#The Amy chapter was just so good. The fact that I basically knew it was coming and knew what was going to happen just made it even better.

[cairavende]

Worm Arc 11 Interludes thoughts:

AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Ok. Just in order I think. Sorry for the chaos.

Started off with puppies. I was happy.

Then the puppies started getting a little more violent than needed. I was less happy.

Then Victoria got clowned on a little and I was little bit more happy.

Then the unkillable naked zebra lady showed up everything kinda went downhill. For everyone.

Bitch do not join the supervillain serial killer group, please and thank you.

Seriously though, The Siberian is a bit scary. Just, completely invincible as far as anyone can tell. And super strong.

Theo is having a bad day. And unless someone takes care of Jack Slash for him he's gonna have a bad few years.

Jack Slash is such a poser oh my god. Dude. Come one. You aren't all that.

Also. Jack. Do not toss a loaded baby! That baby had a full diaper. You toss that baby and you are liable to have a containment breach. Speaking from experience, you do not want a containment breach. (Also just don't throw babies of course.)

I hope Theo gets cool powers and is able to become a super amazing hero like he dreams of. On the plus side, probably gonna be lots of opportunities for trigger events coming up. On the minus side, he didn't trigger when Jack Slash was planning on killing him so I don't know if he's gonna be able to.

They were obviously going to go for Labyrinth. She has such amazing powers for mass terror. Though I guess Burnscar never tried to actually recruit her. I assume that was the plan though.

Also Burnscar needs to stop excusing her actions. Just be evil or don't be evil. You don't get to be evil and say it's not your fault (that sure will come up again in these interludes).

I fucking LOVED the description of how Labyrinths powers work. Just the details of everything. So good!

Fucking Colin. Of course they had to go for you. Why can't you just go away and leave my robot daughter alone?

Mannequin is fucking WILD. Like, god damn. Those are sure choices you made. Helps you be creepy as shit though. And get through air vents.

Mannequin writing out "U ME" to Pocketknife Man by laying keyboard keys down on the table one at a time has cursed meet-cute energy.

In the end, Colin survives cause my robot daughter saves him. And I guess she's gonna tell him the truth about being an AI. Fiiiiiiine. I will be polite to Colin if he comes over to dinner. He still needs to apologize to my other daughter though.

Also I'm sure glad the Slaughterhouse Nine won't have any use for the magic pocketknife that can cut through anything that Mannequin took. No worries at all I'm sure. It won't do jack shit for them. Might as well just slash the idea and toss the knife out.

Cool. Some Nazis died. That's great!

Not enough though. Disappointed in Shatterbird.

But if one good thing can come of this whole Slaughterhouse Nine thing, maybe Hookwolf can die. I'm not holding my breath though.

Shatterbird has a very interesting power set. Being specifically glass focused like that. Definitely can see how she would terrorize a city.

Dinah PoV. DINAH POV!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok well first off, I obviously hated Coil for Dinah already. Enough that I don't really know if the Dinah PoV can technically make me hate him more. But that said, I hate him more. WTF.

The description of her power was so NEAT though! Had a minor moment of "oh hey this paragraph of this precog talking about her power works inside her head is an almost perfect description of how my brain works" which was wild. I don't actually get to see the future though, which is a major difference.

She can actually just full blow see a possible future holy shit! Wow. Like it hurts and she hates it but it's still crazy.

Also I guessed that Crawler was going to come for Traveler in a Vault (that is Noelle's cape name until I am told different) after the Bitch interlude. I was very happy I got that right since I really knew almost nothing about either.

So Crawler just basically can't die and gets stronger every time he gets hurt. I wonder how long it will take him to reach Endbringer level power?

And Traveler in a Vault is just a large monster that is always hungry and can be driven to the point of eating people. That sucks a lot for her.

Also Leviathan came after her too huh? Well that's probably fine and won't matter in the future.

Regent's sister is worse than he is. That's impressive! Like, not good impressive. But impressive.

Getting real close to the "can't exist" physic power set. I guess it's not quite it though.

She should keep a better eye on her phone battery.

AMY DALLON! I knew it would be you.

I knew you were destined to be a tragedy from the moment I met you. You were always going to become a villain. So once I knew the Nine were recruiting it was a guarantee that you'd be recruited.

Specifically, that you'd be recruited by Bonesaw. She is an artist and obviously she is obsessed over the art you could make together.

Holy shit though that chapter.

Lets see. FUCK CAROL. Victoria gets some excuses, she's a kid, she's following her mom's example, etc. But FUCK CAROL. You are partially responsible for what Amy is about to become.

Despite being terrified, Amy seemed to have a dark fascination with everything Bonesaw was doing and saying. Really listened as Bonesaw explained things.

The more detailed view of what Amy's power does is crazy. She really can do just about anything to someone.

“Why not fix your dad?” is where Bonesaw won. It's about 3/5 of the way through the chapter. And she won at that point. That was the killing blow. The rest of the chapter, the remaining 3.5k or so words, is watching Amy bleed out to drive the point home. It is Panacea's death monologue. It is beautiful and tragic and amazing.

All that said, since she is losing anyway, is it bad for me to want more of Bonesaw's notes? SHE HAS LORE! GIVE IT TO ME!

Dad at least seems pretty good. He made the perfect response after getting healed. Unfortunately she was already gone.

AND THERE IT IS. THERE IS THE THAT FINAL STEP. Fucking rewire your adopted sisters mind to have romantic feelings for you. No you don't get to say it was an accident! You chose to do it. Holy shit Amy. You are going to be an amazing (terrifying) villain.

Callback to Burnscar and blaming her power for her actions.

If Worm was a Disney movie Amy would end up with the best song, 100%. Hellfire or similar levels.

[rose-tea-and-strawberries]

#JusticeForYuu

Warning: long rant coming up. Mentions of PTSD and Trauma.

So I recently read this manhwa called ‘Ashtarte’ and let me tell you, compared to other manhwas that I’ve read, I’ve never felt more vindicated or satisfied by the way it handles trauma and forgiveness.

Basically, the main character is a young princess, about ten or eleven or twelve I can’t remember, who has spent her entire life being treated like nothing by her entire family for no pretty much no reason at all. Trust me when I say that the neglect and emotional abuse she undergoes is awful and after a while, she realises that she doesn’t deserve to be treated that way. She mentally and emotionally emancipates herself from them and makes a family with her small handful of servants that live with her in her broken down house (let me tell you, they all love and protect her so much. Her mother figure/ best friend/ maid is the absolute GOAT), telling them that she won’t waste any tears on her bio family anymore. And when her bio family beg for forgiveness after she makes a very obvious effort to ignore and stay as far away from them as possible, she tells them that if they want her to even consider forgiving them for all the pain they put her through, they need to wait 10 years just like how she spent ten years all alone, trapped in that house, waiting for someone to love her. Even after the 5 year timeskip, she still doesn’t give them the time of day whilst they send her letters and mountains of gifts (that she never opens) and when she meets them again because of some obligatory family thing, she tells them point blank that there’s a chance that she’ll never forgive them and there’s nothing that she wants from them so just leave her alone and just walks out as they all suffer in their guilt.

And, let me tell you, as someone who has read a lot of female lead manhwas, I’ve never seen a FL not forgive a neglectful family - either they end up forgiven after an apology that lasts for like one chapter, or the MC gets her revenge and completely ruins them, or it’s an isekai story so now that a new person is possessing the main character, they finally decide to show interest and since the new character is either scared of them, is trying to gain their favour or has never undergone their horrible treatment of the host body, they just get off scot-free (A Match Made In Mana is a good example of this. Like the romance. Hate the fact that the older brother only started treating her right when another person isekaied into the main character - same thing with There Is No Place For Fakes)

Now what has this got to do with anime Disney boys you ask. Let me get to that.

Now I’m the kind of person that can hold a grudge - not that much in real life but very much so when it comes to fictional characters. If I was Jo March, I wouldn’t even be in the same room as Amy March after she burned the manuscript for at least a year. There are some characters that I just can’t stand because they never get the full consequences for what they put others through and I hate that so much (I’m not going to name names because a lot of them are fandom favourites and I don’t want to start a war). 

What I’m trying to say is that why can’t there be a Yuu that doesn’t forgive the overblot gang/dorms for what they put them through? Because you have to admit that they way that they treated this homeless, magicless human with absolutely nothing to their name and that is, in every instance, at the bottom of the food chain was awful. And I’m not talking about the overblots - they were clearly in the midst of a mental breakdown and weren’t in the right state of mind. But how would you explain everything that they did pre-overblot? When they are fully conscious of everything they did. Riddle even admitted after his overblot that he knew that he was being harsh but he still did that stuff anyway.

I know that we have to forgive everyone for the sake of the plot since we need Riddle in Book 2, Leona in Book 3, Azul in Book 4 and so on and so forth but when I remember the torment that Yuu faces, I just want to tell them all to take a hike. 

I know that these boys had horrible lives. I know that these are deeply traumatised individuals and that them overblotting was the only way for them to heal. But guess what? Going through trauma doesn’t excuse giving trauma to someone else? As Jake Peralta once said:

Confession Time - I was the anon that sent this: https://www.tumblr.com/shiny-jr/716948600309137408/hi-i-just-want-to-say-that-ive-read-all-of-your?source=share

And I still stand by what I said.

I just find it really annoying that when I search for angst fics it’s always the boys’ trauma or unrequited love or death or break ups - or maybe even something mentioning an overblot but I’ve never once found anything about the boys asking for forgiveness for what they did to Yuu prior to the overblots because once, just once, I want to read someone asking Yuu to forgive them and for Yuu to be selfish just once and say ‘no’

I know that I portray my fem!Yuu as this person that’s so sweet and forgiving and kind and soft and gentle but that’s because I’m obsessed with the dynamic of this sweet sunshine bubbly girl being a breath of fresh air to these villainous boys (and also because I kind of took some inspiration from my favourite princess, Snow White, and I based her a bit on Wendy Darling because I wanted her to be that ‘mature young girl’ who is very motherly but is still very much a fun-loving, imaginative child) but I just want a Yuu that is given the respect that they deserve.

I want a Yuu that actually experiences PTSD because of the treatment that they’ve undergone. I want them to hate the fact that their experience in NRC has changed them. I want them to hate that they’ve developed claustrophobia and a fear of the dark after they were forcefully imprisoned in Scarabia, I want them to hate how anything can trigger a PTSD-induced flashback, I want them to hate how Riddle’s jabs at their character and parentage still ring in their head after all this time, I want them to hate how whenever they’re submerged in water, all they can remember is what Azul, Jade and Floyd put them through in their attempts to get their home and family back. I want them to hate how often they get nightmares, how any second could be the day they finally get killed by any of these magic users who are far more powerful than them. I want them to look in the mirror and despise every single scar that litters their once unblemished body. I want them to hate how they had to ask the people who stripped them of their home and the only family they had in NRC for help in Book 4 because now they are indebted to them and they have no idea when Azul would want to cash that.

I’ve seen fics that have Yuu go through heatstroke during the marches in Scarabia and, as someone that not only has had heatstroke before but also had a really scary fainting experience I headcanon that as well so how about a Yuu that turns down Kalim’s invitations because the sight of Scarabia reminds them of the hostility that they faced when they were the most vulnerable. How about a Yuu that tries not to hate Kalim because he’s a genuinely nice person and was the only one to welcome them with kindness but can’t help but feel bitter whenever they hear the housewarden excuse Jamil’s behaviour when they still remember how they were locked up against their will.

This fic by linawritestwst and this fic by the-hearteater portray what I’m talking about really well. (taxonomize our differences by Jemimimi does a really good job of illustrating how being in Twised Wonderland affects Yuu’s mental health - there’s an incredible scene where Yuu has a panic attack and teaches Grim how to help them out of it. I nearly cried because their sense of self worth is so low and suicidal tendencies are so unstable that in multiple points of the story they try to get other students to kill them and Yuu my baby 😭)

When I go through the Rollo x reader fics, the majority of them are either yandere or the usual fluff. But Rollo can actually be a good friend for Yuu to have. Whilst their mentalities are different, they both agree that magic is dangerous - with Yuu being a victim of said magic. I honestly think that, if he wasn’t written as the big bad of the event, he could’ve been a really good ally that would understand Yuu’s pain of not only facing overblot after overblot but their helplessness of being surrounded by magical individuals and not knowing whether they’ll be able to survive another day.

Everyone’s always like #Crowley Slander (which he rightfully deserves, I am thisclose to punting him) but don’t forget everything the boys did. I see fics where they stand up to Crowley for Yuu but the most they do is reference the overblots but never that they did horrible things as well. Crowley may have told Yuu to stay behind during the winter holidays but Jamil was the one who imprisoned us and prevented us from contacting our friends for help. Crowley may have made Yuu stay at Ramshackle (although to be fair Ramshackle is kind of the safest option - who knows what would happen to Yuu if their magical self was in an actual dorm, especially all of the female Yuus. I think living in isolation is kind of the best option for them when the universe is out to get them. Plus, the ghosts are amazing company.) but Azul was the one who made us homeless and had a shady business (that he still has even after the overblot). Crowley may have been blackmailing Yuu with food, shelter and money but Leona was the one that was sabotaging the students and Vil was the one that tried to point blank kill an innocent child in cold blood after making his childhood trauma and personal one-sided rivalry everyone’s problem for the weeks leading up to the VDC.

Everyone only treated them with respect after the overblot incidents - so they literally had to put themselves in danger and nearly die for them to be treated as not a nobody. When Riddle made those completely uncalled for jabs at Yuu, an innocent bystander, nobody said or did anything. Not Trey, who enabled Riddle’s reign of terror and quietly observed the suffering all of the Heartslabyul students (and then had the gall to tell adeuceyuu not to get angry at Riddle because of course tragic backstory = forgiveness), not Cater, who canonically has a hidden side so Yuu has more of a reason not to trust him, not any of the other card soldiers - no Ace, the one everyone writes off as a stupid tactless jerk that does badly in school and only causes trouble, was the only one that had the emotional intelligence to realise that Yuu’s feelings were hurt and was the only one who cared to do something about it via sucker punching the tantrum-throwing tyrant.

(I can’t remember if Deuce did anything but he already stood up for us during the egg debacle so it’s okay he’s still my number one love)

(Also: Riddle is known to be incredibly strict with his dorm. It’s been said that Heartslabyul has the best academic record because of Riddle’s incredibly high standards. He also doesn’t take excuses from anyone even if they aren’t even in the wrong - which is seen when he exiles adeuceyuu from the dorm during the Mont Blanc Tart Incident where Trey tells Riddle that he was the one who told them to make the tart for the party and Riddle says that it was still their fault for not knowing the rules beforehand because of course a first year would have memorised all 810 rules by their like third day and it would be perfectly normal of them to ask a senior for advice on what to do. My question is: how many dyslexic students or anyone else with learning disabilities do you think Riddle has sent crying? How many students with less than stellar family backgrounds joined NRC only to find that they were sorted into a dorm that had a leader who not only holds their abusive mother’s teaching methods on a pedestal but is more than ready to hurl insults at anyone that disagrees with him? How many times had Trey seen an innocent student receive unfair treatment and kept quiet about it despite it being his job as a vice dorm leader and upperclassman to look after them?)

I know that so many people want Yuu to overblot or go through their villain arc so that the boys can be put in that place but why do we even have to go that far? If Yuu did have magic they would have overblotted ages ago but even so why do they need to have a mental breakdown so that others could see where they went wrong? Remember an overblot can kill its host and Yuu doesn’t need another near death experience. 

I want Yuu to be like Ashtarte and just have a small circle of friends and family in Ace, Deuce, Grim and the Ramshackle ghosts and tell everyone else to bog off. I want Ace, Deuce and Grim to be like the maid, Leona/Loena - different translations have different spellings (she is such a protective mama bear I love her so much. She literally calls out royalty to their faces, is ready to throw hands with the entire world and is willing to risk her own life for Ashtarte’s happiness) and act as Yuu’s guard dogs to prevent anyone from coming near them. Ace, Deuce and Grim have been there since the beginning, they’re Yuu’s ride or die besties that know what they’re going through, they’re platonic soulmates who can clearly see the emotional turmoil on weighing down on them. I want them to witness how Yuu is affected by their PTSD with their panic attacks and nightmares and bouts of depression and dissociation and then doing their best to learn how to help them. I want Yuu to refuse to step foot in another dorm and just go to NRC for classes and then disappear into Ramshackle. I want Ace and Deuce to run interference in case anyone approaches their friend because can’t you see that they don’t want to talk to you, who’s not afraid to stand up to anyone be it teachers or upperclassmen because haven’t they done enough damage. 

Yes, Ace is a jerk but he’s not a mean bully of a jerk. He’s just a stupid tactless teenage boy who just needs to be humbled once or twice - he’s completely harmless unlike Sebek and his humanphobic bigoted butt who should definitely keep his comments to himself because Yuu already has enough troubles without someone reminding them of how inferior their species is.

I want these boys to feel guilt - not because of their overblots but because they were actually horrible people before they tried to kill a defenseless, magicless human. I want Yuu to not only lose trust in the main characters but also with everyone else because they never know who would hurt or betray them next - who would be like Trey or Rook and enable bad behaviour, or who would be like Azul and take advantage of their weaknesses, or who would be like Jamil and pretend to be their friend and then stab them in the back. I want a Yuu that’s tired of being manipulated and used by everyone and is just done with everything.

As much as I love parental!Staff, you have to admit that canonically, they’ve done a pretty bad job of looking after Yuu so how about a Yuu that doesn’t trust adults because they’ve shown no interest in actually being someone that Yuu can open up to. Also, Azul was able to get away with everything he did was because he had Crowley in his pocket - who’s to say that he doesn’t have other adults under his thumb as well? (We know he doesn’t but how can Yuu be sure)

I want Yuu to be friends with Neige because he seems like such a sweetheart and I really don’t like how I see fics putting him down just to make Vil look good. As I mentioned above, Snow White is my favourite Disney Princess and sharing a spot with Pooh Bear as my favourite Disney character so a darling boy that is inspired by her would be an awesome friend to have - and he has never caused Yuu physical, verbal, emotional or mental harm.

Don’t get me wrong. I know that this is making me come off as a hater but I just want some justice for Yuu. They deserve absolutely nothing that they go through and I want happiness for them.

Also, on a completely unrelated note, I may have been listening to Numb Little Bug a tad bit too much.

[fizzyxcustard]

Covert Eyes (18)

Prologue| Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6| Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 | Chapter 16 | Chapter 17

Fandom: Spooks

Pairings: Lucas North x OC (Amy Holland)

Warnings: Stalking behaviour, anxiety, language, sexual references, angst, smut, heartbreak, gunshot wounds and recovery.

Summary: Lucas takes notice of a young woman, Amy, but his obsession and want to get to know her begin to spiral out of control. Amy knows that her recovery won’t be quick, and she now has another decision to face. 

Official soundtrack list:  here

Comments/Notes: If you wish to be tagged in any of my tag lists for fics or characters, please let me know, and stipulate what you want to be tagged in.

It was the day before Christmas Eve, and Amy was lay in bed on her day off. She had been asked to remain on call over the Christmas period in case important work came in which she would undertake with Tariq. Lucas was working that day, but was hoping that he would be able to slip away early for a cosy night in. 

Lucas left a mug of coffee and some hot buttered toast on the bedside table next to Amy and then kissed her farewell, leaving the flat. 

Amy sighed and took a bite of her toast. She felt content, peaceful and the closest to happy that she had been in years. In fact, she was sure that she was happy. Her relationship with Lucas had gone from strength to strength since being shot back in August, and now that they were working together, it gave them enough time together and apart. Work, currently, wasn’t overbearing. However, she knew that this would soon change. Once she had her initial training under her belt, then she would be given her own working times and be expected to work more independently than she was now. 

The day began quite slow; Amy tottered around the flat, washing dishes, vacuuming, dusting, and then decided to head out to the local hairdressers for a trim. She kept her hair short, but it was now curling up and growing towards her shoulders. Maybe a quick trip to the local artist shop was also in order. She had been so tempted to begin experimenting with coloured pencils and pastels more. 

The sun was setting, dipping below the horizon of buildings as Amy stepped back into the flat. Just as she closed her door behind her, her work phone rang. 

“Hi, Amy,” Tariq chimed. “A big operation is underway. It’s from the Spiller case. Lucas and Jo are needed out in the field. Can you come in? Lucas is coming to pick you up now in time for the brief at half six. Looks like it might be an all-nighter, so bring plenty of food.” 

Amy chuckled. “I’ve always got food in my bag. You should know that by now, mate. I’ll get ready.” 

In the flat and Amy gathered together a fresh set of underwear, basic toiletries and non-perishable food such as chocolate, a tub of Pringles and some Hob Nob biscuits. This case had been on the team’s radar for a good couple of months, and now their main subject, Robert Spiller, was moving. 

Shortly afterwards and Lucas arrived, grabbing his own, already prepared, bag of clothing. Amy noticed that his jaw was clenched and he seemed to be half throwing things, rather than placing them down. “Are you okay?” she asked. 

Lucas sighed. “I wanted a night in with you tonight. Maybe order some food, watch shit TV and do all the normal things, instead of this. Now it’s not only me that’s going to be out all night, but you.” 

“We live and work together now. We see each other three parts of the time. I get that you want some free time, but this is the nature of our job.” 

“Fine,” Lucas snapped. 

“What do you want me to say?” Amy exclaimed. 

“Maybe that you want to spend time with me, too.” 

“Of course I do! This was supposed to be my day off, remember. Look, we’ll be able to spend plenty of time together over the new year when we go up to Coventry.” Amy scooted up against Lucas, winding her arms around his waist. She stood up on her tip toes as he began to move his head down, chuckling. He enjoyed teasing her. “Look, just kiss me!” she hissed playfully. 

They kissed for a few seconds and then Lucas nudged his nose into the crook of Amy’s neck. He inhaled her scent and sweetness. 

“I love you, Gigantor,” Amy giggled. 

“And I love you, Munchkin.” 

“Oh, fuck off!” Amy laughed, slapping Lucas’ arm for emphasis. 

Back at Thames House, Amy and Lucas made their way through security. Then they made their way up to the second floor, dropping their bags at their desks. Tariq, Jo and Ruth had already gathered together, chattering. 

“Coffee?” Jo asked, smiling to Lucas and Amy. 

“Please,” Amy chirped. 

The team all gathered together in one of the meeting rooms, with Harry at the head of the table. “I’m afraid this operation may mean working over Christmas, so I want to thank you all for being available. Robert Spiller is back in the UK. Intel has led us to believe that he’s going to be in Southampton tonight when an importation of illegal weapons and potentially radioactive matter arrives on our shores. Lucas and Jo are going to head out tonight and keep watch at the dock. Tariq, Amy and Ruth, I want you to keep track of his movement and audio, as we’ve already bugged his car. More intel will be coming in so we’ll need you all on hand for that.” 

“What happens once he leaves the dock?” Amy asked. 

“We follow him. Not sure where he intends to go, but we’ll have to follow him as far as we can and report back regularly,” Jo explained. “Ros will also be with us and intends to go undercover as a customs officer. We also believe that staff on the docks may be being paid to let the import slip through with no checks. Radioactive material usually sets off an alarm at all ports, so our guess is that someone on the inside will switch off the alarm just long enough for the shipment to get through with little to no checks by customs and Border Force.” 

The briefing was fairly vague, but held enough information for the team to know what they were doing and what was expected. Amy would be assisting Tariq and Ruth, keeping checks on vehicle movement and also audio from inside the vehicle, and check ins from Ros, Lucas and Jo. She felt like a drifter, having no specific role. 

Come seven ‘o’ clock, Lucas approached Amy’s desk and gave her a sad smile. “I hope to be back at some point tomorrow, but I can’t guarantee it.” 

“You keep safe,” Amy replied. “One way or the other, I’ll make sure you eat a Christmas dinner.” 

“I’m already looking forward to it.” Lucas embraced Amy. “I just want something normal for once, and eating turkey and stuffing with you sounds a lot more appealing than this.” 

“Shh. Remember what I said. We’ll have all of new year. Now get to work and remember that I love you.” 

They both kissed one last time and then reluctantly parted. 

Tariq couldn’t help but chuckle behind Amy. “I don’t know whether to say that you two are cute or nauseating.” 

“Probably nauseating,” Amy replied, grinning. “And on that note, fancy something to eat?”

“I thought you were never going to ask!” Tariq exclaimed enthusiastically. 

For almost three hours, while the surveillance team travelled, the rest of the office team remained on standby, eating Pringles and chocolate. Amy began twirling on her chair, becoming bored. Lucas couldn’t use his personal phone while out, so Amy couldn’t even text him and remain in contact. The wait for them to arrive at the dock was agonising. 

Suddenly at around ten ‘o’ clock, a faint and crackling line came through the computer speakers. Ros’ voice confirmed that she was now in place and on standby, ready to go when the shipment came in. Lucas and Jo radioed in five minutes later, giving the details of their observation point. 

On the dock and Lucas remained quiet, sitting in the passenger seat of the silver Lexus they had signed out of the work garage. Jo was sipping on a coffee that she had picked up from a motorway service station. She smiled at the taste of gingerbread pouring through behind the bitter coffee. 

“This arsehole could have at least waited until after Christmas for this,” Lucas groaned. 

Jo smirked. “You know how it is. People seem to think that they’re least likely to be watched over Christmas, so that’s when they’re more likely to plan things like this. I thought you already knew that.” 

“I did, but it doesn’t mean I can’t hope. I’d rather be at home, under a blanket and watching cheesy Christmas films with Amy than sat here. No offense.” 

“None taken,” Jo chuckled. “I have noticed that since Amy started with us you do complain more. You were never like this before.” 

Lucas sighed. “I was hoping I wouldn’t be that obvious. I suppose now that I’m with Amy, I just want to be with her more and doing normal stuff at home.” 

“You’re in the wrong job, Lucas, if you want that. This job will never bring any kind of normality to your life. I don’t know why you’re only just seeing that.” 

“When I first started seeing Amy, I could step into her world and taste that normality. I could then step back into our world when I needed to. But now she’s in it too, I just feel like nothing is normal anymore. Okay, on her days off, I bring her coffee and toast in bed, but that’s about it.”

“I know relationships are hard to maintain, especially when you work together. I mean, look at Adam and his wife…”

Lucas sighed, shivering at the thought of Adam Carter and his wife, who had both died in the line of duty. “I dread the idea of her ever going out into the field, Jo. I couldn’t live with myself if I let her do that.” 

“But that’s the point, you’ve got to let her make her own decisions, and build your own sense of normality from being together. You’ve got to define what you both think is ‘normal’, and not go by what everyone tells you is normal. Do you have a problem with Amy now being a part of your world? You said that you could slip in and out of hers, but now she’s fully in yours. Does that threaten you?” 

“Of course it doesn’t!” Lucas exclaimed, taken aback at Jo’s comment. “If anything it means that we get to share more than we ever did before. I don’t have to hold anything back from her.” 

“Then you need to remind yourself that when you get annoyed at times like this when you’re apart. She understands you now more than she ever did before. Not many people get to experience that, so embrace it.” 

Back in London and Amy could feel her eyes closing. Tariq and Ruth were chatting away next to her as she doodled in a notebook in pen. It was now nearly midnight, only half hour from the intended shipment landing on UK shores. Every few minutes and the radio line would open, either Jo or Ros confirming no change in their observations. 

Once activity started and Amy could feel her adrenaline pumping and keeping her awake. She listened to the voices on the radio and watched in fascination as Tariq kept track of Spiller’s vehicle on the computer. As her first live surveillance case, Amy found that it seemed fairly simple. Jo and Lucas were now following the shipment, and Ros had taken down the details of the customs officers who had allowed all the activity to take place. The police would soon be notified. 

Harry kept a keen eye on Amy, noticing how she gave her input without being overbearing. She was someone who thought outside the box, who came up with the odd idea that no one else would have considered. Amy was a true thinker, an analyst. The longer the operation went on, and Harry noticed Amy’s confidence swell; she spoke more, asked questions, was interested. With a weak smile, he took a sip of his coffee, and silently hoped that Amy really was the right candidate for the job. However, he trusted Ros’ judgement, as it was she who had made the call in hiring Amy. 

Morning came. Dawn broke over London at around half seven, a sure sign of the winter season being upon the country. Amy was waiting for Lucas to come home; the operation had been fully completed and stood down at around five in the morning. The police had been notified and arrests could now take place. 

Ruth and Tariq had already left the office. Amy was waiting for Lucas, who would no doubt need to file a few pieces of paperwork, such as handing his weapon back in. Logs would need to be signed, diarising the events and the officers on plot. 

As Lucas and Jo stepped back into the office and onto the Grid, Amy was waiting patiently with fresh coffee and pastries that she had grabbed from the local café. Both Lucas and Jo smiled and thanked her. And then Lucas gave her a kiss, promising that he wouldn’t be long and they’d be out of there soon. Meanwhile, Ros disappeared into Harry’s office, organising a debrief time for when everyone would be more alert and awake after pulling an all-nighter. 

“I heard Harry say that he might be organising the debrief on a conference call later this afternoon,” Amy told Lucas and Jo as she tucked into her pastry. 

Lucas smiled as he saw some of the flakes of pastry fall onto Amy’s jumper. The little things about her still enthralled him just as much as the big ones, like watching her eat, having complete disregard for falling crumbs while she was talking.

“Conference call is a good shout. It’s Christmas Eve, after all,” Lucas replied. 

Once all paperwork had been completed, Lucas took Amy’s hand in his and the two of them walked out, taking the lift down to the ground floor. Jo wasn’t too far behind, and called to them both, wishing them Merry Christmas. 

***

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[mycoolwritingcorner]

The Calm Before The Storm Chapter 2: Preparations

Ami stepped out of the shower and dried herself off, with a million “what ifs” about tonight’s dinner swirling through her head. After she was sufficiently dry she wrapped herself in a towel and headed to her room to pick out an outfit for tonight.

“I could wear that new skirt. Heaven knows Mako loved seeing me in it on our last date.” Ami thought with a smile and a blush. She suspected the reason Mako liked that skirt so much was because of how it accentuated Ami’s…

“On second thought, let’s not do that. Wouldn’t want Mako to get distracted while we’re making the big announcement.” The thought caused Ami to giggle. The fact that Mako would get distracted by her was still something she couldn’t quite believe, even after they had been dating for two months. To think there was a time when she had resigned herself to the fact that Mako would only ever see her as a friend, and that one day she would have to watch as some guy (probably one who reminded her of the guy who broke her heart) took her away from Ami forever. But now? Now Ami felt like she had everything she ever wanted. She finally looked forward to the future rather than dreading it, because she knew she would be sharing it with the one she loved. 

There was one final hurdle she had to overcome, however: telling her mother. From what she could tell her mother wasn’t opposed to same-sex relationships as a whole, so that was something. Ami couldn’t be sure if that extended to her own household, however. And she couldn’t very well ask without giving herself away. If she was honest with herself, she had no idea how tonight was going to go. She didn’t believe that her mother would disown her or anything that drastic, but she also couldn’t rule out that this would change things between them. 

For as anxious as she was about the whole ordeal, however, she knew her girlfriend must be way worse. She had tried to hide it, but Ami could tell from the moment she proposed the idea that Mako was terrified of what was about to happen tonight. And while Ami wanted to reassure her… it was hard when she wasn’t much more confident in it going well herself.

Suddenly, Ami was struck with an idea. She picked up her phone and dialed up the few people she knew who could maybe offer her some advice on this front.

“Hello! Tenou-Kaioh-Meiou residence! To whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?” Haruka chimed from the other end of the line.

Ami had originally considered going to Haruka and Michiru for advice before confessing to Mako, but they had been so busy with work at the time that it was all but impossible. They had both recently taken some time off, however, to help Hotaru get settled in at her new home after her father’s passing. They had basically shared parenting duties with Tomoe before, but now everything fell on to them. Meaning they didn’t exactly have an abundance of free time, but likely enough for a quick phone call.

“Hey Haruka, it’s Ami.”

“Oh, hey blue! What’s up?” 

“Well, tonight’s the night that Mako and I are telling my mother that we’re… y’know. And I was just wondering if you and Michiru had any advice?”

“Oh wow, that’s a big deal! Yeah, gimme one sec, let me get Michiru in here.”

After a brief period of shuffling from the other end of the line, Ami heard Michiru’s voice, “Hello, Ami? Haruka said you needed to talk to us.”

“Oh, yes, well-”

“Her and Mako are coming out to her mother tonight and she was hoping the previous token gays of the group could give her some advice.” Haruka cut her off over the phone. 

“Well I wouldn’t phrase it exactly like that but… yeah.” Ami said meekly, prompting a chuckle from Michiru.

“Oh, say no more, hon. But honestly it’s really quite simple. Just tell her the truth, that you love Mako and that she’s a good partner. She might be a little confused or surprised, but if she loves you, she’ll understand.” Michiru advised in the sweet, motherly tone that she tended to adopt in times such as this.

“Speak for yourself, it took forever for your parents to warm up to- ouch!”

“That had less to do with you being a girl and more to do with your lack of tact.”

“Details. Anyway, Michiru’s right. Just relax, everything’ll be okay.”

“Oh, but also maybe tell Mako not to put her feet up on your mother’s expensive coffee table.”

“Why would she-” Ami began to ask before being cut off by Haruka.

“ONE TIME!”

“ONE TIME THAT SHOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED!”

“Uh… well I’ve still gotta finish getting ready so…”

“Oh, of course dear. Also don’t forget you and Mako promised to come by and visit on Monday. That's all Hotaru has talked about this week.” Michiru said.

“Don’t worry, I’ll remember. Anyway, I’ll talk to you guys later, bye!”

With that, Ami hung up the phone and stood back up to continue looking for an outfit. She finally settled on ol’ reliable, a button up shirt and vest with a skirt. While getting dressed her thoughts drifted back to her green-eyed lover. She desperately hoped Mako wasn’t getting herself too worked up over this but… well… memories of her and Mako’s first discussion of the dinner led her to believe that her hopes were likely in vain… 

…

“So are you still coming over on Saturday?” Mako asked, looking up from her coffee at Ami, who sat in the booth across from her at the Crown café.

“Um… I actually wanted to talk to you about that.” The bluenette replied, looking out the window at the cars driving up and down the street. “My mother has that night off and we were planning on having dinner together.”

“Oh, I see. No biggie, I know you don’t get to spend time with your mom all that often.”

“Well, yeah, but also… I was wondering…” Ami began, fidgeting with her hands, “if you would join us?” Ami finished, her eyes finally meeting Makoto’s.

“Oh… that sounds… that sounds great!” The green-eyed girl finally squeaked out with a forced smile. If the idea of simply meeting her mother brought this reaction out of Makoto, Ami was genuinely frightened at how she would react to the next part. But there was no turning back now, so she continued.

“And I also thought maybe that would be a good opportunity to tell my mom that we’re… y’know…” Ami petered out while lightly gesturing between the two of them.

“Oh! Well… um… uh… don’t you think it’s a little soon for that?” Makoto said, visibly nervous.

“I mean, it’s been two months. I feel like that’s well beyond when most couples tell their parents.” 

“Okay, but hun… we… we’re not…” Makoto began, clearly struggling to find the right words, “we’re not like most couples.”

Ami sighed, “I know.” the Guardian of Water said, sounding deflated, “And I know I’m asking a lot of you with this. It’s just… My mom is never home. And for these last three years, any rare occasion where we get to spend real quality time together has had to be filled with lies because I couldn’t tell her about… our extra-curricular activities.” 

Ami picked up a spoon off of the table and began fidgeting with it in her hand, opting to look down at it rather than meet her girlfriend’s eyes. “And that was fine. After all, I don’t know if I really wanna have conversations with my mom about how I was almost killed by a monster with stars on its boobs.”

Ami put the spoon in her coffee and began to stir it, despite the fact that the cream and sugar had been properly stirred in by this point. “But now… now I’m lying to her about something I desperately want to tell her about. Something I wanna tell everyone about, hell, I’d shout it from the rooftops if I didn’t live in an apartment.” Ami said with a small smile. “But I won’t make you do it if you’re not comfortable. After all, she is my mother I can come out to her without you there but-”

“Ami.” Mako said while placing her hand atop Ami’s, cutting off both her words and her continuous stirring, “I’ll be there.” The brunette said with a soft smile.

“A-are you sure?” Ami asked, somewhat stunned, “Because you don’t have-”

“I know I don’t have to.” Mako said, cutting off Ami once again, “But I wanna do this for you.”

…

“I don’t deserve her…” Ami muttered to herself with a goofy smile as she finished buttoning up her shirt.

…

Unbeknownst to Ami, Makoto too was recalling the events of when she told Ami she would join her and her mother for dinner as she left the flower shop and began to head towards the Mizuno residence.

“I know what it’s like to not be able to talk to your parents.” Mako thought to herself as she walked down the street, “I would give anything to be able to tell them about… well, anything really, but especially about Ami. So there’s no way I’m gonna take that from her too.”

The rest of the walk Mako’s mind simply wandered between different things that could go wrong at dinner.

“What if Ami’s mother doesn’t approve?”

“What if I make a fool of myself?”

“What if she’s somehow seen my test scores and she thinks I’m too dumb for her daughter?”

“What if some food accidentally goes down the wrong pipe and while I’m choking my transformation wand falls out of my pocket and then we not only have to tell Ami’s mom that we’re gay and in love but also that we’re secret superhero space people?!”

“Wait.” Mako thought, bringing a halt to the vortex of thoughts in her brain. “Rei said everything would go fine. And when have her visions ever been wrong? Well… there was that time she saw the Messiah of Silence killing us all- but that doesn’t count! We were trying to stop that one from happening, we’re trying to make this one happen. It’s different.” Mako thought as she made her way up the stairs of Ami’s apartment complex.

“Ami said it herself, the future is what you make of it.” She thought, finally reaching the door to Ami’s apartment, raising her fist up to the door to knock, “I’ve got this.”

--

So, yeah, while the anime is my favorite version of Sailor Moon I absolutely HATE that they had Professor Tomoe become a good guy at the end of season 3 instead of having Hotaru live with the Outers. But I also want to be canon compliant so... sorry Tomoe, you've gotta die. Probably of an illness related to having an alien demon stuck inside of him for several years.

But anyway, that's all for chapter 2! I know there was no Minako and Rei stuff in this one but don't worry, the next chapter will be alllll about them... (it'll also be a bit shorter than the first two chapters sorryyyy)

But anyway! Please let me know what you guys think! Comments, likes, reblogs, etc. are very much appreciated! And come back next time for chapter 3.

First Chapter

Next Chapter

[lil228]

Red White and Royal Blue Notes Day 3 Part 2

WARNING spoilers for Red White and Royal Blue, both the movie and the book up to chapter nine

Also I made up a new game while reading this section the very basic explanation is that if I write down a prediction and it comes true I get a point there are more rules that I have for myself, and I'll proably post them later, because I plan to play this game with future books.

 Fun fact I googled it an Women at her Toilette is real (and safe for work) painting. 

I have a feeling I’m in for yet another spicy scene real soon

Okay, I know it’s like pretentious or whatever, but I think it’s cool that Henry likes classical music    

Oh, would you look at that I was right another spicy scene that’s number 7 for those of you counting along at home. 

Okay so did no one notice these two leave f’n WIMBLEDON? No one is wondering where they went? Dose Henry always just wander off. What to they think Henry and Alex are doing? Playing cards? Is it so inconceivable that these to are queer and in a sort of relationship that no one has even considered it? Come on!

Oh F*ck! Luna’s gone over to Richard’s campaign hasn’t he? 

I Fu*king called it! I knew R Luna was no good. How could he? That little traitorous b*tch!

Henry and Alex are in the same country so you know that that means! A spicy scene (at least I’m guessing there will be

I feel so bad for Alex, he really looked up to Luna, and wanted to be like him, and Luna wanted betrayed him and his family. 

“Someone else’s choices don’t change who you are” (Henry 229). I like that quote

Okay so it’s like the least spicy spicy scene but one of them gets naked so I’m going to count it that’s number 8! And another prediction point for me baby! Did I just make up prediction points yes, yes I did. And as of right now I have five (One for guessing that Amy knew what was going on, three for guessing the spicy scenes and one for predicting that Senator Luna was fishy/betrayed people) 

Okay so here my official rules for prediction points

It can’t have been something that I’ve know was going to happen because I’ve watched the movie (so for example I couldn’t say Alex and Henry are going to destroy an expensive wedding cake bc that happened in the movie)

If I didn’t write it down, only thought it it doesn't count

As long as I say I think it’s going to happen before it’s said in the text either explicitly or very heavily implied it’s fair game, even if there was foreshadowing I still get a point   

I can’t make super vague predictions  like Henry's going to talk about books or Alex is going to be sassy, because no duh.

 h my gosh, the fact that they acknowledge the symbolism of Henry hiding himself in a literal closet, is hilarious to me

[littlewomenpodcast]

How Greta Gerwig Erases Amy´s Good Influence on Laurie and Friedrich´s on Jo

Credits on this go to @the-other-art-blog

It’s sort of popular in media to show the good influence women can have of men. And it’s certainly the case in LW. But it can also go the other way around. In New York, Jo struggled with her sensationalist stories. They caused her some psychological distress, but those are the only stories that the editor wanted. Her necessity to have money led her to put aside her family’s teachings. In chapter 34: Friend, Bhaer sees some of those stories (not knowing some of them were written by Jo) and he criticizes them quite harshly for spreading bad morals. And even if Jo tries to defend them saying that they are just stories and that they are popular, she agrees. And Bhaer has an amazing reply: There is a demand for whisky, but I think you and I do not care to sell it. If the respectable people knew what harm they did, they would not feel that the living was honest. His answered reminded me of a critic (Horacio Villalobos) here in Mexico. Whenever someone defends a tv show/movie/play/book/whatever just for being popular he would say “cocaine is super popular, that doesn’t mean it’s good”.

Later on the chapter Jo says: I almost wish I hadn’t any conscience, it’s so inconvenient. If I didn’t care about doing right, and didn’t feel uncomfortable when doing wrong, I should get on capitally. I can’t help wishing sometimes, that Mother and Father hadn’t been so particular about such things. So Bhaer basically reminded her of her conscious that Jo has put on the side in order to earn money. -- An ocean away, something similar happens between Amy and Laurie. People always point out the good influence that Amy had on Laurie and rightfully so. Amy scolds him, tells him the truth as it is and she inspires him to become a better person, to stop wasting his time and be a productive member of society. However, that influence goes both ways. When Amy and Laurie met in Nice, she had already decided to marry Fred  Vaughn despite the fact that she didn’t really loves him. She’s determined to give herself and her family a better life and Fred’s money can do that. Painting won’t do it and Jo, at this point, was still selling stories for 20USD each. So, not a lot of options. She knows its mercenary and that the family won’t like it, but she feels it as her duty. In Valrosa, Amy confesses her plan to Laurie. And he calls on her for not remembering her mother’s teaching! I understand. Queens of society can’t get on without money, so you mean to make a good match, and start in that way? Quite right and proper, as the world goes, but it sounds odd from the lips of one of your mother’s girls. Amy defends her resolution but Laurie’s words clearly had an impact on her as much as her words had an impact on him. While they are apart, Fred returns and Amy is unable to accept his proposal. She knew better now. ​ In a way, just like Fritz to Jo, Laurie made Amy remember her conscious and her values. Nobody else tried to stop Amy from accepting a proposal and get into a loveless marriage. Everyone around her just saw it as a good match not caring if there was love in there or not. I would even say that without that wake up call from Laurie, Amy could have gone through the marriage and paid the consequences. She’s an American, with very nontraditional ideas about women entering into an English family. I think she would have been quite lonely.

(In a way Amy-Fred parallels with Jo-Laurie in the sense that both sisters have these incredible opportunities to marry very wealthy men. However, both were doomed to be loveless marriages and neither Amy nor Jo wanted that. They would have lived in a golden cage.) ​ So yeah, Amy did lots of good on Laurie, but he also helped her. And Fritz did the same for Jo.

[the-other-art-blog]

Fritz and Laurie’s good influence on Jo and Amy

It’s sort of popular in media to show the good influence women can have of men. And it’s certainly the case in LW. But it can also go the other way around.

In New York, Jo struggled with her sensationalist stories. They caused her some psychological distress, but those are the only stories that the editor wanted. Her necessity to have money led her to put aside her family’s teachings.

In chapter 34: Friend, Bhaer sees some of those stories (not knowing some of them were written by Jo) and he criticizes them quite harshly for spreading bad morals. And even if Jo tries to defend them saying that they are just stories and that they are popular, she agrees. And Bhaer has an amazing reply:

There is a demand for whisky, but I think you and I do not care to sell it. If the respectable people knew what harm they did, they would not feel that the living was honest.

His answered reminded me of a critic (Horacio Villalobos) here in Mexico. Whenever someone defends a tv show/movie/play/book/whatever just for being popular he would say “cocaine is super popular, that doesn’t mean it’s good”.

Later on the chapter Jo says:

I almost wish I hadn't any conscience, it's so inconvenient. If I didn't care about doing right, and didn't feel uncomfortable when doing wrong, I should get on capitally. I can't help wishing sometimes, that Mother and Father hadn't been so particular about such things.

So Bhaer basically reminded her of her conscious that Jo has put on the side in order to earn money.

---

An ocean away, something similar happens between Amy and Laurie. People always point out the good influence that Amy had on Laurie and rightfully so. Amy scolds him, tells him the truth as it is and she inspires him to become a better person, to stop wasting his time and be a productive member of society.

However, that influence goes both ways.

When Amy and Laurie met in Nice, she had already decided to marry Fred  Vaughn despite the fact that she didn’t really loves him. She’s determined to give herself and her family a better life and Fred’s money can do that. Painting won’t do it and Jo, at this point, was still selling stories for 20USD each. So, not a lot of options. She knows its mercenary and that the family won’t like it, but she feels it as her duty.

In Valrosa, Amy confesses her plan to Laurie. And he calls on her for not remembering her mother’s teaching!

I understand. Queens of society can’t get on without money, so you mean to make a good match, and start in that way? Quite right and proper, as the world goes, but it sounds odd from the lips of one of your mother’s girls.

Amy defends her resolution but Laurie’s words clearly had an impact on her as much as her words had an impact on him. While they are apart, Fred returns and Amy is unable to accept his proposal. She knew better now.

In a way, just like Fritz to Jo, Laurie made Amy remember her conscious and her values. Nobody else tried to stop Amy from accepting a proposal and get into a loveless marriage. Everyone around her just saw it as a good match not caring if there was love in there or not. I would even say that without that wake up call from Laurie, Amy could have gone through the marriage and paid the consequences. She’s an American, with very nontraditional ideas about women entering into an English family. I think she would have been quite lonely.

(In a way Amy-Fred parallels with Jo-Laurie in the sense that both sisters have these incredible opportunities to marry very wealthy men. However, both were doomed to be loveless marriages and neither Amy nor Jo wanted that. They would have lived in a golden cage.)

So yeah, Amy did lots of good on Laurie, but he also helped her. And Fritz did the same for Jo.

[sherl-grey]

Your wips all sound so amazing!! could you tell us more about 10 and 14 🥺 ?

hello, of course!!! text below the cut since this is longggggg 💖

10 "ElevenRose proposal thing" was just me rambling a bit after seeing this post; it's only like a page long and I don't really have any plans for it, and I'm guessing I'd need to ask the artist if I wanted to post it? I don't really know how fan-interaction-etiquette works. Here's the opening though:

Like most things in his life, it hadn’t been planned. And similarly like most things in his life, he wishes it had been.

Like most of his moments with Rose, he couldn’t help it. Something about her simply obliterated any brain-to-mouth filter that he tried to construct, leaving him utterly helpless to control himself and his silly mouth when confronted by a sparkle in her eyes and that lovely, tongue-touched smile. He supposed that maybe it scored a point or two for romance--his inability to refrain from handing her both of his hearts on a silver platter, as if she hadn’t already stolen them quite a long time ago. But she deserved more, meticulous planning and thoughtful gestures and smooth romance and gentlemanly charm and extravagant treatment and--

Well, everything.

14 "an ElevenRose reunion fic where Rose parented Jenny and Jack tries to call her when Jenny gets arrested, but he accidentally also calls Eleven’s TARDIS when he has all three Ponds on board, and yeah, it’s kind of a mess. I also gave up on this one but can’t bear to delete yet" is in fact a disaster. I can’t imagine I’d ever continue this one because I’d have to redraft most of it but it was pretty fun while I was working on it.

So basically Rose and Tentoo were together and travelling in their own TARDIS for a long time; Tentoo knew he couldn't protect Rose to the extent his Time Lord self could've, so he'd built all sort of alien superspy gear for them to give them every advantage possible. But she didn't age and he eventually died and she kept travelling on her own but she obviously didn't really take care of herself; the first chapter is her dying to save a group of women that she broke out of prison in the midst of trying to stop a sex trafficking mess (she has grenade earrings and shit like that, it's pretty fun), and then waking up in her original universe courtesy of Bad Wolf.

The second chapter, which I never finished because I skipped right to the middle, would've been her crashing on Messaline on the day the Doctor left and running into Jenny, who Tentoo would've told her about; she'd raise Jenny and eventually take on companions. Fun detail that I didn't write enough to fully include yet: she and Tentoo had lifeline bracelets that sort of let each other know they were okay and tracked each other's vitals; she gave his to Jenny after they'd bonded a bit, and that does quite a number on Eleven's hearts to see.

Eventually (yeah, don't ask me how long this thing was gonna roll for, I don't know) Jenny will try to do something good but go about it the wrong way and will be imprisoned on a planet Rose has good relations with; unfortunately, Jack will be the one to find out (Rose will obviously keep in touch with everyone in the way the Doctor is garbage at) and when he calls the TARDIS it will call both TARDISes. Here's part of that chapter:

The insistent beeping of the TARDIS console is what finally draws the Doctor out of his burrow beneath the grating.

“Surely those wires weren’t that important,” he grumbles, glancing down at the offending and quite frayed tangle of copper that he’d just ripped aside to clear a pathway to the panel he’s been trying to access for almost a week now. But a glance at one of the console screens informs him that the beeping is not, in fact, a mechanical issue, but actually a distress call. From Earth. Cardiff, even.

“What is it? What’s happening?” Amy’s Scottish accent rang loud above her husband’s and daughter’s voices, and the Doctor smiles faintly as his three companions come treading into the console room at different paces. All of them are in various states of disarray--he dreads to think just what substance exactly is currently drying on Rory’s shirt, especially if River’s smirk has anything to do with it--and for a moment his hearts lurch for the last time he had a full TARDIS like this. The night he had the biggest family in the world for just a moment, right before he’d had to give it all up.

“Distress call,” he manages, mentally shaking his thoughts out and starting the flight sequence to lock in on the call. “If I’m not mistaken, this may even be an old friend.”

“You have friends?” Amy asks with a smirk, and he rolls his eyes fondly as Rory elbows her none too subtly. Very possible that Rory picked up on his earlier melancholy, he notes idly. If anything, traveling on the TARDIS has only made the man more perceptive than ever.

“21st century Earth, your favorite” River notes as she circles the console, flicking a few switches as they land. She smiles in smug satisfaction when the landing is smoother than any of his solo flights, and he offers a weak smile in return as he tries desperately to forget days of hard landings throwing him to the floor and laughter filling the room. Centuries later and he’s still being haunted by the one person he wanted desperately to keep and couldn’t.

“Cardiff, too, if I’m not mistaken,” the Doctor says, hurrying over to the TARDIS doors and flinging them wide to see Jack Harkness’s startled face staring back at him. “Yep! Cardiff! Torchwood, even. Hmph. Should’ve landed outside, followed the signal a little too perfectly,” he adds, scowling up at the ceiling momentarily and frowning at the impatient hum he got in return.

“Doc?” Jack asks nervously, his face a shade too pale.

The Doctor frowns, feeling his companions exit the TARDIS around him but paying them no mind. “Surely it’s not that shocking when the person you sent a distress call to arrives? I know I’ve a habit of dropping in at random but really, you literally invited me this time. Oh! Is it the face? Blimey, maybe it’s the face, I didn’t even think about when in your timeline this might be.”

“Yeah, new face,” Jack says quickly, shooting a look at the others in the room, and it’s only then that the Doctor takes a good look around. There’s an Asian woman and a handsome man who both look vaguely familiar, and that one woman who is the spitting image of her ancestor, who’d given her life up for the Gelth oh-so-long ago. They seem to be eyeing him and his companions cautiously, almost like…

“Right, okay, pull the other one,” the Doctor says blandly, distantly registering the snicker from Amy. “Once upon a time you could build a whole life upon lies, Harkness, but you’re hardly fooling me now, not to even mention the expressions your crewmates are wearing. You called me, but you didn’t expect me to actually come. Why?”

Jack stares at him for a moment, inner turmoil visibly brewing in his eyes, and the Doctor can tell that he’s trying and failing to find the words that he wants before he finally settles on a single terse sentence. “We didn’t call you.”

He scoffs, rolling his eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous, I literally traced--”

“We really didn’t call you,” the other man tries to interject.

“Look, I just assumed Jack explained this to you since you’re his team, but maybe he was being polite and keeping a mate’s secret--I might have a different face, but I’m still--”

“No, you don’t understand,” Jack says, cutting him off in annoyance. “We didn’t call you. Any of you.”

This gives the Doctor a pause, and River takes her opportunity to cut in. “Don’t be ridiculous, that call was specifically sent to seek out a TARDIS. Even more specifically: his TARDIS, even if it weren’t the only one in the universe.”

“Actually--” the Asian woman starts before Jack shakes his head vigorously and cuts her off.

“Don’t,” he says to her, making eye contact with each member of his team briefly before turning back to the Doctor and his companions. “Look, sorry, I’m usually not this rude, especially not in the presence of such beautiful company,” he says, flashing a flirty grin in the direction of the Ponds. “But you guys really need to leave. Now. This was a mix-up. Look, come back another time. Mickey, Martha and Donna are out on another mission, but come visit another time and we can all catch up.”

“Oi, he’s here to help, so stop being so rude--” Amy begins, but the Doctor talks right through her, earning a scowl in his direction. It’s all of the little things adding themselves up--the rude reception from strangers in apparent distress, the lack of an introduction from the Doctor even though he clearly knew these people, or at least “Jack”, and now the blatant lack of attention, even to the point of directly disregarding her words. Rory strokes her arm comfortingly, but the Doctor absentmindedly notes with a wince that there is most definitely an argument coming in his future once they’re all back aboard his ship.

“No, I want to know exactly how this can be a mix-up, because River was right. You can’t just accidentally call the TARDIS. Well, I’m sure someone can--hell, Donna even teleported right in that one time--but not you,” he says, eyes narrowing at Jack. “You knew exactly what you were doing, even if it didn’t bring the results you’d expected. And we’ve already established that this is different than just getting me at the wrong point in my timeline.”

“Technically, I never said it wasn’t--”

“Don’t bother trying to lie. Just spit out whatever it is that you’re hiding,” the Doctor says, losing patience. “Was that or was that not a distress call? I dread to think--”

The sound of the TARDIS materializing while they’re not in it has the Doctor and all of his companions jumping in shock. He whips around to confirm that his TARDIS is not, in fact, abandoning him--no, instead he sees the impossible: another TARDIS, nearly identical save the bright red paint and “PUSH TO OPEN” sign, materializing just off to the side of his own ship, and perhaps a bit in front.

Jack lets loose a rather impressive string of alien curses--the Doctor idly counts no fewer than eight different languages and would’ve complimented the man if he wasn’t so distracted by the inconceivable sight before him.

“Well, I know I’m immortal, but I’m not exaggerating when I say I’m officially dead now,” Jack says glumly in English, and the Asian woman snorts while the two others shoot him sympathetic grimaces.

[yandere-mha-blog]

Chapter 28: Confrontation

words: 1155

tw: Bodily harm

And that is how you managed to drag Katsuki Bakugou on a late night snack run to a 24 hour convenience store

“You can get 4 to 5 things.” Katsuki said

“Got it forty-five things, you the best Katsuki.” you said running into the snack aisle Katsuki just shaking his head, when he heard a women yell, his head snap to see some lady struggling with her purse that was being pulled out of her hands

“(name) got to go, be right back.” Katsuki said running out finally a good reason to punch someone in the face, once the guy saw he was coming he bolted out of there leaving the ladies purse, Katsuki was just about to chase after the guy hen the woman grabbed his sleeve

“Thank you so much, if you didn't show up I would have lost my purse.” She said

“Whatever, you have everything?” Katsuki asked and she nodded

“Yes I'm fine now, but I did get a good look at the guy's face.” she said, Katsuki took out his notebook

“Okay the basic stuff first.” he said “what is your name?”

“It's Ami Genji.” she said, Katsuki felt like that name was familiar but couldn't palace his finger on it.

You looked out the window to see Katsuki filling up a report for some lady, you were glad she was okay when you felt a tap on your shoulder you jumped in surprise and turned your head and that feeling of your blood going cold hit again.

“Emiko...what-”

“Can it (last name).” she said “I needed to have a one on one talk with you.” “...I don't have anything to say to you.” you said

“Well i have a lot to say to you.” she said dragging you away from the window “Did you think it was funny ruining my life.”

“Me …ruin your life, what how?” you asked still confused

“Don't act like you don't know, you had that dam pro hero corner me and ask me all types of questions about us in highschool so you could ruin my life!” she yelled and you flinched "Don't you dare pull that dam act!”

“Emiko, I really have no idea what you are talking about, I haven't even been on social media or watched the news ages.” you said

“OH so you don't know your damn guard dog recorded me when I was telling him about how I was in highschool and posted it everywhere to get the dam media off his back.” she sneered

“Katsuki did what?” you asked

“...The day of the cherry blossoms he came up to me and demanded I tell him how I treated you back in highschool and why...not even a day later it was posted everywhere and my life has been shit, and you asked him to do it huh, didn't you! Using that damn oh woe is me act to get him to ruin my life over something that happened over five years ago!”

“Emiko all i wanted to do was never see you again, I wanted you and everyone else out of my life-” You then felt a harsh slap across your face

“I have been waiting days for you to show your face out of that damn penthouse and all you care to tell me is a bunch of bullshit, I've become the scrap goat because of you!”

You were still stunned on the fact she had just slapped you across the face, the tears were wheeling up in your eyes

“Where are you dam guard dog now!?”

“Who the fuck are you calling a guard dog.” You heard Katsuki's voice, but it felt cold and chilling, he was standing behind her. You looked up and froze at the look of his eyes, nothing but pure hatred, Emiko must have never seen those types of eyes before because she kept talking.

“You...you are the one who ruined everything for me, I should report you and get arrested for defamation of character!” She yelled, Katsuki eyes just continued to drill holes in her head, you looked down and saw his hands glowing a bit, Emiko still didn't notice, and before you knew it you had pushed her out of the way and got a back full of Katsuki  palm and the sting pain of the explosions' to follow.

“(NAME!)” you heard Katsuki yell at you as the sting of his explosion blew off the back of your shirt and singed your back, Emiko looked at a lost of words.

“YOU BOTH ARE CRAZY!” She yelled before pushing you off her and booking it out the store, Katsuki had ignored her and went straight to you he muttering shit under his breath over and over again

“(NAME) WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU COVER FOR HER!” he said, the clerk just turned his back and went to the back, he didn't get paid enough for this.

“Ow it hurts.” you said as Katsuki picked you up making sure not to touch the now scorched mark on your back, and made his way back to his penthouse setting you down on the bed and looking for that damn burn cream, he finally found it and put some on your back rubbing it in.

“Ow…” you whimpered

“(name) what the hell were you thinking…” he said “Why would you, why did …what just happened.”

“I think...now that you were about to smack Emiko using your quirk and I jumped in and protected her.”

“Why!?” he yelled and you flinched “In what way would protecting her be a good idea!”

“Katsuki...did you really send out a video of her.” you asked

“What about it.”

“Why would you do that?” you asked, and he sighed more with relief seeing the burn cream he used on himself work, lucky it looked like there wouldn't be a scar.

“I needed to get people off your back and turn the story onto someone else, it's hero business it can get really complicated and you wouldn't understand.” Katsuki said

“Maybe I don't, but Katsuki you were going to use her quirk on her, and for what some.”

“Harassment and assault, I saw her slap you. I was in every right since she already imposed danger on you. There was no telling how far she would escalate the citation, I was in the right as a hero to use my quirk.” He explained

“Katsuki, are you trying to convince me or yourself.” you said getting up “MY shirt is ruined...I think I need a cold shower, thanks for the burn cream.”

You closed the bathroom door and left Katsuki all alone on the bed, part of him wanted to blow the door up and keep talking to you, the other part of him knew to give you space, he hadn't lost his temper like that in ages why did it just bubble up like that. He went to his spot on the couch and rubbed his eyes trying to hold onto some sort of rationality.

“What the fuck did I just do?”

[joliepixie]

Book update! books I’ve read recently and what I thought/how I felt about them! Also I really branched out into genres this time around! Another personal goal of mine.

Once again pictures from left to right!

1) Silver Flame! I read this back in February but had lent it to a friend and forgot to include it in my last book update. I absolutely loved this book like everything else Sarah J. Maas writes. I thought it gave a good perspective into how Nesta was doing mentally and helped me understand her struggle. I think after reading this novel I’ve even began to like Nesta more then Feyra and I think the turning point was when Nesta posted the list in the library and continued to check on it hoping someone would sign up. I was in tears when Cassian told her to keep reaching out a hand. This book made me feel so much and I feel even more in love with the ACATAR world. Oh and I learned I really do not like Amren.

2)This was a challenge and I’m pretty sure I had a breakdown or two while reading it. I had high hopes going into this book and I was super excited to read it after watching the trailer for the new movie, but I’ve learned sci-fi isn’t for me. Don’t get me wrong the story was really good and I had a fun time with the sun worms and the descriptions of Dune made me want to vacation there or just anywhere with sand dunes. However I had a really difficult time getting into the book with all the made up works I was so focused on pronouncing them and trying to keep track of what they all mean that I kept losing the story and being pulled out of the immersion of it all. I eventually bought the audible book for it and listened to it to finish it off and it made the story so much more enjoyable.

3) I have a Mount Everest addiction. I absolutely loved the movie Everest (2015) about the 1996 expedition. When I found out there was actually a book written about the fated 1996 expedition I knew I had to read it. Since learning more about the expedition and what it takes to climb the mountain I have gained even more respect for the climber. This book also set me on a path of wanting to read a bunch of non fiction book about other events I find interesting like “Jungle” by Yossi Ghinsberg as well as just reading more of Jon Krakauer’s work.

4) I had heard so many good things about Sally Rooney’s book as well as heard a bunch of good reviews regarding the TV show. This book fell flat for me. Right off the bat it was jarring to read a novel with now quotations, although I did get use to style after a couple pages. I found the characters dull and boring and honestly while trying to explain this book to a friend I couldn’t cause I don’t even know what it’s about.. I didn’t get much from this book and I still can’t even begin to describe what I read. Luckily it was pretty short so I was able to get through it quickly. Also what even was that ending? That wasn’t a ending where’s the next chapter? I struggled through this book for that?!?

5) I really wanted to try a Gillian Flynn book and considering I liked the movie (see the theme in all these books yet?) Gone girl and enjoyed it, I wanted to start with a book by her that I don’t know the ending too and sharp objects seemed like a good start and I wasn’t disappointed. This book was extremely twisted and there where a couple parts where my stomach turned. I really enjoyed reading about any interactions the main character had with her sister Amma. The first “conclusion” left me dissatisfied with thinking it was all to predictable and boring but as the last few chapters went on I was not disappointed. Definitely a good, dark, and twisted read.

6) Found this at a used book store and I was drawn in by the title. Two things you need to know about me. I love anything French and the idea of a small run down cottage in a country that I could fix up is a dream of mine! So a year in provenance had me from the title and then the summary, however I walked away from it only to constantly be thinking about it till my next day off when I zipped back to the used book store to pick it up. Luckily it was still there and I’m so happy I went back for it. This novel is so mundane and just simple. It makes me so happy reading about something I love to constantly dream about and the descriptions of food are to die for. Honestly I don’t have much to say about this book other then it’s just nice calming and mundane. A great read.

7) I have seen Brandon Sanderson books all over every social media platform known to man and I knew one day I’d have to give one of his books a try. “Mistborn” seemed liked the obvious choice but Warbreaker seemed more my pace plus a stand-alone. I honestly don’t know how to feel about this book. I like the story but I had a hard time getting into it. I think it has to do with the fact I’ve read a couple pretty heavy thinking books lately and I’m just tired from having to think while reading? If that makes sense. Ok some things I like about the story. I love Siri and her scenes with the God King. He’s just so cute if that the right word for him? Maybe innocent is better! I’m in love with the magic system and how colour plays such a important role in the story. Somethings I’m not liking which is mainly one thing is how political some of the chapters are. I understand it’s dealing with the topic of being on the brink of war but I just can’t get into the politics of war. Mind you that’s normal for me when it comes to any book that is heavy in politics! Just don’t care for it. So basically I like the in-between scheming and plotting about war parts.

8) Once again back to my movie/tv theme! I found this book in my recommendation on Amazon and after reading the summary I was sold. The premise reminded me of a old movie I watched called “Rear Window” and I was excited to compare the two. Then I found out that “Women in the Window” was being made into a movie with Amy Adams and that got me even more excited for the book! I did find that this book had a slow start but once it go going I was really into it. It was a bit predictable. I called the twist with their husband and daughter pretty early on and then with my motto expect the unexpected I figured out who the killer was pretty quickly, the how and why was tricky and that’s what kept me entertained. I love a good thriller book and o get even more excited when I pick up on the subtle clues left by the author.

[dherzogblog]

The Birth of The Daily Show: 25 Years of Fake News and Moments of Zen

It was July of 1995 and I had left MTV to become President of Comedy Central. It was the basic cable equivalent of going from the NY Yankees to an expansion team. I was on the job just two weeks when I received a call from Brillstein Grey the high powered managers of Bill Maher, host of one of the networks few original programs, "Politically Incorrect". We were informed Bill and his show would leave the network when his contract expired in 12 months. It was a done deal. Bill wanted to take his show to the "big leagues" at ABC where he would follow Night Line. Comedy Central was left jilted. Terrible news for a network still trying to establish itself. We had a year to figure out how to replace him and the clock was ticking. So began the path to The Daily Show.

It was very much a fledgling Comedy Central I joined, available in barely 35 million homes, desperately seeking an identity and an audience. It was just over three years old, born into a shot gun wedding that joined two struggling and competing comedy networks, HBO’s Comedy Channel and Viacom’s HA!, Watching them both stumble out of the gate, the cable operators forced them to merge, telling them: "We only need one comedy channel, you guys figure it out”. After some contentious negotiations the new channel was born and the red headed step child of MTV and HBO set out to find the pop culture zeitgeist its parents had already expertly navigated. The network had yet to define itself. The programming consisted mainly of old stand up specials from the likes of Gallagher (never underestimate the appeal of a man smashing watermelons), a hodgepodge of licensed movies (“The God’s Must be Crazy and The Cheech and Chong trilogy were mainstays) and Benny Hill reruns. The networks biggest hit by far was the UK import “Absolutely Fabulous”, better know as “AbFab”. Comedy Central boasted a handful of original shows, including the wonderfully sublime "SquiggleVision" of “Dr. Katz”, the sketch comedy "Exit 57" (starring the then unknown Amy Sedaris and Stephen Colbert) and of course Maher’s "Politically Incorrect". In retrospect I don’t think Bill got enough credit for pioneering the idea of political comedy on mainstream TV. Back then he was the only one doing it.

Politically Incorrect performed just fine, but got more critical attention than ratings. It was a panel show, and I had something a bit different in mind to replace it. I knew we needed a flagship, a network home base, something akin to ESPN's Sports Center where viewers could go at the end of a the day for our comedic take on everything that happened in the last 24 hours….."a daily show". I had broad idea for it in my head. I would describe it as part "Weekend Update", part Howard Stern, with a dash of "The Today Show" on drugs complete with a bare boned format to keep costs low so we could actually afford to produce it. We could open with the headlines covering the day's events (our version of a monologue), followed by a guest segment (we wouldn't need to write jokes...only questions!), and finish with a taped piece. Simple, right? We just needed someone to help flesh out our vision.

Comedy Central was a a second tier cable channel then and considered a bit of a joke (no pun intended). It had minuscule ratings, no heat and even less money to spend. Producers were not lining up to work with there. Eileen Katz ran programming for the channel and the two of us began pitching this idea to every producer who would listen. One of the first people we approached was Madeleine Smithberg, an ex Letterman producer and had overseen "The Jon Stewart Show" for us at MTV. We thought she was perfect for the role. “You can’t do this, you can’t afford this, you don't have the stomach for this, it will never work ” Madeliene said when we met with her. We could not convince her to take the gig. Ok then....we moved on. The problem was we heard that same refrain from everybody. No one wanted the job. So after weeks being turned down by literally EVERYONE, I said to Eileen: “We have to go back to Madeleine and convince her to do this with us"!

Part our pitch to her was we would go directly to series. There would be no pilot. The show was guaranteed to go on air. We had decided this show was our to be our destiny and we had to figure it out come hell or high water. As a 24 hour comedy channel, if we couldn't figure out a way to be funny and fresh every day...what good were we? We told Madeliene we were committed to putting the show on the air and keeping it there till we got it right (for at least a year anyway). That, plus some gentle arm twisting got her to sign on. Shortly after that, Lizz Winstead did too.

Madleiene and Lizz very quickly landed on their inspired notion of developing the show and format as a news parody. It brought an immediate focus and a point of view to the process . All of the sudden things started to take shape and coming to life. Great ideas started flowing fast and furious while an amazing collection of funny and talented began to come on board. Madeliene and Lizz were off to the races. Now all we needed was a host.

The prime time version of ESPN's Sports Center was hosted by Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann back then and it was must see cable TV. But I had recently started to notice another guy hosting the show's late night edition. He was funny, with a snarky delivery reminiscent of Dennis Miller. His name was Craig Kilborn. On the phone with CAA agent Jeff Jacobs one day, I asked if he knew happened to know who repped him? “I do" he said. "We just signed him”. Within days he was in my office along with Madeleine, Lizz, and Eileen who were all a bit skeptical about the tall blond guy with the frat boy vibes sitting across from them. After opening the meeting with a few off color comments that would probably get him cancelled today (an early warning sign fo sure), Craig ultimately won them over and we had our host.

FUN FAC#1: Minutes after the news of Craig's hiring went public, Keith Olberman's agent called me directly to ask why we hadn't considered hiring him?

Ok, we had a host and producers...but what to call it? After sifting through dozens of ideas for a title, Madeleine called me one day and said, "I think we should just call it what we've been calling it all along...."The Daily Show". As we approached our launch date we taped practice shows and took them out to focus groups to get real life feedback. The groups hated it.... I mean with a red hot hate. They hated Craig, the format, the jokes, everything. We were crushed and dejectedly looked around at the room at one another. "Now what?" “Either they’re wrong, or we are". I said I think they are...but it doesn’t matter, we're doing this!" We never looked back.

The show took off quickly garnering some quick buzz and attention, we felt like we had crashed the party. Well, sort of. We had no shortage of fun, growing pains and drama along the way. The Daily Show version 1.0 was about to unravel. In a December 1997 magazine interview Craig made some truly offensive and inappropriate remarks about Lizz and female members of the staff. Whether it was poor attempt at humor or just plain misogynist (or both) is beyond the point. It was all wrong, very wrong. Craig was suspended for a week without pay. Lizz left the show. In the moment I chose to protect the show and its talent more so than Lizz. That was wrong too. It's more than cringe worthy looking back now, and I regret not making some better decisions then. My loyalty to our host was later "rewarded" when in the Spring of 1998 Kilborn's team, a la Bill Maher, unceremoniously informed us he had signed a deal to follow Letterman on CBS when his contract expired at the end of the year. No discussion, a done deal. Comedy Central jilted again. Like Maher, Kilborn wanted his shot at the network big leagues and we had a little over six months to figure out how to replace him. We all know how that chapter ended. That search would eventually reunite us with Jon Stewart who along with The Daily Show took Comedy Central and basic cable to the "the big leagues" on their own terms, redefining late night comedy in the process The rest, as they say, is "Fake News" history.

Fun Fact #2: before approaching Jon (who I did not originally think would be interested) I initially offered the job to a chunkier, largely unknown Jimmy Kimmel, fresh off his co hosting duties on "Win Ben Stein's Money" ...only to have him turn us down.

My fascination with late night began as a kid. I remember how exciting it was to stay up to sneak a peek at the Carson monologue and watch him do spit takes with his chummy Hollywood guests. Later on I also loved the heady adult conversation Dick Cavett would have with everyone from Sly Stone to Groucho Marx. But it was the comedic revolution of Saturday night Live in 1975, followed by Letterman's game changing show in 1981 that truly established late night as the coolest place on the television landscape. I could only dream of one day being part of it.

25 years on, I couldn’t be more proud of The Daily Show and its legacy. Those days helping build it alongside Madeleine, Lizz, Eileen and the team were among the most satisfying (and fun) experiences I have ever had. It was thrilling to take a shot at the late night landscape and try and make our mark, especially when no one thought we could.

I am prouder still of what Trevor Noah and his staff have achieved since they took the hand off from Jon, evolving and growing the show through a new voice and lens. I think my personal "Moment Of Zen" will last as long as Trevor remains behind the desk, allowing me to selfishly boast of having hired every host this award winning and culture defining franchise has ever had.

25 years later. it remains as relevant as ever, a bona fide late night institution, standing shoulder to shoulder with all the great shows that inspired us to start.

[cadomoisspokenfor]

Legion Rewatch Notes,

Chapter 7:

The King In Yellow

Walter’s really putting his all into that whistling.

Kerry ended up losing Walter eventually. But I guess she was chased out of her hiding place by the zombies.

Theory: Much like how David feels most stable and confident when Syd’s around, Kerry feels most stable and confident when Cary’s around. She’s much less likely to lose a fight or get scared if Cary is in the vicinity. This would also explain why she feels so betrayed that Cary left her in Mental Clockworks. She works best when he’s around (power of love and all that) so when he’s not around she constantly feels like she’s on the ropes. Maybe only subconsciously though.

Lenny says “Hey” a lot.

So Farouk... actually seems distressed here. This is him at his least chill. He’s just shoved a person he actually cares about into a corner of their mind cause he just couldn’t understand them, the dream he’s created is collapsing and he has no plan on how to deal with it (rare for Farouk), and the location of his own body (his temple) is still lost to him after all this time.

Also, there’s apparently no specific place it could be. Farouk’s body could be anywhere on the globe. I guess he and everyone who knows about is aware that he could come back to his body if he knows where it is?

Even though it’s pointed out a lot I’ll also note that Charles is in his wheelchair in Amy’s flashback. And given future/past events (confusing, I know) this either means Farouk is the one who put him in a wheelchair, or whatever caused it happened between defeating Farouk and giving away baby David. And there’s... really not a lot of time in between those 2 events.

As we’ve seen before, while Farouk can probably see into Oliver’s ice cube residents, he can’t actually go inside or do anything to Oliver (or his guest) while he’s in there.

Farouk doesn’t want the dream to end until he’s located his body.

Cary is used to finishing Oliver’s sentences.

Cary and Oliver think very alike. The biggest difference between them I suppose is Oliver’s reality bending powers.

David never agreed to the barbershop quartet but Oliver put his name down anyways.

I never caught this before, but the thing that makes it obvious to Cary is the fact that the parasite called itself “King”. Before when watching this I thought “it’s just a name,” but I guess the point is... what other villain would be so hubris filled as to advertise who they are so openly. It speaks to the brazenness of Farouk. If Charles had ever checked back and found out David was talking to some invisible friend named “King” Farouk woulda been discovered then and there. I can only assume this means the name “King” was taunt of sorts. A joke only Farouk was in on. Not to mention, Farouk probably would never have settled for a name any less dignifying.

Oliver doesn’t remember any of his past friends, but he does remember Farouk. I wonder, did him and Cary hear about Farouk before or after Charles defeated him? Farouk hasn’t been publicly doing things for 30 years, and the only event that could reasonably be linked to him is Meiser Sunday. If they knew about him before Charles defeated him then that would just speak to his prolificness as a villain, I guess. “The Shadow King”, an unstoppable force for years until a random prodigy mutant gets him on his first try... or so they thought. I believe that’s how it happened in the comics too.

I’ll also note, Charles is an important figure in the mutant community, but it shouldn’t be discounted that the mutant community still existed and had a whole rich history before Charles even stepped on the scene. It seems like either Xaviers School doesn’t exist in this timeline, or they just don’t know about it. And given that, Summerland seemingly founded itself off the same general ideas of the Xavier School, but completely independently. Like 2 people coming up with the same idea on different sides of the planet.

Farouk’s weakness as Oliver puts it is, “He puts all of his energy into tricking David. Didn’t think to watch his six.” I wonder... is this a consistent weakness of Farouk’s? Could this be what Oliver means when he says he found his weakness in s2?

Oliver admits Farouk is too powerful for him. It’s not like he’s one to have a power complex, but it is interesting how shameless he is about it. He doesn’t really philosophize about that kind of thing, he’s matter of fact about it. Farouk’s got more measurable power than me, we need to find another way around him. He also notes though that *David* could defeat Farouk if need be. Everyone recognizes David as the top of the food chain.

Small note: I guess this is how it works between omega lvls. Always thinking of ways around each others raw abilities. Farouk knows David is too strong for him in s2, so he finds away around it. David knows he might not be able to hold out against Farouk’s built up experience, so he finds away around it. Brains over brawn every time, it would seem.

Cary feels really really bad for David. Seeing him screaming his brains out in a locked box knowing full well how much David hates small space. It’s very sweet. But also, 2 episodes Cary seemed a bit more standoffish about David. Knowing what he knows now recontextualized all those past events. David is a victim of something incomprehensibly terrible. He sees that now.

My boi Dan’s gonna need a lozenge after this one.

“We’re gonna need everybody.” They never get Ptonomy :/

I didn’t pick up on any of the other times, but Syd’s job here is to be a distraction. Sure, she has to protect the others in the process, but freeing them from the dream is the job of Cary, Oliver, and Melanie.

Still though, David is the victim who needs help here. He’s not the hero who saves them, he’s the one in need of saving. And Syd takes charge in the plan to do so and is tasked with protecting the others, making her once again closer to the hero archetype than David is. In the moment at least.

Syd’s talking fast cause they don’t exactly have all the time in the world here.

The zombies vanish but the architecture remains. There are “degrees” of real in the astral plane.

“Just thought it’d be interesting.” She’s over the whole “jumpscare haunted house” thing by now.

Silly me, the Melanie scene took place after Cary went to gather people. So it’s definitely Cary in the suit.

Melanie’s glad to see he’s back but she’s not completely love struck. Probably both cause he doesn’t remember her, and cause lovestruck Melanie was a result of her mind being altered to fit the delusion. Cary is guiding them out of the delusion so she’s back to her old self basically. Rational, and concerned with the mission.

This isn’t important, I just like how Melanie wakes him up here. It’s sweet, and bitter, cause it’s too late for him anyways.

Why does Farouk simulate this whole process for Rudy? What’s the use in tricking him if he already can barely do anything? We know Rudy gets him eventually, but it’s just surprising that Farouk recognizes him as being a potential threat.

Cary neglected to inform Syd who else he was personally waking.

Is Walter seeing the zombies too? Unclear. But he’s less chill about his tormenting now.

David starts using humor to cope. From what we’ve seen he’s been non-stop screaming for a while. It seems like he stops panicking as much specifically because his mind is fracturing to help him cope.

His first alter (that we see). Rational Mind.

RM says the coffin is just an “idea.” Very specific word choice there.

Rm tells him to forget all the “lies” he learned in memory work and the MRI. That was all Summerland stuff, though. “It’s your mind.” Essentially, trust yourself. You know who you are, don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise. Not even your new friends. Very reminiscent of, “You decide what is real and what is not.”

David doesn’t want to call his adoptive parents his parents anymore.

David’s happy to finally contextualize Farouk as a mutant and not a mental illness. It all starts making since to him, his whole life.

RM’s the first one to say “boohoo,” and it’s in response to David’s sadness over his bio-parents giving him away.

“I am pretty, I am loved.” “Good, keep going.” This mindset David’s falling into is specifically encouraged by his alters. In fact, it’s RM that pushes him down this path in the first place. David (non-Shadow King possessed David) has been avoiding this thought all season.

David’s a bit wrong here, and I think the difference tells us something important. David assumes Farouk possessed him after he was already living in the Haller’s house. But, we know it seemingly happened before Charles even got back from Morocco. So, given that Gabrielle’s mental health was already bad from post-partum depression (alternatively, it’s just the depression she already had) and Charles leaving her alone to go to Morocco, Farouk coming in and haunting the house probably sent things over the edge. David was most likely given away because Gabrielle wasn’t well enough to care for him like he needed, and Charles... 🤷🏾‍♀️ tbh. Might just’ve not wanted to raise David without Gabrielle. They both said they didn’t ant him to turn out like them. In s3 it’s made to seem like the house haunting was a combination of David and Farouk. David’s haunting time travelly presence probably made things worse, but Farouk would’ve gotten to the baby much sooner if not for him, and without David in the way Farouk probably would’ve upped his own intentional torments. The goal was revenge after all.

David assumes Farouk’s goal is revenge upon the whole world. Makes sense since that’s what Farouk’d been encouraging David to all season. And what he’ll continue to encourage him towards throughout s2 & 3.

Syd “woke him up.” She makes him more stable and sane. She grounds him in reality.

“I was sick, but I’m not sick anymore.” A moment of quiet deliberation with his alter and then he awakens with newfound confidence and a plan. This will repeat in a very tragic way later on.

Kerry, Syd, and a damaged comrade in a wheelchair. If I had nickel for every time this happens I’d have 2 nickels. Very weird it happens twice. Unless... mental clockworks and the end of s3 are supposed to parallel each other.

I assume the astral-plane diving suit protects whoever’s wearing it from psychic threats, much like the ice cube. At the moment, no one’s wearing it.

Sometimes psychics powers require a bit of miming to manifest. Oliver can’t just wave his hand and make a shield, not a strong enough one at least. Similarly, Farouk can’t just expand his mind into the future, he needs to go through a whole time machine building process in the astral plane.

Cary and Melanie seeing Walter get killed must hit hard for them considering he used to be a student of theirs. Sure, he turned against them, but still...

They juxtapose Walter dying with Rudy fully waking up. I wonder if that means it was his powers that were keeping Rudy docile and not necessarily the stab wound.

David is the one that wakes them all up, destroys the dream, and puts them back in their real bodies. And just in time for Cary to place the halo on his head. This is I think the first time David does a real act of super-heroism. The only potential one previously is saving Amy and he wasn’t really the one in control there. This is his first win against Farouk.

David’s not only got control of his powers, but control of himself for the first time, too. And it’s to the point where he’s perceiving things at lightning speeds and moving fast enough to catch bullets. Along with whatever power he’s using to halt the bullets momentum too. For now at least, this is our hero.

They play sinister music whenever he does the bright white light teleport. He does it again at the end of s2. Is it a specific kind of teleport, or is he just adding flair?

David didn’t teleport them directly to the base.

Kerry sadly looks at Rudy’s body.

Melanie looked around for Oliver but in doing so missed him meeting up with the others.

Everyone’s relaxing after their long fought for victory. David and Syd seem really happy. They find Oliver funny/charming.

When Cary’s talking to Kerry, in the background I can barely make out everyone else talking about potatoes.

David’s fine with Amy apologizing, just not in front of the others.

Instead of “The Poor Woodcutter and His Wife” Oliver calls it the “The story of The Lady and the Crane.”

Farouk doesn’t like small spaces either. Ha.

[crazy-loca-blog]

Personal Thoughts on... With Every Heartbeat

Note: As the title says, these are just personal opinions on Choices books and chapters. Of course, you may agree or disagree with them, I only use this platform to express my thoughts on what I read every week and what I’d like to see in the next chapters, because none of my friends play Choices so I have no one to comment the books with.

You may read my Hot Couture review here You may read my A Very Scandalous Proposal review here

And last, but not least…

There were two main reasons why I decided to leave this book as the final one to read. First, it was the fan favorite among people who had early access to the VIP feature, so I saved the best for last (based on the tester’s opinion). And second, because I knew I needed to be emotionally prepared to read it. I lost my grandpa to cancer some time ago, so I was pretty sure that this book could be helpful in my own healing process or it could break me down once again. Luckily I saw the advice about grabbing some tissues before reading it.

This book proves that it is possible to have a lot of the things that a part of the fandom currently hates (that is, a romance story, gender locked, with reused faces and a single LI who is customizable but who’s also “forced”), and to deliver quality content. It tells the story of the relationship between our MC (her default name is Sage Woods) and Dakota Winchester (our customizable LI) during their senior year at high school, and specially their journey after they realize that Dakota has cancer. It takes place in Boston, and a huge part of it takes place specifically at Edenbrook. My guess is that the story develops in parallel to Open Heart 2 (based on Harper’s role at Edenbrook and the fact that Ethan doesn’t seem to hate text messages anymore), and even though you may see a lot of familiar faces (such as Ethan, Harper, the paramedic and the nurses), the only Open Heart character that is somehow relevant is Danny, Sienna’s “special friend” the nurse.

Saying this book is beautiful is an understatement. Despite there is a lot going on in the story, PB made a wonderful job balancing everything, to the point that you may not notice how many topics are being addressed at the same time because the story still flows and you don’t feel like you’re missing anything. It is pretty evident that the writers thought about every single detail and that they put a lot of love and respect on it. One of the main reasons why I find it so unique is the fact that the story seems to be narrated from our MC’s and Dakota’s point of view at the same time. Every chapter begins with Dakota basically introducing what’s going to happen in the story and the MC making some comment about it.

Also, despite the fact that it addresses a heavy topic such as severe illnesses and heavy treatments in kids and teenagers, pity is nowhere to be seen. In fact, I’d say the story is full of hope, happiness, positivity and peace, despite the heartbreaking moments at some points of the book. It also balances the powerful main plot (dealing with cancer) with some other recurring stuff that teenagers face during senior year: school, graduation, university applications, self-discovery, sexuality, the relationship with our parents, reaching the majority of age, friendship, growing up, the future… it’s definitely the whole package.

As per the characters, I have some mixed feelings. There are some outstanding characters such as Dakota (my absolute favorite!), the MC, Mateo, Lennox and the MC’s mom. But at the same time, there are characters such as Heather, Jayden and Emily that I wouldn’t miss if they weren’t there. I understand it was necessary to add characters for the school setting, but it felt weird to see them in Edenbrook after Dakota mentioned they weren’t close friends. Despite this, the character treatment and their development is simply amazing (and honestly, I would have never guessed why Amy, our BFF, and even our own mom didn’t want us to not be involved with Dakota at first… those were good plot twists!).

Another aspect that I absolutely loved about the book is that it makes you feel that your diamonds are worthy. It’s definitely not as expensive as the other two VIP books (or at least that’s what I felt), and you don’t have mood boards or a lot of clothes. Instead, you spend your diamonds on scenes, so you can expect a lot of nice, sweet content for your money diamonds. Also, throughout the story, you’ll realize that Dakota is worth every single diamond, even if that means buying a new dress just because you want to make them happy.

I don’t know if any of the writers in the team went through something similar in the past, but I’m overwhelmed by the level of accuracy throughout the book. There were some phrases and situations that took me back to my own experience years ago. The chemo, the hospital visits, the improvements that give you some hope, the strength you must have when things get harder… the story is a rollercoaster, just as it is the whole situation in real life. Will I replay this book? Definitely, but I need to be emotionally strong to do it (now I’m a mess, you wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve had to stop writing this post because I can’t stop crying, hahaha). In the meantime, I’m really hoping to see it released to everyone, as I’m pretty sure this book is going straight to the “masterpiece” category.

[andrewmoocow]

Steven Universe Alternate Future chapter 6: Why so Blue? (originally published on January 11, 2021)

Author's Note: This is one chapter I've been excited to write. In my opinion, Lapis is my favorite character because aside from having cool powers and being pretty, I also relate to her a lot because I've been through a lot of suffering like her. Though thankfully, I wasn't caught up in warfare, trapped in a mirror for thousands of years, and finally released only to be trapped in a walking, talking abusive relationship under the sea; just some standard bullying by people who love pushing my buttons, being framed for something I obviously didn't do that forced me to drop out of my first high school following first semester of freshman year. But enough about my life story, onto my #1 Gem waifu!

Synopsis: Steven and Lapis try to confront a pair of Lapises that continue terraforming worlds.

Cast:

Zach Callison as Steven

Jennifer Paz as Lapis Lazuli, Mean Lapis, Nice Lapis

Amy Sedaris as Blue Zircon

--

"Thanks for the help Lapis." Steven thanked Lapis Lazuli as they planted some new flowers in his conservatory. "These blue hyacinth flowers really tie the place together."

"You're welcome, Steven," Lapis replied with a smile. "Peridot helped me pick these out from the greenhouse. You know, it's funny. The two of us didn't get along at first, me more than Peridot to be honest, but thanks to you, we're basically inseparable."

"Aw shucks Lapis, was nothing." Steven blushed, just as the communication console nearby began to light up. "Hang on, I think this one's for me."

When Steven turned it on, a particular Gem who he barely got to know greeted him. "Oh hey, you're that Zircon from my trial! How are things?"

"Going pretty good." The defense Zircon answered. "Ever since the other Zircon and I were unbubbled at the start of Era 3, we've left our lawyer days behind in favor of politics. With the Diamonds essentially no longer in power, Homeworld had decided to turn to democracy when the caste system was dissolved."

"It's nice to hear some more good news," Lapis interjected. "but why did you call us?"

"Oh yes, that." Blue Zircon realized before she conjured up a hologram with her monocle. "Rumor has it that despite the caste system's end, there are at least two Gems who continue to terraform regardless of the end of colonization. Last we heard, they were busy remodeling the former Blue Diamond colony Aozul 2."

"Wait, terraform?" Lapis said with surprise at the mention of her old duties. "Are they other Lapis Lazulis by any chance?"

"Yes, that is why I contacted you today." Blue Zircon continued explaining. "Why do you ask?"

"I think I might remember them from when I was a terraformer." Lapis revealed, before she turned to the Warp Pad. "That's why I'm coming with you, Steven."

"Alright then." Steven agreed. "Who knows? Maybe we can get them to come to Little Homeschool."

"I'm not too sure about that, Steven." Lapis nervously replied before they stepped on the Warp Pad and activated it, taking off for Aozul 2.

--

On the other Warp Pad that dropped Steven and Lapis off was Aozul 2, a gorgeous-looking moon orbiting a yellow planet thriving with unique wildlife. Though the pair was amazed by the nature around them, they still had a mission to do.

"Let's not get distracted, this may not take long." Steven said as he stepped off the Pad. "Most Gems come around pretty quickly when I invite them to Little Homeworld in person."

"What a beautiful place." Lapis muttered in awe, distracting her from the strange little native creature they almost stepped on. "Wait!"

Looking down, Steven and Lapis found a cute flower bud-like alien with its petals opened up. "Whoa, thanks for the save Lapis." Steven thanked his blue buddy before kneeling to pet the creature. "Hey, little buddy."

The creature closed its petals in fright and raced into a nearby bush, making more of its kind nervously emerge in front of Steven. "It's okay Flower Buddies." He chuckled at his name for the creatures as they began to crawl all over him, now no longer seeing the boy as a danger. "Haha, whoa now!"

"Wow, Steven, it took you all of five seconds to make a new friend. You must be getting rusty." Lapis commented as she approached the Flower Buddy resting in Steven's arms and began to pet it gently. "You know, I used to never notice creatures like this. Before arriving on Earth, I used to not think twice about terraforming, never taking a moment to appreciate what I was destroying." The Buddy smiled at Lapis and began to open its petals for her as well. "Life is so precious. And these guys remind me of Pumpkin in particular."

The other Buddies began to blossom, only to just as quickly close up their petals as the silhouette of a figure similar to Lapis zoomed over them.

"Uh, Steven?" Lapis brought her friend's attention to the figures flying around and conjuring up water to cause untold chaos upon Aozul 2.

After putting the Flower Buddy down, Steven made his way to the edge of a cliff to get a better look at the pair. From what he could gather, one of the Lapides had her gemstone on her stomach, darker colored skin and hair than the one he knew, the hair was done up in a ponytail, and had gold-colored freckles on her cheeks. The other Lapis had her gem on her shoulder, light azure skin, and medium-blue curly hair.

"So, the rumors were true." Steven wondered as the pair of Lapises continued their path of destruction, laughing all the way.

"You think that Zircon called us because they didn't get your message?" Lapis asked Steven while gazing upon the terraformers' progress.

"I'm sure they did." Steven replied assuredly. "Everyone did, but I'll try and get them to stop."

"This may be harder than you think." Lapis added as her fellow Lazulis flew closer to the pair, using their powers to cut a massive rock in half and terrifying the Flower Buddies.

"Hey, stop!" Steven called to the blue Gems, who reacted to their work's sudden intrusion by preparing to launch a massive tidal wave at the pair. Steven was ready however, and defended himself and Lapis with his shield.

"Wait, that's Steven Universe!" the ponytailed Lapis cried as she grabbed her partner's arm. "And is that who I think it is with him?"

"He's smaller than I thought." The curly-haired Lapis replied when she came to the same realization as her fellow Lazuli. "No way!"

"You guys!" Lapis squealed in delight, causing the other two to cheer happily as well. "Oh my gosh, it's been ages!" she yelled as the two Lapises raced down to hug her. "I haven't seen you two since I was sent down to Earth!"

"Wait, you all know each other?" Steven asked the three terraformers.

"Yeah, we go way back with ol' 3E8C-4XF here." The stomach gem Lapis remarked. "That's her facet and cut, by the way. I'm 2F8D-9ZE, and Curls here is 1J9G-5KL."

"Yeah, the three of us were an unstoppable terraforming trio back in the day." 1J9G-5KL snidely explained with a flip of her hair. "Tearing planets apart, taking names, and looking cool while doing it!"

"But then I was given a solo mission to Earth, which was how I got caught up in the Rebellion, and here we are." Lapis continued for her old friends.

"We're just so glad you're okay!" 2F8D-9ZE exclaimed happily. "So anyway, what do you think? We're just about almost done with this world. Exemplary work, no?"

"And we don't need the extra help." 1J9G-5KL said meanly. "So it was nice catching up, but please, ta-ta."

"Look, we came here because you gotta stop." Steven explained to the Lapides. "The Diamonds don't control you anymore. Didn't you get my message?"

"Yeah, we did." Freckles nodded.

"So, you don't have to terraform for them anymore." Steven continued. "You're free to do whatever you want now! In fact, we want to offer you the chance to come learn at Little Homescho-"

"Oh, so this is all some big misunderstanding?" Freckles interrupted Steven.

"This has got to be a joke." Curls rolled her eyes. "Like, terraforming is what we like to do, and now you're saying we shouldn't do it anymore?!"

"Oh, here we go." Lapis groaned. "1J9G was always pretty passionate about her work."

"You're getting it wrong." Steven tried to ease the tension. "You can do whatever you like! As long as nothing gets destroyed and nobody gets hurt."

"That's not what you said a sec ago!" Curls pointed out. Freckles tried to speak, but Curls shushed her by forcing her mouth shut with a finger. "Are you listening to yourself right now?"

"Why should we stop?" Freckles lowered Curls' finger to ask.

"Because it's wrong!" Lapis answered, becoming irritated with her former partners' behavior.

"Wait, wait, wait." Freckles said, gesturing to the destruction she and Curls caused. "How can what we were made to do suddenly be soo-oo taboo now? At least let us get back to work, we're almost done with Aozul 2 here!"

"Team huddle?" Steven nervously muttered to Lapis.

"Team huddle." Lapis replied, slowly retreating into the cobalt-leafed forest away from the other Lapides. "We'll be back with you in a bit, girlfriends."

--

"You're right. This is harder than usual." Steven said to Lapis as they hid in the bushes.

"You've gotta force them to stop." Lapis suggested while spying on her old friends from the foliage. "This is definitely gonna be a fight. They're not nice like what I became. 1J9G was always the alpha of our little trio, ordering us around and treating lower-ranked Gems like trash. 2F8D, on the other hand was more of the follower, as loyal to 1J9G as a Pearl is to their Diamond. I, on the other hand, was essentially the third wheel, mostly existing to follow along with them."

"So you guys were basically high school mean girls?" Steven compared Lapis's former situation to fiction. "Did any of you play the Gem version of croquet in your spare time, or wear pink on Wednesdays?"

"This is nothing like those movies, Steven." Lapis stated.

"Well maybe like those girls in the movies, they just don't know what they're doing isn't nice." Steven tried to assure his azure friend. "You get it, what made things click for you?"

"A cycle of horrible torture that I came close to repeating myself." Lapis gravely answered, much to Steven's fright. "But also like, living in nature and making meep morps."

"Yeah, that's it!" Steven cheered quietly. "Come on, we can do that for them."

"C'mon, not even a little torture?" Lapis asked while squeezing her hands together.

"No torture, just the other stuff." Steven decided against any lethal force before he and Lapis returned to the water Gems.

--

"Geez, what's taking those two so long?" the Mean Lapis asked impatiently while waiting for Steven and her fellow Lapis to return.

"I'm starting to get wet here." The Nice Lapis added, prompting her curly-haired buddy to turn to her with a raised eyebrow of disbelief. "I'm trying to make it a catchphrase. It depends on the context, in this case, I'm getting bored."

"Well, I urge you not to make that happen." 1J9G commanded, just as Steven and Lapis finally reemerged from the bushes, waving to them while walking backwards. "Oh, look who finally decided to come back."

"Okay, we've come to a decision." Steven declared. "Why don't we show you fun things you can do on Earth other than causing mass destruction?"

"Should we listen to him?" 1J9G asked 2F8D.

"He's only half-Diamond, so maybe we should half-listen to him." 2F8D suggested.

"I'll take that as a yes." Steven answered, trying to hide his eye twitching at being called a mere half-Diamond, before taking the two terraformers into the forest. "Let's go."

--

Once within the extraterrestrial woods, Steven began to show the Lapides around, trying to get them to appreciate the beauty of nature. "It's a beautiful day here. Fresh air, pretty trees, peaceful wildlife. Any life-changing epiphanies yet?"

"It's so bright." 2F8D observed as she gazed directly into the sun.

"No duh, Too-Eff." 1J9G rudely replied while poking on a leaf with a stick. "I only prefer two colors, rocks and mud. Right?"

"Well, I have to admit," 2F8D said as she continued looking at the sun. "that sun is a real pretty shade of-"

"I said, right 2F8D?" 1J9G cut her friend off.

"Uh yeah, rocks and mud!" 2F8D laughed nervously, her pupils rapidly darting around while holding her hands behind her back.

"I understand you don't see the beauty with this, but I know you will with time, girls." Lapis said. "There was a time where I didn't appreciate organic life as well, much like you guys. But I learned of how beautiful it can be. Maybe you can try something like this."

Gazing at the small puddle of mud in front of her, Lapis began to conjure up a strange shape from the wet dirt.

"This is what we call art, or in Lapis's terms, a meep morp." Steven demonstrated. "And it can be made out whatever you want to be, whether it be nature or just random junk you find lying around."

"So you can do whatever you want with your powers," 1J9G asked. "but you choose to make junk."

"It doesn't have to be like that." Lapis answered, continuing to toy with the mud. "You can make anything with a little imagination."

As an example, Lapis shifted the mud to take the form of a lawnchair for Steven to sit on, along with a drink and sunglasses. When Steven drank out of the mud-made cup, he immediately spat it out.

"So lifelike, I almost forgot!" Steven exclaimed in realization as the mud fell apart.

"That's it?" 1J9G muttered with a tilt of her head.

"It's more satisfying than you think it is." Lapis claimed. "Go ahead, give it a shot."

"But what can we make?" 2F8D asked, scratching her chin as she examined the wilderness around them.

"Didn't you listen, dummy?" 1J9G responded while conjuring up some water. "They said we could make anything!"

"Right, anything!" 2F8D said as the two turned the water into the shape of a ball. "I totally knew that."

"That's it!" Lapis cheered for her former friends. "Try making some other shapes, it can be anything you want!"

The Lapides listened as they made the water ball grow spikes before flattening it into a sawblade that they tossed in-between Steven & Lapis, cutting down a mountain behind them in two.

"Wow, you just made our jobs easier!" 1J9G cackled and pointed at the fallen rock behind the two Crystal Gems.

"We'll have this planet cleaned up in no time!" 2F8D agreed with a laugh.

"Steven, this isn't working." Lapis muttered fearfully, prompting Steven to try something else.

"Looks like you two still have some energy to let out." Steven laughed. "Maybe you should try something more physical, like dancing!"

"Dance?" 1J9G wondered while Steven pulled out his phone. "And what is that thing in your hand?"

"Just watch us." Steven stated as he turned on some funky music for he and Lapis to dance to on his phone, as another demonstration to the Lapides. Although 1J9G was unimpressed, she noticed 2F8D starting to get into the groove as she swayed her arms from side to side.

Steven and Lapis took this as a breakthrough and continued dancing to the music, but then their gems started to glow by complete accident. "WHOA!" they exclaimed in unison, stopping their dance to keep the glowing down.

"Almost fused there, Lapis." Steven chuckled.

"Yeah, wouldn't want a repeat of Peridot." Lapis replied.

"Uh, who's Peridot?" 1J9G asked while ordering 2F8D to stop dancing with a mean look.

"Only Lapis's best friend!" Steven exclaimed with a hand on his Lapis's shoulder.

"Yeah, you can meet all types of people on Earth, humans and Gems." Lapis said. "Peridot and I got off on the wrong foot because when we first met, I was basically her hostage in an invasion of Earth." She continued explaining. "But over time, we grew closer thanks to Steven's influence and even had our own home in this little barn, but then due to circumstances I'd rather not get into at the moment, we just kinda drifted apart for a bit. We did eventually get back together, but when Little Homeschool first started, we unfortunately didn't have as much time to enjoy our shared inter-"

Before Lapis could finish, the other Lapises started laughing. "Really, you and a low-class Gem like a Peridot?!" 1J9G guffawed, forcing the primary Lapis to scowl at the pair.

"What's next, an Aquamarine fusing with a Ruby?!" 2F8D let out a loud wheeze.

"Funny story, actually." Steven began, but 1J9G cut him off.

"Look, we don't wanna hear anymore, kid." The Lapis snarked. "We know you want to do what's best for everyone or some stupid stuff like that, but we decided on what's best for us, and that's terraforming." She stated. "Now, please, run along back to your little school before you make me slap your face off."

"Geez, Jay-Nine, no need to threaten him like that." 2F8D tried to convince her pal otherwise.

"He's threatening our way of life, you clod!" 1J9G yelled at 2F8D, who reflexively knelt and cowered. "If you think a little kid like him is right, then why don't you come with them?"

"Gee, 2F8D has real bad taste in friends." Steven whispered to Lapis.

"It's like I said, One-Jay really liked to order us around." Lapis replied. "She also really doesn't like it whenever what she says gets questioned."

"Now, if you'll excuse us 3E8C," 1J9G finally said while turning away from her belligerent friend. "we're gonna go back to work, so no more interruptions."

"Y-yeah, let's get back to it!" 2F8D meekly added.

Ironically, the pair was stopped from flying away when Lapis finally spoke up. "I get it." She said to her old friends. "All this won't make you feel good right away, maybe not even at all. You guys are just afraid of change after thousands of years doing one thing, but they can help you navigates new ways of feeling. If you aren't into dancing, maybe singing would be more your speed."

Lapis prepared to demonstrate, but then she started hesitating for a bit. But thanks to some encouragement from Steven, she worked up the bravery and finally started to sing. "Oooo-ooo-oooh, why so bluuuu-uuuu-uuue? So many shades of sorrow got mixed into my hue." Lapis began. "And each new moment just astounds me, so much I wanna do. I finally feel my colors shining through."

The other Lapides began following their former friend as she gazed into her reflection in a puddle. "I'm tired of the fighting, I'm tired of the blame." Lapis continued as she reminisced on her struggles. "That mirror was a prison, and fusion was the same. What's with these new sensations that suddenly appear?! Deep as the roaring ocean, free as the atmosphere!"

Racing away from the puddle, Lapis excitedly pushed back some leaves to show her ex-partners more of Aozul 2's beauty as her song reached its high point. "Oooo-ooo-oooh, why so bluuuu-uuuu-uuue? So many different reasons, but are they really true?" Lapis began to finish as she knelt to watch the Flower Buddies surrounding her. "I wanna keep on going, wanna be right here with you. I'd love to see your colors shining throoooo-ooough." The Buddy that made its territory in Lapis's lap then blossomed for her. "I'd love to see your colors shining through."

Despite what Steven and Lapis believed the song would do, 1J9G laughed mockingly at her, and 2F8D was ordered to do the same with a poke to the elbow. "You really expect us to dance and sing like we're Pearls?!" 1J9G said derisively. "Look, Steven Universe, you already got 3E8C doing it for you! I mean, did you make her like this, or was she this much of a loser?!"

"You never bothered to ask what I liked back in the day!" Lapis angrily said before her curly-bobbed ex-friend grabbed her by the shirt collar.

"Listen 3E8C," 1J9G commanded Lapis just as angrily. "you and that so-called Diamond are going to leave this planet so we can get back to doing what we want to do, not be reconditioned into following everything you say with a dumb song! End, of, discussion."

"You don't have to be so cruel!" Steven yelled at 1J9G. "And you don't have to be such a horrible friend ei-"

"Did I stutter?" 1J9G continued as she glared daggers at Steven before turning away from him. "Come on 2F8D, let's get back to work."

"Yeah, see ya." 2F8D replied and said farewell to Steven before they flew off. "It was wet seeing you again 3E8C!"

"CONTEXT!" 1J9G yelled.

Steven was just about ready to give up, but Lapis just started angrily as her fellow Lapides got back to terraforming. "That's it!" she declared. "I've had enough of you two!"

"But, you promised we wouldn't fight!" a worried Steven reminded Lapis.

"If we had done this my way, we could've gotten this done way earlier!" Lapis replied before she flew up to her former friends. "Hey girls, that's enough!"

"Oh, look who it is." 1J9G grinned sneakily.

"You finally come to give us a hand?" 2F8D asked.

"You could say that." Lapis smiled before she spawned a pair of water hands from below, and used them to flick 1J9G and 2F8D away.

"Did she just do that?" 2F8D said, recoiling from the attack.

"Yeah, she did." 1J9G replied as she got an idea. "So, you can make hands, huh?" she said as she and her beleaguered partner formed a water hand of their own. "Okay if we try?"

The giant hand slapped Lapis away towards Steven, who summoned his shield to catch her and protect himself from the water. "Lapis," Steven cried. "are you okay?"

"I'm okay, just stay out of this!" Lapis demanded Steven before she flew back up and sprouted another pair of water wings that she turned into fists. "DORARARARARARARARARARARARA!" She yelled while unleashing her fury on 1J9G. "DORA!"

1J9G was thrust out of the sky and almost crashed onto the ground, until 2F8D caught her with a water hand.

"You alright?" 2F8D said sympathetically.

"I'm fine, you big baby." 1J9G growled and rubbed her head just as Lapis tried to restrain the two with chains made of water, but were nimbly dodged. "Water chains?"

"You really need to stop teaching us these wet new things!" 2F8D giggled, invoking another angry glare from 1J9G, before they created chains of their own to restrain Lapis and pin her to the cliff face.

"Lapis!" Steven cried for his Beach Summer Fun Buddy.

"We really gotta hand it to you." 2F8D said. "This new stuff you're showing us isn't actually useless."

Once again, the Lapides created a sawblade. But this time, instead of chopping a mountain in two, they had darker intentions for it. The blade was tossed straight at the seemingly powerless Lapis, and Steven couldn't help but watch.

"OH NO!" Steven yelled. But suddenly, the saw stopped right in front of Lapis's face and was reduced back into droplets as the earth shook around everyone. Water from all around began to surround her, washing over the other terraformers along the way as Lapis formed a massive watery figure wielding a harpoon around her.

"WHO'S DULL NOW?!" Lapis boomed, terrifying 2F8D into hugging 1J9G for protection while Lapis prepared to land the killing blow. "WHO'S PITIFUL NOW?!"

However, when Lapis turned to Steven with a sadistic grin, his disappointed expression made her realize what she's become. After the water figure fell apart, Lapis returned to the cliff's edge in exhaustion.

"You okay?" Steven asked while having one of the Flower Buddies in his arms.

"I'm fine." Lapis answered as the Buddy jumped into her embrace. "Sorry about losing control there."

As the water receded, the Lapides sat there stunned as Steven and Lapis flew down to face them.

"It's over now." Lapis declared to her ex-friends. "No more fighting. Okay?"

"Fine by me." 1J9G said with a smirk.

"Yeah, that was so wet back there!" 2F8D smiled earnestly, with Lapis giving her a confused stare this time.

"And no more terraforming too. Promise?" Lapis suggested.

"Oh, we'll do anything you say now!" 2F8D exclaimed cheerfully.

"After that ridiculous show of strength, we're at your command!" 1J9G added.

"No, that wasn't strength!" Lapis said hotly. "That was weakness! Patience takes strength; restraint takes strength!" Before Lapis could finish, she just decided to stop and walked away. "And I don't have the strength to deal with you anymore."

Before he could follow Lapis, Steven fished some brochures from his jacket pocket that he handed to the Lapides. "Here, have some Little Homeschool brochures. In case you change your mind." He offered before walking off after her.

--

After Steven and Lapis left Aozul 2, 1J9G and 2F8D sat on a rock reading through the brochures Steven gave them. While 2F8D was growing interested in the opportunities Little Homeschool had for her, 1J9G wasn't amused.

"So what, it's not just dancing and singing like Pearls?" 1J9G complained. "We have to do all this other junk too? This totally goes against what we were made for!"

"Yeah, but as Steven said, we can do whatever we want now!" 2F8D exclaimed as she pointed at some of the activities. "Like, gardening, for example! Isn't that wet?"

"Stop trying to make 'wet' happen!" 1J9G yelled. "It's never going to happen!"

After having her attempts at a catchphrase ruined, 2F8D clenched her fist and worked up some courage to tell her so-called friend the truth. "Hey, Little Homeschool also gives us opportunities to make new friends outside of our old castes. And I mean actual friends, not Gems who relentlessly pick on you for the stupidest of things."

"Is this about our bond?" 1J9G growled. "I'm totally your friend! I just have a different way of expressing it!"

"Yeah, well, Steven treats 3E8C with some level of respect and kindness!" 2F8D argued back. "You ever heard of either of those terms before?"

"This isn't funny Two-Eff." 1J9G growled. "We are not going to that stupid school. And you will stick with me, no matter what! End. Of. Discussion!"

However, 1J9G realized a bit too late that 2F8D had already left her, and was already racing to the Warp Pad with one of the Flower Buddies under her arm.

"Sorry One-Jay, but I'm going off to learn how to be nice to people!" 2F8D said rapidly before the Warp Pad took her away from Aozul 2. "OKAY, BYYYYYEEE!"

And so, 1J9G was left utterly alone on the blue-colored moon. Alone and positively furious. As she began angrily chopping down trees with her powers, a black dropship slowly dropped into Aozul's atmosphere.

--

Night fell by the time Steven and Lapis finally returned to Little Homeschool. Still guilty for giving in to her anger, Lapis sat forlornly on the Warp Pad, only for Steven to seat himself next to her.

"I wish I hadn't done that." Lapis moaned. "They just reminded me so much of myself, and how I acted in the past. All high and mighty with no regard for anyone but myself."

"Hey, don't beat yourself up." Steven gave his blue friend a comforting smile. "You've grown a lot since I first broke you out of that mirror, but everything takes time. It's not your fault those two are still stuck in their ways."

As Lapis smiled back, the Warp Pad activated once again. This time, 2F8D stood behind them, and a Flower Buddy peeked from behind her. "Hey, is this that school you were talking about?" 2F8D asked sheepishly. "One-Jay and I had a disagreement, so now I want to learn what real friends are like."

The Flower Buddy stepped up from behind 2F8D and nuzzled itself on Lapis's leg. "I also brought this little guy along as a way of saying sorry." 2F8D continued. "Hope you like him."

"I love him." Lapis said as she picked the Buddy up. "Thanks Zuli."

"Zuli?" the Lapis now known as Zuli asked.

"Yeah, 2F8D might be hard to remember." Lapis explained. "Just came up with that nickname off the top of my head. You like it?"

"I love it!" Zuli cheered. "So, when can I start school?"

"Doesn't matter." Steven answered.

"Yeah, welcome to Earth." Lapis responded.

--

Back on Aozul 2, 1J9G continued terraforming the little moon to vent her stress, leaving a trail of fallen trees and small dirt canyons in her wake.

"I can't believe that freckled clod just ditched me like that!" 1J9G shrieked furiously. "She just fell for that kid's games, and then ran off!" Amid her ranting, the curly-haired Lapis began to cry. "Is this how he gets his sick kicks, just tearing apart friendships like that?! I'm gonna make him pay for stealing my friends when I find him again!"

Just then, some of the trees 1J9G didn't chop down started rustling, frightening her. "Who's there?" she began panicking. "Did you realize you made a huge mistake and come crawling back to me?"

However, 1J9G realized she wasn't talking to 2F8D. Instead, a large, grey hand with a white topaz on the back emerged from the foliage, and reached out for her.

--

Ominous, isn't it?! This was real great to write, especially since as mentioned above, Why so Blue is my favorite episode of Future. Hope you liked how I expanded on the Lapises and their backstory, and are excited for what I got next. Because on the next chapter of Steven Universe: Alternate Future, we aren't moving onto Little Graduation, that's the start of Part 2. Instead, we get onto cut content territory with Rhodonite's backstory at last. In the meantime, I'd really like this series to get mentioned on TV Tropes like my other written works.

[singledarkshade]

Magical Mix Up

Chapter Four

(Chapter Three can be found here)

Rip turned when Amy arrived at his side with a mug of tea. He took it with a slight smile before placing it on the table beside the courier he was building. It was not easy doing it from memory with his currently fuzzy brain, but he was getting there. Once he finished it then the next part would be to tune it to the frequency of the Waverider’s engines and time travel matrix, which would be the really tricky part. However, the Doctor seemed convinced he could help with that. Rip had to admit that this was an interesting ship, there seemed to be no obvious pattern to the layout, and the tech was beyond his own. He would love to spend some time investigating it.

“How are you doing?” Amy asked softly when she placed a plate with some chocolate biscuits next to him.

Rip looked up at her and could see the worry in her eyes for her husband, “Hopefully I should be finished soon. Normally I could make this quicker but after my last trip through the vortex I’m a little slower than I usually am.”

Amy laughed, “You seem to be doing alright.”

Sighing Rip shrugged, “This is familiar to me. Making things and fixing things always helped me relax when I was stressed.”

“So, you make a lot of things that let you travel in time?” Amy asked amused.

Rip laughed softly, “Actually, yes.” He could see she wanted to ask and decided to help ease her mind, “I was raised by an organisation called the Time Masters who trained me to guard the timeline. My ship, the Waverider, is more than likely where your husband is being held. I know that ship better than anyone because I basically rebuilt it. Multiple times in fact.”

“Is Rory safe there?”

Rip nodded, “He will be. If they think he’s me with missing memories then they’ll be trying to get him to remember,” he gave an amused smile, “If a friend of mine is still with the team then I’m hoping he’ll work out Rory isn’t me. If he doesn’t, I will never let him forget.”

Amy smiled at him, and squeezed his hand, “We’ll get you home too.”

“Thank you, Amy.”

Amy left her husband’s double to work while she went to check in with the Doctor. Spending time with Rip, she could see the differences that only someone who knew one of them well would and hoped one of the people who had grabbed Rory was able to see them too.

“Doctor,” she called, finding him with his head buried in the chest he kept in the console room, “What are you looking for?”

He looked up, dazed slightly at the movement, before replying, “Rip needs some elion crystals for his version of the vortex manipulator. I know I have a few but can’t quite find the bag.”

The end of his sentence was slightly muffled as he stuck his head in the box once more. Amy winced as she heard things clattering and smashing before the Doctor emerged with a small black velvet pouch in his hand.

“Found them,” he cried, bouncing to his feet, “Come on, Pond. Let’s pass these to our guest.”

Amy followed him, finally asking, “Doctor?”

“Yes?”

“Surely you know how to make one of these,” Amy noted, “So, why let him do it?”

The Doctor stalled and turned to her, “Because this is his technology, I don’t have the precise knowledge he does, and it won’t be as accurate for tracking the ship. Besides he obviously needs something to do, and I don’t want him messing with the TARDIS.”

He started walking again, stalling once more when Amy asked, “So are Time Masters and Time Lords related somehow?”

Turning to her, he demanded, “Time Masters?”

“That’s who Rip said raised him,” Amy explained, confused as the Doctor slammed his hand to his cheek with wide-eyed astonishment.

“Of course, he’s that Rip Hunter,” the Doctor shook his head before starting to walk again, “Well that explains the knowledge of time travel devices.”

“You know a lot of people called Rip Hunter?” Amy sighed, even more confused.

Amy managed to catch up just before the Doctor entered the small room Rip was using.

“Here,” the Doctor place the pouch beside the other man, “Elion crystals.”

Rip nodded and gently slid several out onto the table, quickly finding one that fit his requirements. Amy and the Doctor watched him place it in the casing before finishing the final few connections and snapping it shut, “Done.”

“Excellent,” the Doctor said, “Let’s get to the control room and we can use that, along with the trail we followed to find Rory.”

 Rip was relieved he managed to create the new courier so quickly. And he was right, sitting here working on it made him relax so his mind felt clearer. Following the Doctor and Amy through the corridors of the ship, he tried to work out what kind of vessel it was. There were no windows showing space or the time stream, not to mention there was no flow to the corridors. Stepping into the control room, Rip knew the Doctor’s technology was leagues ahead of the Waverider.

“Okay,” the Doctor brought up several schematics, “This is the original energy trace we detected in the hospital where Rory works,” he pointed to the top line, “And this is the one that found you,” he pointed to the bottom line.

Rip nodded and checking the information began to calibrate the courier, happy that it only took a few minutes before he found it.

“Got it,” he smiled at the nervously bouncing Amy.

The Doctor pulled out a long wire and offered it to him, “Plug it in and we’ll follow the trail to give us a destination.”

Rip followed the instruction then moved to join the Doctor and Amy at the other screen. Hope filled him when they got a lock and the screen lit up showing a pathway through the timestream to…

“Ancient Rome,” the Doctor said, “Oh that is unfortunate.”

Confused, Rip asked, “Why?”

“Because Rory and Rome,” Amy sighed, “Are not a good combination.”

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

 Rory groaned as he managed to pull himself up out of the awkward angle he’d been thrown into. Thankfully he had no broken bones, and nothing seemed to be bleeding. Looking around he saw that the door to his cell was now open. Rory eased his way out of the room watching for any of the people who had put him in there.

He could hear shouts from nearby, from the small snatches he could hear it sounded as though someone was trapped. Part of Rory wanted to go help but he knew that if he did then he would end up back in the cell once more. The nurse part of him was shoved to the back as the Centurion took control and heading away from the group, he was relieved to find an exit to the ship which was half open. Climbing onto the crates sitting in the room, Rory managed to squeeze out of the door and quickly looked around. There were some rocks not far from where he was, and he ran towards them quickly. Reaching a safe haven, for now, Rory turned and stared in amazement at the ship in front of him. Blinking as it suddenly disappeared, Rory realised they must have fixed a few things and would soon be looking for him.

Luckily just beyond the rocks where he was hiding were several trees that he could use as cover to find himself a safe space. Moving quickly Rory reached the trees and hugged the tree line to give him as much protection as possible. Reaching the edge, he walked a few feet beyond finding he was on a hill and looking down relief filled him.

The Centurion was home.

 Sara sighed in relief when they managed to release Jax from the engine room finding he wasn’t injured and Zari called down to let them know she’d managed to fix the shielding so the ship wouldn’t be visible, wherever they were.

“Is everyone okay?” John asked.

“Zari was a little banged up,” Sara told him, “But I’m okay, Jax?”

Jax nodded, “I’ve been better but I’m fine. You?”

“Yeah,” John shrugged, before asking, “What about Rip?”

Sara’s eyes widened and she darted off to the cells without replying, hearing the two men following her. Reaching the open door, she skidded to a halt finding an empty cell.

“That’s not good,” Jax grimaced.

Taking a slow breath Sara turned to them, “John, you come with me and we’ll look for him, he can’t have got far. Jax, you and Zari fix the ship. Focus on making sure we can secure Rip once we find him again.”

Jax nodded and Sara grimaced, this was the last thing they needed with the ship out of order but turning to John she said, “Let’s go.”

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

 “Bollocks.”

Cisco turned in surprise to where Gideon was sitting at the unexpected swearing coming from the former AI.

“What?” he asked.

Gideon let out an annoyed sigh, “The Legends obviously did not follow my instructions implicitly and skipped a few steps. Therefore, the engines fired and threw them through the time stream.”

Cisco grimaced, “That is bad.”

“Extremely,” she frowned, “This means my ship has crashed in the past, very possibly contaminating the timeline.”

“Can you track it?” Cisco moved to her side.

Gideon smiled at him smugly, “Of course I can, Mr Ramon. I ensured one of the steps they would not skip implanted a trail for the time sphere to follow.”

“So, where are they?” Cisco asked.

“Rome,” Gideon brought up the details, “Neither of our outfits are suitable for the time-period. We need attire that will not draw attention and possibly some weapons that we can conceal but access easily. Just in case.”

Cisco frowned, “Not sure where we can get that. We don’t have a fabricator or a seamstress on call.”

“A costume shop will suffice,” Gideon noted, “And I can make adjustments.”

“Okay,” Cisco said, “Let’s get things together, so we can go find them. I should probably call Barry.”

Gideon shook her head, “There is only room for two of us in the time-sphere and I may need your expertise to get the Waverider fixed.”

“Okay,” Cisco nodded, before murmuring softly, “This is going to be fun.”

 Gideon finished inputting the co-ordinates for the Waverider while Cisco pulled together outfits and supplies that they required. Sitting alone in the time travel device her dear Captain had created as they sat watching an empty part of space waiting for time pirates that were possibly going to arrive sometime within the next month. He was bored, driving her crazy with his continual tinkering and finally suggested he perhaps work on some theories of what Time Masters could use in addition to their ships.

He’d designed the sphere and the time courier over those few weeks. It made her smile to think of him. Rip Hunter had been a handful and it was almost impossible at times to keep him in one piece, but she missed him deeply.

It hurt more in this form, an emptiness that she knew would never be filled but Gideon would keep his memory alive in her and continue to protect the timeline as he would want.

Closing her eyes, Gideon thought of the kiss they’d shared and wondered how different it would be in this form. Shaking herself, she focussed once more on ensuring the time-sphere was ready for their journey. She had no time to be sentimental, no time to wish things ha been different and no time to imagine the impossible.

The Legends, the team her Captain had asked her to watch over, needed help and that was what she would focus on.

No matter how much she wanted to dwell on other things.

[aca-awesomenerd]

Dictionary of bechloe multi-chapter fics

aka the updated/better version of my first fic list

2000 miles

Author : omACAgee

Rising DJ internet sensation Beca Mitchell might so happen to fall in love with a cute, bubbly redhead fan of her's who's the ideal perfect girl. Problem is though, they live on opposite sides of the country with only technology keeping them in contact. Will their relationship last without the physical contact?

After Life

Author : phlesh

What happens if you meet your soulmate after you've already died?

Age Is Just A Number

Author : FluentInMovieQuotes

Beca's heading into her senior year of high school, pining to get herself to LA instead. She meets a redhead the night before school starts and they find out that they have a lot in common with each other. Little did Beca know that the next morning she'd discover that this redhead would be her new English teacher. Someone has it hot for the teacher.

A Ginger A DJ A Wedding

Author : EmilliJayne

Chloe convinces Beca to be her date to her brother's wedding :)

And Everyone Wins

Author : littlepip

Beca and Chloe haven't seen each other since high school. They weren't great friends back then, but that wouldn't be the only thing that's changed.

And I Opened Up My Eyes, I Saw The Sign

Author : dandelion3455

Chloe and Beca have never quite figured out their timing. But what happens when Amy's impending wedding practically forces the two girls together? Basically a slow burn that turns into a volcanic eruption and there's a lot of smut.

Awake and Alive

Author : KissKendrick

Chloe knew before she even saw her, that Beca was the girl she was meant to spend her life with. Beca, was drawn to Chloe, for reasons she didn't understand, nor does she care. But Chloe as well as her best friend Aubrey are not what everyone thinks. They are not regular college students. And an old friend from the past is going to stir up a lot of old feelings, & expose the truth.

Barden Preparatory Academy

Author : swanqueenfic13

This is my Bechloe boarding school AU in which Beca is in denial of her sexuality, Chloe had never considered it before, and Aubrey is gay.

Beca's Fall

Author : MidnightBravery

Beca and Chloe get into a big fight over another girl, resulting in Beca walking out on Chloe. Chloe is crying to Aubrey while Beca is getting drunk with Luke, what happens when Beca realizes that everything is slowly falling apart & Jesse finds her on the rooftop of the Station?

Beca Malfoy and the Room of Requirement

Author : awriterofthings

Chloe Weasley attempts to figure Beca Malfoy out while tutoring her.

Bellas Boot Camp

Author : MoonWriting

Adventures come in all sorts and shapes. Bootcamp with Aubrey is one of them for the Barden Bellas, but while there Beca and Chloe each go through their own emotional adventure in their journey to love.

Belong

Author : MakesGoodChoices

Beca Mitchell is a six time Grammy award winner, but Chloe Beale is never far from her mind. What happens when they meet up again at an engagement party five years later?

Between the Lines

Author : SkySsi

"Be honest, I was nothing but a fucking rebound, am I?" Beca stated more than asking. The question pierced through Chloe's heart. It was enough to break her once again.

Beauty and the Badass

Author : Ibbly5

Beca Mitchell is a badass LA music producer, working as a bartender by night. So what happens when an adorable redhead comes into her life?

Blank Slate

Author : HypersomniacGrad

Everyone would kill for a second chance and that's exactly what Chloe gets when one day, five years later, she gets another chance to tell Beca how she feels. Only... Beca was supposedly long gone and the girl who Chloe meets years later has no idea whatsoever who the redhead was…

Blind Love

Author : acafuckmylife

Chloe's best friend Aubrey is marrying the guy of her dreams; she's the maid of honor of course. Planning the wedding is going to be a lot of work, so when Jesse (Aubrey's future husband) suggests that his best man/Best friend Beca Mitchell helps them, a lot can go wrong. Rated T (possibly M later). Bechloe and Jaubrey.

Burn

Author : idontknowmaybe

Chloe Beale needed a change. So when the perfect job opportunity came up in the same LA suburb that her best friend lived in she couldn't pass it up. Can you find yourself and the one when the town is caught up in a horrible nightmare?

By Your Side

Author : drop-your-worries

Sequel to Someone Like Me, but you do not have to read Someone Like Me to understand.

Chances

Author : Melanocortin1

Beca KNOWS she can be better than Tom, she wouldn't even need a second chance. Everyone else seems to know it, she just has to get Chloe to realize it too.

Club Bellissimo

Author : redchocopanda

Emily Junk, on her last year in Barden, wishes to recruit new talented Bellas, to win the ICCAs again, to enter LA's super exclusive hangout, Club Bellissimo, to have a Bella reunion & most importantly she wishes to see Beca and Chloe finally be together and have gorgeous babies. **CLUB BELLISSIMO is the Dickens' novel Anna K hates and Brittany S would be secretly reading over wine

Company Woman

Author : BeChloeIsLegit

It always seems that Chloe is the one getting married and Beca is left pining over her/cutting off contact. What if this time, Beca is the one getting married (to some woman) and Chloe's the one pining and regretting that she missed her chance?

Counter Attack

Author : AchaeaMG

Beca has a deal with her father. She promised to play on the Barden field hockey team for a year and he would then help her move to LA. Things don't go as expected.

Crashed the Wedding

Author : Britishgal

Chloe finds herself stuck in her hell scenario. The wedding of now five-year-running couple Jesse Swanson and Beca Mitchell. HER Beca Mitchell. Thank god it's only a dress rehearsal because Chloe has to tell her something, before it's too late.

CR's Wedding

Author : Homosexy

The Bellas are performing a set at Cynthia Rose's wedding. Beca's finding it hard to sort out a track list for the mix they'll use, let alone sort out her feelings for a certain redhead. Her confusion leads her to some unconventional advice sources. Will it be the fairy tale ending?

Destiny

Author : KateLides321

Beca Mitchell moves to Atlanta to live with her cousin Jesse. Upon arriving she meets a beautiful girl who's dog named Destiny got loose and ran up to her. Maybe this was meant to be or is destiny playing a cruel trick on her heart.

Dreams

Author : TrulyBeTold

Aubrey and Chloe celebrate the Bellas' win, but Chloe isn't as happy as she thought she would be. And Beca finally got the courage to be with Jesse, so why does she feel like something's missing? And which of our favorite Bellas will help piece the puzzle together?

Dreams Can Come True

Author : FluentInMovieQuotes

Sequel To It’s All About Finding Yourself

Endless Journey

Author : scrappymitchell

Nearly two years after first starting their relationship and a lot had changed for Beca and Chloe as both individuals and as a couple. Beca's career has been taking off hard since she let out her first single and Chloe was working her way up the ladder to be a vet, both having their success bringing some difficulties along the way for them as well as pressures on certain aspects of their relationship.

But given how in love they were, both of them were willing to make some sacrifices to be together.

ERASED

Author : HypersomniacGrad

Beca Mitchell possesses an ability that sends her back in time moments before a life-threatening incident, allowing her to prevent them from happening. When her father is murdered, Beca's ability sends her back 10 years to when she was in high school, giving her the opportunity to prevent a kidnapping incident that took the lives of 3 people she knew, including the girl she liked.

Everything I Never Knew I Wanted

Author : Well Fancy That 13

Beca is one of the world's biggest DJ's and music producers, Chloe is an on-the-rise It-Girl in Hollywood. Beca Mitchell thought she had it all, but then she met Chloe Beale.

Everything You Want

Author : funnyhowthatis

In the morning after the Bellas win the final competition, Beca and Chloe realize that they might not have gotten all that they wanted.

Fallen

Author : Iwentdownwiththeshipbye

Beca has a religious, homophobic father who has been abusive in the past, leading Beca to think she needs to have secret relationships. Only her last relationship ended horribly and she's left to get her frustrations out by womanizing. Until she meets Chloe. Who sees right through her persona.

Familiar Taste Of Poison

Author : danisweetman22

Beca Mitchell was never a normal girl. She had been through so much in her life, more than a soldier, her psychiatrists all used to say. It was only when she arrived at Barden University that things started to change, for the good, and the bad. Trigger Warning: Abuse, Rape, Self Harm, Drug Abuse and Alcoholism.

Favorite Record

Author : bechloehuh/eliseboobman

They have an old beat up Thunderbird convertible, twelve thousand dollars between them, and no destination in mind. This could very much be the worst decision both of them have ever made.

Fire and Fury

Author : OnceYouGoBecYouCantGoBack

She wants to be more than just her client. G!P Beca.

Forgive Me These November Days

Author : obstinate_questionings

Why Chloe Beale didn’t graduate—and why she finally did—as told through yearly celebrations of Thanksgiving.

For Lovers Only

Author : dr_jb5

Takes place two years after the events of Pitch Perfect 3. Beca and Chloe haven’t seen one another since then, each going their separate ways – Beca to music, Chloe to vet school. But, one fateful week, they both end up in Paris ... And when their paths suddenly collide, desire and passion take over as they gain back those missed years and rediscover one another all over again.

Friends don’t

Author : tmylm

“Bec?” Chloe’s voice interrupts her inner monolog, and she finds herself nodding despite the fact that the other girl can’t see her.

“I’m here, Chlo. What is it?”

“Can you stay with me?”

There’s a brief pause as Beca digests the question, mulling it over for a second or two. It seems Chloe can sense her confusion.

“Like, here. On the phone. Just until I fall asleep.”

From more to friends, from friends to more (Those bright blue eyes)

Author : brighteyes29

A Bechloe High school AU. It's a month before the graduation where Beca and Chloe broke-up, although the DJ still tries to get her ex back with some help from her best friend Jesse. But after all, the two girls still love each other. They just have to admit it one more time.

Have A Nice Life

Author : farfrom7

Beca is a little bit broken. Chloe is kind of engaged. Neither of them could be prepared for what happens when their worlds collide.

Hear me chirp

Author : Plush Panda

Chloe wants to know what Beca's favorite animal is, but Beca will have none of that. Supernatural!AU.

Hoofbeat

Author : shadowswillscream

Beca gets sent away to a horse ranch, Hoofbeat, as a last chance due to her recent rebellious behavior. There she meets Chloe Beale, who changes Beca's rule of 'everyone's temporary'.

Hurt

Author : Knope.We.Can

On a night out with Aubrey, Chloe is shocked to discover that the musician they're watching perform is her best friend from high school, Beca Mitchell. While Chloe is desperate to reunite with the one that got away, Beca has her own demons to battle. Trigger warning.

I don't belong to you, and you don't belong to me (I won't let you down, I will not give you up)

Author : IWasMeantToFeel

after their final performance together on the USO tour, Beca sees Chloe kissing Chicago. and she can’t help but hurt.

I Guess I Do

Author : x-backtoblack-x

Chloe's cousin's getting married and she'll be damned if she has to endure another family gathering/speed dating weekend. Cue Beca to begrudgingly save the day.

I Hate How Much I Love You

Author : woahoooyeah

Beca and Chloe have hated each other from the start. The Bella's go to Bora Bora for the summer, to have an adventure at the well-known Resort, Eden. But what happens when Beca and Chloe are forced into situations, that cause them to interact with one another? Will their feels changes towards each other?

I Love You, Awesome Nerd

Author : Olivia Janae

Beca had done her freaking yearly good deed. She had gone to the Bellas reunion...thing...whatever. She had gone and she had accepted the award, she had seen the Bellas; she had even let them stay at her damn condo! So why the hell was that stupid-gorgeous redhead, the one she had run from all of those years ago, back and camped out in her freaking living room refusing to leave?

I'm Only Human

Author : longlivebechloe

AU on what happens after Chicago and Chloe kiss.

I Promise

Author : fugitiveboov43

"I did not forget my promise, I was trying to forget it. There's a difference." Chloe breaks Beca's heart. Thanks to fate and with their small circle of friends, they meet again.

Irresistible

Author : justfunriley

Beca is a werewolf, who was changed by an unknown Alpha. As she struggles with her transformation, Jesse and she start to fight. This leads to them breaking up. Who will be there to pick up the pieces? Her best friend, a beautiful redhead, will be there to pick up the pieces. Werewolf/AU Bechloe fanfiction.

It's A Pirate Life For Me

Author : robind19

the most feared captain and the crown princess. au! Pirate

It's All About Finding Yourself

Author : FluentInMovieQuotes

Beca struggles with school as it is so being forced into the High School's show choir by her Spanish teacher, claiming that it would earn her enough extra credit to pass his class was the last thing on her mind. After they perform at homecoming assembly, a certain redhead joins and her and Beca easily become friends until Beca begins to question her sexuality.

It's Always Been You

Author : AcaTitanium94

Sequel to It’s You

It's You?

Author : AcaTitanium94

Beca & Chloe met when they were both 10'year olds. Beca promised Chloe that one day they would get married. Years later fate brings them back together in the least expected way.

I've Been Bitten

Author : hitandrunn

Spidey!Beca. You expect your senior year in high school to be pretty stressful. Having to worry about college applications, prom and graduation. Beca on the other hand, has to worry about protecting the city when she's bitten by a radioactive spider.

Jesse's Girl

Author : lifeisbechloe

Set after PP2 graduation: The Bellas go out and sing karaoke to celebrate, causing a certain redhead to not-so-subtly hint that she's into a small brunette. Will Beca be able to sort out her feelings for Chloe?

Just A Glance

Author : Bel-Halliwell

It all began with a glance. They didn't know how things would turn up, but there was no stopping it.

Just Like Glass

Author : recallthelove

You see through me, like I'm not there.

La Douleur Exquise

Author : redchocopanda

Stacie believes in the concept of soulmates, of destiny and of true love. Now if only she could get her childhood best friend, Beca, who believes that none of those things are real or last long enough to convince her, to do so too & maybe make her realize that the famous Chloe Beale is the one. Unknowingly, Stacie just might become the reason their two worlds might finally collide.

League of Angels

Author : danisweetman22

Beca Mitchell is the most feared assassin Azrael, the angel of death. She arrives at Barden University under her master, Michael's order. Her new target, Mr James Beale, an important figure in the Government. Beca must collect intel through his daughter, Chloe. However, something about Chloe, unlocks feelings in Beca that she locked away eleven years before.

Leave It All On The Field

Author : second job

Chloe is a senior captain on the soccer team. Beca is the hot new freshman. Follow their relationship on and off the field.

Long Way Round

Author : Smeg699

Nationals is over, a new school year has begun, and Beca is wondering if she didn't make a mistake at Nationals. Rating: Mostly T, a few chapters are M though, and that will be noted in the Author's Note at the beginning.

Lost Stars

Author : BKTheGoldenKnight

Beca, an ex-MotoGP racer, has a tragic past and she had managed to get back on her feet when she met Chloe. However something unexpected happened. Will Beca stay or runaway?

Love Like The Wind Wild, Untamed

Author : jamiexh

Beca's and Chloe's lives are turned upside down when Chloe accidently turns Beca into a werewolf.

Maybe In Another Life

Author : not_so_average_fangirl

Moving into a new house turns out to be a better experience for Chloe Beale than she thought it would. Perhaps it’s because of the friendly, little brunette she finds hiding in the basement one night. An unforeseen friendship sparks between them, but as more complicated emotions begin to arise, a shocking truth is revealed, and Chloe’s world gets turned upside down.

More than Miles (Her name is Beca Mitchell)

Author : SkySsi

A sequel to "Between the Lines"

The story jumps five years after, some tables might have turned. (I still suck at summaries, apparently). So, what happened after five years? What happened after Beca Mitchell had moved to LA? Is Chloe Beale able to get her Beca back? Or is she getting the 'old' Beca this time?

More Than Words

Author : tmylm

“Beca?”

Beca’s brows tug together again. “Uh, yeah? Who’s this?”

The voice on the other end of the phone is both light and cool, it’s almost familiar to her, in fact. She hears a small laugh, and the urge to turn back toward the building strikes her. She looks up to see the figure in the fifth floor window, smile evident on her lips. Her phone is held to her ear too, and she sends a wave down to the shorter girl.

“Just checking you didn’t fake number me,” she says, and Beca swears she sees her shrug her shoulder.

There’s a smile on Beca’s lips in spite of the questioning in her eyes.

“I have no dinner plans yet,” Chloe continues, “Are you free tonight?”

My Little Badass

Author : LexysK23

"I was trying to find something to levitate to show Beca, but I may have done the wrong spell. Bree, I changed my girlfriend into a three year old." Chloe now must take care of her three year old girlfriend until she is able to change her back. How much trouble can the small girl get into? And, oh yeah, it's a three year old half-vampire.

Never Let Me Go

Author : AnnaKendrick11

Beca goes to Barden University and Chloe is a new student. They become friends and get closer, then they both realise that they have feelings for each other but will certain problems overtake their love?

Never Too Late

Author : carma19

Beca’s a 30 something rockstar/producer-turned-filthy rich music mogul. She has everything she’s ever wanted, except for the one that got away.

Nowish

Author : Psy456

Bechloe. Staubrey. Bellas Squared/Stechlobree.

A story in which I created a life I fell in love with and convinced myself by accident that this could work.

Let me try and convince you too.

Now We've Got Bad Blood

Author : tay0720

Fresh off the plane from Seattle, Beca Mitchell heads to Barden University for her first year of college only to find herself falling hard for a junior named Chloe while being roped into a supernatural shitstorm.

Old Love Dies Hard

Author : iwasyounme

It's 6 years after Beca took off from Barden without telling anybody and decided to go to L.A. Chloe is a barmaid in a small bar in the City of Angels too. One night, Beca walks in her bar, but a lot has happened in 6 years and they don't recognize each other. Six years ago, Beca fell in love with Chloe, will it happen again?

One More Year

Author : Knope.We.Can

It's the final year of high school, and Chloe has big plans to go off to college and begin the next stage of her life. Beca just can't wait for the year to be over so she can head to LA. Having spent their time at high school as strangers, Chloe finds herself wondering about the quiet mysterious girl in her English class.

Passing Ships

Author : scrappymitchell

Beca and Chloe have been hiding their feelings from each other for years for their own reasons, but when Beca see's Chloe finally starting to move on in front of her very eyes she realises how she has messed up on the most important thing in her life and now has to deal with going back to New York and living with Chloe, who now has a boyfriend. The question she now asked herself was if this will make her shut her feelings off for good or will it push her over the edge to blurt her feelings out?

Perdition

Author : morningsound15

Perdition, noun: (in Christian theology) a state of eternal punishment and damnation into which a sinful and unpenitent person passes after death. They’ve been doing this for years. It’s almost crazy, how familiar it all is. And every time, their excuses get flimsier and flimsier. Beca still has a boyfriend, Chloe still has to graduate, and yet time and time again they find themselves tangled up together, naked in bed or stuffed into a bathroom stall or sneaking out of a party. And Beca still has a boyfriend, and Chloe knows it’s wrong, but she just can’t seem to stop.

Perfect : A Bechloe Love Story

Author : BechloeGoals4Life

What if Bechloe actually was endgame? This story is what I believe Pitch Perfect would look like if Bechloe was the focus.

Perfect Harmony

Author : BeChloe01

Beca and her father made a deal that if she really gave Barden a shot, he'd fund her move to LA at the end of the school year. She only has a few months left to convince him that she did try. Which means Chloe only has a few months to convince Beca to stay. Slight AU retelling of the movie so that BeChloe are canon.

Pitch Perfect 3 : Bechloe is Legit

Authors : BeChloeisLegit and  RJRMovieFan

Pitch Perfect 3 - the movie everyone saw, rewritten to be the movie everyone wishes they made.

Pitch Perfect: Reloaded

Author : Britishgal

Beca finds herself at the mercy of a mysterious gun-for-hire, otherwise known as Chloe Beale, who claims that she needs her dad for his important research. Problem is, she has no idea where her dad could have gone... But at least now Beca has an idea of why he decided to skip dinner with her tonight.

Pitch Perfect 3 - The Aca-Reunion

Author : becca343

After years apart, the Bellas are all coming back to Barden for their 5 year reunion.

PP3 - What really happened

Author : when_you_know_you_know

Not enough Bechloe content in PP3 for your liking? Well here is what REALLY happened on/off screen

Proving Them Right

Author : cheeky_geek_monkey

The Bellas always did joke about Beca and Chloe dating...so is it a moral issue if they pretend to prove them right to make some money at a certain someone's wedding?

Puck me

Author : bardenacapella

College Hockey AU. Beca Mitchell plays on the hockey team for the Barden Bulls. What happen's when Chloe Beale goes to one of her games and their eyes meet?

Roommates

Author : twin192

Beca, 19, a freshman is new at Barden University and meets her new roommate Chloe, 21, also a freshman. They click instantly and become fast friends. But what is Chloe hiding? Why is she crying so often when she thinks nobody's noticing? What did she do for two years before going to college? AU

Shattered

Author : Lackluster Brilliance

Chloe did what she swore she'd never do. She broke Beca's heart, and though it hurts, Beca can never stop loving Chloe. Bechloe angst. Trigger warnings: Rape, self harm, suicide, and alcohol abuse.

she is the flint that sparks the lighter

Author : iPhone

Beca was looking for Chloe after her performance. She'll always be looking for Chloe in some way or another.

aka

Beca moves to LA to work on her new album, Chloe moves to Davis to attend vet school, and they try not to miss each other too much.

Silence Has A Sound

Author : summerreader13

Something has happened to Beca. No one's seen or heard from her in days. Chloe decides to go to her room and find out what's going on. Can she help Beca, or will Beca push her away like she does everyone else?

Skinny Love

Author : writersjoint

One mistake can change your life entirely; and sometimes it can make it all worth it.

Someone Like Me

Author : drop-your-worries

A dangerously fluffy Bechloe fanfic. Prequel to By Your Side.

Something Worth Living For

Author : AnnaKendrick47

Beca Mitchell doesn't have many friends, people in school hate her, teachers despise her attitude, which always seem to get her in trouble. That is until she finds herself wanting to get into one specific teacher's good side.

Sometime You Need Help

Author : Ibbly5

Beca is super guarded, all the time. And Chloe is so drawn to her. But Beca can't possibly let her in, can she? She can't trust anyone ever. Even someone as kind and beautiful as Chloe.

Sparks

Author : Suituuup

Chloe didn't think getting into a car accident would lead to a date. Firefighter!Beca

Stare Into The Sky Until We're Blind

Author : lescousinsdangereux

Chloe Beale has one rule. Just one. Had she known that the odd combination of hair dye, a crappy old convertible, sixty-plus hours of driving, a mix CD, and one Beca Mitchell would lead to her breaking it, she never would have suggested going on this stupid road trip in the first place.

Stay

Author : NotaSoundMind

Beca has had a tragic two years and has given up on surfing because of it, but while taking care of her sick aunt at the woman's beach house, she meets Chloe, an outgoing surfer.

Stolen

Author : thesecretsociety

Beca Mitchell works for her father who leads a criminal group whose latest mission is to retrieve a stolen treasure from a wealthy business tycoon named Clarence Beale.

Strangers

Author : landsliide

A brief encounter with an enchanting stranger changes Beca's life for the better.

Struck by a Feeling

Author : LadyHH

Beca and Chloe lead two different lives at school. Neither noticing the other, that all changes from one moment that will lead them to something they never expected.

Stupid Choices And Second Chances

Author : Biggiewoods

Beca has been helplessly in love with Chloe forever but never had the guts to tell her. After Chloe gets married Beca can't seem to bare it and cuts all ties with the love of her life. What happens after 5 years later when they meet up again. Will Beca finally tell her how she feels? Will it even matter if she does?

Subterfuge

Author : awriterofthings

Chloe develops feelings for Beca, the daughter of a crime boss, while undercover.

Squeeze Once For Yes

Author : Knope.We.Can

Beca finds herself being pulled into a fast friendship with a gorgeous redhead and, for the first time in years, she wishes she hadn't built her protective walls so high.

Tackled

Author : OnceYouGoBecYouCantGoBack

Nine years of ignoring the big elephant in the room. Nine years of bickering like an old married couple. That's all shaken up with an unusual proposal. G!P Beca

Teenage Dream

Author : hedaenerys

Set after the Bellas win the ICCAs. Beca starts getting some confusing feelings for Chloe, and after Aubrey's birthday party- things get a little out of hand…

tell me is it so wrong (even if we fall in love?)

Author : dj jiggle juice

But Chloe’s giving her that giddy grin, the one that tells Beca she’s going to break her facade and burst into laughter at any moment.

Beca thinks this won’t be so bad, fake dating Chloe. Not when everything with Chloe happens with ease.

Tell the World That We Finally Got It All Right

Author : JediFighterPilot2727

Based off of Lily's quote about a time machine in Pitch Perfect 2. A little mix up causes a whole lot of trouble for the Bellas! Especially for Beca and Chloe. Au after the first 2 movies.

Thank God For The Internet

Author : alyssa-gibson

Beca hated when songs got stuck in her head, but she was grateful that one did because if it hadn't, she wouldn't have met the love of her life.

That Thing You Do

Author : thatmitchsentho

What happens after Beca gets everything she thinks she wanted? Life isn't a movie, she soon learns, because you can't fake feeling something that isn't there, and you can't ignore something that is.

This Could be Just Like Heaven (Don't Throw It All Away)

Author : Freerangeegghead

In which Beca Mitchell gets the life she's always dreamed of and more, but realizes maybe it's not all it's cracked up to be.

The Basketcase and The Princess

Author : Fake Shemp

Angsty but Fluffy AU timeline of Pitch Perfect.

The Bridge

Authors : carma19 and Suituuup

In the bustling borough of Brooklyn, Beca’s a struggling musician working as a waitress to make ends meet. At an open mic night, she meets Chloe--a successful local photographer--and sparks fly. As they grow close, Beca learns she left a one night stand the night before she met Chloe with much more than she bargained for…

The Detention Club

Author : ThatWeirdAwkwardKid

High School AU. Basically what happens when you mix drama, mischief, the girls and a night owl of a writer. Just the group making trouble as well as friendships whilst having fun trying to avoid the principal.

The Friend

Author : Secret Heart33

Beca falls in love with her best friend, Chloe, for the first time when she is 12, but things do not go quite as planned. From there Beca learns her role as 'The Friend' and tries to put it all behind her when she moves away. What will happen when they meet again 6 years later at Barden University.

The Last Battle

Author : Jules In Neverland

Two years after leaving the US Air Force, Captain Rebeca Mitchell works for the FBI. With her ex-wife about to marry a man that it's not as perfect as he seems, and a seven year old to take care of, she fights to fulfill her three ultimate missions in life: Make justice after terrible events happened during war. Catch the last bad guy of her career. Gain the love of her life back.

The Lives We Live

Author : AcaTitanium94

Beca and Chloe both live separate lives. Chloe is married to Tom and living in Toronto Canada. What will happen when Tom gets a better job in the US and they move back there? Will her marriage change because of a certain brunette she met a year ago on an airplane?

The Playlist - Volume 1

Author : RedRobin90

Beca Mitchell doesn't want to go to Barden, but once she's met that certain redhead, who doesn't seem to have personal boundaries and always know's how to make her skin tingle, it doesn't seem all that bad.

The Reclusive Music Producer and The Journalist

Author : areaderofmanythings

Chloe is Rolling Stone Magazine's newest intern, she's left Atlanta to start life over in San Francisco. Beca's a cute regular who she befriends at the part time job she has until getting hired on at the magazine. What happens when Beca isn't straightforward about who she is and Chloe refuses to talk about her past? Will Chloe ever get the cover story she's dreamed about for years?

The Sun & The Stars

Author : BardenBellatrix

The Bellas get invited to a resort to celebrate Jessica and Ashley's engagement. Will the girls' relationships have changed since they left Barden?

The Track Star and The Cheerleader

Author : not-so-average-fangirl

High School Junior and Track Star, Beca Mitchell, gets thrown for a loop when her father gets a new job at Barden High School. She's forced to leave her current high school and join Barden just as her Junior year is starting. What could possibly go wrong? Or, after meeting a certain redhead, possibly go right?

The Truth About Reality

Author : sendricamp

Chloe discovers there is more to falling in love with Beca than she originally expected.

The Vigilante

Author : hitandrunn

Sequel to I’ve Been Bitten

The Voice

Author : A Charmed Vampire

Chloe Beale gets the chance to audition on the NBC hit show, The Voice. Desperate to kick start her music career, she wants to get her best chance of winning. Just one little thing standing in her way. Professional DJ, producer and recording artist, Beca Mitchell is one of the coaches. Will her crush on Beca get in the way of her musical dream?

They Shot Me Down But I Won't Fall

Author : beauboss

Beca was in the army and fought in a war till she got shot in her leg and her dad wanted her to come home. As she was still recovering her dad forced her to go to Barden to follow some classes. Beca hates being home but then she meets Chloe. A beautiful red head who she thinks is really pushy and annoying at first... But what happens if her feelings change?

To Leave It All Behind

Author : BIggiewoods

Beca had to leave her perfect life all because her mother had remarried. She had it all. She was on a State Champion Softball Team, had a weekly show on her high school's radio station, and most importantly a future internship at a record label. She thought her junior year would be a bust until a bubbly redhead she will meet would make it all worth it.

Tragedy Strikes When You Least Expect It

Author : Iwillforgetthisl8er

A year after Beca Mitchell stopped talking to the Bellas and Chloe, a tragic accident will pull her back. Rated T for now, may change later. Trigger warnings: Child Abuse and Rape

Two Brides and The Bellas

Author : Gapalkru

A few months after graduation, the Bellas are reunited at Cynthia Rose’s wedding. Someone is a bit too stubborn about a bet, alcohol flows freely, and Amy requires a tuxedo for her iPad. Don’t we all just want to live happily ever after at a wedding?

Under the Mistletoe

Author : not_so_average_fangirl

Takes place a few months before Pitch Perfect 2. Specifically around Christmas time. Beca and Chloe have gotten closer over the years and their friendship has never been better. But what happens when they're forced to kiss under the mistletoe and sparks fly? Will things end well?

Vegan Beca

Author : when_you_know_you_know

That time in Pitch Perfect 3 when Beca became vegan for Chloe…

Vindicated

Author : thesecretsociety

Sequel to Stolen

Waiting At The End Of The Road

Author : HypersomniacGrad

Sequel to What If

We Could Be More

Author : Knope.We.Can

They've been best friends since college. Just Best Friends. No complications, No jealousy over boyfriends, just plain, simple friends. Until, of course, the awkward almost kiss.

What If

Author : HypersomniacGrad

PP2 (sometime before the retreat) but deviates from the story: After living through the worst day of her life, Beca meets an accident and comes face to face with Death. As she ponders on whether or not she still wants to wake up from her coma, she asks herself, what if she never joined the Bellas? If she never existed? If she died? Death takes her on a journey to find out.

What You Do To Me

Author : Olivia_Janae

The thing was...she HAD said ‘I love you’ - and Chloe hadn’t said it back...so now what the hell were they supposed to do? Things were starting to snowball downhill and...Beca just...she didn’t know. How could they stop it? How could they fix it - before it was too late? ...Before they lost so much more than their romance.

Sequel to 'I Love You, Awesome Nerd'

Where Are You?

Author : Knope.We.Can

Beca Mitchell has been missing from Barden for a month. Chloe has spent every single hour she's been gone missing her.

Whispers In The Dark

Author : KissKendrick

Who knew something as simple as a bag being thrown over her head could open so many doors? Doors that Beca wanted to keep shut. Chloe had no idea what she was getting herself into. What she did know? She wasn't backing down. She wasn't leaving Beca, and she wouldn't let the horror of her past hurt her anymore. The problem? Beca may be too far gone to be helped. TRIGGERS INSIDE.

Whoever Fights Monsters

Author : revengeparty

AU. With a serial killer on the loose, the Barden Police Department calls in Special Agent Chloe Beale to assist in the investigation. Detective Beca Mitchell isn't used to sharing her turf with the feds, but they must quickly learn to work together to stop the man only known as the Barden Strangler.

Why You?

Author : selimausx3

Beca was a loner. Ever since Jesse died, she didn’t need anybody. That was until she saved the life of a particular redhead. Chloe stuck around ever since and the brunette didn’t see herself complaining much. Zombie Apocalypse!AU.

Wrong Turn

Author : RunFarAwayWithMe

Beca's dad is eager to find someone who will be a 'good influence' on his alternative daughter, and introduces her to the over-achieving Luke Brandon. As Beca becomes reluctantly intrigued by this seemingly perfect guy, she is introduced to his family and becomes close with his sister, Chloe. She soon realises that Luke is just a wrong turn on her way to true love.

You Never Know How Strong You Are

Author : CrohnieReader

until being strong is the only choice you have. Moving into the Bellas' House in her second year of college should be exciting and fun for Beca, right? But when the thing she's been hiding from everyone since the beginning of freshman year makes a reappearance, bringing with it a great deal of suffering, it makes life a little more complicated.

You're Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone

Author : WarriorOfTheLight

There is a life-threatening accident after Regionals and it might be too late to undo mistakes…

You're Weird

Author : Saweeet47

Chloe's father doesn't handle her sexuality very well, to the point where he doesn't believe it. Chloe's family assumes she has a girlfriend. She feels the need to hit two birds with one stone, coincidentally Beca is there to save the day.

Your Love Is A Song

Author : HypersomniacGrad

All Beca wanted was to move to LA and make music, that's why she made the deal with her dad in the first place. Make it one year through college then she could move to LA. Thankfully she has her step-brother and a surprisingly amazing roommate to help her bear through it all before she moves on. And then she meets Chloe, and Beca's not quite sure about anything anymore

Your Love Is Killing Me

Author : abnormalhuman

Beca and Chloe become fast friends like predicted, and right from the start there is something more. But how can Beca fall for a girl after being raised by homophobic parents? Beca can't handle or come to terms with herself. Will Chloe be able to help her through it? Trigger Warnings: slight mention of self harm and homophobic assholes doing their asshole thing.