#Dan: who the fuck is ''Alicia''

[ghost-pasta]

Realized 2 likely reasons for the "Aunt Alicia's Absence In TUE" issue

(Outside of the writers just forgetting she's a useable character after the divorce episode)

All apart of the fact that Vlad is a horrible person. Even with the best intentions to help Danny in mind, he could've seen relying on someone else to help him help Danny as too much of a personal failure and/or embarrassment; and Danny never asking to fire whatever personal reasons. This option hurts so bad but it feels pretty correct as far as character motivations go. I'd say "except for Danny" but insurmountable grief does things to people so if he's seemingly "ooc" that's just the suffering™ really.

Aunt Alicia never existed in Dan's timeline in the first place. Going off of the idea that, despite being similar timelines, they are inherently different. (And Dan just either had a poor concept of that, or it's simply a variable in Clockwork's 5D chess he was playing so he didn't have to kill Dan. Either way) So there very truly was NO ONE for Danny to fall back on. Maddie and Jack being single children in their respective families and no cousins and grandparents to choose from (save for Vlad's barely mentioned potential sister)

The second one has the potential for a kind of funny interaction with Dan if anyone curiously were to ask him why he didn't just live with Alicia.

[long-live-astronerd-ghost-king]

DPxDC prompt:  “Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead” or

Batman Has An Adoption Problem but Phantoms have a Babysitting Problem

~~~~

Alicia lives in Smallville. Danny Fenton spent every summer visiting his aunt.

   And until his fourteenth birthday, Danny had no problem with hanging out with a strange child of the Kent family. After all, the Fentons were also considered freaks. He was getting good money for babysitting because he didn’t ask Martha too many questions.

   So this is what do the rest of the Justice League see when they bump into the usually newbie-friendly Superman and the Phantom in the hallway:

Superman: "You're like my own personal brand of Kryptonite."

Phantom: ~aww~

Superman: Not in a cute way. You literally make me sick! Have you ever heard of social distance?

Phantom: No :) Tell me, ~I’m dying to know.~

Superman: I hate you!

~~~~

Meanwhile in Gotham, 

Dan Phantom is dragging Robin by the neck from Killer Croc’s lair.

Dan: Look, punk, your mother won’t pay me if you don’t live to be a grown-up. Be a good assh...assassin and don't try to play with someone who’s out of your league.

Robin: Fuck off, I am not a baby to listen to a nanny. I'm 10!

Dan:...I’ll call Alfred and tell him you’re fooling around on school night.

Damian: Don't you dare!

[tgmsunmontue]

To wake, perchance to dream WIP 1/?

Hangster - Jake wakes up 10 years in the future and thinks he has amnesia. Instead it's a glimpse of what his life could be. When he wakes up right before being called back to Top Gun for the special detachment he's going to try his damndest to make that future come true...

CHAPTER ONE

                Jake wakes up too warm, pinned beneath the weight of someone’s arm and he opens an eye and squints out into the glaring morning light.

                This is not his room.

                He has blackout curtains in his room, not gauzy nets that blow around in the breeze from an open window.

                This is not the couch in Javy’s apartment.

                Nor is it the guest room at the Machado’s home.

                He didn’t drink anything last night, but he’s feeling stiffer than he usually does.

                Something is… not right.

                “Hrmgh.”

                He shifts so he can glance over his shoulder at the owner of the arm and sleepy-mumble and his mouth drops open in surprise.

                Bradley Bradshaw.

                Not only Bradley Bradshaw, but at least half-naked Bradley Bradshaw, spooning him and… wearing a wedding ring. And hopefully maybe pants.

                Fuck.

                He pushes the arm and attached hand away, wiggles away a little and then sees the ring on his own hand and just stares at it.

                What the fuck is going on.

                He’d remember getting married right?

                Surely?

                “Jake… turn off the sun.”

                “You’re the one that didn’t shut the curtains,” he says, and he has no idea what made him say that, but Bradley just groans, pulls a pillow over his head and Jake decides that now is a good time to run for the bathroom.

…            …            …

                He looks old. Not bad, but he’s definitely got more wrinkles than he did when he last remembers looking into the mirror and he’s either got some weird type of amnesia or he’s dreaming or he’s in an alternate timeline. Those are his top three theories and he knew being obsessed with science fiction as a teenager would come in use someday. He uses the bathroom and cups his hands to drink some water from the tap.

                Right.

                Information gathering.

                Best place to start is going to be his phone, if he can find it. Surely he still has a phone in the future and hasn’t allowed anyone to insert a chip into his brain. He dries his hands and tiptoes back into the bedroom, takes in the naked torso of Bradley Bradshaw and okay, he did good if he somehow managed to lock that down, regardless of timeline or potential amnesia. He spies a phone on the side of bed he woke up on, lying on a flat platform type thing, along with a watch and something that looks like it attaches to his ear, which he leaves. He pulls the curtains closed and hopes that buys him a little more time before he grabs a pair of jeans tiptoes back out, carefully closing the door behind him.

                He pulls the jeans on and walks down the hall, phone gripped tightly in his hand and takes in the pictures on the walls. This version of himself and Bradshaw are definitely married, couple of photos that can be nothing but wedding photos. They have lots of people in their lives if the number of photos are anything to go by, although he doesn’t recognize half of them. It’s only just after six in the morning, the clock in the kitchen informs him and he spies a coffee machine and it’s already on, filling steadily and he wonders who turned it on or if these things are automatic now.

                While he waits for it to finish he open his phone, going to contacts and scans through them.

                Abbey. Admrl Simp. Alex. Alicia. Amber. Austin. BamBam. Best Person Ever. Blake. Bob. Brendan. Bryce. Dan. Dave. Dickhead. Directory. DJ. Fanboy. Fritz. Hadley. Halo. Harvard. Hin. Hondo. Jack. JB. Javy. Jared. Jason. Klaus. Kyle. Mark. Matty. Mike. Mom. Morgan. Neil (not Omaha). Nick. Nix. Olivia. Omaha. Payback. Penny. Per. Pete. Phil. Robert (not Bob). Rooster. Sally. Scott. Steffan. Tony. Voicemail. Wayne. Yale.

                There are so many names he doesn’t recognize and he feels his breath coming a little short and forces himself to calm down. Panicking will not help. There are names he does recognize so he will start there. Actually, now that he looks he realizes he recognizes more, but they’re callsigns of other pilots, not friends he’d expect to have in his phone. Except if he has somehow time travelled then maybe they’re his friends now too?

                Javy though, he knows Javy now, and he looks at the most recent messages from Javy and is glad he didn’t immediately call him, because admitting he didn’t know Javy had kids and that apparently they’re under his care… Fuck. Where are they? He swallows down the rising panic again, years of training kicking in and walks down the hall and carefully pushes open the almost closed door he’d walked past earlier and sure enough there are kids in there. Three of them, and he’s not sure what’s the most surprising, that Javy finally got hitched and settled enough to have three kids, or that he apparently trusts Jake to look after them. Jake and Bradshaw that is. Apparently.

                This bedroom is bigger than the room he woke in, but it’s clearly been decorated for these kids in mind and he wonders how often they stay over, to have individual beds. He doesn’t know kids, he was the youngest of four and they were all pretty close in age. He’s been deployed while his brother’s and sisters had started having kids, sees them irregularly at best. But he can probably hazard a guess at ages. Their names are above their beds, two being cribs and he peers in, wonders just how little these children are. Alleisha, James, Brandy.

                Alleisha is in a bed, and he’d put her around six or seven years old, can’t really project her length int height, and being tall doesn’t always equal age anyway. She’s definitely the oldest by far though, the little boy, James, maybe two or three, splayed out like a starfish, thumb lax in his mouth and he looks so much like Javy it makes him smile and something in his gut relaxes an infinitesimal amount. The fact that he looks older, that Javy has kids is making him think he’s got amnesia. That’s more likely than time travel, but he’s feeling a little bit sick regardless, everything unfamiliar.

                He moves over to the final crib and there is a baby, a legit, tiny human, it can’t even be a year old, and it’s eyes are open, watching him quietly and he freezes, wonders what he’s meant to do with it. He’s seen other people do things with babies. Knows the theory. In theory. Okay. He can fly multi-million dollar planes, he can pick up a baby. He leans down, making a shushing noise and he gets a wide grin and a slap to the face for his troubles as he picks Brandy up and cradles her to him. She’s heavier than he thought she’d be.

                Right. What do you do with babies. Diaper change right? Oh god. There’s a change table and he lies her down, looks at the snaps and zips covering the baby and wonders if he should just go and wake Bradshaw up and get him to deal with it. Except this is Javy’s kid. Plus he doesn’t need anyone’s help. He works at the zipper and snaps and finally finds a sodden diaper before he realizes he’s going to need a new one, fortunately located right beneath the change table, along with some wipes. Okay. This is going well.

                He pays attention as he undoes the little tabs, knowing he’s going to have to do the whole thing in reverse, and he has a fucking engineering degree, he can figure out a fucking diaper. Fortunately only a wet diaper and he wipes, wipes again, wonders how many times he’s meant to wipe before deciding that someone else can take the next diaper change. There’s a little diaper pail which he’s grateful for, one hand not leaving her little body, terrified she might just roll off. When do babies start rolling around? Planes don’t move unless you tell them to, she’s moving all limbs independently and with no apparent control, sucking on a fist but thankfully quiet and happy. He doesn’t want to see not-quiet and not-happy if he can help it.

                He takes her out of the weird sack thing, assumes it’s a blanket thing for sleeping and carries her back to the kitchen, desperate for coffee now, and he realizes he’s going to need to feed her. Okay. Javy wouldn’t have left a baby here without food and he opens the refrigerator and sure enough there’s a few bottles already lined up and he grabs one out, the high-pitched squeal that Brandy lets out a clear agreement that he at least is on the right path.

                There’s an electronic bucket type thing beside the coffee machine which makes him think of a mini ice-bucket, it has the same brand logo as the bottle and he wonders if it’s really that simple. Puts the bottle in and presses the button on the front, and it’s definitely doing something, button turning from blue to red. Brandy is almost headbanging in excitement so he again feels like he’s once again picked the right step. While he waits for the button to hopefully change color again and provide a warm bottle he opens his phone again, wonders if he should message Javy and tell him they all made it through the night. Is that something he would do now?

                He opens up the photo gallery instead and okay… if he has amnesia then he’ll just wait to get his memories back. Whenever he’s in a photo his smile is so wide it splits his face. His camera roll is filled with photos of Bradshaw and these kids, and a dog, and some people he doesn’t recognize, but then there is Javy and a woman… he zooms in and heads back into the hall to look at the photos on the wall more closely. Phoenix. Natasha Trace. She’s in a lot of the photos as well and he opens up his contacts again, scans through the names. There’s no Phoenix, Trace or Natasha… but there is a Nix and he opens them as he walks back to the kitchen, hoping the bottle is hopefully done because Brandy is getting less patient.

                Fortunately it’s clearly designed to be operated by either an idiot or sleep deprived parents and the light is now green and flashing and he swirls it and tries to squirt some in his mouth just to check the temperature, Brandy seems horrified at his actions and makes a high pitched squeal of displeasure, struggling to get to the bottle but he doesn’t want her to get a burnt mouth or anything.

                “It’s okay baby girl, I’m not stealing it from you…”

                She makes the same displeased squealing noise, hands reaching for the bottle and Jake wonders if he’s meant to hold her, or get a cloth to cover her or something. Ah well. Problem for future Jake. He hands her the bottle and moves into the living room, settles into the corner of an incredibly comfy sofa and she squirms a little until she’s nestled into the crook of his arm, eyes wide and watching him, both hands clasped on the bottle and he doesn’t resist the urge to place a soft kiss on her forehead.

                He opens his phone again and navigates back to the messages, looking for Nix and then opening the message history. The messages between them alternate between scathing teasing and then more serious things about the kids, he’s sent her lots of photos and he clearly has a lot to do with these kids. To have the bedroom set up like it is, it looks like a permanent thing, except his messages with both Javy and Phoenix are as recent as yesterday, so nothing has happened to them to explain why their kids are here, with him and Bradshaw.

                Fucking hell.

                Bradley Bradshaw.

                Phoenix he can kind of get his head around in a way, especially if she’s married to Javy. Bradshaw on the other hand, he doesn’t know if they’ve managed to exchange any casual civil words with each other. When flying they simply seem to rub each other the wrong way and when not flying they really rub each other up the wrong way. And yet here he is, apparently married to him and looking after his best friend’s kids. What has become of his life? In another world he’d definitely have made more than one pass at Bradshaw, but he’d never got even the slightest inkling that it would be welcomed, let alone reciprocated.

                And yet here he is.

                He glances down and startles, Brandy has finished the bottle, is sucking in air and he knows enough that that can’t be good so he takes the bottle from her, which she gratefully allows him to do. Then a dog appears, looks at him and gives a soft whuff before settling on the floor just near him and Jake wonders if the dog is his. He doesn’t want to move, Brandy apparently content to simply lie with him, the dog as well and he’s wondering if he needs to let it out when he hears footsteps approaching and he twists his head.

                “You look good like that…” Bradshaw says, and he’s almost upside down, smiling at him softly, like he expects Jake to say something back and he has no idea what it might be.

                “Morning…”

                “Morning…” Bradshaw replies, giving him a weird little smile like Jake didn’t say quite what he expected. “Thanks for letting me sleep in…”

                “You’re, uh, welcome…” Jake says, shifting and standing up because he feels too vulnerable lying on his back on the sofa with Bradshaw sort-of looming over him. Of course, now he’s got an even better view of Bradshaw and he can’t help but look his fill, Bradshaw in nothing but low-hanging sleep pants and looking sleep-tousled. He also looks older, maybe in his mid-forties, but he’s still firm and smooth and Jake wants to lick a stripe over his stomach. Nothing wrong with his sex drive at least.

                “And this is why we don’t have kids ourselves. Get your mind out of the gutter Mr Bradshaw, we’ve got kids today and cannot go back to bed…” Bradshaw says, moving close to him and taking Brandy from him and he lets her go, misses the warmth of her tiny body.

                “Pity…” he says, and finds he means it, because even if he’s freaking out about this weird waking-dream he’s in, Bradshaw is still a certified snack and Jake wants him. And apparently he took his name when they got married. He’s not surprised he was willing to give up Seresin considering how little he cares for it even now.

                “I’m sure you’ll make it up to me tonight. And tomorrow morning if you’re feeling athletic enough.”

                “When am I not feeling athletic enough?” Jake asks, because he can’t imagine his personality is that different even if he can’t remember time lapsed.

                “Mmm, there’s that fighting spirit. Like it when you feel like you have to prove a point.”

                Then Bradshaw is kissing him, his fingers sneaking under his shirt to stroke Jake’s bare skin and he feels his entire body erupt in goosebumps, suddenly hyperaware, every little hair on his body standing on end and seemingly aching for attention. He’s not used to this, not used to someone who just touches him and moves him like they know exactly what to do and god it feels both terrifying and exhilarating.

                “Come on, we better get breakfast going for trouble one and trouble two…”

                “Yeah, course,” Jake agrees, because he’s the one out of time and place and he’s going to need to figure out a way to break that news to Bradshaw and a little more time sounds good. Regarding breakfast though, fortunately Bradshaw seems to be the one that makes it, but he watches carefully which cupboards and drawers have what items, his mind racing trying to figure out whether he’s suddenly going to remember everything in a rush, or have it trickle through.

                “Morning uncle Jay…”

                “Morning,” Jake replies, knows the greeting is for him because he’s also getting a hug to his side and he likes being called Uncle Jay, wants to hear it all the time. God, no wonder these kids have a bedroom here if he’s already this much in love with them all. Best case of amnesia ever. He needs to figure out how to let Bradshaw know about that too, not to freak him out, but just to let him know, because he should probably get checked out even if he does feel fine physically. The fact he’s missing a chunk of time isn’t normal. Of course, there is the chance that he’s still dreaming, but his dreams have never seemed real like this.

                Or as domestic.

                Or as detailed.

                The dog makes another quiet whuff and he can hear the front door opening, but it’s clearly someone with a key and he has to stop himself from freaking out that he’s going to have another person he doesn’t know enter his new reality.

                “You two wearing pants?” a woman’s voice calls out and Jake catches Bradshaw’s eye roll.

                “Jesus Amelia, of course we’re wearing pants, the kids are here!”

                “Well, I have to ask.”

                “It was one time, and you didn’t knock…”

                “And I’m still getting therapy for it,” a woman apparently called Amelia says, pulling a face and Jake doesn’t know whether to smile or say something or… okay, he’s being hugged in greeting and he hugs back, swallows back the automatic nice to meet you because he clearly knows her already, even if he has no fucking clue who she is. She’s definitely younger than him and Bradshaw though.

                “Aunty Amelia!” Alleisha says, and Jake feels a spark of jealousy at the joy and excitement in her voice, directed at someone else, and then reminds himself the love and affection are not a finite resource as he watches Amelia hug Alleisha, then James and then slaps Bradshaw on the ass, making him squawk. She just laughs and takes Brandy from Bradshaw, and the baby just goes happily. Jake is so confused.

                The dog paws at him and whines, and he glances down and pats her; she’s definitely his, with the way she’s hovering near his side. Bradshaw is looking at him with a raised eyebrow though when he looks up from paying her attention, but goes back to setting out bowls and glasses of water, cuts up fruit and slides another cup of coffee across to him with a soft smile. Jake smiles back, wonders when he might get a moment alone with him. His phone vibrates in his pocket and he pulls it out.

Best Person Ever>> Stop staring at his ass. You’ve been home for two weeks. Honeymoon period should be over.

                He glances up and Amelia is smirking at him, and he doesn’t know where she fits into all of this, who she is to them, other than someone he has in his phone as Best Person Ever and judging from her smirk he wouldn’t put it past her to have changed that herself. He shoves his phone back in his pocket. If he’s been home for two weeks then he’s probably been deployed, which means he’s still in the Navy. That settles some of the uneasiness in his gut, not everything in his world is that different then. And this is what he comes home to. That’s pretty fucking cool.

                They eat, Brandy being placed in a highchair that materializes from the laundry and she’s given some slices of banana to mash up, which is gross and horrifying to watch. The expression on his face must be amusing, because both Alleisha and James are giggling at him, and even Bradshaw is hiding a grin, but he gets up and brushes a soft kiss on his forehead, murmurs something about every time and he wants to know what the hell he means. Amelia is also eating breakfast, making herself at home and wiping at James’ face and even though he has no idea who she is it doesn’t feel wrong that she’s here and part of their domesticity.

                “Right, I’m taking Lady Alleisha and Knight James to their swimming lessons. I’ll be back after we’ve visited the library… We might also swing by a playground on our way back.”

                Bradshaw is nodding like this is the standard routine and Jake just smiles, because the kids are happy and excited and now he has his opportunity to talk to Bradshaw. Tell him that he’s not… well. Can’t remember anything.

                Yeah.

                This is going to be awkward as fuck.

CHAPTER TWO

[clatterbane]

I posted 7,283 times in 2022

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I tagged 5,374 of my posts in 2022

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Longest Tag: 139 characters

#and it's absolutely fucking infuriating to see posts that are like 'everyone who is [catagory] was treated like ___ & therefore privileged'

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

(via r/disability)

Though, as unsurprisingly already came up in the comments there? I would not necessarily say "ignore" without tacking on "willfully"--in a "not my circus, not my monkeys" sort of way driven by ableism.

95 notes - Posted February 24, 2022

#4

‘Life in a box’: young autistic man confined in hospital’s former file room | News | The Sunday Times

His sectioning is subject to a rolling review and he can be discharged at any time by the doctor in charge of his care. It means the Priory, a private company receiving large amounts of NHS funding for his care, is also in charge of deciding whether he is fit for release. There is no suggestion that Patient A’s funding has had an influence on his care plan at the hospital...

Patient A is stuck inside a system the government vowed to fix in 2011, after the abuse of adults with autism and severe learning disabilities was exposed by the BBC’s flagship investigations programme, Panorama...

In 2015 NHS England launched its Transforming Care programme, which aimed to reduce the number of autistic people and those with learning disabilities in mental health hospitals. But while the number of people with learning difficulties in hospitals has fallen, the number of autistic people in mental health hospitals has risen by 59 per cent since 2015 to 700 (autistic people only), according to NHS figures. When taking into account autistic people with and without learning difficulties, the figures have risen from 1,100 in 2015 to 1,215 today.

“People can deteriorate because the environment is not right for them and that can make their behaviour worse,” said Dan Scorer, Mencap’s policy expert...

Experts say that for those with autism, being confined in a unit such as Patient A’s exacerbates aggressive behaviour. As a result they become trapped in a vicious cycle of overmedication and ever more draconian restrictions on their liberty.

“People with autism can have sensory problems. They need the right space to live in. A nice garden. The correct lighting. A comfortable home,” says Alicia Wood, who has studied the effects of long-term segregation on people with autism and learning disabilities for the government’s oversight panel, led by Baroness Hollins.

Some are left “traumatised” after long-term inpatient care. Moving out can initiate a period of three to six months in which “their behaviour can be extremely challenging.”

108 notes - Posted January 10, 2022

#3

(Source | Context)

Everybody forgetting that Gen X exists yet again, with too many years' worth of exasperated snark to contribute! 😅

142 notes - Posted August 3, 2022

#2

PSA for people in Virginia:

More glitches at the DMV. Check your voter registration.

150 notes - Posted October 21, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Speaking of the goat!

Free crochet pattern:

391 notes - Posted December 12, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[tuiyla]

leighton: she was so into tatum and now those feelings have just flown right out the window, huh? and i was one of the people who actually liked alicia and her together back in s1 but god was it really necessary to just throw her back into the loop in the last couple episodes like that- and if they knew they were going to do that all along, why make tatum so cool and sweet and into leighton? i get what they were trying to portray through her character, i do, i just think it's fucking stupid -dan

I was fuming about this in the shower so let me repeat myself for the 15th time today: I get what they were going for, it just didn't work.

Because you're so right, Tatum's been nothing but agreeable and supportive and clearly very into Leighton for herself and then she's a little bitchy at the fundraiser and that's it? Way to throw such a cool character under the bus. And exactly, if they were going to do this then why. Why have two back-to-back episodes where she reassures Leighton and acts so cool and supportive. Tatum did not deserve to be dumped for saying things that were still nicer than Leighton herself did last season.

And that annoys me too, that it's supposed to be this ch defining moment for Leighton where she rejects her old life and embraces how she's grown. But, dare I ask, wouldn't part of that be showing Tatum just a little more empathy and patience: We had no indication that Tatum reminded her of things she now dislikes about herself, no indication that she's been missing the women's center folks at all, just overall no signs of the development that got started off last season continuing. And I've been fine with that because I thought we were focusing more on Leighton accepting and exploring herself this season. And I'm right because we have been, but then episode 9 just acts like we've missed an episode (or eight). It picks up where we left Leighton re: her social awareness last season except it pretends that she's been quietly working on that all semester.

It feels so lazy, dare I say Glee levels lazy to be pretending Leighton ever mentioned her women's center friends this season or that there was any leadup to her being uncomfortable with the reflection she saw in Tatum. Nada. It honestly feels disrespectful to then come in with this, and had it been actually built up to I would have been like, fine with the concept. It is a little uninspired to use Tatum purely as a foil for Leighton who helps her realize she's changed and she likes it, but fine whatever. But that's not what we've been building with this twincest thing! We've been portraying Tatum as nothing but a supportive partner who's the more self-assured and confident version of Leighton. And instead of having that be aspiring, or god forbid nuanced, she's dismissed as the basic bitch Leighton doesn't want to be anymore.

Feels like there's such a disconnect between season 1 Leighton, season 2 eps 1 to 8 Leighton, and what eps 9 and 10 suddenly decided to focus on. I don't hate where we end with her at all but with the other girls the writers at least dared to be open-ended. Leighton's story feels almost too clean-cut and especially because it was so rushed. Woke Leighton feels so unearned this way and no me gusta. And now that I've ranted enough about that and hijacked your ask, I'll also just say that this makes the Kappa conclusion a little bittersweet too. As a result of ep 9 that didn't feel organic either and such a damn shame because it was such an important milestone for Leighton. I still adored the scene with her and Mrs Murray tho 😭 That was so cute I legit cried. What did you think? I'm so curious. The Murrays are still somewhat dysfunctional but it's heartwarming to see that despite that they are supportive and love Leighton no matter what. That shit is so important and I'm glad our girl gets that. I'll go cry about it some more.

In general I am happy Leighton's happy but it's almost as if, with Bela I'm satisfied with her story despite it being sad and with Leighton I can't fully be happy for her happiness because it feels so clunky. I don't mind Alicia at all and like I say I am happy for Leighton but god, did we really have to speedrun through all this in two episodes? Would it have hurt to have any buildup in previous eps? Why did they do Tatum so dirty literally only in her very last scene?? Feels so disjointed from the rest of the season smh. And they were willing to leave the other girlies on cliffhangers so I really don't get why Leighton's ending needed to be such a speedrun. I'm mourning Tatum but Leighton herself was done dirty. Anyway at least we have the Murrays scenes. Please tell me those are a consolation for you too haha.

[achtung-attitude]

CHAPTER 60: Little Black Submarines

The reporter downs a splash of water from a plastic cup and brushes away a lock of her curly hair. “You good? We good?” she asks her cameraman, and receives a thumbs up in response. She clears her throat, brushes imaginary lint off of her blazer, then raises the microphone to her mouth.

“This is Alicia Martinez with CBSN Live. I’m standing here at the National Guard’s barrier around Little Armenia, where less than an hour ago, a shocking rash of random violence resulted in over two dozen deaths and the maiming of countless others. Perhaps most shocking is the downing of a KNBC helicopter, purportedly by LAPD officers! The National Guard’s intervention comes as a response from a direct appeal with Los Angeles Mayor Garcetti and Governor Jerry Brown. We’re about to-”

A flurry of activity draws Martinez’ eye. “Ah! Two women are approaching the barrier… This may be the first pair of survivors to the quarantine line! One of them appears to… have s-suffered severe injuries! They’re talking to the Guardsmen, it seems they… Ah, they’ve been allowed through for medical aid! Let’s see if we can get some words from them!”

She beckons her cameraman, and they approach the two women as they hobble past. Despite being directed towards the medical tent, the Asian woman carries her bleeding Hispanic companion in the opposite direction.

“Excuse me? Excuse me!” Martinez calls to them, “I’m with CBSN Live, I was wondering if you could share any-”

“Fuck off,” Moya and T’onga say in unison. 

The reporter gasps and glances nervously at the camera, but can do nothing as the women trudge away from her. She faces the camera again and says, “Uh… As you can see, emotions are raw down here. We’re remaining at the scene, until… Ah, wait… More survivors are coming to the barrier! Let’s go, Dan, quick!”

The news people rush to get to the scene, leaving Moya and T’onga to stagger away, hailing a taxi and head west up Hollywood Boulevard.

                                                       ***

T’onga finds her daughter where she left her. Standing in the courtyard of the Chinese Theatre, stealing desperate glances at Jerome’s phone. Kilo stands next to her and spots T’onga as she climbs out of the taxi. “Hey,” she greets them.

Shizuka opens her mouth and almost runs to her, but stops herself, her face like a wounded animal. T’onga looks away.

“Saw you on the news,” Kilo declares, approaching her and looming over her. “Where’s Moya?”

“…In the back,” she replies, gesturing to the taxi. “She’s hurt bad. Bled through her bandages.”

“And you brought her here? Why not leave her with the paramedics at the barrier?”

“Wasn’t my idea to come here. The shitstorm out there’s bad enough, she said she wanted to avoid any more of a scene. She says she’ll be fine just with you patching her up.”

“Huh…” Kilo scoffs, before moving to retrieve Moya. “And she will be at that.”

T’onga smirks, shaking her head. She makes eye contact with Moya as Kilo lifts her out, then the detective breaks the contact and looks past her. T’onga follows her eyes and jumps in surprise, seeing Shizuka standing right in front of her. Staring at her, silently. Jerome stands behind her, glancing nervously between the mother and daughter.

“…OK, yeah…” the Asian woman says uncomfortably, “It’s time. Let’s talk… Um… Over there, OK?” She gestures towards the box office of the Theatre and walks awkwardly to it. Shizuka follows. Jerome watches them go hopefully, then rushes to help Kilo carry Moya.

T’onga leans against the wall near the box office, standing over Anthony Hopkins’ handprints. Shizuka faces her, scratching the back of her neck. The Asian woman shuffles her feet, and finally says, “So, uh… Shizuka?”

“Y-yeah…?” she asks.

“No, the name… Shizuka. That’s what they called you?”

“Oh… Oh, yeah. My Dad… That is, my adoptive dad, Joseph Joestar. He gave it to me… He’s the one who… uh, picked me up, brought me to New York…”

“New York? You live there? How, uh… How’s that?”

“It’s nice. I mean… It’s a big city, so you have to be careful, but… Uhm… Is there something you wanted to tell me?”

“No, I just…” T’onga sighs, “I’m just… want a baseline… I want to start to understand you…”

Shizuka’s eyes shimmer. She breathes in, then continues, “We live in the middle of the city. Dad was retired when he found me, but his company still makes a lot of money. It’s run by the board now, but we get a slice of the profits. I, um… I go to a private girl’s school. I have some friends I hang out with… But also, they don’t really know who I am. Which isn’t their fault… They don’t know about Stands, or me.”

“…And the Joestars. They’re good people?”

Shizuka smiles. “They’re my family. They’ve always been good to me, even though we don’t share blood. My brother, he… he was there in Morioh when I got… picked up.”

A lull falls over the conversation. T’onga presses her head against the courtyard wall. “I am so envious.”

“Huh?” 

“It still blows my mind. You left all that to come looking for me? I don’t get it… If I was in your place, I wouldn’t give a shit who my real parents were. I’d just soak in the good life. I’d probably end up a spoiled rotten, ungrateful brat.”

“What are you trying to say?” Shizuka asks angrily.

“I’m trying to make you understand who you’re dealing with,” her mother answers, meeting her eyes. “I am the woman who murdered your father.”

Shizuka swallows, her anger receding. T’onga leans against the wall again, looking up at the sky. “I… I guess he wasn’t a ‘good’ person. He was a criminal, he ran drugs. But he was kind to the people he loved. He would’ve been a good father to you… I didn’t want to do it. But I did it anyway… because I am an evil person. All of the suffering you’ve gone through since you came here… has been to find an evil person.”

She looks down again then and pinches the bridge of her nose, rubbing her eyes. “You deserve better…” she goes on. “I thought that I could convince you that I wasn’t worth searching for, and you could move on. Go back to your ordinary life. It’s what you deserve. You deserve… better than me.”

She stops talking. Shizuka doesn’t respond right away, but stands and collects her thoughts before asking, “Do you remember when the world nearly ended 5 years ago? My nephew and grandniece were responsible for stopping that.”

“Wha…? 5 years ago? You mean when time went all crazy… Wait, nephew? Grandniece?”

“My family is bizarre, but that's not the point. 5 years ago, the whole world went to hell. Nobody knew what was going on, time was being distorted. I was 13 at the time and all I could think about was you, and how I’d never know who you were!”

T’onga bows her head sadly. “I understan-”

“And then!” Shizuka interrupts, “It was even worse when it was all over. Jotaro and Jolyne came back after saving the whole world, and I couldn’t say a word to them. How can I talk about my little problems to people who saved the world? I’m lucky to be part of their family, but they can’t understand something as small and unimportant as a missing mother! I had to shoulder this alone. No matter the outcome, no matter who you really were, I was determined to find you. And now I have… and it hasn’t made any difference!”

“Kid, I-”

“I don’t feel any better! I still have this hollow place in my heart that you took with you when you left me behind! My only goal was to find you and now… now I have nothing again.”

“I’m… I’m so sorry…” T’onga whimpers, her facade cracking. “I wish I could take everything back. I didn’t want this to happen…!”

“Then why did you abandon me?” Shizuka finally asks, thunder in her voice.

“I didn’t,” T’onga whimpers, eyes glistening. “You were gone. I… I couldn’t find you…! And if I had, I would have brought you back… to him…! To All-Kill… He would have gotten into your head like he did mine!”

“All-Kill… your boss?”

“My boss… My mentor… I’m his killer, I… I belong to him. That’s what he does. His own family was taken from him, so he collects people as substitutes, but his idea of family is… wrong. We’re his possessions, to be used as he sees fit. Once he has you, he never lets go… even if he has to squeeze the life out of you. That’s why he sent me to kill Gangak.”

Shizuka chews her lip. “The other day… is that why you fought him at his house? To stop him from-”

“I don’t know,” her mother says, covering her face. “I don’t know what I was planning. But he said he planned to have you join him… and I couldn’t accept that. I lashed out, and now… He won’t stop until he has you.” Anger enters her voice, her hand trembling as it sweeps her hair off her face. “I can’t let him have you… I won’t!”

The women fall silent again. They breathe steadily, almost in sync, as their fury and desperation cool. After a moment, Shizuka says, “Then let’s fight him.”

T’onga sighs. “You don’t understand-”

“What don’t I understand?” her daughter challenges, “I know you’re afraid of him. He got inside your head, made you think he’s invincible, but he’s not. Not if we fight together.”

“I can’t… I don’t care what he does to me anymore, but I can’t let you near him. It’s too dangerous…!”

“I can handle dangerous! You can handle dangerous. Me, you… Kilo, Moya and Jerome… If we fight together, we can take him down. And before you even think about it-!” she yells, cutting her mother off as she begins to protest, “I know what you look like now. If you hide or you send me away, I can find you again.”

T’onga prepares to protest again, but pauses at seeing Shizuka’s resolute expression, her arms crossed. “... He was like that too…” she sighs, “Whenever he decided on something, nothing could convince him otherwise… Of course you’d inherit that part…”

Shizuka gasps quietly. “At the first sign of trouble, we’re out,” T’onga declares, finding her own resolve, “If it looks like we can’t win, then I’m running. And I’m taking you with me, even if I have to drag you. Deal?” She holds out her hand, the palm facing up.

Shizuka stares at the hand, amazed, then smirks. “Deal,” she says, and with some trepidation, she slaps the hand down with a clap that resounds over the courtyard.

                                                     ***

The last of the bloody wounds recedes into dark scar tissue and SATURN BARZ returns to its master. Kilo sighs and steps back to observe his work. The crowd around them pay them little mind, preoccupied with observing the fallout around Little Armenia. Moya also sighs, the pain of her wounds fading into a dull general discomfort.

“So you let ‘em eat yo ass?” Jerome asks, crouching next to her. “What would you’ve done if it hadn’t worked?”

“I guess I’d’ve died,” Moya replies with an eye-roll.

“Let yoself get chewed up by zombies, that’s some wild shit.”

“Sure as hell wouldn’t’ve been my first move,” Kilo states, satisfied with his handiwork.

“It wasn’t my first move and they weren’t zombies, like I told you already,” the detective asserts.

“They bite people and spread the infection, that’s a zombie, girl,” Kilo rebuts.

“So I guess an anti-zombie is someone who gets bit and cures the infection. Hey, now that’s some cool shit. Oughta put that on a track!”

“I’ve been through enough today to not have to listen to you, C-King,” Moya groans as she sits up. “Where’s Shizuka?”

“Talking with her momma,” answers Kilo, standing over her, “Don’t push yourself.”

“I’ll be fine. They’ve been talking for like ten minutes, you’d better go over and make sure they’re alright.”

Kilo pauses. “I… Nah. She talking with her Mom. I’m not getting in the way after she been waiting so long for this.”

“T’onga’s a difficult person to talk to. You should both head over and relieve the tension.”

“She knows what she’s sayin’ mayn,” Jerome says “I know this family reunion shit. Things might look fine now, but all it takes is one wrong word, and BOOM! They start fightin’, then they never talk again.”

“He’s right,” Moya says, leaning against the wall and placing her hands behind her head. “Go do what you do best, Staples. Be by her side.”

Kilo blinks, looking surprised, then narrows his eyes. “What’s that mean? What do you mean, ‘what I do best’, what’re you trying to say?”

“Don’t mean nothin’ mayn,” Jerome says mischievously, patting his friend on the back. He grins at Moya, and she grins back as he pulls Kilo away.

Alone, she shrugs and breathes deeply. “Fuck it’s hot,” she says aloud, then crawls to her feet to escape the heat of the pavement. She leans on the walls of the Chinese Theatre, next to the framed poster of the upcoming film The Snowman. Despite being healed, she is still in pain, as SATURN BARZ could only knit her damaged parts back together. The scars on her body would be with her for the rest of her life. But they’re worth it.

She watches her friends convene on the opposite end of the courtyard. Between the random people milling about, obstructing her view, she sees a look on T’onga’s face that was never there before. A look of quiet ease. “Finally…” Moya murmurs, “I finally… did something right…” Joy fills her heart as she watches Jerome say something that makes Shizuka giggle and Kilo roll his eyes.

[eventyrstuff]

So I started reading Manhwas after Kdramas, and I wanted to make a list as well.

I absolutely love Isekai themed Manhwas - specially historical, time travel and villainess themed. Most of them are based on a web novel but I could not find the novels per se so I read them as Manhwa at Manganelo Site

So here goes the list, I will input few at a time as I am rereading them again.

Warning: Unedited. I’m sorry if I mispell or has grammar lapses. Unabashed fangirling at times.  ALSO SPOILERS. IMMA GIVE OUT A FEW.

Inso's Law - Ongoing (Chapters: 81)

What made me read it: I found the earphone scene in Instagram and I instantly fell in love with Chunyoung. I mean I have this weakness with Black Haired characters. When I read the plot, I knew my tween heart will absolutely love this. The Main Character (Dan-I) woke up to a romance novel/parallel world where in she was friends with these very popular kids (I still can't believe they were 14 at the start). She did not want to be center of attention or to have any relations with the Female Lead and her reverse harem, but come on no one can resist those guys and their pretty faces and weird colored hair. The storyline may be a bit overused but my teenage self is very happy. 10/10

Is it visually pretty: YES. Everyone is pretty. This manhwa is also memeworthy. May not be as aesthetically pleasing as WMMAP but still 10/10

How much do I love the characters: I love Dan-I's internal monologue but hate how she sees herself as just the minor character, everyone adores her! Yeoryoung is the best friend you'll absolutely adore. Ju-In is adorbs. Chunyoung is LOVE. I love Jiho and Eunhyung too but Chunyoung is my ML. Ruda and Yeodan though *swoon* Other side characters are awesome too, but too much characters makes me forget a lot of em. Haha 10/10

Favorite part of the story: I LOVE their friendship so eveytime they show how much Dan-I is important too, all those text messages (especially Ju-In's HAHAHAHA text), Chunyoung is my fave so everytime he is in it I mean damn him and his beautiful hair, enchanting eyes and that smile *faints*, everytime Dan-I state one of every web novel laws, everytime Dan-I breaks the fourth wall and say how bullshit the story is hahahaha

Am I going to reread it again: Yes will do again and again

How do I describe thee: This was my first Manhwa! I'm a sucker for high school setting kind of stories. I really like it, makes me nostalgic of times I spent reading stories back in high school. I admit I was one of those teenagers who fell for the trope of being normal then every guy suddenly likes you *reverse harem for the win* but seriously this manhwa is one of my personal fave for being close to my tween heart. I really thought Dan-I was on a parallel world rather than a web novel as she did not got isekai'd to another person, she's still herself and it's still her family - it was like fanfiction of her own life. I like all characters eventhough, yes it's bullshit to have those kinds of friends (come on! A chaebol, a model in one group of friends in a normal highschool?) It's typical, it' cliche I know but their friendship is really #goals. When I first read this I was really cheering on Chunyoung to be ML, but when I read spoilers that Jiho will be the ML I thought whaaaat I shipped Jiho with Yeoryeoung. Then when I reread it I did saw how subtle his love was and it's really cute. I was really focused on Chunyoung since he has a lot of screen time showing off his affections but Jiho did too on the littlest of things you will see. Well, I'll wait for his time to shine. I just hope Dan-I finally notice them. And I want to know how she will be explaining to them her situation and how everything will be resolved - will she be going back to reality? *that's gonna suck* Also can I have Yeodan instead? Thanks. 10/10

Who Made Me A Princess - Ongoing (Chapters: 81)

What made me read it: I keep seeing screenshots of Athy's various expressions on the comments in manhwas so I searched for it. The plot is interesting, and as mentioned I absolutely love Isekai theme. But this is not romance (mostly), the story focuses on the dynamics of a father and daughter relationship. The main character was reborn as a character on a novel she was reading, Athanasia - the princess who was executed by her father. Knowing what will happen to her when she turns 18, she plans on saving herself. She changes the course of the story in order to survive. 10/10

Is it visually pretty: YES. JESUS CHRIST HAVE YOU SEEN DADDY CLAUDE. INSANE VISUALS. I mean the way the artist drew everything is pleasing to my eye. BUT ALL CHARACTERS ARE HOT. 100/10

How much do I love the characters: ONE MUST PROTECT ATHY FOREVER. Daddy Claude breaks my heart. LILY AND FELIX ARE THE CAPTAINS OF MY SHIP. Lucas is love. Can't help falling in love with Ijekiel/Ezekiel. I adore Jennette. DIANA AND LP'S ATHANASIA ARE DEAD BUT THEY DESERVE BETTER. Anastacius you evil motherfucker, I like you too. 100/10

Favorite part of the story: Every Athy expression. Tea time with Daddy Claude and Felix. When Lily is overprotective. Athy's debutante ball. All the boat scenes are gold. Everytime Claude shows how much he adores Athy even when he's supposed to hate her. When he picks her up and when he shows emotions. When Claude and Felix bickers. When Lucas teases Athy. Best boi Ijekiel/Ezekiel when he shows how much he likes Athy. Adorable Jennette and how she yearns for family.

Am I going to reread it again: Yes and No. Probably up to Chapter 45, I don't think my heart can take after that. Maybe when the manhwa is finished.

How do I describe thee: I AM EMOTIONALLY EXHAUSTED. When I first read this I stopped at Chapter 38,  I read another Manhwa and actually forgot about it but decided to reread again after. I thought this will be a funny, heartwarming story of how a daughter earns her father's love. OH BOY GET READY FOR FEELINGS. I love Athy so much, she just wanted to survive the story, but she was loved, she was finally happy. Claude was like fuck feelings but can't help but adore Athy. I love their relationship so much. It physically pained me after Claude loses his memory - BRING BACK THE FUNNY CHAPTERS. I cannot read that scene in Claude's birthday ever again without bawling. I like Jennette, I really do, but I hate how everytime Claude has headaches (especially when with Athy) he calls for Jennette. It hurts me the way it hurts Athy like I was the one being betrayed. I hate how what's happened to LP Athanasia might still happen ro present Athanasia and it will def break me. I hate Anastacius for being an evil bastard that he is but I hope his growing love for Jennette will be his redemption. This was the first time I did not care for the romance or love triangles (Lucas and Ezekiel/Ijekiel are still precious bbys). Still 1000/10 will recommend even if it's not yet finished. I just want everyone to have a happy ending. Also for my LilyxFelix ship to sail. Thanks. If you have spoilers, gimme.

The Reason Why Raeliana Ended Up At The Duke's Mansion - Ongoing (Chapters: 133)

What made me read it: It was on one of the recommended list and it caught my eye due to the title like pfft how very specific. It's Isekai so I know I'll love it. The Main Character got pushed (literally) into a novel wherein she got the role of Raeliana - a minor character whose death is the catalyst for the story to start. And of course our MC will not follow through the storyline and make her own destiny and survive. She ended up asking for the duke's (Noah, my love) help and became his fiancee, thus starting a butterfly effect for this manhwa's awesome story and twists. 100/10

Is it visually pretty: Definitely, everyone is absolutely pretty and the art is great. Not as insane as WMMAP but I got a lot of meme material. 10/10

How much do I love the characters: Raeliana is def one of top female lead for me, she's bad ass and not as dense as others. Noah, my love, is perfect. Even his brother that I could not remember his name because it's hard to spell. Naomi though is hilarious. Raeliana's family especially her mother. JUSTIN. GRANDPAAAA. SIR ADAM - NUFF SAID. No to Beabitch though but that says something for being villain. 100/10

Favorite part of the story: Chapter 130 hehehehe. Everytime Raeliana is BAMF who saves herself, everytime Noah flirts with her, Sir Adam and his aloofness and chibi self, the emperor's 40% playing pranks, Naomi and the emperor's bickering - which by the way ship it, when Noah confessed, when Raeliana confessed my heart could not take it, ALL THE TWISTS

Am I going to reread it again: YESSSS 100%

How do I describe thee: One of the God-Tier level Manhwa, I read because of Isekai I stayed because of the twist of that Isekai which is freaking mindblowing. Raeliana sets the standard for Female Leads, damn girl needs no man to save her shit. I LOVE HER. I LOVE THIS MANHWA SO MUCH. Noah is just perfect for her like it was really *winks* destined for them to be together. I JUST LOVE EVERYTHING. I love everyone, except that bitch. Also this was a first for me to have the MC admitting they were isekai'd to a novel and realizing her feelings and his feelings and accepting it and I just asdfghjkldfdfse 10000/10 READ THIS AND FALL IN LOVE WITH SIR ADAM WITH ME.

Living As The Tyrant's Older Sister - Ongoing (Chapters: 73)

What made me read it: The meme (you know the one - K.O), if you haven't noticed yet I am a collector of Isekai Manhwa. But this one def made me laugh at all chapters. We have your Main Character being thrown into a web novel (a novel her sister wrote btw) where she play as the Emperor's older sister - Alicia. She knows how the story goes (same old same old where she will eventually die) because she was her sister's consultant regarding the storyline and now regretting how she suggested to change the male lead. As always she devised a plan to stay as a minor character and survive but ended up sleeping with the main lead - Ares. 10/10

Is it visually pretty: Not a masterpiece but definitely meme material, all the screenshots I have stored are all memes from this manhwa 8/10

How much do I love the characters: Alicia is hilarious badmouthing bamf, very pretty very memeworthy. Ares could work on his personality a bit more but when they are together they're comical. Her brother is a typical tsundere and a fanboy. Lancelot is your typical nice guy. THAT BUTLER THOUGH BEST WINGMAN. 9/10

Favorite part of the story: Every meme hahahaha just read it this manhwa is the embodiment of a meme

Am I going to reread it again: Yes whenever I need a laugh ahhahaha

How do I describe thee: I AM WHEEZING. This truly is a comedic manhwa. You can't take it seriously because of the way it was drawn. If you really want a laugh this one's perfect. At times it is cringy when it exag a bit of their reactions but still 100% you will laugh. Not perfect but story is good, I like how it's still given a thought. But read it for the memes you won't regret it. 9/10

Survive as the Hero's Wife - Ongoing (Chapters: 79)

What made me read it: It's on the recommended list and someone mentioned that the art is *immaculate* and it is. IT REALLY IS. Well here comes another Isekai manhwa where the MC is pulled inside a novel where her character will be killed. But this time she was a minor villain character and the Male Lead's wife! 10/10 who are we kidding, I love em all.

Is it visually pretty: this manhwa is a work of art, it is *chefs kiss* visual explosion. Everyone is insanely hot, even the villains. The background, the characters - their hair and wardrobe is truly 1000000/10

How much do I love the characters: I really did fell in love with Canaria and Cesar. Best soft couple. Their luscious hair though so pretty. Noah best boi. Best team of suspicious knights - Miller, Raya, Jax and Ethan are loves. Best friend Ricardo. Even best butler Oscar. 100/10

Favorite part of the story: The visual explosion. Chos. When Canaria is being supportive waifu and Cesar is being an innocent best boy, they are just very soft and loving and I love their scenes so much, that popularity vote in the consort's palace ahhahaha, Jax and his misunderstanding, Ethan everytime he eats (all the time), Cesar's blushing face, everytime we are introduced to a new character because we know they are going to be gorgeous as hell.

Am I going to reread it again: MOST DEF ITS VERY PLEASING TO THE EYE

How do I describe thee: BEAUTIFUL. GORGEOUS. ENCHANTING. Boy, the visual is absolute masterpiece, Canaria's hair alone (love all her hairstyles) and her clothes, I want all of em. Cesar is the embodiment of a perfect male lead - soft boi. Best boi. Pretty boi. I love how he loves Canaria and how they truly support each other since being married at freaking 12 years old. This type of love please.  1000/10 Also, I am a lot curious about that Oscar,I think he is related to the emperor and the lady ghost in Noah's story - a lovechild? *gasps*. Also-Also if you will be reading this at Manganelo, translation at Chapter 76+ is a bit off but still grateful for the translators for what they give

Up next: It’s villain themed time (The villainess lives twice, beware of the villainess the villainess reverses the hour etc)

[goldenraeofsun]

we can follow the sparks

More of this verse!

As they sit down to lunch, Alicia asks in a hushed voice, “Have you guys seen the new Latin teacher?” 

Josephine shakes her head as she bends down to pull out her history textbook. She���s one of those miraculous people that can study, gossip, and eat all at the same time.

If Alicia tried that, she’d dump bits of tomato on her book, ask “what?” every two minutes, and absorb zero percent of the reading.

“I have Latin tomorrow,” Aidan says as he digs into a container of leftover spaghetti.

“Oh, you don’t count,” Alicia waves him off and nudges her brother with to pay attention. Max looks up from haggling with Krissy for half of her pastrami sandwich.

Aidan's brow furrows. “Why?”

“Because you’re straight,” Alicia dismisses.

Krissy dumps the pastrami in front of Max and grabs half of his grilled tofu and veggie sandwich and his kale chips in return. Max’s face falls.

Aidan scowls at Alicia. “What, is the new teacher hot or something?”

Alicia scoffs, “Or something.”

Max’s face lights up hopefully. “Hotter than Mr. Winchester?” 

“Mr. W isn’t hot,” Krissy points out, nose wrinkling.

Alicia rolls her eyes. “You are literally the only senior who thinks that.”

“The only student,” Max corrects as he takes a hearty bite of pastrami.

Alicia holds out her hand, which Max slaps obligingly. Thank god Alicia has her twin. 

“Maybe Kaia has had him,” Josephine points out as Kaia takes the only free seat at their lunch table, Claire close on her heels. They both squeeze in, content to practically sit in each others’ laps.

Alicia rounds on the newcomers. “Have you had Latin?”

“I take Spanish,” Kaia says, shrugging. “Why?”

With her nose already buried in her book, Josephine supplies, “Alicia says the new teacher is hot.”

Claire chokes on her own spit.

“I heard from Patience he also teaches French and Spanish too,” Max says in a hushed voice.

“Oh,” Kaia says with a sidelong glance at Claire, “I have Spanish tomorrow.”

Claire silently hands Kaia half of her wrap, saying, “I’m not taking a language this year.”

“You can do that?” Krissy asks.

Kaia passes Claire her yogurt without looking at her because they are truly the most disgusting couple ever. Claire shrugs. “I was taking Mandarin at my old school, but obviously I can’t do that here.”

“At Carver,” Aidan spits.

Claire ignores him. “I’m taking AP English and Creative Writing instead.”

“Nice,” Max raises his fist for her to bump, “double Mr. Winchester.”

Claire makes a face. “I’m with Krissy on this one. I don’t get the appeal.”

Max shakes his head despondently. “Of course you don’t. You’re a lesbian.”

“That doesn’t mean I don’t have eyes,” Claire snorts. “He’s old.”

“Nobody’s had Latin, French or Spanish yet?” Alicia asks, aghast.

“Hey!” Adian calls, “Alex!”

Alex looks up from the next table over where she’s squished between Patience and Tracy Bell. “What?” she demands, annoyed at the interruption.

Aidan smirks and says out of nowhere, “Do you think Mr. Novak is hot?”

Patience giggles and elbows Alex in the side as she splutters, “No!”

“That’s a yes,” Alicia says smugly.

* * *

Josephine approaches Mr. Novak’s desk cautiously, a little nervous to be talking to her new teacher one-on-one for the first time. She tries, “Professeur?”

Mr. Novak pauses wiping down the board. “Est-ce que tu as un problème avec les devoirs?”

Josephine shakes her head, saying slowly as she mentally translates, “Je n’ai pas ma copie de l'étranger. Je l’ai acheté le weekend dernier, mais il y a un… delay.”

“Retard,” Mr. Novak translates for her. He smiles and adds, “Pas de problème. Je garde toujours une autre copie dans mon bureau. Si tu voudrais bien me suivre.” He gestures for Josephine to follow him to the Language Office, but they stop short at the sight of Mr. Winchester standing in the doorway, staring at Mr. Novak with wide eyes.

“Dean,” Mr. Novak says in surprise. “Qu’est-ce qui s’passe?”

Mr. Winchester goes bright red. “Cas?” he asks weakly.

Mr. Novak gives his head a little shake. “My apologies. It’s been a long day. Is there something you need me for? I was just about to give Josephine my office copy of The Stranger.”

Mr. Winchester’s mouth opens and closes before he stutters, “N-no, it’s nothing. I’ll just… catch you later.” 

Josephine glances up at Mr. Novak as they turn the other way down the hall, towards the Language Office. “C’est bizarre,” she mutters.

Mr. Novak laughs lightly under his breath. “Peut-être il a oublié ce qu’il voulait me demander.”

Josephine inwardly frowns at the suggestion that Mr. Winchester “forgot” why he stopped by Mr. Novak’s classroom.

Josephine had Mr. Winchester for English as a freshman. He never forgot anything. He had an endless supply of Vonnegut quotes on hand, and he always remembered to ask Krissy how her dad was doing after he had a close call with cancer over spring break that year.

This time, he didn’t look like a man who couldn’t remember something; he looked embarrassed.

“Peut-etre,” Josephine echoes because she wasn’t about to just say all that to a new teacher. And in French.

In his office, Mr. Novak hands her a copy of Camus. “Voilà,” he says, completely straight faced. “Si tu as besoin d’autres choses, viens me voir.”

Josephine bobs a nod. “Merci beaucoup.”

“Au revoir,” he says with a little wave as she leaves the office.

Josephine meets up with Krissy by the front doors, half-heartedly fending off Aidan’s shitty flirting. “Hey,” she says. “Sorry I’m late.”

“No problem,” Krissy says easily. She pushes off the wall. “Aidan was keeping me company.” She smiles at him, and Aidan perks up like Pavlov’s dog hearing the dinner bell. “I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Aidan says faintly as Krissy and Josephine take off towards Josephine’s car.

Josephine waits until Krissy is buckled in to say, “You’ll never believe what happened after French today.”

* * *

Krissy has never regretted taking German more in her life. Edlund’s a pretty small high school with a little over 500 students in total, so all anyone’s been talking about for the first two weeks in September is the new language teacher, Mr. Novak. 

Alicia and Max think he’s hot.

Josephine thinks he’s nice.

Aidan thinks he’s cool.

Kaia thinks… well, she’s been pretty mum on the subject, but she’s not the gossipy type, so Krissy isn’t surprised.

Only Claire rolls her eyes every time Mr. Novak’s name comes up.

Krissy hasn’t met the new language teacher. If she’s lucky, she can catch a glimpse of messy hair and a rumpled suit while she speed-walks from Calculus to World History.

While investigating Mr. Novak himself might be difficult, Krissy is close with Mr. W. 

She can still remember how Mr. W’s footsteps sounded down the hospital hallway in the oncology wing; how her heart pounded in her chest the first time she got in his car; how he talked for forty-minutes about “his baby” all the way to Josephine’s house.

Once a week for a month in freshman year, Mr. W chauffeured Krissy from the hospital on Tuesdays (Josephine’s parents took her on the weekends). Occasionally, he stopped in to talk to her dad, since they both went to Edlund High years ago. Edlunders, as Mr. W said, always took care of their own.

On the car ride to Josephine’s, they talked about Vonnegut, surrealist fiction, dystopian sagas… They only skipped over classic literature, since Mr. W thought everything written before the 20th century was boring as fuck. Mr. W did allow Shakespeare, though, because of all the dick jokes. 

Krissy knocks on the door to the Language Office three weeks into the school year. While she’d like to pretend to herself her visit is to get Mr. W’s opinion on Mr. Novak (his opinion would be more reliable than Alicia, Max, and Aidan combined, and on par with Josephine’s) she can’t pretend the mild haze of panic clouding her head has anything to do with a teacher she doesn’t even have on her schedule.

“Come in!” Mr. W’s voice calls.

Krissy steps inside, nodding to Frau Allen at her desk by the window. Otherwise, the office is empty.

“Hey, Krissy,” Mr. W says with a smile as she fiddles with the strap of her back, hovering by the door. “You wanna take a seat? Cas already left for the day.” He gestures to what Krissy assumes is Mr. Novak’s desk, next to his.

Krissy sits. “Thanks.”

Mr. W’s lighthearted expression turns serious as he reads her face. “Is everything okay? Your dad doing well?”

“Oh yeah,” Krissy says quickly, “still in remission. Everything’s looking good.”

“Good,” he says emphatically, and he means it, not like Ms. Masters or Mr. Trent after the news went around school that her dad was sick.

Krissy taps her fingers on Mr. Novak's vacated desk. “What happened to Mr. Turner? Did he finally retire?”

“Mm hm,” Mr. W hums. “He still goes fishing with Bobby - Principal Singer - so I heard he’s doing well.”

“How’s the new guy?” Krissy asks as she spins the seat around.

Mr. W frowns at her question. “He’s good,” he says as he pins her in place with a long look. “Why the interest? Don’t you take German?”

“I’ve been considering switching,” Krissy lies. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Frau Allen make a face.

“Because that makes sense,” Mr. W says, clearly not believing a word. “Aren’t you in AP German?”

Krissy ignores the question. “I heard Mr. Novak came from Carver.”

“He did,” Mr. W says cautiously. “So what?”

“Maybe he’s a spy.”

“This is high school, not the USSR,” Mr. W says with a snort. “Plus, Cas was an Edlunder first.”

Krissy blinks. “He was?”

“He was a student in my year.” He smirks. “He actually tutored me in Latin, if you can believe it.”

Krissy mulls that over. “So you know him pretty well.”

“Well enough,” Mr. W says, back to being cagey as hell. “I know he’s a good teacher and this school’s lucky to have him.”

“Okay,” Krissy says dubiously.

Mr. W rolls his eyes. “Now we’ve got that out of the way, and god knows why you wanted to talk about Cas, why are you really here?”

“Everyone’s talking about him!” Krissy protests.

Mr. W leans back in his chair and surveys her with a cool eye. “Since when have you been interested in gossip?”

“Uh…”

“That’s what I thought,” Mr. W says, satisfied. “Just spit it out, kid. I promise it can’t be that bad.”

“Would you write me a recommendation letter for college?” she asks in a rush. “Please.”

Whatever Mr. W had been expecting, it wasn’t that. He laughs, and Krissy almost dies of embarrassment before he says, “Well duh. I have a draft of the thing I’ve been sitting on for two years.”

“Really?” Krissy asks, her eyes round.

Mr. W nods. “After everything with your dad, I thought this might come up. And there were parts I didn’t want to forget so I wrote ‘em down.”

“Great,” Krissy says faintly. She shouldn’t be so surprised. Mr. W told her he always liked to be prepared. A true boy scout, he’d say before laughing to himself. 

When she’d voiced her confusion - Mr. W being a boy scout wasn’t all that outrageous, if you take away the minor swearing (he was a lot worse when she was a freshman). He said they didn’t take men like him.

Krissy tactfully changed the subject, but the next week she went to GSA for the first time.

It was worth giving up her Thursday lunch period to see Mr. W smile when she walked into his classroom for their weekly meeting. 

* * *

Max winces as Krissy elbows him in the ribs. He’s giving up his Thursday lunch hour for this?

Alan Corbett’s been going on and on for the past twenty minutes. Sure, he’s President of GSA, but that does not mean everything he says is worth listening to. It’s a shame. He’s too nice for anyone to tell him how boring he is. 

Kaia and Claire are playing footsie under the table.

Thank god Krissy gets it. As their only Straight rep of the Gay-Straight Alliance, Max was highly skeptical when she signed up at the end of freshman year. But Mr. Winchester liked her, so it was enough to convince Max not to give her the cold shoulder when she sat next to him. Plus, whatever Mr. Winchester says goes, since Max could listen to him read the dictionary with that ruggedly deep voice of his.

Max doubts Krissy’s heard a single word out of Alan’s mouth. Instead, her whole attention has been riveted on Mr. Novak, who’s attending his first GSA meeting. He sits off to the side, by the big poster of Game of Thrones (Mr. Winchester says it’s based on a book, so it counts).

Krissy scrawls in all caps on the back of a history assignment: HEART. EYES.

Max subtly shakes his head and picks up his pencil. WTF?

Look at how they’re looking at each other!

They’re not tho

Exactly! Krissy taps her last message forcefully. They keep look at each other when the other one is looking the other way

Why do you care?

Krissy frowns.

If I wanted gossip, I would’ve stayed in the cafeteria with Alicia

It’s Mr. W. I know you like him

I like to look at him Could care less about his love life I thought you were the same What gives?

You only pretend to be a shallow man whore I know you like him You started this club with him 3 years ago

How else could I find questioning dudes to fuck?

ew

But all I ended up with was… Max nods at Alan in disgust.

Krissy hides her smile behind the fist propping up her chin. You have the best gaydar in the city limits. So does Mr. W have a chance with Mr. Novak?

Mr. W flipped a closeted Republican, so… And I’m not talking about politics.

Seriously?

You didn’t hear it from me

You don’t even like gossip Who the hell told you that?

Alicia. Who else? She knows everything.

Max smirks as he starts his next note.

It’s why her hair is so big. It’s full of secrets.

Krissy doesn’t manage to stifle her laugh in time.

Mr. Novak frowns disapprovingly, but Mr. Winchester doesn’t notice since he’s too busy staring at Mr. Novak.

Maybe Krissy’s onto something.

Max looks down at their notes to find another message: Josephine told me Mr. W has it bad for Mr. Novak

Max scrawls incredulously, Josephine??? Since when does she pay attention?

That’s what I’m saying He’s got it so bad even Josephine can see it

Aromantic Josephine, who took a year to figure out Aidan was into you

Yup.

I bet they’ll be banging in 2 weeks

Can you not

$5 says I’m right

Make it $10. 

* * *

Aidan sulks against the wall of the gym. He finally got Krissy to agree to go to a dance - Homecoming! - and all she wants to do is hang with their friends.

And fine, it wasn’t like he expected them to sneak out and make out or do more stuff when they were alone… but he kind of did.

At least he got a couple of dances in. Before Krissy dragged him away, he even got to grind up against her. It was fucking magical.

Now, he’s at a table with Kaia and Josephine. Krissy is waving over Alicia, so Max can’t be far behind. Only Claire is a no-show, but Krissy told him a few minutes ago she was in the bathroom. Girls always take a bafflingly long time in there. Maybe there are snacks?

“Where’s Max?” Aidan asks loudly over the music. There’s only two of them; the Y chromosome reps gotta stick together. 

Alicia vaguely waves her hand toward the dance floor. “I think he mentioned something about Ennis Ross.” She spins the folding chair around to straddle it and rest her arms on the back.

Aidan draws up short. “Ennis is gay?”

Kaia snorts. “Does it matter?”

“Not to Max,” Krissy says with a grin. “You know he’s always happy to play the baking soda volcano.”

“Huh?” Aidan asks.

Krissy rolls her eyes. “He’s always happy to be someone’s experiment.”

“Oh.”

Alicia’s lips purse but she doesn’t comment.

“Did you see Mr. Novak and Mr. W?” Krissy asks, tipping her head towards where the two teachers lean against the wall underneath one of the basketball hoops, talking with their heads bowed together.

“They are cute,” Alicia agrees, looking grateful for the subject change.

Mr. Novak dressed up for homecoming with a tie the school colors, and Mr. Winchester has Edlund's mascot, Peppy the Pigeon, painted on his cheek.

“Do you think if Aidan spikes the punch, it’ll,” Krissy waggles her eyebrows, “make things happen?”

Josephine frowns. “I don’t think Mr. Novak could ever be drunk enough to make a move in front of students.”

“But Mr. W for sure,” Krissy says.

“Oh yeah,” Alicia says.

“Hey,” Aidan protests, holding his hands up in the T formation for timeout. “I’m not giving up my booze.”

“Speaking of,” Alicia holds her hand out, “Gimme some.”

“What? No! Get your own.”

“How am I supposed to do that?” she asks, eyebrows raised. “Mom doesn’t even allow Coca Cola in the house because it brings ‘negative energy.’”

Krissy nudges Aidan in the ribs with a pointy elbow, and he sighs. He fishes his flask out of his suit pocket and hands it over. Alicia takes a swig and promptly passes it to Josephine, who gives it to Kaia.

“Hey, save some for the guy who brought it!” Aidan says as he snatches it back.

“Not too much,” Max’s voice says from behind him. He grins as Aidan jumps. “Whiskey dick is a real thing.”

“Hey,” Josephine greets. “No go with Ennis?”

“Got spooked right as we were getting to the good stuff,” Max says with a shrug.

“Sorry,” Kaia says sincerely.

“It’s alright,” Max says as he throws himself into the last empty chair. “I only got one more year here, and then there’s gonna be a whole freshman class of questioning dudes ripe for the taking.”

Krissy wrinkles her nose. “You do you, I guess.”

“Thank you, Kristine, I will,” Max says.

Alicia rolls her eyes.

“We were just talking about Mr. W and Mr. Novak,” Krissy says, jerking her head to the basketball hoop. “Huh,” she says, her eyes widening a she scans the gym, “Where’d they go?”

“Probably to go make out,” Aidan says bitterly with a significant look at Krissy. She frowns.

“We can only dream,” Alicia says wistfully.

The song changes to something with a thumping baseline and a catchy chorus, and there’s a deafening cheer from the dance floor.

Aidan glances around, but nobody at the table moves to join in. He taps his feet to the beat. A few of the teacher chaperones have meandered closer to the dancing group, eyes peeled for inappropriate activity.

“Wanna get some air?” Aidan says in a carrying undertone (the music is very loud) to Krissy.

Max groans. “Yes, please.”

Aidan glares.

“Where?” Alicia asks.

Adian's mood sours further. He is never going to touch Krissy’s tits at this rate.

Kaia sets her phone down on the table. “Claire’s already out by the football field. She says nobody’s there.”

“Alright then,” Josephine says as she gets to her feet and stretches.

Krissy holds her hand out to Aidan. “Come on, you,” Krissy says with a small smile, “This was your idea.”

Aidan grumbles but follows the group. The halls are weird in the dark, still festooned with banners and streamers from Spirit Week. Everyone is oddly quiet as their footsteps echo off the rows of closed lockers. They pass one of the lab rooms, and a shadow moves across the window, accompanied by a hushed giggle.

Max smirks. “Wanna bet how many are getting it on right now?”

“I’d steer clear of the supply closets,” Alicia says with a shudder.

“Talk about a cliche,” Krissy complains as they round the last corner before the large double doors to the field. “If I was sneaking around, the roof is the way to go. No one ever looks there.”

Aidan files that fact away for later.

The fall breeze hits them squarely in the face as they step outside. Aidan shrugs out of his jacket and puts it around Krissy’s shoulders, ignoring her eye roll and smiling at Josephine’s thumbs-up behind Krissy’s back.

Max gallantly gives Alicia his jacket too, and Josephine and Kaia huddle together as they pick their way across the field, stepping over bits of confetti, torn bits of streamers, and a few abandoned signs. The crowd had been particularly enthusiastic since they’d been playing Carver Preparatory.

Edlund High won, of course. For the fifteenth year in a row. Carver sucks.

They find Claire at the top of the bleachers, wearing her normal leather jacket over her midnight blue dress.

“Hey,” Kaia says, kissing her on the cheek. “What’re you doing up here?”

“I don’t like crowds,” Claire says, hugging her arms to her chest.

“Me either,” Josephine says as she sits next to Claire. 

“You didn’t have to bring the cavalry,” Claire complains to Kaia.

Kaia shrugs. “They wanted to come.”

“The dance was lame,” Max says as he bounds up two bleachers at a time.

“Because you’re too cool to do the electric slide,” Alicia says as she plops down on the row below.

Krissy wanders around, searching for the best spot to sit out of the wind, Aidan’s coat still wrapped tightly around her shoulders. “Hey,” she hisses, hand flapping in their direction. “Look!”

“What?” Alicia leans over to see what Krissy’s spotted. “Holy fuck,” she breathes.

Aidan, Max, and Josephine peer over the railings to see the shadowy area below, leaving Kaia and Claire to their whispered conversation.

Holy fuck is right. That’s Mr. Winchester. And Mr. Novak.

“What are they doing?” Aidan asks before he can stop himself. It’s not like he doesn’t know what a heavy duty make out looks like. 

Max snorts.

Alicia throws him a despairing look.

Krissy swivels around to face Claire. “Did you know they were down there?”

“Yeah? So what?” Claire says, frowning. “I wasn’t about to perv on a couple of teachers.”

Krissy’s mouth falls open as she stares at the group as a whole. “Do you think this is the first time?”

Max sneaks another peek. “Probably not,” he says critically. “Either that, or Mr. Novak’s way more randy than I ever gave him credit for. A real freak under that suit.”

Claire’s face spasms.

“Or maybe Mr. Winchester just brings it out in him -” Alicia starts.

* * *

“They’ve been dating for three years!” Claire explodes. 

Everyone turns to stare at her.

Two months. Two goddamn months of this. 

When she transferred to Edlund from Carver, she thought the worst part would be her family’s disapproval. They all told her it was stupid to throw away her future at a good school for a girl. They always said it like that, like Kaia didn’t have a name. At least Uncle Cas supported her, not that he had a single leg to stand on, since he was switching jobs and taking a pay cut to be with Dean. Claire would have preferred if her uncle didn’t follow her from school to school like the dorkiest duckling ever, but it was nice to have him in her corner.

But no, the absolute worst part was all the gossip she had to listen to. About Uncle Cas, aka the biggest doof on the planet.

Maybe Grandmother was right, and Edlund was filled with a bunch of idiots. Claire throws up her hands, saying through gritted teeth, “Castiel transferred from Carver to spend more time with Dean.” 

“How do you know that?” Krissy asks, her mouth falling open.

Claire purses her lips. “Castiel’s my uncle.”

“Your what?” Aidan gapes.

Claire rolls her eyes. “He’s my uncle. Dean’s his boyfriend. They’re gross together all the damn time - but not in school because Uncle Cas has opinions about it.”

“If Mr. Winchester could make out with him all the time, he’d do it,” Kaia adds because she’s had dinner at Uncle Cas’s way too many times and has seen it for herself.

Krissy leans over the railing. “Get it Mr. W!”

Alicia cackles as Dean and Uncle Cas jump apart, glancing around for the voice.

Dean’s Peppy face paint is nothing but a smear of grey and black on his cheek. Double gross. “Jesus Christ,” he mutters as he spots the group on top of the bleachers. “What the hell are you guys doing here?” 

“I wanted to make out with my girlfriend,” Aidan complains. Krissy rolls her eyes, but Claire doesn’t miss the regretful expression on her face before she turns back to the pair of teachers below.

“Just getting some air,” Josephine explains pleasantly as she aims a kick at Aidan’s shin.

“Don’t let us interrupt!” Max calls wickedly.

Dean runs a hand down his face and nudges Uncle Cas with his shoulder. “We should escort them back, right?”

Uncle Cas sighs. “It would be irresponsible not to.” He glares at Dean. And even in the dark, Claire can see how red his face is. “I told you sneaking off was a bad idea.”

“Be thankful we didn’t get to my real bad idea before the Scooby Gang found us,” Dean says, eyebrows waggling suggestively.

“We can still hear you,” Claire reminds them loudly.

“Alright, alright,” Dean says, flapping his hands at them like a giant mother hen. “Get down from there and back to the dance. I heard someone spiked the punch.”

“Really?” Aidan asks as he offers Krissy his hand to help her down.

“No,” Dean deadpans. He mutters to Uncle Cas, “I can’t believe we got cockblocked by a bunch of kids.”

Claire makes a noise of disgust as her feet hit the ground. “Are you incapable of whispering?”

Uncle Cas shoots Dean a warning look before saying calmly, “Nothing was going to happen. We were, ah, getting some air.”

“That’s not all you were gonna get,” Dean says in an undertone.

Claire groans.

“Stop,” Uncle Cas tells Dean reproachfully. “I know you’re goading her. It’s inappropriate.”

“I’ll show you inappropr-”

Uncle Cas actually slaps his hand over Dean’s mouth. “Not another word, Dean.”

They are the worst. Claire pretends to trip Dean up as they pass her, and Dean flips her the finger when Uncle Cas looks the other way.

Claire waits for Kaia and the rest of the group, dawdling after the pair of teachers. Bemused, she watches as Krissy, Max, Aidan, and Alicia hand Kaia money. “What’s going on?” Claire asks.

“Your girlfriend fleeced us,” Aidan complains as he pockets his wallet.

Claire raises her eyebrows.

Kaia shrugs, but her face is as smug as Claire has ever seen it. “I just bet everyone else was wrong.”

Claire’s mouth falls open. “Were you betting on them?” she hisses, pointing at Uncle Cas and Dean.

“I thought it would take them two weeks to sleep together,” Max says.

“I bet two months,” Krissy adds.

“One month,” Alicia supplies.

“A year,” Aidan says with a helpless sort of look.

Claire swivels to glance at Josephine. “What about you?”

Josephine raises her hands in a gesture of innocence. “I had no idea, which is why I didn’t get involved.” She studies the pair ahead of them for a few steps, her eyes narrowing as Dean reaches over to ruffle Uncle Cas’s hair. “I would’ve said something stupid like ten years.”

Claire bursts out laughing.

“What?” Krissy asks, annoyed.

Claire nudges Kaia, who looks stricken. “Come on, you know she nailed it.”

“I did?”

Claire snorts. “They got together after their high school reunion,” she says as Josephine’s face lights up. “It took ten years for those dumb fucks to get their shit together.”

Without missing a beat Uncle Cas calls over his shoulder, “Claire, language!”

Kaia smothers her giggles into Claire’s shoulder.

[pb-dot]

Aw hell yeah, Karaoke Tag! I've still got the Thereafter crew rotating in my mind these days, so let's start with them and see how it goes. I'm also assuming this is a rather international establishment to encourage our heroes to go with some music that your humble author most people have heard about and not deep cuts from their respective home countries.

Lex: Lex isn't a particularly good singer, so it'd take some drinks and/or a dare from someone sufficiently attractive to them, but eventually Lex would take the stage with gusto. Their performance of Weird Science by Oingo Boingo is probably more charisma and scene presence than singing, but a good time nonetheless.

Alicia: Alicia can go one of two ways. If things are going smoothly, and she's having a good night, she's likely to belt out You're The Best Around from Karate Kid or Eye of the Tiger from Rocky 3. If things are a bit more tense, odds are good you're getting a surprisingly spirited take on Close Your Eyes and Count to Fuck by Run The Jewels.

Felipe: Much like Lex, Felipe is somewhat self-conscious of his singing voice. Unlike Lex, no level of alcohol will do what even a cursory challenge as far as getting him up on stage. Once up there, Felipe will either sing the Dan Avidan cover of Everytime We Touch if he's feeling smoldering and ready to get laid, and Despacito by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee (yes seriously) if he's feeling like a bit of a little shit who would also not mind getting laid.

Michael: It is probably Michael's fault that the Heroes are in a karaoke bar in the first place. Throughout the nights, he's liable to sing, among other Rocky Dust Light Star by Jamiroquai, The Great Pretender by Freddie Mercury, The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance, and Steady As She Goes by The Raconteurs.

Ah, this is fun! Let's do the His Impossible Brushstrokes trio as well

Oscar: Oscar basically only listens to instrumental music, so he would be hard-pressed to find any Karaoke songs he actually knows. After some brainstorming with, and light threats from Mara, though, he'd try his hands at Bohemian Like You by The Dandy Warhols and do entirely acceptable at it.

Mara: Although she likes to pretend she's above it all, Mara really enjoys karaoke. She's likely to make a splash with her Groove Is In The Heart by Dee-Lite, and considerably later in the night DO U by Takanashi Kiara.

Tomasz: As a fan of obscure remixes, Tomasz isn't exactly used to finding his favorite songs in karaoke bars. That said, he can always be trusted to break out a shockingly good version of Dragula by Rob Zombie. His take on Weird Al's Hardware Store is a personal project of his, but he insists it's not ready for the public yet.

As for tags, I did make one set at the OP here, but since I'm trying to get a tag chain going, let's chuck in a few more. @lordfenric-writes, @pluto-murphy-writes, @teafuelledwriting and @the-lone-youth

WIP Wednesday: Karaoke Tag

Happy Wednesday, Writerlings and Bookwyrms. I'm a little bit distracted today for writer-y reasons, so let's go with something light and fun. Now full disclosure, I haven't actually checked very thoroughly if this is already an ongoing tag game, and if it is, I apologize for biting your style, unknown tag game creator. I should also mention that this was brainstormed with the help of my cherished moot, @owlsandwich

The game is simple, but there's room to do a bit of character building here.

Rules: Post which song(s) your characters would sing if they were talked, threatened, tricked or cajoled into a karaoke bar. Assume a modern karaoke bar with a sufficiently expansive song library to house any deep cuts you are looking for. Feel free to share the music in question, we could all do with some more jams. Finally, tag some moots that could get you in a karaoke bar.

Tagging some writerly pals and also myself to get it started @pb-dot @owlsandwich @teacupsandstarlight @scifimagpie @jeahreading

Can't wait to see what kind of jams and shenanigans your moots get into during Karaoke Night.

-peebs-

[deus-ex-knoxina]

okay but what's the cast for fuck riko

ALRIGHT SO

it’s kind of an ensemble cast show but there’s really 5 main characters and then ensemble (who double as non-speaking roles/characters who are only there for a scene).

these names will have little to no relevance so i’ll add a quick plot rundown at the end (in order of appearance; kevin and neil’s roles are written to piss riko off)

nicky is playing alex

katelyn is playing jess

kevin is playing noah

dan is playing alicia

neil is playing luke

i chose THE most basic ‘contemporary teen musical’ names i could think of, did i do a good job

the ensemble is marissa, allison, matt, laila, probably jimprov, and possibly some OCs depending on how many people i need

crew: jeremy’s SM, alvarez is ASM, aaron’s on sound, renee’s doing wardrobe/hair/makeup, the cast is going to handle deck crew shit, and around the time that tech week hits they’re gonna realize that since kevin is in the show they don’t have someone to do lights. oops. but they’ll figure it out

andrew’s writing the book, jean is composing (and orchestrating and is also rehearsal pianist and music director, pray for him he has so much to do), and they’re gonna basically finish off a scene/song and immediately hand it off to the cast to learn since they are on a TIGHT SCHEDULE. also, as far as production team goes, wymack’s directing (he’s so tired) and katelyn and neil are tag-teaming on choreography

andrew and jean are petty as shit, jean knows a lot about riko and what annoys him from being kinda-friends with him for years, and they’re USING IT

the musical itself is a coming-of-age story about a road trip right after high school graduation, kevin has a Fuck Riko Song in which he demonstrates his superior range, and nicky’s gonna make everyone cry sometime in the second act it’ll be great

[shawnsmusical]

I fucking knew this collab is exists when he posted with Pink Sweats but gerty said nope we give you another collab with that girl and Justin. Where is our Dan&Shay, Ed Sheeran, Niall, Alessia, Alicia Keys and Miley collab? I'm sure they are all exist but he had to save the flop queen first. After all this shit no one can convince me that he has a word in what he wants to write about and who he wants to do a collab with or this shitshow turned real.

So many words

[leo-mccarthy]

I JUST WANT YOU CLOSE

who: @ottomeeks​​ & @leo-mccarthy​​ where: the granville inn; dan schuester’s wedding reception when: saturday, nov. 7th, evening

A wedding sounded like Leo McCarthy’s worst nightmare. It was all overly sentimental garbage. There was dancing, excessive drinking, so many boring speeches, and at this particular wedding? There was even fucking show choir. Leo got dragged to the wedding by his parents who somehow got an invite to the big Tibideaux-Schuester union. Leo wasn’t even sure his parents were taught by Will Schuester back in the day, but whatever. He was there. Leo was no stranger to sitting alone at tables at events like these. He wasn’t big on dancing, and after getting fully arrested one week prior, it was in his best interest not to be big on drinking either (but whether he’d stick to that or not? Debatable).

Leo was sitting by himself at a random table, scrolling mindlessly through his phone when the opening cords of ‘no one’ by Alicia Keys began. The song wasn’t his favorite, but the voice caught his attention. Leo looked up and saw none other than Otto Meeks (and Trace Hummel-Anderson) at the mic. An intrigued smile immediately tugged at the corners of his lips. He knew she was good, he’d seen some of her videos, but ever since Saturday it was like he saw her in a new light. He got up from his seat without second thought and walked towards the dance floor, standing on the outskirts of it with all the other spectators as Dan and Nia danced in the center. 

Leo couldn’t take his eyes off Otto as she sang. She looked pretty and her voice was crisp and clear and it sent a pang through his chest. He stared at her almost dreamily as she harmonized with Trace and he swore there were times when it felt like she was looking right at him. When the song came to a close and Dan and Nia finished their dance, everyone clapped and Leo made a quick escape. He maneuvered through the crowd until he got to the stage where he waited for Otto at the bottom of the stairs. “Hi,” he greeted, staring up at her with his hands shoved into his pockets as a couple of loose curls drooped into his eyes, “remember me?”

[safflowerseason]

veep rewatch - 3.03

Season Three, Episode Three - Alicia 

aka - The One with the Announcement 

Tracie Thoms is well cast in the role of Alicia. 

When Jonah runs across the street, you really get a sense of how ill-fitting his clothes are (and also how freakish they make him look as a result). His pants are at least two sizes too big. 

Amy back in a skirt suit very reminiscent of her S2 outfits. 

Love the behind-the-scenes quality of the scene in the Veep’s office, with Selina getting fitted while her staffers work on the speech. 

Sue: Ma’am, it's Amy. She sounds uncomfortable. Like she's with a member of the public.

And now Amy in a beautifully tailored purple dress! This is not my personal favorite shade of purple (I would have preferred something a few shades darker…this is a bit too “crayola” purple for me) but the dress is super cute and it looks wonderful on Anna Chlumsky and fits her like a glove. I adore the peplum detail on the skirt and the little sleeve flaps.

Selina in another black and red outfit, in yet another episode where she wrestles with what she can say publicly versus what she actually believes. Definitely a consistent fashion theme of S3 so far. 

Gary: It's like SNL is going back in time and abusing a child.

Love the ongoing balloon bit in this episode. 

Kent: We need to rewrite the speech! Dan: I can’t rewrite the rewrite, Kent. I'm still writing it! Kent: That’s the reality, Dan. If you don't like the reality, go live in Oregon and make quilts with my mother. She could use the help.

Dan/Amy parent!watch Amy: Do…do I take her hand?  Alicia: Yes, hold Miss Amy's hand. Mike: Amy was born to be with kids Amy: …Peeing is fun…!

Amy: Okay…great pee.  Dan: I wanna know who's responsible for that sketch, you cock…*sees Amy and Halo*…tail napkin. Yeah, you heard me! Doyle: Dan. Amy. Dan: Shit, I gotta go.  Amy: Senator Doyle.  Doyle: I have a meeting scheduled with the Vice President right now and it is "right now” right now. Amy: Dan, you take this…right now. Dan: What?!

I always thought this little tussle, as well as Dan and Amy’s very brief interactions with Halo, indicate that while parenting would have represented a chaotic (and comedic) learning curve for both of them…it’s not like they don’t grasp the basic reality of what it means to be responsible for another human being. Both of them willingly hold Halo’s hand. Dan cuts himself off in the middle of cursing out the SNL guy, Amy doesn’t really know what to say to a little girl but she still tries to make her feel comfortable…these are small things, but there’s an awareness, however limited, of what it means to manage small kids. Yes, Dan and Amy are dramatic and completely obsessed with their work and have limited emotional intelligence. But they are also technically functional adults who have a base level of propriety and social awareness. In contrast, during S7, Mandel’s attitude toward the idea of Dan and Amy as parents seemed to be that they would be practically criminally negligent, monstrous in their grotesque selfishness and sociopathy. Which, like, sure, I wouldn’t want Sex-Psychopath Dan anywhere near my daughter. But it doesn’t track with the earlier seasons of the show.

Ben: Because then they sound like they're the result of war. Kent: It’s the curse of the unintended narrative. Dan: Okay, but you still want military first?  Selina: Yes!  Dan: *grumbling* Yeah…I’ll just say them simultaneously.

The show never gets into it much, in either era—and it seems like BKD was always tragically doomed to be nothing more than a plot device—but there was always a little spark with Ben, Kent, and Dan’s dynamic. It’s not hard to imagine that the three of them, together, could have grown a very successful business in DC (…I have imagined it). Dan always works best around people who stomp on his ego and boss him around, which Ben and Kent certainly have no qualms about, but he’s also active and ambitious in a way that they aren’t, so they actually make a decent team. Also, Dan views Ben and Kent as men in a way he doesn't with Mike and Gary, which affects how he interacts with them. 

Doyle is a real dick in this episode. His presumption. It is so infuriating. It reminds me of all the male senators during the Kavanaugh hearings.

Selina: Seniors are the easy vote. Child care is a principle.  Ben: Ma’am, you have plenty of principles…you just gotta pick another one.

Dan: I don’t do offended…but I am affronted that you’d even think that.  A classic Dan line. 

Selina: I'll tell you what happens. They get bullied when they're little at school, and then they perpetuate the cycle by bullying me.

JLD’s face when she sees Catherine’s dress…masterful. 

Amy sends Gary a great “oh shit here it comes” look right after Selina starts to blow up at Catherine.

Also JLD’s fake laughing reaction to Doyle’s “L’il Selina” line. Brilliant.

Selina: So…I’m supposed to let a bunch of dead-eyed white guys shit all over absolutely everything that I stand for? An iconic line that is sadly even more applicable in 2020 than it was in 2014. 

Selina, in a rage: I have DECIDED that I'm going to LET them dictate to me. Because that is MY decision. Do you understand that? I am LETTING them do that! Get it?  Ben: Yes, ma’am. Selina: Right! But they do NOT own me!  Ben: They really don't, ma’am.  Selina: No, they don't! No, they don’t! *flings herself into the armchair*

Gary doesn’t do much in this episode, but he gets in some great little physical comedy bits, like trying to sneak Selina something to drink and then shying away. 

Mike calling Dee a “stupid cow” opens up such a dark crack into the normally sunny Mike. Matt Walsh really nails it, though, his own horror at his words…you really feel for him, even though it is a truly awful thing to say. I wonder if it’s a line they would have given to such a sympathetic character (for Veep, comparatively) in a post Me-Too world. Like, the audience just watched Mike get married! To Kathy Najimy!

Catherine: Amy, what the fuck is happening?! Is Mike on crank?! Amy: That’s actually the least of my worries right now. Your mom has gone quiet. 

Ben to Mike: You gotta go lower! You gotta go lower than the lowest lowlife. You gotta dig and dig and dig until you get to the point where you wish you were dead. Okay? And that's base camp.

Dan: Is there any way to snap her out of this Diving Bell and Butterfly shit? She should be rehearsing my speech right now. I mean…I am just impressed that Dan “only watches movies with Owen Wilson” Egan knows  about The Diving Bell and Butterfly.

Catherine: Your entire life has been leading up to this moment. And as a result of that, my entire life has been awful.  Sarah Sutherland’s delivery of this particular line is extra great…that little waver she puts on ‘awful.’ This whole monologue is so funny and spunky! 

All of the Selina/Dan interactions and miscommunications re: the speech and SNL once again foreshadow that their partnership is going to be a disaster. I appreciate how subtle the foreshadowing has been…while also undeniably consistent. 

I like that after an episode of being totally shit on by Doyle, Selina manages to get a win over him at the end, manipulating him in front of Alicia and Halo because of course he can’t say no in front of potential voters. Of course, she’s also manipulating them, but it’s a nice instance where Selina’s public machinations actually pay off for her. 

[annakie]

An Annotated Mass Effect Playthrough, Part Twelve

List of Posts: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Last Time: we helped a criminal and chased some monkeys.

This Time: we Main Quest again!

Feros!

I love Feros!  It’s such a cool place with crazy, brutalist atmosphere.  From a scappy little colony filled with brainwashed people to a scary tower filled with Geth and then down to creepy eldritch horror monster basement... it definitely feels like something new and different.

So let’s start out with that colony.

Tali comes with us to Feros, because of the large amounts of geth on the planet.  It seems like the best of the four main planets to have her along with, until the end.

This poor guy.  It’d be great if there was some way to save him.  Why was he out here on his own!?  Someone should be here to help him!  and he shouldn’t be standing out where there’s no cover!  Hide, man!  Hide!

I’m kind of sad we never see muscle-white geth in subsequent games.  What are you hiding from us, Harbinger? What did you do with the white-and-blue wall-clinging geth?  Do their loyalties lie only with Sovereign?  

Also, great job making them seem really freaky here.

One thing I love early on is that the game does a pretty good job not immediately giving up the brainwashing plot, while still making you not feel like a dummy for not figuring it out earlier, yet there are still hints its there.

Alicia here at first seems like she could be a problem. turns out she’s just like, really good at her job and mad about being abandoned here.  And the colony is really struggling and on its last lets and they ARE glad you’re there.

And before you can get into too much discussion, geth attack!

It’s a crazy intense fight up the stairs and into the tunnel, until...

Whew, a reprieve.  Also, what a cool and terrifying shot. They’re really amping up the tension and complete shittyness of the situation here.

Things are seriously fucked at this colony.  

YES I’ll help you!

And you!

Hang on real quick and let me grab this sidequest.

Talking to Hollis Blake is like, the first really big hint that something is very, very wrong here.  Always wondered if he’s any relation to Helena.

Hey, is it just me who always, always, always misses one of these water valve fuckers and has to backtrack to find it?  This time I was specifically like “I am not going to miss any of the water valves.  I will NOT.”  And then I did.  Does one just.. not show up til you get to the end of the Feros tunnels or am I just that stupid?!?!

Anyway, another reason to bring Tali, she’s pretty much an expert at fixing stuff like this!  Kaidan does fine if needed, but the tunnels quests in particular I feel like are right up Tali’s alley.

PUPPIES.  That are apparently full of tasty meat for hungry colonists.  

This screenshot reminds me that I haven’t driven my car for a week and a half due to quarantine and should do so before the battery dies.  Sounds like a job for tomorrow!

Also, I want to know like, how did those vehicles get down here?  Is this really underground?  What level is the colony on?  How do the prothean towers the colonists live in even WORK?  How many other levels have people living on them (or did?)  Does everyone live in this tower and skybridge over to the other tower for office work?  I have QUESTIONS about pre-geth life in this colony that will never be answered.

Poor Ian Newstead.  The strongest of the colonists, but not quite strong enough.

Somehow, I managed to not take video or good screenshots of this terrifying fight.  Oh ok we got drones up top, and several charging Krogan and geth in a tunnel with zero cover?  Sounds SUPER FUN.  Also feels impossible on insanity.  It’s not easy to lure things out to the cross-hallway here.  I die on this fight a lot, even on normal.  

But not this time!!

Hey raise your hand if in the past you’ve forgotten to blow this thing to bits and had to trudge back down here a second time?  

I managed to only get halfway down the hall before remembering and turning around this time.

Oh yeah, yeah Fai Dan, everyone here is SUPER NORMAL.  Poor Ian, indeed.

But hey, turning in all the tunnels quests is great, feels like you’re making a noticeable difference in these people’s lives and survivability, at least.

Anyway, now that the colony is stable, time to head over to that other building!  Just a short, pleasant, easy drive across a skybridge.

HOW. DID. THE.MAKO. GET. HERE?  

Is it just like, Exo Geni’s Mako?  It can’t be ours!  But how would they get a mako!?

Sigh.  Let’s not think about it too hard, and enjoy this boring drive across...

DAMNIT.

But hey, those visuals!

Once again, we deal with these geth in our usual way.  And I didn’t even drive off the skybridge!  So Pro.

Tunnel!  OK we have time to stop for a tunnel.

Peekaboo!  Time to pick up some sweet easy loot!

Hey, thanks ExoGeni for placing large chunks of debris in the middle of the road.  I know it was you because it clearly didn’t fall from anything around here.

Oh no, this asshole.

It feels extra prescient right now that hypercapatalist Ethan Jeong is super willing to sacrifice real people’s lives in order to protect profits, right?  Fuck you even more than normal, Jeong.  Seriously.  I’m now sorta regretting cheating in extra paragon points so you can live later.

I do love Juliana Baynham, though?  Of course I always love a good mother/daughter story.

Hey, don’t forget to talk to Gavin... if you want Conrad Verner to live!

But seriously you guys, this level design.

Sorry not sorry for the flycam pic spam.  I just really love the skybridge of Feros.  

I also really want to know like, what’s down there under the clouds?

Also, great job to the Protheans to have built shit still standing after their reaper invasion +20,000 years!  I’ll have to tell Javik in a couple of years.

Okay, that’s it for this update!  Next time... we’ll make it to the tower, and probably just have an extra-long finishing up Feros post!  Can you believe this post only has twelve of the fifty two Feros gifs I made?  So THAT’S coming up!

[mychemicalficrecs]

Hi so I've read 2 my chem sports AUs recently (All We Need Is Daylight by Helena_Hathaway and Getting the Gold by frankiesin) and I loved them surprisingly a lot because My Chemical Romance and various sports are not something you'd expect go together. I'm wondering if you know of any other sports AUs?

Hi Nonny!

There's a few Sports AUs I know and if you don't mind High School Sports AUs, there's quite a few of those as well!

Sports AUs

All We Need is Daylight by Helena_Hathaway, Frank/Gerard, 240k [WIP], Explicit. Frank is thrust all too suddenly into a new life, one where he's not warmly welcomed. He's the best goddamn hockey player he knows, though, and he's not going to let anyone take that away from him. Or at least, not until his world comes tumbling down.

Getting the Gold by frankiesin, Mikey/Pete, 9k, General Audiences. It's Mikey's first time as an Olympic coach, and he's navigating the new role pretty well until he meets the men's swim coach. Pete's gorgeous, funny, and entertaining as hell, but Mikey's pretty sure he's already got a boyfriend. Also featuring Mikey and Lindsey being Super Bros, and way too many baby athletes in need of supervision.

you wanna get it for free by akamine_chan, Ray/Mikey, 2k, Explicit. Ray's a wrestler, you see...

Pages In Your Passport by inlovewithnight, Mikey/Pete, 15k, Explicit. Pete pursued soccer instead of music. He has a good long run in the game. Then in 2010, he meets this guy in a band.

The Circuit by stoplightglow, Frank/Gerard, 24k, Teen And Up Audiences. In the world of competitive motorcycle racing, nothing is more prestigious than the Grand Circuit Tour. Americans everywhere gather to watch as the twelve best racers in the nation compete for the title of Circuit Champion and $100,000. Gerard Way is no stranger to the race. When he was a teenager, his name was practically legend - but after disappearing without explanation six years ago, he's become little more than a relic of the past. Now, at age twenty-six, Gerard is back on the Circuit with something to prove. It's Frank Iero's first year on the tour, but he's more than ready. No one has seen a kid blast through the ranks so fast since Gerard Way first appeared on the scene a decade ago. With a cocky attitude and the whole country swooning over him, nothing can slow him down. The stakes have never been so high. Welcome to the Fourteenth Annual Grand Circuit Tour.

Down And Dirty by dear_monday, Frank/Gerard, 3k, Explicit. Gerard's own beloved cherry-red Harley has pedigree in fucking spades, sure, but she's seen better days, and she just doesn't have the power to outrun Iero and that revolting custom paint job. The matching helmet painted to look like a jack-o-lantern is just too much. An AU wherein the boys are dirty bikers, inspired by the recently-released photos from the Japanese Rolling Stone shoot.

shut up and drive by Trojie, uglowian, Patrick/Mikey/Pete, 139k, Teen And Up Audiences. Pete Wentz is the grid girl, Andy Hurley loves him (not like that), and Jared Leto is the bad guy. A.K.A.: the bandom The Fast and the Furious AU that literally no one asked for.

Another Cog In The Murder Machine by ace_writez, Ray/Mikey, 3k [WIP], General Audiences. Mikey's life is set. He's going to get a basketball scholarship for university and then play in the big leagues. All he has to do is get team captain his last year of high school. But he runs into some competition when another good player also tries out. Suddenly he's not so sure he's going to make it. Ray is also trying for a scholarship. As the star quarterback of Belleville High for three years, he's gunning for a fourth. When a situation at home suddenly drags him down, and a certain boy at school catches his eye, he finds himself at a crossroads. Two boys. Two sports. One school, and one story.

Day Seven: Half Dressed - Frerard by LeatherlipsIero, Frank/Gerard, 3k, Mature. Frank reached out his hand for the stranger to shake, "I'm Frank, let me buy you a drink as an apology?" He smiled again when the stranger grabbed his strong and callused hand with his own soft one. "Thank you, but it's my fault, honestly." The strange and pretty man tried to explain but Frank didn't care. "I insist." He said and sent the beautiful stranger a half smirk with half-lidded bedroom eyes, which had the poor boy blushing in seconds. Score.

Olympians by krissykane, Frank/Gerard, 3k, General Audiences. Frank is a shooter who has (somehow) made it to his second Olympic games. There he joins the crowd at a fencing event and sees a certain Team USA fencer for the first time.

Take One For The Team (Excuse Me If I'm Rude) by frenchpirate (Whiskey_n_speed), Mikey/Pete, 25k, Explicit. “So, your coach,” Gabe started, change of subject, thank god. “Yeah, what about him?” Mikey asked and glanced over at Pete who was heading towards the coach locker rooms, dragging a net of footballs after him. “You never told me he was hot. I’m pretty sure that’s withholding indispensable information. I should’ve signed up for the soccer team.” He said halfway jokingly, and William scoffed and rolled his eyes. “What, he’s not-“ “He so is. He’s like totally – small and handy,” He made a smooth explanatory hand-motion. “I want to fit him in my pocket.” * (Or; twenty eight scenes about skipping school, douchebag friends, post-college parties and way too much soccer)

Boxer!Fic by iamdali, Frank/Gerard, 47k, Explicit, General Audiences. After med school, Gerard had this idea of what life would be like. The idea now probably seems more than ridiculous, but still it’s what he clung to in order to drag himself through those gruelling morning hours after an all nighter of studying or writing some preposterously long paper on some disease or medical break through or why whatever part of the human body does whatever it does, and what happens when it doesn’t.

It's Not A Side Effect Of The Triple Axel (I'm Thinking It Must Be Love) by mizubyte (b_dsaint), Mikey/Pete, 10k, Teen And Up Audiences. If not for Alicia, Mikey never would have stepped on to the ice, let alone become a figure skater. Now, over 15 years later, Vancouver is Mikey's last chance for Olympic Gold. If he doesn't get distracted by snowboarder Pete Wentz, that is.

If The Skates Don't Fit by halfeatenmoon, Lindsey/Gerard, 12k, Teen And Up Audiences. Lyn-Z thought her rollerderby team might have a chance of winning some games this year, until she discovered that the new girl she'd recruited to the team was actually a man named Gerard. With a week to go until the first match against their long-time rivals, the Cobras, Lyn-Z and her teammates instead steal one of the Cobras' players - Maja, who has been feeling underappreciated since her side was joined by a new star. Maja's a great player, but it's a challange to learn to skate with a new teammate with only a week to go, especially when she still has some unresolved issues with her old captain.

Split lips hurt by toxic_fox, Frank/Gerard, 769 words, Teen And Up Audiences. Every Thursday, at six o’ clock sharp, frank goes boxing. He loves the adrenaline, the rush he gets from fighting, the blood, the pain. He kind of likes the kind medic as well.

Uppercut by mcrhomo, Frank/Gerard, 3k [WIP], Teen And Up Audiences. Frank is dealing with a lot in his life, including body dysmorphia. When he signs up for a boxing class to lose weight, he meets Gerard, and his whole life is turned several different ways (for better and for worse).

I Believe You're The Enemy (Game On) by imanemostan, Frank/Gerard, 2k, Mature. Constant affairs kept secret by frank and gerard, on different laser tag teams playing against each other. weirdly enough, both their schools have an official laser tag team. How will they ever be able to keep this a secret?

I Just Want You by Bridgetti, Frank/Gerard, 2k, General Audiences. Frank teaches Gerard to skate.

It's All In the Game by happilysurviving (orphan_account), Frank/Gerard, 46k [WIP], Mature. Even jocks have issues. Especially the closeted ones who have friends they have to kick off their football teams. And it gets even worse when they have to kick them off because of a homophobic coach. But of course that's only the beginning as this is Dan Howell and he always has to have larger problems on top of the ones everyone else would believe to be impossible to handle. Having Frank as his best friend certainly doesn't help or the head gossip guru in town as his mother but it could be worse, right? I mean he could be in love with an opposing team's quarterback... Oh wait.

Frerard Football Team AU For Which I Could Not Think of a Title by franks_hands, Frank/Gerard, 5k, Teen And Up Audiences. In the locker room and at practices, Frank was noisy, bordering on obnoxious. He seemed to bounce off the walls sometimes. He didn’t know about personal space.

of cute boys and rollerskates by etselec, Mikey/Pete, 1k, General Audiences. “I’m teaching you how to skate,” Mikey nearly fell as he removed Pete’s arms away from him. He squeezed his hand instead, “so our next date it won’t be as awkward.” “Date?” Pete asked. “Well, we’re holding hands already, aren’t we?” Mikey smiled at him.

Hand in Mine, Into Your Icy Blues by sundrowned, Frank/Gerard, 28k, General Audiences. Gerard is the captain of the hockey team and his overbearing father is the coach. When a new boy named Frank joins the team, Gerard has to decide weather to follow his father's orders to stay away from the boy or choose his own path.

Skating In A Ttutu by runaway_killjoy, Frank/Gerard, 51k, Teens And Up Audiences, Explicit. Frank has to move towns with his mom. He's disheartened to realize that teenagers are judgemental and manipulative no matter where you go. And no one gets judged quite as bad as the ballerina/skater boy who isn't even 5ft. Skater boy AU prompt, Frerard

Powderpuff by Gorgeous Nerd (gorgeousnerd), Frank/Gerard, 2k, Explicit. It isn't like Frank's opposed to powderpuff football. The timing's just kind of bad.

Get Up And Go by inlovewithnight, 6k, Teen And Up Audiences. Mikey Way: Ultramarathon Runner.

[wecouldstillbegreat]

It’s almost like Amy never actually wanted a child during the Iannuci years and this entire pregnancy thing was a stupid fucking fabrication thanks to a writing staff that hates women and can’t conceive of a plot line where they’re not being fucked or procreating! Wow!

I think the reason that so many people thought that the Dan and Amy storyline would eventually end with a pregnancy was because of the way that Iannucci had set it up for them, from the entirety of Baseball, to Alicia, when they have to handle the little girl, Dan’s comment about their kids going to college, and Gary telling them to pose as parents in the craft shop. The fact that they could pass as parents says so much.

It does make me wonder how Iannucci and his team would have handled the storyline if they were to cover it at all.

Amy was very adamant about not wanting children and I can see her immediately having an abortion, but I can also see her wrestling with it because she was always stuck between D.C. and life outside of D.C.

The conversation she has with Ed in 2x10 is a good example of this. She talks about how he stayed over and they read the papers and how she thought it was something she could do for the rest of her life. This is before she finds out that Selina has a shot at the presidency and then tells him to ignore her “Little House on the Prairie bullshit.”

Because of those threads, I think it could have gone either way. I think it’s possible that she might have realized she wanted children only when she got pregnant. Or maybe she would have thought about it, and ended up realizing she wanted to focus on her career. But once she made up her mind, that would be that. If Amy wanted an abortion, she would have had an abortion. If she wanted the baby, she would have had the baby.

I always pictured them using the pregnancy as a campaign strategy. It would make sense for both of their characters and it would have been an interesting way to deal with it, but maybe it’s too much of a trope.

I don’t have a problem with them setting up the pregnancy in seasons 5 and 6 because of the threads mentioned earlier. But it did seem a little out of left field because she said she never wanted kids, but then all of a sudden, she was thinking about freezing her eggs. I think it would have been more organic if there was more build up to it and if we got to actually see her thought process and where that change came from.

The main problem I have is why Mandel set up the pregnancy. It rubs me the wrong way that in order to make her less “generic” and more interesting, he threw in the pregnancy, plus the Candi Caruso “younger Amy” rivalry. What seemed generic to him was the core of who Amy was. And they stripped that away from her.

I saw this on a forum and I agree with it:

“The showrunners have ruined the Amy story. Why is it that bad (often) male comedy writers usually have a superficial female character whose storylines only revolve around looks, pathetic love interests, and being annoying/the butt of every joke? Think Meg from Family Guy, Britta from Community, or even Summer from Rick and Morty. I miss the old Amy who was Dan’s foil. The two were equally ruthless careerists, with interesting motives and manipulations, and now their stories are so predictable, like a recycled sitcom plotline.”

They never knew what to do with her, which is why we’re stuck with pining Amy. Now, her storyline is focused on looks, her never-ending unreciprocated love for Dan, and about her being treated terribly because it’s so hilarious. 

Yeah, it’s so hilarious to see her belittled by people who used to respect her, to have her image constantly ragged on, for her employer and the person she is in love with insist on her having an abortion when she wanted the baby. It’s so hilarious to have Dan sleep with Mike’s boss after she told him she wanted to have his baby, tell her about his sexcapades in detail while she simply takes it all in, sleep with a 19-year old with the same name as their baby, sleep with her sister on the eve of her abortion, be in a committed relationship with her abortionist and have her pine away and be humiliated again.

I wonder how they would have written her if that scene in 4x04 never happened. Would they still make her pine? Dan is Mandel’s favorite character so it makes me wonder if he watched those scenes where Amy one-upped Dan and if it made him determined to have Dan win all the time. I can’t remember a moment in seasons 5-7 where Amy’s had the upper hand. And they insist on using everything about her to prop up Dan’s horribleness.

It’s just awful to watch and frustrating to see such a nuanced character turn into someone completely different. This is not the Amy Brookheimer I knew and loved.