#i feel like peter would have to initiate most things in their relationship at first

[somewhere-on-knowhere]

Starbula concept: The first time Nebula initiates a kiss with Peter, it's to get him to shut up about something.

They're discussing something and he ends up getting distracted and going off on a tangent about something dumb, and trying to regain his attention normally isn't working, so Nebula plants her lips on his to get him to stop talking, which stuns both of them.

She pulls back and tries to move on with the conversation like nothing happened, but she's clearly flustered and Peter obviously refuses to not address the kiss. He keeps pestering and teasing her about it until Nebula ends up trying to bullshit an excuse for why she did it and how she totally didn't want to and he just forced her hand, and she's rambling now so Peter kisses her to shut up her instead.

And then they just end up making out and both forget what they were talking about in the first place.

[asha-mage]

🌶️

The MCU's Spiderman is not a poor execution of Peter Parker's character concept. He's not even poor execution of Miles Morales's character concept.

He is a poor execution of Terry McGinnis's character concept.

Peter Parker and Miles Morales both have so many fundamental pieces to their characters that are just missing for the MCU's Spiderman. Familiar names are floating around him- Aunt May, Mary Jane, Ganke Lee- but the fundamental ideas that make up Peter or Miles arcs just are not there. Themes like Miles's family expectations, Peter's constant money struggles, and the balancing act of doing good vs trying to live your own life are all absent. Even the idea of power and responsibility isn't properly introduced until the THIRD MOVIE when that really should been the central theme from the beginning.

Rather the MCU Spiderman has way more parallels with Terry McGinnis. Both are young hot shot teenagers who end up being taken under the wing of established and experienced hero who is on their way out. Both have complex relationships with their mentor which in a lot of ways serves as the driving force of their character arcs. Both gain high tech suits which enable their heroism. Both are viewed (or at least supposed to be viewed in MCU Peter's case) as heirs to the legacy of this hero.

It falls apart when you get into how they are different. While Uncle Ben is implied to have existed and be dead by the time MCU Peter is introduced in Civil War it's never actually confirmed and never properly comes up. Meanwhile the death of Terry's father is essentially the inciting incident of Batman Beyond: it's what motivates and drives Terry and the murder and it's fallout are the main focus of the first two episodes of Batman Beyond.

What's more MCU Peter's relationship to Tony is grounded in the fact that Tony just shows up one day and essentially taps him to join the Avengers. Bruce by contrast initially tosses Terry out on his ear, and when Terry turns up seeking justice for his father Bruce can't offer him anything but 'go ask the cops for help', and when that goes exactly as poorly as Terry said it would, Terry breaks into the manor steals the Batsuit and goes to stop Powers himself. Terry has active agency in his own choice to be a hero, which helps define his relationship with Bruce and to heroism. While MCU Peter was doing his own superheroics prior to Tony showing up in Civil War (not that he ever does much of that in future movies) his relationship to Tony is defined by Peter's dependence on him and his quest for Tony(/the Avengers)'s approval. And because they don't even bother name drop Uncle Ben or flashback to him, we're left with the impression that the main thing driving MCU Peter is that quest for approval. His motivations are never more complexly explored, and we don't even really see him just running around Queens stopping muggings or car crashes or anything that hints he enjoys or feels the need to actually help people.

And I think that gets into the final and most important difference between the two. Gotham not only needs Batman, it visibly and obviously and terribly needs Batman. Batman Beyond leans into this because decades without a Batman have left Gotham a cyperbunk dystopian hellscape. The city needs someone to stand up to the darkness, to be a symbol of hope, to be aspirational. Terry taking up that mantel means fighting supervillains, yes- but mostly it means doing what the original Batman did. Solving murders, stopping muggings, rescuing people from burning buildings or fighting off street gangs like the Jokerz.

But even in the earliest MCU movies, New York only needs superheroes when the current world ending threat shows up. Otherwise the city is all bright shinny clean streets filled with haplessly content citizens. This is the only reason that Vision's position of 'Our very strength invites challenge' in Civil War makes any sense- because the only purpose of these Superheroes is usually to fight a threat they where somehow responsible for creating. And this problem hits 'friendly neighborhood Spiderman' the hardest because he only has a responsibility to use his great power to solve problems, if their are problems in need of solving. Most of Peter Parker's (and Miles Morales's, Gwen Stacy's, or any other Spiderperson's) day is not fighting alien armies or netherworld gods. It's stopping break ins, rescuing people from car crashes, or dealing with other small scale local threats, that none the less benefit from someone with his abilities to make them better. Either New York in the MCU is an ideal utopian city where the police have everything handled apparently (which ha!) or Peter is apparently not interested in stopping bad things from happening. He spends so much of the first movie basically begging Tony to give him superhero things to do, not realizing that he could go outside and find people that need help on his own.

In conclusion MCU Peter Parker isn't 'regular Peter Parker but not an underdog', or even 'Miles Morales but white'. He's 'Terry McGinnis but without any agency in his own heroism'.

[mischievousmoony]

𝚓𝚊𝚖𝚎𝚜 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚌𝚛𝚞𝚜𝚑… 𝚘𝚛 𝚏𝚘𝚞𝚛 (𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝)

⟢ poly!marauders x fem!reader (initial wolfstar & lily x reader)

⟢ summary: james is the sun, the center of the universe, of course when you realize how brightly he shines you can't help but fight over him. it comes unexpectedly, the way it brings you all together . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁3.6k

⟢ warnings/tags: suggestive content/mature themes, hogwarts is a university these characters are in their 20s, poly!marauders, confident!reader, not proofread

⟢ masterlist

note: the dialogue is cringe i fear... this is another one i wrote for fun in the notes app before i started being active on here again

At first, James thought it was jealousy. When he saw you kiss Lily goodbye at the portrait hole, he felt it for the first time. He couldn’t really tell who he felt it for, though. But then he felt it again, this time when he found Remus and Sirius cuddling in their shared dorm, and he’d chalked it up to being jealous that his friends were in happy relationships whilst he was alone. 

He tried flirting with other people, thinking a relationship of his own would cure these feelings. In his endeavors, James found that flirting was something he’s actually quite good at. But when he was on the receiving end of flirtatious remarks, he noticed his stomach never flipped the way it did for his friends, and all they had to do was say ‘hello’ to make it happen. He even tried to go on a date, but he found himself itching to be back at Gryffindor Tower where you lot were hanging out. 

So, James decided to face the facts. He has a crush… or four, he supposes. But it’s not like romance between him and his friends is unheard of. Other students around Hogwarts used to poke fun at you all for the inter friend group dating, accusing you of things like passing each other around for the fun of it. 

Someone once told Sirius he couldn’t escape the incestuous nature of his family, and that’s when the boys started hexing anyone who made any sort of joke on the topic. Soon enough, people learned to keep their mouths shut. 

But it wasn’t what other students made it seem. You all may have been perceived as a lascivious bunch who couldn’t keep your hands off of each other, but there were deep emotions between some of you that surpassed mere physical attraction. 

James probably had one of the most tame histories, save for Peter, who managed to find a girlfriend outside of the group. In James’ past, there was casual fling with Lily, which both parties wanted to be more, yet neither ever had the courage to say it. The relationship ended when they both inwardly thought they’d be better off letting go than silently yearning for more. Aside from that, James had managed to kiss each of you some way or another, whether it be via drinking games or experimental fun.

As for the rest of you, let’s just say you all did a bit more than kiss some of the other members in your group before you all coupled off. 

You, for example, have dabbled in romance with both Sirius and Remus at different points in time. There was a frenzied night with Remus that had you both longing for more, yet never acting on it. And there was a time where everyone thought you and Sirius would end up together. The tension between you two was once so palpable it pervaded your every interaction and shrouded your awareness of anything but each other. It fizzled after a while of neither of you ever making a real move, but sometimes you both feel it creep back into your conversations like an addiction you couldn’t shake. 

Lily and Remus also had a history. They were together for a while, a saccharine relationship that made those around them equally jealous as they were nauseous. Eventually, they broke it off because they couldn’t help but feel like something was missing. They theorized that they must be better off as friends, but what could’ve been still seems to loom over them. 

And James doesn’t know this, if he found out now he might disintegrate on the spot, but everyone’s fancied him at some point. But there’s something about Potters and their tendency to be oblivious. Everyone’s tried to get out of James’ friend zone and it went quite unnoticed. Lily was the only one who’s ever succeeded, and yet, they let each other become their ones that got away. 

It might be a good thing that James never knew about his friends’ crushes. He probably would’ve turned most of you down, depending on the timing. And that would’ve haunted him now. He already has to deal with the pining and the nerves and the misery of it all. Regret added to that mix would send him over the edge. 

After all, the minute you all walk into the common room his heart is already racing with nerves. 

First came Remus and Sirius, Remus having his arm slung across Sirius’ shoulders. Sirius’ walk is an odd looking shuffle due to the way he presses himself into his boyfriend’s side. 

There’s the pining. James wishes he could be sandwiched between them. He imagines shuffling along, like Sirius, and watching the pace of their footsteps sync up. 

Next, James sees Lily. Beaming, as always. She has a firm grip on your hand as she tows you in after her. You two are giggling about something and James swears he’s never heard anything more beautiful than the way your laughters intertwine. He’d give anything to be included in whatever you two were so charmed by. 

“Hey, Prongs,” Remus greets as they sit on the sofa next to him. Remus’ knees knock against James’. James doesn’t want to think about how much it affects him. 

“Hi Jamie,” you say in a sing song voice, passing in front of him as Lily leads you to sit on the armchair with her. The two of you might as well be on top of each other when you get situated, your legs twisted together.

James shifts in his seat, “Hi,” he rasps, then clears his throat, “Hi guys.” 

“What are you up to?” Lily bats her beautiful, long eyelashes at James.

James picks up a book Peter left on the end table next to him, “Studying,” he lies. What he was really doing was thinking about all of you. He couldn’t exactly disclose that, now could he? 

Lily’s eyes dart down to the cover of the book, “Advanced History of Magic?”

“I thought you dropped that after OWLs?” You wonder aloud. 

James presses his lips into a line while he tries to think of what to say, “Yeah, I, er- I’m not studying for class. I’m studying for pleasure. History is a very important subject.” James internally groans. He curses Peter in his mind for not leaving a better book behind. 

The couples around him seem to share skeptical glances that make James want to walk into the Black Lake, lie down, and drown there. 

James' next words tumble out like a torrent, “It’s actually Peter’s. He was telling me something interesting from his class. Wanted to read up on it myself. Anyway, I should go return this to him. Cheers, guys.”

Before anyone can say anything, James is already speeding off with the book. 

Oh, the misery. James hates how awkward things have become. He’s not usually an awkward person, but being around all four people he’s crushing on is overwhelming, even for him. 

Somewhere in Hogwarts’ halls, James leans against one of the cold stone walls and hugs Peter’s book to his chest. 

What is wrong with me, he thinks. And then he gets a tad arrogant, I’m James Potter! I can handle anything. Even having a thing for my best friends. 

James decides right then and there that he doesn’t want to feel like such a mess anymore. It’s time for a different approach. 

The next time he sees one of you, he thinks to himself, you know how to be confident, James, you’ve done it before. And so he puts on his best act. 

But for some reason, acting confident translated into constantly flirting with all of his friends. He really had no intention of doing that, it’s not like he actually wanted to get with any of you. He’d never want to try to interfere in your relationships. But for some reason, as his words tumbled out with amorous undertones and romantic implications, the negative emotions tumbled away too. So he kind of just kept doing it. 

From then on, your interactions with James have gone much more smoothly. Admittedly, they were also much more intoxicating. 

One day after Quidditch practice, James finds you and Lily wrapped up in each other’s arms on the sofa. Your arms are around Lily’s waist as you both watch the crackle of the fireplace before you. The sofa’s back cushions lay strewn across the floor to accommodate the space the two of you take up. 

With a grin fitting his face, James approaches the sofa. 

“Hey,” he calls on his approach. The two of you shift onto your backs to look in the direction of James’ voice behind you. When he arrives, he leans his forearms on the back of the sofa, one folded over the other, and hovers above you two, “Lily, Y/N.�� He greets. 

“Hi James,” Lily says on behalf of you both. 

James eyes leisurely drift along the length of the couch and back up again, “Don’t you two look cozy.”

“Sure are,” Lily grins lazily, “If there were any more room on here we’d invite you to join,” your girlfriend jokes. 

“That’s alright, doll,” James says with a lopsided smile. He then leans in closer to you, and you notice the sparkling reflection of the firelight in his eyes. He lowers his voice to a whisper as if he’s telling you a secret, “Next time.” His voice comes out like silk and his eye contact is unwavering. You find it too intoxicating to even blink.

Your lips part slightly, and you can hear Lily’s breath get caught in her throat. It was just two words, it really shouldn’t have affected you two so much. Maybe it’s the way he said them… or maybe it’s just James. James, whose tousled hair is sticking to his forehead still from a strenuous practice and whose lips are only centimeters away. 

A moment of silence passes between you three before James straightens out his spine, standing with his hands resting where his forearms previously were. 

His fingers pitter patter against the sofa back, “I’m off to shower…” James says, “Save me a seat at dinner?”

Without waiting for a reply, James walks towards the boys dormitories. You both watch James disappear up the stairs. When you look at Lily, you find her face flushed. You wiggle your eyebrows and she slaps you on the arm, knowing exactly what you’re thinking. Her hand lingers, then trails down to fit into yours. She discovers a sweaty palm, and now she’s the one raising her eyebrows. 

A few days later, Remus and Sirius find themselves in a similar situation. 

The three Marauders found themselves running for their lives from Filch after attempting to pull a prank without their fourth, who had to bail last minute. They had to rethink the plan on the spot without the extra set of hands, and found themselves nearly getting caught. 

Luckily, Remus knew this area of the castle intimately from his prefects rounds, and found them a room to hide in. 

The boys tumble inside. Sirius and James find themselves with their backs to the nearest wall, both heaving to catch their breaths. Remus locks the door behind them, and releases a shocked laugh as he backs into the room. 

“Quick thinking, Rem. I wonder what other tricks you have up your sleeve.” James says, his tone suggestive. 

“Oi!” Sirius exclaims while Remus flushes. Sirius looks a bit amused, but still feels a bit territorial too. 

James swivels to face Sirius, his body not coming out of contact with the wall. He leans his forearm on the stones above Sirius’ head. Being a bit shorter, Sirius has to look up at James as he leans in ever so slightly, “Don’t worry, Sirius. I find your secrets just as intriguing.” 

Territorial feelings cured. Sirius tries to place the feelings that replaced them and… oh. His head snaps towards his boyfriend, who looks downright besotted with the display in front of him. 

James maintains eye contact and a confident smirk as lets his arm slide down the wall until his palm is flat against it, level with Sirius’ head. He gives the wall a gently pat, then abruptly turns away. 

He takes a single step towards Remus, “I have a sneaking suspicion Filch is still lurking in the area. I’ve got the cloak, so I’m off to be your knight in shining armor and cause a distraction.” James winks, and then he’s out the door. 

The pair of boys that were left behind watch the door thoughtfully for a few moments. 

Sirius’ tongue darts out to moisten his lips as he prepares himself to make a bold suggestion. 

“Hey Moony?” he asks. 

“Yeah?” Remus responds breathlessly. 

“Hear me out about something…” Sirius trails off, still looking in the direction James left in. 

A week later, you and Lily enter the common room in search of your messy-haired friend. He spots you two before either of you find him. 

“If it isn’t my favorite girls,” James waves you both over to where he is seated, which is a small table by the window. Remus and Sirius, who look a bit peeved to have James’ attention drawn away from them, are sitting across from him. 

“What brings you here?” James asks when you arrive at his side, “It’s date night, if I’m not mistaken, isn’t it?” 

You share a look with Lily, “Yes, actually, we’re just about to head off to Hogsmeade.” 

Lily rests a hand on James’ shoulder, “But we were thinking… we’d love it if you’d join us.” 

While the confusion on James’ face starts to soften into understanding, Sirius chokes on his own spit. His voice is strained as he holds back from coughing, “James is busy.”

Your eyes dart to Sirius, “Is he?” then back to James. “Couldn’t you make some time?” You bat your eyes at him. 

Sirius looks horrified, “We have some— Marauders only!— business to attend to. James was just about to accept our invitation, isn’t that right, Prongs?”

“Uhh, I-” James sputters, wildly taken aback by what’s happening. What is happening? 

“Well why don’t you two just invite Peter,” you suggest callously as Lily’s grip on James’ shoulder turns possessive. 

“This isn’t the kind of business we want to invite Peter to. We want James.” Sirius’ eyes narrow. 

You furrow your brows at Sirius’ words and it takes a moment for the meaning of them to sink in. Your features harden as Sirius and Remus suddenly go from friends to competitors. 

“Well I guess you’re out of luck, then.” You say, squinting down at Sirius, “I think James is going to want to come with us.”

Sirius didn’t much like the way you looked down on him, so he brought himself up to his feet where he could tower over you. 

“It’s cute that you think so, but we’re closer to James than anyone. James is our best friend.”

“And I think it’ll be staying that way.” 

“I beg to differ.” Sirius counters, his tone laced with arrogance. 

James’ jaw goes slack at the implication.

“If you're going to beg I prefer that you get on your knees first.” Your voice is dripping with mockery, challenge, and something else that takes everyone a moment to decipher. 

It’s something familiar, a certain tension that’s proving once again to have never fully gone away. It flashes in Sirius’ eyes too, his fiery gaze wavering to give way for a fervent expression. 

The sudden shift in tone sent an electric shock through the three onlookers, James’ jaw dropping impossibly lower.

“Trust me, doll. Where I’m involved, I’m not the one who’s gonna be begging on their knees.” 

Remus somehow looks like he’s enjoying this, which should be unusual for a guy watching his boyfriend flirt with someone else. He’s leaned back in his seat, a hint of a smile dancing on his lips, as his eyes dart between each of his friends. 

“What’s happening,” James chokes out, the nerves he expelled weeks ago suddenly bubbling back up again. 

No one answers James. Remus is having too much fun and you are too busy staring down Sirius. Lily joins you, inching closer to both you and him as she leans over your shoulder, her body pressing into your back. 

“Oh, he’s lying, don’t you think?” She says, her voice velvety smooth. 

“Certainly so. I have it on good authority that he’s the type to want to be in charge,” you jut your chin toward Remus, whose gaze you meet while memories of each other swirl around in your minds, bringing matching twinkles to your eyes. 

“Can-? Can I interject?” James takes a shot at cutting through the tension, his voice cracking.  

“Of course, Jamie,” you turn your head from Sirius to look at him but a soft hand pinching your chin gently turns you right back. 

“Eyes on me, dollface, I’m not done with you,” Sirius says firmly, as if proving how commanding he can be. 

A choked noise emits from James’ throat and it’s not clear if it’s in protest of being cast aside again or a direct reaction to the way Sirius is handling you. 

Remus inches his hand towards James’, bumping his pinky into his. “Sit tight, I want to see where this goes,” he tells him. 

“See? So effortlessly commanding,” you vocalize to Lily, a hungry look in your eyes as they flick to Remus. 

Sirius’ possessive nature flares up. “This has been real cute, but you can you can back off of them now,” Sirius say, referring to both his boyfriend and James. 

Your eyes dart back to Sirius and that hungry sort of look doesn’t falter, “Want me to focus on you, do you? Ddon’t worry, baby, I can multitask.”

“Let's cut to the chase, are you two about to fight or kiss?” James defies Remus’ command to sit tight, suddenly speaking boldly, regaining his confidence from either sheer will or impatience, “Either is fine, I suppose, as long as you continue to let me watch.”

“I second that,” Remus agrees at once. 

“Third,” Lily chimes in, “though I’d prefer to see the ladder.” 

As James words sink in, it brings you back down to reality, that familiar veil of tension that shrouds your better judgment lifting. 

Worry filters in first, your actions suddenly feeling inappropriate. That they were, but you’re less worried about the nature of your actions and more so the fact that you behaved in such away with someone else right in front of your girlfriend. When you look at her, you’re met with a sly countenance that reminds you she was an active participant. 

You’re not the only one having inner turmoil after the racy display, a silence that’s tense for different reasons washing over you all. Everyone seems to be contemplating the implications of what just happened and how you all so fondly reacted to it. 

Lily is the one to cut through the silence first. 

“You know… I wouldn’t mind if all three of you joined us,” Lily tucks a strand of hair behind your ear as she asks “Do you, Lovie?”

“No, I wouldn’t mind at all,” your words coming out like a plea when you respond. 

Remus carefully stands from his seat, approaching Sirius with revere and settling his arm across his shoulder. His free hand extends to you, which you take without hesitation. His tender touch sends shivers up your spine. 

Your four sets of eyes drift to James, who’s still in his seat trying to process what’s going on. When it sinks that this is real life, he looks back at you all like you’re a newfound treasure. 

It’s instant, the way the feelings that never went away metamorphosize into something beautiful and new. And it’s an adjustment, for sure, but you all lean into it with surprising ease. 

The rumors fly, of course, when your peers start to take notice of the way things have changed. No amount of previous hexing scares them away from jumping to their conclusions and spreading their rumors. This time around, you’re all too enamored with each other to care much about what people say, but you do find it pitiful that they could never understand. But some witnesses to the loving little touches and soft remarks between each of you and all of you find that it makes sense now—all of you were destined from the start. 

For you have always been drawn to each other. It’s why you constantly gravitated from one to the next, the pull from those you left behind never really going away. 

It feels like a dream the way you all settle back into place with each other. James looks at you all in disbelief everyday. He couldn't have imagined a more perfect solution to his previously helpless pining.

You're quite pleased as well, the longing for what you never had with each of your boys finally resolved.

And Lily and Remus share a look some days, eyes twinkling, finding comfort in knowing now what their missing piece was. Or rather, pieces. 

“Well, I think I can pinpoint now why all of our relationships kept not working out,” Lily tells him once, in the very beginning. You’re all strolling around outdoors, basking in the sun, still shyly navigating through the newness of it all. 

The knuckles of your left hand fondly brush against those on James’ right. Lily walks alongside you, Remus on the end next to her. And Sirius has fallen behind purposefully, admiring the way the four of you look together. 

“Why’s that, Dove?” Remus asks. 

“Greed,” Sirius interjects, an impish grin dances on his lips as he jogs up to join you all again. He squeezes between you and Lily, slinging his arms around you both.

Sirius nuzzles his nose into the side of your face, “But who’s to say we can’t have it all?” 

[wellcomeoneileen]

Why does Randy Harrison deserve compensation? What happened to him? You can DM me if it's not okay to be public

Hey! No it’s totally okay.

⚠️disclaimer - I am a NEW fan and so I am NOT the most informed at all. Other people like @brian-kinney-apologist like really know shit. I initially found things bc watching S4 made me go oh there is bts shit going on for sure and googled, and then when I got on tumblr I saw a bunch of posts talking about it, too.

Lots of older sources are harder to find now bc they didn’t do a digital preservation or the website is expired, but here is what I’ve found, from heated Advocate articles whilst the show aired and then from more measured reflections from podcasts around 2016.

Randy was young and it was his first TV show - when he started he didn’t even have an agent, and really didn’t know what he was getting into. He had done sex scenes on stage and thought that he was pretty prepared for what was to come.

However, he has stated he ended up feeling pretty objectified, such as hearing “we need more shots of Justin’s ass” regularly or expressing a desire to not to go-go dancing type scenes (King of Babylon upset him) and then even more go-go dancing being added (S2 Sap scenes). He was also told to act less gay by casting directors for the show, and to “try to be more butch because Justin isn’t out of the closet”

The show pre-dates intimacy coordinators and there have been allusions, including from the actresses Thea and Michelle, that the sex scenes could be uncomfortable to film.

There was BTS clashing, with producer Tony Jones !!reportedly!!! Saying that Randy was a bitch to work with and “showrunners” “reportedly” saying they would never work with Randy again. There are two interview clips, one from when the show was airing, and one from 2016, when CowLip say they wanted all actors to be comfortable on set, and in BOTH clips , like 15 years apart, Randy kinda like laugh/roll his eyes and Gale looks at him very bemusedly. They had bigger reactions in the ~2003 clip.

He was openly pretty angry as the show went on. He told the Advocate that he would never be friends with or respect Justin if real. He disapproved of the Britin relationship. He said he had to fight to include the scene of Justin topping Brian, which was very important to him. Leading into season 5 he stated he hoped Justin was killed off by getting hit by a truck (obviously being glib, but like he was mad lol)

He has said that lots of scenes needed to be reshot because he struggled to do them so much, like the Cody sexy gun scene that made him so uncomfortable, and then either he or Gale said S5 sex scenes were reshot a lot because they just couldn’t stop laughing at that point anymore.

Peter and Scott recently have said the only time anyone asked for actors’ opinions was right after season 1 ended, and to ME they sounded kinda cheeky about it, all these years later, so perhaps it was a cast sticking point? Unsure, and it wasn’t even Randy who said that. Fat grain of salt.

He has more recently reflected on this time period and expressed regret he went out the way he did, and he understands things better and honors his craft more (heavy paraphrasing!) bc he was mentally checked out by the end and wishes he had finished strong instead.

Also, the cast didn’t realize when signing on how isolated they would be from The Industry. Randy has spoken about this in an unrelated podcast, as have the actors who play Ted and Emmett. NYC or LA are where you want to be for networking, and then signing on to spend the majority of the year in Toronto negatively impacted their careers, they feel. Randy has said he had to start from scratch after the show ended, and Peter and Scott have said Showtime had no idea how to market the show nor their stars, and so they had to just watch as all the initial hype fizzled and nothing was done with them. They were contracted to work too much to seriously be involved elsewhere, while simultaneously not getting good exposure, which I IMAGINE created a dire sort of mood and morale on set. < personal interpretation and fictionalizing history.

Meaning, Randy probably at the very least FELT like he had spent five years on a show that didn’t respect him and it was largely for nothing. He has since stated he appreciates the opportunity and it is the reason he was finically secure, for which he is deeply grateful.

And then finally the fans! He had stalker(s?) and tons of creepy people and was heavily typecast and people would come up to him frequently, which made him uncomfy, and would furthermore act like he was actually Justin, which made him super uncomfy. He was kinda like Chappell Roan!! He was like hey I’m not Justin I’m a person and y’all are freaks. He has publicially declined to speak on the stalking issues, which given his vocal responses to other issues, indicates to ME that it’s pretty personal and upsetting (I mean it’s stalking it’s obviously horrible but you know what I mean). During the show he had a boyfriend that fans like tormented online and even on posters (that bit comes from Tumblr or another forum, so not like verified info on my part at all) because they shipped “Gandy” so hard. I know I’ve read on tumblr about the insane Gandy people but all I remember is they were intense and insane and negatively impacted Randy’s actual real life. Again, that’s info from fans that I haven’t read in article or heard from out of his mouth. Secondary source lol.

This point is PURE speculation, but early interviews with the whole cast were super excited, and they all talked about how excited they were for something ground breaking. By the end, people were angry or giving fluff responses, or in Peter’s case; calmly stating the show was a soap opera and that’s okay. I FEEL like everyone thought they were signing up for something more real/gritty/positive impact to society and then were like oh I’m here to look hot in this show that only moms watch to get them turned on to have sex with their husband. Cool.

Now, do I agree with that - no. But, the show audience was vastly different than expected, and the artistic direction might have been too, both of which might have really disappointed people. Esp Randy and maybe Gale. Randy was a capital T theatre person, and Gale was too and had lots of experimental work and like performance art. Randy has ALSO expressed displeasure with some theater work he did because he didn’t think it was fresh and the audience was only older wealthy white people, so we do know that this sort of thing does matter to his sense of fulfillment at work.

TLDR; had to shoot scenes he didn’t want to, several times, felt objectified on set, disagreed with his character’s direction, maybe felt like he wasn’t being listened to artistically, was cut off from other work opportunities, didn’t appear to get along with leadership, had bad fans, was young and in deep over his head, and at the very least *started* with no career or social support system.

Again!! Am not the most knowledgeable person !!! I do NOT want to spread misinformation so hopefully I’ve tagged where I’m reading into things vs actual quotes but also people who have actually been around pls feel free to say 🙋um actuallllyyyyy

[enbysiriusblack]

james x sirius and all or any

all 💀

1. Describe their first date.

they go to the forbidden forest and run around in their animagus forms for an hour. they then make out against a tree, eat some baked goods that james' parents sent him and come up with prank ideas

2. Who wakes up early/Who sleeps in late?

james wakes up early, sirius sleeps in late (sometimes. i feel like his sleep schedule would be all over the place)

3. What was their first impression of each other?

sirius thought james was interesting and seemed very free and easygoing and fun. james thought sirius was very funny and unique.

4. Who initiates affection? Why does the other not initiate affection as much?

both but i feel like maybe slightly more sirius. because sirius is more restrictive with wanting affection, that james knows he's more comfortable with being the one to initiate it first

5. Do they argue often? If so, what do they argue about?

they don't. sometimes very mundane/playful arguments but rarely, they tend to agree or enjoy compromising for each other

6. How do they make up/apologize after an argument?

i mean if they did have an argument, james would probably make it up with very sappy romantic gestures & words & apologies. sirius is just brutally honest and rationalises their argument & just says he's sorry if he is

7. How often do they say “I love you”?

everyday

8. What do they love most about the other? Why?

sirius loves james' sense of humour, his open heartedness, his abs, his passion, sense of adventure, competitiveness

james loves sirius' sense of humour, his biting wit, his handsomeness, his passion, his sense of adventure, his coolness

9. What do they dislike most about the other? Why?

nothing ever.

10. Do they share any hobbies or interests? How do these things bring them together?

they both enjoy sports & talked a lot about their quidditch teams when they first met, james finds sirius' mechanic hobby interesting but doesn't really understand the actual thing but tries to help out (he passes him random tools and yaps whilst sirius works). james loves hobbies. he has like 30. by that logic sirius is gonna share some of the same. but also they're so codependent that even if they don't particularly enjoy a hobby, they will embrace it in order to spend time with each other

11. How do they feel about nicknames/pet names? If they like them, what pet names do they use? If they hate them, why do they feel that way?

they mostly just use their marauding nicknames (prongs & padfoot).

james does call sirius pet names as a joke (love, darling, sweetie, etc.) just cause sirius gets icked out by them

they call each other mate whilst snogging, on a date, raising a kid, etc.

12. Do they have a difficult time when separated from each other, or are they fairly independent?

extremely difficult fucking time. practically impossible for them.

13. How do they keep in contact when they’re apart? Do they write letters, talk on the phone, or simply wait out the time?

the two-way mirrors & writing letters constantly

14. Do they enjoy PDA, or are they more private with affection?

james likes it but sirius isn't too big a fan of it. so they kinda tend to just sit on each others laps and hold hands and stuff but don't really snog in public often

they do not count affection in front of remus or peter as public. so they do that A LOT.

15. What songs remind you of their relationship?

you're my best friend by queen, treehouse by alex g, i wanna be your dog by joan jett & the blackhearts, invisible string by taylor swift, naked in manhattan by chappell roan

16. Would they ever get matching tattoos? If yes, what would these look like?

they absolutely would. it'd either be like sirius getting deer antlers for james and james getting the canis major constellation or just a super weird random thing like both getting a tattoo of a ham sandwich or something

17. How well do they communicate? Are they open with their feelings/thoughts or more reserved? Why?

very well. very open with their feelings & thoughts. however i think james would have trouble differentiating his feelings for platonic or romantic so would kinda be a bit wobbly in that aspect

18. How do they care for each other when one of them is wounded/sick?

like overbearing parents

19. Do they wear each other’s clothes/jewelry?

all the fucking time

20. How do they comfort each other when one of them is upset? Is this method of comfort effective?

sirius gets james to go play quidditch or go a run together or something and an hour or so into that james will tend to then end up venting. it is very effective

james finds a place for them to be alone and will seat close next to him and yap away about nothing for ages. also very effective

21. Do they enjoy domestic life?

very much so (james the stay at home husband/dad and sirius working in a job he loves <33)

22. Are they comfortable joking around with each other and being silly/playful?

very much so

23. What are the defining characteristics of their relationship?

codependent & hot

24. How do their personalities affect their relationship? Do their characteristics compliment each other, or clash often?

compliment each other in kinda clashy way? if that makes sense.

25. Do they share a room/house? If so, what does it look like and how does it compliment their personalities?

ish (i mean the dorm & living together at the potters for a quick minute). with the dorm (ignoring peter & remus' influences), james makes it a big of a mess which sirius has a tendency to clean up (however james will help when he notices sirius begin doing so), and sirius puts up a lot of posters. they'd also have like darts and a foosball table and stuff fs

26. What sacrifices do they make for the other

uhhh they'd sacrifice literally anything for each other ever. but specifically i can see sirius sacrificing meat when he's eating with james since james is a vegetarian (solidarity 💪💪), and james sacrifices uhh showing off ig

27. How do they say “I love you” non-verbally?

looking at each other

28. Who’s the better chef? Do they cook for the other?

james is the better cook but sirius is the better baker. they cook together (euphemia teaching them both)

29. Describe their nighttime routine.

brush their teeth together, get changed, sirius reads whilst james writes to his parents, they proceed to talk in their respective beds for an hour before james falls asleep, sirius then has a fag and reads more for a few hours before turning into padfoot and sleeping in james' bed

30. What are their respective love languages? Do their love languages work well together?

both are quality time and acts of service, but james also commonly give the other three too. so works well

31. Do they often go out on dates? What are these like?

probably all the fucking time. they'd go hang out with their friends then halfway through would call it a date and claim their friends are interrupting them

32. Do either of them drink? If so, who’s the lightweight, and how does their partner care for them?

depends. i sometimes write james as drinking, sometimes don't. i like to write sirius drinking a lot and then later going sober. but james would def be the lightweight between them nonetheless

33. How do they flirt? Who’s the worse flirt?

sirius doesn't really flirt (at least not on purpose). james constantly flirts and is shit at it

34. Do they have any inside jokes?

many many many

35. Is their relationship a secret? If so, why?

probably not. like you could say maybe giving the 70s but also 1. i can't see them giving it a shit, and 2. is wizarding society homophobic?? idk

36. How do they feel about having kids? Are they in agreement?

younger sirius def wouldn't i feel but like. as he gets older i think he'd lowkey want kids. james wants kids so bad.

37. Who’s more emotionally sensitive/cries more often?

james

38. Who’s got a quicker temper?

sirius

39. When and how did they admit that they loved each other? If they haven’t yet, why?

platonically?? like end of first year maybe. when they're having to leave at the end of school year

not platonically?? sirius offhandedly saying to james and james not realising he meant in that way and sirius corrects him and james is like "oh. right. well yeah, of course i feel the same, mate?? i love you in every conceivable way"

40. Do they have any regrets in their relationship?

hmm nah. idk. 🧍🏻‍♂️

41. What would they do if they lost the other?

well sirius would apparently go after the person responsible, spend over a decade in prison wrongfully convicted, escape to save his son, end up on the run then trapped in his childhood house, then dying

james would crumble.

42. What’s their relationship like with each other’s friends/families?

james despises sirius' family. curses them out on the daily. is their biggest hater.

sirius adores james' family so so so much and they love him too

they have all the same friends so 😭😭

43. If they picked out outfits for each other, what would they look like?

james would be in something a lot more stylish, a little more punk and black, and with half his chest on display. sirius would be in the tinest shorts ever, and james' favourite quidditch team's jersey (yes they'd be dressing each other in their own clothes)

44. Do they cuddle often? Why or why not?

always. in every form (animagi)

45. How do they support each other? How do they rely on each others support?

uhhh in every single possible way? they laugh at each other for failing like mundane stuff tho

46. Do they consider their relationship casual or serious? Is the answer different depending on who you ask? Why?

they deem it the most serious relationship ever ever ever (however early stages they'd be like confessing their undying love, snogging constantly, etc. then turn around and be like "oh it's just casual in that aspect and we'll probably stop soon, our friendship love is what's truly important and will never die"

47. Do they sleep beside each other? Why or why not?

all the damn time. constantly.

48. Do they talk about their future together? Why or why not?

yeah. they're always talking so ofc it'd come up at some point.

49. Do they keep secrets from each other?

no

50. Would they ever break up? If so, why? Who would handle the breakup better?

they would never. ride or die fr.

ask game

[livinginsunnyhell]

Hey friend! We tend to ship the same ships, so tell me about Buddie.

Omg! I am thrilled to get this question! First hey friend! We do like the same ships and I am a fan of your work, so it’s lovely to hear from you. So not to over do this but I have broken my answer (essay) up into three parts. The first is things to know before entering the buddie fandom, the second is who they are, and the third is why I like them. I tried to be as succinct as possible but I do suffer from too much love for them so bear with me. Also this is spoiler free.

What to know about buddie

Okay so the very first thing to know about buddie is that they are not canon. Yet. (A deal with the devil is scheduled for Wednesday night before the next episode airs on Thursday which is speculated to be THE episode. Jkjk) This is important to note because when I entered the fandom I had absolutely no clue. I thought they were a gay firefighting couple who were raising a special needs child together. I thought it was cute. I was confused and disappointed when I found out they were not in fact together. The second thing to know is buddie is unhinged about each other. Like watching this show I feel gaslit especially in the earlier seasons. Something would happen between them and I’d be wondering like is this normal behavior? I probably didn’t start shipping them until season 3 but did notice some crush type behavior early on. I also went into the show expecting to like them so. The third thing to know is there’s a shit ton of amazing fanfic and it’s constantly growing. Like I think when I started reading buddie fanfic again last March it was 8k lower than it is now. It’s insane how fast it’s growing. And lastly, shipping them is like entering a land of delusion because they’ve been a will they go canon since like season 4 and we’re on season 8. I initially got into them right before season 5 and I was so sure they’d go canon in season 5 and then they didn’t. So like there’s just a lot of delusion about whether or not it’s happening, which is fine but it’s good to know going in. That being said you don’t have to worry about a Veronica mars situation with them.

Who is buddie?

Okay so buddie or Evan “Buck” Buckley and Eddie Diaz are two firefighters on a show called 911 which also stars Angela Bassett, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Peter Krause. All major reasons I came for the show. Buck is in the show from episode 1 and Eddie comes in season 2. The show is all about first responders and while it can be a tearjerker there’s also some really strange plot points and funny ones. Buck is basically introduced as a fuck boy a la Logan Echolls but without the rich and famous parents. Buck’s story can be summed up as a someone who is desperate to be loved. His parents, while not as bad as Logan’s, were not great parents and Buck has a lot of self esteem issues. In my opinion, Buck has been on a journey since season 1 to figure out how to love himself and be in a loving relationship where he’s not being used (mostly for sex.). And then there’s Eddie Diaz who comes in as a work partner for Buck thanks to their fire captain Bobby (Peter Krause). Eddie is an army medic with a son who is adorable and has cerebral palsy. He got married super young because he got his girlfriend pregnant. Now, his wife is estranged and not in the picture so Eddie is learning what it is to be a single parent. His son, Chris is the most important person in Eddie’s life and later on becomes the most important in Buck’s. Eddie’s journey can really be summed up as he’s always taking care of other people and his identity is tied up in his titles such as father, husband, soldier, firefighter without taking the time to actually know who he is. He’s always pushing his own needs aside and then they generally manifest in anger or mental health issues. He’s spent a lot of time addressing these issues and growing to better understand balancing his needs and accepting that it’s okay to be open. Eddie and Buck lean on each other constantly and the audience watches as their friendship grows and they become a family.

Why I like Buddie

So the top reason I like buddie is because I love how soft they are with each other. Both Buck and Eddie are pretty traditionally masculine men which is why it’s so refreshing to see them so open with each other. First and foremost they are best friends and they show up for each other again and again. There are so many scenes in which you can see the love they have for each other. And they are evenly matched too. Like they are partners in every sense of the word. And they have their own storylines outside of each other so the character isn’t a plot device to drive the other’s story. It’s a really refreshing take to see men have meaningful conversations and be vulnerable with each other without sacrificing who they are as characters or being labeled a certain way. I love Buck because he is so emotional and isn’t afraid to be that way while Eddie has been told for most of his life to suck it up and push it down. By watching Buck be so open, he’s able to feel like he has a safe place to be vulnerable. So I guess my favorite part of them is watching them be safe with each other.

I also love found family stories and this is like peak found family. They trust and rely on each other and again it’s amazing to see. I mean overall I’d say they don’t have any toxic traits in their relationship except probably codependency and Buck can be unhinged when he’s jealous, but unlike other ships I’ve enjoyed, they’re extremely healthy for one another. They bring out their best qualities. I also like that they are best friends and work partners. They do so many things together which the audience sees again and again. They match each others freak and it’s just really beautiful. And lastly, it’s a slow burn. Like incredibly slow like caramelizing onions slow so while you get a bunch of content you also have to wait it out.

I think I covered all of it. Highly recommend. The first season does feel like a completely different show but it’s all fun to watch. I’m not a procedural person but I enjoy 9-1-1. The writing isn’t like mind blowing but it’s definitely enjoyable. I tend to watch while crafting.

lol my essay is complete. Let me know if I didn’t cover anything or anyone else please add to this incredibly over the top answer to a simple question.

[foxes-that-run]

loml

The title of this song refers to both love of my life and loss of my life. Harry's only track 13 is Love of My Life. Like Harry's LOML, loml is a song about letting a long held love go. Both are regretful of love lost but neither over it. As a song about a long museship the references to both Taylor and Harry's work is dense, so this post is long. A shorter TLDNR is here. The nature of the relationship Taylor is describing is one that should have a lot of references, and it does. Each chorus refers to a different song where Harry professed love.

The initial Spotify Canvas was of Taylor in a sweater looking emotional. After Fortnight was released it was replaced with Taylor and Post inside the Style-head reading Story of Us on the road. Taylor played loml once as a surprise song on piano in Paris, with Paris in the first show after their release on 9 May 2024.

Lyrics

[Verse 1] Who’s gonna stop us from waltzing back into rekindled flames If we know the steps anyway? We embroidered the memories of the time I was away Stitching, “We were just kids, babe”

The first verse establishes that Taylor is singing to an old muse at the end of a breakup, or false start. She refers to them being together in their youth, of wistful memories and that the love is irreplaceable. It is full of references:

Waltzing back into rekindled flames, Taylor refers to dance as a kind of subconscious action in several songs, this reminds me most closely of 'Dancing around it' in High Infidelity and 'Dancing is a dangerous thing' in Cowboy Like Me - where the dance is also tempting a romantic relationship, they know the steps - as in they have fallen into this before.

Embroidering memories touches on the Haylor theme of stitches. 'Away is in a lot of Taylor's songs. 'Taylor' embroiders in EHC and LK posted about embroidery after TTPD

'While I was away' reminds me of AYHTS "People like you always want back the love they gave away" and Midnight Ran's "the life I gave away" - a similar idea that she was absent.

Stitching 'We were just kids babe' is a reference to Patti Smith's Biography 'Just Kids' which is her memories about her time with fellow artist Robert Mapplethorpe who died of Aids. Taylor also refers to this time in Patti Smith's life in TTPD. Patti thanked Taylor for the callout with posting a photo of her reading Dylan Thomas' biography. This line establishes this muse is a fellow young artist who Taylor had an important relationship with when they were young. Taylor & Harry have likened themselves to famous couples

I said, “I don’t mind, it takes time” I thought I was better safe than starry-eyed I felt aglow like this Never before and never since

'I don't mind, it takes time', this idea is referred to in Peter also and other Haylor songs:

Run: Piece of paper where I wrote, “I’ll wait for you”

How You Get The Girl: I would wait forever and ever

“Slut!”: Everyone wants him, that was my crime, the wrong place at the right time

Say Don’t Go: The waiting is a sadness fading into madness

"I thought I was better safe than starry-eyed" - the prologue describes three muses, as does the Fortnight MV. One has celestial imagery that links to Satellite, such as stars, comets, orbit, planet and whole sky. Starry-eyed is in a few songs including:

CIWYW - Starry eyes sparking up my darkest night

Cowboy like me - Eyes full of stars

High Infidelity - Do I really have to chart the constellations in his eye

Better safe than starry eyed also reminds me of "How dare you think it's romantic / Leaving me safe and stranded" in Down Bad that refers to New Romantics "Please leave me stranded"

'Never felt aglow like this', 'never before and never since' is a glowing irreplaceable connection. Taylor described similar in:

This Love - This love is glowing in the dark

Question...? - Does it feel like everything's just like second best after that meteor strike?

[Chorus 1] If you know it in one glimpse, it’s legendary You and I go from one kiss to getting married Still alivе, killing time at the cemеtery Never quite buried

I knew from one glimpse, it was legendary, we go from one kiss to getting married is a reference to Holy Ground:

“Back to a first glance feeling on New York time/ Back when you fit my poems like a perfect rhyme/ Took off faster than a green light, go : Yeah, you skip the conversation when you already know”

A similar line is also in Glitch - "Five seconds later, I'm fastening myself to you with a stitch"

‘Still alive at the cemetery’ is similar to The 1: “In my defense, I have none / For digging up the grave another time” which in turn is a reference to the OOTW/LAWYMMD music video link where Taylor from the end of 1989 is Taylor at the start of the next video.

In your suit and tie, in the nick of time

‘In your suit and tie’ is dressed for a wedding. Arriving ‘in nick of time’ is the muse interrupting a wedding saying “don’t do this there’s still time!” Which Taylor said of Harry, when describing the muse of Style and 1989 Taylor said she expected this. Here she is saying she was fooling herself.

You low-down boy, you stand-up guy You Holy Ghost, you told me I’m the love of your life You said I’m the love of your life About a million times

“Low down boy; you stand up guy” is a person who has been in Taylor’s life since they were a boy (with a dirty mouth) who has grown to be a stand up guy. They are now grown but not with her.

Taylor then refers to Harry’s music, Holy Ghost refers to Two Ghosts and refers to Love of My Life by name. In which Harry says it 5 times, he’s performed it 102 times to around 700k fans, so yeah, a lot. Note it's “said” not “told me”.

[Verse 2] Who’s gonna tell me the truth when you blew in with the winds of fate And told me I reformed you? When your impressionist paintings of heaven turned out to be fakes

Taylor refers to truth often, but usually her telling or seeing a truth, But in the Alcott the muse tells her the truth and she says she she has fallen back in love with the muse. I imagine in Taylors life many do not tell the truth, but this muse can and does. Here Taylor asks if they will still tell the truth if they are together.

The muse told Taylor she reformed them. Harry says this in Stockholm Syndrome, that he "used to sing about being free but now he has changed his mind". On 13 May 2023 Harry added Stockholm Syndrome to the HSLOT set for the last 18 shows. A song he he wrote for Taylor when they were dating and had not performed since 2018.

The impressionist paintings may refer to the Two Ghosts music video, which was or became tour screens. (Thank you @notoriousbeb) The reference to fakes is where an overture of love did not come through.

Well, you took me to hell too And all at once, the ink bleeds A con man sells a fool a get-love-quick scheme But I’ve felt a hole like this Never before and ever since

The second half of this verse links back to past writing to each other

'And all at once, the ink bleeds' I LOVE this line so much. It has a double meaning, the ink bleeds as Taylor writes music inspired by a museship that has featured in so much of her work. The ink bleeds like emotion bleeds as the bleeding love theme.

"A conman sells a fool a get love quick scheme" this line is dense:

In Why She Disappeared, the poem played before Getaway Car in the Reputation Stadium Tour included "Wary of phone calls and promises, Charmers, dandies and get-love-quick-schemes"

Harry and Taylor have referred to each other as robbers, thieves, cowboys and now a conman see thief theme

Harry and Taylor have both referred to themselves as a fool many times for being stuck on each other.

Never felt a hole like this before or since is crushing, it reminds me of Questions...?'s "Does it feel like everything's just like second-best after that Meteor strike?"

[Chorus 2] If you know it in one glimpse, it’s legendary What we thought was for all time was momentary Still alive, killing time at the cemetery Never quite buried You cinephile in black and white All those plot twists and dynamite Mr. Steal Your Girl, then make her cry You said I’m the love of your life

In the second chorus Taylor again refers to songs by Harry, but changes which ones:

Mr Steal Your Girl refers to One Directions Steal My Girl.

B&W Cinephile may refer to when Harry kept his Instagram B&W for 2 years from when 1989 was released with the line 'the rest of the world was in screaming color' it may also refer to the Treat People With Kindness music video in B&W and widescreen. Harry is also a cinephile, both in being a fan of cinema and appearing in more recent films than her actor partner at the time.

[Bridge] You shit-talked me under the table Talking rings and talking cradles I wish I could un-recall How we almost had it all Dancing phantoms on the terrace Are they second-hand embarrassed That I can’t get out of bed ‘Cause something counterfeit’s dead? It was legendary It was momentary It was unnecessary Should’ve let it stay buried

Taylor acts this lyric out in fortnight in the eras tour.

Shit-talking can mean either disparaging remarks or saying something untrue and going on about it. Talking, (or drinking) someone under the table is doing so in excess. So I take this first line 'shit-talked me under the table' to mean the muse went on saying untrue things for ages, in the context of the rest of the verse I think that is making statements of love they were not yet willing to follow through on.

Taylor sees they were so close, a similar line is in TTPD there is a similar line of 'litany of reasons we could have played for keeps this time' Taylors muse has professed love and that they are endgame but not followed through.

In the Only Angel Demo Harry sang "I must admit I married you a thousand times. Had to change my tune when I found out what it'd be like."

Counterfeit is also in Glitch "It must be counterfeit, I think there's been a glitch"

The shit-talk is rings and cradles, in a time that Taylor was disappointed a long term relationship ended another long term muse flirted with settling down but did not. Harry wore the Peace Ring and Haylor ring for years, they seemed as possible promise rings which these lines remind me of. As do songs of both which may refer to the other. The Haylor ring is featured in merchandise for TTPD and Taylor wears it in the Fortnight Music Video so it is likely this ring.

[Final Chorus] Oh, what a valiant roar What a bland goodbye The coward claimed he was a lion I’m combing through the braids of lies “I’ll never leave,” “Never mind” Our field of dreams engulfed in fire Your arson’s match, your somber eyes And I’ll still see it until I die You’re the loss of my life

The final chorus reads as a bitter disappointment of Taylors muse has meekly said they will not be with her.

Stockholm Syndrome - which Harry readded to his setlist 13 March 2023 (gone since 2018) has the line "Baby, I'll never leave if you keep holding me this way, oh o-oh" Here Taylor has compared it to what looks like a goodbye statement from someone who doesn't want to talk about it.

It is the loss of Taylor's life, one she felt at the time of writing this song was not one she would get over.

Valiant Roar

The 'valiant roar' is likely a reference to Harry's Gucci Lion ring which he has worn since 2018 and briefly lost in April 2022 at Coachella. It attracted a lot of attention until it's return when it was learned it has an inscription of 'second time's the charm'. Taylor also wore a Gucci Lion ring at Electric Lady Studios on 12 April 2023 (before heading to Florida). At that time the 1975 were in Australia and Harry was in the US after a golf tournament in Augusta. This line also reminds me of this scene in DWD which OW described as a 'primal roar' to Rolling Stone in 2022.

[thewebcomicsreview]

hey, just wanted to say thanks for the rec for Cat Girl. it is the best kind of extremely uncomfortable! but it's got me musing on your note about the relevance of the cat girl element itself. I agree that it is depicting an abusive relationship, but it's clear that Peter is completely incapable of perceiving that that's what it is, because he's so far down a deeply screwed hole of ideology. (continued in a sec, hang on-)

- so Peter is the way he is because he has accepted a series of small explanations for the things in his life as seeming accurate, that has stacked up into a deeply dysfunctional worldview that he's too deep into to question at all. so I think the Literal Government Issued Cat Girl is very much a metaphor for a society-level case of "you don't question your own idea of normal". rather than address the root of the problem, a wildly unethical bandaid has been slapped on it. in other words; Peter doesn't question that his ideas are correct, when they're obviously very skewed. but the society that gave him Andi doesn't question that it is normal for people to get this twisted up in an effort to make sense of the world. of COURSE there are internet chuds, people like Peter existing is "normal". and in the process of just accepting that some people are unsalvageable, innocent people like Andi get hurt, and that's just "normal" too. Peter isn't unfixable. it's clear he could be better, WANTS to be better, because he is straight up miserable. but he doesn't consciously know that, or how to start. the decision that some people are just fundamentally screwed up and there's nothing anyone can do about it doesn't just hurt him, it lets him hurt the people around him. Andi is, metaphorically, everyone else being tossed under the bus alongside Peter by the simple act of treating him like he's just inherently a shitty person.

Man, this is a long ask! If I were the author of Cat Girl, I'd be honored to see someone spend so much time thinking about it. But I don't think I agree, exactly.

Peter wants to "be a good person", yes, but his understanding of what a "good person" is is completely self-centered. Him calling Andi "Yua" while talking over her trying to explain that she does in fact have a name is obviously establishing him as a douche, but it's also worth noting that "Yua" is a Japanese name. He's thinking of her as an anime waifu and not a person (or, given the first results when I google "Yua", a porn star, but maybe it's a Breath of Fire 2 reference)

And while he falls into depressive self-loathing after she complains about not having a change of clothes, his internal monologue is entirely about himself. At no point, ever, does Peter even consider that Andi has feelings or is anything other than a reflection on him.

When he locks her in a closet, his most overtly abusive act, he starts crying because he feels bad about what a bad person he is, but even while he's crying he's simultaneously blocking the door, which is a very literal depiction of their relationship. His angsting about being a good person is not his way out of the problem, it is the problem. He never even once considers being nice to Andi because she'll like it, it's entirely "I don't want to force her to have sex with me (because that would make me feel bad), but maybe if I'm nice to her she'll initiate the sex". And he doesn't even care about the sex itself, just the implicit validation of being Confirmed Good By A Girl.

Peter is the way he is because his morality is entirely self-centered. Andi is a way for him to prove his morality to himself (well, try to and fail), not an actual person whose feelings he's ever considered except for if she hates him or not. That's what makes him such an interesting villain, he keeps concocting a story in his head where he's the poor sweet babu trying his best and never stops doing that to let his girlfriend out of the closet.

[buckybarnesss]

How do you think Lydia perceives the whole Sterek relationship? I just know that it was the huge elephant in the closet during her and Stiles's relationship.

this particular question is something @dear-massacre and i have discussed before and i've given it some thought.

admittedly it's actually a lot of thought. in my opinion the answer to this is more complicated than you would think.

i have a lot of thoughts on the subject.

lydia martin and the memoir entitled me, my boyfriend, his unresolved feelings for derek hale and my repressed feelings for my dead best friend.

i don't think lydia quite knew what she was getting into with stiles initially. she doesn't know there's something to perceive.

on the whole i think the romantic relationship lydia and stiles have is one based on a shaky foundation of idolization, trauma, obligation and confused feelings.

i do not consider it healthy for either of them. especially at the time they enter into it. there's no time or space for them to process their emotions or feelings about what has happened to them let alone their actual feelings for each other.

lydia also didn't really interact with derek very much. in season 1 lydia is on the outside of the main plot and in season 2 she's in the main plot but she doesn't know it because she's purposefully isolated.

so her and derek's interactions are incredibly limited. does she even know derek hale exists lol?

their first barely there interactions are when he's trying to kill her when he thinks she's the kanima and than when she wolfsbane roofies him to resurrect peter?

when derek brings this up in chaos rising during one of his rare interactions with allison and lydia her reaction is so funny to me though. the judgement.

she also isn't there for much of the development between stiles and derek. she doesn't know the derek-n-stiles part of derek and stiles.

she knows stiles likes derek and is friends with him i don't think she necessarily understands that stiles has feelings there let alone about possible reciprocation.

even when she sees them in the finale she's amused by their banter. or that could be holland delighted to see her ship interacting.

the narrative often puts derek, stiles and lydia into this sort of odd love triangle. except it's not a love triangle in the traditional sense. it's almost like they're put up parallel to each other and stiles is forced to chose one path or the other.

lydia and derek are very similar. they both even have defrosting the ice queen arcs becoming two of the most compassionate and selfless people on the show.

in code breaker he's kidnapped by peter to locate derek and forced to leave lydia on the lacrosse field. in abomination stiles leaves lydia crying in her car and cannot return because he gets trapped in the pool by the kanima with derek.

derek even uses stiles's words about lydia being cold-blooded as justification for him attempting to kill her thinking she's the kanima.

there's the scene that plays over peter's love monolog in battlefield that's focused on derek, stiles and lydia despite peter talking about jackson.

lydia is the one who goes with stiles to try and pay for derek's release in mexico in the dark moon.

it's an interesting repeated thing all the way up until derek leaves.

however i don't believe this was the only issue as stiles's unresolved feelings for derek isn't the only elephant in the room. there are actually two elephants in the room. the other elephant is named allison and before you ask yes i'm saying exactly what you think i'm saying.

i've said it before and i'll say it again. there are three woman who haunt the narrative of teen wolf. laura hale, allison argent and claudia stilinski.

laura hale's murder was the inciting incident that started the events of the show, allison's death in the middle of the narrative is transformative to the story and claudia's ghost being exercised is the close.

the more i watch the show for my deep dives the more i notice just how profoundly changed lydia was by her friendship with and her love for allison.

allison was the great love of lydia's life and she is never able to fully move on. it's a wound that won't heal.

like, i'm not gonna get into a treatise about it but the subtext in season 4 about lorriane martin and the loss of her wife maddie compared to lydia and her loss of allison. 👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀

allison died to save lydia and lydia has never, ever forgiven herself for it.

the death wail that lydia let out for allison was so powerful, so full of pain and terrible that it spurred meredith's benefactor plan. meredith obviously isn't completely mentally sound but hearing that come lydia made her think they were better off dead than experience that.

lydia learning to use her powers to save malia is like watching a mother lift her car off her child. lydia cannot lose another person she cares about. this also fuels her desperation to bring stiles back.

lydia tells lenore in ghosted when they're in cannan that she doesn't have a caleb except yes she does. it's allison. not to mention the symbolism in lenore's name. the lost lenore is a trope is a reference to poe's poem and usually is about the main character's deceased love interest.

as for stiles. well. there's been a lot of words written about him and derek. i don't know how many people have watched how i met your mother but in the words of robin sherbatsky "if you have chemistry you're only missing one other thing -- timing. but timing is a bitch."

that's stiles and derek. derek is the great what if for stiles.

it's not that lydia and stiles didn't love each other. of course they did. that isn't in question. it's just that love isn't always enough. ultimately they were both carrying love around for other people that they couldn't let go of.

lydia let go of stiles because she recognized how unfair it was for the two of them.

[taruchinator]

🌳 Teen Audiences

🌳 2k Words

🌳 Day 10 | Gravestone for @flufftober!

“Pete, you really don't have to do this.”

“Yes, I do. Just humor me a bit...”

It was a sunny day in Harlem; a stark contrast to the place Peter Parker and Mila Morales were currently at: Manhattan’s local cemetery.

About to ask for Jefferson Davis' blessing to marry his daughter.

So here we are 👏 delving into another one of my fandom obsessions that lay dormant ever since the release of the first game: Petemai (aka Peter/Miles)!

I've always been a sucker for the mentor/mentee relationships, so this one immediately stood out to me when playing the games.

Enjoy! 💖

“Pete, you really don't have to do this.”

“Yes, I do. Just humor me a bit...”

It was a sunny day in Harlem; a stark contrast to the place Peter Parker and Mila Morales were currently at: Manhattan’s local cemetery.

The brunet could feel a familiar unease in the pit of his stomach that spread to his arms and fingertips, making him begin to shake from nerves as he stood in front of a slab of stone that was so important, not just to himself, but mostly to the woman standing beside him.

‘Jefferson Davis’—it read in bold letters. ‘A hero, a father, a husband.’

Peter never got the privilege of meeting the man outside the suit. He would only hear stories from Mila and her mother, saying how brave and kind and loving he was. Still, with how much his girlfriend talked about him, it almost felt like he knew him well enough at this point.

“She's your fiancée now, Parker…” Peter had to mentally correct himself as he turned to look at his companion.

Mila Morales stood in all her glory—short curly hair held in place by bobby pins, a red hoodie Peter bought her when they'd gone shopping after patrol one day, denim shorts and black leggings with red matching Jordans.

But most importantly of all, a simple silver band with a small diamond resting on her ring finger.

It belonged to Aunt May. She'd given it to him back when he and MJ were still dating, a sign of her blessing and also a gift that saved his wallet from having to buy one himself. If she knew who the ring's new owner was though, she'd still be proud.

“Peter?” Mila's soft voice broke the brunet from his trance, snapping his attention back from her hand to her face, scrunched in concern. “You okay? You're shaking.”

Peter couldn't hold back the smile that spread across his face. She was so good to him. He'd never get over that fact. While trying to steady his hands, he reached for Mila's and intertwined their fingers with a firm squeeze. “Yeah, sorry ‘bout that. Guess this is harder than I thought, haha…”

If anyone had told him a year ago that he'd be standing here today, he wouldn't have believed them.

After everything that happened with MJ, Peter learned that balancing the life of a superhero while trying to maintain a healthy relationship was near impossible. The two of them had come to that conclusion together after years of trying to make it work, and despite walking away with no hard feelings, the brunet couldn't help the feeling of hopelessness that was left in his chest.

The harsh reality that he'd never be able to have a romantic relationship was just another burden he had to add to the pile. Things he had to give up with the responsibility of the Spider-Man title.

That was until Mila Morales showed up and turned his world upside down.

After getting over the initial shock of having another spider person who could relate to stuff he couldn't share with his friends, Peter was more than happy to have the young girl under his wing—it wasn't until months passed that he started to notice some… odd behavior on his part when it came to Mila.

Peter could be having the worst day ever—job searching failures, villains escaping, Jonah not knowing when to shut his trap unless Peter glued it shut with his webs—no matter what had him fuming, Mila was always able to get him to smile.

It could be something as simple as her and Ganke programing a new gadget for him to try, her finally getting an A+ in Spanish because if not ‘mi mamá me va a matar esta vez, ¡te lo aseguro!’, or just a dumb joke that didn't make any sense but still had Peter holding his sides and wiping tears in the middle of their patrol.

He'd just be in an overall better mood when around her.

He'd also talk about her without even realizing it. A lot.

“Pete, I get it. You're proud of your girlfriend's progress! But I don't need a day by day update, kay?” Harry had said once when they were chilling at his apartment and Peter was talking about the Holo-Training he'd prepped for Mila.

“Peter, you're just a phone call away. With everything you tell me, Mila can handle a week on her own.” MJ said when Peter voiced his concerns about leaving the girl to look after the city.

And so, the comments started evolving from simple pointers to straight out teasing within a matter of weeks. Harry and MJ wouldn't give him a break whenever it came to Mila, and it was starting to get on his nerves.

But it also got him thinking about her.

About how brave, selfless, caring, and funny she was.

He'd compliment her more often, making sure that she knew just how amazing she was. There was nothing wrong with friends telling each other how smart they were. How creative. Heck, so what if he said she looked beautiful one day after taking off her mask on the rooftop to call it a night—with the moonlight framing her in a way that could only be described as ethereal?

Friends could acknowledge if the other was attractive! Right?

It didn't take long for Peter to analyze the facts and come to the conclusion he was dreading.

He was developing feelings for Mila Morales.

And the thought of that terrified him.

Setting aside the age gap between them (that was a whole separate can of worms he was not prepared to deal with), there were his previous romantic experiences which left him in a bad place. One where he didn't think he was worthy of love and that he only caused suffering to those he cared about.

Friendships were the only thing he allowed himself to hold onto, and even those were always at arm's length. He couldn't bear the idea of losing Mila as a friend, let alone hurting her in any way.

So, he kept everything bottled up in hopes that it was just a silly little crush that would go away on its own.

Only for Spider-Woman to beat him to the punch.

While fighting when possessed by the Venom entity, Mila said and did everything she could to get Peter to snap out of it and fight back. Including revealing her true feelings for him.

Despite wanting to brush it off as a spur of the moment deal, she told him again a week after the incident, clearing the air of any doubt that she hadn't meant it.

And despite wanting to deny her and claim that he didn't feel the same, Mila knew better. She noticed something was off and pressed the issue, stating that she didn't mind being let down, but only if it was genuine and not for ‘her sake’ somehow.

That was more than enough for the dam to break inside him.

Peter explained his concerns, his fears, his insecurities—he opened himself up and laid bare for the other to see. And all she did was listen and comfort him the best she could.

No judgment.

“I don't deserve this. I don't deserve you!” The brunet was holding back tears while Mila placed a hand on his cheek in a soft and comforting manner.

After swallowing a lump in her throat, the teen looked him in the eye and allowed the tiniest of smiles to grace her lips. “Don't you think that's for me to decide?”

And so that night, they shared their first kiss on top of the Empire State Building, with unspoken promises being exchanged between their lips.

Once they started officially dating, Peter was determined to set ground rules.

First, he needed to get Rio's blessing.

An awkward conversation was had at the Morales household in which Peter kept saying essentially the same things over and over, fumbling like an idiot, only for Rio to stop him and say that she already considered him part of the family anyways. He was let go with a hug and threat of keeping her daughter safe.

Second, no intimacy until Mila turned eighteen.

There would be the occasional kiss on the cheek, hand holding and cuddling while watching movies, but anything more heated than that was a strict no-no in Peter's book. Despite how many times his girlfriend did her best to seduce him, causing Spider-Man to have to flee his own apartment on more than one occasion.

And the third one was a secret kept to himself until recently—ask for Jefferson Davis’ blessing as soon as he proposed.

It was entirely unnecessary, and at this point, rather irrelevant to be asking that question, but Peter couldn't help it if he was old fashioned that way.

Staring at the gravestone that marked the resting place of his future father-in-law, he took a deep breath through his nose and out his mouth. Mila squeezed his hand too, showing her support in the only way she could.

“Good evening, Mr. Davis…” Peter managed the sentence without stuttering, which was a win on his book. “I'm sorry to be bothering you today, but there's something important I need to tell you. It's… about your daughter.”

He turned to look at Mila, and she smiled in return, as if to say he was doing a good job. Peter nodded and gulped as he kept going. “A-As I've told you before, Mila and I have been dating for a few months now. She brings me happiness like no one else, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration when I say she's been my lifeline on more than one occasion.”

Bringing their joined hands forward, the brunet extended the young woman's in a way that showed off her ring. It gleamed under the rays of sunlight peeking through the trees and that caused Peter to let out a breathy chuckle. It was real. “Which is why I've asked her to marry me.”

“I'm engaged, daddy…” Mila spoke to her father for the first time since they got there. Her dimples showed clearly with the way she was grinning from ear to ear. “Guess you and mama can't stop betting on Ganke and I, haha…”

Peter laughed along with her, and the unease began to dissipate. Still, his gaze remained on the stone in front of him, keeping him grounded and reminding him of why he was here in the first place. “I… I really wish I could've asked for your blessing in person, sir. Mila and her mother speak the world of you, and with good reason! I also wish… I could apologize properly.”

The image of the bombing caused by the Inner Demons flashed in Peter's mind. The day Jefferson Davis lost his life while trying to protect the people Spider-Man was responsible for—the day he met Mila under the worst circumstances; by not saving her father.

And even though his lover had forgiven him for that ages ago, Peter would carry it with him along with the tragedies that befell anyone who was involved with Spidey.

Regaining his composure, Peter cleared his throat and let himself continue with his speech. “I know I couldn't save you that day… but I swear to you, on my life, that I will make your daughter happy and always keep her safe. Not like she needs it, I'm sure you know how stubborn she can be.”

Spider-Woman lightly shoved him with a roll of her eyes, bringing a smirk to Peter's lips.

At that moment, a light breeze swept by the duo, rustling the leaves of the late autumn season. The brunet stared wide eyed as a leaf placed itself on top of Mr. Davis’ grave, almost perfectly in front of them both.

Mila must have thought the same thing as he did because she leaned upwards to place a kiss on her fiancé's cheek. “Looks like you got your blessing.”

“You think?” Peter mumbled, not wanting to break the quiet stillness around them.

“I know.” A gentle smile then replaced either a mischievous grin. “Even if he might be a bit upset I ended up with a basic white guy.”

Peter allowed himself to chuckle at that, pulling the girl next to him close in a hug. The warmth that radiated from her body was nothing short of calming, and it reminded him of home. In a strange way, she was his new home. “You think if he knew I was Spider-Man I'd score some coolness points?”

“Maybe. Though that would entail he didn't know I was Spider-Woman. Which to be honest makes me like, ten times cooler.”

As the duo left the cemetery hand-in-hand, Peter knew that the future he was heading into was filled with uncertainty. But with his partner in crime standing by his side through it all, he knew it would make it a little bit easier.

After all, who was Spider-Man without Spider-Woman?

[seriousbrat]

Seriousbrat, I’m back because I’m going through a rough time and your answers always pick me up. Wanna discuss matters of the heart?

- Which marauder fell in love easy with everyone and everything? (Or who developed the most crushes)

- Who fell the hardest? (When they have a crush, they’ll be bedridden for days)

- Who never fell in love? (This ice does not crush)

- Who was asked out the most?

- Who did the most asking out?

- Who turned down the most suitors?

- Who was the biggest flirt?

- Who flirted accidentally?

- Who couldn’t flirt to save their lives?

- Who broke the most hearts and who mastered the art of break-ups?

- Bonus if you can tell how each of their first kiss went!

Aww nooo, I'm really sorry to hear you're having a rough time! I'm always willing to answer more of these questions, here are some overly long answers for you ❤️

- Which marauder fell in love easy with everyone and everything? (Or who developed the most crushes) Obviously this is James, who is very much a romantic deep down, much as he might have tried to pretend otherwise. Peter would just have a general blanket crush on any and all girls but wouldn't be able to talk to them, whereas Sirius and Remus would be much more rational when it comes to matters of the heart. While Remus might have had a few crushes I think he wouldn't let them get out of hand because he felt they wouldn't go anywhere.

- Who fell the hardest? (When they have a crush, they’ll be bedridden for days) It's also James, again he's a romantic. Like bro is out there doodling hearts around the initials of a girl who hates him. Yikes.

- Who never fell in love? (This ice does not crush) I tend to believe that Sirius never fell in love, although I've written him as having feelings for James I don't think that's the same as falling in love (obv this is in terms of canon.) Peter also never fell in love imo, like how and when and with whom would he do that.

- Who was asked out the most? Sirius, obviously!

- Who did the most asking out? Probably James or Peter. Peter would generally be too cowardly although he might have asked a few girls out and I think he'd have a "cast a wide net" philosophy. James would be more specific but with a higher success rate overall. I don't think Sirius would ever ask anyone out, he wouldn't really have to and he's not bothered about relationships anyway, and personally I think Remus wouldn't date anyone for fear and insecurity around his condition.

- Who turned down the most suitors? Again, it's pretty obviously Sirius. I also don't think he'd be particularly nice about turning them down unfortunately. Then there's a WIDE breach between him and Remus or James, who maybe turned down a couple of girls but not many. Peter would literally never turn down any girl but alas, he wasn't given many chances.

- Who was the biggest flirt? Hmm, it's between Sirius and James for me. I think once Sirius figured out the power he wielded over women he would NOT be above leveraging this for, for example, free drinks at the Three Broomsticks from Rosmerta. He'd never really mean it, and I also don't think he was a HUGE flirt like he's written sometimes. James I think could be pretty flirty but with specific people.

- Who flirted accidentally? This is difficult! Honestly, probably James. At first I was going to say Sirius-- both are pretty naturally charming which can often be mistaken for flirting. But the thing is I think Sirius can just be colder or more aloof, as well as being very good at reading people so I don't think he'd really flirt accidentally. Now that I think about it Remus isn't a bad shout either, because I think more girls liked him at school than he realised-- specifically the shy, quiet girls who wouldn't go for a James or a Sirius, they'd probably try to talk to him and he'd be really nice but utterly clueless. I still think it's James in the end, because he and Lily did a lot of accidental flirting in their "we're just friends" phase.

- Who couldn’t flirt to save their lives? Peter, obviously. I don't think Remus was particularly good either but also he wouldn't really have tried so who knows. Whereas whenever Peter worked up the courage he'd probably be incredibly bad.

- Who broke the most hearts and who mastered the art of break-ups? The thing is I don't really see any of them as having had many breakups. One or two, maybe three MAX. I never write them as having had THAT many relationships in general, I don't think it's actually that common for an average teenager to have had multiple emotionally intense, serious relationships at that age. While obviously teens do date and hook up, they typically don't approach relationships in the same way adults do like everything is just less mature and more awkward lmao

There might have been a few random encounters that just fizzled out naturally or Sirius rejecting people lmao but those don't really count as breakups imo. So while I don't think James mastered the art of breakups because at most I think he'd have had two before marrying Lily, he probably had the most experience with breakups. But again, only two breakups max lol.

As for who broke the most hearts-- you could say Sirius "broke hearts" in that he ignored or could be mean to girls who really liked him, and hurt their feelings in the process. But James is the one I can see actually hurting a girl who had a real emotional attachment to him. I think when he was younger he definitely had the potential to be sweet, but would in many ways also have been the typical asshole, inattentive teenage boy who cared more about quidditch and his mates and looking cool than his first girlfriend. Then he might have ended up dumping the poor girl for being "too clingy" or whatever. :(

- Bonus if you can tell how each of their first kiss went! For Sirius, Peter, and Remus, I think they'd all have had their first kiss during a Gryffindor party. Sirius first, obviously, perhaps years before anyone else. Peter and Remus might have been during a spin the bottle-type situation tbh.

My answer for James is different, I always imagine it would have been over the summer holidays with the daughter of family friends (in my fic this is Dorcas.) Maybe the first time just a little kid thing and then again properly when they were older. I think James's first kiss would have been rather more romantic than the rest of them, which kind of sets the tone for him being the most romantic of the four.

[princeescaluswords]

I wan to know your opinion about something that me and my friend talked a lot regarding the show's relationships.

Scott or Stiles; who obsessed more for "the girl"?

I think Stiles has a tad more obsession sprinkled into his character (especially if it's about Lydia and the 10-year plan thingymabob) but my friend said that Scott's obsession toward Allison is borderline assholic and made him a jerk to his friends (their words, not mine)

The first step in resolving a conflict should be defining the terms. According to Webster, obsession is "the domination of one's thoughts or feelings by a persistent idea, image, or desire." On a television show that can't give us insight into a character's thoughts 24/7, the writers and actors have to demonstrate obsessive behavior in other ways. I would argue the most common sign of obsessive behavior should be very simple to identify: undesirable actions a character performs that indicate their thoughts are dominated.

If your friend wants to claim that Scott is obsessed with Allison, then it stands to reason that they have to give examples of actions -- not jokes or word play, but actual decisions he made with negative consequences -- which demonstrate this obsession. Accusations without proof are not useful in comparisons.

I'll start with my evidence that he is not obsessive in his behavior. While Scott's emotions toward Allison were intense, they were also reciprocated. In other words, Allison liked him back. They entered a mutually rewarding relationship, one that recognized boundaries and limitations. In addition, Allison became Scott's anchor, a psychological necessity for werewolves, distinctly required to maintain control as explained by Derek in Party Guessed (2x09).

Isaac: Then how do you control it? Derek: Find an anchor. Something meaningful to you. Bind yourself to it. Keep the human side in control.

Even with Allison as his necessary anchor, Scott did not allow her to control all his decisions. Scott ditched Allison four times in the early seasons -- Night School (1x07), Co-Captain (1x10), Abomination (2x04), and Restraint (2x07) -- to act appropriately even though he didn't want to do so. He also made decisions that would endanger that relationship -- Magic Bullet (1x04), Wolf's Bane (1x09), Ice Pick (2x03), Raving (2x08), Frayed (3x05), and Insatiable (3x11) -- because it was the right thing to do. Finally, Scott demonstrated his ability to let her go, such as in Master Plan (2x12), Tattoo (3x01), Alpha Pact (3x11), and Illuminated (3x16). I am confident in my analysis because of the sheer number of examples.

In addition, I would argue that the popular counter-examples are extraordinarily weak. In The Tell (1x05), skipping school to help Allison celebrate her birthday in a way that spared her from embarrassment and unfair public shaming is not an example of obsession; it's an act of kindness. Stiles finding an important clue while Scott's phone was off was a classic plot complication as was the Sheriff getting mildly injured by a car, not a demonstration of negligence. Scott only lurks on Allison's roof in Formality (1x11) due to Peter's direct threat. In Abomination (2x04), Scott didn't hang up on Stiles in order to concentrate on Allison, he hung up to concentrate on safely finding the Bestiary that Derek needed. Scott's deliberately creepy behavior in Motel California (3x06) is defeated by Allison saying "no." Even the heart-of-darkness influenced confrontation with Isaac in Anchors (3x13) -- while still a mistake by Scott -- was initiated by Isaac and doesn't indicate obsession, because there was no follow up by Scott.

I feel that the idea of Scott being obsessive comes not from negative behavior but from his resistance to white men, predominantly Derek Hale. He repeatedly tried to warn Scott away from Allison, and Scott resisted. But here's the thing: Derek was wrong. Allison wasn't Kate. Allison didn't have to become like her or Gerard, and when she had her dark arc in Season 2, that was a result of Derek's actions both toward Scott and Lydia. So, with confidence, I can argue that Scott was not obsessive.

Now, Stiles's attraction to Lydia was, to quote Scott in A Novel Approach (5x05), "a little obsessive, but not all bad." Stiles had a ten-year plan (then fifteen year) to win the heart of a girl who ignored him. It wasn't reciprocal. On the other hand, it was also passive most of the time. While Stiles demonstrated intense interest -- interjecting facts into a police investigation, waiting outside the hospital, talking to her when she wasn't listening -- most of the time he was an observer at a distance.

On the other hand, he did take deliberate steps that crossed boundaries. Even Stiles's die-hard detractors would argue that he's not ignorant of social norms. His behavior with a drugged-up Lydia in The Tell was very questionable, though he resisted the temptation to go too far. His pushing Scott to sniff Lydia when he knows it's a full moon was dangerous as was his attempt to punish Scott in Lunatic (1x09) for it. His rants to Lydia in both Formality and Master Plan also places his own emotional needs far above hers, reducing her to an object in those situations. Yet, as Lydia and Stiles developed a real relationship, these moments subsided, so I don't think it qualifies as a full-blown obsession. Was he more obsessive than Scott? Yes, but that's a matter of slight degree, and far less destructive than Derek's, Peter's, or Matt's obsessive actions.

I hope this gives you some perspective.

[leogichidaa]

Omg reblogging that post of James and Sirius brought renewed passion of the idea that Sirius gives off either this James dean poser vibe or a heartthrob vibe in the eyes of everyone in the school (opinion varies), and how the bottom line is he’s misunderstood by the Hogwarts populace…by everyone except James. Even Remus and Peter misunderstood him sometimes and I bet it was out of jealousy of his status in the school.

And at first Sirius didn’t care that he was misunderstood because it got people to keep a distance (while admiring lol). But when Lily and James started dating and entered that honeymoon phase of their relationship I can see the loneliness hit Sirius for the first time in awhile.

Ironically (or perhaps coincidentally) I can see Regulus as also feeling isolated and lonely? Like even though he thought Sirius was a twit he was still his blood brother and they’ve been through certain things by default in their family, but perhaps Regulus felt that Sirius threw it away and abandoned him for James. Cue rage.

Yes! I kind of feel like the marauder fandom at large is proof positive of this - Sirius is so frequently misunderstood in fanon. For such a complex and nuanced character he is alarmingly easy to put into a box because he has the trappings of a) hot bad boy everyone had a lil crush on and b) that cool kid who either bullied you or ignored you completely in grade school. Oh and c) tormented rich kid with a dysfunctional family. His surface presentation pulls out strong emotions - anger, envy, infatuation - and then folks define him based on those initial strong reactions.

James is such an important person for him because James is totally nonplussed by Sirius' status. He doesn't seem to be all that bothered by Sirius' family background in the train scene and he's not going to be jealous or blinded by Sirius being smart and pretty and whatnot because James is also smart and pretty and the like. So James can look past all that and see Sirius for who he is.

And, oh, my heart! Sirius didn't mind keeping everyone at arm's length when it was him and James against the world but then things shift when James starts dating Lily and shift again when they get married and have a child. James is expanding the love in his life while Sirius is getting less genuine intimacy.

I think @artemisia-black does a really good job depicting Sirius' loneliness and longing in Dog and Deer Detective Agency. He loves the Potters and they love having him around but he's a little bit on the outside of the family unit. There's a recurrent theme around tea and no one making Sirius' tea the way he likes it that speaks to this idea of not being truly understood and seen.

I definitely see Regulus as a lonely child as well. I think he is very adaptive, good at presenting the way he thinks is expected, and so no one really gets a chance to understand him. He keeps everyone at arm's length pretty intentionally, imo. And yeah, he and Sirius may not get along, but I think he's counting on Sirius to always be there and always be his brother. And I imagine that he could be more himself around Sirius than perhaps most people because Sirius is family but less...mm, I want to say less judgmental but I'm not sure if that's really true. Less punitive, perhaps.

But then things shift when Sirius goes off and attaches himself to James and makes new friends. Sirius is expanding the love in his life while Regulus is getting less genuine intimacy. Bah. But while Sirius is able to integrate Lily and Harry into his life and appreciate them, both for what they mean to James and as people themselves, Regulus cannot do that with James (imo).

I explore Regulus' anger at James for "stealing" Sirius a lot in my writing, but since we're making this parallel, I will add that I always thought that Sirius would be angry and a bit bitter towards Lily when she and James first started dating. Prior to the release of DH, which messed with my whole timeline, my hc was that Sirius told Snape about the Whomping Willow shortly after Lily and James started dating because Sirius was feeling left out and lonely, and he wanted to pull James into another great Snivellus prank so that he and James could bond in a way that Lily did not approve of. And he went and told James and James was like "wtf, no" and ran off to stop it and Sirius was just standing there bewildered and sad because James wasn't his James anymore...

[caatws]

Your comment about Gamora's death in comparison to Natasha has been on my mind lately too. I wasn't in love with how they initially handled it with Natasha, but I think eventually she got more closure than Gamora received in vol 3.

I don't know what direction they were going for but how do you have a prominent character in a team film die and only two other characters speak about it, worry over it and have any grief displayed. That's ludicrous to me. Even if you set the film a couple years later you can still have one or two emotional team conversations about it. You could have at least one more person struggling in a different way. The guardians being depicted as a family only makes the problem more obvious. Either everyone but Peter and Nebula are the worst family members ever or the writing sucks. When Gamora shows back up you would think there would be emotional fallout even years later. Only Peter seems to be aware or have any response besides Nebula who has been interacting with Gamora and maintaining their relationship. You would think this was a common every day occurrence for most of them.

The same issue effects Gamora's characterization and arc. Endgame showed her to be exactly like the Gamora from the first guardians movie if memory serves me right. We see she can be tough and harsh at times. But she can also show empathy, vulnerability and the will to do the right thing. Vol 3 acts as if none of this is part of her character anymore at first just because of living with the ravagers. I would buy that if not for the fact that there's no way everything that's made her who she is from years before would suddenly be gone and we already know from Kraglin and Yondu that ravagers don't lack the ability to care. You're telling me Gamora went from emotional and in tears about Thanos winning in the future during Endgame and wanting to stop him, to not wanting to even remotely help with the High Evolutionary at first in vol 3. That's so inconsistent it's like they forgot her characterization. Also Nebula was getting on Gamora for some of her actions as if she has room to talk. She wanted to blow up all of Zandar in the first movie and she was ready to leave people behind in vol 2. Did they forgot how Nebula behaved in previous films because pot meet kettle.

I haven't seen any of James Gunn's other films so I don't want to judge him too harshly but either he doesn't know how to write women in complex traumatic situations or he thought what he did was enough which is sad. He showed an afterlife in the film so couldn't he show Gamora at peace or have the Gamora who came to the future explore her feelings around it and bring closure that way.

i totally feel you anon. i've been a hater of natasha's ending this whole time as well, but now seeing how gamora's ending has been depicted (or rly a lack thereof lol) it's weirdly making me feel almost at peace with nat's death. bc it's like oh wow it could've been handled so much worse lol.

with nat my biggest problems were the fridging, her arc ending before she got to do more/have her own story, and her not getting a funeral with tony...truly just minor inconveniences now in comparison to what's happening over in gamora land lmfao

and yeah, i was honestly pretty surprised how much rougher around the edges this gamora seemed. like yeah the ravagers are pretty rough and tumble themselves but it caught me off-guard how much colder it seemed to make gamora, for lack of a better word i guess?? i don't doubt her being really harsh and terrifying in the past under thanos like nebula was saying, but yeah 2014!gamora is still the gamora who was like on the brink of betraying thanos. like even if this gamora hadn't gone through most of vol 1, she's still the gamora who already had one foot out the door so she could stop thanos bc she cared abt innocent lives, so it was a tad surprising to see her act so coldly toward the rest of the gotg or even rocket who was actively dying and would clearly be sorely missed by the others. like not super surprising or even super ooc to me, but just kinda surprising considering her appearance in endgame

like her cold shoulder toward peter i can get, bc it's clear that his baggage with original gamora is hurtful to her and i think that's more than fair. but since the narrative also establishes that peter is seemingly the only gotg character to even have this baggage at all, since the others don't even so much as mention missing or grieving original gamora, idk if she'd need to be such a hater toward them too lol.

and honestly i think her characterization would've made a lot more sense if the narrative had actually included the rest of the gotg's grief for original gamora and sorrow that this gamora isn't her. like, if not being the gamora this world expects her to be has been weighing down on gamora for years, i could see her rly becoming like this, cuz that's a whole lotta pressure she's never gonna live up to! that would be a great character conflict for her. but by erasing original gamora from the narrative outside of peter's grief, we can't even rly justify this gamora's behavior through this issue either

the only other gunn project i've watched is the suicide squad and i don't remember much of my thoughts on it besides generally enjoying it. but i think callie @starmora put it best yesterday when they said that gunn's always had favorites and gamora's never rly been one of them, especially compared to rocket, who gunn has been outspoken about seeing himself in most and being the hidden protagonist of sorts throughout the gotg franchise (to the point that even in the movie, lylla straight up tells rocket, "this story has been yours all along"), so it's unfortunately not surprising that gamora's arc has been...whatever this is. and like, idc that gunn's favorite is rocket bc that's fine and rocket's had a pretty solid story/arc (though i feel like there's something missing between iw when he lied abt being captain of the ship to impress thor to vol 3 where peter decides to make him captain, especially after rocket spent the entire film incapacitated), but it just sucks that it meant there wasn't much wiggle room to deal with the gamora situation

and also i 1000% agree - WE SHOULD'VE GOTTEN AN ORIGINAL GAMORA POST-END CREDIT SCENE!!!! i would've loved to see her like watching everyone dance to dog days are over or something from the afterlife and just kinda feeling satisfied with everything, despite the way things ended for her

[evansbby]

all of part 1 aas my favourite i think because it was the most emotional for me personally.

*im so sorry this is so long i’m just really passionate about poyt5*

Anyway my specific favourite scene of part1 was defo steve’s fight with peter and the aftermath I think because it was so interesting seeing Steve battle with his emotions.Throughout poyt he’s always been so strong and confident and it was really exciting to see him confused and vulnerable.I was so glad Steve automatically assumed it was Peter who initiated the joss and beat the shit out of him because i was worried he would be angry with Omega like how he was when he saw her with Sam in poyt4.It also was so intense watching it all play out and i don’t know how to describe it but it was almost satisfying I guess to finally see Steve lose control(I know that sounds weird but i was literally like “beat his ass steve!”throught the fight)Also Omega absolutely slayed when she spoke up to tell Steve that she wouldn’t forgive him if he killed Peter.I felt like a proud parent.

OMG and when Peter have that big speech??!! I was so shocked I wasn’t expecting it at all(because he was on the brink of death i didn’t think he would’ve had the nerve LOL).And Steves reaction top it all oh my god.Again throughout poyt we’ve only really seen the confident side of steve (apart from poyt4)that’s so sure of himself and it was so refreshing to watch him physically battle his emotions.Also Steve having a panic attack?!?! wasn’t expecting that. Once again loved it because it was so different to the steve were used to seeing AND the way omega comforted him!!I was so proud of her,because that was the first time we’d seen her initiate any physical intimacy because normally she’s too shy!!That was so cute I literally felt my heart melting and when they sat there hugging eachother UGH LOVED IT!!!!!

It also made me giggle when Steve made Omega play that stupid game so he could justify asking her if she loved Peter,he’s so silly.

Now onto the part with Omegas Mom BECAUSE OH MY FUCKING GOD I WASNT EXPECTING THAT.Bestie I’m a sensitive girlie who cries easy you CANNOT do that to me without a warning!!! I was crying so hard bro even after I’d finished reading, as I was trying to fall asleep I was still crying feeling so bad for Omega.I cannot believe the nerve of that woman, she leaves her daughter with a letter she might not have even seen?!? and then attempts to justify her actions by saying “you could always look after yourself better than I ever could”. EXCUSE ME?!?!THATS BECAUSE YOU MADE HER HAVE TO LOOK AFTER HERSELF.Yeah that whole scene at her childhood home was incredibly emotional especially when she mentioned seeing the ghost of her younger self and started screaming after reading the letter(I’m literally tearing up as I type this)I loved steve’s reaction and when he said “we’ll be each-other’s homes”.That was such a beautiful full-circle moment because in the beginning he uses her relationship with her mom to manipulate her into being with him and instead this time he actually tries to comfort her instead of making her feel bad about it.God when she mentioned she’d wanted to die my heart shattered, poor Omega she’s so strong, but I was very proud of Steve I think he did a good job at comforting her.

Another thing I loved that wasn’t a part of part 1 was when they figured out that Steve got her pregnant the first time they got together and he was like “Well you see I told her doctor…” I laughed so hard it was so funny to his old cocky self appear for a moment. OH and when she kissed him and he was like “two months ago you could barley look at me let alone kiss me” I was blushing so hard I genuinely loved that bit like i know it’s a small moment but those are always my favourite. I don’t know how to describe it I was smiling so hard and just felt really warm inside and i was so proud of Omega because of how far she’s come and everything she’s been through.

-⚡️

Thank you so so much for reading!!!

Steve’s panic attack scene was definitely something that I wanted to write since the beginning when I was first thinking about this chapter! I don’t know if I did it justice but I really tried to just write down what I personally felt when I have had panic attacks in the past! It was a bit of a struggle to write that scene bc I didn’t know if I was conveying it well enough! I just wanted to show his slow breakdown at Peter’s words bc you’d never expect an alpha like him to be so affected by Peter’s words.

On to omega’s mom’s letter… I wanted to try and convey like… a nonchalant type of air to it?? Also I love how you mentioned how Steve in the past literally used her lack of a relationship with her mom to manipulate her and now he’s the one comforting her… bc omfg I honestly didn’t even notice that parallel??? But it’s so true!!! It really shows how Steve did change a lot from the guy we first saw!!

And LMFAOOO Steve during the ultrasound appointment 😂😂 just being his smug self. I wouldn’t say that’s his “old” self bc he’s still like that! He’ll always be like that hahaha. Also when he was being awkward with the doctor all like “she’s pregnant so do your thing…” BAHAHAHA (not me chucking at my own shit hahaha)

And you’re right, all the little moments between them were heartwarming and I’m glad you liked those. I tried to sprinkle them throughout the fic bc I wanted to make y’all smile through your tears lol

ily bestie thanks for this fab review!! 🥰💜

[callmebrycelee]

9-1-1: LONE STAR REACTION (SEASON 1 REVISITED)

This reaction is for season 1, series premiere episode "Pilot" which originally aired January 19, 2020. The episode was written by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Tim Minnear and directed by Bradley Buecker. Spoilers ahead!

9-1-1: Lone Star is one of many shows I started watching during the pandemic. As a fan of Ryan Murphy, I'd known about 9-1-1 with American Horror Story alums Angela Bassett and Connie Britton as well Peter Krause from Six Feet Under but I never felt compelled to watch the show. When I heard news of its spinoff series, Lone Star, what initially drew me in was Rob Lowe, one of my fave television actors. I waited for the first season to air before I started the show and after watching episode one, I was hooked! I immediately fell in love with the story of an all-male 126 in Austin, TX being wiped out (mostly) and two city slickers coming down south to reboot the team. I also fell in love with the characters, especially the father/son duo of Captain Owen Strand (Rob Lowe) and TK Strand (Ronen Rubinstein). I also loved the settling of Austin which is something we rarely see in television and film. 

My mom and I often joke about how we don't like rewatching any of the season episodes because Michelle Blake (Liv Tyler) is such a buzzkill. I finally convinced her to restart the series from the very beginning (not season 2) and last night I fell in love with Lone Star all over again. I totally forgot how amazing this show was from moment one. I also forgot that like its predecessor, the first season of Lone Star is much darker in tone than its subsequent seasons. Another thing I failed to recall is just how complex and likable these characters are. In the first episode alone we are dealing with the grief of losing an entire fire department, an overdose, a cancer diagnosis, and a missing relative. Whew! That's a lot! But the show does an amazing job of taking all of these serious things and injecting some humor into them.

Since I'm revisiting Lone Star in its first season, I thought it would be fun to react to these episodes. Unlike my current reactions, these will not be a recap of the episode. My goal is to comment on what I believe are the five most notable parts of the episode. So, let's start at the very beginning because I've heard it's a very good place to start! Let's talk about - PILOT.

THE END OF THE 126 Our first scene of the episode is easily the saddest moment of the entire series thus far. We see the all-male 126, including Judd (Jim Parrack) responding to a fire at a warehouse. When they arrive on the scene. Judd instructs the crew on where to go. He receives a call from 9-1-1 dispatch Grace Ryder (Sierra McClain) who is also his wife alerting him to all of the fertilizer inside the warehouse. Before Judd has a chance to alert his buddies, the entire place explodes killing all of the 126 except for Judd.

Having Judd as the lone survivor of the explosion is a great way to jumpstart this series. We get to see his journey as he grapples with an immense amount of grief while also dealing with all of the new changes at the 126. I often joke that Lone Star, at times, feels like X-Men: First Class. If Owen Strand is Professor X, leader of the new 126, then Judd is a mixture of Scott Summers (Cyclops) , Professor Xavier's second-in-command, and Logan (Wolverine) who is resentful of Owen and his presence at the 126. Perhaps the most touching moment of the episode is when Judd sees the photos of his fallen 126 brothers. All along he thought that Owen was coming in changing the firehouse with little regard for the men who served there prior. Judd breaks down in the middle of the firehouse and Owen asks the others to leave so Judd can have time to grieve openly. Finally the last bit of Judd's resolve melts and he decides to rejoin the 126.

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON One of my favorite relationships on Lone Star is the relationship between Captain Owen Strand and his son, TK Strand. These two are very close and even work in the same firehouse. I love how TK's being gay is such a non-issue for both Owen and the show. TK is openly gay, he's in a serious relationship, and while Owen isn't exactly thrilled about him wanting to propose to his boyfriend, he supports his decision to do so. 

When TK learns his boyfriend is in love with someone else, it crushes him. It is then we learn that TK is a recovering addict and the rejection is enough for him to break his sobriety. Owen ends up finding TK before it's too late but it's all the encouragement the older Strand needs to leave New York City and start anew with TK at his side.

TK isn't the only Strand dealing with something big. Right before their big move to Austin, Owen is diagnosed with lung cancer, a result of his being at the Twin Towers on September 11th. I think it's interesting that Owen demands that TK be transparent at all times about his sobriety, or lack thereof, but Owen decides to keep his diagnosis a secret. 

126: NEXT CLASS Part of the agreement of relocating to Austin to restart the 126 is that Owen will diversify the team. One of the major complaints I have seen regarding Lone Star is that it's *too woke* and it's *diversity for diversity's sake*. I like that the show is self-aware enough to have Owen point this out. Ultimately when assembling a team of first responders you want the best of the best and you wouldn't want to hire someone based on their race or sexuality or gender identity when there are more qualified candidates. What the show does right is it gives viewers a valid reason for the inclusion of the new firefighters. Marjan Marwani (Natacha Karam), a proud Muslim woman) is a bit of a wild card but she is good at the job and doesn't mind inserting herself in dangerous situations. So is Paul Strickland (Brian Michael Smith) who is easily one of the smartest on the team. He just so happens to be a trans man. The only head-scratcher is Mateo Chavez (Julian Works) who has failed the firefighter's exam multiple times but his work ethic is unparalleled and Owen clearly sees untapped potential in the young firefighter. I do find it interesting that viewers of the show have poked fun at the *wokeness* of the show but I rarely if ever hear similar critiques about the OG series whose 118 boasts a black lesbian, an Asian immigrant, and a Latino. If the argument is that they don't make a big deal out of the diversity of the 118 then that's not true. Hen's sexuality and race plays a big part in the show. As does Chimney's being Asian and Eddie's being half-Mexican. Anywho, whether you love or hate them, the new hires are a breath of fresh air and along with Owen, TK, and Judd they make an incredible team. 

WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT IRIS So, I know I said I would be addressing the most notable parts of the episode and while Iris Blake (Liv Tyler) is not my favorite character on the show, I do think her inclusion on the show is important. Iris is the paramedic captain and her team consists of Tim Rosewater (Mark Elias) and Nancy Gillian (Briana Baker). As a fan of the OG series, the 118 is one big team. There's the firefighters and the paramedics. They ride in the same truck unless they need to have an ambulance at the scene. They're all super close. On Lone Star, Iris is the first to point out that the firefighters and paramedics are separate units. This easily added an interesting dynamic to the show. Instead of having one captain, there are two and I like that Owen wasn't an asshole about it. 

The reason Iris is such a meh character to me is there's zero joy about her. I get it though! Her sister is missing and she is justifiably upset and in agony over her disappearance. With that said, everytime Iris walks on screen it's like there's this dark cloud over her. She's the Eeyore of the 126 and it makes her unlikable. I do like that they fixed something that was an issue in the OG series' first season which is making sure all of our main characters are tethered to each other in some way. It appears her and Carlos Reyes (Rafael L. Silva) are friends so when he starts showing up places it doesn't seem random.

Overall, I like Liv Tyler. I think she is a competent actress. I just don't think she was a great addition to this show. As mentioned before, she is the reason I find it difficult to watch the first season which is a shame because season one is so good! One thing I will say about Iris that is positive is I like that she is a crusader for the less fortunate.

THE GENESIS OF TARLOS Perhaps the most notable part of the episode is we get to see the beginnings of one of the most iconic duos in all of cable TV. If you go on any 9-1-1: Lone Star Reddit post or scroll through your Tumblr feed long enough, eventually you're going to encounter Tarlos. Tarlos is Lone Star's equivalent of Buddie; only these characters are actually gay and it totally makes sense for them to be romantically-involved. Sorry, Buddie shippers! Alas, I'm getting ahead of myself. 

I totally forgot that Tarlos actually happens in the pilot episode. The first interaction we see of TK and Carlos is at the scene of an accident. Carlos makes a comment about Owen and TK tells him that's his dad. We then see them at the honkytonk at the end of the episode and Carlos asks TK to dance. The chemistry between these two are evident from the start and it blows my mind that they have pretty much been together since day one. 

All in all, this was a great way to introduce these new characters. I immediately liked everyone and everyone has a clear motivation. One character I didn't really get to speak about because she didn't really factor into any of the major storylines is Grace Ryder. Grace Ryder, hands down, is one of my favorite characters on the show and I can't wait to talk about her more in future reactions. I love her and Judd together. I love how level-headed she is and at times she seems like she's the only one who can get through to him. Like Tarlos, these two have been together since the very beginning and it's going to be fun seeing how we get to where we are currently with them. The same goes with all of our other characters. 

So, to all my passengers,  I ask that you buckle up because it's sure to be a bumpy ride. The real question is, will season one hold up to the memory I have of watching it the first go round or will I walk away loving it even more? Only time will tell! Only next time ...