#fuck you can even play the season in a banana costume if you want (for some reason????)

[alitgblog]

replaying season 4 right now and remember when MC had a cute (and affordable 😭) closet

[forgive-me-your-highness]

I ask you a question. You answer a question. Repeat.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy! Although lemons are sour and I'm sweet

What are three shows in your watchlist that you’ve been meaning to get to?

Surprisingly none! I stick with my favorites, well, I am catching up on The Good Doctor right now.

Describe your favorite pair of socks

Thick fuzzy ones, they're gray knit with soft fluffy insides and have polar bear faces sewed onto the front.

Do you like smoothies?

Mhm! I make a banana/strawberry/blueberry/spinach one everyday.

What do you wear when you have to dress nicely?

I have some nice pants + shirt/vest duo as well as a nice navy lace dress, just depends on what I want to wear.

How do you like your eggs?

Scrambled, fried, and hard boiled in that order.

What do you use to keep your place when you’re reading a book?

I fold the corner. Blasphemy I know.

What color dominates your closet?

Black or blue.

Do you collect anything? If so, what?

Hmm I used to collect funko pop's but I only collected the ones I liked and now I have them. I guess I don't collect much, sometimes shells from beaches and stuff.

What sounds or scents calm you down?

There's a specific frog audio that my mom played for me when I was very young that helped me sleep, it's turned into a comfort sound for me now. Lavender or the perfume my mom uses is also comforting.

What’s your favorite kind of uquiz question? (Lyric, color, aesthetic, etc)

I like aesthetic with pictures. I can't read to save my life.

Do you wear glasses or contacts?

Nope, although I have a feeling I might need some.

What’s something about your best friend that you love?

Even if we're hours apart I still get to spend more time with them than anyone else. They take the time to talk to me and I'm always eager to relax and hang out with them. They're so smart and even helped me with a subject I struggle in.

Do you prefer to write in pen or pencil?

Pen, if I'm writing in pencil I have to be using a mechanical one.

What are some places where you feel most at home?

My bed and room, anywhere soft and cozy. The beach too.

Do you have any houseplants? Do any of them have names?

I only have one and it's an aloe plant I keep in my room. It doesn't have a name.

Describe your favorite hoodie. How long have you had it? What makes it unique?

AH okay my favorite one currently! It's a light blue hoodie from Tilly's that says "Stay away please and thank you" and I absolutely live in it. Had it for a few months now.

What’s the last thing you ordered online?

Skyward Sword HD!

What’s one historical event that you would have liked to have witnessed?

Bit morbid but either the Salem Witch Trials, Black Plague, or the disappearing of one of the British Colonies.

What’s your favorite Halloween costume from when you were a kid?

I dressed as Ariel a lot, I want to say I dressed as Merida in elementary as well.

What kind of math are you best at?

Angles and Shapes.

What’s your favorite period in art history, your favorite famous work and/or your favorite style of art? If you don’t know any that’s ok!

Well, I don't know the period of art but anything that has to do with water color I adore.

Iced or hot drinks?

Hmm Iced.

Which songs do you like to sing in the shower?

Um not many sadly. Was teased for doing that so I quit years ago.

Are you a good driver?

LMAO NO, I'm learning soon but I have run over a tree on a golf cart among many other things.

Do you have any piercings or tattoos? Are there any that you want?

Only one lobe pierced, my right one. There's a handful of tattoo's I want if I wasn't a pussy, as well as piercings. Lip and tongue definitely, nipples, more on my ears, I don't like anything too drastic I'd probably just keep studs or small hoops.

Can you cook or bake? If so, what are some of your specialties?

Mhm! I bake super good brownies and my favorite thing to cook is either meat rice balls or omelets.

Do you have any keychains on your home or car keys? Describe them!

Oh I have MANY. I keep a green rupee chain on my key, I have a Legend snack keychain, a Four Sword, Minish Cap Link, and Vaati on my backpack. Purse has Midna and Wild as well as Toon Zelda.

Can you swim very well? Do you like swimming?

I can swim, not gracefully, but I certainly won't drown. I do like to swim!

Did you play with Legos as a kid? What was your favorite set?

HELL YEAH I DID! Ninjago my beloved! My favorite set I owned is probably, well it ties between, The Monastery and the Destiny's Bounty, and my original first season sets are Cole's Earth Drill from Season 2 and my Ratla Bike from Season 1!

Is your closet organized? If so, how?

At one house absolutely not. At the other I have my dresser in one half, shirts hung on other, folded sheets on the closet floor + a bin for old stuffed animals.

What’s the last music video you watched?

Umm I think Bottom of the Deep Blue by MISSIO? I'm not one for music videos but it was in a playlist.

If you could dye your hair any color, regardless of how you think it would look, what color would you choose?

Oh man I've done this so many times. I'd go for a purple again or a deep ocean blue.

Headphones or earbuds?

HEADPHONES, hands down, 100%

Can you read analog clocks?

Yup! Surprisingly I was one of two people who could read one in a class so I was dubbed the time keeper.

Describe your favorite stuffed animal, either now or from when you were a kid.

I have two. One is a sesame street character I've had for years. His fur is matted down and he has been patched up so many times. I also have a newer Toothless plush I love.

What’s an arcade or table game (air hockey, ping pong, etc) that you’re really good at?

Air Hockey, I kick ASS at that!

Do you mind if others are in the kitchen when you’re cooking or baking?

Not at all! So long as I don't accidentally bump them all will go smooth.

What’s one show you watch or musician you listen to that your friends know nothing about?

Hmm probably music by John Powell or Rozen.

What was the best part of your day today?

Getting to hang out with my favorite Toad, hands down. They bring so much joy!

What’s your favorite kind of tree?

Birch or Weeping Willow. Basic bitch I know.

What scent is your deodorant?

Fucking uhh pomegranate or something?

Do you have any games on your phone? If so, which one(s) is/are your favorite?

I do yup! I like Axalochi and Bubble Pop

Do you shower with the lights on or off?

ON?? PEOPLE SHOWER WITH LIGHTS OFF?? It could be broad daylight and I still turn the light on.

What do you do with spare change?

Save it in jars. I kid you not.

Do you have good handwriting?

Ehhh it's not the best but it's not the worst.

What’s the last thing a friend recommended to you that you looked into and actually liked?

Heheh, Zelda/Zelda ships. So fucking good.

Do you like to go on walks?

Yes! Depending on who I'm with I love to.

Do you have a favorite plate or bowl?

Hmm no I don't think so. I do have favorite silverware though.

What’s your favorite thing to do when it’s raining?

Stay inside, open a window to listen, and chat with my friends or draw.

Describe your perfect sleeping conditions

Cold, bundled in blankets, hood pulled up and sock on, cuddled up to a pillow or someone I love. Cat resting on my chest or curled up against my tummy if I'm laying on my side.

[angelic-holland]

Seeing the Thing 7

Summary: Because playing pretend is easier than talking.

Word Count: 6.9k

Warnings: just a little bit of angst and some kissing

Knock knock knock.

“Y/N? You in there? I got out of work early!” Harrison shouts from the other side of the door, hand jiggling to door handle 

You barely have time to comprehend what’s happening as you rip away from Tom, both of you rushing to pull your pants up, Tom and you both grab a top and shove the rest of the clothes in your closet. Cheeks red you pat down your hair and hope you look presentable as you unlock the door and swing it open for Harrison.

“Hiya,” he says, “oh hey Tom,” he greets before brushing past him and sitting on your bed.

“How’s the rehearsing going?” Harrison asks, eyeing both of you.

Your cheeks red, you were about to stutter out that they were doing fantastic when Tom cut you off.

“Going great, y/n’s a great teacher.”

“Is that your sweatshirt?” Harrison asks, head tilted as he points to Tom’s torso.

Fuck.

“I was cold, she lent me this while we worked,” Tom lies flawlessly through his teeth and you wonder how you’re not falling apart right now. 

Probably because you’re in awe of how easy it was for Tom to lie to his best friend, how easy it was to pretend like you both weren’t basically naked a few minutes ago.

“Yep,” you manage to get out, voice level as you took a deep breath.

“Do you want me to watch the scene one more time? Then we can head to rehearsal?”

“Sure, I just need to get a few things together after, we should have time though,” you nod as you slip into a professional mode, standing to the side of the room and picking up your script where you dropped it the first time Tom kissed you during the scene, Dave kissed Rhonda. 

You and Tom make it through the scene, he would give you a look when you high fived him for kisses. As if to say, ‘you had no problem kissing me fifteen minutes ago, what’s the big deal now?’ 

But he knew the big deal, you knew the big deal. He just liked to see you squirm.

“Hey Rhonda!” Tom shouts to end the scene and you sit down next to Harrison on your bed, Tom sits down on the floor in front of the two of you.

“So, whatcha think?” You ask, excited for Harrison’s opinion and feedback.

“Good, Tom, better at not looking so angry,” Harrison comments, “I think this is gonna be a great piece.”

“Me too,” you grin, grabbing the bag of supplies from your desk.

“Now will you tell me what this is?” Tom sighs, sitting back on his hands as you dumped everything out on your bed between you and Harrison.

“It’s just like, get well kits for the cast, it’s coming near the end of flu season and a few of them have gotten sick so,” you nod, opening the box of sandwich bags and starting to stick everything in them, tissues, chapstick, hand sanitizer. You’re acutely aware of Tom’s eyes staring holes into your hands as you put everything into little bags as you and Harrison chat idly about the show. How you need to borrow Jack’s truck to get props and set pieces from storage, how you want to see Julie’s sound design and Amy’s light design, random things about the show. 

“You know, you could include me in any of the conversations?” Tom asks as you seal the last bag.

“Okay, how is the search for your costume going?” Harrison smirks and turns the conversation to Tom as you pack up your bag. 

Tom stops in his tracks as he stands up, “I uh, good question, an excellent way to add me to the conversation, my costume search is going excellent, I’ve totally got everything I need.”

“I’ll take that as you’ve got nothing put together but you will get started tomorrow because that’s been on your to-do list for a week and a half.”

“That’s not a lot of time,” Tom begins to argue as the three of you step out of your room.

“He’s got a week until the costume is due,” You butt in and Harrison is stunned, eyes bulging out at you.

“You’re defending him?” He’s genuinely shocked to see one of his best friends stick up for his other best friend, considering you were usually at each other’s throats, especially last night.

“Just reminding you when the deadline is, is all,” you stubbornly cross your hands over your chest when you realize you’re in a t-shirt and sweatpants, no bra, “you both grab your stuff, I gotta change.”

“Why? Don’t want to go to rehearsal in that?” Harrison jokes and you roll your eyes, going back to your room as you hear them talk outside.

“You apologize for being an ass last night?” Harrison asks Tom, you can hear them, you figure he was speaking loudly on purpose, he wanted to make sure you heard them. 

“No,” Tom sighs.

You roll your eyes as you change, of course, he didn’t. He’d argue that he did nothing wrong, that you were both jerks to each other, that’s just the way it was.

“Well apologize to her now, I’ll grab our bags and meet you in the dining hall.”

“Why’re you so concerned that I apologize to her?”

“Because, you can be an ass, and when you are, you need to apologize, basic manners.”

“I’m only an ass when I-,”

“Don’t even start, this isn’t the fucking dark ages Tom, if you-,”

You were too curious to know what Harrison was going to say next, so curious you didn’t want to know at all. Better kept a secret between two friends, you didn’t need to pry. You swung the door open and the boys were silent, “hi,” you say, leaning against the door, now a little more presentable.

“Hey, I gotta get out of these work clothes, meet you and Tom in the dining hall in ten?” Harrison asks and you raise an eyebrow but nod.

Harrison squeezes your shoulder lightly before walking down the hallway. Both you and Tom watch as Harrison walks down the stairs and out of sight.

“Let’s snag a booth at the dining hall?” You turn to walk down the hallway, following Harrison’s path when you see Tom’s hand reach out to grab your shoulder but drop at the last second.

“Y/N?” He asks and you turn, almost falling into him as he’s standing right by your shoulder.

You stare up at the mess of brown hair, brown eyes looking down at you expectedly, shoulders stretching out your sweatshirt.

“Yes?”

“Did you get that strawberry chapstick for me?” His voice is almost too curious, digging.

“I got it so you could kiss Nikk,” you say back, “maybe she won’t smell like bananas this time around.”

“Won’t be the same darlin,” he smirks, tongue poking out of his mouth to lick his lips, still red from your kisses. 

“Obviously, we’re two different people,” you laugh, deciding to play it easy. 

“Obviously,” he snaps back and you take a step backward, away from him.

He takes a step forward, falling right back in place with you.

“So what? You went on and on about my stupid chapstick and if that’s the only way you could even pretend to be even remotely attracted to Nikk, then I’m going to bring these stupid bags to rehearsal and give them to everyone.”

“Who said I was attracted to you?” He asks, eyes roaming your face as you take another step backward, backpack pressed against the wall. He follows, hand resting against the wall by your head, face leaning down, a cocky smirk on his face, “Thought this was just acting.”

“Fuck you,” you bite back, sidestepping away from him and rushing down the stairs, afraid of what you would do if you stayed up there. Slap him? No. The thought of slapping Tom stung something deep inside of you. You’d probably crumple to the ground, lungs feeling like they’ve collapsed in on themselves, you were already breathing harshly through your nose, scared that if you opened your mouth all that would come out were sobs.

You didn’t care if he was attracted to you or not, right? It’s not like you felt anything towards him, maybe an ounce of lust, you couldn’t help thinking Tom was hot, his beauty was objective. No question about it.

“Hey, did- wait!” Harrison shouts as you pass the second-floor landing, you’re about to ignore him but you can’t. You needed your best friend. You pause and Harrison walks towards you, hands reaching out, his backpack slung over his shoulder, Tom’s presumably in one of his hands.

“He didn’t apologize did he?” Harrison asks, eyes taking in your trembling lip, head shaking as Harrison drops Tom’s backpack and pulls you into his arms, your arms hung weakly by your sides as Harrison held you, his hands rested on your middle back, rubbing it softly as you silently sobbed for a moment on his shoulder. Only a moment though because there was a thud thud thud down the stairs and you took a deep breath against Harrison’s shoulder, hands reciprocating his hug so it didn’t look weird as Tom came bounding down the stairs.

“Y/N, look I’m so- oh,” Tom pauses at the landing as he sees you and Harrison’s embrace.

You pull away from Harrison slightly, “it’s okay, you don’t need to apologize, what’s there to be sorry for anyways? Can’t help what you feel,” you shrug, dropping your hands to your side.

“No it’s not that I just-,”

“Just what Tom? You know what? I don’t want to talk about it. I want to eat shitty dining hall food, I want to go to rehearsal, I want you to do a good fucking job with this scene, and I want to move on.”

Move on. From what exactly? From wanting to kiss him? From seeking refuge in the warmth of his lips against your own? 

Tom’s silent as Harrison hands him his backpack. Harrison moves to rest his arm around your shoulder as you walk down to the dining hall. 

“I’m sorry,” Harrison whispers in your ear as you slide into the booth, Tom sitting on the other side, setting his plate down with a loud clatter. 

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” you say, voice loud enough for Tom to hear you, deliberate. 

“Hey, listen, I’m sorry okay? Is that what you want to hear?” Tom says, voice full of anger and oh so clearly not meaningful.

“Bullshit,” you fight back.

“Can you both cut it out, it was going so well, you were working together, can we please just save it for another time?” Harrison begs, a hand on your leg rubbing gentle circles into the space above your knee.

“Sorry,” you mutter, eyes darting down to your plate to shut up and eat. It’s just easier this way. 

You eat in relative silence, once you finish the three of you walk to rehearsal, there early like always, the stupid bags in your backpack, you pull them out and place them on a desk. Gianna and Quentin come bouncing in shortly before the actors are called, coffee and tea in hand. 

“Sup,” Gianna kisses Harrison’s cheek and you laugh as your best friend blushes like a middle schooler who just asked out their first girlfriend. 

Gianna giggles as well before sliding into the seat next to yours, taking one look at your foot tapping against the ground, fingers tapping against your thigh before announcing you were going to grab a bathroom break before the actors arrived.

You attempted to protest as she all but dragged you out of the room but the truth was, you needed this. Whatever girl time Gianna was going to give you in the ten minutes you had before rehearsal started. 

“What happened?” She asked, straightforward. That’s something you loved about Gianna. She was blunt in times that required the truth to be told, no beating around the bush.

“I did something really stupid,” you sigh, running cool water from the sink over your face.

“How stupid?”

“So stupid I can’t talk to Harrison about it.”

“And whys that?” 

You knew Gianna was curious for more, it was in her nature to be nosy, you didn’t mind much. Especially now, you really needed someone to confide in, someone who wasn’t Tom’s best friend.

“IkissedTom,” You mumble and she raises an eyebrow.

“You did what now?”

“You heard me.”

“You kissed Tom? For real? I thought you two were constantly at each other’s throats.”

“It was for his scene.”

“His scene?”

“We met to review his blocking and to try to improve his scene and we did the kisses.”

“Holy fuck.”

“I know, it was stupid and unprofessional and I can’t believe I did it and-,”

“No, no, no, fuck that. I was gonna say to go get that dick!”

“Gianna!” You groan, dropping your head into your hands, starting to regret telling her.

“What? He’s fucking hot, if I wasn’t dating Harrison I’d hop on it. Hell everyone here would hop on it. And you’ve kissed him? You’re already halfway there.”

“No, it’s just, he’s an asshole.”

“How so?”

“I dunno, just always, he’s got a snide remark and it’s not like a funny snide remark shared between friends, because we aren’t friends, it’s mean and it’s specifically pointed towards something he knows will hurt. And he’s confusing because we were seconds away from seeing each other naked when-,”

“Naked?!” Gianna practically screeches before her hands clasped over her mouth.

“You know at the end of the scene when they all strip off each other’s clothes?”

“Yes! And you fucking, oh my god, he’s ripped, isn’t he? Does he look as good as people say he is?”

“Yeah, I mean, we were kissing for most of it but-,”

“Hold up, you were kissing and practically naked and you don’t want to jump his bones?”

“It’s not that, it’s, he doesn’t want to.”

“And how do you know that?”

“Because, the strawberry chapstick I’m giving all the actors today in those plastic bags,” you sigh, attempting to piece back the story from the beginning of yesterday.

“And so I said, maybe he could pretend to be attracted to Nikk if she had my stupid chapstick on, and then he was all ‘who said I’m attracted to you’.”

“First of all, never attempt a British accent again. Second, he was this close to seeing you topless and you really think he isn’t attracted to you? Have you considered he’s just an idiot?”

“No, I know he’s an idiot, but not like that. If he was attracted to me, he’d make a move. God knows he does it every weekend with other girls anyway.”

“One, pot calling the kettle black,”

“Hey, I haven’t since last year and-,”

“Two, he hasn’t recently.”

“How recently?”

“Uh, like I don’t know, past two weeks, which according to Harrison is a miracle, so, take that for what is it.”

“What do you mean what it is? It’s nothing. He’s just busy.”

“Yeah, being attracted to you.”

“Bullshit.”

“Alright, just watch today. If he can show the same level of attraction to Nikk that he did to you while you guys rehearsed, I owe you five bucks, if he can’t, then pay the fuck up.”

“You’re brutal sometimes,” you sigh, checking your phone. You should head back in.

“You like me the most when I’m honest, makes you self reflective, now let’s go, I wanna see you owe me five bucks,” she laughs, locking her elbow with yours as you make your way down the hallway.

Most of the cast is sitting in the desks in the rehearsal space, a larger classroom in the basement of an academic building when you and Gianna slide into your seats.

“I told them about your little goodie bags, making sure they all stay nice and sanitary for the kisses, chapstick and all,” Harrison laughs, “nice touch.”

“Course,” you mumble, eyes meeting Tom’s as your hand clenches around your own chapstick in your pocket.

Fuck him.

You pull it out and apply it to your lips, smacking them softly before looking away. 

“Quentin and Gianna will be setting each scene with makeshift sets and props, most of you will be moving your own set pieces on,” Harrison lets the actors know, the first set of people setting up for their scene.

You watched as Harrison took notes for each scene, his handwriting still managed to look nice even when he wrote something really quickly. You got lost in the way his pen glided against the paper. You weren’t bored with the show, more on edge for your scene, the very last scene of the show, you had to wait until the end to see if your hard work paid off. As their scene neared you watched as Nikk applied the chapstick and Tom broke out into a grin, Gianna elbowing you lightly as she noticed Tom look your way.

You nodded, fingers gently tapping the desk while they people from the scene previous left the stage. 

Tom and Nikk walked on and you and Gianna sat with bated breath, anticipating Tom’s movements as he walked on and went about the scene. 

“Well can I give you a hint?” His voice eager, face soft as he turns to Nikk, and you lean forward, watching as he quickly kisses Nikk. It doesn’t radiate the same energy and his nose crinkles a little before Nikk pulls away in character. You sigh, a little defeated as Gianna grins triumphantly. 

Still a few more kisses. 

“Big, open-faced, strawberry rhubarb pie?” They’re facing each other, Tom’s hand cups Nikk’s face and you wait for the tender moment, his thumb to rub his cheek like he did yours, the slight shake of his head as he mouths the word no, it never came. Instead, they kiss, and Tom’s able to hold it for longer without crinkling his nose, only twitching slightly when Nikk pulls away to finish her line. His hand drops quicker than you would’ve liked and your hand moves across your notebook with notes as you watched them continue with the scene. His hands are clenched in fists at his side, his face is conveying all the emotion that you had worked with him, but his hands were still so angry.  

The rest of the kisses were okay, nothing like the ones in your room, but you figured it was because Tom was getting used to kissing Nikk like he kissed you. At the end of the rehearsal Harrison handed out his notes for everyone and thanked them, you did the same with a reminder that the off book date was coming up Friday and that if anyone needed to run their lines without a script, they should work with their scene partners outside of rehearsal time.

Tom frowned at his notes as you, Harrison, and Gianna walked back to the dorms.

He slipped beside you as Harrison and Gianna walked slightly ahead of you, hands intertwined. 

“What’s this mean?” He asks, pointing to your note, “stop looking so angry, you aren’t the hulk.”

“You kept clenching your fists at your sides, is that a character choice?”

“You know it’s not a character choice,” Tom huffs out and you roll your eyes.

“Then why, even after we’ve been through this I don’t know how many times, you still do it?”

“Cause I don’t want to kiss Nikk.”

“Too bad, everyone has to do things they don’t want to do.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He asks and you ignore the feeling of his knuckles brushing against yours as you turn the corner to the dorm building.

“It means, we all have to take one for the team to make this production excellent.”

Tom’s silent as you follow Harrison and Gianna inside. 

“Y/N, still good for later?” Gianna asks, and you nod as Harrison and Gianna walk up the stairs to Harrison’s room.

“What’s later?” Tom asks and you roll your eyes as he follows you back to your dorm.

“Why’re you going this way? Your dorm is a floor down.”

“My dorm is about to be occupied by horny kids getting it on.”

“Then go to the dining hall.”

“Let’s practice our scene.”

“Can’t, have plans.”

“With who?” Tom scoffs as you unlock your door and check your phone.

Quentin: sorry i can’t help you out tonight, Jay wants to take me on a surprise date, do you still need sheets?

“With someone who just canceled on me,” you sigh, tossing your hands in the air.

“Really or were you coming up with an elaborate plan to not hang out with me?”

“Hang out?” You step backward into your room, standing at the door so Tom couldn’t join.

“Practice the scene, whatever.”

“Well if it means so much to you, Gianna and I, and Quentin up until a minute ago, we’re going to surprise Harrison with a movie night, a little stress reliever from working so hard on the show.”

“I think Gianna’s giving him plenty of stress relief right now.”

“Ew shut up,” you groan.

“Where would you have this movie night?”

“Last year, when Harrison was really stressed about a theater practical, I had this idea,” your eyes light up as you recall the memory, stepping further back into your room, “I bribed the soccer teams to let me use the soccer field and their net, and tied sheets up to it, found a projector, and we had a movie night. So Quentin was supposed to help me set it up while Gianna distracted Harrison but Jay is taking Quentin on a surprise date.”

“I could help.”

“You’d do that?”

“It’s for Harrison right?”

“Yeah.”

He takes another step, following your movements, eyes roaming your face for anything, door shutting behind the two of you. Your movements mirror his in the opposite direction. A dangerous dance.

“Then sure.”

“Okay,” you breath out and he’s so close now, chest inches from yours as you drop your backpack to the ground, breaking the silence. 

“You know, I didn’t mean it earlier, the joke.”

“Hmm?” Your eyes are met with the black sweatshirt he’s still wearing, your dad’s old one.  

“You’re attractive.”

“I know.”

“So maybe for the scene, I can just picture, your cute face,” his hand comes up to cup your cheek, “and pretend that I’m kissing it.”

“Pretend,” you breath out as he leans down.

“Pretend,” he echoes before his lips press against yours. Because that was all this was, practice so he could picture your face instead of Nikk’s, just pretend.

Your hands stay right at your side, trembling and unsure as his feet shuffle you back, your feet fumbling in response. An awkward dance. His lips part easily, tongue gliding against your lips. You refuse to let him in, enjoying the dance as it is, one of his hands is now gripping your hip, thumb of his hand on your cheek stroking it gently.

“Please,” he whispers against your lips, forehead pressed against yours while he stares down at you.

“We should set up for the movie.”

“Screw the movie.”

“No,” you sigh against him, hand pressing against his chest, pushing him back slightly, “this is for Harrison.”

“Later.”

“Maybe.”

“Pretend.”

“Pretend,” you repeat, enjoying the one word back and forth, maybe if you kept saying it was pretend, you could trick yourself into believing that was all this was to you. 

“Good,” he smirks, pulling you back and pressing a quick kiss on your lips before dropping his hands.

“So let’s set stuff up?”

“Right, we need sheets, projector, how’re you holding the sheets up?” Tom jumps into action.

“Rope,” you say, kneeling down and grabbing the clear bin underneath your bed, rummaging through it.

“Aren’t you just full of surprises?”

“Hush,” you laugh, grabbing the several small bundles of rope you used the year before as well as two large white sheets and the projector.

You hand Tom the sheets and you open your mini-fridge and grab some sodas. 

“Ready?” He asks as you grab a sweatshirt.

“Give me a second, rope, sheets, soda, projector,” you say, stuffing the rope and soda into your backpack, projector handed over to Tom.

“Blankets, to sit on,” you say, grabbing two picnic blankets from your closet. 

“You’ve got a lot in this tiny room of yours,” Tom muses as you slip your backpack on and hold the blankets.

“Full of surprises,” you laugh. 

The two of you make your way to the soccer field, a silent walk, not quite comfortable, not quite awkward. A strange middle ground that left a weird feeling in your gut.

The soccer field was empty as you and Tom walked towards the net.

You set to work expertly tying the sheets to each end, directing Tom on how to hold it so you can work. 

You set up the blankets and text Gianna that everything is ready before pulling out your laptop, plugging it into the projector.

“What movie are we watching?”

You pause and blink up at Tom, not hearing him, “what?”

“Nevermind, didn’t wanna watch a stupid fucking movie anyways,” he grunts, fists clenched at his side as he begins to stalk away.

You leap from the ground, “Wait! Jesus, I just didn’t hear what you asked!”

You’re paused in a defensive stance, hands out in front of you as you wait for Tom to hear you out. 

“Whatever,” Tom grumbles, turning to stare you down.

“Would you just, why are you acting like such a child? You never use your fucking words. Actually, nevermind, a child can articulate what they want, what they’re feeling without throwing a fit. I don’t even know what you are.”

“You know what I am,” he says, stepping back towards you.

“What might that be?” You take a step back, there’s that dance again.

His hand reaches out for your own as he takes another step and you’re frozen. 

Just as his fingers brush against your own they are ripped apart again when you both hear Harrison and Gianna shouting from the edge of the field, “MOVIE NIGHT!”

You laugh weakly, sitting back by your laptop as Tom crosses his arms and paces, muttering to himself before he greets Harrison with a lame smile.

“Hey, mind if I join?” 

“Not at all mate, what’re we watching?” Harrison directs the question at you as he and Gianna occupy one blanket.

“Hercules,” You smile, eyes squinting at the setting sun.

You turn the projector on and the light flickers onto the sheets against the soccer net. You pull up your copy of Hercules and press play, settling on your side on the other blanket, stretching your limbs out as the opening credits play.

“When you asked if you could join us, I meant it,” Harrison says, head craning to look at Tom who was still slightly pacing. He paused behind the blanket your body occupied.

“Do you mean it?” Tom asks and your head turns to stare at him, you nod before turning back to the screen.

“That doesn’t look very comfortable,” he nods as he sits down with his legs crossed under him next to you.

“Why’s that?”

“Shhh,” Gianna hushes the both of you.

Your voices fall to a whisper, “because, the blanket doesn’t give you much protection and this ground is hard as a rock,” he mimics the way you’re laying, face inches from yours. 

“It’s not the worst in the world,” you respond, voice barely a whisper.

“I should be running lines right now.”

“You should be relaxing and watching the movie,” your eyes roamed his face like he did with yours many times before. You noticed the few freckles that dashed across his cheeks, the slight crook in his nose, the light bags under his eyes, the cliche look of a college student. 

“It’s your fault if I don’t know them by Friday.”

“Is not, you’ve had plenty of time to learn them.”

“Then help me practice.”

“Ask Nikk, your scene partner,” voice echoing the words you said earlier at rehearsal, “if you’re not prepared for the off book date, work with your scene partner.”

“You know I don’t want to work with Nikk. Plus, she’s known her lines for a solid two weeks, I’d look like an idiot practicing with her.”

“As opposed to looking like an idiot with me?”

“You know what I mean.”

“I don’t actually.”

“Despite what you might think, we can still hear you, even if it’s just a bunch of muffled whispers,” Gianna groans and you giggle, eyes crinkled as your hand rests between you. 

His eyes look down between you, his hand resting on his side, fingers twitching as they inch towards your hand.

You yawn and move your hand back to your hip, “watch the movie.”

He nods but his eyes stay trained on yours, and you refuse to break the stare.

You give up and roll onto your back and stretch your arms above you before resting them against your stomach, you want to enjoy the movie.

Your eyes start to droop as the sun sets, the movie just a background noise as you start to drift off to sleep, ignoring the warmth of the body next to yours as it moves closer, an arm resting beneath your head to give you somewhat of a pillow.

***

Taglist: @tom-hollands-blog @unicornsyy @practicallylivesonline @jackiehollanderr @khhbby @amyalpha @peterbxrnes @relise-thefury @euphorictom @fandomdarlings @saysomethingspiderman @dylanrauhl @legendsofwholock @pumpkinsinnerpie @particularmila @darktwistydiamond @aestheticqueen18 @i-guess-n0t

[ambitionsource]

S1 Rewatch: Lena’s Take [1.08]

it’s before midnight. i win!

favourite scene:

it’s a tie. okay. it’s a tie because i love love. on one hand, the scene where zay aggressively stands up for charlie... tells him he’s way to good to be walked all over... causing charlie to realize SOMETHING is going on with his silly feelings.... several points were fucking made, let me TELL YOU. god. damn. zay is so passionately defensive of charlie despite them only being friends through school, charlie just basically falling into zay’s dark eyes (we know he was). every bit of development they get i cling on to and lemme tell you the SEROTONIN i received this evening! i love the way they encourage each other to be bolder and better people, and to be more uniquely themselves. it’s such a mutually supportive relationship (at both the platonic and romantic stages) and i THRIVE off of it. i reiterate: when zay told charlie he was too good to be walked all over i literally absolutely MELTED. that is the sweetest shit, on GOD. anyway... on the other hand, we have the rl waltz scene like shut up that was the most romantic shit i’ve ever seen in my life bro!!!! WHEN RILEY TILTS HIS CHIN UP I WENT FERAL! i know rl takes a backseat to zc in my reviews usually but this is just. Such a GOOD scene and i really do love them. lucas just realizing he is off the deep end for this girl while they softly sway under the stage lights.... do you know the yearning, the longing i have to play out this scenario with someone? i swooned so hard i almost fainted just reading it. lucas has fallen and so have i baybee!!

favourite performance:

every number in ambition is always iconic, but there’s really no contest to the best one this number— the sheer wonderful fun energy dancing queen has CARRIES it to number one with ease. easily one of the season’s top numbers— dave’s dumb dance break (seriously imagining him flossing and moonwalking to the chorus has me internally dying), jeff’s iconic break dancing (we love an ACTUALLY semi-coordinated techie!) and the whole loose, carefree number is absolutely wonderful. not to mention i LOVE techie group performances. love them, y’all. truly the best of the best.

favourite character this ep:

i can’t choose, i seriously cannot choose. i think i’ll say dylan and asher (they have to go together, really) solely for their hilarious, fearful exchange with lucas (“blindfold asher, he’s scared of heights!”). they care about their friends (especially lucas) SO much, and it shows the effective balance of humour and serious emotion they’re able to bring to the table. plus blowing kisses to riley and just. Being best bros with lucas was so good.... i love them truly, and i don’t say it enough.

favourite line(s):

charlie, fondly: this school is bananas.

farkle: it’s like he’s sweating mediocrity.

maya: us performers can smell fear. especially his; it’s rare.

and of course:

zay: there’s being polite, and there’s being a pushover. you’re way too good to let people step on you like that. 🥺🥰

an underrated moment:

all the little zc moments... all the little zc MOMENTS! zay nudging charlie causing him to choke on his food, the shoulder pat and hand glance (obsessing over hands is lgbt culture), charlie literally dying while watching zay teach choreo to that romantic strangers like me line... ok ur honour im filing a report that says i love them!!! charlie is already SO FAR GONE for this boy, and he’s beginning to realize. he’s the physical manifestation of gay panic and god it’s funny. also, honourable mention goes to lucas going feral cat mode at zay but not riley— lucas, you’re not subtle.

something i missed the first time around:

back on my jack hunter bs to say that i really noticed him shine this episode, along with eric! it really is so enjoyable watching the two of them grow from two people with contrasting views constantly at odds to a rock solid team united by their determination to put the students first— and their sleuthing scenes are intriguing highlights, drawing you further into the mystery. we don’t know much yet but we NEED to learn more.

first impression vs your reread impression:

this episode is more fun and upbeat than i remembered (i mostly remembered farkle struggling and that’s it) and it was thoroughly enjoyable. the romance development, the “main plot” of the aaac mystery beginning its build, really good interactions between people who dont usually interact (farkle and riley, charlie and maya a bit, bit of zay and lucas, charlie and farkle) which is ALWAYS a blast. good times for most, leading to long awaited peace (that won’t last, but so what? we got there). had a great time reading as always.

--

literally your mind ma’am... all the above you said? truth! zay and charlie’s first ever journey to the costume loft... the power it holds... truly you can tell that one thing es and i value in a relationship is mutual respect and support because that’s something that’s paralleled in zc AND rl (you could, actually, make a pretty extensive parallel set between the two relationships, despite their obvious differences). it’s literally beautiful that zay and charlie see the talent and potential in one another that it feels like no one else sees -- whether they want them to (zay) or whether they choose to fade into the background (charlie), and they like... inarguably believe that the other person is the superior performer. there’s such a mutual admiration there. it speaks to the same feature of rl in which lucas literally believes riley is 10 times more talented than anyone at aaa and won’t let her forget it, and riley sees the weight that lucas carries even if he’s the first to diminish his purpose. you could say, in effect, that each main dynamic sees the other as “the best they have to offer...” and that... perhaps... is love........... sorry to just pop tf here im feral tonite

anyway, SHOUT OUT to your shout out for my dad jack hunter and also dyl and asher. i cannot express how excited i am for y’all to get to s2 and see more our boys in action... all the above you said is true abt them... 17 more days,,,,,,

[smillingcartoonist]

TV Shows That I Watched in 2018

A bunch of shows that I saw only one episode.

I have different reasons to drop out some of this show most of them is because It just didn't ring right with me. The first one I guess it was the Grant Morrison comic adaptation 'Happy' it was kinda fun, maybe I should watch the rest since it is on Netflix now ! The new Devilman anime was another one off ! Mostly because I kept reading the comics and I saw no sense into watch something that I just read and it was gonna be the same exact thing but with some differences ! also another anime was that B whatever that was terrible, and I saw the first episode of Final Space, it was fine but is not for me, it was like it was trying to hard to be funny and I can't care for that !

Black Mirror (Season 4)

Not as good was the last season, but still have some good episode, like half is good and the other half is meh ! I liked the most of them but the best one was the Star Trek parody one, and the most boring was the one after that, the one with the Daughter with a video cam in her brain, that one was way to dramatic for my taste ! Did kinda liked Metalhead there is pretty interesting stuff in that episode, it also weird that there is a episode that links all the other episodes in one shared universe ! like almost everything seems to happen on their on place, but ones says that no ! everything happen in one place, I Know that there is subtle hints of that on some episode, but I’m not one to look after that !

Adventure Time (Season 1-7)

I wanted to Watch all seasons in almost half of this year, but I couldn’t, because I get easily distracted sometimes and I’m Lazy, I managed to finish the 7º season in time to end to write this ! I Not one for care about all this cartoon shows that fan art appears on that god awful Radar, but this was like the last modern cartoon that I watched when i was a Teen, and so this year i decide to catch up to it and I realized that this year was gonna be the last season of the show ! talk about luck. But anyway, this was the most enjoyable thing that I watched this whole year ! re watching the first season make me realize how much cynical they are, like there is this episode where they go find a crystal in the middle of the woods with Tree Trunks and a lot of silly cartoon stuff happens and then at the end they find the goddamn apple and Tree Trunks bites it and explode ! it’s like the whole episode was this joke and that ending was the Punchline !

I guess it’s around season 5 when everything get really existentialist Are you dreaming this Universe Finn ? or are you a butterfly dreaming being a human boy and land made of candy ? it’s weird this children show passing this topics that don’t even go though the head of most people, like they own Mortally or something like, but it’s incredible to see how mature the show get across the time, everything begins with this silly crazy LCD cartoon show and go evolving and taking on more mature themes, the characters also evolve, like you see Bubblegum is this lovable character at the beginning and then you realize she is actually a Control freak maniac ! the character arcs are really nicely done in this show !  and also the own mythology of show is build up nicely, but there is some weird message that i get from this show, like some things are inevitable, Finn losing his Right arm in all of his lives, the end of the world ! there is some pretty eerie stuff in there ! man Love this show !

Also for reason one these i was Think about that scene with David Bowie in Fire Walk with Me but I replace all the character with the ones from this show ! Finn was Cooper of Course, Magic Man was Bowie, I Though that the whole FBI should be form by the wizards. Maybe I why work on that someday, Twin Peaks but the characters of Adventure Time ! That should be fun ! we live inside a dream.

The End of the Fucking World (Season 1)

I Think I describe the trailer for this was the Murder version of Moonrise Kingdom, and after watching I Think I was kinda right, it was based on a graphic novel that Will probably never see the light of where I live ! It was one the best series of this year for me ! You have two oddballs one think he is a psychopath and the other is rebellious Teenager and both of them go out on a journey of disasters ! It has nice sense humor and soundtrack too is nice, mostly composed of music that I probably have listen at least once and never knew the name ! I Though it had Sonic Youth in the middle of that, but It wasn't it was another band ! I do wonder how the next season is gonna be ! some Prison Break stuff maybe ?!

Jessica Jones (Season 2)

A Much weaker season then the previous,but still watchable ! I like seeing Krysten Ritter as Jessica, I Enjoy most of it the only thing I Kinda didn’t like was the whole thing about her Friend being jealousy of her for not having super powers, that diminish so much about that character ! Also the Villain was kinda of OK, Jessica psychopath mother, in comparison to David Tenant in last season ! Tenant appears in one episode in this season as Ghost and Think that was the most enjoyable episode of this season ! This was also the only show that got saved from being Cancelled from netflix, I don’t really know if that good or bad ! 

The Rain (Season 1)

One of the most boring show that I watched in this year, I really don’t know why I watched everything ! Does even anything in this show make any kinda of sense ?! I suppose this was to be something like the walking Dead,but in Denmark, and on the place of zombies there is a Killer Virus mixed in the rain and some incredible boring and stupid people ! and really dull story ! so I don’t Really care about it !

Dennou Coil (26 Episodes)

The Only anime series that I care to finish ! It’s about a bunch of kids that use a glasses to see through some kind of virtual reality, but also it’s about dealing with Grief of dead relatives ! most of the show is this straight forward narrative that get’s kinda of rushed in the end, but the stand out of this show was the one-shot episodes, those are really good, especially the one where they grow beards that are actually a bunch of sentient hair virus thing ! I wish that more of this show was just this type of one shot episodes, I think that the original Idea was kinda like that ! specially when you see the conceptual art for the show !

The Alienist (Season 1)

A Good first season for a show that can get better ! I Really like the concept of this, a Psychologist create a crack team to play Sherlock and find a serial killer, I really like the first episode but everything after that was kinda of average, good performances in general, but most of the other story lines I Couldn’t care less about them, Expect from the main one that was the serial Killer that was killing boy prostitutes in the streets ! pretty big shock of culture that come of that, Like “Really that happen before ?! Damn ! Thank god I don’t Live on that time” 

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (5 or 6 Episodes)

I Think this year I discover that I might really not like anime, I Wanted to watch all of this, but I end up not really caring about it so much the more I watched, and I at some points I barely wanted to continue, I don’t Think that it was bad, I Think it just me ! Maybe was my mood at the time, i stopped after watching 6 or 5 episodes, maybe I Get back at watching this, I still Think that Giant Robots fighting is a pretty awesome concept.

Banana Fish (5 Episodes maybe)

Another one that I just dropped because I just didn’t care about it, I think it begins great but I kinda lost interest in the way, I guess it’s good but just not for me ! So year ago I try to read the manga and the same thing happen !.

Atlanta (Season 1 & 2)

One of the people that I follow keeps saying how good this show is and saw it was on Netflix, so I decide to see if was that good ! and it is ! I Don’t even like hip hop that much, actually I don’t Like Hip Hop Point, but really didn’t think that this show would be of the quality that it is ! So intelligent and funny, Donald Glover is really something else.I watch most of the second season while trying to do a Essay that really didn’t wanna do it , I Think I finish both of them at the same time I guess. I can’t to see the next season, hope they give more episodes to Darius, that is the best, the actor is pretty great to, he was on that Death Note Movie, I guess that there he was really bad !

The Hollow (Season 1)

One day I was browsing in the netflix catalog and find this show, that was just there ! I decide to watch because why not ! I Think I already said what I though about, it’s a really fun show with a terrible ending, It’s about three kids that wake up in a white room and they have to figure out the way out and what is happening, eventually they learn that are inside of a videogame, but you can figure that out way early ! I suppose this did make quite a success for a show that have no advertising what so eve. Also I think this show is just this one season, I don’t see how either this can go further then what it was !  

Preacher (Season 3)

Find Incredible that this show keep getting better and better ! The first season was kinda of Ok, the second was a way better and this one is just even better, I like the way the adapted the angeville arc, Jesse Grandmother was a crazy religious fanatic, but in this series they turn her into a Vodu witch with a phone with a direct line to hell ! also like how they make Jodie and TC more charismatic, in the comics those two are just the worst fucking person to ever walk the earth ! in this one they still complete bastards but still likable ! God this time is not a Yellow buff dude turns red when it get’s angry, But it’s a old man in a Dog costume riding a motorcycle with some tramp ! I mean you kinda have to love the surreal sense of humor of this show ! I Think from everything that happen in this season, the next might be the last one ! I do wonder If gonna see god rip out Jesse eye with his teeth.

Disenchantment (Season 1)

I Though this show was ok, most of the jokes didn’t really landed with me, but still was something nice to pass the time, since I had nothing to do at the time that I watched this ! I Not really the biggest fan of Simpsons and Futurama, but I kinda watch a lot of episodes of this shows, I remember that since we never got a cable TV we watch most of this show on the public channels, at Simpsons will all ways be on a different channel ! or on a different time ! Browsing to channels one day and find that is passing at this one channel at afternoon, the other day It was in another in the evening ! It was kinda crazy ! This show did some kinda of success and got already four seasons ready to be delivered in the following years ! I Think that would happen even if it wasn't successive !

American Vandal (Season 2)

This I have some kinda power over me, because i can’t stop watching, like I watch one episode and I just get so into it that I binge watch almost everything, I don’t really know what it is, well this time they moved from dicks to shit, I don’t really know if that was supposed to be more funny or less, it’s kinda like almost the first season but on a better resolution and a Incredible likable character that is the basket player, there is even a Meta thing about the show being a show in Netflix, is kinda nuts ! anyway still a really solid show, the humor is still not flying with me but the investigation stuff is really what grabs me ! this time the season end with some kinda of moral massage that I totally forgot about, I guess it was about being yourself or some stuff like that !

Maniac (Season 1)

I Just remember the Scene where there is a fat Asian guy playing chess with a pink kaola in a park with no context what so ever ! that enough for me to say that this one the best show of the year ! It’s on me over on the concept of the mind exploration so you end up seeing a lot of crazy stuff that don’t really make sense but they are there anyway ! the show is Cute, it’s about the relationship of this two broken persons and them dealing with their problems, I thing one of the high points of the cinematography that is really interesting, also like the universe they are in, is like a futurist version of 70′s or something is completely crazy, I was watching the first episode trying to figure out what year they are ! also the other high point is Jonah Hill playing the Sweden secret agent in penultimate episode.

Big Mouth (Season 2)

I thing the one of the downsides of this season was not seeing people over reaction to the explicit stuff in this show, this season was even more explicit then the last, I mean some people flip because there was a scene where Jess talk with her vagina in the Mirror, This time they enter in a vagina in that episode of the sexual education lesson, that was the weakest episode of this season by the way !  and there even more gross stuff like that in this. Also this season got more of a story line then just one-off episodes, they introduce a villain to this season, which I kinda like the idea. In Resume I think this season was kinda better then the first.

Castlevania (Season 2)

What everyone wanted a season of castlevania that have more then a hour ! iT have two hours now ! Still amazing as ever, even though the animation was kinda poor on some scene, most when characters are talking at some points the animation become really wonky, but on the fight scenes, whoa ! it’s something else ! Most of the season was focus on the bad guys and Belmont and friends stay kinda on the background for most of the season, I Though that was a really good idea, focus more on the new interesting characters and let the other laid back a little. I also like the whole depressive Dracula thing, give more character them just some megalomaniac bad guy that wants to kill everyone ! the only thing that I wonder is if Warren Ellis is gonna keep writing for this show. I can’t imagine this show having the same quality without his writing !      

Daredevil (Season 3)

I don’t really don’t remember if I watched this show before of after I read the Frank Miller run on Daredevil, I Think it was after that, because while i was watching i was starting to remember the things that I just have read ! specially on the second season, it is kinda a ok adaptation, everyone seem to love this show from all the other marvel netflix super hero shows, I thing it is just kinda of ok. This Season was the fall of Murdock, and kinda have to say that the comic was way better, I really don’t like saying that, because I think the only people that say that are complete idiots that want to pose was intelligent or something ! The High point is the fight scenes, those are really well done ! 

Doctor Who (Season 11)

This was the worst season of this show so far ! No even Kidding, this was really bad, I said one my mega review last year that season 10 was bad, and thinking about it, it wasn't that bad, and the finale wasn’t complete trash, I still don’t like what I don’t like. But this season, damn, we have Jodie Whitaker was the first female Doctor and her first season is a complete mess, everyone though if they got rid of Moffat the show would get better, I don’t see why everyone hate him so much ! he have Up’s and Down’s, But so far Chris Cannibal only have downs ! The main problem is the writing, is so poor ! almost all episodes are either ok or complete garbage, in mine opinion there is only 3 good episodes in this season, the first one, the Rosa parks one and It takes you away ! Cannibal episodes are the worst, the first episode was ok, and then he just got worse and worse, this season Finale was the most boring thing ! I stop caring to whatever was happening in the middle of the episode, Like last time I had something to complain to about the finale, this time I had nothing, because I don’t give a shit !

Whitaker was the Doctor was kinda of ok to me, it seems to me that her acting was really good when they give a Doctor, which are very few ! so most of the time she was saying complete nonsense ! Her characterization of The Doctor was really shallow too, it’s like she was a side character in her on own Show ! it’s Crazy, it’s like they have no Idea what they are doing ! The companions of this season too are possible the worst  too, except Graham ! he is a charismatic old man with a actual character, But the other two, Ryan and Yaz, I could do without them ! Ryan is a Complete Dipshit and Yaz is a complete blank slate ! most of her scenes she just kinda there, listing and them she say something, she never really did something in this entire season ! Why have her them ?! also why they are travelling together ?!  all of this people have no chemistry what so ever, they try to impose that their a friends, but it seems like they are sharing a cap together ! 

The Critics have been saying that this season was the best of the show in years or something, and Jodie is the best Doctor ever, and of courser their going to say that, she is the first female Doctor, they going to fill her ball even if she was complete terrible ! also the notes of for this season in IMDB have been the lowest that I ever seem for the show ! It was complete shit show I Think even care about that I have to wait a entire year to get the next season, I Don’t really give a shit anymore ! if we keep getting this kinda of quality for the next seasons I Don’t stop given a fuck about this show !

But on the hand this season re-woken mine fanaticism for Doctor Who and I saw a Bunch of old Episodes, and I end forgetting about that Park Chan Wook series ! Also two Other series that I wanted to see and end Forgetting was Killing Eve and Sharp Objects, also maybe I should have watched the Sabrina show or maybe not I don’t really know. 

[shtcablogs]

Fall is Overrated

Fall... everyone’s favorite season. But why? I’ve never understood the hype. Maybe it’s just an attempt at straying from convention or trying way too hard to not fall into “basic bitch” territory, or maybe I’m actually onto something. Either way, I subscribe to the idea that fall is extremely overrated, and here’s why.

Pumpkin flavored anything is not good.

Pumpkin spice latte? Not as good as a regular ol’ latte. Pumpkin bread? Banana bread is better. Pumpkin Oreos? Now you’ve just ruined a good thing. Pumpkin Spice Cheerios? I tried them, not a fan. Pumpkin spice cinnamon rolls? Don’t fuck with my cinnamon rolls. Pumpkin pie? Have you ever even tried apple pie? Does anyone like the taste of pumpkin? Serious question. Stop making everything pumpkin flavored! I’d rather drink a nacho cheese latte than a PSL.

The weather is bi-polar.

Winter is cold. Spring is cool. Summer is hot. Fall is unpredictable. On a normal day, it’s freezing in the morning and hot in the afternoon. How do you dress for that? “Layers!” they say, but who wants to lug around a jacket all day? You also have to check the weather every single morning. You’re a fool if you get dressed based on what the weather was like yesterday. It’s completely possible for the weather to drop 40 degrees in one day, and vice versa. I don’t mind cold weather or hot weather. I mind the constant back-and-forth. I don’t want to wear a coat and scarf to an early October football game, and I don’t want to wear shorts on Thanksgiving. A little stability would be nice, mother nature.

Halloween movies/TV episodes are cheesy.

Where do I start? “Halloween” is the cheesiest movie I’ve ever seen. The only scary thing about that film is Jamie Lee Curtis’s man voice and feathered bangs. Halloweentown is weird. It’s like if Edgar Allan Poe and Dr. Seuss had a baby, and then that baby took a bunch of acid and made a movie. I could go on and on here roasting Halloween movies, but that would be a blog post in itself. Just because you liked a movie as a child doesn’t mean you’ll necessarily like it as an adult. Why do people feel the need to rewatch these movies every year? I’d rather keep my fond memories of them in the past instead of revisiting them as an adult, because I’ll undoubtedly spend the whole movie picking out plot holes and making fun of the characters. Also, what’s up with every TV show doing a Halloween episode? They’re always out-of-place and have nothing to do with the season’s plot line. Stop doing that. We know it’s almost Halloween, we don’t need Grey’s Anatomy to remind us.

Fall clothes aren’t flattering.

Bulky sweaters add anywhere from 10-40 pounds. Boots make your feet and calves sweaty when the weather rises 30 degrees later in the afternoon (see my point above on weather). Fall colors are ugly and don’t suit anyone. I have no interest in wearing anything burnt orange, brown, or burgundy. Jeans are kind of uncomfortable, and it’s pretty hard to find leggings that are acceptable to wear as actual pants. I’d take my summer wardrobe over my fall wardrobe any day.

Football takes over.

I like football just as much as the next broad, which is not very much. I don’t HATE it, but I certainly don’t want to watch it for 48 hours. I have been an NC State fan my whole life and went to college there, so don’t get me wrong, I love watching my Wolfpack play. Every other team on the planet, however, I’m simply not interested in. Football is on ALL DAY every Saturday and Sunday from September to January.  And when it’s not on, it’s all any straight male talks about. “Did you see the Patriots game yesterday?” No Greg, I didn’t. The closest thing us females have to football is The Bachelor, and it’s only on for two hours a week maybe 4 months out of year. I’d like to propose an experiment: let’s air multiple different Bachelor/Bachelorette seasons from January to June. Have it on all day Saturday and Sunday. Play only The Bachelor on all TVs at restaurants/bars. Let’s all buy t-shirts and jerseys with our favorite contestant. And let’s talk about it NON-STOP to EVERYONE. Wouldn’t that be lovely? The patriarchy would never allow that happen, but one can dream.

You can get candy year-round.

I’m going to let you guys in on a well-kept secret. You can get Skittles and Reese’s year-round! I know, the thought of eating a fun-sized candy bar outside of the month of October is insane, but it is 100% possible! What about October suddenly makes everyone start craving candy? I don’t know about you guys, but I crave candy 12 months out of the year (for about one week a month if you catch my drift). I don’t buy any more or less candy in October. If anything, I buy more candy in November because it’s half priced. Huge life-hack: wait out the peer pressure to buy Halloween candy in October. I know it’s difficult, with the giant store displays and everything. But if you just wait until November 1st, you can get that EXACT SAME CANDY FOR HALF THE PRICE. Pretty stupid to pay full price for something you know is going to go on sale in a couple weeks in my opinion. This is not to say you shouldn’t buy Halloween candy for trick-or-treaters, because that is just cruel. I’m saying as an adult, you can wait until after Halloween to indulge in a little candy. 

Pumpkin carving sucks.

Carving pumpkins is difficult, disgusting, dangerous, and time-consuming. I’ve never carved a pumpkin and then taken a step back to admire my work and thought, “Wow, that looks good!” Quite the opposite, actually. It’s more like “Why the fuck did I just spend an hour hacking away at this pumpkin for it to look like it was made by a blind five year-old?” Not to mention pumpkin guts are gross and get all up in your fingernails. Let me also drop this bomb on you. In 2013, there were 3,500 reported Halloween-related injuries. The most common Halloween injury? You guessed it: lacerations from pumpkin carving. Think about that the next time you pick up a kitchen knife and a stubborn pumpkin.

Halloween costumes are stressful.

My friends and I always talk about how Halloween is our least favorite holiday. Halloween costume pressure is real no matter your age. When I was 6 years old I dressed up as Britney Spears from the “Oops I Did It Again” music video. The extent of my costume was a red shirt and a headset microphone. Did I look like Britney Spears? No. Was I pissed at my Mom for not spending way too much money on a red latex jumpsuit? Absolutely. My costume-related perfectionism has only worsened as I’ve aged. If I’m going to wear a costume, it’s going to be the most creative and thought-out damn costume you’ve ever seen. This is why I usually don’t dress up for Halloween. I’m too lazy and too poor to put that much effort into something I’m going to wear one night a year. I won’t dress up again for Halloween until I can think of something to top my 2016 costume: Kris Jenner (see photo above).

Wake me up when November ends, am I right? Stay spooky.

- CA

[canaryatlaw]

alright, well today didn’t quite go according to plan but was an ok day anyway. basically I’m on my period and I had a really bad night last night with cramps and just feeling fucking awful, and since I don’t have the thingy anymore to help manage cramps (though I’ve been emailing with their people and they’re going to send me a replacement for the part that’s broken so hopefully by next time it’ll be working and I won’t have to deal with this again) and I was basically just like I can’t fucking wake up at 7 and go to work, I feel fucking miserable and can’t work like this. So I didn’t, and I woke up around 10:30. I wanted to sleep more but figured I should probably actually get up and do shit. so I texted Jess to let her know I wasn’t at work and asked if she wanted to get breakfast since we barely ever get to go to what was our usual breakfast place anymore since I’m at work most mornings and they close at 3, so it’s not like we can go there for dinner like the vegetarian place we hit up for dinner-breakfast sometimes. So she said yes and we met up, I got the banana bread french toast and chocolate milk (because yes I am a child thank you very much). It was very good, so we enjoyed that and then headed back to my place. we were contemplating (re)watching the X-Men movies since we’ve been talking about them a lot lately as far as their continuity with The Gifted (such as whether the “7/15″ event they reference in The Gifted was actually a thing in the X-Men universe) but then started looking at stuff Karen Gillian was in because we’re gonna meet her at Ace Comic Con this weekend (which is in Chicago, so attending isn’t a big undertaking) and since we’re pretty much ignoring GoTG for obvious reasons and we’ve seen doctor who of course we wanted to see if there was anything else she was in, and we found this Scottish movie (I think it was called Not Another Happy Ending?) that she was in with one of the actors from Shield that Jess liked when she was a Shield stan (what a mistake) so we watched that, I was still kinda tired so I closed my eyes a bit but still paid attention to most of it. When we finished we decided we were gonna go to Outback for a late lunch/early dinner since we didn’t get to go yesterday and wanted a blooming onion, lol. There are ones within the Chicago city limits, but since we live pretty far north the closest one to us is actually in one of the northern suburbs (Skokie if that means anything to you) so we were gonna drive up there. On our way there, someone in another car pulled up next to us and motioned to open the window, and proceeded to tell us that one of the car’s brake lights was out. well fuck. But I was like okay, we’re gonna handle this, so I looked up on google maps if there was an auto repair shop close to where we were going, and sure enough there was a Pep Boys just down the street a bit from the restaurant and they said if we came and dropped the car off they could have it done in like 2 1/2 hours so that seemed to be a good option. so we drove there and were pleasantly surprised to find out the whole repair was only going to cost $20, because we were definitely expecting it to be more than that (there was a funny moment when the clerk said “that would be 20.29″ and we were just like.....does she mean 20 dollars and 29 cents or 2 thousand and 29 dollars???? but thankfully it was the former) so that was good. So we left the car there and started walking over to the outback, which is kind of a radical thing to do in the suburbs (walk) but us city folk can handle it. We got distracted by a Spirit Halloween in one of the shopping centers we passed, so of course we had to go in and check out their stuff, they had some pretty good options for different cosplays. I don’t know what we’re doing for Halloween, but like, we’re gonna be in LA the weekend before and Rhode Island the weekend after so we might not actually end up doing costumes lol. we’ll see. once we’d assessed their inventory we kept walking over to the outback. We got our blooming onion of course, and then I got a small steak and mashed potatoes, but the steak was like, heavily covered in pepper, which was a bit much for me, so I kinda had to try to wipe it off, which worked somewhat, but oh well, I got enough to eat anyway. So we paid and left there, then walked down to the Michaels in the same parking lot so Jess could pick up green construction paper for part of her cosplay for this weekend (I still have no idea what I’m doing for it) then walked back over to the car place and picked up the car and headed home. bit of traffic, but we made it home by about 6:30 or so, just in time to watch The Gifted. Since The Flash premiered tonight in the same time slot we had to choose which we wanted to watch live and which to save for later, so we opted for The Gifted first for now anyway since we just saw the cast and had seen the first 10 minutes of the episode, and of course were dying to know what happened now. Basically the episode was fairly volatile and I feel very bad for Marcos of course, I was like JUST LET THE MAN HOLD HIS BABY FFS lol, and of course that whole incident didn’t end up going well. We switched to Black Lightning then since it was also premiering tonight and watched that, pretty solid episode, I see where they’re leading to with different plot points and I’m excited to see where those go. Then when that was over we went back to watch The Flash premiere, which was a lot of fun. Nora West-Allen is all kinds of great, she plays the character so well and it’s just a lot of fun to see her freak out with her dad after not seeing him her whole life. So I liked that. Also, idk if it’s something with the new season or if it’s just because I met Hartley, but I hate Ralph like, so much less suddenly???? It did seem like he was being less of a brutish pig, so hopefully that will stay. But yeah, enjoyed that. Afterwards Jess went home and I stayed on my computer for a bit watching the news before deciding to start getting ready for bed, and here I am. Eyes want to close now (blame the xanax) and though I may only be able to get like 7 hours of sleep I hope and pray that I somehow feel well-rested in the morning and ready to go out and do stuff. Until then, my friends. Goodnight loves, have a lovely Monday, even if you’re not a Monday person.

[thewaitisogre]

How To Predict The Winner Of Dancing With The Stars Before It Even Begins

I’ve said before that Dancing With The Stars isn’t really about dancing. It’s about going through hell and rising above. But how do you determine who’s rising-from-the-ashes story is better TV? Who says this star’s fractured rib is more compelling than that star’s grandma dying five minutes before taping? I’ve been watching Dancing religiously for a whopping three seasons so I like to think I’m an expert. Okay, I’m not, but I’ve guessed the winner right every year before each season every time and I think that counts for something. In my years as a Dancing devotee I’ve designed a handy guide to help us solve that. 

So the winner is picked on four criteria I like to call CANT: 

chemistry with partner - if it looks like they have a showmance going that’s bonus points

ABC - if the star is affiliated in any way with the network, ahem The Bachelor, their chances are going to be better because the show can’t let down one of their own

narrative - c’mon let’s not be naive! the editors thread a narrative for each star and two or three contestants stick out having a more dramatic narrative so pay attention to that

tears - that’s what people come to see. it always amazes me when a star is like “i don’t want to be shown crying” that’s like getting on Top Chef and saying “I don’t want to be shown with a bandanna.” Then why are you here?!

Other factors are their age (younger stars are more likely to win than older stars), how long ago their pro won (pros have won back to back before but it’s rare), injuries (they tend to make the narrative more interesting), how many rhinestones they have glued to their costume, etc. 

Here are some examples of CANT.

S23- Laurie Hernadez, gymnast- At first it looked like the race car driver James Hinchliffe was going to win. He had smoking hot chemistry with his pro, he was called the best male star to ever rumba on the show and he beat his dead horse of a sob story every episode. He had that win in the palm of his hands. And shablam! Laurie’s very cute and very frail grandma died a day before she was supposed to do a foxtrot to “Hollow” by Tori Kelly. Grandma gave her a new purpose to win and she sobbed the entire time she danced. The ball was back on her court and she won.

S24- Rashad Jennings, football player- Rashad had the moves but his sickest dance move was his heart of gold. Rashad was an asthmatic chubby kid in high school that worked really hard to be the best football player and eventually got football scholarships. His father got sick and had to get his leg amputated so Rashad quit college to be with his father and fortify their nonexistent relationship. “That’s when I realized what unconditional love means” said Rashad. And you guessed it! Rashad cried. From that point all he had to focus on was working on making his arms more graceful and he won.

S25- Jordan Fisher, actor- Jordan was so eager to win every episode that he actually kind of exhausted me. It’s obvious he watched the show with pen and paper and took college class notes. Crying over the day he was adopted? Check. Having America wrapped around his finger by starring in fucking Hamilton? Check. Chemistry with pro? Check. Oh, yall wanted an injury? Well Jordan scratched his cornea and his pro injured her knee at the same time. Perfect scores? Check check check. I talked about other factors. For the three seasons earlier his partner Lindsay got 4th place, 3rd place and 2nd place in that order. The next logical step was 1st place. They had that win wrapped up with a bow from the start. 

So now we are in the present. How do we pick the winner of season 26. First, we use our best friend since middle school: order of elimination. Let’s eliminate anyone that is too old. Kareem is out. Then let’s eliminate anyone that’s disgraced in the media. People that have a bad reputation come on the show to improve their reputation, not to actually win. I, Tonya? More like Bye, Tonya! Then anyone that seems unlikable. Arike and her partner legally can’t do any campaigning because it’s against college sports rules. If you’re not playing patty cake with your pro on instagram story the viewers won’t latch on to you. Arike is out. Then anybody that danced sucky on their Good Morning America appearance or instagram story. Every bit counts! Josh and Jennie are out. Okay, so now we have Jamie, Adam, Mirai and Chris left and we can make a good guess from this. Adam is easily the star that has gotten the most media exposure in the past six months so that means he is fresh in people’s minds, and he is platonically in love with his pro Jenna. Adam’s chances are real good. But for me the winner will most likely be Chris. He got a lot of media coverage recently for his hot dick print, he is charming, he danced well on GMA and he looks like he has cute banter with his pro. He actually reminds me a lot of season 23 first runner-up James Hinchcliffe and Chris better go further than James! If he wins, I will rub it on anyone’s face. If he doesn’t win I will blame in on the Psychic Banana that guessed the sex of the royal baby. Dancing With The Stars premieres April 30 at 8/7c.

Adam Rippon 

Arike Ogunbowale

Chris Mazdzer

Jamie Anderson

Jennie Finch Daigle

Johnny Damon

Josh Norman

Kareem Abdul-Jabaar

Mirai Nagasu

Tonya Harding

Read all my Dancing With The Stars musings here.   

[71tenseventeen]

Shelter-(20)

Here it is. I hope I did them justice.

Next chapter will be an Epilogue.  

Geno calls several times a day for the first two weeks.

Sidney never answers but he cries every time it rings.

By the time a month has passed, the calls have tapered down to once a day.

It hurts.  Sidney knew it would.  He did this for a reason.

Everytime he reaches for the phone, he reminds himself of that.

–

Sidney lands a job doing janitorial work at the rink.  The hours are more regular than at the diner and he gets paid a little bit more.

Then Taylor gets the flu and a double ear infection. Sidney misses too many days during his probationary period and gets fired.

He gets fired from the grocery store when he oversleeps after staying up for most of three nights in a row with a teething Taylor.

He eventually gets hired back on at the diner.  

He tries hard not to think about how much Mom would hate that.  Taylor has to be taken care of.  

There’s no one else left to do it.

–

Geno tries to call four times on Sidney’s birthday.  He’s the only person who remembers.

–

In August Sidney hides all the mail he ever got from University of Pittsburgh in a box in the closet so he can try to forget about it.

Some days he thinks it’s close to working.

–

By September, Geno’s only calling once a week.

–

At the beginning of October Sidney splurges on a $5 costume for Taylor at the thrift store.  He wants to take her trick-or-treating this year like Mom always did with him.

The next day the car blows a tire.

The first Pens game of the regular season is a couple of days later but Sidney pawned the TV to help pay for a new tire so he doesn’t have to worry about accidentally seeing Geno on TV.

There’s no money left for Thanksgiving dinner but he buys a pack of sliced turkey.  He and Taylor have sandwiches and peas.

–

Sidney takes Taylor trick or treating and can’t stand the sympathetic looks he gets from every single neighbor’s house they go to.

He lets her eat too much candy and she gets sick all over him in the middle of the night.

–

Geno doesn’t call at all in November.

Sidney puts away all the pictures and reminders of Geno that he can find.

He takes off the necklace and tucks it away with the ring.

He wishes he didn’t still cry every day. He wishes it didn’t hurt so much.

–

Sidney can’t bring himself to set up the tree and lights in December.  There’s no money for presents and even if there was, no one’s around to give them any anyhow.

–

A few days before Christmas a box arrives. It’s from Geno.

It contains a wrapped box for Taylor and a sealed card for Sidney.  He swallows his pride and opens the box with Taylor.  There are several warm outfits, a couple of hats and some toys for her.  

Sidney is so sick of crying.

He tucks the card away in a book without opening it.

–

On New Year’s Eve Sidney cuts up a bag of newspaper confetti.  Taylor falls asleep by nine. Sidney throws the bag of confetti in the trash and goes to bed.

–

In early January a car pulls into the drive. Sidney instinctively knows who it is.

He wonders when he got released.

He meets Troy at the door.  “What do you want?”

Troy frowns.  “Trina at work?”

Sidney feels like he’s been punched but he lets out a huff of laughter.  “No.”

“Look, Sidney, I’m really not in the mood for-”

Sidney cuts him off by shoving a copy of Trina’s funeral program into his hands. Troy looks back and forth between it and Sidney a few times before he finally reads the text and looks up, shocked. “Is this a joke?”

“Fuck you.”  Sidney makes to shut the door but Troy stops it with an outstretched arm.

“Sidney, I didn’t know.” To his credit, Troy looks completely dumbfounded.

“Well now you do.”

“What happened?”

“That’s none of your business.”

Troy furrows his brow. “What do you mean, none of my business?  She was my-”

Sidney cuts him off again. “What? She was your what?  Not your wife—you divorced her and left us when I was a baby.”

“You don’t know anything about what happened between us.”

Sidney shakes his head. “It should have been you.”

Troy freezes. “What did you say?”

“I said it should have been you.” Sidney glares hard at Troy and fights tearing up with every fiber of his being.

Troy looks like he’d like to say any number of things, none of them particularly nice, but in the end he just sets his jaw and shakes his head before he walks away.

–

Bye week is coming up again.  Sidney knows because he hears rumblings, people speculating whether Geno will spend it in town again. Every customer he waits on seems to know that Sidney and Geno were best friends and he’s constantly being asked how Geno is doing, if Sidney will visit him in Pittsburgh sometime, if Sidney can get them an autograph.  

Sidney is so tired.

–

Geno comes into the diner and, of course, sits in Sidney’s section.  

Sidney can’t ask someone else to take the table—they would know something’s up so he takes a deep breath and goes.  “Hey.  Specials today are Patty Melt with Onion rings, Turkey wrap with steamed veggies and Chicken Pot Pie.”

“Sid.”

“$6.99 a plate for the specials.”

“Sidney.”

“We also have peach pie and banana pudding on the dessert menu today.”

“Sid.”

Sidney takes a deep breath.  “What, Geno?”

“We not together so you act like you not even know me?”

“It’s not…that’s not what I’m doing.”

“Seem like it to me.”

Sidney sighs. “Why are you here?”

“I call and call, you never answer. I think maybe I go to house, you not answer door so I come here.”

Sidney feels his cheeks flush because, honestly, Geno is probably right about that. “Geno, I have to work. I can’t—I can’t just stand here and talk to you.”

“Fine. Patty Melt, no onions. Curly fries instead of onion rings.  Two sides of macaroni and cheese, order of poutine and side of baked beans with bacon.  Strawberry Lemonade and two glasses water.”

Sidney looks at him incredulously.

“Play hockey, Sid! Middle of season, always hungry,” Geno says, sounding a little defensive.

“Okay.  I’ll be right back with your drinks.”

“Sid, wait.”

Here it comes, Sidney thinks, and braces himself for what Geno has to say next.

“Diner still have honey butter?”

That isn’t what he was expecting. “Uhh, yeah?”

Geno nods. “Add basket of rolls and honey butter.”

“Okay, Geno.”

He’s hit with a split second of intense fondness before reality intrudes and he remembers Geno isn’t his anymore.

Sidney wonders if it will always hurt this much.

Each time he goes to the table, Sidney braces himself for whatever Geno wants to say to him but Geno eats (and eats and eats) and then orders and eats dessert (two slices of peach pie) and he still hasn’t said anything.  

When Sidney brings his check over Geno finally touches his wrist gently and looks up at Sidney, eyes full of hope.  “Family leave early this morning for trip to Russia.  You think about come over tonight? We talk?”

“You know I can’t do that, Geno.”

Geno sighs and gives Sidney a sad smile. “Okay. I leave tomorrow at six for airport if you change mind.”

“Geno…” Sidney’s heart hurts.

Geno stands and looks down at Sidney with sad eyes. “Doesn’t matter if today, tomorrow, a year, ten years from now, Sid.  Will always be here when you ready.”

Sidney watches him leave the diner and then looks down at the table. There’s a (huge) tip and an envelope that just says “Sid” and “Please read” on it.  Sidney swallows down the lump in his throat as he stuffs it all in his pockets.

–

Becky’s late for her overnight shift and Sidney has to work over until she gets there so it’s late when he finally gets home and retrieves a sleeping Taylor from Dorothy next door. He eases her into her crib and wants nothing more than to faceplant in bed himself but Geno’s envelope has been burning a hole in his brain all night.

He makes himself shower first before he settles on his bed and turns it over in his hands. It’s crinkled and bent where Sidney had to fold it in half to fit into his pocket. It’s not overly thick but Sidney can tell there’s probably a handful of pieces of paper in it.

He takes a deep breath and opens it.

The first thing is a pamphlet from University of Pittsburgh with the words “Student Parents” and pictures of what are apparently students with their small children on the front.  Geno has highlighted various things in the pamphlet like the section on campus daycare facilities, online classes and other resources available to students who have small children.  There are a couple of notes written in Geno’s messy scrawl.  Things like, “Offer at least 7 class for your major online,” and “Meet with teachers of one year old babies and they answer all my question but maybe you have more. Question on yellow paper.”  

Sidney shuffles the papers and plucks out a slightly crumpled paper torn from a legal pad.  On it there are—Sidney’s eyes go a little wide.  There are twenty seven questions listed out and notes all over the paper about the answers Geno got to those questions.  Things like “bring own diapers,” and “can bring own food or eat daycare food,” and “good security.”  

Sidney swallows hard and puts the pamphlet and papers aside.

The next is a printout from the University website about their student parent housing options with a note scrawled across the top.  “For if Sidney want to live on own with Taylor.”

After that is a long list that Geno has compiled of activities, book stores and places to go with toddlers in Pittsburgh.

The fifth and final piece of paper is information about internships with the Pens for physical trainers.  The note at the top says, “I talk to trainers and they say they give bigger chance for friend of player.” On the bottom of the paper, Geno has written, “Sid-Whether you be with me or not, want you to follow dreams.  Love, Geno.”

Sidney drops his head into his hands and cries for a long time.

Eventually he gathers up the papers and tucks the envelope carefully into his nightstand.  While the drawer is open, his eyes fall on the little box that he keeps the necklace and ring in.  He pulls it out and runs his fingers over it, leaning back against the headboard.  He spends a lot of time thinking before he can finally drift off to sleep.

He jerks awake sometime in the early morning hours and looks at the clock.  It’s just a couple minutes after five.  Sidney is laying there wondering why he woke up when he realizes it’s really cold in his room.

He throws on some socks and a hoodie and checks to be sure there isn’t somehow a window open and then goes to check the thermostat.  It’s set at 72* but the inside temperature is only 52.

“Fuck!”

He dashes to the closet where the heating unit is and yanks open the door.  It only takes him a minute to figure out that it’s not on and it’s not going to turn back on.  It’s -8 outside and the heat just went out.  Sidney doesn’t have a dime to fix it.  

He sinks to the floor and drops his head on his knees, crying for the second time in 6 hours, feeling crushed by the weight of everything that’s happened. It’s below freezing outside and they don’t have heat.  The car has been making a strange noise for the last week and their microwave quit working a month ago. This is it, he thinks. This is what I have to look forward to.  

He’ll always have something horrible to struggle with—broken down cars, blown tires,  broken heating systems and he will never have enough money to deal with it it.  He’ll never make enough to take care of Taylor the way she deserves.  He’ll always be living with the fear of Troy showing up again.  He’ll always be alone, will never be able to look at someone else without thinking of Geno.  

Geno who loves him so much that he went and interviewed teachers to see if they were worthy of Taylor.  Geno who loves him so much he gathered all of this information and wanted Sidney to have it even if he decided not to be with Geno.

Sidney gasps out a sob because of everything that’s crashing down on him, that’s the worst.  He loves Geno and Geno loves him and he pushed him away.  In that moment he knows it’s the biggest mistake he’s ever made, knows that he doesn’t have to do this alone— he never had to He’d been so stupid that he let the only person in the world that he’s ever been able to truly count on go.  In less than an hour he’ll be leaving again for Pittsburgh and—

Sidney jumps up.

There’s still time.

The call goes straight to voicemail.  Geno’s phone isn’t on.

He crams his feet into shoes before running to gently pull Taylor out of her crib.  “I’m so sorry, Tay.  We have to go.  We need to go see Geno, okay?”  

He dresses her in layers and then puts her snowsuit and hat on over all of it.  She’s not thrilled.

He yanks on his own hat, gloves and coat and then grabs a fleece blanket for Taylor for good measure before hustling out to the car.

It doesn’t start.

Sidney tries and tries but it just makes a clicking sound and he bites back his tears as he pulls an increasingly cranky Taylor out of her carseat and bundles the blanket over her in his arms.  It’s just three blocks, they can make it.  He’ll run if he has to.  

He gets there at 5:48 but there’s no car in the driveway and his heart sinks.  He rings the bell.  When no one answers he rings it again.  And again.  By the third time he knows no one will answer.  He waited too long.

Geno is gone.

It takes him longer to trudge home but he tries to keep a quick pace, if for no other reason than to get Taylor out of the cold, not that it’s much warmer in their house. He wonders what will happen to them if he can’t figure out a way to fix the heat. Probably nothing good.

Tears track down his cheeks as he apologizes softly to her while he carries her home. “I’m so sorry, Taylor.  I’m so sorry. I was too late. I messed up and I was too late.  He loves us and he would have taken care of us.  We would have been a family and I blew it.”

Sidney is devastated.

He turns the corner onto their street and freezes when he looks up.

There’s a car parked behind his in the driveway.

Geno.

Sidney runs the rest of the way, despite Taylor’s protests and bounds up onto the porch where his front door is hanging open. “Geno?”

Geno dashes out of the hallway to the front door. “Sid!  Where you go? I come here, think try one last time and your front door open, car door open.  Can’t find you.  You and Taylor gone and I’m so scared!”  He moves close and grips Sidney’s cheeks. Sidney doesn’t pull away.

“Sid what wrong? What happen? Why you out in cold with Taylor? Why you cry?”  Geno looks so shaken and Sidney doesn’t know how he ever could have pushed him away.

His lip quivers as he speaks. “You said you were leaving at six and I just, I wanted to see if…if it’s not too late…”

Geno’s eyes open a little wider.  “You mean, Sid? You want?”

Tears are spilling over again as Sidney nods and rasps out, “I’m so sorry, Geno.  I love you. I miss you so much.  You are the best person I’ve ever known and I’ve been so stupid.”

“Oh Sid.  I tell you already. Never too late.” And then Geno kisses him and the weight of the world is gone from Sidney’s shoulders.

A few hours later, the three of them board a plane to Pittsburgh.

[geeky-galpal]

So I’m Latina, and I am not (yet) Bothered by the new cursed Regina’s costuming. This is why:

Whew boy, this got long, it’s a lot about the show. And also a bit about the the stereotyping of Latinas in the media more broadly. And context clues and textual analysis. And costuming. So, its all behind the cut:

Before I do this, I want to be clear that I am NOT here for trying to speak over other Latinas who are in fact bothered by Regina’s new direction. And I am NOT trying to belittle those concerns. 

But, I am interested in the conversation that is happening among Latinas in the fandom about the new styling choices for cursed Regina. There’s concern that the leather jacket with bright red flowers, skin tight jeans, and animal print boots, and wavy hair are a stereotype. There is a lack of trust that the OUAT bts team will proceed with the necessary caution.

And I hear that. I empathize with it. And under different circumstances, I would be right there with my hermanas ringing the alarm bell. But, I think there are a lot of other factors at play that we should also take into consideration to have a full convo.

Lana Parrilla is Puerto Rican. And for what its worth she has talked about in previous interviews and cons that she started straightening her hair to be read as white in public, enabling her to have better audition  and work opportunities. In that light, I am happy that she is able to embrace her natural roots (puns not intended). It is a move against finally stopping the whitewashing a mixed race actress. I saw someone else talk about how the hair change is signal of Lana reclaiming her Latindad, and I am 100% here for it.

 It also is giving her hair what is I am sure a much needed break after YEARS of artificial heat and processing. Also, the curly/natural hair movement is having a groundswell right now among Latinas in the US, particularly Caribbean Latinas like Lana. So, yay for her.

And look, lots of Latinas *do* love Animal Print (I still have shudder worthy flashbacks the time my Mom, Tía’s, and primas decided that ‘animal print’ would be the theme of one of our annual family Christmas photos. I burned every copy I could find). Furthermore, Lana loves animal print, if we are to take her personal closet as an indication. BUT THAT IS ALSO NOT THE POINT, BECAUSE EVEN IF THERE ARE SOME LATINAS WHO LIKE ANIMAL PRINT- IT IS STILL A STEREOTYPE.

In the United States, there is still a lot of media trafficking in this stereotype and to great success and little pushback. Which is awful and I will fight against it to my last breath. This includes (but it most certainly not limited to):

Sofia Vergara on Modern Family, still the number 3 most watched sitcom in America and going into its 9th season this fall  (a show my mother won’t even watch because the character so offensive):

Fun fact! Vergara also thickens her natural accent for the role! (that is not fun, I am being sarcastic)

I don’t want this very long post to get even longer, but if you are interested in current prominent Latina stereotyping, I also recommend googling: The entire cast of Devious Maids, also Ugly Betty, and Orange is the New Black.  Are you interested in a historical perspective? Start with Chiquita Banana. 

I also recommend these articles as a starting point to the conversation: X, X, X.

OK, so why am I not bothered by Regina’s new styling? Clearly, there are very strong arguments for why I should be.

Here’s the thing:

I personally do not believe that OUAT has ever intentionally written Regina Mills as Latina. Regina has always been a case study in whitewashing. Point blank. And I have no reason to believe that they are going to start explicitly writing her as Latina now.

If we’ve understood Regina Mills to be Latina, then we should have been rioting over the Evil Queen, who is, quite literally, the personification of a “fiery” ”spicy” angry Latina. If the show had ever explicitly made Regina Mills to be Latina, Lana wouldn’t have to fight so hard to get PoC press to cover her success. 

And, it’s fucked up that Regina Mills has been white washed. I am, in NO WAY, defending it. It’s one of my longest standing critiques of the show. It’s one of their core problems.

BUT, in this specific case, I think that because the writers haven’t written Regina Mills as Latina, they aren’t trying to visually code her as Latina in season 7 either.

I think she’s supposed to be edgy, eccentric and ostentatious, and a bit bohemian. Because she’s a bar owner. And she’s supposed to be “a woman of the people”. She’s going to be the one who goes against Lady Tremaine’s “evil” gentrifying land developer. And because Lana is Latina, those costuming choices most certainly have the potential to be read out of context (particularly by people who are no longer watching the show). 

And perhaps that alone is enough, honestly. I have to think more about it. But, I do not for a second believe it is authorial intent on behalf of the show. Which seems to be what the conversation at hand is about.

Keeping all of this in mind, the actual characters that we know are Latina and we know are going to be Latina on the show?? This is what they are dressed like:

Perfectly average, everyday clothes. Clothing that is relatively trendy and representative of what most typical North American women wear.  Without a (visual) stereotyping in sight. 

So no, I am not going to rake OUAT over the coals about how they are styling Regina right now. Lots of other things- sure. But not this. At least, not yet. But that’s me personally. Others milage may very.

This is an important conversation (Latinas and stereotyping) and one that I hope we get to keep having now that the show has cast so many women of color in prominent roles. I’m excited for the open dialogue and for learning more together.

(For the record, if it turns out that Regina Mills is explicitly Latina in her new cursed personality, and that is indeed why they are dressing her this way, I will be the first one to cop to a mea culpa and then I will be one of the loudest member joining the ranks to burn this show. This is 100% offensive- if  that’s what they are doing. )

Citations and Credit Due: I got the pictures of the costumes from set spotter reports at EFNS. You can find them: X, X, X, X. I got the close up gif of her hair from : X. All rights to these works belong to their original owner. If anyone wants me to take them down or remove them, please let me know and I’ll be glad to.

[spotlightsaga]

Kevin Cage of @spotlightsaga reviews... Riverdale /S01\/E10\ Chapter 10: The Lost Weekend Airdate: April 13, 2017 @cwnetwork Ratings: 0.872 Million :: 0.32 18-49 Demo Share Score: 8.5/10 @riverdaleseries @archiecomics TVTime/FB/Twitter/IG/Tumblr/Path/Pin: @SpotlightSaga **********SPOILERS BELOW********** Four Months late isn't too bad, right? See, in Miami, it's never cute to be the first person at the party, and really the party never ends until someone actually says it does... And clearly the Riverdale Party is still very much in full swing. So consider this 10th Entry 'Riverdale Revisit'; the after party to end all after parties. Of course, we're going to be set up for S2 when it goes live. This is definitely not one of the tv shows that Spotlight Saga will be dropping in the coming, world famous, 'fall tv' season frenzy. But don't get it twisted, there are many on the chopping block... OUR chopping block. We're looking at what gets our blood pumping and our thoughts racing, giving us something more to talk about than "Last Night on ___insert uninspired show number #45 here___." 'Riverdale' has made a massive stir across social media and of course on The CW & their worldwide dominating partner, Netflix, as well. I love that due to streaming, the new large amounts of cash pouring in from its subsequent deals, and actually several generations full of 'cord cutters', there are no longer rules to watching and writing about television series and films... Get to them when you can, some will watch them live, some will stream them later, some will wait until they can binge them all at once like a Weekend Warrior with a pocket full of Ecstasy and a head full of hallucinogens. It's our world now, and CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, and more (or less) importantly 'Nielsen Holdings', no longer control what, when, where, why, and how much. Smell that? That's the sweet smell of change... And the remnants of murder and sticky maple syrup, obvi. Ive been extremely careful not to overpraise 'Riverdale' in the past. Similar series have only led to frustration or feelings of complete frustration. Its hard to know what to expect from a show like this in the near future... We all saw the demise of similar series like 'Pretty Little Liars' and other shows that run through the same type of vein... Kind of like many of the other ones attempted over at the now defunct ABC Family where PLL first started. Like The WB, UPN, and now The CW, ABC Family has also gone through a newly rebranding process that didn't do much to help the sinking ship they now call Freeform TV... A network that only 'The Fosters' and its cheesy sister show 'Shadowhunters' seem to be keeping afloat. We aren't being negative, we're being real... And when you're at a party, or in this case, 'After Party', you've got to be real. You just gotta... Even if no one ever wanted the party in the first place. If you don't know what I mean, let me spell it out for you. Ready? Set? Spell! Ah fuck it, we'll just spill the tea... 'Let's have a Kiki! Lock the doors tight!' I sometimes wonder if my obscure pop culture references I often sneak into these articles ever actually connect. They probably don't, but to that one person that got it, FUCK YEAH! It's the birthday of Jughead (Cole Sprouse)... And much like the very similar, fellow female counterpart, Sheila the She-Wolf, another introverted style character from 'Riverdale's sister show on Netflix, 'GLOW'... Jughead is not really into parties and/or making a big fuss about a birthday or bringing any unnecessary & unwanted attention to his person. Unfortunately for Betty (Lili Reinhart), Jughead isn't really big on camaraderie, most definitely not in the spirit equivalent to the 'Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling'! The reasons behind throwing these two characters' each their own impromptu birthday bashes on their respective tv shows are done for totally different reasons. With 'GLOW', it was slightly annoying at first (for Sheila, anyway), but eventually it turned from an apprehensive & anxiety filled event to a touching, sweet moment, where a closed off character had a major breakthrough that was captured in the perfect beam of light, allowing a significant development and enabling an insight into another character's backstory, bringing the whole cast together for the most part. In a great juxtaposition, on 'Riverdale', the psychology behind this one is actually much, much different... It's still got the 'trepidatious yet possible potential for a surprise moment of gratification' aspect down to a certain degree, but it doesn't go down the path of the balmy & charming. The reasoning behind Betty's sudden obsession to give Jughead the party that he never wanted, and the background as to why he's so against the idea in the first place certainly doesn't inspire camaraderie or any kind of 'feel good' moments, especially at the party itself. If anything, the intent is slightly bordering on the side of creepy. Riverdale?! Creepy?!? Yup! Keep up! It's only getting creepier. You see... We've been up on 'Riverdale' and then back down, and then back up and down again... And I think everyone here will openly admit that it's mostly due to a shaky CW track record, as well as similar networks just like it, though there has been a few inconsistencies outside of this oddball tone & beautiful color scheme we're always raving about. However, when the show fully embraces its complete and total anomalous, almost freakish eccentricities, we all just fall right back in love with the show again. It's episodes like 'Chapter 10: The Lost Weekend' that completely make us forget about past network follies and shows like PLL completely losing their way after gaining our trust and enthusiasm in its beginning stages. Reinhart is effortlessly serving up 'Bizarre, Bilateral, Betty Bananas' like a full-on, award ready, seasoned vet. Seriously, I don't want to blow too much smoke up the kid's ass, but I'm pretty sure her breakthrough performance here would even make the likes of decorated actress such as Nicole Kidman proud. Betty Cooper has a duality that Reinhart not only highlights with strong, hearty performances... But it's also the efforts of Director Dawn Williamson, a phenomenal Art Department (you guys KICK MAJOR ASS), Cinematographer Stephen Jackson (this guy was award-worthy in this episode), and Costume & Wardrobe (hell, everyone involved in the smallest, minute details) framed from shot to shot... The absurdity of how tight & perfectly situated her ponytail is, how hard she clenches her hands (leaving scratch marks on her palms), even the way she holds the cake & dawns the signature 'Jughead Crown', to whoever made the call of having those weirdo party goers in horse masks in the background - Good call, guys! That was freaking CRAZY! It's all those little things that make the picture such a pleasure to watch... Turning what seems like a normal teen drama at first glance, to a finely tuned, surprisingly compelling theatrical spectacle. The crazy is in full on abundance, though... It's not just Betty. Suddenly after a string of a few disappointing episodes, I come back after a break and either see things in a totally different light, or it could be that this was just slowly building right under our noses the whole time, or *the most plausible of all three options* is that the ironically lowest rated episode of the series, according to the great analysts over at Nielsen, is actually the most technically sound, character driven, insanely atmospheric entry of the entire 1st Season. Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes) finally lets go of some deep resentments she's been bottling up and goes after Cheryl Blossom (Madelaine Petsch). This is a task that I wouldn't suggest to any person of sound or capable mind to attempt in any way, shape, fashion, or form. The act is crazy in and of itself, and pissing off the 'Ravishing Redhead' that literally wears the letters 'HBIC' on the back of her cheerleading uniform, that's 'Head Bitch in Charge' for anyone too young or too old to remember Tiffany Pollard of VH1's 'I Love New York', is obviously going to lead to a backlash that Veronica won't likely forget. Sure she might get her big 'W' now, but we must remind you... There's no 'W' in 'HBIC'. Meanwhile, Cole Sprouse & Skeet Ulrich, who plays Serpent Gangster FP Jones & Jughead's father on the show, are literally close to actually convincing me that they are really father and son in real life. The little ticks and nuances that they share are out of this fn' world insane. Either these two have spent a week in a trailer together mirroring their every move or we seriously need to ring in Maury Povich for a DNA Test! Oh, and apparently there's some guy on the show named Archie Andrews (KJ Apa)... The only drawback is that they've failed to make the main protagonist (is he tho?) even remotely interesting. He's good looking, but he's not a convincing redhead, and I'm still not hooked into his arc. Hey, that's ok... Enter Mary Andrews (Molly Ringwald - ChaChing!), Archie's long lost mother. So nice of you to finally drop in, Molly! Fred Andrews (Luke Perry) is ready to finalize the divorce, but we're just biting on all the possibly juicy dramatic scenarios! Who is Archie again? Back at the party, that burgeoning rivalry between Veronica and Cheryl hits its boiling point when Veronica gets a bit too carried away and accuses Cheryl and her deceased brother Jason (Trevor Stines) of having an incestious affair. Ah, gotta love seedy underbelly of the United States! The more money, the crazier the family!!! Oh but there's more! Good ol' All-American Chuck (Jordan Calloway), who actually WAS almost boiled alive, attempts to out Betty on her 'Dr. Jeckyl/Ms. Hyde' issue that surfaced when a hot tub prank got a bit too out of hand earlier in the season. To our surprise, and viewer delight, Jughead and his Dad actually had a moment, which was completely unexpected, yet felt completely real. Like I said before, Ulrich & Sprouse have stellar chemistry, and the writers seem to know this and obviously derive great pleasure in giving us this moment where the two aren't at total odds and Jughead not only carefully considers, but actually takes his biological father's advice... Providing solid proof that the series isn't trying to meander or stretch out any unnecessary storylines at all. No disrespect to fans of other series broadcast on The CW, but clearly this isn't 'The Flash'. These storylines seem to be heading into important territory at a reasonable pace, and not just hanging around to fulfill an episode number requested by an executive to make sure ad-space quotas are filled... Although I have considered that this could be an issue that the show could run into in its expanded 22-Episode Run that it's been greenlit for S2. There's plenty of juicy drama to go around, but when we see that drama making moves instead of being drawn out, then you know you've got a potentially good show on your hands. For now, 'Riverdale' is back on a solid trajectory, delivering what appears to be a set-up episode for the impending S1 finale... A set-up episode that was easily the most consistent entry to date from start to finish. The impression that an episode as good as this exists to move its characters like chess pieces, seemingly just to put everyone in place for the final three episodes is an exciting notion for the last 3 hours of S1 of 'Riverdale' to come!

[miragablog]

Top 10 Mahou Shoujo Shows for Babies (Part 1)

I’ll be the first person to admit, getting into Mahou Shoujo is hard.

With the lacking amount of accessible critique and over the top presentation shows of the genre adopt,

It can be genuinely uninviting for many anime fans to get a foot in the door that is Magical Girl.

After my last video, I received a handful of comments asking about what I’d recommend as great gateway shows for a newbie.

While a recommendations list is all good and well, giving context to why these shows are worth your time is what i’m more interested in talking about today.

Before getting into the list I’d like to clarify that the choice being presented arnt tiered based on quality nor personal preference.

Some of these shows I love more than others and others not so much; However when recommending shows to try in a sub genre like Mahou shoujo, I find it counterproductive to introduce ratings when breaking down audience bias.

Also I’m judging the viability of these shows on their first five episodes, maybe a few chapters of the manga.

With that out of the way, let's get into the first section….

Kill la Kill

In a world where facism has taken hold of Japanese government, scissor blade wielding badass Ryuko Matoi is on a quest to avenge the death of her father. This brings her to Honnouji Academy, a school run by the iron fist of Satsuki Kiryuin. 

For the sake of finding her father’s murderer, Ryuko must demonstrate pride in her body and fighting spirit with the help of a bloodthirsty seifuku known as Senketsu.

Let's say you made a magical cheesecake. Amongst the common choices, of strawberries, banana and cherries you dig through and find the tangy lemon that is Hiroyuki Imaishi’s Kill la Kill.

Trigger has done some fantastic work in its six years as a studio, revolutionizing modern anime as we know it. 

However what I never hear ANYBODY talk about is how Imaishi and co.’s work has pushed the concept of the Magical Girl.Kill La kill is a bombastic, stylish addition to the genre and a fantastic entry point for introducing others to Mahou Shoujo. 

It has a really fresh, fun take on the Magical warrior, in its most literal form. The use of a mascot character being the transformation item is rare enough, but including symbiote-esc elements to the costume as a whole is something i’ve never really seen done outside of comic books stateside. 

While some may critique the shows use of “Fanservice” to be pandering or perverted, I don't think it should be a roadblock in trying KLK out. Most of the nudity presented serves into a message about confidence and having pride in who you are.

It's not trite BS like what you see in Queens Blade or (shudder) Master of Martial Hearts.

If you’re trying to get your little brother or a friend to try Mahou shoujo without having to preface starting crunchyroll with a disclaimer- about how your a real man, throw this on with a bowl of popcorn and a pitcher of lemonade. You’ll have a blast.

Shugo Chara

Amu Himamori is, for all intensive purposes, popular.

Or is she feared?

The “Cool and Spicy” character surrounding Amu pervades the relationships she tries to make with others.

Despite her crushingly shy nature, classmates interpret everything she does in a rebellious lense, perpetuating rumors without making the effort to get to know Amu outside of her reputation.

But in a miraculous turn of events, she is given the chance to rectify her social standing with the blessing of three strange eggs known as Chara, portions of Amu’s buried personality that act as guardian angels.

Originally watching the show while airing in 2008, I can say that Shugo Chara is a contender with the likes of Pretty Cure when it comes to presentation. I’m surprised I don't hear more people talk about the series to be honest.

Transformation sequences are minimal but catch the eye.

The concept of having multiple characters to change in and out of when needed lends to keeping the audience guessing, especially when paired transformations with new Chara come into play.

In combination, Peach-Pits colorful art design and Kenji Yasuda’s directing kept me glued to the screen.

While the shows premise isn't horribly original, Shugo chara stands out for it’s “heart on it’s sleeve” approach to character development.

Overall Shugo Chara has a very child friendly plot while addressing overlooked themes in most bishoujo.  

Panty and Stocking With Garterbelt

Keeping this one nice and sweet as i’ve already mentioned Hiroyuki Imaishis contribution to the genre with Kill La Kill.

If you want to test your expectation or others of Mahou Shoujo while indulging in some vulgar toilet humor, then Panty and Stocking is worth checking out.

While shows like this may not be everyone's cup of tea, Gainax has definitely cranked out a fantastic parody addressing the more sexual undercurrents usually glossed over in Magical warrior.

You don't see many studios that have the confidence to implement pole dancing into their transformation sequences.

Atsushi Nishigori, Masahiko Otsuka, Yoh Yoshinari- Shit even my girl Sayo Yamamoto is here. With the diversity in staff, you’re bound to find something you like whether its the experimental realism in “Vomiting Point” or a saving private ryan homage with sperm ghosts in “Pulp Addiction”.

As someone who's watched all of Panty and Stocking through in both Japanese and English; I’d highly recommend the dub.

Not only does it help jokes stick but stays really close to the original intent while implementing some Adult Swim level humor.

If you’re anything like me, you’ll probably be swept away by the shows poppy, powerpuff girl-esc art and Teddyloid’s contributions to the OST, introducing punchy playlist worthy electronica. Just don't listen to it with your mom or anything.

Cardcaptor Sakura

Sakura Kinamoto is your typical fourth grader.

She's outgoing, participates in sports at school and is beloved by her fellow classmates.

One day, when returning from class Sakura hears a strange sound from her father’s study. Investigating the bookshelves, she opens a strange tome containing “Clow Cards”,

a magicians tarot deck imbued with the powers of aspected spirits.

However, with a gust of wind the cards are lost and with the help of the books guardian, Kero- Sakura must recollect the deck and discover her true self.

Cardcaptor Sakura is by far one of the least abrasive gateways into long form Magical Warrior.

I’m 20 episodes into the series and while I know I dont have the free time to watch another 50 I kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnddddddddddaaaaaaaaa dont careeeeeee?

The scenery is beautiful, pacing is mellow and everybody, whether it be top tier camcorder waifu Tomoyo to the cuckoo lander childhood crush Yukito will find a way to melt your heart.

When others talk about the typicality of magical girls, I find that Sakura presents many unorthodox takes on commonalities to the subgenre.

The show doesn't have transformation sequences, but rather invests its runtime on  inventive fight scenes and dynamic character development.

On the Manga side the series is much more compact read, with about 12 volumes not including the newly announced Clear Card Arc. Mokona and gangs luxurious, carefully laid linework are in the forefront, taking a less hi-scifi approach than their other titles.

When it comes to wholesome, genuine Mahou Shoujo- Cardcaptor Sakura is a great series to snuggle into a blanket and watch with a friend.

Sailor Moon

YOU DON'T NEED A PLOT SYNOPSIS FOR THE DRAGON BALL Z OF MAHOU SHOUJO. IF YOU DO, YOU’RE EITHER LIVING UNDER A ROCK OR TOO YOUNG TO BE ON THIS SITE. FUCK.

Yes, the Dic dub is borderline horrible if you didn't grow up with it and the shows a popular prototype for what we now consider the Magical warrior, which for some is pretty stock. BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN IT ISN'T FANTASTIC AND WORTH THE BINGE.

As far as Magical Warrior goes, Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon is a staple introduction to modern Mahou Shoujo.

While early sections of the series do contain buckets of filler, the show makes up for it with a lovable, diverse cast, Beautiful transformations and a fun premise.

Season three alone, Sailor Moon S is arguably one of the best installments in the genre and worth every second of your time as it showcases director Kunihiko Ikuhara, of Utena and Mawaru Penguindrum fame.

The story is nothing too crazy mind you; but if you’re interested in Sailor Moon manga-wise, Naoko Takeuchi’s illustrations are TO DIE FOR, drawn with meticulous detail and colored with a mixture of ink and translucent watercolors.

Look i’ll even make it easier; because I have no life and completed the show six times. A month or so ago I put together a “Abridged Viewing Guide” for people wanting to cut out useless filler so if you’re interested the link will be in the description.

Sailor Moon broke ground in the 90’s for what is now considered a “typical magical girl”. Truly, You would be doing yourself a disservice passing the series up.

[parisgellerisbisexual]

Hayley Watches Parenthood

Decided that I need to vent my feelings about Parenthood. Under the cut.

Okay so I started Parenthood for my beautiful bae Lauren Graham, but I’m honestly falling in love with them all. I’m having far too many feelings already (I’m on s2e7) so I’ve decided to vent them all out on le tumblr dot com. 

Sarah, Amber and Drew

I know I’m biased because I already love Lauren but Sarah is one of my favourites. I find her so interesting and complex and I love watching Lauren play this character who kinda fails as a mother sometimes. Don’t get me wrong, she’s really trying and a lot of the time she is an amazing mother. But it’s nice to see someone who is a bit of a mess and does make mistakes with her children. I think it’s realistic. Also am loving watching her career blossom. She’s beautiful, of course, and quirky. But I super love how she doesn’t remind me of Lorelai. Like, at all. Phew. Side note: CANNOT stand her with this Gordon guy (I just find all the Baldwin’s sleazy, sorry?) and I want her to get back with cute teacher guy. They had the best chemistry so far. 

Ok I am honestly so so so in love with Amber. She’s my little misunderstood queen and I love her. Sure, she can be moody and shitty and what not, but I just know that they’re setting her up for some beautiful character development and I genuinely cannot wait to see it unfold. I love her with all of my heart. And I love her even more for the fact that she wore a banana costume to a halloween party. I also really enjoy her relationship with Sarah. It’s interesting to watch Lauren act this role, where she’s not super close with her daughter and they butt heads a lot, but they do care for each other deeply and that’s shown every now and again. 

Drew is kinda in the background a little bit and I don’t feel a connection to him really? I feel bad for him because he obviously has daddy issues, but it was nice to see him connect with Adam as a fatherly figure. He always has time for Max which I think is super rad. That storyline where he kissed April Nardini was random though, and short-lived, and I don’t understand the importance/relevance of that entire storyline?? 

Adam, Kristina, Haddie and Max

OKAY SO the thing is I find myself kind of not liking Adam, and I don’t understand why?? Like, he is such a good guy. Not in a fake way, like, all the way down to his core he is just such a good guy. He cares about his family and he’ll do anything for them. It’s actually annoying how he basically always does the right thing (so far anyway). Like, he’ll be about to fuck up and I’ll be like ‘yas this will give me some sort of explanation as to why I don’t like his character’ and then at the last minute he goes and does the right thing! I can’t quite put my finger on why I don’t care for him too much -- perhaps it is because he slightly bores me? -- but all I know is, I try to not like him but I just /can’t/. That probably makes no sense. 

Kristina is also not one of my favs (she can piss me off ALOT sometimes) but I do have a whole heap of respect for her. She is one badass mum and she really takes care of her kids. She really is your kinda typical mum, and I love that about her. She reminds me of my own mum a little bit. I don’t like the way she treats Sarah sometimes (but that’s bc I Protect my favs). I really liked that scene she had with Gaby and she actually admitted how she’s been feeling about it all, and also in relation to her marriage and it was awesome to see her vulnerable that way. She’s absolutely stunning tbh and I envy her hair. (p.s. she was a badass when she was working on that campaign). 

Haddie can annoy me so fcking much oh my gosh. BUT also I was a 15 year old girl once so I can totally relate. She kinda portrays your typical but realistic storyline of young teenage girl pushing for more freedom, and how she deals with her parents resisting that. I know that feeling where you feel like you deserve more freedom than you’re getting, and how unfair it all feels. But in hindsight, my parents (and Haddie’s) were right. Fifteen is still pretty young tbh. I didn’t like how in the first season ALL of her storylines revolved around boys, namely Steve. I just wanted to see a bit of Haddie as her own person, as opposed to just this boy-loving teenager. It felt like a bit of a cliche. But now that her and Steve are over, I like her a lot more. She’s, like, cool. idk. 

I like Max. I think the actor that plays him is outstanding and I also think it’s super important that stories like his are being portrayed in the media. I don’t really know what else to say about Max other than I just think it’s really cool to see his story, and the character’s that are affected by him, play out. 

Julia, Joel and Sydney

I LOVE JULIA. Julia is bae. She’s is so smart and passionate and stubborn and beautiful. Honestly, I get lost in her eyes during her scenes I s2g hahahaha. She is such an important character, honestly, like give me all the working mothers trying to balance their work and maintain a close relationship with their kid. I love how they show that it’s not necessarily easy but you can do it, and also it’s okay to be a working mother. You don’t have to give up your career. She’s so stubborn and I can understand the way other people in her life react to her sometimes, but all in all I love her to pieces. 

Joel is such a sweetheart like he’s just such a pure cinnamon roll so far. He has this real quiet confidence that I love, but also it’s adorable how shy he was around the family at first. I loved that scene when he yelled at Zeek about the roof, saying he was a certified trained contractor and that he knew more than him and I was like yes!!! go Joel!! He’s so cute and good with Sydney, but I also like how he’s not super praised about being a single father. I think there was only one line in the whole show so far where someone was like ‘you’re such a hero for being a stay-at-home dad’ and my eyes rolled SO FAR back it was unbelievable but thankfully!!! there’s only been one line like that. He’s just a sweetie and I love him. also sexy. 

Sydney is kinda just whatever the show needs her to be in that episode, like imo she doesn’t really have a character yet. I don’t know. She’s just the kid, you know? But she is considerably less annoying than most kids her age so that’s a plus. 

Crosby, Jasmine and Jabbar

I love Crosby with all of my heart. He’s the male I feel the most emotionally connected with in the whole show. At first I thought he was being set up to be the continuous loser failure and I was so exhausted at just the thought of him being a dropkick dad. I just feel like that storyline has been done before so many times, so I was so happy to see that they’ve actually done his character justice! Sure, maybe he’s not at the same point in his life as his siblings, but he’s killin’ it where he’s at right now. I love love love his relationship with Jabbar, I think it’s the cutest thing and it made me smile so much when he told Jasmine that he was falling in love with him. CROSBY IS CUTE. 

I like Jasmine. I think she’s really talented and a great mum and good for Crosby and she’s stunning, obviously. I’m glad she got to live her dreams, but am also glad she decided that her family is more important. I’m just like, I like her but don’t love her. A little indifferent towards her relationship with Crosby, could go either way and I wouldn’t mind (aside from it would suck for Jabbar if they split). They did just get engaged though and that was cute. 

Jabbar is cute and his personality is adorable! I love how much he loves Crosby and AHHH idk they’re just the cutest lil dad-son duo. It makes my heart so happy. 

Zeek and Camille

Honestly??? Can’t stand either of them. I just wanna tell them both to pull their heads out of their asses. Zeek is arrogant and stubborn and rude and cheated so yuck. And Camille is sooooooo annoying. Sorry. I don’t know. She just??? Like just fucking say something, stop playing the victim and take control of your life???? Really honestly can’t stand either of them hahahaha oops.

General Opinions

Where are the gay people? Why is everyone Straight™? Surely SOMEONE is lgbt+??????????? PLEASE?????? List of people who I want to be lgbt+: Sarah, Amber, Drew, Haddie, Joel, and Camille. I personally think all of these are possible? A GIRL CAN DREAM.

I love it with all my heart. I see flaws and it’s similar to Gilmore Girls in the sense that it’s very white and very straight, but I can acknowledge that and still enjoy it. although there is far too much yelling in this show for my liking. so many scenes are just five characters shouting at each other and it does my head in.

I found that I became invested in these characters very very quickly which was nice? nice and snuggly. I think the family aspect of it is very...comforting and it’s just like, a nice show to watch. idk, i just love it a lot!

so anyway here are my thoughts on Parenthood that nobody asked for. if you read them all then you’re a champ!

[canaryatlaw]

so I just watched a video that made me cry a lot so I’m feeling very emotional at the moment but it’s getting late so I should probably start writing this post. today was pretty good. I was a lazy ass again and didn’t get up for the actual church service and only went for my shift in the babies room, even when I knew I would regret it and I can sleep in literally any other day....my body likes sleep and it’s very hard to argue with. so I reset my alarm and came in for the babies room in the last service. it went pretty well, initially it was just two of us but about halfway through two younger girls came over and asked if they could help so I said sure so that was good. we only ended up with 5 babies, and the littlest one (8 months) ended up falling asleep pretty soon after arriving and remained asleep the rest of the time so that was good. everyone else was fairly well-behaved, we had one boy who was in and out of tears for a lot of it and we ended up texting his mom towards the end of the service because it was getting to the point where parents generally want us to notify them. I had on little girl for most of the time, her mom was kinda hesitant and was like “she may not stay the whole time, just text me if she’s crying too much” and she started like wailing in the beginning but fortunately I was able to get her to calm down fairly quickly and from then on she just clung to me the whole time lol until towards the end. so overall not bad. The CTA was being uncooperative on my way home but I managed, and met up with Jess to grab some food, we went to the vegetarian place and got our usuals, the waiter initially forgot the whipped cream when he brought my scone out so then he returned with the whipped cream like around the entire plate lol so that was amusing. After we finished we went back to my place and watched Venom, which OH BOY, that was something. I knew it was gonna be kind of crazy/bad from what I’ve heard from people, but this movie truly went above and beyond. we were honestly losing our shit laughing pretty much the entire time, it was a much more effective comedy than a drama despite desperately trying for the latter. I felt like it was basically like someone took that vine where it’s like “what do you want to eat?” and in a demon voice it’s like “the souls of the innocent” but the guy is like “a bagel” and the demon is like “noooo!” and he’s like “two bagels!” and just made that vine into an entire movie and fucking Venom’s like “you’re making us look bad!” like I felt like I was watching two people stuck in a horse costume with the person in the back getting mad at the person in the front, because it was really that ridiculous. so yeah, definitely good for a laugh at least. Once we finished the movie we ran to the grocery store around the corner (yes I live around the corner from the grocery store and I still get my groceries delivered because I’m a lazy ass) to obtain milk because that’s the only missing ingredient we had for our pancake plans. We had initially planned on making banana pancakes because I somehow ended with with a few bananas from my last grocery order that I needed to use and I don’t really like eating bananas plain. but then of course Brandon posted on his instagram story about making an apple pancake so of course we had to do that as well. Sometime around then I got a text from the guy from the other night basically being like “so I think I’m going to end up taking that job offer [that was an hour further north from where he was currently living] and if that’s a dealbreaker I totally understand” and I was like okay well this is clearly my way out but I’m not sure how to say it so I legit just let Jess type the message and then approved it before sending it. so that’s that basically, it was a lot less painful than I feared, so I am very happy about that. Got back from the store and started with the apple pancakes, it was actual an apple german oven pancake otherwise known as a dutch baby which I’ve made many times before so I kinda knew what I was doing there. It came out pretty good, so we moved onto the banana pancakes, which we were going for the whole gluten-free thing (because Brandon) with this recipe that’s supposed to make pancakes out of banana and eggs as the only ingredient, so we had to test this. The batter came together pretty easily, but cooking them turned out to be a bit of trial and error, first they were browning too quickly before they were strong enough to be flipped so the first few ended up a little burned and then I broke one or two trying to flip them before they burned, but in the end we ended up with some good ones. of course at this point we were full from apple pancake lol so we’re gonna save those for another time (probably tomorrow). The initial plan was to watch Infinity War this weekend but at this point we both really wanted to watch the three episodes of Young Justice season three that just dropped so we did that instead. Wow, lots of feelings there. I wasn't totally sure of what the whole conflict in the actual justice league was about, something about too many regulations put in by the UN? weird. and then there was the whole meta-human trafficking plot and I was definitely like oh this is definitely the prince who wasn’t going to become king being the bad guy but it ended up being his uncle so that was a good twist. but yeah, overall I liked them a lot and am looking forward to the rest of the season. once we finished that Jess headed home and I turned on the golden globes just because Andy Samberg was one of the hosts and he’s great, and I ended up tuning in just in time to see Darren Criss win a golden globe, which was great because I still love him from his Team Starkid days and felt very proud of him. the rest of the show was alright, I hadn’t seen most of the movies/tv shows nominated so I didn’t feel all that invested in the awards (I mean, I can’t really say this for sure because I didn’t really watch any of the other movies nominated, but Emily Blunt’s performance in Mary Poppins Returns was absolutely astounding and she definitely deserved a golden globe for it). After it ended I let the news play for a bit which was mostly just about how the Bears (Chicago football team) lost in like literally the last seconds of their playoff game, so many people were sad about that of course. After a while I just shut it off, and I was going to start getting ready for bed but then kitty plopped herself down in my lap and I was like welp I can’t leave now and that’s why the two posts of kitties I reblogged earlier were not tagged with “KITTY” because my hands were otherwise occupied petting my kitty, lol. But after a while she got up and I then started getting ready for bed and here we are. So yeah, pretty good day. Tomorrow I have to go to the allergist again for testing since they couldn’t do it last time because I had to be off two of my meds for a few days beforehand so it doesn’t interfere with the results. And yeah, I think that’s it for now. Goodnight my babes. Hope your Sunday was lovely as well.

[the-strongest-decoy]

Tags

I was tagged by @ificouldbringyouback to do these tags!! I'm so sorry for taking this long to do this but even now my PC Tumblr is messed up and I'm doing this in my phone! Thank you so much for tagging me <3 <3 <3

1. RULES: Bold the statements that apply to you, italicize your aspirations, and tag nine people!

AIR: I have small hands • I love the night sky • I watch small animals and birds when I pass them by • I drink herbal tea • I wake to see dawn • The smell of dust is comforting • I’m valued for being wise • I prefer books to music • I meditate • I find joy in learning new truths from the world around me

FIRE: I don’t have straight hair • I like to wear ripped jeans and overalls • I play an organized sport • I love dogs • I am not afraid of adventure • I love to talk to strangers • I always try new foods • I enjoy road trips • Summer is my favorite season • My radio is always playing

WATER: I wear bracelets on my wrists • I love the bustle of the city • I have more than one set of piercings • I read poetry • I love the sound of a thunderstorm • I want to travel the world • I go to sleep past midnight most days • I love dimly lit diners and fluorescent signs • I rewatch kids’ shows out of nostalgia • I see emotions in colors not words

EARTH: I wear glasses • I enjoy doing the laundry • I am a vegetarian or vegan • I have an excellent sense of time • My humor is very cheerful • I am a valued advisor to my friends • I believe in true love • I love the chill of mountain air • I’m always listening to music • I am highly trusted by the people in my life

AETHER: I go without makeup in my daily life • I make my own artwork • I keep on track of my tasks and time • I always know true north • I see beauty in everything • I can always smell flowers • I smile at everyone I pass by • I always fear history repeating itself •I have recovered from a mental disorder  • I can love unconditionally

the ones in both bold and italics are things that apply to me, but i also aspire to be better at

2. 

Gender: Female

Star sign: Moon Sign is Pisces and Sun Sign is Cancer

Height: 5'4"

Sexuality: Straight, I think. Though I’m tempted to say Fluid.

What image do you have as wallpaper: They are generic ones, but my laptop has a colour-gradient keyboard cover, and my wall paper is set to match that because I am trash

Have you ever had a crush on a teacher: Yes. Once. He was really cute and smart and young. 

Where do you see yourself in 10 years: Hopefully in a place with good scenery where I can drink a cup of coffee and enjoy a good book. And hopefully as a successful physicist.

If you could be anywhere else right now where: Some place with air conditioning because it is so fucking hot in my Dorm room.

What was your coolest Halloween costume: Never celebrated Halloween lol. I’m a hindu, and we don’t trick or treat in India. But I wish we did, it would be so cool. I’ll probably do it even when I’m 38.

What’s your favorite 90’s show: Does Tom and Jerry count?

Last kiss: Never kissed anyone .^.

Ever been stood up: Never been on a date .^.

Have you ever been to Las Vegas: lol nope

Favorite pair of shoes: Depends on my mood. I love comfortable footwear in general. I love boots but I’ve never owned one. But when I wear these black wedges I own, I feel like I’m invincible and going to war, so those, I guess.

Favorite fruits: Black Grapes. Bananas. Berries. I like a lot of em. 

Favorite book: TOOO MANY TO COUNT. But I love books by Rick Riordan and Cassandra Clare. Harry Potter is a default entry. I also love the Inheritance Cycle, Shatter Me Series. Stand-alone contemporaries: Fangirl, Geekerella, old classics like Pride and Prejudice.

Stupidest thing you’ve done: I do at least one extremely stupid thing every week. I have many stories, an especially good one about the scooter-exchange. But the most recent one, for instance: This week, I got 16 milk cartons (200ml) that did not require refrigeration. They expire within six months of manufacture, and when I saw them on the shelves, packs manufactured on 24 Feb were interspersed with those manufactured in Dec 2017. I gleefully picked up all those with 24 Feb manufacturing date thinking ‘HAHA YOU CAN’T FOOL ME BITCHES I READ MY LABELS’. And after returning to my room, I picked out one of them to make coffee. I reread the label. It said ‘Feb 24 2016′. 

Cue, I get really pissed off at myself and the shopping Mart, call and lodge a complaint saying they needed to let me exchange these and stop selling expired stuff. The customer care employee profusely apologizes and lets me know that I can exchange them and that they were very sorry. So I decide to go the next day and start packing the milk carton. And what do I see? EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM SAYS ‘24 Feb 2018′. I freak out and check the one carton I had opened. It said ‘24 Feb 2016′. So I guess it was a printing error during, manufacturing but just. How rotten was my luck that the one single pack I opened had the error? WHat were the chances? I felt terrible, had to call and cancel the complaint and make them aware of other possible manufacturing errors. ANYHOW. I would like to tag ya’ll coz I love you guys and wanna know you better. Feel free to do it or not because you might have already done it, but here goes: @altruisticshouto @102-delinquents @animeismybaeblog @trashtalkingkuroo  @ayilachan <3