#but yes. I need Jimmy to win. I need him to win so badly.

[redwinterroses]

I so badly need Jimmy to win this Life series specifically.

[witchygirl99]

finding a photo of your enemy as a toddler, inukag

Ask, and you shall receive.

1800 words under the cut. Not edited. Written at work so it was a shoddy rush job and everything is very vague and you'll just have to accept this.

I'll write a proper, better video gamer AU one day. For now though...

Won't You Say (You Love Me, Too)

The thing is—

The thing is that Inuyasha isn’t meant to be here. Sure, he’s a little drunk. And sure, Koga’s stupid face dared him, because Koga is both stupid, has a face, and that face is stupid. Inuyasha didn’t have to listen, though. Inuyasha could have done a billion other things, like walk away, or laugh the dare off, or – or – could have even gotten himself another drink.

That… That would have been the smarter plan.

Inuyasha hiccups, flinching at the noise. He is so not supposed to be here.

“Inuyasha,” stupid Koga hisses from below. It’s probably supposed to be a whisper. It’s not. It’s like…quieter yelling, but yelling nonetheless.

Haughtily, Inuyasha glares down at his teammate. The window that he’s jimmied open to break into the Priestess House is still open. It’s unseasonably warm for an autumn night, but it’s strangely comforting. At least, Inuyasha thinks so. That could just be the alcohol talking, though.

“Inuyasha,” Koga hisses again, “what do you see?”

He blinks, frowns, and then squints into the dark room. There’s not a ton of illumination from either the moon, or the streetlights. He thinks, dimly, that this is a…bedroom? A bedroom. This is not, in fact, the office that they thought they were breaking into.

[Read the rest below the cut.]

He takes in a deep breath, brain pinging at him worriedly. He knows this scent. It’s familiar. Too familiar. Inuyasha should know whose room he’s in and it’s on the tip of his tongue – his nose? No, that’s not a saying – when Koga makes another hissing sound.

Ugh.

“What?” Inuyasha snarls, so desperate to glare out the window at his stupid teammate and at said stupid teammate’s face that he nearly stumbles. Bracing himself on the little table underneath, he makes a point to roll his eyes when the wolf demon waves alarmingly at him. “What is so urgent that you need to—”

“I hear them,” Koga whisper-yells, because he’s stupid. “They’re just down the street.”

“What?” he exclaims, but this time it’s desperate rather than irritated. “I thought Miroku said the girls would be gone for at least an hour.”

“Well, his intel is shit,” Koga replies. “Now get out!”

So much for sneaking into their offices to find out if any of their playing strategies would be visible. The regional gaming tournament is only two days away, and every single member of the six-person Priestess team has been dominating the competition. Their battle strategies have taken weaker characters and turned them into something surprisingly efficient. It should be impossible. Character stats don’t lie.

And yet. And yet. The women of the Priestess House have made a mockery of nearly everyone there. And the worst of them?

Kagome Higurashi. The absolute bane of his existence. She came onto the scene about three years ago, rising up the ranks. Inuyasha hadn’t even given her a second thought until The Incident last year.

The Incident, in which she—

“Inuyasha,” Koga hisses again, like an angry cat. A cat. Not a wolf. Inuyasha should tell him this. Inuyasha is desperate to tell him this. “You need to jump out the window, you fuck.”

Right. The Priestess girls were coming back. Kagome would be with them and that would be— That would be bad. Not just because of the breaking and entering, or the trespassing. It would be bad because Inuyasha would have to be around her for likely more than a minute, which would mean that he’d have to stare into those dark eyes and that too-kind smile – like they’re friends, which they are not – and then—

“For fuck’s sake, I’m going to leave you,” Koga states, and that finally drills through Inuyasha’s pretty drunk skull. Can skulls be drunk?

No?

Maybe.

“I’m coming,” Inuyasha replies, pushing upwards, but he’s an idiot. The table underneath him isn’t that sturdy, and so his pressure on it to climb back out the window from which he entered sends a picture frame crashing to the ground.

“Inuyasha!”

“Oh my god, say my name one more time and I will murder you!” Inuyasha snaps. Koga is not helping, that fucking fuck. “Hold the fuck on, we can’t let them know—” And he bends down to grab the frame and put it back. Hopefully whoever’s room this is won’t notice.

And then he sees the picture in the frame, practically mocking him. It’s fucking Kagome Higurashi, no more than four years old and clinging to a small baby who looks distinctly unhappy by the entire experience. It’s undoubtedly her. While there’s more chub to her cheeks, those are the same sparkling eyes and that’s the same beaming smile. He would know that smile anywhere because it always makes him feel off-balance, confused. No one just smiles at people, at strangers. No one just smiles at you while they’re getting destroyed in one-on-one battle, and then shakes your hand with that same happy smile when they’ve lost. They don’t use that exact same smile when they see you again later in the year, at another tournament, and only stop smiling when they beat you so badly—

Oh god.

Oh fucking god.

This is Kagome’s bedroom. This is Kagome’s bedroom and he’s in her room and—

Kagome Higurashi at four years old smiles the exact same way, and she’s clinging to a little boy and that’s a big purple dinosaur right beside her on the couch. A dinosaur. She likes dinosaurs, oh god this is the worst—

“Godspeed, fucker,” Koga whispers-yells. “We hardly knew ye!” There’s the distinct sound of bushes rustling. His own teammate has abandoned him. Inuyasha is going to commit murder.

Firmly putting down the picture frame, Inuyasha starts the careful climb back out the window. He’s got one leg out, half of his body strained to reach the little lip in the brickwork he climbed up earlier. His hands grab at the sill, twisting him, and then he sees it.

It.

The purple dinosaur.

It’s on her bed, perfectly placed and disgustingly cute.

“Oh no,” Inuyasha groans, and then promptly shoves himself out the window. It takes him ten precious seconds to balance, and then another ten seconds to close the window and hide the fact he ever broke in in the first place. At the first sound of voices, Inuyasha freezes against the brick, propped up in a little corner and distinctly not looking down. It’s not a far drop, but the last thing Inuyasha needs is to lose his balance, topple into the garden, and then have the Priestess women come running to see what the fuck happened.

He waits, breath nearly held, until they start opening the door. There’s enough fuss and discussion that Inuyasha feels safe in making his escape, running away like the hounds of hell are chasing him. He doesn’t stop. He doesn’t look back.

When he finds Koga, lounging on the couch and drinking yet another beer at their shared gaming house, it takes a solid ten seconds of very slow counting to remind himself that murder is bad.

Besides, they have a tournament to win on Saturday.

X+X

The next day, Inuyasha finds himself looking for purple dinosaurs on Amazon.

This is, well, not ideal.

“What are you doing?” Hachi asks, eyes narrowed in confusion and then widening in concern when Inuyasha flinches to hide this embarrassing lack of restraint. “Wow, okay.”

“Fuck off,” Inuyasha replies, but he’s too mortified to even make it mean-sounding. He just comes off as pathetic.

There’s a snort in the doorway, and Miroku comes bumbling in with a clipboard. He takes his duties as team manager far too seriously. “What did Hachi do wrong now?”

“I didn’t do anything wrong,” Hachi replies, eyeing Inuyasha again. “He’s the one that went all crazy when I asked him what he was doing.”

“And what was he doing?” Miroku presses. He’s grinning like a fool because he’s the worst. The worst best friend a guy could ask for. Inuyasha doesn’t know why he’s teammates with these idiots. It’s bad enough he’s got to deal with Koga.

“I wasn’t do anything,” he tries, but Hachi’s just shaking his head.

“Looking at his phone. I don’t know.”

Miroku turns to him, a shark that smells blood in the water. “Your phone? Who are you texting?”

“No one,” Inuyasha scoffs. “Fuck off.”

This gets a nod, and he has one moment of hope that Miroku won’t push the issue when his best friend hums. “You’re right. You have no friends outside of this team.”

“I’m not his friend!” Koga yells from somewhere else in the house.

Inuyasha sighs.

“So you must have been watching something.”

“No,” Hachi argues, “he was holding his phone like this. He was reading something, or maybe scrolling?”

“Inuyasha can’t read!” comes Koga’s voice again. They all ignore him.

“You’re not on Instagram,” Miroku hums, playing fucking Sherlock Holmes. “And you’re definitely not on TikTok. Discord is just another form of talking to people, so that’s out.”

Growling, he shoves his phone in the pocket of hoodie and gets up. “I am leaving.”

“Ooh, he’s leaving,” his friend continues, blue eyes alight with something dangerously close to glee. “Fuck, it has to be about Kagome then. That’s the only time you get this pissy.”

“Ha!” Hachi laughs because he, too, is the worst.

“That’s my future wife!” Koga yells from the other room, but that’s just because he’s delusional. As if someone like Koga could fucking rub two braincells together enough to impress her. Inuyasha’s face does a thing at the very thought.

“Oh my god, it is!” Miroku cackles.

“No,” Inuyasha answers, and he thinks he does a pretty good job of remaining calm. “But fuck you, anyways.”

“Are you reading her Wikitubia again?” his friend asks and that is it—

“One time!” Inuyasha yells, storming away from the main room. “That was one time!”

His teammates’ laughter follows him all the way back to his bedroom. Shippo, rubbing at his eyes after his nap – because he acts like a literal child, it’s embarrassing – just stares at him confusedly. “What did I miss?”

Inuyasha doesn’t stop walking. “Absolutely fucking nothing.” He gets into his room, shuts the door with a disturbing amount of care, and then leaps onto his bed to try and suffocate himself with a pillow. The walls of their gaming house aren’t that thick. If he tries hard enough, Inuyasha could hear the shit they’re undoubtedly still talking about him.

One time, Inuyasha pathetically whines in his head. He was only caught staring at her Wikitubia page one time. He was sizing up the enemy. Looking for weaknesses to exploit. That’s the only reason he did it. Just like that’s the only reason he watches her YouTube videos religiously, at least once a day, and always at night once everyone else has fallen asleep.

It’s not because of anything weird. It’s because she’s the enemy. She’s the competition. Inuyasha must figure out a way to destroy her.

Later that night, when he goes back to re-watching an old YouTube video of hers – one Kagome had posted within the first month of her rise to so-called fame – that he sees it.

It.

The purple dinosaur.

Sitting propped up on some pillows, like a prized treasure.

“Motherfucker,” Inuyasha snaps. He doesn’t stop the video, though. There could be secrets. Weaknesses to exploit. Yadda yadda yadda, he’s not in denial, this is only his third time watching it, blah blah—

Kagome smiles in the video and his chest does the thing.

Inuyasha sighs. Miroku can never, ever see his browsing history.

X+X

Tagging: @ideasthatbuildcities​ @wolfcry77​ @alerialblu​ @misspepperpottss​ @sailorbabydoll92​ @willowandfog​ @amethystablaze​ @fawn-eyed-girl​ @noyourenotreal​ @hnn-wnchstr​ @liz8080​ @nsr0716​ @superpixie42​ @itzatakahashi​ @mandirox89​ @inussunflower​ @cstormsinukagblog​ @nartista​ @hopidoodle​ @princessinume​ @lavendertwilight89​ @anxietyaardvark​ @omgitscharlie​ @theinuyashareader​ @ruddcatha​ @umacaking​ @kagometaishostory​ @cammysansstuff​ @sacred-arrow-writes @sacred-arrow @gicu2 @neutronstarchild @kalcia

[tealenko]

Somebody that I Used to Know (Chapter 3)

Chapter 3: Port Observation

Wow... chapter 3 already. This one is more funny than the previous one. I thought this chapter would be difficult to write at the begining but in the end it was one of the easiest.

Summary: James wants to know if the rummors about Shepard are true, so he ends up getting Steve and Garrus drunk to find out. Things get a little unconfortable when Shepard enters the room and overhears part of the conversation.

Words: 2757 Rating: Teens and Up Warnings: Alcohol

Previous chapter -> [link] All chapters -> [link] Read in AO3 -> [link]

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“So you don’t know” James asks Steve while he is dealing the cards.

“Why should I? You know her longer than I do.” Steve takes a look at his cards, deciding how many he should discard. “Why do you ask? Curiosity? Or do you have ulterior motives?”

“Are you crazy? Well, if she wasn’t my C.O, maybe, but I mean… I’m wise enough to don’t get involved in that kind of mess.” James throws away two of his cards. “Maybe I’m trying to distract you with gossip. Well, how many do you want?”

“Just one.” Steve says. “I didn’t think you were smart enough to make that kind of decision Vega, you seem more of an accion guy, rather than a thoughtful one.”

“Looks can be deceiving, I mean, look at Mr. Major specter.”

“Wait, Alenko? No… He looks too, mmm...”

“Serious, right?”

“But it cannot be, I’ve never seen a more ‘by the book’ type of guy. No, it must be… well, It would make sense...”

“What?”

“No, no. This isn’t right James. We shouldn’t be talking about this stuff. Just… just place a bet.”

“You’re gonna leave me like this Esteban? Come on, I’m sure she won’t mind… maybe she’ll tell us if we ask nicely.” James throws a couple of poker chips to the center of the table.

“Yeah sure, I won't be the one who discovers if that's true.” Steve raises the bet. “And why did you think of Alenko to begin with?”

“Ah nah… If you don’t tell what you know you can’t expect me to do so.”

“Do you see the bet or not?”

“I do.”

“And you have good reasons to think if she had something with someone it was with the major?”

“I do.” James matches the bet. “You said it makes sense, before you stopped talking.”

“She is going to kill us.”

“She’ll never find out.” James looks at his cards smiling. “Tell you what, if I win this round you tell me, if you win ask whatever you want.”

“Ok, let me see your cards.”

Both of them place down their cards onto the table.

“Ha! So spill, what did you hear Esteban?”

“God, I should've known better that to bet against you.”

“Spill it out.”

“Well… I met someone who was part of the Normandy crew, the first one, and he told me there were rumors about her having a thing for someone in the ship, he didn’t say who, only that the person in fact was a lower rank… so in theory Alenko fits the pattern, but also do so many others, why do you suspect of the major?”

“Now you wanna know, eh?”

“Come on Vega, why?”

“Why wouldn’t I. Man, you weren’t there on Mars.”

“Mars?”

“Yeah, I’ve never been more uncomfortable in my life, you could cut the tension with a knife.”

“Just because of that?”

“He seemed really pissed off with her.”

“Ay James, what kind of telenovela are you writing in your head?”

“Just saying what I think.” Steve starts laughing.

“I don’t even know if you are serious or if you're messing with me.”

“About what?” Says a third voice entering the conversation. Both of them raise a hand a little to say hello.

“Ey Scars, spying on us?” Says James, standing up to go to the bar.

“Just stopping by for a drink.” Garrus says, sitting in the bar area and turning his head to talk to Steve. “What are you two up to?”

“You don’t wanna know… I think I need a drink too.”

Steve sits next to Garrus, in the meanwhile, James, who moved quickly to tend the bar, starts mixing drinks in front of them.

“This will be my first time making a dextro cocktail, wish me luck Scars.”

“Just… try not to kill me Vega.”

“Relax hermano, I’m a pro. Ask Esteban, he was at one of my famous parties.”

“How was it?”

“I couldn’t say… I don't remember much of that week to be honest.”

“Eh eh eh… I see, the best kind of party.” Garrus taps the bar with his hand. “Okay James, do your best. If you’re able to mix something that makes me forget the reapers by the end of the shift I’ll put you in for a medal once this is all over.”

“Sure… this is going to be fun, I’ve never seen a drunk turian.” James finishes mixing the drink and offers it to Garrus. “Are you even able to get drunk?”

“Well… you’re about to find out.” Garrus takes the drink and downs it in seconds. “Not bad, Jimmy...” He points at his glass to ask for another. “By the way, what were you two talking about before I got in? Steve seemed distressed.”

They all start drinking, and Steve succeeds to avoid the conversation for a while, until the drinks begin to kick in, loosening Vega’s tongue. By the time they’ve explained their whole conversation to Garrus, none of them is sure if they will be able to stand up without difficulties.

“You don’t appreciate your life, eh Vega?” Garrus says, finishing yet another drink.

“Come on Scars, we wanna know!”

“I don't. The commander's business shouldn’t be of our interest.” Steve tries very hard to stand up, letting himself fall onto the couch when the whole room starts spinning.

“I agree. And I’m sorry to disappoint you James, but I have no clue If what you say it’s true or not. Why do you wanna know?”

“Well, I’ll be hella funny to tease her about this when I have the chance. And him. I wanna get my info right before I do so.”

“Oh no, no no no… You really wanna die.” Garrus looks at James with an alarm expression on his face. “Listen to me Vega, do not get into that, never, don’t even think about it. I’m not joking.”

“You said you didn’t know anything.”

“No, don’t go there Vega.” Garrus tries to escape the conversation by leaving the room, but in his state he is only able to take a few steps before he gives up, sitting in front of Steve. “You ehm… should leave it.”

“Look at it this way, if you tell me what you’re sooooo afraid of maybe i’ll understand your reasons and put the subject away, but if you don’t…. well… I’m sure Lola knows if It’s true or not.” James walks towards the coach, grabbing his drink, and sitting next to Steve. ”So?”

“So… this is something that doesn’t concern you, and I don’t even know that much but…“ He takes a second, questioning if he should keep talking. ”There was, in fact, something between them,” he finally says. ”But the only thing you should know It’s that it ended up pretty badly, so you shouldn’t insist on the subject.”

“Well, that doesn’t surprise me. I mean, he ended up pointing a gun at her, what a revelation.”

“Not what I was talking about, and to be fair with Kaidan, she was pointing hers at the council.”

“And he backed her up once she explained herself.” Ads Steve.

“So what were you referring to?”

“You aren’t going to quit, eh?”

“Nope”

Garrus sighs and takes a second to process everything. He shouldn’t tell him this, but he is way too drunk to get to that conclusion and is also starting to think that he will indeed ask Shepard if he doesn’t tell him.

“You see… Shepard and Kaidan only met once when we were on Cerberus and well… How do I put this? Ah yes, have you seen the big dent at the access cargo wall, right at the entrance of the ship?”

“Yes.”

“Shepard’s response to their conversation… She… She broke her hand hitting the wall as soon as we got back on the ship.”

“You’re shitting me!” Says James, half laughing half in awe.

“No, no I'm not. And THAT’s how it ended, so I wouldn’t bring it up anymore or talk about it with anyone, especially with Shepard.”

“What is it that Vega shouldn’t talk about with me, Garrus?” Shepard says, appearing out of nowhere, and sitting next to the turian. “Well?”

The tree of them freeze, and after a few seconds of general panic, James starts talking.

~

“Let me get this straight… “ Shepard says, looking at James. “We are at war with the reapers, probably facing extinction, and your priority right now is to know whether or not I hooked up with Alenko back in the day?”

“Yes… Well no, Garrus already confirmed that part.” Shepard turns her head towards the turian, who is trying his best to avoid her eyes. “What I really wanna know is where you stand right now.” Says Vega, without even thinking.

“Please Commander, he’s… Well, we’re… a little bit too drunk right now. Don’t listen to him, he doesn’t mean it.” Steve pleads, trying to save his friend from the mess he’s in. “You know Vega, he doesn’t really have a filter, now less than ever.”

Shepard sights and takes a big breath.

“No harm, no foul, eh?” She says, examining the three men one by one. “ And you seem, in fact, pretty drunk. Well… I guess you really needed to blow off some steam, eh?” She starts laughing at the situation, and the mood of the room lightens a little.

“Do you want a drink, Lola?”

“Sure, why not? Pass me a beer if there’s any”

“Don’t you wanna one of my cocktails? Garrus really likes them.” Says James on his way to the bar. “They seem to loosen his tongue.”

“Don’t push your luck, Vega.”

“I had to try, here you go.” James hands the beer to Shepard and sits again next to Steve. “So… you are mad, aren’t you Shepard?”

“No, I’m not… I can see why you would be curious about that kind of subject.”

“Not, with as… With the major.” Steve and Garrus look directly at James, trying to make him stop talking with their gaze. “I mean...”

“Oh please Vega stop talking before she kills you and everyone else in this room.”Garrus pleads, seeing James isn’t going to stop on his own. “Hey Shep, I’m so sorry about all of this, seriously. I thought if I explained the situation a little he would be satisfied and would not bother you… but I think he, we, are way too drunk to function like propper beings, I’m truly sorry.”

“Yes, please James, stop talking.” Steve adds.

“I’m just saying that as members of her crew, we should know this kind of thing. I don’t know… maybe we have to protect the guy if she tries to shoot him again.” All three of them start laughing at James' comment, with Steve almost falling out of the couch and Garrus trying really hard to look away from Shepard’s direction. “I’ll be also nice to know if we have to pad the Normady’s walls.”

Shepard is looking at the whole scene in silence, drinking her beer with a thoughtful expression on her face. They continue like this for a while, with James making endless jokes and the other two trying not to laugh, and failing miserably.

After a few minutes the room gets filled with quietness, and as the effect of the alcohol begins to fade a little, all three of them start to realize what a terrible idea it was to say all that out loud, in front of her.

Shepard smiles a little, as they are desperately trying to find something to say. James is the first one to talk again.

“Lola, I...”

“I am not.”

“What?”

“You ask if I was mad at Kaidan, didn’t you?” All three of them stare at her in awe, not believing what’s happening. “Well I am not, so you shouldn’t worry. Now, I think you should go to sleep this one off.”

Steve and James make a sigh of relief, nod at her, and disappear in a few seconds, thanking whichever god was able to let them off of that situation. Garrus, on the other hand, stays where he is, looking at her while she stands up to throw her empty bottle away.

“Why aren’t you?” Garrus asks, with more concern than curiosity on his face.

“What?” Shepard says, turning to look at him.

“Why aren’t you mad with Kaidan?” He takes a second, trying to analyze what he knows about the situation. “I would be, If I were you.” Shepard moves to sit in front of him but doesn’t say anything. She just nods at him, waiting for him to carry on with his argument. “I mean… I was there in Horizon, Shepard. I saw what you went through, for months, when we were with Cerberus.”

She looks at him, smiling a little. But she doesn’t say anything.

“Don’t get me wrong, I like Kaidan. He’s a good guy, a good soldier but… I just can't wrap my head around the fact that you aren’t mad at him.”

“Why should I?” Shepard takes a moment to think and Garrus smiles, waiting for her to order her thoughts before exposing them. “I won’t deny Horizon was a low blow but, after thinking about it, I can't say I blame him for any decision he made. I mean… When you look at it from the outside... I magically came back from the dead, joined a terrorist organization, destroyed a relay, killed thousands of batarians and ended up arrested on Earth.”

“When you put it that way...”

“Yeah… I’m actually surprised he didn't shoot me at the Citadel.” They both start laughing. “I did give him a lot of reasons.”

“I’m glad he didn’t.”

“Aw, thanks Garrus, I knew down there you cared about me.”

“Funny, Shepard… Very funny. You know what I meant. You’ve lost enough people you care about.”

“Yeah.” Garrus sees how Shepard’s smile fades away, looking at the door for a second before talking again. “Well… I’m also glad… that he didn’t.”

The turian stares at her for a second, trying to read her face, and Shepard doesn’t know how to act. She looks to every corner in the room before looking again in his direction, his expression it’s still the same.

“You’re creeping me out Garrus, what on Earth are you..”

“Do you like him?”

“What?”

“Kaidan… do you like him again?”

Shepard is suprised, to say the least. Garrus has never been the type to talk about feelings, and even less in such a blunt way.

“Why do you ask and what have you done with Garrus?” She says laughing a little.

He laughs in return, knowing how uncharacteristic it is of him to have this kind of conversation.

“I just… Shepard, look, we’ve been friends for years now, so allow me to say this, and then you can do whatever you like with my advice.” She nods at him. “If we all die in a week...”

“Don’t jinx it”

“Again, funny… But, if it happens, what would you do, if you knew it before time?”

Shepard looks at the ground, she can’t deny she has wondered about that type of situation, but in the end reality was always stronger than the ‘what if’s.

“I see what you mean Garrus… but if I don’t die in a week and he doesn’t... well… I still need to be able to work with him, you know? There’s more at stake here than my feelings.”

Garrus nods, knowing he won’t convince her and stands up as she does.

“Thanks for the conversation anyway, I know what you were trying to do and I appreciate it Garrus, I truly do.”

“One day you’re gonna have to put yourself first than the rest of the galaxy Shepard, if anyone has earned the right that’s you.” As they walk out of the room he decides to attempt again. “You haven’t answered my question,” he says when they make it to the door, trying one last time before they part ways. “Do you like him again?”

She looks away for a second, a thousand thoughts going through her mind, before she decides to give in and tell the truth.

“Not again.” She turns to look at Garrus, who’s waiting patiently for her response. The look on his face is a mix between kindness and concern, free of any kind of judgement, and after a few seconds in silence she gives him a melancholic smile, taking a big breath before looking directly at Kaidan's room. “I… I’ve never stopped.”

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I'm in love with the friendship between Garrus and Shepard, one of my favourite moments in ME3 is Garrus cheering you up in a conversation between missions. This gives me the same vibe.

I'm also very glad I was able to get Vega in this history, he's always very funny to write about.

Previous chapter -> [link] Next chapter -> [link] All chapters -> [link]

As always feel free to ask for fics or give me suggestions!!!

[gingerest-ale]

YOUR PUNK AU ART has me on the floor. Absolutely spectacular!!!!! If you want to elaborate on your artistic choices I for one would LOVE to hear it <3

THANK UUUU!!!!!!!! also again i want to give credit to thee lovely castielsweedgarden (tumblr won’t let me tag them) for the original concept, the original post is here and their tag for alt!natural posts is here all their content is SO DAMN GOOD please check it out

OK ARTISTIC CHOICES. So for some background I’m a costume designer so I actually spent a lot of time doing research for these outfits and also I pay way to much attention to detail so get ready for an infodump because im a nerd.

DEAN

ok so my headcanon for the jacket (and if u read the og post this will make more sense hgafkgsjk) is that Dean stole it from John the night he and Sam ran away and he starts to modify it and make it his own and put patches on it that would piss off John and thats why he keeps wearing it because he took this thing his dad loved and made it his own and that is the ultimate “fuck you” to John.

Dean keeps his hair in a really short crew cut because i really enjoy Dean teasing Sam about their hair being long

Sam and Dean dye their hair in motel bathrooms and Dean changes colour every other month meanwhile Sam just dyes their hair black because “i dont want to damage my hair with bleach Dean”

I had a lot of fun with the patches and most are pretty self explanatory BUT i want to draw attention to: 

the handprint patch on Dean’s shoulder right above where the actual handprint is

the patch that says “i love my non binary child” is the first patch that goes on the jacket because Dean wants to support Sam and it is thee ultimate patch that would piss John off

The bee patch was a gift from Cas <3

Deans shirt is ripped from hunting but he likes the aesthetic of it 

The chain around his neck is silver or iron or some other useful ghosthunting metal

also the tattoo on Dean’s hand is inspired by this one fic its so good please read it

Dean wears a bunch of jewelry and you can’t see it but he also has a bunch of tattoos

SAM

Sam wears platform boots and it makes them like 7 feet tall but its ok its what they deserve

I said this in the tags but ill say it again: Sam got the spiked choker because they were tired of getting strangled by monsters all the time and honestly i think a lot of canon!Sam’s problems could be solved if he just wore a spiked choker

Anytime Dean teases Sam about their fashion choices Sam always tells him thats its for practical reasons. The rosary? Its for making holy water in a pinch. The ripped fishnets? they’ll just get ripped anyways. The platform boots? its too intimidate monsters. The spiked choker? Its self defence Dean come on, it’s a purely tactical decision, no aesthetic reason at all.

Sam modified the sweater themself. Spent the long hours in the car embroidering an exorcism onto a cropped sweater (it didn’t use to be cropped, but a werewolf clawed into the bottom part of it and well. here we are) in pink thread and sewing some black lace onto the hem.

why yes, Sam’s skirt does have a blood splatter on it!! you would think this would get Sam some suspicious looks, but their aesthetic is so Like That that people assume its just painted on in an attempt to be edgy. People who assume this are wrong.

Sam likes wearing revealing clothing because it lets other people see how insanely strong and muscled they are and alt!Sam loves being absolutely intimidating to people.

Like. Imagine. This seven foot tall giant shows up, wearing all black and spikes and you can see their insanely muscular thighs under the fishnets and oh god why do they have so many scars you Do Not Want To Mess With Them.

to be clear I think alt!Sam is just as much a sweetheart as canon!Sam is but they dont try to make themself look smaller

CAS

The shirt Cas is wearing says “BOB the man, the myth, the legend” and it is very much based on a shirt my lovely gf has.

The reason cas is dressed Like That is because he woke Jimmy up in the middle of the night and the tshirt and sweatpants and the socks are Jimmy’s pyjamas and of course he had to grab his coat and put on his crocs shoes before leaving the house to get possessed by an angel, he’s a sensible man!!!

ok so i need to talk about the crocs because some people seem unhappy about them. Castiel does not care about human fashion standards. He does not care about how he is perceived by others. Crocs are sturdy, comfortable, practical shoes to him and thats all that matters, why are you laughing Dean? They’re waterproof!

I honestly don’t know why i drew Cas with hoop earrings it just felt right but my current headcanon is because he say Beyoncé wearing some or something.

ok trench coat doodles time!!!!! there are many of them and i wont go into all of them but here are a few noteworthy ones

the one on the top right is based off a lil doodle one of writers did for a fan I think??? I can’t remember someone please link the post ;;

dean just doodles lil bees and hearts all over the place because they make Cas happy

theres a badly drawn Leviathan on there. in case you were wondering what that is

so many games of tic tac toe were played on the trench coat. Sam always takes the circles. Sam always wins.

the big heart on the bottom right contains a doodle of the poodle Dean found hot on that one terrible episode. I’m not sorry. 

I did draw an airplane with gun arms. it’s an inside joke i have with my gf. No i will not elaborate. I think that Dean drew that on there because he thought the idea was funny.

bottom left corner has cool sun wearing sunglasses because we are all kindergarteners 

the SW and DW drawn on the coat are because they put their initials on the places they call home. 

Thank u for your ask my apologies for writing ten million words about it please enjoy

[grilledcheeseandguavajelly]

Headcanon list of each character: Can they play the piano? 👏🏻

Ohhhh yes. This is everything, thank you so much for requesting this!! I had so much fun working on these and they may have gotten a little bit out of hand, but are we surprised?? No. No, we are not.  I hope you enjoy!! :) 

Alright!! Here we go --

(Special thanks to @shineestark for helping me when I got stuck. As usual, the Queen of Audrey reigns supreme xx)

Sarah Paulson’s Characters Playing the Piano Headcanons:

Billie Dean Howard:

Billie took lessons as a girl. Of course she did. It was what all respectable little girls from Southern families did. But at around twelve or thirteen her rebellious phase kicked in and she started butting against her teacher. She didn’t really know why, she enjoyed playing the piano well enough. But it was the one thing that her parents absolutely insisted that she do. So she fought and dug her heels in until they agreed to let her find an alternate hobby. She replaced it with tennis lessons and didn’t pick it up again. 

That doesn’t mean she doesn’t enjoy the sound of it, but she always gets squirmy when people bring up her playing — especially the passive aggressive way her mother always mentions it at family functions. 

Lana Winters:

Lana doesn’t play. Wendy used to, though, and Lana would love to sit on the bench with her, or wrap her arms up around Wendy’s shoulders from behind and hum in her ear while the music filled their home. 

Wendy tried to teach her. Just a little harmony here or there so they could cuddle close on the bench and make something together. But Lana hardly remembered it, often giving up quickly in favor of watching the hypnotic way Wendy’s fingers skimmed along the ivory. 

Sometimes, if Lana was really lucky, Wendy would take her to a jazz bar and let her spend her night with a cigarette between her lips and music in her ears. And if Lana let her fingers run over Wendy’s under the table, well… It was only because she knew what was coming once they got home. 

She doesn’t like it as much anymore. She still loves her jazz records and puts them on when she needs to calm down. But the appeal of a piano in her home is gone. And every time she tries to sit down and remember what it was that Wendy taught her, the world tinges just a little bit too grey and her frustration eclipses her curiosity. 

Cordelia Goode:

Cordelia absolutely plays the piano. It was the one thing that got her through all of those inconsolable days at the coven, waiting for her mother to return. Myrtle was the one who had taught her, instilling a love of music in her since day one. And that piano that sat in the corner of the living room was her comfort most nights, following her well into adulthood. 

Many times when the girls would go out, she would spend her day between the piano and her greenhouse. And sometimes late at night once everyone had gone to sleep, if she’d had a particularly rough day, she would play it just to sort out her thoughts and unwind. 

No one else played, and as Cordelia gained responsibility and her schedule became more hectic, she was often met with dusty keys. But that never diminished the comfort of that sound, no matter how out of tune, the melody floating through the air like its own kind of magic. 

Bette and Dot Tattler:

Bette always wanted to play the piano. Begged for lessons since she was a young child. After all, all of those pretty little movie stars could. But her mother (predictably) wouldn’t let anyone come over to teach them, and her hand just never got the rhythm of it on its own. Her fingers didn’t work over the keys, no matter how hard she tried. But it was harder to play a melody with your left hand. Harder to play with the left hand, period. So she couldn’t be blamed, right?

Dot can play. She had a natural knack for it, just like she did for singing. She understood piano more than she should have, since she never properly learned. But you would never know. She never played, no matter how hard Bette pleaded with her. It wasn’t until they had needed to practice a new piece for the show and Eve had been busy that she even sat down and tried. The moment someone walked into the tent, though, she froze. And that was the end of that. 

Dandy had asked them to play, once. Dot had said they couldn’t just as Bette told him of Dot’s talent. But somehow they had gotten interrupted and he hadn’t brought it up again. 

Once they got back to the show, Dot sat them down at that piano every day, just to punish Bette for her naivety with Dandy. But Dot also hated the fact that she was stuck with the right hand. That all she could play was the melody and Bette always screwed up the chords, the rhythm. 

After they got married, there were many nights where Dot would play the high end and Jimmy would stand next to Bette and play the bass chords. He tried to teach Bette for a while, but after a few months Bette gave up, holding back tears while Jimmy and Dot played and sang and got a piece of that Hollywood life.

Sally McKenna:

Sally obviously plays the piano. She learned when she was very little after her parents found she had a proclivity for it. She must have been about three when she sat down at her grandmother’s piano and figured out a little tune all on her own. The piano was really the only place she felt safe, comforted, and loved. And as she grew, she expanded her arsenal, taking to her bass guitar more than anything else. The lessons had stuck with her though, which ended up helping her immensely when she started to write music. She already knew how to score it down, which was half the work. And she learned very quickly that piano was the mainstay. All of her ideas transferred on the piano, where they didn’t as well on the guitar or the bass. 

She thanked her grandmother once, after winning a music contest in middle school. She even wrote her a song. But she never got to play it for her, not before the funeral. 

Sally loved that feeling of her grandmother watching over her whenever she sat at the keys. Like she was still there, hadn’t left them. But after a few years Sally stopped feeling her, the warmth fading. And that was right around the time she started doing drugs. Because if she shot herself up high enough she could almost hear her grandmother again, patting her on the head and telling her how talented she was. How loved she was. How she would always be so proud of her. 

Audrey Tindall:

Audrey can’t play the piano for the life of her, but she absolutely loves it. Her dad used to play, before his hands shook too badly, and when she was little she loved to crawl up in his lap and trace his fingers while they worked over the keys. Occasionally he would tap a note for her to play to finish off a song, pressing hundreds of kisses to her little cheeks as she giggled and beamed. But she never had any desire to learn, much preferring to curl up with a script in his study and just enjoy the music and the memories that flooded her with warmth. 

The idea of taking lessons never even occurred to her, not until her father couldn’t anymore and her parents’ house was just a bit too still. But by that point, her career was just starting to take off and she simply didn’t have time to pick it up from scratch. She felt guilty about it for a while, especially when she moved to America to film and was stuck in a deathly quiet flat. But then she found out Monet liked to play. After that Audrey constantly begged her at parties, hanging off of her as she played and singing loudly while she danced around to the music. And just being surrounded by the sound again filled her with enough joy to make the guilt melt away. 

There was one time — just once, at a wrap party — where she was completely hammered. Apparently she had sat down at a piano and played a perfect rendition of Rocket Man while everyone crowded around and sang along. Or so people told her.  But she remembered absolutely none of it, and no matter how hard she tried, she never came close to doing it again. 

Ally Mayfair-Richards:

Ally never learned. She never really saw the appeal. But then she had Oz and she quickly changed her mind. There were many long nights spent arguing with Ivy about whether or not he should learn. Ivy was adamant that he should not, because she was afraid he would be bullied. But Ally thought that some sort of music education was crucial, so once Ivy was gone she got lessons for Oz, just to spite her. And she took lessons, too. For the principle of the thing. 

Oz took to it much faster than she did. Eventually she let him lead, playing a few bass notes here and there as he ran through her favorite songs. But whether she was good at it or not, she would never trade those moments with him at the piano — watching him smile as she hummed along and making him laugh as she hit the wrong keys. 

Wilhemina Venable:

Wilhemina Venable is a genius. I mean an actual genius. Her IQ is sky high, so naturally she was proficient in piano by age six. By age eight she was fluent in violin, and by twelve she had mastered the cello, just to give her something else to do. Something else to drown out the sound of her parents fighting outside her door. 

Once her scoliosis started to develop more rapidly, she had to give up the violin. It was too painful, holding her arm up on the neck and raking the bow over the strings for more than about three minutes. She compensated for the loss by diving further into her piano, but after about a year she had to give that up, too. She couldn’t hold her posture up on the bench, and she hated playing in a chair with a back. She kept on with the cello until she started to curl around it too far, her back popping and cracking between every piece. 

Those were her deep comforts, her instruments. And losing them hurt more than losing anything else, her parents, her health, her dignity. 

The piano was her first, though, so it always held the deepest connection. Which is why she absolutely refused to sell her mahogany Steinway, even if she only had the strength to play it once a year. 

She would usually only sit down on the bench if she was deathly bored or if she’d had an especially rough day at work. It helped her think, but it also reminded her of her childhood and everything she had loved and lost, so there was always an edge of hurt on every piece she played, and she never felt quite settled once she was finished. 

[ladyideal]

State Pride

Pairing: Jim Kirk x Reader

Word Count: 1969

Warnings: 1 smartass and a lot of fluff

Summary: During shore leave on Earth, you and Jim were invited to be judges for a cooking reality show. So you and Jim enjoyed yourself.

A/N: I just realized that this is my second attempt at writing Jimmy boy, and both didn’t turn out too badly. I’ve been watching both Chopped, Masterchef, and some of Hell’s Kitchen. Y’know, maybe I’ll do this again as an AU some other time. Also, I didn’t name the chefs, so enjoy it with whomever you want. (Have to try writing Gordan Ramsay one day.)

“Jim, tell me again why we are here?” You pouted as he swung open a door for you. 

“We’re here to inspire others in more ways than one. The chefs need some inspiration, and I agreed to help them out when we came back for shore leave.” Your fiancé replied, nudging you forward so that hee too could enter the building. 

“This is shore leave, Jim,” You grumbled anyways. “Not a fly around the world to inspire others leave.”

“All in good time, doll. I’ll make it up to you,” Jim kissed your forehead. “Now come on, we don’t want to be late.”

Once the production team deemed your and Jim fit to be on camera, you frowned again at him, linking your arm through his. It was three years with him, and there was no one else you’d rather be. Sure, you had to fend yourself a couple times from his many exes, but you knew where Jim’s heart was at. There had been couple ups and downs as expected, but the famous Starfleet Captain finally settled down with you by his side. 

You were in love. 

“You ready, Y/N?” Jim turned to you, gaze sweeping over your features and straying for a moment on your lips.

“I don’t see any other choice,” You shrugged, smirking at him. Might as well make the best of the current circumstances.

“Come on, smartass,” was all you got before you were towed towards the grounds where the competition was held. 

As you stepped out, you grinned easily as the sun’s warmth radiated out, the hot breeze singing between your strands of hair, and a slight touch of clouds up in the sky. This was Earth as you knew it. It was home, and home was where you would rather be for the moment. As Jim walked by your side on the gravel, you could hear a loud voice not far from the circle of trees.

“Please help me welcome our special guests from some of Starfleet’s famous officers, Captain Kirk and Commander Y/L/N.” 

You and Jim waved as you approached from the sidelines. Three judges on one side, and two teams of home cooks on the other in front of their kitchen appliances.  

Red and blue. Never gets old. 

“Hi everybody,” You waved. Jim echoed along, beaming as some squealed at the sight of your fiancé. 

Jim was an eye catcher, you knew this. You’d never really let it get to you though. He knew better. 

“ Captain James Kirk of the Starfleet’s vessel the USS Enterprise, along with his world acclaimed engineer and fiancee, Commander Y/N Y/L/N.”

“Thank you for having us,” You politely returned, shaking each of their hands after Jim did. 

“Oh my god!” A home cook from the center left exclaimed. “Can I hug you? You’re my son’s hero.”

You blushed, but stepped off the platform with your arms open wide. 

Maggie was the name on her apron. 

“My boy Richard will freak out about this when he learns that I hugged you! I hugged Commander Y/L/N,” She spoked, briefly enveloping you in a hug.

“It’s my pleasure,” You replied, letting go of her. When you turned around to walk back to where Jim and the judges were, you noticed that your fiancee was giving you a knowing smile. 

Turning back to view the cooks, you and Jim smiled warmly at them. “We’re excited to see what each of y’all make and be able to plate for us today. As for the mystery box in front of us, this signifies the incredible relationship I’ve had over the long years with Y/N. It’s been a wild ride out in the black, and we still have many more memories to come. We’re grateful for Starfleet to let us come home for our three weeks of break.” 

“As you’ve all known about, Starfleet officers sacrifice the comforts of their home and family in order for the task of exploring what’s out there. Today, you will all be working with the ingredients under this mystery box in pairs, and be one step towards top 3.” 

Jim gently nudged you forward, and you briefly scowled at him. Trust him to make you be the one to open it. 

Placing both hands on opposite ends of the box, you gracefully lifted the wooden box upwards. An abundance of sweet potatoes were stacked neatly on one side. On the other, a colorful array of onions crowded each other in a stunning display of ingredients. A bowl of steaming hot chili sat in the center, and a plate of a beautiful pork tenderloin

“Iowa, the sweet potato and the pork. Texas, onions and chili. All iconic food and ingredients found in each state. In the back, we have prepared for you a large array of fully stocked ingredients needed for the challenge. You are tasked today to make a three course meal for our homesick guests we have here. The winning team will be safe from elimination, and the team that loses will go straight into another pressure test.”

“You have 60 minutes to complete this. Are you ready?”

“Yes chef!”

“Your time starts... Now!”

You raised an eyebrow at the amount of time given. Within one hour, you wouldn’t be able to pull off one course much less three. Out of your friends and Jim’s, probably only Bones could pull something like that off. You briefly wondered how he was doing over in Georgia with his daughter and family. 

As the chefs went down to speak with the two teams, you turned to Jim with that same eyebrow look. 

“Don’t you think that you’re around Bones a little too much there, Y/N?” Your fiancé spoke, gently nudging you towards the direction where an elegant long table was set up. Nine seats were situated around flutes of champagne for each one. “It’s uncanny.”

“This for everyone?” Your jaw dropped at how gorgeous and simplistic the table arrangements were. “For us? Jim, we’re not even married yet, and this is already so beautiful.”

Jim laughed, and pulled the chair out for you like the real gentleman he was.With a side smirk, you sat down in the offered chair. Los Angeles, California. City of Angels. Not much greenery around in such a vast metroplex, so it was quite an astonishment when you were greeted by open grounds. 

“Good ol’ California,” You mumbled, taking in the scenery as much as you could. 

“You want the wedding here?” Jim frowned. “I thought-.”

“I just want to marvel how beautiful it is here. It still isn’t enough to change our venue in Iowa though,” You rolled your eyes playfully at him as he sat across from you. 

“So how long have you two been back home?” One of the chefs sat down on your left, another to the right of Jim, and the other at the head of the table.

“About two days, we hung around San Francisco to get matters done. We’ll be heading to Iowa after this for our wedding in a few weeks,” Your fiancé spoke up. 

“Excited for all this, Commander?” 

You grinned at them. “Excited? I’m just ready for it all to end really.”

You spoke to them how you had to get the venue, the cake, the food, the DJ, the music, the wedding dress, Jim’s tuxedo, all the guests, and all the wedding planning all done on the ship while still having to keep up with work. Duty didn’t pause just because you were going to have a wedding with the famous Captain of the Fleet. 

Oh no, you didn’t have that kind of luxury. 

Thank god everything was all electronic now, but for the most part, you sent the RSVP notices by hand. Writing them all by hand certainly sent you down to the medbay with a sprained wrist and a rather unamused doctor tending to it with a wrap. It was good to have one part of your wedding a little bit old fashioned. After all, you could keep it all as memories.

“Needless to say, we never thought it was going to take almost one year for us to get everything booked and ready,” You shook your head with a quiet laugh. “Time and time again, Jim had to double check with Command that we would be even coming home in the first place for leave.”

“Sounds like a whirlwind of deposits and headaches there. Congratulations to the both of you.”

You thanked the chef with a nod, while Jim continued conversing with him. 

“Ah here we go, the servers are here,” The chef spoke up, gaining the attention of everyone seated. “The plate on your left is from the blue team. It is a pistachio crusted pork tenderloin stuffed with bacon and mushrooms, with a side of salad and asparagus from the blue team. To your right, the red team has prepared a herb crusted tenderloin stuffed with caramelized onions and spinach with a side of slaw.”

Your stomach rumbled, and everyone chortled at the sight of your embarrassment..

“Let’s dig in, shall we?” Jim spoke. 

And oh boy was the food delicious. 

Being on a ship the majority of the year, you and the rest of the crew were stuck with replicators. Sure, the presentation and the nutritional count was there, but it was bland. There was no flavor, no salt, no pepper, nothing that could even rival the flavors that you were tasting from both dishes. Shore leave was seldom and spread sparsely apart.

Even during shore leave on a planet or on Risa, the food was nothing compared to the real earthy flavors. If it weren’t for the fact that you didn’ have reliable access to ingredients, you would immediately hop onto one of them, and ask for the recipe. You would bet that Bones wasn’t able to cook to this degree either. 

It was only during the last two courses that you had some trouble with. Blue team’s second course was messy, not at all cleaned cut as it was with their first. However they were redeemed with their last course with the small bowl of chili and some potato chips to the side. Honestly, you nearly melted at the taste of the dish. Briefly looking up, you could see that Jim was feeling the same as you were. 

The red team, however, was flip flopped. The second course was splendid, plating was well. It was their third dish with the onion rings that bothered you the most. Some were unseasoned, and a few were even raw on your plate. It was still a marvelous job well done though, in your opinion, especially under the time pressure.

“I guess this evens up the playing field,” You spoke, dabbing away the mess on the corner of your lips with the napkin. “Jim?”

“It sure does, Y/N,” Jim met your gaze. 

“I think we’ve all agreed on who’s the winning team, yes?” The chef glanced around. Everyone nodded. “Let’s bring the teams over.”

“Charlotte, Maggie, Ryan, and Michael, you’ve all done a superb job in creating a wonderful 3 course meal with the given ingredients. Mistakes were had between both the red team, and the blue team. However as you all might know, there can be only one winner. The winner of this mystery box challenge is,” The chef dramatically pauses. “Will be announced tomorrow.”

Shock.

It was the only evident expression on all four of the contestants. 

“For now, let’s celebrate the job well done with a satisfying lunch, and be able to spend some time with our Starfleet officers,” The chef encouraged the teams to choose a seat, and to raise their glasses.

“To a safe and wonderful break.” 

Glasses clinked against one another. 

Star Trek tags: @mournthewicked Join the taglist!

[superfem-imagines]

Fearful Admissions

A oneshot where bby!danvers casually admits during truth or dare at game night that she's terrified of one of her sisters dying on the job. The next day Kara and Alex decide to try and get their sister to talk about it and she ends up breaking down in Kara's arms and they comfort her as best they can. You can decide how to end it. 

A/n: I actually like how this one turned out, so I hope you guys like it! 

Words: 1114

Warnings: Some swearing, brief mention of alcohol, slight mention of violence/death

-------------

“Truth or Dare!” Winn yelled, spilling some of his beer. He pumped his fist when everyone agreed, “Ok ok I’ll go first. Alex truth or dare?”

Raising an eyebrow, Alex chose dare. “Arm wrestle James.” At the brunette’s confused look, Winn shrugged. “James doesn’t think you can.” Wincing, he grinned sheepishly at his friend. 

“Is that so? Be prepared to weep, Olsen.” The pair got down on either side of the coffee table, hands clasped. At Winn’s call, they started. Everyone cheered as James started to win, but Alex quickly got the upperhand and won. 

“Holy Shit! I didn’t think you’d beat him. I- I mean he has a lot of muscles so..” Winn trailed off at the look on Alex’s face. Hearing Kara’s muffled laughter, he stuck his tongue out. 

“Lena!” Kara exclaimed, catching her off guard. “Truth or dare?” 

“Truth.” Lena smiled, face slightly red. “When was the last time you got some sleep?” Kara asked, a smug smile on her face. Lena frowned before changing her answer to dare. “I dare you to get some sleep.”

“I don’t think I like this game.” Lena grumbled, playfully glaring at Kara. Everyone laughed, but looked at you as Lena called your name. “Truth or dare Y/n?”

“Truth,” you grinned as you drank some of your pop, too young for alcohol. 

Lena hummed, playfully scratching her chin. “What are you most scared of?” Lena leaned forward, a curious glint in her eye.

You quickly glance at your sisters before clearing your throat, nervous to admit your secret. “Well, Alex and Kara are always out fighting aliens and saving the city. I’m worried that one day I’m gonna get a call saying that they had died fighting. Scared that I’ll come home and not have my sisters, that I’m going to lose them.” You glanced at the stunned, sympathetic faces of all your family. Clapping your hands, you turn to James. “Alright Jimmy boy, truth or dare?”

While you had James bench pressing Winn, you didn’t notice the looks Alex and Kara shared and didn’t catch on to their silent conversation.

------------

Sun streaming through the curtains, you sat up and stretched. Realizing it was pretty late, you got up to get some food. You were rummaging through the fridge when the apartment door opened, revealing your sisters with Noonin bags in hand. “Ah yeah!” you slid across the floor, nearly crashing into Kara as she held out a bag.

You jumped onto your counter, tearing into the bag before turning to your sisters. “Hey guys, I thought you were busy?”

Alex shrugs as she moves to one of the bar seats. “We wanted to take the morning and spend it with you, if anyone needs us they will call.”

Kara bounces over, the nervous smile on her face making you squint at her. “Did you just wake up?” Alex ruffling your hair distracts you, your (h/c) locks already a mess. You smack her hand away and glare, nodding while taking a bite of your sandwich. “Why did you guys take the day off?” You question, looking at Kara.

With your piercing look, so similar to Alex’s, Kara quickly breaks. “We were worried about what you said last night.” Kara bit her lip and looked sheepishly towards the oldest Danvers. 

Alex sighs and shakes her head, resting her hand on your knee to get your attention. “We just wanted to talk about it, I know our job is dangerous and important but so are you. Do you want to talk about it?”

“I guess.” You sighed, sliding off the counter and heading to the couch, food forgotten and sisters following you. Once seated, sister on either side, you focus on your hands. “I know how important your jobs are, and I’m proud of what you guys do. You’re out there, protecting the city, keeping people safe and kicking ass.” You ignore the look Alex gives you as you swear, focusing on the skyline through the window. “I’m just,” a deep shuddering breath interrupts you as you push away tears, you sisters taking your hands encouraging you to keep talking. “I’m terrified, Kara is bulletproof but she can still get hurt, we’ve seen that before even without Kryptonite. Alex, you- you’re human. You can die from a cold, it doesn’t even have to be on the job. But if you got hurt, killed? It’d kill me, if it happened to either of you.

“I mean, what would I do if that happens? Eliza doesn’t need to worry about raising me, she’s getting old.” You chuckle and shake your head, remembering your mother’s face whenever you called her old. “I’d have no family, without you guys.”

“That’s not true,” Kara interrupted softly, gripping your hand. “You have Lena, Maggie, Lucy, the guys- their all family. If something happened- and I can’t promise it won’t- you would have all of them to support and be there for you.”

“It wouldn’t be the same, though. I need you guys,” your voice breaks, throat closing and tears finally falling. Alex pulls you into her lap, fingers carding into your hair as Kara rubs your back.

“How about,” Alex began, making eye contact with Kara as the Kryptonian nodded. “I’ll still work for the DEO but in the lab, and I’ll go in the field when it’s really important or they really need me. And I’ll work with Lena and Winn to upgrade Kara’s suit so it can repel Kryptonite and protect her if she blows her powers? That way we are still doing our jobs but staying safer?”

“Really?” You ask, voice quiet. When they nod you pull them back into a tight hug, pushing back tears. “Maybe, once Kara’s suit is done, you can make one’s for the agents? Like the tack suits but stronger so you and the other’s are safe? A lot of them get badly hurt or die when up against aliens, and the suits could help them?”

Alex tilts her head, running the numbers. “I think we could do that.”

“And!” Kara adds, beaming at you. “I think I’m due for a new design. Maybe you could help Winn and make the suit better?”

“Yes!” You exclaim, bouncing on the couch. “I’ve wanted you to have pants forever! The skirt is cute but it’s impractical.”

As you guys sat on the couch making designs and running numbers, you knew it’d be okay. There was still a chance you could lose your sister’s in the field, but with the new suits and protection for them and the other agents, there was a smaller chance that you or any other families would lose your loved ones. 

[dreadwhoop]

Reviewing the All Elite Wrestling personnel (Part 2)

Part 0 - https://dreadwhoop.tumblr.com/post/631091725056835584/reviewing-the-all-elite-wrestling-personnel-part Part 1 - https://dreadwhoop.tumblr.com/post/631092482075148288/reviewing-the-all-elite-wrestling-personnel-part

Wrestlers to Release

Let's start with an easy one. Chuck Taylor is damaged goods. Is he the worst wrestler? No. Is he unmarketable? Yes. What's his standing? Currently one of the top tag-teams in the company and personally ranked 8th in the overall scoring. Are you kidding me?! This guy makes you change the channel - bush league dime-a-dozen goof with bad gear, bad promos, and abyssmal credibility. The worst is how badly he holds Trent? back from being a break-out star. Eliminate this idiot.

Another popular choice for removal - he may be kind backstage but I never want him on TV. Carnie Hick. People constantly compare him to better wrestlers and the fact he was self-trained makes sense why he's so horrendous at fundementals, ring psychology, and stardom as a whole. We already have a 'Superbad' boy! This guy needs to go to a real school to learn the holes he's got and take every criticism to heart to return as a unique talent. Until then? Get rid of this glorified fan.

I finally have a legit reason among opinions - liability. Imagine if he took Matt Hardy's bump. He's not concussed. He's dead. What's more to say? This isn't a case like Riho in the women's division - Marko Stunt looks like the average untrained and out-of-shape wrestling fan could kick his scrawny ass. If you can't believe he'd kick your ass how can you believe he could kick the ass of any professional? He makes Rey Mysterio look like Andre the Giant. Toxic to this company - he doesn't deserve a single victory and I can't believe people can defend him beyond sympathy. He's a moron and attitudes of a child, gimmick or not, which makes people change the channel. Heel booked as face and a charity case. Same as Janela - go train and if he comes back then return dignified and not as a lost cause. Please stop leaning into the child-like persona and validating every criticism levied against you. THE FLOSS! !!CRINGE ALERT!!

AEW needs to get rid of their gimmick low-tier wrestlers. This isn't DDT or Chikara. This is national TV. If you want to keep Michael Nakazawa then I'm sure you're also happy with wrestling never being popular or you being called an idiot for watching it. This is their attempt at having a Toru Yano - a genuinely amusing comedy act who gets unexpected wins. The best thing he can do for talent is by not being involved at all. Considering AEW got rid of Jimmy Havoc for his real-life sexual misconduct, how the BTE YouTube show distanced itself from Joey Ryan, and the whole Jake/Brandi segment, it's unwise to have a wrestler whose main schtick is to joke about sexual assault and weaponise it.

I changed my mind and rules just this once for this guy - this friend of Tony Khan won't be released but every time he's on TV it's like releasing a wet fart into my face. He sucks! I can't believe how incapable he is at conducting interviews or even stringing complete sentences together. Why else would he be taken off commentary? The more you see someone else do his job in the same company the more you realise he has no place in the company. Dasha is a Buenos Días.

What a total failure. He's the modern day Billy Gunn and Billy is in the same company still wrestling! I mean it - Shawn Spears is the guy with a Million Dollar Body and a Ten Cent Brain. His manager has given up on him after he couldn't find a tag-partner, called Dustin a wash-up and then lost to him, and looks so stupid when he's with MJF running circles around him. Shawn Spears is a loser. A big loser. He's the embodiment of mid-card hell and he's a walking mid-life crisis. The only thing I can see even saving his career in AEW right now is if he teamed with Adam Page against FTR because it would be unexpected and interesting and would play into the whole 'Teambreaker' clause.

Where to even begin. The biggest indictment to her is how she was niche and needed when the women's roster had so few talents. Now it's growing she's shrinking in usefulness and we know her character or wrestling won't evolve - it's going to stay as bland and cliche as her looks and attitude. I hate she represents a stereotype and not a role model. She got over her disease? Good for her. She acting like she's hood-life and all? Change the channel.  

If you glanced at the Dark Order and saw John Silver, Alan Angels, and Stu Grayson, you may mistake one for the other. The difference though is John Silver has degenerated his value as a performer by being the absolute butt of every joke. The whole point of the Dark Order was to make people better so being a little servant and whipping boy is better than what he had before? Why isn't Alex Reynolds doing this? Oh it's because it's garbage. Fecal matter in the form of a human. I want 'long' John Silver to be 'long gone' Silver.

QT Marshall. So I say this name with reverence and think "wow this guy is going to light the world on fire?". Let's picture the scene - he's the hand-me-down MJF/Shaun Spears, teams with Dustin to get some starpower, and adopted DDP's move because he has nothing original to show. His entire arc is being a goofball tragic loser who got hair plugs and hangs with Allie...Allie, who incredibly has a better record than him! It's just bad bad bad throughout. Diet-Arn Anderson. He's not in the shadows he's just in the shade.

This will need a bit more explanation. Moxley is, at best, hit-or-miss with his promos and very specialist in his matches. AEW's executives have put a lot on him to see this company's growth and yet it feels since he beat Jericho it's been the opposite. Now you could blame the lockdown for this but it's an excuse. The truth is Moxley is always best being a chaser to the title not the title holder. Do I think he should be AEW Champion? Eventually, but this is AEW's biggest issue - they book for short-term gains and not long-term gains. The losses will be creeping in if his loyalties are questioned. When he loses the AEW championship, and the lockdown is over, he's jumping back to NJPW or WWE. Why would he want to elevate talent? He's not there for AEW he's there for himself and tell me I'm wrong. Everything about him was booked wrong - he should of never beaten Jericho, continued to chase for the title, had to deal with Hager, Brodie Lee, and then when Brian Cage became FTW Champion, go after this to make it a more legit title. The fact Moxley thinks he's Stone Cold, Hulk Hogan, HHH, Cena, Lesnar, and Roddy Piper all in one, is a complete embaressment to the legends. He tries too hard and it shows. His wife not joining AEW is a bad omen for his loyalties. Mox is Pox - a parasite of every proportion and we've seen his type before play to the ruination of companies.

[camsblogsandmore]

Game 3 of the NBA western semifinals was one to remember. James harden and Lebron James went at it! The Lakers are favorites to win the series but at the rate the two teams are competing, we do not know who is going to win the series. The Lakers and Rockets were neck and neck. Lebron James was having a monster 1st half as he had 29 already. The rockets still took the lead though at half 64-61. Lakers ended up winning thew game 112-102. Rondo was a huge help in the victory. their bench was struggling a lot since the beginning of the playoffs but with him back he fit right in as he racked up 21 points and 9 assists going 8/11. Both stars had a great game. Lebron James ended the game with 36 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. James harden had 30 points with 9 rebounds and 9 assists. Both sidekicks did good as well. Russel Westbrook had a way better game with 30 points shooting 54% with 8 rebounds and 6 assists. Anthony Davis showed up to with 26 points and 15 rebounds. We look forward to game 4 as the Lakers is leading in the series 2-1. The clippers and the nuggets played their game the day before. it was also a nail bitter all the way until the fourth. after a quiet playoffs Paul George showed up with 32 points and shooting 12/18. They needed all of them points as they win 113-107. Although Kawhi Leonard has been red hot this whole season he had a quiet 23 points but showed his dominance on the defensive side. He literally blocked Jamal Murray dunk attempt with one finger. Yes, I said it right, with one finger. On the eastern side the Heat who were heavy underdogs against the most likely two-time MVP Giannis and the bucks. Jimmy Butler showed what he was capable of. he came up so clutch in the series especially his 17 points in the fourth quarter. The Raptors demanding respect from the rest of the league as the 2019 NBA champs have been hearing about how their finals victory does not mean much since the Golden State warriors were badly wounded. Their hunger shows that it was not just Kawhi last year. The series is now 3 - 2 and the Celtics are looking forward to close it out tonight. 

[stressful-and-deathy]

anyone ask for a jimmy jab 2.0 hc? not really, but here it is anyway 

(also this is crazy long i’m so sorry i was out of control)

 okay so, the squad hasn’t really had the opportunity to play the jimmy jab games since that time jake let amy win and that was years ago. they were still a bit wary after the whole fiasco with holt finding out, but it’s been so long that when holt and terry announce they have an all-day meeting at one police plaza, everyone was EXCITED bc they were all stuck at the precinct digitalizing files. 

the captain left amy in charge of the precinct bc you know, she’s a sergeant (already eyeing a lieutenant position, mind you) and also she’s Amy Santiago, c'mon.

amy vetos anything to do with jimmy jab the second the two of them walk out the door, giving a whole speech about how she’s their boss now and needs to be responsible.  

rosa immediately starts throwing some shade saying that “amy was too lame to play with them anyway” and that “she had just become more stuck-up, but “it’s not like she could win anyway so it didn’t even matter”.

amy looks at rosa dead in the eye for 15 seconds and then finally says   “okay, so this is how it’s going down.” everyone cheers and starts chanting “JIMMY JAB! JIMMY JAB!”

under amy’s command, everyone gets jobs assigned to them and the whole thing is set up in less than an hour.

for the traditional opening ceremony, everything is ready, the donuts arrived, the trashcan is in place and scully’s got his costume on. that’s when they realize they are missing something. something kind of important. the person who always sets the donut on fire and declares that the games have begun is not there. it’s jake’s day off.

everyone is a little bit embarrassed that they forgot about jake, i mean, he’s the life and soul of the game (or of anything fun that happens in the precinct, really). but charles….charles is absolutely devastated.

he immediately calls jake, saying how he is not worthy of being his best friend and that he is the single most horrible person to walk on earth. he’s crying so much, jake doesn’t understand what’s going on. rosa grabs the phone from charles, explains what’s up and tells him to get to the precinct asap.

he yells WHAAAAAAAAT for 3 straight minutes.

jake arrives in a hurry, still out of breath from running up the stairs. he stares at all of them in disbelief and goes “how could you? this is treason. TREASON. i’m so disappointed in all of you, and you amy, what the hell? how could you forget your own husband?”

she’s about to apologize but jake keeps talking “doesn’t matter anyway, YOU’RE ALL GOING DOWN, especially you, wife”. he literally makes air quotes while saying “wife”.  

now amy is pissed and she’s got a threatening look on her face as she says “well, husband (she also uses air quotes), it was pointless to call you anyway, you being here is not going to make any difference since you’re about to lose. AGAIN.” jake yells back “YOU ARE SO ON”.

after the opening ceremony, they are on position for the first game. gina explains that, since the fridge was mysteriously cleaned the day before and all the disgusting food was thrown away, “The Mouthaton” will be replaced by “The Catfish”. rules are simple. the competitors must create a fake profile on a dating website and start talking to people. first person to get an unsolicited dick picture wins, the last is eliminated. you can’t flirt, you can’t ask for the picture and you can’t reveal your real identity.

hitchcock gets it first. everyone looks at him questioningly and he’s just like “what? i know exactly what those guys are looking for, if you know what i mean.” they are all disgusted. then he just gets up and goes…somewhere else. no one questions that.

scully is the second one to get it. no one buys it at first and asks him to prove it, so scully says “it’s serious, guys. look, hitchcock  went to the bathroom and sent me a picture of his…” he didn’t get to finish his sentence bc everyone is yelling “EWWWWWWW” and “NOOOOOOOOO” and running in the opposite direction of the phone he’s holding.  

amy’s next, immediately followed by jake and charles. everyone looks at rosa, who is still typing away on her phone. turns out she started talking to a girl and is actually getting into it. 

she’s the first one out.

game number two starts, it’s the traditional “Bulky Bulky Run Run” better known as the bomb suit foot race.

amy and jake keep pushing and grabbing on each other’s suit to get the other out of the away so charles manages to take the lead.

just like every single year, hitchcock falls down the stairs. scully tries to grab him by his legs but hitchcock’s weight manages to pull scully down with him. they’re both out and in need of medical attention.

(it was briefly discussed whether or not to eliminate scully after the first game, but no one volunteered to check the picture he got so they just let him keep playing)

 third game is the infamous “Keep Your Cover”. as usual, the contestants have to craft an undercover persona and talk to as many police officers as they can without being found out.

amy goes first. she’s dressed like an old lady and she rocks it. her strategy is to start talking to people about how millennials are the worst and how kids these days are ruining the world because they are glued to their phones. people try to get away from her as fast as they can’t without making eye contact. she manages to get through nine people

(she blows it when she starts talking about her love for latin and how it should be a requirement at public schools  – everyone and their mothers know that could only be amy).

jake’s up next. he is dressed like an italian mob boss who’s a complete douchebag. when he’s talking to his third officer about “hot chicks”, the guy tells him about a sexy latina sergeant who’s super bossy, claiming that “it could be kinda hot in bed”.

jake dramatically takes off his sunglasses (which he was wearing indoors, to add to the character), and yells “THAT’S MY WIFE”. (yes, you’re absolutely supposed to read that in john mulaney’s voice).

he realizes he blew his cover and storms off, whispering to himself that it’s not “kind of hot”, it’s super hot.  he’s almost sure he lost, but charles comes to save the day.  

charles dresses as buddy valastro. yes. the cake boss. he literally doesn’t make it past one person.

and once again, it’s jake versus amy in the final game which consists of the obstacle course.  

first they gotta make it past the barricade hurdles in the corridor and, as usual, amy gets a head start, but jake is not too far behind.

next up they have to get a snack from the vending machine using a bean bag gun.

amy gets a snack first, but unfortunately it’s a bag of doritos. she takes forever to eat them and jake’s lucky because he got a granola bar and even though he makes a gagging sound the whole time, he manages to swallow the whole thing. 

jake runs to the stairs to go the floor below and get a pamphlet about cyberbullying and amy finally catches up.

they go back upstairs together, trying to bump on the other the whole time.

LASTLY, they’ve got to print a selfie captain holt accidentally took and also accidentally sent to everyone in his contact list using the worst notebooks of the precinct.

amy’s request goes through first, but when she goes to the printer, there’s nothing there. that’s when gina yells: “SURPRISE TWIST: THE COMPUTERS ARE CONNECTED TO THAT OLD ASS PRINTER IN THE STORAGE ROOM DOWNSTAIRS”

jake immediately gets up from his chair, knocking down both the chair and the table, and sprints to the elevator. amy gets in two seconds after him.

while they are waiting, amy starts teasing: “so, are you ready to lose like last time?” jake laughs. “amy, darling, i had to let you win last time. that’s not happening today.” that throws amy off and she takes one second too long to notice the doors opened and jake is already running.

jake gets to the storage room first, locates the printer and runs to grab the freshly printed picture laying on the tray.  

when amy comes in, jake is grinning, waving around the paper in his hands and imitating amy’s victory dance. “who’s the loser now, wifey? huh? no come backs?”

amy’s panting a bit and she’s got her hands on her knees but she manages to answer: “yeah, babe. did you get a good look at that picture you’re holding?”

jake freezes and his face falls. he slowly moves his eyes to the paper and his first thought when captain holt’s face is not what he’s seeing is “oh, fuck”. he’s about to rip it into pieces and throw it away when something catches his eye. no, it was definitely not holt’s face on that piece of paper. it was his wife’s. for a second, he thinks it’s just amy’s way of making fun of him while she gets the right photo but then he notices something else. she’s holding a sign. a sign that says: “Congrats, Daddy. You win” in perfect calligraphy.

it takes a couple of minutes until jake tears his eyes away from the picture and looks up at amy. his hands are shaking so badly and he opens and closes his mouth several times, but nothing comes out.

amy’s just looking at him smiling and her eyes are already watering. she can read on his face that he’s begging her for something to confirm what he’s thinking, to tell him that yes, it’s happening and it’s real. she nods slightly. and he starts crying.

she goes to him and hugs him and he holds onto her so tightly, amy can feel him all around her. after a few minutes, when jake’s breath has calmed down a bit, he pulls back and grabs her face with both of his hands while hers rest on his chest. “you’re pregnant?”, she can see he’s still in disbelief so amy just presses her forehead against his and whispers “yes, jake. you’re going to be a father”.  

he opens the widest smile she’s ever seen and says “oh, my god. i love you so so so much” before pulling amy close again, about to kiss the hell out of her, but amy stops him.

“wait a second. that thing you said in the elevator, about letting me win last time. that’s not true, right?” 

jake just rolls his eyes and goes for the kiss again.

[jswdmb1]

Put the Message in the Box

“Put the message in the box

Put the box into the car

Drive the car around the world

Until you get heard”

- World Party

Yes, I have enjoyed my break, thanks for asking, but it’s time to get back to work.  While I was off, I had plenty of time to read through all of the wonderful questions you sent.  Well, actually, it was only one.  But, given my difficulties sometimes grasping with reality, I couldn’t be sure if it was the only one I got, or if there were more just coming from my head.  Turns out, I was mixing up the voices in my head with the radio.  So, to avoid any confusion, I’ve included all of them here in my version of (bow to David Letterman) viewer mail.  Here we go:

“Astrology. Do you believe there is something to it? I mean like real astrology - like Ptolemy, Cassini, and Nostradamus practiced - not the one-size-fits-all horoscope you find in the newspaper.” - anonymous

Great question.  I definitely agree that these silly newspaper horoscopes are a waste of time, but the notion that the stars and planets somehow dictate what happens to us here on Earth is not something that I dismiss.  The problem I have is how could anyone possibly figure that out.  I am a very analytical person, and I just can’t believe someone like Nostradamus could have had the tools and data available to him at that point in time to make any sort of informed conclusions.  Frankly, I think he was just throwing a lot of shit up against the wall and just seeing what sticks.  That being said, the vastness and grandeur of our universe certainly suggest that there are forces out there that could have a significant impact on our lives. Unfortunately, I’m a bit too cynical and/or agnostic to believe that anyone will ever be able to prove that, in my lifetime anyway.  I guess that relegates me back to the astrology section in the newspaper, but I pass right by it to the crossword puzzle anyway, so I guess I’ll just have to keep finding things out one day at a time for now.  But, I’m open to any foresight that can be given to me, with proof of course.

“What’s going on?” - Marvin G., Detroit, Michigan

Gee, Marvin, where do I begin?  It seems if you even take a couple of days off there is “shocking” news that has already been replaced with something even more unbelievable.  I think, however, that this most recent story of a certain lawyer who worked for a certain boss who made him pay certain porn stars and committed a bunch of laws in the process is going to stick.  I think what everyone has to remember, including our president, is that impeachment is a political process and not a legal one.  Whether he can be indicted for a crime, or even if one exists that can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt is irrelevant.  If the legislative branch feels from a political standpoint that the president needs to be removed due to his actions (or inaction) then they must proceed with impeachment proceedings.  If you look at impeachment processes in history, notably Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton, and even Richard Nixon, what got them in trouble pales in comparison to what this guy looks to have done.  I happen to think that means this is going to be going on for a long time and well into the 2020 election cycle.  No matter which side you are on, this is going to be political theater at its highest level, so enjoy it if you are into that thing.

“Can you get to that?” - Mavis S., Chicago, Illinois

Personally speaking, Mavis, I can definitely get to impeachment proceedings commencing at some point in the next six-to-twelve months.  The question is where do they go once they start and do they ever leave the committee level?  Even if they do, it seems unlikely to me that things could move fast enough to the House voting for impeachment by the 2020 primaries.  Furthermore, a Senate trial with a conviction appears even further far-fetched given eighteen Republican senators would have to flip on their sitting president (remember that a 2/3 majority is needed to convict).  I’m actually okay with that scenario playing out as it allows a lot of probing and debate that hasn’t happened in the past two years and gives the voters in the next election much better information than they had last time.  I also think that it gives other Republicans cover to challenge a sitting president in the primaries, which hasn’t happened seriously since Ted Kennedy took on Jimmy Carter in 1980.  My prediction is that impeachment never really gets off the ground, but it damages Trump so badly that he never makes it out of his party’s primaries.  Of course, this could all change tomorrow with the next bombshell that drops, but for now that’s what I see happening.

“What’s the frequency, Kenneth?” - Michael S., Athens, Georgia

Thanks for the note, Michael.  The name’s Jim, actually.  Anyway, if you happen to be driving through the Chicago area, I’ll recommend two frequencies for you to try on your FM dial.  The first, of course, is 93.1 or WXRT.  It is the last true FM rock station left in Chicago that plays everything from blues to classic rock to 80′s new wave to 90′s grunge up to new music from today and everything in between.  The DJ’s are knowledgeable and stay out of the way of the music.  My favorite is Terri Hemmert on weekday mornings from 10:00 to 1:00.  Saturday mornings are also a can’t miss with the three-hour flashback show to a particular year in rock.  The other frequency to try is 88.7.  This one is fun because in the city it will be Loyola University’s WLUW, but as you drive out west (around Harlem on the Ike) it turns into Elmhurst College’s WRSE.  WLUW is the quirkier of the two as you may find an obscure Icelandic electronica song played right after Glen Campbell’s “Southern Nights”.  Nothing wrong with either song, but it helps to be in college and on drugs to enjoy those so close together and I am not in or on either.  As such, I’m more partial to WRSE as they focus on rock variety with the occasional surprise thrown in.  They actually remind me a lot of an amateur version of XRT in many ways.  Whichever you listen to, it’s fun to hear college kids learning their way and it makes me feel just a little hip that they let me tune in.

“How bad do you want it?” - Don H., Linden, Texas

You have no idea how bad I want it Mr. H.  We’ve been waiting over thirty years in this town for a football team with a real shot at winning the Super Bowl, and I think we have one here.  This defense is that good.  Plus, as well as the D played against the Rams, I thought seeing the running game going well was a really good sign.  We’ll still need Mitch to get it back after hurting his shoulder, but I don’t think the Bears have to ride his arm to the Super Bowl.  Now, to get there, they are going to have to win two road games, probably in New Orleans and L.A., but I really think they would have an outside chance at a run if the momentum carries from last week.  If they do get to the Super Bowl, I predict they dominate any team that represents the AFC as I think they are better than them all (including the Chiefs and the Pats who they should have beat a few weeks ago).  The best thing about this team is that they have a ton of young talent that still has a lot of upside, so even if a Super Bowl isn’t in the cards this year, the Bears are a team to be reckoned with for a while in the NFC.   But, first let’s take care of business and win the NFC North title at home over the Packers.  After so many years of misery, I can’t think of a better way for this team to make a statement that it is back and the rest of the league will be messing with them at their own peril for years to come.

“Who are you?” - Pete T., London, England

I get it, Pete, I know that I have no authority to really speak on any of these subjects, but I can’t help myself.  I just love to answer questions and was very grateful for the one question that came to me from a blog reader.  I also think I have done a service by answering some of these additional questions that you all have been singing about for years.  I mean, as far as I know, there never have been any real responses to questions like yours.  I know there are a lot more out there too, so I’m happy to do it again.  I will, so long as I can get some blog reader questions to go along with them.  You know, just so people don’t think I’m completely insane. So, Take a Chance and Read Some Crap readers, hit that question button and keep this going as I’m sure Bob M. (Could You Be Loved?), George H. (What is Life?), and Whitney H. (How Will I Know?) would love answers to their questions too.  Until then, I hope at least some of these answers have satisfied your nagging questions, but the job is never complete.  I think the tide has finally turned for the question and 2019 is going to be full of them.  It may get uncomfortable at times, and maybe even downright nasty, but that is part of life and we are never going to evolve without continuing to challenge those with power and always asking why.

It’s good to be back everyone.  Until next time.

- Jim