#least dramatic first lesbian heartbreak

[luckyjunehenry]

can you pls pls pls tell me the lore behind 42 blue it is my absolute favorite song of urs and i need to know everything

I'd just "ended" things with someone I was seeing (as much as a lesbian can "end" things first try). I broke up w her by handing her a zine called "the torture you practice / the light I choke down", which was a really evil piece of media. it was poetry about how much I wanted to be with her combined w zoomed in pictures of her hands. it was honestly some crazy freak shit.. like.. dont do that to somebody no matter what they do to u. anyway yeah, I was sending her away from my dorm in an Uber and handed her the zine and went straight to the bus stop where I caught the 42 Blue campus circulator.

42 blue and Monkey's Paw were written on the same day. I was like wow it's really over for good. and then... oh god I deserved this in a big way... like a month later she posted a collage MADE OUT OF THE ZINE I'D GIVEN HER. turmoil ensues, we date for a few months, we break up a few times, I end things for good with a 5-minute phone call the day before the 1 year anniversary of us meeting

[inf3ct3dd]

01. BAD LIAR

warnings: none!!!

authors note: going cray rn guys….sorry if this is a bit long 😓😓

previous chapter. next chapter. masterlist.

the rest of summer break was….depressing.

as they say, lesbian heartbreak hits hard.

ellie must’ve texted you a thousand times, and you couldn’t reply because every time you saw her name on your phone you started bawling.

and your daily stalks of her instagram had you completely salty-faced.

you were so obnoxiously upset, that everything that had anything to do with her made you upset. you worried that if you even saw her face to face, you’d fold on the floor and drown in your own tears.

which was what made being in your room even worse, because it was covered in HER.

open your closet? her old hoodie.

sit at your desk? a framed picture of the two of you.

vanity? polaroids taped to the mirror.

even your BED. which held the stuffed animal she bought you, mr pickles.

mr pickles might as well have been a real pickle from how salty he was from being covered in TEARS during one of your very frequent breakdowns.

you basically lived in your room, your sister having to literally drag you outside to do anything. the only thing that worked was bribing you with food.

“cmon, i made pasta.” was her best excuse to get you out of your self inflicted prison.

ellie showed up at your house a few times, and each time she did, you hid in your room. at one point she actually came upstairs, and you crawled out of your window and hid on your roof until she left.

you did not want to talk to her.

after a while, and constant berating from all your friends and your family, you got over your extremely dramatic episode. well….not really? but at least you weren’t in your room sobbing over a tiktok you saw because the girl “looked like ellie.”

the days leading up to the first day of school basically consisted in you being in a constant state of panic.

what if she talks to me?

what if i have to sit next to her in class?

what if she-

“DUDE. CAN YOU STOP BEING A BATHROOM HOG AND LET ME GET READY?��

you heard your sister yell from outside the door, interrupting your thoughts.

you had been pacing in the bathroom for thirty minutes, losing your fucking mind.

you shouldn’t be this stressed out. it happened almost a month ago. you’ll be fine girl, calm down.

you give yourself a final once-over in the mirror , fixing the two plaits on the sides of your head before adjusting your glasses, and swinging the door open, revealing your pissed off sister.

“fucking finally.”

she muttered under her breath, before dramatically slamming the door behind her.

you gave your dad a hug goodbye before walking over to your car, twirling your keys in your fingers. you had just gotten your license last year, (too scared to get it when you were 16), and you still weren’t very….good at driving.

you opened the car door, making your hand wet from the raindrops , and sat down inside the car.

you watched your sister walk over to the car, with a fucking helmet.

she swung open the door and sat down in the passenger’s seat, setting her bag on the ground.

“…..are you serious?”

you looked over at your sister, a look of disbelief plastered on your face.

“with the way you drive? very much so.”

you roll your eyes at her before pulling out of your driveway, making your way to school.

after you got to school, you really wished you would’ve stayed home.

or transferred schools.

to one in a different country.

because when you walked into your first period, ellie was there.

and your second.

and your third.

and your fourth.

the first half of your day was spent basically hiding from her. sitting as far as possible, making your presence seem non-existent.

it was definitely a chore, but you’d rather do this than actually have to confront her.

even during passing periods, you practically speed-walked to your next period classes, avoiding the brunettes persistent attempts to talk to you.

it was hard to focus on anything in class when you could feel her eyes burning a hole in the back of your head.

lunch was….once again, very depressing. your usual lunch table was just full of ellies friends, and of course, ellie herself.

you looked around the cafeteria for a while , scanning the large room for one of your friends. and yet, you turned up empty.

do i just have zero classes with them?

you finally gave up, walking to the courtyard outside.

the courtyard was fairly empty, given that it was still soaking wet .

you walked over to a bench that looked fairly dry, sitting down and slinging your backpack off your shoulders before sitting it down next to you, grabbing the lunch you packed for yourself.

you started to eat , biting into the quesadilla you made yourself , looking around the courtyard and nodding your head to the music blaring in your headphones.

the noise cancellation blocked out the sound of a door swinging open, and footsteps quickly approaching you.

you continued eating your lunch, this being the most calm you’ve been all day, slightly kicking your feet back and forth as they dangled off the bench.

you don’t notice ellie walking over to you until its too late, and shes standing in front of you, repeating your name.

“hello???”

you look up at her, slightly jumping at her presence and pulling your headphones onto your shoulders.

“uhm….hi.”

you utter, meeting her eyes.

“are you just never gonna talk to me again?”

ellie responded, a disappointed look on her face.

you avoided eye contact with her, staring at your hands in your lap.

“i don’t really…..have anything to say to you.”

you mutter, still avoiding her gaze.

“nothing? you don’t have anything to say about what happened?”

“what do you expect me to say?”

“….i don’t know. i just want to talk to you.”

she looked away from you, fiddling with her rings the same way she did the last time you saw her.”

“are you alright? you haven’t really been posting or anything lately.”

she was looking at my account??

“i’m fine. just haven’t been on my phone much.”

you lied, staring at her shoes.

“i can tell….i must’ve texted you 1000 times and you never answered.”

she anxiously rubbed her arm, trying desperately to hold eye contact with you.

“ ‘m sorry.”

“its fine, i kinda deserved it.”

she lets out a dry chuckle, rubbing her arm with her opposite hand.

theres an awkward silence between the two of you, both fidgeting with your hands and looking everywhere but at each other.

“so… are you and dina like, a thing now?”

you boldly questioned, crossing your legs in front of you.

“no- we were just drunk. we’re just friends.”

“real friendly.” you mumbled under your breath.

“are you uh…seeing anyone?”

ellie asks, slightly bouncing on her feet.

ellie only asks because she knows you aren’t. she wants an ego boost. she just wants you to say it.

she doesn’t expect you to say yes.

and neither do you.

“actually? who is it?”

the realization of what you just said hits you like a truck, the false confidence disappearing and replacing it with fear. you think, maybe for a bit too long, about what to say.

and then you finally utter-

“abby.”

ellies look of confusion is replaced with anger at your answer.

abby anderson. the one girl you knew she hated.

constant bickering and dumb fights, arguments that meant absolutely nothing that lasted their entire high school careers, and the constant competition between the two of them brewed your perfect opportunity for jealousy. your thoughts moved as fast as your mouth.

“cmon, you’re joking right?”

ellie asks before scoffing, readjusting her feet and crossing her arms in front of her.

you shake your head before packing up your things, starting to leave.

you don’t notice that you left your class schedule on the bench.

“you’re not fucking with me?”

ellie was practically fuming, the tips of her ears turning red as she dug her fingers into her arms.

you give her a nod before walking away, quickly turning on your heel.

“are you serious?”

“dead.”

your best friend mina was staring back at you, mouth agape in shock as she listened to you recall what happened during lunch.

your heart beat speeds up as you run around the track, even though you were already basically having a heart attack before you started.

having gym outside was already brutal, and the fact that it was extremely foggy and depressing-looking outside made it ten times worse. usually, you would’ve tired out by now, begging the gym teacher to let you inside because you had a “headache”, but for some reason you were feeling extremely bold today.

as you and your friend slow your pace you feel someone running behind you. you take a deep breath, expecting ellie to pop up behind you, but you’re suprised when you hear an unfamiliar voice call out your name.

you turn around to face her, and you look up and see abby.

your heart hammers in your chest while you try to catch your breath, simultaneously trying to calm your nerves.

“um…hey.”

you reply, staring up at her.

your eyes move to her hands, and you notice a piece of paper in one.

“is this yours?”

abby reaches her hand with the paper towards you, realizing its your class schedule.

“oh yeah, thanks.”

abby smiles at you, shoving her hands into her hoodie pocket. you subconsciously mirror her actions, slipping your hands into yours.

“welcome. we have pretty similar schedules actually.”

“oh really? i didn’t notice.”

you smile at her, and she offers the same smile back.

mina makes her hands smooch, making an obnoxious kissy face behind abby.

“yeah, you seemed like you were kinda staying to yourself today.”

you give her a death glare before looking back to abby, slightly shifting on your feet.

“i guess, i’ve just been….avoiding someone.”

you look away for a second, and see ellie angrily storming towards the two of you, all her anger and eye sight directed towards abby.

shit.

abby looks in the same direction as you, watching you get anxious as ellie walks over.

“you okay?”

you redirect your attention to abby, watching her eyebrows quirk at you in concern.

you give her a quick nod, but the look on her face remains unchanged. she doesn’t believe you.

you feel ellie get closer to you. you run through the thousands of scenarios that could go wrong if she gets over to the two of you.

ellie would think you’re a pathetic weirdo, and abby would think you’re an insane person.

however, your body moves faster than your thoughts, and you choose the absolute worse option to get out of this.

you slightly stand on your tiptoes and smash your lips onto abbys, holding her face with your hands.

her eyes widen in shock, blind to you as you shut yours as hard as possible.

surprisingly, she doesn’t pull away.

ellie sees the sight in front of her and scoffs, staring at the two of you in disbelief.

“guess she wasn’t lying.”

taglist:

if ur name is crossed i cant tag u :((

@rimaybank @nickiminaj689 @ leomcshizzle @planetflorxa @teawithnosugar @sawaagyapong @how-to-disappearrr @vsselz @pepperispicy @chrry1ovr @ 4yn1y4h @lottienatfinalgirls @honeycinnamonenthusiast @heartrobynn @ibatman @sugarbag @arizvla

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

https://www.tumblr.com/ecoterrorist-katara/743680863675580416?source=share

I know that you have already talked about the "female gaze" more than once, but what do you say about this?

Let's get the easier parts out of the way:

1 - The showrunners consider Aang the angel on Katara's shoulder on The Southern Raiders because Avatar is a kids show and the moral of the episode was "Hey, kids, even if you ever meet a truly horrible person don't immediately respond with violence, it could backfire horribly or push you to do something you'd regret later" not because they think she's an object that Aang gets to posses and control - hence them having Aang give her advice on what to do, but not try to prevent her from leaving nor judging her for not forgiving her mother's killer.

2 - Katara's point was NOT central to Zuko in that episode, at least not at first. By the end of the episode he understood and felt compassion for her and her family, but at the start he was only looking for a cheat-code to make Katara stop hating him because it reminded him of his screw ups. It was Zuko being entitled and trying to avoid consequences.

3 - "This thing is like the PLATONIC version of a thing that sometimes happens in romance" If it's platonic (you said it, not me) then it's not a "win" for your OTP. Zuko and Iroh's falling out after Ba Sing Se has lots of dramatic, super intense and heartbreaking moments, just like romances do - but their storyline is obviously not a romance and they are explicitly treated by the narrative as father and son.

4 - "Katara isn't hiding any side of her personality from Zuko" Katara doesn't hide any side of her personality for ANYONE - family, friends, rivals, enemies, strangers. Highlighing that she is herself with Zuko is pointless because she is herself with everyone, including people she does not like, which was the category Zuko fit into at the moment.

Now, onto yet another absurdly long take by this annoyed feminist that has had enough to the "Male Gaze VS Female Gaze" bullshit.

(Check this previous post before reading the rant in case you don't know these terms or what they mean/were supposed to mean)

Zutarians gotta learn that just because a trope is popular, that doesn't mean it is present in every story, and that NO TROPE appeals to a whole group of people, no matter how much they keep insisting that their ship is the "female gaze" - like that thing could ever even exist.

To give a practical exemple so people understand what I mean: Imagine that a woman wrote screenplay about a lesbian romance, which is then filmed by a female director, and edited by a woman. The actresses playing the lead roles also have their own perspective on the story and characters. The movie is then shown to 200 women, every single one of them has their own opinion on it.

Which of the women I mentioned above is going to speak FOR HER ENTIRE GENDER, and decide if that romance fits "the female gaze"? Do we take a survey and whatever points are repeated the most are taken as objectively correct due to being how the majority feels, and thus any differing opinion is treated as lesser and "not what women like" regardless of how many women feel that way? Do we only listen to the proffessional criticts in that audience of women and completely disregard the opinion of any woman that didn't study anything regarding cinema and writting?

Even if somehow it is decided that the movie fits into the "female gaze" - if all those women rewatch the movie years later and some of them feel differently about it, would that affect the definition? If their grand-daughters watch it 50 years later and don't agree with their grandmother's takes on it, does the definition change? If the movie is shown to other groups of women, from different countries, and they all have their own opinion on it that is radically different from that of the first group, which group of women gets to say "OUR culture's way of interpreting this story is the TRUE way women feel about it, everyone else doesn't count"?

If the movie is then shown to 200 men and they all like it, does that turn it from "female gaze" to "unisex gaze"? Does it become "Male Gaze" if the guys get aroused by it, even if the movie was designed to appeal to women and not to them AND there was no exploitation involved? If the 200 women then watch a movie that has scenes that are considered as having been made to appeal to guys, but some or all of them ALSO enjoy it (story of my life), does that make it change from "male gaze" to "Female Gaze"?

Gender is simply ONE out of many, many, many things that can impact how one views fiction - and it doesn't exist in isolation, being affected by generation, culture, language, religion, class, etc. The "Female Gaze" doesn't exist. It CAN'T exist because humans are more complicated than that. It is a concept that is almost fully divorced from reality.

Also I can't help but notice that, because of the way these terms work in the assumption of absolutes, no room for nuance, "MALE Gaze" is meant to describe lazy writting/film-making that is sexist towards women and cases of full on exploitation and abuse in which men were the abusers, and sometimes the label even gets attached to harmless things as a form of bad faith criticism just because guys like it - but "FEMALE Gaze" is NOT about lazy writting/film-making that is sexist towards men (say stories that full on say that a guy hitting a woman is bad, but a woman hitting a man is funny, or using "guys always want it" as justification for scenes of female characters forcing themselves on the male characters).

Instead, Female Gaze is meant to either neutral or POSITIVE. "This appeals to women" is used for praise, "this appeals to men" is used as criticism. Women are harmless, men are dangerous. Women are helpless victims, men are evil abusers. Women need to be protected and put on pedestal, men need to be hated and feared. Female desire is inherently pure, male desire is inherently objectifying. And, of course, any woman that disagrees is bad and a traitor and needs to be "called out for being anti-feminist" (aka be condescended to or full on attacked).

This is sexism, pure and simple. Anyone can be a victim, anyone can be an abuser. Anyone can like any kind of story, trope, genre, ship, etc. Desire is a morally neutral thing, and it doesn't become "pure" or "inherently corrupt" depending on the gender of the person who feels it.

The "Male Gaze VS Female Gaze" thing is nonsensical at best and perpetuates a dangerous double standard at worse, and I'm so fucking tired of it never being questioned because people are afraid of being labelled misogynistic.

[the-merry-librarian]

            Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me is a bittersweet, beautiful graphic novel about being a teenager in love with someone who can’t seem to stop breaking your heart. The novel follows Freddy Riley, a young lesbian on the cusp of adulthood, navigating her relationship with her friends, her family, and her on-and-off-again girlfriend Laura Dean, who’s broken up with her three times (even though it never, ever lasts). Though Laura Dean is certainly a queer book, its focus is on recognizing toxic relationships, making tough decisions, and the relatable experience of struggling in one’s first love.

Genre: Graphic Novel, Fiction, LGBTQIA+ (Michael L. Printz 2020 Honor Book)

Target Age Group:

14-18

Justification:

This novel has been on my to-read list for a long time, and I was delighted to find it on the Printz Honor list. The cover is marvelously eye-catching, and I confess I have a weakness for the color pink – it’s the only color used in the illustrations in the book. Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me was a must-read as soon as I found out about it.

Evaluation:

For this review, I will be evaluating the illustrations, characters, and theme. As a graphic novel, obviously, the illustrations are arguably the most important part, and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell’s fluid and precise art truly elevates the book to a new level. Characters’ expressions are subtle but expressive, with subtle details like freckles or changing earrings that give each character a lovely understated piece of personality. Pale pink is used throughout as an accent color, standing out starkly against black, white, or gray. Though most lettering throughout the novel is typewritten, Valero-O’Connell uses handwritten cursive script to emphasize dramatic dialogue, making the text stand out and yet integrating it overall into the soft, flowing style of the art. Mariko Tamaki, meanwhile, writes characters that shine. The protagonist, Freddy, is flawed and stubborn and insecure, and creative and hopeful and loving—all details provided by Tamaki’s carefully written dialogue, which combines with Valero-O’Connell’s illustrations to reveal character insights that prose alone might not have conveyed. Each character feels unique and realistic, with tiny details given that strengthen our impressions of each character: Laura Dean’s mother is never shown, Freddy’s mother never took her father’s last name, Doodle’s father only refers to his child as Deirdre. These are the characters we see the least of in the story, but these small pieces of information give them a brilliant shape, enhancing our understanding of them as Freddy interacts (or doesn’t) with the adults in her life. The theme is perhaps the most important part, at least to me. Unlike other YA novels with queer themes, the theme of Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me is not inherently queer. Many novels in the same genre are focused on expressing the queer experience, either attempting to echo the experiences of queer teens or make their experiences more relatable and understandable to a non-queer audience, but Laura Dean’s theme is young, toxic love, and freeing oneself of those relationships. That is a theme that endures throughout sexualities and ages, and while homophobia and other queer issues do arise throughout the course of the novel, the focus is on a teenager’s experience with teenage life. It expands the queer experience beyond this is what we experience as queer people and into this is what we all experience, it just happens to be a queer story on top of it all. In short, everyone should read this book. Teens going through heartbreak, teens who feel like no one’s had the same experience, adults who have dealt or are dealing with toxic relationships, anyone who loves beautiful art. Laura Dean is a book I’m going to be thinking about for a long time.

References:

Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me. Macmillan Publishers. (2021, July 20). https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781626722590/lauradeankeepsbreakingupwithme Tamaki, M., & Valero-O’Connell, R. (2020). Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me. Groundwood Books.

[lesbiancharliedalton]

it's obvious probably but it really is just because this was not only my first lesbian heartbreak but also my first "successful" (at first) lesbian dating experience period. and i literally have not met anyone i clicked with romantically and sexually in that way in at least 5-6 years. i didn't date for a really long time. that was the first time i met anyone i thought i clicked with in that way in a really, really, really, really long time. and certainly the first time i felt it in a lesbian dating situation. and it ended so abruptly and insensitively.

so like obviously it really hurts. it's not like in 2017 where i got lovebombed and then emotionally manipulated/abused and dramatically dumped by someone and had a total meltdown that lasted an entire month where i was like sobbing in the middle of my target job over it.

it's literally just that i went from like 0-100 so fast and then had it yanked away. i honestly should have been more prepared for this tbh! because i know how rejection sensitive i am. but it honestly just felt way too good and i genuinely felt very confident in it. it's crazy how she was quite literally just a fuckboy. like i guarantee i will befriend someone at the lesbian bar who has had the same experience with her.

[giselle-archive]

Private: It was three years ago. It's not dramatic at all. Everyone processes their emotions differently, so if it feels like suffering for you then that's just your truth. I'm glad you at least have a few days that aren't as horrible though. You had to suffer through two heartbreaks? Girl, I respect you for trying again after the first one because I couldn't do it. Once was more than enough for me. But I did the dumb thing an out lesbian should never do and fell hard for someone that wasn't ready to come out, and eventually it just became too much having to be forced back into a closet, no matter how lavish it was. Felt like I'd wasted my time and gotten all invested just to be fucked over by someone that was never going to choose me over her fear of being disowned or whatever. I should probably be blaming myself more than her, but here we are.

Private: How long ago? If you don't mind my asking. I loathe that! How can someone set a timeline for my emotional suffering? Okay, that's slightly dramatic. I am not suffering per se, but some days are far worse than others. May I ask what happened? I dealt with two back to back relationships that both ended quite poorly. For different reasons, mind you, but each equally painful in their own right.

[ellasadventuresinfandoms]

Okay, back in May @isolatedphenomenon asked me if I had an les mis fic recs and I went "oh boy do I !" and then promptly fucked off and disappeared from tumblr for like 6 months...

Anyway on the off chance people are interested, here is my vastly too long list of  my favourite les mis fanfic (that I'm almost 100% sure I'll have accidentally missed some of my favourites off of...)

The vast majority of these are main pairing Enjolras/Grantaire, so I've put those first, divided into multi-chaptered and then one-shots. Below that will be other pairings!

Multi-chaptered

• Witch Boy Series : magic AU, starting with Grantaire solving Enjolras' curse - this is just Incredible world building which gets better as it goes on - my favourite is the Babet interlude

• World Ain't Ready : you know how fandoms tend to have a fic that is just associated with it ? in my experience, for les mis this is it - and well deserved ! High school, fake dating AU with some of the most engaging writing

• BE : Enjolras is dragged back into theatre production, helping Eponine put on a production of Hamlet - really love the characterisation in this, and this is really one of those modern AUs that actually feels like real life - really good writing

• After the End : the definitive apocalypse AU in my eyes - les amis are an underground resistance to the dystopian government - really wonderful characterisation of Grantaire and the amis

• You never have to wonder; you never have to ask. : I tend to find fic by scrolling through bookmarks of a pairing, which means I often see repeats; this is a fic that if I see I just re-read cause I know I'll enjoy it - the amis sparked a failed rebellion, and now 18 months later Grantaire ends up staying at Enjolras' after returning to Paris for Marius and Cosette's wedding

• Your Heart on Your Skin : Soulmate AU with flower tattoos marking important emotions and events - wonderful concept and world building 

• Impatient to Be Free : Daughters of Bilitis AU - if that doesn't make you excited I don't know what else to say to convince you (aside from saying the author is a simply wonderful writer)

• You Dance Dreams : Okay. Not to be over dramatic, but this fic did genuinely qualitatively change my life, in that it was the first thing that got me looking up contemporary ballet and now that's like one of my favourite things and big hobby So. Also its really great writing; music/creative arts school les amis with Grantaire choreohraphing the ballet for Combeferre's opera, with a heavy emphasis on Grantaire realising he really never actually got over Enjolras

• philia : this one is an absolute classic to me, but not given nearly enough recognition - one of the more realistic college AUs ever written, and the writing of Grantaire is so good because it hits the perfect balance of sympathy and annoyance about his behaviour (that's a genuine compliment) 

• Coffee Hooligans : fucking tragedy this never got properly finished, Enjolras leads the amis as social justice vigilantes and tries to hide the criminal bits of his life from R

• Fighting the Hurricane : Pacific Rim AU that's less an AU and more just placing the les mis characters in the Pacific Rim universe. Really good and riveting read, also super interesting depiction of Grantaire

• Weaving Olden Dances : Fairy AU - Grantaire "claims" Enjolras to prevent his execution - really good writing, love Grantaires characterisation 

• Paris Burning : canon era (sort of) where cities have a physical being - Grantaire is Paris and becomes entangled in Enjolras' revolution - oh the world building is truly *chefs kiss*

• Euphoria is You For Me : Enjolras and Grantaire keep meet cuting in a wonderfully written Brooklyn - feels like a love letter to Brooklyn at times, and I really like the characterisation of Grantaire 

• so please just fall in love with me this christmas : Enjolras works for the environmental company Grantaire volunteers at, and keeps getting secret gifts at Christmas - I sound a little like a broken record but the Grantaire characterisation is very good

• You Are the Moon : Wild West esque Space AU - Grantaire has to call on the amis to help rescue Valjean and Cosette, despite Grantaire leaving the amis 6 months before. On re-reading the Enjolras characterisation feels a little rushed, but overall fantastic story telling and the Grantaire arc is a Delight 

• Pandemos : Enjolras is aphrodite, and seeks peace from all his suitors in R/Hephestus' cave

• Pining for You : Hallmark christmas romance - Grantaire returns home to work on his father's tree farm, and Enjolras is the lawyer helping prevent the farm being sold - cute as shit imo

• Once We're Kings : Fantasy AU - a country hosts a ball to marry Prince Enjolras and the rival country sends Grantaire as a fuck you - one of the best ways of doing Enjolras as a prince in a fantasy and just really nicely written

• Never Bitter and All Delicious : Fairy Godmother AU - yes really, yes its genuinely a very good read

• On One Condition : Fantasy AU - Enjolras is a bored knight who finally goes to check out the local dragon, which turns out to be Grantaire - I really like how they capture Enjolras' stubborn nature and it's such a well written soft growth of love between them

• That's How Easy Love Can Be : Les Amis work at a primary school; and its secret santa time! very fun portrayal of Enjolras

• The Lark and Her Lieutenants : re write of canon where Cosette is the leader of the revolution - just *chefs kiss*

• If You Tickle Us, Do We Not Laugh : Grantaire is Enjolras' secret android - really good at writing a relationship that's incredibly loving but just keeps being antagonistic and coming off wrong 

One Shots

• True Colours : AU where you leave colours on the people important to you - Enjolras and Grantaire falling for each other is so soft and gently written its lovely, this is genuinely one of my favourites

• Keep It Kind, Keep It Good, Keep It Right : this one is so good to me, because it builds off my pet hatred of everyone assuming Enjolras doesn't care about (or at least actively show he cares about) his friends

• blooming : very soft post-dystopian utopia that has just a really wonderful sense of hope and light to me

• and the wall leaned away (or: The Pros and Cons of Tilling) : perfectly realised characterizations of the amis, Grantaire needs a date to her final year art exhibition - deals with anxiety over protest in a way that actually hits for me

• not just one of the crowd : R helps run a leftist bakery and bike repair shop - very cute characterisation, and I think more les mis fanfic should link to anarchist essays

• Lovesickness : Enjolras is an idiot and thinks he's sick rather than having a crush - the writing of Joly and Combeferre in this is some of my favourite depictions of these two

• If there's a rocket, tie me to it : absolutely heartbreaking sci-fi AU about the amis as doomed mecha pilots

• Where I Fall is Where I Land : Enjolras is a Roman commander as Rome's power is leaving England, and then meets the pict Grantaire (+ fun soulmark stuff !)

• You Started Foreign to Me : Enjolras moves to america and R is the overnight grocery clerk who helps her learn Spanish - cute fluffy lesbians with a wonderfully written driven Enjolras

• Love Is Touching Souls : very cute soulmate AU - and one I really love for really truly considering the implications of soul marks and creating historical lore around it

• Ten Years : R is a musician, and it non-linearly charts his relationship to Enj from high school to 10 years later

• put up with me then I'll make you see : Grantaire lives above Enjolras, and its christmas - I find it to have a very fun interpretation of pining Enjolras

• A Cat Called Trash Can : this was one of the first les mis fics I ever read (yes I know it says it was published in 2020, but I think it has to be a re-upload or something?) and it does still have a special place in my heart - Grantaire rescues a cat, but Enjolras is the only one with an apartment free to look after it 

• Still I'm Begging to Be Free : inception AU where les amis have to rescue a sleeping R from his own brain

•I'm in it for You : cw: illness, cancer - R has cancer and is being a martyr about telling his friends so Enjolras drives him back from chemo

• walls come tumbling down : sky high au - a very good high school AU with the perfect level of campy superhero powers

• This brave new world's not like yesterday : Enjolras needs a job, so ends up working in a bowling alley with Grantaire and bonding

Enjolras/Grantaire/Combeferre

• In Defiance of All Geometry : les amis are a student co-op house, Enjolras and Combeferre are pining friends and Grantaire is the newbie

• Still the Same : this is very good writing and very compelling - if you can get over the (imo) plot hole of Enjolras working for the FBI. R was an art thief Enj put away and is briefly helping the FBI out, and Combeferre is Enjolras' husband

• To Kingdom Come : cw: war and PTSD from that, Enjolras and Combeferre are part of a group of refugees that have crossed into a more fantasy land, and Grantaire is a lone traveller from that land that attempts to help - that was a shit summary of this very emotional, wonderfully written fic about war and love in all forms

• Gonna need (a spark to ignite) : I always love a twist on a classic trope, and this is a very fun take on the soulmate AU - Enjolras loses feeling in his soul mark as a child, falls in love with Grantaire and then his soulmate, Combeferre, turns up

Eponine/Cosette

• Pretty Girls Don't Know the Things That I Know : simply stunning writing - perfect example of soft writing about a harsh world

• she knows her way around : Eponine and Cosette bond, ostensibly so Eponine can find out about her for Marius, and their interactions are so playful and realistic, its wonderful

• always find me floating on oceans : Cosette stows away on Eponine's pirate ship - I do always have a soft spot for eposette fics (not just cause I ship it) because they truly characterise Cosette in a really considered and interesting way

• There's No Making Love : I'm putting this under eposette even though there is some significant enjolras/grantaire content, because the Cosette characterisation is so fun and cute

• round and round again : this fic really beautifully translates Cosette's bad childhood and then isolated teenage years, and the impact that would have on her as an adult into a modern AU

• Underwater Thunderheards : this is based off the book The Scorpio Races, and is just a really nice short fic  about longing

• How To Change The World Without Taking Power : Marius has a crush on Cosette and she's tried being polite and subtle in turning him down, so just ends up fake dating Eponine instead

• blood red fruit and poison's kiss : Snow White AU - Cosette as Snow White

• The Winters Cannot Fade Her : Snow White Au 2.0 - Eponine as Snow White - this was written as a pair to the one above which is just so cute to me

• marriage à la mode : Cosette and Eponine run a bridal shop together and it's very cute !

• Temporary Hold : I personally find this a really fun and very unique take on Cosette - with exams coming up she decides she needs to get laid on the reg and so hits up Eponine to act as if they're already long term girlfriends

Combeferre/Courfeyrac

• better than you had it : fake dating but kick it up an emotional notch - Courf and Ferre pretend to still be together after breaking up for a family event

• take flight, come near : nice and cute low fantasy, where Combeferre runs a dragon sanctuary and Courf finds an injured dragon

Rare Pairs

• The Future's Owned by You and Me : cute Enjolras/Feuilly with actual radical politics and real life organising difficulties and wins

• First Dates and Other Dangers : Combeferre and Grantaire agree to go on a blind date and it's awkward until it isn't - just cute !

• after midnight : Combeferre has insomnia and meets Grantaire in various all night fast food chains

• as you are : Bahorel and Jehan getting ready together

• Almost Romantic : Jehan works at a museum, and takes Combeferre on a little tour

• Understudy : Jehan/Combeferre, with Combeferre's insecurities regarding being seen as second best to Enjolras

• Here There Be Dragons : Courf/Enj/Ferre - Courf and Enj are superheroes and Ferre is the doctor that patches them up

• To Let it Occur (Laisser Faire la Nature) : Feuilly has a stupidly long stopover in Paris and meets Enjolras

• rule of three : Courf/Enj/Ferre as spies and loving boyfriends

• Good Rhetoric : snapshots of cute cuddly courf/enj/ferre

• subluxate, dislocate, replace : found family and chronic illness with Joly/Bossuet/Musichetta

• Strike stone, strike home (like lightning) : so this fic took one minor piece of lore about Tolkien's dwarves and made a beautiful j/b/m fic from it

• Almost Inevitable : Bahorel/Feuilly friends-with-benefits

• god only knows (what I'd be without you) : Bahorel/Feuilly with a closeted Feuilly and a beautiful Feuilly and Eponine friendship

[purrfectpitch]

My Thoughts on Happiest Season

I haven't posted anything in forever but after having seen "Happiest Season", I wanted to share a few thoughts and address some criticism.  

To begin, I am truly saddened that this movie was not unanimously welcomed as the holy grail of Christmas lesbianism bliss that we were all waiting (and hoping) for.

Because in all honesty, perhaps it wasn’t.  

But mostly, because as an audience, I must admit that we are extremely critical. After all, how could we not be? This movie is about us. For us. Criticism is our prerogative.

However, I believe that as much as we recognize the issues in mainstream media, we should also underline and celebrate the victories.

In this essay, I will - 

Starved For Representation

After watching “Happiest Season”, I was left with conflictual emotions.

I had been craving a mainstream rom-com featuring two women since “Imagine Me and You”, in 2005.

From 2005 to 2020, we have had televisual representation of course! Period dramas, TV show featuring gay couples, movies giving us little winks (though sometimes queer baiting...)

But I must admit that I was starved for a mainstreamly strong, proud, established, "out there" relationship between two women. A couple that had gone through the hardship of coming out ages ago, and that was now dealing with the same issues that every other couples go through. And I was fiercely hoping that "Happiest Season" was it.

See, the problem with the lack of representation in media is that the first TV show or movie to pave the way will be infinitely more subject to scrutiny, pressure and criticism. Because it is the first. Because it has a duty, a burden, to represent thousands of experiences that have never seen the day on a screen.

But this is an impossible task. It is unfair to expect.

And yet, here we are.

The Infamous Closet

Yes, how Harper acted was harsh at times.

Yes, she could have shown Abby more tenderness and understanding in some instances, especially the morning after her night out with friends.

Yes, she could have acted better and soothed Abby's insecurities and frustrations throughout the trip.

But this movie is not a representation of the perfect closeted relationship.

It is one depiction of one story of one LGBT character dealing with her family’s (and perhaps her own) internalized homophobia.

As John said, “There is your version, and my version, and everything in-between.”

Most of us have recognized ourselves in at least one character or situation in this movie. Whether it be Abby, Harper, Riley…

As Harper said, on one hand, she could lose her family, and on the other, she could lose Abby. While this turned out not to be the case because her family (thankfully) still accepted her in the end, that is how she felt. Torn between her two realities. A loss equally as terrifying. How do you make that choice?

For years, it seems like the main discourse in the LGBT community has been to embrace who you are, whoever you may lose in the way, because they don’t deserve you anyway.

That sounds amazing. But in reality? Not everyone has the freedom, confidence or safety to embrace who they are. Feeling free, but having lost your family? That is a truly heartbreaking choice. I don’t think that it is a sacrifice that everyone is willing to make so confidently.

Should you always be you and be true to yourself? Absolutely. Should you judge people who are scared to lose their family? No.

Harper? She wasn’t going to lose her family, no. But was she terrified of it? Yes.  

I believe that only makes her human.

The point of the movie was not to support Harper's every action. The point was precisely to see how her family's toxicity had left her starved for acceptance, no matter the cost. She was suffering deeply, grasping at straws for her parents to accept her. Abby was the collateral damage to an otherwise much deeper trauma.

But what matters to me is that she did find her way in the end. Expecting people to be perfect on the first try can be unfair. A person's journey to self-love and acceptance can be a very bumpy road indeed.

That Coming Out Trope

In the end, this movie was never going to please everyone. Because as the first mainstream lesbian holiday rom-com, how could it possibly? Years of yearning, years of crumbs of representation, years of believing that LGBT media will always and forever be the coming out story.

As if we are nothing more than the dramatic journey of coming out.

The movie industry loves beginnings. Movies always end at the start of new relationships.

For instance, in “Love, Simon”, the movie ends with them getting together and embracing their homosexuality and they ride off into the sunset.

However, in “The Happiest Season”, Harper and Abby's relationship has already been going for a year. They already met their first hurdles as a couple. Most of all, the movie skipped the endless tormented questioning of sexual identity and attraction.

Never did I think Harper actually thought about getting back with Connor. Never was she tempted to go back to the "straight" side, for convenience.

So is "Happiest Season" about coming out? Yes.

Is it about sexual awakening and a quest for identify, no.

And to me, that is refreshing.

Closing Comment

"Happiest Season" had its problems. But as a Christmas dramedy, I found that it was ticking a lot of the criteria of the genre.

You may love it, you may hate it or you may have any reaction in-between. But to me, it will remain a very noble and noteworthy first step into the next stage of LGBT storylines.

One day, I hope we get to see beyond the coming out. Beyond the happily ever after.

But for now, we are one community. We move forward toward a common goal of unity, acceptance and liberty.

And in my book, "Happiest Season" is definitely a step forward.  

I am left feeling that one day, we will get there.

"Happiest Season" gave me hope.

And for that, I am truly grateful.  

[thesharondefenseleague]

mlm imo werent sexualized to the degree that wlw were in most canon media mostly because of the male gaze. Gay and Lesbian relationships or moments got very limited representation. One was probably more sympathetic but also heart breaking like say brokeback mountain. One was explicit but depicted as grotesque or twisted or perverted or immoral in some way. And the last version was the titillating version. In western media because of the assumed straight male gaze lesbians making out to titlate guys was a common thing like say in Jennifer's body. The equivalent of that with guys wasnt really that common not in western media. Not that wlw couldn't like that content but it was made to be fanservice for men .

So thats what I kind of mean by wlw were sexualized at least in western media. This equivalent with mlm in fandom never really existed they never made out for girls to find hot in the same way. It was never marketed like oh look hot guys making out. Fandom did that but not canon.

As for comic book men being sexualized kind of. There is definitely the unrealistic beauty standards but theres that debate of was it for the purpose of titillating women? Or a result of toxic masculinity putting this unattainable unsustainable goal for men. Maybe both? But both in comics and the movies they are based on the posing and clothing and moments with women get made to clearly sexualize them . It especially ovbious with comics with them twisting their bodies so their boobs and butts are jutting out. Or like movie moments like Bruce landing in Natasha's clevage. Or angles where you are staring down a female character's shirt or she has a boob window for some contrived reason. Or just reasons to give full page spreads of them in skimpy clothing.

Its rare men get depicted like this or posed like this. And when they do it often stands out because its not the norm. It's something unique. Not true with men. Even in form fitting spandex they are often posed and framed to make to make them look powerful or intelligent or to reveal things about their character.

Again not that men never get sexualized or that fanservice is always bad. Or that its not a concern that men are having these terrible body image issues. But just that for women for the sexualization its so pervasive and constant was my point.

Its just as bad in wlw in canon as it is for women in relationships with men in canon when it comes to that sexualization but i hear so much more about the problems about the wlw ship than the mlw ship. Like to use DC as a example i hear so much about how people sexualized or mishandle harleyivy but compared to that i hear very little about batcat in comparison even though Catwoman is often just as sexualized in that ship.

As for misogyny in shipping wars yes it definetly exists and is a problem as is racism and homophobia. But my issue is mostly that the problem isnt because the main popular ships are mlm. But so often I see the argument framed that way.

Like shipping wars existed between m/w ships and still do today. And they are still often pretty misogynistic towards the woman in the other ship. I don't even have to look at other fandoms I remember Steggy vs Starton getting real ugly.

Mysogny in fandom doesn't uniquely pop up when mlm are the more popular ship. Its often just as bad in fandoms where m/w is the popular ship. But people just bring it up alot more they make it bout valuing the men over the women .

Well i mean that goes both ways you could say its homophobic for valuing the straight ship as better than the gay one or liking it more. But either way its stupid they dont care bout sexism or homophobia only that their ship is more popular.

Thats the sentiment of all ship wars the gender dynamics and racial make up change nothing. Nothing except the bullshit you use for the ship war.

The problem is that people are being homophobic and mysogynistic and racist not just in regards to fictional characters but towards real people just to win a ship war. It comes out so easily. Thats the problem imo.

Mysogny for example i think isnt discussed as much when its a m/w vs m/w ship war or drama because as both ships have women it can't be used to slander the other ship. But when its drama between fans of a m/m and m/w it comes out alot again not because anyone really cares but because now because one ship lacks a woman it can be used as fodder for what people actually care about. Tearing down the other ship.

Again not that mlm fandom doesnt have mysogny. They definetly do. But they aren't mysogynistic because they ship two guys together. Thats not proof they hate women. Having a ship with women isnt proof that you aren't sexist towards women. There might be homophobia in fandoms of mlm ships and mysogny in fandoms of m/w ships.

But in the drama between a m/w and m/m ships that doesn't get brought up because no one cares if that problem can't be used to show that someone only doesn't ship your ship if they are bigoted against it. Who cares about misogyny if your ship is two guys? Who cares about homophobia if your ship is straight?

No one because they cared about the popularity of their ship not the actual issues.

Gonna under under the cut for length again.

This is a lot to read so I'm gonna respond paragraph by paragraph and hope for the best in terms of comprehension.

When it comes to media made about the LGBTQ+ community, you have to keep in mind when it was made, who made it, and who was it made for. And that it's been shown that straight women have had the same reactions to mlm content as straight men to wlw content. QaF was dumbfounded to find that the majority of their audience was straight women when the show's sex scenes were 95% between two or more men and yet that's what they ran with because hey, it got the views. The views of mlm and wlw content in the mainstream media before then was minimized, despite how fucked a lot of the other content could be. If by "most canon media" being directed at the male gaze being summer blockbusters, and more specifically comic book movies, then sure. If we step out of that box, then not really. The film examples you chose are interesting because BB is portrayed exactly how the author of the original short story wrote it which was meant to be heartbreaking since it was a tragic dramatic piece while JB has a woman who wrote and another woman who directed it while purposefully trying to allow to actress to have a level of sexuality without exploiting her as past directors have (also neither of the main characters are lesbians - one is bi, the other I think is straight but maybe questioning?).

The sexualization of wlw in modern western media is definitely a thing. I mean, the first Iron Man film has stewardesses on the private jet pole dancing if I remember correctly. It took until 2016 to stop sexualizing Scarlett in every movie: the changing scene in IM2, the lowered zipper in A1, the ass shot in Cap 2, the boob faceplant in AoU (in your third paragraph, but mentioning it here anyway). It's a joke that you know when a man directs a wlw indie film during the sex scenes. But the mlm equivalent did exist alongside it, and it's what kicked off the century.

Comics and their movies were always for men. The male bodies are male wish fulfilment for their physical appearance. The women are male wish fulfilment for their dream girls. Funnily enough, one of the least sexualized women in comics I've ever read is Sharon. She's rarely, if ever, drawn to be sexualized for the audience. I'm not even sure she's even been in those swimsuit issues Marvel did years ago. And it shows heavily that Marvel struggles to know how to appeal to women without being aggressively in your face about it. The best example of them appealing without pandering is WV, and the worst is the group shots the Russos did in IW and Endgame, especially the latter.

But the men get those poses in the movies too. Thor bathed shirtless for no reason in TDW. There's a scene in Endgame dedicated to talking about Steve's ass. Pratt in GotG. Rudd in Ant-Man. Most actors are expected to look good shirtless and put themselves through intense shit to look that way. So do the women, but they aren't doing it to have the glamor shots of their muscles. And the MCU is not the only film franchise like this. Most, if not all, franchises with majority or entirely male leads expects them all to look like bodybuilders. And I'm gonna take back that it's just for the male audience, because these bodies are meant to appeal to women who are intended to thirst for these actors too. They think these bodies is what will bring women to the theaters.

None of this will change, as you say, that women's sexualization is "constant and pervasive". The film industry is just a part of the larger whole of media. Television and advertising have a treatment of women that's beyond whatever you or I say because there are decades worth of shit to go through that would take dozens of essays worth of writing to fully divulge beyond "please stop it's gross".

Now DC is a whole other ballgame. They're pretty infamous for their artists' sexualization of heroines and villainesses. Harley, Ivy, and Selina are definitely pretty bad, but when I remember what I've seen drawn of Kara, Kori, or sometimes Barbara... But outside of one artist, I think Harley and Ivy as a couple have been drawn tamely. Can't say the same for Selina, because they just can't not draw every part of her body even when she's fully clothed.

I think it's hard not to talk about fandom misogyny outside of m/m ships because of how often popular m/m shippers have rooted their shipping into misogyny. And even with m/f ship wars, a lot of the time the "faulted" character is always the woman when majority of the time it's the man who sucks. I don't get why everyone is fighting for who should kiss Steve because Steve sucks and they'd be better off without him. But because Steve is the object of affection for our fave, we have to fight off everyone else.

Don't look at other fandoms for m/f ship wars. We don't appreciate how tame we were, even at our worst. I'm serious, I've seen so much worse.

I think why the topic of misogyny comes up more with m/m ships is because they follow a similar principle of the male characters being more developed in canon and fanon so it's who people gravitate towards.

There is definitely layers of homophobia in fandom, but there's many versions of how we see it. Homophobes who won't ship anything that's not m/f. Homophobes who ship m/m but won't support IRL rights. People who love m/m but abhor f/f, and vice-versa. The shippers who use them for personal fodder. But the sexism is more prevalent than the homophobia. And the racism way more than both combined.

And it does cause a lot of ammo, and much of it severely unjustified, in ship wars. Literally the bullshit I've seen pulled out of thin air to accuse Sharon of not being worthy because someone said she's a racist for [they literally had no reason just called her one because we said Sam and Sharon are friends because they are] and other nonsense.

The real world repercussions of the homophobia, the sexism, and the racism in fandom... there's just so much. Like we are all still people, and yet we decide because we hide behind screens to be antagonistic, and use homophobic, sexist, and racist shit to attack each other over ships just because we want to paint the other person as crazy, I guess? If you can't see that there are no enemies in ship wars and that the other side is still people, maybe you need to sit out and log off. It's baffling how often it still happens to people. Then it's no longer about ships, it's about who is an asshole.

I will say that Steve and Peggy vs Steve and Sharon is probably the only m/f ship war I've seen where misogyny is talked about. Is, not was, because it still is. Both sides call the others misogynistic. I don't think either side is, but you can see in individuals. Those who tweeted at a certain actress that she was a slut for kissing her costar certainly are though.

You are right that shipping m/m isn't inherently sexist. But tearing down women in those ships to prop up m/m has made me stop shipping certain characters altogether. People, seriously, we don't have to justify why we like them! We can just like them! And other characters can still exist! It's never been that deep.

And you're right, the popularity of the ship helps people ignore any deeper issues within them and this is a power used to silence valid criticism if it pops up.

(I hope I answered everything well for you.)

~Mod R

[lailarain]

Warning: Spoilers for Danganronpa: The End of Hope's Peak High School:Despair Arc

(I'm watching for the first time)

We're back at it again, guys!

Also, yes, I've realized that I porbably should've watched Danganronpa 2.5 first, but I'll do that after Despair Arc

Episode 1:

Oh it's ponytail teacher lady🙂

NEW INTRO YEAH BABY

POTHEAD GUY I MISSED YOUUUU

FUYUHIKO, SONIA, MAHIRU, AND HIYOKO THE NOSTALGIAAAAAA

I'm only a few minutes in and I'm already dying of laughter from the dialogue😭

MIKAN I MISSED YOU

This ponytail teacher lady, istg😂😂😂😂😂

THE TEACHER HAS A BLADE WHY DOES THE TEACHER HAVE A BLADE

Okay where is Nagito he's the only reason I'm watching this🙄

"oH goD jUrAsSiC pArK"

IS THAT WHO I THINK IT IS?

NEKOMARUUUU

Isn't that that one pervy chef?

Teruteru, that's pretty gay😀

AKANE HELLOOOOO

Soda the simp has arrived

GUNDHAM YES I MISS YOU SO MUCH😭😭😭😭

IBUKI MY GIRL

PEKO WHY'D YOU HAVE TO DIE I MISSED YOUUUU

NAGITO NAGITO NAGITO NAGITO NAGITO NAGITO NAGITO NAGITO NAGITO NAGITO NAGITO NAGITO NAGITO NAGITO NAGITO NAGITO NAGITO NAGITO YES

NAGITO'S LAUGH🥺🥺🥺

I fear this teacher😀

Wait....Mitirai...and the Ultimate Imposter......what the fuck is going on

HAJIME IS THAT YOU, MY BELOVED NON-SHAPE-KNOWING BOI

Awwwww he's hurt by what people say🥺

CHIAKI I MISSED YOU

Hajime, you DO have a talent. You're the Ultimate Nagito Magnet

Man, I'm probably not gonna get to see Hajime on screen a lot in this anime😔

Hey blonde bitch how ya doin

Okay we've officially seen the gang! Time for episode 2!

Episode 2:

"They're all good eggs" tell that to killing game nagito lol

Why the fuck are those two always fighting😭

"I'll have you know that we are training in real life combat conditions" "Oh in that case, knock yourself out"

This is why you don't take random glowing bottles from pervert chefs, kids.

NAGITOS JUST SITTING THERE SMILING LMAOOOOOOOO

Hajime looks so uncomfortable that a teacher is trying to have a casual conversation with him😂

Oh are they talking about the Kamakura project?

Gundam playing video games makes me so happy and idk why maybe because I love how dramatic he is lol

You ever like someone so much that when they do something as simple as speak you start freaking out at how awesome they are? Yea that's how I feel about Nagito.

ARE THEY PLAYING MARIO KART?!?!?!

why is the school rumbling GUNDHAM WHAT DID YOU DO

Nagito crying over the food lmaooooo

What did Akane sayyyy😀

NO ONE TOLD ME THIS WAS A HENTAI

WHAT THE FAWK IS GOING ON

Props to Fuyuhiko for being a man and stopping Kazuichi

Istg whatever they pay these voice actors clearly isn't enough

MIKAN WHAT DID YOU SAYYYYY NO ONEE TOLD ME YOU WERE A LESBIAN

I don't even know what to say about Nagito😳

CHIAKI JUST FUCKIN PUNCHED HIM

"I regret nothing"

Nagito's so wholesomely making everyone uncomfortable🥺

Chiaki and Hajime's relationship is soooo wholesome🥰

Episode 3:

Hajime has literally solved the murders of his friends 5 times, and he calls himself average🤨

Why are all the other Reserve Course students blue?

Wait isn't that blondie Fuyuhiko's sister?

Hajime being in the middle of these random girls fighting be like 👁👄👁

Okay I'm kinda scared to ship the green hair girl and Mahiru because they might be siblings

Hard to believe that this girl is my baby boi's sister. At least Fuyuhiko has the dignity to not randomly bully a girl for no reason

Okay I hope the FBI doesn't come to my door if these two are siblings but MAHIRU I SAW YOU BLUSH GIRL I SHIP IT

Thank god fuyuhiko understands that his sister is crazy

Hajime and Chiaki gaming together is so cute🥰

I hope Chiaki didn't just accidentally convince Hajime to do the Kamakura Project😀

The blonde just called her lovesick for Mahiru...I think we got non-related lesbians on our hands

Wait.....THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED IN TWILIGHT SYNDROME MURDER CASE WHAT THE FUCK

Okay I'm kinda starting to feel bad for the blondie

GREEN HAIRED GIRL KILLED HER HOLY FUCK THAT ESCALATED QUICKLY

Wait...if the green-haired girl didn't kill her...then who did?

Woah....why is the green-haired girl acting like that🤨

WAIT GREEN HAIR GIRL IS DEAD WHAT

Is this really how people normally treat Reserve Course Students? The discrimination is so unfair.

HOW DARE THIS BASTARD TOUCH MY PRECIOUS HAJIME😤

Oh so they're on a mission

Omfg Hajime don't you DARE think you're nothing and agree to be a lab rat I swear

FUCK NO HE AGREED

I am so close to crying rn😀

How's Chiaki gonna react to this😔

Episode 4:

Chiaki is sad aww🥺

Okay Nagito looking serious is NEVER a good sign

SHIT NAGITO FROWNED THAT'S NOT GOOD

Komaeda is so polite😌

Nagito.....what is Plan B😀

WHITE-HAIRED GIRL HOW YOU DOIN😁

Oh its other blonde boy and peach-haired bitch

WELL CLEARLY NAGITO'S LUCK AIN'T SHIT

HOLY SHIT NO😭

WAIT NAGITO SET UP FUCKIN BOMBS?!?! Man, I love my chaotic boi🥰

THEY SWITCHED BAGS TOO?!?!?

This is gonna be a huge shit show, isn't it?

POOR WHITE-HAIR GIRL SHE'S COMPLETELY INNOCENT😭😭😭

What the fawk😀

HOW IS HE SO CALM, JUST LIKE "I don't think that was a laxative😕"

NAGITO'S JUST TALKING BOUT HOW UNLUCKY HE IS WHILE ALL THIS SHIT IS GOING DOWN LMAOOO

WAIT SHE JUST SLAPPED HIM

YES TEACHER LADY YOU TELL HIM HOW FUCKIN AWESOME HE IS

Yay Komaeda won't get expelled😊

WAIT NO DON'T TRANSFER HER I LOVE HER NOOOOO

Uh yeah he did it all for yall 'cause he's fuckin nagito komaeda🤨

WAIT SHE'S GONNA COME BACK?!?!?! HOLY SHIT YES

Episode 5:

Poor Mitirai🥺

yeah, see? This is why I relate to Mitirai. ANIMATION IS FUCKIN MAGICAL.

Thank GOD. I thought we were gonna have to watch the teacher lady suffer😅

Okay I know this is pretty off topic, but where the fuck is Hajime

Of course as soon as I ask that question, they start talking about the Kamakura project😅

Expelled? Bullshit.

Wait NO I WANNA SEE MORE NAGITO🥺🥺🥺

WAIT THOSE ARE THE CHARACTERS FROM THE FIRST GAME

Awww they're so happy to see her how wholesome🥺

"You perfect cinnamon roll" MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY

SAIONGI WENT THROUGH A GROWTH SPURT HOLY FUCK

Wait Mitirai and......Mitirai? So he IS the ultimate imposter.

"People flake out and let you down, but carbs are always there" - Mitirai. Truer words have never been spoken😢

IT'S JUNKO FUCKIN ENOSHIMA BABY

Right, the killing game hasn't happened yet, so both Mukuro and Junko are alive and well

So, are the ultimate imposter and mitirai sibings?

Mitirai no don't overwork yourself🥺

Did he just....say "I need you"....pick her up.....and give no other context?😀

Poor Mitirai

WAIT MIKAN NO IT'S NOT THAT KIND OF MOVIE

MAKOTO MY BOY I MISSED YOU

HAJIME IS THAT YOU? YOU LOOK TERRIBLE

Wait...HAJIME NO

HAJIME DON'T YOU DARE

WHAT ABOUT CHIAKI?!?!?!

HAJIME'S EYES ARE RED NOOOOOOO

I'm gonna miss good old Hajime😔

Episode 6:

HAJIME NO TALENTLESS PEOPLE ARE STILL PEOPLE

WHY THE FUCK ARE THEY DOING THIS TO AN INNOCENT HIGH SCHOOLER

It's......Izuru Kamakura😔

Hajime no🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

Awww Chiaki misses him

Wait why didn't the teacher just lie and say that Hajime was expelled🤨

I am so close to crying rn😀

Ponytail teacher lady is gonna realize the heartbreaking truth about Hajime, isn't she?😔

Awwww buff guy🥺

That is the weirdest tourture I've ever seen

The sad thing is she doesn't even know that it was Hajime who was made the victim to the project.

Wait why is Kamakura there what's going on

"KAMAKURA KAMAKURA YAS Q U E E N."

CAN MUKURO STOP LETTING JUNKO MAKE FUN OF HER LIKE BITCH YOU ARE AWESOME

Ikuru literally the entire time Junko is talking is basically just: 😑

WAIT HE AGREES WITH JUNKO NO

wait....MITIRAI IS GONNA MEET JUNKO FUCK NO

FUCK NOOOOOO

Okay we're officially halfway through, and I'm super pissed that Nagito is god knows where because he's the ONLY reason I'm watching this

Episode 7:

MITIRAI STOP TALKING TO HER RUN ASAP AHHHHHHHHH

Junko does realize that she basically just triggered every single fan of Danganronpa, right🤨

"aWw lOoK aT hiM trEmBLe hE'S goNnA bUrsT a blOoD veSsEL bEcAuSe I jUsT diSseD hiS wAifUS"

WAIT JUNKO NO DON'T SMILE LIKE THAT

THEY THINK HE'S DEAD LMAOOOOO

NAGITO YES FINALLY

NAGITO WTF PUT SOME CLOTHES ON

Wait so is that the crash site of the what killed his parents🥺

Kazuchi, Teruteru, stop being pervs and shut up please🥰

GUNDHAM YES WE STAN

MITIRAI IS MISSING NO

Istg if they lay a hand on Mikan they bouta lose a hand😀

Poor buff guy🥺

SHIT NO THEY'RE GONNA BRAINWASH HER

Junko's eyes really went ⬆️↗️➡️↘️⬇️↙️⬅️

Wait who tf are these people🤨

Junko what is it with you and killing games😀

Wait she's actually really good at singing😯

Can we get an f in the chat for these poor students

IZURU WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST DO

THEY'RE SWEEPING IT UNDER THE RUG AGAIN?!?!?!?

So that was his promise😔

It's the cool moving comic thing from the games😯

The Reserve Course students are NOT happy😀

Poor Chiaki still misses him😔

Imagine if she knew HE was the killer

Episode 8:

(So some of my notes were deleted and when I rewrote them they got deleted twice. So I'm just gonna go where I left off.)

NAGITO YES MY BOY I MISSED YOUUUUU

"Who are you" lol

At least CHIAKI is nice to Nagito

YES NAGITO YOU LIFE-SAVER😤

Talk about what🤨

WHY ARE THEY TREATING THESE STUDENTS TO "KNOW THEIR PLACE" ISTG

Okay Nagito what is it with your luck

"Oh we found a secret passage cool😶"

POOR MITIRAI

WAIT NAGITO KNEW?!?!?!?

NAGITO HAS A FUCKIN GUN I REPEAT NAGITO HAS A GUN WHY DOES HE HAVE A GUN

OKAY WHY DOES NAGITO SOUND SO THREATENING ALL OF A SUDDEN

Okay am I crazy or was that interaction between izuru and nagito just now pretty gay?

NAGITO HOLY FUCK NO

OH THANK THE LORD

NAGITO THIS IS NO TIME TO BE A SIMP FOR IZURU

Episode 9:

That....is Hinata😔

WAIT NO DON'T YOU DARE HYPNOTIZE CHIAKI

Teacher lady is gonna be hypnotized, isn't she😖😞

OKAY JUNKO THIS IS TOO FAR

Wait is Mikan pretending?

Poor Guy😢

YEAH LISTEN TO NAGITO

I mean, I don't wanna abandon the teacher but it's already too late

WAIT IS THAT WHAT HE LOOKS LIKE?!?!?

It's so sad to know that they're just running into destruction😔

NO POOR TEACHER LADY

STOP IT RIGHT NOW

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO

NOOOOOOOOOOO

You're already too late😞

WAIT WHY ARE THEY BEING SO VIOLENT

Poor Mitirai, man🥺

WAIT NO JUNKO YOU WOULDN'T

Junko STOP LEAVE HIM ALONE

You're in deep shit, Junko

WAIT NO DON'T DIE MITIRAI

Oh thank god😅

Mitirai😭

Poor Nagito too

WAIT MIKAN WHY

NO THE TEACHER IS DEFINITELY HYPNOTIZED NOPE

Episode 10:

Something's wrong....

Chiaki, don't be fooled

Wait is he actually gay tho

Okay Junko please SHUT THE FUCK UP🥰

This isn't gonna go well, is it?

CHIAKI NO

JUNKO DON'T YOU LAY A HAND ON HER

Wait why are they in a trial room

WAIT NAGITO WHY DIDN'T YOU WARN THEM BEFORE

CHIAKI NO

(Won't let me type anymore. Continue post here)

[oopssasha]

A Fan Theory: Larry Stylinson

Dear Sasha

Because you wouldn’t Elsa and let it go. I’m gonna go all out with this once and for all. Quarantine is honestly killing my mind. So might as well do it now.

In this very long multiple-part essay, I will explain why I believe that Harry and Louis have been together for a decade now.

This is part 1: What got me digging into the pit of Larry Stylinson evidence.

I only got into 1D because Louis’s ‘Walls’ album is AMAZING. So I went back and listened to every single song that Louis was credited as one of the songwriters. Guess what, I noticed things. I’m a nerd who’s into music and lyrics interpretation. And I didn’t live under a rock, so I’ve heard about Larry Stylinson before. I just never looked into it because I was too busy being a Swiftie.

When I started listening to 1D, I hit a jackpot with Perfect. (The only 1D released song that Louis and Harry wrote together without other boys) Because I was such a Swiftie, I recognized Style immediately. Same tempo, same key, same chords, same everything. It’s basically a COLLABORATION. I died. DEAD. Instead of Harry and Taylor holding hands in Central Park for paparazzo, Taylor, Harry, and Louis could have been writing more music together!

Here. Listen to this. Then I dare you to say you don’t want more. Fans of both Taylor and 1D were ROBBED.

I knew that Haylor’s Winter Romance was a PR thing because Taylor did not try to hide the fact that it was a PR thing at all. I actually think she resented that she had to do it to promote an album, instead of letting her music speaks for itself. She’s a GREAT MUSICIAN. I’m sorry. I got a bit too worked up about this. All the drama she went through, especially from 1989-reputation, was really difficult to witness. She called 1989 the depiction of what the media wanted her to be. Then she basically dumped the mainstream media with Reputation. “There will be no explanation. Only reputation.” And her AMA performance was the greatest ever “Bye, Felicia!” to her old recording label. And I just love my dramatic Queen, okay.

Back to Larry Stylinson, I can’t unheard what I did in Perfect. So I started digging into the other side of Haylor. And, oh boy. I thought Taylor was unhappy about it. But Harry and Louis looked downright miserable during this time. So devastated that it hurt my heart. God, no wonder Taylor wrote Out of the Wood. It’s basically a gay anthem. Just listen. “...the rest of the world was black and white, but we were in screaming colors.” The most blatant rainbow reference ever and some people still think this song is about a heterosexual relationship, honestly. I used to think it might’ve been about Kaylor (Karlie Kloss and Taylor Swift) but nuh uh.

Taylor said OOTW was written for the relationship she was in where the biggest feeling in that whole relationship was anxiety. (Will we, won’t we make it?) She emphasized a lot on how ‘just because it was filled with anxiety all the time doesn’t mean that it wasn’t special.’ God, imagine being in her shoes, in a PR relationship, holding hands with a heartbroken boy who isn’t allowed to hold his boyfriend’s hand in public. It broke my heart to pieces. Probably broke Taylor’s, too. (You remember how I wrote another detailed essay on this before, yeah?)

My next stop was music written by Harry and/or Louis, obviously. That’s the playlist you wrote plot bunny about. You could write an entire plot of a romance novel, exclusively from their songs. And damn it, even the songs Harry/Louis wrote for someone else to sing are still obviously their own story. I’m talking about Blackbear’s CHANGES (It’s sad but true, can’t be in love with you = the forced closeting), Ariana Grande’s Just a Little Bit of Your Heart (I know I’m not your only, but at least I’m one. = the bearding), Alex & Sierra’s (You ran your finger down my back and you spelled out your name. = all the times they were hiding their affectionate gestures behind their backs. And other boys’ back. Honestly, they were being sneaky. But it’s something you can’t unsee. And once I saw it, I started seeing everywhere. I’ll give you examples, you’ll see.)

After the music, I arrived at the figurative tattoo parlor. I went there next because Harry and Louis have far too many suspiciously complementary tattoos. (Hi-Oops, Ship-Compass, Anchor-Rope, Heart-Arrow, Rose-Dagger, A Small Cage-Flying Little Birds, Butterfly-‘It Is What It Is’, I can’t change-a blank quotation) Taylor was there when Harry got his ship tattoo, at the same place where Louis got his compass tattoo within the next 24 hours. According to the tattoo artist, Harry said, “We’re always on the road. But my heart is at home and I want a ship.” Meanwhile, instead of pointing toward North like a regular compass, Louis’s compass points to HOME. I absolutely think Taylor wrote I Know Places for them. Again, listen. “Loose lips sink ship all the damn time, not this time.” And do you know what this song reminds me of? 1D’s Something Great. Why? Louis’s lines in Something Great, the last four, completely deviate from the rest of the song. The last four in I Know Places did the same thing.

“You’re all I want”

“They takes their shots but we’re bulletproof”

“So much it’s hurting.”

“And you know for me it’s always you.”

“You’re all I want”

“In the dead of night, your eyes so green”

“So much it’s hurting.”

“And I know for you it’s always me.”

They sounded like a shift in perspective to me. The difference was that in Something Great it was just a melodic line, a plea from one person to another. But in I Know Places, the chorus stayed, as a witness.

Taylor was a Larrie. There. I said it.

When 1D was asked about the stories behind their tattoos, Louis always dodged the question by saying something along the line of, “People always think it has to mean something when it could’ve meant nothing at all. It’s just a tattoo.” But recently on a radio show, he talked about the time a fan asked him to write something on her arm so she could get it tattooed, he asked her what she wanted him to write and she said, “I don’t know!” And Louis’s shook. “To be fair, love. It’s a lot of pressure for me. You’re gonna have this on your body for the rest of your life and you’re just saying to me, ‘Write anything.’ It’s difficult.”

So, the same Louis Tomlinson got several prominent tattoos (a stag, a compass, a dagger) which will be on his body for the rest of his life with absolutely no meanings at all. Quite a few (little birds, quotation marks under his rope) that he couldn’t remember why he got it. The compass was the strangest thing. He seemed to have spent a lot of time looking at it, for something with no meaning behind it at all. And, “It points to home. Isn’t that sweet?”

Boobear, you’re not fooling anybody.

Honestly, the tattoos are enough to convince me that Harry and Louis, at the very least, were together for quite a long while. At least from the start of 1D to 1D going on Hiatus. Just look.

First Day of 1D: Louis jumped into Harry’s arms. Harry attempted to twirl them unsuccessfully.

Last Day of 1D before Hiatus: Harry held Louis’s arm behind Niall’s back (This was very much a recurring theme throughout their time in 1D.)

Here’s an exhibition of ‘See it Once, See it Always’

Sir Ian McKellen & One Direction on the Graham Norton Show: Louis was sitting very awkwardly here. At first glance, it seemed like he wanted to be as far away from Harry as possible. But look at his leg. Just look. Louis kept his right leg there, touching Harry’s left leg throughout the whole interview. There were some comments in this video that went on about how Louis was being so mean to Harry. And I’m like, please look before you pass judgement. But I’ve got the benefit of hindsight is 20/20 and hearing Louis sings about Princess Park, so. They were definitely very much in love here.

Night Changes performance on this show was just Harry’s serenading Louis. Watch the video and just look at the way Louis smiled back. He’s so happy. It’s adorable. Zayn and Niall were absolutely trying not to fangirl here. In fact, let me make a meme out of this.

Come on, when you know, you know.

Before heading to Part 2, you should watch this first. Chely Wright is a lesbian country musician. She was in a closet for a long time. It was a difficult experience for her and a heartbreaking bedtime story for me.

Will edit the link to part 2 in when I post it.

Good night now Sasha

Del

[lapetitepersonne]

Why you should watch Spartacus

- Beautiful actors (I know that sounds vain as fuck and not really convincing and why should I put it in the first point, BUT it’s just, I’m really bi and it’s like a fucking dream and if you like to watch beautiful people for hours........ you know what to do)

- Good dialogues (so I watched it with the french version so I don’t know about the vo but the vf is good lmao)

- Gory scenes but with kinda bad special effects (sometimes they’re good and disgusting so be careful, there is some gross stuff here)

- FIGHTS BIG FIGHTS FIGHTS EVERYWHERE DRAMATIC FIGHTS FIGHTS TO THE DEATH

- Ancient Rome. That’s it. If you’re a big fan of this historical period but you still haven’t watched Spartacus, I dont understand what the fuck you are doing. It’s not always historically accurate (or even accurate in general) but still, it’s very interesting and well done (at least in my opinion)

- Aesthetically very pleasing

- The sex scenes (TW rape : a lot of the sex scenes are rapes since, you know, slavery is a thing and there are some really bad people in this, so..... not all sex scenes are great. The show can be triggering for that)

- Almost all characters are problematic as fuck lmaooo so no time for discourse, like who you want, hate who you want and don’t give shit to other people because, spoiler : your fave is problematic too (except Pietros. Pietros is an angel). Also, everyone hates Ashur. We don’t talk about him.

- Not only the actors are beautiful but they’re also FUCKING GOOD AT THEIR JOB

- Lucy Lawless

- THE RICH ARE SCHEMING (and it’s kinda fascinating)

- The plot is great, full of twists and surprising (heartbreaking) events

- LGBT CHARACTERS !!!!!!!!!! LOTS OF THEM !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (also spoiler : the show’s ending is a big win for the gays lmao) Bi/lesbian patrician women, gay gladiators (strolling stereotypes of biG sTrONg MAnLy MeN ?????? gay ???????? it’s more likely than you think), etc etc IT’S GREAT REPRESENTATION TOO

- THE HAIR AND THE DRESSES AND THE FUCKING EVERYTHING OF PATRICIAN WOMEN they could be trying to kill me and I would be like oh yeah pls step on me with your royal sandals (the hair and clothes work is gorgeous)

- Caesar is here and he’s hot ! And Marcus Crassus too

- It’s not a funny show but some parts were really funny to me ???? Also Spartacus is a sassy little shit I love him

- C h a r a c t e r  d e v e l o p m e n t (for the better or the worse)

- It has 4 seasons (season 0 is a flashback so be careful to start with season 1) so it’s long enough to keep you busy for a moment but not too long that it seems fucking unfinishable (I don’t know, it depends on people but this is just good for me)

- Me watching Spartacus : little gladaitor panties hehehe nippples hehe big muslces

- The first episode is the most boring. Just saying. Like, it seems important because if I wasn’t really interested in the Ancient Rome setting, I would have give up on watching it because the first episode is so fucking b o r i n g (when I rewatch the show, I skip it lmao). So. Just don’t give up during the first episode. Please.

- Diverse female characters trying to be strong (and having different types of strength), or even surviving in a world dominated by men. Ancient Rome wasn’t good for a lot of people and especially women.

- The show is a lot more deep than you think : it’s a lot more than just nude people and sex and fights (I don’t sound convincing because I really like this part of the show too BUT :), I wouldn’t have watched it if it didn’t have a fucking good plot, incredible actors and a lot of interesting topics addressed like love, solidarity, brotherhood, commitment to a great cause - here liberty -, friendship and toxic relationships, death and killing, humanity, betrayal, violence, and all of that in a society based on slavery and the violent dominance of one class over another.

[thereislifeafterhq]

Quinn Fabray is 27 years young with a birthday on June 1st. She hails from Lima, Ohio but now lives in Upper East Side, New York. She is an Actress and looks a bit like Dianna Agron.

Full Name:

Lucy Quinn Fabray

Pronouns:

She/Her

Gender:

Cis!Female

Sexuality:

Lesbian

3 Positive Traits:

+ hardworking  + benevolent + adaptive

3 Negative Traits:

- manipulative - dramatic - sarcastic

Biography:

triggers: abuse, dubious consent, pregnancy  alcoholism, cheating, eating disorder

Lucy Quinn Fabray just wanted to be the perfect daughter. Except no one bothered to tell her perfection was overrated and that she’d never be happy trying to obtain such. So, for a long time, she strived for it anyway. By the time she started high school, she’d gotten a nose job, lost a lot of weight, and started going by Quinn instead of Lucy. However, it never particularly won her Russell’s favor. It was the appearance he wanted but really, appearances change so quickly. And it’s not like it ever stopped his wine drunk abusings. The almost nightly fights with her mother, when he bothered to be home at all. Always claiming he was going away on business.

When Noah Puckerman talked a rather drunk Quinn into having sex with him, Quinn didn’t entirely view it as the end of the world. Sure, it hadn’t been a great time and she had been saving herself for marriage and had definitely cheated on her boyfriend, but it wasn’t a problem. At least not right away. The missed period and the positive pregnancy test, however, made it a problem. She was sixteen, a sophomore in high school, the head cheerleader, and was about to lose everything she thought she loved. Except, even as she was kicked out, all but disowned by her parents, lost her spot as a cheerleader, and also her boyfriend, Quinn gained even more. She gained friendship in a way she wouldn’t have otherwise, a newfound appreciation for the idea of found family. And by the end of it, she had a daughter, someone who would love that daughter and raise her as her own, and her own mother back. As well as learned just how bad a man her father truly was.

The rest of Quinn’s high school career was a drama filled and chaotic as sophmore year had been, if not even worse. There was a lot of scheming and heartbreak. Cheating and lying and just plain being a bitch. Pink hair, a nose piercing, and a really bad tramp stamp of Ryan Seacrest. An attempt to sabotage Shelby, for Beth. And a car crash that landed her in a wheelchair for not nearly as long as it should have. However, through it all, Quinn had her friends, her makeshift family. The very people that would see her through just about anything.

In college, Quinn learned a lot, but also did a lot of stupid shit. Lying to boyfriends, seducing married men, it was the same kind of chaos she’d seemingly found herself in from the moment she started going by Quinn. Of all her chaos and stupidity, fucking her best friend wasn’t actually one of those things. It was rather eye opening and while she’d claimed it to be a one (two) time thing, it sparked something in her she wouldn’t understand until much later. It did, however, push her somewhat haphazardly into more and more relationships with men that would almost all end horribly.

Dating Puck, after Finn’s death, was, unbeknownst to Quinn, a last ditch effort to conform to a sexuality she had no place trying to be in the first place. He was in the military and often deployed, leaving Quinn home alone with her thoughts. Thoughts that she eventually bothered to go to a therapist about. Something she, admittedly, probably should have done long before then. No matter how late it came, therapy really helped Quinn work through trauma she didn’t know she had. An eating disorder that flared up more often than she realized, especially when trying to land specific roles. The emotional abuse suffered at the hands of her father. The uncertainty and chaos that surrounded her and why. She also explored her sexuality, what each failed attempt at relationships with men actually meant for her. The ways she’d sabotaged everything just to feel something. How the only time anything had ever felt remotely right was the night she’d spent with Santana. This, added to Quinn’s distaste for long distance, is ultimately what ended her relationship with Puck. Her honesty, along with his own, an admission of having cheated on her while deployed, meant their relationship ended well and without the chaos of prior relationships. 

In therapy, Quinn also learned how to forgive and started to make amends. When she was 19 her mother broke the news to her of her father’s other family and Quinn had been angry. Angry at her father, angry at the woman and her other children, even angry at her own mother. In a lot of ways, it was unnecessary and irrational. A response born out of chaos. A chaos Quinn was starting to get under control. So, she decided to make amends. Four years after their initial meeting, Quinn reached out again. First to Flora, the woman her father had lied to more than he had lied to anyone else. She was simply looking to apologize, to make amends for the way she’d acted. It wasn’t Flora’s fault, nor was it her children’s. In connecting with Flora, Quinn gained a second mother, whether she’d been expecting it or not. It was a welcome change and while she didn’t know what to expect upon reaching out to her half siblings, she knew one thing: it couldn’t hurt to try. Because she wasn’t looking for a relationship, she was just looking to say sorry. Everything else was pure bonus. While she managed to strike up a relationship with the youngest of Flora’s children, she seemed to strike out with the twins. Not that she could blame them, of course.

Around the age of 24, long after she’d learned, and committed to heart, that her father was not a man to be trusted, Russell Fabray walked back into her life. He grovelled and begged for her to forgive him, saying he would do anything. So, after talking it over with her mother, Quinn showed just how much of her father’s daughter she really was. She took every bit of pain and anger she’d been saving and laid it all out. Hitting every possible wound she could find, and exploiting that pain. Then, she lied straight through her teeth, told him if he paid off her student loans and financially supported her, no matter how much she asked for, she’d keep him around. Well, it wasn’t lying, per se. She did keep him around, but only for as long as his money was worth something to her. Within a years time she’d managed to not only financially support herself, but also her mother and Flora, sending the women a large portion of the money he’d given her. And like that, she was done with him, threatening legal action if he ever thought to come near her again.

Due to her father’s money, Quinn was able to set herself up in the Upper East Side and got to choose what films and jobs she took on as an actress. This led to doing a lot of indie and smaller films she found herself passionate about. Eventually, she’d land the role of Tess Larson on Conviction. It was her first proper break in the business and seemed to be the real start to her life, not just as an actress, but as a person. 

Quinn had never meant to fall for the lead on the show, Elizabeth Sutton, a British woman who lived in Vancouver and was a number of years Quinn’s senior. Then again, she never imagined Elizabeth would fall for her right back. The pair had made quick friends, sharing a love of dad jokes and rainy days, among numerous other things. And soon enough, what had started out as friendship had blossomed into something more. They decided to keep their relationship private, only telling a few people, because neither woman was ready to come out of the closet, much less take their relationship into the public eye for all to see. Elizabeth was coming off a bad break up and Quinn just wasn’t ready for the added pressure of the press to her first properly healthy relationship.

The older Quinn became, the more her body started showing signs of the trauma she’d endured in senior year. The car accident had done lasting damage, something Quinn had known. The slight limp when she walked, no matter how much she tried to correct it. However, the chronic pain was something that, while it didn’t appear out of nowhere, definitely got worse. It had been minor, more related to weather or having slept in the wrong position, but by the time she graduated college, Quinn found herself in pain, daily. Some days were nothing, a couple tylenol and she was on her way. Other days were harder. The pain was bad enough that even with painkillers she still hurt. And then, the worst days would come, the days where she couldn’t even breathe without hurting. Where she stayed curled in on herself, unable to move for fear of possibly blacking out because of the pain. So, she went to doctor after doctor until someone bothered to realize the damage that had been done to her body in the accident was still heavily present and likely exacerbated by her lifestyle. She was told to cut back on when and how she exercised. She was prescribed strong painkillers and muscle relaxers. The only problem? Quinn knew addiction ran in her family and didn’t want to rely on painkillers for everyday use. So, she went to more and more doctors until they found her something topical that worked for everyday use and when combined with the medications actually helped her function on her worst days. 

Quinn knows it’s only ever a temporary fix, that in time it might get worse. That she might lose her ability to walk again, either due to damage or to pain and that even if she retains it, the pain will never go away. It’s a frustrating fact of life and one that very few people in her life actually know about, but learning to live with. Learning to make the most of her life, no matter what it throws at her.

[timetravelhouse]

My fellow useless lesbians, can we take a moment to appreciate Raquel Cassidy's stunning performance as Hecate Hardbroom? The fact that we're all here for HB attests to the rich queer coding of this character, and moreover, to the continuing vitality of lesbian decoding practices. I can't stop thinking about how Cassidy masterfully deploys tropes with a deep history of queer connotation, so I wanted to situate Hecate in this genealogy. I'm proposing three longstanding lesbian motifs that resonate with Cassidy's interpretation of Miss Hardbroom, hopefully helping to illuminate why everyone is reading it as hella gay. This is written in the style of a grumpy old teacher, so each section includes an example from film history with a corresponding academic citation (Tumblr blocks posts with outside links; I recommend searching Google Books). :D?

1. lesbian gothic Judith Anderson as Mrs. Danvers in Rebecca (Alfred Hitchcock, 1940)

It may be counterintuitive to link this cotton candy show to the gothic, but try shifting your point of view from the students to the teachers. The adults are dealing with family secrets, spectral paintings, authoritarian patriarchs, and of course, magical peril. Gothic references coalesce in Hecate Harbroom, the literally and figuratively dark presence with an uncanny ability to materialize at the moment of peak disobedience (she usually says "Mildred Hubble" but she might as well be saying "boo").

Patricia White, "Female Spectator, Lesbian Specter" from UnInvited: Classical Hollywood Cinema and Lesbian Representability (Indiana University Press, 1999)

A genealogy of The Haunting–and of the haunting of classical cinema by lesbianism–leads us to Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca (1940), a key example of the female gothic, a genre that as a whole is concerned with heterosexuality as an institution of terror for women (64)... [In this film,] the heroine's desire is channeled toward Rebecca as a powerful presence-in-absence by [Mrs. Danvers], who enjoys a peculiar and intense relation to her former mistress and who functions as a sort of regent of Rebecca's reign at Manderly (65)... In the gothic narrative, the heroine's look is central yet unreliable, precisely because the female object sought by her gaze is withheld. This narrative can be seen to encode the dramas of desire and identification at stake in female spectatorship and the lesbian excess that haunts them, to remind us that we can't always believe our eyes (72).

The severe domestics and governesses of gothic mysteries harbor the story's secrets under their grim austerity, and these secrets always seem to have the flavor of sexual deviance. Hecate Hardbroom's reserved and gloomy vibe – and indeed, her "goth" style – evoke characters like Mrs. Danvers (a little too obsessed with an inappropriate crush from her past). This resonance "haunts" The Worst Witch with "lesbian excess" that can only be seen obliquely, and may even suggest "heterosexuality... as terror" (see s2e11 "Love at First Sight"). Thus the heritage of genre cues us to suspect that whatever repressed feelings animate Hecate's stern control must be tinged with forbidden desire, a queer allusion that is irresistibly seductive.

2. lesbian witch Margaret Hamilton as The Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, 1939)

I'm sure I don't have to convince you that witches are the most obvious gay element in The Worst Witch. We're offered a spectrum of witchy genders (headcanon: Mr. Rowan-Webb is trans), and I ask you to bear with me through a theory. I would never call Hecate butch in today's terms – she's so glamorous with her sensuous fabrics and heavy eyeliner – but think 1930s notions of butch. Standing imperiously in head-to-toe black next to the brightly colored and approachable looks of other magical adults, Hecate inhabits the classic witch stereotype. This quintessential witch is threatening in her otherness because she has power that refuses and exceeds the standards of femininity.

Alexander Doty, "'My Beautiful Wickedness': The Wizard of Oz as Lesbian Fantasy" from Flaming Classics: Queering the Film Canon (Routledge, 2002)

It was probably during gay director George Cukor’s stint as production consultant on Oz that the Wicked Witch got her final look: a sharp nose and jawline, green face and body makeup, a scraggly broom, clawlike fingernails, and a tailored black gown and cape. This is the witch as creature, as alien, as monster, and as what straight, and sometimes gay, culture has often equated with these—butch dyke (58)... And let’s not forget that while Glinda may look like a fairy godmother, she is a witch, and is therefore connected to the Wicked Witch and to centuries-long Western cultural associations between witchcraft and lesbianism. So what we have set before us in The Wizard of Oz is the division of lesbianism into the good femme-inine and the bad butch, or the model potentially 'invisible' femme and the threateningly obvious butch (59)... The butch witch is both the potential source of fulfilled desires as well as the potential source of physical danger (68).

Hecate Hardbroom's "obvious" witchyness is frightening in a way that's delectable, because it whispers to us of a land "over the rainbow" where normative rules of gender and sexuality might be unbound. HB both threatens the kids with exposure through the potency of her magic and encourages them into the sisterhood of this forceful female energy. She links the forbidding/forbidden with the desire to adore and become it. When high femme Pippa Pentangle stands alongside Hecate, they echo Glinda's contrast with the Wicked Witch of the West as the light and dark sides of a queer paradigm: the coming-of-age fantasy of escaping from "Kansas" to "Oz" (or Cackle's Academy for girls only).

3. lesbian camp Emilia Unda as Fräulein von Nordeck in Mädchen in Uniform (Leontine Sagan, Germany, 1931)

Camp is probably my #1 axis of delight in Raquel Cassidy's approach to Hecate. In Susan Sontag's formative 1964 essay "Notes on 'Camp'" (easily Googled), she defines camp as "the love of the exaggerated" and "the spirit of extravagance"; as "a mode of seduction–one which employs flamboyant mannerisms susceptible of a double interpretation"; as "a new, more complex relation to 'the serious'" that "identifies with what it is enjoying... a tender feeling." I can think of no better way to capture the superb balance of excessively theatrical gestures and glimpses of genuine emotion that I see in this character. Historically, camp is primarily associated with gay and effeminate men, but there has always been a place for women in camp's gender play. Katrin Horn locates the emergence of a visible lesbian camp in the New Queer Cinema moment of the 1990s, with films that took up a referential dialogue with the subtextual queer language of an earlier era.

Katrin Horn, "The Great Dyke Rewrite: Lesbian Camp on the Big Screen" from Women, Camp, and Serious Excess (Springer, 2017)

As a cinematic trope the boarding school setting dates back to at least 1931, when a nearly all-female crew produced Mädchen in Uniform... the associated story – emotional turmoil at all-girls boarding schools resulting in female bonding, homoerotic moments, and declarations of love between women – and its symbolism have been carried from Hollywood's classical era... But I'm a Cheerleader points to the heavily censored history of female-female desire onscreen [and] mocks the absurd and dark one-dimensionality of the boarding school trope (35-36)... [B]y consciously engaging with the cinematic history of lesbian representation, [camp films] reinscribe (pleasurable) lesbian presences into themes and tropes that had hitherto been connected to doomed and/or subtextual lesbian desire... Furthermore, they represent new forms of cinematic pleasure, as they infuse stereotypes which have historically as well as more recently been used mainly to disavow lesbian identity and sexuality with a sincerity of affect that recodes them as objects of identification and desire (37).

Mädchen in Uniform and related films (including the 1958 remake and 2006 reinterpretation Loving Annabelle) are lesbian tragedies, stories where forbidden desire between a teacher and student (or, in the case of 1961's The Children's Hour, two teachers) leads to heartbreak and ruin. The strict headmistress subjects the more romantic teacher to an all-knowing and judgmental gaze – but her relentless pursuit of perversion can always reverberate back to camp up this dour figure. Like the satirical lesbian comedy But I'm a Cheerleader (Jamie Babbit, 1999), The Worst Witch returns to the queer scene of the girls' boarding school in a more playful mode. As a camp performance, Cassidy's Hardbroom is a homage to Fräulein von Nordeck and her ilk, but one that transposes this archetype's threatening quality into a celebration of the deviance she originally stood against. Precisely by being over-the-top, Hecate's expressiveness embraces the stern teachers of yore with tenderness and a "sincerity of affect" that invites possibilities for pleasure and identification into this stereotype. By revisiting and reconfiguring the terms of queer representation, camp can effectively rewrite history – we may take more glee in earlier portrayals of the tragic lesbian or repressed disciplinarian today because she has been retroactively camped. Camp is reappropriation – its affection for extremes is simultaneously ridiculous and erotic (boosted here by liberal use of dramatic low-angle shots to frame Hecate as deliciously imposing). Children's television has always been a welcoming field for camp, which revels in its capacity to signal queerness through the seeming innocence of zany shenanigans. Cassidy described The Worst Witch as "a massive invitation to play" – her total commitment to this opportunity with a joyous camp sensibility enables a really dazzling modulation of lesbian cultural touchstones.

It would be worthwhile to read Hecate Hardbroom intertexually in relation to Raquel Cassidy's previous queer comedic roles... but that's a story for another day. I just wanted to explain why I think what she's given us in The Worst Witch is quite remarkable (and justify why I am utter trash right now). It's meaningful to me to connect the soup of digital ephemera and intemperate feels we're all swimming in now to a lineage of lesbian representation and spectatorship. Maybe this lofty outpouring is totally inappropriate to Tumblr [EDIT: so pleased it is appropriate <3], but I don't seem to be able to help myself – thank you truly for reading if you made it this far. Grumpy gay teacher signing off!

GIFs Hecate: all-we-must-be | dismantledrose | andforgotten Mrs. Danvers: Old Hollywood Films on giphy Wicked Witch: gifswithkriz Fräulein von Nordeck: mine

[izzy-mccalla]

The Prom 7/23/19

idk what this is read it if you want

Seats we like back mezzanine right in the middle

The longacer is so like small and intimate, it felt like the actors were like right there

The overture is so good you go orchestra

Changing lives is such a good opening number cause it just pulls you in right away

“What didn’t they like? the hiphop?” “Well yes but that’s not it”

After Barry gets dragged in the press Dee Dee’s like ‘well that’s not that bad’

Trent is known from being in a sitcom instead of a hair commercial

He also just quotes complicated shit a lot

Angie says that they should abolish the electoral collage and Dee Dee raises her hand and says “As an exercise lets pretend that we don’t know what that is”

“What’s trending?” “Trump” “uuh” “Trump” “uuh” “Trump” “uuh” “Trump” “UUGH”

When they do the les mis line angie is waving a white towel behind her head

I have said this before but CAITLIN KINNUNEN I LOVE YOU

Emma is a mood

Alyssa has sass and I love her too

nick/hockey stick it’s true love

goddammit emma says the gay white rosa parks line kill me

“At least you aren’t on meth; I talked to the other principal, all he deals with is meth”

mrs. greene fuck you

“WILL THERE BE HOMOSEXUALS AT THIS PROM” dude chill

Alyssa is on the student council (get it babe) and Hawkins asks what she thinks, but Mrs. Greene interrupted her

“i’m as gay as a bucket of wigs” is a great line that we should appreciate more

Barry’s dancing is.. interesting

The girl who dee dee thinks is Emma looks traumatized for the rest of the scene

beth just went for it in its not about me we love an icon

why did people cheer on the straight people like broadway line, go away

I could write essays about izzy’s alyssa

she’s so scared I just want to hug her

the godspell costumes are worse than they were in atlanta

seriously

the acceptance song is just so bad

they all play kazoos

instead of the black sheep BARRY wears a shirt that says I’m a lesbian when everyone else has the we’re all lesbians shirts

#FirstWeKillTrentThenWeLeave

I’m so glad Emma still canonly drives a pickup

Barry let her wear the vintage tux

It’s really clear that finding out that Emma’s parents kicked her out is one of the first things where Dee dee is actually like “This is wrong”

The background to you happened is that because the prom is back on literally every single couple is doing promposals on the same day

behind them when emma and alyssa are singing you can see the other ensemble members all doing promposals in different ways

Kaylee and Shelby see Emma and Alyssa during you happened and figure out that they are together which is why they don’t tell Alyssa about the fake prom

when Mr. Hawkins hears Dee dee’s Eleanor he asks if she’s choking

Michael Genet was really good, his voice was super nice and low in we look to you

I’m pretty sure Emma was wearing the same medical bracelet as the tonys!

Barry never came out in high school which is why he didn’t go to prom

Alyssa tries to come out to Mrs. Greene during tbty but Mrs. Greene interrupts her

okay the tonight belongs to you reprise is HEARTBREAKING

Alyssa and Emma are standing back to back in the middle of the stage while Emma talks to Mr. Hawkins and Alyssa talks to her mom

The lighting is purple on alyssa’s side and blue on Emma’s

Mr. Hawkins and Mrs. Greene are standing in the same place on the different sides and they each explain taking turns talking

ex. 

Hawkins: “The courts told them they had to hold an inclusive prom”

Mrs. Greene: “Everything’s fine we did what we were required to do”

and so on

Alyssa and Emma say oh my god at the same time in the same voice and my heart SHATTERS

Then Alyssa has to face Shelby and Kaylee who tell her they know and are like “We’re doing what’s best for you”

The tbty music picks up after Emma sings her verse and picks up the phone

Alyssa is just so scared someone hug her

someone hug Emma too

Dee dee just wants to go home

Every fucking stop on Trents tour is cancelled

“Seek out the young people; talk to them, converse... rap”

the lady’s improving was phenomenal like holy shit just overall beth leavel was AMAZING she was all in

the entire 7/11 scene is just pure gold trent has obviously never actually interacted with a teenager

Trent has been jc in three different things

or as he says “I’ve been crucified three times (twelve if you count the reviews”

alyssa greene almost made me cry

I don’t know what I can say about it other than give Izzy a tony

Emma has so much faith in people, protect her, but also it’s unrealistic teenagers don’t have faith in people anymore (fact checked by me a teenage lesbian)

When brooks sings barry is going to prom he’s just alone in the motel room

and he uses it

he twirls and runs back and forth and leans dramatically against the door

unruly heart basically made me cry

the ensemble in the pajamas? I love all of them?

There is another reprise of changing lives the cast recording lied to you

Alyssa tries to come out again after the video but Mrs. Greene interrupts her again and tells alyssa it’s not actually her and the only reason she is thinking those thoughts is because of whats happening

Trent has such a nice relationship with his new students

I don’t know what to say about the end because its just so good mrs. greene realizing she doesn’t speak for the community? alyssa declaring her love? Trent telling his “class” to settle down? Barry telling mrs greene that she's going to lose her daughter because he knows? mrs. Greene telling alyssa that she just doesn’t want alyssa to have a hard life? Alyssa realizing that coming out feels good when she does it on her own terms? barry hitting on that random parent? dee dee telling barry not to let her destroy hawkins? the weird suit like leotard with stars or something on it that one of the background lesbians wears? the kiss? all perfect

I stagedoored! I met 10 ensemble members, Michael Genet, Brooks ashmanskas, and Izzy mccalla

[aubrey-plaza]

Hi!! I just read all three of the staubrey fics that you recommended. Do you happen to have a longer list of your favorite staubrey fics, I would love to read them!!

this became long, so I put it under a cut

Obviously, I would be remiss to start any favourite fics list without including the two stories that got me into this ship at all.  

I used to be a major Bechloe shipper (like, I even ran a fanblog when pp1 first came out) and even though I’d read the Stacie/Aubrey pairing in fic before, I’d never quite clicked with it.

And then I read She’s Out of My League by OmACAgee / @omacagee​ and it was the definition of ‘came for the Bechloe, stayed for the Staubrey’ because I was immediately hooked on these two.

I have no idea what it was about that story specifically that hooked me in as opposed to the countless other Bechloe ft side-Staubrey I’d read before but that was it, it was like flipping a switch.

I then gravitated into the tag and found honey_hill / @relaxingwithhoney​‘s Sweeter Than This; read that in one go and I’ve been Staubrey trash ever since.

(more under the cut)

I love this ship so much so here are my favourite fics (in no particular order):

anything/everything backinthebox / @girlneedsadonut​

literally like I cannot express this enough: read all of them.

I’m going to highlight a few here but they are ALL my favourite

The whole Welcome To The Lodge At Fallen Leaves series which is STILL being written!  

You’ve Started Something is a triumph of characterisation and story building and, again, is still ongoing. The fic is a gorgeous exploration of these two characters and one of the reasons I love them as much as I do.  

Tears Are Something to Hide by backinthebox(long) oneshot — complete — canon-divergence: after Pitch Perfect 2

This story hurt my fucking soul. There are no other words for it. I’ve always believed that Stacie and Aubrey were the type of couple who, once together, could (and would) conquer the world and that little could really come between them and yet this author has written one of the only scenarios wherein I could see them apart, and really apart, not taking a break or splitting up where it’s inevitable they’ll find each other again but really break them apart with all the heartbreak and angst that comes with it.  

Set against the backdrop of being in the South, dealing with grieving someone with whom you have a tumultuous relationship, and the Bellas being fiercely a unit and a family, this story hits every beat perfect and is honestly a masterpiece.  

I had to read the story at least 3 times to really get the full force of it because it’s so beautifully nuanced and layered and every time that I go back to re-read it, I find something else about it that I love.  

This story will make you ache for these characters and it is possibly — probably — the best Stacie/Aubrey fic I’ve ever read.  

There is no standout or favourite line because the whole thing is sheer perfection.  

Énouement by backintheboxmulti-chapter — complete — canon-divergence: Pitch Perfect 1 timeline

I can’t say much about this fic without giving the plot away and what a delicious plot it is so just go read it because it features flirty freshman Stacie and assertive, confident Aubrey and lowkey the reason I headcanon Aubrey being a discreet but total player

standout line:  

And the fact that someone could blush about being good in bed had Stacie wanting more.

You Came to Me in January by Lucky_13 / @number-thirteen​multi-chapter — work in progress — canon-divergence after Pitch Perfect 2 (I think, it’s not really specified and not really important)

I love everything about this story. It finds Stacie and Aubrey a few years after (Stacie’s) graduation and they reconnect and it’s a beautifully mature telling of them falling for each other. They mesh so well together and their characterisation is absolutely on point. The author delicately balances their feelings, humour, and surroundings in a wonderfully immersive story that I keep coming back to.  

there is no specific standout line because it’s all so great, but I particularly love every scene with Mia (honestly kudos to any writer who gets me this invested in an OC!)

Prelude in Lydian Mode by Knappster / @ss-staubrey​oneshot — complete — canon divergence but not really important to the plot

I’m a sucker for the ‘we’re just sleeping together but have now developed feelings’ type of story (clearly) and this one hits it out of the park. It’s mutual pining meets secret hook ups with just enough background angst to drive the story forwards and I, for one, am in love with this fic.

standout line:

“She deserves better than someone who just fucks her at her friends’ weddings.”

The One Where They Find Out by Knappster(long) oneshot — complete — in-canon: Pitch Perfect 2 timeline

Hiding a relationship from the Bellas? Sign me the fuck up because I am a whore for those stories. I don’t know why but I just am and this fic has it all. Weird Lilly, struggling™ Beca, Jessica and Ashley duo-ness, a sprinkling of jealousy, developing feelings, heat, and just general gooey fluff.  

standout line:

Get your shit together. Get it all together and put it in a backpack, all your shit, so it’s together!” She started to walk away but walked back after a few steps. “And if you gotta take it somewhere, take it somewhere, you know? Take it to the shit store and sell it, or put it in a shit museum. I don’t care what you do, you just gotta get it together.

Aubrey in Wonderland by Knappstermulti-chapter — work in progress (seems discontinued) — in-canon & AU

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME WITH THIS. Honestly, I put off reading this story because I saw that it was unfinished and didn’t want to get my heart broken but in this case it is better to have loved and lost than never loved at all because this fic is absolute GOLDEN. I never in a million years would’ve imagined Stacie as Cheshire Cat and yet, reading it, it completely works and I’m dying for more. It’s the right amount of crack and humorous that makes this fic work.  

standout line:

“Tamed. She’s like a house cat now. She’s practically purring.”

Snowbound by ACamp_Toner / @ss-staubrey​multi-chapter — complete — in-canon: Pitch Perfect 2 timeline

the sexual tension here is OFF THE CHARTS and it somehow increases after they sleep together. 0/10 would not read in public again. But at it’s core it’s a wonderfully fleshed out story with adorable playful fun, set against a backdrop of a ski vacation which is unlike any other story I’ve read before.

standout line:

“Nice hat, Posen,” Beca smirked.

“How can you see it from all the way down there, Hobbit?” Beca’s smirk turned into a glare but it couldn’t rival Aubrey’s.

“Okay, okay, knock it off you two. Aubrey, the hat looks adorable on you. And Beca,” Stacie paused, thinking, “I’m sorry you’re so short.”

The One with the Roommate’s Girlfriend by ACamp_tonerone-shot — complete — AU

Friends would have been made a 1000% better with more lesbians and that’s what we have here and it’s honestly a little astounding how well this fits. This fic works beautifully and I’m in love with this AU.

standout line:

“Oh, yeah. Yeah, I found this great place called ‘Invisible Things for Aubrey.’ Can you give me a hand with all of this stuff?” Stacie motioned dramatically to the empty space next to her.

i hate you i hate you (i really love you) by Euterpemulti-chapter — complete — in-canon: Pitch Perfect 1 timeline

one of life’s greatest disappointments is finding an amazing fic, clicking through to the author profile and finding that it’s their only fic for your fandom/pairing and this is it, lads.  

This fic is one of few written from Aubrey’s point of view that I absolutely ADORE and her inner monologue is both relatable and so damn funny. The characterisation for both is splendidly done and the story is fun to read.  

standout line:

Simply put, as her father would tell her, she has lost control of the situation. The proper course of action in this case is to calmly handle whatever problem there is until everything is under control again. But for some reason, Aubrey can’t bring herself to push Stacie away. Her arms aren’t responding to the screaming messages from her brain, like in that movie where the guy gets possessed by little people who control him like a robot.

The First Time by youarefire / @shiaa-esttoneshot — complete — in-canon: between Pitch Perfect 1 and 2

Stacie singing to Aubrey is my absolute weakness (I have a lot of them if you can’t tell) and this story is just so soft and tender (no pun intended).  

standout line:

“I’ve been singing to you for three years, Posen, you finally got the hint.”

can my heart beat quiet? (no) by DJ Jiggle Juice (babytobin_horse) / @backtobasicbellas​ oneshot — complete — in-canon: Pitch Perfect 2 timeline

What did I say about being a slut for sneaking around and hidden relationships??? Because here we have another Stacie and Aubrey hiding their relationship from the Bellas. A particular highlight in this one is Beca’s A+ snarkiness and her and Aubrey sniping at each other while Stacie tries to keep the peace.  

standout line:  

And Stacie still isn’t quite used to this, seeing more than just lust from someone, but Aubrey makes her feel wanted all the time and sends her care packages and reminds Stacie of just how smart she is and god, Stacie thinks she’s -

love is a losing game (oh, what a mess we made) by DJ Jiggle Juice (babytobin_horse)(long) oneshot — complete — in-canon: Pitch Perfect 1 timeline — additional note: it’s a half Staubrey/half Bechloe story featuring a Steca friends with benefits type thing (but the listed pairings are endgame) (side note because I have poor reading comprehension skills and completely missed the steca tag and was HELLA surprised by that turn of events)

Basically, our lovely foursome are all in DENIAL and Beca and Stacie being as emotionally stunted as they are decide that maybe sleeping together to get over their (supposedly unrequited) feelings is the best way to go about things and it backfires.  

The Stacie/Aubrey stuff makes my chest hurt and my throat close up it’s so wonderfully written.  

It’s a lovely story and if Bechloe isn’t your thing, you can skip their scenes but I don’t recommend that because the whole story flows a lot better if you read the whole thing

standout line:  

Aubrey smells like vanilla and lavender wrapped into one. She holds Stacie tight, hand running up and down her back before she pulls away.

Stacie misses her touch already.

Can’t Fight This Feeling by snowtamale / @snowtamale​oneshot — complete — AU

I love a fun exploration of Aubrey’s issues within an AU because they tend to be similar to in-universe stories but manifest in different ways and this fic explores that. As mentioned, I also like a sex-then-feelings type of story and this one includes that. Coupled with the hi-larious sidebars? I’m here for it.  

standout line:  

(Ready to give up on love: check) 

Holding The Frame by jdc15oneshot — complete — canon divergence after Pitch Perfect 2

I don’t usually venture back to fanfiction.net for stories but this one is well worth it. For as much as I love college era Stacie and Aubrey, there’s just something about them being slightly older and slightly less unfortunate with their feelings.  

This story finds them a year after Pitch Perfect 2 ends and it’s absolutely beautifully written. 10/10 would go back to ff.net for this author.

standout line:  

“You and Aubrey have excellent chemistry. And to dance the tango, if you have chemistry, you have half the dance. You are beautiful together.”

and also the final line which I won’t spoil for you but is possibly the best ending to a fic I’ve ever read wow.  

Juncture by jdc15oneshot — complete — AU

jesus christ this story is hot. Assertive Aubrey is a thing of dreams. This author writes great smut and are the only reason I’m still subscribed to a ff.net author

standout line:  

Aubrey’s lips are soft and sure, confident yet polite, and Stacie is glad for the wall behind her because without it to lean against she’d already be a puddle on the floor.

Nowish by Psy456 / @chloes-yellow-cupmulti-chapter — complete — canon divergence after Pitch Perfect 2 — additional note: Bellas squared ship

This is… not technically an exclusively Staubrey story but it’s such a masterpiece that I can’t leave it out of this list. It’s a beautiful written work and pretty much the only fic I find myself shipping all of these women together because it is so well fleshed out (no pun intended). It’s both hot as hell and sweet as sugar and an all around great fic.  

no standout line, but all of the smut was wow-ee 0/10 do not read in public

also I re-read my own fics like all the time but this isn’t a time for self-promotion

I strongly encourage everybody to read all the other fics by the authors I’ve got here because most of them have more than what is listed here and just because a story isn’t listed doesn’t mean it isn’t absolutely incredible, especially since I don’t have the space to list every single story I love (it was hard enough picking out these to be quite honest).  

Also! If you go on a reading binge please comment; some of these stories are criminally under-commented on (especially the multi-chapters) and with all of the hate going around these days, it would be nice to show some love to the authors for their incredible writing and this awesome ship