#all that to say it might just be that this happens to be a summer season and that's why their hair is like that

[wisteria-lodge]

Part 2 of the continuing adventures of Harriet "Harry" Lily Potter!

So... Voldemort is back. He and Dumbledore are both in slightly better spots - Dumbledore has a head start on tracking down the Horcruxes, and Voldemort has Barty. Dumbledore's priorities are:

Destroy as many horcruxes as possible

Lure Voldemort out into the open, so the Ministry won't be able to deny that he's back.

Dumbledore is going to accomplish that second thing by treating the Prophecy as WAY more important than it actually is. Because that last line "Neither can live while the other survives" doesn't really matter. (It's actually kind of obvious.) But if Dumbledore can make Voldemort think it's important, put guards on the Department of Mysteries day and night... then it might be possible to lure Voldemort into Ministry.

Restarting the Order goes pretty much the same. Only this time, Dumbledore's got Percy pulling double-agent duty at the Ministry. And Sirius... is still on the run after killing Peter. I think he tried to reconnect with Remus (since he now knows that Remus wasn't the spy.) But it didn't go well. Without Peter there as proof... Remus just didn't believe him.

After hearing that Cedric is dead and infering that Harry is in danger - Sirius is back in England. But he's really just hanging out in the wings as a wild card. So far, this has not been a great AU for Sirius.

Harry is stuck rotting at the Dursley's. She is NOT in a good place, and does NOT appreciate Dudley calling Cedric her "boyfriend." Then she gets in trouble with the Ministry for doing underage magic, saving him from a dementor.

Things are looking up a little when Tonks, Moody & Co show up to bring her the Order's safehouse (probably just the Burrow with added protections, since they can't use Grimmauld Place without Sirius.) Ginny and the twins are there, but Neville isn't. Augusta Longbottom is certainly aligned with Dumbledore, but she's a cooperative asset, not part of the Order. I honestly don't think she'd want to put herself or Neville anywhere near the organization that couldn't protect Frank and Alice. Augusta has absolutely not been able to come to terms with that happened to them.

Ginny would get a little fiery at CAPSLOCK!Harry (not guilty and uncomfortable like Ron, or placating like Hermione.) This response would actually work pretty well, and paradoxically calm Harry down. She and Ginny spend the rest of the summer playing Quidditch, and Harry's trial and experience with the Ministry plays out like in canon. Probably, she bonds more with Lupin in the absence of Sirius.

Canon!Harry gets on the train with Neville and Ginny at the beginning of Book 5, which is kinda fun. So, that interaction goes exactly the same. Harry meets Luna, Neville tries to show them the new mimbulus mimbletonia plant he got over break, and ends up squirting all of them with gunk just as Cho walks in.

Harry does still have a crush on Cho... but also just enough heteronormativity left over from the Dursleys to be unable to apply that particular word to what she's feeling. Her feelings about Cedric, and about Cho, are very raw and messy. She thinks maybe she and Cho were rivals competing for Cedric? But also blames herself for Cedric's death, and feels terrible that Cho is sad. Harry wants Cho to think well of her... and isn't totally sure why. Also, she's just kind of uncomfortable around dating in general. Ginny is a whole year younger than her, and already dating Michael Corner. Harry thinks that - maybe she's supposed to be dating someone? Should be dating someone?

That's definitely a tension here between the three of them now. It only gets worse actually gets worse when it turns out Hermione and Neville are the new Gryffindor prefects, he gets called away to the prefect's cabin, and Ginny goes to say hi to Michael.m (Canon!Dumbledore made Ron a prefect because he was Harry's friend, and Dumbledore wanted to give him a confidence boost. I think the same reasoning would apply to Neville.)

When they get to school Umbridge starts her take-over, none of that changes. Draco is still sucking up to Umbridge, trying as hard as he can to be big and impressive. But he's also still very taken with Harry... and I don't think he provokes the fight ends with her getting banned from playing quidditch. Unfortunately, it will only be a matter of time until Umbridge finds a different excuse to ban Harry, and Ginny will take over as Seeker. Harry finds herself more and more at loose ends this year - Ginny is with her boyfriend or playing quidditch, Neville is doing prefect rounds... so she finds herself hanging out more and more with Luna.

Then Hermione starts the DA. It absolutely still is Hermione's project. She's still going to worry that she'll fail her OWLs because Umbridge isn't teaching them anything, she's still coming to the conclusion that she needs a teacher, and will decide that Harry is her best bet. She knows Harry gets Outstandings in DADA, and Krum (who Hermione still writes too) was *very* impressed with Harry "He said Harry knew how to do stuff even he didn't, and he was in the final year at Durmstrang."

Convincing *Harry* to commit will be a little harder than in canon, but definitely not impossible. Especially if Hermione brings in Neville (who Hary trusts) and Theo (who knows how good Harry is, and probably has a lot of the same concerns as Hermione.) Theo will also be value added when it comes to keeping the DA *secret.* Instead of meeting everyone at once, he has Harry approach small groups of potential members (accompanied by either him or Hermione).... and only lets them into the main group when they've signed Hermione's enchanted sheet. He's VERY impressed with this bit of magic... and this might end up being a Hermione/Theo universe. Theo's sneaky Slytherin involvement means that they're able to hide the formation of the DA from both the Order and Umbridge a lot more successfully.

So the gang starts meeting up in the Chamber of Secrets because Harry can easily access it. The basilisk keeps watch - Hagrid made it a pair of goggles. Ron, Dean, Shamus, Parvati, Lavender, Luna, the Hufflepuffs, the Ravenclaws are there... but not Cho. I don't think Cho joins. A big part of why Canon!Cho was interested in Harry was because she wanted someone to emotionally process Cedric with. She wanted to know if Cedric talked about her, if he talked about her while he was dying. If she thinks Harry potentially loved Cedric... that dynamic wouldn't be the same. They're too similar, it wouldn't work.

But DRACO joins. Why not? He hears about it from Theo, and at this point Draco he really caused any problems for Harry in like, two years. His father is a death eater... but so is Theo's, and Theo is okay. Draco is still looking for ways to get close to Harry, and this is just one more way he can try to impress her. AND... he learns how to to summon a Patronus. And this is my meta and I get to pick what it is, so I say his Patronus is a pigeon.

Like. A fancy pigeon. But a a pigeon. Draco's not a fighter, he's a survivor, and he survives by keeping to the background, running when he's in trouble, and finding ways to live even when the situation is toxic. Also he would hate having a pigeon as a Patronus and it would be really funny.

Even with everything else going on, this is a good time for Harry. A few more Slytherins trickle in and join the DA - Blaise, Daphne, and Daphne's little sister Astoria. It's like the Sorting Hat told them at the beginning of the year: "our Hogwarts is in danger / From external, deadly foes/ And we must unite inside her / Or we’ll crumble from within."

Neville doesn't actually manage a corporeal patronus in canon, but he does make leaps and bounds forward. For the first time, he goes from feeling like "almost a squib" to actually competent. He exists at the heart of their friend group sure, but he's always felt second fiddle to the magical powerhouses Harry and Ginny. And I think it's natural that he'd start to get a little crush on Harry, at this point. I mean Ginny's dating Michael... it just makes sense.

However. There is a breaking point. Harry sees Nagini attack Arthur Weasley through her mental connection with Voldemort, then she and Ginny go to visit him at St. Mungos... and run into Neville visiting his parents.

Now. Neville doesn't talk to anyone about his parents. In this AU I think he probably lied to his friends early on. Said that his parents were dead, so they wouldn't ask any more questions. Only thing is, Harry knows. She found out while watching Death Eater trials in Dumbledore's pensieve in Book 4. But since Canon!Harry didn't tell anyone, and I don't think Harriet will either. Her perspective will be that - Neville can tell them in his own time, when he's ready.

Ginny will not have this perspective. She will hate that Neville lied to her, wasn't honest with her. She'll also feel torn up and guilty... every time she gave Neville a hard time for that stupid plant, he had this hanging over his head? It's going to make her confused, and uncomfortable, and she's going to say "I need to be with my family right now" and storm off.

Then - over Christmas - we get the news that there's been a mass Azkaban break out. (Fudge blames Sirius, like he does in canon.) What that means for this AU is that Barty, Bellatrix and Lucius are locked in competition to see who will rise to the top as Voldemort's Number 2. Very quickly it becomes clear that this is a showdown between Bellatrix and Barty. Lucius is less powerful, and less unhinged, and his bona fides frankly suck. He's out of his league, and knows it.

But this is kind of a problem for Voldemort. He needs to control Lucius, because Lucius has the house and the money. But... if Lucius realizes that he's not going to get anything out of this scenario, that there's no way for him to win... then Lucius defecting becomes a very real possibility.

Which is why I think Voldemort gives Draco a Dark Mark six months early. If Voldemort's got Draco on a magical leash, then Lucius is his. Problem solved. Voldemort frames it as a way for Lucius to "prove his loyalty" - but the reality is that Draco is his hostage. He also gives Draco a semi-impossible task to carry out at school. This time, it's "Bring me Harriet Potter."

(Voldemort's actual favorite during this period... is starting to be Snape. It's flattering that Snape chose him over Dumbledore, and the way he's staying out of the Bellatrix-and-Barty show... is actually making Voldemort respect him more...)

Back at school, Ginny will have apologized to Neville, and is probably making a point of being extra nice him - which Neville will honestly hate, because it'll make him feel pitied and broken. This is also the point where Harry's "Remedial Potions" (Occlumency lessons) show up, so now no one is having a good time.

Newly-Marked Draco is isolating himself, like he did in Book 6. He quits the quidditch team, starts spending a lot more time alone. Probably just casts his Patronus over and over again to make himself feel better. He knows his family needs this, and that he has to do this, but he doesn't want to do this.

He tries a few half-hearted attempts to lure Harry out-of-bounds and away from her friends (at which point he'll cast petrificus totalus and, um. Summon Voldemort with the Dark Mark? he doesn't like to think about that part.) Draco will do things like - forge a letter from Hagrid asking Harry to meet him in the forest, or Polyjuice into Snape and tell Harry that Remedial Potions is being held at a new time, and in a suspicious location. Harry begins to smell a rat. Her best guess is that they're clumsy sting operations set up by Umbridge's goons, trying to catch her in the act of rule-breaking, and dismisses them.

Luna offers to run Harry's side of the story in the Quibbler, and Harry goes for it - which results in Umbridge banning the Quibbler, and banning Harry from Hogsmeade (making things more difficult for Draco). But unlike in canon, Harry doesn't name Theo and Draco's fathers as Death Eaters. Harry thinks Theo is smart, and practical, and very good at staying out of trouble. Draco she thinks is a little blustery and ridiculous. But she can't help it - she loves teaching the DA, and she's getting protective over the people in it.

(this makes things even MORE difficult for Draco)

And so I think... this time around... there's NO snitch. Draco justifies it to himself by saying - I can't let Umbridge and the Ministry have Harry. Lord Voldemort wants her.

Occlumency lessons get worse. Harry accidentally witnesses Snape's worst memory - hen puts on her Invisibility cloak and sneaks down to use the Floo Network fireplace in the Three Broomsticks, because she has to talk to Lupin about this. Lupin (solo) will be able to feed her a narrative about how Sirius was a terrible influence on her dad, which Harry will be extremely motivated to believe.

Meanwhile. Draco gets a letter from his father, telling him that things are bad, and the Dark Lord is displeased and frustrated because of many failed attempts (what attempts? Draco doesn't know.) Lucius says that's it's very important that Draco keep Neville Longbottom away from Harry - at a specific time, on a specific date.

It turns out to be extremely easy. Neville needs to be away from Harry (Draco has no idea why) during their History of Magic exam. So he just gets a hold of Neville's daily planner, and sends him to the wrong location, a little too early. And then Draco just wanders around, boxing him in with portable swamps. He feels sick about this decision, but he doesn't know what else to do.

Harry falls asleep during her History of magic exam and has a vision. Of Neville, in the Department of Mysteries, being tortured by Bellatrix. Like his parents.

She is *not* okay. She tries to find McGonagall - in St. Mungos after taking stunners to the chest protecting Hagrid (canon reason.) Dumbledore - gone. He found the Locket-Cave... and he took Snape with him...

Harry is absolutely freaking out. Ginny, Luna are coming with her - and Ron was in the testing room when Harry collapsed, and he's not letting his sister go rescue Neville alone. I honestly think Hermione could go either way - but I'll have her stay behind with Theo. They're going to contact the rest of the DA with the master coins, and see if they can get in touch with - Lupin, Ginny's parents, Tonks and Moody, anyone.

And I'll leave it here for now, and write the exciting conclusion next time :D

What do you think a genderswapped Harry Potter (Harriet Potter?) would've been like?

So to start... I actually don't think life at the Dursleys would be all that different for Fem!Harry. Maybe there would be less *violent* bullying from Vernon and Dudley... but they honestly don't manage all that much as it is, and Harry's "normal" abuse mostly consists of being shouted at, locked up, treated as a scullery maid, and just generally made into a scapegoat + inferior/problem child that the rest of the family can unite around. If anything, Fem!Harry would have just reminded Petunia even MORE of Lily, and stirred up even MORE complicated emotions. And we'd get even more of live-in chef/maid Cinderella!Harry. It would all feel very Matilda.

The first big change I see happening... is I don't think Ron would have bonded with Harry on the train nearly as easily, if she were a girl. Young Ron is honestly pretty uncomfortable/awkward around girls... unless he's able to put them into a category like "little sister" (which doesn't count.) Or "know-it-all" (which doesn't count.) It's kind of a plot point in Book 4 that it takes him a while to realize Hermione and Ginny are girls he and Harry could potentially ask to the dance. Ron grew up around a bunch of guys, and you can tell. I think he'd try to *impress* Fem!Harry on the train, and probably put his foot in his mouth.

Harry would be at kind of loose ends on the Hogwarts Express, and get sucked into the search for Trevor the toad as something to do. So in this version, she actually ends up bonding with Neville. Hermione would be there too but well - Hermione rubbed Harry the wrong way at first in canon, and it would be even more the case here. They're both (functionally) muggleborn girls - but Hermione is SO much better prepared, and has SUCH loving parents, and won't shut up about any of this. In a way that Canon!Harry kind of fixates on Draco for ending up with his Ideal Life, it's possible that Fem!Harry might fixate more on Hermione.

11-year-old Draco would have treated Fem!Harry exactly the same, meeting her at Madame Malkin's and later on the train. He'd still have his obsession with her, and yeah, it probably does read as more of a crush to his Slytherin buddies... but I really do not see that stopping him. If his father can't get him to be normal to Harry, then that's just how it's going to be.

Harry will still get Sorted into Gryffindor, but I don't see her being close with any of the the other Gryffindor girls. Lavender and Parvati just have very different personalities, and Harry and Hermione... are very intense people who work best when they're able to take breaks from each other. In Book 4 when Harry is exclusively hanging out with Hermione, he comments that she's not as *fun* as Ron. And we see that dynamic again in Book 7 when it's just the two of them in the tent. Like they're incredibly effective, but seem to be wearing each other down a little. I think that forcing young (less emotionally mature) Harry and Hermione to be roommates would just end up with them getting on each other's nerves.

Hermione might get pulled into the friend group when Harry and Neville need help researching Nicholas Flamel, but she could easily stay more of a supporting character or even a frenemy in this version. Fem!Harry would still be the youngest seeker in a century. (Draco would be even more motivated to steal Neville's Remembrall if Neville is Harry's best friend... so that face-off would have gone down exactly the same.) Once she's actually on the team, I could see her falling in more with the upperclassmen, and hanging out with Fred, George, Lee, and Angelina (especially if they put together that she's a bit lonely.) It could be Harry, Neville, maybe Hermione, maybe the twins solving the puzzles at the end of Book 1. They'd still suspect Snape, who... would honestly be just a slightly different flavor of antagonistic and weird towards Harry, if she were a girl.

But in second year, Ginny would be Sorted into Gryffindor and I do think that Fem!Harry and Ginny would get along great, absolutely be bros. They could bond over quidditch, and Harry would get more of a sense of Ginny's actual personality (funny, cool). I have to think 11-year-old Ginny would be much less awkward around Harry if she were a girl.

Which would be really intense actually, because Ginny would have shown up to school with the the Diary, and it's... sort of important to the plot that she's isolated and has no friends. If she shares it with Harry as a cool thing - then Harry is ABSOLUTELY going to get obsessed with it. And since Harry's a much better *get* for Tom (Tom talks about being *so* pleased when powerful, important, future nemesis Harry starts writing to him instead of Ginny...) I think you just get Possessed!Harry opening up the Chamber of Secrets.

Also, would Harry have a crush on Tom? We know that Tom Riddle tries to impress Canon!Harry, which doesn't work... but Fem!Harry he might try to charm. Tom can be very charming if he wants to be. Harry also thinks he's very handsome. Either way, Tom is going to work VERY hard to to get Harry to distrust her friends. Really, you'd just get Harry's plot about being isolated and possessed by Voldemort in Book 5 moved to Book 2. Tom would get Harry to write "her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever" on the wall, and lure her down to the Chamber of Secrets.

However. I do think that Lily's magic, which makes it impossible for Voldemort to physically touch Harry, would also make it impossible for him to properly drain her life and take over her body. I'm thinking of the moment at the end of Book 5 where Voldemort tries to possess Harry, but Harry fights him off. So... I think Harry just wakes up in the Chamber of Secrets with an intact Diary and a basilisk she can control, since of course she's still a parselmouth.

The question is... what happens to the Diary, now that Harry knows it's dangerous? I'm thinking that when Harry disappears, Ginny freaks out and tells one of her older brothers what's going on, who tells Arthur, who tells Dumbledore. Which leaves Dumbledore with a Horcrux that still works... and it seems like if you've got school-age Tom Riddle right there, that would be a much easier way to get an answer to the question 'how many horcuxes do you plan on making?' So Dumbledore gets a head start on that project.

Harry now effectively just is the Heir of Slytherin. She can go to the Chamber whenever she wants, and the basilisk is her familiar I guess (Hagrid would LOVE helping her take care of it.) I could also see a Harry who gets more *interested* in Salazar Slytherin after this. She definitely wouldn't talk to Draco - he spent Book 2 being an asshat and calling people slurs. But Harry might try to pick Theo's brain or something.

Now Hermione. At first I was thinking - does Hermione just die, in Book 2? Would she have known to look around corners with a mirror, and so survive her basilisk attack?

I do think she'd still figure it out... and it's because of Lockhart. Hermione is a Gilderoy Lockhart *fangirl,* and without Ron and Harry poo-pooing her crush (and without first hand experience of Lockhart causing issues for Harry...) I think she's able to geek about about this with her roomies. I mean, Lavender and Parvati read Witch Weekly. They know he's won the Most Charming Smile award. Hermione likes a project, and without Harry and Ron providing one, I think her new thing is impress Lockhart. And what would impress Lockhart? Well, he's a monster hunter who is trying to find the Chamber of Secrets and identify what's inside. How cool would it be, if they were the ones who helped him? He'd write about them in his next book.

So I think the Polyjuice Potion plan (Hermione's idea) is still a go. She might even talk Lavender and/or Parvati into helping out. (I mean, they joined the DA. They're up for some rulebreaking.) Hermione would still turn herself into a cat, which would actually massively humanize her in the eyes of her roommates, and I think they all end up much better friends in this AU. Eventually, one of them does manage to Polyjuice into Pansy, which is a much more effective way of interrogating Draco. And by this point, Hermione has met Myrtle, and has enough info to solve the mystery, and even bring her findings to Lockhart. Who ah. Finds an excuse to just run. There's a very fun portion of the year where Dumbledore teaches DADA.

I don't see all that much about Book 3 changing until the climax - because the crew Harry takes down to Hagrid's after dark *would* be different. Neville, Ginny (not the Twins - I think they give Harry the Map and peace out, they've got their own stuff going on and don't want to hang out with their much younger sister.) Maybe Theo? I could see him taking on a very Hermione-ish support role by this point.

But this also causes a problem, because if Ron isn't there, Scabbers isn't with him. And if Scabbers isn't with Ron - I don't think Remus notices Peter on the map, and so just stays inside and drinks his Wolfsbane, which means Snape doesn't go down. And since Sirius' target was never *actually* Harry... I think this is just a universe where Sirius first-degree-murders Peter, and doesn't have a confrontation with Harry at all.

I do think Voldemort still comes back though. Trelawney would still have made her prophecy ("His servant has been chained these twelve years. Tonight, before midnight... the servant will break free and set out to rejoin his master.") In this universe, that prophecy would refer to Barty jr, finally throwing off the Imperius curse for the first time.

Bertha Jorkins still goes on her trip to Albania, and... Voldemort probably just possesses her the same way he did Quirrell. I bet that's easier to do after someone's been sort of fried by a memory wipe. Also, being in her head, I have to assume he's eventually gets some inkling of the fact that Barty is still alive, and so goes looking for him. Harry still goes to the Quidditch World Cup since she's friends with Ginny, her scar is still hurting (she probably writes to Lupin about this, instead of Sirius, but Lupin gives her pretty similar advice. He will have still left Hogwarts, because Snape would still have outed him as a werewolf at the end of the year.)

Harry still ends up as Champion. I think Big Sister Fleur would be a little more protective of Fem!Harry than Canon!Harry. And also... Harry just straight-up has a crush on handsome, nice, good at Quidditch Cedric. Rita could write about the Harry/Cedric/Cho love triangle, instead of Harry/Hermione/Krum.

The Yule Ball would actually be kind of a big deal for Fem!Harry. Up until now, she's been kind of a tomboy who wears Dudley's hand-me-downs... and is occasionally forced into some terrible 'party dress' when Aunt Marge visits. Harry's best friends are a boy and a tomboy, her quidditch teammates are feminine role-models but very much athletes: 'girly' hyper-femininity is something she associates with Aunt Petunia.

But, fourth year roles around. Mrs. Weasley buys her a set of emerald-green dress robes that actually look really nice, and she needs to find a date for the ball. I think she thinks about asking Cedric... but chickens out at the last minute, and asks Neville to go with her as a friend. Between her much more girly roommates, and Fleur taking pity on her and giving her some tips... I think Hermione's big Yule Ball glow-up is also Harry's first experience with wanting to look pretty, and succeeding.

I think it would be fun, and make sense, if this lead into a little secret admirer subplot. Someone is leaving her little gifts and messages, and she's thinking - is it Neville? Theo? Cedric?

(it was Draco. Instead of the blast-ended skrewts, Hagrid has them all taking care of Harry's basilisk, and like... she has a basilisk... she's the Heir of Slytherin... she asked Longbottom to the ball when she could do so much better... she was wearing green and looking perfect. Draco's Harry obsession has sorted itself out into a very serious crush.)

Back to the main plot. With Peter dead, I'm not sure Barty would be able to take care of Voldemort AND prep the ritual to bring him back to life AND impersonate Moody. He's going to need a man on the inside. I think at first he tries to use his father - but as we know that is going to get very risky very fast, because Barty Sr is remarkably good at fighting the Imperius curse, and also just knows way too much. He's a huge risk, because if he goes rouge, he'll tell Dumbledore everything (which is very nearly what happens.)

So I think Barty Jr. targets Barty Sr.'s assistant Percy Weasley, after he can no longer control his father. Uses him as a way to affect things in Hogwarts. He might imperius him, but he also might just like... Polyjuice himself into his father for short periods, and manipulate Percy in a non-magical way to make sure he helps Harry, and gets her through the maze to the cup first. Once Percy realizes what he's done... I think he re-commits to his family in penance, and stops being a such a Ministry man.

Voldemort rising works as kind of a reset button, so things would start looking a lot more canon again, only with Ron and Hermione swapped out for Ginny and Neville. Main difference being, Voldemort has Barty now. I absolutely think he would have survived Book 4.

So I'm going to leave this what-if here for now. Thanks for the ask, this was a lot of fun to think about.

[aaplecore]

Save a Horse, Ride a Cowgirl

(Agatha Harkness x fem!reader)

Summary: An unfamiliar cowgirl comes into the saloon you work in one day, helping you deal with a group of creepy regulars.

Warnings/tags: None, only minor nsfw stuff (Implications)

Notes: This is not proofread at all… it might be a little off, sorry </3

I have some better stuff planned for after this, trust 😇

(plus I don’t have writers block so I’ll be posting frequently hopefully….)

On a hot, dry, summer day, you were working your usual hours at Westview’s local tavern. As a barmaid, the pay was fair, plus you got free drinks… but you also had to deal with a constant onslaught of touchy-feely cowboys. Drunk cowboys, at that.

Of course, this meant learning to deal with guys grabbing your ass every now and then… but, tonight, they were being especially rowdy.

“Why don’t you give us a smile, baby!”

One of the men called, slapping your ass as you walked away with a tray of drinks. If it weren’t risking your job you’d knock his lights out. Since that isn’t exactly possible if you want to afford rent, you turn around quickly to rip him a new one instead, even though it would mean a few days of working the closing shift alone… just before you feel a woman’s hand resting on the crook of your back.

“Herb… are you bothering this beautiful young lady right now?”

She asks, glaring at the man. He looks… scared?

“No. ‘Course not, Agatha.”

He says quickly, shaking his head. He’s now looking down into the glass of whiskey, avoiding the woman’s gaze. You look over at her to see her intently glaring at the man, a look of warning. You also noticed she just so happened to be kind of hot.

“Hm. Okay. I just want to let you know…”

Agatha steps up to the table, letting go of you and resting her hands on the table, looking over the man—Herb, presumably—with an intimidating stare.

“If I ever see you grope another woman like that i’ll knock your sorry ass into next week, m’kay?”

She says quietly, standing up with a smile, as if she hasn’t just threatened this grown man. He doesn’t even try to argue…

As soon as you look back at her, you see she’s staring, looking you up and down with a smile.

“You alright, dollface?”

She asks, guiding you away from their table and back to the bar with a hand on your back again. Her fingers drum in your waist as she walks and her grip is firm… but also clearly delicate.

“I’m fine. Thank you for that. I would’ve gotten three shifts of closing if I did it…”

You mumble, walking around the bar as she leans in on the bar top, closer to you, that same smirk on her face.

“I’m y/n.”

You hold out your hand to her, taking the time in front of her to look her up and down. She was clad in a brown suit and matching hat, her long, wavy hair falling over her shoulders and around her face. For a cowboy—cowgirl?—she really was stunning.

“y/n…”

She smiles wider, shaking your hand firmly in hers. As soon as she’s done shaking your hand, she pulls it up and presses a kiss to the back of your palm. Her lips are surprisingly soft. And warm. It makes you blush a little.

“I’m Agatha. Agatha Harkness. It’s a pleasure, beautiful.”

She says confidently, very, very obviously flirting with you at this point. Although, based on her general… vibe, you assumed this wasn’t anything special.

Finally, after letting her hand linger for a moment, she lets go of you and removed her hat, leaving it on the bar. You almost missed the way her calloused hand felt in yours, even after only knowing her for a matter of minutes.

“So, how long have you been working here, doll?”

She asks, tilting her head to the side, her chin resting in hers hand. You can’t tell if she’s sizing you up or checking you out. Maybe a bit of both.

“About a year now. It’s not a bad gig. Other than the creepy dudes.”

You huff, glaring over at Herb once more before turning to look at Agatha again.

Okay, now she’s definitely checking you out. The way she’s staring… but you didn’t exactly seem to mind it. Really, your face flushed a little and you felt a sort of warmth spread within you.

“They’re a bunch of dicks, sweetheart. Although… they’re not wrong.”

She says lowly, tilting her head to the side.

“I hope you don’t mind me saying that. You must know how beautiful you are, especially with how much… attention you get around here.”

She shrugs, casually complimenting you like it was nothing. Not even your regulars complimented you this much.

“I- well, thank you. I… don’t mind it.”

You admit, smiling a little at her.

She smiles back, tapping her fingers on the wooden bar top. You couldn’t help but get a little distracted by her fingers. A weird thing to be distracted by… but damn.

“Well… it was lovely to meet you dollface, but I ought to be going. Hopefully i’ll see you around.”

She says, winking at you as she stands up, waving with a wiggle of her fingers as she walks out, her hips swinging with her steps. The doors to the saloon swing shut… and shes gone before you even got the chance to really talk to her.

You sigh as she leaves, and turn around to clean the bar top to busy yourself… until you spot her hat still on the bar top. Immediately, you grabbed it and ran out the door, looking for her… but she was already gone.

You sigh, running a hand through your hair, contemplating what to do. Looking over the hat, you spot a small label on the inside… with an address! This couldn’t have been better. Now you had an excuse to see her again and she could get her hat back.

————ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

A few days later, when you finally had a day off, you decided it was the perfect time to deliver Agatha’s hat.

You put on your favorite outfit, making sure you looked as cute as you could for her.

It’s a surprisingly short walk from your house to hers. It was perfect. When you arrived, you knocked on the slightly worn wooden door, waiting with her hat in hand for her to come.

“Hey… dollface, what’re you doing here?”

She asks as she opens the door, leaning in the doorway, smirking down at you. Could a few days make someone even hotter?

“I have your hat. You left it at the bar the other day.”

You shrug, smiling as you hand her the hat.

She takes it from you and places it back on her head.

“That’s awful sweet of you… how about you come in for a drink? I’m not sure it can measure up to what you have at that little saloon, but it’s the company that matters, dont’cha think?”

She asks, motioning you to follow her inside. Now, you had a chance to look her over. She was only wearing a flannel and jeans with a white tank top. Much less… formal than the other day. And she pulled it off.

“You drink whiskey?”

She calls out, pulling down a bottle as you walk in. You come in to stand next to her in the kitchen, resting your elbow on her counter, watching her pour two glasses before you even answer.

“Here, dollface. Thanks for returning my hat.”

She smiles, handing you the small glass and clinking yours with hers. After you take a sip, she places her hands on your waist to guide you in front of her while she leans back on the counter.*

“You’re awful nice for hand-delivering this, sweetheart… you didn’t want to wait for me to come back to the saloon?”

She asks, tilting her head to the side while she holds you against her. The way her hands feel, gripping your waist, pulling you against her… it’s like you were putty in her hands. Instinctively, you place your hands on her chest, almost to keep yourself up straight just in case you get a little weak in the knees.

“I- uh, I wanted to make sure you got it. Just in case I wasn’t working.”

You make up an excuse, obviously not wanting to explain ‘I thought you were hot and I really wanted to see you without a gaggle of handsy men watching us’.

Agatha sees right through it. It’s obvious you’re lying. So… she runs with it, leaning in a little bit to tease you, pressing her lips to your jawline… then down your neck… to your ear. You definitely weren’t expecting that.

“That’s it? You’re too nice for your own good, dollface.”

She mumbles between kisses, looking up at you as she hears your breath hitch in your throat, noticing the way your grip gets a bit tighter in the fabric of her flannel.

“Not that I mind you coming over…”

“Well… maybe there was something else.”

You shrug, biting your lip to hold back a little moan when she kisses a particularly sensitive spot on your neck.

She chuckles in response, running a hand up your side.

“There was? And what might that be?”

She asks sarcastically. She already knows the answer… she just wants to tease it out of you.

“I wanted to see you.”

You admit, running one of yours hands up to her neck, trying to guide her face to yours.

“To get to know you.”

Agatha smiles at that, smirking with that cocky smile on her face. She can infer the rest from there.

“Well, aren’t I lucky…”

She mutters, following the guidance of your hand and bringing her face at-level with yours, kissing you before either of you can think any better of it. Her lips are still as soft as they felt on your hand… except now you can feel the slight callouses and cracks. It only makes it better. She brings one hand up to cut your cheek, gently rubbing your ur face with her thumb as she other hand grips your hip tighter.

After a second, she pulls away, panting softly.

“How about we go back to my room, dollface?”

“That would be nice.”

You reply quickly nodding. Before you know it, she’s kissing you all over, pulling you pack to her room with her.

[penguinlife]

This insomnia is killing me.

This is totally my opinion. I strongly believe that Nic believed Luke and the dancer had broken up in NY. They did hook up on the WT, I believe she was under the impression that A was confused and that Luke had given her the wrong idea that they were more serious than what they were. Leading to all the mixed messages answers.

A resurfaced at the London premiere, and I still believe it was orchestrated by his sister Lauren.

Now, before the cray cray, Luke haters misunderstand me. Luke has some issues. He is truly a nice guy. And with nice guys, they tend to get into situations because they are trying not to hurt people.

He and Nic put some distance between them after the WT. It is easy for them to compartmentalise. Their feelings are just their characters spilling over.

The throwaway comment that Nic made about her being a 7 haunts me. It presents as low self-esteem. She knows she is a good actress, and she is happy to receive compliments when it has to do with her work, but she hates it when people comment on her appearance, good or bad. I might be projecting here, but it makes sense to me. Every time she gets recognised for anything, she pivots to someone or something else.

She loves Luke and cherishes his friendship. I think she sees it to be all that it could ever be. I have been in a similar situation. Again, I might be projecting.

He and A rekindled their relationship over the summer but parted ways again just before S4 filming kicked off. By this time, Nics walls were up.

After the new year, A again reapeared, this time at the family funeral. Again, I think Lauren was the person who invited her. Luke and Nic have been on a filming break. Similarly to the one they had in Nov/Dec last year. My guess is about a month. During this time, he and A started hanging out again.

This brings us to the SAG awards. I have a feeling A was going to be at least at the afterparty, but something last minute changed.

From the SAG awards red carpet, it did seem like it was coming more from Luke's side. Nic was more reserved. But their feelings for each other are real, and they can't hide it. Nic's walls are still up to protect herself. Yes, in my opinion, it was an overcompensation to follow A. Saying in a way that she won't let anything happen between her and Luke because, look, she is now friends with A. Also, I believe subconsciously she is forcing Luke's hand, claim A, make it official.

Now, I don't believe he will claim A. Actually, the opposite will happen. He believes himself to not be a pushover, unlike his character Colin. Because he is a truly nice guy, he acts out in a way that only hurts himself. Like how he took A to the Boss One event and the BAFTA afterparty. Someone most definitely in his team advised him against it.

Luke and Nic will be back on set tomorrow, and I believe they will confront what has happened.

Side note: Luke respecting S3/Polin/Nicola by not bringing A into the light has done what I thought it would. He has gained a lot of positive attention. He was essentially just part of the ensamble nominations, but he was as highlighted as Nic by all the major accounts. Yes, their interaction helped. But essentially, they only hugged each other. In of it self is super harmless and on the surface meaningless. It was the authenticity of the moment that made it blow up.

I listened to the Nikki Glaser episode of Armchair expert with Dax and Monica on my walk yesterday. She famously made a comment about Taylor Swifts weight, which was included in Taylor's documentary. She reflected on how it was 100% on herself. She was projecting as she was struggling with verious forms of eating disorders. She was jealous of Taylor, one for wanting to look like her and two for wanting to be her friend. She apologised to Taylor, owning what she had said. Taylor graciously accepted the apology.

I so resonated with what Nikki was saying. I gained quite a bit of weight in my 20s&30s because of some health issues. Not having the funds to see specialists. I have always been told I was pretty. Sinse from a very young age, but when my late father made a comment a few years ago that it is a shame that I gained so much weight, I am no longer pretty, shook me to my core. I never thought I was pretty. But I suddenly realised I was being treated differently.

Covid happened, I got retrenched and received a really nice settlement. Could finally afford that specialist, psychologist, and dietician. 12 months later, and I am back to what I weighed at university. It has been hard work. Commitment and determination. No excuses and being extremely hard on myself.

Something inside me has shifted. I used to be body positive. All bodies are beautiful and have value. But lately, I find myself thinking very harsh thoughts. When I see someone who is overweight, I judge them. If I can do it, so can they. Why are you not taking care of yourself. Your health is the most important. If you could just stop eating takeouts or sugar. This is me 1000% projecting. It is my own issue. I miss eating nice food. I miss having to just sit and watch movies. Not exercise. Sometimes walking 5km is absolute torture. Everything hurts. My energy is at 0. Every step is extreme effort. But I am being so extremely hard on myself that I just hate on everyone who gets to not do it. I can admit that. I don't go and speead that toxicity on other peoples posts.

These people hating on NIc or Luke, you are telling on yourself. It is not on them. We don't know them. We make assumptions and guesses, but at the end of the day, we only see glimses of them.

Before making that nasty comment, reflect. Are you projecting, assigning labels, and judging what is on the surface?

[physics-of-one-piece]

Ohhh Fizzyyyy~ ✨

While researching Doffy's Looks, I noticed something sad about the DQ Brothers and I have to make everyone elses a bit sad with me ~ 😌

And someone else has probably pointed that out already

About the color reverse with Doffy and Rosi, it only happened after Doffy shot his Brother ! (Actually it happened when Doffy ruled Dressrosa, but let me have this!!! )

Before The Incident™ we see Doffy in two magnificent fits.

This one: white trousers, black shirt, bit of red and dark pink on his pants. Similar colors to Rosi over all, but not a color reverse. Not sure about the timeline right now, but the colors might symbolize Doffy being happy his little brother is back and therefore making them wear similar colours to show it (let me have this 😩plz)

And then there is our beloved Red Suit Doffy. No White in sight, just Black and lots of Red (= blood = Family and death). He feels betrayed by the only Family he has left and there is only one solution for him! 😩 Bang bang.

And only after Doffy realized what he has lost, he subconciously choose to wear his brothers colors! ( I know it was Odas choice to show the parallels with the Brothers in the Dressrosa Arc, BUT let me-)

Anyway ✨✌🏻 i just wanted to point this out !

Have a loveley Day, Fizzy 🦩

PS: Its totaly off topic but I headcanons Doffy with a bellybutton piercing. Let me ha-

Hello, Coco ~💕✨🫶🏻

I love this. First of all, these two pics made me swoon North Blue Doffy is so handsome 😍

We will ignore that Oda designed Doffy first and only later decided to make Rosinante (in Oda's first ever sketches of Doffy, Doffy was a single child! But man am I glad he changed his mind) and used Dressrosa Doffy's clothes colours but switched them for the base of Doffy's brother because clothes are another writing/artist tool- as a writer, what better way to speak to the audience than through clothes? You get to say soo many things with clothes, especially in manga. Clothes are such a simple tool and yet a great tool to show the connection between characters while also giving them their own style!

However, let's ignore that entire "Oda created Doffy first" which and focus on how the characters feel and what made the characters pick their clothes.

And you're right. Now, why Dressrosa Doffy reverse clothes colours scheme for Cora? Easy. Audience. By now, it's been (counting from ep 608 when post-timeskip Doffy aka Dressrosa Doffy is revealed) 100 episodes that the audience has seen Doflamingo dressed in those clothes, white shirt, pink coat. The moment we see Cora, our minds need to go "that's Corazon, that's Doflamingo's younger brother" at FIRST SIGHT of Corazon.

So, Oda does the colours the same but on different clothing aka if Doffy has a white shirt, Cora will have white pants. If Doffy has a pink coat, Cora can't have a pink coat but his upper body needs to wear sth pink. Pink shirt with pink hearts. Genius. Oh, and the biggest "THIS IS DOFLAMINGO'S LITTLE BROTHER" sign? Feather coat like Doflamingo's just a black colour. Oda coloured Cora's coat black but I love the purple of the anime too cus it's literally on the colour spectrum right next to pink. I think Oda made it black but myb it was originally purple but the amount of times Cora lit it on fire just made the poor thing turn black. Though, there is the entire thing with flamingos. They have black feathers underneath their main pink feathers - it's the black feathers that help them to fly.

North Blue Doffy

I think the moment Doffy hit 21 (that's the legal drinking age in Japan) he switches to suits/more formal wear. And yes, you're right about Dressrosa Doffy being the reverse clothes switch of Cora aka after his brother's death. Doffy liked red a lot to go with his wardrobe.

This is how he dressed at 17 (I love it, it makes no sense and I love it) at Roger's execution. Maybe it was hot that day, but it did start to rain later but it was probably summer rain anyway. But I can totally see this being 17 year old Doffy's everyday fit.

So, sometime later when he reached 20 and he became the young pirate underworld businessman as Law (and we, the audience) meet him later as in North Blue, he switched to formal wear. Doffy likes luxury. He's a Celestial Dragon. Also, I like to think the climate of North Blue doesn't agree with him, so he goes for long sleeved shirts such as dress shirts and the full red suit. Of course he goes for suits. They can also make him appear less dangerous than he is while giving him an edge over other pirates who dress... Well, like pirates 🤣

So, when Cora came back (Doffy was 24, Cora 22) of course Doffy will try to colour match somehow. Ties are a no go. First, he needs EVERYONE to know that this clumsy pyromaniac is his wonderful cute little brother! And how does he do that?

COAT.

Doflamingo already probably has quite a bounty on his head even in his North Blue days (probably a 100,000 berries or a bit more, I think it skyrocketed to its 320 mil. when he attacked the Heavenly Tributes). His coat is probably INFAMOUS. It's what other pirates recognise him by. You see a big pink feather coat? Oh, that's Donquixote Doflamingo.

And so Doflamingo wanted everyone to connect Cora's black/purple(in anime)coat to "this is Doflamingo's younger brother, Corazon"

It's not known whether the pirate world is aware that Corazon is Doflamingo's younger brother,but I'd wager the answer is a big NO. They think as Doflamingo's right-hand man, it comes with the perk of wearing a feather coat 🤣

In short, I am a 100% sure Doffy picked Corazon's outfit.

Red Suit Doffy being = blood, family, death you get it Coco, you get it. 🥹🫶🏻

I love being delulu thinking Dressrosa Doffy subconsciously chose to wear his brother's colour scheme but reverse and with his own twists cus wtf are those pants colour, Doffy what fckn colour is that, Doffy. I fckn love it but what fckn colour - oh even that is just a lighter shade of Cora's beanie, just shoot me.

I mean, I know it's probably not true that he like subconsciously chose them cus of Cora, but I totally get you, Coco. Even if Doffy most likely chose them cus he likes them+white dress shirts are always worn by royals (thinks Sanji's outfit in Whole Cake) I support being delulu☝🏻🫡

Thank you for the ask, it hurts but it's worth it. 🫶🏻💕

But maaan, all this clothes talk is just making me wonder if Merlot & Primroses Doffy would be so terrible (at least it's in Reader's POV how Reader would understand it) to give Reader Cora's extra black feather coat fitted for her. Or myb the opposite, sth that he tries to erase Cora's presence with...

Where are those American flamingos...

A feather coat like this colour? It's such a close shade to pink but is its own shade. Like, the people will be thinking "there is a connection to Doflamingo" and that already is bad enough the moment they think that

Plus, the Chilean flamingos have their tail feathers in a darker pink colour too!

And some flamingos have black tail feathers, too (prob why Oda drew Cora's coat black (or bcs of the underneath black feathers as I said), now that I think about it).

Aaah, thank you for making me cry over DQ brothers again, Coco 🫶🏻🥹✨💕

And you may or may not have made me think about how to make Merlot & Primroses even more angsty, though I for some reason don't want to give Reader any feather coat. Those things can be HEAVY.

Doffy with a bellybuton piercing 😳😳 oh my 🫣🫣 that is so cute 🥹🥹

[beforetimes]

tbh i think after logan resets the past at the end of days of future past and wakes up in this timeline that's better than he could ever imagine it'd be very hard for it to settle in his mind that this is real and he gets to keep it.

like, after decades of living in a dystopian hell he's not going to wake up in seemingly in paradise without having some sort of ptsd or residual nightmares from before where all his friends died horrible deaths that he couldn't stop. i feel like to him, scott and jean would feel more like ghosts than people for a good while because if we're operating under the assumption that days of future past happened in the same timeline that the original trilogy happened in, it would've been about half a century since logan had last seen the two of them alive and well. i feel like to him it would be similar to knowing you're dreaming and waiting for the other shoe to drop the whole way through.

and then after that there's the fact that he has no idea who he is in this timeline now—that's what i feel was implied, anyway, with how he woke up years in the future and couldn't remember anything past 1973. but he still has relationships built up with the people there and he's an entirely different logan than the one who woke up in his place. so i feel there would be some fumbling there as well, to figure out those relationship dynamics again. unless you just want to assume that things went about the same as the og trilogy minus the plot of the last stand.

idk! i feel logan wouldn't bounce back as fast as it seems he would. think he would have nightmares and be overly-wary and always feel like he's on the cusp of losing this too good to be true world he's stepped into. but i also feel he would soften some of his rougher edges—in the og trilogy he seems more like a flight-risk than anything, still bouncing from place to place and coming back to the x-mansion for a few people, but here he would stay for more than just jean and rogue—clings on for all the kids he couldn't save the first time and the allies who became close friends over the course of them living out that first dystopian future only he remembers. just thinking out loud

[chirpsythismorning]

Nick himself said that his knowledge is confined to the leaks prior to s4, the s4 scripts from his verified source (likely within a source) and basic knowledge most fans paying attention have been able to formulate about s5 based on what has been released officially/unofficially, trends from Netflix and common sense.

He is saying based on all that, he doesn’t think byler is happening. 

And if we think back to what the Duffers themselves shared in the 4x09 script, it literally implies Mike’s monologue worked, and that it was entirely genuine. This tells me that the script the Duffers released for Emmy consideration, is not that far off from what Nick saw for himself. 

I think it’s likely Nick got something that the average below the line worker might manage to get their hands on if they tried hard enough. A copy they know they have to water-down to prevent these very situations from happening.

Unfortunately for the Duffers, it just so happens that they didn’t scrub their watered down copy hard enough.

Unfortunately for Nick, he admitted that it’s possible and even likely that the production will release things that aren’t exactly accurate with the sole purpose to lead fans sleuthing astray, without realizing it may have ironically already happened to him. 

[perilegs]

shoutout to people working their dream jobs doing something mundane

[sevencardigans]

MIKAELA AND ALEKS ARE ENGAGED!!

MIKAELA AND ALEKS ARE ENGAGED!!

MIKAELA AND ALEKS ARE ENGAGED!!

[shimmerluna]

WAIT Elle has box braids in s3??? I could cry

I don't think she had bad hair in s1 or s2, but I'm excited that they're actually giving the Black girls Black hairstyles instead of having them wear it out.

Before, it felt like the (all-white, for context) hair department was just ignorant about Black hair, so they put wigs on the Black actresses and only did styles that also work on nonblack hair for their own sake/convenience. This theory was especially supported by the fact that Tara, whose 4c hair couldn't really be styled the same as nonblack hair, wore a twistout that would take literal hours to do every day, but she had box braids in s2! and Elle has box braids now!! I'm so excited!!!

I also feel like this fits her bold, fashion-loving personality so much better than leaving her hair out. Our hair is basically its own accessory, and the long box braids are very feminine. Again, I'm not saying not having a protective style isn't feminine or fashionable (I myself am a fashion girlie with an Afro), but having one is another outlet for her creativity, and I'm glad they're recognizing that now.

[airenyah]

Your essay on Joong's underrated acting skills deepened my Joong appreciation so much, that I watched Mafia the Series, I'm watching Ploy's Yearbook (even though there is a serious lack of Joong so far), and I'm planning on watching The Warp Effect too. I haven't watched het shows in over ten years, so this is a big deal! 😂 I really liked him with Dunk in their shows, but MTS gave me another facet of him, because he's so timid in it, unlike in SIMM and HA, where he's (seemingly) very cool and in control. So thank you for making me a full time Joong (and Dunk) girl 💜

i saw this message first thing in the morning when i woke up yesterday and it instantly put me in a good mood!!! <3

YESSSSSS I'M SO HAPPY TO HEAR THAT

mafia the series might actually be my absolute fave thai het-show, it's just SO funny!!!! and the entire cast is so great, like, not just joong but the entire cast plays off each other SO well. and don't even get me started on gina virahya and her portrayal of anna kondra!!!!

you know, when i went into mafia the series i saw the poster and was like "ughh i really am gonna have to sit through this standard (overly) dramatic mafia show just for joong, huh. the things i do for my boy..." and then. AND THEN. you can imagine my surprise. i was crying tears of laughter throughout the show and i was actually laughing so hard that my mom made a comment about how she could hear my laugh in my room

beam is my loser boy and joong portrays him in such an adorably awkward way, i love it <333

and yes there IS a serious lack of joong in ploy's yearbook so far :((((

it was quite funny tho bc in the one scene where joong does show up i immediately recognized him by the back of his head, like!! i saw this:

and instantly went "OH there's my boy!!!!!" 😂😂😂

and i can't wait to see him with film bc film did extremely well with gun in not me and i feel like film and joong will also work together really well

you know, i'm always happy to turn people into full time joong (and dunk) girls!!!!!!

i've adored them ever since simm which i watched live from ep2 onwards. fun fact, actually: when i started simm i actually had no idea who they were (even though technically i'd seen dunk in bad buddy already, except i wasn't paying attention to the random high school bandmates and so i didn't actually recognize dunk and only realized later on ahahah)

aaaanyway, i had no idea who they were, right? and so in 2022 my mom and i spent two nights in prague during easter and in the evening we were in our hotel room and we were kinda looking for something to watch. and i was like "hey look, gmmtv has a new bl out and it looks kinda cute and fluffy judging by the thumbnails?? and like something that doesn't require too much brain power?? plus, there's also only two eps out so far, so we'll be caught up right away" and so we watched the first two episodes and then the two of us ended up watching every new ep together every week hahaha

i actually didn't really talk about it on tumblr back then and when you go back on my blog you'll see that there are hardly any simm post. but really, with every new simm episode that aired i liked joongdunk more and more. and especially once the characters started dating i was actually so in awe about just how comfortable joong and dunk were with each other and how they absolutely weren't afraid to touch? like, their physical affection was just so casual, like it was the most natural thing in the world to them in an "i'm-not-even-thinking-about-it-bc-it's-so-normal" kind of way and that was just soooo refreshing to watch?? i was (and still am) truly amazed

and when just a couple of months later, at the end of 2022 gmmtv announced joongdunk were gonna get another show together i got SO excited!! and also when it was revealed that simm was included in our skyy 2!!!!

and then hidden agenda started airing and then i was tagged in that tag game and then i went to watch joong's entire filmography and then i ended up falling into a joongdunk rabbit hole and here we are...

anyway, i have multiple agendas and one of them is turning people into joong fans and dunk fans and joongdunk fans sllksdfd

and my other agenda is getting people to watch mafia the series, bc it's truly a gem of a show!!!!

(speaking of agendas: the only thing that's missing in your message is you telling me that you approve of my fight for a sexy joongdunk vampire bl, like... that would have made the message and the influence of my joong/dunk/joongdunk blogging complete 😂😂😂)

[monachopism]

am i autistic or am i just paranoid. level: impossible

[edge-oftheworld]

one thing I love about following celebrities/artists who are honest and proactive about their mental health struggles etc is I can’t count the number of times someone I know is going through something and I’m like ‘I’ve got a song for u’ and how much of my life involves telling myself ‘if [redacted] can do something/get better/etc then so can i’ (and having actual real evidence of it in front of me) and I can’t understate how much I appreciate these things.

but at the same time it involves a whole lot of watching people I care about suffer and you learn to read the signs and infer between the lines in songs and interviews, and yes we can never fully know what they don’t share with us, but when they do share things it’s not a big stretch to be like ‘this seems like it’s what life is like for you and I have taken encouragement from it but you deserve so much better’. and it’s easy to find ways to get angry at a predatory industry and realise things that could be hurtful if you’re already fragile.

and we can advocate for some things and help ourselves and the people around us feel better but it’s hard to meaningfully reach your faves as an individual. and there are things we can’t say on the internet in too much detail, speculation becomes the harmful kind of gossip, and so sometimes it’s a whole lot of internally saying ‘you’re doing incredibly well to have gotten to where you are but I wish for your sake things would get better faster’

[alagaisia]

I’m reminded of that post about how goths and people who wear only lots of pink are actually the same because “wearing only one color” is a specific choice in opposition to just looking Normal

I’m flying to a friend’s wedding today, and I recently acquired from my neighborhood free page a very pretty vintage suitcase in like a brocade upholstery texture in all of my good colors, so of course I needed a coordinated airport outfit à la Midge Maisel. You guys don’t know me, but I usually dress very put together, in what my sister calls Outfits, with a capital O to distinguish it from just wearing clothes. And since getting a full time job I’ve been slowly adding to my collection of vintage and 50’s-vibes clothes, because I just really like that aesthetic (my bridesmaid dress for the wedding is a vintage tea dress I got from Etsy. The fabric is in great condition but I had to reinforce pretty much every seam with my sewing machine, because the structural integrity of the original thread was breaking down, so that was an interesting learning experience).

All of which is to say that I Dressed Up for the airport in a vintage-y outfit that coordinates perfectly with some of the colors of my suitcase, and my hair is curled, and I have a vintage leather purse that my grandma gave me that matches her watch that I’m wearing and the shoes she bought me last summer at the same vintage store that my skirt came from, and a teenage-ish girl with whatever you call the 2023 teenage equivalent of emo/punk vibes, like the dark maroon mullet and not a lot of makeup and dark comfy clothes but like, very on purpose, told me I look cool when I walked past on the way to security

And like, she Gets It! We have different fashion goals but I think we put a similar degree of intention into the way we look compared to just wearing regular clothes. Which is cool! It’s validating. Not that I really need validation, but it’s always nice to get compliments, of course. And the way I dress is really not terribly distinctive most of the time, other than being Outfits and a little dressier than maybe the norm is, like I think most people who see me one time in passing would see that I look Nice but not necessarily see it as a cultivated Look. But punk mullet girl gets it.

[exopelagic]

i said i wouldn’t do it this time but it’s 3am and mods asleep. boy

[lilnasxvevo]

Since teaching really does seem to be Lan Qiren’s passion I like to think about a modern Lan Qiren who is really good about pursuing possible diagnoses and treatment of learning/developmental disabilities of children entrusted to his care.

[unproduciblesmackdown]

and some looks at some Documents:

introducing "get happy" as the song jane is diegetically singing at the start of the show....seeming enough confirmation that "pop" falbury takes the place of the grand/parently housekeeper of the film, who mentions in some overlapped dialogue that an aunt was a performer who used to teach the falbury sisters singing & dancing....now presumably a literal grand/parent, who may be attributing their preexisting performance skills, despite having lived on a farm, as from "[like?] your mama"....maybe an "I always [...] song coming [on]" there too

the binder on the table is open to a cast list ft. headshots & a summer stock title/cover sheet, and my efforts at transcribing the pages of the binder on the podium are as follows

left sheet:

6.25 Donna

Music ... We would like to add drums on the 3rd count of 8 on Corbin's NY solo - HAPPY DAYS/I WANT TO BE....

Sound ... We will figure out the timing of the raking SFX at top of show ... pg 1

Music ... We need to update music that there are no words "Shall we? Let's" - GET HAPPY OPENING ... pg 1

Dani ... Need to have eyes up on "We're going to the promised land" GET HAPPY OPENING ... pg 1

Sound ... Creaky door opening SFX sounds like a metal door- we don't like it ... pg 1

Dani ... There is no "That". On the line "We promised THAT we'd make them whole" ... pg 2

Music ... Needs to come in right away after Corbin's last step. Before "easy peasy, kids" HAPPY DAYS/I WANT... ... pg 3

Writer/Feore ... We need to look at "Ow, geez louise". She just needs one "ow" ... pg 4

Ensemble ... Female ensemble should be looking at [?] during "We don't got time" - HAPPY DAYS/I WANT TO BE HAPPY ... pg 4

Music ... Too much time before Gloria's "Say! I've got a place!" - HAPPY DAYS/I WANT TO BE HAPPY ... pg 6

Music/Ensemble ... Need to clean up the sigh in HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN ... pg 8

Arianna ... Do not go to grab Joe's hand when you introduce Joe to pop. (Hangover) ... pg 8

Arianna ... It works when Ari stands between Joe and Phil for "And we all won". Yes to that! ... pg 10

Ari, Corbin, Gil, Dani ... We need to fix the weave, escape blocking in ACCENTUATE THE POSITIVE. The running out doesn't work ... pg 13

Ensemble/Jane ... Go over exit cues. "You can all bunk out in the barn tonight". Start to leave. "But" stop. "heave ho" leave ... pg 14

Stage Management ... Is the suitcase structural for her to stand on? ... pg 14

Ari, Corbin, Gil, Dani ... The figure 8 has to be that every time she tries to leave, someone is there - ACCENTUATE THE POSITIVE ... pg 13

Dani ... We need her to play just a little stage left in CHASING RAINBOWS ... pg 15

Dani ... Needs to respond to Joe saying "subtext". Need to say something ... pg 16

right sheet:

Synopsis of Scenes & Musical Numbers

A Technicolor New England farm-turned-theater

[?] - Mid-20th Century

Act One

Scene 1, The Barn at Falbury Farm

Get Happy ... Ja[ne] [...]

Corbin Solo Tap(?)/2^8

Scene 2, M[?] Rehearsal Studio

Happy Days Are Here Again / I Want To Be Happy ... Ensemble [...]

Scene 3, The Yard, the next day

Accentuate the Positive ... Gloria, Joe, Phil, Ensemble [...]

Scene 4, The Cherry Orchard

I'm Always Chasing Rainbows ... Ja[ne] [...]

Scene 5, The Drawing Room at Wingate Manor(?)

Always ... Mrs. Wingate [...]

Always (Reprise) ... [...]

Scene 6, The Barn

It's Only A Paper Moon ... Joe, [...]

Scene 7, The Kitchen, a short time later

The Best Things in Life Are Free ... [...]

Dig For Your Dinner ... Jane(?), [...]

Scene 8, Jane's Bedroom, that evening

Me and My Shadow ... [...]

Scene 9, The Yard, the next morning

Howdy Neighbor, Happy Harvest ... J[ane] [...]

Scene 10, The Drawing Room at Wingate Manor(?), that night

Fi[?][...]

Red Hot Mamma ... Montgomery [...]

Scene 11, The Barn, the next day

'Til We Meet Again ... Gloria, Montgomery, Phil, [...]

You Wonderful You ... [...]