#i once again wrote something that wasn't planned. just based on the vibes

[a-tale-of-legends]

Green, on a fun day out with Red and Blue, is approached by a child. Said child has a piece of paper and pen. Looking behind them Green can see what she assumes is the kids mom, giving an encouraging smile. The kid wants an autograph, clearly. Green has been in these situations before though. They don't want an autograph from her. They want one from Red or Blue. Green has long since accepted that fact, so she gives the kid a smile before they can open their mouth.

" Hey there kiddo! Blue and Red are a bit busy at the moment, but they'll be back soon. Wanna wait with me?" A practiced line that she hopes doesn't leak any of the small bitterness she feels. That wouldn't be fair to the kid. Hell, that wouldn't be fair to Red and Blue. The child looks up at her in confusion, shifting awkwardly and fiddling with their pen and paper.

" U-um. I...I actually wanted your autograph, Miss Green!"

Eh?

The child continues, getting braver with each word, " I-I just think you're really cool! I like watching your battles a lot, a-and I wanna be as cool as you are someday!" Bowing slightly, thrusting the pen and paper forward, " C-can I please have your autograph?!"

Well. Damn. Fuck. She wasn't expecting this. Since when did she get fans?! Was her head too stuck in her ass to notice? Well now she feels like shit. Now she....now she feels like she's gonna cry. Fuck.

" You're really sweet, kid..." Green tries to keep her voice steady, a new reality settling in. She has a fan. Said fan wants her autograph. Holy shit, " Of course, I'll give you an autograph! Lemme see..."

She gingerly takes the pen and paper from the kid, and signs it. She winces at her work. She really needs to work on her signature. Kinda sloppy, and the kid doesn't deserve that. Still, not wanting to hold up the kid and their mom up any longer, she gives the pen and paper back, giving them a wide smile and a wink.

" Here ya go! One autograph for a very special fan, right here!" The kid eyes practically sparkle, excitedly taking both items and staring at it as if it's the entire world. Arceus, Green can feel the tears starting to swell, fuck.

" Thank you, Miss Green! I'll cherish it forever! " The kid quickly bows and runs off to their mom,cheering as they do. The mom happily looks at the autograph her kid is showing off, looking up when her kid isn't looking. She smiles at Green, mouthing a quick 'thank you' before taking her kids hand and walking off, the kid rambling excitedly as they go. Green waves them off, a swell of emotion in her chest.

Cherish it forever.

Green chuckles- it's wet and coarse,no longer able to keep it in. Was someone really going to remember her? Cherish her name,forever? The bitterness in her laughs at the thought. The sweetness from that encounter shoves it to the side, and she relishes in it. She is crying fully now, smiling to herself as the kid and their mom are long gone.

" Hey, sorry for the wait. That line was terrible - what the fuck happened to you?" Blue's voice catches her attention. She turns, eyes full of tears, to Red and Blue, who's looking at her with concern.

" I have a fan!" she croaked, raising her hands to gesture writing, " They wanted an autograph!"

Blue blinks, then shakes his head and sighs, " Green..." He says, though the affection was not lost of her.

Red's worry melts away with a smile, signing to his best friend, ' I told you so'

"Yeah, yeah," she waves him off, sniffing and wiping away her tears, " Pass me some food before I start bawling,you dorks".

" Dorks-"

The day goes on as usual after that. Blue and Green's banter, Red following along half-paying attention, half in his own world. Pikachu and Eevee playing with each other through it all. Green repeats the words the kid said to her throughout the day, a big goofy smile on her face that not even Blue's assholery can wipe off.

Cherish it forever.

[braveclementine]

Well, That Went Well

Warnings: None

Copyright: I do not own any Twilight characters or locations. I do own Davina Mikelson and Marcel. I also own the backstory for my OC. I do not condone any copying of this.

Davina P.O.V.

Once out of the hospital, Sam took me grocery shopping. I had protested because I felt like I was wasting his time until he pointed out that I could fit more groceries into his truck bed than the carriers on the motorcycle.

"I heard Prom is coming up at your school." Sam said as we moved down the pasta aisle as I looked for plain spaghetti and tomato sauce.

"Ugh." I grumbled. "What a kid thing."

Sam laughed. "You do realize you're at school right?"

"Just for some of the classes I couldn't get on the army base." I muttered. "So I can get my high school diploma."

Sam tossed the pasta into the cart. I glared at him, "I prefer my pasta not broken."

He picked the pasta box up and pinched it between his fingers. I could swear I heard the pasta break in the box.

I seethed, snatching the box away from him, "Sam!"

He laughed.

"Anyways." I muttered, "Mike invited me down to La Push for a beach party."

Sam grinned, "When?"

"Saturday."

"Interesting. I'll be there."

"Don't you dare embarrass me in front of my friends Sammy boy." I threatened.

"I won't if you intern at the La Push hospital instead." Sam blackmailed.

I rolled my eyes. I had a feeling that Sam knew about Carlisle being a vampire.

Yes, I knew. I overheard the last bit of the conversation between Edward and Carlisle. Honestly, I wasn't even surprised. The ice cold skin and the beauty probably was a sign. So what did it mean for Sam's boiling hot skin?

I wasn't even terrified about the idea of being Carlisle's soulmate. Honestly, I was excited that something like that existed for me. And I hated the idea that he thought of himself as a monster. What monster works in a hospital trying to save lives?

But then, of course, that question brought up bad memories so I pushed it aside. After all, I was planning on working in a hospital.

Maybe it was redemption.

But I also didn't deserve someone like Carlisle.

"Davina?"

I jerked my head up, realizing I had drifted off into a daydream. "Sorry. What?"

"Interning at La Push." Sam continued.

I rolled my eyes again and continued walking down the aisle, "I don't know what your problem with the Cullens is Sam. Jasper and Alice are some of my closest friends and Dr. Cullen is a fantastic doctor. I could learn more under him than ten doctors put together!"

Sam gritted his teeth, pushing the cart in silence. "I don't like it."

"No Chris Evans vibes. You're not hot enough to get away with it. Besides, why? Give me one reason Sam that's all I need. One reason." I said, wishing we could get back to jesting and joking with each other. I stalked down the sweet aisle, grabbing chocolate muffins, brownies, cookies, and more.

"He's dangerous."

I snorted so loudly it hurt my throat. "Yes, very dangerous. That's why he saves lives. Don't tell me you're jealous? Me and Dr. Cullen aren't a thing. We don't want to be a thing. He's probably married for Merlin's sake! And even if he wasn't I'm basically a teenager."

"You did not." Sam rolled his eyes.

"Huh?"

"Merlins' sake? Please tell me you did not just say that." Sam said, a grin starting to spread across his face.

I scowled at him. "I happen to like reading Harry Potter. And even more, reading Harry Potter fanfictions, thank you very much."

"Didn't you say you were writing a Harry Potter fanfiction?" Sam asked warily, watching me dump all the sweet treats into the cart. "Also, you're going to get cavities."

I ignored the latter part and said, "yeah, I can't believe you remembered. It's called Elizabeth Kane. I wrote a whole series."

"Of course you did. Doesn't she fall in love with Fred Weasley or something along those lines?" Sam asked, rolling his eyes.

"Maybe." I said slyly. "Or maybe it's Severus Snape- or Cedric Diggory! You'll just have to read it to find out."

Sam rolled his eyes. "I'm not reading it."

"You're a terrible friend."

"So are you."

"Thank you."

"It wasn't a compliment."

"Oh I know."

"Shorty."

"Ugly."

"Damn, don't you have enough sweets?"

"You can never have enough chocolate."

"I have a headache."

"Eat. You'll feel better."

"Do not quote me Harry Potter."

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

My internship started the next day and I was bloody nervous. Both Alice and Jasper had talked me up, telling me how their dad was really nice and wouldn't give me a hard time. And being around Jasper was strangely calming whenever I started to worry.

I got dressed in my scrubs at the high school and headed towards the blue pickup truck. Sam had decided he'd be my ride until I got a car of my own. He hated the idea of me possibly getting sick because of flying through the rain on my motorcycle.

"I need to go clothes shopping." I grumbled as I slammed the pickup door shut behind me, settling down into my seat.

"Well hello to you too." Sam said, pulling out of the parking lot slowly.

"Sorry, I just don't have shoes that are work appropriate. I have sneakers, and I have combat boots."

"Wouldn't they prefer you to have sneakers? In case you have to run?"

I snorted, "For one thing, I can run in heels, thank you for asking. And two, no, because I'm not actually doing work. I'm more of a. . . paperwork office person? I mean, I'm observing the doctors and nurses, but my work is more office style. They won't have me working over any real patients."

"They aren't making you wear a skirt though?" Sam questioned.

"It's preferred, but I don't have any skirts. Like I said, I need to go shopping." I mumbled, biting my bottom lip. "I'll have to find a day to go. . . I don't think there are any clothing stores close by though."

"You can always go to Port Angeles." Sam answered. "They have stores there."

"Yeah." I answered, looking out the window.

"And I'll drive you."

"Nonsense." I scoffed. "I'll just make a date with girlfriends or something. Prom is coming up, I'm sure they'll need dresses and stuff."

"Alright, but if you do need a ride, I'm here."

"Thanks Sammy." I murmured as he pulled into the hospital parking lot. He parked, waiting for me to get out.

"You okay?" He questioned, touching my shoulder. I turned to see his brown, almost black eyes filled with concern.

There were so many thoughts running around my head. Most of them were related to the fact that my boss was also my soulmate who was also a vampire. The other part was knowing that the nurses probably weren't going to like me because Dr. Cullen would probably show me some sort of favoritism, partly for being an intern, partly for being his soulmate. And of course, just forgetting all my knowledge as I stared into those lovely gold eyes and acting like a complete idiot.

"Nervous." I replied softly, dropping most of my walls and barriers. "I don't think the nurses are going to like me much. And I. . . I really think I might fall for Dr. Cullen. Which is so stupid, I shouldn't, it's not right but. . . there's something I felt when I looked at him. . . like we had some sort of connection. . . it was hot and I thought my heart would burst. I don't know, that sounds so stupid but it's true. Or maybe everyone feels that." I laughed lightly. "But I'm also afraid of screwing everything up. I'm afraid that I'm going to act like a total dumbass and forget everything that I learned. I don't. . . I don't want to be hurt again."

Sam's angry expression softened when he heard that and he pulled me into a hug. "You're going to be okay. I promise Dav, okay?"

"Thanks." I said, pulling back with a small smile. I kissed his cheek real quick and popped open the pickup truck door. "Say hi to Emily for me, will ya?"

"Of course." Sam said. "What time should I pick you up?"

I hesitated, unsure. "I'll text you."

He nodded and then I slammed the door closed and headed up to the hospital doors. I took a deep breath, took the door handle in hand, and pulled it open.

I was met by a nurse named Courtney who showed me around the hospital- from a standing point of view- before leading me to the second floor, where more of the offices were kept. She showed me first to a small office adjacent to Dr. Cullen's office. We had an adjoining door, but she said it was rarely used and that he might even have his bookcase propped up on the opposite side.

I didn't blame him. I'd put a barrier up between me and any obsessive freaks who didn't know me and only thought I was hot.

The office was small, though I had windows to my back that overlooked the woods of Forks. The table I would work at was thin, but long and spacious with two rather comfortable chairs on either side of it.

There was a counter that was attached to the table, empty besides a vase with blue flowers in it. They looked relatively new and I wondered if Dr. Cullen had done that or if it was just a welcoming thing from the staff.

"Now I will introduce you to Dr. Cullen." Courtney said, leading me out of the office.

He was right next door so I had no chance to ask her what she thought of him. She knocked on the door and waited. There was a calm, though loud 'come in' and she twisted the doorknob, opening the door for me.

Carlisle P.O.V.

I was rather nervous, waiting for Davina's tour to be done so that Courtney would introduce her to me. I'd chosen Courtney as I felt she would be the nicest person for Davina to get along with. The other nurses didn't seem very enthusiastic about her working so close with me.

When they were finally in the other room, I heard Davina murmur her gratitude about the office. Good, I was glad she liked it.

And finally, Courtney knocked on the door and I let them in.

Davina's face was the first thing I saw. She looked expectant and excited while being composed and nervous at the same time. Her features were pleasing to the eye. Her face was diamond shaped, but not extreme. Her eyes were the same colour as her hair, a dark brown almost black. The green streaks had completely faded from her hair but the blue had obviously been redone.

She was already in her nurse scrubs, although they were more refined than the other nurses. She looked beautiful in blue.

Her scent hit hard too and I clenched the desk quickly so as not to attack her. Strange, it had never hit so hard before, not even when I'd been taking care of her. . . Oh right, I had held my breath on purpose around her.

It was bad enough the human girl was my soulmate- I would eventually have to turn her- but now she was my blood singer too. I would be lucky if I didn't kill her.

She smelled amazing. Like peaches, almonds, honey, and lime. It was an unusual scent wrapped together, like an alcoholic drink. I stopped breathing immediately. The scent, most unfortunately, was cut off.

"The new intern, Dr. Cullen." Courtney said rather professionally.

"Thank you Courtney." I said quickly. I could see Davina's eyes drifting between Courtney and I wondered what she was thinking. "I can take care of things from here."

Courtney smiled at Davina and then exited the room, the door clicking behind her softly.

"She's not smitten with you." Davina said almost immediately.

"Hmm?" I asked, taken aback.

Davina had her head tilted to the side just slightly, the light drifting through the windows dancing on her features pleasantly. I made sure I wasn't in the direct light of the sun so that my skin wouldn't sparkle. I would tell her eventually, now wasn't the time.

"The others, they're completely infatuated with you. Losing their minds when they see you. She doesn't." Davina said with a slight frown.

She can read people well then. I would have a hard time hiding things from her. In the beginning anyways.

And then she blinked, "Sorry, that wasn't related to this conversation. I just noticed it, was all."

"You needn't worry." I said, holding up a patient hand. "How do you like the office?"

Her eyes flicked towards the door, which I had uncovered, leaving the bookcase slightly to the side. She grinned and I saw that her teeth were straight and white. Not perfectly white, but white enough. "You uncovered the door?"

If I could've blushed, I would've. "Ah, so you heard about that?"

"You don't think I'll distract you then?" Davina questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"I think you're here more for the job and the learning experience than what other interns might be thinking they could get." I insinuated.

She paused, looking at me with a strange gaze. She looked like she wanted to ask something, but was afraid of the consequences of asking it.

"You can ask me anything, Miss Michaelson."

She tucked her top lip between her teeth before saying, "It's nothing, really. What do you want from me today?"

The question shouldn't have made my heart skip a beat- metaphorically of course- but it did. I quickly recovered within milliseconds and picked up one of the manila folders. "This is mostly testing, seeing what you already know and don't know. Cases, symptoms, patients backgrounds, past diagnosis, past illnesses and whatnot, seeing what you already know and what I'll pick up with your teaching. In there is also a schedule for times you will shadow one of the nurses or myself when taking care of patients. The schedule may vary depending on what you give me for the diagnosis of the fake patients in the same folder."

Davina nodded, taking the folder from my hand. "I'll get started on this right away."

"Miss Michaelson?" I asked as she turned to leave.

"Yes Dr. Cullen?"

I paused, raking in her beauty before noticing my hand in the sun and quickly slid the sparkling appendage under the desk. "It is nothing. Please have it done by next week."

"Don't worry, I will." Davina said seriously, stepping out of the office, and closing the door behind her. I listened to her footsteps walk a short distance and then they entered her office. I could hear the folder being placed down on her desk, the wheels of the chair rolling across the floor.

She let out the tiniest sigh as I heard her sit in the chair. I could hear the folder being slid towards her on the table and it being flipped open quickly.

"Bloody hell Davina." She murmured to herself. "Get your head together."

Automatically, I wished Edward was here so I could know what she was thinking about. It didn't last long though as she started talking to herself.

"Alright, first patient. Muscle pain in the shoulders. Muscle pain in the thighs. Muscles weakness. dark red urine. Well this one is rather easy, it's rhabdomyolysis."

Easy? I had never even heard of a kid her age even knowing that that was a disease. I had clearly underestimated her, it wouldn't happen again.

I barely got any of my own work done, listening in to her voice. I tentatively smelt the air and I could almost taste her scent on my tongue. But it wasn't as bad as when she had been in the room.

"Ugh!" Her voice was a bit louder. If I hadn't been a vampire I probably would've heard it anyways. Her next words however definitely needed vampire hearing to listen to. "Get him out of your head Davina! You can't fall in love with your boss dammit. You are not one of those crazy girls. The job. You're just here for the job dammit."

My heart soared. I felt alive.

Her pencil started to tap impatiently on the desk and she muttered under her breath in frustration. "I know this one! C'mon! Headaches, impaired sensations, muscle weakness and twitching. . . kidney damage. . . emotional changes. Ugh! Get the doc out of your head! MERCURY POISOINING! I TOLD YOU YOU KNEW IT!"

I chuckled under my breath. She truly was a strange girl. She was my girl. My mate. My blood singer. My soulmate.

We both worked late into the night.

[halestrom]

😄 for leather, ✏️ for won’t say I’m in love, 🎲 for alllllllllll of themmmmm

😄 What part are you most excited to write?

baassssiclly the fic is gonna end with john fucking rodney while rodney is wearing his season 4 leather jacket and nothing else so that's gonna be fun lol.

✏️ Have you deleted any scenes or strayed from your initial plan?

I just deleted like 3k! Not because the scene wasn't good, but because its the Moment in the fic. The oh moment and i liked the one i wrote, but it wasn't the vibe i had had in my head for the last 60k i had written and it was stalling me from writing the rest of it. so i scrapped the whole thing and rewrote it and i like this one a lot better.honestly. might rewrite it again because its The Moment I've had in my head and i want it to be perfect.

🎲 Scroll wildly through your WIP doc and post a snippet from where you land when you stop!

I Won't Say I'm In Love:

“Hmm,” Radek said. “So, there is no one?” Evan shrugged. “As far as I know there isn’t. Unless you wanna know who I’m fucking.” “No, do not have the time to listen to that list again,” Radek said, shaking his head. “Hey!” Evan said, slightly offended even though it was true. “Hi!” Evan looked up as David appeared in the doorway, looking between Radek and Evan. “Oh, you weren’t saying hi?” David asked, even as he walked over and kissed Radek hello. “Well, it could double as a hello,” Evan said, tapping his stylus against his tablet. “Mostly I was just being insulted.” “I called him a slut,” Radek said, beaming at David.

Slowburn

His phone rang again and he checked it, seeing the same number. He ignored it, but after a second thought added Rodney’s name to his contact list. The phone rang again, and this time John picked it up. “We’re sorry, the number you have dialed is no longer in service. Please hang up and try again,” John said in the same voice he had once used on CO’s he didn’t like. “Bullshit,” Rodney muttered. “Look! I know I’ve been a bit of a dick lately but there’s a good reas—” John hung up

Leather+John

John pulled back from Rodney and sneezed, shaking his head to clear it only to sneeze, and keep on sneezing until he started to get frustrated. He was aware of Rodney hovering, hands fluttering in the air and holding something it took John a moment to realize was a tissue. He took it and blew his nose, shaking his head as something still tickled his nose. He finally managed to clear it and breathed in, smelling something new. “Cologne?” he asked, hearing how stuffy he sounded. Rodney took a few, hasty, steps back. “Yeah, new one,” he said. “I uh…take it that it doesn’t work for you?” John waved for Rodney to come closer and leaned in to kiss him again, only to sneeze when Rodney got closer and he backed up, shaking his head. “Ah, Jesus. What is that? Pepper spray?” he asked, rubbing both hands over his face as he tried to stop himself from sneezing again, but it was a lost cause. “Smoke Show. It’s supposed to have notes of pink peppercorn,” Rodney said, rubbing the side of his neck, looking at John before shaking his head and walking into the bathroom, the shower starting up a second later.

One More Lonely Soul

“Is this urgent?” he asked, interrupting Bates. He dropped his hand to look at his new Senior NCO and then at Ford, a kid entirely too young to be an XO in his opinion, but John was still too new to question anything, even if he had a thousand questions. Bates opened his mouth, closed it and glared. “I would think considering the past week you would find the security of this base to be quite urgent.” “I think the only thing the past week has shown us is that any preconceived notion anyone had should be kicked out the door,” John replied before he leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. “Look, Sgt. None of you want me in this position, and I’m not gonna Monday morning quarterback Colonel Sumners decisions regarding chain of command, but, and no offense here Lt. Ford, but, I don’t think he is quite ready to be in Command. Right?” “No argument here,” Ford said quickly, looking over at Bates and back at John.

[smblmn]

5, 4, 3, 2, 1

Rules: post the top 5 works you’re most proud of that you released in 2022 (not necessarily your most popular), your top 4 current WIPs that you’re excited to release in the new year, your top 3 biggest improvements in your writing over the past year, your top 2 resolutions (ways you wish to improve your writing/blog) for the new year, and your number 1 favorite line you’ve written this year!

Tagged by @blackandwhiteandrose and @lizzie-bennetdarcy, thank you so much, lovelies 💖😘

5 works (in no particular order):

Right in the doorway I love soulmates AUs so I thought about writing one where the lines are not clear enough and there's a lot left to chance. I really like how it turned out.

Just because you like to wander, that doesn't mean you don't know the way I loved the prompt for the Frozen Over fest so much that I ended up writing this fic instead of the one I had planned to write. Hallmark vibes and the Brewers being supportive (and meddling too). I had soooo much fun writing it.

In the eyes of the beholder I like the idea of the experiment this fic is based on very much, and since I watched the campaign when it aired I kept thinking about using it for a fic. University students David and Patrick fit in the role very well. I love Artist!David and I thought it would be cute for Patrick and him to meet like that.

On the Outside Looking Through The fic that started my venture into posting. I haven't reread it entirely since I posted it and I know I'd change the way some parts are written, but I'm still very proud of writing more than 50k words in like 2 months.

Breathe again I know it's very short but I also wrote it SO fast... and it wasn't one of those things I write and when I reread I have to rewrite entirely, inspiration struck in a way I wish it would strike again.

4 wips

These are among the ones I want to finish for sure:

green card marriage

Patrick got married to Rachel and is on the process of divorcing her when he moves to SC and guess who he meets?

Patrick buys a house on Schitt's Creek that used to be Moira's childhood home

A Russian Doll AU that probably only interests me but I can't let go of

3 improvements in my writing

This is a hard question but I'll try:

I think I've gotten better at not rushing the plot and take the time the story needs

Punctuation. Though If I've gotten any better at it is thanks to my betas

This is an ongoing task, but I think everyday I get a little bit better at thinking and writing directly in english and not just translating what I want to say

2 writing resolutions

Not caring so much about numbers and validation. I've already gotten better at this but it's still difficult sometimes.

Taking more time with my writing. I'm very anxious and when I feel like I've finished something I want to post it immediately, which leads to finding things I'd change once something is already published.

Number 1 favorite line

From Right in the doorway. At least two people told me my Moira voice was very good, and I take that as the biggest compliment because I find her to be very difficult to write. And I love that sentence.

“You and I are very similar, darling. Sensitive hearts swaddled under layers of beautiful things. I know you’re always waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it’s time for you to put an end to it.” She looks over his shoulder and David turns to see Patrick finally getting closer to them. Before he reaches them, though, Moira squeezes David’s arm, getting him to focus on her once again and delivering her coup de grâce: “The other shoe is unerringly secured in your lover’s confident foot.”

Tagging: @wordthieve @surrealsunday @jamilas-pen @alysiswriting @sspaz1000 @rosedavid @carolrain @dinnfameron @distractivate and anyone who wants to participate!

[thedaveandkimmershow]

I don't know what I thought a hospice is.

Sure I know what hospice is... I just don't know what one looks like. I figured it wasn't a regular hospital so maybe it was something like a long two- or three-story building where everything's super peaceful.

Yeah.

I know nothing.

So when we first arrive at the hospice where Kimmer's aunt Jacquie's running out the clock, yeah.

The home was a pleasant surprise.

Spanish style. Elegant. With a courtyard and a spacious floor plan once you step inside.

A lot of natural light in there, too.

Calm.

The knick-knacks in the courtyard, by the way, specifically remind me of Jacquie's home because she too has an eye for such things.

Now, this private residence is part of a large city but the neighborhood itself reminds us of little town Yakima at its best once upon a time.

That's us romanticizing, I'm sure, but the neighborhood does have a legitimate small-town vibe. The single-family wood construction homes are all just-so, properly maintained.

The larger homes with gardens look like proper B&Bs.

And since the sun was setting at the time we thought about Jacquie's hometown of Yakima, well... yeah. We romanticized this neighborhood a bit.

We're living this experience because Jacquie fell at her memory care home the day after Kimmer 'n I returned from our wedding anniversary vacation celebration at the Universal Resort in Orlando in September.

One day we're back and Kimmer's almost on a plane again Tuesday morning.

At the time, Jacquie seems sore but okay. By Wednesday, though, further examination reveals a fractured hip that requires surgery so Kimmer's on a late afternoon flight Thursday... the surgery happens Saturday, I believe, and it turns out a fractured hip's just the tip of the iceberg.

The last nine months of Jacquie's life are now officially over.

Kimmer drives out to Jacquie's old memory care home to inform admin and staff and collect Jacquie's possessions.

Some of those possessions Kimmer donated away. She did, though, add a toy mermaid to Jacquie's plush collection. The staff added a coupla large grey stuffed elephants. And a dear friend of the family gave Jacquie a little Frankenstein that says Happy Halloween when you push its button.

For all that thoroughly cute plushness, it's a bittersweet experience to close this chapter of Jacquie's life. One of Jacquie's caregivers sat down and cried when Kimmer gave her the news that Jacquie was being transferred to hospice care.

"She was my girl" the caregiver lamented.

So we're at Jacquie's hospice. This is the first of two visits for me in as many days before I leave. I'm here from around noon, Wednesday, gone again Friday morning by noon. Kimmer 'n I are here with Jacquie's son and grandson. It's a legitimate family gathering complete with crosstalk and laughter.

Now, during the week after her hip surgery, Jacquie surprised everyone with more cognitive function than before she went into surgery. She once again understood the concept of "yesterday". She remembered Kimmer's name.

Today, though, isn't that day. Today her eyes are closed much of the time and our communication is based largely on touch.

There are moments, though. Like the ones I wrote about yesterday although there are others I didn't share just then like when Kimmer reminded Jacquie

"You're our people!"

To which Jacquie replied with only a touch of a slur

"That's right."

☺️

The minutes pass and we arrive at another moment where Jacquie's eyes are closed but Kimmer's reminding her

"There was some good stuff. There was some bad stuff. You had a lot of wonderful friends. You had wild times. A faithful son. You had a good life."

I think about those words in the moments that follow. Mostly because it's a kind of whispered summation. A preview of a eulogy that will manifest in the weeks to come.

This stuff does make you think not only about the coming loss but about your own life and what kind of memories you leave behind. What kind of impression on this world you made. The complexity of it all.

Really, there's no helping it. The thoughts arrive on their own.

Eventually, this first visit of mine comes to a close. Visiting time's over and the moment's come to let this experience go.

So we put the chairs back, raise the guard rails on either side of Jacquie's bed, and bid her farewell with a light

"Sweet dreams..."

To which Jacquie, eyes closed but still somehow aware, says this to us:

"Love you."

[vaguely-gestures-to-the-void]

Hindsight: My thoughts on Loki (2021)

As always, thanks for being here my friends. There’s definitely more nuanced discussion of this show, but I’m here for the vibes. Anyways, here’s my thoughts on Episode 3 of Loki. Bear in mind I hadn’t watched episode 4 before I wrote the review for 3. No hate on anyone/thing, it’s all my opinion.

Episode 3: LAMENTIS

Pre-title scene

I rioted when I heard Hayley’s voice. It’s a win for all of us.

C-20! Sylvie!

C-20’s lil dance was adorable. I love her.

I want Sylvie’s tie dye.

Is that Ralph Bohner?

The same place, but at night. Coincidence? I think not.

Sylvie’s powers have limits. She can’t search someone’s mind and take information, she needs them to willingly tell her though she can use her powers to do that.

TVA

Sylvie’s experienced. Always tie your hair into a bun before a fight.

Her music is nothing like what we’ve heard previously. It’s the Sylvie show folks.

The mural on the left side of the hall is the one from the credits scene.

The plaque above the elevators says ‘FOR ALL TIME ALWAYS’.

Even in the mural on the right side, the Time Keepers aren’t equal, the middle one takes up the most space.

Ravonna!

I love how their movements are similar. The head-snap-hair-flip combo is nearly identical, reflecting how they are the same person to some extent.

2077 Lamentis - 1

“Get off my leg!” SiblingTM energy.

“Goodbye, variant.” She sure has the Loki drama.

I finally remembered it’s called a TemPad. Rip.

“Don’t ever call me that.”

“Tech savvy?”

That’s so Ragnarok.

I love the music as we pan up to the planet. It’s the familiar, anxiety-inducing ticking for me lads.

“You idiot! This is Lamentis - 1.”

“I don’t know what that means!”

My siblings when I can’t restart the router (every country has an AT&T).

I like that it’s a moon that’s inhabited. It’s nearly always the planet, still not great for the people on it.

That slide to get under the dump truck was so smooth.

“So we’re a team now?” Jesus Loki needs friends. Probably a good therapist too.

“Didn’t need your help!”

“You’re so weird!”

I like the way Tom runs. Don’t know why. Just do.

Sidenote, my favourite running form is Chris Evans’.

Sylvie’s magic flickered so I genuinely think the enchantment didn’t work.

“Well then I’ll cut it out.” I like the way she says that. I am questioning so many things rn.

“Just because I have to work with you doesn’t mean I wanna hear your voice.” It’s ironic since they spend so much time talking about themselves.

“Alright, well, slow down… Variant.” They really play off each other’s egos to find weaknesses.

“You don’t know what you want.” Sylvie’s more straightforward in everything she does. She efficiently points out Loki’s flaws but when it comes to a goal, she’s meticulous.

“...just walk away.” Loki stops walking, but Sylvie does walk away. There is distance between them (for now).

I’ve had experience with mining towns like this one and whilst they weren’t so out-of-this-world (ya know) there is a tendency for rural and isolated communities to struggle with old/not maintained infrastructure. This is not everywhere, but it’s not uncommon from what I know. Even though these towns are a source of wealth, there isn’t distribution of the money and it’s a grim reality that’s being shown. I appreciate it.

The shot of them walking past a slab of that planet towards the hut is incredible. Wow.

The person in there is just waiting for their death. I’m going to be addressing a lot of the harsh realities in this episode folks so it won’t be so cheerful.

I understand that people weren’t so happy with this being a filler episode, but I think they got it right. It’s strange that a literal planet-moon collision doesn’t bring the tension that the hurricane did in the last ep, but by having an atmosphere that wasn't so omnius, they conveyed (to me at least) that hope was already lost. In the Roxxcart Disaster, the people believed that it wasn’t going to be the end. There’s desperation on Lamentis - 1 but as Sylvie said, the collapse of society occurs. That’s a large group of people realising that class divides will cause slaughter. It’s greed portrayed in two different ways, one being the integration of excessive capitalism into society, the other being social structure based on oppression. Not everyone’s reading into Loki like this but it’s a change from how Marvel usually approaches conflict.

We learnt about the characters and whilst I’m not a fan of when a plot line is moot (my bet is that Loki and Sylvie will be rescued next ep, making all the attempts to get off Lamentis - 1 pointless), it’s necessary for the characters to develop. The way Loki and Sylvie end up on Lamentis - 1 makes sense and the plot doesn’t feel forced.

“It’s remarkable that you made it as far as you did.”

Devils is recurring in this episode. Maybe this has implications on future episodes?

“Which one was that, diplomacy?” Why are their interactions so funny?

I don’t think I need to comment on the significance of the train station scene.

I would like to acknowledge that though this is good writing that’s relevant in the time it was released, we shouldn’t forget it’s coming from large corporations who aren’t perfect.

How do they just walk past the line?

The people who snitched were right in front of them.

Did the cat get Loki’s silvertongue? That was the most graceless lying I’ve ever seen.

Sylvie not sitting with her back to a door makes sense, but why won’t Loki go backwards on a train? They both have little quirks.

“That’s not a plan. That’s just doing a thing.” Loki went to the Thor school of planning, it’s Get Help all over again.

Loki’s exaggerated nods at the other guards lol.

Sylvie growls whenever she’s mad, it’s hilarious.

The close ups of their faces when the conversation gets personal and isn’t just trading jabs is great for conveying the authenticity of their answers.

Loki not pressing Sylvie when she clearly didn’t want to talk about what happened to her mother is something I appreciated.

Here’s to Tom for having to do magic for more than 10 years now. He’s so serious, I can only imagine how funny it is without the effects.

“Well she did.” Yeesh, has Loki gotten time to grieve?

Sylvie is genuinely impressive.

“Pity the old woman chose to die.”

“She was in love.”

I don’t quite understand what they were talking about then, I guess we’ll find out later?

Loki, why are you so unnecessarily dramatic?

I laughed. Who am I kidding, they’re dorks and I love them.

Loki is trying to find out anything, anyone who could be used against Sylvie.

Here’s to the postman, they’re probably dead but we appreciate Sylvie’s happiness anyways.

“A bit of both. I suspect the same as you.” AND THAT’S HOW YOU WRITE IN REPRESENTATION FOLKS!

Let’s just take our scraps and be happy, eh? It made my week.

They both need real relationships of any kind, guys.

“Love is… uh, something I might have to have another drink to think about.” Me whenever anyone asks me about my love life.

“You do realise… ...a civilisation’s only hope?” I think this was Sylvie’s way of making sure Loki’s (albeit grey) morals and drinking habits don’t interrupt her plan.

The train sure gives me Snowpiercer vibes.

Do I have to talk about Drunk Loki?

Tom’s singing voice is lovely.

Sylvie’s eyes shift nervously to the door and then back to Loki. She’s initially tense but she relaxes slightly though she knows she’s gonna have to clean up the mess.

“Nobody cares. It’s the end of the world.” Again, Loki’s headspace is one where existence is futile.

The green walls contrast the purple lighting nicely.

You can see plants (?) from the outside if you look out the windows. Talk about attention to detail.

Bruh what is the dagger about? Drunk Loki’s a comedic genius.

The descending notes in the background of Loki’s fireworks.

Sylvie’s smile when she goes to attack is animalistic. I’d like to see her character explored more in terms of how she views violence.

YEET.

“You’re right. I’m a god.” Loki’s defense mechanism is to state that his motives are above the understanding of others.

“You’re a clown.” Sylvie tells it as it is.

Loki and Sylvie’s reactions to the TVA contrast the most here. Sylvie is potentially motivated by vengeance or a need for revenge whilst Loki has resigned to numbing the pain (for now at least) as he comes to terms with his reality. The question of what drives you is so important for these characters, I’m excited to see whether they’ll find a common ground and wreak havoc on the sacred timeline.

Loki and Sylvie both struggle with communicating in a healthy way. Sylvie calls him out on his directionlessness and Loki tells her what may be the harsh reality of her plan. Neither of them are willing to accept it, but there’s potential for a strong bond if they do.

Sylvie’s scream lmao.

I love the colour of Loki’s pants.

Problem? Solution! Do thing! Is Sylvie’s method of thinking when all is lost.

Gosh I love the shots in this episode.

“That’s a pretty good life.” Sylvie’s definitely not lived as a royal, or not from what she remembers.

“I just need to know if I can trust you.” Sylvie giving up how she enchants people is an olive branch because as useful as the things that Loki told her may have been for manipulation, they both know the importance of her upper hand. But she only relents once Loki doesn’t have the TemPad. Later, when she asks whether she can trust Loki, it’s more of a reassurance because he’s already been vulnerable around her.

The actor’s body language and facial expressions are incredible. Loki’s eyebrow’s furrow slightly when Sylvie mentions C-20’s mind but Tom takes a second for the information to be processed rather than instantly reacting to Sophia’s next line. She does the same when Loki talks about the TVA workers being created. What skilled people they are.

The city is a wonderful piece of set design.

“We do, and you can.” They step into the light, neither of them have tunnel vision and are able to see a bigger picture.

“They’re gonna let these people die.” This show explores a side of Loki we haven’t seen before, his morality and compassion. He has grey areas that could be explored in the next season. It also points back to how Sylvie and Loki differ in their view of others. I think this is partially because of their childhoods. Loki was raised as a prince and cared about his people, but Sylvie doesn’t share that perspective (“...they usually survive”), maybe because of her past. Hopefully in the upcoming episodes we’ll get a bit more of her backstory.

That sequence is beyond words. The constantly rotating and revolving camera really hammers home that it’s a disorienting fight for their lives at the end of the world. I’m speechless, just watch it.

The music in that blue-purple-pink club was banging tho.

Loki and Sylvie’s posture, facial expression and general body movement is similar. The variant point is hammered home here.

It’s interesting how Loki is in shock/denial of the Ark being destroyed whereas Sylvie immediately leaves.

The end music of this episode is beautiful. I love how it all builds to leave us on the soft tones of Dark Moon.

No one’s interested, but my mum and I bonded over the Jim Reeves version of this song and the Bonnie Guitar one.

Ep 3 review

Short episode with not much going on other than character development. However, if the first two were anything to go by, this episode will have greater implications on the plot. The pacing of this show is a bit strange, but we may see this change in the next season.

I mentioned previously that it would be a shame if the entire plot of this episode was made irrelevant by how they get off Lamentis - 1 next ep. This show has been really good at keeping us on our toes with the writing so they probably won’t take turns that have been speculated.

Happy mid-season guys! The following two episodes were apparently Tom’s favourites so we can expect some mayhem up ahead. See you next time!

Here's the link to my Ep 2 review