#Selling Josie

[uncleasad]

Sunday night status update

As Rod Stewart was fond of saying, “It’s late September and I really should be back at school…”

Here at Uncle Asad in Fandomland, that means it’s time for the annual “some night status update” checking in on all the unpublished words and works. (OK, the 2022 update was in May, dunno why, that was…18 months ago, and you expect me to remember? 😂 Oh! It was because of the announcement of the cancellation of Legacies, which felt to me a little bit like a non-event in the wake of Kaylee’s departure the previous fall/winter.)

Back in 2021, nearing the end of my summer writing hiatus, I tallied up all the words in my unpublished, in-progress fics—7 works and nearly 107K words then; in 2022, it was 10 works and nearly 135K words.

Sad to say that although I’ve published 8 new stories since then, all 10 of the in-progress works are still unfinished (8 with no new words), and I’ve added 6 more in-progress stories, too!

The list, with word-counts and estimates of percent complete:

Josie returns to a derelict and overgrown Salvatore School after 10 years away (aka After Ten Long Years) (25,213 words in 5 distinct sections, +60 words, ~75% complete)

Hope meets the Saltzmans in the post-Civil War upper midwest (aka Old West Hosie) (11,340 words, ~25% complete)

Alternate realities bleed over into the lives of Hope and Josie (21,040 words, ~50% complete)

Part 3 of The Model and the Painter (1,265 words)

Hope investigates the disappearance of crime boss Josie (2,778 words, 1+ chapters complete)

Crime heiress Hope meets an enchanting woman who may be her moll (aka runaway Josie) (36,053 words, ~25% complete)

Newly-divorced Hope takes a job teaching art at Whitmore College (aka divorcée Hope) (14,376 words, 8+ chapters complete)

Hope, Josie, Lizzie, and others struggle with their lot in life in the brutal Geminid Empire (aka Hosie dystopia) (16,313 words, ~10% complete???)

A sequel to the surprisingly-popular You Couldn’t Even Bother To Check On Me? (aka Dark Hope x Dark Josie) (3,140 words)

No-Humanity Hope goes on a rampage across North America, hunting her enemies and extracting revenge (aka Dark Hope on a rampage) (4,708 words, +358 words, ~60% complete)

In the olden days, Alaric sells Josie (aka Selling Josie) (608 words, ~10% complete???)

Ten years after leaving Mystic Falls to try to save Hope, Josie is summoned home by a mysterious letter from her father (aka Stepmother Alyssa Chang) (11,328 words plus an 831-word excerpt scene; ~60% complete)

A disaster of a fic I shouldn’t write and which may never see the light of day (aka The best ones always break my heart twice) (16,260 words, ~75% complete)

Hope Mikaelson is sitting at the bar when Josie Saltzman walks in (aka Josie walks into a bar) (2,211 words, ~50% complete)

Something something Hosie Santa Claus (aka Hosie Santa Claus) (962 words, ~10% complete???)

An intersection of the lives of Hope and Josie just before the fire (aka Hosie half-shot) (1,239 words, ~50% complete)

That’s now almost 170K words of unfinished stories! 😳🤯 (Across 16 works; 32,608 words in 6 new in-progress fics.)

I did finish/publish more works than I added new unfinished ones since the last check-in, however; thank goodness for small favors, however minuscule! 😂

I don’t have a great strategy for whittling this down; as many of you may have noticed, I’ve been in a bit of a slump since spring—and I haven’t written a word since July 1 😢 I feel like, aside from the late summer writing sabbatical of 2021, the summer writing decline usually happens to some degree, and with the coming of fall and winter, I have more time, but that may all be wishful thinking. Still, fingers crossed. At some point, though, I’ll find an hour or so to finish writing the Hosie half-shot and go from there….

Thanks to everyone who’s stuck with me this long and read my fics along the way, and I’m sorry I don’t have a more upbeat outlook right now.

[elfiepike]

favorite obvious sponsorship of chinese tv i have watched:

number one will always be the word of honor nut money!!!!!!! they used those five dollars from the nut men so well

generally speaking: drink promos

specifically speaking: the dmbj sandsea lactose free milk sponsorships, especially su wan!! absolutely believe sweet summer child su wan would simply reflexively remember commercial selling points when talking about drinks with his friends after getting a head wound

least favorite:

literally any car commercial. who cares

[spurgie-cousin]

[ladyoriza]

the faithful talking about how pretty Josie is and calling her and Ethan Eden's Sword and Shield and Joseph just has to sit and seethe lest they realize the Father is Doubting Gods Plan

(unfortunate side effect of Josie's affections- Ethan gets even angrier with Joseph bc he realizes it really was that easy to give a shit. She sneaks him out to Prosperity and Kim apologizes for the fact that he's Joseph's kid and it all just coalesces into this rage that it all could have been different and better and yeah, he ends up beast mode anyway.)

[lavenderstobins]

robin introduces a house rule when her daughter's maybe four or five: movies after 7pm only, unless they're child-friendly. josie goes to bed at 7pm, so it isn't an issue, really.

the thing is, the rule carries through as she ages, but what robin, steve, eddie and nancy forgot to account for was that kids are smart.

josie, obviously, knows that they only watch films she's not allowed to watch after she's gone to bed. but she also knows that they operate on supposed dinosaur logic, which is if she sits very, very still, they will forget she's there.

it works... for a while.

because one night, they're watching scream, and they've just reached the reveal of who ghostface is. robin and nancy are tucked into an armchair together, and steve and eddie are lounging on the couch. eddie tucked up against steve's chest, says, "oh, stu and billy definitely have a lil something-something going on."

"they've definitely kissed," robin agrees.

on the screen, billy stabs stu to sell their story, and eddie grins. "with tongue, yeah."

and josie, eight years old, far too young to understand any deeper concept of the conversation, pipes up, "why would he stab him if they've kissed?"

and eddie, who had forgotten she was there, yells, "JESUS FUCK!"

[xoxorealitygalore]

Trust and Believe Masterlist

Roman Reigns x Black OC

summary: Keyshia and Joe had a seemingly perfect life together after marrying in 2010. However, as their careers grew, so did the strain on their relationship. When Joe cheats on Keyshia. The emotional fallout from the incident leaves their relationship hanging in the balance, with Keyshia questioning if they could ever recover from the betrayal. 

Leati Joseph "Joe" Anoaʻi, better known by his ring name Roman Reigns, is an American professional wrestler and former football player, born on May 25, 1985. A prominent figure in WWE, Reigns currently performs on the SmackDown brand. Widely regarded as one of the best professional wrestlers in the world, he is renowned for his dominance in the ring, particularly his historic 1,316-day reign as the Undisputed WWE Universal Heavyweight Champion, which ranks as the fourth-longest world title reign in WWE history and the longest since 1988.

Keyshia Cynthia Anoaʻi (née Carter), born June 15, 1986, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress, best known for her soulful voice and heartfelt lyrics. Dubbed the "Princess of Hip Hop Soul" by critics, Keyshia is one of the best-selling recording artists of all time, with an estimated 190 million units sold worldwide. Throughout her career, she has earned numerous accolades and a dedicated fanbase for her unique blend of R&B, soul, and hip hop.

In early 2004, Joe Anoaʻi and Keyshia Carter met and began dating, eventually marrying in October 2010. The couple has seven children together. Their first daughter, Josie, was born in December 2007, followed by their second daughter, Kayleigh, in June 2014. They later welcomed twin sons, Jonas and Kingston, in November 2016, and another set of twin sons, Jarvis and Kingsley, in March 2020. In January 2022, they added their third daughter and seventh child, Jovie, to the family.

Chapter One: Trust and Believe

Chapter Two: Trust and Believe II

Chapter Three: Trust and Believe III

Chapter Four: Trust and Believe IV

Chapter Five: Trust and Believe V

Chapter Six: Trust and Believe VI

Chapter Seven: Trust and Believe VII

Chapter Eight: Trust and Believe VIII

Chapter Nine: Trust and Believe IX

Chapter Ten: Trust and Believe X

Chapter Eleven: Trust and Believe XI

Chapter Twelve: Trust and Believe XII

Chapter Thirteen: Trust and Believe XIII

Last Updated March 31, 2025

[hand-face-chan]

This was an extremely useful resource for my ongoing project, thank you OP!

Hi. Here is every food and drink Steely Dan have ever mentioned in a song. Enjoy

[pupkinpumpkin]

I love thinking about that one war table operation in The Frostback Basin called A Cultured Exchange where you recruit that one lady named Sigrid Gulsdotten who has a spirit best friend possessing her bc

1) Inquisition diversity, we love to see it

2) Leads to a stronger alliance with the Avvar and a better understanding of their culture, we love to see it

3) Its probably the war operation where Cullen is the most against it, and I don't mean that in a "haha fuck Cullen" way; I actively romance Cullen any chance I get so thats definitely not what I mean when I say that but no, I love thinking of the implications

Like, despite a cultural exchange being a very good thing for the Inquisition, Cullen's gonna fight tooth and nail for Sigrid to be watched and monitored bc ya know, he still gets nightmares about what happened in Kinloch Hold and now he's watching the Inquisitor accept an abomination with Open Arms (iykyk)

That's gonna freak him the fuck out and lead to some arguments at the war table, which is FASCINATING if Cullen and the Inquisitor are together

Give me the arguments! Give me the angst! Give me Cullen honestly feeling a bit betrayed bc he's opened up so much about what he's been through and now he finds out via a hidden note on a report that the love of his life just accepted an abomination into the Inquisition and hid it in a report instead of sending him a personal letter (which my Inky does often) warning him ahead of time

I've thought about this one mission so much

Like, Cullen and my Lavellan are actively arguing in front of Leliana and Josephine and they're trying to keep it professional but it's clear that the reason behind this argument is a lot more personal than either one is willing to say and MMMM THE ANGST

They eventually go into a separate room, argue it out some more, lay down the exact personal reasons behind this argument, eventually apologize to each other, and make a compromise where Cole, Varric, and Cassandra are sent to watch Sigrid during the cultural exchange Josie sets up and update Cullen specifically about the event

Cole's able to feel any negative vibes, Cassandra is a Seeker trained to deal with mages, and Varric is there for emotional support for Cole since he's more human now and might get overwhelmed with so many people seeing him and also him feeling their feelings. Varric's also just there for the fun of the event and to sell his book. Cassandra's in charge of writing the reports though

But ya, this operation has so much potential to me

[janewayforpresident]

Going to have an Anne Shirley summer:

Reading in fields

Falling off the ridgepole of Moody's kitchen roof

Getting my bosom friend intoxicated

Throwing shade at Josie Pye

Accidentally selling Rachel Lynde's cow instead of mine

Winning the Rollings Reliable Baking Powder Contest

[hazelsmirrorball]

Undercover Spider-Woman | Hazel Callahan

Spider-woman! Hazel Callahan x fem! Reader, loser! Hazel x Fem! Reader Summary:  PJ decides to do a Fight Club Halloween Party and Hazel has no choice but to wear her superhero costume.  Warnings: english isn’t my main language, not proof-read,fighting, spicy? a/n: first bottoms imagine! Hope you guys like it, I’ll probably do more parts and I might do more Hazel one shots! I really hope I’m not shadow banned! Thank you

part two

October 31s, Halloween. A perfect excuse for teenagers to get drunk out of their minds while dressing up without being judged. Couples would go in matching costumes or go to haunted houses. Little kids would go trick or treating and the fight club, well they were making this halloween one to remember.  Usually people would hang out, go to parties but since this year October 31st came around a week day, those plans were out of the picture. Plus adding to the fact that none of them were that popular to be invited to a party , excluding Brittney, Isabel and Y/n. The fight club, specifically PJ, made it their mission to make this halloween one for the books.  

Hazel could hear the faint music playing from inside the gym as she paced back and forth debating if it even was a good idea to stumble in these conditions. She could risk everything she had been hiding so well since sophomore year for a party. Hazel took a deep breath taking her mask off and pushing it inside her bag as she felt her bangs covering her face.  She anxiously licked her lips feeling the metallic flavor overpowering her tongue as she hesitated to push open the big gym doors. Her glove covered hands hovered against the door as she thought if it was a good idea to go inside in the first place. 

What was PJ’s wonderful idea of making Halloween one for the books, you may ask? Fight Club with costumes. She made it her mission to sell the idea really well, but who wouldn’t like to have girls fighting in slutty costumes, heaven on earth,or  at least that’s what  PJ said. 

Hazel didn’t have anything against the party, she loved the idea of hanging out with her friends on halloween. She finally clicked with a group of friends good enough to celebrate a holiday together. Hazel was ecstatic, she had made it her mission to make the perfect Anakin Skywaker costume, which she had succeeded perfectly. She had slept the night before with her costume freshly dry cleaned next to her.  But her plans got destroyed when Green Goblin decided to show up and ruin her day by turning the city into his playground. Who would’ve known that Halloween was going to be a crime filled day. Hazel had managed to leave everything in perfect conditions  with ease leaving  just in time for the party. But just not in time for her to change out of her suit into her Anakin costume. 

So that’s how she found herself waiting outside of the gym doors in her spider woman suit. Her face was covered in bruises from the fight before and her hair was sweaty and messy due to it being stuck in her suit for a long time.  It wasn’t that she looked bad in her suit, it gave her power, made her unrecognizable. She wasn’t that nerdy little girl that people would stomp over. She was a badass that saved the world. She was a good superhero and she looked good doing her job. The red and blue suit would drive people crazy. She had even caught PJ and Josie gushing over her on a daily basis, but what if it slipped? 

The suit wasn’t one of those cheap costumes you could find in a store for under 30 dollars. It was a high tech suit that could kill someone in an instant and wearing that suit for a fight club meeting drove her insane. She worried on a daily basis that she could easily murder a girl with a blink of an eye, but now, with her suit on, it just made things even more difficult. Wall crawling,  superhuman strength, speed, reflexes, spider senses, spiderwebs and healing factors, all open for everyone to see. 

Hazel took one last breath while pushing the doors open. She let out a cough as smoke filled her nostrils, taking her by surprise. As she looked around, she noticed the usual bright lights of the gym were now red while smoke came from a smoke machine not far away from the door. Hazel chuckled, feeling the nerves quickly ease off, as she looked at her friends standing near a makeshift snack table. PJ did outdid herself. 

“Well look who decided to finally show up... Wait, is that the costume you made? Dude I actually thought you were going to do a crappy Anakin costume like last year. You have improved so much, this shit is so fucking cool, way better than the store one’s���   PJ said as she pushed down her sunglasses to take a better look. Hazel let out a nervous chuckle thinking of what words to say, but nothing came out. She looked at PJ taking in her costume, noticing the familiar men and black, lanyard hanging from her black suit pocket. 

“It makes you look super hot, Hazel! You even have an ass!” Sylvie exclaimed, taking off her scream mask while biting onto her fake knife. Hazel blushed, hiding her face behind her hands. If she had one more comment directed her way she was going to lose it. 

“No, but like PJ is right. This looks really good. How did you even make this look so good?  It looks like the real thing.” Josie added as she circled Hazel around taking in her costume. Hazel's eyes wandered as she shook her head, scoffing. 

“Please, how would you even know what it looks like, if you haven’t seen the real one.” Hazel said as she took a cup of punch gulping it down to ease her nerves. She wasn’t going to outlive this night.

“Because Y/n bought a Spider-Woman costume and it looks like shit compared to yours. No offense, Y/n. Your ass still looks good though.  ” PJ yelled, pointing at Y/n, who was standing a few feet away from her. 

Her body was adorned with a tight low quality version of the suit Hazel was wearing. But Hazel found herself staring in awe, not being able to move one bit. Hazel scanned every inch of Y/n Osborn's body taking a mental picture of her to remember in the future. 

Y/n Osborn had been Hazel’s crush ever since she understood what liking someone more than friends meant. She was Hazel’s everything, yet she wasn’t aware of that. They shared countless classes together but Hazel couldn’t even address her without turning into a nervous wreck. Fight Club had changed Hazel’s opportunities, when she had seen Y/n walk through those gym doors, she knew that at least a friendship would come out and she wasn’t completely wrong. Y/n did talk to Hazel, but Hazel didn’t talk back. She managed to mumble responses but that was about it. When it came to Y/n, Hazel felt like she was never bitten by a radioactive spider and that she was the same loser she had been all her life. 

But now seeing her in that outfit, wearing her iconic colors. Her hair moved softly because of the wind that came from the smoke machine. The red light outlining her body made Hazel go insane, she really was not surviving October 31st but if she didn’t she was going to leave with that image of Y/n engraved in the back of her head. 

“Shut up, PJ! It’s not my fault that this was the only thing that they were selling.I didn’t know that Hazel was going to show up in a better quality looking costume. I thought it looked good in the costume” Y/n muttered as she placed down a bag full of candy on the table. Brittany tapped her back for support as the rest of the girls looked back and forth between the two Spider-woman costumes. 

“You know what! Since we are all here, let’s get to business” Josie said as she walked towards the makeshift fighting mat that was in the middle of the gym. The girls followed close behind leaving Y/n and Hazel near the table. Y/n leaned down as searched for something in her bag which didn’t go unnoticed by Hazel. She took a deep breath quickly biting her lip before she could say something that could worsen the situation. As she looked for a notebook and a pen for notes, her eyes never left Y/n’s body. She took all the strength in her body to walk towards her and place her hand on Y/n’s lower back leaning with her. Hazel lips lightly grazed on her ear as she felt Y/n’s body tensed as she gripped harder on the thing she was searching for in her tote bag. 

“I think you look fucking hot in that costume.” Hazel responded by tapping her back and moving away towards the group of girls like nothing. Y/n gulped, taken aback by Hazel’s actions not used to this side of her. She cleared her throat jogging towards the girls sitting in between Josie and Sylvie, avoiding the hungry look Hazel was giving her. If Hazel knew that wearing the suit with Y/n was going to change the way she acted with her, she would’ve worn it to school years ago. 

“Well, let’s make this fun. Spider-Woman vs. Cheap Spider-girl” PJ exclaimed pushing Hazel out of her thoughts as she noticed Y/n groan and get up glaring at her. Hazel followed standing in front of her, but different from the other times she fought with her, she didn’t break eye contact with her sending her a cocky smile.

"Could you please drop it already, PJ? I get it, it's a shitty costume" Y/n muttered, as she sent a glare towards PJ, trying to avoid Hazel's haunting gaze. 

PJ shook her off, wiggling her eyebrows while pointing towards Hazel. Y/n quickly adverted her eyes towards her noticing how Hazel slipped her mask on up to her nose making it possible for her to see her pearly whites. Y/n raised an eyebrow, confused by the sudden change in Hazel’s actions, used to the girl being deadly afraid of looking her in the eye. The girl that was used to being a blushing mes with her stood tall smirking down at her. Before Y/n could even process what was going let alone swing a punch, she felt her body smash against the floor, her body being pinned down by Hazel. 

Hazel's thighs pinched her into place making it impossible for her to move. Hazel hands pushed Y/n's hands on top of her head as she leaned towards her. Hazel’s chain slowly moved up and down Y/n’s face as she struggled to get Hazel's body off hers, she had done it before, why was it so hard now? Seeing Hazel in this new angle made her nervous. Her once sweet eyes were full of something Y/n couldn’t describe, Hazel’s agitated breaths made her loose concentration as her masked eyes scanned her face with a proud grin on her face. She wanted to punch that cocky grin out of her face.

“Oh, see, the cheap costume is losing. Punch her already, Hazel! End her.” PJ exclaimed, clapping, making Hazel chuckle. The other girls yelled at Hazel encouraging her to finish the job. Maybe it was the sudden glory she felt, the suit, the hollers and Y/n being under her in her suit, made Hazel feel like one of her dreams was finally coming through. The things she kept hidden in her bedroom was finally happening. 

Y/n noticed how Hazel was far gone taking advantage off this already pissed out of her mind. Y/n wrapped her leg around Hazel’s waist taking her by surprise. She quickly took over turning them around making Hazel face the floor while Y/n straddled her. She leaned towards her, her lips grazing softly over her cheek. 

“I think I like this position better.” She said softly into Hazel's ear, making her warm inside. Hazel wasn’t going to lie and say that she didn’t like this position, but she felt powerful with the suit. She was going to be on top. Hazel with ease pushed Y/n off her straddling her once again, smiling at her. 

“I guess a little change doesn’t hurt once in a while.”  She responded by making Y/n roll her eyes. 

“Hey! Stop with the porno and hit each other already” Sylvie yelled making Hazel punch Y/n straight in the nose.

“Fuck!” Y/n yelled, holding onto her nose as blood started trailing out like a water stream. Hazel quickly got off her, her once confident persona slipping away. As  she slipped the mask off she could see how Y/n stood up coughing the blood out of her lips. 

“Shit, Hazel! We didn’t tell you to kill her” Josie exclaimed, helping Y/n up. She shakes her shrugging it off. 

“It’s okay! I’m usually the one that beats Hazel. I guess tonight was her comeback” Y/n said laughing softly as she stopped the blood flowing with a piece of Isabel shirt she had managed to rip off.  Hazel knew it wasn’t fine and that she could’ve killed Y/n if she hit her just a little bit harder.

 “I’ll take her to the bathroom. Help her clean up while you guys continue. Keep the party going” Hazel managed to get out as she took Y/n away from Josie’s grasp leading her to the bathroom. 

Y/n stayed quiet as she sat on the sink whilst Hazel nervously cleaned her probably broken nose. A smile adorned her lips when she noticed that Hazel wouldn’t dare to look at her, her Hazel was back. 

“Why are you smiling?” Hazel asked, dropping the tissues of the trash can watching the bloody mouth smiling towards her. 

“I was worried that my nervous little Hazel was gone, but I guess she’s back. Got worried for a second. ” She replied as she inspected Hazel. Hazel turned away blushing as she leaned against the door behind her, nearly falling back. 

“I’m really sorry about your nose. I didn’t mean to hit you that hard” Hazel replied quickly while gaining her balance. Y/n shook her off while getting down from the sink. 

“It’s no problem, finally you stopped being soft with me. I was starting to believe you didn’t want to hit my pretty little face” She replied sarcastically as she headed towards Hazel. Her hand pushed off the bangs from her face making her see Hazel’s features better. Y/n slowly moved closer to her but stopped dead in her tracks when both her and Hazel's phone vibrated. She quickly moved away looking at her phone while Hazel cleared her throat looking at hers, seeing the notification that Green Goblin was on the loose. 

“I really need to go! But please text me if you are feeling better! I really am sorry” She said quickly as she noticed Y/n also running towards the door. 

“Yeah, it’s no problem! I also have to go, my dad wants me to help him with work” Y/n said as she followed Hazel outside. Both of the girls looked at each other parting ways not knowing that in a few minutes they were going to face each other once again but this time to battle against death. 

part two

[mydollsaregay]

ok. thoughts on the ag historical re-releases! i'll make a separate post for the new items, this got pretty long.

lack of josefina

firstly. poor josefina. it looks like she got dropped from the historical rereleases T_T

i understand why; her birthday outfit obviously sold worse than the others, as it's still in stock on the website. while I think it's a shame, obviously (both from a representation and a "hey that's my friend josefina, don't exclude her :(" point of view), i think she actually is suffering from past success, poor dear. i, for one, had already found a secondhand version of josie's bday outfit, while i was missing the other two from the first drop, and so i had no incentive to buy it. i don't think i'm alone in that; from my childhood recollections at least, i remember josefina being far more popular than addy and even kirsten (though that was likely due to her retirement).

it'll be interesting to see how that all shakes out with sam, given how the secondhand market is absolutely saturated with her outfits. i do think she might have the best breakthrough appeal to people who aren't collectors and are just shopping for their kids so. we'll see.

ultimately, i think it's a real shame josefina got dropped (at least for this release). i think she got the short end of the stick in that her birthday outfit was far from her rarest/most sought after one. i think that if they had started with another outfit, such as her summer one, she would have done numbers and been able to stay in the lineup :(

the sam of it all

listen. i love sam. she's an absolute icon. but i have some issues with her inclusion. firstly, her shoes are wrong lol. i know like. "back in the day" most sams would have been wearing the birthday outfit with their meet shoes, but the illustrations clearly show adorable little white mary janes with white bows. this is your opportunity to make this a reality, ag. come on. we all have black mary janes at this point. at least pair the outfit with her white party slippers (which they used to sometimes advertise the outfit with), if you don't wanna make something new. they've invented new shoes for rereleases before, i believe.

like. come on man.

anyway, pettiness aside, i'm going to be really interested to see how fast sam's outfit sells out. I mentioned above that i think it may be picked up for kids as well as collectors, but idk if that'll be enough to make up the gap for the many collectors that absolutely already own it lol. personally, i won't be picking it up, as i recently found the base dress, and am certain i could make the other pieces to my satisfaction even if i can't also find them for a good price.

personally, i wish they brought in another girl who had harder to find pieces, or at least gave josefina one more chance at a rerelease - i know her school outfit tends to be a bit tricky to catch for a good price, so maybe that would go better? that said, it's one of her plainer outfits, so idk. honestly, the outfits i want most of josefina's are her random one-off outfits anyway; they're hard to find, while being cute as a button.

alternately, if they would bring back the accessory sets that match each outfit, i would be satisfied with sam being in the lineup. it's really hard to find small accessories secondhand for a good price, as things are always getting lost, even for a popular character like sam!

kirsten

not much to say here. she looks cute! i won't be getting the set, as i found her school dress secondhand a while back, and i can absolutely improvise with the shawl and hair ribbons. the boots are a bit trickier, but for that price? i'll figure something out.

i actually just took a second look, and it seems like the outfit is using the same boots as her birthday rerelease. i think it's a bit silly, but i know those boots have been hard to find secondhand for ages, so having some extra copies out there isn't the worst (unlike the mary janes situation lol). it looks like she's wearing her meet boots in the illustrations, but i'm fine with ag assuming folks already own those.

addy

*insert my longest yeah boy ever video here*

for real though, i am incredibly excited. this is one of those outfits that is BEAUTIFUL, while being pretty tricky to find complete. the pin is especially elusive due to its size, but the actual clothing itself has a nasty habit of getting eaten by moths because it was made of 100% wool lol. i love the dedication to detail, but most people don't moth-proof doll storage, and so many of these have been lost to the moth wars.

the rerelease is a wool blend, which will likely protect it a bit more. as much as i love using natural fibers and not introducing more plastic to the world, i would like this set to last, so i'm selfishly pleased. i've been pleasantly surprised with ag's "mock wool" fabrics in the past, so i would expect the fabric to feel about right and lay correctly.

this outfit is one that has an available pattern, but it looks a bit beyond my level, so i'll definitely be picking it up from ag. I skipped kirtsen's birthday outfit last time because there is a pattern and it looked quite easy to make, but this one just looks a bit too fiddly for me to attempt. plus i love the little pin!

last point: the shoes. they look like her meet boots. this doesn't bother me, however. it's closer to the situation with kirsten than the one with sam. those meet boots are pretty hard to find secondhand (lots of folks have just her meet dress but not the socks or boots), so more copies hurts no one, and addy actually wears them in the illustrations. i'm fine with it.

money money money

time to get down to brass tacks. $55 dollars is really expensive, so if you're interested in these releases, you gotta make sure it's REALLY worth it to you. despite having none of these sets complete, i'm only getting one of them, and that's the ultimate reason why.

that said - i don't... totally hate the price point? i got addy's birthday outfit from the last drop, and the quality was absolutely there: there was none of the modern ag quality control issues i had feared. i really appreciate that piece of mind (please feel free to roast me for this part if this release ends up having issues lol). i have two major issues with the way these releases work, however.

the first, is that the books are bundled with the outfit. i'm sorry, but that is silly. i don't need another copy of the book, man, i already have one. it feels like a waste. i also know it allows them to artificially increase the price, which i'm sort of on the fence about, however. because ag has the book bundled in there, some of the outfits can be more complex while remaining at the same price point. you can definitely see that when looking at the last drop and comparing addy's birthday outfit to kirsten's; there's no way those items cost the same to produce, but i bet the added book gave them some wiggle room. the biggest issue i actually have with the books is that they're not selling them separately. what if a kid wants to read it, man?? what if someone DOESN'T have a copy, but they have the outfit? it just bothers me.

my second major issue is the FOMO of it all. i just really don't like how they are set up as limited edition. i know its a common marketing strategy, but it just irks me, personally. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

overall

i'm hyped. the negatives don't dampen that at all, i'm not gonna lie. i'm super excited to finally get my hands on addy's school outfit, and i'm really glad ag finally decided to continue the rereleases.

i hope in the future that ag will give josefina another chance to shine, and that they will continue to due more re-releases. i also hope to see the other historical girls someday! (frankly i think it's a bit silly they haven't tried to capitalize on the whole bridgerton media empire by rereleasing caroline's traveling set and other such outfits, but i digress.)

[saintfelina]

it girl: queen of the gas station

a new age nomad, she exists at truck stops and love’s gas station in between counties. she’s not in search of the american dream. she IS the american dream in all it’s wild and aloof glory. if you’re going her way she might just hitch a ride and change your life.

lotion: josie maran vanilla vibezzz smells just like well. vanilla ice cream. its a rich, decadent scent thats irresistible.

perfume: borntostandout indecent cherry is almost two cherries in one. both a sultry cherry and a bubblegummy, flirty cherry that adds to the mercurial nature for this vibe. you can’t decide if you love it or hate it as it cycles through its boozy cherry scent and its artifical tart-cherry scent

perfume oil: sugarmilkco vanilla ice cream is a simple sweet milky vanilla that puts you in mind of getting a sweet treat at a dairy queen that still sells out of a small shack.

[misseviehyde]

BROKEN HEARTED

I would have done anything to make my friend Joe happy after his girlfriend dumped him, but soon I regretted ever giving him the Elixir.

My family had told me to keep the formula safe and never to make or use it unecessarily, but Joe had been through so much pain, I just wanted to make him smile again. I also perhaps selfishly thought perhaps Joe might want to date me once he was female... perhaps we could make the perfect couple?

The fact was Joe couldn't live without his stylish sexy girlfriend. His house was still full of her clothes and makeup. She had been a high maintenance bitch who had gaslit and treated him like shit. I suppose in hindsight, perhaps I should have realised Joe's feminine side might turn out just like her.

Joe was interested in trying the Elixir and becoming someone else... anything that would make the pain go away. He eagerly drank at my suggestion and I watched fascinated as he transformed.

Right in front of my eyes, my kind, sensitive friend morphed into a beautiful haughty bitch and there was nothing I could do but watch as Josie Hyde was born.

Josie was somewhat like Joe, but perfected in physical beauty. Her skin was creamy white and completely flawless, her eyes were beautiful but heartless and cruel. Josie's long dark hair was silky and perfect, her proportions womanly, her breasts, her waist, her legs all the perfect size. She was like a statue of a Goddess.

Josie looked good in anything. She effortlessly slipped into the designer dresses and stylish shoes of the former ex girlfriend. She made those clothes look even better on her!

Josie had soon mastered expensive makeup and jewellery. Indeed, she had a taste for the expensive... designer handbags and clothes, diamond jewellery and expensive fur coats.

Her face was like a beautiful mask, she hardly ever smiled but looked out at the world with a smug delight, knowing she was superior and men wanted her. Josie would snap her manicured fingers and expect me to come running. She had accepted my offer of a date, but being her boyfriend mainly seemed to consist of buying her things and carrying her bags.

When she turned back into Joe, he was no longer heartbroken. Instead he was now obessesed with Josie and he merely counted the seconds till he could become her again. Good thing too. He looked kind of weird walking around with five hundred dollar manicures welded to his nails and smelling of Chanel perfume.

His obession for Josie seemed to result in him selling his own clothes and filling his wardrobe with hers. He began wearing panties and a bra all of the time and adopting more and more of her bitchy mannerisms. It was like she was controlling him, even when he was male. She was like the worst toxic girlfriend ever, even worse than his ex.

And at least I thougnt even if his ex had turned up he would probably have ignored her with his new obsessions... or at least so I thought. I was so fucking wrong.

One day I entered a restaurant to see a table of women having brunch and recognised Josie sat with Joe's ex. They were laughing and talking about how pathetic their ex or current boyfriends were.

Josie and Joe's ex were now besties. Evil smirking bitches who delighted in using men for their own twisted needs. Joe had gotten his girl back, but now as his hot best friend. Josie and his toxic ex were just going to make each other even worse.

I walked in to try and do somethjng, but Josie saw me and without stopping or showing any shame, she laughed and told her friends how her current boyfriend was a total simp who would do whatever she wanted and she was actually fucking other guys.

As she said it, I saw her smile... and it made me shiver. I realised in that instant that Josie was using me and that I had created a monster.

"Like, tonight I'm totally going home with that hot black waiter. His big cock is gonna look so hot in my mouth. My loser boyfriend couldn't stop me if he tried."

And even though I knew it was true and she wasn't bluffing, I also knew she was right about one thing. Tonight Josie would be fucking another man and I would sit obediently next door and do my chores like a good boy. I'd listen to her getting railed half naked in lingerie on our bed, panting as big dick split her in half. I'd never even got to see her pussy...

Tomorrow even Joe would look at me with contempt. He too was Josie's submissive slave, she had control of all the men in her life.

As I realised I meant nothing to her and never would, I began to cry. Now I was the one with the broken heart and there was nothing I could do about it...

[thankskenpenders]

I know Ken is notorious for his, um, odd creation habits, but even I’m shocked that it’s been over 10 years of work and THIS is all he has to show for it. I would maybe be a bit more lenient if each new page was hyper detailed or something like that, but as you pointed out in your review, he reused the same images across plenty of panels and so many of his backgrounds are just stock photos. The only way I can reconcile this to myself is wondering if maybe a bunch of that time was eaten up by extensive rewrites to his plans for the whole series, but even then, I’ll be even more shocked if the next volume ever comes out.

So I didn't get into this in the review because I really just wanted to focus on the book and the weird copyright situation that led to its creation, not Ken's personal life or his other endeavors, but he did make something else in the time since The Lara-Su Chronicles' announcement 13 years ago. That being his independent film: The Republic. Because after he left Archie Ken figured he'd move on to a career in Hollywood.

I think this was originally supposed to be a TV show, the pilot episode for which was released in 2010, but then in 2016 he decided to retool it as a commentary on Trump's immigration policies. I think the movie is still somehow not out despite being shot a few years ago, but he put out a trailer here:

Yes, the trailer really opens with 30 seconds of footage of Trump from CNN. I know writers who use subtext and they're all cowards etc. etc.

At least the cast is clearly trying their best in spite of the material. It's not Birdemic bad. And yes, that's Sean Young. THE Sean Young! Rachael from Blade Runner! I guess Ken's really eager to flex the fact that he's friends with a couple lower-level Hollywood producers.

Anyway, I think he's still looking for a distributor for this. It's truly a mystery why no one was eager to pick this up.

Ken's also said some stuff about how he waited years to put out TLSC: Beginnings as part of the 4D chess game he's playing with the copyright stuff. He has a general idea of what he can do based on the terms of the settlement, but he's eager to push it as far as he can. He tested the waters with things like a few small pieces of TLSC merch and an NFT announcement, to see if Sega would take legal action. In particular, the announcement that he was going to sell an NFT of Shade from Sonic Chronicles was a stunt designed to see if Sega would challenge his claim that Shade is legally the same character as Julie-Su. Since they haven't gone after him, and now it's been a few years, he's taking that as evidence that Sega isn't actively exercising those copyrights and isn't going to fight for this stuff.

There's some logic here. Part of the reason Dan DeCarlo lost his battle with Archie over the rights to Josie and the Pussycats is that he didn't take action against them sooner for making merch and whatnot. It's "use it or lose it" with copyrights. But it mostly just comes off as an excuse. If it was purely a waiting game and he had all this extra time, why did he need to recycle art so much in Beginnings? Why is he only releasing 30 new pages of material instead of a whole graphic novel? Where's the app? Why didn't he spellcheck the damn book?

[linka-from-captain-planet]

Veilguard F/F Crackships I Have Contemplated

Bellara/Myrna - they could nerd out together and then kiss about it. Myrna seems endlessly patient which Bellara needs, and I feel like Myrna would appreciate Bellara's liveliness and intrepid spirit. And they could double date with Emmrich and Strife!

Irelin/Rana - I have already been over the possibility of Rana/Bellara but taking it one step further, I think Rana and Irelin would be a nice match and also an unbelievably hot couple (110% on the I Would Like To See It meter). Rana likes a woman who can challenge her, and maybe things didn't work out with Bellara because Irelin wanted to expand her horizons a bit. A couple that has little in common on the surface, but the same heart underneath.

The Bartender From The Prologue/Neve - This is really just a fuck nasty situation. Imagine banging thee Neve Gallus then immediately selling her out? Immensely rude but undeniable hot girl shit and honestly, would Neve hold it against her. Maybe it's their thing. ETA: upon further research, the Bartneder gives up her wily ways to fight the Venatori, giving her and Neve the perfect enemies2allies2lovers plot.

Maevaris/Lorelei - Middle Aged Women Yuri supremacy, two women taking up the heavy mantle together, dreaming of a Tevinter that's a little kinder to women like them, quiet moments in the hideout when they think nobody's looking...

ETA: MORE WOMEN

Irelin/Morrigan - Morrigan is definitely ready to embrace her bisexuality by now and Irelin's hate boner for her is probably so! frustrating (for Irelin) and alluring (for Morrigan). A one-sided beef is very sexy to me, particularly when steered by a confident older woman to her advantage.

Cida/every woman in Minrathous - Neve? Mae? Rana? Morrigan when she's lurking in the Swan? Sugar mommy, scandalous sidepiece, old flame? Many possibilities and she deserves them all because she's hot.

Josephine/Mistress Trella - Josie surely is a lover of art and stops in to see her favorite dealer whenever she visits the Treviso estate! A cozy and lighthearted situationship for blowing off some steam and having a little fun surely

[hazelchooseme]

The beginning | Hazel Callahan

You need help from the club so you are going to ask them.

English is not my first language.

this is going to be a series (hopefully)

Song recommendation: Girls Make Me Wanna Die by The Aces (Hazel coded fight me)

Enjoy 🌱

When you talked about the problem with your teacher, he recommended them to you. It's not like you haven't considered it, but they were honestly kind of intimidating. But in desperate times desperate solutions. And now you needed their help. Cheering yourself up, you opened the gym door at the same time someone fell painfully to the floor with a hollow sound.

"Suck my pussy, Sylvie!" PJ screamed at the top of her lungs.

With unsteady steps you approached them.

"Hi" you spoke with a soft voice.

They all stopped watching PJ's obscene dance celebration and turned to look at you. Even Sylvie who was still laying on the floor.

"I need your help"

"And this one?" PJ asked in confussion looking at you up and down. "Nevermind you are hot" She approached you moving her hair. "What does my lady need me for?" she asked with a flirtatious voice.

You looked around for help.

"Leave her alone" Josie pushed PJ away from you and stood in front of you. "Hi, I'm Josie, you say the you need our help?"

"I know who you guys are" You said looking around at the familiar faces.

"So you knew my name" PJ asked in a flirtatious voice, again.

"Shut up" Josie said as she pulled PJ's ponytail.

"You killed the Huntington guys" you began to explain "My ex... He's been a pain in my ass since I break up with him. He doesn't stop calling or texting me, he has even followed me to my house several times. I don't know what to do. I went to the principal but he told me I shouldn't have broken his heart"

"You want us to do the same thing that we did to those Huntington guys?" Josie asked confused.

"I'm in"

"Shut up Sylvie and get up you're going to choke on your blood" PJ looked at you with a smile "It would be a pleasure to kill for you"

"No, it wouldn't be, wait. We can't kill more people" Josie's exaggerated gestures were kind of funny but you didn't laugh. "We wouldn't even know how, that time it was an accident"

"But it was funny" Stella remembered.

"I didn't say it wasn't, cause I enjoyed it. But we can't kill people... Or more people"

"What about just hurting him" You were sure that the one who just spoke was called Hazel. "Like... Something that is not going to kill him but that is going to cause him intolerable pain"

They were silent for what seemed like minutes.

"Well, it doesn't involve murder so why not?" PJ said as the others shook their heads in approval.

"Now we are gonna end up in prison" Josie complained quietly.

"You know that men think that women are not capable of things like that, we will be fine, don't be a bitch" PJ made everyone sit on the floor "We need a plan, a strategy, something that makes us look smart."

"What about a bomb under his car" Isabel suggested.

"We cannot repeat script, boooring" The one with the ponytail complained.

"What about under his bed?" Brittany said.

"Now we are talking"

"We just said no murders" Josie shouted. "We are gonna help you just... We need time to think of something... legal"

"Boring"

Ignoring PJ Josie turned to see you "Where do you live?"

"Near the store that sells drugs and food for flamingos"

"Perfect" she clapped "Hazel will walk home with you in case your ex shows up"

"Why me?" she asked looking up.

"Because you also live near that store"

"Not so close actually"

"Hazel!"

The two had a strange staring contest where it seemed like they were communicating.

Suddenly Hazel began to nod her head, making her hair strands move in a somewhat hypnotizing way. Wait what? "Ah! that's true, I practically live inside the store, it will be fine, we can go... together. Yes. If you want, cause I want if you want. If you don't want to, that's fine too. Yes"

"Stop" Annie coughed under her breath.

"Smooth" Sylvie scoffed.

What had you gotten yourself into?