#GOD I LOVE DEAD FAMILY DRAMA IT’S SO JUICY

[that-one-anxious-mango]

Summary : What happens when all the secrets start to tumble out and the truth about many things starts to unravel...including people.

Contents: BIG OLE JUICY ANGST. I mean this is what some of you all wanted. But caution this installment includes the following: DRAMA! Allusions to and discussions of abortion. Arguing between friends. Accusations. Tension. Allusions to rough childhood upbringing. Hospital setting. Cursing. Protective/Anger Austin!

Please read with caution.

A/N: Hello Beautiful Humans! I hope you're all well. Here it is. The Second installment. I hope you enjoy it. Just a reminder next installment (3) will be the finale. Thanks so much for the love and reading!

P.S Feel Free to comment and send me letters about thoughts, feelings, or anything else! And also comment if you'd like to be added to the taglist.

Much love *hugs*

Taglist: @wacoshuffle, @purejasmine

---

“ And do you remember what it was like when you stepped into the studio for the first time to work with Baz and the crew? What that moment was like when you realized what you were about to fully do? " The interviewer asked Austin.

Austin nodded offering a somber smile as he tried to grasp his words, " Of course. Yeah..it was..ummm..."

He'd been asked this question before probably fifty thousand times and usually answered it with ease, but today the thoughts weren't coming together.

Instead his mind was somewhere else, his mind was with you.

All night long last night Austin had tossed and turned thinking about not having you in his arms, and the look of hurt replaying in his brain over and over. He wanted nothing more than to get up and go down the hall to your bedroom to scoop you up and love on you until you let him fix all your problems.

But knew he couldn't because he needed the boundary.

He needed you to know he was serious.

For the rest of the interview he politely muddled through it while giving his best efforts and little attention.

Once they wrapped he thanked the interviewer and staff before making his way off the soundstage.

As he approached his awaiting team, Austin couldn't help but notice the grave looks on their faces they were doing their best to try and hide.

Kate, his publicist looked extremely antsy and nervous, while James, his agent stood beside her with a monotone expression holding Austin's cellphone.

" What's going on? " He asked looking between them. " Aus. You need to take this." His agent stuck his hand out with the phone.

Immediately Austin could feel his heart sink to the floor and anguish walk over him.

" Is everything alright? " He asked hoping to God nothing serious had occurred. " Who is this? "

" Can't say. Just take the phone." The man beckoned.

Skeptically accepting the device, he pressed it to his ear and took a deep breath before speaking, " Hello? "

As soon as he heard the voice on the other end his scrunched in uneasiness, " Grace? Whoa--Hey! What's the matter? "He tried listening to your sister go on a mile a minute until he stopped her dead in her tracks when she revealed your whereabouts.

" SHE WHAT? "

———-

Upon arrival to the hospital you'd been admitted to the OB fifth floor and Alana had made the rounds calling everyone she could think important to call, which included Alex, Phoebe, Beatrice, and your co-worker, Tia, who she knew you were good friends with.

She left the family calling to Grace whom she'd talked to on the ambulance ride.

Phoebe then called your uncle in Texas, uncle in London, and grandmother who was traveling in her retirement.

But amongst those calls Alana made, still Austin's name wasn't included. When Grace asked if Austin had been called Alana told her that in the ' heat of the moment ' she'd forgotten.

Grace then volunteered to do it leaving Alana's hands clean.

After they all were informed Phoebe was the first to show with her kid sister, Sprite, in tow who was visiting for the week on a school break.

Soon after followed Alex who came in looking distraught as she had just fought her way through bounds of LA traffic to get there as fast as she could have from set.

And Beatrice also came in with her husband, Santiago, as they both apologized for the wait citing how they would have been there sooner but had to frantically find a sitter to take their youngest who was out of school.

Avery had also called Alana and let her know that she'd been caught in afternoon traffic on the freeway and would get there as soon as possible.

All together asking a thousand and one questions, they hadn't been the least bit calm until one of the nurses had come over to assure the group that while you were stable, none of them would be allowed to see you until the doctor okayed it.

Calling Grace back when a nurse questioned who was the physical next of kin, it was revealed that she had already been in contact with the hospital staff and the person who was granted power of physical next of kin, was Phoebe.

Eagerly waiting to get a update they all sat praying and hoping for your well being until the doctor would come to notify them with a update.

Fifteen minutes later...

They could hear him before they seen him, Austin had practically came barreling into the open area of the fifth floor OBGYN sector with members of his team behind him.

He looked completely disheveled with his shirt wrinkled, suit jacket half off, hair moussed like he'd been running his fingers through it every five seconds, and his face were wide and extremely alert as they zipped from place to place in panic.

He went first to the nurses' station to try and gather information, although everything he said came out fast and jumbled.

But while he still looked around in a fearful daze, he then spotted the group nearby and by passed the check in nurse at the desk, to charge toward them and immediately go into question.

" What the hell happened? How is she? Where is she? I-is she okay? "  Austin moved to try and walk down the hall toward the rooms determined to search each one until he found you, but was stopped gently by Phoebe's hand.

" Aus wait. It's the room three doors down, but we can't go in there right now. The doctor just went in and they're running some tests. We don't know much because they wouldn't tell us really but what we do know is she is stable so they say." She looking at him empathetically.

Austin just shook his head not understanding, " What do you mean ' so they say ' ? And why wasn't I called AS SOON as this happened? Who was all there with her? " She just collapsed? " He threw out looking around at the group.

Before anyone could answer him, their heads whirled around at the sound of the room door opening and closing.

Seconds later they could see a nurse exit followed by a doctor who began walking over to the group, " Is this the family of Y/N L/N? " She asked when she stood in-front of them.

A multitude of keen yeses could be heard, " Wonderful, now if there anyone here that is next of kin, or a supp-"

" She's my wife." Austin cut her off. Nodding the doctor was about to continue but heard a voice speak.

" He's the fiancée. And Phoebe is technically the appointed next of kin as we've been made aware." Alana could be heard correcting from the back.

All turning to look at her, some in disbelief and others in distain, still the doctor continued, " Well I can say she is still stable. But I can only go into detail with whoever is appointed next of kin and I also can only allow this person in the room for visitation right now." She informed.

" Austin should see her first." Phoebe spoke up, " He's her fiancée and her family, so I consent to him going in the room but once you're done all I ask is for you to come update us as well. We're her family too. " She decided giving the go head.

Turning his gaze to Phoebe who nodded in encouragement, Austin in return mouthed a 'thank you' and then brought his attention back to the doctor.

" Hi I'm Dr. Mackenzie Floyd, I'm the head of the OBYGN department here at Emory Moss. " The doctor informed reaching out to shake hands with Austin who in return offered his extremely clammy and shaking hand.

" I'm Austin. The husband." Austin introduced himself while making sure to put a extra emphasis on his last words so Alana could hear.

" Nice to meet you. I'm sure you're eager for an update on your wife and would like to see her, so why don't you follow me. " Floyd motioned.

The two them set off to your room leaving behind the group who'd begun to chatter.

When inside, as soon as he saw you lying there, all the air in his lungs seemed to leave all at once and his hands began to feel ice cold against themselves.

You looked like you were sleeping.

Finally relaxed and not so uptight and tired like you'd been.

And while he was glad you were resting, he still couldn't shake the aching need to want to see your eyes pour into his.

" So just give it to me, doc. How's she doing? " Austin asked still not taking his eyes off you.

With a sigh Dr. Floyd began, " Well Mr. Butler it seems that your wife's collapse was the result of a significant drop in her blood sugar and pressure. When she came in her vitals showed that she was a tad bit under nourished for our liking so we've put her on a standard saline trip as well as fluids. Her weight is also lower than the standard at this stage so that's something else we'd like to work on. We suspect she hasn't been eating or hydrating the way she should. " She revealed.

" Overall she also seems to be quite tired. Has she been sleeping at night at all?" Dr. Floyd asked.

Austin thought back to the late nights in your office you'd been pulling and the tossing and turning he could feel come from you during the night.

" As of recently, not much. Usually she is a stickler about her sleep and tries to get a strict nine hours a night. But that hasn't been the case as of late." Austin confirmed. Dr. Floyd, " I understand. That's not unusual though at this stage. Many women experience some form of insomnia early on and it can be an adjustment. But just to be safe we'll give you guys some options of what you can do at home to combat this." She finished taking down some notes.

Austin nodded still not fully understanding what she was getting at.

This stage? Early on?

Still he was trying to wait until he felt she was finished to ask questions.

 " But on a happier note, we've a extensive amount of tests and the baby's vitals are strong. Placenta looks healthy. There's thankfully no signs of trauma or malnourishment. They seem to be hitting all their markers right on schedule." Dr. Floyd informed knocking the wind out of Austin.

Hold on.

Baby? What BABY?

Grace on the phone nor anyone else hadn't mentioned anything about a baby. So what was truly going on here.

" I'm sorry Dr. Floyd. " Austin put his hand over his duly aching head as he tried to process the information that had just so casually been given to him, " Forgive me, but did you say a b-baby? As in my wife is pregnant? "

Dr. Floyd cautiously motioned for a nurse via the window to step into the room to check on Austin who'd gone a bit stiff as a board.

She carefully went on, " Why yes, Mr. Butler. Your wife is in fact nine weeks pregnant. My apologies I thought you knew. One of the friends disclosed the information to EMTs in the ambulance on the way here."

At the sound of her last sentence like a switch had been hit, Austin's head snapped up and he became all too alert now with a twisted expression of fury and chariness being displayed.

It was like he could feel his entire body be stricken tense as he forced himself to ask, " Do you by chance know which one of them that would be? "

—- When Austin entered the new private waiting room the group had been moved to, they had all been too quick to jump up and toward him to form an unintentional circle around the man.

As he looked around at his fiancée's friends he was doing his best to keep his composure.

Never had he ever had any real problems with these people, he knew how much your friends meant to you so ever since they'd all been introduced he'd done his best to at least get to know them all and be cordial. Go to parties, be polite at hangouts, bite his tongue on occasion.

And sure him and Alana had had a couple of tiffs here and there, but nothing the two hadn't been able to uncomfortably fake a laugh about and keep their distance after.

So that's why it was mind boggling to him that after hearing from the doctor herself that Alana knew about your pregnancy this whole time, it was shocking that she'd stooped so low to make the decisions she'd had of keeping it a secret and icing him out.

Breaking Austin's thought process Alex was the first to speak up, " Well..how is she? Is she okay? Lord knows we've been praying." The look she carried was one of pure concern, like her face wouldn't physically be able to rest until she heard the news.

Looking around he could see that her sentiments were shared as everyone also looked on anxiously wanting to hear, " She's okay." Austin spoke followed by a harmony of sighs and deep breaths released , " Doctor said that she'll be on bed rest for the next couple days since they want her to replenish her energy with sleep and meals. She was dehydrated and tired. Thank god she didn't get to hit her head. I'll have to just watch her closely is all at home, but she'll be okay." He explained taking in the relieved facial expressions of everyone, everyone but Alana who instead held a hard look to herself while the two participated in a unsanctioned staring contest.

Austin knew he should have taken the high road and privately addressed the woman, and any other time he truly would have.

Ya' know, acted like the gentlemen his parents raised him to be.

But alas something dark and petty took over him when he seen the look on Alana's face. Anger and resentment pooled through his being. These feelings prompted his next choice, " And as for the baby.." Austin purposefully dragged out.

As if everyone had suddenly been cast in a stop motion picture, all movement ceased and heads all snapped in his direction at a eerily slow pace. Faces of shock and confusion were everywhere.

Beatrice's knees seemed to buck underneath her and Santiago with the help of Phoebe ushered the startled woman into a seat. While Alex looked on rapidly blinking like she'd been punked.

Alex's voice rose above the silence, " Austin. What do you mean as for the baby. Are you trying to tell us that, Y/N. I-is pregnant? "

He ran a hand across his mouth as he could feel himself getting upset, " She indeed is. She's about nine weeks along. Baby is healthy though, thank god." He confirmed, voice still hard. "

In shock Beatrice shook her head not being able to wrap her mind around what was occurring as everyone did the same, " No. no. no. That can't be, right. Austin that can't be right. I mean we would know. She would have told us. Are you sure?" She tried reasoning looking all around the room.

Austin nodded. From their reactions he knew that Alex, Phoebe, and Beatrice couldn't have know. As a actor he also recognized their reactions were too raw. And if Bea didn't know Santiago surely didn't, plus Sprite was only a kid who didn't even live here which knocked her off the board of thought about who knew.

" Well, Bea. That's the same thing I thought until the words came out the doctor's mouth herself. Only thing is she didn't find out from any of the tests. She said that one of Y/N's friends informed the paramedics that she was pregnant in the ambulance." He revealed.

Puzzlement spread across the room on every face but one.

Immediately Phoebe who'd been quiet while trying to process spoke up, " Well that can't be true because none of us knew." She looked around the room at all of her friends hoping that not a soul had kept something like this to themselves. " Right, ya'll? "

" No it is true." He started, " Isn't it Alana." Austin spoke turning his attention to the woman who'd been quiet the entire encounter. To him she'd always had this holier than most attitude about her, but right now she wouldn't get that right with him.

And it rang true, as she held a look of complete casualness to her face. " You were one that told the EMTs that Y/N was pregnant aren't you? I mean it couldn't have been Avery because before I came in here I ran into her. She didn't know anything and she wasn't in the ambulance. In fact she was shocked. Even though she tried to follow the ambulance she got caught in traffic on the way here. After we spoke I told her she could go home and I'd keep her updated. "He revealed.

All eyes were on Alana now, six pairs keen on her.

But still she wasn't going to let anyone see her sweat. Instead she just keep her cool. " I was." She simply stated.

" Lana you knew? " Beatrice's eyes bucked thinking about how a few days ago she'd sat through a whole dinner with Alana and she hadn't said a word. " And you didn't think to say anything?"

" Yes, Beatrice I knew. I was there when she took the test." She stated matter of factly.

A bitter chuckle emerged from Austin, " Of course you were. Isn't that rich." He continued laughing and clapping to himself, taking a seat while everyone looked on in bewilderment.

" Alana when the fuck was this? " Alex questioned flabbergasted and needing to know how long had this been going on. How long had they all been kept in the dark.

Groaning she started, " About three weeks ago when I came to drop off the final details for the Pace book-tour to her/ She'd opened the door and looked like she'd been crying. I mean a downright mess. " She recalled.

" After practically prying it out of her she confessed to me that she'd been upstairs in the bathroom trying to build the nerve to take some pregnancy tests. Said she hadn't been feeling well and that Aunt Flo had been MIA. After she calmed down I offered to stay with her while she took them and the whole time we waited all she did was worry and cry about how scared she was about the whole thing and how this hadn't been in the plans yet." She explained.

Austin recognized the day she was talking about. He'd been out reading some material for Masters of Air and when he'd gotten home that night you'd already been in bed asleep, and weirdly enough it was also the night that you stop letting him hold you.

" After all the tests came back brightly positive I could barely get her to stop panicking. It was horrible. It took about a hour before she partially stopped. She made me promise on my life I wouldn't tell anyone. She felt like she didn't wanna ' inconvenience those around her ' is what she said. From there she worried about what she should do, and I let her know that she had a number of different possibilities to explore. The end." She concluded folding her arms against her chest.

" So that's it. You just agreed with it and encouraged her to go through it all alone." Phoebe scoffed, " Knowing that I- we would have all wanted to be there for her." She corrected herself quickly knowing her emotions were ab out to get the best of her.

" It was her choice, Phoebe. And she wasn't alone. I helped and talked to her often enough. All she ever did was worry about the type of mother she would be and how she was going to raise a child at this point in her life. I did all I could to console her." Alana challenged.

" And how much of it was actually comfort and encouragement rather than added confusion." Alex icily shot out.

" Hey! I encouraged her to do what was best for her. I encouraged her to explore all her options without the interference from others ." Alana seethed.

" Wait? What do you mean encouraged her to explore all her options? What options? " Austin questioned standing up from his seat. His face was stone cold. " What does that mean? "

Again all eyes shifted to Alana.

Still unwavering Alana repeated, " Like I said. I encouraged her to explore all her options. She needed to know that her life didn't have to change if she didn't want it to. Especially if it's not something she really wanted it. I mean why should she have to put a possible end to her career and fall behind in life for something she wasn't a hundred percent sure she wanted. At one point she asked my opinion and I told what I thought would be best. " She shrugged still maintaining her eye contact with Austin.

" Which was? " Alex beckoned her on. " What did you say? "

It was no secret that Alana had no desire to have children whatsoever. In fact the only children she truly tolerated was her friends.

Her most famous line was, " I detest anything that crawls. Bugs, most animals, and most of all, children. Wastes of time and resources."

She believed parenthood was obsolete task.

Tearily looking to the ceiling in distress Beatrice said, " Alana you don't mean you had her consider..." She brought her eyes to search Alana's face for her to dispel what she thought may be true.

But still Alana remained silent. And the silence was almost deafening.

" Alana...look me in my face and tell me you didn't try and tell her that having an abortion was her real best option...say you didn't do that without getting her the proper mental help she needed to make a decision like that.. say it isn't true." Phoebe interrogated with the rest of the weighing silence of the room.

Locking eyes with a teary eyed Phoebe, Alana figured with her being Y/N's best friend and all. She was the only one she felt needed a explanation.

" Yeah I did. It's her body so she should have taken in to account all her choices across the board. Plus she wasn't sure she wanted to be mother. Why go through nine months of uncertainty. Why take such a huge gamble." She confirmed.

At the confession the whole room feel into a chorus of reactions.

Santiago comforted a now crying Beatrice. Phoebe took her leave of absence since she could feel herself getting to a point of unreasonable anger. And Austin had begun slowly pacing the corner of the room while doing his best to piece together what he just heard.

" Oh my god." Alex whispered moving across to the other side of the room. " Oh my god. " She spoke louder. " OH MY GOD." She yelled before turning to Alana. " HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO HER. HOW COULD YOU PROJECT YOUR OWN SHIT ON HER LIKE. THAT." She yelled.

Face twisting in offence she returned the energy, " IT'S HER BODY AND IT'S HER CHOICE." Alana shouted.

" OF FUCKING COURSE IT IS. IT'LL ALWAYS BE HER CHOICE. BUT SHE ALSO WASN'T OBVIOUSLY IN THE RIGHT STATE OF MIND TO TRY AND BE MAKING DECSISIONS LIKE THAT WITHOUT SOME FORM OF HELP OR GUIDANCE. GUIDANCE YOUR BIAS ASS WASN'T GIVING HER! WHY WOULDN'T YOU TELL US SO WE COULD HAVE HELPED?" Alex questioned.

" I WAS GUIDING HER." ALANA screamed, " GUIDING HER TO SEE HER FULL POTENTIAL! YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN HOW TORE UP SHE WAS. HOW SCARED AND MEEK SHE LOOKED. SHE DIDN'T WANNA TELL ANYONE ELSE. WHAT WAS I SUPPOSE TO DO. IT WAS A SECRET."

" YEAH BUT YOU OUT OF ALL OF US SHOULD VERY WELL KNOW HOW SOMETIMES IN A FRIENDSHIP, THE WELL BEING OF THE OTHER PERSON TRUMPS KEEPING A FUCKING SECERT. AND HOW DO YOU KNOW THIS BABY ISN'T HER DREAM! " Alex shot back.

" I KNOW THAT BEING JUNIOR EDITOR IS ONE OF HER DREAMS. AND TODAY SHE TALKED ABOUT THROWING IT ALL AWAY ON A UNSURE GAMBLE IN LIFE. I ENCOURAGED HER TO DO RIGHT BY HERSELF ABOVE ALL ELSE."

" No what you encouraged her to do was not only keep us her family in the dark but more importantly her fiancée because of whatever reason you gave." Beatrice spoke up amongst the yelling. As a mother she felt a certain cord struck inside her at Alana's comments, " And what the fuck would you know about motherhood. Yeah it may be a unsure gamble, but it's the biggest win I've ever gotten out of life. But you wouldn't ever consider seeing it that way because your obsession with wanting to be successful enough to prove people wrong in your life has projected on to others. And i-t's toxic." She finished honestly.

At this Alana felt some of her wind be taken from her. Never had she heard Beatrice speak to someone this way, let alone her. So it not only took her by surprise but to her dismay, it stung.

" I agree. " Spoke Alex calmer now, " I mean did you even stop and consider her life with Austin in all of this?

Holding back tears of her own to look at Austin who remained silent she shifted her gaze back to Alex, " Who gives a fuck about that. ITS HER LIFE. HERS. Everything isn't always about him. And that's exactly why I advised her not to say anything to him until she made a solid fucking decision so he couldn't influence her as always."

Alex and everyone else watched in horror as Austin's head immediately snapped into Alana's direction, but before anyone could intervene his voice carried, " You. " He seethed, " Had ABSOLUTELY no fucking right to try and decide what my wife should and shouldn't be telling me. NO RIGHT! " He expressed pointing a accusatory finger. The tone in his voice made Beatrice and Alex both flinch.

They had never seen Austin the slightest bit upset really, let alone livid. So this was a whole new side of him to see.

But he couldn't help it. Where the fuck did she get off on saying something like that to the love of his life.

Alana's neck curled around to look at Austin shooting him a glance that could out anyone six feet under, " She's not fucking your wife. And she surely isn't your child or someone whose life you can dictate! She has dreams and goals! A-and values! But she's about to throw all of that away! FOR YOU! " She hissed taking strides closer to Austin. " Just because you spent the better part of your last decade long relationship constantly wishing that you'd been with a more housewife material girl. Doesn't mean that you can turn my friend into your little housewife to clean, cook, and shoot all your babies out whenever you so please."  Alana raged.

Beatrice swallowed the sizably growing lump in her throat before cautiously motioning Sprite to and grab a security guard and Santiago to go stand in-between the two. Because she could tell this was not about to go well! She was actually surprised no one had been called already.

She knew Austin could contain himself, it was Alana she was cautious about.

Alex shared the same sentiments as Beatrice, especially because she could practically feel the heat radiating from Austin but still she knew better than to intervene.

Austin's voice became eerily low, " That woman has been my wife since the moment I slipped that damn ring on her finger. To hell with the legality of it!" He paused, " I support, love, and encourage Y/N in everything that she wants to do with every fiber of my being! EVERY-FUCKING THING! So for you to stand here in some self righteous ass pride and accuse me of trying to turn her into some type of " housewife " is fucking ridiculous. Especially when your so called advice damned near almost killed her!"

Santiago tried his best to diffuse, " Hey guys c'mon I think that's enoug-" but his efforts fell silent on their ears.

" But aren't you though. " A sharp laugh escaped Alana, " The Y/N I knew wouldn't have even considered giving up the opportunity to be Junior editor. There's no way. Not after all the work she's put in. So the only fathomable reason there remotely is has to do with YOU! You and your needs and your wants for someone to hold your hand and support you!"

Throwing his head back in anguish as he tried to control himself he went to look at her again with eyes that practically radiated distain, " You know what, Alana. What the fuck is your problem? I mean really what the fuck is the issue because as quiet as its kept you never really liked me in the first fucking place. Which that's fine. I didn't care as long as Y/N was happy, I could tolerate your little slick comments and glares whenever I was around or even brush aside that fact that you once tried to advise her to break up with me in the beginning of our relationship when we were having problems because I know friends always try to do right by each..I guess. " Austin explained.

" But today...I'm not doing this anymore. I need to know what the fuck is your issue! Can you not stand to see her happy that bad? Are you that fucking miserable in your own life that you need someone to wallow with you. Because I'll be damned if I let it be her. " He finished.

Stunned at his outburst the room remained silent expect for Alana who was fuming as tears raced down her face, " Wanna know what my problem is Austin! Like I haven't said it a thousand and one fucking times already! My problem is that you're a distraction and your holding her back from her potential! The success that would truly make her happy! That girl has the opportunity to be excellent and excel in a field not too many people like us get to be in. But she's about to throw it all the way to be some pathetic dull little stay at home housewife without a life for you!" 

As soon as the last part left her mouth Alana was filled with instant regret.

Immediately all eyes surged to Beatrice who was in fact a stay at home mother and wife, but was not dull or pathetic in any way.

She had tears in her eyes and a look of hurt on her face that couldn't be described by any words, " So is that what you think of me, Lana? Huh? That I'm dull and that I don't have a life? Pathetic? " Beatrice questioned through rolling tears.

" Baby..." Santiago immediately reached for his wife.

Alana wasn't able to get a word out to Beatrice as Santiago ushered the poor woman out of the room as she had begun to sob.

Leaving Alex alone in the room with the two where everything had been spilled, she spoke freely, " Shame on you for saying that."  She said with venom behind her words looking to Alana. Before turning to Austin, " And you need to step outside and gather yourself." She pointed. 

Before either of them could form a rebuttal one of the hospital security guards had finally come to intervene and diffuse the situation, " Alright folks I get this is a very tense time and subject for everyone but if we could, why don't we just take it down some notches and go our separate ways to cool off for a bit.

Looking around at everyone Austin felt his chest heaving in anger and confusion. Deciding Alex was right and he was best to leave, he exited going to find a place to talk to someone who he knew could help him see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Leaning against the outside of the building the sound of the dialing tone rang in Austin's ear until he was graced with a voice, " Hello."

" Ash. It's me...you got a minute? "

----=

After having a conversation with his sister who'd come and sat with her baby brother for what seemed like hours. All Austin did after she and everyone else had left was sit and just look at you.

The love of his life and one of the only things that truly mattered to him.

He'd been in love before sure, but for the life of him he couldn't understand how he could love someone so much the way he did you. Because looking at you laid up in a hospital bedlike this was physically making him ill.

He couldn't have imagined what he'd had done if something had been seriously wrong or worse. And he didn't want to either...because the sheer thought was almost too much to bear.

His ponders were interrupted when he heard a faint knock come onto the door-seal.

Looking he could see Phoebe in the doorway with a apologetic smile, " Hey."

" Hey. Phoebe." He responded offering what he could of a content face.

" You got a minute? "

" Of course. Yeah let's do it."

Looking to you once more Austin got up moving to follow her to the hallway.

Once they were both outside Phoebe went to speak but Austin stopped her.

" Please don't." He sighed, "Don't apologize because it isn't your fault. You couldn't have known either." He stated.

At his declaration Phoebe turned to look away at the feeling of dampness hitting her eyelids, she hated crying infront of people, " I'm her best-friend, Austin. I should have seen. I should have noticed. I mean I knew something was off but I just thought it was the normal seasonal depression we all go through. And weren't wasn't exactly around each other as much since we were both busy..but still how did I miss this. Did I let this fall to the back burner? She' s my little sister." She questioned herself.

And it was true. The relationship you and Phoebe had went way beyond the bounds of friendship...you shared a sisterhood.

Nodding Austin understood her frustration, " How could you miss this, huh? I guess maybe the same her fiancée who wakes up and goes to sleep with her almost every night did, Phoebe. It happened. Don't know how her little crafty ass did it it..but she did." " He said letting the realization set in.

Smirking Phoebe laughed, " I'm just dumb founded that she was able to keep up this charade from us all for almost a month..a whole month. Sneaky little...OUU." Phoebe hit her hands together, they both laughed.

" Well not everyone it seems." Austin sighed referring to Alana and his blowout.

She nodded, " Yeah about that." She looked to him, " I'm super sorry you had to go through that. I can't imagine what all of this had to be like. Finding this all out at once and then having her say those things to you..it wasn't right. And I know I can't apologize for her but still...I'm sorry she acted that way." She says really giving him her most genuine empathy. " And I talked to Grace. She didn't know Y/N was pregnant either. Alana didn't even say anything to Grace about it, she had to find out through the phone convo with the nurse. She's pissed."

" She has every right to be. And you're right you can't apologize for her. But Phoebe be honest with me. " He shakily started, " Do all of you feel that way. Like I'm keeping her from her goals or I'm not good for her? " He asked knowing that if he got the dreaded answer he was prepared to do the unthinkable..and set you free if he was holding you back.

Without the slightest hesitation she went, " Absolutely not. No. Never. " She responded shaking her head, " If that were the case we wouldn't have even let you take our bestie out in the first place, trust me." Phoebe alerted. " If anything we feel the opposite. We see that you make her the happiest we've EVER seen her and she adores you just as much as you adore her. You're both disgustingly cute I admit and that's great because we support you two." She set the record straight.

Feeling a brick taken off what he felt like was the weight of the world on his shoulders, Austin nodded, " Thank you for that...but do you think she feels the same way about the baby...happy? " He asked.

Since you weren't awake and he couldn't ask you himself. Austin felt his need to prepare himself for what could happen..what decision you could make. He needed to know how to support you.

With Phoebe being your best-friend of so long he knew that this was as close of a look into your mind as she was going to get right now.

Acknowledging the look of desperation and fear on his face Phoebe started, " Truthfully after what Alana may have said I don't know." She spoke, " But before that what I can say is that whenever we joked around about the two of you having little curly haired chunkers tumbling around she always was so giddy about it. Smiling from ear to ear and shit." She informed making the embers of hope in Austin warm.

" But the one time we had a serious convo about right before the engagement she seemed open and fond of the idea..but in the same breath nervous and scared. And you know why I'm sure." She referenced to your abnormal upbringing.

" I do." He nodded taking in what she said.

Sighing Phoebe grabbed his shoulder, " I don't know. Honest. But not matter what just stick with her. She needs you..alot more than she may let on." Phoebe said.

Smiling small he responded, " Always. Because I need her too..a hell of a lot more than I let on."

[be-the-glenn-to-my-maggie]

Your daily dose of Nocorro angst, good eats:

I'm not putting in @spicymiilk 's ideas in case he uses them, but dear god I would pay real money for my accidentally mated au to be written thank u.

-Part of me thinks there should be a fucking medieval au type thing where Neteyam is the next prince to take over the kingdom passed down via Neytiri's line. I just love the idea of Spider as a fucking Theon Greyjoy type son of the enemy raised by the family, and that’s why Neytiri doesn’t trust him or some shit it’s so juicy. Can't you all see it now it's so good, the star crossed horror of it all.

-The additional Neytiri/Neteyam parallel that comes out in nocorro. They both have forbidden alien romances, and yet Neytiri wouldn't respect or understand Neteyam's without a lot of work. THE SYMBOLIC T R A G E D Y. We could have a moment of Mo'at being like, "Get it together, I accepted your freak. I even like him better than you now sometimes."

-I am currently deeply obsessed with the bonds Na'vi form with their mates. Every author has played with bonds differently, but I feel like a lot of fics have mentioned this concept of being able to feel each others emotions. The fact that the bond is like, more raw and important in the beginning. So Spider and Neteyam keeping their relationship hidden, being separate and secret would be like almost painful. I am so so invested in that idea I want to know More. Like they Have to be near each other, like touch and shit is essential for a healthy bond at first and they’re just like fucking it up. I want to explore Na'vi bond concepts so bad, with some lovely hurt comfort of nocorro being forced apart at the worst time.

-I even like the concept of them being in a healthy, normal relationship, right? They are newly bonded, and everyone loved and supported them from the beginning or what not. They wanted to get mated before the train raid just in case, and then Spider gets fucking taken lol. Tragedy, they AREN'T SUPPOSED TO BE APART, the drama of it all.

-I made that soulmate au post where I did all the different types of soulmate aus I could think of and with the one where they can feel and take each others pain I WENT STRAIGHT TO NOCORRO RIGHT AWAY. There’s something so funny and horrifying about spider getting taken and Jake being like “alright go learn an entire new culture” and Neteyam's like on the ground half dead like “but dad I feel like I’m being brain tortured”.

-Neteyam would be so fucking angsty and reckless at Awa'atlu in this au. He feels all of Spider's pain, so he's terrified and scared BUT ALSO CRANKY. He’s saying slightly rude things to his parents and he’s beating the shit out of Ao’nung before Lo’ak can even try. Man is testy. And he's shit at learning to breathe, he is not feeling calm or patient.

-The soulmate au where you can take the others wounds, imagine Spider taking the bullet wound even after they have a (spider inflicted cause he gets hurt more often) pact to not take each others wounds and pain. Horrifying. I have been wondering about the logistics tho, because Spider's body is proportionally different than Neteyam's, would the wound appear somewhere else on his body that would help him possibly survive? I can't decide.

-Oh my god also a version where they hadn't realized yet they were soulmates. Neteyam's all of a sudden devastated and horrified that he's alive at the cost of his soulmate, one he never got to meet, only to look over and notice Spider keeling over. TRAGEDY. pLS I need comfort fics too.

-There’s enough torture porn in this fandom I’m waiting for my Spider romcom. I want to be surprised by how right things start going for my boy, it's never surprising when all the things go bad all the time for him. I want that fucking fast food nocorro au I got so into. I want my soulmate au but they notice from the beginning so they accept him and raise him or something.

-Speaking of a little modern nocorro romcom (still with plenty of angst tho) I’m telling you I’m right Neteyam is P E A K I can fix him. He clocks Spider and is like “now there’s a boy I can fix (sexual).” His sexuality is will my dick cure him? Yes.

-Spider like, coughs once and Neteyam's like that sickly little loser of a man is Mine now, wow. Wow I am going to Save him and it'll be so satisfying. The man has a savior complex you can't convince me otherwise. That meme like "if I had a lame ass boyfriend I would hype him up so hard," that's Neteyam.

-I've always thought that Neteyam and Spider's problems and fights would always be over Neteyam trying to fix all of Spider's problems. Like Spider is just venting about his dad and Neteyam is like "so I'm on the phone with CPS and we're filing a report" and Spider's like "oh my fucking god I just wanted you to listen??" And Neteyam's like but babe I can fix it.

-Neteyam's GROWTH is him like learning to grit his teeth and literally sit on his hands as he forces himself to let Spider have his own problem instead of Babygirl-ifying him. He's literally Too Pure Too Good For This World in the most annoying way possible, he thinks everything can be fixed but maybe Spider's just gotta be broke, we can't superglue this one back together.

-Then Spider's like what if he won't like me if I'm not broken anyway? And it's a whole other complex and a whole other set of issues.

I hope you've enjoyed this word vomit of terrible angst, I need help and I need fluff.

[minzart]

Popular opinions about Hazbin and The silence of the lamb? I see your art for the last one and it looks interesting, i kinda wanna understand what it is and how i can get into it!

ALRIGHT THIS IS GONNA BE LONG, since I know you also like hazbin I'm gonna put it in the end, now let's prioritize my litle cult simulator bc I bet you would like it for the family drama and divinity theme

ANYWAYS "the silence of the lamb" is actualy called "Cult Of The Lamb"! And it's a game on steam, created by the indie company Massive Monster. It's a rougue like mixed with farming-simulator(more like cult-simulator).

The just of the game is, you build a cult and go on crusades to progress the story and gain more followers+resources

By gameplay perspective it's ADICTIVE, my only experience with the rouguelike genre was deadcells(a damn good experience), and with farming-simulators was the ol sns harvest moon(an ok experience for lil me, a boring one for big me), the charming animation with a good feel for combat(i can feel that axe breaking my enemies skulls) adds to the experience,It's fast paced wich I love, farming games aren't that much up my alley bc I like to DO stuff, but when mixed with another genre like in this I love it(like i did with spiritfarer)!

Now for the juicy part, the story! I love the story, it's short but you can do so much with it(the fandom is extremely creative and surportive). The 4 bishops(gods) of "the old faith" heard of a profecy, the One Who Waits(also a god) would be free of his imprisonment by a Lamb, so the gods hunt them down and you, player, is the last one to die, however, death is The One Who Waits' domain and you finaly arrived to his embrace, his fated vasel, build a cult in his name and destroy the old faith, kill the bishops and set him free. AND BOY DO YOU DO THAT, but the game's name and the place holder name for your cult is anything to tell you it was a double betrayal :)

[Spoiler for the story and more rambling bellow + the hazbin rambling]

What I love about the story is how vague and at the same time not our protagonist is, the Lamb doesn't have a name, you can't name them, nor gender, but they sure have one set in stone fact, they FEAR death, they do not want to die permanently, it's absolutely evident the first seconds of the game, they cry in their execution and cry before the one who waits at the end and never again.

The game allows you to make some choices that have some consequences do/don't except the first choice "do you create a cult it my name? Yes/ABSOLUTELY", and I love how by contrast in the end, when you get to TOWW you can defy him and take the crown(the source of a gods power) or sacrifice yourself for his resurrection, it's an instant game over screen and a brutal one, I'm not sure if you can restart from were you last saved or if you start from the beggining, BUT DO YOU SEE WHAT I MEAN? You are forced to start the adventure like you or not THE LAMB WANTS TO LIVE and by the end they were a cult leader, they raised the dead, they killed Gods AND NOW YOU CAN KILL THEM, they let you chose death it's these little details that makes the story so interesting to me.

Also the fucking middle finger to the typical "defy profecy" trope, to defy this profecy YOU HAVE TO DIE, bc it goes "five, becomes four, becomes three, becomes two, becomes one, becomes nothing" it's profecising the end of the old faith and if you let TOWW live you break the profecy it's nothing history changing but I like this irony

The divine family drama is also juicy, you see the old faith has actualy 5 gods, the oldest sibling being Shamura the divinity of knowledge and war(and i still find facinating that ONLY shamura has in game be referenced with both domains) the one who received this profecy, then goes Kallamar the God of pestilence, Narinder the God of death, Heket the godess of famine and Leshy the God of chaos. Narinder was experimenting with rituals to create resurrection when this profecy was made by Shamura who, with the other 3(and I will read too much into dialogue Shamura made a play with words when revealing to us that TOWW was Narinder about hunger and contamination wich i interpret that Heket and Kallamar were actualy kinda into the idea of ressurection wich for me IS IN THEME WITH THEIR DOMAIN BUT NOT WAR NOR CHAOS) imprisoned Narinder in the afterlife.

But now thing get interesting, bc through the game you discover details with dialogue from other characters and with the God's themselves, like an obvious one is how, despite everything Narinder is still Shamuras favorite brother, TOWW has two black cats with him who I call diciples, bc in the game mechanic your most loyal followers can be ascended to diciples and be used to generate powers and have powerful demon forms to acompain you in crusades, Aym &Baal sons of a merchant cat you find in your crusades, she tells you that Shamura themselves came for the boys as a gift, and shamyra tells you that the didn't want Narinder to get lonely.

By the end of the first part, you can chose to kill or spare Narinder, if you spare him he BECOMES A FOLLOWER(the funniest thing was seeing every single gameplay marry him right after this) , and he gives you quests, five if i'm not mistaken, each thematically appropriated for each of his siblings domains, and the last one is him wanting to go on a missionary mission(the closest a follower can come to explore the world outside of your grasp). He has unique dialogue and voice(he sounds like he smokes 50 packs a day but then again if you noticed his desings he was literaly only a head....)

SPEAKING OF DESIGNS! Each bishop is a reference to the senses monkeys, see no evil(Leshy has lost his eyes fighting narinder, his eyes now are covered by a bandage), hear no evil(kallamar has bandages in his ears also lost to narinder), speak no evil(Heket also jas bandages in her throat from that fight), think no evil(Shamura's skull is open, their bandages and the fact that they also aren't totaly here, murmuring over and over the profecy, rarely being present at the moment) and do no evil(narinder's robes are blody and you can see his arms are skeletal, wich mean he was decapitated(also enforce by his second fase design)).

The achievements also tell details, kill each bishop and you see their sense, kill them taking zero damage and you get their opposite domain referenced(took no damage for leshy? Congratulation here is the Order archivement), and, with the dlc you can ressurect Aym&Baal and reunite them with their mother, you then gain the "damned tears of a merciful mother" and "blessed tears of vengeful father", wich can indicate lore/headcanons if you think a little bit of it.

With the dlc there's more lore, like how the five bishops probably killed many gods before setting down, how in the world seems to be in a stagnant autumn bc of you killing the bishops, how you can have the bishops as followers now, the only sad part is that they don't interact much with themselves besides generic follower talk, and that's were the fandom enters, there's also three siblings who give you weapons, cards(temporary powers/bonus for each run) and relics who have their own lore, and a new dlc enabling local multi-player is on the horizon(the art of the crowns reminds me of the relic giver who is mad with power and has a crown of her own)

So yeah the base is strong for you to expand the world with your headcanons and interactions, your lamb can be or not cruel, vengeful or merciful, a loyal follower or a usurper, the game allows you to do that, TOWW interacts with you each time you kill a bishop and some of their diciples(mini bosses), wich creates a good enough dynamic with him, after his defeat you see him change from vengeful God to chill cat(in the official art of the game it's hilarious what an 180 he does, canonicaly he doesn't give a shit if you kill him or not he's glad you are using his fucking ritual and proving him right, now he just chills out, who would have guessed he only needed to literaly touch grass)

Also the game has a really good acecibility options, if you only like the farming aspect you can activate the infinite heart and fervor, making the crusades easy and bosses a breeze(I used this bc my computer isn't a strong one so it glitches a lot and when i killed a boss i didn't want to restat bc it glitched or an atack that wasn't suposed to hit me now that the cutscene of defeat started did and i died), or if you don't like the farming part/it's getting difficult to maintain followers alive you can stop time during crusades, or all of the at once if you just want to get on with the story.

So yeah it's basically that, you can explore/expand so much with the so little given. You can also experience the main story through all cutscenes instead of gameplays, it's 1or2h long all of it i think, and slowly reading items descriptions in the wiki as your curiosity is picked if you can't play it like I did before a good sale hits steam :D

Now for HAZBIN

When we only had the pilot I really liked the world that could be build from the concept, we're heaven and hell based on Christianity existed and the show heavily leaned into the HELL of SIN aspect, the characters were... ok. I needed more to actualy fall in love with them, for the time they were good templates. Now we know we're they are going and I really like it.

The way these are the most human characters I had seen until that point, hazbin, for me, threats their characters truly as humans, they have HEAVY FLAWS and they won't be nice about it, like actual humans are, in the actual show they do a thing I love that is contrast in the same character.

See Alastor, in the pilot and in the beggining he's this mysterious guy who caries the main mysteries of the show, he's also the one no-one inside the world of the shows gives a shit about, "don't you wanna know were i was? No." Was the funniest shit I saw and I love how his ego gets beaten in the finale. Vox is a scary CEO, he will tell you to kill yourself to your face and not bat an eye if you actualy do it before of him, BUT HIS INTRODUCTION IS HIM BECOMING A MESS BC OF ALASTOR it "Invalidates"(read hides) his 5 seconds of glory as a competent villain archetype. Valentino's first apearence is through text that can be missed so it tecnicaly is actualy him being a whiny little bitch to vox about his boy toy, only for two episodes later we see him as the sexual abuser he is, AND HE IS SCARY AS FUCK, IT'S ABOUT THE CONTRAST OF HIM MAKING ME GO THROUGH "oh he's the fruity evil gay guy, angel's possesive boss/ex" to "oh fuck he's actualy really fucking scary actualy" to "THE FUCK IS GOING ON WITH THAT GENUINE SMILE IN THAT ENDING"(something something the monster to you can be the angel to other something something despite what a monster does to you they can still love it just wasn't you they love something something). Charlie is a goodie two shoes who's trying to redeem everybody bc she's just that nice and by the end I was happily surprised that she actualy had an arc, yes she's nice but she isn't naturaly empathetic, she's learning she isn't perfect and that's a good character. Adam is a damn good villain and his mere existence has implications that make the world so intriguing and if he continues alive in anyway shape of form or he just genuinely dies JUST MAKES THE WORLD MORE FASCINATING(if he lives is it through reincarnation or thorough a demon for?, if he dies, then were does he go? Another afterlife? Does it kill your whole existence and memories atached to you? Or only the emotional atchiment to yoru existence?)

It's the, "came here for the world building, stayed for the characters" meme, I also enjoy hazbin (but especialy helluva boss) bc it reminds me of Brazilian soap operas with all it's drama and messiness, I'M HERE FOR THE DRAMA AND IT IS BEING DELIVERED, also I love musicals but that's a bônus

[imsparky2002]

Barbie in the Nutcracker: First Thoughts

The following is my thoughts while watching this for the first time.

Credits look awful. Still, it’s 2001 and this is the first installment so I’ll give it a pass.

Only know the basic Nutcracker song and theme but nice that it uses an orchestra

Barbie herself doesn’t look too bad but her little sis… yikes.

Kinda weird to see these dolls moving like mocap performers.

Heh! Barbie’s voice actor has the same name as her little sister.

Kelly very clearly sounds like an adult woman trying to do a kiddish voice.

Lipsyncing is odd, looks more like generic flapping.

Surprisingly decent snow effects.

I’m assuming Clara’s parents are either dead or abandoned them. Or they could also just be on vacation.

Is it wrong that I find Grandpa cute? Gives off a very distinguished vibe. Especially that voice.

They call gingerbread houses “christmas boxes”? That’s… interesting.

Kinda wish they gave Clara a different voice from Barbie, or at the very least a different hairstyle.

The lighting is actually pretty good! Nice warm hues, makes me feel like I’m at a cozy inn.

Her little brother looks like the kids who played Fortnite and would tease me in high school. Of course his name is fuckin’ Tommy.

This CGI is reminding me of early PS2 cutscenes.

Aunt Drosselmayer’s got that 90’s Leo DiCaprio/Hugh Grant parting in her hair. Bleh.

Why is Clara the only blonde in the family?

Ooh! We’ve got some family drama between Auntie and Grandpa. This is getting juicy.

Elizabeth is giving me confident bisexual vibes with the voice and manner of movement. Bet you that’s why Grandpa doesn’t trust her.

Looking at the wiki I just found out that Trixie’s VA voices the Aunt, Starlight’s VA is Barbie and Cadence’s VA is one of the kids! Must be a Canadian production.

I will never not find the word “nutcracker” to be hilarious.

Clara, why tf are you fighting over a toy with your lil brother? You’re like… 17? 18? I dunno but it’s way too old.

Seriously they gave Tommy the most punchable face ever. Not that I’d ever punch a kid but I can see why other kids his age would deck him.

Magic shenanigans are ensuing.

I like the medeival look of the rats. The CGI actually fits them well.

Clara wakes up to see an anthropomorphic warrior rat right next to her eating something and is just like “goddamn it, git ya varmint!” I love it.

Oh, she thinks she’s dreaming. That makes sense to why she’s so calm.

Hmm… I feel like the Rat King should look a bit more evil, and larger as well. Still, TIM CURRY! I’m gonna LOVE this.

Woah! We’re getting a fight scene! A swordfighting scene to be exact!

Oooh the Rat King’s magic and can shapeshift his weapon. That’s metal AF.

Tim Curry putting everything into his performance as usual.

I’m kinda surprised we’re already getting a Nutcracker-Rat King battle. I’d have thought they’d save that sorta thing until the third act.

Did they really have to change it to Sugarplum Princess? Fairy just sounds more powerful.

Wow! This snowy cave is beautiful! Something out of a classic painting.

EWWW THESE LIL SNOW FAIRIES LOOK DISGUSTING!

Did this nutfucker not realize that an icy fortress would have ice for the walls?

The fairies doing ballet looks weird because they have nothing to stand on.

Please don’t tell me the small fairy is staying, I hate her.

Dance is currently reminding me of Fantasia.

“The fairies probably went off to make a blizzard somewhere”. The way he said that nonchalantly had me cackling.

The effect of Clara’s footsteps turning into flowers is beautiful.

Pimm sounds like he’s an absolute troll online. Also gives me Psychicpebbles vibes (though I know it’s not him).

Wow the Rat King is a straight up genocider.

Why do all the kids look like Kelly?

OH DEAR GOD THAT LITTLE BOY LOOKS HORRIFYING.

Wait Prince Eric? Are they legally allowed to call him that? We all know how much Disney loves copyrights.

Man these kids are little shits and their outfits are gagworthy.

Major Mint definitely got a big personality, and the voice actor does a good job with it.

Ok Mint is hilarious and is so far the best part of the movie.

Nice to see some Asian rep with Captain Candy.

Wow, Rat King turns his failed employees into stone. Dark!

The zoom in on the Rat King as he says “that’s it?” made me giggle.

Thomas Astruc looked at the Rock Golem and got his first idea for an akuma.

Wait how the hell does Clara know that the Nutcracker is Prince Eric? I mean I already assumed because of the plot of the original ballet, but how does she know?!

The bridge scene gives me the willies, since I’m afraid of heights.

Wow this flower fairy is the only kid-looking character that has a decent design.

Didn’t expect a song to be interrupted by an enemy.

Lol, the Major’s monocle falls off as he sees the giant.

Glad to see the fairies serve a purpose other than dancing. Kick that giant’s ass!

Captain Candy’s a better man than Mint, as he actually makes sure that he gets saved.

Once again, the island is beautiful! Reminds me of Oz with the colored roads.

Ooh clever! At first I thought the castle’s backdrop looked really fake but I just factored it was because it’s 2001 CGI. But it was actually a trap!

Nice we see a test of Clara’s character that she passed.

The invisble hand touching Clara’s hand is actually making me feel kinda teary-eyed internally.

The Rat King definitely has a Napoleon complex.

Loving the character arc for Nutcracker with his final duel.

Ah! So now the Rat King is growing. Fits for the climax.

Huh… Prince Eric looks more like Jimmy Pesto than a prince.

Lol Major Mint realizes he’s been shittalking the prince.

Huh, so Clara’s the princess? I guess it sorta makes sense since it’s her dream.

For those princes out there who are hated by the public, all ya gotta do is fight a giant mouse.

Mint and Candy got the moves! Best dancers of the entire movie.

The final dance between Eric and Clara is absolutely gorgeous.

The villain was taken down by a snowball… I love it.

God Kelly Sheridan and Kirby Morrow really put everything into the scene where Clara disappears.

Lol Kelly’s Canana accent shows up when she says “It’s not a story”.

“What’s all this foolishness about mice kings and bats, Clara? Enough of your womenly hysteria! Time for a lobotomy!” Grandpa, basically.

Actually now that he’s in a suit, Eric looks a lot hotter.

I’m surprised Barbie’s little sister had the attention span to listen to a 1 hour story.

I'll be making a full review of the film soon. Let me know thoughts in the comments and reblogs. @artzychic27 @msweebyness

[mjammies]

maxon come back plzzz (the elite)

ch21-24

Ch 21 

-not the king and maxon leaving to go to asia

-maxon must be 5’8 the way they be describing him

-”call ahead and tell them to go easy on us” maxon you gotta be kinding if you think this girl got ties like that

-oop kriss is taking itttttttt 

-i hate america i really do but this kinda behavior with kriss woulda had me tweaking tf out fr

-”you are such an idiot sometimes” gurl arent you tryna win him and you calling him a dummy

-”he noted the homemade bracelet I wore. He studied it, seeming confuse, then kissed my hand tenderly” america better pray that maxon dont know what the guards buttons look like. America really dumb af.

-not anne finding aspen in america room omgg can somebody jump him plzz, where the hell is this rod when you really need it.

-”he was in plain clothes, not his uniform” bro i think aspen was meant to be a 6 cause this level of ignorance is unmatched.

-”maxon is gone. This changes everything.” ummmmm no it does not, goofy 

Ch 22

-atp they shoulda put cameras in all the rooms cause im tired of them sneaking around

-i dont even wanna read this bitch ass chapter 

-”i dont like talking about him anyway” ofc you dont, only cause he tryna take your girl

-”and the injections, too” yall getting fed and bbls??

-my thing is if aspen really wanted to make change wouldnt he let america be a princess since she'll actually speak out about all the nonsense going on. Cause if you take her, maxon is gonna marry someone else and the exact same shit is going to continue to happen.

-”slowly, he lowered me to the mattress of pillows” i want them both to die

-”there was a newfound confidence there, something instilled in him through becoming a two” why not a one, imagine the confidence a one could have 

-”when this was all over, would i be a two or a one?” bro this wack ass caste system. The only reason cass set it up like this was to make it seem like there was a real competition here, but wth kinda comp is it between a prince and a guard, like sir you are THE HELP,

-america is just greedy asf, maybe she needs a poly relationship since she cant chose. 

Ch 23

-”but elise family says they never arrived” oop the prince and king is mia

-not the king saying they there but elise family wth is they at

-not kriss pulling her in the garden to chat about maxon, this finna get juicy

-”i think you and i might be neck and neck at this point” oooppp she saying yall is equally in the running omggg

-”anyway, he loved it. He said no one had given him a present yet”. Damnnnnnn america you really missed the ball on that opportunity

-omggg he done took kriss to his room and not even miss thing has been

-”anyway he started visiting me during pretty much every free moment he had” im gonna be sick

-he aint even try to kiss her yet, good

-”i dont know how you feel, but i love him” damn. Miss home of the brave couldnt even say that and here go kriss confusing easilyyy

-not the rebels demanding they end the selection, yall dont like a little drama lol

CH24

-broo imma need maxon to get back and soon

-”what if maxon was dead?” girl dont act like you care

-oop waitaminute the king and maxon are coming home tonighttttt, thank god

-”kriss left seconds later. Maybe she was making a welcome home card.” lol i sure hope so

-not the maids fightingggg

-are the maids not also a two? See this why this caste system doesnt work 

-oh wait nvm i guess not

-she back to reading gregory’s diary, im not reading all that tho yall be easy

-damn he wrote a lot

-not she tryna look decent for maxon, i know thats right

-awww not him gifting her a blue bracelett, i need someone who will think about me in a whole different country

-”i didnt find anything for anyone else” period

-broo this could all be hers, but she so slowww 

-”im just really confused about you rn.” GIRL hes the one whose been confused about YOU

-”if you ever want to know anything about me… all you need to do is ask.” now THAT is a man

-”i dont know if im ready to do that yet” whats the number to this palace, im calling in a bomb threat myself 

-maxon gone for days, yall thinking he died, he returns, and this is how yall communicate when he gets back palease.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

GOD I AM NOT YOUR STRONGEST WARRIOR/j

***Glorious Masquerade spoilers beneath the cut!!***

ROLLO LORE ROLLO LORE ROLLO LORE 👀

ROLLO FLAMME UNIQUE MAGIC REVEAL, I REPEAT: ROLLO FLAMME UNIQUE MAGIC REVEAL>>>?!?!?!??!?!??>!>@@ WE GET THE INCANTATION FOR ITR TOO?????

“Crimson flower, scorch my soul and guide me. Dark Fire!” (Translation generously provided by @mysteryshoptls, who is currently on hiatus)

Note that the line itself says “身���, which more closely translates to “physical body/myself”. “Scorch my soul” is a phrase lifted from the lyrics of Hellfire, the Disney song, and fits with the “salvation” tone and theming.

Please also note that the “crimson flower” he’s referring to in the incantation is NOT literally referencing the crimson flowers (the magic sucking plant he cultivated in the waterways); he’s not controlling or influencing the flowers in any way (other than having grown them). The “crimson flower” of the incantation is metaphorical and likely refers to the fire that covers his body afterwards (as the actual flowers are described to closely resemble real fire).

“くすぶる欲望”, the name for Rollo’s unique magic is spoken aloud as “Dark Fire”, but it is written as “Burning Desire”. Again, this is a lyric lifted from the lyrics of Hellfire.

Rollo’s UM literally engulfs his body in flames, which he can freely control firebending lol. The magical fire is fueled by others’ fear and uneasiness.

ROLLO’S IN HIS RIDDLE ROSEHEARTS ERA, HE’S FINALLY EMBRACING HIS INNER ARSONIST I KNEW HE COULD DO IT I KNEW HE COULD LOSE HIS SHIT 

ALSO, WE WERE SUPER CLOSE WITH THE DEAD LITTLE BROTHER THEORY 😭 Apparently Rollo’s little brother died very young. He unlocked his magic before Rollo did; he played around with his magical abilities and acted recklessly with them. He performed a fire spell he couldn’t control… which ended up claiming his life. Rollo wasn’t able to help him, as he unlocked his magic AFTER his little brother was already dead (and he claims that he is absolved of fault because he didn’t have magic at the time but come on, I think we all realize he probably has internalized guilt over it). Because of this, he resents magicians for not doing anything to help moderate or to restrain his brother’s magic use.

HE’S CRYING, ROLLO IS CRYING

BRUH 😔 YOU REALLY GOT TA HIT US IN THE FEELS LIEK THIS????????????? I FEEL MY HEART BREAKING I’M NOT MADE OF STONE I’M NOT MADE OF SOMETHING STRONGER I’M LITERALLY GLASS RIGHT NOW

(THIS PART IS THEORIZING + ANALYSIS but there’s a flashback to Rollo’s past… and when his little brother calls out to him for help, there are rising flames in the background. This implies that his little brother died burning alive because he couldn’t control a fire spell… and Rollo couldn’t help even if he wanted to because he hadn’t gotten his own magic yet. As Azul points out, he must have been so conflicted when his own magical abilities awakened. THEN ROLLO LEARNS THE MAGIC THAT MAKES HIM “UNIQUE” IS ASSOCIATED WITH FIRE 🤡

Imagine how fucking traumatic that must be if his little brother was lost in the flames… And if that’s true, then it explains why Rollo has dialogue which implies he’s unhappy with himself, that he views his own magic as being “cursed”, on top of forming a disdain for magic (and particularly those who overindulge in it as his brother once did). Losing his brother would have made such a big impact on Rollo that it literally SHAPED what his unique magic would be… That death was an extremely traumatic formative experience. Then, in a cruel twist of fate, Rollo sees his own magical abilities are a constant reminder that he could not save his loved one, and the form it has taken is like a sin and the guilt he cannot scrub from himself. Rollo’s body literally sets on fire when he uses his unique magic—a horrifyingly reminder of his little brother’s body burning to a crisp before his eyes.

What must Rollo be thinking in that moment when he discovered his unique magic and every time he uses it after that? I can control the fire that my brother couldn’t. I survive when this fire consumes me, and my brother didn’t. Uh, no wonder why he describes his magic as “repulsive” 😔 and no wonder why he’s not scared to lose his own magic. He, in fact, believes it will be liberating.

And the fact that his Dark Fire is powered by negative emotions????? That’s… such a scary manifestation of Rollo’s own dark thoughts and emotions. The worse people feel, the worse the flames become… the stronger Rollo’s internalized guilt, the more hateful he became, until it ultimately culminated in this plot to steal all the magic from Twisted Wonderland. In his eyes, any amount of magic is dangerous—too little, and mages becomes jealous. Too much, and they become arrogant. Magic is that evil, the unease and the fear, that propels Rollo and his unique soul-defining spell.

Dark Fire fittingly defines him, his obsession, and his ambition. Most importantly, it gives him drive, and a cause to work toward. It is Rollo’s guiding light in an otherwise dark, sin-drenched world. This is reflected even in the incantation: “Scorch my soul and guide me.” Rollo’s “sin” is also, very ironically, the hope that propels him toward is own brand of “salvation” at the expense of all other magic users. Like Idia says, Rollo tries ro justify his actions by claiming it is for the good of all when, in reality, Rollo is just seeking salvation for himself. He wants to come to terms with all the guilt he has been burdened with: seeing his brother burn, coming down with the curse of magic, the blight of his unique magic… GOD HE’S. SO AWFUL OTL BUT ALSO SO DARK AND COMPLEX)

asgk dihasbioasbiadfbiadfbafds Anyway, back to canon!!

SO THEY BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF ROLLO AND. His punishment for all of this is… Well, none of his crimes are shared with people outside of NRC (like how they try to contain news of Jamil and Vil’s OBs in the main story) 😂 so Rollo still remains “pure” in the eyes of the NBC mobs that adore him, BUT he has to deal with the internal moral dilemma and turmoil.

Truly fitting for a villain who has already internalized so much self-hatred and guilt… Oh yeah, and he dances with Malleus at the end 😂 Happily ever after, I guess??

[katsidhe]

Ranking Every SPN Season Finale

15) 11.23 Alpha and Omega. Dead last because not only is Chuck and Amara’s conflict defanged with a frankly silly anticlimax, but a lot of runtime is eaten up with establishing Lady Toni getting on a plane. The great weakness of an otherwise very strong season is that none of the awful compromises Sam and Dean and Cas made (especially Sam wrt Lucifer) ended up having relevance at all.

14) 9.23 Do You Believe In Miracles. Cheesy dying dialogue, Metatron hamming it up for way too long, that facepalming “the radio was on the whole! time!” twist, uncertainty as to the motivation of the whole confrontation that ends in Dean’s death. Also, this is the beginning of the end of walking back the beautiful work the rest of s9 established, with Sam saying things like “I lied.” I don’t like Dean’s death here at all, in staging, or conceptually, or thematically.

13) 12.23 All Along The Watchtower. I am basically obliged to put this in C tier because it is quite silly, but frankly, I like it more than its ranking deserves. It has the late season finale sin of cramming in an introduction to next season’s conflict in the middle of wrapping up this season’s—but it’s absolutely hilarious that they brought in multiverse portals. And for Sam and Dean, thank god the portal appeared, because otherwise they had absolutely no plan whatsoever to deal with Lucifer, and they probably would have died gruesomely. High points: Sam discovering Rowena’s death on the phone with Lucifer; the spooky introduction of Jack, the raised stakes with Mary trapped with Lucifer. Lowest point: the utter silly pointlessness of Cas’s death.

12) 10.23 Brother’s Keeper. This is the finale that I have the strongest mixed feelings about. There is a queasy lack of self-awareness in the treacly sentiment when Sam presents family photos as evidence of Dean’s goodness. The excuse of MOC!Dean as not the “real” Dean allows for the reasons behind this confrontation to be elided, even as its themes are echoed again and again. The chilling horror of Sam on his knees in front of Dean the executioner is potent and darkly enjoyable, but the instant redirection into attacking Death prevents any kind of real culmination. I can’t decide if I like this episode or loathe it, but I do think I appreciate it more now, after 14.20 and 15.17, than I did when it aired. 

11) 7.23 Survival of the Fittest. We’re on to B-tier! There’s nothing significantly wrong with 7.23. Meg crashes the Impala through a glass sign, so that’s fun. Kevin’s there. There’s action, there’s some cool stakes for next season established, Sam is left alone, which I love. The main sin here is just that most of it is fairly forgettable, because the strongest part of s7 was always the psychological drama of the Winchesters’ disintegration and isolation, not the physical conflict with Leviathans.

10) 14.20 Moriah. Lots of my points about 10.23 apply here, but Moriah is a much better episode, both because there is actual conflict of opinion, and because there is a lot more built-in uncertainty about Jack’s fate than Sam’s. Jack and Dean are onboard with Jack’s murder, just as Sam and Dean were agreed on Sam’s death in 10.23, but this time Cas is staunchly against it, and Sam is on the fence, torn as to how to intervene. So it’s much better drama. But then the crux of the issue gets defanged by Chuck’s reveal. Great s15 setup, but kicks the 14.17-14.19 build down the road. Extra points for Sam shooting God. 

9) 13.23 Let the Good Times Roll. I fucking love the 13.21-13.23 arc. The only thing preventing 13.23 from being A-tier are some wholly avoidable mistakes. The staging is silly; a face-palming amount of time was wasted on Maggie; the wires were a deeply regrettable choice. But even with all that, what we got was great, actually! The Sam-Jack-Lucifer church custody battle is still my favorite goddamn thing. Dean saying yes to Michael was both his only smart move and a devastating sacrifice. The character dynamics here are so JUICY. 13.21-14.01 is, IMO, one of the most fertile grounds for fic and speculation in the entire show.

8) 2.22 All Hell Breaks Loose, Part Two. Now we’re into finales that are fantastic without reservation. Off the devastation of Sam’s death comes Dean’s iconic deal. The actual confrontation in the graveyard is good too, though it’s second to the way we’re all reeling from part one. Azazel dies, Sam and Dean are bloodied and facing down new stakes. The only thing I dislike about this episode is John’s cameo.

7) 1.22 Devil’s Trap. This is the episode that ups the ante! Azazel in John, and Dean, and Sam, and the delicious family dynamic here; the stakes are so personal, and it’s a great examination what each of them is willing to pay for their quest: an electrifying taste of what’s to come. And the music, and the sheer fucking balls of just, crashing a goddamn truck into your main characters at the end of the first season. Nice.

6) 3.16 No Rest for the Wicked. Lilith is delightfully evil. We’re on tenterhooks for Sam to save Dean, we’re narratively primed to expect him to pull off something amazing, a last-minute miracle. But—nope! Sorry! Dean gets graphically ripped apart onscreen and now he’s being tortured in Hell! Shocking and bold, and a crucial turning point in the series. 

5) 4.22 Lucifer Rising. Fresh off 4.21 comes an excellent culmination of season 4′s devastation. The reveals from both Ruby and the angels, Sam draining the possessed nurse, Cas at last choosing to betray Heaven, and the final arrival of Lucifer: it all just works, really well. 

4) 15.20 Carry On. Part of the reason I’m ranking this so highly might be spite. But goddammit, bad wig and worse Carry On cover aside, this is a good episode, and a really, really good series finale! The deliberate anticlimax of Dean’s death, the quiet strength in Sam’s grief, the untroubled, unrushed pacing of Sam’s recovery and aging, and Dean’s drive. Supernatural said Sam Rights, and I wept like a tiny little baby. 

3) 6.22 The Man Who Knew Too Much. Adventures in Sam’s mind! Cas and Crowley and Raphael and the double cross! The taste of cosmic horror! The end of season 6 and beginning of season 7, as Sam and Dean cope simultaneously with Sam’s psychological fallout and the consequences of their most powerful ally going off the rails, is fantastic. I love the literalism and the symbolism of Sam’s reintegration: this is an unapologetically Sam episode (as are the other top four, come to think of it). 

2) 8.23 Sacrifice. Sam’s heartbreaking deterioration in the church and Crowley’s disintegration are an electrifying climax to the trials. Dean and Sam’s final exchange is a breathtaking combination of raw emotion and delirium and a fascinating guilt trip. It’s a visually and conceptually stunning episode: the angels fall burning against a night sky; Sam surrenders the trials and collapses, dying. 

1) 5.22 Swan Song. You knew this would be number one, I knew this would be number one, we all knew this would be number one. It’s iconic for a reason. Sam and Lucifer talking through a mirror; the loss of all hope and the sky-high stakes. Stull Cemetery is the defining moment of so, so much of the rest of the series. Dean’s loyalty gives Sam the strength he needs to bury himself alive forever with his worst nightmare, and it saves the world, and it’s the highest cost either of them has ever paid.  

[jbuffyangel]

The Bermuda Triangle: Arrow 1x13 Review (Betrayal)

Time to deal with this love triangle and all the ways it is awful.

Let’s dig in...

L*uriver vs. Merlance

I frequently say to myself as I rewatch Season 1 that the triangle makes sense in theory. The writers have all the components, albeit clichéd, that should create a love triangle full of juicy drama.

Man wrongs woman in another life thereby destroying any future together

Woman falls for secret identity without realizing it is the same man who hurt her

Man “gives up” woman for her own good 

Man and best friend are in love with the same woman

Best friend changes his ways and becomes the perfect boyfriend

Woman no longer wants best friend and instead lusts for secret identity bad boy

And round and round we go. The problem is this doesn’t really tread any new ground. How many times have we seen this type of love triangle play out? MANY TIMES. Not saying a tried and true trope can’t be repeated, but if you’re going to use it then try to inject some new life into it. 

Arrow stays stubbornly in between the lines on this one, which means there are no real surprises. We know exactly where this is headed. Everyone is just waiting for L*urel to choose Oliver. Hell, even Tommy knows it is coming someday.

This brings us to our second problem. L*urel choosing Oliver is so inevitable it doesn’t require a lot of character growth for either of them. L*urel and Oliver have not dealt with ANY of the issues that caused their demise. Yes, Oliver cheated on L*urel, but there were reasons why he cheated. Those have yet to be discussed. 

We’re supposed to accept that since Oliver is wearing the hood and is out saving the streets as the vigilante then he is “worthy” of L*urel again. We’re supposed to be waiting with baited breath for L*urel to discover Oliver’s secret identity, realize he’s the man in the hood she’s been lusting after, and fall back into his arms where she belongs.

I think not. Don’t get me wrong. I love me a good triangle. I loved The Vampire Diaries. Two brothers in love with the same woman. Interesting. Woman looks exactly like the lost love that destroyed their bond a hundred years earlier? MORE INTERESTING. And kinky. 

I enjoy exploring the varying ways love is expressed in different relationships and what it can reveal about the characters. There isn’t always a right or wrong choice. There’s just a choice and it reflects the kind of love you need to live.

But I understand the complaints about love triangles. Oliver, L*urel and Tommy are the PERFECT validation of those complaints. It’s a tired way to insert some drama that has a completely predictable ending. The even bigger problem is there’s barely enough heat to melt an ice cube. L*uriver is frigid. Merlance is better, but they certainly aren’t an inferno.

“Betrayal” does an excellent job of highlighting all the love triangle problems which plague Season 1. We’re all waiting for L*urel to see that Oliver is a changed man. If only she knew he was The Hood! Her anger and hurt over Sara blinds her ability to see those changes. He needs to wear the mask, so L*urel can see who Oliver truly is. God that sounds good doesn’t it?

 IT’S NOT GOOD.

Sara was a symptom of much bigger problems between L*urel and Oliver. He did not want to be with L*urel, so he blew their relationship up in a fairly spectacular display of self sabotage.

Why doesn’t Oliver want to be with L*urel? Well... welcome to Oliver’s mind. He’s been asking himself that same question for the last five years. If he wanted to be with L*urel then he would have never left town. He would have never cheated on her with Sara. Then Sara would be alive. His father would be alive. EVERY ounce of guilt Oliver Queen carries is connected to that one single choice of leaving L*urel.

So, it’s fairly easy to understand why Oliver thinks being with L*urel will fix everything. If he can fix things with L*urel then he’s truly forgiven. It washes away the sins of the past. It’s like it never happened. At this point, this is what Oliver wants more than ANYTHING. He can’t bring Sara or Robert back. But he can resuscitate his dead relationship with his ex-girlfriend. Close enough. The man isn’t choosey after five years of misery.

Unfortunately, Oliver hasn’t changed at all when it comes to L*urel Lance. Oh I know BUT THE HOOD. Listen y’all, throwing on leather accessories and playing Robin Hood doesn’t equate to relationship therapy. Sorry writers. I need more than crime fighting to believe Oliver can be the perfect boyfriend now.

He continues to make all the same mistakes. OLIVER IS STILL LYING TO L*UREL. He lies to her every day.  He lies when he’s wearing the hood. He lies when he’s not wearing the hood. LIES LIES LIES LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIESS. Oliver continues to hide who he truly is from L*urel. Different outfit. Same problems.

This brings us to SO. MUCH. MISOGYN. Lance is using the phone The Hood gave L*urel to trap him. Whenever we are looking at betrayal and the Lance family it’s important to grade on a curve. It’s a dirty move on Quentin’s part, but far from the gold medal of betrayals this family achieves.

Source: @laurelsource

Everyone finds out that L*urel is working with the Hood and by everyone I mean Tommy. Quentin follows L*urel with a battalion of police officers to her meeting with The Hood. He’s gathered information on a newly released crime boss, Cyrus Vanch. When Oliver realizes they’ve been busted he holds L*urel by the throat as cover so he can jump off the roof. BuT tHeIr LoVe Is iS hEaLtHy.

Source: @dinahlaurellancesource

As L*urel rants to her current boyfriend (yes I use the word “current” on purpose), he pieces together that she’s been lying to him about working with The Hood.

Source: THEARROWGIFS:

L*urel: He's been lying to me for weeks.

Tommy: Yeah feels like crap doesn't it?

Are we surprised L*urel fails to see the hypocrisy in her little rant?

We are not. This is why Tommy was always the better man for L*urel. He actually had a pair and would call her on her BS. Oliver was incapable of doing until well into Season 2, but I digress.

So, Tommy goes to his best friend Oliver for relationship advice. I know this is a television show, but why in the ever living mother of Zeus do L*urel and Tommy think OLIVER is the best person to ask for relationship advice?

Oliver: Tommy, every time you want to talk to me about something, and that something is L*urel, you look like you’re about to tell me you have some terminal disease.

Me: He does have a terminal disease. It’s called L*URIVER.

Tommy: She’s been working with The Hood guy.

Oliver: What? You’re letting her work with that crazy person? She could get hurt Tommy.

Tommy: I’m not letting her do anything. I only just found out about it.

I know this episode aired in 2012, but talk about some patriarchal bullshit. The entire episode is filled with language like this. Quentin, Oliver, Tommy and The Hood all act like L*urel needs their permission to go to the bathroom. New flash fellas: If L*urel wants to engage in nightly rendezvous with a serial killer that’s her business.

L*urel says something to similar effect, but is summarily blown off by whatever male she’s speaking to. She meets up with The Hood after he and Lance save her from Cyrus Vanch.  

Source: BJ-HUNNICUTTS-BLOG 

It seems The Hood didn’t think through all the ways talking to L*urel on a phone and meeting her secretly on rooftops would put her in danger.

Source: BJ-HUNNICUTTS-BLOG

L*urel: I knew the risks.

The Hood: Now I know them and I’m not willing to take them with you.

L*urel: What does that mean?

It means he wants to bone you, L*urel. Get a clue. 

Holy hell, these conversations make her look stupid. L*urel, do you know a lot of six foot men with similar build and facial hair to Oliver Queen? 

Maybe she would take issue with his infantilizing if she stopped speaking like a three year old whenever The Hood is around. 

Source: LAURELSOURCE

She has this dazed expression too. I know L*urel is so overwhelmed with all the ATTRACTION and LUST that her eyes dilate and the bosom heaves, but I’m starting to think a taser gun is how they forced Katie do scenes with Stephen.

Source: @dinahlaurellancesource 

The point is nobody is all that interested in L*urel’s agency – INCLUDING L*UREL. I understand “secret identity” is a very common trope in hero’s stories, but it never makes any sense to me. Shouldn’t the “true love” be the first person to know who the hero is and not the last? Oliver keeps saying he can’t tell the people he loves who he truly is because it will put them in danger. So, he doesn’t care if Diggle gets killed? His logic makes no sense.  If this was truly about protecting people then why did he need a partner?

And no – you can’t use John can protect himself. We just watched L*urel throw down with that umbrella. She was lethal. 

Source: @dinahlaurellancesource 

Oliver is the king of compartmentalization. He does not know how to merge his two selves yet. He cannot fathom showing Thea, Moira, Tommy and L*urel his darkest self because that means being honest about what happened the five years he was away and what it did to him. That will be a hard pass from our leather clad hero.

My other issue with the love triangle (in addition to all the lying and misogyny) is Oliver comes off like an asshole. He manipulates Tommy with statements like, "L*urel is lying? That doesn't seem like her” and “ have an honest chat with her” like there is something in their relationship causing her to lie or that Tommy is responsible for L*urel’s behavior. He’s slowly pecking away at the Merlance walls until it crumbles. DIRTY POKER OLIVER QUEEN.

But then we arrive at this gross fest:

Tommy: There’s some sort of infatuation thing going on here. We both know that she has a pretty strong track record of being attracted to guys who are dangerous, who break the rules. Show me a more dangerous rule breaker than The Hood.

Oliver: I just think you need to have an honest chat with her. Find out the real reason she’s keep secrets.

Tommy: I just can’t believe that L*urel of all people would lie to my face. I guess that’s the way it is with the people you are closest to.

Oliver: I know, but talk to her anyway. And fix this before it becomes something that’s unfixable.

Did this conversation actually happen?

Does anyone else find it weird that Tommy and Oliver psychoanalyze L*urel’s dating preferences? 

And even weirder they are ACCURATE? 

Credit where credit is due. L*urel likes bad boys right up until they become good boys. Then she’s off to find the next asshole that will lie, cheat and disappoint her. (We could do an entire novel’s worth of L*urel Lance’s toxic dating choices).

Even worse, Tommy concludes she has the hots for The Hood like it’s nothing. Like it’s completely normal and okay behavior. 

Holy hell man! Tommy, maybe L*urel has beaten any self respect into the ground, but IT’S OK TO EXPECT YOUR GIRLFRIEND TO NOT BE INFATUATED WITH OTHER MEN.

What’s really gross is Oliver lies straight to Tommy’s face (no differently than L*urel did) while using the secret identity to engage in inappropriate flirting with his best friend’s girlfriend. He uses the hood to say things to L*urel that he would NEVER say as Oliver Queen. And L*urel never tells The Hood she has a boyfriend or to back off. In fact, she encourages the behavior. THIS. IS. CHEATING. Maybe not physical, but it sure is emotional.

Let’s also never forget L*urel started sleeping with Tommy as a way to stick it to Oliver. She wasn’t expecting to develop real feelings for Tommy, and I do believe she loves him, but that doesn’t erase the toxicity of this cycle that somebody needs to end.

There’s just no good here, my friends. 

Source: @dinahlaurellancesource 

The writers are relying on an empty “they are supposed to be together” promise without providing any evidence why. Neither L*urel nor Oliver has changed in a meaningful way to support giving their relationship another try. The problem between them wasn’t whether or not Oliver fought street crime. The problem was honesty. Between all the lying and just-on-the-line cheating, I’d argue they bring out the worst in each other. Nuclear winter has better chemistry. Need I go on?

Ok. I will.

The only one who has shown any growth is Tommy. This is change L*urel encouraged in Tommy, but then he became dependable and honest, so she started lusting after The Hood. Both Oliver and L*urel are lying to him about a variety of things. With friends like these who needs enemies? 

L*urel is treated like some prize, but is she a prize they really want to win? Neither man is given a reason to love L*urel beyond she’s who they are supposed to want.

Source: @dinahlaurellancesource 

Don’t get me wrong. I am a Merlance shipper, but it is hard to root for their ship at this point. If the writers just left them alone and let them be adorable then it would be fine.

Source: @dinahlaurellancesource 

BUT. THEY. KEEP. INSERTING. OLIVER.

And where is L*urel’s character? We’re thirteen episodes in and she’s too busy flip flopping personalities for me to nail her down to one specifically. For arguments sake, let’s say the hot and cold behavior IS one of her main traits. It only surfaces in relation to Oliver. L*urel flips on him which causes her to flop on Tommy. L*urel’s actions are simply a reaction to Oliver.  That’s not agency. That’s a prop.

Source: @dinahlaurellancesource 

It’s almost like the writers can’t be bothered with more. She’s a justice seeking, self sacrificing attorney who works pro bono. TA DA! Character is complete. Nothing more to see here! 

Well, if that’s the criteria then why isn’t Joanna in the running for hero’s true love? Throw Annie Ilonzeh in a room with Stephen Amell. Let’s see if the chemistry is any better.

The writers haven’t constructed L*urel’s character beyond a hockey puck for Tommy and Oliver to pass to each other until we reach the inevitable conclusion of L*urel “choosing” Oliver. It’s like watching a train speed toward a brick wall. I know the crash is coming, but I’m not apprehensive about it or grotesquely fascinated or even scared. I’m just want out of this Bermuda Triangle.

Quentin and L*urel

The only real interesting facet of L*urel’s character is her relationship with her father. I love the raw pain between them. It is always just under the surface. The writers throw those problems like grenades in their scenes together. Katie isn’t given much to work with, but her best material is always with Paul Blackthorne.

Source: LAURELSOURCE 

Quentin using his daughter as bait was brilliant, but shadey. Super shadey. It also had the unintended consequence of getting her kidnapped by a mob boss. Oops. I sort of love that Quentin had to eat crow and call The Hood for help once he figured out there was a dirty cop feeding Vance information.

L*urel is in a rage after being held hostage by The Hood. (He can use her as a human shield because he loves her. No problems here. Nope nope nope!) Quentin really hoped L*urel would appreciate his fine detective work, but she’s pretty pissed off about all the guns pointed at her. She feels her father has lost his perspective on this particular case.

L*urel: Are you gonna find another criminal? Someone else to blame for mom leaving, for Sara dying, for your drinking?

The gloves come off! Daaaaaamn. The booze? We’re going there? Meow.

I agree Quentin Lance has an addictive personality. He directs his rage and grief into an outlet he can control. Hmm… who else does that?

However, L*urel’s indignation is a little much. She is cavorting with a known criminal. The same criminal her father is investigating. L*urel does nothing to help the investigation and one could argue she impedes the investigation. This is called obstruction of justice, Counselor. L*urel actually commissioned the crime The Hood is perpetrating this week, so she could also be charged as an accessory after the fact. Maybe even aiding and abetting. So, her horror at the police pointing guns at her is somewhat ludicrous. Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time.

Source: LAURELSOURCE 

L*urel spends much of the episode fighting the rampant patriarchy and misogyny of the men around her by firmly accepting the danger of working with the vigilante.  She is prepared to take those risks. 

Source: LAURELSOURCE 

But then L*urel is appalled the second she’s put in any danger and holds all the men responsible for not keeping her safe.

She can be mad her dad lied to her, but stop clutching the pearls. If L*urel wants to play the vigilante game then she is going to be used as bait and occasionally get kidnapped. That’s what everyone means by danger, girl. You’re either in or you’re out. If you’re in then you don’t get to blame anyone else for danger knocking on your door. Own your choices honey. THY NAME IS AGENCY.

Oliver and Diggle

This is week 323 of Diggle arguing that Moira is guilty as sin and Oliver ignoring the massive pile of evidence supporting that belief. 

Ok, it hasn’t been that many weeks, but it feels like it. Thou Shall Not Question Diggle. He is always right, but Oliver digs his stubborn heels in. So, John offers to drive Moira around for a week and bugs her. As one does.

Oliver: You bugged my mother?

This is how OTA shows their love, Oliver.  Diggle knows Moira is a slippery snake and can wiggle out of any question Oliver asks her. She even burns the copy of the List Felicity gave him after Oliver confronts her with it.  

Moira insists she never associated with the people in Robert’s book and knew it only as a list of people who owed him favors. Oliver believes his mother is trying to protect her children from Walter’s fate.

So, John gets Moira ON TAPE discussing The Undertaking with Malcolm Merlyn and the sabotage of Robert Queen’s boat. 

We’re going to ignore that Moira’s voice is perfectly identifiable, but Merlyn’s is about ten octaves lower. The point is these are information diamonds Diggle unearths and Oliver FINALLY agrees to pay his mother a visit as The Hood.

Flashbacks

The best part of the flashbacks is meeting all the people who helped Oliver Queen become The Hood. 

Source: @olivergifs​

Hello Slade Wilson! He’s a massively important character in Arrow and it is fun to rewatch how he came into Oliver’s life.

Slade and his partner, the man who tortured Oliver, are Australian Intelligence who came to Lian Yu to free Yao Fei. Slade and Yao Fei have been monitoring an air field so they can escape the island, but he cannot take it alone. There is always a reason behind all of Yao Fei’s actions, but it takes Slade a minute to figure out why he sent Oliver.

Slade: You have no skill. No strength. No training. To say you fight like a girl would be a compliment.

I’m equally indignant and amused by that line. Slade doesn’t believe Oliver will be any help to him because well… he met him. If Oliver is ever captured again he could reveal Slade’s location.  So, he decides to behead Oliver. It’s the nice thing to do. It won’t hurt a bit. What can I say guys? It’s Lian Yu! These are how the memories are made.

Oliver dislocates his shoulder and punches Slade in a vain attempt to defend himself. Yao Fei may be a softer judge of character, but he’s not wrong about Oliver’s survival instinct. Slade sees the fight in Oliver’s eyes and finally understands why Yao Fei sent him. They need Oliver to survive as much as he needs them. He might not be much to look at now, but Slade Wilson is just the man to harness Oliver’s will and turn him into the fighter they all need him to become.

Stray Thoughts

David Anders is like my personal Kevin Bacon. He's in everything I watch. #Arrow #TVD #Alias #OUAT

I was never all that jazzed when L*urel was the damsel in distress and I love that crap. Another clue I didn't ship it. Source:  LAURELSOURCE

Do people on this show not realize you can’t touch evidence? JFC.

Twenty four arrows in the quiver. Good to know.

“It doesn’t mean I have to read the bastard his rights though.” IF YOU WANT THE CHARGES TO STICK YOU DO.

I am so confused on what type of law L*urel practices. Her firm works for a victim’s advocacy group, but she also prosecutes criminal cases. This feels like a radiologist performing heart surgery.

KC is just really bad at action scenes. It's always so awkward.

Musings of the Kiddo

Kiddo: Does he ever run out of arrows?

Me: He has extra in the car.

Disclaimer: Any gifs on the blog are not mine. If you would like a gif removed from my reviews, please message me.

If you’d like to support the blog, please buy me a cup of tea!

[zigsexual]

What sort of love drama takes place in your HP AU (specifically all of the juicy Maxwell/Riley drama)?

me? writing an entire fic in response to this question? putting all the brewing love drama in one single scene? yes bitch i said it !

• • •

“I don’t see why we have to waste our Hogsmede trip just because —“

“Shh!” Riley waves a hand in his face, frowning. “I’m trying to listen to what they’re saying.”

Drake sighs, taking another sip of his butterbeer. They’ve been in this booth for over an hour now, and Riley still refuses to let him leave. Says it’ll ‘look suspicious’ if she’s here by herself.

“Why will it look suspicious?” he’d asked her, but she’d only shushed him, eyes flashing with an intensity he didn’t dare cross.

He’s convinced now that they might never leave, what with Riley attentively focused on the table only a few feet away, where Penelope from Hufflepuff is gazing fondly at Maxwell. She’s leaning forward, her chin resting demurely on her hand, in direct contrast to the way Maxwell is animately telling her some story several decibels above an acceptable volume.

“Really, though,” Drake tries again, “It looks like he’s doing fine, maybe we can just meet him at Honeydukes after like we planned?”

“I have to make sure she isn’t trying to use him,” Riley says, eyes still intently focused on the other table. “He’s too nice, you know. People take advantage of that.”

“I highly doubt anyone is taking advantage of Maxwell.”

She shoots him a glare.

“What? I mean, honestly, what would anyone be using him for?”

“His connections,” Riley says. “You know how his family is.”

“Yeah, I know that they’ve essentially disowned him and there’s no way he’s getting access to any of those ‘connections.’” Drake frowns, surveying her. “Seriously, Riley, why are we here? Can you at least —“

The door to the pub swings open, letting in a gust of freezing air and a slew of Ravenclaws, led at the front by Hana Lee. It doesn’t take her long to spot the two of them, and she waves excitedly, already crossing the room even as Riley ducks her head and hisses, “Shit, she’s gonna blow our cover.”

Drake rolls his eyes at her. “What cover?” 

Hana stops just in front of their booth, pink-cheeked and smiling. She’s still got her scarf wrapped around her neck, all the way up past her chin, Prefect badge neatly affixed as always. “Hi Riley! Drake!”

She pulls off her hat, shaking out her hair, which falls down neatly around her shoulders without so much as a single flyaway. Normally, Drake would chalk it up to magic, but these sorts of things come naturally to Hana. 

Everything comes naturally to Hana.

“We’re —“ Riley starts, but Drake cuts her off: “We’re spying on Maxwell and his date.”

Riley kicks him under the table, but Hana doesn’t seem to notice. She glances over her shoulder, eyes falling on Penelope. “Oh!” She turns back, eyebrows raised. “I didn’t know they were together.”

“They’re not,” Riley says, tone a bit too harsh for her feigned indifference.

“Well, that’s sweet,” Hana smiles. “I’m glad I ran into you guys, actually. Did you know Liam’s staying for holiday this year? He just told me this week, so I promised I’d invite him to all our little traditions. Won’t that be fun?”

“Oh god,” Riley groans dramatically, “Double the Prefects? We won’t be able to get into any shenanigans.”

“There’s plenty we can do without shenanigans —“

“Yeah, plenty of boring things, like reading or studying or reading about studying —”

“You said Liam is staying?” Drake interrupts. Because there’s only one Liam. Hana’s Ravenclaw counterpart, son of the Minister of Magic.

Hana seems grateful from the reprieve from Riley’s teasing. “Yes. He hasn’t mentioned why, but from what I can imagine…”

She’s still talking, but he’s already tuned her out upon hearing the affirmation. He can tell the exact moment Riley does, too, because she suddenly turns towards him with a funny look on her face, the realization beginning to set in.

Her eyes widen, and she whispers, “Oh my god. Hot Prefect.”

“What?” Hana says.

“Nothing. Carry on.” Now it’s Drake’s turn to kick her under the table, because yes — Liam also happens to be the very same boy Maxwell and Riley have spent the better part of two years calling ‘Hot Prefect’ in a continuous effort to embarrass Drake and ultimately drive him to murder them.

(Which, really, there had only been the one time he’d actually said those words, and it was in a moment of weakness after too much stolen firewhiskey, and they truly had no business continuing to bring it up the way they did. It’s not he gives them half as much shit about anything they’ve done.)

“I should have him come say hi,” Hana stands on her tiptoes, surveying the crowded room . “Don’t tell anyone, but I think he’s a bit shy about it all, he could use a chance to get familiar with you.”

“We’d love to get familiar with him,” Riley grins, “Wouldn’t we, Drake?”

He checks to make sure Hana is sufficiently distracted before leaning in close and hissing, “I will crucio your ass, Brooks, don’t think I won’t.”

She sticks her tongue out at him. “As if. You’re like, failing Charms.”

Hana finally spots Liam amongst a group of other Ravenclaws and begins waving at him excitedly, gesturing towards the booth with a smile once she catches his attention. “Liam! Over here!”

Drake’s mouth goes completely dry at his approach.

It’s honestly unfair to just call him hot. He’s devastatingly handsome, like the protagonist of one of Savannah’s regency romance movies (which Drake has definitely not watched): cheeks flushed from the cold, hair a little windblown, dressed in a perfectly fitted navy sweater. When he reaches Hana’s side, he nods to each of them, smiling shyly, and he’s so pretty it hurts — like being hit with a bludger. A love bludger. Fuck.

“Nice to meet you,” Liam says, polite as ever. Riley returns the greeting, but Drake can only stare. 

“Hana tells us you’re joining the motley crew, then?”

“So it seems,” Liam answers. “What should I expect?”

“Hmm.” Riley glances at Drake out of the corner of her eye. “Incredibly sexy singles. Loads of hookups. Maybe an orgy or two.”

Hana laughs nervously, turning to look at Liam with wide eyes. “She’s kidding, obviously. Riley, tell Liam you’re kidding.”

Riley merely raises her eyebrows and takes a sip of her butterbeer. Hana looks mortified, but Liam only laughs, although he’s definitely a bit more flushed than he was before.

There are so few of them who stay over break; the misfits with fucked up families or no families at all. They’ve grown accustomed to each other over the years, a silent acknowledgement of their particular lot in life, and it’s rare anyone adds to the group. 

Especially someone like Liam. 

Hana’s been part of the crew since day one. Her parents aren’t dead, but they are terrible, and she always seemed to relish the chance to be away from them a few weeks more. Each year, she comes up with a new elaborate research project that requires her to stay, an excuse her parents will not only accept, but be proud of. 

“Anyway,” Riley says, finishing off her drink, “If it’s not obvious, I’m Riley. And that’s Drake.” She gestures in his direction, mischief all over her face. “He’s the keeper on Gryffindor’s team. Highly sought after, in case you didn’t know.”

God, he’s going to hex her into next Tuesday when they get back to the castle.

“Liam never goes to the Quidditch games,” Hana says. “I keep trying to convince him.”

Drake and Riley must both look horrified at this admission, because Liam rubs at his neck awkwardly upon seeing their faces. “It’s not that I don’t want to go. I’m just… busy.”

“Too busy for Quidditch?” Riley scoffs.

“Too busy for most things, really,” Liam says. “I’m afraid I’m not much fun.”

Riley leans back in her seat. “Well, we can’t have that if you’re going to be spending Christmas with us.”

“You could come to the match next Friday.” Drake blurts out, before his better judgement can stop him. “We’re playing Slytherin, so you can cheer for us.”

There’s a hint of a smile on Liam’s face. “And what if I only root for Ravenclaw?”

“Well, cheer for me — er, me and Riley — then,” Drake says, suddenly bold. Must be all the butterbeer. “We can be a neutral third party.”

Riley is kicking him under the table again, but he ignores her.

“I’ll think about it,” Liam answers, his shy smile back on his face. This time, however, it’s fully directed at Drake, and the unrelenting focus renders him completely useless.

“Cool,” he manages to reply, voice a little higher than it should be. Riley kicks him harder.

Liam runs a hand through his hair, and the gesture makes Drake’s cheeks go hot. “Maybe we could —“

Before he can say anything else, an unwelcome voice breaks into their conversation, light and airy with a hint of an untraceable (and perhaps manufactured) accent: “We’re about to order, so if either of you want food…”

The girl behind said voice pops into view between Hana and Liam, pausing when her eyes fall on the booth, only for her face to instantly break into a smile so wide it threatens to overtake her whole face. “Hi Drake.”

He avoids eye contact, even though he can feel her gaze boring into him. “…Hi Kiara.”

“And hello to you, too,” Riley quips, rolling her eyes. “Such a warm welcome, as always.”

“Are you joining us?” Kiara asks, ignoring Riley completely. “It’s a house outing, technically, but I’m sure we can make an exception.”

“Oh, no,” Hana says, “We just stopped to say hi, I’m fairly certain they were about to —“

Kiara puts her hand firmly on Hana’s shoulder, effectively shutting down her dismissal. “Again, I’m sure we can make an exception.”

It’s a blessed coincidence that, at the same moment, Penelope and Maxwell finish up and stand to leave, putting Kiara directly in Penelope’s field of vision. Upon seeing her best friend, Penelope squeals loud enough to break through the din of the pub and scurries over to fling her arms around Kiara, sending the other girl stumbling backwards.

“I didn’t know you’d be here!” Penelope says gleefully. “And you brought so many friends!”

Maxwell is close behind her, investigating as well, and his face lights up when he sees Riley and Drake. “Oh, hey! Perfect timing, I was just about to head to Honeydukes.”

He pushes past Hana and slides into the booth alongside Riley, slinging his arm around her shoulder with a grin. “You didn’t say anything about being here too. You should’ve come over and said hi, there was plenty of room.”

Riley rolls her eyes. “You were otherwise occupied.”

Kiara, who has finally put two and two together, looks at Penelope with renewed interest. “You’re here with Maxwell? You didn’t tell me you two were dating.”

“That’s because they’re not,” Riley mutters under her breath.

“We were getting drinks,” Penelope says, smiling vacantly as she often does. It’s a wonder she’s so close with a Ravenclaw; half the time Drake’s convinced there isn’t anything going on in her head. The very idea that she’s somehow capable of ‘taking advantage’ of anyone, let alone Maxwell, should be laughable.

“Oh, that’s wonderful!” Kiara claps her hands together excitedly. “Maxwell, we should do a double date sometime! Wouldn’t that be fun? You, me, Pen, and Drake.”

“No,” Drake says. 

Kiara just swats at his shoulder, laughing. “You’re so funny! Isn’t he funny?”

“Well,” Hana interjects, looking decidedly uncomfortable at the new influx of people, “I suppose we should get going. The food’s probably ready.”

“It was nice to meet you both,” Liam adds, clearly taking the opportunity to bow out as well. Fucking Kiara.

“Maybe we’ll see you at the match?” Riley shoots him an expectant smile. 

It’s always hard to argue with her enthusiasm, and Liam relents a bit. “Maybe,” he answers, and then Hana is tugging him back towards the bar, Kiara and Penelope — thankfully — following in her wake.

[mikkock]

Hey hi your murder mystery art is super totally cool and amazing and I'd like to Extra! Extra! hear all about it *rattles bells*

haha wow i cant believe ud ask me THIS! unbelievable! now im gonna have to make a long post!

all info under the cut cause im kind like that ♥

For reasons I felt like making a Fancy Ass murder mystery story, with you know, hella complex secret storylines and everyone having drama and shit, and one person died but the more the story goes the less people care about who did the murder and the more they want tHE JUICY DETAILs. X and Y had an afFAIR you say!!! well that’s thousands time more interesting than that murder that happened, who cares about the culprit its not like any of us are going anywhere anyway! tell me more about the marital issues!

The ultimate Vibes are Clue (the game, ya kno, it had a movie too, and that movie was shot with three different endings -fun fact- so that movie theatres could play one alternatively that way people wouldnt get spoiled or even if they did they would not get the ending they were spoiled or even if all three were spoiled you couldnt know which ending you were getting anyway, big dick move, cause its an old movie and film is expensive, also that movie stupid and campy, ALSO I ONLY LEARNED MAKING THIS AU THAT IN ENGLISH THE GAME’S CALLED “CLUE” wE CALL IT CLUEDO therefore my wip playlist is called cluedo. because. fuck it.)(i just have an emotional attachment to that game i even had a cd rom video game version and it was the spookiest shit for a 6 years old, trust me, i played it so much tho i didnt even understand the rULES i was just making scenarios like gathering the characters in rooms n making conversations outloud cause honestly the banter is the best part of a murder mystery) ANYWAY that sure is a whole paragraph of tangent. 

BUT YE the inspo from the Clue game. you can tell it from the Colours obviously, everyone’s colour codded.(even everyone’s name is colours as well you’ll see it’s real dang fancy! im just remaking that game but with 2932020 characters and more behind the scenes drama and also for gay people.)

So BASIC PLOT!

Sir Belyy, the dude in white, is The Rich Powerful Respected Fancy Boss, and he throws a Fancy Reception Party with his closest friends and associates to celebrate the opening of a new branch of his business. All the lads gather in his wonderful little very isolated mansion in the middle of nowhere, like ok he got a death wish or something or he’s very trusting of his business partners, but not a good move, cause in the middle of the reception, as A Phat Storm Starts (for plot convenience, we going with a campy vibe if you couldnt tell), his body is found, it’s awful, there’s a killer on the loose! All the guests gather, and attempt to maybe contact the authorities, to not avail, since The Storm ya know, phone lines are Broken my dude. Its clear that the culprit is among them, since no one could have entered the house, or left it (cuz once again, ThE sTORm). And then it’s all about interrogating each other, distrust, alliances and betrayal, revealing one’s deepest secrets when they form an alibi and revealing someone else’s deepest secret for they could be a motive! Meanwhile there’s a dead body in the mansion just chillin there. 

.

So as I mentioned, I changed everyone’s name to be colour related (or ya know, food or flowers of that colour cause sometimes a colour in a language would not work as a name given the way names work in that culture all that jazz) which is the trippiest thing cause tHATS NOT YALLS USUAL NAMES but its fun (also changed so many ages hgfhs it was a trip)(still no one’s really old i guess i got boomerphobia). The “Cast” is clearly the most important part, and if ur a True “My OCs” Connaisseur (hdfghd the most useful skill to have, knowing *MY* Charactersdshgd) you may have recognised some faces and can already read some vibes and predict who will be progressing the plot and who will be yelling at people throwing accusations ghdfgd.

(god i wish i hadnt slacked off making the portraits of everyone in that AU i only have 3 tho that’s so sad so ill just make little sketches just cause <3 only text??? i got too many hoes with no attention span for that)

.

Sir BELYY (the one who dIEs lmao)

(bust shot missing the fact that this man is the tallest beefiest lad around)

Intimidating, powerful, composed, wealthy, carries the name of a family who has generations of control to it’s reputation, he’s The Man that hoes who believe in the economy wishes they were. As in, the “self made” man who only just happened to benefit from having a wealthy background to uplift his plans. In his youth, he wanted to prove his worth, seperated himself from his father, started a business, that business became big, then got attached to the family’s business, bam back to square one but with Reputation now. There seemed to be VERY big tension between him and The Father, some speculate it had to do with his unknown mother, and some family drama there, and it never got resolved as old man Belyy died quite young (the jUICY speculations are that current sir Belyy mURDEREd old man sir Belyy, fucked up if true!). People love him though in general, as he has that reputation of “Cold Lad With a Gold Heart” aka he takes people under his wings, donates, doesnt treat his employees like the absolute worst garbage etc... you know, he’s rich and a half decent person, so obviously he’s an angel on earth. But does it matter though, he’s dead! that’s the concept of the story!  

Mr.GRAY (the grey guest)(who could have guessed from the name)

He’s one of Sir Belyy’s oldest employees, and benefits from a high rank in the company. But, sadly for him, he’s been stagnating lately, as newer, youngest employees seem to have Belyy’s favours, and are his prefered associates for important tasks and positions. Therefore he has Some Bitterness, Some Salt, Some Distaste, some unbriddled but professionally muted hatred for Specific people in the company. He can be an antagonistic figure, but the amount of time he spent in Belyy’s circle grants him an immense quantity of information about the man, but mostly, about his business. Anything about the company’s history, dealings, operations, he’s aware of, either having been told of them, or having snooped around to obtain, immune to being questioned due to his legitimacy in the company.

Mr.LIM (the green guest)

Remember when it was said that Gray had beef with some employees cause they were younger and rose to high ranks faster than him and became Belyy’s favourite over him? Yeah well here comes the one he hates the most for that (ofc he’s belyys fave cuz he’s Mine <3) Our lad caught Belyy’s attention for his Exploits in like, em fancy high school tournaments of smart people, it’s a thing its ridiculous, making kids compete on Smart stuff for the pride of their schools n shit, well homie Lim got clout when doing that, and Belyy was extremely interested cause that kid’s main thing was how “this young lad got mad strategic skills tf are u a war general or smth how fancy”, and that’s a coveted skill for ruthless business. So as soon as the kid is an adult, bam, join the company my dude. And because he’s just that Cool n Sexy ofc he met the expectations Belyy had, and old man Belyy got attached cuz it do be such a young lad, a kid, mentally i am adopting. That’s how you get a youngas employee becoming the right hand man of one the phatest CEO in a few years, and even make your way into being a Good Lad on top of a business partner. And that’s how you get Gray to hate your ass too. Now though, fine lad with mad strategic skills, rising to power that fast, and even infiltrating Belyy’s private life? If I were Gray I’d call suspicion there’s surely some shady stuff going no way we’re just dealing with a nice fella who just happens to work good and be friendly to the boss right?

Herra MUSTA (the black “guest”)

Belyy’s newest butler, assistant, house keeper, he multitasks. His family has been tied to Belyy’s for generations, fullfilling roles of help, but also of confidents. He’s been the head butler since only a short time, after his mother passed, and as such is still “in training” you could say, despite having served the family his whole life. There are rumours going around that the contract tying his family to the Belyys may end on his generation and need to be resigned. He known the manor by heart, and carries all keys to any locked room (and mostly, The Master Key, cause in an old house, some doors may be locked beyond all still existing keys). He also knows secrets of the family that no one else knows, but good luck getting em out of him, he’s under contract not to divulge em bro.

Mr. HASSEL (the brown guest)

Belyy’s childhood friend. They grew up together, pictured their dreams together, sworn to flourish together, worked together when starting the company, and then Hassel felt he should create his own thing instead of depending on his friend’s existing wealth, and while Belyy’s business went wild, his never took off. They still stayed very close, despite the massive difference in wealth. Belyy considers him his closest friend, the one person he can trust (fucked if hassel did the murder lemme tell u). So of course, he’s still always invited to the Prestigious meet ups where’s he’s free to feel uncomfortably out of place amongst all the rich and powerful people that he could have been a part of had he had a tiny bit of luck and a small loan from a wealthy relative...People LOVE saying he’s still hanging out with Belyy so much to leech off his wealth, cause of course they do! His bestie status means he has a whole different brand of information of Belyy than his butler does, the Most Intimate Stuff, the Childhood Stuff. The Juicy stuff ya kno...But Bro Code, its all secrets...

Sir RUZH (the red “guest”)

Deep dive into Belyy’s personnal history, the man has many employees working at his house keeping it working, clean, ya know the vibe. They live on the premice, one has a kid who’s just a Joy to be around, all the employees just vibe with that lad, he’s just a born socialite you know? Belyy gets to meet the kid, and also hella vibes with him. And because human are influenced by their feelings, he gives the kid’s mum a bit of a preferencial treatment, in the tasks she fullfils and all, til he gives her an important-as mission, and then there’s an accident n mama dies, and now Belyy got guilt and there’s this kid who just Vibes. So naturally the move is to take the kid in, and play on how his vibes are just so clean, and raise him to be the Perfect Entertainer for guests, bam, its soft power propaganda, if everyone loves your now son’s vibes, they associate them with you too. And also that’s kind of a clean rep, the selfless man who adopted his employee’s son to not have him fall to the streets, how heartwarming. Not at all traumatising for the kid too I bet! But anyway now the lad is just the most charming young adult, mission accomplished. He’s always present at any reception, ready to work his people-pleasing magic, and then going back to a gigantic empty manor to wait for the next and curate the perfect vibes to meet the expectations of dad. On the plus side, he knows everyone, and those who don’t know him cannot wAIT to, he’s just got that aura ya know. People skills for miles, and the insider knowledge that comes with being the son of the CEO, all this hidden behind the personna of the fresh innocent bashful party lad. 

Dr.FEN (the pink guest)

Do not get mistaken by the title, he’s no doc, he will not diagnose you with anything, he just studied long enough to get the sexy title. Study in what? Haha. Nothing shady. Just toxicology. He’s a world reknown poison expert basically, that’s his main thing. Oh but don’t worry, of course studying substances that may kill people is only for finding out how to cure them from it of course. What brings him in this circle? Simple, Belyy may or may not have started to suffer some weird illness that no doctor has been able to find the source, let alone cure, of. Him and Dr.Fen had met previously on some event, cause some rich man also love flexing how smart they are and attending sciencey shit, and he was contacted as sort of a shot in the dark. The lad does know how to treat some things, maybe he can treat The Mysterious Unwellness, since no traditional doctor was able to. He knows science, he’s trustworthy, bam, you’re hired to work on My Case Exclusively. Thanks to this, Dr.Fen has access to the whole health history of Belyy and his family, to many mANY dangerous substances, and also has The Respect of the hoes at the party. He HAS a doctorate after all. Epitome of knowledge. And he’s a kind to people and he wears pink like dang how can you nOT pour your wHOLE trust in him. 

Sir MOREVITCH (the blue guest)

Youngest son of an affluent family, who used to be close the the Belyys. The two families fell slightly appart after the death of the previous head of the family on the Belyy side, as they do nOT vibe with the current one (well current, til the first night of the story ig). But, unbeknownst to all, one strong link had been kept, between the youngest of the Morevitch, who dislikes his family and wishes to emancipate himself from them while also assuring his depart will not throw him basically in the streets, and our beloved Sir Belyy, who also dislikes the Morevitches but loves to see the rebellious energy of the young one (and ya know, my enemy’s enemy’s my friend or however you say that). So Belyy’s basically offering tips and helping Morevitch plant himself safely out of his family’s grasp, but it’s all taking quite some time isn’t it, slow and steady is fine until your parents try to arrange a wedding to secure more political power, and suddenly it is all quite urgent that you escape that situation because No Thank You Parents I Do Not Want A Wife I’m Too Young And Also Huh <3 Stuff You Won’t Like Hearing For Sure <3. The people who know they’re working together also know that it’s a big point of argument between them, the difference in vision between “you have to go slow and steady to be safe” and “I have very limited time to get to that safety anyway so I gotta risk it” “hell no you cant i can’t follow through if we’re going that quick that’ll put me at risk and you’re family’s gonna send gunmen to take me down”. A mess, it’d be much quicker to just obtain a few million bucks out of nowhere and bolt for sure...

Mr.GANG (the orange guest)

Morevitch’s trusted assistant. He hears the concerns, he helps the secret businesses, he lies to the parents about the whereabouts, and mostly, he’s basically a budget spy. The lad got that talent where people just don’t notice him popping behind them and catching all their dirty laundry as they confess it to someone they trust, and he always manages to break into places, get the intel he was looking for, and escape, putting everything back into place as if no one was ever there (wonder where he got all those skills from damn!). But what he’s even better at is being sneaky not only to benefit his boss, but himself as well <3. If he can catch all the info in the world, go any places, nothing’s stopping him from playing double agent and also going behind Morevitch’s back. After all the assistant life isn’t the most glamourous and rewarding, who can blame him from going and using his talents to build his own little exit route, right? Everybody sort of knows he cannot be trusted, but also no one managed to really incriminate or stop him, and as much as he has tea on many people, no has it on him, but bet once found that would be heeeella juicy.

M.MOUTARDE (the yellow guest)(this one is straight up the name of the yellow player in the french edition of clue too when i say its my main vibe)

Moutarde was an influential celebrity. He had a big break acting in a movie that the whole country stanned so hard they basically turned the script into their national anthem (they would have if it was a true democracy where the people really decide), he was so handsome and elegant, everyone’s dream husband. And then the fame fiddled out because it’s how fame is, one moment you’re the sexiest dish on the table and the next someone brings in dessert and baam, its all about that fresh cake, and no one pays any mind to your delightful aroma anymore, you’ve gone cold, they had a bite, their interest is somewhere else. Belyy really admires his work though, and mostly finds his image fits with the brand of his company, therefore the two are working on a collaboration to make Moutarde a representative. This WOULD boost Moutarde’s reputation, for his ads would be displayed on every imaginable surface of the country, and it would also benefit the company cause being represented by thAT sexy motherfucker? clearly that’s a deal. The freshness of the partnership means Moutarde is a newcomer in the guests, a fresh face, with no reputation, no relationships, no unfair biases against him. He’s just the new handsome charismatic lad with a squeaky clean image. Emphasis on “image”. After all, no one really knows anything of his background, right?

Kun.LAWENDER (the purple guest)

Private investigator, very useful to be around at a party it’s almost like it was expected there’d be a body to investigate, he’s a very close associate of Belyy, as there’s nothing more important to business than investigating the rivals and finding dirt on them to make them fall through infamy. He’s not exactly the PI who goes look for justice to be served, he’s just here for cash bro. He’s got intel on everyone, and will only let it out if offered the right thing in return (money, or sometimes other pieces of very secret intel, trade is good). Wouldn’t advise letting him and Gang team up tbh but they probably wouldnt, as Lawender is really more of a lone wolf player, going on his own for himself. The one thing that negates his usefulness as a PI on an accidental crime of scene is that even if he knew the whole truth of the event he would not spit it out unless he benefitted from saying it. He sure is a polarising lad, but at the same time, an untouchable one, he’s too knowledgeable to be taken down. Rather than sneaky, he’s extremely observant, noticing the tiniest details and engraving them in his memory, ready to be linked up to other details to deduct the big picture. He’s the upfront tea gathered basically (as opposed to Gang’s shadow tea gathering if you will, they are similar forces but using opposite methods)(also one of em got a licence n the other does not hAH).

~~~~

Now the secrets, all of em have them. One of em at least got the secret of having KILLED Belyy that’s that. But that’s to be kept for later (for if i ever use this story for more than daydream material gfhjgh) bet you can imagine what some of em may be just out of Knowing what i do, from having seen the characters in other contexts, or just because you’re a genius and reading the character profiles immediatly lit up the bulbs in your head forming the perfect theory, props to you, mad genius.

Honestly my thoughts are just how lit of a game that would be, you get to pick one hoe (maybe sum are locked til u find their secrets for juicy purposes) and you do your invetigation using your character’s perks and disadvantages, and maybe there could even be Multiple scenarios and outcomes, to spice it up, give replay value, i just think it’d be a game id spend hours on. tryin to get the spicy details of everyone’s life. walking around n digging through a rich man’s stuff, witnessing the drAMA of people fighting cause they’re locked in with a murderer and that’s stressful ngl. That or a long ass show @ netflix wanna give me a show maybe? give me hella budget we’re making it animated cause im too cultured for live action. 

whatever i make of it though, i hope i can make this story Flourish, just so that i can lay down all those secret backstories i’ve written. i want the satisfaction of throwing out the craziest secret drama between character n seeing peeps loose their minds, it just is a tasty experience.

also i gotta say, i plug the hell out of Clue for an inspo but when i was building the basics of the story my mind immediatly went “oH MY GOD THE VIBES,, THE BACKSTABBING AND tEAMING UP and all,,, its The Genius, that one tv show where peeps have to do the wildest games that require strategy n they’re in that fancy set that looks like a rich ppl mansion oh god the vibes” so yeah, i rewatched the whole first two seasons cause they’re my faves and that had an impact if only minimal in the aesthetic.

Anyway hope that quick presentation gave you a lil taste of the story, and maybe,,,, got you curious,,, craving to learn more like you never did before (im exaggerating the only real question we all got is just “so who’s fuckin with whom then how many of yall secretly dating” this the real deal)

[gra-sonas]

In the next episode of The CW series Roswell, New Mexico, entitled “Good Mother,” Isobel (Lily Cowles) is determined to regain control of her life, which leads her to make a risky choice that has potentially very dangerous consequences. With Liz (Jeanine Mason) still hard at work at trying to bring Max (Nathan Parsons) back, Isobel finds herself isolated and unable to turn to anyone to help her through what she’s experiencing, which causes her to further spiral.

During this 1-on-1 phone interview with Collider, actress Lily Cowles talked about the downward spiral that Isobel is currently on, how hard it can be to pick up the pieces after your entire world has been shattered, the relationship dynamic between Isobel and her mother (Claudia Black), how scary and thrilling it’s been to tackle her story arc this season, how Episode 206 could break the internet, and what it’s meant to the cast of this re-imagining to have some of the original cast involved with and supporting the show.

Collider: Clearly, a lot of things are happening this season, and Isobel is just not having a good time of it, right now. How chaotic are things for her to deal with, and does she have a handle on anything, at this moment?

LILY COWLES: Great question. I was really hoping, as an actor, that we would start this season six months in, with Isobel having a little bit of time to process, she’s been seeing a therapist, and she’s a little calmer. But of course, that’s not gonna happen, when you have to let the viewers see her in the trenches. Unfortunately, the beginning of Season 2 is about as bad as it could get for Isobel. She’s lost her brother, her twin, her best friend, the most important person in the world to her. And then, she’s lost her husband, who not only died, but died having turned out to be a psychopathic alien serial killer, who used her body to commit murders and manipulated her. So, she already has a lot to deal with. The world that she knows has already been completely destroyed.

She’s always lived in a pretty restricted gilded cage that she’s built for herself, where everything seems like it’s really fine and everything’s really good, but she’s been very co-dependent on these two men, in her life. Suddenly, her entire world is shattered, so that is already really terrifying, and enough to make anyone lose their mind. On top of that, she realizes that she’s with child, and that she’s carrying a baby, which is something that, three months before this, she might’ve been really happy about. But then, she finds out that she’s carrying the child of this man, who was completely abusive and deceptive, and who totally took her body and took away her own autonomy from her. This is not the way that she wants to find herself pregnant. To be honest, Isobel probably does wanna have a family. I think what she wants most in this world is stability and family and community, and people around her who love her and who make her feel safe. But suddenly, everything has been turned on its head.

She doesn’t have her brother, and her husband was a deceitful liar. And not only that, but now she’s holding his baby. I think this baby represents, for her, the continuation of the legacy of a traumatic abusive relationship and something that has completely ruined her life. She doesn’t think she can move forward with that. I think she feels that she needs to first find herself and rebuild herself, before she can think about taking on raising another life. So, Isobel is in really dire straits, at the beginning of this season, and she finds herself in a particularly bad situation because she really has no one to turn to.

Max is gone. I don’t think she feels that she can talk to Michael about it because he was an unwanted child in the foster care system and he doesn’t feel like someone that she can talk about this with. Beyond that, there’s no medical resources available to her. And of course, Isobel is an alien, so she’s biologically different than a human. She can’t exactly go to a doctor for help through this. She functions as an allegory for people who also find themselves in a situation where they can’t get access to medical care that would help them have autonomy over their own bodies. She’s facing something really bad right now, where she feels very much backed up against a wall and doesn’t have many options. I don’t think that she feels that she can have this child, but what are her alternatives. She has nowhere to turn, which is what leads her to start taking some really drastic measures.

We’ve seen Isobel spending some more time with her mother, to varying degrees of success. How would you describe their relationship, and what do you enjoy about exploring that dynamic?

COWLES: It’s great. We didn’t really get to see Isobel with her mother, at all, before. Isobel has learned a lot from her mother, who is a woman that has, on the front, a very polished exterior, where everything looks good and she’s very much playing by society’s rules. This is who Isobel learned how to behave from. So, we get to see who Isobel has modeled herself after, which is a woman who’s highly attuned to social cues and expectations. There’s no small part of her that really resents her mother for that. She doesn’t feel like it’s necessarily safe to be very vulnerable with her mother. And of course, Isobel is also hiding a giant secret from her mother, which is that she’s not a human being. There’s that complicated factor, as well. She’s hiding something very big from her mother, but clearly, she doesn’t feel comfortable telling her mother that. We can all relate to that relationship with your parent where you’re like, “God, I love them, but they drive me crazy. All of the little things they say, they just know how to trigger me.” She still wants to be close to her mother. She’s in need. She’s a woman who’s completely lost at sea, and she’s reaching out for people. Her mother wants to take her to this warrior class and, at first, she’s a little cruel to her and like, “I just wanna be alone.” But she sees that it hurts her mom and is like, “I don’t mean to make you feel bad, mom. Okay, let’s do it. It’ll be good.” But, it’s wonderful. Working with Claudia [Black] is incredible. She’s so funny and so open. We were really having a good time riffing and doing some fun things, in Episode 2. Ultimately, Isobel doesn’t feel that maybe she can turn to her mother in a time like this, which also probably many young women can relate to, who find themselves in a situation like this. You would hope that your parent would be there for you, and yet so many young women can’t turn to their parents, for whatever reason, and have to deal with it on their own.

When I spoke to your showrunner, Carina MacKenzie, and I asked her what she was most proud of with Season 2, she told me that it’s the fact that she was able to really push the stories in bolder directions and shake things up, and have it be a little darker this season. Clearly, all of that applies to Isobel. So, without spoilers, what has that been like for you, as an actor to get to really dig into and explore?

COWLES: It’s scary, and it’s thrilling. I remember when Carina reached out to me, proposing the storyline for Isobel, my initial reaction was just like, “Oh, my god.” I remember feeling light-headed, where I was just like, “We’re gonna have to put Isobel through so much pain, and as an actor, I have to go there with her.” That’s not a pleasant place to go, and yet, as an artist, you hope that you get to represent all aspects of the human character and experience, and at least half of those are not pleasant. So, I felt an enormous responsibility to do justice for this character because I know that she is an emblem for so many women and humans and men, too, in general, who have had to go through enormous amounts of trauma and come out the other side. Trauma and really terrible things can lead us to places that we never thought we could get. We can find inner strength that will surprise us, and that we never would have had to call on, if we hadn’t been pushed. So, there is real value in taking a character to a dark place and exploring these really dark parts of the human condition because that’s also where so much of the beauty of courage and strength and vulnerability comes from. It’s not hard to be strong and courageous when everything is going your way. It really is in those moments of extremis and dire need that people have to step up and they’re called to show their strength. That’s such a beautiful part of life, so it’s wonderful that Carina is challenging us and pushing us to go there. I was really honored to be able to represent this story, although it was also something that I took very seriously because it’s a very sensitive and weighty issue.

Do you have a personal favorite episode that’s coming up?

COWLES: I loved the first three. I loved them so much. Eva [McKenna] is such an incredible writer, and she wrote the second episode. Deirdre [Mangan] and Carina wrote the third episode, which I think is stunningly beautiful. But I will say that our dear writers, Rick [Montano] and Vinny [Ingrao] knocked Episode 206 out of the park. It’s funny and wonderful, and a reprieve from all of the really high intensity, emotional drama. It’s exciting and it’s got action, and it’s got really juicy things. I think it’s going to break the internet. Episode 206 – tune in!

Things have been a little bit different this season. Last season, you had this little alien trio of Max, Isobel and Michael, and it’s different now, with Max mostly dead. What’s that like for you, as actors? Does it feel like a very different experience without that?

COWLES: Yeah, definitely. All of the actors on our show are so fun to work with, in their own ways, so it’s cool when you get to switch it up. I love working with Amber [Midthunder]. I love working with Heather [Hemmens] and Jeanine [Mason]. I love the little Scooby gang that we’ve got going on, with [Michael] Trevino and Tyler Blackburn and Michael Vlamis and Jeanine and I, all working together to like solve the mysteries of the universe. But I definitely sent a message, at one point, to Michael Vlamis and was like, “I miss you! I miss working with you!” I love working with both Nathan [Parsons] and Vlamis. They’re so different as actors, and they’re both so good and wonderful. Vlamis and I get together and we just riff and have so much fun. I hope, in some world, there’s a blooper reel that comes out with all of our riffing ‘cause we’ll just go off. Eventually, the director will be like, “Okay, enough! Just say the lines.” We rev each other up and get going, and it’s so much fun. When I don’t get to work with my bros, I’m like, “Dudes, I miss you!” But it’s also so wonderful to be able to work with other actors and get to know them. There were characters that Isobel didn’t interact with as much in the first season, that suddenly she’s getting to be bumped up against in the second, and it’s really fun to see how the different characters relate to each other and work around each other.

It’s also very cool that this re-imagining of this has been able to include some of the original cast, with Shiri Appleby directing and Jason Behr now guest starring on Season 2. What’s it meant to the cast to see how the original cast is supporting the series, and what’s it been like to have them around, on set?

COWLES: We’re so lucky to have Shiri and Jason supporting us and wanting to be part of our show. When you make an adaptation of an original, of course, you want to do justice and you wanna feel that the people who made the original are supportive of what you’re doing. It means the world to us that they’re both so excited to be a part of it and to work on it. It boosts our morale so much to see them and to feel like we’re a part of this larger legacy of a story that’s being told across generations. They’re so professional and so funny, and they bring their ow flavor of the original, that was so specific and good, with that tone that they had. They bring that into our show, and it’s so wonderful to be able to infuse what we’re making with that OG flavor. It feels really good. They’re both the most gracious, warm, friendly and hysterical people. I have a huge crush on both of them. If I got to out with one, it would be very difficult for me to choose. And that’s saying a lot because Jason Behr is everything that I thought was good and true, as a 12-year-old. But Shiri, man, is something else.

~ CoIIider

[diminuel]

Supernatural 15x01 rewatch

As a warning to send you on your way; this is a long post and it’s not clearly structured. It’s a reaction and not a proper analysis/ meta. I’d love to hear your thoughts or be pointed towards your own reactions if you’re willing to share~

Okay, here we go! All under the cut!

I am fond of the smooth transition between the “THEN” and “NOW”. The summary of last season was pretty short and I had somehow expected a montage spanning all seasons, but this is better.

First of all I am confronted with the slight vagueness of the issue at hand: the doors to hell have all been opened, so any soul that wants to is free to walk the earth again. So are they ghosts or are they demons? Since they possess bodies demons would be most likely, but then they wouldn’t be cast out of a body by iron alone. Other ghosts we see later on - any ghost that’s not in the cemetary trying to eat Sam and Dean and Cas - don’t seem to need to possess a body. Neither are they in any way restricted to a particular place or object or bound by lore (White Woman, Bloody Mary... they both just kill whoever is available, not who they would usually go for due to the “rules”).

The second remarkable thing is that we get Belphegor in Jack’s place, both masking his loss but also parading it around, depending on which character he has a scene with. Belphegor, while suspicious, is also highly entertaining and even though he has no eyes he is pretty insightful. Jack’s dead and Dean comments it with “he didn’t deserve this”, but that is the height of emotion for Dean regaring Jack’s demise, at least in this episode. Dean wanted Jack to die but ultimately decided against it, but I assume his lack of emotion (or at least the lack of expression of those emotions) are a good indication that Dean’s anger at what Jack has done still overrides his paternal feelings and any sadness that Jack's death might cause him. He wanted him dead, now he’s dead, moving on to bigger issues.

How Dean deals with his own complicated feelings regarding Jack is one thing, but how he deals with Cas’ feelings is quite another. Dean shows no compassion at all for how Cas feels about Belphegor walking around in Jack’s body. But neither does Sam, not really. They instead jump at the chance of having an ally. A demon comes, possesses Jack’s body, gives them a little speech and conveniently has all the right spells just available to himself and Dean & Sam don’t even think about second guessing it? It’s like “I need angel blood :D” and when Cas hesistates Sam urges him to give his blood anyway.

Also, Sam doesn’t have a lot of scenes with the guy, it’s mostly Dean and Cas being shown to have very different reactions and that’s pretty telling too considering Dean and Cas have been established to be Jack’s parents more than Sam has lately. 

While Dean is pretty unperturbed and cracking jokes like calling Belphegor Crowley Jr. (I’d call him Babybel but to each their own), Castiel went from anger at him possessing Jack to a heart-broken admittal that he can’t even look at Belphegor, something that doesn’t even seem to cross Dean’s mind as a possibility? He lets Cas go without berating him for it, so at least it gave him to think a bit and he didn’t default to not letting Cas have emotions about it.

Belphegor has a reaction to the Equalizer, so I assume there might be something coming featuring that kill everything suicide gun. Belphegor probably knows more than he lets on, who knows if he’s even from our version of the Sam and Dean story, but we’ll probably see. The scene showing the gun in Belphegor’s presence was there for a reason and we’re bound to see what it’ll become.

Belphegor commenting on how gorgeous Dean is (and then later on how much he admires him as an artist) is just so funny to me. Kind of uncomfortable of course because it sounds like Belphegor is flirting and the dude is possessing Dean’s kid *lol* Generally, Belphegor is our big question mark of the episode. Is he who he claims to be? What is his goal exactly? Helping the Winchesters to put things back into hell seems far-fetched but not exactly impossible. 

But, I must now comment on one of the high lights of the episode for me. Dean, Cas and Belphegor are in the impala alone. Belphegor witnesses Cas share that he cannot even look at Belphegor. I’m pretty sure Jack made the demon news too, but Belphegor still asks about his meatsuit, which then reveals an interesting, juicy bit that warms every Destiel shipper’s heart. Dean says that Jack was “our” kid. Now, imagine you’re Belphegor and you get that piece of information after having just witnessed a tense moment between Dean and Cas. Who is “our”? Considering that Belphegor knows that Sam and Dean are brothers and he has seen how Cas acts around him, he inevitably must interpret “he was our kid” to mean Dean and Castiel’s. Especially since everyone in hell seems to know that Dean and Cas are “attached”. I’m just waiting for Belphegor to comment on Dean and Cas’ failing marriage.

But hey, back to the plot! I wonder what the Equalizer wound does. In all honesty we don’t even know for sure what the Equalizer does, because it certainly wasn’t the only thing that could kill Jack. Maybe its goal was to purge Jack out of the story since he, in theory, could be a thread to the whole cardhouse structure of the multiverse that is Chuck’s AO3 profile of not beta read variations of the same story (like Metatron said, Chuck posted the first draft). When Jack was born he created rifts into different worlds - the abandoned drafts existing parallel to their own - and he had impacted other worlds, killed players from different universes (well, not that this was the first time this happened, Meta Misha anyone? Poor guy) and could destroy it all. Chuck doesn’t mind losing one story. There are countless more, but having Jack mess up all of them, especially the ones Chuck likes to observe? That would suck. So if that was something the Equalizer was meant to prevent, balacing all the other universes out there, then maybe Sam now accidentally became a portal/ door to other worlds. The fact that we saw a different Sam, heard a different Dean seems to imply this. 

Well, that’s just speculation because it could also be that Sam, having accidentally forged a connection with Chuck due to their common wound, could simply see things - the future, different versions that Chuck is currently invested in. In any case, I’m very excited about that, seeing different versions of Team Free Will is my jam.

And while I’m speaking of things that are my jam? I must mention Cas’ flat “You shot me”. So good. I always wonder why that doesn’t happen more often in close ghost combat when shotguns are involved. Luckily Cas can’t get hurt *lol* 

But... why can a ghost hurt a demon and why can a ghost get a hold of Cas? These ghosts generally do weird things but I assume that might be because they’ve been to hell for a while and are on their way to become demons? But that brings us back to the question I asked initially and I guess we’ll see more of that in the next episode.

And now, the other DeanCas scene. It doesn’t exactly qualify as a conversation but it’s there and it’s still meaningful. Why did Dean get out of the car, why did he approach Cas, why did he ask? The way he cuts any conversation short beyond the quick affirmation that Cas isn’t hurt, Dean shows that he doesn’t want to talk, doesn’t want to hear anything from Cas. Belphegor picks up on the rejection it is meant to be. It is kinda awkard, it is kind of cruel. Dean knows how Cas is struggling with the situation, at least when it gets to Belphegor but Dean is clever enough to know how much Cas is hurting because of Jack’s death. But Dean allows no grief, no expression of it, which I think is cruel... And it’s not necessary. Even if Dean is angry at Cas still (obviously) that doesn’t mean that he gets to decide to not let Cas be sad about the death of their child. (But Dean has done that before, when Charlie died and Sam apologized to her while they gave her a hunter’s funeral, Dean decided that Sam didn’t get to say anything, because he was at fault. It makes Dean seem so self-righteous, deciding who can or cannot be sad and in what shape they are allowed to express their grief.) Cas has shown in S14 and now again that he wants to talk, he wants to tackle the issue as a family. He never rejected Dean’s sadness, anger and grief - it was Sam that held him back, it was Dean who decided to cry alone in the woods even though Cas would have been there for him.

And Cas isn’t even angry at Dean, which is something that I expected. I wonder if that will continue this way; with Cas having plenty of reasons to be upset with Dean, but only ever taking the rejection Dean heaps on him, accepting that Dean doesn’t grant him the right to voice his own grief, without ever speaking up about it. Just... it’s unfair?

By the way, Sam continues to remove himself from the entire issue. He has very little to offer in terms of reactions to Jack’s death, he has nothing to offer in terms of comfort for Cas, presents no grief for either Cas or Dean to comment on and in turn get to show glimpses of their own struggling. And he too takes no responsibility at the current moment for the situation, no apology offered to Cas regarding his involvement in the “kill Jack” mission... Which is disappointing as well but not super unexpected either. Maybe it’ll come later, but as with Dean, Cas doesn’t seem to hold any anger so far.

I did like the ending. From what some interviews stated I had expected Sam and Dean to struggle with having God as the one who wrote their entire lives a lot more. But they’re doing fine so far...

All in all, a good episode. Throwing Belphegor into the mix created some very interesting situations and having him there means that he - as an outsider - gets to poke at things that interests us too, like the focus on the Dean - Cas drama. He comments on it for us, gets Cas to speak up in ways he probably wouldn’t if there was only Jack’s corpse around. So I’m pleased. :D

[princeleyjeans]

Why Internet Justice is NEVER fair: An example-

TikTok, basically Vine and Musically’s derpy lovechild, yet as of recently, a place of rising tension, drama, abuse, and constant “My POV of the situation” videos.  Mob mentality: prevalent in society both on and offline, basically whatever you do, say, see will be sliced into a number of pieces and divided amongst hundreds, thousands, perhaps millions and whether you were right, wrong, innocent or guilty, those people, will have an opinion and either take your side wholeheartedly or be against that side or even just not care and be on their own island of “Leave me the fuck out of it”. Can’t blame them, I’m the same most days, unless it’s juicy or I’m just bored and need something to read/judge because as you can tell by my blog, I do not get out much, even before Corona.  The reason for this post? Because I’m pissed.  Why? Because the internet, as always, well, social media, well, TikTok, Well, life generally but we can slap that ass later.  Over the last week, I’ve seen posts about abuse, cheating, manipulation, harassment, all that, and while watching those coming out to present their evidence, I looked at the comments and saw all these people, dismissing them, their evidence, their physical proof/snapshots/convos/pics/etc, these users, were getting laughed at, brushed off, told they wanted/encouraged said abuse/harassment because of what they did for a living, what they didn’t, how they acted and spoke and dressed, even for characters they cosplayed, and I was just sat there, wanting to smash through my ipad and address these idiots because god knows if it was them, they wouldn’t be saying shit like “What do you expect when you make ‘insert character here’ content?” if it was them, and I get that, everyone can be a hypocrite but we do so much to help and support victims of abuse/harassment/assault to come out and get justice, that people thinking this response is fine is just, utterly astounding, it blows my mind how the internet can be so pro, yet also, incredibly, violently anti to anybody, anybody, ironically, mostly those trying to actually get help/support.  The internet is as dangerous a place as it is amazing, and I guess, that’s the thing, pros, and cons, good and bad.....fair and unfair.  Now lemme say a thing, lemme tell you a story that adds to this whole theme:  A few years ago, I was a blog on here, left for so long and came back late last year after being away following a military-grade assault on my account via a bunch of rad stans who decided I was annoying/outspoken enough that they needed to get rid of me whatever way possible, which lead to me being hacked, accused of being a pedophile, assaulting one of their friends (On the other side of the world, even tho I was beyond broke, anxious af and could hardly stand human touch by anyone, including my own family), being a racist, gay fetishist, using my gender identity/sexuality to avoid justice, lying about my parents being dead (They liked to call me adopted/a runway/kicked out because nobody wanted me, lots of lovely things), sexualizing everything (Minors, animals, etc), these people went after my friends, some of whom, were victims of abuse/assault/violence themselves, they received messages similar to the comments in the Tiktok posts, one who was even a victim of child abuse, received sickening messages about how they wanted/deserved it, someone who simply refused to listen/be apart of the drama caused by these people and kept to themselves, they were attacked as viciously by so called “Justice bringers”.  As the arguments went on, any post I made was cut up, repasted and turned into something entirely different, or used in alternate context when literally I could be talking about something made for lunch and somehow it would become sexual/racist/disturbing, I couldn’t sneeze without it being policed.  Eventually, and not all that shocking, I left, after being broken down, hunted, mocked, abused verbally and dropped by people once known as friends, there were even threats of doxxing, which as you can imagine, did not aid my already shattered mental state.  Despite no real evidence, and scraps the radical Stans tried to use against me being debunked quite quickly thanks to my depressed butt never going anywhere or doing anything other than posting online, people turned, a lot of people turned and treated me as though I was guilty, some even demanding I block them because of how disgusting/troublesome I was, despite everything my harassers had being proven as bullshit and obvious lies, their side was taken, users excused their behavior as simply “protecting other tumblr accounts”, doing the fandom a favor and stomping out trouble makers, defending those who couldn’t defend themselves.  As you can understand, that event caused me lots of issues with trust and posting online, some I’m not over today, and even making this post scares me despite best efforts to laugh off everything with dark humor and a smug attitude.  When I was accused, few took my side, those few I’m still thankful for today and cherish because it showed me who my friends were.  But despite being innocent, I was treated as guilty.  And on TikTok, those guilty are being treated as innocent, defended, supported while the sufferers of their abuse are attacked, mocked, treated like the criminal despite having evidence to back up their claims.  Seeing that just hits a sore spot and so, I wanted to make this post.  The internet isn’t fair, but speak up anyway, demand to be listened to and don’t let those who’ve hurt you get away with it, you’re loved, you’re special, you’re wanted, you’re going to be okay, and if someone doesn’t believe you, keep shouting, keep making noise, keep believing yourself.  Get your justice. Nobody should go unheard. 

[thebestplltheories]

PLL The Perfectionists - 1x01 Pilot LIVE REACTION

WE ARE BACK!!!!

Ok I’m gonna do what I was doing for PLL where I react as I watch. But before I copy and paste the live reaction, I want to give my quick overview. That was by far a 10/10. That achieved everything a pilot should achieve. It introduced us to the characters, each of their stories, and the relationships each character has with one another. It set the overall tone, that this is a murder mystery with twists and turns to come. It established what the show is about. And it had occasional small shocks (I say small because there’s only so much that can be shocking in a pilot when everything is brand new). This was exponentially darker than the PLL pilot and for that I’m so grateful. We are cutting the high school airy-fairy (is that word used outside of Australia?) drama and going straight to scandals and a murder. I’m scared to see the ratings tomorrow because I want it to do well but hey it was trending worldwide on Twitter so that’s a good sign!? The show looks SO promising. I think I’m already in love with the cast. I just want to know more about everything and everyone and omg we are back!

LIVE THOUGHTS:

Love this intro! It sets the scene very well about the whole theme of perfectionism.

WAIT IS DYLAN PLAYING POKERFACE BY LADY GAGA HAHAHAHAHA

Okay sorry but that song ain’t it (“two can keep a secret if one of them is dead”). Why does it sound like an auto tuned choir? I’m happy for change. I actually don’t want the exact same version as the original series. But this one ain’t it. Is it too late to change it???

Wait, why is Alison walking around her new apartment like she’s walking around Jenna’s school for the blind in 710? If she lived 2 years of happiness and freedom of A, there’s no need to be so sceptical of danger every time you walk into a room. Anyway, doesn’t really matter.

Just the backing music throughout the scene is very PLL-esque! Yes, there is such thing as PLL backing music. And this is it.

Mona making a grand entrance!

I feel like Ali’s reaction to seeing Mona was a bit... underwhelming? If they haven’t seen each other in 2 years I expected a bit more of an “OMG”, and a “how did you get in my apartment”, etc. But they go straight to the point and cut the fluff so I don’t mind overall.

Mona recruited Ali. I knew it. And she works at BHU, we already knew that.

Emison is having trust issues. But she wants to do this for the kids. Ok I expected more detail there to satisfy the Emison shippers but whatever, I won’t cry at night.

Ok so Mary and Alex escaped Mona’s “dungeon”. That’s fine by me. Maybe that’ll be the storyline for a PLL movie later, who knows. It’s quite a vague answer but what did we expect... Mona to ADMIT to Ali that she captured her aunt? No. Mona could never explicitly say to Ali what she did. Hence the subtle pause before “... escaped me”. Only us the audience know the true meaning of that and I love how subtle yet meaningful it is.

Why do I feel like this security system is gonna play a massive toll throughout the entire series?

Loved the little Easter egg of seeing Mona, and Mona in the mirror (2 Mona’s). A subtle symbol/reference to her split personality in PLL.

I LOVED the scene of Ali teaching in the classroom! I got How To Get Away With Murder vibes...

Remember when we all thought Taylor’s death would be the main death of the show because of that memorial with her name on it... lol. Okay I’m calling it now... come back to this in the apparently mind blowing season 1 finale... Taylor isn’t really dead WE HAVENT TECHNICALLY SEEN A BODY

Love the complicated friendships going on between Dylan, Nolan, Ava, Caitlin! There’s a lot going on about faking being friends and faking tasks to uphold the image of being perfect. I love this theme and I feel like it’s super relevant to today’s world. Like especially social media. Everyone’s instagrams are always filled of their highs. And they’re mostly edited. No one ever posts/shares their low moments.

So no one knows of Ali’s past. Hmmm. We’ve had this discussion before, I don’t think it’s realistic that no one knows the name Alison DiLaurentis - surely that was on national news when “dead girl isn’t dead anymore” made headlines. But anyway. If they wanna pretend no one watches the news, it wouldn’t be the most unrealistic thing PLL has done.

Is Dylan the gay male character Marlene said she was going to introduce in PLL season 5B? Lmao about time.

WOW that flashback of Caitlin and Nolan just gave me PLL season 1 Alison flashback vibes! Nolan plays the bad manipulative guy so well just like Ali played the bully so well in flashbacks!

Two moms don’t make a right hahahaha who wrote that

Sofia looks FLAWLESS in the pool scene OH MY GODDD. AND her voice is so soothing what the hell

Love how the first scene of Nolan’s mother shows her standing on top of the staircase and the camera panning up. Great directing there. Showing she’ll be like a supreme leader. And then the camera being over her shoulders looking down on Nolan. Again great camera work which conveys the message that she is the boss of this town. I think she’ll be our new Jessica DiLaurentis lol

“I’d like some time for myself” ... “to do what?” OUCH why is that so iconic

Eli is... doing great. He comes across very confident. A star in the making?

Love the cinematography period. And Portland is beautiful!! Better than the Warner Bros lot.

Omg Nolan’s mother gathering “attractive” people for her photo op. Lol, they really are big on presenting a perfect image.

“You saw somebody else” NO CAITLIN, ALISON SAW YOU wow these kids will adamantly lie to uphold perfectionism. I keep saying that but I just love this theme!!!

“I know a little bit about manipulation” hahahahaha Ali

Omg Ali is so good at learning their lies. Of course she is, she’s had years of practice

The woods, Nolan? Nothing good ever happens in the woods.

Lol when Nolan tells Dylan to “kiss me” and Dylan actually contemplates it (and does it). That’s the type of power Nolan has over people.

I love how Ali is trying to help them! I can see a bond eventually forming here.

This scene where Nolan cheats on Ava isn’t shocking since they unfortunately shared it in the promos but hey a douche is a douche.

WHAT THE FUCKITY FUCKING FUCK IT’S TAYLOR WHAT DID I JUST SAY ABOVE

OK I KNOW I GUESSED ALEX DRAKE BUT THIS IS A NEW RECORD FOR FASTEST THEORY TO COME TRUE

Well it wasn’t really a theory I was just joking that she’s not really dead because we didn’t see a body but still do I get a point? Lmao

Nonetheless that shocked me! I love that they’re trying to take down their own family, that’s so dark and it’s only episode 1!

Yes Alison is already getting suspicious. Solve this one please Ali

Sorry I put my phone down during that scene in the woods. I just knew it would be juicy and I wanted to immerse in it properly. I frickin adore this scene. It’s creepy in tone, set in the woods like classic PLL, they’re referring to Ali like a friend and my PLL heart is content, and this is the first time they’re all bonding over one thing: wanting Nolan dead. This is probably my favourite scene in the whole episode.

So I’m guessing the vibes are that they were being recorded in the woods about how they want Nolan to be killed? But didn’t Nolan turn off the security?

Mona gets in her car and chucks a big bag in the back seat. Where was she and what was in the baggggg

Ok that was a bit dramatic Ali (“why am I really here”)

Lol I had to rewatch that for a sec. I thought Ali said “and his dead sister who I just saw pick him up” and I was like wait what Ali knows Taylor’s alive??? No, “dead sister who I just saw a picture of”.

OH MY GOD WHAT A MISSED OPPORTUNITY!!!! THAT SCENE WHERE THE 3 OF THEM ARE WALKING AWAY FROM EACH OTHER... NOLAN’S BODY SHOULD’VE FALLEN TO THE GROUND IN THE MIDDLE OF THEM RIGHT THERE! That would’ve been iconic. Like “oh well we were just kidding about all that, good night xx” then nope bam dead body. But I guess he had to die with poles through his chest as Caitlin said.

Oh Marlene. That’s a LOT of dialogue for a death scene. I hope you can back up and explain what Nolan is talking about before he died. Don’t you dare tell me that was an interpretative dream. Again that’s a lot of dialogue for a death scene. You better know who that killer is Marlene! Don’t make it up the day you write the finale!

I don’t like how we didn’t see Nolan ACTUALLY be killed. They play it safe because they don’t want to show us the killer in action. they basically copied the format of Mona’s “death”. Just change the scene to a flashing ambulance with a lame transition lol.

Another missed opportunity. Mona should’ve said to Ali “they found a body”! That would’ve been iconic in every way possible. First it was Ali’s body now Ali is finding a body and hearing the news and ugh oh well

My god that’s a violent death. And pretty early in the series for a Noel-Khan-level death. Too bad the photos leaked online and we knew that Nolan would not only die, but die like THAT. Those extras/fillers on set really should get charged for having their phones on them and leaking shit. Isn’t there copyright laws or something???? idk

Ummmmmm what? What kind of sci-fi, dollhouse level bullshit is that? That’s kinda over the top. Ehhhh. We’ll see where that goes.

My brain right now instantly got to thinking if Nolan’s murderer will be the “A” of the series or if the killer will just be the main mystery for season 1? Is “who killed Nolan” going to be the overarching story of the entire show or will they answer that sooner rather than later and then start a new mystery? I wonder what the format of this show will be. That’s where my mind is right now as the credits play.

[spartan-officer-brasidas]

Here we go again

I know, I know. I may have said a bit too much about Theseus being the subject of the next DLC chapter, but hear me out on this, it works. A little too perfectly imo. Fair warning, this is going to get a little heavy in mythology as well as some of the story details of the first DLC chapter. This is also purely my thoughts, this is hardly speculation on what they could do with the next two DLC chapters, though I do think Theseus could be a part of the Torment of Hades chapter.

Essentially, the Eagle-Bearer is playing the role of Herakles, minus the “Hera hates me and cursed me with fits of rage and destructive behaviors” part. Let’s start from the beginning, the Fields of Elysium. The myth in question is sort of a toss up between the Rape of Persephone and the first myth of Adonis, which is more prominent. The only part of this story you need to remember for my point is that Aphrodite loved Adonis and it was reciprocated. He wanted to return to her, which is an actual part of the myth as well. Now, let’s get back to my idea that Kassandra/Alexios is playing Herakles. I have mentioned before that the misthios fits my idea of a Greek hero and after consideration, the family situation isn’t exactly unlike Herakles’, but that’s not the point. The part of Herakles story I want to focus on here is his final labor, capturing Cerberus and thus, his journey to the Underworld. Herakles plays no real role in the myth of Adonis, but that’s not an issue, because I’m drawing this connection through Persephone and her role in the story. In the DLC, Kassandra/Alexios is trying to get to Hades and getting there as a living mortal requires knowledge that Persephone has, so naturally, they are going to go through the Queen of the Underworld first. Herakles faces a similar issue in this trek to the Underworld, so he took part in the Eleusinian Mysteries, and while WE don’t really know what went on during them, Herakles is said to have learned how Persephone passes from the land of the living to the land of the dead without actually dying. The point I’m making here is that both the hero and Herakles use Persephone in one way or another to get to Hades. Just as reminder, keep Adonis/Aphrodite in mind as I move onto the Torment of Hades chapter.

You might hate me for saying this yet again, but my thoughts revolve around the inclusion of Theseus. Before I jump into it, I need to be completely clear on two things. 1. Greek myths are just myths. They are up to personal interpretation, and that’s that. I believe that the Trojans were in the right, but you may believe the Achaeans were the correct side. I think Theseus did some heroic things, but I wouldn’t consider him a ‘hero’ — you may disagree. That’s all fine. My interpretation is purely my own and it’s based off my knowledge of the stories, just as yours comes from your knowledge, and however you want to interpret these myths is up to you. 2. Aside from the fact that these myths would’ve taken place during the Bronze Age, the timeline is messy at best and you’re just going to have to bear with me. This one isn’t too important, since we’re dealing in mythology and a video game where the Isu exist, but I still want to make that clear. Now that that is out of the way, time to get into the juicy details. 

Basically, I believe the hero could encounter Theseus in the Underworld, and I’ve already explained this so I won’t get into the details there. What I will discuss is the logic behind it, beginning with the DLC trailer. In the trailer, Hades mentions that “the Underworld is filled with kings, heroes, legends...all lost,” which sort of implies that the hero will be encountering several heroes, and Theseus might be at the top of the list. Theseus is truly the haphazard hero, as my professor once said, and he is, by many definitions “lost.” Hades also states that “you could give them a purpose,” and that is definitely something Theseus needs, considering he got himself into a fair amount of trouble because of his reckless nature and boredom (kidnapping of Helen of Sparta and attempted kidnapping of Persephone, and his attack on the Amazons). Anyway, I’d like to believe Kassandra will “save” Theseus from his imprisonment and interact with others heroes, giving them purpose in their lack thereof. From here, I can see a couple routes for the Judgement of Atlantis. The most efficient route is less based on mythology and more based on the Minoans and the tragic eruption of Thera. I will talk about that after I talk about the more fun route, however.

The path I’d personally like to see takes us back to that piece of information I wanted you to remember with Adonis/Aphrodite AND Theseus’ poor decisions. I’d love to see Helen and Paris (who does have a connection to both Poseidon and Herakles!!!), but just note, this is really more wistful thinking than a  legitimate option. Basically, from Theseus, the hero is sent to Achilles who is completely unhappy in the Underworld (based off the Odyssey, I believe, but don’t quote me on that), and is tasked with dealing with some issue akin to the Trojan War drama. I don’t want to go too far on this because it’s complex, but if you’ve made it this far and want more on this random idea, lmk. I’m happy to fill you in. Now let’s talk about the actual, legitimate idea involving the Minoans and their untimely demise. This route is a lovely wrap up, I believe, because it’s very closely related to the story of Atlantis, and as much as I hate to admit it, it’s fairly likely that the Minoans and their great civilization was the basis for Plato’s Atlantis in his writings. Anyway, should this be the subject of the Judgement of Atlantis, we’ll likely see Hephaestus and Poseidon due to their associations with volcanoes and earthquakes/tsunami respectively, and we may even met the other Gods of the Greek Pantheon in their judgement of this advanced civilization that maybe got a little too advanced? We could even see Deucalion, Minos, or even Ariadne (that connection to Theseus would be nice~) and their struggle against the destruction of their home or the fate of Atlantis, pun intended. 

That’s all I’ll say for now because I’m tired, but if you are interested in a more in depth approach to the individual ideas, I’m happy to share. Sorry this got so long, I tend to ramble when it comes to this stuff and I don’t know how to be concise apparently. I’m practically always thinking about this stuff so it’s always changing and getting more complex, and this is all just ideas. I have no true evidence and I, in no way, claim that this will happen. I just hope they do this. 

[iimaginekpop]

okay so how do I meet this sweet teddy bear? you may ask

well let me explain this very simple thing to you

literally anywhere

could be out on a run or in a gym (if you know you are the active type)

could be you just happened to be hanging out in a park

or at the beach

maybe not the library

but just about anywhere else

but for the sake of this thing, let’s say you meet at the grocery store

you are walking around trying to avoid the sweets section because YOU ALREADY HAVE THE HOUSE FILLED OKAY

so you are just there checking out the ramyun because it is a cheap and delicious and does not require a lot of time to be made

and shownu is making his way towards the ramyun to add some to Wonhos already huge stack

enjoying his time away from the children

(he loves them okay!… he totally begged Kihyun to let him do the grocery instead…)

BACK TO THE POINT

he just stops dead in his track

because holy shit is he watching an angel right now?

he might be… could be a demon too nobody knows

he slowly makes his way towards the ramyun, trying not to make any eye contact with you

well his plan failed

you two just happened to reach out for the same pack

*cue K-drama music*

he lets go for you to take it instead, not breaking any eye contact with you

okay but he would not be able to ask for your number

so here is your chance to make a move first, because otherwise, you will never be able to see the cute stranger again

so you do and the both of you walk away after exchanging numbers

(OKAY, so I don’t remember if they have their phones yet? so for the sake of this, let’s just say he does okay)

NOW FINALLY TO THE JUICY STUFF

dating Shownu would make you feel like you’re a princess because he will not waste a moment spoiling you

not necessarily like buying you something all the time (because that can actually end up being annoying, especially since this is only the start of the relationship)

but more like he always makes sure that you’re okay and feeling alright

your first kiss will happen about 2 weeks - 1 month into the relationship

but this is because he just wants to get to know you first and make sure you both really are into each other

and spoiler alert

you are

so he takes you out for a date… but yeah he’s an idol which means it has to be late and all secretly

but that’s okay

and like the gentleman that he is, he would take you home afterward

yes this is the moment

your first kiss

omg you cuties, it is all shy and adorbs

so now the relationship really takes off

you two text, call and face times a lot because he really likes to hear about your day (liar, he just likes talking to you/ hearing you talk)

when he introduces you to the members he tells them all to behave

spoiler alert

none of them behave

but they are a bunch of energetic sweeties so that is okay

you care for them all the time

all of sudden you have 5 new kids and an ex-wife glad to have some of the burden off him

Shownu likes seeing you interacting with the kids

he gets this family vibe

but boy calm down, you haven’t even told them you like them yet

…

oh yeah about that

he went all out for it

got the kids to help him set something romantic up at the dorm

and then kicked them all out

(honestly, they all left wanting to give their dad and stepmom some romantic time to themselves)

Wonho may or may not have left some condoms

if you ask he will deny it though

but yeah after you are done with the romantic candlelit dinner prepared by your boyfriend’s ex-wife

he just takes your hands in his and looks into your eyes

thank god the lights are dimmed

because his cheeks are burning up

but then he tells you he loves you

and you tell him back

and his heart is just beating so fast holy damn

again

you cuties

let’s be real shownu would be such a good boyfriend

and gives the best hugs, cuddles, and kisses

he trusts you so much, which means he only get jealous if there really is a reason to be jealous

but that also means you have to put the same amount of trust into him

he relies on you a lot because as the leader he probably has a lot of feelings he can’t really talk to a lot of people about

you know all of his worries

you also know the exact way to cheer him up

you are already acting like a married couple only like 6 months into the relationship

the honeymoon face never ending