#i feel like mike would be agent 3

[fictionalreads]

This Was Never Meant to Be What It Feels Like (Part 3)

A/N: Heeeeeeey...How y'all doing?....I know it's been a couple weeks when I said days but a part of this just did not want to be written! Also, this one is a bit of a beast, just over 5,200 words. This is the final part of this lil mini series, I hope y'all enjoy and the conclusion is satisfying for you guys.

Part 1 Part 2

Pairing: Armando Aretas x Original Female Character

Fandom: Bad Boys Movies

Prompt: Mike gets a couple visits, Shay has some news and Armando makes a decision.

Warnings⚠️: Cussing, Mentions of bad parental relationships, uh.... I think that's it for this one.

Mike Lowrey was no stranger to being called into back rooms for an off the books meeting. What was unusual was the CBI agent waiting for him when last time he checked none of the cases he had been part of lately had anything to warrant federal attention. Well, besides the one with his son but he had been cleared almost a full year ago now and Julie had corroborated his story. Nah, this was something new.

“Officer Lowrey, I’m Agent Garrett with the California Bureau of Investigations. Please have a seat.” She was standing at her full height on the other side of the table while gesturing to one of two chairs in the room, the only one near him. He saw straight through her bullshit tactics to make him feel like she was in charge and had the upper hand.

“It’s Detective Lowrey and think I’ll stand. Now why don’t you cut the shit and tell me what the hell you want.” Her jaw tensed and he just barely managed to hold back a smirk. She wouldn’t get what she wanted by using the same perp tricks he had been using when she was still in diapers. You can’t bullshit the bullshitter.

Coming clean, she began, “I’ve been put in charge of running a task force out in LA, similar to your AMMO squad here. Our goal is to find and stop cartel drug from entering the country, maybe stop a few murders while we’re at it.”

So this was about Armando, just more recently than he thought. Damn son of his was definitely payback for the hell he raised when he was younger. If he was back on his shit, he might not be able to help him this time.

“Sounds like a good idea. I wish you luck,” he stated, feigning ignorance as to what this was really about.

“Your son Armando Aretas has many connections on the west coast that could be useful. Figured I could use him to knock down some of my open cases.”

She clearly had found out their connection, but he still wasn’t sure what she wanted from him. “I don’t know if you’ve been watching the news lately, but my son isn’t here in Miami. He’s been on the run for the better part of a year. I don’t know where he is.”

“You’re his father.” Agent Garrett takes the chair on her side of the table. “If anybody could find him, it’d be you. You’d know where to look right?” The flattery, the subtle leading questions to confirm what she believed and the sitting gave her away.

She was desperate.

If he had to guess, those open case files were all big cases that had her boss breathing down her neck. She’d probably been given an ultimatum with her job on the line and now she was desperate to do anything that would get her back on top, including working with a wanted man.

Mike sat. “What are the terms?”

“Terms?”

“What does Armando get in exchange for helping you?”

She looked at him in disbelief. “Terms are you don’t go to prison for aiding and abetting a murderer and he doesn’t get a bullet in his head immediately. Don’t know if you know this but cops aren’t a big hit in prison and I’m betting that’s especially true for you.”

“Don’t fucking insult me, please. Aiding and abetting implies I know where he is and I’m actively helping him. I’ve already told you I don’t know where he is. But like you said I’m your best shot at finding him. I’m also your best chance at not getting your men killed and losing him again. I’m not doing this shit without some assurances on his end. So I’ll ask again. What does he get for helping you?”

She shook her head. “You know when I came up with this whole thing, I did my my research on you. Figured I should know who I was getting into bed with. Everything I read told me you were one hell of a cop, always got your guy and made Miami just that much safer. Are you, this great cop, really going to bat for a murderer like him?”

That was where her approach was faulty. She was trying to appeal to his cop side, but he was a father first. “No, I, a father, am protecting my son.”

“I can offer him protective custody, knock some time off his sentence depending on how fruitful his tips are.” She offered lightly.

Too lightly. This was her throwaway offer, the one she knew was shit but was hoping he’d take anyway. So he called her bluff.

“He won’t come in for that. He had that deal with me already. All the shit that went down last year? The bodies dropped had to be put on someone and he got ‘em since he was a convicted felon, one that was alive and a part of the mess. Not to mention he ran off and became a fugitive. He’s looking at almost double what his sentence was when I arrested him. You’ll have to do better.”

Agent Garrett seemed to be debating with herself. She let out a heavy breath,”I’ve been authorized to grant him a special deal.”

Now they were getting somewhere.

“What kind of deal?”

“The kind that puts my ass on the line.”

Something about this whole interaction was bugging him. “Tell me something. Why are you willing to put your badge on the line for someone you clearly can’t stand?”

“I don’t trust Aretas. But this isn’t about me. Its about making my city safer. His intel could be the key to shutting down major operations. He has connections everywhere, and that’s what I care about. I’m not putting myself on the line for him, I’m doing it for my city.”

“You sure you’re not doing it for your bosses? They up yo ass about getting shit done?”

“I proposed using Aretas. They were against it. Said we were cleaning up just fine but I’m tired of cleaning up after the fact and only getting low level dealers. I want to cut this thing off at the head.”

“At the end of the day that’s my son. I need to know that somebody has his back. Why should I trust that that’s you?”

“Like I said this is my proposal. My bosses made it clear that if he fails I fail. He gives me the wrong intel, he leads us astray, he turns on us, I’m fired. I’m just as invested in his success because I have something to lose too.”

“What’s the offer?”

❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

“Hi, I’m looking for Mike Lowrey?” Shay swallowed down the feeling of nausea, hoping it was just the nerves making her feel this way.

“He’s not in at the moment, but I’m his wife Christine. Is there anything I can do for you?”

Shay hesitates. Could she do anything? Hell she wasn’t sure what this Mike Lowrey could do for her either. She flew all the way to Miami, and for what? Some detective Armando had left the name of in case she needed help? This was a bad idea. She knew he was a cop, and after looking him up a supposedly good one, but how could she trust him when he socialized with a murderer? Ignoring her own dalliances with the man, she could only think about the fact that Detective Mike Lowrey had sworn to arrest people like Armando, not be someone they trusted.

She felt overwhelmed for the millionth time in the past month and a half and was debating just leaving when Christine offered, “why don’t you come in? Mike should be home soon and you can wait inside for him instead of in the heat.”

She wasn’t sure if it was the heat, Christine's sweet voice coupled with the endearing British accent or the way her face screamed warmth, but she found herself saying, “yeah. Yeah okay.”

Christine opened the door wider for her to enter and Shay marveled at the inside of the house as much as she had the outside. This guy was definitely a dirty cop. There was no way he was able to afford this on a detective’s salary. What the hell was she getting herself into?

“Please have a seat,” she gestured towards the couch.  It looked like it was more for the aesthetic than actual use but she was pleasantly surprised to find it very comfortable. “Would you like something to drink? I have water and that disgusting stuff my husband calls sweet tea,” Christine joked.

“Water is fine,” she replied with a smile. Shay watched as Christine stepped past a wall into what she assumes was the kitchen. The creeping sensation of nausea hit her once more. Digging in her purse and finding a ginger chew, she didn’t see Christine come back in the room with a bottle of water. Almost instantaneously she felt relief, so maybe it was all psychosomatic. Just her nerves going haywire.

“How far along are you?” Shay startled at the question.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.

“It’s okay. What makes you think I’m pregnant?”

“I saw the chew and just assumed.” 

She didn’t believe that for a second. “Some assumption based off just a ginger chew. What if I just like them?”

“Honestly the chew was just the cherry on top for my assumption. You hold yourself the same way my sister held herself when she was pregnant for the first time. A bit unsure, scared definitely, but ready for war all the same.”

Well, damn. She didn’t know she gave off that much with just how she stood.

Ignoring how unexpectedly open she felt, she answered Christine’s question from before.“Thirteen weeks.” Suddenly Shay realized how this could look, a random pregnant woman showing up looking for her husband and not telling her what she wants, so she quickly explained. “It’s not your husband’s!”

Christine laughed brightly, “Oh darling the thought never crossed my mind. Mike may have once been that guy, but he’s not anymore. He’s a good man.” Shay kept her doubts to herself.

“Christine? Who’s car is that out front?” The man she assumed to be Mike Lowrey was juggling a duffle bag and struggling to get his keys out of the door, not once looking in their direction.

Smirking like it was a game, Christine replied, “It’s a rental.”

“Why do we need a rental?” He finally looked up, noticing Shay in the room. She could see his guard go right back up.

“Mike, this is Shay. She was hoping to speak with you,” his wife explained to him.

“Do I know you?” He was blunt but not unkind with his words, something she hoped would continue in their conversation.

“Mike!” Christine admonished before turning to Shay with, “Please, excuse Mike. He can bring his interrogation tactics into other parts of his life sometimes.”

“It’s okay. If a random woman showed up saying she needed to speak to me, I’d probably question it too.” She was hoping her understanding would get her some traction and not immediately thrown out when he found out why she was here.

Mike still held caution in his face. “So…?” He left the obvious question unspoken, wondering who she was and why she was here in his home.

Shay paused. She wasn’t sure how to bring it up and didn’t want to say anything in front of his wife in case she truly had no clue her husband was a dirty cop. She may have been desperate enough to find this guy,  but she wasn’t going to be the one to ruin this poor woman’s marriage.

Luckily Christine picked up on her reluctance to speak in front of an audience and excused herself. “I’m going to head upstairs for a moment, give you two some time to talk.”

While Shay relaxed, Mike tensed. Once Christine was gone, he questioned her. “Who the hell are you and what do you want?”

“I was told if I ever needed anything, I should find you.”

Mike carefully focused his attention on sitting his duffle near the armchair, going to take a seat himself. He might not be looking directly at her anymore, but she knew all of his attention was on her as he spoke. “Who the fuck told you that? Better yet, why my house? Why not meet me in the station?”

Ignoring the second question, she replied, “Armando Aretas.”

Mike’s head snapped back to her. She was almost concerned for his neck with how fast he moved.

Continuing at his silence she said, “I figured you wouldn’t want to discuss him at work.”

“What about him?”

“He was in LA a few months ago.”

He first whispered to himself, “Dumbass don’t listen.” Then he spoke louder, clearly to her this time, “What does this have to do with you and why you’re here?”

She wasn’t sure where to start. How does one tell a dirty cop working for one’s murderer baby daddy that you need him to tell said baby daddy you were pregnant? “We were…together. I’m pregnant now.” She hoped he would catch on without her spelling it out but he didn’t.

Instead, Mike blinked. “What?” A million unidentifiable emotions ran over his face before he carefully shut it down, facing her with no emotion at all now.

“I am with child, in the family way, carrying a bun in the oven, whatever you want to call it.” There was still no response from him so she continued her rant, “look I’m not asking for him to come back or pay for anything. I’m fully prepared to take care of this kid myself, but not even trying to tell him was weighing on my conscience. So I figured if I found you like he said, you could pass on the message for me. I just need to be able to know I did everything I could to let him know.”

She had prepared for a lot of responses to her plea. Anger on Armando’s behalf, a dismissal, hell even laughter at her audacity, but his next words were ones she somehow missed in her spiral. “I’m not in contact with him.”

Shay tried not to be hurt at his response, not for herself, but for her baby. Okay, well a little bit for herself. She was in love with the man-yes, still- and knowing he truly didn’t leave a way to contact him again crushed the little bit of hope his note had left behind. Why would he send her to Mike if it wasn’t a way to get in touch with him? “So why would he tell me to find you?”

A pause.

“Armando’s my son.”

The statement was so far from what she was expecting to hear that she paused. “Wait so you don’t…you don’t work for him? With him? Whatever.”

Mike laughed loudly, “nah, I don’t work in that world. I stand by the badge.”

“So how did he…?” She trailed off, confused.

“Look our situation is…complicated, but if he sent you in my direction I’m gonna help you in any way I can. I mean, I’d love to get to know you and be in my grandchild’s life if you’ll let me.” His words were reminiscent of the night she had asked Armando about his family. He too had called his relationship with his father complicated.

Despite the unknown of it all, his offer was partly the reason she had found Mike. A family for her child, something she never really had. “Yeah. Yeah I’d like that.” It may not be exactly what she was looking for, but she would take what she could get. At least her baby would have some connection to their father’s side of the family. But she still had a question, one that had no answer now that her assumptions were corrected.

“So if you aren’t dirty, how do you afford living like this?”

Mike let out a laugh louder than the one from before. “I’m a trust fund kid. Never really had to work but all I’ve ever wanted was to be a cop.”

“Sounds like one hell of a trust fund,” she scoffed.

Turning serious he impressed, “One that continues to grow from a few investments made along the way. This kid will have that same freedom. They’ll be able to do whatever they want in life and never have to worry about money.”

That statement alone almost made her cry. She didn’t have much growing up, wondering if she and her mother would even be able to eat everyday. When she had found out she was pregnant, despite making more money than her mother did she found herself worrying her child would have those same experiences.

She may not have Armando, a partner she’d hoped to have, but he had made sure she had everything she needed.

❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

Habitual but flexible.

That was Armando’s motto. Habitual in the precautions he took but flexible enough everywhere else to not create patterns. Patterns were how you got caught, and Armando refused to be put in another cage. He always double checked his locks when he left his place, checked his surroundings before leaving and arriving at his place so as not to run into his neighbors. The less people who could identify him the better.

Which is why seeing his door wide open as he turned onto his street was so unsettling.

Normally he would just leave town, dump this alias and start over with another elsewhere, but there were a few things he didn’t want to part with. Upon his first return to Mexico, he had managed to find his mother’s emergency stash and in it was a photo of the two of them before he was forced out of the prison when he turned six. Despite his conflicted feelings on his mother’s choices and the lies she told him, he still loved her and this was all he had left of her.

If she were around she’d chastise his sentimentality.

He also had a letter his father had written him when he left Miami that he kept because even with the complexity of their relationship, he still wished he’d had the opportunity to get to know him. He wished he could have done things differently. That letter may be his only chance to know his father, even a little bit.

The last thing was a photo of Shay. He had taken it one morning before he left on a polaroid camera she had lying around. The sun had been rising and he remembered wishing what they had could be real, that he could stay in bed and wake up with her instead of having to run out and lie all the time. It was the only thing he had left of the only relationship he’d ever have again.

So he weighed his options. Either he went in and fought whoever was there, grabbed his things and hopefully made it out in time to not get caught, or he left now and hoped whoever it was left without calling for backup so he could get his things before leaving town. He either risked his freedom or he risked losing the only items that reminded him of his humanity forever.

He pulled his gun and carefully made his way into the apartment he’d called home for a couple weeks.

“Don’t shoot, it’s just me.”

Armando relaxed, but kept his gun in his hand. “What are you doing here Detective?” His tone was snippy, as though his father speaking to him was a bother. He knew that wasn’t true, but it was like he couldn’t help the animosity that came out when he spoke to his father. No matter how much he’d love to try with the man, he’d just get so angry about it all that it came out confrontational.

“What? A man can’t see his son?” Mike didn’t rise to the obvious bait of his tone, instead trying to lighten the mood with a tease.

Armando simply raised an eyebrow at the deflection. “Not when that man is a decorated detective and his son is a fugitive,” he coldly stated. He needed to know what Mike wanted so he could get on with his life. Who knows how many eyes are on the man, he was risking Armando’s freedom, not that he seemed to care. Irritated at the lack of concern for him, he accused, “you risked the badge once just to let me go, you won’t risk it again, not even for me. It means too much to you.” I don’t mean enough to you went unsaid but not unheard.

“Armando I’d risk everything for you.” The fight left Mike, and he sighed, finding a seat on the edge of the bed. “You’re my son and I know I’m not the best at showing it, but that shit means something to me. Our relationship means something to me. I didn’t have the best relationship with my father so I told myself I wouldn’t have kids cause I didn’t want to repeat the cycle. But then I found out about you. And despite the fact that circumstances made it so it isn’t easy, I still don’t want the cycle to be repeated. I love you man. I’ll do whatever you need me to, to prove that to you. Including walking away if you say no to my proposal.”

There it was. The real reason he was here now, he needed something like always. Armando put his gun away in exasperation. He was so tired of just being used that he couldn’t help but get a jab in. “Whatever man. This don’t mean shit to you. It’s all transactional for you, I’m good enough to help you get what you want and that’s why you come around. So what is it this time?”

“Is that what you think? That I don’t care about you?” What the hell else was he supposed to think?

“If you did, you would have come to see me in prison without needing my help on a case.” He argued before quietly following up with, “I would have been enough of a reason to visit.” He hated when this stupid hurt boy routine flared up. He looked weak, like una puta.

Mike stood and stepped close to Armando. Refusing to back down, Armando met his stare head on, ignoring the way his throat was getting tight and tears were pooling in his eyes. “Armando I never needed you on those cases. I knew that if I could get intel from you and put you down on paper, it would help you out. I was trying to help.” He blinked and a single tear made its way down his face. It was too much now and he had to look away.

Mike placed a hand on his shoulder, continuing, “I love you. Nothing is more real than that. If I had known you would take my help as me using you, I never would’ve asked for your help.”

Facing his father once more, Armando spoke lowly, “Si lo hubieras sabido, ¿te habría importado?” He didn’t explain what he meant, knowing his father understood what he was asking.

“Nada me hubiera importado más.” Mike asserted.

He nodded, finally having an answer to the question that had been burning inside him. He focused on the reason Mike was in front of him, not the emotions his answer stirred in him. “What’s the proposal?” He asked much more calmly this time around.

“LAPD is starting up a team like AMMO. They were hoping to recruit you to be a part of it, use your knowledge to help stop cartel drugs from entering the states.”

“And go back in a cage? No I’m good.” He shook his head, a clear no coming from him.

“You wouldn’t be arrested again, you’d be put up in an apartment. Free to walk the city after an initial probationary period of just work and home. After that, there would be twenty-four hour surveillance, random drug tests and check-ins. Eventually you would become a private citizen.”

It sounded like a trap. “If I don’t give them what they want I get arrested right?”

“Yeah, but I have all the faith you’ll be great at it. Plus I made sure it was as ironclad for you as possible.”

“Why would I agree to this? Sounds like a lot could go wrong and land me back in prison. If that happens I’m never getting out again.”

“You aren’t the killer your mother made you into. You only did any of it because she fueled you with rage and ideas of revenge before she pointed you at a target. If you were really a killer, you would’ve killed me anyway. You live by a code, and only do what’s necessary. No more, no less.”

Sometimes when he was feeling really low he’d think about what his life would have been like if he’d had a normal life. Would he have chosen violence anyway? He’d like to think he’d hav e chosen to protect. Maybe be a firefighter or an EMT cause he was still an adrenaline junkie, but maybe he wouldn’t have to hurt anybody. If his father was saying the same thing he thought, then maybe he could believe it to be true. Before he could think on it, his father spoke once more, shifting his whole world.

“Besides, Shay’s pregnant. We not giving another generation of Lowrey these bullshit daddy issues.”

❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

Six Months Later

“Marcus we ain’t got time for that shit.”

“I just asked the man a question!”

“No, you used the question as a cover to try and buy some damn skittles.”

“Oh so now you the skittle police? I thought we worked narcotics?”

“Yo ass ain’t supposed to have that shit and you know it. Don’t try to make it out like I’m the one that’s going overboard.”

“Aye Mike what would they call the skittle department? The rainbow division? Don’t worry everybody! Mike Lowry is working the rainbow!”

“That’s homophobic.”

“It’s the slogan! What else would it be called Mike?”

“Why the fuck are you here?”

“Man fuck you-“

“Your presence really wasn’t needed-“

“I’m just trying to be a good friend-“

“This is a moment for my family-“

“And now I’m not family to you?!”

“You called my family fucked up remember?”

“Yo son was tryna kill us and his mama was gonna let us burn in a fire!”

“Are you pendejos done?”

“Mike! That mean assholes right?”

“Yeah he just called us assholes. But Imma let it slide cause he got to be high on that new father shit to call me an asshole.”

“Nah I just think he don’t respect you. That’s what you get for not raising him. My boys would never.”

“Marcus!”

Shay knew this could devolve again if she didn’t get their attention. “Guys! Do you want to meet her?”

The men focused their attention on the baby Shay was holding against her chest. Marcus visibly melted at the sight, Mike simply softening his shoulders with a small smile. 

Armando joined Shay, leaning on the bed using a finger to trace down their daughter’s arm. When he spoke, he kept his eyes on his daughter. “This is Amada Rose Lowrey.”

“Lowrey?”Mike coughed.

Armando shrugged. “I wasn’t actually an Aretas, I was supposed to be a Lowrey. Figured she and I could claim our real family name.”

Mike nodded. “That’s cool man. Real cool,” he choked out.

“Awe Mike,” Marcus cried.

“Mm-mm Marcus. Stop it right now.”

“But Mike he’s taking your last name!”

Ignoring his bumbling partner, Mike walks over to Shay, giving her a kiss on the forehead. “How you doing Mama?”

“Extremely sore, but happy.”

“Well you did good, she’s beautiful.”

“You wanna hold her?”

Knowing his father’s aversion to holding babies, he goads hims, “Yeah Papa, wanna hold her?”

Surprising them all, he said, “You know what? I will.”

Shay handed her daughter over to Mike, making sure he supported her head correctly.

Armando joined Shay on the bed and wrapped her in his arms now that she wasn’t holding the baby. He simply watched his father holding and whispering to his baby girl with fond eyes, knowing his daughter would know nothing but love and presence from the man. They would have a real relationship right from the start. He and Mike themselves had been working on things, talking through the lies and anger and getting to a better place.

“How’s work? They give you any time off?” Marcus asked him.

In the end there hadn’t been a choice. He was going to be present in his child’s life, no matter what and sneaking into LA would just get riskier every time he did it. If he didn’t get caught just trying to get to his family, he would’ve gotten caught because if how much he would’ve been there to see them. And he’d be damned if he was raising his child from behind bars so he took Agent Garrett up on her offer.

He turned to face his uncle, replying, “Good, we wrapped a case a day before Shay went into labor. I’ll have about a couple weeks at home with the girls before I’m expected back.” 

It had somewhat surprised him how seriously Marcus had taken to being his uncle. The man was supportive of his new role with the LAPD and called almost as often as his father did, checking in and making sure he was being safe. Seeing him at the hospital now wasn’t a shock at all.

“I’m just glad they gave him any time at all,” Shay interrupted. As his employment with the LAPD wasn’t under normal circumstances, he wasn’t sure if they’d grant him time at home with his girls. Agent Garrett had stuck her neck out for him once again and gotten him twelve days exactly.

Armando leaned down and kissed her, forever grateful for the woman who stood by his side despite his past. She had lost a couple friends when they found out who he was, the ones that stayed had definitely judged her and never truly came around to him as a person. She never wavered though, taking it all with grace and holding his hand as they planed for their future. He couldn’t wait to ask her to marry him.

Amada let out a cry, disrupting his internal debate on the pros and cons of asking her right that moment. He knew it probably meant she was hungry again, so he shifted his hold on Shay so she could get the b baby again and feed her.

“I think that’s a cry for mommy,” Mike chimed as he passed the baby back.

“Yeah Mike you ain’t got the right equipment,” Marcus tossed out.

Mike turned to Marcus incredulously. “Now why would you say some dumb shit like that?”

“You don’t!”

Armando turned his attention from the bickering men, whispering to his little family, “Here they go.”

Honestly, though? He wouldn’t trade his family for nothing.

A/N: Don't forget to leave a comment or reblog/like! What did we think? I have a few other ideas in mind for Armando but I'm not sure how they'll play out, so I'm CAUTIOUSLY open to prompt from you guys for drabbles. Please keep in mind that I can't do smut.😅

Translations:

Una Puta - A bitch

Si lo hubieras sabido, ¿te habría importado? - If you had known, would you have cared?

Nada me hubiera importado más. -Nothing would have mattered to me more.

Pendejos - Assholes

Taglist:

@yeahnohoneybye @bootlegroach @omg-mymelaninisbeautiful

[astrobei]

hey :) so i was wondering if you could incorporate 3, 12 and 50 into a single one shot ? bc that would be Amazing but if you don't want you you can just pick whichever haha

challenge accepted !! this was super fun to write thank you !! :^)

3, 12, and 50 for touch prompts: hiding face in neck + pushing a strand of hair behind their ear + putting a hand over the other’s mouth to shut them up

If you’d asked Mike, a few years ago, how he thought he’d end up dying, he’d have a few different guesses. Clawed to death by monsters, maybe, was up at the top of his list for a while there. Shot to death by government agents also made the top five more than once, which was kind of worrying. And it was probably very concerning that getting stomped on, impaled, or eaten by an alien supermonster hivemind was on there at all.

Suffice it to say that he didn’t die in any of those ways, since Mike is currently, in the present moment, alive. But probably not for long. He’s seen some shit, and he hasn’t even graduated college, and maybe it’s a little bit pathetic that after all of that– the monsters and the Russians and the end of the world– that this is how he really dies: backed up against the wall at some completely questionable house party, being flirted with by Will Byers.

At least, that’s what Mike thinks is going on here. If he’s being totally honest, he doesn’t have all that much experience in the flirting department, considering that the one person he’d ever dated hadn’t done much flirting and the one person he had maybe wanted to flirt with hadn’t–

Well, it doesn’t matter. Said person is doing it now, and for all of Mike’s past reminiscence and speculation on the topic, he didn’t think it would be happening like this.

“You look nice tonight,” Will is saying, barely audible over the low thrum of music in the background. They’re not even somewhere particularly loud– the hallway is a blessed reprieve from the chaos of whatever is happening in the living room, but Will’s voice has dropped into something low and intentional. He smiles. “You should wear more green.”

Oh, god. Mike is going to die.

“Uh. Really?” he says, in what’s definitely not a squeak. It comes out assured and confident and–

Oh, who is he kidding? Will’s smile grows, surely delighted at the unfortunate crack in Mike’s voice. He leans in a bit closer, and it’s barely a few inches, but he might as well have just pushed Mike up against the wall and–

“Yeah,” Will whispers, so soft that Mike has to lean in another inch to hear him. He reaches a hand out and runs a thumb along the hem of Mike’s sweater, the side of his wrist brushing softly against Mike’s collarbone. Mike’s heart stops dead, still and unmoving and seized up, right there in his chest cavity. “It’s definitely your color.”

“Oh,” Mike breathes, and yeah.

So Will might be flirting with him, is the bottom line here, and the issue isn’t so much that it’s unwelcome– the opposite, in fact. Mike feels a little bit like if he weren’t caged in by Will’s arm on one side of his chest and the adjacent wall on the other, then his soul might be just flying right out of his body altogether. It feels like maybe it’s already halfway there, because Will’s gaze is steady, eyes sparkling with amusement even in the dim light of the hallway, and wow, are his hands shaking?

For his own sake, he hopes not. 

And the issue isn’t that it’s unwelcome, but more so that in all his years of existence and all the crazy shit he’s seen, somehow, being flirted with by Will Byers was lower on the list of things Mike thought might happen to him someday than interdimensional portals or his telekinetically gifted ex-girlfriend.

“You look nice too,” Mike gets out, in a surprisingly even voice. Will does look nice, so this isn’t a difficult sentiment to portray by any means. He’s swapped out one of his usual sweaters, big and worn comfortably around the edges and all down the seams, for something a little more fitted. It’s a soft cream color, and Mike doesn’t know where Will got this, because he’s been shopping at the same stores the entire time since they moved here for school and none of them carry clothes like this. Mature, a little grown up, and really, really attractive.

Will lets out a small, pleased noise. “Yeah?”

“How many drinks have you had?” Mike peers suspiciously down at him, because it’s not like Will is an idiot, per se, or super uptight about these sorts of things, but he’s not usually this– this bold. If Mike is going to be blunt about it, Will has never been this bold before and maybe it’s about time, but that doesn’t mean Mike is any more ready for it.

Not that he’s complaining. Oh, god.

“One,” Will grins. “Why? How many have you had?”

Christ. Mike swallows, and says, “Like, half. It was nasty so I just– um. Left it there. Heads up, by the way, don’t drink the jungle juice.”

“Noted,” Will laughs. It does something to Mike’s stomach, watching the way his shoulders relax, like he’s comfortable and at ease here, standing in front of Mike all up close and personal in a dark corner of a dark hallway with– oh, god– no one around.

“Yeah,” Mike says, kind of lamely, and notices belatedly that his gaze has settled somewhere around the general vicinity of Will’s mouth sometime in the last forty seconds or so. Maybe longer, if he’s being totally honest, but who’s counting, right?

(Mike. Mike is counting.)

“So anyway,” Will continues, without missing a beat. “You look really good in green. I don’t know why you never wear colors.”

“It’s not on purpose,” Mike insists, even though it kind of is, because it’s a lot harder to accidentally look like an idiot if all of your clothes match by default. “I don’t know, I just– I don’t have a reason to?”

“Okay, well,” Will starts, and then he moves forward until their chests are almost flush against each other, and Mike is seriously, seriously backed into a corner, even more than he was before. Both metaphorically and extremely literally. “It looks nice with your hair,” Will murmurs, and reaches a hand up to tug lightly at a strand falling loose around Mike’s face.

Will smells really nice, actually, like the good cologne he wears on special occasions, and Mike doesn’t know why he dressed up so nice to go to a party where you have to scoop your drinks out of a bowl with a red plastic cup, but hey. Again, he’s not complaining.

“My– my hair?” Mike asks faintly, because it’s just his hair, and he hasn’t ever given it much thought before now, because it’s only hair. Black and just long enough to land on this side of inconvenient, but suddenly Will has one hand in it and it’s not just hair anymore, but maybe the best thing to ever happen to him.

Will nods. He looks a little pink, which is quite possibly the most endearing thing Mike has ever seen, and it’s also more of a confidence booster than it probably should be, that Will hasn’t turned into a total smooth-talking Casanova out of literally nowhere. That maybe he’s losing his shit just as much as Mike is right now.

“Yeah,” Will says, and yeah, his voice catches just a little bit on the single syllable, and Mike bites back a pleased smile. “It looks really good with your hair,” he says again, then tucks the loose strand carefully behind Mike’s ear. “So that’s one reason.”

“I hardly think that’s good enough reason to redo my entire wardrobe,” Mike says, egged on just a little bit by the way Will is definitely turning more pink by the second.

“It brings out your eyes too,” Will murmurs, looking steadily up at him. It’s hard to tell exactly what he’s thinking– half his face is drowned out in shadow and the proximity is rendering Mike kind of useless altogether– but Mike thinks maybe he has a guess.

He blinks. “My eyes?”

“Mhm.” Will strokes the pad of one thumb over the skin there, just over his cheekbone. Mike instantly forgets how to breathe. Christ. “They’re pretty.”

“I– are you sure you’re not drunk?”

“Stone-cold sober,” Will assures him. “Why? Who’s asking?”

Me, Mike thinks, me, me, me. What he says is, “Um. Someone.”

Will raises an eyebrow, but he keeps his hand right where it is– resting on Mike’s cheek, thumb under his eye, and oh, god. Mike is going to die. 

“Someone?”

“You don’t know him?” Mike tries.

“Shame,” Will says noncommittally, and it sounds like he might be on the verge of laughing again. He steps back, the vacuum-seal proximity between their bodies vanishing in an instant as the air of the room rushes in all at once– stifling, stuffy, a little warm and sweaty and immediately, it’s like the noise in the place has been cranked up to ten.

Was it this loud in here all along?

Mike is going to scream. He’s going to die, right here in the hallway, and then he’s going to scream some more. “Where are you going?” he asks, and it comes out a bit petulant and a bit needy and way, way too thrown off-guard for his liking, but he can’t find it in himself to care. The lingering warmth of Will’s palm against his cheek is something he’s already missing like it’s a physical thing.

“Who’s asking?” Will says again, and dear god, if Mike had known before what it would have been like to be flirted with Will Byers, he would have, like, grabbed a couple witnesses and signed off an early copy of his last will and testament, bequeathed his meager belongings to whomever they may concern, then laid himself down to die in peace.

“Me,” Mike blurts out this time, taking a step forward from the wall and grabbing Will’s wrist. “I’m asking because I think you shouldn’t go and you should just stay here with me and– and flirt with me some more, because, um. That was nice, and I liked that, even if I thought I was going to die for a minute there, and if you go then– um. You can’t flirt with me anymore?”

Will smiles for real this time, wide and shocked and pleased. “Yeah?” And it’s a little shy when he says it, like maybe he didn’t actually expect this to go anywhere, like he didn’t expect Mike to grow a fucking pair and stop melting into the floor long enough to reciprocate.

“Yeah,” Mike whispers, and he’s just started to pull Will back towards him, Will already stumbling a little with the motion, when he hears a voice from around the doorframe they’re currently maybe ten feet away from.

“Mike? Will?”

“Shit,” Will mutters, eyes wide. “What the hell is Max doing here? I thought she was upstairs.”

Mike opens his mouth to answer when a second voice responds, “I swear I saw them go through here,” and it might be Dustin and it might be Lucas but all that’s really important is that whoever it is is close, and Mike doesn’t know if he has the cardiac strength in him to go through all of this again later, and all of his brainpower is currently being used to not pass out on the spot, and–

Lucky for him, Will has his shit marginally more together. “Here,” he’s saying, then there are fingers wrapping around Mike’s forearm and before he can fully process what’s happening, he’s being dragged in the opposite direction. Will throws open a door, then shoves Mike inside.

Mike wrinkles his nose. “It smells like feet in here,” he says, and he can’t see Will’s face because it’s pitch black in– wherever they are– but he’s willing to bet real money that he’s rolling his eyes.

“Coat closet,” Will says simply, “now shut up.”

Okay, yeah, makes sense. There’s something heavy and soft brushing up against Mike’s side, and he takes a couple steps backwards until he can feel the wall behind him. God, okay. This is fine. This is fine. This is–

“You know,” Mike says, as if this will distract him from his unnecessarily sweaty palms, “you didn’t have to ambush–”

Quick as lightning, Will claps a hand over Mike’s mouth. “If you want to kiss me,” Will hisses, and, okay, he’s pressed up against Mike again, which is fine, it’s great, actually– “I’m going to need you to shut up.”

The footsteps come closer. Mike holds his breath. He thinks maybe Will is too because he can’t hear him breathe, and he’s gone tense and still where he’s pressed up against Mike. A voice that’s definitely Dustin’s is grumbling, “Man, if I find them and the taco place down the street is already closed, I’m going to kill him.”

Mike bites back a laugh. The taco place closed twenty minutes ago, which he knows, because he’d been on his way to find Dustin when he’d– when he’d run into Will in the hallway.

Oh, god.

“Are they gone?” Will whispers, as if his hand is not currently over Mike’s mouth. He clears his throat like hello, and Will drops his hand. “Oh. Right. Sorry.”

“Who said I wanted to kiss you,” Mike says hoarsely, and Will’s hand pauses somewhere between his collarbone and sternum.

“Well,” he hears Will say, still entirely invisible in the dark save for a few dots of faint light coming in through the slats in the door. “You don’t have to kiss me. If you don’t want to.”

For the first time all evening, Will sounds a little hesitant. No, Mike thinks. He can’t have that. He shakes his head, even though Will can’t see him. “Let’s not be too hasty here, okay, I didn’t say that.”

A pause. “Yeah?” Will says, a little shy, almost. “You want to kiss me?”

Screw it. 

“I do,” Mike says, as earnestly as he can find in himself to muster up, and he hears Will breathe in sharply somewhere in front of him. “I really, really want to–”

To Will’s credit, kissing in the dark probably wouldn’t work out for anybody. Mike is a few inches taller and the angle is a bit off, and it’s pretty impressive, if he’s being honest, that Will’s mouth lands mostly on his. Which should also not be rendering Mike as totally speechless as it is– being kissed on the corner of his lips in an awkward, clumsily endearing sort of way– but Will has always surprised him. “Shit,” Will says, pulling back slightly, “sorry, I was trying to guess where you were, and I–”

“It’s cool,” Mike hears himself say, and he didn’t mean to say it, but it seems that his brain has sort of kicked itself into autopilot mode, because he’s reaching out before he can really think about what he’s doing. His hand brushes Will’s shoulder, and he moves it up against the side of his neck, and says, hesitating, “Here– let’s try this.”

“Okay,” Will says softly, not even a whisper with how quiet it comes out. Mike drags a hand into Will’s hair, brings the other one to cup his cheek, and slowly, slowly moves forward.

“I’m going to kiss you,” Mike murmurs, tracing a thumb over the curve of Will’s lower lip, grounding himself. “Um. Just so you know that I’m, like, coming in.”

“Okay,” Will says again, and then Mike kisses him.

It’s instantly better this time– so much better, Mike thinks, immediately going lightheaded with the sensation of it. It’s like every other sense is dialed up to eleven in the dark– Will’s hair soft against his hand, the scent of his cologne, the faint taste of orange soda on his lips. The soft, startled noise Will makes in the back of his throat, cut off like it escaped him before he could stop himself, and that thought is enough to make Mike’s stomach swoop in a dizzying sort of way, that Will really wanted to kiss him so badly that he just couldn’t help himself, that maybe he thought about it in all the same ways Mike had. That maybe he came up with a hundred and one ways it might happen and maybe this was a possibility, in Will’s mind– a coat closet in the dark, barely one drink in.

“I can’t see you,” Will says, pulling back so that their lips are just barely brushing against each other. He’s got his hands on either side of Mike’s neck, like he’s anchoring himself lest he drift away entirely in the dark.

Mike lowers his hands, pulls Will in by the waist– the solid planes of his back, the soft fabric of this sweater, this goddamn sweater– and says, “You’re the one that kissed me in the dark, you idiot.”

Will makes a small noise of affront. “You’re the one that asked me to,” he says, a little smugly, which technically isn’t the most true statement, but Mike supposes that he had kind of set himself up to be kissed, so maybe he should let this one slide. And then Will runs a thumb along to his chin, tilts his face down, slowly, slowly, and kisses him again– and Mike can’t remember what exactly it was he was protesting.

Maybe Will had been onto something, because Mike is pretty chuffed about not being able to actually see the person he’s kissing, especially when that person is Will, who Mike spent a disproportionate amount of time wanting to look at even before this whole thing went down, but this is pretty nice for now, he thinks, as Will presses him a little more firmly into the wall. And that’s also nice, because Mike thinks he might be dying, and the solid parallel weights of the wall behind him and Will in front of him might be the only thing keeping him from keeling over entirely.

“Okay,” Mike says, pulling back, which is nowhere close to his top ten most intelligent moments of all time. Or even twenty, maybe. “You–”

The rest of the sentence gets lost to the sands of time, because the door is flying open so fast that Will flinches, and Mike tightens his grip around his waist on instinct. “What–”

“Oh,” Max Mayfield is saying, arms crossed. “This is where you two disappeared to.”

Mike closes his eyes, and prays to whichever higher power might be listening for a rapid, painless death.

Nothing happens. Figures.

“Come on, man,” he hears Dustin say, “we were looking for you guys!”

“We know,” Mike says, and then immediately wants to sink through the floor and disappear at the way his voice cracks, just a little. It’s barely noticeable, really, but his friends are like sharks in blood-infested waters. Lucas’ smug grin grows so wide that Mike considers just leaning over and smacking it off his face.

“Oh,” he says, far too gleefully for Mike’s liking, “so is this what you meant by I’m going to go look for Dustin, Mike?”

“Didn’t realize I took up residence near Will’s tonsils,” Dustin grumbles.

Will groans, dropping his head to Mike’s shoulder. “Never talk about my tonsils again,” he mumbles against Mike’s collarbone, but he’s smiling. Mike can tell, even if he can’t see him.

“Not even if they’re inflamed?”

Will doesn’t pull away, just shakes his head and tightens his arms where they’re wrapped around Mike’s neck. Despite himself, despite the way his face feels about a million degrees warm right now, Mike smiles. “No,” Will says simply. “All of you go away.”

“Yeah, I bet you want us to,” Max says, “but I’m serious. We gotta go. Someone just threw up on the couch and it’s nasty in there.”

Mike wrinkles his nose. “Way to kill the mood.”

“Mission accomplished,” Max says, and wiggles her car keys in the air. “I’m leaving in five, with or without you.”

“I don’t want to stay here with the puke sofa,” Mike admits, pulling away with no small amount of reluctance. “So we should probably–”

“Yeah,” Will agrees, pressing a kiss to Mike’s cheek. “Now come on. I want to be able to see you when I kiss you this time.”

It’s a good thing the hallway is still dark, because Mike goes very, very red.

[hennyjwrites]

Hi! I have a fluffy Aaron Hotchner request:

Aaron with a BAU reader who LOVES all things stereotypically “girly”, like always wearing cute skirts and pretty tops, being up to date on the latest fashion trends, and having the cutest stationary possible, the whole works. But something happens and she starts feeling insecure about being so girly in a very professional and male dominated field. Aaron saves the day by giving her lots of reassurance (and maybe even a kiss <3)

Everyone was used to your bubbly personality, and colorful clothing. Some were confused on how you could remain so cheerful and nice, with your job. All you saw was grueling and horrible things everyday. But somehow you still remained a nice woman with an even more beautiful personality. That's what drew Aaron Hotchner to you. Everyone knew you and your fiancé were complete opposites but that's why you both were perfect for each other.

A case in Alaska had everyone's fuse short. The police officers who were supposed to be helping you with the case, were icing you and your team out. It was like the battle of the forces between you guys. The BAU team tried their hardest to not let the snobby comments, and run over interviews bother them but it was getting hard. You walked through the station, in your pink t-shirt, and light pink jeans carrying trays of coffee and donuts. You were trying to ease everyone's minds.

Your team graciously took your offer with small smiles and thank you’s. Walking through the precinct, setting the snacks down on the officers desk, some took your gesture nicely. As you went to sit one down in front of an officer, he looked up at you.

“You think filling us up with coffee and donuts is suddenly going to put us on the same side?” He spoke standing in front of you. The vein in his forehead was bulging to the point it looked painful. You were confused, you were just trying to do a nice gesture for everyone. “I just thought-“ you spoke gently in order not to cause an issue.

“You thought what, pinky?” He smeared. “You thought that coming here, dressed like a kid handing out treats like a easy going bitch, would make everyone all of a sudden get along.” He took a step close to you, making one of the other officers take a step closer to the situation in worry. “Hey, Mike, why don't you just lay off?” She spoke up. “No! How about Mrs. Pink Perfect over here take her smug team and get the hell out of my town!.” His outburst made you jump.

Your team snapped towards him from his outburst. Aaron could see from your body language that you were timid. “What's going on here?” Aarons stone cold voice interrupted. You peaked up at him, a look of sadness on your face. Looking between both, you and the cop, Aaron frown dropped more. “Watch how you talk to my agents, officer, we understand that we are in your jurisdiction but don’t forget that we were invited by your boss. The next time this happens you will be reported for insubordination.”

When the officer backed down Aaron looked at you as a sign to follow him before turning on his heel. You followed behind him quickly, setting the treats on a nearby table. Aaron waited for you to enter the room before shutting the door behind you.

“Are you alright honey?” His tough unit chief act dropped to the loving man you knew he was.

You sighed, looking down at your clothes. “Maybe I do look like a child,” you thought. “I'm fine Aaron.” You smiled, sadly making him frown at you. He knew when you were lying.

“Whatever, officer Jones said to you, just know it wasn't true.” He told you, ignoring your untrue statement.

You sighed knowing you couldn’t hide anything from him. “Do you?” You paused. “Do you think I'm childish?” You asked, sadly. Aaron looked at you confused, but waited for you to elaborate more. “Officer Mike said that I look like a child from my outfit choices.”

“Baby.” Aaron spoke softly. You looked up at him, with a saddened look. Aaron could feel his heart breaking at the sight. “I think that you are the most wonderful woman I've ever met. Your clothes bring out the brightness in everyone's world, especially with this job. Don't let someone ruin your style.`` He picked up your chin, and placed a small kiss on your lips.

When you smile into the kiss, he pulls away to see your small smile. “You alright?” When you nod your head. He pulls you towards the door. “If it makes you feel any better, his suit is too tight, he's cutting off the circulation around his throat.” He mumbled, making you giggle as you walked out the room and back to your job.

[soupmanspeaks]

the topic of Helpy makes me go insane /pos like I have this headcanon that William/Springtrap just, DESPISED Helpy because William took heaps of pride from the Funtime line of Animatronics, he saw it as his son's crude mocking of HIS creations, when in reality its just Michaelangelo S Afton trying to use humor to once again cope with the horrors™️ Like I've probably said this here before but I headcanon that Helpy found his way into the PizzaPlex's marketing is because after the FNAF6 fire he just was under the rubble remarkably preserved or something and instead of going into the RockStarRow Museum, the FazExecs had dollar signs in their eyes and were like "yeah, that one will make us bank, ong" Ive also probably said this (bad memory sozzz) but a headcanon to go in tandem with that headcanon, is that Glamfreddy sighs in resignation whenever he passes by one of those Helpy monitors (he wasn't paid royaltys <//3 ) AND LIKE I GOTTA KNOW WHAT (glam)MIKE WOULD THINK OF THE ENTITY THAT IS SATAN DISGUISING HIMSELF AS AN AGENT OF LIGHT (Helpi) WOULD HE FEEL SAD? ANGRY? AT THE MIMIC? THE COMPANY?! please the topic of helpy is so interesting PLEAs-

[pholiabanna]

Mike and expressing feelings

Maybe this is controversial, but a very popular take in the stranger things fandom is that Mike has trouble communicating his feelings. Melvins use this as an excuse for him not saying ily to El, but some bylers also seem to believe he does have trouble.

However, basing myself on what I've seen portrayed on the show so far, I don't think that's the case. Ever since season one, Mike has been very vocal about expressing his discomfort or disagreement. From confronting his own dad ("I'm the only one who cares about Will") to screaming at Hopper (when he hits him and calls him "liar", he didn't precisely struggle with letting him know how frustrated and angry he felt). He also has no trouble standing up against authority figures (Hopper when he said they couldn't look for Will, Owen's agents who he didn't trust enough to stay on lockdown...).

My point is, him rarely opening up about his feelings hasn't been established on screen for his character either. Since he's the leader of the party, that role can only work if he expresses how he feels about plans or situations, which he does in all seasons.

The only feelings he's having trouble communicating are his love for Will and his lack of (romantic) love for El. But in my opinion, this isn't because he's a person that normally struggles with voicing how he's feeling.

It's a really hard situation for him because to begin with, being in the process of accepting your queerness in 80s America had to be terrifying, so things like being scared of El's or Will's reactions definitely come into play.

Also the guilt. He can't tell El he doesn't wanna date her, because seeing her cry in front of him while asking him why he doesn't say he loves her, knowing what she's gone through, breaks his heart. He's a compassionate person, and even if he's not in love with her, it doesn't mean that he doesn't care about her, and given she's going through a terrible time with the loss of Hopper, he puts her before himself and tries to be the best boyfriend he can for her. But the heart wants what the heart wants, so he can't say "I'm in love with you" because he isn't. He can't express his romantic feelings for her, but not because he's a boy that struggles with expressing his own feelings, but rather because those romantic feelings don't exist. And his true nature would be telling her the truth (and in my opinion, all of his talks with Will in season 4 were about him building up courage to eventually tell her that, because again, he's a boy that likes to be vocal about his opinions and he's trying to overcome the fear of rejection in this particular case, which is what's holding him back from his natural state).

He's also not opening up with Will at the beggining of the season for this particular reason. He's coming to terms with the fact that he loves him, and he seems like he's bursting with it. That's the thing, Mike has always been very vocal about his feelings, and with Will particularly. This has been portrayed on the show many times ("I'm gonna stay by you no matter what, we'll defeat the mind flayer together, meeting you is the best thing I've ever done..."). He opens up his heart to him with no problem. His behavior in season 3 and the beggining of season 4 was about him not acting like his usual self. In those scenes where there's clearly something that he's not telling Will, it's been established that he's acting as someone he isn't. So when he's not expressing what he's feeling, that's not his normal self. That's not his core trait, he's acting out of character. And that's because the feelings he wants to scream and yell are being affected by external reasons (fear, self acceptance, internalized homophobia...). Still, after spending some time with Will in season 4, he slowly goes back to his real self, and he starts to let him know what's worrying him ("El and I fought, it was a bad fight, I feel like a random nerd"). He has no trouble opening up with the right person. He's in the process of reverting back to his true self, the guy who has no problem being vocal about his thoughts. The reason why he still hasn't been fully honest about his romantic feelings with both Will and El is because of the misscommunication trope, the painting fiasco and the fact that season 5 is planned to be a continuation of season 4, so they dragged the storyline for a bigger payoff, where Mike being completely honest about his feelings will make him come full circle, and go back to being his true self, once all the obstacles are overcome.

So in conclusion, Mike is not "so in love with El but he has trouble telling her because he's a boy who has always struggled with communicating his feelings". Instead, Mike is a boy who's always been blatantly honest until growing up and his own personal battles have made him stop himself from doing what he wants more than anything (being honest) and his journey consists of overcoming those obstacles, because his honesty wins over his fears.

Anyways, that's the way I've always seen it. I'd love to hear more opinions in this topic and I'm completely open to discussion! Let me know what you think.

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

s2 episode 3 thoughts

here i am, once again. feeling lost, but now and then. i breathe it in. to let it go… and you don’t know where you are now, or what it will come to, if only somebody could hear

(it started with "here i am" to indicate i was once more taking my notes, but it spiraled into victorious lyrics. and then the song being stuck in my head all day. endless humming was done at the workplace)

and other such sentiments. let us jump in to this one.

first thing we see: a nice car. ARCADE!!!!! arcades are places of whimsy and i want to be at them. this is a mostly empty arcade. but someone stole this one dude’s game… i mean, it’s fair to lose your game when you leave the room, but this other dude in the pizza shirt is being rude about it 

HOLY FUCK IS THAT JACK BLACK???????

jack black is watching while his friend gets beat up but knows his friend has an ace up his sleeve…. and that ace is…. controlling the radio? and then electrocuting the guy who stole his game. to death.

jack black and lightning guy go back to gaming after some murder

this is sooo funny... i can’t wait to see what scully and mulder and jack black get up to 

we open to scully doing an autopsy in oklahoma and she is soooo pretty. she does not believe that lightning killed 5 people in the same small town. i would have to say that i agree with that conclusion. and four more have been killed, the sheriff walks in and announces!

this sheriff seems awful. “you know anything about lightning, agent scully?” do you know anything about being quiet?

he accuses her of not doing her homework because "they farm lightning there" (whatever the hell that even means) umm... okay so how did your farming kill 9 children you prick? do you not think that is, in itself, worthy of investigation? imagine if a cow farm all of a sudden had 9 murderous cows. would we not want to look into this, mister sheriff.

and why is mulder just watching all of this go down? just as i typed that she said “feel free to jump in anytime” “why? you were doing just fine”, he responds, and while i like his belief in her, he certainly could have lent a hand. he never is quiet and now he chooses to be... hmm. not mister quip all of a sudden taking a vow of silence.

(the credits confirm this is in fact jack black, as if i wouldn’t know him anywhere. i'd know him blind, by the sound of his footsteps, or however that one quote goes)

narrative shift! lightning boy, who is named "darin", is working at a car shop. and a woman customer is coming in. and oh, the way he is looking at her makes me want to explode. DISGUSTING MAN! he is saying he is sorry for what he said last night- now WHAT were you saying to her last night, young gentleman? had we not just seen him kill someone, i would still have found him scary and suspicious.

the agents are going to where the latest murder victim was struck. as scully reads a case file over the formerly very nice but now very fried car, mulder is squatting down on the ground in the parking lot. average strange man behavior. and while this is happening, scully has sunglasses on and she is serving. 

jack black is counting coins at the arcade. scully asks to talk with him and says she’s from the FBI and he goes “alright!” and it was perfect line delivery. no notes.

he pretends to not know who the guy who was killed was and then pulls a "oh, THAT guy" moment... LMAOOOO 

mulder is prowling about looking at video games. he uses the high score list to find clues, but i think he was just kinda wanting to play a little. or maybe he considers himself above such undignified pleasures. however, i do not, and think everyone should have a little arcade time.

they go off to the car shop to talk with darin, who has become suspect number one due to his many high scores set the same evening as the other fellow fried. darin gives mulder a mike and ike, which he takes, and offers another to scully, who refuses, likely using her doctorly knowledge to imagine that his hands have been in very dirty places. he denies knowing anything, and then makes mulder's phone blow up, as if that would detract from the suspicious aura about him. and that phone seems like it was expensive!!

darin is at home changing the tv channel. until jack black arrives. jack black has seemed to have entirely enough with this whole zapping thing, as he tries to get his friend to stop generating electricity, and begs him not to zap the cows again. the COWS? oh we need to do something about this kid NOW.

with all the muttering about zapping, i can see why it would make people not want to hang out with him, in addition to his many other unpleasant qualities. he strikes himself with lightning about 3 times, lays down in the grass, and then proclaims that he feels "excellent". at this point, i began to form a guess of what would happen to our dear friend jack black.

(and by the way, despite his friend's pleas not to, darin DID zap a ton of cows. truly a god-awful fellow)

the agents roll up to investigate the cow murder. and now that the sheriff has been established as a jerk, mulder is gonna get involved. talking about the frequency at which lightning can be detected and saying "see, i did my homework" yeah yeah it's impressive but you should have been there before.

the sheriff wants them to go away sooo bad omg. is he darin's dead beat dad or something? starting to think that is the only explanation for him behaving the way that he does. but a clue! they find a footprint at the lighting strike.

cut to scully making a plaster cast!!! i did not know this was a skill she was familiar with. she proclaims that it is a standard military boot, size 8 and a half. he seems really impressed she can tell the size of a shoe, until she tells him it’s right on the boot LMAOOO. he really thought she could just do that. why is that a skill she would have? great question!

she also finds antifreeze, which implicates darin. but how could he make lightning, she asks. girl idk.

oh this kid is a CREEP, even more evil than i had thought: he changes the lights on a stoplight to watch people get in accidents. what the HELL. can we do something about him?

jack black tries to talk him out of his weird doomer behavior, and says they should go to vegas, where he can manipulate the electricity to win big. and this seems to me a splendid idea! but darin says he won’t go anywhere without his teacher, who was the woman he was talking to earlier in a fashion that made my skin crawl.

oh! he wants to "prove his love". and his crush is married to HIS BOSS. when jack black points out the conflict of interest there, darin says maybe he'll fry his boss, and laughs as if this is a great joke, while his friend looks very scared.

the agents are in darin's bedroom now, a place no one has ever wanted to be. 

mulder picks up a playboy and she says something about being surprised he hasn’t read it already and he’s like “oh i have” and then quotes T.S. Eliot: "april is the cruelest month".

hello. why is he like this. why is he looking at porn and quoting poetry. is there something i'm missing.

but he finds a picture of the teacher in there (in between the sections he describes in far too much detail for my liking). things are adding up... darin is in love with mrs. kiveat. whose husband owns kiveat’s autobody...

mr. kiveat is at the sight of the accident that darin has created due to his stoplight interference, looking as if he might blow up (holding his shoulder and wincing) but no! he does not blow up. instead, it seems he had some sort of heart attack, which is maybe something electricity can do, i don't know. luckily the paramedics are already on the scene, but unluckily when they get to the defibrillator, it is dead all of a sudden. until darin comes and turns it on with his electric powers, saying he learned it from TV. very believable. /s 

mrs. kiveat is at the hospital after her husband is fried, and she spills her water, so mulder gets her a new cup. what a gentleman! if we ignore the earlier letting scully get yelled at by the sheriff and also detailed porn description. he tries to ask her some questions but she won’t answer.

so, they find this weird kid's medical records, and a few months ago he nearly died, and his blood is all weird. mulder does not know what that big medical word means, so she explains that it means he has too many electrolytes. haha another win for Doctor Mode enjoyers everywhere.

“i know it’s a leap, scully, but what if [darin's] electrolyte imbalance is somehow enabling him to generate electricity at levels much higher than normal?” <- well it is a leap. i'm glad he's self aware.

they once again try to ask him stuff, which he largely denies, but he asks if jack black had snitched on him. which he DID NOT do. they keep him in custody for a bit, and just need mrs. kiveat's testimony to maybe get him charged.

they're going to the teacher’s house, and for once, our duo waits to be told they can come in!!! i’m proud. they could tell this was an emotionally charged situation, with her husband being in the hospital and her being clearly traumatized from this evil teenage boy. he told his teacher he had “dangerous powers”- hence the earlier conversation about what he had said last night. well! if she testifies, they can certainly get him charged, right?

no. because the dumbass sheriff let the boy go. and now the teacher is gone. just after scully told her she was safe!!

jack black is turning off all the games at the arcade until darin turns them BACK on. he explains over and over again that he did not tell the FBI anything, but then Darin zaps him because he thinks he snitched. how the mighty fall…

(i just got a terrifying thought. did people think the creepy electricity kid was misunderstood and not actually evil, but rather sympathetic and hot? i pray this was not the case. nevertheless, i need to know. chime in if you're an expert on this fanbase)

back at the hospital, the power is going in and out, and a dead jack black is placed in the elevator. just to be really spooky, i suppose. it is time to secure the exits. i made a note that i felt mulder would be zapped here, but luckily he was not.

darin is prowling about the hospital, looking for the teacher, and scully has him at gun point. despite telling him not to move, he keeps moving, and i'm thinking, girl i know you don’t want to shoot a kid but he’s like Bakugo or something so we might have to make some hard calls here.

the teacher goes with him for some reason and scully is really horrified as he like. grabs her??? walks out holding her hand??? and he is talking about seeing through her dress and taking her anywhere she wants to go. somehow thinking that this is reciprocated and totally normal.

that is, until the sheriff pulls up, and she runs. mulder snatched her around the corner and keeps her safe. so darin's screaming about giving her anything she wanted. 

he is STILL screaming, getting himself struck by lightning, and he knocked the sheriff out. so he’s laying in the ground and twitching while the agents roll up and somehow get him into a hospital??

where we learned HE KILLED THE SHERIFF??? 

so the tests came back and he had nothing unusual. behind the door at the hospital, he watches the screen and changes the channel.

um. okay.

i’m not particularly drawn to creepy men manipulating women and listening to songs about using the bathroom so. i didn’t find this fellow particularly compelling. in fact i rather despised him, for he reminded me of people i went to school with, in a certain manner. interesting follow-up to the last 3 episodes which felt so carefully woven together. yeah, the creepy kid fries people. get with the program. 

i also don’t enjoy watching men like the sheriff be condescending to scully. i guess he got his comeuppance (died) but still. there was no real narrative reason for him to be as big of a loser as he was. i thought maybe darin was his flop son, but seems not. 

overall, this episode was not my favorite. i didn't viscerally hate it like the past episodes i have found too jarring to even give a full walkthrough or anything, but it was a strange jump from how tight that last 3 episode arc felt. i hated darin. i normally find a few cute moments, but i'm drawing a blank on any today, beyond scully being able to identify a shoe size and mulder being impressed before learning it was literally on the bottom of the shoe. if that was intended as a sexual innuendo, it's much funnier to image otherwise. but i guess we did get scully in sunglasses, so i can't complain.

the real winner here is jack black.

[campbyler]

Who are the Party’s acnh dreamies, and did they get them? Also, do they have Happy Home Paradise?

Completely unrelated, but I’ve had the random urge to play animal crossing all week. And I’ve felt this weird connection to Isabelle. Strange. /s

(I’m so sad that I never got to play New Leaf, but I had a DSI instead of a 3DS so I couldn’t play any of the cool games 😔)

OHHH THIS ASK IS FOR MEEEE IT’S FOR ME!!!!!

i definitely think they have all their dreamies!!! dustin absolutely makes his own amiibos so i think he helps everyone get who they want. i also think he gets involved in a lot of discords and treasure islands so even for the 8 new villagers that didn’t have amiibos at the time, he def had a billion nmt and was very lucky with villager hunting lol. in terms of who their dreamies aaarrrrreeee…

mike: lucky, ankha, wolfgang!! i think those are the only 3 he super cares about and likes to have a rotation + enjoys villager hunting. he just vibes with whoever and isn’t super picky but i think he’s attached to the 3 i picked because he had them in new leaf and they’re his Friends.

will: ruby, coco, sasha, gaston, teddy!! i know that him being bunny coded is affecting my vision but i’m correct. he lovvveeeesss bunnies and i think he’d love ruby and coco so much bc they’re cute but also a little creepy looking so he’d feel bad for them. and i think gaston is so silly looking that he is obsessed with him. teddy is bc he reminds will of a real life walter :)

max: agent s, hazel, keaton, katt, bob!! quite a few but she’s definitely super picky. i think she hardcore judges villagers for being ugly but has also decided some “ugly” ones are so ugly they’re cute (hazel and katt) and they are her ride or die’s. she didn’t seek them out they sought Her and she vibes. definitely hits villagers she hates with a net and sends them hate mail even though that increases friendship with them lol. hates sheep villagers.

el: dotty, audie, pekoe, beardo, greta, scoot, tia, faith, dobie, papi!! obviously a full list but she went through and made sure she had one of each personality type and doubled up on her fave types (normal and peppy). she is def into aesthetics but also thinks some of them are funny!! like scoot with his hat and beardo (who reminds her of hop)

lucas: benjamin, lucky, daisy, butch, shep, cherry! truthfully i think he loves dogs and would have a whole dog island. the ones listed are his absolute faves and the other spots he kind of just rotates as necessary until he finds a personality combo that he likes!!

dustin: raymond, marshal, shino, sherb, zucker, merengue, julian, judy, roald, pietro!! sorry that he is the way he is. he sells villagers on the black market and then just puts them back in his town. it’s not my fault (it is).

2 me they all share a nintendo switch online family plan, so they all technically have hhd! i think mike, dustin, and el are the only ones who actually really play it tho. el tells will he would love it and will doesn’t listen but he might suddenly have another interest in acnh and specifically hhd starting in september 2023. who knows. (i know.)

also you didn’t ask but dustin and mike time travel. sorry about it!!!!

[starcrossedxwriter]

Built for Love Part 3 (MBJ x Black Famous OC)

Warnings: angst, emotional distress (there will be more explicit warnings on the next chapter and beyond!)

A/N: I don't know what to say here except this is 4k words of our favs in a mopey sad phase lol

“Anything else for me, T?” Charlotte asked her agent as they sat in her office and reviewed her schedule for the upcoming months. Charlotte was finally back home in LA after filming Creed and a guest spot on a tv show, and was looking forward to a couple months of quiet before the Creed press tour. If she could push that off further, she would.  

Her nails tapped lightly on her phone as she texted her brothers, the siblings coordinating their surprise visit for their dad’s birthday later that week. 

“Just the MGM Productions Gala in two weeks,” Tamika answered as she scrolled through her calendar. 

Charlotte wrinkled her nose in confusion. “What’s that?” 

She waved her head. “Nothing big. Just a gala and party MGM throws for their Q3 and 4 movies. All the actors, producers, and writers are invited. They’ll premiere the trailer for Creed so you’ll walk the carpet with Michael, takes some pictures and likely go on stage when the trailer is shown. Seating chart has you and Michael next to each other. Nothing special but should be an easy and fun night.” 

Charlotte’s heart fell into her stomach as she heard his name, a nauseating feeling consuming her. The gala sounded like torture. How could she spend an entire evening glued to his side when he likely hated her? Would he even want to speak to her? she would not want to speak to her if she were him and now, he would have no choice.

However, she knew those concerns could not make their way to her agent. So instead, she simply nodded. However, she could not stop the quiet question that fell off her tongue, her own desires to know if Michael had raised an issue about the event were too powerful. 

“H-Has Michael heard about this?” She coughed lightly. “You know, reviewed the seating chart and everything?” 

Tamika nodded slowly, her eyes slowly but surely taking in the anxious and concerned look on the young woman’s face. 

“Yea… been emailing with his guy all morning. He said Mike ok’ed everything. Why? What’s wrong?” At Charlotte’s silence and anxious fidgeting, Tamika sat up in her chair, her arms folded against the cool glass of her desk. “Anything happen between you two that I should know about? Something that could bite us in the ass later.” 

Charlotte immediately shook her head. “No, no of course not. We’re good.” 

She knew that was not the truth. Radio silence for months hardly equated to good. She had considered reaching out to him, her regret urging her to open their text thread and type out a message only for her guilt to cause her to delete it once more. A vicious cycle she had been stuck on for weeks after the wrap party. At first, she felt his absence like a gaping wound that would not heal. It ached and throbbed so persistently she could not dare forget it. 

But in true Charlotte fashion, she threw herself into her work and her next project. It was just two months but the late nights and early mornings of tv consumed her life and energy, leaving little to no time to pine after Michael. And so eventually, that wound seemed to heal. Until today. Today, she felt as if she was bleeding out again with nothing around to stop it. 

Tamika rolled her eyes before turning back to her computer. Charlotte could tell she did not believe her. However, she appreciated that she did not push her for an answer.

“Ok well… whatever’s not going on between you two, fix it before October. You’re gonna be spending a lot of time with him to promote the film and films sell better when the cast actually likes each other. Got it?” 

“Understood.”

****

Rambunctious laughter filled Michael’s basement as he and his boys gathered for their monthly poker game. Even though he always lost money, it was one of his favorite nights. Just a night when he wasn’t famous or an actor, he was just a guy unwinding with liquor, weed, and good conversation.

“Nigga… you’d think you’d be better at this shit by now,” Steelo called across the table to Michael who merely shook his head. 

“I know, I know. I’m tryin’. Ain’t my night, I guess.” 

“Nah you ain’t doing shit. This the worst you’ve played and you the worst poker player a nigga has ever seen. It’s embarrassin’,” his trainer and friend, Calliet, told him. “Somethin’s got you preoccupied. Tell us so we can get on with the night.” 

Michael scratched the back of his head. Was there anything he could say that did not make him look like a desperate love sick puppy to his boys? Because the only thing consuming his attention these days was one person he had not even spoken to or seen in months: Charlotte. He tried and tried to push her out of his mind by fucking his way through models and actresses, hoping someone would make him feel even an ounce of what he felt when he was by her side. But none of them held a torch to her. So he tried to avoid thinking about her at all costs, locking his emotions away in a cage for as long as possible. However, when he found out about their upcoming event, the bars on that cage had gotten more fragile with each passing day. 

“Anything to do with seeing Charlotte in a couple weeks?” His brother asked with a smirk on his face. 

Everyone around the table laughed at how Michael’s entire being shifted as soon as her name was mention. 

“Ahhh there we go. It’s a woman… it’s always a damn woman,” Calliet sighed deeply. “What happened?” 

Michael tossed his cards face down on the table, his hand rubbing his eye for a moment before he shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know? And that’s what’s tripping me up. One minute she seemed like she was all in a-and wanted to be with me. And the next, she pushed me away. Said she didn’t deserve me… whatever the hell that means.” Michael paused. “I dunno. It was fuckin’ weird. She seemed almost scared? Or like the idea of dating me had her in a panic.” 

He tried hard not to think about that night even though it often played in a loop in his head. It played so clearly in his mind like it was a movie. He could still see the tears in her eyes a-and the tension in her body, and hear the brokenness and panic in her voice. Despite his efforts to push it out of his mind, it persisted and he dissected and analyzed it ever since. 

Michael stood up and went to the bar in his basement, pouring himself another glass of scotch. He leaned over the back of his chair, watching the men continue to play. He knew there was no point in him continuing the game. That was just a recipe for him to make himself poorer while his friends got rich of his terrible poker game.

“Sounds like she’s playin’ you bro,” Michael’s brother chimed in. 

“Yep. And honestly, that shit sounds like too much baggage,” Steelo interjected. “You aint got time for that. She might be great but there’re plenty of women out here to fuck and date. No sense in being sad over one of ‘em.” 

The other men except for Calliet and Ryan chimed in with their agreement, though that did not surprise Michael. The rest of his friends were in the same place in life in terms of relationships: single and doing them. Their lives were all about the hustle, which meant love and relationships took a backseat. And he would admit, he was like them before he met Charlotte. However, she made him want more. And though there may be more fish in the sea, there was none like her. And he did not see a future as clearly with anyone else as he did with Charlotte. He knew that for certain. 

Calliet let out a low chuckle. “No wonder y’all niggas is single. “As the only married niggas here, you want our advice?” He gestured at he and Ryan. At Michael’s nods, he placed his cards down. “If you want her, you gotta fight for her. It seems to me like she’s scared - for whatever reason. Maybe you just be there for her and see if she comes around.” 

“You want him to wait around for some pussy?? Nahhhh,” his boy Tyrell threw his cards down in annoyance. “He can do better than that.” 

“Aye, watch yo fuckin’ mouth,” Michael’s tone cut the humorous vibe in the room immediately, his anger evident to everyone.  

Tyrell raising his hands in surrender as the other men snickered quietly. “My bad. No disrespect. I’m just sayin’ you got plenty of options, bro. She really worth chasin’ after?” 

“You told me day 1 she was your future wife, on screen and off. I got the texts to prove it,” Ryan waved his phone in his hand. “If you really believe that shit, then she’s someone worth chasin’. ’N I don’t know what’s holding her back but I watched y’all every day for months. She’s feelin’ you.” 

“Then why won’t she just say that shit?” Steelo argued. 

Michael just watched the men debate back and forth, his love life once again the subject of a riveting debate amongst his friends. He could not even get a word in.

“Who the fuck knows? But it doesn’t matter. She didn’t say that she doesn’t wanna fuck with you. She said she aint deserve you. That sounds like two very different things to me. Seems like somethin’ she’s gotta work through, not that she doesn’t want something with you. I ain’t sayin’ put your life on hold but you ain’t gotta close the door on it just yet if you ain’t ready. Just talk to her.” 

“I dunno,” Michael finally spoke up. “Hearing no once was more than enough for me. I never felt for a woman like I feel for her. And she just pushed me away.” 

“Look. I ain’t saying chase the girl. But you don't gotta close the door on it either just because your pride is bruised,”  Calliet added on, he and Ryan offering the sage advice Michael truly needed to navigate this situation. “At the very least, next time you talk, time as passed, you could get some clarity on why she wasn’t ready and if the feelings were mutual. Get some closure. But who knows, it might be a yes. And if she was worth the risk then and those feelings haven’t changed, she should still be worth it now. Then at least, you’ll have a definitive answer and you can stop being this mopey-ass nigga who I can’t stand. Moping around the gym n shit.” 

Michael bowed his head and laughed with the rest of the group. They were not wrong; he had been “mopey” since returning to LA from Creed but it had gotten significantly worse since he found out he would be seeing Charlotte earlier than expected.  

“Aight aight. I’ll think about it."

“My man!” The boys seated around him clapped him on the back. 

“Hit me up tomorrow, fellas," Stello called out across the table. "I'm taking bets on whether this nigga actually tries again." At Michael's surprised expression, Stello merely laughed. "Sorry man, I've never known you to chase after a woman or even give them a second chance. Relationships are the one area you play it safe." 

His words stuck with him as he slid back into his seat to continue playing. His streak of terrible luck continued as he milled over what his friends said. Steelo was not wrong, there was a part of him that wanted to write Charlotte off for pushing him away. But something stopped him every time he tried. He could not tell who was right: his married friends who told him to not give up or his friends who had known him his entire life. But he knew he only had a week to figure out what path he wanted to take. One certainly saved him potential heartache but it could also rob him of a love that was one of a kind. The other was a risk but a life with Charlotte was a pay off he could not pass up without thought. As Steelo pointed out, Michael took a lot of risks… just not with his heart.

***

“You sure you’re good, squirt?” Her dad asked as they chatted at dinner.

Charlotte glanced up from her plate, her entire family eyeing her with concerned looks. 

“Of course, of course,” she assured everyone, immediately fixing her frown into a half-hearted smile. She hoped it was big enough to draw attention away from her and onto someone else. 

“You sure? You’ve just been quiet all weekend.” 

She rubbed her eyes, annoyance settling in her as her family questioned her words. She understood why. There was once upon a time where she told lie after lie after lie to hide how she was doing. And now, if she seemed even a bit off, they did not believe her assurances that all was well even when it was. She would not believe her if she was them either though. 

“Just tired, dad. Two back-to-back projects has just been more exhausting than I thought. That’s all.” 

“Yea pops, you know how Charlie gets when she’s in the zone. All quiet and moody with all that method shit.” 

The table erupted in laughter, Charlie reaching over and gently hit her brother, Jackson, across his arm. While there was a significant age gap between her, the youngest, and her two eldest siblings, she and Jackson were only a year apart and had grown up virtually glued to each other’s hip. 

“Jack! Language!” Their dad chastised him, though there was no real bite in his bark. 

“Thank you, dad!” Charlotte, forever a daddy’s girl, threw her brother a smirk. “And method, yes! Moody, never!”

At her side glances her entire family shared with each other, her jaw slightly fell open in shock. 

“Seriously??” 

“In your defense,” her eldest brother, CJ, interjected. “I think it’s more so the characters you choose. Loners… moody…or depressed. And that just ain’t you, not when you’re yourself at least.” 

Charlotte could not particularly disagree with her brother’s assessment. It was not every character she had played since she became a professional actress. But she could not deny there was a theme across many of them. She had been drawn to characters who were alone in the world in some way: whether literally alone and without family or alone to contend with pain and struggles no one else knew about or could help with. They were all internally tortured by something. And well, that was a feeling Charlotte knew all too well. 

“So what’s next, movie star?” CJ asked her. 

She shrugged. “Ummm got a gala next week a-and then I’ll be back in LA for a while. Then we’ll have the Creed press tour and that’ll take up most of the fall.” At the mention of the movie, her thoughts drifted back to him. Though it did not take much these days for her thoughts to land her on his doorstep again. All roads led back to Michael. “B-but that’s it. Enough about me. We are here to celebrate dad.” She squeezed his hand, grateful to push the attention away from her and back to their father’s birthday. 

She barely heard the rest of the conversation that carried her family through dinner, only joining in when spoken to or to laugh along with the rest of the group. Her moodiness, as of late, had little to do with her characters and a lot to do with her impending dread at laying eyes on a certain actor again. She knew she would have to eventually but she thought she had more time to avoid him and her feelings about how they ended. That wound was reopened and all of her regret, shame, and pain flowed from it like blood. 

She knew she needed to let him go. She had given up her shot and she would need to find a way to live with that. But knowing she needed to move on and actually doing it was harder than it seemed.

However, it was her dad’s birthday and she knew her family worried about her too much so she tried to force herself to display the cheerful and upbeat disposition she knew her family was looking for. However, at the end of dinner, when she and her siblings and their spouses retreated to the basement, her facade started to fall.

“Open the windows, CJ,” Charlotte called over to him as he pulled a joint out of his bag and she grabbed liquor from their dad’s bar. “Dad’s gonna kill us if he smells weed.” 

“Us maybe,” Jackson mused. “But not his baby girl. He probably thinks you’ve never done drugs. His perfect little Charlie.” 

“Don’t be jealous,” she stuck her tongue out at him playfully. 

“She drew the genetic lottery… Youngest daughter? Best position to be in in the family. You got all us, except Tiffany,” he referenced the eldest Bennet sibling who could not attend their dad’s birthday weekend, “wrapped around your finger since birth.”  

She laughed and flopped onto the couch next to her best friend from college and sister in law, Lauren.  “What can I say,” she took the joint from her brother. “A gift and a curse.” 

Charlotte fell silent as she let the two couples guided the conversation. She rarely engaged, only laughing when necessary or moving to ensure the blunt made its rounds throughout the group. CJ and his husband, Allen, were both attorneys, which meant they tended to stir up lively debate amongst the group. Charlotte rarely engaged in their debates unless the topic was interesting. But Jackson and his wife, Lauren, while not attorneys, loved to go back and forth with them. 

So, she just let them fall into their usual banter while she tried to stop herself from falling into a sea of thoughts about Michael. All she could think about was what she was going to say and do when she saw him again. Should she apologize? Pretend like nothing happened and act like old friends? Take her cues from him? She had no idea. All of them sounded like equally terrible ideas and none of them were actually what she wanted to do, which was admit she fucked up and that she loved him. But that seemed like a terrible idea in its own twisted sort of way.

“Charlie!” Lauren shook her knee lightly to get her attention. Charlotte broke out of her quiet trance to turn to Jackson who had clearly been talking to her. 

“Now don’t hate me, C,” he started to say, causing Charlotte to immediately groan. She sat up a little straighter, her mind already ready to be annoyed with her older, meddling brother. 

“Oh no, what did you do??” 

“I may or may not have given your number to a guy at the office. AND,” he raised his voice to drown out Charlotte’s immediate protests, “Before you say no, it is one date, C. He is really cute, he’s a sports agent, really well established in the industry, and he’s sweet. Don’t fight me on this.” 

Charlotte rolled her eyes, frustration at her sibling’ meddling already boiling over. She immediately turned to Lauren, who raised her hands in surrender. “Did you know about this??” 

“I told him you weren’t gonna go for it.” 

“And yet… here he is… still presenting it.” She scoffed. “You need to listen to your wife more, big head. I don’t need a fucking matchmaker, Jay. I’m good and happy being single.”

She prayed her tone sounded decisive and sure; however, she knew it betrayed her by the skeptical looks on her family’s faces. She desperately wanted it to be true, desperately desired to be satisfied with the waves of loneliness she felt. She used to consider loneliness to be like an oasis. She felt protected and safe in its waters. It’s waves crashed but she welcomed it because loneliness was the only sure sign that no one was around to hurt her again. 

However, now, she felt as if she was drowning in it. Drowning in the frigid, dark waters, desperate for a lifeline and helping hand, someone to pull her out and hold her close. She tried to pull herself out of it, to find her way back to the oasis again, but each wave just pushed her right back down. And she knew one path to escape the waves altogether, but she could not force herself to do it. She was still not sure she was ready. 

“Well now we’re fuckin’ lyin’,” CJ muttered, causing Allen to gently hit him on the shoulder and tell him to hush. “What? She is lyin’.” 

“Alright, alright,” Lauren interrupted. “I think your brothers… and I, are just worried about you. It’s been two years. It’s great to be single and happy if you truly are. But I’ve known you for a minute, Charlotte. I don’t think you are. You don’t want to be alone forever, do you? What happens when the next guy shows interest? Are you just gonna push him and anyone else away forever? You fought like hell to leave so you could be happy. Pushing people and love away isn’t gonna make you happy.” 

Charlotte scoffed at herself, a wave of bitterness hitting her. She hated how Lauren was always right, a habit that incensed her since college. She was not wrong. That was all Charlotte knew how to do, push men who wanted her away, even when she wanted them back. 

“It’s all I know how to do,” she muttered, unable to hide that bitterness and anger at herself in her voice. 

She glanced up at the ceiling as she felt tears sting the back of her eyes. 

“Fuck!” She cried out. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” she whispered. She pressed her hands into her eyes to stop the tears from falling. Her family knew she hated to cry in front of people, hated when they saw her cry.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Jackson moved from his perch across the room to sit on the other side of his sister, his arm wrapping tightly around her. “My bad, C. I didn’t mean to upset you. I just want you to be happy.” 

“No, no. It’s not you o-or the date. I j-just hate this! Hate that I found someone amazing and I’m so fucked up, all I can do is push him away. And I t-thought it was for the right reasons but fuck, I am just miserable without him,” she cried out, finally voicing the feelings that plagued her for months. She had not meant to share that with her family or anyone. But in this heightened emotional state, she could not hold it in any longer. 

“Wait, you met someone??” Lauren’s eyes grew wide, an air of excitement settling over her. “Who was he??”

Charlotte’s eyes fell down to her cup. She was not ready to have this conversation. She had never told her friends or family about the feelings between she and Michael, or that she rejected him. She knew none of them would understand. She knew they would merely hear that she turned down THE Michael B. Jordan and think she was a lunatic. But she also knew she would not get an ounce of peace if she did not tell them now. The cat was most certainly out of the bag. 

“Michael…” 

“Wait - Michael B Jordan?? Wallace from the Wire??” 

“Your co-star, THE Michael B Jordan??” 

“Oh shit, y’all hooked up??” 

Charlotte let out a disgruntled groan as the room erupted in shock, exactly what she was trying to avoid.

“No, no. We didn’t hook up. But we got close during filming, spent a lot of time together. We kissed a-and at our wrap party, he told me he loved me. And I… fuck, it was like Shaun was right there, like I could still feel him and h-hear his voice reminding me that no one could ever love me.” Her head fell into her hands. “And I… couldn’t take it. So I pushed him away.” She wiped a stray tear from her face. “I dunno. Guess somethings never change. I’ll always be that girl he said I was.” 

“You always underestimating yourself, Charlotte.” Jackson shook his head. “You are a far cry from the woman who moved into my spot two years ago. That woman could barely fuckin’ look me or - shit - anyone in the eye. You didn’t get out of bed, you barely ate… for months, you were a shell of the woman we knew. And then you put in the work, you found you again. You’re healing and yea that shit takes time. But it’s progress. The Charlotte who was with Shaun and this Charlotte today are two different people. You gotta start celebrating every step forward.”  

“He’s right. And maybe this is the next step in your process. Finally taking a step back into the dating pool. You know the signs, you know what to look for now. You just have to trust your gut,” Allen offered her with an encouraging smile. 

“It’s not that easy, y’all. He… broke me,” her voice fell to a soft whisper. “And I just barely put the pieces back together. And Bakari is… perfect,” the word came out in a strangled sigh. “B-But if he… if he breaks me, I… just don’t think my heart can handle it again.” 

“Do you honestly believe Michael is like him?” 

She immediately shook her head. She would not claim to know Michael that well. But he was nothing like that Shaun, that much she knew. 

“I think he is the furthest thing from Shaun ever honestly. I just don’t think he’d ever do the things Shaun did.” And she truly believed that. Over a year in therapy taught her every sign she missed and when she meticulously examined her interactions with Michael, she did not see a single one with him. 

“OK then. He might hurt you, that’s true. He might break your heart. But that’s fucking life… that’s love. But if your gut is saying he isn’t Shaun then, at least, you can take the plunge knowing he won’t hurt you like that. He won’t break you.” 

“You gotta stop letting him win, Charlie.”

She shook her head. “He already won, Lo. Game’s been over. Probably what keeps him warm at night. Where ever he is, he knows he got what he wanted all the same.” 

“No.” Lauren answered defiantly, refusing to listen to her best friend’s defeatist attitude. “If the game was over, you’d be dead. That’s the endgame for him.” The tension in the room thickened as Lauren spoke, the words were harsh but Charlotte knew they were true. “And you aren’t. You’re here and you’re fucking killing it. Every day, you win by just living your life, being you and loving. Everything he took from you or said you couldn’t have and didn’t deserve? Those are his words, his lies. And every time you believe him over the people who actually love you,” she gestured to their little circle. “And what you know to be true about yourself, you give him power and he keeps taking pieces of you. Keep doing that and you’ll never be happy and you’ll never be free. Then he will win.” 

She glanced at Jackson who merely shrugged. “You and I both know she’s always right.” 

Charlotte let out a pitiful laugh. “I know and I fuckin’ hate it.” She sighed deeply. “I just… even if I deserved him, it’s too late. I have to see him next week a-and h-he probably never wants to talk to me again.” 

“That asshole stole so many good things from you, Charlie. And if there is anyone in this damn family who deserves a good thing, it’s you. If Michael is really what you want, then don’t let him take that too. When you see him next week, shoot your shot. See what happens.” 

“And if that nigga ain’t interested anymore… fuck him,” CJ called from across the room, everyone rolling their eyes at his bluntness but nodding in agreement.

“And you move on.” Lauren added more tactfully. She rubbed Charlotte’s knee gently. “But stop torturing yourself and all of us and just try, sis. Please.” 

Charlotte tearfully laughed, wiping her eyes. 

“I really hate you guys,” she whispered, tearfully laughing as she wiped her eyes. 

“We know.” 

Charlotte’s head gently fell onto her brother’s shoulder as he placed a quick kiss on the top of her head before transitioning the conversation to a lighter topic. She sighed to herself. 

Shoot your shot.

Sounded easy enough. But where Michael was concerned, Charlotte had only played the coward, too scared to face her true feelings and his. This would require her to play a role she had not in a long time, one that she feared she had forgotten entirely: someone who was fearless. While she did not know if she had it in her, her family did. And their faith and confidence in her was enough to overcome her self-doubt. When she saw Michael next weekend, she was going to choose happiness. She was going to choose him. 

Tag List: @certifiedlesbianbaddie @bangtanxmegan @reelwriter19 @prettyisasprettydoes1306 @msniaimani @hi888888sworld @lynaye1993 @destinio1 @cawi00

Read Part 4

A/N: Ok sorry for no scenes with Els/Bakari together this chapter but for my own sanity, I had to break it up into two chapters lol we will get our Els/Bakari reunion in chapter 4. We got a little bit more of Charlotte's backstory and got to meet her family who will be around… what do we think? How is "shooting her shot" gonna go? Is Michael gonna be receptive or are his feelings still too hurt from rejection? And do you think she actually follows through this time?

[spicybylerpolls]

I really can't unsee the sexual imagery now. This might have already been said (and if it has then I guess just ignore me? Lol) but - When Mike starts talking about the pen the unknown hero agent gave him. The pen that the unknown hero agent actually gave to Will, but whatever. And then he says "why would he give me a pen that didn't work?" He rushes over to Argyle, takes the pen and un-does it, revealing the number, and remarks. "It's the number. We've had it this whole time." Then, finally, when they go try and call the number they discover it wasn't a traditional landline, like they had expected, instead it was something newer, a modern idea, a computer they were calling.

Most interestingly, after Mike reveals the number from the pen, Argyle remarks "you got his digits man?" creating both a romantic and sexual undertone to the scene.

Aka - the pen is his dick, he doesn't know why it doesn't "work", when he finally comes to terms with his sexuality, he will realize it does work, "it's been here the whole time" and the reason it wasn't working was bc he wasn't attracted to what's traditional (girls) but instead whats new age (boys).

Unknown Hero Agent Man could even be seen as god in this symbolism, when Mike says "why would he give me a pen that doesn't work?" ((( This honestly makes me sad because it reveals a lot about Mike's character ☹️ and also would be proof that he's gay, not bisexual - sorry bi mike truthers )))

unknown, god is unknown

hero, god is idolized

agent = a person or thing that takes an active role, god is the creator

And lol, the unknown hero agent man (god) gives this pen to Will originally and then Mike takes ownership of it? Okay 😭

Also to be noted this happens right after Mike and Will's heart to heart where they talk about being afraid to reveal the truth. I was always so annoyed that Argyle cut him off. I wanted to hear what Mike was gonna say. Well, now I know, I guess. lol.

And see, I had already seen this symbolism through the lens of Mike's romantic feelings alone before, because it works there too. Never did I think about it in a sexual way until... I was introduced to this blog. And saw other posts about the sexual symbolism regarding Mike and Will's relationship, specifically in S4.

It's all just very interesting. How you can convey sexual themes without outright saying it. And honestly, I think that's nice. Because maybe we don't need these explicit scenes in every show, like Sex Education or something. Maybe we don't need it every season. But to remind people that yeah, this is a big part of their life, and specifically Mike and Will's struggle, through symbolism is great, honestly.

Also want to say that I hate that I feel I can't just post this on my own blog lol. I really hate that an open discussion about the literal themes in the show has to be censored. About something that is arguably the most natural thing in the world. Especially when this isn't even really referring to sex itself but rather Mike's struggle with it and would be such a big contribution to the byler fandom overall...

Anyway that was super long, sorry. Would love to hear thoughts about this?

Do you think Mike talking about the unknown hero agent man and the pen he gave to him is symbolism that Mike is frustrated about his sexual feelings for women (or lack thereof?)

1. Yes

2. No

3. Unsure

4. Possibly

Please note that the purpose of this blog is not to be creepy or to make anyone uncomfortable. That's why I created the #spicy byler tag (I will tag all polls with this). If you don't want to see this blog or anything related to it on your feed, please block that tag. Not everyone is comfortable with this sorta stuff, and that's okay.

[realbylershit]

We forgot about this interview way to quickly… (at least I did, tbh)

Q: What can we expect from Mike in season 4?

A: Uh, I think Mike, like, learns a lot about himself and, um, a lot about how he…sees his relationships with people and, um, yeah, a lot of, like, understan- understandment and growth

Back then we (I) assumed he was talking about Mike’s relationship with Will, but he wasn’t. He was talking about Mike and El’s relationship, 100%, and the funny thing is that this is yet another piece of confirmation. Because what other explanation than Mike realizing he doesn’t love El do you have? If it was the opposite, if Mike did love her, he why would he have realized that in season 4 in particular? He should have realized it at the end of season 3 at the very least. If he knew this whole time and was only scared to tell her, why is it a contradiction to Finn’s answer?

In the desert scene, when they burry the dead hero agent guy, Will talks to Mike on the car, explaining that sometimes it’s scary to open up about how you feel about someone with those words: “because…what if they don’t like the truth?”

When you watch the scene and pay attention to Mike after those words, you will notice him nodding (slightly, but clearly enough), stating that he agrees with Will. Why would telling El he loved her be ‘scary’ after supposedly ‘learning’ that he loved her when she has made it clear enough that she loved him back? If Mike did love El, why wouldn’t she like the truth?

We’ve all talked about this exact scene before, I know, I just wanted to remind everyone of this interview and point out this particular moment because at absolutely no point after El was separated from the cali crew have we seen Mike being hit with any sort of realization in regards of loving El. And she was taken basically right after their argument.

Interviews and media content are and have always been important, folks.

[madmachaca]

More Lyla and Camera 9 short fanfiction?

Why not? I am inspired these days, it seems

I got a lot of ideas, so I will be posting them in parts (I will stop each part whenever I think it is getting too long)

These here take place before my last short fanfiction that is here.

And part two is right here

Feel free to read:

1.

She had accepted his invitation, but not because she wanted a hot drink to warm up. She didn't need anything of the sort. She accepted, particially, because she actually likes him.

The other reason was because she wanted to know if she could trust him. When she had the negatives on her hands and saw the note he had placed with them, she realized she had been distracted by how well he kept a low profile. She had nothing on him.

She didn't know where he lived, she didn't know how old he was... she didn't even know his name. And she was intrigued.

"Your hot cocoa is getting cold" he said in between sips. She rested her head on her hands and looked at him inquisitily

"Thanks for the photos, and the negatives. You didn't have to do that"

"I know," he said, taking the envelope she had just place on the table for dramatic effect and took out the photos to see them again. "I like this one"

Lyla got close to see it. It was the picture of her, talking to other time police agents. PK was there, too

"It...it does have a nice composition" she pointed out, avoiding what was actually on it. "You can tell it was raining, but it doesn't distract you from... it must be a difficult picture to accomplish"

"Oh well, I have my trick here and there. Things I learned over the years" and he sip on his hot cocoa again "this is good, specially while hot"

"What do you want, nine?" She asked abruptly. Maybe it was time to stop being so kind. She did know if he was potentially dangerous

"Whatever you are doing, it's not my business, Miss Lay. For all I know, you could be trying to get insights from informants, I can understand that. Sometimes, as a journalist, you need to get acquainted with all kinds of people"

Lyla relaxed a little, but the questions were still running in her head

"Something tells me you are not a simple camera, man," she said lightly with a smile, and he smiled back

"I was curious once, but not anymore"

Again, with the cryptic phrase. She hated when people alienated him at work, but even she had to admit he was an odd one. They, then, remain in silence. He, sipping on his cocoa, looking pit the window, and her looking at him with growing curiosity

"What's your name, Nine?"

"....that's not important now"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2.

"Ok, let's go!" He said as soon as he jumped into the vehicle, adrenaline still rushing through his veins. Lyla, at the urgency on his voice, drove fast to get them out of there as soon as possible. Things had gotten progressively weirder since hot cocoa buddy date, as she called it

"We got a good one!" He said once they were far enough, "and I got it all recorded!"

"You checked?"

"I always do"

"As expected from you"

She glanced over him every now and then. He was clicking buttons on his gear, rewinding and pausing, checking things were all right

"Nine, when you told me to wait for you after our scoop ended, I wasn't expecting... whatever that was"

"Oh, I stumped upon incriminatory information. Don't worry about it for now"

But she did. She wanted to ask, she wanted an explanation. Going off track, getting into potential danger, risking the scoop... he couldn't help but wonder if he did stuff like that often. What else was he doing that he was telling no one about?

But she couldn't complain. How many times had she disappeared in the middle of things, and he had covered up for her without asking? Asking him would come across as hypocritical since she was about to ditch him without explanation to work on her own mission.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

3.

"And why would I buy such hideous jacket from you, Mike?" Said Angus in a mocking fashion.

"Come on, Angus! It's a nice jacket"

"It's uglier than yourself"

Mike knew he was going no where with him, so he looked for his next potential client

"Lyla!" He called her as he saw her. "Surely a beauty like you would look fantastic on this"

"Can it, Mike, not even her can pull that monstrosity off"

"Oh, I would love to try it on" she replied politely, "but I have so many jackets now I can't afford to get another...I am actually thinking of donating some"

"Donating it sounds like a good idea, Mike. You can give it to camera 9, he never wears any but the uniform. Likely, he has no other clothes"

"But I do" said the cameraman who had been listening quietly to this sad attempt of a sale

"Well, would you take it, anyways?" Asked Mike, trying to sound sympathetic

"No, thank you," he answered. " The color clashes with my eyes"

This is when Lyla realized that aside his age and his name, she didn't know the color of his eyes

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

4.

She was so distracted by the collapsing structure that she didn't see that someone was running towards her, the attacked sent them both directly to the ground and avoided the big rock that was about to crush her.

She immediately put distance between herself and the duck on the floor. He stood up calmy and looked around

"So weird debris was just ... lose"

"Who are you? Are you with the organization?" She asked, pointing her weapon at him. The guy dusted off his long trench coat and checked a camera that was hanging from his neck, not a scrash on it, fortunately. On his head, an old school hat shadowed his face, making it difficult to see him

"Are you with the organization?" She repeated energetically

"Relax," he said, raising his hand in surrender "the rock was about to crush you, and I moved you out of the way, that's all"

His voice was familiar, but she wasn't going to let that distract her! She couldn't let her guard down, not when in the middle of a mission with PK

"Why were you nearby? Have you been following"

He smiled, barely, not big and brightly, but enough for her to notice

"Would you believe me if I tell you I was minding my business and it was a coincidence?"

"No, that's the worst excuse I have ever heard"

"That's fair"

She looked at him closely, trying to figure out why he felt so... familiar...

"Let me guess," she asked with irony on her voice "you saw people running into an abandoned warehouse and got curious"

"Lyla," he called her, and she tensed immediately at her name being spoken. "I've told you before: I was curious once, but not anymore"

She lowered her weapon slowly as realization hit her. She wanted to ask him something, but for a moment, couldn't decide on what

"Nin..."

The sound of struggle and fight could be heard on the distance. Lyla knew PK needed her help! 'The mission comes first,' she told herself and ran towards action

"The name is Stefan Vladuck, by the way"

She stopped briefly on her tracks. Shook her head and continued running to where PK was.

All it took was to hold him at gun point, huh?

End of part one

I am having so much fun writing this.

[dalekofchaos]

Things I would change about the Mafia Trilogy

The Mafia trilogy is one of my all time favorite game series of all time, but if I could change anything about the game, this is what I would change

Mafia Definitive Edition

I would basically add in the ability to extort shops and take over and build on rackets like in The Godfather games.

Fast Travel by train/tram cars like in the original game

Keep in the Knuckles Duster

Keep in Yellow Pete

The ability to go on dates with Sarah, show a sex scene and show Tommy and Sarah's marriage and actually give names and show Tommy with his kids. I just feel like not enough was shown.

Show more of the Salieri-Morello war. I feel like not enough was shown. Sure we killed Sergio and Ghillotti and eventually Morello himself. But we never got to see the full scale war. It felt small. So my proposal see the Morello family hitting the bar and eventually Tommy, Paulie and Sam hit them back. The mission would end with Tommy, Sam and Paulie wacking Lou and Dino and torching Morello’s bar to the ground. I think this is something that should have happened cause we never got to see Lou and Dino again after the second mission and I think it would be Tommy properly paying them back for trying to kill him.

Show us Tommy Angelo's testimony against the Salieri Crime Family. Make it like the Goodfellas trial scene

Mafia 2

There is an entire cache of cut content that shows us a better game we almost got, but I'll just share a select few.

Respect & Reputation. In the beta version of the game players would experience Empire Bay differently based on the level of respect Vito gained from completing missions.

Monique. Vito's cut girlfriend that Vito could take out on dates

Fast travel via Taxi before you get made and via Limo after you get made

Gun License

Fight Club and Hound/Horse races

Side missions doing jobs for Derek, Harry and Mike

Keep in the cut content suggesting that Henry would be revealed being set up and not a rat. My two pieces of evidence. Evidence 1. Evidence 2. Also it was originally intended to have Henry be framed.

Mafia 3

Keep in the cut prologue

Replace Cassandra with Laveau or Lincoln rules the Black Mob. I feel like Cassandra had promise, but her execution was terrible and she just ended up becoming unlikable. Cassandra is hypocritical, self-righteous and endangers the people she claims to protect. She gives all this talk about protecting black people, but she endangers them the most and pretty much made New Bordeaux a ghost town in her ending. As for why Laveau? Laveau is a man of principals and honor. Black revolutionary and Black Panthers vibe. Plus the fact that Lee Everett himself voices him makes me like him all the more. I'm not sure how Laveau's ending would go, most likely New Bordeaux would've been turned into a safe haven for black people, something like that. I also like to think he could voice his own ending and say "Remember, when New Bordeaux speaks, you better listen." I feel like if Laveau was one of the underbosses, then I actually would feel conflict about choosing who to run New Bordeaux instead of just always choosing Vito. Or the simple solution is for Lincoln to recruit the survivors of the Black Mob and rule the Hollow by himself and further cements his rule by rebuilding Sammy's.

Make Agent Maguire apart of the story. My pitch is that he is on the hunt and would be leading the feds against Marcano and Lincoln respectfully. At some point, I don't know what mission, but Maguire has Lincoln right where he wants him, but chooses to let him go and his reasons were that Lincoln was the only one who did a damn thing against Marcano and thought letting him go was best for New Bordeaux as a young and foolish agent. In the documentary portion of the game, he later reveals he was wrong. It was so weird that this random FBI Agent had such a hard on for Lincoln when they never even crossed paths, so Maguire feeling guilt about letting Lincoln go would work imo

Give Lincoln a crew. Simply put advancing with Vito, Burke and Laveau or the Black Mob would give Lincoln individual crew members from The Movement/Black Mob, Italian and Irish Mobs. You can send them to accomplish the list of shit you need to do, fight with you and even send them to collect the collectibles in the district.

The ability to divide up the Bayou to give to your Underbosses. A way we could add in more earn for the Underbosses is to add in rackets in the Bayou. Enough for all 3 Underbosses

Use Signs Of The Times, Faster Baby and No Stone Unturned locations as territory to give your Underbosses. You'd be giving Sinclair Parish, the Sanitarium and the Island to your Underbosses. By doing this and the Bayou, you should have enough to give your Underbosses enough earn to unlock their perks if you are looking to keep everyone loyal and unlock everything

Cancelled Vito DLC makes it in. Not sure what the specifics of this cut DLC were or could've been, but most likely we would've found out Joe is still alive, maybe find out that Eddie was the one who was killed instead of Joe and maybe Vito would see Frankie again. Maybe it could've ended with Vito getting Joe free from Leo and killing Frank Vinci since that was cut from Mafia II. And at the end, perhaps Joe could tell Vito that Lincoln is his son and thanks his old friend for looking out for him.

[gingerpeachtea]

Hiiii :) 🍏🍈🫐🍇 (I don't go to most of the fandoms you've written for but I wanna know anyways!!)

hi !! :D

🍏 Is there something you overuse, whether it’s a certain phrase, trope, or piece of punctuation?

peer-reviewed response from @cemeteryklaus: the word blur + mike being sick. very true very real ALSOOOOO is it even a chloeswritings mike trauma exploration fic if it doesn't end with a touching mikecharlie scene. ALSO also is it even a chloeswritings graceland fic if it doesn't have everyone calling mike baby

🍈 Who’s your blorbo and what are some of your favorite headcanons/ideas about them that repeatedly show up in your fics? Free pass to rant about blorbo opinions.

SPECIAL AGENT MICHAELESBIAN WARRENNNNNNNNNNNNNN. every time i include mike's necklace in a fic an angel gets its wings. i am also constantly CONSTANTLYYYYY trying to sprinkle adhd moments in for him. jeff eastin i will never forgive you for cutting the canon confirmation scene.

ALSOOOO for my other special guy laurel healy from braindead. i am also always trying to fit in little adhd moments for her bc her having adhd is just like. well yes. ALSO her having ocd I HAVE SUCHHHH A VISION OKAY

🫐 What’s your favorite underrated thing in your fandom? (A ship that only you seem to write for, a character there’s almost no fics about, a trope that criminally hasn’t been written yet, etc.)

i would say house-wide polycule (...minus paige) but also the 5 graceland stans left alive seem to all be down w that. there aren't many fics tho :( i'm doing my part!!!!! also mcb (mike/charlie/briggs ot3) but i feel like that's included in the house-wide polycule kinda. ALSO. mikejakes <3 guys mike could literally wear his flannels....have u ever even thought abt that.....

🍇 Is there a particular scene/episode/book/etc that you want to just write a million fics about, over and over? Which one?

SEASON TWO EPISODE NINE GRATIS AND ITS RAMIFICATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i am constantly quoting that one mikesulla scene from that ep FOR A FUCKING REASONNNNNNNNNN

(fruit emoji ask game!)

[piastrinorris]

wip week!

now that cheerscoops week is over + done with, and while i'm officially in between jobs, while i wait for my new start date seems like the ideal time to start catching up with some old wips!

(in the time it has taken me to write this whole thing out, both @stargyles and @roykentt have tagged me in posts to prompt wip finishing so thank you besties <3)

feel free to either simply ask me more about a fic idea, or you can tell me to write any number of (additional) sentences or paragraphs you'd like to see from me from a project! after the poll is over, however many votes i get on each fic is how many paragraphs i'll write. (and i won't skimp out by using loads of single lines of dialogue, lol)

key for the poll emojis: 🔢 = multi-chapter ; 🔥 = contains smut ; ↔️ = has extra conditions that could be crowdsourced if you'd like to be involved in the process

fic synopses under the cut to help you decide!

Shippy fics:

cheerscoops celebrity au - fic starts off with both steve and chrissy being on a talk show together. host mentions that they're from the same town, they vamp about that for a bit. AMAZING chemistry between them. EVERYONE wants to get them on their show/at their event together for the press of it all. and they know it's there. so they have fun with it. they really wanna act on it but their agents love the will-they-won't-they dynamic too much so refuse to let them

cheerscoops vacation au - both chrissy and steve are in separate groups on the same cruise (one bit that's up for choice is idk whether to make them strangers or if they're all from hawkins). steve has organised the trip for eddie + the corroded coffin boys (another choice - does eddie know of/want jonathan there too? if he does, argyle would also tag along). chrissy is on the trip w her cheer girls and jason, who she conviinced the squad to let come on holiday w them. however, as soon as the cruise liner sets sail, jason tells chrissy he wants to "find himself" before college, and dumps her. she + her girls end up gravitating towards steve + his boys

photocheer - jonathan x chrissy, in case that wasn't obvious, lol. no upside down au, meaning nancy + steve never broke up and jonathan never had to be confronted about his photography so he's still a major outcast. he gets paired up with chrissy for the year in a school subject - which reminds him of the only time he ever enjoyed a party, when he'd bumped into her at tina's halloween party their junior year and she'd insisted she'd change him from being "a guy who hates parties". he still pines after nancy, and chrissy tries to help, but he gets real defensive, and so does she, which he finds strange, usually people just leave him alone. a bit of grumpy x sunshine, a bunch of angst. the choice bit is idk whether they have a tender heart to heart at the peak of the angst or if they explode into a moment of fiery passion lmao

edancy dm vs dm - it's not that max doesn't want to play dnd when lucas asks her to join hellfire, she just doesn't want to be the only girl, especially being one of the youngest members. she airs her grievances out to nancy, who tells her that she used to dm for mike n the boys once upon a time, if enough girls want to join, she'd happily write a campaign for them. cue erica, robin, vickie (maybe barb + chrissy too? maybe another everybody lives au?) all joining this campaign. word gets around to eddie, who's a little upset that the girls didn't feel comfortable around hellfire, but also very, very intrigued about how total priss, nancy wheeler leads a campaign. they eventually conglomerate into one big oneshot in which both eddie and nancy control the narrative, trying to outdo each other so that their respective party comes out victorious

camp hawk - a big ol' project i'm working on that's going to take forever anyway lol. summer camp au, you know the drill

stargyle coworkers, stongyle relationship - we all know it, we all love it, the idea that stobin have to survive to work Every Single Job together. however, in this case, robin has to leave steve alone for a bit. her hippie ass parents have gone and accidentally joined a cult and she has to get them out of it. the temp agency they work for has steve listed as Not To Work Alone and so they assign him their newest recruit from california. argyle moved to hawkins bc his (boyfriend/roommate-crush, idk if they're established or just pining atp) jonathan wanted to move home. argyle tells jonathan all about his new coworker and how great this guy is and jonathan's horrified to see that it's his own queer awakening, steve harrington. he was hoping there'd be some avoiding him

Reader insert fics:

ralph x pirate - little rich boy ralphie watches you, a pirate, pillage the town he's staying in on holiday, falls in love with you instantly and stows away on your ship. ofc usually that's a one-way ticket to the plank, but you take pity on him. you think you can have some fun with him

leonard fix-it - instead of meeting those godawful sisters that ruin his life, lenny meets you, a teacher's apprentice, and slowly starts to realise the feelings he and jacky have for each other aren't actual love, they've just convinced each other they have to be bc they've given up everything to live this life just to realise they don't really want it long-term. he realises this as he starts to genuinely fall in love with you

older!tom fic #1 - something i've played about with for a really long time, lol. way before the current older!tom brainrot. you and tom had a summer fling in your late teens, never really kept in touch but never forgot each other. you have an Important Business Lunch with an Important Client for work and both you and tom are thrilled to see each other again. sparks very much reignite, uglies very much bump, etc etc

older!tom series #2 - put as #2 in the sense that this is different from ^that older!tom. basically just a series of series, telling this specific timeline of tom's. (if you want to request more on this, feel free to tell me what stage of the timeline you wanna see the most, too!)

[will80sbyers]

The Van Scene - Breakdown, part 1

Will and Mike are in the Van, hoping to find Eleven soon. Mike is still worried about her being in danger because of the things the Agent said before dying and the things Argyle said in the desert. Mike is also still thinking about what Will said to him when they were sitting together over the car, Mike is still thinking about his fight with El... and what will happen after they find her.

Will is hopeful about finding El safe and sound, so he wants to talk to Mike about something silly just to make conversation and an idea comes to mind:

Will tells Mike: when we find her we can all, the three of us, go together in Vegas and have fun before going back to Hawkins to help the others!

Mike likes the idea of having fun with Will, and he has matured a bit so he's over his phase in season 3 when he just wanted to grow up fast and thought that playing d&d was a thing only kids did, he's in Hellfire now and Eddie helped him realize that being himself is not that bad, and he should care less about what other people think and if they call him a freak or think he's not cool... but Mike is still worried about El

and Will just made him think again about the fact that soon they will find Eleven and they will have to talk about what happened between them... Mike will have to confront the problems between them... will Eleven actually want to go to Vegas with Mike after talking about their problems?

meanwhile, Will understands Mike's feelings and he sees that he is scared and needs comfort

Mike is feeling scared because he's thinking about if El would even still want to spend time with him after they see each other again, Mike - as the script let us know - is convinced, after their fight and the letter that El left for him - that Eleven wants to break up with him, and she doesn't need him at all anymore in her life.

Mike is understanding that El is not the scared little girl that he found in the woods and that needed help from him, Mike feels like he can't say the ''I love you'' to her, there is something blocking him from doing that, so he can't really resolve their issue, he's not sure if he can fix things between them like Will suggested when they were in Lenora... what if she actually doesn't need him and doesn't want to spend time with him anymore after they break up?

Part 2 here

[devilsupdates]

I just saw this

Taking a Look at Potential Devils Head Coaching Candidates

TSN’s Pierre LeBrun mentioned some potential candidates for the Devils head coaching job, so let’s take a look at them.

By Jared W Moore Apr 3, 2024, 11:00am EDT

Two weeks ago, I wrote about what qualities the New Jersey Devils should look for from their next head coach. I didn’t really talk so much about systems or anything like that, other than I wanted somebody known for more defensive structure than the previous regime. I also talked about accountability and how there needs to be a lot more of that moving forward regardless of who the coach winds up being. If you haven’t read that, I’d suggest going back and taking a look at it as I’ll reference some key points from that article throughout this one.

Last week, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun mentioned during their “Insider Trading” segment that current interim coach Travis Green is a serious candidate for the job. In case the video doesn’t open for you (TSN can be weird sometimes with content being blocked geographically), here’s the quote of what LeBrun actually said in regards to Green and the Devils vacancy.

“My sense from talking to the Devils is that Travis Green is a serious candidate, absolutely. They love what he’s done since taking over for Lindy Ruff, the Devils feel they’re a different team, they play differently. But GM Tom Fitzgerald will probably still look at some other candidates just to have a thorough process here in terms of naming a head coach at the end of the year. So bigger names....perhaps, like (Craig) Berube, (Todd) McLellan, Gerard Gallant who hasn’t coached all year.....those are all possibilities but yes, Travis Green is very much a possibility.”

LeBrun is as credible an insider as there is and he clearly has connections within the Devils organization. His recent on-the-record conversations with Tom Fitzgerald and Martin Brodeur are proof of that. While circumstances can change and lists can change (Lindy Ruff wasn’t exactly the first choice the last time the Devils conducted an extensive head coaching search), LeBrun isn’t the type of insider who will throw anything at the wall just to see what sticks. I’m sure he didn’t just float the names of Craig Berube, Todd McLellan, and Gerard Gallant out there for no reason and on a whim if he didn’t hear from someone (Fitzgerald, Brodeur, agents, the coaches themselves) that they have some level of interest in the job. I also think if you have your sights set on a bigger name like Mike Sullivan, keep in mind that he already has an NHL head coaching job. I’ll be the first person to admit that this list is kind of uninspiring, but I don’t think its anything more than a few names LeBrun heard and that the Devils will do due diligence. I say all that to say that I wouldn’t look at the names LeBrun mentioned as a final list. Circumstances can change.

That said, that didn’t stop people from reacting to the list. Something that I was guilty of as well.

Devils candidates mentioned by LeBrun, ranked.

1. Berube

2. Gallant

3. McLellan

4. Getting hit by a bus

5. Green

After having a few days to take a step back and think more about it, I thought it would be a smart idea to take a look at each individual candidate, try to figure out why the Devils might be interested in them, and whether or not they’re the right fit.

Let’s start with the interim bench boss, Travis Green.

Travis Green

The best argument for Green getting the permanent gig might be the same argument for Principal Skinner getting his job back after Ned Flanders was fired as school principal.....he seems to know the kid’s names.

The Devils might indeed be playing differently under Green, but it’s fair to question whether or not they’re playing well, despite a 6-8-0 record since taking over.

On the season, the Devils are giving up 3.39 goals per game and are averaging just over 30 shots on goal allowed per game. In a small sample size since Green took over, they’re giving up 2.92 goals per game, however, I think that can be more closely tied to improved goaltending by Jake Allen (.923 since the trade) and Kaapo Kahkonen (.934) over what the Devils were getting the majority of the season. And while purely counting shot totals doesn’t tell the entire story of how the Devils are playing defensively, they’re giving up more shots on goal with Green on board than before (31.7 shots on goal per game). It might be true that players such as Luke Hughes have cleared the rookie wall, but this is also still a team that regularly plays Brendan Smith for some reason, so take all of this talk about defensive improvements with a grain of salt.

The Devils are also not doing so hot with the expected goals since the Ruff firing. And while I’m always the first person to point out that real goals mean far more than expected goals, it further supports the idea aren’t really playing all that well now, they’re just getting better goaltending than before.

It’s probably not fair to Green to expect him to dump Lindy Ruff’s system overnight, implement his own, and get the team to execute it when they’ve had little to no practice time and no full training camp. The Devils have played games in 14 of the 30 days since Ruff has been fired, after all. But we’ve also seen very little to suggest they’d have more structure defensively or maintain what they’ve been doing offensively. In fairness to Green, the power play has ticked up a bit since he took over. Whether that has more to do with Timo Meier taking over Tyler Toffoli’s spot on the top unit, and whether or not we should ignore that the PP was stagnant for a long stretch under Green’s coaching....I’ll leave that up to you to judge.

For what its worth, I don’t believe Green is a serious candidate to be the Devils next coach. Or at least, I hope he isn’t. John expressed his concerns with the power play back when Green was hired and I think a lot of what he wrote at that time has indeed come to fruition. Chris wrote the other day about how Green has overseen too many lifeless efforts to get serious consideration, including Friday’s loss in Buffalo, and it goes noted that a team that is supposedly still alive for a playoff spot somehow plays as uninspired, lifeless hockey that this Devils team plays.

Green does have some championship pedigree in his background with a championship at the WHL level with the Portland Winterhawks and a Calder Cup Final appearance with the Utica Comets in 2014-15, but its fair to be underwhelmed with his previous NHL head coaching run in Vancouver, as well as his tenure thus far as the interim Devils coach. I can see why Fitzgerald might want to give Green an interview as a professional courtesy, but I feel like hiring Green would be ‘settling’ and the Devils would be doing it because he’s there. The only way promoting Green makes sense is if they can’t get their preferred choice and they choose to wait until a better candidate becomes available sometime next season. Either way, the Devils should aim higher than settling for Travis Green.

Todd McLellan

McLellan brings plenty of experience to the table, as he has well over 1100 NHL games as a head coach and 9 playoff appearances on his resume. He is best known for his run with the San Jose Sharks, becoming the winningest coach in franchise history and helping the Sharks reach a pair of conference finals. McLellan landed on his feet after parting ways with the Sharks, getting the head coaching job in Edmonton, but he was fired early in his fourth season in Alberta. He took over in Los Angeles prior to the 2019-20 season and helped lead the rebuilding Kings to a pair of first round playoff exits, but was once again dismissed earlier this season.

McLellan is known for a defense-first system and clogging up the neutral zone with a 1-3-1 alignment. It’s not the most visually pleasing version of hockey to watch, and I think questions whether or not the Devils have the personnel to play that manner is fair, but McLellan has had enough success in this league to where he’s going to do things his way and want to bring this structure to his next head coaching job. I’m also old enough to remember the Devils being very successful playing a brand of hockey that could be described as somewhere between grinding, efficient, and boring.

I don’t necessarily hold it against McLellan that he got fired from his last two NHL head coach jobs (and ‘mutually parted ways’ in the third).....coaches are hired to be fired, after all. I also don’t necessarily hold it against McLellan that Cam Talbot was brutal for a six-week stretch around the time of McLellan’s firing because that’s the risk you run counting on a journeyman netminder in Cam Talbot in the first place. I also don’t hold it against McLellan that the Kings appear to lack the top-end talent a team needs to get past the Edmonton Oilers, something they have failed to do the last two seasons in the playoffs. Never mind being able to beat more complete teams like Colorado or Vegas in a Best-of-Seven series. And it should be noted that it appears the coaching change will work as the Kings have stabilized, Talbot has stabilized, and appear to be heading back to the postseason. Unlike Tom Fitzgerald, Rob Blake knew when to make the coaching change and will reap the rewards for doing so.

I do question whether or not McLellan will be able to get that level of buy-in and commitment defensively if the Devils were to hire him, as he has had issues getting that from players like Pierre-Luc Dubois and Kevin Fiala. Granted, Dubois has his own history of playing his way out of favor in markets he doesn’t want to be in and Fiala won’t be confused with Mark Stone defensively, but the Devils have their share of forwards who make cursory efforts in a 200-foot game. I question whether or not the Devils have the wingers who are capable of winning on the boards and being able to retrieve pucks. But thinking more about it, I do think with some tweaks on the roster that need to happen anyways, McLellan could be an interesting hire.

Gerard Gallant

Gallant, who as far as we know is the only repeat name from Tom Fitzgerald’s previous coaching search, is back in the mix, and understandably so. His body of work at his three most recent head coaching jobs in Florida, Vegas, and New York speak for itself as he has consistently gotten his teams to the postseason. Gallant is a former IIHF World Championship gold medalist as a coach, a former QMJHL League champion, a former Memorial Cup champion, and a Jack Adams winner. He also was the coach who led the Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season, where they ultimately lost to the Washington Capitals in five games. Gallant has been known for being a players coach, to where he’d allow the skill players to play to their strengths and hold themselves accountable. That all sounds well and good, but when the opposition adjusts, Gallant’s teams in the playoffs have often been left having no answers. Lindy Ruff outcoached Gallant in last year’s playoffs, so turning around and replacing Ruff with Gallant would be a curious choice. Gallant has also been criticized for not doing a whole lot to develop young talent, and it’s probably not a coincidence that former #1 overall pick Alexis Lafreniere had a breakout season the second he left. In fairness to Gallant, his job is to coach the hockey team first and foremost win games, not necessarily try to squeeze blood from a stone in hoping that Kaapo Kakko is better than he actually is. Considering the Devils still have some young talent that needs developing in Luke Hughes, Simon Nemec, and eventually, Seamus Casey and/or whoever the Devils first round pick is, I think its fair to question whether you want Gallant involved. I said previously that I think the Devils team needs a kick in the pants and I don’t know that Gallant’s “let the players police the room” approach is the direction I’d go in when that clearly hasn’t worked this year under a different player’s coach in Lindy Ruff. Add in the fact that Gallant typically has a short shelf-life....shorter than he should considering his track record of success and that would suggest to me there’s something going on behind the scenes we’re not quite privy to. I don’t know if his hands off approach tends to lead to him losing the room or if he’s just a miserable jerk behind closed doors, but I feel like Gallant would be better suited with a more veteran team where the standard is understood. I think the Devils are still in the process of figuring out what that standard actually is. Just because I write on this blog that the Devils need to have the mindset that “this can never happen again” doesn’t necessarily mean the players will show up to camp next September with that mindset.

Craig Berube

The most interesting name on this list to me is Craig Berube. Berube coached two seasons in Philadelphia and made the playoffs once before famously resurfacing in St. Louis. After serving as an assistant coach on Mike Yeo’s staff, Berube took over for the fired Yeo and the Blues went from worst to first, ultimately winning the franchise’s only Stanley Cup in 2019. Berube followed that up with three more playoff appearances, but the Blues struggled to replicate Jordan Binnington’s brilliance in net as well as replace what Alex Pietrangelo brought to their blueline. St. Louis missed the playoffs last season and they fired Berube 28 games into this season when it became apparent things weren’t going to turn around.

What ultimately did Berube in in St. Louis was poor defense and goaltending, as their defensive zone play was not good. That said, I think a lot of these issues are more on roster construction than they are on the coach himself. Torey Krug was a desperation signing after Pietrangelo left for Vegas a few summers ago that hasn’t worked out. Colton Parayko has not been good for some time now. Their CapFriendly is littered with unmovable contracts and NTCs. Players like Ryan O’Reilly who play a good two-way game ultimately left. And while Binnington is having a good year this year, the 6x6M contract that he signed a few years ago has been a mixed bag. Some good like a .912 this year, some bad like a .894 over 61 games last year. Most of this probably isn’t Berube’s fault.

That said, I think Berube was instrumental for helping the Blues become Stanley Cup champions. They got the right level of buy-in at the right time. They played as a team and played a physical brand of hockey. Berube did play 1000+ NHL games as an enforcer, after all. Instead of letting the players hold themselves accountable, he holds them accountable (which might be part of the reason why Jordan Kyrou wasn’t too sad to see him leave). That type of hard-nosed style may have a shorter shelf-life than most coaches, but it can be very effective.

Berube would need to do a better job of having all five skaters engaged defensively than Ruff did, as that was ultimately one of the things that did both coaches in in their respective cities, but I think Berube’s approach would be what the Devils need at this time.

Final Thoughts

Upon further review, I’d probably rank Berube and McLellan as my top choices from LeBrun’s list, followed by Gallant and then getting hit by a bus. And then Travis Green. Again, its not exactly an awe-inspiring list, but its still early in the process, coaches who may ultimately become available such as Mike Sullivan haven’t become available yet, and there might wind up being another interesting name linked to this opening that we haven’t heard yet.

The pressure is on for Fitzgerald to get this hire right. Odds are if he doesn’t, he won’t get to stick around long enough to make a third coaching hire.

What do you all think?