#sad ok about tami

[thelonelybrilliance]

Friday Night Lights: How Old Is Everyone, Exactly?

ok here goes. Here's how we make sense of the ages for seasons 1-3 of Friday Night Lights with as few loopholes as possible. (OK, maybe some loopholes and headcanons). I'm going to take this in batches.

Jason/Tim/Lyla/Smash

Season 1, Jason Street is a senior. We also know that he is 18 years old (he turns 19 at the beginning of Season 2). Judging from the return-from-Mexico arc at the beginning of Season 2, his birthday is probably mid-September (the Panthers are two games into the season). So far, so good.

At the start of Season 1, Tim, Lyla, and Smash are presumed to be juniors. This works out as far as Smash is concerned--he reminds Matt at the start of Season 2 that "this is his year," and he, unlike Tim*, gets letters of interest and recruiting interviews in Season 2 as Jason did in Season 1.

(*although Tim is also not seeming particularly eligible for college at that point)

Tim could be plausibly a year behind his peers in Season 1 while being junior-age. We know he is 17 at the start of Season 2, and I head-canon that his birthday is late fall/winter, so he is 16-going-on-17 for most of Season 1. Mud Bowl takes place in November, for reference. (To make the Jackie of it all slightly less icky, presume his birthday is in October/early November. To give him the Sad Christmas baby birthday he deserves, presume it is in December.) Since Jason's game-tapes in early Season 2 and Tim's starting position throughout the show suggest that he is not transferring from JV at the beginning of Season 1, Tim is presumably not a freshman. Pre-Coach and Tami's influence at Dillon High, I think it's plausible that him being held back a grade would not have disqualified him from playing. (Also, the rally girls did his homework.) I imagine the grade(s) Tim got held back were more likely in elementary and middle school; around the time his dad left. Billy tells us in early Season 1 that their dad left (mom already out of the picture) Christmas 2001. So Tim presumably would have had some major issues around the age of 11-12 (and before--have you met Walt Riggins?), and could have been held back in sixth or seventh grade.

Now, Lyla. What's interesting is that Lyla's birthday is around the same time as Jason's, because in early season one (right before she and Tim first connect), she spends her birthday in the hospital with Jason, also about 1-2 games into the season. At this point, we can presume Lyla starts off at 16 and turns 17 shortly into Season 1.

Lyla, unlike Tim, is a straight-A student (Tami confirms this in the early episodes of Season 1). So why does Lyla--presumably a junior in Season 1 and a senior in Season 2--graduate in Season 3 with Tim? Here's my head-canon in three cringe-y words: Christ Teen Messengers. While Lyla is present in the halls of Dillon High in Season 2, there's a throwaway comment about her extracurriculars when Tami asks her to help with Pantherama. She's too busy because of Christ Teen Messengers, specifically. Between her work with juvenile detention center, the fact that she goes down to Mexico in the middle of the school week for a few days as well as the boys, and her general disinterest in academics throughout Season 2 (she has time for a radio show, though!), I like to think she took a sort of "gap-year" where she did minimal credits/maybe deferred graduating for this quasi-"internship" experience. I don't really know if such a thing exists, but if it did, would it not be soooo Lyla to take advantage of it? That way she can recalibrate her life but not cancel out her chances at college completely. Thus, while she's never been held back a year for academic problems, she ends up deferring her senior year to Season 3.

In terms of ages, this gives us the following:

Season 1: Jason (17/immediately turns 18), Lyla (16/immediately turns 17), Tim (16/turns 17 at the end of the season), Smash (17). Idk I enjoy Tim being the oversized baby of the group, but they're all within less than a year and a half of each other, age-wise.

Season 2: Jason (18/immediately turns 19), Lyla (17/immediately turns 18), Tim (17), Smash (18)

Season 3: Jason (20), Lyla (19), Tim (18/19)

Season 4: Lyla (20), Tim (19/20)

Season 5: Jason (22 on his visit to Dillon), Tim (21 when he gets out of jail)

[Don't worry we'll get to Tyra.]

Matt/Julie/Landry

In Season 1, Matt, Landry, and Julie are implied to be sophomores (Julie because Tami refers to her, at one point, as a sophomore). But then Julie and Landry both stay a year longer than Matt, who graduates on time.

Full disclosure that I care less about Landry and Julie than other characters, so their graduating in season 4/early season 5 makes no mark on my spirit. However, I think given the fact that they are (presented as) academic achievers, it might make sense that they were taking some AP classes at various points and that is why Landry is out here tutoring people and Julie is referred to as a sophomore. It would also explain why the classes (such as the English class where Waverly and Smash debate The Odyssey) are mixed-age. Now, Landry is driving in Season 1, but if he was a 15-year-old freshman--not impossible--he could have been driving. Matt is actually plausibly older, since he had previously wrecked a car (not that everyone in Dillon, especially a parentified teen, should be assumed to be abiding by driving laws). If Matt is a sophomore in Season 1, he' s a senior in Season 3, which checks out. He is stated to be 16 in Season 1, but that could be a rough estimate--presume he's about a year younger than Tim, as opposed to about to turn 17.

If Landry and Julie are freshmen in Season 1, it's plausible (if not likely) that despite their "super smarts" (lol) they graduate last after a year at East Dillon.

So, for ages:

Season 1: Matt (15/turning 16), Landry (15), Julie (15)

Season 2: Matt (16/turning 17), Landry (16), Julie (16)

Etc.

Tyra

Tyra is in many ways the most ambiguous case, but I actually think that she is in the same boat as Tim. We know her grades are bad to start with, and that (pre-Season 1) she has several run-ins with the law as well as failed classes. Season 1 Tyra has "held back a year... or two..." all over her. For this reason, I expect that when she starts putting in the work in Season 1, she's in her sophomore year--thus (unfortunately for her), she's not too far apart from Landry in terms of classwork for him to be able to assist her. Then she continues on the straight and narrow reasonably enough to graduate in Season 3 with Tim, Lyla, and Matt.

As for Tyra's birthday...she seems like a June baby to me, but maybe I'm just biased. I think it's fairer to say that she is Tim's age rather than Lyla's. She might be a little younger than Tim--maybe a January birthday instead of his late fall/early winter one. So... Tyra is 16 (and a half) in Season 1, 17 (and a half) in Season 2, 18 (and a half) in Season 3, and about to turn 21 in Season 5.

[m4ndysk4nkovich]

Seeing Ian in season 1 puts into perspective the amount of BS he had to go through. Like when I think of things I wish were addressed with more weight, Ian's abuse at the hands of older men is one of them. I know Ian doesn't see it that way but others do (Mickey and Lip) and it feels like it's constantly glossed over. Lip says he wanted to call the police on Kash but he couldn't bring himself to do it. A scene of that would've reinforced just how wrong it is, instead of the situation ending with Kash is a sad middle-aged man and that's why Ian shouldn't want him. Not, Kash is a predator and Ian is a victim.

We can also talk about how both Lip and Debbie are victims of grooming. Grooming was never seriously addressed on the show.

i’m actually so pissed that grooming was never addressed as it was such a big issue for ian, debbie, lip, and also kind of carl but not really (with lori i think her name was, his boss). the only time grooming is ever brought up is with tami but it’s just a one episode thing and it’s irrelevant to the plot tbh.

ian’s situation devastates me because he never ends up thinking it’s wrong. he was constantly objectified by these older men he was with, too. to them he was seen as just a “boy toy” or the “forbidden fruit”. not only were his relationships with kash and ned creepy, but the guys at the club, too. for example, the one who dragged him out of the club, barely conscious, after giving him a roofie. ian graciously accepted the pill like he was used to it, and he probably was. he let this guy drug and grope him, and i always see people saying “imagine what would’ve happened if mickey hadn’t come” and i’ll tell you what would’ve happened, he would’ve been raped. and i can guarantee you with how used to it he was, it had happened before. and i’ll say more about this with lip and debbie, but i firmly believe the reason he indulged into these relationships was to fill the void frank created.

debbie’s situation is also devastating. if you recall, when lip was trying to convince ian that what happened with kash was wrong/grooming people is wrong, he said “ok so what if it was debbie and a 30 year old dude”, ironically, in the next season she gets with a 20 year old dude who for some fucking reason, a good percentage of the fandom sympathizes with/sides with. here’s the real deal: matty groomed her. he was into her, knowing she was 13, but didn’t want to have sex with her, in fear of himself going to prison. prison was the only thing stopping him, he said it himself that he thought she was sexy and wanted to. and before anyone says anything about how debbie did tell him she was 16 at first when he first started to like her, he could obviously tell. the point was that it was obvious she was lying. and yeah, what debbie did was wrong. i’ve said a lot about this before, but what he did was wrong, too. he led her on, flirted with her, promised to have sex with her, slept in the same bed as her, and also talked to all of her friends for some reason, he was a creep!! no grown adult should be hanging out/flirting with an adolescent girl, and it scares me that people defend him. like i said with ian, she was trying to fill a void. not only that, but she was mirroring fiona’s actions. she had seen her sister get into unhealthy relationships, so she did just. and the worst thing was debbie didn’t even like him, it was just comphet. so it was some adult with a one-sided crush on a teenager. creepy. at this time, frank was dying and fiona was working/locked up, she needed attention because she was lacking it, so she went to him for it because she knew he’d give her it.

lip’s situation i have less to say about because technically, he was an adult, but regardless, it was creepy as fuck. more so, his attachment to her was creepy. this is what happens when you get groomed, you grow attached. and lip was so fucking attached it destroyed him when she ignored him. like his siblings, this was to fill the void a parent created. but this time, frank isn’t responsible, monica is. i’ve never really spoken about this despite having a lot to say, but lip and monica’s relationship effects him a lot. i hate to say this, but he’s treated women like shit because of it (i’m not saying he always does, but he has- i’ll explain more in depth sometime) and his mother abandoning him clearly altered his perspective on women. i think that monica leaving made him (and every other sibling, especially debbie) grow attached easily, and i think it also made him lose respect for some women because he just saw his mom in them. i saw a post that explains this a lot better than i am right now so if i find it i’ll definitely link it so it makes more sense.

[rigginsstreet]

ok so overall thoughts of season 4 are:

very happy i ended up loving all the new characters because i am still very much in mourning over all the old characters lmao cant believe we're only left with tim and jesse plemons. well and julie. and i dont even know if theyre gonna be present in the final season! or to what extent! im having a crisis

anyway

um the whole becky tim thing was like.... there were better ways to do that like listen i get a horny 16 year old girl tryna fuck tim riggins i understand. but i wish we couldve unpacked more the ways in which tim was not tryna go down that road in relation to the fact that he was hooking up with older women as a teenager but again.... teenage male sexuality is never handled appropriately so WHATEVER. i'll let it go i GUESS. hes gonna find out about gay sex in prison anyway so at least we have that

so happy to see matt and landry following the time honored fnl tradition of vacationing with your boy best friend

also rip jesse plemons you will never be a girls top priority lmfao and thus you have to go to chicago with your boy bestie. understandable.

julie was SO close to discovering lesbianism. she denounced meat shes questioning god.... shes almost there she can do it i believe in her

speaking of why did the gay coach plot go absolutely nowhere? hello? rip gay people on this show you just never get talked about again or get shipped to new jersey. sad.

luke cafferty saddest boy in dillon texas i love you..... he has so many problems. im sure his mother is all of them.

vince. love you. make good choices. im sure nothing bad at all will happen to him next season regarding him walking away from that gang man.

TAMI TAYLOR THE WOMAN THAT YOU ARE! thats it.

i miss tyra collette every day WHY was she not present for her nephews birth! angry! but im about to go of the rails when she shows up in season 5 so get ready for that. ive already seen things i know things. im about to be annoying about all of them.

[floripire]

ok but say the triad + sire + hunter combo yeets out of existence tomorrow, what would flori do without this burden? and would she take action to get rid of them?

askbox fun // @troubleah

what if they're gone tomorrow?

if they were all gone tomorrow, just like that? i think the first thing flori would do is cry out of sheer relief, hug the first person she sees and then take a long nap. she's been thinking and overthinking and formulating ideas and (contingency) plans and crunching the numbers in her head for so long that i think she needs a minute to breathe and be.

it'd be weird at first because being stressed about triad and her sire and the hunter trio has been her default for ages and what does she do now that they're not an issue anymore?

after being all cried out and hugged out and after taking that nap, she focuses on graduating. then she actually wants to amass enough funds to travel and to be able see the world (which she'd do by working in cybersecurity to make sure that the supernatural secret doesn't get out).

would she take action to get rid of them?

she would love to be able to - and she has plans that she could put into motion - but she doesn't think she can. not alone, at least. flori would have to bring people in for that to happen.

the story so far

for now, as it stands, the ball starts rolling after graduation.

after graduating, flori is off with @founderscouncil's jed on a roadtrip to find his sisters. it's a long, hard road(trip) and it's not always sunshine and moonbeams and roses but eventually, they do find them.

then, flori returns to her hometown of maple hollows with jed and his sisters in tow. it is there that she comes face to face with her human ex, doug carson, his ex joe flowers - a strong witch who is related to theophilia flowers - and the very human and very sadistic tami bryce, who is currently dating doug.

(yeah, it's a whole busted up love hexagon!)

the hunter trio are here for revenge against flori for killing sue. jed makes sure his sisters get out of dodge. then, the hunter trio rough jed up and their plan gets revealed because tami bryce doesn't know how to keep her mouth shut.

so she tells flori and jed all about how they're working with triad industries - veronica greasley and mr burr are very nice people, she says - and with flori's sire.

she tells them all about how they're going around, hopping from town to town, protecting regular people, humans, and making sure no vampire can do what flori did to sue ever again.

tami is weirdly excited about joe's liquid sunlight concoction and the way it burns down (and through) a vampire's throat but that's a last resort, which makes her sad because she wanted to play.

tami perks up, however, when joe flowers orchestrates a reverse headdive by forcing his way into flori's head and taking everyone in the room with him.

flori fights them off and gets them out of her head, surviving this harrowing encounter by the skin of her teeth.

back in the real world, the hunter trio is dead. flori and jed get back to his sisters and to the school.

as for flori's sire: he pops back up when everything's sort of settled down (for now).

it's not so much that derek machado (who i've headcanoned to be sheriff machado's estranged brother and uncle to ethan and maya) wants flori dead. it's not about flori, specifically. it never has been.

no, she's just a link in a long chain that ultimately leads to hope mikaelson. flori just happens to know her.

in derek's mind, he can justify harming or even killing his progeny (something he never really wanted in the first place) because it'll bring him a step closer to hope's friends and they bring him a step closer to killing her.

he's obsessed with exacting his revenge against the mikaelson family as a whole, but especially klaus because klaus ruined his life and killed derek's chosen family and now he's gonna repay the favor. no matter what.

in the end, hope kills derek before he can hurt or kill anyone else and flori works with mg and both their squads to round up triad to the best of their respective abilities and flori, especially, works tirelessly to get the triad industries detention facility shut down.

what happens next?

flori keeps in touch with everyone post graduation - especially loren and @ofvalor's mia - and moves into a little apartment in town. she keeps up with cybersecurity but now does it for the salvatore school. it pays well.

aside from that, flori also focuses on fully immersing herself in the night world. the night world is an underground society consisting of vampires, werewolves, witches and other shapeshifters. they've got their own laws and they've got their own council and elders.

she's learning about the soulmate principle. she's asking @soulmateprinciple about the dark kingdom. she's visiting several enclaves; she's often found in harmony, virginia too and the next place on her long list of places to visit is chance harbor, washington. which is both the hometown of the chance harbor circle and selena harman-dalisay's hometown. it is also the new stomping ground of john blackwell's children.

meanwhile, flori is also planning on asking around about the dark dimension (which i headcanoned malivore to be a part of) to the best of her ability.

she's also reconnecting with her maternal family - the harmans - and connects with the redfern vampires too. she ends up becoming a part of circle daybreak, aiding them in finding the wild powers - one of nature's loopholes aside from the red oak tree - and finds that there is a threat looming on the horizon: the old powers are rising up.

some figure that this is happening in response to hope mikaelson quote-unquote 'becoming' the tribrid. others merely think it was always going to happen like this, tribrid or no tribrid.

(the zetes institute - where flori's friend wade rivers once resided before coming to the salvatore school - seems much too interested in everything - read: hope becoming the tribrid - that's happened so far.

doctor emmanuel zetes' original focus was on psychics and harnessing their abilities through crystals, either for himself or for his young daughter, lydia. but he has since expanded his view and now collects anything and everything that is supernatural and special like trinkets. he loves his trinkets.

and he loves everything and anything that gives him a leg up in this world. possessing the tribrid would catapult him to heights unknown. he also couldn't be happier with the fact that triad industries seems to be out of the picture indefinitely.)

for now, flori is going to live the second life she's been granted with the people she loves by her side, discovering the world because she is ready for it and it's so, so much bigger than she ever thought it was.

there is still so much to see, so much to do, so much to learn. there are different strains of vampires all around, after all: in forks, washington; in savannah, georgia; in bon temps, louisiana and flori wants to meet them all. she's got so many questions.

[livvyofthelake]

was quite literally trapped in enemy territory (home depot parking lot), freezing and lacking appropriate winter clothes (in a hoodie. 45 degrees fahrenheit), low on supplies (car out of oil), low on ammunition (phone battery at 10%), sleep deprived and overworked (shift started at 8am), and most importantly. PATHETIC AND SAD. so i’m driving home. this is after i spent 38 dollars at target mind you so you knowwww i’m pissed. stupid little *ding* goes off on the stupid car, i look at the dashboard like ok what light turned on what’s wrong yeah yeah i SEE the check engine light and i’m ignoring it because it’s annoying i SEE the tire pressure warning light and i’m ignoring it because it’s broken. no new light is on, i’m like ok fine. whatever. girl dings AGAIN ten seconds later and i look real quick and the light is NOT coming on it just FLASHED itself for one second but i was like oh damn is that the oil light? now. unlike the check engine light. there are some lights you can’t be ignoring here so instead of going home i pull into the home depot parking lot (you might think. wow beth it’s lucky that’s where you were! “lucky” is NOT the word i’d use to describe my trials today…). before going on here’s a piece of important context: i don’t have my own car. i drive my moms old minivan that my family has always used as a backup car. if you know my lore you’ll recall i crashed my toyota camry last january. (rest in peace tami 💔) so i drive a shit car. and it sucks. anyway so i’m in the home depot parking lot, i call my dad like girl help! and he’s on facetime talking me through opening the hood and checking the oil and so on and so forth. and mind you i’m freezing. and i have never done any of this before. and under the circumstances i think i handled things quite well but don’t ask my bitch ass dad to corroborate that. and remember. phone battery on 10%. so it SHUTS OFF mid facetime and like thank god i’m a portable charger girlie. everybody always makes fun of me for my portable chargers but NOT today! so my phone is barely holding it together on facetime plugged in just coasting here and i have to check the oil and find the emergency quart of oil we keep in the car and check it again and so on and so forth. and then i have to go into the home depot to buy two more quarts because the one emergency one wasn’t enough OF COURSE. mind you i have never set foot inside a home depot alone in my life. so guess who’s dumb ass walks up to the EXIT DOOR trying to get in. im like wow it’s crazy they have doors that don’t work 😒 and then i look and i’m like oh this is an exit only door. and just as i’m about to walk around in shame some dude comes out and i think. might as well right. so my DUMB ASS walks in through the exit door through the checkout area. now i knowwww that pissed off the employees a little at least. my bad! and i’m still on facetime with my dad i make it to the right aisle and i’m showing him all the options and he tells me what to get i get it etc. back to the car. i proceed to SPILL like half the BRAND NEW bottle. i’m like cleaning up this mess with napkins i’ve collected from eating fast food in this car over the past year i’ve had to drive her. and again. in just a hoodie. and of course it’s windy as fuckkkk. anyway i guess i did a passable job with it because i made it home fine. but that was an evil experience it felt like being in a war seriously

just experienced basically the exact same conditions the guys in band of brothers went through in bastogne. 😐 elaborating later

[theadventuresoftheninja]

The Adventures of the ninja

Chapter 9

Secrets that cannot be shared

The headmistress’s eyes was wide opened

After a few minutes in silence the headmistress began to talk.

“Crows… in the sky… secrets come as they fly,

Some secrets are meant to be shared but some…

needs to be hidden far away where until death could find them”

Said the headmistress as a poem.

“But mother…” Before Nyx said anymore words The headmistress leaves the room.

“So we came all the way here for nothing?!” Rosie said annoyed.

“I guess so” said Nyx lowering her head

Then we stood in the living room silent not knowing what to do

Then I opened my mouth. “Come on guys let’s go to the park and relax we had a long day”

Everyone just nodded and soon we went our way to the park.

Soon we arrived at the park.

We sat in the near bench and stood silent.

“So… what should we talk about” i asked as an effort to break the silence but no one spoke.

Then Rosie began to speak “I’m sorry everyone” said Rosie in a sad tone

“Sorry?” Asked Nyx

Me and Tamie also was confused about why Rosie was apologizing.

“I mean I’m sorry that I dragged us over here to have a search about the ninja but turned out we came here for nothing” said Rosie clearly upset.

“Hey don’t be upset Rosie is not your fault.” Tamie said trying to cheer Rosie up.

“No it is my fault” Rosie said Lowering her head.

Nyx sighed and said “If only we had a book telling us some information about the ninja”

Then a idea came to my head I could use the ninja nomicon to get some information about the ninja. But how obviously I can’t tell my friends about this since I promised the first ninja to keep my identity a secret.

“Hey guy’s I think I might have an idea about the ninja” I said to my friends standing up from the bench.

“You do?” Asked Rosie looking at me

“Yeah but wait for me bit. ok” I said trying to be smooth.

“Ok” Rosie said.

Nyx just nodded.

Tamie nodded as well.

I quickly ran to the farthest tree and sat down and opened my bag to get the ninja nomicon.

As I hold the ninja nomicon in my hand. I gently opened the ninja nomicon and soon as I knew it I was in the ninja nomicon.

“Ok nomicon I need to get some information about the previous ninja. Can you tell me what happened to them?” I asked the nomicon.

Then the nomicon began to blow a wind violently that I was almost flying. I had to hold the ground with my hand very hard. It was like the nomicon was trying to kick me out.

“Nomicon what are you doing?!” I asked trying to tighten my grip.

The ninja nomicon then wrote these letters above

“ The Ninja can’t learn everything”

When I rad the letters above I could feel my anger bottling up. Me and my friends were searching for some information about ninja for a whole day A WHOLE DAY! But we couldn’t find anything and the only two who could help us chose to stay quiet. I was done with the secrets.

“Ninja nomicon I don’t know why you’re trying to hide the information about the previous ninja. This is so unfair. You say that The ninja can’t learn everything but I want learn everything about the ninja and the lessons you give me and besides weren’t you supposed to teach me about what the previous ninjas done in the past. So please tell me one information about the ninja” I screamed while barely trying to hold the ground tightly.

Then the wind slowly stoped.

Then a mysterious voice suddenly spoke.

“A long time ago, the ninja lived happily with their family but everything changed when the sorceress returned. She was furious with the ninja for destroying the evil sorcerer her lover. So the sorceress used a spell to create a creation that had the DNA of the sorcerer and the sorceress it self. The creation only purpose was to continue the mission that sorcerer left behind. The creation tried to destroy the ninja and its family. The ninja fearing the worst hid himself and their spouse inside the ninja nomicon while leaving their daughter in trust of the Ninja’s Tomodachi.”

After the mysterious explained that information. I began to speak.

“So your saying that the previous ninja has daughter! That’s great I can’t wait to tell the others!” I said excitedly but then the nomicon was shaking very bad like I said something bad.

“I need to keep this information to myself aren’t I?”

I said to the nomicon while trying to hold my balance.

Then the nomicon stopped shaking.

“Soo can you tell me where the ninja’s daughter is like her address or where the ninja’s Tomodaichi?,Can at least meet the previous ninja?” But before I could say anything else I was pulled back to the real world.

“So you won’t tell me anything about the previous ninja will you?” I asked the book in front of me

The nomicon just closed itself to answer my question.

“Ok thanks anyways nomicon.” I said went back to my friends

“So did you find anything?” Asked Tamie.

“No I didn’t” I answered as a lie to keep my word to the nomicon.

“I knew it! I dragged everyone here for nothing!” Rosie said sounding more upset

“ Hey let’s not be this sad after all it’s just a ninja.” I said to cheer everyone up

“Ami has a point” Nyx said then I continued.

“Hey Rosie why don’t we read puppies vs kittens 2 together?” I asked to Rosie

Rosie then tilted her head up and smiled so softly.

“Ok” said Rosie

Then together we went to the library to read puppies vs kittens 2.

But I still needed to learn about the previous ninja and being the ninja. Oh well nothing bad can happen by not knowing much… right?

-end of chapter-

[yesthatssadirichardslove]

Taye Diggs writes a children's book about racial injustice

NEW YORK

In a powerful new book for children, a little girl looks at a crowd of street protesters and asks: Why are those people marching? A few pages later, a child asks her family: Why are buildings burning?

“Why?: A Conversation About Race” by actor Taye Diggs with illustrations by Shane W. Evans is an unvarnished look at social activism from the eyes of Black children as they struggle to understand demands for change. It comes out Feb. 1 from Macmillan's Feiwel and Friends imprint.

“I needed to be honest,” Diggs says in an interview with his illustrator. “And sometimes being honest and real can be uncomfortable. And I think that that’s OK.”

The book portrays a series of questions from kids posed to adults. One is: Why are people crying near a makeshift memorial? “Our people are crying because we are in pain,” comes the answer. Another question asks why are protestors shouting. An adult explains: “Our people are shouting because we need to be heard.”

Evans' expressive drawings show each child's face change from worry to understanding as they digest what they hear from loved ones. His protesters hold banners and signs but they are blank — a nod to the sad timelessness of the fight for racial justice.

“I think the beauty of the words and the pictures together is that there’s a way to kind of speak above the fray,” says Evans, who was inspired in his drawings by deep talks with his daughter in their car.

While the book ends on a hopeful note, Diggs and Evans do not shy away from discussing that some protests have ended with burning buildings. “Sometimes buildings must burn,” an adult says. “The buildings burn for us. The anger burning those buildings is us.”

Diggs says he wanted to be honest and not instantly declare what was right and what was wrong. He wanted to look at the roots of the issue and start a conversation, something that didn't happen when he was young.

“If someone had taken the time to sit with me and say, ‘Well, let’s see. Why do you think these people are doing this?’ then that opens up a different conversation,” he says.

“With this book, I wanted to kind of give folks an opportunity to just sit in what was happening and look at it before passing judgment.”

A number of recent picture books take aim at racial injustice, including the upcoming “Goodnight, Racism” from Ibram X. Kendi and “All Because You Matter,” by Tami Charles and Bryan Collier. Many more shine new light on Black history.

“Why?” represents Diggs and Evans' fifth children's book together, a collaboration that started with 2011's “Chocolate Me,” which spotlighted what it feels like to look different and get teased at school.

Their books have explored Blackness, growing up biracial, handling friendship and dealing with separated parents, with titles like “Mixed Me!” and “My Friend!”

“I only write when I feel moved. So whenever I feel moved, I know it’s coming from a place that I know is real,” says Diggs, the star of “Rent” and “How Stella Got Her Groove Back.”

“It feels like something I need to do and I have to get off my chest, and it usually comes very easily. And that’s when I know it’s coming from a real place.”

Evans and Diggs first met in the 1980s when they were students at a performing arts high school in Rochester, New York. (Evans recalled the two harmonizing while singing The Police's "“De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da”) Their bond continued at Syracuse University, where they played together in a band.

“From the moment Shane and I started to work together, we both knew it was something kind of bigger than us,” says Diggs. Evans agrees: “I don’t want to sound corny, but the word kismet comes to mind.”

Diggs says he's always amazed at what Evans dreams up to illustrate his words, allowing him to see in a different way what the narrative can mean.

“There’s trust and confidence and an excitement that is there. It’s always kind of like a gift — like a present, like a birthday present — after we give Shane the words and then to slowly see the images that come from it. No one is ever disappointed.”

[dreamylyfe-x]

11x04: NIMBY Reactions

Oh my God, that’s the good stuff right there. I’ve been hanging on for the middle of the season, where I have felt pretty certain the tone -- with Gallavich particularly -- might shift and I was NOT disappointed. 

So first thing’s first: though Mickey had barely anything to do with the A Plot (Milkoviches Next Door) I still thought this episode was the best  Mickey-being-Mickey-as-I-know-and-love-him  episode we’ve had yet. (Though fair warning, I thought 11x03 had some quality classic Mickey in it -- just mostly the scenes without Ian.) 

Before we get started on Mickey, though, this is the second episode in a row where I’ve enjoyed the Frank plot? Granted, it was LARGELY Liam that I enjoyed, but I was still watching the Frank plot and that is a major shift from season 10, where I barely bothered. 

But yeah. Ok. Mickey. This episode was such a great Mickey episode from start to finish. One of the things I love about Shameless is the whole thing where normal for kids living in desperate conditions, while very different from most people’s normal, is still normal for THEM. And I really enjoyed Mickey watching the Milkoviches move in while giving the Gallaghers key intel on exactly what they were seeing. And kinda understanding how messed up some of it was in real time. That’s a real experience people have -- being mid-story and suddenly thinking “Yeah. This is way more fucked up than I realized.”  

I also enjoyed the several moments in the episode where Mickey overtly acknowledged that his family is insane, he just doesn’t like the Gallaghers looking down on him. Which: valid. 

Speaking of -- finally we find out the state of the Mickey-Terry relationship. Which is: there isn’t one. Another thing I loved is that Mickey shares the desire to see his family move on, but he’s not going to bother engaging with it. He’s going to work on getting him and Ian out of there, and pay hardly any attention to his family. Love that for him. 

I also love love LOVE that, now that he has a bead on something to do for money that doesn’t fill him with dread, Mickey is taking the same attitude he had when Ian was working and he wasn’t -- which is that he’s going to take care of things. As someone who was baffled at Mickey’s inaction and willingness to let Ian do all the work in the first few episodes, I really loved this. Because it’s consistent and it indicates that his world view just kinda like... Someone has to be taking care of the money part, and that might shift back and forth between him and Ian, but the result of the effort is going to be shared between them. I understand where Ian was coming from -- especially when Mickey kept returning to criminal enterprise -- but it’s nice to see a little more of how Mickey views things. 

Also, I know this is very well observed, so I’m retreading well-worn ground, but the scene with the cereal. Gah. I love it. Ian regressing -- I know they gave us the shot of the bottle of Jamison, but I felt like they were getting their point across with the cereal and the cartoons. And Ian not answering or responding to Mickey right away was extremely evocative of Ian’s history of depressive episodes. I loved how forthright Ian was about how awful the prospect of finding another job was, because it’s covertly agreeing with everything Mickey was saying in the first few episodes, too. 

There are so many little things I like about this scene. Mickey coming down the front stairs instead of the back, like he intuitively knows where Ian is at. Ian watching Harley Quinn cartoons, as both an in-joke AND as a believable cartoon choice. Mickey picking up the bottle, checking it’s weight and then just... moving it a little to the side. Mickey putting himself between Ian the TV. Mickey already having a plan for Ian. Just so much good stuff in there. 

Also, let’s talk about Ian for a minute here. One reason I hesitate to call anything OOC with these two is that the book generally isn’t closed. I really didn’t get the “I’m on my honeymoon” stuff, but after this episode, it folds in a lot better with what is going on with these two. Another thing that folds in better is Ian’s mounting frustration -- which is VERY Ian. He starts out with this forced buoyancy -- we’re going to get out own place, you are going to get a legal job so you can stay out of prison, I am going to make this warehouse gig work, and even though I’m frustrated and losing patience, I’m still trying to talk things out, and touching your hand and trying to ground everything in the fact that we’re together and we love each other -- and then we see that get chipped away at. Ian’s paycheque reveals that he’s being scammed out of a living wage. Mickey takes the road less travelled and immediately brings in more money that he’s every going to be able to get through the jobs he can currently get as a parolee. Mickey isn’t gracious about this, and the tension ramps up and that four episodes later he’s just walking around with a well-established and throughly justified black cloud over his head. 

The Milkovich’s really arrive like they’ve bought a White Trash in a Bag collection from Target. They seem to even have brought mattresses expressly for the front yard. 

OMG, Mickey got a scene with Sandy (and Debbie). But honestly, my favourite beat is the look Franny gives Mickey after he says kids are idiots. I also love how Sandy joins Mickey in just not seeing a point in waging battle against their family.

Lip, this is a little thing, but you aren’t supposed to eat breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner. Brunch ideally REDUCES the number of meals you eat. But the key brunch move is to order something you can’t/wouldn’t make at home. Do not pay $14 for eggs and toast. 

So. Ok. I have seen some people very annoyed that Ian is so focused on Mickey not going back to prison, but I can’t see what is wrong with this. He just flat out isn't wrong to worry about it. It would be devastating if that happened. Mickey and Ian are extremely fortunate that he’s out at all. It’s a truly bizarre turn of events and I do not fault Ian for having a lot of concern about anything happening to jeopardize Mickey’s freedom. I also think this is confirmation that Ian just flat out doesn’t want to be without Mickey. I think he’s depressed -- and therefore extremely pessimistic -- in this episode, but there is far more indication that Ian wants Mickey around than that he doesn’t, so of course he’d be extremely focused on this concern. Also Cam puts some tremor onto “get sent back to prison” that really grabs my heart and squeezes. 

Cam in the towel is just good news. Mickey’s adorable with the gun. This scene is cute. 

This is the episode where I gave up on side-eying the Gemma-is-Superior running joke and just accepted it as kinda funny. Something about third-party confirmation. I dunno.

I enjoy the fact that Debbie apparently doesn’t know Sandy lives with them? Also, that feels like an Ian move. Gets boyfriend, moves in with boyfriend. 

The fact that Mickey is low-key playing Ian to get him to join him in this MUCH more promising venture is my absolute favourite. Bless the director for that foreground Mickey shot. Bless Noel for that nuanced facial expression. Bless everyone involved in that moment. It is one of my favourite things ever. 

I love that Ian’s whole reason for these outfits is so that Mickey will LOOK dangerous and not have to defend himself, thus staying out of trouble. That’s deeply, deeply sweet. 

Another sign that something is even more wrong with Frank than usual when he fully forgets the entire trip to visit the Brotherhood. 

I didn’t love V vs. Debbie but I really did enjoy Kev aligns with Frank, and also has a scene with Mickey. And that they weren’t silo’ed off on their own. 

So the eventual reveal we get that the old lady loves having rough sex with Terry was not a surprise to me because a) Shameless, but b) because of Christian’s face. Christian’s facial expressions are among my favourite on the show right now. 

I love this gif set by @sickness-health-all-that-shit.  What can I say except “look! Ian is smiling!” 

Mickey should be a better liar, but you know. He isn’t. 

I do like that, in this moment, the things they both bring to the enterprise come together to create a new possibility. This is pretty much exactly what I HOPED was going to happen and I love to see it. 

I think I’m going to ignore the Tami storyline because it was gross (not bad, but ... gross.) Also @fiona-fififi already wrote something that is much more comprehensive... I get the frustration, but just no part of me thinks Ian would allow himself to go where Tami did in examining what happened to her. Not at this point in his life. Which is sad, but very much in line with how Ian handles himself. 

Um. Yeah. Carl. Glad you’re not fully participating, Carl. But this is untenable. 

Overall, I am all the way in on this storyline for Ian and Mickey -- and pretty into the idea of V getting involved with politics. I think we’re getting all the seeds of where this show is going to leave the characters. And I haven’t loved every moment, but I do feel like the overall show is working for me better than last season. 

That might be faint praise. But I really liked this one. Best yet. 

[sastheforestspirit]

Ok I've reach sad past when Will Smith haven't hit Rock yet and it's sign I can stop scrolling

Also I've told Tami about 10 years t&b show and she was like: no. No don't tell me. I will never trust 10tg anniversary shows"

[vhagarswattle]

I can’t stand this freshman quarterback story line. They wanna give us some sad little kid to care to care about but guess WHAT i DONT! You want me to care about some little twerp whose dad hit him one time and meanwhile Matt’s grandma need to go into a home and matt wants to go art school in Chicago?? PUHleaze.

The whole thing with the freshman doesn’t make any sense! Suddenly tami and coach care about the fact they are mandatory reporters because they cant turn their backs on the dad hitting him, when for the past eight seasons Tim Riggins hasn’t had a parent in the house and Matt is the caregiver for his grandma and his father abandoned him to fight a war. Ok. And now we’re doing this whole storyline where the Texas child protective services are gonna take a right white kid from his rich white parents and put him foster care. Ok. Sure

[ryuichirou]

do u have any favorite dj artists?

Yeah, a bunch of them! I’ll name a few, but there are definitely more very cool artists that I’m forgetting about right now. These ones are just those who I came to mind first +  those whose work I had saved for the occasional appreciation.

Please keep in mind that despite me whining about the characters being OOC all the time, these are also somewhat OOC (some of them are very OOC). I guess their characteristics are simply shifted in a way that we like so I don’t mind is as much, and sometimes the concept/artstyle/everything is just way too good for me to think about how character act.

Another disclaimer: the words “weird” and “messed up” are going to be used a bunch of times, but I mean them as compliments. When it comes to us and djs, the weirder and more messed up they are, the merrier. Here is the list with my little and not helpful summaries:

Atsukunare Kubota (Ereri) – I’d marry her djs if I could lol Her artstyle is so much fun to look at, her ideas are, well, a little weird, but this is why I love them – you’ll never be like “oh right I forgot that I read that”, they’ll be stuck with you forever. And I mean it, it really is the type of stuff where you go “oh I’m not sure if I’m going to like it- woah ok that was fun I’m kind of into it”. I’m so sad she doesn’t post new stuff on pixiv anymore… 

Ongre/Onjire/Tamy (Ereri) – another fave when it comes to Ereri djs. Her works are extremely funny and fun to read, some of them radiate such chaotic energy... it’s so enjoyable to watch lol Her Eren is insane, her Levi is grumpy and cute and she always does her best to showcase how feral Eren is and how adorable Levi is. She has good nsfw scenes too!

8205 (Ereri) – this one is very dear to me and very unique. 8205’s work is very interesting, she rewrites everything about the characters – their age, their “role” (for example, in the latest dj Reiner and Bert are Connie’s grandparents), and it still works well somehow?? Sometimes it all feels ridiculous and funny, but it still is very touching and beautiful. And creepy, it’s also creepy from time to time, I love it. I think I’d read those works even if they weren’t SnK djs. There are some nsfw scenes here and there, but not many, unfortunately. Katsu’s note: I’m ready to die for her Eren and for the author’s fashion sense.  

Zokugun Porno/Inumoto (Ereri) – their djs are more story-oriented, and their stories are interesting to read. I wouldn’t call them super creepy or dark and heavy per-se, but there is some ehh fleur of tragedy in some of their work. The atmosphere is amazing, I love this type of stuff. These djs also have some nice nsfw scenes, these are amazing too. Oh, and I really like how they work with Eren/Levi dynamic and incorporate it into AUs. 

Melomelow/Hyura (Eruri) – our all-time fave. The queen of size difference between Levi and Erwin. Her nsfw scenes are hot af, her Erwin is not ok in a beautiful way, her Levi is… well I was thinking for 5 min but I couldn’t come up with a perfect way to describe him lol, he’s just too good.

Chiruchiru (Eruri) – she has some good depressing djs, some more or less light-hearted ones, but her nsfw scenes are always great (and sometimes it gets weird…). She does Eruri’s size difference justice too, I appreciate her work a lot. 

Hakodume/x_hako (Eruri) – I absolutely adore her work. The storyboard, the frame composition, the artstyle itself – it’s gorgeous. Too bad she keeps deleting all of her galleries ;w; Her work is mostly sfw though, but still, very beautiful.

Uchu Kago (Eruri) – I don’t even have words for this one, every time they’re kind enough to share their dj in its entirety on pixiv I cry a little because of how good their Eruris are. Their AUs are very interesting, they has tons of very cool concepts with them, and oh my god THE SIZE DIFFEREEENCEEEEE it murders me every time we read any of their djs.

鼻子 (Eruri) – their works have such a great dark and depressing atmosphere. They’re mostly story-oriented with great and very fitting visuals: dramatic shading, hatching, rough lines, all this stuff makes their djs feel very… unnerving. In a very good way, I love it when djs make me feel uneasy.

Honorable mentions: here are a bunch of great artists who post short comics and art that we really enjoy. It’s mostly comical and sfw, but occasionally there is nsfw stuff too.

Si_tano (Ereri) – this person draws djs too and have a lot of previews on their pixiv page, and I’d commit a rumbling to be able to pay them and read any of those, but they also post a lot of short funny comics about Eren and Levi. They also have a series of sketches with Erewan 

Migiri (Ereri AND Eruri!) – this person’s short comics art hilarious, I adore their portrayal of Levi and the fact that they ship both of our fav ships. A lof of their works have “two idiots are madly in love with Levi who is just chillin’ there” dynamic and it’s great. 

Zundamochi (Ereri) – we’re in love with this artist’s Eren LOL he’s so moody and clingy and angry, it’s so close to how we see Eren, it’s always a national holiday for us when they post something new. Such a joy. Levi is adorable too

Bubiomaru – they mostly post non-shippy art nowadays, but they have short comics with both Ereri and Eruri. Although their non-shippy art is hilarious too 

Koka-tin (Ereri, Eruri, etc) – they mostly post illustrations, but there are some short stories here and there (both sfw and nsfw). Levi-centric, and oh god if their Levi is good. They illustrate his nature and his sexiness perfectly. There are  a lot of unexpected ideas, stories and characters’ combinations, their mind amazes me. And the art itself is breathtaking good . 

シャケ (Ereri, Eruri, Zevi, etc…) - their Levi is round, soft, smol, tiny, kittenish, everything. And woah they ship him with Zeke!! Well, they ship him with a lot of people, but Zeke is one of them and I’m grateful for that. You most likely won’t like their stuff though, I’m pretty sure about that. You’ll see what I mean when you see their Levi lol 

Once again, there are a lot of people that I’m forgetting about or don’t remember well enough to describe their work, since it’s been forever since I’ve reread some of the older djs… But I think that’s enough for now lol

Too bad there are no Zevi djs yet…….sob

[stonerbughead]

Maria watches friday night lights (#26)

5x03 here we are, Julie’s bad decisions are piling up! (I watched 5x04+5x05 too, just gotta edit all my ramblings into coherency.)

under the cut:

Wow the level of Lions pride there now is is truly amazing. It’s wild that Buddy now owns this East Dillon watering hole! Weirdly like...growth? Given how many different types of people are gathered to celebrate this team that was revitalized only a year ago? Wild.

Uh oh, why does Vince’s father getting out of prison seem like a bad thing. God things were finally going well for him!

Also love how I was equally as disturbed as Vince was by his mom cleaning, knew something was up!

Omg the video with Maura went viral! 2,000 hits. That’s like everyone their age right? 😬

“We didn’t do any of this crap when we were kids.” Tami’s look of “yeah right” made me lol

“You think maybe people change? You changed.” I was about to say it but then Vince did: “I don’t know. I ain’t gone to jail.” Bc the problem is — the prison system ensures that people remain in a permanent underclass once paroled, making it nearly impossible to escape the cycle. so unfortunately it seems very unlikely Vince’s dad changed for the better while in a prison, which is an inherently violent and traumatizing place to be, let alone for five years when he already had a track record for treating your mom like trash...oh babe.

Oh nooo Buddy Jr. is smoking weed. West coast, brother! Lol

Yikes this is really sad, Tami is like trying to subtly be like to Maura, ‘sooo did seeing a bunch of guys passing you around while drunk on video like...maybe traumatize you a bit?’ And Maura’s like ‘WE WERE HAVING FUN HAVE YOU EVER PARTIED.’ Hello, internalized misogyny and a need for therapy, plz honey. Seems like her parents are a lot angrier than she is!

“daddy issues.com, I feel you” is literally what I nervously sang out loud at Vince and his father reuniting.

Omg they’re forcing the girls alone to listen to a really boring lecture on alcohol? This just doesn’t seem effective.

Holy shit two of the football players were making fun of the video.....? Disgusting. Rape culture is the fact that people are making fun of a girl being passed around like a rag doll!

The TA giving Julie a C- bc he’s “spent time with her” and “knows she can do better” is super manipulative and creepy and oh boy I hate this harmful dynamic. He’s literally GRADING HER PAPERS. Nope nope nope.

oh god not the ol “weekly salon for promising students the professor just so happens to host” trope! OH GOD

Ooooh making Jess equipment manager??? Tami is the best. Aw Jess is so excited! I’m so glad that within five seasons they included a character like her who is a girl who also grew up with football and loves it more than some of the guys on this show do!

Ooooh they’re doing shirts and ties instead of jerseys on game days and community outreach. Mmhmm ok revive your image

Vince is losing his confidence and motivation as a captain now his dad’s home noooooo

Lol I knew Buddy was gonna blame the weed on “that hippie Kevin.” So predictable.

“You know maybe it’s not about you and it’s not about Pam, it’s about your son, who happens to need you.” YES ERIC TELL HIM

“Nobody said being a dad’s gonna be easy.” OOH OOH Eric give my dad one of these talks next

“Girls in locker rooms are bad ideas.” I can’t. Lol Tami got lil toddler Grace to say “think about it, daddy!!” She doesn’t play nice.

LMAO I have never related to Vince more than in this moment: “did you talk to your dad?” “Yep.” “how did it go?” *sprints away without answering*

Okay here we are, douchey assholes at the ~salon~ and Julie with a glass of champagne and a devious smile looks like she’s on a mission.

“You must be so proud to have such a distinguished wife.” Oh Jesus TA’s wife’s away on a “sabbatical in Boston.” I see where this illicit romance is going and THANKS I HATE IT

Oh geez Vince doesn’t like Jess being equipment manager? She looks so cute and excited!

Oh boy, Maura is clearly going through some shit, she is relishing in being caught. I know that Tami is judging making out in a supply closet as a concept, but it can be hot—however, in this particular case, i have to agree on not romantic.

“Everyone thinks that I’m married but I don’t feel like I am.” Lines men say before they cheat on their wife with an underage student under their tutelage they shouldn’t be pursuing even if they’re single.

“You’re an awesome girl, Julie Taylor.” Key word ‘GIRL.’ Now he’s saying he feels “comfortable with her” and “if it were a different time and a different place.” This is what grooming sounds like.

Ewwwwwww

Oh noooo Julie you’ve been in college for like five minutes and you’ve already fucked a married TA. Oh honey NO.

Poor Vince. So much trauma between his mom and his dad.

Wowwww the transition from Vince fighting with his parents to walking in suit and tie past all the fans with signs 😭

Yes Eric reiterating he’s proud of Vince and so are his teammates after he goes off — I love how he can like tell something is off with him. He shuts the door and gets Vince to explain the home situation in like five mins.

“He never taught me how to better! How am I supposed to be better?” Omg yessss I feel you babe 😭

Oh god is Vince’s dad showing up gonna cost them this game

NOPE he just did an INSANE touchdown instead!!! Go Vince! “They call that the Tinker shuffle. They get a flag for excessive celebrating and who can blame them?”

“That was a hell of an effort. That’s character, Vince.” Awwww Eric’s so proud of him. His dad is sad. Welp, no thanks to you.

Omg their 3 and 0 East Side cheer at the bar sounds so much like the cheers our predominantly Black football team would do at our pep rallies I love it. This team has so much more heart and soul than the Panthers.

Omg Buddy Jr. is coming back to town???? Intrigue.

TA apologized and and acknowledged he knew it was wrong for teacher-student reasons! Yikes! Bc you know it’s gonna happen again!

“Only 17 years old and you’re already better than I ever was.” Damn Vince’s dad apologizing for not asking to move in after seeing him shine at the game, #growth

“Tonight for the first time in my life I knew what pride felt like. I mean, boy, that was crazy out there. You the man for real.” OMGGGG VINCE IS CRYING wow 🥺

[yellowninjaleopard]

Autumn winds chapter eleven: hazel eyes.

The boat came to a stop, autumn woke, rubbing her eyes. [*Guys wake up, were back, cmon, let's go get frisk.] Autumn and the others stepped out of the boat and made their way to the prison, suddenly, something ran into autumn and knocked her down. Autumn looked up and saw frisk, then she saw the king, queen and asriel behind them. "Autumn! Guys!" Said frisk as she hugged autumn, autumn hugged her back, she snuggled into Frisk's shoulder, then let go. The others then joined the hug, laughing and dog piling, the three royals were stunned to see so many human children in the underground, especially since they were supposed to be dead. The group then stood up together, spotting the monsters. Autumn looked wide eyed [*welp, we're jumped.] Frisk then got infront of the group and faced the monsters. "Wait! Their nice, they're my friends, they came to help me" the queen then smiled, and said "hello little ones, would you like to follow us? Don't worry, we will take good care of you" the group looked at each other, before nodding. Soon the group is sitting around the table with queen Toriel, king asgore and Prince asriel, autumn is sitting next to frisk. [*As soon as i heard frisk was missing, i jumped down here after her, i plan to get everyone back home, frisk is gonna come live with me, i was...Real sad to hear about her mom's, they were good people, that's hardly common anymore..] the queen nodded understanding. Frisk then said "autumns my best friend, even if i haven't seen her in three years, she couldn't have picked a better time to come home, I've really missed her..I hope we can get home soon.." asriel then said "don't worry, it might be hard, but we'll find a way. I promise." Autumn relaxed a bit. The conversation went on to who could make the best hot chocolate, autumn laughed [*you guys remind me of my dad and mom arguing over who gets to put me on their shoulder, don't worry, it's not bad, unless they decide to share, then it's nooooopa! Sorry pal! No doc for me today!] Frisk then laughed, she then explained to the dreamurrs that it was a joke about cutting someone down the middle to have her on both their shoulders. They all then laughed. Then noticed frisk freeze, she looked where frisk was looking, spotting chara. [*Hey! Creeper peeper! Wazaap dude?] Chara was shocked to see another human, none the less every other human he had killed. Toriel then looked and said "oh chara, we didn't mean to wake you!" The other kids then looked at chara, he then noticed their eyes were different, without their souls their eyes were grey.

after a bit of talking, Toriel then said "why don't you formally introduce yourselves, I'm sure you all must have gotten on the wrong end." Autumn took Frisk's hand, and smiled. She held out her hand and looked back at the others​, nodding in reassurance, she looked back at chara, held out her hand for a fist bump and smiled best she could. [*What's up dude? name's autumn, but my friends call me Tami sometimes, this is my bestest friend, her name is Francis, but we call her frisk. And that's bandy, irro, nona, Katt, Jodie, wimsum and penny, hope we can be buddies! How 'bout a Buddy-fist dude!] Chara doesn't accept autumn's fist bump, autumn then turns to frisk with a silly face [*guess he ain't a true bro, bro.] "Pfft, shut up dude!" frisk laughs, playfully digs her in the shoulder and gives her a fist bump leading to their secret handshake, and a thumbs up to chara, the others smile, autumn then tugs her new shirt, then looked at chara, still trying to be friendly [*hey look chara "underground, pride of Weinies"] autumn turns to the others [*I'm proud o'my underground Weinies! Hahaha!] Autumn gives frisk a playful noogie making frisk giggle "autumn! My hair dude!" The others laugh, Chara stands still, then holds his knife and whispers

"erase this."

Frisk looks confused, before chara swings his knife aiming to slit her neck. But autumn yanks frisk back behind her and grabs the knife, blood pours from her hands as she gripped the blade, both of her eyes burned a bright hazel, she pushed chara back with her foot and throws the blade away, her hands are cut deeply, she looks at chara who is shocked at this turn of events, the powerful fire in autumn's eyes was far stronger than his, or Frisk's. But not enough to reset, Just to gaze into past resets. [*Don't you dare call yourself human, you think because you have some special power you're god? You think you can avoid karma? Karma always gets you no matter who you believe yourself to be. I wont let you hurt frisk or anyone just because your life turned for the worst. You. Are. Pathetic. You will never regain the title of human, EVER.] Autumn then fell to her knees, her soul ached and burned, as if it were on fire. Asgore rushed and tackled chara. Toriel rushed to autumn as she fell on her side, clutching her chest, blood pouring from her hands, frisk desperately shook autumn, and held her hand, autumn's eyes started to lose the fire. "Autumn, your gonna be ok! Please don't close you're eyes! Please! Please!! I love you..Please bestie...Don't leave me like my mom's did...Please don't leave me again..." Frisk said, tears running down her face, autumn reached her hand up, the same one that bared the purple bracelet and wiped Frisk's tears, frisk gripped autumn's arm, with the same hand that bared her bracelet too. Autumn smiled as tears formed. [*...I love ya too frannie...I'm sorry things got so messed up...I'm sorry i missed those last three years...I..I'm sorry i didn't find you sooner...I...I love you...Please don't cry...Tell mom and dad I'm sorry...Be strong Frannie, stay determined...Please be strong for me...please...Frisky bits... You'll always be my bestest friend...] Autumns eyes closed, frisk felt her hand go limp in her embrace. Her eyes widened. "No...Autumn please No..Not again..Please..." Frisk leaned over autumn's body and sobbed, pleading her to wake up. Nona ran to autumn's body and cried. "Mana, mana wake up! Please don't leave! Mana!!!" The others started to sob as the one who had brought them together was possibly gone. Wimsum flew around and sobbed hard, Bandy fell to his knees and cried too, he crawled over to autumn's body and hugged her arm. Toriel begged asriel to lend autumn his healing magic, asriel then quickly began to heal autumn. Chara looked at the scenario, in shock. Not only at the power, but at the familiar scene, one he had just recreated, he was stunned until asgore yanked him up to the landline. "What shall i do with chara?" Toriel, now baring tears at the sight of frisk mourning her best friend, gained a dark look as she set eyes on the cause. "Get him out of my sight, that's not my chara." Said Toriel, whom continued to rub frisks back as she hugged autumn's body and sobbed hard.

"please....Please wake up, i don't want to be alone...Please autumn...Please wake up...*sniff* buddy...You'll always be my bestest friend too..."

To be continued

[*knowing that you saved your best friends life, fills you with COURAGE.]

[bellafarella]

My Shameless 10x08 thoughts

Ok so my only thoughts have to do with ian and mickey. I hate that they give tami and lip all these sweet, kissing, sex, lovey dovey bs scenes and then they give us 2 seconds of happiness between ian and mickey. It's always been like that but like with it being season fucking 10 and the struggle to bring them back together like u really cant give us more happy moments?!

That whole scene at the milkovich house made no gd sense... ya terry was homophobic as shit per usual but still the last time we saw him with mickey he tried to kill him and now hes all like ok with him and ian being partners and living together? So inconsistent I cant.

Ian flaking out on marrying mickey was so sad cause mickey seemed genuinely happy to do it even tho he hated the idea of marriage before (prob because it was to a woman and not the love of his life, ian). Like I get why ian was all worried at the end cause yes he loves mickey we heard him say it A Lot this episode (thank u!) but his main reason was the testifying against each other thing and I know mickey thought of that too after his convo at his father's but his anger is justifiable and I hate that they had him punch ian but honestly I feel like it was on brand for him even tho hes made bounds and leaps to who he was in s3 (when he beat ian up). He was very upset, he thinks ian doesnt wanna marry him for him and that hurt him so much so he does what he knows and lashes out physically. Hate that that's how ian breaks his leg and that thats mickeys default to hurt him when he feels hurt or betrayed but thats shameless for ya.

I just love them so much I wish we could get more sweet and tender moments like we do with tami and lip who nobody gives two flying fucks about. Also, Noel is fucking brilliant I love him so much, he had me fucking dying tonight omg. Cam is brilliant too, so many emotions on his face. They're amazing.

[dreamylyfe-x]

Loving on 10x12: Gallavich!

I don’t think I have much that’s unique to say, but I really have to talk about how good that episode was. On strong community advice I was trying to keep my expectations low. I loved the advance scene... like loved it. But I tried to keep myself in line and decided to be ok with no vows and very little actual wedding stuff. Like maaaaybe they’d do that. Or maybe it would all be hi-jinks and the wedding would be in a montage and nothing much would happen. 

But then it was SO MUCH good stuff. Which I want to record now. 

* First of all, so much good intra-Gallagher interaction. I feel like this is what the show does best and they do it so little, but it’s always great to see them all together fighting for a common goal. And it was awesome that the goal was a) stop Mickey from committing homicide in broad daylight and b) get Mickey and Ian married. 

* We are paying attention to the fact that Ian is bipolar. I will come back to that. 

* For the people who wanted to know how the wedding was being paid for, we have an answer: Crime. (I’m ok with this.) 

* I love the shot as Carl leaves the bedroom and pushes the door closed behind him, and we see Ian pulling off Mickey’s towel just as it closes. (The grab that proceeded it was nice, too.) 

* I’m easy: I’ve fully bought into Sandy and Debbie. I do not like Julia. 

* Oh the Sandy tip, it honestly does make sense to me that Mickey would have developed a bond with his lesbian cousin in his super homophobic family. And again: Mickey needs a friend. 

* Ok. Complaint. I don’t love the hitting? It’s just not for me. And I’m always like “Ok, it’s the show, this is the dynamic” and then I end up all “But... did it have to happen twice?” or “Did he have to walk UP the stairs to hit him?”

* I do not mind the biting. Feral is feral.

* Because I recall seeing some people being annoyed that Ian said Mickey was prone to murder, I just want to point out that Mickey is pretty prone to murder.

* The second scene with Mickey handcuffed by the washer is one of my favourite scenes of the season. (Wedding scenes are on a different metric.) Kinda drunk and literally being kept on a chain, making a list of what are probably some of Terry’s lesser crimes against him (but just so... petty. So cruel. So very much the acts of a man who just doesn’t care about anyone on any level and must ENJOY making his kids miserable. He has what? Five kids? That’s a lot of halloween candy to steal.) I don’t think Mickey talks that much about what Terry’s done to him to anyone, so seeing him innumerate these events to a relative, who knows all about them, just moved me. And then the “I love you. I LOVE you.” It sounded so similar to the one from 5x12. Like this is essential information Ian needs. 

* I also love how Mickey just gives up, honestly. I love it because it means everyone else has to step in to give him what he wants and I’m glad he got to have that experience, right down to Ian complimenting the chairs. 

* So much of the time Ian looks so adult and so far from the Ian from the first five seasons, but several times in this episode he was shot in a way where I could really see younger Ian in his face and I loved that. 

* Lip, suggesting a plan where Ian might have to watch Mickey marry a woman might not be your most sensitive moment. 

* The bow tie scene. Mickey is a hard no on kids. Ian wants them. Mickey immediately becomes a soft yes. That’s on brand. 

* They have gay friends! I’m not even talking about the Gay Jesus kids, but the people who turned up before that to make things awkward. Good to see. 

* I would not describe myself as a Debbie fan, but I really loved her this episode. Like it’s almost an “all is forgiven” amount of love. 

* Speaking of Gay Jesus, I was glad to see Geneva make a comeback, since it appeared that she’d completely abandoned him. And it made sense. I was thinking when he was on Grindr -- shouldn’t someone notice he’s Gay Jesus? Shouldn’t Bryon have, if he’s so politically informed? 

Ok. The wedding. So much has been said so well, but I need to obsess about a few little things. 

* Ian chose “At Last”. God. It made me feel how much he’s wanted this and for how long. Honestly, even with the years they were apart, did Ian really ever want anyone else? Really? 

* Franny is wonderfully accurate in her sloppy flower girl work. That’s what it’s like when the flower girl is four. 

* We got the vows. And they’re the traditional ones, which I thought was perfect. It’s hard for me to picture either of them doing more personal vows in front of people.  

* I thought Cam was so good here. Ian was so intent and he had that edge of emotion peaking through. And for both of them, I felt like they were saying these words everyone knows, but really making sure the other person heard them. And here's also where I come back to the fact that they uncharacteristically talked about Ian's meds earlier in the episode -- because it really echoes here. They've done for poorer and they've done sickness. And they did it as KIDS, so they really understand what they're promising each other and that just GOT to me. 

* I know I have so much company here, but Ian looks SO young when he asks "Now?" and then kisses Mickey like someone is about to take him away from him. And Mickey looks... happy. Eff you, Terry. He's happy. It's so beautiful. 

* Ian lifting Mickey's hand up as they walk down the aisle reminds me of the end of a boxing match and I love it, because this has been a fight, people. They fought for it, hard, and they emerged victorious. 

* Ok. So. The dance. @fiona-fififi wrote such a great, long piece about this and I will only be a dim echo here, but it was my favourite moment. Wedding stuff gets a different metric and of the wedding stuff, this was the part that got to me the most. They're married. Mickey is dancing with Sandy. Ian and Debbie (the only person to ever be a hero for wearing a wedding dress to a wedding that is not her own) are sitting together and Ian does something so vulnerable. He knows he's the kid who misses Monica the most. He knows he feels the loss in a way the others don't. And it makes sense to me that he says he misses her to Debbie, who has the best chance of getting it -- but it's still a risk. It's a confession and Debbie does what he needs her to do and tells him Monica would have loved this. Which is true. She might have RUINED it, but she would have loved it. She gives Ian permission to be sad, to grieve. And he lets the feelings come up and then he does the thing that always gets to me the MOST with these two. The kisses are great. They have some epic ones. But Gallavich hugs just rip my heart out. They just cling to each other, every time. There is nothing casual about it. And when Ian goes to "dance with his husband" he's actually going to just melt into him. And they bury their faces against each other, and he holds Mickey and they sway it's just... perfect. The song nails it. This, more than anything, makes me feel the love this show managed to create with these two. Which I believe on a level I rarely do. They fit together, they belong together and they really, really earned this. Cue gasping sobs. 

* I do not understand how it's light out when they leave. Does this fit with Senior Hour? But ok. Let's go with it. The car was a great piece to give Liam and Frank, they look fantastic in their tuxes and I love how Mickey kinda swings into the car the same way he could swing around under the bleachers. There's so much joy in him. 

* The only thing I'm going to say about Lip is the Tami deserves some kind of medal. 

* I wrote a whole post about the tattoo, and we first see it when he's out of the shower, but I'm really not kidding about this. The tattoo was something I spent WAY too much time speculating about in my head and I thought it was weird that an actor they once shot wearing only a guitar was constantly so covered up. Plus, probably should have shown  with the prison tanks, given the original placement. I support the retconning of this because it keeps the gesture without it being a major distraction. 

But that is NOT where that tattoo was!

Now it's over his heart. Awww. 

ANYWAY. I loved this. I'm so glad I got on this ship. It's so rare you get something like this in a fandom. So. Don't screw it up, Shameless! Only have to maintain for 12 more episodes. That's all I ask. 

I hope it's not too much. 

[itstam49]

I find it sad but comforting at the same time that I know you’ll never see these posts. It’s a way for me to let my feelings be known, but also keep it hidden from you.

What I wish… I wish I never had to go through this again. But at least I know now that the opportunity for it to happen again will never be. It hurts more to know that hope has died and is even more heartbreaking for me to actually have to let everything go this time for real. It’s me having to finally close the door to this chapter and start anew. It’s scary and lonely, but something I have to do.

I just saw the moon… and for a moment I wondered if you saw it too. So close, yet so far away. I miss you so much, but I know you’re too busy trying to survive to even think about or miss me and it’s ok. One day, one day you’ll miss how much I bothered you or wanted all your attention.

Ms Tami