#also its so funny because 100% her parents continued their teaching

[fiorimaya]

please help heal all of our hearts a lil bit and do a dark crystal aor AU where it’s like years down the road and the garthim war NEVER happened

Sure thing! You didn't say any specific ships or anything so I'll use my favorites... hope that's alright and hope you like it! :D <3 Glad to write some peaceful, happy moments of them where they're not worried about war and stuff and can just be happy :') Also just in general, please no one come at me or start arguments just because of who is who's kid in this LOL we can all have our theories/ideas and keep the peace! (This Kira's parents theory I don't even fully 100% agree with because I'm back and forth between it being these two and another ship. I just strongly prefer these two to be her parents 😭😂 so unless requested otherwise, they always will be in my writing.) This is fictional so don't take it too seriously. Plus, I know nothing is confirmed yet.)

"Is this it?" Brea asked from atop the counter, holding a jar she'd just pulled out of the cabinet.

Deet glanced up, stirring the contents in the bowl as thoroughly as she could. "Yes!"

Brea got down and walked to her, opening it and ready to add it in. Once Deet stopped stirring and held it out to her, she did. Brea watched as Deet mixed it in with the other contents before adding it to what was in the pot.

"Mother?" The two heard a voice behind them. They both turned and smiled at the girl.

"Yes sweetie?" Brea asked.

"Jen and I are starving. Is the food almost ready?"

"It shouldn't be much longer, Kira," Brea answered, going over and gently patting her face.

"It will be ready shortly," Deet answered before turning her attention back to stirring the pot.

"There you go! That's it!" Deet heard Rian's voice from outside. She looked through the window and saw Rian with their son and smiled at the sight of them. Rian was teaching Jen his forms- something he'd longed to do since even before Jen was born. Rian had wanted to teach his son everything that Ordon had taught him. He'd shown Jen things occasionally once he was able to stand steady on his feet; but now he was the right age that he could really get into the depths of things. Deet's heart melted when she saw Rian ruffle Jen's hair and continue to praise him. Jen had a proud smile spread across his face.

A few minutes later, the food was ready. Brea held Kira up so she could reach to get the bowls from the cabinet. After that, Brea set the table while Kira ran outside to get her father as well as Jen and Rian. The four walked back in as Deet was filling each bowl with the food she'd just made.

Kylan pulled Brea's chair out for her, kissing her cheek softly after she sat. Brea smiled at him, a blushing mess, and was able to give him a quick kiss on the lips before he got up straight again, making him blush as well. All those trine together and they still got red in the face at every little moment like that between them. Kira was sitting beside her father, and Jen was sat beside of her. They saw that moment between Kira's parents and looked at each other. "Ew," they giggled.

"Cut it out," Kylan told them with a smile.

Deet had washed the pot out and put it back in its place when Rian put his arms around her from behind. He kissed her neck, making her shiver a little, but she smiled. "Something smells good."

She turned in his arms to face him, placing her hands on his shoulders as his went to her waist. "Something I haven't made in a while. I believe since even before we started courting so long ago."

"Hm," he smiled. "Can't wait to try it."

"Then go try it!" She giggled.

He kissed her lips gently before taking her hand and walking her to the table.

Jen and Kira looked at each other again. "Ew," they giggled again.

"Very funny," Rian spoke as he sat beside of Jen, causing the two to give each other a look at then giggle even harder.

Since everyone was seated, they began eating. "Mmm," Kira beamed after a few bites. "Deet, this is so good!"

"Thank you, sweetie," Deet smiled at her.

"She's right," Rian told Deet. "Absolutely delicious, my love."

"Good thing I watched her prepare it so I'll be able to make it for you at home too," Brea told Kira.

Kylan gave his wife a look. "You're going to start cooking?"

Brea put her glass down after taking a sip of her water and looked at her daughter. "Good thing I watched her prepare it so I'll be able to tell your father how to make it at home for us too."

Once evening fell, they decided to go outside and start a fire. When the fire was lit, all but Jen and Kira sat around it and Kylan pulled out his firca. "I brought my firca!"

Brea beamed. "Wonderful!" She always loved to hear him play it.

"Rian," Deet looked at him. "You should go get your lute!"

"Deet..." Rian gave her a look.

"Oh, come on. You play wonderfully!" Deet stated.

"And I play for you. And Jen."

"Well, the way I see it, if you can play for us inside, then you can play out here as well," she smiled. Rian kept the same expression and just stared at her. Deet pouted a little. "Pleeeeease."

How could he say no to that? He sighed but smiled. "Fine."

"Oh, good!" Deet giggled as he walked past her and towards their house.

"Mother," Jen said breathlessly as he reached Deet. He was out of breath from running around with Kira, who walked up to stand beside him.

"Yes, sweet?" Deet looked at him.

"Could Kira and I go get some empty jars?"

Deet looked around and knew what they planned on doing with them as she saw the firebugs lighting around them. They liked running around and catching them each summer when they were out. Deet smiled at him. "Of course. Bottom right cabinet, I believe."

"Thank you!"

The two smiled and ran to the house, passing Rian as he returned with his lute. He sighed and sat beside of Deet again. "Alright, I've got my lute."

Deet clapped happily and Rian couldn't help but smile at how adorable she was. Her happiness made him happy. After a moment, he started playing as Deet shifted closer to him to lay her head on his shoulder. Kylan quickly picked up on the song Rian was playing and played along on his firca as Brea laid her head in his lap.

Song after song was played throughout the evening, with talking and laughter in between. Jen and Kira had eventually got tired of running around and were dozing off sitting on their mothers' laps, heads against their chests. They rocked them and hummed softly along with the soft music from the guys until the two children were finally asleep. Once they were sleeping, Rian sat his lute beside of him as Kylan put his firca away.

"These two have just worn themselves out," Deet whispered with a smile, still holding Jen close to her. Rian had put his arm around her and was smiling at his son. "We should get him to bed," he said. She nodded.

"We should get this little girl to bed as well," Brea whispered, looking down at Kira.

"Let's go," Kylan told her.

"Maybe you three should stay in the guest room," Deet offered. "It's getting awfully late."

"Thank you," Brea beamed, standing up slowly while holding Kira. "That sounds wonderful."

Deet smiled and Rian stood up, gently taking Jen from her. "I'll be sure to make their favorite breakfast for them in the morning," Deet beamed.

And with that, the four and the two sleeping children made their way back to the house after a long, but wonderful day together.

[hotwings0203]

This is so utterly stupid but I have a few HC’s about Muslim Dabi(again obv this isn’t canon I just think it’s funny)

-Dabi would def be the type of Muslim dude who claims to be super religious cuz he never eats pork and “goes to the mosque to pray”(which is actually just code for hitting a blunt in the back of the parking lot w Hawks and Shigaraki💀), but yet smokes^^ and still has hella sex with like every other girl who bats her lashes at him from across the dining hall

-he also is a big cat lover, he claims since the Prophet Muhammad had cats of his own it’s sunnah to keep one

-on Eid namaz he’s the most dripped out one at the session, I’m talking black kurta dress, nice ass watch, slicked back hair...but funny enough, no one has actually seen him in line for the prayers themselves

-if he were back at home with the rest of the Todoroki’s, he’d most definitely be THE MOST spoiled one. Fuyumi would get on his ass for not cleaning the dishes, but he’d wave her off and tell her it’s training for her to be a better housewife for her future husband(cue a soapy sponge thrown at his head)

-Snitches.Constantly. Bro like this dude catches Shoto on his phone when he’s supposed to be doing a dua? Boom, instant callout followed by a long ass lecture about how he’s straying away from his religion and how he’s going to hell just because he spent one measly moment on his device instead of praising da lord

-Hes also always telling fuyumi to cover up her sleeves that come just a bittt before her wrists, claiming that she’s showing too much skin(especially when Hawks is over, that fucker’s got his eyes on every single one of his family members). But she’s quick to point out his secret tattoos, piercings, and hair dyes. He just scoffs and pulls the “women were created lesser than men so it’s okay for me to act a fool but not for you” card🙄stg I can’t stand him

-Since he’s the closest to Natsu, he’s always giving Eid money to him the most. The dude will slouch against his favorite brothers’ door, watching him play 2K. “What do you want?” Natsu asks with no real malice, not taking his eyes off the changing screen, furiously clicking away on his controller. “Mom says you gotta iron your clothes, Fuyumi’s doing her own so she can’t do yours as well. Oh, and Eid Mubarak by the way.” Natsu pauses him game and stands to stretch his arms above his head, groaning at the tendons popping in place on his back. “Yeah man, you too-what’s that?” He points to a fat parcel in Touya’s hand. The white-haired boy grins and chucks the bulging package at him, which Natsu catches easily. His eyes widen when he tears open the cream-colored paper envelope and reveals dozens of bills exceeding the usual 5-10$ family limit. “Yo, what-how-thanks Touya!” He sputters, throwing the package on his bed and throwing an arm around his brothers’ back in a man-hug. Touya rolls his eyes and barely suppresses a smile at Natsu’s excitement,(something he’s always wanting to be the source of) pounding his back to let go before he asphyxiates. He lets go and Touya smirks before heading towards the door, calling out over his shoulder, “Oh, and I’d thank Sho-turd as well while you’re singing my praise.” Natsu stops in his tracks and looks suspiciously at the withdrawing slender figure. “Why?”. Touya’s voice is distant as he moves to close and lock his door. “‘Cuz it’s his money after all.”

-The two brothers are always waking up at Sehri the earliest in Ramadhan, just so they can scarf down a majority of the food in the fridge and go to sleep without having to interact with the rest of their family at sunrise. And in the case that their family DOES wake up in time to see them chomping down food made for a WHOLE FAMILY and not just two boys, Touya is quick to grab his keys and jacket and cackle that him and Natsu are going to iHop to eat some more. Natsu ofc is quick to follow pursuit, throwing an apologetic grin towards his parents and other siblings.

-When they’re at the mosque and Enji has somehow bullied him enough to sit the hell down and actually ATTEND the lectures for once, Touya still has one up his sleeve. Planned out strategically, he always simpers to Rei that he wants to donate to the mosque, causing her eyes to water and a handful of cash thrown his way, her voice wobbly as she praises her son for actually taking the foundations of his religion seriously. Unbeknownst to her however, this just means that he’ll take a little bit more than he gives. Hawks will be standing at the front of the hall, bowing his head and using his silver tongue to graciously thank the many men and women who come forth to drop their allowance into the money basket. When he sees his best man approaching, he has to stop the smug grin from reaching his ears, instead slanting his brows and holding the basket out to the now black-haired thief. “Glad to see you’re taking eternal damnation seriously, for once,” Keigo flashes his perky whites and Dabi drops Rei’s money into the donation basket, dipping his hand a little lower for a second. “Glad to see you’re still standing here like some busboy peasant, as usual,” he fires back, the two boys catching each other’s eyes and stifling their cackles as the patched hand withdraws, a copious amount of bills in his hand, more than what he put in.

-100% steals shoes. Usually you hear about older men doing this, but age aint nothin’ but a number to Dabi, baby. “Nice kicks,” he nods to a boy Natsu’s age, noting the blue and black minimalist patterns adorning the shoes. The boy recognizes Dabi as one of the most revered figures at the mosque (and the most featured by adults. Who’d want their kid hanging out with the eldest Todoroki as an influence?) and bobs his head excitedly, spewing out the manufacture and release dates of the shoes. Dabi looks at the fanboy amusedly, continuing to lean against the shoe rack as more people crowd around and start to push the boy inside. “See you later Dabi!” The eccentric kid calls out as he’s pushed into the hall by grumbling uncles. The ravenette snickers fo himself, “Yeah, but you won’t be seeing these shoes anytime soon.”

-A notorious playboy in the community. Uncles glare at him, unable to scold him outright for his shenanigans due to his father’s close presence, and aunties steer their children away from him at dinner parties. Speaking of, Dabi’s at a dinner right now. He’s lighting up a joint in amongst 3 mesmerized girls sitting on the floor in front of him and 2 jealous dudes his age in a locked room, away from all the screaming little kids. “Wow Dabi, doesn’t it burn?” The youngest of the three girls asks him with imploring eyes. He smiles a charming smile down at her and he thinks he sees the other two swoon. “Nah, sweetheart, you get used to it after a little while. Don’t be like me though, keep yourself pure and clean,” he shoots a wink at them and they giggle, faces turning red. The other two boys sitting at the far end of the bed scowl at his successful flirting, but Dabi doesn’t care for any of them, honestly, they’re just target practice. Right as he inhaled the fumes of another puff, a little body throws itself at the door, banging its fists on the wood. “It’s time for food!” They all jump at the intrusion and chuckle as the intruder runs away, containing to scream about food being served. The group gets up to leave and exits through the door, but Dabi takes his time. He wasn’t done with his joint, and he has to waft the smell away anyways when he leaves. He’s opening a window to let out some air when he heads a soft shuffle from behind him. “Shows over guys, go eat-“ but when he turns around, the oldest girl of the three stands before him, fiddling with her hands and looking at the floor. “Um, Dabi? I know you said not to try it out by ourselves so...I was wondering if you could-if you could teach me how...?” She looks at the half-used roll in his hand, and he looks from the blunt to her face. He looks behind her. A closed door. Perfect. Taking a step forwards, he relishes in how she takes a hesitant step back, the breath in her throat catching but she still doesn’t back down. She looks to him like he’s a god, and he feels like one right now. And so he steps closer until she’s backed against the wall, his lids lowered to her wide ones, and he placed a hand next to her head. “Didnt your mom ever tell you not to take things from strangers?” He ghosts by the shell of her ear, and she shivers. “She never told me the strangers would be this hot,” and he has to laugh a bit at her tenacity. He pulls away and flops back on the bed, signaling for her to join him. “Well come one then, I’m hungry, better hurry up before I change my mind.” And 5 shotguns later, Dabi barely wipes off her bright pink lipstick from his face and straightens his kurta along with his hair before bounding down the steps, eager for food. At his command, she comes down a minute after him as to not cause any suspicion, but it doesn’t stop Rei from shooting him a knowing glare from the living room as he piles his plate with food. He shoves a veggie roll in his mouth as he turns to join the boys in the dining area, but his path is blocked by a large woman. “I know you’re up to no good. The children told me what funny smell was coming from the room upstairs, and I know you’re to blame, Touya Todoroki. I respect your mother a lot so I won’t make a scene here-“ he interrupts her, mouth half full with a roll, “-I mean, you already kinda are,-“ but she continues her tirade. “-I don’t think you’re a good influence on these kids, especially your siblings. What self respecting family would be okay with their son acting like a hooligan, having piercings, smelling like weed?” He smirks and swallows before swerving around her. “I don’t know Aunty, why don’t you ask your daughter? She didn’t seem to mind my, ah, influence.”

-When they were all younger, there was a time where End*avor wanted the boys the toughen up a bit and stop messing around so much. He brought the family up to the mountains in a nice cabin, purposefully choosing an area with farms nearby. It was around the time of Eid-e-Adha, so naturally goats and sheep’s were going to be sacrificed for the family feast. Touya already knew what was going on, so Enji left it up to him, a scrawny preteen boy to take over the initiation. Fuyumi wanted to come to the farm too, but Touya glared at her and told her to stay home because “girls are too emotional for this.”(he really did think that, but above all he held a secret soft spot for his only younger sister). Natsu and Touya both started heading down to the field to pick out a goat, and ofc little Shoto wanted to come along to. He begged and begged for his older brothers to bring him along and to not leave him at home for once, and with a sly glance to Natsu, Touya relented. He leaned down to Shoto’s eye-level and asked with serious eyes, “You sure?”. Shoto nodded eagerly, standing straight up as to look more solemn and mature. Natsu held back a snicker and grabbed Shoto by the collar as they dragged him out to the pasture. Oh, the little boy was in heaven among the bleating sheep and fluffy coats. “Go ahead, pick one out!” Touya said eagerly, nodding to the clueless toddler to choose a sacrificial sheep. And so the heterochromatic child pointed to one, looking to his big brothers for assurance, to which they gave an excited nod. Shoto yelped with glee and spent the rest of the afternoon frolicking with the soon-to-be-mutton chops, completely oblivious to its grim fate and creating a bond with the animal. So when it was finally sunset and the time came to start preparing for the feast, Touya walked over leisurely to Shoto, pushed the grubby hand away from the animal’s collar, and started pulling the creature towards the chopping block. “W-what’re you doing?” Shoto asked uncertainty. “Well, we gotta eat, right? Thanks for picking out such a fat sheep, ‘wonder how it’s gonna taste,”. The eldest grinned with malice at his youngest brother, who started to sniffle and ball his fists. “You’re lying! Leave it alone!” He cried out. “Nope, m’not lying, ask Natsu.” Natsu turns to Shoto and shrugs his shoulders without any real regret. “You’re the one who wanted to come along, right? Think of how proud dad will be of his favorite-he finally sacrificed his first sheep!”

-the first time he was ever asked to lead the namaz, Keigo and Tomura kept kicking the back of his legs so he would fall over while trying to recite the prayers, and in turn he’d immediately whip around in the middle of the whole damn hall and shoot fire at the two howling boys. Needless to say, he was never asked to read again

(one would think since Dabi knows sooo much about being a gOoD mUsLim and how to follow the rules he’d take some of that advice HIMSELF)

[joshstambourine]

Greta Van Fleet as Dad's

Haven't been able to un-see this idea since it showed up on my dash and uggggh. I couldn't get over how cute all of this was.

For this imagine, I'm sort of picturing them with younger children, anywhere from 3-5 years old as they are all still crazy young hehe. Also. All of these imagines work with any gender of child. It's all sorta just what I imagine them having and being like in general 🖤

Taglist: @anditsmywholeheart

JOSH

Josh is such an interesting guy. He is both so deeply smart... but also at the same time he is the equivalent of a conversation between my last two brain cells.

The sheer amount of energy this man has means he'll not only keep up with a kid but also tire them tf out.

There would always be so much screaming and laughing in the house.

Lots of games of tag and the floor is lava

No matter what he has, son or daughter --- there will be so much dancing. Josh would be the kind of dad who loves to hold his kid and just dance around the house with them.

Not to mention all of the goofy songs they would be singing together.

I can see Josh conversing with his kids like adults even when they are little. Meaning there will be some very serious conversations about very silly things. Potato chips can make you a fly? On it. The floor is both lava and also the arctic? Josh is ready to hear all about how that's possible. There aren't mermaids but there are human sharks? Josh needs to know where he can find them asap.

I can very easily imagine him dressed up and sitting at a table that is far too small for him with his legs crossed.

His daughter would have started by putting one necklace on him and it soon escalated to a crown, sunglasses that didn't fit, and a set of fairy wings. Surrounded by many stuffed animals and dolls.

"Mmm, this is great tea! What kind is it?"

"Grape."

He'd look at his tiny tea cup filled with apple juice. "Huh I could have sworn it was Apple. Did you change it on me?"

She would shake her head, "No daddy! We already drank the apple tea!" She'd laugh.

"What?? You drank all the apple tea without me?!" He'd exclaim, "why did you drink all the apple tea with out me?"

Josh would inch over and begin to tickle her, just loving to hear her laugh really.

"Daddy! Daddy no! You can't tickle me, I'm the princess!!"

Jake

Jake immediately strikes me as such a chill laid back dad. The kind of cool dad you'd definitely want during your teenage years.

He'd be the kind of dad to sit and watch cartoons religiously with his kid, there's no way he'd be missing them. Doesn't matter if it's cool or comedy gold, if his little one loves it they're gonna watch it together.

I think Jake would really want to teach his kid how to play guitar. It's something he's so passionate about that I think it would bring him a lot of joy if his kid had at least the knowledge of techniques and things, even if they weren't a huge fan of playing themselves.

Jake as well strikes me as someone who would be psyched about making dad jokes, of course with a straight face.

That is just a long winded way of saying that as a very young child this kid would know more about music than I do now after 20 years of living on this planet.

"What did the Buffalo say to his little boy when he dropped him off at school?"

"Bison!"

For a gender of a kid I'm split right in the middle when it comes to Jake. I think either would be equally as adorable but for this imagine I'm going with a girl to keep things even.

With a little girl I can imagine him sitting quietly as he watches her tiny hands try their best to paint his nails cleanly.

There is pink nail polish everywhere. Everything is a mess. Everything smells of chemicals. But it's fine.

"After I do your nails can I braid your hair too?" She'd eagerly ask, not looking at his hands anymore but she is still trying to paint.

"But your show is going to be on soon...! I thought we were gonna cuddle?"

"....can I braid your hair and watch my show?"

Jake would look at her seriously before smiling, moving quickly to give her a small kiss on the cheek, "of course you can, only if you give me lots of cuddles after."

"Okay daddy!"

*insert a child who is only half heartedly braiding hair while fully enthralled in their show. Head tilted on a 45° angle to see the TV with half of Jake's hair in a frizzy mangled braid.*

Sam

I really think Sam would want his kids to listen to really good music from a young age.

I mean don't get me wrong I think all of the boys would be like this... but I see him being the kind of parent that buys into the "smarter babies listened to music in important development periods"

The ultimate "my kid is so smart" kind of parent that then shows you 20 drawings that don't look like anything, but clearly they look like something to him.

All those drawings get tucked away somewhere safe so he can go back and look at them proudly as his little one grows up.

"Maybe they'll be an artist?!"

He also strikes me as a parent who wants to be really involved in teaching his kid things. ABC's? Sam's baby has them locked and loaded. Numbers 1-20? Still has trouble remembering anything with a nine but we are working on it.

Ultimate joy is achieved when Sam gets to teach his little one how to ride a bike. He feeling like its a right of passage for every kid to have with their dad.

I pictured Sam sitting with his little boy at the kitchen table, puzzle pieces sprawled all over.

"Dad, I have a joke for you." He'd say as he fiddled with a piece.

"Oh yeah? Go for it buddy." Sam would reply as he connects another edge piece.

"Knock knock!"

"Whose there?"

"Banana!"

"Banana who?"

"The Banana man!" Snickering coming from across the table, hands banging on the table and nearly knocking several pieces off the table.

Sam would laugh a long, "Y'know I've never heard that version of that joke---"

"Dad I'm not done"

"Oh I'm sorry, continue." He'd say beginning to look for a few more pieces to go together.

"Knock knock!"

"Whose there?"

"Banana!"

"Banana who...?" Sam would respond slowly, prepared for the same poorly created joke.

"TWO BANANA MEN!"

Sam would have to lay on the table. It was such a freaking terrible joke but so funny to see the amount of joy it brought the little boys features. "You have to tell that one to mom, okay?"

Danny

Danny is such a loving guy in general, I feel like parenting for him would just be so easy. Not saying that there wouldn't be troubled times--- just that he's just one of those people that were born to parent.

The very dependable parent. Always going to make time for any small thing his little one needs.

Danny is going to encourage his kid to do whatever they love with all of his being.

"You like rocks? We should get a rock polisher."

"You're right these cookies are pretty good, maybe we should get the stuff we need to bake them together."

He is going to have a series or specific book he reads to his little one until they fall asleep. Its something he would refuse to miss, they have to do their chapter! Even if he's on tour somewhere he's going to call home to make sure they can read together.

Danny is over the moon to have a little golfing buddy. As soon as this kid could walk he bought them their own set of clubs so they could play along with him. He just couldn't wait to start teaching them.

Golf time is bonding time. They'd get to walk together and talk about anything and everything.

I've been crazy torn about whether to write about him with a son or a daughter, both are equally as cute. For the sake of evenness though I decided on a boy.

"Okay so for your driver buddy you need to hold your arms waaay out." Danny would tell his son holding his arms out.

"Like this?"

"A little more."

Little eyes look to Danny curiously as his arms become fully extended from his body.

"Perfect! Make sure you stand straight, and keep your eyes on the ball." He says with his hand on the middle of the boys back, "And then you just---"

"SWING!"

Danny nearly getting clocked in the head with a golf club but leans back just in time. The satisfying ting of the little one's club hitting the ball sounds,

"DID YOU SEE HOW FAR IT WENT DAD?!"

*Insert the face Danny made when he pretended Sam's margarita's were good*

~ If anyone wants a full fic written for one of these please let me know because I will 100% write out fluffy family fics without hesitation!! ~

[thiswaycomessomethingwicked]

please tell me your headcannons about the silly old traditions and funny hats and gowns worn at the Assassins Guild graduation ceremonies (bonus points: Vetinari occasionally attends as a distinguished alumnus; differences for those not taking the black) Downey has to make a speech

I love this ask, thank you so much. <3 

--

Downey has added feathers to the hats because it’s Downey and he believes all hats need a nice feather. 

Vetinari: . . .I refuse. 

Downey: It’s a single, white feather. Very stylish. 

Vetinari: You can’t make these hats stylish. It’s impossible. 

Downey: That will not stop me from trying. 

-- 

First it must be said, I place most of my Discworld fashion firmly in the “anywhere from 1350-1650″ camp. Which means there’s lots of diversity but it’s all still very late medieval/early modern. This is a just-me thing though, as the books are all over the place with the fashion. There seemed to be a sense, in the early Watch books, that fashion went backwards (i.e. the more recent, to our mind, the clothes the more old fashioned they are on discworld) but that was quickly abandoned partway through the series and then it became a hodgepodge. 

I still like the early modern feel and so am keeping to it. You can pry Downey’s stupid fucking doublet with its black pearl buttons and his slouchy hat with the Florentine “I’m very gay” feather from my cold, dead hands. 

--

This got long so it’s under the cut. 

Fashion first, because this is Downey and the Assassins we’re talking about after all. 

So I imagine the hats that the professors/teaching staff wear are the slouchy ones like these. This is modeled off of hats that were in fashion when the guild first instituted formal graduation ceremonies which are relatively recent (for a given value of “recent” i.e. only circa 150/200 years ago). 

The students graduating with the Black get the slouchy hats too. The ones who didn’t take the black get the more familiar flat board graduation cap. (Students 100% balance things on top of the flat board cap. This may or may not be desired by the cap-wearer.)

The formal, ceremonial gowns, indeed the entire outfit, for the teachers are hilariously ornate because of course they are. It’s the Assassin’s Guild. 

All ceremonial gowns would be different iterations of the houppelande. 

Beneath the gown there is the Assassin’s black of the doublet with a long-ish skirt beneath the belt (knee length? perhaps floor - but then it starts hitting gown territory). The doublet is form fitting at the top, belted off with the skirt below. Naturally, there are very nice buttons. The linen undershirt is white and can be seen at the collar and wrists. Leggings/tights/hose/whatever you want to call them, also black and worn with dress shoes, not their usual working day boots. All men present wear this, including Vetinari. 

(Downey: No grey-blacks allowed on stage unless it’s representing your specialty and I know you didn’t specialize in astronomy and quantum mathmatics. 

Vetinari: 

Vetinari: But it’s My Colour. 

Downey: Put the doublet on.) 

Women on staff are also all in black, but it’s a dress over a kirtle which is over their undershirt which can be seen at the cuffs. The dress et al is also form fitting on the top with tightly buttoned (or laced) sleeves, then there’s the belt and full skirts after. Dresses are always worn with a high neckline. They too have formal dress shoes, though you can’t see them. 

The ceremonial gowns are black with coloured lining and trim. I’m thinking the sleeves are large and pinned back to show the lining which represents the general field you’re a specialist in. So, green for biology; red for literature/linguistics; white for deportment/dancing; blue for history; yellow for mathematics or whatever. The lining can be dual-colours if applicable. The trim will accent the lining but doesn’t mean anything in particular.  

The slouchy hats, however, tell you what the person specialized in with regards to their training i.e. poisons; knife work etc. 

Some gowns have that long drapey hood that is purely for aesthetics, but not all. I’m thinking if your specialty is stealth (coughHavelockcough) you get it. But, of course, as a specialist in stealth you don’t want people knowing that so no one who qualifies for a drapey hood wears it. 

Students wear simple black gowns with relatively short, deep cut sleeves so you can see more of their doublet beneath. Boys wear the usual doublet/hose combo (kind of like this) and girls the formal dress/kirtle combo (think this, but all black and with less jewels and tighter sleeves) beneath their graduation gowns. 

All gowns on students and staff alike are closed in the front - either with buttons or ties. 

Aside from the hat distinction between those who are taking the black and those who aren’t, the gowns for those taking the Black are all black and have the drapey hood. Those that aren’t taking the black have gowns trimmed with a dark colour - maybe blue? grey? something that blends but still is distinct.

--

Ceremonial Nonsense 

The graduation is held in the great hall where the students usually dine on a day-to-day basis. Parents are allowed and all families get a “plus two” for grandparents or family friends or whatever. 

There are two separate ceremonies - the first is for those taking the Black. That’s the one where Downey forces Vetinari to give a speech as he is Guild Provost and one a Distinguished Old Boy etc. 

Downey does his speech first and usually lines up those coming after him (Vetinari; Mericet; Lady T’Malia is what I have in my head. Though Mericet can usually convince Downey to sub in someone else as he is Too Old For This Shit).

For those taking the Black Downey will pepper in Fun Facts About Assassins and Helpful Pro Tips for Life (some of which are more helpful than others). Vetinari’s speech usually offers subtle rebuttals to Downey’s more outlandish life advice. Lady T’Malia’s is a universal favourite because she has the dry, disdainful wit of a person who has seen way too much nonsense in her life and has lived to continue to roll her eyes at it all. 

Mericet, when he’s made to do a speech and can’t pawn it off on one of the younger staff, is always very short. His record time was 15 seconds wherein he got to the podium, looked somberly out at his soon to be former students, and said “All I can say to you is, good luck and don’t die” then he sat down. Downey could be heard to mutter: Really?? rather loudly. 

Vetinari, more out of a desire to cause Downey some form of annoyance than anything else, will drone on for a long time and pepper in weird references only the headmaster of the guild will understand. He makes a few tiger jokes every year to which Downey, when he gets up to introduce the next speaker, will reply: “You really need to get over that”. No one knows what they’re talking about. However, the students always haaate it when Vetinari takes the podium. There is much sighing and sliding down in seats out of boredom. 

The students are called up to the stage the receive their diploma in order of their name and it’s done by house (so viper house then black widow then poison dart frog or whatever they all are). 

Weapons are expressly forbidden on all students after that One Unfortunate Incident back when Cruces was headmaster about which the least said, soonest mended. 

Back when Downey and Vetinari were graduating, when weapons were allowed, all students were given a ceremonial sword and they got to wear it when they went up to take their diploma. Students still get a ceremonial sword (or dagger, depending on preference) but they are received after the ceremony. 

The infamous ring is presented alongside the diploma. 

For those not taking the Black, it’s still the same roster of speakers but it’s usually a faster ceremony (though, that is changing over the years as the Guild is sought out more and more as a general-purpose educational institution for parents seeking a classical education for their children). 

Students in this group are also gifted a ceremonial sword but they’re allowed to wear theirs during the graduation ceremony because most can do nice, polite, gentlemanly dueling and not much else. Unlike their colleagues who can use it in increasingly diverse and experimental fashions. 

After both ceremonies are complete there is a grand dinner with students and their families and much conviviality. Under Downey’s reign as headmaster the amount of “accidental deaths” that occurred at this dinner have decreased dramatically. Mostly because unlike previous headmaster, Downey thinks it a waste of a good education to knock someone off so soon. Also, it is deplorable manners and not civil.

(Vimes, “It’s also immoral.” Downey, “I fail to see your point, commander?”) 

Wait at least a year or two until inhuming that One Guy who was A Class A Cunt During Maths. Or, if they’re really that bothersome, at least have the grace to wait until after the pudding has been served. 

--

Pre-graduation tomfoolery 

The graduating class, as a whole (well, those who survived the Run and those not taking the Black who haven’t accidentally fallen down the stairs), have two weeks between end of term and graduation and tend to run absolutely wild. 

Downey’s main rule is: no one is inhumed, his dogs are left alone and nothing is set on fire; flooded; booby-trapped; or exploded etc.* 

*see fine print for continuing list. 

It is considered a grand tradition for each house to prank their house master. One year, students cellophaned everything in Mericet’s office. Including individual pages of books. Downey thought this absolutely Delightful. Mericet said, “that’s it, I’m retiring.” Which is, coincidentally, what he says every year. 

Students will also strike up a very large game of Gotcha (i.e. Assassin) over the course of the intervening weeks between Term and Graduation. It used to be a very deadly endeavour but due to Downey’s new rule of “no inhuming until after graduation you daft kids” it’s just become a way to dunk on people. 

These are also the weeks that students clean out their rooms which is always an adventure. Many will try and discreetly sneak out their illegal pot plants and shroom logs. Those that hide them in places that aren’t their room will have minor panic attacks because Lady T’Malia and other staff enjoy rounding up the plants ahead of the students and watching the fallout. 

(Vetinari: I really should tell Vimes you have enough here to supply everyone in the city for a decade. 

Downey: Leave my drug collection alone.)

There is a lot of Lady T’Malia and others being like, “You all do know we hid our illegal shit in the exact same places, right?’ 

Students will also throw end-of-year ragers in the common room which the staff pretend to know nothing about. These tend to get very messy very quickly. Downey will show up around 3am to shut it down, though. Because some people need to sleep and aren’t 18 anymore. 

--

Anyway, that’s the long and short of my headcanon for Guild Graduation nonsense. All in all it’s a rowdy if somewhat bittersweet time. Downey secretly gets a little teary eyed over it. Aww look at his tiny little murderers going off into the big wide world. He remembers when they first arrived with knobbly knees and big eyes. His paternal side comes out in full force. 

Vetinari: it’s very good you have hundreds of students and several dogs because I don’t know what you’d do without them since you’re basically 110% a dad. 

Downey: i might have gotten married. What a horrifying concept. 

Vetinari: 

Vetinari: I have weird feelings about that which I am not going to explore in any great depth. 

--

Thank you so much for the ask! <3 <3 

[husbandohunter]

LMAO that’s why she’s called Kat. She’s not exactly the same as her brother. In terms of being very deadly in combat they’re both pretty similar, yes, they spar often, but Kat won’t go as far as mastering all weapons and picking a fight with strong looking people. Before Ajax fell into the abyss, his desire is to be an adventurer, explore the world and what not. But after the abyss, well things change. Kat knew that the minute she stare in her brother’s eyes, she knew she lost a part of him.

Her going on her merry way, exploring entire nations, meeting interesting people and over all just having a grand adventure was her way of fulfilling a part of Ajax that she thought she lost. She still loves her brother but she doesn’t know how to confront him with the past and the fatui. Speaking of the fatui, it’s not exactly hard to not suspect a few things. Honestly she doesn’t want to know, hopefully it won’t cause her too much in the long run.

For the most part she lived up to her Anemo Vision. She does what she wants with no regrets. Except on the topic of Ajax and his very questionable life choices. And you were right to assume that their parents have their hands full. Ajax likes adventure + Kat likes adventure = sneaking out a lot to have their own little adventures. Never mind the bone chilling climate of Snezhnaya or the fact this twins are getting pretty adept at climbing houses. Nothing stops them from rescuing a dragon and fighting a princess— no wait that doesn’t sound right.

In terms of sending souvenirs she actually doesn’t do that. Unless she’s going home then she’s sending the souvenirs in bulk. But if she’s still in her conquest of 100% exploration, one nation at a time, she’s only sending letters and recipes and for the sake of trolling her brother her will. Alright now for how she met Xiao. It’s actually pretty funny, after befriending Smiley by buttering him up with compliments he agreed to give her tips on cooking and teach her how to make their specialty dish. When she mastered that, it’s obviously going to lead with her making a few modifications here and there.

Once she’s finish with her version of Almond Tofu, she left it at one of the tables that give the best view on the balcony and went to fetch her Kamera. She’s planning on sending a photo to her family and the recipe. She went back to the balcony only to find her that her food is missing. It obviously piss her off that someone had the AUDACITY to steal from under her nose, her room was close to the balcony she would have caught them red handed!

At this point in time, she’s already a regular and a friendly face in Wangshu Inn. She stayed there whenever she investigate Sal Terrae and to collect horsetail for rice buns. So she’s comfortable whining like a child at Verr about how some punk stole her dinner last night. A very amused Verr told her about the Inn’s secret and Kat just dismissed it “Adeptus or not, won’t change the fact that they stole my food. They should learn some manners or something.”

She woke up the next day with an empty plate on her nightstand and a qingxin flower on it. All Kat could think at that moment was ‘Is this an apology or an insult?’ So that night she made an Almond Tofu. Her Almond Tofu. And she meet the adeptus that night as well. An unlikely friendship was born from this. I’m not gonna go into details because it’ll turn into a fic.

In summary though, their friendship dynamic consist of, a very free spirited woman with a Guardian Yaksha for a guard dog best non human friend. When the traveler arrived and also befriend the yaksha Kat wouldn’t help but feel possessive. They befriended him the same way she unintentionally did. So she cooly challenge them to a chess game, because fighting is her brother’s thunder and unlike some people she doesn’t steal anyone’s thunder. Also chess fights is what cool and sophisticated people do.

They were good, more than that! The traveler actually made things challenging and interesting. Before she or the traveler knew it, quite a few hours had pass already. The traveler was close to dozing off but Kat still wants to play. Despite that, her big sister instinct kicking in, she gently coaxed the traveler to rest. She comfort herself that there’s still tomorrow to continue the game.

Uggghhhh I knew I was gonna word vomit about this. Things might get funky in my ‘descriptions’ because it’s honestly getting dangerously close to being a fic.

-Birdie

Yeaaahh these two would totally make their mom go bald and their dad constantly scolding them for their behaviour or something 😭😭 but you know I think its nice that Childe can have a sibling who is similar to him rather than protecting them 24/7 while hiding his secret life. I think they would share each other's burdens from time to time due to how close they are, at least thats the vibe I'm getting at xP Knowing that Kat isn't as extreme as her brother tells me shes probably the one who has to look out for him the most.

Oh would you look at that, now theres two cooks in the family (the moment I found out that Childe can cook was canon had me melt and vaporize 🥺) Maybe both of them would also have cooking sessions than just fighting ones? Thats some wholesome family moments uwu. Your OC kind of reminds me of a mix with Xiangling and Hu Tao because of their cheery vibes, but compared to their bold attitude, Kat sounds more brave (I guess its cuz she grew up with Childe). Xiao is a scary looking guy whom barely anyone goes near, unless they brushed off that glare like dust and just continue being their cheery self (I honestly love that dynamic as you can see xD). But truthfully, Xiao needs someone who is like that because obviously he's too secluded to do it himself ._.

I think his first impressions of her would be "presumptuous" but later he gets used to her company and it even grows on him. Maybe I'm just over analyzing this, the fact they both have anemo visions show how different they handle it's meaning. One wants freedom and the other knows how to live in it (eeek! Okok i stop before this gets off topic). In addition to the traveler coming into the scene, I bet they'll also become good friends too! After all, they both share the burden of loving their siblings too much (perhaps traveler would find some familiarity in her presence).

Hehe this was a fun read tho \(^0^)/ thank you for sharing! Honestly even if I said this many times, I really love reading people's ideas since it helps me get my inspiration back >_< The word vomit had just begun my friend, you might wanna keep it in a notebook LOL.

[every-day-is-a-song-glee-syoc]

21 Questions with Savannah Verone

1. What skill would you like to master? Making pies and tarts. My apple pies are good, they’re fine. But they could be better. My stepdad makes an amazing lemon tart, so why shouldn’t mine be that good?

2. If you had to change your name, what would you change it to? If I were to change my name, I think I'd change it to be Nova. There's something unique and powerful about that name. It's filled with this raw energy.

3. What have you created that you are most proud of? Myself. After my parents split and I went to live with my dad like, I basically had to find out who Savannah was as a person outside of just being a twin. Because, for so long I was just Scarlett's shadow or Scarlett's twin and that was fine until the divorce and I no longer had her there to fill in the gaps in my personality. So, I had to make this new person for me to be and honestly, I love the me I’ve become. I made me, so why shouldn’t I?

4. What job do you think you'd be really good at? I’d love to be an art teacher to small kids. Art was one of the reasons I found myself, so being able to be creative and it not mattering if anything I made was wrong or messy, it was still perfect because it was an outlet, I didn't know I needed. And kids need that too.

5. What are the top three things you want to accomplish before you die? How close are you to accomplishing them? 1. I want my art to be in an art gallery. 2. I want to make a difference and inspire people in some way. 3. I want to be able to stand next to Scarlett as her equal twin.

6. What are you interested in that most people haven't heard of? Weirdly enough, the genetics behind identical twins. Like, did you not that not all sets of identical twins are 100% genetically identical? I mean, Scarlett and I are, but our fingerprints aren’t actually the same so…

7. What is something you are certain you'll never experience? Being able to commit a crime and get away with it because Scarlett and I have different fingerprints.

8. There are two types of people in this world. What are those two types? Those with a moral compass about what's right and wrong and those who rather continue to be live in ignorance.

9. Is there something or things you've had to unlearn? I had to unlearn that I have a voice and if I wanted to be heard I was going to have to use it.

10. What are some small things that make your day better? Seeing people being unique with their clothing or hair or just how they look. Or those small acts of kindness, like

11. What's your favourite piece of clothing you own/owned? I have these super comfy high-waisted jeans that I painted cherry blossoms on the left leg and “Cherry Bomb” on the back pocket and then I splattered blue, yellow, pink and reds on the right leg because it was a fun idea at the time. I also stitched a yin-yang symbol on the other back pocket and they’re just so funky I might wear them tomorrow. Maybe with my favourite shirt, it says "Sometimes the King is a Woman" and it never fails to make my day.

12. What's something you are self-conscious about? My art. It's funny because I’ve has always been creative, and I love drawing and sketching things… but I’m always the happiest in front of an easel with the light shining down and a paint brush in my hand. It’s just still jarring to share that with others. I know I’m talented and that’s what everyone tells me. But am I really?

13. What's something you've been meaning to try but just haven't gotten around to it? Making a flip book. Like stop motion, but in the form of a book. I’ve seen a few on the internet, and they look like they’d be a fun challenge.

14. What game or movie universe would you most like to live in? Veronica Mars, because badass women are my jam.

15. What's the best thing you got from your parents? My passion. Both my parents are super ambitious and passionate about their jobs and they always believed that as long as you’re ambitious about things, you're passionate about it and more willing to commit to things in the long term.

16. What is one or two of your favourite smells? Buttery popcorn and vanilla.

17. What was the best book or series that you've ever read? Percy Jackson and the Olympians. I don’t know why, but I enjoyed it so much the first time and just how much of a sarcastic dork Percy is. Even now, reading it is such a joy, and Greek art is so pretty.

18. What takes up too much of your time? Corralling my hair. I love my curls so much, but they are a lot of work and maintenance.

19. Who inspires you to be better? Scarlett but don't tell her. She’s has always been this driven force of a person and yes, we’re different people but seeing my sister's drive made me discover the things that drive me and how I can contribute to the world. Maybe we aren’t talking much now, but that doesn’t mean Scarlett doesn’t inspire me and makes me want to do better. I mean, she volunteers at the hospital with sick children because though she comes to teach and help out, she told me that they also teach her to be more compassionate and humble and really take stock.

20. What are some of your personal "rules" that you never break? 1. Never get involved with someone in a committed relationship. It’ll never end well. 2. Always speak up against injustice. Your voice is your most powerful tool. 3. Never let myself be silenced just because I disagree with someone.

21. If your life was a book, what would its title be? Kaleidoscope.

[ribcagecarnival]

ADMIT ONE • VIOLET SKIES

I first heard Violet’s music while coping with heartbreak in January 2019. Her song “Cry For Me” is peak crying on the dance floor music, which is, frankly, the only genre that matters. A year later, she caught a set of mine at a house show, and we immediately linked up to write. Turns out we have great musical chemistry and we get along very well just as people, too. Her music often calls MUNA and Robyn to mind for me, but her love for folk titans like Joni Mitchell is also apparent. Check out this playlist of songs that move the wonderful Violet Skies (plus her reasons behind each selection). Her ticket to the Carnival is good for a lifetime.

A Case of You - Joni Mitchell The song I wished I’d written. The song I try to write. The lyrics, the melody - HOLY WTF. Unimaginable genius that she is, and the most simultaneously clear and vague expression of love’s totality. 14 year old me heard this through my Dad, who said Joni Mitchell was a true artist and made sure I listened to every single one of her albums. I will NEVER be over this song. Even the title is just insanely beautiful in its duality of meaning.

Zero to Hero - Hercules Hercules was my first true introduction as a child to gospel music (I grew up in Wales don’t judge me) and honestly the vocals on this film, insane. The runs, harmonies, energy - as a child it was nothing like I’d heard before and I learnt this song back to front and still to this day I think it’s insanely good songwriting, musicality is just *chef’s kiss* and the women on this song MAKE that entire film.

Can’t Help Loving That Man of Mine - Showboat Original Recording I sang this 3 times for my ‘show song’ portion of my singing grades. Everyone else usually chose something like Phantom of the Opera or something more classical, because it was a classical singing grade. So I’d sing like a few arias, something in German and then three years in a row I sang this because I thought it was (aged 12) the most wonderful song ever. Lyrically, it’s rather toxic for a 12 year old girl, honestly, but I was a hopeless romantic and having never kissed a boy at 12, the VIBES on this song were just so dramatic and I loved it. Also Showboat had me and my sister in tears the first time we watched it aged 6, I don’t think my Mam realised how traumatic it was when she put it on for us to watch.

Goodnight My Angel - Billy Joel Billy Joel, songcrafter extraordinaire, writes lullaby for his daughter, I die. I aspire to this level of craftsmanship and yes, this also makes me cry. Please go and listen to this song.

Make You Feel My Love - Adele’s version Bob Dylan wasn’t someone my parents played so I didn’t know he wrote this. Adele is just TONE and WARMTH and this song again, is so dramatic and over the top and also subtle in a way that moves my very being. I sung this so many times as a teenager and it began my love for Adele. Ballads never get old, the good ones age like fine wine (I don’t actually like wine but whatever) and they continue to be relevant and timeless in their message.

Samson - Regina Spektor Only recently did I realise that this song has affected my songwriting and is 100% behind my obsession with the chromatic 1-2-3-4 chord progression that is the PERFECT pre-chorus in my opinion. This song is just GENIUS. A song about a modern day relationship with Samson, iconic in its own way (Wonderbread!), paralleled with the original Biblical tale of Samson. Melody and lyric and piano come together in a way that really separates Regina from her peers and this song will live on for decades. The song is so specific, almost unrelatable-to in content, but it makes so much sense on an emotional level and that, that, is songwriting.

Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill She wrote it. She produced it. She’s a feminist searching for equality of experience. She’s exploring gender. She’s talking to God. She’s creating iconic sounds before her time. She is Kate Bush and I will not hear a word said against her. Big Boi does a whole interview on this song and he GETS IT. Go watch that because he explains it so well.

At Last - Etta James I sung this at every talent show I ever did and every shitty pub gig in my teens. This song! Her voice! Nobody sings like Etta. She is effortless. This song shaped my voice and I credit this song and Etta James with helping me learn runs, vocal control across my chest and head voice, and how to really sing something and mean it. When people talk about how music of black origin underpins all modern music, it’s songs like this and artists like Etta they are talking about. She is a foundation, a cornerstone in the development of the modern vocal.

Hide and Seek - Imogen Heap Imogen Heap is really tall in real life and even more wonderful. I heard this first through my sister who played it to me in the car and I lost my mind. THE VOCODER. The melody. I don’t ever know what she means really, completely, (like Bon Iver) but like, god i feel it. *That* moment in the song is so insane and I hear it all the time in my own music. Wild! It’s so wild how 30 seconds of a song can change the entire way you think about music and shape your own musicality.

I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know - Donny Hathaway Amy Winehouse sings in Rehab “cos there’s nothing you can’t teach me…that I can’t learn, from Mr Hathaway”. She’s talking about Donny Hathaway and she’s right. Donny Hathaway’s voice is bottled soul, a depth of feeling most normal musicians will never in their lives. He ‘taught’ Amy and it shows. This song I covered and never released, but I also practiced production for the first time when I made it. The drama of this lyric too - admitting he isn’t perfect, knowing he doesn’t express his love properly but yet this song is the ultimate expression of love.

Wannabe - Spice Girls Changed my life. First album I ever got (from the tooth fairy). The Spice Girls were the soundtrack to my very early years and there are many videos of me doing dance routines to this song. If I wanted to be a pop star, this is where it started. Also don’t tell me that ZigAZigAHHH isn’t genius!?! This song is something a modern Kpop band would release. That iconic laugh at the start?! I went to their reunion tour with my sister, she was a few month’s pregnant and we both BAWLED because the nostalgia and full circle moment was just too much.

Love Is A Losing Game -  Amy Winehouse Lyrical perfection. Real songwriting. Conceptually perfect. Amy Winehouse changed my life because I saw a woman with a guitar on stage singing lyrics I understood, lyrics I thought were clever and funny and vocally she just outshone everyone around her. When Amy passed away I was at a friend’s garden party, my Mam rang me and I cried in the toilets and no one could understand why I was so sad, she’s the only famous person I’ve ever really cared about like that. I felt I knew her and I owed her so much. The world owed her more and I miss her. I love to imagine what she would be like in today’s music world and what she would be writing. But the two albums were enough to keep me listening for a lifetime. This song won an Ivor Novello award and I think it is real art.

Jealous - Labrinth I’m jealous I didn’t write this song. I think this song is on most people’s I WISH lists and does it even need explaining!?!

33”GOD” - Bon Iver What do the lyrics mean? How do you pronounce Bon Iver? What does the title mean? How do you even arrive at this song when you start writing?! The production is so game changing and the Bon Iver SOUND is so unique and has affected the entire music industry, seeping in to pop and mainstream. Even Taylor knows. But this song is the one I played on repeat. I still don’t know the lyrics but I know I feel like a firecracker underwater when I listen to it and that can’t be a bad thing.

Rude Boy - Rihanna This is one of the sexiest songs ever. It changed how I thought about women and what it means to be comfortable in yourself and your own sexuality. I’m just gonna leave it at that.

Retrograde - James Blake “SUDDENLY I’M HIT” and my entire brain blows off. I played this on repeat when I moved to London and when I finally met him a year or two later I said probably nothing of consequence and likely made an arse of myself but what I should of said was “retrograde changed my life”. It shaped how I think about production, made me think about synths and the interaction between organic and synthetic sounds and the use of a songwriter’s song in a non traditional setting. James sets the bar so high for all of us and we just jump around trying to come anywhere close.

[gcnnerpaxton]

bri again making a terrible decision. do i need a fourth? no.......... bt here we are anyway. after this i promise im done fr a while bt :/ i lov this lil bitch so here we are........ give this a like if u wld b Down to Clown w him aka plot!

「axel auriant & cismale」⇾ paxton , gunner, the senior radcliffe student’s records show that he is a leo and 22 years old. he is studying film, living off campus and can be loyal, resilient, anxious & indifferent. when i see him i am reminded of curling up in bed for days in a hello kitty comfort shirt, the click of a camera shutter & hand-me-down’s two sizes too big.

pinterest is HERE.

TW’S FOR ABUSE, VIOLENCE, MISSING CHILD, KIDNAPPING, DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, AND INTERNALIZED HOMOPHOBIA BELOW!

stats.

name: gunner brick paxton.

age: twenty-two.

gender identity: cis-male.

pronouns: he/him.

sexuality: demisexual.

birthday: july 31, 1998.

star sign: leo.

myers-briggs: istj.

year of study: senior.

major: film.

occupation: librarian.

place of birth: laramie, wyoming.

religion: catholic (non-practicing).

background.

neen jst brought in gunner’s older brother so fr those who read elias’ bio u kno tht gunner is the middle paxton child w eli being the oldest n then they have wyatt who is the youngest!!

they lived at the top of a hill in a trailer in a trailer park neighbourhood in laramie, wyoming so to say the least that fucking sucked for everyone involved

the trailer was so small that all 3 boys ended up sharing a room, gunner and wyatt sharing a bunk bed bc they cldnt fit 3 beds into one room it really was every childs nightmare bt they quickly grew used to it tbh

gunner was always more of an artsy child than invested in sports - though he does enjoy baseball and continued even to this day after their dad made him join SOMETHING in middle school - so he never rly earned their father’s respect, but he was always close with his mom since they had the same calm temperament

DEPRESSION/ANXIETY TW - he also gained a list of mental health issues that their mom had as well, including social anxiety and major depressive disorder - DEPRESSION/ANXIETY TW END

VIOLENCE/ABUSE TW - their father always encouraged pretty volatile behaviour and it caused a lot of physical fights and arguments between the brothers when their dad told them the best way to get over it was to start hurting until someone tapped out, it was just a chaotic and pretty abusive household but no one knew and their mom definitely wasn’t going to say anything about it to their dad - VIOLENCE/ABUSE TW END

MISSING CHILD/KIDNAPPING TW - wyatt went missing on a weekend that their parents were gone because of a trip they won, and things just got worse from there

ANXIETY/DEPRESSION TW - high school was really rough for gunner, his anxiety grew worse as time went on that no one found wyatt, their dad grew more hostile towards them, and their mom just grew sicker, it was rare that she would ever leave her room and if she did it was in fits of random energy where she would do something spontaneous and completely unnecessary to their house as a way of coping - MISSING CHILD/KIDNAPPING/ANXIETY/DEPRESSION TW END

the two years that gunner was at home after elias finally left for school were basically torture and as soon as he could, he was falling his brother’s footsteps in getting out of wyoming to go to school at radcliffe

INTERNALIZED HOMOPHOBIA TW -  things are far better now that they’re out of their home situation, but gunner’s going through some more things personally now; the paxton’s were raised in an incredibly religious household, and he’s got some classic Catholic Guilt going on upon realizing that he’s not jst attracted to women n he avoided talking abt it forever/stayed in the closet fr far too long bt he’s sort of come out now in his own way even tho he does still get a bit nervous talking abt it rly - INTERNALIZED HOMOPHOBIA TW END

he’s also ‘dealing’ rn which is frankly funny to think abt bc this man is abt as threatening as a care bear bt money is tight between him and eli all things considering, and with the amount of meds he’s on, plus incredibly frequent doctor’s visits, needing to pay for extra epi-pens, inhalers, etcs. bills add up so he’s cutting back his meds n selling wht he can spare which is . so unhealthy bt thts life in corporate america baybee!

details.

is literally allergic to everything. grass, cats, most fruits, milk, most nuts, bees, latex, probably more i cnt even keep up w them its pathetic

u can catch him n eli strutting around campus w matching epipen holders tht he got them fr eli’s 16th bday JKSDNGKLHSDGLK

if things cldnt get worse he also has quite intense asthma so he carries an inhaler with him at all times

n to make matters even WORSE he frequently has dizzy spells n bad memory problems bc of all the concussions he’s suffered from (about 8-9 at this point) as well as consistent migraines that can b literally debilitating sometimes

awkward n jst a bit of a Weirdo to b frank like if it weren’t fr eli he wld probably have one (1) friend he jst cnt converse w ppl

didnt have any friends in high school so took the time to teach himself rly weird things, knows a fuck ton of magic tricks, can yodel, juggle, solve a rubix cube with his eyes closed in under 2 minutes, just extremely weird and specific things

can honestly b a bit mean/barbaric to ppl he’s not close w/doesn’t kno has told ppl to their face before he doesn’t enjoy talking to them bc he has no concept of social constructs/norms

loves 2 film random things at parties, makes him feel more comfortable at them n he makes short films of them all after

update about his summer away: ended up heading to nyc fr a film internship n actually had a rly good time??? fr once?? jst had a rly nice summer fling after being a bit heartbroken throughout the school year it was jst a rly necessary n fulfilling summer fr him king of getting wht he finally deserves

this also led him to b like . oh maybe i’m Not broken bc he doesn’t realize........... demisexuality is a thing n wld get rly awkward during hookups a lot if hes jst not 100% comfortable w the person so now he thinks hes like a one man machine who actually has some Self Esteem n thinks he can have Sexual Relations all day every day (he cannot)

connections.

ppl who buy off him?? probs wld have to kno him some way hes too scared to sell to Random randoms KJSHDGKLHSDLG

other film majors :-)

some friends………. hes awkward bt he means well…………

a mans he wld Risk It All fr (aka a guy tht gunner actually has a crush on n is Extra Awkward probs a lil mean to bc hes still New to That)

ppl he has a crush on/unrequited crushes either way wtvr floats ur boat

some enemies tbh much like elias he has a temper n he tends to blow up rarely bt it happens n when it does it actually can b quite scary JKSHDGLHSDG

a muse….. mayhaps?? someone he always wants in his film projects

awkward past hook ups maybe some current ones teehee

anything Ur Heart Desires

[awkward-marinette]

Unprofessional “Desperada” Recap

It’s been a day after “Desperada” aired and I decided to do a rewatch of this episode. I’ve watched it 3 times already and I’ve changed opinions about many scenes that initially made me mad so that’s why I’m doing a recap. Be prepared because it’s going to be a long one. It’s going to contain unprofessional, sometimes blurry screenshots, Luka praise and grammar mistakes but... let’s get to it. 

- Lukanette in this episode was kinda ruined by how Marinette considered Luka her second chance choice. I know it's related to snake miraculous but still... My boi deserves better. Hell, MARINETTE deserves better than being written like that and those are main reasons why I was so pissed after watching "Desperada" for the first time

- girls (Alya, Alix and Mylene) are noticing Lukanette only now? I thought it was obvious that the chemistry is there - but also, I agree with their opinions with my whole heart

And I'm also starting to see that girls are getting tired of Marinette's obsession which Adrien which is understandable. They help her all the time trying to get her with the boy of her dreams and nothing happens. Yeah, I would be pushy and annoyed as well. But it makes me worried for one of next episodes which title I can’t remember but in the description it said that Marinette’s friends will be group akumatized because of something that Marinette is going to do. 

- quality Adrigami right there - I need to double check correct episodes order (by production number) to be 100% sure but I'm convinced that this episode is before "Ikari Gozen" otherwise I don't see the reason why Kagami is so distant towards Marinette again. But I appreciate scenes with them, especially when they rebel against their overprotective, overcontrolling parents

- about this disastrous greeting Adrien and Kagami scene - it's not easy seeing your crush laughing and being comfortable with someone else and we see it on Marinette's face. And yet again she decides to interrupt it by getting in their space. Doing and saying stupid things because of her skyrocketing nerves caused by Adrien's presence. Without thinking leaving Luka’s side to run to her crush like she did a bad thing. During my first watching, I didn't notice just how nervous she was until everyone started to look at her after Kagami's comment implying Luka is Marinette's boyfriend, waiting for her reaction. We know that for most of the time Marinette is not doing well under the pressure from other characters and this scene is no exception to that. No wonder she messed up later too, being looked at from all sides makes you super nervous. I can sympathize with that

Also, wow, Kagami, you don’t need to cling that much to Adrien. It’s not like Marinette is gonna attack him or something. 

- "he's just a friend" - Marinette, you're definitely spending too much time around Adrien. As the blond is doing the same with his feelings towards her vs. Ladybug, she openly denies her feelings for Luka despite having them. That's why she brushed off what Alya said and will continue to do that until she realizes it herself. It’s as if those two didn’t know that you can have multiple crushes on people

- Jagged/Anarka scene - there's some backstory here and I need to know more! I don't think it was just playing together in a band and there were some romantic feelings involved. Although I don't like the idea of Jagged being Juleka and Luka's father (that would be lame), it would definitely be an interesting plot to explore for the sake of Couffaine family story arc. Especially after seeing Anarka's steel refusal and Couffaine siblings being shocked that their mom was once working with their music idol

- Jagged having a soft spot for Marinette is still one of the cutest things ever. Mere concept of an international music star acting as a cool uncle for ordinary artist girl is awesome. I really like that he always seems to actually listen to what she has to say and doesn't treat her as a kid who don't know anything. And asking her if she knows some talented guitarists although he probably has lots of connections in the industry just proves how big that soft spot for her is. He visibly perked up at her sight and started playing happier melody!

- nominating Adrien for new guitarist disastrous scene - OH MY PLAGG, I don't know what to say about the scene everyone is talking about. This is definitely one big triggering scene and if I was annoyed at Marinette when she dropped Luka to greet Adrien earlier, this one made me: mad, sad, embarassed at the same time. Cringefest at its finest.

You know what I mean? Look at everyone’s reactions: 

BRUH. 

Plus: 

Even Rose was shocked! Yeah, Rose who always seems to be in her own little world!

It made me regret that she didn't decide to give up on Adrien in "Puppeteer 2.0" (yeah, I know episodes are not in the order and it seems that "Desperada" is chronologically after that). I mean, girl, even being under the pressure is not gonna save you this time in my eyes. You had the right to be super nervous around your crush and babbling incoherently when you didn’t expect to see him but trying to impress him by recommending him for skills you know he doesn’t have? Your feelings for that boy are not healthy for you and you need to see that. If Adrien visibly has doubts and says he's more of a pianist AND JAGGED STONE HIMSELF IS QUESTIONING THAT CHOICE AND POINTS AT LUKA, it should give you a signal that you're not in your right senses. I really want live to the day that in one episode she finally realises that and will start to move on. I bet it will improve her character and relationships with everyone around her. And I can't believe that writers decided to include that scene - there were probably few different ways that this scene could go without making Marinette a fool blinded by her love.

And man, I was feeling so sad for Luka there. Being overlooked like that just because the girl he likes nominated a guy she loves when it's clear that he's not suited for the job must be hard to accept. And how does he manage to make me like him more every time he shows up? He handled that situation with levels of maturity he should teach main charactes about.

- Desperada - it was this rare kind of episodes when we didn't get akumatised character's backstory first, that's why sometimes I thought this episode had quicker pacing than usual. We got more information from the villain herself this time and it was a nice change of routine. Also, Desperada was so cool! Her design is absolutely fantastic (one of the best in the show imo), her powers were deadly, she had amazing voice and she was competent enough to create such a threat that it forced Ladybug and Chat Noir to reach for miraculous that could mess with time. And it wasn't obvious she could be this dangerous at first glance! The only thing I didn’t like about her is why she was akumatized - REALLY, JAGGED?! Come on, dude! 

I would totally cosplay that if I wasn’t a complete disaster with instruments.

Her trumpets made funny noises when she shot from them, it cracked me up a little. And I need that guitar axe for... reasons...

- yo, Kagami proving she's worthy of dragon miraculous! She charged at Desperada without hesitation although she just met Anarka! 

- Rose went through a surprising change in last two seasons - I never expected to see her do things like shielding someone from the villain. On second thought, she was protecting her dear Juleka so it shouldn’t be that surprising. But it is, at least for me. 

- Marinette realised she wasn't in her right mind after all - well, better late than never, right? What Tikki said about her having a troubled heart - I want to believe it's something that will make her rethinking few things and will be a spark that will eventually ignite character development. I hate seeing her like this when she proved many times she’s better than that

- Lukadrien - you know, on one hand it's good to see two male love rivals being on good terms with each other (although I wonder how long it's going to last after Adrien gets to his senses regarding liking Marinette as more than JuSt A fRiEnD), on the other it's depressing when you look at how girls are treated, all hating each other (well, except Marinette and Kagami now). Why can't we have nice things... Also, Lukadrien was strong in this one.

- Luka proving he deserves to be a hero - it's not usual for civilians in this show to willingly put themselves in villain's path to help heroes but it's always appreciated when it happens if that civilian isn't hurt in the process. Luka managed to distract Desperada so that Ladybug could corporate a plan that helped trio to escape her.

- Ladybug, Adrien and Luka in sewers - so she gets the message to go to Master Fu for new miraculous, meanwhile we continue with Lukadrien scenes. They find a locker room for employees and Adrien finally can separate from Luka to transform into Chat Noir. I'm surprised that Luka didn't hear door opening and closing again despite being right next to it. Or maybe... he did since I suspect he knows Ladybug’s identity so him knowing Chat’s identity would be pretty funny. 

- snake miraculous - Master Fu said that this miraculous is really powerful (duh) and must be used by wise person who can resist a temptation to abuse its power. Kinda foreshadowing for what's going to happen later, isn't it? I've got no idea how Marinette could think Adrien was suited to be a snake. It doesn't fit him at all. There must be other miraculouses in the box that would be more fitting for him. I need to do a research.

- Adrien gets his chance with Ladybug - well, he wasn't against the idea of her giving miraculous to Adrien despite his identity crisis (cue: “Onii-chan” and the scene where Chat Noir lands on the billboard with Adrien’s commercial on it). It's clear he didn't think about risking being discovered as Chat Noir and jumped in this train because he was blinded by the opportunity to finally get his Lady to love him as Adrien. After rewatching the episode I've changed my opinion about this moment and I think that it was somehow needed at this point in the show. It can be treated as a simulation what would happen if the reveal happened right now, when Adrien/Chat Noir is blinded by his love for Ladybug and Marinette/Ladybug is being blinded by her love for Adrien. And it does not end well.

I can't at Plagg when he realises that Adrien is going to use new miraculous offered by Ladybug so quickly and willingly. When PLAGG drops his usual behaviour and channels his inner TIkki by saying serious, wise things, you should know that this is a huge mistake, Adrien. Just look at his face:

And I suspect that Plagg has some history with Sass because it's not the first time he acts weird around snake kwami. Yet again, I want to know!

- Adrien is (temporary) a character with the highest amount of magic transformations - and, tbh, Aspik’s transformation wasn't very good. His suit looks weird in motion, although I understand choice with a cowl to not look similar to Chat Noir. But Aspik's final pose is so ridiculous it hurts - even Kim's wasn't at that level. 

But maybe, it was another element that proved Adrien wasn't the right choice for snake miraculous. 

Also, him acting oblivious to what kwami is and "What am I supposed to do?!" were priceless. Very subtle acting, Adrien. A+.

- blinded by love - this is the theme of this episode. But this time it was from both sides. We got used to it coming from Marinette in most episodes and fandom has made many creative works with how it could happen from Adrien's side, and we finally could see it in cannon. Since we know how it is with Marinette when it comes to Adrien, I'm going to focus more on him and Ladybug.

  So Marinette as Ladybug makes mistake twice in this episode. This time with more serious repercussions since it concerns miraculous and success of the mission. Focusing more on giving miraculous to Adrien and his presence by her side, she isn't able to focus on defeating akuma at all. 

She compliements him for the smallest things (like choosing his hero name), laugh at the joke that was so Chat Noir, looks at him all the time. She even went to that extreme as saying that they don't need Chat at all! BOI WASN’T HAPPY: 

Ladybug has always been the responsible one and always puts the mission first. But here, she wasn't even caring for her own safety by checking her surroundings, something that you thought could never happen.

As for Adrien, he knew how powerful snake miraculous is. But because he prefered to woo Ladybug instead of eliminating akuma threat first, he failed to prove he was the right guy for the job as Aspik. 

And failed miserably. I won't go as far as saying that he deserved to end up with PSTD syndrome after failing to save her so many times but if he was smarter, he could pull himself together much sooner and fix it without hurting. He had a tool that could cut his pain and suffering of losing Ladybug short. But his determination/obsession made him overlook that simple fact. I mean, dude, it took you THREE MONTHS to realise it's not working?! And what irked me is the fact that despite all those chances he had, he was still prioritizing flirting with Ladybug instead of defeating Desperada. 

I'm sorry but after that confession, he lost another points in my eyes. Also, it showed that he is more like his father than we gave him credit for with that unhealthy determination to achieve his goal. It's downright scary.

But one good thing emerged from this horrible montage of his failures: Ladybug’s reaction to the reveal he’s Chat Noir. In spare of few seconds she went through all package of emotions - confusion, shock, bewilderment, comprehension, anger. It was delightful. 

After thinking about it for some time, I came to a conclusion that this plot is kind of a warning from writers. We, as a fandom, want The Reveal to happen, some of us want it now, others (like me) don't want it fastforwarded and now I see why it's not a good idea. Adrien and Marinette are at that moment that both still have an unhealthy perception of love and their feelings are more like obsession. They're both putting other one on the pedestal as a person completely rid of flaws and ability to make mistakes. They have tunnel visions and don't see anything around but the person they love. So if they knew each others’ identities now when their feelings are in such underdeveloped stages, they would fail as superheroes because those feelings would got in the way. And it's something that they can't allow since Hawkmoth is getting stronger and is plotting something big. The message is clear: don't expect The Reveal to become cannon now because it's not the right moment.

But I'm not trying to give writers enough credit - at least, this time. I want to see characters learning from events that took place in this episode. I want to see them actually realise that their concept of love is flawed and decide to be better than they are right now. I want to see Love Square finally going somewhere rather than being constantly stuck in nowhere. That's why I have high hopes for the rest of season 3 and have big expectations from season 4 (because, if Love Square developing will happen, it's now or never).

Ok, let's continue.

- Sass - poor kwami was active for months, didn't get a snack, had a short break in the box and was summoned again very quickly (although refreshed). #letsassrest2019

- Luka being the chosen one - ok, as funny as it sounds, there's no better summary why Luka got snake miraculous in the end. When he reentered the scene, he witnessed some serious talk between Ladybug and Adrien, the latter obviously crying, both visibly down and disstressed and, blessed his soul, said he's glad that Adrien was found because he was worried (Lukadrien fans must have gone wild at that). Adrien looked at him and made this face:

The face of realization. Because, as he experienced, snake miraculous requires to be used wisely while keeping a cold head. Something that he couldn't do. And before him stood a guy who's really calm, collected but brave and caring (Adrien's words). Fortunately, Adrien didn't continue to pout but immediately suggested to Ladybug to give Luka a miraculous. After saying goodbye (with bittersweet Ladrien moment), Ladybug turned to confused Luka and it was his time to shine. And boiii, he shone alright! I mean, look at those majestic screenshots of his transformation:

Sidenote: this tranformation was probably the longest one but it could give Chloe a run for her money in fabulous department.

- new trio of Paris - and we got cool trio of superheroes to deal with Desperada (who was still laying down in sniper position on Eiffel Tower, lol) who were working very well together. Main duo was back in their game and overall I'm here for Chat Noir/Viperion bro ship.

- plan to take down Desperada - as I said earlier in the recap, Desperada didn't seem that threatening at first but she quickly showed that I was mistaken. It was no overexaggeration when Marinette said that there is no room for error with her because of variety of weapons she used. That's why they needed to plan their ambush from A to Z and that's why snake miraculous was better for this mission than, for example, rabbit miraculous. It's good that Viperion wasn't hit during those chances because they would be screwed and Hawkmoth would probably win.

As I predicted, Viperion needed considerably less time to figure out how to get the upper hand in the fight. And although it was strange that both Ladybug and Chat Noir struggled more than usual with defeating an akuma, it was nice seeing other hero forming a plan in the meantime. 

Now I wonder if Viperion's lyre has the function to distract opponents with its melody or it was the fact that Desperada was just sensitive for hearing music in general. Also, lyre can be used in other ways:

- I need a confirmation that those two are officially together (and Fang is their pet)! Pleeeeaaaaaseeeee!

- Vivica is so cute! And I love that heroes always do "pound it" next to confused victims

Luka is so freaking tall here! And I thought that Adrien got taller this season! He looks so small compared to Viperion!

- oh yeah, with that look he gave her, it's pretty much confirmed that Luka knows Marinette is Ladybug. Otherwise it wouldn't be shown like that.

- Kagami giving Marinette an opening for fair rivalry is something you don't see everyday. Kagami encourages her to make up her mind with all that Adrien-Luka thing - another motivation for Marinette to push her character development ahead.

Alya chimes in saying that boys also have to decide. We know what Luka thinks but Adrien still needs more time to clarify that. And waiting for that is going to kill us all.

So that’s all, folks! TL;DR, thanks for coming to my ML Talk! Man, why am I doing these only when an episode creates a lot of fandom salt?

[eskalations]

Smoke and Gunpowder, Chapter 2

A/N: I was not going to post this chapter so quickly after the last, but life happened and I needed a distraction. Earlier, my sweet dog of 17 years, passed on and this has been just about the hardest day of my life. His passing was peaceful, but it didn't make things any easier. I was in the middle of writing this chapter when I received the news, so this piece will always have a special place in my heart. I'm still not sure if I'm back in the swing of things with my writing, but I'm planning on going back and editing when I'm feeling more like myself.

So, today we have the meeting of Ray and Raina. While I wanted to do a chapter where there was more interaction between the two, this chapter seemed necessary for backstory purposes. I also realized I never specified the age changes for our lovely characters. Since Roy was born in 1885 and Riza was born in 1889 (canonically), I just decided to swap their ages. That's pretty much the only big change there is.

Please let me know how you enjoyed this chapter! I love getting feedback!

AO3 | FFN

Tumblr: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5

This chapter is dedicated to Skippy (May 18th 2003 - May 29th 2020)

Augenblick, East Area - Summer of 1903

The town of Augenblick was less spectacular than she could have ever imagined.

'Blink and you'll just about miss it' The man had said as she exited the train earlier that day. He must have seen the look of surprise on her face at such a small station existing in what seemed to be the middle of nowhere. There was no town in which the station was on the edge of, no bustling streets with families doing their Sunday shopping, no cars puttering down the road to their destination – all she could see were fields stretching out endlessly in every direction.

The man who had gotten off the train with her was long gone by the time she pulled out the booklet the Madame had given her. Honestly, she should have realized what this small blip of a town was going to look like by the map in front of her – there seemed to be nothing but green bleeding across the wrinkled pages.

At fourteen, she wouldn't call herself incredibly resourceful – but at least she could read directions. The Madame had circled her destination with a fat, red marker – making it stand out amongst all the greenery it was surrounded by.

The girl started walking and hoped that she was traveling in the right direction.

The dusty road crunched beneath her shoes and she had to cringe as small particles of dirt made their way between her toes. Maybe wearing the new shoes she had bought for this occasion hadn't been the best idea...but it was too late to change them now. She had wanted to impress Master Hawkeye by dressing as professionally as a young girl could, but now she was beginning to see why the Madame had kept insisting that she needed to wear something a little more comfortable.

'I want him to see me as a lady,' She had shared with her foster mother while buttoning up her crisp new blazer. All her clothes had been starched earlier that morning before she was set to be at the station and even her usually black unruly mane was combed and slicked to perfection. 'I want him to see me as an apprentice worth taking.'

The Madame had simply smiled at her young charge's determination, smoke pouring from her lips as she spoke.

'My dear – with the amount I'm paying him for your lessons – he would take you on even if you were a newborn baby,' The words did little to abate her nerves.

She didn't want the man to pour his efforts into her because he had to – she wanted him to teach her because he saw potential.

The amount of information she had on Master Hawkeye was scarce. She knew that he was an excellent freelance alchemist, who's early research had been compiled into a single publication that had made waves in the alchemy community.

However, that was it. After his first work was published, he retired to the country and was now known as a bit of a recluse. From the Madame's information, it seemed the military had propositioned him multiple times to become a State Alchemist, but to no avail. Raina found it hard to believe that he wouldn't jump on the opportunity since with that grand title also came grand funds for research.

The only other piece of information she had received from her source was that the man had a son who also lived with him. The age of said son was unknown to her still.

'Now you must be careful, dear,' Her older "sister" Margaret had warned her that morning, patting her head gently in an endearing fashion. 'You will be the only woman in the house – so, you must make sure they are treating you right. If they try anything funny, you have to promise to call us immediately.'

Madame Christmas had scoffed at the idea.

'Once they get her riled up once, they'll know better than to mess with her,' Madame Christmas insisted without worry, taking a long drag from her cigarette before exhaling a cloud of smoke. 'We've taught her well. She knows how to defend herself.'

Her foster mother wasn't wrong; she could defend herself. However, it had been a long time since she had lived with a male counterpart. She couldn't remember her father (her parents had died when she had been just three years of age) and the Madame rarely housed young men in the bar.

The thought of living alone with two men had caused her quite a bit of anxiety, but she wasn't going to let it stop her. Even as she trudged down the road, sun beating down mercilessly upon the top of her scalp – her gait was confident as she embarked on this new chapter of her life.

She had been walking for about half an hour before she came upon a small town. A groan unknowingly slipped from between her lips at the sight of it.

Augenblick was small – so small you could hardly justify its place on the map. From what she could see, it was comprised of one long row of buildings lining two sides of a dirt road that spanned just about 100 meters. From the looks of the way the lots were set up, it seemed that they were all commercial.

A few people milled about, swinging bags full of produce as they went about their morning routine. There were stands set up in front of the buildings where farmers were selling their goods to residents and chatting merrily with their neighbors. This version of the Sunday Market was very different from the bustling one back in Central that Raina was familiar with.

Gripping her suitcase tightly in her sweaty palm, the girl continued to trudge forward. She had passed a school house and a general store before finally getting stopped by a curious shopper.

"Can I help you, dearie?" An elderly woman asked, taking notice of the map clutched in her hands. After giving the girl a once over, she continued with her line of questioning. "You don't look to be from around here – are you looking for something?"

Raina was caught between wanting to find the Hawkeye residence on her own – to prove her status as an independent young lady – and wanting to get some help since the map's lines were starting to bleed together in the heat of the midday sun.

"Yes," The girl said, accepting that this was a small concession to make in her journey to becoming a worthy young apprentice. She could always be independent tomorrow. "I am looking for the Hawkeye residence."

The woman looked at her strangely for a moment. Raina's confident stance did not waver though – she knew it probably looked strange for a young girl to seek out an older man, but she wasn't here to worry about appearances. After a brief pause, the woman answered her cautiously.

"It's just down main," The elder spoke slowly, still unsure of what the young girl's motive was. "If you keep walking that direction, you will come to a fork in the road. Take a right if you're looking for the Hawkeye residence, take a left if you want to traverse the desert."

Raina laughed nervously at her dark humor. At this point, she wasn't sure which path the woman considered to be more dangerous.

"Thank you!" Before she could take her leave though, the woman's hand reached out to grab her wrist. This stopped the young girl dead in her tracks as she was met with a serious set of dark eyes, concern evident in the way the woman drew her near to speak quietly in her ear.

"What do you want with that old man, child?" Her voice was low, suspicion blending with worry. Raina glanced nervously at the shoppers who passed them, but none even batted an eye at the strange scene in front of them. The woman tightened her grip again, forcing the girl's gaze back to her own. "If you need any help, all you have to do is tell us."

Shaking her wrist from the woman's grasp, Raina brought her hand protectively to her chest – map and all.

"I am an apprentice, ma'am," The girl insisted, tone bordering on rude. These country folks may be fine with lecturing young ladies and manhandling them in the streets, but she certainly was not. "I am here to learn alchemy from Master Hawkeye and that is all."

She could tell the older woman was affronted by such a brash response, not used to a girl speaking to her elders in such a way – however, she recovered quickly. The surprised look on her face morphed into one of sympathy.

"I didn't mean to offend you, child," The lady insisted, picking up the bag of vegetables she had dropped to her side at the beginning of their conversation. "I just know that the elder Hawkeye is not one to be trusted. Ever since the death of his wife, his behavior has been strange. We've rarely seen him for the past few years – the only one that ever comes into town is his son."

The people mulling around the market were now eyeing them – pausing at the stands nearby to watch the encounter while still attempting to appear casual. They would pick up an apple, turn it in their hands to check if it had any soft spots, and then glance quickly over at them. She could tell by her faces that, at the mention of Berthold Hawkeye, she had set the subject for Sunday gossip amongst the small populace.

"Just because someone does not wish to mingle with others does not mean they are any less trustworthy than you or I," Raina insisted, defending her new teacher from the accusations of the lady in front of her. Already this town was a little too judgmental for her taste. "I could care less how social he is as long as he is a dutiful teacher."

"Child," The woman pleaded, a hint of desperation in her tone as Raina made to walk away, suitcase swinging in her hand. Luckily, she did not grab her this time – however the fear that infused her tone, had the young girl turning to regard her once more.

"I know it seems like I am simply an old gossip who has nothing better to do," Raina fought the urge to raise her brows at the expression since that was precisely what she had pegged the woman as. "But you must listen to me – there is something wrong with that man."

The genuine concern in the woman's voice caused a shiver to run up her spine. Raina would have argued it was just a chill – however, in the middle of summer, that was unlikely. Seeing that she now had the young girl's attention, the woman continued.

"His son was so gaunt during the first few years after his mother's death, that it looked like a breeze would knock him over," The woman revealed, her voice so low that even someone walking past them would have to strain to hear her words. "He finished school early and after that – well he just disappeared. We didn't see him for months then suddenly one day he walked up to Mrs. Roth's stand to buy potatoes. By that time, he had filled out a bit – but there was a haunted look in his eyes."

Raina's curiosity was piqued, though she couldn't help but have some doubts in regards to the woman's claims.

"Madame," The young girl began carefully, lowering her tone to match the volume of the elder. The townspeople were still watching them – however, their interest seemed to have lessened once their conversation had become harder to hear. "I don't think it's fair to assume that something bad happened to him during that time. He and his father could have taken a vacation."

"No one left that house." The woman insisted, causing another chill to run through the girl. The older woman spoke with such conviction – like she knew that whatever it was she suspected was true.

"Maybe they were just enjoying some time alone together after the son finished school?" Raina tried to reason with the woman, desperately grasping for straws in an attempt to abate her fears. "Why does his disappearance have to mean something bad happened?"

The serious look in the woman's eyes was one that Raina would remember for a long time after.

"Because he was covered in bruises when he returned."

It was this conversation that had Raina shaking slightly on the doorstep of the Hawkeye residence. After the old woman had finally let her continue on her way, she was left with more fear and anxiety than before. She was more fearful now than she had been when she had originally been told she was being shipped out for alchemy instruction.

The house was nothing spectacular. It looked like it could have been grand once upon a time, but the broken shutters and overgrown garden implied that once hard times had hit, all efforts of upkeep had been abandoned. Even so, the view from the porch was one that's beauty couldn't be denied – the rolling green fields that surrounded the home for miles looked as though they were straight out of a painting.

Raina took a deep breath. She could do this. No amount of town gossip was going to keep her from doing what she had come here to do. She had been waiting her whole life for this and that old biddy was not going to ruin her chances of becoming a great alchemist.

As far back as she could remember, she had been studying alchemy. Madame Christmas liked to joke that the young girl had practically forced her to read alchemical essays to her at bedtime before she was able to read them on her own. One of her favorite alchemical works had always been the book of research Berthold Hawkeye had published a few years before her birth. Never in her wildest dreams could she have imagined she would have the honor of studying under him.

It was this realization that had her fist raising resolutely to the door. She was not timid. She was not shy. She was not scared. No one could deter her from the goals she had already set out to achieve. She would knock on this door and accept whatever fate lay on the other side.

But before her hand could even come in contact with wood, the door was swinging wide open in front of her.

Raina stood frozen. Well, she certainly hadn't been expecting that. Her fist fell swiftly to her side.

Standing before her was a young man only three or four years her senior. He was tall – certainly taller than she was – with a sturdy build that marked years of hard labor. His skin was golden, much like his hair, and there seemed to be a fine sheen of sweat covering him as if he had just come in from the fields. She watched as a droplet traversed down the weather worn features of his face before dropping off his sharp chin.

She had begun to sweat herself at his sudden appearance. She tried to tell herself that it was from the heat - but later she would question if that had really been it at all.

Despite his humble background, the man's spine straightened automatically at the sight of the young girl on his doorstep. Assuming the role of a gentleman – though looking nothing like one in ripped pants and a sweaty white shirt – he bowed his head in greeting to her.

"I must apologize," His voice was deep, much deeper than the voices of the boys she had gone to school with. "I did not realize you had arrived, Miss Mustang."

Being addressed so formally, she realized what set him apart from the boys at her school. He was not a boy; he was a man. His voice was too deep to be that of a boy's and his features were too hard to still be touched by the innocence of childhood. In the face of his own maturity, she puffed out her chest a bit before primly joining her hands in front of her.

"Hello, Mr. Hawkeye," She answered, clearing her throat to adopt a much deeper tone that would better match his own. "Please, just call me Raina. Miss Hawkeye sounds much too formal when we are going to be housemates."

The young man appeared unimpressed by her words, causing another bout of sweat to break out beneath her starched white shirt. Any hopes that she had conceived of the two of them being friends, seemed to be thrown farther and farther out the window as their staring contest continued. His amber eyes beat into her own, resembling those of a hawk's.

'Fitting,' she thought wryly to herself, as his gaze dropped to the suitcase she had laid to rest at her feet. Her hand itched to pick it up and turn right back around, leaving this house and his unnerving stare in the dust – but he surprised her.

Picking up her suitcase himself – the young man stood to the side of the doorway and gestured for her to make her way inside. The expression on his face was unreadable, but the grim lines of his face softened as she hesitantly stepped forward into the humid air of the home.

The inside of the house was much like the outside – dark and rundown. She could see a living area with a small stone fireplace off to the side, the furniture worn from many years of use. There was a door at the back of the room that she assumed led to a dining area and kitchen. The stairs were nestled in the corner of the area, leading to where she assumed the bedrooms and bathroom would be.

It was certainly different from what she was used to – but she guessed it could be considered cozy.

Careful to school her features, she turned back towards the younger Hawkeye. She didn't want him to think of her as a spoiled city girl. Despite their rough start, she still held on to the hope that they could be friends. She must not have covered her reaction quickly enough though, because when she met his gaze, there was a knowing look in his eye.

"I know it's not much, Miss Mustang," He emphasized his use of her formal name, pointedly ignoring the fact that she had asked him to call her Raina earlier. His words were polite, but she could hear a harsh undertone in them. "But I assure you that you will find everything you'll need to further pursue your alchemical studies within these walls."

Embarrassed at the censure evident in his tone, the young girl gave a quick nod of understanding.

"Yes, sir."

Satisfied with her quiet response, he gestured for her to follow him up the stairs. She grabbed her suitcase in her sweaty palm before following his orders.

"My father is having one of his bad days, so you will have to wait until tomorrow to make his acquaintance," Raina could feel herself deflating in disappointment, her footfalls heavy on the old wooden stairs. She had really hoped she'd be meeting her master upon arrival. "However, I am sure you are tired from your journey and will want this afternoon to rest."

"Oh, I'm not tired," Raina insisted, despite the aching in her feet. "What are your plans for the rest of the day?"

Without batting an eye, the young man turned to look at her over his shoulder.

"I'm going hunting," His words implied that he figured this answer would somehow affect her sensibilities.

Being raised in a bar though, Raina had never been the squeamish type.

"Can I come?" She asked innocently, following behind him as he led her down a hall at the top of the stairs. The strong set of his shoulders stiffened in surprise at her request, stopping him mid-step.

"I don't know," He answered slowly, clearly caught off guard by her words. The surprise on his face was short lived though as his features quickly settled back into the stoic expression he seemed to be so fond of. "Are you going to scare off our dinner?"

"Our dinner?"

The young Hawkeye had to grin as he continued to lead her forward. Like a dutiful guest, she followed closely behind – waiting for an answer.

"Surely you don't think I am going down to the market to get our food for tonight?" He finally asked, his hand turning the knob of a door leading to what she assumed to be her bedroom. A few doors down, she could just make out movement underneath the door that resided at the end of the long stretch of hallway.

"Of course not," She answered evenly as she stepped into the room, setting her suitcase by her feet. There was a bed, a dresser, and a desk. It wasn't much, but it would do. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the young man studying her face. If he was looking for a negative reaction this time around, she wasn't going to give it to him.

"So," She started, crossing her arms over her chest and turning to meet his gaze once more. "When do we leave?"

His answering smirk made her heart soar – though she would never admit it.

"Half an hour."

Her heart continued to beat sporadically even after he had closed the door behind him, leaving her to unpack and dress for their outing. However, the heavy beating of her heart wasn't from the small smile he had given her or the moment of softness she glimpsed in his eyes before taking his leave.

No, her heart was beating because she had seen the bruises on the back of his arms through the material of his shirt.

Falling back upon the mattress, she stared blankly up at the ceiling. Just what kind of secrets were hiding within these walls and just what did it all mean for her?

[theroadtriptonowhere]

Why you should learn your attachment style

Ever wonder why you seem to be in the same kinds of relationships all the time? By which I mean, they all kind of have the same or similar problems. Or have you ever struggled to make connections with people for fear of seeming too needy? Maybe you struggle to make connections because people think you’re too closed off. Maybe you don’t trust easily.

But, okay, what’s something that doesn’t seem generic, but can really make you believe in attachment styles if you’re a little harder to convince?

Have you ever used this phrase and meant it? Nobody ever cares as much as I (you) do. Or, no one gives as much as they get.

In either one, that could be true, but before you condemn someone for a lack of caring, ask yourself this: have you ever actually let someone else take care of you? Have you ever let someone see your emotional pain and take care of you, or do you tend to brush it aside and prefer to just keep helping others?

Okay so if you still don’t believe me, I’d say keep reading anyway, because it could help with people you are in a relationship with, but it’s not like I’ll know so, you do you.

Anyway, an attachment style is basically something we learn as babies (from 0-2 years, I believe, but I’m not 100% sure without looking it up) depending on how our needs were met by our caregivers we could end up with one of four different attachment styles. The two main ones being a secure attachment style and an insecure attachment style.

A secure attachment style is fostered by parents/caregivers that are able to consistently meet the child’s needs, and so the child learns that they can trust their caregiver, and use them as a base for which they explore the world.

Don’t understand what that means? It’s cool, I didn’t either.

My mom actually works in a children’s shelter, and actually showed me some studies on this as she knew I developed an interest in it. In one study that they specifically did at her job, they had a group of moms and their children playing in a room. After a while, they asked the moms to leave for one minute, and then to come back, but to stay behind the line they put near the door. What they found were a few different responses by the babies. One was crying nonstop and could not be comforted and immediately went to their mother when they saw she came back. Another had mixed signals they were giving as if they weren’t sure whether to go back to their mother or to stay where they were, but they were also showing distress at their mother not being present when she was gone. The last baby response they got was one child who did not cry at all when their mother left, just kept playing, and when she came back, they only acknowledged that she was there by turning around to see them and then turning back around to continue playing.

This by no means meant that they each already had a specific attachment style. The experiment was only meant to demonstrate the different ways they can react, not to diagnose, and so the experiment was only conducted by a few people for a short period of time.

However each baby did demonstrate a possible attachment style, so from there well go into the three insecure attachment styles, and what it means for the baby to consider the caregiver as a base from which to explore the world.

Insecure attachment styles:

Anxious attachment: also know as the love addict. Can be considered clingy by most people. Craves attachment, and does not have the ability to self-sooth very often. Self-sacrificing. Has difficulty listening to boundaries. Uses activating strategies when they feel someone pulling away from them to maintain the connection. Is better in the honeymoon phase of relationships normally, but has difficulty settling in a relationship.

Fearful-avoidant: come here, go away is a common phrase used to describe them. (May or may not be called disorganized attachment style, but the people I’ve learned from had different thoughts about what it meant, so I’m using this one. Still, if anyone wants more than a condensed version send an ask and I’ll send the link to who I watch when I’m learning about it) A combination of the anxious and dismissive attachment styles. Wants connection, but doesn’t trust it. Tends to be the more caregiver kind of friend. Does not do well talking about feelings, but is better at talking about them than the dismissive avoidant. Has difficulty setting boundaries for themselves. Will display more of the opposite attachment style of the person they’re dating. If anxious and fearful avoidant, they will show more dismissive avoidant characteristics. Can self-sooth relatively easily. Self-sacrificing, people pleasers. Is better at the beginning of a relationship, during the honeymoon phase, and has difficulty in setting into a relationship past that. Can sometimes do ‘tests’ on people to determine whether or not to trust them. Uses strategies to avoid or activate connections with people, depending on what attachment style they’re with.

Dismissive-avoidant: does not actively want or pursue connections. Does not trust other people to meet their needs. Does not normally display self-sacrificing habits. Tends to avoid talking about feelings(for example, if you asked how are you feeling right now, instead of answering, they might go into how their day went, or talk about their thoughts.) is good at setting boundaries, though not always by actually verbalizing them. Settles into relationships easier than the other two insecure attachment styles, preferring the consistency of a relationship that’s well past its honeymoon phase, to the actual honeymoon phase itself.

The funny thing about the entire experiment was the idea that the baby who didn’t respond at all to the mother leaving was actually the most well behaved. Not to say they weren’t, a lot of babies are incredibly smart, and depending on the age, could have learned object permanence already. (which, for those of you like me that didn’t know, just means they learned that just because you can’t see something, doesn’t mean it’s stopped existing) but the fact that we don’t know for sure doesn’t mean anything. The idea that the well-behaved baby didn’t get stressed at the mother's absence because they were good, seems a little damaging to me. Babies should feel at least a little stressed (if they haven’t learned object permanence already) when their primary caregiver leaves. It means the baby trusts them, has bonded with them, and is afraid that the person who they know will meet their needs is gone. It shouldn’t be something we take so much pride in, unless we know it’s not caused by some kind of neglect on the caregivers part.

To be clear, an attachment style can also form in different circumstances as well, but typically the dismissive learns more self-soothing techniques at an early age from neglect on the caregiver's side. This could be as simple as letting the child cry themselves to sleep and not meeting their needs emotionally. Or it could be as severe as not meeting their physical needs. Regardless, even with the best intentions, when we are teaching the child self-soothing techniques by denying the emotional need they have, it creates an environment for a dismissive attachment style to form.

So what does using your caregiver as a base to explore the world mean? I’m glad you asked, cause, dear lord, I had no idea until it was explained better. Basically, a baby watches their caregivers, develops a sense of trust for them, and depending on the level of trust developed, will look to their caregiver as a guide for how they should go about exploring the unknown. In the early stages, this presents itself in needing to see how a caregiver interacts with another person before letting them close. If they see the parent trusts them, they will either feel comfortable letting the stranger close or possibly start crying the second they get near depending on if the parent is trusted to not cause pain. If they crawl away, you might see a baby glance back at their caregiver every once in a while, making sure it’s still okay. If the parent and baby share a certain level of trust, the baby will determine if it’s safe to explore on whether the caregiver looks worried or encouraging. If the trust is built in a way that they know the parent would never hurt them, they will base the decision on only their reaction, and even sometimes will stop exploring altogether just to go back and kind of touch base, before starting another exploration again.

In conclusion, learn about your damn attachment style, I swear your life, friends life, partners life, whoever the fuck you show, will be so much better afterward, I promise you. You can help yourself heal from past trauma and neglect, or help someone else, and remove negative thoughts you may have developed about yourself and other people. It’s wild how much your attachment style can affect your life.

[justamomwithacomputer]

You think wedding planning is hard? Try doing it in the middle of a world pandemic, and an old fashion family feud.

Going to the chapel, and going to get married.

My daughter is getting married.  Her Fiancé and her have been engaged since summer of 2018.  They are a smart young couple who have all their ducks in a row.  Both have good jobs, dept. free (less a small amount of School loans) and have a nice little nest egg of savings to buy a house. They have traveled, had many adventures across the globe.  They were engaged in Barcelona, and this doesn’t even touch the list of places they have traveled together.  The love life and live it to the fullest each and every day. Even if it’s a walk on the boardwalk, or down to the local coffee shop, a nice lunch or bar for a cocktail.  They enjoy staying in and cooking new things, try new recipes and live a very healthy lifestyle. They love the Lakers, and very rarely miss watching a game. Even if not televised on their network of stations, they find a place to go watch. (when they are playing)

Better to vent on paper, than react with killing people.

Now to bring you to the reason I am writing this all out on paper.  My daughter is so excited to be part of this big wonderful Family, and we are so happy to welcome her Fiancé’ into our family. This young couple have been together for over 5 years, and have been planning their wedding for over a year and a half.  So Covid-19 has really set the Bride/Groom (everyone involved really) into a whirlwind of emotions, uncertainties and sometimes anger!  They asked themselves, are we going to be able to get married, do we have to postpone, cancel, move venues…. Nightmare Right!?  Some might think….. just postpone?  Well as you can tell a little about them by the beginning of this, they have a plan. The plan does not include postponing the wedding.  So as if a world Pandemic wasn’t enough, we have two dueling Mothers…. Hold on, not the Mother of the Bride, but the Mother (MOG) and Step Mother of the Groom (SMOG) acting like complete selfish, hateful and rude bitches! (sorry, I didn’t mention groom is from a split family). The two between each other don’t have a lot of communications, aside from a couple late night drunk text messages (from what MOG/SMOG have both shared), and just nasty words transmitted through other parties involved.  My daughter has tried to remain neutral and have relationships with both, as they will soon be her family.  She has a stronger relationship with one than the other, but that is based on the relationship her soon to be husband has with each.  Oh boy… to put it in a nutshell… these women have found a way to feud and put my daughter in the middle, along with many other victims.  My daughter has been used in a tug of war game between the two.  Mostly with assumption about how much one or the other is involved in the planning of the wedding, and even their assumption of my involvement has been miscued.  My daughter and soon to be son in law are very non-traditional and know their own vibe.  My daughter is very lucky to have a hands of fiancé that has helped plan and make decisions of what their wedding will look like.  So in all they have planned their entire wedding. (Keep in mind throughout this writing, that the parents of the Bride are paying the majority of the bill, with exceptions of a small cost of some rental furniture the FOG agreed to pay. The Bride and Groom have also taken on the complete Bar, and many other small things as well).  So to continue, there have been so many snarling comments from both MOG and SMOG that have been said to my daughter, things that are so unbelievably petty. As petty as they are at times, its abuse and becomes quite hurtful. I just ask myself why?  Why do these grown women treat my daughter so poorly?  My daughter is educated, has a BA, earned her teaching credentials and is working on her Masters. She holds a full time job earning a good salary.  She is beautiful, kind and generous with her time and sometimes goes above to keep the peace. Some might even be thinking; why would she still want to be part of this family.  Aside from the fact there are so many more amazing people in the family other than the MOG & SMOG, and of course the love she has for her soon to be husband, and the fact that he has stood by her side, one would of “taken the high road” (inside joke).  

A little to help you understand, or it will just seem unreal?

Back story…. Well, I won’t claim to know all the details, and don’t want to tell another women’s story.  Besides I have heard a little of both sides, and they don’t coincide.  Anyhow, I digress. MOG was married to Father of Groom (FOG)…. And one day she found out FOG was having a baby with the now SMOG. Now to clarify, the MOG and FOG were not divorce, but MOG thought (from how her story goes) she was a happily married with two young boys. (like 6 and 1.5 young). Fast forward 28 or more years later, the son is getting married to my daughter.  I’m sure it didn’t seem fast forward for all parties involved, but I wasn’t there.  I have heard stories from both women, and some a little crazy and neither paint a pretty picture of each other.  Hi I’m the Mother of the Bride… I’ve stayed neutral, stayed out of the drama and allowed my daughter to guide herself throw these rocky waters.  After all, she is the one marrying into this family.  Don’t get me wrong, I am 100% here for my daughter, I support her, give her advice and sometimes just hold her while she cries. Believe me when I say there have been times when I want to get in my car with a bat (and go play softball) or pick up phone and tell one of these ladies off.  However, my daughter is strong, smart and can handle herself.

This is where most of the fun begins.

These past two weeks have been a complete nightmare and a tale no one would believe unless it was in writing.  In the middle of a pandemic, we have riots and protest that engulf our lives. Police buildings being burnt down, looting, fighting and complete KAOS has taken over the world. Don’t get me wrong, changes need to be made and I am not saying the protesting is wrong, it just added a little more stress to a world that is already upside down with this COVID-19.   Not to even mention that USA is in the middle of an Election year.  This is just KAOS on top of KAOS, On top of KAOS…. And then you add the MOG & SMOG and it all seems a little un-real!

From the Start of the current storm.

Rewind about two weeks, and started with a little squabble between family (FOG side). SMOG went deep and attacked Brother of Groom, and then attacked a cousin and then continued to drag MOG through the mud with accounts that took place 25+ years ago?  I mean, my personal opinion, you sleep with another women’s husband, and wreck a household, you may have some consequences throughout your time.  Anyhow it came down to SMOG texting (not even a decent in person or very least pick up the phone) an apology.  My daughter let her know she accepts apology, but included how hurt she was that she was acting so hateful to the people she loves, and how it really has effected so many.  She added that she should get some help.  Well holy moly did that go off wrong!!!  SMOG came back with the a nasty, hateful Crazy effing text back!  Asking what help was she recommending.  Well my daughter is young, maybe a little naive to recognizing when a bomb is about to explode replied “you need to ask yourself that question”. After all anyone that would be so hateful, nasty and treat other people the way she had the previous couple days needs some kind of help.  POW POW…. Did that set off whatever unbalanced brain we are working with. SMOG came back asking my daughter where she got her Dr. degree and how she shouldn’t be giving advice she wasn’t qualified to give.  She added how wonderful of a SMOG she had been, and listed all her accolades of being a mother.  Most of which as mothers we all do.  I’m talking PTA, Volunteer positions at kid’s schools, taking to routine dr. and dentist along with toting them to all the extra activities kids participate in. So really just a bunch of noise, in addition to the continued bashing of the MOG. The straw that broke the camel’s back was the last comment she made attacking my daughter. She said that the only thig my daughter was worried about was this wedding, and to quote her “you don’t seem to care about much outside your white privileged wedding”.   Now that hit home a little funny because this wedding is not your Country club, spare no expense kind of wedding.  We have had to create a strict budget, and cut corners and find ways to have the dream wedding.  Yes, we are fortunate not to have run to Las Vegas or have a courthouse wedding, but definitely not a “White Privileged wedding”.   With all going on, we had to ask ourselves if SMOG learned a new saying amongst all the protest and riots. (ha ha).  Anyhow… that was funny, but incredible mean and hateful.  Some can already guess where this is going with upcoming wedding, if not let me illiterate. This was quickly finding SMOG on the un-invited list.  My daughters’ Fiancé got on phone and called his dad to find out what the heck was going on.  Not to share confidential information, the outcome was she would not come to the upcoming Bridal Shower and they would work day to day to see if she would be an invited guest at wedding.

Bridal Shower planning

My daughter has a large squad of friends who are amazing, and she has very special friendships with so many young ladies who she has met throughout her adolescent years, throughout her college and now profession life.  Many live out of state, and one even out of the country.  None local to host a bridal shower, so as the MOB I of course wanted my daughter to have an amazing shower, where we could come together and celebrate my girl.  Her Maid of Honor (MOH) who lives just a couple states away co-host with me and we worked together to have a “Garden” themed Bridal Shower at my house.

The Upcoming is here, enter the “Garden” with caution.

All is well, aside from FOG calling to have my daughter and his son reconsider having the SMOG at the shower.  Now, I was angry about her treatment of my daughter, it wasn’t about me banning her from the event.  It was the Bride & Groom who felt strong about not having her amongst MOG, mothers of others she had bashed and Grandmothers who also saw all the text, and hate messages she had rocket launched into the world wide world of text messages.   They thought it just might be best not to mix them, and not add fuel to the fire. In many ways they made the right call, because your soon to find out that with the MOG, and many family members from FOG side mixed was enough toxic energy to blow up a city block.  In all fairness, I must add that the FOG guest were on best behavior and I do not have any complaints.  Also I can understand how having to be in a space with ex-family would be stressful, but honestly after 28 years?  Well the MOG had her group of ladies rallied around, this group included friends and some aunts.  MOG brought tons of Champagne, and wine and they all sat and pretty much got hammered. It got raunchy and the group acted like it was a bachelorette party.  They disengaged during games and acted like school aged brats. While my daughter was opening up Shower gifts and trying to be graceful, they were in the back laughing, talking very loud. Taking pictures and totally oblivious to the fact they were indeed at a “Garden”/My daughter Bridal Shower.  I applaud my daughter for keeping her composure, and keeping it classy. She even called her soon to be Mother in Law (MIL) over when she was opening her gift to break up the frenzy that was taking place.  This was not a success; she went back to her own personal party within my daughter’s shower. Soon the presents were open, and this pretty much meant the end of event.  ALAJUELA ONE MIGHT BE THINGKING AT THIS POINT!  Even though this is supposed to be a joyous event.  Some quest had left, and some remained to just sit and talk. Well like a light switch, MOB was louder, flashing her legs up in air signally somehow towards the table that included some of the FOG family.  My daughter walked over and asked her future MIL to sit down, and maybe drink some water. I guess at this point you can guess my daughter is pretty good at lighting the bomb!  MOG went from crazy, to hysteria, slamming, pouring of wine on tables, crying to wanting to get behind the wheel and drive away.  Couple of her squad joined in, added to the madness…. It was basically an effing shit show!  

Back paddle for just a minute

Towards end of the shower, three of the most important men came home from golfing. The shower was a good excuse to get out of dodge, but they didn’t stay gone long enough.  My husband, my son and soon to be SIL arrived on time to witness the behavior of grown women acting like Sorority girls gone bad.  It was good and bad they came back a little early. Good because they would not have believed it unless seen for themselves. Bad because my SIL is so embarrassed by the poor behavior of his Mother and her friends/Aunts.

Back to the Garden

During MOG tyrant of throwing ice buckets and stomping out while giving the bird, she insisted she was going to drive home.  Many others (I stayed clear) tried to calm her down, and talk sense into MOG. She tried shoving another guest and continued to yell and scream.  My stern husband finally put his foot down and made MOG get into back seat and my husband ended up having to drive the MOG, her Trashy friend and poor sweet Grandma home.  My husband is good at deescalating a situation, and defiantly shows who the bigger person is to put himself in that situation.  In addition to the entire cost of Bridal Shower being on the Bride’s family, now my husband had to add additional expense to get home via Uber.

Was that all real?

Unbelievable right?  I left so much out.. but this is only a short blog to vent and get this all out of my head! After all was calm, we started cleaning up.  We stacked all the beautiful flower on one table, picked up trash, glasses. You know, all the regular stuff.  Small group of mostly my family and some of my girlfriends remained, and we indulged in a couple more drinks and ate some of the leftover food from shower.  We basically were kicking back having some relax time, played some corn hole, lit a small fire for one spoiled niece to make s’mores over.   Over all just a nice, change it up a little relax time.  Ended up picking up a couple pizzas and then ended the evening early. We were all so exhausted, it was time to call it.

Little did we know

Little did we all know, the entire evening and after my daughter and her fiancé left the madness continued. My soon to be SIL was getting rage texts from his mother.  I guess they were pretty bad, mean and hateful.  I don’t even want to know the details, because it would hurt my heart.

Hmmm…. What are you thinking about the Bride & Groom?

So maybe you’re thinking what kind of people the Bride and Groom are to be treated so poorly by these women in their lives?  The Groom grew up in a split home, going back and forth between Mom and Dads.  Again I only know what I have been told by conflicting people, but been around long enough to know that this young man is strong, determined, independent, kind and is always doing the right thing.  I mean doing right thing as always wishing his Step mom happy mother’s day, making sure he’s dividing his time between families, basically showing up to be part of a family regardless of circumstances.  As for his older brother, he checked out long ago.  Older brother shows up when he can’t get out of it, like Christmas dinner etc.   It appears both boys have a better relationship with their own mom, and that tells a tale all in itself.  I’m sure older brother who was about 6-7 years old when the home was split, must be a little angrier towards the Step Mom.  Older brother is successful, independent and lives further away than my daughter and fiancé.  My daughter in which I described earlier is a very loving and kind young lady. As her parent, she has never given us any grief.  Her fiancé and herself are ones who would rather avoid drama or any kind of atomicity and often pacify to keep everyone happy.  So bottom line, they are good people who do not deserve what they have been given during this already difficult time planning wedding during Covid19, protests, riots, looting and election year.

It started off romantic

In the Summer of 2019 my then daughter’s boyfriend asked my husband and I if he could ask our daughter to marry him. We were ecstatic, and absolutely gave our blessing. He had purchased a beautiful, sparkly and a fair size diamond ring. As I mentioned before they had a trip, to Barcelona. This is where he popped the question. The planning began, they had their vision and it was coming along great.  I didn’t have to do much, as they were doing it all.  It was kind of a relief, and knew that my daughter was being smart and planning a with a budget that met what we could afford. It was going to be in a beautiful Garden venue close to the Ocean. They had lined up all the vendors for the food, lighting, the rustic wood tables, DJ, Dessert bar, Bar tender, flowers, it was a beautifully planned wedding. Then along came COVID-19.

Four Months until wedding

So four months out, we had a lot of hope and were optimistic that COVID-19 wouldn’t cancel their dream wedding.  COVID-19 peaked, and was appearing to ease.  Stores, we’re opening and it appeared we were progressing. Stage 1, then stage two and then 1 month before wedding we were entering stage 3 in additional stages and requirements.  It was looking good, reports showed religious ceremonies a go, restaurants a go, bars open. All looks good for a wedding!  It was just about now, at the one month that the SMOG started the Family Feud. Funny thing was, my Future SIL, his Step Mom, Brother, Cousin and sister had just aired on the game show “Family Feud”.  Anyhow… 1 month and all the drama with SMOG, this is one-week shy of Bridal Shower, and we all know how that went down.  We are now at 3 weeks out and venue says, hold your brakes!  They now can only have 75 people for a wedding, and no reception. Went from 207 guest invited, due to covid and traveling across US borders and some of the guest that are higher at risk as elders or have underlining conditions opted out.  We were at a solid 150.  How do we cut this in half? What about the reception, that’s the fun part where we get to celebrate the Bride and Groom?

This brings us to today 6-22-2020

So with only 75 people allowed, we are looking for a restaurant or venue to accommodate at least 100 people for a dinner or a small reception.  Original Garden venue also wants to charge $2000 for just a 75 person wedding?  Little steep in comparison to what we were getting before.  So we are at the starting line, trying to figure this out in a three-week time.

My final thoughts

I want my daughter to have the most beautiful wedding she can possibly have under the current conditions.  We have thousands of dollars already invested in vases, votive candles, napkins, venue, caterer, photographer, and all the furniture and lighting vendors, the dessert table… and so on.  It must make sense, and not steer to far from her vision or the budget.  I suggested a “Backyard” wedding, which I know sounds trashy.  I have a pretty large size backyard, and it’s a blank slate for however her vision can transform it into.  It can hold 100-120 and they could utilize all the items that are already paid for and they wouldn’t go to waste.  My brother had his reception here 22 years ago, and we could make this backyard wedding look like a tropical garden in the middle of our City if she wants. Believe me, I don’t want it at my home.  It would be a lot of work!  We are already exhausted from all the drama and just wish this damn Covid-19 would go away and stop interfering.  Just pray for my daughter and her soon to be husband, pray that they find a new venue that fits the vision they both have.  They will soon learn that marriage is hard, and it takes sacrifices, and compromising to make it last as long as my husband and my marriage has.  We will be celebrating 30 years next May.  COVID-19 may stop these two youngsters from taking a honeymoon until next year, maybe we can do a 2ndhoneymoon with their first! LOL

[comicteaparty]

March 9th-March 15th, 2020 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from March 9th, 2020 to March 15th, 2020.  The chat focused on HoverGirls by Geneva Bowers.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

Comic Tea Party

BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on HoverGirls by Geneva Bowers~! (https://hovergirls.com/)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace until March 15th, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Discussions are freeform, but we do offer discussion prompts in the pins for those who’d like to have them. Additionally, remember that while constructive criticism is allowed, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic! Whether you finish the comic or can only read a few pages, everyone is welcome to join and chat with us!

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 1

1. What did you like about the beginning of the comic?

2. What has been your favorite moment in the comic (so far)?

3. Who is your favorite character?

4. Which characters do like seeing interact the most?

5. What is something you like about the art? If you have a favorite illustration, please share it!

6. What is a theme you like that the comic explores?

7. What do you like about the comic’s story or overall related content?

8. Overall, what do you think the comic’s strengths are?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

It's so eye catching!

The bold color scheme immediately creates a strong identity for the comic

The contrast between the two MCs is

I'll comment more when I've read past literally just the first page lol

eli [a winged tale]

Wow I love the art! Very beautiful palette and interesting characters right off the bat (pun intended!). Great dynamics between our two mains and love the magic so far!

mcapriglione (Falconhyrste)

yall I heard you were talking about hover girls and I came running

I just caught up like yesterday because I'm sick so I've spent the whole day reading comics, also I picked up a physical copy from geneva at c2e2 and that's what got me started on the series!

What stands out to me so much is the characters, jalissa and kim are total opposites, and it's really interesting to see them interact with each other. also the little things in the background that tell more about the characters, like jalissa's love for soap operas and kim's references ahaha

RebelVampire

So time for me to jump into the chat. What I like about the beginning is that it starts you off with this sort of beautiful artwork and magical feel, only to drop the mundane on you with the coffee shop and the obsession with ranking on social media. Something about how this starts really gives me this sort of more modern day magical girl feel that usually isn't quite there. Like it's a bit gritty feeling cause life is gritty, and I like that. As for favorite moment in the comic so far, I'm partial to when the girls discovered their powers. I like how it just sort of happened, and the different reactions they had to it. It was both magical and funny. Also for the reasons below. My favorite character is Jalissa, no content. Jalissa is basically my spirit animal. Doesn't want fame, just wants to catch up on the soaps, but somehow winds up with more energetic people. All of Jalissa's reactions to everything are great and I love it. For characters interacting, really it has to go to Jalissa and Kim. They're such polar opposites I think you'd have to try to NOT enjoy it. But either way, that opposites thing really just makes their interactions endearing and interesting since going in you know they'll disagree and yet somehow wind up doing the same thing together anyway. So I really enjoy that about their relationship.

As for the art, I really just love the color design combined with the style. It has a very whimsical feel that works for the abundant blue schemes and I really just adore every bit of the atmosphere it creates. For themes, I like that the comic explores ego. Like that moment where Kim asked if she was getting too full of herself really hit home. And I like that the comic kind of explores that even if you know that you might get egotistical and all high and mighty, its not the easiest thing in the world to stop either. For the story's overall content, I'm just gonna point to what I liked about the beginning. I like that its a bit more mature, modernized magical girl story where the magical girls are adults. That's probably just bias in that I'm an adult so I relate more to adults.

Comic Tea Party

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 2

9. What do you think Jalissa’s backstory and relationship with her family is? How do you think Jalissa will continue to change as the story progresses, and what will Kim’s role be in it? Further, how will Kim change?

10. Why do you think Kim was suddenly possessed, and how dangerous are they? Can Kim be saved from it? Additionally, why was the person who possessed Kim surprised Jalissa also had powers?

11. Do you think Jalissa and Kim will succeed as magical girls and become popular? Why or why not? Additionally, how might this change the future plans each has decided upon for their career?

12. What do you think this comic teaches us about pursuing our dreams and responsibility? What has been your favorite moment in the comic so far that deals with these themes? Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

gee

Hello CTP! This is the creator of HoverGirls c: I want to thank you all for taking the time to read and discuss this comic! I bet you're all pros at what makes a good story, so it's really humbling to know that it's liked so far. I'll be happy to answer any q's about story, chars, etc. And it was super nice to finally meet you @mcapriglione (Falconhyrste) and hope you feel better!

mcapriglione (Falconhyrste)

Aaaaa hey welcome to the chat @gee !

Tantz Aerine (Without Moonlight)

Ok I just finished reading the entire comic start to finish. I have to say I'm not only impressed by the wonderful art and refreshing color scheme that makes me think of wild summer, but amazed that I find myself invested in this story! Usually it's not my cup of tea at all, but Hover Girls are going to clearly be the exception. I'm adding this to my comic bookmarks The first thing I have to give my kudos for is the sheer character design and characterization. I had sincere, and in Kim's case, almost visceral reactions to both girls, and the Korean guy (his name sounds Korean). While Jalissa intrigued me from the start, Kim got under my skin to the point I found her insufferable! It is only in the last few pages with her backstory flashback that I somewhat feel sympathy for her. I love the interaction between these two, and also how the story is paced so that we get to gradually become aware of more layers and nuance in the relationship they have. Jalissa's love and concern for Kim was clear to me from the start, while Kim's not so much. She (Kim) came across to me as immature, self-centered and inconsiderate. Later, when we see more of their history, I got to see the concern and love from Kim's side too. That's excellent writing to go with the excellent art. I also really like the premise with the alien creatures! I am intrigued and want to know more. Finally, I want to talk about the humour in the dialogue and the art in general. I love how there's a streak of black humour throughout the comic. My favourite character is (in case you didn't infer it yet) Jalissa, but I like the entire cast. They need each other to organically bounce off each other and develop. And lastly, I have to mention the really fun brand names and soap titles. Always makes me grin. Wonderful work @gee !(edited)

RebelVampire

I get the impression that Jalissa was a typical delinquent and that her parents werent around much - hence the delinquency. And so I imagine it's a bit strained at the best of it. I think Jalissa moving is her attempt to turn things around, and I think that is what will happen. Jalissa will become more responsible, take more of a sense of duty, etc. Which is what I think will happen with Kim, along with a healthy dose of gaining some humility. As for why Kim was suddenly possessed, maybe the weather? Regardless, 100% I'm sure Kim can be saved. Only bad villains monologue so Kim got taken over by a bad villain. As for why Jalissa's powers are a surprise, probably a lack of communication due to alien bureaucracy. Jalissa and Kim will definitely succeed as magical girls if you tone down expectations to be heroes who fight crime as opposed to what we see in every anime where they fight and just are completely fine and sparkly. As for becoming popular, maybe for a bit, but honestly, probably not. The internet is fickle so sure they might get a viral video....but then everyone will move on. I think it will mostly only change Jalissa's plans as she's finds there are more important things in the world than soaps. As for what the comic teaches about pursuing our dreams is that it's hard. My favorite moment is actually Kim checking if anyone liked the pic and it was just Jalissa. The world is saturated with talent, and even if you have the drive, the skills, etc., getting noticed is kind of a slog. But I think Kim shows us at least might as well keep trying.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I had the opposite reaction as @Tantz Aerine (Without Moonlight) ! Jalissa irritated me at first, while I liked Kim. But then, when I saw Jalissa's genuine kindness, I liked her more, and when Kim started showing her flaws- how she's kind of self-centered and naive, I started to like her less. That's not to say I think this comic has bad writing, though! I like how the author has given everyone such realistic flaws. I went through a lot of cycles of liking and disliking the characters, and I think that reflects how it feels as you get to know some people irl. These characters are complex!

Seeing stoic Jalissa get truly angry at Kim was powerful.

I like the detail of Jalissa keeping her bat in her backpack's water bottle holder

"Only bad villains monologue so Kim got taken over by a bad villain. "

Rebel, that made me laugh

I think it's true too(edited)

chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]

+ü´´´´´´b n#ä+ß

Tantz Aerine (Without Moonlight)

@Eightfish (Puppeteer) it's exactly that we get different and real reactions to these characters that is the proof of excellent writing. We react differently, but we react as if they were real people and that's an absolute win!

mathtans

Woo, my schedule's eased a bit and this looked interesting. For the discussion prompts...

1. The beginning set things up well in terms of a quickie fight and then the characters and city situation. There was humour in that too. Good tone.

2. Fave moment, as far as plot was probably Jalissa interacting with blonde boy (sorry, forget the name) in particular because it seemed to be foreshadowing. Fave moment for relatability was the phone message with "Get to the point" because I SO relate to that.

3. Tough call on character. Both mains have good qualities and I don't feel I know the others well enough yet. I suppose Jalissa for her straightforward nature and sticking to her guns (like about dresses).

4. I liked Jalissa and Blonde Boy interacting, funny enough, as I said earlier. The cousin banter is good but the former stood out somehow.

5. The art's a neat blend of emphasis in some places and less in others; also interesting how the hair is done. Not sure why that sticks out.

6. I'm very bad at noticing themes. It's neat showing what "magical girls" do in their off hours. Also the troubles with getting noticed.

7. Story's clever, and I felt suspicious of Blonde Boy from him being around during the powers acquisition, which seems to be paying off. Nice to see ladies of colour too.

mathtans

8. Comic's got a bit of everything. Magic, mystery, slice-of-life... a reader can probably gravitate to something.

Comic Tea Party

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 3

13. What are you most looking forward to seeing in regards to the comic?

14. Any final words of encouragement for the comic? Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

mathtans

9. Jalissa seems to be someone who grew up in a difficult situation and needs to blow off steam sometimes. I'm reminded of the time she punched the wall - but then within a day went to get the materials needed to fix it. I feel like she had an unhappy home life with no real outlet or people to talk to about it. Maybe the fighting evil will help, or at least give her a sense of accomplishment. Kim needs to be a bit more grounded in reality, and I suspect will, although at the same time you kind of hate to see it happen, like the death of innocence or something.

10. I wondered if possession was always part of the plan against Kim (once it happened), and that's why the water beings were around, like they're trying to get access to the powers... though it's seeming like it was always something inside her, she was simply able to suppress the feeling for a time. Until she was at a low point emotionally.

Actually, I always thought BlondeBoy had something to do with the attacks, and in the scene between him and Jalissa (the earlier one in the alley) you saw hint of blue in the art, and one wonders whether he was acting normally. I wasn't sure if it was a subconscious thing or a conscious thing. Now I wonder if Kim wasn't manifesting the items herself on some subconscious level, wanting something to defeat. Though maybe he still had a hand in it too.

Of course, maybe the weather has something to do with it too, as Rebel remarked on.

mathtans

11. I feel like their power as magical girls is possibly tied to the presence (or at least strength) of the enemy, otherwise why wouldn't it make the news more? (Granted, could be obliviousness by the populace, but this seems to be reinforced by the current plot elements.) As such, their magical days seem numbered... unless they could fight against regular mundane foes? I dunno. The world doesn't seem to care much about supernatural either.

mathtans

Maybe they should change their name? Hovering doesn't sound too aggressive, and I don't think they do it that much anyway. Granted, DampGirls isn't catchy, and H2OGirls is a bit clinical. ^.^

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

I love this comic! The two main characters play incredibly off each other, and there's lots of great comedic moments. My fav is Jalissa.

I wonder if it is the weather that's causing these possessions? Because, like, the flying fish attacks in general are tied to the rain. Maybe particularly rough rainstorms cause possessions? I feel like the thing that possessed Kim and the boy was what brought about the powers in the first place - the energy that came down from the sky on the beach. It's odd how the blonde dude didn't seem to use powers but got possessed first, while Kim uses her powers the most and got possessed second... maybe Jalissa has an easier time resisting because she has the strongest will?

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

@snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights) I don't think Jalissa can get possessed- Bob said that his soul was split in two, and Jalissa got the powers while Korean guy got the mind

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

ah yes, that's true

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

@mathtans I like "Hovergirls"! It's cute and catchy

gee

The title I still don't 100% like, TBH. I legitimately thought on it for a week before starting on this comic and still couldn't think of anything better XD

RebelVampire

What I'm most looking forward to in the comic is probably just more Jalissa in general and finding out why Jalissa is the way Jalissa is. Overall though, this is a beautiful comic with a great combination between modernization and magical girls with just the right hint of maturity that makes it more appealing for an adult. Definitely would recommend to adult fans of magical girl stories!

mathtans

To be clear, I had no issue with the title of the comic... with some comics there's only an offhand reference too. I guess I was more picturing the ladies arguing, were Jalissa to get more into it.

As to the rest of the questions, I think the comic can show that reality is somewhere between the two of them (though they do play off each other very well) as far as dreams and responsibility go. I'm vaguely curious to know whether the alien might be having a positive (or negative?) influence on BlondeBoy, who seemed a bit of a jerk from the lens of the others.

The world building is well done too, like I could even see spinoffs... these aliens apparently just sent a couple emissaries to Earth, maybe there's some sort of space force out there fighting too. Maybe they see Kim's videos and want to recruit her. Or hire her for public relations. idk.

Anyway, looks great, definitely an interesting read and nice showcasing of things you don't see other places, best with it!

gee

Huge thank you all CTP group for giving HoverGirls a read! I cannot thank you enough for giving your time and thoughts on this story and it’s been incredibly helpful and encouraging!!

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

It was a great read, gee!

Comic Tea Party

BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about HoverGirls this week! Please also give a special thank you to Geneva Bowers for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked HoverGirls, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: https://hovergirls.com/

Geneva’s Store: https://gdbee.store/

Geneva’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/gdbeeart

[littleliv1]

Good Company- Brian May One Shot

A/n: this is for one of my favorite fic writers @rogersben, everything Nadia writes is gold. Please read them!!

Summary: After being married for a few years, Brian and reader decided to start trying. They find out they’re expecting! But expecting what?

Warnings: mentions of sex, lots of love(:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

First trimester

The first three months for you were awful, to say the least. This took place around July. Who knew pregnancy could be so brutal? Then again, growing a life inside of you can’t be too pretty. Brian was so happy when you told him the news, he cried, and kissed you and then your belly immediately. You started to cramp really bad. So bad, it felt like severe period cramps. They got so bad that you went to your doctor, who calmed your nerves when she told you it was 100% normal and that everything was okay, the heart beat was as strong as ever and the baby was growing at a normal rate. So going home, you were happy. And the cramps stopped after that. Brian started to play piano, singing to the growing fetus. But while the cramps were gone, the morning sickness monster was no friend and was merciless. But Brian was always one step ahead of you, always made sure you fell asleep with your hair back so you wouldn’t have to worry about it when you got up in the early hours. But he still woke up before you, making some warm tea right as you got up to throw up. He also brought you some water. He caught on to your cravings and sudden dislikes when it came to food or scents, and made sure you had what you loved the most and god forbid anyone come near you with pickles. The smell of them disgusted you. The whole band was acting as if it were their baby. They began to spoil you, treating you to fancy desserts and choco-banana smoothies because for some reason that’s all you wanted. You constantly worried about the health of the baby, because you knew the first trimester is where most miscarriages happened. “My love, dearest, please stop stressing,” Bri said, rubbing your belly while you laid on the back pour him with him. Looking at the stars always calmed you both down. “I read a pamphlet that said a mother can experience a miscarriage from intense levels of stress. Our baby will be okay,” He said, reassuringly.

Second trimester

Before you knew it, you were going on your 16th week of pregnancy. And boy was your baby growing. As nervous as you were, it felt like your baby knew and wanted to calm your stress by growing as much as it cold to prove how well it was doing. You would find out the gender in a few short weeks, and do a gender reveal at a Christmas party. You wanted to wait later to find out, so you knew what it was for a fact. “You know,” Bri started, as he fed you grapes. “I Think its a girl,” He said. You smiled, chewing on one, taping your fingers on your chin, resting your elbow on the kitchen table. “I think it’s a boy, I can feel it,” you said, rubbing your small bump. You were showing more and more every week, but since you weren’t and never have been the skinniest girl in the world, your bump still wasn’t too big. “Mmm no, I think at a girl.” He said stubbornly, popping a grape into his mouth. “And what if it’s not?” You asked, as he fed you another. “Then I’ll teach him how to treat a woman. You should always hold the door open for them, and always tell them yes. Unless you should say no, then you say no.” He said, laughing at himself, and that made you laugh. “But I think it’s a girl. And if it is, she will be just as beautiful as her mother. As pure, as perfect, just like her mother. As funny as her daddy, as musically inclined as him as well,” He said, adjusting his imaginary bow tie, earning a laugh from you.

A few weeks go by, you’re five months, and it’s the early Christmas party you all had planned. It was the whole band, Miami was there, your parents, the bands’ parents and siblings, so much love in one room. The party was so much fun, lots of food, and cuteness. You an Brian decorated the house for everyone. You insisted you go all out this year, because you may not next year with a new baby. Everyone sat in the living room, as you brought out a tray of Christmas cookies, and Brian brought over the big box from underneath the tree. His dad whipped out a brand new camera to record this moment. You had a tally of what everyone thought the baby was. Half and half it seemed. They counted down from three, and on one you both opened the box as pink little balloons and paper flew from the box. You all were so happy. A little girl, someone who you could give your wedding dress to, someone who you could teach to do her hair and make up. Your baby girl. Brian picked you up, spinning you around. “Oh my love, I told you! I was right!” He sat you down, kissing your belly. After the party was over, you were in a sports bra and yoga pants, rubbing lotion on your belly on the balcony looking at the sky. You were told it helped with stretch marks. Brian came up from behind you, rubbing some more on it for you. He placed warm kisses on your neck. Your belly was nearing huge on a scale rating bigness. “I love you, (y/n). I love you and this baby girl. More than anything. More than my music, more than the sky, more than my clogs, and you know that’s saying something,” he said, causing you to slightly giggle, placing your hands on his as he rubs the lotion in. “I love you, soon-to-be daddy,” you said, closing your eyes. “Watch it, missy, last time you called me that, this happened,” He said pointing to your belly, making you laugh harder.

Third trimester

You were downright huge. Valentine’s Day was just around the corner. You were out with Mary and Veronica. “Holy cow, (y/n)! You look like you’re pregnant with an elephant!” Mary joked. You laughed looking down. “I really do,” you said. “I don’t even think I was that big when I was pregnant,” Veronica said. “I appreciate you guys coming with me. What is a near full term woman supposed to wear for Valentine’s Day and still look sexy?” You asked, walking the streets of London. “Anything for you girl. You said you have your underwear picked out, let’s talk dresses that make the girls pop.” Veronica said, Mary staring at your belly. “How do you even have sex with a watermelon between you?” She asked, making you laugh. “Haha, it’s easier than you think. A lot of side action, sometimes you have to get creative.” You all spent the whole day shopping. You started having Braxton Hicks during this time in your pregnancy. It wasn’t anything new. Brian knew how to help, and that was to rock your hips side to side, and most importantly for him to make them seems like no big deal. The less of a deal he made about it, the less stressed you were. You felt safer. That is, when your due date neared, the contractions continued. You had gone into labor, but you were at 2 cm for 27 hours. As soon as you were about to go in to be induced, your water broke. Brian, staying calm, grabbed the hospital bag. “Ready to have a baby?” He asked you, looking into your eyes. You nodded, smiling as he placed a kiss onto your forehead. “Let’s go have our girl.”

[theonceoverthinker]

OUAT 4X10 - Shattered Sight

Today, Emma and Elsa attempt to break the latest curse to hit Storybrooke! But what will be the prICE of such an action?

...These puns are awful! And they must be a pain in the GLASS for you all to read! XD

Okay, there’s a review under the cut, so be COOL and check it out! (How did it take me ten episodes of this arc to come up with a “cool” pun?)

Main Takeaways

Past

It’s kind of hard to revisit this flashback. And that’s not because I don’t like it. I really do. The story points, actions, and framing hit every note they need to. Emma is completely sympathetic, we can see very clearly how things were going so well for Emma and Ingrid only to fall apart, and the pacing works so well as to make their relationship feel organic.

When I say it’s hard to revisit this episode, it’s because I realize I wanted to ask myself how much Ingrid loves Emma and how much of her actions are driven solely to get herself a sister. It didn’t occur to me until the cocoa scene with Emma and Ingrid that that was something I even needed to think about, but once I did, it became something I didn’t want to ignore either.

Because it is a question worth asking. In so many ways, Ingrid succeeds in making Emma feel loved, valued, and special. She sees what makes Emma tick and addresses those problems and Emma’s life improves as a result. So how much of that was Ingrid loving Emma for just being Emma and how much of it was loving the person that Emma would become.

Obviously, the latter plays into the narrative. There’s a line at the carnival where Ingrid says she wants to be like a big sister to Emma, which, in addition to being an awkward line, does remind the audience that for as much as Ingrid’s making Emma happy, that motivation of her being the third sister is never too far away from the front of her thoughts. And speaking in terms of the broader narrative, Things go wrong when Ingrid focuses too much on the sister Ingrid wants Emma to become and not on who she is and the fact that she’s still growing both as a person and her abilities.

That said, there’s also a scene in the present which segues into the past where Ingrid looks at her stolen memories and lovingly pulls out hers of the moment she announced her intentions to adopt Emma. And when Ingrid gets to know Emma and spends the time really communicating with her (Ex. Giving Emma pranking advice), there seems a genuine growth of love for the person Emma is beyond the magic. And in the end, when Ingrid dies, when she won’t use her as a sister, still calls Emma special in a loving way.

After rewatching the episode, I think it’s a bit more nuanced than 100% of the way one way or the other, but I do lean a little bit towards mostly loving her because she was a sister. It’s a bit more narratively concrete in how its portrayed by the text and it allows for Ingrid’s final revelation regarding Emma as she dies to feel more like her arc’s come full circle.

Present

This is probably the funniest episode of the series. The Shattered Sight curse is both shown to be a force of intimidation but something that’s given liberties to be funny as hell due to the little planning everyone was able to do before it hit. Everyone’s giving their heart and soul into making their performances something so off the walls and hammy that there doesn’t need to be a long-lasting effect of it while still touching upon points that one could reasonably expect them to make. And at the same time, the violence going on both in the police station and out in the streets is effective in painting this curse as something that does need to be stopped while still allowing for us to go along for the ride and enjoy it!

Okay, now let’s move on to the less than fun part of this review.

The actual defeat of the Shattered Sight curse...well, there’s no kind way to say it: It kind of sucks. So much gravitas is put on Emma being the one to defeat Ingrid and unlike other subversions of that setup such as the one found in the Zelena arc, it doesn’t work as well here. I get the nucleus of what they were trying to do -- Ingrid’s defeat is supposed to be the culmination of Ingrid’s character, not Emma’s and Ingrid’s problem was the way she refused to accept family that didn’t come equipped with magic and Anna being the one to set her straight sounds right on paper. There is a part of me that likes that decision in that respect and was built up well enough with the message in the bottle from the premiere. It solves Ingrid’s problem. The problem with that approach comes down to two things. First, Ingrid isn’t the character sticking around after this arc: Emma is. Second, it ignores all of the buildup of Emma accepting her magic and makes the resolution feel shallow. While yes, Emma accepted her magic two episodes ago, just the fact that Snow was pointing out how it would be used in defeating Ingrid showed that this arc wasn’t done just yet. And the fact that Emma isn’t the one to take Ingrid down stands out even more in the face of Emma being a large focus of the flashback and the further buildup of her being the Savior that’s been put into nearly every Emma-heavy episode this season thus far. So to not see her magic play a part in some way -- even if it just meant that Emma was the primary supplement to Anna reading the letter by protecting her from Ingrid’s blasts -- feels like a let down. It’s also not helped by the fact that the sequence is stretched out by Ingrid needing to almost knock Anna, Elsa, and Emma out to read the letter, stretching it out.

Stream of Consciousness

-Look at that fabulous mohawk! How much money does that dude need to pour into hair gel every day?!

-I love how the realms of story are so inherently hammy that Ingrid doesn’t even question Madame Faustina’s giant act until she fucks up! XD

-Why is no one attacking Ingrid? XD Like, I’d want to fuck up her shit!

-I gotta wonder how much being a Savior actually pays! XD

-”I don’t believe killing is the answer.” ...Neither does half of this fucking town.

-”If it comes down to her or the town, I’m gonna do what has to be done.” I like how Emma continues to follow the advice Regina gave in the last episode: As a ruler, one has to make difficult choices, ones you might not be okay sitting with, morally speaking, but need to make all the same.

-”This is what I get for being subtle!” That’s right! You get one of the most memorable OUAT performances EVER!

-Damn, I love how Rumple exposits his plan to Killian. I’ve said before how he’s a Magnificent Bastard, and this scene might be the best showing of that yet. Rumple’s going to twist circumstances to make himself the hero without even a shred of guilt and I love it. It’s so Saturday Morning Cartoon Villain-y! XD

-I also love how there’s more than one night where the stars in the sky match up with the stars in the hat.

-Is it bad that I really want to try Carrot Sherbert now? Like, Ingrid’s plan would’ve been exposed in seconds by the same people who try all of the Oreo flavors (Which is me)!

-I wonder, do you think the ribbons also make them immortal?

-I know that on some level, spooking Kevin should be a parenting no-no, but given how much of an asshole that kid is and that the spider was rubber, I am totally on board with this revenge!

-Ingrid looks so cute in her PJ’s!

-Did really no one want to beat up Killian outside of Will Scarlet? XD

-”Those things sound terrible, but they’re also romantic. Can’t you see that?” When did Anna become such an accurate voice of the fandom? XD

-”I killed the Evil Queen’s mommy and I said I’m sorry, but I didn’t mean it.” Is it bad that a large part of me is pretty happy about that considering how bad the handling of the aftermath of that murder was in Season 2 was? XD

-”Maybe without an equal, but not without an opposite equally as strong.” PHYSICS SAVES THE DAYYYYYY!!!!! XD

-”Emma, you’re a bit prickly, but you’re certainly not hatable.” Elsa, you are my girlfriend now! I don’t make the rules! <3

-I love how Emma knows Regina well enough that she knows EXACTLY how to make her hate her enough to destroy the ribbons.

-”This is a great lesson, Emma. If you push yourself and ignore the flickering lights and the distractions of this world, you can accomplish anything.” Okay, I know that this line is played semi-seriously, but how long do you think Ingrid herself was distracted by said flickering lights and distractions? Because Killian and Zelena have had their share of having to adapt to our modern world. I bet Ingrid did too and for far longer since she didn’t have friends to teach her! Like, just imagine Ingrid on a subway for the first time! XD

-Okay, baby Emma’s face as Ingrid tells her she’s gonna be adopted actually makes me cry. Like, this girl has been passed over so many times and finally, she thinks she’s going to get a real home with someone who she loves and loves her. And just knowing that that doesn’t work out makes me lose my shit with tears and feels!

-”The next part should be easy for me.” “What’s that?” “Be prickly.” I love this subtle bit of sass from Emma.

-I like how Emma has to take a pause and process “garden topiary!” XD

-”Dirty? I bathe quite frequently, thank you very much.” XD This line always gets me.

-I like how Kilian first tries to get through to Henry to open the door before forcing his way in with the potion. That was a nice and subtle way of showing respect for Henry’s judgment.

-Given how many schemes Henry’s put together, need I even ask his favorite movie after such a clear “Home Alone” stunt.

-I like how this scene between Killian and Will is basically a meta-narrative about how the season treats him as a whole. Will’s a funny distraction that takes up time, but is so avoidable and inconsequential in the grand scheme of things.

-Not gonna lie, I think Harry might actually be more powerful than even Emma at her most adept. Look, I love her, but Harry’s naturally talented and received the education necessary to understand his full potential as a magic-yielder where as Emma’s had a few lessons, but has otherwise mostly been going off of instincts and the odd book she and Belle find.

-Damn, baby Emma coming to the conclusion that Ingrid’s a psychopath is utterly heartbreaking :( .

-I LOVE how Regina pulls David into this for his whining!

-I also love how apparently, the Shattered Sight curse has no effect on anyone’s love for baby Neal! XD

-Dude! Regina has a sword with a black blade! That is the absolute coolest thing ever!

-Damn, Ingrid’s outfit as she enters Storybrooke is ALSO super cute and stylish! Fuck what I said earlier! This woman knows how to adapt!

-I LOVE the spinning camera effect as Ingrid wills herself into Storybrooke! Also, I like the story point that Ingrid, like she advised Emma to do, trusted her instincts as she looked for her third sister before pulling out the scroll, as this scene implies that this was the first time she used it.

-Ingrid, they don’t want to be your sisters! And you’re really more their aunts than anything. STOPPPPP! Girl, you’re looking desperate! XD

-...The most unrealistic thing this show has put in front of me is that Henry’s favorite ice cream flavor is cherry vanilla! What the hell, show?! XD

-”DO NOT WAKE MY BABY.” She might not, but you definitely will screaming like that! XD

-This fight scene between Snow and Regina is so hammy and I love it! Hell, even the music is along for the ride! Listen to how over-the-top it gets!

-”I WAS 10!!!!” BEST LINE!

-Ingrid’s death music is goosebump-inducingly beautiful!

-Okay, Dopey is so fucking adorable throughout this whole episode! He will not get mad at or attack anyone, chooses to stay by his brothers’ sides despite their danger, and when it’s all over, he adorably catches snowflakes! Best dwarf!

-”Well, perhaps you can say my heart wasn’t in it.” A Golden Hook scene with a PUN! Best scene!

-Good job to Killian! Listen, Rumple is just barely hearing him out and he knows it’s already a risk to ask for Emma’s safety, but he goes further and asks for everyone’s safety, risking Merlin knows what from Rumple!

-Rumple is looking to take over the world! He is officially a Saturday Morning Cartoon Villain and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t here for that! XD

Favorite Dynamic

Snow, David, and Regina. The greatest strength of this episode is how funny it is, and no dynamic is better proof of that than these three. Josh, Ginny, and especially Lana go above and beyond to deliver their hammiest performances. And not only that, the writing supplements that hamminess perfectly. Petty and ridiculous complaints are blown up to epic proportions and scathing cuts are made, but the outlandish and over the top way it’s all handled allows for the group laugh ending to make this perfect amount of sense. Additionally, we get to see a kickass sword fight, quips GALORE from all three parties, and we even see bits of the real Snow and David shine through when both their child and each other are threatened. This dynamic is just a spectacle to watch and it really made the episode an unforgettable classic!

Writer

Scott Nimerfro and Tze Chun are our writers for today’s episode. Scott has greatly improved from his debut episode and Tze’s is a solid debut himself. The exaggerated tone of this episode allows for a lower bar to entry for both writers and they absolutely nail it. Regarding that ending, I feel like they really paid attention to the first six episodes and then stopped before “The Snow Queen” got started! XD

Culture

What can I say about Ingrid?

Ingrid’s an interesting character for me. She’s the first villain since honestly Regina that’s set up as entirely Emma’s. It’s not that I haven’t liked less Emma centric villains -- if you’ve been reading these reviews, then you know I ADORE Pan and have gushed about Cora and Zelena in the past, but Ingrid’s relationship to Emma is a big point of mystery for her character and, while denied as the ultimate thing that defeats her, really gets explored throughout the half season. It fills in another tragic aspect of Emma’s past that is just as heartwarming as it is heartbreaking to watch. Additionally, she allows for the show to have an ice villain, capitalizing on the interesting threat that Elsa would’ve brought to the show if she was the villain (And that in itself creates an interesting mystery) as well as serve as a means to explore “The Snow Queen,” the original fairy tale of which Frozen is based off of. I also like her interactions with Rumple too. These two have a good dynamic that makes me think of two gods looming over the masses as if they were their playthings and the way they play chess with the lives of others and cooperate when it suits their needs is interesting.

I like the balance between making Ingrid sympathetic and disturbed. You get the sense that Ingrid really wants the connections she makes with Elsa, Emma, and even Anna in the “Family Business” flashback to be genuine. Not only that, but Ingrid very clearly loves her sisters. She wears her ribbon every day and only trades it away so she can physically join them in the outside world. But at the same time, Ingrid shows she is not above manipulating those she wants to be her sisters into doing the things she wants them to do, whether by threatening their lives or the lives of those they love, forcing the hands of those they love, or setting them up to be framed or put into a dangerous position and this is not framed as a positive thing at any point except arguably when it comes to Ingrid being a foster parent to Emma. And her comeuppance is likewise framed as something that she caused for herself because of the person who she let her powers turn her into. This is all very effective material that’s paints a complicated antagonist.

Finally, the scroll given to her is what allows people to enter Storybrooke and is alongside Anton’s beans as something that revolutionized how people traveled for the rest of the series. It opened the doors once more for people to get in and out, allowing for higher stakes in conflicts and more characters to be explored.

At the same time, she doesn’t rank as highly for me as the original usages of Pan, Zelena, or Cora. Ultimately, I feel like her biggest was in her backstory with her sisters. Ingrid’s entire motivation comes down to the fact that her sisters were unwilling to accept her, so instead, she searched for new ones. She goes on and on about how her original family rejected her and as a result, she does whatever it takes -- up to and including manipulation and murder -- to get new sisters. And we’re supposed to believe that yes, tragically, her sisters feared her. However, because the story was so dead set on Ingrid’s sisters being accepting of her and her magic until Helga’s death -- the tail end of the flashback and Gerda’s reaction to that comes off as a cliffdrop of fear more than anything -- it screws up because Ingrid’s sisters almost never feared her. Had they feared her from the very beginning and stayed with her out of fear more than love, this arc of Ingrid feeling rejected by them and wanting a new family would’ve made more sense. Instead, it makes it seem like Ingrid didn’t appreciate what she had until it was gone and Gerda was an idiot about it.

Overall, Ingrid’s a complicated presence in this series and I do like her a lot. While she’s not as cohesive in a lot of ways, especially compared to some of our past villains, there’s enough good and even great things about her to make her a character to appreciate and even love.

Rating

8/10. Apart from the less than stellar conclusion, this episode really does make all of it’s marks. It’s funny as all hell, allows for the cast to really branch out into off-the-wall over-the-top performances, and its past segment does hit the emotionally tragic core that it needs to.

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So while the Frozen Arc wasn’t all fun and games for me, I am going to miss it when it concludes next time. It’s unique and domestic and really funny at its best and introduced some great characters.

Thank you for reading as well as to the fine folks at @watchingfairytales and the awesome @daensarah! See you next time!!!

Season 4 Total (87/230)

Writer Scores:

Adam and Eddy: (16/60)

Jane Espenson: (20/40)

David Goodman and Jerome Schwartz: (30/50)

Andrew Chambliss: (14/50)

Dana Horgan: (6/30)

Kalinda Vazquez: (14/40)

Scott Nimerfro: (14/30)

Tze Chun (8/20)

*Links to the rest of my rewatch will no longer be provided. They take posts with links outside of searches and I spend way too much time on these reviews to not give them that kind of exposure. Sorry for the inconvenience, but they still can be found on my page under Operation Rewatch.

[that-shamrock-vibe]

Movie Review: The Spy Who Dumped Me

Disclaimer: I am posting this review a couple of days after the movie first screens in the U.K, so if you haven’t yet seen the movie and want to go in with a fresh mind don’t read on.

General Reaction:

Finally a female-led action movie ticks all the boxes. It has been a rocky road for female action movies both in terms of remakes (Ghostbusters, Oceans 8) and while Atomic Blonde and Lucy were critically acclaimed and praised by audiences, nothing has been built on either one.

Here however, we have a somewhat original screenplay that stars two realistic young women and the best part is the guys in the movie are not sidelined or only used to prop up the women.

Also when you consider that both Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon have both been working for over a decade, with Kunis working for 24 years and McKinnon working for 11, it is about time they had a movie that showcases their acting abilities and comedic natures in a positive light rather than coming across as annoying or grating.

While the plot for the movie is somewhat fantastical even for the more grounded installments of the spy genre in recent years such as Kingsman and Spy, it is a fun nod to the times of Austin Powers but not to the extent where it feels like they are just doing a female reboot of Austin Powers. The Spy Who Dumped Me is definitely its own thing.

The chemistry between Kunis and McKinnon as friends is 100% believable and I as an audience member could easily believe that Audrey and Morgan had been friends for years which made their interactions more genuine.

It is a great buddy movie and unlike some buddy movies that try too hard, these women are relatable in what happens to them, being dumped, oversharing with your parents, being made to feel less of yourself, particularly for women but also men these are real-world problems that can happen to anyone and that mixed into the A-plot spy-story made for a very fun movie.

Cast:

There is no real standout star of the movie because both Kunis and McKinnon are as good as each other, also the leading man of the movie Sam Heughan more than held his own.

Mila Kunis is having somewhat of a renaissance in recent years in the female buddy film genre. First with the Bad Moms franchise and now this movie which, I don’t see becoming a franchise but if it does well you never know. Of course she will always be known as Meg Griffin but, while I do not think she will become an action star anytime soon, I could see her continuing along this type of genre movie as her comfort zone.

Kate McKinnon is someone I have never put much stock into as either an actress or comedian, I know she is an SNL alumna but I have never taken the fact a comedian was from SNL as gospel for them being that funny and in fact when I have seen McKinnon act in comedies it pretty much matches how I find Melissa McCarthy these days post-Gilmore Girls which is essentially just being crude for the sake of being crude regardless of if it is actually funny. Here though it was completely the opposite, there was no unnecessary vulgarity, no cringe-worthy moments or lead balloon-style jokes.

I actually found her take on femininity to be the right amount without feeling forced or exhausted as opposed to the female Ghostbusters or even Wonder Woman, in fact Morgan trying to teach that Ukranian pig about feminism and her practically hero-worshiping Gillian Anderson’s head of the CIA character were the only examples of feminism I can think about in the movie; this was not a “Women can be spies just as well as men” type of movie it just so happened the ex-girlfriend of a spy got involved in spy drama and her best friend tagged along for support.

Sam Heughan is very much the poor man’s Chris Hemsworth both in terms of looks and comedy, both of which are compliments because I like both actors, I liked how for the first 1/3 of the movie you didn’t really know if you were supposed to support him or not and then after one or two rather brilliant action sequences he was firmly on Mila Kunis’ good side.

Something to appreciate about this movie is, with potentially the exceptions of Kunis and McKinnon, there are no big names in this movie. Even Kunis and McKinnon I would rate as C-list, B if I was being generous. But when you consider the Bad Moms movies co-starred mainly B-level actors and Spy was A/B-List, to not even have one big name even cameo in this movie is a huge gesture of support to the movie as it shows the powers that be believed the movie could stand on its own merit rather than being propped up by an A-Lister cameo.

Recommendation:

I am not going to say this is my favourite spy movie or buddy movie, the latter is still the Jump Street/Bad Moms movies and the former is Kingsman however it is up there in both and an unexpected hit for me as when I saw it advertised I was genuinely expecting a typical American comedy movie with a lot of vulgarity and ludeness however my friends saw the movie before me and praised it so I decided to give it a chance and I really enjoyed myself.