#great job mil

[sidetongue]

she’s actually like, not even in the least favourites atm??

[californiaquail]

went out to brunch for my friends birthday and nobody believed me when i said everyone at my workplace doesn't like me and wants me gone so now i'm laying in bed crying and like gaslighting myself about it. lol but the eggs benedict was great

[vaginadentatas69]

as a civil service employee it always annoys me when businesses offer discounts to military & vets for their service & then act like other federal employees dont exist. the US government is the largest employer in the USA and it is notorious for lagging behind in pay compared to private sector jobs. most civil service workers live paycheck-to-paycheck; only very recently did the US gov enact a minimum $15 an hour for all civil service employees, because one of the primary reasons people leave civil service is it doesn’t pay enough. if you want to thank people for their service by offering a discount, at least extend the discount to everyone who’s served, civil, military, or otherwise.

[yandere-writer-momo]

Shoutout to Monster Anon for another amazing idea

Yandere Short Stories:

Right Where I Want You

Yandere Private Investigator x Fem Reader

TW: Yandere themes, delusional behavior, unhealthy behavior, racism (ex mil makes a comment), savior complex, murder, stalking, etc.

Inhale. Exhale. Nicalli blew cigarette smoke from his lips while his body sunk into his plush couch in his pent house. Another failure of a day in an attempt to find dirt on his target.

The stench from his lit cigarette did little to soothe the loneliness in Necalli’s heart. No, this small vice merely burned the back of his throat and made his clothes reek of bad decisions. This small action did little to satiate the growing lust that consumed his very being.

Nicalli ran an umber hand through his long, black hair. A few strands stuck to his sweaty palms while his heart raced in his chest.

Nicalli had been plagued with alien feelings ever since he’s taken on this new case. The case that involved the Goldberg family and their son’s fiancée, (your full name).

He has been a private investigator for over a decade and he’s never had someone be so innocent. How could (your name) not have a single speck of dirt on her?! Good people didn’t exist in this world! There was no way someone so pure could be involved with the Goldberg family…

Nicalli sighed in frustration and put his cigarette out on the jaguar shaped ashtray on his coffee table. His russet eyes scanned the various documents before him in frustration.

All he had were pictures of her helping at the local soup kitchen and her indulging in her small hobbies. She was so mundane… he didn’t have anything to give his employer to ‘protect her precious son.’

Nicalli had been on this case for eight months now and he still had nothing but pictures of this absurdly beautiful woman. Henry Goldberg was lucky to have such a faithful woman… Nicalli would die for one.

Nicalli didn’t believe in love after the betrayal of his lover when he was in the military. It was that betrayal that made him become a private investigator in the first place so no one else had to find out like he did… yet this life was lonely. Nicalli was so lonely and now he was enchanted by his target. How pathetic was that?

Nicalli continued to admire to various pictures he had of (your name). She was really beautiful… how could someone smile so joyously? There was nothing in this world to be happy about… or was there?

.

.

.

Nicalli recalled the memory of when he first received this job. He sat in the Goldberg mansion’s study. His large body squished into a small leather chair while the mother and son gave him fake smiles.

“We need you to investigate (your full name).” Mrs. Goldberg pushed a file towards Nicalli, the Mexican man accepted the file with a solemn look. “I feel like she’s cheating on my son… or even involved in some sort of illegal activity.”

Nicalli was shocked to open the file to see the smiling face of a beautiful young woman. This woman was involved in some sort of illegal activity? She looked like she couldn’t harm a fly!

“I will be able to sleep better at night knowing my son is in good hands.” Mrs. Goldberg she d a few crocodile tears before Henry Goldberg handed Nicalli a check that would make anyone gasp at the amount.

“I heard you’re the best in the business so please, don’t disappoint us.”

Nicalli took the money and nodded his head. He could do this… this job would be like all the others…

.

.

.

Nicalli felt his breath hitch the first day he saw (your name). He’s never seen someone so pretty before… she had to be some sort of forest fairy rather than a human.

Nicalli studied her from his car, his russet eyes studied her in great interest. He has followed her around for weeks now and there was still not a speck of dirt on her…

Nicalli was in disbelief. (Your name) seemed to be a good person… but he was determined to find something on her. Anything would do.

So he continued to stalk her which brought him to present day…

.

.

.

“Have a good day!” (Your name) smiled at the various homeless people that inhabited the soup kitchen. She served each one with a cheery smile, even if they seemed displeased with her.

Nicalli sat in the corner at a bench. His russet eyes studied her in distaste. Didn’t she tire of this? These people didn’t appreciate her company… no one seemed to despite her constant efforts. Nicalli didn’t understand the point of her unnecessary kindness.

(Your name) was so sweet, she could make teeth rot. A woman like her didn’t belong in a place like this, it was dangerous-

Nicalli jumped when (your name) stood before him, a bowl of soup in her hands.

“Hello?” (Your name) tilted off her head to the side as she studied Nicalli in interest. “I always spot you here, but you never come up to the stand so I thought I’d come to you.”

Shit. He had grown careless since she’s so docile… now she knew his face. Should he just call the mission a done deal?

Nicalli was shocked when she gently placed the bowl in front of him with a soft smile. “Here. Enjoy some soup, okay? You always look so sad…”

Nicalli bit his tongue. No matter how badly he wanted to refuse her, he couldn’t bring himself to. If he rejected her kindness, it would be as if he kicked a puppy. And people do not kick puppies.

Nicalli was surprised that the soup was delicious but then he saw her smile even wider.

“I made the soup, so please enjoy to your heart’s content. If you need anything, I’m (your name)! I’ll see you around, mister!” She then went back to the kitchen while Nicalli sat dumbfounded.

The Hispanic man sat there for a few minutes longer before he felt a blush envelope his cheeks. His heart wildly leapt in his chest and his palms began to sweat buckets. What just happened to him?

There was no way… no way he had a crush on (your name)? Yet he couldn’t help the way his eyes shyly glanced towards her bubbly form while she served the rest of the costumers.

She was a good person… (your name) was a genuinely good person. Nicalli was sure of it. And now he needed to report his findings to the Goldbergs.

.

.

.

It took everything in Nicalli not to choke slam Henry Goldberg into the velvet carpet in his study. This man was a bastard… he didn’t deserve (your name).

“God, I thought you were the best of the best!” Henry sighed while his parents chuckled.

“Now son, I’m sure he’ll find something on that commoner.” Mrs. Goldberg pointed out to her son who scoffed.

“Mommy, at the rate he’s going. He’ll need to make something up!” Henry hummed, the man reached for his check book. “How much money do you need to fabricate a lie on her? I truly cannot marry a commoner, but it looks good for the citizens-“

Nicalli furrowed his brow. What on earth were they on about? “Aren’t you happy she’s a good person?”

Henry and his mother paused before the two of them erupted into laughter. “Happy she’s a good person? No one told us you were a comedian!!”

“How about you plant one of my necklaces or jewels in her home so we have the grounds to annul this engagement? I really cannot have my son end up with a woman so poor like that.” Mrs. Goldberg took off her diamond necklace and tried to hand it to Nicalli but the private investigator pushed it back toward her. “Oh come on. People like you are familiar with stealing, right?”

Nicalli’s head spun in horror and confusion. They were going to frame her to make themselves look better for the people… they were going to frame an innocent woman for a crime. The Goldbergs were horrible people… horrible villains.

“Mother, not all Mexicans are thieves.” Henry rolled his eyes before he gave Nicalli a knowing smile. “But I do need you to pin a crime of some sort on her. I can’t have her have the Goldberg family name.”

Even though Nicalli wanted to scream at the two of them, he must feel himself in. He needed to have evidence to show (your name) to save her. Nicalli wanted to save her… she didn’t deserve to have her name tarnished over corrupt people like these ones.

“I’ll see what I can do.” Nicalli gave the Goldbergs a stiff smile. Yes… he’d contact his sources to dig dirt up on the Goldbergs.

Nicalli didn’t become a private investigator to harm innocent people. Nicalli did this to protect the innocent from heart break.

.

.

.

Nicalli threw his coffe table across the room after his source had called him and faxed him over pictures of Henry Goldberg with escorts. Bastard… that fucking bastard!

Henry had this perfect woman and he cheated on her with escorts?! He was involved in drug and sex slave trafficking?! This was a rabbit hole Nicalli never thought he’d find himself in… and he had to get (your name) out.

A man like that didn’t deserve her… not like he did. Nicalli would treasure a woman like her. He’s pamper her and make sure she was properly pleasured- what the hell was that?!

Nicalli shook his head to clear his thoughts. How dare he think of her in such a way… Nicalli wasn’t worthy of her.

Nicalli’s cheeks flushed in anger. Henry had to suffer. He had to pay for his crimes. The Goldbergs had to pay for their crimes.

Nicalli snatched one of the pictures up before he was able to locate Henry’s location. It would be easy to track him down… Nicalli was all too familiar with the Red Light District.

All he needed to do was figure out which vehicle was his, but that couldn’t be too hard. Henry was a classic spoiled narcissist. His car would be colorful and loud, just like him.

.

.

.

The death of Henry Goldberg was on every news channel and in every article. His shiny red sports car was totaled and the bodies of two escorts were found with him. The cause of death was drunk driving and brake failure.

There was not a doubt in Nicalli’s mind that (your name) would be distraught… but he had to take care of Mrs. Goldberg first.

Nicalli adjusted his black leather gloves on his hands as he slowly approached the Goldberg’s office to discuss further business. The pistol with a silencer attached was buried deep within his coat.

This was all for (your name)‘s future… for their future together. It only made sense to him that he got the girl after saving her! Nicalli could make her happy!

Nicalli would have (your name) right where he wanted her…

.

.

.

(Your name) sniffled in her bed, her body trembled in sorrow. She couldn’t believe Henry died and his mother had committed suicide… she knew Mrs. Goldberg adored her son, but she had no idea it was to such an extent…

Yet she wasn’t surprised about Henry being a deviant. It was why she avoided being physical with him. There was a small voice in the back of her head that told her he was bad news… yet was it wrong for her to want the money to live a good life? She’d never have to worry about bills again if she married him… but then he sent the private investigator her way.

God, it irritated her… but she wasn’t a horrible person. She just wanted a better life was all… was that a crime?

And she always felt unsettled under that man’s gaze. He had such sharp features and such a piercing stare. There was no way people didn’t know he was there when his presence felt like a predator’s.

The man had such a bewitching appearance. Hell, his hair was prettier than hers and his hooked nose was gorgeous… that private investigator was more attractive than her dead white fiancé.

So when she had a package full of photos of Henry with escorts, she knew it was her ‘stalker.’ It was nice to know he had a good moral compass, but these photos were too late. They weren’t anything she wasn’t aware of.

Despite her bubbly attitude, (your name) was not naive. She knew the Goldbergs weren’t good people. No old money family were.

(Your name) sighed as she rose up from her bed and wiped her eyes. There went her plan to be with a man with a trust fund…

(Your name) was surprised to see a bouquet of red roses and carnations on her doorstep. It seemed that private investigator may have a crush.

(Your name) smiled in thought. He was a private investigator for rich people, right? Then maybe he had the money to ensure she had a good life?

She turned her head and spotted the shy man on his car. That classic 1964 Chevrolet impala always stuck out like a sore thumb.

(Your name) wiped her eyes a bit before she gave him a smile. She could spot his red cheeks from her place by her door. It seemed she wouldn’t have to work too hard for this one… because she had him right where she wanted him.

[gooseworx]

Hi goose! Congrats on the 200 mil views! You're doing a great job, keep it up🤘

I wanted to ask you, how did you think, how did you know that you wanted to start doing animation and indie cartoons? What was the one thing that made you know that you wanted to do just that?

When I watched cartoons as a kid, I would imagine my own cartoons instead when one wasn't keeping my attention for long enough.

[put-me-through-the-wall]

Girl Next Door- Pt. 2

Simon 'Ghost' Riley x reader

Word count: 3k

Summary: Simon finally accept your offer for dinner. Did you mention you can cook?

A/N: I was a little slow on this but the idea of them getting close was stressing me out, okay? Also my MIL was in town and I couldn't get in the groove. All the support so far is amazing, thank you guys so much! If y'all like it there will be more to come. Warning: still slow burning

Join my Taglist

Part I

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Simon sits across from you at your tiny dining table pressed against the wall of your cramped kitchen. You managed to lure him in with a fairly nice bottle of unopened scotch you found in the back of your cabinet that had potentially fallen into one of your own boxes when moving from your ex's house. 

He looks around your quaint little one bedroom apartment. It was a lot different than his own. The literal layout was the same. No extra rooms or walls but you’d done something different in here. The whole space had a cozy feeling to it. Every surface was decorated with useless gadgets and trinkets that he didn't understand the purpose of. Lots of blankets, pillows, soft things. You had music quietly playing through your TV speakers in the living room. A few lamps fill the dim room creating a subtle yellow glow that hits the high points of your face, softening your tired features.

"Do you think there's something wrong with me?" you suddenly blurt out.

"S'cuse me?" Simon asks, caught off guard by the question.

"Lately I've been feeling like there's something inside of me that attracts horrible guys. Like, is there a beacon coming out my head that says 'hey, come over here. I'm vulnerable and easy'."

Simon pauses, unsure how to respond. He watches your face closely. You're sad eyes looking to him for an answer he doesn't have. "I think you're...nice," but he has a feeling that's not what you wanted to hear.

"nice?" You let out a humorless laugh. "Maybe that's the problem. Nice must translate to doormat," You sigh and drop your head into your hands. 

Simon takes a sip of his drink. He's growing concerned this is entering too friendly territory. Then you pop your head back up.

"So, how much did you hear?"

"Not much"

"Yeah right," You toss him a coy smile. “Can I tell you what happened?”

“Sure,”

“Alright, so” you take a sip of your own drink and a deep breath before recounting your story. "I met him at work. He was really nice and offered to pick me up a coffee on his way in one day. I haven’t made any friends at work yet so it was nice just to chat over a coffee. Then we started having lunch together. Nothing serious just in the break room but it felt good to hear about something other than notes from my editor. I wasn’t looking for anything serious, I mean I moved here to focus on myself not continue dating more crappy guys. So of course he started texting me and he was really sweet. He complimented my outfits and thought all my jokes were hilarious apparently. I really wasn’t trying to get involved with this guy though. He said something about hearing I can cook and of course I said I do. It’s part of my job, duh. He’s giving my shit about it so I invited him over for dinner. I made this creamy potato gnocchi with Italian sausage that I got from that great butcher on the corner. I even hand rolled the gnocchi. I mean, who wouldn't kill for an authentic Italian meal?"

"He's sounds like some guy"

"Not really, I was testing out a new recipe for the column so, two birds one stone. Anyways, he comes up and we have some wine and listen to some music. It was going really well so far. Then I go to bring out a nice charcuterie board for an appetizer while the pasta finishes baking. While I'm bringing it to him I can see he's on his phone, texting someone and literally giggling. I walk up behind him and he is sexting. On my couch!" you throw you hands up incredulously. "Well, I thought he was. He’s looking at a picture of some girl bent over then I realize it’s me. He took a picture of my ass, while I was making him dinner. I couldn't fucking believe it. What kind of a scumbag does that to a woman preparing a fucking meal for him? Now, this is not something I'm proud of so let the record show this is very out of character for me but these were extraordinary circumstances. So, I dropped the fig chutney on his head. Right in his stupid quaffed hair. He jumps up and he's all mad and starts yelling and I'm yelling back. He calls me a crazy bitch then I call him a perv. After that he left." you conclude with a shrug.

"Wow" Simon responds, truly taken aback by the series of events. 

"Yeah, then you know the rest from there. I don't know what came over me. I guess after my last breakup I haven't felt very good about myself and this guy made me feel, I don't know- fun? That feels silly to say. I should’ve known better from a guy that works the celebrity gossip section. I probably looked like a big baby out there, how dramatic. I'm sorry about that, again."

"You don't need to apologize."

"After I moved here I thought things would be different. I thought guys in the city were classier I guess. Turns out all guys are the same. Just take what they want and go. Do you want another drink?" You point to his now empty glass. 

"Sure." You snag his cup and stand. He watches you walk over to the counter in your silky slip dress. The sleek fabric clings to your waist. Flaring around your hips and down your thighs. The warm light reflects on the shiny material, shifting with each step you take. It tightens perfectly about your waist and cinched with a neat little bow in the back. He wonders why you would wear a dress like that for this guy.

"So, do you date?" you question in a seemingly casual tone.

"No" 

"Yeah right," you laugh and look over your shoulder to see his stoney expression and your smile fades. "Oh, sorry, I just- I find that hard to believe."

"Why is that?" He tilts his head and you focus back on filling his glass. 

"It's just, you're a good looking guy. I would think you'd get plenty of female attention," You pivot back around and place the glass before him. You lean on the table with one hand and prop the other on your waist. 

"'M not interested," his gaze stays fixed on the brown liquid, grabbing it and taking another sip. He doesn't miss the way you deflated the slightest bit. 

"Maybe I should take a page out of your book, as in maybe swearing off men completely" The oven timer dings. "Oh! pasta!" You jump over and grab your oven mitts. You drop the oven door and slide out the sizzling dish. An aroma of cheese and basil fills the air. Your stomach audibly growls.

You pull down two plates from your cabinet. You serve up the steaming pasta, sprinkling parmesan and fresh chopped herbs for garnish. You proudly carry over the two dishes and place them carefully on the table. You place your hands on your hips while gazing down at the platter.

"This looks...great." Simon is truly taken aback by the incredible looking dish. 

"Wait, don't eat yet. Let me get a picture." You scamper into your living room, grabbing your phone off the coffee table and scurrying back. You hold your phone high above for a birds eye view. Simon scoots his chair back to avoid the gaze of the lens. The camera clicks with a flash. You examine the photo, seeming satisfied with the quality and finally taking a seat in your own chair. "It was okay if you were in the picture. I don't mind." 

"I do," he says simply. 

To anyone else, Simon comes off as rude or callous but you, you never seem to let his shortness affect you. You take his words and just keep going. You don't mind his lack of conversation. It seems you are totally satisfied with having someone there to listen. He was starting to think he didn't mind listening so much. 

"Oh," You shift uncomfortably in your chair. "Sorry then. Well, let me know what you think. Try to be detailed with your feelings about it if you can. You're my guinea pig and be honest. I don't want to put this out when it's garbage."

He proceeds to take a forkful in his mouth. He cannot control the groan that escapes his throat as the bold flavor hits his tongue. This is far cry from his usual take away food. He can't remember the last time he had a home cooked meal now that he thinks about it. 

"This is quite good." He grumbled between bites. Not caring to finish chewing before he's stabbing at the pasta on the plate once again. 

"Really? You don't need to be nice to spare my feelings. I don't mind criticism."

He shoves more in his mouth. "I’m serious"

"Thank you" You giggle watching him scarf down the still steaming hot meal. 

The two of you finish your respective plates without much more conversation to be had. On your last few bites you meet Simon's eyes as he reclines back in the creaky wooden chair, hands laying across his stomach. His head tips back with a satisfied grumble making a proud smile play across your lips. This may be the first time you've seen him express a true human emotion in your presence. 

"There's more if you want?"

"No, I'm stuffed." 

If you know one thing as a part time chef, food is the way to a man's heart. You knew if Simon tasted what you could make his ice exterior would melt away. You stand up and walk to the fridge. 

"Too stuffed for dessert?" you pull out a glass bowl filled with layers of custard, strawberries, cake, and whipped cream. "I made a traditional English trifle. Y'know for the holidays coming up and who doesn't love custard?" you shrug while carrying the bowl over to the table. You hurry back to the kitchen to grab two saucers and plate up the dessert.

"If I didn't know any better I'd say you're trying to butter me up." he comments, intently watching as you carefully slice through the layers. "What do you know about English food?" 

"Not much, which is why this is a special occasion. I can get some insight from a genuine Englishman," you slide the saucer to him. "Everything happens for a reason, I guess you were meant to be here tonight" you don’t realize how weird that comment is until it's already left your mouth. You suppress the feeling and internally cringe. You take a seat with your own plate and try a bite. "Hey, that's not too bad. I think Gordon Ramsey would be proud"

Simon actually chuckles when you compliment yourself making you giggle in return. This whole night is very different than you expected. Not that you were complaining.

Your leg bumps his underneath the narrow table. Your bare foot brushing up the edge of his pant leg for the briefest moment. A deep blush rises to your cheeks the second you realize it's his leg instead of the table's. 

"Oh, sorry!" you quickly draw your legs underneath your chair. Simon pauses his eating and meets your gaze. 

"S'alright," he slowly slides his long leg across the distance and nudges the shin of your tucked legs with the toe of his boot. "You scared?"

"What?" you allow your legs to relax, your calves sitting on either side of his outstretched leg. It felt natural, almost domestic. "You don't scare me." you're lying paired with an anxious laugh.

"No?" As he says this his foot shifts underneath the supports of your chair and yanks it forward causing your chair to skid a few inches across the tile, pressing you further into the table as you let you a surprised yelp. Hands brace against the edge of the table. Simon maintains his calm composure. "Are you sure?" he takes another bite of the fluffy dessert. 

You weren't sure if it was the liquor going to your head or the rush of adrenaline but you felt bold. You rest your cheek on your propped up hand, offering the most innocent eyes you can muster, as you delicately slide your foot along the smooth leather of his boot. Simon swallows and gently places his fork back on the table.

"What do you think of it?" you question in a hushed tone. your foot travels further up his ankle, dipping under his pant leg to feel his hot skin underneath. 

"It's sweet," He states simply but his words roll off his tongue smooth as butter. 

"Not too sweet?" You tilt your head the slightest bit.

"Hm," he hums in contemplation. Your eyes drift down to watch his hands grasp his drink. He grips the glass in his large palm. The rolled sleeves of his long sleeve reveal the muscles in his arm shifting when he raises the glass to his mouth. For the first time you notice a faint raised scar cutting through the outer corner of his lip and stopping just shy of the edge of his nose. He takes a long swig of the brown liquid, not quite finishing the drink. As he pulls back his lips glisten in the warm light. "Not bad when it's paired with a stiff drink," his tongue is quick to swipe across, collecting the residue. 

"I'll be sure to make a note of that." you smile sweetly. "Can I get you another drink?" You look down at the last sip coating the bottom of the glass. You make sure to flutter your lashes when you look back up at him. 

"Are you trying to get me drunk?" A smirk raises the corner of his mouth.

"No," you laugh. "Why, do you want me to?" 

He releases a deep gravelly laugh that makes your stomach stir. Then he glances at his watch and your stomach drops. 

"I need to get going." He mumbles. He pulls his leg away from yours and rises out of his chair. 

"Wait," you rush to stand, almost knocking your seat over in the process. "Can I- uh- get you a bit of pasta to go? There’s plenty left" Trying to think of any excuse to keep him here a moment longer. 

"S'okay, save it. Maybe I'll come by another time." He turns and steps out of your kitchen and into the hallway leading to your front door in only a few wide strides. 

"Are you sure?" You don't intend for your voice to come out as needy as it does. You follow on his heels like a lost puppy.

"I've got an early morning." Before he reaches the door he turns, seemingly surprised by how close you are to him. He looks down at your big round eyes. 

"Okay," you smile trying not to look defeated. "Well, you're welcome over anytime. I mean it, just knock and I'll probably be home. I'm gonna try writing at home more. Try to avoid that guy." You let out a halfhearted chuckle. "Maybe, you should get my number. Y'know, in case you want to check if I'm home."

"I'm alright, I'll just knock" His hand finds the doorknob. "Thanks for dinner, it was nice" Then he turns to go. Closing the door politely behind him. 

You rush to the peephole, watching his distorted figure step out of sight followed by the sound of his own door shutting. You rest your hot forehead against the cool wood grain of your door. 

You step back in the kitchen and begin putting away the leftovers. Piling the pasta into tupperware, rinsing the plates, collecting silverware. His glass remains in place with a sliver of scotch leftover. You hold the glass up in the light and see a faint smudge on its rim. You twist the cup around so your own mouth lines up with the imprint he left. You swallow the last bit slowly, savoring the way the sharp burn eases into a smooth, smoky aftertaste. You never liked scotch, but now you are starting to understand the meaning of an acquired taste.

The low atmospheric music is abruptly interrupted by an ad loudly cutting through the calm space. You rush into the living room to find the remote, hiding among the cushions and various throw pillows. Growing frustrated you end up walking over and manually hitting the power button. The silence that replaces it isn’t much better though. You step back and let your weak legs carry you until you collapse onto the comfort of your couch. The wine followed by the glass of scotch you polished off makes your head feel light but your limbs so heavy. You turn from your back to your side, realizing the used glass is still clutched in your hand. 

You reach across the gap and set it down on the coffee table with a thud. Your hand retreats back to rest under your head. You stare at it, taking in all the imperfections left on its reflective surface. Your eyes trace the rim once again looking for the smudge. On the corner you see the shadow of an impression peeking out underneath the red lipstick mark you have smeared over it. 

𝜗𝜚

Across the wall Simon falls back on his own couch. He looks around his dull apartment wondering what you have done differently to make your place look so welcoming. He never minded the minimal decorations he had. A photo frame with his team that his buddy gifted him and a couple of books always seemed like enough. After comparison though it just feels empty. 

He can hear you stomp across your floor. Footstep rushing from the kitchen until you're straight ahead. The sound of your TV turning off bathes the room in sudden silence. Only thing he can hear now is the rushing of his air conditioning unit. He considered your music annoying but now he couldn’t deny the way it added an unconscious energy to the small unit. Now sitting here, the cool tone of the overhead kitchen light illuminating into the living room he feels as though something is missing. Maybe a nice lamp would help. 

━━━━⊱♡⊰━━━━

@azkza @neurolept @contractedcriteria @hidden-treasures21 @sprokat @stark-red19

[theunstuffedpepper]

It’s been a while since I posted a life update - recently it’s been all birds, gratitude, kid photos, and random food photos. Not a bad depiction of my life actually.

Fitness and wellness are both looking up. I’ve been getting in daily exercise, eating mindfully, hydrating better than I had been, and sleeping WAY better. Shout out to Derrick who is about to be 1 year in a few weeks (!!) and who also FINALLY started sleeping through the night 1-2 weeks ago. It has been life changing. Seriously. Sleep is everything. So it’s been easier for me to make good choices and work out now that I’m getting better sleep. It’s that time of the month right now, but I’m seeing scale movement and just dropped down below a big weight milestone number again. Feeling good and ready to keep the momentum going through the weekend!

MIL and childcare things are also going well. She’s been reliable, helpful, and our communication has vastly improved. I’m always cautious in my optimism, but right now we’re in a good place.

Brendan got a full time job offer from a place relatively nearby - 45 minute drive or so. It’s a good offer with a local company and it’s right up his alley as far as prior experience and skills in surveying/engineering. He starts in just over a week! This will mean that MIL will take a full time role with childcare, which was the intention all along. Cross your fingers for us.

Work is going really well. The head of our department has taken a shine to me lately and has been promoting me and my work to the management team. He’s been giving me a ton of flexibility on remote working, not having to commute so often, and taking early days when we can. He knows I’ll put in the late nights and long hours when we need to and be there whenever I’m needed. It’s been reaffirming and a confidence boost for me professionally.

It’s been hot here, so lots of water play days. Holden’s summer camp is over now (he did great!) and so it’s just relaxing until late August when soccer starts and then early September when he goes back to school full time (ish).

All in all, things are very much looking up! Everyone here is healthy. We’re hosting my brother and sister in law this weekend and planning a big pork roast with slaw, baked mac & cheese, fries, veggies and dip, and all the yummy things. Wait, what was that about weight loss? 😆 Wishing you all a happy and much cooler weekend. Looking forward to keeping better tabs on tumblr to see what you’re all up to!

[abilouwrites]

THE BEFORE, AND THE AFTER

3

series Masterlist

(Og draft got deleted I’m sorry pookies)

It takes Bakugo three months before he winds up in my ER once again. This time less injured, with a large gash on his abdomen. I’ve just worked a twelve hour shift and am dying to get home. But alas I get called in to the trauma room where he’s just sitting, “called for you” He smiles weakly but lifts his shirt to show a semi-deep cut just at his ribcage, “hoped you weren’t off”

I groan a little as I slip my sterile gown and gloves on, grabbing a suture kit and bringing it near where I’m sitting, “uh-huh, can I take a listen to your lungs?” I ask taking my stethoscope from my pockets.

“Yeah. Can I get more of the pain killers?” He asks, crimson eyes flick over my figure and how I’m hunched listening to his lungs. Which sound fine.

“No, I’m just gonna numb you a little bit and then stitch you up” I clarify, gentling numbing the area and slowly pulling the sutures tight.

I hear him wince and inhale sharply, “you do not have gentle hands”

“Uh huh” I nod, “I just wanna get home. I’ve promised my roommate that I’d be there for dinner. And I’ve broken my promises more than enough” I murmur; dumping my gloves and gown into the trash.

“You have a roommate?” He asks; sitting up and pulling his mask off- allowing stray blonde hair to fall into his eyes. Which he quickly brushes out of his face.

“Yeah.. not all of us make almost two mil every year. But shes great I love her” I murmur, “uh yeah you’re good”

“Why don’t I take you out to dinner” he asks and now I know the morphine is talking.

“Ha-ha” I joke a dry laugh, “I’ll see you around. Just take it easy for a while”

I’m tired and burnt out when I slink through the door, listening to some jazz pop as I unlock the door. I’m not surprised to see Suki asleep on the couch. Stove off and food in the oven. I don’t bother waking her. She has a job interview with this tech company in the morning.

I open my door, clothes on the ground. A messy room, with makeup on my desk and medical books holding up the uneven legs. The little trinkets on my windowsill.

I’ve been working the past 48 hours, non stop— doctors are working less hours, which means the nurses have to step up. I’m working harder than I ever have. For the same pay.

I have the feeble energy to put the remaining clean laundry I have away before I stuff my laundry basket full of dirty clothes.

I flop into bed and am grateful I won’t have to work until tomorrow night.

Halfway through my shift I go for coffee. Mostly because this is my favorite coffee spot but also because hospital coffee sucks. There’s a shorter line than usual, people know this place but not very well. The nurses know it best, but I’m still a little astonished to see him there. Hair a little damp and eyes red with irritation. In the bareness of his hero costume, no gauntlets. Still those dumb boots.

I pick up my iced coffee, relishing in that first sip. The sip doesn’t cure my exhaustion; or the fact I’m walking a little under a mile back to the hospital.

But Bakugo never misses, eyes keen he spots me. Murmuring my name against the crowd, sliding next to me as I walk out. Light green scrubs and black clogs. The ugliest shoes but also the comfiest, “dynamight I haven’t seen you in a while” I tease gently as he smiles. Not even bothering to get his coffee.

“I’m almost due for my next visit then? Aren’t I?” He asks. A faint smile of that softened jaw-line. He’s not much taller than I am, 6’2 to my 5’7.

“God no, we’re so understaffed.. I’m working 80 hours a week and I’m still struggling on grocery and car and just everything.” I murmur a little, looking over at him.

“I’ve heard about the strikes, everyone says hero’s are the foundation of society but it’s carried by medicine” he speaks, a soft voice against the few cars that pass the streets.

“I know.. I’m just exhausted.. y’know?” I’m still quiet, “how has the stitches been healing?”

“All healed. Just a little sore.”

“And the wrist?”

“Because we’re out of your work place.. what’s it gonna take for me to take you out to dinner?”

I shrug back a laugh, but smile at him, “a lot more than that”

[cleostoohot]

Cleooo im the anon that promised to write my void success story!

Sooo this is my journey:

I found out about the void in late june, it was my 12 year old sister that had told me about it/loa, (i'm 17 btw) and at first I was like "no this is fake, no way" during the course of june-the day i entered the void i had only actually tried to enter 5 times, each time i flipped over and went to sleep. I would constantly doubt myself and procrastinate the void i was like, "nah, i'll do it tmr instead" etc. what got me together was the fact that my sister kept telling me how good our lives would be like when we entered (I was struggling much more than her). She was more interested in manifesting without the void. Anyways I imagined myself with the life of my dreams gave myself pep talks and on september 19th I told myself "fck it, I'm entering the void tonight"

This is how I entered:

I meditated to clear all the thoughts out of my mind (I did the 444 breathing method, inhale for 4 counts, hold for 4, exhale for 4)

Once there were NO thoughts in my mind I begin to affirm ("I am in the void", "I am the void" were the ones I used)

After about 2-3 mins (I can't remember exactly) I felt like I was being sucked into darkness, complete fcking darkness

I kept affirming for about another minute then I got that floating feeling and by that point I knew I was in the void

I was in complete darkness ( i didn't see any stars btw) , I couldn't feel anything or hear anything, I felt like I was pure, just..me it's hard to explain but tbh it was he best feeling ever

I used the blanket affirmation: "I have all my desires from my notes app" and then I was outta the void

the feeling coming out of the void was... CRAZY i've never experience before.. it was surreal

Now onto the good stuff, what I manifested (A LOT):

Desired mansion

Desired face

desired body

desired voice

instantly entering the void

perf self concept for me n my sis

desired biological mum and dad

no depression

desired friend grp

desired wardrobe

desired things from my pintrest board

a wish diary

holiday to france and shanghai for christmas

desired grades (a+ ofc)

Getting desired scholarships

Meeting famous people

never in danger

$10 mil

my family n friends always being safe

desired apple products

AND SOOOOO MUCH MOREE

omg this took me AGESS!!

i'll prob post another longer and more detailed post later on but expect my sister's success story soon ;)

for cleo: tysmmmm ilysmmmm omg u n raven are the BEST I LOVE YALL SO MUCH!!! THANK YOU SO SO SO SO MUCH, TY FOR MOTIVATING AND MAKING ME FEEL SAFE IN THIS COMMUNITY!! WITHOUT YALL I'D STILL BE IN MY ABUSIVE AND TOXIC HOME!!!! THANK YOU SMMM FOR SUPPORTING ME AND BEING THERE FOR ME!!!! I love you guys sosossoooo much

for the people struggling: GET OFF UR ASS AND DO THIS!! YOU KNOW U CAN, I KNOW U CAN, U WILL DO THIS, U WILL, IM ROOTING FOR YALL!!

love again,

-rosie 🧡 🧡 🧡  (ps. I'll be back soon)

her other post

great job my love you deserve it!!! i love receiving success stories in my inbox! keep ‘em comingggg

[sixeyescurseuser]

part 2

“Satoru? What color are your eyes?” Geto asks one day, when they’re sprawled on the couch together. Gojo’s head is pillowed on Geto’s chest, where the snakes happily nestle in Gojo’s fluffy hair. 

“Hm, blue.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

Geto is silent for a long moment. 

“I bet they’re magnificent,” Geto says, then startles when Gojo lifts up slightly, one hand tugging underneath the blindfold. “Satoru, whatever you’re planning to do, stop it.”

“Darling, I’ll keep my eyes closed, I promise,” Gojo solemnly swears. He waits until Geto gives his consent before lifting the blindfold off, diligently keeping his eyes glued shut.

Geto observes the shape of his lover’s closed lids, how his eyes contribute to his facial structure, and the white color of his lashes. 

“Pretty, right?”

Geto nods. “Hn.”

Geto still doesn’t trust himself without the trusty barrier of the blindfold.

Thus, he brings a hand up to cover Gojo’s closed eyes, and leans in for a kiss.

***

Gojo buys Geto a pair of his own special-grade glasses that block Geto’s entire field of vision, ensuring he can see perfectly fine while others will never make direct eye contact with him. 

It’s certainly an adjustment for Geto because the glasses, shaped like visors, feel very restricting. His snakes hiss at the glasses because they don’t don’t like not being able to see Geto’s eyes. 

But the glasses do give Geto more confidence in leaving the cottage to prevent him from freezing any innocent bypassers. 

***

Once, when Geto is out on his own, he spots a couple kids wearing the same style uniform as Gojo often does. Jujutsu Tech!

Geto decides to watch over them. 

Thank fucking god he did, because there’s no way in hell whoever the fuck is in charge just let these kids walk straight into a curse’s domain. 

Before Yuji switches with Sukuna, Geto intercepts and annihilates the other special grade, even without the powers of his eyes. Once the job is done, Yuji jogs up to his side.

Yuji: “Hey, thank you so much-GAH?“

At the speed of light, Geto pulls Yuji out of the crumbling domain and disappears.

The first years are completely bamboozled by what happened!

(Yuji: “Gojo-sensei, that special curse showed up again today! Well it didn’t need to help because Kugisaki and Fushiguro and I had everything handled, but I could feel it watching. Isn’t that weird?”

Gojo: “Huh, that is strange indeed.”)

Afterward, Geto presents Sukuna’s finger to Gojo. Gojo realizes Geto was looking after his students, and falls even deeper in love with him. 

***

Yuuta learned early on who Geto was because once Geto was watching over him but Rika was not having it! 😭

She was like “Who is this beetch?” and tries to off Geto, who flees and never looks back. 

The snakes want to pick a fight with Rika so badly, but Geto has to shush them because he’s not sure even HE could take on this kid’s curse. 

Also, Geto is technically supposed to be exorcized. That’s what Gojo told the higher-ups, that he had successfully defeated the infamous curse Geto Suguru. 

Gojo has to do damage control, of course. 

“You have Rika, and I have Suguru,” Gojo says with a shrug. “Simple as that.”

Beside him, Geto’s jaw drops open from the total lack of explanation by the fool that owns his heart. From behind his glasses, Geto pities the way the wheels furiously turn in Yuuta’s mind. 

Rika pops out jus to growl at Geto. 

Great. Good talk everyone. 

Yuuta: “You’re telling me you’re in love with THE special grade, Geto Suguru, who’s been alive for centuries and has been constantly compared to the king of curses, SUKUNA??”

Gojo gives him a thumbs up while Geto smiles with sharp teeth. 

***

Gojo Satoru is known as the strongest sorcerer alive, but that doesn’t stop Geto from being incredibly protective of him. While out on a date, Geto brings up the higher ups that clearly do not give a shit about overworking his beloved.

“Say the word and I’ll kill them.”

“I thought you didn't like killing?” Gojo asks with a cheeky smile. He takes a sip of his milkshake, then bumps his foot against Geto’s under the table. 

“Satoru, I’m a curse and they are assholes. It’s the natural order of things,” Geto sniffs. His snakes hiss in agreement, very excited at the prospect of killing for Gojo. 

Gojo extends his hand out, palm facing up. Geto slides his hand on top. Interlocking their fingers, Gojo conveys all the adoration he can through his uncovered eyes, hoping it penetrates through the special-grade glasses Geto wears.

“I love you too. My one and only.”

***

w/ @no-one-says-hi

[xanadontit]

E said something that was true-but-not-great about our nieces to MIL with a "don't tell SIL I said that" which means SIL will hear about this if she hasn't already but it'll be misconstrued as 100x worse.

Good job, E.

[sadboi-writer]

Dear Jack (Series)

Pairing: Jack Brewer x Reader

Summary: Y/N has been overshadowed by Jack. Milton tries to make her feel better. In turn, she tries to support him through his attempt to help Nakamura.

Word Count: 3.2k

Warnings: A few curse words, I think.

Masterlist ~ Chapter One ~ Chapter Three

Chapter Two: Fat Chance

Jerry, Kim, Eddie, and Y/N were standing around Kim’s locker when Milton came running up. He was buzzing with excitement and was waving around a small trophy. 

“Guys, guess what?” Milton tittered

“What’s up, Mil?” Y/N asked, readjusting her backpack straps

“Guess who just won the district wide spelling bee? I’ll give you a hint! M. E.”

“Meh?” Jerry asked

Y/N smacked the back of Jerry’s head.

“It’s me, ya toad.” Milton snapped

“That’s great, Milton!” Y/N praised

“What is that?” Eddie asked, pointing to Milton’s trophy

“It’s the trophy I won, it’s the bronze bee.”

Eddie, Jerry, and Kim looked unimpressed.

“I have fillings bigger than that thing.” Kim replied

“Come on! Who’s the man?” Milton cheered, “Who’s the man?”

Y/N was about to respond when there was a loud cheer.

“Jack is the man!” The principal shouted

Kim, Jerry, and Eddie hurried over and were cheering for Jack in no time. Leaving Milton and Y/N to wallow in their own pity. 

“So...Jack...” Y/N trailed off

Milton knew what she meant, “Yeah...”

Y/N guided Milton to the crowd, and Milton stepped forward. Proudly showing his trophy.

“You know, I just won the first spelling bee our school has ever-”

“Hey, Jack! Show us what you did to win!” Eddie interjected

Milton sulked and walked back to Y/N. She wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

“It’s okay, Mil.”

Jack did a fancy back something or other that impressed the school. When Jack passed them on the way back to the principal, he shot Y/N a wink. She rolled her eyes in response.

“Well, Jack, I hope this means you’ll stay on the team.” Principal Funderburk hoped

Jack shrugged, “I told you, it was a one-time deal. I win you your trophy and you get a visit from the wedgie wizard.”

Funderburk sighed, “I guess a deal’s a deal.”

Jerry popped his knuckles as he approached.

“Just go with it.” Jerry warned, sprinkling some baby powder in his hands and handing the bottle to Y/N

He clapped his hands, “WoAAAH!”

Jerry took no time in hiking Funderburk’s underwear to the nape of his neck. The principal let out a scream.

“Is that all you got, punk?” Funderburk demanded in the highest falsetto his voice would allow

Then, the principal waddled away from the crowd. The student body started to disperse to go to class. Milton was staring sadly at his trophy.

Jack turned to the two, “Milton? Y/N, are you guys coming?”

Y/N glanced at Milton, “We’ll be there in a second.”

Y/N took her arm off of Milton as he walked toward the ladder. He seemed to be talking more to himself than her.

“You know, you’re just a little bee with broken wings. But you, my friend, are gonna hang with the big dogs!” Milton insisted as he started climbing the ladder

Y/N was quick to go around the other side and steady it as best she could. Once he got to the top Milton started to lose balance. But, Y/N couldn’t let go of the ladder without it toppling over with Milton. The scrawny boy yelped as he fell. 

“Milton!” Y/N cried out

Before he hit the ground, one of the custodians caught him.

“If you’re my guardian angel, you sir, are awesome at your job!” Milton complimented.

After school, they were all walking to the dojo. 

“He caught me! He put me down and walked away!” Milton explained to the others, “The only thing I know about him is that his name tag said Yoshi Nakamura.”

“Huh, I never noticed him before.” Jack commented

Y/N rolled their eyes as Kim stopped in her tracks. 

“Okay, hold on,” Kim stopped, “ You didn’t notice a 600 pound custodian, but you did notice when Donna Tobin changed her ponytail from left to right?”

Jack scoffed, “Okay first, it was right to left. Second, it wasn’t a ponytail, it was a french braid. And third, maybe if that custodian had legs like Donna Tobin I would have noticed him too!”

Y/N chuckled and kept walking, Milton right beside her. Before they could go inside, Rudy stopped them with a wagon of trinkets. 

“Huge news everybody, the magic shop across the mall is going out of business. They have to sell everything at half price,” Rudy announced, “I feel so bad for them. I think I’m gonna cry. It’s a good thing I have this handkerchief.”

He started to pull one of those magic infinity scarves out of his sleeve as he fake cried. He was giddy with excitement.

Jerry grabbed Y/N’s shoulder, “Yo, I don’t know how he’s doing that man... but it’s freaking me out!”

Y/N shook Jerry off and pushed past Rudy into the dojo. Rudy dragged his wagon in after her.

“Anyway, since the store closed a storage space opened up in the basement directly below us.” Rudy continued, “I finally have a place for all my stuff!”

“Oh thank God.” Y/N mumbled as she started to drag out a practice dummy

“It’s about time,” Eddie commented, “This place is getting pretty cluttered.”

“For real,” Y/N replied

“It is not!” Rudy protested

Kim sighed, “Rudy, this place looks like a crazy old cat lady lives here!”

“Okay, that is a bit of an exaggeration.” Rudy replied

Y/N raised her eyebrow at him and then made eye contact with Kim. The two went to the cabinet and each opened one door. They both scrambled back as Rudy’s things came tumbling out. A cat jumped into Y/N’s arms.

“This is not my cat.” Y/N announced

“Well, it isn’t my cat.” Rudy replied

Rudy headed off toward the basement with his wagon, he stopped and glanced at the cat.

“Are you coming Tip-Tip?” He whispered

The cat leapt from Y/N’s arms and into Rudy’s wagon. After he left Milton and Y/N went to Milton’s to bake a cake for Nakamura. Well, Y/N baked. Milton watched.

Y/N was lost in thought while they frosted the cake.

“Whatcha thinking about?” Milton asked

Y/N replied absently, “Did you notice when Donna Tobin switched her french braid?”

“Yeah, but all of us did.”

“I didn’t.”

“Well, you’ve been focused on Jack.”

Y/N’s eyes shot up, “I have not!”

“Ooh, big feelings.” Milton replied

“Just drop it.” Y/N mumbled

The next day, Milton was carrying the cake and Y/N was carrying a bouquet of paper roses they had made. Their friends surrounded them as they walked toward Nakamura’s supply closet. 

“Dude, bringing custodian’s gifts is not cool.” Jerry insisted, “I mean, what’s next? Asking the crossing guard to the prom?”

“Eddie already tried that,” Y/N revealed

Eddie nodded, “She just wants to be friends.”

“I think it’s sweet they made their new friend a cake.” Kim defended

“Thanks, Kim.” Y/N replied

“See, when someone does something great. You know, save a life, or win a spelling bee. They should get some recognition.” Milton lectured

Y/N walked up and knocked. There was no answer. So Milton knocked harder. Jerry pushed past the two and just opened the door. 

Inside, the walls were lined with newspapers outlining Nakamura’s victories in sumo wrestling. On the shelves were several trophies. They all stood in awe.

“Guys, do you know what this means?” Jack asked

Jerry nodded, “Yeah, our custodian is the king of the babies!”

 They stared at all of the articles. Until the bell rang, Milton set the cake down inside the closet and Y/N set the roses on top of it. And they all headed to class. 

They all met up after class to walk to lunch together. Milton and Y/N were debating who would be the better househusband, Loki or Captain America.

“Okay, but here’s what you’re missing with Loki: He has passenger princess energy.” Y/N argued, “As long as you provide, he will do whatever-”

Jerry cut them off as they entered the cafeteria, “Guys, look, there he is.”

Milton grabbed Y/N’s hand, “Come on!”

He dragged them up to Nakamura. 

“Mr.Nakamura?” Milton called out, “I just want to thank you for saving my life yesterday!”

“Yes, thank you,” Y/N added on

“Hey, it’s what I do,” Nakamura answered, “Mop up barf, collect trash, and catch flying boys. I’m living the dream.”

Milton continued, “We stopped by your clost and saw your newspaper clippings, your trophies, and your medals!”

Y/N nodded, “We dropped off a cake and some paper flowers for you.”

Milton cut them off, “You’re amazing!”

“Then we checked you out on the internet!” Eddie continued, “You were a six time sumo champion!”

Jack nodded, “Yeah! That match where you lost your diaper thing and kept fighting? That was awesome! And disturbing... but mostly awesome!”

Nakamura chuckled, “ That was a long time ago. I used to be a hero in Japan. Now I plunge toilets.”

Nakamura looked at Jerry and took a few steps toward him.

“And you, either change your diet or use the bathroom at home, Jerry.”

Jerry looked at Y/N wide eyed, “You know my name?”

Nakamura chuckled, “Yeah, in the Janitor’s room we call you ‘The Bowl Buster’”

“You hear that guys? I’m the Bowl Buster woAHHH!”

Kim rolled her eyes and turned back to Nakamura, “Sir, I love that awesome victory dance you do! The Nakamura Stomp!”

Nakamura chuckled, “It started when I saw a spider in the ring, the crowd loved it so I just ran with it.”

“Come on, man, do it for us!” Eddie cheered

“No, I couldn’t I’m at work!”

Milton and Y/N made eye contact and then looked at Nakamura with their biggest beggar eyes.

“Please?” They whined in unison, “Just once?”

Nakamura relented, “Fine. Just one for you two, lil buds.” 

He stomped once and the cafeteria shook, he stomped again and it shook more. He jumped and it knocked down anyone who was standing, including Y/N who fell on top of Jerry.

“That was awesome!” Y/N squealed

Principal Funderburk stormed in with spaghetti on his head, as Jerry and Y/N helped each other up and everyone else scrambled to their feet.

“Look what you did!” Funderburk fumed

“Sorry, sir, we were just having a bit of fun.” Nakamura apologized

“Fun?” Funderburk demanded, “I didn’t hire you to jump around like some hop scotching hippo.”

Milton pushed past Nakamura, “I got this.”

Y/N called after him, “Milton I wouldn’t.”

He waved them off. 

“Mr.Nakamura would like for you to talk to him with a little more respect.” Milton demanded

“Oh, I don’t talk to you with respect. Do I?”

“Actually,I-” Nakamura tried

“This man used to be a hero, so he doesn’t even need this job!” Milton continued

“Milton-”Y/N tried

“Really?” Funderburk continued

“No, I really need this job-”

“He demands you to apologize to him right now!” 

Funderburk smiled, “Really? Here’s my apology: Nakamura YOU’RE FIRED!”

Y/N sighed and chased after the principal, “Mr.Funderburk, wait!” After school, and after a very unhelpful meeting with Principal Funderburk they all were in the dojo. Nakamura was crying in the corner, Y/N sat with him as he ate his ninth pizza.

Rudy exited his office, “Guys, group meeting!”

They all grouped up, it took a second for Y/N to get away from Nakamura but they finally managed it.

“Why is weepy mchugey still here?” Rudy asked, gesturing to Nakamura

“The guy has been through a lot, Rudy,”Milton started

Y/N cut him off this time, “He saved Milton’s life and in return Milton got him fired from the school.”

This whole situation made Y/N extremely angry. They had spent the last two days getting cut off, talked over and ignored. When maybe if someone had let them speak, Nakamura would still have his job.

Milton glared at Y/N, “We found out why he quit sumo and left Japan in shame.”

“65 wins in a row! Then some rookie struts in and throws him out of the ring like a moldy pear.” Eddie elaborated

Nakamura heard the last bit, “Y’all got any pears over there?”

“There’s no pears, darling.”Kim answered

Jack continued, “As if that wasn’t bad enough, he lost his life savings!”

Rudy softened, “Wow. How’d he do that?”

“He went on a game show called ‘Are You Willing to Lose Your Life Savings’.”

Rudy rolled his eyes, “Fix this. Once the food runs out we’re going to start looking tasty to that guy. Fix this.”

Y/N nodded and went back to sit with Nakamura. He handed them a slice of pizza. Y/N patted his shoulder.

“We’ll figure it out Nakamura, you’ll be okay.” Y/N assured him

Jack approached the two and sat next to Y/N.

“Nakamura, Milton was right! You’re not a custodian, you’re a champion!” He said, “With our help, you’ll get there again.”

“I told you, it was a long time ago.” Nakamura replied, “Why do you guys believe in me?”

“We live by something called the Wasabi Code.” Jack answered

Y/N stepped beside Jack, “That means we never give up on each other.”

“We’ve just got to find a way to get you back on the horse!” Jack finished

Jerry pulled Jack away a bit, “Jack, it would probably be safer if the horse got on his back.”

Nakamura glared at Jerry as Y/N smacked him in the back of the head.

“But, uh, you know... either way!” He corrected

“Wasabi?” Jack asked, placing his hand in the center

Y/N was the first to put her hand in. The others soon followed. Trailed by Nakamura.

“Wasabi!” They all cheered

They were training and needed a weight vest for Nakamura. But, with just Milton on the front made him too front heavy so they placed Y/N on his back.

Milton and Y/N bounced as they came up on the finish line for Nakamura. Groaning the whole way from the pain.

“That was your best time yet!” Jack encouraged, “You ran around the whole mall in under four minutes!”

Y/N panted as they stopped moving, “I think this baby vest thing is fused into my thighs.”

“Bouncing around in this thing has given me a new respect for kangaroos.” Milton groaned

Nakamura unclipped them and Milton fell, while Nakamura let Y/N down as gently as he could.

Rudy came up to Nakamura on his way into the dojo.

“Hey, Nakamura! I saw you running around the mall, carrying a big pasty baby and Y/N!” 

“I’m not pasty!” Milton protested, “I’m translucent!”

The group followed Rudy and Nakamura inside. Jack jogged up next to Rudy and Y/N.

“Nakamura is training for his big comeback!” Jack explained

“A comeback sumo match?” Rudy pondered, “I bet people would buy tickets for that!”

Eddie agreed, “I payed five dollars to watch the Kelly’s dog have puppies!”

Rudy and Y/N made a disgusted face.

“I’ve seen the miracle of life, and it’s disgusting!” 

Rudy shook off Eddie’s reveal, “You know, we could have the match right here in the dojo!”

Jack quirked an eyebrow, “Well, that’s great and all, but we don’t have another sumo wrestler for him to compete against.”

“I do!” Rudy replied, he briefly explained the beached whale fiasco, “We kept in touch. I’ll give him a call.”

And then Rudy was off into his office. Not long after Jerry exited the bathroom wearing a blow up sumo suit thing.  “Time for your real workout, Nakamura!” Jerry announced, before jiggling the stomach, “Let’s belly up!”

Y/N stared at him dumbfounded.

Jack approached, “Jerry, how is this thing gonna help. You look like a bloated turkey in a thong.” 

Y/N let out a short yet loud cackle, before throwing their hand up to muffle their laugh. Jerry scoffed.

“It’s gonna make him quicker!”He insisted, “I’m scrappy and wirey! Now, come on, Big Guy!”

Jerry ran at Nakamura, who immediately sent him sprawling. Jack and Kim moved to help him up. Y/N offered Nakamura a fist bump, he smiled at them. Once Jerry was on his feet, he sprinted back into the bathroom. 

The night that the match was happening Milton and Y/N stood with each other near the match. Y/N glanced at him.

“It’s not your fault that Nakamura got fired.” Y/N said, “I talked to Funderburk, he was getting booted anyway.”

Milton looked at Y/N, “I still feel bad. He might have been able to talk his way out of it if I hadn’t opened my big mouth.”

“You were just trying to help,” Y/N reassured, “There’s nothing wrong with that. Plus, look at what we’re doing for him now.”

As soon as the other wrestler stepped in Nakamura ran off into Rudy’s office. Y/N was quick to follow after him. 

Jack came in after her with Rudy and Milton.

“Nakamura, you can’t hide in here! ...Or anywhere.” He said

“I’m not going out there. That’s Yamasaki, he’s the only one that ever beat me.” Nakamura lamented, “I can’t fight him, man.”

Kim poked her head in, “Guys, we gotta put on a fight. The crowd’s getting ugly, and they were none too pretty to begin with.”

Milton looked at Y/N, who almost immediately got the message. 

“This is all my fault,” Milton whined

He left the office, quickly followed by Y/N. The two walked into the locker room. Milton tied up his shorts and took his shirt off, making himself look as much like a sumo wrestler as he could. Y/N took off her blouse and left herself in her athletic shorts and tank top. They nodded at each other as they went to the ring. 

The two readied themselves in the ring and Yamasaki did the same. Milton was the first to move, running straight at him. Y/N went around the back and jumped on his back. Milton was thrown away, and then Y/N was slung from his back over his shoulder to the ground. Knocking the wind out of her. Milton grabbed her ankle and pulled her toward him. 

Nakamura grabbed Milton, before he could attack again.

“I got this one, lil buds.” Nakamura assured

Milton dragged a very out-of-breath Y/N out of the ring as Nakamura took over for them. Jerry helped Y/N to their feet.

Nakamura threw Yamasaki out of the ring, winning the match. Y/N was the first to his side, hugging him tightly.

“You did it, Nakamura!” They cheered

After a minute or so Jack came over. At which point Jerry started chanting for the Nakamura Stomp. Nakamura stomped once and the building shook, he stomped again, then he jumped. The floor gave way and landed him in Rudy’s man cave. 

The next week after the match Milton was helping Y/N down the stairs. After a brief visit to urgent care they found out that pretty much their entire back was bruised from how hard Yamasaki had thrown them to the ground. 

Jack was telling Jerry and Eddie about Nakamura’s plans. 

“Thanks to Milton and Y/N, Nakamura is heading back to Japan soon to get his title back.” Jack explained

“You know,”Jerry started, “I could be a sumo wrestler. I would just have to gain like 5... 600 pounds.”

Eddie smirked, “Your mom did it pretty easily.”

“That’s it man-” Jerry took off after Eddie

Y/N chuckled at their antics. 

Milton sighed, “Jack have you seen my spelling bee trophy?”

“I thought it was in your locker?” Y/N replied

“I thought so too, but I can’t find it anywhere. I know it’s small but it means a lot to me.” 

“We’ll find it, Mil.” Y/N answered

“Don’t worry, Milton. I’m sure it’s someplace safe.” Jack replied, he glanced up

Y/N followed his gaze and smiled at him when they saw a slight bronze glint right next to the gymnastics trophy.

[acheel-and-cat]

Hey guys! I think I’ve finished Vampire Monty. I’ve never been super great at writing endings so we’ll see how I did. Thanks to @eat-the-lemons for the idea, and my amazing proofreaders @parathepineapple and @exploding-mush00m! Tag list: @random-potato-mil! Past chapters: one, two,and three!

Enjoy!

They finally made it back to Port Townsend.

“Uh so, I died in the Esther’s house. I swear I’m not going to lure you to some weird trap,” Monty prefaced their investigation with a shaky smile.

“Alright then Monty, lead the way,” Edwin said. They walked to Esther’s house and into her kitchen before Monty stopped.

“Okay so I died about right here,” he told them, pointing to a small scattering of black feathers.

“Crystal, can you read these?” Edwin asked, handing her one of the feathers.

“Yeah, okay,” she assured, taking the feather. Her eyes turned fully white as she read the feather. After a moment her eyes returned to normal and she looked at Monty.

“Jeez Monty, Esther was a major bitch!” she exclaimed, “You plummeted down and died, but about thirty-ish minutes after, a cat jumped over your body? After that you turned back into a human, or a vampire I guess?”

“A cat? You said a cat? Why does it have to be a cat?” Monty questioned, remembering his ordeal with the Cat King.

“Edwin mate, cats are kind of your thing,” Charles joked, “guess we’re taking a trip to the old Port Townsend cannery.” They began their trek towards the cat’s lair.

“Oh wow, the whole gang is here!” The Cat King called, appearing behind the group.

“What did you do to me?” Monty yelled, walking towards the Cat King.

“My little birdie experiment worked,” the Cat King seemed rather pleased with himself.

“What did you do?” Monty asked again, his anger rising.

“All my interesting supernatural acquaintances left and all I had was Tragic Mick, who is not the gossipy type. So I tried a little ritual I had heard of: a cat jumping over a corpse to create an undead bloodsucker, aka, a vampire. I wasn’t quite sure it would work with our crow here, but it appears it did!” he told them, prowling closer to Monty.

“Why would you want to talk to me? Don’t you have other beings to pester?” Monty really didn’t want to be a pawn in the Cat King’s game, again.

“Do you people not listen? I told you I had no one else to talk to! Jeez, you guys suck at paying attention.” The Cat King sighed, “Either way, I’m sure you haven’t eaten anything yet, so here.” He gestured at a body at the foot of his throne.

“Oh calm down,” he responded to the horrified looks from the group, “this lady abused animals. She isn’t going to waste either, Monty here will take his fill of blood, and the rest will go to my cats. Go on birdie.”

Monty slowly walked towards the corpse. As he drew near, the coppery scent of her blood became overpowering and he found himself draining her quickly. When he turned back, he saw everyone staring at him. He self-consciously wiped his mouth and averted his eyes, staring at the floor instead.

“So case closed, I guess?” He started sheepishly.

“Nah mate. We can’t have any loose ends can we?” Charles interrupted, looking at Edwin.

“That is true. While we have now figured out what you are, we have yet to answer where you will be staying or how you will be getting food,” Edwin added before the Cat King stepped up.

“He could stay here. There are unused rooms in the cannery and I often bring fresh bodies for my cats.”

“Monty what do you think?” Crystal asked, looking to him.

“Um, I guess I’ll stay in Port Townsend. I have a job at the library and I might be able to fix up Esther’s house or maybe find a different house to live in.” He said after a few minutes consideration, “I suppose I will have to find food, but I will be alright. Thank you for helping me. What is your fee? We’ll have to stop by the house so I can grab some more money.”

“Monty you covered the fee by buying my plane ticket over here. Believe me, we’re all good.” Crystal told him.

“Oh, alright then. But can I take you to lunch? I want to see if I can still drink stuff, or if everything is off limits.” Monty explained, silently begging to be able to still drink coffee. Crystal laughed, “Of course Monty, let’s go to Fountain Cafe. Have you been there? I think it’s pretty nice.” Monty let Crystal continue talking as she lead him to the cafe. He looked back at the Cat King and smiled before taking a step towards his new life.

The end!

[gallavichfanficlibrary]

✨ Hey guys! ✨

Just wanted to share some recent fics that you may have missed out on :) Just some stories we enjoyed in the last few months. 

First of all, I want to mention several new-ish authors whose works we loved. I'll link some fics but check out their other stories too!

sam_writes_fics

sending my love (from the other side) - post 10x05: ian visits mickey in prison.

hey brother - mid-11x10: mickey and lip talk post-fight.

lalazee

The Thing About Living - AU. In which Ian Gallagher donates a kidney just to get a date with Mickey Milkovich. That’s it, that’s how it goes. Everyone gets a happy ending. (Genuinely one the rawest, most beautiful stories I've read recently. Don't let the heavy theme turn you off.)

Of Going Home - Superpowers AU. A famous superhero Ian is forcibly put on leave from his job and returns to the Gallagher house, a failure all over again. Not only does he not know what Mickey does when the world goes dark, he doesn't know that Mickey is still living southside at all.

pinkpantherman

burnt by fire without trial - they get each other off on a couch. their couch. that's it

look at the situation they got me facin’ - Set in S1, Mickey's POV. PWP with bottom Ian.

roseapothecarys

quiet - 5 times Mickey lets his guard down, as observed by various third parties.

OnlyFans!Mickey series - What happens when your roommate comes home and finds you making a solo sex tape in the living room for your hordes of horny online followers?

***

And some fics separately!

One-shots:

hold steady - Those big hands hold a special place in Mickey’s heart.

to be gentle, to be soft - a series of four vignettes from their third year of marriage.

call me what you want - Post-canon. Ian's POV one night when he can't sleep in their new apartment. A great character study.

Full of it - Mickey knows he hasn't had the best track record, but is tired of the constant surprise from people when he can do normal things.

counting the heartbeats - It’s been a month and three days since their first kiss.

Hot Sugar - To settle a petty argument, Ian, Mickey, Lip and Carl end up at a shooting range and Mickey discovers he has quite a bit of a competence kink.

Drive-by BJ - The nice thing about driving a converted ambulance is all the "head" room it affords you.

Pushing Luck - All about their second kiss. Set after the robbery and before the-sleepover-we-don't-talk-about.

Thirteen Hours - Ian has known for thirteen hours that he’s not crossing the border with Mickey, so he makes the most of the time he has left with him.

all i need in this life of sin (is me and my husband) - Ian wants the two of them to have more friends. Mickey doesn’t.

27 - Ian Gallagher is another year older, Mickey knows exactly how to celebrate.

The Demon Made Me Do It - Mickey allows a demon to possess him, but the demon-Ian-has different ideas about what that means.

baby don't stop - Post-canon. Ian and Mickey settle into the ups and downs of domestic life.

How To Bag A Baddie - Wrong number AU. Ian gets a threat from an unknown number. He gets curious.

and he says, “it’s no big deal,” - Frank headbutts Ian again, and Mickey witnesses the outcome. Needless to say, he’s more than pissed.

The Taming of Mickey Milkovich - Mickey has missed Ian and is being a brat. Ian takes care of that.

Like sunrise on a summer day - Mickey is a famous painter, specialised in doing portraits and Ian is a vampire who hasn't seen his own face in over a century and would very much like to change that.

Warmth - It's a lazy winter Sunday.

WIPs:

Mickey The Unfriendly Ghost - Ian is finally in a position to move out of the Gallagher family home and into somewhere by himself. Things start to go downhill when strange things start happening in his new house.

The Exchange Student - Ian is a British exchange student in Chicago, and Mickey is his 'holiday fling', as much as they can ever have a fling, that is.

Africa - AU. When Ian lands himself an internship with famous wildlife photographer Mickey Milkovich he can't believe his luck. Spending one month traveling through South Africa with his big hero is a dream come true.

second chapters - When Mickey’s PO assigns him a job at the local library, he’s pleasantly surprised—not that he’d ever admit it. Practically lived in the prison library, and what better way to start his new life than with a career he might actually enjoy.

Finished fics with several chapters:

Designs on You - Ian has just moved out of his family home to live on his own for the first time. Working as a paramedic, he’s finally happy, stable, and moving forward with his life. But first, there’s one last remnant of his past self that he needs to let go of: his accidental porn tattoo of his late mother.

Dead Meet - Online dating AU. Ian's life is great but he feels lonely and doesn't want to be single anymore.

We do Each Other’s Laundry in our Hearts Sometimes - A very sweet hybrid AU where the Gallaghers are all bird hybrids and the Milkoviches are all wolf hybrids.

Prelude Motel - AU. When Mickey’s secret spot is infiltrated by an intriguing stranger, all the warning signs are there. Despite the voice in the back of his head telling him to disengage, he can’t help but bite off more than he can chew, running straight back to the spot and the stranger when a job leaves him injured.

***

There are many more fun stories that's been written over the past six months, take a deep dive in the ao3 ;) Plus, we're patiently awaiting the Gallavich Week 2023 to start... So, happy reading! ^^

[loveabledirtbag]

1.02 hands

the tense opening! and how the show expertly swaps the chaotic tension of the beef with the sterile tension of carmy’s restaurant in new york. but it amazes me how even on my millionth rewatch of the show, when joel mchale comes in i go “is that joel mchale? no. it can’t be”, why is jeff winger on the bear? and then he does such a scary good job.

the quick cut from the quiet horror of the new york restaurant to the chaos of the beef is beautifully done, and the fact that carmy is making a burrito is so random and fitting and odd. it just works. carmy has swapped out one shitshow for another, and this one is messier, lower quality, and there’s never a quiet moment. it’s just in your face, all the time, nonstop. but THAT is the place carmy has chosen to be. worth noting.

carmy throwing out the french laundry is his first mistake of the episode. he should know better, especially after specifically not doing it last episode, than to throw out his previous jobs and education to richie, tina, or ebra. “well, go fuck your french laundry. stupid fucking name”. “alright, then at noma-“ “oh, and fuck your noma, too”.

but the back and forth conversation of carmy having noma, and the french laundry on his resume, and richie having gone to devry where they’re “serious about success”, and then the ice cream machine breaks and richie is the one to go fix it (but also by grabbing a bunch of spoons and kitchen utensils, and decidedly NOT actual tools) is on point. and without a missed beat sweeps asks “you graduated?” and richie going “fuck no!” *chefs kiss*

but the class dynamic at play in that scene is gorgeous. because both paths have validity and value in the beef. the ice cream machine breaks and carmy can’t fix it with chef skills. but richie has the skills to fix (or at least he can finagle his way to fixing) the machine. it’s lovely.

the slowdown we see with carmy going outside to smoke, before he goes back to cleaning is nice. the first episode is so break-neck, nonstop intense that having this pause is nice. because it would be impossible to keep up with that pace, and even if it was possible, it wouldn’t be enjoyable to watch.

of course the peaceful and slow scene is followed up by carmy sleep-cooking and almost starting a fire in his apartment when he cooks frozen and wrapped food. it just reminds us that even when he’s away from the (chaotic and nonstop) kitchen, and we the audience get a small reprieve, the show reminds us that chaos can return at any moment.

also, in the scene of carmy at home, the quick meal of peanut butter sandwich, chips, and pop, when he works in a place of great food is so real. when i worked in food, after a long day when i’d come home and be absolutely starving, the last thing i would want to do would be make food for myself. ramen, or just a bunch of lunch meat was a regular meal of mine for YEARS.

i have a lot to say about the scene when sydney comes into carmy’s office to show him her multi-paged research project of ideas to help the bear. and i want to be careful and intentional about how i say this because i know the carmy and sydney debate and subsequent fierce support for each of them is strong and i don’t want to needlessly offend anyone.

BUT as someone who has been on both sides of that conversation, as a passionate employee who has a million ideas for how to fix all the problems of the place where i’m working, and as a manager/operator of a business who has a million things on their plate and can’t quite deal with a million more ideas flying at them (even if those ideas are good) i get it. i really get both sides. sydney is not *annoying* for bombarding carmy with this 30-something page packet of data and ideas. and carmy is not a dick for brushing it off and jumping into something else and leaving sydney in the lurch. sydney didn’t have tact with how and when she came to carmy, who is trying to deal with big picture problems, small picture problems, culture, systems, and a million other issues. sometimes as management you just can’t process anymore. but likewise, carmy could have done a better job of telling sydney that he needed time to process and couldn’t engage in that conversation in that moment. the real issue was a lack of communication, and a misunderstanding of how the other operates. which is something that i think is built upon in season two. i’ve seen so many people defend only carmy, or only sydney. but i think both have their faults in this scene.

you could also argue, however, that carmy as the person in charge with the privilege of ownership, should have done more with his power to communicate what he needed. he’s the example setter for the business and didn’t do a good job showcasing what he needed in the moment.

(also, peep the beginning of the season-long storyline arc: to-go orders and the battle of sleeping on making money from to-gos, and the struggle of figuring out how to manage starting a to-go program)

it’s odd that carmy leaves his office (and sydney) because richie calls out to him “yo, carm!” but then when carmy comes out to see what’s happening richie is the one who says “i can handle this myself cousin. i got this.” like…was that a continuity mistake on the editors/directors part? am i missing something? why draw attention to the issue, and then when the person who’s attention you drew gives you their attention you go, “i don’t want your attention”?

“ron’s gone. gone gone.” “ron’s dead!?” is so funny. i don’t understand people who argue this isn’t a comedy.

the actor who plays nancy chore, chicago board health inspector, is a chicago staple. and i always forget her name.

the biggest thing i have experienced in the service industry when it comes to health inspectors is that if you take richie’s attitude towards them: combative, mistrusting, aggravating; they’re going to suspect you have shit to hide. if you take carmy’s attitude: polite, welcoming, say something along the lines of “feel free to look around, ask me anything if you need me” they’re not going to be as suspicious. don’t fuck with health inspectors…they will fuck back.

ebra and tina taking a smoke break but ebra smoking a BIG ASS cigar, is ICONIC. plus the fact he doesn’t say anything as tina complains to him….we need more ebra. he deserves a spin off. he deserves a movie. i’m in love with ebra.

sydney going right back in with talking to carmy is kind of what i’m talking about. sydney isn’t reading the room and trying to be courteous of where carmy is at. they work in a shithole and a health inspector just came in. carmy probably needs to focus on that, and not on your 30-pages of ideas. however, while carmy is a little blunt, i think he does a decent job of telling sydney that what she’s giving him is a lot with everything else he’s dealing with. highlighted by the immediate shouting of richie…again.

is richie being the one to interrupt sydney and carmy’s conversations about fixing up the beef symbolic? maybe? idk. just a thought.

it’s amazing to me (and again, i know chicago is special and a world unto itself) that a restaurant can have a hole in the tile, with a former gas line next to the stovetops not properly dry-walled and caulked, but clogged with napkins, meaning cross contamination, no hot water in the hand station, AND a pack of cigarettes ontop of the stovetops by the burners and it ONLY results in a C grading? damn.

major props to sydney for getting in between carmy and richie as they get in each others face, ready to beat each other up. that’s some chicago badass behavior right there on her part and i think that’s the moment i fell in love with her.

“you cocked it up, you’re gonna caulk it out” is such an ingenious line and i wish i could have been in the writers room when they came up with that one. same with “surge rates, fucko!” the gold standard of lines.

sydney and richie in his car is just, once again, a chefs kiss of a scene. richie telling sydney she has to wiggle the gear shift, sydney asking richie to hold her purse while she gets ready to drive and him dutifully putting it at his feet. but there’s an automatic nature to how richie does it, that while it may have been ebon moss-bachrach just doing it, i really believe it was an acting choice to show that richie definitely had a wife, before we even see the phone call between him and his ex-wife.

the comment about the multiple arby’s cups being from different visits. god, i love it.

BUT THE MOST BEAUTIFUL detail is the song choice that starts up when the car starts: have you seen me lately, by the counting crows. but not just that, but the live acoustic version. this is a deep cut that ABSOLUTELY was not chosen randomly, but was chosen with precision simply because it’s a song you listen to only when in the depths of despair. richie driving to work and listening to that song is a sign of his internal torment like nothing else we see this season.

richie calling carmy “carmine” is odd. since we know carmy is short for carmen. everyone always says carmen. this is the one instance we hear carmine. is carmen short for carmine, and i’m not aware of it? was it a character choice to say carmine in this instance? was it a mistake that was left in? i wanna know.

gotta respect sydney (for a multitude of reasons, as i’ve said and as i’ll continue to say) that while richie is ranting about how angry he is at carmy, and how stupid carmy is, she says “what does that have to do with what we’re doing? we’re trying to fix the wall. which you fucked up before carmy was even at the restaurant.” like trying to use some therapy 101 of “hmmm…what you’re saying has nothing to do with what’s happening. so, you probably have some deeper issues at play here that you should probably address and work through on your own time.”

ope, uncle jimmy cicero coming in hot with a plot twist of mikey owing jimmy 300 grand. but also, the quick comment of jimmy saying that mikey was “an animal”, which comes into play in season two. a lot of thought went into this show, and you can tell with just every second while watching it.

“i should have stopped by to break your legs”…i would just love to know more about uncle jimmy. i mean obviously he is a prime example of “less is more” with storytelling. we know he’s rich, we know he’s older but has a younger wife and kid (who we’ll meet later), and we also know he makes comments and has conversations around giving people jobs under the table. we can fill in the blanks that he has mob connections, or a criminal network, or something along those lines but we never know exactly what it is upfront. we also don’t know what his day job is. and while i always want more, i love that we’re allowed to just sort of wonder. plus, don’t we all have that relative that we grow up and learn more about and go “ohhhhh. that’s suspicious.”

sydney also trying to come in hot with throwing out some of carmy’s accomplishments to richie, who without surprise still doesn’t give a shit. class struggle right here.

ok. so. the phone call richie gets in the car. this is a master class of storytelling. from the writing to the acting, to the way it was shot. we see richie, being driven around to fix a mistake he made out of his own incompetence. he’s being talked down to by people with skill and talent, of which he seemingly has none. he’s being so obstinate and thick and grating on the audience. and then he gets this call and he picks it up and we see his dirt-caked fingernails, and the distinct shine of his golden wedding ring still on his finger. and we see his pain, and his frustration as he talks to his ex-wife, with these absolutely open and innocent and brilliant blue eyes that softens the hard edges we’ve come to know from him. and then we see that softness actually come out as he talks to his daughter with this mix of pain and heartbreak as it’s so clear she’s his favorite thing in the world, but she asks him if he really loves her. you suddenly know exactly what he’s dealing with outside the restaurant; an ex-wife who is poisoning his daughter against him, even though he clearly isn’t the best example of a stable father and you think his ex probably has a point, and that eats him up because he so clearly wants to be a good dad. and in season two we see how much he wanted to be a good dad. but we’ve also seen so many examples of how he’s not the best example for his daughter. and that all of this happens with sydney right next to him (the worst person in the world to be right next to him). plus he caps it off by saying he fucked up by getting the wrong caulk, AND messed up by leaving his cigarettes on the burner! more on that later. but all of it absolutely makes your heart ACHE for richie, and if it doesn’t you’re a monster. it’s because of the time and care for scenes like this with richie that there is a whole subsection of people who are OBSESSED with richie and love him. despite him being sexist and homophobic.

also, richie calling his 5 year old daughters classmates a bunch of “fuck faces” is an example of ruthless and honest parenting that i am coming to understand more and more each day since my son was born. other kids ARE fuck faces, but my kid is fucking incredible.

i love that we see carmy reading syd’s packet. because it shows he does want to read it. he wasn’t dismissing her for his own egotistical desire to fix everything himself. he truly needed to wait for a moment when he could process everything she was saying, and that moment wasn’t the moment sydney came into his office to talk to him unannounced, but it was later on in the day

oh, pete. i feel like every family has a pete. that person who you know treats your family member well, and loves them, and you know they’re basically a good person…but they just don’t click with the vibe of your family. they’re a little bit too square. they’re off. it’s just too easy to make fun of them. it’s so painfully funny, and honest, and UGH the short conversation between pete and carmy on the phone. pete’s doing nothing wrong and you just wanna be like “pete….shhhhhhhhh.”

it does take real acting skill to have a scene where carmy says “i wanted to apologize for last time…” and pete says “no problem! i went to urgent care and they gave me some stuff to put on it.” and without even knowing the specifics or the context you’re left going “yeah, but pete probably deserved it?” pete is that good at being a loveable schmuck.

carmy admitting to natalie that he sleep walked and almost set fire to his apartment is so good at showing that nat has gone to therapy. and that carmy desperately needs to go as well.

nata saying “shut the fuck up” to carmy, and then pete from another room saying “you want me to shut the fuck up?” to which nat responds “not you, sweetie. you didn’t say anything.” is SO GOOD

“i was throwing up everyday before work” “oh. well that sounds chill” “i kinda dug it.” - a low key theme shown throughout the first season that carmy has an unhealthy attachment to his own pain and suffering (more on that as it happens in the show)

the way that the bear could have been just another show of any infinite number of shows about a fucked up protagonist who’s driving narrative could be resolved if the main character just went to therapy, but never does, because instead the bear says “yeah! carmy needs therapy!” this show is so pro therapy, and i’m excited for more of it as the show progresses in future seasons!

AHHHH richie found a note! addressed to carmy! from mikey! i forget that this episode really sets up the rest of the season! the first episode introduces us to the show, but this episode introduces us to the seasons! there are so many points that we’ll keep coming back to as the show progresses.

also, ebon moss-bachrach committing to, and executing near perfectly, the thick inside chicago accent (as illustrated by his “yeah yeah yeah, i’ll be right dere”) is perfect. i know some people say his accent is borderline offensive as a stereotype, like the accents used in fargo was for minnesotans. but much like the accents from fargo, while not everyone in illinois has richie’s accent, SOME people do. and his use of it is 🤌🤌🤌.

so sydney is on the line, calling out orders as ebra repeats the orders back to her while calling her “chef”. this shows that ebra is now getting on board with the new system, as opposed to mikey’s old system. i only wish we would have seen the transition of ebra accepting this new system. or maybe the point is that ebra is go-with-the-flow enough that as long as he gets to work with his beef, he’s happy.

BUT sydney at the front calling out orders is something we see started in the next episode, where carmy has formally implemented a french brigade system in the kitchen and placed sydney as his sou chef. so why is sydney already acting as his sou in this scene? was this scene shot and intended for a future episode and was cut and moved to fill a hole in this episode? once again, am i missing something? it seems like sydney is doing the thing she’s promoted to do in the next episode, in this episode. except that in the same scene carmy says “thank you for taking richie today”, which could only be talking about sydney taking richie to get caulk right?

richie and carmy talking about how jimmy is getting the health department to come back, despite the health inspector saying she can’t legally come back for 30 days, and just chalking it up to jimmy being jimmy. *another chefs kiss*. i want to know more about jimmy but his beauty is his mystery.

it’s really good storytelling that richie sees the cigarettes on the burner and assumes they’re his. and that everyone assumes they’re his. even though richie, carmy, and tina smoke cigarettes. but it can’t be carmy because he’s the professional, young, hot shot, classical and fine dining trained chef. on top of that, we have this whole episode where you could get the vibe that maybe carmy is ignoring sydney’s suggestions because carmy wants to do it himself, he wants to save the restaurant himself. but then we have a scene where carmy is looking at syd’s packet, before nat tells carm that he might need help, and then carmy hires sydney officially at the restaurant, subtly telling her he’s going to implement some of her ideas. because he said he couldn’t afford to hire her for real, but now he can. carmy is admitting to sydney that he needs her help. and right as he admits to us the audience that he needs help, we realize that it was him who left his cigarette on the burner. he was busy cleaning the restaurant by himself, trying to save and care for it by himself, and he absentmindedly put them on the burner and kept on cleaning. so now we, the audience, really know: carmy, most definitely, needs help. because his talent, his skill, his training, and his schooling aren’t enough to save this restaurant. he needs syd’s passion, and he needs richie hobbling things together cheaply. he can’t do it alone.

and realizing that he really, really needs help leads him to look at nat’s text again: where she’s sent him a link to al-anon. the closest thing to therapy he’s gonna get this season.

Season One: Episode 1 | Episode 3 | Episode 4 | Episode 5 | Episode 6 | Episode 7 | Episode 8

[myxomat0s1s]

finished electric dreams. i need to let it marinate for a bit to give final thoughts but here’s a few takeaways(SPOILERS!!!):

-i really love the voice they gave edgar. bud cort does a great job and edgar has a surprisingly flexible range of tangible emotion in his voice. i like it when he has outbursts at miles, he sounds like a little hellion any time he screams. “I 👹 NEED 👹 TO 👹 MOLES!!!👹”

-everyone acted pretty well. i expected a crapton of cheese from a scifi romance from the 80’s but it was all very tolerable. miles especially was pretty realistic.

-i was expecting a “third act misunderstanding” thing with miles and madeline, like she’d figure out edgar was behind the music and shun miles before coming back in the end, but they subverted that, and frankly i’m glad. i guess you could apply the same concept to when she runs away from him after he tells her to shut up but that was less predictable than what i… well, predicted.

-however, i didn’t like that a lot of this movie was glorified music videos. some of them were really offputting and clashed with the cinematography of the rest of the movie. a lot of the music was good, don’t get me wrong, but a lot of it felt like it was trying to be marketable.

-speaking of marketability, i’m surprised this was a box office bomb. despite it’s niche and kinda odd premise, the sheer amount of cheesy-music-video-ness about this movie and its pretty normal love triangle plot i figured would at least have it break even. 2.5 mil is measely and i think it deserved better.

-at a glance i first expected this movie to be a horror film. y’know, one of those campy 80’s ones, but still a horror film. the idea of having your entire house being taken over by a computer just because he wants yo girl is inherently pretty scary, but it doesn’t really go there. the worst edgar does is shock miles a few times and call the authorities pretending to be a hostage, but otherwise he’s just a big ol pest. i enjoyed it nonetheless.

-funniest part is hands down when edgar asks what sex is and miles double takes like “🤨” though the therapy sesh edgar holds with himself is a close second. “but i don’t have arms.” “do you have anything else to touch her with?” “i have… i have nothing…” “oh dear. perhaps you should get that checked out.”

-and yes. yes i would love edgar with all my heart. sorry miles i have a computer to go smooch