#call me Shonda Rhimes

[grace-williams-xo]

If you ever wanted to know anything about English peers or titles [royals included],,,, I did weeks of hyper focused research so you don’t have to! There are 12 posts, here is the master post with easy to ready tables about basic forms of address and links to the 11 other deep dives.

LOWKEY if it doesn’t get a modicum of attention I’ll cry and I wish I was kidding

[emergencybitch]

You know as this reaches 900 notes I get more and more worried they’re gonna ruin Penelope, Eloise and Colin with this upcoming season. Mostly Penelope actually. I haven’t been all that jazzed about some of the changes they’ve made to the characterizations of some of the main figures.

And before this goes much further, know I am actually plus sized. I’m bigger than Nicola, in fact.

I’m worried about the kinds of versions they’ll turn these characters into considering the new route they’re taking with Pen and Eloise. It does fundamentally shift the narrative that Eloise knows before Colin. It was quite mentally devastating to her when Colin rips her secret out of her. It was even, I’d argue, traumatic in way. In the books, at that point in the story, she’s been writing these columns for ten years. And not a soul in her personal life ever knew. And for it to be Colin to find out first, and for Cressida to be the second and use it against her in the worst way, all while her best friend is blissfully unaware- that leaves marks. Painful ones that I don’t think the books even fully addressed. Though, they’re not meant to. They’re romances novels.

And Netflix is, by all accounts, looking for a slightly deeper over arching story than the Bridgerton books provided in the beginning of the series, and most of the second half. They’re very focused on the less than handful of books in the series that deal with Lady Whistledown and it’s implications with more than superficial, smutty, assembly like gloves. And they’re are eight books for all eight siblings- but Colin’s book is no. 4 and the secret is revealed by the end. And that book and it’s fairly progressive analysis of 19th century gender roles in 90’s/00’s romance novels, and surprisingly few moments in Anthony’s are the only ones in the Whistledown half of the series that touch on it truly. Benedict’s story is stomach churning with more than a passing glance, and Daphne’s is… Bland.

So, in a way, Im happy that in the TV series, what appears to be or is intended to be the central connecting thread is given more prominence in the main over arching narrative. I think doing so is natural, considering that the original stories aren’t riddled with plot complexity and believe human reactions and emotions, especially not period accurate ones. And I’ll never complain about their choice to turn Kate and Edwina Sheffield into Kate and Edwina Sharma- I truly think what they’ve done with Anthony and Kates story was 100% the best choice. Anthony is objectively not so great a suitor. He’s quite awful and downright mean to Kate. And Benedict is worse. Say what you want about the times it was written in and the times it was written about, but there’s no real excuse for a majority of the plot of Benedict’s book being that he can’t accept that the woman he ‘loves’ won’t be his mistress because he still adheres to bullshit class systems and he’s horny. Yes he is charming, but when a writer writes a narrative so clear that part of it is how this girl was conceived and left unloved because she was the mistresses daughter and then she pulls away or even pushes away a man, but he points out she doesn’t ‘actually’ say the word ‘no’ so she must actually want him, you know you’ve got problems. She wrote it tip her toe over the line, and then explain it in a way that people genuinely would accept 20 years ago.

But shows and media have a habit of, in their efforts to not seem so misogynistic and problematic in romantic relationships, shifting whatever toxicity they used to write in for men onto female or queer friendships. And always on best friend characters that you would typically not expect to react that way, or is wildly out of character to do so.

And I’m terrified that there’s where they’re gonna shove the toxicity that necessary for Penelope’s story. Because let’s face it; Rhimes’ choice to cast an actual plus size actress for Penelope when in the book, she’s basically just ‘pudgy’, maybe midsize, makes her automatically less desirable to society. And they have to deal with that. Sure she’ll still have all the same awkward quirks and confidence issues that book Penelope had, but they’ve made Penelope even more of a shocking bride for Colin than the books had. They’re gonna have to write the regency reaction for the show, and try to mitigate the modern reaction while it airs, and after. Across all forms of media. As gross as it sounds, the reality is they’re gonna have to justify it. On paper and on the web, and on TV. And I’m pretty confident in being right about this; I’m bigger than Nicola is. I have real life experience to back all this shit up.

Make no mistake, no matter how much this online fandom loves Nicola’s on screen Penelope, the fat shaming when this season airs and we finally get smut scenes with a far girl and it’s not ridiculing her, but praising her? Large portions of the population are going to rake Nicola over the coals. They’re going to target fat women. Regular folk and the media the like. Social media will be ruthless in some corners, and you’re going to see even sections of this fandom subtly do it too.

And my biggest fear is that on screen, the kinda toxic fighting that Colin and Penelope engage in during the books will be shifted to Penelope and Eloise. And that will ruin one of the most complex female friendships on TV right now. It has so much potential and while I’m not crazy about the changes they’ve already made, I can see the world where they stick the landing from the end of season two to the end of season three, and it ends up worth it. But doing so takes work that people who are plus sized themselves can’t begin to understand on their own. And if they’re suddenly having Eloise and Pen snap and bicker back at each other and say as hurtful and downright distasteful things as the male suitors do in the books in their efforts to clean up the misogyny on their parts, and if they do what I predict and use Pen being fat as a sticking point in the fight between the two girls, I’m gonna be totally fucking pissed. Because not only will it ruin Eloise and Pen, it just doesn’t fucking work that way. You actually make it more misogynistic by cleaning up the man’s actions and making solid female friendships collapse instead.

And because Rhimes made Pen explicitly plus size, and because she’s not backing down on making her the star of the show across the multiple seasons (rightfully so, she’s literally the narrator, the whole series’ foundation is built on her characters actions), the ways in which the culture we have around fat shaming and shifting toxicity off men and into women can make this go horribly. And because Pen is explicitly fat, Nicola and the character of Penelope will get it the worst. She is the most primed in this scenario to have a story where she’s the heroine turn into a collective narrative to consider her the laughing stock instead.

Anyway so excited for season three :)))))

If I don’t get “For Gods sake Penelope, are you going to marry me or not?” just once, I will riot.

He’s stupid, and I love him, and I want that ridiculous proposal from his mouth.

[ebsmind]

My Little Treasure | president!Nico Hischier x fem!reader

summary : being the presidents mistress isn’t easy. even when another woman comes out saying she’s having an affair with him.

word count : 8.5k (the longest ive ever written BE PROUD OF ME)

warning(s) : this is purely based off of shonda rhimes SCANDAL sjiwiejdj, angst, longing (kinda? idk), cheating/infidelity (nellie deserves better), reader pushes her feeling aside, timo being called nico’s personal bitch AHAHAHA, murder (mentioned in case), non accurate descriptions of politics and law stuff, like 2-3 mentions of vomit , use of Y/N (I tried not too but I just couldn't), tbh there’s not a lot of nico x reader IM SORRY part 2 will make up for it, heavy makeout session, smut kinda? idk but next part will be smutty TRUST, getting caught by timo (what the hell Timo), VIOLENCE aka just a slap in the face, one flashback spicy scene and i think that's it!

a/n : LISTEN LISTEN before i say ANYTHING i just wanted to say that i know nico isn’t american but im currently hyper fixated on him and only him and i just started watching scandal again SO I HAD TO so please if you don’t like the “accuracy” don’t read it! this is FICTIONAL but yeah here we are! this closely follows the first episode from season 1! this is a long oneeeee! i’ve also changed the names of Abby, Quinn, Harrison, Huck, AND Cyrus (you’ll see who I change him with 😏) I also go along with the case that’s happening so this is semi like a mystery but not? idk how to explain but you’ll see as you read. send me something in my inbox if you want me to elaborate on anything about the side characters! i definitely want to turn this into an au so send me something so i can write about it or talk about it! here’s the mood board! this is also my second time writing anything spicy so please bear with me, this whole fic idea really had me out of my comfort zone so it isn't my best writing but I still wanted to get this out!

The clicks of your So Kate’s are heard throughout the law firm. Everyone knows it’s you, just by the way you walk. It’s swift and carries determination, you are on a mission. You present yourself with a sense of purpose to your colleagues. Scratch that, they’re family. Despite them technically being your coworkers, you would do anything for the four of them. From saving Gwen from her violent ex-husband to Kurt, a soldier who had served in the United States CIA’s top secret, off the books, B-613 program who ended up being dumped on the streets to beg for food, you saved them and they were all you had. 

You step into the standard-sized conference room, and the extensive window along the back wall displays an orange-to-blue hue. The sun is setting and making it known that the end of the day is near. You first make eye contact with Blair, the senior associate at the firm. She stops her conversation amongst everyone and before she can greet you, Kurt, who is sitting at the very right end of the table, utters, “Perla Schmitz killed herself, channel 5.” 

You make no time to strut to the table and grab the TV remote, which had been sitting next to Blair. You don’t need to change the channel once you press the power button on the remote, it’s all you watch in the firm—across the 55’ inch screen, displayed in bold lettering ‘Perla Schmitz (26) found dead in her home’. You take a second to yourself. Perla had been caught cheating on her husband, who was a very conservative congressman, but that wasn’t the icing on the cake. The guy she was having an affair with? He murdered her husband, brutally. 27 stab wounds to the chest, his head almost decapitated because of how much force was used to slit his throat. If someone were to ask you, you’d say she had it coming. 

You turn to the group and raise a finger in the air as you start to speak. “We knew this was coming, let’s not pretend that she wasn’t the one cheating on her husband.” 

Perla came into your office late last Friday night, around 11:25. You had stayed longer than you originally wanted to, needing to finish up some paperwork that had to be done for one of the previous clients you had. What a way to bring in the new year, but you weren’t complaining. 

“Exactly! I knew she didn’t have enough willpower to continue her life. She took the easy way out, man.” You take a seat at the left end side of the table, parallel to Kurt while Neil, another associate and close friend of yours finishes his veracious remark. You decide it’s best to tell Neil and everyone else to drop the topic, but before you can open your mouth, the firm doors open. The 7-foot ebony-colored wood doors reveal a man with black hair and blue eyes, maybe mid to late 20s. The first thing you notice is how his eyes tear up before he speaks, not how he’s covered in blood. 

“I-��I didn’t kill her I swear! She was my best friend, we were gonna get married!” 

Your irises scan over the pinned evidence on the whiteboard, it had been approximately 18 hours since the 6’2 blood blood-covered man had walked into your firm. Sully St. James comes from an extremely well-respected family. His father was a Veteran from the Vietnam War. Sully himself had done two tours in Iraq and received the Medal of Honor. Having someone as well respected as him, show up to the front door of your firm, asking for help wasn’t new but you were determined to help the man not get convicted as the killer in his girlfriend’s murder case. You needed time, but the US attorney general David Rosen was stubborn. 

“Okay! So, according to Sully, he had just come home from the bar down on 9th St, called SOST, he then walked into the bathroom where the crime scene is, saw Paige’s body on the ground,” Blair points out and before she can finish her sentence Kurt cuts her off. 

“Paige suffered from 2 bullets to the chest and 1 to the head. This wasn’t a freak accident, someone wanted her dead.” Kurt crosses his arms and moves up from the far end of the table. He was correct, but your gut couldn’t help but wail that Sully was not the cause. 

Blair continues to explain the approximate details, “Here’s the weird part, Sully calls the police but before they can get there he flies, and he flies here.” She takes a step away from the whiteboard and makes eye contact with you. She can sense what you’re already going to say. Blair knows you, and she knows you like the back of her hand. 

“My gut tells me that he didn’t do this. Something is missing. I need more, all of you need to try to find something, anything! Anything that can clear this man’s alibi. He said it himself that he loved her and that she was his best friend. I believe him.” You step up from the chair you were sitting in and start heading towards the conference room doors when your cell phone starts to ring. Grabbing it out of your left pocket, the name “Timo Meier” is displayed across the screen. You huff in response. 

He needs you right now and you know if Timo were to tell you to head to the White House as soon as possible you would and it wouldn’t end in a way you would like. Yet, you still manage to press the green button, confirming the call. 

“What do you want.” You’re busy and Timo knows it. This isn’t some ‘Oh hi! How are you doing? I haven’t heard from you in a while phone call. Timo didn’t have time for that, being the White House’s Chief of Staff to Nico Hischiers personal bitch, he never had time.

Timo sighs, you can already picture him, sitting at his desk, elbow resting on it, his thumb and pointer finger trying to relieve his throbbing headache. Timo did so much for the President of the United States and somehow that included calling you on a random Tuesday afternoon. 

“He needs you to come in. Something happened and we need you to make it go away.” Timo lets you take a second to respond. Already sensing that the situation was substandard, it had been months since you had last spoken to Timo and maybe even half a year since you’ve seen Nico. Physically. It wasn’t that you hated him, you could never. It was the fact you left your position as the White House Communications Director for yourself. Everything you did was always for Nico and never not you and when the realization of that hit you, it was time to go. It’s time to separate yourself from some fantasy that only ever works out in the books. The feeling of two hands wrapped around your throat finally caught up to you. 

“I’ve got a client sitting in my conference room Timo.” 

“Look, I know, I know, but this isn’t something that needs to be out in the public. Make it go away. Please. If not for him, for me.” He’s desperate and you know it. If you were to tell him that the only reason you were about to agree was because you held him in such high regard, you’d never hear the end of it. So, you keep your reply as simple as needed. 

“Okay, I’ll be there in 45 minutes. I need to let Neil know.” 

You spot Timo before he spots you. He’s sat on a bench, perhaps getting some proper vitamin D. You watch the way his foot taps every other millisecond. Being cooped up in a mediocre-sized office in the White House can make someone feel insane, you’ve been there. 

As you get closer, you examine the navy blue suit that he’s dressed in. It’s his favorite one, he has 3 more pairs of it because he wears it so much. His tie has gold accents on it, it’s from his wife. You had helped her pick it out for him since you had seen him a lot more than she did. His eyes are heavy, he’s needs a vacation, a long one to be exact. You’ll let Nico know if you ever see him again, maybe he can pull some strings for him even if it’s a nice (long-awaited) expensive dinner.

You walk up the concrete steps before reaching Timo, the only thing grabbing his attention is the click of your heels. Once he realizes that you have walked up to him, you open your mouth to greet him. 

“What.” Timo giggles, he’s knows you mean business but he can’t deny he misses your presence around in the White House even if you were telling him off half of the time. 

“Well, hello to you too.” He stands up and gestures to start walking with him. You obey and within a second you guys stride across the walkway that overlooks the White House. 

“What do you need me for Timo? I don’t work for him anymore.” 

“He needs a favor.” You scoff at Timo and choose not to say anything.

“You still came. You came when I called.” His words hit you like a bus. It stings. Both you and Timo know that whenever the President needs anything from you, you’ll be there in a heartbeat. You’d do anything for everyone you love. You were loyal. That’s how it always had been and why Nico wanted you there every step of the way. He knew that he could turn his back and not expect a knife to be plunged into it. 

“Her name is Vanessa Wyatt. She works in AIDE. She claims to have had an affair with him. I need you to make it go away and fast.” Timo places his right arm on his abdomen, in response you hook your left one into his right and walk side by side with Timo. 

“Is it true?” You try to show no reaction but green envy begins to boil in your stomach.

“No, of course not, but I need you to shut it down.” 

“I need to see him.” You don’t think about your reply until after it leaves your mouth. Both you and Timo come to an abrupt stop. He takes a step back and faces you. 

“No, I don’t think that’s possible.” 

“You want me to shut her up? Then I need to look at him in the eyes and know he’s not lying.” Timo knows that you're serious. You always are. 

“The President’s schedule is packed. He has no time to see you.” He’s straightforward, Timo doesn’t have time for negotiating but luckily for you, you’re a persuasive person. You tend to always get what you want even if it means overstepping some boundaries. 

“He wants my services but here’s the thing Timo, I do not work for him anymore! So, tell him to make time to see me if not you’re just gonna have to find someone else to do it for you. You know where to find me.” 

After giving Timo a faint smile, you turn to walk away. As one foot goes in front of the other, you can’t help but feel that some part of this story is true making your heart ache.

By the time you get back to your office, you get a phone call from Timo, confirming that Nico managed to get out of a meeting so that he could talk to you. With that, you grab your coat off the coat rack and start heading towards the conference room to let at least Gwen know about your abrupt departure. 

“Hey Gwen, duty calls at the White House, I’ll be back in a couple of hours. Anything new?” Gwen knows you’re talking about the case and before she utters anything new she’s found, she strides to the door and closes it. 

Knowing that Sully is just in the room next door, she lowers her voice, “Kurt managed to get into Paige’s email and I’ve been reading. I found one where she emailed a friend. She was supposed to meet up with a friend at the embassy party together but never showed.” 

You nod your head to show that you understand but it’s not enough information to be able to explain why Paige was murdered so, you request more information. 

“Who? and Why?” Keep it simple. 

Gwen takes about a second before she replies, “A girl named Ariel, and I don’t know why.” 

“Find out why. ‘I don’t know’ is not an answer I’m gonna take.” That sentence leaves your mouth as fast as lightning strikes the Earth’s outermost crust. 

To other people, your reply would’ve been seen as impolite but to you and everyone at the firm, it was just that ‘I don’t know’ wouldn’t get you anywhere in a case. Especially when so much is at stake.

“I won’t be long Gwen. Tell Blair and she’ll go interview the friend.”

Once you arrive at the White House you are led to Timo’s office. It’s nice and spacious, with a window that overlooks a garden. Nellie’s garden. A sour taste forms in your mouth. The garden is small, not as big as Jacqueline Kennedy’s garden but Nellie insisted she needed her own. You were told moments ago that she’d be attending this “meeting” and as much as you dislike it, you can’t help but feel empathy for Nellie. She was nothing but nice to you when Nico hired you as the manager for his campaign. It sucked most that you went not even a month later you started sleeping with her husband. 

The combined noises of clothes rustling and heavy breaths consume the aura of the small hotel room. It’s unbelievable how an innocent dinner between two ‘colleagues’ can turn outright sexual within two hours, but you weren’t complaining. Maybe it was the two glasses of cabernet sauvignon that your unconscious level of operation had convinced you to drink. 

Nico places open-mouthed kisses from behind your ear, down to the spot on your breast that the black lace push-up bra doesn’t cover. The white ironed shirt, that had been covering your bra, had been tossed over your head about 15 minutes ago and the black midi skirt was currently being tugged down your hips. As for Nico, all to go was the baby blue dress shirt he wore, and the black tie. Which had been taken off right when the two of you entered the room. His dark navy blue pants remained on the list of clothes that needed to be discarded.  

You take a second to admire Nico’s disheveled hair. The thought of pulling it with your fingers when he whispers sweet nothing’s into your core flashes across your mind. Nico cuts off that thought once his lips make contact with yours. It’s messy and filled with need. The months of longing stares, mainly from him, were finally catching up. You take notice that your black skirt is now pooled at your feet. You take a step out of them, in a haze, the action bringing you closer to Nico. He steadies you by placing his hands on your hips. His fingertips graze the matching black lace panties you paired with your bra. He smirks into the kiss at the thought of you planning it out. 

Nico takes small steps, notifying you to do the same but backward, and guides you to the small light wooden desk against the wall opposite of the bed. The back of your thighs hit the desk and with a swift motion, Nico grabs you at the waist and sets you to sit on top of it. A quick gasp escapes your naturally pouty lips and with that, Nico gets on his knees. 

Timo snaps you out of that thought fairly quickly, “Well hello, long time no see!”

He’s being sarcastic, but you waste no time to get to the point. 

“I was told Nellie was going to be here. She knows about this?”

Timo nods, acknowledging your words, and replies, “It’s not like how it was during the election. The isolation of the White House bonded them, their marriage is as strong as ever.” 

Before you can react to Timos statement, Nellie comes barging into the room. 

“Y/N!” 

You fake a smile, deep down you could never hate Nellie. No matter how hard you try. “Nellie, hi! How are you doing?!” Faking your enthusiastic response, you can’t help but feel guilty. It wasn’t hard to read Nellie, so you could tell she missed your presence around in the White House. Once Nellie reaches you she engulfs you in a heartwarming hug. She rubs your back and soaks in the moment, reminiscing an old friendship.

You’re the first to step away and once you create a small fragment of distance, Nellie answers your question.

“I’m doing well! It’s taking some time getting used to you not being here but I’m managing. How’s the firm?”

“We’re doing well over there. It’s been busy but I like being occupied…can never get enough of it.” You chuckle at the tiny comment you make and Nellie goes to carry the conversation but comes to a halt when the double doors to Timo’s office open once again. 

You told yourself, on the drive over to the White House, that you would keep things strictly professional but Nico always managed to make that very hard. Not only that, you still deeply cared for the man and he did the same as well. But the moment you saw his face everything you had prepared yourself for had expeditiously faded away. You can’t even process the moment, that he’s here and physically in front of you until he’s shaking your hand. 

The last time you saw Nico was at a charity gala in late June. Five months after you left. You only managed to stay for an hour until everything felt overwhelming. Your chest felt like it was being compressed by an unseen entity, and bile was rising in your throat. Nico had tried his best to talk to you but with Nellie by his side and her pregnancy rumors, he couldn’t. It broke his heart when he saw the tears in your eyes. You’d felt betrayed but also knew that being the President’s mistress meant that you never came first. Even if he lied to you and said that you did. 

“Y/N, It’s good to see you.” He’s keeping it simple. He can’t show too much vulnerability, there are still two people in the room. 

“Likewise, Mr. President.” You drop your hand first from the handshake and look closely at Nico. He shaved two days ago, you can tell by the stubble sitting on the lower half of his face. It has just grown enough to the point where if he could get on his knees in front of you, you’d feel it scratch your inner thighs. 

“Shall we take a walk?” Timo kindly suggests. 

The three of you decide to chat in Jacqueline Kennedy Garden. With the company of two secret service members but you don’t mind. 

It may be January but the pansies are still in season. You walk up and admire the some that are purple. You notice that in the outer part of the petal, they’re royal purple, but towards the center, they’re light purple - almost a lilac color. That would be a nice color for a wedding. You’re too busy admiring the flowers that don’t notice the sound of footsteps approaching until the person has already reached you. It’s Nico. You don’t even need to look to know it’s him. He clears his throat before starting the conversation with you. 

“I know you have your hands full with the Sully St. James situation so, thank you for doing this, for me.” He turns to look at you. God you’ve missed him. 

Timo walks up behind you and the president, the two secret service agents aren’t too far behind. He pulls out a beige file folder and speaks. 

“Her name is Vanessa Wyatt.” You take hold of the folder and open it up. 

“I know.” 

“Well if you let me finish- anyways, she’s 25. I’ve heard rumors that she might be talking.” Timo states and looks off into the distance. It’s nice and sunny outside, but not even for it to take the edge off the cold. You take a look at what she looks like. She must be new, or at least got hired after you resigned. She’s cute but looking at her makes you feel nauseated. You push that feeling aside, it’s best at what you do. 

“But you can’t fire her. At least not without a shit show going off.” Both Timo and Nico nod. Nico has yet to say anything. You find it odd but push that thought aside. You know Nico wouldn’t do this. 

“Look, she hasn’t gone to the press, so best shut it down before she opens her mouth.” Timo’s phone rings and he excuses himself to take the call. It’s just you and Nico. A part of you doesn’t want to ask him the long-awaited question but you still do it anyways.

“I have to ask, did you do it?” You look up at him for the first time after reaching the garden. All you see are his eyes, they’re identical to the color of the way he takes his coffee. 

“No. I would never do that.” Nico pauses but doesn’t break the eye contact. You’re starting to feel light-headed. Your heart wants to believe him but there’s someone in your ear screaming that he isn’t telling the truth. 

“You’ve known me for a long time. Most of my time has been spent with you. You know I would never, ever fall for some girl. You know there’s only one girl I truly love.” He accentuates the last sentence. Only you know he’s talking about you. It’s a secret embedded between the two of you. You feel warm, not the bad kind, but the warm and comfy kind. He knows you need reassurance, he knows you think he’s lying, and he knows that if he did do it, it would be unforgivable. It feels like time is passing by slowly, you’re lost in his pools of melted chocolate-like irises. He never once, looked away. He’s telling the truth. 

“We’re due to be back now!” Looking back, you see Timo. He’s about 15 feet away, but he’s walking towards both Nico and you. 

“I’ll handle it. Consider it handled.” You look away. A burning sensation hits the back of your eye sockets. You feel like crying but you won’t let the tears fall.

Once Timo reaches you he wraps his arms around you and the President’s shoulders. 

“The band is back together!”

One hour. One hour is how much time you had given Gwen to find anything and everything about Vanessa Wyatt and boy did she find something. 

Gwen walks beside you, to your left. The pace you’ve set is fast, it wasn’t like you had all day. You had a firm to run and a man’s destiny in your hands. Vanessa Wyatt was just a fork in the road. You had a plan and with enough convincing, she’d end up on a bus to Wisconsin in the morning.

“You’re acting as my witness. Just shut up and listen to what I say. Do not engage with her.” Both you and Gwen had been following Vanessa around Easy Potomac Park for approximately seven minutes. You took immediate notice that she was accompanied by her dog, a golden retriever. Gwen had whispered something about it being adorable, to you it was an amazing conversation starter, a way to get in, and a vulnerability point for Vanessa. 

Vanessa’s quick to take a seat on a bench, overlooking the Potomac River. You waste no time to walk up to her and Gwen follows suit. “What a cute dog! Golden Retriever?” 

Vanessa takes the bait like a fish dumb enough to take a worm that’s on a fish hook. You’ve already got her right where you want her and you’ve only spoken six words. 

“Yeah haha! His name is Thomas Jefferson, like the President, it’s lame I know! But it suits him surprisingly.” The thought of how naive she is crosses your mind. Was she like that with Nico? You take a seat next to her before carrying on the conversation.

“Vanessa, it would be a mistake to think that there will be no consequences to you telling lies about the President.” Her face falls almost immediately. Gwen gives you a look. Almost like she was surprised herself, she was least expecting you to mention the so-called “affair” this early on in the conversation. To your dismay, Vanessa doesn’t make an effort to start running away yet. Stupid girl. Rather instead she questions you. 

“I never told you my name. Who are you?” She finally turns to get a good look at you. Vanessa notices the pale, off-white pantsuit that’s on your body. It fits you to a tee. 

“My name is Y/N.” You pause for a brief moment then continue your lecture to the younger girl, “And I want to make it clear that I’m not here in an official capacity. I’m here because I’m a

concerned citizen.” Vanessa looks away, tears threatening to fall on her plump, pinky cheeks. She isn’t wearing anything to keep her warm besides a thin coat. 

She mutters another question. “What do you want?” 

Your response leaves your mouth rapidly. “I came to warn you. A girl like you can’t win something like this. In, employment your face will be everywhere. And by everywhere I mean tabloids, newspapers, social media, local news. People are going to associate you with a sex scandal. All kinds of information about you will become available to the press in a heartbeat. For example, the 22 sexual partners you’ve had? What about that case of gonorrhea? Oh and let’s not forget your mothers two year stay at Bedford Hospital.” Everything you say comes out nonchalantly. You pause and take a look at the younger brunette, waiting for a response but she says nothing. You take it as a sign to continue. 

“That’s what I thought. It’s information like that, that could ruin everything for you.” Both you and Gwen take notice of Vanessa. The tears that were threatening to fall, are now halfway down her cheeks. Gwen’s heart breaks for the girl but deep down knows it’s for the best. You, however, could care less. Situations like this, never end up good for the woman involved. 

“He said he loved me. He gave me this dog.” Vanessa manages to utter while shaking her head. Her world feels like it’s falling apart and you stand at the altar watching it happen. 

“You see, it’s lies like those that could hurt you when said to other people. People not as nice as me. Here let me give you some advice, hand in your resignation, pack a bag and your dog, get out of this town, maybe in Wisconsin, and start over. Never look back.” 

You’ve managed to move closer to Vanessa. It’s not a lot but you’re still testing the waters. If you were to ask Gwen, she’s still surprised that Vanessa’s still sitting there. Personally, Gwen would have fled a long time ago. The younger brunette to your right, takes a deep sigh and begs, “Why are you doing this to me?” I’m a good person!” You get the urge to laugh in her face. It doesn’t matter if you’re nice or not, people love to ruin people. She should’ve known this by now. A girl this naive should not be in a town like this.

“You want to know who was also a good person?” You question her and continue, “Monica Lewinsky. And she was telling the truth. But she still got destroyed.” You say it casually and Vanessa doesn’t appreciate it, in the next millisecond, she grabs her dog’s leash and hurries away. Gwen is still standing, she’s shocked, to say the least. 

Turning to Gwen, you start to state, “If you get subpoenaed in front of a grand jury, you can testify as an officer of the court that I was working on my own. I didn’t blackmail or threaten her. If you don’t get subpoenaed, then this never happened.” You walk in the other direction from Vanessa. Gwen takes a moment to follow suit and once you hear Gwen’s footsteps, you take your cell phone out of your coat pocket to dial. 

“It’s handled.”

You are typing away on your keyboard, answering some emails when the doors to your office fly open. It’s Blair and she’s rushing in. You can tell her her brain is going 100 miles per hour when she cheers, “Paige is a whore! She’s a whore!” You shake your head and smile in return, expecting her to say more, and that she does. 

“I had Kurt hack into her message log and she had HUNDREDS and I mean HUNDREDS of text messages with this guy named Tom Henderson. And I know what you’re going to say ‘Go interview him then’ We’ll that’s what I did while you were gone doing god knows what!” She’s starting to get off track but you don’t mind. Blair was a chatterbox at heart. 

“Good news is that Tom spilled his guts the minute I went to ask questions, but he has an air-tight alibi. He was working as a bouncer at a club at the time of the murder. There has got to be like 100 witnesses.” You nod your head and before you can tell Blair anything she continues, again. 

“Oh my god! How could I forget?! Henderson claims that Sully knew that he was sleeping with  his girlfriend.” With that, you waste no time to get out of your chair, and before you can even take a step Neil comes strutting into the room. 

“Even worse news, the gun found in the murder has Sully’s fingerprints all over it. It gives him means.” A small “fuck!” leaves your mouth and you dash towards the double doors that connect your office and another. Pushing open the door, you waste no time to start interrogating Sully. 

“Did you know Paige was sleeping with Tom Henderson?!” You point your finger at him like a mom scolding her child. Sully replies stupidly, “What?”

“Did. You. Know?” Accentuating every word in the question causes Sully to get irritated.

“I hired you! You can’t come in here and talk-” Sully’s cut off by Neil almost immediately. You let him overpower the situation by walking away. Your mind is running, trying to think what the possibilities could be.

“Yes, she can! She can do whatever the hell she wants! Without her, you would be in jail right now!” Things are starting to escalate quickly between you three. Blair is just observing what’s happening. You decided to ask one more time even though you hate repeating yourself. 

“Did you know Paige was sleeping with Tom?” The tone that you ask him is softer, things are starting to get real and if you don’t get to the bottom of this, Sully could be going to jail for 20 years to life.

Sully answers your question, “Yes, but I didn’t kill her!” Your mind shuts everything out once he answers your question. Neil and Blair start conducting a plan that you have no care for right now. Deciding to walk away from all the chaos, you manage to bump into the one person you least expect. Vanessa, with Gwen following behind. 

“Oh, what the hell!”

“I want you to give him a message!” You stare Gwen down, scolding her with your eyes for even letting Vanessa in, in the first place. 

“That is not appropriate.” You take ahold of Vanessa’s upper left bicep, Gwen the other, and quickly guide her out of the firm. She tries to go with a fight but your grip doesn’t let her escape. You open the front door to the firm, giving Vanessa access to leave but she makes it clear that you hear what she has to say. “Not appropriate? You came to me and I know he sent you! I know you can give him a message! I’m telling the truth! I am!” 

“This conversation is over. Please leave.”

You’re barely coming down with your high from the previous chaos when David Rosen, the US attorney general walks into your building. 

“Times up, Y/N. I have a warrant.” He’s holding up white papers, stapled together. He’s here to take Sully into custody but luckily for you, David arrived earlier than expected. 

“I still have 40 minutes.” You bark at David, taking a look at your watch. Turning your back to him, you reach the conference doors.

“You can wait in the lobby by all means.” You suggest to David. Maybe he’ll listen to you once and for all. 

“Fine, but in 40 minutes I want Sully St. James in custody.” He huffs out. 

Meanwhile, you try to find Gwen. Once you see her in the conference room you have her call Blair, to let her know that you’ve officially been invaded and time is running out to find Sully a viable alibi. 

Blair, Neil, and Kurt walk through the front doors exactly 7 minutes before David is supposed to be arrested. Blair comes in hot, Neil and Kurt trailing behind her. She’s holding a flash drive and gives you a rundown of what that flash drive material contains. You take no longer than 3 seconds to head your way to the conference room where Sully St. James is currently seated. You tread the water lightly, not wanting to anger him when approaching the situation. 

“We don’t have much time, Sully,” you start with, “the police are here so I need you to listen.” Blair, Kurt, Neil, and Gwen slowly enter the room with you. Most of the time, when debriefing with a client, there’s always someone else with you. In this case, all of them. 

“We were able to verify your alibi.” Sully’s reaction doesn’t surprise you. Confusion shadows over his face. Almost like he didn’t even know how or who verified his alibi. 

“You were?” He looks around the room after he questions you. All eyes are on him and everyone can tell that he’s realizing that his secret is no secret anymore. You nod in response to his question. 

“That’s.. that’s a good thing, right?” He’s playing dumb and you’re catching along. You open your mouth to start a lecture. 

“Sully, you’re the most decorated hero since the Vietnam War, you come from a family of well-respected soldiers, you make your living giving speeches for the conservative right, and you’ve said over and over, that Paige was your best friend. Not your lover.” Your eyes never leave him during the duration of your speech, but when they do you signal Blair to turn on the TV and plug the flash drive into it. Once she does, a video starts to play. It’s from a security camera at an ATM, that so happened to be next to the bar Sully had been seen at before the murder. In the video, Sully St. James is seen standing on the sidewalk, hands in his pockets, pacing. He’s waiting for someone. Just on cue, a man in his mid to late 20s is seen approaching Sully. Once he gets his hands on Sully, he kisses him with passion. Almost like lovers who are reuniting for the first time after months of being apart. The room is silent up until the video shows the two grown men kissing. Sully’s breath starts to pick up, he’s infuriated. 

“Paige knew, didn’t she?” You already knew the answer to that but still needed the clarification. You were never one to go based on assumptions. Sully doesn’t respond so you continue, “She knew you were gay, the two of you had a deal.” Sully speaks up for the first time in 3 minutes. 

“You can’t show anyone that.” Disregarding what he said, you ask, “I need the name of the man that you were kissing.”

“Over my dead body! I serve my country. I honor the uniform! I am a conservative man. Everything I stand for is anti-gay. I am the deacon of my church! They’re talking about me running for Congress one day. I’m a hero. I can’t be gay.” His demeanor starts off hostile but then shuts down and he manages to whisper the last remark. 

“But you are. This is who you are.” You point to the TV which had been paused at a time frame where Sully and his secret lover were engaged in a kiss. “This is your alibi. Let us help you.” You walk over to the couch that Sully is seated at and crouch next to him. You and Sully are the only two who have spoken a word so far. Everyone else is watching the scene unfold in front of their eyes. 

Sully stands up straight and looks ahead of him. With one small word, he answers you. 

“No.” You stand, but before you can mutter a word he turns around and heads out the conference room doors. You don’t pay attention as to whether everyone follows you but you follow Sully out. Demanding him to wait but to no avail, he doesn’t listen. Once he opens the firm’s front doors, he is met with David Rosen. 

The bright ceiling lights are the cause of the forming headache across your temples. To say that everything that happened in the past 28 hours is ridiculous would be an understatement. Neil and Blair are at the police station with you. By the time Sully St. James had his mugshot taken, you got a text message from Gwen. You managed to mutter an ‘I have to go’ and frantically left. Having left instructions for Neil and Blair just in case anything happened with Sully. 

Being told, by Gwen, that Vanessa Wyatt was in the hospital and she was going to see her was just the cherry on top. You wasted no time to get there as fast as you could. It was 7 pm by the time you entered the hospital door, exhaustion hitting you like a ton of bricks. Getting into bed sounds much better than having sex. 

Gwen is standing outside of Vanessa’s hospital room when you get there. You greet her then immediately ask, “What happened?” You take a look at Gwen and she genuinely seems worried for the girl who’s in the hospital bed, clearly sedated. 

Gwen explains, “She slashed her wrists. There’s no press lurking around but one of the nurses told me her dad’s flying in from Michigan.” 

You double-check with Gwen, just to make sure that there is no possible threat. “No nurses or doctors, about anything?” Gwen shakes her head, her ponytail moving along with her head, and responds shortly. 

“Just to me.”

“Good stay with her.” You turn to leave, regretting to have even come in the first place. A simple phone call would have been fine. Before you take a step Gwen takes ahold of your upper arm and blurted your name. 

“Y/N! You told me to trust my gut when I first got hired, and now my gut is telling me that she is telling the truth-” You cut off Gwen to share what you think. 

“She’s not.” You keep it short and sweet. Nico told you that he didn’t do it and you believe him. Your heart believes him. He said he loved you and you were the only girl he’s ever loved. 

“I know the President, Gwen. He wouldn’t do this.” You’re starting to become stern since Gwen is being persistent about something that could never, ever possibly be true. 

“I just find it weird that she was going on and on about how there’s this secret room off the Oval Office where they’ve met, and I’ve read about the White House. There is a little room.”

You waste no time to state the obvious. “If you read it, she read it. People are crazy Gwen. They love to get fixated on famous people and stalk them.” 

“But I don’t think she’s crazy.” If you didn’t have any love for Gwen you probably would’ve smacked her for continuing to run her mouth. Since you do care for her deeply, you demand her to tell you why she thinks that. “Why?”

“Okay, she tried to take her life but she didn’t want to die. She called you right after she did it because she wanted him to find out she was hurt and come see her. She thought he would do that.” Gwen rambles everything out in one go as if she’s already rehearsed this conversation in her head. 

“Gwen-”

“She was going on and on about how she thought he’d come to see her and call her some stupid little German word.” You start to doze off but your ears perk up like a dog that hears a siren from a mile away when she mentions the word German. 

“What?” 

Gwen’s face scrunches up and tilts her head to the side at your remark. She’s questioning you and doesn’t even need to open her mouth. 

“Repeat yourself.” You try to tell yourself that you heard something completely different. How pathetic. 

“Oh! He’d call her a German word, she said it means treasure or something. Why does it ma-” You cancel out the rest of Gwen’s sentence and scurry away. Your legs start working independently and lead you down the hospital corridor. Gwen calls out your name in response, but you pay no mind to it. The pit in your stomach is probably the size of a football and it doesn’t help that bile is rising in your throat and everything feels hazy. Betrayal wasn’t something new to you but coming from someone who expected the same loyalty from you was gutwrenching.

Sometimes you think it’s crazy how much authority you still have in the White House because you simply do not work there anymore. Nonetheless, it comes in handy, in instances like these. Rose, the President’s Secretary, leads you the way into the Oval Office in a matter of seconds. It didn’t take much convincing, just a quick “It’s an emergency”. Once Rose opens the first of 3 doors that connect the Oval Office to the White House, you step inside. Walking up to the set of couches that sit in the middle of the room, to set your purse down, you notice Nico isn’t at his desk. Matter of fact he isn’t anywhere in the room. With that, you question Rose about Nico’s whereabouts.

“Where is he?” You expect her to go into detail, whether it’s a meeting or at dinner with Nellie. But Rose never does. Instead, she gives a simple answer. 

“It’ll just be a moment.” With that, Rose walks out and shuts the door behind her. 

It doesn’t take long for Nico to come walking through the door, Timo trailing right behind, but when he does, you notice his attire. He’s wearing a bowtie. Which only means he has something important going on. 

“Y/N? What are you doing here?” Disregarding his question, you plea to him with your eyes. He notices the quiver of your lip and how tears threaten to leave your eyes. Nico senses something is up. 

“We’re gonna need the room, please.” He demands Timo. Nico’s eyes never leave yours. Almost as if there is a magnetic pull to the two of you. Timo stands there dumbfoundedly and questions the President. 

“But, Nico you have to give that toast to the President of Mexico in 10 minutes. Maybe this could wait until after?” Nico’s eyes finally leave yours. He turns to Timo and repeats himself. 

“I said we need the room,” Nico demands almost instantly. That being so, Timo lowers his head, and his hand reaches to the door handle so he can close the door behind him. Once Nico hears the click of the door shutting fully closed he whispers your name. You take no time to finally repeat the word you know Gwen was talking about. 

“Schatzli, huh?” The word rolls off your tongue as if it’s venom. It makes you want to curl up into a ball and never be seen again. Nico turns to you and you repeat the word of endorsement like it’s a chant. You’re angry and Nico knows it. With that, Nico points up ahead. There sits a security camera that overlooks the majority of the room. Watching your every move. Nico knows he can’t have a conversation about Vanessa knowing he’s being recorded. Good thing he was a smart man. During the first week after his inauguration, he managed to find out that the camera doesn’t record past his desk. So the pair of you had rendezvous against the large crystalline window that overlooks Nellie’s garden and a patio. Countless times. 

Nico guides you to stand in front of the window with a simple, “Come here.” To that, you obey. As to why? You don’t even know the answer to that considering all you see is rage. You reach him, keeping your distance but still out of the security camera’s view. Disgust and humiliation still sits on your face, never intended to leave soon. 

Nico is the first to speak amongst you two. “You left me.” He can’t even look you in the eye when he finally admits the truth. A man who lies is always a coward. 

“Because you are married! You said you wanted to dedicate yourself to your marriage! I wanted you to be a better man and be the man that I campaigned for-” Nico cuts you off by slowly taking steps towards you. You don’t need to be a genius to know what he’s doing. 

“Do not touch me.” You planned for it to come out stern but ended up sounding like a hurt duckling. But that you were. The look in Nico’s eye confirms that he was not listening to you. Instead of him pleading for you to hear him out, he steps even closer. Once he reaches you, his hands rest upon your hips. His body aching to make contact with yours. Your body is pressed up against the large window with another step. Nico’s eyes stare down at you, faces only mere inches apart. The pair of you already know where the next thing leads to but you’re not letting him go that easily.

Before his lips can make contact with yours, you push at his chest to get him off of you. Putting all force you can conjure into the shove. You turn around and before you can think your right hand makes contact with his left cheek with a hard smack!

“I believed you! You clouded my judgment! I wanted to believe you because I love you and THIS is what you do to me? She tried to kill herself! Did you know she’s lying in a hospital bed because she slashed her wrists open? I destroyed that girl-” Everything happens too fast and you can’t even see through the tears that started falling just moments ago. Nico finally dared to walk up to you and kiss you. His right hand has ahold of the back of your neck. While the other is on your upper arm, keeping you in place. It takes less than a second for you to come to terms with what’s happening. As mad as you are at Nico, you couldn’t help but feel the need to return the kiss. Your internal dialogue screams at you to stop. To step away and never talk to him again. 

The kiss is slow and passionate, Nico doesn’t want to rush into anything further because he knows you won’t hesitate to take a step back and slap him again. You had the balls no one ever did. Before Nico can gain access to your mouth with his tongue, one of the doors is swung open. 

“I just want to let you know that we can hear you yelling.” By the time Timo shuts the door, Nico and you have created a small fragment of distance away from each other. The satin pinky nude lipstick you wore, transferred onto Nico’s lips. Your hair is a bit disheveled and the pair of you are out of breath. Timo was a smart man so it didn’t take much for him to recognize what was happening behind closed doors. Timo clears his throat before he speaks. 

“Mr. President, I recommended you go wash up.” Timo puts his hands in his pockets and refuses to look you in the eye. 

“Timo-”

“No. You have lipstick on your mouth. You have a toast to give. Go. Now.” With that, Nico obeys and leaves the room, not even looking back towards you. Timo and you bask in a moment of silence. You stand there like a doe who has yet to learn how to walk. The feeling of embarrassment is an understatement to say at least. In times like these, where Timo puts his foot down, it makes you feel like a child being scolded for writing on the wall with markers. 

Timo walks up to the President’s desk and admires the picture he has of the three of you. It was the day of Nico’s inauguration, the picture was taken right after Nico’s speech. Timo wishes things could go back to the way they were. 

“Oh mein gott,” Timo mutters under his breath. After the past two years of knowing Timo, you’d expect that he knew about the affair. 

“You didn’t know? He tells you everything.” You scoff. Nico and Timo are close. Like brothers, who manage to piss each other off all day every day but that doesn’t get in the way of Nico telling Timo every personal detail that goes on in his life. 

“He didn’t tell me this.” He shakes his head and looks down at his feet. 

You wipe a tear that cascades down your left cheek and  quickly mutter, “Because it didn’t matter.” In disbelief, you walk towards the couch, reaching for your purse. Feeling the sudden need to get out of the one place you do not wish to be at. Timo tries to grab at your wrist, tries to talk you into staying but you’re too fast enough for him to get a good grip. Once you reach the door, you adjust your purse and push the straps up against your shoulder blade. You take a deep breath, fighting the urge to stay. Alas, your right hand makes contact with the gold door knob and you twist and push the door open. With every last bit of courage you have, you step out of the Oval Office with your head up high. You’ve got a man to get out of jail.

[thatsmzbitchtoyou]

Movie Night Oneshot

@talesofreading

“BUCKY!  YOU MUST!  MAKE!  HASTE!” Y/N screamed.  She plopped down on the common room couch with a myriad of treats and snacks in front of her on the coffee table, sipping on a glass of wine.  She was in her matching sleep tank top and shorts outfit, her smiley face slippers gazing up at her as she sat criss-cross on the sofa and pulled her fuzzy blanket over herself, adjusting it so it would cover Bucky as well.

Bucky’s tell tale groan echoed from the kitchen as he rounded the corner with his beer in hand.  “Y/N, I don’t think I can handle another season full of sexual tension,” he whined as he sat next to her, pulling the extra blanket over his lower half.  “Season one was torture.”

“Well I’ve heard season two is even worse,” Y/N said teasingly, cocking an eyebrow at him.  He rolled his eyes and huffed in annoyance.  “Oh please, you can act all manly man about it all you want, we both know you love Bridgerton,” she said, slapping his arm half-heartedly.

Bucky couldn’t stop the smile that pulled at his lips.  “Whatever,” he mumbled.  “Just turn the damn thing on.”  Y/N smiled triumphantly and settled into the couch as she started the first episode of season two.  They were going to do a marathon of the whole second season in one night.  Missions had kept them apart or busy for a while, and Y/N was desperate for some best friend time.  She also secretly hoped that they would eventually do as they always did during movie nights and snuggle together as they watched whatever it was they were watching.  Y/N had been harboring pretty severe romantic feelings towards Bucky for a long time, but was afraid to ruin the friendship, so she kept quiet about it and decided it was for the best to just bury the feelings deep down into the depths of her heart.  “Which Bridgerton is this season focused on, again?” he asked, disrupting her thoughts.

“Antony,” Y/N replied.  Bucky gave her a confused look.  Y/N rolled her eyes.  “The oldest brother.”

“Oh, right,” he said, nodding quickly.  “He’s kind of an ass.”

“He is,” Y/N chuckled.  “Let’s see who tames his cute but annoying ass.”

“You can tame my cute but annoying ass anyday, honey,” Bucky mumbled.

Y/N’s jaw dropped as she slowly turned to look at him with wide eyes.  Bucky had a shit-eating smirk on his face.  That was the other problem.  He would call her honey and flirt with her incessantly, saying the most unhinged, lustful, unabashedly sexual innuendos she’d ever heard, but then laugh at her reaction.  “You really wanna go there, Barnes?” Y/N asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

They stared at each other for a moment before they both broke into smiles and a fit of giggles.  “Shush, it’s starting,” Bucky said, nudging her arm.

***

“Shonda Rhimes you devious genius,” Y/N huffed as they watched episode seven.  “The sexual tension between them is literally driving me crazy.”

“Seriously,” Bucky muttered.  He had been squirming a lot, and she had asked him multiple times if he was alright, which he reassured her he was, just “getting comfortable.”  They hit the 46 minute mark, and suddenly it all came to a head as the character Antony fully admitted his feelings toward his counterpart Kate.  The love scene began and Y/N was slack-jawed as she watched the tension finally manifest into physical intimacy between the two.

As the scene progressed Bucky cleared his throat and sat up.  He took a long swig of his fourth beer, then at a particularly handsy and lustful sighing part suddenly stood up.  “I’m gonna…uh, I’ll be right back,” he said, jogging off down the hall toward his room.

Y/N sat up.  “What’s wrong? Are you okay?” she called out after him.

“Yep!” he called back, then she heard his door shut loudly.

Y/N looked back at the screen, watching the rest of the love scene play out.  Once it was over, she paused it and frowned.  What happened?  Was he okay?  She sighed and stood up, flinging the blanket off and walking down the hall to Bucky’s room.  She knocked on the door and waited.  There was the sound of shuffling, but he didn’t respond.

“Buck?  Are you okay?” Y/N asked loud enough for him to hear.  

“Yeah, I’ll be out in a minute,” he said.   

His voice sounded strained, and it made Y/N frown again.  “Can I come in?” she asked.

She heard him sigh heavily, before his footsteps thudded as he walked toward the door.  He opened it and she looked up at him curiously.  His hair was a mess, like he’d run his hands through it or pulled at it multiple times within the last five minutes, and his eyes looked tight as he gave her a thin lipped smile.  “What’s up?” he asked in a weird tone.

Y/N narrowed her eyes at him.  “Nothing, what’s up with you?” she parried.

“Nothing,” he shrugged.  She noticed that he was hiding himself behind the door a bit.  

“Buck, come on,” Y/N whined and pushed the door so she could step inside.  She walked in and stood next to his bed and looked at him.  “You’re acting weird.”

Bucky kept himself facing the door as he closed it behind her.  “Nah, I’m fine,” he said.

Y/N glanced around then stepped to the side to try to face him.  “Uh huh, so why won’t you look at me?” she asked in frustration.

“I’m just…tired, Y/N,” he sighed again.  “We’ll have to finish Bridgerton tomorrow.”

Y/N got annoyed and walked up to him.  She reached up and pulled at his shoulder to make him look at her, and he inhaled sharply as his body faced her, his eyes wide and his metal hand covering his groin.  “What are you…?” she asked, glancing at his hand, then her eyes widened in understanding.  “Oh.”

Bucky blushed heavily and he shut his eyes tight.  “I’m sorry, honey,” he groaned, walking away from her and sitting on his bed, hanging his head into his free hand.  “This is so embarrassing,” he mumbled under his breath.

“Hey, no no no,” Y/N said and quickly walked over, kneeling down in front of him and pulling his face back up with her hands to look at her.  “You have nothing to be embarrassed about.  It’s a pretty…sexual show,” she said, biting back a smile.

“Don’t laugh at me,” Bucky said, looking offended.

“I’m not!  I’m not laughing at you,” Y/N said, shaking her head.  “It’s totally understandable.  You wouldn’t believe how turned on I was from that.  They weren’t kidding when they said the tension was even worse this season.”

Bucky glanced down.  “You…you’re…turned on?” he asked quietly.

Y/N blushed but nodded to make him feel better.  “Yeah,” she said, blinking rapidly.  “It’s kinda hard not to be, watching that, with you, and you…you know, being you.”

“What do you mean by me being me?” he frowned.

Y/N grumbled and harshly rubbed her face with her hands.  “Oh my god, that sounded bad.  That’s not what I meant.  It’s just that you, you’re, uh, you know, really handsome and sometimes the mind wanders–”

“You were thinking of me while watching that?” Bucky asked.  The look on his face was hard to read, but his eyes looked…hopeful?  Y/N stared at him for a moment, trying to find the words and wrap her mind around the idea that maybe, just maybe, he might actually want her, too.  She swallowed harshly and nodded.  Bucky analyzed her face, looking for a lie or a joke, but didn’t find any and a small smile brightened his face.  “I’ve had feelings for you for a long time, honey,” he confessed.  “And I just…watching that made me think of you, um…that way, and I felt a little overwhelmed by it because I haven’t done anything like that in a long time, and I didn’t wanna scare you off–”

Y/N suddenly stood and pushed Bucky back further onto the bed, then climbed into his lap, straddling his thighs and slotting her hips over his groin.  She took Bucky’s face in her hands again, leaned in and kissed him deeply.  Bucky gasped and froze for just a moment, then melted into her touch, kissing her back while his hands wound behind her and held her as close to him as possible.  Y/N angled her head to deepen the kiss more as her hands drifted from his face up into his hair, scratching along his scalp.  Bucky moaned at the feeling, a shiver running down his spine that made her smile.

She opened her mouth and licked along his lower lip, silently asking permission to taste him.  Bucky’s breathing became heavier as he opened his mouth, his tongue welcoming hers in.  The kissing became more passionate by the second, their combined sighs and gasps mixing with moans and whimpers made Y/N feel like she was floating, her pussy throbbing for attention.  As Bucky felt up her back and sides she ground her hips down into his hardened cock, looking for reprieve.  Bucky shuddered at that, pulling away and gasping for air as he looked down at her grinding on him.  “Fuck, honey,” he said lowly.  “I…shit, I wanna fuck you so bad.”

“Yeah?” Y/N asked breathily, scratching up the back of his neck into his long hair.  “I’ve been wanting you for so long, Buck.  Just didn’t want to ruin our friendship,” she said as she continued to grind on him.

Bucky’s hands gripped her hips and guided them along his covered cock, pulling her down harder on him.  “I wanna ruin it,” he said, leaning back in and kissing her neck, then further down towards her chest.  His hands moved up to her breasts, cupping them in his large hands and massaging them as he kissed the swell of each breast.  His fingers then pulled down the top of her tank top, her breasts falling out of the shirt, and he immediately started touching them again.  His thumbs rubbed her nipples and she moaned.  “Let me hear you, honey.  God, you sound so good.”  He lifted her breasts and leaned down to kiss, lick and suck at them.  “You taste so good…”

Y/N gripped his shoulders, letting him take his turn pleasuring her for a moment.  She felt impossibly turned on, her arousal making her pussy feel wetter than it ever had before.  “Bucky…babes…”

Bucky whimpered, sucking hard at her nipple.  He let go of her breast and lifted his head back up to look at her.  “Godammit Y/N, I like that.  Say it again.”

Y/N smiled and started grinding down on him again.  She pushed him to lay back and started kissing his jaw and down his neck, then started lifting his shirt up.  He helped her get it off, and she felt up his torso, kissing from his neck to his shoulder where the metal arm was attached to his skin, kissing and licking the scars then down his chest.  “You like it when I say your name?  Or me calling you babes?” she clarified, looking up at him through her eyelashes.

His brow was furrowed in desire as he watched her.  “Babes,” he whispered.

She smiled as she got off his lap and pulled down his pants and underwear, a small whine coming from her when she saw his cock.  She quickly took off her shorts and underwear and straddled him again, sliding herself across his cock.  “So big,” she praised him, her hands holding herself up on his chest.  “You want me to ride you…babes?”

Bucky nodded frantically, his hands back on her hips to pull her back and forth on him just the way he wanted.  “Please, honey,” he begged.

Y/N lifted herself up and reached down, grabbing his cock and pumping him a few times before holding him up so she could aim herself over the tip.  She nestled his cock into her lower lips at her entrance, then slowly sank down onto him.  She hadn’t done this in a long time, but the stretch and fullness he gave her was addicting as her hips met his again with him fully inside her.  She shuddered at the feeling and let out a long stream of air as she adjusted to his size.  “Holy fuck, babes,” she whispered, rolling her hips on him experimentally.

Bucky looked like he was king of the castle as he looked up at her, biting his lip and nearly shaking as he entered her completely.  “You feel so good,” he breathed.  “You’re beautiful, Jesus Christ, Y/N, look at you.”  

She smirked at him and then lifted her hips and sat back down, making them both gasp.  “You feel so good, Buck.  Fill me up so well, babes.  Never felt so full in my life.”

“Yeah?” Bucky smirked as she continued her hips bobbing up and down on him.  “Best pussy I’ve ever had, honey.  Fuck, taking me so good.  Like you were made for me.”

Y/N almost felt dizzy with how aroused she felt, his dirty talk making her feel overwhelmed.  She laid herself across his front, her forehead resting on his shoulder.  “I can’t… babes I can’t…”

She could feel Bucky’s chest shake as he chuckled.  His arms wound behind her again, and he planted his feet on the bed then thrust up into her.  Y/N squealed at how deep he went, her head shoving itself into the crook of his neck.  “Making me feel real good about myself right now, honey,” he said, his voice sounding proud and playful.  “Was it too much?”

Y/N nodded.  “You make me dizzy.”

He chuckled darkly.  “Just hold on, honey, I’ve got you.”  Bucky held her tight against him then started thrusting up in a hurried pace, his hips snapping hard so the sound of skin slapping against skin echoed in his bedroom.  Y/N’s hands had a death grip on his arms and shoulders, a steady stream of panted breaths and whimpers huffing against his neck as all she could do was literally hold on.  Her own hard shiver ran down her spine as her pussy fluttered around him.  “Fuck, I feel you, Y/N.  You gonna cum on my cock?  Huh?”

His flesh hand moved down and slapped her ass.  “Yes!” she cried.  

That hand kneaded her ass cheek, pulling her down on him as he thrust up into her.  “Can I cum inside you?  Deep inside this pretty, perfect, sweet pussy?”  His lips were by her ear, making his hot breaths and nasty words feel like they were bouncing around in her head.  He licked then bit her earlobe.  “My pussy,” he growled.

“Yes, babes,” Y/N moaned, kissing his neck and sucking at the skin.  

Bucky’s flesh hand lifted back up and gripped her jaw, forcing her to look at him.  He kissed her firmly, his tongue immediately plunging into her mouth then nipping at her lips.  His cock slammed into her just right and she screamed against his mouth as she came, her pussy gripping him so tight he came right after her, fucking his cum into her as his hold on her was tight enough that he cracked her back, his own loud grunt of a moan being swallowed by her.  

They lay together as they both calmed down from the high, Bucky’s hold loosening around her but keeping her close.  “Y/N…that was…you’re amazing,” he breathed, kissing her forehead.  

Y/N’s head was still swimming.  She had never cum so hard in her life, her pussy still fluttering around him randomly as his cock kept leaking cum into her, filling her so much that it was dripping onto the bed beneath them.  She hummed instead of answering him.  Bucky carefully pulled her off of him, a weird squelching noise coming from between them and making them both groan at the loss of each other.  He repositioned them both to be lying on the bed more comfortably, nestling her into his side.  He ran his flesh fingers through her hair as he smiled at her adoringly.  The smile morphed into a frown as his fingers left her hair and wiped beneath her eyes.  “Are you okay?  I’m sorry, was that too much?”

Y/N hadn’t even realized she was crying.  “No, it was perfect,” she lazily smiled at him.  “I’m okay.  More than okay.”

Bucky’s smile returned and he leaned down to kiss her again.  “So does this mean that you’ll be mine?”

Y/N scoffed.  “Well duh,” she teased, making him laugh.

[nininikki]

𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐘 𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐇𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐌𝐑. 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐓 | 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓

☆ SYNOPSIS — you meet eren jaeger and the two of you fall in love almost instantly. the only thing in your way? he’s married. oh, and the fact that he’s about to become president.

☆ PAIRING — (POTUS!eren x actress/model!reader)

☆ WARNINGS/BYF — nsfw! age gap (reader is 29-30, eren is 39-40), black fem!reader, heavy heavy HEAVY infidelity, established relationship (eren is married) politics and government talk, mentions of pregnancy, infertility, and trying for a baby, manipulation, mikasa’s kind of mean in this story (i’m sorry), mentions of sex, eventual sexual content/smut, handjob, alcohol consumption, mentions of jean x reader

☆ author’s note — inspired by shonda rhimes’ phenomenal series, scandal, specifically the olitz ship. love me some fitz and liv so i couldn’t not write this, yk? updates will be sporadic, but (hopefully) still entertaining. thank you for reading!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. delightful little laughs and golf excursions — upon meeting one another, you and governor eren jaeger struggle to deal with the onslaught of mutual attraction that inevitably follows. can be read here.

II. what did i tell you? — following a blundered primary and a heated argument with his wife, eren knows exactly who to call. can be read here.

III. nice enough — as eren is faced with an obstacle regarding his fight for the office, all he can seem to think of is you. meanwhile, your dinner at the jaeger’s goes…interestingly. can be read here.

IV. it’s all coming back to me now — your complicated feelings for eren come to a head during his star-studded ball. can be read here.

© NININIKKI. do not translate, copy, or modify my works in any way shape or form.

[doomed2repeat]

Bridgerton opinion that will get me cancelled

As a Black woman who looks more like Marina than I EVER will look like Penelope, seeing people use Penelope being white and Marina being Black/mixed as an argument to side with Marina and act like she was the victim of Penelope’s racism always makes me itch. Y’all act like stopping her from baby trapping a man is a hate crime and it’s not.

There are issues with how Bridgerton has incorporated racially diverse casting and forgotten the real world implications of the decisions they’ve made, but none of that is an excuse for Marina’s behavior, and I’m not siding with her just because the person who called her out as white, and it’s not “racist” for Polin to be my favorite couple. I can see why making Marina a single unmarried pregnant teen as a Black woman makes people inclined to side with her, but in-universe none of that holds weight, especially when Marina’s nasty behavior has equally been directed at another Black woman (madame delacroix). If your argument boils down to “you just don’t like Marina because she’s Black” miss me with that. It’s weak and it’s a lie. I dislike her because she was wrong to do what she did to Colin (who would not have been fine and I’m also tired of him being collateral damage in this dumb Penelope vs Marina argument), and showed NO remorse about the damage she did to him, even when she had a year to reflect. I don’t feel bad she got called out for it. She might be the victim of society, she might even be the victim of George Crane, but she is in no way the victim of Penelope, who saw the harm she was doing and put a stop to it.

And while I’m on it- let’s talk about how this inevitably gets pulled into calling Penelope fans “self-inserts” for a White character. People- unless you are the author who is writing the character, a character cannot be your self insert. The only thing they can be is relatable to you. And any character can be relatable for any reason. Example- Julia Quinn, a white woman, wrote every character in Bridgerton. Shonda Rhimes, a Black woman, read Penelope’s story and found her relatable. In producing the show, Penelope is Shonda’s self-insert, but the audience can only find her relatable. Characters are SUPPOSED to be relatable. That’s not a flaw. You relate to Marina which is why y’all hate Penelope so bad, and I gotta PRAY it’s just because of race, because if it’s the baby trapping y’all relate to somebody needs to get Maury Povich out of retirement because there are a lot of men out there who are NOT the father.

Me whenever the Marina vs Penelope conversation is reduced to Black vs white.

[olderthannetfic]

https://www.tumblr.com/olderthannetfic/753405110589259776/note-spoilers-on-this-ask-for-anyone-who-hasnt

I’m this anon, and using your anon box to reply to a bad take in the reblogs of it lol.

1. aO3 treats the show and book series as separate fandoms for Bridgerton. My friend’s genderbend fic though is based on the books — thought I made that clear here. And yes book fans were being genuinely homophobic in her comments, not just her interpreting them not shipping it as “homophobia.” It was full of “get out of OUR tag” and claiming just writing a female character in a male version or shipping her male love interest with a guy was “misogyny,” exactly as I said. It’s a huge problem in the fandom. The main Reddit sub is so full of homophobia that queer fans had to spin out a separate inclusive sub called r/bridgertonlgbt. I’ve heard of people on TikTok being called “bourgeois degenerate” and “groomer” just for questioning why it’s supposedly such a dramatic and horrible change to make Michael into Michaela in the show.

2. Can we finally fucking retire the really tired, knee jerk “book is always better” attitude that has never been universally true anyway lol. The books Bridgerton are based on are pretty middling het histrom that repeat plots so much between them that that’s one of the big changes the show has had to make — just not have seasons 1 and 2 follow the same plot beats like books 1 and 2 did. The show has had to make a lot of changes just because it has a bigger audience than your average het histrom reader and while I haven’t loved every shift, it is overall better for it. Or just like, focusing on more than just each season’s main couple like the books only do — also better! The subplots are some of the most fun parts of that show, but also, it makes sense that people are going to continue to want to follow their favs from season to season and not just zero in on each couple. Yes I’ve read all the books. They simply are just not that great, TV is a different medium than books anyway and so certain changes are necessary, and frankly most of the loudest parts of the “book fandom” online who complain about the changes are people who read the books because of the show anyway. They’re all wildly inconsistent in what they consider acceptable changes: they’re largely on board with making the universally white books more racially diverse, but not adding queerness and gender diversity. Why is one ok but not another? Especially when a lot of them are ok with sad or bittersweet queer stories in subplots like Brimsley’s but not happy stories for main characters. Why is that, I wonder? A lot of people are pretending to be “book snobs” as a mask for bigotry, or just have bad taste, but regardless I think we need to get over the idea that stalwart defense of some mediocre and overly tropey romance novels is more elevated or intellectual and like the show isn’t an improvement in being less lazy about the cliches of that genre than the original author. (Seriously, I read a lot of romance novels, so this is not a knock on the genre as a whole or its readers — but the Bridgerton books are SO lazy and SO repetitive. Honestly I think a lot of the book defenders need to read more histrom themselves. Then maybe they’d see how weak and lazy those books can be compared to what else is out there.)

Fandom please learn basic things about how adaptation between different mediums works 2k24 also stop assuming that consuming a story in text form over another is an inherently intellectual activity

--

A pretentious friend of mine who loves Shonda Rhimes was going on at me a while ago about how she ~always reads the book first~ and then waiting for applause as if that's unusual!

She then tried to launch into how shocked she was by the books being... well, lowbrow trash, but she had some complex and boring way of explaining this.

I was like "Honey, you do know what a regency romance novel is, right? Right?!"

I mean, there are adaptations that are nearly exactly like the middle tier of romance novels. They're movie length and they air on Lifetime. This was a change not only of medium but of overall target audience and vibe.

[fitrahgolden]

As a woman of color, do you feel like the people running Bridgerton are performative? It was one thing for Simon to leave, but when you add Simone Ashley most likely not coming back for season 4, along with Lady Danbury’s odd plot in s3 and completely removing the Sharmas from the show, it feels like the show is just trying to check off new boxes each season. I know people online are still calling the promotion etc of s2 unfair, but as a white woman I feel like it’s not my place to comment.

First of all sorry again for being late to asks. I rarely get them, so I never think to check my inbox.

I'll try my best to tackle the parts of this I feel I can articulate my feelings on.

Do I feel TPTB at Bridgerton genuinely want a diverse and inclusive cast? Yes. However, they are very inconsistent when it comes to going for breadth versus depth. Whatever people's feelings about season one, they made a point of addressing race in scenes with Lady Danbury and Simon, and Simon actually got a decent backstory. On the other hand, Kate has been on for two seasons, and we still don't know where in India she's from or the names of her parents. And I'm not South Asian, but the attempt to create an "Indian inspired" (again, will they ever tell us where in India?) wardrobe for Kate in season 3 seemed to miss the mark completely for many viewers from that community.

There definitely is tokenism in the show, and it's kind of hard for me to talk about because my thoughts on the casting are complex and contradictory. For one, I fully endorse this fantasy version of Regency England where anyone can be a part of the gentry. But Shonda Rhimes has a fetish when it comes to interracial relationships that's well documented in her body of work, and there's a line to toe when it comes to casting the Bridgertons' spouses. And I'm not sure how I feel about how they are doing thus far. They are great at pairing actors with chemistry (with the huge exception of Nicola and Luke, ironically) and the acting tends to range somewhere from decent to spectacular, which is a feat with a cast as gigantic as Bridgerton. But, yeah, there's definitely something to be said about coming off as if they are filling up a bingo card.

I don't know.

[ericdeggans]

Why you should care about the TV Critics Association Press Tours, even if you are not a TV critic

Back in the day, years ago, it happened with regularity: A snarky story in one of the entertainment industry trade magazines taking a shot at the Television Critics Association’s twice-annual press tours.

Before we go on, a bit of inside baseball for context: the TCA is a group of critics and journalists who cover the TV industry, and two times a year we hold a conference of sorts in Los Angeles. Loads of major TV outlets participate, rolling out press conferences, receptions, set visits and interview opportunities to promote series and projects rolling out over the next six months or so.

The most recent TCA press tour, which I attended in Pasadena, Calif. (the picture above shows me giving the group's Heritage Award to Twin Peaks during the TCA Awards July 12), concluded in the middle of last week. And, predictable as an afternoon rain shower in Florida, The Hollywood Reporter rolled out a tough piece describing “The Incredible Shrinking Press Tour.”

“Frustrations with a staid press conference format, accelerated by Hollywood belt-tightening and the COVID-era shift away from in-person gatherings, to say nothing of severe budget cuts across the media landscape, have taken a visible toll on the press tour,” read the story, which quoted unnamed publicists of TV programmers sniping about having to participate. “An event that once stretched more than two packed weeks wrapped its latest cycle on July 17 after a thin eight days. Powerhouse streamers such as Netflix, Apple and Amazon were absent, and not a single programming executive took the stage to face down the press.”

(cast of Brooklyn Nine Nine at a TCA set visit)

True enough, this year’s press tour was smaller than previous outings; the event has struggled to return after COVID sidelined much of the TV industry. But Hollywood has also been buffeted by the impact of two strikes last year and concern – so far averted – that there might be a third this year.

A surplus of TV programming, increased production costs and caution about this year’s climate has led some big projects to be delayed until next year – more than one person in the industry joked to me about the phrase many are repeating in Hollywood, hoping to “survive until 2025.” Downsizing in media has also made it tougher for journalists to find the time and financial resources to attend press conferences at a swanky hotel which stretch out over more than a week.

Turns out, there’s lots of reasons why the tour has slimmed down this year, as the industry itself recalibrates and refocuses amid lots of institutional change.

But, as someone who has attended TCA tours since 1997 – yes, I’m THAT old -- I’m here to say that the tour remains a relevant and useful part of covering the industry, despite the anonymous sniping of assorted industry types.

(Yours truly visiting The Price is Right set during a TCA tour.)

When I first began attending tour, as the TV critic for the St. Petersburg Times in Florida, the event was filled with critics like me from regional papers from across the country. We were trying to give our local readers insight into an industry which came into their living rooms nightly for hours at time. And for me, the TCA tour was an invaluable crash course in modern television.

Over the years, I got to know publicists who arranged exclusive visits to the sets of ER, Six Feet Under, Sex and The City and Law & Order. I quizzed industry leaders at on the record receptions, including former CBS head Les Moonves, Fox News founder Roger Ailes, Survivor and The Apprentice executive producer Mark Burnett, FX head John Landgraf and Scandal/Grey’s Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes.

When the late, lamented UPN network created a sitcom that felt a bit too close to being a veiled comedy about slavery – the show was called The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer, look it up – I was there to challenge the network’s executives and its producers. When Ailes and the Fox News anchor Chris Wallace tried to deny the way the cable newschannel favored conservatives, I was there, again, with access I would never have gotten any other way.

Most recently, in February, I asked producers from The Bachelor franchise why the show has struggled to handle racial issues – leading to losing its longtime host Chris Harrison and, possibly, the show’s creator Mike Fleiss. Their eight seconds of silence before a roomful of TV critics spoke volumes and sparked headlines nationwide.

There are few other major industries in America where the people who run things are expected to regularly face a group of journalists asking questions, sometimes pointed, about the decisions they have made. Given that media is occupying an increasing portion of our lives, having a forum where the press can interrogate the work of newscasters, documentarians, reality TV producers, media executives, series showrunners and big stars in public is incredibly valuable – both to journalists and the general public.

(former ABC entertainment president Jamie Tarses faced tough questions from reporters at TCA in 1997.)

The TCA tour has drawn lots of barbs over the years, from complaints from TV outlets about how much it costs to present press conferences, receptions and special events, to criticisms about the value of promotional items given to critics (that’s been severely toned down from the time, decade ago, when one network handed me a free cellphone after a press conference. I handed it back, noting it was far too valuable a gift to accept.)

But, as a former TCA board member from many years ago, I think what really rankles some in the TV industry is how little control they have over what happens at tours. Despite loads of coaching from experienced publicists, it is tough to predict what questions will be asked during a 40-minute press session, and an off-the-mark response can resonate for a while (Besides The Bachelor producers, I remember stars like Roseanne Barr, Katherine Heigl and even Donald Trump earning lots of critical coverage from bad press tour appearances.)

Entertainment trade publications have also often cast shade on the press tour, which regularly invites legions of less powerful and more removed journalists into the kind of access they usually enjoy.

What keeps the tour going, beyond its value to TCA members, is the ever-increasing need for publicity to punch through a media environment filled with more noise, distraction and competition than ever. Those who make TV need more ways to reach consumers, and the TCA tours still offer programmers the opportunity to reach journalists who connect with millions of consumers every day.

If the TCA press tours go away, what will be left is overly stage-managed press conferences wholly controlled by the TV outlets, with access severely limited to journalists and critics in big cities like New York and Los Angeles.

I hope that doesn’t happen. Because my time at the TCA has been among the most rewarding experiences in a long career, offering a window into the TV industry that is unparalleled and always enlightening.

[jbaileyfansite]

Jonathan Bailey's interview with The Standard (2023)

(TW: this interview contains a story of Jonny being threatened by an homophobe in DC the day after the Human Campain Rights Gala)

Queer as Folk, Will & Grace, It’s a Sin: it’s not as if TV hasn’t tackled the gay male experience – and well – before. But I can’t think of a gay, straight (as it were) drama that matches the sweep and sheer mainstream gloss of Ron Nyswaner’s new eight-part Paramount+ series Fellow Travelers. 

Nor can I think of one that does sex quite as brilliantly – frequent, searingly hot, sometimes tender, sometimes perfunctory, sometimes borderline brutal (one of the writers’ rules, Nyswaner has said, was “that we would never repeat the same act. When we got to episode eight, we were really kind of flummoxed”) and always articulate in a way that the necessarily secretive characters can’t be.  

It’s certainly the first series I’ve seen that explores gay relationships in such an unapologetic yet nuanced and, frankly, expensive way, I tell Bailey, when I meet him at the Corinthia hotel in London. 

“Totally,” he says. “And you can see it on the screen; the respect. In the early 90s, you needed a straight superstar like Tom Hanks [in Philadelphia, also written by Nyswaner] to bring a queer story and commission it. Cut to thirty years later, and it's the story itself that is the commissionable thing.”

I think the heartthrob star of Bridgerton is underselling his own clout a bit. The series follows the love affair between Tim Laughlin, an idealistic young congressional staffer (Bailey), and the vastly more experienced, cynical and outrageously handsome State Department official Hawkins ‘Hawk’ Fuller (Matt Bomer, whose all-American jawline could open a can of luncheon meat) that begins at the height of McCarthyism.

It jumps around a thirty-year timeline, expanded beyond the mid-century scope of Thomas Mallon’s original novel, to explore the relationship’s far-reaching repercussions, and the way that legislated oppression shapes people.

The other thing that stands out about the series, which begins in 1953 at the start of the Lavender Scare – the government crackdown on homosexual federal employees that resulted in upwards of 5,000 losing their jobs, and an alarming number taking their own lives – is that all the gay leads are played by out gay actors.

Bailey has said before that the important thing is gay stories being told, rather than slavishly ‘appropriate’ casting, and “I still 100 per cent stand by the fact that I think all actors should be able to do everything,” he says. “But to have gay actors chronicling the oppression and the trauma of it, I think it only adds to the experience. It's exciting that people welcome it.”

It’s encouraging too, that an out gay man was trusted to anchor a heteromantic behemoth like Bridgerton, to the point that having been snapped at Wimbledon with Ariana Grande (with whom he stars next year in the movie of Wicked), a newspaper was calling his agent threatening to out him as straight (“I'm in two minds about whether that's a really good sign of progression”). But all this progress is set against a sobering backdrop.

Rights for women and LGBTQ+ people are being rolled back across the world. Hate crimes based on sexuality have risen by 112 per cent in the last five years in England and Wales alone. How does he feel, right now, I ask him. After a moment’s consideration, he tells me a story that shocks me to my core.

He’d been to Washington DC, he tells me, at an annual event for the LGBTQ+ organisation The Human Rights Campaign. 

“It was an incredible experience,” he says, sitting one leg tucked under on a tasteful beige chaise longue. “I met President Biden. I was there with Shonda Rhimes, she was being given an award, Matt Bomer was given another one; I was introducing him. My first political gala. I had the most amazing night; had a drink; couldn't sleep; buzzing.

“I woke up the next morning, it was like a montage. Sunshine, I was like, this is brilliant. I went into a coffee shop, and I was wearing a Human Rights Campaign cap from the night before. And the young lady who I was ordering from recognised me from Bridgerton, we were just chatting.

“And a man arrived behind me and he said, ‘Are you famous?’ And I said something like, 'I'm really famous for ordering coffee,' which is actually quite an annoying thing to say,” he laughs. “And then he got my cap, and he pulled it off my head and he threw it across the room and he said, ‘get out of this f***ing coffee shop, you queer.”

The room went still, Bailey remembers. But he walked over, picked up his hat, and put it back on his head. “If you don't take that cap off, I'm gonna f***ing shoot you,” it came again. “Where I'm from, people like me kill people like you.”

It was, of course, terrifying. But “in the moment, everything slows down,” he says. “No one knew what to do, apart from one girl, she was amazing. Angela, she came up, and she got her phone out and she said, ‘I'm recording this message, I think you are welcome in this country. And what you're saying, I think, is appalling.’ That happened sort of five minutes in, and he left.”

The man was from Pennsylvania (yes, Bailey did ask), and what Bailey took from the experience, he says, is that “potentially, there is a kid who – that's his father. That's his uncle. That's his teacher.” 

He pauses. “My life was threatened. My body believed it; my brain didn't and it took me a while to really catch up with it. But I've got friends and security. There are so many people that don't. They are surrounded by that every day, and the torment of what that must be like, the amount of fear that was generated... If that's what children are surrounded by, they're not going to be able to grow in any way.

“And of course, that's not just an American story,” he continues. “It's international. And it's terrifying, that [here in the UK] we're not looking after queer people, in terms of allowing them into the country. Because that is the reality; people’s lives are literally at risk.”

He says the messages he’s been getting in response to the show bear this out. “People are still living in the closet. Or they’ve had a moment where they're watching and they realise, that was their father's story, or their mother's story; or it’s people who have been affected by this, but for the first time are understanding the trauma.

“People are so shocked that this is such recent history, but the majority of people in the world are living under that sort of belief system. And people on Instagram message from areas in the world where just getting through the day without being outed is survival.”

Bailey, 35, grew up in rural Oxfordshire as the youngest of four and the only boy to an audiologist mother and a father who worked for Rowse Honey. He had nothing but support and love within his family, but even he internalised shame from the way gay people were represented in the media when he was growing up. 

“The majority of gay people were either the butt of jokes, or being caught in sexual acts and considered deviants, or they were committing suicide, or they're dying of AIDS,” he says. 

He’s spoken before about an episode of Casualty he saw, aged 11, with exactly the latter storyline, “and I do remember that episode, viscerally, and crying and being like, that's what I'm [going to be]. And that isn't Casualty’s fault. It's brilliant to have that story out there. But it was the lack of variety, of access to being allowed to feel that you're going to be okay.”

Having said that, he says, “every five years is a different gay generation. It was nowhere near as tough as if I'd have been born 15 years earlier. Me and my friends, two in four, if not three in four, would not be here.” 

His relationship status is off-limits. There’s “a lovely man”, but that’s all he’ll say. “It's not secret, but it's private,” he says. “Having a private life is, for me, completely critical. I don't know if I would be able to be as confident to speak out on other things if I felt that my whole life was up for grabs.”

Bailey’s next big screen project is Wicked, playing Fiyero alongside Grande as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba. At one point though, he was doing that, Fellow Travelers and Bridgerton at the same time, which sounds insane.

“On World AIDS Day last year, I was in Canada playing Tim on the AIDS ward,” he says (you know this from the start, no spoilers here). “And then I wrapped, went straight to the airport, slept on the plane, got up and went straight to a Regency ball, slept in a hotel in London overnight and then went and danced with Ariana Grande for a day, my first day of rehearsal. Then I came back and burnt some conscription papers for the Vietnam War on the Monday.”

He’s got big plans of his own too – galvanised by the gala in Washington, he’s been working with the charity Just Like Us, which brings queer speakers into schools. "You're twice as likely to be bullied if you're gay, or queer," he says. "And yet if there's positive LGBTQ+ messaging within the school system, 100 per cent of people's mental health and happiness increases. It's a no brainer." He is planning to establish a foundation next year, to consolidate his charitable work.

But for now he’s glad to be home for a bit. Bailey moved out of London to be closer to his Nana during lockdown, and stayed (“I was watching Strictly with her the other day”). She’s 93, born in 1930, so “we worked out she's the same age as Tim. So we charted everything that Tim experiences with where she was, and it was amazing,” he says.

“I knew that she had known one gay man at work in her life, because that obviously came up when I was having conversations about who I am, and I knew he had taken his own life. She's watching Fellow Travelers, and it's really emotional for her because she's, I think for the first time, really being allowed to understand what might have been going on.”

She's “blown away” by the show, he says. They haven’t talked about “specific scenes”, but “she said to my sister – ‘I didn't know he had it in him.’ I actually want that on a T-shirt.”

Source

[she-karev]

Deaf (Jolex and Luna Angst with a Happy Ending Imagine)

Previous Chapter Here

Age Rating: 12+

Chapters: Two of Three

Fandom: Grey’s Anatomy

Ship: Alex Karev and Jo Wilson/ Jo Karev

Canon Episode: Season 19 Episode 16

AN: I will forever be angry at Shonda Rhimes for breaking up such a beautiful and loving couple in such an awful way that destroyed over 10 years of Alex’s character development. But I can correct that mistake even if it’s head canon here on Tumblr. I want to show our appreciation for the dads out there that put our wellbeing above their own and guide us through the roughest times.

Summary: Alex and Jo get a diagnosis from Jackson Avery who came at their request with April and is the only one outside the family who knows about Luna’s prognosis and supports them through this.

Words: 2298

February 2nd, 2023

Alex paces the attendings lounge back and forth anxiously waiting for his special visitor to walk through that door.

The door opens and Alex is relieved to see the person he was expecting. Jackson Avery is in a business suit, looking more like a board member than a surgeon. He grins at the sight of his good friend outside in his casual clothes and steps out to greet him.

“Hey man.” Jackson keeps his tone neutral knowing his friend needs him more as his daughter’s doctor than as a fun friend. They shake hands, “It’s good to see you, I wish it was under better circumstances.”

“You and me both.” Alex shares tensely, “Jo and Luna are already in an exam room.”

“Good I called ahead, and I got a nurse to set up an audiometer and don’t worry outside of my mom and Richard nobody knows I’m here and as far as they are concerned, I’m here for medical pitches.” Jackson says to Alex’s relief, “I figured this private visit should stay private until we get a diagnosis.”

“Thank you for that. I wouldn’t normally ask that of you but Jo is…” Alex sighs rubbing his tired eyes, “She’s going to worst case scenario after worst case scenario and I’m trying to be supportive. And as someone who’s been at my field for 10 years, I know too well how much a diagnosis can ruin a child and their family.”

“Okay I’m gonna be a doctor right now, not your friend and tell you to relax so that we take this one step at a time.” Alex exhales to relax, “First step is to have Luna take a BAER test and if hearing loss is indicated then we run more tests to confirm if it’s progressive hearing loss or an underlying condition that’s causing hearing loss.”

“Yeah, I know all of that it’s just…it’s hard being on the other side of this.”

“Believe me I understand that more than you think.” Jackson sympathizes before motioning to the door, “Shall we?”

Later

Jo bounces Luna against her hip as she walks around the tiny exam room trying to keep her mind from exploding. So far she is failing as her worry for her child grows with every second. It’s not Luna is going deaf it’s what could have caused it. Jo knows that it could be a malignant acoustic neuroma and the thought of her baby having cancer fills her with dread. Luna is the one person she loves more than Alex and she can’t bear to see her in pain.

The door opens and she pauses to see Jackson entering the room with Alex who goes to them with a smile at Luna. He strokes her fine blonde hair causing Jo to grin slightly before turning to Jackson who is clad in a business suit.

“Hi Jo.”

“Hi.” Jo gives a slight grin to Jackson grateful to have him here as Luna’s doctor, “I’m sorry if were pulling you away from foundation stuff but we wanted someone who’s a skilled ENT and make sure all of the bases are covered.”

Jackson shakes his head, “You don’t have to apologize, I’m more than happy to do this for Luna. But I have to warn you I’m gonna use my doctor voice instead of my good friend voice. So, Alex says there have been signs of hearing loss at daycare, have either of you noticed any at home recently?”

Alex steps in first, “I call out her name but she doesn’t respond. I have to wave my hand to get her attention. And she hasn’t said her first words yet.”

“Could this hearing loss be caused by an underlying condition like encephalitis or CMV?” Jo asks worriedly.

“Well, she hasn’t been vomiting or had a fever, has she?”

“No.” Alex confirms.

“Then it’s neither but we’ll run labs just to be sure. Until then we have to first confirm that she has hearing loss.” Jo inhales at this as Jackson continues, “We’ll do a BAER test that’s the-”

“Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response we know.” Alex informs him worried as well.

Jackson nods seeing that it’s best to do this quick and get the results fast, “Okay you two can be in the room to hold Luna while I do the test. I’ll get the equipment out now.”

Jo swallows before turning to Alex who rubs her back in comfort as they wait for Jackson to set up so they can get a diagnosis that could change their lives forever.

An Hour Later

Jackson looks at the BAER results on his tablet in agony as the results confirm that Luna Karev does indeed have progressive hearing loss. He paces the Imaging Room trying to figure out a way to give this devastating news to Alex and Jo and he can’t come up with one idea that ends good. But then again there’s no way to spin your only child going deaf. The door opens stopping his thoughts as he sees his wife, April Kepner, come in.

“Hey.” April greets him with a grin before closing the door, “Your mom took Harriet and Mark to Marios after her meeting. I swear those kids have a better wardrobe than me.”

Jackson grins at hearing how their daughter and baby son are spending their day with their grandma. He would take that over holding his good friend’s baby’s diagnosis in his hands right now. He sits in a chair while April looks at him inquisitively.

“Are you okay?” April stands in front of him with kind eyes that always make him feel safe to share his turmoil, “What’s wrong?”

Jackson sighs before handing her the tablet, “I just got Luna Karev’s BAER results.”

April’s face falls as she reads the chart, “Oh no, do they know?”

“Not yet I’m just…” Jackson pinches the bridge of his nose, “I’m trying to figure out how to tell them this piece of news. I swear this is so much easier when I don’t know the parents.”

April looks at Jackson in pity squeezing his shoulder, “I know.”

Jackson shakes his head at this, “I knew what I came here for but a part of me, a huge part of me was hoping that it was nothing that there was nothing to tell. But there is and now I have to give them the worst news of their lives.”

“Kids like Luna can be deaf and live their best lives.” April points out, “I mean that CODA movie we saw won three freaking Oscars and Tony Kotsur is actually deaf and he gave his winning speech in ASL. If it wasn’t for Will Smith slapping Chris that would have made the awards memorable.”

Jackson chuckles lightly at that couple’s night of theirs remembering how shocked they were and how funny they found that memeable moment.

“Thanks, I needed a laugh.”

April strokes Jackson’s cheek, “There’s not gonna be a nice way to tell them, you just tell them the way you normally would with a patients family and guide them to resources so they can learn how to live with this along with their child. It’s horrible but knowing Alex and Jo they will be fine as long as they know their daughter is alive and healthy.”

Jackson looks at his wife in awe before nodding, “Your right.”

“I usually am.” April smugly grins causing her husband to chuckle and kiss her before leaving the room. He walks down the hall as slowly as he can while he recites his diagnosis in his head, so he doesn’t fumble and mess up. He stands outside the exam room for a good five seconds before going in seeing Alex and Jo with Luna sitting on the exam table playing with her stuffed unicorn.

He closes the door behind him before standing in front of them with a stoic face as the couple look at him anxious for the diagnosis, “The BAER test confirms that Luna has progressive hearing loss, I’m sorry guys.”

Alex and Jo look at each other in worry before Jo turns to Jackson with heartbroken eyes, “…What’s next?”

“We need to do an OAE to get a more accurate auditory read. She’ll be asleep for that and you two will be with her while I run the test it’s noninvasive and she won’t feel any pain.”

Alex clears his throat to get the lump in his throat out as he processes this news, “What about an MRI? To rule out underlying conditions and tumors?”

“And a genetic test. She’s adopted we don’t know what’s in her blood, it could be a genetic cause.” Jo adds causing Alex to nod in agreement.

“I will do both after the OAE. Now we can do the test today but the scan and bloodwork is gonna have to wait until tomorrow.” Jackson tells the Karev’s, “I will get someone to put a rush on the results but the latest we can get the full results back is tomorrow night. I’m sorry but this is the best I can do right now.”

Jo sniffles with her tears glistening her eyes, “Could this be…could it be something fatal?”

Jackson looks at the couple in pity before answering, “We don’t know, we won’t know anything until we go over all of our tests.”

Alex nods understanding, “You’ll cover all the bases, right?”

“I always do. Now I’m gonna give Luna a light sedation before we get started. You two can hold her while I give her the oral administration. We should start now so we can get the results much faster, are you ready Luna?” Jo and Alex nod before holding Luna still as Jackson fills a mouth syringe with the medicine for their baby.

Later That Night

Alex looks over the brochure he got from the auditory floor while walking out of the hospital with Jo who is pushing Luna forward in her stroller. The test Avery ran for Luna revealed a lack of OAE in both of her ears that further confirms isolated hearing loss.

Now they are looking to go home and try to sleep before Luna has her MRI and genetic tests tomorrow that will tell them if this is a result of an underlying condition or not. Alex can see the worry forming in Jo’s eyes and tries to comfort her once again.

“Avery is the best ENT we could ask for; he goes to the bat for all of his patients not just the ones related to his friends.” Jo nods but still has a frown, “Most of these cases it’s just progressive hearing loss with no genetic conditions or tumors. And technology has come a long way, hearing aids are state of the art or we can use a cochlear implant.”

Jo sighs, “Can you…can you just not?”

Alex can see he’s upsetting Jo and wants to mend his mistake, “I’m just trying to let you know that this isn’t as scary as it seems.”

“Yes it is Alex.” Jo stops to face him with a frustrated face and tears in her eyes, “It’s extremely scary!”

Alex is taken back by this and looks at Luna who is sleeping in her stroller absent of the yelling. He stands back up and inhales and exhales to keep his mind at ease over this recent diagnosis. He thought that Jo needed reassurance, but he can see now that all she wants is someone who understands her pain, and he is the only other person who can. So he decides to make it known instead of shoving it down for his family’s sake.

“Your right.” Jo sniffles at Alex’s confirmation wiping a tear away, “It is scary, this scares me as much as it scares you. I’m scared of what this diagnosis could be a result of and even if it’s just progressive hearing loss I’m scared of what will happen after. I’m scared of Luna becoming an outcast and not having the advantages we had growing up. I’m scared of screwing up sign language and being one of those parents that doesn’t communicate with their child. I’m…I’m scared that I won’t be able to help Luna through this transition in her life.”

Jo has another tear down her cheek and she moves to hug Alex who hugs her back so they can comfort each other. For a moment they stand there in the hospital entryway holding each other with their baby sleeping inside her stroller. They share the pain that is coming from this scary diagnosis from their child who they love more than anything. Jo pulls back and wipes her wet cheeks as Alex grips her upper arms to keep her from breaking down completely.

“But just because we’re scared of that happening doesn’t mean it’s going to happen.” Alex states positively knowing it’s what Jo needs to hear as well, “Is it gonna be hard? Yes. Are we gonna know everything we need to do from now on? No. Even if it is just progressive hearing loss it’s gonna be hard for all of us. I know that but I also know that we can get through this and come out stronger than ever. We did it when you got out of treatment and we did it with Luna after she was born. If we can do that then we can do this, I know we can you have to know that too.”

Jo sniffles looking at Alex with awe and love before kissing his cheek, “I do know that.”

Alex nods before putting his arm around his wife, “Let’s go home.” Jo pushes Luna forward in her stroller with Alex by her side as they leave to go home as a family.

Next Chapter Here

[charlottegeorgesheart]

Young Queen Charlotte, played by India Amarteifio, keeps to innocent pastels in her early scenes, but her colors grow bolder as her power does too.  (Liam Daniel/Netflix)

BY VALLI HERMAN

In the first minutes of the “Bridgerton” prequel “Queen Charlotte,” the namesake character complains heartily how her elaborate gown and its restrictive corset made of brittle and sharp whalebone means that if she moves too much, “I might be sliced and stabbed to death by my undergarments.”

Oh, dearest gentle reader, young Queen Charlotte hasn’t suffered in vain. Her every ensemble, and those of the show’s sizable cast, are crafted with such sumptuous detail, that surely all who view them would gladly have them suffer even more.

Even though period costumes are notoriously cumbersome, Emmy-winning costume designer Lyn Elizabeth Paolo and co-costume designer Laura Frecon dispel notions that the actors suffered much (thanks to light, modern fabrics and stretchy panels in their corsets). Still, the yearlong shoot in grand estates across the United Kingdom overlapped the pandemic lockdown and required worldwide sourcing. It seems that their brand of elegant finery was a tonic for distress, and a cause for celebration. The work, helped by a 220-person costume crew, has earned them a 2023 Emmy nomination for period costumes.

Replica undergarments were crafted from light, modern fabrics and stretchy panels to be slightly more comfortable than the actual period clothing. (Liam Daniel/Netflix)

“This [shoot] was challenging, but also joyful. Every time a piece of a costume would come back, it was, ‘Oh, my God! It looks better than we thought it would.’ There was a lot of joy there,” says Paolo, the longtime designer for other Shonda Rhimes productions, such as “Inventing Anna” and “Scandal.”

The six-episode costume drama on Netflix explores the early days of the difficult marriage of Queen Charlotte (India Amarteifio) and King George III (Corey Mylchreest). The fictionalized story of the actual royals takes place in two time periods — the Georgian era of the 1760s and the later Regency era in which “Bridgerton” is set — and includes key characters from the original show. There are several grand balls, a royal wedding and a coronation to wardrobe. No biggie.

Or so Paolo was led to believe.

“I remember Sara Fischer, who is head of production at Shondaland, called me and said, ‘Shonda has this idea for a small, intimate show. She really wants you to do it.’ And, what are you going to say?” recalls Paolo, who was a consultant on Season 2 of “Bridgerton.”

She invented a time-twisting concept inspired by Monet and Matisse paintings and modern fashion designers who themselves referenced historical costume such as John Galliano, Alexander McQueen, Moschino, Zuhair Murad and Christian Dior in his New Look era. Yet Paolo kept the silhouette appropriately Georgian.

“The pitch was, we kind of want it to look like a Met Ball … but to be slightly more on point with the period. We still wanted to have our own stylistic elements that would make sure that the modern eye understood the costumes,” Paolo says.

Corey Mylchreest as King George and India Amarteifio as Queen Charlotte all but sparkle in their lustrous clothing. (Nick Wall/Netflix)

“For the men, we had images of rock ‘n’ roll icons from the ‘70s and ‘80s. So a lot of images of Prince, the New Romantics and Adam Ant. All those people back then who had that pirate chic going on.”

That vision required a mostly custom-made wardrobe that sourced from London, Los Angeles, New York, Budapest and Spain. Jewelers Joseff of Hollywood, Manhattan’s Larkspur & Hawk and Italy’s Pikkio custom made the period jewelry and other adornments. British manufacturer James Hare supplied traditional fabrics as did a mill hours from London that wove custom fabrics. Smaller artisan shops focused on hand embroidery or a particular character.

“It was sort of a small army,” says Paolo, who relied on the organizational skills of Frecon. A giant calendar and flow chart helped them track the flow of work, particularly of the embroidered pieces, which were outsourced to UK specialists Twan Lentjes Creations, Beth Parry and Hattie McGill, whose Instagram accounts illustrate their handiwork.

Other members of the court stand out in patterned fabrics (on Tunji Kasim as Adolphus) and brightly colored gowns with hats (Arsema Thomas as Agatha Danbury).

“It’s so complicated,” Paolo says, describing a process of sample making, initial embroidery, further tailoring and additional hand embellishing before a pattern piece is ever fitted into a garment. Even fabric-covered buttons were embroidered.

The women’s gowns are especially intensive. The earlier dresses, from 1760 onward, required 13 to 20 yards of fabric and at least four weeks of construction; five if they’re heavily embellished. Each ensemble requires petticoats that can add five to 10 more yards each, plus a corset, a pannier (a cage-like underpinning), a padded bum roll, shoes, stockings and garters. The jewelry sets were matched to each costume and included rings, earrings, necklaces, bracelets and tiara-like hair jewelry that was fitted into fantastical wigs by hair and makeup designer Nic Collins.

With two sets of characters to dress in two different eras, the costume designers were careful to build visual continuity, typically with color. Young Queen Charlotte, for example, keeps to innocent pastels in her early scenes, but her colors grow bolder as her power does too. The designers cannot precisely count the number of costume changes, or quantify the number of pieces they used, only to say “in the thousands.” Paolo says Jeff Jur, director of photography, was on board to capture the spectacle and regularly texted her and Frecon to say, “‘I’m doing a full head-to-toe shot of this one.”

Still, it’s tricky to absorb all of the detail, even though it’s there on the hand-embroidered initials on a man’s handkerchief, or the restored antique jet beading and lace on Queen Charlotte’s mourning gown, or the Easter eggs, as Paolo calls the references she wove into many costumes, particularly those in the final episode, which features an astronomy-themed ball, hosted by the king and queen.

King George loves astronomy, so stars and moons are embroidered and beaded into their clothes. The ball was shot outdoors at night, which usually obscures costume details. Jur expertly lit the scene to illuminate the clothes that were so laden with sparkly bits that they twinkle.

Though the final episode was picked to submit for Emmy consideration, the choice was “brutal,” Paolo said. “It’s a huge group of amazingly talented people who all deserve recognition. If we are lucky enough to win, I would want 220 miniature ones to hand out to everyone.”

[mejcinta]

Shonda Rhimes is not perfect but she certainly did not paint out abusers like heroes in the end/have them ignore their misdeeds entirely.

Daphne understood what she did to Simon was wrong and lived through the consequences, the torment of being despised by her own husband. Lady Danbury's old, abusive husband DIED and we were allowed the pleasure of seeing her and her maid CELEBRATE his pathetic departure from the world.

But did Viserys ever acknowledge he was wrong for what his neglect of his four other children? Or for how he mistreated Alicent?? Did Alicent get to let his body rot in bed and be happy about his death???

The anon that got so angry at me pointing out some of the merits of Shonda's depiction of women's struggles in the times they live in ignored the fact that Viserys and other abusers don't seem to receive any lashings for their actions in House of the Dragon, that they're glorified while female characters like Alicent are villified for standing up for themselves. Let's also not forget the fact that the writers' tribalism (team black is greater than team green belief) led them to diaparage Alicent in order to elevate Rhaenyra, something that I don't see much of in Bridgerton.

You can love a show all you like, but please don't deny its downsides. Especially given how pretentious the producers were with their so-called activism before the show aired.

[babyjapril]

hi I recently read that there was drama happening behind the scenes in greys anatomy? could you maybe elaborate on that? I think I saw it in your tags.. also is the only reason Japril broke up/not get back together rlly bc a show runner didn’t like them?

Hii, yeah, I mean most of this is just speculation.

Okay, so April and Jackson broke up when Shonda Rhimes was still a showrunner. But even though they broke up, it seemed for a long time that the show was going in the direction of them getting back together. Like they had a child together and were living together, and then Montana happened and they just didn't mention it anymore that season. And then suddenly April thought Jackson had feelings for Maggie.

Then season 14 started. Shonda Rhimes left Grey's Anatomy due to issues with the network and Krista Vernoff took over as a showrunner (and got complete creative control). Krista does not like Japril. Idk if she ever directly said it. It was under her control that Sarah and Jessica were written out 'for creative reasons'. She wanted a Mapril endgame, which both Sarah and Justin Bruening thought was rushed. (They discuss it in this podcast) Then, the original pitch for 17x14 was that April was heavily pregnant with Matthew's baby, but he wasn't home, and Jackson has to deliver April's baby. Another baby delivery in the strom, really? With Jesse's exit though I guess Jesse and Sarah had more power and Jesse pitched a different episode to the writers which was then accepted.

(also not related to this but kinda related, why does she keep reusing the same storylines, there was an article that called the beach scenes with Meredith in season 17 creative, and I'm like that's just what happened in season 3 already, Krista is just doing what she always does, repeating storylines)

But people thinking she doesn't like Japril doesn't just come from the way she handled the storyline, it also comes from her shady twitter likes, like this one that called Japril toxic. (Then Jesse posted a photo with Sarah in front of toxic waste bin, which was possibly shading Krista liking that tweet)

I mean yeah, like I said I guess it's technically just speculation from her behavior on twitter and the way she wrote the show, me personally, I do believe she doesn't like Japril bc I don't understand why else she'd make the decisions that she did.

(also there's this thread but no real evidence that this is true)

[eggwhiteswithspinach]

I am not lucky. You know what I am? I am smart, I am talented, I take advantage of the opportunities that come my way and I work really, really hard. Don’t call me lucky. Call me a badass

#Shonda Rhimes (Year of Yes)

[copiouscouples]

Finished Rise of the Pink Ladies...

Random Thoughts in Yays and Boos and Wuts and Mehs

Yay: Hazel’s a Pink Lady. Great way to end the season. Great pay off.

Boo: That whole wedding story line. It was unnecessary and dumb.

Wut?: Jonathan Nieves leaving and being photoshopped into scenes. 

Yay: Setup for a second season with the other schools and Zuko’s big brother (I guess?). But please, please, please stop with Jane and her love life - I cannot find the will to care.

Boo/Yay/I Can’t Decide: Nancy’s treatment of Potato was not cool. Female empowerment isn’t disregarding your partner’s feelings and doing what only you want because I am woman hear me roar. That’s what gets me about some feminist media - the whole my way or the highway of it all. Compromise isn’t a dirty word - it’s called not being a jerkface and being a part of a healthy relationship (as long as it’s not one partner doing all the compromising). I know Nancy marches to the beat of her own drum and Potato clearly appreciates that but she was putting SO many stipulations on their relationship and really being inconsiderate of him a lot. I’m very happy about her owning up to that but I didn’t really like how she was going to end things with him at the carnival without discussing how they might make it work. She came off as very selfish in her behavior and inconsiderate of his feelings. In the end, they’re still my favorite couple and I’m glad they worked things out but I hope we get to see her play a more emotionally supportive role to him in the future like she did with Cynthia.

Yay (Kind Of): When I first saw the play scene from Hazel’s POV with Buddy dipping out, I thought he was jealous of her getting the limelight. But then we got episode 7 from the boys’ POV and you saw that Buddy was just reeling from his daddy drama. I was glad he wasn’t being petty. He was just hurt.

Meh: Wally and Hazel are kind of cute, but I’m a not so secret shipper of her and Buddy. I don’t like love triangles (which this show seems to be a fan of) so I hope if we get a second season that this issue gets resolved fast.

Meh: Gil is a cutie, but I am not feeling any of the girls he’s been paired with thus far. I don’t really like him and Olivia together.

Wut?: Who does Dot like? They teased it but never told us.

Boo: Where’s the sizzle? Please get Shonda Rhimes to this show stat to create some chemistry between these people. For so many romantic relationships, none of them bring the heat. Everyone’s different, but for me, for a show to be fully satisfying, I have to have a couple that I ship. That I can’t wait to see kiss and see those moments of being in love. It’s why I adored Queen Charlotte and Jackson/April on Grey’s or Andy/April on Parks and Rec.

Boo: This show reminds me a little bit of Girls in the fact that the male characters are more intriguing than the women. Ray and Adam were more interesting/likable than the main characters. I feel like it’s similar for this show. Potato and Shy Guy in particular I want to know more about. I love the women as a whole group and their times together, but individually...I’m getting less and less interested especially with Jane and  Olivia who’ve kind of become one note. Nancy (and Cynthia to an extent), I feel like is the only character who’s really grown. I feel like she embodies adolescence the best in regards to not knowing what you want but slowly figuring things out and maturing. I’ve really enjoyed her journey (just be sweeter to Potato, please and thank you).

Wut?: So is this show getting a second season or not? 10/10 would watch.