#got to rewatch with my sister last night for christmas

[cloveroctobers]

DECEMBER DRABBLES — 5. Carmy Berzatto x black! Reader 🌨️

Synopsis; We love a girlfriend who can’t cook but tries to do something sweet for her chef boyfriend.

A/N: this is for my sisters that can’t cook for shit but try their hardest. I feel for y’all…let me shut up like I’m really out here actually cooking full meals lmao! but will that stop me from acting like I’m on a chopped segment? No. + I just started rewatching this series and realized I missed out on a lot the first round lol.

PROMPT: #22. “I wanted to make you a holiday dinner, but I forgot I can’t cook.”

.༊*·˚ .༊*·˚ .༊*·˚ .༊*·˚ .༊*·˚ .༊*·˚ .༊*·˚ .༊*·˚ .༊*·˚ .༊*·˚ . .

Fresh flakes fell from Carmen Berzatto’s straggly hair as he lightly shook it, entering his apartment at the late hour.

He sniffed mainly to stop his nose running from the frigid air, as he tossed his black wool coat onto a coat hook and that’s when he smelled something faint but not so pleasant.

Using the wall for leverage, he kicked off his work shoes and went by the front door, heading straight to the kitchen. He expected to see leftover pans still in his sink from a spinach frittata he took the time to make for breakfast two days ago but…found it clean. The blue eyed man scratched at his brow, trying to rack his brain on when he got around to doing that, until his eyes focused on something wrapped sitting on the stove.

Carmen gripped the aluminum, pulling at its edges to see what appeared to be a sweet potato pie. The only thing that looked wrong was it’s evident shape, the crust also was too thick, uneven and not flaky. He couldn’t speak for the taste and desserts wasn’t his specialty but Carmen Berzatto was positive that he did not make this monstrosity.

Who the fuck’s been in his apartment?

As soon at that thought whipped through his mind, he shifted his body to his cramped living space. Something green slid across the counter towards him and into the sink, revealing to be wrapped in a red bow at its stems with one single bell attached.

Frowning, Carmy plucked up the plant to bring up to his eyesight and took in its earthy scent of the mistletoe. That’s when his eyes moved back to his living room to see her standing in his line of vision, stretching with her arms raised up above her head, followed by a small yawn that escaped her heart-shaped lips.

Her braided ponytail swayed as she got her stretch out and smiled as they settled on Carmy. Carmy was still at a lost of words at the woman who stepped forward to place her hands on the opposite counter. The elegance in her steps and the fitted white attire that brought out her melanin made Carmy lick his bottom lip.

How could he forget her?

His girlfriend.

Carmy’s got used to coming home to a empty apartment and couldn’t find enjoyment in that. He didn’t share this space with anyone and was barely inside of it himself. It was just a place that held things he gained over his years of life but no longer felt a connection to?

“What do you have there, Mr. Berzatto?” A playful glint was written in her dark eyes as she leaned against the counter.

Not leaving much to the imagination but Carmy certainly wasn’t complaining.

“Uh, mistletoe?”

“I think I’m owed a kiss then.”

Carmy’s face lifted with small smile lines in his cheeks as he made his way over to the woman who turned to him, ready. Her bare arms locked across his shoulders, intertwining behind his head as he peered into her eyes and breathed in her warm scent of: fresh roasted marshmallows, violets, and plums.

A kiss followed next, with Carmy’s cold tatted fingers resting dangerously low on her spine.

“Welcome home,” She breathed once they broke apart, making Carmy’s heart began to drum.

He’s not sure he’s ever felt like this before, not towards anyone. Especially when he didn’t have many long-lasting girlfriends in his life. It was never a priority or interest for him, especially once he went away to school. Sure he had a few one-night stands in culinary school and ghosted a few others that showed interest in him before but they never equated to this feeling right here.

Fuzzy yet comfortable tossed into a box with a pretty red ribbon on top. Is this what home looks like? Carmy found himself caressing the fullness of her round face to make sure that she was real and that he wasn’t dreaming again. It took him mere seconds to realize that it wasn’t, since the dreams he had were never this serene.

“It’s good to have you here,” Carmy said bringing her into his chest, not caring if she heard how loud his heart was beating with her in his arms, “were you waiting up all this time for me?”

He felt her hand caress his back, squeezing herself as close as possible to his frame, “mmm I don’t know how long really. I went out with the girls and ran into three of my co-workers at the club. They also took a trip up here? Surprisingly it didn’t mess the vibe up too much but I actually got tired of the club scene really quick and knew I rather spend my time here.”

Carmy believed that.

He knew the stories of how she spent her early twenties modeling internationally to get through college. She often told Carmy that the American clubs had nothing on the ones overseas and Carmy took her word for it. He didn’t have much free-time when it came to the culinary arts and even when he did, he stuck to bars. That was more his speed than anything.

“Did you sleep here?” Carmy further quizzed, his round eyes met the famous chocolate Sherpa blanket tossed to the side on his couch and the boots leaned over on the floor, “Ah shit, you should have called me, I would have been here a lot sooner.”

He couldn’t predict that but it was nice that he said it. From the outside point of view, the relationship didn’t make much sense to those that knew about Carmy’s relationship. He was the owner of a growing business, so time was always limited and she was still a part-time model and teacher’s aide…in Philadelphia.

It’s only been a couple of months since Carmy got into this relationship and long-distance was certainly a thing but it worked for them; that’s all that really mattered.

“It’s fine, Carm-Parm,” she leaned back to look into his blues, “I wanted to make you a holiday dinner, but I forgot I can’t cook.”

Carmy dipped his head, “so that’s what that was back there on the stove?”

“Oh no, that’s the final result.” She informed the man, “it was much worse before that. I even sent texts to Sugar for input and got no response but I know she read it. Then after getting my dad involved, he immediately called me to tell me that I am a embarrassment to our Sudanese culture.”

Carmy winced at that as she twisted her lips around before sighing as he replied, “that’s fucked up, you think he meant it?”

“Well of course! The first time he put me in the kitchen with my aunties, we were making Ful Medames—it’s almost like a bean dip. My job was to take care of the most important part, the beans! After they’ve been soaked over night you’re supposed to mash them…I got glass all in the beans and burned the boiled eggs.” She informed Carmy who awkwardly used one hand to scratch at the back of his head.

There were plenty of times that she offered to grab Carmy something, even if she was off in another state and now he understood why. However he was sure there had to be something out there that his girlfriend could make.

“Let’s try that pie then,” Carmy decided, watching as the dark skinned woman perked up at that.

It was after midnight and a midnight snack never hurt nobody—

Says the man with the messed up stomach.

She led him back into the kitchen, leaving him to do the honors as she pulled out the bowl of most-likely spiked eggnog to set on the counter closest to the stove. Carmy grabbed a paper plate, a knife, and began slicing himself a piece of pie to place into the microwave.

Gracefully she moved around Carmen in the kitchen for glasses, then she scooped the egg nog into two cups while they waited for the sweet potato pie.

“Cheers!” She bounced on her toes, tapping the goblet glass against her boyfriend’s before taking a large gulp.

The part about being a cook is that you have to make good judgment calls and be open to trying new things.

So Carmy sipped just in time the microwave signaled that the pie was ready, “I can see that your mission with this nog is to get completely fucked up.”

She laughed and sent a wink the man’s way who blew air from his mouth as the rum shook his insides. Placing the glass to the side, Carmy yanked the microwave open and peered at the pie. The color was always beautiful to look at as he placed the plate onto the counter and thanked the woman beside him who held out a fork.

Leaning against the counter, Carmy inhaled the dessert and pressed his fork down into it. The crust immediately crumbled like sand underneath the pressure but he kept going until he got enough onto the fork.

Here goes nothing.

He took his time savoring the multiple flavors he was picking up on this pie. Personally he didn’t care for pies much but again, he was open. The pie was so sweet yet he could taste a small hint of tartness, possibly orange juice? He wasn’t sure if that was a common thing for these pies or not but it wasn’t horrible flavor wise, just a tad too sweet for his liking.

“Be real with me, Chef.”

“Presentation could be better,” Carmy started in which the woman nodded her head in agreement, “but it’s not bad. Just a little too sweet…what kind of sugar did you use?”

“Dark brown sugar and granulated sugar to have some balance in there.”

“Okay, I see where you were going with that,” Carmy wiped at his lips holding his hands up for a high-five, their hands interlocking, “next time you might want to use less measurements.”

“Measurements?” She titled her head to the side, “a real chef doesn’t use measurements, they eye it.”

Sure if the dish turns out to be a winner and you remember the measurements exactly without it being on paper, have at it.

She took Carmen’s silence as a response, making her pout slightly before she rolled that off her shoulders. Carmy laughed, holding his arms out to pull the woman back into his embrace, his lips pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“I liked the eggnog.” Carmy whispered, making her scoff.

Her hands went to rub at his back again, before lifting her head to place a open-mouthed kiss to his neck. Carmy almost crumbled just like her pie crust back there, feeling his arms tighten around her in that moment.

“Have you eaten, Carmy?”

That was usually his question for her…but he found himself thinking about it.

“Yeah…much earlier with the crew.”

She hummed as she stepped back, her hand holding onto Carmy’s much cooler one.

“Did I forget to mention that you look…stunning in that outfit tonight?” Carmy said, analyzing the corset, pearl studded mini skirt, and her long legs.

She made him spin her underneath his arm just to rest with her back against his front.

He needed to be closer. Much closer.

“Why, Thank you, chef.” Her voice was sultry as she spoke, “why don’t you see if you can enjoy the holiday dinner underneath it instead?”

That was all the invitation Carmen needed. He was quick unraveling his arm from around her frame just to spin her back around to face him. He preferred being face to face with his girl and she knew that, letting out a squeal as his hands went to her ass, lifting her up and against his hips.

Her hands gripped his jaw as he looked up at her, his eyes darkening like snowfall hitting the night pavement, awaiting her sweet mouth again but knew she would be teasing after his food review. However that didn’t stop him from leading the way back to his bedroom, thrilled to get those stockings off and be reminded why she might be his new favorite holiday.

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Continue along with my December anthology prompts here.

[aeryns]

ty for the tag @purlturtle!!!

Question Tag Game Current book I’m reading: The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin (second in the broken earth series, i have recently been obsessed w jemisin and highly recommend this series or the great cities series!!)

Last song I listened to: technically christmas music (had on white christmas last night in the background while gf and i decorated our place!) but before that, ring of fire by johnny cash

Currently watching: ugh i have been fairly behind on watching things lately. i rewatched hill house and bly manor with gf because she hadn't seen it before but now we're between things! i want to pick up the boys again bc i haven't watched the latest season

Current fic I’m reading: at any given time i'm probably rereading a coalitiongirl fic! apart from that, i just started until fate lays down her weapons by soundslikehope

Next on my watchlist: my watchlist is extensive! i'm dying for a second season of all of us are dead. i think the boys will be next. but v open to suggestions :))))) i just resubbed to jenny nicholson's patreon also (i lapsed for like a year but we back baby) so im working through her patreon videos i missed

Current obsession: ooh so my new years resolution for this year was to pick up a different hobby each month and for december i got some stuff to take up block printing so im v excited for that. also obsessed w recreating my dad's pretzel rolls. also have been playing a lot of fortnite with my sister!

tagging @singwhenyoucantspeak, @ha-st-ee, @dykepruehalliwell, and @not-quitenormal if y'all want!

clean version -- Current book I’m reading: Last song I listened to: Currently watching: Current fic I’m reading: Next on my watchlist: current obsession:

[sadgirlautumn]

i’m lowkey convinced that nick at night only has the rights to like ten episodes of friends bc they play the same ones over and over it’s INSANE 😭

The way they jump around too is CRAZY. The one night it went from s1 episode 13 to like season 8 and I was so confused lol. It’s like this with other random shows I tune into as well (big bang theory, bones, most reality shows but that’s not as big an issue in that particular case). I could watch friends in full because I have max plus my sister got the dvd set for Christmas last year since it’s her favorite show but it’s too much of a commitment to rewatch in full so I settle for the occasional random episodes when I need something to watch 🤷‍♀️

[annieintheaair]

Things bloom whenever they've seen the rain

I woke up this morning and even though my phone was plugged in all night, said it was charging, and scheduled to finish at 7:30am, it was at 30% at 9am.

Do you ever feel like sometimes, no matter how hard or determined you are to get to 100% in life that you fall so short anyway? I feel like my personal battery is at 50% at best lately. My motivation to do anything is pretty much at 0. I have a list of things I "should" do but haven't gotten around to doing, not because I don't have time but because I just don't want to. I feel like I'm living in some sort of limbo.

I'm trying to figure out my next move but then waiting for my house to sell. I'll start packing things and I even got plenty of packing materials that I needed, but I'll pack like two things and then give up. I even posted things on Facebook Marketplace last week and specifically wrote that I'd ignore anyone who messaged asking if it was available since if it's posted, it's available. What have I gotten? Only messages asking if the items are available. It's super frustrating.

I keep thinking I'll feel better once I start to get rid of things. Once the house sells and I have no other choice but to pack things up, then I'll get around to doing it all. Maybe then I'll feel motivated. Either that or I'll be pressed for time and stressed out because I waited until the last minute. This week has felt incredibly long. It's almost like that week between Christmas and New Year's when you don't even know or care what day it is. There are no yoga classes I even want to go to today so it's after 10am and I'm still in my pajamas.

Yesterday morning, for Easter, since I already went to church on Saturday afternoon, I woke up and listened to Bobby Chandler's service from my bed. When it was over, I slowly got up and ready, FaceTimed with my brother and younger sister, loaded the dogs into the car, and went to my sister's house. For some reason, the dogs were not happy about being in the car, which made for a pretty miserable drive.

At my sister's house, her neighbors came over and we had lunch. I played a bunch of games with my nieces and by around 4:30pm, I was so tired and the dogs were hungry so I headed home.

I'm not really sure what I did from 5pm until 7pm but once I was finally showered and in my pajamas, I sat down on the couch to find something to watch on TV. I tried to put on Life or Something Like It because I hadn't seen it in so many years but the TV was acting up and not loading anything I selected. Eventually, I thought, even though I've seen it at least 100 times, there's no better time than now to rewatch How To Be Single.

After watching about 30 minutes of the movie, I did the opposite of the purpose of the movie and decided maybe it was time to get back on the dating apps. Within another 30 minutes, I had a bunch of likes and matches. I ended up finishing the movie and chatting with a few guys until I crawled into bed a little after 10pm.

It made me feel a little better to get back on the apps, even though I initially told myself I was going to take some time to myself. At first, it seemed to be going well, chatting with these new people, until one guy realized that we wanted different things -- he wanted kids and I didn't. Looking through my other matches, I thought about how hard it might actually be to find someone else who doesn't want kids or have kids of their own already. Is this my dating life now?

One thing I can tell you I didn't miss is dating apps. If anyone finds them fun, I honestly think you're crazy. Dating apps have to be one of the most miserable things. It feels like such a waste of time to be swiping constantly. To try to avoid the apps, I even joined a "Fort Worth Singles Ready to Mingle" group, in hopes that maybe I could get myself out there and meet people in real life. The group is going dancing this week and even though I don't dance, I commented that I'd be interested in going, only to have someone comment on my comment wanting to meet up with me there.

I go back and forth -- between wanting to find someone so I'm not alone and thinking I should just be alone so I never have to risk having my heart broken again. In the movie last night, the main character's sister is so set on being single and being this independent person who doesn't need anyone. In the end, the sweetest guy makes her realize that even though she's so good at being single and she's capable of doing things on her own, she really doesn't want to do things alone. That's what it's really all about -- knowing that you can be alone and be fine on your own but choosing to be with someone anyway because you want to be with them. That's how I felt about Todd. I was fine without him before I met him but then I found that life was so much more fun with him.

I think, for now, I'm just not going to take the apps too seriously and not put too much time into them because I'm really ok on my own. If I happen to meet someone in the future, I'm going to be more careful about only adding someone to my life who makes it better.

xoxo

Annie

[aliciaphen]

☆ ALICIA’S MONTHLY MEDIA MENTIONS: DECEMBER `22

Hi. I've consumed more media this month than I have this entire year. Happy New Year everyone - I hope we all make the best of what's to come.

Visual:

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (2022) dir. Guillermo del Toro, Mark Gustafson: I was really excited to watch this after seeing the trailer but I wasn't expecting it to be a musical. I loved that they used a biblically accurate angel for the Blue Angel rather than the traditional look. I can't believe it took like 15 years to make it.

Split (2016) dir. M. Night Shyamalan: I rewatched this because I needed Anya Taylor Joy content and I couldn't get through the first episode of The Queen's Gambit. It's still a pretty great movie, but I hate that cheesy ending line lol.

Anastasia (1997) dir. Don Bluth, Gary Goldman: I grew up watching this movie throughout my childhood, so I already have a huge bias toward it. It's so great. The characters and their dynamic is so likable and the songs are so GOOD.

The Mummy (1999) dir. Stephen Sommers: Another film I grew up watching. It's a lot more problematic than I remember T_T. Also cheesy but it was the 90s so you could kind of get away with it.

Emily, The Criminal (2022) dir. John Patton Ford: I was surprised by how much I liked this one. It's fast-paced, which is good for my pea brain. They make the character Emily easy to empathize with. Especially now when it's hard to afford to live, vulnerable people are targeted for these "get rich, quick" scams. I remember seeing so many of those ads whenever I went on YouTube for quite some time. Idk, I liked this one.

Bo Burnham: Inside (2021) dir. Bo Burnham: I always heard people talking about how great Bo Burnham was. I remember seeing his vines, but I never got into watching his stuff. I feel like the humour doesn't quite suit my taste, but I appreciate his work ethic and his capacity for making such a high-quality musical comedy. He's pretty fucking awesome.

Dreams (1990) dir. Akira Kurosawa: In a quest to research the Japanese folklore of fox weddings during sun showers, I watched this movie. It's just so pretty. I love the last story, where it's the small village and the funeral is more of a celebration. Just a gorgeous film.

Incantation (2022) dir. Kevin Ko: Heard from my roommate that this film was really scary. And I can confirm that it was. I watched half of it from between my fingers. Story wise, though, it was quite interesting. It’d be a fun watch for a group.

Atonement (2007) dir. Joe Wright: Another gorgeous film. I’ve always seen screen caps of it and have even watched Mina Le’s breakdown of the costuming from the film. I think the visuals are stronger than the story. Emotion wise, it feels like a less hard-hitting titanic.

Extreme Job (2019) dir Lee Byeong-heon: I watched this with my roommate! It’s a fun, chill watch. Just overall a good time.

The Volcano: Rescue From Whakaari (2022) dir. Rory Kennedy: Some time earlier this year I remember seeing volcanic scarring that looked like the most intense, painful thing someone could ever experience. And I read up about the victim and they were hurt during the volcanic eruption in New Zealand a few years ago. The documentary is quite tragic, and interesting if anybody is up to watch it.

Klaus (2019) dir. Sergio Pablos: Such a cute movie. The scene where the mailman is giving paper and pencils and stamps out like it’s a drug deal actually made me audibly laugh. I’m surprised its 2D animation. It’s a really great Christmas movie for the whole family.

Brave (2012) dir. Brenda Chapman, Mark Andrews: AH. I still love this movie after so many years. I first watched it when I was in grade 5 as an “end of year” trip. It’s so good, story wise. As a young adult, I feel like I can’t relate to it as much - to my surprise. I think my older sister could probably relate to it more. I have a good relationship with my mom, which I’m super grateful for. I want to make a film about ME. Lmfao.

The Wonder (2022) dir. Sebastian Lelio: I wasn’t as interested in this film. It’s rather a frustrating watch to be honest. If you want visuals of Ireland and Florence Pugh, I’d give this one a go.

Marriage Story (2019) dir. Noah Baumbach: Ever since watching this film I’ve been seeing Adam Driver everywhere, it seems. I didn’t expect to feel for this movie as much as I did. I think the pacing was done very well. The letter reading at the end is what got me. :’(

Alice in Borderland, Season 2 (2022): Season 2 was better than season 1. Because this world and its rules are already established, I think the show got to focus more on the characters and their relationships. The action sequences were quite fun and I am SO surprised that they didn’t end it in a shitty way. I’m happy the characters got their happy ending but that there’s still room for exploration into this world. The last challenge, though was a little TOO LONG. DAMN.

Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) dir. James Cameron: Okay so I wasn’t excited or looking forward to this sequel at all. I was quite indifferent toward it and wasn’t planning on watching it in theatres. But I ended up watching it with my family and it’s literally my new hyperfixation. I’m actually listening to the original motion picture soundtrack as I’m writing - and that’s not a joke. I’ve heard people say that the story is simple, and I suppose I can agree - its basically the family having to escape from the war and a revenge plot from the enemy side. And I’ve seen people wonder why its 3 hours long. And, it definitely felt like the film would never fucking end but, then again… did I really want it to…? In that time, I felt like I could actually get attached to the characters and this new family. I often really like media that makes me go through a lot of emotions and this was one of them. I need Avatar 3, 4, 5, & 6 and whatever else James Cameron is planning. I need to go visit Pandora in Disney World, even. Zoe Saldana, I love you.

Avatar (2009) dir. James Cameron: I ended up rewatching Avatar right after coming back from watching The Way of Water. I first watched this when I was 8 years old. I never really got to appreciate the absolutely insane world building that was put into this film, but now, as a student that wants to try pursuing film and maybe (?) visdev, I’m just astounded by the creatures and the religion and the plant life of the Na’vi people and how it’s been expanded on in Avatar 2. Again, a simple story, but I felt all the emotions so I love it.

Logan (2017) dir. James Mangold: Probably one of the best superhero movies I’ve seen. It still holds up today. Another emotional ride, so I’m inclined to say it’s a favourite. It’s almost… quiet. Like - it doesn’t do too much. All the marvel movies these days are doing too much. It’s kind of embarrassing. Can you tell I’m getting a little tired of writing about all the things I’ve watched? And I’m only on visual media. Anyways - this, the original Spider-Man movies, the last Spider-Man movie from MCU, and the Spiderverse movies and maybe Winter Soldier are the only superhero movies I have the patience to watch anymore.

Knives Out (2019) dir. Rian Johnson: It was so fun! Something I don’t have to pay that much attention to because I know I’ll likely never be able to solve it. I know they spent most of the budget of this film on the cast because everyone in there is fucking crazy.

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022) dir. Rian Johnson: I think the first one is better.

Lead Me Home (2021) dir. Pedro Kos, Jon Shenk: It’s only about 40 minutes, so it’s a quick documentary. It’s eye opening. Makes me feel bad because I’m one of those people that don’t look homeless people in the eye when I walk past them. But I don’t think that’s the point of the doc. There’s obviously something very wrong with the housing system and to see that anybody could end up in such an unfortunate situation is scary. It’s especially sad seeing the people who have family that could help them, but I also understand their point of not wanting to be a burden on their friends or family.

Music: December 2022 Spotify Playlist

Selfish - YooA: I saw people making fun of this song but I’m actually addicted to it. YooA in that one stage where she’s wearing that fringe shirt and pink pants with her hair in a bun looks so good.

Blood Moon - YooA: I feel like I’m in a mystery movie?? Like I’m a detective trying to solve a mystery.

In My Dreams - Christy Altomare: One of the best things to come out of the Anastasia Broadway production.

Ditto - NewJeans: The girls have done it again. This time, enjoy three minutes of teenage loneliness.

Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength) - The Weeknd: I wasn’t joking when I said I’m listening to the Avatar: The Way of Water soundtrack.

Into the Water - Simon Franglen: SO BEAUTIFUL. If you’re going to listen to any song from the soundtrack listen to this one.

Avatar: The Way of Water (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - Simon Franglen, The Weeknd: Linking the album for good measure.

Books:

Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon: I’ve finished reading this book and it has inclined me to be better at consistently drawing in my sketchbook and journal.

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynn’s Jones: I plan on finishing this book this month. I’ll update you at the end of January.

[six-improbable-things]

Morrigan Watches - Doctor Who: The Time of the Doctor + Deep Breath

So, I know I've been very lackluster in my posting about my rewatch (I say as if I actually have any followers) but I was having a lot of Thoughts about the 11 -> 12 regeneration last night/this morning. Bear in mind, I wrote most of this after midnight, so if it's kind of a mess, I apologize.

But long story short, despite the fact that 11 is not my favorite Doctor by any means, I was still heartbroken by this set of episodes, and had a lot of emotions.

THING ZERO

Okay, so first off, I have to mention something that first showed up in The Snowmen. The Doctor had been on his own for 200+ years after Amy and Rory got zapped by the weeping angels, and in that time, he redecorated the TARDIS. Why? It's not like he regenerated.

Well, the most notable thing about the new decor was the rings of panels with Circular Gallireyan written on them. Someone figured out ages ago that those are the names of his companions, and so my theory is that those panels were a reminder from the TARDIS, by the Doctor's request or not, to not let himself be alone.

The significance of their appearance after Amy and Rory's deaths is extra important, since the last time he lost a companion was with Donna, and it was after that that he lost himself, namely with the events of The Waters of Mars.

So, yeah, the Doctor is reminding himself not to be alone, and not to let himself go that far. (Also probably why he sought out Madam Vastra, Jenny, and Strax, so that he would at least have some friends.)

Now, actually onto the events of the 11 -> 12 regeneration and Deep Breath.

THING ONE

The Doctor was on Trenzalore for ~800 years. Clara saw him when he had been there for 300, and again at the end of the 800. She saw him at his oldest, and as such, like Madam Vastra pointed out, he felt comfortable enough to show his age a bit when he regenerated. It's the ultimate show of trust that he not only did that, but also regenerated in front of her. The last time that happened, it was with Rose.

THING TWO

Also, at the very end of his stay in Christmas, there is that young man helping the Doctor. The Doctor calls him by the name of the young boy who had been with him the last time we saw him. But the man says that's not his name, and then I realized that it's been ~500 years. That little boy has been dead for centuries, even assuming he lived a long and full life. And yet the Doctor remembers him. OUCH.

THING THREE

The Doctor was translating for the dinosaur, and he was saying that she was old, and lonely, and so far from home. And then you realize that the Doctor is the same way. Old, and lonely, and so, so very far from home. He can't ever go home, because the Time Lords gave up their chance to come back in order to give him extra regenerations, and so he promises to get her home. To give her the gift he can't ever give himself.

So, the way he's connected to her, and is able to understand her, must make it hurt 10 times more when she ties, and two times more again when he finds out it was for one inch of optic nerve.

THING FOUR

The Doctor's little side comment about wishing Amy was there, coupled with her appearance in the TARDIS while he was regenerating, despite the fact that it's been 900 years since he last saw her, is proof that he never, ever forget his companions, and he thinks about them constantly. Which makes it even more heartbreaking when he ultimately forgets Clara at the end of Season 9.

THING FIVE

The call-back to The Girl in the Fireplace, with the "sister ship of the S.S. Madam de Pomapdour", and the extra pain of the fact that he still doesn't remember, doesn't make the connection. (I know it will come back to him later, and that regeneration screws with his memories, but still!!)

THING SIX

The deliberate open-endedness of the line "one of us is lying about our basic programming." It's never revealed whether the Doctor pushed the droid, or if it self-destructed.

THING SEVEN

Eleven's phone call to Clara, and Twelve's little speech about not being seen broke my heart. At the end of it, I was crying, and I wasn't sure if it was for Eleven or for Twelve, and then I realized that that was the point. I was crying for the Doctor. And the Doctor is both of them.

THING EIGHT

Twelve's little awkward hands, and the way he doesn't know how to hug, which is another subtle little reminder that though he is still the Doctor, he has also changed a lot. Because Twelve not being the hugging kind is such a blatant contrast to Eleven being so very physically affectionate. (See him and Clara hugging all the time, and also the way he just kissed everyone all the time. (Rory lip kiss...))

Alright, there are all my random nonsensical thoughts about this set of episodes. Hopefully someone thinks this makes sense.

[souvenirsofsurgery]

monty’s horror movie list

no one follows me for this but i’m back in my horror movie obsession era so here we go. some of them are good, some of them are bad (but I love them), and some of them are kind of unacceptable, like, morally tbh, I’m sorry

anyway, in no particular order:

mother!: I just watched this one today so it’s on my mind. get ready to be stressed out by deeply uncomfortable social situations for like, the first hour and a half and then genuinely disturbed for the last twenty minutes. i finished this and then sat in my room mouthing “what the fuck, what the fuck”. v good, 10/10

Orphan: What if you adopted a kid but they sucked?

Absentia: I was really impressed, cause this was like a low-budget, crowd funded movie but it’s so so good. This one is about a woman whose husband went missing years ago, a creepy tunnel, and family relationships. V quiet and sad

Possum: Not very much happens in this movie for a long time but the atmosphere is so good, and it’s genuinely creepy. The ending also made me so uncomfortable I almost couldn’t watch it, so there’s that

The Wolf House: Incredible unsettling stop-motion animation, and I’m a sucker for good animation. Makes more sense if you know a little Chilean history, but it’s interesting even without that context

Amityville: It’s About Time: Jumping right from that foreign arthouse film into cheesy schlock, what if a clock made people evil and fucked up?

Hell House LLC: More! Schlock! This is a fake documentary/found footage movie about people trying to make a haunted house in an old hotel... but what if it was haunted for real??

Host (the 2020 shudder original): Unfriended if it was good

Hereditary: Made me sad :( This was one of the first movies to genuinely scare me in a while, and my sister-in-law won’t even let anyone talk to her about it. The story about a family dealing with grief and complicated relationships is also just so interesting to me, this one’s in my top 10

Anything for Jackson: Reverse possession movie: they try to put a spirit IN someone! Hell yeah. So many good, weird ghosts in here, I love some good, weird ghosts

13 Ghosts: (the early 2000s remake) Speaking of good weird ghosts. What if your estranged uncle died and left you a house but there was a ghost jail in the basement? I just rewatched this movie with my little brother and remembered how much I love it. Very schlocky, Matthew Lillard’s acting is off the fucking walls and I love it, why does he act like that??

Kindred: One of the only “is it in her head, or is it real?” movies where I actually really wasn’t sure. It’s about a woman whose husband dies right before she’s about to give birth, so she ends up staying with his family and slowly starts to question their motives

Parents: What if you were just a little kid and you started to suspect your parents were eating people?

Basket Case: I’m not crying over a B movie, I’m not crying over a B movie. In this one, two conjoined twins are surgically separated against their wills, with one of them getting thrown in the trash. As adults, they start hunting down the doctors who did it to them

The Poughkeepsie Tapes: Very depressing fake documentary about a serial killer. Just fucked up and sad

The Taking of Deborah Logan: One of the few found footage movies that I think is actually good. A small documentary crew goes to film a woman and her aging mother who’s suffering from dementia, but they start to think that... huh, maybe this is something a little worse than dementia...

Ju-On: The Grudge (the original Japanese one): this movie just freaks me out, I don’t like how Kayako moves around, I don’t like the sounds she makes, and I don’t like her weird little son

The Ring (the American remake): I saw this movie when I was like 8 bc someone recorded it over the Willy Wonka VHS I’d gotten from the thrift store, and I’ve been fucked up ever since. In it, a woman sees a cursed tape that will make you die in seven days, and has to try and figure out how to save herself before then. GREAT atmosphere, very creepy

Sadako Vs Kayako: What if the girl from the Grudge and the girl from the Ring fought each other? Hell yeah. Plus, love that a ghost hunter comes to help with the situation and he’s got a random mean little girl with him. People are like “why is she here?” and he’s just like “she’s my associate” okay?? Where did she come from??? I’m obsessed with this movie

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: A classic. Rancid, nasty atmosphere, just feels gross, 10/10 

Society: Rich people suck so so bad and are very fucked up

House of 1000 Corpses: I love this movie and I’m sorry, its just some disgusting, campy fun. Like, what if your car broke down the night before halloween and ended up in a house with some terrible (but very entertaining) people?

Oculus: The idea of being a little kid, stuck in the house while your parents are slowly losing it, or potentially being possessed by something evil, is really scary to me. This movie does it so well. It moves back and forth from the main characters going through that in their childhoods, to them as adults, back in the house where it happened, and it’s so so good

Hellraiser: You tell me it’s about the blurry line between pleasure and pain and I watch it. The designs for the cenobites are so good. I like this first one a lot, but I also really enjoy the second one bc the torture dimension looks like MC Escher designed it and it’s sick as hell

The Others: This is one of my favorite, like, classic haunted house kind of movie. A mother keeps her kids inside an old mansion, with all the curtains drawn, because they have an illness that means they can’t go in the sunlight. Very, very creepy

The Blair Witch Project: This one just feels so real, I’ve never seen another found footage movie that reached this level. The actors knocked it out of the park, how am I so freaked out just by a couple of people wandering around the woods? It’s the blueprint, honestly

A Nightmare on Elm Street: You guys know this one, he gets you in your dreams! Probably my favorite of the classic slashers, I love some good old practical effects. my brother actually just bought me the WHOLE box set for my birthday so I’m gonna start working though the ones I haven’t seen yet 

Jennifer’s Body: What if your best friend, who you have a very homoerotic relationship with, started eating dudes? Iconic. No, but seriously, this movie has a lot more going on than you might think 

House of Wax (the 2000s remake): Bad, but so good. It’s really got that uncanny valley thing going on, love that fucked up wax museum

Ichi the Killer: Pretty unacceptable, I can’t in good conscience tell you to watch this movie, but it’s definitely an experience. Very very very violent, like super violent, but in the wildest fucking ways. Basically, what if you were a masochistic Yakuza member with a weird joker mouth and you just wanted a sadistic vigilante to beat the absolute shit out of you? Anyway, I think there’s something wrong with Takashi Miike and probably also me

Black Christmas: This is one of the og og slashers. It’s about girls getting killed in a sorority house, but surprisingly it’s like, not really an exploitation film, and I really like the characters. Good, unsettling killer, too

The Baby: WEIRD. Weird and uncomfortable. I’m not trying to kink shame anyone when I say this, but it’s probably definitely a fetish thing. In it, a social worker takes on the case of a family with an adult son who they’re claiming has the mind of a baby. This one’s probably kind of unacceptable too, to be honest with you

[yayninjabob]

Why don't you like the Rowdyruff boys?

Well for one, there is no escaping them in this fandom apparently even if I don't actively write about them or talk about them, now I'm just constantly asked why.  Seriously I get more Q's about them than about my actual fanfic that I work pretty hard on which suUUCKS.    It is pretty annoying, ngl.

I mean no one asks why no Amoeba Boys in Villain: Redux and they're literally in more episodes of the og show, and I most definitely considered trying to find a way to have the Amoeba Boys fit into the story WAY more than I gave the Rowdyruff Boys a second glance.

For the record: I don't dislike the Rowdyruff Boys.

What I dislike is the PpG fandom's obsession and distortion of them and how the spirit of the original series gets lost in the Rowdyruff shipping STORM that hasn't quit for years.  TBH I question sometimes whether some of these shippers have even SEEN the show.

The boys are 99.9% of the time just used as romantic props which... ugggghhhhh..  Look if it were less of a thing, I probably wouldn't give a shit.  Hell, being in this fandom off and on for as long as I have, of course even I wrote some RrBxPpG ship stuff but I can honestly say never again because I refuse to be a part of that problem lol.  Enemies to Lovers- hell yeah!  You kidding me?  I love that stuff!    But dude, the fandom has just been SO overboard on all the RrBxPpG stuff for SO long that I. Am. Tired. Of. Seeing. It.

The Rowdyruff Boy's debut episode is absolutely one of my favorite of the series.  Look, I grew up with this show as it aired and I remember when this episode premiered DUDE this one and Dynamo were like the most epic things ever- WHAT A COMMERCIAL BREAK BUT THE EPISODE ISNT OVER OMG THIS IS INSANE  AIRGHSAKSHFGHAKAHSKK!!?!! Got to school the next day like YO DID YOU SEE LAST NIGHT'S PPG???  Recess time we were all playing PpG vs RrB on the monkey bars and shit. Great times lol.  But the whole Rowdyruff revival?  Ehhh.... Did it have to happen?  Nah I don't think it needed to, and as a fan I wish it hadn't.

And in regards to Villain: Redux taking place after season 4, that more so comes from my own experience with the show than trying to "leave out" the Rowdyruff Boys.   Villain: Redux is like my love letter to the show I grew up with, and for me that's seasons 1-4 and the movie.

... OK I go off on a bit of a rant here so more under the cut if you care to hear me whine and complain about seasons 5-6 and the RrBs lol...

I was 7-8 when the Powerpuff Girls premiered on What a Cartoon! in 1995.  From the jump my sisters and I were fans of those shorts and even had the openings to their episodes memorized so if we tuned in and saw it wasn't the eps with the PpG in it, we'd usually go watch something else- but if it was OH BOY GET READY GUYS HERE WE GO.  My sisters and I absolutely lost our minds when we saw commercials advertising they were getting their own show.  I mean we loved super hero stuff and we were three sisters so you know- instant love there.  Anywho.  I stayed a fan watching every premiering episode and recording it on VHS to rewatch again and again and again later lol. Up until season 4, I had everything on tape and even when my sisters moved onto other stuff I stayed obsessed.  The movie came out when I was in middle school and the tv show was just repeats for the longest. I assumed the show had ended because I didn't see new stuff for a while and my parents were like "great can we cut down on our cable bill now?" Lol.

And yeah season 5&6 certainly get their critique from a lot of fans so I won't dive too deep into that stuff, but more than that because of the delay in those seasons release even myself- a super fan I'd say- had no idea those seasons were even airing until after they had been completed.  YEARS later... One Christmas Eve, I was at my grandparents and Twas a Fight Before Christmas came on and I was like "hold up... I have never seen this WHAT" ok and Princess is my fave so you can only imagine how psyched I was to go find these episodes I missed post-movie time.  And then when I got to those seasons... well, it definitely didn't quite feel like the show I had grown up with.  I got to the RrB eps and meh.  That was how I felt. Dude the one that pissed me off though was Nothin Special ghrhkasjhdha WHAT.  Course later I learned Craig McCracken was no longer involved with the show so FOR ME, I just don't treat those seasons the same as the previous seasons and the movie.  There's a lot of contradicting things that happen and so yeah.  I don't consider them as "canon" as the Craig McCracken stuff. Which ok technically they ARE.  They're episodes from the og show still but... I dunno.  I can't help but put them in their own category.  And I know a lot of other fans have expressed feeling the same way.

And dude when the 10 year special dropped by Craig McCracken and the Rowdyruffs were NOT in it when like EVERY other villain was- to me it was like confirmation that those characters should have never been brought back and I do NOT consider them main cast at all.  And you know what?? Dude outside of the internet based fandom, I do not think they were missed.  Because the PRIME of the Powerpuff Girls series was seasons 1-4- that's what most fans of my generation remember and love. THAT is the show I like to write fanfiction for and that's what Villain, VillainE and VillainR are all inspired by.

So yeah. Haha anywho what was I talking about?  Oh yeah.  Rowdyruff Boys.  So version 1.0 that exploded- they're A-OK in my book.  Seasons 5&6 I don't particularly like and so I don't particularly like the Ruffs 2.0. Don't hate em, don't even really dislike them- they're just... Irrelevant?  I dunno.  Why write about them when they're are so many KICK ASS villains on this show?  That's how I feel.   Give me more Mojo, give me more Him, more Gangrene Gang, and more Princess <3 YES please.

[pointnumbersixteen]

My Personal Ranking of Ghosts Episodes and Why

So, here’s my personal order for all the current Ghosts episodes, from best to worst, with a bit of an explanation as to why I think so. I included who wrote each episode because the writing pairs tend to have consistent strengths and weaknesses that affect my enjoyment. These are, of course, just my opinions, and I recognize that different people have different tastes.  

1) Moonah Ston (Larry and Martha)

This episode is hilarious and it continues to be hilarious through multiple viewings (some of the jokes in other episodes start to wear thin after multiple viewings, but this one remains entirely solid through dozens of rewatches). Barclay and Bunny are my favorite guest characters throughout the show. Also some of my all-time favorite bits are in it: Cap stealing Thomas’s role doing the reading, the shooting of the pheasant with Cap, everything to do with Mary and the cooking of the pheasant, the way Alison yeets the pelaverga as soon as it’s handed to her, the juxtaposition of the eclipse ritual and the dinner party, Bunny’s ‘sobriety test.’ Also, there’s a strong A plot and a strong B plot that tie together, and all of the characters are fit into these two plots well, which is something the creators sometimes struggle with.

2) Getting Out (Mat and Jim)

I love everything about the Captain’s portion of the plot and it’s a nice big portion, too. His scene with Kitty is one of my favorite scenes in the show, brilliantly written, well-acted, and gorgeously shot. I can feel for Mike and Alison in it. Fiona’s another really funny guest character. My only major complaint is that the plot with other ghosts after the Captain’s left the group starts to drag after enough re-watches, particularly Thomas’s bad erotica and the jewel scene. I found both very funny on the first several watches, but the payoff to both is ruined with enough rewatches. With the first, the payoff is with how surprisingly bad for a ‘professional’ writer his story is, but after you’re well aware that Thomas is a bad writer, it’s just listening to bad writing over and over again. And the bit with Fanny’s jewel has such a long lead up, to get to the surprise payoff that the jewel was secretly pawned by George forever ago, but once you know the jewel is gone, the long lead up gets progressively more tedious with every watch. At least for me.

3) Reddy Weddy (Ben and Simon)

I’ve written extensively about this one before, so I won’t include much, but: I love everything having to do with the Captain in this one, particularly the completely wonderful flashbacks with Havers. Mike and Alison were very well done, and I enjoyed Martin as a guest character. But I really didn’t like the whose-turn-is-it-to-pick-the-movie subplot, it just seemed sort of unnecessary to me and detracted from the tone of the rest of it. I assume they just had trouble finding a better integrated role for Pat, Thomas and Julian, which, as I said under Moonah Ston, is an occasional weakness the creators had.

4) Gorilla War (Larry)

I love Cap’s campaign of attrition. And his singing. Everyone had solid, funny bits, all tied into one main plot in it. Mike and Alison are both well done in this episode. It’s the first episode where Alison is able to interact with the ghosts and I think they did a great job capitalizing on her coming to terms with it and Mike’s such a supportive husband in it.  

5) About Last Night (Mat and Jim)

I love the spat between Cap and Pat in this one, because the focus of their subplot is their relationship dynamic and I enjoy their relationship dynamic- even though it’s close to the breaking point in this instance, all is well because they make up in the end. Everything about the state of the house and trying to remember what happened to it-as well as the flashbacks to the party- is pretty funny. The bits with Dante were very funny as well. The Robin-Mary subplot was a bit meh for me, but I didn’t dislike it, I’m just not sold on the idea. I didn’t enjoy Mike being sidelined on the roof for most of the episode when Alison needed his help and all the criticism he got from the other characters for not being around to help Alison, though.

6) Who Do You Think You Are? (Mat and Jim)

This is a really strong introductory episode with some good, funny bits in it, but it doesn’t rank higher since the ghosts can’t interact with Alison yet and Mike and Alison don’t know they’re there, which is where a lot of the fun of the concept of the show comes in to me.

7) Bump in the Night (Larry and Martha)              

The robbers were funny as were the ghosts’ utterly inept attempts (save Robin) in stopping them. I loved music club, particularly the Captain’s performance. I appreciated the return of Barclay and his bitches. Humphrey was actually reasonably included in the plot, which is always a nice change. There weren’t any bits I found particularly outstanding (except maybe Cap’s musical performance) but there weren’t any major bits I disliked, either. Everyone’s included in one main plot and it continues to be just as enjoyable on rewatches.

8) The Thomas Thorne Affair (Mat and Jim)

I greatly enjoy examine-the-story-from-multiple-viewpoints-to-illustrate-unreliable-narration plots, so that went well in this episode. I also really like regency romances, so this ticked another box for me. Humphrey was given an important bit again, which I appreciate. The bit about Francis was a nice twist at the end, because otherwise it would have been a bit too predictable, with Thomas being shot in a duel over a romantic misunderstanding- that was the most obvious solution to his death, after all. It felt a bit contrived, though, that the characters who died after Thomas all went to the group meeting on time, while the characters who witnessed Thomas’s death were all still wandering around upstairs and just happen to wander into Alison’s room in time to contradict the last telling of the story and provide the next. And of course, the fact that half the cast is just sort of sitting downstairs waiting for a significant portion of the episode always seemed a bit lacking to me. Also, Mike starts the episode being unusually stupid (not knowing Elizabeth II is the current queen- at least in the US, not being able to answer who the current President is frequently used as shorthand for ‘having brain damage’) and spends the rest of it being insecure about Alison’s ex (this seems to be a Mat and Jim thing).  

9) Perfect Day (Mat and Jim)

I loved all the Cap bits in this. Pat’s plotline was good, too. Humphrey actually had a substantial role, which I appreciated, and more so since he actually managed to bring Fanny around to the gay wedding. I was of course thrilled that it was a lesbian wedding. But I’m not a fan of ‘miscommunication causes drama’ plots in any medium and I disliked how once again how insecure Mike is in this episode (Mat and Jim again) and how poorly he handles it.

10) Happy Death Day (Ben)

I love all the Pat bits. I liked the interactions between the Captain and Julian, they had a really enjoyable dynamic in this one, although they’re being rather disappointing human beings in their plotline. I like Kitty’s plotline, too, and the garden scene between her and Fanny is very funny and beautifully framed. I don’t think this episode did a particularly good job with either Mike or Alison, though. Mike ditches his probably still concussed wife who is plagued by ghosts to manage the building work he started because he’s spending hours a day out of the house because there are too many people in it and he’s apparently potty-shy and Alison thinks trying to convince people to do probably thousands, if not more, pounds worth of free labor by making them tea is both a plausible idea and an appropriate thing to even try (it’s bad enough when the people asking you to do free work for them are actually your friends, contriving a friendship in order to do this just sort of seems a bit contemptible to me). Some of the jokes get less funny with time- Fanny with the butt cracks, for instance. I considered the Thomas subplot another weak ‘well, something needs to be done with this character’ subplot and I can’t even remember off the top of my head what Mary was doing most of the episode despite having seen it at least a dozen times, besides the bit where Alison throws the teacup at her head (and if I were Terry, I would have called it quits then).  

11) The Ghost of Christmas (Ben and Simon)

Mostly fluff, and a decent amount of it was rather predictable fluff, but I’ve written more on that elsewhere. Mike’s sisters were the worst. I was hoping Ben would write himself a bigger role and he didn’t. In the Bleak Midwinter was gorgeous, though, and there were enough smaller bits that I found endearing to prop it up over the next two.

12) The Grey Lady (Larry and Martha)

I enjoy the ghosts’ routine as shown at the beginning of the episode. I found Pat’s radio show amusing. I liked the basement scene with Nigel. I wasn’t a huge fan of the Captain’s ‘stretching’ subplot (although I do greatly enjoy his  ‘for king and country’ running), it just seemed a bit silly to me, like they couldn’t decide what to do with him for most of the episode, so went with ‘eh, squats, I guess.’ Also, I feel like they had trouble placing Mary and Kitty, too. Mary spends a lot of the episode staring at a wall and Kitty spends all of it just following the group and occasionally wailing about the ‘ghost-ghost.’ Also, I think Alison went a little too far with her simulated haunting when she dressed up as the Grey Lady; it wasn’t smart because there was no way she was going to get away with it after anyone turned on the lights and it seems a bit more like attempting to defraud people than the rest of it did.

13) Free Pass (Mat and Jim)

Alison actively puts people in danger for money, misrepresenting the house as structurally sound in order to get a movie contract, when in fact the floors are held up by hope and happy thoughts and could (and eventually do) cave at any moment. If the floor had fallen through in the letter scene, before Mike braced it, when they were using the heavy equipment, there likely would have been serious injuries. Also: Toby Nightingale is the worst. Also: the solidity and supportive nature of Mike and Alison’s relationship is the best part of it and I dislike the choice (Mat and Jim again) to make him so insecure in this episode (this was the first in the episode order to do so).

To speak on general tendencies, though: I’m not a fan of doing morally questionable things for monetary reasons unless the situation is life or death, so all of the episodes where that’s Alison’s primary purpose get major demerits from me. That’s a matter of personal taste, but there I am. As for the writers (I recognize they all come up with the general story arcs together, but the writing pairs are responsible for execution), everyone struggles a bit sometimes to get solid roles for everyone into the plot, to be expected when the cast is so large, but some instances are worse than others. I think Larry’s (well, Larry/Martha for most of them, but they’ve both joked that mostly she drinks and he writes when they’re working on their episodes) still the strongest writer in terms of having mostly cohesive plots that standup consistently as solid to multiple viewings, but he also has the most experience as a writer, so that’s probably to be expected. Ben and Simon have both stated that they like jig-sawing a bunch of little plots together to make an episode, and while it is a bit impressive that they can make episodes with like, nearly as many plotlines as characters come together to make one reasonably sane episode, I find this strategy detrimental in that to me, when they do this, there’s always one or two plots that are really, really good, a few plots that are pretty good, and then one or two plots that I just don’t enjoy, that to me drag down the rest of the episode (most apparent in Reddy Weddy, but it happens to some degree in all of their episodes). My major criticism of Mat and Jim is with the way they write Mike. I actually really like Mike when he’s well done, but his portrayal seems to vary a lot between episodes, and (with the exception of Ben’s Happy Death Day, but his problems in that one are different) the episodes he’s written the weakest in are all written by Mat and Jim. They’re the only ones who I think write Mike as insecure in his relationship with Alison and his most incompetent and/or useless moments also tend to be written by them. I don’t know if they have a slightly different concept of Mike’s character than the other four or what, but I think Larry/Martha and Ben/Simon’s portrayals of him tend to be significantly more flattering.

[prettyinlimegreenboots]

“Why are you even worrying? The kid’s just going to ignore the toy and play with the box.”

There are no warnings! Enjoy!

“What do you get an 11 month old for Christmas?” Race’s eyes went wide, looking over at Spot. “I don’t know what to get our goddaughter.”

“Why are you even worrying? The kid’s just going to ignore the toy and play with the box.” Spot shrugged.

Race’s eyes went wide. “I can’t just show up with an empty box wrapped.”

“Sure you can. She’s 11 months, Race. She’s not going to remember what we got her.” Spot explained, walking into a Toy Store behind Race.

He headed to the dolls section, pacing the aisle, before looking between the shelves for something to jump off and tell him to buy it for Lillian Kelly. “Give me something, Spottie. What can I get her?”

“I think you should just wrap up a box with tissue paper. You’ll make her day with that.” Spot shrugged.

Race sighed, looking towards the ceiling hoping it would show him some sort of sign. “This is pure agony, Spot. I just don’t know what to get her.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t help but overhear.” A lady stood at the end of the aisle, giving them both a look. “You’re looking for something for a young child?”

Race looked over at her with a smile. “Our niece, 11 months old.”

Slipping down the adjacent aisle, she pulled a box out and gave Spot and Race a look. “This is a toy that she can walk behind and it has things that she can play with - it’s a win win and my children have all enjoyed them.”

Spot and Race traded looks with one another before they both smiled at her. “Thank you so much, we greatly appreciate it.”

Christmas Morning

Spot and Race had spent the night at Jack and Kat’s only to see Lillian open her presents. The four adults were up earlier than the 11 month old. Coffee was on, the tree was illuminated, and Kat gave the three men a look. “If you wake her, I will personally kill you all.”

“Awww Kat, you’re going to shed blood on this holy day.” Race gave his sister-in-law a look grinning.

“If you wake my sleeping daughter, yes, yes I will.” Taking a sip of her coffee, Kat gave them a look. “You didn’t hear her screaming this morning around 2am? She needs her beauty sleep.”

Race and Spot looked at one another, shrugging. “Didn’t hear her at all.”

“Neither did my husband.” Kat looked at Jack, a hint of a smile on her face. “If she’s not up by 9, you can go wake her up.”

The three looked at the clock - 7:34am - and groaned. “How about I make some waffles and we can eat while she’s still asleep?”

They grabbed their coffees and moved the party into the kitchen. Streaming music from her phone to the bluetooth speaker, Kat grabbed the ingredients for waffles as the boys sat at the counter, sipping their coffee, quiet conversation between them.

Pouring the batter in the waffle maker, she leaned against the counter, looking at the family in her kitchen. She was so thankful that Spot and Race were spending the holiday with them - Medda was visiting friends in Florida while her parents were visiting her brother in California, leaving her and Jack in the city.

“Kat?” Jack asked, giving his wife a look. “You with us?”

Shaking her head, she smiled. “I sure am.”

“You okay?” Spot gave her a look.

“Just thinking . . . head in the clouds.” She grabbed the waffle from the maker, putting it on a plate and putting it on the counter before putting more batter in the maker. “Go ahead and eat, don’t let it get cold.”

Jack grabbed the waffle, drizzling syrup on it before cutting it up. “These are really good, Kat.”

“Chew with your mouth shut.” She gave him a look, passing over a stack of napkins

Her phone beeped with a message. She grabbed it, smiling at the video that was attached. “Race, do you want to go get Lily?”

“She awake?” Race asked, giving her a look.

Showing them the video on her phone, Race nodded, standing from his seat. They watched him leave the kitchen, heading to Lily’s room.

Kat grabbed the waffle from the maker, sliding it onto a plate before giving it to Spot. She moved to refill her coffee mug before pouring more batter into the maker. “So what are your plans for the rest of the week - you mentioned that you’re done working until January, right?”

Spot nodded. “Honestly, we’re looking forward to doing nothing the next couple of days. I know Race has a couple of Netflix shows he wants to get caught up on but I’m glad I don’t have to go into the office and can sleep in.”

“That’ll be nice.” Kat smiled. “Which shows does he want to watch?”

Shrugging, Spot popped another piece of waffle in his mouth before taking a sip of his coffee. “I know The Crown is on his list along with rewatching The West Wing. Other than that, I don’t know - but he has a list that he wants to check off.”

“Here she is . . .the Christmas princess.” Race exclaimed as he walked back into the room with a wide awake Lily.

Jack took his daughter from Race’s arms, snuggling with her. “Merry Christmas Lily!”

“Da!” She yelled back with just as much excitement as Jack had, causing everyone to laugh.

Kat passed Race a waffle, leaning over to press a kiss to her daughter’s head wishing her a Merry Christmas. The three men entertained Lily, Jack feeding her a bottle as she grinned at them. Kat made herself a waffle before joining them at the counter.

Before long, everything was cleaned up and they made their way to the living room. Kat giggled because while she was cooking, they must have separated the presents into piles for everyone. Jack grinned at his wife as he discreetly pointed to her pile in the corner, next to Lily’s.

Grabbing Lily from Jack’s arms, she walked over to the pile with a few big boxes before sitting down. “Lily, look. You got some presents.”

Kat set her on her feet, as she banged her fists on the big box from Race and Spot. “Should we see what your uncles got you?”

She tore a piece of the wrapping paper, putting it in Lily’s hands as she grinned gummly at her mom, before tearing it back further. Soon the box was revealed as Kat oohed on Lily’s behalf. “Thanks boys. I’m sure she’s going to love this.”

Race and Spot beamed at her praises, as they watched Lily play with the wrapping paper from the box.

Jack picked the box up, opening up and starting to assemble the walking toy as Kat moved onto the next present. Lily was fascinated by the tissue paper, crinkling up a piece in her hands as her eyes went wide at the sound it made.

Kat shook her head, pressing a kiss to her daughter’s head before opening the present from her parents, clothes for Lily along with a teether toy.

Lily, growing bored with the tissue paper, crawled over to Jack to check on him. She sat in front of him, watching him putting her new toy together. Before long, it was assembled. Jack picked Lily up and put her behind the toy as he put a hand on her back to steady her while pushing it forward with his other hand. Her feet followed as Jack moved it along. She flashed her gummy smile at her parents while slowly walking towards her parents. “I think she likes it.”

“We had some help picking it out.” Race grinned from behind his coffee mug. “Didn’t really know what to get her.”

Kat grinned. “This is perfect. Thank you!”

When Lily’s presents were all open, the adults turned to their own piles, opening up the few gifts from each other. Race gasped at the pair of new dance shoes that Spot had gotten him, he had been complaining he needed a new pair but didn’t want to go out in the habloo of the crazy shopping frenzy. Spot grinned as he flipped through the book Jack and Kat had gotten him about engineering feats in the United States over the last 200 years. Kat loved the calendar Race and Spot had made her filled with photos of friends and family over the last year. Jack was thrilled with the grilling set Spot and Race had gotten him - he had taken up grilling over the last few years and was always eager to throw something on the grill and cook it.

Putting down the calendar, she scanned the room. “Where’s Lily?”

The three men, startled by her question, looked around the room, not seeing the 11 month old anywhere. Kat’s eyes went to the stairs but the gate was firmly closed. Jack went to move the box but stopped, laughing loudly. “I found her.”

Lifting the flap of the box, they all laughed seeing Lily laying in the box with several pieces of tissue paper and wrapping paper in her hands, crinkling them loudly.

Spot gave Race a look. “Toldya you should’ve just wrapped up a box with tissue paper and given it to her. Kids, for whatever reason, love boxes.”

“I’ll have to remember that for next Christmas.” Race grumbled, hating that his husband was right about Lily.

Spot threw his arm over his shoulder and cuddled him tight. “It’s alright snookums. She’s going to love her present but at the current moment, the box is much more entertaining.”

Jack and Kat watched their daughter, looking over at Spot and Race. “Thank you both for the box and the toy. We’re so happy you guys could be here with us.”

“There’s nowhere else we’d rather be.” Race grinned, kissing Spot’s check, flashing his sister-in-law and brother a cheesy grin.

Thanks @wide-eyed--wonderer for sending this in!!!

[365days365movies]

February 7, 2021: Emma. (2020)

Another late one, people! Tomorrow might be a bit later, too, full warning. Like I said, school’s back in session, and I got students to teach and class to prepare!

When I was a kid, I was a pretty avid reader, mostly due to my mom’s drive to get me to be an avid reader. I read Shakespeare from an early age, which might be why I like it so much, and why I remember it so well. 

I also read Jane Austen’s Emma when I was 10 years old. On a related note, I remember none of Jane Austen’s Emma. On another related note, I’m fairly certain that I saw its most famous adaptation, Clueless, and I don’t remember that either.

I’m tempted to rewatch that one, since I don’t remember it AT ALL, but I figure that I’m going to place a more direct adaptation of the work first on my list of priorities. And so, one of the ONLY movies to come out last year is one my list, starring an up-and-coming “it girl,” Anya Taylor-Joy.

From what I can tell, this is a fairly popular movie on this platform, so I’m looking forward to watching it, despite knowing NOTHING about it, other than the fact that it’s a romance drama, and based off of a classic British novel by Jane Austen. Shall we? SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap

Emma Woodhouse (Anya Taylor-Joy) lives in the 1815 English countryside, with her father, Mr. Woodhouse (Bill Nighy), and her caretaker, Mrs. Taylor (Gemma Whelan). However, this is about to change, as she is to marry Mr. Weston (Rupert Graves) that day.

Emma is a sweet girl, who seems to be ale to predict things to pass. She also set up the present marriage, although she seems not to want one for herself. However, she also seems interested in the whereabouts of Mr. Taylor’s son, Frank. He never shows up, though.

Meanwhile, the Woodhouses are visited by George Knightley (Johnny Flynn), whom her father favors, and whom Emma seems to clash with. And Imma call it now: they totally end up together in the end. I mean, c’mon.

Emma’s trying to replace Mrs. Weston nee Taylor as a governness, despite the fact that her father doesn’t want it. Emma finds Harriet Smith (Mia Goth), a young women whom she goes to school with, and apparently might be the illegitimate daughter of a nobleman. She’s also interested in setting Harriet up, as Emma prides her skills as a matchmaker.

However, Harriet’s already interested in a local farmer, Robert Martin (Connor Swindels), but Emma’s trying to set her up with a local vicar, Elton (Josh O’Connor). They go to meet Mrs. Weston, and Emma introduces herself to Elton, who she believes likes her in return.

The next day, Emma and Harriet go to the store, where the gossipy busybody Miss Bates (Miranda Hart) comes to speak with the VERY unwilling Emma, and the considerably more interested Harriet. Miss Bates is speaking up her niece, Jane, although Emma certainly doesn’t seen to care nearly as much as Miss Bates thinks she does.

On the way home, Harriet and Emma encounter Robert Martin, and Emma's definitely not a fan of that potential relationship. Instead, she regularly puts down Mr. Martin, and talks up Vicar Elton.

As Elton and Harriet begin getting closer, and Emma seems to be vindicated in support of the relationship she set up, Knightley’s...not impressed. In a conversation with Mrs. Weston, he basically says that she gets high on flattery, and while she isn’t necessarily a true narcissist, she still NEEDS approval from her peers and others. That’s why she’s setting up Harriet, who feeds her constant flattery.

In addition, her whole “never going to get married” thing doesn’t seem to fly with George, here, who’d like her to fall in love with someone who isn’t...well, a simp, let’s be honest here. And honestly, this is already an interesting character dissection, and I can dig it.

Knightley complicates matters for Emma, when he convinces Martin to write a letter, asking for Harriet’s hand in marriage. However, due to Emma’s subtle manipulations, she convinces Harriet to refuse the proposal, despite the fact that she clearly wants to say yes. And while Emma might be beautiful, and quite smart...yeah, she’s a bitch. Or, at the very least, she acts like one for her own benefit.

Knightley, pissed off about this whole thing, confronts Emma about her manipulations, and states that Martin might be the ideal match for Harriet. After calling her out, and warning her that Elton miiiiiiight be a bit of a ladies’ man, and that he’s certainly the wrong match for Harriet in the end. Emma admits that she mostly wants to keep Harriet for herself.

Autumn turns to Winter, and Emma’s older sister Isabella Knightley (Chloe Pirrie), and her husband John Knightley (Oliver Chris) (and George’s younger brother) come to visit Emma and her father for the holidays. George and Emma make amends, although Emma still won’t admit that she may have been wrong.

Christmas Day comes, and Harriet is sick, while Frank Churchill once again neglects to appear at the house of his father and new wife. George berates his neglect of his familial duties, while Emma argues in his favor, obviously harboring a crush on him still.

At dinner, Elton makes a remark about snow, causing LITERALLY EVERYBODY to leave the party prematurely, and Emma’s father accidentally leaves her behind. Elton, however, offers to give her a ride in his carriage. And in the carriage, he reveals that not only does he actually love Emma, but that he doesn’t care for Harriet at fucking ALL. Fuckin’ WHOOF.

Looks like Elton’s misread EVERY POSSIBLE SIGNAL, and Emma FUCKED UP SOMETHING FIERCE. Harriet is quite saddened by this, and is about to destroy a portrait of herself that Emma made for her. However, Emma instead keeps it. Elton disappears for a number of weeks, just as the niece of Miss Bates, Jane Fairfax (Amber Anderson) suddenly reappears.

At dinner, it’s revealed that Jane appears to know Frank Churchill, as they live in the same place. During a piano performance of Jane’s that’s WAY BETTER than Emma’s performance, it’s also revealed that Emma’s been compared to her all of her life, giving her some fat, fat insecurities!

After an awkward encounter with Mr. Martin, Harriet goes to the Martin household to visit his sisters. Meanwhile, the long-awaited arrival of Frank Churchill (Callum Turner) comes, and Emma is unsurprisingly smitten with him. He asks her for a dance at an upcoming dinner, and she accepts.

Knightley is, of course, not impressed with the worldly gentleman. Meanwhile, someone has apparently delivered a pianoforte to Jane Fairfax, and it’s pretty goddamn obvious that it was Frank Churchill. Although, it’s possible that it was George Knightley, who’s been matched to her by Mrs. Weston.

And it’s at this point that I should point out that GODDAMN THIS IS A SOAP-OPERA OF A MOVIE. The hyper-detailed intentions and events, all happening within the confines of high society and etiquette are both overly intricate, while also managing to be...weirdly enrapturing.

The next morning, after a six-week absence, Elton’s come back to town with brand new wife, Augusta Elton (Tanya Reynolds) in tow. Augusta matches Emma’s passive-aggressiveness measure-for-goddamn-measure, which, yeah, PISSES EMMA OFF.

But it’s still good news on the horizon, as Frank’s appearance has prompted the Westons to hold a ball. While Emma and Frank seem to be getting along, Elton is prevented to opportunity to dance with Harriet, only to refuse LIKE AN ABSOLUTE TAINT. On the verge of tears, Harriet’s rescued by George, and they dance alongside the rest of the partygoers.

Emma shows his appreciation for this, and Knightley returns his appreciation for her friendship with Harriet, who’s way goddamn better than Augusta. The two decide to dance together, and the two basically fall in love RIGHT GODDAMN THERE AND I AM GODDAMN HERE FOR IT.

Which sucks, because I’m, what, a little more than halfway in? No way it’s this easy.

And as Knightley and Emma realize their feelings the next day, they actually run towards each other, SEE each other...and then get iterrupted by Frank carrying Harriet post-her being attacked by muggers GOD FUCKING DAMMIT REALLY?

Plus, it looks like Harriet might be in love with Knightley now, after the previous night. HowEVER, since the previous night, Emma is now in love with Knightley, and believes that Harriet’s feelings are directed towards her rescuer, Frank Churchill. But Frank’s in love with Jane. Like, for sure he’s in love with Jane. And Knightley’s in love with Emma, although Mrs. Weston believes that he’s in love with ane, as he leant her his chariot the previous night, although he DIDN’T do that, and the chariot (and piano) must’ve come from Frank, who’s actually in love with her, not Harriet, as Emma believes. YOU GOT THAT? BECAUSE I’M ASTONISHED THAT I DO

Summer comes, and there seemingly no major changes to the love lives of our main characters. Can’t say that for George’s mansion, as he’s unveiled all of the paintings in the place.

Might be wrong about the progression of relationship thing, as George and Harriet appear to be getting along, and Emma and George suddenly...aren’t. And THEN, Jane tells Ema that she’s feeling super down at the moment, and leaves. Which is when Frank shows up, which Emma appears to not be super happy about.

Later, at a luncheon, Emma takes out her emotions upon Miss Bates who, while kind of annoying during the film, doesn’t deserve the insult lobbied her way by Emma. Afterwards, George DESTROYS her, and she...she gets it. She’s been an asshole.

After a good cry, she goes to apologize to Miss Bates, who immediately forgives her, as she tends to do. It’s also pretty quickly revealed after that that we find out that Frank has ALWAYS been engaged to Jane, since he arrived to Highbury. AND, Emma finally findss out that Harriet’s in love with George, not Frank. Which...yeah, Emma’s not a huge fan of, for obvious reasons.

However, Emma points out that George might have been trying to get Harriet involved with Mr. Martin, but also tries to step back. However, Harriet RIGHTLY calls her out this time, bringing up the fact that Emma fancies George, and that it’s because of Emma that she refused Mr. Martin. And Emma finally gets it. ALL of it.

George, hearing of Frank’s engagement, goes to comfort Emma in her time of distress. And after railing out Frank for his lying ass, he starts to confess his true feelings to Emma. But she tries to stop him, but THERE AIN’T NO STOPPIN’ LOVE BABY

And as he STRAIGHT-UP PROPOSES to her...her nose bleeds and she says no.

Finally, it’s confirmed that George was speaking on Mr. Matin’s behalf, not his own, and Emma pledges to make things right herself. She delivers the painting of Harriet to Mr. Martin, and he proposes to her. Harriet accepts, and has also finally heard from her father, who isn’t a nobleman at all, but a shoemaker. Emma still invites them over to their estate, and the two make up as friends.

And speaking of making up, George and Emma also make up, and the two are officially engaged to be wed. And it’s honestly...quite lovely. Which describes the whole film, which comes to a close.

WHEW. Now THAT...was a Recap. See you in the Review!

[daringyounggrayson]

end of the year review

thanks @hood-ex for tagging me <3

1. Song of the year?

I like a lot of music, but Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd feels fitting

2. Album of the year?

Manic by Halsey or Wonderful Wonderful by The Killers

3. Favorite musical artist / group you started listening to this year?

Phoebe Bridgers

4. Movie of the year?

I watched Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse a lot this year

5. TV show of the year?

maybe Derry Girls, that or Avatar: The Last Airbender. even though I didn’t see them for the first time this year, I rewatched them several times

6. Episode of tv or webisode that defined the year for you?

oh man idk, I’ll just say either Derry Girls season 1 episode 3 or 6

7. Favorite actor of the year?

I’m drawing a blank on this one

8. Game of the year?

encore! 

9. Best month for you this year?

you know what, I was kind of killing it in march. I felt like I was on top of my honors project, I was offered two (2) jobs, one of which I was actually going to be paid for, and a few days after getting back from spring break, my school was going to shut down for a couple of weeks, maybe even a month (surely no longer, or so we fools thought)

things kind of went downhill after that :/ 

10. Something that made you cry this year?

hmm see the problem is I’m just a crier in general, happy or sad, I’ll cry. plus I think there was just a lot to cry about this year. one of the last thing that made me cry was thinking about war, specifically how civil war soldiers would carry photographs of their loved ones with them onto battle fields so that if they were wounded they would die surrounded by the faces of their family and friends

11. Something you want to do again next year?

go to more nature trails

12. Talk about a new friend you made this year

I made several this year on tumblr, and it’s been really fun talking with you guys! it’s definitely been a bright spot in my year

13. How was your birthday this year?

pretty good! it didn’t differ that much from how I usually celebrate, we just had a small get-together in my backyard instead of in the house and at separate tables really far apart

14. Favorite book you read this year?

ooh, probably The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

15. What’s a bad habit you picked up this year?

I kind of turned into a terrible student this last semester. like, 90% of my assignments were started the night before/day they were do. I stopped doing the readings for all of my classes, I stopped going to one of my classes altogether about halfway through, and I barely studied for anything. and yet I never faced a consequence, you know, aside from constantly feeling like I was going to die from Stress. 10/10 would not recommend, hopefully next semester is better

16. Post a picture from the beginning of the year

so this picture has a backstory! basically, at the beginning of covid we (my sisters and my cousin) were trying to estimate how long sidewalk squares were so we could make sure we were staying at least six feet apart. I have a picture of my cousin using herself as a measuring stick on a sidewalk square, and I decided to do one in our driveway. we didn’t really notice that it looked like I was about to be run over until we put it in the group chat lmao  

17. Post a picture from the end of the year

this is from christmas! since my family didn’t get together, we all put pictures of what we were having in the group chat. my sister took a picture of the table and then one of me holding this pull-apart garlic cheesy bread thing. please pay no mind to the kitchen behind me, there was a lot of cooking and baking going on

18. A memorable meal this year?

over the summer, my sister and I were feeling kind of bummed that we were going to miss out on the street fair. to get over it, we ended up making pizza pretzels and snow cones, which was both fun and delicious 👌

19. What’re you excited about for next year?

I’m going to graduate! maybe even move out!

20. What’s something you learned this year?

that I really want to go into health psychology, probably with a focus on the social aspects like mindsets and beliefs and how and in what ways they affect not only our behaviors but also how our bodies react to stressors

21. What’s something new about your place of residence (room, home, or general location) now vs the start of the year?

um over the summer we hung up a hammock in the backyard

22. Favorite place you visited this year?

I didn’t really go anywhere, but I did got to a pretty nice nature trail! 

23. If you could send a message to yourself back on the first day of the year, what would it be?

don’t bother trying to study for the GRE, you won’t take it this year and a bunch of programs might end up not requiring it

24. Did you keep any New Year’s Resolutions?

I don’t really make them so  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

25. Did you create any characters (in games, art, or writing) this year? Describe one.

nope, I just like to steal characters from DC

alright, I’ll tag @trichoglossus, @dustorange, @prismatic-et-al, @thychesters​, @renecdote, @vampirebuckley, @azarathianscribbles, @venser, @novelty--night, and anyone else who wants to do it! (and no pressure of course)

[dancerlittle006]

There are no warnings! Found this while cleaning out my GoogleDocs and realized I never posted it! Enjoy!

“What do you get an 11 month old for Christmas?” Race’s eyes went wide, looking over at Spot. “I don’t know what to get our goddaughter.”

“Why are you even worrying? The kid’s just going to ignore the toy and play with the box.” Spot shrugged.

Race’s eyes went wide. “I can’t just show up with an empty box wrapped.”

“Sure you can. She’s 11 months, Race. She’s not going to remember what we got her.” Spot explained, walking into a Toy Store behind Race.

He headed to the dolls section, pacing the aisle, before looking between the shelves for something to jump off and tell him to buy it for Lillian Kelly. “Give me something, Spottie. What can I get her?”

“I think you should just wrap up a box with tissue paper. You’ll make her day with that.” Spot shrugged.

Race sighed, looking towards the ceiling hoping it would show him some sort of sign. “This is pure agony, Spot. I just don’t know what to get her.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t help but overhear.” A lady stood at the end of the aisle, giving them both a look. “You’re looking for something for a young child?”

Race looked over at her with a smile. “Our niece, 11 months old.”

Slipping down the adjacent aisle, she pulled a box out and gave Spot and Race a look. “This is a toy that she can walk behind and it has things that she can play with - it’s a win win and my children have all enjoyed them.”

Spot and Race traded looks with one another before they both smiled at her. “Thank you so much, we greatly appreciate it.”

Christmas Morning

Spot and Race had spent the night at Jack and Kat’s only to see Lillian open her presents. The four adults were up earlier than the 11 month old. Coffee was on, the tree was illuminated, and Kat gave the three men a look. “If you wake her, I will personally kill you all.”

“Awww Kat, you’re going to shed blood on this holy day.” Race gave his sister-in-law a look grinning.

“If you wake my sleeping daughter, yes, yes I will.” Taking a sip of her coffee, Kat gave them a look. “You didn’t hear her screaming this morning around 2am? She needs her beauty sleep.”

Race and Spot looked at one another, shrugging. “Didn’t hear her at all.”

“Neither did my husband.” Kat looked at Jack, a hint of a smile on her face. “If she’s not up by 9, you can go wake her up.”

The three looked at the clock - 7:34am - and groaned. “How about I make some waffles and we can eat while she’s still asleep?”

They grabbed their coffees and moved the party into the kitchen. Streaming music from her phone to the bluetooth speaker, Kat grabbed the ingredients for waffles as the boys sat at the counter, sipping their coffee, quiet conversation between them.

Pouring the batter in the waffle maker, she leaned against the counter, looking at the family in her kitchen. She was so thankful that Spot and Race were spending the holiday with them - Medda was visiting friends in Florida while her parents were visiting her brother in California, leaving her and Jack in the city.

“Kat?” Jack asked, giving his wife a look. “You with us?”

Shaking her head, she smiled. “I sure am.”

“You okay?” Spot gave her a look.

“Just thinking . . . head in the clouds.” She grabbed the waffle from the maker, putting it on a plate and putting it on the counter before putting more batter in the maker. “Go ahead and eat, don’t let it get cold.”

Jack grabbed the waffle, drizzling syrup on it before cutting it up. “These are really good, Kat.”

“Chew with your mouth shut.” She gave him a look, passing over a stack of napkins

Her phone beeped with a message. She grabbed it, smiling at the video that was attached. “Race, do you want to go get Lily?”

“She awake?” Race asked, giving her a look.

Showing them the video on her phone, Race nodded, standing from his seat. They watched him leave the kitchen, heading to Lily’s room.

Kat grabbed the waffle from the maker, sliding it onto a plate before giving it to Spot. She moved to refill her coffee mug before pouring more batter into the maker. “So what are your plans for the rest of the week - you mentioned that you’re done working until January, right?”

Spot nodded. “Honestly, we’re looking forward to doing nothing the next couple of days. I know Race has a couple of Netflix shows he wants to get caught up on but I’m glad I don’t have to go into the office and can sleep in.”

“That’ll be nice.” Kat smiled. “Which shows does he want to watch?”

Shrugging, Spot popped another piece of waffle in his mouth before taking a sip of his coffee. “I know The Crown is on his list along with rewatching The West Wing. Other than that, I don’t know - but he has a list that he wants to check off.”

“Here she is . . .the Christmas princess.” Race exclaimed as he walked back into the room with a wide awake Lily.

Jack took his daughter from Race’s arms, snuggling with her. “Merry Christmas Lily!”

“Da!” She yelled back with just as much excitement as Jack had, causing everyone to laugh.

Kat passed Race a waffle, leaning over to press a kiss to her daughter’s head wishing her a Merry Christmas. The three men entertained Lily, Jack feeding her a bottle as she grinned at them. Kat made herself a waffle before joining them at the counter.

Before long, everything was cleaned up and they made their way to the living room. Kat giggled because while she was cooking, they must have separated the presents into piles for everyone. Jack grinned at his wife as he discreetly pointed to her pile in the corner, next to Lily’s.

Grabbing Lily from Jack’s arms, she walked over to the pile with a few big boxes before sitting down. “Lily, look. You got some presents.”

Kat set her on her feet, as she banged her fists on the big box from Race and Spot. “Should we see what your uncles got you?”

She tore a piece of the wrapping paper, putting it in Lily’s hands as she grinned gummly at her mom, before tearing it back further. Soon the box was revealed as Kat oohed on Lily’s behalf. “Thanks boys. I’m sure she’s going to love this.”

Race and Spot beamed at her praises, as they watched Lily play with the wrapping paper from the box.

Jack picked the box up, opening up and starting to assemble the walking toy as Kat moved onto the next present. Lily was fascinated by the tissue paper, crinkling up a piece in her hands as her eyes went wide at the sound it made.

Kat shook her head, pressing a kiss to her daughter’s head before opening the present from her parents, clothes for Lily along with a teether toy.

Lily, growing bored with the tissue paper, crawled over to Jack to check on him. She sat in front of him, watching him putting her new toy together. Before long, it was assembled. Jack picked Lily up and put her behind the toy as he put a hand on her back to steady her while pushing it forward with his other hand. Her feet followed as Jack moved it along. She flashed her gummy smile at her parents while slowly walking towards her parents. “I think she likes it.”

“We had some help picking it out.” Race grinned from behind his coffee mug. “Didn’t really know what to get her.”

Kat grinned. “This is perfect. Thank you!”

When Lily’s presents were all open, the adults turned to their own piles, opening up the few gifts from each other. Race gasped at the pair of new dance shoes that Spot had gotten him, he had been complaining he needed a new pair but didn’t want to go out in the habloo of the crazy shopping frenzy. Spot grinned as he flipped through the book Jack and Kat had gotten him about engineering feats in the United States over the last 200 years. Kat loved the calendar Race and Spot had made her filled with photos of friends and family over the last year. Jack was thrilled with the grilling set Spot and Race had gotten him - he had taken up grilling over the last few years and was always eager to throw something on the grill and cook it.

Putting down the calendar, she scanned the room. “Where’s Lily?”

The three men, startled by her question, looked around the room, not seeing the 11 month old anywhere. Kat’s eyes went to the stairs but the gate was firmly closed. Jack went to move the box but stopped, laughing loudly. “I found her.”

Lifting the flap of the box, they all laughed seeing Lily laying in the box with several pieces of tissue paper and wrapping paper in her hands, crinkling them loudly.

Spot gave Race a look. “Toldya you should’ve just wrapped up a box with tissue paper and given it to her. Kids, for whatever reason, love boxes.”

“I’ll have to remember that for next Christmas.” Race grumbled, hating that his husband was right about Lily.

Spot threw his arm over his shoulder and cuddled him tight. “It’s alright snookums. She’s going to love her present but at the current moment, the box is much more entertaining.”

Jack and Kat watched their daughter, looking over at Spot and Race. “Thank you both for the box and the toy. We’re so happy you guys could be here with us.”

“There’s nowhere else we’d rather be.” Race grinned, kissing Spot’s check, flashing his sister-in-law and brother a cheesy grin.

So in the craziness of the holidays I realized I never posted this. So enjoy this extra holiday fic I wrote! Feedback would be wonderful!

[benevolentbridgetroll]

2020 year in review: let’s go girls

i don’t usually do a lot of tag memes, but i was having a rough time the other day and thinking about all the good and valuable things i’d seen and read and done this year really helped. so thank you @wolfhalls for tagging me 🥰

top 5 movies you saw this year

antigone (the 2019 version)

la llorona (to be clear NOT the garbage one with linda cardellini)

sweet country

akira (in the cinema baby, got my whole face blown off)

true history of the kelly gang

top 5 tv shows you watched this year

i may destroy you

for all mankind

latest season of letterkenny was instrumental in surviving april

JUSTIFIED BABY

ok this may be cheating but getting to rewatch santa clarita diet with joe and season 3 of black sails with my mum were diametrically opposed yet equally rewarding experiences

top 5 songs of 2020

never let me down, depeche mode

empty, the cranberries

be safe, the cribs

describe, perfume genius

drive me crazy, orville peck

top 5 books i read in 2020

brick lane, monica ali

girl, woman, other, bernardine evaristo

return of the thief, megan whalen turner

l’âge d’or, roxanne moreil & cyril pedrosa

normal people, sally rooney

5 good things that happened in 2020

although covid fucked with my semester abroad, i was still able to live in a beautiful, brand new city for almost 5 months

i moved in with three wonderful people including two of my best friends in the world this autumn

being back in edinburgh in september while cinemas were still open and getting a taste of how hogwild @skinks and i are going to get once we’re able to go and see films together in the dark, huge on the reg

got through the last first semester of my MA and did really well despite distance learning

and hmm don’t know if this fits but so much of the goodness i experienced in 2020 had to do with food. moving in with 5 total strangers in a foreign country and going into lockdown almost immediately and creating a sense of community in our janky kitchen, making insane amounts of pasta from scratch and hanging it to dry all over the flat. cementing a new friendship by being taught how to make challah. my sister trying out new cocktails on my parents and me every other day during the summer, and happy buzzed late night conversations. eating cherry tomatoes off the vine with my mum in her experimental lockdown vegetable patch. sharing a home-cooked meal almost every night with my current flatmates and feeling warm and looked after. not being able to go home for christmas and all of our families bombarding us with goodies to show love and make sure we’re taken care of. sorry to be cringe on main, but little acts of love in the everyday are all that matter to me anymore!!

i’m gonna tag some people i maybe haven’t talked to in a while @erebones @iwritesometimes @vaenire @rockcandyshrike @dharmaavocado @babyyodablackwood @comradesnufkin @mundycide @andhumanslovedstories + @shekijawani naturellement. no obligation of course but i hope you’re all doing well!! happy new year in advance 😘

[trashfor-imagines]

My Senpai | 4

Ushijima x Reader

Summary: You’re Goshiki Tsutomu’s older doting sister, second year at Shiratorizawa and captain of the girl’s track & field team. At your brother’s first practice you sneak in to support him and end up meeting the impressive force that is his captain. Warnings: None really. Mentions sex. Spoilers: We’re encroaching on manga territory. Takes place after Karasuno v Shiratorizawa.

Author’s Note: Sorry for not updating in forever! I lost my original chapter and got discouraged. I started rewatching Ushijima episodes to refresh my grasp on his character.

[1] | [2] | [3] | [4] | [5]

-

It was a shock. You never thought Shiratorizawa was capable of losing this year. Ushijima appeared unaffected, but that was just him. It was always mental for him and he had the ability to act with a sort of chivalric grace whenever faced with conflict. God, your boyfriend was really cool. Your brother, however, it broke your heart to see him cry.

After the award ceremony, you raced down to wait by the bus. Ushijima walked out first, his head held high. Noticing you, he simply rested his large hand on your head before getting on the bus. Quiet hello’s and thanks for coming’s were whispered to you. Your little brother could barely make eye contact, the last one to get on the bus. Reaching for his hand, you gave it a squeeze before letting it go and heading for the bus that brought the cheer squad.

The ride felt long. You spent most of it listening to music and playing with the sleeve of Ushijima’s spare team jacket he’d given you shortly after dating. You smiled and chatted occasionally with your fellow students, but the topics of discussion were focused on how Ushijima and the third years were doing. They expected you to have the answers and quite frankly, you thought it was obvious.

Getting back, you made your way into the gym to see the team working on serves. You sat quietly on the sidelines and watched as everyone gave their all, letting out their frustrations from the day. You never knew you could find the slams of volleyballs to be comforting to where they could put you to sleep. Or maybe you were just exhausted. Either way, you woke up from being carried.

“Wakatoshi,” you mumbled, snuggling closer to his chest.

The two of you snuck into your dorm room, stripping down into your underwear and entangling under the sheets. Ushijima’s body was like a radiator, warm and comforting.You ran your fingers through his hair patiently. If he wanted to talk, then he would. Until then, you whispered little praises to him, pressing kisses to his shoulder between sentences.

“I won’t lose again,” he spoke quietly.

Months passed and things continued to go well between the two of you. They were better than ever honestly. During Christmas you visited each other’s families at his request. You didn’t even have to prompt it! Your parents loved him. They thought he was quite the protector type and approved. His mother ended up accepting you once she realized you were intelligent and genuinely loved her son. Your personality had definitely thrown her for a loop.

Graduation was soon approaching and the two of you decided on a five year plan together. Long nights were spent discussing goals and dreams, wondering if they would be compatible with one another. He intended on going pro right after school; the Schweiden Adlers seemed most likely and they were based in Oita. You still had your third year of high school to finish, but you were applying to Kyushu University for architecture. It was in Fukuoka and closer than your other options to Oita. It was just a couple of hours by train or car. You also had plans to stick with track and field and keep your spot on the national team for as long as you could. You both had your eyes on the 2016 Olympics.

For a year the two of you managed to maintain a healthy long distance relationship.

After graduation, there were farewell and congratulatory parties almost every day, but the most fun for you was going apartment hunting, together. It was like a vacation, enjoying the beaches and hot springs. You spent a week staying at his apartment where the lease was ending soon. He said the two of you needed a new place together, that his current apartment wasn’t fitting enough for you. On your third day in Oita, Ushijima decided on the place, a 2 bed and 1.5 bath townhome instead of a one and one apartment. When you told him it was a bit expensive, he said it was perfect because he wanted you to have your own space at home to study for school without being bothered by him. You cried right there and he handled it like a champ. The two of you moved in a week before you started school.

“Wakatoshi!” you called to him from the rooftop terrace. He appeared, sticking his head out from the sliding glass door. You wiped your cheek, smudging dirt across your face. “Can you help me move this bag?”

He slipped on his outdoor shoes and walked over, lifting the bag of dirt and moving it to one of the two raised garden beds that he built earlier today. The two of you had plans for a small vegetable garden. “I thought we were going to plant seeds after lunch. I’m almost done cooking.”

“I know, I just got really excited. I was staring at your beautiful work and couldn’t help myself,” you cooed, giving him starry eyes.

Sighing, he set the bag down where you needed it before taking your hand and dragging you back inside. “We’ll do this after lunch. Together.”

“Aw, are you jealous I tried to start before you?” He didn’t say anything in response, making you grin. “My handsome farmer, I’m so sorry.”

After lunch, the two of you filled the garden beds with dirt and carefully planted seeds for carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, peas, basil, parsley, rosemary, thyme, marigolds, lavender, and scarlet plume celosia. Ushijima had done quite a bit of research on complimentary plants. Hours really. Hours spent doing online research and drawing diagrams of how the garden should be set up for its fullest potential.

You were watering one of the garden beds when you caught a glimpse of Ushijima squatting with a spade in his hand. It was so cute how concentrated he was and how much attention he was giving this simple task. Biting your lip, you sprayed him briefly. He blinked, as if not comprehending what happened and looked up, as if blaming the sky. A muffled laugh escaped you. You went back to watering the garden bed as he went inside. Minutes later you heard the glass door slide open and didn’t pay much mind to it. Suddenly you felt chilled and were thoroughly soaked. Moving your hair from your eyes, you looked up to see your boyfriend holding a bucket over your head.

“Wakatoshi!”

Soon you were off to university, moving into a small dorm room with a single suitcase. Your dorm was littered with photographs of you and Ushijima and it was hard to cope with the fact that you wouldn’t see him through at least the rest of summer, maybe not even until the end of September if your school’s track team did well.

For a month you and Ushijima would call or FaceTime every night and tell each other about your days. He was quite proud of the garden the both of you planted and would send you progress photos and then describe what he saw in fine detail. Honestly, you didn’t realize your boyfriend was capable of being so invested in something other than volleyball. There were a few times you tried spicing up your phone calls, but honestly Ushijima didn’t get it. He was terrible at phone sex. It was fine though. Summer break was.... just a few months away.

It was a Saturday night after track practice when you got a phone call from your boyfriend.

“Wakatoshi! You’re calling early. I haven’t gotten back to my dorm yet,” you spoke, excited to hear from him.

“(Y/N), I’m lost.”

Your brows raised in surprise. “Lost, how? Do you need me to look up how to fix something?”

“No, I’m somewhere on your university’s campus.”

You felt your heart skip and you immediately ran toward main campus. “Okay well tell me what you see.”

In thirty minutes you were in your dorm taking a shower and Ushijima was reading the newest shonen jump he picked up at the train station on your bedroom floor. You came out with your hair in a towel and one of Ushijima’s t-shirts you had stolen. He set aside his magazine and pulled you down into his lap, holding you tight.

“I’m so surprised you came. I’m so happy,” you squealed, burying your face into his neck and running your fingers through his hair.

“I missed you too. I can stay for two days, but then I must go home.”

Pulling back, you let your fingers run over the stubble on his jaw, pouting a bit, “So what do I owe this short visit?”

His stare was intense and a faint blush kissed his cheeks. “I recognize that a few times you’ve tried to... initiate some things on the phone. I admit I’m not very good at it, so hopefully my presence now can make up for my... lack of experience.”

“Wakatoshi,” you breathed out in surprise, gazing at him with so much love. He literally traveled almost three hours because you were horny without him. Pulling the towel from your hair, you knocked him over onto his back as you jumped him.

Visits like these happened sporadically and soon it was fall. Track and field season was over which meant you could make your weekend visits home to Oita. You’d leave Wednesday nights and head back to school on Sunday mornings. Despite the second bedroom serving as a private study for you, you found yourself curling up to Ushijima almost always - as long as he wasn’t busy.

This was life for a couple of years. The two of you had become quite the duo. In fact, throughout your relationship, you had only argued about two things:

You broke your phone once and he wasn’t able to contact you and he freaked out from not knowing what was going on.

He forgot your anniversary and cancelled on your date for volleyball and you laid in on him for it.

Things were great until the 2016 Olympic qualifiers came around. You had broken a metatarsal in your right foot at the first qualifying meet of the 2015 season. You were out for the next eight weeks and even then, you weren’t going to be in shape to qualify because you had to go through physical therapy and get your athletic abilities up to par. Your coach told you that staying on the national team, going pro, and qualifying for 2020 was still possible for you. It didn’t stop the feeling of complete and total devastation that wrecked you and you were jealous.

Ushijima wasn’t sure of how to help you; he’d never seen you so vulnerable before, never seen you so sad, but he did his best to support you, even if that meant being a punching bag. He was consistent, despite things he had going on for his own Olympic goals.

After two months it was summer break. You had to go through physical therapy and you moved back home to Oita, transitioning to online classes for the second term of the year. Because Ushijima’s love language was different from most, you found yourself being forced to do your PT homework exercises, no matter how down and bratty you got.

“Wakatoshi, I don’t want to do stairs,” you groaned, curling up into a ball on the couch.

“You must, or you won’t be ready to start training any time soon,” he replied simply.

Your foot was throbbing and you were on your period, and everything just felt like shit. All you wanted was to watch anime and eat the small bag of chips you had hidden under the blanket you were under. Ushijima had been so strict with your diet and honestly all you wanted were trans fats, sugar, and carbs. With ease, he ripped the blanket from you, exposing you in your underwear clutching a bag of Calbee honey butter flavored potato chips.

“You should get up and walk the stairs now,” he said, prying the bag of chips from your hands, “if you want these back.”

Throwing your legs over the couch, you winced, balling your hands into fists in frustration. You got up, favoring your left foot, which he noticed. He walked up the stairs and sat on the top step, waiting for you to follow. Biting your lip, you moved slowly, trying to ignore the pain. There were 14 steps to the top and you had to go up twice and down twice. You were doing fine until your second trek up the stairs. It was a misstep and you slipped and you were clinging to the stair case, crying. It was embarrassing for you to be like this in front of him. This sweet giant quickly enveloped you in his arms and had you lying on your side of the bed, gently caressing your foot as you sobbed through it.

When you were calm again, Ushijima left for a while before returning, dinner in hand. The two of you sat in bed and had the meal he made in silence. You’d barely eaten, but you waited until he finished before you curled up to his side.

“I’m so sorry, Wakatoshi.”

“I would be surprised it you took this easily. You’re a competitive person. It’s one of the things I find attractive about you,” he replied. He wrapped his arm around your shoulders, his fingers gently running up and down along your own arm.

“Really?” you asked, feeling shy. He hummed in affirmation, glancing down to make eye contact. Smiling, you played with the hem of his shirt that was beginning to ride up. “What else do you... find attractive about me?”

“You’re thoughtful, kind. The way you pursue your passions and you’ve encouraged me to pursue my own; you believe in people wholeheartedly.” A thoughtful expression settled on his face as he spoke on effortlessly. He paused and his brows furrowed briefly before settling into a relaxed expression. “You’re beautiful.”

Placing a kiss to your forehead, you watched as he got up and headed to take his evening shower.

While you couldn’t compete, you concentrated on therapy and school and finished your courses early for your degree. You picked up a simple class to stay enrolled until your four years at school were up*, this way you could go back to competing your last year of university. The summer of 2016, Ushijima took you with him to Brazil. Japan didn’t win, but the competition was incredible. You got to meet with track and field athletes and it reignited your passion for competition.

You’d graduate come spring and then your focus was on 2020 Tokyo.

-

*In Japan, early graduation doesn’t exist. It was explained to me that if you attend a 4 year university, you have to be a student for 4 years before graduating, even if you complete your degree early.

tag list: @hihiq​

[shorties-unite]

A Comprehensive List of Reasons why I Cried in the Year 2020

JANUARY

- Ex texting “who’s this?”

- Watching Hannah Montana, Robby is such a good dad, made me miss my dad

- A story about an old couple where one of them is forgetting. Imagine being in love. Imagine forgettting. Scary but beautiful

February

- LaDarius��s brother crying when Navarro won nationals

- Had an argument with brother cause he didn’t get that I can’t just like anyone

March

- Frozen II a little bc of how boyband-y kristoff’s love song was, mostly bc of Show Yourself

- Got home bc of corona virus, made my brother mad just by existing. Also I’m probably just exhausted from the weekend

- Can’t deal with no schedule bc of corona and miss GC after ONE DAY.

April

- more breakdown about no schedule and musculoskeletal Anatomy

- Thought about Louis Tomlinson’s family and then saw a video of Simon saying supportive stuff when he performed at XFactor after his mum died

- Another vid about Louis god he’s amazing

- Louis Tomlinson

- Mr Robot

- Mr Robot again but like big time

- My Robot part 3

- Interpersonal Skills essay research

- Mr Robot part four I knew it was coming but god damn rami you wound me

- One tear for Phineas and Ferb

- Fuckin rami, fucking robots, makes me sad that that’s a real thing

- Mr Robot the finale, and definitely not anything else that I may or may not have found out about today because I’m a bad bitch and being sad about boys again would be dumb

May

- Got super anxious about interpersonal skills bst, cried in front of tutor during test

- Coughed so hard I cried, x2 but Idk if that counts

- A short story about a dude marrying a dead girl

June

- Mum unsuccessful in competitive process

- 13 reasons why 2nd last ep got me teary cause Troye and Winston and Alex and Charlie

- Decided to rewatch DEH and feel things

- Last episode of 13rw ew

July

- Twice watching Hamilton

- It chap 2 got me a lil cause of course it did

- Louis tweeted for the 10 year anniversary, he thanked everyone and tagged all the boys, even zayn

- Queer eye got me tearing up, frick man

August

- mum and little sister leave after their trip for sister’s formal dress and I missed having ppl around so it was really great to see them and now I’m lonely

September

- New phineas and ferb day

October

- Was anxious all day, forgot to eat before 3pm, got teary because I was standing too close to a group of loud teenage boys with bad haircuts in a public place and couldn’t get away

- Later that night, I think I’m still just anxious and also I have jealousy

- Again, this time watching a @dannyphantom.exe tik tok but also still feeling things so I’m blaming that

- Roman calling Virgil “brave”

- Kathy Johnson beam story in Defying Gravity on YouTube

- “Hoping This Cold Blue Water Scrubs me Clean and Spits me out Again” ty for the rec O_____

- Onward x2 (one when Ian realised how his brother had been there for him, and one when barley gets to say goodbye to his dad but Ian is stuck behind a rock and can’t go to them)

- The Keri Straugh story

- Watching new girl with mum

November

- Girl Meets World x2

- Oh look Girl Meets World again not Maya’s dad

- Glee, Kurt’s dad almost died okay it’s sad

- 5.5x at youngest sister’s dance concert

- Glee again, Jean’s funeral

- Watched that Netflix short if anything happens I love you, I don’t think it’s as sad as ppl say but I’m not American soooo

December

- Got cancelled on by T____ for a third time, felt bad about getting cancelled and ignored then sister asked if I was okay and it was very nice but I was not

- Got sad bc I don’t like my surfers eye and no one will listen to me complain about it

- Dance express senior gala

- Mr Stark I don’t feel so good

- Endgame tho man

- Got yelled at by manager for not helping supervisir B____ when I was one of the only ones that had set up anything and it felt unfair

- On Christmas bc I have to make a call to apple support to figure out my trade in

- Cried after trying to trade in phone bc I didn’t want to make a second phone call to Apple

- Got emo in sc bc of wanting to be included in things but then friend who it was sort of directed at saw it and now I have to explain it and the whole point of posting it is getting it out without hurting people but it still feels like it hurts people (ps pretty sure I discovered I have a fear of abandonment and neglect)