#i know they go bad bad places this season bt THIS SCENE!!!!

[ltbelanna]

STATION 19 SEASON 6, EPISODE 9 “Come As You Are”

#station 19 #station19edit #barrett doss #victoria hughes #carlos miranda #theo ruiz #vic x theo #theo x vic #tvedit #reysflight x photoshop #reysflight x gifs #i know they go bad bad places this season bt THIS SCENE!!!! #tv; station 19

[bobsyourdylan]

Okay, so – a few thoughts on Izzy’s death. I’m sure other people have also laid this out, but I haven’t stumbled across it yet, so this is partially for me to get my thoughts organized. For the record, I love Izzy – he fascinated me (in a horrified sort of way) in season 1, and then he grew on me significantly in season 2. What a weird little guy. But also – I’m fine with them killing him off, and also with how they did it, because I think it makes sense for the story. But I know that a lot of people are super upset about his death, and also about the way he died. So, a few semi-coherent thoughts on that: 

Why not a sacrifice play?

This writer’s room is so self-aware, so deliberate about engaging with tropes – there is no possible way that they sat around breaking the story of Izzy’s death and no one said “woah, wouldn’t it be symbolic and gut-wrenching if he sacrificed himself for Ed? Or Stede?” No way. So why didn’t they go that route? 

Izzy’s arc in season 2 has been all about becoming his own man, separate from Ed/Blackbeard. Like – that’s what he’s worked towards, this whole season. That is his growth. It would be insulting to take that away from him at the last minute, and make his death purely about Ed and Stede.

Listen, I love a sacrifice arc as much as the next person. But Izzy’s life isn’t about sacrifice anymore – that’s the whole point of his season 2 arc. He has spent decades sacrificing both himself and Ed to the altar of Blackbeard. No more. 

It also means that Ed and Stede’s mourning doesn’t have to be tinged with the guilt of “he sacrificed himself to save me/my partner.” They can mourn Izzy purely for himself, because he is worth mourning. This, I would argue, is the send-off that Izzy’s character deserves.

Izzy’s death wasn’t accidental on Ricky’s part – it wasn’t a stray bullet.

We see from the scene when the crew is locked up in Spanish Jackie’s that Ricky recognizes Izzy. We know from their conversation that, for Ricky, Izzy is the epitome of piracy – Izzy, not Blackbeard, is the legend.

The thing is – Ed and Stede are both in the scene where Izzy dies (I’m not sure if you can see Stede on screen, but the bts photos show Rhys’ position, on what would be the far right of the shot). Arguably, Stede would have been the easier shot – Ricky wouldn’t have had to complete a full 180-degree turn before he could pull the trigger. So why doesn’t he go for Stede, who abandoned him to the tender mercies of Spanish Jackie in the first place? Or Blackbeard, arguably the greatest/most famous pirate alive, with the possible exception of Zheng, who he’s already targeted? Sure, you could argue that he’d going for Ed here… but I don’t think he is. The shot’s too low to be accidentally aimed for Izzy – it would hit Ed’s knee or something, probably. I think that yes, it’s a panicked shot, not well-aimed at all. But if it’s aimed at anyone, I think it has to be Izzy. And at the very least, the symbolism of it is very much not accidental.

For probably the first time since they created Blackbeard, Izzy isn’t just a stand-in for Ed. His significance is his own in this scene – in all of his interactions with Ricky. He’s not targeted because he’s Blackbeard’s first mate (why go for the first mate when you could go for Blackbeard?). He’s targeted because he’s Izzy Hands – because he is significant, powerful, famous, respected in and of himself.

And more than that – this is an arc about the end of piracy. And Izzy Hands is piracy – the show has been telling us from the beginning that piracy is a mixed bag, full of the good and the bad, and Izzy represents that  – represents both the toxic, violent side of piracy, and the side of piracy that he grows into, that he explains to Ricky – piracy as family, home, belonging. Izzy dies, and it hurts, because not only is he a great character, but he represents in one person all of the complicated, hilarious, heartbreakin, violent, loving aspects of piracy – and of the show. But it is so, so important that Izzy dies as himself – not as a symbol or shield of Ed, or Stede, or Blackbeard. Not even as a symbol of piracy, but instead as the active embodiment of piracy – as something/someone who grows, changes, ends. Not as static or passive, but as better than when we first met him, as transformed as Buttons in his own way. 

Izzy’s death sets up a possible revenge arc:

We know that everything in this show ties back to the main relationship between Ed and Stede. Izzy’s death is, I think, significant on its own, for him as a character – but it is also, by necessity, significant to Ed and Stede’s relationship. Namely – it sets up an interesting conflict for season 3 re: a potential revenge arc for Ed. 

Now, clearly they’ve carefully ended season 2 on a relatively high note in case we don’t get a season 3. But we know they’re gonna be terrible at running an inn, and we know there’s unfinished business with Ricky. Ed’s current strategy of dealing with everything that’s happened seems to be “I don’t want to be a pirate, get me out of here” – which, while fair enough, won’t last, because that’s the nature of unfinished business. So, at some point, Ed and Stede are going to need to confront Ricky again. And, if the writers decide to lean into the revenge arc, I’d say the odds are pretty high that, when Ed lays eyes on Ricky again, we get a flashback to Izzy’s death. 

And this sets us up for a pivotal, and necessary, moment in Ed’s character arc: when confronted with pain, loss, negative emotion in general – can Ed deal with it without losing himself? Ed needs a balance between the Kraken, Blackbeard, and Edward, and we see at the end of season 1 and beginning of season 2 how challenging that balance is for him to find, especially when confronted with loss or pain. We can see Ed working towards that balance when he’s interacting with Low – Low’s taunts don’t push Ed to violence, but instead get to Stede. But comparatively, Izzy’s loss is a much greater blow, and at some point, Ed is going to need to confront that.

Plus – we know the writing team are thinking of Izzy’s death at least partially in terms of the mentor/mentee arc, which often confronts the question of revenge – after the mentor’s death, the mentee is required to choose on their own how to go on, what kind of person they want to be. And this often requires a confrontation with both the mentor’s loss and a decision about how far they want to take their desire for revenge.

Why not a cooler death?

Okay — I get this criticism. I do. Izzy is an amazing fighter, we all love that about him. And you can keep most of the above symbolism and still have him die fighting two dozen British soldiers. 

But — again — we are back to the root of this show: Ed and Stede. 

Izzy has two deaths this season: one in the premiere, one in the finale. The first is Stede’s fantasy. Cool swordfight, and Stede triumphs, obviously — but the premise of the fight is that Izzy’s a great swordsman and Stede bests him because now Stede’s a great pirate. This is Stede’s ideal pirate fantasy. 

But Izzy’s actual death is not like this. It is messy and inelegant and painful and no one gets any glory from it at all and Ed is crying with Izzy dying in his arms, and Stede wants to help, goes for bandages, but he doesn’t know what to do and it’s not enough anyways — And this is not a fantasy anymore. This is piracy, and this is the piracy that Ed wants to escape. And it’s important that Stede sees this, sees what Ed is done with. 

And it’s also important that Stede tries to save Izzy. Izzy isn’t just a symbolic barrier between Stede and Ed anymore, to be sacrificed to Stede’s reunion fantasy. He’s his own person, with his own death, and Izzy has grown, yes, but so has Stede.

And by using Izzy’s death to make this point, we both get Stede learning the reality of piracy and growing beyond his fantasy, and the glorious fantasy fight kiss i love you reunion between Ed and Stede (if Ed and Stede had reunited by fighting off dozens of British soldiers, but Izzy had died doing the same, the dissonance would have messed with both the death and the reunion, because we the audience wouldn’t be able to distinguish between the fantasy and reality worlds). And getting both of these is the premise of the show — fantasy and reality both. 

And sure — you can be mad that the show used Izzy in this way. But that is the show’s premise — everything is in service of the protagonists and their relationship. This is not a surprise— it’s been openly talked about since day 1. 

You don’t have to like what the writers did. You don’t have to agree that it was the correct choice. But they have proven to us, time and time again over the last year, that they are self-aware and careful with this show that they know we love so much. So we absolutely owe it, to them and to ourselves, to ask why they made a choice that not everyone may agree with. What is the payoff? Why did they decide to do this thing that they knew would upset fans? Because we know it’s not that they hate us. So what is it? You don’t have to agree that the payoff is worth it. But do the writers, and the show, and yourself the favor of recognizing that there is a payoff here.

#screaming into the void #as someone who studies and teaches literary analysis for a living #i am begging everyone to please at least try to think through the reasons for this arc #ofmd #ofmd s2 #ofmd s2 spoilers #the izcourse #ofmd s2 meta #ofmd meta #our flag means death #our flag means death s2 #i’m gonna regret getting involved and i know it #but i just had to get this off my chest

[morallyinept]

Shoot: Esquire Spain, November 2019

Photographer: JuanKR

Interviewer: Ana Trasobares

Grooming: Kristen Ingersoll

Full interview, behind the scenes, outtakes & shoot photographs below. 👇🏻

Jett's Pedro's Shoots Masterlist

• Cover shot and original images used in the magazine.

• Outtakes and behind the scenes images.

Behind the scenes shots of Pedro trying on outfits by Kristin Ingersoll:

• BTS Video

• Full Interview translated from Spanish

It’s a splendid day in Beverly Hills, but even more when Pedro Pascal walks through the door.

The protagonist of Narcos and in some chapters of Game of Thrones, is one of those guys who just shows up and gives off a good vibe. And there’s no pretending. Hours go by and not only does he not disappoint, but he goes on to become more: nice, kind, affectionate, a joker - very Latin and very normal.

This meeting in Los Angeles coincides with the premiere of his latest work, The Mandalorian, the most anticipated series by the amount of followers that the Star Wars universe drags. On November 12, Disney+ will launch its streaming platform in the US, Canada and the Netherlands and, among its offering, the first season of this series. While in Spain we will have to wait until March 31.

We spoke on the phone with its protagonist.

Who is the Mandalorian? 

He is a lone gunslinger who lives adventures on the edge of the galaxy, one of those that appears in the famous Star Wars canteen where some play music, others play cards, others make or end a deal… all seem to live outside of the law.

Why have you been so excited to star in this series?

When the creator and director, Jon Favreau, called me, I was really crazy because I, like millions of children, have grown up admiring the Star Wars universe. George Lucas is an icon of our culture, he belongs to our happiest memories, so it didn’t take me half a second to say yes.

What was the first movie you saw in the saga?

I saw the first 3 installments in a movie theater in San Antonio, Texas, when I was very young. My father was a doctor and a die-hard movie buff. He took us to the movies three times a week.

Is that why you became an actor?

Sure, because of him [laughs]. He got me the idea by taking me so much to the movies. I must have been 3 the first time I went. Normal for those images to stay with me, right?

Listening to an actor so beloved in Spain on the other end of the phone is sometimes strange, but other times feels familiar. He speaks Spanish fluently, with some Latin expressions and others in English, but they all come from his soul, because he is one of those who has grown up between the two worlds.

His family left Chile when he wasn’t even a one year old, fleeing from the Pinochet dictatorship. Denmark was their first destination as political refugees, and the US was the country which later welcomed them and saw them grow. Texas, New York, Madrid, Los Angeles, Bogotá, Mexico City, London, Santiago de Chile… all places he likes to call as home.

With your resume and the current situation around you, it is impossible not to wonder about political refugees in general and the Trump wall in particular?

We are all afraid and anxious about the actions that Trump is taking. One tries to understand the historical and political context that we live in, but the only thing that is clear to us is that we're hoping that these are the last steps of a fascist, and the only thing he sells us is fear and lies. What is happening economically and culturally, that we have to live these extremes? We should all have the same rights because we all have the same needs.

How would you define Trump?

If ego were an image that would be Trump. This is their politics inside and outside of the US, and it's very disheartening not knowing yet who will win, the good guys or the bad guys. How am I going to feel safe with a person who doesn’t want to help others when they have the power to do so?

Do you think he will last long in power?

I don’t know, nor are the limits or the ethics of politics that should maintain the balance in society very clear. It scares me to see the truth die, because the truth is worth less every day. This is why we are so lost.

Pedro Pascal doesn't want to continue talking about politics. He says he would understand perfectly if someone told him that he was getting where they were not called, so we changed third.

As the protagonist of Narcos, let’s talk about drugs. In Europe, many think that legalizing them would end drug trafficking. Do you agree?

Drugs are a recurring theme for fiction because they portray a society, culture and intrigue that occurs around them because they are illegal.

And what do you think?

…What can I tell you, since my genes are of very liberal and left-wing blood, okay?

And he laughs. Caught the hint, there is no choice but to talk about cinema and after climate change. 

Is the power of the Latin entertainment sector in the US appear to be true?

Yes, because the Latino public is getting better and better, so the Latin marketing and industry is also getting very strong. In this sense, Hollywood and cinema are lagging behind and should adapt to the new times, as streaming platforms do. These new avenues of entertainment do reflect reality by telling stories that represent the Latino public. After all, it's just another business.

How do you imagine the planet in 2050, if we continue to take care of it so little?

What scientists have been spreading for years must be put into practice. It is the least we can do if we want to save our home for future generations. It is also important that governments and those in power enforce these rules. As long as no action is taken, we will continue to oscillate between fear and hope.

Are you an activist?

My contribution, in addition to the small and necessary daily gestures, is not having children [laughs] … 

Seriously? There is a current that encourages not having offspring so as not to end the planet’s resources. You are one of them?

[More laughter]… Well, I don’t agree with applying measures to control the birth rate because having a child is a very emotional need, so I fully understand parents because, I am Uncle Pedro, by the way. I have ten nephews and I assure you that without them I could not live. If we do things well, it is positive that people can continue to have families…

And he starts laughing as he shares a reflection, “pathetic”, as he says: “As I'm still single and childless, I can afford to drink water from a plastic bottle without feeling horrible, right?” 

Looking forward to seeing him in The Mandalorian and next June in theaters in Wonder Woman 1984, we say goodbye to Pascal with one last question that we hope will bring you good proposals.

Pedro, when are you coming to work in Spain? 

Please, I’m looking forward to being invited! Put it in big letters, that I would love to work in Spain! As soon as I can, I will escape and come to see you.

Jett's Pedro's Shoots Masterlist

#pedro pascal #pedro pascal magazine #pedro pascal photo shoot #pedro pascal photos #pedro pascal words #jose pedro balmaceda pascal

[nowmemoriees]

NO, THEY DID NOT FORGET ABOUT WILL'S BIRTHDAY....

- birthday gate analysis

as we know, Mike arrived at California on March 22, 1986. As it was mentioned in season 2, this date is supposed to be Will's birthday.

People pointed this out, saying that Will was mad at the Rink O' Mania because everyone forgot about his birthday. But the Duffers denied it and said it was a production mistake and that it would be fixed. (They forgot, but not the characters)

but some days after that, via twitter, the stranger writers account said that no scenes have been and would ever be edited on the show.

Plus, they have already made some references to forgotten birthdays before...

like, the duffers were insane for this one

-> early birthday reference robin & vickie

so, a very popular theory (which I agree with) says that, Vecna took away this memory from Will (his birthday date, which Joyce has mentioned), and all the other memories that were mentioned to him during his posession (rainbow ship, mike talking about the first day they met, etc).

It would make so much sense knowing that Will is the key of everything this next season. He's the main target now. Vecna wants him.

Check -> will byers has powers theory

Even if that's not the case, there's something we know for sure. Will's birthday day is coming back in season 5!

As we know, there's a great possibility that Will is going to relive the Rink O'Mania events in the first episode of season 5.

He may probably be in a trance or a vision where he is trapped again in a bad memory. In this case, the Rink O' Mania one. We know this because Noah recorded some scenes there using his finale outfit.

the first one is his finale outfit and the second one is his March 22nd's one. We haven't seen him at the Roller Rink with any other outfit than his blue shirt.

But he was there with his final outfit!

"but actors were still spending time in other sets even if they were not in those scenes". Yeah, that's a good point, but not this time. The Roller Rink has been rented for over a month for this.

You would not rent the place so much time just to film 10 minutes of the show there.

We also had this spoiler! (noah's typical behavior)

He was wearing a harness under his finale outfit, but we haven't seen any scene that requires one (yet).

Still hesitating about Will having a vision? Then what was Lonnie's actor doing in season 4's production BTS? (i'm afraid this bit*h is also part of Will's bad memories :c)

Finally, the final scene script also revealed that s5 continues right where season 4 has been left. Something will interrupt the scene and I may have and idea of what is...

-> another theory related to this, is Mike's unsent letter about Will's birthday?

#stranger things #st4 #will byers #stranger things 5 #birthday gate #theories analysis

[mattbegins]

My 911 7x05/7B predictions

- Eddie and Marisol break up (she’s only had one line and one appearance in the last four episodes and I find it kind of ooc that the reasons Eddie didn’t want to be with Ana wouldn’t also apply to Marisol, there’s been such little build up or even scenes with them to suggest otherwise. That might change this season, but we haven’t seen a successful relationship launched between a recurring character and a newly introduced character since Michael and David (I don’t count madney because even though Maddie was new they’re both mains), so I don’t know how they’d do this for Eddie and Marisol without it being rushed and kind of clumsy)

- Buck and Tommy will have a good run but I don’t think they’ll last to the end of the season. Tim Minear said as much himself and described bucktommy as an important but “sort of the entry-level relationship” as Buck begins to understand his sexuality, but because of Tommy’s redemption arc and the clear joy Buck has about their relationship I don’t think they’ll end because of something bad between them. I’d hope it would either be that Tommy has to move due to some sort of career advancement, or someone realizes feelings between Buck and Eddie and Tommy doesn’t want to be a replacement, and not them killing him off. With that in mind, my genuine theory is that buddie would be what ends bucktommy because Minear hasn’t completed the rest of the season yet and has repeatedly expressed concerns about making sure he doesn’t create anything that messes with ratings and views, so if anything he may have been testing the waters with bucktommy to pave the way for buddie if it was received well- which it was. Whatever it is, I don’t think it’ll happen off-screen like with Natalia.

- There’s going to be some drama or angst surrounding Hen and Karen’s baby (they really deserve a break but they never seem to get one when it comes to their kids and I’m nervous, but they’ll get a lot of support from Chim and Maddie especially and I can see the relationship between these sets of parents getting even stronger)

- The silly Jinx/Cursed type episode this season will involve Chimney’s bachelor party (might be There Goes the Groom) as the 118 boys stumble into some wild shenanigans. For anyone who’s seen Psych 3x04 and 6x02 and/or remembers 911 2x15 Ocean’s 9-1-1, THAT is the kind of chaos I’m looking for where maybe they accidentally get involved in some kind of nonsense and wind up getting interrogated by Athena or get drunk/dosed and have to retrace everything that happened that night (bonus points for the trope of something happening between Eddie and Buck during that time because it would be hilarious timing but honestly not a bad way to get the ball rolling). Anyway, this would explain the ruined suits in the bts photos and I honestly see them just showing up to the wedding all messy and disheveled like John Watson in Game of Shadows and Maddie being shocked but not surprised despite having made them promise nothing will go wrong or something.

- Christopher’s current storyline arc is going to get a wholesome resolution closer to the end of the season as he works through his feelings and trauma from his mom’s death, and I think/hope Eddie and Buck will get to share a proud co-parent moment seeing him go off to a school dance or a date and knowing that he’s in a better place than he was at the beginning. The scene with Shannon’s letter was so beautiful but I think this narrative still hasn’t come full circle yet because we haven’t seen it change his dating behavior, he just put the photo back up, and I think the resolution really has to involve all three of them as a family (in whichever sense that ends up being).

- Whatever grand emergency features in the season finale, I don’t think it will involve the traumatic injury of a main character, I think it’ll be a really personal and emotional type of situation rather than something physical. The three episode premier was so intense and ongoing that I have a sense they might follow the pattern of s3 and s5 which each had a major physically endangering episode in the middle (Fallout and Brawl in Cell Block 9-1-1) and then scattered large emergencies near the end with a finale that provided a lot of closure and personal resolutions for character struggles to carry over into s8. This might be the thing with Chris, or possibly more personal growth for Buck, but I think it has to be Eddie, Chris, or Buck because they have the most loose ends right now. The middle emergency has a good chance of being Ravi if they go with him getting the Albert treatment. Regardless, the hype for the show since being taken up by ABC has been huge so I think the finale will still have some sort of massive implication that’ll hook people in for the next season.

- Bonus minor prediction: Buck and Tommy cross paths at an emergency because I think that would be cute

#911 abc #s7 predictions #these are just my thoughts okay #evan buckley #eddie diaz #tommy kinard #christopher diaz #hen wilson #karen wilson #bobby nash #athena grant #chimney han #maddie buckley #ravi panikkar

[hillerska-official]

What we know so far about YR2

And what we can guess at. If I’ve left anything out please let me know!

The wall: In May, a Netflix ad got put up in Stockholm. For one day, it just said “spoiler alert,” and it caught attention cause Edvin posted a picture with it. Then they added underneath that “Vi ses i kväll” (”see you tonight” in English). So we all sat around and got our hopes up, but then nothing happened so the general conclusion became that it actually was just a Netflix ad. Now it’s actually been updated though, and revealed the release of YR2 (November!!!). Anyways, since it turned out that the wall WAS a yr wall, “vi ses i kväll” might be worth returning to as something regarding s2.

(EDIT- NEW INFO!!!!) It will be released November 1st! The first 4 minutes of the season are available now, here!

Promo stills: The stills that came out on Thursday are the biggest thing we have, you can see them yourself here, but in terms of revealing info there isn’t a ton that’s obvious. Felice curly hair arc confirmed and we love that for her, and we see expected interactions (Sara and August story continues, Sara and the manor house girls hang out, Simon and Wille have various interactions + presumably repair their relationship enough to at least be around each other and friendly. Very friendly (see rowing picture), and Wille spends some time with his parents).

New character: There is a new actor on the show, you may have seen him referred to as ‘Lars’ but his name is actually reportedly Marcus. He is played by Tommy Wättring. We don’t know who this character is but a going theory is that he’ll have some connection to Alexander, in part due to casting criteria. See @levok talk about him in detail here, but for the love of god leave them alone about the love triangle business lmao. (edit5 new info) According to this tweet, his parents rent the stables at Hillerska.

There was also a casting call for a scene at a pizza place, which is a new addition since last season, possibly something in town. (edit from @piebingo) There was another call for people with cameras, possibly for a scene with paparazzi. (edit2 from @missmeganlee) "There was also a casting call for a older woman who can work with horses I believe"

(edit6-new info) This season will be darker than season one, and Wille is in a very bad place.

BTS: There have been a couple of behind the scenes pictures and videos shared by various crew members:

 This video, which confirms (given the scene makes the cut): the return of the football field, at night, with SNOW!!!! (yay snow!)

 This video, which doesn’t really confirm anything in particular, but is very cute and I think will be a good scene. It’s location tag is the place they use for Hillerska.

This picture, which was quickly deleted + said to be nothing (lol), but it’s clear from their clothes and the set that it was actually for the same scene as one of the stills we got, as the linked post shows. One thing to note about this is that Edvin and Omar are the only actors on the set in this photo, while the still shows a full classroom, so this seems like it may be a significant Wilmon scene, needing detailed direction, or maybe one that starts/ends without others around.

(edit3 from anon) This video which shows some type of costume/theme party. I haven't seen anyone able to really parse what exactly is going on here :/

(edit4 from @melodrqmas) A picture of Edvin and Malte shooting at something (clay pigeons).

(edit from @heartbreakprincewille) this picture which indicates that Sara will probably be moving into manor house, and that the school may be celebrating its anniversary. And this one, which doesnt look like a setting we've seen before, if I remember correctly.

(edit - new info) this picture of a Wilmon hug!!!!! They appear to be wearing their uniforms and are in a hallway at school.

This note about the coloring/lighting. It doesn’t have a great deal of detail to be discerned, but you can find my post analyzing it in (probably too much) depth here.

Again please let me know if I’ve forgotten/missed anything and I will add it with (edit# and your url), as well as if there are any ppl/posts I should credit or link here! Also, thank you to @piebingo for sending me the stuff that I wasn’t able to track down myself!

#young royals #yr2 #yr2 spoilers #yr2 prediction

[londonspirit]

Well then...

It's been two weeks since the final episode (HOW?) and i have finally sorted my thoughts enough to write little about it (mainly for myself - as always).

First of: I fucking LOVED it!!! Yes, it wasn't perfect but that's only the studios fault and nobody else's.

(although I do have a few issues with the editing of especially the last episode: there's too many things wrong to ignore it. There's tiny bits not lining up before which is fine because one can overlook them; Ed going in for the kiss at the beach from the left and the close up is from the right, things like that. In the last epi there's too much of that: the crew behind them when Izzy dies, that's just bad editing; although once again, I'm pretty sure that's the studio's fault, if they could've done it like they wanted to, there would've been reshoots for it *sighs* It's a shame, because that scene is beautiful otherwise; sad as hell but incredibly well done. Taika and Con are really going for it, and it's amazing!)

Edit: knowing now that they cut FORTY fucking % I only keep my 'critics' because this is mainly for me! Knowing that, I am even more in awe about what they managed to make with that!!! They are all fucking MAGICAL for making this show as beautiful and amazing as they did!!!! And I really hope ONE DAY we can get a Director's Cut or something that's gonna make it all more smooth and just that more coherent, just like DJ would've wanted it to look!!!

Anyhow, i loved it. Im so happy to now have 8 more episode to obsess over again, to rewatch whenever I want and revel in the fucking MAGIC they gave us! The writers have really outdone themselves this season! It's tight and fast-paced but it still works fantastically well!

Personally, I've never been more in love with Taika - his acting was outstanding this season!!! Absolutely NO notes on that!! That man's soo fucking talented that whenever he says otherwise I wanna smack him over the head and shake him. I REALLY hope he does more of this because it was insanely good and I want more. (also: he's never looked more gorgeous!! the HAIR! the BEARD! the fucking EYES!!! GUH!! I wanna give him all the awards for this role alone but that's just me!!! So yeah, much much love for him!!) Same goes for Rhys - they're both soo fucking good together, and I cannot wait for them to do more drama because they'd fucking smash it! And not to forget the rest of the cast: every single one gave their absolutely best and I loved every single second of it!!!

What else? The fucking LOCATIONS!! God, I've always wanted to go to AoNZ but this season made me so much more needy!!! (not happening anytime soon but yeah, ONE DAY!!). Sooo stunning, sooo damn beautiful!! GUH!!!

Also: Guest stars!!! First and foremost: FAMILY!! Say what you want about that, but I fucking LOVE when shows do that!!! Taika's kids made me squeal soo much in the BTS vids already, but having DJ's wife in it as well??? With a rather substantial role? And her absolutely smashing it?! Totally made that episode even more amazing!!!

VERY much in love with Ruibo!!! Her Queen was incredible and I loved every second she was on screen!! Her character was so nuanced and wonderful and perfectly balanced. I REALLY hope we can get her back for a 3rd season - she fucking rocked it!!!

And we got ALL THE KISSES!!! I mean, I was hoping to get some more, and something a little more passionate than in S1 (don't get me wrong, I still love that one but yeah...) And we got soo many!! And soo many wonderful ones!!! And no I can't pick a fav: I love them all. The moonlight one had me losing my shit all over the place (at work no less) - the callbacks, Ed's fucking EYES and Stede's shy glances!! GUH, that was just soo delicious!!! The Calypso one was just hot as hell and I may have cursed them for not making that longer!! And the beach one was just utter perfection! Their faces, their smiles, Ed's 'I love you' still makes my stomach all gooey!!!

And then there's Izzy. *sighs* My little angry raccoon man. Our indestructible little fucker. Con motherfucking O'Neill. UGH!! I hated him (Izzy, not Con) all the way through S1! There was not one redeeming feature on that bastard. BUT... when you've read all the Ed/Stede fics and you start to look for something new and then find some beautifully written Izzy/Roach ones and then start to like him and eventually read more and then end up reading (and writing) some SteddyHands and you're like 'yeah, I can see it now'. It also helped A LOT that Con's such a darling man and so real for it all, and you have too much time to fall in love with him after all... So naturally you start to like S2!Izzy. And then you start to love him, and you fucking ADORE the SASSINESS he's got this season. (Still not over the morning after Izzy - the SASS was through the fucking roof!!!) AND THEN THEY LET HIM SING!!!! DEAR GOD!!! I would've loved for a full on musical episode (I mean, that talent show would've been such a GREAT opportunity for that!) The ENTIRE cast is freakishly talented and they all could've pulled that off. So naturally I was VERY HAPPY that at least they let Izzy sing!!! I'm still not over that!! (And Im highly amused that even some of the crew had no idea that he could do that!!! I mean... he got a fucking OLIVIER award to prove it!!!) (but then again, I spend way too much time on YT to find his stuff so that's probably just me!) AND DID HE DELIVER!!! The whole party bit, with the make-up and the shyness at first and then just BURSTING it out was just sooo fucking beautiful!!! Every damn frame of that was a bloody masterpiece and I'd KILL for the bits they cut - I'd pay a very good price for a DVD with ALL the deleted bits because I KNOW that DJ had to tighten that baby down massively!!! I NEED THAT!!! *exhales*

So yeah, S2 made the impossible possible and made me LOVE Izzy fucking Hands! Which im certain was their plan all along - otherwise his death wouldn't have been this devastating!!! Which is fucking WAS!! I cried at work (thankfully there was nobody there!)! And im still not over it!! I totally understand WHY they did it. Doesn't mean it doesn't still hurt. (here the strange editing sort of took away from the PAIN of it all a bit but if you concentrate on Ed and Iz it can be ignored).

*sighs* I'm just so sad that some people went and attacked our beautiful writers like they did. I know it's only a small part of an otherwise amazing fandom but I HATE that they're soo fucking loud - i can only hope DJ and his writers know that most people love what they did! (and NO, I do NOT wanna discuss it. you can be sad, yes, and you can be mad too but you do NOT go and shit-talk the writers or send them death threats - that's an absolute no-go! And no, in a show that's all around queer and has a lot of disabled character, it's not homophobic or ableist - it IS after all just a tv show. If YOU put too much of your own wants into it, that's on YOU! Ugh, sorry, didn't want to get into this but it makes me soo mad!!!) Once again, I'm very glad that I follow only the right people, no need to block or unfollow anyone on here or on Twitter! *blows kisses*

So yeah, despite some small flaws and scenes I KNOW have been cut, I love the second season just as much (if not more) than the 1st one. I can only hope that the studios decide to let DJ finish it. Im so happy with what we got - fanfiction can totally work with that. But I would love to see more Ed and Stede (trying and probably failing) to run their Inn, see the crew of the Revenge get into insane adventures, maybe even meet some more new characters (JC and BM still need to make a cameo!) - there's still soo much story to tell and I would LOVE to actually SEE it on screen!!!

I also would LOVE for the cast and crew to be able to finally talk about it, promote it, share stories and pictures and everything during a 3rd (and last) wave of MADNESS surrounding the show. Everyone deserves to bask in the love we have for them and our show. S1 had barely any promo. S2 aired during a strike. S3 could make up for all of that and get cast and crew the love, recognition and adoration they soo very much deserve!!!

#our flag means death season 2 #ofmd s2 #our flag means death #ofmd #personal #just something for myself to read in a few years #loving S2 even more now!!! and i will defend it until my very last breath!!!

[paperstorm]

i understand that if you really convinced yourself of something you start seeing "clues" everywhere without being able to look at those "clues" neutrally. happens to everyone doesn't it? and if those rumours about sierra end up being true forget everything i said and tell me "i told you" and it's alright but i looked a bit through the things people took as evidence for sierra leaving and.. i don't see it?

i did some research and the summary and short version basically is: there are no bts pictures of sierra, sierra hasn't been seen on set in any of the casts posts and gina made a post for her birthday wishing her well for the future

neutral explanations: it seems like so far the focus is more on rescues and fire/ems stuff rather than family/relationship stuff. obviously sierra won't be on set for those. it's similar to rafael. besides the one pic from his trailer that he shared we haven't seen him either. we only know tarlos scenes are happening bc ronen talked about it at the convention but press season hasn't started yet so there is no place for sierra to talk about the show. and she's never been big on social media documenting everything she does so she wouldn't put out random statements or teasers about grace's storyline in the new season on there. in the past she would post a pic from her trailer every once in a while but she never really shared stuff while filming so that's not new. also grace isn't in all the episodes so my neutral explanation is she literally just hasn't been on set much and hasn't had any scenes with the others yet. and if they're filming grace/judd stuff then jim isn't sharing anything either for obvious reasons. (btw there are more recent posts about grace/judd on the official ls account than there are about tarlos for which it has almost been a year since the last post)

and i read gina's birthday post as genuine and normal birthday wishes. celebrating the person and wishing them well in life. that's what you do isn't it? sierra also commented on the post and said she was excited to see everyone at her party which again i am just going to put under the "she hasn't been on set much sharing scenes with the others yet" file.

something else i've seen a while ago that i just remembered was someone said that filming started and sierra still had braids and grace doesn't have braids so she isn't filming. which? gina had so many different hair styles as tommy why can't grace have another hairstyle in the new season as well? but again even if it is just sierra's hairstyle then i am going to add that to the "she hasn't been on set yet" file.

so as i said i fully understand spiralling. been there - done that. and it's what happens in fandom spaces isn't it? looking for little crumbs and drawing conclusions. but at this point i think people are mainly stressing other fans unnecessarily by creating these rumours. and again: if they turn out right forget everything i said and i'll apologise. but i'd wait for official statements or other proof that sierra is or isn't part of the new season. ya'll are giving yourself ulcers otherwise.

Yes all of this! I understand speculation is natural especially when we've all gone so long without any information but it's just bad science to draw a conclusion based on a lack of information or to find patterns out of gaps that you think should be filled. Nobody would accept a hypothesis proved by 'well it can't be disproven.' I see no reason at all to suggest Grace won't be in season 5 other than fans missing their fave and spiralling.

#911ls asks #911 lone star spoilers

[thebiggerbear]

where all the dreamers go - Beau x Cassie OS

A/N: Full transparency, I had not seen season 2 (when writing this), only the first & the latest one (up to halfway). I'm taking these guys out for a spin or a test drive really so I hope this isn't too bad. I got this idea when seeing the bts shots of Jensen and Kylie shooting a talking scene outside of Dewell & Hoyt a while back. I'm pretty sure that the show is having this season's story unfold over a few days' time but for the sake of this one shot, I extended the time between events somewhat. I do love Cassie and Jenny's friendship but after the last episode, I had to explore this idea more fully. I listened to Better Let Somebody Love You by Modern West while writing this. An odd choice, I know, but it got stuck in my brain and wouldn't let me go. A huge thank you to my beta, Em. They made this legible from what it originally was. <3

Feedback and reblogs are much appreciated. 😊

You can also read on AO3

<-->

Cassie was just hanging up the phone when she heard the front door to the Dewell & Hoyt office open. She glanced up in time to see Beau walking through, an empty casserole dish in hand. She rolled her eyes good-naturedly and shook her head, getting to her feet. Denise was still cooking for a grown man; the older woman’s little crush was fast becoming just downright embarrassing. She made a mental note to talk to Denise about it later.

Not that Cassie didn’t like Beau — it was quite the opposite. Truth be told, he had become one of her favorite people as of late, and it was all thanks to the many nights at his place where they had started out with movies and drinks, which then morphed into deep conversations and comfortable silences around the fire pit Beau had set up a decent distance away from his trailer. As it turns out, he could be very chatty and, while it sometimes annoyed Jenny to no end, Cassie actually found it endearing. He talked frequently about his daughter, about the life he’d had back in Texas, about his days working up to where he was now, about his first six months in Montana, even about his brother and what had happened there. The more he talked the more she listened, and after a while, she found herself content to just sit and listen to him talk about any subject he wanted to discuss or any story he wanted to tell. He could talk about the trout he kept promising to take her fishing for just as soon as he had a decent day off and she would be just as interested to hear it. She liked hearing his thoughts, his perspective and experiences, and she enjoyed hearing about the things that were most important to him; likewise, he always gave her the same rapt attention when she was the one speaking, whether that be about a case she was working on or what her son had done in school that week or reliving memories of her childhood. No matter how long they talked, no matter how repetitive the topics might get once in a while, Cassie didn’t mind them, and that was something new for her. Aside from Cody and her friendship with Jenny, she had never felt this way about so much talking. Deep down, she knew Beau Arlen was someone special and she was honored that he trusted her not only with his friendship but also himself. 

And if Cassie were honest (and she was nearly all the time), she had come to rely on having the newest sheriff in town as a good friend that she could go to with anything she needed. Almost like the friendship and partnership she had with Jenny…almost. 

There were definitely some differences between the native Texan and her favorite blonde. She found herself opening up to Beau as much as she had with Jenny, and as of late, even more so. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Jenny—she trusted her best friend with her life—but she and Beau shared an extra link that she and Jenny just didn’t have. This was surprising because she and Jenny had both lost people, but the latter downright refused to attend a grief counseling meeting, insisting that she could grieve on her own well enough, but like the good friend she was, she supported Cassie going if that’s what Cassie truly wanted.

Funnily enough, Cassie got Beau to attend his first meeting a couple of months or so ago. He hadn’t been crazy about it but when Cassie had started to confide in him just how much they helped her after losing Andrew, Cody, and her dad, Beau thought it over and surprised her by meeting her one afternoon outside in the parking lot where they had first met.

Of course, he had made his usual corny jokes and played up their usual banter, but when she put her hand on his arm and smiled reassuringly at him, telling him it would be okay and grasping his wrist to tug him along after her, he had followed her inside despite any uncertainty he might have been feeling. Beau had even gently removed himself from her grip, making her brow furrow as she worried maybe she had overstepped, until he took her hand in his and told her to lead the way, giving her a nervous smile. Cassie had frozen for a moment, staring at their hands and wondering if she might get sick right there in front of him with how much her stomach seemed to dance when she felt his warm yet rough skin against hers, but she forced the feeling down when she noticed his smile start to fade and could feel him starting to pull away. She instead gave him an encouraging smile, tightened her grip on him to keep him from leaving, and did indeed lead the way into the room. As they listened to the others speak, when one member tearfully spoke about losing her brother to an overdose, Beau’s hand once again managed to find hers. When Cassie noticed his gaze had wandered to the floor, his blank expression indicating that he was obviously lost in a sea of bad memories, she gently stroked his hand with her thumb.When they asked if anyone else would like to share before the meeting had come to a close, she glanced over at him but he kept his eyes forward while the people around them were looking in his direction. Right before the counselor was about to address him, Cassie raised her free hand. Beau turned wide eyes on her, the worry plain as day on his face. She could feel his heartbeat start to race from where one of her fingers rested near his wrist.

Cassie squeezed his hand once more and when all eyes were on her, she began to talk about her dad. Most of the people in the group knew her story from when she had attended before, but this time she spoke about how hard some days still were for her and her son. However, she also made it a point to mention how grateful she was for the group and for certain friends she had who made things a little easier along the way. As she continued to talk, she could feel Beau’s eyes on her along with everyone else’s. When she was finished speaking and the meeting had adjourned, Beau gave her a gentle smile and a grateful nod.

He opened his mouth to say something when he heard “Sheriff” being called. He whipped his head around and released her hand, clearing his throat and standing to greet the older man who was making his way towards them. Cassie didn’t let that bother her; she understood. It was a small town and no matter how they might try to explain that the touch had only been one of comfort between friends and nothing more, the busybodies in Helena would spin the tale however they wanted. 

So she hadn’t been surprised when Jenny coyly asked her about it a few weeks later. Well, coy would be a generous word; it had been obvious to Cassie for a while now that her best friend was into her other best friend. Though Jenny did her damndest to deny it, anyone within a two foot radius could tell just how badly the blonde had it for the new sheriff in town, and Cassie could hardly blame her; Beau wasn’t too hard on the eyes and he had a heart of gold underneath that badge of his. He was a tall glass of refreshing water in a town where both women had sampled the local well of the male species more than enough times to know there was something missing from the grand populace. Who knew that it would turn out to be a certain single father from Houston that had been the key ingredient to spice things up in this small town?

One thing Cassie was sure of: Jenny always got her man—in their line of work and outside of it. Cassie had watched the interaction between her two friends carefully and while she had a harder time gauging just where Beau’s thoughts fell in this whole thing, she told herself it was only a matter of time before the sheriff and undersheriff became something more than just a crime-solving duo. 

So when Jenny asked her about the rumored hand holding between the new sheriff and the infamous PI at the weekly grief support meeting, Cassie made sure to play it off and reassure her old partner that nothing was happening between her and Beau: they were just friends. She hinted that Jenny was clear to pursue that route should she choose to (which, of course, Jenny then denied she had any interest in doing so, trying to hide the obvious relief that saturated her expression upon Cassie’s words). She didn’t say it then, but Cassie had no interest in repeating the past; Jenny meant too much to her for anything like that to play out again, and even if she did feel slight disappointment when watching Jenny and Beau tease each other, seeing Beau’s wide grin directed at the other woman while said woman gave him that smile, she ignored it and told herself that she was happy for the both of them. They had been through so much and she only wanted their happiness, and if that happiness meant each other then she was all for it. This translated to calling it an early night when she, Jenny, and Beau were about to bunk in for a movie, as well as ignoring the sinking feeling in her stomach at leaving the two of them alone at his trailer and telling herself that Beau’s obvious disappointment had been nothing more than a polite and friendly gesture.

Cassie never asked what happened after she left and neither Beau nor Jenny offered the story, though she didn’t miss the looks exchanged between the two when they thought no one else was looking, so she decided that yes, she had been right. Her two friends were obviously heading in a direction that would make them both happy, short-term or long-term, come what may, and she would be supportive and quietly exit the scene as best as she could. So when Beau would take her hand on movie nights (something he had started to do more and more after that one meeting), she would wait a moment and then excuse herself to use the bathroom, say she needed to call and check on Kai, or do something where she could break the contact between them without it ringing loudly of rejection. She knew he only meant the hand-holding in a friendly, comforting way, but she still couldn’t bring herself to be direct about it, to put the kibosh on it once and for all. She would never admit it out loud, but she liked that he still sought comfort from her, especially when he had had a particularly difficult day at the office or he and his ex had been arguing once again over their daughter. She wanted to be there for her friend just as much as he had her, and she didn’t want to do or say anything that would hurt him or put a strain on their friendship. And each time she did this, it seemed to work because he wouldn’t take her hand again when she returned, nor did he seem fazed. Instead, he would crack jokes while simultaneously cracking open another beer for them both to share, or he would ask her about Kai and how he was doing. And every single time Beau launched into a story about he and Jenny working a case or making an arrest, Cassie told herself she was doing the right thing by them both.

Not to mention that Jenny had started joining their movie nights at Beau’s invitation. He had told Cassie that he didn’t want the blonde to feel left out when she heard him talking to Cassie about their plans one day, and she understood that. She didn’t want Jenny to feel left out either; it had just never occurred to her to invite Jenny to the nights that seemed to be set up for just the two of them to relax and unwind while further cementing their friendship. She regretted not thinking of including Jenny sooner, although a part of her didn’t regret the time she got to spend with the man, getting to know him and hear all of his stories, from his training in the academy (where they would compare notes) to his time in law enforcement in Houston, to his childhood with his brother, and of course, the most recent ones about his daughter. 

So when Beau apologized for including Jenny in their plans without discussing it with her first, Cassie realized she had been silent too long and quickly reassured him that it was a great idea. “No, it’s fine, I was just thinking I should have thought of it myself. I’m glad you invited her. This will be great. Really.”

At first, Beau had seemed unconvinced by her nod and forced smile, but then he nodded in return and moved to grab the red cups they were going to use. Cassie took the opening to start teasing him about his lack of glassware and he good-naturedly played along until they settled into their familiar banter.

Cassie had actually enjoyed having Jenny there for the horror film they had agreed to watch. She managed to push down the out-of-place feeling she got when Jenny interrupted her reassuring Beau when he spoke about Emily’s camping trip, lightly scolding her for unintentionally “rubbing it in”. She had even appreciated Jenny’s suggestion that Beau should tell Emily how much she meant to him. Despite it feeling weird and at odds with what Jenny herself had just said. Being there for Beau was second nature to her, something that had become as familiar to her as did the drive back home after each of these movie nights and the texts she sent him upon walking in the door to let him know she had arrived safely as he had requested each time she left. She knew him now and she knew what to say and what not to, but this was…different. Cassie had to admit that it was pretty good advice—she could see the expression on Beau’s face that showed he was carefully considering the words himself, and so when Jenny launched into the punch list story to lighten the mood, Cassie went with it and, thankfully, so did Beau.

When Cassie started noticing more and more just how close Beau and Jenny were getting, that’s when she started to move away from the twice weekly standing plans she and Beau had. At first, Cassie purposely canceled at the last minute, coming up with excuses ranging from needing to work a case to Kai having a science project due the next day which he forgot to tell her about. Kai himself had been disappointed when the movie nights stopped. Not only had he enjoyed the nights at home with a babysitter (where he could play his video games to his heart’s content), but he also enjoyed the occasional times he got to tag along. Beau had been his usual welcoming and charming self upon their first meeting and it hadn’t been long before the two boys were in cahoots, sometimes playing jokes on Cassie herself. She took it all in stride and acted annoyed when appropriate, but deep down she loved watching the two interact. Sometimes a little sadness floated up when thoughts of Andrew and especially her dad would pop into her mind, but seeing Beau and Kai laughing together at a particularly funny scene in the movie they both had voted to watch helped to ease that pain a little. The grief never really went away, and it never would, but it helped to make it just that tiny bit easier to deal with. Beau had attempted to have Emily join them for a couple of those nights, but there had always been one reason or another why it couldn’t happen: Emily had plans with her friends, Carla didn’t want to drive her so late at night without her husband, Emily was tired — the excuses began to mount up to a point that they could have made their own Jenga tower. Cassie was pretty sure that there was something more going on than the usual active teenage social life and constant disputes between ex-spouses, but she kept her thoughts to herself. Instead, she would watch as Beau’s shoulders sagged a little more each time he hung up the phone and his eyes would dim with the sadness she knew he carried when it came to his family. Each time, she would do whatever it took to make him smile again, whether she would team up with Kai to make Beau laugh, or she would change the subject, or she would give him time to collect himself before the charming, fun-loving Beau would reappear. Those nights, she didn’t pull away from his hand as quickly as she did the other times when he would reach for her even if Kai was present. She knew Beau needed the comfort she provided and, thankfully, Kai never asked her about the hand holding. He liked Beau and he seemed to be content to spend whatever time he could with their sheriff friend. 

Despite all of this, and although she hated to do it, Cassie had told herself she would step aside for her friends. Yet each time she canceled on them, Beau appeared disappointed and offered to move the plans to when she would be available, to where Cassie would insist that he and Jenny keep to tradition without her. Beau seemed unsure but would ultimately agree to her wishes in the end. The closer she saw Beau and Jenny becoming, the more she knew she was doing the right thing, no matter how much it might slightly sting at times. 

And currently, she had straight up told Beau she couldn’t do any more movie nights for a while. She had Kai to focus on (not to mention she was dipping into her savings for babysitting at this point), she had the missing backpacker case to work, and she now had the ranch to move into. Beau stared at her with those clear green eyes for the longest time, his face not giving away anything. Cassie awkwardly shifted her weight to her other foot, the silence becoming uncomfortable in a way it never had before between them. “You get it, right?” She asked, not sure what his response would be.

He seemed to startle slightly back into awareness and tipped his lips up into a tiny smile. “Yeah, I get it.” His tone was soft but seemed almost heavy, almost…sad, in a way. Before she could get a good read on him or figure out what could be making him upset, he cleared his throat and glanced at the case board in her office. “So, got any leads on that missing backpacker yet?” 

Thankful for small mercies, she went with the subject change and launched into details of where the case stood now, with Beau listening attentively. 

It hadn’t been easy by any means, but her plan was working: the smile Cassie saw Jenny constantly throwing Beau’s way when the woman thought no one else was watching proved it was, especially since Cassie saw Beau becoming more and more comfortable in his interactions with Jenny. They now even had their own inside jokes, and when Beau had a little trouble with the recent Trans Am case, he never reached out to Cassie, not once. Not that she expected to be looped into a Sheriff's Department case — that was their territory, after all — but she was surprised that Beau hadn’t said a word to her about it given that he knew she loved cars just as much as he did, even more so. He hadn’t even taken a picture of the car to show her, which caught her off guard even more because he always took pictures of the most random things while out and about to send to her with his usual corny one-liners. The last picture he had sent her had been of a sandwich one of his deputies had him try that came from Tonya’s newest business venture. While Cassie could do without the diner’s new cook and owner, she had to admit that it did look pretty tasty, and she hadn’t blinked twice when Beau handed her a bag that had “Blue Fox Diner” printed on it at the next movie night, full grin on display next to Jenny’s scoff of disgust. She would never tell Jenny, but that had been one phenomenal sandwich. She hated to think it but Donno definitely did have skills in the kitchen; Beau had been right. And she had told him so when Jenny excused herself to make a quick call from inside the trailer, making the man bark out a gruff laugh into the night air. “I told you. Now, don’t tell Hoyt this, but Pop got me on the list to be a taste tester, too.”

Cassie had arched a brow over at him. “Really? Oh, Jenny is going to love that.”

Beau lifted a finger in warning. “Don’t tell her. She’s already on my ass about Tonya. If she found out about this…” He made a sweeping gesture with his hand, leaving the possibilities to be endless in their minds. But Cassie knew exactly what Jenny would have to say if she found out the man she had her sights set on volunteered to help the two former criminals, and Cassie herself would use the word ‘former’ loosely.

Cassie grinned and took a sip of her beer. 

Beau tilted his head curiously at her. “What?”

She shrugged. “Nothing.” At Beau’s look, she chuckled. “I just didn’t realize you cared so much about what Jenny thought.”

Beau snorted and lifted his beer to his lips. “I never quite said that. Truth is, I just don’t want her to keep focusing on it. Her beef with Tonya is already something she focuses on enough as it is. It’s not good for her to keep ruminating on it and keep it all bottled up like that.”

Cassie nodded in agreement. She had pretty much told Jenny the same herself, but she also knew the real Tonya and Donno like Jenny did. “She is right, though. Tonya and Donno are criminals, and slapping your face onto a realtor’s sign and putting an apron on in a diner doesn’t change that.”

Beau sighed. “I know. But so far there’s no proof that they’re doing anything more than selling properties and making food. And some damn good food at that.” Cassie couldn’t argue with that.

After a minute of comfortable silence between them and Jenny still hadn’t emerged from the trailer, Beau leaned in a little. “So this week, Pop said they’re coming up with this sandwich that is guaranteed to knock our boots off. You in?”

Cassie shook her head. “I could never support anything those two do. But you have fun with that.”

Beau gave her a nod and sat back in his chair, picking at the label of his beer. A minute had barely passed before he spoke again. “So I’ll let you know when I get it?”

And without missing a beat, Cassie replied, “Call me when it comes in.”  

Beau snickered and offered his bottle up. Cassie let out a laugh and tipped hers to it, making the glass clink quietly before they both took a pull of the carbonated liquid. Both of them were still chuckling like children who had a shared secret when Jenny reappeared a few minutes later, looking at both of them and wondering just what had transpired while she had been gone. But she never got a chance to ask when Beau smartened up and teased her on how long she took and thank God they could continue the movie, which made Jenny’s cheeks dust with a light shade of pink before she teased him back. Cassie watched the exchange with a polite smile, noting that warmth she felt thanks to her banter with the sheriff started to slowly fade, especially when she saw Jenny’s teeth bite into her bottom lip when she would glance at the man, as well as when Jenny scooched over to sit a little closer to Beau than before.

She would be hard pressed to say it was a coincidence that she made the decision the very next day to start pulling out of their movie nights altogether. Jenny was her friend as was Beau; if they wanted to pursue something, she wouldn’t get in the way and she wouldn’t be the third wheel when it was obvious they wanted to spend more time alone together. It may have been even more of a coincidence (since that’s what she decided she was going with) when later that week she dug into Donno’s newest menu item with delight after Beau had snuck a call to her while Jenny was following up on a lead, and it not only had to do with the flavor explosion inside her mouth. And it was the biggest coincidence of all when a fluttery feeling appeared in her stomach upon hearing Beau’s moans of appreciation next to her as he took a giant bite of his half of the sandwich and chewed. That fluttery feeling expanded to her chest when he turned to her, speaking around the mouthful of delicious food: “It’s good, right?” 

“Not that good,” she teased. She feigned being grossed out and handed him a napkin. He used it, apologizing, but then watched as she took her own huge bite and mimicked his action. “So good,” she forced out around the sandwich, making him laugh before he heartily enjoyed the rest of his food. Cassie might have been worried about passersby hearing their moans and groans coming from his office had Poppernak not been next to them, making as much noise as they were while they all ate the forbidden sustenance. She felt slightly guilty for indulging in this, especially behind Jenny’s back, but she told herself it was just a sandwich. And Beau had been right; Jenny hated Tonya with a passion. Though Cassie couldn’t blame her one bit. 

Secret meetups to eat the unsanctioned food aside, Cassie had started to see less and less of Beau. As far as she knew, he and Jenny had continued their movie nights, and Jenny seemed happier than usual. Cassie was then convinced that she had made the right choice. It didn’t keep her from missing her time with her Texan friend, though. 

So when Beau would stop by the office like this to return a dish to Denise, which seemed to be happening more and more frequently as of late, Cassie relished the little bit of time she got to catch up with the guy she had bonded with in the last few months. Well, before he and Jenny became a thing, anyway. 

She circled around her desk just in time to come face to face with Beau who now had the dish in both hands, shooting a wide grin over at Denise who let out a quiet giggle. A giggle! Cassie definitely needed to have a talk with her. This was getting too painful to watch.

“There she is,” Beau drawled and approached Denise’s desk, handing her the huge casserole dish, freshly cleaned. “You keep this up and I mean it, I’m no longer gonna fit in these jeans. Hell, I won’t even fit in these boots pretty soon, and then I am in trouble, young lady.” 

Denise beamed at him. “I have no problem taking you to get anything you need to…you know, help fit better.”

Beau let out a chuckle and shook his head. “You’re gonna make me blush and I didn’t think that was even possible. We don’t blush down in Texas.”

Denise went to retort when Cassie decided she’d had enough. “Alright, you two. Denise, seriously, you’re still cooking for him? He’s a grown man.” She always teased Denise like this whenever Beau brought her dishes back. She would never admit aloud that she enjoyed seeing him as much as Denise did, and that she was thankful the woman continued to lend him her plateware that he would feel bound to return as soon as possible (when she could so easily give him Tupperware that didn’t give off the same sense of urgency).

Denise shrugged but stayed quiet when Beau whipped around to face Cassie, letting out a “Hey! I’ll have you know that this grown man who can cook for himself, thank you very much, appreciates every single bite of tasty food this lovely lady sends his way.” He gave Denise an appreciative nod. 

Cassie let both of them see her eyes roll and crossed her arms. “Heating up leftovers in a microwave hardly counts as cooking, Sheriff.”

“Hey, I made you dinner the last time we had a movie night if you remember.”

“You made me a panini.”

Beau lifted up a finger. “Still counts as cooking. Though,” he then turned to give a flirty grin to Denise. “It’s nothing compared to what Denise here can come up with. I had no idea cauliflower could do that and boy was it delicious. Makes me wonder what else you can come up with.” He finished the sentiment with a wink. Cassie could feel herself shrinking in second hand embarrassment when Denise let out another giggle. She could swear these two purposely did this every time so her eyes would never stay stable in her head and her face would freeze in a permanent wince.

“Thank you. Oh, I’ll come up with something, don’t you worry,” Denise said proudly and then turned a triumphant smirk on Cassie as she moved past her. 

Cassie shook her head in disbelief and locked eyes with Beau when he turned to face her. Each time he made eye contact with her, it was always startling just how green his eyes were. So full of spirit, mischief (most times when looking at her), and a light that she was thankful hadn’t been dimmed by all he had been through before he came to Montana.

“So, what are you up to today? Still working on that missing backpacker?”

“Yeah.” She hooked a thumb behind her towards the phone. “I actually just got off the phone with his parents. They still haven’t heard a peep other than the email I asked you guys to look into.”

Beau nodded. “We’re still working on it but we’ll get it done. So he sends them that email and then doesn’t check in again afterwards? Weird.”

Cassie bit her lip in thought. “Yeah, it’s strange.”

“To say the least.” Beau’s gaze flickered behind her briefly before settling on her again. “So, I was thinking, if you don’t have plans already, how about a movie night tonight?” 

Cassie could feel her heart sink to her feet. She hated having to constantly decline his invites that she knew he now only extended out of courtesy, because he knew where she stood. 

Beau saw her expression and spoke before she could. “Now, hold on a second. Before you say no, hear me out: I know you’re busy with work and Kai, but it dawned on me that while we watched all those rom-coms, we still have yet to see Better Off Dead. A pure 80’s John Cusack staple! Now you know I’m a huge Cusack fan, and we don’t have to do it at the ranch so you don’t feel like you have to host. We’ll do it at my place just like we used to. I even got some glassware after being inspired by the fancy glasses you had so now you can enjoy your drinks in style. You were right, by the way, glass makes the tequila go down even smoother. So make an exception and let the Cusack fan in me enjoy one of his best classics, just for tonight.” He gave her his most winning smile. “Come on, whaddya say?” 

Cassie dug her teeth even further into her lip. She wanted nothing more than to agree. She didn’t have plans and she would be lying if she said she didn’t miss the ritual they had come up with, but she didn’t feel it would be right to accept. Not when things were going so well between him and Jenny. She slipped her hands into the back pockets of her jeans and glanced up at him sheepishly. “I wish I could, but—”

“What if I tell you that dinner will be included? I will cook and this time, it won’t be a panini or leftovers. I can be a lean mean grilling machine. So how about it?”

She desperately wanted to say yes, if for nothing else than to be there to tease him as she watched the large man move around his very tiny kitchen, making his best attempt at what he would call cooking. Yet one thought of her blonde best friend had her turning him down, again. “I can’t,” she said apologetically.

The hope in his expression dimmed slightly and he gave her an accepting nod. “Plans already?”

“It’s just…” She scrambled for something, anything. “Kai wants a friend to sleep over and I’ve been promising him for the longest time. And tonight is one of the nights I’ll actually be home before dark, so…” 

She could see his shoulders lower slightly in an all too familiar way though he did his best to give her an understanding smile. Before the guilt could settle in and before she could think too much on it, Denise appeared out of nowhere, glancing between them and then looking right at Cassie.

“Nonsense, Cassie, Kai can have his friend over another night. If not, I’m sure the babysitter can handle both boys just fine. Like you said, this is one night you might actually be done with work before dark. Live a little.”

Cassie, who was shocked by Denise’s interruption, attempted to say something but Beau spoke up just then. “That’s okay, Denise. I get it.” He then went back into charming-Beau mode and leaned in to the older woman to murmur behind his hand to her, “Could be that she’s not really a Cusack fan and she’s just afraid to tell me.”

Cassie was relieved at the joke but she also noticed the sadness that seemed to be sitting behind that charismatic smile. Apparently, Denise saw it, too, because she became full on insistent: “No, she’s a definite John Cusack fan. High Fidelity and Say Anything are some of her favorite movies—I saw them in her DVD collection when we were packing over the weekend.” Cassie didn’t miss Beau’s eyes lighting up at that information. “She’d be happy to join you later, wouldn’t you, Cassie?” Denise narrowed her eyes at the younger woman and gave a subtle jerk of her head in Beau’s direction. 

Cassie opened and closed her mouth a few times, looking back and forth from Denise to Beau and back to Denise. “I—yes, I’m a fan but…” Denise gave her a little encouraging nod out of Beau’s periphery. Beau was also watching her intently, waiting for her answer, and Cassie felt stuck between a rock and a hard place. When did this become so complicated? And why was it so hard for her to do the right thing by her friends all of a sudden? “You know what?” At Denise’s smile, she nodded and met Beau’s gaze head on. “Jenny is a John Cusack fan, too, actually. Serendipity is one of her favorites. You should give her a call. I mean, you guys are still continuing the movie nights, right? I’m sure she’d enjoy seeing that one if she hasn’t already.”

Denise face-palmed but she straightened up before Beau glanced over at her. His expression was unreadable at that moment. His eyes flickered back to Cassie and he gave her a curt nod, giving her a smile that resembled more of a grimace. The hopeful light in his eyes from before had faded quickly. “Yeah, I’ll make sure to do that. Thanks. Well, tell the little man I said hi and hopefully, we’ll all get together real soon.” Cassie nodded, unable to say anything else.

He then turned to Denise who snuck a look of disbelief over towards Cassie before facing the sheriff. “Denise, you’re an angel. I’m telling you, keep cooking for me like this and I’ll be rolling down the street. But don’t you dare stop.” He gave her another playful wink, which elicited another bashful chuckle from the woman, and then he turned another thin smile on Cassie. “See you later. Enjoy your night.”

Cassie could only stammer out, “You, too.”

He nodded, spun on his heel, and exited the building. The minute he did, Denise immediately rounded on her. “Cassie, what was that?”

Cassie frowned. “What was what? I can’t make it tonight. I told you guys, Kai wants to do a sleepover.” She was about to call her son and make the suggestion, just in case Denise pulled an impromptu stopover to make sure Cassie’s story checked out. Her assistant could be pushy like that.

Denise scoffed. “You know exactly what I mean.”

She let out a sigh. “Denise, it’s… Look, it’s complicated.” When the older woman didn’t say anything, Cassie continued. “You were here with Cody. You know how that went, and I’m not looking to repeat it. Besides, he and Jenny are good together. It makes sense and she deserves to be happy. So does he. Me being there would only get in the way of that.” Cassie made her way back around her desk and sat down.

Denise nodded and approached her, thinking. “That’s all true, but it seems to me like he’s not too happy right now. And Cassie,” The younger woman met the older woman’s eyes. “You deserve to be happy, too. Don’t forget that.” She gave Cassie a kind smile and left to go sit at her desk, leaving her boss to her thoughts.

<-->   

Ten minutes hadn’t passed before the door swung open and a familiar Texas drawl could be heard filling the office. 

“Cassie, you think we can talk outside for a second?”

Beau was staring right at her, his arm extended behind him in a gesture of open invitation. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly, and one discreet glance to see Denise’s encouraging wave of her hand had Cassie getting to her feet. “Sure.”

She ignored the look of relief filling his features and gingerly made her way past him to get to the door, overhearing Beau’s “I’ll bring her right back” and Denise’s “Take your time” behind her. If Cassie wasn’t so nervous, she’d be smirking. Denise’s matchmaking schemes were shameless. She would never forget everything that Mark had told her concerning Denise when her assistant had been trying to push the two of them together: even if he and Cassie made better friends, which they found out themselves later on, much to Denise’s disappointment, the woman had still done her damnedest to play Cupid. Now, her nerves were on edge because it was obvious that something had Beau worked up into a tizzy and he never asked to speak to her away from anyone before. Something was wrong and Cassie was worried she might have said or done something in her refusal earlier that got on her friend’s last nerve or gave unintended offense.

Outside of the office, they moved to the side, out of the path of any passersby on the sidewalk, and she watched as Beau struggled to get out what he wanted to.

“You know, I feel like the world’s biggest idiot. I work in law enforcement for God’s sake, I’m a sheriff, and I somehow missed what was going on right in front of me.”

Cassie narrowed her eyes slightly in confusion. What was he talking about?

“It’s been so long since Carla and the divorce that I…” He licked his lips in the familiar display of when he was nervous. “When you have something good, you don’t want to mess with it, you know? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Know what I mean?”

Cassie nodded, trying her best to follow along. 

He took that as encouragement and continued. “So I figured in time and if it’s meant to be, it would…you know…gradually…”

“Beau.” His eyes met hers, full of anxiety. “It’s okay. Just say what you’re thinking. I’m here and I’m listening.”

He nodded, letting out a breath, and then chuckled nervously. “I know you are. You always have been.” He straightened up and held her gaze, affecting his best serious expression. “The truth is, I like you, Cassie. A lot. Always have.” At her widening eyes, he rambled on, his nerves getting the better of him. “And I’ve been such an ass for not saying it sooner. I thought maybe it was best not to push it, you know? To keep it quiet on my end. We were becoming friends and you were seeing someone… I had just gotten out of a messy divorce and followed my ex-wife and daughter up to some state I barely knew. And then after…well, you just got out of a relationship and it felt too soon to say anything. I know you said you were okay with the breakup but I wanted to give you time. It didn’t feel right not to give you that time, and I didn’t want to make the wrong move, you know? Not just because you’ve become one of my best friends here but also because I wasn’t sure what you would think, how you felt. And then it seemed like maybe you didn’t think or feel anything like I did, that maybe you thought you and me were just better off staying friends, and I didn’t want to ruin that. I’d rather have you in my life in any way I can than not have you. But after what you just said in there before, it finally hit me: I’ve been going about this all wrong, so I’m taking the chance and saying what I need to say before it’s too late.”

He took a step closer which made Cassie’s heart jump into her throat. 

“Cassie Dewell, I like you and I’m hoping you’ll allow me to take you out to dinner tonight.” Her mouth fell open in surprise. “On a date,” he clarified.

Cassie was numb from the shock of his offer. “B-But…Jenny…”

She saw the relief return when she didn’t outright refuse him at that moment, and he moved a little closer, chuckling. “She and I aren’t a thing—we never have been. Is that what you’ve been thinking all this time? Is that why you’ve been backing out on me with movie nights?”

Cassie gave a slow nod, mystified. 

He smirked and took her hand in his, like he had so many times before. She didn’t even think to stop him considering anyone could see them right now, even Jenny who might drive up at any moment. “Darlin’,” he huskily whispered to her, knowing full well how much she hated it when he called her that, but it also made that fluttery feeling in her stomach return. “The only one I’ve been thinking about, the one woman in Montana I’ve been crazy about all this time, is you. Don’t you know that?”

Had this been anyone else, Cassie would have poked fun or rolled her eyes in disgust at the lines that clearly belonged in some romance novel in a clearance bin at the closest bookstore. But this was Beau, the same Beau she had gotten to know since their impromptu meeting in the parking lot of the community center months ago; the same Beau who showed her son how to safely start a fire in the firepit outside his trailer; the same Beau who made sure to check in with her during the time she and Denise went hiking on the same trail that missing backpacker had; the same Beau who had asked her about Cormac when he noticed a quick exchange between them after she introduced him to Sunny, and was supportive of her dating the young son of the campground owner should she choose to (which helped to enforce her belief that he and Jenny were definitely becoming a thing and he only saw Cassie as a friend); the same Beau who held her as she cried after she had fallen asleep during a movie one night and woke upon having a dream about her dad and the ensuing tears that happened that she just couldn’t hold back; the same Beau who trusted her with his vulnerability when he talked about his daughter and his brother and his ex; the same Beau who was now looking at her with so much warmth and something else she couldn’t quite place right then. It seemed familiar, though, and she realized she had seen him wear that look before, and often. She had seen it when he spoke with her, no matter who was around; she had seen it when he had taken her hand, when she had talked at that meeting; she had seen it when they spent time together, at their movie nights, even when Jenny had been there.

The thought of Jenny finally broke her out of her trance, and she took a cautious step back, gently pulling her hand out of his. She saw his smirk fall when she did and the worry surfaced in his green eyes. She gave him as kind a smile as she could, refusing to let her own sadness manifest. Jenny was her best friend and, even though she had never said the words, Cassie knew Jenny had feelings for the man.

“Beau,” she started, seeing him swallow nervously. “I can’t.”

After a moment, he gave a slow nod. “Because you don’t feel the same?”

She knew she should lie; she had to. Denise might be right—Cassie deserved her own happiness, too, but not at anyone else’s expense. She opened her mouth to tell him that no she didn’t, but instead the truth tumbled its way out. In the end, she just couldn’t lie to him. “I’ve been here before, with Jenny, With…Cody… And I don’t want to bring us back to that. She and I have been through too much together to go there again. She’s my best friend.”

Beau heavily sighed and ran a hand through his short locks. “I get that, I do. And I respect it. But Cass, I’m telling you, nothing is going on between her and I. We’re friends, we work together, that’s it. There’s nothing there for either of us.”

Cassie wondered if she should mention it. Would it be wrong to say something before Jenny herself had a chance to? Cassie tried to keep it as vague as she possibly could. “Maybe not for you,” she murmured.

Surprise lit up Beau’s eyes for a moment and then he nodded in understanding. “And even if I say I’ll talk with her and explain things?” Resignation appeared on his handsome features, for  he knew what the answer would be, yet he chose to ask the question anyway.

“It won’t change anything,” Cassie sadly confirmed.

Beau nodded again, licking his lips as he looked around before settling his gaze on her once again. He gave her a forced smile. “Had to try.” Cassie understood and she appreciated that he wasn’t pushing, that he was respecting where she stood on the matter. “Listen, uh, don’t think that this… It doesn’t have to change anything. Between us.” He waited a beat and forced his smile into the cocky smirk he usually wore, obviously trying to resume the normal banter between them, like nothing had really changed. But everything had changed. “You’re still invited to movie night. And now I know you love Cusack as much as I do, so if you bring the drinks, I’ll make the popcorn. And of course, dinner is still an option—I really can cook, I can do it before we start the movie. I’m telling you, you’re gonna love this one.”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea. Jenny will—”

“I didn’t invite her yet. I was kind of hoping you and I could…you know, go back to just us for a night. But, if it’ll make you feel better, I can invite her, too. Just say you’ll be there.”

“I shouldn’t.”

He stretched his smile as wide as it could go though it never quite met his eyes. “Yeah, well, I’m not taking no for an answer. I’m telling you this film is a classic. You’ll thank me later, so pop over around 8:30. You can bring Kai, too, if you want, though I’m gonna level with you and tell you that I don’t think he’ll enjoy the movie as much as we will.” He looked at her for a moment, the regret laced in his expression, and he gave a final nod. It was obvious that with each passing second, he was struggling to keep up the facade. He cleared his throat uncomfortably and dropped his gaze to the ground. “I’ve gotta get back to the station. I’ll see you later?”  

Without waiting for her response, Beau started to turn and walk away, and something about seeing him leave, something about seeing how much he tried to tamp down his disappointment and hurt, had Cassie acting without thinking. 

At lightning speed, she moved closer, grabbed the lapels of his jacket in her fists, lifted up on her toes, and pressed her lips to his. He let out a muffled sound resembling shock, but then she felt his arms wrap around her body and pull her up into him more. He moved his lips against hers carefully and, after a moment, he grew bolder and began to kiss her more firmly. When she felt his tongue swipe along her bottom lip, the fluttery feeling was back in full force for Cassie and she wanted nothing more than to lose herself completely to it. As the kiss grew slightly more passionate, she realized that perhaps this had been a long time in coming… But two people talking loudly across the street brought her crashing back into the present, and she regretfully pulled away, though Beau didn’t let her get too far.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that,” Cassie rushed out in a breath. “I don’t even know why I did it. That was stupid of me, I’m so sorry.”

Beau, who was doing his best impression of a deer in headlights right then, panted as he watched her intently, his eyes a shade darker than they had been a few minutes ago. His gaze constantly flickered from her mouth to her own eyes and back.

He slowly moved closer, gently cupped her cheeks, and softly kissed her again. After a moment, he broke away from her only to place his forehead against hers, closing his eyes. “I’ve been wanting to kiss you like that for the longest time. Ever since you whooped my ass on game night,” he breathed out in a laugh.            

Beau was referring to the rare night he had come over to her house after he had gotten to know Kai, when they enjoyed a sort-of family game night. They did try a few different board games but the real fun came when they gave Kai’s video games a try. There was one racing game that Beau was determined to beat her at—he even had Kai cheering him on—but he never could. Cassie had laughed too long and too hard that night, nearly in tears from it all, and Beau had taken his licks like the good sport he was. He had claimed he had no problem losing to her over and over if it made her laugh like that. She didn’t think anything of it at the time, but now…now, she knew better, and she wondered how she had missed it all of this time when it had been right in front of her…

Cassie wanted to tell him yes. She wanted to agree to go on a date with him, to see where this would lead, but she couldn’t let history repeat itself. “I don’t think we should do this.”

He sighed and opened his eyes to stare into hers. “Cassie…”

“I’m serious. It’s a bad idea, and I don’t want to hurt her, I really don’t. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt and threw it straight into the fire.” He chuckled at that but she cupped his cheek, making sure he knew she meant what she was saying. “Jenny is my best friend. She means a lot to me.”

He nodded and when she retrieved her hand, he let out a heavy breath. “I get what you’re saying, but it seems to me that there’ve been some assumptions made somewhere along the way that shouldn’t have been.”

“Maybe.” She went to pull away but he wrapped his arms around her waist and kept her there. Instead, he cleared his throat and straightened up, staring down at her. He studied her for a moment and, unsure of what he was looking for, her brow began to furrow. But he must have found it because his eyes lit up and he then gave her his signature grin. 

Before she could ask what he was thinking, he nodded. “Got it. Won’t mention it again.” He pressed a quick kiss to her forehead and let her go. He shoved the cowboy hat in his hand on his head, beamed at her, and began to walk back towards where Pedro was parked. 

Cassie felt like she had whiplash. It was only a minute ago when he appeared dejected by her refusal, and now he seemed happy as a clam, like he hadn’t a care in the world. The man even started to whistle! What the hell?

She went to say something when he stopped mid-stride and spun around, looking as if he had just remembered the conversation they had been having. “So, I’m picking you up for dinner tonight at 8, right?”

Her eyes widened and she shook her head. Where had he gotten that idea on what she had said? “What? Beau! No, we are not—” 

“Listen, I found this great steakhouse about fifteen minutes from here. Serves the best ribeye you’ve ever tasted. Well, outside of Texas anyway.” That charming smile was back and his eyes were so bright and full of that familiar mischief that Cassie had a hard time hiding her own smile.

“Beau,” she said sternly. “We are not going on a date.”

Beau gave her a look. “Date? Who said anything about a date? It’s just a little food and conversation between two friends.”

“Beau…” She tried again.

“And we’ll go for a walk in town after so make sure you wear some good walking shoes. You know I’ve gotta get my steps in after a good meal.” He held a hand to his stomach before his smile widened and he continued down the sidewalk. “I’ll see you then.”

She took a few steps towards him, intent on him not continuing this misunderstanding. “Beau, I didn’t—”

He stopped again as if he had another thought. “Oh, you can get a babysitter by then, right? Even with the sleepover? ‘Cause if not, I don’t mind a good ol’ fashioned night in with a movie and pizza myself. And we’ll let the boys pick the movie to keep it family-friendly.”

At the mention of her son, Cassie softened slightly. “Beau…”

“As long as I get some time with Kai’s beautiful mom later on.” Beau gave her a sly wink.

Cassie bit her lip to keep her smile from spreading any farther. “I can get a babysitter but that’s not—”

Beau’s own grin widened. “Great. Dinner it is.” He turned to leave but Cassie speaking pulled him up short.

“I didn’t say yes.”

He gave her one of his best smiles, full of teeth, and chuckled. “You didn’t need to, darlin’. That smile right there is telling me everything I need to know.”

Her cheeks heated up and she forced her eyes to the ground for a moment, trying to regain her bearings. How did this conversation get so turned around? One quick glance at him showed that Beau knew the effect he was having on her and he was enjoying it. A familiar feeling of irritation mixed in with endearment bloomed within her. “Still that cocky, good ol’ boy from Texas, huh?”

Beau shrugged, unashamed. “Am I wrong?”

Cassie bit her lip, wanting to tell him that he wasn’t. She wanted to throw caution to the wind, just this once. She knew she felt something for Beau, something she hadn’t been willing to put a name to just yet, something she refused to water or shine a light on and let grow. However, now that she was faced with Beau’s confession of having similar feelings to hers, for her and not for anyone else, would it be the worst thing in the world to give into the impulse for once? To explore what this was between them and see where it might lead—especially since Beau said there was nothing between him and Jenny? Cassie knew this was a risky line of thinking, that it was dangerously flirting with a flimsy justification, but one look at Beau’s handsome expression as he beamed back at her, remembering how it felt when he took her hand, when he kissed her, when he wrapped her up in his embrace, when his hand rubbed her back as she cried…she found that she couldn’t tell him no. She didn’t want to. And maybe that made her the worst friend on the planet, but she’d be lying if she said there was nothing ever there between her and Beau before this conversation took place. Something had even been there that first day in the parking lot, despite him acting like an ass at first.

Still, she didn’t want to betray Jenny. So instead she settled for a meaningful look she shot at the beaming sheriff standing across the way from her.

Beau took in her expression and his features instantly sobered. He gave a firm nod, turning back towards Pedro. “Got it.”

Cassie watched him as he opened the door and before he got in, he glanced over and asked, “So, 8?”

She hated how well he knew her sometimes. Oh, what the hell. Cassie crossed her arms and gave him her best death glare. “7:30. I have a family coming by the office early tomorrow for a new case.” 

Beau laughed. “Copy that. See you then, sweetheart.” He winked at her and then got into the seat, closing the door behind him. He started the car and drove away with Cassie giving him a small wave.

As she watched him drive down the street, she tried to ignore the jolt of guilt she felt at the memory of how she felt during that kiss, as well as the fact that Beau had asked her out and she had accepted. She thought back to the time she spent with him over the last few months: getting to know him, the laughs they shared, the conversations they had, how they had been there for one another, how he was with Kai, how his eyes lit up when he talked about his daughter — all of it. She actually found herself looking forward to dinner later though she had no idea what she’d wear. And to top it all off, she had no idea what the townspeople would say when they saw her and Beau out together on a date. It was already common knowledge that the sheriff and the only PI in town were good friends, but on a date? That was a different matter altogether.

Not that she cared what they thought, of course, but she knew the small town would do what they always did: gossip. Everyone knew everyone else here and that was how Jenny had come to ask her about the handholding at the grief support meeting. It would only be a matter of time before Jenny would hear about this dinner and she had a feeling Jenny wouldn’t be asking as teasingly this time.

She sighed and turned to head back into her office. Guaranteed if Denise saw what happened through the picture window, she would be bouncing up and down with gleeful energy that would refuse to be abated. The cooking tear the older woman had gone on and Beau’s frequent visits to the office to return the dishes when he could just as easily deliver them to her home — it was all starting to make a little more sense now, more than just some crush Denise had on the man. Beau had been tough on himself for being in law enforcement but not seeing what was right in front of him as he claimed? Cassie was a PI and she had missed what was happening right in front of her face this whole time, and not just about the feelings Beau confessed to having for her. She had been right though; Denise was back at it with her scheming to fulfill Cassie’s love life. And in this instance, Cassie had never been more grateful. 

She would talk to Jenny, hopefully without fists flying this time, and she would hope for her friend’s understanding. Cassie had liked Mark, and she even liked Cormac, but something about Beau felt…different. Different and familiar all at the same time; it was a weird feeling, nothing she could articulate if she tried, and boy was she going to try when it came time to talk to Jenny, but she allowed herself a moment to revel in what Beau had told her before she would be bombarded by her overly enthusiastic assistant.

After a moment to process all that happened and a deep breath, she entered the building and saw Denise trying to be discreet but the smile stretching from ear to ear said it all. Cassie rolled her eyes good-naturedly. 

“So I take it you saw all of that?”

Denise feigned surprise. “Saw what?” She then lifted her tea cup to her lips and took a sly sip. “The fact that gorgeous hunk of sheriff passionately kissed you? Or the fact that you kissed him first?”

Cassie crossed her arms, coming to a stop in front of Denise’s desk. “Denise, I—”

The older woman held up a hand. “No need to explain. I got the full picture earlier.” Cassie felt her cheeks heat slightly, and then saw Denise lean forward eagerly. “So, when is he taking you on a date?”

Cassie tried to keep the smile from taking over her face when she answered, “Tonight actually.”

As Denise crowed over this revelation, Cassie couldn’t help but feel a familiar sinking feeling, thinking that if this were any other guy, Jenny would be right there with them. She couldn’t deny the light-hearted buoyancy that thoughts of Beau and the conversation they’d had moments ago stirred within her. Two parts of her seemed to be in a constant state of war. But ultimately, perhaps Denise had been right to remind her that yes, she, Cassie Dewell deserved some happiness, too. She just hoped that Jenny would be able to forgive her.

#beau x cassie #big sky fanfiction #beau and cassie #beau x cassie fanfiction #beau arlen #cassie dewell

[halforcdad]

Thoughts on how they will explain a possible 3 episode Lucy absence?

The first thing that comes to mind that makes sense to me is Lucy's family.

We don't really know much about Lucy. Take it from her, her entire life is just work, gym, and Kate. She doesn’t really have anything else going on (I really thought her being a junior agent and wanting to follow in Tennant's footsteps was gonna be up there, but they seemed to randomly drop that after they futzed with the timeline to give us that Kacy backstory). The only thing we really know about her is that she has issues with her rich family and potentially burned that bridge when she left Texas. Given NCIS: Hawai`i's focus on ohana and the crumbs she was dropping last season (they were her third-most talked about thing behind work and Kacy angst lol), Lucy’s family troubles seem to be shaping up to be her other big long-term storyline. 

Among the bits of bts we've gotten from 2x07 (presumably the last episode she would be in if she were to be absent for 3 episodes) was this interesting little sneak peak:

(from a bts video a crewmember uploaded, these are tori and yas's stand-ins while the crew is setting up the shot)

Looks like the perfect set-up for them to get personal, like talking about Lucy’s fear of the water or quietly reflecting on her insecurities or her family/childhood (we already have a Whistler focused episode so this could be Lucy’s moment). Like something on the same level of seriousness as the scene where Lucy’s comforting and encouraging Kate outside of the FBI BBQ, but maybe with less anxiety and more chill vibes lol. It could be a great opportunity to finally introduce some substantial Lucy backstory and or a long-term background storyline that isn’t just about her and Kate.  

I know a lot of people theorize that her family has cut her out completely or vice versa, but NCIS: Hawai'i already has one parent-child relationship that started out like that with Wally and Kai so maybe they want to differentiate a little (though they could use that similarity as an opportunity to get them to bond over it whenever that storyline happens, a more in-depth version of 1x04). I could see her not reaching out, but not having their numbers blocked either or still keeping minimal contact with them, birthdays and whatnot. Maybe something happened with a niece or nephew or her parents and she needs to go back and see them. It would warrant Tennant giving her extended personal time to take care of it. Plus, it would be easy to explain why she’s not in the episode at all if she’s back on the mainland and if they wanted to, they could include her without her needing to be on location/the sets via either phone or video calls and she could record all her scenes ahead of time. Though, the cons to this would be that if Lucy was absent from the episode, that means we wouldn’t get to see any of the angsty family scenes! (unless there were flashbacks shown later) and it could turn into a lot of tell not show type story writing which I hate. It would be a neat way to introduce angst though if Lucy is keeping it all in and not telling anybody about what happened even though its clearly affecting her (or if Kate feels hurt that Lucy didn't want her to go with her/isn't telling her either). It would be an interesting bump in the road in a season where she's been building trust and communication with Kate. My dream would be for it to progress slowly, more mentions of her past here and there, her family slowly becoming more present in her life (good or bad), maybe a brother or sister shows up in an episode down the line as a suspect or to visit and that throws her off, but I want the parents showing up to be an unexpected monumental thing that doesn't happen until like at least late s3 or s4.

Each of their cases takes places over the course of a few days minimum and that’s not even accounting for the amount of time that might take place in between them. Unless they threw in a few Nightwatch type cases (which they solved in one friday night and one entire saturday) then I don’t see how you explain away that big of an absence in-story unless you introduce a big storyline like Lucy needing to go back home for some reason. 

Another possibility I’ve seen floating around is Lucy getting hurt in the upcoming episodes, which is very doable and I would not hate it at all. My only potential concern with that is I would want her to have scenes with the whole team and not just Kate while she's recovering. So maybe if she’s in the hospital, Tennant comes by to see her and tells her about the case or the boys throw her a little party in the hospital or they video call her because she’s bored out of her mind. Though, since Lucy’s in the crossover, I don’t know how keen Tennant would be bringing an agent who was recently seriously injured with her to LA on a mission like the one being described in the crossover (Noah is also listed as being in the crossover, but I don’t know if I’ve heard or seen anything at all about him filming out of state). IIRC, the synopsis mentions something about agents being targeted so Lucy being separated from everyone while in Texas could make her an easy target? Or if she hears about Tennant going to LA, it would make sense why she’s the one accompanying her because she’s already on the mainland and would probably be looking for an excuse to leave her family (or maybe she wants to leave Texas to protect them since she’s a target). 

Hell, since we're speculating let's just throw shit at the wall. Maybe they do something wild like Lucy went on a long undercover thing or oh she's suspended because she fucked up.

Of course, they could still go with, “oh Tennant just shipped Lucy off to help another division since she's the only one who doesn't have family they need to take care of in Hawai’i or Lucy needed to help a friend or something it’s nbd,” and have her come back like nothing happened. 

tldr; keeping up with the taras, she gets hurt, they just brush it off casually, or they throw something out of left field

(i am in the camp that if she were to be absent entirely, id lean more on it only being a one or two episode absence at most)

#ncis hawaii #ncis hawai'i #lucy tara #ik lucy isnt tennant so she doesnt HAVE to be there but 3 ep seems like way too many to miss #it would be hard to explain an absence that long in show unless she was gone for something really important right #watch me be the clown and if lucy does leave she comes back like nbd and they move on rq LMAO #imagine if whistler somehow appeared in every episode and lucy #im sorry this is long as shit but thanks for the ask! #this is a biased post because i just want to hear about lucy's backstory already LMAO #i love all the kacy content dont get me wrong but i feel like the teams slacking a little on backstory for everybody this season #i am excited to see how they handle the family storyline to the point where ive probably hyped it up too much in my head lol #theres just so much potential there and as a poc i want it to be relatable and nuanced #also im just really excited to see pearl ohana vs blood family i wanna see kate stand by lucy i want it all #i also love whump and hurt character angst tho so if lucy just gets injured ill be fine with that too #the problem with all the scenarios is i want to watch them all unfold on tv #with no absences LMAO so im praying

[moregraceful]

mysterious shadowbanned @hopetorun dm'd me and asked for director's commentary on the jack/cole scene in fragments for the ask meme i reblogged and promptly forgot about!! actually maggie asked for either pov switch for jhughes or bts and i thought about writing a lil pov switch but sadly jack hughes has absolutely zero self-awareness in that scene. fucking nothing going on in his head except love for his boy. net zero pov switch we learn nothing.

long and heavily nsfw scene under the cut, heavy talk abt dubcon situations (winner's room), some self-injury. do not come for me, any discourse in my inbox will be deleted on sight.

In November, the Devils kicked the shit out of the Habs at home. It’s an embarrassing loss and Nick badly wants to make Joel and Brendan deal with the press while the Devils decide who gets the room, but he sucks it up. If he didn’t want to deal with the press crawling up his ass, he shouldn’t have accepted captaincy.

one thing i very much enjoyed in my research (backreading the entire habs channel to june in ash's discord server) is how often nick is just. sucking it up. suffering graciously. dealing with the most wack ass sports media in the entire sport in a language he doesn't speak. never biting back, or at least never biting back too hard. and it always seemed like he just took it as part of his job. also first year as captain do you rly want to get off on the wrong foot with fucking montreal media?

Jack Hughes chooses Cole. This does not surprise Nick. They’re buddies and Nick figures he should be grateful it was Cole, even if he does find Hughes kind of annoying. Hughes won’t be weird and rough but he does have a big personality. Nick’s heard from Cole how Hughes gets when he’s around his boys in the off season and he figures it’ll be loud and messy.

Cole beams when he’s told that Jack chose him. A bunch of guys laugh at him but Nick quirks a smile. At least Cole’s going to be happy. Cole could use that. He’s had some bad rooms lately.

cole's life fucken SUCKS for the first several months of the season. like i talk abt the physical toll it takes on him, but it very much takes a mental toll on him too. it's cole so he's very grin and bear it, but his life sucks ass for several months. he's struggling! he's not going to say it but he's really strugglign! the winner's room is part of the job, yes - but sex loses it's thrill when all you're doing is being claimed yk. so for cole to get chosen by jack and knowing he gets a reprieve, he gets to be with someone who cares about him - it's a breath of fresh air. while nick's having an existential crisis, cole is just like thank god, someone who loves and cares about me :)

for obvious reasons i never considered in my life i would write winner's room but holiday exchanges make fools of us all ig.

Nick walks to the room with Cole. It’s down in the basement of Bell Centre, through a long winding hallway that’s locked from one end, far away from where fans and press and nonessential arena staff would stumble on it. It goes unacknowledged by everyone except coaches, players, the arena manager, and a special custodial crew, hired for their discretion. There are three keys to the room, two for the home and away teams and one for the arena manager. It’s seen decades of use. Habs fans place so much weight on history and tradition and Nick wonders what they’d think about the room if they knew. He’s heard stories about the room at the Forum. Apparently it wasn’t as sterile as the one at Bell Centre.

my original fic i was gonna write for maddy was a ghost story that played with the good luck ghosts of the old forum and how montreal fans don't think they came to the bell centre and what if nick was psychologically tortured by a bad ghost. love to [clenches fist] put a man in a situation. but it fell apart and i was running out of time, so i abandoned it. but then i had this like 15 page google doc of research on the history of the bell centre and the forum and all the superstitions habs fan carry and i was like Well Now What. so i just put it in where i could. it's a pretty glorious google doc tbh. a lot of link to weird habs sites. i really want to write the story someday bc i do think it has a lot of potential, my plot just wasn't fully formed enough for me to really make it through in a month. :(

Cole walks very quickly and Nick has to work to keep up with him. It’s sweet how excited Cole is. His smile is big and it makes Nick smile too because Cole is never excited about the room. He doesn’t get depressed or bitter about being chosen so often, but he never looks forward to it.

"he doesn't get depressed or bitter" cole's hiding a lot of shit from nick (and the rest of the team) bc it's hockey and it's life and it's cole but as i said before, it is starting to weigh on him and he is feeling some emotional wear and tear, even this early in the season. it gets worse later obvi and he's less able to hide how worn out he is, but he's not as okay with everything as nick thinks he is.

......but also like it's jack. it's his boy! he loves his boy! that's his best friend! he loves having sex with his best friend! michigan lake sex house forever!

“I was kinda hoping,” Cole says as Nick unlocks the first door and they head down the hall, “but man, I wasn’t sure. Him and Kirby, you know. Jack’s always looking for an excuse with that guy. Like, he’s got me any time. Kirby and him are a whole thing.”

Nick does not know what Cole is talking about and he doesn’t care to follow up that much either. That draft class is beyond him and he doesn’t worry too much about their strange interpersonal dynamics. His team is his team. As long as Hughes doesn’t rough up any of his guys, he doesn’t care what they do in the off season together. They could get married in Michigan and he wouldn’t give a shit.

"kirby and him are a whole thing" u see, when the first draft class you ever both getting invested in has jack hughes going first of all and the entire class ends up having having a shit ass three year rookie covid season, you start to feel activated by the strangest things. like i do still have a kaapo/jack agenda, i do. but i ALSO have a kirby/jack agenda and it's important and it's real.

anyway nick really doesn't give a fuck. he really doesn't! not in this moment! he is not thinking very much of anything besides wanting to make sure hughes follows the rules. prior to this moment, his feelings are so buried that cole and jack really could get married in the off season and it just would not register to him as something that is his business. he cares very deeply abt cole and wants to protect him and keep him safe but in that moment, he really does not give a fuck. how can you care if you don't know what you're missing?

Hughes does not rough up Cole.

Hughes is tender.

Nick doesn’t know what to do about that.

boy you got a big storm comin

Hughes strips Cole down, which isn’t against the rules, but is very weird until Nick sees where this is going. His fingers are gentle pressing against Cole. Hughes knows exactly how to make it good for Cole, that much is obvious to Nick. They’ve done this before, more than once. The two of them don’t kiss, but there’s an intensity, a deep fondness written over everything he does to Cole. Working his fingers in, rubbing the inside of Cole’s thigh when Cole keens, it’s all familiar. When he presses into Cole, they both smile. Hughes is not loud like Nick thought he would be. He’s quiet and all his attention is on Cole.

my main thing about this scene is people write jack hughes very annoyingly like 500% of the time and i didn't want to contribute to that. like yeah maybe he has loud sex sometimes, maybe he has a big mouth and no braincells, but this is not offseason lake sexhouse fucking. but this is mid-season winner's room sex with his best buddy that he doesn't see too often during the season, and yeah yeah he's jack hughes and he's stupid as shit, but he can read his boy too. he can tell cole needs someone to be gentle and attentive to him. like!!! i keep saying this but they are FRIENDS. THEY ARE BEST FRIENDS. he can read cole in ways nick can't and he knows cole's strugglin. he can give something to cole that would never occur to nick to give. bc that's his boy!

Nick feels something hot curling in his blood as Hughes bottoms out in Cole. His skin feels too tight and his head hurts. When Cole laughs as Hughes picks up a steady rhythm, the both of them grinning at each other, Nick has to catch himself from stopping everything. He’s being ridiculous. There’s nothing to stop. Cole’s having a great time, judging on how big his smile is, how he keeps laughing breathlessly when Hughes’s hips hit his ass.

cole's having a great time. nick's having a bad time. jack is like i love my friend :) he's cute when he smiles :) i want to kiss him but it's not allowed so i'll just keep making him smile

Hughes is fucking him hard and deep

let jack hughes top

but it’s not anything that’s going to leave a mark. Cole’s going to have a sore ass but nothing that will prevent him from playing. Nick can’t stop them for that. That’s par for the course. All of this is within the rules, but Nick feels hot and wordlessly furious for reasons he doesn’t know.

BOY YOU GOT A BIG STORM COMIN

Cole looks like he’d take whatever ache comes with this. He’s having a great time. His eyes are bright and he can’t stop smiling at Hughes.

He laughs too, little laughs that sound nothing like him giggling when he’s fucking with Brendan or making fun of Nick. Nick feels possessive over this new-to-him sound, this soft laughter that speaks to how happy Cole is, how much he’s enjoying this. It makes Nick sick to his stomach that he never knew that Cole could sound so damn happy during a duty fuck. It never occurred to him to think about Cole having a genuinely good time while having sex, because he’d never witnessed it. Nick never knew Cole could be this happy. He’d never seen it. Nick doesn’t know why he’d care enough to think it through, but it makes him viscerally nauseous now. He feels ill knowing that there’s even more joy in Cole than he ever thought there was.

I LOVE THIS WHOLE PARAGRAPH BC IT'S LIKE. it really kicks off the entire thing. nick though he knew everything that was necessary to know about cole but he doesn't know SHIT and now he has to live with something so precious it causes a season-long mental breakdown. nick is beating himself up and spirals bc he's in love with cole sure but there's also very much an element of like. he thought he knew everything he needed to know about cole but there's shit he didn't even CONSIDER. there's shit about cole that he never thought about!! he feels very thoughtful and he feels very crazy. he has to live happy cole sex noises now and he IS going to deal badly.

And now he has to live with Cole’s laughter, that breathy laughter, that turns into tender groans when Hughes presumably hits his prostate. Nick usually stands by the wall and out of the way in the room, and he pushes his head against the wall, pressing his skull against the faux wood paneling to make himself feel enough pain to stay quiet.

local man engaging in a little self harm ground techniques. i haven't read this since i posted it bc i have been suffering the horrors, but i don't think i ever wrote nick as passively suicidal in it? he's just kind of self-destructive. but he does you know have to ground himself through a little bit of pain in some of these rooms.

Hughes comes with a grunt and then a laugh. He reaches down to jerk Cole off without even pulling out. It doesn’t take Cole long to come, spurting onto his stomach.

jack hughes laughing when he comes :) yeah :)

also you know the intimacy of coming and not pulling out and just immediately making sure cole gets to come too. he's attentive to his boy!!!

Nick opens his mouth to kick Hughes out of the room for reasons he wouldn’t be able to explain even if Hughes fought him on it – it’s rare to have a guy actually care that much about Nick’s guys getting off, but it’s not against the rules to make them come – but the look on Cole’s face as he spills over Jack’s hand stops Nick before he starts. It’s a mix of delighted and fond, a lot of love and so much affection.

nick probably would have said something and burned his entire reputation to the league to the ground and nico hischier WOULD have had to fly in and fuck it out of nick, but cole being so in love with jack also grounds nick in the present. it's not a what if situation, it's not a hypothetical, it's not an idle thought: cole loves jack and he loves him so much. nick can't argue that. nick can't read that any other way.

Nick doesn’t think they’re dating. He thinks Cole would tell him that. The two of them talk all the time and it’s never come up. Cole doesn’t keep things that make him happy to himself, especially not from Nick.

Then again, Nick didn’t know Cole could be this happy having sex. He knows less than he thought about Cole.

oh nick, my love. you are so screwed

Hughes pulls out and before Nick can even move a muscle to kick him out, he takes a box of tissues on the table by the bed and dabs at the mess on Cole’s stomach. “Damn, Cole, sorry,” he says. “You’re gonna have to shower again. Fuck, when was the last time you came? There’s so much of it.”

“Shut up, you know I don’t do anything during the season.” Cole stretches his arms about his head. Nick can’t stop looking at his flushed chest, his sated smile. “It builds up. I was going to have to shower again anyway since you had your dick up my ass, right?” He yawns, stretching again. “Get out of here, guy. You got a flight. I’ll see you later.”

absolutely wrecked my google search history trying to figure out if scientifically cis guys really rack up jizz if they don't come for a long time or if that's just shit college guys told me for purposes of a pity fuck. anyway reddit was inconclusive but maddy said she likes gross sex and i thought what's grosser than a shit ton of come (see also: the nick/cole sex scene. DISGUSTING.)

cole is so happy in this scene, it's very sweet from his perspective. a pov switch from HIS pov would be just him being able to take a breath for the first time in a couple months in the room. no anxiety, no exhaustion he's getting fucked by his best friend AND his captain that he loves so much is there to make sure he is safe. he's having a great night.

Hughes gets off of bed and pulls his gym shorts back on. Nick feels hateful that Hughes didn’t take off his shirt and then wonders why that’s bothering him. No one ever strips all the way down. He should be more mad that Hughes laid Cole out naked when he didn’t have to.

Hughes hesitates by the bed and then leans down and kisses Cole on the forehead. Cole grins.

in the room, it's an unspoken rule that you don't kiss, which is a) why nick briefly goes ??? when nico kisses him and also why i loved writing lil nico hischier breaking the rules, b) very meaningful in THIS scene, bc it's a lovely little tender action that steps outside of the room. no they can't kiss, yes jack hughes is pushing the boundaries, but at the end of the day, this is not really the room, is it? this is friendship. and cole feels that. a little forehead kiss to remind the homies you love and cherish them.

Nick coughs. He’s at his limit. Hughes needs to leave.

Hughes stands up. “See you, Cole,” he says. He winks at Nick as he passes. He’s out the door quickly, which is good, because Nick wants to deck him.

i was trying to write jack with a softer touch than i usually see him written bc frankly, i'm bored of slutty bro jack hughes. get more interesting material. however! jack hughes is also a hockey bro. he just had great sex. he's feeling himself. he's having a great day. thanks for staying out of it nick, ok see you byeeeeee

Cole leans up on his elbows to look at Nick. “Forgot you were there,” he says. He looks embarrassed. Nick wishes he didn’t know that Cole’s chest flushes red when he comes or that his cheeks turn pink and stay that way for several minutes after.

“Sorry,” says Cole.

FORGOT YOU WERE THERE!! like i said i haven't read this fic since i posted it due to mortifying ordeal of there is so much smut and i get embarrassed for reasons i'm not getting into rn but! if i didn't put it in the fic, "forgot you were there" causes untold psychological damage to poor nick. cole forgot. HE FORGOT. HE FORGOT NICK WAS IN THE ROOM.

but cole forgot bc he felt safe!! he didn't have to worry!! if it was gally or eddy in the room with him, he would have been sooo conscious of them being there and he would not have been able to lose himself in the moment with jack. he would have been protected but he wouldn't have felt *safe*. nick was there to keep him safe so he was able to just enjoy it with jack.

“Just, uh,” says Nick. He doesn’t know where to start. He’s off-kilter in the worst way and having trouble stringing a coherent thought together. Cole watches him, confused. Nick clears his throat. “Let’s get you to the shower. We have a flight tomorrow.”

“Oh, yeah,” says Cole. He sits up gingerly. “Ow, fuck. Columbus, right?”

“Yeah,” says Nick. He’s hit with the urge to tell Cole to lie down again. He wants to press a finger against his hole, touch the semen dripping out of it. He wants to know what it feels like.

this is the literally the filthiest thing i have ever written and i am beset and haunted with visions of nick fingerfucking jack hughes' come in cole. like....holy fuck dude lmao.

it was also the one single thing in the fic i felt confident maddy would respond positively too and! i was right.

with every exchange there is a great deal of anxiety and this one particularly bc i didn't have time to get it beta'd and it was so far out of my usual wheelhouse. like who am i to write 20k of winner's room!! maddy was going to hate it and i was going to ruin the entire year for her on january 1st!! but i knew she would at least like that image lol. it's a good image.

The thought makes him balk. It’s a rule to use a condom, but Nick had been too distracted to step in and clearly him and Cole have fucked raw before. Their familiarity with each other doesn’t mean Nick should be finger-fucking Jack Hughes’ come into Cole’s ass. He’s not going to invite himself into intimacy he wasn’t part of. Cole forgot he was in the room.

nick got so riled up by jack hughes that he didn't really keep cole safe! he didn't make jack uses a condom! and while the subtext is that jack and cole are bearbacking on the reg and this is normal bro behavior for them, nick very much did fail safe sex 101.

Nick swallows bile and watches as Cole gets out of bed and pulls on his gym shorts. “Shitty loss, but I’ll take it,” says Cole. He doesn’t sound like he had a life-changing experience. He sounds normal.

if nick is about to have a complete mental breakdown, and cole just got fucked by jack hughes, WHO IS DRIVING THE BUS

“I’ll meet you in the locker room,” says Nick. He gets off the wall and his shoulders ache from holding himself so tense. Cole watches him, brow furrowed. Nick rolls his shoulders and then leans down and grabs a water bottle of the minifridge. He hands it to Cole. “Drink this in the shower.”

nick is just standing against the wall like a lamp whose shoulders are so tense that he IS going to wake up tomorrow with a stiff back and have to spend time with an athletic trainer getting his muscles rolled out

also the waterbottle thing.... i wanted a tangible item of care to return to throughout the fic. there's no real meaning behind it being water instead of idk gatorade or whatever, but i did want something that nick would give to his boys every time. like, the captain is providing aftercare in a room that rarely sees tenderness or kindness. the rules of the room are few and they allow for a lot of meanness. nick can care for his guys by giving them some water.

Cole takes it. They stare at each other and then Cole smiles. “Hope none of the guys are there,” he says contemplatively. “Oh well. If Kirby wants to start shit, he can call Jack himself.”

Ask Me About My Kirby/Jack Agenda

also it's been almost an entire season and i wrote a whole ass fic, but it only just fully sank into me rn that kirby dach is a hab. kirby dach. IS A HAB.

honestly i find the future of the habs very interesting. i wish for them to have zero playoff success but a lot of tender moments that make them realize, it's not about winning, it's about the friends you make along the way.

Nick cannot think about team politics at the moment. He can’t think about Kirby or Jack Hughes. He maybe even can’t think about Cole, which would be a first since he’s met him. “I’m serious about the water,” he says helplessly.

"a first since he met him" imho i did a terrible job of establishing that him and cole really genuinely are friends and have been good friends and have been good friends for a while. bc like. they have! they are really good friends and have been since cole came to the team! irl and in the fic! and nick kind of acknowledges without acknowledging that he's really liked this guy for a while and thinks abt him often! i just did an insanely bad job of like. establishing a base for them beyond mentions of their friendship. idk. if i'd had more than a month and gotten it beta'd, that's probably something my betas would have pulled out as something ot work on

ofc if i had more than a month, i probably wouldn't have written this. so. we do what we can

Cole reaches up and taps the water bottle against Nick's forehead with another smile. He leaves without saying anything.

cole's like boy my friend and captain is behaving weird! oh well. time to go piss off kirby by lording over it him that i have jack hughes come in my ass and he doesn't :) cole is not overthinking anything in this moment. he's feeling too good

Nick strips the bed, even though they’ve got custodial staff for that. He’s never felt great about leaving messy bed sheets, on the rare occasions a guy wants more than a blowjob and has the time to make it happen. He tries to make it easier on the custodial staff when he can. And it helps, now, to have something to do with his hands, to go through the motions of being helpful.

captain nick is a good boy! captain nick wants to be helpful! captain nick wants to make things easier on support staff! captain nick is also having a hell of a time and needs something to do with his hands even if it is something gross

He balls up the pillowcase and sheet and places it at the end of the bed. He throws away tissues in the small trash can under the table that holds condoms and lube. The room smells like sex, which, okay, there’s two decades of men fucking in this room, but it particularly smells like Cole and Jack having sex. Nick is sick with the knowledge that now he knows what Cole’s sweat smells like when it’s pooling against someone else. He touches the balled up sheets, a damp spot on the white cotton. He swallows.

BOYS R GROSS. extremely hot imho to touch someone else's sex sweat, sorry to be a guy on main. also like nick how did you think this is going to make you feel?

He takes the long way back to the locker room, circling around the other end of the arena to put space between him and the room and then him and Cole. Maybe by the time he gets back, everyone will be gone.

No such luck. Cole is out of the shower and he’s arguing with Kirby and Sean about—god, Nick doesn’t even want to know. Cole salutes him with the water bottle Nick gave him. It’s two-thirds empty.

every mention of sean monahan is for sean monahan nation, which is maddy, but also bc there is a tyler toffoli shaped hole in the habs and while sean seems a little more Tired than toff, he does fill a similar role of older brother who WILL moderate a stupid argument by escalating it (they are arguing about come.)

Nick strips and goes to shower alone without saying anything to them. Sean gives him a weird look but Nick lets it slip off him. He stands in the shower under cold water until he can’t think about anything except how cold he is, and then turns on the heat to scrub off the game and the discomfort of the room.

sean is also one of the few canny older guys in this fic. like the bulk of the "older adult who gives nick a team touchstone" is joel edmundson but monny is not clueless. he's been in the league a while, he is best friends with johnny hockey, he gets it. he doesn't do anything about it! bc nick is not in a position where he will take direction or kindness from anyone, especially not a guy who just got traded to the team. but sean gets it. of everyone in the locker room, sean probably gets it more than anyone.

When he comes out of the shower, Kirby and Sean are gone but Cole is sitting by his stall, fiddling with his phone.

“You want to get dinner?” he asks Nick.

“I’m kinda tired,” Nick says. He feels numb. “That game was brutal.”

“Shit, it really was.” Cole watches him dress and Nick doesn’t know how to feel about it. He’s not self-conscious, but not particularly happy either. Nothing he can do though; Cole watches him dress all the time. It’s nothing out of the ordinary even though Nick feels like something has changed inside him. Cole continues. “We gotta get a read on the Devs.”

“Yeah,” says Nick. He puts on his shoes and doesn’t bother to tie the laces. “Come on, Cole.”

cole HAS caught on that nick is going thru something, but bc his experience of the room was so nice tonight, he doesn't even consider that that is what is bothering nick. he figures it's just the mortifying ordeal of losing to the devs. he's looking at nick and going aw my captain is sad about the devs :( we gotta get a read on em suzy :(

nick, meanwhile, is so busy trying not to feel any emotions that he might actively explode

They leave the building together, Cole filling the silence with talk about the Devils. He seems to take it at face value that Nick is tired, but keeps glancing at Nick like he wants to pry. Nick doesn’t say anything. What is there to say? I’m sorry I never realized you could enjoy sex? I’m sorry there is a part of you I didn’t know? I wish I knew how much happier you could be?

I WISH I KNEW HOW MUCH HAPPIER YOU COULD BE. imagine nick in this moment man. his best friend on the team has a whole part of him that nick never knew about, that nick never even thought to consider the existence of. nick just saw a new side of cole and he is SHATTERED.

Nick wants to throw up. Cole muses over Nico Hischier, talking mostly to himself.

Outside, Cole peels off to his car with a yawn and a wave. Nick goes to his own. He sits in silence in his parked car for a long time, willing the memory of Cole’s flushed chest and pink cheeks to leave him.

It’s November, and it's getting colder. He keeps his window rolled down as he drives back to his apartment until his face hurts and he isn’t thinking of anything at all.

i think i initially had nick screaming in his car and then i thought about it for five seconds and i was like, yonsei and gosei men do not scream. we bury our emotions and force ourselves to feel physically uncomfortable to avoid any thought or feeling. we are just diaspora enough to have complicated emotions and no idea how to deal with them. (also one thing i've been weirdly conscious of in my fic since starting testosterone - how testosterone really does flatten your emotions quite a bit. people emote with fewer dramatics in my fic these days.) but nick suzuki in particular is not a car screamer.

ANYWAY i am getting pretty tired so i'm not rereading this and will be posting and going to bed, but maggie i hope you enjoyed this rumination on one of the filithiest scenes in the entire fic. this fic was agonizing to write but i am very proud of it and i did put a lot of work into it and hopefully someday i can read it without feeling the horrors!

#unfortunate birdcage fanfictions #fresno oilers.txt

[lovecolibri]

Not me thinking if the backlash can get super loud and bad that KR might have just blown up her whole career. I am not sure how ABC can be happy about that ending and the reaction to it. Now I wonder if they have the guts to fire her coming off a writer's strike. If she actually gets fired, she is going to have trouble finding other jobs at the same level. I usually don't cheer or root for someone to lose their job, but this would be entirely her fault!

I'm not going to pretend I have any idea how any of this works, but I will say, showrunners have committed far greater crimes against their shows and nothing has stopped them from continuing so I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much 🤷🏻‍♀️ Hollywood can still be a small place and burning bridges doesn't happen that often so even IF something happens, I don't expect WE will hear much if anything about it. If Tim comes back in a more active capacity they might still have her do the interviews and we wouldn't know (unless they recapture the magic and good pacing of the early seasons and that will be a clue but LS was a pacing nightmare too so who knows 🤷🏻‍♀️), OR if they did say anything it would likely be a "stepping down because of xyz other opportunity came up" or some other PR nonsense.

Mostly, I just miss the good pacing and the heart and depth this show used to have. I still have moments from previous seasons that all I have to do is think about them and I get goosebumps STILL at how good they were. Now I feel like I never know what the characters are thinking most of the time so none of the emotional beats really land. Everything is so surface level it can't hold any emotional weight.

Anyway, we shall see what happens. She was fine as just a writer under Tim, but by s4 when he was giving her more control, well. We all saw 4x14 and how it sidelined Eddie and the firefam to push BT and the two best scenes were ones she didn't think needed to happen on screen. The inside of her eyelids must be the most interesting place in the world with all the things and developments and conversations for the characters that take place there.

#my sweet nonnie friends #911 #911 spoilers #abc fire kr challenge #i'm sure she'll get another job or they will keep her on as EP and just not really say anything #but also she is getting paid real human money to be bad at her job and i'm not going to pretend otherwise #but also lets not forget timmy left her in charge specifically and at no point did he step back in so he's not blameless either

[insulationsun]

marcy overall got a bit sidelined, hence the lack of marcanne... S3 felt more like it was about the calamity duo and an extra (marcy) than the calamity "trio" lqskeulgqeyuf

FKDSFJKDSF DAMNN...OWWWWW ANON yeah eyah youre right though. the way they set up marcy really seemed like she'd like. do something More important or be more important than she really was? the build-up to her reveal, the promise w anne, true colors....like

and i was hesitant to be like "oh not enough marcy focus" or "theyre gonna get to it, we need to see the whole thing" so thats kinda what i did i wanted to see it through to the end before i make any judgements dsjfsd

but now yeah i think i can confidently say they couldve done more with marcy, but i know she was something they hadnt figured out till s2 got greenlit?( i believe) so. it makes sense that her arc didnt rly come full circle towards the end

and im not one to be like ohh they glossed over true colors! but in the grand scheme of things there was a LOT of setup about marcy that just ultimately didnt go anywhere,

and like... similar to oscar pine in RWBY i feel like when youre putting characters(esp child characters) through a lot of hell you gotta like . Justify the inclusion of these scenes, yknow with some payoff? they gotta react to the event or something or idk its gotta come up or be something reoccuring..but like. and i dont doubt that there was Some meddling there since they fought so hard to get that scene there in the first place; but it was still a decision that had to be made

like, do we want to have this Grand and dramatic death scene but sacrifice being able to Talk about it or give it a real payoff or not have it at all?? and i guess . that happened idk

but its more than just true colors like yeah everything in season 2, just ..yeah she got sidelined shdfsd. no two ways abt it, i think.... i also think that marcy shouldve gotten more scenes just. like By herself??? i love what we got in All in but it still felt...idk.

but i dont wanan feel bad for having expectations when they're the ones that built her up, i guess? not impossible expectations bt yknow a bit more... especially in her perspective. bc in the end we still lacked a lot of marcy perspective episodes, not even olivia and yunan is in her perspective, yknow?

the most introspection we got from her was like projection sequence and all in?? and i guess a bit of the finale (and yeah, that sidelining is obvious with how short her goodbye scene to andrias was) sooo sjnfds

ahhhhhh. so many things. it is a bit frustrating ! !!! but i guess since the story didnt rly start based around the Trio it had to be worked in and then. well. once we get to s3.......skfdslf.

so it makes sense but oghe. [ lays on the ground... ]

#asks #LAYS DOWN... #YEAHA................. #im aware the show isnt meant to rly focus on the girls also but. #with how everything was presented......how realistically written the trio are #it is little wonder people got attached to them #but i hope this doesnt sound like i think the show revolves around the trio djfsdjfs #cos i dont think its meant to BUUUUT theyre still a big part of the story regardless #and thats not me . saying that like theyre all Catalysts for things in amphibia and like #prophecy says they gotta save amphibia right? #so theyre important #it just kinda sucks with how nicely sasha and annes arcs kinda come full circle and how marcys really . didnt #couldve benefitted from an entire ep in the mindscape- and i think there were quite a few eps that couldve been sacrificed #JUST ME THOUGh #bt yeah i dont think it was unreasonable for some ppl to have some of the expectations they did abt marcy #lotsa set up #amphibia spoilers

[purpleyellow]

Smooth like butter

BTS 8th member

Sunny’s masterlist

“Sunny being a mess in the behind the scenes for Butter”

requested by: anon

a/n: Feel free to share your thoughts with me. Requests are open! 💜

Sunny blinks three times from where she was standing, eyes focused on Jimin's hair while ignoring whatever he was telling her.

“I've had this hair for days now. Get over it” He snaps his fingers in front of her face and the girl's eyes fall to his face. “Are you going to say I look like a 'my little pony' character again?”

“I was wondering if I pressed the color strands in a specific order something would happen?” Sunny says without a thought and J-hope, who was watching the interaction, snorts.

“You're just jealous” Rolling his eyes, Jimin turns away from her. Sunny nods and turns to the styling team.

“I am, actually. Unnie, do you think I could do something like this next time?” She smirks after getting a positive sign. One of the makeup artists gets close to make some touch ups and Jimin gets called up to record his elevator scene.

“Did you rehearse something for your take?” J-hope looks up from his chair and pats the armrest for her to come closer, which she does and leans next to it.

“Not really. Just spinning and throwing my jacket back should do it, right?” Shrugging, she places a hand on his shoulder and watches Jimin's first take. The song plays for longer than she remembered, and he does a bunch of fancy moves before stopping and asking for a do-over. “Well, maybe it won't cut it”

"Add some groving in the middle" Hoseok stands up, swaying to an unexistent beat. As if on queue, Jungkook and Jimin, who stepped down since something about the lights had to be fixed, showed up also doing the same shimmy.

Sunny laughed and watched them huddle together in a little dance pile. Taehyung who was standing a little away shouted an "Ay" to support his friends' little club section.

“Good thing we're not a part of the dance line” Yoongi's voice suddenly appeared by her side, startling Sunny while he stared amused at the group. J-hope walks a little to the side, waving for them to join the circle, and as a reflex Suga points to somewhere undefined “Look, they're calling for us there”.

"Get in here" Jimin holds Yoongi's arm and pulls him closer. Doing the same to Sunny, Hobi intesinfies his shoulder movement getting her to do the same and "grove" with them.

"Jimin, we're good to go" The director interrupts their moment to continue with the shoot.

Sunny takes that moment as a good time to walk out and search to see if there's anything she can drink to boost her energy. Spotting Namjoon standing next to a bunch of colerfull bottles, she heads his way and snatches one for herself.

"Having a good time?" He asks before locking his phone and putting it inside his pocket. Sunny nodds adding a straw into the energy drink.

"And you? Excited for another season of american interviews" She snorts wacthing him roll his eyes.

“Of course. You're going to help me out, right? Pay attention to what's being asked and answer with a short sentence like you're used to doing” Nudging her sides, Namjoon watches her think for a second.

"I don't know. I'd have to explain how my brain is capable of speaking the language and learning English through normal school might not be as entertaining as learning it through a tv show. Americans might not be ready for it" She adds making him snort.

"You're awful" He says bitting back a laugh. Sunny shruggs sipping from the bottle. "But you always help me out. The tradition is still going, right?" Namjoon waits in silence for a sencind beforr reeinforcing "Right?"

“Chill out. Of course” Rolling her eyes, Sunny lets go of the straw “We can do the usual one question for you one for me system”.

"Thank you for lowering my worries" RM sighs and pats her shoulder.

The girl is ready to turn around and look for a couch to sit on when Taehyung and Jin walk closer to them. She waves the oldest closer and rest her head on his arm.

"It's so hot we might have to change the title to melted butter" Jin laughs and claps to support his joke, the action making Sunny's head bounce and she sends him an annoyed sideglance.

"Ha ha ha" Namjoon laughs ironically and Taehyung sings "Melt like butter"

"It is getting warm. Why are we wearing suits for this concept again?" The girl points to her clothes as a way to emphazise her question, yet she doesn't have a straight answer.

"Part of the symbolism or something. Not the time for questions like that" Namjoon pats her on the shoulder and walks out.

"They probably explained it in the concept meeting" Taehyung tries to recall. Sunny represses a laugh and shrugs again.

“I didn't pay attention to that one. My bad” Also walking away from the group she turns around and brushes her jacket back “It must be for that smooth criminal vibe”.

#Sunny #bts 8th member #bts addition #bts additional member #bts au #bts female member #bts female addition #bts female oc #bts oc #bts extra member #bts extra member au #bts x oc #bts x 8th member #kpop addition #kpop female member #kpop female oc #kpop female addition

[queerpanikkar]

buck: love me anyway (5x09)

You know this was actually the first full episode this season that we got things from Buck’s point of view? to that point, I’ll amend my statement about Buck’s character development regressing: we haven’t been privy to his thoughts all season — we saw a piece of it in 5x05, when he announced his transfer, but even all the bt scenes in 5x07 were majoritively from Taylor’s point of view.

So it’s quite possible that his relationship with himself this season is exactly the same as it was in 4x14. we haven’t had a mention of Dr. Copeland all season because Buck isn’t healing right now, and obviously that’s not a good thing, but it isn’t out of character. I think we often forget, because of the spacing of the episodes, that these things are happening in conjunction with each other. Buck’s overwhelmed, which he’s allowed to be, and so his problems are all stacking up on each other. of course he’s going to take the easier way out and revert back into what he knows.

But, that being said, for what it’s worth, I think he’s a million miles away from where he was with Abby. “If you’re going to break up with me, just do it” versus hanging on to the last threads of Abby’s apartment and having Maddie, who was there for 1 day, be the one to tell him that it’s over. 

I think it’s also important to note that Hen and Bobby were attempting to help piece his relationship together, whereas with Abby everyone was telling him to move on. Now, this might be Buck going against the grain, but it also feels like his understanding of what love is supposed to be is shifting. slightly. but it’s shifting. He’s making these ‘regressions’ consciously, at any rate. after the will scene, he has to be.

Anyway, onto the actual meta. in somewhat chronological order, I think it’s interesting that this is the 3rd time this season that Buck ‘messes up’, for lack of a phrase. In 5x05 ‘Home and Away’, Ravi has to bring the CO2; in 5x08, Eddie clocks the mirrored room number when Buck’s expression says he definitely should’ve; and now, in 5x09 Buck almost cuts into a car on an oil well.

Now this could just be attributed to Buck being ‘distracted’ but what’s noticeable about it is that Buck has no problem considering himself expendable — I’d argue that he still does — but we haven’t really seen his clumsiness putting other people’s lives in danger since the baby in the wall (I think). That’s what’s interesting to me; it’s never been a regression, really, but a deterioration of what’s already there. Being with Taylor, on top of Chim and Maddie leaving, on top of Eddie being ‘weird’, makes Buck worse not better. And that’s not sustainable.

So, moving on to Buck’s ‘love me anyway’. Buck, who was taught that people will only love him conditionally. Buck, who offers Taylor story pitches to get her to interact with him. Buck, who is Taylor’s boyfriend, but also one of her best sources. Buck, who thought Taylor was going to break up with him, chased her to Oklahoma, and then was rewarded with an ‘I love you”. 

But the thing is, this time Buck knows. It’s written all over his face. He says “good” not because he was expecting it, but because that’s what always happens. Past is prologue. Buck was the one to say it, suggesting he knows a lot more than he’s letting on. He gets it, but he’s terrified of it. He gets that Taylor is bad for him, but he doesn’t know that Eddie’s a safer place to land right now. He’s being weird, remember?

So we land on 5x03. Buck saying “I have been Ana,” Buck believing that he always will be Ana...except, Eddie breaks the pattern. Because unlike Bobby, Eddie’s always been able to see right through Buck. He says “Yeah, who would do that?” but it also comes across as ‘You’re allowed to break up with her’ when everyone else is screaming at him to communicate with Taylor. It comes across as ‘You said you’ve been Ana, remember?’. Buck is Taylor’s Abby, and Eddie knows that, and a part of me thinks that maybe Buck knows that too.

#this is unedited but its not like i was gonna edit it anyway #sorry feel free to scroll but also feel free to read it lol #911meta #buck: love me anyway #911 spoilers

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL

May 2021 Wk 3

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs.

It’s a cray cray Friday when Vietnam gets its eng subs up before GMMTV Thailand. What alter-reality are we in? Well, the Vietnamese offerings are better right now anyway. (Oooo, feel that burn.) 

Ongoing Series - Thai

Top Secret Together Ep 2 - pulping it up in the best possible way. Sure sound and production values are pants, and in classic Thai fashion the editing in post is exacerbating (rather than fixing) pacing issues, but it’s still CUTE AF. I don’t even mind the added university storyline, because they’ve got good chemistry (and a confident gay fresher after a panicked gay hazer is an old favorite... what can I say, SOTUS was my first love). We aren’t spending too much time with any one couple, so it’s weighted a lot better than Brothers was, but also character development is slow. 

Siew Sum Noi Ep 2 - Unfortunately, it’s just too hard to find, plus no subs. I’m dropping it in the hopes it comes back on my radar some day. 

Y-Destiny Ep 8 - (Thurs) It’s rough having a ghost boyfriend, half your friends are scared, the other half think you’re crazy, and kissing shortens your lifespan. This was a cute couple even if I wasn’t wild about the surrounding story. 

Close Friend Ep 5: (Dear My Star/JimmyTommy) - about high school penpals. It had to rely entirely on voice over work as the actors only meet face to face at the end. It’s a good thing they are appealing screen presences on their own, with good vocal control. It’s hard to imagine any other BL pair carrying this kinda plot. It’s by far my favorite of the series so far, and I’m not even a big JimmyTommy fan. 

Fish Upon The Sky Ep 7 - no subs. Do we care? Not really. Because we have... 

Nitiman Ep 3 - currently my favorite out of Thailand. It’s the university Thai BL i’ve been waiting for since... when was the last good one? My Engineer? Yowza. Anyway we got: head on my shoulder, baby is a floppy drunk (but still wants to be in control), proximity alert, boyfriend’s closet, seme gets seriously jelly, and a cute twist on feeding him. There’s something fun and complex about Jin’s character. He’s not a panicked bi. He knows exactly what’s going on, he just hasn’t decided if he wants Bb or not. He clearly enjoys being looked after, the compliments, and the attention, but he’s not sure if he’s going to like what happens if he gives in. I like that twist on the usual tsundere uke archetype a lot, cautious rather than willfully obtuse or freaked out. We can see Jin realizing in stages: I like this person, I like that they like me, I like the romantic attentiveness. But in the background is... do I actually want to f*k him? It’s a dynamic we don’t often see on BL. 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

HIStory 4: Close To You (Taiwan) Ep 10 fin - the most ridiculous show using BLs worst tropes in a sort of weird smoothie of bitter greens and too ripe banana. The ending was the sappiest cheesiest thing ever, like cheese syrup tapped from the cheese tree. So of course I loved it, but I’m pretty sure I giggled through all the bits meant to be profound. Because, in the end, to tolerate this show at all, you just can’t take ANY of it seriously. RECOMMENDED (with some SERIOUS reservations and trigger warnings.) Full review here. 

Be Loved in House: I Do (Taiwan) Ep 1-2 - I don’t mind a damaged seme character but this one is a bit weird for me. Like creepy Cheese in the Trap level weird. On the bright side, the story has given our tsundere uke good motivation for his angst and great existing friendships, loyalty, and likability. Plus I’m invested in the cafe owner/innocent puppy side dishes. So if it’s only the seme character I’m not jiving with, and he’s the most established actor, it should all turn out fine. I believe in you, Taiwanese BL. 

Papa & Daddy (Taiwan) Ep 6 fin - speaking of belief. This such a good show but they gave us a cliffhanger ending. Now we must hope against hope for season two. That’s never guaranteed with Taiwan tho. So, I’m docking a few points and saying, RECOMMENDED so long as you realize it’s a cliffhanger. 

Love is Science? (Taiwan) Ep 1-9 (BL subplot) - this is a good het romance, but the fact that the BL subplot is a beautifully acted disaster bi + confident gay means you’re hearing about it whether you want to or not. Plus they just added in some GL! Come on! I gotta support Taiwan normalizing queer to this extent. They are fighting the good fight and if I also have to watch a career lady and her much younger softest straight boi get it on, too? Twist my arm with that service sub subtext. Go on Taiwan, TWIST IT. It’s on Viki. Join the revolution.   * Incidentally if you actually like the D/s het dynamic of this show, I highly recommend Japanese Kimi wa Petto - career woman keeps a hot young dancer boy as a pet. Oh yes, an actual pet, that IS the pitch. Never doubt Japan when kink is on the line. It’s also on Viki. Go get your kink on, thank me later. (If it helps: That was not a request.)  

Most Peaceful Place 2 (Vietnam) Ep 2 (AKA 5) - love triangles aren’t my thing, but if you’re gonna do it short form, by all means bring in the lead’s other BL pairing so the chemistry is on point. Now I've no idea who I want him to end up with. Can’t they just be in a poly triad? 

My Lascivious Boss (Vietnam) Ep 7 - I’m still enjoying it a lot. It’s still unabashedly queer and the tension is ramping up. We now have secret identity, blackmail, femme fatale, faen fatale, and incoming seme confrontation. Best of all, the series is still airing, which makes it longer than any other Vietnamese BL I’ve seen (aside from Tein Bromance - which is just too weird to count). 

Gossip - Thai BL 

SEVEN PROJECT TEASERS

No one is entirely sure what Studio Wabi Sabi’s Seven Project/7Project will entail. 

It might be like Close Friend (1 episode per couple, no linking), 

or Y-Destiny (2 episodes per couple, loosely linked), 

or The En of Love (4 episodes per couple, linked but independent consecutive stories). 

They’re giving the couple’s arcs separate titles. So each one would be what? Seven Project: Once Upon a Time or the like? We’re in Taiwanese title territory people and NO ONE WANTS TO GO THERE. Anygay... 

Once Upon a Time is the BounPrem (og UWMA) anchor story, and seems to be the most dramatic and likely saddest. These two can handle most of what’s thrown at them at this juncture, so it should be good. 

Vs Love is a BoomPeak (og Make it Right) university vehicle. Since I thought Boom was done with our nonsense, I couldn’t be more thrilled and surprised this pair is doing another show together. I don’t think either of them are the greatest actors but I find Peak very endearing and Boom charismatic on screen, so I’ll watch. 

Would You be My Love is the hotly anticipated SantaEarth launch. They’re a (cultivated) IRL ship and Earth is an established BL actor. They have great chemistry and high energy so this could be lots of fun. 

We are also getting a GL from this series from established BL actresses Samantha and Pineare. Nothing teased yet on that, but I’m looking forward to this installment the most. Also curious to see how the ladies handle the branding and promo side, not to mention the culture. (Thailand variety shows gonna force *girls* to play the Pepero game?) 

Secret Crush on You upcoming Thai BL with no release date, co-produced by and featuring (but NOT staring) Saint and directed by Cheewin (sigh) with all fresh faces. (Previously known as Stalker the series.) It looks like pure pulp and I’m not wild about the plot but could be better than expected as it’s adapted from a novel. Cheewin is an okay director when he has an actual story to follow. 

Don’t Say No the series. Coming from the producers of TharnType this is the JaFirst vehicle many have been waiting for. Friends to lovers + a good boy/bad boy pairing on a sports romance foundation. It’s basketball so they tapped Meen as well (he’s semi-pro). The bad news? You get one guess as to who is writing the darn thing? Yep it’s MAME. So, ya know, expect some slam dunk kidnapping, a light dribbling of rape, and me turning into a basketcase. AKA... 

Will I have to live blog this series in order to survive it? That seems to be the only way I can. So probably. Which means the bad sports puns will continue. Look, if I’m suffering, SO ARE YOU! 

Rumors of a new YinWar vehicle The Best Story (mini series) coming in July. Also rumors that their previously announced Love Mechanics (full length series) has either been delayed, is facing money issues, or is moving studios, or all three. 

Breaking News 

DELAYED (I’m talking these three off the watch list until we get new airing dates) 

Love Area’s release was pushed out but it got a trailer. 

Golden Blood was supposed to drop Weds but comments in MDL report that it is delayed due to C19.  

Love’s Outlet (Taiwan) is supposed to have started a 50 episode run (only 3-5 min each, what utter nonsense). Sadly, this delay is due to a surge in cases in Taiwan which was doing so well, but also doesn’t have many inoculations. 

Bad Buddy has started workshopping at GMMTV actual. 

Kang Insoo’s BTS for Nobleman Ryu’s Wedding is SO FLIPPING CUTE. You have to watch it. Trust me, I don’t rec behind the scenes stuff often. 

Next Week Looks Like This: 

Some shows may be listed later than actual air date for International accessibility reasons.

Upcoming 2021 BL master post here.

Links to watch are provided when possible, ask in a comment if I missed something.

#thai bl #thaibl #asian bl #asian drama #y-destiny #close friend the series #Fish Upon The Sky #gmmtv #Nitiman #Top Secret Together #Golden Blood #Love Area #HIStory 4: Close To You #Taiwanese bl #taiwanese drama #Papa & Daddy #Be Loved In House: I Do #Love Outlet #Most Peaceful Place #Vietnamese BL #My Lascivious Boss #love is science? #Secret Crush on You #The Best Story #Love Mechanics #YinWar #seven project #7project #studio wabi sabi #be loved in house