#as opposed to like... the biggest dangers to the girls are each other

[kaftan]

extremely interested to see how gender dynamics evolve in yellowjackets s2... it's clear from s1 that the relationships and power dynamics between men and women + how they change in the absence of an established Society are major themes, something something dionysian madness often being defined by reversals of social order including women having power over men.* see: travis in ep 9, see: coach ben's inability to veto the girls' decisions past a certain point. i have to say my biggest question is how travis in particular lasts all 19 months in the wilderness after having a target painted on him even before any cannibalistic cults start forming... i do not envy him one bit, that's for certain!

[thatgayb1tchwhosimps4her]

Okay so the results are in and Jackie won so, here it is. I changed the summary a little from what I said on the voting thing but I hope you guys still like it anyway :)

Summary: Jackie gets drunk and gets into trouble at the celebratory party Lottie's hosting at her house for the team winning nationals and reader has to intervene.

And as an extra thing, incase idk, but Lottie's dad pays for a coach to take them to nationals instead (since I'm headcannoning in this it's cheaper, and low key a lot less dangerous cause yk).

Also skip anything that's in colour if you don't want to read any pretty detailed stuff.

Lastly, this is gonna have some homophobic slurs in (promise it's for a reason, although they do have a line through them), which I know can be a trigger for people, so please don't read it after seeing this and then complain I didn't put a TW, because I usually don't so this is a curtesy.

@zhivaxo

*****

Your Own Personal Terminator

💖Jackie Taylor x GN/AFAB!Reader💖

Word Count: 2886.

*****

It was all gonna be over soon, both the fans and the rest of the people in the small stadium knew something had to happen or it'd go to penalties.

You watched from your place on the bench (having been benched earlier in the game because of a shitty tackle), as in one swift move, Shauna tackled the ball from the opposing teams striker running far away from them before quickly approaching another player. She looked up as she heard Nat shouting her name from further up the pitch, before passing the ball to her.

Nat had control of the ball, running up the rest of the right wing to see Tai and Lottie keeping tabs on the other teams two defenders that were near the goal, and the team captain, Jackie, free of any other players, but keeping wary so she didn't go offside, running between the two of them toward the goal. Seeing no other defenders, Nat gave the ball a rough kick, causing it to fly across the sky, landing several feet in front of Jackie.

While continuing to run as hard as she could with the ball to get a closer shot on goal, Jackie heard the rest of the team, including yourself, and the fans cheering for her to kick the ball. Taking a deep breathe, she kicked the ball a couple feet away from her before she pulled her right leg back and swung it forward into the direction of the ball, but slipping just before the kick had fully been executed, causing her to fall, making her skid on the slightly muddy grass before rolling onto it just to the right side of the goal.

Everyone in the small stadium and on the pitch gasped watching this happen as the ball soared through the air, seeing it reach close to the goalie's hands that had spread out when she dived into the air. All of a sudden, the ball hit the back of the net, causing the stands to erupt with a round of applause, causing the girls and the fans from the other team to groan.

As soon as this has happened, and the referee blew the whistle for full time just afterwards, you screamed happily and threw the ice pack you had been using for your leg onto the ground, before running limply over to your girlfriend in her spot where she was now knelt in front of the goal, as a chorus of chanting came from the cheer team as the rest of the team came running over to her.

They'd done it, the Yellow Jacket's soccer team from the small town of Wiskayok, New Jersey, had won soccer nationals for the first time in school history. Once you had run over to and embraced your girlfriend in the biggest hug ever, the two of you were quickly surrounded by the rest of the team.

Once all of you had your fun and had loosened the tight group huddle, having shouted at each other about how awesome that was enough, and people started clearing out of the stadium and the pitch, the team broke off into smaller groups starting to talk amongst themselves, leaving the two of you and a few of the others on the team talking in your small gatherings.

"You better be good a keeping your promises, Taylor." You stated to your girlfriend, holding her head softly in your hands.

"Oh baby, you know I never break a promise and I always keep my word." Jackie answered, smiling sweetly. Fuck, how you loved that smile of hers.

"You better." You replied, as the she smiled in response and you leaned in, still holding her head in your hands, and kissing her softly.

"Jesus Christ, get a room. Not everyone here wants to see you two making out." Someone behind you stated, causing both of you to pull away from the kiss and sigh softly, Jackie burying her head in the crook of your neck, blushing and giggling softly, knowing exactly who that was.

"Yeah thanks Van." You replied, remaining in your position on the field, putting your thumb up behind you, before waving her off and hearing the red head, and who you assumed to be Tai running off laughing about something else to join the others.

"C'mon," You said to Jackie, moving your legs around to stand up from being knelt on the short, prickly grass. "Let's get you cleaned up so we can head home." You added holding your hand out for her, as the blonde propped herself up on her knees rather then her previous position of also being knelt down, before taking your hand in hers, intertwining her fingers with yours, standing up and walking back locker room with the group.

-----

The two of you and the rest of the team headed back to the locker room, listening and singing along to music while showering and lightly washing some of the grass stains off of your guys' uniform and bodies, dancing in between doing that and getting changed to head back to New Jersey as winners. (I wasn't really sure on how to write this or the journey back, so I'm just gonna fast forward to the party)

-----

You (dressed in an oversized graphic comic t-shirt, black cuffed denim jeans, black leather jacket, black converse, chunky silver rings and matching silver heart necklace to Jackie's, with French braided hair, curtesy of Shauna) drove to Jackie's house and picked her up (dressed in a red mid-thigh flowy dress with white polka dots, blue denim jacket, a pair of white trainers, her gold heart necklace and neatly styled, flowy blonde hair) in your deep red Pontiac Firebird car, to drive both of you to Lottie's house, since her parents were out of town for the week, and to make up for them not being at the match let her have a party there if the team won.

Once you got there and parked up, the two of you headed inside to get a drink, greeted by Lottie and the rest of the gang trying to persuade Jackie to let her crowd surf them to celebrate, to which she declined, saying to wait until she was slightly less sober before doing that.

The 6 of you, the rest of the group (Laura Lee, Mari, Kristen, Akilah, Gen, etc), plus equipment manager, Misty (who you and Lottie had advised upon, and persuaded the rest of the group to let her be invited), started dancing and drinking inside, socialising amongst everybody there, being congratulated on the win.

Eventually, the few of you left (Mari, Kristen, Akilah, Gen, etc, either still inside or gone home) made your way outside and were gathered around yours and Shauna's car, discussing everything and anything.

After a while of talking, the group had turned to nicknames for everybody, since Van advised everybody to get one since we would be going down in the history books and should have a cool nickname. About halfway through this specific conversation, it was Jackie's turn for a nickname.

"How about 'Blue Flash'?" Laura Lee suggested, sipping on the liquid in the red plastic cup she was holding, standing between Misty and Lottie, in front of the backdoor of Shauna's car

"Mmmmm, nah." Most of you agreed.

"Sounds like a toilet cleaning brand." Nat replied, taking another hit of the joint she had rolled between her fingers, making everybody giggle.

"Haha, yeah," You said, laughing softly, "Plus we all wear blue, so it could be any of us." You added, which everyone acknowledged with some form of a nod.

"Ooooooh, I have one," Van interjected, leant against the passenger door of Shauna's car, all giddy off of her beer, "What about 'The Terminator'?" The red head suggested, causing everyone except Jackie to groan at the movie reference.

"Wait, which nerdy, sci-fi, film thing is that?" Jackie asked, sitting upon the bonnet of your car, taking a swig from the tequila bottle she was sharing with Tai and Lottie.

"It's the Arnold Schwarzenegger one with the sunglasses and the leather jacket." Shauna stated, finishing the last of her drink, while sitting on the bonnet of her car.

"Ohhhhh yeah, I remember that one. Continue." The blonde ushered, her voice echoing into the bottle.

"Do I even need to? I mean Jesus Christ, you're literally a machine, sorry Laura Lee." Van replied, apologising after. Getting a nod from the other blonde in acceptance.

"A machine, huh? Okay I'll take it." Jackie said, passing you the half bottle of tequila left, moving her feet around so they were lying on the bonnet, before standing up on it, prizing a remote from her jacket, pressing a button on it, making the music that'd been playing loud enough in the house for everyone outside to hear, to stop, causing everybody inside to groan and slowly make their way outside to see what's going on.

"What the hell are you doing? Get down from there, you're going to hurt yourself." You questioned, panicked, holding your arms out, ready to catch her if she slips.

"It's fine, I'm keeping my word, remember?" Jackie stated drunkenly, in a 'duh' tone.

"EXCUSE ME! HI, I HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY!" The blonde yelled, waving her arms in the air trying to get everyone's attention, making everyone start cheering.

"YEAH OKAY, THANKS BUT WHAT I HAVE TO SAY ISN'T ABOUT THAT, SO SAVE THE SUCK UP FOR AFTERWARDS!" She shouted.

"HI THERE, SO THIS IS KIND OF SCARY NOW THAT I THINK ABOUT IT, AND I'M ONLY PROBABLY DOING THIS BECAUSE I'VE HAD A FAIR AMOUNT TO DRINK, BUT I MADE A PROMISE TO MY FRIENDS AND TEAM MATES DOWN HERE," Jackie stated, pointing at the group of you, making the 7 of you cover your faces and wave awkwardly, "THAT I'D DO THIS IF WE WON, AND WE DID SO YEAH, HERE GOES NOTHING!"

"Oh shit." You mumbled under your breath, shading your face with your hand, knowing what was about to happen.

"RIGHT SO, UM YEAH, I'M GAY. YOU ALL HEARD ME RIGHT, I'M A BIG, FAT, LADY LOVING, LESBO, AND I AM DATING THIS AWESOME GIRL RIGHT HERE!" She stated, proudly, gesturing to you, as you raised your hand, offering a small wave. "AND IF ANY OF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH IT, THEN GO FUCK YOURSELVES OR YOU CAN TAKE IT UP WITH MY DAD! So yeah, that's it. You can clap now." She finished, playing the music again, quickly jumping down carefully from the car into your arms, turning to the rest of the group.

"How's that for being a machine?" Jackie slurred proudly, taking back the bottle from you, holding onto your forearms for support.

"You're fucking crazy." You stated, kissing her softly.

"Told you I never break my promise." The blonde replied, after breaking the kiss.

"Alright," Tai said, raising her cup in the air, "Here's to all of us being openly gay and going down in history" She added, toasting her drink, as the rest of the group cheered and did the same.

Just as you all toasted to that, and drank from your cup/bottle of choice, you heard a familiar voice behind you.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the dyke squad." Brad, the captain of the school football team, said, approaching the group, causing you all to roll your eyes in an attempt to ignore his arrogance.

"I mean, I expected the rest of you guys to be gay, but jesus christ, Y/N even turned prissy rich princess, Jackie Taylor, into a lesbo. I did not see that coming." Tommy, one of Brad's douchebag henchmen, spoke.

"Well you don't see a lot of things coming, especially people." You smirked, murmuring into the bottle of beer you were sipping on.

"What the fuck did you say!" Tommy shouted, striding up to you, getting all in your face.

"You fucking heard me, dipshit." You swore, smirking up at him, pushing him away harshly.

"Yeah, so back the fuck up, asshole." Jackie interjected, striding behind you, Van, Lottie, Tai and Nat following.

"Hey guys, come on, let's not do this here." Shauna piped up.

"Yeah, Shauna's right. Let's just call it a night and sort this out tomorrow." Laura Lee spoke up, trying to de-escalate the situation, before the six of you turned away from the two, walking back to the group.

"Yeah, listen to your little preacher friend and quit while your ahead, fags." Tommy replied, smugly.

"What the fuck did you call us?!" Jackie shouted, spinning on her heels, turning around and quickly pacing back over to them, you running after her, resting your arm around her waist.

"Hey it's okay, leave it, okay? Trust me." You said, looking at her softly.

"Yeah listen to your dykie queer, Taylor." Brad laughed.

Before even registering yourself what'd happened, Jackie broke away from your grasp, pulling her right fist back and punching him harshly around the face.

"Oh shit!" Jackie shouted, keeling over, holding her fist in her other hand at the pain of the impact.

"Bitch!" Brad fumed, holding his nose in his hands, feeling liquid pool over them.

"Crap, let's go." Tommy said, running off, Brad trailing after him.

"Oh my god!" You stated, rushing to Jackie, kneeling in front of her, the rest of the girls gathering around you.

"Son of a fuck!" She whined, raising her head softly to look at you, slightly off balanced from the alcohol.

"Here, let me look." You said, offering your hand out, as she placed her bruised fist in your hand, the group groaning at the site. "Can you open it for me?" You asked

"Jesus. H. Flaming. Christ." Jackie seethed, opening her sore, slightly blood-covered fist slowly, wincing at the pain.

"Yeah, that's definitely swollen, and very bruised." Misty piped up, being the only one with proper first aid training.

"Come on, get your ass inside. The party's starting to clear out anyway" Lottie piped up, "There's ice packs in the fridge and a first aid kit down the hall, use my room."

"Are you sure?" You asked, wanting to confirm it was okay, just in case.

"Yeah go for it, I honestly don't care. Plus, my parents aren't back for another week, that'll give me more then enough time to clean up." The brunette said, waving you off.

"Okay thanks, cheers Lottie. The rest of you guys get home, sober up and we'll talk tomorrow or something." Jackie stated, standing up straight, still holding her fist in her hand.

"Come on Cinderella, your carriage awaits." You said, opening your arms out, scooping her up and holding her in them, tucking one arm around her back, the other under her knees, making sure the skirt of her dress wasn't flapping around.

You carried her through the near empty house, gathering the ice packs and the bandages from their respected places, traipsing up the stairs with Jackie in your arms, to Lottie's room, setting her down on the edge of the bed, kneeling in front of her.

"You can't keep scaring the shit out of me like that, you're gonna give me a heart attack." You laughed, bandaging her knuckles softly.

"I know, but it's just such a pain in the ass that people think they can treat you like that. And not just you I mean everyone, why do people think they have the right to shout slurs at others just because they're slightly different to everyone else." Jackie vented, grasping tightly and releasing her other hand, to calm herself down.

"I don't know, pig-headedness I guess, or a nicer way of putting it, arrogance, or a less nice way of putting it, assholery." You shrugged off, finishing bandaging her hand, smoothing it off and kissing it softly. "But you can't go around punching people okay? We're adults now, and that's assault." You added.

"Yeah I know, still pretty cool though. I mean, like in the movies it is, but fuck they don't warn you how much it hurts." The blonde winced at the memory of the pain.

"True, but it's cause you had your thumb on the inside. You wanna punch someone really hard, you wrap your thumb around the outside, so the impact of the punch and having it on the inside could shatter your thumb." You stated, wrapping your own thumb around your hand, punching the palm of your other hand, giving off a loud smack.

"See?" You asked, flexing your hand, "No red marks and it didn't hurt."

"Ohhhhhh, that makes sense." She stated, "Although I wasn't really worried about hurting my hand, was more living up to my nickname then anything else." She added.

"Oh so you were trying to be my own person terminator or something?" You questioned, chuckling softly.

"Exactly like that. Your own personal terminator." Jackie giggled, looking at you softly.

"Well personally, I thought that was very sexy of you." You stated, leaning in closely.

"Oh did you now?" The blonde stated, leaning in closer, giggling softly.

"Mhm, very sexy, and you didn't even break a nail." You added, before closing the gap and kissing her deeply.

"I love you." She said, holding your head in her hands.

"I love you too." You replied, resting your hands over hers.

*****

Jesus Christ, it's finally done. This honestly took longer then expected and having no internet for 3 days really put a wrench in the works, but it's done and I hope you liked it. See you in the next one.

-Harlow

[moonyasnow]

I don't usually make posts that are just me randomly shouting into the void— I like putting effort and structure into my posts as much as I can— but I just got the biggest urge to gush about Junia (my lil Rainbow Parrotfish baby~)

I LOVE what Junia adds to the dynamic of Octavinelle and, by extension, the Octatrio

Idk how I did it but I just think it works so well

She's different from them in that she will actually be kind to anyone and just wants people to get along (she hates it when people get hurt) but she's still just…such a weirdo (affectionate) in a way I think matches perfectly with the other three. She's a misfit, just like them.

She's just very open and honest as opposed to secretive like Azul, Jade and Floyd. Which I think is also really refreshing to have to contrast them!

And she also has a very clear reason for being there, and a defined role in the business. She's the metaphorical light at the end of thr anglerfish's lure— a friendly, charming face who not only entertains the regular guest as Mostro Lounge as the Lounge Singer, but also makes people lower their guards and make them less wary, maybe even start to reconsider making a deal with Azul. (something something, Urusla's Nautilus necklace is meant to make her prettier and people view her more positively but she ends up drawing Ariel's voice into it and trapping it)

Not to mention she's a great advertiser. She is, just objectively speaking, very pretty, and quite charming, too. And, though I don't tend to really emphasize it a lot, I feel like she'd be really popular at NRC due to the above mention facts, plus the fact she's one of the very few girls at an otherwise all-boys' school.

Like, you cannot convince me that straight teenaged boys (of which there are many at NRC, I'm sure) surrounded by almost only other teenaged boys wouldn't be at least a little bit interested in a friendly, pretty older girl (she's 2-3 years older than the rest of her year) who sings good while wearing a pretty dress.

And as for just her friendships with the other three—

She, just like Azul, was bullied as a child, in her case because of her severe dyslexia and inability to learn to read.

I also feel like when she sees the picture of child Azul she'd instantly just go 🥺🥺🥺🥺 "You were so adorable! You looked like you would have given great hugs!"

With Jade— they infodump about special interest stuff to each other. They both have interests that are seen as 'weird' (Jade his mushrooms and Junia her macabre, bizarre and sometimes pretty violent stories and songs)

And I feel like she's definitely the one who's had to patch up Floyd after he's gotten hurt in fights the most, leading to her realizing that she actually really likes patching people up like that, also leading to her starting to wonder if she might like to be a doctor of some sort in the future.

And she's just the 'mother hen' of the group in general, telling all three of them off for either working too much or— in Floyd's case mostly— doing dangerous things that could end with them getting hurt.

Oh, and during breaks, where they stay behind at school, I can definitely see her trying to cook for as many people staying in Octavinelle as she can. Just because she likes taking care of people in ways like that. The only one who TRULY lives up to Octavinelle's 'generous' spirit without expecting anything in return.

And people tend to underestimate Junia a lot, and due to how controlling her mother was she's just used to letting people decide things for her— idk why but I'm just imagining Floyd speaking up for her saying something like "Uh, she can decide for herself, you know?"

And like, Azul complimenting her on her cooking, and Jade saying she's great at getting people to trust her—

Uuuuuuuuuu my babyyyyyyy

She deserves to have people who see and appreciate and like her for who she is instead of just seeing all the things that make her 'weird' or that she 'lacks' 😭😭😭😭😭

Tag list: @another-random-paradise @thehollowwriter @faefum @cactus13-rolloflammesimp

[cerisia76]

💅, 💖, 💔 and 🔮 for the Barbie ask game

Let's go!

💅Unpopular Barbie movie opinion: I have quite a lot to be honest but I will go on and say The Barbie movie 2023 was absolutely disrespectful of Barbie movies fans. It's the kind of movie that could have been done with any doll brand and chose to completely ignore Barbie and Ken's character, making their Ken an insult to the Ken we've seen on screen during our whole childhood. The real Ken is a kind-hearted person, who lives to be with Barbie yes, but who also has his own personality and dreams and who is happy to be a trophy-husband. The writers of this movie definitly never watched a Barbie movie or Barbie Life in the Dreamhouse. Also the fans of this movie become crazy when I say this point. Their favourite argument is "But Ken isn't real, don't talk about him as if he was alive or your lover" just because I said "Ryan Gosling's Ken isn't the Ken I know and love". I mean, this movie was the biggest disappointment I had in 2023. Also Princess and the Pauper is overrated (doesn't mean it's bad either don't worry it's amazing) and I don't get why it's considered the best Barbie movie. Top 5 or top 3? Easily but the best and if you disagree you're wrong or refusing to see the truth? Nah sorry.

💖 I'm gonna give three. My favourite character of all times, my favourite character played by Barbie and my favourite male character. If you've been following me for a long time you probably already know these three characters. Let's start with my guy:

Dominick is basically the reason why i always have too high standards. He's the guy who just wanted to find a girl who'd love him for his personality rather than his position and who was ready to do everything he could for it to happen. He's the guy who felt in love with a girl and when he realized she wasn't the person he thought she was, still took the time to discover by himself if she was that girl he had felt in love with. When he realized it, he proposed and when she refused because she wanted to go live her dream, he let her go without hesitation and was ready to wait his whole life for her to return without any certitude that she'd come back. All of this because her happiness was more important for him than his own. This is pure love and that's why I love him so much.

My favourite Barbie character is also an easy bet:

Corinne is the person I'd like to be. The nice girl who always tries her best and who's got enough self-esteem to never let anyone tell her what she can and can't do. She's a badass, she's funny, she's iconic and she's sweet. She is an amazing person but she's also really human because she has flaws. She's stubborn and goes into adventure and danger without thinking twice, never having a plan B, she's terribly clumsy sometimes and that makes her a full character because we can see how these flaws impact her in the movie.

And no surprise again, my favourite Barbie character has always been and will always be:

Alexa from Barbie and the Diamond Castle. She's the character i always related to the most. She's a good person who wants to do what's good but she's also realistic and doesn't want to die or to put herself and the people she loves in danger. She follows her emotions, sometimes too much and it can cause her trouble but at the same time it's her biggest quality. She's a beautiful soul who is put in a situation where she can't be the hero because she cares too much about her life and we needed her in the movie. Liana's "I'm always doing the right thing and being the perfect protagonist" attitude would have made the movie insufferable if it hadn't been opposed to Alexa's "I know you want to do the right thing and I want to do it too but not if it means losing my life" attitude. Like they were necessary to each other but Alexa stands out because she's the more realistic one. She's scared to be left behind when she sees her bestfriend girlfriend starting to put another girl as her priority. Is it stupid jealousy? Yes but it's due to insecurity and a terribly precure situation where you have to remember her house got burned because of this other woman. A woman she also really cares about and like but can't help feeling jealous of. Alexa is that character who's so much more than what it seems and I love her with all my heart.

💔: Okay I know some people will find it strange considering Chelsea the lost birthday exists but it's Barbie Princess Power. The reason is easy: I never watched Chelsea the lost birthday and don't plan to. While I had to suffer the watch of Barbie Princess Power three times in my life because my youngest brother kinda liked it. I just find it so bland, annoying, badly colored and just overall uninteresting that I can't stand it. And yes I think there are other movies that are worse but at least I can watch them without being so annoyed and irritated by my watching. Like really I want to jump out of the window when I watch this horrifying piece of fluo colors. Don't worry I'm watching Barbie movies on the ground floor.

🔮: That's a hard one to be honest... But I would really like to see an adaptation of Snow White and Rose Red. Like this fairytale was one of those I was reading again and again in my childhood. I would love to see Barbie play Snow White and Barbie (Brooklyn) or Teresa play Rose Red. They don't have to be sisters but I'd like the story to follow the same path with the bear being a prince, Snow White falling in love with him and marrying him but at the same time I want to see Rose Red meet the prince's cousin, a girl, and progressively fall in love with her. I would like the dwarf being really mean and actually causing trouble and the girls seeing it, still try to help him because they are nice but then, realize not everyone deserves the kindness you give them. The bear/prince deserved it because in return he was nice, polite and a good person. The dwarf doesn't because he's mean, cruel and wouldn't have hesitated to kill the girls if it meant he would be safe. That would be a good call-back to the movies we've had in the 2000s but also include some themes we talk about more in today's world.

[ask-everafteracademy]

Sooo Lavinia? Thoughts? And if you could, is there anything you'd change about how they handled her character?

Ooh. Hm. Alright, full transparency, not the biggest Lavinia fan. And it's a shame really, because her route and her character did have a lot of great potential to it. My main issues were how the general plot with the flower charm felt recycled from Ezra's route (not the writer's fault, it likely wasn't planned for her to have a route at the time it was written), but it still felt kind of cheap. Also wasn't a fan of the way the lore and underlying plot of the series was glossed over. Yes, I'm aware that the purpose of Lovestruck was romance first, but when the rest of the routes focus a lot on the plot, having one that doesn't really makes it stand out in all the wrong ways. That and the way Lavinia was characterized left a lot to be desired. As an immortal powerful queen, you'd expect her personality to reflect that. However, throughout the route, she felt more like a whiny teenager going through a rebellious phase. Which sucks because again, she had so much potential. Still, I mean no disrespect towards Lavinia fans, she's clearly very popular so maybe it's just an us thing. But I'd much rather read Ezra's route, and I'm saying that as a lesbian lol

-Lightkeeper

I can appreciate how positioning a "villainous" character like Lavinia as a love interest helps us see the main cast from an opposing point of view, to showcase their flaws and a contrasting side to them, likely poising to make a statement on morality. It often was very entertaining to see everyone butt heads! I was really curious to see how she would have grown from villainous to perhaps virtuous, so I'm disappointed we'll never know now.

I have to agree with Lightkeeper in that a lot of Lavinia's route seems to borrow from Ezra's. Their relationship dynamics certainly resemble each other. Both began adversarial and argumentative, and through those arguments the LI warmed up once FMC earned their respect. Though Lavinia's feelings for FMC shift from respect into devotion when FMC proves she's a rare individual who extends her compassion and benefit of the doubt, and even faith in her ability to become a better person. EAA's overall theme of the transformative power of love rears its beautiful head once again. (At least, I hope I'm remembering their dynamic correctly.) Maybe upon closer reading, and a long overdue reread, of both routes, I'll be able to better appreciate the differences between Ezra's and Lavinia's romances.

Taken by itself, Lavinia's characterization was fun, as your sort of archetypal delinquent/bad girl hiding heartbreak this time with a fairytale twist, but it was sadly that—just sort of archetypal. Considering she's a centuries-old entity with fairy blood lacking a piece of her heart, I think it would've been really cool to see that reflect in the way she relates to and is seen by humans. Ethereal, whimsical, dangerous? Creepy and unsettling, imposing and mysterious and utterly alien. A force of nature rather than a petulant, brooding rebel without a cause. Anything to justify her fearsome reputation and the main cast's prejudice against her? (Unless that was based off nothing but hearsay, as it was with Ezra, which could have been the entire point! but that would undermine the theme of her story as outlined by her route summary)

Put simply, I wanted to see her character concept taken further, particularly her fae heritage, which would have made the route more fun for me in a few ways. This would have 1) more heavily foreshadowed the Titania twist and made the reveal more satisfying; 2) raised questions about nature vs nurture (after all, what is Lavinia's major?); 3) distinguished it more from Ezra's story, which is about a fundamentally good person whose reputation is smeared by a third party, and made it about someone whose bad reputation is deserved and who must earn her redemption; and 4) allowed us to witness a struggle to reconcile who Lavinia initially is with the image (FMC's image?) of an ideal partner, and from that starting point, watch her become that more suitable partner.

But this is a university setting, and a fluffy romance story. If molding the Ice Queen into a figure you'd be more likely to meet at university was the goal, then I would've liked to see some clearer justification for or exploration of why she's this emotionally stunted for an ancient queen. Something to do with her missing heart shard? Maybe that was coming down the pipe. Again, we'll never know.

Overall, I wasn't terribly fond, since I do have pretty specific tastes and I readily admit that I have my own strong biases. I'm sorry to disappoint anyone looking for a more wholly positive viewpoint! But I'm glad there are people who do love her.

– Pathfinder

[fandomficticn]

upcoming fan fictions

so the fan fictions won out for my upcoming works!

now drug/eternal fans do not fret because I will still be continuing and finishing that fic. will I be writing simultaneously? you would be correct!

now, what shall be voted on today is which of my fan fics will I be writing along side of the eternals fan, "the last hope". below will be the summary of each fic and just like before, you all get to vote on which one I will be posting. whichever becomes the top vote will be the next fanfic to be written along side the last hope; the next highest vote will be the next fan fiction and so on.

gonna be honest, most of these I did already start like plotting out!

---

This is Poguelandia ( ofc x jj maybank )

Laurie Dubois was the new kook in town, with secrets that could give everyone a run for their money, but before anything could come to light, she ended up going missing. Four years later, Laurie is caught on camera, alive and well, and the hunt is on to find her. The Pogues could be the ones to find Laurie and be split the reward money and while that is enticing to JJ Maybank, he has a secret connection to the missing girl and knows there's more than meets the eye when it comes to why she went missing all those years ago.

Mr. and Mrs. Xu ( ofc x mafia!shang-chi )

Sara and Shaun come from opposing crimes families, both well-versed in undercover work. Both were sent on jobs in the States when they meet, not knowing the other's true identity. Now, years later after being married and having their daughter, the Xu's are living their secret lives while working for their families until one night changes and jeopardizes everything Sara and Shaun worked so hard to protect.

The Big Fix ( ofc x modern!anthony bridgerton )

It had been years since Anthony Bridgerton and Auralia Bell haven't been in the same room since they broke up their junior year of college. Now, almost ten years later, Auralia is the top performer at The Avalon Group, the top pr firm catering to London's finest. To get the promotion of her dreams, she is tasked with her biggest contract yet: fix Anthony Bridgerton's reputation. Auralia has to out her emotions aside and be the professional she knows she is, not thinking about the feelings that are clearly still there.

The Guardians ( ofc x ben miller )

Ben Miller is the happiest man he's ever been; his winning big with boxing with his brother and friends by his side and he's with the woman of his dreams. One day, everything gets turned upside down when she goes missing with nothing but a distress call from the other side of the world giving any insight. Now, the boys must band together for one more mission in the search of her before it's too late.

Fool's Gold ( ofc x nathan drake ; ofc x victor sullivan )

Victor Sullivan comes to Nathan Drake for a hunt of a lifetime, a hunt that he couldn't refuse. When the hunt takes them on the most dangerous path they've ever been on, up against bigger enemies than they've faced before, Nathan Drake has to decide if what's at the end is ultimately worth his life.

The Legend of Leon Winter ( ofc x simon lewis )

Leon Winter is well-known amongst the downworlders, Magnus Bane himself knew the warlock personally. Due to horrendous crimes committed by him, Leon Winters is locked away and never to be seen or heard from again. Until today. Somehow, someway, the powerful dark warlock has been freed and hell on earth is quite literally about to rain down. The only ticket to his demise is his illegitimate and unknown daughter, Cherish. No one ever knew she was his daughter nor how she could be the one to bring him down but everyone is in a race against the clock to get to her and end this once and for all.

Chrysós ( ofc x rafe cameron )

A new treasure hunt is on the horizon but this could be more dangerous than what the Pogues have already experienced. Blackbeard's treasure is the world's most hard to find bounty in the world but the Pogues are confident they can find it like they've found their last find. They must band together with Rafe Cameron and Barry when it comes to light they know the one person that has the edge to finding this treasure. OFC knows that Blackbeard had many wives and therefore many chances for descendants and she knows one of them. Could this descendant be their ticket to fame and fortune or lead to their downfall?

Don't Panic ( ofc x dodge mason )

The new season of panic is on the books and everyone's eyes are on the prize money, that being their one way ticket out of their small town. Dodge Mason knows what the money could do for his family but what take him by surprise is his old friend, Sherrie Edge, joins the game after she used to tell him that there was nothing wrong with staying in a small town. The two ex-friends are now in competition with other's in their class; the dangers are high, the secrets are big, and someone is not who they say they are...

Shimmer ( ofc x eddie munson )

Monica Nguyen usually kept to herself, little to no friends despite being on the Hawkins swim team, until a freak accident changed her and put her on the “hawkins hotties” map. Being thrust into the spotlight after being in the shadows for so long can be overwhelming but a certain long-haired dungeon master can make the obnoxious sounds of popularity die down. When outside forces come knocking on Hawkins door in search for the result of their "experiment" and the Hawkins Monster Hunting Club must band together to protect their new friend by any means necessary.

[cotyledonal]

alright. I'm going to go through each track. you have been warned.

(I have not listened to the full anthology version yet; just the original 16 tracks

Fortnight

it's fine? I don't really like this line

feels very... way too online. extremely instagram. the rest of the song is fine. I'll probably develop a stronger opinion once I've heard 20 billion times (it's clearly the chosen radio hit)

it's really funny that beyoncé, the other Biggest Deal of the current music zeitgeist, made MUCH better use of her post malone on her OWN recently-released, critically-acclaimed album

2. The Tortured Poets Department

this is the one that's sticking in my head as the most wasted potential. I love the "oh my chosen Bad Boy is actually pretty pathetic, but so am I, and I like him (and us together) anyway" concept, but.

"tattooed golden retriever"?? "the one people put wedding rings on"???? girl???? there HAS to be better ways of phrasing these things 😭

it kills me specifically bc I can HEAR the joni mitchell influence in how taylor swift is approaching this relationship, in this song and the rest of the album, but she just never grasps the timelessness that joni mitchell had when she sang about deadbeat guys!! also this comparison is making me think about comparing leonard cohen to matty healy and that's not helping !!

3. My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys

I like this one! good momentum in the production, good lyrics, no cringe moments. this is the kind of song I'll probably connect to an OC in a few months and get absolutely obsessed with. nice!!

4. Down Bad

I was not expecting alien abduction metaphors, but I'm not opposed. I AM opposed to taylor swift saying "down bad". she never sounds natural enough as a singer to make something like that work. or the constant cursing. she's the kind of artist who needs tracks that play to her strengths; not the kind who can make anything work 🤷‍♀️

5. So Long, London

another good song!! probably my no. 2 favorite on the album, which I did not think would come out of a sequel to london boy .

this is kinda corny, but she gets it over with in the first verse, which I appreciate. otherwise, the writing is PRETTY GOOD

NICE 👍 GOOD SHIT

I want to highlight how the last line of the last verse hooks vv smoothly into the beginning of the last chorus

changing "So long, London" to "(I loved this place for) So long, London"... now that's songwriting!!

6. But Daddy I Love Him

okay. first of all. from the context of the verse. it sounds like How The West Was Won represents ~freedom~ in contrast to the evil small town and Society™, which, uh. Uh. Uhhhh.

anyway, the sentiment of the entire song is basically: "screw fame (understandable), screw my fans (HILARIOUS), screw Society™, I'm gonna follow the feeling and be stupid !!" which I appreciate <3 but dear god... her writing

get off twitter

"wine moms"?? c'mon. be serious

BEING OVERWROUGHT ONLY WORKS IF IT'S INCORPORATED IN THE THEME OF THE SONG (LIKE ANTI-HERO). OTHERWISE IT'S JUST ANNOYING

7. Fresh Out The Slammer

this one was doomed by the title. the fact it's repeated often in the chorus only hurts it. there was no salvaging this. I hope you die, I hope we both die, hand in unlovable hand, etc etc

8. Florida!!!

apparently she's trying to use florida as a setting that people go to to get away from their crimes? like it's an exciting, dangerous, fresh-start-of-a-place? girl idk what your social circles think of florida, but it's national reputation is as (1) the current GOP base-of-operations (2) where rich white old people go to retire. yes I know there's plenty of crazy criminals in florida. I've been there. they are, in fact, wildin'. there's also a 1:1 ratio of golf players who own a small business back in ohio and vote republican every election for every one of those cool outlaws

this is a controversial line. personally, I think it's awkward as hell, hits the ear wrong, shouldn't have made it past the first draft, throw in the fucking fireplace, I wish I never heard/read this

less egregious, but. your home is a town? your home is a town. okay

I do love how florence is really taking any opportunity to hype up Her Girls and put down their men. I'm glad she's decided this is her vibe. god dance fever was amazing

hearing florence's easy-breezy, "I don't even have to try to sing I just was blessed by god like this" voice alongside taylor's made me realize just how PRECISE she always sounds. she hits every note like she's picking out a move on a chessboard. sometimes, this works v well for her, but other times, it just highlights her weird, stilted writing (and makes her cursing sound soooo childish and forced)

9. Guilty as Sin?

good song!!!! next favorite after So Long, London. the puritanical guilt is HITTING

if the production supported it a bit better (it's a little hokey), this would be the sexiest song she's made since Style. once again, GOOD SHIT

10. Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?

not much to say about this one. it fails in all the ways that Anti-Hero succeeded. there's a lot of moments on this album that make me feel this way, but this is the song that made me certain that Anti-Hero was a goddamn miracle

11. I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)

this is going to sound mean, but I like how short it is 😭 the whole in-and-out, here's-a-snapshot approach really works for this one; if it was a couple minutes longer, it probably would've fallen into the same pitfalls a lot of other songs on this album ended up in. instead, it keeps some groove going, and doesn't have to take itself too seriously. I like it 👍 it feels like the other perspective to I'm On Fire by Bruce Springsteen, which is a compliment on a level I hope y'all can appreciate

12. loml

rehashing of So Long, London in a worse way! I am bored! next!

13. I Can Do It With A Broken Heart

good concept, good base, probably could have stuck the landing better. the switch into the pre-chorus sounds REALLY awkward to me; but maybe that'll work for me eventually (it definitely would tie into the theme in this one, lmao). it's not hitting for me, but I wouldn't judge anyone who really loves it, yk what I mean?

14. The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived

more wasted potential... aughhhh. the verses are really good at constructing this wasted, pathetic dude, and then she honestly kind of ruins it in the bridge!!

this could've worked if the productions + her vocals went flat after the "good riddance" line; it would have implied that the previous lines were also some effort of building this deadbeat up, and even in hating him, she has to confront that he really just isn't worth it. which is what I thought it was going to do when I first read the lyrics. instead, it keeps building, implying that he is some kind of threat? the surrounding energy just gives the impression he ISN'T the smallest man who ever lived?? please 🙏 stick to the concept, it was so good :')

15. The Alchemy

cute! I like the throughline in this album about following the feeling, and this is a good resolution to it. another one where it doesn't hit too hard for me, but I def respect it

16. Clara Bow

THE BEST ONE 🎉 WE MADE IT

it's perfect in every way, no complaints, this is one of the best songs of her career happening at the exact right point in her career. I'm just going to put the full lyrics here bc They're All Good

no notes! everything here works! she stuck the landing, she captured complicated emotions with grace, she wrote her heart out but didn't make it sound forced, THE OUTRO!! she's written songs about becoming/being famous but never this well. I feel actual emotions rn listening to it! 10/10, 5 ⭐, I knew she had it in her!!

I think I'm developing my own opinion on the new tswift album: it's more frustrating than boring

[linnoya-writes]

Zutara- teenage butterflies and slowburn intimacy

One of the biggest reasons why I adore Zutara so much is that you get to see these two most mature kids in the show finally experience the awkwardness of  being teenagers with tiny butterflies in their stomachs as they get to know each other as friends, finding themselves becoming more attracted to the other.

Of course, there’s all that emotional baggage from their previous encounters in Book 1 and Book 2, being on opposing sides, but if we imagine Zuko and Katara after “The Southern Raiders,” after they hug (tightly!) and are able to comfortably hang out and poke fun at each other’s quirks... and also teaming up as the roles of “mom and dad” to the group... the gradual shift between two friends’ innocent teasing to downright flirtation would be so beautifully valid and credible.

Considering Zuko is the more guarded one of the two, and isn’t as vocal about his feelings or physically affectionate as Katara, the development of their intimate moments before Sozin’s Comet would be such a “slowburn” but so ridiculously heartwarming. 

Examples:

-Zuko “rises with the sun” and is already in the kitchen preparing tea when Katara shows up to prepare breakfast. It’s his way of saying that he wants to help her in all the tasks she usually does as the “mom” of the team.

-Zuko helps hang up laundry every morning, but does a poor job at it (as he’s not used to chores). Katara lets her hands brush over his while she shows him how to properly clip the fabrics onto the lining.  

-Katara asks Zuko if he could train her in dao swords, as she feels it would be useful to learn non-bending combat.  Zuko gives her his swords to practice with, and hesitates as his body stands close behind her to demonstrate the proper stance.

-When everyone decides to have a beach party on Ember Island, Zuko plays the serious adult who doesn’t have time for fun.  When Katara approaches him, Zuko admits he feels self-conscious about removing clothes, as he is only used to it in front of his sister/Mai/TyLee or for bending/training purposes.  Katara encourages him to join the fun, and it’s only when he sees her swimming and laughing that Zuko feels compelled to jump into the water.

-Sokka and Suki encourage Zuko and Katara to get the groceries in the town center for once, rather than work around the beach house.  They get the food supplies pretty quickly and spend a good amount of the afternoon walking around the market, Zuko talking about typical FN cuisine and memories of Ember Island... even extending an arm to Katara (as if they were a couple) to hold off any suspicious eyes from people around them.

-Zuko meditates in the evenings on the beach house roof and Katara is compelled to finally learn to meditate and sits right next to him... so as to have some peace and quiet before the group meets together dinner. 

-Katara waterbends out in the water late into the evening, and Zuko, despite always feeling ready to call it a night after dinner... can’t help but stick around to watch her bend.  One night he is bold enough to approach her and ask if she would like to spar, and this becomes their evening, after-dinner ritual.

-As he goes on a morning walk before breakfast, Zuko finds a seashell on the beach.  He hesitates but picks it up, and hands it to Katara when they meet to prepare breakfast.  She smiles and thanks him for the lovely gift.  Zuko blinks, and his face softens.  He ends up finding a few other seashells for her on his morning walks, and she decoratively places them along the railing of the beach house balcony.

-One day, while Aang is being trained by Toph, and Zuko is practicing his fire bending alone, Katara goes on a short hike with Sokka and Suki to talk about the Comet Battle plan and see the surrounding areas of the beach house. They stumble on some golden hibiscus flowers, and Sokka has no problem picking a few of them for Suki.  While they have a moment, Katara picks one for herself, placing it on her left ear as an accessory.  By the time they all return to the beach house, she brings the flower over to Zuko... saying she found this pretty flower that matched his eyes.  When she hands it to him, Zuko sweetly says “typically, it’s the guy who gives flowers to the girl,” and Katara shrugs, saying “well, we don’t really see flowers in the SWT, so I wouldn’t have known.” She offers it to him again, and Zuko receives it gently, and when she kisses him on the cheek, he carefully leans into it.

-On the last few days leading up to the Comet, they find themselves going on morning walks along the beach, or afternoon hikes after lunch, or doing chores together without necessarily having to do them together (but things get done faster with two people).  They talk more and more about things unrelated to the Comet Battle-- their favorite foods, embarrassing childhood stories, things they’ve seen from their world-travelling... things they’re hoping to see in the world once the war is over.  There’s a slight heaviness in the air, though, because it’s become clear that whatever they’ve started to feel is strange, and good, and beautiful, and yet dangerous in the context of the battle they’re preparing for.  Quietly, they choose to maintain their boundaries, but their eyes remain soft to one another.

-At some point in these little moments, they find their hands brushing at the fingers as they walk, and the butterflies in their stomach begin to flutter.  Whenever they part, Katara places a hand on his shoulder, but it gradually moves down to his upper arm.  Zuko doesn’t flinch, despite the nerves being there, and finally... one night, he finds the courage to lift a hand to bring one of Katara’s hair loops behind her ear.  And the butterflies take flight.  And it’s hard to pinpoint when exactly the hand-holding begins, but it does.  It just does.  And it practically becomes a second-nature to them... something they don’t even realize they’re doing until Suki notices them returning from a walk together one night, and they quickly break apart.  They blush, and Katara starts blabbering something like the cold night giving her cold hands... but Suki just grins and says nothing (for the sake of privacy).

-When Aang storms off from the group regarding the killing of the Fire Lord, Katara is compelled to go after him, but she is held back by Zuko, like “dad” telling “mom” that this kid is old enough to sort this inner conflict on his own.  It’s after that moment when they finally stand in front of the balcony railing (all the seashells still on there) and talk about Aang like he’s their son, choosing to worry about him and be afraid for him together.  Katara finds herself leaning towards Zuko’s frame as they look at the ocean, and Zuko boldly brings a hand to Katara’s shoulder.  Katara finds his other hand at the railing, and their fingers entwine as they stand there, Zuko caressing her shoulder at some point, lightly kissing her hair for comfort.  They hold each other close for the dreadful morning that’s to come with the Comet’s arrival.  

[knifefather]

Looking Up at Us [Submission]

'Looking Up at Us

|*| DISCLAIMERS:  Hello! It me! This is my first fic ever. Uhhh, Giorno’s a giant dick and Narancia’s an angel (literally and figuratively :] ) So yandere-ish themes, manipulation, and other mean things. This is a three-year span after the events of VA. |*|'

I APPLAUD YOU ON YOUR FIRST FIC ANON!!! This one really hit me right in the feels :'') Honestly you wrote Giorno so well because I literally wanted to strangle him!! He reminds me so much of Dio here and I fucking love it. I can't believe he stole their song ;a; OP outlined the yandere and manipulation content warnings, but there is also some major character death! Please be warned!

  “Hey, when we get married let’s use that Aerosmith song.”

Narancia laughed as the smaller of the two let out an embarrassed squeal and tried burying her head deeper into his neck. They laid together on his bed in his rather untidy room talking about anything and everything that crossed their minds. But he was always so brash, and making her red was a favorite pastime of his. “Duuude, don’t even joke about that!’” she giggled, “We’re, still, ya know teens,” she emphasized that by flicking her hand around. He continued laughing, tightened his grip on her, and kissed the top of her head. Even if he was teasing the poor girl, he always meant what he said.

“You’d look really pretty in this dress I saw the other day. It wasn’t long as shit like those rich people…” Narancia slowly trailed off realizing she wasn’t responding. When he looked down at her, he saw she wasn’t smiling anymore and looked lost in her own thoughts. He wiggled away from her a little to look at her properly and softly called her name. “Hey, you good?”

“Promise me you’ll stay,” she looked at him earnestly and caught the poor boy off guard. What was going through that busy head of hers? He was speechless and for a moment he gawked at her. The frenzied teen then added with intensity, “You better stay with me forever and ever and and- I don’t- just… please..” And it finally clicked what she meant, and he gave her his biggest smile.

            “Don’t worry, miele! You’re gonna have to deal with me for a while,” he chimed as he pulled her closer and gave her another peck to her forehead. She looked up at him with watery eyes and smile, “I’d love nothing more. Just promise me, please?

            He leaned lower to kiss her softly on the lips. They both knew that was an impossible promise but still, “I’ll try my best.” He snuggled back up to her and they both slowly sunk back into the previous loving tranquility. They’ll both try, but mafia life was so unpredictable, but it’ll be worth the try if they could stay together.

“So, what are we gonna name our first kid?”

“Narancia Ghirga!!”

“Yeah, Mrs. Ghirga?” Narancia couldn’t stop laughing even as he was shoved off the bed.

              Three months. It’s been three months, but his voice still rings in her head. His goofy smile, bubbly laughter, his smothering hugs were all nothing but distant memories that no longer warmed her, but instead chilled her core. Their places where they caused mischief and held impromptu dates only held ghosts of what was and what could have been. These thoughts haunted her every waking moment. Even when she slept, they caused nothing but sweet dreams that left her bitter and empty in the morning. But Narancia wasn’t the only one she missed dearly. Finding Abbacchio in the state he was and running back full of hope to the colosseum only to find out Bruno was the final victim. But thanks to him, they find out he was actually the first. Giorno had admitted after their discovery that they had been travelling with a reanimated corpse. At the time her, Mista, Trish, were too busy crying to even care.

            For the new Don’s first year, she was present. When Fugo returned, she welcomed him with open arms. She stayed for as long as could but looking at Giorno mad her sick. Violence and anger grew inside by just being around him and his voice made her gag. Staying there brought her closer to the edge as she struggled between collapsing into tears or killing her Don in a fiery fit. That’s when she distanced herself from everyone. Of course, it worried Fugo and Mista to death when the last surviving member of their gang suddenly went off the radar. Even if it was for the wellbeing of everyone there, it didn’t sit right with anyone. Especially Giorno Giovanna.

             The two-year absence was hell, for her anyways. At first jobs would take her resumes and interviews, but soon they would turn her away at sight of her face or sound of her voice. Her temporary apartment kicked her out and hotels refused service to the point she was forced to either stay in motels or rent somewhere for a while until they too kicked her out. When people started to whisper and gossip as she passed by, that was the final straw. It was lonely. It was frustrating! Was it because of the mafia association? No, that should guarantee a decent job and place to stay. And then it clicked. The root of her problems lies at the head of Passione.

              So, here the young woman stood in front of him, arms wrapped securely around herself, as Mista stood watching them at the closed entrance. Giorno’s grown, nearly six feet and obviously physically stronger than before. She squeezed tighter hoping to mimic Narancia’s hugs as she tried to gather her courage and find the words. For a while it was suffocating silence as no one dared to speak first. They were both strategizing, planning how to attack and counter the other’s words. But finally, the devil’s replacement spoke, “Hello, tersoro. I’m glad to see you’re-“

“Cut the crap. I know what’re you doing. Stop it.” And with that she turned to leave. Mista stepped out the way to let her go until a soft laugh stopped her, “Are you still torn up about them? Really?” She stopped and slowly turned to face him. She finally snapped.

            “Are you serious?” She spat at him. “Why wouldn’t I be upset that you killed my friends? My family?!”

            “The love of your life?” She glared at the blonde as he had the audacity the smile at the thought of their deaths. In that moment, she wanted to kill him. Her stand was at the ready. Mista didn’t even attempt to reach for his gun as he knew she wouldn’t do something stupid like that, but he, too, thought of shooting Giorno as well. Giorno tsked and slowly walked around his desk to lean against the front of it, showing just how little her threat meant to him. “My dear, you don’t understand. They were steppingstones to help change Passione for the greater good.”

“Steppingstones?! Don’t act like their bodies were your path to “greatness”! What exactly have you fixed, huh? There are SEVEN more assassin squads. You haven’t stopped drugs like you promised Bruno. Instead, you’ve barely stopped selling it kids ten and under! Don’t act like they were your sacrifices!”  The rage burned inside her, and she could no longer control her words. “Why did they have to go to heaven, huh?! They deserve to be here, not you! Bruno should be where you are! Leone should’ve left you die! Narancia should be back in school! It’s all your FAULT!” They both lunged at Giorno only for GER to grab the opposing stand and for Giorno to effortlessly grabbed her fist. One arm wrapped firmly around her waist and the other then swooped in and tilted her head up to kiss her ever so softly.

            “My, my such a temper,” he murmured, “I’ve always loved that about you.” In that moment all the fire that was built up for years turned ice cold, as fear gripped her insides. She wasn’t expecting this strength. Wide eyes stared up into the unnatural turquoise of his. He slowly turned her head from side to side, as if examining her. “You poor thing. You look so tired and overworked,” and she was. “I bet those horrible businesses could see it on you. Turned you away like street trash. Poor, poor thing.” The young woman’s voice had left her as she tried to process everything. Just what was he planning?

            “D-Don’t act like you didn’t do all that crap to me” She hated the sudden stutter in her voice but was thankful words even came out. The young woman started fighting in his grip which caused him to tighten. “Let me go! What was that kiss?! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!” But she was only met with a chuckle. As he spun her around and pressed her back against his chest. “My dear, I was only trying to bring back what was mine. Tesoro, mia. So independent. We’ll have to break that.” She fought harder and let out a cry of pain as Giorno dug his fingernails in the meat of her cheeks, getting annoyed at her fighting spirit.

            “Now, I want you to listen to listen to me. I really don’t want to repeat myself,” he nipped her neck, “nor do I want to hurt more than I should.” Giorno leaned closer and whispered, “You’re mine. I’ve loved you for too long to let you get away and whore around like you did with him.”  He shoved her to the ground and held her there with his foot, pressing harder with every squirm. “Go against me, and your little angelo will be dug up, burned, and flushed down a portable. Or maybe I’ll finish off the rest of your gang.” She struggled to look up at him as he glared down at her. His mouth quirked into a smirk as he spoke again, “Whose to say mafioso even go to heaven, hm? My sweet, delusional darling.” Giorno dropped to the floor and scooped her up in his arms again hugging her tightly. She was too scared to fight back. Not knowing what would set him off. He quietly laughs at how broken the poor woman was. So easy to break in already.

            “Let me take care you. Love you. Cherish you like you deserve. You’ll learn to love me.” He gripped her arms in a bruising grasp and whispered dangerously smooth, “Or you’ll die trying.”

___________________________________________

Her wedding gown shimmered and swayed gently as she and her new husband made their way to the center of the dance floor. Each step weighted heavy on her heart as the gravity of it all grew. Their movements were calculated and coordinated, just like everything else because it was all artificial for her. There was no true love, no true feelings in this forced arrangement. No more fight in her dull eyes that refused to make eye contact with anyone because then they would see just how much he’s broken her in just a year. One wrong move will surely be the one she’ll ever make.

No one in the ballroom could see the despair ripping away whatever dignity was left as she wrapped her arms around his neck or the bile she choked back as he greedily slipped his arms around her waist. If only she could keep tightening her arms like a noose until he was no more but a horrid memory. The room was filled with ‘awws’ and loving gazes as the couple settled gracefully into the position they had practiced many a times before. She finally turned her emotionless gaze to him. Giorno Giovanna chuckled at her. His new wife was so dramatic.

“And now the newly weds will share their first dance together!” someone, who she didn’t care enough to learn their name, announced as if he was getting paid on his excitement and not on the fact if he squealed, he gets killed. She closed her eyes as the crowd cheered, swallowed her sickness, and sighed. She made it this long without throwing up or crying, she can get through this dance.

 “The groom has picked this song out specifically for his new, beautiful wife. Isn’t that romantic?” The crowd cheered and clapped in blissful ignorance at the display of affection. The bride’s eyes snapped open at this new revelation and stared in shock at Giorno who only smiled. But when the music began, her heart finally burst. Tears welled and spilled freely down her cheeks as that Aerosmith song, their song, played and she was forced to move to its now bittersweet beat. Giorno’s wife shakily looked up at him and chocked on her tears.  Once again, chuckled and lean in to whisper with honeyed venom his final victory,

“Oh miele, I bet he’s looking up at us right now, amore mio.”

(OK Tumblr formatting is weird but I wanna add: Yes it Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing that Narancia and darling picked as their first dance which Girono stole. And Narancia was the only one allowed to call darling Miele as an inside joke for “Honey! I’m Home”. Also WHY WAS THIS 2K+???)

[everythingloureed]

Humphreys was raised in Bridgeton, NJ, and San Antonio, TX. It was said that the family were of part Mexican Native descent. An apparent trans child who played with dolls, and wore girls’ clothes, Humphreys wanted to do people’s hair. As Rachel she graduated in hair-dressing at a cosmetology school in Bayonne, NJ, (north of Staten Island, across the river from Manhattan).

She was a regular at Max's Kansas City, the hip and glam rock nightclub on Park Avenue South. She also frequented the 82 Club on E 4th St which was in transition from a transvestite performance club to a glam rock and then punk club.  The New York Dolls did their first show there on April 17, 1974, when they performed in drag, except for Johnny Thunders who refused. They were followed by Wayne County (not yet using the name Jayne) and short-lived glitter bands like Teenage Lust and Harlots of 42nd Street.

It was there at this time that Rachel met Lou Reed, the musician. Lou described Rachel in an interview with Bambi magazine:

"It was in a late night club in Greenwich Village. I’d been up for days as usual and everything was at that super-real, glowing stage. I walked in there and there was this amazing person, this incredible head, kind of vibrating out of it all. Rachel was wearing this amazing make-up and dress and was obviously in a different world to anyone else in the place. Eventually I spoke and she came home with me. I rapped for hours and hours, while Rachel just sat there looking at me saying nothing. At the time I was living with a girl, a crazy blonde lady and I kind of wanted us all three to live together but somehow it was too heavy for her. Rachel just stayed on and the girl moved out. Rachel was completely disinterested in who I was and what I did. Nothing could impress her. He’d hardly heard my music and didn’t like it all that much when he did. Rachel knows how to do it for me. No one else ever did before. Rachel’s something else.”

She moved in with him right away. He was then living in a modest one-bedroom apartment at 405 East 63rd Street. Lou had already written a few songs about trans women, and with the single, “Walk on the Wild Side” (which referred to the Andy Warhol-sponsored trans stars, Candy Darling, Holly Woodlawn and Jackie Curtis) had his biggest hit. Rachel was at this time oscillating. Some days she was Ricky, and others he was Rachel. People who knew Lou and Rachel used either pronoun. One journalist referred to Lou’s ‘boyfriend named Rachel’. Both Lou and Rachel enjoyed the confusion and further muddied the water by wearing each other’s clothes. She was street-wise and spunky in a way that Lou only pretended to be. She was said to always carry a knife, and was good in a fight – which proved useful when a concert at the Pallazzo dello Sport in Rome turned into a riot 15 February 1975.

Lou had been working on his fourth solo album, Sally Can’t Dance – the title track and spin-off single assumed to refer to trans woman, Sally Maggio, who was manager at the 220 Club, another trans bar where Lou went drinking. Sally would in the 1980s open Sally’s Hideaway, and then Sally’s II, again a bar for trans persons and with trans performers. However it was Rachel whose image was on the obverse of the Sally Can’t Dance LP sleeve, drawn as if reflected in Lou’s shades.

She supported him on some of his tours. In New York, they lived for a while in the Gramercy Park Hotel, and then an upscale apartment on East 52nd St at FDR Drive where Henry Kissinger, Greta Garbo and John Lennon had lived. In 1975 they began to frequent the rather grimey but seminal punk club, CBGBs. Lou was recording Coney Island Baby, released January 1976 and several tracks refer to Rachel. At the end of the follow-up tour, Rachel was mugged and assaulted. A doctor was called, who inevitably referred to Rachel as ‘she’, even though Lou was saying ‘he’. As Aidan Levy says:

“Rachel had been contemplating gender reassignment surgery, but the transgender rights movement had not yet solidified, and not fully understanding the nature of the decision, Lou was adamantly opposed to any operations, a growing source of conflict in their relationship”.

Despite this, a friend commented: ““I think that Rachel was the glue holding Lou together, or at least keeping him in the public view in many respects … I know that he doted on her. If there was a light shining, it was the two of them together. It doesn’t mean it was the healthiest relationship in the world.” The cover of Walk on the Wild Side: The Best of Lou Reed, 1977 is of photographs of the two of them.

Rachel acted as road-manager on the next tour, managed the money, and watched over the road-crew. They were in London for their third anniversary and ordered a three-tier cake to celebrate, and Lou gave her two diamond rings. He said:

"Rachel knows how to do it for me, no one else before ever did”.

However by the end of 1977, Lou and Rachel were fighting more and more, and frequently it was about the issue of transgender surgery. She had a date for surgery but backed off as Lou said:

“Well why are you doing that? I love you because of the way you are”.

The title track of Street Hassle, 1978, is about her, and an article in Rolling Stone referred to Rachel as the raison d’etre of the album, although in fact it marked the end of their relationship. Lou moved on, having met Sylvia Morales, who became his third wife in 1980.

Reed completely refused to talk about Rachel after 1978. He desisted and decided to go straight. Both his later marriages were with cis women.

Rachel died in 1990 age 37 at St Clare’s Hospital, which specialized in treating AIDS patients, and she was interred in the gigantic pauper burial site on Hart Island off the Bronx coast (which contains over a million corpses).

Lou died in 2013, aged 71, from liver failure.

LegsMcNeil & Gillian McCain. Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk. Penguin books, 1997: 154-5, 206.

Marc Campbell.  "Rachel: Lou Reed’s transsexual muse".  Dangerous Minds, 02.06.2013.  Online.

Howard Sounes. Notes from the Velvet Underground: The Life of Lou Reed. Doubleday, 2015: 182-4, 187, 189, 191, 192, 194, 195, 202, 203, 205, 208, 212, 213, 214, 215-6, 221-2, 226, 229, 235, 248, 269.

Simon Reynolds. Shock and Awe: Glam Rock and Its legacy, from the Seventies to the Twenty-First Century. William Morrow Publishers, 2016: 271-2.

Aidan Levy. Dirty Blvd.: The Life and Music of Lou Reed. Chicago Review Press, 2016: 221-2, 227, 233, 244, 251-3, 264, 285.

Corey Kilgannon.  "Dead of AIDS and Forgotten in Potter's Field:  In an untold chapter of the AIDS epidemic, scores of unclaimed bodies were buried in a remote spot on Hart Island.  How many exactly remains unclear".  New York Times, July 3, 2018.  Online.  

[erisdiamas]

“Yea but Gem isn’t human at all and he looks the most exhausted and old.. his facet is beyond it’s youth clearly.” The other child herself snickering at the imagine of the Gem hunched over with a chrome cane, grumbling at how much his back hurts and about how kids these days were too loud!

Eris let out a wistful sigh and watched the waves weave back and forth- “I’m not tired.. plus! I’ve been using my Gem half a lot longer than you can hold a shield, ya know! I dont typically need the rest..” Everything was so quiet, the peace felt off, the girl was gearing up to make one of the biggest mistakes of her life.. leaning into the boy and wrapping him in a tight embrace- “You’re just groggy. We spent most of the night watching the stars, everything is fine. Your rest is getting to you.. you were headed off, weren’t you?” Eris’s whispers burrowed into the boy’s ears pouring every bit of intent of making sure he remembers their last moments as blissfully as he normally made her feel.. she was gonna miss his laughter, oh how curious the boy was.. how warm Classic is to those that don’t deserve their hospitality.. people like her. As the Diamond tied to emotion, she didn’t know if those words actually would mess up his mind.. scratch that, she didn’t wanna accept that she’s messing up his wavelength… scrambling everything up in her pursuit of vanishing without a trace… ironically leaving with those footprints almost carved in the sand.

Giggles erupted from the screen as the green haired man that was previously shown to be butchered was now twirling around a paint covered princess, their noses smeared together in a beautiful mesh of technicolor.. wrapped up in eachother arms.. suddenly the camera panned out focusing on her- “I know you’re a bit abrasive about coming along with the others.. just because they’re unconventional doesn’t mean they’re really that terrible, okay?” She cupped his face and peered into his eyes.. scanning them for even the slightest hint of hesitation and regret- Relish seemed enamored for a second, opening his lips to gaze up at her with eyes full of awe- “…I trust you. Anywhere you wanna go- we go together, beloved… I’ll deal with them if it means I stay with you.” The still of them together, giggling until their ribs hurt was then replaced by another painful screech.

“You can’t keep hurting yourself for me!” She seemed enraged.. yet she was somewhat restrained.. lightly scolding him after kissing the bloodied slice on his chest.. the wound dissolving with a sparkle of light yet she still bandaged it up tightly- “I wouldn’t if you didn’t keep endangering yourself! I dont care what you are, you still get hurt! And ever since you’ve met Pepper.. you’ve been acting strange! She’s bad news, they all are.” Relish was on the opposing side of their room, he was limp and ill yet refused to use the girl’s abilities.. refused to make her feel like a tool.

“They’re just like us! Estranged from family and longing to fight for each-other’s survival! I know you dont trust in her judgement.. but we could turn the tides, no more bloodshed on either sides of the city”- the girl sounded so hopeful for the change, after all, both sides were consistent of orphans forced to make sacrifices to live.. maybe if they came to a agreement- “Listen. Im gonna talk to her about a treaty, we could feed the younger ones if we had access to the seaside port from the North! If I must serve as a instrument in this war, I will be the shield- im not even human! I can take it all inside of me, everything will work out.”

Eris knew, perhaps wanted to ignore, that the older teen was a bit dangerous.. when they met at the party, the redhead proclaimed she was doing her almost civil duty to steal from the rich- the moment their eyes locked.. they were drawn to each-other, the air crackled around them and nothing else mattered.. the day she trusted Pepper with her secret, she felt so free.. so happy that for once she made her own place with people that truly saw her- they were equals, weren’t they? The scene between the chaste kisses between Relish and the arguments turned into ones of heated make-out sessions between Eris and the delinquent leaning in between the act to whisper into her ears- “Do this for me and we can all be happy, you’re truly a special girl- you took those hits so well for me.. I knew keeping you here would liberate us all.. just keeping crying for me.. sob us into salvation.” The edgy redhead seemed to drink in the fact that no matter how many people were against them.. whether hunting her gang down, none of them were harmed, after all they have a shield, a rather complacent one.

“You told me that the only reason we do this is for survival yet you lead Kelp on basically a suicide mission to seize control of the Oceanfront turf! You know how many children we picked up that you turned into pawns?! Parsley barely made it out of the city alive! We’re down rations because you refused to sign the contract, we’re losing everything because you love the act of war rather than what we started this for- what I bleed for- don’t you care?” Eris seemed distraught, curls frizzled in frustration and the redhead? looked content.

“Dear, you have to understand that with each sacrifice, we gain more territory, more room in this city to grow.. we seized territory from the West and we’re gaining control, we’re stepping up in the world! We’re more than the condiments we’ve named ourselves after- No, we are essential to this world!” What started as a ragtag group transformed into economical warfare in the previous abandoned city.. the Elders turnt it into some sadistic cult.. allowing each fraction to duke it out as a entry to a harder life of crime.. they were no longer vigilantes, they lost sight of their cause- “After all, Kelp has a better home now. I made sure of it.” Pepper moved aside as a shirtless man stumbled out of the hut with stitches tightly around his guts.. thats when it clicked.

Suddenly the plumes of smoke started to obscure the memory- as if it was burning away before giving the entire view of everything turning to shit, the buildings being torn down and people screaming out for help, the gangs didn’t care about any casualties and no matter how many people she managed to save in the midst of it all.. she still knew she had to end it, do something to change it all permanently.. she needed to fix this.. she bubbled the children that were caught in the crossfire and rushed towards the redhead, eyes lit ablazed- the only word that came out of Pepper was that she always knew the girl was a brute, a monster- a pet she let get too comfortable.. those were also her lasts one.. or she would hope as she wrecked the main base they resided in, the same one she owed her freedom too oh so long ago.. using the smoke to escape.. becoming a ghost when the dust settled.

Welcome Home | @erisdiamas | Continued

Gem Steven was watching interaction, but it seemed muddled, confused... corrupted. He looked over in his absentminded petting over Eris' curls to see if there were any horns or extra eyes or anything out of the ordinary, but all he could see at the moment were her taunting bruises, all he could feel was the pain she had gone through, before the memories playing on the screen seemed to crackle like the feeling of pop rocks hitting your tongue with the accompanying sounds of rats gnawing at your brain. A bright flash of light came from the tv before it became so much stronger to the point of being blinding he had to shut his eyes. As the bright light faded. He opened one eye curiously and looked around to see Eris was no longer sleeping by his side, there was nothing around him, before the fussy sounds became so much more clearer as the conversation played out and the colors brightened enough to where he could see Eris as she was standing out on the balcony having a conversation with the young Classic Steven. He knew that he couldn't interact with her, these were just memories, he couldn't change anything, but that didn't mean he couldn't learn what had happened that night.

"I guess so... the weather's pretty fair on the beach this time of year... but I get the feeling that you're not just sitting on the porch to enjoy the night air..." Classic Steven replied, scratching behind his head. "Do you want to talk about things? It could help take some troubles of your mind."

[missroller15]

A very special date night

ok, here it finally is! I’m sorry about the delay but I got it finished and I’m actually pretty nervous to post this but here goes, I hope you all enjoy it <3333

________________________________________________________________

Finally.. It was date night. EJ and Gina couldn’t be more hyped to finally get their time together. 

Due to busy schedules (EJ in college and Gina with highschool, theater, etc.), time alone just got cut shorter and shorter. They decided enough was enough and planned for one day a month where they could both simply be together but of course, to make things a bit more interesting, one of them would choose the location while the other got to choose the meal or place to eat. 

This month, EJ was choosing where they’d go but the thing is… Gina truly had no clue what he could be planning. Usually, he’d drop a huge obvious hint but assume he didn’t just reveal but this time around, no hints or anything. 

The day finally came, a bright Friday afternoon. The sunlight beamed through Gina’s window as she yawned while stretching her arms out. Still in the process of waking up, she suddenly heard a buzz come from her phone.  

Hey, G. Sorry, I couldn't text sooner! I’m at the zoo with Big Red so I won’t be home most of today. Enjoy some of the breakfast saved in the fridge and get your game face ready for tonight with my cuz ;) 

Before Gina could respond, a second message came in putting a stop to all her suspicions. 

 And nope, can’t answer any questions! Anyways, have fuuuuun 

She let out a long sigh, so many questions rushing through her mind and the only way she could think of putting them to rest for the moment was by focusing on something else so the girl sluggishly got up and went to shower. 

 Once she was out, most of her impending questions had settled (not all were gone, to be clear though) and as she walked downstairs, yet another message came except not from Ash this time.

From EJ: Ready for one of the greatest date nights ever, babe? ;) 

A smile grew on her face as she headed to the door and found EJ waiting outside beside his car. He was leaning against it, specifically by the passenger side, most likely waiting for Gina to arrive so he could open the door for her like the incredible sweet boyfriend he is. Blush spread across her face as he noticed her coming out. 

“So, am I still not allowed to ask questions?” she joked once they were both sitting inside the car. 

“I mean, of course but this is gonna be an interesting date and honestly I’m curious to see your reaction without any ideas..” he explained as they drove. Gina raised an eyebrow but kept her thoughts to herself. While they sat in a comfortable silence, she started to try and contemplate where they could be going. The biggest hint she had was Ashlyn’s text but even then, with how vague it was, she still remained puzzled. 

Just then when they arrived, all that curiosity disappeared from her mind and she finally realized what she meant by getting her game face ready. They were about to play Laser Tag. 

As they walked in, she couldn’t help but already feel her adrenaline start to rush. She finally realized what Ash meant when she said to get her game face ready and Gina was going to do just that. 

The teams were selected by random and EJ already had their names filled out on the form so now all they had to do was wait for the announcer to begin calling out names. Gina and EJ anxiously but even more excitedly stood waiting for the announcement to come already with their hands interlocked. 

As they stood waiting, EJ leaned over to whisper something into Gina’s ear sending a chill down her back. “Just know, that if we’re on a different teams and I beat you, I will like you just the same as I do at this moment.” 

Gina scoffed at the comment and looked him dead in the eye, trying to stifle her laughter. “Don’t try to intimidate me, babe.. It’s not gonna change anything, I got my game face on now and it stays till I win.” 

He jokingly rolled his eyes at the snarky reply. Before he could respond, the announcer finally came on. 

“Ok ok ok, let’s do this! So excited to kick-off the first laser tag game of the day and as most of you already know how this goes, blah blah blah be safe. Once you’re hit, you’re done for a good ten minutes. Now anyways, now back to teams..” he quickly rambled. 

Gina glanced over at EJ who just gently squeezed her hand while they expectantly waited to hear the team names. 

“Alrighty then, let’s begin… for team red, EJ Caswell…” he started, considering the teams only consisted of six players for this round, it didn’t take long to name all the players and before they knew it, it was already time for the blue team. 

Since Gina’s name wasn’t called out for the red team, it was obvious she’d be a part of the blue team meaning that they were going to go against each other. To be honest, the idea of being able to hold the win over the other’s head enticed them both.. A lot more than they liked to admit.

The teams began to disperse and head to the main room for setting up. While in there, this time EJ shot a glance at Gina, who was zipping up her dark blue vest. She turned for a second to wink at him before returning her attention back to her team. 

EJ did the same and not too long after, the whispers and small talk went silent as everyone’s laser guns began beeping and flashing most likely because they were being turned on while the lights dimmed down. The announcer came on one last time soon after.  

“Players, prep time is over… the doors to the laser tag area are now unlocked and you may enter. Let the games begin.” 

Everyone immediately separated and went to find hiding spots. Gina immediately knew the second level was the place she needed to be. As she navigated through the dark space, something felt off… almost as if she felt a presence following behind her. 

“It’s probably just your nerves, don’t break focus”, Gina muttered under her breath. Soon enough, she began to turn a corner, that feeling came back again. She immediately began dashing and ended up finding a small pitch dark corner to hide in right by the stairs she was finding to the second level in the first place. 

Just as Gina thought, once she slipped behind the corner someone came not long after and it didn’t surprise her one bit who it was. 

“Aw man, I lost her.” EJ groaned in frustration. Gina bit the inside of her cheek to contain her laughter at seeing the poor green eyed boy mope. 

The fun ended though as he started to explore the area and he began getting dangerously close to her corner so she did the only reasonable thing a person would do if they felt threatened. 

While his back was turned, she took the opportunity and leaped onto his back. He immediately toppled over and Gina had the upper hand for the moment. Gina clapped her hand over his mouth before he could start yelling for help. 

“Shhh.. don’t fight it.” she whispered softly leaning in closer. Now she hadn’t planned for this part of the plan but he was right there.. one little peck wouldn’t do anything. 

As she slowly removed her hand from on top of his mouth, her body went into shock when he went in for the kiss. She didn’t even think twice once her brain started to function again and reciprocated. 

Her hand gently released its tight grip on the gun and Gina’s focus finally broke. They broke apart after about 30 seconds to take a breath but then Gina heard something that made her blood run cold. 

Her vest was beeping and so was her gun. 

She looked at EJ, who had a satisfied smirk resting on his face. “I thought you knew this, G. I play to win.” He said so while holding his red glowing gun up. 

Gina, shocked and possibly just a bit impressed, remained speechless. He played her at her own game and won?! Gina wasn’t gonna let this go, there was still a chance and she wasn’t going to waste it. 

In the ten minutes that Gina was out, EJ knew she would be out to get him and only him. He played an extremely dangerous move by playing Gina like that but it’s obviously what she was planning for him so if anything, at least she’ll know now that he knows most of the tricks up her sleeve. 

What scares him though is what she has left… 

Within a couple seconds, he manages to find one of his teammates and the two stuck together for a couple minutes. They found a good spot and chilled for a second after all the navigating and running. 

“So, the girl that’s currently out.. She’s your girlfriend, right?” the boy said, he looked around 14-15 but EJ couldn’t exactly tell.

“Yep and once she’s back in, we’re gonna need to hide really well.” he warned, followed by a chuckle. “You really think she’s gonna be that furious?” 

Poor kid. He really doesn’t know what she’s capable of, he thought to himself. “Oh yeah, she’s gonna be infuriated. Don’t worry though, she’s probably gonna come for me only. We’re just super competitive like that. It runs in our blood.” 

EJ glanced back to see the kid terrified. “O..k.” he let out. The conversation didn’t go much further but at least before they split off, EJ did manage to get across the fact that he was only joking. 

After a while of walking, he checked his watch and realized that Gina would be out any second. Just as he thought, not a minute after checking the time, a beep came from the speakers signaling that a player would be entering the game.. It was about to get a whole lot more dangerous than before. 

Once she was out, Gina knew exactly what EJ would be thinking.. He knew that he was her main target and that’s what he needed to get out of his head. 

So, Gina put her focus on getting his teammates out first, with the help of hers as well of course. If she was being fully honest, she really did not expect to work as well with her team as she did. They were just as cunning and competitive. 

This made Gina’s plan that much easier to complete. While waiting out her ten minutes, she had concocted a pretty simple but effective plan. 

Her teammates and some of the opposing team members were actually everyday regulars here at the lasertag so they knew the routes and pathways that the others would take. With this information, it was decided that they’d take care of their own personal friends and get them out while Gina was left to find EJ and get him out. 

Yes,it was simple but if Gina was going to win, all she needed was for it to be efficient. 

Not much time was wasted, once she got out. The beeper signaling that players were out began to go off every couple of minutes, she quietly counted while swiftly moving through the area. Out of the corner of the eye, she saw something from behind. No way, she was turning her back this time. 

She quietly and carefully walked back to the spot where she noticed something and immediately let out a breath of relief at seeing a kid resting back in the corner, his eyes shut tight. “It’s fine, it’s fine. I’ll tell you where he is. Just please don’t tell him I told you. I can be out, it’s ok, I-” 

“Ya know, kid. I actually kinda like you for that but what did EJ tell you?! Did you really believe I was seriously out to murder him, it’s just our thing.. Don’t worry and well, if we’re bargaining here.. The best I can do is you give me EJ’s location and I’ll give you an extra ten minutes to go hide.” she explained, holding her hand out to seal the deal. 

He looked down a bit worried but shook nonetheless. He quickly whispered where he thought EJ would be hiding and ran away within a second after. 

Gina followed his instructions and slowly crept up to the second level of the arena. She knew that kid gave it up way too easily and there was no harm in being cautious so she walked towards the spot that the kid described as quietly as possible. 

Once she was there, she looked around but not carefully enough because now she was back to square one when she heard his voice. “Well, looks like my plan worked. I’m just so touched with how well you’re taking this, G.” 

“Aww Eej, you think you’re really gonna end up winning”, she started, as she turned and began slowly walking towards the proud boy, “-tsk tsk, you’re too good and naive for your own good, babe. 

EJ furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and ever so slightly,let his guard down. Rookie mistake, Gina thought as she jumped towards EJ again. He saw it coming and dodged the attack but ended up causing Gina to trip over his foot. 

She yelped at the collision with the floor. Pain shot through her wrist as she sat back up. Within a second EJ was already at her side, helping her stand. “Maybe we got a little too intense with the game..” he joked, walking to the arena exit with Gina. 

“Ya think?” she laughed, while gently massaging her palm and wrist area. Once they made it, the two returned their gear to the set-up room. There was still about a half hour of laser tag left but it was obvious, the game was done for today. 

Even if their initial idea got cut short, that didn’t mean the day was over. As EJ and Gina walked to the car, they couldn’t help but continuously chitter and chatter about all that occurred. From Gina’s surprise attack on him to EJ’s interesting conversation with the young boy. 

By then, Gina’s wrist had relaxed and the pain toned down. While they drove, the chitter chatter turned to a comfortable silence. It was just that time where words didn’t need to be said anymore. The glances, little laughs here and there, it was just really nice. 

The drive didn’t take too long and before they knew it, they’d already arrived at Ashlyn and Gina’s place.  

“So.. we’re here. Look, I’m sorry about the wrist thing and I just got a little too into it, you see when I-” His rambling got cut short by Gina pressing a gentle kiss to his lips. 

“Hey, it’s alright. It was just a game and it’s not like the day is over yet, I’d like to use up all the time I have with you today.” she smiled after breaking off the kiss. EJ proceeded to continually caress her cheek as she spoke. 

“Ok. This time, you name it though.” 

Gina decided on a movie night to end the day. 

Honestly, this month’s date night wasn’t the most planned and perfect but that’s what made it all the more fun. Both EJ and Gina couldn’t wait for the next to see what surprises were in store.

[thinkingisadangerouspastime]

hi! random question that you’re not obligated to answer (i just love your ka metas): do you think that aang acted like he was entitled to katara’s affection? sorry for the bother if this is a question you’ve gotten before, i’m just curious about your thoughts

Hi anon! It’s always lovely to hear people like my metas 💛 And you’re in luck - I have not gotten this specific question before, though I have answered similar questions, and as such I will probably link those posts throughout.

Forewarning: I use the general you very liberally in this post, so like. It’s not directed at you, anon djhskdjsajs I don’t want you think my sarcasm is in response to your ask (your ask was very lovely!! 💕)

Okay. Let’s get started! The funniest thing about the (nonsensical) claim that Aang acted “entitled” to Katara’s affection is that there is no canon evidence to support it. Opponents more often than not can only bring up one (1) episode as an example of supposed “entitlement” because no other Kataang interactions in the series demonstrate entitlement from either end! Like, wow. Talk about scraping the bottom of the barrel. And I’m sure we all know what episode opponents love to propagate, don’t we?

Yep, you guessed it: “The Ember Island Players.”

From the get-go, the fact that people who vigorously oppose Kataang essentially only appeal to the contents of one episode for Aang’s supposed “entitlement” is a major indicator that, in fact, the entitlement is not truly there, and that those opponents are actually misconstruing the entire episode. I mean, if you are trying to make an argument about something but you only have one piece of “evidence” to support your claim, then a) any half-decent teacher/professor would fail you, rip and b) that’s a sign that maybe your claim doesn’t hold water. If you can’t find evidence to support it, then you’re probably looking at your case from the wrong angle. Analysis 101.

As such, I find the “entitlement” claim particularly ridiculous because opponents repeat the same faulty rhetoric over and over! The only people that might be convinced are those with confirmation bias. I’m sure that’s their audience, of course, but it’s still hilarious dfjaksdasks.

Anyways. Here’s the excerpt from the EIP transcript that opponents l o v e to spotlight with their “entitlement” claims:

Aang: Katara, did you really mean what you said in there?

Katara: In where? What are you talking about?

Aang: On stage, when you said I was just like a… brother to you, and you didn’t have feelings for me.

Katara: I didn’t say that. An actor said that.

Aang: But it’s true, isn’t it? We kissed at the Invasion, and I thought we were gonna be together. But we’re not.

Katara: Aang, I don’t know.

Aang: Why don’t you know?

Katara: Because, we’re in the middle of a war, and we have other things to worry about. This isn’t the right time.

Aang: Well, when is the right time?

Katara: Aang, I’m sorry, but right now I’m just a little confused.

Aang tries to kiss Katara.

Katara: I just said I was confused! I’m going inside. [Exits the balcony.]

Aang: Ugh, I’m such an idiot! [Puts down his head on the balcony railing.]

Opponents claim Aang’s behavior is “entitled” here for two reasons:

1) He asks Katara several questions about their relationship status.

2) He kisses her.

Before I get too far into this, we have to consider the context of the episode. Katara and Aang have this conversation after just watching 95% of “The Boy in the Iceberg,” aka Fire Nation propaganda. I have talked about the specifics of the play being imperialist propaganda here, but the gist of it is that this play is meant to demean the Gaang, to portray them as lesser and weaker than the Fire Nation. The fact that the play ends with Ozai’s victory is a stark reminder of this mentality. So: Katara and Aang have just watched this play that preys upon their insecurities and paints them as awful caricatures of their true selves. It is only natural that they would be more tense than usual. The reason I bring this up is solely to inform their conversation on the balcony, however; I don’t think their frustration solely defines what they say/do, but it’s worth keeping in mind, “Hey, they’re stressed and upset, of course this conversation might not go perfectly.”

Now, I have talked about the infamous EIP kiss before and approached all the rhetoric surrounding it like Snopes Fact Checker in this post, lmao. I did discuss in there why the kiss is wrong, which no one has ever argued against, but also why the kiss is simply a mistake: not sexual assault, not entitlement, not an unforgivable decision. I’ve copied and pasted specifically my notes on the “entitlement” claim below regarding the kiss, but if you have time, I definitely recommend the whole post jksdhjasdka (I’m quite proud of it). Anyways! Here’s the excerpt:

Claim: Aang acted entitled to Katara and her affection.

Status: False.

I’ve briefly addressed this already, but Aang backing off when Katara pushed him away is the exact opposite of entitlement. An impromptu kiss is not always indicative of entitlement. It can be, especially if the person being kissed has never expressed any interest in the person kissing them, but Katara and Aang were mutually interested in each other. They’d mutually kissed twice already by that point: in CoTL and during DoBS. The EIP kiss was inappropriate. NO ONE HAS EVER SUGGESTED OTHERWISE. But when you’re 12 and you’re already kind of in this semi-relationship with a girl you’ve been through hell and high water with (who has kissed you twice on the lips and on the cheek multiple times, not to mention it is only you she ever expresses such affection towards), it is not fucking “entitlement” to make a move on her, even when the timing is off. IT’S JUST A MISTAKE. A POOR DECISION. NOT ENTITLEMENT. NOT MANIPULATION. NOT SEXUAL ASSAULT. Full stop.

Also, these EIP people love to call Aang entitled for this kiss, but there isn’t a single peep heard from them about Zuko’s line in TSR where he demands to know what’s “wrong” with Katara, since she hasn’t forgiven him yet when everyone else has. And look. I think Zuko was just frustrated here, and that he, too, made a mistake and is obviously not irredeemable for it, but. If you’re going to argue that Aang was entitled in EIP, you’d better be ready to acknowledge the argument that Zuko was acting entitled in TSR, too. And hell, let’s take it a step further! Call Aang entitled for EIP. Call Zuko entitled for TSR. Call Sokka entitled for choosing to stay at Boiling Rock on the off chance his father would arrive, thus making Suki and Zuko feel obligated to stay behind with him, effectively putting all of them in danger. What an entitled decision, risking his friends’ lives on the 0.01% chance Hakoda would be one of the many, many possible war prisoners arriving at Boiling Rock!

Damn. That sounds ridiculous as fuck, doesn’t it?

And guess what. That’s exactly how the “Aang was entitled” arguments come across. Hate to break it to you. Trust me when I say to do yourself a favor and stop perpetuating that faulty rhetoric!

So that is what I have already assessed, lol.

To be frank, the most frustrating thing I see perpetuated is that the EIP kiss somehow ruined Aang and Katara’s relationship. But when it comes to assessing weighty issues like the notion of “entitlement” in a relationship, the fact of the matter is that you have to look at both the relationship as a whole and the context in which it is situated. Opponents never want to do that, because doing so debunks their entire (baseless) argument, lmao. Katara and Aang are best friends. And by EIP, they have both expressed romantic interest in each other multiple times. (Here is a post explaining the development of Katara’s feelings for Aang, just to put out that fire before anyone sets it lmao.)

So why, why do opponents think Katara would never find it in herself to forgive Aang for a mistaken kiss? Katara is shown over and over again throughout the series to have one of the biggest hearts. She wants to see the good in people. That’s why she gives Jet a second chance (even though a person could argue he did not “deserve” one); that’s why she helps the Fire Nation village in “The Painted Lady”; that’s why she forgives Pakku (once she sees he’s willing to change); that’s why she is the second person in the entire show (excluding Iroh) to offer Zuko a hand of kindness (in CoD)! That’s why she eventually forgives Zuko, even after all he has done to the Gaang (e.g. sending an assassin after them, being complicit in Aang’s death, attacking her and kidnapping Aang at the NWT, manipulating her with her mother’s necklace, to name a few, lmao. bless his heart, but like Jet, someone could easily argue Zuko doesn’t “deserve” another chance - and yet Katara still gave him [and Jet] one. in fact, she gave Zuko multiple).

In other words, Katara is almost always willing to extend friendship and compassion and forgiveness to others - why would she revoke that privilege from Aang after a single error that is comparatively lesser to all the other horrible things she’s experienced in the war? Again, I’m not downplaying how terrible of a decision Aang made. It’s inexcusable. But it’s not the end of the world, and considering the context of the show (e.g. Aang and Katara liked each other and they both knew it), it’s… not some heinous crime. Compared to, oh, how about attempted murder? lmaoo

Even beyond Katara’s innate kindness, Aang is Katara’s best friend. She loves him. The show portrays it as romantic through the seasons, but even if someone isn’t into shipping (which is super valid), Katara and Aang’s connection is one of the primary lynchpins of the show! (The other being Aang and Zuko, the greatest foils of all time.) Katara and Aang epitomize several of A:TLA’s thematics (and aesthetics) because they are complementary: yin and yang, push and pull, Tui and La, moon and ocean, blue and orange, water and air. This gifset and related commentary beautifully demonstrate how even when Katara and Aang disagree, they respect the other’s the decision. So after 60~ episodes depicting Aang and Katara as having mutual respect and love for each other in every form as well as emphasizing Katara’s natural inclination towards kindness/giving people the benefit of the doubt, opponents still think Katara wouldn’t forgive Aang because of one mistimed, inappropriate kiss? What?? Make it make sense, lmao.

In sum, the kiss was a mistake, not an act of entitlement, and it’s absurd to think Katara would hold that against Aang for the rest of his life.

To backtrack a bit, opponents also love to use the fact that Aang asked Katara several questions about their relationship status as examples of his “entitlement.” Just typing that out highlights the ridiculous nature of this assertion, lmao! Let me rephrase it for maximum hilarity:

“Aang was unsure about where their relationship stood? Well, how dare he ask numerous questions to resolve his confusion!”

Like, what was the alternative jskfajksdas if you are in relationship limbo with someone, it is far better to ask them ‘too many’ questions for clarification than to simply assume one way or the other! Kissing Katara was wrong, flat-out, but asking her questions to better understand where they were in their relationship was like. exactly the right decision, lmao. I genuinely don’t see how that could be indicative of entitlement? Especially because, once again, Aang and Katara both like each other and they both know that by this point in the show. That’s why Aang doesn’t ask if Katara likes him - he knows she does. That’s why Katara doesn’t negate her feelings - she knows she’s interested in him, and the blockade between them is not a lack of reciprocation, but the fact that they’re “in the middle of a war” and consequently it’s not “the right time” for them to begin a relationship. Katara has seen Aang die before! She knows he’s facing a near-impossible victory! I can’t blame her for not wanting to start a relationship with him at that point. It would hurt twice as much to lose him again if they were together in a romantic fashion (amatonormativity, am I right?). Again, Aang’s kiss was entirely inappropriate, but him asking her questions about their relationship is a) an example of fostering healthy communication and b) what any therapist would encourage, lol.

Oh, but I’m “forgetting” something, aren’t I? Right. This line:

Katara: Aang, I’m sorry, but right now I’m just a little confused.

If we want to talk about parallels, which I know the A:TLA fandom adores, this line sounds suspiciously like:

Yue: … but I like you [Sokka] too much and it’s too confusing to be around you.

Yue and Katara are actually in similar situations here. Outside forces are interfering with their relationships; for Yue, there is her arranged marriage, and for Katara, it’s the life-or-death nature of the war itself. They aren’t confused about their feelings, as Yue knows she likes Sokka and Katara knows she likes Aang, but they are confused about how to reconcile those feelings with their external circumstances. And can you blame them for that? They are facing impossible decisions (the fate of their nation and the fate of the world respectively). I would be confused, too! So Katara’s response isn’t a reaction to any so-called “entitlement” from Aang; she is experiencing genuine confusion about how to approach her own feelings for him in the midst of a war.

In sum, Aang asking questions about their relationship was a logical step to take resolving his confusion and is in no way related to “entitlement.” Katara’s confusion was not “letting Aang down easy” and interpreting it as such requires disregarding every preceding line of the conversation and its context.

As you can see, Aang’s actions in EIP are not at all “entitled.” His questions were understandable. While his kiss was inappropriate and inexcusable, it was also a mistake, and there is no canon evidence to support the conclusion Katara would never be able to forgive him (her literal best friend!) for it.

Before I end, I’ll touch briefly upon the DotBS kiss, because it is also occasionally used as an example of Aang’s “entitlement” towards Katara’s feelings. Whether you like the trope or not, this moment falls under what is called the “Now or Never Kiss.” TV Tropes actually lists Kataang/DotBS as an example under the Western Animation tab:

“Avatar: The Last Airbender: The fact that he’s finally going to face the dreaded Firelord, and possibility that he might not come back alive from that battle, gives Aang enough motivation to kiss Katara.”

Again, whether you like the trope or not, it involves reciprocation from both parties:

“The Not-A-Couple [i.e. both parties] don’t want to go out without revealing how they [i.e. both parties] really feel. It’s now or never. They kiss.”

Katara and Aang both like each other. When Aang initiates the DotBS kiss, Katara kisses him back. Her lips are still puckered when he pulls away. Furthermore, Katara had initiated a kiss with Aang prior to this incident, in CoTL. Katara was also the one to initiate every cheek kiss with Aang (who is the only character she ever demonstrated such affection towards). So Aang kissing Katara during DotBS follows an established precedent of Katara initiating different kisses, romantically inclined, with Aang. It’s not entitlement; it’s him knowing they mutually like each other and him realizing this might be the last time he ever sees her. Again, you can hate the trope, but don’t blatantly misconstrue its meaning. You’ll sound like Fire Nation propaganda, lmao. (For clarification, jic: the general you. not anon!)

Here is a fantastic post by @imreallyhereforkataang explaining the DotBS kiss in more detail as well as discussing why Kataang’s progression in the second half of Book 3 was, in fact, well-developed, and how Katara and Aang are best friends above all else and know that (which was the core of their relationship from the start).

And a bonus fun fact: in the original storyboard (link takes you to storyboarder Giancarlo Volpe’s DeviantArt with said storyboard), it is noted that Katara smiles after Aang kisses her. Why? Because she likes him as much as he likes her! It was changed by a “higher authority,” according to Volpe, probably to add more realism to the romance (i.e. Katara likes Aang, yes, but as she herself points out in EIP - there’s a war going on, and love is always terrifying to reconcile with war).

(Seriously, though, do read Volpe’s description on the storyboard. Takes you a second to scroll down and maybe a minute to read. Short yet informative, discussing how you can see on the storyboard itself that someone revised the image so Katara isn’t smiling after the kiss.)

Anyways! Opponents’ argument that Katara wasn’t interested in Aang therefore is and has always been entirely inapplicable.

To conclude: the entitlement assertion is laughable. There is no canon evidence to support it. As such, I encourage you to laugh whenever you see it! Pull an Azula, for that matter:

[ID: Gif from “The Beach” episode of A:TLA. Ty Lee, mimicking a guy, asks Azula, “Hey there sweet sugar cakes. How ya likin’ this party?” Azula proceeds to burst into exaggerated laughter, earning stares from everyone else at the party. End ID.]

Thank you for the great ask, anon! Hopefully my response was satisfactory 💛

[rachelbethhines]

Vintage Shows to Watch While You Wait for the Next Episode of WandaVision - The 60s

So the 60s is the era that Wandavision pulls most heavily from for it’s inspiration. So much so that one could make the argument that each of the first three episodes are all set in the 1960s. Episode one pulls from the early 60s with multiple Dick Van Dyke refences, episode two is very Bewitched inspired, and episode three is aesthetically very similar to The Brady Bunch which started in ‘69. As such it was hard to narrow down the list for this decade and I had to get creative in some ways. 

1. The Andy Griffith Show (1960 - 1968)

The Andy Griffith Show gets kind of a bad rap now a days for being, supposedly, a conservative’s wet dream. People claiming it as such have apparently never actually seen the series. Oh yes, it’s very much set in white rural 60s America and will occasionally present the obliviously outdated joke, but the story of a widowed sheriff being the only sane man in a small town full of lovable lunatics, who prefers to solve his and others problems with negotiation and hair brained schemes as opposed to violence has far more in common with modern day Steven Universe than whatever genocidal fantasy fake rednecks have in their heads.  

As the gif above shows Andy Griffith was very subtlety progressive for its time. Andy was a stanch pacifist, pro-gun control, treated drug addicts and prisoners with respect, and all the women he would date had careers, ect. and so on. It’s not a satire making any sort of grand political statements but the series had a moral center that was far more left than many realize. 

But if it’s not a satire, then what type of comedy is it? 

The Andy Griffith Show excels in what I like to call, ‘awkward comedy’. See everyone in Mayberry is far too nice to just come out and tell a character they’re making an ass of themselves, so therefore whoever is the idiot punching bag of the episode’s focus must slowly unravel as everyone looks on in helpless pity until said character realizes the folly of their ways and the townsfolk come together to make them feel happy and accepted once more. Wandavision takes this polite idyllic awkwardness and plays it up for horror instead of laughs.  

2. The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961 - 1966)

The creators of Wandavision actually met with Dick Van Dyke himself to pick his brain and learn how sitcoms were made back then. Paul Bentley also took inspiration from Van Dyke in his performance of the sitcom version of Vision, while Olsen stated Mary Tylor Moore had a heavy influence on her character of Wanda. But more than just being a point of homage, The Dick Van Dyke Show was hugely influential in modernizing the family sitcom and breaking a lot of the unspoken traditions and ‘rules’ of the 50s television era. It’s also just really, really funny.  

3.The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1962 - 1965) 

Bit of a cheat here. Alfred Hitchcock Presents actually started in 1955 as a half hour anthology show, but in ‘62 the show got a revamp and was extended into a full hour tv series. I knew I wanted The Twilight Zone to be covered in my episode one recap, but ‘The Master of Suspense’ couldn’t be forgotten. While The Twilight Zone reveled in the surreal and supernatural, Alfred Hitchcock pioneered the thriller genre and made real life seem dangerous, horrifying, and other worldly.   

4. Doctor Who (1963 - present day) vs Star Trek (1966 - present day) 

Just like how westerns dominated the air waves during the 50s, science fiction was the center of the cultural zeitgeist of the 60s. From Lost in Space to My Favorite Martian, space aliens and robots were everywhere. So naturally I had to name drop the two sci-fi juggernauts that still air to this today. If you thought that the rivalry between Star Wars and Star Trek was bad then you’ve never seen a chat full of Whovians and Trekkies duking it out over who is the better monster, the Borg or the Cyberman. But which one has the more influence over Wandavision?

Well Star Trek owes it’s existence to sitcoms. As with The Twilight Zone before it, Star Trek was produced by Desilu Productions and it’s co-founder and CEO, Lucille Ball, was the series biggest supporter behind the scenes, lobbying for it when it faced early cancelation. As with all things sitcomy, everything ties back to I Love Lucy in the end. However despite that little backstory, it would seem that the series has very little to do with Wandavision itself beyond being quintessentially American. 

I would argue that Wandavision owes much to Doctor Who though. Arguably more so than any show mentioned in this retrospective. Time travel, alternate realities, trouble in quite suburbia, brainwashing, people coming back from the dead, ect... just about every trope you can find in Wandavision has also appeared in Doctor Who at some point. As a series that can go anywhere and do anything, Doctor Who was a pioneer of marrying genres in new and interesting ways. 

5. Bewitched (1964 - 1972) and I Dream of Jeannie (1965 - 1970)

It’s hard to pick one series over another because they’re essentially the same show. A mortal man falls in love with a magical girl who upends their lives with magic filled hijinks as they try their best not to have their secret discovered by the rest of the world. And both have their fingerprints all over the DNA of Wandavision. 

There’s only two core differences; Samantha and Jeannie have completely different personalities, with Sam being confident and knowledgeable and Jeannie being naïve and oblivious, along with their relationships with their respective men, Sam and Darrin being married and in love at the start of the series and Jeannie chasing after Tony in the beginning in a will they/won’t they affair, finally only getting together in the last season. 

6. The Munsters (1964 - 1966) vs The Adams Family (1964 - 1966)

Fans of these two shows are forever sadden that there never was a crossover between them. Because they’d fit perfectly together. Both shows are about a surreal and macabre family living in American suburbia and disrupting the lives of their neighbors with their otherworldly hijinks. Sound familiar?     

The main difference between the two shows is the way the characters viewed their placement in the world they inhabit. 

The Munsters were always oblivious to the fact that didn’t fit in. They just automatically assumed everyone had the same personal tastes as them. Whenever they encountered anyone who behaved strangely around them they would write that person off as being the odd one rather than questioning themselves. As such the main cast was structured like a stereotypical sitcom family who just happened to be classic movie monsters. 

The Addams were well aware that they were abnormal and they loved it! They lived life with in their own little world and didn’t care what anyone thought of them. As such the characters were far more colorful and quirky as individuals but there was little in the way of refences to other horror franchises beyond just a general love of the twisted and strange. 

7. Green Acres (1965 - 1971) and the Rual-verse (1962 - 1971)

So the MCU is not the first franchise to bring viewers an interconnected universe to the small screen. Far from it, as sitcoms had been doing this for decades, starting with the ‘rualverse’. Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction, and Green Acres were all produced by the same company and were treated as spinoffs of each other, complete with crossovers and shared characters and sets. 

Of the three, the last show, Green Acres, has the most in common with Wandavision. A well to do businessman and his lovely socialite wife settle down in small town America on a farm in order to get away from the stresses of city life, only to find new stresses in the country. Eva Gabor, herself a natural Hungarian, plays the character of Lisa as Hungarian making her one of the few non-native born Americans on tv screens during the cold war. Despite her posh nature and original protests to the move, Lisa assimilates to the rural life far easier than her husband, Oliver. Who, as the main comedic thread, can’t comprehend his new quirky neighbors’ odd and often illogical behavior.  

8. Hogan’s Heroes (1965 - 1971) and Get Smart (1965 - 1969)

So as comic fans have been quick to point out, it’s looking like both A.I.M. (Hydra) and Sword (Shield) will be players in the story of Wandavision. To commemorate that here’s two shows to represent those opposing sides. Although in truth, neither series has anything else in common with each other but I need to condense things down someway. 

In Hydra’s corner we got Hogan’s Heroes. A show all about taking down Nazis from within. 

I love, love, love, ‘robin hood’ comedies where a group of con artists try week after to week to pull one over the establishment. The Phil Silvers Show, Mchale's Navy, and Top Cat, just to name a few examples are all childhood favorites of mine. However while those shows had a lot of morally ambiguous characters, Hogan’s Heroes has very clear cut good guys and bad guys, cause the bad guys are Nazis and the show relentless makes fun of the third reich as should we all. In fact I was watching Hogan’s Heroes while waiting for the GA run off election results. Fortunately my home state decided to kick out our own brand of Nazis this year. 

For Shield, we got the ultimate spy spoof, Get Smart. Starring, Inspector Gadget himself, Don Adams, as the bumbling Maxwell Smart. Get Smart, is a hilarious send up of Cold War espionage but the real selling point of the show, imho, is Max and his co-worker 99′s relationship. You can cut the sexual tension in the air with a knife all while laughing your ass off. 

9. Batman (1966 - 1968)

First was Superman and then came Batman. Yet while Superman was a serious action show, Batman was a straight up comedy. Showcasing that superheroes could indeed be funny. 

Also shout out for Batman being the only show on this list to have an actual crossover with it’s competitor, The Green Hornet. 

10. Julia (1968 - 1971)

Since episode two features the first appearances of Herb and Monica, let’s highlight the first black led sitcom since the cancelation of Amos ‘n Andy over a decade earlier. The show focuses on single mother and military nurse, Julia, as she tries to live her life without her recently decease husband, who was killed in Vietnam, as she tries to raise their six year old son on her own.  

The series is cute. It’s more of a throw back to earlier family sitcoms where there’s no fantasy and life lessons are the name of the game. It’s the fact that the main character is a single black woman is what made the show so subversive and important at the time. 

Runner Ups

There’s much good stuff in the 60s, so here’s some others that didn’t make the cut but I would recommend anyways. 

Car 54, Where Are You? (1961 - 1963)

I call this the Brooklynn 99 of the 1960s. Bumbling but well meaning Officer Toody longs to do good in the world and help anyone in need, but often screws things up with his ill thought out schemes. He often drags his best friend and partner, the competent but anxiety riddled, Muldoon into his escapades. 

Mr. Ed (1961 - 1966)

The grandfather of the sarcastic talking pet trope. 

The Jetsons (1962 - 1963 and 1985 - 1987)

Hanna-Barbera often took popular sitcoms and just repackaged them as cartoons with a fantasy theme to them. The Jetsons has no singular show that it rips-off but is rather more a grab bag of sitcom tropes that feature, robots, computers, and flying cars. 

The Outer Limits (1963 - 1965) 

The Outer Limits was The Twilight Zone’s biggest competitor in terms of being a sic-fi/horror anthology series. 

Gillian’s Island (1964 - 1967) 

The only comparison to WandaVision I could think of was that this is a sitcom about people being trapped in one place. But by that point I was running out of room on the list. Still it’s one of the funniest shows on here. 

So yeah, this took longer than expected cause there’s a lot, here. Hopefully the 70s will be easier. Which I’ll post on Friday. 

[tarithenurse]

Impervious

Fandom: MCU / TFATWS Pairing: Sam Wilson x reader Content: Mentions of hate/harrasment, bad weather, sadness, awkwardness, fluff. A/N: This is my contribution to @princessmisery666​ ‘s Daily Mix Challenge! She tossed me a song I’ve never heard before (Skin – by Sabrina Carpenter) and listening to the lyrics I had the image of a highschool prom dance scene where the main character is dancing with the partner while the jealous ass holes are staring daggers....but instead I ended up writing this – oops? Hope you enjoy! And thank you for a lovely challenge!

Impervious

I should delete my Twitter too. The day has only just begun but haters never seem to sleep, filling your online existence with a shit-ton of “negativity”.

It wasn’t as if you had planned it. It just happened!

Thinking back, you can’t help smiling at the memory of that morning a couple of years ago.

Way too early in November, cold and wet and absolutely not a day where you really wanted to be out in the horrendous morning rush and trying to weave in and out between people, with a cooling coffee in one hand, phone in the other, and an umbrella sandwiched dangerously by your shoulder and chin. Nope, the day was shitty and had just plummeted further as you hung up: you’d just had a contract cancelled. At least you wouldn’t be late.

Ready to give up your attempt at adulting (without the prospect of a new gig), you didn’t pay attention to your surroundings for a moment. Just a few seconds. But of course, that’s all it would take to ram straight into someone, crushing the paper cup between the two of you and jostling him to spill his own coffee.

On any other day, you’d probably have handled it more graciously. This day...not so much.

Scrambling for your phone (ugh, it had landed in the biggest puddle available and cracked), you rattled off frantic excuses while trying to hold back the tears. Then your umbrella got snagged by the wind and someone bumped into you, forcing you onto hands and knees and it was all...just...too much.

“Hey baby girl, don’t worry. Don’t cry,” his voice was warm and soothing just like his hands as they gripped yours, brushing off dirt gently with his sleeve, “don’t cry, ’s gonna be fine. See? No harm, no foul.”

There were scars on his hands – especially his knuckles had seen a lot of use, disrupting the gentleness of the dark skin with odd patterns – but they were steady and welcoming then as they cupped your elbows.

Still trying to push out excuses (at this point as much for your own reaction as the accident itself) between hiccups, you were not prepared for him.

His coat was practical and glistening from the rain that gathers on the treated material rather than soak into it...as opposed to your own old jacket that could double as a sponge.

“Just breathe,” he smiled from under the hood, “and stop apologizin’, ‘aight?” Well, you did shut up, too stunned by the crooked smile and the sunshine peeping out at you from his eyes. “That’s better. Lemme just grab this -” he bend for the remains of your phone -”and then...maybe I can offer ya somethin’ warm to drink?”

“Shouldn’t...shouldn’t I do that?” Your voice began to rise once more despite your best intentions. “I wasn’t watchi-”

“Nope.” You liked the way the P popped. “Gotta make sure ya fine...that’s kinda my thing, y’know.”

“O-okay...”

He had done just that: brought you to a warm café and hooked you up with their biggest mocha with chocolate powder on top (he even secured you a seat close to the heater) while still chatting about random things to calm you down.

But then his phone had rang and he’d have to leave.

You never got around to ask about his name...but later, when your brain decided to finally cooperate, you realized you didn’t have to: you had just been helped by Sam Wilson, former Falcon and the new Captain America.

That could have been the end of that.

It left you with dreams you neither wanted to share with anyone nor forget. Something inside you had woken up, wanting company but finding nothing but solitude – not that you technically were alone, of course.

You found yourself reading about Wilson’s heroic deeds both before and after the Avengers...and you kept noticing the little details that people seemed to ignore on the gossip pages or in the headlines. You fell for the man without the wings and shield.

A month later (and thankfully a few seasonal jobs too), you walked from the subway towards your little apartment after a long shoot. It was late and you were too tired to notice much about your surroundings until the winter boots of someone appeared in your lowered field of vision, making you jerk back to attention.

“Didn’t mean to scare ya,” Sam Wilson smiled disarmingly.

You were several blocks from home still. The streetlight flickered, stretching the shadows from a nearby dumpster, and towering above you were windows which all tried to block out the world for the sake of the residents living there.

“What are you doing here?” You bit your tongue in regret immediately. “I-I mean uhm...you didn’t...didn’t scare me...”

If he had been offended, Sam didn’t show it. Instead he just smiled that crooked smile, flashing what you were absolutely certain must be the prettiest tooth gap. “Let me walk ya home for starters?”

“...sure.”

It wasn’t winter anymore inside you when he was there. It was as good as you were ever going to get, knowing your dreams were unrealistic, so of course you decided to enjoy it for a little while. You walked side by side with him, basking in his warm presence until you were chatting as if he was an old friend.

“You still haven’t explained what you’re doing here, Sam.”

The two of you had come to a stop outside your complex. Fidgeting with your keys in the pocket, you wished that you could keep walking with him.

“Well...I was just gonna check in on you but now...this gonna sound crazy,” he pauses to scratch under the scarf, “...I was kinda hopin’ you’d let me finish that coffee with ya some day?”

He was still smiling although a bit more timidly and more towards the winter boots.

“I’d like that.” Inside you, a million sparklers were lit. “Tomorrow?”

“Hey baby girl, what ya smiling like a goof for?”

Sam’s voice calls you back to the real world – a real world where he’s coming over to you on the couch with a big mug of fresh coffee.

“You.” Closing the laptop, you push it away in favour of your boyfriend. “I was remembering how we bumped into each other.”

The memory makes him smile the way you love. “Best day in my life.”

“Same for me.” You kiss him. “I wouldn’t give us up for anything or anyone.” Not even jealous haters.

[lizacstuff]

Another very good episode despite the sad ending which was very well executed by hande. What did you think of the episode?

Very good episode. One nice thing about these new writers, so far, is that the episodes flow a bit better than they used to flow. I think the prior team had trouble putting 2+ hour story without it being disjointed.  These guys seem to be able to manage the format better. 

So much to love in this chapter. So much comedy. So much fun. So much ripping my heart out and stopping on it and then kicking it a little and then throwing it into a fiery lava volcano pit for good measure. 

All those emotions were felt. 

Edser to come, but let's start with Babaanne and the Prince.  It really feels like these characters were introduced with another story in mind, and then the show pivoted. Perhaps the new writers wanted something else, or maybe Fox wanted to renew but wanted the show to get back to basics so they changed course to this reset of sorts? It all feels unfinished.

(continued under the cut)

I think we were all expecting more trouble from both characters.  Not that kidnapping Eda isn't causing trouble, it clearly is, but the fact that it was resolved in the first 5 minutes is notable. What was the point? It did give them a cliffhanger, a chance for Serkan to be a hero, a reason for Serkan to fire Balca, and a reason for Babaanne to change her tune, so it wasn't completely pointless, it served some plots, however it was very anticlimactic. 

Babaanne was pretty anticlimactic too. She comes on like a house on fire in 25, having Serkan arrested on serious charges that could have stuck, framing Alptekin, ruining the project the team had won via the tender. She manipulates Eda into breaking Serkan's heart, goes full matchmaker with the Prince, but then when Eda decides, "Nah, I'm not only not going to give up on Serkan, I'm gonna marry him." she backs off all her threats? 

It does make me wonder if both or either (offscreen) the Prince or Babaanne have something to do with Serkan's plane going missing.  Just so they can fulfill their evil potential. Either of them is powerful enough to pull that off, and it makes more sense than either of them giving up so easily. 

As for Aydan and Ayfer, they made for some pretty good laughs this episode. I think the friction caused by their inherent differences is much more funny, than the fighting over Chef Alexander. As I said in another ask, Ayfer worked my last nerve in her very first scene this episode. She wakes up after being dosed by her mother's choice of life-mate for Eda, but immediately blames the Bolats. Fuck off with that. She enabled her mother, she is more to blame for this situation than anyone but the villains. If she would have stood up to her mother and supported Eda instead of choosing to further Babaanne's agenda by opposing the wedding, maybe Eda's life wouldn't have been put in such danger.  I can't with her. She would deserve it if Eda puts a little distance between them.  

GO DETECTIVE MELO! Love her tenacity in putting together the pieces of Henna night and rightly figuring out Balca's duplicity. For a second there I thought they weren't going to tell Serkan what they found, which made me nervous, but then at the first opportunity she blurts it out. Well done!  We should have known Serkan would be two steps ahead of them except that he's been two steps behind when it comes to Balca since the very beginning. It was very satisfying to watch him fire her. Though, I do wish we would have seen him find out she purposely put strawberry in his drink.  Good riddance!   The ILYs between Serkan and Melo were very sweet, it speaks so well of Serkan that he has such a soft spot for her. Of course it is only natural since Melo has been an unwavering supporter of his since the beginning, Serkan picks his allies well. 

Now onto the couples. The tension between all the romantic pairs this episode was fun, and obviously done for over-the-top comic relief, but also very silly, lmao. Those boys are so DUMB!  Engin has the sensibility of a preteen boy and Ferit never knows when to shut up, he's so naive and he can't read a room.  

However, who didn't love the friendship growth between Serkan and Ferit?  They planned a 15-day bike trip? I'm dying! And crying! However, I fully believe that Eda-broke-up-with-me-I-have-a-sad-and-need-a-distraction Serkan planned that trip and I found it preposterous that Serkan would have any desire to still go right after he got married.  We're supposed to believe that schmoopy, smitten, horny Serkan is ready to leave his newlywed bride for that length of time? Puh-lease he's planning every way he's going to sex her up over the next 6 months, and it's going to take every free minute. Also they can't even find time to get to Paris for the night, but he's going away for that?? NOPE.  Maybe next year, Ferit... but also invite the girls to the bike portion.  

The tension between Eda and Serkan in the first half hour of the ep was a nice little truncated story of the stress wedding planning and a looming, giant life change can put on a couple. Edser started the day in a very schmoopy place, but by the time they left Aydan's they were already starting to feel the pressure. The bickering between Ayfer and Aydan felt typical, and I felt myself being more sympathetic with Aydan.  They're rich, why wouldn't they hire a wedding coordinator? That's a helluva lot of work to do in 3 days!  Why would Ayfer want to spent that time doing centerpieces when she could be enjoying the pre wedding festivities? Dumb. The gems as favors do seem a little over-the-top, but I'd like to take home one of those aquamarines when I attend their wedding, so I won't complain. As far as where they're going to live, both ladies need to step off! They need to be at least 15 minutes of driving distance from both of them.  Not living on the Bolat property and not living in Ayfer's neighborhood. Geez. I'm stressed just typing it up, no wonder it set the betrothed couple on edge.  Obviously, they were having a major disconnect when they got to work. Serkan was dealing with a crisis and probably should have just told Eda that instead of burying himself in work, ignoring her, and getting irritated with her. Meanwhile, Eda should have noticed he was more focused than even the typical workaholic robot, and that meant something important. 

The misunderstanding that fueled their full day stand-off was so silly, and preventable, but also led to hilarity and one of my favorite scenes ever so I won't be too hard on how manufactured it was.  Each of these things-- family wedding planning stress, Serkan being inattentive due to work crisis, and Serkan acting a little "the old ball and chain" when Ferit was blundering along about guys trips and postponing the wedding-- all led to an Eda who was already feeling a bit insecure, so when she overheard Serkan's phone conversation it's not shocking she took it the wrong way.  However, it takes a bit more handwaving to believe Serkan took the conversation the wrong way and went right to freezing her out. Come on, Serkan, you're less emotional and have less reasons to be feeling vulnerable at that moment. She was in your office trying to get your attention on wedding planning and your home and future. You were the one too busy to engage!  Though, I suppose it's believable that these two stubborn souls would allow the misunderstanding to fester out of pride, rather than confront it head on and clear it up right away. It's pretty consistent that when one of them gets their feelings hurt and feels rejected by the other, their defensive walls go up and they both revert to pretending they're just fine and the other's rejection can't hurt them. They need to get over this asap.  

That poor wedding planner. She has a couple insisting they get married in 3 days, they're entirely unhelpful and now they aren't even speaking to one another?  I understand her frustration and don't ding her for asking if they're sure they're ready to get married, but her saying that was definitely one of the things that contributed to the insecurities they were both already feeling. They were both so sad when they had the last conversation in the office, each one suggesting the other to take time to think and rest. Their video call that night was equally as fraught and sad. Sweet, dumb babies. 

The entire sequence of the girls stealthing into the hotel and hiding on the couch was hilarious. I love that Eda doesn't realize that crashing the bachelor party could be embarrassing until she's flat on her back on that couch, hiding behind lobby foliage.  As for the boys, they redeemed themselves a little bit, by being too upset to enjoy themselves.  

One of my favorite parts is Eda trying to be breezy as if the girls being there has nothing to do with the bachelor party. I laughed at Melo taking the blame for suggesting the resort. The single gal always takes the blame, just like the unmarried/not engaged Ferit gets the blame later.  This moment (click here) is one of my favorites of the episode. I still am not sure what she's trying to say with her looping gestures and pointing upstairs and then her haughty pose, and I don't think Serkan knows either, but yet he just gets a kick out of her. The guy who Engin said never smiled, smiles pretty damn easily these days. Also j’adored the wardrobe that had them matching perfectly in shades of cream and olive. In sync and gorgeous. 

Speaking of wardrobe, during that fireplace conversation Serkan looked so huggable in that fleece pullover (more casual Serkan, please!) that I felt terrible that they were not in a place where she could cuddle up to him in front of the fire. Come on! We deserved to see that. That was the biggest tragedy in that scene, slightly ahead of them postponing the wedding. As for that, they were both so convinced that the other thinks they're going too fast, that neither of them was listening to how the other positioned it. Each positioning it as the other's preference. That illustrated the trouble that a little insecurity and a lot of pride can cause.  

Now on to my favorite scene of the episode! Seriously, immediately after watching it I mentally vaulted it to my top 10 scenes list (no such list exists, and if it did it would change all the time, lol).  First, can I say how I appreciated that the friends were all shocked at the news they were postponing the wedding? Ferit and Engin couldn't believe it, and Melo, Ceren and Piril all actively questioned the idea that Serkan would want to postpone. Thank you! You just know if Ayfer were there she would have tried to say "Oh, that's too bad, but really for the best, let's celebrate!"  

Anyway, I loved every second from the moment Serkan says, "Eda, can we talk?" until the apology. Finally, instead of being led by their pride, they both show some hurt which is the catalyst for the heated conversation that clears everything up.  

It's impressive how consistent they've been with some characterizations and how Serkan and Eda yin/yang each other. Eda has always had trouble saying, "I love you." It just doesn't come easy to her. She illustrated that in episode 12, she can handle the sentiment and agree with it, "our feelings are mutual" but it's hard for her to say the words. 

Conversely, Serkan has never had that problem. From the minute he confessed he has told her how much he loves her many, many times and in many, many different ways. What Serkan has trouble with is "I'm sorry". It is so hard for him to say those words. In episode 9, all it would have taken to get Eda back was a simple apology, instead he spent an entire episode doing everything to get her back, but the very simple act of saying, "I'm sorry. That is some next level aversion to apologizing. Whereas Eda doesn't have that problem, she can own her mistakes and apologize pretty easily. 

These scenes outside showcased this dynamic beautifully.  After the misunderstanding is rectified, Eda very easily apologizes, but Serkan goes with a "me too" type of response. The sentiment is there, but he doesn't say the words. A few minutes later, after the crew joins them, Serkan goes all romantic robot and tells her how much he loves her, then prompts her, but instead Eda teases and teases until she finally whispers it. 

Obviously, she loves him and obviously he is sorry about the misunderstanding, but I like the consistency that they both still have trouble vocalizing these specific things.

The fact that Serkan was ready to chuck the guys and his bachelor party in order to have a romantic night with her is very sweet, and also points out how silly the notion of him wanting to travel extensively without her right after they get married. I don't mind things that are exaggerated for humor, but still humor shouldn't need you to completely change the attitudes of the characters in order to hit. And playing on jokes about how marriage and a wife might be viewed as a burden, especially in context of a couple who aren't even married yet, isn't awesome. Which I get, the fact that it is a shitty attitude and a crappy joke fueled the fights between the couples, so at least there was that. It wasn't accepted. 

The lovely montage by the lake was a wonderful way to show us some quiet, romantic moments between them. That's one of the great things about this format, they have time to occasionally gift us with scenes that don't drive the plot, don't move forward any story or character development or even have dialogue, they just exist to make us swoon and fall even more in love with this couple. Mission accomplished! The fact that Kerem is the one who found that location just makes it sweeter. 

Engin, Engin, Engin. What makes you think it is a good idea to judge a beauty pageant?  Your wife is in the hotel! Not that she would be jealous, but, you know, assigning a number value to women based on their looks... it's not great. Also I realize that it's a necessity while shooting with Covid, and we just have to suspend disbelief in scenes that should have tons of extras but are barren, but the hotel holding a beauty pageant and the only people in attendance are three dudes who just happened to be bored in the lobby is funny in and of itself.  But glad the girls got a chance to take their revenge and make the boys feel what it's like to be judged in such a way. Plus it was worth some laughs and gave us a way to unite the bachelor party with the pajama party. 

For me the next scenes only exist to have Edser draped all over each other in the bar.  I didn't really pay too much attention, I think Piril/Engin and Ceren/Ferit all made up, but I do know Serkan wanted to ditch everyone and go back to the room and since we know what happened next.... we know why!  Though I did wonder, did he have a massage appointment for like 10pm?  Or was it the next day? It matters not at all, but it did strike me while watching. I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW MUCH WE GOT OF THEM IN THE TUB!!!  *flings self into the sun*  That was quite something.  Bless these new writers and their willingness to go there.  I love that scene so much. Serkan's smile is just... something else. 

One nitpick is the lighting. Obviously, with the timeline they shoot on, some production value will go by the wayside, though mostly I think they do a decent job despite all the constraints. However, one place that is consistently lacking is lighting in indoor, one-off locations.  The coffee shop in ep 12 is an example, and this was another one. I can understand they need to get in and out quickly. In this case the crew wouldn't have been able to probably prep as much as they'd like, because you're probably not going to put any stand-ins in the water, and you can't take time to perfect it once your big stars are in the tub, mostly naked, submerged and pruning, but the harsh shadows across each of their faces is distracting. Where were the bounce boards? Even those lines out. 

But obviously we don't care. WE GOT THEM BEING SEXY AND PLAYFUL IN THE TUB! What a bounty. That's all that matters.  Loved all the wedding prep, especially the lovely Aydan and Eda scenes. There was SO MUCH JOY... until there wasn't. 

I'm not going to spend much time on the contrivance that led us to the final scenes. I mean, first, Erdem... why are you so incompetent?  And, second, do they not have E-signature in Turkey? Or scanners? Or even fax machines? The idea of having to fly to Italy just to sign something is ridiculous. Oh well, whatever drives their plot, I guess. 

The final Edser scene was brilliant and beautiful and heartfelt and romantic and ominous and painful. All the things it should have been for what happens next.  Poor Serkan! Poor Eda! Why can't they catch a break?