#only Karen isn’t really in terms with it

[canichangemyblogname]

“The show isn’t going to cater to your fan fiction fantasy 🤣.”

Yeah… no. See, that’s not the issue. 1.) I don’t read fanfiction; can also barely write it, 2.) the issue 100% is that this was very clearly intended to come out of the blue, but because it seems increasingly likely LFJ isn’t returning to the show, there is a lack of resolution. This breakup is result of Tommy’s insecurities in the relationship. He feels he’s gonna get left behind; have his heart broken. The breakup even surprises Tommy. It blindsides Buck, a character who has long been characterized by a listlessness and a lack of defined vision for his future. When his boyfriend breaks up with him because he doesn’t believe that Buck can actually see him in his future, the narratively weighty thing is for the characters to later—after processing this breakup and struggling with competing wants—confront that. But that seems so incredibly unlikely, so it feels more like they kiboshed this for some external reason rather than a narrative one.

Then there’s an issue with the follow through with themes. If this is the end-end— and that seems likely with LFJ’s departure from the show—there’s a lack of follow through on reoccurring themes in the show, like second chances, making one’s own happiness, and how “our people” make life worth it. If the goal is Buck’s return to a 1.0 era, that would be a stark and sharp character regression instead of growth for a character who has come a long way over 8 seasons, which is not narratively satisfying. And when it’s ONLY the bisexual character who ever gets arcs like this, and it’s explicitly because of some “he doesn’t know what he really wants” or “he can’t commit,” then the story isn’t original; it’s a stereotype. There’s also then a very jarring lack of follow through on changes to structure and style they had been planning to explore, like finding ways to integrate a Love Interest into non-romance and non-relationship storylines, being able to expand these characters through professional scenarios together, and that whole thing about Buck getting off the “hamster wheel.” All of these hinted at major structural changes to the way the show writes secondary characters, which would also have major implications for characters like Karen and Josh. This sort of shift, understandably, gets viewers invested in a new era of an EIGHT season show, and disappointed when these structural changes fail (repeatedly, may I add) to manifest.

It’s disappointing because it seems—due to casting changes beyond their control and of no fault of anyone— there won’t be any follow through on this purposefully sudden breakup. Even some upcoming confrontation between the characters could wrap up the tension left in the air. The narrative doesn’t need tropes or some rom-com ending to be narratively satisfying! It can end tragically and still fee resolved.

Most fans’ issue with this is that they did this for the short-term drama, not for the long-term story telling.

—Sincerely, a novelist (a VERY different writing form) who writes tragedies and recently finished a gay romantic tragedy that ends—well—with a break up.

[s0uth3park]

Random SP headcanons pt2

Pt 1

Tweek tried to, but ultimately will never, learn how to drive with heavy advice from his loved ones (Craig). It’s too stressful. It’s dangerous because of his anxiety and tics for others and himself. No driving for Tweek. Please.

Cartman doesn’t make fun of Craig for being “half ginger” because he’s a little scared of him… kind of.

Speaking of, Cartman showed Craig his own wiener (as per TxC) of his own volition.

Fat fucking crush on Kyle btw.

If Stan hates that he looks like his dad then he hates that Kyle looks like his mom btw. Because… alcoholic x radical canadaphobe?? Fuck knows.

Stan shakes on weed (no projection here). He can’t feel it though.

Speaking of, Tweek can’t feel his own shaking.

Cartman wishes that Kenny would act how he would / seeks Kenny’s validation, hence his criticism of Kenny of the most menial of things (ie. holding a candle in Put It Down).

If there was money for it, Karen would own a lot of stuffed animals.

Kevin and Karen do not carry the gene for red hair. Or blond/blonde hair.

Cartman loves his fucking grandma. (No projection I swear)

Jimbo holds some affection for Liane but is just a gay old fuck. Jimned 4eva

Did I mention in my last post I think, despite Mrs Valmer’s canon design, that Mrs Tweak has the biggest tits? I’m saying it again if so

SHE AND RICHARD SCREW SO BAD I KNOW I SAID BUT PLEASE UNDERSTAND–

I know I said last post that I didn’t know how Tweek and Butters would be cousins but now I’ve decided… people can think differently because anything goes but for me it’s through both fathers. Tweak Bros. originates from Mrs. Tweak’s father and to earn the right to marry her he had to win him over and show his dedication to the profession

Richard and Stephen got grounded a LOT

Linda and Sheila’s hair always smells incredible (so much product)

Sheila is the type of grandma to give out stale sweeties

The Marsh name ends with Stanley. The bloodline ends with both him and Shelley

Heidi is the mother of Kyle’s kids (coping)

Cartman only became homeless after his mother died

He never worked ever (garageman future aside)

Clyde got vaccinated guys we can all rest now (the bad future self came back to tell him to never do it but once the good future is put into play he gets vaccinated because there was no bad future to come back to tell him)

Clyde is very girldad coded, soz

Bebe’s dad is a bit younger than her mom (he is the ultimate girldad… Mr. Stevens I wish I knew your name)

Clyde gets more insecure about his weight / appearance as he gets older. For now he is young however so let him live (his pudge is the pudge ever and he is sonboy if not a carnal dream and a half… latter only in pcov ofc)

Mr. Stevens helps Bebe with her homework a fuckton (particularly maths)

Butters bites his nails

Butters (after growing up) loves strong women. Look at his Pcov design and tell me he doesn’t want / have / respect a buff wife.

If Butters wasn’t grounded as much as a kid he wouldn’t have a fear of expectations as much as he does, meaning he would have probably gotten a better job than working in Dennybees or whatever it was called. Bro could have been a multi billionaire girlboss

I just want someone to hear this it’s not really a headcanon but BHLK Queen Thistle? LINDA STOTCH? Same character different nationalities istg

Kyle plays chaperone a fair bit to the guys

Kyle, Tolkien and Craig are the most sensible drivers out of All The Boys (Tolkien behind Craig and Kyle if I’m being honest)

Kenny and Bebe (Bebe isn’t a boy but YKWIM) are the fucking fastest / most reckless

Clyde and Stan are sort of not great but not bad drivers

Jimmy is rather close to Tolkien in terms of driving skill yk

Butters, Cartman, Tweek don’t drive – Cartman out of laziness / expectation of chaperones, and Butters and Tweek out of stress… Tweek tried to learn though

Craig in later years drives Tweek everywhere

Tweek and Cartman have experienced heart attacks (in later years) but for different reasons to the other. Clyde has come very close. So has Craig, though not as close.

Tweek dies before Craig.

Stan dies before Kyle.

Butters dies before Kenny (ironically).

Craig visits Tweek’s grave with flowers every week??

Craig, as an old man, wears a lot of fucking cardigans. Grandpa shirts too (the things without the collars).

Tweek and Craig have matching anythings. Typically slippers.

Bebe is very handsy and sometimes possessive. Clyde thinks it’s “sweet”. (The dudebro sweet not the romantic sweet through the possessiveness originates from romanticism).

In Pcov Clyde is a delivery man, actually

Out of all the couples, it would always be Clybe to cause the most hickeys

Bebe has a flatter ass than brilliant boobs (opposite for Wendy, though Wendy isn’t flat chested)

Nichole bleaches her skin in the future (it’s sad but look at her design. Out of everything else it’s the most unrecognisable and it’s awful) (ETA: when I say awful I’m talking about why most people bleach their skin and how it can affect one’s health – people can do as they please but ultimately skin bleaching isn’t a… great??? thing, socially and health-wise)

Nichole loves 60s/70s paraphernalia and fashion (the ultimate flower power child)

Wendy and Cartman fuck at least once in their lifetimes. They take it to the grave, but because of this Cartman doesn’t die a fucking virgin

That sounds so damn harsh wth but it’s true (I think Cartman doesn’t really have any labels moreso is just attached to certain people when it’s not just himself *cough cough* Kyle and Wendy *cough cough*)

Jimmy can see perfectly fine out of both eyes until he reaches teenhood

Jimmy has two brown haired alleles

Cartman doesn’t make fun of Kenny or Craig for having a ginger / red haired parent because he thinks they’re pretty cool. He lowkey ships them / wants to be them.

Cartman has the gene for ginger hair.

[oldwritingm]

Hi!! I wanted to ask a reader with abusive parents and the main 4 reacting to this

Sure thing!

National child abuse hotline: 800-422-4453 / National domestic violence hotline: 800-799-7233

TW for (implied) abuse!!

South Park - Main Four With a Partner Who Has Abusive Parents

Stan

He understands the struggle

Honestly he’d be the best out of the four to vent to about this, he can absolutely empathize

And you can empathize with him when he needs to vent

You also share tricks that you use to avoid the abuse

Whenever it gets to be too much, you both sneak out and meet at Stark Pond

You don’t always talk when this happens, because sometimes you just need some silence and a hand to hold

Oftentimes you’ll vouch for each other in public when you try to hide it

And you’ll help change the subject

“Oh, that bruise? I just fell down the stairs.”

“Yeah, I was there. Okay, new subject—”

But deep down you both know the truth

If/when you finally decide to tell someone about what’s going on at home, you have a pact to do it together

Kyle

He invites you over a lot just to get you away from home

And when he walks you home he goes veerrry slow

He’s constantly reminding you that you can always come to his place whenever you need

When you vent to him, he SEETHES

He HATES your parents

He has refused to meet them on multiple occasions

“Wanna come inside for a snack?”

“Are your parents home?”

“I think so.”

“Then no.”

Will absolutely indulge you in making “hypothetical” plots to violently murder them

He wants you to get help, but won’t push you

He has offered to help you speak up about it though

In the meantime he just wants to always be there for you and offer a safe space

Kenny

He also empathizes with what you’re going through

He knows his house isn’t that much better, but he’ll still invite you over when you need to get away

Goofing off with him and Karen usually cheers you up

If that doesn’t do the trick, Kenny loves to cuddle you while you vent

It does make him sad, but he just holds you tighter and reiterates how much he cares for you

“I’m so sorry baby. You don’t deserve that. You deserve the world.”

The few times he’s been around your parents, you’ve noticed him glaring at them with clenched fists

He really wants to punch them

He won’t though, he knows that’ll just make it worse for you

Whenever you tell him something particularly shocking, he tries to convince you to get help

Gets a little frustrated when you decline, but knows that you’ll do it when you’re ready

He just doesn’t like seeing you suffer :(

Cartman

Out of the main four, he empathizes the least with your situation

Genuinely doesn’t understand why you “let” it continue

“Why do you let them treat you like that?”

“It’s not that simple, Eric.”

“Do you want me to do it for you?”

“…Do what?”

“Kill them. Torture them. Whatever. I dunno.”

“Pfff—”

Unfortunately, he’s more bark than bite; if you agree to let him “help,” he’ll most likely chicken out when he actually meets your parents

When he bosses his mom around, he’ll tell you to take some notes

This both baffles and amuses you

He’ll only ask you to get professional help once; he’ll drop it if you decline

He’ll listen to you vent, but the most he can do in terms of comfort is say “that’s stupid/messed up” and give you snacks

He does use your situation as an excuse to have you over like. All the time

Thank you for this request! And thanks for reading, stay safe guys <33

National child abuse hotline: 800-422-4453 / National domestic violence hotline: 800-799-7233

(divider by saradika)

[hopeless-ronantic]

i’ve recently come to the realization that i think my favorite fics to read are the ones where nancy and/or steve struggle to accept their bisexuality.

maybe nancy is like

“😡😡😡 robin is so annoying”

and then is like

“but maybe…?”

and then she finally can’t take it anymore & just has to be sure about what she’s feeling, so she kisses robin and everything makes sense finally

and of course the whole time robin can’t figure out what nancy’s problem is, and thinks that maybe she really is just a prissy know-it-all, but of course that doesn’t stop her from wanting to spend time around nancy any chance she gets

so when nancy finally kisses her, robin realizes nancy’s problem was never with robin, it was with her feelings for robin.

& maybe nancy realizes she had a crush on barb at some point or that maybe her love for blondie goes a little beyond just liking their music. but when she’s kissing robin, everything makes sense and everything just feels right

or maybe nancy and robin get along great (which is kinda weird for steve at first, but he’s got eddie & he and nancy are back on good terms now)

and robin has a crush on nancy but vows to never act on it or do anything to risk losing nancy’s friendship because that’s more important to her than some dumb unrequited crush

but secretly nancy is trying to pinpoint the exact feeling she gets around robin because she’s always so excited to hang out with her & she can’t tell why. because she’s never been that excited to hang out with any of her other friends before, so why does she get so giddy when it’s robin?

and one night, they decide to have a sleepover with makeovers & chinese takeout & maybe a couple wine coolers that nancy stole from karen (or maybe robin convinced steve to buy them some).

and nancy is so excited robin agreed to the makeovers part because it means that robin gets to play with her hair but again can’t tell why that excites her so much

(meanwhile robin is trying so hard to be as “normal” as she can while braiding nancy’s hair, because all she can think about through the light fog from the 2 wine coolers she’s had, is leaning down and placing light kisses on nancy’s exposed shoulders & she’s terrified that nancy might somehow read her mind or that she might not be able to stop herself & in turn ruin the only real friendship she’s had with a girl since barb)

and when they move on to makeup and nancy is applying lipgloss to robin, she is finally able to put a name to the feelings she’s been having: want, desire, longing. staring at robins freshly glossed lips, she realizes there’s nothing she wants more in the world than to know what they’d feel like on hers.

and because she’s nancy (and possibly slightly tipsy). she decides, screw it, and she just goes for it. and robin, surprised at first, quickly realizes she isn’t dreaming and kisses nancy back and it’s more magical than either girl could’ve ever imagined

i lose my fucking mind over that shit!!!

or like steve is confused because why does his heart beat like that when eddie is around? why does his stomach do little flips when eddie calls him pet names, those little flips like it used to when nancy would laugh at his jokes, or when she’d affectionately call him an idiot?

he can’t quite figure it out, because it can’t be that he likes eddie because he’s never felt this way about another man before, and he is certain he likes girls. and you can’t like both, right? right??

and he goes to robin in a panic because she’s really the most qualified to give advice in this situation (but also because there’s nobody he’s ever trusted to not judge him as much as her). and robin laughs and has to explain to steve that he can like both & that just because he hasn’t felt this way before doesn’t make it any less real or valid.

& maybe steve has to sit with that for a little bit, so he spends the weekend in his bed just staring at the ceiling, thinking. and eddie is convinced he pissed steve off because he won’t answer the phone, so he goes over sunday night to apologize for whatever he did because the thought of losing steve makes his heart ache

& when eddie knocks on steve’s open door and peeks his head in with an apologetic smile, steve looks into eddie’s big brown eyes, and everything clicks into place. all the thoughts and questions that were running through his head all weekend finally stop & all he can think is “kiss him” so he does & nothing has felt more right in his life

and eddie can’t believe this is really happening, because he thought one day the ache in his heart would kill him, the ache from knowing steve would never feel the same way eddie did. the ache that eddie would have to live the rest of his life as nothing more to steve harrington than a friend, and he’d have to be okay with that.

and i just really need more of these in my life, especially ronance because there just really isn’t enough content out there for them.. okay that’s all, thanks for listening to my ramblings.

[cal-daisies-and-briars]

☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️

Your murder mystery has me in a choke hold rn I need to know more

YAY! So happy to hear that!

102 for ☠️:

---

“Of course it does,” Bobby replies. “Of course what you feel always matters.”

“That’s now how the law works, Bobby.”

“I know,” Bobby concedes. “But if how the law worked was enough for you right now you wouldn’t be asking for my opinion. You’d just do your job.”

Well. 

He’s not wrong, there.

“I’ve never had to choose between them, Bobby.”

“I know it’s easy to think of the world in black and white terms,” Bobby says. “It’s comforting that way. But we both know that isn’t always true.”

But shouldn’t things like murder and framing an innocent man for murder be black and white? Where is the moral ambiguity there? 

The more Athena thinks of it, though, the more she can see it. When she thought Amir had burnt their house down, when she thought he’d more or less killed Bobby, she had been hell bent on revenge. Bobby had mattered more to her than the law. She would have killed him. She did things that were illegal to apprehend the people who did hurt her husband. She had just… Well, she felt justified. She felt like the law, herself. Maybe Hen and Buck and everyone who may or may not have worked with them aren’t the law. They don’t have that shield. But if their reasoning was as motivating as hers…

I think maybe some things are more complicated than we understand. Really complicated. And those complications can make good people do bad things.

“How can you say that so easily?” She asks Bobby. Genuinely desperate to know. “I haven’t told you what the crime is.”  

“It doesn’t matter,” Bobby says. “I know you. If it has you rattled, I trust that it isn’t that simple.”

That hits her somewhere deep. 

Maybe because it’s exactly the question she needs to answer for herself. Does she trust Hen? Does she trust Karen, Buck, Eddie, and maybe Chimney and Maddie? Does she trust herself enough to make that call? And what decision will let her sleep best at night? 

“Thank you,” Athena says to her husband. 

“I hope it was helpful.” He shrugs. 

“More than you know.”

vii.

It happens two days later. 

Athena is off, the 118 is working. So it can only be Karen or Maddie, though Athena supposes she’lll never really know. 

She hasn’t been doing well with the choice she knows is staring her down. She feels frozen. She hasn’t done anything yet. That feels like a choice in itself. But she also hasn’t ruled out doing anything in the future. Decision paralysis. She doesn’t want to accept either outcome without full details. But she’s trying to hold onto what Bobby said. 

Still, deliberating is taking its toll on her. She’s frazzled in a way she’s not used to. She’s gone through half a case of Tum’s. She might become dependent on chamomile tea. Nothing seems to calm the upset in her stomach. 

So, when the doorbell rings in the late morning, Athena isn’t really sure she’s prepared for company. She has no desire to be social. No desire to host. She half expects it to be the LAPD on her doorstep, ready to collect her badge and gun for suspecting and not acting on those suspicions. Of course, it’s not. That’s ridiculous. They’d call her in. 

When she opens the front door, Athena finds that no one is there. She thinks, rather grumpily, that some kid has pulled a lame-ass prank on her. That’s before she sees it. On the new welcome mat Bobby bought from Home Depot, there sits a large, stuffed manila envelope. There’s no name, address, or writing of any sort on it. 

“Oh,” Athena mumbles. 

She has a bad feeling about this. 

Of course, before she touches the envelope, she looks. There’s no vehicle pulling away nearby. No evidence of a getaway. Whoever left this here got in and out quickly. Athena can’t help but remember the package bomb left at their old home. The one Harry found. Left for her, but it could have killed her son. She doesn’t think this could contain a bomb. She can see the shape of a thick stack of papers inside. Nevertheless, she’s nervous as she reaches for it. 

The other thing she’s aware of, is the fact that if this is from her friends - and not a serial bomber - this potentially implicates her in quite a crime. A string of crimes. Essentially, this is it. If there is evidence or motive or whatever in this envelope, Athena has to make her choice. It will no longer be a well-educated suspicion. It will be undeniable. 

“Why did you do this to me, Henrietta?” She asks quietly.  Athena takes the envelope into her kitchen. She knows she’s going to look at it. Of course she is. She needs confirmation. She needs to know. Hell, maybe Hen is proving her wrong. Maybe she read all the signs incorrectly. Isn’t that a possibility, too? Athena can be wrong.

[tommykinard6]

I’ve finally watched the new episode!!!

I’m going to talk about it, but in case someone hasn’t filtered out spoilers, here’s a cut.

Tommy, my sweet darling, you look so soft and gentle, especially during that coffee scene. You’re so gentle with Buck and you’re also so gentle with yourself. You’re precious.

Buck, sweetheart, you are certainly an ally. Your lips and Tommy’s lips sealed an alliance, that is correct. You’re so cute, omg, you’re down bad for this boy. Invite him to your sister’s wedding on the third date? Why not!

I think the show did a great job in handling Buck coming to terms with himself. I think he hadn’t necessarily paused to think it over before his talk with Maddie and that’s why he was so anxious on the date.

Also, these are two grown ass men. I don’t think they’re moving at the wrong pace or that Buck is silly for inviting Tommy to his sister’s wedding. It’s a little odd, but as he said, Tommy already knows half the people there. They’ll figure out what works right for them.

I feel like people make more of the age difference than there actually is. We don’t have a confirmed age for Tommy, but let’s say he’s about the same age as Lou himself (39/40). Buck is about 31. An 8-9 year age difference really isn’t bad. It is a difference for sure, but it’s nothing drastic. Tommy isn’t robbing the cradle.

What I’m wondering about is the wedding and their appearance. Has Buck come out to everyone? Is he doing a surprise date? Do his parents know?? I don’t want his coming out to take over the wedding, but I’m hoping we get some scenes in the next episode, some flashback, to show his coming out or the build up to Tommy as his wedding date.

Lou said in an interview that Tommy’s entrance to the wedding will be dramatic. Did Tommy go off to recover Chim from wherever Chim went?

I’ll briefly touch on the rest of the episode content. First up, Eddie and Marisol.

What the actual hell was happening there?

I wanna know who came up with the nun storyline. It was hysterical! But I’m wondering where the writers are going with this. They moved her in and then out in the same episode. The only thing that I see accomplished was showing that Eddie was Catholic and has Catholic guilt. This could be useful later on, but it was odd.

Please, 9-1-1, get rid of Marisol. It’s not even the character that’s an issue, it’s the actress.

And finally, Hen and Karen!

I love any storyline we get with them. These are my moms now, ok? I’m sad they didn’t get a baby, but I think they’ll have quite a journey ahead with Mara, who’s clearly traumatized. And look at Denny! He’s grown up so much. I love their little family and I hope we get some more centric storylines with them. I feel like they get left behind sometimes.

Ok! Those are my thoughts! Lemme know what y’all think.

[adorawasright]

Don’t forget, Sea Hawk is also apparently Asian. I also thought Frost might be Asian at first bc she kinda looks… maybe stereotypical isn’t the exact word, but just like what comes to mind when you think of a little Asian girl. Not to mention, she was originally designed as a white (Nordic coded?) teenager for this show before they decided to age her down into the little sister character. Never mind the fact the little sister character already existed in the old series with Glimmer and Allegra, and they could have done something with that, but I digress. I’ve also seen some people say Angella is Indian coded, because of the accent and her voice actress. Or maybe it’s because they think her gem is reminiscent of a bindi?

But yeah, idk about Perfuma, Entrapta, or Spinnerella. I think Perfuma could be latina because if the actress? But the character gives off the vibes of such a essential oils Karen that I associate with entitled white women, to the point I think she might just be a tanned white woman? Though I’ll admit, when I first saw her design I considered black and white biracial, and I considered Pacific Islander. So I have no idea. I’ve also seen some people interpret Entrapta as black. Though, I doubt it based on the hair alone. I like to think she’s latina, simply because I want her as my Latin rep, and not the literal cat. As for Spinnerella, I got nothing. Maybe white? All I know is that Huntara should have been black, and isn’t even coded as black. And I think that’s dumb, because I would have loved buff, queer, gets-a-character-arc Grace Jones in this show, since we didn’t get to have it in the old one.

Okay, hold on. I had no idea Sea Hawk was apparently half-Asian. I had to look this up. It was "confirmed" (as in, on Twitter) by the lead character designer for SPOP, who also "confirmed" Scorpia as half-Asian as well. However, I'm pretty sure Frosta is supposed to be Inuk like Katara, but I don't think that was ever confirmed. I could be wrong. I'm not even sure where her kingdom is located, for that matter. The worldbuilding in SPOP sucks so badly I barely remember how the kingdoms were like, save for Perfuma's and maybe Mermista's.

Idk, man. I honestly don't think that much about most characters' ethnicities, because the SPOP crew clearly didn't put a lot of thought into it. I mean, the literal cat teenager who licks herself, who walks on fours, who bites and claws people, who hisses and hates water, and who's sexualized on top of it all, is supposed to be Latina. Or Iranian or Middle Eastern, because apparently OG Catra came from "Purrsia", which is like... the Persian Empire? And fans really want to apply that to the reboot, too. Except Catra's origins were never brought up in SPOP, only that Catra was found abandoned in a cardboard box according to Nate. Regardless, neither theories are great because both Latinas and Iranian women (and Middle Eastern women in general) are not treated like people. They're sexualized and are victims of colonization. I've heard people headcanon Catra as Indigenous, too. Which is even worse considering she got her hair cut against her will.

As for the other characters... I just don't care, lmao. I will agree that Huntara should've been black, too. But since the SPOP crew didn't care about developing their kingdoms and their origins, then I don't think that hard. I mainly mention and dissect "Latina" Catra because the fandom won't shut up about her. Idk about Entrapta's ethnicity, but if Latina Entrapta makes you happy, go for it. Especially because Latin America is pretty diverse, so there are a lot of possibilities.

I don't agree with the term Karen, though. I get what you mean, that Perfuma is annoying and ableist and treats other people like garbage, but sadly that's another term that actual misogynists use against any women who get angry. But I know that's not your intention, I get where you come from.

[celestiarambles]

Hey so I found this one meme and honestly I think it does kinda sums up how the fandom treated Angela imo-

But what do you think?

Honestly this made me laugh a little because as an Angela stan, I would really defend her like that (I mean, I even wrote The Pedestal because I was HEARTBROKEN with the revelation and I wanted to be delusional for a little xD)

But yeah, I still acknowledge that she did some bad things; murder, corruption, and bombings are inexcusable. However, Angela didn’t deserve much of the hate she received from the fandom due to the circumstances she had.

Imagine losing your parents at the young age of 8 and taken under the wing of a huge criminal organization. She may have told Lars that she wasn’t brainwashed, but of course you wouldn’t know for yourself if that was the case because you were well… brainwashed. Even during The Darkest Hour, Baxter didn’t immediately tell the Bureau that he aided in the kidnapping because SOMBRA was controlling him. Whether she was brainwashed or not though, imagine the effect of growing up in a criminal organization would have to you.

Looking at this too in an Asian and cultural perspective (because I’m Asian, but I’m not generalizing ALL Asian countries, this is just based on what I’m aware of growing up), Angela has mentioned that she is loyal to SOMBRA because they had practically raised her. One toxic trait in Asian cultures is that you are guilt tripped to “give back” to the family/people who raised you, no matter how big or heavy their requests may be. It could be as simple as letting them live in your house, maybe buying them their own house or other material things, or it can be as big as giving them hefty sums of money or treating you as their retirement fund or something. (In our country, it’s called utang ng loob.) Since the orphan recruitment schemes are prominent in Asian countries, they must’ve then gaslighted and guilt tripped those orphans in that way, hence that’s why Angela felt what she did.

Besides, the only time she had disobeyed SOMBRA was when she married Lars. You can’t tell me that SOMBRA would easily let that slide, especially since she was ranked quite high in their hierarchy. They had probably gaslighted and threatened her about it many times, until she had no choice but to stay loyal just to keep her family safe.

That’s why I find it absurd when some people would portray her as this black-and-white evil villain who’s abusive and possessive, because the only thing she wants is to keep her family safe.

Some people don’t actually hate her because she’s a SOMBRA agent and she killed Lavinia, they hate her because she broke Lars’ heart. Yes, it is wrong, but it isn’t really that easy to confess to your husband that you’re a part of the criminal organization your team is investigating. Admitting to it won’t be that easy either; it could potentially harm her family. SOMBRA’s a lot more deadly and complicated organization that had the power to. She and Lars could’ve gotten killed because of SOMBRA and once they’re gone, they could’ve easily taken the triplets away, thus continuing SOMBRA’s long and deadly cycle. She never wanted her children to get involved in their crimes, in fact she was trying to break the cycle. That’s why she’s so protective. That’s why she also stayed in the Bureau even though it was dangerous for her.

She was also pretty much hated in the same way Karen was hated; Chief King and Frank Knight were “redeemed” by the fandom just because they did it for the family, while she and Karen got hate even though they were also doing it for the family.

Pretty Simple also lacked in terms of fleshing out her character, causing multiple misinterpretations. She had so much potential to be more complex instead of being boxed as that “traitor with no remorse”, but yeah the remaining cases weren’t enough to do that I guess? It’s up to further analysis then!

So yeah, Angela’s not a perfect character, and it’s okay to dislike her for the crimes she did. This is not a character analysis of some sort because this is mostly based on my interpretation and perspectives regarding her, but yeah I just really love her because well, Asian representation and she’s just so complex. I don’t like it when they would paint her as a complete monster though.

[toasted-valentine]

Ghost Story Good Enough Analysis

Ghost Story Musical has two main couples, Joey and Anthony, and Józef and Hao. The song Good Enough is the backstory to Joey and Anthony's relationship, and within this you can see the major cracks in their relationship and why it is failing when the story starts.

Before I begin this analysis, I would like to define a few terms.

Infantilization: "Infantilization is when an adult is being treated like a child, even though nothing about their mental, physical, social, or intellectual wellbeing requires such treatment."

Fetishization: "Fetishization can be thought of as the act of making someone an object of sexual desire based on some aspect of their identity."

White Supremacy Culture: "White Supremacy Culture is a form of racism centered upon the belief that white people are superior to people of other racial backgrounds and that whites should politically, economically, and socially dominate non-whites."

Internalize Racism: “Internalized racism is a form of internalized oppression, defined by sociologist Karen D. Pyke as the "internalization of racial oppression by the racially subordinated."”

I will be organizing the lyrics by color, Anthony is green, Joey is blue, when they sing together it is orange, and when I am unsure who it is singing then it will be in pink.

(ANTHONY and JOEY, in a bar that is really just their apartment. Younger and hungrier. ANTHONY perches by the edge of the stage, looking into the dance floor like he is going to fall off in a second. JOEY leans on the bar with affected casualness, but after he shifts a little to sip his drink, he carefully repositions himself exactly back to where he was. Neither of them are dancing.)

ANTHONY:

TRY NOT TO WISH THAT I’D JUST STAYED HOME IN BED

Anthony is not a social person, presumably he was dragged out to a gay bar by friends, and really isn’t interested in being there. He’s trying to have a good time and force himself to be happy so it won’t disturb the people around him, this is a negative personality trait that can be seen within Wolf In Sheep Country. From the beginning he has struggled with setting boundaries and openly speaking about his discomforts. This behavior will only escalate and make his relationship with Joey crumble.

TRY TO IGNORE GUYS TALKING OVER MY HEAD

This line is either about Anthony’s friends ignoring him and not really taking him into consideration, or other gay men at the bar not really considering his feelings at all and just fetishizing him being asian.

CHOKE DOWN A CHASER, PRETENDING TO TEXT

Once again, Anthony is keeping his own personal issues pushed down instead of openly discussing them, just drinking and pretending not to be dying a little on the inside.

MAKE SURE MY LOCK SCREEN CROPS OUT MY EX

This could add potential context, Anthony most likely is fresh out of a relationship, and is trying to find a guy to fuck and then forget or his friends made him go out to try and help him forget about the break up. Either way, it’s another instance of Anthony being avoidant rather than dealing with what is going on within his life. The fact he crops his Lock Screen instead of changing it is also a show of it, sweep it under the rug instead of making any actual change.

JOEY:

TRY NOT TO FREEZE AGAINST A FOREST OF EYES

Joey is a transgender man, and like many trans people he experiences social dysphoria. He is deeply aware of how people are perceiving him, and is terrified of people staring at him and seeing his feminine “flaws”.

PULL DOWN MY JEANS TO TRY AND BREAK UP MY THIGHS

Joey is trying to make himself appear more masculine, covering the fact he most likely has a bit more curve to his body fat distribution and that he lacks masculine genitalia. It’s that fear of someone seeing through him and seeing that he’s trans.

TRY NOT TO SPEAK SO MY VOICE DOESN’T CRACK

Many trans men who are early on hormones or pre t struggle with their voice cracking, Joey is avoiding speaking so no one hears the fact he’s not the ideal of white masculinity, no matter how much he looks the part.

IGNORE HOW THEY TITTER WHEN I TURN MY BACK

Joey believes that everyone can tell he is trans and are judging him for it, that when he turns his back every man in that room is staring and scrutinizing him.

ANTHONY/JOEY:

BUT THIS WILL BE GOOD

Joey and Anthony are trying to stay positive and hopeful, they want to have something come out of that night, and are both telling themselves that something other than discomfort will be pulled out of the mess.

JOEY:

DESIRE LIGHTS ME UP LIKE A CHRISTMAS TREE

It’s notable that Joey is the one who gets to say this line, often times trans men are desexualized due to the male gaze and the idea they can’t openly desire sexual contact, so him openly divulging the fact he is there for a one night stand is a nice touch.

ANTHONY/JOEY:

THIS WILL BE GOOD

Again, more reassurances to themselves that they aren’t going to walk out alone that night. This lyric is a motif that gets brought up throughout the song in various ways.

ANTHONY:

BUT EVERY HEATED GLANCE I CATCH AT MISSES ME

Anthony is trying to find a hook up, but so far no one has shown much interest in him, and it’s getting under his skin. He wants sex, he wants someone to be a rebound after his break up, and is feeling deeply insecure about the fact no one has shown interest so far.

ANTHONY/JOEY:

THIS WILL BE GOOD, AS GOOD AS I CAN DO 'CAUSE BOTTOM-FEEDERS ARE STILL FISH IN THE SEA JUST LOOK, I'LL BE GOOD GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU

The previous line of reassurance is flipped on its head in this, going from a positive affirmation that they aren’t going to be left behind, to one of self doubt. Both men are deeply flawed, believe themselves barely enough for anyone at all, and are willing to settle for anyone because they believe anyone who dates them are settling for “good enough.”

ANTHONY:

I SEE THIS ALL-AMERICAN BOY BY THE BAR HIS SHIRT'S STILL ON, DOES HE KNOW WHERE WE ARE?

Anthony finally takes notice of Joey, and sees just how out of place he is. Joey is dressed like he’d call someone a slur in a bass pro shop, meanwhile he’s in a bar full of guys that all look like they’d make someone burst into flames with how well they’d be able to roast an outfit.

LEANING LIKE HE'S LOOKING FOR HIS PICKET FENCE HE'S NODDING TO THE MUSIC BUT HIS SHOULDERS ARE TENSE

In this we can see Anthony’s attraction to Joey is due to his ideal American boy look, Joey may be uncomfortable, but all Anthony can see is the white ideal he has been chasing and wants Joey for himself due to this.

I'M ALWAYS SOMEONE'S PORCELAIN DOLL OR HIS BRITTLE DREAM OF BAMBOO I CAN BE THE BOY YOU NEED IF YOU SNAP ME RIGHT IN TWO

Anthony reflects on how men have often times fetishized him due to his Chinese background, infantilizing him and feminizing him due to it, and wants someone who can just be rough with him and won’t treat him like a fragile China doll.

AND WHO ARE YOU, ALL CORN-SILK HAIR AND MAPLE TREE, DON'T YOU KNOW WHAT I THINK I KNOW YOU WANT FROM ME?

In this line we can see Anthony being hypocritical, along with a flash of internalized racism. He’s fetishizing Joey’s white and western traits, idealizing him as some sort of perfect model of what he should be, and assuming Joey only wants him so he can be having sex with an Asian guy.

I SWEAR I'M STILL GOOD THE LAST BRUISED PEACH AT THE BOTTOM OF THE BIN I’M STILL GOOD SINCE WHEN IS NOT BEING CHOSEN A SIN? I'M GOOD, AS GOOD AS ANY OF YOU ‘CAUSE THE RUNT OF THE LITTER TRIES HARDEST TO WIN I SWEAR I'LL BE GOOD GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU

Both men are still on the train of thought thinking they’re just good enough, not really being able to have the level of self confidence and love to take pride in themselves, but still wanting to live in a world where they can be enough for someone.

JOEY:

DON'T SNIFF THE BAIT IF YOU'RE NOT GONNA BITE IT'S GETTING LATE, IT'S BEEN A LONG NIGHT I DON’T WANT TO BE YOUR “ONLY EXCEPTION” OR TREATED LIKE A BACHELORETTE I CAN REEL YOU IN WITH A PRIMED PERCEPTION BUT I HAVEN'T MASTERED HOOK-AND-SINKER YET

Joey is used to men fetishizing him for his transness, not seeing him as a man due to it, and having to fight tooth and claw to be taken seriously as a man. He’s worried Anthony is going to do the same, but still wants to sleep with him. He’s also struggling with the fact he hasn’t really gotten to the point here he can feel comfortable openly propositioning someone for sex, so it hoping Anthony will take the first big step.

AND WHO ARE YOU, WITH PRETTY EYES, SOFT INGENUE, DON'T YOU KNOW WHO I THINK YOU THINK YOU'RE TALKING TO?

In this line it is Joey who is being the hypocrite, he is feminizing and infantilizing Anthony, and the vocabulary he uses in particular is something to take note of. Anthony is Chinese, and Joey specifically calls out Antony’s eyes as “pretty”, and follows it up with “soft ingenue.” While there is nothing inherently wrong with finding a partner’s eyes pretty, the context of him calling Anthony an ingenue changes the meaning.

An ingenue is a young girl who is inexperienced, fills the role of the innocent, and in media is often taken advantage of by someone more mature. Joey is feminizing Anthony by doing this, presuming him inexperienced and an easy target, and going entirely based on the fact Anthony is Asian. Joey is a white man who is feminizing a Chinese man for is own sexual gratification and being deeply hypocritical all the while.

Joey also believes that Anthony doesn’t realize he is trans, so is just waiting for the moment it comes out and Anthony doesn’t want him anymore.

I SWEAR I'M STILL GOOD THE CRUSHED UP CHIPS IN THE BOTTOM OF THE BAG I'M STILL GOOD I COULD HAVE A DATE, BUT I'M JUST GOING STAG I'M GOOD, AS GOOD AS ANY OF YOU THE KID WHO'S IT ALWAYS WANTS TO PLAY TAG I SWEAR I’LL BE GOOD GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU

Continuing to play into the insecurities both have, but desire for one enough.

JOEY:

GOD, YOU'RE FLAWLESS

There is a tendency for, white men especially, to sexualize people of POC descent as the ideal standard of sexual beauty. Specifically those of East Asian descent, which ties back to ideas of orientalism and the male gaze. Joey calling Anthony flawless is him falling into the same “porcelain doll” trap that Anthony pointed out earlier, not seeing Anthony as his own person, instead something to be used for his own pleasure.

ANTHONY:

GOD, YOU'RE STUNNING

Anthony is fetishizing Joey’s western traits, seeing him as more attractive due to his whiteness, and finds him the most attractive man there due to Joey fitting perfectly into western ideals of manhood.

JOEY/ANTHONY:

YOUR LOVE COULD MAKE ME PERFECT, TOO

These two are codependent as all hell, they want to use each other to make up for their own perceived flaws, and think if they can have one another it’ll “fix” what’s wrong in their lives. It’s an unhealthy mindset that’ll come later to bite them in the ass in There’s A House, when neither of them want to discuss what’s wrong in their relationship, and instead choose to hide behind the idea of having a perfect relationship.

ANTHONY:

MY HAIR WOULD BE BLONDER-

Based on this line we can assume that Anthony has dark brown or black hair, a trait that is typical of East Asian men, and that Joey is blonde. Anthony wants to be whiter, he wants to fit into the mold of perfect white man, but can’t no matter how hard he tries because that’s just not how is body is made. He wants what Joey has, wants to be that strong white male archetype.

JOEY:

MY VOICE WOULD BE LOWER-

Joey, in this instance, is envious of Anthony’s (presumably) status as a cisgender man. He wants to have Anthony’s lower voice, the ability to pass as a man with no effort, to have what he doesn’t. He’s envious of Anthony.

JOEY/ANTHONY:

I’LL WAKE UP JUST AS HOT AS YOU

Again, both are fetishizing one another and envious, desperately wanting the traits that they admire, unable to see their own positive ones in the haze of self hatred and internalized racism and transphobia.

AND I WON’T HAVE ANY REASON NOT TO DANCE IN THE LIGHT

They think that they can be more confident if they “fix” the parts of themself they don’t like, for Anthony it would be the fact he is a visibly Asian man, and for Joey it would be his transness. They don’t really understand that it’s more their own self esteem rather than something inherently wrong with their own bodies that is causing their awful feelings, and are trying to take each other for the night to hide away those feelings.

JOEY:

I KNOW YOU'LL REGRET THIS-

Joey thinks that Anthony will regret sleeping with a transgender man, most likely having had it happen to him in the past, so is just bracing himself for it.

ANTHONY:

YOU'LL REGRET THIS

Anthony most likely has had white men regret having sex with him due to his race, and is just waiting for Joey to turn around and not want him anymore.

JOEY/ANTHONY:

BUT I'LL GET YOU FOR TONIGHT

Joey and Anthony both see each other as conquests, as ways of taking hold of their own insecurities, and see being able to have sex with one another as a victory over the parts of themselves they hate. A sort of “if he fucks me, then I’m still enough, in spite of all that’s wrong with me.”

For Joey it is being able to sleep with a cis man and be chosen as a sexual partner, being picked out of all the men in that bar, and it being his own self assurance that he’s enough.

With Anthony it is a white man wanting him, him seeing it as a victory over his own heritage, and a victory over the system of oppression that makes him feel lesser than his white peers. If he can fuck a white man, one that is the beacon of white centric masculine rhetoric, then he’s won something in that moment.

This is in stark contrast to how Hao and Józef speak of sex and their desire for one another, in the demos Hao is the one who speaks openly about it, but when he does it is purely out of adoration and love for Józef. They have such a fulfilling relationship that Hao is able to notice the moment Józef starts acting too rough and not himself, because he’s used to Józef being a very loving partner, both in their everyday life and in their sexual relationship. During Hao’s pondering of love during I Breath In, You Breath Out, he makes direct note that sex is nothing but a chore without love.

Joey and Anthony don’t have sex out of love, they do it out of a fucked up sense of obligation and competition.

BUT I SWEAR YOU'RE STILL GOOD SO NO NEED TO LOOK FOR BRUISES THAT I COULDN'T SEE

The earlier line about light comes back here, because they are having sex in what we can assume is a dark room, they cannot actually see one another. Due to this darkness, there is no risk of being able to see each other’s “flaws”, and metaphorically they are idealizing one another instead of being able to love the real person in front of them.

YEAH, YOU'RE STILL GOOD BECAUSE I MIGHT DISCOVER YOU'RE BETTER THAN ME YOU'RE GOOD, BUT MAYBE IF YOU ARE THEN YOU CAN TEACH ME TO BE STILL GOOD GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU

Both men are absolutely terrified that if they see each other in the light, in a vulnerable state, then they’ll realize they can do better. They’re also scared of seeing each other and only seeing what they lack, which they are already doing. They want each other as a broken way to patch up the holes in their hearts and insecurities, not because they actually want to love one another.

The song Good Enough, at its core, is about fetishization, internalized transphobia, internalized racism, insecurity, and only being able to see a partner in the ways they are better than you instead of loving them as a whole.

[colorworlding]

Fast question, and pardon if it says this anywhere in the comic, but do they live in upstate new york, or new york city new york? Wanna know if I should throw my singular new york city accent on them or just do my best attempt at trying to not sound heavily Midwestern.

Oh my goodness, this gives me the chance to say how I imagine their voices sound like accent-wise! This is going to be a long reply, because it’s been in my head for so long! (I’m also going to give a bit of extra info, just in case anyone is ever wondering the same as you!)

In my head, Todd and Rory live in a fictionalized suburb very very close to the city, but not close enough to be considered part of any neighborhood. Todd lived in a different town than Angelica and Chip, but they were in a similar situation (albeit less close to the city.) So upstate! THAT BEING SAID, sometimes some characters lived in NYC. Adult Rory lives there, and Todd lived there when he went to CCNY for college. Rasheed lives in New York City.

As far as I’ve looked up, the NY accent is slowly dying out over the past generations, but different areas still produce different accents. (For example, the Bronx accent!) Knowing that, I tried to reflect on that in their speech. And there are some Midwestern accents too! I’ll describe how I hear delivery for everyone major I can think of below. (and PLEASE DON’T WORRY ABOUT ACCENTS OR GETTING THINGS PERFECT. IT’S JUST HOW THE VOICES SOUND WHEN I READ OUT DIALOGUE IN MY HEAD, AND THIS IS MORE SPECIFIC JUST IN CASE YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE IN GENERAL.)

Grandpa Blue: (Todd’s Dad) I imagined a heavy New Yorker’s accent, with a more… defenseless voice. This will have an effect on his children that Todd personally considers devastating

Grandma Blue: (Todd’s Mom) Take the biggest Karen in the world. Now imagine she’s mad at you

Angelica: She has a watered down accent! It isn’t as strong as her father’s, but you can tell where she lived. Her voice is lower, more decisive and snappy. She does have a vague voice claim! As in… not the right accent, but I liked her tone. When she is angry, she sounds decisive and absolute, like you can’t argue with her.

Todd: Complicated, like his mental health! If you say hello to him in 2003, he would sound almost accentless. BUT THIS IS FORCED. Really, he is exactly the same as Angelica in terms of having an accent, and hates it. He thinks it’s embarrassing. He tries to mask it at all costs, which started in high school. He stands in front of a mirror and practices talking like an articulated news reporter because he wants to Look Perfect and Sound Perfect, too, but it’s still somewhat there. The more frantic, stressed, or angry he gets, he gradually loses that voice mask completely and speaks like he always has known to. THE BEST EXAMPLE I CAN THINK OF THAT CAN SHOW THE GRADUAL SHIFT FROM AVERAGE AMERICAN ACCENT TO A DERANGED NEW YORKER IS THIS.

As for voice itself, he was a theatre kid! He can speak energetically, clearly, dramatically, for whatever delivery he wants. He can reach higher pitches to low pitches if he realllllly wants to.

Chip: I Got No Clue What People From Colorado Talk Like! As for delivery, it would depend on if he is masking. If he’s not, then his delivery is flat. It also depends on who he’s talking to! He doesn’t mask around his parents, Angelica (if she isn’t in a mood, and only after 1998), or Rory! If he is masking, he essentially reflects the engagement/tone of the person he’s talking to.

Rory: No accent! Nothing specific! He sounds like a 6-year-old! (His adult voice is soft-spoken and quiet.)

Bianca: FINALLY, FINALLY I HAVE A REASON TO SAY THIS! BIANCA ISN’T FROM NEW YORK AT ALL WHATSOEVER, SHE’S FROM THE MIDWEST AND HAS A NOTICEABLE MIDWEST ACCENT! (AND BECAUSE I LIVE THERE I GOT ALL SPECIFIC ABOUT IT.) She, her mother, and her siblings moved to New York from Birdseye, Indiana in the 2002-2003 school year. Her being a kid that’s new in town WOULD be evident just in the way she speaks ALONE, but sadly she is in a comic. She speaks specifically like she is from Southern Indiana, but any Midwestern accent would work for her!

Miss White: No accent! Lovely Miss White! Very sweet voice! She’s naive! But! But!! Always sincere in her words!!!

OKAY I’M DONE I’M SORRY FOR THE INFODUMP THANK YOU FOR ASKING IM HAPPY YOURE DOING THIS

[hiraeth-witch-11]

Bond to Happen Part 9

Part 9: Game Night with Billy

Warnings: fantastical racism, shitty controlling laws, Billy Russo

Word Count: 4300ish

Author's note: I'm 50k words into the rough draft and needed to share some fluff with yall to make up for all the angst that I've been writing. To make sure everyone's aware, Billy Russo is a warning throughout this story for a reason. He is still canon adjacent. If you have questions or want to check and make sure the direction of this story won't be triggering for you, feel free to message me. This chapter is mostly fluff though so enjoy.

You become increasingly close with Billy, speeding past a working relationship and sliding right into a friendship like you had with Frank or Karen. It actually concerned you how much you trusted him. To be fair, he’d never broken that trust. He only ever exceeded your expectations as a boss and a friend. Sometimes you start to think that maybe there is some weight to Karen’s words. Maybe Billy did care about you in more than the perfunctory way a boss cares for their employee, or a casual friend cares about another friend.

“Fuck!” You exclaim, throwing your phone across the room and onto the bean bag in your office. A knock on the door has you wiping tears off your cheeks quickly. “Come in,” you try to say clearly.

“You okay?” Billy asked grinning before the smile dropped from his face. “Hey, what’s wrong sweetheart?”

“They repealed the Witch’s Right to Privacy act, effective immediately.” You try to keep the emotion from your voice. 

“Shit, Blue, I’m sorry,” Billy said sincerely, closing the door behind him.

“It’s so stupid, their definition of witch doesn’t even make sense. It is so fucking subjective, there’s so much variation in biology and brain chemistry that it’s impossible to separate witches from fucking differentials! And that title makes the difference between having the freedom to exist?” Welp, so much for staying calm.

“Go on,” Billy encourages your rant, sitting down on the rocking chair next to your bean bag.

“Now anyone can ask about magic use and witches have to answer. Not only that, but choices based on magic usage or suppressants or binding are going to go straight back to the states. Anyone who wants a witch trophy wife can submit their blood to the Witch Bureau of Investigation and if they match and have a certain income level and record, they can petition to marry them without the witch’s consent under the Guardian Law. Fucking Alabama had trigger laws in place and are already preparing to make mandatory binding for any witch who has committed a ‘magic based infraction’ unless they bond themselves to a government approved guardian!”

“What does ‘magic based infraction’ even mean?” Billy asks incredulously, prompting you to continue. 

“Nothing! It is purposely vague and left up to the states and courts to really define. If a witch uses magic and a normie sees them and feels ‘unsafe’, even if the witch was minding their own business, that can be considered human harassment. But the vamps are still feeding in public, wolves shift and fight in broad daylight, and incubi seduce at fucking Starbucks, and all of that is okay. It’s the fucking sexism of the term ‘witch’ and the classism of the ageless that has all of this happening. Next thing you know, they are going to start burning us again.” You swallow sobs as tears start dripping from your cheeks. Billy jumps up and crosses the room to you, hands fluttering around like he wants to hug you, but isn’t sure how you’d receive it. He clenches his fists at his sides and says,” I will never let that happen, Blue. I’ll do everything in my power to keep you safe. You are not alone in this.”

His brown eyes are so dark and intense that they flash black, catching your gaze and trapping it with his own. You feel the urge to reach out and touch him, to ground yourself. You want to let him make you feel safe in more ways than one. Instead, you choose to shove your hands into your back pockets to help you resist the temptation.  

“Thank you, Billy, that means a lot to me.”

“Of course, sweetheart. You wanna take the rest of the day off?”

“Don’t you need me?” You ask, wiping your face once again. You want to stay, but you’re just so tired and crying has given you a headache. “We don’t have anything time sensitive to do today. Go home, watch a movie, take some time for yourself.”

*********

“Frank, what do you think about me inviting Russo to game night?” You spontaneously ask one Thursday afternoon. Finishing your reports early in the day, you’d decided to hang out in Frank’s office for a bit, waiting for him to head out with you to game night at Matt’s apartment.

“I don’t know, kid. You can try, but he’ll probably say no,” Frank says without looking up from his laptop.

You bounce the ball from your hand to the wall again.

“Would you be okay if I did, though, even if it’s just in the spirit of inclusion?”

“Sure, kid. But I’m betting he gives you a hard pass. Can you even picture him sitting down and playing a board game? I don’t think he’s done it in years.” Frank gives a dismissive laugh. For whatever reason, it bothers you. Billy is probably the closest thing Frank has to family, besides Curtis. Sometimes you worry that underneath the charm and confidence, Russo might be lonely. You knew he didn’t have any blood family, at least not that he ever talks about, so you felt the urge to include him in your little found family.

“What do I get if he agrees to come?” You say, not really thinking through your plan. Frank finally looks up from his computer, face contemplative.

“If you can get him to actually show up and stay, for at least an hour, you can choose the music when we drive down to the new training site next week.”

“The whole drive? No complaining?” You’re invested now, Frank never let you pick the music for anything and this site was maybe 2 or so hours away.

“I reserve the right to complain a little bit, but yeah, whole trip up. But-” he pauses, building suspense. “If he says no, or if he doesn’t stay for at least an hour, you start self defense training and I pick the music.”

You grimace, you’d been avoiding self defense training like the plague. Matt had gotten on you about it first when he realized that your only defense in a dangerous situation was your limited supply of magic. You’d wiggled your way out of that conversation, promising not to be more careful and repeating that you didn’t really put yourself in harm’s way that often anymore. Frank had been appalled when he found out that could barely throw a solid punch and couldn’t disarm an attacker without your abilities. You’d told him the same thing you’d told Matt, but he hadn’t left it alone. He was always trying to get you to join his work outs and trainings with newer recruits. You kept making up excuses to avoid it. You hate the idea of willingly practicing how to hurt people, though you know it was mainly to keep you from getting hurt.

“I will do 2 training sessions,” you counter.

“8, minimum. And if you cancel one, we add on 2.” He won’t budge on this, that determined look on his face makes it clear.

“Fine, but I want DJ rights to and from the site and while training if it’s just you and me.”

Frank considers, weighing his options. “Deal, Blue.”

“Deal,” you agree, reaching out a hand to shake on it. Frank almost looks surprised, but he recovers quickly and firmly shakes your hand. His aura has been a lot more comfortable since he stopped dropping bodies on a regular basis. Death would always be part of it, but these days it was a small part he didn’t access often. You couldn’t believe how far you’d come when it came to physical contact with your friends and coworkers. Your control while choosing to touch someone was excellent the majority of the time. Others touching you without warning… that was a different story.

You stand, preparing to make your way to Billy’s office. After working next to him for so long, you were pretty familiar with his routine and doubt he was very busy right now.

“Good luck, kid,” Frank chuckles and you resist the urge to make a face at him. 

You continue tossing the rubber ball back and forth between your hands as you walk down the hallway. Billy’s door is closed and he has the yellow sign up which usually means he’s focusing, but can be interrupted for work related issues. Green is a go ahead for anyone to stop by if they knock first. If the door is open, you can just walk in. If orange is up, it had better be time sensitive or an emergency. If it’s red, don’t interrupt unless it’s life or death.

You hesitate at the sight of that little yellow sign, but his blinds are up so you can see into the office. He’s hunched over his desk, making notes on a yellow pad of paper while glancing at his computer. Before you can walk away, having decided to wait until later to disturb him, he looks up and smiles at you, standing up and opening the door.

“Hey sweetheart, did you need something?” He asks.

“It’s not work related so it can wait since you're busy,” you insist.

“I was almost done anyway,” he says, tucking his hands into his suit pants pockets and leaning a shoulder against the door frame. “What’s up?”

“Karen, Frank, Matt, Foggy and I have a game night almost every Thursday night. I was wondering if you wanted to join us?” You ask quickly. You’re a little nervous and Russo’s eyes are always so distracting. Billy looks surprised and his aura wraps around you, brightening with some sort of positive feeling.

“Frankie plays board games with Matt Murdock? Willingly?”

You frown at his tone, nodding. “Frank comes at least once a month, but usually more if he’s not busy. It’s not like they’re besties or anything, but they’re civil and it’s funny to watch.”

“Hmmm, I don’t know, Blue. It’s not really my scene.” There’s a touch of mischief in his eyes.

“Come on, Billy, it’ll be fun. We’ll have some chocolate cake from one of Matt and Foggy’s clients.” You hope the desert will sweeten the deal as you had long suspected that William Russo had a sweet tooth. 

“I do like cake,” he says, tilting his head as he thinks about it. “But I don’t know if cake is enough of an incentive for me to spend the evening playing monopoly.”

“Today we’re playing Risk,” you correct quietly before blurting, “What would be enough of an incentive?”

His eyes darken slightly and his aura shifts slightly, it’s still good energy though, so you think you have a chance to get your way. You continue to look up at him with your earnest, often blue eyes.

“You and I haven’t really spent any time outside of Anvil together. I’d like to get to know you better. Learn more about what you’re like when you aren’t working,” he says. It surprises you, something so simple. You honestly would agree even without game night on the line.

“I’d be okay with that,” you say slowly. “What do you have in mind?”

“Let me plan an… outing of some sort, just us. We can hang out and swap stories,” he suggests.

“An outing?” you question.

“Yeah, we could go to a museum or the zoo-” you perk up a bit when he mentions the zoo “-nothing crazy and I’ll make sure it won’t be too crowded when we go. Scouts honor.” He grins.

“You were never a boy scout, Russo,” you scoff teasingly.

“I coulda been,” he says, mock pouting.

“I accept your terms, but the simpler the better, yeah?”

“Of course,” he confirms.

“Alright, then. I’ll text you the address and see you there at 7?” You ask.

“Sure thing, Blue. Do I need to bring anything?”

“No, we’re all set.” You smile genuinely.

After work, you stop by your apartment to take a quick shower and change. While you wear clothes you like to Anvil, you still do your best to keep it business casual. Stepping out of your shower, you towel dry yourself off before pulling on panties, leggings, your trusty sports bra, and a slightly cropped oversized t-shirt from college. Comfortable, more or less covering as much skin as you could stand with the weather tonight, and unrestricting of your movement. You throw on some tennis shoes and shove your keys, wallet, mace, and Sight journal (just in case you needed it) into a light pink canvas bag.

You bike over to Matt’s place, enjoying the gentle breeze as you speed through the streets. Biking was one of your favorite activities, especially after it was blessed for you by a priestess of Hermes. Since then, it went faster with less effort and never seemed to break down. You know better than to leave it on the street and instead drag it upstairs with you. Matt lets you leave it in his entryway while you’re over.

“How’s the alter ego?” You ask Matt, noticing how he favors his right side.

“A bit bruised, but not too bad,” he shares honestly.

“At least it’s not his face this time,” Karen says from the couch.

“Still can’t believe how long we fell for the ‘I’m just clumsy’ act,” Foggy snickers.

“Frank texted the group chat that he’s on his way,” you tell Matt, falling onto the couch next to Karen. She lifts a hand to ruffle your hair lovingly.

“I heard that a certain Mr. Russo will be joining us tonight,” Karen announces in a sing-song voice.

“Oh?” Foggy says in poorly feigned surprise.

“I should’ve asked everyone first, but you always say I can bring a friend from work so …” you trail off.

“So you pick Russo?” Matt says with just a touch of judgment.

“Hey, you weren’t a fan of Frank coming at first either. I expect your best behavior, Matthew,” Foggy instructs. “We wouldn’t want to ruin his first Purple Squad Game Night experience.”

Both you and Karen groan at him in exasperation. “Stop trying to make up a new name everytime we do this, Foggy. Y’all are Team Red, and Frank and I are bonus members. Plus, I hate purple.”

“No you don’t Blue, you love lavender and lilac and -” Karen starts listing before you interrupt.

“Yeah yeah, I like some shades, but dislike purple overall. Motion to officially veto Purple Squad as a team name?”

“Seconded.”

“Thirded.”

“Sorry Fog, keep trying,” Matt says.

“Don’t encourage him!” you laugh as a knock on the door sounds through the room.

Karen jumps up from her seat, always eager to see Frank. “I’ll get it!”

“Frank, Billy come on in,” she says as she opens the door.

“Russo.” “Murdock.” Matt and Billy greet each other with a nod. 

Foggy is much friendlier. “Russo! We’ve heard so much about you. I’m gonna need you to share at least one embarrassing Frank story tonight.”

“I’m sure only half of it is true. And sure, I’ll see what I can do,” Billy grins.

“You made it!” You’re not sure why you’re surprised, Billy has always kept his word with you.

“Of course, especially after Frank tried so hard to get me to stay home,” he says, flashing a look at an unashamed Castle.

“That’s cheating, Frank!” You exclaim.

“We never set any rules of engagement, Blue, it’s nothing personal.” Frank shrugs his shoulders and sinks down onto the armchair.

You flush and force a glare at him.

“What’s all this about?” Karen asks. 

“A bet, I’ll tell you the details later, Kare,” you promise.

“Shouldn’t I get to know what the bet was since it was about me?” Russo sits down next to you on the main couch, close enough to touch, but far enough away to be polite. He’s wearing a navy t-shirt, gods you didn’t realize how toned his arms were- and you decide that navy is your new favorite color. 

“No.” You and Frank say simultaneously and you force yourself to look away.

Foggy sets up the board for Risk and starts dealing cards as the rest of you fight over which color you’ll be.

“Red,” Matt says, holding out his hand. Karen is kind enough to allow it before the rest of you devolve into chaos.

“Common, Kare, my name is literally Blue, you can’t make me do a different color.”

“I told you Frankie, I got dibs on black and you can have gray. Trying to distract me isn’t gonna work.”

“You’re always blue, though, switch with me this once, pleeeeasssse.”

“Matt’s always red, which is your favorite color, and you never fight him for it, Kare!”

“That’s cuz he’s the leader of Team Red, you can’t make him a different color,” Foggy chimes in.

“You sure about that, Russo?” Frank questions, eyes locked into a staring contest with Billy as everyone’s voices overlap.

“I’ll make you donuts from scratch next week for game night if you let me stay as blue,” you bargain. Karen hesitates, but finally agrees.

“Hey Blue, you okay?” Frank asks, sounding concerned. Billy’s head jerks to look at you at the same moment Frank swipes the back of black pieces from the table.

“Huh?” You reply, unsure why he’s asking, too focused on organizing your pieces to notice his interaction with Billy. “I’m good.”

“My bad, Blue. Musta been a trick of the light,” Franks says while smirking at Russo.

“I’ll get you back for that one, Frankie,” Billy warns as he accepts the gray pieces.

Karen chooses green and Foggy gets yellow, his new favorite color ever since you told him about his aura.

After the initial bickering over colors, the game starts smoothly, though you quickly realize your pieces are in terribly inconvenient places according to what land the cards assigned you.

“There is no way I can win, Matt,” you insist.

“It can’t be that bad,” Matt says before you verbally list everywhere you are positioned. Game night with Matt could be tricky sometimes, but all of you had gotten good at keeping things accessible and finding ways around any difficulties. It helped that Matt’s senses picked up quite a bit and he had an excellent memory.

 “I guess it can be that bad,” he agrees, quickly changing his tune.

“Don’t even think about it, babe,” Karen warns, predicting your change in tactics.

“I have no idea what you mean, KareBear,” you reply sweetly as you fortify what little space you have, choosing not to attack for the round. She continues to watch you suspiciously as everyone cycles through their turns.

“Come on, Bill! You can’t just keep attacking me. That’s a terrible way to win,” Frank laments.

Billy shrugs, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

After Billy, it’s your turn again. You’ve continued to fortify your ranks the whole game, rarely attacking and instead focusing on defense. You grin to yourself.

“I see that, Blue. Don’t do it,” Foggy pleads.

“Don’t look at me, you got me last time,” Karen scolds. 

“What are we worried about here?” Billy questions, he doesn’t have experience with how you play games like this. You shake your head threateningly at Karen and Foggy, but Matt answers for them.

“Blue is a bit of a sore loser-”

”Am not!”

“And will decide that if they can’t win, they’re going to bring someone else down with them before they’re fully out of the game,” Matt continues, ignoring your interruption. “It’s why we usually stick to  things like Monopoly, Scrabble, and Life.”

“Sore loser, huh?” Billy asks and Matt nods with a grin.

“I’m not, I’m totally fine losing,” you insist.

“Is that why you almost never win?” Frank jibes.

“Hey! Rude!”

“Don’t worry, Russo, as long as you haven’t done anything to annoy her today, you should be safe,” Foggy says. Billy’s still suppressing a grin and you’re practically pouting at this point.

“To be transparent, I picked my target before we started the game. I’m sorry, Frank. Roll for defense,” You say, tossing him the die. You continue to attack with every space you have, focusing on Frank.

“Common, kid. Have a little mercy, Bill’s already been pickin’ on me all night. How am I supposed to defend against both of you?”

“Mercy has no place in board games, Frank.” You use the last of your available troops to finish your attack. You made good headway through Frank’s territories, but now all it will take is someone choosing to swoop in after you and claim both yours and Frank’s significantly weakened remaining spots.

Frank is quickly eliminated, followed by you, then Foggy and Matt. Karen emerges victorious against Billy which garners a round of applause.

The game is put away and Karen brings out the cake and some plates. The 6 of you eat and talk for a couple hours after finishing the game.

“No, soulmates don’t exist,” Foggy scoffs. “Do they?”

You aren’t sure how they got into this topic, something about exes and the right person at the wrong time.

“The idea of a singular perfect soulmate is far-fetched, but Occult scientists have found a ton of evidence supporting the idea of highly compatible partners. It’s actually really interesting once you get into it. There are a lot of different types commonly found and most of the time, people don’t even realize it,” Karen explains.

“It’s true,” you support. “I don’t see all of the different types of bondmates, but sometimes people’s energy or aura are obviously connected or complimentary.”

“Bondmates?” Billy asks, angling his body towards you as he leans back and rests his arm behind you on the couch. You try not to think about how close he is as his energy surrounds your own.

“Soulmate is a bit of a misnomer as souls are rarely what connects two people, that’s usually seen in reincarnation cycles, though it’s hard to track. Most scientists use the term bondmate for people who are ‘destined’ or what have you, to be partners.”

“Why bondmate and not something else?” Foggy asks, taking a sip of his beer.

“With the idea of soulmates, people kind of assume that those people will be together and are instantly connected, yeah? But it actually works differently, it’s a choice to connect yourself to your partner. There has to be some sort of acknowledgement or ritual to form that bond, and it can often take time. But once a bond is fully formed, only death can break it,” you expound.

“That’s so fucking cool,” Foggy says in amazement.

“Where’d you learn all this, Blue?” Frank asks.

“My bachelor’s is in occult biology with a minor in occult psychology and another in general sociology,” you offer.

“She’s super smart when you get to know her,” Karen says both sincere and teasing.

“Hey, I feel like there’s an insult somewhere in there,” you say without offense.

“I knew you went to college, but I don’t think you ever mentioned what you studied,” Foggy says.

“I don’t talk about it a lot and the degree is pretty useless right now,” you shrug, tone souring slightly before you catch it and add on, “But it’s not like I know all this witch stuff just from the internet.” 

“I, for one, always knew she was brilliant,” Frank states and you’re suspicious that he’s just sucking up to you after you demolished him in Risk.

“You’re hilarious, Castle,” you scoff, feeling yourself blush at the praise. 

“I agree with Frankie,” Billy says.

“Hear, hear!” Foggy says.

“Castle isn’t wrong,” Matt grumbles.

“To the magical mastermind that is Blue. She’s saved our lives more times than I can count,” Karen raises her glass, smiling at you. The others follow suit and you flush bright red.

“I’ll accept the title of Magical Mastermind, but the rest is true about most of us. Gods, it’s a wonder we’re all still alive with how much we attract trouble.” You shake your head with a disbelieving smile.

******

Billy had spent most of the night trying not to stare too obviously, but you were making it very difficult. Everytime you moved to reach the board, your shirt would lift, revealing an additional few inches of your side and back. He resisted the urge to trace his fingertips across your skin and hoped the longing wasn’t too evident on his face. But his best friend paid attention and would likely give him shit about it tomorrow, but Billy didn’t care. Before he had first officially met you, Frank had warned him to watch himself. Frank made it clear that Billy was not to make any moves on you, and there was a seriousness to his tone that made Billy pay attention. Refusing to give any details, Frank only said that you’d been through a lot and strongly suggested that Billy refrain from touching you, even accidentally, and that he keep his flirting to a minimum.

The little Frank said, combined with how Billy observed the way you held yourself around men you were unfamiliar with, tense and forcing friendliness while your heart rate jumped, he could fill in some of the blanks. So he listened to Frank and went a few steps further, always making sure someone you trusted or were at least comfortable with was there when you did readings or site checks. He constantly watched for anything that might upset you and was unsettled to notice Harding’s attentions. Billy forced himself not to react over the little visits, but when he’d been in his office and felt the lust coming off Harding from your office, he was quick to act. He’d taken care of Harding after that, leaving him alive, but a shell of a man. Harding would never threaten another woman ever again. Billy wasn’t ashamed to be glad of the edge Harding had unwittingly given him by presenting a situation where Billy could prove he would keep you safe. It was probably one of the only reasons he’d been left alive.

Tonight, Billy appreciated how far he’d come in earning your trust.

Series List

If you want to be put on, or taken off my taglist, feel free to tell me!

@evyiione, @kayhi808, @ellooo0ooo, happydeanpotter

[cerastes]

Oh yeah so I started Starlight Revue last night with Iron and it’s so fucking funny how it’s theater kids going ham on each other and (so far, watched half of it) the fight choreography in itself is whatever BUT the screenplay is really fun, and that’s clearly what they were focusing on and what they wanted to make an impression with. For example, when Karen is fighting Tendo, the entirety of the stage is constantly shifting in order to make sure Tendo has the higher ground, Karen only once ever gets the high ground, and it is immediately stolen from her by a thrust from Tendo’s sword, which Karen dodges, but the staircase immediately becomes a ramp and Karen falls even lower. Karen is simply not at Tendo’s level and, though certain moments of brilliance might match or even surpass Tendo briefly, these are but ephemeral, and Karen once more falls beneath Tendo, who is consistent in her superiority in the stage so far.

All around, the show’s focus on the world around the characters morphing in order to create interesting, fun and meaningful visuals that correlate directly with the song that’s being sung and the clash of the characters is nothing short of fascinating! It goes to show that making an interesting and fun fight doesn’t necessarily need to be the tightest Sammo Hung choreography ever written, you just need to make it interesting in your own terms.

I also like that there’s a character named Big Banana and she’s got danger written all over her, doubtlessly setting up a confrontation between her and Karen in the future, given that Karen is, in her own words, “constantly evolving, the version of me you see today is the best me”, whereas Nana has shown signs of preferring a stagnant, consistent status quo, keeping things the same, no need to change what isn’t broke.

[lacontroller1991]

Second Chances (Gordo Stevens x F!Reader)

Main Master List || For All Mankind Master List

Author’s Note: Self comfort fic? Me? *le gasp*

Warnings: 18+ just to be safe, drinking to get drunk, mentions of cheating/infidelity, language

Word Count: 922

==========

He knew exactly where you would be before anyone had the chance to tell him. Unlike himself and the other astronauts, you often choose to go to a bar just down the street from the Outpost, making it easy for him to find you, especially on days like today. You see, he heard from Dani, who heard from Tracy, who heard from Karen, who heard from Ed, who heard from your supposed boyfriend that all you ever were was a side piece. The thought makes Gordo cringe in regret because one time long ago, you were his side piece. Since then, the short glances at each other when passing the other in the hall, the terse nods, and the forced communications only made Gordo’s heart grow fonder of you and he hopes you’re the same way.

He hesitantly steps into the bar, eyes scanning across the hazy place until he spots your figure, hunched over a glass of gin and tonic. “Typical.” Gordo comments to himself, fully stepping into the bar and walking over to you slinging back the drink. “You should go easy on those.”

You scoff at his comment, rolling your eyes and signaling the bartender for another. “Sounds pretty hypocritical Stevens. I think you should take your own advice.” Gordo purses his lips and takes a seat, ordering a Budweiser as you continue to look straight ahead, not giving him the satisfaction.

“I came on good terms. To see if you are alright.” That seems to catch your attention, causing you to turn to him, eyes full of confusion.

“What do you mean ‘to see if you’re alright’?” Gordo takes a sip of his beer as you tap your foot in irritation. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand his lips turn downward.

“Do you not know?”

“Know what?”

“Daniel said you were his side piece? That he’s been seeing another person?” Recognition hit your face as you turned forward, taking a sip out of your drink.

“Word gets around fast I guess.” Gordo feels bad that he of all people found out. He feels bad that your private relationship information is now the hot gossip of JSC. He also feels bad because this is not the first time it’s happened. “I kinda figured he had someone else. He was never really there. He only wanted to do things in secret places. He never allowed me back at his place. I just hate that I fell for it… again.” You take a glance at Gordo as he mentally kicks himself. Of course you’d still be angry. He had you on a tight leash and then it all crashed down. “I can understand it. I’m doing a job that is very demanding of my time, but what I don’t get is why you care. Why do you care so much that you sought me out just to ask ‘are you doing alright’?”

“Because I care.”

“But why?” Gordo stills for a moment, trying to think of the right words to say. When he had started seeing you, he was quickly enraptured by your beauty and your wits, your humor and your passion. You weren’t like other girls where he would just have a one night stand with them. No. Gordo and you had many, many, nights together in each other's arms. Until you found out about his wife. Then to make matters worse, you started working with said wife. As far as he knows, Tracy never knew who had captured his wavering attention, given how you and Tracy talk with each other, however, he also knows that Tracy isn’t dumb. Does any of that even matter now? Him and Tracy are a thing of the past and he’s moved on as has she. He only hopes that whatever feelings you had for him back then would still be there buried deep down.

“Look, I know I fucked up. I know that I was nothing but a drunk and a cheater, but please, let me change that version of me in your head. I am better than I was before. So please, give me a chance.”

“Why now?”

“I knew that I was a mess. I knew that I wasn’t right in the head. Then I started gaining weight and all my confidence drained from me. If I was to win you back, or even ask you on a date, I knew within myself that I wanted to be the best I can be for you. I want to be mentally sane. I want to be physically healthy. I wanted to be the best version of myself I can be, and now I am. So (Y/N), would you be willing to go on a date with me?” He knows he’s giving you the puppy dog eyes, but the minute his eyes spot the tears welling in yours, he frowns in concern.

“I just don’t want my heart broken again.” He pulls you in for a hug and you hate how you instantly fall into his embrace as if no time has passed since all those years ago. “I need time. Daniel, he- he really had me believing that he loved me, and I don’t think I can just move on like that.”

“That’s okay. I understand. I’ll still be here when you’re ready.” He pulls away as you retake your seat, wiping away tears. “Now, how about I buy you some food?”

For the first time that day, a smile graces your face. “I think I’d like that.”

==========

Author’s Note: Short and sweet but much needed. Hope you guys enjoy!!!

@tavners​ @reveluving​ @hibob​ @jamestown-base​

Tagging the last two in case you both wanted to read this.

[brionysea]

I know this is kind of insane but does everyone know the theory about Alice and Karen being the same person? I’m not quite sure but I do believe that Henry had powers inherited to him, so maybe the manifestation theory is a recessive trait? Karen didn’t get powers but her off-spring did? Just using science and biology because some traits and things can be passed down without you having it! Mike got his powers from Karen. His power a.k.a. being he can create things (like kali) except they’re real

i definitely don’t speak for everyone but i’ve heard the alice theory!

yeah, i find it a bit hard to believe too. the timeline kiiiiiinda matches up - alice was 15 in 1959 (according to that article robin and nancy found), so she’d be around 42 in 1986, which is like... plausible. i guess. i think it seems a bit young for karen, personally. i’m not great at matching ages with appearances in the first place and considering what the other 15 year olds in this show look like now it’s not the end all be all, but something about it just feels off

if i do mental gymnastics i can kinda see it. they had the reveal that el suppressed a traumatic memory this season, as well as going by a new name, which might explain karen’s apparent lack of memories and different name, but it’s hampered a bit by the fact that she apparently... didn’t move out of hawkins? whoever gave her a new identity, for whatever reason, just forgot about that? surely one of the older people who remembers the murders, like wayne munson, would think that this new karen kid looks a hell of a lot like alice creel? but hawkins isn’t exactly full of free thinkers, so...

i’ll say again: it’s plausible, i guess, but it’s not exactly my favourite thing in the world

there are a lot of similarities between the wheelers and the creels though. both nuclear families, although it seems like the creel parents were actually happy together. alice seemed like she was having a good time too. basically everyone except henry was just kinda vibing, making him the black sheep of the family, and isn’t that a scarily familiar concept. the similarity of henry’s safe haven being the attic and mike’s safe haven being the basement really freaks me out

the wheelers are all about appearances. they act like everything’s perfect. nancy’s even called “miss perfect” in season 1 (which i think about all the time in terms of how mike and nancy must feel like they have to present themselves), and that concept of hiding all your damage behind walls is what made henry go on his killing spree in the first place. that’s why i think he showed nancy that vision of them all (minus ted because even the bad guys don’t care about ted - although it also interestingly parallels the creel murders with victor thinking he’s the only survivor) dead. because they are the picture perfect representation of everything he stands against

and virginia and karen...

okay. this one’s really interesting to me.

virginia “somehow knew” that henry had powers and was the real reason for the weird things happening in the house and wanted to “fix” him. and karen in season one, as soon as weird things started happening around town, started acting weird as hell. you could say she’s trying her hand at being present by telling her kids (the ones that are old enough to theoretically cause trouble like henry did - he was 12 in 1959, the same age as mike when will went missing, and i think nancy would’ve been around alice’s age too) that she’s there for them and they can tell her anything...

but she’s completely uninterested when nancy does actually tell her about steve. which, if you were actually trying to do this whole parenting thing all of a sudden, would be something you’d want to talk to your teenage daughter about. but karen just gets annoyed like that’s not what she wanted to hear. like she knows there’s something else about that night that nancy isn’t telling her (which is because nancy doesn’t know yet)

her behaviour only makes sense to me if she’s subtly digging around to see if her kids are the cause of hawkins suddenly being exciting. otherwise i don’t know what the hell she was doing, besides maybe just... half heartedly trying to be a good parent for like a week because some other kid went missing? after that things more or less went back to normal so she could safely settle back into the emotional distance, even with both of the kids that she’s apparently there for now traumatised and in clear distress and in need of emotional support

(i swear i don’t actually hate karen, but the poor parenting from the wheelers is actually astounding)

and all of this is really interesting if it’s actually karen (consciously or subconsciously) repeating the behaviour of her mother. we didn’t actually see much of alice in the flashbacks, so it’s unclear how much she saw, but they lived in the same house. she might have noticed virginia doing something similar to figure out which one of them she needs to focus on

alice seemed to just be living her life, as opposed to the parents who henry had a solid reason to hate - the whole “hiding the damage” thing that he takes personal offence to for some reason, because telling your 12 year old all about your time in a warzone and subsequent PTSD would be a totally normal thing to do, and wanting doctors to “fix” him - but if he just felt ignored by his big sister (which is the most plausible thing i can think of besides just wanting a matched set - if he liked alice he would’ve wanted to keep her around like the offer he made to el), that kind of parallels the way nancy never responds positively to mike’s attempts to reach out to her. and we know that upsets him. it was written all across his face when she took max’s side over his in that argument they were having

i’m not sure about the creels and the wheelers being like... the same, on a genetic level, but if mike has powers it’s absolutely from karen’s side. ted could never be interesting enough

and while we’re on the topic of mike just casually bringing things to life: the idea of the creel family being entirely fabricated to reflect his own feelings as the black sheep of a family that constantly tells him to bury his feelings, that’s all playing a big game of emotional hide and seek that he just doesn’t get like it’s the easiest thing in the world, that never pays any attention to him unless it’s to tell him that he’s doing something wrong... it scares me, but that, i vibe with

[dustedmagazine]

Dean Spunt — Basic Editions (Drag City)

Photo by Penny Spunt

There’s quite a lot of synthesizer in No Age, so it should, perhaps, come as no surprise that Dean Spunt’s solo project would explore synthetic sounds. Basic Editions comes out of a period he spent exploring vintage1990s EM-U synth Romplers from No Age. The Romplers (“ROM” for computer memory, “plers” for samplers) are filled with pre-set sampled sounds, which can be played through buttons and manipulated in various ways. You can go down any number of rabbit holes (try here and here for starters) and still not understand exactly how the apparatus works. So let’s stipulate the shorthand: Spunt bought a new set of toys and spent a certain amount of time bending them to his will.

We can, at least, gather that the EMU-Romplers came in a variety of editions, each with distinct palettes of sampled sound. The “Mo Phatt” version featured blasts and blats of hip hop textures; you can hear it at work here in the robot funky “Boom Times at the Phatt Farm.”  Other versions delivered more ethereal, ambient friendly tones. Opener “Gonzo Bop” is really neither very gonzo or much of a bop; it floats and hovers over a twitching synthetic bass groove. The amusingly named “Confusion Is SysEx” drops watery bloops into fizzing electric-shocked noise blasts. It’s austere, cerebral, and maybe having a laugh at us.

The tracks, then, are very different from each other, so much so that you wonder how much is Spunt and how much is the instrument he’s playing. “Highlighter Bombast” rolls out a glassy beat, all transparent tones and shushing, syncopating glitch percussion; it would be right at home on a Kompakt comp.  “Fructose,” though is lush and tropical, all sinuous curves and hand-drum patter, though with the sound of a wire sculpture exploding laid over it. And what to make of “The Eternal Present”’s multicolored 1970s optimism? You expect Karen Carpenter to come in singing at any moment.

None of this matters if the music isn’t good — not the unusual instruments, not the variety of sonic textures, not the technical challenges turning pre-set tones into tunes. But in fact, it is quite good, full of airy atmospherics and shifting moods and intricate layers of percussion and tone. It’s quite different from No Age, not to mention from the post-punk rough-housers Spunt highlights on his PPM label, but enjoyable on its own terms. If these are the basic editions, we can only anticipate the deluxe ones.

Jennifer Kelly

[mineofilms]

Hurricane FK'd

Ah yes, Category 6 hurricanes. They are like “This Is Spinal Tap’s:” “But this one goes to 11.” The thing is, there is no 11—the volume dial stops at 10, just like the hurricane scale stops at Category 5. It’s like we’re sitting here, staring at the devastation, and someone’s saying, “But what if it was a 5.1 storm?” As if that extra tenth is going to somehow crank the destruction up to a level we haven’t already hit.

Spoiler Alert: the roof’s still gone, the powers out, and your neighborhood’s a lake. Your bed is down the street and not because your Karen neighbor stole it... But hey, maybe we just need a new rating scale. One that goes to 11—because apparently, some people won’t be satisfied until a storm picks up their house and relocates it to another dimension other than the Twilight Zone we already occupy.

Help! I'm stepping into The Twilight Zone Place is a madhouse, feels like being cloned My beacon's been moved under moon and star Where am I to go now that I've gone too far? Soon, you will come to know when the hurricane takes my home…

Wondering about hurricane categories are we now? More specifically, the Category 5 rating and why we stopped there, as if Mother Nature might just politely say, "Okay, this is enough destruction. Let’s not go any harder." You ever know a drunk or an addict to ‘stop there?’ First off, no, there’s no such thing as a "Category 5.1" or a "Category 6." Yeah, Hurricane Ian in 2022 was a monster, and if anyone threw around the term "5.1," it was a way to give it that extra, "oh, shit, we’re proper Fucked," emphasis or click-bait because everyone’s an influencer now and needs your attention to make monies. However, technically, scientifically, and factually, Category 5 is where the Saffir-Simpson scale maxes out (1971). That’s because once you hit 157 mph sustained winds, you’re already looking at damage that can’t get much worse in terms of scale. It is now binary, black and/or white, zero and/or one. Most people that live in the binary world of decision making do not understand how binary works. They want to interject their opinion with a “but, followed by the long-winded explanation.” However, once you said “but,” your explanation/answer is null and voided. The only two answers allowed are; you are either Fucked or you are not. Once 157 mph winds are sustained we’re talking “everything is annihilated” levels of bad—roofs gone, power out, roads submerged, your backyard swing set now halfway across the state. An electrical pole that can range from 30 to 60 feet in height, about 2 feet in diameter weighing anywhere from 500 to 2,000 pounds being forced into the ground at a depth of around 6 feet, is either there snapped in half, uprooted or is nowhere to be found at all.

After 157 mph sustained winds it doesn’t matter. What more do you want? Here’s the thing: there’s a physical limit to how strong a hurricane can get. Planet Earth has its rules. There's only so much heat, moisture, and perfect storm conditions (pun fully intended) to fuel these behemoths. Sure, 200 mph hurricanes like Patricia (2015) have happened, but guess what? It's still Category 5. You get what you get. The whole point on five being the max is because once five is achieved the survival rate for everyone inside the storm drops to zero. That isn’t saying; “Holy shit, we really are going to die.” Zero probability in this context just means: — that mathematically; the chances of survival is not worth calculating because it is so small it might as well be zero. But not impossible, just not probable in terms of mathematical statistics. Those words do mean different things and can never be lumped together as one thing. Now, if you’re still holding out for a future Category 6 listing, good luck. Some scientists and influencers alike talk about it like it is a real talking point. They’ll use big phrases on their videos and in corners of climate change discussions, where the oceans heat up like someone left the oven on. I can see it being real only if superstorms become more frequent, then yeah, maybe one day we'll have a Category 6. But for now, they’d probably have to rewrite the scale and convince people to care about the difference between “devastating” and “really, REALLY devastating.”

In reality though, it’s like asking if we need a 10 on the Richter scale for earthquakes. Once the world starts shaking at a nine, your house is gone whether or not someone decides to crank up the number and call it a ten or higher. Does it even matter? Fucked is fucked, right? Hurricanes don’t give a damn about your feelings, opinions, categories or even knowledge. It cares not for likes, comments and subscriber numbers for advertisers that are all AI-driven now. Hurricanes don’t care what number we slap on them or how much we prepare for them. They’re coming, they’re massive, and they’re indifferent. Hurricanes don’t care about human concerns or emotions. They don’t change or adjust based on how prepared we are or how we label them. Whether we call it a Category 5, 6, or whatever, hurricanes just do what they do—destroy things—with no consideration for the impact on us. Sound familiar? “Listen, and understand! That Terminator is out there! It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop... ever, until you are dead!” — Kyle Reese, Terminator (1984)

Normally, hurricanes that form in the Gulf would head from west to east, giving Florida a solid smack right where it hurts. But these days, it’s like someone threw out all the old data and replaced it with a mess of data that looks more random than predictable. We’ve had 12 major hurricanes in the past seven years alone, depending what you deem “major” these days. I say if it kills people and destroys communities, yeah, that is “major” to me…  GAIA is no longer fucking about—these storms are hitting with enough force to rearrange coastlines let alone your living room furniture. Whether it’s Category 5 devastation or even a tropical storm to category 1 storm like Helene, causing floods, and a loss of life they refuse to report on the national news networks, all of them. We’re not just talking bad weather, we’re talking about the earth throwing a fastball pitch right at your skull with the intention to erase everything you used to be before the pitch was thrown.

They are forces of nature that are completely unaffected by anything we think, plan, or feel. Welcome to the tangibility of existentialism… It’s a bit like life itself. You can prepare, make all your plans, get your supplies in order—but when the storm hits, all that meticulous human planning is just paper in the wind. You think you're safe behind definitions and scientific scales, but hurricanes laugh in the face of our pathetic attempts to quantify their power. But hey, we humans need our definitions, categories and numbers. It gives us the illusion of control, the comfort that we can define chaos and control it. We cannot… This decision making process within us all just show how trapped we are in this, our own personal Matrix. Chaos doesn’t care about our lines in the sand, the bathroom you choose to piss in, the false-political leader you vote for, our spreadsheets of wind speeds and damage potential. It doesn’t care how much money you have in the bank, the monies or the bank itself as their own physical things. Category 5 could be Category Infinity, for all the difference it makes to your splintered home and uprooted life.

So yeah, call it Category 5.1, call it Category 6, whatever. Hurricanes aren’t listening. People aren’t listening, reading either. They are sharing though, oh boy, do they share. Hurricanes, they…

They are just coming…

Category Fucked by David-Angelo Mineo 10/12/24 1,352 Words