#i still prefer Jessie muellers Jenna

[enobariasteeth]

saw the Waitress pro-shot and I cried so hard I lost my eyelashes AND I got nauseous

[comradesummers]

fandom ask game - waitress?

thanks for giving me an opportunity to talk about my current hyperfixation

favorite character: jenna (i'm basic and predictable)

least favorite character: well obviously earl, but i'm supposed to hate him, so he's doing his job. if we're talking characters that i'm supposed to like but don't then ogie. fuck ogie.

brOTP: jenna, becky, and dawn

OTP: jenna/happiness and financial stability (but also lowkey jenna/becky)

OT3: idk there aren't that many characters to choose from. i guess jenna/becky/dawn would be funny. not sure that i actually want to see that though.

NOTP: obviously jenna/earl, but again, that's because i'm meant to read that relationship as abusive. dawn/ogie, on the other hand, is a relationship that i'm supposed to like but comes across really creepy

favorite storyline: so in the original film, there's no mention of jenna's dad at all, let alone any implication that he was abusive to her mother. i think the addition of this backstory really deepens jenna's character and further complicates her already complicated relationship with motherhood. it also turns her story into one about breaking the cycle of abuse, which i really appreciate.

least favorite storyline: have i mentioned that i hate ogie? i hated him in the movie too, but at least there there is some ambiguity about whether or not we're supposed to be rooting for him and dawn to be together. like dawn even says that she's only marrying him because she doesn't think anyone else wants her. and jenna is, at least initially, critical of the relationship. the wedding is still kind of presented uncritically, but it's something. in the show, they try to fix the creepiness by giving dawn and ogie things in common, but it only ends up reinforcing the idea that stalking is totally okay as long as you both like history or whatever. in trying to fix the source material they made it worse by further romanticizing ogie's behavior. they should have either completely rewritten that storyline from the ground up, and removed the creepy possessive stalking altogether, or just acknowledged that the relationship was weird and bad and weaved it into the themes of abuse and possessiveness that were already present in the text. i heard someone suggest that earl should've sang a dark reprise of "never ever getting rid of me" in act 2 and i think that would've actually been a brilliant way to illustrate how creepy and terrible that mindset is.

what I wish had happened but didn’t: over the course of like five years they never once cast a woman to play pomatter. absolutely criminal. give me an awkward lesbian doctor, preferably played by sara bareilles.

what happened that I wish hadn’t: i really dislike katherine mcphee's jenna. she is unbelievable generic (my top three jennas btw are jessie mueller, shoshana bean, and nicolette robinson)

[companionjones]

A Continuation of Waitress: The Musical

Fandom: Waitress: The Musical

Pairing: Jenna Mueller x Dr. Jim Pomatter

Summary: This takes place right after the last scene in the musical, when Lulu is about four years old. Jenna runs into Pomatter on a grocery run with her daughter. Will they rekindle things?

Warnings: I refer to Pomatter as Jim a lot in this

Author’s Note: I changed Jenna’s last name (Hunterson) to Mueller because Hunterson was Earl’s last name, and I can’t imagine she kept it after leaving him. I changed it to Mueller in honor of the woman who played Jenna in the Original Broadway Cast: Jessie Mueller. You can imagine anyone as Jenna in this though.

*******

    Little Lulu Mueller stared up at the high shelves of the convenience store as her mother lead her through them. Lulu was four years old.

    Lulu loved her life. Everyday, she would wake up and go to her mother’s work: A bakery that was named after Little Lulu. There, all the adults who worked there would look after the young girl. Dawn and Ogie taught her about books and history, and Becky and Cal taught her about life as a whole and how to stand up for herself.

    Despite loving the time spent with all of those people, Lulu was happiest watching her mother bake pies. Sometimes, her mother would even let Lulu help. The little girl felt really special during those occasion.

    Back at the convenience store, something caught Lulu’s eye, or rather, someone.

    “Mamma, that man’s staring at you,” Lulu had meant that to sound less creepy.

    Understandably alarmed, Jenna quickly turned around. The identity of the man took her by full surprise. “Dr. Pomatter?”

    The OB/GYN had been trying to hide himself behind a display of Lay’s potato chips. “Hey, Jenna...” he stepped into full view.

    Lulu giggled at the weird man.

    “Oh my god. It’s been how long?�� Jenna wondered.

    “Four or five years, judging by Lulu’s age...” Dr. Pomatter awkwardly guessed.

    Jenna nodded. “Right...she’s four now. Lulu baby, this is Dr. Pomatter. He was our doctor while you were in my belly.”

    Dr. Pomatter shifted his gaze down to the small girl. His smile was something that had Lulu smiling back. “You can call me Jim,” he offered her.

    “Hi, Jim,” greeted little Lulu.

    Silence spread. Little Lulu looked between the two adults, confused why no one was talking.

    Finally, Jim asked, “So, how are you doing?”

    Jenna nodded, “Fine. We’re just out to get some groceries and some stuff for a thing that’s going on tonight at the bakery.”

    “It’s Aunt Becky’s Independence Day!” Lulu blurted out cheerfully.

    Confused, Dr. Pomatter looked to Jenna.

    She was sheepish in her explanation. “We--uh--call the days we left our marriages Independence Days. Dawn named them.”

    “I like the cake,” informed Lulu with a giggle.

    A smile twitched on Dr. Pomatter’s face for Lulu. He notified her mother, “Then, I guess my Independence Day is March 10th.”

    Lulu grinned when she was able to figure out the math in her head. “Mamma! That’s a few days after my birthday!”

    “I--uh--I know, sweetie.” She shared a look with Dr. Pomatter that Lulu didn’t understand.

    Suddenly, Jenna spouted out, “Would you like to come to the bakery tonight? We make Independence Days these sort of parties...”

    Dr. Pomatter seemed to be taken off guard. He sputtered, “Uh, yeah. Yes! Yes, of course. I-I would love to!”

    Jenna chuckled at Dr. Pomatter’s enthusiasm. “Is seven a good time for you?”

    “Yes. Of course it is. I’ll see you then.”

    “See you then...Jim.”

    Lulu waved at Dr. Pomatter and her mother walked away.

    Jim waved back.

****

    “You called him Jim?!” Dawn exclaimed from behind the counter at Lulu’s Pies.

    Jenna shushed the loud woman. “Be quiet! I don’t want Lulu hearing us talking about this.”

    Dawn decreased her volume, but Lulu could still hear the whole conversation as she focused on her coloring.

    “So let me get this straight.” Becky molded, “You ran into Dr. Jim Pomatter, the only man you’ve ever loved, and he tells you that he left his wife years ago? Why is he just now telling you about it?”

    Jenna responded, “I guess it’s the same reason I’ve stayed away from him all this time. I ended things with him because he had a wife, yes, but I also wanted to focus on Lulu. Jim understood that.”

    “I understand that, too,” Becky reasoned, “But you gotta leave some room for you, girl. Your heart’s big enough for both your daughter and a man...possibly that man.”

    Jenna sighed, “Don’t you think I know that? It’s why I invited him here tonight.”

    Dawn cut in with an abundance of excitement. “That’s right! You did invite Dr. Pomatter! Why did you do that? I’m not against you, but it’s all very sudden...”

    “Shut up, Dawn!” scolded Becky. She sighed, “You know, I hoped you’d get more spontaneous after you adopted the triplets.”

    “I’m spontaneous enough!” argued Dawn, “Just last night, I randomly decided to watch The Patriot.”

    Becky scoffed, “For the fourth time this month...”

    Dawn ignored the older woman and turned back to Jenna. “So what made you invite him here?”

    “I don’t know,” sighed Jenna. She was working on some financial paperwork for the bakery. “It isn’t rare that he’s in my thoughts, what would’ve happened if things were different and we could’ve been together. And when he told me that it had been years since he left his wife...I don’t know! Something just took me over, stupid as it sounds.”

    Becky shook her head. “It’s not stupid,” she turned toward Dawn to emphasize her words, “It’s spontaneous.”

    Just then, the bell on the entrance rang. Lulu glanced up from her coloring to see that it was Jim. She was glad to see him again. Lulu agreed with Aunt Becky. Lulu thought that Jim and her Mamma should keep being friends. “Hi,” she greeted him in her small voice as she waved.

    Pomatter’s wave matched her little one. He walked behind her, but Lulu still listened to what was going on as she continued coloring.

    “Hey, Jenna.” Jim greeted awkwardly.

    Jenna returned, “Hi, Dr. Pomatter,” just as delicately.

    There was a moment where all Lulu heard was footsteps. Becky and Dawn were scurrying away.

    “So, I guess you’re over calling me Jim.” The doctor tried to break the ice.

    Jenna shrugged, “I tried it, didn’t really like it. Might try it again. Who knows?”

    “Yeah, who knows...” Jim chuckled.

    More silence flowed between them.

    “So, um, Doctor Pomatter,” she teasingly stretched out his name for the joke. “I, uh, made you this. You can have it, if you want.”

    Lulu smiled when she thought about what her mamma was offering Jim. Lulu had watched Jenna make it a few hours before. It was a mini-Marshmallow Mermaid Pie--one of Lulu’s favorites.

    “The first pie you ever made me.” Jim commented wistfully.

    Lulu could hear the smile in her mother’s voice when Jenna questioned, “You remembered?”

    “Of course I did. How could I forget?” defended a happy Pomatter.

    Jenna laughed, “Don’t judge me to much on it. I haven’t made one of these in a while, and-and you’re already eating it. Wow. That was fast!”

    Lulu turned around to see Jim with his face and hands covered in Marshmallow Mermaid Pie. She laughed. Her Mamma gave her a scolding look, but it didn’t last long. Jenna found the scene funny, too.

    “Sorry,” Pomatter apologized. “I just...ever since we--uh--said goodbye--”

    Lulu had the feeling that Jim was very aware that she was watching.

    “--I’ve been trying to find something, anything that was as good as your pies...but I couldn’t find anything.”

    Jim and Jenna shared a long look, and Lulu got the idea that they weren’t talking about pies anymore. Lulu wasn’t sure what they were really talking about, but it wasn’t the first time the adults at Lulu’s Pies worked hidden meanings into talk about pies. Lulu only hoped she would be able to decode it all when she got older.

    Jenna glanced at her daughter and got weary. “How about we continue this conversation in the kitchen?” she proposed to Pomatter.

    He nodded, and bid Lulu, “It was nice seeing you again, sweetheart.”

****

    Lulu waited a while. A very, very long while by a 4-year-old’s standards. Eventually, however, her curiosity got the better of her. She followed Jim and her mamma into the kitchen.

    “Ew!” she exclaimed when she caught the couple kissing.

    Jenna jumped back from Jim in full shock. “Baby! Uh, don’t worry about us! I was just--”

    “Sucking some flour out of my mouth!” Jim cut in to explain.

    Lulu’s mamma looked at him like he was crazy. “Uh, yes. Sure. That’s what we were doing.”

    Dr. Pomatter shrugged, “There was a mishap. Flour went everywhere!”

    Lulu wasn’t stupid. She knew Jim and her mamma were kissing. Uncle Ogie and Aunt Dawn kissed all the time in the bakery. So did Aunt Becky and Uncle Cal. Lulu was just happy her mamma had someone to make her happy. And Lulu liked Jim, too.

*******

Author’s Note: Thank you for reading! Fill up that heart and reblog if you liked it! If you would like to read more, I have more fics over on my page. You should go check it out. Also, REQUESTS ARE OPEN. I take requests for one-shots, headcannons, and preferences. No smut, please. I write for a variety of fandoms. If you’re wondering if I write for a specific fandom, please ask me. Have a nice day, night, or whatever time it is for you.<3

~~~

You can visualize anyone in these roles, but here’s who I was thinking of when I wrote this:

Jenna---Jessie Mueller

Jim Pomatter---Jeremy Jordan

Dawn---Colleen Ballinger

Becky---Keala Settle

Ogie---Todrick Hall