get back out there.”

“I can’t, I’ve got Mena –”

“And Mena’s got her tío. Go for it. You’re just looking for excuses – no seas cobarde.”

Frankie chews on his lip as he gives it a bit of thought, wondering what’s the worst possible case scenario that could come from it. A busted lip? His self-image in ruins? Scared off from dating for the rest of his life? All things he could live with.

“… alright.”

Immediately, Benny perks up from setting the pool table with a large grin. “Yeah?”

Fish sighs, long and drawn out as Pope playfully pokes his side. “Yeah. Give me her number, I’ll message her now.” Before he freaks and changes his mind.

Maybe he was just thinking too much. What’s the worst that could happen?

+

Tags: @anu-simps​

[perchanceapoet]

WARNING!!!! SPOILERS FOR WEST SIDE STORY (2021) AHEAD. WARNING!!!!

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Before we begin, I should probably clarify that I am a diehard fan of the original movie West Side Story (1961). I have seen the original numerous times and I love it dearly. Ok, let's work in categories, shall we?

CHARACTERS

Maria: Rachel Zegler is a very dedicated Maria. Innocent, playful, funny, a little cheeky, spunky and yearning for more than the hand she was dealt in life. I believe her. I believe she knows this character. She did well.

Tony: Ansel Elgort. Look, we need to address the elephant in the room. I am aware Ansel was accused of sexual assault. At this time, I cannot speak on the allegations. As far as I am aware, this is still an ongoing case. That is all I know. I am going to judge Ansel's performance as such, a performance. That being said. Ansel plays a convincing Tony. I cannot help it. His facial expressions just remind me of Richard Beymer (forever my Tony). Ansel gives me the impression that he studied this part. That he is aware of the respect the musical and this character demands.

Valentina: My beloved Rita Moreno. A million standing ovations to you. I mean, Rita could have played a potted plant and I would have loved it. She does so well, I love when Rita (forever my Anita) gets to interact with the new Anita. It's just magnificent. She is magnificent.

Riff: Who in the world was responsible for casting this scrawny looking, high pitched kid as Riff? I mean, Mike Faist gives it his all. He has done the work and came prepared to play the part. None of this is Mike's fault. He just isn't Riff. Riff and Bernardo, both of them, they should ouse a certain sense of danger. You should not want to walk down a dimly lit alley at night with them around. Mike? He is just too darn cute for Riff. Way too much babyface. Sorry, Mike, I know you tried.

Bernardo: David Alvarez. I am not very sure what David was trying to do, but I am pretty sure he was not trying to scare anyone. Even when he was supposed to be intimidating, he just comes off as a very upset carebear. George Chakiris (forever my Bernardo), they did you dirty.

Anita: Ariana DeBose. My hat off to you, madam. Ariana played Anita with such conviction, strength and vigor. When she starts singing A Boy Like that, dear Shelley, I wanted to get up out of my chair and applaud. Bravo. Bravissimo.

Anybodys: Iris Menas, zie is this character. Anybodys just lives in hir body. The way Iris moves is just exquisite. That being said, my Anybodys, they will forever be a short little skinny kid. So, it did sort of bother me how big and broad shouldered Iris is. I do realise that is more me being superattached to the original and less Iris doing a bad job. All in all, a wonderful performance.

Officer Krupke: He is largely absent in this movie. I cannot review the performance because I'm not entirely sure there was a performance. What little Officer Krupke had to do in the original, they whittled down to just about nothing.

Chino: Chino is a Shark. Not an accountant. A Shark. That is all I have to say about that.

MUSIC AND DANCING

Ouverture: I honestly did not expect this movie to have the complete overture and it didn't. And I get it, the audience of 2021 sadly does not have the patience to wait through an entire overture. Does not mean I did not miss it, though.

There is whistling! Thank the stars! There is whistling! For just a second there I thought there wouldn't be whistling and my world would come crumbling down, but there is whistling!

The opening dance was changed. The Jets and Sharks now actually fight, instead of dancefighting. My heart broke a little. One of the reasons why I love this movie is because of the way it shows violence without actually showing violence. I am still a little heartbroken about it. Don't get me wrong, two people get stabbed and one person gets shot. This was always a violent movie, the violence in the original is just not as gratuitous as it is in this one, which is sad.

Jet Song: Was slowed down in the beginning? I noticed this in a couple of other songs. Why was it neccessary? I tried to tell myself that they did this to accommodate the singers. I sincerely hope that is why. Not because some smuck thought he could write better music than Leonard Bernstein.

Something's Coming: Felt sort of jammed in there? Originally, Tony sings this after Riff convinces him to come to the dance. Now he sings it after some gentle prodding from Valentina. It feels less 'good things can still happen' and more 'I guess I will go to this dance thing , whatever'.

Mambo: Exquisite. I did miss the funny moving heads in the dance, but ok, this is not 1961, I get it.

Tony and Maria's first dance. What in the bloody hell? Who is responsible for them not beginning the dance together? Who? I want to go throw rotten tomatoes im their mailbox. They dance this perfectly synchronized dance from the first moment to signify that they are made for each other. Boo whoever thought they knew better. Boo. Boo. Boo.

Maria: Good, not great, but good overall.

Tonight: What is up with all that climbing on and around the balcony stuff? Was not quite necessary. Well sung, though.

Spielberg changed the order of the songs after Tonight, so I am going to review them in the order I remember Spielberg putting them in. I only saw the new movie once, so forgive me if I am wrong in the order of the songs.

Dear Officer Krupke: It feels sort of weird that this song was left in the movie. Because Officer Krupke is such a non-character now. It feels out if place. Also, where - in the name of all that is pure - are my Jets? You do not get to just do Dear Officer Krupke with like five Jets. Boo, all of the boo.

America: I forgive them changing a couple of words. I forgive them changing the location of the song. Ariana DeBose helps you forget the many sins of this movie. Four stars, I took away one star because they let kids join in the song at the end and that is just not how it is done.

One Hand, One Heart: I almost cried. Five stars.

Cool: Holy mother of sanity. Can I just point out that RIFF IS STILL ALIVE??? He is living, breathing and singing Cool and it ia all wrong. How dare they take Cool from the rest of the Jets? How. Dare. They. I am fuming.

Tonight (reprise): Wonderful, excellent, cheeky, exciting, ominous. Perfect.

I was also happy to see at least a little dancefighting return when Riff and Bernardo were both armed.

I Feel Pretty: It just feels cruel to put this song right after Tony murders Bernardo, but before Maria finds out. I guess it is supposed to be a counterpoint to all the death we just witnessed? Also, Maria no longer sings she is gay. Just a hard no on this one. No. Just no.

There's a Place for Us: I almost forgave this movie all it did wrong. Magnificent.

A Boy Like that/I Have a Love: A true treat for lovers of West Side Story. Wonderful.

Tonight (reprise 2): A little strange to have Maria singing the opening of Tonight again, as Tony dies. It feels out of place. I was happy to hear the music for There's a Place for Us , as Tony's body is carried away. At least they got that right.

GENERAL COMMENTS

There's a lot of good things to be said about the vibrant colourscheme of this movie. Or about the use of the camera in between and underneath the dancers. That is simply breathtaking.

I missed the basketball court. I missed the grand images of New York in the beginning.

I felt overall that the liberties that were taken, especially with the music, were superfluous.

I feel sort of sad that this will be West Side Story, for a whole new generation of fans, but I know there is nothing I can do to change that.

In the meantime, I will be here reciting Maria's classic ending monologue, which they sadly also changed. HOW DO YOU FIRE THIS GUN, CHINO?!

[afterliferp]

CORDELIA BECKETT is NO LONGER looking for HER ROMANTIC PARTNER.

More below the cut. 💻

Character Name: UTP

Age: 27 - 30

Status: Alive / Human

Type of Connection: Romantic Partner / Future Fiancé

Suggested FCs: Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Steve Noh, Jack Falahee, Casey Deidrick, Mena Massoud, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jonathan Daviss, John Boyega, but I honestly am not picky, if you have someone else in mind I'd love to hear it! (EDIT: More listed here.)

Your Idea of the Character:

The general idea is that this is a Vanguard employee is very much in charge of keeping a careful eye on Cordelia's brother, Beck. Think of that fun little FBI agent joke- except it's honestly kind of real. Somehow while surveilling Beck, him and Cordelia got in contact and one thing has led to another and they're in a relationship.

Sometimes life laughs you in the face and you have to adapt accordingly, and that's kind of  hilarious in it's own way. I'm unsure if he has told Cordi what he actually does for Vanguard but she does know he works for Vanguard on some kind of security basis and that's about it. It's entirely up to you if you think he would've told her about it and if that is something they're trying to figure out and overcome. (Bonus points if he was somehow a bit of a anchor to her absolute everywhere-personality. Less likely to do impulse choices, her anchor.)

Potential Plans & Headcanons:

The general thought is just for there to be a lot of conflict (both funny and actually sad/rough) between Cordi, her fiancé and her brother. At some point Beck will be finding out his sisters boyfriend works for Vanguard and if he figures out the guy is watching him- well that's a hurdle for then.

I imagine they're a pretty stable relationship though, like- fully enamored  in each other and all of that true love stuff that people write about in romcoms kinda situation. I can see them being very ready to have a life together even if Cordi is super unable to keep a stable job and the guy working for Vanguard (be it because he wants to or because he has to).

I want that fluffy angsty couple that overcomes hurdles because they love each other even if it makes NO sense that they're  together.

Contact Info: Please reach out to me on @cordibeckett and we can talk details!

Anything Else? Please contact me before applying!

[yvesdot]

I don't think Johnathan's mention of Arabian Nights draws in Dracula on orientalism. He is saying the Arabian Nights (It's actually called One thousand and one nights) is similar to how the story is going so far. The overarching plot of One thousand and one nights is that a woman has just married a king and will be executed by that king in the morning. In order to save her life, that night, she tells the king a story and leaves out the ending. The king wants to hear the ending to the story, so he doesn't execute her and allows her to finish the story the next night. The woman finishes the story and then starts a new one and then leaves out the ending. This process continues on nightly until the king falls in love with her and cannot kill her.

John is essentially alluding to the fact that OTON is 1) a series of nightly conversations (that end in the morning, it's been a while since I've read the OTON but I believe that's true of both books at this point) that 2) is between a prisoner and the person holding them captive. I'm tempted to say 3) the conversations keep the prisoner alive (foreshadowing for Dracula) but I am unsure of how Dracula will go. I can't think of how the brief mention draws on the stereotypes of MENA and South Asian cultures in British consciousness (I am being this generalized because while OTON is and Arabic story, draws on Persian stories, and is set in Persia, the inner stories are set in many places through South, Central, and West Asia and North Africa, and also the stories themselves draw on many different MENA and South Asian sources. It's a bit like Aesop's fables in that sense) except that maybe the "foreign" Persian king paralleled with the "foreign" Dracula, but that seems a bit of a stretch to me given that the also "foreign" Scheherazade (king's wife) parallels with Johnathan in this case. The mention of the word "Arabian" alone does not constitute orientalism. I would argue Harker's quip about the untimeliness of "eastern" trains earlier draws far far more on orientalist rhetoric than this does.

I am South Asian by the way.

Ah—that's not what I was talking about! Fortunately, I do know the plot of the Nights (can you imagine? what kind of fairy tale nerd would I be?!) and in saying I was less qualified I meant that I only studied them extremely briefly, so I don't have the same confidence.

What I said, so I can explain:

I itch to say something about orientalism and the Nights, but I’m frankly even less qualified to talk about that. In short, the parallel between the two narratives seems clear in that views of another culture were ultimately defined by an exoticizing white outside perspective. 

I didn't say that mentioning the Nights is orientalist, or that the use of the word 'Arabian' is; I said that I would refrain from discussing orientalism with regard to the Nights and that I see parallels between the Nights (a text 'edited' and rewritten many times over by white people to conform to their orientalist and exoticized ideas of the cultures involved) and Dracula (white man writing about various other ethnic groups and cultures, making them sound as 'foreign' and 'weird' as possible for literary effect). The two texts both find ways to 'sell' other cultures to their presumed white audiences (IMO).

I did make the mistake of not specifying that I was thinking about the English translations of the Nights, because obviously when you're talking about the Nights you're talking about a billion versions of a story, so there's my clarification! Basically, I find it funny and quite appropriate that Harker references this text, because it's realistically what a racist white guy of his time period would have found influential... and Stoker is seemingly unaware that he's writing a racist protagonist and book.

(You can tell when I said I was itching, I was really itching.)

Hope I'm not just explaining things you already know—in trying to explain I expanded literally everything I'd said in hopes that I would find the source of the misunderstanding and fling it out the window. Also hope this doesn't stop you from sending me more asks! It's pretty rare for me to write something that instantly gets any amount of notice whatsoever, and it's really flattering that people are talking about it.

[smalltragedy]

* natalia dyer, nonbinary + she/they | you know philomena carmichael, right? they’re twenty-one, and they’ve lived in irving for, like, a day? well, their spotify wrapped says they listened to oo-de-lally by roger miller like, a million times this year, which makes sense ‘cause they’ve got that whole wind whipping around your hair, the gentleness of decomposition, a naked blur dancing around the flames of an everlasting fire thing going on. i just checked and their birthday is april 20th, so they’re a taurus, which is unsurprising, all things considered. ( james, 22, est, they/them )

hiii im back ... tentatively .. looks at u all ominously

CANCER, TRAUMA, DEPERSONALIZATION / DEREALIZATION, DEATH, GRAPHIC MENTION OF DECAY, INSECTS MENTION TW.

mini playlist.

oo-de-lally / roger miller, wonderfully bizarre / bendigo fletcher, dust in your pocket / glass animals, gecgecgec / 100 gecs, nantes / beirut, cherry-coloured funk / cocteau twins, not allowed / tv girl, space song / beach house, dog food / 100 gecs.

statistics.

full name: philomena brontë carmichael

nickname(s): philly, phil, mena, etc.

birthday: april 20th, 2000.

zodiac: taurus sun, scorpio moon, aries ascending.

temperament: improvisor / phlegmatic.

label: the halycon.

sexuality: demisexual.

pinterest.

biography.

a middle child belonging to christopher and imogen carmichael - two stanford professors. christopher specialized in british literature whilst imogen specialized in the classics. hence the name.

the order of siblings goes as such: lysander, elektra, juno, philomena, and twins orion & valora. the deal was that everybody had a greek (or in juno’s case, roman) first name and a middle name inspired by a piece of british literature circa 1800s and under. a family of nerds, if you will.

so, clearly - right off the bat, their parents are … eccentric. they’re both in love with their respected topic, and with each other, and with their kids. the carmichael family is a happy family.

they each have their own quirks and whatnot - though philly’s always been particularly dreamy - even as a child, she’d spend hours watching clouds or caterpillars or the leaves blow in the wind rather than play with other kids. she wasn’t a shy kid - she just had her own interests.

hardship doesn’t hit the family until philomena is five and starts having splitting headaches. they’re slow at first - but as soon as she’s seeing spots and unable to walk in a straight line, doctor appointments are made.

cancer tw // it doesn’t take long for them to discover the tumor, though the official diagnosis of malignant ependymoma comes a month later.

it’s grade ii but slow-moving, small enough to not be as much of a threat as worried, but big enough where removal is necessary. philomena earns a scar and brings it in for show-and-tell. for two months afterwards, philly’s at radiotherapy monday through friday.

they’re lucky - philomena’s considered cancer-free by the next year. she’s babied at first - handled delicately, as if she could break if touched - but with five other children … it doesn’t last for too long. end of cancer tw //

and life continues as normal.

her personality doesn’t shift much over the next few years - she’s awfully independent for a kid, and awfully quiet - when she speaks it’s about faeries and bigfoot, about how the sky is so blue and if you listen quietly, you can hear the leaves whisper their secrets to each other. this is not odd.

she’s close to all her siblings, but she idolizes her older sister - elektra. elektra’s six years older and dyes her hair whatever colors she wants. elektra bought a knife off a seedy guy downtown. elektra threw away all of her heels and renounced god. elektra is god. her music is loud but it’s not heavy - it’s florence and the machine.

they’re opposites - elektra’s boisterous and feels loudly, philomena’s softer and feels…less. when elektra sneaks out, philomena keeps watch. they are a duo.

philomena is smart - but she’s fifteen and hates school. hates sitting inside all day. hates the same routine - day after day - it’s all the same. her parents’ routine is the same, philly feels contained and she wants to live.

elektra’s twenty-one and just bought a brand new spanking (used but not falling apart) 19-something volkswagen … van - using her entire savings account. she says she’s tired of routine, she’s leaving the next day.

naturally, philomena stows away in the back and isn’t discovered until they’re two states away and she’s got to pee. elektra nearly crashes the van in shock.

it’s an argument - philomena vs. elektra, then them vs. their parents, then their parents vs. the school, the state - it’s an ordeal. philomena switches to an online program in the end.

it hurts christopher and imogen - lysander’s not having any of their nonsense, juno’s betrayed and alone - the twins are twins. in the end, it’s alright. the carmichael family is a happy family.

philomena and elektra take their time - it’s not a road trip, it’s their new life, permanently on the road. they stop and explore often - they do odd jobs in whatever town they settle in. they dine-n-dash, they shoplift. they survive in their own way.

during particularly desperate times, they two resorted to identity theft & credit fraud - getting away with it only by ditching the cards once they’ve made it out of state.

she drops out of high school officially when she’s seventeen - they have to drive all the way back to california to deal with the wrath of their parents and to deal with paperwork, but it’s done. philomena doesn’t know what path she wants in life - but it’s not that.

depersonalization / derealization tw // it’s during this time that the episodes occur - philomena’s outside her body, philomena’s wrapped in cotton, her memories are not her own. she’s looking in the mirror and she doesn’t recognize herself. they take shelter in a city for six months, long enough for her brand spankin’ new therapist to figure out what’s wrong with her. she’s diagnosed with depersonalization / derealization disorder - they think it’s stress. philomena doesn’t get stressed. they think it’s trauma. she laughs - she never laughs. depersonalization / derealization end of tw //

death, decay. maggots tw // there is trauma though, deep-rooted but somewhere inside - you just have to look for it.

you. just. have. to. look. for. it. look for it. look for it. look for it look for it look -

you were ten and she was thirteen, an off-trail hike in familiar woods in a familiar town, safe and familiar. it was your idea, to stray from the carved out paths, down creeks and up hills and round, and round again. you’re the one who spotted the scarf first, sticking up from the dirt and dancing in the wind like the beginning of reincarnation. it was not reincarnation, it was discovery. it was ruin. with curiosity drawn, you skidded down - with compliance, followed juno, followed your sister - clumsy in her steps and tumbling down quicker than you. you saw the corpse, but juno felt it. decaying flesh and maggot. end of death, decay, maggots tw //

and she left juno, just like that - just five years later, when juno had finally gone to the end of her wits. philly up and left. abandoned her.

philomena and elektra leave the city after that therapy session. they do not return. she’s always been good at hiding her secrets.

after ending up with warrants from their arrest in florida (after running from the law in texas), philly and elektra have wound up at irving <3 partially hiding from the law and partially bcos their trusty van’s broken down and they haven’t got the money to fix her up yet.

personality & facts.

she’s quiet but she’s confident - her voice sounds like rustling leaves, if leaves smoked a pack of cigarettes a day.

often underestimated - philly’s petite and looks like she’d fall over if a plastic bag blew too close to her. she’s independent - for the most part. elektra is the only person philly takes orders from.

has always been considered odd - weird, strange. still talks about the trees as if they’re listening, as if they’re old friends. she’s vague and doesn’t elaborate on the things she says.

believes in pretty much any superstition you throw her way. luck is very important to her. if you ask her if the earth is flat, she’ll say probably. believes strongly in bigfoot and the lochness monster. has personally seen aliens, and loves ghosts almost more than herself.

she can be amusing - whether you ‘get’ her or not, her outlook is often bright - she talks about the negatives the same way she talks about the positives. can be seen as naive or gullible, but she’s plenty smart. even if half of her education has come directly from google.

philly doesn’t laugh. a smile, yes - often, in fact - not always reaching her ears, or bearing teeth - but these are not indicators of her happiness. philly is consistently content. she thinks many things are funny - she still will not laugh.

her voice is often monotonous - she doesn’t sound dreary, she sounds far-away. her voice carries. her emotions are often unknown to others.

is apathetic in most situations. she’s hard to bother - she’s incredibly patient and enjoys the company of most - tolerates them at the very least. it’s hard for her to express her emotions, because she feels them so little that it’s very nearly not worth it. her affection is not verbal - it’s small touches and gestures of kindness, love in her own way.

is a fan of knock-knock jokes and bad puns. she won’t crack a smile while telling you them, nor does she expect you to laugh. she just enjoys them.

she owns a motorola razr covered in puffy stickers - hasn’t ever had a smartphone. she’s a fan of emoticons. her favorite is :o)

has a lot of bruises and scratches and scars - she’s often getting herself into pickles. there are always, at the very minimum, three bandaids on each hand.

she has insomnia, so she’s awake often. is often seen wandering town - even when she shouldn’t be, even when it might be dangerous. her intuition is delayed. when she does sleep - her dreams are vivid and fantastical.

keeps a box of memories - sentimental bits and pieces she’s picked up over the last few years. there are a lot of buttons and postcards, but any teeny tiny object will do.

her style changes every week - most, if not all, of her clothes are thrifted. one week she’s baby spice and the next she’s lydia deetz. she combines pieces from different styles often - she looks like a barbie clothed by a child. she feels most comfortable like this.

will either patch-up the clothes that get too worn or reuse them in some way. sometimes donates the clothes she gets tired off - isn’t minimalistic, but she’s learned to keep only a small amount of possessions.

the only consistency is her lucky ribbon - it’s pastel yellow and silky and as thin as a shoelace. she ties it onto her outfit of the day, everyday. if she loses it, she’s lost. elektra has a matching ribbon.

has no problem with minor theft - she only takes bare minimum, puts herself and elektra first and that’s how it’s always been.

currently living in florence, their van, with her sister elektra <3 currently residing in lilac ridge.

they used to live in motels on the occasion, the cheapest room, and more often than not they’d both go home with strangers for a comfier bed and a hotter shower.

it was a common occurrence - she didn’t sleep with them - but somehow, she weaseled her way into their homes anyway. has come out mostly unscathed, on most occasions. this has been a practice ever since they’ve been on the road.

really, truly - has not slept with anybody, had her first kiss at thirteen with a frog. this doesn’t bother her. (smirks at leo)

will consume anything you put in front of her - isn’t picky.

listens to whatever they’ve picked up along the way but she likes instrumentals the best. her second favorite genre is 1990′s and 2000′s top hits. they’re nostalgic for her. third favorites? florence, of course. fleetwood mac. the bird and the bee.

loves storms - will go out in the rain and will risk her life for it.

owns a pair of roller-skates and is often skating rather than walking. unless she’s on grass - then she’s walking barefoot.

has many hobbies, and gets bored of them often. her favorite hobby is welding. she’s not certified.

also, juggling.

also, accordion.

the kind of girl who’ll do any job you give her. odd jobs are her favorite jobs. babysitting is her least favorite - but she does it anyway. has lost children before. have they ever been found? not by philly.

dyes her hair blonde often and cuts her own hair - bangs included - finds it cathartic, likes the itchiness of bleach.

everything she does is often in pursuit of feeling free, alive, and meaningful.

( like her frequent visits to the woods, late at night when the moon is high and full. it’s freeing to dance around a fire, stark naked in the cold. builds immunity )

comes and goes wherever she pleases, nothing & nobody can stop her (besides elektra).

has a certain knack for getting animals to like her. has too many ‘pet’ rats that reside with her, alongside a baby raccoon & a few crow pals. has a new animal companion everyday, but she doesn’t contain them or force them to stay.

wanted plots.

speaking through my third eye ... ;; philly is new in town n shes very strange. constantly lives in a state in which she does not exist (at least on the same plane). this is her harassing the locals. this is her slipping thru their fingertips as they attempt 2 understand her. they get close smtms bt philly jst. whisks herself away.

hollows of our eyelids ... ;; perhaps there is smbdy jst as strange as philly. i’m out here calling fr all the weirdos. lets be friends. lets hv philly n co go on adventures n discover horrible sites n uncover ancient secrets tht lie deep below irving. mayb nt tht. bt im jst saying. this is fr the dreamers. da weirdos. the jugheads. LHKDSHFSADLKGFHLSKADG fr those who also feel as if they r not real.

bills n aches n blues... ;; ya this is my call fr all negative plots. bills (catching philly be a thief and a fraud), aches (mayb heartache? unrecruited feelings or w/e theyre called?), n blues (ooooh so sad... so sad ... angst ...) obviously i am a genius. i wldnt say tht philly is here 2 make enemies bc philly doesnt care much abt ppl bt perhaps tht cld b an issue. tht she doesnt care much abt others. mayb ur muse is jst like. cn u pls care. n philly is like. i am incapable. sry. sucks.

n also ,, ;; like. anything i’ll. take anything. philly is weird lets come up w surreal plots tht verge on the edge of like. nt being correct fr this verse. suddenly theres vampires? or so they think ... smirks. anyways. shes been 2 jail n been in the circus n dances naked in the woods n hoards animals n treasures. we hv a lot to work with here obv.

[guccixstyless]

A Styles Imagine of Harry and yn on Spill your guts or fill your guts please also I LOVE YOUR WORK

Spill Or Fill Your Guts

A/N: Thank you soo much for loving my work, here’s your requested story, I hope you like it!! xx

Word Count: 1.21k words

Pairing: Harry Styles x Reader

Masterlist

****************************************************

“Twenty minutes till you’re on, miss Y/L/N!” One of the Late Late Show intern informed you, you smiled at her nodding your head. You looked at yourself in the mirror and took a deep breathe. This still feels surreal.

You were promoting your third film, and then one fine day you got a call from Harry Styles. He asked if you’re up for being in James Cordon’s show that he was hosting. You readily agreed, since you had the biggest crush on Styles. You absolutely adored him, since his 1D days you were a dedicated fan of him.

That was a month ago, then one week before the show, Harry called you again, he asked if you would like to play Spill Or Fill Your Guts with him, you were hesitant at first then eventually agreed, I mean how hard the questions can be, right?

“Miss Y/L/N, if you’re ready then please kindly follow me, the set is ready,” the same intern came again to ask you that.

“Yes, I’m ready. Let’s do this!” You replied nervously.

You were lead towards a grey curtain, waiting for Harry to call you to make your entrance. Shortly afterwards, he announced your name and you smiled towards the audience who erupted with applauds, while waving at them you reached towards Harry and hugged him. It was the first time you saw him face to face, you were a bit late to the set so you didn’t get time to meet him before the show.

And God was he an epitome of perfection, with his hair styled in messy manner, to his jawline as sharp as the blade you were totally mesmerised, you couldn’t help but grin hugely seeing his dimple popping off.

You felt your hands get clammy, how can a person be this stunning?

“You look gorgeous love, are you ready to play Spill Or Fill Your Guts?” He asked.

“Bring it on Styles!” You replied chuckling.

“I like your confidence!” He said smiling.

He briefly explained the items that was displayed in the round table, then he opted to go first before choosing bird saliva for you.

“Give it a sniff!” He said with his cute accent.

You did and immediately regretted, scrunching up your face in disgust, this only made him laugh loudly accompanied by the audience.

“So, Y/N, your first question is,” he dramatically pulled out a question card and then smirked at you, “So this is your third film, rank your co-stars, Noah Centineo, Tom Holland and Nick Robinson from best to worst.”

You went nervous, there was no way you could rank them, they all became your good friends, but you also didn’t want to drink that disgusting thing.

You were weighing down your options then decided to just answer it, “okay, I’ll say, Tom, Nick then Noah, only because Noah always used to draw doodles on my face with markers whenever I tried to nap on set!“

"Oof, you got saved this time!”

“Now my turn, hmm I choose the bull’s penis,” you said laughing seeing him look terrified.

“So, Harry, which songs in your album are about Kendall Jenner?” You smirked.

He shaked his head hiding his face behind his hands.

He then took a fork digging into the thing, then again tried to answer, “uh- I’ll say track..ugh nevermind,” then munched on the item.

“Ooohhh,” everyone including you made a grunting noise.

“Okay,” he laughed then opted to give you the grasshoppers as your bext dare.

“Y/N, so you were a fan of 1D, is that correct?” He read the card aloud then looked at you, he looked impressed, you on the other hand knew where it was going.

“Oh God,” you mumbled bracing yourself.

“So who do you think is the least talented?” He finished his question with a chuckle.

There was no way in hell you were gonna answer that, you adored all five members so much.

“No one,” you answered.

“Sorry, too bad you have to answer one name!” He argued.

“Okay then,” you then ate the disgusting item, immediately afterwards you threw it in the bucket then gulped some water.

“You really loved 1D, huh?” He said laughing.

“I still do,” you smiled.

You chose the salmon smoothie for him, then asked the next question.

“Harry, who is your least favourite member of your current band?”

“Who makes these questions? Why are we even playing this game?” He said.

“It was your idea!” You laughed.

“God, why me,” he said drinking the smoothie.

Laughter erupted among the audience, he then asked you the final question.

“Okay, I’m giving you the beef tongue,” he stated, “so, in your opinion which movie do you think is overrated right now?”

“I-I have an answer but I don’t want to say it so,” you took a bite of the beef tongue.

“Jesus!”

You coughed and cleared you throat then chose cord sperm for Harry.

“God, how does they even arrange these stuff,” Harry said amusingly.

“Harry, who is the most annoying interviewer that you came across?” You read aloud laughing, you knew he won’t answer that.

“Why were my questions the hardest?” He pouted, then took a deep breath and took one piece of the cord sperm, he sniffed it then gagged.

“Disgusting!”

That was the end of the game, you then got a 30 minutes break to freshen up before moving onto the interview part, Harry will interview you and Mena Masoud.

Soon after the interview was over, it was time for packup, then you heard a knock at your dressing room.

“Yes?”

“Hi,” it was Harry.

You looked up at him then smiled, “What’s up?”

We were actually planning to get some drinks, just me, James, and a few more people from the crew. Would you like to join?” He asked expectedly.

“Yeah sure, why not?”

He smiled hugely, you got up and followed him. The drink arrangement was done at the main office’s rooftop.

You spent the whole night chatting with Harry, he was a funny guy.

After a few hours you were exhausted and wanted to call it a night.

“I can drive you home?” Harry offered.

“No, it’s okay, I can go by myself, I don’t want to disturb you” you smiled declining your offer.

“Nonsense, please? I insist.”

“Okay then,” you chuckled.

“Yayy, let’s leave then, shall we?”

“After you sir.”

You both bid goodbye to everyone then proceeded towards Harry’s car.

The car ride was fun as well, he played Fleetwood Mac, and you both had your own little carpool karoake, soon enough you reached your home.

He parked outside your apartment building.

“That’s my cue, thank you for the ride Harry!”

“My pleasure.”

“Goodnight then,” you said and as you were unbuckling your seat belt, he softly stopped you.

You looked at him in confusion, he then said, “um I had fun tonight, do you maybe wanna get lunch someday?” he asked shyly.

“Are you asking me out Harry?” you said teasingly.

“Uh yes?”

“I would love to go out with you,” you replied blushingly.

You both exchanged number quickly, promising you both will keep in touch.

It was an amazing night and you were excited to see how it works out with Harry.

[ncisfranchise-source]

Let the good times roll one more time!

NCIS: New Orleans signed off after seven seasons with a finale that mostly wraps up some lingering threads. Special Agent Dwayne Pride (Scott Bakula) marries Rita Devereaux (Chelsea Field), with Dr. Loretta Wade (CCH Pounder) officiating. In attendance for the intimate ceremony are his team — Tammy Gregorio (Vanessa Ferlito), Hannah Khoury (Necar Zadegan), Sebastian Lund (Rob Kerkovich), Patton Plame (Daryl “Chill” Mitchell), and Quentin Carter (Charles Michael Davis) — and his family — mother Mena (Joanna Cassidy), brother Jimmy (Jason Alan Carvell), and son Connor (Drew Scheid).

And while Connor’s mother Sasha (Callie Thorne) plans to take him into witness protection with her, when she sees him having fun at the wedding, she instead skips out on the marshals … and leaves him to stay with his dad.

TV Insider caught up with executive producers Jan Nash and Christopher Silber to find out what would’ve happened next.

The series ends on a positive note. Was that always the plan for the end of Season 7 or did anything change after you learned you weren’t coming back?

Christopher Silber: We would’ve probably ended with a bit of a cliffhanger or at least an open-ended idea that there is more trouble to come for our characters. When we found out that this was going to be the series finale, it was Jan who felt like, “Let’s have it have a positive ending without it making it feel like it’s an ending for our character, just an ending for the series. They will continue even if we don’t get to see them on their adventures. But let’s give them a win, let’s end on a high note.”

Would it have been more of a cliffhanger than Sasha being followed? An additional mystery?

Jan Nash: Sasha being followed probably would have been the end. I think we would have done a lot of the same elements, but we would have ended telling a story in that episode that would have leaned in a little bit more to her being in danger and when she pulled away, she was being followed. We would have had a sense that Season 8 would have opened with either her having already been harmed or seeing her be harmed perhaps. That investigation would have defined the beginning of Season 8.

It’s also fitting that the series ends with the Second Line. So was that part of the plan for the series finale whenever it was going to happen?

Christopher Silber: Not to be overly optimistic, but we knew that there would be a series finale, but we never had a plan in the seven seasons I was on the show for how we would end it. It felt right in a moment, that’s for sure.

At the end of the series, the team’s all staying put professionally. Is this a team you imagine continuing to work together for years or do you see any of them moving on?

Silber: I would say that they would work together for a while, but you never know where they might end up and that isn’t meant to be coy.

You really did a deep dive into family with Pride in these final episodes and it’s been so wonderful to see him getting his time with his mom, marrying Rita, getting to know his brother over the years, and having those moments with the son he didn’t know about. So what did you want to do there this season?

Silber: We’ve done so much with the man and put him through his paces throughout the years. We’ve shot him. He had an overwrought relationship with his father who was a criminal. He had to witness his father die. What we wanted when we delved into a new chapter of his family was to show how he evolved, how he didn’t have to be surrounded by so much chaos. By connecting with Rita and finally finding some grounding there and spending more time with his mother and then introducing the son character, we really gave him a full spectrum. When we met Pride in the original crossover with NCIS, he was recently separated, heading into a divorce, his daughter was going to college, and here we can end with Pride remarried, with a son, so it’s really full circle for him.

It seems like we got to see the acceptance that Pride and Jimmy had for who their father was through their conversations with Connor about who Sasha is.

Silber: Absolutely. That was another thing. Not to get too heavy about it, but as we as adults reach the place where our parents were when we were kids, we look at them and say, “Look at how you’re messing up.” For Pride, it’s realizing that it can get complicated even with the best of intentions. For him and Jimmy, they recognize that. Even in dealing with Sasha, someone who tries to kill him multiple times, he was able to see that she also contained multitudes.

Did you accomplish everything you wanted with Pride and Rita’s wedding — the actual ceremony, the celebration, and the lead-up to it?

Silber: Under the circumstances, meaning the COVID of it all, meaning that we were given a little bit of lead time, which we were grateful for, to know that this was the series finale, I am extremely proud and satisfied with how we did it. If we had more lead time or if we thought we were going to keep going, maybe it would have been grander, but I think it was appropriate to the show for sure.

Nash: I’m not sure it would’ve been bigger. We’ve never talked about this, but I felt like the intimacy of it was really beautiful and that the Second Line was really celebratory, particularly to people in New Orleans, who did all of that because they had to move it around a lot because there were some storms coming in. They did a magnificent job.

One of the most pleasant surprises of this final season was how much I enjoyed Hannah and Carter’s developing relationship. What did you like about exploring that? Do you think they could make it work or might him staying weigh on them a bit?

Nash: It was clear to us when we put them together procedurally earlier after Charles joined the show, they had a real chemistry. We started talking about that earlier and then decided we were going to just let everybody else see what was happening almost more before they saw what was happening. We had set Carter up as being a character who did not put down roots. He was not somebody who is interested in making connections, particularly in his work environment. That gave us an opportunity to bring in his mother and let him explore some of the things that might have gotten him to the place where he was that kind of person. And it really just made, I think, the journey of Season 7 really compelling for both of them. I’m going to believe — because the show in my mind continues — that they are gonna make it work and they’re going to be charming and adorable and happy for a very long time.

Tammy found a home in New Orleans with and away from the team, which she never would have imagined when she first arrived. Where did you want to leave her?

Silber: For all of our characters, we wanted to see them grow and change and evolve — certainly with the team as their family, but also in finding their home and finding their roots in New Orleans. For Tammy, when she arrived, she was someone who was thinking about finding her way out and unsure about the team and to be able to see her finally mark her own territory, own who she is and own what she wants to be, that was special for us.

Sebastian’s had quite the professional journey these past seven seasons, but he hasn’t been lucky in love. Is that something you would have changed if you had more time to wrap up the series?

Silber: Oh, I think so. He was a great example for us in that when the show started, he was the lab rat. He was someone who you wouldn’t expect to scout in the field and to be able to take that character, show his growth in an arc over the series into a very confident field agent who still remained interesting and funny, the adjustment didn’t change his character. It just matured him. But yes, I think if we’d had more time, we were always talking about finding him love. It just didn’t work out for him, but I’m sure in the future he will find the right woman.

We really got to see just how much Loretta does, for the city and for the team in these episodes. What did you want to showcase with her this season?

Nash: Obviously CCH is such an amazing actress and such an amazing presence that we just felt like the things that we wanted to talk about were stories that could very much be told through her character. We just realized that not only would she be able to do the things she’s always done on this show so effectively but also to explore her emotional life in a way that allowed us to take advantage of all the many gifts that CCH has. When we started the season, we knew we were going to lean into that character and the gifts of that actor. At the end of the day, it was all we could have hoped for and more.

Can you say anything about what else you would have liked to have explored if there was another season?

Silber: Certainly we would have wanted to explore and we were excited about exploring Pride’s relationship with his son and digging deep into that and seeing what that means to discover that you have a son who is nearly fully grown and to try to build a relationship and try to build those ties. It would be challenging for sure. We thought that the young man who played Connor was fantastic and there was great chemistry with Pride and with Jimmy as well. As well as solve incredibly interesting and fun Navy crimes.

You have NCIS Hawai’i coming up. Is there any chance we’ll hear more about the New Orleans team on there or do you know for sure that you won’t address it?

Silber: Never say never. … I’ll be a hundred percent honest with you. We are happy for all crossovers. It’s fun. I was fortunate enough to be involved in the NOLA and mothership crossovers the couple of times we did it. I know the shows like it, the writers like it, the actors like it, and the audiences like it.

[writinandcrying]

What would the boys reaction be to finding out their s/o has a weakness for head pets? Maybe s/o is worked up and then suddenly they get head pat and it’s an off switch for them, and then when head pats are stopped they’re like “why’d you stop?” And forgot what the issue was?

Oh my god I only saw this now??? I’m sorry I took this long, also This is so cute (in my first language that’s called “cafuné” - The act of tenderly running your fingers through someone's hair.)

TMNT TURTLES X READER - head pats / cafuné - gender neutral

Leo

🎏He loves how you trust him enough to tell everything that bothers you, loves to listen and gives his input about what you should do

🎏This time he was a bit upset on how worked up you were on your problems, sometimes your hands would shake, your eyes glasses up, he wondered if you could sense how stressed you really were and how your body was reacting to it

🎏Honestly he likes to respect your space, but seeing you like that broke his heart a little bit, he scooped closer, tracing little patterns on your head while as you ran along with your thoughts

🎏He didn’t apply too much pressure on it but he definitely wanted you to relax, when you saw your hands moving less, your eyes closing longer and you being more relaxed by each minute, he knew he was doing something right

🎏When you both sat in silence, he figured you already were at peace, so he stopped just to admire his work, how peaceful your features were, busting up a little bit of his inner ego, oh he is bf material alright

🎏“Why would you stop” you met him with a smile, chuckling, he lifted you up and placed you on his lap, while getting back on the head pats, he also gave long and menaful kisses along your neck and jawline, nuzzling your scent, something he loves and never gets tired of it

🎏and your know what, Leonardo is 300% soft + sensual bf material no one can tell me otherwise

Raph

💢Ok, it’s probably a bit mean but raph loves when you get worked up

💢Like he hates and loves at the same time

💢He hates who ever treated you wrong, but he loves seeing a tiny human ( it doesn’t matter if you are tall, to him you are a tiny baby babey, get along with it ) pacing around getting all maaaad and complainggggg and blushiiiing with their puffy kissable cheeks, going back and forth his room with your little feet and your tiny hands moving around, for him it’s so cute and funny

💢( obviously wouldn’t bring that up if you were REALLY upset, like in this case ) you ploped down on his bed after ranting your guts out, with a sigh you cover your face with your hands, defeated

💢Ok now that part he hates, seeing you sad and not really knowing what to do ( what if he says something dumb and makes it all worse?)

💢He hugs you close, guiding you to lean on his broad muscular hot ass chest and arms ( losing track I know I’m sorry )

💢He tenderly caresses your scalp, his hand is so big and warm, his touch is precise and draws you in every second of it, it’s so comforting

💢He doesn’t say a word, he doesn’t even have to, his motions are filled with understanding, sorrow and love

💢It almost makes you cry right there, raph might not be great with words but his actions shows it all

💢When he stops you rapidly hold his hand and places back on your head, playfully looking angry at him

💢Cute and angry?? Reminding him of the “don’t talk to me I’m angy” meme

💢Y/n right there

💢He loses it. He laughing and kissing you all over, it should be illegal to be this cute, and you are going to jail ( jail time is cuddle time in his arm, that’s your solitary for the night, trail Shall be held in the morning )

Donnie

🧬I see a lot of scenarios and Headcanons that Donnie doesn’t really pay attention to his s/o, and honestly.... I know he gets very into his zone when he’s concentrated but out of the boys, ( very close with mikey) he is one of the most perceptives when it comes about his partner,

🧬Out of the 4, he is the first one to notice that something is wrong with his s/o, by the way they walked into the lair, or how they are dealing with others and their soroundings, you can’t hide much from him, he knows you too much, too well too

🧬Won’t pressure you to talk if you don’t want to, but he will ask if you are ok, and with gentle touches and pleading eyes ( donnies eyes = his secret weapon!!! It doesn’t come as strong as mikey’s puppy eyes but still, very hard to resist, too big and beautiful to resist ) And if you agree to open up, he drops will drop everything and listen closely to you

🧬Right before you start he’s ready tendely caressing your face, started from neck, then cheeks, and last but not least your head

🧬He treats you so delicately, he loves your skin so much, it’s so soft compared to his and he doesn’t get tired of feeling it, very scar or bump, every warm pink cheek, he thinks your hair is so silky, so shiny and beautiful ( he loves to look up online about hairstyles with Mikey because they are the most curious about human hair, can you do a braid with short hair? What kind of hairstyle would s/o like for me to make it? Is it weird I want to sniff sniff my s/o hair all the time? )

🧬After you finish, he doesn’t stop playing slowly with your hair while he gives out his opinion about what you should do with your problem, it was hard to listen to him when you were almost falling asleep in his arms, since he was being this gentle with you

🧬After he finished, ( and kindddda like, probably only listened to 40%/70% of what he said because of your sleepyness) you asked if he could continue with the head pats, you wanted to leave it be for now, why stress if you have a cute bf being the most softie boy with you?

🧬That lead you both to an unplanned cuddle section, you got your beloved head pats, Donnie got a break from working at the lab and sleep a little, both got to hug eachother and enjoy your and his soft embrace, so cute uwu I love

Mikey

🍕Like mentioned, Mikey is very in tune with his and your emotions, he can also sense almost right away when something is wrong, but the difference between him and Donnie, is that he thinks he’s the one who messed up somehow and now you are upset because of him

🍕Explodes with questions about why you are sad, also with apologies, ( his brothers makes him think he messes up so much ( which sometimes he does but we all know the boys give him a hard time about it ) and he is terrified you will get fed up with him and leave one day ) he hates to see you sad and it’s braking his heart to even think that maybe this was his fault

🍕After assuring him he didn’t do no such thing, he would listen to you, every curse word you said he would back you up, either with a “yeah!!!” Or “that’s so messed up!”, “ you tell them babe!!!”

🍕100/10 supportive of you 1000/10 cute bf right there

🍕But if he notices that his supportive remarks aren’t making you giggle even a bit ( his priority at All Times ) and you are actually very upset, would def hold his arms open to you, “alright, come here” inviting you for a hug or cuddles in his bed

🍕It’s time for kiss your forehead one thousand times and caresses the back of your head, actually it’s a mix between raph movements and donnies, it’s playful and calming at the same time, he’s so good at it you fall asleep really fast

🍕Loves watching you sleep on top of him, he loves checking every detail of your face, your serene sleeping state also brings peace to his mind, he falls asleep right after you

🍕Master splinter sometimes goes to check on you two, wondering why the light was still on around 1 am, if Michelangelo wasn’t playing video games... he certainly was at his room, right?

🍕After politely knocking on the door, he peeps in when he hears soft snores, smiles seeing his youngest son holding his s/o like a little teddy bear, he tucks both of you in, a warm feeling slowly flows in heart, Master splinter’s glad his sons have the opportunity to find something so precious and meaningful, after being so wrongly mistreated by humans almost all their life’s

🍕He’s so, so glad they have found love

Soooooo, my first TMNT Headcanon! I’d love to hear from you guys, ( if you liked it, if you want it shorter, less detailed ) anyways, I hope I’ve met your expectations! I’m sorry if there is any typos or if it’s confusing, English is not my first language and I have dyslexia

Eitherway, thanks for the request! Hope you liked it!

[graveyarddirtseries]

Graveyard Dirt & Salt

Chapter Nine

From out of the tall, un-managed grass of the laid waste cotton field they were riding in, a ghost, a sort of shadow rose up, then another and another. Three of them, blood on their faces from a fresh kill, eyes wide at the approach of another meal.

“You're gonna grow roots sitting there.”

For six days Annie had seated herself right in front of the wrought iron gate and stubbornly refused to move. For six days she screamed whenever someone would try to move her. Sure she came to eat when food was ready and certainly she made a trip to the hastily constructed privy when she had to and she slept in her bed, or rather laid there all night until her rage wore her out and she fell asleep.

But when she wasn't eating, shitting or sleeping, she was sitting in the same ass groove worn into the grass and sullenly staring out at the world beyond the gate.

Easing down beside her, the Lieutenant peered down the same worn cattle trail she was peering down and sighed.

“You know where Halloween pumpkins come from?” He asked the girl.

She seemed to ignore him.

“They used to be turnips, you know. Was a fellow named Stingy Jack, you know him?”

Again Annie seemed to ignore him.

“Well, anyways this man was a rotten sort, used to play all kinds of tricks and schemes, loved to drink. Anyways, one night Jack is at the bar, drinking and he runs out of money. Well, old Jack he wasn't ready to turn in, but at that moment the Devil comes by, checking up on the sinners at the bar and old Jack says to him 'I'd sell my soul for one last drink'.

The Devil thinks this is an easy one and turns himself into a sixpence – do you know what a sixpence is?”

Annie shrugged.

“It's like money from England...well, I think this story is Irish, but...do you know where Ireland is?”

Annie was still.

“Well, anyways, the Devil turns himself into a coin for Jack to buy his last drink with, but old Jack is a wily sort of old bugger, so he buys his drink and then steals back the Devil coin and shoves it into his wallet next to a silver cross he had been carrying, trapping the Devil in his wallet.

The Devil cried out 'let me out, let me out!' And Jack said he would if the Devil promised not to return to claim his soul for ten years.

Well, ten years pass and Jack is out walking on a dirt road one night and the Devil comes up to collect what's owed.

And old Jack says, 'I'll go, but first you have to get me an apple from that there tree'.

The Devil huffed and stomped his hoof, but figured it was easier that fighting old Jack, so he hops up into the tree to get Jack an apple.

As soon as the Devil is in that tree, Jack takes out his pocketknife and carves crosses all around the trunk of the tree, once more trapping the Devil.

'Let me down, let me down!' Shouts the Devil.

'I will, but you got to promise that you won't take my soul from me until I die of old age', says Jack.

The Devil, getting irritated at this point, huffs and agrees.

Well, some years later, old Stingy Jack dies and he gets to the gates of Heaven and Saint Peter says, 'no, can't come in, Jack. You were mean and drunk, and you cheated and you tricked people. You can't come in.'

So old Jack goes down to Hell to see if he can get in there. It's cold and lonely wandering the earth as a spirit and Hell is very warm.

Well, the Devil himself comes to the gates of Hell and he says 'no. I don't want you here, Jack. You're mean and spiteful and too tricky for even Hell.'

Old Stingy Jack considers this and finally asks the Devil, 'well, what do I do then?'

And the Devil says, 'you go back where you came from and you walk the earth'. And he throws an eternally burning ember from the fires of hell at Stingy Jack.

And old Jack he puts that ember in a hollowed out turnip he had in his pocket and he walked the earth. They say to this day old Jack is out there, tricky and sly, wandering the earth with his Jack O'Lantern.”

Annie sniffed to hide a small grin that was threatening to break on her face.

“Benny's like Jack,” she whispered.

“He sure is and he will always trick the Devil.”

Annie gazed back out at the cattle trail, her big, dark eyes taking in the world beyond the gate like a raven perched on the branch of a tree.

“When will this all be over?” She asked him.

The Lieutenant was startled. He thought maybe Annie knew that this was how things were now, but then again she was just a wee thing. Small and young.

“Oh, sweet pea, this is how things are now. There is no over.”

She was quiet, soaking in this information, before she said, “I just want to go home.”

“Where's home?” He asked.

Annie frowned, her face still.

Somewhere outside the wall a bobwhite warbled it's funny little shriek.

The child beside him stood up and took a small step towards the gate.

“I'd stay away from the gate, sweet pea,” the Lieutenant warned her, also getting to his feet.

Again the bobwhite shrieked and Annie hurried to the wrought iron, pressing herself against it to peer out. She tweeted back, a sweet little trill that the Lieutenant couldn't place.

From out of the bush lining the cattle trail, Benny emerged, still dressed in the cassock and grinning, hands up so Sister Dymphna on the wall wouldn't shoot him.

“Good morning,” he greeted casually.

“No shame in coming back defeated,” the Lieutenant teased cautiously, mildly panicked that the man had returned so quickly. Had he been forced to give up their position? Was he compromised?

“Hey, Cordelia,” Benny greeted the child at the gate, reaching through to tickle her cheek.

She pulled away quickly, angry at him for leaving her.

Catching Sister Dymphna who was descending from the wall to open the gate, the Lieutenant held her off from her task for a moment.

“Why are you back?” He asked the shorter man.

“Well, I scrubbed the mission, but...I brought gifts.” Benny explained.

“Guns?” The Lieutenant asked.

Benny grinned. “Sort of. Just...take it easy, okay?”

“Alright.”

“Okay, it's clear, come out!” Benny shouted over his shoulder.

The Lieutenant dropped his shoulder enough so he could slide his rifle off if he needed, as out of the woods came nine people, all of them with their hands up. He still instinctively dropped his shoulder further, preparing for trouble.

“Who are these people?” He hissed at Benny.

“They're friends.”

“You brought people back to the convent?!” The Lieutenant snarled. “You compro-”

“Calm down,” Benny said. “I wouldn't endanger Cordy. She's the only one I like. These people and us have one thing in common. We want this woman stealing group dead. Now let us in.”

The Lieutenant held Dymphna back again, putting her behind him, where Annie was being shoved too.

“I ran across them in the middle of gunning down a group of these men who were trying to steal a couple of their women,” Benny explained. “Let us in. Please? We need to talk.”

“They leave their weapons outside the gate.” The Lieutenant bartered.

“Sorry, but no.” One of them said. He had a voice like the thick black smoke of a forest fire, the kind with embers and a danger.

Studying his marine gear, the Lieutenant asked, “are you a fan or a real marine?”

“Corporal Angel Delgado, I was posted at HQ, I know of you, Lieutenant Vancoughnett.”

“Delgado?” The Lieutenant racked his brain, there were enough marines at HQ that he could only catch the taste at the tip of his tongue on who the man was.

“Hey, Cajun,” Benny said firmly. “Look at me.”

The Lieutenant looked over at the fancy man.

“Trust me, okay? You want these people inside.”

“It's not my convent,” he finally said.

“I'll get Mother Mena,” Dymphna offered, she tried to take Annie with her, but the girl collapsed on the ground in non-violent protest, becoming dead weight.

Benny chuckled. “I taught her that.”

The Lieutenant remained quiet, taking in everything he could of the group of people behind Benny. Delgado was a marine, so he assumed the woman to his right was as well. There three other women, four men. They didn't look very threatening, they looked tired and hungry and two of them had instruments strapped to their backs.

Mena sidled up beside him, as quiet as a kitty cat and eyed them for a moment, before saying, “welcome. You can come on in. But this is a place of peace, please be mindful of that. Dymphna, please get the gate.”

As the gate was opened, Benny strode inside, the others following him slowly. As they passed the Lieutenant, one of them, a young man with dark hair sort of puffed up his chest at him with a smug grin and kept walking. The two with the instruments brought up the rear, both of them tipping their hats to him politely.

The Lieutenant made sure the gate was locked and secured, and Dymphna was back on the wall, before he followed the group, heading for the church Annie sullenly walking beside him.

Inside the church, he took a seat in the back with Annie, feeling like it wasn't his rodeo anymore. The convent was Mena's, the group was Benny's, he was just muscle, he supposed.

Benny, ascending the pulpit, grinned down at the others. “Good morning,” he said like a priest preparing to begin his sermon, and as he was dressed, the Lieutenant almost could forget the purpose of them being there. “Alright, let's get into it. Abbess, I missed you. You look cute in that yellow blouse, did the Lieutenant find it for you?”

“The point, please, Mr. Malone?” She insisted.

“Long story short, these people are in need of shelter, a home. In return they've agreed to help us find these men who have been stealing women. And they've already given us a peace offering.”

“Which is?” The Lieutenant asked.

“We have a prisoner, tied up in an upstairs closet in the farmhouse nearby, he can give us what we need to get these men. The position of their camp.”

“Are you seriously having a fucking meeting without me?” Grayson burst into the church, along with several of the nuns.

“That was faster than I hoped,” Benny murmured. “Hey, Grayson, I see you're still alive.”

“Fuck you, Benny!” Grayson shouted, storming down the aisle.

As he passed by the young, dark haired man from the new group, the other young man reached out and grabbed Grayson by the back of his shirt, yanking him down hard and holding him there.

“Shut your face, you're in a church, dipshit,” the dark haired man ordered. “Go on, Father.”

Not quite liking this man pushing around Grayson, the Lieutenant stood up and moved to rescue the boy, taking him back to sit at his side.

“Go on, Benny,” he said.

“Well, that's pretty much it. We have a good chance to get back Haley, Laila, maybe any other woman who've been taken by these men and in exchange, the nuns get some company here at the convent. More guns, more people.”

“Less food,” Mena added calmly. When everyone turned to look at her, she stood up almost meekly and made her way to the pulpit, crossing herself quickly before Jesus, before moving to stand beside Benny. “Less space. I certainly hope your friends are willing to work.”

“We won't freeload,” Delgado assured her. “These walls look nice enough to keep us invested in the place.”

“I'm saying,” Mena continued, “we of course will provide shelter and aid, but if we want to winter in contentment, we'll need to bring back more food to supplement our garden and our coop.”

“If one of the new group can help me hunt,” the Lieutenant began, “we can dry some meat for the winter months.”

“Yo!” The dark haired young man said.

“You can't hunt, Kane!” The young man with the glasses who sat beside him said.

“Can you, Auggie? No? Then shut the fuck up.” Kane said.

“Greene and I can help hunt,” Delgado said.

“Well, protein is a good start, but we'll need vegetables, fruit. Our peach tree does what it can, but it won't see us all through the winter.”

“We can find farms that have trees and visit them come harvest time,” the Lieutenant offered. “And any canned food we come across will be brought back to the convent.”

“You sound like you're in, Cajun,” Benny said.

“I have to admit, I'm attracted to the idea of more capable guns around here, but...no offence, I know nothing of these new folk.”

“We know nothing of you either, Lieutenant,” Delgado said.

“Whatever happened to jarhead brotherhood?” Benny asked.

“Well,” Mena broke in. “If we can all manage to get along, then I have no problems with newcomers. But I have a few rules we need to keep to here. This is Holy Ground, my nuns won't be assaulted or have vulgar language or actions taken upon them. I won't expect you all to tend to mass, but you're welcome if you want. Please respect that this is a convent first and foremost.”

“Jesus,” one of the woman from the new group murmured.

“Guess that'll put a stop to your weekend catting, huh Saph?” Kane teased.

“Keep your head straight,” the woman named Saph warned him archly.

Mena waited for them to calm down, before saying, “well, if we can oblige each other's rules, then I don't see why we can't provide sanctuary. We'll celebrate our union tonight with a meet and greet of sorts.”

“A meet and greet?” Delgado asked, his tone was a little more accusatory. These new people were decidedly rougher around the edges than the Lieutenant and the nuns were, it was clear.

Mena sort of shifted nervously under his dark eyed gaze. “Uh...well, I don't...I'm not sure what to call it in the end of days. I'm sorry.”

“No, I – I wasn't being mocking, I'm sorry...we've been in a completely different land than you. It'll take a while to get civilized again.” Delgado said hurriedly, sounding almost embarrassed. “I think a small...thing might be good to mingle our group with yours. Get everyone accustomed to each other.”

Mena nodded. “Alright, then. Now, do any of you need medical treatment or...I see you're pregnant, darling. Do you need prenatal care?”

“I've got my vitamins,” the pregnant woman said. “Thank you.”

“Our people are in good shape, Medicine Man Jack keeps us running,” Delgado said. “We just need some sleep somewhere safe. And food would be wonderful. But don't think we're planning on just sitting around, we will work for that food. We'll chip in on chores.”

“You have a doctor among you?” Mena asked.

“Forensic Pathologist, actually, Jack was in the army as a surgeon too, so he's good at wear and tear fixes. Nothing major, so I hope no one needs brain surgery or open heart.”

“Maybe he wouldn't mind working with our Sisters Mary Monica and Mary Claire, they both have some nursing and hospice training, I'm sure they could benefit from more training.”

The man with the wide brimmed, black hat nodded his agreement. He wouldn't have been the one the Lieutenant would have guessed to be the doctor among the group. Especially with the banjo on his back and the almost Amish fashion he wore on his slender frame.

“Why don't you introduce yourselves, Corporal? So we know who we're bringing in to our flock?”

“Pfft,” Kane – the dark haired young man exhaled.

“We...uh...have pressing matters, another time maybe,” Benny interrupted, motioning to the Lieutenant to join them as he hopped down from the pulpit, heading for the door.

“I will not be blown off, Mr. Malone,” Mena argued, following him down the aisle, everyone, literally the entire two groups, following as well.

In the rush of the crowd, the Lieutenant scooped up Annie, who was still sulking, but allowed herself to be carried instead of getting crushed. He didn't like how fast it was all moving, not that he wasn't used to fast paced, only that he was still a little shaky on his trust with these new people.

Grabbing hold of Dymphna just outside, he eased Annie down and whispered, “keep your eye on these people while we're gone, yeah?”

She nodded.

“And tell the others to keep their weapons on them, they don't have to be menacing, just...cautious.”

Again she nodded. “Will we be okay?”

“I'm eighty percent.”

“Eighty percent yes or no?” She called after him as he hurried to catch up with Benny and Delgado at the gate.

He side eyed a few of Delgado's people, who were milling around awkwardly nearby, as he passed.

Mena joined them just as the Lieutenant did and the four of them stood for a moment at the gate.

“Where are you going?” Benny asked her.

“With you.”

“Not outside the walls, Sister.”

“It's Abbess, please? And I have just as much right to be in on all of this as you, since you decided to start playing fast and loose with our convent supplies. No offence,” she added to Delgado sweetly.

“A little taken, but I get the frustration.” He replied.

“No.” Benny insisted.

“I'm not even going to talk to you anymore,” Mena stated, frustrated.

“Get your weapon, yeah?” The Lieutenant told her. “We'll wait.”

Mena narrowed her eyes at him.

“I promise. We'll wait,” he assured her, grabbing Benny by the hem of his cassock.

As Mena scurried off, Benny yanked his cassock hem back and said, “she can't come. Absolutely not.”

“Why?”

“Because I promised to let this asshole go if he told us everything, so we're going to just let him walk then shoot him dead.”

The Lieutenant glanced in Mena's direction. “Well, shit. We can't leave without her now, she'll kick us all out.”

“Why does she want to come anyways? Have you been letting these nuns loose?” Benny demanded.

“They're free to come and go as they like and...yeah a few of them have been coming with me on hunts and such, I thought it would be best to get them used to the outside world.” The Lieutenant said. “And what the fuck does it matter to you? They need to toughen up.”

Benny nodded angrily, agreeing with him, but clearly not liking it. “Fuck...shit. Yeah they do.”

“What do we do then?” Delgado asked.

The Lieutenant exhaled, he didn't know. This was Benny's fucking mess.

“Okay, we get the information from him, I walk off with him into the woods and strangle the fucker.” Benny said, removing his cassock, possibly to prevent anyone from catching him by the hem again.

“Or,” Delgado added calmly, “we just interrogate him in a room away from her. Shoot him and say he lunged us.”

“That's easier. That'll work.” Benny said, suddenly snapping at the Lieutenant. “Why are you looking at me with a face like a slapped ass?!”

“I'm not,” he argued lightly.

He was, but he wanted to argue a bit. It was an entirely different plan set in motion now. Not a bad plan, just an entirely different one. And, yeah, maybe he hated that it wasn't his plan. Maybe he was a little pissed that it was the fancy man who saved the day for once.

Instead, he turned to Delgado, who was gazing at him with calm, almost thoughtful brown eyes.

“Are your people gonna be okay here on their own?” He asked.

The Corporal nodded. “They're adults.”

“That pregnant one looks young,” the Lieutenant said.

“Hazel, yeah she's our youngest, sixteen. She's a good kid though, quiet and doesn't complain.”

“Who's the father?” The Lieutenant went on with his interrogation dressed up as concern.

Delgado eyed him calmly, before saying, “no one in our group, if that's what you're thinking.”

Mena returned, her giant kitchen knife in hand, empty rucksack on her back. “Ready,” she said.

“Stick close,” the Lieutenant said to her. “Remember what I told you.”

She nodded.

“It's kind of neat, we have three horses stashed in the barn to take back to the convent and everything,” Benny said as they entered a bedroom at the top of the stairs in the farmhouse.

“These men have hor-” The Lieutenant stopped short as a moan came from the closet.

All four of them stopped in their tracks and just stared at the white door.

The moan came again and it wasn't human. Still the four of them just sort of stared in disbelief at the door.

“Hey, dipshit!” Benny finally shouted at the door, kicking it lightly.

The door shuddered in response as the man on the other side threw himself at it, letting loose another familiar moan.

“Shit,” Benny swore, stepping back, circling in a quick pacing motion, before stopping.

Delgado placed his hand on his hip. “He's dead.”

“Fuck!” Benny swore louder.

The door rattled again.

“I knew we should have gotten the information out of him last night!” Benny yelled. “But you wanted to wait!” He pointed at Delgado. “Now that asshole is fucking undead from a stomach wound and we just lost our lead!”

The Corporal blinked at him. “You asked me to offer up my people to fight for you. I wasn't going to do so on blind faith. Sorry, Abbess,” he added kindly to Mena.

She reached out and touched his forearm warmly.

Kicking in the door, slamming it into the uggie on the other side, Benny leapt on top of it and beat it with his fist for a good long time, before pulling out his pistol and shooting him until the clip clicked empty.

Everyone was quiet, their ears ringing in the small room from the shots.

Mena, who had covered her ears at the sight of the gun, lower her hands and looked panicked at the Lieutenant.

“I'm sorry,” Benny apologized, standing up, much calmer than he had been, running a hand through his hair and putting the greasy strands back in place. “That was unfair of me to blame you, Corporal.”

“It's fine,” Delgado said. “But we'd better get moving, those shots will have gotten us some attention.”

“Let's the horses and get the fuck back,” Benny said softly, almost as though he were ashamed of himself or the situation.

The Lieutenant actually felt bad for the man. He was just after these men because they posed a threat to the survivors of the area, namely his nuns, but Benny had lost someone to them. Benny didn't seem the type to make honest-to-god connections with people, so it seemed like when he did, he was attached for life.

He clapped Benny on the back as they left the room, trying to comfort the poor man.

Benny was quiet, but didn't shove his comforting gesture away, just sort of slumped his way down the hall.

“Ever been on a horse, Abbess?” Delgado asked as they saddled the creatures as quickly as they could.

Mena shook her head. “No.”

“Me neither,” he said. “Guess we'll both learn something new today.”

“Cajun?” Benny asked. “You ride?”

“Never.”

“Fucking Cajuns,” Benny replied, swinging up onto his horse easily. “Just like riding a bike.”

“These bikes bite, don't they?” The Lieutenant asked, eyeing his horse warily.

Benny's horse whinnied and side stepped in agitation at the new, unfamiliar rider and Benny almost fell off.

Laughing, the Lieutenant attempted to copy Benny's movements up and into the saddle, adjusting himself down below to a comfortable position, before turning to offer a hand to Mena.

She was already being hefted onto Delgado's horse by the Corporal, sitting in front of him, holding the horn nervously. So he instead pulled Marie off his shoulder and holstered her into the fancy rifle holster attached to the saddlebag.

“Alright, little kick to get them going,” Benny instructed. “Pull this way to go this way, pull this way to go that way, pull both back to stop. If your horse gets spooked, it's probably because of a snake or the undead, hold on like hell and they'll get you away to safety, but they may buck and if that happens? Eight seconds.” He added with a grin at his own joke. “Yup!” He nudged his horse into a trot, out of the barn.

“Fucking Texian,” the Lieutenant cursed, nudging his own horse to follow.

“You know I used to be better at this,” Benny murmured as they rode, keeping to the woods, not deep enough to wear the horses out with rough terrain, but deep enough to avoid the living.

“Riding?” The Lieutenant asked.

“No, tactics. You retire from the army, you get fucking twenty pounds fatter, you sit at home, you watch daytime television, your mind rots and then this happens and you fucking fail at the only thing you were ever good at.”

“We all grow older, Mr. Malone,” Mena said softly. “You did what you could.”

Benny was sullen on his beautiful black and white paint.

“I don't know you well, Father,” Delgado said. “But...I wouldn't have done anything different from what you did.”

“Thanks strange marine,” Benny said almost sarcastically.

“Hey, Texian,” the Lieutenant offered, hoping to cheer up the poor little fancy man. “You got yourself a horse and...isn't that all a cowboy needs?”

“Fuck you, Cajun,” Benny murmured. It was without feeling and quite unlike him. “I'm out of bullets, I'm out of ideas. I don't know. Maybe it's time to die.”

It was a joke, but a dark one and no one else was laughing.

“How about one yeehaw while you're on that horse?” The Lieutenant kept pressing, knowing he was getting somewhere with the teasing.

Benny's eyes shone a little in amusement, though he still looked disappointed.

“Just a soft one? For me?” The Lieutenant went on.

“I'll give you a fucking yeehaw,” Benny grumbled. Turning to Mena, he said, “I have to admit, Abbess, I'm shocked at you. I thought you'd jump up my ass and stay there about that man back there.”

“About how you allowed him to die?” She inquired archly.

“So you are mad?” Benny asked with a small, almost proud smile.

“Mr. Malone,” she began in that way that the Lieutenant knew was her gearing up to scold. Both Benny and the Lieutenant also geared up, bracing for the blow, and even though he was new to their dynamic, even Delgado seemed to steel himself in preparation.

But she didn't follow it up with anything.

Abbess of the Veil of Tears of the Sacred Virgin Convent, Mother Mena, petite and polite, just sat on the horse in front of Delgado and gazed long and hard at the horizon before them.

The Lieutenant was peering at her from his own horse, and Benny dropped over his own saddle horn to peer past the Lieutenant to join in on the staring.

Both men exchanged a curious look at each other, before Benny prodded, “Abbess?”

“There's so much death and dying in this new land,” she began softly, all fire gone from her tone. “I can't bring myself to care much.”

There was a second, only a beat really, before Benny said, “well, now, that sounds like the tone of someone who's defeated!” His loud, overly friendly, almost mocking voice rang off of the surrounding hills and hit back at them hard. It was too plastic, too fake. Just like the Lieutenant, Benny didn't like to hear Mena sound so...apathetic and it must have chased his own defeated attitude off.

Yelling, scolding, even a sermon, was better than this apathy from Mena.

“Dead,” Delgado warned, just as his horse nickered uncomfortably, prancing closer to the Lieutenant's.

The smell was in the air, something rotten, something that wasn't just an old stump in the woods.

From out of the tall, un-managed grass of the laid waste cotton field they were riding in, a ghost, a sort of shadow rose up, then another and another. Three of them, blood on their faces from a fresh kill, eyes wide at the approach of another meal.

Slipping down from his horse, the Lieutenant tossed his reins at Benny and said, “get the others back to the convent. We need to protect the horses.”

Mena struggled against Delgado's arms, and hopped down too to join him.

He didn't have time to tell her to get back on the horse, just pulled her behind him.

She welded her knife though and while she obeyed his wordless order to get behind him, she peeked out from around him to keep an eye on the rapidly approaching dead.

Benny and Delgado were long gone and it was fine, the Lieutenant was used to this new land, but he didn't care for the fact that Mena had to hop down with him. She would be one distraction he didn't need.

But she was here and today seemed as good a day as any for her to learn the hard way about the dead.

Kicking the first one to reach them square in the chest, he sent it back into the others hard, the one at the back collapsing.

Among the snarls and almost hisses of the dead, he heard Mena gasp and chanced only a quick glance over his shoulder, to find the grass rustling to their right as well. More dead.

“Run,” he commanded her, killing one of the uggies that lunged at them with his own knife, before shoving her hard in the direction the grass wasn't rustling in.

She screamed as another of the dead came out of the grass, toppling her and sending them both into the grass to disappear.

With no option, as the uggies were at his heels, he swept into the area the two had tumbled and stomped hard on the uggie's head as it struggled to get to its feet beside Mena who was laying on the ground.

She leapt up and joined him in running towards the woods, but not before punching at one of the dead that had caught up with them. It sent it off course, but didn't topple it. They were so close to the trees, but he knew they wouldn't make it, the dead were already grasping at the backs of their shirts. Grabbing Mena by the upper arm hard, he shoved her ahead of him and stopped, allowing the five dead to topple him, letting his feast be the distraction she would need to escape.

He kicked and punched hard at the group, stuffing his marine issued boot into the mouth of one that was at his legs, preventing it from biting, trying to avoid being bitten by the others using his knife to block any mouth that was thrown at him. It was a battle he was losing fast, there were too many. One of the uggies dropped to the ground heavily beside him, then rapid gunfire and the rest were dropping fast. Scrambling back and away from the pile of dead, he looked himself over for a bite, the action happening too fast for him to notice anything.

Mena was at his side, helping him up, her knife black with the dead's blood.

“Come on,” she urged him, yanking him towards the woods.

Just inside the tree line Delgado had stationed himself up in a tree and was holding his hand down to them to help them up into the old oak. He was so fucking welcome into the group at that moment, hand held down to them, rifle in his other.

Mena first, the Lieutenant ensured that, pushing her up, before following.

“Did they get you?” Delgado asked.

Still looking over his arms, in the safety of the tree as more dead emerged from the grass to gather below, he shook his head. “I don't think so.” He checked and rechecked for a bite, hands shaking. It was close, too close. He had been so damned careful, but that was...it was too close.

“You're lucky you were heading for me,” Delgado murmured, between taking shots at the uggies. “You would have been dead.”

“Thanks,” the Lieutenant breathed. He assumed the man had jumped off his horse as well, sending Benny on to the convent. And he was fucking grateful for the other marine.

Sitting on a branch above them, Mena was quiet.

Reaching up, the Lieutenant tweaked at her booted foot, trying to put her at ease, comforting her the best he could.

“You okay?” He asked her between shots.

She nodded, wide eyes on the dead below them.

“It's okay,” he said. “There can't be that many, Delgado has the ammo to put them all down.” Unless there's more out there and they're all coming to the sound of the shots, he thought, but kept that to himself. It was only then that he realized he didn't have Marie on his back and remembered putting her on the fucking horse in the rifle holster.

Great place for her, you fucking couyon.

There was only five or so left, so he turned to Mena.

“Once these uggies are put down, we have to climb down and run like hell,” he ordered, feeling like the CO he was once more. “There could be more headed this way, we stay close together, we don't stop running until we hit the convent or some kind of shelter. Do you understand?”

She nodded.

“Yes?” He urged needing an auditory agreement that she understood his orders.

“Yes.”

Three more left and the Lieutenant tried hard to ignore the way his branch was cracking under his weight, only three more. It gave out at two left and despite him trying to grab another branch, he fell straight down with the branch, collapsing on one of the uggies below hard. So hard he heard the poor uggies ribs crunch. Delgado shot the last one as he stabbed the poor dead woman in the eye and put her out of her misery, before getting to his feet shakily. He was getting too old to fall out of fucking trees that was for damned sure, but he was grateful for the uggie that broke his fall.

Jumping down, Delgado gave them cover as the Lieutenant reached up and helped Mena down. Then the three of them ran as a unit, into the woods, away from the tree and the tall grass.

Keeping Mena in front of them always, the Lieutenant found Delgado keeping pace with her, hand holding her upper arm. The man had flawlessly moved into the proper position for protecting a civilian from gunfire and for a moment the Lieutenant was a marine again. It was nice to have that trained companion who knew how protocols worked.

They moved through the woods as fast and as carefully as they could, before they stumbled into the clearing where the lagoon for the convent was. They weren't far, but coming up the ass end.

At the sight of the wall, the Lieutenant actually exhaled the breath he had been holding and with Delgado's help, they boosted Mena up onto the wall first, before the Lieutenant stooped down for the other man.

Once all three were on the wall, they sat down and just took a moment.

He looked himself over once more, paranoid a little now that he had been bitten, but he saw nothing but scratches from the branches of the tree and a few dings from the fall. His ankle hurt a bit, but he would be back to one hundred percent in a few days.

“Any battle you can walk away from, huh?” He asked Delgado.

The other marine looked at him with his serious, dark eyes, before a small, almost bashful, dimpled smile spread over his face.

Giving one last, dramatic exhale, the Lieutenant hopped gingerly down from the wall and held his arms out for Mena, but again, Delgado had beaten him to her, easing her down, his hands holding hers, before he hopped down himself.

“You alright?” The Lieutenant asked Mena as they walked around the church.

She nodded, pale and drawn, but seemingly alright.

Grasping hold of his hand before they could emerge from the five foot space between the church and the east wall, she pulled him back into the shadows and peered up at him sombrely.

“Thank you,” she said sincerely, brown eyes so wide and so sweet as they gazed up at him. They were so dark and eternal in the shadows of the church that he swore he could see stars sparkling in them. “I'll never forget how you were prepared to die for me.”

Delgado, sensing he wasn't supposed to be there, just sort of slunk off, leaving them alone.

The Lieutenant didn't know why she was thanking him. He never understood the gratitude. He was trained to save lives, to protect, it wasn't just killing and war, though those were the unsavoury aspects of it. He was a marine, he joined to save lives. His life didn't matter, he wasn't a family man, he didn't have any reason to be alive other than protecting this convent and its people.

Mena, he supposed, more than any other. She was more important around here than him. She had nuns that needed her leadership.

Not good with serious talk, with real emotions, he chucked her playfully on the chin and said, “you did good out there, kid.”

“Lieutenant,” she began, but he was already heading out from behind the church.

Benny came up to them, smiling at first, before calming himself and saying, “gotta play hero, huh? That's gonna get you killed someday.”

“It was almost this day,” Mena stated.

“How's my horse, fancy man?” The Lieutenant inquired with a grin.

As they rounded the church, standing in front, heading for the gate, the Lieutenant noticed Delgado standing with his people in a tight circle, the survivors from his group having hardly moved from where they had been left.

Making a straight line for the new group, the Lieutenant found some nuns also heading in that direction, knowing they would get filled in there.

“So are we being asked to leave then?” One of Delgado's people asked.

“No,” Mena answered for the marine. “We aren't making anyone go anywhere. We still have the agreement than you'd help us in dealing with these men and to be honest I would never turn away anyone who needed shelter and safety here. I just ask that you pitch in with chores. Have you been offered tea or water?” She asked.

They nodded.

“Have you been fed?”

They shook their heads.

Mena frowned, but only offered the nuns with them a small, withering glare, before saying, “well, then let's go inside the cloister and get you something to eat. We can have an early lunch.”

“I'll have to skip hunting today,” the Lieutenant said. “Until the area is calmed down, somewhat. All the shooting and commotion probably scared away the game anyways.”

“Good,” she said. “You can work on digging us another privy hole.”

“Latrine duty, huh?” He asked with a small grin. “For saving your life?”

“For being reckless,” she replied coolly.

He nodded, properly stripped down. “Alright.”

“I can help with that,” Delgado said. “Jack, Billy? Let's get you working with the nursing nuns.”

“That would be Sisters Mary Monica and Mary Claire, they're in that building over there. It's the infirmary, but first your people eat.”

As Mena led the new people away, the Lieutenant watched their retreating backs, the gears in his mind already turning.

“Why's she's pissed at you?” Benny asked, coming to stand with him.

“I don't know,” he lied.

“Well, enjoy the doghouse, dipshit,” the shorter man scoffed, heading after the others.

“Why are you mad now?” He called out after him.

Benny turned in his tracks, walking backwards. “Because you didn't need to jump down from your fucking horse. We could have outrun the dead. You have a hero complex or a death wish. And you need to fix your shit!”

“So what? You wanted us to run the horses here and lead the dead to our door? Was that your plan?”

Benny turned around and scowled darkly, folding his arms. “Is this about me bringing these people here?”

“Look,” the Lieutenant began diplomatically. “We both fucked up today. Let's call it a scratch match.”

“We need to get our shit together,” Benny agreed.

Exhaling a sigh, the Lieutenant knew Benny might be right.

[wxlfbites]

The Polymorph Chronicles

Ask Me About My Daemon!

It’s been a little while since I’ve talked about daemonism in a more in-depth way rather than just in passing, so why not get back into the swing of it by doing a “daemon tag”. These questions are from a question prompt post by user flynnardkuwata but I wanted to answer them in a different kind of format. So without further ado:

Anfang: What gender is your daemon?

Philomena is a girl but on occasion she can have a more masculine kind of energy.

Belisaria: How talkative is your daemon? What does their voice sound like?

Mena’s not necessarily a chatterbox but we do talk a lot when we get on it. She’s more likely to communicate through tough and body language. She has a soothing southern accent, though sometimes it’s more transatlantic, and her tone is soft and motherly. If anyone else could hear here, they’d absolutely describe her voice as being warm and welcoming.

Cerebaton: Do you think your daemon is smarter than you?

I wouldn’t say more intelligent necessarily, I think she’s definitely more rational and logical than I am most of the time. 

Golden Monkey: Are there any unscrupulous traits that you find your daemon possesses? Would you say they have a dark side?

Philomena can be so judgmental it disgusts me. There have been a few times I’ve had to scold her or give her the silent treatment because she’s said some nasty things about people. I don’t think she has a dark side, just has some not so nice opinions I don’t approve of.

Hester: How would adventures with your daemon be like?

Extremely fun. Philomena is curious and sometimes rambunctious so she’d be getting into everything, trying to play with things she probably shouldn’t, and making funny observations I probably would have never noticed.

Kaisa: Does your daemon notice things before you do? Are they more aware than you?

Sometimes. I know I’ve learned a lot about myself from her that I otherwise probably wouldn’t. She’s more observant than I am.

Karossa: What mood is your daemon usually in? Do you even feel their emotions?

I’d say Philomena is usually in a calm mood. I always feel her emotions so when she’s sad, happy, excited, etc. it influences my own mood and amplifies itself because there are two of us feeling the same thing. Sometimes our moods are opposites though, like when I’m unmotivated and have no energy but Mena is bouncing off the walls wanting to do things at 3x speed. 

Kirjava: What form do you think your daemon will settle as? What do you want them to settle as? If you are settled, do you particularly like their form?

Philomena is settled as a red squirrel. I think it fits her really well and she absolutely loves it herself. Her essence is embodied by the squirrel and the way the analysis fits both of our personalities is almost too perfect.

Kulang: Do you know your daemon’s personality types? Would you say their personality is the opposite of yours?

I think our personality types compliment each other really well, while I am a Hufflepuff, Philomena is a Gryffindor. I am INFP-t and Mena is ENFJ-a.

Kyrillion: How do you think your daemon would interact with the daemons of others? What about with other humans?

Philomena, as I said before, is really curious and sometimes rambunctious. We’ve daydreamed about interacting with other daemons and such and almost always she takes on a complimentary or twin-like form to the other daemon. She loves imagining herself flying around with bird daemons or rolling around in the grass with dog daemons. She’d be polite with humans, she’s very friendly with both humans and other daemons so I’m sure others would find her very pleasant.

Matapan: Does your daemon comfort you/cheer you up when you’re down?

Almost all the time. Sometimes I’m too upset to focus on what she’s doing but when I can focus, she’s trying everything she can to help make me feel better. Whether its physical affection, kind and inspiring words, or being silly to make me laugh.

Musca: What do you think your parents’ daemons would have named your daemon? Do you think it would have been a fitting name?

I think my mom would have named her something like Amaris, Ruta or Rivka. All of which are Hebrew (like my name) and have meanings surrounding being given by god or being a companion. I think I like Rivka the best out of those but the name Philomena is just something we know is meant to be. 

Pantalaimon: Does your daemon argue with you a lot? About what? Who’s right?

We argue sometimes. Mostly about my stupidity 😂 Mena is always right.

Ragi: Is your daemon more mature than you?

I think in some ways? Maybe in the same way I answered if I think she’s smarter than me.

Ratter: What forms did your daemon take before you were settled?

She was most commonly a grizzly bear and a fancy rat but also loved (and still loves) dog, bird, monkey and cat forms.

Salcilia: Would you give up your daemon for anything? What would life be like without them?

I wouldn’t... couldn’t... give her up for anything. Life would have no purpose at all without her. I’d feel void and completely without direction. This is something (along with separation/intercision) we rarely think about because it’s too upsetting.

Sandling: What is your daemon’s outlook on life? What are their opinions on various philosophical topics (the afterlife, the nature of morality, etc.)

I think they match mine almost exactly, if not slightly more realistic where mine are more fantastical. We pretty much share the exact beliefs otherwise.

Sayan Kotor: What would your daemon be like if they existed in corporeal form? Do you wish corporeal daemons existed?

We wish every day that corporeal daemons existed. Even as we’re writing this, we’re feeling very sad and cheated that they aren’t. Mena would get us into trouble a lot because she’d be knocking everything over and “borrowing” things that aren’t hers. She’d probably say a few things that aren’t very nice and I’d have to apologize on her behalf which would cause a lot of anxiety. We’d be really close though, almost always touching in some way.

Sergi: Would you have liked to undergo separation (a la the witches) from your daemon?

Absolutely not. Just the thought of that disgusts us. Not that the witches and their daemons are wrong or disgusting for going through their rituals, but me and Mena could never!

Stelmaria: Has your daemon ever fallen in love? What do they think of your past datemates/crushes?

I don’t think so. I think she’s had a crush on someone elses daemon but it was very fleeting and short lived. Philomena has expressed a dislike in everyone I’ve dated because she doesn’t think they deserved me, which in retrospect, she was right... like always.

Sophonax: How well would your daemons form have matched your physical appearance?

I’ve heard people say that they definitely see me as a red squirrel and that Mena matches me very well 😅

Zohariel: What is your daemon’s name, and what does it mean?

Her name is Philomena and it means “friend of strength”, “friend, lover”, “mind, purpose, strength, courage” and “loved one”. 

[dani-luminae]

Have you seen the live action Aladdin? Any thoughts or rants you'd want to share about it? I watched it recently and didn't hate it but didn't love it either.

It certainly wasn’t one of the movies that needed to be brought into live-action remake status, but I enjoyed it. I’m glad they got a pretty good cast, full of singers and actors, and for casting the characters themselves, the casting seemed pretty perfect (aside from the whole Naomi Scott being half(?)-British issue.) And the first time I heard Mena Massoud (Aladdin) sing on the soundtrack, I legit thought that they’d just brought back the voice actor from the animated one to dub his singing. He is that good.

I think that the costumes are a definite improvement from the animation. The vibrancy, the variance and elaboration in the outfits, especially Jasmine’s, are breathtaking. And I like the change in the plot being that Jasmine becomes the Sultan (Sultana? I’ve heard both words used for her and don’t know which one is right) and showing her leadership skills. It makes much more sense that she becomes the ruler, instead of just Aladdin for marrying her.

That being said, I love the song “Speechless,” but the way it’s used in the movie just brings the plot to a full stop. I get what they’re going for - a musical inner monologue - but it doesn’t translate well to screen. The song on the soundtrack is amazing but the scene-stop slow-mo movie version is not great.

I’m also disappointed with the live-action Jafar. 90-percent of Jafar’s personality in the animated one was conveyed through his design, so of course there’s no way to match that perfectly in live-action, but he seemed... boring? Not conniving enough? Like I said, his animated design conveyed 90-percent of his personality and made him scary; the movie one couldn’t hope to match. Also given that they took out most of the Jafar-Iago dynamic, which was another 8-percent of Jafar’s personality, we were just left with a “scheming Grand Vizier (who apparently used to be a common thief!)” Yeah, I don’t understand why we needed the elaboration on his backstory either.

A big strength of the movie was the Genie. They didn’t try to copy Robin Williams, and I love that. Of course the Genie had all the iconic Genie elements, but it was Will Smith’s flair all over it. Will Smith made the Genie his own while not taking away any of the Genie’s original lovableness.

I don’t understand why Dalia was added, but I love her and I do like her and the Genie as a ship. And I did enjoy the minor improvement from the Sultan being a bumbling old guy to actually being a wise old leader. And the little Disney pokes, like the carpet building Cinderella’s Castle in the sand and scattered the sand like the shooting star, or the Genie making “Ababwa” appear on the map as “Fantasyland.” That was all pretty funny.

And if you haven’t heard this mashup then you’re missing out:

In the end, of my three categories on the live-action remakes that are “love it” “hate it” and “enjoyable yet indifferent to it,” this remake falls in the “enjoyable yet indifferent to it” category.