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monako-jinn-stories · 3 years

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The Lucky Batch!☘️

AHHH FINALLY AFTER LIKE A MONTH I FINISHED THIS FIC!!

Prank Wars

“Shh! Here he comes, here he comes!” Boots snickers to Thumbs, who is nervously fidgeting with his fingers. “Relax, Thumbs. It’s just a small one, he won’t be that mad.”

“Hmm, okay,” Thumbs replies. He waits as the Jedi gets closer, and Boots slaps a hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter. Thumbs lets out a snort-like sound and averts his eyes, body shaking as he holds in laughs. Other clones sitting around the mess hall began to take notice of the Jedi as well, some doing better than others to hide their amusement.

“Mind if I sit here?” Mace asks, motioning to the seat across from Boots and Thumbs. Kriff, they were going to lose it.

“Sure thing, General Windu,” Boots manages, briefly looking at the Jedi before quickly looking away again.

“How has Clone Force 37 been lately?”

“We’ve been great, sir. Ballast hasn’t blown up nearly as many things as he usually does,” Boots replies. Thumbs just sits quietly, panic flowing through his veins mixed with amusement.

“Are you okay, Thumbs? I sense some struggle within you,” Mace asks. Thumbs has to use all his strength to drag his eyes forwards to look at the Jedi. When he goes to open his mouth to speak, all that comes out are laughs.

“Is there something funny?” Mace questions, looking behind him and expecting to find a scene.

“W-well, General,” Thumbs says, biting his lip to try and calm his laughter, “you have a little something right…here…” he says, motioning in circles around his eyes. Mace’s brows furrow before he looks in the closest mirror like object. His mouth drops slightly and he quickly turns back to face the clones before him. The two clones had put ink on the Jedi’s macrobinoculars earlier, and now there were turquoise circles around his eyes.

“I’m going to assume it was someone from your Lucky Batch that did this?” Mace says dryly as he looks back at the clones, his expression much less amused than the rest of the room.

“We wouldn’t know anything about it,” Boots lies. Mace’s eyes narrow before he leaves the room, heading to a refresher to wash off his face. Little does he know, that’s the paint they use for their armor, which has a tendency to remain stuck on skin for weeks.

~~~

“Careful! Don’t step on it, Ballast!” Jackal says as he places down the bubble wrap.

“Well why did you start on that side? How are we supposed to get out without stepping on it?” Ballast retorts. Jackal purses his lips for a second, realizing his mistake.

“Okay, we’ll just pick it up and then put it back down when we leave,” he responds before going back to covering the rest of the floor. The clones had been in the Jedi’s room almost all day, and the amount of area they’d managed to cover with bubble wrap was amazing. No spot was safe from them, not even the refresher.

“Okay, I think we can start our exit now,” Jackal says as he looks over the room. The two clones worked to finish their “project”, laying down bubble wrap until they reached the door. Once outside, they high five with smug looks on their faces. Then they hear him coming, and dive around the corner that happens to be right next to Mace’s room. They listen intently before they hear his door open, and the sudden shriek from the poor man when “pop”s erupt under his step.

The clones break out in laughter as they listen, Ballast losing his balance and falling from behind their cover. He looks up and makes eye contact with Mace, who is standing in his doorway.

“Run!” Ballast yells at his brother before he pushes himself up and sprints away down the hall, away from the angry Jedi.

~~~

“I feel like this is a bit mean,” Ryder says as he stands with his brother.

“It was a bit mean to make us all clean the entire Jedi temple for Ballast and Jackal’s prank,” Skip responds.

“Yeah, but, I’m still new. I don’t want to be transferred because of this. I don’t want to lose another family,” Ryder argues.

“Hey,” Skip said, placing a gentle hand on Ryder’s shoulder, “you won’t lose us, and you won’t be transferred. I promise, okay?”

Ryder nods, but he’s still hesitant with their idea.

“Just be glad I’m going for one of my more laid back pranks,” Skip adds. “Okay, here he comes. Act natural.”

Ryder picks up his mug and takes a sip of his drink.

“General Windu, good morning!” Skip says as the Jedi walks in. He nods to the clone, a brief acknowledgment as he wanders over to the pot of caf.

“Is this stuff fresh today?” He questions, looking at it suspiciously. “I had some the other day that was at least a standard week old.”

“Fresh as a cucumber,” Skip says.

“Fresh as a cucumber?” Ryder questions, the saying not making any sense.

“It’s the first thing that came to mind,” his brother shrugs, eyes flicking back to Mace as he poured a cup of caf. They both watch as the Jedi takes a big swig, his face pleased for a few seconds before it slowly changes. They can see the moment the hot sauce kicks in, and Mace’s gaze quickly finds theirs.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you,” Skip chuckles as the Jedi’s expression grows angry, “it’s a special blend of ours. We like to add a bit of hot sauce to our caf.”

“Hot sauce?” He breaths out, the heat in his mouth burning furiously.

“Yeah, it adds a nice kick,” Skip responds. “Right, Ryder?”

“Uh, yeah. It really gets things nice and hot,” he adds.

“W-water,” Mace chokes out. He looks around frantically for a sink. When he does, he pours out the coffee and turns it on to fill his mug with water. But nothing comes out.

“Oh, the water isn’t working in here for some reason,” Skips says. Mace’s eyes went even wider before he ran to the fridge.

“I drank the last of the milk, sorry,” Ryder adds. “But I think this might help.” Ryder hands Mace a bottle of vinegar, and the Jedi looks grateful for him at first. When he takes a swig, however, his eyes dart to Ryder’s, and the clone feels his soul leave his body.

“Run!” Skips yells before grabbing his brother and sprinting from the room.

~~~

“Okay, just loop that string through there and…done!” Sparks straightens up and turns to high-five his brother. Cypher has a mischievous and happy grin from setting up the trap with Sparks.

“Ballast may be the mechanic, but I’m the engineer,” Sparks says while admiring their work. “And my stuff doesn’t explode.”

“Well, hopefully it’ll work,” Cypher replies.

“Oh, it’ll work, don’t worry about that. You just have to worry about Mace finding out it was us,” Sparks snickers. He gives the discrete system one last look over before ushering his brother out of the room. They slip around the corner and peek around, waiting for the Jedi to appear.

Sparks can’t help but giggle excitedly as he waits, anticipation for the scene.

“Shh, shh, here he comes!” Sparks whispers before slinking out from their hiding spot and into the hall. As Mace reaches his door, the two clones walk slowly and casually down the hall, careful to not miss anything.

“Hey, it’s about to happen,” Cypher says while nudging Sparks.

As Mace enters his password, the boys hold their breath and watch. The second he steps into the room, he triggers the wire.

Air horns blast as confetti and glitter flies into the air, a bucket of slime tipping over and pouring onto Mace.

Laughter erupts from the brothers as they stand just past Mace’s door. They were keeling over, bodys trembling from their amusement.

“Find something funny?” An angry voice asks from behind them. They immediately stop laughing and look at the Jedi before each other. They make a silent agreement before bolting in different directions. If they split up, Mace wouldn’t be able to catch both.

He didn’t even end up chasing either of them, just angrily sighing before stomping back into his room.

~~~

Rane worked by himself, that much was common knowledge. So it was no surprise that he was going to prank by himself.

It was the middle of the night, and after casually watching the Jedi over the course of the week, he had been able to find out the code to his quarters. And now he was enacting his master plan.

“Alright, little buddy. I know this isn’t exactly a good place to be releasing you, but I need you to trust me, okay?” Rane looks down at the spider in his hands, and it stares back silently.

Rane quickly types in the code to the Jedi’s room and slips inside, shutting the door behind himself. He creeps his way over to the bedroom door before pausing. He looks down at the spider again before slowly opening the door. He peers inside to see Mace snoring into his pillow. He stifles a laugh before slowly bending down.

“I need you to go over and crawl onto him. Try to wake him up, if possible.”

The spider merely stares back silently again before Rane sets him down. He closes the bedroom door before rushing out the main door and into the hall. He silently waits outside of it, hoping that it wouldn’t be too long before he gets a reaction.

Just as he is about to open the door and check on the spider, he hears a scream come from inside. He claps a hand over his mouth as he doubles over in laughter. Never, in his existence, would he have thought Mace’s voice could go so high.

“AHHHH! GET IT OFF! GET IT OUT!” Mace screams from inside his room. Footsteps approach the other side of the door, and Rane barely has time to jump out of the way as the Jedi runs out into the hall.

“General Windu! Is everything alright?” Rane asks as seriously as he could muster. Mace looks at him with sheer terror in his eyes before it changes.

“You. You did this,” he says, pointing a finger at Rane as an angry expression settles on his face.

“Did what, sir?” Rane asks, still trying to act oblivious.

“The spider. This was your doing. How did you get inside my room?”

“I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about, sir.”

“I’ll give you one more chance to come clean. Just admit that this was you, and I’ll let you go.”

Rane stares at him blankly before his eyes dart to the ground. The spider was crawling out and towards Mace again.

“Like I said, sir. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Mace’s eyes narrow before they shoot wide again. He looks down to see the spider crawling up his robes, and he screams as he runs away, shaking his robes violently to try and shake it off. When it does fall to the ground, Rane picks it up and carries him back to the barracks.

“Gotta return you to Foxy,” he says as he makes his way back.

~~~

“Okay, do you think this is enough?” Jack asks as he motions to the tray of cookies.

“That’s perfect!” Foxy says, Pepper nodding beside him.

“Okay, so just tell me one more time how-“

“Maker, Jack. Okay, so, we are going to put your cookies out as bait,” Foxy says, Jack nodding along as he listens, “General Windu is going to see the cookies, and he’s going to go over and eat one,”

“Right,”

“And then, we’re going to release the ants,”

“Okay this is where I get confused.”

“What are you confused about?” Pepper asks.

“The ants are just going to know where to go?”

“Yes.”

“And just in case, we’ll leave a trail of crumbs to lead them over to where they need to go,” Foxy added.

“Alright, let’s just hope this works,” Jack says while turning to the door of the Jedi’s quarters. He quickly types in the password Rane had given them, and they sneak inside. Jack took his cookies over to the table where they would bait Mace, Foxy laid a trail of crumbs over, and Pepper checked on the ants.

“Alright, everything is set up,” Foxy says as they all meet back up at the door.

“Ants are ready,” Pepper confirms.

“I can smell the cookies from here,” Jack says proudly. “There’s no way General Windu will be able to resist.”

“And now we wait,” Foxy says, leading them out the door and down the hall. It was just their luck that Mace happened to be returning to his room as they walked.

“General Windu,” Pepper nods, earning a brief nod from the Jedi.

Mace pauses for a second to turn and look at the retreating clones, suspicion running wild. He dismisses it though, as he didn’t expect Jack or Pepper to ever attempt to prank him.

As he enters his room, he’s immediately overcome with the smell of fresh cookies.

“Maybe this is an apology,” he thinks out loud. He smiles and walks over to the kitchen where he finds the cookies waiting. He eagerly grabs one and sniffs it, making sure nothing smells out of the ordinary. When he’s satisfied that they’re harmless, he takes a bite. His eyes shoot open and he swallows before hurriedly taking another bite.

“Maker, I know Kenhla said Jack’s baking was good, but this…this is-“ his sentence was cut off by him shoving another cookie into his mouth. As he goes to grab a third, he lets out a shriek as he feels something run across his hand. He looks down and sees ants crawling over to the cookies.

“What the-where are all these ants coming from?” Mace says, suddenly becoming frantic. “No no no! Not the cookies!” He watches as the ants scramble over the treats, taking chunks off them and carrying them away.

“I wanted to eat those,” Mace whines as he falls on his knees, facing down sadly.

“Should I make him another batch? I kind of feel bad,” Jack asks. The clones had snuck back over and we’re standing outside the door, listening to Mace inside.

“No! The whole idea of the prank was that he didn’t get the cookies!” Foxy says.

“You can give him a cookie sticker,” Pepper says, pulling one from his pocket.

“Good idea!” Jack says, taking it over and slipping it under the door. He suddenly hears footsteps approaching, and before he can stand up, the door whooshes open.

“…cookie sticker?” Jack asks hesitantly, watching as Mace’s gaze turns deadly.

“Come on, Jack!” Pepper says, grabbing his shoulder and pulling him away from the seething Mace.

“What about my ants?” Foxy yells.

“Get new ones!” Both Jack and Pepper respond as they flee the scene.

~~~

Kenhla walks into the room to find all her clones sitting in a circle while Raffle walks around them, fly swatter in hand and smacking each on top of the head as he passes.

“You,” *smack, “are,” *smack*, “NOT,” *smack*, “allowed,” *smack*, “to,” *smack*, “prank,” *smack*, “Jedi,” *smack*, “that,” *smack*, “aren’t,” *smack*, “in,” *smack*, “your,” *smack*, “battalion!” *smack*. “ESPECIALLY,” *smack*, “NOT,” *smack*, “MACE,” *smack*, “WINDU!” *smack*.

“What’s going on?” She asks her Padawans.

“Raffle found out about the prank wars the others had on Master Windu,” Brisk explains.

“I thought they were pretty funny,” Luna giggles.

“STOP SMACKING ME!” Skip says as Raffle rains down a bunch of swats.

“I KNOW THIS WAS YOUR IDEA!”

“BUT THE OTHERS HELPED! AT LEAST SWAT THEM MORE AS WELL!”

“Oh, don’t worry, I will,” Raffle says before moving into the next person, which happens to be Jack.

“Hey! I didn’t want to do this!” Jack defends.

“BUT YOU STILL DID!” He says before moving on again.

“Sorry, Ryder. I gotta do this,” Raffle says, almost apologetically.

“S’alright. I understand.”

“Maker, don’t make me feel bad about it,” Raffle says as he quickly swats the newest member.

“How long has he been swatting them?” Kenhla asks.

“About 20 minutes,” Brisk responds.

“And you’ve just been sitting here?”

“I made popcorn!” Luna says while holding the bowl out towards her master. Kenhla smiles and takes a piece, popping it in her mouth and settling down with her padawans to watch the clone Captain reprimand his batch.

The Lucksters!

@lavenderstaars @lynnpaper @foxlock @maygalodon @oo-hazel-oo @mango-peachjuice @radbatch @letsunity @burnthashbrown27 @generaltano @catboy-tech @cosmicghostie @namesmox @monako-jinn-stories @longearedowlfromouterspace @lusiawonder @just-another-dreamerr

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the-lucky-batch · 3 years

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Cypher: I want to see my little boy

Ryder, holding Jackal: here he comes

Cypher: I want to see my little boy

Jackal: I’m not that little

Foxy: you’re the shortest one of us

Jackal: I’m not liTTLE

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letsunity · 3 years

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The Lucky Batch

Bottom of the Barrel

It wasn’t right, it wasn’t fair.

Morast Tāne was strict, but they did their best for her. They made more of an effort than the other Jedi Masters, something of a parent-figure for her. They didn’t deserve to die.

And of course, as always, the all mighty Jedi Council put the blame on her. While Master Plo Koon and Master Obi-Wan Kenobi stood up for her, they were drowned out by Master Mace Windu.

Though Master Yoda is the head of the council, Mace Windu is the main voice. He has a lot of respect from the others, his words influencing others.

He had been a friend of Master Tāne. She could see why he’d blame her, but it wasn’t her fault. It couldn’t have been, right?

Master Tāne said to trust the force, and Kenlha did. She trusted herself, acted on what she thought was right and Master Tāne died.

It was only because there wasn’t proof that she killed him that she wasn’t expelled from the Order. That and they needed as many force-users as possible. Hell, it was bad enough for her to be Knighted.

Now she has to wait for a Battalion for them to dump her at. The 501st are fun and General Skywalker has a Togruta padawan. Someone else who understands the thorough upkeep of montral horns and lekku.

“Kenlha, is it?” came a smooth voice, like molten chocolate. “Master Kenobi and Master Koon mentioned to me what happened. I am sorry for your loss,” he comforted graciously.

“Master Fisto, your words have more value than you know,” she continued, a little honoured to be in his presence. “They were a good master to me.”

“I didn’t get to speak with Master Tāne, but I heard many great things about them. I’m sure they’d be very proud of your recent knighthood.”

She wish that to be true.

“Would you like to meet your new squad?”

She gets her own squad?

The green Nautolan motioned for her to follow him. Eager, Kenlha walked next to him, her mind racing with a million questions.

What did he mean? What new squad? Isn’t she supposed to join a new Battalion?

As the newly knighted Jedi stepped into the shipyard, her eyes were drawn to a colourful ship with a large clover on it. It was damaged and only had three leaves.

Master Fisto smiled, nodding to that ship.

“Clone Force 37,” he introduced. “They are your squad.”

A small group of clones jumped out of the door for dear life, ducking their heads as something exploded inside. As smoke bellowed, they began bickering over what caused it.

It was at that moment that they noticed Master Fisto and Kenlha.

“Was’ up, Kit!” waved a clone who plopped onto a GNK droid, sitting on it joyfully. “Yo, that your new P-to-the-Wan?”

“For the love of Prime, Jackal, never say that again,” his brother sighed, shaking his head, the braid flapping from side to side. “The question stands. Who’s this?”

“This is Master Kenlha Whiro, your new commanding officer,” Kit Fisto smiled, patting Kenlha on the back.

A clone smothered in smoke and soot bounced out of the ship, tackling Kenlha. He grinned up at her, several burn scars on his face.

His brothers surrounded her, excited to meet her and were like giddy children.

One of them with different-coloured eyes slapped something onto her chestplate. Confused, she looked at it, finding a large star sticker.

“I’m Pepper, the medic,” he introduced, grabbing one nearby, “and this is my twin, Foxy.”

“Jackal!”

“I’m Ballast!”

“Boots,” Boots said. After a moment, he grabbed a bit of scrap and lobbed it at the other clone’s head. “He’s Cypher, a bit if an airhead but when he’s paying attention, there’s nothing he can’t interpret!”

They were weird and she loved it.

“They’re all mine?” Kenlha beamed, already in love with her new little brothers. “All of them?”

“As are those two,” the Nautolan added, motioning to a Captain with a young child with him. “Captain Raffle and Luna Evynder, your own Padawan.”

She was overwhelmed and astounded, unable to process the sudden gifts upon her. Master Kit Fisto was kind, but she never thought he’d give her so much.

So much that she probably doesn’t deserve.

“I’m going to be honest with you, Master Whiro, these are not the greatest soldiers. In fact, many believe them to be the worst of the army. Though that may be so, everybody has a place in this universe. I have faith that you can take care of them,” he smiled, his webbed hands on her shoulders. “Know that not only I believe in you, but so will they.”

Teary eyed, Kenlha embraced the Nautolan, her montral horns pressing against his chin. She didn’t care that they weren’t good soldiers, they were hers.

“Thank you, Master Fisto. I won’t fail you.”

“Nor will you disappoint. When it comes to the unusual, you need someone equally unique to lead them. Master Kenobi and Master Koon helped me talk Master Yoda in letting you have these clones. They believe in you as well.”

She wasn’t going to fail. As of now, she’s the leader of Clone Force 37.

“Welcome to the squad, boss-sis,” Foxy announced, patting her shoulder. “First things first, we'll show you how the moonshine maker works.”

Foxy might just be her favourite because of that alone.

Thanks to these guys for their characters!

@just-another-dreamerr @generaltano @radbatch @foxlock @maygaladon @lavenderstaars @lusiawonder

#The Lucky Batch #Clone Force 37 #cf37 #cf37 pepper #cf37 foxy #cf37 cypher #cf37 ballast #cf37 jackal #cf37 Master Whiro #mace windu #obi-wan kenobi #cf37 Luna #cf37 captain raffle #kit fisto #plo koon #CF37 Boots

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oo-hazel-oo · 3 years

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The Lucky Batch

hey y’all! i’ve been working on this for a hot minute — turns out i am incapable writing anything shorter than 5,000 words, so sorry in advance for how long this got. a huge thank you to @cosmicghostie for being the ultimate writer's cheerleader and to the rest of the lucky batch for giving me such amazing characters to work with! you all genuinely brighten my day, so i hope this brightens yours! ♥︎

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Lucky: a few days in the life of Clone Force 37’s unofficial therapist

content warnings: blood/injury, weapon use, lots of emotional distress (but also some fluff to make up for it!!)

Thumbs didn’t know when he had become Clone Force 37’s unofficial therapist. It just kinda happened.

His original role as the squad’s battle strategist shifted after he realized that his usual skill-set wouldn’t be helpful to a squad who typically threw strategy out the window.

Yet even without a set strategy, the unconventional group somehow had a relatively high success rate when it came to their missions. Thumbs had assumed it was their unpredictability that gave them an advantage. Or the fact that each of them had unique abilities, unlike any soldiers he had ever met.

However, the longer he was with Clone Force 37, the more he started to notice just how special his batch-mates were.

The twins, Foxy and Pepper, had caught his attention first. Both were skilled in their own ways, but what stood out to Thumbs was how each was fiercely protective of the other. He wasn’t sure what the pair had gone through to end up on the Clover, but he couldn’t help but notice the weight of Foxy’s quiet around strangers or the subtle promise behind each sticker that Pepper placed. Thumbs knew more than anyone, love was always accompanied by fear.

He saw this fear in Master Kenhla, every time she glanced towards the two padawans she had come to mentor. Despite her powerful posture, Thumbs could see how she carried the galaxy on her shoulders; not so that she could manage more, but so her brothers could bear less.

Brothers like Rane and Skip, who had lost everything, everyone, before finding their place with the Lucky Batch. Or Sparks and Ryder, both of whom blamed themselves for tragedies of the past.

They all had lost so much… Yet, by some miracle, they had found each other.

Thumbs would do anything to make sure it stayed that way.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

This particular day had started normally, which for Thumbs meant wincing as three screaming forms barreled towards where he sat knitting at the back of the ship. He set his needles down, knowing he would not be getting back to work anytime soon.

“Here we go,” he mumbled under his breath as his batchmates shouted from across the hull.

“THUMBS!!!”

The small stampede, which was revealed to be Sparks, Ballast, and Luna, raced towards him, each one attempting to outpace the other.

“Oh Maker, Ballast, what did you do?”

The batcher in question skidded to a stop, mock-offense written across his face. “I didn’t-”

Thumbs gave each of his batch-mates a once-over, scanning them for injuries. “Should I get Pepper? Is anyone hurt?”

“Not yet,” the two mechanics both mumbled under their breath.

Thumbs sighed in equal parts relief and exhaustion. Ballast and Sparks had been ‘friendly’ rivals for as long as he had known the pair. Unfortunately for him, their rivalry often extended outside the realm of mechanics and into the everyday affairs of the Lucky Batch, with Thumbs usually acting as the chosen mediator of these disagreements.

Sparks pointed at Ballast, pleading his case. “He ate all the cookies Jack made me!”

“You’re overreac-”

“And drank all my caf.”

Now Thumbs understood the near-murderous look on Sparks’ face.

His brother had always done so much for the batch and asked for very few things in return, one of those things being his morning cups of caf: a simple but necessary pleasure that allowed him to function throughout the day.

Thumbs brought his attention back to the pair in front of him, wondering whose word to trust more. Then he brought his gaze down, to a much more reliable source.

“Luna, what happened?”

The padawan looked up nervously, her eyes partially hidden behind choppy bangs. Thumbs smiled when he noticed she was wearing the mittens he had knit for her. He had originally made pairs for both her and Brisk while they were stationed on a colder planet, but now Luna liked to wear them for fun, claiming they made her look like an ewok.

The young girl shrunk from the attention that was suddenly on her, moving closer to Ballast’s side.

“I…”

“What happened is he drank all my caf.” Sparks stepped forward, jabbing another accusatory finger towards Ballast. “The caf that prevents me from strangling my brothers when they get on my nerves.”

Thumbs spoke up, attempting to diffuse the rising hostility. “I thought you didn’t even like caf, Ballast. I always see you drinking that tea Jackal likes.”

The mechanic shifted on his feet nervously. “Well, I…”

Thumbs looked towards his brother curiously, confused by his sudden change in demeanor. Something about the whole dispute seemed off, almost like Ballast was covering for someb-

“Wait,” a small voice piped up from behind the three brothers. “B-Ballast didn’t take your caf, I did.”

“You-” Sparks spun towards the voice with an instinctive glower before recognizing its source. His features softened almost instantly. “What?”

Luna shrugged sheepishly. “I wanted to see if it was good… It was! And Master Ken said I was exceptionally energetic during our training afterwards.”

Thumbs fixed his gaze on Sparks expectantly, curious how he would react to the young batcher’s confession.

“I’m sorry,” she continued, wringing her mittened hands. “I know I should’ve asked.”

Sparks cleared his throat awkwardly as he waved off her apology. “No, it’s uh... It’s fine.”

Luna’s expression remained uncertain and Ballast elbowed Sparks in the side, urging him to reassure the young girl.

“Really, I mean... I shouldn’t even be drinking that much anyway,” he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck guiltily.

Ballast grinned at Sparks, eating up the moment.

Thumbs couldn’t help the smirk that crept onto his own face as well. For a squad of soldiers who had fought countless battles and overcome powerful enemies, they sure did surrender fast when it came to their padawans. No one onboard the Clover was immune to their effortless charm.

Luna eventually looked up at Thumbs, seeking his own approval, which he happily granted with an encouraging thumbs up.

There was a welcome moment of silence before Sparks’ head jerked upwards once more.

“Wait, what about my cookies?”

“Hmm...” Ballast looked to the floor dramatically, feigning deep thought. “You mean the chocolate chunk cookies with sea salt and a fine caramel drizzle?” He smirked before continuing. “I have no idea.”

Sparks took two threatening steps towards Ballast and within seconds the two of them were chasing each other throughout the Clover with Luna giggling in their wake.

For the clones, who quite literally were forced to grow up too fast, the padawans’ presence reminded them of what a childhood should be. It kept them grounded, desperate to preserve that feeling for the young girls for as long as they could. And if that meant that Luna could get away with stealing Spark’s caf, then so be it.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

That evening’s supply trip was supposed to be easy. A quick in and out operation to gather necessary materials for the coming weeks. But it had already been three hours since Ballast, Sparks, and Foxy’s expected return and no one on the Clover had received an update on their whereabouts.

Thumbs wasn’t someone who paced often. While the rest of the galaxy seemed to be in constant motion, Thumbs always tried his best to remain still at its center. But the longer he waited for his batchmates’ return, the more he felt like he was spinning off his axis, unable to stop the repetitive trajectory of his feet throughout the hull.

He wasn’t even aware of his own movements until they were interrupted by the sound of distant yelling. Strained shouts echoed from outside the Clover’s walls, nearly imperceptible amidst the intensifying wind. Their tone, panicked and desperate, was more bone-chilling than the rain that had started to fall around them.

Storms had always scared Thumbs. He hated seeing flashes of lightning, understanding that the explosion of thunder would follow, but never knowing when. Deep down he knew that thunder was harmless, that lightning posed the greater threat, but at least it was quick, unexpected, gone in a flash. Thunder was slow, deafening, inevitable.

When the Clover’s ramp finally lowered to reveal a bloodied Sparks cradled in Ballast’s arms, he knew that the lightning had passed.

This was the thunder.

Thumbs watched in silence as his brothers stumbled into the hull of the ship, a trail of mud and blood left in their wake. Ballast and Foxy eased Sparks onto the closest bunk, removing his armor to better assess the injury. Luna and Brisk dashed into the room, their eyes widening at the horrific sight. Luna’s breaths came in labored bursts as she called for Pepper, tears streaming down her face.

The squad’s medic came running, following the worried gaze of the two young girls who stood near the bunks. He spared a brief glance at Foxy before quickly donning a pair of gloves and shouting orders to nearby batch-mates. Hearing the commotion, Master Kenhla arrived and immediately ushered her padawans out of the room, not wanting them to witness the sight of their brother in pain.

While before Thumbs had been unable to sit still, now he felt frozen, cold as the ice on Hoth. His brothers were right in front of him, yet he felt as if he were watching the scene unfold from millions of miles away.

He kept thinking back to that morning — Sparks had been fine, albeit cranky over his lack of caf, and now…

Thumbs hated it. He hated how things could change so quickly.

He watched as Ballast, usually explosive in his mannerisms, now held Sparks’ hand in his own, whispering words of comfort as his brother lay motionless on the cot.

Thumbs suddenly felt sick to his stomach, a shrill ringing filling the air around him. The echoes of a memory that had been stagnant for years, forced into the depths of his mind, suddenly emerged:

An argument, a battle, another brother gone. A hand desperately squeezing his own before going limp, devoid of all life.

Another hand, this one from the present, landed on his shoulder, dragging him out of one nightmare and into another. A voice was speaking, asking if he was alright, telling him to sit down.

Thumbs’ guilt only increased. Hands that should be helping his fallen brother were instead on his own shoulders, urging him towards the nearest seat. He shrugged them off with an uncharacteristic roughness, finally taking a few shaky steps towards Sparks.

He had almost made it to the bunk when the same pair of arms wrapped around his torso, pulling him back.

“Thumbs, stop,” the voice urged. “You need to let Pepper help him. There’s nothing you can do.”

He knew the words were supposed to be comforting. He had spoken the same ones to almost every soldier who had come to him burdened with the invisible weight of survivor’s guilt. Sometimes it was what they needed to hear; other times, it wasn’t.

The last thing Thumbs saw was an oxygen mask being lowered onto his brother’s face before eventually succumbing to the arms around him, letting himself be removed from the scene.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Thumbs woke up the next morning with a headache.

Foxy, who had been the one to escort him out of the room the night before, filled him in on what had happened during the supply run.

Apparently as the trio had made their way back to the ship, bandits had intercepted them. The ragtag group of thieves were lacking in both numbers and artillery and hadn’t been particularly difficult to subdue. Sparks had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time, caught in the unforgiving crossfire of a supply trip gone wrong.

Thumbs wished he had been there. Maybe then he could’ve shouted to his brother in warning or pulled him out of harm’s way. Stars, he would’ve jumped in front of the deathly bolt himself if it meant Sparks was still standing at the end of the day.

The two of them had grown close over the past few months, especially after Thumbs learned the story behind Sparks’ name. He could tell that his brother’s outwardly gruff attitude was just a shield used to protect the sensitive, guilt-ridden soldier beneath. Even one offhand criticism of his work as a mechanic could bring him back to the accident and a past he wished desperately to forget.

Because of this, Sparks would often work through the night, losing himself in the wires and circuits of the ship to ensure he didn’t make the same mistake twice. Thumbs was always at his side reminding him to take breaks, to drink water when he was thirsty, to eat when pangs of hunger hit...

But there was little he could do for Sparks now as he lay unconscious in the hull of the Clover.

Pepper had done everything he could, luckily managing to stabilize their brother within a few hours of the incident. Sparks was slowly showing signs of improvement — he had even woke up briefly in the early hours, mumbling something about watering Percy, before slipping back into the depths of unconsciousness.

Percy was the name of one of Sparks’ plants, something Thumbs discovered after walking in on his brother affectionately repotting it in a moment of assumed privacy.

He smiled at the memory, shaking his head in disbelief. It was just like Sparks to be worried about keeping his plants alive while he was barely clinging to life himself.

With nothing to do but wait until his brother woke up, Thumbs made his way into the hull of the ship where he found most of the batch engaged in a lively game of Dejarik. It was a tradition, meant to keep the batches' spirit alive when faced with tough times.

He almost started towards them when he felt a presence to his left, distanced from the laughter of the others.

Thumbs’ gaze landed on Ryder as he stared out of the cockpit window absent-mindedly, though he knew from his expression that his mind was anything but absent.

Thumbs approached slowly, not wanting to startle the squad’s weapons specialist.

“Hey Ry, you alright?”

Ryder glanced up, a flash of surprise illuminating his expression, before looking back down, his face once again shrouded in darkness.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” A barrage of laughter sounded from the other side of the room, where everyone was still gathered. “Think I’m gonna go for a ride though.”

“Oh, okay…” Thumbs replied, wanting to say more to his obviously-distracted brother. “Mind if I tag along?”

“You always do,” Ryder said, shooting him a small smirk.

“Hey!” Thumbs laughed, punching his shoulder lightly.

Ryder chuckled, nodding for Thumbs to follow him to the far corner of the hull. Once there, he opened the weapons cabinet, extracting a couple blasters and holstering them on his form.

Thumbs looked at his brother questioningly.

“Just in case,” Ryder said, carefully checking over his chosen artillery.

Thumbs nodded quickly, admonishing himself for not thinking more practically, especially after what happened with Sparks. It was a dangerous thing to give the galaxy the benefit of the doubt.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The planet they were currently docked on was beautiful. The hues of its rolling hills were softened by the dying light, the gentle breeze transforming the tall grasses into golden waves. The sky’s colors evolved with each passing minute, all evidence of the previous night’s storm lost to its changing shades.

It was Thumb’s favorite time of day. At dusk the light never seemed harsh; it was sympathetic, understanding. It hovered, never fully settling, like a cloud. But dusky light was also ephemeral. Thumbs wished he could freeze it, trap it in a jar and release it when he needed its soft companionship.

He knew too many people like dusk: perfect, until they were gone.

“It’s pretty here,” Thumbs eventually broke the silence, a welcome distraction from his own thoughts.

“Yeah,” Ryder replied as his eyes traced the horizon, “It is.”

“That why you’ve been coming out here so often?”

Thumbs knew his brother liked to take his speeder out on rides whenever he needed a break from the confines of the Clover. He would even accompany him from time to time. But recently he had been escaping much more frequently and Thumbs couldn’t help but worry that something else was going on.

Ryder chuckled lowly. “I didn’t think anyone noticed.”

“Hey, you’re kinda hard not to notice.” Thumbs smirked, gesturing a hand towards his brother’s head: “Ya know, cause of the hair.”

Ryder grinned, blowing a stray strand out of his face. “Yeah, sure thing curly.”

Thumbs ran a hand through his own coily locks with a shy shrug.

The two brothers fell into a comfortable silence as fireflies blinked to life around them. Thumbs pretended they were shooting stars, closing his eyes and wishing for the speedy recovery of Sparks back onboard the Clover.

After a while, the air seemed to become heavy and Thumbs could tell that Ryder needed to get something off of his chest.

His suspicion was confirmed when he heard his brother sigh deeply, preparing to speak.

“Lately…” he started, tugging on the end of his turquoise braid. “I’ve been thinking a lot.”

Thumbs nodded and moved to sit beside him in a subtle gesture of comfort.

“About them?”

Ryder nodded, knowing Thumbs was referencing his past squad.

“I’ve been having the dreams again.”

Thumbs’ face fell. He remembered the night he found out about Ryder’s nightmares as if it were yesterday.

He had been awake in the hull of the ship, too afraid that something bad might happen if he allowed himself the privilege of closing his eyes. Ryder had started tossing in his sleep, muttering the names and numbers of unfamiliar clones. Thumbs shook his brother awake, eventually guiding him outside of the ship when he struggled to regain his breath. The two of them had sat on the Clover’s ramp until long after the sun rose, each finding comfort in the other’s presence.

Since then, the nightmares had decreased, but every now and again they would return. The guilt would return.

“In the dream, I’m back on the venator,” Ryder described, his voice hoarse. “First there’s the flashing lights. Then voices, their voices, but they eventually fade away and then there’s just static. For a moment, everything is quiet, just a faint buzzing...”

Thumbs gave his brother’s shoulder a gentle squeeze, letting him know he was still there, still listening.

“And then I’m in the escape pod. As I’m drifting away, I look back towards the ship, but it’s not the venator anymore. It’s the Clover.”

He paused, swallowing thickly.

“And then it’s just gone. Swallowed by fire.”

The unsettling images unearthed feelings that Thumbs never had the courage to voice out loud, but the anxious thrumming of Ryder’s fingers on the side of the speeder reminded him of his current task: to show his brother that he was there for him now, regardless of what happened in the past.

“Ry, I know there’s not a lot I can say. But know that they would’ve been so proud of you, of the soldier and brother you’ve become,” Thumbs reassured gently. “We all are.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Ryder mumbled.

Thumbs frowned, knowing his brother wasn’t convinced.

“Well, this was supposed to be a surprise, but it looks like you need it now.”

Thumbs pulled out the pack he had brought with him, rifling through it until he found a small bundle. He nervously presented it to Ryder, who observed the way it had been carefully packaged in colorful gift wrap and adorned with stickers, most likely donated by Pepper.

“I made this for you,” Thumbs spoke as Ryder opened the parcel. “It’s a blanket, obviously, but it’s… Well, it’s got a little more to it than that. Each row of stitches is made of yarn from all the different places we’ve been to as a batch. Thought it could be cool to see how far we’ve all come. But I also know how important it is to you that we honor our pasts, so down here,” Thumbs pointed at the bottom left corner, “I stitched in the names of CT-2019 and CT-1882. And over here is General Lyle’s.”

Thumbs looked up at Ryder, trying to gauge his reaction.

“I know it doesn’t change anything, not really, but I thought maybe it could help you sleep at night.”

There was a long moment of silence as Thumbs began to doubt the impact of his gift. The whole idea was starting to sound stupid now. Maybe if he had-

“I… Thank you, Thumbs.” Ryder finally spoke, his voice cracking slightly. “Really. It’s- It’s perfect.”

Thumbs grinned, glad to see the glimmer of hope return to his brother’s eyes. “Of course, anything for my vod.”

Ryder held the blanket close, tracing his finger over the carefully stitched names of his old squad. His eyes scanned over the various colors and textures that Thumbs had incorporated, recognizing yarn from planets they hadn’t been to in years. How long had his brother been working on this?

He was just about to ask when a subtle movement drew his own gaze downwards. Thumbs was quietly bouncing his right leg, a nervous habit that Ryder had picked up on throughout their time together. He doubted that Thumbs was even aware of his own anxious mannerism, but Ryder could tell that something was on his mind.

“Hey, vod?” Ryder placed the blanket down, his focus now on his brother.

“Yeah?” Thumbs replied, still staring straight ahead.

Ryder thought back to something his companion had told him just moments ago, something that had made him feel important, valuable, seen.

“People notice you too.”

Thumbs chuckled, thinking back to when he invited himself to join Ryder on his impromptu speeder trip just hours before. “Yeah, I guess my constant pestering makes it hard not to.”

“Yeah...” Ryder continued, almost hesitantly. It would be harder getting through to his brother than he thought. “But we also notice why you do that.”

“And why’s that?” Thumbs asked casually, not quite sure where Ryder was guiding the conversation.

“Because you care.”

At this, Thumbs finally met his brother’s eyes, confusion painting his features. The words were simple, yet something about them did not fully compute.

“No matter how many idiotic things we pull, you’re always there for us.”

Thumbs held his brother’s gaze, considering his words intently, before looking down to his feet. He frowned before mumbling something, barely audible above the light breeze:

“Not when it counts.”

The words sliced through the air, contrary to the soft tone in which they were spoken. Ryder couldn’t help the immediate snap of his head towards his brother.

“What do you-”

“Yesterday, with Sparks,” Thumbs interjected, his voice gaining strength. “No amount of pestering could’ve helped him.”

There was something about the way Thumbs was speaking — something that Ryder had missed before, something familiar — that was unravelling with each passing moment.

“But he’s okay now, he’s fine,” Ryder tried to console, his brow furrowed.

Thumbs scoffed. “That was just luck. I heard what Pepper said: If his injury had been just an inch to the left…” He ran a hand through his hair frustratedly.

“Well, luck is kinda our thing,” Ryder said, repeating words that Pepper had spoken to him when he first joined the batch.

“But I don’t want it to be!”

Ryder looked up in shock. In the entire time he had known Thumbs, he had never once heard him raise his voice. But shock soon turned to concern when he noticed the tears streaming down his brother’s face.

“I don’t want to rely on luck,” Thumbs choked out, his voice softening. “Not… not when it comes to the people I care about.”

Helplessness.

Ryder was well-acquainted with the feeling — the image of his former general on the other side, the wrong side, of an escape pod window, forever etched into his memory. He tried to think of something to say that could comfort his brother, but the only words that came to mind were the ones Thumbs had already spoken to him moments before.

The whole batch knew that Thumbs had always struggled to take his own advice and that reminding him to do so never seemed to have an effect. It was unusual to see him in such a vulnerable state, something the former-strategist was well aware of as he avoided his brother’s gaze, shame written across his tear-stained features.

Ryder cringed at the sight, knowing he would need to take a more unconventional approach to offer his brother reassurance, one that would hopefully provide him with a fragment of control in a galaxy that seemed to feed on chaos.

Ryder nodded once, steeling himself, before reaching down and pulling his twin blasters out of their respective holsters.

“You know,” he started, attempting to keep his voice level, “I got these from CT-2019 and CT-1882. They were graduation gifts.”

Thumbs turned his head curiously, wiping away a stray tear in the process. A small part of him fought back the urge to smile: unlike his brother, he had been given craft supplies and a book for graduation.

“I could teach you how to shoot ‘em, if you want.”

Thumbs looked towards his brother incredulously.

“Ry, I’ve shot a blaster before...”

Ryder exhaled breathily, a playful grin gracing his features. “Ah, not ones like these. These here are DC-17 hand blasters.” He held his weapons in front of himself reverently. “They’re more powerful than your standard blaster, more efficient too.”

Thumbs hesitated, his confusion at the sudden shift in topic still evident, before nodding slowly.

“Alright, sure.”

Ryder spent the next few minutes guiding Thumbs through the best way to handle the blasters — helping him correct his stance, improve aim, and prepare for recoil. The process was strangely reassuring, giving Thumbs something tangible to hold onto, something he could control.

“Hey, Ryder?” Thumbs asked, looking down at the weapon in his hands, the echoes of its former owners serving as a comforting reminder that those who were gone could still protect their brothers who lived to fight another day. Maybe when Thumbs was gone, he could do the same.

“Thank you.”

Ryder had just begun to respond when a noise sounded from behind them.

Thumbs startled and spun on his heel, impulsively throwing the first thing he could think of towards the nearby bushes: Ryder’s blaster.

He mentally facepalmed as his brother jumped off of the speeder, aiming his remaining blaster towards the sound. He held out a hand as he crept closer to the bushes, silently telling Thumbs to stay back.

A tense moment passed, before a tooka revealed itself from behind the bush.

Thumbs sighed in relief before looking up at Ryder guiltily.

“Probably not the best use of the blaster,” he said with a cringe.

“What, you wanted to shoot it?” Ryder questioned breathlessly, a smirk growing across his features.

“No, of course not!” Thumbs smiled, relieved that his brother didn’t seem upset over his moment of panic. The tooka sauntered up to him, rubbing its head against his legs.

Ryder retrieved the discarded blaster and walked back towards the speeder, the remnants of a smirk still visible on his face. “Well, looks like good things can come from bad luck.”

“Yeah,” Thumbs huffed, looking down at the small animal by his feet. “Guess so.”

And maybe that’s what Clone Force 37 was: a group of outcasts who were all in the process of turning their histories with bad luck into good things — good luck.

“C’mon, hop up,” Ryder said as held out an arm. “Let’s get back to the ship.”

Thumbs let himself be pulled into the speeder, the firm grip of his brother’s hand a silent reassurance: I’m here for you.

He leaned back, his eyes reflecting the stars that had started to appear above. He wondered how many of them he couldn’t see, how many millions of lives were being lived just out of his view.

Thumbs glanced over to the brother at his side, thinking about how lucky he was to have crossed paths with him, with all of them, in a universe of infinite proportions.

“We should probably pick up some caf for Sparks on the way back… I know he’ll want some when he wakes up,” Thumbs spoke, laying all the way back in the speeder.

Ryder nodded in agreement as they lurched forward. The sun had finally disappeared from view and the two soldiers soon became mere silhouettes against the dimming night sky.

But anyone familiar with Clone Force 37 knew that they were so much more than two small blips on the horizon:

They were brothers.

And Thumbs was positive that nothing in the galaxy could ever change that.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

@the-lucky-batch @lavenderstaars @lynnpaper @foxlock @maygalodon @mango-peachjuice @radbatch @letsunity @burnthashbrown27 @generaltano @catboy-tech @cosmicghostie @namesmox @monako-jinn-stories @longearedowlfromouterspace @lusiawonder @just-another-dreamerr

#the lucky batch #clone force 37 #fam force 37 #cf37 thumbs #cf37 sparks #cf37 ryder #cf37 ballast #cf37 luna #cf37 foxy #cf37 pepper #cf37 kenhla #cf37 brisk

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just-another-dreamerr · 3 years

Text

The Lucky Batch☘️

It's a thing. This is just the beginning.

Stickers

Pepper is never short on stickers.

It becomes his thing. He says that as a medic, he can certify that stickers make everything better, so there's always a bunch of them in his medkit, on his bunk, in his pocket.

Nobody knows where exactly he gets them, and honestly? They don't really want to know.

"Yes, that broken bone might need some bacta, but you know what will make it 100% better?" Pepper will say, slapping a sticker of a grumpy frog on on his brothers' armor.

He either gets a smile, an annoyed glare or an object thrown to his face, but it never fails to make at least someone else laugh.

"Pepper, can you please come to the mess," Hazel voice speaks through the comm. "Jackal's on fire again."

The medic is already on his way, sighing tiredly. "Tell Ballast that I warned him not to try any new explosives on Jackal. I'm telling the Captain."

"Noooo," someone whines on the other side of the comm, chaos echoing in the background. "I promise it's just a little fire this time."

"Drop and roll, vod, drop and roll!"

"What do you think I'm doing?!"

The door to the mess slides open, and Pepper calmly walks into a Jackal with an arm on fire, Boots with a now empty glass of water and Ryder recording the whole thing.

"Don't worry guys," he says, approaching the flames. "I got this."

He takes the fire extinguisher clipped on his hip and aims it at the fire, taking it out. Everyone stops screaming.

"See, it wasn't that—" he starts, but as he speaks the armor on his brother's arm sparks again, raging.

There's silence, confusion. Pepper looks at Jackal, reaches for his pocket, and softly places a sticker on his forehead.

"I've done what I could," he says gently, and walks away.

"WAIT—"

"Mmmm," Jackal murmurs, annoyed, his eyes digging holes into the Raffle's helmet.

"What is it?" Boots whispers to his brother, confused, following his gaze.

"It's the new Captain," he says, his glare focused on the captain and only him. "There's something about him… something off but I can't get a hold of what it is…"

"Don't worry, I've got this," Pepper chimes in, popping from behind them with a grin.

Before they can tell him to stop, the medic dashes forward, stickers sharp in his hands, and slaps them onto the bare, new bucket of the recently appointed captain of the 37th.

He's beaming, pleased, as Raffle slowly turns to look at him, and then at the leaf stickers now stuck on either sides of his visor.

"What is this, trooper?" His tone is neutral, and there's a hint of puzzlement meddled in his controlled voice.

"Stickers, sir."

Boots facepalms in the background while Jackal tries to keep his laughing quiet.

Raffle pauses, an eyebrow quirked, and studies the leaves now decorating his armor. For a moment there's silence, and then he looks back at the medic.

"I'll allow it."

"You're welcome, sir."

"Who's this little fellow?" Boots asks, raising an eyebrow at the mechanic and the robot standing in the hallway.

"It's our new member, G00-S," Ballast pats its head, and it warbles angrily, zapping him lighty to get it off. "He's a menace. We call him Goose, the Murder Droid."

Goose chirps and turns presumptuously, his head legs kicking in approval at the nickname.

"Ah, I see Pepper got to him," the clone notices, spotting the bunch of stickers that had been placed randomly over the droid's body.

"Pepper always gets to everyone."

Pepper is standing close to the ship, keeping an eye on the mechanic inside. He doesn't get half of what his brother is muttering over the mess of wires and tools he's tinkering with, but there's a fire extinguisher nearby just in case.

"How's it going, vod?" he asks, tapping gently the medkit in his hands.

Ballast doesn't answer, his tongue sticking out as he makes the final adjustments to the panel.

"Aaaand… almost done!" he announces with a smile, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand. "Come here, Peps, help me out a bit."

Pepper doesn't move, and eyes the ship's ramp suspiciously.

"I'm okay right here," he calls out, and his brother snorts.

"Don't tell me you're scared?"

"Oh, I'm not scared. I just like having two arms attached to my body, thanks."

"Come on, vod," Ballast insists, head popping up from between scraps of metal. "Jackal needs this ship to work for our next mission, and he dared me to make it extra fast."

"Why would you help Jackal have an even faster ship? Are you insane?"

"I'll give you 5 creds."

There's a pause. "Ok, but I'm bringing the extinguisher with me."

"Fair enough."

The medic sends a prayer to the universe and steps inside the ship, holding his breath.

"Hold this," Ballast tells him, handing him some wires. "Don't let them touch."

He picks them up gently and watches as the mechanic finishes working on that. After a few moments, he gives the system a nod of pride and closes it with a satisfying click.

"What do you think?" He gestures at the panels, a grin on his face.

"Mmm, I think you're missing something," Pepper concludes, and before his brother can let out an offended scoff, he slaps a bunny sticker over the console. "There. Perfect."

There's a pause, and the mechanic nods in approval.

"Yes, I think that's—"

Smoke starts coming out of the console, and a bunch of red lights start blinking furiously.

The clones look at each other, and sprint.

The medic is just passing through the barracks when he notices Thumbs sitting on the bunk. He's looking at his helmet with a frown, and once he gets nearer, Pepper sees that the paint is chipped and burnt there where he had carefully sketched the design.

His brother sighs, a thumb brushing over the ruined drawing, and doesn't notice him approaching. Wordlessly, Pepper produces two stickers from his belt, both a cartoon version of thumbs up, and places it over the damage.

Thumbs looks up, searching for words to say, but he gives him a few pats on the head and a smile before walking away.

They're all exhausted, but at least Pepper has stickers.

"Well boys, nice work out there," he says, looking at his brothers.

They're all on the floor, their bodies too stiff and tired to even move their heads towards him. There's a collective groan as the medic walks between them, looking for any serious injuries while sticks star and heart stickers over their chipped armors.

"Peps, please, I can't feel my face," Ryder says exhaustedly.

The medic wordlessly slaps a sticker on his face. "You're welcome."

"Pepper, don't you kriffing dare touch the fangs," Foxy warns, his eyes closed as he feels him approach. "It took me 3 hours to get them right, and it took one more for it to dry without being set on fire."

"What about fang stickers?" The medic asks with a grin.

Foxy doesn't move, but his lips tug upwards as he lifts his aching arm up for his twin to place them on his forearm. "I love you, vod."

"You only love my stickers, you di'kut."

It was a terrible battle.

The field is a broken mirror, with cracks and bodies spread as far as the eye can see. Pepper walks among the wounded, bacta patches and bandages clutched tight on his hands as he tends to their injuries, lips pressed together under his helmet.

There's so much blood. So much quiet.

It almost makes him sick, the way a place which was filled with screaming and explosions can now be so deadly silent.

He nods at the trooper with the head injury and moves on to the next, who lays in impossible quiet half a feet ahead. The medic kneels beside him, refusing to acknowledge the stillness of his chest, the ease of his features. He looks like he's finally resting as he checks his vitals, heart heavy, and closes his eyes.

A brother dies, and Pepper isn't short on stickers.

For you guys @maygaladon @letsunity @oo-hazel-oo @radbatch @lavenderstaars @foxlock @monako-jinn-stories @lusiawonder @lynnpaper

#clone force 37 #the lucky batch #f37 Ryder #f37 Boots #f37 Raffle #f37 Pepper #f37 Foxy #f37 Hazel #f37 Jackal #lule writes #ficlets

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clonehub · 3 years

Note

Me and group chat made The Lucky Batch, Clone Force 37. Mine is the sharpshooter twin, Foxy. He's a handful overall. Flirty ladies' man, snake tat on his shoulder, wears a head band with fox ears on it given to him by his brothers. He tends to give everyone peace signs.

He's a fun loving clone, but highly protective of his team who just don't seem to die??? Palpatine keeps trying to kill them but they just keep seeming to get stronger?? He's highly protective of everyone in his team, especially his twin, Pepper. If you're interested in more, I'd be happy to continue 💚

Flirty clone with Fox ear headband literally IMPOSSIBLE to kill depsite Sith Lord's best efforts! He just keeps getting stronger! what the fuck!

#ask #this reads like a wild headline akjsdhfklajsdfa i love them #OC

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tothemeadow · 4 years

Note

ok my friend suggested this one to me because she loves Mario kart. What about the pillars playing Mario kart with a fem reader? But the catch is it’s boys vs girls so every race the girls don’t come in 1st-3rd they have to get a hickey from all the boys? (I’m going to hell for this)

‘to claim victory’ / (Pillars x Reader)

ohoHO THIS IS GOLD

thank your friend for this one

warnings: things get kinda... spicy

words: 1,381

(a/n): Muichiro is 18+ for this!

for reference: Giyuu = Yoshi / Sanemi = Dry Bowser / Tengen = Rosalina / Kyojuro = Donkey Kong / Gyomei = Shy Guy / Obanai = Waluigi / Muichiro = Isabelle / Mitsuri = Tanuki Mario / Shinobu = Boo King

It’s unfair.

It’s unfair to be humiliated like this, to watch in horror as the guys accept another victory. Sure, the idea seemed simple enough – boys versus girls – but when the time comes to accept defeat and serve your punishment, your blood boils. And, if you are going to be completely honest with yourself, it’s not entirely because of anger.

Six against three is ridiculous. Of course they’re going to score some wins when the odds are like that. However, you, along with Mitsuri and Shinobu, have shown up the guys multiple times. It’s funny to watch them get a taste of their own medicine, to see them wallow in their defeat.

You know they’re cheating. They’re deliberately teaming up in pairs and taking each of you girls on two to one. They’re slamming you against walls, tailing you, throwing shells and bob-ombs, all of that irritating shit. Frankly, it pisses you off, but that’s how the game is played. Yeah, it’s the asshole way, but what are you going to do, seriously? Yell at them to play fair? Yeah, right. Everybody gets a bit more moody whenever your group plays Mario Kart, so it would only lead to an argument.

On your screen, you see Boo King throw a red shell at Yoshi.

“Put that in your pipe and smoke it,” Shinobu snickers. Giyuu merely grumbles and hurries to get back in his place.

A spark of hope flares in your heart. If Shinobu managed to land a hit on Giyuu – who were you kidding, she always did – maybe things would turn out in your favor.

“Now, now, now,” Kyojuro says, an uncharacteristic smirk stretching his lips, “let’s be friendly.”

“No thanks,” Shinobu jibes. “I’ll start being friendly whenever we score another victory.”

You take pleasure in Shinobu’s open hostility. All three of you girls have to end up in the top three places if you want to go unpunished. Even so, a small part of you wants to lose on purpose. Receiving so much attention is kind of nice, after all…

“It’s cute that you think you ladies will win,” Tengen says in a singsong voice. He winks at Mitsuri. “But I can just tell that you’re dying to lose.” At that, Mitsuri catches his eye and her face erupts in a deep blush.

Sanemi cackles. “Of course they do- fucking hell what the fuck?”

You smile. The blue shell you sent Dry Bowser’s way must’ve found its target.

“Come on, get your shit together,” Obanai mutters to his friend. “Lose focus and they’re going to win.”

Let’s face it – even though none of them breath a single word, all of the guys want to see you girls lose again.

“Must be hard to be in first place,” you coo, using a mocking tone. “Let me take the weight off of you.”

Sanemi growls at your response. You can hear Giyuu stifle a chuckle.

Just then, Isabelle zooms right past you. When did Muichiro get so close?

“Sorry not sorry,” Muichiro throws your way, his character gaining distance on you.

So many of you are clustered so close together. It can be anyone’s game, really. All that mattered now is pure luck.

“Have some mercy on us,” Mitsuri says with a pout. “Don’t you want to see Tanuki Mario win?”

“Can’t say I do!” Kyojuro exclaims. “Actually, I’d love to see him come last!”

Mitsuri gasps at the response. You have to agree – that’s just brutal.

After that, everyone falls silent. All of you stay focused on your screens, holding your breaths as each of you draw closer to the finish line. It happens all in an instant; Muichiro, coming first, followed closely by Shinobu, then Sanemi. You curse loudly as you place fourth. Mitsuri places eighth.

“Well, wouldn’t you look at that?” Sanemi scoffs. He turns to you. “What was it that you were saying about getting first place?”

You huff and cross your arms, not saying anything.

“You girls didn’t place in the top,” Tengen begins, feigning innocence. He runs a hand through his silvery strands. “I wonder what will happen now…?” The corners of his mouth twitch into a foxy grin.

With a sigh, each of you girls set aside your devices and prepare yourself for what was to come. Your neck still stings from the last batch of hickeys you received; Sanemi is a harsh one, and so is Kyojuro. This time, though, they switch things up. Sanemi and Obanai end up with Mitsuri (the poor girl’s face is so red), Kyojuro and Gyomei with Shinobu, and Giyuu and Muichiro with you.

You involuntarily lick your lips as the two men draw closer to you. Muichiro holds a mischievous glint in his dazzling eyes; Giyuu’s, on the other hand, only appear darker. Swallowing thickly, you tense up as the two of them sit on either side of you.

Mitsuri’s gasp fills the thick atmosphere. Glancing over, you see that Sanemi hasn’t wasted any time in sinking his teeth into her flesh. A shiver runs down your spine.

“You know,” Muichiro whispers into your ear, “you’re pretty cute when you’re flustered.”

You jerk when Giyuu starts to lightly nibble at your other earlobe. Blood rushing through your ears, you can barely make out your own heavy breathing and the sounds coming from the other girls. Mitsuri is more vocal than Shinobu, but even Shinobu’s resolve weakens with time.

“I wonder where I should mark you,” Muichiro continues to whisper. He drags a finger down the column of your neck.

Giyuu’s lips ghost over Kyojuro’s mark. You jerk again, a pathetic whimper passing through your lips. “Lucky bastard,” Giyuu grumbles. Creeping further down, he attaches himself to the side of your throat. The fingers of your left hand instinctively grasp onto the strands of his hair.

“You know,” Muichiro voices, just loud enough that Giyuu can hear him, “we never specified where we can leave hickeys.”

Your blood stills in your veins. Even Giyuu stops and he glances up at the other. Some silent conversation must be happening between them. You audibly gulp.

“Do you think-“

“Can we-“

Both of them speak to you as their hands gingerly grab onto the hem of your shirt. Your brain rushes to pick up what they’re implying. Your shirt inches up your stomach, revealing more and more smooth skin. Goosebumps prickle the flesh, both from the cold and… other things.

“Will you let us do this?” Giyuu breathes in your ear. Your eyes flutter and you bite your lip. Hesitantly, you nod.

A rush of air pushes itself from your lungs as your back meets the floor. Your shirt gets pushed up to beneath your chin, exposing the entirety of your torso and your bra. Two sets of fingers trace over your skin, dance across your ribcage, trace the edge of your bra. Your back arches into their touch, your mind beginning to swim.

The other sounds in the room gradually become louder. You know you’re right there with them, breathing heavily and shaking with anticipation. “Giyuu, Mui-“ you murmur. A slight moan breaks free as Muichiro’s mouth lands on the swell of your breast, his teeth grazing your skin. Giyuu remains further down; he plants his own mouth above the hem of your pants.

Your body continues to tremble as they kiss and suck on their respective areas. Giyuu is being far more gentle with you, lavishing you with his tongue. Muichiro likes to use his teeth, lightly gnawing at your skin before sucking it into his mouth.

Both of your hands are buried in their hair, tugging at the strands as you attempt to keep yourself calm. Your body feels too warm, too worked up. If only you had won the race, you wouldn’t even be in this situation.

After what feels like forever, the both of them remove themselves with a wet ‘pop.’ Your skin feels sticky with their saliva, but you don’t care. Giyuu gently pulls your shirt down and licks his lips. Muichiro’s eyes shine with an emotion you haven’t seen on him before. He wipes his mouth off with the back of his hand.

“Well, that seems to settle that,” Kyojuro suddenly says, bringing you back to reality. “Who’s ready for the next match?”

#kny #kimetsu no yaiba #demon slayer #kny x reader #kimetsu no yaiba x reader #demon slayer x reader #kny pillars #kny pillars x reader #kny hashira #kny hashira x reader

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mixed-imagination · 5 years

Text

Holiday Pranks (Part 1) - John Ambrose x reader

Summary: You and your boyfriend, John Ambrose McClaren, play pranks on each other during a party held at Belleview, a senior citizen center.

Warnings: nothing really, just a lot of FLUFF --- This one-shot is based on the books. There are no spoilers, so don’t worry. However, if you’ve only seen the movie and are confused - Stormy and Alicia are senior residents at Belleview, where Lara Jean volunteers. Stormy is John Ambrose’s great-grandmother. That’s all you need to know.

Word Count: 2,400+

Notes: MERRY CHRYSLER. THIS IS MY GIFT TO YALL! Thanks for being patient and supportive. I love you guys <3

Listen to this beautiful cover while you read! It inspired this fic :3 ~ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mgUh60_ea8

“Last Christmas, I gave you my heart But the very next day you gave it away! This year, to save me from tears I'll give it to someone special!”

Busy pinning your hair back with a bobby pin, you lean forward and take a closer look at yourself in the mirror Stormy had been holding up for you. You tsk your tongue in slight disappointment in your appearance.

The whole day you and Lara Jean had been running around Belleview trying to set things in order for the Christmas party that is to start in an hour. You had been busy decorating, baking, and setting up bingo games for the elderly residents. All the while you also had been preparing the cute pranks you had planned to pull on John.

For the past two weeks, you and your boyfriend, John Ambrose, have been in this mischievous prank phase. It started when you binge-watched BFvsGF prank videos together. Ever since then, you’ve been pulling pranks on each other in school and at each other’s houses. In class, you had taped a paper that said “slap my ass” onto John’s back and tied his shoelaces together. He also got you at your house when you had asked him to fetch you a yogurt cup. He fooled you by replacing your vanilla yogurt with mayonnaise - a condiment you unequivocally despise. Thankfully, the small goofs weren’t serious; no one ever got hurt.

Tonight, you have a few tricks up your sleeve for John. You had hoped that because it is party day, he had assumed that pranks are off-limits, meaning he would never suspect a thing. However, you know John is a clever boy.

“Come on, sweetheart, you look fine,” Alicia nodded in reassurance.

Stormy flips the hand mirror around. “Hey! I’m not done yet, Stormy,” you protest.

She fluffs her hair and makes a kissy face at her reflection, “Well, I think she looks haggard,” she shrugs.

“Stormy!” you cross your arms.

You didn’t have time to curl your hair or properly apply makeup. You didn’t even have a good outfit for the party. All you had on is this morning’s eyeliner and mascara; you felt slobbish in your stripped, loose t-shirt dress.

“Stormy, don’t say that. Y/N is beautiful even in her pajamas,” Alicia says.

You huff in frustration, “Thanks, Alicia.” You twist your torso and look around the common area, “Hey, LJ did you finish setting up your gingersnaps?” you call out, knowing she also had been preparing.

At the corner of your eye, you see her peek her head out of the kitchen doorway to spot you before popping out in her dress, “Uh, yes!”

“Wowza! Lara Jean, baby! Forget what I said about you being a girl who gets her heart broken. You are turning into a heartbreaker. You look like Santa’s little helper.” Stormy winks and she laughs.

“Oh stop it, Stormy! Lara Jean will never turn into the likes of you,” Alicia rolls her eyes.

“Excuse me?”

While Stormy and Alicia get into another petty argument, you give a once-over to Lara Jean’s outfit. You didn’t even know she had changed attire already; she looks so pretty with her red lip and her hair down, curled and pinned behind her ears. She’s wearing a velvet, red tank top and skirt with white, faux fur lining the edges, complete with a Santa hat and knee-high boots.

A pang of envy began to grow in the pit of your stomach, obviously set off by Lara Jean’s cute outfit.

You drop your head back and groan, “Ugh, LJ, you look so good!”

“Oh thanks, Y/N. Peter’s wearing a matching costume.”

“That’s adorable. Hashtag couple goals. I look like a bum though. I’m jealous.”

Stormy turns away from Alicia, “Darling, why don’t you just wear one of my dresses?”

One of Stormy’s dresses? You knew Stormy’s clothes were a tad bit too spicy for someone her age. You’ve seen her in loose, exotic, scandalous pieces of clothing; you’re sure it’s not your style. You bite the insides of your cheeks, “Uhh... Are you sure it’s going to fit me?”

“Of course! It’s one of my favorite dresses,” she boasts, “Back in my day, I used to wear it to the Drive-In on Friday nights.”

You let out a breath of relief, “Oh thank god, you were talking about your old dress.”

Stormy nods with pride, but then quickly shakes her head in realization, “You cheeky girl! Last year I loaned Lara Jean my old nightgown.” She crosses her arms in an offense, and you laugh.

LJ snickers as well, “She’s right. It was quite racy.”

You sigh, thinking it over. You look down at your t-shirt dress. It is wrinkled at the edges and has some spots of caramel and flower on it. It wouldn’t be so bad wearing one of Stormy’s dresses, right? You trust her fashion sense. If it was her favorite, it means it has to be at least better than what you’re wearing now. You shrug, “Okay, fine. I’ll try on the dress.”

“Yes!” Stormy and Lara Jean shriek.

~~~

Fifteen minutes later, you are looking at another mirror, except this mirror is in Stormy’s room; it is body length. You graze your thumb over the beaded designs. You smile at your appearance and nod in approval.

“Not bad Stormy,” you twirl. The dress was outdated, you admit. It is a little itchy at the neck hole, but you could live with it. It didn’t fit at first, also, until Lara Jean used her magic skills and used safety pins, so it could hug your body right.

“You look SMOKIN’!” Stormy cackles, “You almost look better than I did when I was seventeen.” The corners of your mouth curve up, and you roll your eyes, “Wow, thanks.”

“No, I’m serious! This dress is a stunner.”

LJ agrees, “You look sultry in that little back dress.”

“It was my lucky charm, you know? I magnetized all the boys. I bet my Johnny is going to love you in it!” Stormy squeals.

“You’re definitely going to distract John, for sure, Y/N. It might be an advantage for your pranks.”

You smirk, “You’re right.”

~~~

The lighting is dimmed down in the common area. Many of the elderly are still pilling in, while some who have already settled in are mingling. The party has only just started, but you can’t wait for John to fall for your schemes. You had seen him zipping around the center - clearly setting up his own pranks, or else why would he be anywhere but with you? Because it is a holiday party, you had only planned to trick him twice. Hopefully, he goes easy on you.

You are silently standing behind a food table, waiting to serve anyone. You are sneaking some Oreos into your mouth when John finally makes an appearance to you. He’s wearing a gray suit with a baby blue button down. He slides behind the table and places his hand on your side, pulling you into him.

“John!” you giggle.

“Hello, m’lady!” he plants a wet kiss on your cheek before looking down at your apparel. His eyebrows raise, “Wowza.”

“Wowza”? He really is Stormy’s great-grandson. Such a dork.

“Do you like the dress?” you beam up at him.

He nods and kisses your cheek again, “You look adorable, Y/N. So cute.”

You pout as you take a bite out of your Oreo, “Just cute?”

“You look foxy,” he chuckles and moves a loose strand of hair behind your ear. Your eyes roll.

“What?” John shrugs and slowly leans his head down to your ear. You can feel his breath blow against your cheek. It makes you shiver. “That’s,” his voice is low and raspy, “That’s my dorky way of saying you look sexy.”

The inside of your stomach flips at his unexpected boldness. You bite your lip. John suddenly cracks a smile at your innocent reaction, “Too cute.” He kisses your cheek again before pulling back.

You huff in frustration, wiping your sweaty palms on the tablecloth. John knows you’re putty in his hands; He’s going to pay for teasing you like that.

“Did you know it’s your great-grandmother’s?” you give him a small smile.

John’s eyebrows raise. He opens his mouth but quickly closes it. He changes the subject, “So what’s in store for tonight? Ballroom dancing? Karaoke? Bingo?”

You laugh, “I think all of those things. You know how Lara Jean is - she planned the whole thing. She’s the boss. I just do what she asks.” You both look over to Lara Jean. She’s handing everyone holiday mint candy, while Peter, dressed in a Santa suit and beard, is goofing off and dancing with Alicia.

This is the moment - the perfect opportunity to catch John off guard and swindle him with your first antic. Karma’s a bitch, Johnny.

“Did you know she baked all the desserts for tonight?” you flutter your lashes up at him.

Along with the store-bought snacks, there were cinnamon buns, gingersnaps, molasses cookies, banana cake, and more - all made by LJ. John looks down and once-overs the many delicious desserts displayed on the table. “I have no doubt that she did.” He eyes the caramel apples.

You grin. Gotchya, bitch. The fish is hooked. It was actually you who had made the caramel apples. Caramel apples are one of John’s favorite sweet treats, so you had to make a special batch made especially for him. Little did he know, the one you’ll be giving him is different.

“Kitty helped LJ make the caramel apples,” you fib, grabbing two sticks of the sticky dessert - one for you and one for John.

John shakes his head, “Man, I miss that small fry. He automatically takes hold of the skewer, too nostalgic to notice. “She’s a stubborn one, that kid. We should hang out at the Covey house over winter break and visit her.”

You bat your lashes at him, taking a small bite out of your apple, “Mhmm!” you nod, swallowing.

As John instinctively brings the treat to his mouth, you watch him closely. His teeth pierce into it, producing a loud crunch noise. His eyes immediately dash to yours.

Gottem, bitch.

You smirk and put your apple down, preparing your plate of Oreos for your next scheme. John slowly moves the “treat” away from him. His mouth is hanging ajar - the bite he took still sitting in his mouth.

His eyebrows rise; his eyes look bored with a sinister twang hidden behind it. “Y/N, what is this?” his words are slurred by the food in his mouth.

You snort, “Ew! John! Don’t talk with your mouth full.”

“Don’t talk with my mouth full?” his voice raises, sloppily spitting food bits.

You laugh and shield yourself with your arms up, “John, you’re disgusting.”

John swipes a napkin and spits into it, wiping all evidence away, “Oh, Y/N, I have to admit - that was clever.” The corners of his mouth curve upwards as he takes a step closer, “But you’re so going to get it tonight.” His subtle threat makes your stomach churn.

“But really what the heck was that? Because I know that was not an apple,” his face contorts as he licks his teeth.

“It was an onion, silly” you giggle.

“An onion?” his arm snakes around your waist. “You gave me an onion dipped in caramel? Have you tried it?”

As he moves in closer, you can smell the faint scent of onion coming from his mouth. Your face contorts, “No of course not.”

Suddenly, in one quick movement, John’s face darts towards yours, “Well it is just disgusting!” he smirks, aiming to kiss your mouth.

“Gross!” you laugh, leaning back and pushing his face away from yours.

“Smell it, Y/N! Smell the onion!” he purses his lips, showering your cheeks with pecks.

You both giggle and laugh at his cute acts of affection. This is why you love John. Although he comes off as a smart, confident guy-that-every-girl-has-a crush-on, if you peel that back and actually get to know him, he’s really just a down-to-earth, goofy teenage boy. You are so thankful to call him yours. Knowing and seeing the real him is such a privilege to you.

“But seriously though,” his face twists, “I can’t get this oniony taste out of my mouth. Yucky.”

“Do you want me to pour you some water?” you offer.

He gives you a look, “No thanks. You’d probably replace my water with urine or something.”

You roll your eyes, “That’s just nasty. I would never go that far.”

“Yea, we’ll see. At this rate, who knows what you’re capable of?” he shrugs and smirks. You notice his eyes flash at your plate of Oreos.

GOTTEM AGAIN, bitch.

John has spotted the Oreos. You cheer internally, wishing that he’ll fall for the same trick twice. He’d never expect one prank after another. Also, he’s seen you munching on Oreos this whole time. You’re sure he has no inklings towards them.

He picks up one of your Oreos, “You know what?”

“Hey! That’s mine. Give it back,” you feign annoyance.

He shakes his head, “Nope! This is mine now. It’s what you get for catfishing me with an onion,” he pops the whole cookie into his mouth.

Yes! Mission accomplished. The fish has been reeled in.

Again, John’s face deadpans at the strange taste of his Oreo. He immediately grabs his napkin and spits.

You hop in success, “HA! I got you good McClaren! You’re not the only one who can put mayonnaise into good use.” You had prepared a nasty batch of Oreos with the classic cream replaced with a layer of mayo.

He turns to you; his lips slowly form into a dangerous smirk, “Another prank, Y/N? Wow.”

The look in John’s eyes playfully screams revenge. You know he’s a big tease, but you’d never seen him get so flirtatiously mischievous. You liked it.

John leans down achingly slow, making your insides flip. He kisses your cheek lightly before bringing them to your ear once again. He whispers - the blow of his voice on your neck giving you goosebumps, “You’re so gonna get it, Y/N. Game on.”

~~~

And that’s part one! I hoped you liked it! Please send in some feedback and more requests! :3 Also, my tag list is open! I just love TATBILB!

ples enjoy this goofy picture of Madeline Arthur, who plays Chris, and Jordan Burtchett who played (and should still be playing <_<) the role of John Ambrose McClaren. Ain’t he handsome?

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tinytouristtakessf-blog · 4 years

Text

The last chapter in SF

Jan 25th, 2020.

An Introduction.

In 2017, Jess was introduced to our quiet, oversized, and mainstream lives... Little did we know, that everything was about to change. The winds swirled overhead as she landed and within a couple weeks our loud, mini, hippie-witch-grandma-babe became ingrained in our lives!

Coming in hot with a list of must-see, -try, -listen, -taste, -climb items for SF, Jess managed to keep us busy trying new things and living our best fun-sized life.

In honor of one chapter coming to a close (and another very exciting one just beginning!!), we want to take a look back at some of the beautiful moments you’ve helped us create! Thank you for being a part of our lives in San Francisco, and we are so excited and proud of you for making big moves across the seas in New Zealand! Don’t forget us and please come back to re-visit your San Francisco community soon 😻

Love,

Everyone

Credit: (always) Inspired by the TinyTourist

2017

Let’s take a walk down memory lane back to 2017...

Enter 2017… when some of us all met Jess Tilles for first time. Something we may be too old to do but in our early 20s we were able to stick through 9 hours of drinking. Santa Con was the day into the night we were all obliterated… but Santas and mistletoe and FUN! We all look very youthful, oh what a few years in SF has done to our age. It was also one of the first and last times we all decided to go out in the Marina, and then proceed to eat Italian Homemade food. The beginning of an era!

Meanwhile at work... Jess quickly becomes a driving force of work parties with Holmes (and Eva and Jess discover they are both proponents of Bell sleeves). Of course Jess=where the party @ after having met most of the team at a highly questionable night tearing up the Castro prior Olga’s birthday.

Celebrating big moves to the bay, Jess, Shiri, and Leeza united in the gorgeous SF winter on Hattie St Balcony (a local’s hidden gem). It was then that Leeza and Jess instantly realized they were meant to meet and pursue all the best indie-folk-hippie music together. The rest of the concert saga is history!

2018

March 2018

Jess and Leron feeling lucky on St. Patty’s day by wearing all black and going against the mainstream in classic Jess fashion.

April 2018

Jess and Eva jamtfo to Penguin Prison at at their favorite SF venue, The Independent on Eva’s bday. They groove from the front row where Jess has zero obstacles blocking her line of site. Eva gets to hold the gee-tar.

Parisa's first day in SF! A messy deep dish experience could only be ended with a super fun barcade.

August 2018

For many of us, it was our very first overnight backpacking trip that hot summer weekend in July. Leeza had on the heaviest pack and powered ahead of the group (per usual), while the rest of us fumbled behind. We all kept enthusiasm high and it was a glorious moment when we 1) dipped into the freezing cold water at the end of day one and 2) when we finally took our packs, shoes and socks off at the end of the hike, and we all agreed that we would not do that trail again if someone paid us a million fat ones. Such a memorable trip- it was a great shared bonding experience for us to be out exploring in nature, and struggling together but ultimately powering through. Caroline was peeing every 20 minutes of the hike as usual, Leron was making interesting jokes and Shiri and Jess kept our spirits high!

Jess has her first grown woman trip to LA with Eva. They stay in Sunset Junction (Micheltorena stairs pictured) and have a romantic werk wife stay at the legendary Casa Crawford Airbnb, where their room doesn’t lock and they share a bathroom with the elderly spooky owner. Highlights include swan boating on Echo Park Lake, yoga at Equinox, eating at Mh Zh and Sqirl, unwinding at Wi Spa, crashing a mansion party in the Hollywood hills, and celebrating Lauren’s 30th birthday. Jess also very much enjoys catching up with a friend in Venice Beach.

In spring 2018, Jess made moves in the city to make friends and become ~sporty~ with Shiri in the Play Recess league. Striking the perfect balance between minimal coordination and slap-cup, we learned to destroy the competition in what really counts! Culminating in an ultimate scavenger hunt debacle, Spinelli led the group to victory! (Not actually sure if we completed the scavenger, but the memories we do have were definitely winners :) ).

October 2018

Halloweenies with our favorite Grandmama. Photographed left to right: Grandmama (Jess), Wednesday (Caroline), thing (Cole), Gomez (Leron), Morticia (Shiri), Lurch (Jack) and Pugsley (Jacob)

In the spooky month of October 2019, the Fulton Fam got together to throw our first rager - an extravagant Addams family party. Thanks to the creative inspiration of the group, we were able to pull off some spooky vibes, including spider webs, grey hair, ridiculous mustaches, and more.

Late 2018 marked the beginning of the Fulton house era- too many nights sitting around watching Fort Night, debating Zinc in double-blind tests, and hundreds more conversations that none of us can remember… We will never forget the eclectic energy Jess brought into the Fulton house. The large batches of pasta & pesto she cooked and the lotions & soaps she brewed up. Brew hahah. As the first alumnus of the Fulton house, Jess has since ventured out to #adult in her 2 bedroom apartment in Nob Hill.

Before Jess left us, we had one last BirthRight hoorah with Jacob’s new friends. There was a peculiar guy making brisket in our oven, and handing samples around like a Costco on a Saturday afternoon. Shiri infamously used her photoshop skills to crop the beloved Leron Gil into the house party he missed. Good times!

December 2018

How could we forget the numerous ski trips in 2019 with Jess? There were so many weekends bopping around down the slopes in Heavenly, Kirkwood and North Star. On this specific photographed trip, Jess and Caroline celebrated their birthdays with a weekend getaway to Northstar. Too much Secret Hitler was played. Things got wild. Other board games were forced upon us (lol). But looking back it was a great time hanging with friends, drinking champagne on the mountain and blasting some groovy tunes down the mountain.

Over the holidays, Chinese food is a tradition… a very delicious meal at Koi Palace! While living in Fulton, there was a 2 month hiatus where just Jess, Caroline and Jacob occupied the house. Some like to call that period of time “the cleanest time of Fulton”, others call bullshit. The three bonded over diverging political opinions, bitching about who never cleaned their dishes and doing korean face masks.

2019

January 2019

Ringing in the New 2019 Year in San Francisco with a large group of our friends was quite the experience! Great to celebrate together together at the boom boom room with some live music (but also not great that the window got smashed 😂)

One of Jess’s many ascents at Mission Cliffs! Go Jess send it!

Only Jess and her gleaming charisma could rally coworkers to see a concert AND have work pay for our HH drinks (thanks for the sus hand-written receipt for expensing, @Madrone Art Bar). We saw her beloved Magic City Hippies at The Independent which was funky and upbeat Miami vibes all around. Also pictured are Mary and Georgine who are/soon working in New Zealand as well.

February 2019

Always remember the earplugs! Jess knows how to concert.

March 2019

Soccer moms go to Warby Parker. Epic picture and times of Jess with the Fulton boys.

April 2019

A new(ish) face joined the Holmes Fire SF team- finally Jess and Irene’s LDR was over! This was our first team building activity as a new group and with Jess in charge of course we ended up climbing!

Celebrating Eva’s Birthday with a fun rooftop HH at El Teco on a sunny spring day!

Jess, Eva and Irene order frozen pina coladas and take in the views before a Mission bar crawl of sorts, closing nice and early with burritos from El Farolito.

May 2019

Hanging out at the top of the SalesForce tower. Pro tip, bring a structural engineer for some great commentary.

Bay to Breakers with team eggs and team hippies (aka Jess’s typical aesthetic)!

Always discussing the most important topics at work- like water bottle sticker placement! #bigdecisions

July 2019

One of the best Holmes site visits ever!!

Jess and Eva drive up North for a wine country getaway they won a while back at a silent auction. En route they plow through La Croix cans, have a rad lunch in Sebastopol and dip their feet in the picturesque Russian River. Early evening, they taste and tour facilities at Moshin Vineyards in Forestville (shout outs to that delightfully dry pinot noir rosé) before stargazing (ft. skunk!) and cozying up in a cabin suite with the movie Sideways. The next day, they have a beautiful morning walk by the vineyards. By way of Jess’ parents, they land in Ronald McDonald’s home for a private tasting. Jess learns she loves fruit-forward wines!

September 2019

The second infamous backpacking trip! **GIRLS TRIP**!!!! The time we thought it’d be smart to not get camping food and cook kraft mac and cheese with no microwave. What it came out to be was a big bowl of cheese goop, with Ella, Anna, Olaf and unicorn characters drowned in there. A big SHOUTOUT to Marie for pulling through with the fancy face creams and sharing with the group, us talking about waxing *ahem* body parts and again, Leeza leading the charge with Foxy! At night, we laid out on the benches and stared up at the stars - the night was so clear! We couldn’t stop laughing over things I can no longer remember… except about discovering the world was indeed not flat. Once again, Caroline likely peed 20 times total, and was coughing and heaving (sorry for being sick!) 😅

Jess and Eva get weird in Portland! Where they sip rooftop beers, frolick in the Nike HQ ( a mass timber wonderland), meet Big Foot and Krampus, procure free passes to a saucy community event, dance to 80s music at a goth bar/visit crusty dive bars, have a prime strawberry cough (and beanie) experience @ Electric Lettuce, savor prime Bamboo sushi, and Jess gets a cute ass tragus piercing. Throughout the trip Jess wears a lot of black to Eva’s delight #moody #angsty. On their walks to the Portland office, Jess appreciates the changing fall leaves and residential neighborhoods, feeling reminded of home on the East Coast.

Just another amazing Jill Hike ;)

October 2019

OK - San Francisco was filled with challenges… and Tough Mudder was one of them! Although we found out that at the end of the race - you would be electrocuted - we persisted. We - as a team - got through to the finish line. So proud of everyone for completing the race! Although Caroline was the only one who copped out of electric shock. The number of times we dunked into mud baths and climbed 10 ft walls…

Jess’s favorite time of the year and a visit from Tariq! Jess and Eva decorated the whole office to look super ~spooky~ON ANOTHER LEVEL (featuring creepy clown photos, hella cobwebs and caution tape, bloody stickers, and of course fake plastic bugs) and organized a halloween bar crawl around North Beach (@ Maggie McGarrie’s and Tupelo)!

November 2019

A big fan of live music, Jess is a great Concert buddy. Always down to explore new music and venues! This was such a fun bonding night where we got greyhounds, beers, caught up on life and danced at Polo & Pan. So fun!

Proxima Parada at Milk Bar birthday concert where Jess got a shout-out from the band! ft. a blurry instagram story and classic typos. Prior, the whole squad turns up at Hobson’s Choice over punch bowls.

HP marathon or studying for PE? Well! let's master both!

December 2019

One of the best days in December was unexpected. It started out with a simple brunch plan but ended in a full day of activities!! New spot on polk was where Jess and Maries’ friendship began and continued to blossom!

After having an amazing meal (great eggs benedict) and hours of catching up we decided to walk back to our houses together (since we are neighbors!!). Jess was excited to see Marie’s new couch (that was 50% off hehe) and decided to come over. Kap, Jess and Marie did a long (super difficult) puzzle (connected a few pieces) and watched netflix. We order Thai food (Kap ordered us cookies) and we relaxed all day. It was a special day where the three of us reminisced about San Francisco and all of our time here. It was a day no one wanted to end!!

Holmes Holiday Party- Jess’s favorite drink was the beet cocktail 😉

Cozy three course italian dinner with wine at 3pm! Best part of the afternoon was my hot date, Jess ;)

Jess and her neighborhood park (shoutout to nob hill, the real MVP) winning Shiri over with its views on views.

January 2019

On one of Jess’s final few Tahoe ski weekends, she SENT IT down a black diamond on her first weekend back of the season. Harrison found a great photo opp for Jess, Marie and Caroline against the Xtreme advanced only sign. The weekend was filled with playing Mafia, jamming to tunes down the slope, exploring Squaw valley, having some nice Apres Ski, and getting fed some good, slow-cooked food (haha!).

[JESS, INSERT YOUR PHOTOS FROM THE LAST WEEKEND IN SF!!!]

NOTES FROM YOUR BIFFLES TO SEND YOU OFF <3

Dear Jess,

Thank you for entering into my life and being saggitarius soulmates. I love that we are on the same page about so many things - planning, me-time, boys (kinda), beards, skiing, tardiness, traveling, being avoidant, being wholesome and SO MUCH MORE. I’m so happy we bonded over the last couple years we’ve known each other. I miss all the times I would knock on your door and catch up while you marie kondo-d your entire closet. Thank you for pushing me in new and different ways which you may not have realized (like forcing me to vote) and inspiring me to do good with the environment (hehe).

You are kind-hearted, loyal, so brave and bold and I’m so proud of you for going out on this adventure to New Zealand!! I will miss you lots in San Francisco and miss the ridiculous random shit we would laugh at during out ski trips or cooking or when we could catch up at home. Thank you for always listening whenever I felt like blabbing on and helping keep me grounded. So excited to visit New Zealand and can’t wait to explore! Plz don’t forget all the great memz we had in SF!!

Love you lots XOXO

Caroline

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Jess!!! We have done it all together and now we can add New Zealand to that list too! I’m so glad that we got to overlap in SF and I had you here to show me to ropes. I can’t wait to follow your kiwi adventures and see all the fun things you do.

Love you lots!!

Xoxo

Irene

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JESSICA. My favorite small person to kiss on the head. I am so glad we could bond over our love of funky music and skiing. I’ll always be here to make sure you don’t look like an egg on the ski slopes and can’t wait to visit you and your Kiwi men soon. You are a sweet, funny, life of the party small person who’s going to find so much success and kiwi men in NZ. Love you so much, and may the yearly backpacking live on!

-Leez

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Dear Jess, You are such a sweet soul that is thoughtful and cares about everyone around you. I’m so thankful I had the opportunity to meet ya (ty shiri!!) and get to know you over the last year and a half. I always have so much fun on our walks, breakfast dates, or ski trips (and so much more). I’m so extremely happy for you to be following your dreams (and a lil sad that we won’t be neighbors anymore). I can’t wait to come visit ya and enjoy more adventures together! Love ya, Marie!!

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Jess - I love seeing how far we’ve come since our truss-ty mechanics class, traveling across the country and seeking out all the best from life! Although your soul belongs in a hippy world, I know you will find your people and place no matter where you land (just keep being YOU). New Zealand is lucky to be getting the tiniest force around. You will certainly be missed, but know that I’m just a WhatsApp message (or a quick flight!) away :). Excited for the tiny tourist travels ahead <3

Love, Shiri

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Blonde Meets Brunette. Relatively Tall Meets Considerably Short. East Coast Meets West Coast. Engineering Major Meets Fine Arts Major. Happy Music Meets Sad Music. On paper we might come across as opposites, but internally and emotionally I am so grateful for the rich grey areas and nuances we’ve discovered that we contain. The odds were slim for us to cross paths in this big ol’ universe,and I’m so grateful we found each other to help tame and ground the ups and downs of being-in-your-twenties. You have been a guiding, real, and empowering force since Day 1, and you’ve taught me so much. I can’t wait to see all you accomplish in this new chapter and far beyond! ALL the love to the best work wife there ever was.

Eva Slusser

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Yo,

Glad we have been able to go on a bunch of snowy adventures. Look forward to visiting your weird kiwi fire life sometime and I'm sorry I always assumed you were the mafia.

-Dave

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Jess,

It was great getting to know you even if it was only for a short amount of time. Will always remember you bombing it down that double black diamond at squaw, the hike in Berkeley, and the constant disapproving looks sent my way.

GO PRO CAPTURE

- H

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Jess!! Thank you for being the kindest soul your are. I enjoyed every bits and pieces of our friendship from Stas' lab to smoke control class to getting to bond more here in SF.

Can't wait to follow the tiny tourist adventures through this new kiwi chapter. Auckland is lucky to have you!

Love you and see you soon!

Parisa

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This post serves as written confirmation that I have previously stated thank you and please and no longer require these societal norms to be restated. Once I see you in New Zealand, reside in your dwelling and depart back to San Francisco, I will not provide a thank you note. I expect the same from you.

See you soon,

Leron

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Jess - We will miss you, but having a friend leave SF is easier when you know theres great adventures ahead for them. I’m excited for all your NZ adventures, and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t jealous. Keep us in the loop and I look forward to seeing you in the future.

-jacob

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356mission · 7 years

Photo

List of artists who have participated in exhibitions at 356 Mission: 2013 Laura Owens Math Bass Mike Bouchet Sarah Braman Sara Clendening Barry Johnston Kricket Lane Daniel McDonald Pentti Monkkonen Matt Paweski Jennifer Rochlin Colin Snapp Jessica Stockholder Oscar Tuazon Daniel Turner Amy Yao Eric Palgon Yshai Yudekovitz Nicholas Arehart Bridget Batch + Kevin Cooley Danielle Bustillo Joey Cannizzaro Jamie Hilder Meghan Gordon Becca Lieb Mindy Lu David Sikander Muenzer Bryne Rasmussen-Smith + Andrew Smith-Rasmussen Tatiana Vahan Sturtevant Shimon Minamikawa 2014 John Kaufman Scott Reeder Oliver Payne Yuki Kimura Alex Katz Michael Dopp, Calvin Marcus, and Isaac Resnikoff Trevor Shimizu Becca Albee Brody Albert and Kaeleen Wescoat-O'Neill Lilly Aldriedge Katie Aliprando Mark Allen Dewey Ambrosino Marie Angeletti Eika Aoshima Jonathan Apgar Cory Arcangel Jacinto Astiazaran Lisa Anne Auerbach John Baldessari Judie Bamber Ray Anthony Barrett Peter Barrickman Darcy Bartoletti Math Bass Stephen Berens Jennifer Berger Molly Berman Cindy Bernard Amy Bessone Lucas Blalock Seth Bogart Jennifer Bolande Joseph Bolstad Elba Bondaroff Marco Braunschweiler Brian Bress Brian Briggs and Laura Copelin Delia Brown Sally Bruno Edgar Bryan Elizabeth Bryant Jedediah Caesar Jedediah Caesar and Kate Costello (Extraterrestrial) Sarah Cain Kristin Calabrese Ingrid Calame Ross Caliendo Joshua Callaghan Brian Calvin Andrew Cannon Ben Carlson Jae Choi Milano Chow Donna Chung Jonathan Clarke Sara Clendening Justin Cole Kelly Marie Conder Matt Connors Vanessa Conte Alika Cooper Liz Craft Meg Cranston Cameron Crone CH Cummings Lila De Magalheas Dave Deany Michael Decker Gracie DeVito Michael Dopp Katie Douglass Lauren Dudko Julia Dzwonkoski and Kye Potter Mari Eastman Brad Eberhard Clifford Eberly Shannon Ebner Benjamin Echeverria Ken Ehrlich Alyse Emdur Karl Erickson Ron Ewert Ann Faison Cayetano Ferrer Gabrielle Ferrer Luke Fischbeck Katy Fischer Morgan Fisher Jesse Fleming Maya Ford Simone Forti Brendan Fowler Magdalena Suarez Frimkess Erik Frydenborg Francesca Gabbiani and Eddie Ruscha Nikolas Gambaroff Kathryn Garcia John Geary Veronica Gelbaum Rashell George Laeh Glenn Samara Golden Piero Golia Sayre Gomez Hannah Greely Justin John Greene Cassandre M. Griffin Katie Grinnan Mark Grock Julian Gross Karin Gulbran Jamal Gunn Becker Karl Haendel Mark Hagen Rick Hager Kate Mosher Hall Kevin Hanley Justin Hansch Peter Harkawik Jenny Hart Jeff Hassay Michael Henry Hayden and Anthony Lepore Carol Hendrickson James Herman Nick Herman Roger Herman Marcus Herse Paul Heyer Ian Hokin Evan Holloway Violet Hopkins and Foxy Production Jonathan Horowitz Amy Howden-Chapman Joe Hoyt Melissa Huddleston Cannon Hudson Amy-Claire Huestis Raymie Iadevaia Mitsuko Ikeno Daniel Ingroff Charles Irvin Alex Israel James Iveson Johanna Jackson Dain Johnson Kathleen Johnson Barry Johnston Emily Joyce E'wao Kagoshima Stanya Kahn Glenn Kaino, Sadie Kaino, and Stella Kaino Raffi Kalenderian Sanya Kantarovsky Matt Keegan Michael John Kelly Sean Kennedy Julie Kirkpatrick Karen Kilimnik Tom Knechtel Keith Rocka Knittel Rebecca Kolsrud David Korty Greg Kozaki Max Krivitzky Cyril Kuhn Rosina Kuhn Andrew Kuo Shio Kusaka Joel Kyack Molly Larkey Elad Lassry Tom Lawson William Leavitt Ann Leese Sarah Lehrer-Graiwer Alex Lemke Julia Leonard Anthony Lepore Sharon Lockhart Nick Lowe Tim Lokiec Andrea Longacre-White Anaïs Lozano Christopher Lux Caleb Lyons Matt MacFarland Ashley Macomber Tobias Madison Becca Mann Josh Mannis Chloé Maratta Calvin Steele Marcus Frank Masi Max Maslansky Katie S. McCauley and Bradly D. Fischer Danny McDonald Ross McLain Alex Meadows Jason Meadows Mieko Meguro Dain Mergenthaler Matt Merkel Hess and Conrad Merkel Donato Mezzenga Dianna Molzan Pentti Monkkonen Rebecca Morris Jane Moseley Hanne Mugaas Joshua Nathanson Davida Nemeroff Ruby Neri Ryan O'Halloran Tara Jane O'Neil J.D. Olerud Silke Otto-Knapp Robin Paravecchio and Ignacio Genzon Michael Parker John Parot Jane Parshall Julia Paull Mary Pearson Andrew Hirsch Perlman Jon Pestoni Primo Pitino Todd Pleasants Megan Plunkett Monique Prieto Jon Pylypchuk Chadwick Rantanen Sarah Rara Josh Reames Isaac Resnikoff Michael Rey John Riepenhoff Carolyn Pennypacker Riggs Shelby Roberts Jennifer Rochlin Ry Rocklen Torbjorn Rodland Mark A. Rodriguez Alix Ross & Morgan Ritter Amanda Ross-Ho Amanda Ross-Ho and Erik Frydenborg with Jorge, Mother, and Bud Nancy Sandercock Melinda Sanders Aaron Sandnes Rachelle Sawatsky Asha Schechter Carolee Schneeman Max Schwartz Zach Schwartz John Seal David Benjamin Sherry Peter Shire Flannery Silva Alex Slade Ryan Sluggett Alexis Smith Barbara T. Smith Jen Smith Joe Sola Frances Stark Linda Stark Jason Starr A.L. Steiner LeRoy Stevens Kate Stewart Thaddeus Strode Ricky Swallow Jordyn Sweet Martine Syms Tara Tavi Paul Theriault Amanda Tollefson Beatrice Valenzuela Monique Van Genderen Sigrid Vejvi Mark Verabioff Laura Vitale Erika Vogt Amy Von Harrington Christine Wang Mary Weatherford Michael Webster Benjamin Weissman John Wesley Brica Wilcox Chris Wilder Elise Marie Wille Lisa Williamson Lena Wolek Nate Wolf Jonas Wood Suzanne Wright Aaron Wrinkle Wendy Yao Jason Yates Michael Zahn Bari Ziperstein Jesse Fleming Larry Sultan André-Pierre Arnal Pierre Buraglio Louis Cane Noël Dolla Daniel Dezeuze Christian Jaccard Jean-Michel Meurice Bernard Pagés Jean-Pierre Pincemin Patrick Saytour Claude Viallat 2015 Anna Helm Lisa Lapinski Jay Chung & Q Takeki Maeda Lisa Anne Auerbach Lucky deBellevue Rochelle Feinstein Dane Johnson Jane Kaplowitz Max Krivitzky Ann Leese Cary Leibowitz Paul McMahon Rob Pruitt Sam Roeck Ruth Root Jason Rosenberg Theo Rosenblum + Chelsea Seltzer Joe Scanlan Lena Wolek Sam Anderson Becca Albee Eric Wesley Ben Vida Katy Fischer Kerry Tribe Graham Lambkin Shahryar Nashat Seth Bogart Nancy Lupo and Molly McFadden Rebecca Morris Gary Indiana 2016 Susan Cianciolo Seth Price Wayne Koestenbaum Lutz Bacher Chris Domenick & Em Rooney Wu Tsang Maggie Lee Eric VVysokan John Seal 2017 Trisha Baga Brian Sharp David Reed Henning Bohl C-Brushammer COBRA Daisuke Fukunaga Naotaka Hiro Ken Kagami Veit Laurent Kurz Soshiro Matsubara Puppies Puppies Stephen G. Rhodes Trevor Shimizu Yosuke Takayama Yuji Agematsu Nancy Arlen Jeremy Anderson Hans Bellmer Bill Bollinger Lee Bontecou Robert Breer Dan Burkhart Cameron Nicolas Ceccaldi Magalie Comeau Tony Conrad Jay DeFeo Michaela Eichwald Agustin Fernandez Terry Fox Ilka Gedő Jean-Léon Gérôme Bill Hayden Matt Hoyt Steve Keister Mike Kelley William Leavitt Lee Lozano Robert Mallary Harold Mendez Henri Michaux Eric Orr Tom Rankin Deborah Remington John Singer Sargent Michael E. Smith Unica Zürn Jacqueline Kiyomi Gordon

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monako-jinn-stories · 3 years

Text

The Lucky Batch ☘️

Fortune Cookies

Ryder walked in quietly, a blank expression on his face. No one took notice as he stood and looked around the room. He let a smirk slowly grow as he reached into his bag, grabbing a surprise. He lifted his arm and threw the object at Ballast, watching as it hit his head.

“Hey! What was that for?” Ballast said while looking up, slightly confused.

“Look at it,” Ryder replied. Ballast hesitantly looked down before a grin came to his face.

“It’s a fortune cookie!”

“What? Why don’t I get one?” Foxy said as he frowned at his brother.

“Don’t worry, I got us all one,” Ryder said before chucking one at Foxy’s head. He repeated that action for everyone in the room, ending with Thumbs, who gave him a thumbs up when he received his.

“Oh! Can I read mine first?” Pepper asked excitedly. The others nodded, letting their brother read.

“It says, ‘sticky days are coming.’ Does that mean more stickers?! I think it means more stickers!” He nearly yelled, excitedly reaching into his pocket and slapping a fortune cookie sticker on his nearest brother, which happened to be Cypher.

“Ha! Mine says, ‘you’re going to be blown away soon.’ Do you think that has something to do with blowing something up?” Ballast questioned.

“If by something, you mean yourself, then yes,” Skip responded, to which Ballast stuck his tongue out at.

“Don’t listen to him, Ballast. I’m sure your next project will work!” Thumbs said, trying to reassure his brother.

“I can tell you’re lying, but thanks anyways.”

“Everyone quiet, I’m going to read mine,” Jackal announced. “‘Something will crash land into your life.’ Do you think it’s a new ship?”

“Please, for the love of the Maker, no,” Ryder said, suppressing a shiver.

“What’s going on in here?” Raffle said as he walked into the room, seeing the clones all holding tiny pieces of paper.

“Ryder brought us fortune cookies, and they’re strangely accurate,” Boots said.

“Fortune cookies?”

“Yeah. Here, mine says, ‘you are about to witness something that might possibly end someone’s life…’” Jack said, his words slowly as he got further down the sentence. He looked up and met Raffle’s confused expression before it happened. He clapped a hand to his mouth to stop his laughter as a fortune cookie bounced off of Raffle’s face.

“S-sorry Captain,” Ryder said as he tried not to laugh. “I wasn’t aiming directly for your face.” Raffle merely slowly turned to face Ryder, his eyes narrowing as he stared dangerously at the clone.

“Run,” was all the Captain said before Ryder’s eyes went wide, dropping the bag and sprinting from the room, Raffle chasing after him.

“What was that all about?” General Whiro asked as she walked in.

“Ryder threw a fortune cookie at Raffle’s face,” Sparks snickered.

“And I got it on holovideo!” Luna added happily. A minute later, as they all sat around and discussed their fortunes, Ryder ran back in, out of breath.

“Hide me! He has the fly swatter!” He then dove behind Brisk and Rane, trying to shield himself from their Captain.

“Where is he?” Raffle said as he walked in, eyes scanning the room.

“He went that way,” Rane replied, pointing out the far door.

“Thanks,” Raffle said before running out, shoving G00-S out of the way as he went.

“You’re safe now, Ryder,” Brisk said while patting his head.

“You know, I think I’m going to stay back here for a little while longer…just in case.” The others in the room laughed before going back to their previous activities, only for Raffle to run back in right as Ryder came out of hiding. Another deadly chase ensued, and it lasted all night until G00-S tripped Ryder and Raffle tackled him, swatting at him with the fly swatter.

@lusiawonder @lavenderstaars @namesmox @generaltano @foxlock @just-another-dreamerr @mango-peachjuice @cosmicghostie @lynnpaper @longearedowlfromouterspace @oo-hazel-oo @maygaladon @radbatch @letsunity sorry if I left some Lucky Batch members out!

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the-lucky-batch · 3 years

Text

Jedi: they can’t possibly lose this

*two minutes later*

Jackal: damnit, where’d I park?

Foxy: you mean where you crashed?

Jackal: semantics, brother

Raffle: how do you lose a whole venator?

Pepper: skill, obviously

19 notes · View notes

just-another-dreamerr · 3 years

Text

37th Battalion (The Lucky Batch ☘️)

Just some 37th shenanigans✨

Bugs

"What are you up to?" Cypher asked, spotting Foxy sneakily hiding behind a ship in the hangar, his eyes peeking over it.

He jumped, surprised, and placed his hands quickly behind his back, sushing. The interpreter directed a pointed look at whatever he was obviously hiding, and after a moment of hesitation, Foxy gave him a mischievous grin and showed him what was caged by his palms.

A bright, lively moth wriggled from within his fingers.

"Watch this," he whispered, and Cypher stared as he stood out of the hiding spot and walked towards a ship two clones were working intensely.

Oh, this was gonna be great.

"You see if I put this thing here…" Ballast said, tinkering with the panel wires, tongue sticking out in concentration.

Jackal slapped his hands off the console, nudging him away. "Don't you dare touch my ABBA music."

"But what if—"

"Hey, guys!" Foxy called out casually, getting right behind them and placinh his hands between their heads. "Check this thing out."

They both turned around to face him, and froze.

He could actually see their faces morph in half a click from confusion to horror as they saw the creature in his hands, and then—

"GET THAT THING AWAY FROM ME."

"KILL IT, KILL IT WITH FIRE."

High pitch screams filled the hangar as Ballast and Jackal springed back fast, trying to get the hell away from the colorful moth he was holding. Cypher was cackling in the background, struggling to get air in between uncontrollable laughter, and the chaos bringer had the biggest, shit eating grin in his face.

"FOXY, I SWEAR, IF YOU DON'T TAKE THAT THING AWAY—"

"Awww, but she's harmless," the clone cooed, thrusting the insect closer to his frantic brother.

Ballast screeched again and threw a wrench, but it was dodged easily and clattered onto the floor. Cypher only laughed harder and Foxy snorted.

"If that thing so much as TOUCHES ME—"

"Relax, vod, it's just a bug. I have it under cont—

The moth wings fluttered for a moment, and took off from his palm before Foxy could stop it. Between the bright lights and the mess of tools and ship parts, it disappeared in a blink.

For a second, nobody moved.

The sharpshooter smiled nervously, feeling his brothers' murderous glares pierce him like a kebab. "Whoops…?"

And then chaos exploded once again.

"WHERE IS IT?"

"IT TOUCHED ME."

"Guys, it's okay, I'm sure it couldn't have gotten far—"

"THAT'S WHAT I'M FREAKING OUT ABOUT."

"BALLAST NO, PUT DOWN THAT EXPLOSIVE—"

@lavenderstaars @lynnpaper @foxlock @maygaladon @radbatch @oo-hazel-oo @letsunity @monako-jinn-stories @mango-peachjuice @lusiawonder @catboy-tech @cosmicghostie :D

#the lucky batch #clone force 37 #f37 foxy #f37 cypher #f37 ballast #f37 jackal #lule writes #37th battalion #fam force 37

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juliayepes · 7 years

Text

The Sly Poetics of Terry Zwigoff

"I can't relate to 99 percent of humanity," says a character in Terry Zwigoff's perceptive cult film Ghost World (2001). That movie—an ode to alienation, loneliness, and the melancholy process of growing up—was inspired by the graphic novel of the same name by Daniel Clowes. It's a bittersweet comedy with a strange but alluring rhythm that intricately captures the peculiar moods and emotions of its characters, which include two teenage girls, Enid (Thora Birch) and Rebecca (Scarlett Johansson); Seymour (Steve Buscemi), a middle-aged record collector; and various other characters in an unnamed suburban town. Zwigoff and Clowes collaborated on Ghost World's Oscar-nominated screenplay. With its intentionally oversaturated colors, quirky characters, and offbeat dialogue, the movie bears the signature features of Zwigoff's work. Ghost World was Zwigoff's first fictional film. Previously, he had made Crumb (1995), a startling documentary about a celebrated underground cartoonist that won the Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury Prize. Zwigoff's other films include Bad Santa (2003), a wicked (but redemptive) comedy starring Billy Bob Thornton and Tony Cox that was a commercial hit; Art School Confidential (2006), a deft satire, loosely based on a short comic by Clowes; and Louie Bluie (1985), an hour-long documentary portrait of obscure musician, artist, and storyteller Howard Armstrong. Zwigoff's movies are filled with playful touches, as well as withering commentary about consumer culture. In Art School Confidential, there's an Apocalypse Now poster on a film student's dorm-room wall and a cat adoption flyer that's visible during a gruesome campus crime. In a single scene in Ghost World, we see signage for Popeyes, Radio Shack, ProNutrition, Sony Panasonic, and Budweiser, while in Crumb, we see glimpses of Payless Shoe Source, Foxy Lady Boutique, and Picway Shoes. Ahead of a film series devoted to his work at Metrograph, the Lower East Side movie theater in New York, we corresponded with Zwigoff over email. Over six days, he answered our questions—sending a batch of responses each day. He's mild-mannered, but friendly and generous, with a lightness that wasn't evident in earlier profiles. Despite his own occasional feelings of alienation, one of the reasons Zwigoff's films are so insightful is that he's empathetic and attuned to the feelings of others. "I try to relate to almost every single character in my films," he writes. "It makes them much easier to direct." JULIA YEPES: It's hard to think of a movie that, across the board, is as well cast as Ghost World. Were there actors in the film who you had the idea to cast or who you really wanted for their roles? TERRY ZWIGOFF: I was lucky enough to get my first choice for almost every single part in the film, which was a minor miracle in itself. Except for Brad Renfro. He wasn't my idea. I wanted someone much more naturally reticent and introverted [for Josh]. Brad was a rambunctious, outgoing sort. That said, he did a good job, considering the casting was so faulty. And Teri Garr did a fine job [as Maxine], but she wasn't my idea. I was having a difficult time finding someone for that part when Steve Buscemi suggested her. And she was terrific. YEPES: You've said that the first place that most films go wrong is in casting. In the case of Ghost World, Thora Birch and Scarlett Johansson were not necessarily obvious choices for the roles of Enid and Rebecca. You thought Thora was better suited to play the role of the conventionally attractive Rebecca than she was to play Enid, the maladjusted one. Do you think that the casting of the two leads added a dimension to the film that wasn't in the graphic novel? ZWIGOFF: I wasn't as concerned with adding another dimension to the film as I was with maintaining a feeling of truth. I recall having a hard time convincing everyone to go along with me wanting to cast Scarlett. I'd seen her in Manny & Lo (1996) and The Horse Whisperer (1998) and I thought she was really terrific. The studio wanted a bigger name and was suggesting a number of older actresses to me, most closer to 30. I thought if this thing were to have any chance of feeling real at the end of the day, we had to hire actresses who were actual teenagers. Scarlett was actually only 15 at the time, but she certainly had the poise to play a little older. Hell, she probably had enough poise to play 35! And then the studio, in their quest for bigger names, suggested Thora after American Beauty (1999) was a big hit. I originally was wary of hiring her for the role of Enid because she played a somewhat similar role in American Beauty and I wanted to differentiate between the two parts. But Thora was really persistent and dedicated and really wanted the part and kept after me. She actually gained 20 pounds to play Enid which I think helped a little bit, but it was her acting ability that really made it work. YEPES: The theme of the two friends growing apart is at the heart of Ghost World. How much did you, Thora, and Scarlett talk about the friendship between Enid and Rebecca beforehand? How did Thora and Scarlett develop the relationship of two college-age girls who've probably known each other all of their lives? ZWIGOFF: I don't recall if we ever spoke of it directly, or anyone in the cast or crew having a hand in it. I give full credit to Thora and Scarlett for building a convincing friendship in a very few days before we had to start shooting. I'm not sure to this day how they pulled that off, but we all hit it off and had a lot of laughs together, on and off the set—I think that helped. I try to make the set as relaxed and fun and stress-free as humanly possible, while still having control over things. It's usually tension that hurts a performance or makes it seem self-conscious. YEPES: Seymour provides an interesting parallel to Enid, and in a sense, his inclusion makes the movie more poignant. Both he and Enid are lonely and both he and Enid are misunderstood. By including Seymour in the movie, Enid has to confront the notion of unfulfilled adulthood more directly. Were there other ideas or issues you wanted to introduce through Seymour's character? ZWIGOFF I wanted to make it a romantic comedy, as well as a coming-of-age story. And through his character, I was able to make it a social and cultural satire as well. YEPES: Near the end of Ghost World, there's a shot of a pensive Enid walking through town. There's a melancholy soundtrack, and a middle-aged sportswear-clad man with a soda and a bag of fast food passes through the frame. The inclusion of these weird, sad characters is the sort of personal touch of yours that adds a layer of pathos and humor, but that also serves as commentary about your view of the world. And in Crumb, there are striking sequences that show people outdoors who seem to reflect aspects of Robert Crumb's perspective. When you made Louie Bluie and Crumb, were you thinking about the kinds of details you could incorporate into fictional films that would make them seem more true to life? Had you wanted to make fictional films long before Ghost World? ZWIGOFF: Incorporating details was more of a natural inclination than a game plan in both documentary and fiction films. It layers the films in a way that allows them to hold up to multiple viewings. The thing I was up against in documentary films—and mine were both primarily character studies—was trying to get non-actors to convincingly play themselves in a way I'd come to know before the camera started rolling. And many non-actors can't do that convincingly, even if they just have to play themselves—they can't be naturalistic. And I would always want to recreate something I'd witnessed them do or say, and it just would be incredibly difficult because of the fact they weren't actors. And so I started thinking it might be more satisfying to just work with actors and get to tell them exactly what to say and how to say it. That appealed to me and led me to fictional films. You get so much more control. I think control is one of the things that appeals to me about cinema in general. You can force people to sit in the dark and focus on this story you're telling them without any distractions. In real life, people seem very distracted all the time. YEPES: The specificity of many moments in Ghost World and Art School Confidential makes them seem like they've been drawn directly from real life, like when Seymour's roommate decides the mongoose at his yard sale is not for sale one week and yet it's at his booth again the next week. Were a good deal of the details and exchanges that you and Daniel Clowes came up with things one of you had observed, and if so, can you recall a few examples? ZWIGOFF: Some were based on things we'd observed—and often disguised and exaggerated or embellished—and some were entirely imagined. Seymour's roommate Joe is based on my old friend Al Dodge. He didn't usually run a garage sale out of his house (he often sold at the Alameda Flea Market) and he didn't own the mongoose taxidermy (I used to have it before I gave it to an ex-girlfriend). But anyway, Al always had a reluctance to part with anything—especially once you made the mistake of expressing any interest in it. Then it'd always be this, "Naaaah ... I dunno ... I may have to hang onto that." Or, "That's not officially for sale." That kind of thing. I've witnessed similar behavior from many collectors over the years, actually. They have a hard time letting go of the treasures they've hoarded, or maybe they just like to play with you. Or maybe they get suspicious once you express interest in it that it must be worth more. For whatever reason, I found that trait memorable and wrote it into the script. YEPES: I watched Ghost World with my boyfriend, who's a record collector, last week. We were cracking up at the behavior and the language of the collectors in the movie—he even more than me—because we recognized so much of it. ZWIGOFF: Does your boyfriend collect 78s? That was, of course, the easiest scene for me to write in the entire film—I could have written a 30-page scene of that milieu's jargon. YEPES: No, but he only buys records that are in pristine condition—like some of the collectors in the movie. ZWIGOFF: Ha! YEPES: One of the things I'm struck by in your fiction films is the dialogue. In Bad Santa, there are quick exchanges between Santa and children that are really funny: "What do you want?" "Pokémon." "Done." ZWIGOFF: I give full credit to the Bad Santa screenwriters John Requa and Glenn Ficara for a wonderful script. YEPES: Is good dialogue one of the most important elements in that you look for in a script? ZWIGOFF: Yes. Dialogue that's distinctive, funny, peculiar, and specific is the main thing that makes me want to get involved with a film to begin with. There was a line in that script I really loved, which almost single-handedly got me to sign up for the film. "Sweet Jews for Jesus," laments the store manager as he sees Santa destroying SantaLand. That really had me laughing. You have to say it with a southern accent. The Coen Brothers are great at dialogue too, of course. Very smart. YEPES: You also devised the scenario for what's probably my favorite moment in Bad Santa. It's the scene where the mother and child approach Santa at the mall on his lunch break. For anyone who's ever had a miserable job, it's a highly relatable moment. ZWIGOFF: I was inspired by "The Santaland Diaries" by David Sedaris—I give him a lot of credit for that scene. I wanted to help make an unlikeable protagonist more sympathetic and I thought this scene helped the audience get there in a truthful sort of way. YEPES: What do you think are other strengths you have as a director? ZWIGOFF: I think I have pretty good taste in the projects I choose to take on. It's a blessing and a curse—I certainly could have worked a lot more if I wasn't as selective, but I just can't bring myself to spend two years of my life slaving away on some project I'm not really enthused about. YEPES: What was your life as an adult like before Crumb was released? And how has it changed since then? ZWIGOFF: I was plagued with a lot of back pain during the years I was making Crumb. I doubt it had anything to do with making the film, but it's since disappeared, which makes my life and outlook much sunnier. YEPES: According to his wife, Aline, you were Robert Crumb's best friend at the time you were making the documentary about him. You must have known how good the film could be as you were shooting some of it. ZWIGOFF: The very first footage I shot was of Charles Crumb and I was certain I had a great film after that very first day. I thought, "I'll just edit this footage of Charles and show potential investors a sample of it. It's so strong that no one will hesitate to give me the money to finish this." Sadly that wasn't the case. It took years to scrape together the money. YEPES: Did you have a sense it could be your breakthrough film? ZWIGOFF: I never thought in terms of a "breakthrough" film. I wasn't looking for fame or a career path into Hollywood. I was doing it for myself. I just wanted to make a film that I really loved. If other people liked it, great. But you can never guess what other people are going to like. YEPES: Roger Ebert quoted you as saying during the nine years that it took to make Crumb, you were averaging an income of about $200 a month and critic Jonathan Rosenbaum said you were in therapy during the making of that documentary. Do you think you've become better able to cope with challenges as you've gotten older? ZWIGOFF: Yes, I'm better able to cope with everything, largely thanks to that awful back pain subsiding. YEPES: I love the moment in Louie Bluie when Howard Armstrong reacts to an outdoor Picasso sculpture in Chicago, emphatically saying he can't relate to it and you should be able to relate to art. At what point during the making of Louie Bluie did you decide you wanted to shoot Howard in shops and walking down the street? The scenes of both Howard and of Robert Crumb interacting with the environments around them reveal so much about their characters. ZWIGOFF: In both films, even though they're documentaries, I had hundreds of pages of notes and ideas I'd jotted down in preparation for planning what I was going to film. I'd sat with Robert many times in cafes while he drew the world around him. I found it interesting, so I made a point to include that in the film. YEPES: Would you give your subjects prompts each time before you began filming? ZWIGOFF: Yes, I usually prompted and set up and staged scenes. Largely due to budgetary constraints—shooting film was expensive! YEPES: How involved was Daniel Clowes during the production of Ghost World and Art School Confidential? ZWIGOFF: We became such good friends writing the [Ghost World] script together, that I encouraged him to come to L.A. to watch the shooting. I thought he'd get bored (every other writer I know gets bored after a few hours and leaves), but he stuck it out and proved to be a big help and made the process much more fun for me. We'd crack each other up all day long. He helped with set dressing, wardrobe, extras, and myriad other things. He'd sometimes whisper ideas into my ear after a take. Some were even good ideas. But he'd never pressure me to take his advice and often I didn't. When we did Art School Confidential together years later, he wrote the script himself (as I was still stuck working on Bad Santa). And I never had any input into that script (I've since learned never to direct a film I don't have a hand in writing), and found it much more difficult to direct. So I leaned on his advice a lot more during that film. He was the producer and writer of it, and it was also sort of the story of his life. It was hard to find my way into it, but he was especially helpful on that one. YEPES: You've said you prefer staying home and reading to traveling or going out for beers. What do you like to read, and do you prefer fiction or non-fiction? ZWIGOFF: I read a lot of non-fiction as well as fiction. I like Charles Bukowski, Jim Thompson, Nathanael West, Camus, Dostoevsky, Orwell, Patricia Highsmith ... all the light, uplifting stuff. YEPES: Are there any recent films that made a favorable impression on you? ZWIGOFF: Recently? Hmm ... The film I liked the most last year was Manchester by the Sea. I'm misquoted somewhere as saying "you have to go back to the '30s and '40s to find any good films." That's not true—I love a lot of films from the '50' to the present. Adaptation (2002) is one of my favorite films. Vertigo (1958). Sunset Blvd. (1950). The Asphalt Jungle (1950). Dr. Strangelove (1964). The King of Comedy (1982). The Godfather (1972). Viridiana (1961). Army of Shadows (1969). Touchez pas au grisbi (1954), Le Trou (1960), Strangers on a Train (1951). I could go on and on. YEPES: I know that the studio was thinking that since Ghost World was about teenage girls, it could have a pop soundtrack. You found an effective way to counter that idea by incorporating the character of Seymour into Ghost World, in part, as a way to choose music you liked for the movie. Can you tell me how you've played with music in your fictional films? ZWIGOFF: Music is of course incredibly important in films. I remember in Bad Santa, when Marcus chops down a mannequin, cross-cutting that with Willie swinging a sledgehammer against a safe. It wasn't really funny until I tried using "The Anvil Chorus" as the music there. I used a lot of familiar pieces of music in that film like the melancholy Chopin in the opening as Willie sits at the bar alone amongst the cheerful festive crowd. It perfectly set the mood for this character study. The studio replaced it with Alvin and the Chipmunks doing "Jingle Bell Rock" and added some uninspired voice-over narration. They were afraid the audience wouldn't know it was a comedy soon enough. Jesus. That was their idea of humor. I fought and fought to get my music back in there. I was mostly successful. YEPES: Who do you think is funny? ZWIGOFF: Well, W.C. Fields, of course. Chaplin. And Laurel & Hardy. James Finlayson. John Candy. Chris Rock. Tony Cox. Will Ferrell. Will Forte. Larry David. Woody Allen. Richard Pryor. Sacha Baron Cohen. Mike Myers. And I love Kristen Wiig. Kate McKinnon. Tina Fey. And the late great Jan Duggan (she played Cleopatra Pepperday in The Old Fashioned Way.) I'm sure there are many others I'm forgetting at the moment. YEPES: Can you recall some things people have said about your movies that you particularly enjoyed or took as compliments? ZWIGOFF: Yes, one critic's review of Bad Santa said, "Bad Santa is the closest thing we have today to a W.C. Fields movie." That's about the highest praise I can imagine. If I can achieve anything even close I'm happy. And I think Roger Ebert said, "It's not what it's about, it's how it goes about it." I thought that was very wise. I miss Roger. ALL FIVE OF TERRY ZWIGOFF'S FILMS ARE PLAYING AT METROGRAPH IN NEW YORK CITY FROM TODAY, MAY 19, THROUGH MAY 21, 2017, AS PART OF THEIR CAREER RETROSPECTIVE OF THE FILMMAKER'S WORK.

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