#Kel does polls | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

blackkatmagic · 5 months ago

Note

Do you have summaries for the unpublished stories (in the last patreon poll)? I would love to hear more about them!

Absolutely! I realized belatedly and while not massively sleep deprived that I should have put the summaries in the heading part, whoops. :'D

Feral/Plo - identity porn/sugar daddy/biology made them do it AU:

Canon goes AU in that Talzin handed all three of her children over to Sidious instead of just Maul. Fast forward to the middle of the Clone Wars and Feral has grabbed his brothers, both of whom are in a bad way, and skipped out on Talzin/Sidious to hide on a planet that's mostly under Republic control, where he makes a living collecting information/carrying out assassinations for the local crime lord. Enter Plo, who's in the middle of like. the Kel Dor version of a horny season. Not quite fuck or die, but fuck or be distracted and miserable and horny for months. Feral, thinking this will be a good opportunity to gather info on the Jedi, volunteers to help him out by being a sex partner whose sturdiness can stand up to Kel Dor physiology. Except that Plo is nice and Feral is maybe not prepared for that.

Jaster/Granta - Sith empire vs. Mandalorian empire AU with lots of daddy issues:

Xanatos is the Sith Lord ruling over Telos, and Granta plays assassin/weapon for his father, right up until he makes a mistake, a Jedi gets away, and Sith Emperor Sidious demands that Granta be punished for failing. Xanatos promptly sends Granta to murder Mand'alor Jaster, who manages not to die but does clock the daddy issues at 20 paces. When Xanatos completely disavows Granta and leaves him for the Mandos to execute, Jaster offers a deal - he'll let Granta live, but in return Granta will be his consort as a fuck you to the Sith Empire, and use his skill at killing Sith for the Mandalorians. Granta accepts, and they have a lot of messy sex and even messier feelings about it.

Padme/Rex - Time travel/time slips/identity porn/fake Jedi!Padme:

Canon divergence in that Obi-Wan's remarkably stupid escape from Vader's base in Kenobi doesn't work, and Reva ends up kidnapping Luke and Leia both at the same time to bring them to Vader. Padme, vaguely a Force ghost by sheer force of will, realizes that her kids are in danger and gets so angry that she quite literally tears time itself apart, throwing herself, her kids, and Vader back to the start of the Clone Wars. They all end up scattered, though, and Padme, with a brand-new Force sensitivity and Obi-Wan's lightsaber, makes a plan with her past self and goes to find her kids, pretending to be a Jedi to let her move through the front more easily. Which goes great, right up until she falls in with Torrent by accident as they're looking for a vanished Anakin. Rex, for his part, has no idea what to make of this angry, driven Jedi lady who tears her way through the CIS like she's aiming to bring them down all by herself, but is also devastatingly sad and kind when there's no enemy to fight. He does know that he very much needs to keep her alive, though, and given Padme's recklessness and Vader making plans in the shadows, that's the furthest thing from easy.

Tae/Fox - CIS!clones AU/spy shenanigans/fake relationship:

AU with CIS!clone troopers under the command of whatever Sith Dooku can vaguely train/pull out of the mud, wherein Fox is the Marshal Commander of a newly-captured Coruscant under Dooku's control. Tae is a new Knight, following in Nico's footsteps as a Shadow, and when Nico goes missing on Coruscant, he decides to go undercover to look for him. Of course, the best way to do this is to volunteer to help the infamously difficult Marshal Commander, who chews through aides like it's a sport and defies even the Sith. When Dooku starts getting a little too suspicious of both of them for comfort, though, Tae comes up with a plan - fake a relationship and pretend to hide it, and then no one will look any deeper. Fox agrees, still unaware that Tae is a Jedi and an enemy.

Cody/Maul - identity porn/Force-sensitive!Cody/canon divergence

Cody touches the wrong artefact during the destruction of the Jedi Temple and the building of Palpatine's palace, and wakes up back at the start of the Clone Wars, still fighting the influence of the chip. Not willing to trust himself enough to go to the Jedi, he instead picks the next best thing: Maul. Except that as soon as he touches Maul, lost in the depths of Lotho Minor, it's not spider!Maul who crashes down on top of him, but Sith apprentice!Maul, pulled right out of his fight with Eldra but with all the doubts about his path that it raised. He immediately assumes that Cody is a Sith Lord challenging Palpatine, and Cody goes along with it, hoping that Maul will be able to teach him to control all of his unsettling new abilities. He very much doesn't expect the mad sort of devotion Maul brings with him, or the fact that he's suddenly the whole Jedi Order's number one target, thanks to Palpatine also assuming he's a rival.

#kat answers #wip list #my writing

71 notes · View notes

theprissythumbelina · 7 months ago

Text

Snippet Time!

I feel like I haven't posted anything in forever, and since I mentioned him on one of my polls I thought I might post this for reads and comments.

As a bit of context, Kel comes into Mortal Sparks as a detective and former companion of Nicolette's mother. He helps Nicolette and Alyss move through the big city and eventually flee the continent on a ship. Kel has been haunted through his life by the kidnapping and murder of most of his family, which he believes was tied to the exotic slave trade. Despite his efforts, the three youngest members of his family have been missing for over 20 years.

This snippet is from his childhood in the rural mountains of Clard Bute.

@thetruearchmagos @teacupsandstarlight if you're up for a bit of not-light reading?

"Happy birthday!"

Owen groaned as he was shaken so hard his head flopped off the pillow.

"Happy birthday!" a chipper voice repeated, a soft thump landing next to his head. Owen curled tighter in his quilt. Small hands patted his cheek repeatedly.

"You think we should get the water, Pat?" Conner asked, somewhere above.

"Gonna be late if we don't," Patty grumbled.

Owen fumbled to his left, snagging Riley and pulling her in with a squeal. "Gonna get the baby wet," he mumbled, tickling her until she flopped off the bed, still giggling. He pulled himself up and rubbed his eyes.

"I'll pay that price," Conner loomed over him, wielding a cup threateningly. Owen could see it was empty from the bed. He stuck his tongue out.

"That's not how a man acts," Patty scolded from the door. She tried to pick Riley up from the floor and was promptly tickled in return. "Get up, Owen. Kel made breakfast."

"Get up, Owen," Conner mimicked.

"Get up, Owen!" Riley added helpfully. "Up, Owen!"

"I'm going to eat," Patty sniffed. She left, and Owen pushed himself up. He pulled a shirt over his longjohns, stumbling as Riley tangled herself in his legs.

"Can you get rid of her?" he pleaded to Conner.

His older brother swept Riley up in a bear hug.

"Com'on, blubberbug, breakfast's waiting." He walked her awkwardly out to the kitchen as she tried to wiggle over his shoulder. Owen pulled on his boots and shuffled after them.

"Morning, birthday boy!" Kel crowed from the stove. Patty was already grumpily spooning oatmeal into her bowl. Owen's eyes caught on a small pile of chokecherries at Kel's elbow. Kel caught his look and grinned.

"Ready to eat?" He held out a bowl and sprinkled the chokecherries dramatically on top. "Only the best for our new man of the house."

Owen wrinkled his nose. "I'm twelve," he complained. "'Sides, that's Noah."

"And what am I, chopped liver?" Kel teased. "I get you wains out of bed, I feed you, I clean your nasty clothes -" he paused to pull Riley's hair out of her oatmeal, twisting it into a hair-tie. "And it ain't no picnic."

"Love you, Kel," Patty announced obediently, Owen and Conner a beat behind. Kel waved it away affectionately.

"Get on to school, now. You'll be late." Owen crammed more chokecherries in his mouth in between gulping down oatmeal. He grabbed his books, packed and ready by the door, and trooped out with Conner, Patty, and Riley.

"Not coming, Kel?" Patty turned before the door shut. Kel shook his head.

"Gotta call Mom, you ken? She probably lost track of the days. She'll want to be here tonight."

He said it with such easy confidence, Owen almost believed him. Conner muttered something, but shook his head when Owen leaned closer. He tugged at Patty's arm, and she let the door slam shut.

"He's gonna be behind next time he does come," she complained as they stomped down the frosted dirt road. Owen gazed up at the lightening sky, hoping they'd have an early snow for his birthday.

"He's not going back," Conner snapped. "He's gonna go with Noah next year, and I'll be looking after you lot. And once you get to 15, you'll be looking after Owen and Rils and I'll be working too."

Patty was silent for a moment. She stepped over the pinecone Owen kicked her way, still frowning.

"But I like school. I want to be a nurse, you have to go to school past 15 for that."

"Yeah, and I wanted to be a printer. But someone has got to take care of the littles."

"Kel takes care of us just fine," she protested. "Why can´t he stay home? He's been doing it since Mom left."

"Daithaine ort, Pat, 'cause he's gotta work. You think Noah makes enough for 5 of us? You think we can live off berries and rabbits forever? What about our clothes, Pat? You'll be fine, you got Mom's and 'Kayla's dresses, but what about Owen?"

Owen hunched his shoulders at his name. Patty had a stubborn look on her face, like she was glaring at John Balacky all over again. Conner went on.

"His boot were Dad's, then they were Noah's, then they were Kel's, then they were mine. You think they're gonna last much longer?"

Owen could hear Noah's words as Conner ranted. A three-room cabin was not enough space to avoid eavesdropping even on a quiet conversation. He'd seen the slump of Kel's shoulders through the door slit, heard a mumbled agreement as Noah ran his hand over his face. He had looked older than nineteen, in the lamplight. Owen had heard a different variation a few days later, as Conner tried to make his own stand. Kel had put a hand on his shoulder, but Conner shook it off and stomped into the bedroom he shared with Owen.

Noah had gone to bed a few moments later, pausing at the door as Conner cried quietly with his face toward the wall. His footsteps moved on after a few seconds, leaving only Kel to quietly prepare the kitchen for the morning.

Owen had barely seen his oldest brother for the last two years, and never in daylight. He rose before the rest, second only to Kel, who got up first to warm the stove. He got back home late too, smelling like sap and cold and sweat. Kel alone waited up for him most nights, though the sound of movement sometimes stirred the younger kids to say goodnight.

Owen blinked as Patty stomped her foot, now in a full-fledged argument with Conner. He buried his fingers deeper in his pockets, wondering if it was worth the effort to break them up. He yawned and thought better of it. They were still arguing as he pushed open the wire gate to the schoolhouse.

Kel was waiting for them as soon as the school bell rang. He leaned on the wire fence, grinning cheekily at the older girls standing in the schoolyard. Mary Balacky in particular took notice, her face turned toward him even as she chatted with her friends. Her red bow bounced slightly on the top of her head as she nodded happily, her eyes darting to Kel. Owen wrinkled his nose as Patty snorted. John Balacky stuck his tongue out at Patty as she and Owen pushed past, half-hidden behind his sister's skirt.

"Where'd Conner get off too?" Kel asked cheerfully, glancing at Patty and Owen before eyeing the girls again. He had a pack slung over one shoulder that was suspiciously lumpy.

"Ms. K wanted to talk with him," Patty said snottily.

"She said he wasn't in trouble," Owen piped up.

"Probably she wants to give him another award for good behavior," Kel reached over and tugged at Patty's curls. "Not like little Miss Right Hook here."

"Jonny started it," Patty insisted, swatting at Kel's arm.

"And you ended it just like I showed you, huh? Right in the kisser. Pow!"

Patty grinned.

"What's that?" Owen pointed to the bag.

"Nothing for right now. Gotta wait for the celebration, alright?"

Conner stomped out of the school, glowering at the younger kids in his way. They scattered like sparrows as he reached the gate.

"There he is," Kel greeted him. "You get another gold star?"

Conner resettled his bag on his shoulder. "She wanted to know if this was my last year in school." He shrugged. "I told her I didn't know."

Kel grimaced, making an aborted attempt to pat Conner's shoulder. "Well," he cleared his throat, "Let's get going, wains."

A chorus of "Bye, Kel!" followed them away from the school. Kel twisted to give one last wave before settling to walk up the mountain, his arm draped over Owen's shoulder. Halfway to the house, Owen gathered the courage to speak.

"Kel?" He hesitated.

Kel tightened his arm supportively.

"What's the craic?"

Owen felt his newfound courage fade. "What if…" he tried, but lapsed into silence. Kel gave him small smile.

"What if it doesn't work?" he finished for Owen. Owen nodded, cheeks heating.

"Well," Kel dragged the word out, "If it doesn't, we gotta feed you to the fairies, you know."

Owen blinked at him. "The fairies?"

"Yeah, you´ve seen the ring down by the kill. You know, we used to have another brother, but it didn't work for him, so he had to go into the ring."

Owen stared up at him. Kel snorted.

"Geez, If I told you I wrote gullible on the roof you'd look up, wouldn't you?"

"Uh," Owen muttered.

"It's gonna work, buddy. And if it doesn't, you'll still be our annoying littlest brother. 'Sides, you don't remember your teething years. You've got some strong chompers."

Kel poked at his mouth playfully. "Open up now, let's see those sharp canines. I've still got a scar from when I got too close to your dinner."

Owen pushed him away. Kel chuckled and slung his arm back over Owen's shoulder. "You're gonna be fine, I promise. Scout's honor."

Owen nodded, but he burrowed a light tighter under Kel's arm anyway.

At the house, he and Patty did their homework while Conner helped Riley with hers, and Kel chopped firewood behind the house until dinnertime.

Owen looked up when the door opened, expecting to see Kel. Instead, Noah pushed his way in, dropping his knapsack in the line of bags by the door. Owen jumped out of his seat and rushed into Noah's arms.

Noah chuckled, wrapping Owen in a bear hug. "Easy there, bud," he rumbled. Patty and Riley also joined the clump, squishing Owen between his siblings.

"I didn't know if you were gonna be here," Owen beamed up at Noah.

"Course I was. I wouldn't miss your birthday."

"Missed mine," Conner muttered from the table. Noah looked up, a dark expression clouding his face, but whatever he was going to say was interrupted by Kel pushing past.

"None of that," Kel told Conner pointedly, "This is a birthday and we're gonna be happy with each other, okay?"

Conner shrugged, but followed him back out for another armful of firewood.

With the stew ready and the shadows stretching over their cottage, Owen sat in the middle of his family as they prayed and sang and ate. As he tipped the last of the stew into his mouth, Kel stood up and fetched his bag, setting it down in front of Owen and taking his bowl. Owen pulled back the top of the bag and lifted out a pair of dark leather boots, solid and sturdy, with only a few scratches on the toe. He breathed in the smell of clean leather, with no scent of his brothers. These boots were his and his alone. He grinned up at Noah, who was watching him with a tired smile.

"You'll need to pad them out with your socks still," he told Owen, "but we figured your old ones were about ready to kick the can. These should last you at least ten years, if you care for them right."

"I will," Owen promised. He stood and hugged Noah, then Kel.

"You want another bowl?" Kel asked. "There's a little left."

Owen shook his head. "Its almost time, right? We could visit Kayla and Dad, before…"

Noah got to his feet. "Good idea. Let's go visit Kayla. The bonfire is close to her anyway."

The kitchen was suddenly a bustle of activity as everyone fetched coats and boots. Kel fussed over Riley, pushing his own gloves over her mittens and wrapping a second scarf over her head. He delayed so long that even Noah rolled his eyes and pushed them all outside.

All six followed a small path through the trees, into a small clearing. Owen blinked in the darkness of the trees, but he followed his brother's sure footsteps into the lighter area of the clearing. Puffs of air hung around their heads as the family gathered next to two headstones. Owen hung away from the second headstone. It had always made him feel weird, that there was no grave under it. It was like talking to empty air. But, the loggers never found any remains to give them. Their mother had insisted on the headstone.

Kel cleared his throat. "Hey, Kayla. Hey, Dad. It's Owen's birthday, his twelfth birthday. We, uh, we wanted to come and all be together - well almost all, but," He took a deep breath. "We wanted to come and remember that, we're still a family. And we always will be. You both should have been here tonight, and -"

He stumbled to a stop. Noah took over. "You aren't forgotten. You never will be. Each of us carries you in our hearts. Tonight, in this life or the next, we are together, as family."

Patty nudged Owen. "Say something," she hissed.

"Uh, Dad, Kayla, I miss you. We miss you. But I promise, I'm gonna make you proud, and I'm gonna, uh, take my place in the family. We're looking out for each other."

They stood in silence for a long moment. Kel shifted first, gazing at the sky.

"Moon's almost up." he said. "Let's get to the fire."

On the other end of the clearing, Kel had piled logs and branches almost up to Owen's chest. The logs had already been doused with gasoline, and a thick swath of freshly tiled dirt created a barrier between the bonfire and any dry grass or pine needles. Noah struck a match and tossed it at the base of the logs. It caught flame with a bright flare that settled into a steady, warm blaze.

Owen fiddled under his coat, clutching his amulet. He hadn't taken it off in nearly six years. His heart was already pounding away next to the amulet, heating the red stone. Owen heard a thump as Noah shed his heavy overcoat. To his right, Kel unwrapped his own scarf and added it on top of Riley's numerous layers, followed by his own coat. Conner had already stripped to his longjohns, and Patty was pulling off her boots.

"It's best if you get the clothes off before it starts," Noah advised him gently, pulling off his shirt. "You don't want to rip anything."

Owen nodded nervously. He had always been like Riley until now, waiting in cast off layers for the moon to finally cast light over the clearing. He tugged at the laces of his boots, his ears attuned to the soft sounds of clothes falling to the ground around him. Owen was down to his skivvies, shivering, when a low groan made him look up.

The moon had risen. It loomed behind the mountains, thin wisps of clouds curling around and under its glow. Full, and huge, it stretched up, up, and at last pulled free of the horizon. Kel's head dropped back to his shoulders as he groaned again. Noah fell into a crouch. Conner stretched his arms forward. Patty threw her head back and let out a high, mournful cry, that slipped into a wild howl as she shuddered and folded, her forelimbs lengthening, her hair spreading to cover her entire body in dark brown fur. She threw back her muzzle and howled again. This time, Kel joined in, his voice dark and melodic. Noah and Conner joined, Conner an octave above both his brothers.

Owen's throat ached to join in, like he had dreamed each full moon. But he clung to the amulet, his hand like a vise. If he took it off, he'd have no excuse. He hesitated. The voices dwindled off. A cold nudge to his elbow brought him back to reality, and he looked up at Kel's amber eyes. He was a huge werewolf, larger than a pony, but even a smaller werewolf like Patty could never be confused for a true wolf. It was the eyes, and the legs, with their strangely long paws and bent limbs. Kel nudged him again, his eyes gentle.

Swallowing, Owen pulled the amulet over his head, and tossed it into the fire. For the first time, he felt the moon steal over his skin. It itched like crazy, like his skin was crawling, moving. He scratched at thick, dark fur that coated his arms, his legs, his chest. He cried out as his fingers cracked and twitched, becoming longer, thicker, built for running and clawing. He ran his tongue around a lengthening mouth, sharpening teeth, and finally, finally, settled in a crouch and tipped his head back to the moon, letting loose a howl.

His siblings joined in joyously, howling and yipping, their voices bouncing off the mountains and echoing back like a pack of a hundred. Owen pulled in air through his nose for the first time, marking the scent of each of his pack, his family. The fire in front of him snagged in his nostrils, sharp and acrid, but below that was the scent of the trees, clean, and the earth, and a deer, stinking of fear as it bounded away. Owen ached to chase it.

As if he had read Owen's mind, Noah rose to all four feet, summoning his pack with a low grumble. Owen bounded up, his tail betraying his excitement. Patty and Conner panted and yipped, circling Noah impatiently. Noah held them back until Kel straightened from his crouch, Riley steady on his shoulders.

With a huff, Noah bounded forward, Patty and Conner on his heels, Owen and Kel bringing up the rear. They raced down the mountain, the scent of the deer's panic like a flare. Owen stretched his new limbs, feeling the blood pound freely through his veins. He matched pace with Conner, their shoulders' brushing in perfect unison. Patty yipped as she broke off to the right. Conner steered Owen to the left, surrounding the deer. They were so close now, he could hear the deer's heart pound. In the distance, another voice lifted to the moon. Wilder, older, and burdened by sorrow, but still celebrating a new member of the pack.

#long post #text post #wip Mortal Sparks #snippet #Kellen Cúllaidh #worldbuilding #werewolves #shapeshifter #repost #my writing #werewolf family #the Family #fantasy #writeblr

7 notes · View notes

xxxcertifiednerdxxx · 2 years ago

Text

THE RESULTS ARE IN!!! And I’ve gotta say I’m not surprised.

Very nice Nautolan got the most votes. Kit Fisto is awesome, and being a species that can live in and out of the water would be dope.

We got some diversity in the answers, which I appreciate. People who put species I didn’t list in the tags gave some good options, like Shistavanen and Vintian.

I think i was the only one to vote Snivvian. �� I voted that bc I like how they spent harsh winters on their home world in underground caverns making art. That’s my kind of lifestyle right there. And I think they look so cute in animation! My second choice though would be a Weequay.

Bith and Gotal got zero votes! Which is fine but i think it’s funny.

The biggest representation Bith get is the band from A New Hope. There have been Bith Jedi, and Darth Plagueis’s master was a Sith Bith (lol), Darth Tenebrous.

As for Gotal, the most famous one is probably that one who got killed by a H’nemthe. So that’s pretty unfortunate representation! 😂

Not including humans bc that’s boring. Also not including Twi’leks or Pantorans bc those are too close to human imo and they would be too popular. This is rigged according to my bias. If you really want to be a twi’lek or pantoran (or, goodness forbid, a human), vote other and say that in the tags.

32 notes · View notes

majestydeerakuma · 2 years ago

Text

There’s a best OMORI character poll happening on Twitter and one of the matchups before the final is Basil vs Kel

I wanna cry! I really don’t want Kel to win!

It’s really gonna say a lot about the OMORI fandom and I’m gonna be disappointed

I just want Basil or Sunny to win the whole thing...they’re both really amazing and relatable characters. While Kel is a relatable character, Sunny and Basil hit harder for me personally

I don’t hate or dislike any of the OMORI characters...it’s just...gonna be painful if Kel wins in my eyes

(And no, I do not kin any characters! That is not why I don’t want Kel to win)

I would prefer Basil or Sunny to win because I feel like no one even sees Kel for his character and are just voting him because of memes rather than how amazing of a character he is

Like...he didn’t understand or completely grasp the reality of Mari’s death. He was probably in a lot of shock which is why he didn’t fully grasp it or show any sadness on the outside. He tried making new friends to distract himself from how painful life was at the moment, so he can actually be stable, happy and continue to be himself. What also makes Kel a relatable character is the fact that his parents (subconsciously or not) pretty much choose favorites and go to Hero’s aid instead of Kel’s. They see Hero as this amazing person and Kel...he’s just some athletic boy to them. Hero always cared for Kel and Kel even cares for Hero, it’s just painful to see the parents help one child and not the other in both of their time in need. Kel is a very humorous guy as shown in game and is an amazing friend to all of the characters in game...it just saddens me that I feel like people are overlooking how much depth Kel has and are only really voting him because memes and fnuuy man...

It really is odd to go through the main cast of OMORI characters because to me, it really does feel like people only like Kel for the memes rather then who he actually is as a character, a cool, helpful, caring dude with a great sense of humor and a positive outlook on life

It honestly saddens me in general for people to misunderstand characters or for parts of a character to be completely overshadowed by something else about them that has been over-saturated by the fandom to death. A great example of this is Mr. Resetti from Animal Crossing. His character is misunderstood by a good portion of the Animal Crossing fandom and the fandom overdid his anger and made it his only personality trait, completely overshadowing his actual character and what bits of his background there is.

...damn...I didn’t expect to go on a rant where I talk about Kel’s character and then give an example of how people misunderstand a character (Basil is also a misunderstood character where his character flies right over people’s heads)

I apologize for this dumb rant though if you read this far, thanks for reading this

(now i’m tired...i would cry tears of joy if i had a friend like Kel in real life though, not gonna lie)

#omori #sunny omori #kel omori #basil omori #character analysis #???#rant #i’m so sorry #i’m gonna cry because i just *explodes*

13 notes · View notes

paperclipninja · 5 years ago

Text

Younger post-ep ramble 6x04

Well now, we’ve hit a rather interesting point in the season now haven’t we? Can you say DRAH-MAH. This week’s episode, ‘An Inside Glob’, sees the tension that’s been mounting in the first three episodes of season 6 reach boiling point. And then boil over. Into a restaurant full of onlookers. Then onto Reddit. Lol. Now I may be biased because of my love of Miriam Shor (or I am simply an appreciator of good directing when I see it), but this week’s ep was so well put together, it felt like there was ample room for each scene to breathe and the pacing overall felt significantly less frantic than it sometimes does. There was a familiarity, for lack of a better word, about the structure and the feel of this ep, not to mention the writing left me legit laughing out loud many times throughout. The writers are bringing it this season. We also see the welcome return of two faves: Charles’ three-piece suit and Liza’s silver-suit power-tude. Let’s dive on in.

You always know it’s going to be a good ep when it opens with a loft heart-to-heart between Liza and Maggie, but not before Liza meets Maggie’s new boo Beth (with Liza’s ‘ew’ and hand wiping after Maggie tells her they just finished a session equal parts gold and gross). Their whole interaction, from the ‘I promise not to call him Chaz’ (was anyone else hoping she would call him Chaz, because I was HANGING for a Chaz drop at dinner. There’s still time...), to Liza sharing her concerns that Charles is secretly financing a new company and Maggie trying to justify all the coincidences and reassure her, it was just premium bff content. Not to mention a great set-up for the episode and follow on from the last one.

Liza continues to try and allay her suspicions about Charles by getting Kelsey’s view of the funding source after the morning meeting with my new fave power-trio (quick poll: Zane always looking like a dog who just ate your pizza - accurate or nay?) and Diana brings the top quality delivery of one liners right from the get-go as we’re introduced to this week’s author, Bronwyn Madigan (aka, the cash cow whose milk Millennial could use...yes, D. Trout, you did need to say that). Apparently baby boomers like to top off their reading of erotica with a good meatloaf (actual meatloaf, get your minds out of the euphemistic gutter) and that is now two foodstuffs I have a strained relationship with following this ep of Younger. Liza is able to quash her spidey senses re: the Mercury money briefly, as Kelsey reveals she’s been doing some digging and discovered the company is operating out of the financial district, therefore obviously it’s a big media company behind it. Obviously...

Lo and behold Kelsey marches her feisty self down to the Mercury office to confront Zane and weaves through hopeful start-up founders in a co-working space to find him (also, are AirPods a pre-req to land a job at Mercury?). Their entire exchange had a couple of ‘whoa’ moments for me. Exhibit A, when discussing how Zane secured Audrey Colbert’s book:

Kelsey: ‘So you slept with her? God, that is completely unethical. And so creepy”

Zane: ‘But it’s fine when you do it?’

File under: T for TRUTH. Not gonna lie, I almost applauded. I would have filed under H for Hypocrite except the next part of the conversation, in which Kelsey throws the accusation that Zane went after Audrey because he knew she was (and I’m with Zane on this one, she is going to need to learn to suck it up when Millennial loses out on books, our pal Kels is on one steep learning curve), followed with, ‘that book was important to me and you knew it’, goes straight to the H folder. How does Zane know it? Could it be because Kelsey told Zane she was going after Audrey’s book? Even after he told her he had a job, that he was just waiting for everything to line up and considering his history of swooping in and being competitive? While they are not fully comparable situations, I found this a bit rich considering the grief Kelsey gave Liza for discussing business with Charles (I get that was her insecurity and feeling he would interfere), when her discussions with Zane have seemingly led him to going after this book. Which is 100% in character for him btw.

I have been liking a lot of Kelsey’s boss moments this season but this week it certainly felt like she was in way over her head. At her lunch with Lauren, yet another combo I thoroughly enjoy on my screen, we once again see Lauren being the relentlessly supportive friend she always is and educating Kelsey on the dos and don’ts of dating apps (surely Kelsey knew that deleting an app doesn’t delete your profile right??? Putting it down to stress amnesia). Pointing out that putting your job title on your dating profile if it is in any way a potential threat to male ego is a big no-no (’this kind of over-accomplishment only works if you’re trying to pick up women’), Lauren offers up that Kelsey suffers from BDE. Of course we later discover that rather than big dick energy, Kelsey is suffering bald dude energy, confirmed by her alopecia diagnosis. I did so enjoy Kelsey’s dramatic reactions, ‘just keep an eye out ok?’, to the whole ordeal and it certainly added another element to the rising tension.

Cue hilarious conversation with Diana about her own battle with hair loss (not on her head) along with the rest of her ailments (shingles seems to be a running theme this season. Did someone in the writers room have a shingles flair up recently after reading a particularly terrible autobiography or suffer month-specific breakouts aka Diana’s electric tube top? Need to know). Even though it was not making Kelsey feel better necessarily, this was Diana being supportive in her own way and I am just here for it every day of the week. I think what I enjoyed most about the office scenes in this episode, aside from every single line that came out of Diana’s mouth, were the moments that were reminiscent of the old office dynamic. From Diana bleating ‘Liza’ as she enters Liza’s office (still can’t believe that’s a thing) with the idea of advertising erotica on the bike kiosks to the sarcasm when Liza asks ‘Bronwyn’s?’ and Diana responds with ‘no, my own’. We finally get to meet author of ‘The Seasoned Slut’ (loving the guest casting this season btw) who oozes a self-assurance that only serves to emphasise her reason for not re-signing with Millennial: that her problem ‘is with the lack of value placed on experience’. Ugh, I loved this line.

I loved it because it is an absolute reality, especially for women in the workplace, and goes hand in hand with the ageism this show’s entire premise was built upon. I loved it because this show tells us that experience is and should be valued through Zane’s comment in episode one, that Kelsey should not lose Diana as she is the best in the business and Kelsey telling Diana that she values and respects her. And I loved this line because the set-up for this season remains true to the original premise and challenges it at the same time, taking another look at the role age/experience and gender play in success and reinventing yourself. Did I mention I love this show?

Liza’s reaction to the question of ‘where is the grey hair in the room?’ was also noted, a nice reminder that the age-lie is still in play and is never far from the surface. The other thing I loved in the meeting with Bronwyn was Diana’s horror that she a) might be considered the demographic for her books and b) ‘do people think I’m her age?’ I cannot imagine a time I will ever watch this line and not roar with laughter. I also love that that was the main takeaway Diana had from the whole BJ comment this woman just casually dropped in as she exited, you know, as one might mention they know a great bagel place you might enjoy nearby.

Josh’s parenting journey continues to unfold as he gets his first overnight stay with Gemma, but not before experiencing some kind of parental rite of passage and being squirted in the face with breast milk. I know there is a lot of mistrust of Clare out there in the internet but I will keep saying this week after week, I am so enjoying seeing Josh and Clare navigating this modern-day parenting arrangement together. I appreciate Josh’s desire to be there for both Clare and Gemma in any way he can and I appreciate that Clare appears to be open and wanting the same. I am not the biggest fan of baby storylines in general but I tell you what, to see Lauren pacing up and down cradling this little person, I am 100% pro-baby. This is one of my favourite moments of the whole episode and just when I thought there couldn’t possibly be any more layers to Lauren Heller, I get the up-all-night-with-crying-baby Lauren and I simply cannot: ‘I have been up all night with a crying baby. Why? I don’t know, because the rest of you either don’t have ears or you don’t have souls’. Early contender for line of the season. Kelsey’s bag-of-hair inducing scream finally wakes Josh and Lauren’s reaction, for him to ‘get it together man, Kelsey doesn’t need this’, epitomises Lauren’s selfless nature (which I just love as it seems so contradictory to her sometimes self-absorbed tendencies). It was not because she was up all night with his child, it was that Kelsey was in the midst of a crisis that Lauren needed Josh to pull it together and it just reinforces yet again what a multi-dimensional, caring character she is. And yes Josh, you are the dad, not the babysitter (kudos for this Alison Brown) so you may need to learn to sleep a little more lightly or something FYI.

Kelsey’s hair stress continues to play out as she runs into Maggie, who was also hoping to make a covert pharmaceutical purchase and the two wander back to Maggie’s for the scene I have been looking forward to since the possibility of such a scene came into play. I am of course talking about dinner at the loft and the integration of Charles into the friend circle. Kelsey’s freak out seems to be hitting fever pitch as she asks Beth for advice but this is soon interrupted by the arrival of Charles and Liza, who come bearing blackout cake (which I googled and holy chocolate pudding it looks AMAZING) in the most adorbs coupley entrance and don’t mind me, just having a quiet gush over here. Ok, I’m done. While Kelsey is over chatting with her old boss, Beth puts her naturopathy into practice by suggesting Maggie take a more natural approach to treating her yeast infection, doing some seasoning of her own to let a clove of garlic work its magic. Between jalapeno dick and garlic vag, this show loves to make us consider our spices in a whole new light.

This entire dinner party scene was next level, I want to frame a picture of it and put it on my wall because yes. We have casual, relaxed Charles, who is the first to ask if there is garlic bread on the menu (I love so much that he was the first to smell it) and seriously, from this moment, the unfolding of the garlic saga was nothing short of amazing. Kelsey was so amped this whole scene, she’s like a tightly wound ball and it was palpable. Her interjections as she commented that it smells like an everything bagel and agreement about the garlic knot and escargot were just brilliant contrasts to her otherwise increasing intensity. I so adored seeing Kelsey and Charles interacting casually and seeing what this would (ahem, could have) look like. But Kelsey asking Liza if she’d told Charles about Brownyn Madigan...I’m sorry, but how could she WHEN SHE CAN’T TALK ABOUT WORK WITH CHARLES? This bit made my head hurt a bit. Surely Liza in that moment must have been thinking the same (also Liza’s moment of identifying a garlic knot, so so good).

What I love most about this scene is that we have Kelsey’s conversation getting more intense by the minute as she jumps from unloading about the stress of work, to Zane and his new venture, before finally climaxing with her ‘who is it?’ declaration, all the while having zero suspicion that Mercury’s investor is sitting right beside her. Side note: I really like Charles’ comment that he’s sure it is business, not personal re: Zane. I think it’s interesting considering the stereotype that women are too emotional vs. men and I’m curious to see how this plays out this season as Kelsey finds her feet. Meanwhile, Charles is trying to have a nice double date with his gf, while also keeping a secret that is the cause of much of the distress Kelsey is sharing with the table, while Liza takes the opportunity to make Charles squirm by pressing the point about the money for Zane’s venture coming from somewhere. It’s such an intricate web and of course parallel to that is Maggie’s secret vagina garlic that has the whole room assuming some kind of paranormal baking is taking place before Maggie responds to Kelsey’s ‘who is it?’ with, ‘it’s me!’ and it was just too much. My reaction was the same as everyone around the table when Maggie announced the source of the garlicky aroma, what a dinner party (and what a way for Charles to avoid any further scrutiny).

I am so glad that the conversation that needed to happen finally did this week and that was, of course, Liza confronting Charles about his involvement in Mercury. Oy, my heart. It broke a little when Liza gave Charles the opportunity to come clean and he didn’t and she had to ask so directly. It was so good to hear these two talking, like properly talking, and Charles explaining that he had to make choices in order to be with Liza but he never wanted to give up publishing for good was great insight into the journey Charles has been on post-Empirical, especially as we really haven’t been privy to that. I felt for both of them at various stages during the conversation. I do believe Liza understands why Charles would want to reinvent himself but I also understand why she would feel so hurt that he would keep such a huge thing from her (although again, they’d agreed not to talk about work at Liza’s request so *insert shrug emoji here*).

But it does highlight an ongoing issue which I really hope gets properly addressed sometime soon and that is where Liza’s loyalties lie. I think it is unquestionably not ok that Charles set up a rival company while Chairman of the Board of Millennial, for obvious reasons. However, had he told Liza, she would have felt compelled to tell Kelsey, which I have no doubt Charles knows and would expect as she is the publisher, so in not telling Liza he is yes protecting his own interests but also stopping her from being in a compromised position. So while Charles’ secrecy is disappointing, so is Liza’s text to Kelsey the following morning asking to meet before work after Charles asked specifically that she tell no one about him financing Mercury just yet.

This episode comes to a head at Suffolk House in a most spectacular fashion. Hilary Duff really did knock this entire ep out of the water with her acting, I cannot heap enough praise on her for the entire performance. You just knew it was gonna be good when Liza turned up as Kelsey was intercepting Bronwyn in an attempt to convince her that Zane was a bitter ex-employee (not very professional IMO but we won’t focus on that for now), only to discover that Bronwyn didn’t know Zane from a wart on her butt (delightful). She was in fact there to meet...dun-dun-dunnnnn...Charles (shout-out to the three piece suit, always a welcome sight, did not disappoint)! Kelsey was justifiably angry, however the stark contrast in experience and maturity was well and truly on show as she proceeded to express herself very loudly and publicly, despite Charles and Zane suggesting they step outside. Zane clocked the smart phone filming the entire incident and you just knew that Kelsey’s outburst was going to come back to bite her.

Regardless of whether Kelsey was in the right or wrong, she certainly came off worse in the way she handled it. My favourite part of the scene was Liza FINALLY re-awakening that gutsy silver suit wearing power, her turning and telling Bronwyn that Charles called her books matron lit was this season’s manuscript drop. And thank f-ing god. One of the things I’ve always loved about the Liza/ Charles dynamic is that Liza stands up for herself with him when she doesn’t with so many others and she is not afraid to call him out, which has been missing these past couple of eps. So now that that has been restored, I am legit so excited to see how this relationship moves forward.

The ramifications of the restaurant confrontation are of course trending on Reddit by the next morning, and Liza and Diana have the unenviable job of delivering the news that even though Charles was in the wrong for setting up the company the way he did, he has since resigned from the board and a number of authors are making noise about jumping ship to Mercury (I was going to say that I think Kelsey might have preferred it if her eyebrows actually had fallen off in that moment but I feel like that’s probs false).

The fact that Kelsey and Charles are pitted against one another as publishers and Liza and Zane as editors provides the most glorious opportunity to explore the ideas of reputation vs. experience. vs. gender vs. fresh ideas and I am so here for it, so damn excited, and so sure that whatever ends up playing out this season, it will be nothing that I expect. In the meantime I’m going to compile every Diana Trout line from this episode into a ringtone because what workplace wouldn’t want Diana talking about nutcracker’s oesophagus ringing through the open-plan office?

#youngertv #younger tv #ramble #review #6x04 #sutton foster #peter hermann #kelsey peters #diana trout #maggie amato #lauren heller #team charles #younger season 6

12 notes · View notes