#and jack’s is released a year after he retires

[appalamutte]

you’re sixteen-years-old, moseying through your local bookstore when you come across it.

you’re not usually into nonfiction, especially not memoirs, but the man on the cover is familiar. laughing over his shoulder with his eyes closed, relaxed in a turquoise button-up and jeans, standing with his back to the camera at a counter cluttered with leafy vegetables and mixing bowls.

from seeds to supper, the title reads, and his name is eric bittle-zimmermann.

you deliberate for a bit, picking it up and reading the blurb, the reviews printed on the back sleeve, the first page. the very first words of the book are hey, y’all! and your friend walks over at that point, and they see him and say—“oh, i used to watch some of his videos.”

so you buy it, because your friend said you should, and later that night you’re already deep into the stories of peach cobbler recipes and learning how to differentiate between living and surviving when they send you the link to the guy’s old youtube channel. it hasn’t been active for a few years, but that doesn’t matter because oh my god are there so many videos. years of videos, almost a decade’s worth, starting all the way back in the early 2010s and you get sucked into them all, laughing at the funny ones and tearing up at the emotional ones, watching as the guy slowly grows up from high school to college and beyond.

you switch between reading the memoir and watching the videos over the next few weeks. you see his video on introducing his boyfriend and you read the chapter on maple-crusted apple pie and how learning to love is a lot like learning to lattice a pie, slow and patient and sometimes messy.

you see his cooking challenge video featuring all of his friends from college and you read the chapter on homemade bagel bites and how family doesn’t have to be a four-course meal you’ve had reservations for all your life. sometimes, family is just frozen bagel bites and sriracha sauce crowded around an uneven table.

you see his two-part wedding vlog posted in 2019, nearly 10 years ago, and you read his chapter on red velvet cake and how the brain can get confused, something to do with all the nerve endings getting tangled up, because when love reaches the same heights fear does, you end up fainting into your then-boyfriend’s arms.

then, you see his final video on the channel, a farewell to his subscribers and a glimpse as to what’s next. it’s short and simple, just his husband and him sitting on a couch together, a toddler between them. and you read the last chapter of the book on chicken tenders and how a seed in the garden never knows it’ll grow into a supper worth loving. it just knows it’ll grow into something, and that the growing takes time.

(a few years later, when you’re twenty and in college, you’re downtown with some friends and come across it. you still aren’t into nonfiction that much, but that one memoir always stuck with you, sitting on your shelf back in your dorm. and this one, with the guy’s back to the camera, tall and steadfast, standing in the middle of an ice rink, an emboldened number one across the back of his jersey. the name is familiar.

melting ice, the title reads, and his name is jack bittle-zimmermann.

you pick it up.)

[parad-ice-lostandfound]

Prompt: "Happy Holidays/Merry Christmas. I love you."

Pairing: Vil Schoenheit x GN!Reader (with background RookVil x GN!Reader)

Genre: Heavy Angst, proceed with caution

TW: Major character death, suicide, heavy drinking.

AN: Its my birthday! I dont know why, but i usually feel terrible on my birthday, so I gave you guys the option of choosing between a happy fic for today, or an angst. You chose angst, so here we are. Please exercise caution before, during and after you read. If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please get in touch with professionals. You are loved, and will be missed, so please take care of yourself. If at any point you feel like stopping reading, please do. Your mental health comes before anything else. I hope you enjoy... Merry Christmas to everyone!

Vil sat down on his couch, sinking into its warmth with his fifth glass of wine in hand. Once upon a time, he would have frowned upon doing something like this. He was a notorious lightweight, and despised the headache that accompanied him on the day after.

But now, the pleasant buzz that the alcohol created in his mind was a welcome distraction.

Vil's gaze fell on the TV remote. He reached for it and switched it on, it's artificial light casting on his face and lighting up the otherwise dark room.

"And in other news, acclaimed actor and director Vil Schoenheit announces his retirement from the entertainment industry at the fairly young age of 34. A public statement was released earlier this month by his agency, right after the release of his latest film, 'Eternity'. This news has come as a shock to many of the star's fans, but-"

Vil tuned out the TV as the newscaster spoke of how well his last movie was doing in theatres and how everyone wished him well in the future. Words blurred into sounds and the TV screen into colours as he took another sip of his wine, closing his eyes as he tipped his head back on the couch.

His phone vibrated inside his pocket. Removing it, Vil saw a message from Epel.

Merry Christmas. Hope you're having a good time. Mawmaw asked me to send you this pic, and told me to invite you to Harveston sometime for some apple pie.

Underneath it was a picture of Epel and his grandmother in their kitchen, both holding a plate of said apple pie in their hands.

Vil smiled, then decided to check his other messages. A voice message from Jack wishing him Merry Christmas, a whole paragraph of text courtsey of Rook, and many more messages from his coworkers and acquaintances. He replied to every one of them, answering each with a thoughtful message that somehow his alcohol-addled brain could type coherently.

As lilac eyes wandered over his chat log, they caught one last message. It was from his manager. Or, well, ex-manager.

Vil.

In all the years I have spent managing young actors, I have not seen one as talented and dedicated as you. Not many spend their time honing and perfecting their craft as you do. It is a shame to see you leaving the spotlight so soon, but I know this is something you have needed for quite some time.

Take this time to take care of yourself, Vil. (Name) would have wanted you to. Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year.

Vil stilled as he read the last few sentences. "(Name)...".

The moonlight painted a solemn scene as it fell on the lone man, coloring his blonde locks an enchanting silver as he picked up his wine glass. He gulped the drink in one go, the slightly bitter liquid burning his throat in a familiar manner as he placed the glass on the coffee table.

Vil smiled, then tried to stand. The five glasses of wine had begun showing their effect, and he had to lean against the armrest of the couch to stop the world from spinning in front of his eyes.

Slowly, he made his way to the master bedroom. Upon reaching, he walked over to the bed, forgoing his usual skincare routine in favour of tucking himself in.

Vil sat upright in bed, eyes trained on the lone flowerpot kept at the windowsill. The lilies stirred ever so slightly under the light breeze coming in through the open window, as though shivering under the weight of his gaze. Gaze filled with profound love, and sorrow, and resolve.

"(Name)..."

Vil's voice was not more than a whisper, yet that one word uttered from his lips seemed to fill the silence that shrouded the room. He took a shaky breath, hand closing around the bottle of sleeping pills he had on his bedside table.

The clock struck twelve from somewhere within the house, it's soft sound echoing throughout. Outside, Vil heard cheers coming from people who were spending Christmas with their loved ones.

He looked back at the red lilies, and smiled. A genuine, unpracticed smile that had not seen the light of day ever since the love of his life died.

"Merry Christmas (Name). I love you."

Rook was a hunter, through and through. He prided himself on his observation skills, on his judgments. Usually, he could see things coming from a mile away.

He did not see Vil's suicide from a mile away.

The blonde haired man was one of the first to be informed of it, and also the one to whom most of his possessions were bequeathed to.

Rook did not care much for most of the things Vil had left him. He had also left him with a hole in his heart, and a permanent pain in his soul. Yet, as he gazed at the flowerpot with the red tulips in it, and the matching one with white magnolias beside it, he could not blame Vil.

Calloused hands trembled as they caressed the petals of the flowers. It felt almost sacrilegious to touch, as if the pure flowers were taunting him for the blood that stained his hands.

Tears dropped down onto the silky petals, clinging to them like drops of fresh dew. Rook's hands slid down to touch the flowerpots, where the letters engraved spelled out the names of two people he thought of as the very epitome of beauty.

The lilies grew on the essence and memory of (Name) Schoenheit, and the magnolias welcomed the ashes of Vil Schoenheit.

Red lilies: Eternal love and passion

White magnolias: Nobility and Purity

Masterlist...

[angelsanarchy]

Glass Houses: Jack Thurlow x Y/N Series CH 01 -> CH 02

"Having any second thoughts about staying in the house of horrors?" "I'm embracing the horrors that make up my life, remember?"

A year ago Jack was being checked into a mental health facility by his best friend. He didn't resist. He felt like he had lost his mind in the process of losing his parents, his childhood dog, his fiancee and the baby she was carrying, along with things that weren't as important like his home in California and his job for the magazine. He had officially lost everything and the only thing that was keeping him tethered to life was Shanda. She refused to let him off himself so the next best thing was to get him help.

Jack had received a few diagnoses during his facilitation. He learned some hard truths as well. His mother had perished in the car accident with his father, the "neighbor" Duncan was actually not real and the people who lived next door were all much older and retired without children.

Once he finally got around to reaching out to Cleo, she threatened him with a restraining order if he ever contacted her again. He knew he deserved that after letting her suffer from a miscarriage alone.

The doctors felt as though the repressed memories of his sexual abuse as a child would eventually resurface. They claimed it to be PTSD triggered by the sudden deaths of his parents. The mental break was classified as a psychotic disorder which made him roll his eyes.

"Oh just that?" He had criticized the doctors at how blase they had been when he explained he tried to murder the ghost of his mother in the place she had died in the car wreck. He knew he was psychotic, he just wanted to make sure he would be able to get cigarettes when they locked him up and threw away the key. However once he got an established therapist, a plethora of medications and a regularly monitored schedule, they felt he was ready to be released.

"Are you sure this is where you want to be? We can get a place here that's not this house or you can move in with Crystal and I?" Shanda had picked Jack up from the facility and he was determined to gut out the memories of his childhood home and start over. There was nothing left in California for him and currently this was the only place he could go that he knew and didn't have to pay for.

"I'll be fine. I'm sure you've already removed the sharp objects so what's the worse thing I could get into?" Jack joked darkly.

"I'm serious. I can stay with you if you want? Crystal will understand." Shanda pressed. Jack hadn't been alone since the day she dropped him at the facility. The idea of leaving him unsupervised in a place with so many horrible memories didn't sit right with her.

"I'm highly medicated and supervised by a licensed therapist almost daily. Fuck, they even have a care worker that stops by at least twice a week to make sure I'm not just sitting around drinking myself to death so I think your bases are covered, Shan." Jack knew the medications had terrible side effects but he can honestly say killing himself hadn't been on his mind in at least 4 months.

Shanda had visited him in the facility once a month and once he leveled out, his therapist had him write apology letters to all those he had hurt. The only person to reply was his old coworker who had sent a "Sorry about you getting fired after you lost your mind" text. Shanda got a letter but she slapped him in the forehead and said "I love you, you stupid fucker." He didn't expect Cleo to respond but he hoped that she was doing alright.

He had abandon all forms of social media during his rehabilitation and had zero desire to fire up any of those accounts now that he was out. There were moments where he wasn't even sure why they agreed to release him but he wanted to at least try and live as normal as possible.

Shanda pulled up to Jack's childhood home which she had made sure to run threw top to bottom almost as if she was child proofing it for Jack's brain to handle. He joked about the sharp objects but she in fact replace the cutlery with plastic ware just to be sure.

"Having any second thoughts about staying in the house of horrors?" Shanda asked pulling him from his thoughts as he stared at the house.

"I'm embracing the horrors that made up my life, remember?" Jack looked from the house towards his best friend. He reached out and grabbed her shoulder, pulling her into a hug inside of the car and feeling the bone crushing grip she had on him. He knew she was scared. He couldn't lie and say he wasn't either but he had to try. He couldn't live locked up forever.

They got out of the car and walked into the front doors. Things had been cleaned up. The window had been repaired and the floors looked polished.

"Jesus did you stress clean the whole house?" Jack teased tossing his bag on the floor.

"Fuck no, I called a service. I'm not Mary fucking Poppins, bitch." Shanda shook her head. Jack smiled at his friend and gave her a playful shove. He walked through the first floor of the house, into the kitchen and noticed the plastic ware.

"So who do I call when I need a can opener?" Jack tapped the top of some spaghetti-O's with a plastic knife.

"Try Ramen. It's in a package and you can tear it open with your teeth." Shanda had apparently gone grocery shopping too. The pantry as full of snacks and things for him to prepare that require minimal effort.

"Oh so you prefer I die of heart failure from the sodium instead of driving a corkscrew into my neck, I see." Jack tossed the package of Ramen on the counter. Jack's jokes about death or killing himself used to bring humor to their conversations but Shanda found it hard to hear him joke so freely after watching him go through his breakdown.

"Hey, I wouldn't be back here if I didn't think I could handle it. I promise to call you every day. I have my therapist on speed dial and I will talk to one of the neighbors about being my life alert or whatever if that will make you relax." Jack put his hands on Shanda's shoulders and rubbed hoping to ease her anxiety. She threw her arms around him to hug him once again. This time he hugged back with the same force.

"I love you, you stupid bitch. Don't you ever forget it." She said into is hair.

"I love you too, you whore." She had saved his life. It was time he started making something of it again so it would be worth it.

[universe-on-her-shoulders]

Prompt: Jack comforts Tosh after she had a panic attack episode

Can’t breathe can’t breathe can’t breathe can’t breathe can’t breathe can’t breathe can’t –

The words ran through Tosh’s mind on a loop, so loudly that she half-wondered why the rest of the team couldn’t hear them as they stood grouped together in a small, dark room illuminated only by a swinging naked bulb hanging from the ceiling. The item they’d been looking for was in the centre of the floor, emitting strong enough chemical and temporal trails that the PDA in Tosh’s hand was practically vibrating, but she couldn’t focus on that as the others milled about, firing off rapid questions and throwing around jargon that she ought to have understood, had her mind not been utterly consumed by the bare concrete walls and the flickering light and the confined nature of the space. She was physically with them, yes, but mentally she was in another space and another time and no one was coming and she was alone and –

A hand looped around her upper arm, and she had the vague sense of her name being used as she was steered outside the cell-like space, down a long corridor, and out into the cool Cardiff night. It wasn’t quite warm enough to be pleasant yet, but was no longer cold enough to be uncomfortable; as she blinked hard, looking around and over at the SUV, parked under a streetlight, she became aware of Jack stood a short distance away, and it took her a moment to understand that he was the one who’d brought her outside. As this comprehension dawned, she felt first confusion and then a surge of embarrassment; had he noticed her panicking? Did he think her weak? Was he regretting his choice to hire her, and wishing he’d left her back in her cell –

The panic clawed its way back up her throat, her chest compressing as she sunk into a crouch, wrapping her arms around her head in a manner she hadn’t done for years in a desperate bid to block out the world around her. She was going to go back to the cell. Jack wouldn’t want someone so pathetically useless on his team; Jack knew, didn’t he, what she’d been before, and he’d never trusted her. After everything with Mary she’d known she was on thin ice, and now…

“Want some water?” he asked, cutting into her terrified inner monologue; he didn’t wait for a response, but crossed to the SUV, unlocked the boot, and retrieved one from the cooler they kept there, pressing it into her hand until she grasped it reflexively. “Drink it. It’ll help.”

She unscrewed the lid automatically and raised the bottle to her lips with shaking hands. Sip. Sip. Sip. Sip.

“Do they happen a lot?” Jack asked, taking a seat on the kerb beside her; after a moment, Tosh allowed herself to tip backwards just enough that she was no longer crouching, but resting on the tarmac of the pavement, although she kept her knees tucked up under her chin, finding safety in the reassuring emulation of the foetal position. “The panic attacks?”

She contemplated the question for a moment. How honest should she be? He was her boss; he was responsible for her wellbeing, and he did – she hoped – sincerely care about her. On the other hand, he was the one who’d secured her release from a government prison so secret that she’d never been able to find mention of it in her own records, and she knew that her fate was tied, however inextricably, to what he thought of her. Could he send her back there? Would he? It wasn’t like Torchwood agents could be medically retired, or sent on sabbatical. Perhaps in a year she’d be back in the cell, her memories of Cardiff and her colleagues scrubbed; at least she wouldn’t recall her time here, her freedom, or her friends. There would be no ache of longing for her liberty, because her life before incarceration had never been truly free. There had always been the weight of expectation, the pressure to succeed, and then the blackmail. Here, with an organisation that was meant to be covert, she felt freer than she ever had; more able to laugh, to be herself, to show off. There was the constant invasive worry of being sent back to her cell, but she tried to banish that thought, tried to tell herself that Jack wouldn’t do that to her, but she’d seen a side to him that frightened her.

[wildissylupus]

I haven't talked about Cassidy and Sojourn's dynamic in detail for awhile, I only really talked about them at the beginning of the year actually. So I thought I should revisit their dynamic since PvE has come out, there are new voice lines and more information has been given on the story of Overwatch (can't wait for Declassified to release).

Anyway let's get into Cassidy and Sojourn's dynamic;

The first thing I want to talk about is that Sojourn seemingly shows Cassidy the same type of respect that she shows to the old guard. To me Sojourn treats a lot of the younger members with the type of respect that one would give a person who is younger and less experienced then you, like student-teacher or commander-underling. Even with Angela you can tell that Sojourn is older then her with the way they talk to each other. Meanwhile with Cassidy, though she does make fun of him (like everyone else), she seemingly treats him as more as an equal and I think this is due to the fact that they are.

Cassidy and Sojourn, at some point or another, were the second in commands for a commander of Overwatch. Whether or not you think Cassidy being a captain was official or unofficial it doesn't change the fact that most people would view Cassidy as a captain. They were the same rank meaning they are equals on a semi-official note, that and Cassidy does have a lot more experience then a lot of the second gen cast, him being hinted to being on the streets during the crisis and being a leader, a leader of a gang but a leader non-the-less.

In their new interaction you can instantly tell that they are close, again they were the same rank but also they were probably the only few people trying to defuse the arguments that had started between Jack and Gabe. Not only that but as I have stated in previous posts I believe that Cassidy was a big part of Genji and Lena's training, being one of the few people able to land a shot on them. This would lead to Cassidy and Sojourn to becoming close because they would want to be sure that these new recruits would come back safe.

Also I want to point out that Sojourn is the only character to point out to Ashe that she could be more then a criminal. No other Overwatch hero does that. I think it's because of how close Cassidy and Sojourn are that she knows that Ashe is not just a criminal, but genuinely a good person who would burn the world to the ground for the people she cares about. I also think that she would know that Cassidy does still care about Ashe, especially if they were working closely together near the end of Overwatch.

There's a little detail in the final cutscene of the Toronto Mission when before Cassidy says "Jack Morrison is busy chasing ghosts...", when Sojourn says "This isn't my life anymore", where Cassidy looks at her with what appears to be sympathy. Then after the line Sojourn looks at Cassidy then away, either out of understanding or guilt, because Cassidy is obviously frustrated they brought this up. Honestly through that entire interaction it seems that while Winston is trying to convince Sojourn to stay with Overwatch, Cassidy is trying to convince her to help.

Honestly I think the line that Cassidy said to Sojourn, "You know he's right", is going to come up again. I have always been adamant that Cassidy's arc is being set up for him to be one of the next leaders of Overwatch. That's what Ana sees him becoming, that's what implied with Jack telling Ana to give the information he's gathered to Cassidy, and it's what I think Sojourn and Ashe will help him see he can be. With Sojourn I think Cassidy will be a big part in helping her see that Overwatch isn't a lost cause, that they can still make a positive change in the world. I don't think Sojourn will stay with Overwatch, she's one of the few characters who enjoys their retirement, but I do think she will still help the New Overwatch, even after they defeat Null Sector.

[spinaroos-47]

It’s the kiddos!

These four are kingdings fankids me and @bernardo-draws-and-cries have had for a while (as in, Bethany and Lancer exist since 2016, Belle and Aster since 2017). I decided to do some small redesigns for them!

Or for their humanized forms, at least. It’s been 7 years and I don’t feel comfortable in delving on their more canon accurate versions (Bê has them)

They’re part of an au we have together, HCWT, they also appear on other aus that we’ve delved into in the many years of kingdings brainrot we had. But HCWT is their main place. That being said, there is a lot of stuff that is muddy/vague since it’s such an old au that we haven’t touched in a few years, and also we’ve done so many iterations of it that it’s hard to know what is canon now. I’m going to be kinda basing it on the original fanfic we had for it for a lot of the basic stuff. (it was written in portuguese so not super accessible for most people reading this)

More information on them below the read more

They all have font names, I’m still surprised that I managed to find fonts for Bethany and Belle after they were created (Bethany Script and La Belle Aurore respectively)

Also they all appear in different ages in the au(s), these are just the most seen ones. Bethany also is shown a lot when she’s five, and both Belle and Aster when they’re older. Sometimes also they are in different age order and stuff, but I’m just going to talk about the HCWT version on the ages shown here. There’s a lot of old stuff for a lot of the other aus in my artblog that i never shown here, This blog actually was originally an ask blog for an underfell au where only Aster and Belle existed.

- Bethany is the oldest, both in creation order and in universe. Her childhood is a bit of a muddy area since we haven’t touched that part of the au in a while, but for now, she was born a few years before the pacifist ending happens. In HCWT we have her being the next one in line for running human-monster deals after Asgore retires from that, I don’t really see Asriel or Chara being too excited to do that, but she’s pretty up for the task.

(Chara and Asriel are brought back in the au also)

She’s a pretty no nonsense kind of person, but she lets herself be a goof around her sibilings, friends and nibilings/cousins (thats a worm hole im not willing to deal with right now). She also has a best friend called Daniel, not pictured here, and she’s a bit of the voice of reason of the two, but she’s often part of the shenanigans. They end up living together a while after.

Very strong also, took it after Asgore, could lift all her sibilings + Gaster all at once.

- Lancer is a bit funny to share with people after Deltarune released, I’m still a bit shocked at this coincidence. Not a lot of what he does is set in stone, a pretty wild card in this sense. Nice, kind kid, helps a lot on Asgore’s flower shop after school and on weekends. He’s blind and got a guide dog named Jack, which does end up being how he meets his girlfriend Berry, who was working as a volunteer when he went to get Jack. I got a very soft spot for him, he’s just a little guy, sunshine impersonated.

- Belle is a big book worm since small, it came from a way to pass the time when she can’t do much physically demanding things, like Aster does. So she spends a lot of time with Gaster, becoming a bit of an assistant to him as she gets older. And while she does look and act pretty chill most of the time, she is an anger bomb, very short tempered. Scary angry little goat-skele. Years later she begins dating a human named Barbara.

- Aster! My baby boy! Liddle man! I love him so much. He’s a very athletic kid, loves sports, grows up to be a manlet, almost a himbo, but he’s pretty smart. They love each other, but he and Belle are the two most likely to butt heads around the house, being the two most hot headed ones in there. He also begins dating some years down the line, with a spider mosnter named Epaminondas (Epa for short).

This is just the tip of the iceberg of HCWT, there’s a lot more in it, but I wanted to focus on these four lil fellas :] Probably not going to share much more stuff about it, if at all here, but this was fun to revisit!

[cozyaliensuperstar7]

Richard Roundtree (July 9, 1942 – October 24, 2023) was an American actor, noted as being "the first black action hero" for his portrayal of private detective John Shaft in the 1971 film Shaft, and its four sequels, released between 1972 and 2019. For his performance in the original film, Roundtree was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actor in 1972.

Born July 9, 1942, in New Rochelle, New York, to John Roundtree and Kathryn Watkins, Roundtree attended New Rochelle High School; graduating in 1961. During high school, Roundtree played for the school's undefeated and nationally ranked football team. Following high school, Roundtree attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois. Roundtree dropped out of college in 1963 to begin his acting career.

Roundtree began his professional career around 1963. Roundtree began modeling in the Ebony Fashion Fair after being scouted by Eunice W. Johnson. After his modeling success with the Fashion Fair, Roundtree began modeling for such products as Johnson Products' Duke hair grease  and Salem cigarettes. In 1967, Roundtree joined the Negro Ensemble Company. His first role while a part of the company was portraying boxing legend Jack Johnson in the company's production of The Great White Hope.  According to J. E. Franklin, he acted in the Off-Off-Broadway production of her play Mau Mau Room, by the Negro Ensemble Company Workshop Festival, at St. Mark's Playhouse in 1969, directed by Shauneille Perry.

Roundtree was a leading man in early 1970s blaxploitation films, his best-known role being detective John Shaft in the action movie, Shaft (1971) and its sequels, Shaft's Big Score! (1972) and Shaft in Africa (1973). Roundtree also appeared opposite Laurence Olivier and Ben Gazzara in Inchon (1981). On television, he played the slave Sam Bennett in the 1977 television series Roots and Dr. Daniel Reubens on Generations from 1989 to 1991. He played another private detective in 1984's City Heat opposite Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds. Although Roundtree worked throughout the 1990s, many of his films were not well-received, but he found success elsewhere in stage plays.

During that period, however, he reemerged on the small screen as a cultural icon. On September 19, 1991, Roundtree appeared in an episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 with Vivica A. Fox. The episode was "Ashes to Ashes", Roundtree playing Robinson Ashe Jr. Roundtree appeared in David Fincher's critically acclaimed 1995 movie Seven, and in the 2000 Shaft, again as John Shaft, with Samuel L. Jackson playing the title character, who is described as the original Shaft's nephew. Roundtree guest-starred in several episodes of the first season of Desperate Housewives as an amoral private detective. He also appeared in 1997's George of the Jungle and played a high-school vice-principal in the 2005 movie, Brick. His voice was utilized as the title character in the hit PlayStation game Akuji the Heartless, where Akuji must battle his way out of the depths of Hell at the bidding of the Baron.

In 1997–1998, Roundtree had a leading role as Phil Thomas in the short-lived Fox ensemble drama, 413 Hope St. He portrayed Booker T. Washington in the 1999 television movie Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years.

Beginning in 2005, Roundtree appeared in the television series The Closer as Colonel D. B. Walter, U.S.M.C. (retired), the father of a sniper, and in Heroes as Simone's terminally ill father, Charles Deveaux. Next, Roundtree appeared as Eddie's father-in-law in episodes of Lincoln Heights. Roundtree then had a supporting role in the 2008 Speed Racer film as a racer-turned-commentator who is an icon and hero to Speed. He also appeared in the two-parter in Knight Rider (2008) as the father of FBI Agent Carrie Ravai, and co-starred as the father of the lead character on Being Mary Jane, which has aired on BET since 2013.

In 2019, Roundtree co-starred in the comedy film film What Men Want, and returned to the role of John Shaft in Shaft, a sequel to the 2000 film, opposite Samuel L. Jackson and Jessie Usher, who portray John Shaft II and John Shaft III, respectively. This time, Roundtree's character was described as Jackson's character's father, while acknowledging that Roundtree had pretended to be Jackson's Shaft's uncle in the 2000 movie. He also starred in the movie, Family Reunion in 2019.

Roundtree was married and divorced twice and had five children. His first marriage was to Mary Jane Grant, whom he married on November 27, 1963. Roundtree and Grant had two children before divorcing in December 1973. He dated actress and TV personality Cathy Lee Crosby shortly thereafter. Roundtree later married Karen M. Ciernia in September 1980; together they had three children. Roundtree and Ciernia divorced in 1998. Roundtree was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1993 and underwent a double mastectomy and chemotherapy.

Roundtree died of pancreatic cancer at his Los Angeles home on October 24, 2023, at the age of 81.

My deepest condolences to his family and friends. 🙏🏾❤️🕊

[kevinsreviewcatalogue]

Review: Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022)

 Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022)

Rated PG for action/violence, rude humor/language, and some scary moments

<Originally posted at https://kevinsreviewcatalogue.blogspot.com/2023/12/review-puss-in-boots-last-wish-2022.html>

Score: 5 out of 5

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is a movie I missed last year, which made it kind of annoying to hear so many people praising it to the heavens as one of the best animated films in years, not least of all because I'm the kind of guy who does not like spoilers. Flying down to Florida just in time to share a house with three little kids over Christmas break gave me the perfect opportunity to check it out, and the only thing I'm disappointed about is not seeing it sooner. It doesn't reinvent the wheel or have any pretensions of being a particularly revelatory movie, but it's still an outstandingly well-put-together one in everything from the animation to the characters to the humor to the mayhem. Putting it side-by-side with Shrek, the film that put DreamWorks Animation in the spotlight and which this one is a sequel to a spinoff of, shows just how much the studio has evolved in the twenty-plus years since then, going from mischievous, Looney Tunes-esque pop culture spoofs with barbs aimed directly at Disney to a kind of family-friendly, character-driven adventure comedy that's clearly inspired by the Mouse but still has enough unique style and dramatic edge to stand out. I don't really have much to add to the conversation on this one except to say that it's easily one of the best films that DreamWorks has ever made, especially given what I thought of the movie they released just eight months before this, and one that I expect to stick around as a classic just like Shrek itself.

Set in a fantasy/fairy-tale version of Spain, our eponymous protagonist is an intelligent cat who has exploited his nine lives to become an adventurer who doesn't fear death... at least, not until he loses his eighth life thanks to his carelessness fighting a monster attacking a town. Suddenly, he no longer feels so invincible, especially once he encounters a mysterious wolf bounty hunter who seeks to claim his ninth and final life after watching him squander his previous eight. Going into retirement in an elderly cat lady's home after burying his sword and gear, Puss is dragged back to the world of adventure when Goldilocks, the thuggish leader of the Three Bears Crime Family (guess who her "enforcers" are), seeks to hire him to find the Wishing Star, a magical rock that would grant one wish to whoever discovers it -- and she won't take no for an answer. Puss decides that this star is his key to regaining his nine lives, and with help from an old flame named Kitty Softpaws, he sets out to find it himself, staying one step ahead of Goldilocks, the evil businessman "Big" Jack Horner who wants it for his own ends, and of course, the Wolf.

The look of the film is one of the most immediately striking things about it. While it's not the first film to use cel shading to make computer animation emulate the look of hand-drawn animation while being distinct from both (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and The Mitchells vs. the Machines did something similar recently), it's going for a different set of influences than those films, its look instead resembling a mix of the fairy tale artwork that the Shrek movies have always spoofed and anime in the action scenes. The settings feel lifted almost from a highly stylized painting or storybook, while the action looks downright sublime, the film's characters doing battle, chasing one another, and facing various treacherous foes on their quest for the Wishing Star in all manner of awesome ways. Even as cats, Puss and Kitty came across as credible and cool adventure heroes, especially with Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek Pinault leaning heavily into their live-action screen personas, Banderas playing Puss as a riff on Zorro where the only real "parody" element comes from his species and Hayek playing Kitty as the cool femme fatale who has history with the hero that they'll inevitably have to settle. Florence Pugh was hilarious doing her best gender-flipped Ray Winstone impression as Goldilocks, especially with the real Winstone himself voicing one of the three bears (alongside Olivia Colman and Samson Kayo), while John Mulaney made Horner into an absolute bastard who I couldn't wait to see get his well-deserved comeuppance. At first glance, with three separate groups of characters all racing for the Wishing Star, this film can feel sprawling, and yet it always manages to tie these three stories together in a way that feels organic.

The key to doing this was the Wolf. From the moment we're introduced to him, he's presented as a metaphorical representation of death itself, an impossibly skilled fighter who trounces and nearly kills Puss in their first encounter and who is seemingly unstoppable from that point onward, every meeting he has with Puss feeling like it could be their last. The film's comedy stops dead cold whenever the whistling announcing his arrival starts up, Wagner Moura's performance lending him an almost demonic menace without going over-the-top into cackling supervillainy. He is one of the best villains I've seen in any animated film in a long while, a no-nonsense monster whose evil combines the most terrifying elements of an unstoppable force of nature and somebody who hates you personally, the closest thing that a family film could come to an outright slasher movie villain. There have been many jokes made about this film having one of the most realistic depictions of a panic attack in any animated film, but watching it, it was no joke: I understood immediately how this guy completely disarmed Puss' suave, arrogant demeanor and left him a trembling wreck running for his life. The Wolf wasn't just scary, he was a perfect villain for Puss, a representation of how his wasted life is finally catching up with him, and watching Puss reach a place where he can finally confront the Wolf and turn the tables on him was immeasurably satisfying.

From this, we get a fairly simple moral that largely boils down to a celebration of living life to the fullest rather than either wasting it on hedonism or remaining stuck in an idealized past. It's nothing revolutionary, but not only is it exactly the kind of thing that the fairy tales this movie is sending up have long embraced, it's well-told enough that I fully bought into it. If the original Shrek was a deconstructive parody of fairy tales that sent up their moral messages while offering a few of its own, then this film serves largely as a more faithful, straightforward throwback to them, amped up with a swashbuckling action/adventure plot and some jokes for the parents but otherwise falling squarely within the modern, post-Kung Fu Panda DreamWorks wheelhouse.

The Bottom Line

It's a very straightforward movie once you get past the stylish animation, but hardly to a fault, as it's still a riotous, heartfelt, and just plain awesome ride that delivers exactly where it counts and doesn't overstay its welcome. Easily one of the best family films of the last ten years.

[masterwords]

Pairing: Hotch/Morgan

the hope of all we might have been

Summary: Peter Lewis is dead, and Hotch is released from Witness Protection into the wilds of Chicago. What's he gonna do? Well, he's heard that Derek has moved back to Chicago...maybe there's a chance at a new beginning waiting for him.

Words: 5.2k

Warnings: Um...none? I can't think of anything. It's pure fluff.

** THE CHICAGO TIMES COLLECTION MASTERLIST **

Notes: Part One of the Chicago series, a foundation for the whole thing. A new life for these sweet, soft old men. (It's on AO3 too, if you prefer to head on over there.)

**

“Peter Lewis is dead.”

Those four words should have felt more comforting than they were. They should have filled him with relief, knowing that he could have his life back. He could walk confidently back into his suits and into his office.

Except, now faced with those words, he found he wasn't that naive. He could have his name back, and he could have his freedom back, but that life was forever dead to him.

A month or two and maybe it would have been possible, but a lot happens in a year and that was no longer his department, no longer his team. And maybe he didn't want it anymore, maybe that was the real truth of it. Maybe the last year was hell, was torture, was nightly arguments with Jack about missing family and ruined lives, I hate yous and I'm sorry's spread thick and sour over everything they touched. Maybe it was hell, but they'd seen their way through it, and were emerging on the other side.

Not unchanged. His heart no longer beat for the BAU. If he went back, Jack would surely never forgive him.

But they had Chicago. Of all the places on the map they were offered, Chicago called to him with her endless towering gray structures, a bone kingdom to wander through and hide within. No one stood out here, no one was looking here. He liked it. The anonymity was ripe and comforting. More than that, the opportunity to knock on a familiar door after all this time, to be right near someone who could look into his face and recognize him for who he really was...that was the hope he'd held onto. Some days it was firm, others like water through his fingers.

“Did you hear me, Hotch?”

“Yes, I'm sorry,” he muttered, dragging himself back to Emily's voice on the other end of the line. He'd gone somewhere else. “I heard you. Peter Lewis is dead. How did it happen?”

“Oh, don't you dare start questioning ethics here, mister. It was justified, I've already signed off on the reports. You're missing the important point here with your pigheadedness...you're free, Hotch. No more hiding. You can do whatever you want. So...speaking of...do you want your job back?”

He blinked owlishly and watched as the room turned to taffy, the walls stretching tall and thin and long and wiggly. Quickly he sat, fell with a plop onto his too hard couch in his display room decorated apartment and tried to find words. Any words.

“Hotch?” She was getting impatient. He could be incredibly frustrating, but this was a new low even for him.

“I'm sorry. I - “

“Okay, you don't have to make a decision now. You can think about it for a few days. I know this must be a shock, you need some time.”

“No. I've given it plenty of thought. Time is not something I've lacked recently. I won't be returning to the BAU.”

“Okay that's fair. But what about the Bureau? There's a spot for a Section Chief, you'd be working with Andi Swann's unit. I know you and she are good friends.”

“My time with the Bureau...” he paused, licking his dry lips. It was a thought he'd had many times over, rehearsed, knew inside and out. But saying it outloud and thinking it were two very different things. “I'm retiring from the Bureau, effective immediately.”

Emily nodded, biting her lip. This wasn't entirely unexpected, but it did hurt to hear it. She couldn't prepare herself for this reality. Classic Emily, using her favorite tactic for self-preservation: avoidance. How many times would it take before she learned it didn't actually save her anything? “I was really hoping you wouldn't say that...but I get it.”

“There's no place for me there anymore. And things with Jack are strained, at best...I suspect he might never forgive me if I went back after this.”

She nodded. “Yeah. That makes sense. Sure.” She was hurt, offended a little if she was being honest with herself. The office felt a lot less lively now, surrounded by his books that she would have to pack up. All this time she'd refused to put down any roots, to change a thing. His nameplate was still in the top drawer, his photos of Haley and Jack neatly stashed...everything else as it was. She came in every day and sat beneath his law volumes and his binders, kept his handwriting all over the files, she lived in his shadow because this was his space. No roots for her, she was just a placeholder. And now that lie was exposed. A lie she should have accepted months ago. “So, what will you do? Who even are you without serial killers to catch and victims to save?” She tried to laugh, a forced little squeaking sound that came out more like a gag. She choked on her shame.

To his credit, he ignored it. “I'm lecturing at Northwestern Law currently. They've offered me a position, but with the stipulations of protective custody being what they are, I couldn't very well accept. I may ask them if that offer still stands.” Thinking aloud more than anything. His mind still hadn't really caught up to his mouth, to the way he'd officially told Emily he wouldn't be back. That Unit Chief was no longer his title, hadn't been for long enough that he felt entirely separate from it.

“Isn't that where Morgan went to school?”

The smile, just barely ticking up at the corners of his mouth, was involuntary. “It is. I walk by a trophy case every morning with a photo of him on the football team. Isn't that funny? The world is so big, yet so incredibly small.”

“Will you see him? Before you come back to Virginia I mean?”

He paused, quietly contemplating that assumption...would he move back? He supposed he had to make a choice about that as well. Jessica would expect it, certainly. And he did miss her. He'd walked away from Jessica and Roy, away from his mother, away from Sean.

He'd continued dumping money into Sean's account while he served his sentence, untraceable funds. Cash from his pocket to a US Marshal who handed it off a number of times until it entered Jessica's bank account, after which it was divided among she and Sean. Every month, when that deposit was made, the two of them could at least be comforted that somewhere he was alive. Still alive.

Of course if Lewis really wanted to, he could have found a way to trace them...but he didn't seem to be that motivated. Or clever. He hadn't counted on Hotch leaving the BAU behind, cutting all ties. By his calculations, Hotch should have dug in harder, turned to hunting him exclusively, the way he had Foyet. He anticipated having the full attention of Hotch and the BAU turned to him and when that hadn't happened...he was more than a little distraught. Did Hotch feel guilty that the BAU found themselves targeted on his behalf? Certainly. Many times over he would hear news through official channels, the Marshals, letting him know and each time he was more and more convinced that he had done the right thing but also that he should be there to stop innocent people being attacked.

The problem was, he understood why Foyet targeted him. It made sense. But this? Peter Lewis didn't make sense to him. Nothing he did made sense. Hotch didn't fit his profile. It didn't matter anyway...Lewis thought he could be Hotch's focus in the same way Foyet could, but he failed to consider Jack. When Foyet attacked, he had hardly seen Jack. He was nothing more than an absent father with nothing to lose. Now he was a full-time father with everything to lose. Playing the same game with a different man would yield different results.

Anyway, the cash was the best option and his only way of communicating with the people he loved. Lewis could have watched their accounts, hacked the banks, figured out who was making the deposits, track them all the way back to the Marshals and Chicago...but he didn't. He tried to lure Hotch out in other ways and now he was dead. That part didn't sit well with him.

“I'm not sure if we'll be returning to Virginia. I'll keep you posted.” There were some things, very important things, that he needed to do first. Things he promised he would do if protective custody ended while he was still in The Windy City. He was not in the habit of breaking promises.

- - - - -

“Agent Hotchner!” Fran exclaimed in her breathy smiling voice, opening the door wide to him. “It's so nice to see you!”

“Aaron,” he corrected with a smile. “It's just Aaron now.”

“Oh, right, silly me...Derek told me about your situation...but I assume that since you're here on my stoop, your situation has improved?”

She ushered him inside, nearly tugging him out of his pea coat and hanging it up in the hallway. He nodded, rubbing his sweatered arms briskly in the warmth of her home. He'd almost forgotten how inviting and warm she kept this place...he'd almost forgotten a lot of things, it seemed.

“It has. Jack and I were released this morning, the man who was threatening us has been...dispatched.” He couldn't use the uglier words with her. Silly, considering her son was an FBI Agent and former police officer, and she'd been married to a police officer. She knew all of the ugly words. But he could save her having to hear them now. “I had heard that Derek and Savannah moved to Chicago and was wondering whether you might have some way for me to contact them?”

He could have just asked Emily or called Penelope. He could have gone any number of ways, but the first thing he promised himself upon release was a friendly face. Not a phone call, a face. Fran's face. She'd always been a beacon.

“OTZ! OTZ!” A small, chirpy voice followed by the thunder of little feet slapping on hard wood floors snapped him to attention. He furrowed his brow, stared in confusion as a toddler came rushing straight at his knees. “OTZ!”

Fran laughed. “He's saying Hotch. He knows you.”

For a moment, he was so stunned he couldn't breathe. His lungs were pure fire. How Hank knew who he was by sight hadn't even registered through the immense pressure that came with simply knowing this was Hank. This walking, talking little human who he had last seen when he was brand new. “This can't be Hank...” he muttered, closing his eyes, picturing his large hand in that bassinet, Hank's tiny hand wrapped around his finger.

“He's growing so fast.”

Speechless, he stared down at the little boy who was wrapped around his knees. How could this much time have passed? Sure, he'd seen the way time had darkened Jack's hair and eyes, until the parts of him that resembled Haley were fewer...until he looked like a Hotchner. Time did that, but so slowly it felt like a crawl. “Hank?”

“ANK! ANK!” he squealed, backing up. “OTZ!” He pointed at Hotch and grinned, clapping. “OTZ HEEEE!”

“Yeah, baby, Hotch is here...” Fran cooed, lifting him into her arms. “Your daddy is gonna be so surprised. But aren't you supposed to be napping, mister?” Hank pressed his face into her shoulder and hid there for a moment. “Naughty naughty.”

“ANK SEEP.”

“Yes. Hank sleep or daddy is gonna be madddddddddd at Grandma.” She turned to Hotch with an apologetic smile. “I'll be right back. Please, have a seat. I'll get you some coffee.”

She didn't need to be gone long, but Hank never stopped babbling. At least he was planning to stay in bed for the time being, she lamented. He was a good boy, easy to put down for naps, not easy to keep there.

“Is your son excited?” she asked, handing him a mug of coffee. He breathed it in deep.

“He doesn't know yet. I didn't want to disrupt his day at school, so I'll tell him after basketball tonight.”

“Will he be excited to go home?”

Hotch, for the second time that day, contemplated his answer. “I haven't decided what we'll do. I'm on contract through the end of the year at Northwestern, and I'd like for him to finish the year where he's at.” That answer came out of nowhere. Apparently somewhere on his walk from his apartment to Fran's house he'd come to some sort of temporary decision, though he hadn't realized it until now. Some clarity was beginning to descend on him. “Jack likes his school; he likes this city.”

Fran's face lit up. “Derek will be glad to hear that. He should be here in about an hour to pick Hank up, would you stay for supper?”

“Jack has basketball practice until 6,” he started, not really sure how that factored into his answer. “I'll need to be home by then or he'll worry. We've developed a fairly rigid schedule this last year.”

To absolutely no one's surprise, Hank didn't stay in his bed. The excitement of someone new in his surroundings, someone from what Hotch could only infer were some sort of fables told about him...well that was simply too much to sleep through. “OTZ!” He came toddling out in nothing but a diaper, rubbing his sleepy eyes, holding a book to his chest. “Otz yeed?”

Hotch frowned, glancing at Fran confused. “Does he want me to read to him?”

“A dad knows...” she whispered with a soft smile. “That's his favorite book. It's called The Gruffalo, and you'd better do the voices. He's very particular.”

The book was an easy read, but there were a lot of voices and he had to dig deep, drawing on the days that Jack used to beg to be read to. One story after another, Jack sometimes wanted to drag bedtime all the way to sunrise if you'd let him. Hotch's voice went high in places, scraping and breaking as he became the mouse, and then dug low and deep when he became the Gruffalo. Hank was enthralled.

None of them noticed Derek standing in the entryway to the room behind them, his arms folded over his chest, silently taking in the view. “You do a better Gruffalo than I do,” he said when the book was closed. “But your snake could use a little work.”

Hank, with all his might, leaped off of Hotch's lap using his legs as a jumping off point. A younger man might not even flinch, but he was acutely aware in that moment how much those bony little hands and feet hurt when they dug into his thighs. Still, he turned and took a full look at Derek standing there in athletic shorts and what looked like a worn-out high school p.e. t-shirt and couldn't help smiling. “It's nice to see you too.”

“What are you doing here?” Derek, with his son now in his arms, entered the room. The closer he got, the more nervous he seemed to be.

“Peter Lewis is,” he began, but Derek nodded dismissively, not wanting him to say more in front of the kid. Hotch could appreciate that.

“Yeah, Penelope called me to let me know. So you're out of custody then? No more government babysitters?”

“We are. I haven't had an opportunity to tell Jack yet.”

“And you uh...you just...”

“Came here? Yes. I started walking to clear my head and ended up here. I hope you don't mind.”

“Mind?” Derek asked, breathless before letting Hank down. The little boy waddled off toward the toys in the corner, content now that his dad was home. Now that he'd heard his story and wasn't in trouble for not napping. Slowly, Hotch pushed up off of the couch, his knees creaking and groaning after being seated for so long. He extended his hand for a shake, quick and formal, but Derek wasn't having any of that...with both hands, he tapped Hotch's shoulders and pulled him in for a hug. A huge hug, wrapping him up tight, and Hotch couldn't help but hug back. He circled his arms around Derek's waist and tightened his grip. “I'm so damn happy to see you. I was worried sick. No one would tell me anything. I thought I saw you once...but what could I do about it?”

Standing and wiping the tears from her eyes with the tip of her shawl, Fran cleared her throat. “I'm going to go put on more coffee and start supper. Leave you boys alone...I think you have some catching up to do.”

Catching up. Hotch just wanted to look at Derek. He was ripped backward through the fabric of time to the memory of those first few weeks after Derek left the BAU, those days that seemed so long and so slow. He couldn't remember a time without him being there. Good days, bad days, always there.

Until he wasn't. “I missed you,” Hotch admitted quietly. Like it was a sacred secret, like Derek didn't know it already. “I was happy for you, when you made the decision to leave. To be with your family. And I knew that it would be difficult to adjust after working together so long, but it never occurred to me just how much I would miss you.”

Derek laughed at the admission and how inadvertently sweet it was, if not a little silly given the situation. “Of course you missed me. Why didn't you just call me ya dork?”

Hotch couldn't seem to fathom an answer to that question. Such a simple thought that had never really occurred to him. But Derek understood, even still. They'd always understood one another plainly with few words. It was more or less a miracle that Hotch is even here now, except that Derek could see something had changed in him. There was a lightness now that he hadn't seen in years, a burden that seemed to have been lifted.

“I've decided not to return to the BAU.”

“No?”

“That part of my life has reached its conclusion. I can't do that anymore. I've been lecturing at Northwestern Law, it's a good fit. I'll stick around until the end of the school year and make decisions as it gets closer.”

“Are you saying you might stay here in Chicago?”

“It's on the table.”

Derek beamed, he couldn't hide it and saw no reason to try. This was a new life they were both living. “That's great news.”

Hotch, realizing suddenly how long he'd been hogging the conversation, abruptly changed course.

“I've been so rude, enough about me, how are you? How is Savannah? And fatherhood?”

Derek didn't hesitate. He didn't feel inclined to beat around any bushes, not today. Not now. “Savannah and I split. It's all good though. Funny, we got into it over my job over and over...it took so many tries before I could meet her parents, you know? But we made it, we did it, and then her job is the nail in the coffin, man. She was given the opportunity to go into the field with Doctors Without Borders, and we were like okay, cool, we'll try it. She grew up dreaming about it, I can't say no to her dream even if it's bad timing.”

Hotch nodded, thinking briefly about Beth and New York first, then Hong Kong. He knew all too well about timing and letting something you love go.

“Anyway,” Derek continued, “to absolutely no one's surprise, she fell in love with it. After a lot of debate about what was best for Hank, we decided it was probably best if we split so there wasn't so much to discuss or figure out, not so much pressure. Don't give me that look, man, it's all good. We go visit her every couple of weeks wherever she is, Hank's a world class traveler. We talk to her every day. It's really good. I love the shit outta that woman.”

Hotch hadn't taken a breath it at least thirty seconds, trying to parse the information given with what he knew about Derek and his ability to put a positive spin on any situation. He was searching for the lie in his smile.

“Seriously, Hotch. It's good. We're goin' down to Brazil on Thursday for a few days to see her. She's finishing up a 6-month assignment there, then she'll be here for about two weeks, and it looks like she's off to Uganda for a few weeks before she gets her next long-term assignment. We're not sure if we'll be able to go visit her while she's there, her job is going to be working with patients with Ebola.”

“Does that worry you?”

“A little, not gonna lie. But she's a hell of a doctor, and it's a really solid program. They don't mess around.”

Fran poked her head into the room during a momentary lull to ask Hotch, once again, if he'd like to stay for supper.

“Yes! Of course, another time. Derek, will you be staying?”

“I would love to,” he started, smiling, “but I really should be getting home. Jack will be back soon. Another time I hope.”

“I uh...well I was gonna offer to give Hotch a ride home. If he wants. You good with that moms?”

“Go, go. I suppose I'll just invite the neighbors over. Someone has to want to have dinner with me.”

- - - - -

It went a little too easily from a short car ride through the streets, Derek shocked to find how close they'd been this whole time, to Derek and Hank setting up camp in Hotch's apartment so they could continue catching up. The place was small and tidy, not really very decorated but there were a few paintings of boats hanging around and at least that reminded him of Hotch in some small way while the rest of the place looked cold and lifeless. Boats.

Hank rushed around the place with Derek hot on his heels, pulling dangerous things out of his hands, sliding furniture to quickly cover up outlets and ultimately trying to carry on a conversation while stopping his child from constant suicide attempts. “I'm sorry,” Hotch said quietly, trying to help where he could while making dinner. “I suppose it's been a long time since my home has been baby proof. I'd forgotten.”

“No worries. Maybe we can have dinner at my place next time though...”

Next time. Hotch smiled at that and nodded. Before he had a chance to formulate an adequate response around the thunder of his heartbeat in his throat, Jack's key was in the lock. Tap tap tap, they key turned, then another click click sound. Their little secret code. It wasn't necessary, probably, but Jack had been pretty scared at first and Hotch was willing to do whatever it took to ease his mind. Besides, it had become something kind of fun, a highlight in the doldrums of their days when they could act like secret undercover spies entering their lair.

“That's cute,” Derek said, noticing right away. “Remember when we went undercover in Texas?”

“How could I forget?”

Jack was inside before they could extrapolate, before they wandered down memory lane. This was a dangerous peace here between them, without the looming BAU rules and regulations, without wives and jobs and all of the other reasons they'd used to tamp down this strange electricity between them.

“Dad?” Jack asked, confused as he dropped his backpack on the ground just inside the doorway. There was a hook on the wall for it, but that more or less remained empty. Hotch had long since given up enforcing that one, it had only caused trouble and he was very much of the mind lately that the less friction he needlessly caused, the better. There were more important things to dig in on, like keeping Jack's identity a secret while he was trying to live as normal a life as he could. “What's going on? Do we have to leave again?”

Derek, not one to shy away, walked straight up to Jack and wrapped him in a hug. Something he was sure, at one point, might never happen again. The boy seemed to have grown a full foot since he'd last seen him and god did he ever look like Hotch all of a sudden. His features were far too serious for a boy his age.

“No, buddy. We're out. Peter Lewis is dead.”

“Really? He's really dead? We can go home?”

Hotch nodded soberly. “I figure we'll finish the school year here and make some plans. Does that sound alright?”

Without answering the question, Jack kicked out of his shoes and a look of pure excitement flashed over his features. “Can I call my friends and tell them my real name?!”

“Sure buddy. Dinner will be ready in about a half hour.”

Dinner went late, all of them enjoying the company a little too much as it dragged from afternoon to evening. Dessert was punctuated with Hank's wide yawns and sleepy eyes while Jack worked on his homework in his bedroom, albeit a little distractedly while he called every one of his friends to explain to them his situation. By morning the kid would be a legend in the hallways. Hotch would have preferred a little more discretion, but at Jack's age that was a lot to ask.

“I've kept you too long,” Hotch said, staring at the incredible little toddler in Derek's lap. The reminder that time hadn't stopped. A beautiful and tragic understanding. “This is the first time I've actually talked with anyone but Jack in nearly a year, I've been greedy. You need to get Hank to bed.”

“No, man, I'm...I don't wanna go. You workin at the college tomorrow?”

“I have a full day of lectures.”

“Can I pick you up for lunch? I'm working at the high school, my schedule's not too rough these days...”

That was all it took to set regular lunch dates. Every day that passed made it harder for him to consider that leaving Chicago was an option.

The week that Derek and Hank were traveling made it abundantly clear just how badly Hotch wanted Derek in his life with something akin to permanence. He'd forced himself to live without him once out of respect for duty, but that wasn't an issue anymore. He simply wanted this.

They resumed lunch dates immediately upon Derek's arrival back home. He had stories to tell, some funny and some sad, some too incredible to be believed. "You should come with us next time," Derek said before he really considered what he meant by an offer like that. He couldn't take it back, and didn't want to, but it came with some heavy realization that he was getting in pretty deep here already.

"Yeah," Hotch replied without any fanfare. "It might be nice to get out for a while. It has been too long since I've traveled for anything other than work."

Some days Hotch packed them lunches, leftovers from dinner the night before or simple sandwiches like schoolboys. Spring had begun to take root, tiny little green buds opening to flowers and leaves, the sky turning blue, clouds spun like cotton candy and everything felt new.

Even Hotch. Derek would show up at the university in his P.E clothes, a little sweaty, ready for a walk through the campus or winding through the endless streets before heading back. Hotch hadn't bothered to clock his miles; he knew very well that the effort Derek was putting in to get there and back every day was more than him simply showing up at the door to his classroom. It was the reason he insisted on making lunch, it was the least he could do.

At the Ohio Street Beach, a favorite spot on the warmer days, Hotch felt a buzzing in his chest like a beehive overflowing with honeyed sweetness. He stopped, his feet sinking into the grainy sand, and grabbed Derek by the hand, pulling him close. Around them the city swirled, children screamed and played in the sand and splashed in the water while mothers and fathers called out to them to be careful, not to go too far. There was eye contact, charged and heavy, as they stood in the shadow of the lifeguard post and before he even realized what he was doing, Hotch was leaning forward ready to kiss Derek. Right there in public. Absolutely certain it was the right thing to do, the only thing to do. His body craved that closeness, felt wrong and naked without it.

Their lips met briefly, and Hotch closed his eyes, letting instinct lead where his head couldn't fathom. When Derek broke the kiss, sucked in a small breath, he couldn't bear to open his eyes, afraid he'd done something very very wrong. The apology danced on the tip of his tongue.

“I can't do this,” Derek whispered against Hotch's lips. “I can't get attached if you're gonna pack up and move back to Virginia.” Hotch felt his chest constrict, his breathing shallow and pained. “I know I'm already in too deep, but I can still...”

He was being so vulnerable that speaking above a whisper would surely destroy it all. Hotch didn't say anything, just stood there frozen in the moment, waiting. “We're doing pretty good since Savannah left, you know? We're good, Hank and I, but we can't...I can't get attached to this and say goodbye. And I really can't do another long-distance thing, man. It's hard enough with her and the travel that comes with it...”

“Derek,” Hotch whispered, smirking, fully understanding the panic in Derek's voice. He took a deep breath and finally struck up the bravery to open his eyes, to meet Derek's frenzied stare. “Could you stop talking for a moment?”

Derek laughed nervously and nodded, his turn to hold frozen in the moment. Waiting for the answer he hadn't dared to let himself hope for. Not at his age, not at this point in his life. “Jack and I decided to stay. We like Chicago, and it isn't much of a flight to visit Virginia. We're looking for a new apartment right now.”

He found, before another word was spoken, that Derek was plunging into a kiss with all his might. No more waiting, no more timid steps or whispers. Hotch and Jack were staying, and he could have this.

“You asshole," Derek whispered, pressing their foreheads together. "You could have told me sooner."

"And miss this moment of panic?"

"Jerk." Derek grinned and kissed him again, softer this time. He found himself unable to stop. "I've got plenty of room in my house,” Derek said between kisses, gasping for breath when all he wanted was to dive back in. “Move in with me and Hank.”

[jcmarchi]

Studying astrophysically relevant plasma physics

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/studying-astrophysically-relevant-plasma-physics/

Studying astrophysically relevant plasma physics

Thomas Varnish loves his hobbies — knitting, baking, pottery — it’s a long list. His latest interest is analog film photography. A picture with his mother and another with his boyfriend are just a few of Varnish’s favorites. “These moments of human connection are the ones I like,” he says.

Varnish’s love of capturing a fleeting moment on film translates to his research when he conducts laser interferometry on plasmas using off-the-shelf cameras. At the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering, the third-year doctoral student studies various facets of astrophysically relevant fundamental plasma physics under the supervision of Professor Jack Hare.

It’s an area of research that Varnish arrived at organically.

A childhood fueled by science

Growing up in Warwickshire, England, Varnish fell in love with lab experiments as a middle-schooler after joining the science club. He remembers graduating from the classic egg-drop experiment to tracking the trajectory of a catapult, and eventually building his own model electromagnetic launch system. It was a set of electromagnets and sensors spaced along a straight track that could accelerate magnets and shoot them out the end. Varnish demonstrated the system by using it to pop balloons. Later, in high school, being a part of the robotics club team got him building a team of robots to compete in RoboCup, an international robot soccer competition. Varnish also joined the astronomy club, which helped seed an interest in the adjacent field of astrophysics.

Varnish moved on to Imperial College London to study physics as an undergraduate but he was still shopping around for definitive research interests. Always a hands-on science student, Varnish decided to give astronomy instrumentation a whirl during a summer school session in Canada.

However, even this discipline didn’t quite seem to stick until he came upon a lab at Imperial conducting research in experimental astrophysics. Called MAGPIE (The Mega Ampere Generator for Plasma Implosion Experiments), the facility merged two of Varnish’s greatest loves: hands-on experiments and astrophysics. Varnish eventually completed an undergraduate research opportunity (UROP) project at MAGPIE under the guidance of Hare, his current advisor, who was then a postdoc at the MAGPIE lab at Imperial College.

Part of Varnish’s research for his master’s degree at Imperial involved stitching together observations from the retired Herschel Space Telescope to create the deepest far-infrared image ever made by the instrument. The research also used statistical techniques to understand the patterns of brightness distribution in the images and to trace them to specific combinations of galaxy occurrences. By studying patterns in the brightness of a patch of dark sky, Varnish could discern the population of galaxies in the region.

Move to MIT

Varnish followed Hare (and a dream of studying astrophysics) to MIT, where he primarily focuses on plasma in the context of astrophysical environments. He studies experimental pulsed-power-driven magnetic reconnection in the presence of a guide field.

Key to Varnish’s experiments is a pulsed-power facility, which is essentially a large capacitor capable of releasing a significant surge of current. The electricity passes through (and vaporizes) thin wires in a vacuum chamber to create a plasma. At MIT, the facility currently being built at the Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC) by Hare’s group is called: PUFFIN (PUlser For Fundamental (Plasma Physics) INvestigations).

In a pulsed-power facility, tiny cylindrical arrays of extremely thin metal wires usually generate the plasma. Varnish’s experiments use an array in which graphite leads, the kind used in mechanical pencils, replace the wires. “Doing so gives us the right kind of plasma with the right kind of properties we’d like to study,” Varnish says. The solution is also easy to work with and “not as fiddly as some other methods.” A thicker post in the middle completes the array. A pulsed current traveling down the array vaporizes the thin wires into a plasma. The interactions between the current flowing through the plasma and the generated magnetic field pushes the plasma radially outward. “Each little array is like a little exploding bubble of magnetized plasma,” Varnish says. He studies the interaction between the plasma flows at the center of two adjacent arrays.

Studying plasma behavior

The plasma generated in these pulsed-power experiments is stable only for a few hundred nanoseconds, so diagnostics have to take advantage of an extremely short sampling window. Laser interferometry, which images plasma density, is Varnish’s favorite. In this technique, a camera takes a picture of a split laser beam, one arm of which encounters the plasma and one that doesn’t. The arm that hits the plasma produces an interference pattern when the two arms are recombined. Capturing the result with a camera allows researchers to infer the structure of the plasma flows.

Another diagnostic method involves placing tiny loops of metal wire in the plasma (called B-dots), which record how the magnetic field in the plasma changes in time. Yet another way to study plasma physics is using a technique called Faraday rotation, which measures the twisting of polarized light as it passes through a magnetic field. The net result is an “image map of magnetic fields, which is really quite incredible,” Varnish says.

These diagnostic techniques help Varnish research magnetic reconnection, the process by which plasma breaks and reforms magnetic fields. It’s all about energy redistribution, Varnish says, and is particularly relevant because it creates solar flares. Varnish studies how having not-perfectly-opposite magnetic field lines might affect the reconnection process.

Most research in plasma physics can be neatly explained by the principles of magnetohydrodynamics, but the phenomena observed in Varnish’s experiments need to be explained with additional theories. Using pulsed power enables studies over longer length scales and time periods than in other experiments, such as laser-driven ones. Varnish is looking forward to working on simulations and follow-up experiments on PUFFIN to study these phenomena under slightly different conditions, which might shed new light on the processes.

At the moment, Varnish’s focus is on programming the control systems for PUFFIN so he can get it up and running. Part of the diagnostics system involves ensuring that the facility will deliver the plasma-inducing currents needed and perform as expected.

Aiding LGBTQ+ efforts

When not working on PUFFIN or his experiments, Varnish serves as co-lead of an LGBTQ+ affinity group at the PSFC, which he set up with a fellow doctoral student. The group offers a safe space for LGBTQ+ scientists and meets for lunch about once a month. “It’s been a nice bit of community building, and I think it’s important to support other LGBTQ+ scientists and make everyone feel welcome, even if it’s just in small ways,” Varnish says, “It has definitely helped me to feel more comfortable knowing there’s a handful of fellow LGBTQ+ scientists at the center.”

Varnish has his hobbies going. One of his go-to bakes is a “rocky road,” a British chocolate bar that mixes chocolate, marshmallows, and graham crackers. His research interests, too, are a delicious concoction mixed together: “the intersection of plasma physics, laboratory astrophysics, astrophysics (the won’t-fit-in-a-lab kind), and instrumentation.”

[cartoon-lizard]

Life at Sweet Apple Acres

a short appledash fic i wrote after having a need to read more of them in the future being old and married but there was a noticeable lack of exactly that :’) so enjoy! (i’ll update this with an ao3 link once i get an account lol)

In all her years, Rainbow Dash never believed that she would find home on a farm. Especially not Sweet Apple Acres. She’s sworn multiple times that if she ever got a chance to speak to her younger self, she would never believe her. Sure, being a veteran Wonderbolt and coaching the next generation at the academy, that one was a no-brainer, but living on a farm? Rainbow had to chuckle to herself when thinking about what that conversation would be like. As she’s curled up into her designated seat in the living room, she zones back in on her book. It’d been a while since she read through the Daring Do series, her last meeting with Twilight finally tipping her over the edge and giving in.

Rainbow practically had the pages memorized, Daring Do being really the only series she’s read in its entirety. She remembers back when A.K. Yearling had tried out different genres and published several more successful books after retiring as Daring Do. Rainbow, as her friend, made sure to read all of them as soon as they were released. But it was the original Daring Do series that still held a special place in her heart after all these years. She didn’t get very far in her reading though, as the golden sunlight was shining through the window and onto her seat, slowly putting Rainbow to sleep. It only felt like she had just closed her eyes when the door to the kitchen slammed open and the peace in the house seemingly ended.

Big Mac, Sugar Belle, and their son, Crispin Cake, were all bustling about in the kitchen. Thursday was one of their nights for making dinner, and each of them liked to do it all together. Rainbow marked her place in her book and stretched in her chair, yawning loudly to announce her presence. Sure enough, Crispin leaned out the doorway and smiled.

“Hi, Aunt Dashie!” He waved his hoof enthusiastically.

Rainbow waved back, leaning back with one hoof behind her head. “Hey, kiddo. What’s for dinner?”

“I think Mama said we’re having spaghetti tonight!”

“That sounds good, bud,” she suddenly sits up, eyebrows knit with slight concern. “Have you seen AJ? I came home early and thought she’d be out apple bucking, but I haven’t seen her.”

“I think Auntie Jack was over at the animal sanctuary, helping out Fluttershy.” The colt tapped his chin like he was trying to remember.

Rainbow smiled slightly. “That’s probably what’s taken her so long. I bet she’s having to wrangle all of Angel’s kids.”

The pegasus finally got out of her seat, cracking her back and her wings as she did so, and followed her nephew into the kitchen. While Big Mac and Sugar Belle did the cooking, Rainbow helped Crispin set up the table.

“Daddy, do you know if Auntie Applebloom is coming?”

“Eeyup.”

The colt’s smile grew as he went to grab an extra plate. It was clear that he loved his aunts, but he always got excited when he knew Applebloom would be joining them, since she lived closer to town and was usually at the School of Friendship a majority of the time.

Sugar Belle turned the temperature down on the sauce and looked back towards Rainbow Dash. “I hope we didn’t wake you Rainbow, we didn’t realize you were home.”

“Eh, don’t worry about it,” she shrugged, setting down a fork and a spoon. “Practice ended earlier than expected, and instead of starting the next exercise, I just decided to let the recruits have the rest of the day off. But they won’t get it so easy tomorrow when I bring out the Dizzy-tron!”

“It sounds like everything’s been going well with this new batch then?”

“Oh yeah, much fewer show offs and a lot more ponies who actually want to be in the academy.”

After a few more minutes of comfortable silence, Applebloom came bursting through the kitchen door. “I’m here! I’m here! I’m not late, am I?”

“Not at all,” Sugar Belle smiled. “Dinner’s almost ready.”

“Mm, smells like spaghetti!”

It was well after everypony had their plate and was halfway done with their food by the time the kitchen door opened again and in came Applejack, looking frazzled and sweaty.

“Sorry I’m late, y’all,” she said, wiping her forehead, embarrassed. “Hope y’all don’t mind, but I invited Fluttershy over as well.”

The pegasus followed behind sheepishly, even as everypony responded with “there’s enough room”, or “we have plenty to go around”.

“Thank you so much for having me,” Fluttershy said as she sat between Applebloom and Rainbow.

“Been a hot sec,” Rainbow stretched a wing out and pulled Fluttershy in closer for a hug. “How’s the sanctuary been?”

“Oh, wonderful as always.”

“Yeah, ‘cept for all of Angel’s kin. Of all rabbits to multiply, that one knew what he was unleashin’.” Applejack finally sat down after washing her hooves and serving herself a plate. She reached down for Rainbow’s hoof and kissed it, keeping hold of it while she ate.

“And how’s that pesky roomie of yours,” Applebloom added, leaning towards Fluttershy, still under Dash’s wing. “Discord been behavin’ himself?”

“Of course he has,” she paused. “Although he did finally learn how to do the dishes correctly.”

“He doesn’t know how to do the dishes?” Applejack asked between bites. She looked appalled.

“Oh, no, no, he does, it was just… how he did them.”

Rainbow let her go, leaning on one hoof to face her friend. “Which was?”

Fluttershy smirked at the thought. “He would put them in the soapy water, but they would come out dirtier. All this time, I thought he was leaving a pile of dirty dishes, and when I would clean them, he would see the clean dishes and think they would need to be ‘dirtied up’. It went on for a long time until I was in the kitchen when he was doing the dishes and finally noticed.”

Everypony stared at the pegasus as she giggled at the mishap. How she’s managed to live with Discord, nopony knows, but it’s somehow worked for years now and neither friend has ever said anything negative about the other. They didn’t make sense, but as the draconequus always said, what fun is there in making sense?

Dinner continued, Applebloom was asked about how her job at the School of Friendship was going, Crispin told a long story about an adventure he had with Lil’ Cheese, and Sugar Belle updated everyone on how her village was doing after her most recent visit. The sounds of laughter and chatter filled the barn as it always has, decades of old memories within the walls. Eventually it grew late, and Fluttershy felt like she had overstayed her welcome, even though she never did. She tapped three times on the table and an unzipping sound could be heard from the living room, along with a flashing blue and purple glow. She said her goodbyes and stepped through the portal. The family moved into the living room, and as it grew later, Crispin couldn’t hide his yawning anymore, indicating it was time for bed. He gave everyone a sleepy goodnight hug, making sure Applebloom’s was extra tight, and headed upstairs for bed. The two couples and the little sister were left, and even when living together for so long, they still had plenty of stories to share, enough to go well past midnight.

“Applesauce, is that the time?” Applejack said, looking up at the clock. “Sugarcube, are you stayin’ the night here? It's pretty late.”

“Oh, no, I was plannin’ on headin’ back after dinner. Mighta got carried away though with the talkin’.”

“Walk back to your place? At this hour?”

“Well, yeah,” Applebloom said nonchalantly. “I’m not a baby Applejack, I can go by myself.”

Rainbow could tell Applejack tensed when she said that, but then quickly eased up. “You’re right. Sorry, sugarcube, sometimes I still feel like you’re that little filly. I’ll walk ya’ out.”

Applebloom smiled as she got up to hug her brother and Sugar Belle and then Rainbow. “Have a good night, y’all.”

Applejack was outside with Applebloom for a long time, most likely not wanting her to go. Rainbow knew she missed having her little sister there all the time like when she was growing up. She remembers how distant Applejack was for the first few weeks after Applebloom moved out. Even though she just lives near the center of town with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, and still visits the farm regularly, Rainbow was still able to tell that Applejack missed her.

Once Applebloom was finally allowed to leave, Applejack came back in, curling up next to Rainbow. Their nightly routines were set and tonight was no different. Big Mac and Sugar Belle usually said their goodnights and headed for bed first, which left the two mares alone in the living room.

Applejack sat up to look at Rainbow, then leaned in to kiss her. “Haven’t properly said hello tonight.”

“I was starting to wonder,” Rainbow teased, kissing her forehead as she snuggled in closer. “Sounds like you had a rough time wrangling?”

“Well, y’know, I’m not built like I once was,” Applejack said, mostly jokingly. “I’m just worn out tonight, ‘sall.”

Rainbow wrapped her wing around her partner, who promptly used it as a blanket. The pegasus rolled her eyes. “We can go to bed, too, y’know?”

“I guess we could.” Applejack smirked as she reached a hoof up to Rainbow’s cheek. Right as she leaned into the touch, the hoof quickly moved to boop her snout, and Applejack was quick to wrestle herself out from under Dash’s wing and onto her hooves. “C’mon,” she said with a smile and tired eyes.

Entering their room, Rainbow took off her sweater and tossed it onto the nearby chair while Applejack took off her Granny Smith’s bonnet around her neck and placed it carefully on the dresser. She then took off her hat and shook her head of whatever dust or dirt was caught up there from a day’s work. Rainbow came up behind her, knowing she’ll ask to take the pin out from her hair. Applejack still kept her mane long, but more often than not would have it braided and tucked into a bun. Rainbow herself had kept her mane around the same length for the longest time, as if she made it a competition to see who could stand it longer. Apparently, Applejack was never a part of this imaginary competition. The day Rainbow finally chopped her hair off was the day she decided she would never grow it out again. Having a short mane felt much better, especially when flying, and she thought it looked good on her. Applejack’s reaction was confirmation enough when the pony’s face turned redder than her brother’s coat when she first saw Rainbow after her haircut.

She looked down at her partner’s mane as her wavy blonde hair unraveled from its braid. It was frizzy, stuck out in some places, and there were shimmers of silver here and there, but she loved it all the same. Looking at their reflection in the mirror on the dresser, she caught Applejack’s eye and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

As the two crawled into bed, it was quiet enough outside for Rainbow to hear the distant sound of howling. She didn’t question it and got under the covers, leaning herself against Applejack’s chest, who was sitting propped up on a pillow. Rainbow’s eyelids were growing heavy and she was ready to fall asleep when she felt hitched breathing coming from the other. She looked up to see what was the matter only to find quiet tears rolling down her wife’s cheeks.

Rainbow quickly sat up, cupping her hoof around her cheek. “What’s wrong?” She tried as hard as possible to sound gentle when speaking.

Applejack merely shook her head, looking down at her hooves beginning to bunch up the sheets piled in her lap. It was easy to tell she was too upset to speak, so Rainbow could only sit and watch with concern, waiting for something to be said. Applejack allowed her breathing to even out for a moment so she could say:

“The timberwolves are howlin’.” Her voice was shaky and as soon as she spoke her breathing resorted to gasps again. That was all Rainbow needed to hear though, because she knew. That was the first sign. Zap apple season is beginning. And it was the first harvest since losing Granny Smith.

“Oh,” she said quietly, reaching to wipe her tears away. “I- I’m sorry, hon’, I wish- I wish there was a better way we could predict it- I-”

“No, it’s alright,” Applejack said, wrapping a hoof around the other’s, taking a deep breath. “I knew the time would come eventually. Guess I was less prepared than I thought.”

Rainbow moved again to wipe the tears from her face. While she wasn’t in the family as long, Granny Smith still made her feel as much a part of it when she began dating Applejack. Rainbow was convinced that Granny considered her family before she ever even thought of being with Applejack. Granny was such an unstoppable force in the family, always making sure things got done, always providing for her grandchildren. Her impact was definitely felt when she passed.

“AJ, I know you know how much Granny loved you, loved all three of you.”

Applejack sniffed. “She loved you, too.”

“Heh, well, this isn’t about me right now.” Rainbow lifted her chin up so she could look her partner in the eyes. “Granny always wanted the best for all of you, and I saw how much she’s done for this family. She was such a strong pony, and she raised some strong ponies, too. And it’s because of that that I want you to know, it’s okay to be upset over this. I never want you to bottle something like this in. Losing someone sucks, especially somepony like Granny, that’s for sure. But, if I know her, she wouldn’t want to see you upset over her. I can practically hear her right now if she knew you were sad.” Applejack looked down again briefly, but her tears had stopped.

“Life is full of firsts, and this is no different. And I know it won’t get any easier as those firsts become seconds or thirds or so on, but I think it can also become a time to remember and look back on the good times you’ve had. We may not have Granny anymore, but she’s still with us in our memories and in what she’s left behind.”

Applejack looked up, her eyes still shining. Rainbow gave a small smile and Applejack leaned in, hugging her wife. Rainbow wrapped her arms around her, rubbing a hoof up and down her back as she squeezed tighter. When Applejack pulled away, she wiped her face and took a deep breath.

“Thank you, sweetheart. It’ll definitely be hard without Granny, but you’re right. I’ll have Big Mac and Applebloom, and of course you n’ Sugar Belle, and lil’ Cripsin. Granny wouldn’t want to see any of us upset, especially durin’ zap apple season.” She laughed slightly. “She’d tell us we don’t have time for that.”

Rainbow smiled at that, nodding. The two paused, taking a moment to themselves. After a while, Rainbow faced Applejack again and reached up to push her hair away from her face, her hoof lingering against the side of her head. It seemed what she said did the trick, Applejack wasn’t crying anymore. Her cheeks were flushed and she leaned into the touch sleepily, shutting her eyes. It was so rare to see her wife cry, and it in turn upset her as well. But Rainbow knew she needed to be the voice of reason at a time like this. It was more important to her that Applejack felt better. Applejack, whose head was currently getting heavier on Rainbow’s hoof.

“Well, I say we get some shut-eye. Gonna be pretty busy for the next few days,” she said quietly and the two slid further under the covers. Taking hold of Applejack’s hoof, Rainbow continued. “If you want, before I head up to the reserve, I can go into town and find Applebloom to tell her the harvest is starting. I know she’ll be excited to start making zap apple jam.”

Applebloom was really the only pony in the family who knew all the steps Granny did when it came to making a successful batch of zap apple jam. That was always a special time for the two to work together.

“Y’know, I reckon Crispin will be able to help out Applebloom in makin’ the jam this season,” Applejack said, a small smile on her face at the thought of her nephew. “He’ll love gettin’ to do that with her.”

“Another first right there,” Rainbow said, a smug edge to her voice.

“Alright, I believe you’ve made your point,” Applejack rolled her eyes and lightly kicked Rainbow’s leg. “Thank you, though. I needed to hear that.”

“That’s what I’m here for.”

“It’s much more than just that,” Applejack said, scooching closer to the pegasus and kissing her. “I love you. So much.”

Rainbow smiled, taking Applejack’s hoof and kissing it, then her forehead. As she pulls back, she takes a moment to simply look at her wife. Years of teasing and competitions, small looks and quiet gestures, long nights filled with laughter and heartaches, and a friendship evolving into romance and so much more. They’ve been through so much together, but Rainbow wouldn’t know where she would be without it all. It’s not a life she ever expected, but it’s one she wouldn’t trade for the world. Especially if it was spent with the pony next to her.

“I love you, too.”

[in-death-we-fall]

Drag & Bones

Wednesday 13 is a new man. Off the booze and into haunted houses, the horror-punk admits he was “going down a black hole”.

Words: Joel McIver

Metal Hammer 180 — July 2008 (drive link)

“I’m just waking up,” mumbles the voice of Joseph ‘Wednesday 13’ Poole, coming down the line from small-town America. “I have a hard time sleeping at night, so I go to bed around four or five in the morning – just to keep my rock’n’roll schedule going, ha ha!” This is the laugh of a man who is tired: tired of the road, tired of fighting personal demons, tired of pretty much everything.

Persuasive journalists that we are, we want to know if he’s been partying hard lately. Surely he can fit in some serious drinking before retiring at dawn?

“When I’m on tour I’m up till three or four in the morning anyway,” he drawls. “I try to keep it going at all times. It’s nothing to do with my image or anything like that, I’m just used to staying up all night and watching TV. I still get up at a reasonable hour – I try not to sleep past 1pm.

“I stopped drinking in September last year, after I was done recording this record,” Wednesday continues, to our surprise. “It’s not like I think I’m gonna be sober for the rest of my life, it was just something I needed to do. I’ve done several tours sober and it’s definitely a different kind of life. I was going down a black hole. Drinking was starting to consume most of my life and my decisions.”

Isn’t a diet of Jack and Jäger an essential component of the rock’n’roll lifestyle though?

“It’s the only job where it’s required and it’s cool to be drunk,” he agrees. “You’re patted on the back and cheered on. It got to a point where I thought that booze was what I needed to be me. I didn’t go on stage completely drunk, but I was definitely four or five drinks in, which would give me that extra edge I thought I needed to perform. I was forgetting why I was on tour. Actually, I’m really lucky that it was just drink: I didn’t do any drugs.”

Despite his yawns, Wednesday is a happy man.

“Now I can go onstage and play with a completely clear head,” he explains. “I’ve watched videos and you can see it – there’s a night-and-day difference between me going on stage drunk and sober.”

Wednesday is also highly chuffed about the two new Wednesday 13 releases (an EP, Bloodwork, and an album called Skeletons).

“Skeletons is a different record for me. If you’ve heard what I’ve done in the past, this album won’t be what you expect. With every record I make, I don’t try to create the same thing over and over, and I also don’t like to be painted into a corner where people think they have me all figured out. I hate to use the word ‘mature’, but this record is, compared to my last stuff. I’ve opened myself up to the public.”

Skeletons is about Joseph Poole the man, rather than Wednesday 13 the zombie.

“Instead of writing about horror movies, a lot of the songs on the new record have to do with what I was going through with my alcoholism. It’s still horror-oriented, but it’s more my real-life kind of horror than a Dracula movie this time. This is the darkest, scariest thing I’ve ever done, because it’s about me. When I listen to it, I feel all the emotions that went into it. It’s a strong record, too – it’s got some good, heavy songs on it.”

Don’t worry – Bloodwork and Skeletons aren’t Wednesday’s St Anger. He’s still referencing the camp horror icons that have made him so popular with your 16-year-old goth niece, and is even embarking on a tour of Britain’s most famous haunted houses next time he comes over here. Ask him about this series of overnight vigils, during which spooks from the netherworld supposedly waft out of the woodwork, and he explains:

“It wasn’t my idea, it was something that was brought to my attention during promotion for the new record. It’s something cool that I’ve never done before, because when I’m on tour I don’t get time to go out and see historic sites. I’ve been sceptical my whole life about this stuff, so I thought it would be cool to go there and see if I’m a sceptic when I’m done. I’ve got my bullshit detector ready in case they try any tricks, though.”

Wednesday, however, has already seen more than his fair share of spookery over the years, starting with his childhood, when he was obsessed with horror films. Later on he formed a band, Maniac Spider Trash, which went nowhere, although he did come up with his stage identity at about that time.

“I grew up admiring people with cool stage names like Nikki Sixx and Alvin Stardust,” he recalls. “I was watching The Addams Family one day and that little girl, Wednesday, was such a sarcastic bitch. The number 13 is considered unlucky, so I combined the two because it sounded spacey and weird.”

Proper recognition came in 1996 with a new band, Frankenstein Drag Queens From Planet 13, whose fusion of camp horror sci-fi and gothic punk was an obvious hint at Wednesday’s influences. No fewer than 11 albums and EPs came from the band, leading to the formation of an unexpectedly wide fan base.

“It was funny, because in my mind we were just a local band here in my town in North Carolina,” he says. “Even though I’d released records in Europe, I’d never actually been to Europe, and when I went there I met several people who had our stuff. Robb Flynn told me that he used to warm up with Machine Head every day listening to a Frankenstein Drag Queens record! That blew my mind.”

But major success came in 2003, when a certain diminutive drummer phoned Wednesday for a chat.

“Joey Jordison was a fan of my band,” remembers Wednesday, “and called me up out of the blue. He said he was putting a project together called Murderdolls and he wanted to use me in the band. Apparently he’d had my records for a couple years and used to take them out on the road with Slipknot. That was really cool.”

Within weeks, Murderdolls were a viable band with an album deal with Roadrunner and a tour lined up. Murderdolls found a willing fan base, released Beyond The Valley Of The Murderdolls in 2002 and made it big in Japan. But that was it for them. Slipknot required Joey’s urgent attention the following year, and the band went their separate ways.

“We had new songs and music ready to go,” Wednesday explains, “but then the reality set in that Slipknot were going to be on tour for two years, and I was like, ‘I can’t sit around for two years doing nothing, and I can’t go back to what I was doing before’, so I started my own band. The fact is, as long as Slipknot continues to tour and be a functioning band, Murderdolls will always be a side-project, even though we did a lot of work and made a lot of fans on that little short run that we had. If Murderdolls happens again, I’d be really into doing it.”

Which brings us to the present day. Wednesday 13, is back doing what he does best – singing about the dark side of life. He’s here for the long haul.

“When I was getting sober,” the man recalls, “Alice Cooper told me that he’d toured with Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. He partied just as hard as these people, and they died. He said that there are survivors – him and Steven Tyler and Nikki Sixx – and that those are the people that leave a legacy. He goes, ‘There’s nothing cool about laying in a casket’.”

These are wise words from a man who knows, right?

Skeletons is out now on Demolition Records

[abiiors]

to make everyone feel better about the supposed “5 year break”

1. this tour isn’t selling as well as ATVB it’s obvious that they would market it as the last tour for a while to gather hype.

2. the only person to say a “few years” was Jamie once in a group chat with fans, and we know that man isn’t always true to his word. most people on reddit have said it’s just a marketing technique, cause only jamie has said that once. people were going crazy to get ticket for the eras tour cause people on twitter started a rumor on twitter that this would be taylor’s last album/tour before retirement. and she’s just recently confirmed that she’s still working on music at the moment. maybe jamie just wants to build up hype around this being the last tour for a few years and after the tickets sell well they will confirm that they aren’t going anywhere.

3. they’ve already started hinting at the next album with deleting all their post and showing a more green color scheme before archiving everything.

4. they’ve done albums every two years since 2016. so probably another album mid - late 2024.

5. most of notes was made during touring abiior. it’s not impossible for them to already have majority of the album done, specially cause matty has talked about being in studio with george (and jack) multiple time. (first time he mentioned they started their 6th album was in february i believe.)

6. matty has said something to the effect of “your favorite band, throughout every era of your life we will be here, no matter what.” at most shows.

7. after SATVB ends they will probably take some time off maybe releasing their album later 2024 nov - dec. and touring it 2025. (which would be almost two years since SATVB started, kind of boosting the “few years theory” isn’t as long as you think.

8. other possibilities is matty releases a solid album 2024/25 and tours it on his own but i doubt he could sell as well without the 1975 name behind him (no offense obvs.)

9. they’ve been best friends since they were 13, they might take a break from touring (a well deserved one) but their not splitting up entirely. why would they have already started album 6, months ago if they had any intention of breaking off in to a hiatus for 5 years.

10. (just a bonus theory)

it could be their last tour as THE 1975 (for a few years.) matty loves to be cryptic. it’s possible they might tour as drive like i do since it’s been implied heavily that he wants to return to that name one day.

i know some of these are a little delusional but i hope it put a end to some of your anxieties (everyone)

we know matty is insane sometimes, he fully well could announce his solo record or the next 1975 record in the next few months if he wanted to. plus People was released in like 2019 while on tour, it’s possible their next era will start soon or as already started (with them deleting all their post and stuff.)

that's all really well thought out and after my initial panic lol i do think you're right.

yes, they've talked about the sixth album and i'm sure you're right about most of it being done too but then again i won't be surprised if they did take a break longer than 2 years or didn't immediately go on tour for the sixth album?? like adam's kid is still so young and i'm sure he wants to be much more involved. g and charli have talked multiple times about getting married.

their schedule is so insane that sometimes it feels like they have been putting their personal lives on hold for it which is obvs not good.

if matty does decide to release a solo album and tour it, i'd be really excited to see how that goes like even if he does it on a smaller scale it would certainly be an experience <33

[heavenboy09]

Happy Birthday 🎂 🥳 🎉 🎈 🎁 🎊 To You

The Iconic American Actor Of 2 Of The Greatest Iconic Action Packed TV Shows 📺 Of 1985 & 1997 That Became Cult Classic Phenomenons Over The Years & Still Regarded As A Iconic Hero Of Both Science & Science Fiction, Playing 2 Titular Characters.

1 A GENUIS Action Hero Who Can Make Anything Of Out Anything and He Doesn't Use Weapons To Solve Problems.  He Uses His Brain 🧠   & The Other, A 4 Star Colonel 🌟 Who Is Part Of A Interstellar Secret Government Team Who Travels The Universe Via A Ancient Alien Technological Device Known As A Star 🌟 Gate ⛩

Born On January 23rd, 1950

He is a retired American actor. He began his television career in 1976, playing Jeff Webber in the American soap opera series General Hospital, and then rose to prominence as the lead actor in the television series MacGyver (1985–1992). He later appeared in films such as Through the Eyes of a Killer (1992), Pandora's Clock (1996), and Firehouse (1997).

In 1997, Anderson returned to television as the lead actor of the series Stargate SG-1, a spin-off of the 1994 film Stargate, replacing actor Kurt Russell. He played the lead from 1997 to 2005 and had a recurring role from 2005 to 2007. Since 1997, he has starred in only one film: Stargate: Continuum, released in 2008 as a sequel film after the Stargate SG-1 film The Ark of Truth. He appeared in the follow-up Stargate spin-off series Stargate: Atlantis and Stargate: Universe (reprising his role from SG-1 as Major General and later Lieutenant General Jack O'Neill).

PLEASE WISH THIS ICONIC & LEGENDARY RETIRED ACTOR OF THE 2 BEST ACTION & SCIFI TV SHOWS 📺 OF THE MID 80'S & LATE 90'S

A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY 🎂 🥳 🎉 🎈 🎁 🎊

YOU SHOULD KNOW HIM

YOU BETTER HAVE SEEN HIS WONDERFUL SHOWS

& IF YOU HAVENT. OH FOR CRYING OUT LOUD. WATCH EM

THE 1 & THE ONLY

MR. RICHARD DEAN ANDERSON AKA ABC'S MACGUYVER & SCIFI CHANNEL'S COLONEL JACK O'NEILL OF STARGATE SG-1

#RichardDeanAnderson #Macguyver #StargateSG1 #ColonelJackONeill

[mywifeleftme]

195: Run the Jewels // Run the Jewels

Run the Jewels Run the Jewels 2013, Fool's Gold

Even as someone who was very hyped for this monster mash album to drop back in 2013, I could’ve used El-P and Killer Mike’s chances at becoming mainstream music stars as a creative simile for extreme remoteness. Run the Jewels started life as a Watch the Throne joke—e.g. while you pay obeisance to the supposed kings, we’re behind them jacking their shit. The name seemed right: any time you put Mike on a pop-adjacent track, he sounded too brash, too angry to fit the scheme, whereas El-P probably scanned to most listeners as like, Comic-Con Bubba Sparxxx or something. It remains bizarre to contemplate that El-P’s original crew, Company Flow, released their groundbreaking Funcrusher EP a year before Jay-Z’s Reasonable Doubt, and Mike had been OutKast’s war dog since the turn of the century. In other words, these were two rapper’s rappers who made a living on rhymes but didn’t seem likely to have say great prospects of retiring comfortably.

It just goes to show what a creative release strategy (Run the Jewels dropped for free at a time when that concept still had some novelty) and an absolute banger record can do for ya. After years of ambitious, CD-stuffing projects by both men, Run the Jewels is a trim 33-minute object lesson in the power of elite shit-talking. Ten years on their particular chemistry is fixed enough to be fondly roasted, but at the time I’d never heard either man rap as freely, or hilariously, as they did here. Some particularly treasured bars:

Woo, they done let that fuckin' Mike out It's like Tyson in the '80s Nigga snap and punch your lights out, yeah It's like Tyson in the '90s, if I'm losing, take a bite out I'm so motherfuckin' grimy, so motherfuckin' greedy, gritty Mama said she couldn't breastfeed 'cause I was bitin' at the titty — Mike

Yo, Killer Mike and El-P, fuck boys, think about it Fuck you gonna sell me? You don't know a thing about us Women dosed with ayahuasca drum circle and sing about us Dolphins prone to rape'll hear the tape and stop to think about it Monks will immolate themselves until the record hits the shelves Yetis walk right out the woods to cop it without thinkin' bout it Workers at the sweatshop kill they boss to how the vets drop Worker ants surround their queen and chew the bitch's head off Drug dogs bark at the tour bus when it park Priests take the cock out of their mouths To hum along when the chorus drop — El-P

It's time for Skywalker talkers t’meet the true Darth Vader I hit your mom in '03, but a G ain't ate her So baby boy, you should tighten up and show some respect Before I Melvin on you, Jody, put my arm on your neck Or worse yet, be the reason your girl want a divorce Be at her crib with your kids saying ‘Fuck your fort, lil' nigga!’ — Mike

Born to the next-gen system Slow water drip to the temple to live in a prison When the walls don't appear to your vision One floor down from that mall's that prison Where shower stalls'll get all y'all missin' Pardon me, I got half-wit vision But fuck I know? I just crawled here, cap'n — El-P

I'm fat but I dress nice, and bitches finesse Mike They suck the dick and squeeze on my belly like bagpipes — Mike

I'ma smoke 'til the planet erases Build a white flag out of Zig Zags, wave it — El-P

And so on. Alongside El-P’s signature production, limber and consistently knocking, it is the sheer “What will they say next?” pleasure of two elite battle rappers trading the mic back and forth (something that doesn’t happen on Watch the Throne as often as you might remember) that scratched the deep itch of boom-bap-bro nation. Over three more excellent LPs to date, they’ve expanded their sound and skewed ever more topical, but RTJ have never abandoned the template that made them unlikely stars. And for my money at least, it’s this first one that best stands the test of time.

195/365

[hello-nichya-here]

My projecting self thinks you're still hoping the white stripes get back together someday

You are absolutely correct.

Like, I know that time is gone. I know Jack's whole style, both as musician and song-writer, has changed a lot. I know he's infamously difficult to work with or just exist next to for five minutes. I know he's frustrated that no matter what he releases, everyone always has to ask "So, anyway, The White Stripes? Meg? Any news on that?" because even he knows that was his "golden era" BUT that he can't go back or make lightning strike twice, so it's irritating to constantly have people praying they get back together and comparing everything he does to it.

I know Meg retired from music, that she's so at peace with it that she even sold her drum kit years ago, and that she is VERY determined to just not be in the spotlight ever again since that shit destroyed her mental health after over a decade of harrassment that some "music critics" still try to pretend was totally fair not that bad - and honestly good for her for standing her ground and not giving in now that the narrative has mostly shifted and a lot of the people that talked shit about her quite literally BEGGING her to literally say anything to any of them so they can be the one to get an exclusive interview with her, because these fuckers do not deserve her.

I KNOW that a divorced couple that have not been that close to each other in many years working together would be awkward as fuck (especially when we all know Jack never really got over Meg, hence all the sexual tension on stage a whole decade after their divorce, with both of them married to other people), and that it was already a minor miracle that they managed to keep the band going for as long as they did AND without hating each other's guts and destroying each other's relationships, Fleetwood Mac style...

...But goddammit, they were something special. The two of them together was pure chemistry. they always gave 200% in every performance which made every song sound INSANE, and seeing their back and forth, their playful interactions, Jack randomly playing a different song in the middle of a performance and Meg just handling it like a boss, them giving each other cues, Jack freaking serenating Meg everytime he got to the most intense part of a song - HOW could I not be bitter that I never got to see that live and not pray for them to at least make one last tour performing their biggest hits?