#had said no everything would have been different. this is what launched their careers. I would even argue the show would not have reached

[ghostpunkrock]

I always restart bfu at 3 horrifying cases of ghosts and demons so I actually forgot shane was in the last episode before it and like

look at these assholes, they have no idea that their careers and their lives are going to be inextricably bound together for the rest of eternity do they

[yesloulou]

i cannot stop thinking about your gorgeous art for so close, we combust! i'm wondering if you can give us a little director's cut about it? like how you chose the images, anything that you want to share? it makes me want to launch myself into space and eat the moon like cheese.

em im so honored by this ask and i too want to eat the moon like cheese bc it sounds like a very fun activity ❤️‍🔥

soo basically the first pic was my inspo bc it was just so so SCWC (so close, we combust by @officialmood) coded. it had an imbalance to it. for starters we can only see max looking like he was about to explode from fondness while daniel had his back turned and we can't see his face. and like. everything was straightforward for max. the genuine affection for daniel came so easily to him. it was so transparent. but since they were hugging daniel had no idea max's face looked like that when he hugged him. and based on what we know about cool cocky nonchalant RB daniel, one is likely to assume daniel wasn't equally affected by it – and i think they would be right. that hug was at daniel's last race with red bull. there were walls of ppl lining up to congratulate him and send him off. and max was at the end of this line. by the time daniel got to him the impact of it would've been softened by all those that came before. it was like. daniel was saying goodbye to the whole team in one sitting and max was only saying goodbye to daniel. all the imbalances here really remind me of the first part SCWC, where daniel was aware of everything, yet more or less took it for granted, so used to being on the receiving end of max's attention and affection. SCWC daniel "didn’t know at the time that this would be the kind of memory he would turn over and over, trying to cut himself against the sharp part", canon daniel likely also underestimated how rare and precious it was to have the whole team (and max) adore and support him like that.

and it was all about to change. the hug (2nd gif) after AD 21 was a whole other dynamic. it was a much more reserved hug. there were so much complicated emotions that went into it: before daniel went up to max in parc ferme, he had just witnessed max overtake lewis during the final laps of the most dramatic recent f1 season to take his first world title. and since daniel had been lapped by both max and lewis, he literally had to watch it all unfold right in front of him, first hand. and now max, his old teammate, the reason he had to leave his team, the one he on some level saw as a younger sibling, the one ppl said he ran away from, was a world champion before him when that exact wdc dream had slipped further and further away from daniel, who in fact had just had the most bizarre season in his whole f1 career.

it was just a lot of complicated emotions for daniel at that point. i think it must've taken effort for him to feel happy for max at all, let along going up to him and congratulating him right then and there. but daniel did it anyway. and it was a painfully hasty hug imo esp compared to how it went with lando and carlos. it was even a lil awkward bc you can tell max had both of his arms up but daniel didn't plan on going in with a full hug. but still, he wanted to congratulate max and he did.

it wasn't a fun moment to recall as a daniel girlie but it also has such a nice echo with the second part of SCWC. they were hugging/hanging out like all those times they hugged/hung out before. but everything had changed. max looked like a whole different person now (both in scwc and irl in the gif set), and he became comfortable being in control. and for daniel, this time he was the one with all those emotions going into it. neither scwc pt. 2 daniel (in max's apartment) or 2021 canon daniel (in parc ferme) was all that comfortable, but they were both there anyway, looking for a shred of reality that vaguely resembles what he and max used to be, holding on to the hope that a part of them survived despite everything.

anyways, basically as soon as i had the first pic as inspo i decided that i wanted the second pic to also be one of their hugs but with a completely different dynamic, just like in pt1 and pt2 of scwc they were doing the same things (hanging out) completely differently. and then i just thought of that second hug. and with hugging being the subject there is also the sense of like, the closer they came, the more the reality sank in, that max had won before him, that all their conflicts had come to a boiling point, that the deal had been sealed. it's just like what the title says, came so close we combust.

idk if im making sense with everything here but hopefully this has been a fun read :) ty for this ask em and again ty liza for blessing us with SCWC!!!

[hussyknee]

Hussy what's the situation in Sri Lanka right now? Hope you're safe love ❤

Oh I'm quite fine, love, thanks for asking. 😊❤️The chaos seems contained to the capital. The rest of us are encapsulated in this tweet:

(alt text included)

Reply translation: "For real. This is like when the war was in the North. Without fuel there's not even a dog to be seen around here, not even to get a ride to the shops."

As for what the fuck is going on. *Deep breath* This is a very long but simple explainer (I hope) that is as much for my fellow Lankans trying to make sense of everything.

What the fuck is happening in Sri Lanka (as of 4:40pm 14 July 22)

This motherfucker, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, was supposed to hand in his resignation yesterday, after protestors stormed his residence, his office, the prime minister's residence. Two and half million people flooded into the capital until even the cops fucking gave up, signalling to him that it was the end of the road. Except the 20th Amendment to the Constitution that Gota and his stooges had forced through gives him so much power that he can neither be impeached nor removed at all without a voluntary resignation.

So he asked for three days to resign (read: shove as much money as he could into a suitcase and flee), during which he and his family did their damndest to leave the country. Except our people absolutely refused to let them, even with the military at his beck and call. Workers of two different airports walked out rather than process his documentation to board a plane. People waiting at the airports obstructed him getting on a flight. Ports wouldn't let his ship leave the harbour. The US rejected his visa application. Man finally got so panicked that he refused to resign unless the Prime Minister secured a way for him to get the fuck out of here.

Now the Prime Minister, Ranil W, used to be the Opposition Leader and the Rajapaksas number one enemy until he bungled his last stint as Prime Minister so badly that nearly his whole party walked out on him and he couldn't even win his own seat at the last elections. He's been something of a joke in Parliament throughout Gota's term, so when Gota unexpectedly handpicked him to be PM to succeed his brother who we forced to resign, it was a huge political upset. But it was a rather brilliant move that splintered the protests and successfully protected him from having to step down.

But just like the entire rest of his 45 year career, Ranil spent the last 7 weeks making a complete pig's ear of things until he's now somehow even more reviled than he used to be. But Gota's resignation would have meant he got to become President of the caretaker government, and being President had been the ambition he's been clinging to his whole career, like a barnacle of calcified spite and greed. So he was more than happy to find Gota a way out.

Finally the Air Force itself had to take Gota to the Maldives (the President over there is also a wildly unpopular turd) even though the Maldivian people launched a massive protest of their own in response. Maldives was only supposed to be a stop gap to his "final destination" (according to his office, and yes memes ensued) and this fuckwit still did not send in his resignation letter.

Meanwhile, massive demonstrations were taking place all over Colombo, demanding that Ranil also resign to make way for the caretaker government. This assclown instead deployed cops and troops to beat back the crowds, firing tear gas from low-flying helicopters. He also declared a State of Emergency (martial law) and a curfew. Problem was, that only the Executive President has the power to do any of that shit, so everyone was like "Mx'cuse you?" And he was like "ah yeah no belay that". Then the Speaker and PM were like "akshully the President called and said Ranil can totes be President while he's um, overseas" and the whole circus of curfews, troops and martial law was back on track.

People responded to that by taking over Ranil's office as well.

(Also the legal fraternity was in a tizzy because Acting President doesn't have the vested powers of Executive President. But Ranil's dreams were finally almost within his grasp at age 73, what was a possible lawsuit to crossing this off his bucket list.)

Ranil continued throwing a wholeass army at the protestors, insisting that he was trying to protect our democracy from Antifa ( he really fucking said that). At any other time in our history, this has resulted in a horrific bloodbath. But this time, we were in the heart of the city's administrative district, the poshest of neighborhoods with embassies lining the streets. And it wasn't just one minority or marginalized group; it was the majority Sinhalese Buddhists, Sinhalese Christians, Tamils Hindus, Tamil Christians, Muslims, Burghers, foreign nationals, lawyers, the entire media establishment, clergy - the whole damn country on his doorstep, and none of them were even hurting the cops (in fact some of them were even helping the cops and STF wash their own tear gas out of their eyes and giving them tea and biscuits once they gave up trying to hold the line). Ranil then called an All-Party Conference (Friday casual version of Parliament, and no we don't know why we have this either) and asked them to select a new PM. The entire lot of them were instead like "actually we want to you to fuck off" leaving him all hurt and confused. He said "okay fine I will do it just as soon as Gota resigns" in much the same way we tell our Mums we will clean our rooms after we finish watching this one cartoon.

But the hours counted down, the stroke of midnight came and went, and no resignation appeared. By the end of the 13th, we were left with two presidents, one speaker, and an Opposition who wandered in like Donald Glover turning up with a pizza box as though none of them even lived here idk.

(An assorted bunch of wannabe revolutionaries, Rajapaksa plants and a splinter group from an ill-advised demonstration by the socialist party had tried to storm the Parliament in the evening for some godforsaken reason. It's not even in session. The road to which is effectively a killbox and also near Army HQ, and predictably resulted in a hundred people injured and one kid dying from tear gas).

We woke up this morning to Two Presidents, One Country: Part 2. Ranil and PM had come up with an extremely sus "gazette" from the President, who was still sending conflicting reports of his whereabouts. He was headed to Singapore. No he's still in Maldives. No he's now headed to Saudi Arabia. What he was not doing was sending in his fucking resignation, leaving his clown monkey to continue wreaking havoc, and leaving us to follow his flight plan like my cat watching his feather toy zoom around his head. As of this afternoon, the Speaker was debating declaring that the President had vacated his duties and moving this shitshow along, except that opens up in-fighting about legitimacy down the line. Even the Chamber of Commerce asked Ranil to step down, which is hilarious because that's the body of the country's richest old business bros and they'd never done anything like that before. The Commanders of the Tri-Forces also asked Ranil to step down, which is less hilarious and more terrifying because the military is not supposed to interfere in affairs of state at all. It's like if your gun had opinions on who should be shooting it. At best it sets a terrible precedent, at worst it might lead to a junta (military coup of the government). Overall, it's easier to get a five year old out of a bouncy castle that's on fire than getting this butt monkey to fuck off.

Meanwhile the middle class and neoliberals are bleating about the People's Struggle being hijacked by the communist party and trying to start a democracy-face-spitting fascist commie rebellion anarchy movement, there is no fuel even for ambulances, people not at the protests are stuck home, distribution of fuel and cooking gas are being held up, the poor are quite literally starving and watching enraged at all the military vehicles and helicopters zooming around, and the only thing that's doing a roaring trade are the conspiracy theories and breaking news alerts of the Lankan Aunties and Uncles over Facebook and Whatsapp. Ranil, who has taken to declaring curfews early and often even though the protestors have so far not given (1) good goddamn, suddenly declared one in the middle of the day, when people were still at office, leaving the streets of the capital and commercial districts absolutely gridlocked. Anyone who has a medical emergency right now is as good as dead.

Here is our last update from the President.

(alt text included)

Wow you guys, imagine being under a lot of pressure.

(updates cont'd in reblog)

[spoopydooblr]

My King Will Be Kind Chapter 8 / Kendall Roy x OC

an: helllllllooooooo its living plus time! enjoy!!! i had so much fun with this one. i was gonna write smut but i honestly was so burnt out after writing this tbh.

tw: cursing

Stella was on a plane to Los Angeles when her manager texted her a People Magazine article about herself.  Kendall had been in Norway for the last few days, schmoozing with the creator of GoJo who was wanting to buy Waystar.  He had invited her to go, but obviously, it was just a formality.  Stella would weigh him down there and he wouldn't be able to focus on the deal they were doing.  

Good article about you and new boytoy.  The text read.

Stella wouldn't exactly describe the press as "good" but her manager always told her any romance with someone more famous was beneficial for her career. And Kendall was definitely that.

She took a deep breath before opening the link, cringing from the title alone.

Stella Allen and Kendall Roy Romance: What We Know So Far

When Delirium's it girl was seen at Connor Roy's wedding last month, the internet seemed to explode with opinions about the controversial couple. Follow People as we decode the relationship between the actress and media entrepreneur.

Sources confirm that the two met through mutual friends in August and immediately clicked. Roy, 42, was linked to Pierce heiress, Naomi Pierce, last year, but the romance seemed to have fizzled out. Roy also has two children from his marriage to ex, Rava Roy. The pair divorced in 2019 after 15 years of marriage.

Allen, 26, who hails from Westchester, has kept a relatively low profile since skyrocketing to fame last year with the success of Delirium. The actress was last linked to Damien Brosso, her costar in the indie film, Saving You, but in January, Brosso confirmed to GQ that the pair were not together anymore.

Stella breathed deeply through her nose. Damien meant well, but she really wished he wouldn't talk about her in interviews. Especially now that he was getting his own notoriety, it really wasn't necessary for him to address their relationship.

Though the couple boasts a sixteen year age gap, sources tell People that Allen and Roy are going strong. A Roy family insider even said the pair are "getting serious", with Allen attending Roy's brother's wedding last month and meeting his family.

Who was this insider? And these sources? Stella suddenly felt paranoid. Who were these people giving the press information about her? She whipped her head around, scanning the semi-private jet (that Kendall had put her on) for narcs. It really was just a bunch of rich, old professionals, so she felt a bit more safe. Maybe stupid fucking Roman was the mole.

Stella decided she had enough of the People article. They were scarily accurate about her life and it was weird. She texted her manager back to confirm that she had read it, and yes, everything was fine. 

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

Stella met Kendall in a convention center west of the city.  It was Investor Weekend for Waystar, and the Roys were unveiling a new product.  He had told her to meet her in the back of the theater, which she had a hard time finding, but finally was able to locate it after asking three different security guards.  He greeted her with a giant, almost manic, smile, with a La Croix in his hand.  

"There's my girl."  He hugged her and she could sense the energy radiating off of his form. 

"How was Norway?"

"Fucking fuck party.  Mattsson is a cuck."

"Oh, wow, um--"

"C'mon, me and Rome are going over the script for the big launch."

She took his hand, feeling nervous to meet Roman again.  Last time he had basically ruined her day with a few words and Stella wasn't looking forward to seeing him again.  

They walked into a room with a few couches where Roman and Kendall's assistant, Jess, sat.  

"Oh great, you brought your daughter."  Roman said, not even looking up from the papers he had in his hands.  

"Rome, be nice.  Stella, you remember Jess."  They sat down across from her.

"Yeah, hi Jess."  She gave the woman a small wave.  Jess smiled, but she looked worried.

"Well, something about this all does depress me."  Roman said, looking over to the screen behind them.  It was a slideshow of older people looking happy with the Living+ logo.  

"Oh yeah?"  Kendall asked, "And, uh, do you think it's the speech written specifically for our late father, or the fact we're planning to warehouse the elderly and keep them drunk on content while we suck 'em dollar dry?"

"I think it's the '90s pitch."

"Personalized longevity programs."  Kendall sighed.  

"I see them."  Roman said.

"Is that something?" 

Stella had really no idea what they were talking about, but her ears perked up when Roman mentioned he was going to see Joy Palmer.  She was a big deal in the producing world and Stella really looked up to her as a woman in the industry.  Of course, she worked for Waystar Studios, which wasn't exactly palatable, but nevertheless, she was a woman in entertainment.  

"All right, sprinkle some sugar."  Kendall told him.  

"Yeah. Will do."

"Full confidence. Yeah? Gotta up our velocity, man."

"Yeah. I mean, even she should be able to come up with a mega-hit from a couple extra content bill."  Roman begun to put his jacket on.  

"Just break the log jam, get the franchise pump pumping. Yeah? Pump it up. Pump it."

"Yeah. Fuck yeah.  I'm gonna love-bomb that stuck-up bitch."

Stella gave Kendall a look, but he didn't even flinch.  

"Have fun at take your daughter to work day, Stella."  Roman said.  He then left, asking to himself who was ready for "fuckywood".

"You should talk to Joy, Stell.  She could be good for your career."  Kendall said plainly.  He was offering her the meeting of a lifetime and barely looked up from his papers. 

"Are you serious?"

He looked up, smiling at her.  Again, he had a manic gleam in his eye that worried her.  "Fuck yeah I'm serious.  You're talented."

"Yeah, but Joy Palmer?  She's like royalty, Ken."

"You're acting as if you're not a series regular on Delirium."  He looked to Jess.   "J, tell her she's awesome."

"I'm a big fan."  Jess smiled.  Stella wasn't sure if she was being serious or not.

"Okay, fine, Ken, but let's put that on hold until the launch."

Kendall took her hand.  "Always putting me first.  That's my fucking girl."

"Well, I want you to focus on the company, Mr. CEO, my meeting can wait."  As much as she wanted that meeting, Stella knew that Kendall's launch for Living+ was more important right now.  He was her boyfriend and she had to support him.  

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

Kendall led Stella to the stage where the presentation was going to be.  

"This is my stage."  He said, looking unsure.  "Hey Jade?"  Kendall motioned to two women in pant suits who were overseeing the stage.  "Let's get Lana and Hugo on analyst double check, who's confirmed. And let's get Raj primed to throw some softballs. Okay?"

Jade nodded.  "Okay."

"And I think Shiv can just say, you know, this and this, and... and maybe... maybe this. Give that to Roman. Just let 'em know. Okay?"  Stella stood next to Kendall as he rambled.  Something was definitely wrong.  

He turned to Jade again.  "Could we build a Living Plus house?"

"As in?"

"Small, plywood, basic brickwork, nothing crazy. I could walk through it. ATN on here. Face aging on the wall here. Maybe clouds appear above the house. What do you think, Stell?"

"Oh, um, yeah, I think that could be cool."

"Jade, my girlfriend said it could be cool.  Let's fucking do it."

"We can definitely check with the team...Denny?"

The stagehand walked up to the stage.  "It... it's certainly an exciting vision, but--"

"Don't say no, Denny.  Don't say no."

Stella cringed.  Why was he being so pushy?

"Ken."  She said, touching his arm.  "This is for tomorrow.  They can't do that."

He looked to Denny.  "Hollywood, though, right?  We need a house.  Practical build."  He turned to Jade and the other woman.  "Here's the rule, okay?  No one can say no.  'Yes, Kendall. Thank you, Kendall, for the cool new rule.'"

"Yes, Kendall, thank you for the cool new rule."  Roman appeared from the back of the theater.  Stella was actually relieved he was there to interrupt Kendall's madness.

"Hey!  Good pep talk?"  He looked to Stella.

"Interesting, for sure."  She nodded.  

"Too much?  Sorry baby.  I'm just in my zone."

"It's okay, I just...these are real people, Ken.  They can't just build a house in one day."

A day later, she was sitting in the theater next to Roman, watching Kendall critique the house that was made for him on the stage.  They really had done it.

She hadn't slept a wink since getting to LA, unable to sleep with Kendall typing on his laptop all night.  He was trying to "double the numbers" which made absolutely no sense to her.  He was so focused, they had barely even touched since she had been there.  

"Those...those aren't the clouds."  Kendall said to Jade and Denny.

"What the fuck is he talking about?"  Stella whispered to Roman.

"The clouds he saw in Berlin or something, I don't know."  He sighed.  "Welcome to Kennyland."

"What do you guys think?"  Kendall called to them from on the stage.  

"I think the clouds are nice?"  Stella said.  

"Yeah, uh, great, sure."  Roman added.

"Hey."  A female voice said from behind them.  It was Shiv.  "Who's this?"  She asked Roman, acting as if Stella couldn't hear them.

"I'm Stella."  She held out her hand. 

"Oh."  Shiv seemed surprised, but shook her hand.  "I know you.  You're on that show."

Stella nodded.  Shiv Roy watched Delirium?!  "Yeah, um, Ken invited me here for the launch."

"Rome, when you said Ken was dating an actress, I didn't know you meant her."

"What?"  Stella asked, slightly offended.  

"Aren't you like, I mean, no offense, but aren't you kind of an SJW?"

Roman scoffed.  

"Yeah, I guess."  Stella replied.

"Then my question for you is,"  Shiv looked her right in the eyes.  "Why the fuck are you with Kendall?"

"I like him."

"And you're not using him to get to Waystar Studios or his money?"

"No! I would never, ever--"

"Well then what are you here for?"

"I'm here for Kendall."  Stella insisted.

"Well, I love my brother, but he's an asshole."

"And an addict."  Roman added.  

"And a deadbeat father."  Shiv said.  "You're like, twenty-two.  You're a kid.  Why get into all of this?"

Tears stung Stella's eyes.  

"Aw, Shivvy, you're making her cry."

"I'm just being honest."

"Well,"  Stella stood up.  "I'm sorry that you feel that way, but I like your brother and despite what you may think,"  her voice shook.  "He's a good person."

"Oh, she's feisty, too."  Roman said, barely looking up from the script he was reading.  

"Fuck you both."  Stella waved them goodbye. She pushed past them.

"I don't know Rome, I kind of dig her."  Shiv told Roman after Stella was gone.  "She's got spunk."

"Yeah, because she's like, fucking, twelve."

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

Stella walked into a random hallway.  Her head was spinning from the conversation with Kendall's siblings and she needed a break. This was not how families acted.

"Stell."  Kendall's voice boomed from behind her.  "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, um--"

"My siblings?"

She nodded.  "I shouldn't have sat with them."

"It's okay.  They're fucks.  And I'm pretty sure Shiv is knocked up."

Stella raised her eyebrows.  "Oh shit."

"Yeah, well, her and Tom are like, uh, divorcing or something so."  He scratched his chin.

"That sucks."

"And Rome's just jealous that I have a hot girlfriend and he doesn't."  Kendall held out his arms and she moved into his embrace.  "I love you, Stella girl, you know that."

"I know.  I love you."

Two hours later, Stella was sitting in the crowd, watching Kendall present Living+ in a customized bomber jacket.  

The beginning was rough, but he pulled it together at the end.  Stella gave him multiple thumbs ups, hoping he would look into the crowd and see her.  Though Living+ was kind of weird and creepy, Stella was supportive.

She met him backstage at the end, holding his hand as he entered the green room where his siblings and the rest of Team Roy were sitting.  

"All hail the king!"  Hugo said, clapping Kendall on the shoulder.  Stella's heart swelled with pride.  

[stuckinapatriarchalbullshitland]

Hey, Stuck. How's things with you ? I have been on a SM break for more than a year. I'm a huge 5H fan, my friend told me that recently 5H reunion has been teased since their 10th Anniversary this yr. So I got excited and was back. But apparently things are wayyyy different especially on twitter. Ally recently said some shady things about someone on the grp makin fun of her for being a virgin. All the replies either alluded to C or L. What is happening?? I finally thought we're on the soft launch phase only for this to happen. I don't follow much of allys career, since she was older & very religious (or atleast that's how she portrayed herself) even on the group setup so I couldn't relate to her much. But I still liked her. I haven't watched the video yet ( I'd like to stay delulu about who they used to be) now hearing this has been such a blow. Being back on socials is a mistake 🤦 Atleast I hope the rest of 5H don't say outrageous things like Liam (1D) or Jesy(LM). She could have atleast kept it ambiguous (since all the other where literal minors then - young people do stupid shit all the time) but the way my friend said Ally spoke it was apparently to cause more chaos. You're my trusted 5H source ( I think you're unbiased) so what do you think of this.

Hello buddy! Welcome back to the jungle. I'm trying to recover from a stomach illness that has bothered me this year, but I'm not complaining because despite everything, it's been great. Thanks for asking.

About Ally's video, damn my friend, what can I tell you? Mentioning a 5H reunion and 5 seconds later mentioning how bad it was in the band with the other girls is what Ally does to get attention and self-promotion. She done it before and has been saying the same thing for years.

I never believed her image as a saint or anything she represented in the band. Her energy never flowed with me and I never saw charisma in her.

For me, Ally was the young adult in charge of taking care of four underage teenagers and it was evident that it bothered her because she had to compete for attention with the four minors.

There's a reason why in an interview she says that the last era of 5H is her favorite. When the girls were not 5 but 4.

That's why I will never believe in a 5H meeting that comes out of Ally. If it comes from any of the other girls, I would believe it even if it takes time for that because it must be made clear that many times in the industry, when a band that has broken up comes back, it is because they owe something to the record company and all the Girls have released music and EPs but the only one who has released albums as such has been Camila.

I no longer remember if 4H separated as such or they are still on hiatus, but if it is the latter, we already know why the reunion thing came up again if it became true

[murfeelee]

Hello murfeel, I don't know if anyone ask you this before but what do you think about the news of sims 5 being planned by ea?

Hi! I see we're starting 2023 on a positive note, getting me triggered by EA's shenanigans! 🤣

Yeah, so far I've only commented briefly about TS5 in this post, when EA did that stupid Summit thing where they showed off how much they're trying to one-up Paralives. 🙄 OOoOoo~! They're bringing the color wheel back after swearing on a stack of bibles that CASt was the worst feature in TS3 and TS4 didn't need it and their wacka** LACK of customization was the FUTURE of gaming--zomg lemme get my wallet ready~~! 🤡

Like, EA, everyone knows you're good at Build/Buy mode and CAS--people don't call TS4 a DOLLHOUSE SIMULATOR for nothing. But where is the EFFING GAMEPLAY? I feel the same way about Paralives--I don't need to see anymore of their builds or Paras--I want to follow sims INSIDE their places of work and school (no more EFFING rabbitholes); and see how they act come rain, snow or shine; and I want pets aside from just cats & dogs and RODENTS EA. And different cultural representation, so it's not the same generic American suburban cookie-cutter crap all the time--give me simulated life of the islands, the tundras, the equator, the poles, the Nth/Est/Sth/Wst hemispheres, the cities, the farms, the jungles, the corporate ladder, off the grid--in fully fleshed out EXPANSIONS with living breathing WORLDS, not watered down Game Packs, for crying out loud. Do y'all even remember what Expansion Packs are, EA? If only every pack was given HALF the content and attention to detail that Seasons always gets! It's a sad state of affairs when the best pack y'all ever released was for VAMPIRES. 🤦‍♀️

I get stomach ulcers every time I hear about how people spent over a THOUSAND DOLLARS on TS4 and are clamoring for the torture to be over already so TS5 can hurry up and screw them over instead. The biggest complaint simmers have been screaming at EA about is how dang BORING TS4 is, because

the game is too easy, and people have to cheat to make the game HARDER wtf

the game is too buggy and none of the fancy "features" effing WORK, releasing ENTIRE PACKS BROKEN, with patches that make everything worse

the features TS4 does have that actually work are shallow AF and a lot of them are repetitive/redundant or they don't carry over to other EPs/GPs/SPs to make the gameplay deeper and richer you had one job EA

TS4's worlds are too small and we don't even have CAW, but EA promised us that smaller non-open worlds with no CASt and no Story Progression would make TS4 run so much smoother than TS3--gosh golly, now if only my save would stop laaaaaaagging 😩

where are the skills where are the careers where are the hobbies other than streaming/blogging where are the NPCs where ar--

the sims' emotions & action queues are out of control, but the EMOTIONS were the MAIN thing the dev's pitched when TS4 was announced over a decade ago; why are my sims acting like crack heads when you said they'd be so much smarter?

the kids are totally ignored, where the teens are basically young adults with curfews--but zoinks! they're finally going to update the bassinet-babies after TEN YEARS so the legacy players can actually PLAY WITH LIFE and interact with babies! Maybe if we're lucky, they'll patch in some frikkin preteens so the life states in a life simulation game actually make sense!

the alpha vs maxis match saga continues

Look at everything Sims Freeplay has--it's monetized to hell and back, but at least they have COOL stuff! WHERE IS IT in TS4? Will that stuff be in basegame TS5???? EVER? Or will EA just keep showing us how many throw pillows we can rotate on couches in rooms full of clutter that aren't even interactive objects? 🙃 Paralives has Paras ziplining off of rooftops into their pool--will basegame TS5 even launch with pools and swimmable water, or will that feature be locked off behind another lukewarm paywalled EP where you can only ever swim in ONE (1) world? 🏝 And now that EA making basegame TS4 free to play, they have carte blanche to microtransaction people to death with useless Kits full of DECOR and mess in TS5, too, huzzah!

And they keep bringing up MULTIPLAYER--THEY BETTER NOT. 💀

GOD, I hope the TS4 simmers go off on EA and tell them that TS5 CANNOT be TS4 2.0. Don't have EA walking around thinking TS4 was the right way to do life simulation gaming. TS4's enormous player base means diddly squat if people don't play the game to PLAY the GAME, only using it as the base for their Blender renders -- quantity does NOT equal quality, EA!

I'm not even staying on top of TS5 news anymore, listening to Lindsay Pearson lie to my frikkin face; promising me the moon only to have it turn out to be made of government cheese. The proof is gonna be in the pudding once the game actually LAUNCHES in a zillion years; I refuse to get hyped.

But I am PRAYING EA does TS5 right. Or at least that they make something better than TS4--it's a low bar, I know, but baby steps. Believe it or not, but I'd actually like to play a sims game that isn't TS3 sometime this decade. 🙏 TS4 had so many red flags; everyone knew it was a mobile game port, we're not THAT dumb, EA. Plus, TS4 was just too effing ugly for me. I hate the cartoony playdough look, and the lack of CASt and customization was an IMMEDIATE dealbreaker; so at least EA learned ONE lesson in all this time. *slow claps* Now we just have to see what they'll do about the actual GAME, the part that MATTERS.

Lemme stop, before I pop a blood vessel.

Wake me up when TS5 has more gameplay than Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley.

[apureniallsource]

It was a whirlwind 24 hours for Niall Horan as he touched down in Ireland for a very quick trip. So quick in fact, he didn’t even get a chance to swing home to see his family in Mullingar.

“If I had more time, I’d see everyone. It’s hard when you’re only an hour away from home but I’ll be back over the summer,” he tells us.

Life on the road is all he’s known for the last decade. Since launching into superstardom with One Direction in 2010, he’s been all over the world, playing the biggest stadiums and venues to millions of fans. Now out on his own, he’s soaring once again with his solo career and his third album, The Show has landed.

To celebrate, he performed an incredibly intimate gig at Fuel on Camden Street to roughly 50 people, before sitting down with us the next morning for a catchup.

Here, Niall opens up about music, mental health and famous mates – oh and, of course, those relentless 1D reunion rumours, too!

Niall, welcome home! How are you? How does it feel to be back?

Ah, I’m grand! I went for two pints last night in town. I had to have a Guinness because I do a lot of travelling and it’s not always great abroad! I kept it chill though! If I had more time, I’d see everyone and I’d probably go home. It’s hard when you’re only an hour away but I’ll be back over the summer.

Obviously we’re here to chat about the new album, The Show. Talk to us about the inspiration behind it.

When you’re not writing heartbreak-y type songs, you obviously need another angle and I’m in a good place now, so I decided I could write about the ups and downs of life. The way the world was turning when I was writing the album was a big part of it. When the pandemic happened and all of the control was taken away from us, we were like deers caught in the headlights. We didn’t know what to do! What I say in The Show is that if everything was always easy and nothing ever broke, how would we realise how good we have it? That line inspired me to write the rest of the record.

Your latest single Meltdown is a bit more upbeat in tempo and different to what we’re used to hearing from you. Can we expect more of that from the album?

No, don’t expect anything else actually [laughs]. It’s by far the fasted song by about 100 beats per minute. I write a lot of songs about feeling anxious but they’re usually ballads and that’s not the tempo of what’s going on in your head at the time, so I knew I needed to write something faster. But, there’s not a lot of that on the album.

When you experience those feelings of anxiousness and unease, does writing help you deal with it?

I wouldn’t say I’m an overly anxious person, but we all have those moments and it could be over anything. In Meltdown, it’s more about knowing that everything will be fine.

When it comes to your fanbase, is it important to try normalise those feelings and show they can happen to everyone, even you?

It’s all relative; feelings like that. It’s the world we live in. It’s becoming more prevalent that people talk about it. No matter what I’m writing about, I’ll always try to write introspectively whilst keeping it as relatable as possible. That’s what we get out of music, isn’t it? We attach to singers who write about how we feel and that can be said for me too. There are artists who I listen to and who I get the same feelings from, too.

Other than your singles, what were your other favourite songs on the album?

Probably On A Night Like Tonight, –I love it. Also, Start A Cult, too. I just love how it sounds really dark but it’s not. I’m sure there’ll be all sorts of theories flying around, but that’s what makes songwriting so interesting — you can have a title that dark and make it the complete opposite.

Speaking of theories, what’s the strangest one you’ve heard?

Oh, if you just sat on Twitter for ten minutes! I’m so used to it now though. I began my career at the start of social media; I’ve seen it all! I couldn’t even pick one out, there’s some mad stuff going on!

We’d well believe it! Tell us Niall, you’re heading back on the road but how do you feel about the new tour?!

Touring is my absolute favourite thing in the world to do, if I could just constantly tour, I would. I haven’t done any shows since 2018!

You’ve played the smallest gigs with 50 people in a room, but then also sold-out stadium tours around the world. Do you have a preference?

Bigger the better! I was nervous yesterday playing that show on Camden St! I perform much better in a bigger room. I love when people can just be themselves and lose the plot at gigs. People just forget about what’s going on in their lives, well not forget, but leave it at home for an hour. I love that.

Obviously, the One Direction reunion rumours never quit, is there any truth to them though?

There’s nothing going on that I know of. We’re still really close, we’re very supportive of each other and we keep in touch a lot. It’s as good as it can be for people who don’t get to see each other very often.

We can see that you and Lewis Capaldi are such good mates, but is it hard to make friends in the industry?

I generally don’t look for them in the music industry. I’ve no interest in just becoming friends with famous people to be honest with you. I think everyone has this assumption that famous people are all friends for no other reason than the fact they’re famous, personalities don’t even come into the conversation. I’d say I have two or three famous friends.

Are you still really close with your pals from home?

Oh yeah! That’s why I don’t really have many famous friends – I don’t need loads of new friends. But myself and Lewis are great!

Is there anyone in the industry you’d like to collab with? We know you’re a Taylor Swift fan, would you ever work together?

Oh yeah! I’d love to! She knows where I am, she’s got my number! I love this new girl, Lizzy McAlpine, she’s class! She has a song called Ceilings out at the moment and it’s unreal. All the women in music at the moment are unbelievable. Maggie Rogers, Olivia Rodrigo, Taylor, I’ve done stuff with Julia Michaels before, Anne-Marie… I think Olivia, Olivia would be great!

We’ve seen a lot of singers go down different paths in their career, would you every think about heading down a different route?

I never thought I’d do The Voice and I’m doing that now. It’s one of those things which just came up. I do struggle on music videos and stuff like that, it’s a lot of stopping and starting and waiting. I can’t imagine doing that for three months shooting a film. I don’t know how good I’d be at acting either or if I can act! If some big director came to me and said, I think you’d be good [at this role], I’d probably get some confidence from that and give it a go!

So you’re not going to appear on Fair City any time soon?

No, you won’t be seeing myself and Mondo! [bursts into laughter].

[gummybear1178]

F-14 (Family of 14) Chapter 6: Air to Air

Chapter 1:

Chapter 2:

Chapter 3:

Chapter 4:

Chapter 5:

Also on AO3:  

This one can be read as a stand alone

Hope you guys enjoy! If you want on the taglist let me know! (See guys I am learning Tumblr)

Not fully sure where this story is going other than it will be IceMav and their 12 adopted dagger squadron kids!

The dagger squad is determined to find out who Maverick is married to, leading to some shenanigans and eventually the reveal! Followed by one shots featuring MavDad Icemav and Dadmiral with the Daggers!

Feel free to leave requests and ideas

"I have a new training planned for today, something that is prevalent in many missions, yet is rarely gone over. The spare." Maverick introduced their topic for the day.

Many intrigued looks crossed the faces of the aviators. Hangman, looked down for a split second before flashing his cocky grin on his face.

"In the two of the most insane missions of my career, both of them were highly dependent on the spare. It happened in other cases, but these two stand out. The most recent one being the Uranium mission. You are all aware of the part the spare played."

"This is still your savior speaking." Hangman snarked out, a cocky look on his face.

The aviators rolled their eyes as Maverick continued.

"However, the other mission was my first after Top Gun. I was the spare, the other plane with Ice and Slider had been forced to eject. So, they sent me. The difference between being on the mission from launch and being the spare is time. When you are start from launch you are already with your squadron, you will arrive at the same time and see what they see. As the spare, time is against you as you race to get to them. You are pushing to get there as fast as you can while also taking in all the information you have yet to see but can hear over coms. Time is everything for the spare."

A grim look was on many of their faces, thinking of how close they came.

Hangman never flinched, keeping his impressed look on his face. Everyone knew, that he knew he was good, and he proved it then.

"As such, we will be launching hops today, you will each take turns as the spare, however you don't know when you will be the one launched. I will be relaying instructions to the other pilots on the scenarios and how to play them out. As the spare you will be waiting until you are ordered to get there and take in the scenario at hand. Those not in the sky will be potential spares, you never know when it will be you."

Maverick nodded,

"Alright, everyone get into your flight suits and meet me on the tarmac."

---

Jake knew he was good, he was too good to be true.

And that was the truest statement he ever said. He was too good to be true.

"This one oughta be easy for you, huh Hangman. Gonna show us up with your skills as a spare." Halo teased.

"You know it, I've already proven my abilities as a spare. As we all know, I am good-"

"Too good to be true, careful Hangman, you are becoming predictable." Rooster teased.

"Please, you never know what I going to do next, unless of course it's to do with success."

"I don't know, you were predictable enough to where you earned your call sign."

"Not on the last mission, I have to mix it up once and while, other wise you would all get bored."

"Did you mix it up, or was that just luck?" Phoenix smirked.

The whole squadron was a lot closer after the mission, but they still thrived on teasing one another. If they weren't messing with each other, were they really themselves.

"Careful Phe, one day you may need your savior speaking in your ear."

"Thanks for the promotion Hangman." Bob smiled.

"Bobs proven he has my back Seresin, have you?"

They had teased one another about this for years, but something felt different to Jake this time.

---

Maverick knew he needed to test something, and he needed it to be done during training, not during a mission. The uranium mission was like no other and it would have an effect one those who flew it. It would have an effect even on those who didn't fly it, but trained for it.

He began sending them up a few at time, having them relay the information as the attackers came into play, before declaring a spare to come in.

It played out fairly smoothly, with each spare racing to them and coming in to assist. Each time being questioned on what they should expect as they approached.

Everything was fine, until it came time for the one Maverick was worried about.

"Phoenix, Bob, and Rooster, you head up." Maverick ordered. "I want you to simulate the mission, 1 on 1 dogfight."

They replied an affirmative in their comms.

"Phoenix, you will be the bogey. I want you to try and take down Rooster, but don't take them down. You will run out of fire power, the spare will come in when you are low. Leave it to the kill for the spare to complete. Phoenix, I want you to attempt take down but don't actually complete it. Wait until spare arrives. Then you can take them down or not."

And they were off.

"Low on fire power, out of missals and only a handful of bullets." Rooster relayed over the comms after a short while. "I need back up or I will go up in flames or have to eject.

"Hangman you are the spare, go." Maverick ordered.

Now was the time to see if Maverick was right to worry.

Maverick watched Hangman closely through his canopy.

He saw his face freeze, just for a second. A flash of fear crossed his face before it hardened once more and he went for take off.

Maverick watched carefully as he took flight, he took off perfectly and was off.

He waited for the confirmation that Hangman had arrived and too out the bogey, before hearing that they were returning to base.

"Alright everyone, head to the classroom for debrief after you change out of your flight suits." Maverick ordered and watched those still in their planes on the ground hop out and head inside.

Maverick waited though. He watched as Phoenix and Bob landed, then Rooster, then Hangman.

He waved at the first three as they went to change. Then walked up to the final jet as it taxied into it's spot. Through the glass of the canopy, Maverick could see what he feared would happen.

He waved away all the post flight crew there to check over the jet.

"Come back in a bit." Maverick ordered, they nodded.

He climbed up the stairs to the jet and opened the canopy.

"Hangman, hey I need you to breath with me." Maverick spoke softly.

His eyes were wide and frazzled. His breathing erratic.

"Seresin, Jake." Maverick spoke again.

Jake's head snapped to look at him.

"Hey, kid, I need you to match my breathing alright. In... Out..." Maverick took Jakes hand and squeezed it for in and released for out. After a few rounds Jake began to squeeze back in sync with Maverick.

"Good kid, good. Just breath. You are in your cockpit, you are back on base at Miramar, everyone is safe, you are safe."

"Bradley-" Jake choked out.

"Bradley is fine. He is inside changing. "You saved us on the mission. You took down the bogey."

Jake flinched at the last line.

"Hey, can you stand up and get out of the jet?" Maverick asked carefully, noting his reactions.

Jake nodded, he didn't trust his voice.

Maverick stepped back and held out an arm helping Jake out of the cockpit.

"Good, now kid, we are going to go down the stairs. Just hold onto me and the rail."

"Don't- Want anyone to see me." Jake whispered out.

"Alright, we are going to my office, okay?"

Jake nodded.

Once they were on the tarmac he guided Jake to his office. Making sure to avoid coming in to contact with anyone knowing it would not help Jake in the slightest.

"Alright," Maverick said closing the blinds to his office and guiding jake to the small couch in his office. "How are you feeling now?"

"Better."

"That's good. Are you ready to tell me what happened?"

Jake looked down.

"Alright, I will tell you what I think happened. Feel free to stop and correct me at anytime."

Jake nodded, his hands clenching into fists as he continued to try and breath evenly.

"You heard Rooster over comms, you could hear the similarities of this and the mission. You were trying to force yourself to only pay attention to now and block out what did happen. Then you head your name called for spare, you went straight into a bit of flashbacks but pulled yourself out convincing yourself that you had to go help now or Bradley wouldn't make it. You pulled it together and made it there, completed the objective then headed back. You put all of your focus into flying the plane, pushing everything else to the back of your mind, but as soon as you landed to plane and didn't have anything else to focus on it came rushing through your defenses. You were reliving the moment over and over again, but sometimes it was a little different, a series of what ifs?"

"Pretty spot on there."

"I know, because I've been there. Look Jake, I sent you up as the spare for that simulation for this specific reason. I knew it could very possibly be a trigger, and I needed you to experience it now and see how you react."

"I can't be grounded." Jakes eyes went wide as his head shot up and the words flew out of his mouth.

"I am not doing that. Otherwise you are fine flying, I sent you up there in a near identical simulation. We just need to work on your reaction to it. I know you need to fly, otherwise you will lose it. I need to fly or I lose it. You are a pilot through and through."

"Sir-"

"It's Mav right now Jake. No formalities."

"Mav, I don't know what to do, I'm fine, and then suddenly I'm not. It doesn't affect me in the air minus this one time, but at night..."

"At night when there is nothing but time to think and let your mind wander. No distractions." Maverick paused before giving a pointed look, "No personas to hide behind?"

Jake froze, he had kept his walls up so high and so strong, no one saw them for what they were.

"Jake, I saw through that the first day. Every pilot has to be atleast a little cocky, but you took it to a whole other level. Reminds me of someone else I know, and I know why they did it."

"Mav..." Jake trailed off.

"I won't make you go through that conversation now, just like I won't make you go through the air to air kill discussion now."

Jake's head snapped up again.

"I know you've never had someone who could understand what an air to air kill really feels like. I've seen your reaction every time someone brings yours up. However, now you know people who have gone through that. Who have dealt with it. We are here for you."

"Everyone celebrates it, but..."

"You still took a life, and everyone else is celebrating while you are having an internal crisis over taking a life even if it was to save another."

Jake nodded.

"Come by the house tonight. Just you. We will talk about all of this, and if you aren't ready to speak Ice and I can tell you how we have dealt with all of it. You are a part of the very small group of people left with air to air kills, and even fewer of those are still in the Navy. I have others who you can talk to too, but I figured Ice and I were a good start. I know therapists as much as they try can never understand what we do and what we go through."

"Thanks Mav, I'll be there." Jake agrees still looking down, his hands shaking but still attempting to wipe aware the tears he wasn't even aware he had spilt until one fell onto his hand.

Maverick pulled Jake into a tight hug, one Jake returned quickly, holding onto Maverick like he was a life line.

"You can also talk to Bradley about this, he knows how to handle panic attacks and nightmares. He can't relate on the same level Ice and I can about the specifics, but for the rest of it he can."

Jake shook his head.

"I know you two are getting closer, and he has been through a lot too, he really can help and understand a lot of it. He is your wingman, and that is a whole different kind of bond, I know you and Javy are close too, and he is also your wingman. You can have more than one wingman. Don't feel bad about it. Ice and I are wingman to a whole other level, but we have others we trusted that were our wingmen too, just not the same as each other."

"Thank you Mav." Jake said, making sure his words were clear.

"Alright, lets change and head to debrief before the others get into too much trouble after being left unsupervised and bored."

---

A tentative knock was heard at the front door of the Mitchell-Kazansky house.

Maverick opened the door with a soft smile at Jake.

"Hey kid," He greeted

"Hey Mav."

Ice walked in and took his place in his usual chair as Maverick guided Jake to the couch before taking his place on the couch seat closest to Ice's chair.

"I don't know how we are supposed to start this." Jake said softly, refusing to meet either of the other men's eyes.

"How about we start with you job as the spare on the mission, we can go from there." Maverick suggested.

"I just knew I had to fly as fast as I could to save Roo," Jake paused for a half a second before adding, "And you."

"Just as the spare should do, and you got there just in the nick of time." Maverick assured.

"And if I hadn't?"

"You did though." Maverick reiterated.

"But-"

"Jake," Ice spoke for the first time, "You can't live in a world of what ifs or buts. Trust me on that. It will just consume you and there will be nothing else left. You can't change the past for better or worse. In this case the better was the outcome. It won't always be, you can just do your best in each scenario."

"And what if my best isn't enough?" Jake asked, his tone going harsh and stiff.

"Then it's still not your fault because there was nothing more you could have done." Maverick assured.

"How can you know that though?"

"I did everything right when Goose and I went into the flat spin. Even the hearing committee declared there was nothing I could do. Has that stopped me from spending the every year since wondering if there was something I could have done to save my best friend and Bradley's father? No, but I can't live in that world, otherwise I would have lost it a long time ago."

"How do you escape that world?" Jake asked softly.

"Find something else to live for. I had to live for Bradley, Carol, and Ice. I had to live for them until I could live for myself again. It takes time, but you can get there. Sometimes it really is fake it til you make it. Sometimes it means stepping away, and other times it means taking a breath and throwing yourself in the deep end and seeing how you react."

"How did you do it?"

"I mix of several of those. I couldn't fly after the accident. Well I could, but no where near what I should have been able too. How did you put it? I was stuck on my perch and refusing to make a move. Everyone around me was pushing me to just suddenly be okay and fly like I always did. Only one person told me they were sorry it happened to me and expected nothing else from me. They were just there for me and they didn't care about if I stayed in the navy, if I flew again, or anything else. They just cared that I knew someone was there for me at that I could grieve."

"Who was it?"

"Ice."

Jake stared down at the floor. Taking in everything he had been told.

"That doesn't mean everything is better, I still have flashes back to that day and nightmares with varying scenarios, but it does get better. You have to let go of those what ifs. You succeeded on the mission, now you just have to keep on living."

Jake nodded solemnly, he knew his outcome was the best possible outcome, but that didn't change what could have happened, and what he did.

"Though I have a feeling that the possibility of not saving us isn't what really has you torn up. It's part of it, but most certainly not all of it." Ice spoke once more.

"It's my second time doing it, and it still feels..."

"bitter sweet, you saved people but you took a life to do it. Everyone is celebrating it and you still aren't sure how to feel about it. It's bitter because a life was lost, but sweet because you saved people you care about." Maverick answered, the look in his eyes was too raw for Jake to look at for long.

"Everyone wants to call you the hero and praise you, but you still took someone's life and have to know that to save your own people someone else lost their person."

"That harsh part of war and battles. Life is always lost. No death is meaningless, and sometimes the call has to be made, our people or theirs. It's an easy hard choice, we always save our own, but it will come with consequences."

"My first air to air kill, I saved my wingman, I landed back on the carrier and was met with the heroes welcome. Everyone crowded around me, cheering for me. The cheers followed me around the ship, to the mess hall, to the showers even, but my room was just silence. No cheers, no screams, just silence. All that there was left to hear was my thoughts, and the realization that I had killed someone. Everyone else was celebrating their death, and I was trying to figure out if I could mourn them. If I couldn't, what could I do?"

"I know kid, you are talking to the only other two people in the Navy who know what you are talking about. Air to air kills, you never even see them. They are so rare now a days, that when one happens it spreads like wild fire. Ice and I were on the front page across the country after our mission. Chatter spreads through the ranks-"

"And no matter where you go, everyone knows, your name become synonymous with air to air kill, with death."

"I saw you flinch when Phoenix mentioned it at the hard deck, there were still few enough people there for me to hear it. I also see the flash of emotion across your face when someone mentions it. You cover it up quick kid, but I know the look because I've had the look."

"I have a reputation to keep up."

"Yea I know, you are good, too good to be true." Maverick gave him a pointed look for the second half of the line.

"That seems to be more of a mantra for yourself than an answer." Ice said straight to the point.

"And if it is? Maverick said if you have to fake it til you make it."

"There is a difference of faking it and being crushed by it."

Jake looked down at the floor once more.

"I know the shields and walls you built there because I built my own." Ice reveals.

Jake's head shoots up at this new info.

"But your Iceman, a four star admiral, commander of the Pacific Fleet, Ice Cold No mistakes-" Jake stops abruptly realizing the meaning behind those words.

"Ice Cold, no mistakes. No one knows what I think or feel, and I make no mistakes. You a lot more like me and Maverick than you think. You have Maverick's flying style, but you've got my attitude and my shields."

"But you live up to those ideals?"

"Really?" Ice gave him a pointed look, "No mistakes?"

"When have you ever made a mistake?"

"During Hop 31 in Top Gun class of 86."

Maverick gave Ice a pointed look.

"I know Maverick, not my fault, doesn't change the mistake."

"What do you mean? Isn't that the hop where..."

"Where Goose died? Yes. No one ever asks whose jet wash they flew through. It was mine. I was determined to win the Top Gun trophy, because I was Iceman, the best of the best, and I needed to prove it. So I was trying to take down our instructor, I couldn't get the shot, Maverick was my wingman and insistent he had the shot, he told me to break left. I kept pushing I just knew I could get the shot, when I realized I couldn't I broke left. They flew through my jet wash."

"I told you that to get through it you have to know how you react to the situation if it happens again? On the mission after Top Gun, I flew through jet wash again on my way to help Ice. I almost left the fight entirely, because I freaked in the air after I recovered. You know I didn't but I wasn't so sure in that moment. I just knew I couldn't leave my wingman and I reengaged. That is why I sent you up today like that in the training. I needed both you and me to know how you would react if it happened again. You completed the objective, and didn't let it hit you until the mission was complete and you were safe on the ground. That's a good thing to know. You know how you reacted this time, and each time your reaction will get a little bit better. The haunting feeling will never leave you, but you get better with it over time."

"I wish we could give you a magical cure kid, but it's life, and life is never easy. No matter what façade you put up to try and cover it up."

"I don't know how not to live with that façade anymore. I've lived with it most of my life."

"I know kid, the pressures those around you and those who are connected to you are never easy. Maverick was always flying against his father legacy of treason, a false statement, and I always had to be perfect and never let anything phase me because that's how I was raised to be. My father was an admiral and he accepted nothing less than perfection. I don't know you back story for you façade and your pressures, but I know that they are there. If you ever want to talk about them, I am here."

"How do you escape it?"

"You let one person see through it at a time. Maverick saw through mine, and I let him see more. I started trying to stop holding up my walls and façade around him until I felt comfortable doing it and it became natural. From there I had others I let in. Slowly, at my own pace. That person can be one of us, as you are doing right now, or it can be someone else. That's how you start it."

"Thanks for this."

"Anytime kid. Let us know if you need anything, or anyone else."

Jake looked at Ice as he felt the hidden meaning behind the last words. He chose not to question further what the admiral meant by those words, choosing to play ignorant than hear the answer out loud.

.

.

.

Sorry it's been a while yall, my schedule fluctuates and I usually can't keep a consistent update schedule, it just depends.

I haven't seen anyone address this with Jake yet, and I have been wanting to so hear yall go, don't worry class of '86 is showing up soon, once they do any requests or hopes for when they do?

Let me know what yall thought!

[gidle]

With every new Idle comeback I keep imagining what Soojin's part would be, how she would definitely KILL IT in Nxde and Tomboy, how she'd rap in My bag, and what role she'd have in Allergy... I miss her so much, man, it's still so painful 😕

anon honestly? i get you to such a level im not even sure i'll be able to put to words

anyone who's been on this blog for long enough knows that i'd joke about this being a sj blog bc she was all i would gif. and that i bolted when she left. i was hanging by a thread up until then because i really hoped and i really believed things would be okay. i simply could not stand to be here without her. i couldnt bear to see posts of her on my notifs. im still learning how to write down her name again. i cant seem to call her if she wont answer. its always sj or jinjin if i need to talk about it.

tomboy was such a weird thing for me. i wasnt excited about it. i wasnt even excited about them being back in korea after the hiatus. but it felt like something i had to brave through, because i still loved the rest of them, and i wanted them to succeed. it felt so bitter and nothing sweet though, that it took them to lose a piece before proper recognition arrived. i'll tip my hat to jeon soyeon though, she wrote tomboy as a 5 member song. i remember when windy came out and there's a song, weather if im not mistaken, that was said to have been a group song but didnt make to any of their previous albums. you listen to it and you can almost hear where every member would have sang. tomboy didnt have that. if tomboy was written for 6idle, it would have been arranged into a completely different song. im so sure of it.

so i kept up with tomboy privately. and i kept dreaming about what verses soyeon would write for her in my bag. and although nxde healed smth in me (shuhua and that damn blond hair tipped the scales to a degree im still learning to make sense of), i get exactly what you're talking about. she was their main slayer, and as such would have killed and owned every concept. i feel so robbed every comeback i could shake with it. what happened to her changed every way i could have ever interacted with kpop. i resent knetz for turning on her. i resent the industry and the culture that makes the rest of the group not be able to mention her. i resent every new idol rumour, true or false. i resent if they bring up her name and i resent it more if she is forgotten. i resent the groups that lose members to scandals and i resent the ones that stick together despite of it. everything is cursed and rotten.

it's been almost two years and i still catch myself bargaining with the universe. so the contract ends and they dont get back together as six. so the contract ends and soyeon doesnt create her own company to launch sj's solo career. so she never steps foot on stage again. so the contract ends and shuhua doesnt post thirty consecutive pictures of them together for the last years. what crumbs will make me happy that dont already feel like wishing on the impossible. what favors can i trade with the universe for something to happen. it's been so long and i still miss her so terribly. i hope she is happy but i also wish i could see it. that we could her from her. that she could hear from us.

my heart is forever missing a piece, my favorite number will always be six, etc

[ardentfan-45]

A Ring: A Lucky Charm or A Burden ?!

Our perception of the surroundings, the people around us combined together define our reality and hence reality may be different for different people as it depends on their respective perspectives. A man called Richard Livingstone who is the CEO of Dalton Corporation Ltd. lives a lavish lifestyle and has all the luxurious items that people dream of at his disposal. He has even married the girl who was his best friend named Clara and they have 2 little children Robert and Olivia. Yet, Richard's perception of reality is unexpected as he believes that the world majorly consists of opportunist people who cannot be relied on, money and fame don't guarantee happiness and that success comes at a cost be it tangible or intangible.

This story is about a media event that Richard Livingstone attends and the happenings thereafter which immensely impacts two lives.

Dalton Corporation Ltd. in association with Maybach Ltd. (leading manufacturer of Virtual Reality Headsets) announced the launch of 'Metaverse: Experience the Unthinkable' at the press conference held in London. Richard Livingstone being the CEO of Dalton was at the helm of this press conference and he was accompanied by his secretary Miss Ella. After standard questions about Metaverse, its inception and its pros and cons were dealt with, a journalist named Ian Bailey came up with an interesting set of questions. Addressing the questions directly to Richard Livingstone, Ian said that he had been following Richard's career right from his initial days and that he considers Richard as his idol for the enormous success that he had achieved. Ian asked two questions, the first one being how would Richard summarize his journey so far after he joined Dalton as an intern 15 years ago and the second question was that with Metaverse being an experience of virtual reality, where would Richard prefer to live in Virtual Reality or Physical Reality i.e. in the here and now. In response to Ian's questions, Richard said that he was touched by Ian's kind words and the fact that Ian considered him an idol truly meant a lot for him. Richard answered Ian's first question by stating that his journey has been nothing short of a rollercoaster ride with highs and lows experienced at unexpected time periods. Further on, Richard said that he never thought that he would be the CEO of Dalton one day and that he focused on the task at hand and grabbed all the opportunities that came his way with both hands. Richard further mentioned that his seniors gave him many insights but one stuck with him till date and that was everything can be taught except what is important. With regards to the second question, Richard said that he would prefer to live in Virtual Reality. Ian immediately came up with a counter question after he heard Richard's answer and asked the reason for Richard's preference. Richard Livingstone instantly cast a glance at the Marketing Manager Mr. James and subsequently Mr. James said that the reason for Mr. Livingstone's preference was irrelevant in the context of this press conference and thereby concluded the press conference by expressing gratitude to all the journalists for turning up.

Richard wanted to explain the reason for his preference but he couldn't do so publicly as his image precedes him and he has to consider the implications of his actions before doing them. Further on, Richard asked Miss Ella to call up Ian Bailey to his car and about 15-20 minutes later Ian was seated beside his idol Richard Livingstone.

A riveting conversation transpired between Richard and Ian :-

Richard : Mr. Bailey I have called you to explain why I chose Virtual Reality over living in the here and now, I'm sorry I couldn't state this publicly and I hope you understand.

Ian : Sir, honestly I am overwhelmed by the fact that I am sitting beside you right now and I'm short changed for words literally.

Richard: I know it must have been a sudden development for you and that you will require some time to digest this, no worries. Coming straight to the point, for the outside world I am the happiest person who enjoys all the luxuries in the world but actually its exactly the opposite. As they say, money can't buy happiness and I feel its so true as for my family I'm simply a money making machine since no-one even appreciates my presence as all are busy with their respective lives. I have a family only for namesake as I feel I actually stay in a hotel wherein I work all day & go back home with my family members behaving like strangers. All this is the reason I prefer to live in Virtual Reality.

(Ian is speechless for a brief moment. Miss Ella offers him a glass of water in order to pacify him.)

Richard: Are you okay Mr. Bailey?!

Ian: Ah... Yes Sir... I was just shocked to hear that my idol is an unhappy man....

Richard: Well... The key to my happiness is in your hands now Mr. Bailey, provided you agree to do what I say...

Ian: Anything for you sir ! Just mention it and I'll get it done as soon as possible.

Richard: Good... Mr. Bailey I want you write a detailed article about the reasons I chose to live in Virtual Reality, however you would send it to Ella directly and not publish it. I want the article day after tomorrow by hook or by crook.

Ian: Your wish is my command Sir.

Richard: Glad to hear that Mr. Bailey. Here's 1000 Dollars as an advance.

(Ian nods)

Richard: I would like to share something more Mr. Bailey... In my journey so far, this ring has a played a pivotal role as well.

( Ian looks at the ring and wonders what's so special about it.)

Richard: Yes....you may find it a bit odd Mr. Bailey but after I bought this ring many good things started happening and I believed that this ring is a lucky charm. However today I feel burdened by this ring but I cannot simply throw it away as I fear something bad might happen after that. So... I would like to pass it on to you Mr. Bailey.....

( Ian is confused but he still accepts the ring as he cannot say no to his idol.)

Richard: I am obliged Mr. Bailey and I'm sure the ring would bring loads of good luck to you as well if you believe in it....

(Ian nods and bids goodbye to Richard)

Further on, Ian sends the article to Miss Ella as decided and he receives remaining money soon after. Miss Ella ensures that this article reaches Richard's wife Clara. Clara is aghast after reading the article and confronts Richard immediately. Richard says that whatever is mentioned in the article is completely true. A heated argument between the husband and wife follows. Finally, Richard says that Clara is not the same person who she was when Richard was just another employee in Dalton and they were best friends back then. A brief moment of silence sets in and both engage in their respective work. Next morning at breakfast, Clara says that she got so carried away with the money and fame of being the CEO's wife that she totally forgot that this CEO is her husband first. Clara further says that she took Richard for granted and that she is sorry for everything. Clara declares that from now on she would work towards strengthening their bond as a family and that she expects Richard to cooperate as well. Richard is relieved upon hearing this and vows to do whatever he can to develop their family bonding. Subsequently, Richard takes his family for dinner in the evening and all of them have a great time together.

On the other hand, Ian Bailey gains a lot of confidence after he reads the email from Miss Ella stating: Mission Accomplished. In the next few months, Ian started working as a freelancer after having successfully completed the task assigned by Richard Livingstone. He even started writing blogs on various topics simultaneously along with freelancing. Later on, Ian started a YouTube Channel named Motivational Insights wherein he shared his thoughts on traits of highly successful people. In about a year or so, Ian achieved phenomenal growth in all the fields he ventured into.

On one hand there's Ian Bailey who managed to excel after acquiring the ring and on the other hand there's Richard Livingstone who felt happy after parting ways with the ring. So was the ring really a lucky charm or was it simply a burden, that is for you all to decide dear readers.

[bowtiesnmusicals]

Here is my recap of The 13th Member of the GLEE Club (Andrew Mitchell) episode of the podcast.

Andrew Mitchell was the A camera Steadicam operator for Glee.

There is no Glee without Andrew Mitchell.

He was an integral part of the musical numbers.

Andrew is a skater.

The Steadicam weighed 65lbs. He made it look very easy. They filmed on 35mm film.

Zach and the directors would remind the cast that Andrew wins if they collided with him.

During Highway to Hell, Andrew collided with one of the girls from Vocal Adrenaline. She hit the floor.

Andrew missed only 5 or 6 performances.

They shot the original Don't Stop Believing over two days.

During a single day Andrew was operating 3 different cameras. A regular camera, Steadicam, and the crane.

When they shot the pilot episode Andrew had already been working for 11 years.

He worked on High School Musical 2 & 3.

The cast that would be sitting behind Andrew would mess with him. They would tickle and poke him. They would answer his walkie talkie too. They had a fun time.

Everyone that worked with Ryan loved working on Glee because it was so different then what he usually does. It was a break from the dark. It was light and fun.

The cast kept each other in check by reminding each other that the crew were here before them and left after them. That they had families and would like to go home.

Glee is the most demanding show Andrew has worked on.

Glee was a career making show. Andrew won an award.

The rehearsal studios were called the tin shed and the power house.

There were 2 instances where Andrew felt like he was on a juggernaut of a show. The first was when he went to the Grove and saw giant posters for an episode launch. The second time was when they went to New York and seeing all the fans swarming to see the cast.

Kevin said it was cool seeing the crews reaction to all the fans in New York.

As people rewatch the show Kevin and Jenna are getting noticed again. It feels like a time warp.

Andrew's children and friends are watching the show now.

Everyone loved the craft service truck. Andrew's children called it the jelly bean truck.

Jenna is a sucker for a deviled egg.

Telly got Kevin hooked on eating an avocado cut in half with olive oil, salt, and pepper. It made him feel like he was eating healthy. Kevin liked going to craft services and making sandwiches and things.

There was talk after season 1 of getting the cast a really cool trailer to hang out. It would have made wrangling the cast easier. A lot of things were proposed and never happened.

Andrew's favorite of Kevin are My Love Is Your Love. He also enjoys Safety Dance.

Safety Dance was shot in a real mall. Kevin's mom and sister were there.

For Jenna, Andrew loves I Kissed A Girl. Another favorite is True Colors.

Some of his other favorites were Thriller and Scream, Rocky Horror, Singing in the Rain,

Rocky Horror was hard. It was long day.

Andrew only got splashed one or two times filming Singing in the Rain. They had carpet over the water tank so the cast didn't slip. It had been shampooed and not all of it was removed. They had to use hot tub anti bubble stuff to keep the water from getting bubbly. Kevin mentioned Ryan's story of them adding the water too soon and it created gross fungus film. He then probably had them clean everything causing the soap bubble issue.

Kevin was just sitting in water during Singing in the Rain. At the end of each take the casts rainboots were filled with water. It is a great number to watch but not such a great number to film.

Andrew had nicknames for everyone. Jenna's was bubbles because of her costume in the Lady Gaga episode. Matty Fresh for Matt, Princess for Dianna, and Mark was Saw. The only person he didn't have a nickname for was Lea.

There wasn't a lot of turn over in the camera department. They enjoyed working on the show and didn't want to leave.

Any sectionals or regionals was difficult to film with the steadicam. They were long numbers without stops.

Bohemian Rapsody was longer than the film reel and could not be done in one take.

Cory saved Andrew's life several times. He almost fell into the pit at least one time.

Andrew fell filming going through a doorway at the Long Beach Expo center. He was filming a sign and he had to move fast. He caught his foot on the door jamb. Cory pulled him aside after and told him he was going to tell him to be careful before that take.

For the 400th number Andrew wrote all the songs on ping pong balls and dumped them on Zach and Brooke.

Kevin got 18 slushies during the Super Bowl episode. He had to shoot that scene twice. Brad Falchuk directed that episode.

Andrew told one of the cast to throw the confetti right at him.

The very first slushie that Rachel got was done in one take.

When Jacob Artist (Jake Puckerman) was being slushies they got the genius idea to put a camera in one of the cups and filled it with a thick slushie. It didn't work the first time and the second time the cup left Andrew's hand and hit Jacob in the face. They didn't try it a third time.

Andrew would have a lollipop in his mouth during most performances. It was a way to get a quick boost of energy and then it became like a good luck charm.

Andrew doubled for Kevin during Shooting Star.

Andrew loved Kevin in the STD outfit. There was a scene in that episode where no one was doing their lines and got yelled at because they couldn't get it together. Kevin got annoyed that no one could get their lines right.

Andrew said that Adam Shankman was fun to work with as a director.

Eric Stoltz is a favorite. Paris Barclay was great.

They loved working with Alfonso Gomez-Rejon. HIs episodes looked beautiful but the process was challenging.

They flew Andrew in to film the close ups during the Glee Tour.

What is the feeling Glee leaves you with when you think about the show? He steals the Lilian Adler quote that says by its very definition Glee is about opening yourself up to joy. He said his memory isn't very good but he always remembers how he feels like when he meets someone or works on a project. At the end of Glee it felt so good but also felt like this can't end. It was hard.

Glee is warmth and joy. A ton of good memories. It was like they went to summer camp for 6 years.

Jenna said it was like a really long summer camp that you never want to end.

Andrew asked Jenna and Kevin two questions. He forgot the first one. The second was metaphorically at the end of the show if you had taken anything from the set what would it have been. They were allowed to take one thing. The crew wasn't allowed to take anything. Jenna took the clock off the wall and Kevin took the wheelchair. Apparently he wasn't supposed to take it. Andrew would have taken the lamp on the piano and the banner from when the Glee club won it's first Nationals.

Where did the shot they would do going off the fingertips and sweep up to the light come from? Andrew said it was a career making shot. It was something he tried and everyone loved it. It became a staple of the show.

Kevin and Jenna still keep in touch with a lot of crewmembers. Kevin said they need to have more of them on the podcast.

They both enjoyed when Andrew flipped the table and interviewed them.

[sizzlingpatrolfox]

hey how much are you enjoying the bts solo era so far?

At some point during last year I kept thinking that hybe wasn't launching solo careers, but they were just doing solo releases. That's the way I felt about Hoseok and Namjoon's albums rollouts. Hoseok's album release was such a downgrade from everything BTS ever did, from everything BTS is supposed to be -superstars. Let's not forget that while this was going on, and while army was talking about hybe's huge heart and compassion for the planet and the sea turtles and wanting to minimize their CO2, TXT was releasing ten different physical versions for a single. His Lolla stage also came too suddenly, right after the album. If all of it was Hoseok's choice, okay; but I don't know why people act like BTS can't make bad choices just as everyone else. If Jimin were to come out out with a paper QR for an album.... ADIEUUUUU.... hasta la vista baby.

Jin, there wasn't much he could do with the time he had. It's a particular case that I don't think deserves any analysis because the circumstances were clear for everyone.

Namjoon did feel more like a solo album, and I thought that albeit short, his promo activities were good and very personal. Everything made sense with the type of guy he's shown to be. A rolling stones cover was great too, even more sharing it with Pharell. I thought Namjoon's promo was more adequate than Hoseok's because, as I've mentioned before, I really believe that all of them need to branch out from what BTS was. They said it themselves at the festa dinner, that people know what BTS is, but people don't know who they are individually, and exploring their individual and unique selves should be a huge part of all of their solo career. Namjoon in case, it's hard to think of a more explicit way of showing yourself individually than doing a home tour lol. That was really a lot, if you think about it.

However, all three releases just came and went like nothing. There was no longetivity to any of them; just something that needed to be done and get over with.

The maknae line and Yoongi however are imo actually giving "solo career" from the go. Because they're all easing into it, in a way. Jungkook, Taehyung and to a lesser degree Yoongi have been doing some stuff here and there, even while not releasing an album. Some people might think it's pointless for them to do things that aren't related to music, but I personally don't believe it's all for nothing. I think it's okay, I think it's all building up to a more comprehensive, personal, new brand. It doesn't have to mean that they will do an 180 from who they were in BTS, because that's frankly not going to happen; except for Jimin, I don't really think we'll get surprising new stuff from any member. It just means that they're showing themselves as individuals and actually doing activities alone, carrying their own weight and being responsible for their careers.

Jimin hasn't released or had any schedule in the past 8 months or something??? I was convinced (I think we all were) that Yoongi would release his album first and then it would be Jimin, but apparently it's not going to be like that for some reason. I thought vibe and the Dior deal was the beginning of Jimin "easing" himself into his solo path, and that it would be at least a couple of months of "promo" before the actual release (I was thinking late March/April). I certainly didn't expect an album to be announced so soon. I've seen some confusion about the wording, some people saying that an album wasn't mentioned, just solo activities. If it is his album, maybe he'll do a lot of promo this month. I'm hoping he will. Just to get a sense of JIMIN you know? So he can catch the interest of people that might think he's worthy checking out, so he can build some excitement and anticipation around what he'll release, so people can be intrigued and will wait for it. It's pointless and depressing to release something when nobody is waiting for it.

I said the other day after the Dior deal was announced, that it seemed like a great start and I still think so. I hope he will actually work with Dior, that he will get commercials and campaigns and more magazine covers the way all western artists get when they become ambassadors. I live in a third world country where buying Dior isn't something people do, there are probably two Dior stores in the whole country but I've seen billboards of Natalie Portman promoting Dior perfumes in my city. I'm not really expecting that to happen for Jimin, but it would be ideal.

So far, coming out with vibe, and the fashion deal, and the promise of solo music around the corner, seems like the right order of things; seems like a nice transition. I know there isn't much time before the album's supposedly coming out (next month), but he can still make the most out of it. And hopefully, he will continue with performances and variety shows and music-centered content even after the album is released. At least that's what I always thought his solo career would be like because Jimin's always been so restless -he loves what he does. I also really don't want Jimin's album to feel like Hoseok's, Jin's or Namjoon's, something that's released just to get it out of the way.

[abbatoirablaze]

SDAU, The Twins, Chapter 9

Word Count:  1.5k

Warnings:  none

Ari couldn’t help it.  He had swept Arianna up in the heat of the moment and asked her to come to DC with him after they’d won the game.  He had been so excited, and his bear was rumbling in his mind that he couldn’t leave the most important part of himself behind.  He was beyond all real logic as he looked at his girlfriend.  She had become his world in those few short months, and he loved the person that she had blossomed into once it was the two of them together.  She made him a better man.

He knew while they had discussed living separately while she finished school and he got started on his career, neither one of them wanted it.  They both seemed disinterested in the idea, but Ari didn’t want her to drop out or transfer to come with him.  He knew where she was, was her dream school.  He didn’t want her to have to compromise for him.  But as they stood there, surrounded by his peers after the victory, the words just slipped out.

“Move in with me?” he asked over the roar of the crowd.  He was happy that they had just finished the regular season’s last game before their Christmas break, and he had let the excitement get to him.

“What?”

“MOVE IN WITH ME!!” Ari repeated.  Arianna’s eyes went wide as she processed the question, “I know that we talked about you staying here to finis-“

“Ari…”

The world seemed to fade around them as he smiled at her, “I want us to live together when I graduate!  I don’t want to do the distance thing.  I want to be near you as much as I can, Arianna. I’m in love with you, and you make my days better.  Make everything around me feel right.  I want you to come with me to DC.  You’re the best part of me and I don’t want to go to DC without you.  I-I was going to wait to ask you until closer to Spring break, but I can’t…I don’t want to wait anymore!”

“Ari!”

Sure enough, his brothers and more fans had interrupted the moment, making it so that they couldn’t discuss it.  But he was quick to make sure they did once he got changed. 

“I-If you don’t want to-“

“Yes!”

Ari smiled, his inner bear rumbling excitedly at her answer, “really?”

“Really,” she smiled happily, all but launching herself into his arms, “I-this is going to be amazing, Ari…Pepper and I were talking about opening up the lab in DC because you were going to be there, and Tony is going there too…but I didn’t know how to tell you without you thinking that I was just being a clingy mate.  I don’t want to be away from you either Ari.  But now…now i-it’s perfect.  I was so scared to ask-“

“You were scared?” Ari asked, cutting his mate off, “Wh-why would you be scared, mate?”

“Alpha…I know we marked each other, but it’s a scary thought…what if you said no?” she asked, “I mean we talked about the possibility already and you-“

He chuckled, “I would never say no to you, my love.  I just…I know how much the school means to you.  I know you’ve dreamt about being here since you were a little cub.  I know that you-”

“Dreams change, Ari.  Especially when you meet your mate and begin to plan your future together.  And hey…what about you?” she giggled, instantly punching his shoulder “you said it yourself that you were nervous to ask me about moving in…”

“Well yeah…but it’s different!”

“No, it’s not!”

He smiled, realizing that it wasn’t all that much different.  Taking a few steps, he closed the gap between them and wrapped his arms around her waist, “alright then.  What do you say that for Christmas break we do some apartment hunting?  Scope out the area?  I was offered an internship interview in DC for the Spring semester…if I get it, I’d have to move anyways.”

“Not without me you’re not.”

“Y-you’d really want to move with me?”

“Ari…you are my future just as much as I’m a part of yours.”

Ari’s bear rumbled and he leaned down to kiss his mate, “I love you, Arianna.”

“And I love you too, Ari.”

“I haven’t seen anything that feels like home.”

Ari frowned as he looked at his mate and agreed, “I haven’t either…”

“How did your interview go?”

Ari bit his cheek, not entirely wanting to tell her how it went.  They’d liked him.  They liked him a lot.  So much so that they had offered him the position on the spot, and not as an intern. 

“We should keep looking.”

“Ari?”

He looked over at her, and his breath caught in his throat, “they offered me a job…not just an internship baby…they want me to finish my degree, and they’ll give me internship hours on top of it…but they want to hire me straight off the bat.”

She stopped walking; a look of shock written across her features. She broke out in a smile as she looked at him, “Really?”

He nodded, not smiling, “yeah…”

“Ari, why aren’t you happier?” she asked, her voice laced with excitement?  Wh-why aren’t you more excited about this?”

“Baby…they want me to come on immediately…they’re going to give me a month to find a place…but this means that-“

“We’re moving to DC.”

“What about school?” Ari asked, his voice full of surprise, “What about the frat?  Your education?  The football team?”

“Online classes are a thing as far as schooling goes,” she offered, taking his hands in her own, “Ari this is the beginning of your dream.  You’ve always wanted to be involved in politics, and in the government.  I know how much you want to make a change, and I know that this is just the start of it.  I’m not going to let you put your dreams on hold because you’re a little nervous…and don’t say you aren’t mister, because I can feel it across the bond.  I’m not going to let you throw away the opportunity.”

“But the team?  The house?”

“The boys will be fine without you,” she said, pulling him closer, “you know that they will.  Steve, Tony, and Mike will be able to hold the fort down.  They are great leaders.  And I’m sure every single one of the boys would push you out the door and towards DC once you let them know.  I mean, granted Pepper is about to burst…and Kitten is halfway there…but Mini will keep those boys in line.”

“You really think we should do this?”

“I do…”

“I was so worried you wouldn’t.”

“Like I said, Ari…you and me…you’re my future just as much as I’m yours.  I’m not going to hold you back from your dreams,” she smiled as her hand brushed over his cheek, “I’m not going to let you give this up.  DC will be our future too.”

“Well…I guess that means that there is only one thing left to do,” he smiled.  Arianna raised her brow, but her jaw dropped when Ari let go of her and dropped to a knee, “Arianna…”

“Oh my god…Ari…”

“Will you marry me, baby?”

“Oh my god, ARI!” she squealed, jumping into his arms, “oh my god.  Yes.  YES!  A million times, yes, Ari.”

“Twins,” Curtis said dreamily, as his hand roamed his mate’s belly.  She giggled as his head was angled so that his ear was on her stomach, “I can hear you in there…are you two being nice to your mommy?  Are you being daddy’s good little cubs and treating your mommy right?”

Curtis nearly jumped off of his bed when he felt a tiny foot kick his head.  Adriana and Curtis smiled, Adriana’s hands going through his short, soft hair as he looked dreamily back at her stomach. 

“I think they’re going to be boys,” she smiled sweetly, “I feel it.”

“You think so?”

“Oh, I know so,” she confirmed, “it’s like I can feel it in my bones…we’re going to have two little boys that are perfect in every way…just like you, alpha.”

Curtis rumbled, hearing his mate sound so sweet, “well I hope they are as perfect as you are…sweet like they’re mother…and two little girls.  Perfect little omega tigress cubs.”

“You want little girls really badly, don’t you?”

He chuckled, “oh yeah…I want two perfect, obedient little girls who look and act just like you, mega.  And I’ll be such a good daddy.  I’ll make sure they’re safe and protected…my little girls…and my mate…”

“You wouldn’t want twin boys to protect your little girls?”

Curtis paused, his eyes meeting hers, “I guess that wouldn’t be a bad idea, would it?”

She smiled, “you really wanna be wrapped around another tigress’ paws, don’t you?”

“Only my little pack,” he smirked, kissing her belly, “you two hear that?  You better be two little perfect omega cubs…your mommy is gonna show you just how to act.  You’ll be perfect, just like her. Right omega?”

“Whatever you say, alpha,” she replied sweetly as her hands trailed through his hair yet again, “whatever you say.”

Chapter 10, The End

Tag List:  @infatuatedjanes, @lohnes16, @dontbescaredtosingalong

[chorusfm]

Vanderwolf – “The 6.09” (Video Premiere)

Today I’m thrilled to bring everyone the latest video from Psych-folk artist, Vanderwolf, called “The 6.09.” The track is the second single off of Vanderwolf’s new album, The Great Bewilderment, out everywhere music is sold on March 13th. If you’re enjoying the latest single, please consider visiting the artist’s Bandcamp page here. I was also able to catch up with this talented songwriter for a brief interview below. You have had an extensive career managing live events, how has your career experience impacted your approach to music? My career as a musician precedes my producing live concerts and festival — and my life as a music-lover started straight out of the womb, so producing events is a comparatively brief but significant window. But there are many  things I observed and learned. Lessons that are stories and vice-versa. For instance, I had asked Jeff Beck to perform a 3-night career retrospective at the Royal Festival Hall in 2002. Initially, enthused about the idea, it all came to a crashing halt when I raised the possibility — if fact, the necessity–  of Jeff performing the music he made with the Yardbirds. I was a massive fan and I knew what it would mean to London music fans were it to happen. Jeff was not happy, and as politely as possible, he explained why it couldn’t happen — and how the original remaining members were simply not up for the viscerality of that body of music. I already had a plan. I asked- Jeff, what if I were to get the White Stripes to be your White Stripes?” His eyes lit up and he said if you can make that happen I’ll do it. I knew Jack a little bit– and I knew him enough to know he’d love to do it. So months later, and two days before the show, we blocked out two days of rehearsal in the Queen Elizabeth Hall. Anticipation was huge. And the vibe was great when Jack, Meg and bassist Jack Lawrence showed up. They immediately launched into Heart of Stone, Better Man Than I, I Aint Done Wrong. It was thrilling. I think they played everything one time. And almost simultaneously Jeff and Jack said, ”I think that’s good”. And that was it…they’d decided that being under-rehearsed was going to enable the most live and visceral performance possible — and they were absolutely correct. The set they performed that night was some of the most incredible live music I’ve ever heard….it was on the verge of falling apart and it was beautiful. They were listening intensely. Their eye contact was vital. They perfectly captured the essence and energy of the Yardbirds’ youthful recklessness. I learned something very valuable that night. There were lots of lessons like that I learned watching Ornette Coleman or Patti Smith or whoever.  Where did the idea for “The 6.09” come from, and what did it look and sound like as it came together in the studio? Well there’s The 6.09 song, and there’s the 6.09 video — and I think they address 2 very different but overlapping subjects. The song began as most of my  songs do, through things I was learning on the guitar. I can’t remember what it was at the time but as soon as that picking pattern and that chord sequence arose– I knew there was a story told. Story-songs are really hard to write. I was not happy. But there was no escaping it. The tune was begging for a narrative. I was still smarting after quite a few difficult years in my working life. I’d been banging my head against the wall and my bitterness was not a secret. SO my revenge was this story which is about work and what work does to us. It’s about how the workplace sets up political divides in its quest for self-perpetuation and validation. It’s about how quickly we become victims of our ambitions.But the video, conceived and directed by Alden Volney, addresses how social media and specifically, those relaxation videos, sedate us and distract us from an increasingly self-destructing world. Strangely, it’s a lot of fun. What does your songwriting process look like? It happens two ways. Typically, there’s something I’m trying… https://chorus.fm/features/vanderwolf-the-6-09-video-premiere/

[girlreviews]

Review #491: Harry’s House, Harry Styles

I have never really taken much interest in One Direction or any of the solo careers of its members. A generation or two ahead. I gave “Fine Lines” a listen when it came out (which was previously on this list!) and didn’t think it was anything special. It does seem like Rolling Stone has really taken an interest in Harry Styles, and I don’t have any strong feelings about that either way.

Harry’s House is really fun. I’d go as far as saying that I like it. I can see myself putting this on in my car. As far as mainstream pop music goes, it’s interesting and different and has so many references to previous eras and artists in it that it’s possible I could spontaneously combust trying to identify them all. But I really enjoy that about it. If I got the chance I’d write a list of all the songs and artists I feel influenced this record and stick it in front of his face and ask him to confirm or deny it.

“As It Was” is a little 80s tribute and I’m not kidding you when I tell you if you wanted to sing “Take On Me” over the top of it, you can and it would work perfectly. I’m not saying you should, but maybe you should. It also sounds like Peter Schilling’s “Major Tom”. This is all very good stuff. If you haven’t heard that last song I just referenced, may I strongly encourage you to change that in the very immediate future.

“Little Freak” and “Matilda” really hurt my feelings (really really). I don’t want to talk about it but I do want to congratulate Harry on that. That’s what music is supposed to do. I’m glad that if he’s had this talent within him that he has been given the chance to make it happen, to work with the right people and to be taken seriously as an artist after a very particular start in the industry. Let’s hope for a day where every person who can write songs to hurt my feelings gets those opportunities also. Do you think as he ages he will experience feeling past his prime? No longer valuable? Marketable? That he has anything to offer?

With that being said, Cinema is a completely ridiculous song. A few of them lack substance here and there and that’s one of them. Not everything has to have substance and the actual music carries it, but it’s truly not very good. I think that’s okay though. When you’re actually pushing yourself some of what you make is gonna be not so great, and you’ll look back on it and cringe, but that same process yields tons of good shit. And you know what, it’s probably someone’s favorite song, so that’s really nice.

Something I think about a lot is just how young Harry Styles and the rest of the 1D boys were when they were launched into unbelievable fame and exposure on live TV every Saturday night right before our very eyes. How impossibly hard that must have been for them and they might not have even processed it until they were older (or have they even? Oof). I’ve kinda always been rooting for them. They were children.

The actual thing I always remember is that One Direction actually came runner up in that competition to Matt Cardle, which is wild. When they were all on stage celebrating, Harry Styles grabbed Matt Cardle and said in his ear “think how much pussy you’re gonna get”, and the cameras caught it. It was funny on so many levels. I really wonder if Matt Cardle got any additional pussy because I think winning X-Factor was probably one of the worst things to ever happen to him. And I think we all know how things went for Harry in that department. X-Factor used to be such a thing and what a weird time in our lives it was.

[niqhtlord01]

Humans are weird: Merging multiple species into society

( Don’t forget to come see my on my new patreon and support me for early access to stories and personal story requests :D https://www.patreon.com/NiqhtLord )

Across the landing field the ground crews were in frantic motion. Landing pads that had been used as temporary supply dumps were cleared, refugees and civilians were moved up for transport off world, and for the first time in seven months the Galaxian base commander braided his face tentacles.

From his office overlooking the entire compound, Commander Zavar kept watch of the progress from the corner of his eye while his main focus was on the mirror in front of him. Carefully observing his reflection he intertwined the several dozen chest length tentacles that grew just beneath his jaw into elegant patterns.

He hadn’t bothered to for the last few months as the braiding of tentacles was meant to show a sign of respect. A Galaxian with unbraided tentacles was essentially stating that whomever they spoke with they held them in low regard. Zavar hadn’t braided them for some time as he felt no need to show signs of respect to anyone under his command.

It had been months since the landing base was established with the intent to use it as a jumping off point in new offensives. When Zavar had been given command he felt that he would be helping bring an end to this bloody conflict by maintaining such a crucial facility. Yet just as the offensive was about to begin their enemies decided to launch a massive counter offensive on an entirely different continent. In short order the manpower which had been set aside for the Galaxian offensive was pulled away to mount a rapid defense and halt this no enemy offensive.  

One by one troop ships stopped coming to his base and requested materials became increasingly diverted to other theaters of the war until finally this once crucial launching point became nothing more than a gas station for passing supply ships.

He grimaced as he made a wrong twist while braiding remembering his degrading morale and the effect it had on those under him. The drive that had once fueled Zavar was sapped away by months of repetitive supply transfers and paperwork, and this soon turned to ever laxening of base discipline among the work crews. When Zavar’s second in command came to him with information that several of the crews had taken an abandoned storage building and had turned it into an entertainment club of sorts, all he did at the time was put on his military cap and take a walk over to it for a drink himself.

That had all changed last night when in the middle of darkness moon Zavar had received an offworld communication from central command. After weeks of careful negotiation the human government they had agreed to join the war effort on the Galaxian side. A substantial force of at least four of their divisions had already arrived in system and would be sending down a battalion of 500 soldiers to further secure and expand Zavar’s base.

Within moment of the calls end Zavar had ordered all of his crews to standby and began issuing orders with renewed fire. As Zavar finished braiding his tentacles and looked out across his base he saw all of the landing pads had been cleared, and with moments to spare.

A loud rumbling could be heard and Zavar could feel the room slowly vibrating as he looked to the clouded skies.

Breaching through the murky grey clouds that had covered the sky for weeks Zavar saw a human landing craft. It was a bulky black mass of metal with a design reminiscent of an overweight bird Zavar thought as it slowly descended towards the base. He was slightly disappointed in the lacking design aesthetics of the human craft, but he had remembered that these transports were designed for carrying large amounts of troops to safe areas rather than enemy held landings. Zavar watched it for a few moments more before leaving his office and making for the landing pads.

It was a short ride from his office to landing pad three were Zavar met his second in command already waiting with a small detachment of honor guard. He exited the vehicle just as the landing craft set down sending gusts of wind out from the engines as they slowly died down.

As Zavar took his place at the head of the honor guard the loading door of the transport popped open with a loud thud and began to lower.

He had heard stories of humans before, how they were great warriors of the highest caliber, that their reflexes were heightened to such a level in the heat of battle they could see an enemy from miles away, that they could lose limbs and heal after a period of time only to forge new ones and return for more combat; truly these beings would bring a swift end to this war.

The ramp finally touched the surface of the landing pad and Zavar could finally see inside of the transport. What he saw rather surprised him however…..

At the top of the ramp stood several ranks of human soldiers dressed in combat gear, but at the head of them was a uniformed Kliptec; their serpent body draped across the decking of the craft.

Zavar cast a side long glance at his second who looked as dumb founded as Zavar was feeling before looking back at the Kliptec. Their upper body was humanoid in shape, yet they bore more hallmarks of a reptile. Scaled skin, slit like eyes, sharpened fingers, and in place of feet was a roughly six foot long tail.

As the Kliptec slithered down the ramp towards Zavar and the front ranks of humans followed Zavar was greeted by further confusion. Mixed in with the humans soldiers Zavar noted several other species not native to the human worlds.

A Draxic casually stomped forward with the ranks appearing to carry some form of heavy weapon casually over their shoulder, a Flinchestet with a communication device glided across the decking as if its limbs could not be bothered to touch the floor, a Valmorian with a red cross painted across their helmet stood alongside a Combra whose face had been ritually scared for the coming battles; but most surprising of all was the towering figure at the very back of the transport.

A hive warrior drone draped in the uniform of humanity. It held no weapon between its claws but Zavar was positive it would have no need of such a device to rip through the lot of them. Some of the honor guard made let out whimper of fear and one even went so far as to start to bring their weapon to bear.

With only a look Zavar’s second command was at the guard’s side and snatched the weapon from his hands in a single motion.

“Be. Calm.” Those two words were all he said to the guard before returning to his place next to Zavar, the weapon he had taken from the guard clutched at his side.

His men looked at their commander with silent awe as they saw Zavar look unphased at the sudden turn of events. Instead of humanity’s reinforcements they appeared to have been given a cavalcade of species that had once fought against humanity. In truth Zavar was deeply concerned about this development, but the one thing keeping him from panicking was his observations of the actual human soldiers present.

Their eyes lacked a sense of fear one would normally experience when coming upon something, or someone, so unnatural to themselves. They were alert and disciplined which was all that Zavar needed to know to reassure him that things were as they should be.

The Kliptec finally slithered in front of Zavar and gave a crisp salute which Zavar returned with a bow of comradery.

“Lt. Colonel Reginal Seth of the 17th Engineer battalion.” the Kliptec said.

“Base Commander Zavar Hatsval,” Zavar replied as he motion to his second, “and my second Xixvil Nog, of the Galaxian expeditionary force.”

“I must admit,” Zavar began as the column of forces began marching past the trio, “when I heard we were getting human reinforcements I was not expecting this.”

Reginal’s sighed and rolled his eyes as if he had heard that same statement a thousand times before.

“Our military allows anyone to enlist so long as they were born within our borders.” he stated as he turned to see his soldiers march by to the storage facilities. “It is an efficient system to use every natural resource available to your advantage, so why limit to a single species military?”

“We do not ask others to fight in our stead.” Xixvil spoke as he watched several humans walk by.

“And how has that turned out for you here?” Reginal said as his serpent mouth twisted to a half grin. “Because from where I am it looks like we’re here to fight in your stead.”

Xixvil’s mouth dropped open in shock before morphing into one of anger while Reginal continued smirking. Zavar thought he was about to see his second lash out when the hive drone he had seen before marched over to them.

It stood easily twice as high as a Galaxian and three times as high as the human soldiers around it. Its collection of eyes were constantly darting around randomly as if trying to observe everything at once while it hovered over the trio. It slowly opened its mouth to reveal rows of sharpened teeth as it surprised Zavar once again.  

“Dro…..go…..where?”

In all of his life in the Galaxian military he had never heard of a hive drone capable of speech. In the past the Galaxian’s had fought several wars with the Hive and at every encounter the drone warrior caste was found to be near mindless killing machines without a queen’s control. To hear one speak in a language he could understand, let alone in broken sentences was enough to end the careers of several Galaxian biologists.

“Report to Sgt Morris, Dro.” Reginal said as if the tower beast of flesh and chitin before him was just another average soldier.

The drone’s eyes stopped twitching for a moment as if concentrating before continuing “Morris…..yes…find…Morris….going….now…sir.” It tilted a blade like appendage which took a moment for Zavar to realize it was saluting Reginal which the Kliptec swiftly returned.

“Carry on Dro.”

With that the drone shambled off after the majority of humans who had left the landing zone leaving only a few behind to begin unloading the battalion’s equipment. Reginal turned to them and handed them a data pad. “Once our gear is unloaded we will begin expanding the landing fields by three additional pads. After that we’ll start reinforcing the outer perimeter walls and compound infrastructure.”

Zavar took the data pad and began going over the details while Xixvil continued to watch Dro walk away.

“I do not mean to be rude, but why did you call that drone “Dro”?” Xixvil asked once the drone was far enough away.

Reginal shrugged, an oddly human gesture for such an alien being, before answering “That’s his name; Dro Harris.”

“It was my understanding that hive drones lacked the capacity to develop individuality.” Xixvil continued as he watched the drone in the distance stop in front of a humanoid looking figure before following them into a storage bay.

“Normally they aren’t able to, but humans have this strange ability to impart personalities into beings should they stay around them long enough.”

Both Zavar and Xixvil looked at Reginal dumbfounded.

“Are you serious?” they asked, to which Reginal simply nodded.

“One of his parents fought in the human hive wars and took an egg back as a trophy. Turns out it hatched and they decided to raise him as their son.”

“I can’t imagine humans reacted well to a hive drone in their midst.”

To their surprised Reginal shook his head. “From what he’s told me he used to be a successful actor before he enlisted; he was popular in fast food commercials.”

“Now I know you are making things up.” Zavar cut in, unable to believe what he was hearing.

“Humans do weird things like this all the time,” Reginal said, “they act distant at first but once they warm up to you the majority of them will welcome you with open arms and treat you like kin.”

He stretched out his arms so Zavar and Xixvil could get a good look at him.

“People assume humans are barbaric isolationist xenophiles, and while it is true there are some of them out there they do not make up the entirety of humanity.”

“There are humans that will sit down with complete strangers and within an hour be closer than brothers with them, humans that will drop everything to come help you even when there is no benefit to themselves, humans that will check up on you just to see if you are alright.”

“It’s weird but at times it’s almost as if humanity has been sick of just knowing only humans and will throw themselves at anything different just so they can experience something new, something exotic and exciting.”

Reginal looked at the two Galaxians as they took in what he had to say and shook his head. He gave a quick salute and then slithered after his men as the heavy equipment began rolling off the transport leaving the Galaxians in the dust.