#Hannahs kind of a big deal

[pettyexpo]

(via Hannah's Kind of a Big Deal Preview 8-2 by Pettyexpo on DeviantArt)

[secondbeatsongs]

with twitter imploding, people are talking about how much it'll suck to have celebrities and brands on here, but...I think celebrities can exist on tumblr in a healthy way.

because I've already seen it happen.

I don't know if you guys remember, but there used to be a decent number of celebrities on here! I mean, the white house had an official tumblr! so did my local library for some reason! everyone thought tumblr was the place to be!

we had George Takei, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Hayley Williams, Ariana Grande, Dylan Marron, Dante Basco, Rebecca Sugar, John Green, Hannah Hart, Jacksfilms, Daniel Howell, and Ashens to name a few, as well as brand accounts for Doctor Who, Sherlock, Denny's, and so many others.

(Cole Sprouse was even on here, and it was fine. don't act like it wasn't. it was really not a big deal! it was fine!)

there were plenty of celebrities and brands on tumblr a decade ago - and it worked fine when people knew to stay in their lane!

did Obama's official account give a shit when people posted Obamney slash? absolutely not!

did we pay attention to whatever the brand accounts were posting? we did not!

and so we existed pretty well together on this site - because, after all, we don't have to look at anything we don't want to. we can block people. and they can block us. and we can keep posting what we want, no matter what any celebs or brands have to say about it, just like it's always been.

the only thing I think needs to change is, well...hey...remember how I mentioned John Green and Rebecca Sugar up there?

yeah the reason we don't see them on here anymore isn't because tumblr isn't a place they'd thrive - it's because a bunch of assholes harassed them until they left.

and that's not fucking okay.

so look, if you see celebs/brands on here, follow them, or don't! block them and ignore them, or don't!

but if you send threats and harassment to anyone on here, whether it be a celebrity, brand, or average tumblr user, you are the asshole. full stop. sending threats to other people is never okay. never.

and yes, this goes for the corporate accounts too! those are still run by people!

it's somebody's job to run those accounts, and guess what! that poor, probably-underpaid person doesn't deserve to get sent gore and death threats because their job is running a corporate tumblr account!

just, whatever happens when twitter explodes and dies a horrible death, it's gonna be okay. but please be kind. above everything else, please, I am fucking begging you, be kind.

it's really the most important part of thriving here

[butchhamlet]

are there any shakespeare retellings you recommend? i really enjoy retellings but it's also difficult to find ones that like. actually understand the source material... i've read your novella duodecimal and really liked it btw! excellent take on twelfth night :-)

THANK YOU SO MUCH WAH... yes, i can recommend some retellings! i keep intending to make a big post with my recs, actually, but there are so many out there that i haven't read yet... so for now here's an incomplete list:

a thousand acres by jane smiley: the first one that came to my mind seeing this ask. it's a retelling of lear set on an american farmstead, and the adaptation is done beautifully and smoothly--it's just distinct enough from OG Lear that you can judge it as a book on its own but also as a lear retelling. and it's sooooo good. it starts a little slow, but the character work is so excellent and it almost made me cry (i will note that there's a pretty hefty cw on this one but... saying what it is is technically spoilers? but feel free to send another ask or message if you want to know up-front)

the last true poets of the sea by julia drake: books that made me have to turn my camera off in zoom class so i could bawl properly. books written for me specifically. this is a loose YA retelling of twelfth night (looser than some of the other retellings on this list) and it's like. perfect. the teenage dialogue actually sounds like teenagers. every emotional beat clubbed me over the head. the love triangle is present--and done really well; it's not present for drama but because sometimes being a teenager is confusing--but more than that this is a book about the relationship between violet and her sibling, and about mental health, and god it makes me CRAZY. also girls kiss in this one

rosencrantz and guildenstern are dead by tom stoppard: i mean. i think most people into shakespeare know r&gad. but in case you haven't read it yet, it's an absurdist play from the point of view of rosencrantz and guildenstern and it's absolutely fucking brilliant. not sure what else to say about this; you've really just gotta read it

teenage dick by mike lew: another play, this one on the modern side--a retelling of richard iii set in a high school, focusing explicitly on disability issues. kind of more a reimagining than a retelling, honestly, but i really like the exploration of r3's themes and also it's fucking hysterical. although i will say there's a kind of jarring tonal shift in this one near the end, so don't go to it for something 100% comedic

american moor by keith hamilton cobb: okay this isn't exactly a retelling but if you've ever read othello you have to read it. you just have to. please god if you've ever read a shakespeare PLEASE. it's a monologue from the perspective of a black man trying out for the role of othello, half-resigned to being pigeonholed into playing that specific role in a very specific way as directed by a white director, but also half-chafing against that resignation, and also exploring the complexities of loving shakespeare as a black man, and it's soooooo so good

exit, pursued by a bear by e.k. johnston: this one is kind of cheating because it's not really a retelling, in that it has next to nothing to do with the winter's tale except that there is a hermione character and a leontes character and a paulina character. i still think it's a very very well-done YA book, though, and one of the only ones i've read that deals head-on with abortion

foul is fair by hannah capin: okay, i will admit i read this one some years ago when i was more into YA, so i'm not sure i would still go crazy over it now, but the plot of this book is that the modern lady macbeth character gets assaulted by a guy at a party and decides to kill everyone who let that happen. and then she does. and idk i read it in two days it felt like being on crack

the wednesday wars by gary schmidt: this one is DEFINITELY cheating, because this isn't a retelling of anything. but if you like shakespeare and you're open to reading historical fiction about a kid in the 60s using shakespeare as a lens through which to understand the chaos of his life (from the vietnam war to his school crush)... it's so good. it made me nearly sob. beautiful book

i'm also a fan of ryan north's shakespeare choose-your-own-adventure books, but those aren't exactly retellings and also the humor will probably not work for everyone. but i like em <3

and finally, i would be remiss not to shout out the fact that @suits-of-woe wrote an INCREDIBLE retelling of the two gentlemen of verona that, like, redeemed the fact that that play exists. if you've read that play and you thought, "wow, i wish this were explicitly homoerotic, or not a rape apologia, or good in any way," you will LOVE macy's book. unfortunately it isn't fucking published yet but WITH YOUR HELP--

[nhl-stories]

midnight love – Anthony Beauvillier

Summary: Hannah was ready to accept her fate as second choice, but a newcomer just entered the picture

Author’s Note: Oh my god I've been working through this for so long and then bam that trade happens. And changed how I was going to end this so I'm a bit distraught.

Word Count: 3.9k

Album Series Masterlist

I can't be your midnight love When your silver is my gold

She wishes she had enough of a backbone to disappoint people, if only in self-preservation. But no, instead Hannah is spending another night as a stand in.

It’s not like these people aren’t her friends, but there’s a hierarchy; they’re Brock’s friends and teammates first, then Cora’s friends and fellow significant others, then at the bottom of the list is Hannah.

At least it’s just a team dinner, not some event where she has to explain over and over again that no, she is not Brock’s girlfriend, just a friend. Usually throw in a joke about taking advantage of an open bar or nice dinner.

His real girlfriend is prettier and more talented, just busy with her emergency medicine residency. Hannah is just a placeholder so he doesn’t have to go somewhere alone.

Don’t worry, Brock isn’t slumming it with the plain-looking girl who works in a fish market.

He’s with Cora: head cheerleader and prom queen in high school, first in her class in college and med school, Miss British Columbia who probably would have been Miss Canada if she wasn’t too busy studying to be a fucking doctor.

Hannah’s only a little bitter.

To be fair, she did it to herself. She spent her whole life as Cora’s less-than-impressive sidekick, she should have seen it coming.

Hannah should have thought twice before introducing Cora to Brock, should have known Cora would charm him and ask him out before Hannah could even tell her how she felt about him. And then it was a year and a half of worming her way into Brock’s heart down the drain.

Brock and Cora are good match. They look like a Barbie and Ken set and then they’re personable and kind on top of it.

Still, Brock can’t seem to take Hannah off a pedestal. It’s a little lower than Cora’s, but a pedestal nonetheless. Maybe if she jumps off, it will put her out of her misery.

“You’re Brock’s girlfriend? The doctor?”

Hannah’s head snaps up from stabbing the cherry in her drink, to see a new face. Anthony Beauvillier, her brain supplies.

“Oh no, just a friend filling in,” she bites back her initial reaction of a barking laugh, “You’re Anthony, welcome to Vancouver.”

“Thanks, so just a friend, what’s your name?”

“Oh, right, Hannah.”

“Hannah since you’re here and not a significant other, I can assume you know all the dirt.”

Hannah blushes under his gaze. His eyes are so blue she can’t seem to keep direct eye contact. So, they keep drifting to his hair, she hadn’t realized he had such soft looking locks since she mostly had seen him on TV with a helmet.

“I guess, what do you want to know?”

She tries to be coy; she definitely knows more than most. She’s so present but so unassuming she guesses she must be easy to open up to.

“Is it really a big deal that Petey brought around a girl?”

“There hasn’t been a lot of exciting off-ice news this season. But I’ve known him for almost 4 years and I’ve barely seen him flirt with a girl, so to bring a girlfriend is kind of big deal. Although between you and me I think he’s been hung up on her for a while.”

Anthony nods.

“The only thing before this was Quinn broke up with his girlfriend from back home and then just started showing up with a new girlfriend like a month later. But Samantha has been accepted into the fold so it’s not really gossip anymore.”

“You really do know the low down.”

“I can’t give you much on-ice info, but off-ice dynamics, I’m your woman.”

He gives her a crooked smile and starts to say something, when a hand grabs her elbow a bit too tight.

“Dinner is starting, I got us seats,” Brock tugs her towards the table that’s filling up.

“Nice talking to you Anthony,” she gently pulls her arm out of Brocks grip.

“Yeah, let’s do it again sometime.”

∫∫∫

“You smell like fish,” Cora says as Hannah sits down next her in the stands.

She pulls up her collar and gives it a sniff, she doesn’t smell anything, “I changed before I came here.”

“I think it’s just embedded itself into your skin at this point.”

“You smelled like a barn when we met and I still became your friend, even though everyone said you smelled like horse butt.”

“Well, the tables have turned and now you’re the stinky friend.”

“Fuck off,” Hannah laughs and flips her friend off.

Cora reaches in her purse for a tiny spray bottle of perfume, “I got you covered my fishy friend,” she gives her a spritz.

“Did I miss anything interesting?”

“I just got here, like 10 minutes before you. Had a last-minute surgery.”

“So, we were both working with guts before we came.”

“Yeah, and hopefully after this, number six will be rearranging my guts.”

Hannah laughs, but it’s hollow. They’ve been together long enough it shouldn’t still sting, but somehow it does.

Thankfully, there’s a big hit on the ice to shift their focus.

“The new guy is pretty cute,” Cora says when play settles.

“Anthony?”

“Yeah, you met him at that dinner thing, right?”

The tone in Cora’s voice makes it clear that she knows something Hannah doesn’t. That she’s toying with her food.

“Mm-hmm, he seems nice.”

“Brock said he was flirting with you. He was all worked up about it too, like ‘this new guy comes in and just charms the first girl he sees, what if Hannah was my girlfriend?’”

Hannah forces herself to focus on the puck traveling down the ice. She can’t look at Cora, let her see something she might jump on

The puck is blown dead, icing, and Hannah tries to keep her face blank when she turns, “He was just trying to meet the group and be friendly.”

“That’s what I tried to tell him. Why would he be trying to flirt with you?”

Hannah bites her tongue, she knows Cora means why would he be flirting with someone at a team dinner, when most women there would be taken. It doesn’t mean it’s any less hurtful. Like Cora isn’t digging her finger into the soft flesh of her biggest insecurities. 

“Brock’s just protective of what’s his,” Cora adds like that’s not another sharp jab.

A wave of nausea rolls over Hannah.

The boys win by one in a mostly winless season, which is good reason to go out and celebrate. Hannah is wrangled into one of Cora’s dresses, and doused in her perfume, and dragged to a club.

One out of three of those things is Hannah’s choice.

“You smell nice,” Brock leans over to whisper in her ear, reaching across her body to steal a gulp from her drink.

Her body involuntarily flushes, like it always does when Brock casually invades her space. So completely unaware of the effect he has on her.

“I smell like your girlfriend,” she hates the way her voice wavers.

“Where is she anyway?” He stares out into the crowd, arm casually thrown over Hannah’s shoulder.

“Dancing with some of the girlfriends,” she waves in the direction the group went.

“Not like you to not join in,” he gives her a smile that used to be reserved for her only.

“It’s been a long day,” she shrugs, “which reminds me, Cora said certain things that mean if I want a good night’s sleep, bring her back to your place.”

“So, I’m scoring off the ice too?”

Hannah gags, “second star on and off the ice.”

Brock laughs and gives her gentle shove.

“I’m gonna get a drink, need a refill?”

Hannah gives him a thumbs up.

She watches him walk towards the bar and Cora appear out of thin air to wrap herself around him. Hannah knows she’ll be waiting on that drink forever.

“Looked like you could use a refill,” a solid wall of warmth slides up next to her, a drink placed in front of her.

She should have been expecting it to be Anthony, but she’s surprised. A warm feeling rolling over her thinking about how Brock thought he was flirting.

“Thanks, Brock’s useless,” she holds up the glass in cheers and takes a sip.

Over the rim of the glass, she catches two blondes sucking face, having their foreplay in front of everyone.

“Do you want to get out of here?” She blurts without thinking of the implication, maybe not caring.

Anthony gapes at her forwardness before Hannah’s brain catches up, “Like to a quieter bar?”

“Sure.”

Hannah takes him to a dive bar, where they drink crappy beer in tall boys and play darts. She’s too dressed up for the location but it doesn’t matter, they only have eyes for each other.

“You worked on a crabbing boat?” Anthony asks incredulously.

The alcohol is already having her run hot, but the focus from Anthony- or Tito or Beau as he said people call him- feels like a direct sunray. She’s the listener not the talker. Yet, there’s something disarming about Anthony, makes her walls fall away, makes her want to talk as much as she listens.

“Yeah, it was a quick way to make a lot of money in a few months, and it was exciting. There aren’t a lot of crabs the past few years so I haven’t had a chance to go back. And I’m not very smart so I have limited options.”

“You’re talking to a hockey player, I’m also not very smart and have limited options.”

“That’s probably explains why Brock and I became such good friends, although he did go to some college,” she grins and throws her last dart.

Anthony doesn’t make a move to start his turn, “so you and Brock were never–“ he cuts himself off with a throw.

“More than friends?” Hannah supplies.

“Yeah,” Anthony visibly tinges pink even in the darkened bar.

Hannah can’t quite vocalize her answer, worried the timbre of her voice will give away all the thoughts and feelings she’s been hiding. She shakes her head instead.

“If Brock was being weird, I think he was just vetting you. As a teammate and if you were worth my affections or something. Not that you were actually flirting with me.”

“I was,” Anthony looks her straight on, no doubt on his face or in his voice.

Something snaps inside Hannah, bursting red-hot in her veins. She’s not going to sit back and wait this time; she’s going to lean into what she’s feeling and grab it tight.

She drags Anthony towards to the back of the bar, pushing him into the bathroom and pushing him against the door once inside. She feels a little depraved, but she drives through the feeling and kisses Anthony.

He’s quick to kiss back, tongue slipping past her lips, gentling her erratic movements. He grabs her hips gently, but firm. He’s a wave of cold water crashing into her molten lava body. Nature in symbiosis.

“I don’t normally do this,” she says between kisses.

He moves his hands up to her waist, he doesn’t stop kissing her, just moves down her jaw closer to her ear, “and this is what you want?”

He sinks in his teeth into the hinge of her jaw, she gasps.

“I want–“ her voice is shaky.

She doesn’t know how to say it or ask for it. She just wants the light of his attention, on her, his whole-hearted focus directed at only her, like no one else exists.

“Cause I want more than a bathroom hookup, but I’ll take what I can get,” she can feel his smile against her skin.

There’s a bang on the door then someone yells, “You don’t have to go, but you can’t stay here!”

It’s like being dunked in the ice-cold Pacific.

She gives him one more peck, “Another time?”

∫∫∫

They find themselves in another bathroom, this time in Demko’s house while the team has a party. Hannah on the counter and Anthony in a vice grip between her knees.

“Sorry, couldn’t wait until after the party.”

Hannah can’t hold back her smile. Hasn’t been for almost two weeks now. They hadn’t seen each other again, but had been texting. If Cora asks, she says it’s Brock being stupid. If Brock asks, she says it’s Cora being dramatic.

“I like it,” digging her fingers into his hair, it’s as soft as it looks.

 “But we can’t take too long,” she adds, though she doesn’t kiss like someone with an exit plan.

“I’ll take my time tonight,” he whispers against her lips.

Voices drift closer to the door when they finally decide to peel apart. Hannah fixes where she mussed his hair as best she can, before peeking to see if the coast is clear.

She makes her way through the kitchen to casually grab a drink and slides up next to Cora and her conversation with the other better halves.

She’s trying to ease herself into the conversation but her mind is elsewhere. In the future and whatever tonight is going to be and in the present glancing over to see Anthony trying to do the same.

Cora elbows her before leaning in, “Classic hot mess Hannah.”

“What?”

“Your very dumb, signature move,” Cora grins, “you forgot to wipe your lipstick off his mouth before you reintegrated back into society.”

Hannah tries to casually glance back at Anthony, he looks towards her at the same time and grins. His lips a shade too pink to be natural. Hannah mimes wiping her lips with the back of her hand, hoping he’ll get the message.

“You dirty girl, I’d recognize that nude berry on any boy’s lips, which honestly let me find you a new color, you’ve been using that for like a decade now.”

Hannah tries to smile through her worry, but Cora knows her well enough to see through it.

“I’m very proud of you for getting him while the getting’s hot, but if you’re worried about me telling Brocky babe or something, don’t worry, secret’s safe with me,” she zips her lips and throws the key over her shoulder.

The giddy nerves in her stomach start fighting the anxious nerves in her stomach.

A heavy arm drapes over Hannah’s shoulder, “There you are, Cora said she saw you but I couldn’t find you anywhere.”

That’s the thing, Hannah trusts Cora to keep a secret, she doesn’t quite trust herself.

“Almost feels like you’ve been hiding from me,” Brock laughs at the thought.

Cora joins in and gives Hannah a desperate look to join in as well, Hannah can feel her own laugh is too erratic, but Brock doesn’t seem phased.

“Babe, she’s allowed to have her own life, she’s not just our personal third wheel,” Cora pulls him into her own side.

“Technically Cora, you’re the third wheel to our friendship,” he grins and gives her a peck.

Hannah feels nauseous.

“Oh honey, you’re the third wheel to Hannah and I’s friendship, it’s been around the longest.”

They’re not even acting like Hannah is involved in this conversation, she takes the opportunity to duck out. She grabs another a drink and goes out to the unused balcony. It’s still too cold to hang out there at night, the air is the kind of wet-cold that you can feel in every breath.

“How long have you been in love with Brock?”

Hannah jumps at his voice, barely managing to keep a hold on her bottle of beer.

“I’m not really in love with him anymore,” there’s no use in lying if she’s that transparent.

“Is that why this all secretive?”

Anthony’s eyes are so big, endless blue that Hannah isn’t sure how to read. She wants to learn.

She has reasons lined up: she doesn’t want to effect team chemistry, doesn’t want to ruin her friendships if this goes south, doesn’t want to fall in love with another hockey player.

But all those reasons are logical and rational. And this is emotional in a way she’s not sure she can find room for in her body.

“It’s nice to have something that’s just mine,” she furrows her brow, feels like it’s not quite what she means.

“I’m not the smartest or the prettiest or the most anything, I’m just Hannah. But you act like that’s enough. I’m not just a consolation prize or silver you’re settling for because you can’t have gold.”

Anthony doesn’t say anything for a long time, Hannah feels like maybe they froze outside.

Then he takes a step forward, cupping her face with hands so warm they burn her cheeks. He kisses her slowly; Hannah doesn’t think anyone has ever kissed her like this. Like she’s something precious, worth savoring.

He pulls away and smirks, “I’ve kind of been wishing for silver my whole life.”

“Jesus Christ, is that a Stanley Cup joke?” her smile grows so big it swallows her face.

“Like I’ve said I’m not that smart or that clever either.”

Hannah just has to kiss that stupid smile off his face, not caring who can see them through the windows.

∫∫∫

Brock is pissed.

He acts like everyone doesn’t know what it’s about. Like they don’t notice the glares he sends Beau when he walks into the locker room or how his knuckles go white around a beer bottle when he sees Hannah dance with Anthony at club.

They all let him sulk for a week, without saying anything.

Teammates start to chirp him when it lasts longer.

It comes to a head when Brock goes to a team event alone and brings his mood home to Cora.

“You’re not even his ex or something,” Cora is pretending to be the slowest customer of all time at the fish counter while she complains.

Hannah sort of wishes it was a rush so she could usher her friend away, she’s so over dealing with Brock. The jealousy that she would have killed for a few months ago is starting to become overkill and Hannah kind find it in her to be bothered.

It’s funny that the first time she’s all Brock can think about, is also the first time she doesn’t give a shit about it.

“He’s never had to share you with someone else and now I’m like invisible or something.”

That make Hannah pause.

In all the years she’s known Cora she’s the never been self-conscious, never had a reason to be.

She has to bite back the spiteful smile, it’s nice to be reminded that Cora is a mere mortal too.

“I’ll talk to him, can’t have you feeling lesser than me.”

Cora scoffs, “Hey, don’t talk about my best friend like that.”

Hannah rolls her eyes.

“I’m serious bitch, I don’t know why it took so long for it to get through your head, but I’m glad someone finally makes you feel on top of the world.”

The next night Hannah and Anthony are at Brock’s door.

He opens the door and almost shuts it in their face, but Hannah catches the door with her foot and shoves Anthony through the door.

“It’s an ambush babe,” Cora squeezes Brock shoulders, trying to make him unclench an iota.

“I come bearing the traditional British Columbian peace offering, a fillet of fish,” she nobly holds out the wrapped package in her arms.

Brock almost cracks smile.

“Brocky babe, why don’t you help her prep the fish and I will fix Beau here a drink.”

Hannah drags him into the kitchen before he can argue or pout.

She doesn’t really need prep; she knows her way around the kitchen already and the recipe like the back of her hand.

She pulls out a knife and points it at Brock.

“I’ll let you be upset for the time it takes me to cook this fish, and then you’re going to snap out of it.”

She gets to work, “You love Cora, you love that she loves hiking and boating and your dogs. You love that she’s as passionate about her job as you are. You love that she moved the fucking earth to make your dad passing as easy as possible for you.”

Brock’s face is set in stone.

“So why the fuck are you so bent out of shape about me dating someone, to the point where your perfect girlfriend is jealous of me?”

“Of all the people in the world you had to go for one of my teammates? What if something happens and I can’t even think of passing to him or it makes things weird with my teammates.” Brock snaps.

“Cause you’re doing a great job of that right now, Petey says he’s worried you’ll throw a punch soon.”

“Were you just using me until you could land the right hockey player?”

“Not everything I do is about you Brock. Sorry I let you think that for so long.”

She throws some of the fish in the hot pan, it sizzles like her nerves.

“I’m sorry it happened this way, it’s the last thing I would purposely try to do. But can’t you tell how happy he makes me?”

She feels her tears start to fall, hot and heavy. They’ve been locked and loaded for years.

“You didn’t want me when we met all those years ago, and that hurt. And then you fell for my best friend like instantly, and that hurt worse.  You don’t want me that way, so you don’t get to be mad that someone else does.”

Brock looks like he might cry, too.

“I love being your best friend. I love your dumb jokes and you’re stupid fucking laugh. But I can find that somewhere else if you can’t accept this.”

Brock squeezes her tight, she can feel his tears on the crown of her head.

“I want what’s best for you,” he pulls away, “sorry I have a dumb way of showing it, is there any way I can make it up to you?”

“Pay my rent when you ask Cora to move in?”

Brock lets out one of his stupid fucking laughs, “maybe by next season you’ll also have a new place to live.”

Hannah shoves him away and plates the last of the fish, “the instant acceptance is appreciated, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

She goes to the dining room where the others are waiting with bated breath, pretending like they weren’t eavesdroping on the whole conversation.

“Hope you guys are ready for some tear-brined salmon for this very emotional and awkward double date.”

Anthony takes her hand when she sits down, she can’t help but kiss him. She likes the view off her pedestal.

[gentlebeardsbarngrill]

05/05/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Rhys Darby; Leslie Jones; Nathan Foad; Damien Gerard; Watch Parties; New Event Calendar; Fan Spotlight; MerMay; Mini Love Notes; Daily Darby/Today's Taika Image Edition.

= Rhys Darby =

Rhys an Rosie were out at the Bagpiper's Ball last night and we got a couple crumbs as a result!

Source: HMiller's Instagram

== Leslie Jones ==

Leslie Jones was wrapping up at "Netflix is a Joke!" and got to hangout with some fellow comedians.

Source: @atsukocomedy's Instagram

== Nathan Foad ==

Everyone's getting to see Nathan lately!

Source: Nathan's IG

== Damien Gerard ==

Our Father Teach got a Millennium Falcon for the 4th of May! It's just really nice to see him so excited!

Source: Damian's Instagram

== Watch Party Reminders ==

Palm Royale WP May 9 via @LCWebsXOXO with the lovely @ dominicburgess approx. 4pm EDT/9pm BST/1pm PST! Available on Apple TV

Wrecked S2 WP May 6-May 10 3:30pm PT / 6:30pm ET / 11:30pm BST! If you need access feel free to dm me here at @gentlebeardsbarngrill or @aspirantabby42 on twitter.

== New SaveOFMD Event Calendar ==

== Fan Spotlight ==

= Cast Cards =

@melvisik was kind enough to include another of Ned Low's turncoat crew! Vincent--TJ Snow! (Who's mum Stede hoped was well)

= OFMD Colouring Pages =

More colouring pages from @patchworkpiratebear!

= Big Gay Energy Pod =

A new episode of Big Gay Energy Podcast is out! Watch / Listen how you prefer: Big Gay Energy Podcast Linktr.ee

Source: Big Gay Energy Podcast Instagram

== MerMay ==

= erostheartist =

The fantabulous @erostheartist is back with Day 4: Treasure Hunt! Featuring Zaddy, head on over to their blog for more MerMay Content!

= Snejpowa =

More MerMay from our sweet and talented @snejpowa! This time it's Day 5 - Lighthouse!

= blueberreads =

For Day 5: Lighthouse, our remarkable @blueberreads reminded us that they did in fact make an OFMD point and click adventure! Have you played it yet? It's pretty great, and gave me a lot of good feels on some hard days. Check it out below if you'd like! Co-captained with @eldawee 🏴‍☠️ Play here: https://dawee.itch.io/lighthouse

= Hannah's Handmade Magic =

Joining the crew spotlight section today is Hannah's Handmade Magic! They've been doing these adorable chibi-esque MerStede and Ed's over on Instagram! Feel free to check them out below and send them some love if you have IG!

Day 5: Lighthouse

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Day 4: Treasure Hunt

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Day 3: A Curse Is A Curse

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Day 2: Plunder

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== Love Notes ==

Hey Lovelies! I hope the beginning of your work week well and not dealing with too much nonsense. I'm still recovering a bit, but I saw this and thought of you all. Don't forget that sometimes our brains tell us we're not good enough, but they're lying lovelies <3 Be kind to yourself, Happy Monday <3

== Daily Darby / Today's Taika ==

So today I've decided not to go with gifs because I coudn't find one from the met gala. I figured we needed a reminder before the new Met Gala tonight of how fabulous these two look in fine clothes.

[x-liv25-jamieswife]

libby death head canons

the person who requested the xander death hcs also requested death hcs for the other characters so here is libby. id like to thank @ilyiwdtpyiwmyhmtkys for being the kindest being on the entire planet earth bc she offered to help me with some of these (avery, jameson, and nash). she's the absolute best.

avery: she would obviously be devastated. although libby wasn't really in her life when she was a kid, she stepped up when hannah died. i think, because of this, she'd feel guilty. she'd wish she'd died instead so that libby would've gotten the chance to really live. kind of similar to the jameson hcs, but she wouldn’t be able to get out of bed. the only way she'd get out of bed is if alisa or oren were to force her to (also, she knows that if libby were alive, she'd get mad if she knew she wasn't working) i also feel like she would always space out thinking about it, and then have to take a break because it makes her emotional. i mentioned this in my xander death hcs, but she would learn how to bake just so she could bring cupcakes to her grave to eat with her. to be honest, i really think she'd act similarly to my jameson death hcs so i don't have much to add. she would learn how to make her old cupcake recipes when so that when she misses her she can make them and feel closer to her.

jameson: my mutual who helped with this post hc before that he and libby actually got along really well so I also think that he would be really sad but at the same time he would be the one trying to help avery and nash get back on their feet while also dealing with his own feelings. I think that after anyone died, he would become a big overthinker. he would just spend a lot of time overthinking moments that they had together and wishing that he did or said something different at certain times. he'd also create a special cupcake flavor (with alcohol obviously) in her honor. he'd also be in a lot of pain seeing avery suffering so much. it would definitely take a toll on their relationship, but would ultimately make them stronger.

grayson: i think that, over time, grayson and libby would've become really close confidants. i think that they would bond over their abusive exs. losing libby would be like losing the only person who really gets your pain. he would feel extremely alone and isolated, and he would start internalizing his feelings again. he'd make cupcakes and eat them while talking to himself (or the sky (libby)) cause it would help him 1. feel closer to her and 2. help him process his emotions (in regards to his grief and everything that he used to talk to libby to). i also feel like he's the type of person to think that he didn't deserve to grieve bc its not like she was his sister or gf or smth (but he'd think jamie and xander's grief was valid...). he would refuse help until people confronted him about it.

xander: like i said in literally every other post, he'd try to cheer everyone up with jokes, games, gadgets, etc... i can imagine him making baking/cupcake related gadgets (he gifted avery a safe box in the shape of a cupcake where she can store all of the things that remind her of libby). he'd be the type of person, like i said in other posts, who tries to escape their grief but never can. he'd try to work in his lab, but then he'd see smth that reminds him of libby or he'd eat scones and remember all of the times she made him some. he's also the type of person to cry. sometimes silently, sometimes really ugly. the only person who would cheer him up is max cause she always manages to say smth or do smth that actually distracts him. he'd also design a kitchen (cause they add a wing to the mansion every year) deidcated to libby.

nash: are we even surprised by the fact that he would be crushed. after calling off an engagement, it would be hard to find someone new and the feeling of doing that was probably great but then having that taken away is literally terrible. he would start ignoring everyone and everything and start staying inside all the time. it would take a really long time for him to get back to how life was before (if he actually does). I also don’t think that he would date a lot after that. i actually think that he wouldn't date again. his spirit would disappear. i mentioned in my xander post that he'd try to ignore his grief by overworking himself and that would result in him throwing shit around to express his anger. i think this would apply here too. at some point, staying his room all day wouldn't help anymore so he'd go back to bartending. he'd only stop throwing shit around after accidently hurting avery or one of his brothers. he'd then realize he needs help.

max: although we don't know much about her relationship with libby, i do believe that she got to know libby through the years starting from the age of 6-7 (when i think she met avery). i hc that libby used to take them out to mcdonalds or bowling a lot when she had the chance (and could escape her abusive mom). after her death, eating mcdonalds and going bowling would literally become impossible for her (but she'd do it to feel closer to her). everything would remind her of libby. the only thing that would remotely help with her grief would be baking. it would help her feel closer to her. she'd also be mentally exhausted due to having to help avery. she wouldn't resent her or anything and is one of the first to help avery when smth's wrong, but it would take a toll on her. i don't really know what else to add for max so yeah.

i apologize for any spelling mistakes, i didn't proof read anything <3

[phantomoftheorpheum]

my favorite book to show changes in Shelter

*obviously spoilers for the first season of Shelter, as well as the trilogy, though I will be putting anything that relates to plots they may do in later possible seasons below a cut.

The Friendship Group - I really, really like the way they updated the friendship dynamics for the show. This is probably my absolute favorite change. In the books, Ema & Mickey are very much besties and the center of the story, while Spoon often feels like an addition, and Rachel doesn't have much content. While they do technically end up as a group by the end, there are very few scenes with the 4 of them and the main dynamic focused on is Mickey & Ema's.

Shira Bolitar - in the books, Mickey goes to live with his uncle Myron, and Shira doesn't exist. Myron is fine in the books (and he clearly exists in the show, even though we don't meet him), but I like the added focus on Shira (and Hannah, who also isn't a character in the books). They do give Shira some of Myron's material from the books, but she also has a lot of new stuff for the show. I guess some audiences might not think her added material is necessary, but I liked her being a more fleshed out character (I mean, Myron has his own books, which I haven't read, so he's probably very fleshed out in those, but he doesn't have much going on in these books).

Spoon - I think they nailed Spoons characterization, like he feels very much like his book counterpart (aside from a couple of repeated jokes/comments in the books that I didn't love and I'm glad that they didn't use in the show), but there's so much more of him in the show. He honestly does not have enough scenes in the books. I'm glad they recognized his potential in the show.

Dylan Shakes (spelled Shaykes in the books) - This one isn't that big of a deal, but I like that they threaded that mystery into the main plot of the show. This character has a (less fleshed out) very similar plot in the books, but it's very background and his disappearance doesn't feel that important to the town.

Ema's Romantic Arc - Whitney doesn't exist in the books. Ema has other stuff going on romantically in the books, I'll go a little more into this in the more spoilery section of the post.

One thing I think the books did better than the show is that Ashley and Mickey know each other for several weeks before she goes missing, as opposed to literally one day. While I understand that the show addresses that there's some transference going on with Mickey and his desire to save Ashley when he couldn't save his father, his fixation feels weirder in the show than in the books, where he'd gotten to know her a little bit better and they were tentatively dating.

*****spoilers for some book plots that could come into play in additional seasons of the show below!!*****

Ema & Mickey - Okay, honestly, this is a big one for me. It could be because I watched the show first and had that dynamic in my head going into the books, but I was very much not a fan of Ema & Mickey's feelings for each other in the books. While they never actually get together (unless he's going to write more?), we get confirmation that they both have feelings for each other and both know it. I don't know. This just didn't work for me. Maybe, partially, because Mickey spends a lot of the books being jealous whenever Troy & Rachel are brought up, but then will flip into being jealous about Ema liking someone else and back and forth so much. It might be realistic (since Mickey is mainly just like distracted by how hot he thinks Rachel is a lot), but it kind of taints the vibe of "Ema & Mickey are so emotionally connected and their bond is so deep" that it feels like we're supposed to believe at times. IDK. I very much prefer their friendship in the show.

Rachel - Show Rachel is so superior to the book version of Rachel. And it's not that book!Rachel is bad, it's just that she really doesn't get much time on the page, despite being central to the second book mystery, which basically revolves around her family dynamics. While her season 1 plot is pretty similar to her book 1 plot, that's about all the action we really see out of her in the books, and I think that the show did a great job increasing her presence and agency.

[theshyspy]

(𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭) 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝 - 𝐡.𝐬

summary: in which yn is heartbroken and has a panic attack and Harry comforts her

a/n: i had a really clear plan for this from the beginning. it this that plan? no because I can't stick to plans either way I think it turned out kinda good so you should probably read.

(please like and reblog and send in some feedback. it honestly helps and means so much more than you think even if its a little tag or an emoji <3)

check out my masterlist✨

You didn’t think it would be much of a problem when your best friend, Hannah,  moved in with her boyfriend and his roommate. But, of course, back then you had no plan on falling for the hot roommate, nor ending up as his girlfriend. It wouldn’t have been much of a…situation, hadn’t life pulled you in different directions and left you with a broken heart. 

  The cosy apartment had been like a second home, most of your nights spent safe in his arms as he gently played with your hair and lulled you to sleep. The softness of his voice and gentle words engraved in your memory. 

It was just so easy giving him your everything. You had never felt so safe in love - casually wearing your heart on your sleeve everyday. 

But now? You found the qhostlyness of the whole situation unbearable, always figuring that if you ever were to break up, you’d at least remain acquaintances. Never did you imagine how he’d make sure to be out whenever you visited or refuse to show up at events if you were there. 

However, today was too big of a deal for your presence to matter. Your best friends engagement was being celebrated and you swore that you’d be civil. For the first time in what felt like forever, you’d be in the same, old apartment together.  It was only a couple of hours, and part of your being was convinced you could deal with it.

  It was only seconds, but it felt like minutes as you stood hesitantly outside the apartment complex. The nerves crippled through you, almost swallowing the bittersweet excitement you’d nourished the past weeks. Two of your best friends were celebrating their engagement, and you refused to let anything ruin the festive evening.

Taking in a sharp breath, you relaxed your tensed shoulders as you pressed the doorbell. It didn't take long until Hannah's voice erupted from the tiny speaker, welcoming you as the door opened. 

Getting up the all too short flight of stairs, their front door came into view. You dried away the sweat forming in your palms before knocking, in a matter of seconds it swung open and revealed your best friend. Grinning, she ushered you inside and engulfed you in a side hug. 

“I’m so glad you’re here,” she said, letting you go as you took off and hung the small coat you brought with you. 

Smiling sympathetically, her voice softened before she continued. “But, just know you don’t need to stay, okay? Mark and I understand if it gets too hard or if you need to get out.”

Your eyes stayed glued at your coat as you offered a halfhearted smile. The gentleness in her tone tugged at your heartstrings, and having no faith in your voice, you kept quiet. 

She knew you well enough to let it be as she quickly changed the topic again. “That dress looks amazing on you by the way. I'm glad I talked you into buying it.”

Snorting, you let her wrap an arm around your shoulders and lead you into the kitchen.

You grasped that you should’ve been thankful for the kindness and loving consideration. Knowing the soft spoken proposition came from nothing but pureness. But it was useless fighting the feeling as you found the compassion rather belittling. Embarrassed you were considered in need of reassurance while he so obviously were over you. 

You’d been without him for so long, and not a day went by without you beating yourself up over how you let the memories of him keep holding in a chokehold. Why let him continue to break your heart - desperately hoping he’ll regret it - when he so clearly wouldn’t? 

Theoretically, you knew she was the last person to ever judge you or your grieving process. But the fact that he had moved on, and you still found it hard not to break down as his voice played over the radio, was nothing but embarrassing.  

  Moving into the crowd, the humid air quickly embraced your bare arms. A distinct scent of alcohol travelled through the room, and your throat itched as it hit you. Partly in need for something to cool you down and for something to ease your throbbing heart.

Dancing queen blared through the speakers, and the “small gathering” Hannah had gone on and on about turned out to be anything but small. The optimistic side of you figured it was a good thing though, seeing how it lowered your chance of running into him. 

You could just picture him, looking so effortlessly cool and completely unbothered by your presence.  His body moving in that ridiculous way he insisted was dancing, but you both knew wasn't. Just knocking the air out of your chest as he cruelly reminded you of the times you missed.

“Here.” 

Hannah’s loud voice was barely audible over the bass as she pulled you out of your thoughts. Waving a beer in front of your face, she grinned as you took it and gulped it down.

You normally wouldn’t, but you had no intentions on dealing with nerves keeping you on high alert. The night would be impossible to enjoy if you were to spend every second staring at the door, waiting for him to waltz in. 

As the effect of your second and third bottle slowly oozed in, the night passed in a blur. You hadn’t felt that relaxed for weeks as his new songs had played over and over at the radio, (making the task of shutting him out impossible). You could block him on every platform and permanently remove his number from your phone, but what good did it do when the world seemed content reminding you he was out there, and thriving.

But now the alcohol was cursing through your veins, and you enjoyed the feeling. Swinging to the music and having your mind rest on anything other than him. It was nice, really nice.

Until he graced the corners of your eyes, demanding your attention and sobering you up.  

He moved in the corner, away from the crowd with a girl by his side as they swayed to the music. Your heart dropped, every little piece of your body tensing up as you watched the scene. His hands were wrapped around her waist, the gentle grip he’d held you with a million times before. You could still feel his touch, the softness engraved in your mind. 

As much as you wanted to, it was impossible to tear away your gaze. The scene burned itself into your brain and there wasn't a doubt in your mind it would haunt you for months. 

Your breath hitched in your throat as his wild eyes met yours. With a burning sensation in your lungs you forced in a sharp breath as the room suddenly seemed too small for the both of you. 

Automatically, your hand flew to the necklace resting on your collarbones and rubbed the hard material. The simple motion grounding you as your stomach twisted in the awfully familiar way.

It almost hurt, the way your heart slammed against your chest and your pulse rang in your ears. You must’ve been quite a sight, standing wide-eyed and tense.

Yet his expression felt gentle and familiar and you couldn’t help but long for the times he calmed the unease in your chest with a similar look. 

Overwhelmed, you forced your eyes away and turned to Hannah. With a tight smile plastered on your lips, you mouthed how you needed some air as you tried to keep your cool. She must’ve been a little drunk, because she only sent you a thumbs up and grinned. You didn’t think much of it as you pushed through the flock surrounding you within a second of her response.  

A few concerned glances were sent your way, and hadn’t it been for the high-pitched ring echoing through your ears, you would’ve minded. But you were too occupied dealing with tightened airways as you shut the apartment door behind you. 

You rushed down a flight of stairs and lunged yourself down at the last step. 

The breaths escaping your lips turned hyper and ragged as you rested your elbows on top of your knees. Your fingertips numb as they continued to fidget with the necklace.

Disappointment lingered in your stomach, almost feeling embarrassed over how little control you had over your own reaction. Just seeing him pushed you over the edge, bringing an overwhelming mixture of emotions to your chest and heart.

You couldn’t even tell what you felt, but something resembling a mixture of anger towards yourself for still being so caught up on him. And heartbroken at the sight of his body clinging to someone else, of how it reminded you of the early mornings spent dancing in the kitchen as the coffee brewed. 

The amount of sleepless nights you’d spent fantasising about seeing him again in the familiar apartment were countless. You had rehearsed the reunion a million times over in your head, picturing how you’d play so nonchalant as you swept past him. 

But as he actually stood there, right in front of you with the same gentle eyes and warm smile, you lost every sense of control and felt yourself spiral. It triggered some weird emotion and broke your heart all over again.

    The air stung in your lungs as you pushed yourself upright. You couldn’t keep sitting, leg tapping as thoughts flooded your head. Pacing back and forth in the small space, you tried to calm the restlessness crippling through you. 

Instinctively, your arms crossed over your chest as your head flung backwards. With parted lips, you let fast breaths move through you in hope one of them would leave you satisfied. 

It didn’t take long before the room started spinning and you had to stretch out for the wall. With all your weight resting on your arm, the other hand pressed against your forehead. 

“y/n?” 

The careful tone caught your attention, but you didn’t turn your head. You were more familiar with the deep voice than you were with your own.

“Hey,” he cooed, jogging down the stairs until he placed himself right beside you. His arm found its usual spot around your lower back, steadying your unbalanced frame.

Every part of you reacted to his hand on your body, how his warm palm laid awfully close to your hips and the way his body fit perfectly against yours. 

You had convinced yourself that the breakup and the following distance that had grown between you changed everything, but something about him had this undeniable effect on you. As much as you thought you would  hate it, in this moment you were thankful. 

   “Hey, it's okay, you hear me? It’s okay, I just need you to take some deep breaths for me, can you do that?”

Nodding your head, you looked up at him as he offered a warm smile in return.  “Good.”

He led your arm over his shoulder and brought you back to the stairs. His hand holding you in a firm grip as he guided you down. “Here.”

Kneeling down, he faced you with a careful smile. You couldn’t tell if calmness was real or not, but either way you appreciated it as he let his hand rub against your forearm. 

“Can you take some deep breaths for me,” he asked, carefully addressing your still hyper breathing. 

You just nodded again, not trusting your voice to actually carry your words. Gaze moving away from him, you tried to keep your focus on a dot engraved in the wall before you, knowing distracting your thoughts was the best way to go about it.  

Having him so close to you again felt so odd. At one hand every fibre in your being had longed for it, for his fingers to send sparks up your spine and his loving smiles to be sent your way. But on the other, you knew it would pass and you would have to start the process of getting over him all over. This moment was already burning into your mind and the idea of the pain that would follow was enough for the world to crumble underneath your feet. 

Before you knew it, the few calm breaths that had fallen off your lips turned hyper again. 

“Hey, it’s okay, it’s okay.” His voice sounded muffled as the words met your ears. Black dots were clouding up your vision and the room felt like it was spinning. 

“Woah.” 

Within a second, his grip around your arm was tight as the other flew up to your shoulder. All your weight resting against him as your ears rang.

“I know that it hurts, sweetie, but I need you to open your eyes.” He rubbed his thumb against the bare skin on your arm, his action barely grounding you as he continued. “You’re okay, you hear me? I’m here and not going anywhere.”

Your heart felt tight in your chest as your eyes shot open. His gaze bore into yours, and you felt so exposed. Normally you would have turned away, but the gentle expression on his face almost forced your eyes to stay on him.

“It’s okay, I promise.”

You could only detect the sincerity in his eyes as the words fell off his lips. As if this moment was only a fraction of what he meant, like the whole ordeal that had gone down between you was swept under the rug for now. 

Your mind had played tricks on you before, but right now you seemed to need the statement, and you were willing to cling onto it for what it was worth. 

He offered you a proud smile as your breaths slowed down once again.

He shifted, and in no time your body was cooped up between his legs. Your back resting against his torso.

You couldn’t even comprehend what was happening, and never in your wildest dreams did the night involve this. Whatever it was. Your mind found it odd, trying to picture what the scene must’ve looked like if someone walked down the stairs and saw you. But no matter how weird it seemed in your mind, your body found the setting all too comforting. 

He felt exactly how you remembered, the smell still tempting you to just lean against him and bask in his scent. Hearing your name fall off his lips was like music to your ears, and as he started gently caressing your arms, your muscles relaxed. 

Apparently he wasn’t satisfied with your respiration yet as he spoke up. “I need you to take some deep breaths for me, love.”

Your back stiffened for a millisecond as the old pet name fell off his lips so effortlessly. Every part of you had longed for the sweet names he always gave you, but as he said it and it registered in your mind, you weren’t really sure what to feel. 

“I’m sorry,” he said quickly, picking up on the small cue as your body tensed. “Old habit.”

It took a second before you recognised how pleasant it had played through your ears.

“No, it’s fine. I don’t mind.” The ends of your lips tugged up as you let your body lean into his touch and relax against him.

“Good,” he mustered. 

Hadn’t it been for the obvious lack of oxygen in your brain, you would’ve sworn he sighed contently.

“Take a deep breath,” he said as his fingers softly climbed up your arm, inhaling with you.

“Good. You’re doing so good, now exhale.” 

His fingertips gently traced a line down to your elbow as you let out a shaky breath. Letting your eyes close once again, you rested your head underneath his chin as you kept following his deep breaths. 

You weren’t really sure how long you stayed like that, but you could finally feel yourself calmed down. The only thing on your mind was how you needed to get home and just rest. Of course, the way his body was pressed up against you made an appearance through your thoughts, but you could freak out about that later.

The bass from the party drummed through the walls, and the way it echoed through the hall did nothing to help the headache brewing in the back of your head. Preferably you’d just lay down right there and sleep it off. 

“I think I should head home,” you uttered, breaking the silence and pushing yourself to an upright position. The heat provided by his frame ceased, and you had to stop yourself from shivering as you took in a deep breath. 

“You’re feeling better?” He asked, scooting himself forward on the stair. 

You turned around, a grateful smile resting on your face as you spoke. “Yeah, thank you. I’m just tired.” As if on cue, you placed the back of your hand in front or your lips and let out a big yawn. 

“Do you want me to give you a lift?”

Hesitating, you bit your lip and looked away from him. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea, Harry.” 

You’d already been reminded of so many of the reasons you still loved him, and you weren’t really sure you could take more of them. 

“Are you sure?-” he asked, getting up from the stairs, “-I know how exhausted you get after these. I mean, you’re still shaking. We don’t even have to talk, I just want you to be safe.”

Your heart fluttered at his words, and you hated it. You knew how much he still affected you, but no part of him needed to know that. 

Just the idea of being in the car with him for 10 minutes made you nervous, but you refused to let it show. He even said you didn’t need to talk.

“Okay.” Your eyes found their way back to his, a small smile on your lips. “If you promise to not charge me for gas.”

He snorted. “I’ll just get my keys.”

-

“Nope,” he said, changing the station again as one of his songs played through the speakers. 

The interview about his new album apparently was no better as he changed the station again. Snickering, you looked over at him and watched his tensed shoulders. 

“You can talk if you want to,” you told him, fighting a smile over his nervous antics.

“Yeah?”

“Yes, I think I’d actually prefer it if you did.” It’d make the breakup more distant, seem like we hadn’t cut all contact and left me unsure as to what was okay to say. But you didn’t tell him that.

“I always imagined we’d stay friends or something, after you know. Everything.” You confessed, letting your gaze follow the buildings outside. 

You could feel how his gaze bore into you as soon as the sentence fell off your lips. You weren’t really sure where you got the confidence from, but you told yourself how you would keep avoiding each other after tonight. What did you have to lose?

You glanced at him, watching as he bit his eyes shifted from the rear mirror.

“I don’t think I could've done that.” He said, a nervous chuckle escaping his lips as one of his hands brushed the back of his neck.

“Really? … To be completely honest,” you started, shifting your gaze away from him again. Your eyes followed a raindrop racing down the window, trying to form the words spinning in your head. 

“I think I would have prefered to see you with someone else if that's what it took for me to still be in your life.”

He stayed quiet, the hum of the car the only thing playing through your ears as you tried to ignore the nerves running wild in your chest over the fact that the words actually had slipped off your tongue.

One of the first things that drew you to him was the way he made you feel completely at ease. You could ramble or have your nerves spew out the weirdest sentences, yet he never made you feel stupid or small. It was so refreshing and you just enjoyed being around him. When he’d later told you how he loved talking to you because ‘you always speak your mind’, you just slowly grew inseparable. 

Now, after everything had changed, you found some comfort in knowing at least that hadn’t.

“I mean at one point I would’ve had to get used to seeing you moved on.”

Your hand travelled back to your necklace, fidgeting with the small heart, not really knowing if you wanted to know the thoughts rushing through his head.

“I don’t think I ever could be around you and not just show you how much I love you.” 

He broke the silence, and you couldn’t stop your head from turning towards him. His lips formed a thin line as his brows knitted together. You could have recognised the nerves crippling through anywhere as his gaze stayed fixed at the road in front of you.

“What do you mean?” You asked as his silence told you he wouldn’t continue on his own.

“I don’t know… I just see you and wish I could go back and change everything.” 

He let out a heavy breath, and you could see how his grip around the steering wheel tightened.

“And it’s so… weird? I mean I haven’t seen you in forever, yet I see you everywhere. I mean, I know you’ve been over by the way you folded the blankets and how you put the honey on the counter instead of  the cupboard. I can’t even avoid you in my own home.”

You couldn’t tell whether your heart clenched or fluttered at his words, but your eyes narrowed trying to comprehend the words. 

“Everything reminds me of what I don’t have, and I don’t even know how I would begin to process you with someone else.” The words sounded strangled as they crawled up his throat. 

He lifted a hand, letting it rub against his temple as he let out a quiet sigh. You turned your gaze away from his pained expression, trying to figure out how to let the words sink in. 

Seeing his career blossom and flourish had you convinced you were alone in the mess. He had seemed so happy as you cried at his interviews. 

Now he seemed just as hurt as you were and you had no clue as to how to even begin to let that progress. 

You hesitated, voice low as you confessed. “I’m not sure what to say.”

“If it helps, I don’t know what I want you to say.”

“It helps a little,” you muttered, rubbing the back of your neck as you looked down at your lap.

He snickered and glanced over at you before parking the car. You hadn’t noticed you were back at your apartment, but as you saw the complex, your heart sank a little. 

You were glad you finally had gotten the chance to talk to him again and it hurt more than you thought now that it ended. Talking with him always eased you, and tonight had only reminded you of the power he held over your wellbeing. Like he always made you feel better no matter what.

As if reading your mind, he opened his mouth. “I totally get it if you don’t want to, but would you maybe like to grab a coffee or something next week?”

“I’m sorry, I can't.” You cursed your schedule as you saw his shoulders slump. You had dreamed of this and now you actually blew it.

“Of course,” he said, plastering on a smile. 

“But, it's only, what? Nine thirty? Do you maybe wanna come up?” You gestured to the apartment he’d been in a million times before

A genuine smile crept onto his lips, his eyes staying fixed at you. Watching as you nervously fidgeted with your fingers.

“Really? Are you sure? I don’t want to intrude.” 

“You don’t,” you told him, voice soft and gentle as you smiled at him.

“Okay, yeah. I would really like that.”

taglist:

(I feel like I have forgotten someone please let me know if you wanna be added or removed <3)

@tenaciousperfectionunknown @japanchrry @5-seconds-of-bucky @hoodhoran @suchalonelysunflower @notanacousticsetcal @lukeshemmo

[xomoosexo]

the gringos have been getting so many kills tho compared to being a minority of the players, plus the players invited were crazy (Feinberg, Fruit, Couriway?? And I mean punznap Hannah George and hbomb aren’t bad either..) like I fear they shouldn’t have been invited if the organizers wanted a non gringo to win, bc they stand a really good chance

yeah it's definitely on the organizers like I don't think there's anything wrong with inviting the best players but it's the reality that if you invite some of the best players in the world who happen to be english speaking they are going to do very well. I don't think it's that big of a deal if some people are upset because most people are super nice! like most of the spanish streamers who interact with them are super kind so it's fine

[bugdice]

@xxlordalexanderxx @hannah-the-small

It was then the clouds spread across the sky withered into nothingness to reveal a clear sky. The two moons shined over the planet, yet a shadow began to creep over one, a frightening figure starring down at the planet's king. Wicked laughter erupted from the phantom as it seemed to watch over them like some distant, malignant god.

So this was Lord Alexander was it? He looked the part, even from this distance Oogie could tell just what kind of creature he was dealing with. An emotional blood knight playing the role of a gentleman. He'd seen men like this many times before. He'd made men like this before, he'd only to play with the beast's emotions to unravel him, look deep within his twisted infernal skull to find something that would reduce him to a screaming child.

" Sooooo, you are the boss of this place, yeah? The head honcho? The big cheeeeeeese? And that thing there, your lover? MWAH MWAH MWAH! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! "

He pointed motioned his head toward James, grimacing.

" The two of you have lost something I heard."

[incorrectfanfics]

Diakko Week 2019 "Competition"

“Alright!” Akko yelled. “Another year, another broom race. And now that I can ride a broom, I’m sure to win.”

“You sure about that?” Sucy asked. “You can ride one, but it’s not like you’re very good at it.”

“Huh? What kind of attitude is that?” Akko asked.

“Well, we had fun last time, so I guess I don’t mind,” said Lotte. “Right, Sucy?”

“At this point, it’s easier on all of us to give her want she wants than to fight against it,” Sucy answered flatly. “I’m used to it by now.”

“This is gonna be so cool,” Akko beamed. “I’m finally going to have my picture next to Professor Chariot’s!”

Meanwhile…

“So I heard Akko’s going enter the broom race again,” said Hannah.

“Really? Didn’t she learn the first time?” asked Barbara. “She doesn’t have the Shooting Star anymore. She can barely ride.”

“Maybe she hit her head too hard,” Hannah added.

“Girls, I’m right here.” Diana looked up from her tea. The icy glare was enough to freeze Hannah and Barbara in their seats.

“Oh,” Hannah said, “I forgot. You two are a thing now.”

“We’re sorry, Diana.”

“You’re not exactly wrong,” Diana sighed. “Akko has only just started to get the hang of the basics. She’s nowhere near ready to fly competitively.”

“Should we do something?” Barbara asked. 

“If we enter and win the broom race, we’ll be the first team in Luna Nova to win two years in a row,” said Hannah.

“Interesting,” Diana mused.

“Does that mean that they’ll put up two pictures of us next to Professor Chariot’s photo?” Barbara asked.

“Yeah, that’s kinda weird,” said Hannah. “To think that Professor Ursula was Chariot this whole time. She doesn’t seem like the type to go out and try to be a celebrity. She’s just so spacy.”

“She is a bit of an airhead. I guess that’s why she and Akko are a perfect pair,” added Barbara.

“People change,” Diana said, setting down her teacup. “We should focus on the matter at hand.”

Later, the time had come for the broom race. Teams had lined up on their marks.

“A’right,” Professor Nelson started. “Let’s get started with dis year’s broom race. Rules are simple. Fly to the next checkpoint and pass the baton to ya teammate. No rough housin’. I wanna nice clean race. No funny business, Miss Manbavaran.”

“Whatever,” Sucy said flatly.

“On ya marks. Ge’s set. ‘N go!”

Sucy flew off on a reasonably steady pace. The other witches did not follow.

“Wha’s the matter? I said go.” Professor Nelson looked over the broom riders to see that their brooms had sprouted vines attached to the ground. “Geez, not again.”

“You should have expected this from me,” yelled Sucy.

Diana and Akko were waiting at the third checkpoint. The other racers stood idly by, chit-chatting or stretching. 

“This is so boring,” Akko whined. “Are they here yet?”

“Calm down,” said Diana. “The race just started. It might be a few minutes. Just find something to entertain yourself.”

“You wanna make out?” Akko asked.

“Yes,” Diana answered, “Just not in front of Amanda.”

“Party pooper,” Amanda chirped.

“I can feel it. This is going to be the year when I get my picture next to Chariot’s!” Akko beamed.

“What’s the big deal?” Amanda asked. “Ursula is Chariot. We see her, like, every day. I would have thought you had a hundred pictures by now. Just take a bunch of selfies or something.”

“I mean in the trophy case,” said Akko. “You know? The one in the hallway? Maybe I could ask them to move Diana’s picture so mine could be next to hers.”

Diana bit her lower lip. She blinked and tried to compose herself when she realized what she was doing.

“You know,” Amanda started, “I heard you were also a big-time Chariot fan once upon a time.”

“That was a long time ago,” Diana snapped.

“I’m just saying, being from the Cavendish family and all, you could have gone to any school,” said Amanda. “Even Hogwarts.”

“Heavens no! That place is a death trap,” said Diana.

“Yeah, I was reading about that,” Akko said. “How that place still open? Didn’t a bunch of people die there?”

“Here they come!” someone shouted. Akko, Amanda, and Diana all turned to see the next racers coming. They were still too far to see exactly how many, but they could still see Lotte and Hannah close to each other.

“Diana, I know this is all in the spirit of competition. To show there are no hard feelings about who wins and loses, I wrote you this love letter.” Akko pulled out a folded paper from her pocket.

“Thank you, Akko,” said Diana. “That’s really sweet.”

“Read it now. Please?” Akko begged.

“Fine.” Diana took the paper from Akko and read aloud, “Dear Diana, I hope reading this letter will distract you long enough to get a head start on the rac-OH goddammit!”

Diana threw the letter and saw Akko already in the distance.

“I truely value our relationship!” Akko yelled.

“I can’t believe you fell for that,” Amanda laughed.

Diana took the baton from Hannah and sped off. It wasn’t long before she was able to catch up to Akko. 

“That was a dirty trick you pulled, Akko.” Diana headed towards Akko. Akko tried to turn, but couldn’t pull away in time with how fast Diana was going. Instead, Diana slammed into Akko with both of them falling off their brooms and tumbling to the ground. The two of them sat rubbing their bruises under the woods’ shade.

“Ow,” Akko whined. “What’s the big idea, Diana? The broom race is just supposed to be for fun. Now neither of us is gonna win. What the heck is wrong with you?”

“You’re the one who was cheating. You shouldn’t even-” Diana stopped when she felt tears well up in her eyes. Akko noticed too.

“Hey,” she softly called out. “Hey Diana, are you okay? What’s wrong? Are you hurt? Is something broken?”

“No. No, I’m fine.” Diana turned away. Akko grabbed her by the arms and pulled her closer. The pain on Diana’s face wasn’t physical. It was emotional.

“Hey. Talk to me. What’s wrong?” Akko pleaded.

“Akko,” Diana started.  She pulled her hat over her face to hide her embarrassment. “I understand how much the broom race means to you, but you know that I also liked Chariot. Having my picture next to hers in the halls of Luna Nova is special to me. She’s your mentor and sometimes I feel like that’s the closest I’ll ever be to Shiny Chariot.”

“I’m sorry,” Akko apologized. “I was being selfish. I don’t think I would have won anyway. Sometimes I forget you were a fan too. You wanna go back up?”

“In a minute.” Diana wiped her face on her sleeve. “I don’t want everyone knowing I cried.”

A few minutes later, Diana and Akko flew back up onto the course. They sped past the finish line and dismounted in front of Professor Nelson.

“You two are a mess. What happened?” she asked.

“We got a little competitive and had a bit of a tumble. I apologize, Professor Nelson,” Diana explained. 

“Eh, no harm, no foul,” Nelson replied.

“At least we got to finish the race,” Akko chirped.

“No ya didn’t,” Nelson said. “The race ended minutes ago. O’Neil won.”

“Suck it,” was heard from a distance.

“Aw man,” Akko moaned.

“I should have figured as much,” Diana sighed.

[elliemarchetti]

My aCoTaR fancast nobody asked for

Beware, this is a really long ride but I worked hard for it and spent more time than I want to admit doing my research so if you want to chat about my choices it would be appreciated

The Archerons

Abigail Cowen as Feyre Archeron

She’s talented, she’s good looking and she’s familiar with fantasy stuff, do I need to add more?

Age: 25 (March 18, 1998)

Height: 167 cm (5′6″)

Notable role(s): Dorcas in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018), Bloom in Fate: The Winx Saga (2021) and Angel in Redeeming Love (2022)

Madelyn Cline as Elain Archeron

Her face is so sweeeet 🥰

Age: 25 (December 21, 1997)

Height: 167 cm (5′6″)

Notable role(s): Sarah Cameron in Outer Banks (2020)

Thea Sofie Loch Næss as Nesta Archeron

She’s like the perfect older sister 🤷🏼‍♀️

Age: 26 (November 26, 1996)

Height: 169 cm (5′7″)

Notable role(s): Skade in The Last Kingdom (2018)

The Spring Court

Calahan Skogman as Tamlin

I’m not taking criticism on this

Age: 29 (May 13, 1993)

Height: 193 (6′4″)

Notable role(s): Matthias Helvar in Shadow and Bones (2021)

Jan Luis Castellanos as Lucien Vanserra

If LoA+Helion is the way the show wants to go too, he’s the right choice.

Age: 27 (September 11, 1995)

Height: 175 cm (5′9″)

Notable role(s): Diego Torres in 13 Reasons Why (2020)

Anne Winters as Ianthe

Just look at her, please

Age: 28 (June 3, 1994)

Height: 160 cm (5′3″)

Notable role(s): Chloe Rice in 13 Reasons Why (2018)

Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Alis

Everything she stars in tends to be a success, so call it superstition but I want her to play the best maid Feyre could wish for (and which I hope to see again in the next books) 

Age: 40 (April 21, 1983)

Height: 162 (5′4″)

Notable role(s): Talia in Larry Crowne (2011), Dido Elizabeth Belle in Belle (2013), Noni in Beyond the Lights (2014), Prema Mutiso in Concussion (2015),  Esme Manucharian in Miss Sloane (2016), Janelle Brady in The Whole Truth (2016), Ava Hamilton in The Cloverfield Paradox (2018), Dr. Kate Murry in A Wrinkle in Time (2018) and Ravonna Renslayer in Loki (2021)

The Night Court

The Inner Circle

Staz Nair as Rhysand

If you all take my suggestion seriously before starting to rant, you will see it too. I know the age difference between him and Abigail Cowen is kind of huge, but she’s tough and I think she can handle it

Age: 31 (June 17, 1991)

Height: 185 (5′11”)

Notable role(s): Qhono in Game of Thrones (2016)

Chuku Modu as Cassian

Give him long hair and a hint of beard and we’re good.

(No, I don’t want to hear you say Can Yaman is better.

No, I don’t want 37 yo Roman Reigns to star next to 25 yo Abigail Cowen and make sexual jokes nearly half of the time.

Yes, I’m aware he’s just five years younger than the aforementioned wrestler but five years sometimes are a big deal and they are now.)

Age: 32 (July 19,1990)

Height: 193 cm (6′4″)

Notable role(s): Aggo in Game of Thrones (2016) and Dr. Jared Kalu in The Good Doctor (2017)

Drew Ray Tanner as Azriel Shadowsinger

I know he’s cute but I bet he can make the tormented look work

Age: 31 (February 12, 1992)

Height: 178 (5′1′”)

Notable role(s): Fangs Fogarty in Riverdale (2017)

Halston Sage as The Morrigan

I don’t know if I want to be her or kiss her. Either way, what a bliss.

Age: 29 (May 3, 1993)

Height: 166 cm (5′5″)

Notable role(s): Lacey Pemberton in Paper Towns (2015)

Park So-Dam as Amren

The likelihood that she won't accept is very high, but if she were to, it would be wonderful

Age: 31 (September 8, 1991)

Height: 162 (5′4″)

Notable role(s): Kim Ki-jung in Parasite (2019)

The Valkyrie

Kirby Johnson as Gwyneth Berdara

If you have some influence in the matter, please help this girl to be casted in something different than a horror. 

Age: 27 (February 12, 1996)

Height: 173 cm (5′8″)

Notable role(s): Hannah Grace in The Possession of Hannah Grace (2018)

Ella Balinska as Emerie

All hail our Illyrian queen, badass fighter, former netball player and part-time model

Age: 26 (October 4, 1996)

Height: 181 cm (5′11″)

Notable role(s): Jane Kano in Charlie’s Angels (2019)

Keeping Up with the Vanserras

I’m not going to cast the dead brothers, but if you have someone you feel like would fit in, I might add them to fill the void

Trevor Stines as Vanserra Brother n.1

I know he’s younger than Jan Luis Castellanos and taller than Ruairi O’Connor, but I want him to be a Vanserra so bad I have to put him here

Age: 26 (July 15, 1996)

Height: 185 cm (6′1″)

Notable role(s): Brett in The Amityville Terror (2016) and Jason Blossom in Riverdale (2017)

Dacre Montgomery as Vanserra Brother n.2

I think he’s good at playing the bad guy so he should be casted, period

Age: 28 (November 22, 1994)

Height: 176 cm (5′9″)

Notable role(s):  Jason Scott / Red Ranger in Power Rangers (2017), Billy Hargrove in Stranger Things (2017) and Steve Binder in Elvis (2022)

Cameron Monaghan as Vanserra Brother n.3

IDK, I think he would like to play the deranged dude again, at least for a while

Age: 29 (August 16, 1993)

Height: 179 cm (5′10″)

Notable role(s): Ian Gallagher in Shameless (2011), Mason Ashford in Vampire Academy (2014), Asher in The Giver (2014), Jerome Valeska in Gotham (2015) and James Walker in Amityville: The Awakening (2017)

Ruairi O’Connor as Eris Vanserra

I just want to see this man more, I’m not even sorry for it

Age: 31 (July 9, 1991)

Height: 178 (5′10″)

Notable role(s): Henry VIII in The Spanish Princess (2019) and Arne Cheyenne Johnson in The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)

Kristofer Hivju as Beron Vanserra

☑️ red hair

☑️ good beard

☑️ evil dilf vibe

Age: 44 (December 7, 1978)

Height: 183 cm (5′11″)

Notable role(s): Jonas in The Thing (2011), Tormund Giantsbane in Game of Thrones (2011), Connor Rhodes in The Fate of the Furious (2017) and Kristoffer in Cocainebear (2023)

Gemma Arterton as Lady of Autumn

By mortal standards she'd be a little too young to play Lucien and Eris' mother, but as the Fae age differently (and in a poorly explained way) in this universe, I'd appreciate her resemblance to Jan Luis Castellanos being exploited

Age: 37 (February 2, 1986)

Height: 170 cm (5′7″)

Notable role(s): Strawberry Fields in Quantum of Solace (2008), Io in Clash of the Titans (2010), Tamina in Prince of Persia (2010) and Gretel in Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013)

Ismael Cruz Cordova as Helion

I know he’s light skinned but if we want to make the retcons and the plot twist work in the show he needs to be

Age: 36 (April 7, 1987)

Height: 178 (5′10″)

Notable role(s): Davide Rizzio in Mary Queen of Scots (2018) and Arondir in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022)

Hybern (and the possible prequel about the war)

Katharine McPhee as Amarantha

I have to be honest, I choose the actress for Clythia first but I think they kind of look alike so, why not?

Age: 39 (March 25, 1984)

Height: 170 cm (5′7″)

Notable role(s): Harmony in The House Bunny (2008) and Beth in Shark Night (2011)

Eleanor Tomlinson as Clythia

I don’t know about you but I want something more than a couple flashbacks of the war and since a TV show is not a first person POV, I want to go deeper into what happened at the time and for that, we need to cast the right girl

Age: 30 (May 19, 1992)

Height: 171 (5′7″)

Notable role(s): Isabel Neville in The White Queen (2013), Georgiana Darcy in Death Comes to Pemberley (2013),  Demelza Carne Poldark in Poldark (2015),  Georgie Raoul-Duval in Colette (2018) and Amy in The Wars of the World (2019)

Matt Smith as The King of Hybern

For my peace of mind, he needs to play someone who couldn’t be seen as an heartthrob

Age: 40 (October 28, 1882)

Height: 181 cm (5′11″)

Notable role(s): The Doctor in Doctor Who (2010), Thomas in Womb (2010), Alex/Skynet in Terminator Genisys (2015), Mr Collins in Pride + Prejudice + Zombies (2016), Prince Philip in The Crown (2016), Morgan in Patient Zero (2018), Jack in Last Night in Soho (2021), Richard Galloway in The Forgiven (2021), Milo/Lucien in Morbius (2022) and Daemon Targaryen in House of the Dragon (2022)

Dylan O’Brien as Jurian

Just watch his filmography and tell me he wouldn’t be the perfect Jurian 

Age: 31 (August 26, 1991)

Height: 178 cm (5′10″)

Notable role(s):  Stiles Stilinski in Teen Wolf (2011), Stuart Twombly in The Internship (2013), Thomas in The Maze Runner (2014), Mitch Rapp in American Assassin (2017) and Joel Dawson in Love and Monsters (2020)

The High Lords and their Courts

The Winter Court

Luke Baines as Kallias

He can be the James Marsters of our time

Age: 32 (June 8, 1990)

Height: 179 cm (5′11″)

Notable role(s): Jonathan Morgenstern in Shadowhunters (2019)

Sasha Luss as Viviane

Before I found out the Samos siblings are half asian, I wanted her to play Evangeline in the Red Queen adaptation. Now is my time to shine

Age: 30 (June 6, 1992)

Height: 178 cm (5′10″)

Notable role(s): Princess Lihio-Minaa in Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017) and Anna Poliatova in Anna (2019)

The Summer Court

Micheal Ward as Tarquin

I'm starting to think I should have put the fanart that inspired me because in this case the resemblance is uncanny

Age: 25 (November 18, 1997)

Height: 175 (5′9″)

Notable role(s): Brendan in The A List (2018)

Coco Jones as Cresseida

Disney Channel mistreated her, I won't

Age: 25 (January 4, 1998)

Height: 178 cm (5′10″)

Notable role(s): Roxanne “Roxie” Andrews in Let It Shine (2012) and Hilary Banks in Bel-Air (2022)

Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Varian

Can he have white dreads instead of just white hair?

Age: 28 (July 23, 1994)

Height: 170 cm (5′7″)

Notable role(s): Mason in Assassination Nation (2018) and B.B. King in Elvis (2022)

The Dawn Court 

Evan Evagora as Thesan

Aaaaaand... you made it to the end. Thank you to everyone who took the time to read my silly comments and please don’t start a war in the comments, this is just for fun

Age: 26 (August 10, 1996)

Height: 186 cm (6′1″)

Notable role(s): Elnor in Star Trek: Picard (2020)

[thesinglesjukebox]

PORTER ROBINSON - "CHEERLEADER"

April Fool's Day is over, now time for some SINCERITY...

[5.92]

Taylor Alatorre: This song sounds embarrassing. It sounds excessive. It sounds like something you might regret putting into the world five seconds after hitting "publish." It sounds, in other words, like high school. Porter Robinson's post-brostep career has been an extended treatise on escapism -- from the appealingly plaintive paracosms of 2014's Worlds to the soothing self-inventory of 2021's Nurture, with his Virtual Self side project managing to be both esoteric and stupidly self-explanatory. He's crafted a series of immersive alternatives to analog messiness, allowing the listener to check out of the everyday and place themselves for a moment in a softer-edged realm, with more explicable rules and a more poetic set of problems. "Cheerleader," though, offers the listener no assistance in either sidestepping or reconfiguring the uncomfortable reality into which they were born; music video aside, it's not really a song about fanbases gone wild either. Instead it's about the girl in your school's Anime Club who gave out her deviantART username before her phone number and taught you against your will what the word yaoi meant. The fujoshi representation, besides filling a glaring gap in the TSJ search index, makes it clear that this is about a real person and not an avatar, and it's that awkward flesh-and-blood realness which is precisely at issue here. Maybe she's as real as him, and maybe he couldn't live with that. The perspective of a boy who is unused to being the object of obsession is an under-explored one in music, probably because it's very hard to land it within the narrow range of acceptable loserdom. But Porter sticks the landing by enveloping us fully within the loser's headspace, where both his emo-inflected chagrin and his fragmented memories of the girl's "cheering" are enshrouded by a waterfall of blown-out Obama-era detritus. If you ever wondered what a big room house remix of Two Door Cinema Club might've sounded like, or Oracular Spectacular if it had debuted on Beatport, here's your answer. Other seemingly out-of-place additions -- the bitpop cowbell, the Punk Goes Acoustic bridge, the hilariously overwrought drumroll that becomes less so the second time around -- fit right into this 1080p capture of late adolescent bag-fumbling. Taken together, they convey a mismatch in interests and hobbies that may have seemed like a deal breaker at the time, but in hindsight was just another excuse to avoid vulnerability. Perhaps I only arrived at this gonzo interpretation because the 4chan-core single artwork serves as a kind of shibboleth for these things. If that's the case, then I plead guilty: I ate the apple. [10]

Oliver Maier: "We have Anamanaguchi at home." [6]

Hannah Jocelyn: I loved Porter Robinson's Nurture for its unapologetic sincerity, a balm when emerging back into the world post-lockdown. I miss that early hopefulness as the years have gone on; even now, it's hard for me to hear "Unfold" without being close to tears. "Cheerleader" is a frustrating detour, with inane lyrics about yandere fujoshis fetishizing Robinson -- you know you're doing nothing new when the Nostalgia Critic beat you to it, and Robinson hardly sells the can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em message better. Nurture, for better or worse, incorporated the pitch-shifting vocals of hyperpop into EDM (to the point where a trans woman musician I know grew frustrated with Nurture's acclaim for doing what acts like Katie Dey had done for years, regardless of how Robinson himself identifies.) That's worth acknowledging, especially as this attempts to go right to the source: 3OH!3 and Metro Station come to mind. Except there’s none of the polish that makes those songs work despite themselves -- What's with that tinny hi-hat? Where's the low end on the guitar? Listen to "Shake It"; that song from 2007 sounds better than this one from 2024. It's not enough to replicate the aesthetics; for some ungodly reason, Robinson decided it must sound like it's coming from a Hot Topic speaker too. [4]

Claire Biddles: We have "Shake It" by Metro Station at home. [4]

Tim de Reuse: I admire the chutzpah to take a stylistic hairpin turn like this. And I appreciate the ability to do that while retaining the crystal-clear boom-bap production chops that made you a breakout sensation in the first place. And I appreciate how it makes its power-pop references clear without sticking to them too desperately. And I appreciate the sheer craft; birds fly, rocks sink, Porter Robinson writes synth hooks that wrap around your mind and squeeze tight. And I appreciate the line about getting drawn kissing other guys. But there's a clean and edgeless quality here, a sterile expression of his EDM roots, that directly contradicts his attempts at a heartbreaking singalong. Nowhere does his voice crack with raw emotion; nowhere does it seem even possible that his voice might crack with raw emotion. [5]

Kayla Beardslee: Porter Robinson’s doing anime OSTs now? Good for him. [7]

Leah Isobel: I see this fitting into a whole universe of PS1/Nintendo DS aesthetic indie games, YouTube video essays about old anime, trans girls with Neocities websites, indie pop sung by vocaloids. I could call it hyperpop -- not in the sense of overdriven chaos, but in the sense of the hyperlink. (HTML revival would be more accurate.) As such, it feels a little too precise, its scruffiness deployed too purposefully; I feel like this stuff works best when the self is obscured, and Porter is too big of a star to let that happen. But that also means the chorus is fucking massive, so I can't complain too much. [7]

Nortey Dowuona: The soft, limply placed drums in the song for once are not the sabotaging element in this song. The lithe, acoustic guitar bridge is even nicely played. The guitar riff, doubled by the synth, is the true arrow to the heart of this song. Porter is processed to hell and back, refusing to give over his composition to a more present, entertaining vocalist, but that riff is so grating and stiff that when it first arrives, sliding up as the culmination of the slowly hopping pre-chorus, it stops the song from progressing any further, simply pushing Porter into the background and leaving his Melodyned voice slack below it, struggling to be heard. Now, does this stop me from screaming that chorus in my head? Of course not. It's not fair I have to keep hearing this grating riff every time, though. [6]

Ian Mathers: God, I love that recurring, overdriven synth sound that kicks in on the chorus. If anything I wish it was more all-enveloping when it hits (yes, like shoegaze, yes, I'm predicable). There's lots of other interesting things going on here, but I can't quite get over that visceral rush enough to figure out my response to it all. Hit the whoosh button again, Porter! [8]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: Not nearly dumb enough for me to enjoy its shtick. [3]

Isabel Cole: This sounds like a One Direction album track in a universe where after they got kicked off The X Factor, Simon Cowell realized he could save so much money by replacing everyone but Liam with robots, only when they got into the studio there was some kind of malfunction and Zayn-bot started screeching uncontrollably and Niall-bot fell on his side crackling horribly with static while Harry-bot and Louis-bot took turns punching each other until they were dented beyond recognition, and that's why it sounds like how it sounds. (Liam didn't notice anything amiss, obviously; have you met him?) [4]

Will Adams: At the heart of Nurture was its... well, heart. On that record, Porter Robinson wore his on his sleeve, crooning lines like "I'll be alive next year / I can make something good" without a hint of irony. On "Cheerleader," he surprisingly lets a bit of cynicism slip in. It's not a leap to see how producing such earnest, sincere art would naturally invite fans to form parasocial relationships, to draw fan art but not know where to "draw the line," to develop a near-fatalistic expectation of commitment. But between each of those details is a generous counterpoint, where Porter wonders if he benefits just as much from these feelings. It creates a fascinating tension, expressed best by the chorus: "IT'S NOT FAAAAIIIRRRRRR!", stretched over a fizzy, tightly-wound power-pop arrangement complete with a skyscraping synth line. Porter just can't help himself. We've all got feelings; why not scream them to the rafters? [8]

Katherine St. Asaph: Porter Robinson's brand of earnestness makes my heart feel burnt or dead. [5]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]

[lemon-boy-stan]

Being best friends with Steve but your secretly in love with him but he loves Nancy. You and Steve are inseparable, you two are like a package deal, but it would hurt a lot when he would blow you off to hangout with his girlfriend Nancy. You were so jealous of her even when they broke up and you comforted him, but you found a distraction from your feelings for Steve “the Hair” Harrington. That was when Billy Hargrove came to the school, Billy already didn’t like Steve but damn he wanted you. Steve always waits for you by your locker at school and his heart drops when he sees Billy in his place, worst of all flirting with you, twirling your hair, whispering in your ear as you smiled and blushed, watching his hands go all over you, it made Steve want to throw up. When you blew him off for an “unknown” reason he was too curious and had to find out what was going on, he walked you your place and ofc Billy’s car is there and peeks through your window and sees him legit pounding you into the mattress and god were you loud. When you saw Steve the next day he’s all pouty and sad because he misses you and that’s when he realizes how much he loves you and he starts bragging that he can treat you better than stupid Billy.😔😔

hiii anon tysm for requesting this! (i didn't include the biy smut because i suck at billy smut but I hope you liked it anyway!)

"TREAT YOU BETTER"

summary: yn is in love with her best friend steve, but steve is dating nancy. every day she comes home miserable about seeing them together. fast-forward to senior year, and there's a new kid in town, billy hargrove. at first, yn turns him down, with eyes for steve only, but she soon realises her hints at steve are going nowhere, so she accepts billy's offer, even though steve keeps arguing that billy's no good for her. genre: angst, fluff. pairing: steve harrington x best friend!reader. warnings: billy's basically an asshole, use of alcohol and drugs, billy's abusive towards yn (kind of like how he is to max), yn hates nancy. an: this is based on the ask and also the song treat you better by shawn mendes.

DECEMBER 1982

Nancy Wheeler. You tried telling yourself that you liked her, that she was one of your best friends, that you couldn't say anything about her, because she was one of the kindest people you knew. But when you cried into your pillow every week, you knew you hated her.

She was always one better at you than everything. In sports, in your grades, in the things you had, in your looks, and now, how your best friend thought of you. Steve and Nancy had been dating for a year.

She joined the group in your freshman year, wanting to be popular, even though everyone else had already known each other since middle school, either by you or by Steve.

Nancy was your friend first, and you always hated yourself for introducing her to Harrington, but you and Steve were the founders of the group. Every year, you had been prom queen and king. And then Steve got an actual girlfriend.

"She's such a bitch," you arranged the photos on the yearbook spread, "Like, what does Steve see in her?" one of your other friends, Hannah, shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe you should just steal him from her. Hey, Greg? This article is for the tenth page." Hannah was Steve's friend, Josh's girlfriend.

There were seven of you in the group: you, Steve, Hannah, Josh, Isaac, Tracy, Nancy, and Peter. "You know, she asked me if she could come to our party. She's basically new meat. She just stole him..." Hannah rolled her eyes, "babe, that was two years ago. She's intune now. And I would love to do some insanely bitchy shit to her, but I tell Josh everything, and you know he has a big mouth. Steve would be so upset, especially after that Barb girl died. Just try and be happy for him." now you were the one roling your eyes, "I am trying to be happy for him. I'm always fixing his relationship problems for him. Sometimes I just wish that I wouldn't."

JANUARY 1983

You hoped your glowering wasn't too obvious, but you were glowering anyway as Steve and Nancy set their trays down on the table. They'd been dating for two years now, and it occured to you that your progress with dropping hints at Steve was going absolutely nowhere.

One of your friends, Tracy, turned to Isaac. He was a total nerd, but he was a shooter on the basketball team. "Apparently the new kid's really hot." and your ears perked at this, you were always a sucker for drama. You turned away from your conversation with Steve, "oh yeah? Who?" leaning in like you were discussing a very important matter. Steve frowned, although he didn't know why he was upset.

Tracy smirked, "Billy Hargrove. He's a total rebel and a bad boy, probably a druggie, too, but he's superhot. He's a surfer." Peter grinned at you, "so he's basically your type, then, Y/N." and you scrunched up your nose, "what? No, he's not!" trying your best not to look at Steve.

Hannah rose her eyebrows with a smirk, "you literally did it with that Munson guy at Josh's party, and he's like, a satan worshipper or something." your jaw dropped at this before you crossed your arms, "no he's not! He's actually really nice, okay? And anyway I was shitfaced drunk that night so it doesn't count." and Peter snorted at this, "yeah. I bet he was only nice because you showed him your tits." Steve got up abruptly, clenching his fists over his lunch tray, glaring profuesly at Peter before grumbling loudly and walking off.

You threw Peter an injured look that was filled with sarcasm, flipping him the bird violently. Steve sat back down, folding his arms over the table. You turned to him, "what the fuck was that for?" and he shrugged, narrowing his eyes at you. "What?" grinding his teeth. You rolled your eyes, "whatever, asshole." Steve slumped in his seat, but only enough for you to notice. Isaac chortled loudly, "it's his time of the month." and all four of you girls yelled at him, you, Hannah, Tracy and even Nancy, who'd been silent most of the afternoon. "SHUT UP, ISAAC!"

The whole cafeteria turned to look at your table and Josh slapped him on the back, "this is why you don't have any girlfriends, Isaac." and Isaac rolled his eyes, taking Hannah's empty juicebox, scrunching it up and throwing it over the table at the head of a freshman grumpily.

MARCH 1983

Steve had said if anyone puked on his seats he was going to leave them on the side of the road. You'd asked him, "what if Nancy's the one who pukes?" and Steve said, "I'll toss her out of the car." and although Nancy had been all pouty and miffed about it and Steve had asured her he would never do that, it still made you happy that he'd said that.

You'd gone shopping with Tracy and Hannah yesterday for a new outfit at Starcourt. You'd managed to leave Nancy behind, and you were glad that it had been a total anti-Wheeler bitch fest, but then you saw her and Steve coming out from the cinema with matching bracelets that were definetly homemade and it made you want to puke.

Even though you'd spent the rest of the afternoon crying, you looked fabulous, and it made you feel just a little bit better. And you felt even better when Billy Hargrove approached you at the party and called you hot.

Billy, the one guy who intimidated King Steve. He was smoking, and you guessed Tracy was right about the drug thing, but it was only marijuana, and Steve sometimes smoked marijuana, so. She was also right about him being superhot. This kind of guy wasn't normally your type, but you'd heard rumors about him, and they were all true.

For one thing, you'd seen him play at Steve's games. You'd seen him walk around the halls at school, how all the girls stared and all the guys were jealous of him. He might even be prom king this year. And you knew how Steve was upset that he wasn't the best player anymore. Oh, yeah. If it was anyone who was intimidating enough to get the attention of Steve "the Hair" Harrington, it was Billy Hargrove.

Billy spoke through the cigarette, "aren't you a pretty little thing?" you tried to look like you were hiding your blush, giggling softly. Billy smiled flirtatiousy and your stomach flipped. He leanerd in closer so you could smell him, cologne mixed with sweat, alcohol and drugs. "What do you say, you and I get out of here and I show you a good time?" and you were so tempted to say yes.

But then you saw Steve, from across the room, and you remembered what Steve smelled Like, of day-old sweaters and the leather seats of his car and his the old farmhouse you'd discovered when you were kids, still hanging out there with your friends to this day, and you smiled sheepisly sad, shaking your head.

"I'm sorry," you said at last, "but it's my friend's party and I'd promised I'd stay the whole night." But Billy wasn't miffed. All he did was smile charmingly and took out a marker.

"Well, okay," and he took your arm, "call me if you ever want to." and you held your breath as he wrote the digits on your skin, body tingling as he walked away, into the crowd.

MAY 1983

Steve scowled as he and Nancy took their seats at the table. He didn't know why, but he hated seeing Y/N and Billy together. It really pissed him off.

Y/N used to wear Steve's sweaters all the time, Nancy didn't like his clothes. But now all she wore were that douchebag's leather jackets, and Steve hated that she looked good in them. Hot, even. But it didn't matter. Nancy was his girlfriend, and Y/N was Billy's.

Steve glared at the couple, "could you not? We're eating. Get a fucking room." and while you pulled away from Billy and blushed like you were embarrassed, all Billy did was smirk. "You got a problem, Harrington?"

Steve scoffed and puffed out his chest. Tracy giggled softly, turning to Y/N. "Your boyfriend's so hot." and you blushed again, "yeah, he kind of is. Definitely Prom King material." Billy grinned, taking your hand, kissing it. "Not without my queen." Steve was gonna puke.

Isaac, Peter and Josh crossed their arms. Well, at least Steve had them on his side. They knew who Y/N really belonged with. Steve just needed Y/N to know.

Steve pulled Nancy close to him, "yeah, well, you've got competition, Hargrove." and Billy smirked again, cocking his head. "You sure about that, Harrington? I mean, you don't really fit the position, but Wheeler's got some damn hot boobs, I bet, and so does Y/N. Who knows? There might be two queens this year." Steve clenched his fists.

All Billy did was smirk. "Did that seriously rile you up, Harrington? Damn, next time I wanna kick your ass at basketball all I have to do is bring up Y/N's hot fucking boobs."

Steve lunged across the table, scattering food trays and juice boxes astray. You got up from your seat lightning fast, shrieking loudly. "Steve!" and the sound brought a clarity to Steve's rage-filled mind. He gripped Billy's shirt in his fist, but all he did was laugh.

One of the teachers began to glare at your table. "Steve!" you said again, gesturing with your head. Steve huffed loudly, "yeah, yeah, I know."

The bell rang.

As soon as you, Steve and Jamie were in class, Steve hauled you over to the empty desk next to his, taking your stuff with him even though you both knew Jamie would be listening in. She was like that. And besides, she was your best friend. It was her duty.

When your English teacher, Mr. Watson, wasn't looking, Steve broke into the conversation angrily. "Why do you spend time with that freak? He's a douchebag, Y/N! Have you seen the way he treats his little sister? He's no good for you! He doesn't deserve you. He's an asshole, I -"

"Mr. Harrington! Is there something you would Like to share with the class?" and Steve brought his attention to the front of the clasroom, "no, sir." falling quiet.

He didn't speak to you for the rest of the lesson, except for when you asked to borrow his eraser. When he gave it to you, he could've sworn he saw you blush.

JUNE 1983

The ringing phone in your room woke you up at nine o'clock on a Sunday morning. You groaned loudly before stumbling out of bed, Steve's old gym shirt flowing past your knees. Your legs were cold.

It was Billy. Great. Just great. "You wanna come over?" god, no.

You shook your head, "no, I can't, I'm sorry. I've got to study. No distractions," you added, remembering that one time you let Billy come over while you were studying. You could almost see his shrug, "all right."

You groaned in relief as Billy hung up, walking back over to your bed, sliding back under the doonas. You didn't actually have any studying to do. Billy was just... a handful. Steve was right about that.

The phone rang again.

"For fuck's sake!" you shouted angrily, stomping back over. You were about to yell at Billy, no shits to give, but Billy spoke before you could yell at him.

"Are you at home?" and you grumbled loudly, "yes, I already said I'm at home studying." and you could almost hear Billy's grin, "that was a trick question. I know you're at home, because I'm calling you with the phone in your living room." What the fuck? You thought to yourself. That was so fucking creepy! Why would -

"Steve?"

"Ya-huh. Your mum let me in." oh. So Billy wasn't Billy. Billy was Steve. You smiled softly.

You blew out heavily into the reciever, "oh thank god, I -" and Steve grinned at the front door of your room, "let me guess. You didn't want it to be Billy?"

You wanted to say yes, so bad. You just wanted to cry to him, admit that he'd been right all along, tell him how much you hated Billy, kiss him and say, please, please take me away from here.

But then you remembered your birthday party in 1981 where your newest guest, Nancy Wheeler, was making out with your best friend and crush, Steve Harrington.

You shook your head, "no. I'm just glad it was you." Steve grinned, "is that my shirt?" even though he already knew the answer as he walked into your bedroom. You rolled your eyes, "of course it is, Steven."

But Steve was still grinning, "don't you have Billy's clothes to wear?" and you scowled at his words, "I'm not wearing leather jackets to sleep." though that wasn't the full reason why you didn't wear Billy's clothes. You had a lot of his shirts. It was just... they didn't smell like Steve.

Steve rolled his eyes, "whatever. Can you not talk about Billy for like, just five minutes?" and your jaw dropped at him, "are you serious, Steve? You were the one who brought him up!" and you crossed your arms, glaring at him profuesly, trying to figure out exactly why he was blaring so hot and cold.

Steve sighed sheepishly, "alright. I'm sorry." pulling you close and hugging you. "Hey. Wanna go watch a movie or something?" speaking into the top of your head. You smiled into him, "yeah, sure. Just let me get changed." and Steve pouted at this, "but I Iike it when you wear my shirts. Nancy never wears my clothes." and you scowled, "I'll get arrested for nudity. Now turn around, you perv."

Steve grinned, "whatever you say." and you checked that he really was turned around before pulling off his gym shirt and throwing on a dress. Steve whined loudly, "Y/N! Can't you wear one of my jumpers. Please." and you scoffed, "you act like you want people to think we're dating!" you waited for a reaction, but all Steve did was smile. You rolled your eyes, "fine. Now come on!"

Monday night

Steve loved the roads near Y/N's house. All the cobblestones were broken, but there was a time where they were kids and he played a game with her where you couldn't touch the lines on the road. She got a scrape on her knee and cried into him for half an hour before letting him put on the band-aid, but it was one of his favourite memories.

He was playing the game now, though he was sure he'd stepped on at least five or six lines. He was too preoccupied, distracted. He'd just broken up with Nancy, and the thought was swimming around in his head like a record he couldn't turn off.

"Don't say it's bullshit, Nancy!" Steve was the second to raise his voice, throat shaky. "Don't fucking say it's bullshit!" tears were threatening to spill from his eyes as Nancy crossed her arms, "oh yeah? It's bullshit. B - U - L - L - S - H -" Steve slammed the door in her face, anger seething out. It was the fourth time they'd broken up, but this time Steve knew it was final. He didn't love her anymore. He was pretty sure he'd never loved her.

Steve sighed as up to Y/N's house. He was so ready for a sick movie night right now. He put his hand to the door and knocked on it, opening his mouth to yell out for her. That's when he heard the screaming. He opened the door with the spare key under the little red mat, and ran into the house and up into her room, where the scene unraveled before him.

"YOU SAID YOU WERE STUDYING BUT I SAW YOU WITH HARRINGTON AT STARCOURT, AND YOU WERE WEARING HIS JUMPER! YOU'VE BEEN SLEEPING WITH HIM, HAVEN'T YOU? I'VE SEEN THE WAY YOU LOOK AT HIM, YOU FUCKING SLUT!"

The rage and sirens blew through Steve's mind. All he saw was red, red as Billy grabbed Y/N's wrist, red as Steve barrelled over across the corner of the room where they were standing.

Steve tried his best to be gentle, but he threw Y/N away from Billy, shoving her lightly to the side, out of his reach. He drew an invisible line from him, Y/N, and Billy, and as soon as Y/N was on his side of the line, Steve tumbled over, yelling in rage.

You watched the scene in horror. Steve was wrestling with Billy, screaming, literally screaming, in his face. "DON'T FUCKING TOUCH HER, HARGROVE!" the shock rested on your face and you were sure that it would never come off. "DON'T FUCKING TREAT HER LIKE THAT, YOU ASSHOLE!"

But then Billy laughed, flipping the two of them around so that he was the one giving the punches, and you were still watching in horror before a scream leapt out of your mouth. "STEVE!" you tried to run over but your legs wouldn't move. They were glued to the ground, fearful of what would happen if they did.

Steve grunted softly before heaving his breath heavily, muttering something under his breath. Then you screamed again, because now Steve was throwing punches. Five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen until Billy clocked out.

Your legs started working again. The tears sprang from your eyes as you ran over, shattered and uneven breaths tumbling from your mouth. "Steve," his name came out as more of a gasp, you reached up to try to clean the blood from his face but he took your hand away gently, shaking his head.

"Are you okay?" he pulled you close to him and even though you hated yourself for it, you cried into his shirt. You nodded violently, choking out the words. "Yeah, yeah, I'm okay. Are you - are you okay? Steve." looking up at him with big, doe eyes.

Steve grunted again before nodding, "yeah, I'm okay. I just. God, I fucking hate your boyfriend." he let out a hollow laugh and you thought for a while. You sniffed, "he's not my boyfriend anymore." and Steve hugged you again, "good."

There was a long, calming silence when you spoke again. You stood on your tip-toes to look him in the eyes, "Steve?" and he placed his lips on your head, "hmm." the words tumbled out unwillingly, "would it be okay if I kissed you?" knowing full well what the answer would be, knowing full well that he loved Nancy and not you.

So it shocked you when Steve smiled and said, "I was actually planning on doing that." but you put your head into his shirt softly and mumbled the words, "no, it's okay. I know you love Nancy. Don't kiss me just 'cause I asked you. I was just being silly, I -"

Steve groaned into the kiss, and it was just like how he'd thought it would be. Your lips were soft and warm and radiated a warmth through his entire body. He was so scared to let go, afraid you would break if he did, but when he finally pulled apart, he saw your smile, and he knew you were not broken anymore. Steve kissed your forehead softly, "I don't love Nancy. I love you. It's always been you." you buried your head into the neckline of his shirt, "I love you too."

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[bonesandthebees]

Idrk how to start this so I'm gonna get staright to the point lol

I really like the way you write Niki in your fics. In alot of fics I see Niki feels very one dimensional. Which can be fine if she is not a very big part of the story, but I've seen this happen with fics were she is in the main characters. I get that newer writers can have trouble with ceratin characters but it really frustrates me when I know the author COULD add more dimension to Niki but doesn't care enough about her as a character to do it.

I really like the way you write Niki because in all of your fics that I've seen she actually feels like a character with her own personality and goals instead of her just being there.

Idk it just really frustrates me when Niki is written as just "sweet girl who bakes" and given no other personality traits beacause Niki is so complex and so so much more than that

aaaa this means so much to hear you have no idea

I love c!niki as a character. while c!crime are always going to be my favorites from dsmp, I always had such a soft spot for c!niki. the entire reason I broke down and finally made an mcyt blog in the first place was actually bc I wanted to make a post about c!jack and c!niki. she's such a complicated character with so many facets to her so whenever I write her I always try to make her feel like a proper reflection of that

there's always been a problem with the way fandom treats female characters. no matter the fandom, no matter the year, there almost always tends to be a trend in fanworks that flatten out the female characters in comparison to male characters. dsmp is no exception, and is only made worse by how few female characters there are to work with in the first place.

while of course this isn't true for all fics, in a large swath of fics c!puffy gets reduced to either a therapist and/or mother figure, and c!niki is either Generic Nice Girl or a #girlboss with no in between. then a lot of fics tend to forget c!hannah and c!tina exist entirely but that's for another day

c!niki is kind, yes. but she also doesn't deal with emotional issues well. she stands up for what she thinks is right and will stubbornly hold onto incorrect beliefs even when she knows she's in the wrong because it's easier than admitting to herself that she did something terrible. she struggles with finding healthy places to direct her anger. she loves her friends fiercely and will hold deep loyalty to them until she's been betrayed completely, and then she'll return that betrayal in full force.

I'm so glad these kinds of things come through in my fics. I know niki is still a side character in my fics, but I try to make her as fleshed out as I can even with those limitations. one of the reasons I'm really excited for my next project after glass is that niki is going to have a bigger role in it than she's had in any of my fics so far, so I'm really excited that I'll be able to put so much focus on her.

I guess my hope was always that since I have a large audience in this fandom, seeing these more nuanced portrayals of niki would sway the common perception of her and would lead to others putting more effort into writing her. I don't think that happened, but I'm going to keep writing her as best I can bc she's such a fun character to dig into

[pluckysidekick]

So no trailer this week with two and a half weeks to go, le sigh. We did see ads from local stations (using old promo photos), and we got what appears to be the Nancy Drew 4.01 title and description. Read on for that and a bunch more show and cast bits from the past week.

“The Dilemma of the Lover’s Curse.” They’re hitting the curse head on, which I like. Two different sites posted the title along with an episode description that came right from the season 4 description we got back in January.

Now that we’re so close, the reality of Nancy and Ace having potential love interests is sinking in. We know that Nancy will not risk Ace’s life as long as there’s no solution to the curse. I’m still hopeful for lots of Nace scenes, with plenty of delicious angst. Curious how this squares with Kennedy’s discussion of Nancy and Ace’s emotional openness with each other - I still expect Ace to figure out the curse quickly.

I’m also super hyped about the sins of the town’s past, the multiple supernatural mysteries, and the stories for the entire crew. May 31 is so close I can taste it.

Scott Wolf gave us some insight into S4’s resolution for our beloved characters in a new interview - it was a big deal for them to know it was the final season ahead of time, the season will cover the things that are most important to us, but “not every resolution is going to be satisfying for everyone.”

Glad to hear they planned real resolutions for everyone, terrified about them not all being satisfying. I’m absolutely expecting Nace endgame, but I want good things for all of our family. They’re keeping us on our toes…

We saw lots of our cast this week - Kennedy made a surprise appearance in an Arizona bookstore with her author parents (note this pic is with her mom and the bookseller, not McDad), Maddison was in Paris and England with her Versailles cast and her family, and Riley is appearing in another episode of Station 19 this week.

Alex has been on vacay in Italy and France (Hannah captioned the first photo “Alex doesn’t like PDA. So I fixed it” ☠️). Alex’s new show High Desert premieres this week on Apple TV. There’s a new in depth, spoilery review at AV Club. According to the article (spoiler alert), Peggy (Patricia Arquette) is “no longer speaking to her grown son.” We won’t see Alex until episode 6 - could he play Peggy’s son?

Leah’s show Matlock was picked up for the fall (watch the trailer), and she’s celebrating in Mexico with her bf.

Meanwhile Queen Charlotte is another huge hit with fantastic exposure for Tunji - check out the in depth Tatler profile on our favorite Scotsman, where he draws an interesting parallel between Charlotte & George’s and Harry & Meghan’s experiences - and admits he’s never watched Bridgerton.

In more show news, the Nancy Drew writers’ request for fan input has generated tons of great questions but only chaos from the writers so far - no real answers yet.

Speaking of chaos, Kennedy stepped into the fray to drop four songs from her S4 playlist. “The Winner Takes it All” (no more ace to play), “all my ghosts” (all my ghosts are with me), and “Thinking of You” (cause when I’m with him I am thinking of you) are killing me, the pain. “Big Poppa” has me thinking about Nancy under some kind of spell a la Burning Bride (as she described Episode 2) hitting on everyone in sight - “mackin’ hoes” while “my crew’s behind me.” Now in honor of “Big Poppa”, what if it’s Ryan!?

Finally, two more cast members were added to IMDB - Fred the car towing guy is back for 3 episodes (3, 5, and 13), and there’s a new security guard in Episode 9.

You get a gold star if you made it to the end. Another week, another wish for a trailer and new photos. I’m busy wrapping up The Space Between - expect the thrilling (I hope) conclusion before the season premiere. Also planning a fluffy epilogue, I at least can promise satisfying conclusions for everyone!