#west end jack my love <3

[yourfavehaskenergy]

jack kelly from newsies?

Jack Kelly from Newsies has Kenergy!

[ramblingoak]

~ Read my works on Archive of Our Own ~ Buy me a coffee 💙 ~

8/11/24: I am slowly (very slowly) working on the kiss requests in my inbox. Also slowly working on everything else xD

recent fics:

Tales From Lucifer's Hollow masterpost (multiple pairings)

Inspiration (secondo x reader, fluff)

Promise Me (terzo x omega, angst)

A Comforting Nap (copia x reader, fluff)

A Thousand Kisses (copia x reader, fluff)

To Tease a Cardinal (copia x f!reader, nsfw)

An Interesting Nap (copia x reader, fluff)

A Mouthful (copia x reader, fluff)

The Cardinal's Bride, Chapter 13: And You Can Hold Me (copia x f!reader, cowboy au, nsfw)

Peanuts and Cracker Jacks (secondo x f!reader, ghaseball, nsfw)

ongoing series:

Naps With Copia - series masterpost (copia x gn!reader, fluff, fluff and fluff, sfw) A series of stand alone stories featuring soft, fluffy naps with Copia and gender neutral readers. The specific "Copia" will be listed by each story.

The Cardinal's Bride (copia x f!reader, cowboy au, angst, smut) latest chapter: 13 / series masterpost After being forced into a marriage with Mr. Saltarian by your father you are sent west to his estate in Nevada. Along the way you end up meeting one of the cowboys you have always fantasized about...

Copia on ICE! (copia x f!reader, winter olympics au, angst, fluff, smut) Chapters: 1 / series masterpost At what would probably be your final Winter Olympics you needed to focus on realizing your dream of winning gold. You definitely didn't need to start a whirlwind romance with world famous speed skater Copia Emeritus…

Clockwork Hearts (copia x f!reader, steampunk au, fluff, adventure, smut) A tale of adventure and alchemy in a steampunk world. You have to join forces with Captain Copia on his airship, The Impera, in order to save your city. Capitano Copia (copia x f!reader, tease for main story, smug copia) Clockwork Friends (f!reader, fluff) Building A Family (young copia, fluff) Napping in the Clouds (young copia, angst and fluff) A Nap With The Captain (copia x gn!reader, fluff)

The Repugnant (mary goore x f!reader, pirate au, horror, adventure, smut) Chapters: 1 / 2 / series masterpost After becoming too curious about seeing the pirate ship The Repugnant you end up captured and in the clutches of the feared pirate Captain Mary Goore...

Tales From Lucifer's Hollow series masterpost (copia x aether, mountain x rain, swiss x phantom/aeon, fluff, eventual smut) An au series set in the small town of Lucifer's Hollow. A look at the lives of the humans and ghouls that live there. There are just snippets so far but I've linked them below or you can search the tag: tales from lucifer's hollow.

my other fics:

A Kiss Goodnight (copia x reader, a sweet kiss, nsfw)

Suggestions (copia x swiss, a very thorough kiss, nsfw)

Pancake Breakfast (gn!reader, domestic fluff, sfw)

Happy Lasagna Day (f!reader, silly birthday smut)

Papas Taking Care of a Sick Reader (gn!reader, fluff, sfw)

Care Package (gn!reader, sick copia, fluff, sfw)

In His Name (gn!reader, filthy smut)

I Love You, I Like You (gn!reader, sweet and caring copia, sfw)

Invisible Touch (f!reader, phone sex)

Ring Ring (f!reader, phone sex then closet sex)

Don't Go (gn!reader, brief angry copia, angst, fluff)

Smudge (gn!reader, silly copia, fluff, sfw)

Feeling Blah (gn!reader, fluff, sfw)

Them Rats (gn!reader, rat dad copia, fluff, sfw)

Little Hands (violence, horror)

A Lil Somethin' Somethin' (f!reader, sex toys, smut, car sex)

Play Ball (f!reader, copia in his ghaseball uniform, smut)

Best Folk Album (copia's ghouls are just trying to help, fluff, sfw)

Copia Is Terrible At Telling Scary Stories - chapters: 1 / 2 / 3 (gn!reader, fluff, sfw)

The Vampire's Bride (f!reader, vampire cowboy au, smut)

Ratte Art (gn!reader, coffee shop au, fluff, sfw)

Rainy Kisses (gn!reader, kisses in the rain)

Yay Satan Day (f!reader, smug copia, desk sex)

His Dark Song - chapters: 1 (f!reader, occult au, future smut)

Satan's Toy Box (gn!reader, fluff)

A Man After Midnight (f!reader, copia doing a strip tease, fluff, smut)

Falling (f!reader, fluff, smut)

The Late Assistant (f!reader, fluff, tiny bit of smut)

The Pants (gn!reader, fluff, sfw)

A Nap With Terzo (terzo x reader, fluff)

No, Cardinal (gn!reader, cock warming)

Shooting His Shot (terzo x omega, winter olympics au, fluff)

A Gift Of Bones (terzo x omega, zombie!terzo, death, resurrection)

The Morningstar (f!reader, cowboy au, smut)

The Perfect Afternoon - sequel to One Dance (f!reader, regency au, fluff)

One Dance (f!reader, regency au, fluff)

Please, Cardinal (f!reader, cardinal terzo, loss of virginity, smut)

Satan's Dick (gn!reader, insufferable terzo)

Yes, Cardinal (f!reader, cardinal terzo, desk sex)

My Husband is Now Bones (terzo x omega, zombie au, death, resurrection)

Promises (f!reader, smut)

140 Shades of Terzo - series masterpost (prompt fills from a list of 140 smut prompts featuring terzo)

The Sexy Adventures of Cardinal Terzo - series masterpost (cardinal terzo and his sexy adventures around the abbey)

Little Thief (secondo x f!reader, cowboy au, nsfw)

A Nap With Secondo (secondo x gn!reader, fluff)

His Little Ghuleh (secondo x aurora, rough bj, scratching, size kink)

Another Round (f!reader, messy ritual sex, overstimulation)

Breakfast in Bed (f!reader, vampire secondo, blood, smut)

Distraction (f!reader, aftermath of teasing papa)

A Single Kiss (gn!reader, fluff, sfw)

Shut Up (gn!reader, secondo is bad with emotions, fluff, sfw)

Sap (gn!reader, forced separation for ritual prep, fluff)

Sliding Home (f!reader, secondo in a ghaseball uniform, desk sex)

And I'm Yours (f!reader, jealous secondo, ritual sex)

Drenched (f!reader, overstimulation, little breeding kink)

Payback (f!reader, messy desk sex)

What You See (gn!reader, old man body worship)

Nema (f!reader, ritual sex)

Dumbasses (cardinal primo deals with a young terzo and copia, sfw)

Time's Up (primo comes to terms with his time as papa, sfw)

The Repugnant - chapters: 1 (f!reader, pirate au, horror, adventure, smut)

Napping With An Outlaw (gn!reader, cowboy au, injured mary, fluff, sfw)

Giddy Up (gn!reader, pony play)

✨ Banner done by the amazing @ghuleh-recs , the blushing cowboy!Copia icon is by @tasty-ribz and the pics of Copia in the banner were taken by me at my last ritual :) ✨

[jadevine]

Have watched MAD MAX: FURIOSA and I am struck by several excellent things:

1) The Ancient Roman/Greek aesthetic of Dementus’ gang and pre-crazy Immortan Joe, and the attention to costumes for everyone’s gang/clan/settlement in general. A+++ for the costumes again! Is it just me, or does the Green Place feel Wild West/frontier with all their blue/indigo denim, long skirts, and their rifles/shotguns, and walking around barefoot??? Even considering shoes are rare in the apocalypse, you don’t put all of those elements together, along with a theme of PEACHES, and expect folks from the States to NOT immediately think “country,” lol.

2) The medieval/“fall of Rome” feeling. Dementus’ motorcycle chariot is Greek/Roman, obviously, but his procession to the Citadel is a REALLY medieval show of power/people all carefully filing down the road behind him on motorcycles. Everyone’s got their own fiefdoms, and the war style is given a medieval feel with skirmishes, long-ranged weapons, and trading “hostages” (especially Furiosa) in exchange for good behavior.

3) Neon colors bursting out of the endless orange desert, or shiny and chrome metal versus rusty and old metal! It’s like “a desaturated photograph with a single pop of color,” but for the whole movie, and I love it! Another thing that imitators forget about when they fall into the “real is brown and dirty” trope is that people are people, and they will TRY to look nice, even in the apocalypse.

4a) The detailed body language. Dementus has at least one herald/signaller, folks are constantly signaling each other from a distance, and everyone seems to automatically gag/muzzle or cage an excessively violent person. Even in the apocalypse, some people are clearly considered too far gone, and biting is frequent ENOUGH that people watch out for it. People also know to just wait for a clearly angry/traumatized hostage to start talking again, or that some people don’t talk at all (whether because they physically can’t, or they just stopped due to trauma). Everyone also inspects a new person to check for disease/injury.

4b) The shifting/forgetting of spoken language. On the surface it sounds like the standard trope of “after the world ends, everyone forgets how to talk good,” but they haven’t forgotten JUST YET. History Man still remembers how to read, and the various gangs/settlements clearly have their own dialects. Military orders are distinct, and Dementus and the History Man are especially well-spoken throughout the film. (Besides making good use of Chris Hemsworth, Dementus was also an adult when the world ended, so he is constantly using ALMOST-right words.)

5) Heights! Cliffs, towers, the long range weapons, the diggers, and kites/gliders! It gives the fight scenes a three-dimensional feel and the impression that even the SKY isn’t safe. Sky-octopuses or metal buckets swooping down on you??? A+! Also terrifying! Related: Dementus’ gang sure uses a lot of monster trucks that are twice the size of everyone else’s cars. Durability aside, I wonder if the expense of these vehicles (especially in the apocalypse) is another symptom of Dementus being a) arrogant and needing to feel “bigger” than everyone else, b) desperate to fill the void of his family’s deaths with cars/killing, and c) an excellent fighter who unfortunately knows nothing of logistics, and he drains everything/everyone around him. He uses THREE motorcycles for his chariot, and using a monster truck in battle also means you need more gas and more metal/rubber for repairs.

6) THEY KILLED MY BOY JACK! 😭

7) Several POC characters, whose faces we can see! We are also Mad Max fans, so it’s nice to see them even as supporting characters ❤️

There is a A LOT more to talk about, but in general: This movie is shiny and chrome!

[mxaether]

MITCH MARNER -VS- TORONTO MEDIA/TORONTO FANS/HIMSELF/EVERYONE (a playlist for when you love a thing so much, and it bites you)

track list and selected lyrics for each under the cut ❤️

1. I Want You So Bad I Can't Breathe - OK GO i want you, yeah, i want you/ i want you, yeah, i want you bad/ so bad i can't think straight/ so bad all my bones shake / so bad i can't breathe 2. Careful What You Wish For (the doctor said to) - Jack Harris something is missing/this predisposition/i feel like i'm living inside of my head 3. Who Made You A Monster? - Hael tricking the world to trust you/but everything that you say/is some kind of sordid lie/who taught you how to lie so well? 4. GOSSIP - Maneskin, Tom Morello welcome to the city of lies/where everything's got a price/gonna be your favourite place -- so sip the gossip, drink till you choke/sip the gossip, burn down your throat 5. Don't Be Nice - Watsky false modesty is a guilty habit/some people simply have it/but the fact is i would not have spent a decade doing this/if i did not believe i was at least a tiny bit ridiculously filthy at it 6. JEKYLL & HIDE - Bishop Briggs sweet and then you're sour/changes by the hour/never know which one i'll taste 7. End of It - Friday Pilots Club it's cruel you know/the way they've been treating you lately/get you real messed up on the daily 8. Nowhere Kid - Des Rocs inside of a maze you hide away/where nobody cares who you are/caught in a lie you can't escape 9. All For Us - Labrinth, Zendaya guess you figured my two times two/always equates to one/dreamers are selfish -- i'm taking it all for us, all/doing it all for love 10. Cruel Devotion - Night Club do you want me? tell me true/on my knees and now i'm begging you/loving you is such a cruel devotion 11. Who Are You, Really? - Mikky Ekko i have nothing left to prove/cause i have nothing left to lose/see me bare my teeth for you/who, who are you? 12. Heartbreak Feels So Good - Fall Out Boy is there a word for a bad miracle?/nobody said the road was endless/nobody said the climb was friendless 13. Some People - Dan Mangan cause it's too easy to be righteous when you eat what you've been fed/some people don't question what they've read/some people should 14. SELF-SABOTAGE - Waterparks i'll self sabotage/if you like when we talk i'll dislocate my jaw/what the fuck is wrong with me 15. Matches - Huxlxy bring me the ashes/set me alight/i'd rather burn than say goodbye 16. SICK - Chandler Leighton never let anyone see your guard down/too proud, just stop, keep my frozen/iced out, i'm six feet underground 17. Black Wave - K. Flay shaking in my own cage/what do i believe? i believe/waiting on a black wave/living under bad days 18. Middle Finger - Bohnes you show me love and then spit in my face/making your money off all of my pain 19. still feel. - half-alive when i'm furthest from myself/feeling closer to the stars/i've been invaded by the dark/trying to recognize myself when i feel i've been replaced 20. Rather Die - Barns Courtney i came to kill 'em, now i'm/wipin' the spit from my eyes/i take a beating but i/i'll never give up 21. Lake Effect Kid - Fall Out Boy oh i've got the skyline in my veins, forget your night time/sumer love on a gurney with a squeaky wheel/and joke us, joke us til Lakeshore Drive comes back into focus/i just wanna come back to life 22. Stronger - Kanye West n-now-now that, that don't kill me/can only make my stronger -- do anybody make real shit anymore?/bow in the presence of greatness/cause right now thou hast forsaken us 23. Bulletproof - La Roux, GAMPER & DADONI i won't let you turn around/and tell me now i'm much too proud/all you do is fill me up with doubt/this time, baby, i'll be bulletproof 24. What Do You Want - Nico Vega you can go ahead and hate me/for bringing in news, but you could still choose/ain't going to be a party/but you turn it all down, down, down/say, what do you want?/what do you want from me? 25. I'm Gonna Win - Rob Cantor you've seen me before, you'll see me again 26. Hero - Martin Harrix, JVKE

a thousand voices whisper noise/they plan my fall from grace/whoa-oh, i know/you say you want a hero, you don’t

[july-1804]

A combination of 13 + 14 please!

(I've changed the prompt ever so slightly to fit the narrative)

13. "With the rate uncles/aunts/grandparents/friends are buying stuff for you, you will be the most spoiled kid ever" & 14. "[Parent], I lost my teddy!"

They were in the car on the way home from the airport after a long West coast roadie as Mila starts to yell.

"Papa! Mine stuffy!" She cries as Nico turns to look at her, Jack sighing from the drivers seat.

Nico bites his lip before mustering a smile for Mila. "It must be in your suitcase, darling. We'll find it when we get home."

She nods, blue eyes popping with unshed tears. Nico gives her another smile before turning back in his seat, opening up the Devils group chat. SOS has anyone seen Mila's yellow stuffy? 💀💀💀

No one had seen her stuffy, unfortunately, and it was no where to be found in the 3 suitcases Jack, Nico and Mila travelled with.

Mila's a mess the next day, clingy and whining into Nico's neck as they walk into practise. It was an optional skate, and they'd decided that Nico and Mila would watch Jack and the rest of the Devils skate to hopefully cheer her up.

"What's wrong, Miss Mila?" John asks as he sees Mila pouting into Nico's neck.

"Mine stuffy!" She exclaims, slipping her thumb back into her mouth. Nico and John both hold back smiles as they watch Mila's dramatics, kicking her feet sourly against Nico's side.

This pattern follows until Jack comes through the tunnel, waggling his gloved fingers at his daughter in greeting. "Wish Daddy a good skate, Mila," Nico reminds her. She shakes her head in response.

"Mine stuffy!" Is what she says back, glaring at Jack. He laughs and steps onto the ice.

Mila's dramatics continue well into the afternoon, babbling to Hazel unhappily when she arrives to relieve Nico and Jack. She's grumpy as they leave for the rink, Nico and Jack laughing to themselves in the car. "She's two years old, what are we going to have to deal with when she's 16?"

Their laughter stops when guys start walking into the locker room, pulling yellow stuffys from their bags or from under their arms. John's first, then Timo, Holtzy, Nemo, Jake and Curtis. Luke is the last to enter, blushing as he thrusts the stuffy towards Nico and Jack.

"My stupid walk in photo has me holding this toy," Luke says, earning teasing chirps from around the locker room.

9 Devils ended up going and buying Mila a replacement stuffy after practise, Jack and Nico feeling touched that so many of their teammates cared sodeeply about their daughter's emotional welfare.

"With the rate the guys are buying her things, Mila is going to be the most spoiled kid ever," Jack says to Nico, both of them shoving the stuffys into their bags.

Devils admin absolutely loves Luke's walk in photo, and makes the guys each pose with the identical stuffys they'd purchased for Mila.

The photo is posted to Instagram with the caption: "New Jersey Devils 🤝 Mila's stuffy"

[mysticstarlightduck]

Five Lines Tag!

Thanks for the tag, @anoelleart (here)!

Rules: find five lines based on the prompts you're given, then change ONE of the prompts at the end!

I'm gonna go with Song of Thorns, Supernova Initiative, and Enchanted Illusions for this one!!!

a line about a building (Song of Thorns)

[...] Flickering orange lamplight, a stark contrast to the grey of the street, pooled from the imposing building up ahead. Owned by one Dame Abraxas, the foundry was a rather conceited establishment where Roselyn had recently acquired a rather poorly paid job as a maid and delivery girl. [...]

2. a sad line (Supernova Initiative)

[...] "Stay away from her." His words shook, and blood dripped from his wounded lip. Jack tried to ignore how his body trembled and his strength threatened to leave him. "Your deal... Your deal is with me, you asshole. So I don't fucking care if you and the twisted psychopaths you call scientists break me or do whatever the fuck you want. But this deal only stands if you freaks stay the hell away from my sister." Jack didn't intend to sob that last line, but he couldn't stop it - and deep down, he feared that was what the Director wanted. [...]

3. a line about a drink (Enchanted Illusions)

Augustus took a long sip from the cup of hot chocolate, leaning his head on the train's window and watching the snow-draped abyss that rolled down below the tracks. Laid across the long wagon's velvety seat, Harriet had long since dozed off to sleep, using his lap as a pillow. The necromancer found himself smiling fondly at his love, before a pang of fear for what tomorrow might hold disturbed this perfect moment in time.

4. a line that is shouted (Song of Thorns)

"What were you thinking?!" Tarrant all but yelled, before noticing the suspicious glances that earned them. He took a deep breath, dragging Cyriel over to somewhere more quiet. "...Do you have any idea how dangerous that stupid plan was? Gideon's men are still looking for you, and I can't keep you safe around here anymore, he's getting... dangerous. More violent. He won't listen to me."

5. a funny line (Supernova Initiative)

"So, don't get mad but -" Pax starts, stumbling over his words with a nervous chuckle, trying to come up with a good enough excuse. In front of him, his brother seems unimpressed.

"Pax, I don't know if you know this - but the words 'don't be mad' instantly make my blood boil preventively. What did you do this time?"

"... We kinda exploded a Junction building because people were hunting us and I got nervous and let a grenade fall."

Ethean sighs. "Of course."

Tagging: @kaylinalexanderbooks, @smol-feralgremlin, @oh-no-another-idea, @littleladymab, @little-peril-stories

@the-ellia-west, @winterandwords, @cowboybrunch, @eccaiia, @sarahlizziewrites

@leave-her-a-tome, @writernopal, @anyablackwood, @unstablewifiaccess, @forthesanityofstorytellers

@i-can-even-burn-salad, @willtheweaver

@lassiesandiego, @thepeculiarbird, @clairelsonao3, @memento-morri-writes, @starlit-hopes-and-dreams and OPEN TAG

[bestanimatedmovie]

Revenge of the Underrated, Round 2!

Round 1

The big players will start competing this round, so make sure to support your favorite unknown movie with propaganda and reblogs!

Also, this round we somehow ended up with more polls than round 1, so that will be fun 😅

Luca vs Ballerina

2. Mary and Max vs Tiger and Bunny: The Rising

3. The Bad Guys vs Miss Hokusai

4. Loving Vincent vs Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal The Movie Part 1

5. Pocahontas vs The Girl Without Hands

6. Hercules vs The Twelve Tasks of Asterix

7. Anomalisa vs Cats don't Dance

8. The Little Mermaid vs Felidae

9. It's Such a Beautiful Day vs An American Tail: Fievel Goes West

10. Paprika vs Pokemon Heroes

11. Sing 2 vs The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning

12. Wendell and Wild vs The Plague Dogs

13. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs vs Ice Age

14. The Hunchback of Notre Dame vs Strange Magic

15. Azur and Asmar: The Prince's Quest vs Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs

16. Mad God vs Rock and Rule

17. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm vs Titan A.E.

18. The Wind Rises vs The Adventures of Mark Twain

19. Sleeping Beauty vs Tarzan

20. Zootopia vs Robots

21. Monsters vs Aliens vs The Twelve Months

22. Robin Hood vs Phineas and Ferb: The Movie: Candace Against the Universe

23. The Case of Hana and Alice vs Revue Starlight: The Movie

24. Long Way North vs One Piece: Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island

25. Marcel the Shell with Shoes On vs Samurai Jack: The Premiere Movie

26. My Life as a Zucchini vs Lupin III: The First

27. The Fox and the Hound vs Minions: The Rise of Gru

28. The Three Caballeros vs Princes and Princesses

29. When Marnie was Here vs A Letter to Momo

30. Akira vs The Wild Thornberrys Movie

31. The Cat Returns vs The Boy who Wanted to be a Bear

32. Belladonna of Sadness vs The Swan Princess

33. Porco Rosso vs Patema Inverted

34. Rio vs Next Gen

35. The Lego Batman Movie vs Asterix: The Mansions of the Gods

36. The Aristocats vs Thumbelina

37. James and the Giant Peach vs Rainbow Magic: Return to Rainspell Island

38. Castle in the Sky vs Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie

39. Over the Hedge vs Charlotte's Web (1973)

40. Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius vs The Princess and the Goblin

41. Redline vs Catnapped!

42. The Addams Family vs Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland

43. Epic vs Padak

44. Vivo vs Bartok the Magnificent

45. Barbie: Princess Charm School vs Night on the Galactic Railroad

46. Waking Life vs The Rabbi's Cat

47. Barbie as Rapunzel vs Seven Days War

48. Cool World vs Pippi Longstocking

49. When the Wind Blows vs Ruben Brandt, Collector

50. Summer Wars vs Winx Club: The Secret of the Lost Kingdom

51. The Black Cauldron vs Mars Needs Moms

52. The Red Turtle vs Underdogs

53. Ron's Gone Wrong vs Once Upon a Forest

54. Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade vs Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer

55. Arthur Christmas vs Help! I'm a Fish

56. Barbie of Swan Lake vs Sea Prince and the Fire Child

57. Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole vs Freddie as F.R.0.7

58. Pokemon: The Movie 2000 vs Rock-A-Doodle

59. Arthur and the Invisibles vs Unico in the Island of Magic

60. Barbie as the Island Princess vs Flatland: The Film

61. Mind Game vs Dragon Ball Z: Cooler's Revenge

62. Dragon Ball Super: Broly vs The Flight of Dragons

63. Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero vs Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

64. Scooby-Doo! and the Cyber Chase vs Happily N'Ever After

65. On-Gaku: Our Sound vs Book Girl

66. Tiger and Bunny: The Rising vs Pokemon the Movie: The Power of Us

67. The Pebble and the Penguin vs The Magic Riddle

68. A Troll in Central Park vs Ico, the Brave Horse

69. Robot Carnival vs Blinky Bill

70. The Snow Queen vs The Legend of Manxmouse

71. Early Man vs Planetarian: Hoshi no Hito

72. Nocturna vs Junk Head

[bcolfanfic]

everytime i listen to picture me better by weyes blood i can't help but think of young vets buck and bucky. my heart hurt everytime i think of those boys. you've written them so perfectly. <3

what are some songs you associate with either of them?

heyy sorry it took me so long to get to this (and everything else in my box)- it’s finals szn at my law school and my brain is gonna be at like- total capacity till next thursday at 5pm central time. buttttt. i am big music as a story mood setter person so lotsss of thoughts. gonna focus on young vets au here, but i can make another similar post for show canon if ppl like this? im biggg into oldies music so that would actually be fun to me!

disclaimer: re: the young vets au the “veterans” part of the story takes place starting in august 2021 after the us pulled out of afghanistan. If you see a song and think “but wait that didn't come out until this year so they couldn't listen to that in 2022/2023” simply work with me here and don’t think that <3 LOL.

bucky

biggg zach bryan person and i think in general really likes that specific niche of “new age” country music. gets *irritated* by the hardcore conservative military country music lmfao, those vets that go hard in the sand for songs like courtesy of the red white and blue? not his people. that song gives him hives. also a big fleetwood mac guy, just scratches an itch on his brain. likes florence + the machine too.

east side of sorrow - zach bryan

i lost friends in the august heat / at night it was God I'd always meet / i said, "Lord, won't you bring me home? / i've got women in the west i wanna hold

oklahoma smokeshow - zach bryan

there's so much whiskey in his coke it'll make her nose bend / but she swears that his love is a damn God send / she's known God since she was a child

el dorado - zach bryan

you used to say you'd settle down / but that kind girl from school in town /she was gone before you got back home

to El Dorado, hell if I know if you're still alive /there's a note in the glovebox in your drive / El Dorado, hell if they know the difference in a hero / and a man i wish was still by my side

burn, burn, burn - zach bryan

i wanna be a child climbin' trees somewhere / breathin' in the fresh outside air / before I knew this life was unkind

you should probably leave - chris stapleton

sun on your skin, 6 am /and i been watchin' you sleep / and honey, i'm so afraid you're gonna wake up and say / that you should probably leave

me against the mountain - ian munsick

it’s me against the mountain / most days the mountain wins / but i’ll meet you tonight my love or i’ll meet my end / either way an angel’s waitin when i fought this fight

painkillers - rainbow kitten surprise

living just comes with a bit of heartache / heartache comes with a bit of young faith / faith stays young till your heart get broken / hope grows up to become someday / i never hurt no one and no one will ever hurt me / i believe i believe i believe i believe

motorcycle - colter wall

well, i figure i'll buy me a motorcycle / wrap her pretty little frame around a telephone pole / ride her off a mountain like old arlo

physco - jack kittel

don't hand me johnny's pup, mama / 'cause i might squeeze him too tight / i'm having crazy dreams again, mama

go your own way - fleetwood mac

if i could / baby, i’d give you my world / open up / everything's waiting for you

third eye - florence + the machine

i'm the same / i'm the same / i'm trying to change

astrovan - mt. joy

he said son you're famous in heaven / maybe you're famous in heaven / maybe there is no heaven / maybe we're all along together now / but i don't wanna see those tears again / you know Jesus drives an astrovan

gold dust woman - fleetwood mac

take your silver spoon, dig your grave / heartless challenge / pick your path and i'll pray

all these things that i’ve done - the killers

i got soul / but i'm not a solider

between me and you - brandon flowers

the first time that i saw your face / time stood still / i found my place / now i'm watching it tear out of my arm

gale

listens to zach bryan for bucky but his country music niche is more on the tyler childers side of things. likes older music too bc it’s what his mom would play around the house and he finds it comforting. i think he likes pop music more than bucky does lol, bucky ribs him a lil about some of it but he finds it endearing. the taste they share the most i think is the fleetwood mac and the killers/brandon flowers stuff.

follow you to virgie - tyler childers

back when all us boys were tryin' / to make sense of all these string / i can see her in the corner / singing along to all our crazy dreams

coal - tyler childers

so sometimes, i imagine that I'm getting pretty close to hell / and in my darkest hour, i cry out to the Lord / he says, "keep on a-mining, boy, 'cause that's why you were born

nose on the grindstone - tyler childers

well daddy, i've been tryin', i just can't catch a break / there's too much in this world that i can't seem to shake / but i remember your words, lord, they bring me the chills / keep your nose on the grindstone and out of the pills

folsom prison blues - johnny cash

i bet there's rich folks eatin' from a fancy dinning car /they're prob'ly drinkin' coffee and smoking big cigars / well i know i had it comin' i know i can't be free / but those people keep a movin' and that's what tortures me

old rugged cross - alan jackson (i’ve made a woowoo post about this before/bucky being gale’s cross to carry but. in my mind he listens to this on the drive home when bucky’s in the hospital. has to pull over to cry a lil. sweet boy.)

to the old rugged cross i will ever be true / it's shame and reproach gladly bear

where we’ll never grow old - johnny cash

when our work here is done / and our life's crown is won / and out troubles and trials are o'er / all our sorrows will end / and our voices will blend / with the loved ones who've gone on before

(sittin on’) the dock of the bay - otis redding

sittin' here resting my bones / and this loneliness won't leave me alone / it's two thousand miles i roamed / just to make this dock my home

wouldn’t it be nice - the beach boys

oh we could be married / and then we'd be happy / woudn't it be nice?

the chain - fleetwood mac

listen to the wind blow, down comes the night / running in the shadows / damn your love / damn your lies

romeo and juliet - the killers

i can't do the talk like the talk on the TV / and i can't do a love song like the way it's meant to be / i can't do everything but i'd do anything for you / i can't do anything except be in love with you

xo - beyonce

in the darkest night hour (in the darkest night hour) / i'll search through the crowd (i'll search through the crowd) / your face is all that i see / i'll give you everything

if i ain't got you - alicia keys

said nothing in this whole wide world don't mean a thing / if i ain't got you with me, baby

sweet escape - gwen stefani

come on let's bounce / counting on you to turn me around / instead of clowning around / let's look for some common ground

come on over baby - christina aguilera

now baby don't be shy / you better cross the line / i'm gonna love you right / all i want is you

the clock was tickin’ - brandon flowers

jackie flips the pages and she dreams little dreams / a cottage in the country built with real wood beams / there's a baby in the bedroom, he's starting to scream / she holds him though he probably won't remember it

[moirtre]

‎ ‎ ⋆⠀⠀&.⠀⠀٬⠀⠀❝ 2 : 33 AM :   EVERGREEN. ❞  ‎ ‎ ┉       

one day, i will stop falling in love with you. some day, someone will like me like i like you. until then, i'll drink my coffee, eat my pie, pretend that we are more than friends. then, of course i'll let you break my heart again.⠀–— from, “Let You Break My Heart Again - Laufey & Philharmonia Orchestra”

&.⠀⠀CHARACTERS⠀⠀┉⠀⠀*⠀NAIRA CHRISTIANSEN, CARTER KIM. &.⠀⠀WORD COUNT⠀⠀┉⠀⠀*⠀2.7K &.⠀⠀WARNINGS⠀⠀┉⠀⠀*⠀suggestive content, manipulation. &.⠀⠀NOTES⠀⠀┉⠀⠀*⠀apologizing in advance. it's not heavy but it approaches being heavy. carter (derogatory) can be found at @genav0s. naira's (unfortunately) a little dumb in this one but i really can't blame her! not proofread bc i never proofread anything <3 takes place in 2019 when both of them had way too much time on their hands.

Naira feels the buzz of her phone before she can process its awakening by her side. 

Her hands, covered in the gray mush that rests on her wheel, scramble to grab onto the towel that lies discarded beneath the carefully sectioned block wrapped up in plastic. The mush splatters onto her cotton overalls as the wheel comes to a halt. The music playing in her ears mimics the wheel, ceasing to play as her ringtone fills her ears through the white headphones attached to the jack of her phone. 

She huffs in frustration as the towel sticks to her hands. Pressing against the material, she silently prays she can free up a few fingers before the call disappears. 

It’s 2am in Seoul, midnight in Bangkok. 

“Must be important,” is what she tries to rationalize in her mind as she continues the scramble.

The ringing ends before she can put the towel down. With a low curse under her breath, she relents to cleaning her other hand. Before she can pick up the phone, it buzzes with a notification.

thought i was special :(

A scoff leaves her lips, her hands clamoring to answer the melodramatic man on the other end of the text. 

it’s 2am carter

She responds, fighting off a smile that pulls at her cheeks and warms her skin. 

The late-night texts from the Canadian were nothing new between the pair. In the month or so since the two had begun whatever this was, Naira had found herself in conversation—or in his sheets—more times than she would readily admit to the other members of their respective groups. A part of her found it a bit embarrassing; how easily he could draw her in with his empty words and blistering kisses. But they were good together. So good she’d forget her name and giggle a bit too loud at his half-assed flirtations. 

It takes a simple, come over, for Naira to pull herself away from her wheel. She smiles a bit too widely and moves a bit too quickly. With a glance towards her reflection in the mirror adorning the left side of her entryway, she grabs her keys with one hand while fluffing her hair with the other. 

He doesn’t try to text her again as she makes the drive from her apartment to his penthouse on the west side of the city. Naira’s not sure she would even notice a text coming from him with the way her imagination runs wild. The embarrassment of the situation is lost on her. She can’t bring herself to worry about the chances of getting caught when she can practically feel the warmth of his body and the drawl in his voice pulling her in gently. 

Her hands shake in anticipation as she twists the key—one he’d taken her to get a copy of last week. His foyer is dark, devoid of both light and life. He had just moved in the day before she had gotten her copy of his key. She remembers the box tossed to the side of his couch; the same box she had tripped over as she lied to Sanghyuk and Romeo about her presence in the kitchen that early morning. 

The fading smell of cigarettes draws her to his room where he stands over his record player. His favorite ashtray sits on the small nightstand next to the wall of vinyl she had organized for him—by genre and artist—the last night she was here.

“What am I doing here?” 

Naira rubs at her face. The cold from the blistering wind battered at her nose, chapping her lips during her walk from the parking garage to his door. 

Her accent blends familiarly into the consonants. The English leaves her lips with the subtlest twang of uncertainty; though she’s fairly sure he senses it from the way he smiles graciously. 

They always spoke in English. Carter never cared enough to pretend to learn Thai for her. She had asked him about it once during one of their early encounters on a company trip to Tokyo back in September. He had looked away from her naked face as he told her that he felt safe around her—vulnerable might have been the word he used back then. 

Naira wasn’t quite sure she bought it then. But she couldn’t think much about it after the words left his mouth. And how could she? Not when his chest was so warm underneath her blossoming cheek. Not when his hands wandered slowly beneath the covers shielding her bare chest. Her mind let go of the thought just as quickly as she perceived it. 

She never asked him again.

Carter barely spares her a glance before motioning her over to his side. Sensing her wariness of the lit cigarette resting in the ashtray, Carter chuckles, taking a slow drag before stubbing out the flame in the tray it once lay in. With a release of her shoulders, Naira carefully crawls into the mess of his sheets, perching herself against the headboard to watch as his tanned hands skim over his collection of records.

“What are you doing here?”

He laughs at her question.

It was one of the things that annoyed her about him. Everything seemed to be a joke to Carter Kim. That distinct, perfect laugh he always managed to release made her feel smaller than she already was by his side. He’d throw his head back. His perfectly browned, floppy hair mirrored his movements; falling back, perfectly, over his face once he was done. She’d get caught up in the shine of his perfect teeth—another thing that annoyed her about him. 

Carter Kim was always perfect.

“I can’t answer that for you, hon.”

Hon. It was embarrassing the way she sucked in a breath at the release of the pet name he had chosen for her. If Carter noticed, he never said a word, continuing on in that perfect Canadian drawl he added to the ends of his sentences. 

“I called, you didn’t pick up. I asked you to come over, and you did. Don’t know why.”

She rolls her eyes playfully at that, leaning up to shove at his shoulder. 

“You know why.” She mutters slowly. 

Her hand caught in Carter’s as he continued to skim his collection. With a tug, she’s pushing herself off his bed and onto her feet. He guides her hands to the player. Having finally picked an album to play, her fingers nudge the play button at his will. French Exit’s opening track soothes out of the player so low Naira strains to recognize it. 

With a turn, Carter finally faces her. A shared glance is all it takes before her hands are on her waist—hers crawling from his shoulders to the nape of his neck—and his lips are on hers. In what feels like forever, Naira lets go of any clever quips loaded to bite back at the Libra. 

“I knew it,”—he’s deliciously breathless between kisses—“you’re obsessed with me.” 

Naira groans into his mouth, pulling away to shake her head. He’s pulling her wrist to his lips before she can think of any words to say. 

That was simply all it took for her to lose herself in him. That was what it always took. A tug of her waist, a caress of her neck, the sweeping off of her feet. 

Naira was aware of the absence of rationality every time she let him draw her in like this. She was aware of the way he tugged at her boundaries, pushing them a bit farther every time he summoned her with a text. She was aware that she knew next to nothing about him—instead, he would distract her from any personal details the same way he lured her to his bed in the first place. She had known all these things, but all of a sudden she was aware.

He bites at her neck—something he never did—and it rouses her out of her Carter-induced haze. With a jump, she pulls away from him, suddenly too aware of all the things she knew before. All the things she chose to ignore. His eyebrows furrow as the record changes to the next song. The silence between the two of them cut away at any notes lifting from the player. Their eyes catch in a deadlock, Carter’s firm hands unmoving from their place underneath her shirt, her own pulling into a fist from their place on his chest. 

“I’m obsessed with you.” She whispers. The edge of her lip twinges in realization, and his eyes remain fixed on hers. Unrelenting and emotionless. 

“Hon,” he sighs, finally breaking eye contact. His arms bring her in closer as he tries to distract her once more, “Is that supposed to be a bad thing?” 

He laughs again. Naira grits her teeth, turning her head away from him. 

“Yes, Carter.” She snaps. If he was taken by surprise at her outburst, he doesn’t let on to it. 

“I’m obsessed with you and that’s a fucking problem.” 

His eyebrows raise as his hands loosen their hold on her body. Naira frees herself from his grip, suddenly feeling uneasy in his presence. Her anxious pacing does nothing to tick Carter off. Instead, his eyes slowly track her movement away from his side to the other side of his room. 

“Why are you doing this?” Carter groans, his hands resting on his hips. Eyes continuing to track Naira’s pacing figure. 

“Because you…” Her words fail her with a groan. She can feel the words on the tip of her tongue but they don’t connect to her brain. And it frustrates her. 

“Because I what, Naira?” His voice rings out once again, this time much harsher. She makes contact with his eyes through the mirror laid out in front of her. She can just make out the furrowing of his eyebrows and the irritation set in his hardened jaw. 

“Because you’re not obsessed with me.” 

The words connect with her brain in Korean. 

The switch visibly knocks Carter off of his chilly pedestal, the shock marked in his face striking Naira. She—admittedly—had never conceived Carter could process any other emotions beyond being smug and just okay. The shock held a bit of fear she could not begin to recognize amongst his features. It was odd how quickly it all happened. How quickly he became an entirely different person altogether. How quickly she could knock him off balance and a version of himself she was sure not many people could get to.

“I don’t understand,” He resorts to English once more. Though Naira understands what he truly means, she refuses to meet him there. With a shake of her head she mutters, “Of course not.”

His arms cross over his chest, guarding himself from Naira’s words. The pensive anxiety in his eyes brings Naira to turn to face him. He refuses to meet her eyes. 

“You know, there’s only a few things the girls can all agree about recently.” She trails off, drawing herself closer to his guarded figure. “And I should’ve listened closer when they said you were a problem.”

Stoic as ever, Carter takes one step closer to Naira, towering over her as he does so. His eyes held a darkness she had never seen in him before, different from the general emptiness they usually held whenever they met up on their late nights.

“How am I the problem, hon?” He hums, his hands reaching out to brush the hair away from her face. Pulling her hair into a makeshift ponytail held in the fist of his hand, he tugs her closer to him; her legs following the yanking of her body. 

With a whine, Naira shuts her eyes.

“Can you tell me? Why am I the problem?” His voice is impossibly deep, oozing with both venom and lust in a way that shakes Naira out of her anger and back into that trance. “What happened, hon? You were so worked up a minute ago. Telling me that I’m the problem.” 

Naira sucks in a deep breath, attempting to hold on to the last amount of autonomy she can muster. It’s all too much. His voice and the way it surrounds her. It swirls in her mind, envelops all of her thoughts, and chases them off leaving nothing but him. She can smell the mint and nicotine on his breath. A smell she had come to associate with the late nights in his sheets, covered only by the thin silk and his warm hands. 

Then his lips are everywhere. Attaching themselves to her clavicle, his body bending down to meet her height. His hair tickling at her skin, his familiar clean shampoo flooding her senses. Trailing up her neck with his hands holding her to him in their impossibly tight grip. Undoubtedly, leaving a slow trail marking where he’d been along her side. Then they press against her jaw, drawing what little will she has left. 

“How could I be the problem, hon?” He hums against her skin. “I’m spoiled by you. You’ve ruined me for anyone else.” Her breath escapes her as he speaks against her lips. Low and controlled, steady in a way she could never begin to pull herself away from.

“All I can do is live and breathe you. Only you.” 

His hands move again. Falling away from her hair as if offering her release. When she doesn’t take the opportunity, they pull her body closer to his. Those wandering hands traveling down her arms and bringing them under his control. They pull hers to their familiar place on his chest. He’s a furnace, burning at her hands but so inviting she falls into line with him.

“I couldn’t let you go if I tried, hon. I’m yours.” His face cradles itself into her neck, his whispers slowly crawling into her ears. 

“I’m yours.” 

Carefully controlled desperation leaks into his tone, furrowing Naira’s eyebrows as she fights against her better interests. Sure that he’s sensed this, her hands ball into fists once more, pressing against his chest as if begging for her release from the hold he’s captivated her into. 

“Relax for me, hon.” He soothes, all too familiar to her ears. “Open those eyes for me, pretty girl.” His words pull at her will, ripping her away from her judgment and leaving her waiting for his next words. 

As if in control of her reflexes, her eyes pry themselves open, receiving the sight of his own gazing intently into hers. It’s all too much for her; his voice, his commands, his heat, his presence. It consumes her control over her own body and it relinquishes its autonomy to him without much of a fight. Her hands relax from their bounding tightness, her voice loses its edge, and tears begin to flow from her eyes. It’s all too much for her.

“There’s my girl,” Carter hums. His forehead presses to hers, a hand lifting her chin to keep her eyes on his.

“I can’t be the problem. Not when I make you feel this good.” 

All sirenic, his voice seeps into her psyche, pulling her out of her own body and leaving her defenseless. Then his lips are on hers and everything melts away. All her anger, all her control, all her confusion. Left in its place is a yearning for his touch, a desperation for his kiss.

Effortlessly, he carries her to his bed. Laying her down as he hovers over her.

She can barely breathe as he pulls at her shirt. Her mind carried away in a sea of loss. All she can think and feel and do is him. It leaves her in a daze that disconnects her mind from her words. And despite it all, she can’t push him away. 

She can’t bring herself to let him go.

[verdemoun]

hosea in modern au accidentally finds out about fanfics and ao3

he tells jack too

No I don't make the rules these two are the bookworms

Hosea has a Kindle too. This guy can and will collect all the ways to read like fucking Pokemon. He can and will tell his grandson. His grandson (i just find their dynamic incredibly wholesome okay? 🥺🥺🥺) always listens and will geek out with Hosea. Okay maybe geek out isn't the right words but you know what I mean. It's the small things they share.

The day they find out about quiz site oneshots (or is this just a Polish thing?) they fucking lose it

hosea was starting to fear he had read every book ever written (well at least every book even slightly interesting to him) when old man fumbling around on the line discovered ao3.

after reading a few dozen novel length fanfics, most explicit, gasping and clutching his pearls and on the edge of his seat, he used his limited social media knowledge to send a particularly good fic to jack

jack arrived exactly 3 hours later having read the entire 70k word fic to scream because it was unfinished. uncle hosea recommended him an absolutely incredible western mystery fanfic from a movie neither of them had heard of and it was a wip that hadn't been updated in over 4 years

they proceeded to watch the movie despite not knowing how to turn on subtitles and somehow only finding the italian version as if it would somehow give them some idea of how the fanfic would have ended if it was finished

hosea fell asleep, just because he's an old man who gets sleepy. between italian he couldn't understand, the reassuring sound of cartoonish gunshot sound effects (hey he grew up in the west) and hosea snoring, jack also fell asleep

bessie put a blanket over her poor little bookworms

quizfics are not a thing here to my knowledge but i know exactly what you mean and jack would've written one exclusively for hosea. it would've been based off a crime drama his uncle hosea loved and hated the ending of, so he wrote him a better ending

hosea is one of the only ones jack will willing show his writing too, and hosea thinks the fact jack is not only reading but writing again is just all the more assurance jack will be okay eventually

it is not uncommon for hosea to be reading his kindle at the little gang catch ups they have with his brightness on max and screen slightly tilted because he knows jack is also reading it despite standing a meter behind him pretending to be listening to some other conversation

[originallandlockedmariner]

2023

Pickleball. Generative AI. Lula takes office in Brazil, Amazon Rainforest throws a party. Prince Harry refusing to stop talking about his frozen penis no matter how many times society begged him to stop. UFOs are real. Viral cat dubbed ‘largest cat anyone has ever seen’ gets adopted. Pee-Wee’s big adventure ends. Musk & X. Turkey-Syria earthquake kills thousands. India surpasses China as ‘country squeezing in the most peeps’. Tucker Carlson ousted. Miss USA and her 30 lbs moon costume. Wildfires in Kelowna and Hawaii. Macron tinkers with retirement age of the French. Paltrow can’t ski. Big Red Boots. Bob Barker leaves us. Alabama mom delivers 2 babies from her 2 uteruses in 2 days. Charles III. Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russian forces as the war drags on. Taylor Swift is Time’s Person of the Year. African ‘coup belt’. Flo-Jo dies in her sleep. Chinese spy balloon shot down. Hollywood writers strike. Human ‘nice mugshot’ Shitstain and his 91 indictments. Highest interest rates in 2 decades. The Bear’s Christmas episode. War in Gaza. Shinzo Abe is assassinated. Alex Murdaugh. Ocean Cleanup removes 25 000 lbs of trash from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Vase purchased for $3.99 sells for $100 000 at auction. Barbenheimer. A third of Pakistan is flooded. Lionel Messi is the GOAT. Travis Kelce. The Sphere opens in Las Vegas. Regulators seized Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, resulting in two of the three largest bank failures in U.S. history. “The Woman In Me”. WHO declares COVID ain’t a thing no more. Titan sub sinks, rich people die. Matthew Perry drowns. Dumbledore Dies (again). Massive sales of ‘Fuck Trudeau’ flags for jacked-up micro-dick trucks. Everything Everywhere All At Once. June-August was the hottest three-month period in recorded history across the Earth. Tina Turner dies. And the Beatles release a new song?! Wow… You got big shoes to fill 2024.

Archives for context:

2020

Kobe. Pandemic. Lockdown. Koalas on fire. Harry and Meg retire. Toilet paper hoarding. Alcoholism. Impeach the f*cker. Parasite. Bonnie Henry. Tiger King. Working from home. Sourdough bread. Harvey Weinstein guilty. Zoom overdose. Dip your body in sanitizer. 6 feet. Quarantine. OK Boomer. Home schooling (everyone passes). Murder hornets. Dolly Parton. Don’t hug, kiss or see anybody, especially your family. Chris Evans’ junk. TikTok. Glory holes. Face masks. CERB. West Coast wildfires. Stay home. Small Businesses lose, big box stores win. F*ck Bozos. ‘Dreams’ and cranberry juice. Close yoga studios, but thumbs up to your local gym. Speak moistly to me. George Floyd. BLM. F*ck Trump. Phase 2, 3 and Summer. RBG. Baby Yoda. Biden wins. Bond and Black Panther die. No more lockdown. Back to school and work. Just kidding... giddy up round 2. Giuliani leaks shit from his head. Resurgence of chess. UFOs are real. Restrictions. Dave Grohl admits defeat. Monolith. “F*ck... forgot my mask in the car”. No Christmas shenanigans allowed. Bubbles. Alex Trebek. Use the term ‘dumpster fire’ one too many times. Jupiter and Saturn form 'Christmas Star'. Happy New Year Bitches!!!! 2021... you better not sh*t the bed!!

2021

“We love you, you’re very special”. Failed coup attempt at the Capital. Twitter, FB and IG ban Donny. Hammerin’ Hank goes to the Field of Dreams. Bozo no longer richest man but still a twat. Leachman, Tyson, and Holbrook pass. The economy is worse than expected. Kim and Kanye split. Brood X cicadas. Dre has an aneurysm and nearly has his home broken into. Bridgerton. MyPillow CEO is a douche. Covid restrictions extended indefinitely. Captain Von Trapp dies. Proud Boys officially a Terrorist Organization. Richard Ramirez. Cancer takes Screech. Travel bans. Impeachment trial (again?… oh and this was barely February? WTF??!!) Suez Canal blockage. Myanmar protest. Kong dukes it out with Godzilla, while Raya watches. Olympics. Friends compare elective surgeries. F9. Canada Women’s Soccer Gold. Free Britney. Multiverses. Residential Schools in Canada unearth children’s bodies. Kate is Mare of Easttown. Cuomo resigns. Disney and Dwayne cruise together. Wildfires. Delta variants. Musk passes Bezos. Candyman x 5. Capt. Kirk goes to space. F*ck Kyle Rittenhouse. Astros didn’t win. Squid Game. Goodbye Bond. Dune is redone. Angelina is Eternal. Astroworld deaths. Meta. Omicron. Three Spidermen. Tornados in December? World Juniors cancelled. Pills against Covid. School opening delayed. And Betty White dies. 2022… my expectations are ridiculously low…

2022

Wow… eight billion people. Queen Elizabeth II passes away after ruling the Commonwealth before dirt was invented. The monkeypox. Russia plays the role of global a**hole. Wordle. Mother Nature rocks Afghanistan. Hover bike. Styles spits on Pine. Olivia Newton John, Kristie Alley, and Coolio leave us. Pele was traded to team Heaven. FTX implodes. Madonna and the 3-D model of her vagina. Pig gives his heart to a human. Beijing can brag that it is the first city ever to host both the Summer Olympics and Winter Olympics. Uvalde. $3 trillion Apple. Keith Raniere gets 120 years. The Whisky War ends with Canada and Denmark going halfsies. Mar-a-Lago. Nick Cannon brood hits a dozen. Shinzo Abe is assassinated. Inflation goes through the roof (if you can actually afford to put a roof over your head). Volodymyr Zelensky. European heat wave. Bennifer. Salman Rushdie is stabbed on stage, Dave Chappelle tackled, and Chris Rock is only slapped. Thích Nhất Hạnh. Heidi Klum goes full slug. Cuba knocked out by Ian. Liz Truss and 4.1 Scaramuccis. Taylor Swift breaks Ticketmaster. Human shitstain Elon Musk ignores helping mankind and buys Twitter instead. Riri becomes a mommy. NASA launches Artemis 1. Trump still a whiny little b*tch. Music lost Loretta Lynn, Christine McVie, and Meat Loaf. Democracy died at least three times. Pete Davidson continues to date hottest women on the planet (no one understands how?!) Microplastics in our blood. Alex Jones is a c*nt. So is DeSantis. Argentina wins the World Cup. Meghan and Harry. Eddie Munson rips Metallica in the Upside Down. tWitch. Roe vs Wade is overturned by the micro dick energy of the Supreme Court. CODA. James Corden shows he is a "tiny Cretin of a man". Amber (and the sh*t on the bed) Heard (round the world). Sebastian Bear-McClard proves he’s one of the f*cking dumbest men alive. Latin America's ‘pink tide’. Anti-Semitic rants by Ye. Bob Saget. A verified blue checkmark. Godmother of punk Vivienne dies. And, Tom Cruise feels the need for speed yet again. 2023… whatcha got for us?!? Nothing shocks me anymore.

@daily-esprit-descalier

[the-woild-is-ya-erster]

UM WEST END NEWSIES????

so I saw the Wembley Park Theatre production last night and if u don't wanna be spoiled dni

But if you have no chance of seeing it here are some of the little details <3

First of all the casting was perfect???

Michael Alomka dove into a more sensitive part of Jack - and it was super interesting

Katherine was so much more headstrong and it was suchhhh a new flavour of her - Katherine has never been one of my favourite characters but god she was so strong and wild and unduly it was brilliant.

Ryan Kopel as Davey has to be my standout tho - he seemed much younger in the role than BF did, and much more uncertain and afraid - I loved it - and his development oh my god he became boisterous and ahhhhhhhhh

Docket as Crutchie was brilliant he was much less happy-go-lucky than AKB was and oh it worked - he was frustrated and angry and real.

AND Crutchie played a much larger role in the leadership of the strike here!! Just through little interactions and stuff but it was coooollll and he even seemed to form a friendship with both Kath and Davey

Even the kid playing Les was brilliant and I usually don't like Les all that much - but the kid I saw was brilliant

KATHERINE WORE A CROWN MADE OF SPOONS IN KONY

The Newsies would swing out on lamps and ropes over the audience and oh my godddddddd

THE BROOKLYN NEWSIES WERE GIRLS (and it added balance since earlier they'd been the bowery beauties so it changed them up and showed the power of women plus finally included girls in the strike, sometbing 1992 and bway missed) AND THEY WERE SO GOOD

Jack and Katherine had Beatrice and Benedick vibes from Much Ado - that's the only comparable thing, they were so brilliant and the chemistry was so goooodddd

Ngl it probably didn't have enough Javid content for you addicts.

Butttt there was a hug when Jack tells Davey they won the strike that is so good. Davey can't retain himself, he jumps and hugs Jack and then picks up and whirls around Les

'we are inevitable' was delivered PERFECTLY I can't even explain

There are so many stunts and jumps and tricks and we all knew the dancing was gonna be perfect but dear god it still got me

And finally, my favourite thing, THE SET

I was sitting stage right in Woodside (I think) and if u can get tickets like that it is so worth it. The actors are running up behjind and beside you

There's even a little slide for the escape from snyder

And they utilise the scaffding part of the set super well

There are lamps that lifted up for ariel tricks

And so much more

Even a fuckin zip line!!!!!!!

okay you've nearly made it to the end

There were a fewwww lyric changes buttt the orchestrations were changed quite a lot to make room for more dance and honestly? I think I prefer broadway music wise

THEY ALL STAND UP AND SAY THEIR NAMES IN SEIZE THE DAY <3

The Pulitzer's set was built in newspapers to show class and how the Newsies have built their entire empire etc

And all the set was moved on and off by the Newsies, too, again to show class and how the Newsies (and working kids) run the world, really

Finally

Yes, Race was perfect.

[somuchwhatever]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Got tagged by @somewhereapart, and I figured y'all may be sick of seeing me just post fic so here ya go.

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

88

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

305,612

3. What fandoms do you write for?

AO3 tells me I've written for Battlestar Galactica, Buffy, General Hospital, Law & Order: SVU, Law & Order: OC, Lie To Me, Stargate: Atlantis, Stargate SG-1, and The West Wing. And I honestly can't think of any others outside of just ficlets I've tossed into the wild over the years.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Flinktober 2022 (EO, SVU/OC)

i remember skies (EO, SVU/OC)

gala (EO, SVU/OC)

bizarre love triangle (EO, SVU/OC)

Chautauqua (EO, SVU/OC)

I did not include one that was cowritten with a bunch of other people because I will always assume the kudos are for them.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

As often as possible. If someone takes the time to comment, I want them to know that i care enough to acknowledge and thank them for that kindness and effort. Especially when I write mostly for a fandom where I've seen people specifically state that they will read works but NOT comment on them as some sort of punishment for whatever random/imaginary fandom sins the writer whose free content they are enjoying has committed. That's just dumb and unkind, so I make the effort to let people know their comments are appreciated, even if it takes weeks to circle back.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Hmmm. There are several chapters in the first flink posting that would qualify, but I'm going to go with my largest Sam/Jack (SG-1) fic, Gravity Sings. It's hard to pretend it's not angsty when you've literally killed off half the planet.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Hmm. Not really sure. I'm a sucker for fluffy endings, so I tend to write them quite a bit. Maybe waltz or Chautauqua?

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Occasionally, but I shut it down quickly. If you come up in someone's space where someone is providing you free entertainment and be rude? Don't expect a pass from me about it. The scroll bar isn't difficult to use, and neither is the back button. I use it frequently on poorly-written works or things that may be well-written but just aren't my thing. What I don't do is sling entitlement issues around demanding things be written to my satisfaction (unless you employ my beta services, in which case, you asked for it!). :D

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I never really did prior to the first flink experiment, and I created that experiment purely to practice writing smut. Well, I take that back. @rgrdsalxndra would be the first to remind me I'd often cockblock Elliot and Olivia by having them dream-smutting without real-life release. But I started that project with the express purpose of getting better and more comfortable with writing smut, so I'm making that the hinge point.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

Because SVU and OC are different shows, I write them regularly. But if you mean out-of-universe crossovers, I've only really written one, R.E.M. (SGA, BSG, Buffy). It was based on a prompt from an LJ friend, "Elizabeth Weir, Kara Thrace, and Buffy Summers walk into a bar..."

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware. There are much better people out there to steal from. Also, I always assume if something is similar to what I've written, it's because fandom truly does become a hivemind at some point. Nothing new under the sun and all.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I'm aware. If I had to guess, I'd say Gravity Sings would be the most likely candidate since SG-1 fandom is probably the most global and that fic has been around much longer than any other likely candidates.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Wrote Wet Dream with much better smut writers than myself in a group chat, and a bunch of us in SG-1 fandom way back in the day once built an SG-1 AU loosely based on The Big Bang Theory called The House That Jack Built, and I have several entries in that little universe.

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

How does anyone pick this??? I love them all for different reasons. I will say EO has a grip on me nobody else ever has, but then they have that 25 year slow burn that is just absolutely and sickly delicious.

15. What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Glazed and Fired (SGA) was originally the first part of a 5 Things fic that got away from me, and I had always intended to go back and finish it but eventually just put it away for good. I fully intend to finish my others (Skies, I'm looking at you).

16. What are your writing strengths?

Grammar. Economy of language (this is also sometimes a weakness). Getting into the head of characters who are typically very closed off.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I feel my writing is way too mechanical. I'm also still not comfortable writing smut. I always walk around with a sense of imposter syndrome with my writing.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I'm literally one class shy of a degree in French, and I had to write many upper level term papers in that language, but let me assure you I have zero plans to ever write in another language. I sincerely applaud those of you who do.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Stargate SG-1

20. Favorite fic you've ever written?

Geez. It probably changes regularly, and I'm hesitant to say because my faves are never anyone else's. all i ever wanted (a rather dark Elliot-centric fic) holds a very dear spot in my heart just because of how my muse just grabbed a keyboard and churned it out. This is not a popular opinion, and hardly anyone read it, but I still love it a lot. And just because it was the first fic I wrote that was widely recc'd, I have a soft spot for Things Not Dreamed (SG-1), a Sam & Jack & Daniel fic written from Daniel's POV.

tagging in a no-pressure way (and sorry for any double tags):

@morethanwords229, @whatbecomesofyou, @samwrites99, @rgrdsalxndra, @shut-upjohn, and anyone else who wants to do it!

[rattkachuk]

30 or 33 with mceichel? <3 <3 <3

30 ‘this is my husband/wife/girlfriend/boyfriend/partner etc.’ + 33 ‘I love you.’

ao3 link

Summers in lake country in Ontario were Connor’s favourite. Warm and sweet and everything he associated with home, everything that Edmonton wasn’t.

Edmonton was for work. It was for drive and digging his heels in and finding a way to win. For himself, for his team, for passion, ultimately. But there was a different passion to be found here, too. A longing, more-so, for slow things. For a simple life that didn’t expect so much of him. He could see glimpses of it, and even though he loved what he was doing out west, and the people he was doing it with, he still had to hold on tight to the moments that kept him grounded in a life outside of hockey.

That didn’t mean distancing himself from the sport for the off season completely, though. As the years had passed, slowly the media loosened its relentless grasp on the ideal of Connor McDavid. Of course, not completely, he had accepted at the age of 16 that his name would always be topic of contention within hockey circles. There were other top draft picks since then, though, other guys who approached numbers he’d managed, and that softened things a little. With that, there was an ease in interacting with people, it didn’t feel so monumental every time he stepped foot in public.

Where he would have preferred to run away to places that didn’t give a shit about hockey before, now it felt good to be here in the same place he spent summers as a boy. He volunteered some time for a couple weeks in July for some hockey camps, and it became one of his favourite parts of the summer.

“Mr. McDavid, check out my stick handling!” One of the kids' voices yell out to him, bringing him into the present and back to the group of kids he’s in charge of. It’s nearing the end of the day, so the kids are mostly doing whatever they want before they go home.

He skates over to the young boy leisurely, watches some impressive hand work from the kid and thinks to himself that hockey kids these days really are on some other level, “Nice job, Miles.”

There's some excitement from one cluster of kids near the boards that gets Connor’s attention. He looks to see what’s up and follows their gaze to the small set of bleachers set up on one side of the rink.

He can’t keep the smile off his face once he makes eye contact with Jack. He offers a little wave, mouths a hello and nods at him to make his way round to the player benches.

“Just a sec,” Connor says to the kids and the other adult nearby.

Most of the kids take it upon themselves to abandon what they’re doing to follow Connor anyways, like ducklings to a mother duck.

“Who’s that?” one of the girls asks point blank at Connor’s hip.

“Uh, that. This is my…he’s my boyfriend,” Connor says, and Jack is well within earshot now, words a little tripped up a little in his mouth as a blush finds the high points of his cheeks, “Jack.”

The kids giggle and one of the boys makes a joking motion to throw up at the mention of relationships, but his excitement at meeting another NHL player keeps him around.

The kids were all ecstatic once they realized who the newcomer was. They’d all gotten to know Connor this week so he was old news, Jack was exciting and new and he couldn’t blame them. He felt the same way.

“How’s it going, you guys?” Jack leans on the boards and grins at Connor as the kids start bombarding him with questions.

Another kid comes from another of the little groups out on the ice and leans on the boards in front of Jack, dangling his arms over as he looks up at the other hockey player. He’s wearing a Vegas jersey.

“Excuse me,” he squeaks, “Are you Jack Eichel?”

Jack bends down so he’s level with the kid, “I am.”

“Woah,” The boy’s eyes widen, looking up at Jack like he might not even be real.

Jack indulges them all, asks about how many goals each of the kids have scored, and offers to sign the boy’s jersey while taking in the jumble of questions from all the kids. He’s calm and patient, and every so often flashes an amused smile Connor’s way.

Connor’s heart flutters in his chest. Usually in times past, he’d opt to meet Jack outside. It was easier and didn’t get as much attention. This time, he had texted and asked if he’d wanna come earlier and come inside. In the last year they had decided to come out, and it was still new knowing they didn’t have to worry about pretending anymore.

He finds he likes this, likes knowing that everyone knows this is his boyfriend Jack, and not just hockey player Jack. He even catches a few smiles from the other coaches that show him it was a good call.

It materialises as another glimpse into the future that Connor has been building in his head. Jack is key to it all, the central heartbeat that made Connor's imagination for things to come seem real.

A couple of the girls pull Connor’s attention away from the small swarm of kids (and adults alike, now) in Jack’s vicinity.

“McDavid,” the one addresses him with ease, “Are you and your boyfriend going to get married?”

The question catches Connor off guard, a startled laugh on his lips, “I–um. I don’t know, maybe.”

“Well. I think if you do,” one of the others says confidently, “You should invite us.”

“Yah! I’ve even been a flower girl before.”

Their conversation takes a detour after that into how many weddings they’ve been to and they quickly forget Connor’s even there, but he’s left with the kids' random input rattling around in his head as he watches Jack fondly.

After all the kids are off the ice and they are making their way into the parking lot, a pretty orange sunset setting into the clouds above their heads, Connor shifts his skate bag over one shoulder and holds Jack’s hand with his other. He swings their arms a little bit between them, and that makes Jack laugh.

“You’re in a good mood.”

“I am,” Connor hums, “I like you being here. I like sharing things with you.”

Jack sighs happily, “Yah. I like it, too.”

They get to the car and Jack takes Connor’s bag to toss it in the trunk of the car, and before he can slide in the front seat Connor catches his wrist, pulling him close.

“Some of the kids asked if I was gonna marry you,” Connor says.

“Oh,” Jack’s eyebrows shoot up, hands resting on Connor’s hips, “What did you say?”

“Maybe.”

“Maybe?” Jack scoffs and makes a move to pull away from Connor, a smile on his face, “I can’t believe I’m a maybe.”

Connor laughs and holds tighter, doesn’t let him go so easy, “Jack, you’re not. It’s all the other details that are maybes. You’re a ‘for sure’.”

Jack relaxes in his grip and leans back into Connor, still a quip of amusement in his tone, “See, that’s reassuring. Thank you.”

“I mean it,” Connor reiterates, “ I didn’t think much of a life outside of playing hockey for a long time. Now, everything I see making sense in the future, you’re there. Whatever we do, wherever we are, I just wanna be with you for all of it.”

“God you’re sappy, McDavid,” Jack breathes with a shake to his head, hands cupping either side of Connor’s face, “-and I love you for it.”

Connor smiles and catches Jack’s lips with his own in a soft kiss, the evening wind ruffling past them in the warm glow of the evening sunlight.

[numberonenat]

i asked chat gpt to make a playlist based on each one of the brothers of obey me…

here's part 2 and 3: the dateables + luke / the side characters

here's what it gave me:

lucifer:

"sympathy for the devil" by the rolling stones

"smooth operator" by sade

"devil inside" by INXS

"demon" by imagine dragons

"lucifer" by SHINee

"bad guy" by billie eilish

"personal jesus" by depeche mode

"no rest for the wicked" by lykke li

"highway to hell" by AC/DC

"dark horse" by katy perry ft. juicy j

"i put a spell on you" by creedence clearwater revival

"power" by kanye West

"black magic woman" by santana

"boulevard of broken dreams" by green day

"wicked game" by chris isaak

mammon:

"can't stop the feeling!" by justin timberlake

"money" by pink floyd

"material girl" by madonna

"don't stop me now" by queen

"irresistible" by fall out boy ft. demi lovato

"i want it all" by queen

"rich girl" by hall & oates

"break free" by ariana grande

"gold digger" by kanye west

"born to be wild" by steppenwolf

"counting stars" by onerepublic

"uptown funk" by mark ronson ft. bruno mars

"i love it" by icona pop ft. charli XCX

"shut up and dance" by walk the moon

"take a walk" by passion pit

leviathan:

"nerd" by three loco

"all the small things" by blink-182

"the real slim shady" by eminem

"anime" by riton & kah-lo

"superhero" by 5 seconds of summer

"loser" by beck

"gamer" by karliene

"virtual insanity" by jamiroquai

"no tears left to cry" by ariana grande

"in the end" by linkin park

"radioactive" by imagine dragons

"the middle" by zedd, maren morris, grey

"numb" by linkin park

"gangnam style" by psy

"last friday night (T.G.I.F.)" by katy perry

satan:

"bitter sweet symphony" by the verve

"imagine" by john lennon

"bohemian rhapsody" by queen

"hotel california" by eagles

"hallelujah" by leonard cohen

"smooth" by santana ft. rob thomas

"time in a bottle" by jim croce

"wish you were here" by pink floyd

"somewhere only we know" by keane

"black" by pearl jam

"dust in the wind" by kansas

"vincent" by don mclean

"blackbird" by the beatles

"under the bridge" by red hot chili peppers

"sultans of swing" by dire straits

asmodeus:

"vogue" by madonna

"glamorous" by fergie ft. ludacris

"beautiful" by christina aguilera

"i'm too sexy" by right said fred

"fashion" by david bowie

"confident" by demi lovato

"glam" by christina aguilera

"fancy" by iggy azalea ft. charli XCX

"manicure" by lady gaga

"glamourous indie rock & roll" by the killers

"G.U.Y." by lady gaga

"primadonna" by MARINA

"supermodel (you better work)" by rupaul

"gold digger" by kanye west

"diamonds" by rihanna

beelzebub:

"sugar, sugar" by the archies

"banana pancakes" by jack johnson

"all star" by smash mouth

"don't stop believin'" by journey

"i want to hold your hand" by the beatles

"lean on me" by bill withers

"stand by me" by ben e. king

"with a little help from my friends" by the beatles

"three little birds" by bob marley & the wailers

"can't help falling in love" by elvis presley

"i'll be there for you" by the rembrandts

"count on me" by bruno mars

"lean on me" by club nouveau

"i just called to say i love you" by stevie wonder

"better together" by jack johnson

belphegor:

"enter sandman" by metallica

"lose yourself" by eminem

"don't wake me up" by chris brown

"sweet dreams (are made of this)" by eurythmics

"lazy song" by bruno mars

"sleeping in" by the postal service

"dreams" by fleetwood mac

"mad world" by tears for fears

"lucid dreams" by juice WRLD

"wake me up when september ends" by green day

"hotel california" by eagles

"boulevard of broken dreams" by green day

"i don't want to miss a thing" by aerosmith

"talking in your sleep" by the romantics

"no sleep 'til brooklyn" by beastie boys

this was fun lol

except for the repetitive ones, i acctually liked this - even with the ridiculous or that make no sense...

i'll definatelly make a part 2 with the side characters and maybe with characters from another fandom. i'll put the link here when i do it.

[theladyragnell]

Hi! Question for you once you've had a chance to finish S3 of Ted Lasso: I'd love to hear your perspective on how S3 could have unfolded in a more fulfilling way. No pressure, of course, but I enjoy reading your insights. :)

Okay! I am rolling up my sleeves.

EXPRESSING-OPINIONS-ON-THE-INTERNET CAVEAT: I am not a media critic, and not everything in this post will be cohesive, well-thought-out, and non-contradictory. I do not for a moment pretend that my opinions are Correct, they are merely my own.

SECOND CAVEAT: At this point, with where they left arcs, I'm about 80% sure that depending on how the WGA strike goes (crossing my fingers for them) and any corporate retaliation for that, there will be a spinoff or continuation sans Ted. More of their choices make sense if that is true, even if I don't love the thought (let shows end!!!), so this is all changes I would make assuming s3 is the final season.

The thing about this season, for me, is that any given episode or moment was largely really enjoyable for me! Sure, a few quibbles, and the whole Roy and Keeley thing we will get to in a moment, but if I ignored the fact that I was watching a season, most things worked for me. Looking at it as a season, though, it was too busy, in a way that meant the show dropped a lot of things I wanted to see more of.

So, when pondering this question, I think that there's no way to keep everything I love while getting rid of only the things that annoyed me or that didn't feel right to me. And in the end, I'd rather miss things that weren't there than be annoyed with things that are present, so my take on s3 would streamline a lot of things to engage with others.

Oh boy, this is already long, time for a cut.

Change #1: Roy and Keeley do not break up. There was simply no reason for this, and especially no reason for it to happen off-screen. They can still fight and have difficulties, and Roy can deal with his mental health, but it's just unnecessary drama and I never understood it. This also prevents Roy and Jamie's weird last-episode regression to fighting over her and forcing her into shitty positions.

Change #2: Most of Keeley's plotlines change. All of the KJPR plots and characters were interesting, but they also busied the season up too much. So I'd have her actually building up a one-woman business without Jack (or, tragically, Barbara), maybe doing the Shandy thing and grappling with that for longer, or her dealing with the Establishment the way Rebecca does so often, trying to make them see her as a businesswoman and not a footballer's girlfriend.

Change #3: Beard and Jane break up. We get to carry over the threads from s2 from the Beard episode and from Higgins expressing his concern, instead of treating the way Jane treats him as comedy. We also get to counteract this show's everyone-deserves-not-just-forgiveness-for-everything-but-also-to-be-in-your-life-again message with one instance of someone setting out a boundary and sticking to it.

Change #4: Many of Nate's plots change. As with Barbara, I would really regret losing Jade, but I think there are better uses of Nate's screentime--he was set up to be a real main character in s2 and I felt like I hardly saw him in s3. What I really wanted was for Nate to learn how to have power over people responsibly, I think? I'd have chosen either for him to grit his teeth and stay at West Ham (perhaps while joining the conspiracy to overthrow Rupert) or, when he left, for him to somehow end up coaching a kids' team, and learn gentleness in authority that way. It would pick up this show's really genuinely cool theme of "once one person makes a point of stepping out of the cycle of abuse and trauma it can ripple out around them" in interesting ways.

And while there are many other tweaks I'd make (more Sam, his last focus plot was SO goddamn miserable; eliminate everything about the psychic; goodbye to Rebecca's boat stranger), I'm going to finish with the last big one, which is

Change #5: Ted gets to do something besides reinvent total football, pine for his son, and make speeches that should have been edited down to a third of their length tops. He just seems so checked out this whole season, just talking about how none of the work he's done is on him, all focused on Henry in the wrong ways, so that going back to Kansas felt more like a horrible sacrifice than a choice that will bring him fulfillment or contentment. He was always going to go back to Kansas and his son, much as I wasn't wild about that, but it doesn't feel like a new beginning for him, just like he's going back to his old life with a little more knowledge of football and more knowledge of how to model good parenting and relationships for his kid (while not, from the way I interpreted that last expression, dealing any further with his own mental health). It felt weirdly dark for this show.

(Also I know this show loves its book theming, and I know it's The Wizard of Oz (see: a song from The Wiz playing over the credits to the penultimate episode), but have they considered that in subsequent Oz books Dorothy and her family move back to Oz? Things to consider.)