#something funny I should mention is how I haven’t seen this with el either

[henry-fox-biggest-stan]

I have been thinking about how come than there is nothing than shows mike’s attraction to women.

“Oh but, he’s dating El!” True, but what I mean is than all the other heterosexual characters (you can have all the headcanons you want, but they have been shown over and over to be attracted to the opposite gender) all have moments than show their attraction to men / women, aside from their romantic partners.

We have Max dating Lucas, yes, but she also, for example, looks at a shirtless Steve with binoculars. She is a teenage girl attracted to men, and it makes sense she wants to see this older guy shirtless. She also talks about how Ralph Macchio from karate kid is “so hot”

We have Lucas dating Max, but in s2 while playing at the arcade, Lucas mentioned how princess daphne was still his, a female character who, tbh, is kinda sexualized and mostly serves as eye candy. The typical “hero needs to save princess” trope. A preteen / teenage boy attracted to women would find her attractive

We have Dustin dating Suzie, but he also had a tiny crush, or at least, interest on max at the start of s2. He asked a girl to dance at snowball, he talks with Steve about girls, etc.

We have Steve who is just constantly reminding us of his attraction to women, he dated nancy, he talks about girls, he mentions liking boobs, etc

We have Nancy dating Jonathan, and she dated Steve before, but she also has a Tom Cruise poster in her room, who was very popular among girls during the 80s, and the first time we see her in s1 ep 1 she’s talking to Barb over the phone saying things like “yeah he’s cute” about a boy, probably Steve.

But with Mike, the opposite happens, he’s dating El, sure, but he shows rejection to the opposite gender. He doesn’t care about Max at the start of s2, he doesn’t seem interested in princess daphne, and then there’s the lingerie scene paralleling the sauna scene in s3. Lucas (attracted to women) is the first to enter the lingerie store. And Mike (attracted to men) is the first to open the sauna (full of men). (This is not me saying mike was attracted to those men, he wasn’t, but having him have the idea and open the door is interesting)

Same with Will, except he’s canonically gay now. A girl wanted to dance with him at snowball and he reluctantly said yes, but he didn’t seem too focused on her, a girl is interested in him in California, and still, he doesn’t care. He welcomed max in s2, but in a completely different way than Dustin and Lucas did.

Hell, even Robin has scenes showing her attraction for women. She mentions a crush on Tammy and the next season a crush on Vickie, but she also talks about how Julie Christy is “bonkers hot” in doctor zhivago, or how “these ladies are hot, they’re so very hot”.

Instead what does Mike have? Posters of buff, shirtless (male) dragons on his walls

Basically: Mike’s attraction to women is just like my attraction to men, nonexistent.

[lesserfandomappreciation]

Is that Supa Strikers show really that great? Would I like it even if I don’t like soccer/football? (I’m asking because I’ve never seen it. In fact, your posts are the only reason I know it exists at all.)

Okay. Okay, okay I was going to work on requests during this meeting but then I saw this and I have many feelings on this show so you're getting an essay. Buckle up son. Brief History

For those not in the know, Supa Strikas is a series from South Africa that started as a futbol-themed comic in I want to say the early 2000s. It quickly gained popularity throughout most of Africa and today is published in Latin-America, South America, Africa, some parts of Europe and Asia.

Almost every continent has this comic. You cannot tell me that isn't cool and also very telling of how many people like this series.

Seeing the comic get so popular so fast, a TV show followed up in 2009 by the same name and is still going to this day. This series has been along longer than most presidential terms.

The show had a similar story with only slight character changes, and while the entirety of the 2021 season is already out, there are signs that they may be more coming out in 2022 so. Fingers crossed!

What is it about?

The story centers around Shakes, a young futbol player who has recently joined the Supa Strikas, a team based in an unspecified African country. The comic follows the team winning the Super League during different seasons, going around the world to find out new techniques, deal with teams that cheat and overcome their own inner problems as well.

The series differs from the comics in that we don't see Shakes' journey to becoming a Supa Strika and we don't get the official names for the characters either, only their nicknames. Wikipedia has their official names listed I think, but if anyone whose read the comics wishes to tell me, by all means do so.

It's a pretty straight forward storyline, with some good story consistency (characters who appear in one episode do show up again and are given consistent writing). Very episodic.

Why should I watch the series?

The series is fun. Sincerely, un-apologetically fun.

The main characters get good screen time and we get to see some fun, decently written personalities that act off each other well. The Supa Strikas is a team of himbos but different varieties of himbos and I love them for it. You do get the feeling that this is a group of people that cares for each other, not a group of characters just shoved together because the series said so.

The side-characters are also great. Some of them are a little one-note but many of them are just as crazy, if not more fun, than the main characters of the show. There's an American dude named Ninja whose entire gimmick is that he's a reality star fame-seeking dude straight out of Las Vegas and I love him. He's one of the tamer character concepts.

Coach. That is all.

There's a vast array of diverse representation. While the Supa Strikas team is the only team is they only team of mixed nationalities (South African, Jamaican, Brazilian, Spanish, etc) every team is representing a different country. There's a Brazilian Team, a Mexican Team, a Saudi Arabian Team and many others.

In connection - the Supa Strikas have players from around the world. Dancing Rasta is Jamaican, the captain of the team, an incredibly competent leader and very down-to-earth. You do have players that are a little stereotypical (North Shaw is an Australian who loves extreme sports, shocker) but are written in ways that you find yourself not minding.

It's funny. There's a lot of good moments both in writing and in the animation. As someone who got to study animation, I can say without a shadow of doubt that the team behind the character animations had no fear in pushing what they can do and making the characters feel fun.

Some of the stereotypes used in the show are used well and are written in a fairly respectful way. El Matador, a Spanish player, fills the stereotype of being a self-absorbed Spaniard. but he's also written to care for friends and to be very competent in other areas. Plus, there are other Spanish characters like Riano that are nothing like that and have distinctly different personalities. As a Spaniard, I found this to be a good writing choice. These jokes are seen less as insults and more like friendly barbs between most countries and it doesn't detract from the show.

The technology. It's a running gag that the tech used to train the guys is progressively more outrageous.

No forced romance storylines! There's no character moment where boy meets girl and then we're stuck watching this inevitable couple find reasons to not be a couple. It's nice to not have the forced hetero-normative relationships we see in a lot of other shows.

To that end, fantastic healthy male friendships! There's no "no homo" moment and the characters all have very good chemistry. Again, you feel like they're actually friends. They all have different dynamics too, so the friendships don't feel uniform and stale.

Good emotional moments.

Bromances for the win! Genuinely shocked there's not more fandom for it considering the sheer quantity of POSSIBILITIES of bromances and potential ships to work with.

It's 100% fine if you don't know anything about futbol. The show shows literally what matters, not every single little throw-in, and most times there's some world-breaking nonsense going on that distracts from that. There's literally an episode where the opposing team changes gravity on the the field to try and beat the Supa Strikas, the rules barely matter. I promise you, you don't need to know what "Offsides" means in order to watch.

The commentators. I love them both.

The episodes are varied in stories. There's ones about training, ones about exploring a different country, others where the opponents cheat, etc. There's an episode which is almost a murder mystery and I love it.

All the episodes can be found free online on Youtube on the official channel for the show. I love this creative team so much.

There's a lot of good writing choices!

What might I not like about the show?

Some people like episodic shows, some don't. For those in the latter category this may drive them away from Supa Strikas.

There's like. 4 female characters. I can see why they did that, but I can also see why that is upsetting (speaking as a woman who is very tired of the Smurfette principle). The humor may not be for everyone. That's more based on personality, because I think there's something for everyone, but there are jokes that I recognize fall quite flat.

In connection to that, the stereotypes. Like I mentioned earlier, the show utilizes and breaks some stereotypes very well. There's a character (Spenza) who is written to be the chubby comic relief that is also 9/10 times the guy who saves LITERALLY EVERYONE from trouble and gets recognized for it, for example. However, the entire Japanese team is a karate-based team with a Coach named Ura Giri who wears Chinese clothes despite being Japanese. The German team is just a military branch and, while funny, might be offensive depending on which German you ask. It can be detracting from the show.

There's some bad writing choices that can be rough, but they are episode centric.

What should I do?

Watch the show. Give it 2-3 episodes and if it doesn't grab you, okay! You tried! If it does, welcome! it's literally for free on youtube, Seasons 1 through the last number I can't remember. I watch it when I'm working on something because it's fun and gets me to laugh, you might watch it with a bowl of popcorn. Just do your own thing!

If you do like it though, come back, hit me up with talks and questions about it. Besides multydoodles I haven't found a lot of people who really are into it so come! Join us! One of us!

Hope this mini-essay helped out and that the show works out for you!

[gendercraft]

When I Fell Overboard [Chapter Seven: Don’t Get Your Hopes Up, Sebastian]

Read on ao3

Synopsis: Sebastian struggles with his relationship with Maru as she strives to get close to him. Meanwhile, he and Elliott get closer and closer.

Trigger warnings: Panic attacks, fighting, snapping, potentially unsympathetic Robin, crying, food mention, let me know if I missed anything please

“No way! The rumours are true?!”

    Sebastian rolled his eyes as he and Elliott ducked into Sam’s room. Abigail sat up in the bed, boots pressed into the covers and phone in her hand. She furrowed her eyebrows. 

    “Elliott?” 

    “Hello, Abigail. Sam. Just dropping Sebastian off.” 

    “Since when do you hang out?” Abigail stood and set her phone on the bookshelf, grabbing her drumsticks. 

    Sebastian shrugged. “About a month ago. I’ll see you later, El. Thanks for walking me or whatever.” 

    Elliott laughed as he was practically shoved out of the room. He waved and left. 

    “Alright, progress?” Sam held his hand out. 

    “Seriously, are the rumours true?” Abigail asked. “Are you dating Elliott?” 

    “Dating?” Sebastian spluttered. “N- no! Jesus.” 

    “Cool, Seb’s not dating Elliott. Songs?” 

    “Hold on, Sam, he’s blown us off for a month, I haven’t forgiven him yet.”

    “Well, I have.” 

    “Sam.” 

    He sighed and plopped on the bed. “Alright, alright.” 

    Sebastian slid into his spot behind the keyboard and busied himself with finding his sheet music. “We’re not… dating. We’ve just been hanging out. I’m sorry I haven’t been answering the group chat.” 

    Abigail narrowed her eyes as she stared at him. “You haven’t missed Fridays, so I’ll let you off easy. Are you into Elliott?” 

    Letting me off easy. Funny. “No,” he said dryly. Liar. You just lied. Why did you lie? 

    “Okay, so Sebastian’s not gay. Songs?” 

    “Yeah, I’ve got a few.” 

    Abigail blinked. “A few? Since when do you come with less than a half?”    

    He shrugged. “I had a good week. Ready to hear ‘em or not?” 

    They spent the next few hours going through Sebastian’s songs and, surprisingly, Sam and Abigail accepted them in almost their entirety. With just a few tweaks, they had enough songs to finish the set they’d been working on for ages. 

    “Goddamn, Sebastian,” Abigail said. “Good fucking job.” 

    He blushed and played a few notes on his keyboard. “Thanks. They’re not as good here as they’d be on a piano—”

    “We know, you’ve said.” Sam rolled his eyes and looked at Abigail, who nodded with a laugh. 

    Sebastian narrowed his eyes. “What?” 

    “Nothing.” Abigail held her hands up. “Nothing. You just haven’t played piano since middle school.” 

    “I haven’t wanted to,” Sebastian said. 

    Sam set his guitar back in its stand. “We know. We’re just wondering what the sudden change of heart is. As far as I know, Elliott’s the only one with a piano in Pelican Town.” 

    “And?” Sebastian asked harshly. 

    They laughed. 

    “Are we ready to go or not?” It just occurred to him that he had invited Elliott to hang out with them, and he bit his lip. He couldn’t well break it to them then, that’d be way too suspicious. 

    Why do I care so much? 

    It wasn’t because he was probably-definitely gay. They didn’t care about that and after the initial shock had worn off, neither did he. But there was something lingering in the back of his head, something that promised he’d regret it if he told them anything. 

    You have no idea where this is going to go. You could be completely wrong. 

    Don’t get your hopes up, Sebastian. 

    They made their way towards the beach. Sebastian stopped at the saloon to catch Gus before he left, ordering a shot. He downed it and turned. They stared at him with raised eyebrows. 

    “I can’t have a drink?” He asked. 

    Abigail raised her hand and headed over to the bridge. She hopped up on the rail and threw her arms up for balance as she tightroped it. Sam followed, ready to catch her even though she never fell. Sebastian flicked his hood up and shoved his hands in his pockets. 

    “You’re shaking, Seb,” Sam said after a minute, and Sebastian cursed himself. 

    “I’m fine,” he mumbled, and then, even though it didn’t make sense, “Drink must’ve went down wrong.”  

    When they arrived at the beach, pretty much the entire town was already there. Alex and Hailey were flirting on the docks, Hailey trying to convince him to let her wear his bomber jacket and him slowly losing resolve. Shane gently held Jas’ arm to keep her from getting too excited and falling in the water as he pointed out the ripples of fish underneath the waves. Vincent was already there, sitting at their usual spot with his feet in the water. He jumped up and crossed the docks with all the speed of a sugar eye the moment he saw the trio. 

    “SAMMIE! SAMMIE!” He threw himself into his older brother’s arms, who laughed as he caught him. “Sammie, something touched my foot!” 

    Sebastian went to talk about the sea monster that inhabited the waters, but Sam held his hand in the air and said, “Don’t, Sebastian,” so he shut his mouth. 

    They were about a half hour away from Mayor Lewis sending off the light boat and attracting the jellies. 

    It wasn’t much longer that Elliott arrived. His auburn hair caught the starlight, glistening down the long braid that laid down his back. He was dressed more casually, missing his coat, instead in an olive green button up with the top two buttons undone, and jeans. Had Sebastian ever seen Elliott wear jeans in his life? He guessed he didn’t pay much attention until a month ago. 

    “Someone’s coming this way,” Sam teased. 

    “What?” Abigail asked, then looked over her shoulder. “Oh.”

    “I invited him to hang out with us,” Sebastian mumbled. “I now realize that was a shitty idea.” 

    “No, it’s great! Can’t wait to freak him out.” Sam lifted Vincent over the water until he squealed. 

    Sebastian rolled his eyes. Elliott strode up to them with his hands in his pockets and smiled. 

    “It’s great to see you guys again. And hello, Vincent!”  

    Vincent kicked until Sam let him down, nearly actually dropping him in the water. “Hi, Elliott! Sammie, can I go play with Jas?” 

    “Yeah, just be careful. Don’t go out of Shane’s sight, okay?” 

    Vincent ran across the docks to where the two of them stood. Shane looked up and nodded at Sam, who nodded back. They were close in the way where Sam considered Shane a friend and Shane considered no one a friend, so Sam fell into that category. Still, Sam told Sebastian about the few times Shane had gone to him when his thoughts turned dark, and Sam stayed up all night playing video games with him just so Shane would see the sun again. Shane pretended he didn’t care, but someone had to be paying for all the pizza and drinks that showed up at the pool table on Fridays. It certainly wasn’t Gus. 

    “So why did you two start talking?” Abigail asked, stood on one of the pillars of the pier with her hand to her forehead, scoping out the ocean for any signs of the jellies. 

    “Sebastian had a bad day and I just happened to be there,” Elliott said. 

He rested one hand on the small of Sebastian’s back, and part of him burned under Sam’s raised eyebrow, but the rest of him felt completely at peace. He decided to leave it be. For now. 

Sam frowned. “Wait, bad day? How long ago was this? You always tell me when you have panic attacks.” 

Elliott looked to Sebastian in surprise. Sebastian looked away. 

“That’s not true,” he mumbled. “I can’t tell you every time I have a panic attack.” 

“Yoba, how many do you have?” 

Sebastian didn’t answer. 

“Lately?” Elliott asked. “At least once a day. On bad days, around three.” 

“And how often does he have bad days?” Abigail asked harshly. She jumped onto the dock, the wood creaking under her. She crossed her arms over her chest. 

Elliott looked to Sebastian, and he sighed, nodding for him to continue. 

“Maybe two a week?” 

“Yoba, Seb,” Sam said under his breath, then louder, “That must be exhausting. Why didn’t you tell us?” 

“I thought you knew,” he said honestly. 

“Obviously we didn’t know.” Abigail punched him in the arm. “You should talk to Harvey about getting a prescription.” 

Elliott lit up. “I didn’t even think of that! That’s a wonderful idea.” 

“No it’s not,” Sebastian snapped. “Do you know what Mom will say if she finds out I need a fucking pill to get through the day? She’ll call me a druggie or think I’m…” She can’t know how weak I am. 

“No, she won’t,” Sam sighed. “I get she’s not perfect but you realize how much shit about her you just make up, right?” 

Elliott’s eyebrows raised. “Either way,” he said after a moment of silence, “I think it’s a great idea. At least think on it, Bastian? I can go with you, if you want.” 

He hesitated. That would make things easier, weirdly. “I’ll think about it,” he mumbled. 

“Oh, the jellies! I saw one!” Abigail leapt back to her post, nearly falling over. 

“I want to push her so bad right now,” Sam whispered. 

“If you’re willing to go in after her,” Sebastian whispered back. 

“Uh oh,” Elliott mumbled. 

“What-? Oh.” 

Maru trekked up from the beach, shoes missing and one side of her overalls unclipped, and padded across the dock. 

“What are you doing here?” Sebastian asked, his voice missing its bite. He quirked an eyebrow. “I thought you were with Mom and Demetrius.” 

“I was,” she said, “but I figured they might want some alone time tonight.” 

“Alright…” 

“So can I stay with you guys?” 

“Yeah, Maru,” Abigail said, and Sebastian got very close to pushing her in the water. “Come over here, I think I see one!” 

Sebastian crept a bit closer to Elliott, who wrapped an arm around his waist. He sighed. Abigail helped Maru up so they were balancing one foot each on the post, arms wrapped around each other for support, and Abigail pointed out the jelly she noticed. 

“I take it you two are still fighting,” Sam said. 

Sebastian shrugged. “Not really. We’re just not talking to each other. It’s better this way.” 

Sam gave Elliott a look. “Riiiight.” 

Sebastian rolled his eyes. Maru had a look on her face Sebastian hadn’t seen before—at least, not in a very long time. It wasn’t smug, it wasn’t pure scientific interest, it was… excitement. She was spouting off every fact she knew about the moonlight jellies to Abigail, who listened intently, hanging on her every word. Her eyes were lit up, her grin wide, grip on Abigail’s denim vest tight. 

Abigail seemed happy, too. Sebastian always thought letting Maru into his life would be an utter disaster, that the two of them mixing would always be a chemical explosion, but this was… fine. The rest of them found a seat on the docks, squeezed together at the end with Elliott in the middle, as Lewis gently pushed the boat into the water. The waves were nearly non-existent tonight, and when Abigail remarked that she had no idea how that was possible, Maru was all too happy to explain. For once, her voice wasn’t grating. It was almost like background music, interspersed with Abigail’s “ooh”s and “oh, cool!”s and laughter. 

“Not too bad?” Elliott asked, and Sebastian sighed. 

“Not too bad.” 

The jellies came up through the water, dozens of blueish white lights coming to illuminate the docks. After a minute, Sebastian looked up to say something, and his breath caught. 

Elliott’s eyes were shining. A lock of hair had fallen loose from its braid to hang against his forehead, and Sebastian wanted desperately to reach up and tuck it behind his ear. The lights played perfectly over his face, glistening in his eyes, his hair. Then Elliott’s honey gaze flicked to his, and Sebastian wanted so badly to kiss him, to lace their fingers and pull him closer, closer, as the gentle water and sounds of wonderment sounded around them. 

He cleared his throat and looked away, face red. Elliott rubbed his back, and for a terrifying second, Sebastian figured Elliott must know what he was thinking. 

And that brief bit of fear was enough to let the rest in, to remind him of a simple fact: Elliott didn’t look at Sebastian the way Sebastian looked at him. Elliott was looking at the jellies. 

Will he ever be as excited to see me as I am to see him? 

Once the last of the jellies had visited and made their way south, everyone milled about for a moment before heading home. 

The five of them stopped on the bridge across from the beach. Abigail and Maru talked excitedly as they traded phone numbers, promising to go bug Hailey about getting pictures tomorrow. 

“It was good officially meeting you, Elliott,” Sam said with a lopsided grin. “Yoba knows why Sebastian hid you from us for so long—”

Sebastian playfully shoved him. “Shut up.” 

He laughed. “See you later, Elliott.” 

Elliott nodded with a smile. “See you later. And Sebastian.” He rested a hand on Sebastian’s shoulder. “Sometime tomorrow? More piano practice?” 

Piano practice had become code for keep me company while I write. Sebastian loved it. “Yeah, I should be free.” 

Elliott headed back down to the beach, leaving Sam and Sebastian alone as the girls started walking towards the town. 

“So we need to talk a second,” Sam said, pulling them over towards the houses to get away from the stream of people leaving the beach. 

They stood under the tree they normally did on days that were too sunny. Sebastian crossed his arms over his chest and looked away stubbornly. 

“You know I don’t care if you’re gay, right?” Sam asked. 

Sebastian blinked, nearly choking. “What?” 

“I don’t care if you’re gay. Neither does Abigail. Do you care? Do you think Robin or Demetrius would care?” 

“Yoba, no! But that’s not-!”

“Are you gay?” 

Sebastian hesitated. “Maybe? I… I think so.” 

Sam grabbed his shoulders. “That’s fine.” 

He shoved him off. “Yoba, I know. That’s not…” 

“So what was your deal, hiding what’s going on between you and Elliott?” 

“Nothing’s going on between Elliott and I,” he said firmly.

Sam paused, then sighed. “Ah. Got it. I’ll let you live with this one for now, but let me know when you get your head out of your ass.” 

“What?” Sebastian snapped. 

“You know exactly what I mean,” Sam laughed, headed towards his house, “you’re just too scared to admit it. Check the fucking group chat, dork!” 

His door shut.

[strangehunger]

hi! from the stuff you have on your blog we seem to have a similar taste in media, so i wondered do you have any recommendations for quality enemies to lovers content? whether that be a book, film, fanfic, whatever! thank you, and hope you have a lovely day

Ooh, I love this question! I really like the enemies to lovers trope but I'm picky about it, so the list of things I'd genuinely reccommend is a little small 😅 most of it is also gay.

Keep in mind some of these are first in a series or have ambiguous endings or are still in progress in some way, so some of this is going to be lovers to something incredibly intimate and on the cusp of lovers.

Books:

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir. Yeah. You knew this was coming. Billed as lesbian necromancers in space. A necromancer and a swordswoman who happen to be childhood enemies are forced to team up and undergo a series of trials to ascend to a godlike position at the side of The Emperor. In space. With a big cast of fun characters. I think the sequel will have more layers of enemies to lovers too. You like enemies? You like learning to trust your enemy? You like fealty? Here you go.

This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. This one has been making the rounds lately. Epistolary novel told as letters between two time traveling agents in an "edit war" who fall in love. f/f. Pretty unambiguous ending.

THIS IS HOW YOU SURVIVE THE COHABITATIONAL BLISS THAT FOLLOWS AFTER YOU WIN/LOSE THE TIME WAR by Scott Lynch. Yes. Scott Lynch. This is a fanfic for the aforementioned Time War he wrote as a gift to the authors and blessed the rest of us by posting it to ao3.

The Amberlough Dossier by Lara Elena Donelly. It's hard to say if this one is actual enemies to lovers. It's a non magic fantasy set in a country on the verge of a civil war that mirrors Weimar Germany but, like, glitzy as hell. The two main characters are in a relationship from the start of the book, but it stars two incredibly snarky assholes, one of whom is an intelligent agent for the government and the other of which is a drug smuggling kingpin and also a drag queen. They SHOULD be enemies but are at a relationship at the beginning by the first book, though they definitely are constantly keeping things from each other and still working for their own sides. Heavy on politics but gorgeous writing. Everyone's the asshole here. m/m.

All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders. Okay this one isn't REALLY enemies to lovers, more like childhood friends to adult friends whose relationship ends up fractured by being on different sides once they are already lovers, but it's cool! Set in a near future on the verge of collapse, the two characters are like the prodigies of a tech company and a magic coven that are kinda fighting for control to restore balance on earth. This is actually m/f, for once.

The Binding by Bridget Collins. A little slow to start, this one is a historical fantasy in which certain people have the ability to "bind" the memories of others into books. I don't want to say much more bc it might give a way some of the twists. m/m. TW for explicit mentions (though not descriptions, if I recall accurately) of sexual assault, though not involving either of the MCs.

For tv and film, I really don't watch a lot of either 😅 so I just have the one

Killing Eve. If you haven't watched it, you really should. A British intelligence agent and a Russian assassin play a game of cat and mouse across Europe.

Things I haven't read or watched/read or watched but disliked/am on the fence about but YMMV:

Criers War by Nina Varela. This one is fantasy with steampunk elements with a romance between an automaton princess and a human servant who is secretly part of a human rebellion. This one is very much loved but I wasn't into it, it was a bit YA for my taste and also just... I didn't love the characters. It's pretty popular though.

The 100 had this with Lexa and Clarke but honestly save yourself the rage and just watch a supercut; the rest is not worth it.

Compass Rose by Anna Burke is on my list and I THINK it's enemies to lovers? It's supposed to be f/f and space pirate-y.

Ancestral Night by Elizabeth Bear is also on my list. It's sci-fi and I think it has like, enemies to idiots who make bad decisions and make out but I am pretty sure it doesn't have a full on romance? apparently it's hella queer

I'm sorry, the odds you have read/seen a handful of these already is probably fairly high 😭 especially because that trope is Having A Moment. Fanfic is hard to rec without knowing what you're interested in. I'm mostly reading Gideon the Ninth fanfic right now and almost all of it is, in some way, enemies to lovers. Good Omens has a lot of incredibly petty and funny or like serious and emotional enemies to lovers fanfic too.

[thinger-strang]

no one dies and everyone's gay au

Nancy finds Barb when she gets stuck in the Upside Down when she's in the forest with Jonathan (don't ask me about the logistics) and so Steve ends up finding Jonathan and Barb in Nancy's room? And he's confused because at first he'd just seen Jon and thought Nancy was cheating but then he saw Barb walk into the room? (traumatic sleepover time! except Jon stays on the ground and Barb and Nance cuddle on the bed bc they're best friends and BARB WAS MISSING FOR LIKE TWO DAYS I THINK? she deserves snugs)

But Tommy and Carol started talking about how Nancy was probably sleeping with both, everyone knew Barb was the biggest d*ke in Hawkins, Nancy probably got curious about the other side!

He doesn't necessarily agree but still doesn't stop Tommy from spray painting the theater (because Nancy still lied to him? Lying generally meant there was something? going on? idk Steve's just confused and a little hurt rn)

The rest of the season goes pretty much the same, Barb's just there trying to not die and trying to help the Gang™ find Will and fight this bitch ass demogorgon (I don't think she's really be part of the Nancy and Jonathan luring it to the house and fighting it, she'd help with set up and the plan but I think she'd fuck right off when it comes down to facing it, she's had enough monsters for one life time thx)

But she'd so wanna help get Will out so she's there with Joyce and everyone talking to El while she's in the bath finding Will and talking Hop and Joyce about the Upside Down

(and she's been to the hospital, she didn't get a face sucking monster thing so she recovered quicker? idk don't ask logistics again lmao)

But she and Will end up getting along and sometimes when she's hanging out with Nancy and the party comes over she'll say hi to Will and like ruffle his hair

(also I want a little scene after the big monster hunting trip scene where a) Nancy and Jonathan explain everything to Steve and b) where Steve sees Barb again and pulls her into the biggest hug and starts like apologizing for not paying attention that night and for letting her get taken and even though she assured him it wasn't his fault he still feels guilty about it, it was his house, he should have helped her bandage her hand or something? idk but this right here is the beginning of the Barb/Steve friendship and the start of the "fall of King Steve")

cue s2

and so the four get really close, Jonathan and Steve are actually friends (idk what s2 was pulling but they're friends) and Barb talks to Nancy about Steve and Jonathan and Nancy ends up breaking up with Steve way earlier (bc you know none of that drama would have happened if Barb was there so)

But they're all still good friends, Steve's cool about the break up, and Nancy and Jonathan get together but it's not like right after? so it's all chill and they all went through a dramatic experience together so they remain close knit yeah

and Barb eventually comes out to them (everyone's supportive obviously) and Steve's is ready to throw down with anyone for her

cue Billy

the four of them are sizing up the new guy, Nancy doesn't really care, Jonathan thinks his hair is a little ridiculous (which I mean, that first day? when he steps out of the Camaro? yeah it was a lil rough), Barb can see right through his macho bullshit, and Steve? has a little bi meltdown. bc this kid has definitely had boy crushes before and knows he likes both (kid listens to queen of course he knew he was bi lmao)

blah blah blah s2 happens, Barb, Steve, and Billy have the same English class and Billys generally quiet during school, kinda stand-off-ish, only really bugs people during gym/basketball, but he literally sits in the back and does absolutely nothing during class and still somehow has the highest grade

(FUCK him and Barb get paired for a project and she fucking calls him out? like she's just like you're gay I'm lesbian you can cut the crap around me and they become...not friends? but they have solidarity, they're cool)

and I'm a slut for this trope but BILLY FIGHTS DEMODOGS WITH THEM lmao he hears Max sneak out and follows her and finds her in the junkyard armouring up a bus with fucking Harrington and a couple of nerds? and like the sun is setting and he needs to get Max home so he's like "Maxine! I don't know what the fuck this is and I don't fucking care, we gotta go!" and the four are like yelling at him to either leave or get in the bus! and he's so confused, I'm not here to play games Max! and Steve's running out of the bus with a FUCKING NAIL BAT WHAT THE FUCK HARRINGTON? And Steve's like behind you! and swings at a demodog. Billy has a borderline panic attack before he finds like a fender or exhaust pipe or whatever and starts swinging too

the dogs run away and Billy rounds onto Steve like what the living shit was that? and Steve has to explain everything with Dustin and Lucas interrupting and Max shrugging and trying to understand too? it's a mess

s2 continues with Billy and with HOPPER NOT BEING ABLE TO STAND HIM bc he's caught him speeding and underage drinking and shit and Billy's nervous as hell around cops which makes him mouthy and ITS A MESS

they're all at Joyce's (Barb's there too bc Will's possessed and they need to check up on her too? and she's concerned for Will anyway yeah she's in this too) and El shows up and Steve and Billy are just like what? another one? who the fuck? like Steve heard about her but this isn't a tiny child without hair??? idk it's funny

BILLY WITH AN AXE IN THE TUNNELS

(obviously Steve isn't passed out and the kids don't drive the car, it's Billy's awful impulse control that leads to them going into the tunnels)

okay I couldn't decide where to put Barb here? so I left her with Steve and Billy to babysit and she ends up in the tunnels too? and she's def handling it better than the boys are fuck yeah

Steve has his bat and is in front and Billy found an axe in the pile of shit from the Byers' shed and he pulls up the end

it's awesome

yada yada Steve and Billy end up becoming weirdly good friends by the end and he's good with him and Barb, idk about Nance and Jon but eh

s3 now

Billy ends up getting two jobs; lifeguard and cook at Benny's (bc he's alive too, fight me bitches this is the ultimate fix it) and Barb ends up working as a waitress there too (and working together builds the weirdest bonds so they are besties now)

everything in s3 is pretty much the same but with diner scenes too? and like all the Hawkins moms swarm Benny's too and leave lipstick stains on their kitchen tips and "send my compliments to the chef *wink*"

Billy eats it up but Barb can tell he also kinda hates it bc he's barely 18 and not even remotely into women and it makes him super uncomfortable but publicly he "loves" it (he starts wearing tank tops to the pool and tries to hide out in the kitchen but it really doesn't work)

he still gets caught up with the mind flayer but it's not bc he's about to sleep with Karen bc ew, idk why he's driving out by the warehouse idk maybe he's out on a drive bc he can't sleep yeah

anyway he gets caught up but like he knows, or kind of knows, what this is and calls in sick to both jobs and talks to Hopper bc WHAT THE FUCK isn't the gate closed? I got face fucked my an interdimensional monster so unless you know where the fuck that came from?? and they deal with it earlier (most of the shit still happens but it's less...messy? like Hop and Joyce are more involved in the Billy shit and Steve knows about it?)

Steve still gets caught up with the Russians (I don't think he'd have a chance to tell anyone (specifically Hopper) bc he finds out about Billy then the elevator stuff happens like right after and yada yada)

so for most of the season it's them trying to actually help Billy! and they end up saving a lot of people? (specifically Heather bc she was really nice to Billy and I want he to live fight me it's my au)

but enough people get melted and shit that starcourt still get destroyed blah blah blah!

but Billy makes it and so does Hop and Alexie (no one dies au) and they all end up doing the thing in the mall like they did in the shed with Will? like breaking Billy out? Barb talks about working at the diner and their secret and Steve talks about them hanging out and playing basketball and the tunnels and Max talks about Billy buying her a new board and them scream-singing along to ACDC in the Camaro and the kids mention him giving them rides and shit and yeah! El talks about his mom and that's it! Joyce and Hop close the gate while Billy's holding the one arm (he doesn't get stabbed in the chest, as cool as that scar would be, no...but he gets some on his hands and upper arms and his sides?)

(also Billy's drinking like bleach rn so they try and reverse that as much as possible while he's possessed so that he has a better recovery later bc no! chlorine is not good for you! and Billy tries so hard to not drink it but sometimes he can't fucking stop? idk but he has a support system now!)

and Robin came out to Steve and Steve comes out to her too? like kinda? he alludes to it vaguely bc he's so not ready to be out to anyone FUCK

And Billy comes out to Steve (he was planning on doing it earlier that summer but shit happened)

and Robin becomes friends with everyone (ITS ROBIN X BARB HOURS BITCHES)

(OKAY small like side shit? Benny and Hopper have known each other for years and Benny's like one of the only registered foster parents on Hawkins so he ends up fostering a lot of wayward kids while Hop figures out legal stuff (he hasn't adopted anyone yet but him and his husband (yeah Benny's gay deal with it) really want to? they just haven't yet, all the kids they take care of end up in their care temporarily) BUT Hop finds out about Billy and Max's home life (I know a lot of people write that Neil wouldn't hit Max but...nah son not how that works? idk but he needs to get them out? and Neil's bad to Susan too (he's the worst to Billy but still bad to Max and Susan) anyway Hop helps Susan leave Neil (it takes a while and Billy and Max end up with Benny for a little bit while the divorce is going down and all the legal shit yeah it's safer out of the house rn) long story short Billy ends up staying with Benny after everything and ends up getting adopted (they're like we know you're 18 and you don't need a guardian but if you want we can be your dads? and Billys like yeah sure that'd be nice and yeah) Hop ends up being a weird like uncle figure? idk like I said him and Benny are close and they both adopted kids so yeah? and Billy ends up considering El his little sister and he still visits Max and Susan and yeah?)

ANYWAY everything kind of calms down, Hop and Joyce get together (I just realized I forgot about Bob so...idk I guess this isn't an everyone survives au? no no that's weird um idk him and Joyce end up breaking up idk why) but yeah Hop and Joyce get together and like it's kind of fast but they've been in love for a long time so it's kind of fine? like idk but yeah

Barb and Robin get together (ITS FUCKING CUTE they go to aquariums and have paint dates where they sit on some old sheets and paint while listening to Robin's records ITS CUTE!)

STEVE COMES OUT TO EVERYONE! he definitely cries bc fuck he was scared! bc he likes both and he wasn't sure if that was a thing or whatever for a while and Billy's like oh yeah, like David Bowie or Freddie Mercury? and that's when Steve's cries bc oh thank God you guys get it and you're cool with it oh fuck and YEAH

UM Max is bi too, Will comes out as gay (listen I know none of this is like 80's realistic but everyone's gay and alive and happy, fuck off)

Um it takes forever for Billy and Steve to get together, it's awful. like Barb and Robin have to deal with their pining and shit? and like Robin hears about it from Steve at work and Barb hears about it from Billy at the diner and they put their knowledge together and make a Plan ™

it's like elaborate and dramatic (shut up they're all like 18-19) and shit? BUT LMAO okay one day they're all hanging out at Steve's (bc I've also hopped aboard the neglectful parents train sorry) and idk Steve and Billy are there before Robin and Barb are so the girls walk in on them arguing over whatever and like Billy's talking really fast and Steve's talking with his hands and idk what it's about but Billy ends up yelling that he loves him BUT THEY KEEP ARGUING FOR LIKE A SOLID MINUTE AFTER THAT BEFORE IT HITS THEM and Steve gets all quiet and is just like you love me? and Billy doesn't fucking know what to do?? he's like bright red and frozen and Robin and Barb are by the door trying to not like break the spell (bc it's been months guys) and Billy's like of course I do asshole and Robin thinks Steve's about to have a panic attack but he like rushes forward and cups Billy's face and kisses him senseless and it's like the best thing Robin and Barb have ever seen

and they're resting their foreheads together, Steve's still holding Billy's face and Billy has his hands on Steve's chest it's really tender but Robin's like yeah congrats and shit but you guys ruined our Plan™! and she gives them a long ass rundown of their elaborate scheme and Steve and Billy are like still touching and bumping into each other as they listen and Barb interrupts and says that this was better and Robin rolls her eyes but agrees

and they're watching a movie or whatever, cuddling in their respective couples and Steve fucking jumps up randomly and rounds on Billy like hey woah fuck I love you too, I didn't say that earlier! and Billy's looking up at him like yeah I know that asshole and yeah

[louisapennyfeather2021]

Newsies Teen Wolf AU, but as scenes from different seasons that I find slightly hilarious even though they have zero context.

1) Anchors, season 3 episode 13. This is the first episode of 3b, or the second half of the season.

Brief: Basically Jack, Sarah, and Race are seeing things now and are being haunted by nightmares because of a ritual they did to save their family. Race has night terrors, Jack's werewolf abilities are acting up, and Sarah sees her dead older brother.

Warnings: Mentions of death, PTSD, panic

___

"Okay, so what happens to a person who has a near-death experience and comes out of it seeing things?" Jack sighs as he sits across from Albert and next to Race, Sarah and Katherine filling in seats to the bench they sit at during lunch.

"And is unable to tell what's real or not." Race mutters, shoving a pretzel in his mouth and tapping his foot anxiously.

"And sees dead relatives." Sarah stares at the table of the bench, a far off look on her face.

"They're all locked up because they're insane." Katherine doesn't flinch at the unappreciative looks she gets.

"Can you at least try to be helpful, please?" Race doesn't withhold any of the sarcasm he's known for. He stares Katherine in the eye, neither backing down.

"For half my childhood, I was locked in a freezer, so, being helpful is kind of a new thing for me." Katherine offers Race am equally sarcastic smile, her arms crossed on the table.

"Alright, come on, are we seriously still milking that?" Race huffs. Katherine stares at him like he's grown a second head, the other three teenagers at the table trying not to laugh or scold Race.

"Yes, we're still milking that." Katherine deadpans. Everyone is so invested in the pending argument between Race and Katherine, they don't notice that they've been joined until the newcomer sits down next to Jack.

"It's Bardo." Everyone jumps as Davey sits next to Jack and across from Sarah, receiving a panicked look from his twin. Jack tenses, knowing Davey is only just now accepting Jack as an acquaintance. "It means In Between, quite literally between life and death."

"David, I'm sorry-"

"Save it, nothing surprises me anymore." Davey offers Sarah an understanding expression, making the girl immediately relax. "But if you ever hide something like this from me again, I'm taking back my copy of the Avatar movie."

"Hey, wait a second-"

"So do you mean Bardo in Tibetan Buddhism or Indian?" Albert interrupts Sarah before she can start an argument with her brother.

"Either, but everything you guys were talking about happens in Bardo. There are different progressive states that range from seeing things, hearing things, and even being visited by peaceful and wrathful deities." Davey shrugs like it's the most commonly known thing. Jack stares wide eyed, knowing the only other person at the table who might know about this is Albert. Is this what Davey learned while he was homeschooled last year? No wonder Sarah wanted to go to public school.

"Wrathful deities?" Katherine inquires, glancing to Sarah in concern.

"Demons, essentially." Davey matches Katherine's expression, although his moves around the table to Race and Jack. Jack's neck heats up as Davey looks at him, although he quickly frowns when he doesn't understand why.

"Demons. Why not?" Race runs a hand down his face.

Just when they thought they could catch a break from all the excessively crazy supernatural stuff.

____

2) More Bad Than Good, season 3 episode 14. This is the second episode of 3b.

Brief: Spot and Oscar have been kidnapped by hunters while in Mexico. That's about it.

Warnings: Torture and maybe a bad word. Mentions of death

Notes: Oscar is Spot's older cousin who he has a strong hate/tolerate relationship with. Spot is two years older than Jack and Race, making him nineteen. Also note, I'm interpreting the spanish used from my years taking Spanish and from how the show translated it, please correct me if I'm wrong so I can fix it!!!

____

"Why are you looking at me like this is my fault?" Oscar borderline whines as Spot glares at him.

"Because it is your fault." Spot pants, his body hanging almost limply as his wrists stay tied above him to the chain link fence. A switch flips and Spot's entire body seizes, pained grunts passing his lips as electricity travels through his body. Oscar is not different, both boys arching their bodies away from the fence that the electricity courses through. After what feels like an eternity, but was only five seconds, they both slump against the fence, catching their breath as their bodies twitch uncontrollably.

"Yeah. You're probably right." Oscar breathes heavily, his muscles spasming. Suddenly there's another switch and Spot can't hold back a scream from the pain that courses through his body, his wrists straining against the cuffs holding him to the fence. It's gone as soon as it comes, but the pain seems to only increase once Spot can feel his body again as it heals itself. Oscar is all but hanging from his wrists now, hardly supporting himself.

"I've seen some crack their teeth. Others, they just shake and shake even after their heart stops. Sometimes we don't even know they're dead." Spot and Oscar both groan, recognize the voice as the man who had been torturing them for the last two days. And all over some dumb myth. "But nobody wants to play a guessing game. So, why don't you just tell us? Where is El Lobo?"

"We don't know where El Lobo is." Spot strains to look the man in the eyes, his body heavy like lead.

"Maybe you need a different method of persuasion? Maybe we cut one of you in half, the other talks?" The man smirks. Spot clenches his jaw, thinking of any way possible to get out of his current situation. Of course, his smart mouth of a cousin has to start talking.

"I would love to volunteer, but we really don't know what you're talking about. And honestly, isn't bisecting people with a broad sword a little medieval?" Oscar squints at the man. Spot knows Oscar's only going to get them killed if he doesn't shut up, although he also knows his cousin's ability to mouth off while simultaneously not dying is almost a superpower.

"A broad sword? We're not savages." Spot glances nervously over to Oscar as the man winks at them, although Oscar seems pretty happy with himself.

Until a chainsaw whirls.

It takes every fiber in Spot not to use all his power to break his restraints and strangle Oscar. Even if he could escape, there are far better things he could do than waste his time on his sorry excuse of a relative.

"Boys." A new voice makes both boys chained to the fence drop their shoulders and the man with the chainsaw to turn it off and step back. An older woman walks closer and starts saying something in Spanish.

"No hablo español." Spot pants, he body still recovering from the electric shocks.

"Tu hablas muchos idiomas, Sean Conlon. You know exactly what I'm saying. And you know who we want. Where is The Wolf?" The woman glares at Spot. Spot shakes his head in defeat, having had this conversation countless times in the past two days.

"We don't know any Wolf." Spot looks the woman in the eyes, hoping in vain that this time she'll actually believe him.

"I know you won't talk, lobito. But this one? This one loves the sound of his own voice." The woman steps in front of Oscar, a calculating look on her face.

"You should hear me sing." Oscar grins. Spot clenches his jaw, knowing Oscar could very well have just signed their death certificate.

"We want to hear you scream." The woman's grin is wide.

"No one ever wants to hear me sing." Oscar mock pouts, receiving a wide eyed glare from Spot.

"What could we do to persuade you? Where is The Wolf?" The woman seems to ponder the thought and Spot notices her hands moving behind her back. Suddenly she moves and not even two seconds later, Oscar is screaming. Spot wants to gag when he sees what appears to be a finger on the ground.

"Think about it. I'll only ask nine more times." Spot watches her leave, eyes still wide and brows furrowed. He watches the woman exchange a look with the man and the man smirks at him whole Oscar pants heavily next to him, occasionally whimpering.

The man reaches for the dial.

And everything flashes white.

____

Hey all! So these are just some of my favorite scenes from Season 3b of Teen Wolf. They aren't necessarily funny by any means and they probably don't make sense if you haven't seen the show, but I hope these were enjoyable to read.

Please send me any scenes you want to see or any recommendations you have! I'm open to anything!

[purplesurveys]

961

What was the most unsettling film you’ve seen? Unsettling films are my jam, man. To name a few, there’s Eraserhead, Room, Midsommar, Eyes Wide Shut, Misery, and most recently, I’m Thinking of Ending Things. Eraserhead takes the cake though. That movie always makes me queasy...

What unethical experiment would have the biggest positive impact on society as a whole? I’m a firm believer in nothing good ever comes out of unethical practices. I’ll never forget reading about an experiment where a group of newborn babies were given basic needs like food and being bathed, but weren’t shown any affection whatsoever and it was meant to see if humans can survive with just the most basic physiological needs. By the end of the experiment period half of the babies were dead. The results were honestly a lot bleaker than how I’ve put it, but I don’t wanna be a downer lol. Suffice it to say that experiment haunted me for days after reading it.

When was the last time you were snooping, and found something you wish you hadn’t? It was around a week or so ago, I’m pretty sure.

Which celebrity or band has the worst fan base? My sister is into K-pop and I hear insights from her all the time, but her one constant is that BTS breeds the most annoying, toxic fans. I’d have to agree. Ariana Grande’s fandom was also annoying at one point, but I haven’t heard much from them making a mess these days.

What are you interested in that most people aren’t? Autobiographies.

If you were given a PhD degree, but had no more knowledge of the subject of the degree besides what you have now, what degree would you want to be given to you? Why would I deserve a PhD on something I’m clearly not qualified for...I’m not sure I’m following this question right, but I don’t feel like thinking too hard about it.

What smartphone feature would you actually be excited for a company to implement? I’m happy with the features that are widespread now, but I wish companies adhere more to countries other than the common ones like US, UK, Australia, etc. I always see ads about phones being able to tell you how much movie tickets cost or track boarding passes, but those are all irrelevant here. It makes a lot of Apple’s basic apps useless on this side of the world haha.

What’s something people don’t worry about but really should? Long-term effects of poor habits like not getting enough sleep or drinking too many cups of coffee. I know because I’m guilty of this.

What movie quotes do you use on a regular basis? “I won’t think about that now, I’ll think about it tomorrow,” but I usually say it to myself, especially when I feel stressed.

Do you think that children born today will have better or worse lives than their parents? Better, but idk if that’s just me being biased because my generation will be the next parents lol. I just think that a lot of Gen X parents still have a lot of dated prejudices and mindsets that my generation was able to learn better from. For example my mom doesn’t like using people’s preferred names, especially if they’ve transitioned -_____- and I know I’d never want to set such an example for my kids.

What’s the funniest joke you know by heart? I know I’ve come across hilarious ones but I always fail to come up with one when asked on the spot.

When was the last time you felt you had a new lease on life? LOL RIGHT NOW

What’s the funniest actual name you’ve heard of someone having? It’s more stupid than funny and I know I’ve already mentioned this before, but Covid Bryant as a first and second name still takes the cake for me. My sister went to school with a girl whose name is just her surname backwards, and for a time I was really weirded out by it. But in the times I’ve seen her she really owns her name and never looks bothered by it, so I quickly stopped caring.

Which charity or charitable cause is most deserving of money? For me it would have to be organizations for animal welfare.

What TV show character would it be the most fun to change places with for a week? Post-El Camino Jesse Pinkman. I wouldn’t want to live through his chaotic shit  from Breaking Bad, but his fate after El Camino is something I’m super envious of.

What was cool when you were young but isn’t cool now? Flip phones, Blackberry phones, Roshes, Frappuccinos.

If you were moving to another country, but could only pack one carry-on sized bag, what would you pack? Phone, laptop, their chargers, important IDs, some of my favorite tops and jeans, underwear, essential toiletries, wallet, a family photo, a journal and pen, earphones, certain knickknacks to remember Gab and my dogs by. Minus the clothes, all of these are pretty tiny so I think these would all fit in the bag just fine.

What’s the most ironic thing you’ve seen happen? I don’t know. I’m not really a fan of rating the most/worst this and that stuff in my life, either. I feel like I unnecessarily rack my brain too hard for them when I take surveys to have a chill time.

If magic was real, what spell would you try to learn first? Probably something that’d keep my dogs from dying.

If you were a ghost and could possess people, what would you make them do? No thanks. I’d be the chillest ghost tbh, I’d like to just sneak up on people’s business and hang out but never interfere in them.

What goal do you think humanity is not focused enough on achieving? Climate change, global warming, alleviation of poverty. Corporations and the few people who actually have the power and money to change things only ever come up with short-term shit like donations and never look at the big picture. What problem are you currently grappling with? So many personal ones. But just like the recurring theme of my surveys so far, “I don’t want to get into it.”

What character in a movie could have been great, but the actor they cast didn’t fit the role? As much as I love Kristen Stewart, I heard she was cast as Princess Diana for an upcoming film and I’m not really feeling that decision. They could’ve gone with a British actress for starters?????? The movie is still in production but it is pretty annoying to think about lmao.

What game have you spent the most hours playing? Probably GTA: San Andreas as a kid.

What’s the most comfortable bed or chair you’ve ever been in? Luxury hotel beds are always so fluffy and comfortable.

What’s the craziest conversation you’ve overheard? Omg one time at a coffee shop Gabie and I sat beside this older couple that obviously was going through some heavy SHIT. There was a lot of animosity and tension between them and I caught the lady silently break into tears a few times. I never overheard anything but then again they sat in silence for hours until the lady finally walked out on him. Never knew what it was about but I’ve always guessed that the man did something crappy, like cheat, and was discovered. It was a really sad sight and a crazy situation to witness and I think I felt even more sorry because they were obviously in their 50s or 60s. I hope the woman is in a better place now as she looked rough as fuck that evening.

What’s the hardest you’ve ever worked? I wore a lot of hats when I was in my college org, and that was on top of balancing my acads as well.

What movie, picture, or video always makes you laugh no matter how often you watch it? That scene from Friends where Ross plays the keyboard for Chandler, Phoebe, Monica, and Rachel.

What artist or band do you always recommend when someone asks for a music recommendation? It depends on what music they’re into and if I have actually have a recommendation in mind for them. I obviously can’t suggest Paramore to someone who mainly listens to metal.

If you could have an all-expenses paid trip to see any famous world monument, which monument would you choose? I’m down for any monuments that are super ancient like Stonehenge or the Pyramids of Giza.

If animals could talk, which animal would be the most annoying? I’d go with frogs, but only because they get annoyingly loud in the evening.

What’s the most addicted to a game you’ve ever been? Playing The Sims, Mario Kart, Rock Band, or games in the Burnout franchise.

What’s the coldest you’ve ever been? Japan was so fucking cold when I was there. Didn’t do my research and ended up being dressed poorly, and I was so cold I could barely talk to my parents or fully enjoy my time. Sagada was also nearly unbearable in the early morning.

Which protagonist from a book or movie would make the worst roommate? Not from a book or movie, but BoJack Horseman. Diane can also be in the running as I always found her too whiny. I get that she had her personal shit to deal with, but I don’t think living with her would be good for my own sanity and mental health.

Do you eat food that’s past its expiration date if it still smells and looks fine? It annoys my chef dad to death that I don’t lol. No matter how great it looks, I’d bounce. I once ate expired Kit Kats that tasted like cardboard and that scared me off of expired food forever.

What’s the most ridiculous thing you have bought? I once bought a stupid novelty soap that to this day I’ve never even opened. It’s in one of my drawers, and I plan to just throw it out at some point.

What’s the funniest comedy skit you’ve seen? Not a fan of these but one that got to me is Dear Sister from SNL.

What’s the most depressing meal you’ve eaten? A few years ago there was a local breakfast place that offered red velvet pancakes for a limited time and I was all over that crap, so I went and ordered. The actual pancakes ended up not being any bigger than my palm, and I remember not being able to hide my disappointment once the server placed the dish on my table haha. I felt so scammed. I had to order something else to feel full, because those pancakes were stupidly small.

What tips or tricks have you picked up from your job/jobs? One of my superiors, when she was presenting a pitch to our director yesterday, kept asking questions and picking at the director’s brain so that she can get suggestions and answers straight from the director herself and so that she didn’t have to do any brainstorming anymore. I thought that was a pretty nifty and clever hack.

What outdoor activity haven’t you tried, but would like to? Hiking a mountain!

What songs hit you with a wave of nostalgia every time you hear them? Umbrella by Rihanna feat. Jay-Z.

What’s the worst backhanded compliment you could give someone? Idk, anything can be the worst depending on the context. I’m not a fan of giving those, though.

What’s the most interesting documentary you’ve ever watched? Unsolved Mysteries’ Dupont de Ligonnès episode was a lot of fun to watch.

What was the last song you sang along to? I think it was Thinking of You by Katy Perry? but I’m not entirely sure. I haven’t sung along to anything in a while.

What app can you not believe someone hasn’t made yet? I don’t really download and use a lot of apps other than the basic ones, so I don’t care too much.

When was the last time you face palmed? Last night.

If you were given five million dollars to open a small museum, what kind of museum would you create? I’d give it away to the Martial Law museum currently being made near my university so that it can do more to show the atrocities of the Marcoses. And so that I can piss off my pro-Marcos relatives.

Which of your vices or bad habits would be the hardest to give up? Uh hating myself, if that counts.

What really needs to be modernized? Public transportation systems in this country.

[that-shamrock-vibe]

TV Review: Crisis on Infinite Earths (Spoilers)

Part Two: Batwoman

Spoiler Warning: I am posting this review the day after the episode airs in the U.S. so if you haven’t yet seen the episode or are waiting to watch the crossover all in on, don’t read on until you have.

Overview:

I was right, and I’m so annoyed they couldn’t keep the high momentum of the first episode here. Where Part One felt like an epic and grand high-stakes crossover opener, Part Two feels more like the typical and somewhat formulaic Arrowverse episode. The problem with that is, it’s supposed to be both! I don’t quite get how the episode that had the most elements I was looking forward to fizzled this much.

But now with the true enemy finally revealing himself, and the promise of more Paragons to find, can Crisis save itself while it destroys the Multiverse?

Avenging the Fallen:

So the episode opens with the three main women of the Arrowverse, Kara, Sara and Kate, drinking in memory of Oliver. I have to say, I know this is a Batwoman episode and these three women in particular do often preach girl power and all that, but the fact Ray isn’t there at least does just make it seem like they wanted this girl power moment, and as Kate said, the Multiverse is still in danger.

As I mentioned when talking about Batwoman in my Elseworlds review, there were problems that fortunately have been fixed by Batwoman the TV series mostly, I still don’t like the fact she’s not a red head, I still don’t like how similar Ruby Rose and Erin Richards look because it’s distracting to me. Even a choppy bob style as Kate has in the comics would differentiate the two more for me.

That being said, Ruby Rose sold the dry cynical humour here as she does in her own series. I loved how she left the drink here but later wished she hadn’t, in that same scene when the Monitor reveals Batman’s secret identity how she demands discretion from the team was funny, Kara finding Earth-99 Luke Fox attractive and Kate finding it weird I thought was hilarious and Ruby Rose sold that very well for me.

Also, for all Kara’s mourning about her lost planet, there was no confirmation on where Alex, Brainy, J’onn, Nia, Kelly or Lena were after the climax of Part One. I know Brainy and I think J’onn are in future parts of this crossover but it would have been good for a side comment saying where they are.

Speaking of mourning, my god Mia goes hard here. It’s funny because in last week’s episode of Arrow, Oliver was all for Diggle finding a way to get Mia and William back to 2040, yet Mia is still around and making understandably emotion-driven but drastic decisions and both Barry and Sara, who are supposed to be older, wiser and more level-headed particularly in this area, are going along with it.

Barry especially, I believe, feels that if he can help Oliver cheat his fate then maybe he can as well considering that Iris has now got the idea that with The Monitor being wrong about how Oliver died maybe Barry won’t die either, that’s just stupid to give someone who has already accepted his fate and has been known to make the stupidest decisions going (Flashpoint) when he feels he can change it. 

Mia decides to use a Lazarus Pit to resurrect Oliver and, like I said, both Barry and Sara agree. Sara does need some convincing I grant you and Caity Lotz does sell that she is never fully on-board with the idea, and why would she be because she knows first hand what the pits do.

I did appreciate the Nyssa mention, I just wish she had been their guide to the pit on Earth-18, instead we get a mini-fight between Mia, Sara and an unaltered Jonah Hex.

I did kind of guess Hex would appear as soon as the location was revealed as North Dakota, and to be fair I didn’t really see where Jonah Hex would fit into this crossover, so I am glad they found a space for him.

I also like that Constantine has something to do finally, because I am tired of just seeing Sara and Ray, as much as I love Sara and tolerate Ray, it’s called Legends of Tomorrow and currently I think has the biggest main cast out of these shows...so why am I being drip-fed Legends with now the addition of Constantine and Mick...again I do enjoy both of them but give me the god damn team.

Barry and Constantine bring Oliver to the Lazarus Pit and, as expected, Oliver emerges as an out of control rage monster that Stephen Amell does not sell quite as well as Caity Lotz or Willa Holland previously have.

I guessed Oliver would somehow be brought back, because while the Arrowverse execs try to say “We killed him off in part one to show no one is safe”, it was an eye-roll for me because you’re not going to kill the original main star of the Arrowverse in the first part.

My only issue with it is it happened so quickly, there was no time really to miss him because he was dead at the end of part one and suddenly they’re talking about bringing him back.

Sara had an entire season between death and resurrection and Thea’s resurrection came with great sacrifice on Oliver’s part joining the League of Assassins. Here, we had Constantine saying that the antimatter was making him lose his magic so he couldn’t bring back Oliver’s soul like he did for Sara, which only makes me wonder why they’re wasting time trying to bring someone back rather than stopping existence from dying.

Paragon Pursuit - Bat of the Future:

Okay so, apparently The Monitor has recently discovered seven Paragons across the Multiverse that can come together to defeat the Anti-Monitor. He knows this from retrieving the Book of Destiny from the timeline which was the McGuffin in Elseworlds last year.

Fortunately four of these paragons are known to The Monitor, the Paragon of Hope is Kara Zor-El and the Paragon of Destiny is Sara Lance. I got why this worked because Supergirl’s main brand is all about hope and she’s from a parallel world while Sara is of Earth-1 tying into the fact these seven Paragons are spread across the multiverse.

The Monitor tells the team that two more Paragons are to be found on different Earths, the first is the Bat of the Future on Earth-99 which Mar-Novu name drops as Bruce Wayne, much to Ray’s surprise and Kate’s annoyance.

Again I am actually enjoying Brandon Routh in this crossover, and cannot understand why he isn’t at this level on his own show.

Kate and Kara go to Earth-99 where they come across a dilapidated Wayne Manor, which looks more dishevelled than the one from the DCEU, and meet Earth-99 Luke Fox...who I had to double-take to ensure it was in fact Camrus Johnson partly because of how different he looks not geeked up and also because he is the only other main character of Batwoman to appear in this Batwoman episode.

Now I get that none of the other supporting players are vigilantes at this point, but not even Earth-1 Luke Fox making an appearance is slightly unfair, and you could argue that during Invasion! None of Supergirl’s supporting players were involved, but Supergirl still had an episode in that week which featured its main cast.

Again also Kate’s reaction to Kara finding this Luke attractive was probably my favourite moment in the episode.

Once forcing their way inside, Kate and Kara meet Earth-99 Batman, Mr. Kevin Conroy. I was so looking forward to seeing this veteran Batman voice actor in live-action and when you don’t see him talking, he sounds a lot like Batman of the DCAU, the only problem is I was promised Kingdom Come Batman and didn’t really get that.

I don’t know Kingdom Come that well but I thought Batman was supposed to be the main force of good left in the world, yet not only is he killing his rogues as displayed in his trophy case, including a Riddler cane which I also own, but he also killed Superman.

It’s at this point that Kate and Kara realise that this Batman is not the Paragon of Courage they were sent to retrieve and at that point Batman turns on Supergirl apparently hating Kryptonians.

Now this is where it gets interesting because before this, there is actually some good character moments for Bruce and Kate where Bruce tries to make Kate see that where he is in his mindset is where she should be, not trusting anyone, not believing in anything, just becoming the night basically.

It echoes similarly to what Lex Luthor tried to install in Lena last season which eventually worked as we know and it apparently maybe worked here because, even though Kate saved Kara from her doppleganger cousin, she still kept that Kryptonite wrist strap of his...what does she plan on doing?

Anyway before the Kryptonite reveal, we see Kate and Kara return to base where they tell The Monitor they failed retrieving the Paragon, but The Monitor reveals that the Bat of the Future and the Paragon of Courage is in fact Kate herself.

I don’t know how to feel about this, I love the fact Batwoman is being spotlighted even though she is the new girl, however, it does seem like the only reason she is the Paragon is because this is her show.

Also to have two Paragons from the same Earth? Not exactly far spread out.

Paragon Pursuit - Reign of the Supermen:

While Kate and Kara are on Earth-99, Earth 38′s Clark and Lois, and Iris for some reason, scourer the Multiverse for the Paragon of Truth, which is revealed to be a Superman...but which Superman.

Well just before they head off a spanner is thrown into the works in the form of Earth-38s Lex Luthor. We knew Jon Cryer would be back, I thought he would have returned in the Supergirl episode but we also see at least three other versions of Superman here so why not.

Anyway Lex steals the Book of Destiny because the Monitor apparently brought him back to be duped by the supervillain, shocker, and Lex travels the Multiverse killing off Supermen.

Clark, Lois and Iris first arrive on Earth-75 where they are too late because Earth-38 Lex has already killed this version of Superman who lies dead on the big screen with his Lois mourning the loss.

Their second attempt sees them arrive on Earth-167, which is the vaguest Easter-Egg reference going as it refers to Smallville co-producer Al Gough’s year of birth 1967...

When Tom Welling said he and Erica Durance were only in one scene they weren’t kidding, however I loved it. I am a massive Smallville fan, it was my proper Superman introduction, these versions of Clark and Lois are my Clark and Lois and that’s not going to change.

The decision for Clark not to have powers here is a weird one because they highlighted the fact that the Smallville Comics which followed the TV series would count as canon, yet aside from returning to the Kent Farm nothing we learn about Clark and Lois here was mentioned in the comics.

Also Clark and Lois have daughters, I’m not sure who they’re supposed to be but I’ve only ever known them to have a son...Jonathan...and since when did all the Supermen need to be Superdaddies anyway?

Anyway Earth-38 Lex shows up and Clark has the great confusion of wondering why Jon Cryer doesn’t look like Michael Rosenbaum, it is again sad that Rosenbaum didn’t reprise the role, but to have a Lex Luthor going up against multiple Supermen was still quite cool.

When Clark reveals he gave up his powers, most likely to be a father and family man, it did just seem like a cheat way for the writers to say “Yeah we have Smallville’s Clark Kent, but he won’t be part of the action”. Which as a Smallville fan is painful because I wanted to see Tom Welling in the tights, flights and action!

Also once Lex and the heroes disappear, Smallville’s Lois arrives and I have to say, she looks exactly the same as she did back in 2011 but different to how she looks as Alura Zor-El. Maybe it’s the choice of farm clothes as opposed to regal dresses but this is Lois Lane I had through my teen years, everything from the fashion to the hair, to the voice. I wasn’t crazy about the laugh because it seemed a bit forced, but she called him Smallville straight after and spoke in her high-energised way so I was happy.

The final stop was on Earth-96 which is a reference to the year the Kingdom Come storyline came out, it was confirmed that Brandon Routh would be Kingdom Come Superman but also the version of Superman from 2006 Superman Returns which Routh starred in.

We meet, or are reacquainted with,Routh’s version of Clark Kent. I have to admit I never much cared for Superman Returns, possibly because Smallville was on at the time and that version had already won me over. But I do know that Brandon Routh drew a lot of inspiration from Christopher Reeves and his portrayal of the character and you can clearly see that in both his fashion and acting.

I want to say it’s sad to see that pretty much all of Superman’s supporting staff at the Daily Planet are dead, Sam Huntington in my opinion was a decent Jimmy Olsen, but if this was Smallville’s Daily Planet staff all killed I’d be distraught.

Again I am comparing a lot but they are literally scenes apart from each other here.

Anyway, just as it’s confirmed that Brandon Routh’s Superman is the Paragon of Truth, Lex Luthor appears and decides he’s fed up with killing Supermen...we’ve only seen him kill one but there you go, and decides to turn Kingdom Come Superman against Earth-38 Superman in order for his now puppet to kill the other one.

I have to say, this was another weak battle sequence, I know it’s really CGI with two Supermen flying around, but neither Brandon Routh or Tyler Hoechlin have really sold flying as Superman to me that well anyway.

Lois finally does something and knocks Lex unconscious while she and Iris, who I cannot understand why she even came along at all, try to use the Book of Destiny to fix Kingdom Come Superman.

Eventually Lois gets through to KCS by appealing to his love for humanity and for his lost Lois. This breaks him free of the book’s control just in time before he snaps Earth-38 Superman’s neck.

With Lex detained, the heroes all return to base where they set up a machine to search for the rest of the Paragons. 

Harbinger’s Headache:

This sounds stupid but genuinely is what happens, since the start of the episode when Mar-Novu reveals the Book of Destiny, Harbinger starts to get headaches, this does alert her to the fact Lex Luthor is stealing the book but also puts her in the pathway of the Anti-Monitor.

Yes we finally see the big bad of the crossover in all his...glory? He looks ridiculous! His concept artwork does make him look like Oscar Isaac’s Apocalypse but the actual thing we get just looks ugly.

I will give a minor positive and say it is better to see him in the show than he looks on the promotional images because I get the feeling lighting is not this guy’s friend and we meet him in what looks like the hallway of S.T.A.R. Labs.

Mick Rory, Baby Whisperer:

Again, this sounds stupid, but I wanted to highlight this for a couple of reasons and to spotlight Legends of Tomorrow because it doesn’t look like this crossover is doing that.

Firstly, this Mick Rory isn’t our Mick Rory, this is in fact the Mick Rory of Earth-74...why is it called Earth-74? I don’t know because originally there were only supposed to be 52 Earths, then Earth-X came about and now we have Earth-167 so I’m making my peace with them making it up as they go along.

Anyway, Dominic Purcell has grown on me since he was first introduced on The Flash. I think once you accept the fact that DC’s Legends of Tomorrow is essentially a piss-take because that is what it’s become then you accept why the characters do what they do, and not only turning a Flash rogue into a hero/legend is understood but also having him be a writer, have a rat as a pet and be good with babies is also understood.

We see that Earth-74 has a Waverider and did have its own version of the Legends before they all disbanded, Mick has taken command of the Waverider as seemingly his home where he is a struggling writer and his only companion is the Waverider’s A.I. Leonard...Wentworth Miller is back! As a disembodied voice, I would have liked to have at least seen his floating blue head but no we get the voice which is fine by me to be honest.

Once Harbinger commandeers the Waverider ad brings it to Earth-1 with Mick on board, he seemingly becomes the only person on board who Jonathan won’t cry for...not his mum, not his dad, not his aunt...a gun wielding alcoholic hot-head...great choice kid.

It is the lowest form of comedy side-story going but it is still nice to see them at least attempt to include the Legends and particularly Wentworth Miller in some form.

Easter-Eggs:

Superman III:

Alright so this is a clever throwback as this version of Superman Brandon Routh is portraying may be repackaged as Kingdom Come Superman, but he is also the same Superman Routh portrayed in 2006′s Superman Returns, who in turn is the same Superman Christopher Reeve played during the 80s, one movie Reeves was in was Superman III where Superman’s human and Kryptonian sides physically fought each other.

This plot point has also been done in Smallville briefly during the opening episode of Season 4 but not to the same degree as here or Superman III.

Smallville:

So many Smallville Easter-Eggs in one small scene, the first was the mention of Smallville’s Lex Luthor being the President of the United States of America. In a vision of the future Lex Luthor was indeed president and during the flashforward epilogue of the Smallville finalé he was running for president.

I also appreciated the time joke that Lois made when she said that it’s taken about a decade for Clark to “make a funny”. In real-time it has been almost a decade since Smallville finished as it was 2011, whereas now it is 2019.

Captain Cold:

Some things never change and whether he’s a doppleganger of the original or an A.I. version of the man, Wentworth Miller’s charm oozes out.

When Harbinger arrives on the Earth-47 Waverider, she notes that she is aware of who the A.I. is and he responds with his classic line “Always pleased to meet a fan”, this he has said a couple of times firstly in Season 1 of The Flash and then again with the Legends.

This was a great episode on reflection but in terms of ramping up the drama and grandeur of the crossover it did need work. Hopefully it’s only a minor bump before tonight’s third part, which promises a sizeable cliffhanger before the Christmas break.

So that’s my review of Crisis on Infinite Earths: Batwoman, what did you guys think? Post your comments and check out more DC TV Reviews as well as other TV Reviews and posts.

[nataliawhite92]

Paper Planes

Lena doesn’t regret much in her life. There are moments that she might change if she had the chance but at the end of each day she lives firmly in the camp that everything happens for a reason. If she changed one thing would she be happier or would it be that one change that snowballed into her not moving to National City? Not changing L-Corp to be a force for good. Not meeting Kara. No she doesn’t believe in regrets. Until she shows Kara a song and her whole lifes goes off the rails.

It was a normal Tuesday morning. Lena was in their home gym doing cardio to jump start her day, a routine she took up after Kara had moved in and not just because she was now comparing herself to an actual goddess but also because she loved Kara’s reaction when she happened upon her sweating and cursing any for of exercise that wasn’t yoga. The first time Kara had walked into the gym still rubbing sleep from her eyes and yawning only for her open mouth to widen further Lena knew she would be continuing. Though it was rare that she finished a workout these days, Kara never was a patient person and seemed to take great pleasure in disrupting her only to make her heart race in other ways. Sometimes she will sit down in a patch of sunlight and just watch Lena. And if Lena puts a little extra swish in her hips that’s neither here nor there.

She’s half an hour in when Kara greets her with a soft kiss to the cheek, floating near the treadmill to reach Lena’s face and almost sending her to the ground in surprise.

She pulls out one of her headphones and smirks at her girlfriend who is very obviously staring at her legs which stumbled a little before regaining their stride.

“One of these times you are going to send me straight into a wall,” she huffs, a little out of breath but not nearly as much as she had been a couple months back when she started. She’s made good progress and Kara’s constant appreciation is motivation enough to get through a workout.

“Psh, I would catch you before you even left the treadmill. Super reflexes,” Kara says smiling, now doing a sort of running man impressing in the air.

Lena laughs and turns the machine lower for her cool down. She grabs the towel hanging on the armrests and dabs at her chest and face.

Kara’s eyes trace the bead of sweat that makes its way down between her sports bra clad breasts and she smirks at Kara’s darkening eyes.

“Have I mentioned how much I love starting my day finding you in here?” Kara asks, eyes finally meeting her face in a dazed look that’s too adorable for Lena not to pull towards her and kiss. She tastes the salt on her lips as Kara’s mouth meets hers. Sliding a little in the sweat as Kara deepens the kiss and pulls Lena up into her arms.

“I do believe you have made your opinion known,” Lena kisses into her mouth. She tastes the smile and toothpaste as Kara’s tongue enters her mouth, her breathing starting to shallow as it had when she was running.

She pushes back a little on Kara’s shoulders, giggling when Kara searches for her mouth. She kisses the crinkle that appears between her eyes and watches Kara blink her eyes back open in a lazy smile.

“Darling, you’re going to need to put me down so I can stretch out and take a shower. I’ve got a meeting in an hour.”

“Need any help stretching?” She tries to wiggle her eyebrows but ends up blinking and Lena laughs again. She really has fallen in love with the goofiest, sweetest woman.

“Your help will surely make me late,” she gently chided, feet touching down softly and Kara reluctantly letting her go.

“Fiiiiiine,” Kara whines.

Lena starts working through some of the easier poses, feeling the pull of a good workout and the soreness that will probably set in by the next morning.

Kara floats on her stomach, arms lazily making swimming motions that make Lena smile as she bends at the waist to move into downward dog.

The music that had been playing on her iPod comes on over the speakers as Kara plugs it into the aux cord in the wall. Lena’s workout playlist is a mix of heavy bass songs she found during the stress of college, late 90s and early 2000s artists who kick her ass into gear when she’s sure she can’t move another step forward. VIC’s Beast tails off and she hears the opening chords of Paper Planes begin as she comes back to standing, head rolling in a circle to finish off her stretches to the sound of the bop.

She closes her eyes to center herself just as the chorus comes on. Her eyes widen as she sees her girlfriend, her ridiculous still floating now upside down girlfriend dancing in mid air, blissed out expression on her face.

“All I wanna do is…”

Finger guns blasting.

“And I,”

Whole arm cocking her finger guns and finishing with her hand opening in a wiggling explosion at the cash register ching.

“And take your money.”

She bursts out laughing, bending again at her middle as she struggles to catch her breath. Tears are pouring down her face when she stands up, wiping them away and still laughing.

“Kara! What in the world are you doing??”

“Lena this song is so fun! Why haven’t you showed it to me before??” Kara asks touching down beside Lena and pulling her into an improvised dance session. Lena knows she should be heading to shower. She really can’t be late to this meeting but she can’t even be mad at herself as Kara twirls them around the room.

___________________________________________

She makes it to her meeting just in time, smiling as Jess does last minute prep with her. As she moves toward the conference room she schools her face and converts smoothly into business mode.

Four hours later she is exhausted but victorious, the meeting going exactly as she had desired. She relishes the finer points before opening her office door and being met with a dancing Kara Danvers, headphones in her ears and spinning around to what she suspects is the MIA song from earlier if her moves are any indication.

Kara stops when she sees her, and then shoots her with her finger guns once more before pulling the buds out of ears and sweeping Lena up in a hug.

“How did it go?” She asks after kissing her in greeting.

“As if you couldn’t hear, though you seem so taken with that song maybe you weren’t listening for once.”

“It’s a good song Lena!” Kara protest, pout forming on her face.

“It is. Though you’re a little late to the party. I believe it’s been out for some years now.”

“Lots of time to make up for then!” Kara says around a smile. The same smile that Lena will never tire of seeing. Kara has a lot of smiles, she’s noticed. But this one is reserved for her alone. And puppies. She can share though.

If she’s on the same level as puppies she must be doing something right.

___________________________________________

Lena’s enjoyment of Kara’s antics last a week and about 200 renditions of the song. The morning she wakes up from a dream where nefarious looking bandits are chasing after her on paper airplanes she’s had enough.

All her efforts to find help are thoroughly thwarted.

J’onn refuses to wipe Kara’s mind, though he looks pained about his decision. Lena remembers a passing comment by one of the Danvers sisters about Kryptonians being impervious to psychic abilities and pats J’onn’s shoulder in camaraderie as she leaves.

Alex bursts out laughing at Lena’s dilemma. When she gathers herself enough to look at the CEO standing impatiently in the doorway of Alex’s office she starts back up again at the glare on Lena’s face.

Lena turns on her heel and stalks away. She raises her middle finger over her shoulder not bothering to turn around as Alex calls after her.

“Consider yourself lucky to have missed her Bye Bye Bye phase!” Alex yells at her retreating back.

Lena shudders at the thought.

Winn suggests contacting the artist and offering incentive for them to make a statement about being anti-potstickers in an effort to affront Kara enough to get her to stop listening.

Lena considers it for all of a minute before the image of Kara’s falling face breaks her resolve. She has her limits, Luthor name notwithstanding.

Sam, like Alex, finds the whole thing far too funny to be at all helpful.

“She doesn’t even do the finger guns right Samantha! She curls her pointer finger when she shoots! Her thumb still straight up in the air like a stubborn hitchhiker trying to bum a ride!”

She leaves Sam in her own office, snorting and crying, mumbling about how she hopes Alex has some sort of equally annoying tendency that she soon shows.

Lena tries calming breaths but they start to follow the rhythm of that damn song and she almost screams.

___________________________________________

When she gets home she hears it playing again and officially reaches her capacity of tolerance.

“Kara Zor-El Danvers I cannot listen to that song one more time!” She yells slamming her finger down on the pause button.

Kara is mid fire and she squeezes her finger once more, smiling bashfully at Lena.

Lena falls to the floor, crumbling at how she can’t even be mad when Kara’s in front of her. Probably still smiling.

She hears her girlfriend kneel down in front of her, feeling her eyes watching as Lena’s shoulders shake with repressed laughter, her head in her hands.

“Lena…”

“How did I manage to fall in love with such a dork?” She sighs exasperatedly, shaking her head back and forth.

Silence.

She peeks out confused. Only upon replaying her last statement does she realize what just snuck out of her mouth.

Kara is staring at her gobsmacked, eyes wide and looking suspiciously wet.

“You love me?” She whispers.

Lena sobers immediately. She places her palms on either side of Kara’s face, holding her gently. Her world in the palm of her hands.

“How could I not?” She says back, equally as soft.

Kara blinks, one tear falling down her cheek before her whole face lights up in a smile Lena had never seen before. It was her smile but somehow impossibly fuller.

Before she even consciously decides to she’s in Kara’s lap, her enthusiasm knocking down the most powerful being on Earth. She kisses her, lips brought together not very softly to begin with but quickly escalating to a full fledged battle.

It’s Kara this time who pulls away first. Lena making a noise of displeasure at the now missing contact.

“I love you too,” Kara says, sure and strong. Lena knew, Kara shows her in a million little ways everyday. But to hear it from her mouth. She kisses her once more before cuddling down into her prone body, head tucked in her hero’s neck.

“If you want me to stop listening to that song I will,” Kara says one hand stroking Lena’s hair, the other wrapped around her middle pulling her as close as possible.

“How about we compromise?”

Kara hums to show she’s listening.

“Two times a day and you let me show you how to actually do finger guns.”

Kara’s laughter envelopes her, her whole body shaking underneath Lena. She nuzzles closer and decides she might be lenient on the second point. Sharing that song with Kara might be the cause of her eventual insanity but Lena Luthor doesn’t believe in regrets.

[elejah-verse]

Love in New Orleans/3

Fanfiction

Part 3

an AU TVD/TO story

Elijah Mikaelson x Elena Gilbert

Klaroline

Kennett

a/n: thank you so much for reading.

As the title said - it’s about love that three friends Elena, Caroline and Bonnie, who are native to New Orleans find, each falling for a Mikaelson.

credit to gif makers, for all those that are not mind and I have found them ages ago

❤❤❤

A week after

Caroline woke up and sat up a little. She watched her fiance dreamily. And at times being with him appeared to be a dream. She flashed back at the night she had met him on a fundraising Ball

Flashback

He was sweet, charming and funny, sweeping her off of her feet there and then.

And now, a year after, she is marrying this Royal Marine Commando.

"I love you"- Caroline whispered.

Klaus now opened his eyes 

"Am I dreaming? Are you an angel?"- he said to her.

"No. Just a girl."- Caroline said to her fiance and now neared him into a kiss. 

❤❤❤

Elsewhere

Elena took a deep breath before entering the Mayor's office. Working beside him every day made it harder for her heart, as her feelings for him didn't want to go away.

"Good morning, Mr Mayor"- Elena said as she got in.

"Good morning, Ms Gilbert.  I need to have some of my appointments rescheduled as my sister is preparing a party for another sister of mine and if I don't go it, she will disown me."

"When is it? How come it is not on your personal roster."- Elena said.

"Because I usually send them a private message, but this year they are really angry with me, because work takes all my time."- Elijah said-"and it is today. At 7:00 p.m. at Rousseau's, their favourite bar."

"All right. I will have it done. I have e-mailed all other things ready for you."

"I have seen it."- Elijah said-"thank you. Ok. Let's sit down and see how we can work this thing out about the French Quarter lights and parade. Oh,  and- they brought a new coffee maker. I tried  it and I can tell you that it makes a great cappuccino. Thanks for the suggestion."

"You're welcome."- Elena now went to the small kitchenette area and put the coffee maker on. He had obviously done this for her. She smiled, feeling her heart grow. As she made herself a cup now she returned to the office and continued with the briefing, saying-

  "At 2 pm, you will join the leadership at the New Orleans East Hospital (NOEH), State and City Officials, and community stakeholders to hold a grand opening and naming dedication ceremony for the Kenner & Marshall  and Genevieve & Joseph St. Claire Diabetes Center." 

"Can we talk all the Christmas events I have to be at."- Elijah said.

"You have The Kenner Christmas Village, light up at the Rivertown historic district.  It's on November 25 at 5:30pm"- Elena said-"then Lake Ponchartrain Basin Foundation Lights at the Lake on December 9, at 6 pm. Tonight is the French Quarter Lights at 6 pm."

"So, we will make it to the party. Worked perfectly. All right. After the party, I will need to ask you to stay for at least another hour, so we can go through the parking instructions and traffic restrictions for the Big Easy Running Festival."

"Of course."- Elena said-"would that be all?"

"Yes, thank you, Ms Gilbert."

"Thank you, Mr Mayor"- Elena said taking her cup with her and exited to the office out to her desk. She lost herself in the work to make her mind not think about him, and the way he was so nice to her. But her mind was not letting her at ease.

Flashback

A couple of days previously, in Caroline's house

Caroline and Bonnie now looked at her friend's serious expression slightly surprised. 

"I know, I joked about it"- Caroline said-"but this is serious?"

"It is so serious."- Elena said, continuing-"I wish he was not so nice, so considerate, so good looking! How could this happen? I have quit my job."

"You can't quit your job."- Bonnie said-"you worked hard to get where you are now."

"I know, but- you don't know what it is like. In between sorting his schedules, speeches and other stuff, I think of kissing him, and him kissing me. And it is so unprofessional. And I thought this is a figment of my imagination. But it really is not. I wish he does something bad, so I could say- there he is just like the rest of them."

For the first time her friends had no advice. The only thing they could do is commiserate. 

❤ For Elijah it was not easy either, and the same night Elena poured her heart's trouble to her friends, Elijah did the same with his brother Kol

Flashback Kol's house

As Elijah entered the house, Kol said straight out- "This must be serious, if you could not share it on the phone"

"It is serious."- Elijah said-"Do you have Bourbon?"

"Of course, I do."- Kol said and went to the cabinet to get the bottle.

Sven now, having heard Elijah came down from his room to greet his uncle.

"Hello little man"- Elijah said as he now picked the boy in his arms-"you're so grown."

"He is."- Kol said and as Sven shared some news about himself, especially the book signing, Kol whisked him off to bed.

"Is there something particular he wants for Christmas?"- Elijah now asked.

"The whole Fairy Kat world."- Kol said.

"Excuse me?"

"You haven't got a clue about the world of a 4 year old. And why should you. You have your political career, but do you seriously think of - maybe having a family one day? "

"Not really. Since Laney died, nothing seemed right."- Elijah said.

"I know."- Kol said thinking of his late wife Davina-"It's like we can't get a break in the love department. And you really had your share of wrong women since Laney- Sabine, Gia, Hayley."

"Can we not go there."- Elijah said taking a sip of the Bourbon and then added-"But now- I think I may have found the right one."

"Oh! Really? So, what is the problem?"

"She is my new PA. Elena Gilbert."

"Whoa!"- Kol exclaimed-"Seriously?"

"Seriously!"- Elijah said-"she is smart, beautiful, kind- and- "

"And she is your PA."- Kol said-"which makes it unethical, but not forbidden."

"Unethical, unprofessional. But I just- I tried to stop feeling the way I feel when I am with her. And nothing is working. How could this happen to me?"

"Mayors are human, too, brother. You are no exception."- Kol said.

"Can you keep it to yourself"- Elijah now said-"I can't risk anyone finding out, especially Rebekah."

"Hey, mum's the word"- Kol said-"I am glad you finally fell in love again."

"What??"

"You are in deep. When you went out with the other ones you just casually mentioned you were dating again. For this, you came all the way to my house."

"It's like someone spelled me"- Elijah said.

And a couple of hours later in the car, on the way to the Hospital- Elijah was looking  out of  the  window thinking of the speech he was about to read to distract him from being so close to Elena. And Elena was glad she was  on the phone to some official. And so, both distracted, they at one moment Elijah put his hand down on to the seat and he could swear

there was an electric surge burst through, as a second later Elena moved her hand as if she was stung. The car stopped at the red lights and she now looked at Elijah, who now  asked about the meeting that had to be moved.

"They said that it all can be discussed on Friday night Christmas Charity Ball."

"Thank you."- Elijah said and then asked-"I think of asking my sister to be my +1. It is somewhat a short notice, but I think it would not be a problem to send her name for the list."

"It's not a  problem. They said that you can send them an hour before the party."- Elena said-"which sister will you be asking?"

"Freya."- Elijah replied. 

"But, wait till I see if she agrees first."

Elena nodded and as they arrived they went to the order of the day.

❤️️

The Mikaelson siblings, actually Kol and Freya were at the French Quarter Light up and as soon as the whole ceremony finished, they went to Elijah. 

"We have to hurry now."- Freya said to Elijah-"Rebekah is about to get here any minute."

"All right."- Elijah said looking at Elena, who nodded that it was fine that he left somewhat earlier and that she would take care of everything else. 

"So, you will not introduce us to your PA?"- Kol now said to Elijah, who was about to do it.

"Of course, I am."- Elijah said and now introduced Elena officially to Frey and Kol.

"Are you coming to the party?"- Kol said to Elena.

"No, I still have a few things to do here."

"You should come."- Kol said-"it's nothing official. It's just a few drinks and a cake. I don't think it is unprofessional if you have one drink with the family?"

"No, it's not."- Elena smiled.

"Ok. So we will see you at Rousseau's"

"Yes."- Elena agreed. 

As they left, Elena called Bonnie and asked if she could meet her at Rousseau's.

"Ah, I was about to call you. I can't make it. Caroline has dragged me to cake sampling thing. I couldn't say no, you know what she is like."

"That's ok. I still have work after."- Elena said-"Oh, I have met Kol and Freya. Kol is so great, you were right."

"You think?"

"Yeah."- Elena said and now as she got to the bar she cut the conversation short. 

She walked to them and Kol got her a drink as Elijah was busy talking to Rebekah and her boyfriend. 

"Just club-soda for me."- Elena said-"we still got to work later."

"Ah, you two are all about work. Perfect couple."- Kol said-"Loosen up a bit. One cocktail will not kill you."

"I know, but still I- am kind of working."

"Come on. I guarantee you that we will persuade Elijah not bug you with work anymore today. It's been forever since we were all together like this. Well, the three of us meet off an on for a drink, but Elijah, he was first busy with the campaign, and then taking this job way too seriously."

"Well, it is quite an important job and he has got loads to work to do to complete with his promises."- Elena said.

"True. But he needs to live a little, too."- Kol said and now got Elena a cocktail, whisking her to the others, letting Elijah now introduce her to Rebekah and her boyfriend. 

"Ah, you are the one who is keeping Elijah ship shaped."- Rebekah said and added-"Welcome to the family."

"What?"- Elena was puzzled.

"You being his PA means that you will be part of his life in every instance."- Freya explained.

"It is a bit different from the other PAs. I am a special assistant. I don't do personal errands and such."- Elena said.

"We know, I am sorry, I didn't mean to offend you."- Freya then said.

Elijah now came to them-

"Everything fine?"- Elijah said.

"Yes."- Elena replied putting the cocktail on the bar. 

"I hope that we will get out of here in a half an hour or so?"- Elijah said.

"Oh, no"- Rebekah now cut in having heard that Elijah was already thinking of leaving-"Can you not have one evening off? The way you go on, you will work on Christmas same as Ebeneezer Scrooge."

"I can have it all done tonight, and tomorrow we can just go through it quickly before the meeting. The meeting is at 4 pm anyway."- Elena said.

"There, a voice of reason. Come on. This is my birthday and I really will be angry if you leave before the cake gets here."

"All right."- Elijah said.

Elena now took her bag and as she wanted to leave, Kol stopped her. 

"I have to do the work. Thanks anyway."- Elena said her byes to the others and Kol said-

"See you around."

"Yes, see you."- Elena said. 

Elijah now went to see her to the door and have his Chauffeur give Elena a lift home. 

As they got outside, Elijah said-

"I am sorry. It is not fair to leave you with all the work, while I-"

"You should stay with your family, at least on a birthday. I have already all the notes and I will do it in no time."- Elena said. 

"I can't thank you enough."

"It's my job. Don't worry."- Elena said smiling at him and looked around for a moment saying-

"The lights are really beautiful this year."

"They really are."- Elijah also turned to look around - and then  there -they were- lost in a momentary gaze-

[skammovistarplus]

Culture and Translation - S01E09

SKAM+ Clip 4 will get its own post because it’s a fairly long clip and also really dense in terms of content. For now, let’s all marvel as Eva’s life goes fantastically off the rails. 

CLIP 1: “Now I have really shit the bed,” Eva says. But that bed will be further soiled soon.

Yo soy Lara y le parto la cara, pero mucho más. Se ha quedado corta (“If I was Lara I’d smash her face harder. I mean, that wasn’t enough”): “Partir la cara” literally means to “break Eva’s face in half,” like you would with a cinder block if you were a martial artist. “Quedarse corta” means that, in the speaker’s opinion, Lara didn’t go far enough and further violence would’ve been socially appropriate in order to make things even between Lara and Eva.

La sueltita (“the trollop”): “Sueltita” literally means “loose,” but the suffix “-ita” makes it a diminutive. So the speaker is calling Eva “loosey,” if that were something you’d say in English.

Ahora sí que la he cagado bien (“now I have really shit the bed”): The literal translation would be something like, “Now I have really shat it out but good.” Don’t mind me, I just enjoy every instance of poop-related language.

El mierda seca que lo ha soltado todo (“the shitstain who ran their mouth”): “Mierdaseca” is literally dry turd, lol. So the literal translation is, “The dry turd who let it all out.”

CLIP 2: Shitting the bed, pt. II

It’s really hard to make out what the boys are saying in this scene. Lucas does say that they (presumably his parents) “están hasta los cojones.” As I’ve mentioned before, “cojones” is the rudest way you could talk about somebody’s balls. It is a lot ruder than saying “balls” in English, but there’s no real good equivalent in American English.

¿Te crees que soy gilipollas? (“Do you think I’m a moron?”): “Gilipollas” is a dual purpose swear word in Spanish. It can either mean “asshole” or someone so dumb that it’s a wonder they can walk and breathe at the same time. It is not ableist language, it has never been a scientific term for people with intellectual disabilities.  

¡Yo no he dicho una puta mierda! (“I haven’t said shit!”): More specifically, Lucas says he hasn’t said “fucking shit.” 😂

Es que me parece flipante (“I’m tweaking out”): Again, Eva uses “flipante,” which is the adjective form of “flipar” (to trip, in a drug sense). Since Eva is having all these (completely wrong) epiphanies right now, I thought I’d do her one better and phrased it as “tweaking out.”

¡Es que me la suda! (“I don’t give a shit!”): Okay, so when Spaniards really, really don’t care about something, we say that whatever it is we don’t care about “me suda la polla” or “me suda el coño.” This literally means that thing you don’t care about is… sweat dripping down your dick, or your pussy, depending. So. Yeah. That’s how little Lucas now cares about Eva’s opinion of him. Sweat off his dick. For the record, yes, this is a fairly rude thing to say, but as you might’ve gathered from these posts, and just from watching Skam España… We use this idiom on the daily. It’s shocking coming from Lucas, but only because he uses it as a Precision F-Strike, not because it’s any stronger than the way the characters usually speak.

CLIP 3: Squad no longer

¿Esto no sera verdad? (“This can’t be true?”): So, right away, Viri has a belligerent tone, and also asks Eva this question. The literal translation is, “This isn’t going to be true?” As in, “this had better not be true, sis.” So Viri puts Eva on the spot with her opening line.

I think the Skam España crew should’ve waited a little longer before shooting this scene, lol. Unless Viri was tagged on one of the pics, there is no fucking way she’d have seen the hate ig unless she was present when it was created. It’s only been three minutes since the pictures were posted.

Ya son ganas de meter mierda (“You really have to be a shit stirrer to pull this”): A more literal translation would be, “You gotta be eager to shit stir.” I reworked it so the meaning came across more clearly.

So I guess a good question is, is what the girls did and said in this clip true to Spanish teens? I think that’s a very complicated question, but worth asking. Obviously, it depends on the person. Viri has her own character arc that we’ll deal with through subsequent posts. When it comes to Amira and Cris, though, my take is this. Spaniards will go hard for a friend. Amira and Cris have needed to be held back from telling Inés what’s what, if not outright fighting her. But, if you go so hard for a friend, you expect reciprocity. You don’t expect to have the rug pulled from under your feet, which is the way Amira and Cris feel. If Eva had told them about her history with Inés beforehand, there’s a chance they’d have told Inés to get over it and fuck off. Eva just didn’t give them the chance to process the info and then make the choice to defend her.

CLIP 4: We’ve reached peak Youth’s Daughter

It took me a while to decide whether I wanted to use “copying” or “cheating,” and it was a total waste of time, because I clearly should’ve gone for “cheating” and not “copying.”

How many remakes have used Youth’s Daughter at this point? It’s even on the soundtrack of the movie Lisa Teige starred in, Battle. Hopefully the remakes avoid song fatigue in the future, although some artists, such as Billie Eilish, Troye Sivan or Mona Haydar, seem almost compulsory.

CLIP 5: Puns are a translator’s nightmare

After squinting at Eva’s exam for a good while, I feel pretty confident about saying that the high school is named after Margarita Manso. Margarita Manso was a painter and general eschewer of rules. It’s worth noting that she was close friends with Federico García Lorca, who was killed by fascists during the Spanish civil war. García Lorca stood accused of being a socialist, a freemason and a homosexual, and was executed. His body has never been found. However, Margarita Manso also married a fascist, Alfonso Ponce de León, who was himself executed by the faction supporting the government. Here’s a pic of Margarita:

No, that’s not the actual name of the high school where they shoot the show. As mentioned elsewhere, Spanish fans can be very intense and it’s in the cast’s best interests to avoid a Nissen situation.

Lucas was not done with that exam, lol. And Eva wasn’t even close to finished, yikes.

Nora sings Lo Malo to Eva. Lo Malo was written by Brisa Fenoy and performed by Aitana (again!) and Ana Guerra. Since the lyrics are a key element of the scene, they’re included in the subs. I just want to explain some of the puns in the lyrics.

Tira porque te toca a ti perder (“Roll because it’s your turn to lose”): “Tira,” in this context, would mean “get out of my face,” but also, “roll the dice.” So, roll the dice because now it’s your turn to lose, but also, get out of my face, I’m over your shit. I hope “roll” helped convey both meanings.

Tiro porque me toca a mí otra vez (“I roll because it’s my turn again”): Another pun about rolling dice. I’m rolling the dice, because I got a second roll of the dice, but also, I’m leaving because I got rid of you, and this time it’s about me.

Pero si me toca, toca, tócame (“But if it’s my turn, touch-a, touch me”): “Toca” can also have several meanings. In this case, it can either mean that it’s my turn (“me toca”) or begging to be touched/stroked/caressed (“tócame”).

As for whether Lo Malo fits the role Baby played in the original… First off, I have to say that William, in that scene, is styled to look like Baby-era Justin Bieber, what with the hood pulled up. Julie Andem is making a connection between the music Noora is embarrassed to listen to, and the boy Noora is ashamed to find hot. There’s nothing embarrassing about liking Aitana and Ana Guerra as artists, per se, other than they got their start at a talent show and dueted on this song because they were contractually obligated to do so. That said, the lyrics fit Nora and Alejandro thematically and, on top of that, the song was really. Seriously. Incredibly. Overplayed in Spain in the summer of 2018, much like Baby was in its time.

Lo llevo muy jodido (“I have a fucking F in it”): I fought with this line so hard, and even as the episode was rendering, I knew I would regret my choice. Alejandro is also making a pun. He says he’s been consistently getting bad grades in English, but he also means that all his efforts to hook up with Nora have failed. There isn’t really a good translation for his line, but if we ever fix our subs, I’d go with, “I’m fucked, if I keep this up.” Or something akin to that!

CLIP 6: Queen Lara

“Hey, dude, give me a sip.” Why did I sub this line? Because it was oddly clear, and it just… seemed like I should… 😬

Tú sabrás el rollo que te llevas con tu novio (“Whatever deal you have with your boyfriend, that’s up to you”): This is one of those lines that took me a while to settle on a translation for. I’m happy with the line, but I’ll expand on what Lara means. She means to say that Eva’s relationship with Jorge is not Lara’s business. When it comes to the part that affects Lara, she doesn’t blame Eva, and fully blames Cristian. Whatever led Eva to kiss Cristian, and whether that’s something Jorge is cool with or isn’t, Lara thinks it’s not her place to judge or speak about.

I think it’s kinda funny that the fandom is chill with Lara reading Cristian’s texts and not regretting doing so, despite the show making it clear that’s not kosher, but thinks Viri is an asshole for posting the Cristian/rando pic (which the show also looked down on when it was the hate ig doing it, to be clear).

CLIP 7: Kicking Eva when she’s down

You don’t know how much I want to know where those stairs are.

Y habíamos quedado (“And you were supposed to come to the party”): Eva says she and Jorge “habían quedado,” which as I explained last post, means they had arranged to meet. In this case, they had arranged that both Eva and Jorge would party at Nora’s. So, not the exact translation, but the best option, given how vague the original sentence is.

Si Quieres Volver by El Imperio del Perro is the song which closes the clip and plays over the credits. I translated the lyrics that are used on the show:

You should understand That I’m in deep shit Any decision Smells bad where I stand

And now I’ll carry The shame on my back And I’ll be yet another person Who’ll apologize wordlessly

Tell me if you want to get back together (5x)

It’s so simple To ruin everything And watch as it burns

Something forces me to go on and Enjoy when it leaves I felt the need To jump in the well There was something else, I couldn’t see it

Tell me if you want to get back together (10x)

Social media:

Some people watch Skam and the remakes without keeping up with the social media aspect of the show. In general, I feel like you can watch Skam without the social media, and not miss anything of importance. But if you watch Skam España season 1 without the social media, you’ll miss a couple important details.

First, while the show was airing, the hate account felt inescapable. It updated very often and at random times, so that the real-time viewer first felt shocked, then tired, then massively over it. Someone who comes into the show late, needs to know that we would sometimes get excited because there was an update, but oh. It was yet more abuse.

Second, a viewer who watches the season without the social media, misses the actual chain of events, which is as follows:

Viri shares the following pic with Inés privately at some point during the week:

Clip 7 drops at 20:40.

Inés uploads the pic to her insta stories at 20:43.

By 20:45, the instagram profile @eva_la_z0rra or @eva_the s1ut, has taken the picture from Inés’ ig stories and cropped it, so that Eva and Cristian are the focus of the pic.

As a sidenote, Inés captions the pic like so: “wow, alex and alba came out cute… 🙊” Álex and Alba are Lucas’ and Eva’s actors’ real names.        

[booksandchainmail]

nanoha vivid liveblog: episode 9

We left off in the opening rounds of the competition, with Vivio and Miura slated to fight each other at some point. 

The other belkan girls!

I think I remember them being friends

Soft music and slow-mo here, as we get our first look at sieglinde’s eyes

... which are entirely ordinary

huh, i was kinda expecting more heterochromia

… RIGHT SHE HAD A DUMB NICKNAME 

THEY BOTH DID

look I know youre overdramatic teenagers but I promise you giving yourselves nicknames about how good you are at fighting doesn’t actually make you seem good at fighting

also, i like to imagine that victoria’s been trying to get people to call her victor for most of her life, and sieglinde is the only one who will. victoria gave her her own nickname in thanks, and sieglinde was so happy about having a friend to give her a nickname that she didn’t care about the theme

have you considered losing the waist long twintails?

awwwww

weirdly wholesome considering the subject matter

who’s this boss? Presumably one of the other competitors we’ve seen, and I’m guessing harry as the only one who runs a thing (as well as one of the only returning successful contestants)

please tell me she didn’t pick that nickname/title herself

theyre cute together

and sieglinde pulls her hood back on as soon as more people arrive

i guess i shouldn’t be surprised that the ojou and the delinquent dont get along

at least it looks like it runs both ways

i really do like this dynamic of harry and victoria constantly trying to fight, and meanwhile sieglinde’s just there in the background trying to calm down her friends

oh hey the last unintroduced girl from the op! presumably she’s a returning fighter considering she seems pretty familiar with the others

… I can’t tell if “violator restraints rule master” is one skill, two skills, her job, or her personality

would they be wrong?

let the fangirling commence!

oh gods shes trying to hide behind that popcorn

it is very much not working

i feel like this scene should be one of those draw the squad memes

also, these four are great together, more scenes with them please

I do like how in the returning champions we’re presented with three people who all hate each other, and then one person who they all like. it’s a good setup for comedy and shipping

awwww, even while being shy, she’s still nice to einhart

come to think of it, i wonder if she also has memories of belka, and if so does she recognize einhart

sdjklaghklfaghlj

those chains were completely ineffective i guess

i like to think that harry and victoria didnt break out immediately because they didnt want to hurt els’ feelings

gods

els is extremely indignant and harry is just having a good tiem

okay that’s cool, they edited the OP now that we’ve seen sieglinde with her hood down

how do these two know each other? I mean I’ll believe it, but I’m curious now.

so what were the fights we saw last episode? 

I guess prelims for the qualifiers? Which explains how some people are seeded already

this tournament sure has a sense of the dramatic

she is actually a rule master school president

and brought her council with her i guess

OH THIS IS THE PERFECT MATCHUP

I mean, I would take harry fighting just about anyone, but this is an excellent clash of anime character archetypes

The fact that there is canonically Japanese immigration to midchilda is one of the weirdest things about this setting to me. I mean, Nanoha and Hayate just moving to another planet with magic and magitek and spaceships is weird enough, but Subaru’s family immigrated generations back. How the fuck did that go? Can you imagine being a random Japanese peasant circa the 1700s and then suddenly you’re on a different world that has magic and also computers.

oh gods

she looks so happy and i love her but her nickname is so stupid

and thats saying a lot considering the competition

extremely on brand

… that is the most “go ahead please” face I have ever seen

and theeeeres the competition making an abrupt return

i mean, she could still totally call you that even if you win

“tension”

i dont know if she planned it in advance, but letting harry see and underestimate her power beforehand was pretty smart

A ranged attack?

OR NOT I GUESS

she just... blew up her own arm

That’s kinda clever. And also really metal.

WHAT THE LITERAL FUCK HARRY

Thank you for the reasonable reaction

the kind of attack name you expect from a girl called buster head

Well that was fast

Oh okay they have a set time to get back in the ring. makes sense considering how easy it is for a lot of them to send people flying

nove suddenly has competition as the best punchy redhead in this show

shes so good

…you entered a martial arts competition without looking up the injury rules

I’M STARTING TO AGREE WITH ALL THE NUNS WHO DIDN’T THINK YOU WERE MATURE ENOUGH TO ENTER

i cant decide if this is smart and practical or really creepy

that is some powerful simulation

Idk if it’s just saving on fight animation, but while their powers are cool, the actual fighting technique doesn’t seem equal to what we’ve seen from vivio and einhart

gods

please get hurt less

where did that bandaid come from?!

~tempting faaaate~

SHES BITING THROUGH CHAIN?!!!

Oh no wait shes pulling on it with her teeth

That’s… more reasonable, I guess?

Still fucking badass

this is gonna be brutal

yup.

also, anime nosebleed

awwww

i love harry’s emotionally supportive girl gang

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT YOU HURT YOURSELF

this idiot

For some mysterious totally not screen-time related reason

That said, I do like them establishing that vivio&co are unusually talented even by this competition’s standards. I’d have a hard time buying that there are that many fighters on their caliber in the tournament

because as is well known the inter-middle tournament involves fighting buses

she’s just from a completely different samurai anime than everyone else

magic infused or something?

...no

Oh fuck. 

Okay, scary sword girl vs. the wolkenritter’s student

…and whichever of them wins, vivio still has to fight

I feel like I have a lot in common with this announcer man

Is this like a general shyness thing, or an actual issue, or something minor that you’ve made into an actual issue…?

come to think of it, she mentioned leaving the tournament a year ago before she could fight victoria. did she also skip out on fighting mica? or was something in her fight with mica why she left

also, kudos to micaiah for having a sensible nickname

call and...

... response

the purpose of having a gang is to force your friends to be supportive of each other

How many times do you think vita’s gotten mistaken for a contestant? Actually, how many times do you think she’s got asked if she’s old enough to compete?

aww

in nanoha terms, i’m pretty sure this counts as a love confession

Oh yeah, vivio&co have a personal connection to both contestants. That’s gotta be awkward

Also, does everyone bring an entourage to this tournament?

Actually, considering zafira and vita are there, it looks like you get a couple helpers (which I think is a thing in actual fighing tournaments), and presumably most people have a coach or friend or parent, we just happen to have seen a bunch of fighters with minions

~tempting faaaate~

Okay, I get the whole “magic doesnt cause actual injuries, we just simulate them” but like micaiah isn’t using magic. That’s a real sword.

Well that’s a hell of a lot of damage from one attack. I don’t think Miura can afford to be hit again at all. 

I mean, I don’t know about her but I’m definitely thinking that

haven’t mentioned this before, but miura’s outfit with the heavy shinguards is really cool and well-suited to her fighting style

pot meet kettle

miura backstory! and yeah, this makes a lot of sense. she’s very cheerful, but the way she’s nervous all the time and latches onto team nakajima so quickly makes her seem pretty isolated form her peers

and here we can see a demonstration of why carrying swords of different lengths is useful. Miura’s within the reach of Mica’s longer sword, so she switches to the shorter one to drive her back

fancy kick coming up!

Sword draw? Since she doesn’t seem to have one, I’m guessing it’s a kick that uses similar principles. Now the question is, is Miura’s secret weapon a technique that happens to be similar in principle to Mica’s fighting style, or is it a copying technique?

1) this is a very pretty shot

2) it would be really funny if instead of powering up her own sword draw, mica just ran over there and stabbed miura before she can power up the breaker

Didn’t seem to do a whole lot of damage for a special move

Oh ok, she can keep kicking like that for a while

Disadvantage of using a weapon: it can be broken

its pretty interesting that the show sets up various rematches and rivalries and thematic fights that can’t all happen by the design of the tournament. it makes the fights a lot more suspenseful when there would be plot and character reasons for either side to win

...remember what i said about how wanting to fight people in nanoha is basically a love confession?

[iminyourhandskara]

Chasing Cars - A Perfect Reality, pt. 2

pt. 1: https://iminyourhandskara.tumblr.com/post/174406736444/a-perfect-reality-karamel-drabble-word-count

_____________

It had been a month now since Kara and Mon-El visited Argo City, they had just defeated Reign and that Kryptonian priestess that had deceived them, after separating the worldkiller from Sam. Alura had decided to live in Argo City, since her people needed her, but promised that she would've found a way to visit her daughter on Earth from time to time.

Before they said goodbye, Mon-El asked Alura if she could show them the most beautiful parts of the city and she accepted with pleasure. There were a lot of museums and galleries, sacred altars, huge libraries and wide playgrounds. “We should definitely have a pic nic here!” Kara exclaimed happily.

“A pic nic?” “It means having lunch outside, sitting on the grass, having fun?” “That sounds like a great idea.” Alura agreed, Mon-El nodded, but his quietness was not normal for him.

He actually spoke only a few times, having a lot on his mind, actually, on his heart. He couldn't get his feelings for Kara out, every word just couldn't explain how much he loved her. Imra and Mon-El were actually done, they talked about it when she came back to help Supergirl and the DEO and she wasn't surprised at all. Mon-El was desperately in love, and he was already feeling Kara slip away from him.

They headed back home to take everything they needed to eat:

“Kara, if you go to the second room on the right, you should find a basket for the food and everything else we need. Mon-El, do you wanna help me in here?” “Of course, ma'am.” “Please, call me Alura.”

He nodded and walked in the room with her.

“Are you alright?” “Yes, why?” He had become good at answering this question with a lie in the past eight years. ”You've been pretty quiet the entire day. You don't seem like a quiet type.” “Ah, no.. I'm fine, it's all good.” “Is it about Kara?” He widened his eyes at her name's mention. “I don't think it's a good idea to talk about it..with you. I hope you can understand.” “You can tell me, I'm not gonna judge you or anything. Since it involves my daughter, I just would like to know if I should be worried or not.” “You shouldn’t worry, Kara is fine, Kara is great.” “But you're not.” Mon-El's gaze dropped to the floor, shaking his head. “We're in a complicated situation.” He took a shaky breath before continuing. “Over a year ago, actually, eight years for me, we fell in love. We were really..in love. Then, the Daxamites invaded Earth and the only way to stop them was to use a lead diffuser, so..we had to separate, Kara sent me away in a pod and I got into a black hole, a disruption, that took me in the 31st century. I spent seven years there, I created a Legion of Superheroes to honor your daughter, following what she taught me; then Earth and Titan needed to be united, so Titan could become our ally and..I got into an arranged marriage with this woman from Titan, Imra. Over time, I grew to love her and I got.. used to that new reality, thinking I would never see Kara again.” “But then you saw her again.” “And it had only been seven months for her..I put her through so much pain. There was nothing I could do. I didn't want to hurt Imra, I didn't want to hurt Kara..Kara doesn't know that it was a marriage for political reasons, and at first, Imra didn't know I was in love with Kara again, but it didn't take much to see it after a few months.” “It seems like you really need to unburden yourself, Kara deserves to know the truth and you deserve to be free from this weight.” “It's just so hard for me. What if it's pointless? What if I end up being more heartbroken than I was before?” “Well, you'll never know if you never try.” Alura patted his back, “For what it's worth, I saw the way she looks at you. I don't think she's over you, either. Talk to her, tonight.” Mon-El inhaled a deep breath, realizing it was now or never. “I will, thank you.”

The glimpse of hope Alura had given him cheered him up a little, so he gradually grew more talkative as the day went on, they had fun eating outside and admiring Argo City's beauty. When the afternoon arrived, Alura went home and left Kara and Mon-El alone; “I think I wanna buy some sort of souvenir from here.” “It's not gonna be our last time here, we'll visit anytime we want.” The fact that Kara referred to both of them made Mon-El feel excited. “Still, I had a great time here so far, I wanna cherish these days.” “Yeah..Me too.” Their eyes locked for a little too long, and they forgot about where they were and everyone else around them, until a voice called them from a distance.

“Mon-El! Kara!” It was Val, running towards them with a huge smile. “Val, hi! You're so much taller than the last time we saw each other!” “Oh my, you've grown up!” They got into a big group hug and both Kara and Mon-El felt butterflies being so close; they haven't really held each other ever since he returned to the 21st century and to be honest, they craved affection and that feeling of belonging that they only felt in each other's arms.

Val started talking of all the things he’s done ever since they last met, all the things he couldn’t do before being cured by Mon-El: Kara actually noticed his happiness and emotion in his teary eyes, and she felt so, so proud of the man standing in front of her. Ever since Mon-El and Imra had officially broken up, Kara had to be strong and try everything she could to not jump into his arms and kiss him, she didn’t know if he was actually suffering because of his ex wife: sadly, he had become way too good at bottling thing up inside, and she thought she had been a champion in that.

The three of them walked towards Val’s mother’s stand, Kara greeted her for the first time and she looked back at the daughter of Zor-El with awe and gratitude, she also hugged Mon-El warmly, constantly thanking him for what he had done for them, “Life has become so much easier for us since that afternoon.” She confessed tearfully. “We gave the device to another kid with the same illness, then he gave it to one of his cousins and..a chain began forming. You’ve started something beautiful, you’ve changed our lives forever, Mon-El, you’ve changed Argo City for the better.”

The superhero just bowed his head and said a quiet “Thank you.” For the first time, Kara vocalized that one thought she’s had ever since he had returned. “I am proud of you.” Mon-El knew that Kara was proud of him, but hearing her actually saying that caught him by surprise. Then, they exchanged those loving looks they only made for each other, “Guys, I have something for you.” The woman interrupted them, “Take these, I made these with Val specifically for you. Actually, Val made them, I helped him just a bit.” They giggled as she gave them a box, the note read “From Val and Zahyra, forever thankful.”

They both opened their gifts, revealing two silver bracelets, Kara’s one had a rocketship and a flower shaped charms, Mon-El’s had two stars and a hand charm. “Yours symbolizes coming back home, while yours symbolizes travelling and helping those in need.” “Thank you so much, I love it.” Kara kissed Val’s cheek and hugged Zahyra, then Mon-El did the same thing, “I’ll never take this off!” he added.

“I think we should go now, it’s getting late, we should head home.” “Yeah, thank you for your hospitality and these gifts, again.” Kara and Mon-El said goodbye to their friends and started walking, “Wait, are we actually heading home? I thought we could walk some more..” “It’s alright, it’s even better.” She agreed to his request. They went back to the same park they had been earlier to have lunch, it was completely deserted now; Kara lay down on the grass and Mon-El lay right next to her: they didn’t say anything, they looked at the stars, breathing slowly.

"You were so happy today, with Val. I've never seen you like this, you're really good with him." "Thank you. You're great with kids, too." Then silence, again.

“It’s funny, isn’t it? We’ve traveled light years away, different dimensions, met new people, changed our lives forever, just to be back to where everything changed to begin with: Krypton. With you.” "It's unbelievable how our paths crossed, you fell on Earth and changed my life completely. Then you had to leave..but you came back." "I did...Do you think our lives are cursed?" Mon-El broke the tension, they both chuckled, their eyes still on the constellations. "You have no idea of how many times I've asked myself that question. But after thinking about it for a while, no, I don't think so." "We've been pretty lucky, actually. Maybe 'blessed' is a more appropriate word, at least for me." "That's a strong word..why?" "I like to think that meeting you was a blessing. I'm not really into religion or something, but it is, whether it was Rao himself, fate or some other divinity."

For the first time, Mon-El wasn't looking at the sky anymore, but at the girl from Krypton next to him. Kara gulped, he finally said "Thank you for changing my life. For changing me." "I didn't believe in fate, but when it comes to us, it's hard not to." Kara smiled back at him, the weight of the truth was starting to hurt him. "We've never really talked about my seven years in the 31st century, because I didn't want to hurt you or.. anyone else." "You mean Imra?" The tension started appearing again in her voice.

"I followed your example, your lessons for all those years.." Mon-El managed to change topic, 'it is now or never', he thought again. "I know." "No, no. You don't know, Kara. I've had to sacrifice my happiness for the well-being of the universe, I've had to sacrifice my right to choose who I wanted to spend my life with for Earth's safety." Kara heard that his voice was getting choked up with tears, she began to worry and to realize that Mon-El had been through so much more than she could've imagined before. "Mon-El..what happened?" Her question came out as a soft whisper, like a caress.

"Kara.. I- I didn't fall in love with Imra, I didn't ask her to marry me, I didn't plan to marry her. We've had to get married to avoid a war between her planet and Earth, we had to form an alliance. Then.. a day became a week, a week became a month, a month became a year, and I started convincing myself that there was no way for me to be with you again. So, I picked the choice that made me feel less miserable..I stayed with Imra and I did care for her and love her, but in the end..we both knew that my heart belonged to someone else."

Kara was at a loss of words, she couldn't understand if she was imagining all of this, she didn't know how she was supposed to react, the only thing she knew was that her heartbeat started speeding up: Mon-El closed his eyes and inhaled a deep breath, Kara took his hand in hers, her thumb softly stroking his skin, like a silent promise that everything was gonna be okay. The days of the sadness and helplessness were over. She didn't want to say anything, it wasn't necessary after all: Mon-El wasn't crying anymore, his hand was still tangled with her hand.

“I'm sorry I reacted this way,” he wiped away one tear on his cheek. “I didn't mean to.” “Are you kidding me? Never apologize for how you're feeling.” Now the tears were pinching her eyes, Kara had never seen him being this vulnerable, she was so used to his new stone cold appearance,she could've never told that he was in so much pain. So, what now? Did that mean they actually had a chance to be together? Did he have to go back to the future because the Legion needed him?

“Mon-El?” “Yeah?” “Do you have to go?” Hearing that question was like taking a knife right to the stomach. “I should.” “And..do you want to go?” “Do you want me to?” Both their voices were shaking. “No. Stay.. please.” They looked straight into each other's eyes, fear and sadness were mixed to love and desire, the tension between them had shifted; a soft smile appeared on his face, just one word escaped his lips: “Comets.”

Mon-El kissed her like he was dying to erase the space between the two of them, like his life depended on this one kiss, he didn't wanna spend another second without kissing her and adoring her and making her feel loved: Kara had missed the softness of his mouth on hers, she really thought that only a miracle could bring him back into her life; his beard was something new she already liked feeling on her skin. The kiss they shared was passionate but gentle like their very first one; it was like drinking a glass of water after wandering in the desert for years on the verge of death, it was like feeling alive for the first time after a long coma you couldn't wake up from, it was like the sun had come out from the clouds after years of darkness, that's how kissing him for the first time, for the second time felt like.

They looked at each other for a few seconds, completely enamored, their smiles couldn't be contained, “Hi.” Mon-El whispered. “Hi.” “I love you, I…love you.” It felt so good to say it out loud again, to say it without a broken heart. “I love you, too.” Kara's grin just grew wider, it was unbelievable how they had found each other again, but this time, they weren't going to let each other go: heroes deserved to breathe too, they deserved to be happy. Suddenly, it was like the Daxamite invasion had never happened, they were laughing and hugging under the stars, talking like one of those nights binge-watching TV shows on the couch; Kara hid her face in the crook of Mon-El's neck thinking that this was how peace felt like.

It was getting late and they didn't want Alura to worry, so they headed back to her place, they found her awake, reading a book on the couch. "Oh, finally here you are!" "Sorry, we just lost track of time.." Mon-El scratched his head, feeling his cheeks burning. "I see.." Alura smiled back at the two lovebirds, knowingly. "I'm going to sleep now, good night." "Good night, mom." "Good night." They felt like two teenagers who had been caught kissing. As soon as she left, Kara whispered: "Does she know something?" "Eh.." "Mon-El?" "She asked me what was wrong this morning and..I told her everything." Mon-El wasn't sure on how Kara was gonna react to that revelation. "Oh, wow." "She was the one who gave me enough courage to talk to you, I was scared out of my mind." "Well, thank Rao for my mom, then." Kara smiled sheepishly. "Yeah." He smirked kissing her lips.

"Come to my bedroom." "What? No, Kara, it would be too embarrassing if-" "Hey, relax, my mom knows already, so it's okay, right?" "Right." Kara was right, in fact, when Alura went to wake them up, she had found them holding each other in their sleep with the most angelic faces she had seen; she hated herself for having to interrupt their peace.

For a mother, seeing her daughter so happy after a long time was the greatest thing, Alura knew they had something special, it had been hard for them, but they managed to find each other again. “Kara? Mon-El? Wake up, you have to go home!”

_____ A year and a half later.. _____

Kara usually visited Argo City twice a month, but for her safety she hadn’t been able to travel from planet to planet for almost six months: her and Mon-El had been better than ever, he officially moved in with her about a month after they got back together, and got engaged exactly a year later: he was finally able to choose his own mate. After tests and more tests, Eliza and Alex gave Kara and Mon-El the green light to head back to Argo City; a baby on the way was something new for all of them and they wanted to be extremely careful, especially Mon-El and Alex, but on the other hand, Kara and Eliza always thought that there weren’t any risks for both the mother and the baby. “Ready to go?” “Bangarang!”

Mon-El started the engine and quickly, they were flying over the atmosphere. When they landed on their destination, Alura welcomed them home with a warm hug, she was so excited for her grandchild, plus, she hadn’t seen a pregnant woman in so long and she found that fascinating: the last time she had visited Earth was four months earlier and Kara’s baby bump was barely visible. After changing into more comfortable clothes, Kara remembered,“We have to visit Zahyra and Val, we haven’t seen them in so long!” “Yeah, I wonder how they’re doing..Plus, they’ll be really happy to see that neither of us have taken off our bracelets.” “Let’s go!” “Remember, you can’t run too much, take it slow.” “Yes, I know that.” Kara huffed, sometimes being pregnant was too much, she felt like she was a baby herself, it was already pretty depressing to stay at home and away from her superhero duties: she knew that Mon-El, J’onn and Alex had her back, though. “And also, we’re not on Earth, we don't have our powers, so you're more likely to get tired more quickly than the usual.” “Babe, I really appreciate you being super protective of me and the baby but please, don't be too paranoid, we've just arrived here.” “Okay, sorry. Oh, by the way Alex gave me a sort of mini yellow sun grenade in case you feel weak.” “Mon-El!” “Sorry!!” Luckily, nothing really changed on Argo City, the market was still the same, so it was easy for them to find Zahyra’s stand.

“Mon-El! Kara! Oh Rao, you're pregnant! Congratulations!” “Thank you so much!” “How do you feel?” “I feel great, but I wish that somebody wasn't so paranoid of every move I do. I don’t need a sitter!” Mon-El sighed, “Yeah, yeah, you're gonna miss all this attention when the baby is born.” He winked and kissed Kara's cheek, which made her laugh; “Where's Val?” he added, finally. “He's in school, he started a few months ago. To think I had given up on the idea of him attending a school and I was already struggling to find enough money to pay a private teacher to come at our home… He's having a great time there, he found many friends in a short time.” “That's great to hear, Zahyra.” The couple smiled contently, “He should finish in one hour, what do you think about surprising him?” The mother proposed. “What do you mean?” Kara had a puzzled look, the space between her eyebrows crinkled. “Do you wanna go pick him up from school? I'm sure he will be extremely happy to see you after a long time!” “That sounds like a great idea!” Mon-El exclaimed with excitement, he had missed his little friend. “I'd love to!”

Val’s face literally lit up as soon as he recognized his friends, he rushed to hug them: Val started talking about the things he had learned in class so far, he was particularly attracted by science, it was his favorite subject. Mon-El thought about the very first time he saw him, his heart filled with sadness as he watched him sitting down next to his oxygen machine. Suddenly he asked Kara: “What's in your stomach?” The big bump couldn't go unnoticed, especially when it came to a very curious kid. “There's a baby in here. Me and Mon-El are having a baby!” “Woaahhh..” “Do you think it's a boy or a girl?” Mon-El asked that question to almost everyone who met them; the child put his index on his chin, clearly concentrated on his reply: “A girl.” “We're on the same team then, Kara still thinks it's a boy.” “I can feel the baby move, do you wanna feel it?” Val nodded vehemently, so Kara took his hand and placed it on her stomach. “They really like you, the baby has never moved like this.” Mon-El stroked the bump as well; he had already felt the baby move and kick in multiple occasions, but every time it happened, it made him emotional like the very first time.

For one second, they both closed their eyes and their minds traveled back to a year and a half prior that day, when in the same spot with the same people, she was fantasizing about something she thought she could've never had, and his heart ached for the same reason. Luckily, fate was kind enough to grant their wishes: to be together, to be able to balance a superhero life and the one of a normal person, to get through the hardships hand in hand, to start a family, to live that utopia that once seemed so far away, but now was their perfect reality.

__________________

back by popular demand, here’s the sequel to a perfect reality, i definitely wasnt expecting all that love for that tiny one shot! 

thank you for all your kind words, i hope that this hasn’t let you down. let me know what you guys thought about this in my inbox or reblogs!❤️❤️

[spandexinspace]

ok my notifs are still fukced but i think u reblogged the dc asks. u should answer all of them

Haha, yeah, probably my fault, I reblogged it but then I removed it (I also sent you an ask earlier but idk if you received it or Tumblr ate it?). But let’s do this thing!

1.“Duet” from the Flash or “Mayheim of the Music Meister” from Batman the Brave and the Bold?

Mayhem of the Music Meister. Great stuff.

2. Do you like the arrowverse? If so what’s your favorite show?

Nope, not at all.

3. First comic read? 

Either the tie-in comic for Teen Titans (Teen Titans Go, ironically enough?) or the tie-in comic for the Legion cartoon.

4. What introduced you to the DC universe? Was it a show, comic or movie?

The cartoons. I used to watch the DCAU at my aunt’s house because I was only allowed to stay up late enough to watch them when we were over at her house, and then later on I would watch the TT cartoon at my own house because it was on at a more resonable time. 

5. Favorite character?

I mean, probably Querl. 

6. Favorite canon ship?

Salu/Ayla, I think. Maybe Pink Lightning. I don’t ship either of them super hard but they’re good ships.

7. Favorite non-canon ship?

Querl/Lyle, to absolutely no one’s surprise.

8. Pre-N52 or N52? 

Pre-n52 so hard. Not much good came out of the n52 and it killed a whole lot of good.

9. Rebirth or N52?

Early Rebirth? Like, the first year to year and a half were great, but right now it’s starting to become very meh again. Snyder and Bendis are not good, King is incredible hit and miss and Johns’ shit is taking too goddamn long and hogging so many good characters.

10. Death in the Family or Death of Superman?

I’m not a huge fan of either of them, to be honest. I guess DitF is at least a little shorter?

11. Favorite live action movie? 

I haven’t watched the older stuff, but probably one of those. Or nothing at all.

12. Favorite animated movie?

It’s a tie between Crisis on Two Earths and GL: Emerald Knights.

13. DCEU or DCAU?

DCAU all the way, it is so much better even at its worst.

14. Favorite member of the trinity?

Superman. I love his supporting cast and how much of a straight laced farm boy he manages to be even as one of the world’s most powerful men.

15. Dark trinity or trinity?

Trinity.

16. Outsiders or Titans?

I haven’t actually ever read a full Titans run, I just can’t seem to get hooked on them. Not that I’m a fan of the OG Outsiders either, but the second team were pretty great while they lasted.

17. Teen Titans or Young Just Us?

I have read most of YJ, so due to the above mentioned reason it’d have to be them. I didn’t really love YJ either, which is weird because it feels like I fall in love with almost every teen team Marvel puts out, but most of DC’s just don’t seem to stick in the same way.

18. Favorite animated show? 

Batman the Brave and the Bold. It’s funny and has a lot of re-watch value even though it might not be the deepest show.

19. Favorite superhero family?

I guess the Doxs don’t count on account of producing like 1.2 superheroes in five generations.

The Superfamily. Good people, nice family interaction and appropriate amounts of uninvited stepfathers.

20. Young justice(show) or Teen Titans(show)?

TT is good nostalgia, but it hasn’t aged all that well. Faux anime isn’t a good look in 2018. YJ is more fun to watch right now but is slightly less enjoyable as a whole.

21. Do you watch Teen Titans Go?

I’ve seen some episodes, but I have since stopped caring.

22. Favorite Robin?

Tim.

23. So you prefer Superman and Wonder Woman or Batman and Wonder Woman? 

No.

24. If you had total control what would you change?

Almost everything? As of right now I’d probably limit Snyder and Bendis�� control over anything but a very small sliver of the universe, either find an additional artist for Gary Frank or a way for him to speed up his artistry, cancel Superheroes in Crisis or whatever it’s called and launch a few new books (Booster Gold and L.E.G.I.O.N., off the top of my head).

25. Batgirl or oracle?

Oracle.

26. Whos your favorite batgirl?

No one. 

27. Batgirl and the birds of Prey or Redhood and the Outlaws?

RatO, marginally.

28. Favorite comic run?

L.E.G.I.O.N.+R.E.B.E.L.S. or DnA’s Legion Lost.

29. Favorite comic artist?

Francis Manapul and Olivier Coipel.

30. Favorite comic writer?

I’m not entirely sure to be honest. Bedard and Johns are good, and Giffen is great when he’s on top of his game. 

31. Do you like the joker?

Nope, not in the least. He should be dead.

32. Who do you think is the most overused or overrated characters?

Batman, the Joker and Harley Quinn share that title. None of them are really interesting enough to warrant the popularity they have and I don’t get what people see in them, especially not the latter two. You’ve got droves of cool sci-fi characters who do all kinds of shit, but for some reason people want to read 50 different and usually not particularly good books about them instead.

33. Batman the animated series or Superman the animated series?

STAS.

34. Legion of Superheros or Batman Beyond?

LoSH and I will fist fight anyone who says anything else.

36. Justice league or Justice league Unlimited?

I kind of view them as the same thing, and they both have high and low points. JL does have Comfort and Joy though.

37. The Batman or beware the Bat?

Haven’t seen either.

38. Who do you think is the most overlooked or underused character?

Vril and his unwilling group of not-friends. They could have been a good counterweight to the GLC that appeared from time to time, but instead they seem to have gotten thrown into limbo. (Yes, they had awful sales but it’s not my fault that people have shit taste.)

39. Do you watch Gotham?

No.

40. Do you like marvel?

The company or Billy? Yes on both accounts though.

41. Jon kent or Damian Wayne?

Jon, even if he can be a bit annoying at times.

42. Renee Montoya or Vic Sage 

Vic, but they’re best as a team.

43. Kate Kane and Renee Montoya or Apollo and Midnighter?

Apollo/Midnighter

44. Barry Allen or Wally West?

Barry, though I don’t care that much.

45. Kara Zor-El, Stephanie Brown or Cassie sandsmark? 

Kara.

46. Kord Industrues, Wayne Tech or Lex Corp?

Lex Corp is more fun as a company? Because Lex is a huge bastard who actually uses his company for something and interacts with it and his underlings on a regular basis.

47. If you could have any characters powers who’s would you have?

Shape shifting akin to how the Durlans do it. 

48. Favorite villain?

Brainiac or Lex. Brainiac is cool because of his aesthetic and general behaviour, but Lex is just the best kind of petty bastard on a personal level. Brainiac is a somewhat predictable character while Lex can do almost anything as long as he thinks it will hurt or piss of Superman.

49. DC Bombshells, Injustice or Kingdom come?

Bombshells is pretty, Kingdom Come is actually readable.

50. Injustice or the Arkham Asylum?

Injustice has Querl? I haven’t played either though, they’re not my kind of thing (because they’re not the same four rpgs I’ve replayed 11 times already).

51. Justice League or League of Assassins?

The JL, all the way. How is that even a competition.

[bananannabeth]

Favorite

When Karen Wheeler runs into Steve Harrington at the supermarket and finds out that he's home alone, she does what any good mother would do and invites him to dinner with her family. It's definitely not awkward, because Nancy has gone out with Jonathan for the night, which makes things better, not worse. Right?

Mike doesn't think so.

Read on Ao3

And read this fic first, probably

In the past, shopping had been Karen Wheeler’s favorite thing to do.

Now, it was just another chore to be ticked off the list.

She was overwhelmed, trying to get a week’s worth of groceries, plus some new clothes for Mike because he was outgrowing them faster than she could buy them, and the same for Holly, who wasn’t much better, and Nancy had asked for a new eyeshadow palette, and Ted had requested a full roast for dinner, and Karen had been the one left to buy all of it, on her own.

Well, almost on her own. Holly was on her hip, crying because she didn’t understand that the lipstick samplers weren’t crayons with which she could draw on the floor.

“Holly, come on, baby, you’re all right, everything’s okay,” Karen said soothingly, bouncing her hip a little as she reached for Ted’s favorite cereal and threw it into the cart.

Holly just wailed louder in response, and Karen was honestly this close to giving in to that wine sale and getting herself a few bottles.

It had been a week since her discussion with Chief Hopper, El, Mike and Nancy. A week since she’d discovered exactly how much she’d missed out on over the last two years, exactly how much danger her children had been in, exactly how much she owed them - all of them - for everything they’d done.

It was a bit much, to be honest.

And so Karen had sworn off the wine that had accompanied her through the painful months where her family had drifted away, and had promised to be more present and alert and helpful than ever before.

Her children had promised the same.

Right up until the moment she’d asked them to come shopping with her. Then, all of a sudden Mike had this big project he had to work on for school, and Nancy had promised Jonathan she’d see a movie with him and she really couldn’t bail, that would have been so rude.

So Karen thought she might be entitled, really, to just one bottle of wine.

She rubbed her forehead and tried again to calm Holly down, giving her the car keys in an attempt to distract her with something shiny. Holly quieted, shook them once, and then threw them forcefully down the aisle before resuming her crying.

“No, Holly!” Karen took a deep breath, feeling like crying herself. “Please don’t throw things.”

She started forward to collect the keys, but someone beat her to it.

“Hey, Mrs. Wheeler,” Steve Harrington said with a smile, swinging her car keys from his index finger. He was wearing jeans and a worn bomber jacket that was too big on his shoulders, like it had been passed down to him from someone broader and older.

“Steve,” she said, smiling back. “Hi.”

“These yours?” he asked, holding the keys out to her.

She took them and sighed. “Yes, thank you. Holly decided it’d be fun to throw them.”

“Aw, you practicing your pitching, huh?” Steve said, smiling at Holly and wiggling his fingers at her.

To Karen’s immense relief, her daughter stopped crying and stared at him in silence. He went to pull his hand back and she grabbed for his fingers, giggling. He let her hold his hand, pulling on his fingers, and Karen felt like she could breathe for the first time this entire shopping trip.

“Thank you,” she said.

“No problem. I’ve been told I have a way with kids.” Steve’s tone was light, joking and casual, but his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“How are you doing?” Karen asked, pushing her cart over to the side so they weren’t blocking the whole aisle. “I haven’t seen you in awhile.”

“Yeah, uh.” He rubbed the back of his neck, obviously uncomfortable with the implications of that. “I’ve been… you know, I’ve been busy. A few things popped up unexpectedly.”

It had taken a little while for Karen to warm up to Steve. Before meeting him, she knew him as the boy who had encouraged her previously sweet and studious daughter to sneak out to a party and have sex with him, which is not the best of first impressions. But Nancy had insisted that he was a good guy, and when he’d come around to the Wheelers’ he’d been nothing but charming. He’d won Karen over with his offers to help with the cooking and the dishes, and won Ted over with his talk of basketball and football and all the things that Mike had no interest in whatsoever.

And it had been clear that he was besotted with Nancy; he smiled whenever he looked at her, and had gone out of his way to help with anything she’d asked. He’d been a good boyfriend, and so when Steve had stopped coming round and Jonathan had started, Karen had been more than a little surprised.

She hesitated for a moment, wondering if she’d be crossing a boundary, but then decided that in this strange new world she apparently occupied, boundaries were more like guidelines anyway. “I heard that your parents are away again? Another big business trip?”

“Yeah, yeah, they’ve gone down to Florida for a bit.”

“So you’re home alone at the moment?”

“Well, sort of, it’s actually -” Steve was interrupted by a shriek from the end of the aisle. He spun around, instantly on alert, but relaxed when he saw Dustin dropping some of the numerous packets of Nilla Wafers, 3 Musketeers and Eggos he was attempting to carry. “Dude, how many times do I have to tell you to get a basket?”

“You’ve got the basket, you were meant to meet me over there,” Dustin countered, tucking a box under his chin as he bent down to collect one of the fallen ones. He didn’t notice Karen until he’d straightened up, at which point he beamed and hurried forward so fast that he almost dropped all of his food again. “Mrs. Wheeler, hey! Fancy seeing you here!”

“Hello, Dustin,” she said warmly.

Holly let go of Steve’s hand and reached for the box of Eggos on top of Dustin’s pile, snatching it and hugging it to her chest. “Eggos!” she exclaimed happily.

“Sorry,” Karen apologised, not daring to take it off her for fear of another round of tears. “She’s become quite fond of them lately. They’re her new favorite food.”

Dustin laughed as he tipped the rest of his stash into the basket Steve was holding. “Gee, I wonder why.”

Karen’s smile was sweet. “Mhmm, we should probably stock up on them, too.”

There was a momentary silence, the three of them standing in the cereal aisle of Hawkins’ supermarket, before Karen finally gathered her courage and said, “Steve, you know you’re welcome over anytime. I don’t know what’s happening with you and Nancy -”

He winced.

“Sorry,” she said quietly. “But really, I know… I know things haven’t been the easiest lately, and I know how lonely it can be being home alone, so feel free to come over anytime, okay?”

Steve blinked at her, processing her words. He glanced down at Dustin and then back to her, gesturing vaguely. “You - you know -?”

“Dude!” Dustin grabbed his elbow, tugging on it excitedly. “You’ve just been invited to dinner with Mrs. Wheeler, you don’t say no to that!”

Steve lightly hit his hand away. “Dustin, don’t be presumptuous, she’s not inviting me over right now -”

“Actually,” Karen interrupted, and both boys turned to her, Steve wary and Dustin excited. “I’m cooking a roast tonight, but Nancy isn’t home, so there’ll be more than enough, if you wanted to join?”

“Yes!” Dustin punched the air. “Mrs. Wheeler, we would be honored -”

“Shut up!” Steve shushed him, waving a hand in front of his face. “You weren’t even invited.”

Karen laughed. “Dustin’s always invited. With the amount of time those boys spend in my basement, I always just assume they’ll be staying for dinner.”

“See?” Dustin said, pulling a face at Steve, who rolled his eyes in response.

“Really, Mrs. Wheeler, that’s very kind of you, but -”

“Steve,” Dustin whined. “It’s a roast! A Karen Wheeler roast, you don’t understand -”

Steve did understand, as he’d been present for many Sunday roasts with the Wheeler family, but he didn’t mention it, and so Karen didn’t either.

He rolled his head back, groaning, and Karen was struck suddenly by the familiarity in the boys’ interactions. “You’re not going to shut up about this, are you?”

“As much as I love your cooking, I’m a little sick of pasta,” Dustin said.

Steve looked offended. “You said you loved my spaghetti! You had three servings!”

“I did love it! But it’s a roast, man. My favorite.” Dustin shrugged his shoulders, as if to say, I can’t help it.

“It’s no problem, really,” Karen insisted as Holly shook the Eggos in the box.

Steve looked down at Dustin and then back to Karen, and she saw the resignation in his expression. “Okay, I guess that’d be nice.” She wasn’t offended, but he hurriedly amended, “I mean, I’m sure it’ll be lovely. If you’re - uh, if you’re sure that Nancy’s not home…?”

Karen wisely decided specifics weren’t required. “She’s definitely out.”

“Okay.” Steve put his shoulders back and flipped his hair out of his eyes, transforming into the confident young man she’d met all those months ago. “Okay, we’ll see you tonight, then, Mrs. Wheeler.”

It was 6.15 and Karen was just starting the process of mashing the potatoes when there was a knock at the door.

“Mike, can you get that?” she called, searching through the fridge for the butter, which she’d just used, so why wasn’t it at the front where she’d put it?

“Got it, Mom!” Mike called back, and there was the sound of two sets of feet running up from the basement to the front door.

Just as Karen found the butter, Mike opened the door, and she heard the confusion in his voice when he said, “Steve?”

“Hey, Mike,” Steve said, sounding just as awkward. “Hi, El.”

“Heya, Mike! El! Nice to see you on this most pleasant of evenings,” Dustin greeted.

There was the sound of the door closing, and then a very confused Mike. “Uh - What are you guys doing here?”

“Well, um, it’s sort of a funny story,” Steve began, but Dustin cut him off.

“Your mom invited us to dinner,” he said casually, voice getting louder as he neared the kitchen. He stuck his head in, curly hair flopping to the side as he tilted his head, and beamed at Karen as she mashed the potatoes. “Good evening Mrs. W! It smells delicious, I must say.”

“Mom!” Mike appeared beside him, El at his elbow. “Why are Dustin and Steve here for dinner?”

“I ran into them at the grocery store and Steve told me that his parents are away again, so I invited them over for some real food. Not just more pasta or Eggos,” Karen said innocently.

El looked offended. “No Eggos?”

Mike scrunched his face up. “But Nancy’s not here.”

“Duh,” Dustin muttered, and El looked at him, bewildered.

“I know, sweetheart,” Karen said, dropping the masher into the sink. “Which means there’ll be enough food for everyone. Can you three go and set the table, please?”

Mike looked set to argue, but both El and Dustin were already making their way over to the cutlery drawer.

Now that Karen knew El’s history, the girl was much more comfortable around her, and seemed very eager to make a good impression. Karen hadn’t thought it possible, but it seemed that Chief Hopper was raising her to be a very polite young lady.

Left with no choice, Mike grabbed the place mats and carried them out to the dining table, huffing the whole way.

Steve appeared in the kitchen as the kids filed out, glancing around. There was a family photo from two Christmases ago on the fridge, and Karen noticed how his eyes lingered on it. It had taken some coaxing, but Nancy had convinced him to join in. He’d been sitting right beside Nancy, their hands clasped on his knee, and the two of them had been beaming into the camera.

He must have felt Karen’s eyes on him, because he cleared his throat and looked away hurriedly. When he spoke his voice was tight, as though every word took great effort to get out. “Do you need help with anything?”

Karen felt a pang of sympathy. “No, thank you, Steve, I think we’re all good to go. You go settle in at the table and tell the kids to do the same, once they’ve finished setting it.”

“Sure thing.” With a mild nod of his head he was gone, and for a second Karen thought maybe she’d done the wrong thing in inviting him over tonight.

But then she heard him in the dining room, voice clear and bright. “Guys, that is not how you set a table. What, were you raised in a barn?”

“A lab,” El quipped, which earned a laugh from Dustin.

Steve just clicked his tongue. “Come on, forks go on the left…”

Ted didn’t seem to notice that it was an odd occurrence for Steve to be joining them for dinner. He happily chatted to him about sport, until Mike audibly groaned and Karen got the hint to change the topic. She thought she’d be safe asking about his new job as a police recruit, and she was rewarded by an enthusiastic response from El, who seemed to enjoy the topic greatly.

“Hopper says you’re one of the best, but he doesn’t want you to know,” she informed Steve as she stabbed a piece of roast.

“Why doesn’t he want him to know?” Dustin asked, brow furrowed.

“He says that your head is already big enough with your hair, he doesn’t want it getting any bigger.” Her tone was matter of fact, and Karen might have thought that she didn’t understand the implications of what she was saying, if not for the cheeky smile she was trying to hide behind her food.

Steve scoffed. “Oh, is that so? Well, you can tell your old man that I’ll take that as a compliment, and that he just wishes he had hair this good.”

El giggled, and Mike laughed, and Dustin took another piece of roast, and Karen decided that this had been a good idea after all.

Until they were eating dessert, that is, and the front door swung open to the sounds of Nancy and Jonathan laughing quietly.

Ted had long since retired to the Lay-Z-Boy, but everyone else was still at the table, and they all froze at the sound. Steve had a spoonful of pudding halfway between his bowl and his mouth, and it would have been comical if not for the terror in his eyes.

“Shit,” Dustin muttered, and Karen couldn’t even blame him.

“Mom, we’re ho - oh my god.” Nancy stopped in the entrance to the dining room, eyes as wide as Steve’s. “Steve? What are you doing here?”

Jonathan appeared behind her, looking around the people at the table before ducking his head and looking stubbornly down at his feet.

When no one else spoke, Karen stepped in. “I invited Steve and Dustin over for dinner after I ran into them at the grocery store today.”

“What? Mom, you can’t just…” Nancy trailed off, shaking her head. She finally asked, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You’ve been out all afternoon.”

Nancy paled. “Yeah, but…”

“Do you want some pudding?” Steve blurted out, holding out his bowl.

Nancy gaped at him.

The kids looked back and forth between them, the whole room silent, until Mike snorted out a laugh. That immediately set Holly and Dustin off, and soon El was laughing, too, and then even Karen couldn’t bear it.

“You guys!” Nancy said, but her exasperation was somewhat ruined by the way her lips quirked up in a smile.

She grabbed Jonathan’s hand and led him over to the table, pushing him into the seat Ted had vacated and dragging a spare chair in from the kitchen. She parked it next to Steve and pulled his bowl over, snatching his spoon and stealing a mouthful of pudding.

Jonathan went to grab El’s, but she swiped it out of reach at the last second. “No Eggos,” she said, narrowing her eyes at him. “So I’m eating all the pudding.”

He laughed and held his hands up in surrender. “Fair enough.”

“There’s more in the kitchen, I’ll get it for you.” Karen started to stand.

But Nancy was up out of her seat first. “Don’t worry, Mom, Jonathan and I can get our own.”

“Uh, yeah.” Jonathan rose, slower than his girlfriend, and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

Nancy gave Steve a pointed look, eyebrows raised, and tilted her chin towards the kitchen. Karen supposed she thought she was being subtle.

“And -” Steve said, drawing the word out as he searched for an excuse, “I will get some more, too, because Nancy stole mine and that’s not fair.”

The three teenagers hurried back into the kitchen, leaving Karen with the kids.

“They’re so weird ,” Mike said, but his tone was more observational than mean.

“Says you, your girlfriend’s drinking her pudding.” Dustin pointed his spoon at El, who had her bowl raised to her lips and was, indeed, attempting to inhale the last few bits of her dessert.

“You’re the one who taught her that!” Mike exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.

“I did not teach her that, I just helped her refine her technique -”

“Oh, it’s the same thing, and you know it.”

“Totally different.”

Karen leant back in her chair, trying to tune the younger kids out in order to hear what Nancy and the boys were saying. Not that she wanted to eavesdrop; she just wanted to make sure they were okay. She’d known that it could have been awkward, inviting her daughter’s ex-boyfriend over for family dinner, but she had really had nothing but the best of intentions.

“- serious, Steve?” Nancy was hissing, and for a moment Karen’s heart dropped.

But then she heard Jonathan laughing lowly. “This is why you ditched us, so you could eat dinner with Nancy’s mom?”

“No!” Steve hissed back. “I mean, it sorta worked out that way, but it wasn’t the plan. I told you I couldn’t go to the movies coz I had to babysit Dustin, and that’s what I was doing when Mrs. Wh - your mom - invited us to dinner. I tried to say, no, really -”

“Steve, it’s totally fine,” Nancy said softly, and Karen exhaled. Maybe it hadn’t been a disaster after all. “I just wasn’t expecting it.”

“Yeah, it was a bit weird to walk in on you having dessert with them,” Jonathan murmured.

“After everything, you still think that counts as weird?” Steve argued.

“That’s probably fair.”

Karen craned her neck, turning her head just enough that she could see them standing in the kitchen, just in time to glimpse Nancy leaning up and giving Steve a kiss on the cheek. “I’m glad you’re here, Steve.”

Karen quickly turned back around, wiping a bit of chocolate sauce from Holly’s chin and smiling to herself. When the teenagers settled back down at the table El was wiping her mouth and the boys were still squabbling, although the topic seemed to have changed now to who had the bigger vocabulary.

“God, do you two ever stop?” Steve asked as he took a bite of his re-filled dessert.

“Steve, who’s smarter, me or Mike?” Dustin asked with the urgency of a life or death matter.

“Mike or I,” Nancy corrected.

“Mike,” El answered immediately, lifting her eyes from her bowl for the first time in minutes.

“I wasn’t asking you, you’re biased,” Dustin snapped, though his tone was gentler than he was with the other boys.

“Oh, like Steve’s not biased.” Mike rolled his eyes.

“Boys, boys, I don’t have favorites,” Steve said, flashing his most charming smile.

“Nancy’s the only one who really doesn’t have a favorite,” Mike muttered, but immediately appeared to regret it.

He went bright red, almost blushing as much as Nancy, and Jonathan and Steve suddenly became very interested in their pudding. Dustin looked absolutely scandalised, looking between the three of them with his jaw dropped.

El just looked lost. “What’s -”

Mike quickly cut her off. “Nothing!” And then, in an embarrassed whisper. “I’ll explain later.”

Nancy reached across the table to hit him on the arm, an action which Karen pointedly pretended she didn’t see.

Karen kept her expression carefully neutral. “Well, now that I know you’re all getting along so well,” she began, only to be cut off by Jonathan choking on a piece of pudding and Steve and Nancy looking at her with alarm, “maybe we should make this a regular thing. A big dinner, I mean.”

Although they tried to play it off, the older kids were obviously still recovering from their embarrassment and couldn’t form a full sentence, stuttering out some syllables that sounded vaguely positive.

El, however, looked totally unfazed by everyone else’s awkwardness. “Yes. With Eggos,” she stated.

“Eggos!” Holly agreed, banging a chocolate covered fist on the table top.

Karen laughed. “All right, we can have Eggos next time. For dessert, though, not the main meal.”

El nodded seriously, as if the matter was settled.

Steve smiled at Karen, although there was still a light pink blush covering his cheeks. “Great idea, Mrs. Wheeler. I think your roast is my new favorite.”

[superman86to99]

Karl Kesel/Tom Grummett Panel Recap!

by @donsparrow

Last month I had the enormous privilege of moderating a panel at 2017’s SaskExpo, a Comics and Pop Culture Convention in Canada.  This panel was a spotlight on the work of two of the show’s biggest creator guests, Tom Grummett and Karl Kesel, who are no doubt familiar to regular readers of the blog.  Here’s the questions I asked, and what I remember of the responses.  Should a full transcript become available, I’ll definitely share it with you.  Overall the panel went well.  I’m sure we would have liked a larger crowd (we were scheduled opposite a panel featuring the great John Rhys-Davies!) but it was certainly a blast on my end.

1. What did you do before comics?  Tell me about getting that first comic gig.

Tom made a very important distinction when answering this one, clarifying that he always made comics, they just weren’t published (or at least not by a major company) which was good to remember—even if no one is paying you, always be making comics.  Both Karl and Tom worked in printing and design while working on their samples, and in Karl’s case in particular, it was his persistence (having moved to New York to be closer to comics publishers) that got him the gig at the start, more than his raw talent.

2. Influences. Since I’m here moderating a panel with two of my heroes, I was curious who your creative heroes were growing up—in comics and outside of comics.  

The big name that came up with both Karl and Tom was unsurprising:  Jack Kirby.  Tom singled out Kirby’s DC work as his entry into comics, while Karl was entranced by the Fantastic Four.

3. The past few years have seen an explosion in superhero films and television shows, including the Doomsday storyline being touched on in Batman v Superman, or a live action Flash taking on King Shark in multiple episodes.  What is it like seeing something you created on-screen?  

With a laugh, both men had to admit they hadn’t seen King Shark on The Flash, as they are not regular viewers of the show, nor did they see Batman v Superman, but they did appreciate that these characters are reaching new audiences.

4. Karl, how was it joining the super-team full-time?  Having inked John Byrne and done those great Newsboy Legion backups, was it like coming home, or were you nervous fitting into the rotating framework that had been up and running for so long?

Karl said that it was a bit of both—he had been a regular reader of the Superman books, and the chance to step in was an attractive challenge.  He then praised the unique storytelling of that era, pointing out that each team had their strengths—Dan Jurgens excelled at action and big picture ideas, Roger Stern was great at character and at finding a satisfying ending to a story.  Louise Simonson was all about heart and emotion, and so, through his strengths, and by default, Karl and Tom’s Adventures became the more light-hearted, sometimes comedic book.  He also said that the transition was pretty seamless and painless, in part because it was such a well-oiled machine by that time.

5. As you may or may not already know, I co-write a weirdly obsessive blog covering your time on the Superman books, and my co-writer on that blog, Max, is from Chile.  When I mentioned I’d be moderating this panel, he wanted me to ask you: by any chance, did ever read the old Spanish translations of the Silver Age Superboy comics? Because, in those comics Lana Lang's name was (for some reason) translated as "Lina Luna". "Luna" of course means "Moon", so Max had wondered if Tana Moon's name was a reference to that.

This was a fun one.  Karl replied with a flat “no” that he hadn’t read any Spanish language translations of any comics, but when I explained the Tana Moon/Lana Lang connection, he thought that it was a very cool coincidence, and then, jokingly, answered that, yes, it had all been planned, intentionally.

6. How do you feel about the industry as a whole?  Of course we hear the stories of sales declines, but we’re also in a time where comics can be a lot more democratic—properties like Section Zero can be brought back through the fans directly by crowdfunding.  In that way, is this not a time of unique opportunity as a creator?

Both creators were very optimistic about the industry, stating that comic sales have always gone up and down, and that there have been scares about the longevity of the medium for as long as they’ve been reading comics.  They also agreed that the ability to connect directly with audiences was an exciting element unique to today’s comics, and that Section Zero is viable with only a few thousand patrons, all passionate about the project, which is different than when it first came out.   Karl detailed that, since the project was creator owned, it also meant that there was no money up-front—the initial issues had to be fronted by the creative teams.  Karl explained that his financial situation changed when he went through a divorce, and so he could no longer afford a comic without a guaranteed paycheck.  But now, through crowdfunding, Karl and Tom are able to pay their bills as they work on completing the project, eliminating the need to put their finances on hold as they had to the first time around.

7. Having worked alongside so many fellow greats in the industry, how did you decide on the lineup for the pinups and extra features in the revival of Section Zero?  And for those here who haven’t heard about it, could you let us know how Mike Weiringo ended up as one of the artists?

The first part of this question, Karl candidly said that he was going with artists that had a large social media following, since online marketing was the main way the Section Zero project would be funded.  He then got into detail about trying to honour Mike Weiringo’s memory, which was previously shared here.  

8. Karl, your run writing Daredevil stands out for being a return to the original wittier, lighthearted version of the character.  Does humour still have a place in comics today?

Karl comedically answered with another flat “yes”.  Then pausing, before elaborating that the great thing about comics is the diversity of tone, and comics should always feel fun.

At this point I started to worry that I was asking too many questions, so we might not get to the audience, so I opened up to the floor for questions.  I was surprised by the first one, which was

“What is Section Zero?” (which I had thought we had covered pretty extensively in the earlier part of the panel) at which point they explained the elevator pitch, which is “X-Files if it was written by Jack Kirby”.  And, honestly, who wouldn’t want to try a comic with that pedigree?

The next question was a funny one, from a local purveyor of comics.  In an earlier answer, Karl detailed that his divorce contributed to Section Zero stopping production.  The questioner pointed out that the Gorilla Press line itself (of which Section Zero was a part) crumbled not long after that, before making the comment “that must have been some divorce”.  

Over laughter, Karl explained, without assigning blame or much detail, that the Gorilla Press funding never came through in the way it was supposed to, and so similar problems arose for each of the other creative teams, of not being able to afford to front the production of the books on the hopes of later sales.  That exhausted the audience questions, so back to mine:

9. Tom, have any of Karl’s scripts contained something so tricky to draw that you wanted to say “Karl, you’re an artist—you should know better!”

Tom was very complimentary in his answer, saying that Karl’s art background made him a great writer, and so he never took issue with anything he had to draw.  Karl echoed this, saying that for whatever reason, he and Tom had always clicked creatively in a very natural way, and that Tom’s design sense made often surpassed what Karl envisioned for the page.  They talked about specific characters from Section Zero, one of whom Karl credited Tom for having wholly created, who quickly became one of Karl’s favorites in the series.

10.  Given the cyclical nature of comics, is it ever frustrating when changes in continuity “erase” a storyline or fact you worked on?  Specifically I was thinking  of the lineage of the Conner Kent Superboy, who was originally a clone of both Superman and Westfield, but was later retconned to be the clone of Superman and Luthor.  

Karl was very diplomatic and generous in his answer, stating that Geoff Johns’ idea of having Lex Luthor be revealed as Kon-El’s donor/father was a stroke of genius, and added a lot to the mythology.  I agreed, but also pointed out how hotly this topic was debated on this very blog, which surprised the panel.  Karl said that for the most part, he didn’t create these characters, either, and so he understood that each writer or artist that follows will make changes to suit the times, and that those changes can be what makes comics exciting.  He hinted at elements behind the scenes, leading me to believe that even Westfield wasn’t Karl’s first choice for Superboy’s lineage, but that at the time DC editorial was very protective of Superman as a character, and so Superboy couldn’t be a straight up clone, according to their edict.  

Tom mentioned elements like the Matrix Supergirl, and echoed Karl’s answer, saying that changes to continuity doesn’t magically erase the comics in your long boxes, they’re still there, with characters waiting to be discovered, or perhaps even used by coming generations of readers or creators.

At this point Tom related a story Karl had told him, of Karl meeting a cosplayer at a convention who was dressed as the Kon-El Superboy.  The cosplayer explained that they had found an old Superboy comic in a dollar bin, never having heard of this version of the character, and fell in love with the story, enough to both dress up as this character, and seek Karl out to thank him for his work. 

(Then I pointed out that my own four year old son had picked Kon-El Superboy as his Halloween costume this year!)

Karl also touched on current comics, saying that he understood the appeal of the new Superboy being the son of Superman, and was at peace and enjoying that storyline, knowing that Kon-El would probably come back someday. 

11. Any other projects you’d like to bring back, maybe via crowdfunding?  I was pretty keen on The Power Company, myself.

Tom and Karl were very clear that for them, the perfect vehicle was, for the present, only Section Zero, and that they had enough stories cooked up to continue with further installments for years to come. 

I ended the panel by thanking Tom and Karl for a lifetime of great comics, and for personally inspiring so much of my interest in the artform and the characters, which they laughed at, taking mock umbrage at the “lifetime” part, protesting that they are very much alive, and that there are many more years of comics to come.

After the panel, both creators were very kind and seemed to have enjoyed taking part.  I was busy at my own table for the rest of the show, so I didn’t have much of a chance to hang with the guys and bother them with my weird, way too specific questions about Superman.  But I want to thank Saskatoon Expo for allowing me to moderate, and of course, Tom and Karl for being such great subjects and creators.  It was a real thrill.

Find out more about Kesel and Grummett’s new comic, Section Zero, here: https://www.panicbuttonpress.com/section-zero