#been ages since I last watched MacGyver
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Night Out
My quickfic for @doodledrawsthings Coffee Shop AU! In truth I had this in the books for months and just never got around to finish it ;u; Unfortunately only the muse can decide when it’s time to slap me with enough serotonin to work on this, so I rode the high from recent art and wrapped it up! It’s not as clean as I wanted, but you know what, have it anyway.
-Myst
-----
Finally. Another shift in the books.
With a heavy sigh, Luka stretches his back as the clock chimes up on the wall over the glass doors. Deft fingers untie the back before he slips the fabric apron over his head. A light snap of magnets punctuates the white noise of steaming coffee machines, and Luka stuffs his nametag into his pants pocket.
Luka was embarrassed to think about how much of a struggle it was to steady on for the entirety of the workday. Stress ate at him all the time, over so many things. Harriet was priority number one - did he remember to prep her meals for the day? Was she still ok, back in the apartment? Was Professor Popcorn in need of more repairs? Luka would happily handle such a task, of course, but...
He wasn't guaranteed to have thumbs when the evening finally came. There was his time limit to think about.
"Hey Luka?"
Damn, but being cursed was such a pain. Chopping vegetables was a particular bane of his existence. How could he trust himself with a knife like that? Ugh. He hated to make Harriet do it - no child should be wielding a knife before the age of 13, for any reason. He'd just have to MacGyver a solution or something.
"Luka..."
And on top of that, he had the upcoming bills to fret over. Rent was due in a few days, and he'd made a decent amount in tips, but they could not afford to have their upstairs neighbor burst a pipe again. He and Harriet had spent the entire afternoon toweling up their poor carpets to avoid getting mildew. Or worse, bugs. Luka was a fan of bugs, but not in his carpets, or sneaking into the mattress where they could bite his daughter.
"HEY!"
This time, the voice manages to pierce the haze of worry writhing in Luka's brain. Jolting to attention, the auburn-haired adult turns around, blinking owlishly at his colleague, Clover.
The braided redhead is giving him a wan smile, her brows furrowed in worry as she sets down a large bag of coffee beans under the counter.
"You spaced out again, buddy. Did you hear a word I said?" the barista asks, folding her arms over her stained apron.
"Uhh... you said my name," Luka replied, feeling a bit awkward as he chuckles once. "Sorry, I probably missed anything you might have asked me."
"I was asking if you ever go out."
"Ah- what?"
That was unexpected. Go out?
"You know-" Clover holds up her hands to gesture to the world in general, and beyond the coffee shop doors "-out! Like, with friends or anybody?"
Ah.
Luka laughs once, rubbing a hand on one side of his face.
"You mean since I moved into town? Nah, not really. Me and my daughter have only been here a few months - can't say we made many friends just yet."
Nor was that a risk they could take. Who knows how long they could stay here, before he was inevitably found out? One could argue it was a risk just- doing what he was doing now. Trying to hold a job, staying in an apartment; a semi-permanent living situation. They'd been on the road so long, old habits were quite hard to break. And if he was entirely honest with himself, Luka didn't know yet if he felt safe, even six months past the first day he arrived in the rural town of Subcon.
Clover's frown deepens, her arms dropping back to her sides. Her dropped guard betrays her worry, before she tries to play it off with another lighthearted smile and upbeat words.
"Oh come on, it can't have been that long since you've just done something fun for the sake of it. When was the last time you went out with friends and enjoyed yourself?" she asks.
"Why is this important?" Luka asks, his own guard slowly rising. He didn't quite see where she was going with this, but he wasn't sure he'd like it.
Oops- maybe not the most polite way to phrase that, as he sees an awkward flinch on Clover's face. Quick, recover! Luka chuckles once, also trying to lighten the mood.
"You and MJ never really asked me that kind of stuff before. I thought I was hired to serve coffee, not tea."
"We serve both, ya doofus," Clover smirks, rubbing one of her well-muscled arms with the other in a self-conscious gesture. "You should know that, since you've been working here almost four months now. And uh- well, MJ just kind of noticed you always seem very tired whenever you leave work."
Luka smiles back, but it's forced. Careful. Don't give any hints that it's anything serious. Don't be suspicious.
"Oh, that? I uh- I'm not used to the retail scene. I'll probably adapt to it soon."
Clover doesn't seem convinced. Still, her expression is sympathetic, rather than judgmental or suspicious. She leans her back on the counter, looking over Luka's exhausted demeanor and baggy eyes with a skeptical smile.
"I'm sure you will." She rests her hands on the counter. "In the meantime, you should go out for bowling with me and MJ! We were planning this outing for about a week, and maybe you'd wanna come with?"
Luka stops mid-folding of his apron. He turns toward Clover with surprise.
"Bowling? As in- knocking over pins in an alley, bowling?"
Clover rolls her eyes, amused. "No, as in rolling cereal bowls. Yes, that kind of bowling, Luka. It'll be fun! Eat some cheap pizza, knock over pins, watch the uncanny valley animations on the TV screen, the whole shebang. You up for joining us?"
"I uh- I didn't know there was a bowling alley here?" Luka says, his voice pitching up as he gives a sheepish laugh. "I- I don't know..."
Shit.
He could already feel the first touches of his curse starting to well up. A quick glance to his hands- okay, no purple yet. But it was coming.
Luka tucks his hands behind his back just in case.
"I'm not sure, I have Harriet to worry about..." he fumbles, rushing to think of excuses. It hurts his heart a little when he sees the disappointed expression Clover wears.
"Are you sure?" she asks, her tone gentle. "It'll only be a for a couple of hours - I could ask Cookie next door if she'd be willing to handle your daughter for the night. She's a fantastic sitter, and your daughter would have Mu to play with."
Luka opened his mouth, preparing to turn it down- then closed it again, brows furrowed as he chews over the thought.
Only a few hours... hm. His curse's current time limit was somewhere a little short of eight hours, he was sure. As long as he didn't have to pick up a shift at work, he would have most of his day free to spend out of the motel. An outing to a bowling alley couldn't possibly last eight hours, though he'd... never actually gone bowling before.
"I.... don't know... I've never been bowling, I'll just hold you back-"
"Nonsense," Clover says, waving off his excuse immediately. "MJ and I aren't professionals or anything, Luka - it's just for fun! You've never been?? That means you've gotta try it, at least once. Please?"
...mmh. Luka would be lying if he said he wasn't very tempted. But he had so much to worry about! His daughter, his curse... keeping his job, being able to support the two of them. Not to mention, getting used to his slow camaraderie with Clover and MJ. That sort of outing would throw their friendship into first gear.
"It's ok," Clover interrupts his thoughts, standing back up straight as she grabs a rag and finishes wiping down the counter. "You don't have to come, we just thought... you know, it might be fun. You look like you need some serious time to unwind, dude. All we ever see of you is showing up to work, dealing with customers, then you leave. And hey, if you change your mind, the offer's still open."
Luka curls his fingers, foot tapping the floor in small fidget.
"Well, I'm gonna start closing up the back," Clover says, tossing the rag into a laundry bin next to the employee break room. "I'll see you tomorrow!"
"Wait!"
Clover stops, turning around with the laundry basket.
"What day were you planning to do it?"
What am I thinking?? I can't go on an outing with them!
Unaware of Luka's silent stresses, Clover beams, her smile lighting up once again.
"Saturday! Would that work for you?"
"Mnhg- maybe?" Luka concedes, forcing his own sheepish smile despite his brain screaming No nO this is a bad idea! His mouth continues to run away from him. "Saturday is my errand day - me and Harriet go out for groceries in the morning, and eat out at whatever lunch restaurant she picks. I wouldn't be open until the evening, and Sunday's game day for me and my daughter."
Bad idea, what are you doing?!
"That's perfect!" Clover says, delighted and still not privy to Luka's inner struggle. "If we close the shop at five, we can drive to the bowling alley around 5:30, play a game or two and eat. Should go until about... eight-ish? How's that sound?"
Say no, say NO!
"Sure, sounds fun."
AGH!
"Great!" Clover says, a skip in her step as she lopes off to the back room with the laundry basket. "I'll text MJ to let him know - he's already gone back to his apartment."
"Yeah, I'll uh- I'll text him too," Luka chuckles, scratching behind his head with one hand- and immediately putting a stop to that action, as he feels the points of sharp claws dig at his scalp. Both arms are dropped and tucked behind his back, a big smile on his face. "Gotta give him the full details and everything, haha..."
"No problem- see you!" Clover bids Luka goodbye, waving one hand as she cheerily hauls the laundry bin off into the back.
"Bye!" Luka says, his voice cracking from nerves.
Oh thank god she's gone.
Luka pulls his hands back out into view, and sees the telltale purple staining begin to creep up his flesh. Peck. It was already starting- Clover left just in time. He could already feel the sharp ends of his canines starting to poke into his bottom lip. He didn't have much left of the day in human form- he had to get home right now.
Snatching up his belongings from his locker, stuffing his work apron inside, Luka loops his bag over his shoulder and leaps over the service counter. He missed the rack of sugar packets this time, thankfully, his sneakers squeaking on the tile floor as he bolts out the door. The bell rings as the glass entryway opens and shuts, signaling his departure. Car keys are whipped out of his bag, a slowly deforming finger just managing to push the button to unlock the vehicle as he clambers inside. Just five minutes- he could make five minutes.
The engine of the car roars to life, and Luka zips off out of the employee parking space, trying his best to ignore it as his fingers swell and fuse together, and his eyes reflect golden light in the rear view mirror.
------
MJ's car putters up to outside the bowling alley, fixing his blue-dyed hair with a sigh. Clover, in the passenger seat, drums her hand on the door handle with excitement.
"This is gonna be so much fun," she says, turning to look over her shoulder at the stiff and uncomfortable Luka in the backseat. "I'm so glad you decided to come, Luka- we'll show you the ropes of bowling!"
"Great," the young man says, putting up another shaky smile as his fingers tense around his kneecaps. "Can't wait!"
"That's the spirit," MJ speaks up, giving Luka a quick smile of his own before twisting the key in the ignition. The car's engine dies down, the doors unlocking as MJ shifts the gear into park. "Clover told me you were nervous about hanging out, and that's completely fine by me - if you feel uncomfortable and don't want to stay, just let us know, ok? We'll drive you back to the apartment building, no hesitation."
Luka inhaled deeply, letting out a heavy sigh from the back seat of the car. It felt like his nerves were trying to shake him apart. A glance at his watch-
Was he really going forward with this?
...Yes. He was. As much as Luka worried, Clover had been right. It'd been far too long since he'd taken 'me' time.
Luka puts a hand on the door and pulls the handle, stepping out of the car before he has a chance to psyche himself out.
It's just a couple hours. He still had plenty of time, after his midday outings with Harriet.
Stay calm. You can do this.
The sign above the brick building shines with neon lights, saying 'Pins & Cushions' in bright blue and red. The backdrop is a painting that Luka can swear was painted in the 80s, displaying a bowling ball as it barrels into pins and knocking them askew with a cartoony impact mark.
"Pins & Cushions?" he says aloud, smirking a little bit.
"Kind of silly, right?" MJ speaks up, locking the car behind him with a click. "Sounds more like a sewing parlor than a bowling alley."
"It's because they boasted having cushioned chairs," Clover says, snickering. "You've never been, but most bowling alleys have these awful plastic chairs that hurt to sit on for too long."
"You mean like the chairs in high school?"
Luka's joke earns a quick bark of a laugh from Clover.
"Couched seating areas in a bowling alley was, sadly, a craze that never caught on," MJ says, ascending the concrete steps up to the building. "But this one did, and the place is like forty years old and too stubborn to change, so your butt will thank you later."
When the doors open, Luka is immediately washed with a cocktail of smells he didn't think could- nor should- ever go together. First and foremost is the thick smell of plastic and rubber, followed by the chemical odor of cleaning sprays, and the sizzling smell of burning cheese. Air conditioning blasts them from above as the three young adults enter the bowling alley, the doors sliding shut behind their backs. The sounds hit next - a cacophonous mix of rubber soles squeaking on polished floors, heavy objects falling and rolling, and the clatter of pins falling into the trap at the far end of the establishment.
It was loud, smelled strange, and the carpet looked lifted straight out of an arcade.
Luka was torn between anxiety, and a strange sort of excitement he hadn't felt in a long, long time. This was something new, something unfamiliar- he had hours to enjoy himself, and spend time not worrying about stresses of life. Harriet had a sitter, paid in advance with an alarm for when he would return, and he was out with- friends? Had him accepting this invitation solidified their friendship at this point? ...the thought made a happy butterfly flutter in his stomach.
This would be a great evening, he could feel it.
"Earth to Luka." MJ's amused tone causes Luka to jump. "Something on your mind? You're smiling."
"Oh- uh- nothing," Luka says, scratching behind his head sheepishly. "Just- thanks. For inviting me. I think I really did need this a lot."
"YEAH you do!" Clover thumps him on the back with one hand. "Come on! You have to give your shoes to the clerk so they can give you your bowling shoes."
"Ah, what? I have to take off my shoes on this carpet?" Luka complains, lifting a foot with distaste. "I feel like I'm stepping on twenty-year-old candy."
"It's part of the charm!" Clover sings, already removing one of her sneakers. "It's either this, or slip all over the place on the actual alley floor. You're getting the full bowling experience whether you like it or not, coffee boy."
"Ex-CUSE me!" Luka says with a dramatic gasp, hopping on one foot as he works to remove his own shoes. "I think you will find I'm a coffee man, thank you."
"Coffee twink," Clover counters.
"No, that's MJ."
"HEY! I will call lion's share of the tips for that one," MJ shakes a sneaker at them both in a mock scolding gesture.
"YOU'RE BOTH COFFEE TWINKS," Clover declares to the entire establishment as she fights off her last sneaker, racing for the counter before the others can catch up. "HURRY UP, COFFEE TWINKS, WE NEED TO PICK OUT BOWLING BALLS."
"I have dibs on the galaxy patterned one!" MJ yells after Clover.
Clover gives MJ an evil grin as she takes her bowling shoes and pays the rental fee, tying them before sauntering over to the racks of bowling balls. Her hand hovers over the selection, giving a teasing pause over the bowling ball made with swirled star plastic.
"Don't you dare," MJ hisses from the counter, pointing an accusing finger at Clover as he hands over the money for both his and Luka's rental shoes.
"It's either the tips share, or the bowling ball! You decide!" Clover yells back, drumming her fingers on the coveted starry bowling ball.
"Fiiiiine," MJ says with a dramatic tone, though his smile gives away his mirth. "You know I wasn't going to take the tips anyway, Clo."
"I know~" she says, giggling while she moves on to a different rack of bowling balls. "And you know I wouldn't do that to your poor weak arms, either, Moonie."
Luka finishes tying his rental shoes, thanking MJ before he makes his way down the small stairway to the alleys. It's very bright in this section of the building, with cushioned couches surrounding tables and standing consoles. Metal railings and a chute of some kind were positioned at each alleyway, some with bowling balls sitting idle atop the metal racks.
"So, what now?" Luka asks, the excitement of wading into unknown waters welling in his chest again.
"Pick a bowling ball!" Clover says, gesturing to the racks of heavy plastic spheres. "You'll want a heavy one, but not too heavy for you to lift and throw."
"Go easy on us, Clover." MJ shakes his head as he picks up his favorite starry ball. "Ms. Gun Show and her fourteen-pound bowling ball."
The redhead leans over and scoops up a swirled green bowling ball, hefting it on one arm and pumping it like a weight.
"You might get some guns yourself if you helped me landscape and move sod around my garden, Coffee Twink #1," she says, flexing a bicep.
"I refuse to acknowledge that nickname."
"Sorry, it's our team name now," Clover laughs, "the Coffee Twinks!"
"Hey, I thought our team name was the Comets?!"
"That was before Luka joined the team - now it's a 2-to-1 twink majority, I don't make the rules."
Luka just has his face in his hands, laughing through the whole exchange as he leans on the metal racks.
"You're just as bad as Harriet!" Luka laughs, pushing his hair back out of his eyes with one hand. "I don't even know where she learned that word - Cookie's daughter, probably?"
"Definitely," MJ says with a thousand yard stare, earning more laughter from Luka. "Go pick a bowling ball, I'll get the console up and running for our game."
Wiping tears from his eyes, chuckling under his breath, Luka turns to the racks and peruses the selection. The bowling balls come in all colors - most are black or dark brown, but there's a rather delightful mix of brighter hues like pink, blue and yellow. Some are marbled, some have glitter in the plastic, and a few very beat-up bowling balls have graphics of cartoon characters that were popular in the 90s. Well-loved by the children who patronize this establishment, he was sure. Harriet would love the Scooby-Doo ball - oh no wait. The one themed after a Pokeball, for sure was her poison of choice. And clearly the pick of the litter for many other children, as it was covered in scratches and dents from decades of use.
Ah- there was one themed after a jack-o-lantern! How fitting. He loops his fingers into the grip holes of the bowling ball, and heaves it off of the rack- only to almost crush his toes as the weight yanks his arms to the floor.
That was- heavier than expected!
"Oooooh, nice pick," Clover says, spinning her own bowling ball in her hands. "You sure you can carry it, though? That's a 10-pounder."
"I'll be fine-" Luka says, grunting as he lifts it back up with both hands this time. "Just- caught me off guard, is all."
"Alright, game's all set," MJ announces from the console.
Above their heads, a large tube television flashes blue before displaying a score board.
A loud k-chunk k-chunk k-chunk of machinery draws Luka's eye toward the other end of the alley. Metal rigging and machinery descend from the covered roof of the pin trap. Resembling a large soda crate, the rig drops an array of ten white bowling pins, before unclamping and ascending back into the darkness of whatever creation of god resided in that ceiling.
"You're up first, Clo," MJ says, waving a hand to indicate she should move forward.
"Watch and learn," Clover throws Luka a smile, the competitive taunt dampened by her genuinely helpful tone. "You want to throw the ball so it rolls like this-"
Stepping forward onto the squeaky, smooth polished wooden platform, Clover lifts her bowling ball to her chest. With a quick inhale, she lopes forward two steps, swinging her arm back with the bowling ball, before reeling it forward on the last stride and underhand throwing it into the aisle. The heavy green bowling ball lands with a tHDD before skidding its way down the oiled track, rolling in a long, smooth line. The swirled green sphere smacks into the bowling pins with a loud tHWAKK!!, sending all but one of the pins flying into the darkness beyond. The ball disappears into the hole, and Clover puts her hands on her hips with a huff.
"Damn, almost got a strike." Clover snaps her fingers, shrugging. The green bowling ball clatters back up the chute. She grips her fingers into the trio of holes again, and goes for another throw.
The bowling ball rolls down the course, straight as an arrow for the last pin. The pin spins off the wooden platform into the darkness, earning a whoop from Clover.
"Nice, got a spare!" Clover declares, throwing her arms up in triumph. She sashays her way back to the couches. "Who's up next?"
"I'm up," MJ says, standing from the console. Looping his fingers into his own starry bowling ball, MJ rolls his shoulders and steps up onto the oiled wooden planks. "I'm going to get the first strike of the day, just wait."
"Sure you will," Clover snickers as MJ winds up.
When he releases the ball, it rolls at very high speed- before curving halfway down the track, the topspin he put on the ball causing it veer off course and land in the gutter.
Face flushed, MJ coughs into his hand, suddenly very invested in fixing his shirt as Clover grins. The galaxy ball returns to the trough, and MJ pointedly picks it up again, winding up for his second throw. The bowling ball rocks down the course, and knocks over about six pins, leaving a corner of the triangle still standing.
"Woo!" Clover cheers, clapping as MJ returns to the seating. She reaches over and nudges Luka on the shoulder. "You're up, Luke! Show us whatchu got!"
Heart in his throat, Luka stands from his seat and steps up.
The bowling ball grins up at him, daring him to chicken out. It was heavy in his hand. Still, he walked up onto the polished floor, feeling the rubber on the bottom of his shoes as it grips the oiled surface.
Fighting the weight of the heavy bowling ball, Luka takes a step forward, swinging his arm back before bringing it back around like a pendulum. The ball hits the track with a heavy thDD as it’s released, sent rolling off down the track. Around the halfway point, it spins off course and lands in the gutter with a clunk.
“Aww,” Clover says, leaning over the chair cushion. “And you had such good posture, too.”
“It’s ok,” MJ speaks up, seeing Luka’s visible embarrassment. “It’s your first time bowling! Nothing to be ashamed of. You have another shot before we rotate players.”
Disappointed, Luka rubs at his arm. Well, that was a less than encouraging performance. But he noticed the angle of the spin on the ball. Maybe he could fix that.
The ball clatters up the chute back into the return trough. Luka picks it up with a huff of breath, holding it to his chest as he does mental calculations. If he turned his wrist at just the right point...
Stepping forward, Luka swings back and releases the ball, putting a top spin on the ball at the last possible moment-
The jack-o-lantern face rockets down the alley, the path straight until the very last second. It curves to hit the front pin from the side, knocking every single pin into the abyss beyond.
"OHHHHH!" Clover and MJ exclaim, clapping with enthusiasm as Luka looks stunned.
"You got a strike!" Clover says, applauding with a big grin. "You were totally pulling our legs about being a newbie to this, huh??"
"I think I just got lucky," Luka tries to play it off, feeling an uncommon shyness as he smiles.
Clover shakes her head, not having it.
"Luck nothing! That was pure talent, and you got a strike, dude!"
"Technically that was a spare, but still a strike in my book," MJ says as he rotates the turn order on the console, giving Luka a smile and a thumbs up.
"Oh let him have it, Moon Moon," Clover laughs as MJ throws her a pout. "Our new boy's got game!"
Luka hunches his shoulders, an awkward smile curling across his cheeks as he walks back over to the couches. Clover jumps to attention and makes her way to the track, picking up her green bowling ball for another round as he sits down.
This was... much more fun than he had expected it to be. The background noise of the bowling alley was surprisingly pleasant. He found he could get used to the dull odor of plastic and cleaner- and honestly, that hot cheese smell from what must be the pizzeria was tempting his stomach. But best of all was the camaraderie he could feel sparking between him, Clover, and MJ. Were they officially friends now? Or had they been already, and he was just- in denial? If Luka was entirely honest with himself, probably the latter. MJ and Clover had been nothing but kind and understanding, to him. His sporadic hours and excuses had done nothing to faze them with regards to their treatment of him at work. They still offered him drinks and invited him on this outing, offering even to pay for his expenses, didn't they?
"Hey Luka!" A call from MJ breaks him out of the small reverie. "You're up, again."
"And after this round, we can hit the arcade! I bet I can out-dance you on DDR, Coffee Twinks," Clover smirks.
"No betting. I know you can."
Maybe- maybe he had nothing to worry about.
---
The evening is going fantastic.
The first bowling game had been a pretty close match between Luka and Clover. Clover had the arm strength to pull off some mean and fast throws, but Luka had developed a system. Figuring out how to spin the bowling ball just the right amount had made up for his noodle arms and less weighty bowling ball. It wasn't long before he figured out how to roll a pretty straight record of spares and strikes, with the occasional 7-10 split. After bowling around, they went into the arcade section, with an entire paper roll of quarters to blow on games. A vicious Ms. Pacman multiplayer match had led to MJ smoking all three of them, and as predicted, Clover out-danced both of the boys on the DDR and Stepmania machines. Luka had to collapse over a nearby chair with exhaustion after his matches. He'd finished off the arcade run with a very lucky pull from a claw machine, winning a black cat plush with big yellow eyes that he was definitely going to enjoy giving to Harriet.
The three of them sat around their table at the bowling console again, laughing over a hot cheese and pepperoni pizza.
"No way, you didn't!" Luka gasps, wheezing for air.
"I did! I punched his goddamn lights out!" Clover laughs, slapping one knee. "The guy was being a huge creep, so I introduced him to my fist."
"I hope you didn't get in trouble with the cops or something for that." Luka tilts his head, giving her an impressed and worried look.
"Can't get in trouble if nobody reports it," MJ chimes in, smirking past his soda cup. "He complained to me, but I had the security tapes AND plausible deniability because I wasn't on the floor. Corporate took our side on this."
"Nobody from the city wants to drive all the way out to podunk Subcon for a random dudebro's complaint." Clover sits back on her cushioned seat, chomping into her pizza happily. "Mmmmm- delicious melty cheese."
Luka chomps into his own pizza, exhaling and blowing on it as it nearly burns his mouth.
"Easy, tiger!" MJ smirks around his own mouthful of pizza.
"I know, it's just so good," Luka says, laughing into his hand as he sips some of his cola. "But in like- the way you know it's not that great? Does that make sense?"
"Night in the Woods taught me the Pizza Scale, and I stick by that," Clover says, crunching through her crust to grab up another slice, washing down the bread with some soda. When she reaches for another piece of the pie, she pauses, and lets out a huff. "Oh, that sucks. I guess they didn't clean the bowling balls that well this time. Gross."
"Hm?" Luka says through a mouthful of pizza.
"Your fingers are all oil-stained from the finger holes on the bowling ball, Luka. Big Al needs to wash the bowling balls properly."
Confused, the law student shifts his attention down.
The ends of his fingertips are discolored with ebony purple.
Luka can feel as his brain zeroes in on the first sign of his impending transformation, and begins to shift into emergency mode as it relays the steps he must take in order to avoid further exposure. He'd gone over this information with himself many times over the past five years. It was ingrained in his mind, what he had to do, the information practically screaming at him. But he can't hear it. His ears are filled with buzzing as reality breaks into the facade he'd slowly built up over the course of hours.
No-
No no no-
His pizza slice drops to the paper plate as he fumbles with his bag, pulling out the cell phone from the liner pocket. Shaking fingers tap the screen with frantic speed, trying to turn the damn thing on-
9:17?
They'd been here nearly four hours?!
He'd spent the morning out with Harriet, doing their grocery shopping and walking around the town's outdoor mall as much needed father-daughter time. Eight hours of being in disguise had long since passed.
His time limit was up.
This couldn't be happening. Yet the numbers stare back at him from the glare of his cell phone screen. They even have the nerve to tick over to 9:18 right before his eyes.
This wasn't happening. This wasn't happening! It wasn't fair!
"Luka, you ok? You're turning pale..."
Clover's question just barely manages to pierce the haze, causing Luka to jolt in his seat. Posture stiff and breath shallow, he lifts his head to meet Clover's questioning eyes. She's staring at him with building concern, her smile becoming a frown of worry.
The tension is palpable in the air as Luka struggles to find words. Finally, he manages to say something.
"It's- it's a quarter past nine-"
"Oh shoot-" Clover says, sitting up abruptly as she grabs her own phone.
MJ checks his watch, wincing. "Oof. Sorry, Luka. I guess we lost track of time passing. I'll apologize to Cookie for the overtime, we can finish this round and go-"
"Don't feel good- going to the bathroom-" Luka wheezes, scrambling to his feet as he scoops all of his belongings into his bag and races past MJ's seat.
"Luka!" Clover yells after him, her heightened concern audible in her voice. "Ok, we'll- we'll start cleaning up! Let us know if you need-!"
Her words are cut off by the slam of the bathroom door. Luka's bowling shoes slip over the slick tile floor, his hands gripping onto the cold porcelain of the bathroom sink to steady himself. He brings his shaking hands up to view in the mirror. The blackening purple skin was spreading up his finger joints, reaching his palms.
No- not now! Why now?
Luka clenches his fists and his jaw, focusing every ounce of his will on making the purple go away. He can almost feel a vein pop on his forehead- if he still had veins, anymore- as he strains to make his unwilling body follow his desires. The purple starts to recede at a caterpillar crawl... but it slows. And the harder he tries, the more he can feel his arms struggle to hold their shape - becoming less solid.
"No- no!" he whimpers, clenching his hands into the sink again. The action splatters small droplets of purple sludge against the porcelain, which vanish moments later as the purple staining once more consumes his fingers - and now his palms. "Stop it! Just- let me be human! Please!"
He lifts his head to the mirror. Despair fills his gut as he sees amber eyes staring back at him in the reflection, and the beginnings of an inner glow fighting to come out from the back of his throat.
Luka lets out a wordless sound of sorrow, lifting an arm to pound one fist against the mirror in vain. The reflection is unfazed in its destitution, tears beginning to gather at the edges of its eyes and mouth set into a sob of clenched teeth. The reflection's canine's lengthen several inches as the eyes stare back, accusingly. The purple was starting to spread up its neck, just poking out the collar of the shirt.
"No..."
This wasn't him. But it had been, years ago. This was SUPPOSED to be him.
He curls his fist, watching as the fingers start losing their shape. Fusing together, becoming single digits and his thumbs vanish back into the purple sludge of the limb.
"I was finally-..." Luka whimpers, "...I finally felt human again."
-bang bang bang-
The sound of a fist knocking on the bathroom door causes Luka to yelp and jump back from the mirror.
"Luka? You ok in there?"
It was MJ.
Peck!
Grabbing his bag, Luka books it into the furthest stall of the bathroom. He slams the metal door behind him, fumbling to lock it with his swelling mitten fingers. Alarm shot through his gut as his shirt felt tight around his torso. Already?? This was faster than usual! Had he really pushed it that much?
"Hey man, are you sick? Clover and I are really concerned. Do you need any help in there?"
"NO! NO I'M GOOD!" Luka yells from the bathroom stall, clapping a two-fingered hand over his mouth as he hears the slight reverb echo to his own voice. Dammit! "I'M JUST- I'LL BE FINE!"
He was not fine, he would most certainly not be fine!
"Luka, you sound croaky." It was Clover this time, probably a short distance behind MJ. "Dude, are you sure? MJ, maybe you should go in and check on him-"
"NO!"
No, the reverb was stronger!
"Luka, I'm coming in."
"MJ it's fine!"
Luka could hear the seams of his shirt starting to stretch and strain. The seconds were ticking by as strings started to pop at the neck.
Shit, shit!
Luka turned left and right, the stall cramped and uncomfortable as the ruff of fur around his neck thickens and threatens to burst his shirt open. He needed a way out!
Aha! A small window, to the outside! Wow, that was probably the worst location for a window. And it was so small-
The door creaked as MJ started to turn the handle.
NO TIME!
Luka makes a dive for the window. His fingers catch on the sill, and he hauls his body up onto the tiny ledge, his head pushing up the glass and emerging out into the open air. Squeezing through the narrow space, he struggles to pull his feet through, kicking off the bowling shoes and hearing them clatter to the tiles below.
The door comes unlatched, and MJ enters the bathroom, looking around with a frown.
Luka was gone. And for some reason, his bowling shoes were abandoned on the questionably cleaned bathroom floor.
Just outside the window, tucked next to the wall of the alleyway outside the bowling alley, Luka is panting with adrenaline. He can feel his chest expand further with each breath, the fur mane around his neck already splitting apart his shirt. His fingers had fully lost their human shape by now, coalescing back into the familiar mitts he hated so much. A reminder that, no, he wasn't human. No matter what those people in the bowling alley thought of him, and what he thought of them in return... no matter how much he wanted to be human, again.
"Luka?"
His entire torso now fully drenched in purple, Luka hangs his head, listening as he fights to strip off the shirt suffocating him.
Footsteps, in the bathroom.
"...Luka? What the-... Clover, he's not here?"
"What?? But he- went into the bathroom! He was just-!"
"His shoes are here..."
"His shoes??"
Luka forces himself to stand, wobbling a bit further away from the window as he focuses all of his efforts on keeping his legs. He can't lose his ability to walk, not in the middle of town!
God dammit... god dammit! Why couldn't he just enjoy his night? Now he was wandering alleyways, half transformed, and MJ and Clover were no doubt worried to hell and back. What could he even say? 'Sorry, had to take a break to wolf out in the bathroom'?
-brrring brrring-
The buzz of the phone in his pants pocket- which was getting tight against his waist, he noticed. Luka quickly extracts the phone before it can be damaged by the fabric.
MJ's caller ID stares back at him from the screen.
The decision to trust these two with his information was biting him in his rapidly purpling behind. He'd been so careful not to slip up, and the ONE TIME he makes a mistake... He had another decision to make. He could not respond, and just be a complete asshole, but he could protect his secret a little safer, for just a little bit longer. Or he could pick up, and... he didn't know. Bullshit something? Would they even believe whatever malarkey he could cook up in seven seconds for bailing out of a bowling alley restroom? God, he was terrible at improvised excuses! He was a lawyer, not an actor! But if he answered the phone call, maybe- maybe he could hold on to that feeling again. The warmth of companionship of peers his age, that he hadn't felt since law school. Since... Vanessa. But he couldn't think about her right now. What mattered was his safety- his daughter's safety.
Peck. He didn't even think about that part. Could he really rip Harriet out of a somewhat stable home life, again? She was just starting to get along with Cookie's daughter, and he didn't want to take that precious first friendship from her.
Luka was only pulled out of the downward spiral by the vibration of the phone, which he only now realized had registered a missed call, and was now on the second call. It was still MJ, the picture of him in his Horizon employee cap still smiling from the bright phone screen.
He had to do something. He could feel his legs protest the form they was struggling to hold.
Survival instinct set in. First, he had to get away from the scene.
Stumbling to his malforming feet, Luka jogs away from the alley, ducking away from the Pins & Cushions and avoiding the bright neon sign on the side of the building.
As he walks, a headache hits, and Luka just knows his face was losing more of his familiar features. Didn't need a mirror to know that he was definitely the shade of a bruised plum, and that his eyes were glowing like gold beacons. The sharp teeth at the edges of his mouth were digging into his bottom lip as he dodges and weaves to avoid line of sight from storefront apartment windows.
The woods were so close by, just a few more blocks.
Faster. He had to run faster. But his legs- were fighting him! Already he could feel his steps become lighter, movement more fluid. It was a struggle to keep a walking stride, rather than just- leap into the air. No way was he going to fly a block from pecking main street.
His phone continues to vibrate, threatening the call to drop.
Right when he reaches the sidewalk, Luka pants for breath, collapsing beside the pole for a street lamp while avoiding the amber spotlight. Taking one last rueful look at his phone, he sighs, and presses the answer button with a doughy purple finger.
"Luka?" MJ's voice patches through. The reception isn't great, but it's sufficient. Maybe that was a lucky break, considering what his voice was going to sound like in a second.
"Hey," Luka answers. Yep. He sounded like a toad that swallowed a brass tube. "Sorry- about that."
"Dude, are you ok?? Where did you go?" MJ spoke so quickly it almost interrupted Luka, concern clear and evident in his voice. "You ran or something and- you left your shoes at the counter, and the cat plush for your daughter. Clover got them for you-"
"It's ok," Luka says, wincing. "I can pick them up tomorrow. I- don't feel well, and I have to go get Harriet."
"Luka, we could have driven you home for that," MJ responds, a hint of hurt and confusion. "You know you can tell us if you're uncomfortable, and want to leave, right?"
"No- this- I was having fun," Luka responds, cupping a hand over his mouth to try to muffle the echo. He had to wrap this up. His voice was getting less natural by the second. He really hoped the poor reception would mask it. "Look- I'm sorry MJ. But I really had to go."
"You're not getting kidnapped or something are you?" Clover's distant voice suddenly patches through in the phone. MJ must have his phone on speaker. "Because if you are, I'll hunt them down! Just yell where the car is taking you!"
"I'm not- look, I'm sorry, but I just had to go, ok?" Luka says. "Harriet needs me."
"I thought you were feeling sick?" Clover says, her worried tone now tinted with... suspicion. "You ran to the bathroom, and we were all worried about you, dude." Her voice becomes just a bit distant, as she turns to speak to MJ, but the phone picks it up. “Actually, did we ever hear anything from Cookie...?”
"No- I am-" Luka can feel his lies crumbling, nearly becoming true as he experiences a sensation similar to his stomach heaving from the anxiety. "Thanks for the wonderful evening, I'll pick up my stuff later- bye!"
"Wait-!!"
-click-
MJ's protest is cut off, and Luka set the phone down on the grass, putting his head in the other hand. That was terrible. But he couldn't back out on it now. He would just have to deal with the consequences of that phone call tomorrow.
Not like having shoes or not bothered him, anyway.
Exhausted and resigned, Luka slides away from the lamp post into the chaparral, and begins rapidly pulling his shirt over his head. No way was he going to lose another shirt, not after the last one. This was his last nice shirt, and he intended to keep it as long as possible!
A quiet gasp jolts him out of his frantic folding.
Luka whips around, shirtless, half de-pantsed, and his body a full shade of deep shadow purple. His golden eyes glow in the reflected street light as he freezes on the spot, making eye contact with another human being across the road.
It was the stocky mustachioed man from the coffee shop- the regular who came by and sketched quietly in a corner. Pinstriped suit- which seemed to be the only outfit anyone ever saw him wore- an apron, and grey khaki pants. The thick glasses would make it difficult to tell where he was looking, if the man wasn't standing with his square jaw hanging down at his chest, head angled directly toward Luka. Everyone dismissed him as a paranoiac, a hermit who stopped by for his morning caffeine fix and quiet atmosphere to indulge in his imagination. Rumors flew that he used to work for some sort of tabloid magazine, and was fired- or promoted?- for how crazy his stories were.
Whatever the reason, this man was now standing, groceries dropped to the pavement, and staring at Luka. A very half-naked, absolutely not human-looking Luka.
Face suddenly burning hot with embarrassment and fear, Luka grabs his belt loops and bolts into the trees.
The movement causes the man to only gape more, making a wordless noise of astonishment before the forest breaks their line of sight and Luka retreats into the safety of the woods. Luka just barely remembers to grab his shirt and belt from the bushes. Vanishing entirely from sight, stumbling over debris as his transformation takes full hold of his body, Luka wheezes as his heart beats in his chest.
After all that, he was seen! Peck! Did he just ruin everything because he wasn’t paying attention?
But- but it was just the local hermit, the resident conspiracy nut. That wouldn’t be so bad, right? This wasn’t as catastrophic as being spotted by a teen with a cell phone open. Surely, this was the safest possible person in town to accidentally spot him mid-transformation. Repercussions would be minimal.
Thank god the man didn't have a camera.
#Coffee Shop Au#AHIT#A Hat In Time#doodledrawsthings#Snatcher#Hat Kid#Moonjumper#Clover#noticed a couple mistakes and it's too late to fix em wHOOPS#OH WELL
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My take on 5x10
Welp, that was a big one!
You know, before going into this episode I reminded myself this was the first episode of a new era, the first episode completely made by the new team.
So with that in mind my expectations were "Okay, let's see what they've got."
And oh boy did they surprise me.
DISCLAIMER: this text post is long af, not kidding.
1. THE INTRO SCENE.
You guys have no idea how glad I am that we got Mac doing a usual MacGyvering in his house. It's been ages since they implemented this format of showing his dynamics outside Phoenix and around his house.
I wasn't worried about the proposal thing at all. Guys, you have to accept that MacRiley was always going to happen after that 4x04 episode.
There was also the fact that this was the intro scene (usually the most important plot issues happen in the outro scene), Bozer's weird reaction and the melancholic audio cue.
If that proposal was happening, they would've made it more uplifting.
(I gotta say that watching Monica Marcer and the official MacGyver account making damage control in Twitter 3mins into the episode was a funny experience)
So my initial questions about Mac wanting to propose were: "what are his motivations?" and "how is this not going to work out by the end of the episode?"
The second question we got the answer later on. The first question remains unanswered. If we take on Mac's words, he says:
Mac: Unexpected, I know, I know. But that's why I like about it. You know ever since I lost my dad and Jack I've been thinking about the bigger picture. A commitment to make things work it's exactly what Desi and I need. A grand romantic gesture. *cue melancholic music*
Here we're presented with a bunch of things worth analysing, in my opinion.
He's trying to see the "bigger picture" which, for me, it means he's trying to tackle down different issues from his life with one specific, efficient action [the proposal]. Those issues being:
> his current romantic relationship: make is aware they have an inconsistent relationship
> his performance at work: he needs balance between his personal affairs and his work, which is based on saving the world in a daily basis and for that he needs to be focused.
> dealing with his past losses: to my understanding, saying "ever isn I lost my dad and Jac I've been thinking about the bigger picture" means that he doesn't want hopelessness to take over him, he wants to keep on moving and being proactive about his life.
So... you have to understand that in some sort of way, this proposal thing is a signal that Mac is healing. In some sort of way, if you were in Mac's shoes you would see that it was a positive thing for him. A step forward.
The thing is, we [the audience] have an extended understanding of the situation and we know that an engagement would be an incredibly rushed decision.
As well as it is that Mac's trying to move forward, he obviously hasn't been able to pinpoint the true issue behind his relationship with Desi. He isn't wrong about them lacking in the commitment department, but forcing the relationship to scalate isn't the right move. He should be asking himself: "Why are we avoiding commitment?"
And that's when he'd find out that they have very deep and important trust and communication issues.
~~~~
2. Moving on. MURDOC.
Russ: I can process it more efficiently by having it all spread out ahead me, you know. I reckon see the bigger picture at once.
This is when I realized that the episode was centered on this whole "bigger picture" idea. Russ struggles to see the full picture until the very end and Mac finds out that he hasn't been seeing the full picture of his life at all by the end of the episode.
Fast forward, the team's in Mexico, Riley knows about the ring already and she has already had the talk with Bozer in which she refers to her feelings for Mac in a past tense.
Then Murdoc appears.
And as if the episode wasn't already a rollercoaster after Mac's reveal, now Murdoc shows up to put everything upside down.
First I gotta say, man Dastmalchian is SUCH A GOOD MURDOC. Excellent actor. The way he delivers his lines, his facial expressions, all of it make an original and very entertaining Murdoc.
He always gives me such a Andrew Scott's Moriarty vibes and I love it.
Secondly, his dynamic with Andrews: *cheff kiss*
I loved how Andrews was so over Murdoc's theatrics, to the point his facial expression screamed "Why did I even reclute this guy" LOL.
Back to the story.
This is something I was hoping it wouldn't happen but at the same time I don't see another way it could've happened which is the explanation behind Murdoc's escape and how Phoenix didn't know about it.
Because what they told us is that the FBI didn't let them in on Murdoc's escape, right? Does that imply that the FBI has a corrupt agent in charge? Does it imply that the order of not letting Phoenix in came from above? Maybe someone with higher clearence than Matty? A politician? Governement conspiracy?
It smells like plot hole, tbh. I feel like the Murdoc's escape is a classic "it is what it is". We'll see if they come back to this in later episodes.
~~~~
3. BIG SECRET REVEAL 1.
By now we're at the point of the rollercoaster where you're going up and up and up. Your tension building more and more as you're getting close to the drop.
Bozer and Riley's audio was the drop.
You know, during this scene I jumped from my seat, closed my eyes, cringed, squealed, my heart accelarated, forgot how to breathe...
As a person who is a little bit bipolar when it comes to romance (I can be very shy about it or very outspoken about it) that scene made me SO UNCOMFORTABLE.
Imagine having your feelings exposed not only to the person you have feelings for but also his girlfriend who happens to be your friend, your boss and the criminal that's threatening to kill hundreds of people.
I was like: "Not like this!!"
And Mac's reaction didn't help because of the lack of it. I don't know what I expected but his slightly monotone reaction broke my heart.
Thankfully, I've recovered since then and I don't mind that it happened that way.
Still, imagine how suffocating it must've been for Riley. That idea was what made me so uncomfortable and I think that's what they were going for. They wanted to make it as straightforward and awkward as possible.
But it doesn't end there. It's followed by Mac revealing the ring to Desi (and Riley). Mac's in "fuck it" mood and Desi kinda panics.
Little side note here, using GUM and a DIAMOND to break a bullet proof glass... BIG YES. That's an intrinsic MacGyverism.
~~~~
4. BIG SECRET REVEAL 2.
Then we get a breather from this drama by introducing another drama, Leanna's death.
Bozer's reaction to the news was heartbreaking for my already heartbroken heart.
I have my suspicions as to why they decided to kill her... The other episode completely made by the new team was the Quarantine one (5x06). During that episode Mac and Bozer bond over Bozer's pain. After learning about Bozer's mom, Mac chooses to share a piece of his own pain with him.
So, hear me out, I think they writers are planning to help Mac process his own grief THROUGH Bozer's grief. Keep in mind that we still have a Bozer centered episode coming up.
This is just a theory. I may be wrong, but I think it may be right too.
Back to the episode.
Once again we see a three dimensional Russ. He does something accordingly to his own judgement thinking it's the right decision [hiding Leanna's death], he realizes he screwed up, he gives Bozer a very heartfelt apology about it.
Henry's acting talent shone with this narrative. Actually, most of the actors had the chance to shine THANKS to the NARRATIVE. Murdoc, Andrews, Desi, Mac, Russ and Bozer... they all had their highlight moments (I'll talk about Riley later).
Parenthesis here... THE NARRATIVE HAS RETURNED THEIR SOULS TO OUR DEAR CHARACTERS!
WOW, they aren't brooding, angry, sad or whiny ALL THE EFFIN TIME. ABOUT TIME!
~~~~
5. LAST ACT.
For the third or fouth time in this episode my heart broke again when Mac was friendly towards Riley, after she explained herself. It really felt like he was friendzoning her.
But here's something to point out. Riley visibly relaxed when he reacted that way. What does that tell us?
> She had been so tense up until that point. Imo, she's on the defensive now. You can even see it in her wardrobe, make up and hairstyle choices. They're very contrasting to Riley's most vulnerable moments in this show (like when Audrey broke up with her).
Riley has had a year to sort out her feelings. We see in this episode that she spoke about them in a past tense. Whether she achieved it or not is unknown. We just know that she has at least tried to move on.
> She was mostly afraid of ruining her close relationship with Mac (who's her only family, along with Bozer) and her friendship (?) with Desi. We've seen it over and over again: Riley DID NOT WANT to get in the middle of them.
Keep that in mind as we go in the last scene.
It took me a while to figure out a possible thread of thought inside Mac's mind. Why did he look at the ring and decided to go to Riley's house? It really didn't make sense to me.
One moment he was thinking about his proposal and somehow that lead to him having the necessity to know if Riley still had feelings for him? Why??
My theory is that he went to her apartment for permission.
His question was a way of asking Riley for permission to propose to Desi. It was a way of reassuring himself that proposing was still the right decision.
In a way, he could also be fishing for an excuse to not do it [the proposal].
Because now he has doubts. He's confused, unsure.
Mac asks:
Mac: Hiding your emotions and letting it pass. Did it go away?
What could her answer have been? Here I wanna go back again to Riley being emotionally defensive, added her strong desire of not wanting to be in the middle of Mac and Desi's relationship.
I think she would've said "Yes, it worked."
Because it also lines up with my idea that the love triangle has changed from "Riley's a better match for Mac" to "Mac needs to win Riley's heart".
Riley's done her job. She worked out her feelings. Now it's time for Mac to sort out his humongously messed up internal self and reignite her spark. That's what I think.
Also, if anyone has any idea on how the song that played in that scene relates with the moment please share it with me because I don't really understand the song choice lol.
~~~~
6. ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Desi. I'm not sure what's going on in her mind. She seemed stressed out by the ring, very serious about Riley, lenient with Mac... I'm really not sure.
My guess would be that she doesn't want that type of commitment but she wants to be with Mac yet she can't ignore Riley so does that mean she has to end it with Mac? That's the thought process she may have had? Idk...
I'm glad they let her be mature about it, with no overreactions, no whining, no blaming, nothing of that style that we're used to see in her.
I'm also glad about that moment when she defeats Murdoc and Andrews. THAT'S HOW YOU WRITE A TOUGH DESI. It was filmed with such a gracefulness and elegance. I liked it.
From a MacDesi point of view, she's probably being open minded and giving him space and waiting for him to come back to her... but somehow I got the vibe that she's actually... running away?
Lastly but no less important.
THE HISPANIC REPRESANTION OMG. RUSS SPEAKING SPANISH AND THAT CUMBIA MUSIC FILLED MY HEART WITH SO MUCH PRIDE!!! :')
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About Aimz!
thank you for tagging me @iconicc, this shall now become my pinned post!
Name: Aimz
Gender/Pronouns: she/her
Star Sign: all i know is Taurus 😅
Height: 5'5" or 1.69m
Age: 23
Phone Wallpaper - home screen: Hotch and Haley from The Fisher King: Part 1 - courtesy of @winterscaptain
Phone Wallpaper - lock screen: Hotch after Blackwolf says "You just had to shoot someone, didn't you?" - also courtesy of @winterscaptain
House: 🤨🤨
Ever had a crush on a teacher? Uhm, my high school English teacher was good looking, but never a crush.
Coolest Halloween Costume: ZA doesn't do Halloween, so i don't have one.
Fave 90's show: picks Friends because it's the only 90's show I've watched 😕
Last kiss: Error 404 - Page Not Found
Ever been stood up: This requires dating right? So nope.
Fave pair of shoes: i've got a pair of floral sneakers that i love 🥺
Ever been to Vegas: Nope.
Fave book: it's been a hot minute since I've read a book. So I'm gonna plead the 5th.
Fave fruit: Mangoooooo!
Stupidest thing I've ever done: i suppose getting stupid drunk
Fave TV Shows: Criminal Minds, One Day At A Time, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Rookie, MacGyver and more.
Last movie I saw in theaters: Hobbs & Shaw
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Effects of Stargate
This turned into a long post. We all have things in our lives that we hold on to because they mean very specific ‘somethings’ to us. Some of us have blankets or ornaments that we have had since we were babies because they mean something. Some of us have printed pictures because we were alive before the digital age and the Internet. And then there’s massive numbers of us who have entertainment etched in our souls because a TV show or movie meant something to us at a time when we really needed it.
Star Trek was always my thing. I grew up watching TOS reruns with my dad, and he let me know a new Star Trek was coming out when I was in high school. I had a shitty high school. I did. My family was awesome, but I remember being bullied and just not having a good time in high school. We didn’t have the Internet, but kids are still mean if they chose to be mean.
Star Trek TNG literally saved my life. It became a family affair to watch. We had a VHS recording machine that would record when I couldn’t be home. I’ve spent the last few years or so going to conventions and thanking each and every one of the main bridge crew for what they have done for me. I’ve met them all so far except Sir Patrick. I wrote to him, and I hope he knows what he has done for me.
Then there’s Stargate. The show started when I was in the Navy. The movie came out when I was stationed in school in Tennessee. A few of us went to see it and I thought it was freaking awesome. But that was it. Or so I thought.
In the USA, Stargate SG-1 premiered on the cable channel Showtime. I was stationed in Pensacola, FL and was an E-4. I had zero money for cable at the time. Then in 2000, I got stationed in Hawaii after spending 13 months stationed in Diego Garcia. In Hawaii, I was part of a small 10-man deployable satellite tactical support facility for P-3 aircraft. I was the only female. And deploy did we ever. I was gone a lot with the guys. I got along with them all for the most part, but we didn’t see eye to eye on some things. But, they always looked out for me no matter how we felt about each other. My second year there we got a new guy in the unit who told me about SG-1. That new guy would go on to become my husband of almost 18 years now.
I still didn’t pay for cable. I was in Hawaii. Why would I spend my time indoors watching TV when I could be outside paddling or surfing? By then, 2000, I think I recall SG-1 coming out on DVD in the USA. I remember buying a DVD player and watching. Holy shit I was hooked! I was watching another small deployable military unit with only one female in it! And I also was hooked on MacGyver, so I already had the hots for RDA.
Then there was Amanda Tapping. I’m not sure I can even put this into words how her character of Samantha Carter affected me, but her portrayal was spot on. Sam wasn’t oversexualized at all (at Amanda’s demands that her character not be). Sam seemed real and someone who you could hang out with after work. Sam inspired me on deployments to places I have no desire to ever return to. She is smart. She is beautiful. She is confident. She’d kick your ass if you deserved it. She stood up for herself and her team. And after all of that, Samantha still knows how to love. Amanda made Sam relatable in a time when I really needed it. I have ALWAYS wanted Sam and Jack to be together. Always.
I would bring my DVDs home to visit family on leave and me and my mom would watch at least two episodes a night. I brought my DVDs on deployment with me so I could watch one episode before having to sleep on my 12 on / 12 off rotations. The realness of the show, and the realness of Samantha Carter have stuck with me all this time. Then I found out about this awesome world of fanfiction so now I write about Stargate on AO3. I love this community and am so grateful I have found you!
I have been out of the Navy since 2004, and yet Stargate is still very much alive inside of me, and fans want more. I’ve tried to see Stargate folks at cons, but something had always seemed to happen and then I couldn’t go. I was supposed to FINALLY see Amanda at Momentocon this year, but COVID. I even paid for a meet and greet with her, and I was to be in the seat directly next to her. Thankfully, it transferred to Momentocon 2021. So I am still holding out to finally see Amanda.
It seems we are getting closer to having a new Stargate show. While I will watch for the mythos and technology and all that is Stargate, all I really want is my Sam and Jack confirmation. We all can say SG-1 and Atlantis gave us enough clues that they are together, I just want it on the record. I’ll be 50 in February 2021, and to this day I gush over Sam and Jack. And that is OK. It’s OK for us to have things to dream of, write of, draw of, paint of, dance of, and talk of. This world needs the arts more than ever. How awesome will it be to have Stargate come back and feed our imaginations again!
https://www.gateworld.net/news/2020/09/5-chevrons-locked-mallozzi-hints-new-stargate-progress-revisiting-destiny/
#stargate#stargate sg1#amanda tapping#navy#deployedlife#deploy#star trek#momentocon#stargatenow#patrick stewart
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⌠ RUDY PANKOW, 23, CISMALE, HE/HIM⌡ welcome back to gallagher academy, ALEXANDER MUELLER! according to their records, they’re a THIRD year, specializing in “MACGYVER” SURVIVAL SKILLS & NAVIGATION + COVERT OPERATIONS; and they DID NOT go to a spy prep high school. when i see them walking around in the halls, i usually see a flash of ( chunky gold rings adorning their fingers, mess of blond hair, confident steps and fake smiles ). when it’s the (leo)’s birthday on 7/27/1997, they always request their BACON CHEESEBURGER & FRIES from the school’s chefs. looks like they’re well on their way to graduation.
hello everyone! i’m yadira, i used to play a bunch of characters but i sucked at time management so i had to leave, but i’m back! this is alex, he is a character i thought about one night when i couldn’t sleep. it’ll be obvious what my main inspo was, but i hope y’all like him. feel free to message me on discord or im me for plots, i will try my best.
STATISTICS
FULL NAME: ALEXANDER ‘ALEX’ MUELLER
AGE: Twenty-Three
DATE OF BIRTH: July 27,1997
PLACE OF BIRTH: Las Vegas, Nevada
GENDER: Cisgender Male
PRONOUNS: He/him
SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Doesn’t know / anything that breathes
RELIGION: Agnostic
ATTRIBUTES
HEIGHT: 5'11
WEIGHT: 165 lbs
HAIR COLOUR: Blond
EYE COLOUR: Blue
TATTOOS: None
PIERCINGS: None
SCARS: Small scar on his knee from being a child
BODY TYPE: Athletic
PHYSICAL HEALTH: Healthy
alexander mueller was born to two loving parents , who just so happened to be con artists. he was born in las vegas where his parents made most of their cons to gamblers , but moved around various states when he was born evading the authorities. however, without his father’s knowledge his mother got into trouble with the authorities where she attempted to evade them but was killed when alex was only about one. his father had made alex and himself passports and moved permanently to belgium where he began to construct ‘ the big plan ‘. his father never actually told him what the big plan was , until much later.
their life in belgium wasn’t anything extra ordinary , his dad was pulling in money by conning and began to teach alex how to fake cashier’s checks and other things at a very young age. after all , no one suspects a child of forgery. alex went to regular public school , but was a very fast learner , but was kind of lazy. when he was about six he could remember weird people coming and going from their small home , they were always nice to him but he got curious. he was pretty handy with a bobby pin ( you would think that a con artist would be handier ) but alex finally got to see the beginnings of the big plan and he was all in , but his dad didn’t know.
alex was well liked in the city he lived in , he fit right in as a child , but as he started to grow up and began to get more involved with his father’s plan he began to rebel more. his father would play the honorable father who would pretend to discipline alex but pretty much let him roam free. alex even formed a band with a couple of people from his school when he was about fourteen , they were pretty well known around belgium and had a few international listeners. ( their best hit was a cover was baby one more time by bowling for soup , if you know you know )
the big plan was to rob the federal reserve of belgium ( can you tell where i got my inspo ? ). this plan was to take place when alex was 20 , alex was to attend college for about two years , get an internship at the reserve to see its inner workings. which he accomplished , his father made sure to finally include alex in the inner workings as young as 14 so he could keep his grades up but not drive too much attention to his name --- despite his growing ‘ fame ‘ because of his band which he named something angsty like cool strife or something like that.
the heist started on a wednesday morning , his father didn’t want to deal with a large number of people. his father also didn’t let anyone know alex was his father --- for his safety and assigned everyone roman gods and goddess names his own being jupiter and alex’s being mercury. things went smoothly and not so smoothly , but they all managed to get out relatively safely with millions of dollars split between the six of them and they left to different parts of the world. alex and his father ended up in argentina and they were there for a couple of months before alex got cocky and interpol began to track him having comprised a timeline of the happenings , too many coinsedences. as soon as alex began to feel watched , he hid the money in the dark of night and was arrested that night and much to his surprise his father had already escaped.
alex was ‘ questioned ‘ for several days straight , but the united states wanted to take him to trial in the states because he is a us citizen. he was tried and found guilty of too many charges to count. before being taken to folsom state prison he was approached by an agent , a recruiter for blackthorne heavily impressed with his skills --- they had been watching the heist from his father’s monitors. alex called bullshit and literally spit in their face enraged at the offer from any form of authority. however , folsom was not kind to him and he only lasted a month before using his one call a month to contact the agent once more and he finally went to blackthorne --- and hated it.
quick facts:
he’s a leo --- do i need to say more? he’s actually really chill , but is also a little shit raised by a con artist so he knows how to please people.
loves to sing a little too loudly in the shower and play air guitar.
has new found respect for johnny cash since his stint in folsom.
he has major hoe vibez, i feel it
has a very quick mind, almost has eidetic memory but also forgets to take his daily vitamins do i don’t know how that would work
he’s not mad at his dad, he loves him with all his heart, has no problems with loving people --- he just doesn’t want to, he thinks he’s too young
but also has commitment issues and an identity crisis almost every month.
the heist he was involved in and his capture was really big internationally and only relatively big in the u.s so someone is bound to recognize him
connections:
someone who knows him from the germany area or outide , he did travel a lot before he hit 20
someone ( an encryption major ) who he is using to try and find his dad
fwb
someone’s parent / alumni who helped in his capture
someone who befriends him trying to get some of the money he hid
someone who listened to his music / went to one of his shows
blackthorne best bud
gallagher best bud
#gallagher:intro#i still have no photoshop skills#death tw#drugs tw#prison tw#it got long and complicated
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tag 10 + 10 + 4
I’ve been meaning to do this tag, since I saw it, but I got a bit confused. I’m not sure if I’m supposed to add questions? But, I’m tired and I can’t think of any, so I’m just going to answer. :D Thank you @floh673!
1. What was the last movie you watched in theaters? I think it was Cats.
2. What’s your favorite game to play? Animal Crossing
3. Chocolate or vanilla? Definitely
4. What’s the last show you binge-watched? Avatar: The Last Airbender
5. Do you have any pets? Yes, two cats, Nebula and Purll
6. What’s your favorite fairy tale? I love fairy tales so much. There’s no real way for me to choose a favorite. The only one I ever read that I didn’t love is one I barely remember. I think it was Russian and all I remember is the villain, who had kidnapped a maiden, somehow ended up a bird. The “hero” caught the villain as a bird and slowly killed him, ripping off his wings, then legs, one at a time, while arguing with him. I think the villain kept offering him stuff. The hero would accept, then tear off another part. Finally, he broke the villains neck. It was just horribly cruel and I felt bad for the villain.
7. Who’s your favorite superhero? That depends on my mood and what movie was most recently released. LOL Batman and the Hulk are always awesome.
8. Who’s your favorite Disney Princess? Leia! Or, if we’re talking the traditional Disney princesses, um, I guess a tie between Merida and Tiana. I love all of them, but those two were just awesome, flawed and funny and they learn.
9. Where’s the first place you’re going to go after the social distancing is over? Church, followed within an hour or two by a trip to stay the night with my Mom.
10. Cookies or Cake? Yes, and pie, pudding, ice cream...I have a major sweet tooth. LOL
+ 10 questions from @teenwolf-theoriginals:
1. which show could you watch over and over? I’m notorious for watching things over and over. Star Trek: TOS, V and V: The Final Battle, Stargate SG-1, MacGyver (both of them), The Dukes of Hazzard, Doctor Who, etc.
2. favourite song lyric? Okay, long list, so the first thing that comes to mind is “People say I’m crazy, but I don’t care!” from “Almost There” from The Princess and the Frog. I keep hearing Dennis, my au of Murdoc, age three, singing that very loudly, laughing a bit, and MacGyver, his adopted dad, rolling his eyes, with that goofy, sarcastic face he sometimes pulls.
3. favourite season of your favourite tv show? I can’t narrow things down that much. I’m going to go with Red Dwarf, season three, for the utterly frivolous reason that Rimmer wore his green uniform that season and it suited him so well!
4. what never fails to make you smile/happy? Christmas!
5. how are you doing with all that’s going on in the world (virus, having to do social distancing, etc)? Mostly, I’m doing well. I’m still working, as usual. I miss going to church (we’re doing services online for now) and visiting with my Mom. That’s the worst of it, though that’s pretty bad for me. But, I just remind myself it’s temporary and trust in God (I’m Christian).
6. we all love new music to listen to, name an artist that is underrated/you think people should check out? I have a filk album called Of Shoes and Ships by an artist named Cecilia Eng. She isn’t widely known, but the entire album is brilliant, absolutely hilarious in places and heart-breaking in others. If you enjoy sci-fi/fantasy, I highly recommend it.
7. tv show or movie? Both. I love all mediums that tell me a story.
8. favourite holiday? Christmas
9. a song that describes you? I hope not.
10. describe your tumblr in three words? random, neglected, fandom-oriented mostly
+ 4 questions from @Floh673
1. Where you live, town, village, countryside, see side? countryside2. Favourite weather? Very warm, with a slight breeze3. Last Travel? I haven’t been out of state in years. The last trip I took that was more than an hour was to the south of Missouri, for my grandma’s funeral.
4. Are your Tumblr friends the same as in real life? No.
Tagging: @desparikon, @thefridgelovesfood, @mannersmakethme, @anguishmacgyver, @murdocsmacattack
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Tagged by: My beautiful and sweet friend @thisgameissonintendo
Rules: Answer and tag 15 people you’d like to know better!
Nickname: Trina, although a lot of my babies at work can’t say the “R” sound so they just call me Tina
Age: 25
Gender: Female
Astrology Sign: Aries (although I am pretty much the opposite of all of the character traits)
Height: 5′8″
Sexuality: Pan Ace
Hogwarts house: Hufflepuff :-D
Favorite Animal: Elephants
Average hours of sleep: Oh god...umm probably about 6 (For example it’s currently after 1am here and I have to work at 8)
Number of blankets I sleep with: I have to sleep with at least one, but in the winter I sleep with like 5 because my room is freezing.
Dream trip: Ireland, Hawaii, Alaska, Greenland...too many places and too little money
Dream Job: Not sure if it’s my dream job, but I am pretty happy with teaching preschool :-D
When I made this account: Oh lordy, I have no idea. I stopped using it for a while and only recently got back into it. But it was first made maybe in 2012? 2013? Let’s just say this account was first a SuperWhoLock account...so that’s a while ago...
Follower count: 1,6K
Relationship Status: Single Pringle because dating as an Ace is messy and complex and I haven’t quite figured it out TBH
Favorite Color: Purple
Lipstick or chapstick: I don’t really like either
3 favorite foods: Anything Potato, Pizza, and Tacos
Song stuck in my head: “KindaYeahSorta” by Dashboard Confessional. My sister and I saw them in concert a month ago and this song has pretty much been stuck in my head since.
Song I last played: "We want it” by Ohana Bam (Fun fact I first discovered this song because it was on Hawaii Five-0)
Top 3 TV shows: MacGyver, The 100, and Hawaii-Five 0 currently because I just finished watching it for the first time!
A book you’re currently reading: “A Wise Man’s Fears” by Patrick Rothfuss. (It’s the second book in the Killer King Chronicles and words cannot even begin to describe how much I love these books. If you’ve ever read them please come be my best friend)
Last thing I googled: “MacGyver Episodes” because I was trying to figure out what episode something happened for a gifset.
Fandom(s): Oh goodness gracious, please don’t make me answer this question. Just go to my blog and look at the mess of fandoms there.
Time: 1:27am
I tag: Listen I love Laura but she tagged pretty much everyone I wanted to tag...so there is no way I am getting up to 15 so I’m just gonna add a few @ravenj84 @screamxqueenx94 @patriotproblems @today-i-will-try @bookneed007 @sassysarcasticlove @telltaleclerk @sisterwinchesterwriter & anyone else who wants to do this :-D
#this was fun but now it's time for bed#goodness i love tag games so much!!!#tag games#macgyver#trinatalks
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Ficlet: 5 Times Mac Didn’t Save Himself
A what-if fic. What if Mac didn’t escape Murdoc in 204? 5 possible scenarios.
Warning: these ficlets deal with things like death and dubious consent!
“He means the trail's gone cold,” Cage tells Bozer. “If Mac doesn't save himself, no one will.”
And Jack adds, not entirely convinced, “He'll be alright.”
But Mac doesn’t, save himself, that is. He isn’t alright. And hours turn into days turn into weeks…
I.
On the 28th day following Mac’s kidnapping, Jack discovers a box sitting on his threshold when he comes home. It’s a plain white box with no address on it, no post stamps, anything. It’s just sitting there, on the floor in front of his door. It’s a wonder one of his neighbors didn’t steal it.
Jack knows he should call it in. It might be a bomb, it might be anything. But he’s drained after yet another day spent looking for Mac with no result. Matty’s been making noises about putting the search for him on the back burner; with no new leads, they’re just chasing their tail, and their cases have started piling up. Jack refuses to accept that. He’s going to quit the job before he quits looking for his partner.
And so, in the light of that desolation and exhaustion, frustration and anger, he just crouches down in front of the box and gently lifts the paper lid - and with a quiet gasp of horror, he jerks away, sitting down hard on the dirty floor. His pulse is thundering as he stares down, wide-eyed, at the content of the box.
Because there, inside it, there’s a clear plastic box and inside that... a human heart, perfectly preserved.
Breathing harshly and full of dread, Jack reaches out with a trembling hand to pick up the square piece of white paper stuck to the top of the plastic box. It’s a quality paper, thick and cottony to the touch, and on it…
He never stopped believing you would come for him. How does it feel to break his heart?
The heart is Mac’s. It’s the only piece of him they ever get to bury.
II.
Six weeks after Mac’s kidnapped, Jack receives an irritated phone call from Detective Greer.
“Are you running some op I don’t know about in my backyard? Because I just saw your boy downtown, hanging out with Rattling Annie…”
Turns out that Rattling Annie is homeless, has been ever since anyone can remember, a middle-aged woman nicknamed after the rattling old shopping cart she drags everywhere with her, drawing frowns and disapproving looks because of the ruckus her little vehicle makes.
But not today, Jack notices after he races downtown, to where Greer told him to go. No, Annie’s cart isn’t rattling anymore, the cause of the loud noise fixed with a simple, yet ingenious trick, with a couple of shoestrings and a rusty paper clip and nothing more. Jack would recognize that hack anywhere.
“Please, Miss Annie, please!” Jack pleads with the woman, rushing after her as she tries to escape, shuffling down a litter-strewn alley. “I don’t mean you any harm, I swear. I’m just looking for a friend.” He steps in her way and pulls out a photograph of himself and Mac, snapped by Bozer during Mac’s birthday party last year.
He shows her the picture and Annie throws a quick look at it before ducking her head and hunching her shoulders even more, letting her dirty gray hair cover her face. “Don’t know him. Don’t wanna know him.” She gives her cart a push, bumping into Jack’s shins.
But Jack can’t, he won’t let it go. “Miss Annie, please. He’s…” His throat closes up and he has to swallow hard several times to find his voice again. “His name’s Mac and he’s more than a friend. He’s like a brother to me. I love the kid and I’ve been looking for him for weeks now. Please!”
She pauses, peeking at him through her straggly locks. “If you love him that much, how did you lose him, huh? Huh?” she demands, suspicious.
Jack runs his hand over his face. His shoulders slump and he lets his hand with the photograph drop. “I-we had a fight and I got angry and I left. And while I was gone, while I wasn’t looking, a very bad man broke into his house and took him. He took Mac, Miss Annie.” He looks at her pleadingly.
And there must be something about him, maybe all those pent-up emotions and fears and worries found their way into his face, because her expression softens, just a little, and she reaches out her twisted hand for the photograph. Jack gives it to her.
She studies it contemplatively for a long while, the happiness in their faces, the way Jack’s hugging Mac close with one arm thrown around his shoulders. Then she asks, “What was your name again?”
“Jack, Miss Annie. Jack Dalton.”
There’s a pause, then Annie looks up at him and smiles. “He keeps talking in his sleep, that boy, he keeps saying Jack will come for him…”
And Jack heart jumps.
Annie takes him home. Home being an old, abandoned warehouse, home to many of the homeless people around. They live there in their private little nests, surrounded by all their worldly possession. And in one of these nests, Annie’s, Jack finds him. Mac.
She came across him in the sewers, Annie did. He was filthy and wet and totally out of it, with a bad, bleeding wound on his head. She thought he probably tried climbing out through one of the manholes but a car must’ve clipped him and he fell back down again. Nobody came looking for him, Annie waited with him, so she took him home.
That’s what Annie told him on their way here. That she took Mac in and she watched over him but even when he came to, he didn’t make much sense. He remembered little, his memories were all jumbled up, and his head hurt badly. Annie didn’t know what to do, so she took care of him. Because that’s what they do down here, they take care of each other. And in his moments of clarity, he fixed her cart and One-Eyed Bobby’s cane and Ruby Rue’s doll in return.
“He’s a good boy…” Annie whispers.
“Yeah, he is, Miss Annie,” Jack agrees, all choked up, as he crouches down by the nest of blankets and pushes them aside to reveal…
Mac. Filthy and with a straggly stubble - the kid will never grow a proper beard, Jack knows - thin and pale and with an ugly, barely healed wound, running from his temple into his blood-matted hair above his right ear. He’s curled up on his side, deep asleep, the dark purple smudges below his eyes making him look exhausted.
Blinking hard to push back tears, Jack reaches out with a shaking hand and runs his fingers gently over Mac’s head, stroking his hair. He found him. Jack really found him.
Mac’s eyelashes flutter and he opens his eyes, looking up at Jack - and Jack holds his breath. For a very long time, the kid’s gaze remains unfocused, but then it clears and a slow smile spreads across his face. “Jack,” he croaks out, leaning into his touch. “I knew you would come.”
And this time, Jack can’t fight back his tears. “Always,” he whispers.
III.
They never figure out what happened to him, they never hear of him again.
IV.
They find Mac completely by accident, nine months after he was kidnapped. It’s Riley’s face recognition software that she set up to run 24-7, looking for either Murdoc or Mac, checking every feed on the internet. And it finds Mac walking down the street in Portland, just like that. In Portland!
They fly over there, Jack and Matty - Mac’s her agent and she feels responsible for him - overjoyed yet confused, while Riley tracks Mac to a beautiful residential home, all red brick and thick trees. And when they ring the doorbell, he comes and opens the door with a polite smile and a curious, “Yes?”
The thing is, he doesn’t recognize them. At all.
“My name’s Gus Webber, I’m a high school teacher from Wisconsin,” Mac tells them impatiently for the third time while they sit around the tastefully decorated living room, staring at him in disbelief. “My husband’s name is Dennis. I was hurt in a car accident six months ago and I lost my memory. But I sure as hell know I’m not that-that MacGyver guy you’re talking about!”
They look at each other, and then Matty says carefully, “I’m Matilda Webber.” When Mac’s frown, she nods firmly. “Yes, Webber, the real Webber here. And you’re Angus MacGyver. You’re not a high school teacher and you’re not from Wisconsin. You work for the Phoenix Foundation and you’re from California. You’re a spy and nine months ago, an international assassin whom we only know as Murdoc kidnapped you from your home.”
Something flickers through Mac’s face and his left eye twitches, but then he laughs out loud. “You realize how ridiculous that sounds? Me, a spy? I teach physics! Or, I taught physics before the accident,” he corrects himself. There’s a pause, then he continues, “I was hurt in a car accident six months ago and I lost my memory. Since then, I’ve been staying at home, recovering.”
Jack sits forward and pulls out his cellphone. “No, that’s not true. You are Angus MacGyver and this man kidnapped you!” He shows him the picture of Murdoc on his phone.
Another flicker of something in Mac’s face, another twitch, this time harder. Mac lifts his hand to his forehead for a second. “No, you are wrong. You’re mistaken. That’s a lie. My name’s Gus Webber, I’m a highschool teacher from Wisconsin. My husband’s name is Dennis… That,” he points at Jack’s cell phone, “that’s Dennis. That’s my husband.”
He gets up, his breathing now a little quick, and walks over to the window, to the little table there. He picks up a framed photo from the table and brings it back to show it to them, a little desperately, a little pleadingly now. “See? That’s me, me and my husband.”
They take a look at the picture and they both feel a chill run up their spines. It’s a photograph of Mac and Murdoc, sitting together on a wooden swing in the warm afternoon light. Mac’s relaxed and smiling, leaning back against Murdoc who’s hugging him from behind, holding him tight. It would be a heartwarming picture if not for the predatory look in Murdoc’s eyes that not even his smile can cover up.
“Mac…” Jack says softly, looking up. “Mac, I swear to you, on my father’s grave, that this” --he waves the framed photo-- “is not real. You are Angus MacGyver, a spy, and this guy is a dangerous sociopath who’s been after you for months. He tried to kill you more than once. I don’t know what his game is but, whatever you think you know about your life, it’s a lie.”
Mac’s now standing there, by the couch in front of them, visibly trembling. His face’s pale, almost gray, and he’s shaking his head adamantly. Then his left eye twitches again and he rubs at it hard with the heel of his palm. “No. No, you have it wrong. My name’s Gus Webber, I’m a highschool teacher from Wisconsin. My husband’s name is Dennis. I was hurt in a car accident six months ago and I lost my memory…”
The same words, the same phrase, over and over again. Both Jack and Matty notice, exchanging a look, but Mac doesn’t seem to. Brainwashing at its best.
“I’m sorry but it’s not true, Mac,” Matty says kindly.
Then Mac’s trembling abruptly stops and he stares at them, looking completely lost. “Jack?” he whispers brokenly before his knees give out and he sinks to the floor, unconscious.
“How do we fix him, Matty?” Jack asks softly, his voice desperate, as he stares at Mac, lying in the hospital bed, still unconscious. He has yet to wake up.
She sighs. “I saw his toxicology report. Murdoc pumped him so full of drugs that it’s a wonder he was able to function properly. The doctors hope that once they flush the drugs out of his system, he’ll start to recover. And we have people who specialize in this, in brainwashing. He’s going to get the best help.”
Jack leans against the foot of the bed, gripping the metal frame hard. “But how do you come back from something like that? I went through the house with our techs. It’s not just a front. It’s a real home, with a kitchen and a swing on the back porch…” He pauses. “Bedroom.”
They fall silent for a moment, the implications of that hitting them both hard.
“We got Mac away from him and that’s the most important thing,” Matty says in the end. “We left our people at the house in case Murdoc returns but...” She shakes her head. “I don’t believe he will. We found surveillance system inside and around the house. He must’ve monitored Mac 24-7 whenever he left him alone so he must know by now that we found him…”
A moment later, her suspicion is confirmed. The door opens and a confused looking nurse walks in, carrying a long slim box. “This was left at the nurse’s station for… him.” She points at Mac.
Matty frowns. “I thought we asked you to keep his presence here secret,” she tells her sternly.
The nurse swallows. “We did. This wing has restricted access. I have no idea how anyone could know, how anyone could get in and leave this behind…”
Jack grabs the box out of her hands and opens it while the nurse quickly leaves the room. Inside the box, there’s a single long-stemmed red rose and a beautiful handwritten card, saying, “Get well soon. Love, Dennis.”
With a growl, Jack crumples the card, the box and the rose inside. “I’ll kill him, Matty,” he grits out. “I swear to you, I’ll kill the psycho if it’s the last thing I do.”
And they both look at Mac who’s lying there unconscious, unmoving, unaware.
V.
At 5.37 am, thirty-two days after Mac’s kidnapping, Jack’s cell phone buzzes, waking him up. An incoming message from Bozer.
COME TO MY HOUSE. NOW!!!
Realizing that Bozer knows very well what an upheaval such a message would cause, Jack doesn’t hesitate a second. He throws some clothes on and drives. Still, when he arrives at Mac and Bozer’s house, Matty and Riley are already there.
Barging in, Jack calls out, “Bozer? What’s going on?”
“In Mac’s bedroom!” comes the answer.
Jack follows Bozer’s voice, rushing in - and then he stops short and stares, just like everybody else in the room. Because right there, in the bed, tucked in snuggly, lies Mac. He’s fast asleep and his chest is rising and falling in a steady rhythm. He’s rather pale, his wrists are abraded from restraints and there’re visible needle marks on both of his arms but otherwise, he seems okay.
And on the wall above the bed, there’s a message written in bold red letters: DONE PLAYING FOR NOW.
“Sonuvabitch,” Jack whispers.
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Friday Five
It snowed in Seattle today. Snowed! It didn’t stick, but STILL. Last weekend I think we set a record high for October. It was gorgeous. And now it’s already time for my puffy coat!
I mentioned on another social media site that shall not be named that this weather reminded me of early 80's era General Hospital when Mikkos Cassadine had that weather machine and tried to freeze Port Charles, but Luke and Laura (with the help of Robert Scorpio) saved the day and warmed everything up again! And man, my 80′s loving friends were all over that post. I absolutely loved all the ABC soap operas back in the day, and most people my age watched at least one soap opera. There really wasn’t anything else on during the day, and if you had a stay-at-home mom like I did, it was fun to catch up our stories during a sick day or over the summer.
I just found the whole GH Heather/Jeff Webber (played by the hunky Richard Dean “MacGyver” Anderson) LSD debacle storyline from 1979 on YouTube, and my entire 4th grade year came back to me in one big rush.
I love Transparent, and one of the beauties of that show for me is watching Judith Light. She was amazing as Karen Wolek on One Life to Live from 1976-1983, and my grandma, aunt, and mom loved her. A theater actress who decided to do soap operas, and she killed it.
Speaking of soap operas, Finn is two months into his senior year, and I want him to move off to college in the worst way, and yet I get teary at every “last” thing he encounters. Since September, at least once a week I feel guilty for being so grumpy toward my mom on college move in day 30 years ago (just LEAVE already). I really should have been a dick to my dad. Live and learn.
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Rambling Review: EQG - Rainbow Rocks
youtube
When we last discussed Equestria Girls, I came to the conclusion that, in spite of the numerous moments of sheer blandness and ridiculousness, the film itself was essentially harmless. The “villain”, if you could even call her that, did not impress me, the plot was uninspired in spite of the addition of MLP elements, and the structure was a complete mess from my personal perspective. So, imagine my surprise when a sequel was announced in 2014. And by surprise, I mean revived agitation. Don’t get me wrong, while I now see that a sequel was inevitable, I was less open minded to the concept at the time. But, casual fans and critics alike all say that Rainbow Rocks is a vast improvement over it’s predecessor to this day. Are these claims true, or is the sequel just as nonsensical as the original film? Well, let’s jump through the mirror again and take a look.
We begin in the human world this time, as we see three obviously evil magical girls are feeding off a green fog surrounding a bunch of arguing teenagers. They talk about how the “food” has been quite insubstantial in recent years until the climax from the last movie explodes in the distance. The leader with a hairstyle fluffier than the fluffiest of unicorn plushies marvels at the light-show, and tells her sisters that their time has come. Equestrian magic has appeared in the human world, and they shall us it to make it’s denizens adore them.
Cut to about maybe a month or so after the Fall Formal, where everyone is giving Sunset Shimmer the stink-eye after what she did. This is actually important for two reasons:
1. Consequences. I commented in the last film that leaving Sunset in the human world rather than have Princess Celestia punish her was not the right thing to do because it gave Sunset a “Get Out Of Jail Free” card. In this film, that point is rendered moot because nobody trusts Sunset, not believing for a moment that her days as a tyrant are over. And why should they? They were all used and abused by Sunset in various ways prior to the end of Equestria Girls, indirectly or otherwise. Which gives way to…
2. Regret. Sunset actually feels bad for what she did, and this time it feels more believable. There’s nothing like an entire school turned against you to make you feel cast out. Every time the subject of the Fall Formal and Sunset’s transformation is brought up, she becomes depressed or agitated about it. She wants to put the incident behind her and prove that she is better.
Which is why she has agreed to show some new transfer students around the school before someone tells them about her past. But, surprise, surprise, the transfer students are three familiar girls in tacky clothing. Sunny shows them around and mentions a school-wide musical fundraiser, which certainly gets the attention of the girls who start to act noticeably weird when Sunset asks about their matching necklaces.
Huh, obvious baddies who don’t want people to touch their bling. Are we sure Evil Sunset didn’t somehow multiply?
In all seriousness, the Dazzlings are a breath of fresh air to me, as they actually are given a little bit of character in comparison to Sunset’s one note “gimmie the crown” shtick. I especially love the Megatron/Starscream-esque relationship from Adagio Dazzle and Aria Blaze with a little bit of Sonata Dusk making memes in the background. And then things get even better after they sing their first song, “Battle of the Bands”. The three sisters saunter into the cafeteria and pretty much undo what Twilight did in the previous film and begin to divide the students. The Dazzlings manipulate everyone but Sunset and the HuMain 5 into fighting one another and turning the musical fundraiser into...well, a Battle of the Bands. And as the students argue, the girls feed off that familiar green fog again as our heroines watch in confusion.
Sunset, showing some more brains than in the previous film, comes to the immediate conclusion that the three girls obviously have dark magic on their side, and the gang goes to tell Principal Celestia in order to kick them out. But, unfortunately, Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna are weaker than their Alicorn alternatives, and are already under the thrall of the Dazzlings, leaving the girls at a lost until Sunset remembers about a journal she had brought from Equestria years ago. The journal apparently acts as a primitive form of text messaging, allowing Sunset to send a message across the dimensions by writing a message in her book which will appear in another back in Equestria. By sheer luck, Twilight is already in possession of the magical, glowing, vibrating second journal which receives Sunset’s message, and she not only determines that the Dazzlings are Sirens banished from Equestria by the Dumbledore/Gandalf/Merlin of Pony Lore, Starswirl the Bearded, but she also Macgyvers a way to open the portal between the two worlds early using the journal’s magic.
So, Twilight and Spike return to the human world, leaving the others behind to avoid the confusion that would come from having two of everyone running around. Everyone back in the human world is excited to see Twilight come back, even Sunset, who offers to help Twilight up after a rocky entry. This brief moment is important. The way Twilight initially hesitates shows that even she rightfully doesn’t trust Sunset yet. It, again, shows that all is not forgiven like we thought back in the previous film’s finale.
So, by now you're probably asking “why is Twilight even here?”. Well, since Principal Celestia is basically a puppet, the HuMain 5 believe the only way to deal with the Dazzlings now is to blast them back to the stone age with the same Deus Ex Machina attack from the Fall Formal. But, since this film isn’t supposed to be thirty minutes long, this plan backfires, not only making Twilight and the HuMain 5 look like fools, but also expose their resistance to the Dazzlings’ mind-control. While Adagio theorizes that these girls could be the source of the Equestrian magic she had witnessed long ago, the girls retreat to make a new plan at Pinkie’s house during a slumber party.
So Plan C goes something like this: have Twilight write a “counter-spell song”, play it during the Battle of the Bands and defeat the Dazzlings. Why would this work? Well, because the HuMain 5’s magical powers seem to pop up whenever they play their instruments for a band Rainbow Dash and her friends started for the fundraiser. What a coincidence. Actually, while we’re here, can we discuss how the human version of Rainbow Dash acts throughout this film? While the pony version has been known to be quite egotistical and self-absorbed at times, this version multiplies these attributes to the point of being abrasive. Constantly calling the band “hers”, cheating at video games, not wanting to back down as lead vocalist when the others volunteer Twilight in order to pull off the counter-spell, even ignoring Fluttershy when she wants the band to try playing a song she wrote herself. I know technically the human one is not the same character as the pony one, but Rainbow Dash is just so unlikable in this film.
After a brief moment to both address how Sunset and Twilight are not so different after all and to have a shout-out to all the Maud Pie fans, the gang return to the Battle of the Bands after a less than successful rehearsal which mostly consisted of bickering more than music. The Rainbooms flub their first outing through the obvious sabotage from Snips and Snails, but they somehow get to move along with the other competitors who won Round One. That doesn’t mean everyone is happy about the competition however, as even Flash Sentry starts spewing insults at the girl he once crushed on thanks to the Dazzling’s magic. Speaking of, Sunset tries to talk her Equestrian foes down, but the Sirens know of her past endeavors and turn the tables before they take the stage.
After another great, if not more blunt song, called Under Our Spell, we see that the Rainbooms are actually making progress in spite of the constant internal drama and the sabotage from their premiere. More on that in a bit, as another great song pops up...only to end right away. This song sung by Trixie, Tricks Up My Sleeve, is actually quite a good song, and I wish we could have heard the whole thing in the film if only just for one lyric. So, just for you guys, allow me to play this one lyric. LadyTenkage, this one’s for you~
And this is what happens when online friends subscribe to me on YouTube: inside jokes with a dash of schadenfreude. Oh...I’m so gonna get murdered for that when we next meet face to face.
Anyways, after more of Rainbow Dash feeding her ego by singing a song about how awesome she is (which I cannot stand), the girls start to show their pony powers, but Sunset intervenes before the Dazzling can feed off them. She and the Rainbooms are booed for this, but the Dazzlings use their ever-growing power to manipulate Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna into allowing the girls to advance to the final round, much to Trixie’s rage. But, again, the Dazzlings stroke Trixie’s ego and plant the idea to trap the Rainbooms as an act of revenge, which she does. This prompts the HuMain 5 to, once again, bicker and unintentionally feed the Dazzlings their magic as the Sirens perform on stage above them.
This is where Sunset finally shows some backbone and tells her new friends to stop arguing and instead focus on actually solving what is causing the conflicts, otherwise the counter-spell Twilight has been trying to make this whole time will never work and the Dazzlings will win. So, of course the Rainbooms reconcile, of course Spike rescues them with the one background character who isn’t under the Dazzlings’ control, and of course they go to face their enemies in eye-gouging-ly colorful outfits.
And now, for the best climax in Equestria Girls history...until the next one.
Okay, first the Dazzlings go through their own pony transformation complete with ears, fin-wings red eyes, and astral-projections of themselves in their pure Equestrian forms. Then, the Rainbooms show up with Vinyl Scratch who somehow owns a transforming car.
Transformers! Hasbro doesn’t care.
Next comes an all out rock battle, with guitars blaring, vocalists giving it their all, Sirens screaming red versions of Danny Phantom’s ghostly wail, and the Rainbooms needing Sunset to help win the fight. And, with a toss of her jacket, she does. She starts to sing alongside the people who have stood alongside her through thick and thin throughout this movie, and she goes under the standard pony-fication, leading up to the most awesome thing I have seen in all of Equestria Girls. Period.
Through the power of friendship and music, the Rainbooms summon a giant, rainbow maned alicorn who blasts the Dazzlings and shatters their gems, which reduces them to being ordinary humans, all while epic music plays in the background.
Where was this in movie one!? This epic finale which shows how much power these characters have when they actually have a sense of unity is so much better than “lol, you can’t hurt us because friendship”. And the fact that it took the help of Sunset to summon what I shall now call the Alicorn God of Rock not only shows how much power these girls truly have, but it also begins a new chapter for Sunset’s redemption. Moments like this actually grab my attention, more so than the obligatory easter eggs and using even more stale high school movie plots.
Back to the film, the Dazzlings run off the presumably starve in an alley while the Rainbooms send Twilight on her way home. Twilight makes an obligatory speech about how this is “goodbye ‘til next time”, but a little cliffhanger begs to differ, as we’re finally shown that Twilight and Spike indeed have counterparts in the human world, and the human Twilight has set her eyes on Canterlot High’s magical mischief.
And with that, Rainbow Rocks ends with a nice credits montage of Canterlot High’s students starting to truly accept Sunset Shimmer as one of them. So, what did I think of Rainbow Rocks in comparison to it’s predecessor? Well, on the whole, I have to say that Rainbow Rocks obviously excels where Equestria Girls fails. It actually dedicates time to establishing characters and their traits rather than copy and paste typical high school stereotypes for the sake of filling in the blanks. For example, Sunset Shimmer, a character I despised for being a bland villain, actually makes an attempt to be a better person in spite of the insurmountable odds placed against her. And good Lord, the Sirens! Compared to Sunset Shimmer, these ladies were fantastic villains. Unlike the she-demon, they actually had presence and were a constant threat both on and off screen, making it feel like there was more at stake than just popularity. And the music! Unlike most of the songs from the original film, Rainbow Rocks succeeded in...well, rocking! The Dazzling’s songs, Tricks Up My Sleeves, even The Rainbooms’ songs (so long as we ignore the ego-stroking “Awesome As I Want To Be”) were all incredible, and I would listen to them all again if given the chance.
However, like the original film, there are also some notable faults in Rainbow Rocks. The HuMain 5 were easily the weakest part of the film, their constant arguing became a tad grating in spite of it’s necessity to the plot. Which reminds me, the award for most annoying character of this film goes to Rainbow Dash, whose entire routine in this film consists of her stroking her ego to the point of climaxing. While I’m not expecting her to be as restrained as her pony counterpart, I expect at least some form of control from her even if she is a teenager. Also, some of the plot elements, such as how the magic that has suddenly appeared in the human world works, is not explained as much as an intellectual audience would like.
“Who cares” RD? Well, I care. The audience cares. Everyone cares!
Which is why one of the shorts made before the next film focuses on Sunset actually trying to explain the magic in a logical, scientific way...with less than satisfying results.
And, yes, much like I stated in in previous review, this film uses more high school movie tropes: The Battle of the Bands. But, unlike Equestria Girls, there’s something that actually allows the film to stand on it’s own. Maybe it’s the Dazzlings manipulating the students and staff like puppets, maybe it’s the Equestrian magic, maybe because it was an actual Battle of the Bands, or maybe it was that incredible ending that I love so much.
All in all, Rainbow Rocks was actually fun to watch in comparison to Equestria Girls. I’m glad I watched it, and I think I would actually watch it again should the urge take me over. Is it perfect? No. But I can forgive Rainbow Rocks for it’s flaws because I feel like it actually made an effort to have a higher quality than Equestria Girls. It actually feels like a competent story that I can enjoy over and over again.
All I can really say is Rainbow Rocks rocks.
In the meantime, never stop rambling.
TM
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Network Upfronts 2019: ‘Bless This Mess’ of a Schedule
As has become an annual tradition for the Entertainment Industry, the Big Five broadcast networks – ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, and The CW – trotted out new schedules for next autumn. In addition to an unresolved contractual status between TV writers and their agents, this was also the first fall season following the official merger of ABC and Fox.
Last month, I unveiled my own “fantasy schedules” for the Big Five, as a normally do: one for ABC, one for CBS, one for NBC, one for Fox, and one for The CW.
Not only did all of the networks ignore most of my suggestions – one of them, in particular, cobbled together what is arguably the worst individual network schedule in recent broadcast history. Whether the other networks take advantage of that shaky foundation to propel themselves ahead, however, remains to be seen.
Here is the mixed bag of decisions made by the Big Five, this year:
CBS
Madam Secretary receives a well-deserved final season of ten episodes, to air this fall. Undercover Boss, Man with a Plan, The Amazing Race, and (perhaps most surprisingly) MacGyver will return in January or later. Also on-deck for midseason are new sitcom Broke along with new dramas FBI: Most Wanted and Tommy.
The good: CBS made some good stability choices, keeping the Sunday and Tuesday night lineups the same as last season. The new Billy Gardell sitcom Bob Hearts Abishola should benefit from The Neighborhood’s lead-in audience. New comedies The Unicorn (headlined by Walton Goggins) and Carol’s Second Act (starring Patricia Heaton) have perfect placements behind Young Sheldon and Mom, respectively.
And likewise, Magnum P.I. should benefit from its move to Friday night behind Hawaii Five-0 (even if it means benching MacGyver until midseason, rather than taking my advice and moving Blue Bloods to a new night). Additional kudos for being willing to give Madam Secretary its final ten-episode season.
The bad: Mainly CBS’s stubborn insistence on continuing to prop up the low-performing SEAL Team on Wednesday nights...keeping it in the plum post-Survivor time slot (which really should have been turned over to a new program like Evil, Tommy, or All Rise).
The questionable: All Rise is certainly compatible forming a two-hour bloc with Bull. I just wish they weren’t keeping Bull on Monday nights. This is a tough place to launch a new series...or even to maintain an aging series whose star has been implicated in sexual harassment controversy.
Grade: B+
Predictions: Once Madam Secretary takes its final bow in November, look for CBS to consider moving SEAL Team into that sleepy Sunday slot so the David Boreanaz vehicle can prove that it has its own legs. The FBI: Most Wanted spinoff could get an abridged winter tryout while its mothership series sits on the bench for several weeks. Broke will probably be midseason spackle for whichever of the three new comedies brings in the lowest demos. Still, with The Big Bang Theory now gone – if there was any season during which CBS could renew most (if not all) of any decently-performing new sitcoms, this could be it. But if S.W.A.T. or Evil falters on either Wednesday or Thursday (respectively), then watch for Blue Bloods to finally move off of Fridays to make room for MacGyver (and some epic three-hour crossovers between Hawaii Five-0, Magnum P.I., and MacGyver). The ten-episode final season of Criminal Minds will probably be used as winter filler, along with summer stints for the returns of The Amazing Race and Undercover Boss.
The CW
Shocking many observers who assumed All-American would be done-for, The CW renewed every single one of its scripted series. Arrow will get an announced final season to air in the fall, with several midseason replacements waiting in the wings, including Riverdale-spinoff Katy Keene as well as the returns of The 100, In the Dark, Legends of Tomorrow, and Roswell, New Mexico.
The good: Batwoman will be very compatible with Supergirl on Sunday nights. Similarly, the Nancy Drew remake should be a nice tonal partner to Riverdale on Wednesdays (even though I expected that slot to go to Katy Keene).
The bad: it seems slightly wasteful to put Arrow’s ten-episode final season in the post-Flash slot, since it’s prime real estate being given to a show that will no longer be around in the new year. However, The CW’s intent could be to slide in either Roswell, New Mexico or Legends of Tomorrow into that 9pm slot when fresh episodes of The Flash return in January. I’m also not sure I understand the network’s rationale behind holding Katy Keene over until midseason.
The questionable: All-American and Black Lightning are probably being paired together because each features a male lead character of color. But is Monday really the best place for them, especially with the low-rated All-American as the night’s lead-in? Legacies could benefit from airing behind Supernatural’s final season, and the duo of (newly-relocated) Charmed and Dynasty could hold down the fort on Fridays well enough if their production costs don’t become too extravagant.
Grade: B
Predictions: Midseason, Legends of Tomorrow probably takes over for Arrow on Tuesdays. All-American and Black Lightning may end 16-episode seasons in tandem by March, allowing In The Dark and Roswell, New Mexico to pick up the torch on Mondays. Depending on whether Nancy Drew gets an extended episode order, Katy Keene (starring Lucy Kate Hale of Pretty Little Liars fame) would seem to be the logical choice to clock in midseason in that post-Riverdale slot (if only for the crossover potential).
NBC
Blindspot is getting an announced final season, premiering at a TBA point next spring or summer. Law & Order: SVU is rumored to be heading into would could be a final season. Comedies The Kenan Show and Indebted along with dramas Council of Dads, Lincoln, and Zoe's Extraordinary Playlist (already slated for Sundays) will clock in at midseason.
The good: Tuesday nights stay the same, which is boring but a safe-and-prudent choice. Ditto for keeping the all-Chicago lineup intact on Wednesdays, and keeping The Blacklist in its Friday perch.
The bad: Sunday night seems to be a risky spot to plunk down a new entry with as much breakout potential as Zoe’s Extraordinary Playlist, even if it is sandwiched between the popular Little Big Shots and the solidly-performing Good Girls. I’m underwhelmed by giving Bluff City Law the golden time slot after The Voice on Mondays – that’s really where NBC should be scheduling Zoe’s Extraordinary Playlist, even if they waited until March to premiere it there. I assume Bluff City Law is getting a fall tryout due to the star power of Jimmy Smits.
Additionally, I predict Manifest’s momentum will get killed by waiting until midseason to bring it back, due to its serialized nature. The Peacock Network really missed an innovative opportunity by declining to pair Perfect Harmony and Sunnyside together in a one-hour bloc of new comedies immediately following The Voice’s results show (although such a move, admittedly, would have required NBC to either relocate or delay one of This is Us or New Amsterdam).
The questionable: I’m assuming Council of Dads takes over for This is Us on Tuesdays in March, given the commonality of their family drama emphases. The Good Place becoming a 9pm anchor on Thursday night could be genius...or an unnecessary risk, particularly with The Good Place only airing 13 episodes.
Grade: C+
Predictions: Blindspot will return for its announced final season in January or February in the hour following The Blacklist. Will & Grace will likely take over for The Good Place around that same time; at that point, depending on the success or failure of one/both of Perfect Harmony and Sunnyside, NBC has a lot of flexibility to restructure its comedy lineup with The Kenan Show and Indebted waiting in limbo. Lincoln would probably be trotted out on Mondays if Bluff City Law fails...or be held over until the summer.
Fox
The disingenuous cancellations of Star and The Cool Kids top my biggest disappointments in the aftermath of Fox's merger with ABC. The Orville and Last Man Standing will return following the conclusion of football at midseason, joined by replacement newbies The Great North, Duncanville, Outmatched, NeXt, Filthy Rich, Deputy, and spinoff 911: Lone Star. Most significantly – but not surprisingly – Empire will be airing its final season.
The good: Fox’s Sunday animation lineup appears strong, and I imagine the 911: Lone Star spinoff is designed to air in-between the two halves of its mothership series. I also hadn’t considered the possibility of The Masked Singer being slotted for the fall, but it is a cheap and low-risk high-reward strategy.
The bad: I understand Fox’s financial and tactical reasoning for keeping Thursday Night Football and turning over Fridays all season long to the WWE: that doesn’t mean I have to like it. On top of that, holding Last Man Standing in reserve until midseason (with new sitcom Outmatched obviously intended to be its new partner) seems unnecessary and excessive. I’m also not convinced that Filthy Rich would be best suited to follow up those two sitcoms on Thursday (presumably facing more mainstream comedy competition from CBS and NBC).
The questionable: Why move Empire to Tuesday? Even with it being the announced final season, is that really such a compatible lead-out from The Resident? You’d think The Resident would be paired with a more procedural sort of show, like Prodigal Son. Likewise, the swan song for Empire seems as though it would have been at least marginally compatible with the soapy Not Just Me.
Grade: C-
Predictions: With fewer time slots available, there shouldn’t be that many surprises coming midseason. Season 3 of The Orville might work well paired with the new sci-fi drama NeXt. Elsewhere on the schedule, Deputy could take over for Empire on Tuesdays. MasterChef Junior can be plugged in pretty much anywhere.
ABC
The cancellation of Speechless stunned some observers, although I shed zero tears over it. However, the inexplicable renewals of Single Parents and Bless This Mess proved to be amongst the most mind-boggling (putting it lightly) decisions made by the network. Midseason, Station 19, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., American Idol, and The Bachelor will return. New entries will include dramas For Life and The Baker and the Beauty, sitcom United We Fall, game show Don't, and reality newcomer Videos After Dark.
The good: Not much. ABC is wise to keep Schooled right where it is, and resurrecting Kids Say The Darndest Things (now headlined by Tiffany Haddish) was an unpredictable-yet-smart choice. While I’ve been critical about ABC’s tendency to waste the post-Dancing with the Stars time slot on buzzworthy new shows, I can see the reasoning behind keeping The Good Doctor nurtured there for another season or two, so that The Good Doctor will presumably be able to lead off another night (probably Thursdays) someday. Let’s just hope ABC doesn’t make the same mistake they made with Castle by keeping The Good Doctor planted there for seven or eight years...
The bad: Why the hell would ABC renew The Rookie only to send it to Sunday’s sleepiest time slot? Meanwhile, the network reverts back to its inane, mind-boggling – and, by this point, laughable – approach of premiering totally new one-hour dramas in the dead zone of Tuesdays at 10pm (where Emergence will probably be DOA). At the very least, they could have kept The Rookie there, and saved Emergence for midseason or summer.
Then there’s the abysmal comedy front. Out of all the comedies on ABC’s schedule, Bless This Mess and Single Parents were arguably the lowest-quality options for renewal. And neither of them has brought in impressive ratings, to boot. Those renewals make no sense when you consider how ABC could have, instead, renewed The Kids Are Alright and continued nurturing it behind The Connors. Or they could have canceled Single Parents and moved Splitting Up Together into the post-Modern Family time slot (to take advantage of the buzz behind Modern Family’s announced final season).
The questionable: although it’s logical for Mixedish to share the same hour as its parent series, Blackish – it seems bizarre to give the 9pm anchor slot to the newer (and less proven) of the two. Stumptown (starring Cobie Smulders) on Wednesday has potential, but will it be different enough from S.W.A.T. or Chicago PD to stand out in that time slot? ABC is clearly trying to kill American Housewife by banishing it to Fridays? Is the TGIT lineup on its last legs? Will How to Get Away with Murder receive an announced final season? Will A Million Little Things underperform compared to last year? Stay tuned...
Grade: F
Predictions: for the most part, terrible decisions all-around. Mondays and Thursdays aren’t too bad...but Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday are a mess.
I predict that, in another year or two, executives at ABC will be disingenuously scratching their heads wondering why their viewership numbers have dropped to CW-levels of tedium.
In summary, CBS and The CW turned out acceptable enough schedules. NBC and Fox missed a lot of opportunities...but they didn’t drop the ball nearly as badly as ABC did with its lackluster, nonsensical scheduling and renewal choices.
Whoever thought we’d actually miss Channing Dungey...???
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A Sonata for a Root Vegetable ~ A Growing Love Story in Nine GIFs and 1,000+ Words
@darthvoldemaul
“You’re one of my favorite people in the whole wide world; you know that?” Danny prefaces one day while they’re hanging out at Spatola’s.
“Right back at you,” Rhett replies, scratching his chin and leaning back against the green cushion of the booth. “But?”
“But are you ever gonna break the ice and actually talk to her?”
“Who?”
Danny gives him a look and tosses a crumpled napkin at his face.
“You know who, dude.”
Rhett rolls his eyes even though his crooked smile belies this feigned annoyance.
“For the last time, I do not have ‘a thing’ for your lady friend’s best friend.”
“Lies.”
“I don’t. I mean she’s cute or whatever, I guess, but I don’t even know her.”
“You could, if you’d just let me put in a good word.”
“Nah, that’s even worse. I can do my own flirting, man, when I want to.”
“Nola says you just get this really intense look on your face and then sorta walk away all broody.”
“Did she tell her that?”
“No. Nola saw you guys pass each other outside Farley’s.”
“Then she also saw that her friend didn’t even look my way, so it’s all good. Doesn’t matter what my face is doing if it’s just your girlfriend and Butter the Cat watching me through the bookshop window. Her bestie didn’t notice a thing.”
Danny folds his arms and looks away. “I wouldn’t be so sure...,” he mumbles cryptically.
“Why? What’d she say? Did she mention me to you guys?”
Danny’s expression breaks into a broad grin and he cackles triumphantly.
“Busted! You do give a shit. I called it!”
Rhett slumps sideways and groans loudly.
“I hate you.”
As the months go by and Danny and Nola start spending more time together, so too do their friend groups. “Groups” is being used a little loosely here since Nola really only has a couple of friends her own age. However, this only means that there are even less people standing as physical buffers between Rhett and The Girl.
The absence of Rhett’s A-Game is reaching such a level that it is even starting to be noticed by the (albeit unintentionally) oblivious. It took Marty three years to discover her best friend and roommate was in love with her and even she can discern something is up with her shaggy sidekick.
“You okay, Rhettro Chic?” Marty asks one night at a party, eyeing him over her glass. “You’re being all quiet. It’s weird.”
Vanessa, who is seated at the table with them, follows Rhett’s line of sight and figures out whose gaze has left him flummoxed. Mercifully, she uses her very recent upgrade to girlfriend status to distract the other young woman from this line of inquiry. Nessa presses her lips to Marty’s ear and murmurs what Rhett can only assume is a request to dance, given that they start making their way toward the floor.
As they cross the room, Vanessa gives Rhett a pointed look over her shoulder and tilts her head toward where Danny, Nola, and her friend are standing. Rhett gives her a grateful nod in return. If he is finally going to do this thing, love her though he does, Rhett really does not need Marty’s encouraging whistles and calls echoing after him.
He downs a gulp of his beer and strides determinedly toward the far corner. Danny sees his friend’s approach and gets a knowing look in his eye. After a little idle chitchat, Danny uses his best goofy smile and dance moves to coax Nola away with him so Rhett will have his opportunity.
Somehow, just like that, it feels like Danny has found a way to make this all easier on Rhett without directly interfering. Now, if he speaks to Nola’s friend, Rhett will seem like he's sparing her the awkwardness of being left behind as a third wheel. There can even be an unspoken commiseration over their current third wheel-iness. Rhett turns to face this fellow “single Pringle” and manages a smile that almost doesn’t look nervous at all.
“So, how’ve you been?”
Progress has been made, it’s fair to say, although they're still very much in the friendly acquaintance stage. Even so, it’s nice to be able to exchange subtle nods of greeting across South Main Street. Danny has other ways of reaching the bookshop if he were so inclined, but he conveniently keeps asking Rhett for a ride to make sure his best bud will be in the right place at the right time. Not wanting to be too obvious, Rhett always busies himself afterward by entering other nearby shops as if he’s come this way to run errands. Much to his delighted surprise, there comes one afternoon when Nola’s friend uses this to her advantage. Rhett comes back to find a scrap of notebook paper with seven digits tucked under his windshield wiper.
Call me sometime - S.
“So your friend Marty always addresses you by a nickname?”
“Sorta. I don’t know if it really counts as a nickname when she tries to steer clear of repeats so it’s never the same. More like name puns? Play on words or whatever.”
“Gotcha. I’m gonna give you one for your contact in my phone. It’s like Rheumatologist, Rhinocerous, stuff like that?”
“Nah, that’s more like that Benedict guy who played the dragon fr--”
“Got it! I’m texting you a screenshot.”
“...Rutabaga Wickerchair. You’re pretty proud of that one, aren’t you?”
“Taking my bows as we speak. I brought it up a level ’cause your last name’s in it now, too.”
“All right, two can play at that game. Check your messages.”
“Symphony OldMacDonald. That is... something special.”
“Hey, it’s a closer match than Rutabaga.”
“Debatable.”
“A coffee date. Very conventional. And very not you.”
“What can I say? I’m a man of mystery. Gotta keep you on your toes.”
"Sure, Jan. C’mon, spill it. What’s going on, Scruffleupagus? You’re up to something; I know it. This wouldn’t happen to be one of your collaborative effort pranks, would it?”
“Dunno. Guess you’ll have to wait in suspense and find out.”
“Gonna keep your secrets to the last, huh? All right. But I’m on to you.”
“Scruffle Shuffle!”
Rhett cleans the cheese dust off his fingers with meticulous care, pretending not to hear.
“Rhett!”
He tilts back his head, catching the remaining bag crumbs in his mouth. Rhett gives no indication that he has seen her waving.
“Pardon me... Handsome!”
Rhett smiles in spite of himself but keeps up the act that he hasn’t noticed her prior to this moment.
“Oh hey, Syd.”
“Y’know, strictly speaking, we’re not allowed to bring outsiders back here.”
“Funny, of the two of us, I’d have said you're the one who favors the Ponyboy aesthetic.”
“Har-dee-har. You know the kind I mean.”
“Non-delinquents?”
“Uh, yeah, something like that.”
“They’re right to be wary, y’know.”
“’Cause I’m such a bad influence?”
“No, ’cause I am. I throw a mean bash, mister. Gimme a box of rinse cups, some AA batteries, and a little dry ice and I could put this place on the social map in a night.”
“A regular Party MacGyver, eh?”
“Damn straight.”
“I’d better not let The Powers That Be know you’re here, then.”
“You’re gonna protect me from your scary headmistress?”
“Yup.”
“Risking life and limb for your lady fair?”
“Yeah or, y’know, like a month’s detention.”
“And they say chivalry is dead.”
“This is where you wanted to show me? One of the piers under the bridge?”
“Yup, this is the one.”
“Interesting. Why this place? What makes it special?”
“I don’t know. It’s quiet, I guess.”
“Yeah. Or it was, ’til you brought me out here.”
“Hmm... The water does seem weirdly still. Even the semis don’t scare off the fish, but they sure heard you coming.”
“Watch yourself, Studly, or I’m gonna help you get intimately acquainted with the Delaware.”
A handful of the academy kids are sitting with Nola and her friends around a bonfire on the shoreline. On a log by themselves near the far side of the circle, Syd and Rhett scuff sand onto the ends of each other’s shoes and make shadow puppets in the flickering glow from the flames.
“Crap, outta juice again,” Marty whines a little louder than necessary and tilts her Solo cup with an exaggerated flip of the wrist.
“There are a few Mike’s left in the cooler,” Nola points out.
Marty pretends to consider them but wrinkles her nose. “The ice has gotten melted from being too close to the fire.”
“I’ll get you a cold one from the spare supply in the truck,” Vanessa volunteers.
“Aww, thanks, babe. You’re the best.” Marty gives her a peck on the cheek and they discretely exchange a conspiratorial wink.
Things go back to normal for a minute or two until Marty’s cell phone suddenly blares. The ringtone is so loud that everyone around the bonfire jumps about half a foot.
“Sha la la la la la!
Don't be scared.
You better be prepared.
Go on and kiss the girl!
Marty puts a hand to her chest and gives an exaggerated laugh.
“Oh, that must be my talent manager. Excuse me. I really have to take this.”
She sweeps away into the darkness with the phone pressed to her ear, kicking Rhett’s shin rather sharply as she passes. He winces and rubs the leg of his jeans but, when he sits upright again, Syd is watching him. Did she glance at his lips just then or was it a trick of the light?
#Ship: All's Fair in Love and Prank Wars#Rhett Whitaker#theclonewriter#Me @ me: Y R U like this? I WAS JUST PLAYING AROUND WITH MY IMAGINATION.#There's like a whole story behind this too because like#my sister asked me to watch the show with her and I thought to myself#'Hmm she kinda has some Alycia-level waviness going on with her hair.#Since ADC is our Jackie maybe Katherine could be good for the OTP with Rhett? We shall see.'#And then of course after the series all I wanted was for a faceclaim of her to be in a universe where she'd be happy & laugh & smile a lot#and what better place than engaging in pranks and banter with my beloved Chewbacca son?#so I started tinkering around with ship gifs and got in too deep#and then I saw a book at work with Rutabaga in the title and that sparked an idea#and the next thing I know I'm writing scenes to accompany every gif#and now here we are :P#Made for Muses
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Memery!
I was tagged by @almostdefinitelydying * for the thing! Yay! Thank you!
Rules: tag nine mutuals you want to get to know better!
RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Sick of mansplaining and not really interested in any real people. Deeply committed to a harem of fictional boys. Real relationships are super difficult for me.**
FAVOURITE COLOUR: Green, that perfect deep green of a really good emerald. Which I almost never wear because no one makes clothes that color. Also: the whole hipster-aqual to peacock-teal section where blue and green overlap. And basically any jewel tone, especially if paired with black.
LIPSTICK OR CHAPSTICK?: Burts Bees. Chapstick is waxy and awful and makes me want to cry. I do like lipstick, but I don’t wear it much because it draws attention to my janked up teeth, which don’t bother me, but which makes people notice them, which does. Also, I have weird skintones and my lips are uneven, and basically it’s a hassle unless it’s for a Big Deal. I’m more of a fat-cateye-liner sort of girl.
LAST SONG I LISTENED TO: All the songs on this week’s Spotify weekly list. They’re too new to remember names yet, but I posted the list this morning if you wanna go spelunking in my posts.
LAST MOVIE I WATCHED: It’s been ages since I watched a movie...I watched Star Trek Beyond a few months ago? Doctor Strange? I don’t know which one was more recent.
TOP FIVE FICTIONAL CHARACTERS: This changes probably daily, if not more than that, but currently I’m feeling: Martin Riggs, all the time always; the new MacGyver when he’s being super awkward about dealing with people; Delila Bard from A Darker Shade of Magic is lurking in my brain forever, she’s the awesome lady pirate we all want and need; I want to say James Cole, but I literally cannot pick favorites from 12 Monkeys, it’s unfair and I won’t do it, so all of them as one whole unit; Loki, my precious asshole murder-son who needs a whole lot of therapy and possibly a milenium of public service.
TOP THREE SHIPS: Casserole for the rest of my life; all other ships must answer to them. Jassandra from Librarians, because apparently girls named Cassie and damaged coybows are my kryptonite, and those two are both in one show. Martin Riggs and happiness, which so far is Palmer. This is not to deny any other ships--I am a harbor for all my ships--but these are the ones I’m thinking about the most right now.
BOOKS I’M CURRENTLY READING: In the Sanctuary of Wings by Marie Brennan--the Lady Trent books are so victorian-badass good. Dance of the Dissident Daughter by Sue Monk Kidd, which I have been literally reading for six months. Does constant fanfic count as a book? The 2017 Nebula Awards compilation. And at least like probably five or six others that I have officially started, put down, forgotten about, and then will find in six months and go “oh yeah, I was reading this”. My crit partner’s book, that I’m helping her edit. My own book that I’m writing.
I tag: @ohgressfuriosa @insanityofdanyi @docfgeek @wencheswithcannons @wolveswingsthieves @smellslikenapalminthemorning @flyingfishtailoutpost1 @antarctica-starts-here and @kerriss Do or do not, there is no pressure.
Notes:
* Your tags make me really mad that I didn’t pick a kickass name when I got this account lo these many years ago. I feel like it’s too late to change it now!
** If you wanna talk relationship bs, ask! I think it’s mostly me.
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Ficlet: An Insolent Pup
Some time ago, we discussed MacGyver and werewolves. I can never pass on werewolves. Hence, a fic happened.
Jack’s been trying to find an alpha worthy of his devotion ever since he was a wet behind the ears recruit. Jack’s POV.
Jack Dalton’s definitely not whining. “But, sir, with all due respect - and I have a lot of respect for you, you know that - I have 64 days left in this joint, 64, then I can finally go back home. Please, please, don’t drop another newbie into my lap. I actually do want to get out of here alive, you know?”
His CO, a sturdy black man, sighs. “Dalton, I’m aware and I’m sorry but he’s a werewolf and you’re the only other wolf I have left under my command and you know you guys work better in packs.”
You guys. Right. “Sir, it doesn’t work like that. Just because we’re both wolves, it does not necessarily mean we’ll get along, let alone build pack bonds. Just the opposite! It’s more likely that we’ll rip each other’s throat out, especially if we’re both dominant - and considering the guy joined Uncle Sam’s flock, the chances of him being a submissive are zero to none.”
Harrumphing, his CO grumbles, his tone exasperated, “So what do you want me to do, Dalton? Do you really want me to make a human a werewolf’s overwatch? Let a human watch a wolf’s back? The guys here, they learned to respect you, they even like you for some unfathomable reason, and I want to believe that my men can keep their prejudice out of the field, I do, but would you really entrust another wolf’s life to them?”
Jack sighs. He doesn’t like it but his CO is right. The interspecies tensions have been running wild lately, what with the rumors that a werewolf pack is aiding the enemy in their hit and run attacks. Still. Everything in him is complaining, I don’t wanna!
“I take your lack of response as confirmation of my fears, then,” the CO sighs, sounding tired and disappointed in his own people. “Look, this guy” --he opens the file on his desk to look up the newcomer’s name-- “Specialist Angus MacGyver, he seems like some kind of an EOD hotshot, real good at what he does, apparently. And personally, I don’t care if he’s a damn leprechaun! This unit needs someone of his caliber. Go and keep him safe. And, yes, that’s an order, Sergeant Dalton.”
With a sharp salute, Jack leaves his CO’s office, growling softly under his breath. His commander will never understand this, not being a werewolf. You don’t throw words like “pack” around lightly. Pack’s a sacred thing, precious, bonds that are meant to last a lifetime when entered freely.
Jack would give anything, anything at all for a pack of his own. He’s been trying to find an alpha worthy of his devotion ever since he was a wet behind the ears recruit. Alas. And now he’s been saddled with a dominant wolf and expected to play nice with him. Christ. He’ll show the pup who’s the boss here from the get-go. He’s not here to play pack with him!
Jack rounds the corner of one of the dusty, sun-worn barracks and runs up the three steps leading to the main door that screeches and wheezes in the hinges when he opens it - and suddenly, he freezes, right there on the threshold, and his growling catches in his throat. Because there’s someone standing at his bunk and he’s fiddling with his stuff!
Buddy, you chose the wrong day to mess with Jack Dalton and his things, Jack thinks as he snaps a furious, “Hey! Hands off my stuff!” and takes a belligerent step further inside, ready to pummel the insolent whelp.
But when the man - a kid, really, blond and blue-eyed and pale - turns around, Jack falters, almost tripping over his own two feet. Because the guy’s a wolf, not a regular human but a werewolf, as Jack’s nose would’ve told him if he only paid attention to his senses instead of nursing his issues.
Angus MacGyver, it must be him since there’s no other wolf in this camp. The kid’s all lean, pent-up energy - and with the presence of someone twice his age. To his absolute shock Jack realizes he can’t stand to look the kid in the eyes for much longer, he’s overcome with the need to drop his gaze. If Jack were in his wolf form, he would roll onto his back and offer the kid his throat in submission!
Jesus Christ, MacGyver isn’t just dominant - Jack knows dominant, he eats dominant for breakfast, but this kid, this kid is completely out of Jack’s league. And the longer MacGyver stares at him with that disapproving frown, the stronger is Jack’s urge to hunch his shoulders and… grovel.
And that makes Jack furious. Positively livid. Jack Dalton doesn’t grovel. Jack Dalton doesn’t roll onto his back for anyone! He never has and he never will!
Baring his teeth, Jack snarls - and pounces!
64 days and many fights and near-misses later, Jack Dalton pledges his undying loyalty to his new alpha, Angus MacGyver. And that’s how it starts.
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MacGyver Shorts: The One Where Jack’s Proficiency With the Ball Is Questioned
Missing scene from 102. Mac refuses to let Jack brood.
After his parting shot about the weirdness of his comment about them at least having each other, Mac turns to leave, but when he looks back and sees Jack still standing there, staring wistfully after Sarah… he stops and sighs. He can’t leave the poor man here like this.
“Come on, big guy,” he calls out in a voice that’s way too cheerful and way too bright and beckons to Jack. “Bozer promised to make his famous hamburgers and it’s been way too long since I taught you a lesson at the hoop!”
And there it is, Mac thinks with satisfaction when Jack immediately straightens up and turns to glare at Mac, Sarah, at least for the moment, forgotten. “’Taught me a lesson’? You suffering from memory loss there, hoss?” He sets off after Mac, looking very fierce.
Mac waves his hand airily and starts walking again, knowing that Jack will catch up in a second or two. “Oh no, I remember our last game perfectly. I kicked your ass! Must be your old age showing, both at the hoop and in the memory area.”
“You insolent whelp!” Jack exclaims, pushing Mac from behind and making him stumble a little. “I’ll show you old age. Old age, my ass. It’s all experience!”
Grinning, Mac throws Jack a mischievous look over his shoulder. “So, if you’re so certain of your proficiency with the ball, how about a bet?”
Jack nods, firm and determined. “I’m in!”
“Great! So, whoever wins chooses the entertainment tonight,” Mac suggests.
Jack eyes him suspiciously. “Don’t tell me, it’ll be something very educational and very boring if you win, right?”
Mac blinks at him innocently. “I thought you trusted your... ‘athletic prowess’?” The quotation marks simply cannot be overheard.
“Fine!” Jack growls. “But if I win, we’re gonna watch Amityville, all the movies!”
Mac winces a little on the inside but it’s a sacrifice he’s willing to make. Besides, maybe he will beat Jack. And then he’ll finally make him watch the documentary about Raphael and his Sistine Chapel - or, as Jack likes to call him, “that artsy dude with the weird chubby angel obsession, I prefer the Ninja Turtle, thanks.”
“Fine,” Mac replies. “It’s a deal!”
Jack rubs his hands. “Great. But first, I think I need to go home and change.” He pulls his t-shirt off his body, and with a little grimace, he looks down at the stains and smears, courtesy of the Venezuelan countryside.
Mac lifts his eyebrows and looks him up and down. “You think?”
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Ficlet: Cat’s Play
A MacGyver ficlet based on episode 207.
Foolish, foolish little mouse. Or, how did Murdoc know so much about what made Mac tick in 204. Jack’s POV.
(I wanted to use the description “foolish little mouse” for Mac ever since David Dastmalchian - the actor playing Murdoc - used it to describe MacGyver in his Twitter [x])
They skid and slide down the hallways of the Phoenix Foundation headquarters, MacGyver and Jack, running at full speed while everyone’s jumping out of their way with startled yelps. They’re late. They’re so late!
“Matty’s gonna have our asses for breakfast!” Jack mutters as he slips through a barely open sliding door.
“Well, I told you not to take that shortcut!” Mac points out, voice annoyed.
Jack glares at him over his shoulder. “Really? ‘I told you so?’ That’s what you’re going with?” he grumbles in disbelief.
Before Mac can do more than give him a pointed look, they finally arrive at their destination, the conference room, and barge in, breathless and a little sweaty.
“Sorry, Matty,” Mac gasps as he comes to a halt. “We got caught in traffic.”
She frowns at them sternly while Riley, Bozer and Cage snicker quietly in the background, but instead of tearing them a new one, as is her wont, Matty just waves her hand. “Well, you’re here now. I’ll settle for small miracles.”
As she turns towards the wall of screens at the front of the room, Mac and Jack exchange a startled glance. No yelling? Something must be seriously off.
Matty walks up to the touch screen and taps on it, unfolding a large photo. “I think you all remember Carl Wiessler, the disgraced BND operative who now sits in prison, thanks to Mr. Bozer here.” She points at Bozer who puffs out his chest in pride.
“Now, there’s been a development. Apparently, Mr. Wiessler finally grasped the seriousness of his situation because he offered us a deal: information in exchange for a chance at getting out of prison before he dies in there of old age.”
Mac crosses his arms over his chest and frowns. “That must be some helluva information if you’re even considering taking that deal.”
Matty looks at him and there’s something uncomfortable about her demeanor. “It is. He offered us all the info he has got on his original employer.”
“Original?” Jack asks, raising his eyebrows.
“Yes,” Matty answers and nods. “As it turns out, originally, he was sent in for one specific file only, for intel on one specific agent. Only later, after he completed his mission, did Wiessler come up with his plan how to monetize his access to our spy school database.”
“Who was that agent?” Bozer asks. “His first target?”
Matty turns back to the wall and sends a copy of a file sliding across the screens. And everyone freezes.
“That’s mine,” Mac whispers, straightening sharply. “That’s my file, Matty.”
“I know,” Matty responds but her voice’s not sharp or cutting, it sounds almost subdued.
Jack has a really, really bad feeling that he knows where this is headed. “And Wiessler’s client?” he asks, already clenching his jaw, anger bubbling up inside him.
Another photo slides across the screens and unfolds. Murdoc’s.
“Jesus,” Bozer breathes.
They all glance at Mac who’s staring at the screens with a blank face but blazing eyes. Jack can see how tense his shoulders have become, how he’s clenching his fists so tightly his knuckles are turning white.
“But why would he need Mac’s file?” Riley asks, then she adds in disgust, “Besides the obvious fetishism of a stalker, that is. I mean, he knows who Mac is. He even knows where he lives and works. So why go to all that trouble?”
“Because there’s everything in those files,” Cage responds. “Psych evals, medical evals, intel gathered during security clearances… you name it, it’s in there.”
“That’s why he knew so much about me when he kidnapped me,” Mac states harshly. “He knew exactly what buttons to push. How to get me angry. How to manipulate me.”
Jack takes a step closer and pats Mac on the back. He can feel him quivering under his hand.
“We will get him, Mac,” Matty promises, looking at Mac firmly. “If Wiessler can give us anything that’ll lead us to Murdoc, he’ll get his deal. I already contacted his lawyer and asked the prison director to put Wiessler into solitary, away from other prisoners, just to keep him safe.”
Mac nods. With his eyes still on the large photo of a smirking Murdoc on the screens, he says, “We need to talk to Wiessler.”
“Yes,” Matty agrees. “Take Cage and Bozer with you. Agent Cage is a skilled interrogator - if Wiessler knows anything, she’ll get it out of him - and Mr. Bozer’s the only one who actually talked to the guy in person. He could be useful. Now go!”
As the others file out, Jack pats Mac on the back again to make him finally tear his eyes away from Murdoc’s visage. And as he then leads his friend out of the room, his eyes meet Matty’s for a moment. Her look says it all. Watch out for him. Jack only nods.
The moment they arrive at the prison, they realize that something’s wrong. The building resembles nothing less than a kicked-over beehive. When they introduce themselves and explain why they’re there, the uniformed man behind the desk gives them a nervous look and asks them to wait.
After a moment, the prison director himself arrives, looking anxious and more than a little sweaty. “You’re here for Mr. Wiessler? Mr. Carl Wiessler?” he asks.
Jack narrows his eyes at the man. “Yes.”
The director clears his throat. “Uh, you see, there was an incident…”
They’re led through the gray and harshly lit prison hallways, towards the solitary cells. At the end of one of the corridors, a door stands open and there’re prison guards clustered around it, staring inside in horrified shock.
As they come closer, with the director at the head of their small procession, the guards let them pass and quickly disappear. They stop just inside the doorway - and they can’t help but stare at the mess in the cell.
Carl Wiessler’s lying there in a pool of his own blood with his throat cut from ear to ear. But it’s not the body that draws everybody’s attention, it’s the writing on the wall, done in Wiessler’s own blood. Big red letters, dripping down the gray paintwork.
Bozer chokes and steps outside quickly and the director, who let them go in first before, takes his place now. Again, he clears his throat before saying, “We don’t know what the message means.”
FOOLISH LITTLE MOUSE, reads the thing, painted on the opposite wall, clear for everyone to see.
“I do,” Mac replies in a hoarse voice.
The director looks at Mac, startled, but before he can ask, Jack speaks up, “It was Murdoc himself, wasn’t it? He just waltzed in here and killed the man and then, then he simply left.”
Mac just nods, eyes on the blood painted words, a message just for him.
“What does it mean?” Cage asks, glancing at Mac.
“That the cat’s not yet ready to play,” Mac responds, then he turns on his heel and marches out, jaw clenched tightly, hands balled into fists.
Jack rushes out after him and as he does it, he hears Cage asks the director for surveillance videos. He sees Bozer try and stop their friend, but Mac just walks past him quickly, down the corridor, towards the exit. Jack waves at Bozer and follows.
He finds Mac outside, in the hot afternoon sun, leaning against the wall with his hands. His head’s bent and he’s breathing harshly as if he just ran a marathon. Jack walks up to him slowly but before he can say anything, Mac turns his head towards him. His eyes are burning bright.
“He did it again, Jack,” Mac snaps harshly. “He slipped out again. He’s gone, who knows where. He can be watching us right now, for all we know! He--!” He cuts himself off abruptly, then he whips around and leans against the wall with his back, hiding his face in his hands.
“We will get him, man,” Jack promises. His voice’s quiet and earnest. He truly means it, it’s not just empty platitudes. They will get Murdoc. He will get Murdoc, if it’s the last thing he does in his life. Because being forced to watch the psycho turn Mac’s life inside out is tearing Jack apart.
Mac drops his hands and looks at him. There’s so much desolation in his face that it makes Jack’s heart hurt. “How?” he asks in despair.
“I don’t know,” Jack admits, though he doesn’t like it a bit. But he would never lie to his friend, not about something like this. “I don’t know but we will. We won’t rest until we get him. I swear.” Then he reaches out and squeezes Mac’s shoulder in reassurance, pouring everything he has into that comforting gesture.
Mac stares at him for a long, long moment, then Jack feels him relax - slump, really - and sees him nod. “Alright,” Mac says in a soft voice. “Alright. Let’s go back, then. Maybe we’ll find some lead,” he says and pushes himself off the building.
Jack smiles a little and nods, leading Mac back in.
Neither man notices the dark clad figure watching them through military grade binoculars from a safe distance away, lips quirked up in a smirk.
Foolish, foolish little mouse.
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