#imagine if we did this with tv series or whatever and just called Not What He Seems gf2-11

[scarletwinterxx]

just like you - dad mark lee scenario

hello ~ and we're back with another dad mark scenario. I'm so happy a lot of you seem to like this series as much as I do🥺 also, this isn't written in a particular order, I just write it based on requests/or whichever timeline the scene fits in. anyways, I hope you like it!

alsooooo I'm going to see 127 again next week😭🥺 so expect me to be in my feels again for the next few weeks hahah

if you have a request or scenario you want me to do, just send me a message I'll see what I can do😊💌

part1: day with dad mark lee

part2: another day with dad mark lee

part3: a day with the lee's

part4: (prologue) i don't know how to make eggs

part5: glitter pens and goodnight kisses with the Lee's

part6: first love and kisses

part7: naps and baby kicks

part8: then there was three

part9: just like you

For my other works you can check them out here, and for my other story series’ you can check them out here.

All works are copyrighted ©scarletwinterxx 2024 . Do not repost, re-write without the permission of author.

(gif not mine, credits to rightful owner)

"The kids are doing alright, Minjung is loving the music lessons. Minjee, well she's causing all kinds of trouble" you tell your dad thru the phone, he laughs heartily hearing about how his grandkids are doing

"You and Mark doing okay?" he asks

"Yep, he's actually home now. He took Minjung to piano lessons earlier so it's just us three at home"

"How about you, are you okay? Not to tired?" he asks you, even now your dad still babies you. This made you smile, imagining one day this will me Minjee and Mark.

"I'm good, I'm great. I'll call again okay? You and mom take care" you say a few more words before hanging up. You walked back downstairs to see Mark and Minjee in the living room, some cartoon was playing on the TV and both father and daughter is busy watching to notice you.

You sat down next to Mark, catching both of their attentions. Minjee smiles at you, the same way Mark did. They really do look alike.

"Your dad okay?"

"Yep, he was just asking how we're doing" You smile at him, cuddling his side.

"You know I just thought one day that's going to be you and Minjee"

Mark sits up straight making you sit up too. The little Lee looks up at her dad, a small frown on her face forming from being disturbed. She then crawls over your lap to get comfortable again.

"She's not allowed to move out, or have a boyfriend" Mark says making you laugh

"My dad probably thought so too, and look where we are now"

"Yea but she's my baby"

You laugh at your husband's cuteness, looking down at your daughter "Minjee, who's your first love"

The little girl looks up, answering with a few words she could say "Huckie"

You laugh then looked over at Mark, a confused look on his face

"Who???"

"Baby, you love who?" you asked Minjee again, the little girl smiles before answering "Hyuckieeee" she says this time Mark takes her from you

"Are you saying you love your uncle Hyuck more than me?"

"Minjee love Hyuckie" she tells her dad, meanwhile you laugh at Mark's reaction. Donghyuck has always been around ever since the kids were little, Minjung grew up having his fun uncle around much to Mark's dismay some times but you know he's thankful to have his bestfriend around.

After Donghyuck's daughter was born, they would sometimes go on double daddy-daughter dates.

"You did not just say you love him more than me. I thought dada was your favorite" Mark frowns but Minjee just giggles

"Ah you're breaking dada's heart, let me ask you again who do you love the most" Mark asks his daughter, the little girl smiling before uttering the name once again

"Hy-"

"Dada, you love dada. I'm going to buy you all the toys and ice cream and whatever you want" then he attacks her with tickles and kisses making the little girl laugh.

"You're only 2 and you're already breaking dad's heart, I don't even know what I'll do when you get an actual boyfriend"

"Do you know what my dad said before we got married?" you asked, making Mark look over at you with curious eyes

"He said he dreaded the day he would give me away, but after meeting you he can breath easier knowing it would be you I'll come home to" you smile at the memory. The words your dad said you'll forever remember.

"He cried so much during our wedding" he mumbles, taking one of your hands to hold it in his. Caressing the band you're wearing, the very same one he also has.

"You would to, I can see it" you smile, "And I love you so much for that, to know that our daughter would grow up with that much love and care. She would know what true love is because you showed her that"

He smiles at you then looks down at Minjee then back at you, "Oh dang I'm gonna cry, I can't even think when that day comes"

You giggle before cuddling him again, this time he hugs you close. Both of his girls in his arms. "We got a long way to go, for now you need to beat Hyuck first" you joke

"Oh you already know it"

[spookypete-94]

Nightmare's Wasteland

Chapter 1- Devil's Playground

Been on a Handmaid's Tale kick as of late. Made me wonder how Simon would be in this situation. I have always loved this series and the power behind it. The books are amazing (Margaret Atwood, wonderful, wonderful, author) and so is the tv series on Hulu. It is just the concept being used, will not involve places, names and/or characters of The Handmaid's Tale.

Small series. Reader is a female character in a dystopian world where the ability to conceive is limited to a small percentage of people. Reader is of that percentage and is assigned to Simon to provide a child to a declining population. She learns how live with him and survive, while he learns about her life prior before being delivered to hell. Def a darker read, MDNI.

CW and heads up- Reader is female in this, also has tattoos. Leave it to the imagination, only one described for now. Also language (we know how i love language)

If Simon Riley could be described as anything from a word in history, Warlord would be listed at the very top. Warrior. Solider. In reality, it’s all the same. Pick whatever word in that branch of that tree, and he fits it.

To be able to be such a thing, he had to turn off all things that made him human. No love, no happiness, no peace. It left him in a world without a wife, no children, family gone- left him a long time ago at the cost of his area of expertise.

When the world started to end, and he was too damaged to try to defend and protect it anymore, he was assigned a life. A home. He was given a civilian life… followed by excuses of this was his “reward”. Laughable to him really, this was far from what he wanted. Instead, he was given a different duty and told to provide children for the next generation. Children of strong genetics. Hope to be provided of his strength and wit…Honestly, he’d rather be out on the frontlines again. His duty would be better served there, being a ghost, THE Ghost, was what he did best. Specter in the line of work, no one ever saw him coming. Start to unravel and show how broken you are though, and they send you back to try to be part of the what’s “normal” life now.

Here he sat, in large empty house. A staff provided for all things to run it. Only exception it was barren of all the things that made it a home. Photographs, knickknacks, but more importantly a wife and children. It had been pressed on him to find a wife, but as he explained to his overhead he just wasn’t interested. Apparently, they could turn a blind eye to that, but he still was required to add to the population. He was a fertile, and it was his duty after all. The answer to a wife, was a temporary live in. One he was only expected to lay with during ovulation.

The idea filled him with dread, but not a soul got to have a say in this world of what was going to happen. The government was too strong for its own good now and he was too deep in it. All from being its war dog, and now given his bone and told to go home.

Simon’s inner turmoil was rudely interrupted as one of the house staff knocked on his office door. “Mr. Riley? They are all here, waiting downstairs in the foyer.”

A heavy sigh left him before he called back out, “Will be down in a few.”

Swallowing the rest of his bourbon, he set the glass down on his desk twirling it a few times by the rim with his large finger.

Now or never.

Encroaching downstairs, he saw a gathering of about four people. All dressed in black, one with a hood pulled all the way up hiding their face.

That would be you.

If you could be described as anything, it would be: Not made for this world. Your heart was soft, but the desire to live your own life once again thrived inside. A weed that couldn't quite be pulled out. The ache hurt that soft heart of yours. Children had always been a thought on your mind but deemed not good enough to be a wife from past choices of your old life, you were pushed into the service of bearing them for others. “Good enough to be bred, not good enough to be wed.” As you had been told. To be in the service, it was required of you to learn what was lady like. Quiet, barely there. Don’t fight back and don’t speak your mind. Make yourself small, don’t get in the way. Don’t agree? Great. Here is your issued beating and punishment. Take it on the cheek and turn it for the next one.

Those who could not bear children, were put into hard labor. Running a house, in home cook, cleaning maid, you name it. If you wouldn’t comply to meet the new standards, you were shipped off to work in the mines or sent to death. Funny a world so eagerly wanting to make life was so quick to snuff it out.

Never once you would think your life would be like this. All those freedoms taken and stripped from you. What you would give to have your old life back. Be able to sleep in. Go outside and to the stores when you wished. A fucking latte? What you would give for any of that now. All of that taken for granted...

Passing through the requirements made you fit for duty. Issued your new place of residency, to meet your new Master and Lady. Only this place didn’t have a Lady. The Master so much of a brute of a man to never take one, was rumor you had heard. It scared you. A man that clearly couldn't even be gentle enough to have a wife. Maybe that was why they picked this place for you first, to make you fearful of the new world. More submission.

Standing in the entryway, heavy boots could be heard on the bare wood. You wanted to look up at your new Master but deemed it best to keep your head down and eyes on the floor. Make yourself small. Lady Like. Pressing your hands tightly together in your front, fingers laced together in a way to try to compose yourself. In the old world you might have twiddled your thumbs together, but in this new one not even that would be acceptable.

“Mr. Riley,” your Governess spoke with fake pleasantry, “We apologize for rising you from your office. We are early after all.”

On time. He was late. This was her way of trying to stroke his ego, all while of pointing out the time to him. Only made her look dumb.

Not even a reply, just a grunt. His boots finally appearing at the bottom of the steps. The place you had been looking but now diverting your eyes further down. You noticed his boots were perfect and polished, the black shining from the light in the room. It looked like military attire.

“Today is a happy day, this is your new Chamber Maid.”

The term made your face hot, red. Your life you had before… and now reduced to a “Chamber Maid”?

What the fuck.

Your black hood being wrenched down so your new Master could look down upon you startled you.

Carefully, you glanced up. Your heart had hit the bottom of your stomach seeing a man with dirty blonde colored hair shaved down in military fashion. Matched the idea of his boots. His nose crooked from being broken by at least once… or a few times. A scar that ran across his mouth to the bottom of his nose on his cheek. Brown eyes burned down into your wide orbs while he all but sneered down at you. Here, you were certain the devil was standing before you. Handsome and scary all at once.

“Introduce yourself, don’t be rude,” Your Governess nudged into you roughly with her elbow.

New manners that had just been taught, returned to you. A small curtsey before him, careful with your legs as your head ducked down and standing back up fully. It was executed beautifully. Quietly, you gave your name. Instead of him giving you his, he grunted once more. You knew his name already, why waste his time with all this fake bullshit was his thought.

“Your room is upstairs; the staff will show you around.” His voice a deep threatening rumble.

This was all you got? Your living quarters? Your heart fractured. Not even worth being shown around by the man that was supposed to impregnate you. You could drop to your knees and cry right here if able. Lady like. You must not show any emotion, any thought behind your beautiful eyes. Just a breedable doll is all you were now.

A hand wrapping around your arm and tugging you along made your attention divert. The staff. An older woman, “My name’s Kate. Come with me.”  Mr. Riley had already started his way upstairs, your Governess and other hierarchy leaving. This felt so strange to you enough as it is, but to have an abrupt goodbye made you feel like an adopted animal.

“Is there really no wife?” you whispered to her. Is he really a brute? Was the question you wanted to ask.

“No, no wife, but Mr. Riley is really not hard to live with,” she whispered back.

He might not be, but you felt your circumstances would be different.

A quick show around the large house ended with your room. It wasn’t bad in size. A full-sized bed shoved up against the wall with a window and rocking chair provided. You couldn’t help but wonder if it was there for an eventual baby, one that you would rock to sleep.

Starting with trying to settle in, you unpacked your clothes. Or rather uniforms. Because you had “sinned” in your past life, your uniform is a long black dress with long sleeves. Because you had tattoos scattered across places, you were to cover them. The only time your uniform was to be off was when you were alone. Even when you were to lay with your Master, the dress would remain on, both of you to be fully clothed. Still with your clothes, you felt naked at the idea. Stripped of any dignity.

Settled in, you had found Kate once more and helped her with her house duties and making supper. Idle hands were the devil’s workshop or some shit like that.

“You’re to sit at the table with him.” Kate whispered, nodding to the direction of the dining room. "Requested you himself."

Nervous, you smoothed out your dress, pressing away any crumbs from making supper. Looking back up at her, she nodded in a silent reply of asking her If you looked appropriate.

Quietly, you made our way into the dining room a large table that could have sat an army before you, Mr. Riley already sitting at the end of it. Even though the table was so large, a chair was all the way at the other end. Unsure of what exactly to do, you stood in front of the door with your hands interlocked together again.

“Well go on, sit,” Mr. Riley said gesturing to the end of the table.

“Yes, Mr. Riley,” you said meekly quickly walking to the end of the table to sit down.

One by one, the house staff filed in carrying the food and placing it on the table, making you both a plate as they did. The plate placed before you was steaming, filled across the circumference. Been a long time since you had a home cooked meal.

“Heard you had a helping hand with the meal tonight.” He said cutting into his piece of fried chicken.

“Just trying to be helpful.”

“Not expected of you.”

Your tongue wanted to fire back, wanted to cut him from the knees down. Would rather that then what is expected of me. But instead, you were quiet, choosing to eat instead.

It stayed silent like that through the rest of dinner besides clanking of dishes and silverware. Mr. Riley getting up and going to his office after he had cleared his plate, leaving you alone to finish yours. Made you wonder if he lived in that room.

Deciding to get up you helped Kate with clearing the rest of the kitchen and cleaning up from dinner. Most of it taken care of you told Kate to step out and take a break willing to finish the dishes. Having a task at hand to focus on now was helpful. The feeling of walking into the twilight zone curbed with getting food off dishes.

The calm you had felt left seeing a large man move into the kitchen. The only large man here. Looking over your shoulder you watched him get into the fridge pouring himself a glass of water from the pitcher.

“Told you we have help for that.”

“I told her to go take a break.”

“ Y’ sure you should give orders like that? Do you have the authority to do so?”

Shit. You had insulted him in his own home on the first fucking day. What a good start.

“I didn’t mean it like that-" but you were abruptly pushed forward further against the sink by him. Your breath was caught. You wanted to turn around but couldn’t. Expecting a strike, you flinched inward, but instead three large fingers grab carefully at your collar tugging it down, his thumb sweeping against the back of your neck.

“Skull and cross bones, huh?” He asked.

He was referring to the tattoo on the back of your neck. Some how he had caught it, even with the ugly collar on your dress.

“Was my very first one.”

“And that’s what you picked?” Was he bantering with you?

“I picked it out at a rock concert.”

“That the type of girl you are then? The one that gives breaks and gets skull tattoos?”

You were unable to find an answer. It seemed rhetorical anyway.

“Asked you question.”

Fuck.

“Appears to be that way, yeah.”

Cheeky.

He chuckled, swiping his thumb across it once more before giving you a light shove against the sink from his hand that held your hip. No longer where you terrified. It all almost seemed playful in nature.

“Tomorrow, Kate does the dishes. I can’t have her slacking.”

“Yes, Mr. Riley.”

Standing there feeling dumb, you closed your eyes at feeling his rough hand on your neck over and over again. Mind eye picturing what he looked while he was behind you. Perhaps he wouldn’t be too hard to get along with after all.

Simon "Ghost" Riley Masterlist

Nightmare's Wasteland Masterlist

Next

[iiwaijime]

06. meet me at the 7-11

"y/n?"

he sends the text before thinking it through, and by the time he realises that it was probably a mistake — he's basically told her everything about herself — the tiny delivered under his message has turned into seen.

you see him before he sees you. you wrap your jacket tighter around yourself, walking towards him. you walk faster, until you can see the mist of his breaths, and the wire of his headphones, illuminated by neon light — a beacon in the darkness, beckoning you home.

"suna," you call. "rin."

he turns around, face lighting up when your eyes meet. "hey."

"hi." you laugh awkwardly as he comes closer to you, and a heavy silence falls over the scene.

"let's go inside, i'll buy you something."

"no, you won't," you reply.

"yes i will," he argues.

"no you won't."

he hums in reply, flexing his cold fingers before pushing the door open for you. "don't you want to know how i found out you were catliker?"

"oh, yeah, how?"

he only talks again when the two of you reach the drinks aisle. "i saw your texts. on the TV. well, my texts, but you get the idea."

oh. oh. your fingers brush together when he passes you your drink, the cap already unscrewed. "thanks," you murmur, staring into your bottle.

rintarou isn't the type to start serious conversations. however, he also despises suspense. not that this can be called suspense, exactly, but he needs the confirmation — he needs to know. "we're avoiding the most important part of this."

"i know," you respond. and then: "i like you, like a lot."

"i gathered," he replies quietly. "let's go outside?"

just like in the car, your knees are touching — this time, though, it's much more obvious that he's chosen to sit this close to you. his shoulder nudges yours every time he moves, and the motions of your leg as you tap your foot nervously make his leg shake too, but the intimacy of the situation is surprisingly comfortable. he drains his bottle, chucking it into the trashcan on the other side of the parking lot with practiced ease, before doing the same with yours. and then he turns to you.

"i never really imagined telling you that i liked you, so i didn't really have an image of what'd happen in my brain. i didn't expect it to be in the parking lot of a 7-11, either, but here we are." he snickers mirthlessly; more from nerves than humour. "i've liked you a while now — a few years — and you're just perfect in every way, inside and out, and i really like you — fuck, did i say that already? either way, this is it, y/n."

silence.

"oh, and i don't like anyone else, and i did look at you so many times earlier today — or yesterday night, whatever — you just didn't see."

you laugh, and it's beautiful and wonderful and perfect and he might just die. you cover your mouth with one hand. "really? i thought you didn't like me."

"what? you looked absolutely gorgeous, i thought i mentioned it over text already."

"oh, you did!"

he half reaches out to you before he stops himself. "why do you do that?"

"do what?"

"cover your mouth. i mean, if you keep at it, you— never mind."

"i think it's kind of obvious why," you respond lightly. "but finish your sentence?"

"it's nothing that important," he confesses. "i just want to kiss you really badly right now."

"really?"

"yeah, and i can't do it if your hands are in front of your face."

"so if i move them, will you...?"

"only if you're okay with kissing me in a shitty 7-11 parking lot."

"i am," you assure him.

he angles your head up gently, leaning closer until his breath ghosts over your lips. "may i?"

"yes, please," you whisper, and rintarou suna carefully, carefully presses his lips to yours.

series masterlist

authors note(s) !

FINALLY GODDAMN

notice any changes in the cat banner?😈😈😈😈

long ass written part my apologies

they hate to see a pretty girl winning (im constipwted)

i hope theres no school tmr

i have an oikawa series up now plz go checm out <- shameless self plug

thanx for 1k on atsumu + 469 pookies

taglist is open ! (43/50)

@wooasecret @yuminako @dawnisatotalqueen @thechaosoflonging @boogiemansbitch @chloiyoomi @mikauraurr @just-coreee @chemiru @twiishaa @imcheshire @zozodahobo @fallenisded @nyxlai @sp1ng @sunsribn @sellomaybe @savemebrazilhinata @semieita24rockstargf @marsoverthestars @bellsoftheball @renardiererin @akaakeis @dazqa @piopioo @theepitomeofswag @smellysluna @theycallmenanamisgirl @strxbxrrylover @whydoyoucare866 @jiawji @toges-cough-syrup @harmonia-dread @dailyakira @staymoarmyzen @loverlunaire @akaashislovee @lovelymuffin @wtfdudewhydidyoutakemyusername @kazuubaby @giocriedpower @anqelkoz @ayistrying98 @bae-ashlynn

comment or send an ask to be tagged <33

likes n rbs r appreciated <3 thank you !

© iiwaijime 2024

[tevanbuckley]

Hi! Heading into season 8 with buck and tommy, do you think it’s about time they cement a relationship for buck as a long term or endgame potential? My impression is that Tim doesn’t like to have certain things set and stone to leave potential for whatever it is he wants to explore but going into the 8thseason, with no idea on how much longer the show will go on for before being cancelled or before a main(s) decide to leave, I would say it’s time to commit to a relationship for buck and they’ve built a good foundation with him and tommy.

also because I can’t imagine another season of the same, relationship -> breakup -> single -> relationship and so on. Buck’s love life being secure in the sense that he’s no longer searching for love also gives potential for newer, fresher storylines to be explored. I just don’t know if a part of Tim is holding out hope that buddie will get greenlit at some point so he’ll continue this single/relationship/breakup trajectory with buck and eddie until that can happen or if he’s ready to move on and let them both find happiness. But if it is the former, to me that would really hurt the characters development and growth and would make even canon buddie feel just bland in a way because they just did it because “they could” now.

my desire is that Tim commits to this relationship and continues to develop it in a way that by 8b affirms them as endgame, I think it would be a mistake not to and let the development fizzle out.

the paradox of tv is that “this couple is for all intents and purposes endgame” and “anything could happen so there is no real endgame” have to awkwardly co-exist. bc nobody would balk at the idea of calling madney or bathena ‘endgame’ yet irl considerations could interfere. or what if tracie gets offered a series regular gig somewhere down the line?

But, this isn’t grey’s, once they have something that works they seem to want stick with it. Even when they had to write JLH out for her maternity leave they did it in a way that made it pretty easy for madney to reconcile.

I think when tim says he “doesn’t have a plan” what he really means is he doesn’t want to write himself into a corner (imo this is what happened in s6 with the couch metaphor but that’s a whole other post). despite being chaotic, writing as they go, does reduce the risk of random loose ends they can’t tie up because a sl got killed half way through cooking.

Having buck in a LTR gives them space to explore new things with buck (bisexuality or not) so now that they’ve found something that does work, that’s had positive audience and critical reception, I think they’d be insane to throw that away.

Also, idk how much I buy into the idea that tim’s secretly a buddie shipper and the only reason he’s not doing it is bc tptb said no. I think he agrees it’s a plausible interpretation of buck and eddie’s relationship, that doesn’t mean it was intentional, that he has any interest in doing it, or that he thinks it would work well as a story within the confines of a network procedural.

I’ve seen others question the longevity the show has at this point but idk, the only character I see stagnating a bit is unfortunately eddie (but I’ll hold off until s8 for a final judgement). And on a practical level, abc has just poured a shit ton of money and marketing into the show, so assuming the ratings don’t tank in s8 I’m optimistic we’ll get a s9. Yes it’s expensive to make, but more than it needs to be tbh. Like there were cheaper ways to have that cruise ship sink, they did not need to write a prohibitively expensive hijacking into it.

really the tldr; is that we don’t know what the future holds but I think there’s every reason to be optimistic the shows heading in a positive direction.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Bill Prutt for Slate:

On Jan. 8, 2004, just more than 20 years ago, the first episode of The Apprentice aired. It was called “Meet the Billionaire,” and 18 million people watched. The episodes that followed climbed to roughly 20 million each week. A staggering 28 million viewers tuned in to watch the first season finale. The series won an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program, and the Television Critics Association called it one of the best TV shows of the year, alongside The Sopranos and Arrested Development. The series—alongside its bawdy sibling, The Celebrity Apprentice—appeared on NBC in coveted prime-time slots for more than a decade. The Apprentice was an instant success in another way too. It elevated Donald J. Trump from sleazy New York tabloid hustler to respectable household name. In the show, he appeared to demonstrate impeccable business instincts and unparalleled wealth, even though his businesses had barely survived multiple bankruptcies and faced yet another when he was cast. By carefully misleading viewers about Trump—his wealth, his stature, his character, and his intent—the competition reality show set about an American fraud that would balloon beyond its creators’ wildest imaginations.

I should know. I was one of four producers involved in the first two seasons. During that time, I signed an expansive nondisclosure agreement that promised a fine of $5 million and even jail time if I were to ever divulge what actually happened. It expired this year. No one involved in The Apprentice—from the production company or the network, to the cast and crew—was involved in a con with malicious intent. It was a TV show, and it was made for entertainment. I still believe that. But we played fast and loose with the facts, particularly regarding Trump, and if you were one of the 28 million who tuned in, chances are you were conned. As Trump answers for another of his alleged deception schemes in New York and gears up to try to persuade Americans to elect him again, in part thanks to the myth we created, I can finally tell you what making Trump into what he is today looked like from my side. Most days were revealing. Some still haunt me, two decades later. [...]

Now, this is important. The Apprentice is a game show regulated by the Federal Communications Commission. In the 1950s, scandals arose when producers of quiz shows fed answers to likable, ratings-generating contestants while withholding those answers from unlikable but truly knowledgeable players. Any of us involved in The Apprentice swinging the outcome of prize money by telling Trump whom to fire is forbidden. [...]

Trump goes about knocking off every one of the contestants in the boardroom until only two remain. The finalists are Kwame Jackson, a Black broker from Goldman Sachs, and Bill Rancic, a white entrepreneur from Chicago who runs his own cigar business. Trump assigns them each a task devoted to one of his crown-jewel properties. Jackson will oversee a Jessica Simpson benefit concert at Trump Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City, while Rancic will oversee a celebrity golf tournament at Trump National Golf Club in Briarcliff Manor, New York. Viewers need to believe that whatever Trump touches turns to gold. These properties that bear his name are supposed to glitter and gleam. All thanks to him.

Reality is another matter altogether. The lights in the casino’s sign are out. Hong Kong investors actually own the place—Trump merely lends his name. The carpet stinks, and the surroundings for Simpson’s concert are ramshackle at best. We shoot around all that. Both Rancic and Jackson do a round-robin recruitment of former contestants, and Jackson makes the fateful decision to team up with the notorious Omarosa, among others, to help him carry out his final challenge. [...]

Trump will make his decision live on camera months later, so what we are about to film is the setup to that reveal. The race between Jackson and Rancic should seem close, and that’s how we’ll edit the footage. Since we don’t know who’ll be chosen, it must appear close, even if it’s not.

We lay out the virtues and deficiencies of each finalist to Trump in a fair and balanced way, but sensing the moment at hand, Kepcher sort of comes out of herself. She expresses how she observed Jackson at the casino overcoming more obstacles than Rancic, particularly with the way he managed the troublesome Omarosa. Jackson, Kepcher maintains, handled the calamity with grace. “I think Kwame would be a great addition to the organization,” Kepcher says to Trump, who winces while his head bobs around in reaction to what he is hearing and clearly resisting. “Why didn’t he just fire her?” Trump asks, referring to Omarosa. It’s a reasonable question. Given that this the first time we’ve ever been in this situation, none of this is something we expected. “That’s not his job,” Bienstock says to Trump. “That’s yours.” Trump’s head continues to bob. “I don’t think he knew he had the ability to do that,” Kepcher says. Trump winces again.

“Yeah,” he says to no one in particular, “but, I mean, would America buy a n— winning?” Kepcher’s pale skin goes bright red. I turn my gaze toward Trump. He continues to wince. He is serious, and he is adamant about not hiring Jackson. Bienstock does a half cough, half laugh, and swiftly changes the topic or throws to Ross for his assessment. What happens next I don’t entirely recall. I am still processing what I have just heard. We all are. Only Bienstock knows well enough to keep the train moving. None of us thinks to walk out the door and never return. I still wish I had. (Bienstock and Kepcher didn’t respond to requests for comment.) Afterward, we film the final meeting in the boardroom, where Jackson and Rancic are scrutinized by Trump, who, we already know, favors Rancic. Then we wrap production, pack up, and head home. There is no discussion about what Trump said in the boardroom, about how the damning evidence was caught on tape. Nothing happens.

We attend to our thesis that only the best and brightest deserve a job working for Donald Trump. Luckily, the winner, Bill Rancic, and his rival, Kwame Jackson, come off as capable and confident throughout the season. If for some reason they had not, we would have conveniently left their shortcomings on the cutting room floor. In actuality, both men did deserve to win. Without a doubt, the hardest decisions we faced in postproduction were how to edit together sequences involving Trump. We needed him to sound sharp, dignified, and clear on what he was looking for and not as if he was yelling at people. You see him today: When he reads from a teleprompter, he comes off as loud and stoic. Go to one of his rallies and he’s the off-the-cuff rambler rousing his followers into a frenzy. While filming, he struggled to convey even the most basic items. But as he became more comfortable with filming, Trump made raucous comments he found funny or amusing—some of them misogynistic as well as racist. We cut those comments. Go to one of his rallies today and you can hear many of them.

If you listen carefully, especially to that first episode, you will notice clearly altered dialogue from Trump in both the task delivery and the boardroom. Trump was overwhelmed with remembering the contestants’ names, the way they would ride the elevator back upstairs or down to the street, the mechanics of what he needed to convey. Bienstock instigated additional dialogue recording that came late in the edit phase. We set Trump up in the soundproof boardroom set and fed him lines he would read into a microphone with Bienstock on the phone, directing from L.A. And suddenly Trump knows the names of every one of the contestants and says them while the camera cuts to each of their faces. Wow, you think, how does he remember everyone’s name? While on location, he could barely put a sentence together regarding how a task would work. Listen now, and he speaks directly to what needs to happen while the camera conveniently cuts away to the contestants, who are listening and nodding. He sounds articulate and concise through some editing sleight of hand.

Then comes the note from NBC about the fact that after Trump delivers the task assignment to the contestants, he disappears from the episode after the first act and doesn’t show up again until the next-to-last. That’s too long for the (high-priced) star of the show to be absent. There is a convenient solution. At the top of the second act, right after the task has been assigned but right before the teams embark on their assignment, we insert a sequence with Trump, seated inside his gilded apartment, dispensing a carefully crafted bit of wisdom. He speaks to whatever the theme of each episode is—why someone gets fired or what would lead to a win. The net effect is not only that Trump appears once more in each episode but that he also now seems prophetic in how he just knows the way things will go right or wrong with each individual task. He comes off as all-seeing and all-knowing. We are led to believe that Donald Trump is a natural-born leader.

Through the editorial nudge we provide him, Trump prevails. So much so that NBC asks for more time in the boardroom to appear at the end of all the remaining episodes. (NBC declined to comment for this article.) [... So, we scammed. We swindled. Nobody heard the racist and misogynistic comments or saw the alleged cheating, the bluffing, or his hair taking off in the wind. Those tapes, I’ve come to believe, will never be found.

No one lost their retirement fund or fell on hard times from watching The Apprentice. But Trump rose in stature to the point where he could finally eye a run for the White House, something he had intended to do all the way back in 1998. Along the way, he could now feed his appetite for defrauding the public with various shady practices. In 2005 thousands of students enrolled in what was called Trump University, hoping to gain insight from the Donald and his “handpicked” professors. Each paid as much as $35,000 to listen to some huckster trade on Trump’s name. In a sworn affidavit, salesman Ronald Schnackenberg testified that Trump University was “fraudulent.” The scam swiftly went from online videoconferencing courses to live events held by high-pressure sales professionals whose only job was to persuade attendees to sign up for the course. The sales were for the course “tuition” and had nothing whatsoever to do with real estate investments. A class action suit was filed against Trump.

That same year, Trump was caught bragging to Access Hollywood co-host Billy Bush that he likes to grab married women “by the pussy,” adding, “When you’re a star, they let you do it.” He later tried to recruit porn actor Stormy Daniels for The Apprentice despite her profession and, according to Daniels, had sex with her right after his last son was born. (His alleged attempt to pay off Daniels is, of course, the subject of his recent trial.) In October 2016—a month before the election—the Access Hollywood tapes were released and written off as “locker room banter.” Trump paid Daniels to keep silent about their alleged affair. He paid $25 million to settle the Trump University lawsuit and make it go away. He went on to become the first elected president to possess neither public service nor military experience. And although he lost the popular vote, Trump beat out Hillary Clinton in the Electoral College, winning in the Rust Belt by just 80,000 votes.

Trump has been called the “reality TV president,” and not just because of The Apprentice. The Situation Room, where top advisers gathered, became a place for photo-ops, a bigger, better boardroom. Trump swaggered and cajoled, just as he had on the show. Whom would he listen to? Whom would he fire? Stay tuned. Trump even has his own spinoff, called the House of Representatives, where women hurl racist taunts and body-shame one another with impunity. The State of the Union is basically a cage fight. The demands of public office now include blowhard buffoonery.

Bill Pruitt wrote in Slate that Donald Trump used the N-word on the set of NBC's The Apprentice in 2004 when referring to a Black contestant (Kwame Jackson)'s chances of winning the competition by saying "would America buy a n***er winning?"

This is yet another example of Trump's long record of anti-Black racism that dates back to the 1970s.

[0zzysaurus]

IF NO ONE WILL SEND YOU DAD SON ASKS I WILL!!!

I was wondering about like the junkion culture? Or I guess more the necessity? To know how to repair things from literal junk. Like they repair themselves and the items they find and even build themselves from scraps so clearly it's a skill. Is that something g1 wreck would teach his son too? Like i think repairing stuff together or just learning tactile skills like that together is always rly sweet hehe

Also does tfa wreckgar end up on earth like in the animated series? Cos if he does I'm curious as to how he got there

YAYAY

Oh G1 Wreck would absolutely train TFA Wreck in every single skill he knows, repairing, scavenging, and fighting too — I like to think that the face markings are a symbol of leadership and also combat prowess, so if he wants to pass those traits down then training from day one is a given. Or maybe not from day one. There’s gotta be a few weeks of just holding him and teaching him to walk and talk.

Everything is brand new to TFA Wreck’s processor, so he’s constantly asking questions about what they’re doing, why they’re doing it, what all the different pieces of scrap components do and where it all comes from. He ends up inheriting his dad’s encyclopaedic knowledge of the storage halls after a while, and if you ask him where you can find the LEDs or some copper wires he’ll grab your servo and run you over to exactly where it is.

I can totally imagine there being a sort of coming-of-age ritual for younger Junkions where they have to defeat their mentor in combat, so the two of them train for months and months out in the badlands, and each day TFA Wreck gets better and better at fighting, and when the day finally comes where they fight for real G1 Wreck has literally never been happier to have his limbs knocked off his body. He’s just so proud of his boy!!!

And about Earth, I had an idea for one of the fics I was mulling over where Junk gets destroyed in some huge cataclysm. G1 Wreck is off-planet on boring diplomat adventures with Rodimus, so he survives, and TFA Wreck is somehow able to escape in time via the abandoned Space Bridge (love a bit of deep Junk lore. Did you know the planet is the result of a failed space bridge waste disposal project? Well now you do ^^) and he ends up on Earth, or some other nearby planet. Both of them, of course, are assuming the other is either missing/out of reach or dead.

It wouldn’t be a Joey headcanon without some miserable shit in there. TFA Wreck does not take this displacement situation well at all and his processor just freaks out on him. The only way he can cope with the loss in the moment is to just think about the first thing his dad ever said to him — which, when repeated in the presence of the people who find him, sure does sound like an introduction of his own, doesn’t it?

In a related vein, I don’t actually know what to call TFA Wreck in this AU, because I can’t imagine G1 Wreck-Gar would just straight up give his son his own name. Or maybe he would. I guess it is a TV trope to just have the son be called ‘Junior’ or whatever lol, but G1 Wreck is a British robot in my heart and we don’t call our kids ‘Junior’ over here. Any suggestions would be welcomed ^^

[harleybeaumont]

Never Have I Ever

Chaper 20 - Watershed

Book- TRR

Series- Never Have I Ever

Pairings- Bertrand x MC 

Chapter Synopsis- What started out as a humiliating ordeal with Savannah has turned into a huge realization for Bertrand.

Chapter Warnings- language, sensuality

Rating - Mature

Word Count- 2,980

A/N- I know it's been a MINUTE since I posted, but I'm back and ready to continue this story! Since it's been a while since I posted the previous chapter, I'm going to include a snippet of what happened at the end of chapter 19 to refresh your memory.

_______________________________________________

Bertrand closed his eyes tightly and imagined Riley in front of him. Instead of the overwhelming scent of Chanel No. 5, he caught the faint note of Riley’s floral shampoo. Suddenly he could taste Riley’s strawberry lip gloss. He caressed her cheek, knowing there were adorable tiny freckles beneath his hand. He ran his fingers through her golden locks which were probably just let out of a messy bun or braid. He felt her arms wrap around him and she whispered against his ear, “Do you want me, Bertrand?” His mind flashed back to Riley laying beneath him, her plump lips curving into a sexy grin as she uttered, “fuck me, Bert.”

Savannah whispered against his ear, “Say my name. Tell me you want me.”

Bertrand smiled with his eyes still closed tightly and replied, “I want you, Riley.”

__________________________________________________

Chapter 20 -Watershed 

Bertrand flailed his arms in an attempt to steady himself as Savannah quite literally tossed him out of her bedroom and into the hall. “Savannah, can we just talk about-”

“No, we cannot!” She shrieked, looming in the doorway with her blouse still unbuttoned.

A creak in the hallway snapped their attention to a very startled Riley, who was holding a bag of Chewy Chips Ahoy, attempting to return to her room to watch some trash TV with a late night snack.

“Oh, isn’t this just perfect!?” Savannah spat, now directing her ire at Riley.

“Savannah, please lower your voice! People are trying to sleep and we don’t want to cause a scene.” Bertrand whispered with his hands held in front of him as if trying to calm a wild animal.

“A scene? A scene?! I’ll give you a scene!” Savannah shouted, picking up a vase from a nearby table and raising it over her head, poised to hurl it down the empty hallway. Suddenly her entire demeanor changed and she took several deep breaths. “No.. No. Lady Savannah Jane Walker is better than this. That’s right. She’s a lady. She doesn’t need to lower herself to yelling and screaming and throwing things. Especially not over a man who turned out to be nothing more than a lying, cheating scoundrel.”

Riley watched the scene before her in utter confusion and brought a cookie to her mouth, chewing slowly. This was wilder than anything she could have seen on TV. 

Savannah took another deep breath before fixing Riley with a murderous gaze. “And don’t worry, he’s all yours!” She spun around, stomping into her bedroom and slammed the door behind her, leaving Bertrand and Riley alone in the hall.

“Riley.. I..” Bertrand started, but Riley nodded her head toward her bedroom which was thankfully at the other end of the hall from Savannah’s.

“Come on. It’s probably safer if we talk away from.. Whatever that was.”

Bertrand dropped down onto Riley’s bed with his head in his hands. 

She touched his shoulder softly, “What happened?”

He sighed and mumbled without lifting his head, “Utter humiliation. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Riley?!” Savannah snapped, breaking the kiss and jerking away from him.

“What?” 

“You just called me Riley!” 

“I’m certain I did no such thing.”

Savannah’s brows furrowed and she looked as if she might physically hurt him. “You did! You son of a bitch! I knew you had a thing for her!”

“No! It’s not like that!”

“So that tramp got her hooks into you!”

“Savannah, that’s not-”

“Don’t lie to me, Bertrand! Are you two having sex?”

“I-I-I.. no?”

“Oh my god! You are!”

At that point, Bertrand could do nothing but drop to his knees and beg. “Please don’t tell anyone!”

Savannah’s mouth fell open and she ran her hands through her hair, pulling slightly so several strands stuck out wildly. “You think I would tell people about this?! This is humiliating for me! The man I’m courting is sleeping with common trash! My reputation would never recover if people found out! Why this whole thing makes me-”

Savannah suddenly stopped and took several deep breaths, speaking with an eerily calm voice. “No, no. Calm down Savannah. You can fix this. There are still several eligible men at court. What’s that idiot’s name? The one who is going to be an earl? Neville? Yes. Yes. We can do this. There’s still time for you. You’re young and beautiful. You’re going to be a countess.”

Bertrand watched her with wide, and slightly fearful eyes before saying, “I am truly sorry for-”

Savannah’s expression once again turned heated. “Oh, you're going to regret this! When I think of all the time I wasted with you, you pathetic, stuttering mess of a man! Get out of my sight!” 

He jumped up and rushed for the door and Savannah shoved him roughly into the hallway.

Riley rubbed his back soothingly, trying her best to comfort him. She wished she could have been a fly on the wall for whatever weirdness happened back there. “Ok, we don’t have to talk about it.” She smiled and held out the bag, “want a cookie?”

Bertrand looked up from his hands and burst into laughter and Riley couldn’t help but join in. He smiled genuinely, clearly thankful for some relief from the earlier tension. 

“I should probably go.” Bertrand shook his head, looking back down at the floor. “This has been an.. unusual night.”

“Understatement of the century.”

He stood and headed for the door. “I apologize that you had to witness all of that. And I truly hope that you are feeling better than you were earlier today. I was quite worried about you.”

Riley smiled and held out her arms. “Come here.”

Bertrand returned her smile and stepped toward her, easily melting into her embrace. His heart instantly stopped racing. His body erupted in goosebumps and he felt warmer and safer than he had in his entire adult life. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her neck, breathing in everything about her. The warmth of her embrace and the softness of her skin sent him into a comforting and calm place that he didn’t ever want to leave. Despite the horrible night he had, everything was suddenly right with the world and he couldn’t have been happier.

After a few moments, they separated and Bertrand headed back to his own room. As soon as he locked his door, he slumped into a chair, groaning as a new and bittersweet realization overtook his entire being. 

There was no use denying it anymore. Riley was his calm, his home. And he was in love with her. Hopelessly, desperately, madly, and completely in love.

_________________________________________________

The following day, the court returned to the palace to prepare for Liam’s upcoming coronation, but the Beaumont’s stayed behind a few more days to attend some upcoming appointments. Bertrand was thankful for some time away from the court, in particular, Savannah. He desperately needed time to think about.. Well, everything.

Bertrand had spent the last four months implausibly falling in love with the woman he had been training to be a queen. When Maxwell convinced him to sponsor this woman, the only reason he allowed it was because having someone from his house be chosen would be a way to secure his legacy. But each day spent with Riley, made him care less and less about his legacy, and more about something new. Something he had never cared about before. 

His own happiness.

Growing up, Bertrand always struggled with the guilt that inevitably accompanied any sort of happiness. His childhood and teenage years were almost completely devoid of any sort of joy. Under the scrutiny of his father, he had grown up far too quickly. There was always something he needed to improve on, and his father made sure to inform him of this on a daily basis. His adult life was spent going through the motions of trying to keep house Beaumont in good standing. There was no time for frivolity or romance in any way. Not until people in court began questioning why he hadn’t chosen a wife, did he begin to accept Savannah's persistent propositions for a date.

What was he supposed to do now that everything had changed?

______________________________________________

Riley knocked on Maxwell’s ajar bedroom door, pushing it open when he didn’t answer. “Max? You in here? Ready to go?”

A retching sound from his adjoining bathroom caught her attention. She peered around the corner and found Max slumped over the toilet. “Max, are you ok!?”

“Ughhhh.. Don’t look at me.”

“Aw, honey, what happened?”

“Armando has a stomach bug.”

Riley ran some cold water over a washcloth and blotted his forehead and neck, “Ah, that makes sense. Since you always have your tongue down his throat, you caught it too.”

Max coughed and waved Riley away, “Thank you, but I don’t want you to see me like this. I’m too hideous!” He sniffled dramatically, “Remember me as I once was, Riley. The cool, sexy, charismatic, life of the party.”

“Max, you’re going to be ok!” Riley tried not to laugh at his melodrama. “I’m going to get you some sprite and crackers and pepto bismol. Do you want me to call the doctor?”

Max put his head in his hands, “No, Armando said his is almost over, so it looks like a 24 hour bug.”

After a few moments, Riley returned with a tray full of snacks and medicine and placed it on the nightstand. She turned down his bed, clicked on his TV and lowered the lights. Max staggered into bed and pulled the sheet up to his chin. “Thank you. You’re an angel, you know that?”

She placed the washcloth on his forehead and chuckled, “I don’t know about that.”

Maxwell gasped, “Oh no! Your appointment at the boutique is today!”

“I’m sure I can reschedule.”

“No way! Do you know how many favors I called in to get you into Levre Rouge Boutique at such short notice? You have to get a killer dress for the coronation and show up all those snooty, prissy twats!”

“But.. I don’t want to go alone.”

“Ask Bertrand!”

“Do you think he’d really want to go dress shopping with me?” Riley laughed skeptically, but paused when she noticed the thoughtful look on Maxwell’s face.

“I think he’d be happy to do literally anything with you, Riley.”

Her heart fluttered and she couldn't keep the smile from her face. She patted Maxwell’s hand and made her way to the door, still unable to stop grinning. “You’ll let me know if you need anything, right?”

“I will.” Max smiled and settled into bed. “Now go get something sexy, bitch.”

______________________________________________________

Bertrand waited in the crisp, white and red sitting area of the fanciest dress shop he had ever seen in his life. Levre Rouge Boutique had dressed princesses, celebrities, heiresses, and everyone in between. Whatever they chose for Riley to wear to the coronation would surely be jaw droppingly gorgeous. Not that she needed a new dress for that.

“Ready for the first one?” Riley sashayed out in a sleek, forest green dress that hugged her curves all the way down to the top of her thighs, where a long slit began, ending in a pool of silk at her feet.

She stuck out her leg, allowing the slit to open completely and Bertrand swallowed hard as his eyes betrayed him, taking in every inch of skin he could. “It’s um, um..”

She grinned and waved him over to her side in front of several floor length mirrors. “Come over and see it properly.” She twirled and flared the dress out. “It’ll need to be taken in a bit, and it’s way too long, but the seamstress said they can have any alterations done overnight. Apparently you Beaumont’s have a lot of clout around here for some reason.” She winked and nudged Bertrand, who hadn’t taken his eyes off of her. “That.. was a joke. I mean, obviously you have clout being nobility.. Bert, you ok?”

He cleared his throat and met her eye line, desperately trying to avoid the ample amount of cleavage protruding from the top of the gown. “It’s lovely. I mean, you’re lovely. I mean, you look lovely.. In the dress.” Bertrand cringed. Somehow he always made a mess of everything he said when she was around.

She smiled and took his hand. “Thank you.”

A plump woman with gray hair pulled into a tight bun blew into the room in a cloud of tape measures and fabric. She spoke to Bertrand with a melodic french accent, “We are honored to have you here, Your Grace. And what do you think of your date's dress? You two will surely turn heads at the coronation in a gown this exquisite.”

“Oh,” Riley turned toward Bertrand, and the two blushed simultaneously, dropping one another's hands and stepping back. “We’re not-”

“She's not my-” Bertrand started. “She's my, uh..”

“Friend!” Riley finished for him. “He’s helping me find a dress. We’re friends.”

“Yes. Friends.”

The woman regarded them skeptically, but grew wide eyed as she seemed to finally recognize Riley. “Oh, mon Dieu! I apologize. When Lord Maxwell contacted me, I did not realize I would be dressing the prince's American suitor! I am so embarrassed. I should have known-"

"It's fine," Riley assured her with a smile. "Don't worry about it."

Yvette regained her composure and turned to Bertrand slyly, "Date or not, you must admit that the green brings out her beautiful eyes, no?”

Bertrand met Riley’s emerald eyes and smiled. “It does.”

Riley grinned back at him and turned toward the mirror. “Madame Yvette, I’m a little worried this one might be too revealing for the occasion. The slit is so high. Would it be inappropriate to wear in front of royalty?”

Yvette tapped her cheek thoughtfully, “Oui, you may be right. Follow me, darling, we will find you something perfect.”

After an hour and a half of trying on dress after dress, Riley had narrowed it down to two. “Bert, I can’t choose! Which one is your favorite?”

“Oh, I don’t think it should be up to me,” Bertrand shook his head.

“Well technically you are paying for it,” Riley wrinkled her nose slightly. “Which I still feel bad about by the way.”

He smiled, “And I’ve told you before, don’t worry about that. Which one do you like the best?”

“Ah, I don’t know! Let me see the other dress one more time!” She changed out of the sequined, mauve gown and back into the scarlet one, then reemerged into the dressing area where Bertrand was waiting patiently. “I’m sorry, this must be so boring for you. We’ve been here forever and I’m so indecisive.”

“You cannot rush perfection!” Madame Yvette mused as she adjusted the dress on Riley, tucking and pinning fabric until it fit just right. “And this, darling.. This is perfection.”

Bertrand simply watched in awe of how gorgeous Riley looked in absolutely everything. He had seen her in ballgowns, pajamas, jeans, and absolutely nothing at all and she was always resplendent. And not just in her appearance, in everything about her. The way she carried herself, the way she could find the good in any situation, the way she cared about everyone.

His heart clenched as he imagined the two of them as a couple choosing an outfit for a ball they would be attending together. They would dance and laugh and everyone would be jealous of him for having the most perfect woman in the world on his arm. It was never going to happen, but it was an amazing thought.

 Madame Yvette was called away for a phone call, leaving the two alone. Riley made her way from the platform to the couch where he was sitting and held out her hand. “Dance with me.”

Bertrand was sure he gulped aloud, but he stood immediately. “Dance? Here?”

“Ya, then I can see if this one feels right for a ball. Let’s give it a test drive.” She held her hand out and smiled, “please?”

Bertrand shook his head and grinned, before grasping her hand and wrapping his other arm around her waist. He looked down shyly and Riley leaned her body closer to him.

“Doesn't the fabric feel good? I’ve never worn material so soft and silky before.”

Bertrand nodded, still unable to look in her eyes.

She moved even closer to his body until there was no space left between them. “Touch it.”

He tentatively ran his hand down the fabric of her lower back, sucking in a sharp breath when she took his hand and brought it down further. 

“It’s.. quite nice.”

Riley lay her head against his shoulder and he held her close as the two swayed together to the soft jazz music playing over the boutique's speakers. “I bet this seems silly, doesn’t it? Spending all this time picking out a dress.” Especially since there is no way I’m going to marry Liam.

“Nonsense. Besides, any time I spend with you is enjoyable.”

Riley felt a warmth in her chest at his words. “Bertrand, you’re too good to me. I really don’t deserve everything you guys have done.”

Bertrand stopped dancing and looked into her eyes, more serious than she had seen him before. “Never.” His thumb traced softly across her cheek and he leaned in closer. “You deserve everything and more.”

His pulse was pounding as she smiled sweetly at him. He swallowed hard, speaking directly from his heart for once. “Riley.. I need to tell you something. I-”

“Have we made a decision, madame?” Yvette called out from the hallway as she made her way back to the dressing room.

Riley and Bertrand jumped away from each other quickly and Bertrand took out his phone in an attempt to appear nonchalant. Riley looked down at her dress and smiled. “This is the one.”

_______________________________________________

When they arrived back at the estate, it was already dinner time. Riley quickly popped into Max’s bedroom to check on him, and found him sound asleep in bed.

“I’m starving.” Riley sighed as she made her way toward the kitchen, taking a seat beside Bertrand at the bar.

“What would you like to eat? The chef has left for the night, but I can call and have something delivered for you.”

“Anything.. But you pick! I am mentally drained and honestly don’t think I could make another decision tonight if my life depended on it.”

Bertrand opened his mouth to protest, but paused as an idea hit him. “I know just the thing,” he smiled shyly and pulled out his phone.

He was going to have to step way out of his comfort zone for this. 

[skeletonpunching]

Buddy Daddies music composer interview

Interview with Kitagawa Katsutoshi (music composer)

Interviewer: How did you first come to work on the music for this series, "Buddy Daddies"?

Kitagawa: Since it was a story about assassins, they were looking for music with a prominent horn section and a jazzy feeling to it. They told me that was why they brought me in, and I was like, "Gotcha." (laughs) That's how it started out. At first, I imagined the main theme, "Buddy Daddies Theme", as a cool, fast-paced jazz piece - something that would go with car chases and other action scenes.

Interviewer: What sort of requests were made for the background music?

Kitagawa: I received a slate of requests from the audio director, and had some briefings with the production staff, but there were already dozens of songs on the music list - it felt like an incredibly detailed instruction manual. So I really just followed that list and threw myself into the work. And I didn't just create songs inspired by the series - there were also cellphone ringtones, videogame music, songs for sports day, and so on.

Interviewer: The songs used in episode 9, for the sports day at (Unasaka) Miri's daycare?

Kitagawa: From their entrance music, to the song for the tug-of-war, to the music for the foot race - I came up with about six pieces for that episode alone. And what's more, they were all sports day exclusives; they'll never play anywhere outside that episode. (laughs) During the briefing sessions, I thought it'd be easy enough to conceive of all this, but when I realised how many songs there were in total, I was like, "Wait, hold up." I was seriously at a loss at first - it seemed like it was going to be an endless undertaking - but it turned out like running a marathon. I made steady progress on it every day, starting with whatever ideas came to me.

Interviewer: Was there anything you were particularly focused on, when it came to the main theme?

Kitagawa: The main theme is playing all the time, so it's absolutely vital. I was told to make it a cool jazz piece, but so-called "jazz" has a pretty broad definition. And if I just wrote the type of jazz I personally like... Well, it was pretty tough finding a middle ground. I didn't want it to feel like something from a straightforward detective drama; I wanted something cooler, more stylish... But focusing on stylishness was tricky too. I'm afraid I kept everyone waiting for a while, before I finally hit on something that made me go, "This is it!" Once the main theme was settled, I used that melody to branch out into various different versions, like ones with a slightly comedic vibe, or melancholy piano-only pieces.

Interviewer: Which songs were composed with the specific elements and premise of the series in mind?

Kitagawa: Miri's mother's song. It's a sad song, but it ends up being a key plot point in the series, so the staff and I had a lot of back-and-forth in order to nail it down. This one also has multiple versions with different arrangements. Miri hums the tune in the show, but without the chorus; she's only humming the intro. I had no idea about that until I actually saw the broadcast on TV - I thought, "That's where they're singing it?!" (laughs)

Interviewer: Out of the songs you composed for this series, which would be your favourite, if you had to choose...?

Kitagawa: Probably "Mission Complete ~ Theme of a Mission Concluded", which is basically used as a secondary theme. It features a band and horn section, and also contains strings; I think it's kind of stylish, and pretty fun. At first I thought this might end up being the main theme, but we ended up going with the current main theme because it had a more exciting vibe. But I'm very fond of this song as it is. And then there's "Battle of Spanish Joint".

Interviewer: That song is also used in the pre-broadcast trailer.

Kitagawa: I was initially picturing something with a breezier feel, but as we progress into the second half, the rhythm changes, and the scatting gets into a nice groove - it suddenly turns into a rock song. I liked being able to incorporate that too. Anyway, I was requested to make it more forceful overall. They asked me not to water down the performance and the vibes, so I figured I'd go for something aggressive - so aggressive they might get mad at me instead! And so it steadily got heavier and denser. (laughs)

There's also "Commence Operation", which is kind of like free jazz. The recording of this song was basically improvised; the score was just a few chords I'd dashed off really quickly, and then it was like "One, two!" and we were off. I was recording with performers I know very well, so that worked out, but since they had no idea what each other would be playing, there was a constant sense of danger that fit the scenes even better than expected. It turned out to be an incredibly cool song.

Interviewer: The songs with vocals, like scatting and choruses, are also very memorable.

Kitagawa: One of the songs with a cute chorus is "Watermelon Woman", which is kind of sensual. When those girls appear in episode 1, it's playing at their place, and I was like... well, if it's ever gonna play, it'll have to be there. (laughs) The chorus was also composed with that in mind. I was requested to give it a sexy vibe, but without being crude, so I played around with some Latin music I personally like.

And there's one song which I did the chorus for myself, and I think it's pretty neat - "Jolly Tutti". This also has Latin influence, and uses a type of drum called cuíca... You can hear it in the interlude; it sounds kind of like "ooho-ooho-ho". I wanted to include that, and the performers kindly fulfilled my request. I quite like upbeat Latin songs that include choruses and scatting, and make use of this sort of percussion.

Interviewer: Taking a look at the tracklist, there is also a song used in Miri's scenes.

Kitagawa: Oh, you mean "Franny! Rudolph! Francesco!" That's the theme song for the kids' TV programme Miri watches, but I had no idea what the specific footage would be like, so I went off my own image of "a ten-minute-long puppet show with three characters", and wrote the opening song and lyrics based on that. I decided the characters' names were Franny, Rudolph, and Francesco; there's a small one, a skinny one, and an enormous one. They're all puppets. (laugh) That's the premise I arbitrarily came up with for their great adventure TV show.

Interviewer: Looking back on the music composition for this series, what did you find the most memorable?

Kitagawa: Usually, I don't do that much background music, but this time I was told, "We want something in Kitagawa-san's typical style", and it felt like a privilege getting to do that. So I tackled the composition, putting in my trademark flourishes all over the place. There really were a lot of songs, so I worked on it regularly every day, chipping away bit by bit. This is the first time I've ever worked that way; it was really eye-opening to discover that I was even capable of doing this.

Also, I normally work with a variety of people, and I was delighted that so many people who've helped me out in the past could all come together for this recording. For example, Murata Yoichi-san in the horn section, Misawa Mataro-san on the percussion, and Kinbara Chieko-san for strings. These seniors were lending me their strength for the first time in a while, and that was kind of nervewracking but also refreshing. It felt like a nice dose of nostalgia. After putting together a lineup like this, I was sure it would be an amazing project, but the recording took place over two days, so there really wasn't much time to savour it. It felt like we were racing through it all at once, which was pretty rough. But it was fun.

Interviewer: Please tell us what you think are the selling points of this series "Buddy Daddies".

Kitagawa: All I can say is "the music". (laughs) Just a while ago, I was working on the mastering for the CD compilation; it was the first time in ages I'd listened to it all the way through in a proper studio environment. That was when it really sank in just how many good songs I'd made. So I do think the music is a selling point after all.

Interviewer: Finally, please give a message to everyone who is enjoying this series.

Kitagawa: Please do check out the music I composed based on the premise of "Buddy Daddies". The worldview might not be immediately apparent, but I do think that if you listen carefully, you'll be able to enjoy it while imagining the series.

[ettaberrytea]

@theimaginatrix27 (I'm starting a new post because the other one was starting to get long).

I think that new trek is trying a bit too hard to live up to a legacy that is crushing it. It's trying too hard to be Star Trek instead of using Star Trek as a medium to tell a story and explore a philosophical idea. I think the best thing about Old trek is that nearly every episode poses a philosophical question about morality or the nature of reality or something and then explores that idea. Even if you absolutely hate what they did with the episode, you keep thinking about the philosophical question long after you've turned off the tv. Even though new trek tries to be edgy and dark with the gorn or whatever, it feels like it's playing it safe because the audience doesn't get challenged as much.

Personally I like a darker interpretation of starfleet, but I still don't like how new trek has gone about it. I agree that deep space nine did it better and with nuance. I think that you don't have to invent secret corruption to explore that aspect of starfleet. Starfleet is already deeply flawed in cannon, even in the original series. Star Trek started as a space western, a wagon train to the stars as Rodenberry called it. Which means that starfleet, from it's beginning, is colonial. The federation is constantly expanding and settling new planets that it deems to be unclaimed by sentient life as by it's own definitions of sentient life. It's a utopia, but it's a white american idea of utopia that just can't exist in real life without distopian consequences. North America was not empty land after all. I'd like to see that explored more. I'd like to see new star trek get radical and challenge colonialism. I want to see it challenge the beliefs it held about it's self in earlier trek. I think that it's still possible to have an inspiring message about everyone working together to create a better society without having the federation be the ultimate example of what a better society looks like. I think that having secret corruption story lines takes zero risks. At best it's over done. At worst, it's just rehashing the idea of a mysterious organization controlling the government that must be routed out by the good, innocent starfleet officers and there's absolutely nothing radical about that.

Anyways, I bet we both could write at least a ten page essay on why new trek doesn't work. There was a few episodes I liked. I really liked the episode in Picard where captain Rios gets detained by ICE. That one felt like a deep space nine episode and was powerful. They need more of that. I'm glad that they've been able to introduce more diversity but they've got to do something with it! They need more diversity in their writing rooms. Imagine what it would be like if they hired a bunch of black women to write stories for Michael Burnham. Discovery could have been so cool. I know that they had one black man who left the team after the white staff reported him to hr for using the n word. Hey, imagine if they hired a blind writer to give Hemmer some love! He deserved so much more. Star Trek has been conserned with living up to it's past, but really it needs to get with the program of today. It used to push the boundaries of what was on tv. Now there's hundreds of shows boldly going where Star Trek is seemingly scared to go.

[amberarmedheart]

An Experiment on Bad Writing

Lately, I have been on a reading journey. It has been part of my objective to regain, at least partially, the joy of being alive that the act of being alive at the end of times has gradually stolen from me the past five years.

Therefore, finding a variety of genres to engage with has been my hands on approach: a few literary fiction ones (currently reading Suite Francaise knowing quite well it will destroy me in the end), a few niche stories (reading The Man From UNCLE's No. 18 "The Unfair Fare Affair, which so far is as silly as the name suggests), and a good amount of romance. This last genre being the main source of concern right now, as god knows I try, as a pointless romantic, to find romance in every piece of media I engage with.

I made the mistake of watching Bridgerton and then believing the books would be good enough to spend some time with... oh, how wrong I was! The show is entertaining enough, silly and engaging in its own way. But the books? Oh, the books are so simple. I could only stomach the first book and it is a testament of my willpower that I didn't throw the thing away when *that scene* happened. But I am getting ahead of myself.

Let me explain my problems with The Duke and I:

It is simple in both writing and plot. It is no wonder the adaptation mixed in more of the stories of the other books, along with new characters and new plots for older ones. If the thing had been left as is for the adaptation, I believe it would have been barely enough to be played in two hours of the show. There is no depth, no substance, no situation or plot device that would warrant the thing to be turned into anything more than a tv movie to be watched at your local tv station on a Sunday morning when your father is using the good tv that is hooked to the cable to watch the Cowboys lose once again against the Giants.

I believe the book series has the incredible blessing of being in hands of the producer it got, and capable writers who have made it a more dynamic narrative than whatever it is that the first book was. The mere thought of the book as-is being adapted sends the bad kind of shivers down my spine.

Oh, and yes, I have both read and written plot devices way darker than the one involving non-con elements in the first book, but the way it is portrayed is quite unnerving. There you are, having a couple of main characters that are decent enough, albeit a bit bland, just to suddenly get in the head of the female lead and discover she is actually enjoying the feeling of taking advantage of her drunk husband. I have heard some people point out the fact of her knowing next to nothing about sexual matters, which yes, it's a thing. But once again, I don't think the way it is portrayed, the sudden look we get into a character that presented next to no internal dialogue now having quite a detailed introspective look at her desires and her wish of having a child no matter how much she knows her husband despises the idea... That definitely doesn't sit well with me.

The way it is ultimate resolved, with barely any acknowledgement of the act and only the male lead being angry that she witnessed him having an "episode" of his greatest insecurity - with them basically saying the non-con wasn't that bothersome - it's just ignorant at best and concerning at worst.

The book in general reads as a quasi-script, with the author having good chunks of the story being one liners exchanged between the characters time and again. I have to confess I had to switch to the audiobook in order not to get bored out of my brain when said exchanges involved more than three characters.

Having said this, I did finish the book, if anything to prove myself that I could and at least form my opinion on what the so called hype was about.

Fate decided that wasn't torture enough, and the next book I picked to read ended up being something even worse: "When In Rome".

Imagine for a moment you are 13 years old, your ultimate idol is Taylor Swift and you are writing your very first fanfic because you have observed other people like to do that, so you want to try it too. Well, that's what When In Rome is: baby's first RPF, featuring not-Taylor Swift, who is a global superstar that is tired and depressed because fame has isolated her from her family and every other relationship, leaving her with nothing "real", so in her attempt of clearing the fog, she ends up traveling to a tiny town in the US called Rome, and falling in love with the 13yo writer's idea of a sexy man... which, of course, is a big tall guy that is super manly and grumpy, but owns a Pie Shop in the godforsaken town, has three sisters and an old woman who is his neighbor, and has "manly hair" on his arms.

Mind you, every single person in town is oh-so-nice and kind and honest, not like the people Not-Taylor knows from anywhere else; and of course every single side character's true purpose in the whole plot is to be rooting for the couple, appearing every few pages out of nowhere just to give 25 second pieces of advice to Not-Taylor, so she can get closer to the main guy.

This is the kind of story that you write for yourself when you are in junior high, the one that maybe you share with your friends in chat or casually posted it on Wattpad after a wave of messages from your fellow swifty friends who told you it is super cute and you should share it, because of course it is cute because it is your first real person fanfic and you are thirteen and according to the Hallmark Channel movies you sometimes watch, that's how romance stories work.

But paying for this? Oh god, no. No, never. Thank god I have alternative means of acquiring media, because heaven knows i would have fought tooth and nail to get back my money for this thing.

And don't get me wrong, I love a stupidly silly romance, I am all for it. But this is just something that makes no sense being this bad.

Wanna watch a silly romance movie with decent acting? I suggest "The Decoy Bride", staring the magnificent David Tennant. Gorgeous setting, super simple plot and yet incredibly entertaining.

Wanna watch a romance filled with cliches and tropes that yet manages to weave the plot well enough to make sense? Watch "One Small Hitch", which is basically the classic fake dating trope but made right.

Now, I will try to go find another romance book to read and forget about the horrors of late stage capitalism. Maybe, if I read something from Anthony Bourdain, I can make this shit pass.

[meanscarletdeceiver]

When did Edward get his branch line? My friend says 1923. I saw somewhere that it was 1945, it might have even been here on your blog. What is canon? 

- A Former Anon

Welcome to non-lurkerdom, Former Anon! Pull up a chair. Get yourself a profile pic. Stay a while.

*strokes chin philosophically* What is canon, indeed...

First, let's stipulate that we're talking RWS. I don't actually think TVS contradicts anything I have to say here but its weird-ass chronology certainly doesn't help so let's pretty much set it aside.

Second: you might be thinking of a time way back—like, way back—when I cited 1948. That was what TTTE Wiki said in 2020, and I hadn't read all of RWS in order so I trusted it. However, I don't think there was ever any canon basis for this date specifically—and I think the Wiki editors realized it too, since that fact has long since been scrubbed from the site. It's still not a bad choice, though; just way too specific to be called canon.

Third, and tl;dr: As far as I can tell, you could say anywhere between... 1923 and 1965 and still be canon-compliant?? Yeah, that's right, a spread of forty-plus years. It's actually kind of incredible to me that the window is that wide open but there you are.

Now, it is extremely common for fanworks to have Edward "get his branch line" in the early 1920s, like after TTRE or TTTE. But I don't think that's a good reading. Technically it's not incorrect but it doesn't harmonize well with what we see him doing in canon throughout the FC1 era—which, again and again and again, is main line work.

The confusion here, I think, is that as early as Thomas the Tank Engine (set 1925) Wellsworth is referred to "Edward's station" (and in this book Edward even refers to it as "home").

But! All these references, from here and throughout the next 10+ books in the series, only mean for sure that Edward is resident shunter/banker there. We don't actually have a clear reference to "Edward's branch line" until Main Line Engines (1965).

Yeah, you can argue this is splitting hairs I guess? But, the thing is, Edward as a sort of main line utility/rescue engine as well as Wellsworth station pilot makes far better sense of what the heck he's doing in the FC1-era stories. During all this time, we don't even have a confirmed sighting of him on the Brendam branch. No, not even throughout all the Edward the Blue Engine (1952) stories. (Personally I imagine his accident in "Cows" took place on the branch but, fact is, it's entirely ambiguous.) A non-exhaustive list of what we do see him doing in the FC1 era includes: "odd jobs" at the Big Station, filling in for Henry when Henry fails on his passenger train, picking up goods at Tidmouth harbour, dropping whatever the hell he usually does to help out in the aftermath of the big engines' strike, being on hand at what Rev. Awdry identified as Vicarstown to shunt Gordon prior to the Ditch Incident, etc., etc.

The first time he's confirmed to ever set a wheel on the branch line is when we find that he's timetabled on the evening Tidmouth-Brendam "fast" in MLE. Which, as mentioned, is actually the same book we find out that "Edward's branch line" is, like, a Thing. So, a reading that makes the answer to your question "1964/5, right before Awdry started writing, when Edward and BoCo were assigned to manage the line together" is actually perfectly plausible (*small voice* and kinda cute. This would also mean that, even as BoCo is being trialled, the enthusiasts' train was also part of a trial period to decide whether Edward should be in charge of the line's passenger work... and that's certainly a Take. an unprecedented Take i believe, but a valid one.)

For my money, though, the most plausible year is 1952. After the "Old Iron" overhaul.

Lemme end with what I think is the most probable timeline for Edward's Sodor career. I'm not gonna break out all my canon citations coz this post is already ungodly long for such a simple ask... but feel free to ask for the receipts for anything in this timeline:

1915-1920 — pretty much the main line engine. especially as the other wartime loans are sent home. probably in charge of the express (which existed in a lighter and probably less tightly-timed form than we know it from Gordon's day).

1921-1922 — as the railway manages to acquire a motley collection of big, new, powerful, and extremely volatile engines—largely troubled prototypes—Edward is knocked down the roster to eventually being "the spare." since "these big engines" are "always going wrong," especially during this crazy period, that actually keeps him plenty busy until, well... things start to settle down. FC1 clearly doesn't feel the need to reassign Edward right away (anticipating, correctly, more instances of Confusion and Delay at Vicarstown, where it's nice to be able to shout "Find another engine!" and not have the answer be "... there's only Thomas??"). but before he does Edward turns on the puppy dog eyes and his new driver proves that Ed could be really valuable as station pilot at Wellsworth...

1923-WWII — Edward is based at Wellsworth to manage the depot, shuttle some goods to and from Tidmouth, and bank trains as needed. i'm gonna guess that he's often tapped at crazy hours when FC1 has what i am sure were his roughly-biannual clandestine "business meetings" where he either obtains or deploys blackmail in order to drive his devilish bargains. but Edward also remains a main line pinch-hitter, and does odd jobs all over the place until...

WWII — sometime during or after the war, another engine replaces Edward on banking duties (the goods trains at the time having gotten significantly heavier). Edward is assigned a couple of main line "Locals" each day while still fulfilling the rest of his old utility role

1948 — the clay pits at Brendam are opened. Edward makes a lot of the deliveries required for them to set up shop. he also meets Bill and Ben when they arrive. his ability to keep the new engines (roughly) in line is a powerful pull factor in getting him down the branch line more often, though his role doesn't officially change yet.

1952 — post-overhaul, Edward is assigned to the morning and evening Tidmouth-Brendam fast trains. so from here on he's on the branch line daily and thus, given his long experience at Brendam and especially at Wellsworth, is considered to be in charge of the line

1959 — despite his new role as a branch line engine, Edward is not completely relieved of all his main line utility work (in particular, please take note of Edward carting Rheneas around, the type of job to soon become very Caledonian-coded) until both Donald and Douglas are purchased. this frees Edward up to take on more branch line goods

1965 — BoCo is acquired and takes over Edward's share of the branch line goods work, which leaves Edward free for the ever-increasing special trains (stuff like excursions or wedding trains or other charters, which are frequent during the summer and holiday seasons). of course, while both are pretty happy with their usual jobs (the magazines established that BoCo doesn't really care for passenger work, and i find that harmonizes well with his appearances in canon/basis history so i accept it as canon) they do swap timetables sometimes for a change of pace

aaaand then we get to the Christopher Awdry era, where Nothing Ever Changes, and the TVS era, where Time is Meaningless, so i suppose that's that forever. cheers! (she said, with slight sarcasm)

[wat-the-cur]

Nobody asked for this, but I’m doing it anyway. Here are some headcanons for Veronica Loughran (Clerks) and Pap Smear Pusher (Slacker)

(Also, I remembered upon beginning to write this post, that “Slacker” and “Clerks” are four years apart, but at this point, I absolutely do not care. I want these two cuties to have girlfriends, and darn it, I will mash them together like a pair of Barbie dolls.)

. First of all, Pap Smear Pusher needs a name. She was played by Teresa Nervosa (Teresa Taylor) of Butthole Surfers, so at first I thought about calling her Terry. But, to give her a bit more separation from the actress, I decided to give her a whole new name. I swapped the initials round, and settled on Nat Talbot. Her given name is Natalie, but she much prefers Nat.

. So, I’m not entirely sure how Veronica would have met Nat, as they live several states apart from each other (Veronica is from New Jersey, Nat is from Texas). I like to think that Veronica has family in Texas. Maybe the girl Nat offered her Madonna pap smear to is a cousin. Whatever the case, someone invites Veronica to Austin for a holiday, and she accepts, thinking it might help her unwind after her messy breakup with Dante. While there, she meets Nat.

. Perhaps you wouldn’t imagine that Veronica and Nat would get on all that well. Veronica is a studious, driven young woman who seems to have a game plan for each day. We don’t see much of what Nat does, outside of trying to sell celebrity pap smears. It’s unclear if she goes to school, or has a conventional job. As the film she is from is called “Slacker”, I would wager she is a student, like Veronica, but she’s not so studious. I see her as being like the Jay of “Slacker”. Unlike Jay, she doesn’t limit her merchandise to drugs, in fact I don’t think she sells much in the way of drugs at all. I think she finds other, probably illegal miscellanea for people, and they pay her to get it. We’ve seen she can’t always make a sale, but she’s so cute and engaging to be around, she can talk things out of people pretty easily. Failing that, she can also be pretty stealthy.

Anyway, you wouldn’t imagine that these two would hit it off too well. Half of Veronica’s trouble with Dante (apart from his obsession with another woman) seemed to be that he wasn’t applying himself. But, I think it was more that Dante was living in a way that made him miserable, without ever trying to help himself, that bothered Veronica. I don’t think she would have been half as bothered about him not going to school, or not getting another job, had he actually been happy with his lot.

Nat is very much happy with her lot. She may not be the best student, she may not have much of a plan, but she’s not unhappy. It’s her carefree, scatterbrained demeanour that first attracts Veronica. She is first introduced to Nat by her cousin on the street. Then, later, the two meet at some party. Initially, Nat did not have a whole lot to say to Veronica, immediately recognising a sort of seriousness about her. However, Nat’s breeziness is infectious, and prompts Veronica to actually make an effort a really strike up a conversation with her. The two ended up chatting long into the night, and even danced to the crappy student band, together. It was exactly what Veronica needed to boost her up, after Dante left her feeling low and ineffectual.

. Nat almost immediately started calling Veronica “Ronnie”.

. Nat is a devoted “Twin Peaks” fan. What really got the ball rolling for her and Veronica, was Nat insisting that she MUST watch it with her, and that it would “totally blow her mind”. Either she knows the TV Backpacker guy, or she has connections to him, but either way, she bought VHS recordings of the series from him for quite a pretty penny. It was these tapes that Veronica settled down to watch with her, several nights a week. Veronica is not without her interests, but it’s rare she gets to just sit and peacefully watch a TV show, without worrying about other things. So, it was a real treat to sit and watch this strange, fascinating show with her new friend. Nat had such fun, watching Veronica try to work out who killed Laura Palmer, and she giggled, delightedly whenever she caught her gawping at the more surreal moments. The two found themselves really looking forward to meeting up to watch the next episode. At first, they would just sit and secretly blush during the romantic scenes, but eventually, they would start getting a little cuddly whenever the “Love Theme” played.

. Veronica has never dated a girl, before. Heck, she never even thought very much about girls, before. Maybe a little here and there, but nothing she thought was worth mulling over. So, when she starts crushing hard on Nat, it’s honestly kind of scary for her. She doesn’t know how to process it. It almost prompts her to push Nat away. But, Nat can tell that Ronnie is feeling a little freaked out, and that makes her more determined to not just let her go. Nat has been navigating being bisexual in Texas for some time, so she’s ready to offer some soothing words to a struggling Veronica. When it all comes out, it’s not quite so dramatic as what Veronica has been picturing in her mind, but she does shed a few tears of fear and relief. She and Nat actually hold each other in earnest that evening. That’s when Nat asks to go steady, and Veronica, still a little frightened, but feeling very loved, agrees.

. The first time they see each other naked, it’s not to have sex. The summer in Austin is punishing, and Veronica takes to having cool baths in the high afternoons and evenings, when it’s hottest. Nat, just a little shyly, offers to get Ronnie’s back for her. Veronica ends up inviting Nat to join her in the tub. They helped each other dry off afterwards. After that, it becomes something of a ritual. Nat loves towelling and combing Veronica’s hair, she finds it so intimate.

. Nat is not good a cooking for herself. She is very much a cereal for dinner sort of person. Veronica actually likes to cook for people, when she has time, so she will often cook extra to take round to Nat.

. I mentioned earlier that Nat is good at getting hold of things. I imagine that, even when she isn’t specifically looking for something for Veronica (though she is, frequently), if she sees something she knows she’ll like, she gets it. Veronica ends up with quite the haul of rare CDs, signed posters and limited edition clothes and cosmetics.

That’s all I got, for now. I may have more, later.

[cuddl3s4shur1]

Thought You Could Get Away

Yandere Shuri x Friend Black fem

Summary: As you try to get the Dora Miljae to understand you and what you saw . Yet they don’t listen to you at all.That leads you to take matters into your own hands. Which leads you in a facility. You are escaped from shuri but not for long before you where kidnapped.

Authors Note: Enjoy this story and yeah

Timeline:After Wakanda forever

One shot or series: Series

Taglist: @tuesdaylovesu(wifey fr) @letitias-fav @writesbyriri @ziayamikaelson @locoforshuri @xxmilli @lunax0654 @niaalove @atssukoo @malltake12 @secretgyals @randomhoex @shuriislut @shuri-my-love @2k7-sparkles @yvxmpire @womenlxver @saintwrld

If you want to be added to the Taglist feel our form

Part 1 Part 2:Power Part 3

ㅤㅤ✷ ࣭ ࣪ ˖ ☞ ࣭ ࣪ ᩠ ֗ ✦ ࣭ ࣪ ˖

Y/n’s Pov

“You have to believe I’m not fucking crazy it was queen shuri “ you yell at some random Dora Miljae. “People who’s crazy say there not crazy so ma,am be honest “I am being honest if you would stop having your head up your ass you would see that MY BEST FRIEND WAS KILLED BY QUEEN SHURI IM NOT MAKING SHIT UP” you tell at them. You can tell they didn't care at all they weren't going to believe you because being honest she's the queen. Why would they think she's a murderer? “Ma, am we are trying to help you-” you cut them not wanting to here them anymore. “If you were trying to help me you would try to look for clues so you're not helping me “ you say snapping at them. You weren't going to let this case be unsolved.”Ma, am we cant help you if your lying and yelling and or screaming” they say trying to calm you down. “Mhm ok whatever you say rolling your eyes at them. “I and my friend have bracelets so if she needs helps I will get an alert I got the alert and went to the location to see queen Shuri dragging my friend. “ you say as you have a tear down your face. “Lady we told you to stop lying this is the 15 time you have lied on if you lie again we will have to take you to a cell. “Fine I’ll just leave “

You left the Dora Miljae report center and took matters until your own hands . You where going to go to the palace they where having a meeting so this was them time to spread the word.

You wore a black suit it was like your power color. You needed the power color because you had to be in power about sharing this moment in your life. Thinking about how your friend ari almost became 6 feet deep hunts you.

(Outfit idea you can imagine whatever)

You knock on the door where the meeting was held . You hear someone makes the way to the door. “Are you supposed to be here “ a Dora Miljae questions you. “Yes I have a statement that is needed” you exclaim. “Come in” they say as they wait for you to walk in . You walk in and stop at the center instead of sitting down

“There is a murder in this room. You may know that recently a murder has been rooming the streets of wakanda. But did you know that a day ago that murder would tried to kill my best friend Ari Simmons. I’m going to tell the story from the beginning. I was on the phone with queen shuri and I told her something that happened at work . I ended the call and watched tv for a good 3 hours until I got a notification from my friend. She sent me her location. I went to the location to see the person in all black . They where about Shuri’S height and I asked a question “what are you doing with my friend “ and than SHURI responded with “I can explain” you fellow queen is a murder of more than my bestfriend but the other people who have went missing “ you say as you end your statement .

“Gaurds take her away” shuri yells . “You’re mad that I’m right “ . You make your final statement before the gaurds dragged you out of the palace.

The two Dora Miljae from earlier where your drivers to some place. “We told you if you did anymore radical statements we would take you cell but you crossed the line we’re taking you to a mental health facility “ they say yelling at you.

The Dora Miljae forces you to walk in the facility. You put up a 0 fight if you did it would make it worse . You walked into the entrance and see a young lady standing. Infront of you . You gesture the two lady’s to get off you. “You must be y/n” the lady says with a smile . “Oh yes that’s me “ you exclaim faking a smile. “Well looks like I have to give you a tour “

The young lady gives you tour and tells you your daily schedule . “This will be your roommate and your room” She says as she opens the room door. You see a guy laying on the twin sized bedroom.

You walk into the room and take a seat on the other twin bed. “So what are you in here for “ the guy says as he turns around . “Being honest I’m in here for telling the truth of a murder “ you say annoyed . “Looks like that makes 2 “ you look at the guy more “kev?” You question the guy . “Y/n” he asks back at you. You two get up to hug .

For the next couple minutes you and kev told why you were in here and what was going on.

“Looks like the duo is back as where here to start chaos” kev explains. “You know it “ you say smiling.

“So how’s your powers going “ kev asks . It was only a couple people who knew .”it’s been hard try to keep in under wraps but you know I rarely use it “ you explain to kev.

You had powers for the darkness with the power you had more speed and strength when using it. The darkness also found you as the owner of the dark so it would protect you . You could also use it to manipulate your surroundings so if you where in any bad situation that situation would become bad for the other .

“You barley using it is good but what if just comes out” he says getting scared.

With your powers if you don’t use is comes out during a random time you can tell when it’s going to happen .

“I should be good for a good minute” you say ending the convo . The young lady from earlier opens the door “Y/n someone would like to talk to you” You roll your eyes hoping it’s not who you think it is.

You make your way to the visiting center . You see a empty table with queen shuri sitting on the other side.

“Excuse me can I go back to my room I don’t want to talk to my visitor” you exclaim to the young lady. “Y/n I recommend that you talk to the young lady she may want to help you get out” the young lady says as she smiles.

You walk over to the table and sit across from shuri.” What do you want “ you ask her confused. “Y/n let me take you home “ she says trying to be nice . “No shuri I’m not going anywhere with you” you spat at her.”Y/n you need me to protect you and I can’t protect you if your in this place” she says acting like she cares . “I’d rather be in the facility than be with you” you get up from the chair and you go back to your room.

“Kev We gonna break outa this mf “ you say as you walk in the room.”Where we gonna go” he asks you. “We’re going to go to my place and where going to have to leave wakanda I’m not going to stay here knowing I basically have a stalker “ you exclaim. “Alright”

You and kev thought of the plan and how you guys where going to breakout .

“So we got a plan” you ask kev with a smirk. “Hell yeah” he says.

The plan know started now

Shuri’s Pov

“CHECK HER HOUSE CHECK IT FOR CLUES ON WHATEVER AND AFTER YOUR GOING TO BREAK IN THE FACILITY AND GET HER AND KILL THE KEVIN GUY” I yell at the guards . “DONT JUST STAND THERE GET TO WORK” I spat yelling at my team

Y/n she was beautiful a angel she was my sunshine. And I would anything to make her mine. I killed people for her yet she doesn’t even care. She cares for someone else . Her old friend Kev. I don’t get what she sees and him. So that means I have to get him away from her.

“Ms. Shuri…” A quiet lady calls my name . “What “ I ask confused on what she wanted to tell me . “Y/n and the kev guy broke out the facility and they don’t know where she is “ . “If you don’t find her I will you like I did the others “ I say yelling at the lady . “I’m- I’m sorry Ms. Shuri “ . “Send out a amber alert and searching for her as we speak”

Y/n’s Pov

As I look at my apartment from afar I see Dora Miljae coming out of the complex . “Where not going to go to my apartment where going to have to go by foot- “ you stop talking to kev as hands cover your mouth.

You start to scream but it’s muffled. You begin to use your powers against the person even though you put up a fight until you stopped

You lost kev but you also hoped he was alive because if it was up to Shuri (which it is)he’s going to end up

Dead

[angel-lyah]

🎀.°Grace Lovelace; Lore”

“I always wanted to be on TV, being a star would be a childhood dream come true. So you can imagine how happy I was to receive a colorful envelope?„

- Mary Bel Martinez

• Grace Lovelace; The beginning

Grace Lovelace is a character with a focus on feelings, her goal in the series is to teach children and their neighbors how to express their feelings and how healthy it is to be honest with yourself.

Grace is a kind and lively girl, she loves to play with her friends and help them with literature. In some episodes it is mentioned that she lived in the big city with her parents, but moved to seek adventures and self-knowledge.

It was believed that she would be a romantic match for Wally, as she made romantic poems for him in several episodes broadcast on TV. However, the Show stopped being broadcast before a romantic event occurred between them.

• Mary Bel Martinez; The journey

Mary was a dreamy girl, smiling girl and loved theater. Her biggest dream was to appear on TV and be a Hollywood star. She persisted in her dream and never changed her mind. She spent sleepless nights dreaming and praying for a company to hire her.

Her family was normal but they never gave her the support she needed. Everything she could do she did alone.

Then the happiest day of her life came, she was finally hired.

“Working with Welcome Home was a very important step in my life, every day was full of fun... full of fun„

That's what she thought before things drastically change. Gradually, her identity was erased, she no longer heard her own name come out of the mouths of the directors. It was common for her arms to get purple spots because someone from the studio decided to take her somewhere that she didn't want to go. Her privacy was also erased, and although such actions were not sexually oriented, taking her clothes without her permission is still horrible. It was frightening, and in that fear she realized something...

“They...call me Grace all the time, control me all the time, use me all the time...all the time I feel like a puppet„

This went on for months, years... and then something happened, and we all know what: Welcome Home stopped streaming and everything disappeared.

What happened between the scenes? We don't know, we just know that a beautiful girl with brown hair was found abandoned in the forest. Her bones were fractured and deep cuts lied on her wrists and ankles. Whatever happened caused her to partially lose her vision too.

“Mary Bel Martinez was still alive, but something died with her„

Her parents didn't recognize her, her friends didn't recognize her: “Where is my daughter...my daughter has green eyes and a kind smile, that thing is not my daughter!„ - that's what they said, and then they left and cut contact

She was completely alone now.

She was referred to a psychiatric hospital for professional help. It helped. After that, she was able to return to society, as someone completely unknown.

"How is she now?"

—She is "fine" now. I heard that she started to work as a teacher at a kindergarten. Even though she's gotten cold, quiet, and a little mean, she still loves kids.

"What do you mean Partially Blind?"

—She doesn't talk about it much, she says she sees everything red and black and so dark it's impossible to walk down the street without her Green Cane (Ps: Green canes means the person has low vision, White means completely blind and Red means blind and mute).

"Black Glasses?"

—They don't help at all, actually make her completely blind, but she prefers it that way, it's more comfortable, she says.

.°Thank you so much for reading!!💜

[lettersfrombeyondthegrave]

United by music my ass

So the whole thing was a mess. My aftermath thoughts are these

UK made me nauseous for how much it overshadowed Ukraine again and again. And fun fact, this wasn't the first time a country couldn't host and UK in particular stepped in. Like, it happened multiple times before.

"Look at these cool Ukraine places you can't visit and then oh a British place you CAN visit!!!"

One question. During the entire thing, has any of the hosts said a few concrete ways people at home can help Ukraine? Said any association you could donate to? Gave phone numbers to call? Anything at all I may have missed? I mean there was time to include that lil 10 seconds ad about Moroccan oil or whatever before the start of the evenings.

I fucking KNEW they would have made someone sing Imagine. And that was nauseating in itself. Mahmood looked like he was dissociating for the whole thing tho lmao

Making an Israel old entry perform two seconds AFTER imagine? A... Choice.

Also a choice the enormous amount of points that the jury gave to Israel on a year that the winning country couldn't host because of the war affecting them.

And on that note, these couple years wasn't the first time Russia launched their ass in a fucking conflict with an European country. Hello? 2008 Russo-Georgian war? Georgia is 20% fucking occupied by Russia!

And in 2009 what did Eurovision do? Said that "We don't wanna Put in" entry by Georgia was too political!!! Hello?

So why, on earth, is Israel still allowed to participate? People talk shit about Australia not being in Europe but compared to Israel I'll fucking take the Aussies and I don't even particularly like them !! And why, on earth, they thought the unicorn song was decent?

Next point. Fucking. Jury. Votes.

Do you want to know as an example the average age of Italy's jury? When I read it on Twitter I didn't believe it so here's the math!

(70+ 55+60+64+37) ÷ 5 = 57

No comment.

"united by music" let's be real you're united by the money and having the 60th anniversary of Abba + a previous winner that was involved in the ost for Euphoria, a tv series that was a massive success, is easy marketing.

Onto the next point, way too many countries were robbed. Czechia? Slapped. Germany brought for once something to the table and still got less points than whatever TikTok bullshit UK had going on. Absolute robbery. Could it have more metal screaming? It can always have more metal screaming but it was still serving cunt.

I don't even wanna mention Croatia. I'm so tired of people that treat Eurovision like every other fucking song contest, WE DONT NEED STONED SIA, I was for two minutes on Twitter and god the takes on that app. Just shut it down already. "Honestly this year was underwhelming" girl go back buying polaroids of Jimin. This wasn't made for you.

Croatia is how you MAKE a song with a message relevant to the shit that's going on in europe. Switzerland is how you DONT. Croatia was fun, parodying, putting on an apparent nosense and punk old men in drag, and THATS how it's done, what do you guys want more? Croatia was an Eurovision entry

What about Czechia message then? One question: did it sound like a boring ballad that any random British singer could make? No. Did it sound powerful and recognizable, with an identity behind it? Yes.

Ukraine this year? The cyberpunk was county, amazing, but Eurovision material? No. I've loved Ukraine entries in the past because they sang in their own language, which is already a +1 point regardless, AND included folk elements in the song. That flute thing they always have going on is DELIGHTFUL and EATS UP every single time. I love Eurovision because it exposes me to different sounds, different ways of singing. This is why I liked Moldova this year!

Anyway that's about it.

[nonbinary-kaveh]

pulls random number generator from my pocket. it says 69

Hi yes hello! Sorry for the late response! And how long this post is gonna be!

AU number 69 is called "Ink-Black Anxiety"! The very short version of what it is goes as follows:

It's a Kel-centric AU very heavily inspired by Hello Charlotte, an RPGmaker game series by etherane. I say "heavily inspired" when really the plot of the AU follows the first two episodes (+ Delirium for the "alt route") of hellchar pretty faithfully, even if it doesn't actually have the same character dynamics or anything. Episode 3 is not included in this AU in any way. That's another AU, a specifically Hello Charlotte fusion focused on Sunny. (...or is it?)

If you know how hellchar 1+2 goes, you probably know the plot already. I'll reveal the longer version of the plot (what I have as of writing this) below these next few paragraphs, so if you don't know what hellchar is, please check it out for yourself! Manlybadasshero on youtube has played it in full, and I think both the first and second episodes are free (may be wrong about the second one, so make sure of that yourself)! It's on Steam for sure. If you like OMORI, you'll probably enjoy Hello Charlotte as well!

Things to know about Ink-Black Anxiety: Mari is alive and well in this AU. Kel plays Charlotte's role. Kel is nonbinary. Their design quite literally uses the colours of the nonbinary flag. Proof right below (also take that as your final warning if you don't want to see major hellchar spoilers).

Ok if you're ready then here we go. Buckle up.

Ink-Black Anxiety follows closely the plot of hellchar 1 & 2. Some major scenes included. Deviates from it quite a lot as well, it's not a carbon copy or anything.

Kel, Hero and Aubrey decide to have a sleepover at the brothers' house at some point before the recital. Hero is running late to it because of some school-related things. Kel and Aubrey decide to watch TV or something while Hero's still not home, only to find that they can actually go through the screen to inside the TV. They get separated for a bit, reunite, solve some puzzles. Aubrey gets beheaded. Kel changes the channel, and Aubrey is alive. They visit a couple different channels until they find a way back home, but before they leave, a deity (pretty much the Oracle from hellchar) offers to get Kel and Aubrey home, and uses Kel's body to get them home safely.

...this is where it starts getting really messed up.

While Kel recalls that after coming back he waited around a little and then fell asleep, and simply woke up in the morning like usual, Hero remembers it going very differently.

Hero comes home pretty late into the evening, and finds Aubrey on the floor (seems to just be asleep), while Kel is next to her in midair, flesh rapidly twisting itself all over, bones cracking, gore and horror. Hero runs away and doesn't come back for a couple hours. When he does, it seems that Kel is back to normal and is asleep. Hero gets them both into beds, and stays up, unable to forget what he saw. When Aubrey wakes up, she complains about soreness in her body, as if she spent the majority of the night on the floor. Kel comes as usual, but Hero can't shake off the memory of earlier that night. He pretends it's nothing, that maybe it's just severe exhaustion, his imagination, him being unable to tell apart real from fake.

The next portion is set roughly 3 years after that, and Kel's changed a lot throughout the years. His hair is longer, implying that the haircut session before the recital did not take place. He also wears baggier clothes that hide his silhouette, and tends to prefer long skirts (wearing tights underneath) and big sweaters. The lighter purple cardigan is actually Mari's, as are the skirt and the yellow ribbon-tie whatever that's called. Kel originally wanted the one headspace Mari is always depicted having, and he and Sunny even kind of fought over it, but Mari gave Kel an identical yellow one, which he appeared to be satisfied with.

With years, Kel grows much taller, and while Mari's cardigan didn't really stop fitting him at all, he felt uncomfortable in it, so he gave it back. Hero gets him a new one, darker purple, which Kel is very happy with. Kel also gets a new skirt of practically the same style and colour.

It's heavily implied that Kel was into piano since before the recital, but he's kept it under wraps from anyone but Mari (and Sunny, but only because they couldn't exactly keep it a secret from him). Eventually, Mari lets it slip in a conversation, and Kel reluctantly shows off his skills. Not anything too impressive, but he's not terrible. Hero and Sunny are particularly fascinated by the song Kel plays, and decide to try and figure out everything about it, while Mari laughs and says she'd rather ask Kel for that directly like a normal person.

All this time, that deity oracle thing has been inside Kel, and it kind of follows the same kinda rules as in hellchar, meaning that one body can't contain it in full, that said body will deteriorate under its influence together with it, and that the presence of it in a body is indicated by the person coughing up ink. Which seems to be triggered by severe stress and panic attacks and stuff. Kel was originally handling it fine, but eventually, the mental illness won (/hj) and that, especially combined with the deity's destructive nature, made Kel more anxious, melancholic and subdued compared to what he used to be like.

Kel tried to keep himself together and be happy despite everything, but in doing that, he essentially tricked himself into thinking that every piece of attention to him was positive attention, that everyone loved him and wanted best for him, just like he did for everyone else. That wasn't always necessarily true, as Kel was very much being made a fool out of at school by certain groups of people, notably some classmates. At one point, it turned into straight up bullying, and culminated when Kel was cornered and held down while they chopped off his hair. From then on, Kel can't really ignore the state of things anymore.

Somewhere around that time, everyone finds out about the ink, and Hero starts really doubting his career choice, thinking that maybe it'd be best if he did become a doctor, since Kel's condition is something he's never seen before. (happens at maximum a few weeks before Hero and Mari's senior year graduation)

Kel has some kind of psychotic break? Question mark? Ngl the end of this au is still in the works lmao. But the main point is that this AU's equivalent of "trial day" is Hero and Mari's graduation day.

Uhhh that's about it for what this AU currently has to offer, I think! Hellchar 2 is incredibly dear to me, and I'm very happy to have this kind of AU. Hellchar 2 changed my life forever and I'll be damned you all need to feel that with me.

Also here's the delirium version it has sunkissed and it's so nonsensical I love it so much thank you for reading