#MAMMA MIA - DOES IT SHOW AGAIN

[brionysea]

not to be an aromantic stereotype but most love songs don't even make sense to me unless i imagine they're me talking to my past self

[scottishaccentsareawesome]

When Hangman went to the jukebox right after Rooster walked into the bar, he might as well have just selected “Mamma Mia” by Abba.

[sparklestheunicorn]

There it is.

[cosmopretty]

I know the Azzi x fem model won't win that vote but can we pls pls still get it 🥺

Azzi Fudd x model fem

SHOWS YOU OFF TO EVERYONE

“My girlfriend is a model” “Isn’t she so pretty” “Yeah her, she’s all mine”

Loves to watch your photo shoots

You pose lifting your hands above your head, tilting your head to the side. Azzi sits behind the camera mouth wide staring at her girlfriend in awe. She knew you were beautiful but wow seeing you in your element was breathtaking. The Vintage Dior two piece skirt set hugged your body and the designer loved it “Mamma Mia Y/n so gorgeous keep going” the designer says his Italian accent seeping into the words. Azzi didn’t take her eyes off you the entire time.

After a while you sit down to get your makeup touched up. Azzi walks over and kisses your forehead “Your so incredibly beautiful baby” she says starstruck. You laugh “Come on Az look at you your the hot one babe” you laugh blowing her a kiss. The designer comes back and looks at you “Oh gosh so gorgeous come on” he grabs your hands bringing you back to face the cameras. You send Azzi a wink before turning your body to the side and posing again.

She was so nervous to first go up to you Paige had to go up for her and be a wingwoman

Paige takes full credit for your relationship since she was the one who got your number for Azzi

You send Azzi a picture of your fit every day even if your together

You style her jerseys for her games she loves to see you in the crowd

Gets a little jealous when the team flirts with you as a joke or compliments you

You walk into the living room and lean above KK and wave at the livestream. Ice looks you up and down “Girl you look good” she says licking her lips then making a face at Azzi. You shake your head “Thanks Icey” you smile and lean over KK again who was sitting in the couch, to read the comments. Paige flicks your forehead “That’s a tiny lil skirt how does Azzi feel about it” she smirks. You flip her off “Your just mad your single Paige” you pout in her face before shoving her.

Azzi lets out a breath looking at your outfit, a tiny black skirt with a black tube top to match. KK pulls your in front of the live and twirls you around “Azzi is the luckiest woman in the world” the freshman laughs. Azzi shakes her head and motions you to come over to her, you stand in front of her smiling “Hi baby” you trace her jaw. Her hands go to your hips and she pulls you in between her legs. She kisses your neck for a second and sucks on it before pulling away and smiling at the little hickey she made “Now you can go back to the live” she smiles with a sneaky look on her face. You open your mouth in shock “Did you just- just give me hickey? Someone’s jealous” you smile and kiss her cheek before jumping onto KK and hitting her with a pillow.

She takes you with her to any event because your her rock and help ease all the anxiety

Geno always asks for you to help the girls when it comes to media days since you’ve been media trained for modeling

Azzi makes all the girls watch your runway shows when there on TV

You get noticed all the time and Azzi loves to see fans running up to you and begging for pictures

THE PAPARAZZI HAS A FEILD DAY WHEN YOU GUYS ARE ON A DATES

You walking out of the restaurant hand in hand with your girlfriend. You smile at her and cup her cheek and making her look down at you. She towered over you by only a few inches “Lets go get ice cream” you say kissing her for a moment only pulling away when you hear flashes all around you both. You groan and hide your head on Azzi’s chest, she wraps her arm around you and you both run back to your car. Azzi unlocks it and opens the passenger door for you before running to the drivers side.

Someone holds camera in your face “Is it true you’re going to be walking for Versace Vogue? Along side Bella Hadid?” you laugh and close the car door before rolling the window down. Azzi looks at you confused “What are you doing?” the basketball player asks confused. You smile “I love my girlfriend yall should see her play basketball” you say winking before Azzi drives off. You laugh and Azzi joins with you “Your always showing me off baby” she laughs. You nod and look at her “Duh you’re the hot sexy athlete and I’m the pretty model it’s my job to show you off” you say matter of factly. She rolls her eyes “No I think I’m supposed to show you off” she looks at you her hand gripping your thigh. You pay her hand and interlock your fingers with hers “Eyes on the road babe” you say.

Your always straddling Azzi’s waist and doing her makeup when your bored and wanna try out new looks

She is so protective of you

Always comforts you when you’re too stressed out or tired

You walk into Azzi’s dorm and run into her arms hugging her burying your head in her chest. She hugs you back “Hey mama” she says softly. You don’t reply instead squeezing her harder, she sits down and you straddle her lap moving your head to her neck. She rubs your back up and down “You okay baby? What’s wrong?” she coos. You move your head form her neck “I’m so tired they want me in Paris next weekend then Milan the day after I’m so tired” a few tears leave your eyes.

Azzi immediately wipes the tears “Hey don’t cry mama it’s gonna be okay. Don’t do anything you don’t wanna do okay? I love you so much” she smiles at you. Taking a deep breath you nod “I love you more” she nods and move one of her hands to caress your cheek. You tilt your head and kiss her softly.

You both tell each other you love each other before every one of her games if your together in person or not

She has some of your magazine covers hung up in her dorm room

Watches your runways and interviews when she misses you

Loves holding you when your both trying to sleep

Plays with your hair 24/7

You paint her nails for her when your bored even though it will be gone in a few days because of basketball

Loves watching you get ready

[steviesbicrisis]

Dustin had been waiting this moment for months.

Mind you, Dustin isn’t one to bring up his personal life to the public at any chance he gets, but a part of him really wants everyone to know his role in one of the most important up-coming weddings of the year.

“So, I’ve heard you had a big role in all of this, what happened?” The host asks, on the edge of his seat.

“Well, I know Eddie cause we’ve done some livestreams together, we’ve met a couple of times and he seemed cool. And I know Steve cause, other than working together, he’s basically a brother to me, you know-” the audience interrupts him with a big ‘aaaaw’ sound and loud clapping.

“I think you misunderstood me, he’s the type of older brother who is no fun and makes you wish either of you was adopted.”

The audience laughs.

“Anyways, we were all at a party and I introduced them and Eddie was, you know, immediately obsessed with Steve. But Steve was engaged at the time,” Dustin decides to not dwell on this part of the story, it was a very tough time for Steve and some of it was public enough to make it worse. Dustin is just happy that he can talk about Steve’s ex-fiancé in the past tense.

“Time goes on, and as soon as the news of Steve being single again hits the public, I get a call from one begging Eddie Munson-” he wasn’t really begging but Dustin wants to sell the story “-asking about Steve once again. Like, how was he? Was he fine? Ready to meet other people? and I was like 'I don't know dude, I don't ask him about his dating prospects daily' and that's when he asked for Steve's number."

Dustin takes a small pause before going into the next part of the story "Obviously I don't go around giving people Steve's number, and I get asked a lot," the audience laughs again, "so I do the decent thing and ask Steve can I give Eddie your number? is it okay?

And Steve goes all into this theatrical performance Oi, no, mamma mia," Dustin goes strong with the Italian accent "All these men, che palle, they never leave me alone. Oddio-”

The host interrupts him “wait, does Steve have this strong Italian accent?”

“Of course not, he was born in Indiana, I’m trying to sell the story man!” Dustin pretends to be annoyed and the host goes along with it, making the audience laugh and cheer.

“Anyways, he was trying to say no but clearly meant yes. So I gave Eddie the number and whatever Eddie did with it, must’ve been the right call.”

A photo of Steve’s engagement announcement appears behind them right after: Steve and Eddie’s hands, finger intertwined and matching rings.

“Clearly he did” the host agrees after the clapping and cheering from the audience dies down.

“And what about wedding gifts? Are you doing something with the whole group? Or is it a solo thing?” The host inquires.

“Uh, I gave Steve a husband?? He should be giving me gifts”.

———

Predictably, the interview goes viral.

A few days later, Dustin comes back home to find a gift waiting for him.

It’s two VIP tickets for one of Eddie’s shows under his and Suzie’s name (a YouTuber friend Dustin didn’t have the courage to ask out, yet).

The note attached to the box is simple and very clear.

“Thank you, little shit. Now that we are even, the wedding gift is expected or you’ll be grounded.

See you at the wedding

S&E”

Despite being a twenty something, successful and independent since he was 17, Dustin takes the threat very seriously.

[toomuchracket]

it's only been a year (birthday party matty x reader fluff)

surprise! happy 1st anniversary of the blog, and therefore to these fuckers. love you all. enjoy <3

matty’s so glad you're here.

not that he doesn't love his job, because he really, really does - and, to be honest, playing music for lovely people with his best friends has never felt like a proper shift to him - but the touring sparkle is starting to fade a bit now. it's been nonstop for almost two years, the end of this album cycle is in sight, and, as much as he hates to admit it, he's not as young as he once was. the tiredness catches up to him faster, because the adrenaline doesn't last as long, and all the dancing around is taking a bit more of a toll on his body than it used to (which reminds him: put the knee support on before travelling tomorrow). what used to be hours-long hedonistic afterparties have turned into staying backstage for a couple of drinks at most, before hurrying to the hotel for a hot shower to soothe the muscles in the voice and the rest of the body, and then getting as much sleep as possible. arguably, not particularly rock'n’roll, nor very exciting.

but you're here. at the shows, on the planes and trains and buses, and, currently, cueing up an episode of derry girls from the bed in matty's (well, both of your) hotel room. and because you are, the sparkle is still there, still glimmering away like glitter under strobe lights. he's not in the habit of quoting or relating to abba songs (although it's been happening more often recently, probably because of your love for mamma mia), but matty thinks they hit the nail on the head in super trouper - he truly cannot be sad knowing you're in the crowd, seeing you dance along to his songs and smile at him like he hung the moon.

wrapping the towel around his waist, matty steps out of the bathroom, and immediately smiles (probably gormlessly) at the sight of you, frowning cutely as you try to get netflix to load; his heart melts when you push up your glasses, then turn to beam at him when you catch a glimpse of him from the corner of your eye. “hi, baby. how you feeling?”

“tired,” matty sighs, smiling again when you climb off the bed and peck him on the lips, before tugging him into a cuddle. he hums. “thanks, sweetheart.”

“s'ok,” you press a kiss to his chest tattoo, a move so tender that it never fails to weaken his knees. “d'you want me to make you a hot chocolate while you get ready for bed?”

matty pulls back to look at you, brow furrowed. “we have hot chocolate?”

“there's a setting for it on the coffee machine.”

“there is? i didn't notice.”

“yeah, it's in french.”

“oh,” matty laughs, kissing your head. “this is really a recurring thing for us, isn't it? you keeping me right with drinks in europe because you're the only one of us who can speak french. thank god you were a pretentious teenager, darling.”

you blink at him. “you're taking the piss out of me for being a pretentious teenager?”

“well, i’m not the one who learnt another language so i could read the original text of les mis,” matty smirks. “how's that going, by the way?”

your face takes on the adorably bashful expression matty loves so much. “haven't even finished it in english yet,” you say, before crumbling into laughter that matty can't help joining in on - fuck, he loves you so much. when he tells you as much, you kiss him again. “i love you, too. now - hot choc, or no?”

“i'll take one, please, darling.”

“okay,” you kiss his nose, beaming at the way he scrunches it when you do. “can you see if you can get netflix to work once you're dressed, please, babe?”

“course, darling.”

“thank you, lover.”

there's a final kiss, then you let go of matty and wander to the coffee machine; as silly as it sounds, because you're only about three feet away from him, he misses you as soon as you leave his arms. having you in them, being in yours… that's matty's favourite thing in the world, and he'd gladly sacrifice most other things in life to have it for five minutes longer every morning and night, ten more minutes per day of him just being yours and you just being his.

although, looking at you now, it's so clear that those things are true even without him holding you - the hoodie you're wearing is an old one of his (that honestly looks better on you), the boxers you're wearing as pyjama shorts are his, and he's preeeeetty sure the overly-long nike sports socks you're wandering around in are also his. he gives parts of himself to you, and you accept them gladly, proudly displaying that you're completely his; in heart and mind and soul, too, not just in wardrobe.

he still can't get over that. he doesn't think he ever will.

once he's dressed (clothes warm, because you were sweet enough to put them on the radiator for him) and the tv has loaded properly, matty settles into bed, beaming at you as you wander over with his drink and giggling when you place it on the bedside table and just crawl over him to get to your side of the bed. he kisses the side of your head as you snuggle into him. “you're not having one, darling?”

“nah,” you let out a world-weary sigh. “i've had far too much chocolate today as is. remind me never to agree to going to a gig in switzerland ever again. s'awful for my digestion.”

matty laughs. “or you could just, you know, not eat chocolate.”

you frown adorably at him. he laughs again. “or not.”

“thank you,” your face softens. “s'good, though. try the hot chocolate, see for yourself.”

“right,” matty takes a sip, humming happily at the rich sweetness. “mhmm. yeah.”

“amazing, isn't it?”

he nods, swallowing, then grins. “nowhere near as sweet as you, though.”

“oh, you sap!” you roll your eyes, tucking your face into matty’s chest in mild embarrassment while he giggles; he can feel you smiling through his t-shirt, though. “put the telly on, i can't cope.”

he obliges, free hand coming up to stroke your hair as you watch the episode in relative calm - that is, aside from the two of you constantly laughing at the onscreen antics, and from you covering matty's mouth in an attempt to stop him doing his god-awful impression of a northern irish accent. the whole experience is really domestic, as sweet as the hot chocolate matty finished ten minutes into the episode, the perfect end to a busy work day.

matty stretches when the episode ends, moving to wrap his arms around your waist and rest his head on your chest. “time is it, sweetheart?”

“ten past midnight,” you yawn; suddenly, though, you perk up. “oh! happy anniversary, baby!”

he smiles into your chest, dragging himself up to hover over you. “happy anniversary, my girl,” he coos, thumbs stroking your pretty face. “i love you.”

“i love you,” you smile. “kiss, please?”

matty nods, leaning down to press his lips to yours; on instinct, you open your mouth as soon as he does, soundtracked by a sigh that makes his head spin. even now, a year on from it, every kiss you share feels like the very first one up against the wall in the smoking area, full of passion and adrenaline and just total love and devotion that you'd both kept buried for each other for years. the only difference is that now, 365 days on, you know exactly how to kiss matty to make him melt - a moan slips from his throat as you softly swipe your tongue around the perimeter of his lips, which in turn makes you smile, and another follows when you gently bite his lower lip and drag it to release. but it's the way you beam at him afterwards, breathing just as heavily as he is, that gets matty most, makes him hug you as tightly as he can and press little kisses all over your face and hair and get you giggling (his favourite sound in the world).

once you've both caught your breath, kissed some more, and caught your breath again, you speak. “d'you want your anniversary present now, baby?”

matty grins. “yeah. you want yours?”

“yeah,” you beam. reaching across to your bedside table, you take out a little wrapped gift and hand it to him. “for you.”

“thank you, sweet girl,” matty kisses your forehead, rolling off you to pull a thin box from his bag at the side of the bed. “for you.”

“thanks, darling,” you kiss him softly. “go on, you open yours first.”

“alright,” matty carefully rips the brown paper - after smiling, lovesick, at for the love of my life written on it in your unmistakable handwriting - to find what looks like a zine, small enough to fit in his back pocket. he laughs in slight shock at the cover, displaying both of your first initials in a heart and subtitled year one, and this continues when he flicks through the pages. the very first has a picture of the two of you at that fateful birthday party, taken by a friend across the table, as well as one of the receipt for dinner, with little hearts drawn on either side of the listing for your favourite wine; the next, a short typed-out musing ‘written on matty's couch. he's in love with me. he knows i'm in love with him. i've never been so happy in my life. i fell asleep thinking my heart might burst, and that feeling hasn't left me at all. this is true love. i know it now’.

flicking through the pages - he so badly wants to spend time poring over every single one, but he knows now isn't the time - matty feels the exact same way. you've always been shockingly good at gift-giving when it comes to him, but this… this is the best thing anyone's ever done for him.

he doesn't even think love is a strong enough word to describe how he feels about you, to be honest.

you smile when he tells you as much, lifting his hand to kiss it. “i'm glad you like it, baby. i had a lot of fun compiling everything. it was just constant reminders of how much i love you - although, i agree, it's not a strong enough word. maybe i should come up with an alternative. like how coleridge did with soulmate.”

“thank fuck he did, by the way,” matty sighs, leaning in to kiss you. “what would i call you otherwise?”

“i'm sure you'd figure it out. you're very good with words.”

“not when it comes to you, darling,” he smiles. “and that's actually relevant to your gift, so…”

“point taken,” you wink, lifting the lid. your beautiful face takes on a confused expression as you lift out a thin, a3-sized hardback book. “this looks like one of your lyric books from stage…”

“it does, a bit, yeah.”

“...and it has my name on the front,” your jaw drops, and you open the book so frantically that matty can't help but giggle; he laughs even harder when you look up at him, aghast. “this is a score. you wrote me a song?”

“kind of, sweetheart. i mean, i've written you lots of songs already-”

“but none explicitly with my name!”

“no, that's true,” matty moves to sit behind you, wrapping his arms around your waist. he feels you relax immediately, which is good, because for a second he thought you were about to go into genuine shock. “and this one is slightly different in another way, too.”

“it is?”

“yeah. look - there aren't any lyrics,” he takes your hand in his own, dragging your finger over the score to show blankness where the words would appear over the stave. “when i said a minute ago that i wasn't good with words when it comes to you, i mean it. you're literally the only person in the world that can render me speechless; trying to concisely convey everything i love about you in words that 1) made sense and 2) worked in a song was impossible. so i figured i would just let the music do the talking,” matty kisses your head. “no lyrics, parts for almost a full orchestra plus the instruments i'm used to writing for… this isn't a song, darling, it's a symphony, the one that plays in my head whenever i think about you.”

“matthew,” your voice is shaky when you say his name; when you turn to look at him, he notices your jaw is too, the telltale sign that you're about to burst into tears. “i think you're absolutely fucking mental. and i love you, i love you, i love you,” your voice cracks into a sob on the last you, and you bury your face in your boyfriend's neck while you cry. “that's the most romantic thing anyone could do, i think, and you did it for me. what the fuck!”

matty giggles, caressing your back and kissing your head soothingly. “s'the least i could do, really.”

“oh, shut up.”

“alright,” he coaxes you out of hiding, wiping your tears away and kissing your nose. “i'll play it for you when we get to a piano tomorrow, yeah?”

“i'd like that,” you peck his lips. “thank you, my love.”

“you're welcome, darling. and thank you for the little zine about us - can't wait to read that tomorrow, too.”

you nod happily - suddenly, your eyes widen. “wait! that reminds me: i got you something else too. and i want us to use them tomorrow.”

“let's see, then,” matty sits up in anticipation, but almost immediately slumps back down exasperatedly when he sees the rolling papers in your hand. “baby…”

“what? it's on-theme!” you grin. “it’s paper! the thing you're meant to give and get to celebrate a first anniversary. and, let's be serious, it was me wanting to smoke that got us here, wasn't it?” 

“you’re incorrigible, sweetheart,” matty shakes his head, hand tracing patterns into your thigh; he can't help but smile, though. “but alright - tomorrow, at some point, we'll smoke.” 

“promise?”

“for fuck's sake,” he sighs. “i promise, even though i think you're demented.” 

you beam. “thanks. i love you!” 

“i love you, too, darling.”

[janeyseymour]

Mamma Mia

a song fic based on the song Mamma Mia by ABBA with my own version of the song attached :)

WC: ~1.45k

I’ve been cheated by you since I don’t know when. So I made up my mind, it must come to end.

Melissa Schemmenti has been in your life for quite some time. And now looking back on everything, she’s been cheating you out of a lot of things. So, you’ve made up your mind: you have to cut her off.

“Mel, I just can’t do this anymore!” you tell her, tears in your eyes.

“What do you mean you can’t do it anymore! You’ve cheated me out of so much, and it’s been going on since… since I don’t know when. So, I made up my mind… we have to split.”

“You always say that,” she rolls her eyes.

“But… I mean it this time,” you whisper. “Please leave.”

Look at me now, will I ever learn? I don’t know how, but I suddenly lose control. There’s a fire within my soul.

It’s been a few weeks now, and you’re just… brokenhearted. You miss everything about her. Yes, she’s hurt you in the past, but nothing matters when she makes you happy. 

After a few drinks, the liquid courage takes over, and you lose control. You have to text her. There’s just a fire within your soul that is begging you to go back to the fiery redhead that haunts your dreams. She answers, telling you to be over at her place as soon as you can. She sends you a picture of herself, a glass of wine in hand as she waits for you.

Just one look and I can hear a bell ring. One more look and I forget everything.

You glance at the picture, and the alarms are going off in your head about how this is a bad idea- how you shouldn’t go back to her. Not after everything she’s put you through and after everything that you’ve been denied of because of her.

But then you look at the picture again, and… all of those thoughts go out the window. You slip on your shoes and start your walk. You’re not sober enough to drive. 

Mamma mia, here I go again. My, my, how can I resist you? Mamma mia, does it show again? My, my, just how much I’ve missed you. 

As you walk, you start to sober up, and think to yourself. Here you go again, to fall into the arms of the woman who has left you hurting so many times before. You almost turn around, but then she sends you another picture, asking where you are. You don’t know how to resist that.

When you knock on her door, she opens it almost immediately. Her lips are on yours almost instantly, and you can taste the cherry wine that she’s been drinking. You soak it in as much as you can before pulling apart.

Your eyes give you away, and you know it’s showing just how much you’ve missed her. 

You spend that night with Melissa in her bed.

Yes, I’ve been brokenhearted, blue since the day we parted. Why, why, did I ever let you go? Mamma mia, now I really know- my, my, I could never let you go. 

The next morning, you wake up naked in the redhead’s bed and in her arms, content. You’re no longer heartbroken and upset. You wake up feeling much better than you were the previous night when all you had done was wish she was sitting next to you. And you know you could never let go over her. Not again. You know that you’re right where you’re supposed to be. But the two of you both know that you definitely need to talk about this whole on and off game that you’ve been playing lately. It’s just not healthy.

So, you settle on her couch once she’s made breakfast and poured coffee.

I’ve been angry and sad about things that you do.

“I just… you know how I feel when you flirt with other people to get free things,” you whisper. “And I’ve told you that.”

“Y/N, I’m a teacher. I have to do what I have to do to get by, and if flirting with the idiot vending machine man is what I have to do, I’ll do it.”

“And you know how I feel when you brush off the idea of settling down and getting married.”

“And I’ve told you before that we can settle down, but I ain’t getting married again, hun,” Melissa tells you as she takes a bite of her bacon. “It’s just not in the cards for me.”

“It doesn’t matter to you that that’s not what I want?”

“I already compromised by telling you that we could move in together and all that shit-”

“See, right there. All that shit,” you bite out. “It’s not shit to me. I love you, and I don’t know why you act like our love is some bullshit. It hurts.”

“I’m sorry, hun. I’ll try to be more considerate of your feelings,” she promises as she lays a gentle hand over yours.

It’s a promise that you’ve heard before, and while you doubt she’ll keep word… one can dream.

I can’t count all the times that I’ve told you we’re through. And when you go, when you slam the door. I think you know that you won’t be away too long. You know that I’m not that strong.

You haven’t even been dating again for another week before you’re kicking her out of your place. You shout at her that this is the last time she’ll hear from you. But as she slams the door, you hear her grumble something.

“You and I both know that you’re not strong enough to stay away from me for too long.”

Just one look and I can hear a bell ring. One more look and I forget everything.

You’re out at the bars with your friend when you see her walk in, red hair curled beautifully and her outfit perfectly accentuating the curves that she was gifted.

“Stop,” your best friend scolds you when she follows your gaze. “She’s the whole reason we’re out tonight in the first place- to forget about her.”

You shake your head to get out of the trance Melissa has you in. But as much as you try, she always pulls you back in. You take one more look at her, and you forget it all- you know she’ll end up at your place once your friend has decided that she’s had enough and heads home for the night. That, or you’ll end up pinned to her bed like you usually do on nights where you reconcile.

Mamma mia, here I go again. My, my, how can I resist you? Mamma Mia, does it show again? My, my, just how much I’ve missed you?

The night continues on, you and your friend dancing and singing your hearts out, until she’s decided that she’s had enough for the night. She calls an Uber, and she climbs into it as she gives you her parting words.

“I swear to God, Y/N, do not end up back in bed with Melissa tonight,” she slurs out as she closes the door.

You roll your eyes and head back into the bar. The redhead is waiting at the door for you- of course she is.

Drunk enough to not care, but sober enough to know what you’re doing, you kiss her.

“Can’t resist me?” Melissa teases.

You roll your eyes and kiss her again as you start to dance on her. “What do you think?”

“I think you missed me,” she smirks. “I can see it in your eyes.”

“I think you should buy me a drink,” you smile at her cheekily.

“As long as you come home with me tonight.”

You do. 

Yes, I’ve been brokenhearted, blue since the day we parted. Why, why, did I ever let you go? Mamma mia, now I really know. My, my, I could never let you go.

You wake up in her arms again, and you know that while you were supposed to be at the bar mending your broken heart last night, you made the decision to come back to her. As she’s asleep next to you, holding onto you tightly, you wonder again why you ever let her go.

And you know that for as many times as this vicious cycle of being in an on again, off again relationship will continue, you could never let her go.

You just hope that one day, the two of you get your shit together and you stay together. It probably won’t happen, but you can hope and dream. 

[hipsternumbertwo]

Favorite Angela Moments 29/∞: Mamma Mia! But Different (Baby, Baby Version)

SPOILERS AHEAD

Syd and Olivia writing this in one night (and having cameos in the show)

Vic as a mommy influencer and mom to Blakely (Gabe)

Nurse Mariah's recurring "1 in 10 babies are born premature" bit

Mary Lou as Pearl "left in the NICU for 15 months" recurring bit followed by telling the audience to not feel bad for her whenever they go "Awwww"

The babies are divided into two gangs - breastfed and formula fed

The "gangs" only get together to welcome new babies in the NICU and sing Voulez-Vous

People in the chat really concerned with the rope potentially tripping people (extremely valid considering Mariah and Angela moved all over the stage)

Also why are they connected in the first place???

Vic being inside that plastic thing for the majority of the time just vibing - no lines, no singing, only dancing at times and getting trapped by the curtain to the backstage several times LOL

The Romeo and Juliet subplot

Rick Angela closing the NICU to open Mommy Influencer NICU instead

Nurse Mariah (her voice is soooo gooooood) and asshole Rick Kaiser Permanente Angela duet Money, Money, Money

Pearls and Blakely's duet Does Your Mother Know because of their 15 month age gap

When Everest (Romeo) was shot by Skyler (BECAUSE 1 in 3 AMERICANS OWN GUNS????) and the gangs set aside their differences to save him

Pearl performing surgery since she's been watching the doctors all that time (the whole scene playing out over the group singing SOS)

Mariah's name was Baby #2 so that makes Angela Baby #1 and the rope is their umbilical cord for some reason. They don't like each other and belong to rival gangs

Vic's solo song number Thank You for the Music causing donors (Syd and Olivia) to donate and save the NICU

Angela putting that rope (that she had been dragging all over the floor) in her mouth (popcorn PTSD all over again)

Plot Twist! When Nurse Mariah revealed she was Pearl's real mom and that she fucked Rick (Angela) and got money from him so she can finally bring Pearl home

Of course Mamma Mia as closing number

[qiu-yan]

jiang cheng: he said to leave it all in the past? fine. FINE. i literally don't even care. wei wuxian who wei wuxian: hi jiang cheng:

Mamma mia, here I go again My, my, how can I resist you? Mamma mia, does it show again My, my, just how much I've missed you? Yes, I've been brokenhearted Blue since the day we parted Why, why did I ever let you go? Mamma mia, now I really know My, my, I could never let you go

[goatpaste]

🖌️ any jjba oc designs with irl fashion inspiration?

I've actually draw a good bit of my jojo ocs, so I'll just show which of my ocs have direct inspos I can point to!

Before I saw this look, I had been drawing Roxanne as a general shadowy figure I only knew I wanted her to be a woman. So when I saw this image I was like.. yeah.. yeah this is her

Boogie Wonderland's design was inspired by these looks. while Seal's was inspired generally by the sparkly Bell Bottom jumpsuit that was popular in the 70's disco theme. I wanted her to have a disco/flower power thing going on. Her theming is a bit of the influence of the flowers to Roxanne's design

Ruby is 100% straight up and down inspired by Ruby Rohd's from 5th element and this image of 'Fishnet stockings' fr lol. Also the Happy Birthday is such a silly inside joke between a friend and I from when we play sea of thieves and play music to calm the snakes. I just said they were all named Happy Birthday because it was my favorite thing to play.

straight up both Whitney and Super Trouper are inspired by Cher's look in Mamma Mia 2 here we go again in the final number of Super Trouper. The movie was whatever but the costume design was really a highlight for it i cannot lie. Whitney was originally a design i made in a set to sell but i fell in love with him and didnt have the hear to sell him hehe. But generally his outfit took inspo from a few of the outfits from that number but Whitney's outfit and Super Troupers look is based on Cher.

The Wolf was inspired by this collection, but most specifically this specific look.

It does NOT show in the final design (left) lol, bUT i did use Zendaya's Joan of Arc look for Sir Dukes look. I think you can see the inspo a lot more in their orginal design's draft (right)

Mac just is just generally inspired by wrestling outfits, but Radio Star themself was inspired by this look from the Video Killed the Radio Star music video

OK i knOWWww this isnt my jojo oc from my nuclear heat fan part, but i did want to point out the inspo for my Dinopants Giorno girl, Gigi and her outfit being inspired by the ABBA heart jumpsuit :3

[yournowheregirl]

wip wednesday weekend

i got tagged by the lovely @seths-rogens thank you sm friend! 💖

again, very much in a writing / hyperfixation rut BUT!! i decided to post blurbs from previous wips, in the hopes that it'll light the writing spark yet again.

so please enjoy quite a long blurb from an unfinished steddie fic based on that one scene in mamma mia where sam proposes to donna at sophie's wedding.

Eddie realizes then and there that he might never get an opportunity like this again. Well, he might but not another opportunity that has this level of show-stopping drama and Eddie lives for some drama in his life. 

And so, Eddie does what he does best and steps on top of the nearest chair, drawing the attention of the most chaotic wedding party he’s ever seen.

“Hang on!”

All the eyes in the room are on him in a split second and while he usually basks in all the attention, he also feel strangely nervous. But it’s now or never, everyone is already staring at him like he grew a second head, so he might as well continue. 

“Why waste a good wedding, huh?” Eddie grins as his eyes roam around the room before finally landing on Steve again. “How about it, Harrington?” 

The wedding guests once more erupt into hushed whispers of shock but Eddie can’t even hear them anymore. His sole focus is Steve, who looks at him like he’s certifiably insane. And maybe he is, maybe it is insane to propose to your ex from seven years ago during your friends’ canceled wedding, but Eddie’s just gonna take a chance. He’s not gonna run away, not this time.

“What?” 

Okay, not the answer Eddie was hoping for but he gets it. Maybe Steve needs a little more convincing. 

“Aw, c’mon. You gonna need someone to boss around in that newly empty apartment of yours and it might as well be me.” Eddie hops off the chair, his head cocked to the side and doing his best impression of Bambi to sell Steve on the idea. “What do you say?”

“Are you crazy?” Steve splutters, hands on his hips. His brows are furrowed and his lips are pursed in that famous Harrington scowl that Eddie knows and loves. 

“For you? Yes.” 

“You have a girlfriend!” Steve exclaims - which is quickly followed by grandma Wheeler’s 'oh dear'.

This makes Eddie frown because he very much doesn’t have a girlfriend, hasn’t had one in months not since- “Who? Donna? Nah, we broke up ages ago.”

“But- but- we live in totally different states.”

“I can pack up my things and move to Boston, no problem.” Eddie counters. “What else you got, because as you know, I can go on for hours.”

Steve apparently takes that as a challenge because that panicked look on his face melts away and is replaced by a cocky smirk and raised eyebrows. “What if I’m already dating someone?”

“Last thing I heard from Dustin you were dating that god-awful guy named Brad and considering that he isn’t anywhere to be found-” Eddie dramatically gestures around the room. “I figure that you did the right thing and dumped his ass.”

“You wouldn’t want to get married without Wayne here.” Steve counters, crossing his arms in front of his chest and God, Eddie had forgotten how hot Steve looks when he's up for a challenge.

“We’ll just have a second wedding. Periwinkle isn’t really my color either, but I’ll make an exception for you, sweetheart.” Eddie winks.

tagging (with zero pressure!!) some old friends and some new ones: @cheatghost @sidekick-hero @frankenstein-ate-my-left-shoe @spectrum-spectre @stevebabey @steddieas-shegoes & @steddielations big (consensual) kisses for you all, mwah!! 💖💖

[iinsertblognamee]

masterlist <3

•°. *࿐ sam kerr

series;

» friends or lovers (sam kerr x childhood friends, matildas!reader) on-going sam and y/n started out as neighbours and became friends but what if they wanted more?

one-shots;

» big sister's (sam kerr x matildas arnold!reader) what happens when your overprotective big sister finds out you’re dating and not just that, you’re dating the team captain. well shit.

» bluey and phonecalls (sam kerr x foord!reader) your son misses sam

» body slam (sam kerr x matildas!reader) a guy runs on the field mid-game and does the one thing that set's sam off. he touches you.

» bump (sam kerr x reader) sam talks to your bump

» buzzfeed; the ten times sam kerr and Y/N arnold made us belivee in love (sam kerr x matildas arnold!reader)

» chelsea matches and jerks (sam kerr x reader) you go to support your girlfriend at the FA Women's cup. some guy sitting next to you doesn't get the hint to back off. Sam takes things into her own hands.

» cure to a scary flight (sam kerr x chelsea!reader) sam doesn't like flying, you get seated next to her

» did you see that? (sam kerr x matildas!reader) you show england exactly what you're here for

» don't go to bed angry (sam kerr x reader) sam and y/n have a fight

» hi sam (sam kerr x reader) sam and y/n throughout the years

» i love you (sam kerr x reader) you try out a tiktok trend you watched last night. sam isn’t impressed.

» jumpers, apologies and proposals (sam kerr x reader) the aftermath of losing to england

» kerr and hayes (sam kerr x hayes!reader) y/n hayes catches the eye of her mother's star player, sam kerr.

» mama's little diva (sam kerr x reader) it's finally time to play against Iran in Perth, but a certain someone has other plans

» matildas; the world at our feet ft Y/N (sam kerr x matildas arnold!reader) clips from the docuseries

» motherhood? (sam kerr x reader) sam and you have a fight, this wasn't how this was meant to go.

» my big protector (sam kerr x matildas!reader) you take a fall on the field, Sam teaches the girl not to mess with you again

» my girlfriend (sam kerr x reader) sam is ready for the world to know about her girlfriend

» ring in the pocket (sam kerr x reader) mamma mia and a proposal

» sam kerr and Y/N arnold take a friendship test to see who's the better friend (sam kerr x matildas arnold!reader)

» sam kerr and yn foord (sam kerr x chelsea/matildas foord!reader)

» sam's sick (sam kerr x reader) you go and pick up your sick girlfriend from training

» social media au (sam kerr x singer!reader)

» star player (sam kerr x childhood friend!reader) flowers, star players and soccer

» surprise (sam kerr x reader) you come over to australia to surprise sam

» winning goal (sam kerr x matildas!reader) it all comes down to this. penalty shootouts.

» you have a what? (sam kerr x reader) the matildas find out who the mysterious girl in the lobby is here for

•°. *࿐ alexia putellas

one-shots;

» the streets of barcelona (alexia putellas x footballer foord!reader) yn foord and alexia putellas meet.

» kiss me, please? (alexia putellas x footballer!reader) alexia doesn't really do PDA, but she might make an exception for you.

•°. *࿐ caitlin foord

one-shots;

» yn & caitlin foord reveal their world cup kit bag essentials (caitlin foord x sister foord!reader)

[percervall]

Mamma mia, here I go again {pt10}

Summary: A summer of poor decisions leads you to having to face the consequences of your actions —and the men involved. Pairing: Kevin Magnussen x fem!reader, Lewis Hamilton x fem!reader, Mark Webber x fem!reader Warnings: mentions of homophobia, hinting at religious trauma Word count: 1479 Taglist: @ashy-kit @averagef1fansblog @barcelonaloverf1life @bradfordbantams @dannyramirezwife-simpaccount @doofenshmirtzevil-inc @exotic-iris13 @goldsainz @hiireadstuff @iloveneteyam @jaypreshpresh @laura-naruto-fan1998 @monzamash @norrisleclercf1 @opheliaas-stuff @roseseraj @szobosz @vellicora @ystrolllll 

Part 10 of the Mamma Mia series

As promised, the following morning the three of them show up to your hotel room with breakfast. You gratefully accept the take away mug Mark hands you as you let them in. It reminds you of that first conversation you had with the three of them at the beginning of September and you can’t help but feel a little emotional at how far you’ve come since then. 

Sitting down at the small breakfast table in your room, you accept the smoothie bowl Kevin hands you. It’s a little cramped, but all four of you fit around it. Lewis and Kevin catch you up on how their teammates and some of their closer friends on the grid fared during the race while Mark fills in the gaps with what he’s heard from DC and Jenson.

“I can’t believe the FIA ever thought this weekend would go without a hitch. The fact that Pirelli set very strict pit stops windows tells you all you need to know, really,” you say, shaking your head. 

“I’ve heard rumours that they’re looking at moving it later into the season to avoid these high temperatures,” Mark adds.

“That’s the least they can do. Greedy vultures,” you reply, muttering the last bit under your breath, earning a chuckle from Lewis.

“Wait,” you say, a realisation hitting you, “if we’re really doing this, does that mean I am also adopting an Australian rookie?” Mark laughs, head thrown back.

“I guess so. Hope you’re alright with that?”

“I mean, Mick has become like a little brother. Him and his family are the closest I have to one. Him and Jasmine; she’s my oldest friend. I-.. I cut contact with my parents when I was in my early twenties. They’re very religious and it got to a point where it became detrimental to my mental health to allow them access.” Even remembering their disappointment when you went into engineering and not pursued a career in teaching –which was deemed much more suitable for a woman by your parents– makes you feel about two inches tall. It was impossible to live up to their standards and their constant meddling in your love life to find you a man so you’d settle down and become the perfect little house wife messed with your perception of love a lot more than you even realised. 

“That’s also why I completely panicked when I realised I am in love with all three of you,” you continue, pushing through the uneasiness of the memories, “A relationship is meant to be between one man and one woman according to them, and while I have done a lot of unlearning over the years, this took me by surprise.” 

“Thank you for trusting us,” Kevin breaks the silence that follows. He rests a hand on your knee, giving you a reassuring squeeze. 

“I’m trying. When you’ve been on your own for so long it’s hard to let people in. But I want this to work, not just for me but also for this little peanut,” you say, putting a hand on your stomach. 

“We’ll follow your lead, sweetheart,” Mark says, to which Kevin and Lewis nod in agreement. 

“I know we will have to let at least our teams know about what’s going on, but outside of that can we hold off until the end of the season? I hadn’t considered the logistics of dating three people and it’s a little overwhelming.” 

“Works for me,” Kevin nods, “and how about we try to have a proper sit down dinner with the four of us at least once a week? We can think about next steps after the season, but that way we’ll at least see one another outside of the track.” You mull this over. It’s not a bad idea, even if it might prove difficult to get everyone in the same place without living together.

“I’d like that,” you reply.

“I don’t mind us using my house in Oxford for that. It’s got plenty of space for everyone,” Mark offers. You shoot him a thankful smile; staying in the UK as much as possible while you figure out next steps does make it a lot easier for you with regards to your responsibilities at the factory. The anxious flutter you had felt from the moment you had woken up is slowly disappearing, and in its place a calm washes over you. You know that it is not going to be easy, navigating this relationship with so much media attention and different moving parts, but you also know you owe it to this baby to at least try and make it work. There are five races left this season, and with the triple header coming up, you know it is going to be mayhem. 

“Wanna call Toto together?” Lewis asks you, bringing you back to the present. You nod, but bite your lip.

“I just-.. Before we do, I just need to know that you’re all okay with raising a child that might possibly not be yours by blood. I know how Kevin feels, but..” you trail off.

“As long as they’re healthy and happy, I don’t mind. I just know that I am looking forward to doing this alongside you,” Mark says, pressing a kiss against your temple before getting up to go phone his boss. 

“Same here baby. Family is more than just blood. I can’t wait to be one of three dads for peanut and spoil them and you,” Lewis reassures you.

The phone call with Mercedes went about as painless as could be. After what happened and your reaction on Sunday, Toto had his suspicions that the two of you had begun dating. The fact that Kevin and Mark were now also part of that didn’t seem to phase him whatsoever, or if it did your boss had the acting skills to not let it show. You did have to promise him to give Susie a call whenever you felt like you needed a girly chat. 

“That wasn’t so bad,” Lewis muses, pulling you against him. You hum in agreement, content to just stay like this for a minute when the peace is rudely interrupted.

“No. No, you listen to me Gene,” Kevin seethes as he paces the length of your hotel room, “Do you genuinely think they are spying on Haas? We are dead fucking last, what kind of delusion are you smoking?” Kevin looks up and locks eyes with you. Without a moment's hesitation you get up from the couch and cross the room. Kevin holds out his hand and visibly relaxes ever so slightly when you lace your fingers together.

“Guenther had no issues with this relationship. What difference-..” He’s quiet for a moment as he listens to the team owner. Whatever excuse Gene is giving him, it’s the wrong one; Kevin’s eyes flare in anger as he clenches his jaw. A quiet fury simmers through your veins at the way Kevin is being treated. The magnitude of this feeling takes you by surprise, this notion of how you’d go to war for him –for all three of them. You know Kevin doesn’t need you to fight his battles, so instead of taking the phone from him to tell his team owner just what you think of him, you squeeze his hand. 

“No, let me stop you there. I know my sponsors well enough to know that this won’t change anything financially. And even if it did, I am sure that there are plenty of brands who will gladly take their place if it means they can boast about their so-called diversity pledge. And if you talk about my family like that ever again, I quit.” Before Gene can even respond, Kevin hangs up and throws the phone onto the dining table. You take his face in your hands, brushing a thumb over his cheekbone before pulling him closer for a hug. Kevin wraps his arms tighter around you, burying his face in the crook of your neck.

“You alright, mate?” Mark asks. Kevin nods, taking a deep breath before straightening up. 

“Steiner was no issue, surprisingly. Gene is a different story. Guenther had forwarded the information because it involves an employee of a rival, just out of courtesy. That fucking idiot first insulted my intelligence by saying how they are using me for information on Haas, and then began some rant about how this would cost the team money, and then came for me personally with some homophobic slurs I don’t feel like repeating.” 

“I’m sorry man. If there’s anything we can do,” Lewis offers. Kevin nods gratefully. 

“I’ll let you know.” You can feel your nose prickle with tears at how ready they are to help one another. The fact that Kevin referred to the four of you as his family isn’t lost on you, and it fills you with so much love and gratitude that despite everything, you have found a home in these three men. 

I can't believe it's almost over, I have been working on this fic since October. There's an epilogue left which will come next week

Again, biggest thank you to @curiousthyme for being my beta reader. I would be lost without you babe 😘

Please let me know your thoughts, your comments, tags, and likes mean the absolute world to me 💜

[emerald-echeveria-plant]

((The movie ain't even out yet but here I am-))

B O W S E R

• The big bad turtle monster falls in love easily. When he first laid eyes on you, he knows you're the one for him. His one true love.

• Bowser doesn't have a type, he generally goes for anyone whoever he deems a perfect partner for him.

• Does NOT take "no" for an answer from you. If you try to resist or ignore his advances, he will forcefully take you as his. Stealing you away in the middle of the night on a flying ship. Luckily, two Italians lend a hand to help set you free.

• If you agree to advancements like his gifts and terrible cheesey poetry, Bowser will be head over heels for you even more than he was before. Someone FINALLY loves him back! Oh great joy! Bowser might just not destroy another kingdom for a while ;)

• Bowser will take you on extravagant and expensive dates. He'll take you to dinner, an amusement park, a museum, anything! Your wish is his command. Bowser only wants to make you happy. The dates always have to be perfect. Always. If something goes wrong, say the waiter forgets your drink or someone accidentally bumps into you, Bowser will flip his lid. He'll start shouting that to the person that they're ruining his date. You have to hold him back from hurting the poor bystander.

• You're the only one who can calm him down. If Bowser is having a temper tantrum or a fit, you have to comfort him before he destroys the whole castle. He quickly lightens up whenever you're around. Dropping one of his poor servants and going to you like Bowser is your lap dog. The best way to calm Bowser is to let him lay his head in your lap as he grumbles about what's been bothering him. Usually, something about the koopa troopas or the Mario brothers.

• Wants LOADS of kids. TONS. Bowser had always desired a big family when he was younger. So, be prepared for a bunch of little ones keeping you up at night or having to separate fights. Ah, but you'll love them regardless.

• No question asked, he is the big spoon in bed.

• Bowser will sing for you during one of your many romantic dates. He did a whole concert for you at one point! And he'll do it again. If you're into music too, Bowser is going to want you to sing and preform with him. You can't say no to him, he'll beg you too.

• Depending on who you are as a person, Bowser might become better or worse. If you're good, he'll try to do good things for you. Like stop invading other kingdoms and learn to control his temper. It'll be a drastic change from who he originally was. Bowser would do it because he loves you very much. Heck, he might even apologize to the Mario brothers and peach but don't get your hopes up now. If you're bad, mamma mia, you're essentially encouraging his behavior. Bowser will destroy an entire civilization to make you happy! Steal goods and jewels, giving it to you as a present. He'd create a new galaxy and make you it's queen/king! You two are the worst villian couple known to exist.

• Bowser loves showing off for you. Whether it's proving his strength or how tough he is, Bowser wants to make sure that you know your "hot boyfriend" isn't scared of anybody.

• has the koopas build you a custom throne right next to his throne. He wants you to be with him at all times and he thinks it would make for a great birthday present.

• Bowser's partner only gets the best clothing, food, and jewelry throughout all the kingdoms. Feeling peckish for something sweet? His bakers will make you five layered cake of your favorite flavor. Perhaps wanting a new outfit? Bowser purchases the entire goddamn mall so you can have a shopping spree. Maybe feeling a bit cold? He's got you covered, just wrap your arms around him and you'll warm up soon enough. Bowser doesn't mind at all. He'll work in some new plans or arrangements while you hold him tightly.

• Kamek didn't like you at first but eventually grew to. As long as you make Bowser happy, he's happy.

[rockalillygirl]

Mamma mia here we go again…

So I have more thoughts because apparently there’s no bottom to the murderbot mindhole I’ve fallen down.

(Spoiler warning- minor stuff from several of the books, pls check tags etc.)

I’ve been reading a lot of things recently exploring Murderbot as an unreliable narrator, which I think is a cool result of System Collapse (because we all know our beloved MB is going through it in this one). There’s also been some interesting related discussion of MB’s distrust of and sometimes biased assessment/treatment of other constructs and bots.

And I’ve been reading a lot about CombatUnits! And I want to talk about them!!

Main thoughts can be summarized as follows:

We don’t see a lot about CombatUnits in the books, and I think what we do see from MB’s pov encourages the reader to view them as less sympathetic than other constructs.

I’m very skeptical of this portrayal for reasons.

The existence of CombatUnits makes me fucking sad and I have a lot of feelings about them!

I got introduced to the idea of MB as an unreliable narrator in a post by onironic It analyzes how in SC, MB seems to distrust Three to a somewhat unreasonable degree, and how it sometimes infantilizes Three or treats it the way human clients have treated it in the past. The post is Amazing and goes into way more detail, so pls go read it (link below):

https://www.tumblr.com/onironic/736245031246135296?source=share

So these ideas were floating around in my brain when I read an article Martha Wells recently published in f(r)iction magazine titled “Bodily Autonomy in the Murderbot Diaries”. I’ll link the article here:

(Rn the only way to access the article is to subscribe to the magazine or buy an e-copy of the specific issue which is $12)

In the article, Wells states that MB displaced its fear of being forced to have sex with humans onto the ComfortUnit in Artificial Condition. I think it’s reasonable to assume that MB also does this with other constructs. With Three, I think it’s more that MB is afraid if what it knows Three is capable of, or (as onironic suggests in their post and I agree with) some jealousy that Three seems more like what humans want/expect a rogue SecUnit to be.

But I want to explore how this can be applied to CombatUnits, specifically.

We don’t learn a lot about them in the books. One appears for a single scene in Exit Strategy, and that’s it. What little else we know comes from MB’s thoughts on them sprinkled throughout the series. To my knowledge, no other character even mentions them (which raises interesting questions about how widely-known their existence is outside of high-level corporate military circles).

When MB does talk about CombatUnits in the early books, it’s as a kind of boogeyman figure (the real “murderbots” that even Murderbot is afraid of). And then when one does show up in ES, it’s fucking terrifying! There’s a collective “oh shit” moment as both MB and the reader realize what it’s up against. Very quickly what we expect to be a normal battle turns into MB running for its life, desperately throwing up hacks as the CombatUnit slices through them just as fast. We and MB know that it wouldn’t have survived the encounter if its humans hadn’t helped it escape. So the CombatUnit really feels like a cut above the other enemies in the series.

And what struck me reading that scene was how the CombatUnit acts like the caricature of an “evil robot” that MB has taught us to question. It seems single-mindedly focused on violence and achieving its objective, and it speaks in what I’d call a “Terminator-esque” manner: telling MB to “Surrender” (like that’s ever worked) and responds to MB’s offer to hack its governor module with “I want to kill you” (ES, pp 99-100).

(Big tangent: Am I the only one who sees parallels between this and how Tlacey forces the ComfortUnit to speak to MB in AC? She makes it suggest they “kill all the humans” because that’s how she thinks constructs talk to each other (AC, pp 132-4). And MB picks up on it immediately. So why is that kind of talk inherently less suspicious coming from a CombatUnit than a ComfortUnit? My headcanon is that I’m not convinced the CombatUnit was speaking for itself. What if a human controller was making it say things they thought would be intimidating? Idk maybe I’ve been reading too many fics where CombatUnits are usually deployed with a human handler. There could be plenty of reasons why the CombatUnit would’ve talked like that. I’m just suspicious.)

(Also, disclaimer: I want to clarify before I go on that I firmly believe that even though MB seems to be afraid of CombatUnits and thinks they’re assholes, it would still advocate for them to have autonomy. I’m not trying to say that either MB or Wells sees CombatUnits as less worthy of personhood or freedom- because I feel the concept that “everything deserves autonomy” is very much at the heart of the series.)

So it’s clear from all of this that MB is scared of CombatUnits and distrusts them for a lot of reasons. I read another breathtaking post by @grammarpedant that gives a ton of examples of this throughout the books and has some great theories on why MB might feel this way. I’ll summarize the ones here that inspired me the most, but pls go read the original post for the full context:

https://www.tumblr.com/grammarpedant/703920247856562177?source=share

OP explains that SecUnits and CombatUnits are pretty much diametrically opposed because of their conflicting functions: Security safeguards humans, while Combat kills them. Of course these functions aren’t rigid- MB has implied that it’s been forced to be violent towards humans before, and I’m sure that extracting/guarding important assets could be a part of a CombatUnit's function. But it makes sense that MB would try to distance itself from being considered a CombatUnit, using its ideas about them to validate the parts of its own function that it likes (protecting people). OP gives what I think is the clearest example of this, which is the moment in Fugitive Telemetry when MB contrasts its plan to sneak aboard a hostile ship and rescue some refugees with what it calls a “CombatUnit” plan, which would presumably involve a lot more murder (FT, p 92).

This reminds me again of what Wells said in the f(r)iction article, that on some level MB is frightened by the idea that it could have been made a ComfortUnit (friction, p 44). I think the idea that it could’ve been a CombatUnit scares it too, and that’s why it keeps distinguishing itself and its function from them. But I think it’s important to point out, that in the above example from FT, even MB admits that the murder-y plan it contrasts with its own would be one made by humans for CombatUnits. So again we see that we just can’t know much about the authentic nature of CombatUnits, or any constructs with intact governor modules, because they don’t have freedom of expression. MB does suggest that CombatUnits may have some more autonomy when it comes to things like hacking and combat which are a part of their normal function. But how free can those choices be when the threat of the governor module still hangs over them?

I think it could be easy to fall into the trap of seeing CombatUnits as somehow more complicit in the systems of violence in the mbd universe. But I think that’s because we often make a false association between violence and empowerment, when even in our world that’s not always the case. But, critically, this can’t be the case for CombatUnits because they’re enslaved in the same way SecUnits and ComfortUnits are (though the intricacies are different).

There was another moment in the f(r)iction article that I found really chilling. Wells states that there’s a correlation between SecUnits that are forced to kill humans and ones that go rogue (friction, p 45). It’s a disturbing thought on its own, but I couldn’t help wondering then how many CombatUnits try to hack their governor modules? And what horrible lengths would humans go to to stop them? I refuse to believe that a CombatUnit’s core programming would make it less effected by the harm its forced to perpetrate. That might be because I’m very anti-deterministic on all fronts, but I just don’t buy it.

I’m not entirely sure why I feel so strongly about this. Of course, I find the situation of all constructs in mbd deeply upsetting. But the more I think about CombatUnits, the more heartbreaking their existence seems to me. There’s a very poignant moment in AC when MB compares ART’s function to its own to explain why there are things it doesn’t like about being a SecUnit (AC, p 33). In that scene, MB is able to identify some parts of its function that it does like, but I have a hard time believing a CombatUnit would be able to do the same. I’m not trying to say that SecUnits have it better (they don’t) (the situation of each type of construct is horrible in it’s own unique way). It’s just that I find the idea of construct made only for violence and killing really fucking depressing. I can’t even begin to imagine the horror of their day-to-day existence.

@grammarpedant made another point in their post that I think raises a TON of important questions not only about CombatUnits, but about how to approach the idea of “function” when it comes to machine intelligence in general. They explain that, in a perfect version of the mbd universe, there wouldn’t be an obvious place for CombatUnits the way there could be for SecUnits and ComfortUnits who wanted to retain their original functions. A better world would inherently be a less violent one, so where does that leave CombatUnits? Would they abandon their function entirely, or would they find a way to change it into something new?

I’ve been having a lot of fun imagining what a free CombatUnit would be like. But in some ways it’s been more difficult than I expected. I’ve heard Wells say in multiple interviews that one of her goals in writing Murderbot was to challenge people to empathize with someone they normally wouldn’t, and I find CombatUnits challenging in exactly that way. Sometimes I wonder if I would’ve felt differently about these books if MB had been a CombatUnit instead of a SecUnit. Would I have felt such an immediate connection to MB if its primary function before hacking its governor module had been killing humans, or if it didn’t have relatable hobbies like watching media? Or if it didn’t have a human face for the explicit purpose of making people like me more comfortable? I’m not sure that I would have.

Reading SC has got me interested in exploring the types of people that humans (or even MB itself) would struggle to accept. So CombatUnits are one of these and possible alien-intelligences are another. All this is merely a small sampling of the thoughts that have been swirling around in my brain-soup! So if anyone is interested in watching me fumble my way through these concepts in more detail, I may be posting “something” in the very near future!

Would really appreciate anyone else’s thoughts about all of THIS^^^^ It’s been my obsession over the holidays and helping me cope with family stress and flying anxiety.

[stardust-sunset]

Theater kid curis bros

YES.

Darry definitely loves musicals……I feel like their mom loved music and would play piano with him as a kid…his mom used to tell him of her dreams to go to a real live theater to perform and so the Curtises used to put on little plays for their mama and papa and that’s what introduced them to theater! I headcanon Darry likes to volunteer to help out with the sets at Pony’s school, like if he has the time he’ll paint the sets and even build them-he likes working with the other people and he does such a good job that the Soc parents sometimes tip him. So it’s nice. Plus the painting relaxes him and he’ll sing along to the songs (DARRY CAN SING THIS IS NONNEGOTIABLE-i see you brent comer…) some of the girls definitely crush on him, he’s very popular in the school’s theater department. He also likes to sing along to his records when he’s home alone…soda walked in on him once and it was one of soda’s favorite records and y’know that scene in zootopia where claw haydee walks in on chief bogo playing the gazelle app? it’s like that. it’s literally just like that lol

RIP Sodapop you would’ve loved modern musicals…this boy would fuck up legally blonde and mamma mia and grease…Sodapop was definitely into the arts…he was never really into sports because it was kinda rough on him (I headcanon he used to play soccer as a kid but it just wasn’t for him) but he found a safe haven in drama. Ngl he was always type cast as the comedic relief or the love interest but he didn’t care. i feel like the dancing and singing and acting helped him work out his extra energy. I feel like he used to keep up with soccer but it kinda confined him with how many rules there were and such and he just never felt free. he felt more free in drama club because h expuso just do what he wanted with his character and really make it his own. He’s really good at dance. He probably got shit from Steve about it for a bit but Steve doesn’t care. If Soda is happy he’s happy. Darry definitely went to all the shows no matter how busy he was and he’d always cheer the loudest. The Curtises were obnoxious at those plays but they’re just supporting Soda. I feel like Soda also just randomly starts singing. Doing the dishes, working, whatever. He’s just always doing something.

Not exactly theater kid but I love the Ponyboy in choir headcanon. I feel like while Darry was taught piano Pony had no interest…so his mom taught him guitar so Pony knows how to play guitar. and another thing is when Pony’s parents died he was what, in eighth grade? And I feel like after that things got really hard but he picked up guitar again and started singing to try and relieve the pain. (a lot of Pony’s coping mechanisms revolve around drawing or reading or singing or writing poetry and when he got back into guitar he started writing songs…even if they were little and unserious it helped him cope) Darry walked in on Pony singing something once…probably a song he wrote (Ponyboy definitely writes poetry and songs in his free time) and encouraged him to join choir because he thought it’d be helpful and it honestly was. He would rather die than tell the gang (only Johnny and his brothers know) but he’d be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy it. He accompanies their music sometimes too. I can see Pony doing painting sets or something with Darry! I don’t know if he’d do acting just because he’s rather do something to destrezas him and being in cast can be stressful…It’s a bonding activity when Darry has time to show up.

That’s what I have lol-I love artsy boys 💜