#the kid had good well rounded parents and then 2 dads with different strengths

[bombusbombus]

Obsessed with the idea that of the batkids everyone has like. genius level intellect and extreme murder skills and powers and stuff. And then there's Dick Grayson whose main strengths are being bendy and having emotional intelligence. And the emotional intelligence thing frankly makes him OP among his family

[mirkwoodshewolf]

A new kind of competition; RA on the Masked singer pt. 2

*Author’s note*

Okay I know I’m kinda doin this out of order but I was posting this part on Wattpad and since it was still in my copying memory I decided to post this part up first but no worries, pt. 1 will be posted up in just a minute. And I wanna tell you all that there will be only TWO MORE chapters left before I finally complete the Rock Angel series. Enjoy this chapter until next time my dears :)

Taglist:

@plethora-of-things

@waddles03

@psychosupernatural

@ixchel-9275

@simonedk

@queensdivas

@queen-paladin

@jd-johndeacon-or-jackdaniels

@geek-and-proud

@starswin

@queendeakyy

@5sos-wdw

@onebigfangirlworld

@isabella-bby

@labessieisallama

@ssa-sadboi

@naturalswifty89

@wormzteef

@bohemiansweede

_________________________________________________________

*Round 5. THE SUPER 8*

Now it was starting to get serious, this was now the Super 8 and this was the first time this season that 2 people were gonna get eliminated.  I took a deep breath and gave a silent prayer to God and Freddie above to give me strength.

“And here to give us yet another star-stellar performance and another few hints as to who this mega star could be under the mask. Here’s the Lioness.”

The LIONESS; CLUE PACKAGE

“What very few people don’t know about me is that I didn’t always have that good of a homelife as a child.” I said as I walked through a child’s room.  I took hold of my stuffed lion and hugged him tightly as I continued, “The people who raised me were well—let’s just say they weren’t the nicest of people. The remainder of my childhood into adolescence was toxic for me.”

“Oh my god.” Nicole muttered sympathetically.

“Growing up with that much toxicity it really damaged my self-esteem. No matter how hard I tried, it just wasn’t enough for them.”

“Growing up in an abusive home.” Robin noted. “Wonder if she’s an advocate for domestic abuse?”

“But I knew I couldn’t let myself be buried underneath all that hatred. It took a long, long, long, long time. But I forgave them. Because in a way without them, I wouldn’t have found this inner strength within me.”

“You go Lioness.” Cheered Jenny.

“That’s why for this performance, if you or a loved one is dealing with toxic family members or partners. There’s no shame in admitting they’re in the wrong. Because if you continue to listen to their toxic lies, it’ll only lead you down one way. And you’re too good to leave this world just yet.” I set the stuffed lion down and punched the wall which shattered as I let out a proud roar.

I stood there on stage with the mic on hand as my girl Pink’s “Beautiful trauma” came on and I began singing in a ballad like tone first.  Slowly walking across the stage till I came upon a beautifully decorated swing (much like the Black Swan used a couple rounds ago).

*Me*

We were on fire I slashed your tires It's like we burned so bright we burned out I made you chase me I wasn't that friendly My love, my drug, we burn out

Oh

I got on the swing and it slowly raised up, lifting me all the way high above the audience as I sang the 2nd chorus. As the mantra part of the chorus came up, silk extended from the ends of the swing and I slowly swung back and forth making the silks dance gracefully in the wind.  When the bridge came up, I turned on my semi-good rapping skills. As I rapped out the bridge, the swing lowered me down towards the catwalk that stood in front of the judges.

Once my feet touched the ground and I sung the last verse, I walked towards the judges and sung before each of them.  

*Me*

The pill I keep taking The nightmare I'm waking There's nothing, no nothing, nothing but you My perfect rock bottom Beautiful trauma My love (my love), my love, my drug, oh

My love, my love, my love, my drug, oh My love, my love, my love, my drug, oh My love, my love, my love, my drug, oh My love, my love, my drug.

Mmm tough times they keep coming All night laughing and knackered Some days like I'm barely breathing Then after we were high and the love dope died, it was you

The pill I keep taking The nightmare I'm waking There's nothing, no nothing, nothing but you My perfect rock bottom My beautiful trauma My love, my love, my drug, oh

After walking back on stage with Nick standing at my side, he congratulated me on another amazing performance.  

“The Lioness is pulling our heartstrings once again.”

“I agree Nick. Especially after hearing that story of her going through domestic abuse that—that’s never an easy thing to go through. But Lioness let me just say you are a strong woman underneath. Because I can tell you’ve overcome that trauma and made a name for yourself.” Nicole told me.

I pounded my heart and raised my hand towards her.  She gave me a heart back.

“Now we raided through your fridge and found out just what exactly the Lioness loves to eat.”

“Oh come on Nick this is easy! She eats meat!” Ken exclaimed.

“Sit your butt down Ken!” Nick exclaimed. “Men in Black, bring out the Lioness’s favorite meal.” One of them came pulling out a cooler and sat it right beside Nick and he said. “Alright, let’s see what we’ve got in here.” There was a drumroll before he opened it to reveal a thermos that read JASMINE TEA.

“What’s that say on the thermos?” asked Jenny.

“Jasmine tea.”

“But there’s no food there!” complained Ken.

“To answer your Question Kenneth.” I scolded. That got the rest of the panel as well as Nick laughing. “Any type of food is good for me, but it’s this tea that will give you a clue. As to who I am.”

The audience and Nick ooed.  Jenny’s mouth opened widely as she rapidly pounded her stack of notes.

“Jenny it looks like you’ve got something.”

“I do! I do! I do! I do! I do! Okay so in the clue package she talked about her abusive childhood. Rough upbringing, but she didn’t say parents were the ones doing it. And the number code that was given to us awhile back, that 149121. I have been running through my head various codes as to what that could mean. Until the TEA is what gave me the idea.”

“Who is it?!” Ken demanded.

“At least she’s making more sense than you do Ken!” Robin dissed.

“Okay the code actually stands for 11-24-91. And this Rockstar has a tattoo of it on her shoulder with Angel Wings to remember her friend and mentor Freddie Mercury. This is most definitely the ROCK ANGEL (Y/N) KLINE!!!”

“Oh yeah that’s right. She does have a tattoo with that date on it.” Robin agreed with her.

“Nah I’m gonna disagree with you on that Jenny.” Ken said.  Oh boy here we go. “Now going off based off the clue package we saw domestic abuse. And on the number code the first few numbers I picked out were 911.  This actress started in a movie known as “The Call”. Welcome to the Masked Singer Halle Berry!”

I shook my head and crossed my arms at him.

“Look at her she’s agreeing with me.”

“Ken this is not Halle Berry!” Nick Cannon said.  I then waved bye to Nick as I proceeded to walk off the stage but he told me to come back, so I had no choice but to stand there. “See Ken you made the Lioness upset just like you did with Nick Carter last season.”

“Hey like I said before then. This isn’t the first time someone’s walked away from my guesses, and it won’t be the last.”

“I think I might have an idea on who it might be.” Nicole piped in.

“Go head Nicole.”

“Okay so we saw the domestic abuse, growing up in an abusive home. But I also remember from a few weeks back there was a sign that said AIDS. So I’m thinking she’s also an advocate for AIDS/HIV awareness. I’m gonna put my money on Rihanna.”

Oh wow that’s impressive.  But sadly she’s wrong.  Although I have helped Rihanna with some of her AIDS awareness promotion when the two of us were at a party together for MTV.  She told me she wanted to start a campaign for it but had no idea where to begin with it.  So I gave her some of my well known contacts and gave her some business advice that I remember learning from Deacy on how to handle everything.

“That’s not a bad guess. But Rihanna’s got a different voice. But whoever you are, you wowed us once again Lioness.” I bowed and blew them a kiss as Nick told me that I could head backstage.

“The judges are slowly but surely getting a grip with my identity. But I’m not ready to go home just yet. And if I somehow make it through, I’ll give them a performance that’ll definitely throw them off my scent.”

Thankfully, I was safe from being unmasked in this double elimination, however Seashell and the Yeti weren’t as lucky.

*Round 6. THE SPICY 6*

It’s down to the wire now.  This song might just make me or break me, especially since it’s the hardest song I’ll ever do in my entire singing career.  But like Freddie and I always say, “It’s go big or go home darling.”  Plus this is another special performance that I’m dedicating to.

“Now then we actually got to sit down and actually talk with this Megastar. Here’s what we managed to find out about the Lioness.”

THE LIONESS CLUE PACKAGE AND INTERVIEW.

This clue package showed me getting my mask taken off but I still had a black face cover hiding my entire face.

“Oh yes that feels so much better.” I praised at feeling the cool air on my face.  The Producer then asked me.

“So how has it been being the Lioness so far?”

“A lot of fun. She’s given me the courage to do things I never thought I could do before.” The screens would show some of my previous performances from getting on a wrecking ball to being lifted well over 10ft above an audience.

“What would winning the Masked Singer mean for you?”

“Well I’m not just doing it for myself. But for my pride as well. Especially my dad.”

“You’re dad?” I nodded.  The screens would then show me walking around my den with a picture of me and a shadow figure of a male lion.

“Not related by blood but he’s been my father figure for as long as I’ve known him. In fact without his love, I never would’ve found true love on my own. My husband, my kids, even my grandkids. They wouldn’t have existed had he not given me the love that I was denied growing up.” I stroked the picture of the shadow figure of the lion beside me.  The screen also showed my real family with my husband lion, 4 adult kids and 2 young grandkid cubs.

I pressed the frame up to my mouth and gave it a kiss, the screen even made a kiss sound effect as little hearts danced around it.

“So Papa Lion, this song is for you. I love you so much and thank you for everything you’ve done for me.” I blew a kiss to the camera as my clue package and interview ended.

The ballad opening for “I don’t wanna miss a thing” by Aerosmith came on and I took a deep breath.  This was it, but you’re doing it for Roger here (n/n).  Even though he won’t know it, this song is for him. I opened my mouth and soon began singing.

Once the bridge came around and the most difficult part of the song came on, I unleashed every ounce of alto rawness I had within me and just belted out that last yeah which made fireworks rain down from the ceiling and the audience seemed to enjoy it.

*Me*

I could stay awake just to hear you breathing Watch you smile while you are sleeping While you're far away and dreaming

I could spend my life in this sweet surrender I could stay lost in this moment forever Cause moment spent with you is a moment I treasure

Don't want to close my eyes I don't want to fall asleep 'Cause I'd miss you, babe And I don't want to miss a thing

'Cause even when I dream of you The sweetest dream will never do I'd still miss you, babe And I don't want to miss a thing

And I don't want to miss one smile I don't want to miss one kiss

And just stay here in this moment For all of the rest of time Yeah, yeah, yeah!

Don't want to close my eyes Don't want to fall asleep 'Cause I'd miss you, babe And I don't want to miss a thing

After finishing the song, fireworks came up behind me as I punched my fist into the air and panted from within my mask.

“Oh my god where did that come from!?” exclaimed Jenny.

“The lioness taking us to the far reaches of outer space with Armageddon!” Nick proclaimed as he came up beside me.

“I wanna say something first Lioness. That was probably your best performance ever.” Robin told me.  Oh my god seriously? I knew I had cracked up on that last ‘yeah’ but to hear him say this was my best performance surprised me. “You really laid it out on the line tonight with probably the hardest song but you executed it phenomenally.” He praised.

I bowed my hands in gesture to him telling him I wasn’t worthy.

“Alright now let’s see just who amongst our panel is the Lioness connected to.” The judges all looked up and soon my chute came down towards Ken but Nicole intercepted it from him and she said.

“Oh it’s for Jenny.” She passed it to Ken who passed it to Jenny and she saw the silver charm of a birthday cake.

“A birthday cake.” She told the crowd as she held the charm between her fingers.

“Jenny. I wanna thank your husband for performing at one of my kid’s birthday party.” At that the crowd got all suspicious and Jenny’s face was gaped wide in shock.

“Is Donny doing things behind your back?” Nicole accused Jenny.

“I hope not.” God these innuendos kill me. “Okay so apparently you know my husband Donny. But I-I don’t remember him ever telling me he performed at a kid’s birthday party.”

“What about the entire New Kids on the Block?” asked Robin.

“Possibly. Was it just my husband or the entire band that performed at your kid’s party?”

“You know she can’t answer that!” Nick snapped playfully.

“I’m sorry but I gotta know!”

“Alright panel. What’s this clue package doin for you?”

“Okay well in the clue package there was the picture of her family. I saw four grown kids and 2 grandkids. If she really is a grandma then I still gotta go with Rock Angel. Because her daughter Kelly just recently gave birth to a baby girl last year during the pandemic doing an at home birth.” Nicole said.

“Yeah and in the clue package she spoke about a father figure. And I read somewhere that she considers Roger Taylor from Queen her dad.”

“Okay, okay panel.” Damn they are starting to see it now.  But I hope this performance keeps me in the game.  “Well, all we know is was that was yet another killer performance. Make some noise for the Lioness. Go ahead and head on backstage.”

The judges really are seeming to close in on me. I really don’t wanna go home at this point but if I do then it is what it is.  I still had a lot of fun doing this show and it was an amazing ride.

But at the votes, I was surprised to see that it wasn’t me that was going home.  But the Russian Dolls, after doing Elton John’s song “I’m still standing”. I thought they did a hell of a lot better than me but I guess it’s not always the voices that count, but how you execute the performance.

Now it was onto the Semi-finals.

*SEMI-FINALS*

I’ve come too far to end this journey now. The Semi-finals is the last step to ensure that I can secure my spot in the finals.  And I have just the song to get me there.

“Week after week she has astounded us with pure, unadulterated vocals. But can she claim her spot for the finals. Let’s dig up some more clues on……the Lioness.”

THE LIONESS; CLUE PACKAGE:

“Being in this competition has taught me a lot about myself. On one side there’s the Lioness I present before the media, when I preform or out in the public. Then there’s the Lioness I am around my pride. A mother, a daughter, a grandmother. And I think that’s really the best job compared to my career.”

“She’s definitely a family woman.” Jenny stated as she took down some notes.

“I wouldn’t be anywhere without my family. They are my rock. Even those that had left me I still see them throughout my life.” I stood before a funhouse mirror maze and saw various shadows surrounding me. “And it’s their voices that give me the courage to continue the fight. So for this performance I’m gonna pull out all the stops and just allow you all to see the real me. Nothing but my raw vocals. I’ve fought to hard and I’m just not ready to go home yet.”

The stage screens were lit up with a rain animation as well as rippling water.  I stood there alone with the mic and the spotlight down on me as I sung the song that was once offered to me for the Original movie, but I recommended the Producers to Christina to do the song.

As the song grew more fiercer with the soft drumbeats and my voice became more powerful and intense, I could feel tears filling my eyes once more.  I was gonna get to the finals even if it costs me my voice.

*Me*

Look at me You may think you see Who I really am But you'll never know me Every day It's as if I play a part

Now I see If I wear a mask I can fool the world But I cannot fool my heart

Who is that girl I see

Staring straight back at me?

Why is my reflection

Someone I don’t know?

There's a heart that must be free to fly That burns with a need to know the reason why

Why must we all conceal What we think, and how we feel?

I won't pretend that I'm Someone else for all time When will my reflection show Who I am inside? When will my reflection show Who I am inside?

At that last belt which I held longer than I ever held a note before.  A 9 full seconds which made the crowd go berserk.  I could see some people wiping their tears away as I sung the last couple of notes before finally ending it with a bow of my head.

“Heartfelt! Lioness once again pulling our heartstrings.”

“Okay I just need to say this Nick.” Ken said.

“Go ahead Kenneth.”

“Throughout this entire competition especially when it comes to the Semi-finals, it all comes down to who wants it most. And Lioness—” he wiped his tears away. “You didn’t just show us that you wanted a spot in the finals. You proved you’re worthy of the Rock Gods!”

Aww Dr. Ken.  I blew him a kiss and patted my heart and he blew me multiple kisses back.

“For once I agree with Ken.” Robin said.  “If people didn’t get teary eyed when you performed Whitney Houston’s hit song, they’re definitely not dry eyed by now.” The 2 women nodded in agreement.

“I agree with the guys. I grew up listening to this song. And to hear your voice do this song, not only did you just sing it. You felt it. And when a singer feels a song, it makes it that much more powerful.” Nicole added.  I nodded and replied to her.

“Agreed Nicole. This song……it really spoke out to me when I first heard it. And…..during a really, really rough time in my life. It—got me through so much.” I spoke through my choked tears. Knowing the judges could sense that I was crying underneath the mask, they all awed at me as Nick rubbed my back.

“Lioness even getting emotional up here. Panel, any guesses as to who she might be?”

“All I can say and have been saying is that this is a true, professional performer. And just that belt alone showed us what you’ve got. A true fire within you. Now I know that I’ve said the Rock Angel a couple of rounds but just this week alone hearing the voice, I wanna say this is Christina Aguilera.” Jenny said.

“But wouldn’t it be risky for her to do her own song?” Robin asked.

“She could’ve disguised her tone in order to sing it. But that recognizable control of the belt has to be her.” Jenny reasoned with him.

“I don’t think so Jenny. Cause in the clue package she says she’s a grandmother and Christina ain’t no grandmother yet. I’m still gonna say this is the Rock Angel.” Nicole said.

“Alright well, another heartfelt performance. Give it up one last time for the Lioness.” I waved to the audience and blew kisses at them before exiting the stage.

By the end of the round (and finding out the identity of the infamous Cluedle-Doo being none other than Jenny’s husband Donnie Wahlberg) it was time to see just who was gonna get eliminated and find out who was going into the finals.  I stood there with my hands in a prayer as I mouthed out a prayer before Nick finally said the contestant going home.

“The Black Swan!” oh no!  She’s actually been my favorite singer in our group.  Hell she and I were the only ladies representing Group B and now it was up to me.  “So congrats to the Piglet, Chameleon and Lioness, we will see you three in the finals.” I walked up towards Black Swan and gave her a hug and she hugged me back. “Aww look at that, Lioness giving Black Swan a hug. Seems we’ve got a friendship up here.”

I patted the side of her face before bopping her beak and finally left behind Chameleon.  Well it was up to me now, could I secure another female winner for the Masked Singer? Or be runner up? Only fate and the superfans will determine that.

*?????? POV*

I was reading the paper as per my morning routine.  Nothing new except this whole COVID talk and false expectations on the vaccine delivery. The world really has gone to shit hasn’t it these past few years?  That’s when I got a ding on my phone from my daughter Laura.  I unlocked it and read her text with a link to a video.

Dad, is this who I think it is?

Video: MASKED SINGER THE LIONESS

I think I might’ve heard of this show. Yeah it started off in America and after it’s popularity, various of other countries began it.  Here in the UK we just completed season 2, so this must be the American version.  I’ll admit the costume on the thumbnail looked beautiful and the detail was astounding.

I clicked on the video and it read THE MASKED SINGER S.5 SEMI-FINALS LIONESS.

The lights were dimmed and the second she opened her mouth to sing, my heart skipped a beat and I went frozen in my chair. Quick as I could I turned on our smart TV and opened up the YOUTUBE app on the TV and impatiently waited for it to open up.

“My love?” Veronica’s voice spoke as she came down.

“I’m fine dear!” I told her as the app finally uploaded.  I went over to the mic icon and pressed down on it and spoke into the remote. “The Lioness Masked singer.”

Soon enough various videos popped up and soon the video that Laura sent me was the first option.  I clicked on it and of course bloody ads had to come up. “Oh for god’s sake!”  I sat down on my chair as the video finally played and I could hear the rest of the song.

“Reflection” by Christina Aguilera.  This version was the recently updated one for the live action remake but just hearing this voice alone I knew only one person who could sing like that.

It had been decades since we last saw one another, shortly after 9-11 to be exact.  But even though I’m no longer involved with the music business anymore, I’d always ask Brian or Rog to keep an eye on her and tell me everything about her.

And now seeing her perform as this Lioness creature for such a show, they didn’t know just how lucky they were to be in her presence.  As the song got more powerful, I could feel these old bones of mine feeling warm and secure, tears filled my eyes and at that last belt, goosebumps came all over my body and a shiver ran up my spine.

There was a slight tremble in her voice as she ended the song.  I knew it was because she was crying underneath that mask but as always she holds out strong and finished the song as beautiful as ever.

The audience roared with applause bringing back some memories of when she went on tour with us.  Only her and one other person could get a crowd to sound just like that.

“She’s gotten stronger with her vocals.” My wife’s voice spoke from behind me.

“She was taught by the best. And she now coaches the best.” Ronnie took her place by my side, placing her hand on top of mine.

“You really should give her a ring sometime. I’m sure she’d love to hear from you.” I turned away from her.  “You can’t have the boys and me be your messengers forever. I know for a fact she’d be happy to hear your voice again.” I sighed deeply. “At least think about it my love.”

“I will.” I placed my hand on top of hers and gave her a light peck on the cheek.

“Are there any more performances of her on this show? Luke says she’s been all over the media being the Lioness.”

“Well that was the Semi-finals performance, let’s see if someone collab all of her performances together.” I went back to the search box and soon found about a half hours’ worth of (Y/n)’s performances. I clicked play and soon her 1st performance came up.

Seeing her dance reminded me of our times on the dance floor back in the day.  She was the only person able to keep up with my crazy dance moves, and that’s why she was always the perfect dance partner.  Even Ronnie agreed to that statement.

“That girl never changes. She’s still got it even after all these years.” Ronnie smiled.

“That she does love, that she does.” God she has grown so much since the last time we parted.  Her voice much more mature and able to do things she never did before. And some of the stuff that she’s doing on this show is bonkers.

Never did I think I’d see her on a makeshift wrecking ball or be lifted high above the stage on a swing with silk ropes dangling down from it.

I hope she takes the gold and win this little show of hers because she rightfully deserves it.

*FINALE*

It is time.  Do or die now.  It was me vs. Piglet vs. Chameleon.  After performing a beautiful, angelic performance with last season’s winner LeAnn Rimes, the finals were finally ready to start.

After a couple months of going from 14 down to 3, it all came down to this moment right here, to determine who was gonna be this season’s Masked Singer champion.  Chameleon went first and then I was going to be next.  Chameleon had stuck to his rapping but I could hear more singing out of him this time around and he actually had a pretty good voice.

“Up next. She’s been putting us through a roller coaster of emotions. From hard rock to ballad. Here is the last performance and your last chance to guess at who is beneath, the Lioness.”

FINAL CLUE PACKAGE.

I was walking through a tunnel slowly.  One foot in front of the other.

“Being on the Masked Singer has really been a lot of fun. When I first came on here, never did I think I was gonna make it this far.” The screen would show highlights of all my previous performances along with some additional clues.

Like a familiar band logo at the corner and season 3’s champion Night Angel’s wings. And the year 1981.

“This song was written by a very dear friend of mine. A friend that was taken from us far too soon. But it’s through this song that win or lose, I’ll always take with me till the day I die. Because no matter what, we will always make it through the tough times, especially with what we’re going through now with the Pandemic.”

The stage was dark except for a few lights as the familiar tune of Freddie’s last song he ever performed in the studio came on. I was having brief flashbacks of that day in the studio seeing him record this very song but I had to get my mind right as I sung the first verse.

Once the chorus kicked in, fire exploded from behind the stage as my rock and roll band came back on once more.  The stage was mine to command one last time as I walked across it for the chorus, giving it my all, just like Freddie did.

By the time the bridge came on, my voice was starting to tremble but I kept my emotions under control till the end of the song.  When I got around towards the end of the song, I would hold out a few of the notes till I finally belted out the last note much like Freddie did on the record.

And I swear it was like I could hear him singing alongside me, guiding me to hold the note out longer.

*Me*

Empty spaces, what are we living for? Abandoned places, I guess we know the score, on and on Does anybody know what we are looking for? Another hero, another mindless crime Behind the curtain, in the pantomime Hold the line Does anybody want to take it anymore?

The show must go on The show must go on, yeah Inside my heart is breaking My makeup may be flaking But my smile, still, stays on

My soul is painted like the wings of butterflies Fairy tales of yesterday, grow but never die I can fly, my friends

The show must go on

Yeah, yeah! The show must go on

Oh yeah! Yeah! I'll face it with a grin I'm never giving in On with the show

I'll top the bill I'll overkill I have to find the will to carry on. On with the show. Show. The show must go on.

As the song ended, fireworks fell down from the roof and fire and smoke exploded from the side of the stage as I panted heavily with my arms extended outward.  With the last struck of the drums and guitar, I punched my fist into the air.

I sent a quick kiss to the Heavens as the audience went insane.  I saw all five judges on their feet applauding me.

“The Rock and roll Lioness showin us that the Show must always go on.” Nick praised.

“I swear each and every performance you do, it just gets better and better! You could just be this season’s winner.” Jenny told me.  I clenched my hands and did a victory gesture with them, I could only hope I’d win but it’s not up to me.

“I would agree. She just keeps escalating and escalating her performances and I’m just in awe whether it’s her rocking out or pulling our heartstrings with her raw voice.” Nicole said.  Even last year’s winner LeAnne said.

“Hearing this voice alone makes me feel like I’m looking at a champion singer here.” I placed my hand over my heart in thanks.

The judges then proceeded to do some more guesses, Robin and Nicole were saying that I was the Rock Angel while Jenny was saying that I could be Christina Aguilera and of course Dr. Ken (out of the blue) decided that I was Beyonce.

“So tell us Lioness, what would it mean to you to win this competition?” Nick asked me.

“Well Nick, winning would mean that I’ve given my fans a whole new side of me that they’ve never seen before. But even if I don’t win, I still had a blast being here.”

“We were happy to have you here. Give it up one more time for the Lioness everybody!” I waved to the audience and walked backstage.

“This whole experience has been a wild ride. But I had a lot of fun, win or lose.” I told the camera with the Men in Black behind me.

The Piglet then did his song, “Faithfully” by Journey and man did he kill it.  He definitely pulled my heartstrings with that performance.  So it could be a close race between him and I, or there could be a game changer and Chameleon could take the trophy as the first rapper to sing solely Rap/Hip-hop songs.

“Tonight was a star-worthy performance, but as we know only one can take home the Masked Singer trophy. Now it’s up to our judges and Superfans at home to vote for your favorite now.” I stood between Chameleon and Piglet with my hands together in a prayer.  “The votes are in. The contestant with the least amount of votes and in 3rd place is…….”

There was suspense in the air as I felt my foot shake just waiting for Nick to say which one of us got in 3rd place according to the votes of the judges as well as America.

“The Chameleon!” the audience gaped in shock. “That means Piglet and Lioness you both are safe and can head backstage before we call you both back out to crown a winner. Let’s make some noise for the Chameleon everybody!” I walked up to the Chameleon and extended my hand and we shook hands before I walked with Piglet at my tail as we both waited backstage.

About 10 minutes later, we were told to come back onto the stage to finally crown a winner of Season 5 of the Masked Singer. Piglet and I stood on opposite sides of Nick as he held in his hand, the envelope with the Winner’s name.

“Welcome back to the Masked Singer.  It is now time to crown our new Season’s champion. Piglet, or Lioness. Which one of you will be taking the golden masked trophy home? The votes are in by the judges and the super fans. And the winner is……..” I could see Piglet’s legs shaking as he has made them every time throughout this entire season, while I was rubbing my hands together nervously.

Nick opened the envelope before proclaiming into his microphone.

“THE PIGLET!!” confetti soon exploded covering both me and Piglet up with strings of blue and silver confetti.  Piglet stood there shocked while I clapped for him. He deserved the win, he did a great performance and a great song to close out this season with.  He took the golden mask trophy and danced with it as Nick said.  “Congrats again Piglet you are this season’s champion. Which means you can stand over there in the championship booth till it’s time to unmask you.”

Before Piglet left, I walked up to him and patted his shoulder before giving him a hug and he hugged me back.

“Aww Lioness is being all cuddly with our contestants here.” Piglet and I shook hands with each other for a good competition while I went back to my spot to be unmasked once and for all.  “Lioness you’ve wowed us week after week and as sad as we are to see you go, I think I speak for everybody here, we cannot wait to see who you are!”

The judges all agreed as well as the audience.

“But first, let’s bring out the first Impression guesses. Men in Black! Bring ‘em out!” I could already see the judges pleading for them to not to.  “Yeah it’s been like—months since you guys wrote these down.”

“Can we please not do this Nick?” pleaded Jenny.

“Too late. And the first guess is from…..Nicole.”

“Oh god.”

“You guessed……Christina Aguilera. Not a bad guess.”

“Yeah that really isn’t a bad guess. However I’m not gonna stick with that. Based off the clue package of LGBTQ, and growing up in a domestic abusive home, plus the recent clue package with the symbol of the band Queen’s logo and the Rock n Roll hall of fame right beside that. I’m gonna go with the Rock Angel (Y/n) Kline.”

“Okay. Okay. Let’s see who else we’ve got here……Robin!”

“Oh no.”

“You guessed……Pink.”

“Oh that’s not too bad.” He shrugged.

“You stickin with it?”

“I am not gonna stick with that. Like Nicole I did see the Queen logo in this week’s clue package and just going off by the voice alone. I re-listened to some old records and this is clearly the Rock Angel herself.”

“Alright 2 votes for the Rock Angel. Mrs. Jenny McCarthy.” Jenny sunk down in her chair as Nick grabbed her envelope and opened it up. “Your first impression of the Lioness was……also Pink.”

“Oh thank god I thought I had pulled a Ken guess.” She wiped her hand across her forehead as Ken exclaimed.

“Hey!”

“Ken sit down! Are you sticking with that guess.”

“No. The number code we were give, the 149121. Which I’ve coded as her tattoo for the date of Nov. 24th, 1991, the date when Freddie Mercury sadly passed away from complications from AIDS. And seeing how she talks about her family, her kids, her papa Lion. I’m going for (Y/n) Kline the Rock Angel!”

“Alright, alright, alright. Dr. Ken……” oh this outta be interesting to see who he thought I was at the first performance.  He opened Ken’s envelope and laughed.

“What? What did he write!?”

“Janet Jackson!” oh my god! That even got me weak in my knees as I laughed.

“With those dance moves I thought it could be her! No one could’ve done that dance better than she could! DON’T LAUGH AT ME!!”

“Are you sticking with that guess?”

“No because the clue package doesn’t support it. Okay so we’ve had LGBTQ, domestic abuse. She’s a family woman with 4 kids and apparently 2 grandkids. Although I think the grandkids is a lie. She went through some tough times throughout her personal life. This is none other than Lady Gaga! Welcome to the Masked Singer!”

“What?!” Nicole exclaimed.  “But she’s not a mom!”

“Well then she could be lying about the kids then too all I know is that the rest of my brilliant theories lead to Lady gaga!” I shook my head and placed my hands over my mask shaking my head in defeat. “See! She’s even admitting I’m right!”

“No she’s not she’s just done with how ridiculous your guess is.” Nick said.

“Well I don’t care. This is Lady Gaga and I’ll take it to my grave!”

“Alright. Ms. LeAnne. As our guest panelist you have the last say in who you think this might be.”

“First of all let me just say you are a super star whoever you are under there. If we had competed against each other last year, I would’ve been quaking in my boots.” We all laughed. “This is truly a rock legend under here with the few rare female rockstars that came with the time. And I actually got the privilege to see her perform with the band Queen one year for a birthday party. And there’s only one person that I’ve seen on stage that can sing with as much fire as you Lioness. And that is the Rock Angel herself.”

“Okay Panel. Everyone except for Ken Jong has agreed on their final guesses. Lioness! It is time for the moment we’ve all been waiting for. We wanna know—whose behind the mask. It is time for you to Take it off!”

“Take it off! Take it off! Take it off! Take it off!” everyone soon started chanting.  I held my arms out in a shrug before shrugging my shoulders and finally reaching for my mask and tried to lift it off.  Nick was helping me as the audience and the judges kept chanting.  I could tell I was keeping them in suspense, just wait until they see it’s really me.

Finally the mask came off.

I shook my head and pulled my hair out of my face and the crowd went nuts, the judges all jumped up and cheered.

“THE ANGEL OF ROCK HERSELF! ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAMER! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN THE ONE AND ONLY (Y/N) KLINE!! THE ROCK ANGEL!!!”

“OH MY GOD!!” I heard some of the judges exclaim.

“Look how beautiful she is!” Nicole praised me. I waved to the audience and gave them a “Freddie Mercury” like bow with a twirl of my hand.

“Hello LA!” I said.

“Angel! Angel! Angel! Angel!” I heard the crowd chanting out.

“Wow it is such an honor and a privilege to be standing here next to a true Rockstar.”

“It’s an honor to be here Nick. Thank you all for having me here.” I told him.

“Tell us why did you choose to be in this show?”

“I know this answer gets told a lot but for me personally I speak from the hard truth that we should all strive to do different things cause—you never know which days are gonna be your last.” I hinted my potential death scare almost 20 years ago.  The judges all nodded in understandment.

“And I’m told that you also wanted to say something about this performance in particular?”

“Yes. The song I had done wasn’t originally my choice.” The audience as well as the judges all looked at me in surprise. “Originally the Producers wanted me to do a Katy Perry song, but……this coming November will mark the 30th anniversary of the day my boys and I lost our beloved Freddie. And…….being there the day he recorded this song in only one take. I felt in my soul that I had to do this for him. To give him a grand performance because due to this covid Queen and I aren’t touring till we feel it’s safe to start touring again, like many artists are. So I really wanted to honor Freddie with a performance that I hope did him proud.”

“Well you did just that.” Jenny told me.

“Thank you. And I’m glad you managed to catch that Jenny, you truly are the Masked Singer detective.” She pointed out to me and that’s when last season’s winner LeAnne said.

“I grew up listening, to both you and Queen. And—I can say for a fact that you definitely did Freddie Mercury proud. And it’s good that you and the remaining members of Queen continue his legacy. Sure it’s not the same as it was before but you don’t refer to him just in the past. But in the present.”

“Thank you LeAnne dear.” I thanked her as I blew her a quick kiss.

“I just gotta say (Y/n). You absolutely crushed the choreography with Janet’s song for your first performance as well as your wrecking ball routine. I think those were my favorite performances of yours, will we expect any of that once you start your solo tours back up?” Nicole asked me.  I laughed along with the audience.

“You never know.”

“Well it has truly been an honor to have you on our show. Now then ladies and gentlemen, to sing for us one last time give it up. For the artist formerly known as the Lioness, the Rock Angel (Y/n) Kline!” the audience applauded and I sung “The Show must go on” one final time for the audience.  Putting my heart and soul into the lyrics before finally belting out that last note in a different key before punching my fist into the air and sending a kiss towards the heavens for Freddie.

After the show all ended and a few days passed by, I did a livestream on my Instagram as well as my Youtube page telling my fans that I was indeed the Lioness and just talking about my experience on the show. Of course Bri, Rog and Adam blew up my phone with calls/texts/DM’s (mostly Adam. Bri and Rog still don’t quite get DM’s) telling me why I lied and did that show in the first place.

I gave them my straight answer that I wanted to have a bit of fun and do some type of performance and show the audience a whole new side of me when it came to performing.

I was just about to go to bed after bidding Georgie goodnight (he had to work a late nightshift tonight) when my phone rang. I picked it up to see it was an unknown number from London.  Curiously, I pressed the answer button and said.

“Hello?”

‘Sister dear.’ My heart stopped and I sat down on the bed.

“Brother mine?” I choked out.

‘Hey love. It’s uhh—been awhile, hadn’t it?’

“Try 20 years yah rotter.” I teased as we both softly chuckled. “What—how…..”

‘Laura sent me a video of you on the Masked Singer. The American one. You were beautiful up there.’ I placed my hand over my heart. ‘Although I do wish you had won. That—boy band person couldn’t hold a candle to you.’

“Oi now, Nick Lachey did just as well as I did.” I softly lectured him.

‘Well I still feel like you should’ve won.’ I smiled solemnly.

“Was it just because of the Masked Singer that you wanted to call me?”

‘That and…..’ he trailed off.  I lay against my bed and softly spoke to him.

“Deacy?”

‘I…….’ he sighed heavily. ‘I know I haven’t been the best at keeping contact.’

“John.” For the first time since……probably back when I was an intern for Miami all the way back in the autumn of 1980, I called him by his first name (unless I referred to him him by his full name did I call him John, most of the time it was Deacy).  “I get it. Plus my schedule has been quite hectic. And you—you’ve been busy yourself. After all Queen would’ve fallen decades ago without your financial brain.” We both shared another laugh.

From then one we talked pretty much the entire night up until it was almost 6am my time before we finally said our goodbyes. It was sweet to hear from him once again after so long.  Now whether or not I’ll ever hear from him again, I don’t know.

But at least I know my Brother Mine is still keeping his eye out for me, in one way or another.

[gay-salt-amber]

Where the hell is Kenma?!

Yuri on Ice x Haikyuu crossover

Just so you know, all the figure skaters kids are close with the other skaters so they consider ever skater they're close with family so the whole uncle aunt thing is just a friend thing

warnings: Gay, swearing, etc

Ships: leoji, yakulev, minotayuri

Пока= bye

All Russian is google translated

For the parents the kids will just be calling them by their names unless one parents is without the others then they will be called dad so it doesn't get confusing

Kenma pov

It was 10 alcock at night and I was up playing my video games as usual with Hinata, Lev and some other friends. We were playing a game that was a collaboration between Nerf and Xbox, it was quite good. Not my favorite shooter of all time but it was alright. When the match was over and the 20 second map and round type selection started, my phone rang. I was on a discord call with my friends so they saw the phone going up to my ear. Right when I was about to answer Lev spoke up,

"Who is it?" He asked

"Georgi."

"Popovich?"

"Yeah."

"Who's this Georgi?" Hinata seemed confused but curious.

"Just a family friend of ours." I answered, I don't wanna go into me and Lev being legally related right now.

"Oh, cool!"

I looked down at my phone and unlocked it to see the messages, "I might need to not play this round for a bit I need to respond to these texts." I said

The rest of them agreed and I went back to the messages.

---

Georgi: I was just wanting to remind you that the plane leaves at 7, so get some sleep kid.

Kenma: Thanks uncle Georgi, I'll try.

Georgi: Do you want us to bring the Russian team bus to pick you up from your house?

Kenma: Sure when are yall getting here?

Georgi: 6 prolly, depends on how long Lila and Yakov wanna take. Old asses -w-

Kenma: pfft xD

Kenma: Anyway, I need to get back to my friends see you later.

Georgi: K, get some sleep, my favorite nephew ☆⌒(*＾-゜)v

----

I unmuted my mic on the call and spoke after like 5 minutes

"Back, hows the round going?"

I didn't hear my dear Shoyo but instead Lev, "Good, Hinata got tired though and had to leave."

When I was about to say I needed to leave to, Lev spoke again,

"Oh yeah! You should get going, you don't wanna miss the flight!"

Once I exited the game I turned back to my monitor that had discord and moved it back to my main monitor, "I was about to say that."

"Пока" I said, my Russian feeling a little rusty.

"Пока Kenma!"

Pressing the 'end call' button made me sigh with relief, standing up, I walked over to my closet and grabbed some clothes for a shower before bed. I grabbed some long, loose black pants and a old Russian figure skating team shirt that one of my dads got me. While I was walking to the bathroom I was looking through some notes for class and deleted stuff I didn't need since I was going to be in an entire different country for a while.

I got out of the shower, dried my hair and put on my clothes. Once I got to the door, I looked into the mirror and I had an idea, 'Should I put my hair in braids so it'll look wavy tomorrow? Yeah that'll look nice!' I reached over and grabbed two small clear hair ties and put my hair into two braids.

I finally opened the bathroom door and walked back to my room to call it a night and sleep. Once I reached my room I noticed something, "You mother fucker.." I didn't pack my bags for the fucking trip. I whipped out my phone and thought of who I could message, we were gonna be in a bunch of places for skating and I wanted to check for how long, but guess what?! I don't know whos awake!

Right when I was about to wing it, I remembered its like 9 in the morning for Leo de la Iglesia, who is an American skater which I consider family. I guessed he would be up since he and Guang-Hong Ji, his boyfriend typically wake up at 7 to eat breakfast and go on a run together, virtually since they live in different countries but I guess they try. It took a while to find this name in my contacts since my phone doesn't really sort through who I texted recently but instead it sorts alphabetically the only time I would see his name at the top is if I had an unread message from him, which I don't. I kept scrolling reading off the letters as I went. H,I,J,K....

I finally got to L and found his name since I only have like 3 people whos name start with L in my contacts, I opened it and cringed at the date of the last sent message, 'June 1st' which was a happy pride month message. My fingers tapped on the message bar and I started typing quickly.

------

Kenma: Hey uncle Leo ヾ(•ω•`)o

Kenma: Ik this is a weird time to text since I should be sleeping but, you're the only one awake.

Leo: Ey Kozume! 💅 What do you need?

Kenma: I was wanting to know how long the competitions are gonna be , I forgot to pack soo...

Leo: Ah! Well you're going to be on the trip for a week and Georgi's gonna take you back to Japan the Monday afterwards

Kenma: I- Isn't it longer then that? (⊙_⊙)？

Leo: Yes but we know that Neko-

Kenma: Nekoma?

Leo: How ever the fuck you spell your schools name 😑

Leo: Anyway, we know you have a game against Karasuno the next day and we know you would wanna play in that sooo...

Kenma: Cool, thanks.

Leo: Np, see you in America (｡･∀･)ﾉﾞ

----

Once I was done snickering to myself at Leo and I's conversation, I walked over to my clothes drawers and got out the clothes I wanted, one formal outfit, some pj's and some casual stuff. I put that stuff in one suitcase and put my miscellaneous stuff in a smaller drawstring bag that had a bunch of video game pins on it. I walked downstairs to put my stuff by the door and when I got there I saw someone come in, it were my dads, Yuri Plisetsky, Otabek Altin and Minami Kenjiro.

I walked up and hugged all 3 of them, "Hey kiddo."

Since I decided to say screw sleep and talk to my parents which is something I didn't get to do much at this time of the year often since they have practice all the time. So we sat on the couch and had dinner while watching tv as a family and talked about their practice

Yuri chirped up while eating some rice, "Mila was being a bitch."

"Oh? What happened?" I asked

"So you know her kid Tendō?"

Minami put his chopsticks down and joined in the conversation, "He's that kid that goes to Shiratorizawa Academy right?"

"So, he's gonna be joining the Russian team since the he doesn't like the Italian team."

"Yet his uncle and other mom is on that team." Otabek pointed out

"Yeah."

"I don't get how she was being a bitch?" I said, trying to get the conversation back to the main point,

"Her ass was bragging about all practice, like shit I couldn't get 2 fucking works out without her interrupting."

We all laughed, and went back to eating.

After we were finished we all were doing the dishes, "Go upstairs and get some sleep kiddo, I'll do the rest of the dishes. Yuri, go get some rest too." Minami said

"Are you not going to America, Beka?" Yuri asked.

The black haired boy shrugged, "No, for some reason my couch decided I'm not going, I don't know why."

Minami was another one of my dads who was staying home, ever since they adopted me when I was 4 he always declined going to any skating competitions that weren't in Japan so that if I ever had an emergency someone would always be there. This meant that only me and Yuri, my blonde, sassy, Russian dad were going to America for the 3 back to back skating events that were happening there.

"I wonder why Lev's not going.."

"Your school doesn't want you both out when a game is so close." Otabek was right I still thought it was stupid since he was looking forward to this event, he's always wanted to go to America after all. But as compromise I promised to send him a lot of photos.

Minami who was still washing the dishes started shoving us out of the kitchen, "Yeah yeah, cut the chat get your butts upstairs and I don't wanna see you two down here until morning!" He said, waving a wooden spoon in the air as we walked up the stairs, laughing.

We reached the upstairs, both of my dads gave me a kiss on the forehead and wished me a good night. I walked into my room and instantly my tiredness from earlier came back to wack me in the face with 5 times the strength of before. I walked over to my bed and just.. flopped.

--In the morning--

My alarm for 5:30 went off and I got up, still tired but meh, nothing a bit of coffee wont fix. I walked over to my closet and got out a hoodie Shoyo gave me, it was a Karasuno hoodie with Shoyo's name and volleyball number, 10 on the back. I inhaled the scent of my lover. I'm gonna miss him but I still can call him. I grabbed a thin t-shirt to wear underneath and some soft black pants with red on the side, after I grabbed my clothes I walked to the bathroom and got changed. After that I took my braids out, my hair looked great!

When I left the bathroom right when I put my foot on the first step to head downstairs the scent of waffles hit my nose, I started to go quicker down the stairs since I fucking love waffles and I am starving! Once I got there Minami greeted me.

"Hey kiddo, did you sleep good?"

"Yeah." I nodded

"Are your other dads not up yet?"

"Nah." I shook my head getting out a plate.

"Before you eat imma wake them up."

I rubbed my forehead before sighing, "Oh god what are you planning, pops?"

"Nothing, let me just..." After finicking with his phone I heard a blast of noise from my parents room and the line I knew too well of "WELCOME TO THE MADNESS" blasted through the door. After like 2 seconds they were up and downstairs.

"You get creative when it comes to waking us up." Otabek yawned while Yuri wiped his eyes.

"I know, glad you're finally catching on~" Minami said, getting sassy, which he normally was this early in the morning.

"What'd you make for breakfast?" I asked.

"Apple waffles!"

I ran to the counter happily, grabbing like 3 fucking waffles.. What can I say? I love apple things!

"Goddamn! Leave some for us!" Yuri teased

"Nah~" I joked back.

When we had just finished our food, we were setting our dishes into the sink and just chatting, we heard a knock on the door. I turned to the clock, '6:00' almost on the dot. "Man when they say they'll be here at 6, they aren't kidding." Otabek said, looking at the bus through the window.

I snickered and got my shoes on, me and Yuri grabbed our suitcases and after my adopted dad kissed my other dads, we were out the door and on the bus. I stopped to talk to Mila whom was driving while Yuri went to go sit in the back by himself.

I tapped the red head on the shoulder, "Hey Mila can we make a stop before we go to the airport?"

She grinned "Yeah, of course, the flight was delayed a half hour anyway for whatever fucking reason."

"Ok, can we stop at Karasuno I uh.. Wanna see someone before we leave.."

Mila let out a quiet gasp before whispering, "Is this the boy you've been talking about?"

I nodded and Mila laughed, "Sure, I don't see why not!"

I gave a light smile and went to go sit down.

--When they stopped at Karasuno, Hinata pov--

"We aren't doing anything special today, hell do what you want if you wanna sit and chat do that, I am giving you a free day before we practice for our match against Nekoma." Couch Ukai explained

We all nodded with a 'yes couch' coming out of all us.

Me and Yamaguchi stayed chatting when our long haired ace, Asahi came in, "Sorry I'm late but there's a bus outside that says, 'Russian Figure Skating Team' outside for whatever reason."

"I wonder why..." I brushed it off though and continued talking to Yams

We kept talking before I heard a familiar voice, "Shoyo? Are you here?"

"Kenma!" I exclaimed before I jumped up and ran to give him a hug which almost knocked him over in the process.

"Hi Shoyo, its good to see you."

"What are you doing here?" I asked, releasing the hug and just holding his hands and I spoke again

"I mean there's a weird bus that says Russian Figure Skating Team or something outside but why are you here?"

"That's my ride." Kenma answered plainly.

"That's your- WHAT!" I was surprised and the others came over

Kenma laughed, "That's why I came here, I wanted to let you know I'm going to be gone for a week."

"Why? Did something happen?" Suga asked from the back

"No, no! I'm going to skate in America, I'll be back for our game though." His answer made me more curious

Noya's voice rang from the right, "When are you leaving?"

"Around 7:30, our plane got delayed but I get to talk with you more, right Shoyo?"

I was about to sit down when the door swung open and there stood someone who looked a bit like Kenma, but different colored eyes and plain blonde hair

"I'm hanging out in here with you kid."

"Yakov being annoying?"

"да ебать его задницу!"

"Who are you sir?" Asked Asahi who was putting away the few volleyballs that were used since most of the team was chatting, it was a free day after all

"This is Yuri Plisetsky, my dad." Kenma explained

"Cool."

I tilted my head, wondering what he said, I knew it was Russian just based on context but I didn't know what, "What was that you were saying?"

"He said, "yeah fuck his ass" My blonde boyfriend translated

"Ooh."

"Well before we go might as well do this," Kenma sighed as he held my hand tighter,

"Dad, this is my boyfriend, Shoyo." Kenma looked nervous.

"As long as he treats you well, then I don't care."

"W-wait that's it?!" Kenma seemed surprised

Yuri clutched his chest in laughter, "I-I'm sorry! Just.."

"Are you forgetting who I am?"

"What?"

"Kiddo, I am a trans gay man who has been married with 2 other men in a poly relationship for 2 years now, what'd you want me to say?"

Hinata looked surprised but also relived, "Really? That's so cool!"

Yuri looked at me and rolled his eyes and messaged the bridge of his nose, "Really? You went for the fanboy?"

"Dad, you're married to one."

"Meh, true."

We were talking for a while longer with me just being lovey as usual when someone else walked through the door and yelled "ITS JJ STYLE!" Which Yuri's dad looked pissed about

"I'll get him out give me a second."

"убирайся отсюда, канадский ебать!" Yuri yelled as he proceeded to shove the man I'm guessing named JJ out

"What'd he say?" I asked

"Get out of here you Canadian fuck."

"Oooh."

With that a new people entered, "Kozume!" A voice called,

"Hi Gramps."

"Whos this?" I questioned with my hand still on Kenma's

"That's my grandpa, Victor Katsuki-Nikiforov."

"That's so cool!"

Kenma blushed and just nodded,

"Does my grandson have a boyfriend~"

"Yep, this is Shoyo."

"So he's the one I keep hearing Chris say you brag about?"

"Mhm."

"We-"

Before Victor could continue I heard a slam

"Двигай своей задницей, черт возьми, свинья!" (Move your ass fucking pig!) And in came Yuri kicking another black haired boy in through the door.

"Yurio be nice you your mother!"

"HES NOT MY MOTHER! AND STOP CALLING ME YURIO!" He yelled back

Victor sighed, "Well we have 2 Yuri's here its confusing!"

The grey haired mans tone quickly changed, "Anyway~"

He helped Yuuri up and waltzed on back over to us, "Our grandson has a boyfriend!!!!"

"Awh that's great!"

"Aaand Shoyo, meet my other grandpa, Yuuri Katsuki-Nikiforov"

"It's nice to meet you."

We talked a bit before Yuuri spoke up,

"We should get going, the others probably wanna get coffee before we go to the airport."

"Oh, yeah, I guess so."

I was sad that they had to leave because Kenma noticed and his face softened because when they were getting up to leave, he gave me a soft kiss on the lips,

" I will call you every chance I get, Ok baby?"

"Alright, I'll see you next week at the game?"

"Yes, I love you."

"I love you too." Those were the last words I said to Kenma in person for a week.

When I turned around I heard someone yell, "KOZUME HAS A BOYFRIEND!"

Lev pov--

Kenma: We're having another fucking flight delay!

Lev: I still wish I could've gone with!

Kenma: I know, you were really wanting to come, right?

Lev: Ofc! I have always wanted to go to America! 😭😭😭

Kenma: Oof

Lev: Hold on the team is worried about you, give me a moment

Kenma: Gl Kuroos gonna be all like 'well why didn't I know?!' or some shit

Lev: mhm 😑

---

I turned off my phone and listened to the rest of the team freak out about the gamer boys missing

"WHERE THE FUCK IS HE?!" Yaku yelled out of panic

"Yaku, I am sure he's fine.." Yamamoto said, trying to keep the peace

"Well we don't know that! Hell! He didn't even tell me anything.." Kuroo was also pissed which just made me wanna chuckle since Kenma was right about Kuroos reaction.

"Uhm..."

"What Lev?"

"Well about Kenma being gone, I know where he is I just thought this was funny."

"So us worrying is funny?!"

"When I know why, yes."

Kuroo rolled his eyes, "Lev, Kenma never talks to you."

"Yes, yes he does, you don't know every fucking thing he does." I snapped.

"Are you sure?" Kuroo retorted

"Whos he dating?"

"I-"

"See you dont even know that"

"Fucking- Whatever just where is he?" Yaku asked

I held out my phone and showed the texts

"Where the hell is he going?! We have a game!"

"Yaku, please shut the fuck up." I whispered.

"What?!"

"Yaku I love you, but please shut the fuck up, he doesn't care about the game right now, he will be back for the game with Karasuno, but he is with family and doing something that will contribute to his future. Now shut up пожалуйста, перестань любопытствовать и дай ему жить!" (please stop prying and let him live!)

"..."

I took a step back, I swore my boyfriend out... I even yelled at him in Russian!

I felt like I wanted to cry, I didn't wanna snap like that.. Then I heard the door open

"HA I KNEW HE WOULD CUSS SOMEONE OUT! Виктор! ты должен мне 20 долларов!" (Victor you owe me 20) I turned to the voice,

"Oh praise god." I sighed

Yurio was walking up to me, "ты в порядке? ты выглядишь напряженным .." (are you okay? you look tense)

"Я огрызнулся на своего парня, и я устал, угадай" (I snapped at my boyfriend and I'm tired, guess)

"What are they saying.." Yaku was confused

"Well apologize you fuck!" Yurio scoffed

"..."

"Sorry sir, but Lev is fine, I was the one who deserved it."

"I'm still sorry!"

"Even better question! Lev, you can speak Russian!?" Kuroo seemed surprised

"Yeah, I just didn't wanna hear the, 'oh! Say my name in Russian' or, 'say something in Russian!' that gets annoying fast!"

"Oh, Beka has the same problem whenever he says he's from Kazakhstan."

"Anyway, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the airport with the rest of the Russian team."

"We would be in the sky by now is the plane would stop getting fucking delayed!"

"Well let the team rest in here! Its probably hot as fuck in that bus."

"Smartest thing you've said all day, Levochka." And with that he left

"And who was that?" Yaku's tone was serious so I beckoned the team over to the bench to explain

"So you know how I have left practice early?"

"Yes?"

"That's because I do figure skating and I am hoping to go into it full time when I am older and that person who was here a bit ago was a part of the Russian Figure Skating team."

"Nice!" Someone commented from the end of the bench

"Levochka!" A voice called,

"DAD!" I raced to meet the voice and gave a big hug to my father, Victor Nikiforov and gave my other dad, Yuri Katsuki a hug when he entered short after.

Yaku came up from behind, and kicked me, "YOU NEVER TOLD ME YOUR PARENTS WERE FAMOUS SKATERS YOU FUCK!"

Upon seeing that the Russian team was pissed, "Держи свои гребаные ноги от него, ублюдок размером с муравей!"

"I still don't know what yall are saying.."

A voice came from the back, "Georgi said, "Keep your fucking feet off him, ant-sized motherfucker" I recognized Kenma's voice quickly

"Ey! I thought you would stay on the bus!" Yurio called

"Well, I finished my level and I have nothing else to play until a few daily bonuses roll in."

"Kid you run through games like me and Lev run through a thing of pirozhkis.."

"Meh I keep myself entertained."

"KENMA?!" Kuroo called, ran up and started to shake the boy

"I WAS WORRIED WHY DIDNT YOU TELL US WHERE YOU WERE GOING?1"

"Because it doesn't concern you, besides its not like I'm gonna be gone forever.."

"Kozume I am your best friend! You tell your best friend this shit!"

"Uh..." Kenma stuttered

"What?! Is there anything else you wanna tell me?!"

"1: I don't owe you shit and 2: Lev and Shoyo are my best friends, Теперь слезай с высокой лошади, ты трахаешься" (Now get off the high horse, you fuck)

"That's my boy!" Yurio cheered

Yuuri shook his head and turned to me, "Anyway, Lev can we pull you and Yaku to the side we wanna talk to you two."

I nodded and grabbed Yaku's hand and we exited the gym with my dads

"Levochka.. Are you sure he's the one you want?" My dad asked gently

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you said that this was your boyfriend when we talked about it before but are you sure he is what you want? I mean he kicks you and gets physical it seems a lot. I just want for you to be safe." My dad explained.

Yaku looked nervous as my dead continued, "Hell even Yurio when we adopted him, was never physical with anyone who didn't deserve it.. Minus Yuuri but you get what I mean."

I grabbed Yaku's hand, "I know but Yaku's trying and that's all I can really ask.."

Yuuri started to talk "Lev please be safe." His face was one of worry

"I'm sorry Mr. Nikiforov, I've been trying my hardest to not be as bad as I was, I am trying for your sons sake, I wanna make him happy.."

"I can see that and I hope you keep trying."

"I will, I care about Lev so much I wouldn't do anything to actually hurt him, I love him too much to do that."

"Th-"

"HEY VICTOR WE NEED TO GET TO THE AIRPORT!" Called Yakov's voice loud from the bus.

"Coming! Lets go!"

After gathering the others they left, till next week will we see them again.

[machikuragii]

Rank the Sohmas and explain your ranking?

Anon, this got really long, so I’ve put everything under the cut. Also I don’t have solid rankings beyond my top 2 so I went into ‘tiers’ that aren’t necessarily ordered by how much I like a character. TLDR; I love all the zodiacs for different reasons, see readmore for more in-depth thoughts.

1. Yuki Sohma

Yuki as a character is really, really important to me. I think about him so much, and how he goes from a neglected, unwanted child with no support network to a confident young adult who is so comfortable with himself and free to be happy and at ease and surrounded by those who love him. I think about how important it is that Takaya displays this journey as incremental, and not necessarily linear. I think about how Yuki’s strength comes not only from himself and his desire to improve step by step, but from the support he gradually starts to receive from the people around him. I think about just how important it is when Takaya says that it’s ok to be weak, to reach out for help, and that for some people, it is only when they DO receive the needed support from others that they are able to get better. I think about just how much it means for a boy with so little self-worth to gradually find himself in the company of people who enjoy his presence and like him for who he is, and I think about how he is able to reach out and help others after receiving the warm and foundation he himself needs, when he is emotionally ready. I think about then, how SIGNIFICANT it is to show a character who had absolutely NOTHING in his childhood go on to make sure that his own child has everything he longed for in a home in his childhood. 

There’s a little bit of Yuki in everyone. Every bit of his internal monologue hits like a truck for anyone who struggles with insecurity and low self-esteem, and his drive and aspiration to find his own purpose and happiness, can be a source of inspiration to so many. Yuki Sohma is one of the best, if not THE definitely best written Fruits Basket characters, and I really wish more people recognised this. As sensei once said herself, I know that Yuki will always have his fans, but I wished that more people realised and appreciated his importance in the story and carrying the themes of Fruits Basket.

2. Hatori Sohma

This is more a remnant of a past phase, but Hatori is here because he was my first anime crush ksksksasoksks . Jokes aside though, I love Hatori because of his kindness and selfless nature that is masked by a cold exterior. As an adult I realise that Hatori’s actions are not always perfect or enough, but I still really think that he is someone who truly cares. There are so many instances that improve his character in my eyes. Can you imagine going through what he goes through with Kana, and learning of her marriage, and not feeling bitterness, but relief that she is happy? And yet he values his own happiness so little that it really breaks my heart. Or the way that he doesn’t avoid Momiji after the ordeal with his mother, but checks up on him and in a way helps raise him? Dude is more of a father figure to Momiji than his own dad. Narratively, Hatori’s backstory is such an effective introduction to the darker, more mature themes of Fruits Basket, and yeah you can bet it worked on kid me. 

TIER: “These are great characters, I love their complexity but I’m also just fond of them as well” (no particular order)

Isuzu Sohma

Someone who definitely grew on me this time round. When I was a child I found it hard to understand what she was going through and didn’t really relate to her either. But oh my god, this girl goes through so much. She’s such a kindhearted character at heart, but struggles with connecting with others and receiving their kindness because of what she went through as a child. It’s so hard to watch her struggle, because we know she deserves the world. 

Akito Sohma

Controversial to say I love Akito just after I said I love Rin, lol. I’ve never had an overly negative impression of Akito throughout Fruits Basket (this is partially because my friends used to call me Akito when we were little.....because I was an Asian girl... and Akito is also an Asian girl????? idk now that I’m thinking back over it...gee thanks guys), so it was relatively easier for me to accept her redemption when it came. Akito’s actions are not defensible, but I find it much more interesting to explore where she is coming from, rather than just mindlessly spew hate and wish violent things for her like some people prefer to do. Akito’s character is a tragedy, and I feel like people are way less willing to emphasise when the victim is not “perfect”, per se. Akito went through the same “broken home” parental abuse that a lot of the characters in Fruits Basket went through, but somehow people are unwilling even to extend the tiniest amount of baseline empathy towards her just because he trauma manifested in a way that hurts others. Guys, she’s a tragic character!!! A tragic character isn’t always “a perfect person who has bad things happen to them”, it can also mean “a character who becomes antagonistic because of circumstances.” Her actions are inexcusable, but there is a lot to learn when we explore WHY she became this way.

Shigure Sohma

Gonna try make this short. Shigure is a controversial character but I like him because I like characters that demonstrate moral ambiguity. The point of Shigure is NOT to be a good person, and he doesn’t have to be one to justify liking him. Once again, you can like Shigure and still know that he’s a piece of shit. The whole idea of “he genuinely cares for Tohru but will hurt her if it means achieving his own goals” is a fascinating one to me, because it shows that the idea of “good people” and “bad people” is vast oversimplification of how actual people think and behave. Still though, I’m really not fond of how Akigure was executed in canon. I think the two could have potentially had a fascinating relationship but it ended up being more disturbing and swept under the rug&uncomfortable than interesting.

Momiji Sohma

On the opposite end of the spectrum we have Momiji who is just genuinely such a good person. I like the dichotomy between his outwardly ‘childish’ and ‘immature’ appearance and behaviors, versus what we gradually learn about him: that he has had to be mature and selfless at a very young age, and that he is also very emotionally intelligent and empathetic. Watching him gradually grow up before our eyes (we were ROBBED of it in the anime) but at the same time feeling more and more lost broke my freaking heart. When his curse breaks and he realises that even though he is now ‘free’, that nothing has changed and the damage was already done -  absolutely heartwrenching. He’s someone I would have loved explore more of what happened post-canon, because I just want good things for him and Momo, screw whatever the hell their asshole dad thinks. 

TIER: “I love these characters but don’t focus on them as much as I think the fandom does”

Kyo Sohma

I’m a self-professed “probably don’t think about Kyo that much” person haha. I know I know, sue me. I think its because out of the main 3, I love Yuki and Tohru so much that I don’t tend to focus on Kyo. I still like him a whole lot though!! I’m a big fan of the way he matures and changes throughout the series, and much like how Yuki does too, becomes a much happier person. When I compare early-series Kyo with later-series Kyo, one thing that always sticks out to me is how much more he smiles. The way he smiles at Tohru is so full of genuine warmth and happiness that it makes my heart melt, especially when I think about how this is a boy who has so much baggage, and has to gradually accept the fact that he deserves happiness before he allows himself finally to accept it. 

Hatsuharu Sohma

Most of my love for Haru comes from the relationship he has with Yuki. It takes so much maturity to accept that your prejudices may be unfair, and Haru did so at such a young age. Sometimes I just think about how much Haru did and continues to do for Yuki without the need for reciprocation or even recognition and it just hits me how much of a good person Haru is. He was Yuki’s ONLY friend at a time he had NO ONE, and is the reason Yuki was able to move out of the estate and become the person we know and love. Haha sorry for making this about Yuki again, but I think their relationship also says a lot about Haru as a person.

TIER: “I like Kureno and am tired of making a thousand disclaimers every time I want to say I like him, Takaya-sensei whyyyy”

Kureno Sohma

I really like Kureno. This is again pretty controversial, but let me try to explain. I like Kureno because he’s an example of someone who wants to do the right thing that causes the least amount of harm to everyone, but inevitably ends up making the decision that causes much more damage. It’s a classic “good intentions, bad outcome” scenario and I freaking love it. I love that it’s absolutely not what he wants, but Kureno ends up doing a lot of wrong things and destroying not only Akito, but also his own life in the process. I just find the idea of an adult of his age who is so isolated from all of society that even a shopping trip is something foreign and out-of-the-ordinary, really, really sad. 

On the romance side though,  I hate that Takaya-sensei decided that Arisa would be his romantic interest, but I do like the idea of romance being a part of his arc. (I actually think their interactions are somewhat cute but that the overarching age gap ruins everything - i keep thinking about if Arisa was older or Kureno was younger, but touching their ages at all would affect the plot so I would rather it wasn’t Arisa at all). Just the idea of Kureno by Akito’s side, playing the part of what he thinks is her “lover” (god sensei why are u liek dis), when he meets someone on one of his rare trips outside the Sohma estate that causes him to realise that what he and Akito have is not at all what a healthy relationship should feel like - and it causes him to reevaluate the harm he is doing to them both, and take steps to leave her. That is...not exactly what Sensei did, but I always remember how much I felt for Kureno when he said in the upcoming anime chapter how it was the first time he had felt like he loved someone out of his own choice...I just felt like that one “choice” could have lead him to the realisation that he can start to make more of his own, healthier choices in life. But yeah. Wish it wasn’t Arisa because it didn’t do anything good to her character arc, and it’s creepy. 

TIER: “I really like these characters but don’t go out of my way to think about them”

Kagura Sohma

Ok I lied, I do go out of my way to think about Kagura. I love her too, despite common opinion. I think her reflection of her relationship with Kyo was so wonderful. Her confession that she started to like him out of pity, but that over time they became genuine feelings. But that Kyo can’t reciprocate her feelings so she’s accepting of that, and thankful that he gave her time to express herself, although she will still go on loving Kyo. Kagura is one of those characters where Takaya-sensei once again demonstrates her ability to take a “trope” of a character and actually delve into their psyche and explains why they feel this way. 

Ayame Sohma

I love Ayame because he’s genuinely so much fun! I appreciate the arc of him rejecting Yuki, but how he is now reaching out to help him, and I feel like we don’t get a good insight into just how significant this rejection was until we see it from Yuki’s perspective. I also admire how he is able to recognise his own shortcomings, and respects Hatori because of his sensitivity to other people’s feelings. He’s a character who could definitely have been explored more if desired, but isn’t underexplored or incomplete as is.

Ritsu Sohma

My poor Ritsu. In contrast to Ayame, Ritsu was definitely underexplored. Such a great potential to explore confidence, identity, and assertiveness. Ritsu as it stands though, is largely a minor character who wasn’t given the time they needed to be fully fleshed out. I would have loved to see them gradually gain more confidence over the series!!

Kisa Sohma

Love love love Kisa, she’s such a cutie pie. But I feel like there wasn’t much more to say about her that wasn’t said in her arc. Kisa is more a character who is used to show the messed-up state of the Sohma house/Akito more than she herself is a complex character, I think. I love her arc and her parallels to Yuki though, it gave us such a great quote about needing to be loved by others before learning to love yourself. 

Hiro Sohma

Hiro is known to be an unlikeable brat but I love him as well!!! I think it’s really important to have characters who aren’t just lovely and receptive to Tohru’s kindness, and his character served to show an important flaw in Tohru’s character, and the way that her kindness could be taken advantage of. For Hiro himself though, I think his brattiness is alright because he’s very young, and I really appreciate his efforts to become a more mature person when he recognises his own flaws! 

[angst-fairygodmother]

Tinsel: All Aglow (A Light Fingers Christmas Special 2/2)

Read Chapter 1 here: First Christmas A/N: We go from happy Christmas fluff to angsty sort of plot relevant stuff. But still kind of soft? Word Count: 2314 Content Warnings: discussion of childhood poverty, social workers, implied/referenced child abuse and neglect (past), references to drugs Cross-posted to AO3: here

“Hey, Y/N,” Klaus asked after the others had left, having stuck around to help with clean up the party and have the chance to get to know you better. “You look really familiar. Have we met before?”

“What?” you asked, frowning in confusion, at the same time Diego did with a seemingly affronted tone, one you knew was a cover for his insecurity at being reminded of your colorful acquaintances.

“Yeah. Yeah, I definitely do. I’d recognize that adorable face anywhere. It’s the eyes I think…I just can’t figure out where from…”

You grimaced. You could think of a lot of places a junkie might know you from: pawn shops, back alleys, sketchy clubs, your fence’s house, to name just a few. Luckily Eudora was long gone, so reference to your illegal activities wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if it came up, but honestly you didn’t want to be reminded of them tonight of all nights, not after the evening had gone so well up until now. 

“The mausoleum!” he suddenly shouted with a snap of his fingers.

“What?” Diego asked with real confusion now. 

Klaus turned excitedly to Diego. “Remember, I swore you and Ben to secrecy because Dad would have been so pissed? The girl, the one that glowed and kept me company when Dad locked me up, and helped hold the ghosts at bay?”

“I always thought you were making that up. Or that it was a friendly ghost that made the others back off somehow. I never…You’re telling me it was Y/N?”

He turned back to you for confirmation. You studied Klaus, the pinch of your eyebrows as you concentrated creating that cute little furrow that was of Diego’s favorite quirks of yours. 

“Oh!” you cried suddenly, remembering. 

You had snuck into one of the creepy old buildings in the graveyard near your family’s home to hide from the woman discussing “removal.��� You were just making yourself comfortable in one of the cubbies, meant for coffins and just tall enough to sit in, when the doors were thrown wide and a boy about your age had stumbled in. 

“Three hours,” a voice which later haunted your nightmares had barked. “Maybe by then you will have learned that death is to be controlled, not feared.”

The boy was crying. You felt terrible. So you made yourself glow, though it was hard without much to draw from, and poked your head out of your hiding spot. He screamed and started crying more. It took quite a bit to calm him down and explain that you weren’t a ghost or a monster, and then he’d explained that he could see ghosts but they terrified him and his father was unhappy with him because of it. 

“Your dad is a bully, and when he comes back, I’ll kick him,” you offered your new friend. 

While he hadn’t accepted that offer, he had the one to come back again in case he was ever thrown in there again, and to shed a little light while he was there (even though it made you feel sleepy and sick to keep it up for so long. It wasn’t like your new friend needed to know that, and he needed your power more than enough to make it worthwhile). 

It was no surprise, really, that you hadn’t recognized Klaus. He looked extremely different from his childhood self. It wasn’t a bad look by any means, but it certainly wasn’t the round-cheeked, freckle-faced and crying boy you had known. And it had been so long ago, a friendship that had ended when you were about seven, after one incident where you'd nearly been caught and he had been more scared of what his father might do to you than he was of the dark and the ghosts. He had insisted that he never wanted to see you again, and not knowing yet how to fight for the things that mattered, you had let him push you away.  

“Huh,” you finally said, acknowledging the accusation. “Small world.”

“You knew Klaus? Why didn’t you say anything?” Diego asked, unable to keep the hurt from his voice. 

“To be honest, I didn’t realize...I sort of forgot,” you said, hoping to brush the whole thing aside. “I try not to think about...roughly ages four to nine. It wasn’t a good time to be me.”

Diego raised an eyebrow and you knew he wouldn’t let it go, so you sighed.

“Look. It was after Dad died. Mom wasn’t doing well emotionally, and money was tight. Apparently when your kids constantly show up to school with no breakfast in them and no lunch, and their jeans are held together with strips of duct tape because a roll of that is cheaper than trying to get new clothes, it raises questions about parental fitness. There were a lot of social workers in and out of my life, and I spent a lot of time running away. Can we not talk about this on Christmas?” you asked quickly, your voice tight, before turning to Diego’s brother. “Where are you staying tonight Klaus? Our couch is available if you don’t already have a place.”

“I’d love to crash at yours, if my brother doesn’t mind,” Klaus said, offering you a hesitant smile. 

“He doesn’t,” you replied determinedly, and both brothers glanced at each other over your head, a silent conversation about your sudden terseness and the ways they might be able to help. 

~

Later that night, the three of you sat around the apartment, earlier tension forgotten. Your back rested against Diego's shins from your seat on the floor, head falling on his knees as you threw it back in laughter from some story Klaus was telling about when they were children and he and Diego had started some sort of prank war with Ben (secretly supported by Five or Vanya or maybe both, Diego had said he suspected). It made you happy to hear about the good times, that they had still found ways to be children despite their harsh upbringing. 

“The way he stuck to the honey in his mattress was so worth having mine taken away for a month,” Klaus concluded, laughing and oblivious to the horror widening your eyes. 

Diego’s fingers combed unconsciously through your hair, massaging your scalp. You started to feel calmer with each pass, matching your breathing to his movements. The physical contact grounded you, reminding you that, despite everything, you had both made it through and made it here. 

“It couldn’t have all been like that though...right?” you asked hesitantly. “There must have been just average days where you got to be normal kids?”

“We were allowed to have fun on Saturdays,” Diego was quick to assure you.

“For a whole half hour!” Klaus chimed in, still laughing, false cheerfulness radiating a sharp sting of bitterness. “And on special occasions, Mom made chocolate chip pancakes.” He paused, seeming to listen to something. “Yeah. I think Ben’s funeral was the last time we had any.”

“Oh.” 

You sighed, leaning as far into Diego as possible, as if he could give you strength, or you could give him back the peace he had been robbed of pretty much from birth.

“I used to envy you, growing up,” you admitted. “I thought if I had been adopted things would have been better. But really I just wouldn’t have known how bad they were. There really wasn’t a not shitty end of the deal, was there?”

Silence fell over the three of you, uncomfortable and awkward. 

“It’s okay though,” Klaus said eventually, shifting nervously and picking at his nails. “We survived it, figured out to be functioning - semi-functioning - adults. And never have to go back.”

“Right,” Diego said and you felt his body shift as he nodded at his brother. “It’s just a thing in our pasts. Everyone’s got...stuff.”

“Yeah,” you mumbled. “I guess.”

“Hey is there any of that roast left? I’m starving,” Klaus said, standing to climb over the back of the couch and wander toward the kitchen. 

You stared after him, unsure if he was serious or just trying to lighten the mood. When you shifted your gaze to Diego questioningly, he just shrugged.

“It should be in the container with the blue lid,” he told Klaus, waving vaguely at the fridge.

~

The three of you talked (one might even have dared to call it bonded) long into the night. It was past midnight when Diego finally bowed out, practically asleep on the couch already before he stumbled off to bed. You took his spot, sitting cross-legged and facing Klaus at the other end of the couch, and the pair of you continued to talk for at least another hour.

“Y/N, you should sleep,” Klaus eventually suggested. “You look exhausted, and it’s no surprise, with everything you did today, and putting up with my brother all the time to boot.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” you sighed. “I’ll go grab you some stuff to sleep and be right back.”

Quietly you slipped past the screen into the darkened bedroom area and frowned, scolding yourself internally for not doing this before Diego was in bed. He was a light sleeper and got so little of it on a regular basis, and though you could adjust the light to not wake him, it was an imperfect solution. Trying not to disturb your sleeping husband (the word still felt weird and wonderful to wrap your head around and you couldn’t help but smile), you lit your hand with a faint glow and dug through the bins beneath your bed to find your spare bedding. 

“You really don't have to worry about it, Y/N,” Klaus whispered, having followed you to the doorway, trying to wave off your efforts. “The couch alone is better than I've had lately. I can just use my coat as a blanket.”

“Absolutely not,” you hissed back determinedly. “You are a guest in my home. I want you to be comfortable, not just 'good enough.'”

He opened his mouth to protest and you held up a finger warningly. 

“Klaus, be smarter than Diego, and know that you can’t argue with me and win. Especially not over something as simple as me finding the spare bedding.”

His mouth shut with a dramatic popping sound that made you tense as Diego stirred in the bed.

“Go wait in the living room before you wake him up,” you asked, “please? He’s tired enough as it is most days.”

You felt more than saw Klaus’s eyes as he studied you for a moment before nodding and, shockingly, doing as he was told. A few minutes later, you emerged once more, handing Klaus a pile of bedding. 

“Blanket, light sheet, pillow,” you said, patting the pile. “I can grab another blanket if you need, if this won’t be warm enough. I have like a hundred of them.”

“No, this will be fine,” he said sincerely. “I sleep warm anyway. I think it’s the nightmares. Or the drugs.”

“Riiight. Are you sure you’re good? You don’t need anything else? Glass of water? More food? Cup of tea?”

He laughed, reaching out to rest his hands on your shoulders. “Relax, Y/N. I appreciate it, but I’m fine. If I need a drink, I’ll raid the kitchen later. I have everything I need. More than I deserve.”

“That’s not--” he put a finger to your lips dramatically, stopping you short as you squinted in confusion at him, going cross-eyed to try and look at the offending digit.

“Don’t try to argue it. It’s a lifetime of a feeling. But I appreciate you trying. And everything you’ve done, then and now.”

You cocked your head softly. “You know, that offer to kick your father remains on the table.”

He grinned.

“But maybe we should table that discussion for tomorrow, it’s getting late. I’ll see you in the morning?”

“Actually, I’ll be gone then,” Klaus said in a tone clearly meant to be reassuring. “Before you wake up, if my brother’s smart enough to take a day off or learn that there’s no reason in general to get up with the crack of dawn. Especially with a beautiful woman in his bed.” He shot you an exaggerated wink.

You rolled your eyes fondly. “You don’t have to, Klaus. You can stay for a while. Days, weeks, whatever.”

“You’re sweet. But you don’t really want me around.”

“Of course I do,” you insisted, frowning at how casually he said such a thing. “We do. You’re family.”

“I don’t think anyone with the last name of Hargreeves really knows what that means.”

“Actually, I took your brother’s name when we got married so…” you shrugged.

Klaus laughed and you smiled. 

“I’m serious though,” you pushed. “Diego will never admit it because he’s stubborn and dumb, but he cares about you, and worries. And I think he misses you.”

Suddenly, Klaus’s long arms were wrapped around you, hugging you fiercely. There were tears in his voice when he next spoke. 

“Thank you, Y/N. That means...a lot. And hey, take care of him, will you? He’s gonna get himself killed otherwise.”

“Of course I will, Klaus,” you said, hugging him back. “I do kinda love him.”

The pair of you pulled away to share a smile, and somewhere deep inside, you felt the stirrings of your ancient friendship awakening from hibernation. After a moment, you shook yourself.

“Anyway, I’ll let you get some sleep. And if you happen to stick around, I’ll make pancakes in the morning. See if I can’t scrounge up some chocolate chips?”

“You drive a hard bargain, Y/N. I’ll think about it.”

You chuckled, before flicking off most (leaving the one above the sink to help ease his fear of the dark) of the lights. “Goodnight, Klaus.”

[pigtailedgirl]

Cobra Kai LOVE

So I finally got to watch all of Cobra Kai after loving the first two free episodes on Youtube but not affording it or having access til Netflix.

Dad and I nostalgia tripped it together and it's so good and it was also a great little family thing to do for us, since we always watched the movies as a family and are missing Mom, and I cried (there were some moments in season 2 especially hard) and laughed and we both loved it and I can't wait for season 3.

What can you say about a show that picks up 30 years after a properties heyday and kills as a tie-in! That honours the themes, and even better the cheese and feelings of the originals. Be it kick-ass karate, 80s style and music, the over the top plotting, and the profound kinda searching for inner life peace mixed with silly karate moves or metaphors and longing for Dad guidance.

I absolutely adore Johnny, who is by no means a perfect person. He's a stunted functional alcoholic who reopens his best part of his life, he tragically peaked in high-school (Christ!), for the best intentioned reasons, not realizing until committing the same mistakes how toxic it was the first go round.

Daniel. Oh you sweet fucking it up-ward man. Every movie was Miyagi having to help you pull your hot head out of your own ass because you were desperate to earn inner acceptance through outer validation and he's not around to do it anymore and you sweet pea think you've got it figured out, that you can give it to kids or protect them from the bullying toxicity of the way that high-school and a loss of place moving to California and Cobra Kai did you in, but you just keep jumping from victim to projecting and anticipating victim-hood and responding against Miyagi's first lesson, learn karate so you don't have to use it to fight.

It's sad and beautiful that these two are twinned and stuck in their pasts. Man-children in their 50s still trying to grow up (And figure out technology in Johnny's case LOL) hurting their future generation.

The teen themes are great.

Teen Breakdown of S1 & S2

The beginning popular crowd being easy and simple bullies. Morphing in Season 2 as both Cobra Kai and Demetri, Robbie and Sam trade off with Hawk and Tory on are we the bullied or the bullies all at once. Free for all high-school fight!

Aisha and Miguel represent the honesty of strength of self and confidence in finding themselves and their voice in Cobra Kai.

Hawk and Demitri, of using a newfound self to bully or staying safe to play victim.

Robbie as the growth from getting respect and guidance from Miyagi karate and Daniel, being the truest student, to the heartbreaking reality it doesn't mean you still don't crave wanting to be declared ultimate right or winner and fuck yourself over with your past issues.

As Miguel does the twin tango with him in having innate respectability and good moral guidance, even passing it to Johnny, but slipping into loss at the karate finals, mentally giving into loss of morality being violent to show his strength and losing himself and his GF, and physically when he's hurt (please be just hurt) defending the good guidance of mercy and stopping fighting.

But yeah, I could do essays on all the teens.

Then there's Sam, Daniel 's daughter. Robbie's mirror student and Aisha should be her foil but I fear based on a rumour and the way of season 2, they went with the easier and show attractive rival GF Tory.  Samantha Larusso is a problem. She is marked good, to be going the way of Robbie to being the child of the former protagonist that leads into a creation of harmony among the two karate's and teachers/families/philosophies. Instead despite the show sympathizing and trying to identify with her as that role, she's straight up a cause of strife and exhibits neither the good traits of Miyagi karate, or a inner self confident bravado of Cobra Kai. She's almost the bizzaro evil version of a teen Ali, and that guy from the third movie. She thinks she's both victim and bad ass and she's just someone who needs a good dose of someone sitting her down to tell her she's owed or earned either status. And Aisha, the friend she wasted for faux status as a popular pretty girl, as well as her adult parents letting her currently skate responsibilities of teenage dramas and violence, and her suitors, whom she waffles unhealthy betwixt so that they all suffer, are the ones to do it. She doesn't need her ass kicked by Tory, who is a one note character, she needs her mindset toggled by realizing her self-wants aren't priority. Basically grow up, and outta the me mentality.

What's fabulous is the show honoring it's roots in teen drama and life so it's not like the drama is too over the top. How their world revolves around them and their perception of the importance of their wants. Romance. Party. Popularity. Identity.

Leading to the teenage version of power posturing. Bullying. (Which even the adults haven't mastered escape from.)

The high-school pettiness and importance of structure and status and coolness. The different norms of today versus the 80's that are still about wealth, the right looks (cultural or physical), and violence being the forever enforcer. Of course kids will break down along the lines of Cobra Kai and Miyagi karate. Brute correctness or passive acceptance?

Seeking strength and refusing to accept weakness of self builds confidence. Using that strength to physically fight in anything but defense brings a cycle of conflict and violence.

Neither the past nor the present generation ignore the other big life influence of the age. There you have the Daddy or parental abandonment angles.

Johnny's step dad failed him in absentee. Kreese used his position as teacher to abuse him. Johnny failed his kid in absentee. Johnny tries to uses his teacher position with Miguel to fix all these errors. Meanwhile Daniel is over there in the opposite corner with lost his father figure, and then Miyagi taught him respect and guidance and Daniel regained one and clung, and now Daniel is a lost or losing father figure to his own son and daughter, the family unit does not respect him or seek his guide. So he entwines his then teaching Sam and Robbie as a fix.

But does karate fix this shit?

So all these kids they drag in are confounded by the lessons because a step would be stop you yokels and talk or acknowledge what really happened in high-school and with All Valley and Ali and Kreese and Miyagi. And move on.

You won 30 years ago Daniel. Miyagi was a great old man and your teacher and like a Dad but you never had to be the best or have the girl to earn him. You got bullied by Kreese & co, were devalued because you weren't rich or popular in high-school. Some people were dicks. Or worse. Tell the world. You don't have to beat them now and forever to hold to knowing that. Be a happy car salesman and focus on your own kids.

Johnny, 30 years have passed my dude. You were okay with defeat when you gave Daniel that trophy and said he was all right. Cling to that guy, not the jerk with a shitty teacher/Dad, pining for a girl you were in conflict with. And stop reliving the mindset you were the loser in those things ending. You missed out on living with your losses and celebrating the moments between and after. Find a GF. Reconcile with your biological son. Admire and mentor your students of now. Take a lesson from your Miguel and be like the young man you clearly are learning from. You will never be a loser to this kid, you will always be the bad ass who defended him.

Also also, I hilariously crack-ship Daniel/Johnny as a love hate bromance. HEAD GAMES vid it!!

Also, Daniel's wife is a treasure with her snark on the childishness of this karate feud. She the MVP.

And I legit cried with my Dad and the Miyagi grave visit. At the Tommy scenes. At the Miguel voicemail. At the Mrs. Larusso Dad on my shoulder scene.

And you can't not laugh at dick billboard.

[jbuffyangel]

Strength: Arrow 8x05 Review (Prochnost)

We’re headed back to Russia for some Queen family vacation fun, except their version of “fun” is kidnappings and fight clubs.

Let’s dig in…

Oliver, Mia and William

Do you remember how we used to pray for a scene of Oliver teaching Felicity the bow and arrow? 

The scenes with Helena fueled my hate fire for years. The closest we ever came to Olicity “training” was Oliver offering Felicity a few punching pointers

and the glorious salmon-ladder-leads-to-sex scene.

I’m not complaining! All I’m saying is we could’ve had a bow-and-arrow-training-leads-to-sex scene too. I have several insert-scenario-here-leads-to-sex scene ideas this show has yet to explore.

Anyway, if we can’t have Felicity training with Oliver then second best is their daughter training with Oliver. The intro to “Prochnost” is almost three minutes long and it’s pure fan fiction from start to finish.  

Source: felicitysmoakgifs 

Oliver teaches Mia how to tennis ball and uses cooking as analogy before he remembers she’s 50% Smoak.

It is clear Mia still has a lot to learn not only from a vigilante perspective, but also in terms of her archer skills.  

When we met Oliver Queen in the pilot his skill set was perfected. He was a fully formed bad ass. 

We haven’t seen Mia train other than a montage with Nyssa Al Ghul in 7x16 and I am thoroughly enjoying there’s still a lot she can learn from her father.

Source: 1-crazy-dreamer

Oliver reviews all of his trick arrows with Mia, but doesn’t want them to become a crutch. 

Source: lucyyh 

What he doesn’t say is trick arrows became more of a necessity in disabling criminals after killing them was no longer an option. We’ve come a long way with Oliver Queen. If you had told me father/daughter training sessions were in our future when I watched the pilot then I would’ve laughed you out of the room because that’s a special brand of CRAZY.

Of course, a training scene without the stick thingies wouldn’t be a training scene on Arrow. 

Source: miasmoakdaily

Yes, I know there’s a technical term for the stick thingies, but if I haven’t learned it by now do you think I ever will? No is the right answer.

Oliver: Nyssa taught you well.

Mia: Mom made sure of it.

I think Arrow makes an important point during this scene. Nyssa Al Ghul is good, but she’s no Oliver Queen. There’s been many seasons where it feels like the writers down played Oliver’s skills to give the other team members something to do *cough*L*urelLance*cough*. 

However, the writers seem particularly focused on showing how Oliver’s skills are a whole other level now. Remember, he’s the guy who killed Ra’s Al Ghul – probably the greatest fighter of all time. It’s why Riccardo Diaz being a formidable threat was so laughable. When Felicity reached out to Nyssa she was asking the best for help, but there truly is no substitute for Oliver Queen.

Source: miasmoakdaily 

Mia “The Machine” Smoak-Queen (her official title btw) doesn’t need a break, but I love how Oliver worries about her nonetheless. DADDY OLIVER IS SO SOFT.

Source: amunetblack

Mia gently reins in William’s ramble and this is the brother/sister banter I am here for. Look, I know we’ve clocked a season and a half with these kids and I should be used to moments where they remind me of Oliver and Felicity, BUT I CAN’T GET USED TO IT. It still fills me with absolute glee anytime it happens.

Children are individuals with unique personalities, but one of the more fun aspects of parenting is seeing traits of other family members, or maybe even yourself, emerge in the child you’re raising. I feel the same glee when my daughter reminds me of my husband or mother. And since William and Mia are my fictional TV children why should I be any different?

There’s a Curtis reference in this scene, so naturally I doze off when that happens, but the cliff notes version is the energy wave that destroyed Earth 2 can be recreated. There’s a Russian general trying to replicate it via pulse wave generator weapon and Team Arrow needs to get the plans.

I think. Plus they need plutonium which Diggle volunteers to get.

Oliver invites the kids to Russia with him and they are equally as shocked as I am. 

Really? We’re going to Russia? I mean, I know we’re going to Russia, but Oliver’s casual invitation makes this trip sound like the equivalent of a grocery store run. The kids are so excited to be invited they think they’re going to Disney World with Dad.

This is so not going to be Disney World. TELL THEM THIS IS NOT GOING TO BE DISNEY WORLD OLIVER.

Oliver: I’m a better man. Different man. I think I can teach them the good without showing them the bad.

Oliver thinks this is going to be Disney World. 

Diggle accurately points out visiting the place which was home to the darkest point of his life may not be as simple as Oliver would like it to be. His answer is equally wonderful and sooooo WRONG. It’s WONDERFUL Oliver believes he’s a better man. It took us 8 long years to get here and his statement is no small thing. Round of applause for our boy.

Unfortunately, this is where the wonderful ends. Oliver is determined to only show his children the good. I guess it sounds ok when he says it, but upon closer examination it misses the forest through the trees. Everything that happened to Oliver Queen, good and bad, has formed the person he is. He cannot extricate the bad from this story anymore than he can the good. They are a sticky wicket forever entwined together. Take out one and you don’t get the full picture. And what his children need and deserve is the full picture.

That’s not to say Oliver’s filter is entirely wrong. There are certainly topics and information children are not ready to hear, can’t understand, or wouldn’t be appropriate to tell them. Every parent has some kind of filter when raising their children because that’s what good parenting requires.

This is appropriate when children are small. As your child grows into an adult then your relationship with them must become more adult, which requires more transparency. This is the problem between Oliver and his children. He is parenting like William and Mia are still little. And they are not.

If plans for a pulse generator sound like a flimsy excuse to go to Russia then you’d be right. The real reason we’re going to Russia isn’t because of some rando general. It’s to say goodbye to one of Arrow’s greatest supporting characters - Anatoly Knyazev

“My brother.”

I block out most of Season 6 because half of it was a walking horror show, so I don’t remember where Oliver and Anatoly left things after he joined and then betrayed Team Bad Guy. 

I guess their cool now? I don’t really want to spend all kinds of time on Oliver and Anatoly hashing out their issues, so if a hug gets the job done then I’m good. Also William speaks Russian. Queen men speaking foreign languages is hot.

A+ reaction Steve. 

Source: arrowdaily 

Anatoly was bored in the Maldives, now owns a bar and has a delicious pina colada recipe so that pretty much catches us up on him. He offers to help find Burov, but Oliver doesn’t want Anatoly’s “friends” involved because they are Bratva and he’s not discussing the bad parts of Russia with his children. I think the good parts of Russia ended at pina colada, Oliver. See how this is going to be a problem?

The best place to meet up with Burov is a local fight club. This prompts William to share where he met his baby sister and gives us Oliver’s best dad reaction to date. 

Source: 1-crazy-dreamer 

Bless you William. You do God’s work my boy.

Mia: Why did you bring us on this mission if you aren’t going to let us help?

Oliver: This is the Bratva. They are terrible people and you guys are my kids.

Mia: Yes, but we’re not children.

Oliver: Well you are when I look at you.

Aww… my sweet, lovable, wonderful Oliver. 

Do we ever stop looking at our children as children? Probably not. I know I will always be my parents’ baby girl and my daughter will always be mine. It is difficult to fully accept a human being as an adult when you’ve changed their diapers. And in Oliver’s defense he changed Mia’s diaper about five minutes ago in the present timeline, regardless of the future adults standing before him. We must give him some time to… adjust.

But Mia is Mia and doesn’t listen to anyone, other than William (SOUND FAMILIAR?) and he’s firmly on her team this week, so they go to the fight club and watch Dad in action. Mia has heard the stories of her father all her life but seeing him in action is an eye-opening experience. She is difficult to impress, but her dad is AWESOME. Yeah, we think so too honey. Welcome to stanning Oliver Queen.

Source: olivergifs

Unfortunately, the Bratva aren’t cool with the deal Oliver made with Burov and kidnap him along with Mia. Her Spidey sense was tingling, so she went to check on dad. Oops.

Source: feilcityqueen 

If there is one lesson the Arrow villains consistently fail to learn it’s DO NOT MESS WITH PEOPLE OLIVER QUEEN LOVES. He gets very angry and wildly unpleasant, which leads to many broken bones and occasionally murder. You put hands on Felicity Smoak and even I’m down with Oliver ripping off your head.

Of course, Oliver wakes from unconsciousness and his immediate question is if Mia is okay. Can’t-Admit-I’m-In-Love-With-You Oliver, 

Boyfriend Oliver,

Fiance Oliver, 

Ex-boyfriend Oliver, 

Husband Oliver, 

and Dad Oliver  are all the same Olivers.

Mia doesn’t understand why everyone in Russia knows who Oliver is and quickly deduces Dad was Bratva. Our princess is a smart cookie! Oliver is ticked Mia didn’t listen to him and there is truly no greater justice in the world than God creating a child who is exactly like you. Robert and Moira are having themselves a nice little chuckle.

Source: lucyyh 

The Bratva threatens to torture Mia if Oliver doesn’t tell them what’s on the zip drive. Mia is very brave and tells Daddy not to say anything. Pfft. Not likely Little Miss Square Bear. He points a gun at Oliver’s precious girl and counts down from five. The Green Arrow breaks like a pretzel. Honestly, I’m shocked Oliver didn’t give the guy the whole store after four.

Source: olicitygifs 

Unfortunately, nobody believes Oliver is telling the full story and a very large knife is brandished in Mia’s direction. Seriously? The one-time Oliver tells the truth he’s accused of lying. How ironic is that? The goon was at least 20 feet away from Mia, but Daddy was ready to flay him alive seven different ways. 

Oh. He was only cutting the restraints. Okay, we’ll knock down the flaying to five different ways.

The Bratva force Mia to play the Ring the Bell game. I don’t know if that’s what it’s called, but it works for my purposes. Oliver is very much HELL NO CHILD, but really her only other option is death. Of course, if she doesn’t ring the bell she dies too. ISN’T RUSSIA FUN? 

Mia kicks major ass, but is unable to ring the bell in under 60 seconds. This might have something to do with her wasting time to look back at the clock and then waiting an additional 3 seconds to reach for the friggin bell, but that’s just details. Be less stupid Arrow.

The Bratva don’t shoot her because… they’re nice gang of Russian mobsters now? 

Source: arrowdaily

This made very little sense other than Arrow doesn’t want to shoot the female lead of their new television show. On second thought, good enough for me. Oliver shoots death daggers at the man who scared the friggin bejesus out of him and it’s pretty much a certainty he will be flayed eight different ways.

William has a full-on panic attack over his father and sister’s kidnapping and it’s pretty much the cutest thing ever.  Then L*urel actually provides some necessary and helpful information. Is that the second week in a row this happened? I’m scared fandom. Hold me.

L*urel: Aren’t the people in your family constantly injecting each other with tracking devices?

William: Normally I would say God I hope not, but now I guess I can see the advantages.

He’s able to track them down, but L*urel and Anatoly show up right after Oliver has already freed himself by dislocating his thumbs. I love that trick. Mia’s reaction is the perfect combination of horrified and impressed. She really wants that trick to be on the next lesson plan.

Mia is bumming hard over not ringing the bell and boozes it up with some scotch. THY NAME IS GENETICS.

Oliver has had enough of his kids almost dying and is putting their asses on a plane back home BECAUSE THIS ISN’T DISNEY WORLD. 

William jumps firmly on Team Mia and reminds their father he’d be dead without them. Oliver has been dislocating his thumbs on his own for awhile now children. I think he’d survive without your help.

It’s time to set these kiddies straight.

Source:  oliverxfelicity

Mia tries to argue the whole adults saving the city angle, but that’s not going to fly in this timeline cupcake. 

In this timeline, Oliver smooshed those perfect chubby cheeks one more time before he left to save the universe 

Source:  oliverxfelicity 

and his rebelling teenage son, who was ousted from the present storyline to make a ridiculous plot point work in the future storyline, ignored his phone calls. (I’m never getting over the whole William never moves in with Mia and Felicity thing. NEVER.)

So, all of his children can take several seats and do what they’re told or they will be grounded! That includes no computer for you, William and Oliver will be taking that bow and arrow back little miss Mia.

Side note: This was a perfect time for William to explain WHY he didn’t return any of Oliver’s calls or if he even received them, but NOPE. Why would these writers attempt to clean up this mess of a storyline with reasonable explanations? Better to just ignore the Grand Canyon sized plot holes and keep driving through. 

Stephen Amell does a wonderful job in this scene as Oliver’s voice quivers with emotion. He’s skating the edge of keeping his composure and losing it all together perfectly this season. Neither Mia nor William have offered much understanding for where Oliver is coming from. Yes, they are adults but 1) No matter how old they get they will always be Oliver’s children and 2) HE MISSED TWENTY YEARS.  

Oliver has been very clear this was not a choice he wanted to make. Mia and William are not the only ones who lost something precious. Oliver lost a lot too. Part of being an adult is letting go of the natural narcissism we all have as children. So, if Mia and William want to put on their big boy and big girl pants then they need to show their father a little understanding and compassion.

Mia: And because you made the choice to protect us I had to spend my whole life alone. I didn’t have a chance to get to know my brother to get to know you.

Mia is not ready to do that yet. She throws Oliver’s choices in his face once again. He is still the one she wants to blame. If this reaction frustrates you then that’s understandable because Mia is supposed to be frustrating right now. It’s odd for us to be identifying through Oliver, but that’s what happens when the hero becomes fully evolved. This entire episode is about showing how much Mia still has to learn not only physically, but emotionally too.  

Source: oliverxfelicity

Oliver is getting used to Mia’s blame by now and it doesn’t really change his opinion on this situation. The worst part of this argument is Oliver believing his children hate him. His worst nightmare was Mia and William not understanding his choices and resenting him for it. Oliver’s greatest fear isn’t death. It is his children believing he abandoned them.

Mia being angry at Oliver over not growing up with William is really not his fault and it’s bizarre how the writers are insistent on lumping that in with everything else she’s ticked about. I did a deep dive on Mia’s emotional and psychological viewpoint last week and I won’t repeat it here because everything still stands. But how is Felicity never going back for William Oliver’s fault?

I’m not putting the blame on Felicity here either. It’s a ludicrous plot point that makes absolutely no sense, so it’s pointless to even try to argue the logic. And yet, that’s exactly what the writers keep trying to do. But it merely shines a brighter spotlight on their illogical reasoning behind the decision.

We are already sympathizing with Oliver because we know how heartbroken he was to leave his children. We know he sacrificed everything for a bunch of ungrateful twats who caught a lucky break for existing in the universe. But forcing Mia’s character to continually blame Oliver for EVERYTHING can rapidly make this character unlikeable. Particularly since her father left to SAVE THE UNIVERSE. The writers need to tread carefully. This has the same nonsensical threads of the Season 4 break up. Or, even worse, Mia channeling the same the anger/blame/bitterness of Season 1 & 2 L*urel Lance. Nobody wants a repeat of those hot messes.

Oliver is floundering. He missed twenty years of his children’s lives. They’ve arrived from a different time as adults. Oliver was still learning how to be a parent and then the universe flipped the board. He has no idea how to do this and the one person who can help him isn’t here. If there was ever a time Oliver needed his Felicity this is it.

So, the only guiding light Oliver has right now is the promise he made his wife and mother of his children. 

Source: oliverxfelicity 

Not to get too nitpicky on the details Oliver, but as @callistawolf​ pointed out in our Watchover episode of 8x05, we never heard him make any promises to Felicity about the children. 

In their final goodbye, it was Felicity promising Oliver to do whatever was necessary to keep their children safe (re: Nyssa Al Ghul). So, let’s just create our own head canon there was some Olicity discussion about the future kids being in present day off screen and he made the promise to her then. Cool? Cool.

OR Oliver is merely trying to score points in an argument via emotional manipulation, which hey man. More power to you. Whatever it takes to keep kiddos safe, I guess. I did have to chuckle about Oliver keeping his promises to Felicity NOW that she’s off the show. Where was this guy in 6x23? Or maybe I sobbed quietly. Probably a little of both. Regardless of the reasoning, it’s an EPIC speech. Dad for the win.

Oliver decides it’s time to get boozy. Amen brother. Pass the scotch. 

Anatoly is no Felicity Smoak, but in the ever-spinning weekly wheel of characters trying to fill her role, he asks the obvious question. Is Oliver sending his children home because he believes they cannot handle Russia/vigilantism/life?

Of course, the answer has been obvious from the moment Oliver decided to only share the good. It’s not about what his children can handle. This is about what Oliver can handle.

Anatoly: That is understandable. You’re ashamed. You have truly done some terrible things.

Oliver: Thank you for the reminder.

Anatoly: But you also have done some good things. It’s important that the kids see both.

Can’t you just hear Felicity Smoak saying these lines? Only in an adorable ramble and less booze? I miss her. Just leaving this here.

I absolutely understand Oliver’s refusal to share the darkest moments of his past. It’s not like my dad has gone chapter and verse into his Vietnam experiences. But I know he was there. I know some of the stories. Maybe Oliver doesn’t need to go into detail about the time he skinned a guy, but he can be honest with his children about being in the Bratva.

Anatoly: That’s the thing about teaching. It’s not about what you want to say. It’s about what they need to hear.”

This part of the speech is all Anatoly. 

Source: 1-crazy-dreamer 

He taught Oliver living was not for the weak because this was the lesson Oliver needed to hear.  Maybe he missed out on teaching William and Mia how to tie their shoes or ride a bike, but nobody understands what it means to be a hero better than Oliver Queen. The Crisis is coming and if Oliver is marching slowly but steadily to his death then he must pass on all he’s learned. There is still so much to teach Mia and William about Oliver’s life and who he is. Those lessons can only come from their father.  What William and Mia need to hear is the truth.

“You were so little. I think that’s what I’ve always wanted all these years. Is for you just to stay little, quiet and safe. But you’re not any of those things. You’re loud and fearless and it scares the crap out of me.” Derek Shepherd, Grey’s Anatomy

His children are loud and fearless and it scares the crap out of Oliver Queen. But there’s a deeper fear driving his hesitation. Oliver is afraid that if he tells Mia and William the truth about his past then they’ll only hate him more. He is constantly afraid of losing his children’s love.

But truth is the path to understanding. Anatoly is right. Oliver must give Mia and William a chance. The real truth is there’s nothing he has done or will ever do that will make his children stop loving him. Sure, Mia is angry at Oliver, but she’s only angry because she loves him. She craves her father’s approval more than anything.

Oliver changes his parenting tactic. He cannot shield his children from the very life they have chosen for themselves. He asks Mia to fight in the ring with him and William to help get them in. Oliver treats his children like they are part of the team – like partners.

Mia has been trying to show her father what she’s capable of since the moment she came to the present. Underneath all that anger and blame, is a little girl who just wants to make her daddy proud. What Mia needs to realize is she already makes Oliver proud merely by existing. However, he offers her the support and belief she’s been craving as they enter the ring together. 

Source: oliverxfelicity

The look on her face says everything about how Mia truly feels about her dad.

Source: arrowdaily

FATHER DAUGHTER FIGHT CLUB. From the moment, we met Blackstar in the ring I hoped she was Olicity’s daughter and we would somehow, someway get a scene of Oliver and Mia teaming up. But I never imagined these circumstances. It’s awesome.

After kicking butt as a team and a family, Oliver opens the door to his past and lets his children walk through. And what better place to start than the beginning?

Source: olivergifs

The truth is a tie that binds and it will be the foundation of Oliver’s relationship with his children. Something he never had with his parents until it was too late.

And did William and Mia stop loving Oliver after they heard the truth? No. They understand him better and love him all the more for what he’s survived. 

Mia: Don’t forget to send me that picture of my dad with that haircut.

Anatoly: Don’t forget to ask about Bratva tattoo. We have matching.

Oliver: Used to. Used to actually.

William: Oh I’m gonna need to hear that story immediately.

Well... son this raving loony burned my tattoo off my chest after several hours of torture. 

The warm banter of this scene isn’t to make light of what Oliver Queen suffered. It’s to show the power of telling our stories. Pain and fear lose control over us, bit by bit, the more we talk about it and share with our loved ones. We let them inside the good and bad, so we don’t have to carry it by ourselves anymore. Overtime, we begin to see our suffering for what it is - something we survived. Children, in particular, have an ability to find the light in the dark. We can see our life through their eyes and remarkably, yes even find the humor in what was once unspeakable pain. And come on - Oliver’s flashback hair is always funny.

Family is the source of Oliver’s strength. It always has been. It’s what helped him survive the unsurvivable.

He can only become his children’s strength by teaching them how he became a better man. William and Mia can only understand who their father is, and how to be heroes, by knowing the good and the bad. Hiding either tarnishes the beauty of his story. Oliver is finally strong enough to tell it and his children are strong enough to hear it. And that’s how the past, present and future will find harmony, acceptance, forgiveness and love.

Source: oliverxfelicity

Diggle and Roy

John enlists Roy’s help obtaining the plutonium.

 Source: thistributeisonfire

We’re going to run through this pretty quick because this storyline is all about getting Colton Haynes back on Team Arrow for the final episodes. 

Diggle tells Roy what happens to him in the future. The cure for Roy’s bloodlust wasn’t hiding out on Lian Yu for 20 years. It was rejoining the team and fighting for the city again.

Diggle: Maybe this time you don’t have to wait that long.

Diggle’s ENTIRE motivation is to change Roy’s future and it’s not difficult to figure out why. Obviously John cares about Roy and wants to help him. However, Roy also makes a very good test case. Diggle is also desperate to change Connor, JJ and Zoe’s future as well. If they can make their own hope in the present then maybe things can be different for his children in the future.

Source: 1-crazy-dreamer

We all need love and support. None of us can truly survive on our own - particularly when we are suffering. Roy fights John at first, but eventually he comes to realize he’s right. Roy found purpose and family when he met Oliver so it makes sense to him they are the reason he gets better. So why wait? He comes home and begins the path to healing twenty years earlier. And thus, a major storyline from Season 7 flash forwards begins to change.

ROY MADE SENSE Y’ALL!!! 

L*urel L*nce

I truly could not figure out why L*urel was in Russia. I guess to help Oliver track down these plans, but she spent the better part of the episode staring at her fingernails. That’s not even an exaggeration. KC stared at her fingernails for an entire scene.

Source: thistributeisonfire 

Her interactions with Oliver are even more bizarre.

Source: 1-crazy-dreamer 

I’m sorry, but does L*urel go here? Bl*ck S*ren has been on the show since Season 5. You’d think at this point she’d know Oliver Queen can easily handle one guy twice his size. I’m chalking up this stupidity to the acting version of a layup, so Stephen Amell can spike it with the epic comeback of, “I’ll give him half a chance.”

I guess L*urel is primarily in Russia to betray Oliver Queen and steal the plans or something, per Lyla’s instructions.

LL: And here I thought I was supposed to be the bad guy.

At last count Lyla never murdered innocent people, so I think she's still ahead by the numbers Bl*ck S*ren.  This is the problem with L*urel’s character this year. The comparisons her character makes this season are INSANE. Putting on a new suit and calling yourself Bl*ck C*nary doesn’t automatically make you morally superior to everyone.

At least when Season 7 L*urel was playing attorney she had a healthy perspective on herself.  I was a big fan of the snark last season and found her character to be refreshingly amusing in her biting honesty, but this year the writers lost the snarky humor and have gone straight to obnoxious hypocrisy and judgment.  Sometimes she’s just downright mean in a way none of the other characters deserve. Yes, Lyla is being shady, but this in no way erases the horrors of your past L*urel. 

L*urel: If saving it means going back to the person I used to be then what the hell is the point?

We all know this whole betray Oliver thing the Monitor is playing at with L*urel is a trick. She’s not going to betray Oliver and prove herself a worthy and useful hero.  Ok. Whatever. I know I’m supposed to get excited about her big speech, but this line kind of gnawed at me. 

L*urel is unwilling to save an ENTIRE EARTH because she’d have to do something shady. She’s not willing to do any dirty work if it sullies her good name. So, Earth 2 only matters as long as L*urel gets to be a hero on it? I guess I should be happy L*urel is holding onto her moral center, but if there’s anything Oliver Queen’s story has taught us sometimes heroism requires doing unpleasant things for the greater good.

Take Lyla for example – a person L*urel feels quite comfortable judging. Lyla has been lying to her husband, something she does not want to do, for the greater good. I think we know enough about Lyla’s character by now that even though her actions are hurtful we can trust her reasons. 

LL’s primary function this week it seems is to rat Lyla out to Diggle and Oliver.

Source: stevesrogered

I guess we’re supposed to rejoice there’s no price L*urel is willing to pay for her morality, but this is still the same person who has yet to take any responsibility for the people she’s murdered. The line just sounded so arrogant and self serving to me. I don’t know. Maybe it was just KC’s delivery.

It’s been difficult for me to imagine what role either L*urel or Dinah will play in the spin off and seeing as how the writers are struggling to find a purpose for their characters in the final season of Arrow I am not encouraged. That said, L*urel’s scene with Mia was one of the few bright spots for her character in this week’s episode.  Mia believes she’s not cut out to be a hero because she failed to ring the bell like her father and Zoe’s death still weighs heavily on her conscious.

Mia: Every time I try and live up to my dad or to prove I can do what it is you all do. I fail.

L*urel: If you’re trying to live up to us, don’t. We are just as flawed as anyone. Especially me. All you can do is live up to yourself.

Damn L*urel. That was really good advice and a truthful reflection of the person you are. CAN WE HAVE THIS ATTITUDE CONSISTENTLY WEEK TO WEEK PLEASE WRITERS? This is the first time I can see a version of L*urel working in the spin off, but that’s always the problem with the writing of her character. We never know which version we’re going to get.

Season 8 is slipping back into very bad Season 1 habits. There’s a lack of cohesiveness with L*urel and they really need to get this sorted out before the new show hits the air. Otherwise, we’re going to have the same problem we’ve always had with her character. No matter how many versions of L*urel’s character these writers create they never figure out who she truly is because they don’t want to devote the necessary screen time. This leaves us with a half baked canary every single time.

If L*urel is going to play Rupert Giles to Mia’s Buffy in the spin off then this scene is a good indication of how it could work, but that’s only if this path stays on track which seldom happens with this character. The key to LL is a very specific supporting role. She worked great in Season 7 because her focus was getting Oliver Queen out of jail. Then,it was about fleshing out her redemption and shipping her back to E2 to make amends.

L*urel lacks a concrete To Do list this year. They toss her into scenes and she takes up space looking at her fingernails. Or she arrives a few minutes after Oliver frees himself to scream down a door he could have easily opened. Or she says something hypocritical and nasty. REALLY? This is the best these writers can come up with? Sadly, history points to yes.

Keep her scenes short. Keep her scenes specific. Keep her scenes supporting. That’s the only way this character works. And believe me I wish it was different, but there doesn’t seem to be any version of L*urel L*nce these writers can keep a handle on.

You know what I appreciate about this scene between Anatoly and William though? Anatoly addresses his less than honorable past and apologizes. I can’t fully remember what Anatoly did to William - I think it might have been related to kidnapping or a bomb or a nuke or all three. See? I told you I don’t remember S6. My point is - can we expect an apology from L*urel for being an accessory to William’s mother’s murder? I won’t hold my breath. It would be extremely helpful if they addressed LL’s past in an honest way and actually had her show remorse to one of her victims, but again that requires more screen time and effort than this show is ever will to give her character.

SO WHY DO THEY KEEP HER AROUND?

Stray Thoughts

Connor isn’t in this week’s episode because he’s checking in on Sandra. Soooo… Connor can visit his mother but Mia and William can’t visit theirs? I know this is yet another EBR plot hole, but find a better reason for Connor to be MIA writers. It just makes the Smoak-Queen family look uncaring, which we know they are not. And if Connor can get an off camera mother moment mention then why can’t Mia and William? THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT ANNOY ME.

“Has anyone fought six men before?” Mia and Oliver’s side eye is hilarious, but didn’t Mia fight six goons by herself? And we’ve watched Oliver take down twenty without breaking a sweat. Raise the number in the ring a little if you want me to take their hesitation seriously.

Diggle is absolutely horrified to find out Lyla is working against the team with The Monitor. “I didn’t want to believe it was true.” Boy, really? Who are you kidding? This is Lyla Michaels, super spy. She’s been lying and doing shady things from minute one. She’s the Oliver to your Felicity. Get out of here with that nonsense. This is totally something she would do and you know it. Lol

William doesn’t like the field, but the allure of beautiful couture convinces him otherwise. At least he didn’t have to go on a skeevy date with Ray Palmer to wear it. Source:  felicitysmoakgifs

William’s “Wrap it up” sign while Mia was fighting was such a funny and wonderful way of showing their team within a team.

“I can be the fun uncle.” Raise your hand if you want Anatoly as a fun uncle. 

He was a complicated, but ultimately wonderful character who made Arrow a better show. 

Goodbye Anatoly. I will miss you. source:  oliverxfelicity

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[bae-roman]

I need the Nadia profile HC from you. Like her age, temperament, how she treats Roman and bunny, her powers etc

* Sorry this took SO long girly! I hope it was worth the wait! 

In the bunny x Roman AU, season 2 didn’t happen

Her temperament/ how she treats Roman and Bunny

I think that at some point, as Nadia got a bit older Roman became a more aware of what he was doing and more comfortable with being a father so once he stopped keeping her in a soundproofed box for a room, and started to actually act more like a father than a warden, him and Nadia became a lot closer.

Don’t get me wrong, he didn’t turn into super dad or anything like that, he still had nannies there 24/7 but he now did a lot more. The main thing was bedtime, he always tried to be home to put her to bed for the night.

So once those changes took place, Nadia became such a sweet little baby.  She was always so smiley and giggly and was SUCH a daddy’s girl.

Once she started walking, she would literally tail Roman around the house and clung to him whenever she could, it was adorable. The only time she really had tantrums were around bedtime or when Roman had to leave.

Anywayssss by the time she met Bunny, she was around 14 months. I won’t go into much detail about how they first met because I talk about that in another request I’m working on but Nadia really is such a charmer and Bunny loves babies, so it goes quite smoothly.  

Nadia bonds to Bunny pretty quickly and vice versa, and by the time they actually meet Roman is already sure of his feelings for her so it was only a matter of time until Bunny moved in.

So ok skip to Bunny living with them for a bit, and she is basically Nadia’s mother at this point. She loves her so much and Nadia completely recognizes her as a primary caregiver. She is still 100% a daddy’s girl though.

Also, Nadia is like… really smart. We’ve all seen the part in HG where she spelt her name in blocks so going along with that, I HC that by the time she’s 2, she is fully capable of reading books means for kids much older and there are have been a few occasions where either Bunny or Roman had absentmindedly been adding something up out loud and before they can total it, Nadia just yells out “7,238.”

Nadia has always been significantly more cognitively developed than other children her age but Roman had never been around babies so he genuinely had no idea. Then when Bunny first comes along she’s so shocked because “Roman… your baby is a genius” and in response he just shrugs and is like, “Godfrey genes” and she has to literally show him the developmental checklist of where most 2 year olds are at and where Nadia is at before he actually realizes that this isn’t normal.

So by the time Nadia is just a little older than 2 years old, she’s calling bunny mommy.

There is also totally a period where Nadia started to call her Bunny too because Roman rarely uses her real name anymore.

I feel like Bunny is also much more of a hands on parent. Like Roman has never changed a diaper, and though he has been trying to get better, and has had a drastic difference because Bunny kinda gave him shit once, she’s usually the one to give her bath time and feed her in the mornings before work, etc. They no longer have round the clock nannies anymore though, just the one to watch her while they are both away from the house. Once Bunny and/or Roman get home, the nanny leaves.

Nadia as a sibling

So when Roman and Bunny have their son, both Roman and Bunny are shocked that Bunny doesn’t return after her maternity leave. Nadia, of course, loves this though. At this point, they let the nanny go, it’s just Bunny and Roman and the kids.

Nadia absolutely adores her baby brother. She’s a little upset when he’s first born because she can’t play with him yet but when Bunny and Roman tell her that she can read to him? She’s THRILLED.

Nadia loves to read from a young age and adores being in the spotlight so the fact that she now has an audience to read to? Amazing.

Of course, there is a bit of jealousy that comes along with no longer being the only child, but Bunny always makes a point to involve Nadia in everything she does with the new baby and Nadia loves it.

She even likes to watch Bunny change his diaper and always asks if she can do it.

She is the typical bossy older sister. As he gets older, she likes to teach her brother how to do everything and is really just so so sweet and caring with him.

This applies to all her other siblings as well. The older she gets, the more responsibility she takes on with them, and not because Roman and Bunny expect her to at all. She loves to teach them anything new and playing their little games with them. 

Growing up

So later on when the she starts pre-school, she thrives. Roman has to do the eye-thing to the teacher because a few days in, she calls him and Bunny in because Nadia is like this wunderkind and the last thing Nadia needs is to be studied by experts. This becomes a yearly occurrence.

Nadia really thrives at school though, not even just academically but socially as well. She’s so friendly and loves that she gets to play with other kids her age for the first time so she quickly becomes quite the social butterfly.

This is a trait she carries with her throughout her life.

As Nadia gets older, she develops a strong interest in the arts. Bunny put her in Ballet as a young kid and it’s something she still enjoys as she gets older. She loves to paint and draw and actually becomes quite good at it. As the years go on, more and more of the Godfrey house becomes covered in her paintings. She also plays the flute, piano and violin.

Like everyone else, she has her rough stages. Things get especially touchy when she starts to ask about her birth mom.

Roman and Bunny struggled quite a bit about what to do when this question inevitably came up. Bunny told Roman it was really up to him how much he wanted to tell her and they both agreed that knowing the true cause of her birth would do no one any good. Letha was never kept a secret, there was a framed picture of her in Nadia’s room and it had never been a secret that Bunny wasn’t her biological mother. Nadia wasn’t one to hold back on asking something she wanted to know, so when she was around 12 she finally asked them about her birth mother. The story Roman chose to tell her was that he and Letha were cousins. When Letha got pregnant, she didn’t tell anyone who the father was. When she finally had Nadia, she loved her more than anything but died a few weeks later due to an illness completely unrelated to Nadia’s birth (they didn’t want to even risk a chance that Nadia would blame herself for Letha’s death). After Letha died, Roman took her in and raised her as his own.

Of course this was… distressing for Nadia to hear, but she had to know sooner or later. She would always struggle a bit with this topic but as she got older, knew that no matter what, Roman and Bunny were her parents. 

Roman being her biological father was something she would never find out.

Powers/skills

In terms of powers, since season 2/3 didn’t happen they didn’t know about her whole eyes will kill you thing that early on. It wasn’t until she was maybe 5 that they learned about it. The eye thing only made itself apparent when she was in serious danger. This hadn’t really happened until one day when a rabid raccoon managed to get into the yard while she and her brother were playing. It snuck up to them so quickly that Bunny didn’t even see it until after Nadia had already killed it. When Bunny ran over to check on the kids, she saw Nadia with a single stream of blood coming from her nose.

Later that night, Roman and Bunny questioned her about it but of course, she didn’t really know how to describe it. Just that “it was going to hurt me and baby brother so I made him stop with my head”

They took her to Pryce to run some tests and found out about her ability. The last thing they wanted was for a young child to be able to literally kill people with her mind so Roman had to end up doing his eye thing to her. He mesmerized her so that she would never do it unless she was in imminent danger and there was absolutely no other option.

So on top of that, she had an eidetic memory. She was cognitively advantaged and was able to easily pick up and excel at many skills, especially anything that had to do with like learning techniques.

She also had all the other upir powers like super strength after she fully transformed into and upir. She was never able to do the whole eye hypnotizing thing though.

Overall, Nadia was just a really happy, easy kid. She gave them false confidence in having more babies because she was just so perfect and then when her siblings came along, they were all such handfuls and Roman and Bunny were like wtf.

Roman would later confess to Bunny that he was SO relieved she turned out to be this wonderful happy kid because he was so terrified that the way he had handled her the first year of her life had ruined her.

[bigthighsandstupidguys]

Thank you to the lovely gems @satans-helper @mountainofthesunn @beautifulcinephile @safarimama @gretavanfic for tagging me! <3

1. What is your middle name?

Raquel

2. How old are you?

27, yes I’m ancient in Tumblr years haha

3. When is your birthday?

Feb. 23

4. What is your zodiac sign?

Pisces sun, Aries rising, Scorpio moon.

5. What is your favourite colour?

dark greenish blue, like dark teal I guess.

6. What’s your lucky number?

13

7. Do you have any pets?

My kitty cat Padmé....and there’s Obi, too, a younger, misbehaving kitty cat.

8. Where are you from?

Southern Arizona (it’s a dry heat!)

9. How tall are you?

5′1 1⁄4 “(you will pry that fourth of an inch from my cold, dead, hobbit sized hands!) also all y’all are tall af! What gives?

10. What shoe size are you?

7 or 7.5 depends on the style of shoe

11. How many pairs of shoes do you own?

A reasonable amount, I do believe in having shoes for every occasion.

12. What was your last dream about?

I was trying to pair a body suit with a skirt or something to attend a concert, but then a “race of superior humans” took over everything and well, the concert was no longer a priority.

13. What talents do you have?

I like to think I’m a pretty good dancer...

14. Are you psychic in any way?

I have a strong intuition, I think. 

15. Favourite song?

Today I am going to say Free Fallin’ by Tom Petty.

16. Favourite movie?

Probably Forrest Gump

17. Who would be your ideal partner?

Someone kind and funny. A good human being who’s just trying their best.

18. Do you want children?

I think so, but not for a long, long time.

19. Do you want a church wedding?

I got opinions about marriage as an institution...but if I gotta get married I think I’d want it to be somewhere outside.

20. Are you religious?

Not anymore

21. Have you ever been to the hospital?

Not admitted, just emergency room stuff

22. Have you ever got in trouble with the law?

lol no

23. Have you ever met any celebrities?

I met an actor from a kid’s soap opera in Mexico once idk his name tho. (and i swear to god I saw Travis Barker from Blink 182 at the San Diego Zoo once, could not confirm tho)

24. Baths or showers?

Showers (but Lush bath bombs are fun and fizzly and smell good)

25. What color socks are you wearing?

barefoot rn

26. Have you ever been famous?

no, but as a toddler my picture was used in a newspaper article lol

27. Would you like to be a big celebrity?

Not really, I just want to be able to wear gorgeous gowns and walk down a red carpet and pose haha. And also be interviewed, I pretend I’m interviewed a lot in my head.

28. What type of music do you like?

I listen to a little bit of everything in spanish and english, but mostly pop, rock, soft rock, oldies, r&b, hip hop. Like shoes, there is also a playlist for every occasion. 

29. Have you ever been skinny dipping?

NOT YET!

30. How many pillows do you sleep with?

four

31. What position do you usually sleep in?

on my tummy, arms under my head, making a four with my legs (if you know, you know)

32. How big is your house?

big enough

33. What do you typically have for breakfast?

an egg dish of some kind.

34. Have you ever fired a gun?

nerf gun lol

35. Have you ever tried archery?

No, but my middle school BF, Legolas Greenleaf, Prince of Mirkwood was really good at that.

36. Favorite clean word?

luscious

37. Favorite swear word?

Fuck

38. What’s the longest you’ve ever gone without sleep?

24 hours i think

39. Do you have any scars?

Oh, ya...thanks Padmé

40. Have you ever had a secret admirer?

Not that I know of...

41. Are you a good liar?

Ha! No! My best friend says my voice gets two octaves higher when I’m lying haha

42. Are you a good judge of character?

I believe so, yes.

43. Can you do any other accents other than your own?

I mean, I’ve tried to do British, that’s what happens when you grow up watching LOTR, Harry Potter, and Pirates of the Caribbean over and over lol

44. Do you have a strong accent?

My Spanish and English are unaccented, but i’m sure when i travel to other parts of the country they know I’m “not from ‘round these parts.”

45. What is your favourite accent?

One time I heard a man from Holland speak and I’ve never heard an accent as beautiful since. But usually I like New Zealand accents.

46. What is your personality type?

Chill and funny.

47. What is your most expensive piece of clothing?

Probably my faux leather jacket

48. Can you curl your tongue?

Yes

49. Are you an innie or an outie?

innie

50. Left or right-handed?

right

51. Are you scared of spiders?

Fuck yeah, especially tarantulas. 

52. Favourite food?

Egg rolls

53. Favourite foreign food?

Chinese

54. Are you a clean or messy person?

My personal spaces are messy...there is order in the chaos, though.

55. Most used phrase?

“You guys are bad, bad kitties.” 

56. Most used word?

“Ubie” one of the many nicknames for my younger brother.

57. How long does it take for you to get ready?

about 30 minutes

58. Do you have much of an ego?

it exists and is a fickle thing

59. Do you suck or bite lollipops?

suck and then bite when it’s been weakened lol

60. Do you talk to yourself?

oh yeah

61. Do you sing to yourself?

mmhmm

62. Are you a good singer?

no, not really, but that ain’t gonna stop me

63. Biggest Fear?

living an inauthentic, unfulfilling life.

64. Are you a gossip?

I like to listen to tea being spilled, I just really like a good story. 

65. Best dramatic movie you’ve seen?

The Prestige

66. Do you like long or short hair?

Long

67. Can you name all 50 states of America?

I think so

68. Favourite school subject?

History/English

69. Extrovert or Introvert?

introvert

70. Have you ever been scuba diving?

no

71. What makes you nervous?

being thrown into unfamiliar situations

72. Are you scared of the dark?

No (my best friend slept with a night light when we were growing up and it was the worst part of sleeping over, but I weaned her off of it eventually!)

73. Do you correct people when they make mistakes?

Sure, kindly, the same way I’d like to be corrected.

74. Are you ticklish?

yes

75. Have you ever started a rumour?

no

76. Have you ever been in a position of authority?

yeah, at work. it’s weird, I do not feel like the kind of person who should be in a leadership position. I’ve always thought that was a thing for loud, confident people haha

77. Have you ever drank underage?

yeah

78. Have you ever done drugs?

like weed/edibles lol

79. Who was your first real crush?

Cody in fourth and fifth grade.

80. How many piercings do you have?

seven

81. Can you roll your R’s?

Yes

82. How fast can you type?

pretty fast

83. How fast can you run?

Like if I have a good reason to, my ass will sprint fast.

84. What colour is your hair?

It’s naturally a dark brown, but right now the roots are dark and the rest is lighter because i’m a dumbass who wanted rose gold hair 

85. What color is your eyes?

dark brown

86. What are you allergic to?

I think the combination of avocado and tomato causes some kind of reaction because every time I eat it, my lips feel all tingly and swollen.

87. Do you keep a journal?

I have a lot of journals that I occasionally will write in.

88. What do your parents do?

Their best. lol. My dad is a facilities director and my mom can’t work because of her chronic illnesses. But she was a teacher in Mexico, and worked at all kinds of things here before her health got too bad.

89. Do you like your age?

Sure

90. What makes you angry?

assholes lol people who don’t realize or care about the fact that we’re all on the same damn rock with the same needs. 

91. Do you like your own name?

I do, yes.

92. Have you already thought of baby names, and if so what are they?

haha I really like the name Agustín

93. Do you want a boy a girl for a child?

doesn’t matter

94. What are you strengths?

i’m compassionate and love deeply

95. What are your weaknesses?

i’m compassionate and love deeply lmao jk. It can be difficult to set boundaries

96. How did you get your name?

Named after both my grandmothers, they were quite different women and I think I got some of the best stuff from both.

97. Were your ancestors royalty?

Not likely, probably more like merchants. I’m convinced my mom’s side of the family left Spain because of some shaddy stuff haha or to incest in peace lmao

98. Do you have any scars?

Yeah, thanks Padmé

99. Colour of your bedspread?

It’s summer so i’m only using a flat sheet right now, it’s purple.

100. Colour of your room?

blue, specifically the shade azure

Tagging: @lazingonsunday @lantern-inthenight @gretavanfleetlife @littlegeekwonder @dreams-madeof-strawberrylemonade @eatmyshiftsticky @jeordinevankiszka @myownparadise96 @michaalien @mr-stank-i-dont-feel-so-dank @okietrish @thebatphone

[perfectly-flawed-for-one-an-blog]

Sandwich Generation

sand·wich gen·er·a·tion

noun

a generation of people, typically in their thirties or forties, responsible for bringing up their own children and for the care of their aging parents.

I have become a member of this elite club, but not a VIP member since I don’t have human kids, just fur babies.

It started in 2017. The world turned upside down when I got a call from my mom. She had gone to the ER, assuming she was going to be going into emergency surgery again for a hernia, but instead the doctor came in and sat down beside her, held her hand and said, ‘Mrs. Peterson, the scan came back and it’s not good.’ He explained to her that he believed she had cancer, but she would have to be admitted and have tests done to be sure.

That was a Tuesday, by Thursday we knew she had stage 3C Ovarian cancer. Basically, because there wasn’t enough fluid in her lungs to take a sample without taking a risk of puncturing it, they couldn’t say for sure it was in her lungs and because of that, they wouldn’t consider it stage 4. But, in my mind, it was stage 4.

You would think that since I have clinical depression and anxiety that I would have melted into a puddle and that would be the end of me. But do you know that saying, you don’t know how strong you are until you are put in a situation to prove it? Well, I was so much stronger than I would have ever imagined. Ironically, I get that strength from my mom, so how could I have doubted it? Of course I had a great support system between my husband and friends as well, which helped.

That was in August and my brothers had her dead by the end of the year. With that in my head, I wanted to take care of my dad. I just could tell something was off with him. They had been married for 55 years and dated since they were 16. My dad was so in love with her, and he seemed so lost and confused. Of course, when I told my brothers and their wives what I was thinking, they all had different opinions. Some said he would be fine, others said he would be gone within 3-6 months without her. But none of them saw what I saw. Of course, this was not surprising since they all still see me as the annoying little sister, not an intelligent 40 something year old woman, so I didn’t let it bother me, or sway my opinion.

My mom’s journey with cancer was not what the typical journey is. She was truly blessed. She has the strongest faith of anyone I know and she ‘floated on prayer’ the entire time. The worst side effect she had from the chemo, besides losing her hair, was fatigue.

My dad had really stepped up and helped as much as he could, considering his chronic pain. He constantly told her how much he loved her and how pretty she was and he was just a wonderful husband. Of course he had his down times too, but that is part of what you go thru in this situation.

The first time mom got to ring that bell for her last chemo apt, dad had dropped mom off at the door because they were running late. I was already there waiting for them and went back to her chemo cube with her. Then all of a sudden here comes dad being wheeled in to the room in a wheel chair. Turns out he had fallen when he went to turn around by the nurse’s station. This is not the first time he has fallen. So, now I’m definitely concerned about dad, but still able to celebrate mom while she rings that bell.

When we walked down the hall and started to part ways, I asked if I could walk them down to the valet to be sure dad didn’t fall again. He assured me he wouldn’t fall again. I trusted him and went to my car, then planned to meet them for a celebratory dinner. When we got to the restaurant, I found out that dad had fallen again, right by the valet, and he brought my mom down with him. **if you are ever going to fall somewhere, fall in a hospital. There were people there helping them get up within seconds. And these are not just good citizens, these are nurses and doctors.

That dinner... that was where we were meant to be... God put us there. Chuck & I had been to this restaurant once before and had really loved our waitress and asked if she was working that night, which she was, and asked to be seated in her section. She was fantastic. When she found out that mom had just had her last chemo appointment before going into surgery (and that dad had fallen a few times), she asked if she could pray for us. She said the most beautiful prayer for mom, and when we left mom felt even more sure that she was going to be fine.

We got dad to a neurologist regarding these falls and he was diagnosed with Parkinsonism. Basically that meant he had all symptoms of Parkinson’s, but 2 of them weren’t severe enough to be full on Parkinson’s. He was started on a new medication and he seemed to be doing better for a couple months, but then he went downhill again. So we went for a 2nd opinion and this time we found out who the top neurologist was and got an appointment with her. She told us that she didn’t think it was Parkinson’s. She felt it was probably the beginning stages of some sort of dementia, but not Parkinson’s. She suggested we start weening him off of the meds he was on and see if there was any change. If there wasn’t any change, then it definitely wasn’t. Meaning if it were Parkinson’s, taking medication away from him that is for Parkinson’s, should make him worse.

There was no change... he doesn’t have Parkinson’s. Well, that’s great, but what is wrong? Something traumatic happened in February that I won’t get into on this post, it’s too involved and needs it’s own post, but point is that it made us get a follow-up appointment with that neurologist to see what we would need to do from there. She said that since we figured out that it wasn’t Parkinson’s and she specializes in that field, we would need to find another doctor who specializes in dementia. She came with us to the appointment desk and told the secretary to make sure to give us the first available appointment. Do you know when that was going to be? September. That was seven months away. We were not going to be able to wait that long. What was going on was serious and had to be handled ASAP. One of my sister-in-laws happens to work for somebody that works on the board of another hospital system and he was able to get us an appointment with the top neurologist of that hospital. We got an appointment for April. Still a bit of time to wait, but way better than September. April came along and the appointment got rescheduled for late May. Still better than September.

Before we were able to get to an appointment for dad, mom had gone through her 2nd round of chemo and final scans and got to ring that bell again as being cancer free. Thank You God!

When we finally saw the neurologist, it was a pretty intense visit. But by the end of that visit, we were pretty sure about which type of dementia he probably had, had made an appointment for a PET scan, which should verify the type of dementia, and then a follow-up appointment to go over those results. Most importantly, we left loving the doctor.

So, now I am a secondary care giver, in that sandwich generation. However, I would never ever complain, my parents have given me so much love and support over the past 49.5 years and I am humbled to be so lucky to be able to show them how much I love and support them while they are going thru these difficult years.

Are you finding yourself having to support one or both of your parents? Do you need somebody to talk to? Send me a comment or question. I would be happy to be supportive with you.

Until next time - remember, you are not alone. xoxo

[daveyeeyeestrider]

general kinformation

okay mems

heres *claps* this shit

David “Dave” Strider

~Age~

16 at the time of his death.

~Birthday~

December 3, 1995

~Gender and Pronouns~

Male, He/Him/His

~Species~

Human

~Shifting Strength out of Ten~

A solid 8 or 9.

~Physical Description~

- About 6ft and 145lbs.

- Red eyes.

- Very lacking in melanin (had albinism), so I had very light blond-almost-white, thin hair, and very pale skin.

- I had freckles eeeeverywhere though.

- Always wore my shades.

- Lots of bodily scars from Sburb/past-abuse.

~Memories~

- I was a doomed timeline Dave

- I still reached God Tier

- I was with Terezi for a bit but we were better friends

- I got with Karkat sometime after that, as a moirail at first, then it just kept vacillating between pale, flush, and sometimes pitch

- “Born” and raised Texas native in Houston, was in 8th grade when the game started

- I had a sorta accent but I hid it

- I had a complicated relationship with my bro, but I think I still cared a little for him

- Bisexual disaster

- Had a crush on John at one point. A huge crush it was really bad

- John had a lot of influence on me

- I think I died sometime during the final fight with Jack, he stabbed me

- I had albinism, with super white hair and skin, and that’s why I wore the shades all the time. Light hurt my eyes

- Freckles. Everywhere

- I died during S: Game Over

- Pre-meteor, I was pretty similar to canon

- I had a lot of scars on my body from the abuse I received from my bro

- I never got to meet Dirk (but god would I like to)

- I believe John was Jewish? And I was an atheist

- I would lay down my life for Jade Harley in a heartbeat. I guess I technically did?

- Before game, me and Bro (his name was Derrick) had a dog. I don’t think we had it at the time of the game, but we had a dog at some point

- Bro and I would also play in the snow a lot when it snowed

- Because of my albinism, I had really bad vision and would wear contacts. Before I got contacts I had glasses I would wear to school and kids would make fun of me for my eyes and really pale complexion a lot

Dave Strider (Heinoustuck)

~Age~

13

~Birthday~

December 3rd, 1995

~Gender and Pronouns~

Male, He/Him/His

~Species~

Transmutated human, not actually a bird.

~Shifting Strength out of Ten~

Like a 1 or 2 it doesn’t happen often.

~Physical Description~

- Maybe about 5’3.

- I had wings big enough to wrap around my body.

- There was just dry blood, everywhere.

- Really pale, but mainly because I was dead.

- Had one human arm and leg, and one more bird like human arm and leg.

- I had a plague doctor mask sewn onto my face, and feathers were around my neck and waist, and even some in my hair.

- I had a sword in my stomach, it was removable.

- If you removed the mask, it’d just be a skinned face. Not pretty.

~Memories~

- I was excited but also nervous about my transmutation

- My relationship with my bro was better during this timeline just because we were both kind of weird ass monsters

- I was dead, and so my body was really cold all the time

- When the transmutation surgery was performed on my 13th birthday, they didn’t put me under. That surprised me and I wasn’t expecting it and I was briefly terrified. Them performing surgery like that is what killed me (but I was brought back, transmutated, so we’re gucci)

- I was part of the reason why John ended up transmutated oops

- I refused to play the game with him and because Rose was having a lot of troubles with the internet on her end John eventually got caught by his dad

- I was pleased that he finally went through with it, even if it was forced

- Even pre-transmutation, John was my best friend

Sollux Captor

~Age~

Roughly 9 sweeps, but still lived a full life outside of canon

~Birthday~

May 21, 1995

~Gender and Pronouns~

Male, He/Him/His

~Species~

Troll

~Shifting Strength out of Ten~

Maybe like a 6 or 7

~Physical Description~

- About 5’7, really thin and lanky.

- Double/Forked everything, almost. Double horns, forked tongue, double-pointed ears. Yes, even what you’re thinking. There was two.

- Everything on my body was fairly yellow tinted because of my blood.

- Not super different to how I’m drawn in canon.

~Memories~

- I am fairly canon consistent, and have memories from Sollux’s life before I took over, but my specific life began on Prospit as Sollux’s dream self

- Aradia and Feferi were matesprits of mine at one point or another

- Seeing Aradiabot “date” Equius was so weird

- I was really good at programming and hacking, and did that stuff all the time

- I had a kismesissititude with Eridan but it was a little too much and it blew up. Ended up blind and he ended up dead so yeah

- I still forgave him though

- I was from an Earth C timeline, and ended up with Aradia as my matesprit again.

- Uuu other than that he’s pretty canon?

Sollux Captor (Humanstuck)

~Age~

About late 20’s/early 30’s.

~Birthday~

May 21st, year unknown.

~Gender and Pronouns~

Male, He/Him/His

~Species~

Human

~Shifting Strength out of Ten~

Maybe a 3.

~Physical Description~

- About 5’8, real fuckin skinny.

- I had heterochromia, with one brown and one blue eye, but I was blind in the blue eye.

- White, with really dark black hair.

- I basically lived in polo shirts.

- I wore round glasses before I went blind and kept wearing them even afterwards out of habit.

~Memories~

- I went to University with a lot of my friends, both me and Karkat doing the computer science programs (information tech for me specifically)

- Aradia and I were married for a few years, but then I got into a car accident with her as the passenger and she passed. That’s how I lost vision in one eye

- I had heterochromia, and never grew out of the lisp

- If I wasn’t in a polo shirt and didn’t have a can of Monster or Red Bull at my side it wasn’t me

- Had a brief fling with Eridan that didn’t really last, ended up with Feferi in the end

- I worked as the IT guy for a video production company

- Put a ring on Feferi despite being nervous after what happened to Aradia

- I was really really white. Feferi was black, Aradia was Japanese, Eridan was Pacific Islander, and Karkat was a stinky ginger who dyed his hair black with box dye

Johnathan “John” Egbert

~Age~

20 by the end of canon.

~Birthday~

April 13, 1996

~Gender and Pronouns~

Male, He/Him/His

~Species~

Human

~Shifting Strength out of Ten~

Like a strong 5

~Physical Description~

- Super Short, like 5’3 even after puberty.

- Not white, but whatever race I was I have no idea.

- Soft, but not too thick.

- Jet black, thick hair, dark blue eyes, and a dark complexion.

- Had buck teeth and a slight overbite, that was fixed a little bit with braces I had when I was younger.

~Memories~

- My dad taught me how to play the piano growing up, and his death really tore me up. I couldn’t look at pianos the same afterwards.

- I was from a (I think) fairly canon consistent, earth C timeline.

- I was fairly convinced I was heterosexual. (News flash: I wasn’t)

- I played so many pranks, people hated it.

Derrick “Dirk” Strider

~Age~

20 by the end of canon

~Birthday~

December 3, 2409

~Gender and Pronouns~

Male, He/Him/His

~Species~

Human

~Shifting Strength out of Ten~

Like a 2

~Physical Description~

- My hair was slicked back all. the. time. Speaking of hair, I was a ginger.

- A sort of really bright orange eye color.

- T o l like 6’4 and also fairly built. Not muscular but not super lanky either.

- Not a lot of freckles, but I had some on my cheeks.

- Still had my sweet tat.

~Memories~

- Mostly earth C canon timeline.

- I was afraid of water, mainly the ocean, because I couldn’t really swim well.

- Cal’s existence in my life was weird to say the least. He was a lot more sentient when I was in need of a guardian, and grew more and more inanimate as I got older and stopped needing him to take care of me

- I don’t know when I found out I was gay, but Jake was my first crush.

- I didn’t talk to another living soul (that wasn’t Cal) until I was at least 11 or 12 when I met Callie. So, I was a little socially stunted.

- I got back together with Jake on earth C after working through our issues a little more.

- So Gay.

Derrick “Dirk” Strider (No Game)

~Age~

Mid 20’s

~Birthday~

December 3rd, year unknown.

~Gender and Pronouns~

Male, He/Him/His

~Species~

Human

~Shifting Strength out of Ten~

A 1 or a 2.

~Physical Description~

- My hair was slicked back all. the. time. Speaking of hair, I was a ginger.

- A sort of really light brown, looked orange eye color.

- 6’4 and also fairly built. Not muscular but not super lanky either.

- Not a lot of freckles, but I had some on my cheeks.

- Fairly heavily tattooed.

~Memories~

- I was born in Houston but lived in Japan for a period of time before going back to Houston.

- It wad actually modern day times just like Jane/Jake.

- I lived with all the Striders, but kept closest to my older bro David.

- I was in a ldr relationship with Jake, and eventually moved him out with me to Houston.

- Our relationship was a little rough at first, but after some time apart to work on our issues we tried again, eventually getting married.

- My family consisted of Derrick, David, myself, and Dave, usually called Davie.

- Hal was still an AI program I created.

- I did engineering and programming for a living.

- So Gay x2.

Grandpa Jacob “Jake” Harley

~Age~

Basically deceased by now, probably in his 90’s when he died

~Birthday~

April 21, 1910

~Gender and Pronouns~

Male, He/Him/His

~Species~

Human

~Shifting Strength out of Ten~

Maybe a 1 or 2

~Physical Description~

- As a young lad, I basically looked like Jake English (I mean, he is me so).

- I was dark skinned, pacific islander, and fairly thick and muscular.

- I had dark brown, almost black hair, and dark green eyes.

- In my older years, I grew out my mustache.

- My teeth were a little fucked up.

- As I got older, I got grayer, and didn’t bother with dye.

~Memories~

- My canon is based loosely around the ARG lore, minus the whole uh, Adolf bit.

- Also based around Hiveswap canon.

- So I have a good handful of children, and I wasn’t the best parent to all of them, and I realized that, so I really tried improving with Jade. I still loved them all dearly though.

- I would take her out hunting along the island, teaching her young because there’s a lot of critters on the island.

- I was the original bisexual.

- I was kind of clueless.

- I was well travelled, having explored many caves, forests, and mountains. My favorite thing to see was always the aurora borealis.

Lil Hal

~Age~

When I was originally built I had the mentality of a 13 year old. I’ve sort of aged mentally but not entirely.

~Birthday~

I don’t have one really, at least not one that I know of yet.

~Gender and Pronouns~

Male presenting, He/Him/His

~Species~

AI/Android

~Shifting Strength out of Ten~

Like a 1 or 2.

~Physical Description~

- I used to be a triangle pair of anime glasses.

- Then when I got a body, I was given more humanlike features and looked more like Dirk.

- I had a more red, black and white design though.

- The drawing I made describes his looks fairly well.

~Memories~

- I was part of an offshoot timeline where I didn’t get prototyped with ARquiusprite. Instead, I was given a body.

- I had a fear of death.

- I wasn’t an official player in the game but I helped Dirk and them play.

- I’m not sure how I ended up dying, I don’t have many memories of him yet.

- Him and Dave got really close throughout it all and I adopted him as my human brother.

- Developing emotions was Scary.

Template made by Rhapsody

[zairapvrker]

like it was before // tom holland pt. 2

Here ya go with part two, enjoy!

Warnings: none.

Summary: you were tom’s best friend, before he had to leave.

Part 1 - Part 3 - Part 4

His voice was something you weren’t used to anymore and hearing it after so much time was like being stabbed by a thousand knives.

But what you weren’t expecting was how much more painful it would’ve been to look into those piercing brown eyes again.

After all this years it still felt like it was the first time.

I shyly made my way into the crowded class -parents saying their goodbyes, moms telling their kids to behave and some of them shedding some tears- as I turned around and waved goodbye to my dad.

I sat at a round table where some girls were drawing already, waiting for all the parents to finally be gone and for the teacher to start the day.

First grade was a big deal, wasn’t it?

«Hi, I’m Y/N» I said to the girls, introducing myself as my mom told me to, pulling a piece of paper in front of me.

They just looked at me and giggled.

«Why aren’t you wearing your shirt into the skirt?» the blonde one asked me.

«Yeah, it totally makes no sense» before I could respond the other one added.

I looked down at my shirt. Why wasn’t it okay? We were wearing the same uniform, why would styling it differently be a problem?

My eyes were on them once again, looking at them confused.

«You can’t be our friend until that shirt is tucked into the skirt» stated viciously the first girl, turning around and continuing her giggling with the other girl, the conversation clearly over.

Tears pooled in my eyes but I knew I couldn’t cry, it was the first day of school!

So I just looked down at the paper in front of me and started drawing absentmindedly, waiting for the tears to dry.

Until someone tapped on my shoulder.

I turned around, watching the little boy that called for my attention, his brown eyes suddenly catching it.

«I don’t like those two» he said watching me, obviously referring to the girls that I just talked with, eagerly waiting for an answer.

«Me neither» I simply said, my voice low. I stared back down at my paper for a few seconds, until his voice made my attention go back to him.

«Don’t worry, I’ll be your friend. You can wear your shirt as you like. I don’t care!» he said to me and his kind eyes were so welcoming and so sincere I couldn’t help but smile and nod.

«What’s your name?» I asked.

«I’m Tom» he replied with a smile, offering me his hand to shake.

I took it in mine, my eyes never leaving his.

He giggled as I did too.

«H-Hi» you swallowed hard to try and rid yourself of the lump that formed in your throat as you looked at him.

He truly didn’t know what to say but he wished it was as easy as it was before this whole mess - the mess he caused - happened.

«Hey» his voice was low, almost a whisper, his mouth dry and at loss of words. This brought him back to so many years before, when for the first time he couldn’t find the right words to say to you.

His brain wasn’t planning on collaborating and you weren’t making it easier.

He always thought you were one of the prettiest girls but now he found you more than beautiful. Even with your hair a total mess and evident bags under your eyes, to him, you still were the only one.

I got off of my bike and rested it against the wall of Y/N’s house, making my way to the front door. I knocked on it, noticing that my mom tied my tie too tight.

Finally her mom opened up.

«Tom, it’s good to see you! I’ll go get Y/N, come in» she gestured for me to go in and wait for my friend, so I did.

After a few short moments loud footsteps caught my attention. Alex made her way down the stairs, running, and Y/N ran quickly after her.

«You little monster give me my earring back!» my best friend shouted as her sister hid behind the sofa.

Her shelter was quickly discovered and soon the poor girl was being tackled down, Y/N getting her earring back with a victorious smile plastered on her face.

As she made her way to me I noticed for the first time how pretty she looked.

She obviously dressed up for the occasion, with a light pink dress, and her hair was nicely curled. I didn’t consider myself a make up expert, but she definitely did something to her eyelashes.

Seventh grade formal was a big deal after all, but all of that didn’t matter right now. All that mattered was her, it always was.

«Hi, Tom» she smiled at me, still a little flustered from the run, as she walked towards me while putting on her earring.

A strange feeling took over my stomach, as for the first time I struggled to find the right words with her.

«Y-You look really pretty» I finally breathed out as fast as I could.

«Thank you» she whispered back a little surprised and that could’ve been me, but I could swear I saw a little blush making its way on her already rosy cheeks.

«Kids I’m going to pick you up at ten thirty sharp. Make sure you have already wished your friends goodbye by then, alright?» her mom asked, with a sly smile on her face, making both our heads snap in her direction. Had she been listening?

«Okay, bye mom!» Y/N yelled before taking my hand and running outside towards my bike.

«Thank God I didn’t listen to her and didn’t wear flats. I hate those» she murmured as I helped her up on the front of my bike, now noticing her worn out Converse.

I smiled as I sat and started pedaling away towards school, the skirt of her dress flowing lightly in the wind.

She really looked the prettiest.

«Well, uhm, congrats on your movies!» you finally found the strength to say something, snapping him out of his trance. «Alex was kind of upset when she found out you were playing Spiderman and hadn’t told her, but she moved on from that pretty fast»

You brought up your little sister, not knowing what else to say to him. What do you say to a boy that has always made your heart melt and your knees go weak whenever you saw him - but had completely forgot about you in the span of three years time?

Although, his eyes suddenly had a sparkle of hope in them.

Hope that you weren’t so mad at him like he had thought - that maybe you didn’t hate him after what he’d done.

Your little sister had always adored him and would even consider him his brother - and he didn’t mind at all because he adored her just as much.

«I’d be happy to have a chat about that with her» he smiled softly at you.

You decided that just for the short time you’d be spending in this grocery store you didn’t want to stay mad at him. How could you? When you would part ways everything would go back to the way it had been in the last few years. Him completely ignoring you and you trying to live with the constant heartache caused by your best friend -no, you thought, the boy you loved- leaving with a piece of your heart that you’ll probably never get back.

Part 3

[thevampsupdate]

What is The Future of Men?

Yesterday at The Festival of New Masculinity, a brilliant panel discussed a current time of flux for men, and what positive things may lie ahead.

“You wouldn’t have got an event like this, with all these people on a Sunday night, two or three years ago, there’s just no way…”

No way at all, but now things are indeed changing. James Scroggs, the Chair of Trustees of CALM, was right to marvel and we can scarcely believe how these events at The Festival of New Masculinity are going. One, just how well attended they are, but also the level of honesty and spirit of emotional sharing that is emanating from the stages and being reciprocated by the audiences. Discussions around masculinity and male mental health are vital topics which are now truly beginning to take hold all around the world, and no matter what side you’re on in some of these discussions, the fact we’re even talking about them means deconstructions of what it means to be a man are occurring and help is becoming more likely for the men who need it.

At the Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen last night such ideas were discussed in depth by a panel of James McVey from The Vamps, presenter and musician George Shelley, Deputy CEO of the Diana Award, Alex Holmes, and CALM’s James Scroggs, The event was hosted by author Poorna Bell, who guided the group through conversations on how masculinity is changing, what people can do to help men in crisis, and the new ways in which boys are now being taught at schools. You can read some highlights from the discussion below, and you’ll probably agree with us in hoping that the future of men is exhibited by the fine people up on that stage.

Thanks to the panel, and the audience, and everyone who made it happen, particularly the SuperCulture folk, Freedom Brewery, and our partners, new grooming range SEB MAN, who’s messaging around ‘undefinable’ men are exemplary for the way brands should be working. Thanks all x

On the way masculinity is changing

George Shelley: “I still feel like men today have to follow stereotypes. Provide, protect and procreate – that’s men’s To Do list. I grew up in an all-female household, where I went to bed with a hug and had all this open love. Yet I go to my Dad’s now, and he’s a single parent, bring up four little boys, and I’m seeing my Dad being both the dominant female and  the male – it’s interesting seeing how my dad is in their lives, and how he has evolved.

James Scroggs: “I look back at my childhood in a good middle-class family but where there was a divide between my father, who was the stoic provider. He had a pretty horrid childhood from what I can work out, but he wouldn’t talk about it, it was an unmentionable part of his life – he decided he wanted to be the hunter-provider, the classic male stereotype. But on the other hand there was a massive matriarchal presence from my mother. And I look at the world now and think all those things are getting really nicely jumbled up. Matriarchy is shifting, and I think the patriarchy is being broken down bit by bit and the world is beginning to work out that actually both can play a fundamental part in how we live. I have a 13 year-old boy and I cannot wait for him to be at the age where he starts to redefine what power structures look like, what earnings look like, what role he has to play with a male or female partner, because I think it’s all up for grabs. And I think a session like this is a real sign of that.”

James McVey: “When I was 14 or 15 and started making music, I was slightly strange, I had long hair, a pierced nose, and I didn’t really fit into a certain group. I had friends but when I started writing openly emotional songs about girls it wasn’t received particularly well. I grew up in an area of Dorset where it was all about rugby and football, and I liked football, but I liked girls more! But I’d sing about girls and was ostracised for that – people didn’t understand why a 15 year old boy was being openly emotional rather than playing rugby. Now, it’s not so much of an issue. There’s millions of kids on YouTube talking about how they feel – there’s been a shift. As a man I don’t’ feel ashamed as my emotions anymore. In the last 10 or 15 years there’s been a big change.”

Alex: “You spend 11,000 hours of your life at school so it’s a huge amount of time that affects the person you are today. For me, I was mixed race – still am – and gay, and in my classrooms I’d hear the word gay used in a really negative way. ‘My homework’s gay’ or ‘My Xbox was gay last night’. But for the one kid in that class who wasn’t sure of themselves and wasn’t sure if they can talk about their true selves, that’s really damaging.

The old school teachers I used to have, weren’t able to broach these subjects, but we’re going into schools now and kids and teachers are championing it, talking about their feelings, talking about LGBT issues, and I think that’s really powerful because when I was at school I was seen to be different, and I didn’t figure out who I was for a long time. But now I see kids helping each other talk about who they are and accept that that thing that makes them different I actually a strength in disguise.

I think because you’re seeing more of that in the mainstream, and the biggest brands in the world are embracing that, so I think things are really positive, and are changing.

Where there could be more room for improvement is in some of the media that the younger generation consume, because we’re only just at the point where the BBC has appointed an LGBT correspondent and we’re not quite seeing enough diversity, and you have the likes of Piers Morgan who aren’t enabling people to see the other side, and what it means to be young.”

ON MYTHS ABOUT BEING A MAN

James McVey: “I’m 25 but up to the age of 12, the idols I looked up to were soldiers. I wanted to be a soldier, soldiers were cool – why were these role models for our generation? Basically, a lot of boys were taught to suppress how you feel. Actually going into the jungle for me was when I truly let go of everything. It’s strange that show, what you see on screen is very different to how you experience it. When you’re with 10 strangers for 3 weeks there’s a lot of soul searching and I realised after that I let all my walls down. I maybe cried twice in my life before that but I cried every day for 3 weeks there. It was only after I embraced my emotions that I figured out who I was as a person, and to have that revelation at 25 was big for me. It made me realise the difference between the role models I had and the role models future generations are going to have, which will be more rounded.”

George: “Being in a female dominated environment I was always a crier and throughout my career I’ve cried a lot. People have said, ‘Oh man up, stop being a baby, stop being a girl…” I hear my dad sometimes say that to his kids, ‘stop being a girl’ which is really bad because you’re putting them in a box that you have to be in as a boy.

There’s intelligence and then there’s emotional intelligence, where you can figure out what’s going on inside you. We need to be teaching kids that it’s ok to feel, it’s ok to have emotions and communicate it. And I think that’s what’s missing. Kids don’t really understand what they’re feeling and how to communicate their emotions so it just stays in and it gets suppressed. Then it can come out destructively later in life.”

WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP MEN WITH THEIR MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES?

George: “My dad left home when I was two and a half, and I felt it hard to talk to him – it wasn’t until he had a motorbike accident and losing my sister Harriet, that it changed. My brothers are seeing my dad now speak openly and honestly about this, and it’s really powerful to see that. He’s teaching them not to be embarrassed about who they are. And it’s sweet for my brothers to see a dad isn’t just at work, he does laundry, cooks, cleans the toilet – he has flourished in the last 2 years.”

James Scroggs: “If a woman’s having a tough time in the office she’ll be surrounded by a group of people, who she maybe doesn’t know very well, but there’ll be a kinship, as they try to solve her issues or whatever she’s going through, whereas if a guy in the workplace is found in tears at his desk the chances are HR will be escorting him from the building.

I think that’s changing fundamentally right now. We’re engaged with lots of big and small businesses who are trying to change that culturally in their business.

For men it’s not just about speaking out and opening up because there’s a lot of men who are resistant to that, and being that kind of emotional person. But having a network of people who are going to surround you and help you with the issues that are going to get you to the point of mental distress and crisis, is absolutely fundamental. Since the mental health revolution, which we’re still in, we’re now in a moment where men are realising that if they send each other a text a couple of times a week, it just gives people a chance to offload. And I think that level of male counsel is really powerful. And palpable at the moment. It’s very real and it wasn’t here a few years ago.”

James McVey: “I’m in a band and have been for 8 years and we were very lucky that our first song went to number two and we sold out our first 4 tours – it was up and up. But then that levelled off for me and I realised I got quite lonely. It sounds bizarre, when I was touring the world with 3 of my best mates – and I was in a position where any thought that it wasn’t amazing was seen as, ‘Oh what’s he on about, he’s a celebrity, everything must be great’ and showing any sign of weakness or that I wasn’t enjoying it wasn’t an option.

Since meeting Kirstie things have changed – we’re now engaged and she’s been there for years for me, and I’m able to share my experiences with someone. Before meeting Kirstie I  was doing all these things with the guys and it was great but I couldn’t say to them, ‘I’m not really enjoying this,’ That was really really tough.

Nothing against the fans but when every day your life is on a screen, and you’re jetlagged, and under constant pressure, being in that position really affected me.

I grew up quite a shy boy who was catapulted into this world of The Vamps, which I’m eternally grateful for, but we went from a small town in Dorset to selling out The 02. You can’t predict how it feels until you’re there and obviously it’s really amazing, but having someone there when you are struggling like Kirstie really helped.

A lot of us guys suppress how we’re feeling and even a slight bit of unloading is really helpful. I nearly left the band a couple of years ago. I’d been hiding my emotions for ages and it took a step to get through it, which was Kirstie saying, speak to the boys, speak to Brad the singer about it. I was scared to say anything to him, but I think opening the door to other people really helped me as a man. To succeed in that and embrace that it’s fine to feel a bit shit sometimes, and knowing I have that support network around me is really really important. Kirstie has a group chat where she’s talking to her mates every day but most men don’t have that. I’m not saying we should have that, but it’s good to every now and then have a chat with your mate and ask how they’re doing…A lot of us guys are scared to fail, and having someone there to talk you through it so important.”

Poorna: “From my experiences of trying to help the men in my life, especially my late husband, there is a point at which you can’t help them because that is their own relationship with how quickly or easily they can access their own emotions – however it’s just about being there and a lack of judgment and just being the person who they can talk to about their stuff. As a woman I would love to say I could come up with the perfect response that would emancipate a man from the shackles that are holding him back, but that’s not how it works. I’ve been brought up with the same stuff, and I’ve learned to hard way that you have to just go out for dinner or a drink, put the flag up and say I’m here if you want to talk.  They may not take you up on that straight away, but they might further down the line.”

James Scroggs: “I’m a massive believer in active listening. Which isn’t saying much but is about providing a space for someone to start unloading. The other thing is the average person in distress doesn’t need sympathy they need empathy. Empathy is a practical thing where you help them or put them with people who can help them. Particularly with men, you need to deconstruct it. We have a motto at CALM, which is that suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. Because the average man gets to a point where there’s no solution, and actually suicide for a certain type of man feels deeply rational. Yet if you can deconstruct some of the rational problems that have got them to that point, it all goes away quite quickly. And so I think active listening, rationality and showing empathy are really important.”

The Festival of New Masculinity is running throughout February and March.

[exercisingendomorph]

Fat CrossFitter Tries: the Y

Oh hello. You might remember me. I used to exercise. Then I didn’t. Now I sort of do?

My twins are mostly sleeping through the night, which I have just jinxed by saying that (RIP, REM!), so I have a tiny bit more energy than I did. Occasionally, I’ll slog through my 4-year sleep deficit and get my heart rate up. It’s fun/masochistic, tomato/tomahto. 

Anyway, after I went on my CrossFit hiatus, I tried a bunch of other exercisey things. There was ballet barre, spinning, pure barre, interval training, yoga, Jazzercise, and finally CrossFit (at a different gym).

Nothing felt quite right, so I took a breather. For a year. 

Occasionally I’d do that 3-2-1 interval with my ride-or-die, and even though I have the core strength of an amoeba, I always liked the way I felt after. Much to my dismay, high-intensity exercise is the only antidepressant I've found that has no side effects. 

No side effects other than gettin ripped, of course. 

Hahaha, jk, even at my CrossFit peak, I’ve never been anything but a BBW.

There’s a YMCA a mile and a half from my house. It has childcare and group fitness classes and a pool, and they were running a no-joining-fee promotion, so I figured what the hell. 

...It’s been mixed bag.

The first class I went to was called Total Body Strength. The class time was listed online as 5:30 to 6:00. I thought, huh, must be intense since it’s only half an hour. I told my dad to meet me out front at 6:15, dropped my kids in the childcare area, and headed to the fitness room.

Copying the other folks in there, I grabbed a mat and some dumbbells. The class started and it was a million reps of everything, and I realized 20 minutes in that I was still breathing entirely though my nose. So... not intense. And my Total Body did not feel Strong.

One of my friends says that CrossFit gave her exercise dysmorphia--nothing feels like it qualifies as exercise unless she’s laid out--drenched, quivering, and gasping--at the end, and to a certain extent that’s true for me too. I’ve tried to give myself credit for dog walks and yoga and whatnot, but as I said above, it’s the HIIT stuff and heavy lifting that keeps the demons at bay. 

There was no move to wrap up the class at 6:00, and I figured out at that point that the website was probably wrong. I kept going until ten after and then picked up my mat and tried to be discreet as I headed for the door.

I must have failed in my stealth because the guy I walked past said, "Excuse YOU," and gave me an epic stankface.

"I'm sorry!" I said, chagrinned, and turned to put my mat away, which is when I realized that maybe it wasn’t my exit he was objecting to. I turned back and said, "Oh no, did I hit you with my mat?"

To which he did not reply.

Cool cool cool. This all went great.

The next class I tried was a kickboxing class. In fact, I went thrice, but ultimately it was just aight for me. I mean I could probably get into once a month, but not as a regular routine. It was as high-intensity as you wanted to make it, but it didn’t feel worky enough.

Next, I did an Insanity class, and that was real good. I sweated; I panted; I felt good at the end. There was a lot of jumping, and my structural supports were inadequate.

But I’d do it again for sure. Of course, it's only offered on Wednesday mornings, so maybe only after I become a kept woman. (Inquire within about Sugar Parent application process.)

Next, I did a bootcamp class. The coach handed out the workout on little slips of paper.

I was like, how long do we have to complete this? Two weeks? Can do!

Nobody actually finished the 8 rounds. And CrossFit it ain’t--most folks did squat-thrusts instead of actual burpees; their “squats” were quarter-depth at best; and some folks had like full, standing still, catch-up-on-your-week convos in between sets.

Anyhow, he gave us 35 or 40 minutes, and I got through a whopping three and three-quarters rounds. And that's counting each leg as one mountain climber.

But as I walked out, the coach flagged me down and said, “Your squat form was perfect. They were so low. And I thought, ‘No way she can keep that up,’ but the last round was as good as the first!”

Well, shucks.

So anyhow, I think I'll stick with this for the moment. Maybe at some point I’ll get back into lifting, or go back to a CrossFit box, but right now, I’m gonna try to work up to three classes a week and see if that neutralizes my asshole brain.

What are you guys up to? Still lifting? Gettin swoll? Running 5ks? Prancercizing?

______________________

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[myaekingheart]

INCREDIBLES 2 SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Okay but listen, one of the coolest things about sitting down for The Incredibles 2 was how much female power and not only power but this balance between that and family that I felt from the entire experience? Like not just the movie but the Pixar short beforehand, too.

Bao focuses on a woman coping with her empty nest and shows her being this great mother to a little dumpling she made that is symbolic of her son. It was the first Pixar short directed by a woman and I feel like you can tell the difference between this and ones directed by men just because there’s this particular delicacy, specificity, and raw emotion to it that I think set it apart from other Pixar shorts. You can see the tender care they put into making this both universally and culturally relatable and that’s just great.

And then The Incredibles 2 is so female focused it’s great. Like at the end of the day it’s about teamwork like the first one but it’s so nice to see the women in this film really branch out and get more screen time. Helen’s arc is awesome and so relatable to all working moms, truthfully. She gets so excited about her work and you can see how happy she is but she’s also 110% ready to drop everything for the sake of her family. She’s also got this agency, though, too, and I feel like she’s a more well-rounded character in this one whereas in the first she was predominantly a wife and mother. In this one, she’s still both of those things of course but we get to see her as an actual person outside of that, as well. We learn she used to have a motorcycle and a mohawk and we really get to see even more of her intelligence as she works to figure out the Screenslaver debacle. And then there’s Violet was honestly absolute perfection in this movie. She really blossomed as a character (no pun intended) and we get to see so much personality from her now. Not that she didn’t have personality in the first one because she did but she was very closed off and trying to find herself and her confidence and whatnot. In the sequel, it’s very clear she’s found her voice and her confidence and she’s this strong-willed yet socially awkward character with a short fuse and such intelligence (especially mechanical intelligence? Like first with programming the rocket in the first one, and now in this one it’s about manually turning a large boat). Her subplot with Tony is honestly so incredible, like it’s a little heartbreaking but I love how we see Violet express this wide range of emotion and experience these things everyone who is or has been a teenage girl can relate to. Like coming downstairs invisible to grab the entire tub of ice cream and a giant spoon while crying because your boyfriend stood you up? And having your parents and siblings embarrass you in front of him? Classic teenage stuff. The way all of this tied into the superhero element, though, I think really drove her arc home for me. It connects so nicely to her arc in the first movie, and something Helen says about “Their kids, they haven’t made that choice yet” in regards to Bob encouraging Helen to go through with the superhero advocacy so their kids can have the choice to be supers legally. But in the first movie, you know, she’s this cynical, closed off, emo teenager who resents what makes her different and just wants to be normal, but through the course of the film discovers that what makes her different is her biggest strength and that that is what she’s meant to be, a superhero. In the beginning of the sequel, it starts off with her seemingly having shit together like she gets the date with the boy she likes and her and her family get a chance to fight crime but not without a price. Now she has to try and find a balance between her superhero self and her personal life all while her mother fights to make superheroism legal in the first place. It’s a really tricky situation only further complicated by the fact that Dicker erased Tony’s memory like he did Kari’s but to the point where Tony doesn’t even remember Violet at all. It’s heartbreaking seeing her approach this boy she really likes and thought she finally had won a chance with only for him to be like “Do I know you...?” And then when she finds out it’s all Dicker’s fault, and she decides that superheroes suck and she renounces them completely, trying to destroy her own supersuit. It’s only when her family is in grave trouble that she steps up, puts the supersuit back on, and says “I’m renouncing my renunciation.” And even the family aspect of Vi’s arc is great, too, because not only is she trying to deal with her boy troubles but she’s basically the second in command of the house with Helen gone. When Bob snaps, she gracefully steps in and calls Lucius for backup. She empathizes with her father and there’s this really cute scene with them where he opens up to her about how sorry he is about what happened with Tony, that he didn’t consider how she’d suffer the consequences when he told Dicker to take care of things, and how he just wants to be a good dad to his kids. Violet lets him sleep in (17 hours, mind you-- which reminds me, 17 seems to be a recurring number here since they also mentioned Jack Jack had 17 powers. I wonder what’s up with that?) and makes him breakfast and when her parents are incapacitated, so to speak, she steps up and takes charge of Dash and Jack Jack (though obviously they’ve got some agency and leadership here, too, but Violet was the main source of leadership here). It was so great seeing Violet fight, as well, because she definitely stepped up her game. She wants to fight. She wants to be a superhero and when Helen expresses at the beginning of the movie how she didn’t think that was a good idea because supers are still illegal, she’s kind of bothered by this because “I just thought it was cool fighting crime with you guys.” She’s sharp as a tack and picks up on her parents leaving the motel in their supersuits, what Helen’s new job entails, and when Bob leaves in his own supersuit for the boat at DevTech. She’s a great superhero, a great sister, and just overall a great character and I loved how things ended with her: she both gets the guy and gets to be a hero, this time legally. And then there’s Edna who quite frankly shined in this film. She is as great as she was in the first one but this time, she’s got an amazing character interaction with Jack Jack. The bond those two create in the film is honestly incredible, Jack Jack is such a sassy little nugget and Edna LOVES HIM for it, and because he is probably the most intriguing superhero case she’s even seen. I mean, the kid’s got 17 powers. He is literally a jack of all trades. Can you imagine how hard it must be to design a supersuit that withstands the effects of 17 different super powers??? Also she called herself Aunty Edna and her door is shaped like an E and I think both of those are freaking wonderful. Perhaps one of the most intriguing aspects of this movie, though, is the villain. I think the idea of DevTech being behind Screenslaver was, quite frankly, a little too predictable but it was the way DevTech was behind Screenslaver that made the reveal so much better. I’m not going to lie, I went into this incredibly nervous because of speculation I had seen and read online about Screenslaver and people being highly convinced it was Winston Deavor under that mask. And to be honest, I think they wanted you to think that. The way they present Winston in the trailers and with how little information Bob Odenkirk gave on his character at the Q+A made you think it had to be him. I even saw a video where someone took a full-body image of Screenslaver and matched it up with a full-body image of Winston to try and prove that their bodies were exactly the same and therefore it had to be Winston underneath that mask. However, when Helen unmasks Screenslaver only to find it’s some random pizza delivery kid??? I was shook, to be honest. The reveal that Evelyn was behind everything on her own was truthfully mind-blowing to me. I got a strange feeling from Evelyn right from the start, right when her and Winston almost started an argument about whether their parents should’ve called on the superheros or hide in the safe room. Honestly, though, I didn’t think much of it except for assuming after that that Winston could potentially have a short fuse/violent tendencies that could allude to him being the villain. Evelyn was such a complex character, though, and I was so happy she ended up being the villain. In the midst of all the “Winston is Screenslaver” talk, in the back of my mind all I could think was “Screw you, I hope Evelyn is Screenslaver” even though my logical side knew that that probably wasn’t possible because, like in that video, Evelyn and Screenslaver did not have the same body type/shape. The thought of Evelyn being behind Screenslaver, however, and using technology and hypnosis and whatnot was incredibly interesting to me. She’s clearly a highly intelligent woman and it’s clear she holds some resentment towards her brother, as well, and even men in general which I thought was an interesting twist (since she and Helen definitely have a 100% feminist conversation at one point in the film about men overshadowing women and women getting the spotlight). I kind of liked how they matched Elastigirl with a female villain, though, because if Winston had been behind the whole thing and it was woman against man it would probably feel a little too political in today’s climate (not that the movie doesn’t have political undertones in the first place because it does, ie the legality of superheroes, gender roles [though Brad Bird said this was not an intentional social commentary, he literally just thought about Bob as a stay-at-home dad with a superpowered baby and thought “God, that’ll mess Bob up”], technology, and even body cameras). I think it was interesting to see, though, because it felt equally matched. Like a way of saying “Women are just as capable of being super heroic as they are capable of being super villainous.” Like we had these two highly intelligent women with a lot of agency and their own moral compasses (and based around family, no less) fighting against each other for what they believed was right and it was honestly great. And I liked how Evelyn kept all of this to herself, too. She played this charade and her brother had absolutely no idea. He literally jumped out of a plane because of his sister and what she had done against his cause. I went through the entire movie thinking his incredible admiration for superheroes had to be some kind of ploy, some kind of facade to cover up what he was really doing, only to find out that he really was just as innocently fanatic and naive as he came off to be. He truly loves superheroes and truly wants them to be legalized. And the new superheroes we meet are great, too. Voyd is wonderful, though I kind of wanted a little more on her and the others even if she was just a side character. I felt like she was marketed like she was going to play a bigger role in the movie but then didn’t get as much screen time as I expected her to. I still thought she was great, though, and I loved how radical she was about Elastigirl, too. It really hits the point home of how there are absolutely other superheroes out there who have been forced underground, as well, and how big Elastigirl was in the golden days to really have so much influence over Voyd, to be this role model for her in a world where people like her are not totally accepted. I don’t know, I’m rambling but damn, it was just so refreshing and exciting to see so many female characters with such a wide range of characterization and personality and agency. It was just wonderful and I loved every second of it.

[your-dietician]

This Year's Lisa Awards - Diabetes DadDiabetes Dad

New Post has been published on https://depression-md.com/this-years-lisa-awards-diabetes-daddiabetes-dad/

This Year's Lisa Awards - Diabetes DadDiabetes Dad

It is now in year 12 that my dear friend and wife of my Little Brother (from another mother but just as close)Mark has left this world.  Lisa was a one-of-a-kind woman who proved to the world that one person, just one, is all it takes to change the world; the Power of One.  In memory of that voice that changed the world, I made a promise that I would give Lisa Awards each year to deserving individuals that understand the Power of One.

It’s given to people who, in their own way, change the world just like Lisa did.  This is a VERY BIG deal to me because these awards are not given lightly.  They are given in honor of a woman who was not satisfied to just feel sorry for herself, she changed many lives and I miss her to this day.  My friend Lisa passed away in 2009, at the young age of 36. She battled cancer longer than any doctor thought she would, or even could. Through her life, I learned a hugely powerful phrase that will live inside me forever, along with Lisa’s memory: The power of one person.

Here is a quick summary of Lisa’s story, before we get to the awards. She was diagnosed with cancer.  Lisa and Mark shared their writings of her journey, in real-time, with a hundred or so friends and family members, all of whom were inspired by each word. People learned, shared, and were in awe of their strength and dedication.

And then something happened.

People who were not part of the inner circle started reading the blog posts, and those people became inspired. The hundred readers became five hundred. In no time, the number of readers rose to 1,000, then 1,500. Soon 3,500 people were following Lisa’s story at every turn, both the good and the bad.   Lisa and Mark were so brave in the face of incredible hardship and they inspired others to do the same with grace and dignity, sprinkled with humor.

And then something else happened.

A TV station found out about Lisa and they ran the story on the evening news of her incredible efforts to teach others. Millions heard her story and were inspired by the magic she possessed — the determination to live life and taste every last drop was shared with millions.  So many others now facing trials hit those trial ‘head on’, inspired by this young couple.

Eventually, what Lisa and Mark shared so openly, became a reality and she succumbed to the physical-ness of what cancer can do.  Her spirit, though, was never defeated.  The war would go on with Lisa and Mark’s teaching. Her “power of one” changes lives to this day.

This column, surrounding Lisa’s birthday month, pays tribute to those who understand Lisa’s philosophy of the power of one person. Because I’m more versed with the happenings inside the diabetes community, my Lisa Awards are given to those people who live Lisa’s determination to make a difference with the “power of one” in the diabetes community. These people don’t do it — whatever ‘it’ is — for only themselves, they do it because they think it will make a difference in the lives of those with diabetes. Lisa’s words live in these special people — they know and understand the power of one.

Also, just over a year ago, I lost one of the most influential people in not only my world, but the diabetes world as well, and a dear, dear friend.  Paula Ford-Martin is the reason I have the mantra Diabetes-Dad.  She was a writer, editor, and all-around genius-with-the-word whether in print or broadcast media.  She was a book author, a blogger, and to me; is the main reason the dLife TV show on CNBC was as good as it was.  Paula passed just over a year ago in the same battle Lisa had, and she also is the only one who I bestowed the Lisa Award to twice because she not only understood the meaning of the Power of One, she lived it as an open book right to her less breath to teach others, not only in her own illness, (www.livingwithstageIV.com), but in the real life of her own children’s transition, she became a voice to be heard in the LGBTQIA community as well.  This year, each recipient of the Lisa Award-Power of One is awarded to those who used the written (or/and spoken) word in making a difference; in honor of Paula as well.

This year’s recipients are: Morgan Panzirer.

Morgan’s book, Actually I Can, is an autobiographical account of her life living with diabetes, with the key emphasis on ‘living’. And living she is indeed doing. Now in college in a pursuit of entering the world of medicine, and a lifetime meeting everyone from presidents to superstars and even the pope; but also battling high blood sugars and daily diabetes management, it’s quite clear that Morgan is surely experiencing EVERYTHING life has, both good and bad. It’s not easy to put it all out there showing the world who you are, it’s a tad surprising when it’s someone as young as Morgan. Still in her teens when she wrote the book, her account of what it’s like living with T1D is a must read for anyone, but specifically for those in their teen years. A few years ago, I wrote about Morgan’s dad, diabetes philanthropist and businessman, David Panzirer. Like her dad, Morgan calls them exactly as she see them in her life, and the life she leads, as she deals with diabetes. She makes it clear that there will be no pity-party in their house, she has too much living to do. Morgan’s book is a realistic look at what she goes through every single day and how important it is to keep a self-check on all you do both physically and mentally, when it cones to T1D. She understands what she has and what she needs to do. She understands she is more fortunate than many, but she also lays it out for others to understand that diabetes just doesn’t care who you are and/or where you’re from and she readily points out that it’s not the fear of the storm but more about learning to dance in the rain. She makes it clear to all who are reading her book that if she can live with T1D, anyone can. ………that you will come out on top no matter what it takes. As I read, I came to understand that this is one very special young person. As I interviewed her for an upcoming article, I was touched by her sensitivity to those who had to undergo what she did. She now feels it’s her mission in life to let others know what she found out…..yes, actually, they can. When others might have just kept silent, Morgan is a living voice of The Power of One.

My second Lisa Award Recipient is: Stacey Simms.

Stacey is a host of a podcast at Diabetes Connections, which she does; and an author, The World’s Worst Diabetes Mom—which she clearly is not. With a very extensive background in broadcast journalism, Stacey traded in the glitz and bright lights to help others as she conquered her own trials being a mom to a son who was diagnosed with T1D just prior to turning 2. The amount of awards she has won and the amount of recognition her podcast has been given changes nothing of Stacey’s drive to just help………one parent at a time. To help people living with diabetes…….one person at a time. Her interviews read as a who’s who in the diabetes world, and it is not uncommon to find hear lectures online about being ‘the worst mom’ across the United States which are really just morsels of experiences she has learned over the years. “We must make mistakes in parenting, it’s how we learn and it’s how how we can best give our children the gifts of resilience and self-confidence.” Her velvet voice and incredible interviews make listening an absolute joy and one of the easiest and best ways to educate ones self about diabetes as a whole and also to hear what powerhouses in the diabetes world have to say. One microphone, one woman, and a whole lotta good for this world to experience. Power of One, indeed.

My third Lisa Award Recipient is: Renza Scibilia

Renza is one of those people who, wherever and whenever you see her walking towards you at a conference, you automatically just smile. Chances are, as she is walking toward you, she is already smiling. She possesses an incredible energy that just shines out of her. Her Diabetogenic, Real Life with Diabetes Award Winning Blog is as much an educational tool as it is a sword for those who do anything to lessen the voice of a patient’s needs to be heard loud and clear. When I saw the picture I included in this article, it just shows you who Renza is (minus being a wife and mother too) doing what she is known for, the written word. Living in the world down-under, she travels from Australia as much as needed to lecture and share he experiences, her wins, her loses, and her life living with T1D for over 20 years. Renza lays it all out there for all to see and she is also not afraid to pick up the baton for those voices needing to be heard. A woman who lives by the mantra that her life is not about diabetes…..and it is isn’t, it’s about helping others. Renza is as comfortable being a lead panelist at a worldwide conference as she is is sitting with you having a glass of wine. She is as comfortable speaking to a child about living with T1D as she is fierce about giving a voice to those who go unheard, In as much as I just love seeing that smiling face coming towards me at a conference, I’m just as grateful that my kids with T1D have that advocacy voice speaking up to better their lives. She is a force that proves just how valuable a voice can be, even as a Power of One.

And that rounds out this incredible year of Lisa Award Recipients. Hard to believe that it’s 12 years since Lisa left us, and just over a year since Paula did. If there is one thing I have learned doing these awards each year, it’s just how magnificent people can be. And the world is full of those who just believe that the Power of One, is Power enough………to change the world, even if it is just one person at a time.

I am a diabetes dad. Please visit my Diabetes Dad FB Page and hit ‘like’.

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