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prettyinpwn · 2 months

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Mabel Pines: How Well Was She Written... Really? (GF Writing Analysis Pt. 3)

GF Writing Analysis Series: Pt. 1 - Ford Pines: A Masterclass in Writing a Good Flawed Character Pt. 2 - How Gravity Falls Could Have Been Better + Poor Ford and Wendy

Like my previous post in my GF Writing Analysis series, I am a bit nervous to post this, to be honest. I love this fandom, but there are two main topics in it that tend to draw the most debate: A. how Gravity Falls ended and its length/pacing, and B. Mabel's writing.

I already tackled the former in my last post, so today, I'm tackling the latter: Mabel. I like to live fandom life on the wild side, what can I say?

Let me preface this post by saying that I am very neutral on Mabel as a fan. I never especially liked her, and I never especially disliked her. It's nothing against Mabel. I'm just personally more drawn to characters like Stan and Ford the most, and if I'm honest, the only reason I'm drawn to Dipper more than Mabel is likely because I relate to him more.

*Gestures at, you know, this blog's over a decade long history of theorycrafting and analyses.*

So... I'm coming at this post with a very neutral eye and an open mind, and like my other analyses, it will be based as much as possible on writing theory I learned in college and over the years in personal study.

But unlike Ford's post, where I already had a viewpoint in mind and wrote it around proving that thesis, Mabel's is going to be more exploratory, and I will reach a conclusion at the end. Is Mabel really that badly written? Is she written pretty well with just some flaws? Or... is she actually a really well-written character and just misunderstood?

Let's discover the answer together.

Mabel's Introduction + Who is She?

I will quote my general method of analyzing character writing from my Ford analysis post to start:

"When I took writing classes in college (and over years of writing in general and drooling over writing advice podcasts and blogs), I found that the best method for me, personally, when it comes to crafting characters is to focus on two major things:

1. Their want.

2. Their need. On the surface, these look like the same things, but in character writing, they can be vastly different. For example, say that you have a character that greatly desires fame and recognition. They want these things.

But what’s the real reason behind it? Is it because they had a parent that was famous and want to live up to their example? Is it because they want to be adored by people? Is it because they were told they’d never amount to anything by someone and want to prove them wrong?

This real reason behind it all is the core need. Yes, they want fame and recognition, but they need it because, say, they have low self-esteem and need copious amounts of outside validation to boost it.

Tied to this need is usually a backstory reason (sometimes called their wound). Say your hypothetical character was bullied a lot as a child. Or abused by a parent. Etc. Whatever the wound was, it caused a big, painful hole in their heart that they try to fill and fix with their want.

So they go on a journey. The want is often the external journey. The need is often the core journey / character arc. Our example character seeks fame and recognition on an external journey, but deep inside, they realize they need something else, which is to understand that their past trauma/wound doesn’t define them, and fame and recognition will not be the balm they expect it will be. Often, they realize they had what they needed all along. They grow past their flaws associated with their seeking this want through understanding and instead pursuing the need."

So... what is Mabel's core want and need as a character? And what's her wound? Who is she? Let's identify these things by looking closely at the very first episode, Tourist Trapped. Tourist Trapped establishes the following things about Mabel:

Optimistic; likes to look on the bright side of things. ("Yay, GRAAAAAASSS!", "Check out all my splinters!").

Go with the flow / easy-going / accepts things at face value. ("Yes, you can keep chewing on my sweater!", learns Norman is a bunch of gnomes and instead of punting them immediately she tries to gently turn them down).

Romance obsessed. No examples needed. *Gestures at whole series.*

Assumes the best in people / accepting of others. (e.g Norman).

Naive / overly trusting (e.g Norman again).

Cares about her family (protecting Dipper).

Clever (ever notice how she tricks the gnomes almost like how Stan tricks Bill near the end of the series?).

(Quick side note because this part always blows my mind: Tourist Trapped is a microcosm of the whole series, by the way. Two siblings get into an argument, one gets swept into the paranormal, and the other saves them from it. The former tricks the paranormal in a clever way to stop the paranormal threat from harming them both, and the two make up at the end and go on more adventures. Sound familiar?)

Back to Mabel, let's identify her core want and need and wound from her character traits. I struggled a long time with identifying this, because Mabel seems like such a laid back character that it's harder to pin these down for her compared to, say, Ford (false validation given to use me vs. honest but selfless love) and Stan (earning worth vs. knowing inherent worth). But I think I pinned it down...

Yins and Yangs

And guess what? Hers and Dipper's wants and needs match Stan and Ford's, but not in the way you think. Dipper has Stan's struggle, and Mabel has Ford's. Just like how Tourist Trapped is a microcosm of the whole series where one twin gets whisked away into the weird (Ford and Mabel) and the other needs to save them from it (Stan and Dipper)... their wants and needs are the same.

Granted, it manifests in different ways. Using Ford as an example, Ford's want is love and acceptance, but in a "praise me and my science and my accomplishments and accept me for who I am" way. Mabel's want is love and acceptance, but in a "must find boyfriend and keep loved ones close" way. Or in another way of explaining it, Ford desires introverted love, and Mabel desires outgoing love; makes sense for their characters. Ford is a Mabel if she were an introvert, and vice versa. Just like how Stan is a Dipper if he were an extrovert, and vice versa.

So... yeah. Ford and Mabel are the same character... sort of. Because as much as Ford pursues the unknown, Mabel pursues love (both romantic and familial). And Stan and Dipper are the twins that chase after them, anchoring them back to reality, sometimes even literally.

And that's where we come to the concept of balance, AKA why the twins are good for each other. You ever notice how the Pines at their worst is always when they're alone? Stan alone is a depressed criminal. Ford alone is both paranoid and naive. Dipper alone is insecure and pessimistic. And Mabel alone is also too trusting like Ford and delusional.

What fixes this? Their twin. Stan with Ford is happy and with purpose again, Ford with Stan is protected (thanks to Stan's people smarts) and grounded, Dipper with Mabel is more confident and optimistic, and Mabel with Dipper is protected (thanks to Dipper's logical smarts) and realistic.

THAT'S why the show had Mabel and Dipper stick together at the end. THAT'S why there was such an emphasis on why Stan and Ford being apart caused so many issues. THAT'S why Dipper chose to stay with Mabel over the apprenticeship. Because time and time again, the show states the thesis that a Pines without their twin is a dysfunctional Pines. Agree with it or not, that's the theme with their characters.

Because - and I say this lovingly - the Pines are kind of stupid at times without their twins. Stan's purposeless and turns to crime, Ford's too naive and trusting, Dipper's too pessimistic, and Mabel's too optimistic. Ford gives Stan purpose, Stan gives Ford some actual common sense, Mabel gives Dipper some needed levity, and... Dipper gives Mabel a reality check (GEE, I WONDER WHY MABEL'S WEIRDMAGEDDON EPISODE WAS CALLED 'ESCAPE FROM REALITY', AND WHY DIPPER WAS THE ONE TO BREAK HER FROM IT? *Cough beats people over the head with a theme but somehow people still didn't get it cough.*).

Sorry, Caps Lock rant aside, honestly, I should just make a chart to explain the Pines. We'll be using four scales: introverted (I) vs. extroverted (E), gravity (G) vs. levity (L), active (A) vs. reactive (R), and book smart (B) vs. people smart (P).

(Yes, we're gonna make our own Gravity Falls Myers-Briggs, because I'm that insane.)

This system also reflects the Pines on a layer level: Stan and Mabel's outside personas (E and P) seem more similar, but their cores are different (GR vs LA); the same goes for Ford and Dipper (shared outside persona of I and B, but different cores of LA and GR).

This is why, in the fandom, we often look superficially at the Pines and say, "Dipper is the Ford twin because smart nerds, and Mabel is the Stan twin because outgoing fun ones". No, my friends: Dipper is the Stan twin, and Mabel is the Ford twin. Dipper is just Stan in a Ford coating, and Mabel is just Ford in a Stan coating.

We'll come back to this later for the next section, but for now, let's focus on answering the main question: is Mabel written badly, or is she written well?

Well... she has core wants (fun and love and escapism and childhood). She has a need (reality and gravity and facing the future). And... well, they never really explored her wound AKA her reason why she desires these things like they did for Stan and Ford.

But... my guess is that reality has often wounded her and popped her bubble in the past (maybe bullying at school, hence her desire to not face growing up alone without Dipper), so she avoids it in order to keep her optimistic fantasy alive to avoid pain. Just like... I dunno... that whole episode that centered around that thing called Mabeland? Metaphors, people.

So so far, Mabel checks the same boxes as my earlier analysis on why Ford is a well-written character:

Want? Check. Need? Check. Realizes she had what she needed all along (Dipper to ground her)? Check. And our last point, I'll refer back to my quote from earlier: "They [well-written character] grow past their flaws associated with their seeking this want through understanding and instead pursuing the need."

Yeah. Mabel has flaws, associated with her pursuing her wants. They manifest in that, yeah, sometimes she's selfish. And that's the flaw most people in the fandom have criticized her for.

But guess what? ALL of the Pines are selfish at times.

Stan? Ford gets captured in Weirdmageddon and Stan - although we get why he's bitter - is reluctant to save him again.

Ford? Ford received a college grant and made no attempts to reach out to Stan who was poor and struggling - although we understand why Ford was bitter, too - and reaches out to Stan not to make amends but to ask him to do him a favor.

Dipper? Probably the least selfish of the Pines, but still... at times he's selfish, too. The Time Traveler's Pig explores this. He repeatedly rewrote the day of the fair because he wanted a chance to be with a girl we know he never would have gotten with anyways. Did he think about what Wendy wanted when he did that? No. Did he think about what Mabel wanted? Well, no, at least until the end, but the moral of that episode is that Dipper learned to sacrifice his selfish want to make someone else happy.

So if people dislike Mabel for being selfish, well... they should dislike all of the Pines, then. And there are times she gives up her wants for Dipper, too, albeit shown less often. She trashes her sock puppet show - her chance at impressing a guy and compromising her core want of love - to save him, inspired by all the times he sacrificed for her. She lets go of a land of perfection and her delusion - albeit one that really wasn't real - to help him fix Weirdmageddon and save Ford.

Because here's the thing: a well-written character has flaws. There'd be no story if they didn't. A character without flaws has no arc and is poorly written. Mabel - just like the other Pines - is flawed and that's great. Because it means... she's well-written. I'll quote my post on Ford again:

"This is why Ford is a well-written character. He has flaws and suffers for them until he makes up for his mistakes. They are understandable flaws, but like in real life, just because it’s understandable why we act poorly at times - be it because of trauma or upbringing - it doesn’t mean we’re justified in continuing to hurt others or ourselves because of those flaws. We must acknowledge them, grow past them, and do our best to do better in the future, as well as apologize to those we hurt along the way."

Just like Ford, Mabel has flaws - albeit understandable ones based on who she is and her history - and she suffers for them. But in Escape From Reality, she acknowledges them, grows past them, and does her best to do better in the future.

As for the other hate on her I've often seen, including the way she gave the Rift over to Blendin/Bill... my friends... she did the same thing Ford did. And the flaw Bill took advantage of to do this was the same flaw she had in Tourist Trapped: her naivety.

Bill: "Hey, naive Pines twin, I have something you want (for summer to never end / validation and knowledge). Just give me something (the Rift / possession and build this portal) and I'll let you have it. I swear I'm innocent and on your side and have your best interests at heart!"

Bill is a master manipulator. So if we don't judge Ford for the way he was manipulated at the age of his late twenties, then why the hell do we as a fandom judge Mabel for falling for the same trick as a 12 year old?

And so we return to Tourist Trapped. Mabel's flaw in that episode was the same as the flaw she had by the end of the series. Drawn into a fantasy, lacking realism and logic about it, sibling saves her, apology to sibling, and working together to fix the mess. The difference is, is scale and stakes, and at the end of the series, it's a permanent change of growth. Mabel learns to accept reality; that life won't always be love and rainbows and sunshine, and that's okay.

I also want to highlight how the Pines' flaws are often their greatest strengths, too. Dipper often pops Mabel's fun bubble with his pessimism and realism; sometimes it rains on her parade, and sometimes it breaks her out of a delusion. And vice versa: Mabel often is too optimistic and naive, and that leads to Dipper having to save her from some manipulations and delusions, but sometimes she's the one who lifts him up when he needs it and he's too pessimistic and insecure. Case in point, Gideon Rises, where Dipper insists he needs Journal 3 after Stan takes it, and Mabel tells him, "You're a hero whether you've got that journal or not.".

And as for the hate on her "holding Dipper back from his apprenticeship", I'll quote this here, said by Mabel after Dipper convinces her to leave Mabeland:

"Hey, Dipper? I appreciate what you said back there, but if you want to take Ford's apprenticeship, I won't get in your way."

She offers him a compromise; she allows him to go for it. Because she learned her lesson of accepting the reality that, sometimes, people grow apart instead of things staying the same forever. She's become selfless. And at that point, it was Dipper's responsibility and choice to take it or not.

So if you're upset that Mabel "held Dipper back", no. She gave him room to leave, and he said no and stayed. If he'd wanted it that badly, he'd have gone for Ford's apprenticeship. And remember the series' thesis on the Pines I stated earlier:

"A Pines without their twin is a dysfunctional Pines. Agree with it or not, that's the theme with their characters."

So... we've now arrived at our conclusion about Mabel's writing based on the points we've explored above:

Once and for all, and I'll bold and make this big to emphasize my point, because I hope it quells some of the Mabel dislike: Mabel is a well-written character. She's flawed, yes, but that's the point. So... Why the Mabel Hate, Then?

There have been some ideas thrown around as to why Mabel has received extra scrutiny compared to the other Pines characters. One theory that's been thrown around is her gender, as she's the only female character of the four Pines, although I would lean towards that this isn't the likely main cause, due to the fact that there are other female characters that are liked in this fandom. Wendy receives little to no hate that I've ever seen (and in fact, I mostly see wishes to have gotten more writing featuring her character). Pacifica is liked, especially when it comes to shipping her with Dipper. So... why Mabel, specifically?

I would argue it's not her gender, specifically, but more her femininity. Mabel is very stereotypically "girly". Wendy is a tomboy, and Pacifica - although "girly" - is more of an aggressive character before her growth. Mabel is feminine and passive. She also is into many stereotypically "girly" things, like romance, knitting, crafts, etc. So people that are uncomfortable with the stereotypically feminine might have a subtle, unconscious "ick" reaction to Mabel for that reason.

And... combine Wendy's tomboy quality and Pacifica's association with a male main character (at least, when shipped with Dipper), well... er... I think that may be one potential reason why Mabel is disliked more. She's A. "girly" and B. she has no inherent "value" to a male character.

Dear God, I feel ick even writing that. But when you think about it... that could be one potential reason why she's the most disliked female character in the series. She's girly and is not a prize to be won to add value to a male's life. I shudder to think that this may be the case in today's world, but that may be the unconscious bias some people might have against her, and instead of realizing that, they blame it on "Mabel's selfish / poorly written".

Or, it could be the expectation that women need to be more selfless than men. Let's take after Ford for a moment and do some science: "The reward and learning systems in our brains work in close cooperation. Empirical studies show that girls are rewarded with praise for prosocial behavior, implying that their reward systems learn to expect a reward for helping behavior instead of selfish behavior. With this in mind, the gender differences that we observed in our studies could best be attributed to the different cultural expectations placed on men and women. This learning account is also supported by findings that indicate significant differences in the sensitivity of the reward system to prosocial and selfish behavior across cultures." (Credit/source).

Translation? In society, we praise women for being selfless, and we praise men for being selfish.

Getting this back to Dipper and Mabel, many have viewed their character conflict as "Dipper's being ambitious, and Mabel's holding him back". And with Dipper being a boy, and Mabel being a girl, fans might judge her overly harshly for her selfishness yet are easy on Stan, Ford, and Dipper for their selfishness because, yes, possibly... gender bias. "Mabel should have been less selfish!", they yell, yet people who criticize this flaw of hers are awfully quiet when it comes to addressing this same flaw in the male Pines.

Another reason why I think this is a strong contender for the most common reason why Mabel is disliked, is because of the parallelism between the two sets of Pines twins. Stan does the same thing as Mabel does: wanting his twin to stay with him, not wanting him to pursue his ambitions, wanting things to always stay the same...

So why do people not criticize Stan for the same thing? Why does he get more sympathy, yet Mabel gets ire? When Stan does it, he's a loving brother who just wants his brother to stay. When Mabel does it, she's "too selfish".

Feminist literary lens aside, sometimes I think Mabel's dislike can also be defense of one Pines twin over the other. I've seen this a lot with Ford and Stan in the fandom, where people vilify Ford yet see Stan as innocent in their squabble, as was common shortly after Ford was revealed at the time of airing.

Added to that was the fact that Ford got less attention from the writers and less time in the show to justify his flaws and understand his character (see my previous Gravity Falls writing analysis here that covers this topic), and, well... of course there's a high likelihood people are going to sympathize with Stan more than Ford. The show gave us more reasons to. But that doesn't mean Ford is inherently more wrong or more flawed than Stan. It's just that... people might like Stan more than Ford, so give him more stink-eye.

So I think the same happens with Mabel and Dipper, although Mabel and Dipper got roughly the same amount of airtime, so that leads me to my next point:

I have a little side theory here I want to test (but I could very likely be wrong) regarding why some characters in Gravity Falls are well-liked by certain people and vice versa, as well as why some characters are more vilified or idolized in this fandom. Let's return to my Pines personality chart:

Please ask yourself these questions honestly:

Who is your favorite Pines?

Who is your least favorite Pines?

Now, write these letters down depending on your answer:

Are you introverted (I) or extroverted (E)?

Are you a realist (G) or an optimist (L)?

Are you someone who goes after what you want (A) or waits for it to come to you (R)?

Are you more book smart (B) or people smart (P)?

Now, create your four letter Pines personality (e.g ILRB).

With your Pines personality, count how many letters you have in common with each character.

Now, answer this: do the Pines you share the most letters with happen to be your favorite Pines, and do the Pines you share the least letters with happen to be your least favorite Pines?

Personally, my favorite is Ford, and my least favorite is Mabel (although like I said earlier, I do not dislike Mabel, I am just neutral at worst with her). My own four letters are ILA/RB, meaning I'm introverted, trend towards optimism/levity, am split on active and reactive, and am more book than people smart.

I share 3-4 letters with Ford, 2-3 with Dipper, 1 letter with Stan, and 1-2 letters with Mabel.

And lo and behold... my favorite Pines is the most like me, and my least favorite Pines is one of two least like me.

So here's my theory as to why there's Mabel hate, since we've already established why Mabel is actually technically written very well: a combination of possible unconscious gender bias and personality matchup. Because if there's one thing us humans are good at it, it's, "Ape like me, me like, but ape less like me? Me throw rock! Insert war/hate/prejudice/online fandom hate, etc here.".

Therefore, in final conclusion: Mabel is well-written, and she's criticized unfairly. Anyone that criticizes her as "too selfish" needs to honestly analyze why they might not apply that same criticism to Stan, Dipper, or Ford.

#gravity falls #gravity falls analysis #mabel pines #but also some analysis on Dipper and Ford and Stan too #I even added charts and science this time because I'm insane #and there's a bonus personality test!

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lemonhemlock · 12 days

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The thing that's getting lost in the weeds when it comes to talking about being a book purist vs. a show HOTD fan is that the main issues, imo, aren't necessarily the departures from the text, it's the REASONS why Condall and Hess made those departures. Maelor not being included, and having Helaena have a Sophie's choice moment between the twins would have been fine if they also kept all the other details in Blood and Cheese and Helaena's grief after the fact. If you want to use child labour laws as an excuse, fine, altho Condal went on a podcast and said that they changed B and C because of Alicent's 'propaganda' lol. But let's take Condal's words at face value for a moment. Then why cut out the maid being strangled? Why cut out Alicent being tied and forced to watch as it happened? Why cut out the threats to Jaehara? Why cut out Helaena offering her life? Why were Criston and Aemond not shown trying to get in the room as it happened? None of those changes involved having a toddler on set being subjected to triggering scenes, so the that excuse no longer works, and none of them involved spending more time or money on the scene. They simply should have cut out the buddy comedy between Blood and Cheese and that stupid dog to give more time to Helaena and the kids.

Instead we have Alicent having sex with Criston, Helaena not offering life, Helaena not feeling any grief and getting over it almost immediately because heaven forbid Daemon and Rhaenyra look bad because of a grieving mother.

Every single change to Blood and Cheese was done to white wash Daemon, by extension Rhaenyra, and by further extension to white wash team black. I'm not a book purist by any means, but almost every single change to the source material that isn't due to budget constraints is done to cynically white wash Rhaenyra and push the agenda that you are a misogyny loving Woman for Trump if you side with Alicent and the Greens.

Other changes like Rhaenys choosing to go fight instead of being ordered by Rhaenyra, Laenor not being killed by Daemon so he could marry Rhaenyra, Rhaenyra not ordering Vaemond to be killed and eaten by her dragon, Nettles being cut because the writers can't have their Girl Boss 'lose' to another woman and be humiliated by her husband cavorting with a teenager, Helaena not feeling grief because that would make Rhaenyra/Daemon/TB look bad. Maelor wasn't cut because of budget or kid issues, he was cut because his storyline made Rhaenyra look bad. THAT's the issue here. I don't for a minute buy that they cut Maelor because of child labour laws, there are in fact ways to have kids in scenes like that where they don't have to see or hear anything offensive using smart editing, etc. That's my problem here, all of this was a very cynical and transparent way to whitewash TB and further demonize TG.

Any time people in the fandom are baffled as to why certain changes were made, just ask yourself how it serves Rhaenyra and you will get your answer.

^^^^^^^ i don't really have anything more to add, anon, you spelled everything out! 👌

tumblr user maglors-grief even recently commented that they actually aged down aegon iii and viserys ii, so, if using toddlers is such a hassle and a problem, why didn't they age them up instead? it's just a invented pretext to wave away their bias

#ask #anon #blood & cheese #hotd s2

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darkdevasofdestruction · 2 months

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Letters Unsung ~ Arthur Shelby x Fiancee!Reader

Summary: Since the very beginning of the First World War, Arthur’s Fiancee managed to get an unpaid job at UK’s radio station podcast so that she may daily speak a few encouraging words for the soldiers, and in turn, to her beloved Arthur Shelby.

“Must you really go, my darling?” Arthur heard the love of his life plead for him in such a sweet, mellow voice; If only he could, he would throw away his family, his country and everything to ever exist, just to find a safe place to hide with his darling Y/N. Alas, in a mondial war involving every country known to mankind, there was no place to hide.

Fear and anxiety wasn’t a world in which he wanted Y/N to live in. She was too good for this dark, bleak world; Even as cannon fodder, if he could benefit the war and keep the country safe - Keep Y/N safe - he would gladly go.

“Mighty sorry, my love, but y’know better than I do that I gotta. Old enough to be in my damn prime - ‘Em muscles hadn’t built by ‘emselves, y’know? You always said I looked damn fine all naked - Well, Gov’s thinkin’ the same. Strong ‘nuff to carry a gun, strong ‘nuff to die for ‘em.” he rambled idly, lighting up a cigarette, puffing in the air, then squishing it in the ash tray. Y/N hated smoking. She always said she wouldn’t kiss him if his breath stank like tar. “Tommy ‘n’ John... They’re both so young. Can’t have ‘em go die without their old bro trying to protect ‘em.” he looked at his girl - She was trying so hard not to break down into sobs again. For the past days she’d been crying non-stop. She was unconsolable, and not even he could comfort her - Hell, he was terrified out of his mind, the thought of never seeing her again was killing him... “C’mon, doll, you’re too pretty to cry so much. Save ‘em tear for when i get back home, and you jump in my arms, and I twirl you around like the pretty angel you are.”

“B-But... Artie...” her words were stammered and hardly comprehensible; All she did was cuddle into his side and cry. If only she could water the plants with that wasted water, Polly said at some point, yet she was just as terrified for her children as Y/N was. John was barely 18, there was no way he’d make it through! “I can’t live without you. There is no life without you. I’ll die without you!”

“Aww, darlin’...” she was so loving and genuine... What the hell was he supposed to do; He will be crying himself to sleep every night in the field, thinking that he left her all alone. “My sweet angel.” he held her tightly, stroking her hair and kissing her. “You’re my most precious treasure, Y/N. For you, I’ll do anything in my power to get back as fast as possible and wife you. We’ll have a pretty garden wedding - In Spring, with the pretty flowers - You always told me how you like ‘em pretty flowers. Heard there’s this place with a... A gazebo, next to this forest out of Birmingham; Ain’t no way Imma have you be a pretty bride in this grey shit hole of a city.”

“Promise you’ll come back to me?” Arthur gingerly took her hand and kissed her fingers.

“I promise on this ring that I gotchu that I’ll be back to keep my vows to you.”

The next morning, Y/N was robbed of a final goodbye, though it was more of a blessing in disguise than anything. Arthur spared her the despair she’d have had to endure, seeing him board that freaking train and leave the station, like lamb to the slaughter. By the time Y/N had woken up, Polly and Ada were around her. Polly had suggested the eldest Shelby brother that Y/N was too emotionally devastated and would be unable to go through that experience - Hence why she came up with the idea of placing a few sedatives in her sweet calming tea, which ensured a long and peaceful sleep.

Y/N was completely lost - Without Arthur, she had no idea what to do with her life; She couldn’t grieve and cry 24/7, that was unnatural, and her fiance wouldn’t want that of her, surely. She would have gladly enrolled as a nurse on the field, but not only did Arthur completely forbid her to do such a feat, she was also denied by the military - She was a certified doctress, she couldn’t be a combat doctor with no military training - Thus, she kept her work as a doctor in the Birmingham hospital.

Many months on end passed, and many more letters she sent, but received none. The radio was on, awaiting the war broadcast and praying that she wouldn’t hear the name of “Shelby” ever, until the war was over. Still, listening to the radio wasn’t enough. Anxiously awaiting for the police to come to her doorstep to tell her Arthur died, also, wasn’t good. Sure, she had Polly and Ada by her side, and she was always busy at work treating people, prepping for surgeries...

There had to be something she could do. Something that would benefit the people remaining in the country to defend the land... Something to sooth the soldiers facing the death door every second, awake and asleep.

And she had just the idea, the money, and the influence.

Y/N walked right through the doors of the radio station and explained to the chief her idea; Surely everyone knew how beneficial battlefield morale was for the troops - Hearing good words from home was sure to up their battle prowess tenfold. The old man himself had three sons send to France, of course he knew better than anyone how none of his wife’s letters reached them. Hell, he had no idea if either of them was still alive after four months out there.

And thus, the very first podcast was recorded, live, in the studio. Y/N’s voice was wavery and uncertain - She was awful at social interactions, hence why she clinged so much to Arthur and sought his comfort. Still, he was out there, bravely fighting to protect her - The least she could do was to speak a few words into a microphone.

“Good afternoon, brave soldiers. I am Y/N Shelby speaking, for the ‘Echoes of Hope’ broadcast.” what was she supposed to do now? The people were listening to her! “We have come up with this idea of creating a podcast to speak more directly to you - Only God knows if any of the thousands of letters sent have been received by you - So, a more direct approach had to be taken.” she took a deep breath to muster some strength. Think of Arthur and the soldiers. “I am speaking from the heart of Birmingham, sending warmth and courage across the airwaves, hoping it would reach at least one of you, brave men, fighting to protect your families and home.” she licked her lips, forcing herself to continue speaking. “Today, and tomorrow, and in every day that keeps us apart, as you brave the frontlines, know that we, back home, hold you in our thoughts and prayers.” a stray tear found itself caressing her soft cheek where one was held by Arthur’s rough hand. “And... To my beloved Artie... If you can hear me, know that each word I speak carries a piece of my heart. Stay strong, my love, for your strength is our beacon of hope in this colourless place.”

As she turned off the broadcast button, she took off the headset and stepped away from the microphone. The old man stepped in front of her and patted her hair, seeing the girl cry.

“Oh, I messed up big time! Forgive me, I completely ruined this thing... Oh, I am awful, awful at speaking to people! I-I thought that, without a person in front of me, it would be easier -- But I messed it up so badly!” the poor girl whined, though comforted by the man.

“I wouldn’t say you butchered it, love, I’d say the people out there fighting for our homeland just heard the voice of all of us, fighting our own battles yet staying strong to support and cheer on them also.” he patted her shoulders to straighten up. “Life is difficult with this poverty, yet we make meets end and figure things out so that we can welcome them back in a safe home that lack nothing. Lord knows, they will need all the comfort and support they can get, poor children... If only I wasn’t so old and a cripple, I would be out there to protect my boys.” the old man shed a tear. “Y/N, come back tomorrow at the same time and continue speaking to them. Only they know, your voice might just be their salvation.”

And thus became the routine of Y/N Shelby, every day in the evening after her hospital shift was over, she would pass by the radio station and begin speaking her heart out for the soldiers spread throughout Lord knows how many countries.

“Good evening once again to the brave men fighting for our home. It is Y/N Shelby again, and I bring you words of encouragement from the women of England.” this time, she was smiling; She looked at the old man next to her and felt enboldened to continue. “Each day we await your safe and hasteful return, and each night we whisper our hopes into the silence, hoping that our prays will protect you.” she really should write a script instead of free-styling it. “Arthur, my dearest, your courage inspires me. Remember, as you face the trials of war, that our love is your shield, and my voice is your guide back home. Please, never lose track of your path back into my arms.”

The old man smiled, moved by the girl’s words, and encouraged her to come the next day also; It was bound to create a routine for all the soldiers to listen to the prayers and words of courage and morale from the Angel of Birmingham.

“Hello, everyone - I assume you can recognise my voice by now.” she sounded much giddier than usual. “I am overjoyed to say that, after 11 months, I have finally received a letter from my beloved Artie!” she chimed, trying to keep composed. “He told me in the sweetest words how much he loves me - And how he wants us to have the prettiest wedding ever; In Spring, and filled with flowers, just how I love it.” she continued, overjoyed. “These words of love - All of Arthur’s feelings for me - I know each and every one of you feels the same for the loved ones waiting impatiently for you at home; So, for once, I will transmit your words to those waiting for you here, in Britain.” she cleared her throat. “For every mother, father, aunt and uncle, brother or sister... For grandparents, children, wives and husbands and friends also - For every living being here, in Britain, waiting for your beloved to return home, safe and sound - Just know that your letters have been received, and so have all of your love and good intentions. They are thinking of you, the very same way - So keep on hoping and praying, and know they are heard and working. Your loved ones need it.”

A whole year passed, and many more were going to follow; Emboldened by the fantastic idea of the podcast, more and more women, children and elderly decided to join the production, each of them passing along their message to those on the battlefield, read live by Y/N.

“As the war rages on, it becomes harder to find the right words. I have come to speak to you every day, for a year and a half - And I dearly hope none of you have gotten bored of my voice yet.” she chuckled softly. “I know that you, Arthur, and all the soldiers, need to hear that we believe in you. You are not forgotten, not for a moment.” she went on. “My dearest Arthur, hold on to our memories, for they are the thread that will guide you back to me. England’s women stand with you, every step of the way.” she took one letter in her hand. “But today it’s not only about you and how much I love you, Artie. From today on, I am going to read for you the letters that may have never been received by you.” she cleared her throat. “This letter is written by young Jimmy, a charming 5 year old lad who wants to write to his grandpa, Captain Andrew Brown. < Dear Grandpa Andy, mommy taught me how to write, and I wanted you to be the first to see me writing. I never met my daddy, but for me, you are my daddy. I hope you return home soon; I want to play horsie again - And you promised to teach me how to play football when I grow old. I’m a big boy now, I help mommy carry yucky veggies at home - And I eat everything from my plate. Mommy said you’ll come home faster if I study well and get good grades, so I’ll do my best! I love you, papi! > “

The old man was moved to tears; He was imagining his own grandson crying for him. A single mother, whose only support is an old man gone to war. Life truly was unfair. In spite of that, the letters read on the podcast began rapidly to gain traction; Every person out there had something to say to someone on the battlefield.

“Today, the news brought a glimmer of hope. Arthur, your bravery has not gone unnoticed. I heard of your close call, and my heart ached with fear and relief. You are my hero, and I send you all my love and strength. To all soldiers, know that each of you is a hero in someone’s heart. Hold fast, for victory is within sight.” she held a letter in her hand, ready to read it. “This time, we have a letter from Mr. Daniel Masters, wanting to share his wholesome words with his wife, Mrs. Angela Masters, who selflessly volunteered as a nurse on the battlefield, and was deployed in Verdun.” she began reading the letter. “ < My darling Angie, you are an angel on this earth. Not only did you volunteer to go out there, in the middle of the war, to save me, a useless cripple, from dying there, but you are saving other men with your fantastic knowledge and skills in medicine. I and my sister are working hard so that when you return, we can have the wedding of your dreams. And don’t worry about little Susie, she’s in perfect health and asking about her mommy every day. She started braiding her hair like you, saying she wants to be pretty like mommy - And what do you know, she found your stack of medicine books under the bed and began asking me to explain those long words - I have no idea what those words mean, I can’t even pronounce them. I hope you’ll come home soon, my angel. We miss you very much, and we love you endlessly. > “

Thus four years passed, day after day, with Y/N passing on the words of Britain, yearning for Her children to return home. At some point, even Ada sent a message for Freddy, reminding him of their childhood love - And Polly wanted to tell the brothers that they have to be strong and return back no matter what.

Finally, it was the fated day - The Government announced the soldiers of Birmingham arriving by train, at 3 o’clock in the afternoon. The station was a sea of anticipation and anxiety, filled to the brim, overcrowded by people of all kinds and ages. Y/N stood amidst the crowd, her heart pounding as she scanned the faces, hoping to catch a glimpse of Arthur. The air was filled with the sounds of families reuniting, joyful cries mingling with the tears of those who had waited so long for this moment.

Children clung to their mothers yelling a collective ‘Daddy’, elderly parents searched for their sons, and wives stood on tiptoes, straining to see over the throng of people. Y/N felt a mix of hope and fear, her eyes darting from one soldier to another, desperately searching for the one face she longed to see. The same uniforms everywhere, but no sign of her beloved.

As more soldiers stepped off the train, the crowd surged forward, and Y/N was jostled, her view obscured by the pressing bodies. Panic began to set in. What if Arthur wasn't on this train? What if something had happened in the final days? Her heart raced, and she felt a lump forming in her throat. She didn’t want the only keepsakes to be the letters he sent her during war; That makes for a most tragic memento.

"Artie!" she called out, her voice lost in the cacophony of the station. “Artie, angel, where are you?!” she continued shouting, but her soft voice was drowned out by the other people calling for their loved ones.

Minutes felt like hours as she stood there, her eyes scanning the thinning crowd. She felt lost, a wave of despair washing over her as the platform began to empty. Just as she was about to break down, fall on her knees and succumb to her grief, a figure appeared through the remaining haze of steam and people.

Arthur.

He was thinner than she remembered, his face gaunt and eyes hollowed by the horrors of war. His disheveled uniform hung loosely on his frame, and he moved with a weary slowness. But when his eyes met hers, a spark of recognition and relief lit up his face.

"Y/N." he breathed, his voice hoarse and tired.

At first, her mind blanked, and her legs became jelly, shaking like two flowers in the wind - It took Arthur smiling and calling her name again, to regain autonomy over her body. She ran to him, tears streaming down her face as she threw her arms around him. The world seemed to stop as they held each other, the pain of their long separation melting away in the warmth of their embrace. Arthur clung to her as if she were the lifeline that had pulled him through the darkest days - And just as promised, he twirled her around. Y/N, his angel, was back where she had to be - In his arms.

"You came back." she whispered, her voice choked with emotion. “You really, really came back. You’re here, in the flesh, alive and breathing, and living -- I’m not dreaming, I’m not imagining - I’m not dead, am I?” she pulled back, cupping his face and looking him in those gorgeous doe-eyes of his. So gentle and so loving. “You are real, aren’t you? You came back to me.”

"I promised you, didn't I?" he replied, a faint smile touching his lips despite the exhaustion etched into his features. “I promised I’d come back and marry you. No man would be crazy enough not to return home to an angel like you.”

They stood there for a long moment, wrapped in each other's arms, the noise and chaos of the station fading into the background. Arthur was home, and that was all that mattered. It wasn’t sure whether it was Y/N comforting Arthur after 4 years of horror experienced, or Arthur was pacifying his poor cry-baby darling; Yet one thing was sure - They were where they were supposed to be.

"I'm so proud of you." Y/N said softly, pulling back slightly to look into his eyes, before peppering him with kisses all over his face. "You made it through, Arthur. You're here. My hero. You are my hero, Artie. Our hero. You saved us."

He nodded, his gaze steady but shadowed by the memories of what he'd endured. "It's over now. No more about what happened - I don’t wanna hear about it anymore.” he shook his head, holding onto her tightly. “I am home."

As they walked away from the station, hand in hand, Y/N felt a sense of peace settling over her, yet she was still shaken - She was clinging onto her beloved like a baby koala, afraid of losing him, like an oasis mirage. They had both been through so much, but now they could face the future together. The road ahead would not be easy, but with Arthur by her side, she knew they could overcome anything.

The war had taken its toll on them, but their love had endured. The Shelby family was entirely reunited, and trying to heal from the festering wounds created by the four year massacre. Life will never be the same, but they had to learn how to live again, and adjust to a whole new world that was in constant development - A fast world that was waiting for no one, especially not for veterans and their grief.

Each member of the family was affected differently; John became rebellious, Ada was going through a desperate need for affection from Freddy, Polly became dissolute and cynical, Tommy was no longer the adventurous young man who was Y/N’s partner in crime, but a most apathetic and lethargic man, Arthur became aggressively violent and would lose his mind every time he heard a loud noise resembling guns or bombs, and Y/N had to learn how to stop her nightmares and live without worrying her husband would disappear and it would all just be a delusion.

Either way, only one thing mattered for Y/N.

Arthur was home.

#peaky blinders x reader #peaky blinder fanfic #peaky fookin blinders #peaky blinders imagine #peaky blinders #arthur shelby #arthur shelby x reader #arthur shelby imagine

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gregorovitch-adler · 4 months

Text

Messy

John turned off the microphone and sighed. He placed it on the side table beside his armchair and sat back in an almost dark room.

Sherlock, John and Mariana had been working on another case.

It was quite late, so Mariana had gone to bed in 221 A. John had been in the sitting room of 221 B, ruminating about his podcasting skills to himself.

John looked at Sherlock - who was sitting in his armchair across the room with his eyes closed - and inevitably began to think the differences between the two of them.

Must be different, being so perfect at almost everything, John thought, continuing to gaze at Sherlock.

Perfect analytical and observational skills needed to solve the cases, perfect timbre of the voice, perfect enunciations, and...

John had obviously noticed it a million times before but now he had to admit it.

... Perfect looks.

Not that John was jealous of all that (okay, maybe a little, but not too much), but now and then he would think that he made a wrong career choice as a podcaster after having served as an army doctor.

Oftentimes he would think that maybe he was better off as a general practitioner now that he was a civillian himself.

A comparatively ordinary job, without anyone else to work for or with.

Would that life suit him better?

John furrowed his brow at those thoughts.

"I won't be able to sleep if you keep your eyes on me the whole night," said Sherlock with his eyes still closed.

John parted his lips and got up from his chair, feeling heated around his face. "Oh, sorry. I'll, er, I'll just go upstairs. You should go to bed too, mate. Aren't you - aren't you uncomfortable here?"

John mentally kicked himself for stuttering yet again.

"No, stop. I could hear you thinking from across the room, just now." Sherlock finally opened his eyes and sat straight on his chair, looking at John intensely. "There is something on your mind, Watson. I need to know what."

John was taken aback by the kind of intensity he saw in Sherlock's eyes. He gave in. "Well, it's just that..." he trailed off.

A brief silence fell in the room as Sherlock and John locked their eyes together. Sherlock got up from his chair and walked over to John so he could be close to him.

"What is it?" Sherlock prompted.

"Am I doing this right?" John finally spoke, taking in irregular breaths.

"Doing what right?" Sherlock was looking at him with confusion.

"This whole podcast thing. I mean, I make it so awkward for our listeners sometimes. And half of the time my jokes don't even seem to land well." John gesticulated widely. "And, um, even after all that editing and cutting out the extra bits, the end result isn't flawless. It's so messy and imperfect."

Sherlock stared at John blankly for a moment. He then opened his arms wide looking at him with an awkward face. "Is it okay if we..."

John caught on. "Uh, yeah, sure," he said with his brow knitted.

They both wrapped their arms around each other. John's one arm was around his waist, and he ran his other arm over Sherlock's back. Sherlock's arms were around his shoulders.

John managed to place his chin on Sherlock's shoulder and sighed.

"The end result is not what we listen to," Sherlock began in a calm voice in John's ear. "The end result is the response of our listeners. How is it?"

John smiled. "Really good, so far, overall."

"There you go."

John felt Sherlock smile against his right shoulder.

They let each other go, but they were still holding hands, looking at each other deeply in the eye.

"Even if that weren't the case, I would not have cared."

"And why is that?" John asked, still looking at his friend with a smile.

"Because I like you as you are."

John chuckled, followed by Sherlock.

John turned around to make his way to his bedroom, already feeling loads better than before.

Prompt: Imperfect by @calaisreno

Tags: @helloliriels , @jamielovesjam , @topsyturvy-turtely , @keirgreeneyes , @totallysilvergirl , @lisbeth-kk , @peanitbear , @gaylilsherlock , @friday411 etc.

#johnlock #john watson #sherlock holmes #sherlock & co #ficlet #my ficlet #insecurity #may prompts 2024 #could be read as a gen fic too #gen fic #prompt: imperfect #fluff

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astroyongie · 5 months

Text

Astroyongie Podcast EP3 S1

Note: Please take I slightly. Thank you @kattyaskat for the notes <3

What happened between min heejin & hybe ent?

ADORE CEO and HYBE CEO were very closed. worked together for a long time. exclusive contracts. they both have a lot of shit on each other, but ADORE CEO the most. someone from outside offered something she wanted and she turned her back on HYBE CEO

Do idols ever regret not debuting in other groups? For example does Heesung of Enhypen wish he would've debuted in TXT?

not really since its not up to them to decide where they will be debuting. No Hesseung is happy in TXT

Can you spill the tea on X whole bullying situation with group? Also was there division because of the leader choice?

complicated so take it lightly. the competition started before the group debuting since their were put one against each other. X was actually defending A during the debut period from B,C and D. Eventually X became the pick. At the moment this are better, C reflected a lot on his actions compared to B

how Heeseung enhypen currently love life going on? is he happy and still with the foreign girl in the last reading?

yes

What are LSS gonna do after receiving critique after their Coachella performance?

Sakura: Took things very personally and is kind of hurt about the things people said about her on internet and stuff. I personally believe Sakura thinks that she has the potential and talent and she doesn’t understand why the people are being so mean about her singing skills. I don’t think she believes she needs to work more on it. She believes she has the talent and people are being bitchy about it.

Chaewon: Mostly same like sakura. She’s getting to work on her skills. She’s trying to go more into practice and stuff and doesn’t want to make the same mistake that she did during Coachella. She feels embarrassed about what happened which is why she is putting much effort into

Kazuha: Doesn’t give a damn about what happened. Doesn’t care about what ppl say about her and her group.

Yunjin: She is pissed off with three things. 1. Pissed with Her friends because of talking shit about her. Like being very negative in the internet. 2. Pissed about her members for being low quality in a way she thinks they were the ones making the mistakes and errors during Coachella 3. Pissed with company for not providing them time to prepare to perform. At the moment she is not taking any actions, she is very bitter about the situation

Eunchae: It’s trying to work on herself as well. She is very ashamed about the performance that they gave and she is trying to work on her skills and didn’t want to make the mistake she made in Coachella, just like Chaewon.

Can you maybe do a love reading for Maki from &Team?

At the moment Maki is single. Not looking for love at the moment because of his career and idol lifestyle is not allowing to have someone by his side. He is very invested in career to be with anyone. So single and not open to love at the moment.

Is BK identity already reveal?

No. Only can be checked next month with my pendulum.

Who is Jackson Wang dating? Non idol?

I think so, most likely a non idol. Not sure if they are Chinese or foreigner.

What does Jackson Wang and BIBI think of each other?

Jackson: thinks BIBI is a bit non-lady like. She doesn’t fit the cute lady type. She very restless, has a lot of energy, very impulsive with get ideas and herself and the way she is. He feels she maybe too much for him in being girly. Not a bad vision of her but that she is just too much for him to handle.

BIBI: She thinks he is some one who is very dependable, a very nice idol who has talent and stuffs like that. Thinks he is rich, luxurious and has a good life. She admires him in a professional sense.

Which cards in tarot/spreads /combinations would suggests a connection from past life?

This is complicated cause it will depend on the question that you are making the spread about. If you are directly asking the cards if X and Y shared a past life, you have to look for cards that are very strong. eg. the 4oW,2oC, The star, The judgement, The world. The lovers could also be an indication. Or the 10oC,9oC,6oC.

Does horror movies/ scary movies can lower people vibrations?

This in interesting cause many people are afraid of watching these type of stuffs because they think it attracts those paranormal/ghost stuffs to them- No, that’s not how it works. It does not lower your vibrations. What lowers vibrations is your environment and your own feelings, thoughts. Environment with a lot of pressure, stress can lower your vibrations. However, music can vibrate with you- if you spend listening to sad songs like continuously, that will have an impact. You can listen to sad songs but only when listened to over time frequently, it might impact.

Is it better to have high or low vibration?

It’s best to have Neutral vibration. It’s like having the best of both worlds. Because when you are low vibration-be it because of your bad mental health or physical health, that’s when you are more sensitive to negative things, it’s easy for lower things/beings to be in contact with you. You are vulnerable that time. But also when you are high vibration, you become like a radio. Especially Spirits that are stuck in the veil, they might be able to connect with you. That’s why neutral is best.

So I was practicing 2 hours singing a ballad, will this impact me? I don’t practice everyday but when I practice it’s usually 2-4 hours. It’s not always the same ballade, but does this have an impact on my vibrations?

No . Since you are doing something you enjoy even if it is a sad song/ballad.

Does all human races have a soul?

Yes

Can people in one body have more than one soul?

I don’t believe so. It’s not possible. Although there's the theory that who suffers from DID are a physical body trapping several souls

Can animals have a soul as well?

Yes all animals have souls.

. How is sohee currently doing and how is his love life?

I think you said he is happily dating.

#astroyongie #astroyongie podcast

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ryanguzmansource · 2 months

Text

Full Transcript (8.4.24)

(already posted on RGS here)

M: Recording? Everybody recording?

R: Everybody's recording.

M: Everybody tuned in? We just filmed half the episode and forgot that we weren't recording.

R: No, that was great.

M: Yeah, and that's my time. Man, yo, what up gang? Welcome to the L&L Podcast, where we sit down with a dope individual, get a lecture, learn a little bit about their life, then we get in the lab and create something dope, which is gonna come at a later day, because me and this guest got a real special one that's gonna take some time, so be patient. I promise it's gonna be worth it. In the meantime, there's gonna be a special aspect, a special section of this interview. It's gonna be for Patreon only. It's gonna be Fan Questions and a little mini lab that I haven't told him about yet, because it's gonna be a surprise slash side mission, but yeah, so we're gonna get there, patreon.com/lnlpod.

Join the university right now, it's only $5, and you can get the BTS and the creatives and all the episodes a day early, and for the other seven episodes as well. So this episode is the season one finale.

Yeah, I'm so hyped that y'all made it this far. Season One has been a road. So yeah, you know, we wanna keep doing more and more and more, and we're in a new space. This is the Feybl [pronounced Fable] House, first episode that we gonna do here, and this is gonna be our new home for a while, and it ain't cheap, so all my brands out there, if you wanna sponsor the boy, that'd be great.

[INTRO MUSIC]

M: All right, we're here today with somebody super dope. I've known him for a while now, maybe six years or so through a mutual friend, and since day one that we've met, he's let me into his life and into his home, and he's been a big supporter of me and everything I've been doing these last six years and vice versa and some quick flowers. Multi-talented in so many different facets of art, and we're gonna try to get into all of them in some way, shape or form today. My boy, Ryan Guzman. What's cracking, my boy?

R: What's up, bro? Thanks for having me, man.

M: I appreciate that.

R: I appreciate you.

M: Yeah, you're my dog. You're my dog. I just jumped into it. I wasn't gonna start it this way, but when you told me where you were earlier today, you had a fitting for a season eight for 9-1-1. What kind of weird shit they got you wearing?

R: Nothing weird yet. I mean, I feel like it's more clothes this season than last. The last season, I felt like half naked half the whole season. Nah, I mean, the character's been established now. We kind of know what to expect with the vibe, and now it's just kind of falling back in the old rhythm. And the only thing different now is where the character's head's at and where he's going.

M: Got you. I mean, the majority of what you wear is the firefighter fit anyway.

R: Yeah, a lot of plaid, a lot of cowboy shit.

M: It's legit, though, like the firefighter fits. They're like legit firefighter shit.

R: To an extent. Yeah, there's certain times where we're wearing the actual gear and we'll have to take out the lining because if we're in, say, for instance, 112 degree weather, we got to stay in that shit for like hours. I can cuss?

M: Yeah.

R: All right. We got to stay in that shit for like 12 hours, 14 hours. So we're not trying to do that. So luckily, the wardrobe department helps us out.

M: Because that shit be heavy as hell, bro.

R: I mean, full gear, that's like 50, 60 pounds.

M: See, no, I'm good.

R: Yeah.

M: I'm good. That's why you get paid the big bucks, bro.

R: Yeah.

M: That's dope, man. Okay. Can we talk about where you just came from? With Rosario [Dawson]?

R: Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We can talk about that.

M: Cool. Yeah. He just got back from filming over the weekend. It was quick weekend shoot, like in and out?

R: It was full week. Yeah. And how it happened actually was kind of crazy. Like my boy Lamont, shout out to him, he's the writer on the movie, and they had already been filming. So they're like 10, 12 days in. He hit me up and he's like, hey, so this character that we've been writing, like we don't have anybody for him. They have somebody in mind and then Rosario has another person in mind, but we're not sure if they're going to work out with the scheduling and everything. So I'm like, all right, send me the script. Sends me the script.

M: You was plan B, dog?

R: I was plan C, but-

M: I'll take it.

R: Oh man, after I read that thing—cause I'm not thinking nothing like that—I'm like, you know what? I read that. I'm like, all right, now I'm gonna kill this.

M: Okay.

R: Yeah, I want this. And it's a smaller role, it's what I've been looking for, I'm not looking for, like, the lead role right now.

M: Word.

R: I'm looking for something really textured, really, like, fun to do, and this is everything it was. So, like, I get the thing, I hit Lamont back, I'm like yo, whoever you're thinking about, you can tell me. I'ma—I'ma beat them. I need to get—I need this.

M: I need names. Who were they?

R: Yeah. So I can't remember the first person, but the other person was Wilmer Valderama, and that's a close friend to Rosario.

M: Okay.

R: So I almost hit Wilmer, cause I know Wilmer, and I was like, bro, step out. [laughs] But everything worked out the way it should be. So I sent Lamont, you know, my fight background. I sent him me shooting and stuff cause it's an action flick.

M: I was going to say fight background. So your character, you whooping on somebody?

R: Yeah, we get down. So me and Rosario, she's doing like a John Wick kind of thing.

M: Oh.

R: Yeah.

M: So she's the John Wick?

R: She's the John Wick.

M: Let's go.

R: Yeah. I'm the partner.

M: Okay. Good guy partner.

R: Good guy partner.

[INDISTINGUISHABLE]

M: Alright.

R: Either way, though, like the whole thing was just from day one, like, as soon as I get on set, she was the coolest person in the fucking world.

M: Tight. First time working with her?

R: First time working. We have mutual friends. Like I said, Wilmer, we know Wilmer. Another girl named Pantera Sarah. Shout out to her too. But there's so many like individuals that we know, we never crossed paths.

M: Sure.

R: And I heard from all of them, like, when you get to see her, you're going to understand why so many people love her. And I can understand.

M: Quick.

R: I was on a FaceTime with my kids and my mom, and she pops in right behind, and she just like naturally flows into the conversation. She's like, give me a hug kind of thing. And she's like, you know..

M: Those are the kind of people you want to work with, man. Like, there's so many people out there, they can turn such a positive environment and opportunity into just like, yo, get me out of here.

R: I've worked with them.

M: I know.

R: Yeah, I've worked with some idols of mine and I'm like, never meet your idols. idols of mine and I'm like, okay...

M: Never meet your idols, man. That's what they say.

R: Learning experience, yeah.

M: You don't have to say names. Do you have any stories that pop in your head, like when you think of working with people like that, you're like, yo, there's one time, there's one person that was like this.

R: Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

M: You don't have to say names.

R: It's a learning experience. As soon as you find out certain people you thought would be, like, really, really talented in one aspect, and you hear that they're using a little ear thing, or they don't even know about the script. I heard one of my idols say, I hope—the movie that I was doing with—goes straight to the trash. I was like, I'm doing a movie with you. Yeah. Like what? Like how do you—? Come to find out it was just for a paycheck. So I'm like, okay. So those kind of things are defeating. But then you work with Rosario Dawson. You work with certain individuals like Angela Bassett.

M: Like, yeah.

R: My God. They give you this new sense of energy, this new like, like, this is why I do this, you know?

M: I was going to save this question for the private one because we already flown in it and you can plead the fifth, bro. But there was another podcast interview from a homie of mine called the No Chaser Podcast. Shout out No Chaser. And he brought on an ex of yours who mentioned that there was an ex of hers who that person worked on a movie where that actress forced him to pretend to be single and went public and faked a relationship for press for the movie.

R: Yeah.

M: Some legitimacy behind that?

R: To fake to be single? Nah, there was no faking to be single, but it did seem like I-I don't know, because I was going everywhere with, we're talking about Jennifer Lopez, right?

M: We are, yeah.

R: I was going everywhere with Jennifer Lopez and, like, rumors get spread and that's kind of what it was. And I'm kind of new to the whole, like, fame thing and at that point, so I done Step Up and stuff, that's a certain fame, but Jennifer Lopez is on a different level. So I wasn't used to everybody being in my business and asking crazy outlandish questions. Seeing me by her side, I'm thinking it's all promotional for the movie, and then it turned into this other thing.

M: Well, I mean, when she's like, you think it's promotion and she's like, yeah, promotion and just slips you one of these or leans in a little bit too close and is like, hey, I'm going to head out. You need to leave with me. Like, just walk me to my car, but don't tell people why. Just let's go.

R: Like, it was nothing like that. It was like, yeah, because had it been like that. She's a vet.

M: She knows what to do.

R: She knows what she's doing. But I, at the time, didn't, and I was just going with the flow pretty much. And I had, yeah, at that point in time, I had a girlfriend. Everything was on the up and up. I told her, you know, everything that was going down and everything. And I think she had been talking to Casper at that point.

M: Jen.

R: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So they were on and off and on.

M: That's how I met Jen was through Casper.

R: Relationship kind of thing, yeah. So everything was exactly what it should have been. And again, I'm thinking, I killed this shit on the movie. So I'm like, I want people to see this. So you're asking me to do promotion with you? Yes.

M: Let's go.

R: Let's do it. I'm going to do everything I possibly can. Oh, you want to bring me on a whatever show? I'm there.

M: Yeah.

R: So I'm saying yes to everything. Yeah. So it can be perceived as something else. But to be honest, I never had that interest as crazy as it sounds. I don't know if a lot of people have been like, I'm not that, I'm not that. And if you really know me, then you understand that I'm not that. But yeah, and when I got that, that peek into her lifestyle, it's even more the fact that I don't want to be famous.

M: Yeah.

R: And I don't want all of that, that comes with her and everything. So I'll be a friend of hers.

M: Sure.

R: I'll support her from this side.

M: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, the first time I met Jen, I was in her house. I didn't even know it was her house. Casper had a, we were doing something with Ian Eastwood for Tyga, and we were rehearsing at this place, and Casper was like, yo, just do rehearsal at my house. So I show up to Casper's house, and it's in Calabasas. I need a freaking password to get into the neighborhood. All this other shit. I'm like, yo, what is happening? And I pulled to this house. I was like, there's no way a dancer lives here, bro. You got to have like 46-

R: That's the one with the theater room in it, right? Big old theater room.

M: In the studio? Or in the house?

R: In the house.

M: I didn't get to view the whole house. There was like three wings. There was like three wings. I only went where the dance studio slash gym was.

R: I know what you're talking about. It had a big-ass gym and had a boxing bag.

M: Big old gym, boxing. Yeah, a whole set up, bro. And I walk in that joint, and I'm just like, there's no way you live here, bro. So I was like, I don't know whose house this is, but whatever. And then we rehearsing, and Casper's on the call, and he's like, yo, Jen's on her way home. She wants to come in and watch. And everybody's like, oh, no pressure, all that stuff. And I was like, I don't know who the fuck Jen is. Who's Jen?

R: Yeah.

M: Like, there's a million Jens in the world.

R: Ms. Lopez herself.

M: Yeah. And she just got off of work. At the time, I think she was a guest judge on American Idol or something like that. So she comes in, dolled up, heels, whatever, looking like she just got off the fucking national TV show. And then she just walks in, takes her heels off, sits down, wipes her butt, and shakes my hand. And I was just like, well, there go that hand.

R: You haven't washed it since?

M: I mean, I run it under water. Nah, that was a while ago. That was back in, I don't know, 2013, 2014. It's been a while. But I just, yeah, I had no idea this was her crib. And then it clicked, I was like, oh, okay, yeah. All right, Casper, you went, really? How? How do you do that? How do you pull that? Are y'all like Britney and Kevin Fed? Like, K-Fed? Is that what's going on? And they're like, yeah, pretty much. I'm like, all right, this ain't gonna last. This ain't gonna last very long. And it didn't. Shout out to Casper.

R: Yo, that's a crazy shout out right there. That's a crazy shout out.

M: Well, honestly, man, I don't like, I got respect for Casper, everything that he's done. That job, I got through Ian. So like, I don't, you know, credit Casper for like putting me in that situation. I do remember working with Casper one extra time, and he showed up to set as a creative director in rain boots, basketball shorts, and like a peacoat, and that was his fit of choice for the day. So I was like, okay, huh, that's interesting. Yeah. Yeah. And at that point, I was like, you lost me, bro. Like, you lost me. I don't know what's happening now. No disrespect, though. Like, you're talented, you're cool, like, we cool. But as a person who was your friend for like two hours, we got to talk about that fit. And that's just public help. So working with Jen on the show or in the film was good. It was a good experience.

R: I had a great time.

M: Well, I mean, yeah, we all saw the movie. We saw.

R: Yeah, it was intense on many, many levels.

M: You were like, I need another take. I got to run that back. I can do better.

R: The whole thing was crazy. I was, I mean, obviously, it's Jennifer Lopez. I'm a no name person from Step Up series, which I don't think anybody saw at that time.

M: Yeah.

R: Come to find out later on, it's like one of my bigger movies.

M: Big community.

R: Yeah. Yeah. Shout out to everybody that supported me and all the dancers out there. You know that. So I'm thinking coming in to this thing, like I got to work a trillion times harder as if I just started Step Up. Like I'm not a dancer, I'm not an actor, so I got to work a trillion times harder to get this role. Same thing with Boy Next Door. This girl is established, she's had plenty of things. I'm talking to Selena. So like I need to step up my game in all aspects.

M: No pun intended.

R: And I literally felt every single day the pressure of like, how do I still give her all her glory and shine to make her look good, but also stand out?

M: That's a nice balance. That's a hard balance.

R: Yeah, because you don't want to try and outshine somebody.

M: It's hard to do.

R: Yeah, I mean, but people try and do that and it backfires on them.

M: You look thirsty. Yeah, it looks real bad.

R: It looks really bad. Nobody wants to work with you or anything. So I like—there's a level of respect that you always want to have, and I always gave her that level of respect. It was kind of reciprocated and I think it was an open environment that we created together. So it lent itself to just what it is now and why people enjoy it. And yeah, there's campiness to the movie, which I think again makes it an enjoyable film. If everything was supposed to be serious and everything was supposed to be like—

I was just on a radio show talking about how my character gives her a first edition book that should have never been given to her. And like, there's no way, like unless I robbed the Vatican, I would never have been able to give her this book. So, you know, there is some like level of levity to the whole film. But the whole fact that we were able to work cohesively and play off each other so well and it be kind of nice and comfortable, which was partly because of her as well.

M: Yeah.

R: Yeah, you know, I didn't feel anything crazy and it felt like natural.

M: That's good. That's good. Honestly, man, like, and this is also speaking from slight experience, but there's actors and actresses out there that you got to catch them in certain stages of their life to have those type of experiences with them. I feel like if you would have booked this movie with her maybe two years ago, you probably would have had a completely different experience.

R: Yes, I would have.

M: You know, based on where you are in life but also the things that she's gone through.

R: Yeah, I've heard the other stuff. Yeah, and like I can't relate to be honest.

M: That's great. So, okay. So have you been asked about that specific scene with her before?

R: Too many times.

M: Yeah, kind of like how that came about.

R: Came with a lot of Jen and a lot of Rob, which is the director.

M: Yeah.

R: Those two individuals came with the whole scene. I stayed quiet. I didn't do nothing.

M: You're like, just tell me where you want me.

R: I was like, what? You want me to do what? And with what? What? Okay. Let me wrap my head around this because…

M: Is this your first sex scene?

R: That was my first sex scene.

M: Like in your career? I mean…

R: Yeah, yeah, that was. Yeah.

M: That's scary.

R: Yeah.

M: To have your first sex scene with Jen, bro? Like, she's already a sex icon.

R: All these different things. And like, bro, I got nervous at one point in time in the middle of filming. I think it was like our first or second take. And I was supposed to pick her up and I grabbed her. And I was so nervous.

M: Is this okay?

R: Nah, I grabbed her and I accidentally put too much behind it. And I threw her ass into the roof. Like, she hit her head into the roof. And I was like, oh my God. I'm like, I just damaged the like, the lead of the film.

M: Am I fired?

R: Yeah, I'm thinking like, I'm blushing and everything. I'm like, I'm freaking out.

M: I'll get my stuff.

R: Exactly. They already found out. Casper's about to swoop in and take the ball. But it's one of the things, like the whole time, I'm trying to stay calm and copacetic and just be like, alright, where do you need me? What do you need me to do? And I don't want to make it a weird, it's already weird to be doing a sex scene amongst like, in general, you know, seven, eight people.

M: Yeah.

R: And a bunch of, you look up, a bunch of dudes are just sitting there like this. [stares]

M: Like, all right, look.

R: Yeah.

M: Go get a snack, man.

R: It's not as sexy as everybody thinks it is, no matter who you're doing it with.

M: Right. It's still awkward.

R: It's still very awkward.

M: See, I could, man, like—the first time, I mean, once you've done a couple, okay, your first one ever being with Jen, I'm questioning, can I ask, can I, is this like consent? You know what I mean?

R: Yeah. I mean, luckily again, she was the one controlling everything and I think that's how it should be in the sex scenes where, you know, females are just like, you know, I'll give you my two cents on where I feel like the character is coming from.That being said, like, tell me what you're comfortable with, because I will not, I don't want to step over the boundaries or anything like that. So, and she was, and she is that kind of person. She's very directional. So she knows which direction she wants to go to. And Rob, you know—this is another thing, like nobody would understand how awkward this situation was. As much as it looks sexy, we're trying to sell that sexiness and intimacy.

Picture this: me, Rob is right here. He's like, alright, you're gonna lower your hand. Okay, then you're gonna go to her neck. So, it's not like…

M: You got a grown man whispering in your ear while you're trying to touch on Jennifer Lopez.

R: I got a grown man telling me how to make love to this woman.

M: I know what I'm doing, Rob.

R: Yeah. So, it's not what it seems. And the whole fact that people resonated with that and that scene kind of went so much. It's like, we did our job then.

M: Yeah.

R: Because you don't feel a person right next to me talking to me like this.

M: And honestly, and you telling me that like, your real mindset was like… The first thing that it went to was, I feel like this is what the character needs, as opposed to, Mikey is about to touch Jennifer, not my character is about to touch her character.

R: Yeah, not gonna go that way.

M: You know what I mean? So to have that switch is like, that's hard to do, brother.

R: For me, it's not, to be honest. And I think maybe also being in a relationship at the same time, like, I did feel weird, because I mean, yes, we're actors and we're doing what we're told to do. But in my personal life, I'm giving my everything to this girl.

M: Sure.

R: You know, and you know me, I happen to be very devout when it comes to being respectful to my women that I'm with, and I don't want to cross any of those boundaries. So I'm forced to cross this boundary in this film. Yeah. So I'm like, alright, I got to make this more businesslike. And I know a lot of men out there, you know, a lot of friends out there would come to me and be like, nah, bro, if I was in this situation...

M: But you're not.

R: That's why you didn't get the job.

M: But you're not.

R: And that's why you probably wouldn't be in it. So like, you know, I have to get the respect to who I'm working with.

M: Is there any role out there that you feel uncomfortable with? Are you like down for whatever? Are you one of those actors that's like…

R: No, I got my boundaries.

M: You got your boundaries? Good, good, good.

R: Yeah. And I don't think I'll ever, you know, really explain my boundaries.

M: Voice those, yeah. That's for you.

R: Yeah. It'll just be like, no, I don't want to do that.

M: Got you.

R: I'm gonna stay over here.

M: Got you. Is it more situations or like characters in general?

R: All the above. It depends on what I'm resonating with or not resonating with. Because I want the character now, at this point in my life, I need the character to resonate in truth.

M: Yeah.

R: You know, even if it's a comedy or not, right, you know, I'm trying to up my acting as much as I can every single year.

M: I feel you.

R: So if I can't be truthful in it, then I don't feel like I'm doing it justice.

M: Yeah. I mean, as an aspiring actor, I know, you know, I've been like taking classes. I'm not like anywhere near what you got going on. But you know that it's a goal one day and I'm working towards it. You know, you already start the picture in your mind, your dream goals, but then like your dream roles. But you also start the picture like—because I'm so new and you feel like you want to say yes to everything because you don't have anything on your resume yet. Like if a major motion picture, John Wick 7, whatever, I don't even know what number they're on now, hits me up and we're like, yo, we want you to play a role and be a significant part of the film. It's really hard to say no to something like that, but they're like, you have to play a racist who says the n word 46 times. I have trouble living with myself being that character. You know what I mean?

R: You have every right to at the same time. Like you don't—just because it's Quentin Tarantino doesn't mean you have to do it.

M: I know.

R: But it is Quentin Tarantino. So a lot of people will be like, all right, well, I got the pass now. You know?

M: Yeah.

R: I got the culture pass like...

M: Yeah, it's for the arts, for the films, for you know.

R: And if it is meant, it's all about how you interpret it. And so anybody that does do certain things that I probably wouldn't do, there's nothing against any of that. And they found their way through that, and you know, it probably came out with an incredible, you know, performance.

M: Yeah.

R: What was the BlacKkKlansman? That? Yeah. Like, so you see certain people do certain things on that. You're like, oh, I don't know if I could do that.

M: I probably couldn't do it.

R: So, you know, all power to them, and we're all storytelling at the same time. So there's an understanding and a kind of like acknowledgement that this is for an art and this is for the story itself, this has no representation on your personal life.

M: Yeah.

R: But again, it's the interpretation of the artist.

M: Also, though, with that, it is not a personal, like, indication on who you are as a person. But when it's your first project and you blow up from it, a lot of people recognize you as that. Somebody who's already established, who have done 10, 20 different roles at this point, you know, Johnny Depp comes out with a movie tomorrow where he's super racist. No one's gonna look at him as the racist guy in the street. They're like, he's playing a role.

R: Exactly.

M: But if you've never seen me before in your life and now every time you see me, you just think of, oh, he's the one that was…

R: Oh, he's that guy that did that.

M: He's that guy from the—You hate me no matter what. Even though you know it's a role.

R: Yeah.

M: You know what I mean?

R: That's gonna be the nature of the business, man.

M: You said that a little too believable, man. You said that a little too believable.

R: But literally, that's how it's gonna be for the rest of your acting career, man. People are gonna resonate with a certain character from your career, and they'll always see you as that character. When I go out, nowadays, I'm either Sean from Step Up—

M: Or you Eddie

R: Or I'm Eddie from 911. I'm not Ryan. And I gotta understand that. So the way I break the barrier down is, when you come up to me as a fan of the show or a fan of the character, I come up back to you and I'm like, hey, so what's your name? Tell me something about you. And that kind of breaks this whole, like, you know, actor barrier that allows it a little bit more ease, and then you get to see Ryan rather than Eddie. But that's something that you'll come upon, like John Wick 7 comes through and you have to be this crazy person over here and that somebody sees you as that person for the next couple years.

M: It's the nature.

R: That's the nature. You gotta learn how to navigate.

M: You got to be the guy who slept with JLo for a couple of years though. That was who people saw you as.

R: Yeah, that was crazy. Yeah, I mean, that's on so many levels.

M: I'll do that. I'll take that.

R: You could tell the type of fan because it was Step Up and Boy Next Door at that time. And certain fans show up and I'm like, oh, Step Up from the jump. Step Up. Alright. And then the other person be like, looking at me a little differently, alright. I know what scene you're thinking of.

M: Well, let's pick up with Step Up. That audition process, because you weren't a dancer before. And I'm pretty sure out of all, was it like four or five, five films, five Step Ups?

R: Now there's five.

M: Five, yeah. Out of all five step ups, I'm pretty sure Rob Hoffman was the only one who was a dancer prior as far as lead roles go. You get a, you get a call from your agent saying there's an audition for a role. Can you dance? Or I guess the audition process of Step Up specifically, because as a dancer, we know what our audition is like as dancers for a step up film. But like as an actor role, like walking through that a little bit.

R: Yeah. So I just got my manager like two, three months prior.

M: That's a good manager.

R: Yeah, man. I stayed with him this whole time. Like shout out to Tim Taylor. Yeah. I hear from another individual they're going out for the bad guy in Step Up. Like the guy that's trying to take down all the people that are trying to do these flash mobs.

M: He's so mean. He just looked like it.

R: I hear this and I'm like, bro, alright, I need to try, at least try, you know. I've seen the first Step Up. I really liked it. I love dancing. Even though I'm not a professional dancer, they would have like little sessions, little battles and stuff in Sacramento. And I remember I throw myself in the middle of the circle.

M: Got a big community over there.

R: Yeah, I love it. It's like a Bay Area influence, but we're not the Bay. So it's like, you know, we're the capital. We have our own little vibe too. So I would love to be in those like little situations. I'm like, alright, I know I have rhythm. I know I can dance. I'm not on that level, but I'm competitive. So just throw me in there real quick as like one of the side characters. And then my manager hits me back that same day. He's like, alright, you got an audition for the lead role. No, I said side character. I don't know if you heard me. And he goes, no, no, no, you're not a side character. You're a leading man. Like, so you're going to go out for the leading man. Again, for him to have that kind of vision for me, like that set my career path. I read it. I called a friend of mine. We went over the audition. I did my best version of Channing Tatum.

M: Which is what? Which is what?

R: I can't even tell you right now, because I like-

M: Let's see it, let's give me your Channing.

R: It was a version of Step Up 1, you know, like endearing, but kind of like got the street wisdom to it, and like I can move, and I got that little like, I don't know, the charisma was there and everything.

M: Well, he was a stripper before, so that kind of helps.

R: He was a stripper. Yeah, I wasn't a stripper. So he had all that in his bag, but for me it's...

M: There's still time. Magic Mike 5.

R: I'm gonna follow this man's career the whole time.

M: Why not?

R: Yeah, so I went in there, I did my thing and then, bro, that was the longest audition process I've ever had in my entire life. It was four or five acting auditions and then four or five dance auditions on top. So I remember doing the first audition hearing right away that I'm gonna get a call back. I'm flipping. So I'm like, okay. And the next audition was a dance audition. I'm like, I didn't know that. Okay, we gotta go there. So I'm on YouTube trying to figure out like, what's the new move out there? Like, how do I even get into this choreo thing?

M: I was gonna say, you gotta learn choreo or they want you to freestyle?

R: I didn't know, but I was gonna prepare both.

M: Regardless, yeah

R: And mind you, I showed up not prepared because like, you can only prepare so much in the night. So, or even a week. And I come in and come to find out I'm going to Jamal Sims, like, leading choreographer out there. And he's still doing, killing things right now. And he's teaching the choreographed session to Chris Brown's song. I can't remember what song it was, but—and then Don Draco Johnson was helping out as well.

M: Yeah, Draco.

R: And man, after a certain amount of time, like, you know what, I'm just going to be, again, competitive. I come from, you know, sports. I come from fighting. I'm going to just try outwork them. I know I don't have the talent they do, so I might as well just outwork these motherfuckers. So, like, that's what I did, and I think it kind of showed. And later on, we got paired up. I think it was four of us, Misha. Gabriel was up for the role of the main guy. And then I remember the last audition, they brought us all in, and they kind of just paired us up as duos. And they were trying to find the best friend kind of dynamic, and they found me.

M: He ended up being the best friend, right?

R: He ended up being the best friend, yeah. And it was his first acting role, my first acting role. Obviously had dance experience with MJ and everything. So I was leaning heavily on these people. Then I got the role, and then honestly that changed my life. And I met my family, my Step Up family to this day.

M: Yeah.

R: You know what I call my family. So Draco, Twitch, Marvelous, Bianca Brewett and Tony Bellissimo, all these individuals I still keep in contact with.

M: Y'all had a good squad, man.

R: Yeah, man.

M: For those films. And what I'll say too, and this is something that I told one of my last guests, my boy Terrence. You know Terrence Green? Ex-dancer who's one of the characters in the Step Up TV show, The High Water.

R: I met him through Marvelous, actually. Yeah. He sings and dances, right? Or no, he raps.

M: Raps, Yeah. So we were talking about his audition a little bit. And what I told him, when it comes to auditioning for a role like that, you're looking for an actor who can dance, not a dancer who can act, because acting is harder than dancing. And you wouldn't think it is, but it is. And like you can clearly out dance me.

R: Can you sell the role?

M: 80% of the movie is conversation. And then 20% of it is dance. So if you can't hold a conversation, if you can't deliver a line like that, even as good as the dancing is, it's not going to matter. You know what I mean? If you're a good enough dancer, but people are going to want to hear you talk more, then we can shadow the dancing, put you in your best limelight in these moments and then let the professional dancers around you carry the dance aspect of it. You know what I mean?

R: 100%.

M: So acting comes first, and then what you need me to do as the character when it comes to physicality, as long as, like you said, you have the will to be competitive and to learn and adapt quick and learn quick, and I have to be told things twice and you're willing to work at it. Those things can happen a lot quicker for you than, hey, you have to go learn how to deliver a line. That takes time to build a character and learn that, you know what I mean?

R: Yeah, I wanted my best just to, I think that that's the key to success in anything, to be honest. Stay open to people that are way more knowledgeable about whatever you're trying to get into, and I just happen to be blessed to be around some of the greatest dancers of all time.

M: Facts.

R: And again, shout out to my brother.

M: Thank you, man, I appreciate that. That's love, man.

R: So, it's like, yeah, man, I've had a great opportunity to be surrounded by some incredible individuals, and my success is partly because of them. So, yeah.

M: You know, you're on 9-1-1, what, nine months of the year, right? And then when you're off, you go shoot a movie real quick in a week, and so you're always trying to stay working. Do you find time to go watch film? Like, do you watch movies? Do you go watch, you go to the theater?

R: All the time. Yeah, I try to. Yeah, because I mean, I feel like I'm just starting, to be honest. I didn't call my, I've said this in so many other interviews. I didn't call myself an actor for the longest time, just because I felt like so many other people were more talented than me. And again, I was going off the basis, like I'm just gonna outwork you. And to this day, I've only had one acting lesson, like one acting class.

So I'm not pulling from the stereotypical thing or what most actors would come from, that background. So I'm like, this is gonna be degrading to hear, this man comes out of nowhere, doesn't want class, and gets all these jobs.

M: With some Will Smith shit.

R: Yeah, I can't do that to these individuals, these artists. So let me just shut up about my stuff and do my thing. And it wasn't until a couple years ago, my boy Kenny Choi, who's on 9-1-1, straightened me out and gave me some wise words. And he's since then been my voice of reason in this whole acting game. And has handed me books that I've been reading and learning. So, yes, it's been a process. So like, I always stay open to new movies, to new act—like Austin Butler is killing things right now. Shia LaBeouf has always been on his game.

M: Directing game, you say.

R: Just in general, like these individual artists have this captivating, you know, sense of who they are as an actor, that when you see them on a big screen, their minimal movement allows you to be like, engaged. Oh my God.

M: For sure.

R: So that's what you really want to study is like, you know, how do I encapsulate that in my own way? And then how can I continue to build each time? What I love, like an actor like Robert Downey Jr. who's had a successful career since he was young, and he's still getting better. Like, he does roles now that we've never seen him do. And just like, how you still kind of outdoing yourself, that's the type of artist I want to be.

M: Just continue to build and try to find new ways to adapt and bring on new characters. So with that, so going back to you watching film, movie of the year.

R: Movie of the year...

M: And there's a right answer, don't fuck this up.

R: Movie of the year, I don't know if I have a movie of the year.

M: I watch this movie every day, Cause of Zo, but continue.

R: Cause of Zo?

M: Yeah.

R: Oh man, so you're going kid movie? No?

M: You would think.

R: Damn, um...I loved Everything Everywhere All at Once. To be honest, it was so outlandish, it was crazy.

M: That last year too though?

R: That was last year too. So this year?

M: Yeah. I mean, I mean,

R: I don't know.

M: It's already July.

R: Yeah. To be honest, I don't know. Nothing, nothing pops into my mind.

M: Dang, you heard it here first. Ryan thinks every movie that came out this year is trash.

R: I've been more in the TV shows, to be honest.

M: Okay, so which TV show?

R: The Bear.

M: The Bear?

R: The Bear is incredible.

M: Okay.

R: Yeah. Have you seen it?

M: Nah, I saw Cocaine Bear. That was crazy.

R: Nah, not that one. The Bear is on the second season or third season.

M: Okay.

R: Third? Yeah. And just the cinematography alone is top tier, but the acting itself is incredible.

M: I'm gonna peep it up.

R: Yeah, Shogun was amazing. I don't know if you've seen that one.

M: Which one?

R: Shogun.

M: Shogun. Okay. Nah, I haven't seen it. I know what it is, though.

R: Shogun is incredible. But those kind of like… I think a lot of what we thought was back in the day, I'm talking about like you, you know, the movie star or TV star, they blended this now with the whole streaming services. So we're seeing a lot of movie stars go into television.

M: Yeah.

R: They're telling what they couldn't do in two-hour movie or three-hour movie into a full-length series, and that's why I kind of lead more towards the series.

M: No, I feel like that's a lot of people's goals right now, because first off, when people like—I couldn't tell you their actor names right now, but when the three leads in Big Bang Theory started banging out a million dollars an episode, and then you go for 15 seasons of 15 to 20 episodes per season, like that's… Yeah, let's do that.

You know what I mean? Let's do that. I could see why being a lead in a TV series that pushes the, you know, Grey's Anatomy of the world and like all of those people who just keep banging out seasons and then you forget the show even exists, but there's enough fans out there to make season 36 for no reason because there's still money coming in.

Like that's the ultimate goal in longevity in this kind of… You know what I mean? As far as finances go anyway, and like being able to hold a character with so much value for so long.

R: Yeah, that's why I have so much gratitude towards 9-1-1.

M: Being Eddie, yeah.

R: Yeah, man. I mean, we're on our eighth season and we're kind of a dying breed, to be honest, as a procedural. There's not too much of procedural is out right now that are successful and making the numbers that we are. So again, to the crew and the cast that create this show, it's just like we've been on cloud nine. And I feel like most of us now that have been here for the long haul have depth now in that gratitude.

So, yeah, to your point, yeah, man, and like having longevity is everything you need. And then having the ability to kind of like step outside and do a movie every now and then. You know, Angela Bassett, bro, like, I'm working with one of the top actresses in the world. And then I get to go play some other actress-Rosario Dawson. I'm literally living in my dream. And it's a pinch me moment all the time. So, yeah.

M: All right. So my favorite movie of the year.

R: What was it?

M: And I want you to find a way to be a part of the third one. Somehow, someway, Godzilla x Kong: New Empire.

R: That was it?

M: Did you see it?

R: I saw Godzilla Minus One, which was incredible.

M: Yes, but not bro. Kong, Godzilla, some epic shit. First of all, one of my favorite like movie. Maybe I just like Gorillas, bro. Maybe I see what it is because I love the Planet of the Apes series.

R: Oh, that was a good one too, yeah.

M: You know what I mean? I mean, they just dropped a new one that was OK. I think it's because of the lack of the Caesar character not being in this one. Maybe just kind of threw me a little bit. But the other three, I just love that shit, right? But Kong x Godzilla from…And I watched a lot of BTS and how they wrote it and what they wanted to do with it. They made Godzilla thinner, more agile, diving in the shit, doing the most. Kong got a gray beard because he's getting old, bro.

R: So the aesthetics got you.

M: Yeah, the way they're building it and the connection between it, but then the way they got the action of them teaming up and fighting the other shit was bugged. The characters behind it, the way they—I don't know, bro. I'm gonna send you a BTS video. And I had you tap in because I think you could find it on Amazon Prime. That's where I watch it. But Zo asked for it every day, every single day. And I bought him the toys and he just got some toys he watches and he does the thing. But I'm super into it. I fucking loved it.

R: I'll check it out just because you said.

M: You're welcome. You're welcome.

R: Alright. Yeah, but the Godzilla Minus One was nice.

M: It was. It was.

R: It brought you back to the actual like rendition, first rendition.

M: Yeah, where it's less about Godzilla and it's more about the character.

R: Them being scared of this massive ass lizard walking around killing people. Yeah.

M: Yeah. Could you imagine like some real life shit having titans in this world? Even if like you're not by it, but you know that they're there.

R: No amount of martial arts, no amount of, like, weaponry can help you.

M: There's nothing.

R: No, you just got to sit back and watch this thing.

M: Find a bunker.

R: Yeah, bro. I'm digging a big asshole in the earth.

M: Huge.

R: Yeah. And I'm putting my family and friends in it.

M: 100%.

R: Yeah. That sounds bad, but I'm going to make a bunker.

M: Yeah. I'm going to get a hole and put my friends in it. Yeah. [talking to someone off camera] I'm going have you grab that. Can you grab that for me, bro? That paper and that metal thing.

Okay. So me and Ryan are about to do something a little fun, but at the same time, I'm going to ask him some fan questions. So this segment of the show is going to be on Patreon. So go to patreon.com/lnlpod to see the extended version and catch this part of the show. Go right now.

[PATREON Q&A. APPROX 15 MINUTES]

R: [talking about the film The Present and the advice costar Isla Fisher gave him.] You know, I thought it was funny and I thought it was, you know, really quality stuff. So it showed me that like, yeah, what she's saying is correct. I need to believe in myself a little bit more. Even having a 14-year successful career, I think people should understand that I didn't feel that for the longest time. I did not believe in myself and I felt like I was always again, trying to outwork the individual. Since I put in so much work already, I kind of need to sit back and realize and let it sit in and take advantage of it and shout out to her and many other individuals that allow me to kind of reflect on that.

M: Bro, like people, 14 years is a lot. And I know we compare ourselves to those we look up to and we go, they've been successful for 40 years. They've done this, that, and third. Until I'm that, I ain't shit, which ain't true because you got to remember that that's the 1% of the industry. To have that kind of success. You know what I mean? Having a 14-year career, where you have multiple projects, people would dream to do one of them and never get the chance to do. Their entire resume is extras on set for things.

R: Yeah.

M: You know what I mean? Or just praying, like, I hope they give me one line, so I can say I acted in this movie.

R: Yeah.

M: You know what I mean?

R: Yeah.

M: So like, from going from Step Up to Boy Next Door to 9-1-1 and everything in between, and even some of the smaller stuff you've done and the bigger stuff you've done, these are all things that you gotta be proud of, man.

R: I got you, thank you.

M: You gotta be proud of, because one is leaf-frogging you to the next, you know what I mean? And you don't have to feel like it's a fresh start every single time, because you know that what got you there is the past and everything that you presented yourself in before.

R: Yeah.

M: You know what I mean?

R: Yeah. Thank you for that. I take that. And again, when I do get stuff like this now, I try to take it a little differently than I would before. I mean, beforehand, I probably would have been like, oh, thank you so much, you know that. And I still not think that way. But right now, I'm really allowing that to marinate the individual, so I appreciate what you say. Thank you.

M: Yeah, no, fuck it. I mean, you got to respect yourself enough to be like—know that there's so much more I can do and so much more room to grow. And that's the exciting part. But I'm not going to pretend like I ain't done shit in my life either. I'm not going to pretend like my resume is not something about, you know what I mean? Like I've done some cool shit. And I feel you, and same with dance, man. Like there's, when someone books me on a job or as a choreographer or brings me out to a country to teach. And sometimes I sit there and I get like…

R: Imposter syndrome?

M: Imposter syndrome, where I'm just like, man, do I even deserve to be on this lineup with these other hitters? And I'm like, yeah, because they wouldn't have asked me to be here, bro.

R: Yes, you do.

M: They wouldn't have asked me to do this if like I wasn't. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like they spent all this money on me to bring me out to this country to do all this with all these people. Like they see me in line with these people for a reason. Why the fuck don't I? You know what I mean? So like, I hear you. But then you got to remind yourself.

R: Sometimes it takes somebody else outside to really acknowledge that and then you to hear that. Because I remember when I first met you, I'd already known about your dancing. I've seen plenty of videos. And I don't know if you remember when I came up to you. I was like, bro, I'm a huge fan.

M: Yeah.

R: Yeah.

M: Yeah.I introduced myself and you're like, I know who you are. I was like, pssst.

R: Like, nah, bro, I know exactly what you are in. Like, it shows, like, you know, like to get to where you are in your dance, and it takes years upon years, but also you have to find your own little niche, your own little style, and you did. And that style has resonated with so many other individuals. So again, giving you your flowers back, it's just like, yeah, man, I would like to recognize what you offer to this whole artistic spectrum in the dance community.

M: Yo, thank you, man. That's fucking love, man. I really appreciate that kind of shit. You don't hear it too much and you get in your head a lot. But from one friend to another, man, if you need that reminder, man, you call me.

R: I appreciate that, bro.

M: You call me.

R: That's what we need to show more of, man. You know, like, man, helping each other out, you know. A lot of us, I feel like, and I've spoken on this on plenty of other platforms. It's just like we got toughen up. And to an extent, yeah, I get that. You know, you do have to be tough as a man.

M: Time and place.

R: And time and place. But like you also have to have your brothers to to open up to it, you know. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because we all got here as a community. No one got here by themselves. So, yeah, you know-

M: And we gonna stay there as a community.

R: Exactly. The stronger your community, the stronger you'll be.

M: All the most successful dancers, actors in the world, people you look up to, all have teams that have been together since the jump. You know what I mean?

R: All right, let me see this.

M: All right, all right, all right. So before we reveal these, we're back from the Patreon. All right, we back in the episode. We're going to wrap this up here. What we did on Patreon is we got a sketchbook and he drew me and I drew him while we did some fan questions. So we're going to reveal these pictures as the last little segment before we head out.

Before we show these pictures, I just want to give a quick sign off. Everybody, please join the Patreon and enjoy that. Spotify, Apple Podcast, please give a five-star review and check out the other seven episodes and keep an eye out for Season Two that's coming.

If you're on YouTube, like, subscribe, all of that, comment, share with your mom and your grandmama, all them peoples. Spread the word. We want to make Season Two even bigger and better and keep bringing y'all quality. Keep an eye out for The Lab between me and Ryan because it is a special project, but it is a big project. It's gonna take some time. He's back filming 9-1-1, so it might take some time.

We're gonna write some things together. We're not gonna tell you the idea because we don't want none of y'all biting it because we know how y'all get. But it's a pretty good concept. It's a really good idea. It's gonna be a short film that involves comedy, acting and dancing. And we've already been chopping it up about it.

So keep an eye out for that, but it's gonna take some time. Be patient. But the more Patreon members, the more money that comes in, the bigger the budget is gonna be, and the better we can make the project. So please show love. We appreciate it. Ryan, anything you want to say before we head out?

R: Man, all love to you and all love to this, that you cultivated yourself, man, and everybody that watches this. I hope you are thriving in all the dreams that you choose to give your energy to.

M: Thank you, man. All right. Enough of that talk, man. All right. Me first, you first?

R: I go first.

M: You go first? Yeah, yeah, all right, all right, all right. Damn! Alright, you get close up, get close up. Yeah.

R: Yeah, mine was a quick sketch, so I couldn't put too much detail to it.

M: Just a quick little whatever, man. Oh, shit.

R: Yeah, yeah.

M: Yeah, you kept it small. I should have made mine smaller. Probably would have been cleaner.

R: Yeah.

M: Yeah. I'm keeping that. Don't throw it out. And you got to keep this one, too. It's better to go in the fridge.

R: I put it in my refrigerator, yeah.

M: Bro, so when Mateo [Ryan's son] asked who drew that, he knows, what's up, Uncle Mikey rocked this, all right?

R: Hey, you captured my facial hair. In the… In my little swoop. Am I swooping right now? Yeah, you got my swoop.

M: I caught the swoop.

R: Yeah, the mic looks like a mic.

M: Yeah, you know, it's mic-ish.

R: I appreciate your effort.

M: Yeah. Oh, come on, it's not that bad.

R: Why I look like Joe Campbell?

M: I made the head a little long. Your head is not this long. I didn't have an eraser.

R: Yeah, me neither, bro.

M: No, whatever. All right, well, I'm going to let you keep this. Yeah, you can put it.

R: Let me sign this for you, too.

M: Yeah, yeah, sign that. Sign that. You know, I have a picture in my bathroom. It's a lion. It's a drawn lion from 98. It's beautiful. My uncle did it. Yeah. He was an artist back in the day and like used to draw a lot of shit and he framed it and gave it to me. His name is Matthew DellaVella.

R: Okay.

M: He signed it "M. DellaVella"

R: M. DellaVella. So technically you're an artist.

M: I've been taking full credit for that painting and that drawing since I was a child.

R: Clearly, you made that painting.

M: People go into my bathroom when they use it, when they visit and they go, yo, that's, I saw, and you drew that? Yeah, man, like it's a long time ago. I don't really do that anymore, but it was fun back in the day.

R: So I need to get a frame for this, to be honest.

M: Yeah, you should, man. This is cold. This is, man, my mic is better.

R: Yeah, your mic is better.

M: Well, I did a mic stand, so I got the arm.

R: You got the arm for sure.

M: Yeah, yeah.

R: Yeah.

M: Yeah, no, this is quite lovely. This is quite lovely, Ryan. Thank you.

R: I appreciate that, bro.

M: Thank you my boy. Love you bro.

#8.4.24 #august 2024 #ryan guzman #transcribed #🎙#🎥

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drowninginredink · 6 months

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Favorite Albums: choose 9 and then tag 9 people!

For my own sanity, I didn't include musicals because I could fill up a whole other 3x3 grid with them, and comparing musicals to non-musical theater albums is weird.

Those last 4 that you definitely don't recognize are by Old Earth who you should definitely listen to if you want artsy ambient indie folk with really intricate guitar. My absolute favorite artist by far, and also the most obscure artist I listen to by far.

Electric by The Pet Shop Boys — I think this is my favorite album period. I am still pissed off that Tom Scott called it "not that great" in the old Technical Difficulties podcast. Maybe I'm biased because it was my favorite album when I was 14 and because it's where I really fell in love with the Pet Shop Boys. God I love them. So much. I'm way too excited for the new album and I worship geowayne's website where he analyzes all their songs. I probably should have put another PSB album on here, but there isn't another where I'm in love with every track. Plus honestly so many of my favorite tracks of theirs are B sides. They still release B sides with their singles, and this album cycle, the B sides are honestly better than the actual singles. Anyway electric is pure synthy electropop and I adore it in that way you can only love something you first heard at 14.

Pure Heroine by Lorde — I read a quote somewhere where Lorde said she tried to really put all of being a teenager into the album, so much so that once she became an adult, she probably wouldn't understand or like it anymore. I can definitely say that I'm not nearly as attached to it anymore now that I'm an adult, but God, it was my life when I was 13. She really did capture the unique ennui of being a teenager. I wrote a novel in eighth grade, and I wrote at least half of it to tracks from this album. Also, hot take: Royals is my least favorite track by a lot. Buzzcut Season is my favorite.

My Head is an Animal by Of Monsters and Men — God, this one was my life when I was like, 12. I fell in love with folk there, and I'm still in love nearly a decade later. Another album where I still love every track.

Strange Trails by Lord Huron — hey look, an album I actually discovered and came to love as an adult! The fact that I love Lord Huron's brand of folky horror/fantasy/western music that tell stories with characters should not surprise anyone. Also, if I had to describe my experience with schizophrenia in one song, I'd choose Meet Me in the Woods.

The Tragic Treasury by The Gothic Archies — Look. Hear me out. Is it a album based purely on A Series of Unfortunate Events? Yes. But. Is it also an album where I genuinely love every track and have genuinely been known to just throw it on shuffle? Yes. I mean I think of one lyric from this album, like, weekly. I swear it's not just ASOUE brainrot that makes me like it so much. If it'd ever gotten a vinyl release, I'd absolutely own it. I wish it had gotten one.

a low place at The Old Place by Old Earth — honestly this is probably only my favorite Old Earth album because it's the one that I was able to actually get on vinyl and being able to play that vinyl is so lovely. I mean, it's good, but so is everything by Old Earth. Then again, Less Words is my favorite single track by them and it is on this album. Look. All the Old Earth albums I've listed here are, at most, 20 minutes long. If you like ambient artsy indie folk with lyrics that are there more for the way they sound than their meaning, try one.

light shaped by Old Earth — god the lyrics to this one. Normally I don't like Old Earth for the lyrics but. "It gets old/then it's done" and "what if it's just some song that gets you home" and especially "I'm holding your arms/and you're holding my eyes/and I lie like the right thing to do" are all just so great. And so is the middle track with no lyrics.

... until they're called by Old Earth — have you ever heard an album so good that you a) just played the whole thing and danced to it in your basement nonstop for the full 12 minutes, and then b) wrote a poem about the experience? People talk about finding God, but dancing to that album was the moment I found athiesm. The beauty of us all being here for no reason, just feeling things and living and doing our best to make something beautiful out of it.

Two Torches, at a Place Where Three Roads Meet by Old Earth — I'll be honest, I don't have much to say about this one. They're just a really solid three tracks.

... Yeah okay I really like Old Earth. Don't judge me.

Thank you @cygninae and @thehistoryone for tagging me! I'll tag @ven10 (I'm surprised neither of the people who tagged me tagged you), @weirdthoughtsandideas (ditto), @70snasagay (hmmmm i wonder what you'll put), @cat-boy-tom, @thetreetzar, @buncoreclown, @notthatalex, @unfortunate-sapphic-disaster, and @roach-in-the-kitchen. No pressure, obviously!

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sidebeeashley · 1 year

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#lgbtq+ christian #life on side b podcast #lifeonsideb #side b #pride month #revoiceconference #revoice #revoice23 #Instagram

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allwaswell16 · 1 year

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All the One Direction fics I read and enjoyed in September 2023. You can listen to my podcast to hear me talk about each of these fics as well as an overview of what was posted on ao3 including the fics on this month’s fic roundup which you can find here! Please let the writers know if you liked the fics by leaving kudos and comments! Happy reading!

Fanfictional Podcast #54 | ko-fi | fic recs

—Harry/Louis—

🍁 And What If I Were You by jacaranda_bloom / @jacaranda-bloom

(E, 109k, famous/not famous) For Louis, will losing his sight give him the clarity to realise what is right in front of him? For Harry, will losing the love of his life give him the strength to finally open his heart? And can they find their way back, before they lose each other forever?

🍂 Suddenly Last Summer by @disgruntledkittenface

(E, 44k, mystery) Suddenly he has someone who listens to him and cares about what he thinks. Someone who really sees him. But their happily ever after is forever marred by an incident at a party during Labor Day weekend, and Louis is left with a choice to make.

🍁 Endgame by @brightgolden

(E, 38k, royal au) Where omega Crown Prince Harry Styles is trying and failing to get pregnant for four years, but all that is about to change when courtesan alpha Louis Tomlinson comes into the equation.

🍂 That Howling Infinite by @sweettartine

(E, 27k, uni) the one where Louis and Harry fall in love while reading Moby Dick.

🍁 Might've Took The Long Way by LiveLaughLoveLarry / @loveislarryislove

(M, 21k, exes to lovers) Now Harry is back in town, and no matter how many times Louis tells himself they can't be together, they keep falling right back into each other.

🍂 Ace of Hearts by @allwaswell16

(E, 10k, historical) Louis Tomlinson, the alpha Duke of Yorkshire, had returned to England to stay now that he’d married and mated. But since his husband was also the omega he’d once held captive aboard his half-brother’s pirate ship, he held back from pushing Harry into parenthood. Part 3 of Ace of Spades

🍁 Feels Like Magic by crimsontheory / @ireallysawanangel

(M, 10k, Marcel) It's been two incredible years with the best boyfriend Marcel could ask for, but is his biggest fear starting to become a reality? Has it really all been too good to be true? Part 2 of Marcel

🍂 Light Up Any Room by crimsontheory / @ireallysawanangel

(E, 10k, Marcel) Marcel is a little nervous about having to give a speech at the library’s annual charity gala, but thankfully he has Louis right by his side supporting him. And later that night, Louis shows Marcel just how proud of him he is. Part 3 of Marcel

🍁 In Shining Armour of Trackie and Trainers by LadyAJ_13 / @ladyaj-13

(T, 9k, famous/not famous) Online dating isn't exactly working for Harry. In fact, it couldn't really be going much worse. But then the door of the bar opens, and the pack of friends walking in parts and - that’s Louis Tomlinson.

🍂 Court Wine by @enchantedlandcoffee , red_panda28 / @red-pandaaa

(T, 7k, a/b/o) after a misunderstanding during a scrabble game, Alpha Louis starts courting Omega Harry without the latter being aware of it.

🍁 I Remember (The Distances We Covered) by @lululawrence

(NR, 5k, famous/not famous) @ColleenisStylish: @LouisTomlinson my dad thinks he’s sat next to you on a train from Edinburgh right now, so if you could confirm that would be amazing. His name is Harry and he’s just had white wine and says you’re on red

🍂 U-Pop Truck Stop by @kingsofeverything

(E, 4k, truckers) After driving their big rigs all day, Harry and Louis park at the same truck stop.

🍁 Eyes so blue, Shorts so red by nonsensedarling / @absoloutenonsense

(G, 2k, alien Harry) Alien Harry discovers poetry.

🍂 Tongue Tied by YesIsAWorld / @louandhazaf

(G, 1k, roommates) “I wish that I could tell Harry that I love him, instead of getting all tongue tied and chickening out.” The Irishman winked. “You never know, your wish may just come true.”

🍁 Enemies to Lovers by LadyLondonderry / @londonfoginacup

(G, 1k, poem) There's something happening at Styles' place. Louis can sense it. He's good like that.

🍂 My Muse by skipper / @skipperxao3

(NR, 1k, older Harry/Louis) My love, my life, my everything. Until the day I die, you will never cease to be my muse.

🍁 The Lovers by @reminiscingintherain

(T, 1k, tarot cards) “Come inside,” an eerie voice seemed to echo from the darkness. “Come inside, and seek your destiny.”

🍂 Are We In the Clear by asphodelknox / @iamasphodelknox

(M, 1k, historical) Louis and Harry meet across a crowded court at a time when falling in love would mean their destruction. With help from a friend, they run for their freedom.

🍁 Gaydar Lessons by @homosociallyyours

(G, 1k, girl direction) While standing around after softball practice for the company's women's softball team, Harry gets caught (and caught up) in staring at Louis as she eats a ripe, juicy peach. If only she could be certain that Louis was into women.

—Rare Pairs—

🍂 You Are A Song by @lululawrence

(NR, 3k, Louis/Nick Grimshaw) To Louis, Nick felt like poetry in motion. He was a bit of chaos surrounding Louis’ otherwise monotonous days, and Louis was quickly becoming addicted.

🍁 bet on it by @nouies

(E, 2k, Louis/OMC) a fic inspired by Louis at the barricade during AFHF

🍂 you are the magic in me by @beardyboyzx

(NR, 2k, Zayn/Liam) Zayn is eight when he meets the Prince for the first time. His dad is being knighted — the King has seen the way he fought to defend his village from the enemies of the Kingdom and has decided to gift him a piece of land and a title.

#28th appreciation #ficrec #trackinghappily #1dficvillage #trackinghome #ficsfor4am #tracksintheam #1dsource #hltracks

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wouldntyou-liketoknow · 11 months

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I'd Like to Adopt These Side Characters, Please (And Also Make One Arbitrarily To Appease The Vibes)

So, I've already mentioned my plans to write something for our dear single-minute-of-screentime-boys from the FNAF movie. And, as per usual for me, posting some headcanons will help the ideas flow for that WIP. . .

___

Jack Samar

His passengers always are, in fact, "the weirdos." It just seems to happen without fail. College partygoers crashing down from adrenaline (among other things) highs, random drifters that could all probably be in the same cult if you pay attention to detail, that one guy who's all too happy to take advantage of the open secret that the ducks in the park are free. . .Most of the time, it's nothing too serious. But he's still got some very interesting stories here and there.

He's one of the best drivers in town. And that's not just due to his job as a cabbie; he knows how dangerous driving can be, so he takes pride in making sure his skills are sharp. (Seriously, if you've ever driven a car, then you know it's practically a miracle to see someone else on the road who actually knows what they're doing.)

He has a steel-trap memory; he knows every part of town like the back of his hand. Constantly driving on various routes just has that effect on you.

He's a bit of a rescuer. As in, if he happens to see a stray animal while driving, then he'll park, coax said animal into the car, and then drop it off at at the local shelter. If you have him drive you from Point A to Point B, there's a good chance you'll spot a scruffy-looking cat or dog riding shotgun.

If he isn't too tired at the end of his shifts, he'll drive over to Sparky's for a late-night snack before heading home to rest. Both he and Ness are good listeners, so a decent chunk their banter is dedicated to venting about sucky patrons.

He's certainly aware of Freddy Fazbear's Pizzaria, as well as the rumors surrounding it, but he never really bothered with the place. And he doesn't plan to start bothering with it after seeing Golden Freddy in the back of his taxi.

Although. . .well, that occurrence might have made him start weighing the pros and cons of trying to get more information out of Mason. (He's very much hesitant about it, of course. Yeah, he was the one to help Mason out, but the assumption of Mason's experience with Freddy's is still far from pleasant.)

(Yes, his name is a pun inspired by Cory's samurai joke. What did you expect from me?)

___

Ness Aeoruhndbt-Ultendera

"Ness" is only his nickname, but he doesn't plan on revealing his full name anytime soon. Not even to his friends, for whatever reason. There's also a bit of an inside joke about how his surname is too long to actually fit on his nametag. (Yes, that gibberish my personal idea for his surname. I spent way more time working on it than I probably should have because I was determined to make a weird/funny reference, so leave me alone, okay?!)

He's been in the restaurant business ever since he was a kid; he's worked in several different joints before Sparky's. Coming from a family of foodies, he truly enjoys what he does, no matter how small-scale. Sure, some days are worse than others, but that's just life.

Similarly to Jack, it's not that uncommon for him to serve some strange characters. (Hell, sometimes the strange characters in question will wave down Jack's cab right after they've finished their meal at Sparky's.) Nothing usually comes of it, but he's still more than observant enough to pick up on certain oddities.

He makes a genuine effort to be polite and outgoing with customers. But make no mistake, he absolutely can, has, and will verbally curb-stomp someone if they push him or his coworkers too far. (Aunt Jane was lucky that her jab was minor. Plus, Ness just had other customers to focus on.)

It's no surprise that he LOVES conspiracy theories. Now, he knows which crackpot rabbit-holes to avoid, but he's still the type to listen to true crime podcasts almost religiously. In a way, researching and brainstorming is a comfort to him.

He's actually developed legitimate friendships with a specific few of Sparky's regulars. (Jack and Mason are part of this camp.) In fact, if there aren't many other customers that need tending to, he'll sit down and chat with them while they eat.

While he's perky during the day, he's still a night owl. It helps that his regular-friends almost always stop by in the late hours. (This has also paved the way for him to become a bit of a coffee-addict, but not to the point of concern. Speaking of which: he takes great joy in people's reactions to his argument that coffee is actually a type of soup.)

Oh, and that rubber-chicken-head-pencil-topper? Its name is Fabio, and Ness has been carrying it for several years now. He can't remember where/when/how he came into possession of Fabio, but you can pry it from his cold, dead hands.

___

Mason Kingsley

I wasn't originally planning to make a technical fanego for the FNAF movie. But after I learned that Mark was intended to make a cameo, I was intrigued. Thus, Mason—aka Trauma Boi—was born. His inclusion here (and in that future story I mentioned) is basically just a "What if?" scenario. As in, A. What if Mark had actually played the role of that first nightguard in the movie, and B. what if he'd actually survived his ordeal at Freddy's. . .?

Please read "survived," as "escaped by the skin of his teeth with grievous injuries and is now sort of dead inside."

Fittingly enough, Jack happened to by passing by when Mason fled the restaurant. It's pretty damn easy to stop for a guy who's covered in blood and cradling a broken arm and screaming for help.

After Jack drove Mason to the hospital, the two of them made an effort to stay in touch. Their respective patronage to Sparky's helps out with that.

Time passed, as it tends to do, and Mason eventually recovered. Keep in mind that the recovery was physical; he's still having night-terrors about animatronic monsters. Just the mention of Freddy Fazbear's Pizzaria will make him start shaking and murmuring under his breath, pale and tense.

He absolutely refuses to talk about the incident in detail, but it left some very obvious scars on his neck, chest, and arms. He's constantly trying to keep said scars covered.

Silver lining: shortly after recovering, Mason was able to adopt a therapy pet. Enter Checkers, a golden retriever who's just the best emotionally-tuned girl and is always by his side.

He stops by Sparky's for dinner once or twice per week. He wasn't too receptive to Ness' chitchat at first, but by now they have a solid friendship. (It started when Ness "accidentally" brought out a large side of bacon with Mason's order. Checkers most certainly appreciated that, so it's become a small tradition between them.)

(And just to clarify, because I KNOW someone is gonna read this and take it the wrong way: I'm NOT using this to try and whine about Mark's absence in the movie. It's really not too hard to understand that his own Iron Lung project has kept him INCREDIBLY BUSY. It's an amazing accomplishment for him, so of course it should take priority over a cameo in FNAF.)

___

@sammys-magical-au @that-bat @bee-the-matpat-simp @insane4fandoms

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f0point5 · 6 months

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whenever i hear about ocon's parents selling their house and living in a caravan (iirc) i just feel so bad for him. it really reminds me of all those traumatised child actors whose parents quit their job because the child can now be the breadwinner. obvs it's two complete opposite sides of the spectrum but both are such unfair sitautions to be put in as a child! esteban needing to succeed because otherwise his family would be broke forever?? (also i know that these decisions are often mentioned in a heart warming "oh look at how much my parents sacrificed for my dream" -way, but i find it so hard to look at it from a positive light. i'm sure they did it all out of love but i just can't imagine putting your child in such a tough position and putting that much pressure on them. i guess i just lack that top performance athlete mentality lol.) not to mention that most of these racing children hardly have a plan b career plan since they usually drop out of school. so now you have a kid who single handedly has to save the family from financial ruin AND has no safety net or plan b whatsoever. that's just insane and it's no wonder esteban is like that. he really has the ultimate rags to riches back story but his history gave him such a massive chip on his shoulder that he's just become unlikeable, which sucks!!! wish someone would grab his shoulders and shake him around a little and say: estieee!! youve made it!! stop driving like losing would full on kill you and just focus on getting the best out of the car and be the best you can be!! you'd think that someone with his backstory would be the last person who'd need to be humbled, but fucking hell he acts so smug and can be so delusional it's exhausting.

anyyyyways, apologies for dropping a full essay in your askbox, i don't even care about esteban lmao. it's just that whenever i do happen to think about him i just get so frustrated 🤷🏼‍♀️😬

have a lovely evening!! 💞

This.

I remember reading that once when I didn’t know too much about him and thinking, okay that’s a bit extreme. And then I thought about how much pressure that must have put on him. Pressure to succeed, but also just pressure in terms of that being not an ideal quality of life for a teenage boy. His parents made his life exponentially harder in every single way to support his hobby in the hopes that he could turn it into a career to support them. And then I thought about the fact that if he hadn’t been that 0.00001% that makes it, how much harder his life would have got, and how much guilt he would have lived with. They set him up to live with constant insecurity and instability, and to shoulder the burden of making that all worth it for them. Who does that to their child? I don’t care how talented you think they are, betting you’re financial security on that is imbecile behaviour. Even Esteban said if he were in his parents’ position he wouldn’t do it. Poor guy knows what it does to child.

It’s exactly like moving your kids to LA to be the breadwinner, except it’s worse because the amount of kids able to support a family on acting work is probably 10,000 times the the amount of drivers making enough money to support a family from driving alone. Statistically, there was a 0% chance that that gamble would pay off for them but they did it anyway. That’s worse odds than a slot machine. And they bet the house their son was living in?! Ew. Just ew.

And yeah, people say “look what my parents sacrificed for my dream” with affection when that dream has come true. But what would have happened if he hadn’t made it. “Look what my parents destroyed because they bet my future and theirs on my childhood hobby”. What in the damn hell. These stories are not in any way endearing to me - they’re just examples of narcissistic and irresponsible parenting.

And now I’ve just seen clips of a podcast he did talking about his childhood and I was almost tearing up for him. How he and his dad used to take tyres from the other kids’ karts out of the bins and reuse them because he didn’t have enough sets over a weekend, and how he didn’t go to birthday parties or on holiday because it was all focused on his racing. That’s a CHILD. And he was talking about how he and his dad would see Max and Jos and how everyone was intimidated by them but he and his dad weren’t…because they had literally bet their shirts on his career and couldn’t afford to be scared. That. Is. A. Child. What if he woke up one day and didn’t want to do it anymore? What if he wanted a life beyond what his parents chose for him by putting their lives on the line? Would he have been allowed to? I mean. No bloody words.

Again, anyone who says Jos is a problem father better be coming for the Ocons (and Anthony Hamilton).

The way he is is so clearly connected to the fact that he lived his whole life in survival mode. That guy moves through the world like the last meal he had was one he had to fight for in an abandoned warehouse. And fair enough it got him where he needed to go, but once you’ve made it, It’s the most unpalatable energy to be around, and it no longer serves you. And it also makes you look like an ass because how can you be a whole f1 driver and stink of desperation. Logically it’s clear why but it’s still just not a likeable combination. He probably knows that, but doesn’t know any other way to be. That’s why he has such an issue with teammates - he can’t not fight for things because he’s always scared someone is going to take something from him. He’s like a stray dog that you take in and they hide food in their bed because they think you might not ever feed them again.

I really hope he’s getting some therapy because the childhood is trauma-ing out in the open.

I think of everyone on the grid he’s the one I feel most sorry for, because of all the backstories that you hear, he seems the most unhealed.

But the levels of delulu is something else. That f3 season where he beat Max (racing for a top team while Max was in one that I don’t think had even won a race until Max won 10 in one season) really got him thinking they were on a level and he hasn’t let go of it since. He’s like “oh I look at it like I’ve never had the opportunity to go against Max because we’ve always been in different leagues of car”…as if there’s not a REASON. You’re out here like “he’s in a red bull” well why aren’t you? By your own admission you were on the same f3 track…helmut wasn’t looking for you bro.

Hope you don’t mind my essay back lol. I’m low-key obsessed with him because I find him so annoying but at the same time he’s like literary gold dust. He has such Main Character backstory. It’s just a pity he comes across so unlikeable to me. And the thing is, I genuinely think underneath it all he is a sweet person (delulu still, but sweet), but it just comes secondary to his survival mode personality.

#esteban ocon

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tennessoui · 11 months

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You're a wonderful writer, you deserve all the treats! 🎃🍭🍬🍫🍦🧁✨

awww thank you so much 🥹🥹

it is no longer halloween but i have a couple of trick or treat asks that i didn't get to cause my time management leaves a lot to be desired & little time to desire it lol so to spare people's dashes but to not leave anyone in the wind, i'm gonna respond to all of them in one long post :D (this one)

see beneath the cut!! you guys did great there were like almost no repeats even though there statistically probably should have been???

🍬🍬 hello thank you 🧡

i already answered a kuwsk one, so for roadtrip au....

here is a little drabble from an upcoming scene in the roadtrip au (squick tag:a/b/o):

Obi-Wan narrows his eyes in his direction. "What's wrong, Anakin?" "Nothing," he says. Shit, that came out too fast. Obi-Wan's eyes narrow further, like he agrees. "You've been acting strangely all day," the love of his life says. "You didn't even say anything when I pointed out the pancake house for breakfast. You didn't even say anything when I got a cinnamon roll at the coffee shop!" "You had two servings of vegetables yesterday," Anakin mumbles, placing both hands on the wheel and looking at the road. Maybe if he pretends this stretch of flat wasteland road in front of him is the most interesting thing in the world and requires his entire concentration, Obi-Wan will drop the subject. Obi-Wan does not seem to pick up on this. He scoffs instead, and crosses his arms. "When has that ever been enough to you? Since this entire thing started?" "Obi-Wan--" "And we've been listening to my podcast for the past two hours!And you haven't mentioned it once!" "Fine," Anakin snaps, tightening his hands and then loosening his grip with effort. "Fine, congratulations. Yeah, something's wrong. I'm working through it though, okay?" On his side of the car, Obi-Wan draws himself up, and then seemingly shrinks himself down a moment later. "Is--" his hand falls onto Anakin's arm before it drops away. "Is this...because of the other night?" Anakin's jaw clenches. Them having sex hasn't just been kept to the other night. They fucked their way through all of North Dakota and Montana over the course of the last two days. But sure, the other night. "No." "Because if it is--" the omega's voice is timid and it makes Anakin's chest hurt. "You're not wearing my clothes," Anakin blurts out. "You smell different and I hate it and I know it's stupid and weird and some Dark Ages Alpha bullshit, but you need to be wearing my shirt or I'm going to fucking lose my mind, Obi-Wan." The words draw Obi-Wan up short. Anakin cuts his eyes to the side and he can see his omega's mouth hanging slightly open. Anakin taps his tongue against the back of his teeth. Great, now he sounds like some insane micro-managing lunatic. "And I think I'm going into rut." Now he sounds like a horny micromanaging lunatic. Perfect.

👻 ahh trick or treat for the naughtiest au that deserves NO treats!! 🧡

some nasty info on the cheating au i haven't talked about like. all their flying lessons. when obi-wan and anakin start fucking (before they're in love with each other), obi-wan devises a plan to get anakin alone more often so they can fuck on the weekends and not just at their places of work lol. it involves complaining to padmé about needing to really learn how to fly now that his uh valet has retired. he can't get a new one. no, that's not an option. so does padmé know anyone who flies very well and would be down to perhaps teaching him in their free time?

and padmé is like oh i do actually! my husband anakin is a very good flier. would you like me to connect you two? he came with me to your party.

and obi-wan is like i think i remember him :> he would be...available?

and anakin is guilty but very available

so they mostly spend all their flying lessons fucking in the cock pit because obi-wan's been able to fly since he was a kid. padmé learns about this either after the very end where she finds out about their affair, OR she learns about it in the lead up to the very end where she's feeling very suspicious but she's been ignoring it for THIS long so.....

🧛‍♀️🦇

trick or treat 🧡

twilight au 🧡

a headcanon for the twilight au! obi-wan's biggest pet peeve with anakin is that he absolutely hates being guided or directed in any way. he fights just to fight and obi-wan enjoys putting him in place but it would be fucking easier if anakin didn't spend so much time arguing over like. how many vegetables he should have a day. and how much water he needs to drink. obi-wan is a licensed doctor like 36 times over for fuck's sake.

anakin's biggest pet peeve is obi-wan constantly tries to mind trick him to see if his immunity will falter or fail. anakin's like for the love of god obi-wan im not a science experiment, jesus christ--'

and obi-wan hisses (cause vampire), and obi-wan's like 'you can't tell me you didn't just want to see if that was just a vampire myth'

assholes to each other <3 for eternity <3

😈 trick or treat 👽

omg smithsonian au......you know what they do for halloween, these two fuckers?? padmé invites everyone over to her (very fancy apartment) for pumpkin carving and obi-wan and anakin are so fucking annoying. they turn into a competition about who can carve the best pumpkin. obi-wan calls anakin's first attempt (a cat face) lowbrow (obi-wan carved a jellyfish), and anakin throws pumpkin guts into obi-wan's hair (he's a ginger, no one will even be able to tell!)

it goes on and on until padmé dismisses them from her apartment because it's either that or carve into anakin and obi-wan.

after getting kicked out of pumpkin carving they accidentally go on a romantic autumnal walk. they stop at a street light and anakin picks pumpkin guts out of obi-wan's hair.

it makes them feel so many things they're not mature enough to talk about

trick or treat! 🎃😸

oh ho ho the cult au! that doesn't even have a tag! (but basically it's an au where jedi obi-wan is tasked with investigating a Force adjacent cult on the desert planet Tatooine, and it's anakin obviously who is so powerful in the force he's made a whole cult out of it and sets his sights on obi-wan as his forever partner)

here is a 3 line drabble!

The boy's head tilts, and his eyes are heavy, piercing gold. They pin Obi-Wan in place even from across the room. It is immediately completely obvious who among the people in this room has influenced the Force. Even though the boy could not be more than twenty, his entire presence radiates pure power. Obi-Wan has never felt a Force signature so aggressive, so strong. For the first time since he heard the rumors, since the Council handed him the file for this mission, Obi-Wan can believe that there is a Child of The Force on this desert planet. A demi-god, whose attention can change futures, destinies-- "Approach," the boy commands, extending a hand out over the empty space surrounding him. "Obi-Wan Kenobi."

trick or treat 👽🎃

hello hello the selkie au <3

here is a bit of background thought on the selkie au! one of the things i include in most fics/characterizations of anakin is that he's a pretty one partner for life kind of person (in that he married padmé after being obsessed with her forever in canon, and one of my favorite fanons is that his very first crush/sexual awakening was obi-wan and then he would have totally married obi-wan if obi-wan was a bit different character)

but in selkie au, anakin has a very long history of dating/trying to fall in love, which is like pretty unique in my writing!

and obi-wan probably has like only a few partners he's been head over heels with, and he falls really hard for anakin which makes their (temporary) break up so much harder for him personally

trick or treat ! 😈

and omg for the space actors au??? ok ok

so obi-wan and anakin are in a holo film where they have to be jedi which will mean very serious research

and they absolutely go to the jedi temple and fuck in like a few sacred places, but tbh so many other jedi have also fucked there so that it's no big deal......even if they get caught.....and even if the make-up department has to spend a small fortune covering up their hickies they somehow got on a "research trip"

(the holonet runs a scandalous article about which jedi broke their vows of celibacy and slept with famed actor anakin skywalker?)

(obi-wan is offended that his handiwork is not recognized)

(the jedi order has to put out a statement to say that actually there are no enforced vows of celibacy though jedi may choose to follow whichever personal vows they would like)

(and if a jedi slept with anakin skywalker, the jedi council has decided they do not want to know. or hear about it anymore. thank you.)

🎃 trick or treat 🦇

i actually got asked for lslm 3 more times after you sent this in, but you were the first to ask after lslm so congrats on beating the crowd haha

ok sooooo here's a bit of the new chapter (remember, anakin's discovered that padmé has a golden wolf's mask in her luggage, what the council's intelligence has said is what the traitor will be wearing):

Padmé's eyes are unreadable when she looks back up at him. He’s been compromised. Fucking stars. He’s been compromised within the first five minutes of his mission. The enemy—the alpha in the golden wolf’s mask—she knows he is lying, she knows who he is, and she’s dangerous. She’s dangerous, and Obi-Wan is here. Anakin can feel his shoulders straightening at the reminder. Obi-Wan is here, sharing the same air as Amidala, the woman who now knows too much. If Anakin is compromised, it will only be a few minutes before Obi-Wan is compromised as well. Obi-Wan will not be threatened on this mission. Anakin will not allow it, even if it means silencing Amidala himself. She had shown him kindness and compassion when he had been nothing but a slave. And then again when he had been nothing but a boy crying out for his master. But it seems she’s forgotten what loyalty is. Anakin can remind her. But before he can step forward into her personal space, slip control of his pheromones so that all she can smell is willing omega, tease her fingers before interlacing them with his own and pulling her out of the entrance room into a more private location—before he can take the first step towards extinguishing this threat to his alpha’s safety, someone touches Padmé’s bare shoulder.

trick or treat!! 🎃👻

a fish hook, an open eye--what a fic, thank you for sending this and therefore reminding me of it lol 🧡

hm quick head canon for this fic is....anakin actually honestly makes obi-wan a better person and sorta saves the galaxy. see, he would have stopped at nothing to take down the jedi order, but then anakin comes into his life and all his priorities sort of change.

mostly cause anakin doesn't really care about ruling the galaxy. he's very family focused (thanks, obi-wan) and he wants his family to be safe and hidden -- probably because a lot of sidious' initial teaching enforced in him that safe = hidden

and obi-wan...he doesn't actually want to give up his dreams and he would sure love to see the jedi die for no other reason than they're stingy about who gets to use the Force or whatever, but....he likes the family he has with anakin. he could be content with setting up an empire in the outer rim. he doesn't need galactic wide conquest. he's already conquered the bestest part of the galaxy (anakin)

cody is going to be sick. this is disgusting, and the thought that obi-wan and anakin actually make each other better is too awful to even consider. straight lies and deception.

🧛‍♀️🍬 trick or treat!!! 😈

oooo time traveler ahsoka au!

here is a drabble for time traveling ahsoka au during one of the re-dos (specifically, the one where obi-wan is duke of mandalore and anakin is a Jedi General married to Senator Amidala and they respect their duties at the cost of their almost love):

Even though Ahsoka had not screamed along with Anakin when she'd seen Obi-Wan's body struck by droid-fire---she could not, she had no body, just another thing to add to the long list of things she'd given up for this, for the galaxy---her throat feels raw, as if she has been sobbing for hours the way her master has been, seated slumped over in the chair next to the Duke of Mandalore's cot. Anakin is quiet now, though every so often a fresh tear will roll down his reddened cheek as he sits silently, hand clutching Obi-Wan's own. A part of Ahsoka is screaming at her to reset this scenario. Obviously, these two souls are as entangled together as their fingers currently are. But it would be cruel. Wouldn't it? To end this run now, when Obi-Wan and Anakin are so recently wounded? And they have been so reasonable up until this moment. They have been cordial, respectful---friends, brothers in arms. Obi-Wan has almost died. Surely, Anakin is allowed to mourn. Surely if Ahsoka existed in this scenario, if she were Anakin's padawan and she'd be struck down, he would sit at her bedside and cry over her sleeping form. Right? It takes three tries for the words to pass Anakin's lips, and when he does finally speak, Ahsoka can barely understand him. He has pressed his mouth to the back of Obi-Wan's hand. "Never again," he mumbles against the duke's skin. "You do not belong here, and I would--I would tear my heart out and leave it for safekeeping on Mandalore before I would watch you take on blaster fire again." Ahsoka's mouth opens, spell words meant to reset the circumstances on her tongue. It sounds like a love confession, and she knows that those such things are to be avoided. Her mind begins to race. A new scenario---this time, she will keep them apart forever---this time, they will never meet, and the galaxy will--- "When you wake," Anakin's voice derails her thoughts and holds her tongue. "I will send you back to your wife. And it will be the end. It will--it is time. To end." Ahsoka's mouth closes. The words evaporate. Her chest tightens, and though this should feel as if she's dodged a blaster shot, it feels like she's been hit.

trick or treat 🍬🧡

i gave a little drabble of the couples counseling au for the last trick or treating ask re: couples counseling au so i'm gonna give just a bit of a headcanon this time!

in couples counseling au, the jedi council absolutely knows that they're seeing a couples therapist who specializes in married partners 💙 probably a few of them think that anakin and obi-wan know that as well, but most of them are like. well. they'll figure it out right? some of it may be applicable? they're definitely better than how they were a month ago so, no harm no foul etc etc

#asks #obikin #ask haul #trick or treat ask game #roadtrip au #cheating au #couples counseling au #time traveler ahsoka au #lslm #selkie au #smithsonian au #twilight au #thank you all so much for sending these in im sorry i missed the end of the holiday!!#it was really fun !!! happy virtual halloween haha <3 #i saw someone else do this for asks and i thought it made sense

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