#wow i miss dalton suddenly. like a lot

[sky-scribbles]

@aurrieccentrics​ tagged me to make some of my OCs in this picrew, so here are a few of my kids!

Dalton Hawke (DA2)

Wren Serrano (FHR)

And Mae Ryder (ME: Andromeda)

I tab @sadmagecentral​, @my-da-phase​, @thestarcabal​ if you guys want to do this and haven’t already? :D

[chemist-ana]

Chapter 10- The Company Picnic— Sams POV

Book: The Nanny Affair

Characters: Sam, Ana Schuyler (MC), Robin, Mickey and Mason, Sofia, Mason Sr., Vivian,

Pairing: Sam Dalton (male) x Ana Schuyler (MC)

Rating: 18+

Content Warning: NSFW, Sexual Language, Adult Language, Sexual Situations

A/N This is a brand new series that I was inspired to write. I am going to go chapter by chapter in Sam Daltons POV. This story is completely inspired by Choices The Nanny Affair. I have used most of the dialogue from the actual story, anything written in BOLD was taken directly from the book and therefore is not my writing- credit to our good friends over at Pixelberry! All characters are credit to Pixelberry except for my OCs

Summary: When you let your guard down at the company picnic, will you be ambushed by friendly fire?

Word Count: 4740

Tag List: @txemrn @secretaryunpaid @lifeaskim @aussieez @pixie88 @thefrenchiemama @sfb123 @mainstreetreader @shewillreadyou @khoicesbyk @lady-calypso @choicesficwriterscreations @somersetmummy @melalicious8383

Robin stood there, his eyes flicking between Ana and I with a knowing look.

Fuck.

I run my hands through my hair, trying to gather my bearings.

“Robin, what are you doing here? And why is Sofia calling you?” Wait, why is Sofia calling him… I have my cell on me…

“She was looking for you. Do I even want to know what you two were up to?” His eyes narrow at me.

“We were just working!” Ana says breathlessly. Not exactly the perfect cover, Ana.

“You know you don’t actually work here, right Ana?” Robin crosses his arms and widens his stance, his frown deepening.

“Sam was showing me the prototypes. That count as work…” Her voice has grown quiet.

“We don’t need to explain ourselves to you, Robin. Did you finish the press release for the Milan breach?” My anger evident in my tone.

“I’ve been a little busy, but apparently I’m not the only one.”

Fucking drop it Rob.

“Enough. If you have something to say, say it. If not, then get back to work.” My eyes narrow at him in challenge. I watch as he turns on his heel to leave the lab, pausing briefly at the door and looking over his shoulder.

“I almost forgot. Sofia had a message for you, Ana. She said since you were doing this office tour today, you should come to the company picnic this weekend.”

“Really? I thought she wanted me fired.” Her eyes grow wide as she looks between Robin and I.

“It’s probably a ‘keep your enemies closer’ type of thing. She already told Mom and Dad about the invite, so they’re expecting you to be there.”

I clench my jaw, fighting back my ever increasing desire to punch that look off of his face. God I have been wanting to do that to him a lot recently... I close my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose when I hear the door close to the lab, leaving Ana and I alone again.

The silence is palpable as I look at her, she is looking down as her fingers twist together.

“Ana, are you okay?”

“Sam, we have to be more careful. We’re lucky Robin was the one who walked in on us. It could’ve been much worse.” Her voice quiet as she continues to watch her hands.

“You’re right. It won’t happen again.” I don’t know how lucky we are that it was Robin… “You don’t have to come to the picnic, you know.”

Her emerald eyes lift to mine as she studies my face for a moment.

“If you… think it’s best I don’t-“ She takes a step away from me, looking back down at her hands. I reach out and gently place my hand on her arm.

“That’s not what I meant. I want you there. Against my better instincts… I always want you wherever I am.” Close to me.

Those words get her attention as she slowly rises her eyes to mine. I hear her breath catch and it sends a reminder of the passion that we just shared only moments before.

“Okay then, I’ll be there.” She gives me a small smile.

I return her smile as our eyes linger for a moment before my mind wanders to a less important question... Why was Sofia on the phone with Robin? I reach into my pocket and check my phone, no missed calls or texts. Weird…

I spend the rest of the day thinking of Ana, spread out before me on the lab table, the sound of pleasure that escaped her lips, and the sweet taste of her arousal on mine.

***

I wake up early the next morning, as I walk quietly into the kitchen, I pause outside of the door to Ana’s room. God how I want to just bring you into my bed and get lost in you… I shake my head, fuck these thoughts need to disappear… I need to escape while everyone is still asleep. I write a quick note and leave it on the counter- Went into the office early- will be home early to take the boys out for a treat. -Sam. Good enough.

I run my hands through my hair as I ride the elevator down to the lobby, Carter is waiting at the curb, always ready.

When I enter into my office the sun is just breaking above the skyline. The building is eerily quiet as I sit down in my chair, turning my attention to the waking of the city as the sunlight casts its morning shadows.

Suddenly I hear the door to my office open.

“How did I know you would be here already?” I close my eyes. Robin.

I hear him sit down in the leather chair on the other side of my desk and I turn my chair to face him, a smug look on his face.

“Sammy, what in the actual fuck is going on with you and Ana?”

I take a sharp inhale, “First of all, there is nothing going on between us. Second of all, even if there was, it would be none of your fucking business.”

“You are really going to lie to me? What I walked in on yesterday didn’t look like ‘nothing’.”

“Yeah, well, you know what happens when people make assumptions.”

“Sam, I thought by now you would understand that there are consequences to your actions.”

“Robin, save the kingly speech for someone who gives a damn. There is nothing going on between us.”

“You’re going to hurt her, and when all the chips fall, she is going to have nothing, and you are still going to have everything.”

I stare at him for a moment, biting the inside of my cheek.

“Why were you on the phone with Sofia?”

“I told you Sam, she was trying to find you.” He points a finger at me, before he shakes his head and stands up. “You better figure your shit out.”

Without another word he turns around and strides out of my office.

It’s going to be a long day.

***

I bring a glass of water to my lips for a sip as I type out a few quick texts, and alert Carter to be ready with the car in five minutes. Now where are the boys?

I make my way down the hall, and knock softly on Ana’s partially open door.

“Ana, have you seen the boys-“

“Dad, look! Ana’s wearing the outfit we picked out!” Mason pushes the glasses up his nose with a smile.

“Oh, wow. You look… nice.” My eyes flash as they run down the exposed skin of her delicate neck and her long legs. I swallow down a surge of desire.

“Just nice?” She asks with a coy smile.

I glance over at the twins who are now lost in a conversation between themselves before I lean in and the smell of jasmine fills my senses.

“Definitely not ‘just nice’, but I’m trying to be good.” My eyes flick to the twins.

“I think I like you better when you let yourself be bad.” Her emerald eyes darken and a memory flashes in my mind of the soft whimpers that escape her lips when I touch her.

I clear my throat, breaking myself of my trance as I stand up and look to the twins.

“Right. Is everyone ready to go in here?”

“I am!” Mason cheers running out of the door.

“Wait, I forgot my socks!” Mickey calls as he follows close behind.

My eyes linger on Ana before I reluctantly turn away.

***

Ana and I walk side by side down the large path in Central Park, the boys follow close behind.

“What’s the problem, you two? You don’t like picnics?” We stop and turn towards the boys who are kicking at the rocks on the pavement.

“Normal picnics, yeah. But who knows what Aunt Sofia has done to this one?” Mickey whines as he drags his feet.

“Boys, I promise you, Aunt Sofia didn’t have any part in planning this picnic.” I fight back the urge to laugh.

“But, we still have to follow her rules, don’t we?” Mason looks at Ana with a pleading look.

“You can still have fun too.” She gives him an encouraging smile. “Besides, there’ll be so much going on, I bet she won’t even notice if you sneak an ice cream cone. Assuming your dad says it’s okay, of course.”

“Really?” Mickey breaks out into a big grin.

“Sure. But just the one treat. We don’t want you to get a sugar overload.”

That seems to get them moving, because they run ahead. Ana and I share a look before we continue walking.

“It’s beautiful… I can see our building from here!” Mason shouts as we round the corner and the field comes into view.

My eyes meet Sofia’s as she starts walking towards us.

“Sam, you’ve got to see this. It’s accounting versus legal on the badminton court!” Her eyes are bright, you are unusually cheery today. Than her gaze falls on Ana, and I see a flash of something in her eyes, but it’s gone before I can tell what it is.

“Well, don’t you look adorable. You always know how to turn it on when it matters most, don’t you?” I resist the urge to close my eyes and sigh. Adorable, really Sofia?

“I try.” Ana gives her a confident smile.

“Can you also try to keep the boys from getting too dirty or being too loud or eating any sugar or running near the adults? Sam and I will be right back.” Sofia grabs my arm and leads me towards the badminton courts. I glance back at Ana who is herding the boys in the opposite direction.

“I am glad she decided to come today.” Sofia squeezes my arm. “Robin mentioned she had some hesitation.” My stomach sinks as I think about Robin… did he say anything to her?

“Yeah, so legal vs accounting huh?” I say effectively changing the topic.

***

After laughing a little too hard watching the accounting team get slaughtered by legal, I hear my dad’s voice calling over a megaphone.

“Welcome to the Annual Dalton Enterprises Company Picnic! I hope you’re ready for some good old-fashioned fun! We’ve got everything from giant Jenga to croquet to kickball.. But the highlight of the afternoon will be starting in five minutes… tug-of-war!” I hear a few good natured cheers and my eyes scan the field for Ana.

I see her talking to Robin, her brow furrowed.

“It’s Complex A versus Complex B! If you’re not an employee, pick a side.” My dad drops the megaphone and my eyes are still locked on Ana and Robin as I make my way across the field.

I don’t realize Sofia is behind me until I walk up on Ana and Robin and she is the first one to speak.

“Are you sitting out too, Ana? This game is so filthy and juvenile, I always sunbathe through it.” Sofia looks down at her manicured fingers and walks to the sidelines.

“Ana! You have to be on our team!” Mason shouts as him and Mason jog up to us.

“Yeah! Together we’ll be unstoppable!” Mickey chimes in as he gives Ana a smile. Ana’s eyes look between the boys then rise up to mine.

“We could use the extra hands…” I tell her.

“If Ana doesn’t want to play, she doesn’t have to play.” Robin’s eyes narrow at me.

I bite the urge to call Robin a petulant child.

“I can’t resist a good competition. I’m in!” She flashes a cocky smile at Robin.

“Yeah! Suck it, Uncle Robin!” Mickey jumps in the air and sticks his tongue out at Robin.

“Mickey…”

“I mean… you’re going down?” His eyes widen.

“We’ll see, kiddo.” Robins eyes soften as he looks down at Mickey, but harden immediately when he looks back at me. “At least we don’t have any distractions on our team.”

“Bring it on.” Ana turns on her heel and we walk towards our side of the rope.

We huddle together with the rest of the people on our team.

“First thing’s first, we need a team name!” Mason takes charge. That’s my boy.

“What about winners?” Ana says.

“Yeah, go winners!” Mason and the rest of the team cheers.

“Enough conferring! It’s time to play!” My dad’s voice booms over the megaphone.

We all line up as my mother explains the rules.

“Boys up front. Ana, you can stand by me.” I give Ana a smile as she stands directly in front of me.

I see Robin glaring daggers at Ana from the opposite side of the rope. My eyes dart back to Ana as I catch her sticking her tongue out at him. What were those two talking about earlier?

“Is that your method of long-distance trash talk?”

“It’s working, isn’t it? Robin’s head isn’t in the game, which means we’ve got this in the bag.” She gives me a confident smile.

“Let’s put that theory to theory to the test.” I give her a smile before she turns around, wrapping her hands around the rope.

My dad starts the pulling match and I lean back, digging in with my heels as the rope goes taught.

“You’’ll have to do better than that!” Ana shouts. You’re a competitive little thing aren’t you.

The boys are urging everyone to pull. I wrap my fingers tighter around the rope and heave and it seems to work, because the other side starts to give.

“That’s it, winners! We’ve got ‘em on the ropes!” I shout.

My eyes are locked on the muscles that are tense on Ana’s back.

“Almost… there!” Her voice rings out.

“We can’t… let them win… look at them!” Robin’s face is angry as he pulls. “Though I guess Ana does have some experience playing dirty.”

My eyes fly to Robin, but his gaze is focused on Ana. She ignores him and continues to pull, until we pull the marker onto our side. The momentum of her pulling causes her to stagger back… and right into my arms.

The smell of jasmine and Ana rush my senses as I squeeze my arms tightly around her, to steady her or hold her close I don’t know anymore. She looks over her shoulder and her emerald eyes meet mine, and for a moment the world fades away.

“…Hi.” A blush creeps up her neck as our eyes linger.

“Hi.” I smile.

Her eyes dart down to my lips as she takes her bottom lip between her teeth, her eyes growing dark. I slide my tongue across my lip and I feel her body tense.

“Sam…” She whispers and the sound sends a shockwave through my body.

“Ana, I-“ Fuck, you are in public, and Sofia is here.

“And the winner is- Team Winners!” My dad’s voice booming over the megaphone breaks me from my trance.

“We did it!” Mason and Mickey jump around excitedly. I drop my arms from Ana just in time for Mason and Mickey to tackle me in a hug. My eyes never leave Ana as they wrap their arms around me.

“You did it, boys!” I finally break my gaze to ruffle the twins hair as they cheer.

“We did it, Dad!” Mason looks up at me with a grin.

“Yeah, we couldn’t have beat Uncle Robin without you and Ana!” Mickey looks over to Ana.

“And we couldn’t have done it without you two.” She reaches out and ruffles Mickey’s hair.

God, this just feels so right.

“That’s one way to put it.” Robin. Moment fucking broken.

My eyes fly up to Robin’s who has his eyes narrowed at Ana. I am about to snap when my mother walks up besides us.

“Nobody like a sore loser, Robin. Be a good example for your nephews.”

“Samuel, my big, strong man! I’ve got a wet wipe and a fresh shirt with your name on it.” Sofia walks up and wraps an arm through mine, and pulls me away from the group. I look down at her as she leads towards a tent, her eyes focused.

***

I stand silently next to my father as we watch everyone start to leave.

“I would call that a success.” He glances over at me.

“I would say so. You and mom should go, let me handle the clean up.” I clap him on the back as my mother walks up to us.

“Are you ready to go Mason, dear?”

“Yes, Viv.” He extends his arm for her to take before turning to me one last time. “Well done today, Sam.”

“Bye, Samuel.” My mother brushes a kiss to my cheek before I watch her and my father walk towards the edge of the park.

With a sigh I grab a few trash bags and begin walking around, picking up loose plates. My eyes fall on Ana and the boys and I make my way over to them.

“I’ll take those.” I hold open the trash bag for Ana and the boys to drop their used plates and napkins in. Ana and I fall into step next to each other as we follow the boys to the edge of the park.

“So, did you have a good time today?” I glance down at her and the sun has left a beautiful glow on her olive skin.

“Well, I missed you.” She says softly, turning her beautiful face towards mine. “I feel like I barely got to see you all day after tug-of-war. But this moment right here, with you? It’s been the best part of my day.”

“The party planning committee will be disappointed to hear it… but it’s my favorite too.” I chuckle, my eyes lingering on hers as I watch the sun reflect off of the little specs of gold amongst the emerald green.

As we round the corner I see Carter waiting at the curb, Robin and Sofia already there besides the car. Why are they always together…?

“Looks like the ride home will be a little crowded tonight.” Ana murmurs.

“Good thing I can get out of it for once, I always stay behind and help the cleaning crew after the picnic. It’s the least I can do to show my appreciation for everything.” I look down at her as our arms brush.

“No ones too good to clean up their own mess, right Dad?” Mason asks as he kicks a rock on the pavement.

“That’s exactly right, little man.” Damn proud.

“But we don’t have to stay… right?” Mickey’s eyes grow wide.

“Not until you’re a little older.” I smile at the look of relief on his face.

The boys climb into the car and I catch Sofia’s eye.

“Yes, honey, very inspiring. See you at home.” She leans in and brushes a kiss against my cheek then follows the boys into the car.

“Ana, are you coming?” Robin asks as his eyes scan Ana’s body.

Ana looks up at me with a question in her eyes.

“You’re welcome to stay and help, if you want. It won’t take long between us and the crew. We usually divide and conquer to cover more ground.” Please stay…

“Sounds like a great way to help out this afternoon.” She meets my eyes with a warm smile, her eyes not hiding her true intentions.

“Sure. Just… remember what I said.” Robin regards Ana with a firm look, before shifting his focus to me, and finally climbing into the backseat of the car.

Ana and I turn around and head back to the picnic area, our arms brushing lightly as we walk in a companionable silence.

“Have you ever been to a big picnic like this before?” The breeze blows through her hair as she looks up at me.

“I have never been to one before. Neither of my parents ever had a company picnic, so this was a first.”

“And? What’s the verdict?”

“I’ll let you know when I have one.” She gives me a coy smile before turning her attention back to the park.

I hand her a trash bag and she begins picking up stacks of paper plates.

“I bet you’ve been to a million of these over the years.”

“You could say that. I was still a kid when we held the first one, but it looked nothing like this. We could practically all fit on one blanket back then.” I smile at the fond memories… we have come a long way since then.

“It’s hard to imagine the company being that small.”

“Yeah, we’ve definitely grown a lot since then. But as much as I sometimes miss how… simple things were back then, we also couldn’t make as big of a difference. We can help so many more people now that we’re bigger.”

“I bet that feels good.”

“It does. And it definitely makes the hard days a little easier.”

“Speaking of, I can’t believe you’re not soaking in a bubble bath right now. You were at the center of all of the activity today.” She glances at me. I want to be in a bubble bath with you.

We bend down to pick up a red solo cup at the same time, our fingers brushing, and a blush spreading across her cheeks as her eyes snap away from mine.

“Sorry.” She says quickly.

“No worries.” I smile at her, but I can sense a change in her mood. “I am pretty tired, but it’s a Dalton family tradition to stay behind with the workers and, well, work. My father always stayed behind, but now that he’s older, the mantle falls on me.”

“You know, Robin mentioned one time that he’s also being considered for CEO… but I can’t really picture him staying behind, even if it’s part of the job description.” What else has Robin told you about my family? Yeah, well, if there is anything I know about Robin is that he does the bare minimum.

“Yeah, well, he probably wouldn’t have to, even if he were CEO. My dad has always held Robin to different standards than me. But at this point, that would only happen if I really, really, messed up.”

She glances around and when I follow her eyes, I realize we are all alone on this side of the park.

“Taking responsibility has never been Robin’s strong suit. Great at making messes though.” I flash her a smile but she seems to be avoiding my gaze. “You’re being awfully quiet over there.”

“Hmm? Oh, I just… have a lot on my mind.” She replies without looking at me. There is definitely something wrong… and fuck I hope it doesn’t have to do with Robin. “Actually, Sam… there’s something I wanted to talk to you about…” Her lips turn down in a frown. Definitely Robin.

“What did Robin do now?”

“Earlier today, he pulled me aside and demanded that I leave you alone…” I stare into her eyes, trying to read the expression on her face.

“What did you say?” Please tell me you didn’t tell him anything…

“I told him I didn’t know what he was talking about… but I don’t think he believed me.”

I let out a deep breath and reach up to rub the knots in my neck. Fuck…

“I’m so sorry I’ve put you in this position, Ana. You shouldn’t have to deal with my brother confronting you like this.” What are you doing to her?

I reach out and cup her cheek and I can see the pain in her eyes.

“Robin seemed pretty sure that at the en dog all of this… I would be the one who ends up hurt.” Fuck Robin, stay out of my business.

“As much as I hate to say it- and as much as I will do everything in my power to prevent it- he’s probably right.” I cringe as the words come out of my mouth. “But Ana, my parents’ expectations, the company politics, Sofia… it all just fades away when I look at you.”

“Sam…” My name rolls off her lips in a whisper.

In that instant, the sprinklers turn on, sending a jetting stream of water onto both of us.

She cries out and leans into me as I wrap my arms around her, trying my best to shield her from the water.

“Okay, seriously, who sets their sprinklers to go off in the middle of the afternoon.” I laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation, even though I can’t complain having Ana in my arms.

“Someone who got AM and PM mixed up?” She laughs and the sound brings an even bigger smile to my face.

I lean away from her slightly, my eyes roaming her face as I smooth the hair from her face. She is so beautiful…

“You look beautiful like this… I’ve never seen you wet before.”

“You don’t know that.”

Her words send a shockwave to my cock. I definitely didn’t mean it like that, but fuck am I glad you did.

“That’s not fair. Now that’s all I can think about…” You, wet, in my arms, in our home, in the car… fuck…

“Sam, now you know how I feel.”

“Does this mean you think about me all the time? At night, in bed, alone…?” My voice has dropped to a husky whisper as images of her on her back, naked, and moaning fill my head.

“Yes… touching myself, thinking of you, wondering if you’re turned on because of me.” The huskiness of her voice matches mine as her eyes wander my face and linger on my lips.

Holy fuck, you naughty little thing.

“Always…” I tighten my grip on her waste as her breath catches in her throat.

“Sam… kiss me.”

I was hoping you would say that.

I lean down and capture her perfect pink lips in mine, my hands roam her every curve, trying my hardest to memorize the twists and turns. Our kiss grows in passion as she lets out a moan into my mouth.

I grab her hips, pulling her against my growing desire.

“Ana… what are you doing to me?” I whisper against her mouth… I have never been so out of control in my life as I am when I am around you…

I drop my lips to her jaw, trailing light kisses up to her ear, the smell of Ana, sunshine and jasmine, fills my senses as I taste her sweet skin.

“I can’t seem to control myself around you…” I whisper into her ear.

“Maybe I want you to lose control…” She whispers, her lips lightly grazing mine.

She tangles her fingers into my hair and drags my lips back to hers. I want to lose control with you… My fingers continue their exploration as I graze my fingers over her erect nipples through her shirt, god this wet shirt is doing wonders for you…

“I want nothing more than to lay you down and take you right here, but…” I whisper in her ear as I blaze a trail of kisses down her neck, her body responding to my every touch with soft whimpers and gasps.

“We are still in public… and broad daylight.” Her breathing is erratic as I press my forehead to hers. I close my eyes, and listen to her erratic breathing and feel the rise and fall of her chest.

“Dammit.” I whisper. I lean in and press a soft, slow kiss to her lips before I pull away. My body instantly missing the contact. I grab one of her hands in mine and give it a light squeeze. “You’re going to be the death of me, Ana. Or at least, the death of my reputation.” I take a moment to check my surroundings, fortunately we are still alone.

“…You’re welcome?” Her soft laugh ringing through my ears.

“We should probably get back to cleaning, or we’ll never finish.”

“Oh, I’m desperate to finish, alright.” Her coy smile spreading across her lips.

I smile at her with a shake of my head, her lips red from our kisses and her skin flushed… so damn beautiful…

We make our way out of the line of fire of the sprinklers and continue working, well into the evening. My fingers moving in time with the rise and fall of her curves, remembering the sparks of electricity and the sound of her moans.

[chrispaulcolfer]

thoughts on hummelberry? i hate them and i feel that kurt was never more ruined as a character than when he was with her.

It's funny you should ask, dear non. I just got into a heated rant with my spouse about hummelberry today. Mostly my spouse listening to me rant, because of the recent scene I reblogged? Yes, the one in season 4 where Kurt puts Rachel in her place by popping her inflated ego.

Let's preface this by saying that hummelberry does have good moments - Rachel coming to Kurt's defense to get their football boyfriends to stand up to Karofsky in season 2, the speech she gives in Swan Song, and then the one she gives in season 5's "A Katy or a Gaga". There are times where she steps up to the plate and is a good friend to him for a change. And of course they're cute when they break onto the Wicked stage in season 2, the Christmas elf outfits in season 5, the excitement over being in Vogue and then going to that showcase with Santana in season 4. There is potential! But they missed the mark by making Rachel awful when it comes to Kurt. "Best Gay" for example? Shut up and go sit down.

I loathe this friendship. I hate it so damn much. The writers could've made it into a great friendship if they put time and energy into character development instead of needing Kurt to seem relevant in season 3 by attaching him to Rachel's side the entire time out of NO WHERE. Oh wow, two people into Broadway? They totes need to be bff's now for that reason alone haha. Give me a break.

Let's see - in season 2 when Kurt tells them all he's leaving for Dalton, Rachel's more concerned about him being competition then the actual problem of why he's leaving. Then she goes for Blaine after knowing Kurt's feelings about him, but lol who cares because she may get a boyfriend who will keep up with her vocally. Kurt needs some humble pie, because she gets what she wants in the end always, haha.

In season 3, she laughs at him after he chooses her to be his Juliet because him playing anyone masculine is hilarious. Also in season 3 she runs against him for student president, then ruins his winning by cheating - he said he was going to cheat himself, why would she add onto that and make it even more obvious? Oh right, guilty conscious. After Kurt gets his NYADA letter, she makes it about herself by ruining his excitement. When Kurt is against her marrying Finn so young, she tells him that he's just jealous (remember at the time gay couples marrying in Ohio wasn't an option - so yes, he's totally jealous that he can't just marry someone for the hell of it). Then the bullshit of him not getting into NYADA after giving a kick ass performance but she does after harassing Carmen for WEEKS. How the fuck would Kurt consider that fair?! Oh, right, he's always the bigger person who is just happy she gets to go live her dream. Duh. OH and remember when Rachel mentions wanting to see Kurt in a bridesmaid dress???? 😌 get fucked.

Then we hit season 4, and her ditching Kurt for two fake friends who become her echo chamber. These new friends badmouth Kurt and she can only timidly disagree with them but then gets hyped on them hyping her up - and then they ditch her at midnight madness, KARMA OR WHAT?! Speaking of, she went out on a limb and told Kurt that he only got into NYADA because Carmen knew he was friends with her. Not his talent. Not his moving performance on the spot. No, he's clearly not in her league and he should be honored to be bff's with her because that comes with perks, lol. Then when he beats her fair and square, it's a damn narcissistic pity party all over again (oh woe am I, I didn't win, I'm just not gonna be an actress and perform anymore because I suck. Pity me). Not to mention that she asked Brody to move in WITHOUT consulting Kurt at all, which lead to unwanted flashing that Kurt did NOT consent to. (Also how is it that Kurt gets a tiny promotion only because he pulled Rachel into it? Why couldn't he have done that for himself? Why does his success lead back to her this season? Fuck you glee.)

Season 5, she manipulates and gaslights the situation regarding her and Santana's feud by calling Kurt a traitor, "replacing her best gay" with Elliott, and basically stating THEY (Kurt AND Santana) kicked her out when she made that decision on her own. She then ignores Kurt telling her NOT to go to LA and does it anyway because she's so bored of Broadway now apparently. Then Chris' episode of only showing up to Kurt's Peter Pan gig because he called her out on being a shitty friend. If Kurt hadn't done that, she wouldn't have been there (Santana might not have been either, lbr). ALSO THE FUCKING BASH EPISODE?! Again, she only feels bad because Kurt almost DIES and then it's "bff's forever".

Season 6, I didn't pay much attention to. But I do know that while Santana was going off on him with that "rant", Rachel just stood there making faces. Faces that suggested that she agreed with a few of the awful things Santana was saying. And then she got upset when Kurt offered Jane & Mason advice that was actual good TEACHER advice to do better which boy Jane and Mason took to heart and bettered their performance. I do know that Kurt got shit on a lot in this season as well, even Mercedes had to come back to kiss poor whittle Rachel's ass and downplay Kurt's contribution. Like what the fuck is that about. Plot wise season 6 is trash anyway, so, no shock in reality.

I have a theory that has decided majority of those who enjoy hummelberry only want to be in a threesome between Colfer and Lea and that's it. Because they're both pretty people (Rachel in season 4? Hell yes, please more of that to look at, thanks). The fundamentals of this friendship is messed up, and I consider it toxic and emotionally/mentally abusive. There's no growth between them. It's just Kurt being the better and bigger person, while Rachel continues being self-involved until Kurt snaps then it's suddenly 'oh I can't lose him quick gaslight maneuver'. Even when there's consequences, she makes up for it by the end of an episode, but then is back to her usual ways by the next one and onward.

[companionjones]

The Stuntman And The Singer

Pairing: Cliff Booth x Fem!Reader

Fandom: Once Upon a Time...In Hollywood

Summary: This story follows you in your many interactions with Cliff Booth. When you meet him, you’re not in the best situation. However, you’re you. I’m sure you’ll end up living your wildest dreams.

Warnings: Cursing, references to sex

*******

    “Do you need a ride, sweetheart?” a man pulled up to you on the side of the road.

    Not looking up from your engine, you answered, “No, I’m fine.” Just then, you burned your finger, and you quickly started sucking on it to take the pain away.

    He smirked, “You don’t look like you’re fine.”

    Aggravated, you sarcastically asked him, “What are you going to do about it?”

    The man turned his car off and got out. He had a bottle of water in his hand, and he poured it into something under your hood. He had the sliest grin you’d ever seen on his face as he asked you to try turning your car back on.

    “Thanks,” you mumbled, embarrassed the solution had been so simple.

    He smirked, “Anytime. Cliff Booth,” he introduced. “Now, are you gonna tell me your name, or are you gonna keep giving me that little attitude of yours?”

    “Y/n,” you grumbled out your first name while shaking his hand.

    “Oh,” Cliff nodded, “so we’re going for both the name and the attitude.”

    You didn’t say anything, just cocked your eyebrow at him.

    “Alright.” Cliff got back in his car. “Welcome to Hollywood, Y/n.”

    The next time you saw him, Cliff picked you up while you were hitch-hiking.

    He mockingly wondered, “What happened to that car I so graciously helped you with?”

    “I sold it,” you curtly answered, keeping your eyes out the window.

    Cliff pushed, “Why’d you do that? And what are you doing out here in the first place? You look like the kinda girl who should be out on a farm, not out here in Hollywood. What’s up with that? Does your family know you’re out here--?”

    “No, they don’t, alright?” you suddenly exclaimed. “Is that what you wanted to hear? I’m just like every other nineteen year old run away in this town who thought they could make it, but actually have no real business being here.”

    Cliff didn’t respond. The car went quiet.

    “This is fine. Just let me out here,” you ordered soon after. You got out of the car, but you leaned back down to thank Booth before walking away.

***

    “Hey there, sweetheart.” There was his voice again.

    Squinting at the brightness of the neon lights at night, you opened your eyes.

    It had been a month since you saw him last.

    Cliff urged, “Get in the car. I’m taking you somewhere to eat.”

    You didn’t move.

    He pressed, “Come on, who knows the last time you had something in your stomach.”

    Groaning, you got up. “I had a burger the other day, thank you very much...Granted, it was from a dumpster...”

    Cliff took you to a pizzeria. You had your first slice down in under a minute, and you had finished half the pie.

    Booth commented while you worked on your fifth slice, “You look like shit.”

    You barely looked up at him.

    He continued, “Your skin’s the same color as a ghost.”

    “You can stop now.” You rolled your eyes.

    Cliff looked you over for a second longer before “Stay with me tonight.”

    Dropping the pizza you were holding out of surprise, you then pointed an accusatory finger at him. “If you think for a second that I would suck your dick in exchange for--”

    Booth cut in, “No, nothing like that. I just want to make sure you have a place to sleep tonight.”

    You didn’t respond right away, but sure enough, you were in Cliff Booth’s trailer an hour later.

    “Aw, hello gorgeous,” you greeted Cliff’s dog by kneeling down and petting her. “Aren’t you the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen.”

    Cliff chuckled, “Wow, sweetheart. I had no idea you could be so...”

    “Sweet?” you finished for him. “I usually save it all for the animals.” You gave Brandy one final scratch behind her ear before getting back on your feet. “So Booth, tell me your story.”

    He chuckled, “My story?”

    You nodded. “I figure you know a lot about me, and here I am in your home...it’s only fair.”

    Cliff finished giving Brandy her dinner. “Huh...I guess it is fair...Well, I do stunt work, nowadays I mainly work for my friend Rick Dalton.”

    “You’re friends with Rick Dalton?” You expressed, “I used to watch his show all the time back home!”

    Cliff smiled, “Yeah. I did all his stunts on Bounty Law.”

    “Wow, I had no idea how much you were holding out on me, Booth,” you smirked.

    He chuckled, “If I knew it was gonna get you to stop looking at me like I was the devil himself, I woulda told ya sooner.”

    “Shut the hell up, Booth.”

    “Annnd, she’s back.”

    Some time passed, and you and Cliff settled down to watch TV. You practically forced him to take the only chair he had while you sat on the floor. It was nice. It didn’t take long for you to start dozing off.

    “Come on, time to go to sleep,” Cliff nudged you awake. “You take the bed. I got the chair.”

    “No,” you mumbled, “You take the bed. It’s your house.”

    He shook his head. “Nope. Up you go.” Cliff picked you up and carried you to his bedroom.

    “You’re a jackass.” You wanted to fight him more, but it had been so long since you had been on an actual bed.

    Cliff smiled, “I don’t know. From where I’m standing, I’m the savior here.”

    “Shut up...”

    He smirked, “Never...Goodnight, sweetheart.” You didn’t see how soft his eyes were as he covered you with the blankets.

    “Goodnight, jackass...” you smirked right back, and then you were out like a light.

    The next day, you were awake before Cliff was, and you wouldn’t have said a word if he hadn’t caught you sneaking out.

    “You know, you could stay longer, if you want,” he offered from his door as he watched you walk away.

    Turning around, you remarked, “If I’m going to be staying somewhere for more than one night, I’d rather be paying for it.”

    Cliff teased, “Who said you couldn’t pay me?”

    “I’ll see you around...Booth.” You half waved before continuing out on your own.

    “See you around, sweetheart,” the stuntman bid under his breath.

***

    “Mr. Dalton, Mr. Booth, I’d like you to meet a good friend of mind, Miss L/n.” Dalton’s most recent co-star introduced while she, Dalton and Booth were hanging out in Dalton’s movie trailer one day, a year after Cliff had last seen you. “She has an album coming out next month. I think she’s going to be the next Aretha Franklin.”

    The group of four continued to talk in the trailer for a while...Well, Rick and his co-star talked. Neither movie star seemed to notice that the stuntman and the singer were mostly quiet, or that their eyes never really left each other.

    “So, the next Aretha Franklin, huh?” Cliff finally noted when Rick and his co-star had been called away for a scene.

    “That is definitely not true,” you denied with a laugh.

    Cliff continued to compliment, “But an album next month. And a star like that talking you up? Sounds like you’re pretty big to little old me.”

    “Little old you, huh?” You looked him up and down. “Yeah, right. I’m just happy I can pay my rent...and have a rent,” you realized and chuckled.

    Cliff saw the humor, too. He smiled at you, but then he commented sincerely, “I’m proud of you, sweetheart.”

    There was a pregnant pause between the two of you.

    “It’s been a long time, Cliff,” you pointed out, as if you were worried something might’ve changed.

    He just tucked a strand of your hair behind your ear. “Bah,” he shook his head, “It hasn’t been that long.” Cliff leaned in and kissed you.

*******

Author’s Note: Thank you so much for reading! Fill up that heart and reblog if you liked it. I would also really appreciate a comment, if you have the time. If you would like to read more, I have more stories over on my page. You should check it out. Also, REQUESTS ARE OPEN. I take requests for preferences, headcannons, drabbles, and one-shots. No smut requests, please. If you’re wondering if I write for a specific fandom, feel free to ask me. Have a nice day, night, or whatever time it is for you! <3 <3 <3

[vcg73]

Free Kurt - Past Kurt

I wrote one extra story for the Free Kurt, anti-proposal challenge, but it’s a little different. 😊

~*~*~*~*~

“What are you wearing?”

Kurt jumped at the sound of a young and judgmental voice speaking directly in his ear.

He was standing on a wide marble step within the hallowed halls of Dalton Academy, surrounded by dozens of friends, acquaintances, and strangers from the assorted western Ohio high schools that Blaine had brought here today to witness his proposal. A proposal that was currently proceeding from the step below his own, and which Kurt was feeling increasingly pressured to accept in spite of his own very real misgivings.

And while it was a very distracting scene, he had not noticed anyone sneaking up behind him. He turned his head slightly, attempting to pay attention to Blaine’s words while simultaneously taking a quick peripheral peek over his right shoulder.

Kurt nearly jumped out of his skin when the voice spoke again, this time right next to him on the left. “Wait, are we getting proposed to?”

Whipping his head to the left, Kurt frowned. Who was that? He didn’t see anyone.

Blaine faltered a little, apparently noticing his distraction. “Kurt?” he mumbled, hazel eyes darting about as his intended frowned and looked everywhere but at him. “What are you doing?”

“Don’t you hear that?” he asked.

“I’m very good looking in the future!” the voice observed, sounding pleased. “Tall too!  But that suit has got to go. Peacock blue brocade can be beautiful if used sparingly. Maybe a vest or a jacket against an all black suit. Though on second thought that might make it look like you were about to deal roulette in Vegas. But an entire suit?  And with a violet silk shirt to contrast? I know this is just a dream, otherwise I wouldn’t be watching myself, but what has happened to my fashion sense since I got old?”

The young voice was so utterly horrified that Kurt almost laughed in spite of the bizarre circumstance. For he recognized the speaker now. What was even stranger, he remembered now with a startling burst of clarity, that he had had this very dream when he was about 14 years old. Himself standing in what he had thought was a fairy tale palace, watching himself be proposed to by Prince Charming.

Had it not been a dream? For he did recall suddenly that it had occurred following a whack to the head brought about after one of the goon squad, who had already started targeting him in middle school, had aimed badly when shoving Kurt into a locker.  Kurt had told his dad that he’d been hit with a dodge ball during P.E.  His dad had skeptically bought it, not able to prove otherwise, but Kurt had been given a few days off of school that week, and he remembered being watched like a hawk the whole time.

He also remembered having a lot of strange half-remembered dreams that he had written off to concussion.

A little shiver went down his spine. Surely it was not possible that he had done some kind of astral time travel thing. Wasn’t that just a little too sci-fi for the real world?

And yet, he could not deny the voice that was apparently only in his own ears at this moment. For nobody else was reacting as if they heard a young teenager passing judgment on this whole affair.

“Actually, forget our fashion taste. What the hell is he wearing?”

Kurt bit down a smirk. He had forgotten how dramatically fond of italics he had been as a kid. But he focused, really focused for the first time, on that hideous banana yellow creation that Blaine had chosen, and had to give his alter ego a point on it. No doubt Blaine had wanted something that would force every eye onto him. It wasn’t like he had ever been able to stand not having 100% of the attention in any room turned his way.

Blinking, Kurt wondered where that harsh thought had come from. Sure, it was true, but shouldn’t his thoughts be focused toward how romantic this all was? Apparently listening to the point of view of his less inhibited younger self was sparking a little rebellion inside of him.

“He’s handsome, our boyfriend,” the young voice observed in a clinical tone that made his older self want to laugh. He remembered using it when deciding between two equally perfect outfits, trying to decide which would have more of a ‘wow’ factor. “But his fashion taste is terrible and I don’t like the hair. That slicked back Elvis retro thing is so 1995. It also makes him look like he’s pushing 30. Wait. Is he older than us? How old are we?  Are we 30?”

That age must seem ancient to a boy of 14, Kurt supposed. His conscience prickled at the remembrance of his own life plan having been to find someone and become husbands or domestic partners, depending on what the law dictated so far in the future, with him by 30. Before that, he had always expected to live a life of fashionable single fabulosity, with boyfriends by the dozen, while he conquered the career of his choice. It had not been until high school, developing his first bad crush on Finn Hudson, being swamped with insistent hormones, and being constantly surrounded by relationships, that he had started longing for a commitment. Not because he knew what to do with one then, but because he had hated being the only person who did not even have the prospect of a real relationship.

He knew better than that now. So why was he still so determined to do something he knew in his gut that he was not ready for? Even if their ‘teenage dream’ had been perfect, was he really willing to enter into a lifelong commitment before he even hit 20?

Apparently unaware of his thoughts, the voice of his young observer continued with relentless interest. “Oh, my god. Is that Rachel? Tell me you are not thinking of letting Rachel Berry be your attendant. She’s the most obnoxious girl in school!  And she’s dressed better than you! Maybe this is actually a nightmare. Oh, hey, there’s Dad. Hi, Dad!”

Kurt looked at his father, looking slightly confused a few steps below where he stood just behind Will Schuester. Burt looked around surreptitiously, as if he had heard the call, but knew it was not possible for it to be there.

“If he’s here at our proposal then he knows about us!” invisible Kurt said happily. “Did we come out to him, and he’s happy for us?”

The sound of a dreamy sigh made Kurt’s eyes unexpectedly prickle with tears. How well he remembered that feeling. That co-mingling of fear, dread, and hope that had gripped him every time he had considered biting the bullet, and telling his father that he was gay. Of course he would have thought he was dreaming all this, seeing his father in his every day attire in a place like this, while they were both surrounded by the glitter and formality of dozens of smiling peers. Friends were another thing that young Kurt had never been sure he would actually experience in real life.

“If this is a dream, does that mean Mom is here too?” the invisible speaker asked, this note of longing in his young voice going straight to Kurt’s heart. He had heard that question deep inside himself for so many years. The small childish part of him that had never entirely accepted that someone as wonderful, fun-loving, and tenderly understanding as his beautiful mother could just be snuffed out of his world after only eight short years.

“No,” he said softly. He knew suddenly that if his mother had been here, she never would have approved of this. She had held the safety and happiness of her only child as a sacred trust from the day he was born until her very last day on Earth. He had always been able to talk to her about anything, and this would have been no different.  Mom never would have allowed him to compromise his heart and his future for a dream that he already knew did not live up to reality. “I’m sorry.”

He had been speaking to past-Kurt and to his mother, but when he said the words, it caused Blaine to stop mid-sentence with a look of shock. “What do you mean, no.”

Kurt blinked. Suddenly he knew that while he had not meant those words for Blaine, a part of him had actually wanted to say them out loud ever since he walked in the building.

“Kurt, what are you doing?” Blaine said, his voice more annoyed now as Kurt brushed past him to walk down a few steps, looking around at the crowd and realizing for the first time how few of these people he actually knew. “You’re embarrassing me!  I don’t what you’re looking for, but it doesn’t matter. Can we just get on with this thing?”

Kurt turned to look at him, frowning at the irritated question.

“This thing?” he repeated, eyes narrowing. “You mean the thing where I’m missing my flight home so my ex-boyfriend who’s still in high school can ask me to agree to spend the rest of my life with him, even though we’ve only been casually back together as a couple for a couple of days? The thing where we’re both supposed to agree to love and be faithful to one another forever? That thing?”

Apparently he had not entirely lost his love of italics after all. His tone was biting, the reminder of his own youthful hopes and expectations making him feel angry and betrayed all over again.  

Instead of understanding, Blaine actually rolled his eyes. “Not that again. I told you, I thought we were over when that happened! And didn’t I promise I would never ever do it again? Isn’t that enough? Why can’t you just get over it?  It’s not like it meant anything, Kurt.”

That injured way he said Kurt’s voice, the way that usually deflated whatever outrage Kurt felt and caused him to guiltily give in, enraged him this time.

“No, Blaine. I can’t just get over it. Because we weren’t anywhere near over when it happened, and you know it. It’s called a long distance relationship, and what you did was horrible. Our being boyfriends meant everything to me. The fact that you could throw what we had away on a stranger after just a few weeks apart, because I couldn’t devote all of my attention to you while I was starting a new life in a different state? That meant something to me. It meant that I couldn’t trust you anymore. I don’t trust you, and I can’t forget that happened, so I guess I was wrong about being able to forgive it too. I’m sorry, but I can’t do this. I don’t want to spend my whole life with a guy that I don’t believe will keep a vow to honor and cherish me.”

Blaine sputtered. “But, but I . . . what about all this?” He gestured frantically around them as if he could not conceive of such a scene not magically wiping away whatever doubts Kurt had.

“This is all very beautiful,” Kurt said, glancing around at the streamers, balloons, and startled faces that filled the room, “but it’s only a child’s dream. The real world isn’t a pretty song and a lot of smiling faces. It’s hard work, and compromise, and shared joys, and making sacrifices for each other’s happiness. That’s what a real commitment means, Blaine. It means being there for the people you love even when conditions are not ideal. Even when they’re so bad that you don’t know what to say or how to move forward, but you keep trying because you love them too much to ever want to cause that person pain. It means being your best self and making good times for the two of you even when the worst things are happening.”

“I don’t understand,” he admitted, flopping his hands helplessly. “Where is all this coming from?”

Kurt looked at his dad, who was dashing away tears from eyes that carried mingled pride, regret, and new understanding.

“I was reminded on the way here about how much my mom and dad loved each other, and how deeply committed they were to each other. Even when my mom was dying, they never stopped trying to make each other smile. They never would have cheated on each other, or tried to pressure each other into making a decision that they knew was wrong. And when it was just Dad and me, he did the same for me. He wanted me to always know that I had a safe space with him, a home where I could be myself and try to block out all the pain of the outside world. And I did the same for him, even when I was a little clumsy about trying to protect him.”

Burt nodded, his smile wry as he was clearly remembering some of of the awkward, uncomfortable, but always deeply loving moments they had shared together

“I want that again,” Kurt said, turning back to his would-be fiance. “It’s been a long time since I had a place where I know I can always be myself without having to hide half of the things that make me who I am. A place where I can feel safe because I always know that I’m loved and respected. A home where I can be with someone wants to make sure that I’m happy, just because knowing that makes him happy. Because I deserve that, Blaine.  And because I’ll do the same for the man that I’ll agree to spent my life with one day.”

“And I’m not that man?” he asked, sounding genuinely sad.

Kurt looked at him, smiled, and gently kissed his cheek. “No. I hope you will be that man for somebody one day, but we both know deep down that it can’t be me. Our relationship started right here in this hallway three years ago. It’s appropriate that it ends in the same place. Good luck, Blaine.”

They looked into each other’s eyes for a moment, Blaine reading the truth in Kurt’s steady gaze. “I’ll miss you. I’ll always love you, Kurt.”

“Goodbye. Dad, I’ll meet you out at the car.”

Holding his head high, Kurt walked down the steps and past the shocked crowd of onlookers.

“Thanks, Kurt,” he whispered, no longer able to sense his younger self, who had probably awakened from his dream at the same time his present self had ended the swirling nightmare of his unwanted proposal.

Pushing past the great double doors of Dalton Academy, Kurt smiled and stepped out into the sunlight, leaving the past behind him.

THE END

[flickwatches]

Toronto vs Vancouver: Civil War

I decided to follow an Overwatch league on here for the season.  I wanted to avoid a team with too many favorite players, a top tier team, and an APAC team (I gotta sleep).  I thought about Vancouver, Boston, maybe even Houston.  Boston released Soon, pissed me off. Third Impact 7k buyout leaks with Vancouver came out but I let it slide.  I like too many players on Houston and I stopped believing in them.  But than I saw Toronto and its rebuild.  KDG, Heesu, Sado, Na1st, Michelle, and Lastro.   Power pieces on an unproven team that wants to be good.  I didn’t know which team to choose still so I let the first game of the season for Vancouver and Toronto decide who I would pick.  

Vancouver Pros:

I love Dalton.  Dude has been grinding for a very long time and deserves every bit of success he has earned.  Huge fan of Teru from O2 Blast.  Even bigger fan of FRDWNR for surviving this long.  Dude is a nut.  I still remember Frdwnr winning the Second Wind 1v1 tournament.  Roolf is a veteran.  Fire gets a chance to be the main main support.  Linkzr rebirth on a team in need of firepower. 

Vancouver Cons:

I’ll keep it short, Shredlock is a weakness (I hope he improves) but I really don’t want to be writing about Shredlock the entire season.  Also the Org is scummy.  Cut Runaway.  The official original #1 Fan Favorite Runaway.  How you release the most loved team in the history of Overwatch.   And when you wanted to start small you wouldn’t pay out a small 7k buyout for all of Third Impact.  Sigh. 

Toronto Pros:

After trying to build a team from scratch.  After trying fan favorite local talent.  You invested money in proven coaches and players.  The org wants to win.  The org wants there fans to be happy.  Toronto is trying to do good things.  Shoutout to Karq, Agilities, and Fran for being content creators for Toronto.  Now lets list the roster.

Aztac

Ansoonjae

Lastro

Sado

Beast

Michelle

Na1st

Logix

Heesu(god)

Will get more into each player later on but I just wanted to list them as Pros for now. 

Toronto Cons:

I miss Agilities and Surefour.  I wish the pandemic didn’t exist so I could consider traveling to there local events even though it would be quite a drive for me. I don’t have a lot of cons they seem to be willing to invest in the team.  Could of done more for the last 2 rosters and staff.  They struggled to keep it together last 2 seasons. 

The Battle:

Vancouver vs Toronto.  The Battle for Canada.  The Battle for my love (and hate).  I can’t keep avoiding this.  I knew Heesu mite be special this season when he was playing over Carpe at the end of last season. I knew how good Na1st was on Fusin Uni back in the day.  Happy to see him in OWL.  Sado is a veteran and looks much better on a non-contender for best team in OWL.  Michelle got perma benched on Seoul for some reason.  Logix is good and great when its online play. 

Wow, ok.  I’m just talking about how amazing the Toronto roster is.  

Map 1: Busan

I want to point out that Shredlock didn’t look that bad on Wrecking Ball.  Toronto looked strong.  Heesu started to showcase his future Role Star level of play.  Toronto dominated the meta Rush and Dive plays.  Vancouver struggled with objective priority.  Which player would be responsible with contesting the Objective. When playing Wrecking Ball and Tracer usually one of them is responsible for touching point.  This problem showed thruout the entire match.  At one point neither Shredlock (Ball) or Dalton (Tracer) touched point while Na1st (Tracer) was capping. Forcing Linkzr to roll onto point to contest the cap.  Forcing FRDWNR to peel for Linkzr which left Roolf alone as Zen.  Toronto contested point and in the same motion turned onto the suddenly lonely Zen and killed him.  While Shredlock and Dalton only attacked the Toronto backline.  Toronto traded faster and more efficiently.  While taking point control.  

Toronto hard dominated Vancouver first map.

Map 2: Eichenwalde

If Vancouver was your average team the timebank they created on defense would of made the map winnable.  But Toronto is obviously better than Vancouver (especially at Rush).  And dying efficiently isn’t enough to win. Vancouver at least show cased its ability to lose fights and start the next fight well.  They played as a team.  Toronto at one point spawn camped Vancouver so long during Streets that the payload rolled back to first point.  The Castors coining the phrase “Touch the payload challenge”.

Toronto walked away with this win even if they were forced to walk a little slower than expected. 

Map 3: Watchpoint Gibraltar

Some people would say Toronto threw this map by playing its bench but KDG and the coaching staff wanted to make sure every player got to play first game.  They put out Heesu, Logix, Beast, Michelle, Aztac, and Lastro this map.

This was obviously Vancouver’s best map. Double Bubble meta with no Rush.  Linkzr had more power over the map as hitscan on high ground.  The biggest factor was the payload almost getting to the end of Shuttle phase forcefully making Vancouver play the objective correctly. 

Both Frontlines played the Double Bubble positions and cooldowns very well.  A lot of great plays and team fights broke down correctly for both teams.  Winstons making correct jumps, getting the bubbles, using there own bubbles correctly.  Solid cleave and good primals.  Zaryas played really well and Anas supported extremely well.  The DPS had a field day with how well fights went for both teams.   

Titans played there best and won there first map of the season.  Even Shredlock looked good. 

Map 4: Hanamura

Look at us, playing a map 4.  Vancouver looked like they had a chance.  They didn’t.

Hanamura was hard Rush vs Rush.  Toronto was good at Rush and Vancouver was bad at Rush.  FRDWNR tried really hard to hold it down but with no Cooldowns and too far away they eventually C9′d the match away.  

Toronto played the Meta better and had the better team.  Don’t be surprised if Toronto is a top 5 team in the West this season. 

Conclusion:

Hello Toronto. Hello Defiant. And most importantly, Hello Heesu.  I cannot wait to watch every Toronto game this season.  Heesu and Na1st look strong. Lastro is still great.  Big fan of Beast even if everyone else is down on him.  Logix will get his chances on certain maps and metas.  I hope they commit to this team and staff long term in Toronto.  Not sure which jersey I’ll be buying this season.  I’m not sure what the Defiant catchphrase is but Lets Get Rebellious or something. 

PS Its 5am and I’m about to watch APAC.  Sorry for any mistakes.  

[justasmallbloginabigklainefandom]

Old glee spoof liveblogs

Yuè [glee spoof 4] so yeah i decided to watch all of simgm's glee stuff (glee spoof, glee minisodes, gleedo) and i am at spoof 4

Yuè Oh this one has no captions Yuè MICHAEL IS HERE!!!! Yuè "THE FUCKING AUDITORIUM FINN" Yuè I've been singing the Obsession with Finn song at the top of.mylungs today cause what a jam Yuè IT IS MY BOY BLAAAAAAAAINE Yuè there were a lot of guest stars Yuè GO EMMA Yuè TATER TOTS Yuè "Nice mugshot Mercedes"

Yuè [glee spoof 5] time for rachel's nose job

Yuè ah.. no captions Yuè "but we'll pretend that never happened cause we're good at doing that with storylines" Yuè YOOO WILLIAM IS HERE FOR SAM Yuè AND ALSO SCOTT (I think that was the name of the actor before Kyle) AS PUCK Yuè glee did Wannabe in an episode but it wasn't the same because Brother's riffs weren't in there Yuè "is that all you ever do?" TRUTH Yuè I love it when Hemo smiles in the background Yuè thanks Emma for slamming Will and his "teaching" Yuè "what in the fuckity fuck fuck was that shit??" Yuè nickname one: lemon drop Yuè I love this part Yuè "where did that piano come from?" Yuè SORRY SIMGM BUT CHECK PLEASE JUST GOT UPDATED I NEED T READ IT Yuè okay okay I am going to continue cause it hasn't blown up yet so I can't blog about omgcp yet Yuè I don't like Santana faking the sexual harassment claim tho Yuè ZOOMBA Yuè thanks simgm for pointing out the double standards between male and female characters Yuè "a sad attempt of giving me a storyline" Yuè damm Sister did great job on the performances Yuè "Nice choir Mercedes"

Yuè [glee spoof 6] WHERE'S MA CROWN? Yuè "isn't that what you did" "yeah but.. I'm Finn" Yuè "THAT'S WHY YOU BETTER ROLL" Yuè "I can't believe we're stupid enough to believe that" Yuè "wow... misjudged that one" Yuè thanks simgm for pointing out so many plot holes Yuè "you can't fight the power of Brittana" Yuè I FORGOT ABOUT JESSE FALLING DOWN THE STAIRS Yuè I can't believe Michael did Jesse and Kurt's voice Yuè *voices Yuè YES YES YES THE BLAINE SONG IS STILL MY JAM WHY ISN'T IT ON THEIR SPOTIFY? ?? Yuè "yeah if you're gonna fight at least hit each other" Yuè THIS S.MY FAVORITE PART OF ALL OF GLEE SPOOFS GO FOR IT KURT Yuè nickname two: sugary plumb pie Yuè THIS ENTIRE EPISODE IS WONDERFUL Yuè "ONE MORE TIME" Yuè "Nice poem Mercedes"

Yuè [glee spoof 7] This is over 30 minutes long that's what I call dedication

Yuè " half of the stuff that happens to us makes no damn sense" Yuè I still can't believe Boss built the entire New York set herself Yuè "I HAVE BIG PLANS" fuuuuck I should wear my I have big plans t-shirt Yuè well Quinn.. Cats is back on Broadway now aka Rachel was just 6 years early Yuè "it's no time for logic Kurt" Yuè SAVE THE HORSES Yuè "I regret nothing" I love the glee spoof Artie Yuè I just love the entire glee spoof Yuè "I HAVE BIG PLANS" Yuè I am just in constant amazement of the New York set Yuè I'm now wearing the Big Plans t-shirt just around the time Quinn goes crazy about her big plans Yuè Oh god after six years I finally get the "Bootay" thing Yuè "well this could've been a lo-" Yuè "shut the fuck up Finn" Yuè I remember Boss saying Michael worked really hard on the song Yuè Boss sounds so much like Lea it's unreal maybe Boss should be on Elsie Fest this year Yuè why doesn't the Sims 4 have spiral staircases yet? Yuè "you know you're probably gonna change your mind by the end of the episode, right?" Yuè "PLANS! Big ones!" Yuè "Okay first of all: breath mints. You needs on" Yuè Brittany is the only sane one here Yuè quite frankly. . Sunshine beating Rachel up is more believable than Rachel's sudden change of heart Yuè "I'm Finn" Yuè "that might change by the end of the episode though" true true true Yuè SMACK THAT Yuè I like this song more than Pretending but honestly I just really don't like Pretending Yuè there's so many great music in this episode Yuè I actually used to have Simgm music on my phone including this song Yuè the part with Santana and Rachel is my favourite Yuè nickname 3: pancakes Yuè nickname 4: gingerbread dough sprinkled lightly toasted graham cracker bunny" Yuè "who got tad more songs than me" "WHAT?" Yuè aaaah my Brittana shipping heart Yuè "NOW MARCH MOTHERFUCKER" Yuè "oh and. ... Tater tots" Yuè woah Brianna voiced both Terri and Sunshine?

Yuè [glee spoof 8] (Jim Cantiello voice) SEASON 3. The season where we appreciate Tina.

Yuè JUDGING YOU WRITERS Yuè "I don't have any (smile)" Yuè "We appreciate you!" Yuè "cinnamon toast" "Finn!" Yuè nickname 5: Pop Tart Yuè honestly Blaine should've just fucked stayed at Dalton Yuè what happened to Dianna's dog? Yuè "... than Kurt dropped Mercedes" oH SHIT Yuè THIS IS THE START OF UNICORN Yuè nickname 6: Candy Cane Yuè GOD BLESS THE BLAINE SONG AND BOSS'S BROTHER'S VOICE Yuè "I didn't do it" Yuè ah the angry student is back Yuè Oh wait is this where Jordan started voicing Sue? Yuè "Because they don't know what else to do with my character" Yuè good thing that glee spoof continues the hair jokes Yuè "We appreciate you!" Yuè this song was also on my phone Yuè I think I had Breakout, Tonight, Blaine song, Faith, Gotta Be Love With You and another one on my phone Yuè OH THE CELL BLOCK TANGO Yuè watching this really makes me want to play the Sims 2 again but... I have a storyline on the Sims 4 aka a fifth generation family Yuè QUINN FALLING GETS ME EVERY TIME Yuè name of Beth 1: Carol Yuè "holy crap I can't believe I'm actually saying meaningful lines" Yuè nadiacreek actually made a ranking of parents in glee and she put Shelby on it twice Yuè good for Beth and bad for Rachel Yuè "IHBBP. I have big baby plans!" Yuè "Damn, you Brittana"

Yuè [glee spoof 9] and we appreciate Tina Yuè Oh I love this song Yuè "Asian" "Asian F" "stereotype" "stop doing glee club" "no" "I'm glad we talked this out" Yuè BRITT IN A MONKEY SUIT Yuè name of Beth 2 and 3: Susan, Mary Yuè name of Beth 4: Jessica Yuè THEY SAY THAT LIFE IS TATER TOT AR R Y OU FOR REAL?? Yuè RORY UM IRISH Yuè I love the cast list Yuè and I also love Mercedes's riffs Yuè was Nathan actually Irish? I don't think do cause he was in one of those chats Yuè "I was told you are too" True Yuè "We apprecia-" "Shut the fuck up" Yuè "COURAGE" Yuè I actually wanted the courage t-shirt before I got the I have big plans one Yuè Oh man I miss the old crack days of jokes of Finn telling Blainers to sit down Yuè AND THERE IS BRIANNA AS SUGAR MOTTA Yuè "what the f-" Yuè "H-" "stop you're embarrassing yourself" Yuè I LOVE THAT FINN SMILE Yuè "Told you"

Yuè [glee spoof 10] that time a parody handled Santana's coming out story better than the actual show

Yuè I love the warning Yuè "I've been working in keeping my eyebrows still" Yuè "I think I'll go wax my lasagna" is one of my favourite lines ever Yuè OH B OY SEBASTIAN Yuè nickname 7???: snuggle toes Yuè a background sim is wearing a fez I love it Yuè FUCKING HELL THE VEGAN THING Yuè "Tina what the fuck" "Bitch" Yuè Y'ALL IT IS TIME FOR THE CELL BLOCK TANGO THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST MOMENTS OF MY LIFE Yuè also who the hell did these sometimes inaccurate captions? Yuè kudos to Boss for all these dialogues Yuè "Found out he couldn't handle BIG PLANS" Yuè damm I'm still in awe bc f the Cell Block Tango Yuè "we're here to save Rachel's virginity" Yuè nickname 8: Watermelon Lips Yuè KLAINE DID WATERMELON BEFORE IT WAS COOL Yuè I've drawn so many Stop the violence things Yuè Lauren is creepin Yuè GO SIMGM GO SIMGM GO SIMGM YES YES YES THANKS FOR THIS SCENE Yuè I love the big camera and also them saying the storyline is stupid Yuè also we needed more of Brittany supporting Santana during this come on fuck off glee Yuè I HAD TOTALLY FORGOTTEN ABUT TIS SONG Yuè Quinn is just smiling while Santana is beating the living shit out of Finn Yuè "Can't say I didn't warn you" Yuè FINN SINGING WHILE DRUNK AND NAKED IS MY FAVE Hannah sebbbbb Yuè Hannah: did you watch simgm ????????

Yuè [glee spoof 11] time for simgm to do it right

Yuè it is true tho bc Santana suddenly got suspended for violence and I'm like... FIGGINS HAVE YOU SEEN WHAT THESE KIDS DO ON A DAILY BASIS? Yuè Man the actual episode was such bullshit Yuè "then we're all in the wrong club" Yuè Brittany saying the truth Yuè the entire Quick storyline is so weird Yuè "CHEESEBURGER" Yuè tbh this song is as boring as the song they actually sung on glee so congrats simgm Yuè I'll never get why Santana was so offended by Klaine singing Perfect to her in support bc they know how hard it is in a straight world Yuè whereas the straight dude who outed her sang a boring ass unnecessary song and Santana was crying because she was so ///moved/// Yuè "unions and ass????" Yuè nickname 9: Dolphin Nose? Yuè "I'M KURT BITCH" Yuè Brittana should've sung in the actual glee sigh glee this was such a disappointment Yuè BRITTANA DANCING THE SMUSSLE Yuè honestly suspending Rachel was the best that could have happened because it gave us a killer Rachel free setlist Yuè "Do you people know math???" Yuè "Not completely. I have big plans" "there she goes again" Yuè ZISES Yuè "and clap like a seal" Yuè "It's random and out of character" Yuè glee and its writers suck at romance Yuè "QUINN HEEL" Yuè THIS IS THE SONG THAT WAS ALSO ON MY PHONE Yuè "I can still remember when I was 18. and here I am at 17, a woman"

Yuè [glee spoof 12] there weren't any songs in it

Yuè NVM I WAS WATCHING EPISODE 13 THERE ARE SONGS IN EP 12 Yuè "oh you know me and my big plans" Yuè "we hold hands, ran into Kurt and Blaine, and I moved two weeks later" Yuè unfortunately the old channel doesn't have captions Yuè "allow me to show you my excitement. ..... " I actually use that quote in real life Yuè why can't Shue do anything by himself Yuè "it always freaks me out when he decides to actually teach" Yuè I love these moments Yuè "my cat will eat you alive" Yuè I just remember how uncomfortable it was to watch Finchel suck face on glee like they didn't even look like loving kisses it was full open mouth on open mouth and making out Yuè "you would know all about announcing things wouldn't you" Yuè I also liked this song Yuè "no I only do that in cars" Yuè nickname 10: chocolate turle Yuè *turtle Yuè to quote Darren Criss: "it's cool I'm back" Yuè after taking a break to help dad wth dinner I'm gonna end this episode Yuè Oh the slushie Yuè "do my eyebrows look okay?" Yuè "that building was already on fire when I got there" Yuè "what happens in the bathroom stays in the bathroom" Yuè "aren't we supposed to be rehearsing" "DO WE EVEN KNOW HOW TO DO THAT?" Yuè GAY PIRATE Yuè "oh wow we actually accomplished something" I love Quinn s snark in these spoofs Yuè so much snark Yuè "oh sh-" Yuè WAIT JORDAN ALSO VOICED GRANT?

Yuè [glee spoof 13] Finn doesn't know how to wash his balls

Yuè really.. Will and Emma suck at their jobs Yuè BLACK SUE Yuè "by the way I'm having a baby" Yuè Mercedes was actually the only one in canon that handled differently when she cheated Yuè "where do I sign to get you fired?" Yuè there were no songs in this ep... Yuè Oh yeah Boss voiced Sugar cause Brianna was ill Yuè poor Puck Yuè ZISES Yuè "sure let's go with that" Yuè "okay who the fuck is this guy?" Quinn once again spilling the truth Yuè "FINN YOU SON OF A-" Yuè "my girlfriend my girlfriend politics and Latino Brittany is my girlfriend equal rights if I wanna kiss my girlfriend I can rainbow flag" Yuè nickname 11: crayola monkey Yuè wait isn't this Scott's last episode?

Yuè [glee spoof 14] what a nice episode title

Yuè "I'm sorry we don't speak bitch" Yuè "and you make a two dollar hoe look classy" Yuè Sam is wearing simgm merch Yuè "I don't here Finchel when Finchel speaks" same Yuè respect for simgm to not make fun of the suicide storyline Yuè I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE TEY PUT A STARKID REFERENCE IN HETR Yuè "MY CAT IS PART OF THE CIA" Yuè in which the girls are fucking sensible Yuè I love the glee version of No Scrub but man what a jam is this Yuè "you suck at motivational speeches" Yuè "do you feel the 'I don't give a fuck' I'm throwing in your direction" Yuè I ASKED FOR DEVELOPMENT AND THEY GAVE ME A WHEELCHAIR Yuè "I have-" "give it a rest Quinn" Yuè "he didn't call me a nickname today" "OH SHIT SON" Yuè "since five seconds ago" Yuè THESE PARTS BETWEEN SIBLING OH GOD Yuè damn Quinn is being inspirational Yuè duck bless this song Yuè AH BRITT Yuè "If there was a chair to kick right now I would" Yuè well well well simgm Yuè nice song

Yuè [glee spoof 15] at this point Boss and Co were so done they put 4 episodes in one spoof

Yuè True about Damian and the glee project thing Yuè waot there are no captions Yuè Mr Schue is such a dick Yuè ah... Quinn's face Yuè for real tho in 4 eps Santana changed her opinion on college too many times Yuè "this got disturbing really fast" Yuè UNIQUE Yuè "knock knock" "who's there?" "go away" Yuè THE WAY RACHEL'S FACE JUST FELL Yuè ZISES IS IN THE CHOIR ROOM Yuè the Quoe boner thing was so gross Yuè I also use "and I wanna go to college" in real life to basically say WTF Yuè fuck Chandler Yuè Oh jesus Yuè btw welcome Kyle to the cast Yuè "I can do that now. I see you're dressed as Lea Michele today" Yuè SANTANA VISION Yuè "dinosaurs" "shut the fuck up Mike"

Yuè [glee spoof 16] this is the end

Yuè throwback to the first ep Yuè Rachel is a selfish as Yuè *ass Yuè and Tina is right Yuè THE BODY SWAP Yuè nickname 12 kinda: winky fairy Yuè ahhh I'm getting all emotional Yuè TATER TOOOOOOOOOOOOTS Yuè another throwback because they're all wearing the outfits they wore in the first spoof Yuè "good luck with that" Yuè EVEN ZISES WAS HERE Yuè the unicorn magic!! Yuè "my big plans are-" (title song) Yuè ... and it's over AGAIN

Yuè [glee spoof minisodes and others]

Yuè mini 1Glee Spoof Minisode 1 | Kurt's Problem with Blaine Yuè this is the video that led me to Simgm because of Michael's awesome voice work Yuè nickname 1: cutiepiedumplingsugartwinkledove Yuè I love that nickname Yuè nickname 2: kurtsie wurtsie Yuè mini 2Glee Spoof Minisode 2 | Santana Exposes All Yuè TATER TOTS YEAAAAAH Yuè "Penises and Winecoolers: a dangerous combination" Yuè "you've been a bad girl Santana" oh lord Yuè mini 3Glee Spoof Minisode 3 | Fondue for Two Yuè wait Yuè this isn't minisode 3 Yuè this is the other Fondue for Two mini Yuè okay in other words minisode 3 has disappeared so let's just move to Yuè mini 4Glee Spoof Minisode 4 |The Glee Cast Discover the Gl... Yuè this s where it gets real Yuè "SAVE THE HORSES" Yuè this is the first time the actual sim "actors" were in a video Yuè "am I really that tall?" "YES!" Yuè mini 5Glee Spoof Minisode 5 | Quinn's Summer Before Senior... Yuè I actually ripped the audio off of this one and put it on my phone so that I could listen t it Yuè "you have too many messages fr me to count" Yuè "BLAINE HOW MANY TMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU NOT TO SING DURING-" Yuè quinn's face when Finn tries to order a pizza Yuè "..." "that must've been Tina leaving a message" Yuè mini 6Glee Spoof Minisode 6 | The Glee Club Gets Tested Yuè "you know I'm gonna flunk" Yuè Oh Santana Yuè "cow ass no. 5?" Yuè "you're all fucking crazy" "we didn't need a test to tell us that" Yuè mini 7 for realGlee Spoof Minisode 7 | Fondue for Two Part 2 Yuè "do you enjoy being a lesbian?" Yuè nickname 3: puffy-bear Yuè again.. oh Santana Yuè "you do like tossing things" "yeah like..." "my girlfriend out of the closet" Yuè mini 8Glee Spoof Minisode 8 | Brainstorming with the Creat... Yuè RIB is at it again Yuè "is Obama available?" if only Yuè Ian does no shit Yuè hey it's a Zises Yuè I love the Sim cast Yuè "what the fuck did I just read" after the IKAG script is gold Yuè mini 9Glee Spoof Minisode 9 | The Glee Cast Auditions Yuè Sim cast is back wohoo Yuè "my name is-" "you've got the part" Yuè "no way that's HELLA cool!" Yuè mini 10Glee Spoof Minisode 10 | To Catch a Pedo Will Yuè you know that's also HELLA cool? Yuè more of Brianna as sugar Yuè "Because my boyfriend is super awesome" Yuè Sue knocking Schue down always gets me Yuè mini 11Glee Spoof Minisode 11 | Favorite Moments Yuè TIME FOR SENTIMENT Yuè I agree with Michael. "Where's ma crown?" is my favourite part as well Yuè the Christmas crap festGlee Spoof Christmas Special | Holly Jolly Crap Fest Yuè honestly I haven't seen this one in ages Yuè "this Irish dude" Yuè "????????????????" Yuè this was very weird tbh Yuè they never released that song Yuè comic conGlee Cast Comic Con Spoof Yuè I thought it was very cool that actual viewers could send in audio questions Yuè fucking mcgustin Yuè never forget mcgustin Yuè save horses and coffee 2k17 Yuè Oh shit Lea's laugh Yuè LEA Yuè go for it Darren Yuè sneak peek Behind the Scenes of Glee Spoofs Yuè this is like one minute long but it points out so many glee flaws it's hilarious Yuè "I asked for development and they gave me a wheelchair" Yuè btw I am watching all the little glee spoofs and other bts stuff but I'm not gonna live blog them

[vinyllovingluddites-blog]

Women In Music Series Part 1: An Interview with an Inspirational Young Artist - Claudia Vega

Photo: Claudia Vega and her band playing live on board Tamesis Dock, London 6/3/18

Hello and welcome back to the Vinyl Loving Luddites blog! Katie and I have been away for a while but we are back with a bang - in this post we interview the wonderfully talented Claudia Vega. Claudia is an artist to watch out for and is one of the leading lights on the burgeoning Spanish music scene along with the likes of Hinds, Los Nastys and The Parrots. Claudia is hoping to release her debut album very soon but for now she has a number of songs available online, most notably the emotional “Mom” and recent single “All of My Freedom” - check out the beautiful video here.....

Katie and I first saw Claudia supporting Hinds at the Sebright Arms in London on 29th January 2018 and we were both enrapt by her performance. We saw her again on Tamesis Dock in March and a couple of weeks before that in February we got a chance to chat with her about her influences, her writing, her views on women in music, social media and much much more.....

Photo: Claudia at Sebright Arms, London 29th January 2018

Claudia on her creative process…

 Dan: Hello there, Claudia! Welcome to the Vinyl Loving Luddites! 

Claudia: Hello!

Katie: Thank you so much for being with us today! First question: who was your biggest artistic influence growing up?

Claudia: I mean, it’s a very easy question because I was such a Bob Dylan fan. I knew all of his songs by heart, even though I didn’t understand the lyrics. That’s also how I kind of started to learn English. As soon as I heard him I was very much into him. Neil Young, James Taylor, Carole King, Karen Dalton, and some Spanish music as well. Flamenco is crucial in my development as a musician, although that came later. But yeah, I would say that the biggest, biggest influence was Bob Dylan. The importance he gave to the lyrics it really resonated with the kind of music I wanted to make. It felt like I could relate to him, in so many senses. I would have to say him. Later, I started listening to a lot more music, so I have plenty of influences, it’s really hard to say but Bob Dylan remains the most important.

Katie: We could hear that in your gig last week (Sebright Arms, Hackney London), just the chord changes...

Dan: Just the style, absolutely...

Claudia: He really helped me, I also really like literature and poetry, I read quite a lot, so to see Bob Dylan integrate such complex imagery into his music so naturally, that really resonated with me.

Dan: It’s a very interesting era that, as well, all the creativity in the 60’s and the early 70’s, like you mentioned with Neil Young, so much was happening at that time.

Claudia: Absolutely. For me, I felt the need to search for new ways of communicating my emotions. I did this in a very visceral way, I just really wanted to say the things that I had to say. And all those musicians didn’t just say them but claimed them - that’s what I wanted. From there, I started to develop my own kind of music.

Katie: I noticed that with your song about your mum, (”Mom”), that it’s so visceral, so from the heart and unadulterated, like there’s nothing sugar coated. I also love how you write with different languages. I noticed some French in there, some Spanish and English, and those very bared emotions: I feel like you’re carving out your own space and style.

Claudia: Yeah, I write many songs crying. At least five of my songs, I wrote them crying and it takes me sometimes hours of just singing and crying with my guitar. I feel like if I can’t feel the song, I can’t make people feel. So sometimes I have to wait a lot, it’s not like songs happen. I mean, sometimes, yeah, but other times you need to work hard in order to find the song. Sometimes it’s like you’re waiting and suddenly it’s like things come together and you start feeling the song really deeply- it may not lead to a great song, but it’s the most magical experience. Or, you can be really feeling a sentence, and from that sentence you develop the whole song. The fact that I write in three languages is mainly because my life happens in three languages. Like, I don’t speak any language very well... 

Katie: Your English is better than my English... 

Claudia: Well, with my boyfriend I speak in French because I’ve always studied in French and I’ve grown surrounded by French culture. Also, my family is Moroccan so they all speak French, like we always mix French and Spanish. With my parents, my brother, I speak in Spanish. And I’ve been living here (the UK) for four years, so with my friends, the music I listen to, everything is in English. So, it just feels more honest singing in three languages- if it wasn’t more honest, I wouldn’t do it. But I feel like, the things that I want to talk about happen in different languages, so if I want to convey the meaning fully, then it has to be in different languages. Sometimes not, sometimes it’s just English because sometimes it’s easier to write in English and it comes lightly and that’s sometimes what I need. 

Claudia on her emotional process…

 Katie: It seems like your process can sometimes be very frustrating when you’re like ‘Come on! I want to write a song this side of Christmas’ but then it also seems very therapeutic. Would you say it’s a purging of emotions for you?

Claudia: I think at the beginning, for sure. When I started it was about getting out what I had inside, but right now...it’s a more delicate process than just a cathartic purge of emotions. That doesn’t mean that I don’t put a big input of emotion into the songs, it’s just that it becomes more about the story behind and that makes that I am able to speak about a lot more things. It’s not only introspective anymore, which I like better. I feel like I have more control now. The lyrics, for instance, can be more interesting, I put more thought into them. How I write now, is definitely better than before. But I still have that kind of... (laughs) writing, I don’t know why, it just breaks me, it just breaks me into tears, I don’t know why!

Dan: So I get the impression that the lyrics come to you first and the music afterwards, am I right?

Claudia: Well, I don’t think I’m a very good writer if I have no music to write upon. I think it’s a very different thing to write upon silence. When you’re confronted to a blank page, you know, you can feel lonely… but when you write upon music, it’s like there’s someone accompanying you all throughout the process. You’re generally talking about yourself when you write, so having music is like having another person speaking to you. I wouldn’t be able to write without the music, so I feel like it comes together. But for sure, if I don’t have good lyrics, I don’t like the song. I think I have less of an ear for the musical structure, whereas for the lyrics and the melodic structure I feel more comfortable. I think it’s important to think about the lyrics, they are enriching, they have so much power.

Claudia on Aha moments…

Dan: Wow, you know your process so well. The next question is, did you ever have an ‘aha!’ moment that made you want to become a professional musician?

Claudia: For sure, for sure... I remember that when I started uni, in the back of my mind I thought ‘you can always be a musician’, which is strange because people think ‘I want to be a musician, but I’ll do uni first as a sort of security’. I think for me it was more like I liked (and still do) so many things, but my security was music. I think about how I want to be a musician every second of my life so...I just didn’t have any doubts. Like art in general, but music was always like...my thing.

Katie: So what did you study, out of interest?

Claudia: Arts and sciences. It’s an interdisciplinary degree, where you choose a major and a minor, it’s great because you can choose every single module, it’s a lot more organic, you’re interests as a person change and your degree adapts to that. No two people study the same. I would recommend that degree to everyone.

Dan: Wow, that’s amazing that you can choose all the way through…

Katie: Which uni was that at?

Claudia: UCL.

Katie: Wow! I don’t think I would’ve gotten into UCL in the first place!

Claudia: I have no idea of how I got in, either!

Dan: It was my first choice and I missed the grade by one mark, so I went to Westminster uni and did law there, right round the corner...but well done you!

Claudia: I managed to fake it, I don’t know how! I didn’t even speak English.

Katie: That’s so cool! But it’s so interesting that music was your security first…

Claudia: Well I didn’t even sing well. I mean, I sang really, really badly. I had a terrible ear (I still do). But I had a sense that I could write music, even more than being a good musician, or something, it was about the writing process, or the composition process. I had a sense that, I could do that very naturally. You know when have a sense for something? It just felt like that for me.

Katie: So, from when you were a teenager?

Claudia: Yeah, since I was twelve.

Katie: Wow, so that was your ‘aha’ moment; as well…

Claudia: I fought for my guitar so much, I was asking to my parents every day for a guitar and because I wasn’t good at piano, they were like ‘no guitars in this house’ and then eventually I got it and everything started from there.

 Photo: Claudia at Sebright Arms, London 29th January 2018

Claudia on Hinds…

Dan: So when you were younger, did Ana (from Hinds) goad you on? You mentioned you were friends growing up…

Claudia: We met in a theatre group, we did drama together...our stories were similar growing up. I mean, she’s a little older than me, so I was like her little sister… and now she’s much more than my friend, she’s really my sister. It wasn’t like she was goading me towards music, I already wrote music when Hinds started. I like being an aspect of her life that isn’t very closely related to Hinds; we are a safe space for each other. That also makes it more beautiful whenever our paths musically cross, because it’s more special, and we can have perspective on each other’s work. When she started with Hinds, I was her biggest fan! But it’s as if she starts anything else in her life, I will always be her biggest fan because I just feel I understand where she’s going and she understands where I am. It’s just about trusting everything she’ll do will be worth it. I think it’s the same from her side. I wanted to do music but just independently from everything, and when she started with Hinds, of course, I saw that it was possible and they are, of course, such a big inspiration...that you can actually make it, even if you are from Spain. I will be inspired by anything she does at any point in her life.

Katie: You mentioned before we started the tape, the director Pedro Almodovar and the movement, I’m going to pronounce it wrong, La Movida, and about that being a big explosion of activity, how would you say that inspired you?

Claudia: I think everybody that is into music, especially rock music in Spain, is in a way inspired by La Movida because it was after the dictatorship of Franco. Many bands and just creative moves started to emerge in Madrid. I think it was a liberating time, fighting for freedom and finding new means of expression. I think interesting musical forms and bands were created at that time and my uncles were one of the most emblematic bands of the movement. I really grew up in a musical environment. My parents love music and they got to meet so many musicians as teenagers, it’s crazy: Graham Parker, Nick Lowe, Ian Dury, The Ramones, Brian Ferry, Jam, Flaming Groovies etc. and of course they introduced me to their music since very early on. My mum is a photographer, she took many pictures of that time and she has just published a book of unreleased pictures of Nacha Pop (my uncles’ band) and they’re amazing! She’s also taken most of my pictures, shot with me my music videos, etc.

Dan: Those bands back then, a lot of the music doesn’t sound dated at all. You can see today, that people are digging for inspiration...which is really interesting. I think our parents’ generation didn’t have that much to go back on, but for us there’s so much more.

Claudia: I mean, we’re so lucky now that we can access so much music, it’s just so easy, so I feel like it’s ingrained in us, in everyone, right? Everyone that has liked music since an early age has in a way fed from those bands.

 Claudia on scenes…

Katie: Actually, one of the questions is, and I might skip to it just because it fits in with this, but the question of scenes, and how do you find the London scene? It gets mixed reviews! I’ll hand it over!

Claudia: For me, I find that it’s so big, that it’s almost impossible for me to have a sense of what the London scene is. I go to so many gigs in London, World music, rock bands,... It’s incredible, it’s, no doubt one of the best things of my time London, being able to go to all those gigs. At the same time, I miss having a sense of what is going on, I always feel like I’m missing out. I don’t know if we can speak of a scene, maybe there is one and I just don’t know about it! But sometimes you can get lost in the amount of different music there is. It’s fantastic, you get to see different things and it encourages new musical forms and emerging musicians. I think every country should respect music as much as the UK; including Spain! If you don’t have an LP out, in Spain, it’s really hard to play gigs, or simply to get help from promoters. Here, I remember, the day I decided I wanted to play a gig, I played a gig.

Katie: I think the pace can change quite quickly in London, so if you know a little group or a certain cohort of people that’s great, but as a musician, if you duck out of the scene for a couple of years, you can come back and they’ve all moved on. For me, London recycles itself quite quickly, that’s why I was interested to ask the question…

 Claudia on women in music…

Dan: This is one we’re both really interested in: how do you see the music industry changing in terms of its approach to women?

Claudia: I don’t think I am part of the music industry, at least not yet. I am unsigned, I don’t feel like I can speak about the industry much. But I’ve seen it a lot with Hinds and with a lot of female musicians. One thing I get a lot after the gigs, I don’t know why, is the question: “who writes the songs?”, everyone thinks women are not able to write music. We are able to perform, we are able to sing; but the music, we have to sing the music that guys write for us. And to that question I really wonder: “have you listened for a second to my lyrics? Because they’re extremely personal, like it’s impossible to ask me that question! No man in the world could write the lyrics that I’ve written”. The way women are introduced into the music industry is sexist in itself, everything is. I think women need to stay true to themselves, do whatever the fuck they want to do, because otherwise nothing will change… There are so many ideals of femininity imposed on women: either being too feminine is not being a feminist, or being non-feminine, is not being a new-wave feminist and when you are on stage you are more vulnerable to that. I think women should make as much music as possible, find our own language, one that does not copy a long tradition of man-made discourse, but one that truly speaks to us. It took me a lot to consider that I could write music being a woman. I was always a groupie of my boyfriends; even though, I played better and spent a lot more time writing songs, but I was always on the other side of the stage. I know so many women and teenagers that have a lot to say; I think everyone should have the same opportunity to express themselves. 

Katie: Amen, amen! It pisses me off so much! I repeat, it pisses me off. 

Dan: It pisses us all off! 

Katie: Like, I would play a gig and a guy would come up to me in all sincerity and say ‘do you know what, you’re great! You can sing and play at the same time!’ Because most women can either sing, or they need a guy to play the guitar for them. Or they’d say ‘who’s song was that?’ and I’d say ‘my song’. But they actually think they’re complimenting you, and I’m like, are you on meth? What are you smoking? How can my ovaries get in the way of these strings? It pisses me off because it’s a space, isn’t it. It’s a masculine space. Dan’s exempt because he’s a feminist, but it’s like manspreading on a train, but with music and art. If my ovaries don’t stop me playing the cello, or if they don’t stop me playing piano then why would they stop me playing in bands? What pisses me off the most is that the rationale doesn’t need to have a rationale. It doesn’t need to be rational because that’s just the status quo. 

Claudia: Yeah, yeah. But it’s a different way of writing music, like women have different rhythms, we just create different music, imagine how enriching it would be to finally listen to all the voices that have been silenced. I want every woman that is making music now to be listened...it’s just going to be so enriching! It’s gonna be great! 

Katie: We’re gonna take over! 

Dan: It’s interesting to me, as I think most of the bands which we tend to like are either female-fronted or female singers, and it’s the fact that, very much with Hinds as well, like ‘here we are! We’re gonna play our music, we are who we are’ and that’s how everybody should be, whether they’re a guy or a girl, really, at the end of the day. But I’ve seen a lot more female artists come through from electronic music recently, like Shura, Kelly Lee Owens, so hopefully we’ll see more female fronted bands. 

Katie: Well yeah, I love how new movements are coming about. Like a few weeks ago, we saw you support Hinds at the Sebright Arms, and a few months before that, we saw the band Dream Nails at the Dalston Victoria, who are linked with Sisters Uncut, the political movement to end the Tory government’s ruthless cuts to women’s services, so it feel like at the moment, with all this bullshit in the world, there are pockets of resistance sprouting, so it should be a really exciting time to be a woman in music. 

Claudia: We can totally point out the bullshit, it’s so visible. I mean, I mentioned so many male influences when I was growing up, but I feel like now, most of the bands I listen to are female, or female fronted.   

Katie: This is our one year anniversary of seeing Tegan and Sara! They played the Roundhouse this day today last year, Galentine’s day… 

Claudia: I love how you guys keep track of your gigs! You are like, ‘it’s been ten days since we saw Hinds’ 

Katie: Seriously, we have the same brain. I think we’re a little bit on the spectrum, aren’t we? 

Dan: Yeah, yeah. 

Photo: Claudia on board Tamesis Dock, London 6th March 2018

Claudia on multi-lingual artists… 

Katie: We love it. You mentioned that there’s so much to go and see...but is there something that you’re excited for? Your gigs, or anyone else’s? 

Claudia: I’m going to see Ibeyi at the end of the month, they are incredible. They are twins, half Cuban, half French and they sing in Yoruba, Spanish and English, and they’re amazing. And then, well I have a couple of gigs: on the 6th March I am playing on a boat! I’m so excited! You can’t imagine!  

Katie: That’s very cool! How are your sea legs? 

Claudia: I throw up as soon as I get on a boat (laughs)! But I think it’s steady… I’m really excited for that gig because I’m playing with my band, which is, well, I usually play alone. When I play in Spain, I always play alone, but this gig is in London so they’re here! I also haven’t played in London for a while, so I’m really, really excited. 

Dan: Wow, we’ll come along!  

Katie: My sea legs are rubbish, but I’ll make sure I stand close to the side. 

Dan: Yeah! The next question is, if you could go back in time and give your fifteen year old self some advice, what would it be? 

Claudia: I guess it would have to be about how... you can actually make it. Big plans always feel too ambitious, but I think the biggest they sound the more you should go for it, because you will, for sure, learn more on the way than expected. Everyone scares us, saying it’s too risky, but then we never learn about ourselves if we don’t take risks. Katie: That’s brilliant advice.  Claudia: I think, just trusting and staying true, which is really hard sometimes. Listening to yourself and not getting bombarded by so much information or jealousy, wanting to be someone else, or wanting to be things that you’re not. You should always stay true to yourself and make the most of it because then you’re going to be truly happy. Also playing music a lot, because it’s a really good feeling. Like, thank God it exists! Music is the best thing in the world. Listening to a lot of music, just absorbing, listening to other people. Stealing from other people’s point of view (laughs)!  

Katie: ‘Steal Like an Artist’, by Austin Kleon 

Claudia: I think Picasso said something like that… 

Claudia on developing self-trust… 

Katie: What’s your top tip to keep on trusting yourself? Because self-doubt… everyone has it, but particularly artists. The little angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other. Do you have a top tip on how to not listen to the doubts?

Claudia: I listen to my doubts so much (laughs)! I always do, like one moment I feel great and empowered about my music (like when I’m on stage); but then all of a sudden I break. Especially because I do everything alone: I play alone, I write alone, so, you just keep going. I doubt myself a lot: I always angrily ask myself: ‘why do you think you are different?’. On stage I generally feel great: I love it, I’m very receptive to the audience, even if it’s a small gig I like bringing the people close to me and I feel like speak truly when I’m on stage, so when it comes out of my mouth, I don’t doubt it. I’m happy and I trust what I do.  

Dan: I think we got that impression very much so when we saw you at the Sebright a few weeks ago, you very much drew us in and really playing close attention to the lyrics and the sound and the vibe. 

Claudia: I could see your faces so clearly! 

Katie: Your music was so beautiful and so captivating! It was kind of like a massage! A massage for the soul, like when you’re a kid and there’s someone tracing shapes on your back in assembly and you just drift off… 

Dan: That’s just the power of music, which has amazed me since I was very little, it could be any genre and something will hit you and you don’t necessarily know why but you want to listen to these songs again and again and again, because they give you comfort, or they give you inspiration, or help you relax, or empower you. You can hear what’s influencing them and you go on a musical journey, as well. 

Katie: We went on a musical journey as well...we’re really lucky, because we always get there early because we’re always coming from work, so we always see the support. Like the other week when we saw you at the Sebright – one of the things that really surprised me was that all the acts were really thanking us, for being there! But I was like, ‘do you guys realise that these tickets are the hottest tickets?’ Everyone that didn’t get one is really pissed off! You don’t have to thank us, we have to thank you! It’s an interesting dynamic…  

Claudia: But I think a very important part of being an artist is to be thankful. Without you guys, things don’t happen, you also give it more meaning – audiences make you discover a lot more about your music. It’s as important to have people supporting music as to have people creating. I think you should be thanked individually, for going to the gigs, for listening to music in your house. To see yourself reflected in someone else is the biggest thing you can imagine. 

Claudia on social media… 

Dan: I’ve got a question which isn’t on the list but which kind of links into it – one of the ways over the last few years which I’ve connected with artists is definitely through social media, and the fact that you have that relationship between the artist and the fan-base, I feel you can interact, it’s like ‘yeah, I’m really connecting with you guys as well’. From the artist’s point of view, how does this seem to you? 

Claudia: That’s a good question – I feel really connected to many people that follow me on social media, I don’t have many followers but I get a lot of feedback and messages! I get many opportunities from social media as well. Photographers, or just people coming to the gigs. Social media can be very dangerous and absorb you. You compare yourself all the time and very easily; but it’s just a number and then it’s like, ‘oh my God, I’m so small compared to this other person that plays the guitar!’ But at the same, it’s great because you can connect with so many people, it’s like with you! If I hadn’t met you at the gig, you lose contact, you know? I think it’s important to keep it as a safe space, and just to keep people informed of what you’re doing – if they follow you, you should give something in exchange. And I think that’s valuable. 

Katie: Like we say, Dan and I are ‘Luddites’, as in we only like vinyl and things that have got one button, and it’s really interesting for us having been to uni in the 90’s/early Noughties ~showing our age a bit, here~ but you didn’t even use a computer for your essays, you could type them if you wanted, but you handed them in, and I remember the introduction of facebook, then I remember Myspace, and then that died, then everything else sort of… 

Dan: Twitter, Instagram… 

Katie: Yeah, and I nearly just said ‘my generation’ which makes me sound like such an old woman, but people who are pre-Millenial, people like me, a part of me really struggled! I remember when Twitter first came out & I was like ‘ahhh man! What’s this? Why do I need one of these?’ 

Claudia: It’s crazy, no? To think about it when you haven’t grown up with it… 

Katie: Exactly, and all my friends who were about ten years younger than me were saying, ‘well, that’s where people will expect to find you! You have to have that, and you have to have a facebook page and invite people to like you’, and I felt a bit uncomfortable. I don’t mind if people like it of their own accord, that’s cool! And I don’t know if it’s something about our generation or what, but asking for stuff? I was dying a bit inside my soul...but then it’s really important for promotion… 

Claudia: It does really feel you don’t exist if you don’t have it. You’ve got to keep it going, like all the time.

Dan: It’s really interesting as well, because I can see a lot of the artists that are a little bit older than us now, like Nerina Pallot, have a love-hate relationship with social media, but quite often she comes on she’s really interactive. Also, the guy from XTC, Andy Partridge, I tweeted that I’d watched this really interesting documentary and that I was getting into his music now on vinyl, listening in order, and he said ‘Cheers Daniel, thanks for that! I hope you enjoy the journey!’ So it’s really nice that even people who are much older, in some cases like our parents’ age are getting into it now.

Claudia: Yeah! Everyone is on some kind of social media now, it’s crazy.

 Claudia on starting out…

 Dan: This is kind of linking back to the previous question as well – what advice would you give to someone starting out now?

Claudia: I think it’s so hard that you need to be obsessed with it! It takes a lot of work and interest in music, but also knowing the environment...the times you’re living in. You can be very successful not being a great musician. There are many examples of incredibly successful musicians who aren’t great musicians, but they just know the people...they know the times they are living in. I think you should just be aware that sometimes it’s not that beautiful. Sometimes you just like music and you just like making music because you love music, and that can be ruined when it becomes an obligation. You just need to want to do it, despite the risk of losing a part of the magic, for gaining magic in another sense.

Katie: Magic exchange! It seems like in the 90’s it was completely different, you needed to have an A&R person, you needed to do so many gigs as a support act. Now it’s so much more digital and you also need to know how to market yourself, so...you kind of need to be an expert in branding, as well…which for me is a little frightening, but that’s okay...

Claudia: Totally, you need to be an expert in marketing.

 Claudia on the big questions…

 Dan: So, we’ve got two more questions for you now, so no biggie, but what’s the key to conquering the world? What needs to change right now?

Claudia: I think it’s not wanting to conquer the world; most approaches to leadership are completely bullshit from my point of view. It’s about finding your own path, not doing what everyone does. I think it’s more interesting to conquer your world, than the world..., it’s a lot more real, just harder ;) You need to fight for your own truth.

Katie: I guess if you create your own path, you can decide on the limits of it. You can dictate the pace… And how to cure the world, as well, which I didn’t write down because I thought ‘No, that’s too big!’

Dan: But at the same time, I think the state of the world sparks a lot of creativity as well...All this really bad stuff happens, but at the same time people are doing their own thing in order to go against the status quo of what’s happening at the moment, trying to find a way forward for the future, and that’s reflected in the music...and it kind of comes back to that post-punk scene, of late Seventies/early Eighties, of people trying to find their way out to rebel against what was going on...and finding your own space to do your own thing. That’s reflected in bands like Hinds as well: ‘this is us – take us as we are, this is what we want to do’. So it’s interesting to see how, not necessarily the music industry, but bands and artists are reflecting that…

Claudia: Yeah, I think it’s also important that bands that aren’t English-speaking bands feel like they can conquer a sort of music scene. There is a lot of people in the world doing incredible things in other languages. So I think there should be a shift, as well, in that sense.

Katie: I feel like since I’ve discovered Spanish-speaking bands, I feel it’s shifting already, but maybe that’s just my little bubble of London…and it’s such a welcome change because honestly, English has such a monopoly, and that’s such a shame that it dominates the mainstream, and that so many people are told to compromise and sing in English and I think it’s really powerful when they don’t.

Claudia: If it’s shifting for you then that means something. I’m going to see a band that sing in Yoruba which is a religion in Cuba, that derives from a religion in Nigeria and it takes many shapes in South America, and it’s a very ancient language and it sounds beautiful. It sounds really beautiful.

 Claudia on ambition & pressing to red vinyl…

 Katie: I should have put this as the main ambition, do you just want to keep going for the moment or do you have a plan like, ‘in ten years’ time, I want to have achieved X,Y or Z’?

Claudia: I want to be able to write music forever. I want to keep evolving as a musician, as much as I can. I want to go as far as possible, but for now, I really want to release the album I’ve recorded because it’s beautiful, so I think that’s going to be a big stepping stone…because I just have one song released, and it’s already taken me pretty far.

Katie: Wow! Will there be an album launch party?

Claudia: For sure! Always a party! For everything a party! I’ll invite everyone!

Dan: It’s so exciting, to hear all of this, it’s like you’re on the cusp of releasing all this music and you appear super excited, even from your gig at the Sebright, we were entranced by your music, so count us in…

Katie: Do you want to press to vinyl?

Claudia: Of course! And have a colour!

Katie: Do we get to know?

Claudia: A nice red.

Katie: We love a bit of red vinyl...it’s all about the vinyl now. Do you love vinyl yourself?

Claudia: I love vinyl!

Dan: What’s your favourite one from your collection?

 Claudia on her favourite vinyl…

Claudia: Well, I have ‘On the Beach’ by Neil Young, which is a really hard one to get, I struggled a lot to get that one, and I have many, many oldies that I have been getting in Spain and in London. London is such a treasure trove.

Katie: I love it when you land one! My favourite one is David Bowie’s ‘The Man Who Sold the World’, I managed to find that and I was like ‘woooooah’…all your Christmases or something. How about you, Dan? What’s your favourite?

Dan: That’s a pretty tricky question! Yeah...I find it quite hard to pick one, um…

Katie: Sorry, I put you on the spot! You’d need another glass of wine…

Dan: I mean, that XTC one ‘English Settlement’, I was looking for the original but I could only find the reissue and then I found it in Sister Ray back in November. And I really love Joni Mitchell’s ‘Hejira’ album is one of my favourites...I love the artwork. I’ve had to buy more storage at the moment. I love discovering old stuff and new stuff at the same time.

Claudia: I’ll send you guys mine when I get it!

Dan: Thank you so much!

Katie: Cheers! That’s awesome and that’s a wrap! Thank you so much.

Claudia: You’re welcome, thank you for your interest!

Wow - what an amazing talent! We hope you enjoyed reading this as much as we enjoyed interviewing Claudia - and please check out her music! https://claudiavegamusic.bandcamp.com

[arkus-rhapsode]

My Stella arc

So this is a bit of a rewrite of the Dragon Cry movie, but seeing if it can actually be tied into the world of FT and the fact that I actually do want to explore the world of Stella. (This takes place in between Pergrande and Tenrou Island)

It opens Natsu and Wendy after getting chewed out by the magic council for the shit they did in Pergrande. While that happens, Lahar asks one of his men to go on a special mission involving Fairy Tail.

Once back FT everyone is discussing up coming S-Class Trials and Natsu meets all his other teammates and says Wendy should be on team Natsu.

Gray kinda thinks Wendy could be better off with a simpler team or mage who doesn’t take very intense jobs like Reedus or Laki, but Natsu says he wants Wendy on their team after seeing what happened in Pergrande.

Erza says they should all take a mission to show Wendy the type of work they do, and Gray has a job form, Catch the dark mage Velveno. Lucy remembers the request form because Gray showed it to her before she went to Acalypha.

They also notice that the bounty went up from 2,000,000 jewels to 4,000,000 jewels. Mainly because Velveno took on a few mages since his prison escape and defeated them. Gray eyeing Jet and Droy who accepted the mission while team Natsu went to Acalypha the find Lucy, and both of them were beaten

It cuts to Velveno meeting with a guy in a cloak named Chase, in this shantytown. Velveno asks if Chase has the goods and Chase says its out back.

Then team Natsu arrive and a lot of the criminals panic then go to attack them. Velveno is freaked out, and demands to see the “goods”, which turns out to be a magic cannon.

Eventually Velveno is defeated and Gray grabs Chase after he tried to flee.

Chase begins to beg to be let go, saying that he’s only a middle man, and not a dark mage. Gray questions what he’s talking about, but Erza continues to interrogate.

He says that the weapon came from Stella from an underground ring there, and begs to be let go or get a few years off his prison sentence. Before he can say more a group of knights from the Fiore military show up led by vice captain of the Fiore military, Riana

When Riana says that the Team will be paid like normal, Erza stops Riana and shows her the begging Chase and his confession and Riana orders the Team to wait while she brings this news to the king

It then cuts to Mercurius where magic knight Kama, is approached by Kamika and Casmos who know that today is the day that Kama became the captain of the Fiore Garou knights. He merely sulks away.

He enters the throne room where Toma Fiore is on a communication lacrima with Dalton

The king says that this is quite a pickle and says that he will contact Stella’s queen right away.

It cuts to the team entering the building with Natsu saying to Erza to remember that time he broke into save her.

They approach a room with Dalton in it and behind him a massive screen made of magic, projecting the king on it.

The FT mages are curious why they are even here and Dalton reveals that he man they caught was a middle man for a high-grade magic weapons manufacturer, that is located in Stella.

Dalton then makes another projector with the minister of magic in Stella on it. The minister is named Swan and she says that she, the king of Fiore and the queen of Stella have discussed the situation, Erza asking what this has to do with them.

Their job was to catch Velveno who was nothing more than a dark mage, but in doing so they discovered a lead that is potentially life saving.

Stella recognizes that this information would never have came to light without their help and that their monetary reward does not seem appropriate for their contribution, so the queen of Stella has arranged for them to have a vacation in the capital of Stella, Altair

The team all think it sounds fun, Erza and Gray happy for a break before S-Class trial, Lucy because Stella is a country with tons of knowledge on celestial spirits (Stella means star after all), and Natsu and Wendy gets a new area to look for their dragons

They make it to Stella’s capital and on their ride they are shocked by this giant crystal growing out of the ground. Their driver explains that it is Stellanium and type of crystal similar to lacrima only instead of holding magic it holds starlight

The team is dressed up all nice to meet the queen and are led there by Stella’s chief of staff, Doll. The queen of Stella is a woman named Sonya Stella. She is very happy to meet mages from the renowed Fairy Tail. Lucy is shocked that their popularity reaches other countries though the destruction caused in their recent years also reaches everyone.

Then enters two members from the number one guild in Stella, Master Zash Caine and Guild Ace Gapri

Gapri says hi to Doll, but addresses him as “Master Marcel”, but Doll glares saying that he doesn’t go by that name anymore and Gapri says “Captain Doll”

Gapri is gloating a bit saying that as the best guild in Stella they can ensure this will get done quick. Sonya says that she did want the FT team to meet the Zash and Gapri because they were the first to accept the job to find the weapon manufacturer

Natsu gets a little aggressive towards Gapri with Gapri saying that they’ll handle this easily and Zash’s eyebrow raising his eyebrow a bit. But Zash stops Gapri

Sonya says for the FT team to go at and enjoy Altair.

The group splits off with Erza, Wendy, and Carla going out to eat, with Wendy bonding with Erza and Erza telling her that regardless of her magic, Wendy could become a great mage and Wendy blushes.

Gray and Happy checking into their hotel, Happy loving how big the room is and Gray likes the fact that they get a great view of the castle

Lucy visits a key shop and is shocked by all the silver keys. The shop keeper is wowed by Lucy having gold keys and Lucy is bummed that they don’t have any gold keys. But the shop owner shows Lucy that keys aren’t the only thing they have and shows that they have weapons for Celestial mages and shows her a whip called the Fleuve d'étoiles

Natsu goes up to the Stella castle’s balcony and see they beautiful starry sky.

Zash meets Natsu up there and begins to talk. Zash asks if Natsu has any goals. Natsu tells Zash about his dream to find his father and that he’s a dragon. Zash then says that from what hes heard is that Natsu has magic related to dragons and Natsu explains that it’s Dragon SLayer Magic

Zash begins to look at Natsu and starts calling him a wild, untamed beast, who will just destroy this country like he’s known for

Natsu’s eyes glow and attack Zash and starts destroying the castle. Everyone tries to reel in Natsu when he moves the fight outside, but he seems to ignore their attempts

People are a little surprised to see that Zash’s normal strength is actually keeping up with Natsu

Gapri joins the fight explaining its Zash’s blood magic. He can circulate his blood in his body and charge it to increase his muscle activity

Doll tries to attack Natsu with his fire magic, but is shocked by Natsu being able to eat the flames and Doll has a small flash back to a shadowy figure and says that Natsu eating his flames and it reminds him of “that day”

Doll reveals his weapons under his clothing, two dolls named François and Catherine. Lucy realizing it’s similar to Bickslow’s magic. (Though the beams fired are red and not green)

Natsu actually uses brilliant flare and there is intense flames surging. Zash says he’ll get rid of the flames

He uses a blue jar-looking thing that absorbs all the flames. Zash says this container is special as it absorbs a magic and negates anything affected by the magic

Eventually Natsu suddenly calms down and curious what the hell happen, but he’s knocked out by Doll

The queen is disgusted, but Erza states Natsu would only do this if someone was acting antagonistic towards him or FT. Wendy remembering Pergrande saying that he would only do something like that if there was someone being miss treated.

Zash steps up to Doll and saying he did insult Natsu, but he didn’t say he wanted to fight he said he was surprised that he had such a destructive magic and it fits him. Natsu then threw the first blow.

Doll says regardless if Zash did goad Natsu, Natsu still caused all this damage. The queen agrees to have Natsu put on trial, but for now he will be detained and the rest of the team placed under close watch

While people adjust, Zash says he must make a stop, but Gapri wants to follow Zash. Zash then looks Gapri in the eye and mind controls him to leave.

Cut to Zash entering a mine shaft where many people are constructing weapons, and a massive dragon skeleton. Zash then asks how is the Quartum project coming and someone complain that picking off the remains of the dragon is taking forever.

Zash asks one of his minions, Coordinator, how their progress actually is and she says that they still have to deal with powering of these things. 

We find out that the Quartum are the “ultimate magic weapon” made of an alloy combining steel and Stellanium. The issue is that the energy source they wanted it to work on comes from Dragon slayer magic as it can power many things. Problem is no dragon slayer’s are in Stella so they’ve been picking off fossilized remains of a former dragon and siphoning off what magic they have left

Zash shows off all the magic he stole from Natsu and says that they can now make their army ahead of schedule and they already have a buyer set up

Cut to Natsu in prison who is still pretty baffled by what’s going on. While there he meets another inmate by the name of Mash, who originally had one of the biggest stellanium distribution stations until a few months ago. but he then found that after blanking out for a little bit he was under arrest as he had currently made several deals in transitions to noted dark guilds inside Stella. 

Natsu asks why that’s weird and Mash explains that it was not something he had done in his entire life only that he had suddenly made tons of distribution orders in only a few minutes

He then states that Zash then investigated and concluded that these were in fact dirty deals. Natsu hears about Zash and realizes that something happened when he met Zash and because he remembers fighting him but doesn’t really remember why. And thinking about it a lot of the fight was hazy.

Mash asks if maybe they’re is something in common, but Natsu just hopes his friends are okay

It cuts to the FT members in their hotel room with a few guards around it

Gray and Erza both agree that this is bullshit, Lucy saying Natsu may be destructive, but he always did it with good intention. Happy says that Natsu still has some issues being insulted, but even so, this deliberate destruction seems way too odd

Then a guard comes in with a communication lacrima with the King on the line.

The king, surrounded by Arcadios and Kama, is outraged at what happened, but Erza begins explain that Natsu was fighting against a man named Zash who apparently talked to him.

Kama goes wide-eyed and asks if his name is Zash Caine. And when they confirm it all of the men in the throne room sweat.

Kama states that Zash is a traitor against Fiore. Suddenly we get a flashback showing Zash as the magic knight head and how Kama was his vice captain. The flashback explaining that Zash has the power of mind control by making direct eye contact, but the issue with this is the mind control will only last for about five minutes, then the person who was mind controlled will forget most of his actions during those five minutes and completely forget a minute before getting controlled, essentially erasing Zash’s moment of eye contact

Toma says he’ll call Sonya. With the team thinking this is bad, but given they’re still being watched they gotta be careful on how they act.

Lucy says they could sneak into the prison where Natsu is being held, but Happy notes that might be hard while under lock and key.

By saying that, Lucy whispers in Happy’s ear that she has a plan and explains it. We see that her plan is to distract the guards with her gold key. As Stella is known for all of its silver key shops she’ll blow the guards away with actual zodiac

While the guards are completely awestruck, Happy then sneaks out in ninja mode

Cutting to Doll who’s brushing his dolls hair remembering some of the fire that Natsu made. Sonya then is called by Toma and she feels like this is a personal attack because in the last 10 years, Zash has been a hero.

Doll even vouching for him as the master of his former guild, and that it’s the best guild in the country.

The king however points out that no stories of Zash ever reached this country or any others. Doll takes that as an insult saying that just because Fiore’s mages are known internationally for their exploit doesn’t mean that Stella is any lesser than them.

But Arcadios interjects saying that he literally has never been published in either the news or weekly sorcerer. She might deliberately be hiding his whereabouts. Doll and Sonya are a little shook especially when they’ve had interviewers come down and did see Zash in action. Kama says Zash has mind control, probably used it to help cover his tracks.. Doll say they’ll bring in Zash for questioning.

Cutting to Zash who’s talking to the buyer, Bluenote, and he asks why that artificial army that they ordered hasn’t shown up, especially after all the money they’ve poured in. Zash says that the Quartum army will be finished ahead of schedule, thanks to recently aquiring a sum of dragon slayer magic.

Bluenote says that’s good because his Master has a fondness for lost magic. Zash doesn’t care about their interest just that it keeps up revenue

Coordinator, the developer of armor, and Cannon, developer of firearms, are shocked how well Natsu’s magic is working. Zash ends the call, saying that he has his inside a man looking over Natsu

It cuts to a man in the Stella prison who is smiling making sure to edit the reports of Natsu’s detainment so that they all avoid mentioning Zash. We learn the guard is named Cream and he goes to check on the screaming Natsu who claims this is wrong.

Cream checks on them but while doing so, Happy sneaks into the prison

Natsu and Mash are yelling, about this. Cream walks up to their cell and tells them to shut up. Natsu says that whatever is going on they want to talk to that Zash guy. Cream laughs saying that Zash is the most trusted man in all of Stella next to Doll and Sonya.

Cream uses a little bit of fire magic to shoot Mash in the nose. Natsu tries smashing against Tthe cage yelling at Cream.

Happy arrives, finding the floor that Natsu is on and sees Cream threatening Natsu. Saying that with Zash on their side and the stuff that Natsu did, he’ll most likely get sent to Black Vox mage prison if this is considered an international crime but as a national crime here in Stella he might get executed.

Happy yells out that this is wrong and Cream shoots at Happy. Happy throws a key at Natsu’s cage which Mash grabs and passes it to Natsu to get his bindings off. Cream shoots Mash through the shoulder, and Natsu busts out of prison yelling that he’ll make Cream pay for abusing the people around him

Then it cuts between team FT feeling down and hoping Happy is okay, then cutting to Doll arriving at the guild of Gapri and Zash, demanding to see Zash. Gapri questions why is he even bothering Zash is a hero.

Doll says he wants to talk to Zash because of information coming from Fiore. Gapri is angered by this saying that Fiore’s words are just slandering Zash’s name because they are jealous that Zash is as strong as he is.

Gapri and Doll see that Zash is on the top floor. Zash says he knows why Doll is here, and he’s already taken action. Gapri is shook by this yelling for Zash to explain this, but Zash shows he’s just a thought projection.

Gapri begins to tear up as he gets flashes of Zash becoming the new guild master and filling him with the idea that Gapri needs to care about himself if he wants to be a great me and needs to understand that everybody else is also out for themselves and that you need to know how to survive in a world like that if you wanna ab strong

Gapri cries, gets on his board and super speed’s to the prison saying all this bad stuff happen the second that Natsu showed up.

Natsu beats up Cream, but then sees that Gapri has entered the area. Mash tries to tell Gapri that Natsu isn’t A bad guy but Gapri thanks it’s only natural that to criminals brought in by Zash have bonded.

Natsu and Gapri fight until they are interrupted by Doll. Doll hugs Gapri telling him its over and that the evidence is overwhelming and Zash must be found. All of the FT mages are released, Doll saying that they should stay here, but Erza says they’ll come too.

Doll says it’s a violation, but Erza says that if Zash is a former Fiore mage, then he is their responsibility and regardless of what country they’re all part of the same system so they should work together to clean up this mess.

It cuts to Fiore where the King has Kama go out to Stella with some troops because they used to work with Zash in the magic knight division

The group is using Natsu and Wendy’s noses to locate the mineshaft that the manufacturers are using. Zash is alerted to this and tells Coordinator to shut off the elevator and handle it while he finishes up the Quartum Army

The group of mages are surprised when they enter the first floor of the minds and see that there’s tons of holes in the walls, Coordinator getting on a loud speaker, saying that if they want to make it to the next level will have to get past one of their new items on their manufacturing list.

Out of The holes comes tons of people on boards similar to Gapri’s and everyone tries to push back. Gray notices that there are Lacrima on the bottom of the boards and that they should aim for them.

Lucy uses Sagittarius, Erza flight armor, and Wendy even gives them the vernier to increase speed

They make it to the next floor where they need to deal with a rabid dog that is being controlled. And Lucy test out her new whip on it.

Eventually getting past that Gapri gets anxious and bolts ahead of everybody else. It then shows a smoking Zash who begins to think about how he’ll have to start up all over again after this. Cutting to Kama heading for Stella.

A flashback shows that Zash found The Eclipse Gate inside the Royal Palace. Kama confronted him and Zash revealed his believe in the world that everybody is focused on themselves and he’s just doing the same.

Kama questions how he’ll do that, Zash explaining that in history three things shape everything: intelligence, money, and weaponry. With his knowledge he’ll obtain all that and he’ll be able to survive in this world

Kama and Zash fight, Kama yelling that surviving by condemning everyone else is bull crap, but when it looks like Zash will win, Kama cut Zash underneath his eye blinding his mind control ability. After the fight Kama awoke and learned Zash escaped and Kama was prompted to The captain of the magic knights the flashback ends as Kama sayys he’ll finish everything with Zash.

Coming back to the floors, Gapri is on the third floor, and he doesn’t see anybody but then starts getting hit by something screaming about how his ear hurt.

The rest of the mages find Gapri’s body, and then find out what this floor is there is a super powered sound system releases high blasts of sound magic on this floor. The game is to shut it off before they all die.

Gray makes a set of headphones out of the ice to fight against the sound waves and cuts off the system, giving them to the final floor. Coordinator saying she’ll have to stall them. While Zash boots up the Quatron army

Erza fights Coordinator, while Gapri zooms past them all, with Natsu and the others following behind, but on the way through the tunnel to where the dragon skeleton is being keeped, several guards led by Cannon burst out of the wall and ambush all of the mages.

Doll says he’ll deal with him and Gray takes the smaller guards

Doll’s fight is brutal with Cannon trying destroy his François and Catherine, but Doll always steps in front of each shot at the dolls. He refuses to let his daughters die as he gets shot showing in a flashback a dark mage did battle with him and his guild when he was the master of it and called Marcel, then watched his daughter die from burns. Trying to save them with human possession magic

He admits that he will always protect them as that is the job of the father. Cannon calls him an idiot, but notices the ground cracking above him, Cannon realizes every time Doll shielded his daughters, the dolls fired a beam of magic at the top of the cave that already had holes in it and weakened it to the point it collapsed

Erza eventually defeats Coordinator by revealing the flaw in her “ultimate armor” and that’s the scythe it’s throwing leaves her completely open. Natsu, Wendy, and Lucy run after Gapri.

Gapri sees Zash and demand answers. Gapri feels betrayed after what Zash had done, but Zash mind controls Gapri to kill Natsu and the others.

Lucy and Wendy with the help of Happy and Carla shatter Gapri’s board

Zash also tries to get Erza, but that is stopped by Erza’s artificial eye. When he sees that there are mages of her caliber here and that Gapri’s mind control is wearing off, he activates the Quartums.

Zash escapes while everyone else deals with the Quartums and Natsu goes to take out Zash, who is escaping with a few Quartum samples so that he can sell them to Bluenote and for compensation he’ll use their clout in the underworld to help him jump start his next buisness. He also is seen planting something inside the roof of the shaft.

Natsu confronts Zash and Natsu wants to fight. They fight eventually bring them to the face of the rotted dragon. Natsu is curious about this and Zash says that the Quartrums were made form this. That this land was once covered by invading dragons who sought to the flower humans and now that wrath will be turned into weapons.

Natsu and Zash fight, with Zash’s full blood doped up form activating. Natsu tries to avoid the mind controlled by wrapping and scarf around his eyes. With Zash’s power and Natsu’s handicap it’s going to be tough and eventually the scarf is knocked off.

Before he can mind control Natsu, Gray jumps up behind him and freezes over his eyes. Thus, changing the fight.

Finally, Zash is on the ground but declares his drive to save himself and activates the bomb he was planting to the roof intending to cave in everybody but himself.

Cutting to the Fiore magic knights and Stella knights, they get a report. The mission has gone south with Zash escaping, but Kama says that he may know where Zash is going, remembering the only sample of Zash’s DNA they found was from the cut Kama gave him near a private dockyard.

In the mineshaft everyone escapes with the help of Gray and Lucy

Zash is limping away, as result of using all of his blood doped up form his body is somewhat burnt out. He remembers his first start into becoming an arms dealer after defecting.

Kama finds Zash with The army and before Zash can take control of anybody. He is defeated by Kama.

The arc wraps up with all of the FT mages being thanked and the fact that in this world and they need to stand united. With Natsu saying he was glad this vacation helped him train for the S-Class trials

It cuts to Bluenote who tlls Ultear that a lot of money they just wasted on the Quartum progect, but Ultear says that for their upcoming plan they’ll just have to bring in ll their sub guilds. Bluenote gets a call from Zancrow who says that he finally got his hands on the last “Key”

When the FT mages return home, they are surprised by a new face, Mest Gryder, but people seem to act like they’ve meet him before. Except for Mystogan and Makarov

So yeah this was my other attempt at world building and story writing, hope you like it, any criticism welcomed

[faberlewis-blog]

For Us- Part 4

*Authors Note: Growing up in a world where you’re considered different can be stifling. Especially when you open a book or turn on your TV and you see no one like you. This story about two women trying their hand at love is my attempt to help chip away at that loneliness.

It was six thirty Monday evening when Lisa was finally able to leave her office and head home. Her brain was still buzzing with the tasks of the day. On auto pilot, she turned towards the parking garage. “This was on purpose wasn’t it?” The voice startled her out of her train of thought. She spun around to find Kenny, waiting expectantly on the street corner.

“What was?” she asked, unable to contain the smile that spread across her face. Kenny held up Lisa’s intentionally forgotten jacket.

“It was like five degrees that morning,” Kenny said, “You can’t tell me you didn’t notice when you walked outside in a t-shirt.”

“And you can’t tell me you’re in the habit of returning forgotten clothing,” Lisa replied, “I saw that bright pink thing hanging by your door. It didn’t really strike me as your style.”

“I actually just got around to throwing that one out,” Kenny replied, “But this one looked expensive.”

“Do you have something against admitting that maybe you wanted to come here and see me?” Lisa asked directly.

“Yes,” Kenny responded honestly, “People get the wrong idea if they think you actually want to be around them.”

“Well I promise not to let this go to my head,” Lisa assured her. She took in Kenny’s appearance, noticing her dri-fit shirt and running shoes. “Did you run here?”

“Yeah,” she answered

“Would you like a ride home?” Lisa offered.

“No thanks,” Kenny turned her offer down, “I’ve got to get my miles in.” Lisa was disappointed in Kenny’s obvious attempts at stonewalling any further interaction. She had a feeling the blond’s resistance was only skin deep. Lisa was determined to figure out how to get over that wall. “See you around Lis.” Lisa reached forward and stopped Kenny from putting her headphones back in.

“Wait,” she said, “Just answer me this, honestly. Do you want to see my again?” Kenny hesitated so Lisa kept talking. “Look I’m not trying to marry you. What are you so afraid of?”

“Finding you interesting,” the blond answered suddenly, with her usual blunt tone.

“What?” she asked, “What does that even mean?”

“When we talk,” she managed to say, “We click. When we talk. That doesn’t happen often for me.”

“Me either,” Lisa agreed, “So let’s talk again. Friday?”

“I can’t Friday,” Kenny replied. Lisa rolled her eyes. Maybe she wasn’t going to get passed this wall tonight.

“Ok, I get it_.”

“No I mean I really can’t,” she cut her off, “I’m singing Friday. You’re welcome to come if you want. But I was thinking maybe like… tomorrow night… instead?”

“Tomorrow?” Lisa responded. She was surprised that Kenny was actually agreeing. “Yes. Tomorrow. Corner of 2nd and Hood? Six o’clock?”

“Sure,” she agreed, “I’ll see you there.”

~

Lisa approached her favorite sandwich shop at five minutes to six. Kenny was already waiting outside.

“You’re punctual,” Lisa commented.

“Only when I’m trying to make a good impression,” Kenny responded, “Long time no see. How has your last twenty four hours been?”

“Warm and cozy thanks to you,” she responded, pulling her returned jacket tighter around her.

“That jacket looks great on you,” she said, “I’m glad you didn’t lose it.”

“Me too. Have you ever been here?”

“No I don’t eat out a ton honestly,” she shared.

“Well their sandwiches are my favorite,” Lisa replied, “Come on. We have to hurry or we’re going to miss the show.”

“What show?”

Twenty minutes later they were perched on a stone wall in the park across the street from the sandwich shop, eating the best pastrami sandwich in town. Kenny was clearly confused by this choice of setting, but she didn’t object or show any distaste for it. “How’s your sandwich?” Lisa asked.

“It’s awesome,” Kenny said, taking another satisfied bite, “What are we doing here? I thought you said we were going to see a show.”

“We are,” Lisa assured her, “He’s here.” She gestured towards a man pulling an acoustic guitar out of it’s case about twenty feet away. After spending a few moments tuning his guitar he began accompanying himself on an old Jim Croce song Lisa couldn’t remember the name of. “He comes almost every night around this time. I like to come down here and listen sometimes. Especially on really long days.”

“He’s really good,” Kenny commented, “He’s been here all this time and I didn’t even know.”

“Don’t get out much?” she questioned.

“I’ve got my routines and I pretty much stick to them,” the blond replied, “But this is a pretty nice out of the ordinary. Maybe I’ll do it more often.” Kenny ended her sentence with a wink and Lisa felt herself blushing. A familiar face caught Lisa’s eye over Kenny’s shoulder.

“Is that Jason?” Lisa inquired.

“Looks like it,” she confirmed, looking back at the man who seemed to be walking by them in a hurry.

“Wonder what he’s doing?”

“Nosy asshole’s probably spying on me,” Kenny said. Lisa got the idea she was only half joking. “Hey! Jase!” she yelled to grab his attention.

“Hey!” he said, approaching their spot on the wall. Kenny stood and they exchanged a stereotypical bro hug, striking each other roughly on the back. He turned to Lisa with much gentler embrace and a respectful kiss on the cheek. “Lisa you look gorgeous as always!”

“Thank you! It’s great to see you!”

“Is this ruffian bothering you?”

“Definitely,” Kenny answered for her with a grin, “What are you doing here? I thought I told you to quit following me on my dates.” Lisa broke out in a grin at the word “date”. She had been unsure if that is what they were calling this. Instead of risking scaring the commitment phobic singer away, she decided she just wouldn’t mention it.

“You are on a date?” Jason said, beaming at Lisa, “If I would have known I would have for sure been following you. But I’m actually just on my way to buy a book. Remember that girl I was telling you about? I’m having no luck getting her to open up but she always carries around this Bloody Jack book. It’s about pirates or something. I thought if I read it I might figure out some way to relate to her.”

“A pirate book? Good. Maybe it’ll toughen you up some,” Kenny joked while balling up her fist and hitting Jason in the stomach.

“You’re such a dick,” he laughed, pushing her hand away, “You can do better Lisa.”

“Probably,” Lisa agreed.

“Well I won’t keep you guys,” Jason said, “Are you coming to The Top on Friday?”

“I don’t know,” Lisa responded, “Is that too over enthusiastic?”

“No, her ego needs it,” he said, “I’ll see you guys.”

“Later,” Kenny called after him as he walked away.

“What was that all about?” Lisa asked, “I thought he was gay.”

“He is,” she assured her as they returned to their seats, “The girl is a student. He’s a school counselor.”

“Really?” she said, with more surprise than she intended.

“Yeah, he’s not just a pretty face and he can do a lot more than serve wine,” she replied, “He works as a bartender to pay his student loans. That’s why he does Dalton’s during the week. They’re only open until midnight, unlike The Top. So he can still manage to get up in time for work the next day.”

“Wow!”

“I know,” Kenny nodded her mutual amazement, “He’s incredible. If I had half of his drive I wouldn’t be here.”

“Where would you be besides here?” Lisa inquired.

“I don’t know,” she shrugged, “I mean I’m pretty happy with keeping my life simple I just thought I’d travel more. Sing to more people. Maybe I’d be in like… New York, doing what that guys doing.” She nodded towards their entertainment for the evening. “What about you? Did you always want to be a divorce lawyer?”

“Well when I was six I wanted to be a princess, and then also a cowboy,” Lisa joked.  She was glad to get a laugh out of the blond. Things finally seemed to be loosening up. “But no. Most of my life was about getting to college. Once I got there I had no idea what to do next. I had absolutely no direction. I just kept getting good grades and tried to point myself down a semi financially stable path. Then I found this.”

“That’s pretty lucky,” Kenny said, “Jason was always the star when it came to school. He got straight A’s while literally, the only thing that was straight about me was the path I walked to the principal’s office constantly. He went off to college and I joined the army.”

“Doing?” Lisa asked.

“Civil affairs,” she said, “We help with the relations between locals and the military. It’s all a little to boring for a first date in my opinion.” Lisa didn’t quite believe that but she let the conversation slide anyway. There was a long comfortable pause where they took in the soft music coming from the acoustic guitar. “I’m not used to carrying on conversations this long. How am I doing?”

“I’ll give it a solid seven out of ten,” she answered. “How about me?”

“I don’t know,” Kenny feigned doubt, “You ask a lot of questions. But I think I’d go out with you again. At least once.”

“I’ve always gotten good reviews on my second dates,” she replied.

“You’ll be my first second date review,” she shared.

“You’re kidding me!” Lisa exclaimed.

“No I’m not,” Kenny confirmed, “You severely underestimate my fear of commitment.”

“You signed your life away to the military. How can you be afraid of commitment?” she pointed out.

“That was the first and probably the last,” she laughed in response.

“Excuse me while I take this legally binding contract I had written up for you back to my car,” Lisa teased. “Seriously,” Lisa continued once their laughter faded, “I’m not trying to marry you. Just get to know you. You don’t have to be so nervous. We can take it day by day.”

“Ok,” she nodded in agreement, “I’ll try.”

 To be continued...

[vcg73]

Glee Memories

Someone reblogged an old post to which I had contributed this run-down of my entire Glee fan experience. It made me laugh to read it, because I cannot deny ANY of the reactions even now. This is truly what it was like to watch the show in original air date Fox TV real time - endless mid-season hiatuses and all. Reposting just my own section:

Season 1 - SO good and fun! I want to see more of this!  Kurt, I love you. You’re so funny and I especially loved the second half of the season when you started singing solos and being a Cheerio!  Even the characters I didn’t really embrace I still want to learn more about. And the songs, and the hope for next year’s competitions…  Damn you, summer hiatus!

Season 2 - OMG, not as fresh as last year but still some amazing stuff!  Burt and Carole are cute together, though a little oblivious. Why didn’t we ever get any blended Hudmel family scenes?  Especially at Christmas.  *pout* Didn’t care for Kurt being basically sidelined at Dalton Academy for half the season, and his crush is kind of an oblivious jerk, but I have hope. Things much better by the end with Kurt back at McK and no joy to the bullies. Can’t quite make up my mind if I want to forgive Karofsky. He was awful, but also terrified. I’ll make up my mind next year. Aw, Jean Sylvester has died, I liked her.  Finn, a funeral should not inspire you to dump one girl and chase another. You big drip. Too bad about Nationals, but it’s okay that they didn’t go straight to the top. More reason to put out all the stops next year!  I liked this season a lot overall. Damn you, summer hiatus!

Season 3 - What the fuck has happened to this show? Blaine transfers in, acts like a dick, steals opportunities and insults people, but by the end every single character is completely up his ass. Wha-?  Wait, are Finchel a couple again for the 4,869th time, or are they broken up again?  I can’t keep up.  Am I really supposed to care about the suddenly evil Warblers and their smirking meerkat boss? Cause I don’t.  Warbler Council I miss you.  Shue, you’re horrible, get off my screen. Sue, go with him, you’re not funny anymore. Kurt ends up stuck in Lima with no prospects, while Rachel of the world’s worst audition gets his spot at the fancy performing arts school? What the hell!  And what do you mean, he only applied to ONE school, that makes no sense given his historic ambition to escape Lima, and determination to help Finn get out too. Someone at NYADA is a lazy bastard who couldn’t be bothered to send out the acceptance letters until JUNE, so most of their prospectives have probably accepted other offers by now.  This entire season made no sense and left a bad taste in my mouth. Thank God for summer hiatus!

Season 4 - Better in some respects. Really stupid in others. Kurt does an amazing audition and gets a second chance (that he should have had the first time) to get into his school.  I’ll take it.  Blaine, you’re a lying, cheating, selfish sack of shit and I’ve given up hoping you’ll ever improve. Just go away and stop horning in where you don’t belong. Adam Crawford, you’re a cinnamon roll too good for this world, but no way too good for Kurt. :)  I’m not usually a shipper, but you’re forcing me to ship hard.  New Glee Club, your boring clone selves need to step it up and show some originality if you want anyone to like you. Uh, wow, did that nasty Cheerio girl really try to kill the other girl by making her anorexic and totally get away with that with no consequences? Epic fail. Shue, you’re revolting. Oh, Unique. I like you, but why did you leave a star position at Carmel only to be meek about being shoved into the background at McKinley?  Really thought Blaine might get offed in that stink-bomb of a school shooting episode. It would have had emotional resonance for others and retired that character with a shred of dignity. Wasn’t that the point of having people declare Blaine teen angel/Jesus-standin for half the season? But no. Nothing happens and they chuck Becky-used to be cool but now is just super annoying-Jackson under the bus instead. (Also, why did nobody on the New York side even seem to know this headline-making event even happened?) Rachel, taking insensitivity and selfishness to new heights in New York. Why is Kurt suddenly your care-taker and general servant? Blech. Sarah Jessica Parker, completely wasted from great starting potential. Did Sam’s brain fall out in the deep end of the swimming pool and float away? Cause, whoa. Finn? Finn! Pay attention, dude. Cut your losses and go to your classes at Ohio state (or wherever). Burt, thank you for squashing that stupid proposal idea. But where is Adam?  Come back, adorable little cupcake!  Summer hiatus, thank you, I need a break but kinda like where everyone finally ended at the last of this year. This has definite potential.

Season 5 - Dead Finn = sadness. I kind of wish they had just retired him to off screen college somewhere. Wait, what?  God Damn It Writers! You can’t just transplant Finchel’s planned storyline to a totally different couple and expect it to make perfect sense, especially with no work or real character improvement to the horrible hair-gelled menace!  Copy glee club remains boring, and I don’t give a rat’s ass about their wash-rinse-repeat romances or lifeless competition performances. What the heck has happened to the timeline of this show?  Where did Adam go? Oh hey, it’s Demi Lovato and Adam Lambert!  Aww, I really like Elliott. It’s about time Kurt got a genuine friend. Rachel, just go away. I can’t deal with you anymore. Burt has been replaced by a pod-person. Creepy puppets more lifelike than most of their human counterparts by now. One Three Hill, I love you!  But I can already see that this is another great start with soon to be wasted potential when the contracts run out.  Damn it, writers! Don’t put Blaine in NYADA, that makes no sense at all.  If this school was as particular as you claimed, he wouldn’t have even made it to the audition round. Combat Jocks are all hot for Kurt, YESSSS!  Santana, I’ve never liked you because you’re horrid to everyone but you’re finally starting to grow on me a little. Aw, Chris Colfer’s episode plays like old time Glee!  Fun. More, please. Shirley MacLaine gives me the creeps as the old cougar lady. And we’re taking an early hiatus after shedding viewers like snake-skin all season. Can’t say I’m not relieved. I’m determined to see this show through, but my god…  

Season 6 - Only a dozen episodes this year? I can make it.  Ooo, Kurt dumped the albatross and sent him packing. That’s promising.  Rachel’s ego blew up in her face and she’s back in Ohio. Even more promising.  New New Directions, I surprisingly actually like you guys a little, though I liked One Three Hill much better. (And the Apples, whatever happened to those folks?) This could actually end with a bang instead of a whimper!  Aaand, I spoke too soon. Kurt get your cute butt out of Ohio, you can do so much better in New York, preferably single and dating new appreciative men!  Whoa, Sue is full on demented and dangerous this year. Why is she still in a teaching position again? Shue, you’re useless. Get off my screen. Santana previous potential goes right to hell in one fell swoop. Nice briefly knowing you, emotional development. Kurt, I’m serious, go back to NYADA and find whatever locker you left your spine in please. DO NOT take that asshat back for the 8,937th time, please!  He’s not worth it.  You … what …?  Oh my God, he did it, and fucking Dave Karofsky actually helped them along.  *beats head on wall*  No, please tell me everyone isn’t about to bend over backwards to put Rachel back on top of the heap again!  *sigh* That’s it. I’m done. 7 episodes left of this series and I just can’t take it anymore.  The writers-room monkeys have mixed pieces from 10 different puzzles, mashed them into a frame with a mallet, eaten the finished product, shit it into their hands, and tossed it at the few remaining fans still watching through the bars.

And that’s what you (lucky souls) missed on Glee!