#that random child represents my reaction to the no kiss

[bellusastra]

*coughing sounds*

@strawbubbysugar’s So(u)l chapter 48 (I think??????) scene! Took me a few days cause I procrastinated so much it’s not even funny. OMG ALSO, I gave y/n a nose cause I’m so evil

SHOWER HEAD SUN!!!!

Also,

Poor quality of Y/N on their own cause I like how I drew them and got sad when I erased stuff.

[aleksanderscult]

Analyzing "Demon in the Wood" (book) - Part 4

(Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 5)

Happy New Year and many blessings to you all!! 🎉🎉🎆🎆

This is my first post for 2024 and I couldn't wish for a better one to share ❤️

Not Annika helping him with his weak Fjerdan 🥹🫶😭

He's so excited about the fact that he gained new friends, so hopeful and thrilled with this new turn of events. But he can't help but worry about his mother's reaction once she finds out what he did to Lev.

What if she gets angry?

Or worse, what if she takes him away from here? From the place he found happiness and company after months (or years) of loneliness and melancholy.

This shows to me an extensive anxiety and fear of the prospect of losing everything (again). Losing his friends, his home and his hope. He's so desperate to grab and hold tight this new opportunity that he gets intimidated by his thoughts of his mother and her anger.

Imagine hating your fake name but then growing fond of it because it sounds so good coming from someone you like.

So let's get down some notes 📝

- He doesn't like northern food

- He doesn't like onions

So he probably doesn't like cold foods (cold soups, for example) and bitter ones either.

This is so sad. No one had ever asked him what he liked to eat best. Not even his mother😭

She probably shoved any food under his nose, said "Eat it" and that's it.

Not that I expected for them to eat luxuriously but, man, they've travelled in all those places. Passed in front of many markets. Hadn't she ever thought "Hey, what do you like most from these?"

(also both me and Aleksander having a sweet tooth like 🤝)

He wants to tell those things.

"Oh yeah, I tried that cake once. It was awesome!"

"Those candies were *chef's kiss*"

But he can't. His mother's instructions are clear. "Don't talk about our travels, what we've seen and done. Lie about your life."

So he lies and he only reveals the truth by talking to himself internally. 🥲

In a nutshell:

Eryk: "I like everything"

Eryk internally: *gives a vivid description of a cake he once ate and an accurate number of how many cherries were on top. also starts remembering those dope candies he once ate in Shu and fell in love with*

Would love to gift him ten boxes of those Shu candies but I think he would be capable of eating them all in a day and then would lie on the couch and suffer from a stomachache or something 😭

One of the best quotes in the whole Grishaverse, if you ask me.

His love for bright, vivid colors contrasts the nature of his power and it's something beautiful and telling of his character.

"Deep blue like the True Sea" = Etherealki keftas

"Red like the roofs of the Shu temples" = Corporalki keftas

"The pure, buttery color of sunlight - not really yellow or gold, what would you call it?"

Alina. It's Alina, Aleksander.

Alina was his favorite color. His light and his favorite shade of yellow.

He was destined to fall in love with her and her power never scared him. Never made him leave or turn away. Because it reminded him of his favorite color and she represented it.

(so even though he could dress himself in vibrant yellow cloaks he chose black basically for the aesthetic and image)

Eryk: "Wait. That's awesome!"

"Do you want to tell me?"

PROTECT THAT BABY AND HIS KINDNESS FROM THE CRUEL WORLD

"My father is dust. You all are."

Baghra when I find you.....🙂🔪

He has already made his decision to stick with her instead of that bully. As a child he wasn't attracted to power or strength, but to compassion and kindness.

But he still has that insecurity that his mother will take him away.

(BAGHRA LEAVE HIM ALONE FFS!!!)

Random. But somewhere down the line after this passage, Eryk thinks "I'll have to tell her. What happened with Annika. That she knows I'm an amplifier".

And that shows me that his mother doesn't allow him to keep any secrets from her.

He could say "I'm not going to tell her anything. If I do she'll drag me away again. So no."

But he sounds like he has no choice. He HAS to tell her. So she's very strict with him in that aspect too and has him say everything to her.

He wants to belong. He hopes he will. Instead of travelling here and there, without any fixed destination.

"maybe even friends" HE'S SO SCARED TO HOPE FOR THIS 😭

"And friends went on adventures. They broke rules together"

He wants this SOO much!! To taste it and see how it's like. To behave like the child he is and be mischievous and carefree. To break his mother's rules ('cause he wants that too).

Just like he said in S&B: "The problem with wanting is that it makes us weak."

He wanted to have friends and play, gave in to that desire and eventually it compromised his safety. Therefore, made him weak and vulnerable.

(gonna make an analyzation of that quote in the future actually. So many things can be drawn from it as well)

[dreamersdreamloud]

Drug Cartels (Part 2)

Lionel Luthor wasn't the only one with a family. Your father (Y/F/N) found your mother around the same time that Lionel found his future wife. (Y/F/N) went on a small vacation in Europe before going back to Mexico to deal with the drug business. Your mother and father hit off quickly and continued to pursue this relationship. Your parents never got officially married but in the eyes of their cartel family, it looked like they were. Ever since you were born, Los Reyes Alfa Cartel was always there for you. Despite not being connected by blood, they were highly considered your family. 

Your parents and you made so many connections and each member treated you as their own daughter too. Although your parents are drug lords, they never really used their power to scare people unless they were disloyal or a danger to the community. Your father was the iron fist while your mother represented the caring hands. It was perfect. 

People who work for Los Reyes Alfa were well taken care of. Children felt safe within the cartel and they were able to go to school without any financial issues due to the cartel providing. The elderly were watched over and the poor were not so poor. Los Reyes Alfa were never selfish or greedy about the money they make. They rather give it away to those who need it then keeping it all to themselves. 

When you turned 24, your parents handed over the power to you. They no longer wanted to be part of it due to them being highly wanted from the feds and that they wanted to live the rest of their lives in peace. You didn’t mind the transition of power and your parents trained you ever since you were a kid. 

They went into hiding after they sent out their condolences to Lionel Luthor. You personally haven’t met the Luthors but your parents did tell you that Lionel is a very close friend to your father and that our cartel groups shouldn’t clash. Not until Lex Luthor decided to declare war against your cartel family. 

“Jefe! ¿Escuchaste? La hermana de Lex se escapó de su cartel. 

(Boss! Did you hear? Lex’s sister ran away from her cartel.) 

A short woman came in the room while you were on the balcony in one of the many homes you  own, watching the oceanside view. It was your area of peace to just watch the sun rise and set whenever you want to relax. 

“Lo dice en serio? (Are you serious?). Maggie, go send out some people to find the woman. Maybe her bastard brother and I can make a deal.” 

Maggie Sawyer is one of your closest members of the cartel to you but before she started working for Los Reyes Alfa, your parents rescued her when she was 16 years-old from her abusive father. She was abused for being gay and that she was a disgraced to her own family. Your parents caught the drunken father beating Maggie in public. Your mother was horrified that the father was beating his child based on a stupid reason so your father took action and shot the man at blank point. They left the man to bleed on the dirt streets of where Maggie used to live, an example of what it looks like to beat your children for no just reason. 

Your parents took Maggie away and introduced you to her. You became close like sisters and helped find a new family that was willing to accept who she is. It wasn’t long until Kara and Alex Danvers also joined the cartel. They were willing to join after their parents were murdered by James Olsen’s cartel. The Danvers sisters could not support themselves after the devastating loss. Alex dropped out of medical school and Kara quit being a reporter due to not making enough money. 

Your parents and you took good care of the girls. There are times where you all fought but made up. What made this little group interesting is that all of you came out gay and you were all proud becuase no one can say shit about it. If they did, people better hope you come back home in a body bag instead of being found in the river or hanging in public. 

*** 

6 months later 

Lena Luthor, now known as Kieran Lee, is found hanging out in a nightclub. Lena just got off work from a small business pharmacy not too far from where she lives. Lena was able to find a place where it was not Luthor Cartel territory but in Los Reyes Alfa grounds. She was worried that one of Lex’s men would find her but nobody came for months. No talks were going around if the raven-haired woman was seen in these grounds. It made her worry but soon she was got comfortable. 

Lena from time to time, keeps track of what the Luthor Cartel were doing, only to find out that Lex is murdering more people each week for not obeying his power. Although his men are out there killing and stealing, Lex is increasing his wealth. He was able to smuggle more drugs than their late father ever did before.  

The raven-haired tries to ignore her brother’s actions but it was difficult. She wants to do something about it but she doesn't know how. She wishes she had her own cartel of her own, send out orders to stop his reign but also help out the poor and weak. The least she could do is keep working in the small pharmacy with an old couple who owns it, she was able to help sick children and eldry. Lena would pay some of the medications with her leftover money for those who really need it. Sometimes, if she has the right chemicals and powders, she would make her own meds in her apartment space and give them for free. 

Tonight, Lena wants to feel numb. She plans to just drink a few drinks and socialize to make connections. Helpful connections at least. 

“Hermosa chica! Come and dance!” A random male has been trying to make moves on Lena. She wasn’t having any of it. Whenever she comes to this nightclub, a guy would try to flirt with the green eyed beauty. Tonight, he takes a chance and grabs Lena by the arm to force the woman to dance with him. 

“Let go of me!” Lena tries to break free but the man just grins and gropes her ass. The man’s glory moment didn’t last long and ended up being pushed to the floor by another figure. A blonde above the injured drunken man with her back facing Lena. 

“Ya know. It’s not nice to manhandle a woman, amigo. Women won’t like that. When she says no. . .” The blonde kicks the man between his legs and screams out his pain. “That’s what happens.” 

Everyone around looks at them but quickly ignores the situation. Another male came in to help the crippled guy on the floor and walked away. 

“Are you okay?” The blonde asks Lena who just can’t believe what just happened in front of her. Her emerald green eyes met the blue eyes, she was a bit lost. She took a quick minute to study the blonde’s strong looking figure. 

“Mhm. So may I have the name of my savior?” Lena plans to get laid tonight. 

The blue eyes chuckled, “Kara Danvers.” 

“Kieran Lee.” They shook hands and exchanged flirty smiles. 

“Can I buy you another drink, Kieran?” 

Lena didn’t turn down a free drink which turned out to be many more. The raven haired lost track of time and how many drinks she had. She was feeling free and relaxed. The two women danced on one another, not caring how scandalous it was looking. 

“Let’s go somewhere private, yeah?” Kara says into Lena’s ear while she pulls her in very close to her body. 

The two stumbled into one of the dark areas of the nightclub, they shared rush heated kisses until Lena felt a prick on her neck. Those are not teeth, Lena quickly thought. 

She sees that Kara is holding a needle in her hand and that her steel blue eyes focused on Lena’s reaction to the injection. Lena suddenly felt dizzy and the sounds around her were sounding farther by the second. 

“Nothing personal, hermosa.” The blonde finally says when Lena eyes slowly closes and starts to fall forward. A short red head woman came quickly to Kara’s side to help carry the raven haired. 

“That was easy but you took a while. We need to leave now before Boss loses her patience.” The red haired tells Kara. 

“I can’t just prick her, Alex! She needed to feel comfortable with me first.” Kara says back to her sister. 

“Whatever. Maggie is waiting outside. . Let’s go..” 

Kara easily carried Lena in her arms and Alex guided the way out to the car. The three went inside the back of the black Jeep Wrangler, placing Lena between the Danver sisters. 

“She looks like a hot mess.” Maggie looks at the unconscious woman. 

“Apparently, Kara wanted to have a little fun.” Alex comments and Kara just shrugs. 

They drove off and made their way back to the base. Another black Jeep followed closely behind them. 

“Is someone following us?” Alex questions the driver. 

“They’re one of ours. (Y/N) was kind enough to send back up just in case Lex’s men found Lena before us.” Maggie answers. 

“I’m guessing Winn and Mike are in that car?” Kara looks behind to see if she can see the faces in the car.

“Yup!” 

The group is glad that the kidnapping went perfectly fine. They didn’t need to harm anyone in the club but the drive back home is going to take a while. They have 3 hours to drive back to their destination. 

*** 

“You lost my sister?!” Lex yells at the two men in front him. 

They didn’t know what to say. Maxwell Lord was still suffering the pain between his legs and hopes the ice is helping him recover. John Corben was planning to go back to grab the raven haired but she was with the blonde the whole time. It made it difficult to go and grab the missing Luthor sibling.  

“We couldn’t get her alone. She was drinking with this blonde the whole time. Then we lost the two of them in the club. Maybe the blonde took her home but we’re close to finding your sister’s apartment for more clues.” 

“Well why are you still here! Go! You’re wasting my fucking time.” Lex yells at them again. 

I’ll find you Lena. One way or another. Lex says to himself. 

[katnissmellarkkk]

Okayyyy chappy seven 🤩 Here we goooo 🥳

Lord, Katniss always had nightmares 😭 even before the games, between her father’s death, her mother’s abandonment and the other traumatizing things she saw in her life, my girl never slept peacefully a day in her life 🥺.

She even indicates that she sometimes has nightmares about past hunger games 😭😭😭. Someone protect my smol child. Please. Someone.... Someone? Anyone? No? Okay 🥺

“I bolt up screaming for my father to run as the mine explodes into a million deadly bits of light.” This is such a powerful image and it really does show that Katniss has literally envisioned all the gory details of her father’s death for the last four years. This is so sad 😞

Also though. Katniss really doesn’t talk much about her father’s death after the first book and definitely doesn’t describe nightmares about it. So .... like basically, the games traumatized her so badly that, her father failing to escape the mines as the collapsed in on him, crushing him into the pits of despair, the possibility of rescuing his corpse deemed unimaginable, pales in comparison? Yes I just tried and failed to phrase that long run on sentence the way Katniss phrases her nightmares about her dad dying, yes that was over the top but you know what? So. Is. Katniss.

“Dawn is breaking through the windows” Twilight reference 😬😬😬. I couldn’t stop myself, y’all. Forgive for please.

“The Capitol has a misty, haunted air.” Katniss, you’re from the butthole of Kentucky, the air you’re used to is probably humid as all get out 😓😓💦😅😅

“I must have bitten into the side of my cheek in the night. My tongue probes the ragged flesh and I taste blood.” 😒😒😒😒 this feeling ..... is .... v v v .... distinct .... and .... familiar 😕🙁☹️

“I end up hopping from foot to foot as alternating jets of icy cold and steaming hot water assault me.” Why is this so funny omg 😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂😂😅😅😅😅😅 Katniss is just like pressing buttons like, “Ah! Too cold! 🥶 Ah! Too hot! 🥵 Ah!!!!!” All while jumping like a .... cat 🐱🥁

Lemon foam? 🍋 Whatever. I guess there’s weirder flavors of soap we have today but like where’s the Philosophy flavors that give recipes on the bottles??? Surely they’d survive an apocalypse??? Everyone uses those???

I’m so glad Katniss didn’t forget to moisturize, even as she prepares for a death match 😅😅😅😅 even if it’s just as simple as pressing a single button, why is she even taking the time to press it?

I know, I know. She just wants to make sure her skin is so smooth for the arena that the knives and arrows just slide right off 🤣🤣🤣🤣

“This is the first time since the morning of the reaping that I resemble myself.” Lolololol which means Mr. Romantic is gonna be even more turned on by the sight of ya, since he’s crushed on you looking like this for the last decade of his life 🥳😎🤗💁🏼‍♀️. Peeta ain’t even here yet and I’m already making the shipper comments Samantha calm down 🙄😶😑🤐🤐🤐🤐🤐🤐

Seriously there where is Peeta? Did he also have to figure out the temperature controls in the shower? Did he also moisturize? I miss him I wanna know about his morning too 😔. Katty, is it too much to ask for you to go take a lil ... sneak peek into his room for me? 😏😏😏

Twenty dishes seems like a lot for like four people eating? Eh, maybe six people, if we count the stylists who magically pick and choose when they’re coming to a meal... Hmm, I’ll calculate just so no one else has to. 🤓😬🤗 No one else cares, Samantha. 🤐🥱😴😶 Twenty dishes amounts out to about five plates without the stylists and three and a half-ish with so.... idk it’s not that much food I guess but it seems like a lot for one meal, esp if people in the Capitol intend to keep their trim figures. This is why that one prep team girl is chubby. 🤐🤐🤐

Awww Katniss copying Peeta’s weird lil eating quirks 🤗😎🥳. She’s already taking interest in him, she just don’t realize it yet 💁🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️ shipper comment alert 🚨🚨

But also has anyone actually tried dipping bread on hot chocolate and was it good or does it taste as repulsive as it sounds to me? I hate it when my food even so much as dares to touch though 🤢😡😤😓

Oooo I always forget Prim has to be utilizing her goat, milking the thing every day until it’s dry I’m not a farmer idk how milking animals works ... so she contributes more than I give her credit I suppose.... I’m making an effort for you, Primmers. You seem useless and immature but I’m trying. 😪😶 Taylor Swift voice 🎶 *this is me trying* 🎶

Oh wow it was only two mornings ago? Man. The first book is slow moving. 😅😭 six chapters in and we’ve gotten through one point five days 🤣

“It makes me irritated that Peeta is wearing exactly the same outfit I am.” “Listen, Peeta, one of us has to change, this is getting embarrassing, you have to stop borrowing my clothes!”

“This twins act is going to blow up in out faces once the Games begin.” Ahhaahahahaha blow up 💥 💣 🔥. Get it, get it. 🥁 Because she represents fire. And she also blows things up in Every. Single. Book.

But seriously, did Cinna and Portia and Haymitch all plan on presenting Katniss and Peeta are like, tight friends or whatever, and then Peeta is like “oh b-tee-dubs, I have a massive crush on K-dog” and they just decided it perfectly fit into their plans?

I’m so jealous that their breakfast has bread baskets 😩😩😩 I know they’re headed to the slaughter but still. Bread.

if you like, I'll coach you separately. Decide now." "Why would you coach us separately?" In case one of you ... not naming names .... Peeta .... wants to reveal your lifelong crush on live television 😎😎😎

Also Haymitch is like “make an important decision but take zero time to consider it, I’m tired and hungover, kids, idc for your drama 😒”

Which as an auntie to a wonderful little two year old ... is v relatable 😅🥲🙃🤭

“And I already know what yours is, right? I mean, I've eaten enough of your squirrels." I wanna make a dirty joke here so badly but the lord himself is saying no.

“Town families usually eat expensive butcher meat. Beef and chicken and horse.” Ohhh this is interesting. Katniss believing Peeta and the other merchants live high on the hog while Peeta is later is like “I eat expired bread for every meal, Katniss” I mean, better than starving like her, but also not how she’s painting the picture in her mind. 😶😭

Also Katniss never mentions horses in Twelve, where’s the butcher getting horses from to slaughter and sell? That’s why Katniss never sees them, Samantha, duh 🙄

“I can't do anything. Unless you count baking bread.” "Sorry, I don't.” This was such a quick and matter of fact brush off, poor Peeta 😭😭😭 my baby I’m still rooting for you don’t worry you got this

Also. Lowkey, highkey, that tiny exchange triggered me. 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭. Those awkward moments where people brush me off or glance over me live in my head. Rent free. For life.

I wonder sometimes often times if Katniss’ father and Gale’s father knew each other? Both hunted and worked in the mines. Just a random sidebar 😅🤭🤐🙃

“She’s excellent” He’s so proud of his wife 🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧

So uh.... is it safe to say Mr. Mellark is an Everlark fan? If he likes and admires Katniss and Peeta and him apparently have some kind of close-ish bond (okay, maybe not but maybe) then perhaps he is carrying the shipper banner back in Twelve for them 🥳🥳😎😎

Katniss, you dingaling, of course he noticed you 🙄🙄🙄

Peeta compliments her and her instant reaction is “what are you doing, weirdo?” 😅😭

“Don’t underrate yourself” Peeta, love of my life, take your own advise. Stupid. 😪😪😪

“I've seen you in the market. You can lift hundred-pound bags of flour” Katniss in the market, staring across the way at Peeta, 👁👄👁, watching him lift flour over his shoulder.

“He came in second in our school competition last year, only after his brother." This is criminally undiscussed. Peeta being a wrestler alone is undiscussed but also.... did you go to his matches, Katniss? Miss Anti-Social, Hunting-First-Everything-Else-Later? 😏😏😏 If this ain’t proof of her lil crush idk what is

“All you need is to come up with a knife, and you'll at least stand a chance.” “You'll be living up in some tree eating raw squirrels and picking off people with arrows.” Does no one else realize that Katniss and Peeta literally took the other’s advise for the first part of the games? How did Peeta get in with the Careers? The way she just said. Where is Katniss when Peeta and the Careers discover her? High up in a tree. Okay, this maybe didn’t compute right but I had a thought here so I said it

Peeta’s mother is just a monster. Who says that crap? 😔😔😔 don’t worry, baby, I’m rooting for you

“She said, 'She's a survivor, that one.' She is” Yeah, she is, no thanks to you, Mrs. Mellark 😤. Stingy ho.

Peeta’s got pain in his eyes 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

Awww, Katniss accrediting her survival to Peeta’s help 😭😭😭😭. This is so pure. Also kiss now, you little freaks.

“She has no idea. The effect she can have.” This is such an iconic line... but the can has always had me laughing. She can have an effect, if she really wants to. Or not, depending on the day.

Katniss is so stupid, how did she construe that as an insult??? 🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️ y’all ever just wanna smack her into a wall?

“In public, I want you by each other's side every minute” If Peeta didn’t have a long life crush, what was the ultimate plan with all this friendship act they’re being forced into? 🤔🤔🤔

Even Peeta’s trying to object to it 😭😭😭😭

“You will be together, you will appear amiable to each other.” You will fall in love. 🤩🥳😎

“I bite my lip and stalk back to my room, making sure Peeta can hear the door slam.” Okay, now imagine how much she’s hurting his feelings right now 😖😣 what a little brat

“But that didn't mean I wanted to do everything with Peeta. Who, by the way, clearly doesn't want to be partnering up with me, either.” Lolololololololol this is so funny in hindsight 🤣🤣🤣. Also if you showed a little enthusiasm, Peeta would probably be happy to partner with you.

“But a tiny part of me wonders if this was a compliment. That he meant I was appealing in some way.” No, really, Katniss? A compliment? Who’d give you one of those? 🙄🙄🙄

“It's weird, how much he's noticed me. Like the attention he's paid to my hunting.” A normal person at this point would put together a crush 😅

“And apparently, I have not been as oblivious to him as I imagined, either. [...] I have kept track of the boy with the bread.” Anddd a normal person would figure out their own crush at this point 😅😅.

“I do a quick assessment. Peeta and I are the only two dressed alike.” We stan a matching couple in this house 😎😏

“Almost all of the boys and at least half of the girls are bigger than I am” That means 18 out of 24 tributes tower over my girl here. Smol Katniss. The movies did such erasure on this front I’m still bitter 🤐😒😤😩

“I may be smaller naturally, but overall my family's resourcefulness has given me an edge in that area.” Just a tiny muscular thing standing next to a bunch of tall, lanky kids. 🥰🥰🥰🥰

Awww “Each [Career tribute] must have fifty to a hundred pounds on me.” I mean ... let’s calculate. A muscular girl would probably weigh like 150 pounds... so basically Katniss is at most, 100 pounds. Tiny Katty.

“I'm thinking that it's lucky I'm a fast runner when Peeta nudges my arm and I jump.” This is a random, cute interaction 😍😍😍. Shipper blinders are on and tight.

“Suppose we tie some knots.” “Right you are.” I legitimately just scratched my face, who says right you are? An 87 year old man, that’s who 😅😅😅. Not turning your girl on very well, Peeta baby.

Although it does sound a bit like a backwoods southern thing soooo.... hillbilly Everlark nation rise. 🙋🏼‍♀️🙋🏼‍♀️🙋🏼‍♀️🙋🏼‍♀️

“We concentrate on this one skill for an hour until both of us have mastered it.” Awww, so Peeta knows how to tie a snare? He’s not as clueless as half the fandom acts.

How exactly is frosting cakes equating to amazing camouflager in a death match? Books crack me up with these connections. “I’m an amazing artist because I write birthday cards!”

Lolololol Prim admiring her future brother-in-law’s handiwork 🥰🥰🥰🥰 too bad she dies before they can get together for real for real.

“Somehow the whole thing - his skill, those inaccessible cakes, the praise of the camouflage expert - annoys me.” Dude, you get praised by everyone and their brother while Peeta gets overlooked, give him a moment to shine. 😑🙄 jealous wife much?

Also she’s already picking up on Peeta’s eye for beauty 😅😅😅

“It's lovely. If only you could frost someone to death.” "Don't be so superior. You can never tell what you'll find in the arena. Say it's actually a gigantic cake-“ "Say we move on.” She’s such a little snot. 😒😒😒

But also I love that already in this point of their relationship, Peeta is noticing when she’s being a brat 😭😂😅. “Don’t be so superior.”

“Despite Haymitch's order to appear mediocre, Peeta excels in hand-to-hand combat, and I sweep the edible plants test without blinking an eye.” Lolololol their mentor’s advise went into one ear and right out the other 😂😅🤣.

But also why did the movie make a point in adding an extra scene of Peeta looking weak and the Careers staring at him? That literally took up time and served no purpose at all. 😤😤😤 I’m coming for you, Gary Ross

Awww, everyone but the careers eat alone. But Katniss and Peeta eat together 🥺🥺🥺. It’s like a forced first date 🥳🥳🥳

I like how Katniss says they include bread from every district but she then proceeds to only mention the two districts that later have relevant tributes. 😅😅😅

Lolololol their fake friendship “laugh ... now! Okay, I’ll smile, try to say something interesting”

“Ever since I slammed my door, there's been a chill in the air between us.” Well yeah, you probably hurt his feelings 🥺🥺🥺

Umm, Katniss just casually drops that she was chased by a bear.... how did homegirl live? 😬😳

Peeta knowing Rue’s name and being the one to take notice of her first 🥺🥺🥺. If the games had come down to Katniss, Peeta and Rue, y’all know Everlark would have swallowed the berries and gotten Rue home. 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

“Don't. Don't let's pretend when there's no one around.” "All right, Katniss.” He made a single comment to you, ding dong. He didn’t ask for a goodnight kiss 🙄🙄🙄.

Also anyone ever think of how lonely Peeta’s life must be? He’s not close to his family that we can see, Delly’s his only real friend, after he wins he lives in that huge house all alone... I feel sad now. I did this to myself. 😬😭🥺

Katniss’ “Oh! The weapons!” When she sees the bows and arrows is so cute 🥰🥰🥰

Katniss has such a rage built up inside of her. Let it out, girlfriend

See, I’d have done this too but in my rage, I’d probably have shot a real person and not the pig ... goodbye, Plutarch 👋🏻

Andddd I think that’s all for this chapter! Sorry my comments weren’t as interesting as usual 😬.

[imagining-in-the-margins]

Hi! You often give alot of insight into anons like this and your my fave CM blog so that's why I'm here! So I'm finishing up the last seasons (and lord it is hard to get through) and they just introduced Max and I cannot stand her. She was just so rude and it felt like she had 2 different personalities the entire time she was on screen. And I worried that this meant I was like hating women because I don't like other female characters like Maeve, JJ, Hailey, and Seaver. But then I started thinking and I honestly think it's cause these Characters are women poorly written by men. But then I wondered how they created likeable Characters like Emily, Kristy, Blake, Tara, and Penelope (leaving out others like Savannah because they're under developed in my opinion) I don't know what's the difference in the writing for these Characters or of there isn't any at all and I'm just being hateful in a way. What are your thoughts?

Ah, I think about this a lot. Thank you for thinking I’m interesting enough to answer this, also!

I think you’ve really hit the nail on the head with the writers doing a poor job at most of their female characters. However, I think it’s possible (and very common in this fandom) for people to dislike any character Spencer showed an interest in, which is also problematic and rooted in internalized misogyny. To me, it all comes down to why you dislike the characters.

(A LOT More Below - Bit of a Rant)

The first step I took when reflecting to see if this was my problem was rewatching and seeing which female characters I loved. Along with the ones you listed, I also found a number of side characters I greatly enjoyed, including Lila, Austin, Dr. Linda Kamura (from Amplification, the anthrax episode), Einstein, Megan Kane, and a few other random case characters. So, right off the bat I found multiple characters who Spencer showed an affinity for. I also greatly enjoyed Cat’s character, although I found her to be underdeveloped in canon (Fanon has done a good job, IMO) and often contradictory in her character design.

If you didn’t like any of these women, and your reason is related purely to Spencer’s reactions to them, chances are you might be suffering from a bit of jealousy rather than improper character design - not that you need to like them all (or the ones that I like), but because they are all very different. You should, theoretically, find something to enjoy about at least one of them.

But the CM Writers have a TERRIBLE habit of writing women that are easy to hate.

There’s a bunch of controversy I see over Haley Hotchner, but the truth is that they wrote her to be hated. That was her sole purpose. Her character’s decisions were poorly thought out and she was shown to be malicious 80% of the time. This was intentional. She was written to personify the trope of the nagging housewife. If you dislike her, you have done nothing but follow the narrative.

That being said, you should also criticize why they wrote her this way. Because it didn’t make any sense. She married a prosecutor - a dangerous, time consuming job. She had Jack when she knew he was with the BAU. Why did she randomly change her tune? Why did she suddenly demand he gives up on his dreams that she was fully aware of for years? I’d argue they wrote it like this to further the narrative of “the wife who traps you with a child to force you to do what she wants” which is garbage writing. I wish people could look at the potential she had if they hadn’t written her like... that.

Maeve, I find, is problematic on multiple aspects and I’ve talked about it before. Her narrative was poorly thought out because as soon as they pitched the idea of a long-term love interest for Spencer, everyone (most notably Gubler) rejected it. They didn’t think it was necessary for his character, who already had a lot going on with the ignored plot lines of his drug addiction and mother.

There were multiple problems associated with her character that were never addressed. The fact she essentially just took advantage of a patient because she was bored, she seemed to “correct” his interests and show annoyance when he disagreed with her, she lied about having a fiance, she was shown to be considering breaking up with him... there’s a lot.

Her character is poorly written. It had a lot of potential, but they just kind of stopped caring once they decided to kill her off. She had more faults shown on screen than redeeming qualities. For many, they liked her because they see there was a potential that we’ll never see (fair). But for people like me, we interpret it as a idealized fantasy of what could have (but probably wouldn’t have) been, which is not healthy for Spencer.

JJ is an interesting character because you can feel the constant struggle between AJ Cook and the writers. They really sabotaged JJ at every step of the way. I’ll be honest and say that I think there are some reasons to hate JJ, but they aren’t the reasons I see most often. Almost all of the JJ hate I see is surrounding the idea that JJ is an evil, manipulative, jealous bitch. But.. she’s not. Even in Truth or Dare, when she pulls that asshole move that was wildly OOC for JJ (in my opinion), she isn’t shown to be jealous or cruel about it.

I think she’s the most likely target for people who’s hatred is driven from jealousy or disliking conventionally attractive women and assuming them to be bitchy by nature of looking “beautiful.” I think Lila Archer* also falls into this category.

But as I said, JJ was also written with a lot of flaws. I think it’s fair if you don’t like her character or the way she treats Spencer, but I also hope that you similarly criticize the whole team in the same way, and don’t just pity Spencer because he is smol uwu babie who needs protection.

(* Yet another reminder that I ask everyone to not message me about J Depp or Amber Heard. Reactive Abuse is an extreme trigger for me and I will block you if you try to get me to talk about it)

Seaver got a lot of hate based off one line of dialogue. I think it was a bad line. If they had left it out, there would be essentially no reason in my mind to dislike Seaver. I used to dislike her a lot, but the more I rewatch the show, the less she bothers me. She was just a young student who wanted to learn about her father/herself. She was MASSIVELY underdeveloped because they kicked her off just as quickly as they invited her in.

NO character was developed that quickly. Her scenes were a bit cringey and the plotlines were bad, and her character was mediocre. I don’t think she deserves the hate she gets. She is a lukewarm character.

I hate everything Max’s character represents. She was introduced to show that Spencer could be trained to be “normal” and it’s anti-autistic bullshit. She had no personality besides “I hate my low-brow job as a teacher and couldn’t be fucked to change it until a man told me I was smart.” She was cracking high-school-clique jokes while her family was about to be murdered. She immediately abandoned said family to make out with her boyfriend who just admitted to enjoying kissing the woman who tried to murder her family.

Her character makes absolutely zero sense. I do not understand how she is so liked. I really don’t (other than the fact that RLC is absolutely wonderful).

If they had left her character out, I think we would have been better off for it. We could have seen Spencer wrestle with defining himself by the women in his life and learning to love himself (without just replacing those women with... another... woman...)

That being said, those who cling to Max for hope of a happy ending for Spencer... I felt that. Fanon and fanfic can solve all character deficiencies. I believe in you.

So, yeah. I’d say if you’re worried about why you dislike women characters, you’re probably on the right path. I’d just reflect on why you dislike the characters you do and whether they are written as misogynistic stereotypes. It makes complete sense to reject characters written for the purpose of making you hate them, but we should all pour one out for the brilliant actresses that had characters with so much potential if not for men ruining it.

[msjr0119]

Forgive me

Part 5 - Run! Run away and never return.

A mini series, includes suicide and abuse.

Based on true events but using TRR characters who are owned by Pixelberry.

Tags:

@annekebbphotography @burnsoslow @drakesensworld @ladyangel70 @kingliam2019 @bbrandy2002 @butindeed @bascmve01 @drakewalker04 @pedudley @captain-kingliamsqueen @duchessemersynwalker @insideamirage @of-course-i-went-to-hartfeld @kozabaji @texaskitten30 @ibldw-main @kimmiedoo5 @nikkis1983 @dangerouseggseagleartisan @gnatbrain @walker7519 @lodberg @cmestrella @hopefulmoonobject @addictedtodrakefanfic @angi15h @liamxs-world @rafasgirl23415 @notoriouscs @yukinagato2012 @dcbbw @qammh-blog @nz1091 @beardedoafdonutwagon @cordonianroyalty

*****

Liam and Riley had checked on Lucas, he was fast asleep- Riley placed a kiss on his forehead and thanked the nanny for looking after him. After agreeing to stay with Liam, he had contacted Bastien to arrange a cot to be moved into his quarters.

Walking back into the ballroom holding hands, Liam gave Riley a kiss on the cheek. I’ll see you shortly- he whispered, a blush creeped up on her cheek. Maxwell and Drake walked up to Riley- the commoner passed her a drink.

“I’ve got you a vodka, I don’t know if you like it. But it looks like you need an energy boost. Or you could have a whiskey- that also boosts energy.” Riley looked bewildered at him, wondering if he was trying to get her drunk.

“Don’t look at me like that. Your perfect hair has become a bit messy.” Maxwell burst out laughing.

“It was windy outside Drake.” She lied, not knowing what they had heard.

“Oh Princess, didn’t Leo teach you not to lie. We heard you and the Prince.”

“Fuck you Drake.”

“Sorry baby, but I’m not your type. I’m not a Prince remember.” He winked at her, before looking at Liam. Following his gaze, Liam was caught up in a conversation with Penelope- but he kept looking at Riley.

“I think it’s time for a drinking game. I’ll gather everyone together.”

******

“So I think we should play ‘never have I ever’ or spin the bottle.” Maxwell decided. Everyone looked concerned at how excited he was. Liam joined the group- he didn’t want to be over affectionate with Riley in front of Olivia, Kiara, Penelope and Hana.

“Drake and Riley- the bottle has landed on you two.” Both their eyes widened, both giving each other the same look- reassurance of needing to escape this situation.

“Beaumont I never confirmed that I was playing. I’m not kissing her.” He looked at Liam, he didn’t want to betray his friend even if it was a game.

“Let’s play another game Max.” Riley smiled at Drake and Liam trying to avoid the situation.

“No. A rule is a rule. I’ve had to kiss Olivia. Well I had to force it.”

“Yes and we are never talking about it again! Go on Walker just kiss her and get it over and done with then we can play a decent game.” Liam shook his head, he knew he could trust Drake and after all it was only a game. Just do it, then it’ll shut Maxwell and Liv up- Liam whispered to his best friend.

Drake pulled Riley towards him, cupping her cheeks- he gave her a quick soft kiss. Before Madeleine encouraged them to do it more than a quick peck. Breaking the kiss, Riley felt as if she had cheated on Liam- even though they technically weren��t in a relationship. She didn’t feel anything with the kiss, he wasn’t Liam. Drake excused himself from the group to get a round of drinks. Needing to think of something else, that kiss was one of the best he had- but he wouldn’t betray his friend who had helped him throughout his life.

Playing ‘Never have I ever’ made everyone become intoxicated very quickly. It was Penelope’s turn, she was already slurring- so the group all dread what sort of question she would provide them with.

“Never... have ...I ever had a tattoo.” Maxwell and Riley were the only ones to not take a shot- Maxwell looked at Riley and gave her a high five.

“Eurgh, why would you damage your body? Bet you’ve got something really American.” Madeleine looked disgusted at the pair. Riley showed a picture of her tattoo on her phone to Madeleine who shook her head. Her tattoo was under her left breast on her rib cage - depending what type of bra she wore, it was discreetly hidden.

“And what the hell is that?”

“Greek for ‘forever in our hearts’. Greek because Leo always spoke it, the Apple to represent both of his homes.” Liam was shocked that he didn’t see it before- although they were too busy to even appreciate each other’s bodies, he didn’t mind her having a tattoo. Deep down he thought it was sweet and sentimental.

“I’ve got a hippo on my chest. Pretty random I know.” Max said enthusiastically to Riley, who laughed at him. Not taking him serious to begin with he explained the reasoning behind his sentimental tattoo- she soon felt guilty for her original reaction.

*****

The ball had ended, everyone went their separate ways. Liam picked Lucas up from the nanny, holding him tightly- he had hoped that Leo would approve of him looking after them. He wanted to be selfish and convince them to stay in Cordonia - maybe he could travel to New York if not, there was no social season now. So until his father passed away he didn’t have as many responsibilities. Walking into his quarters, he placed Lucas in the cot- wrapping him up tightly ensuring he was warm enough.

Knocking on the bathroom door, he wanted to make sure that Riley was okay and not too drunk.

“How are you feeling?” He asked, as he came behind her, placing his arms around her waist.

“Fine. A few shots is nothing compared to what we do in New York.” She laughed, thinking about the good times with Leo- her laugh soon turned into a sigh.

“Heh. So tomorrow, I’ve organised a memorial for Leo. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Of course not. I’ve had three months to grieve. You all need to grieve too, and do something in memory of him.”

“Talking about a memory. Where’s this tattoo? I seemed to have not seen it.” He said seductively, holding her tightly. Removing her bra, he saw it- it was an simple tattoo but it was so appropriate. Leading her to his bed, they both laid down- pulling her towards him, he spooned her affectionately. It was against protocol to share a bed until a couple was officially married- but Liam didn’t care. A bit of Leo was rubbing off onto him. Riley fell asleep immediately, Liam however couldn’t sleep. Natural instinct, made him constantly check on Lucas. Every time, he returned to bed- he kissed Riley. Wondering what type of Queen she would be- he was falling hard and quick. Shaking his head, he needed to shake these thoughts away and attempt to gain some sleep. Tomorrow was an important day-he was hoping that the kings guards had safely escorted the surprise guests. Maxwell and Drake had informed him that Drake had insisted for the people to come, but Riley said they couldn’t due to work commitments. Liam was the future King, and knew these people needed to be here earlier than expected. They were a part of Leo’s life. If Leo’s spirit was still around, he could potentially haunt Liam for not including them.

*****

The morning after, Riley woke up in a daze. Liam wasn’t next to her, getting up- she put some baggy clothes on before checking on Lucas. The young Prince was still asleep. Checking through her clothes, she thought about what she could wear for Leo’s memorial. Not really preparing to stay in Cordonia long term- she didn’t pack for occasions such as this.

“What are you doing?” Turning around recognising his voice, her heart fluttered. Liam was stood in front of her wearing regal clothing. He looked extremely handsome- she couldn’t stop gawking at him. Coughing she tried to compose herself.

“Erm, I didn’t prepare for this type of event. I should have known that you would have wanted to do a memorial service. I just didn’t think. I don’t know what I’m going to wear.”

“Well, that problem has been sorted. I’ve had some business to attend. On my way back, I went to the boutique to pick you up a dress. I hope you don’t mind.” Standing up, he gave her the dress- insisting that she tried it on.

“Thank you so much, Liam. Remind me next time to pack more of a variety of clothes.” Next time- Liam thought. He didn’t want to read too much into those words. He didn’t want to feel disappointed if she never returned to Cordonia.

“No need to thank me Riley. You’re part of the royal family. Lucas is a prince, the heir. So I’m going to look after you both whilst you’re visiting.” Part of the royal family- would they think that if Lucas didn’t exist? I’m now invested. Reality had finally sunk in, her drunken one night stand with her fake husband had resulted in an heir. The first born child of the two crown princes.

Nodding, she entered the bathroom to get ready for the memorial. Coming out shortly after, Liam gulped- even a simple black dress made her look like a goddess.

“What do you think?” Twirling around, she wasn’t sure about the dress- was it too much? Leo was outgoing and would have most likely wanted them dressed in vibrant colours.

“You look more beautiful every second that goes by.” Walking towards her, not leaving a gap- he held her tight kissing her on the forehead. It had become his new hobby. Once she returned to New York, he would begin to feel empty and lonely. Lucas woke up shortly after, they had breakfast together before making their way down to the courtyard. Riley carried Lucas, the majority of nobles gasped as it was their first glimpse of the young prince. Walking to the seats at the front of the courtyard- Riley’s face lit up.

“You brought them here? How?”

“Because they needed to be here Riley. They were a big part of Leo’s life.”

“But... they had work...”

“No buts. I failed Leo. I need to make amends. With all of you.” Pulling him in for a hug, she thanked him for not only being there for her and Lucas but for also thinking about what Leo would have wished for.

Rob and his sister Ella ran up to Riley and Lucas, pulling them both into a tight bear hug. Lucas’s eyes lit up at the familiar faces- tugging on Robs beard, the little boy snuggled into his step father’s embrace. Liam had wished that he could have spent time with them all when Leo was alive. The three Americans all began to cry- Reality was now sinking in having a memorial at Leo’s childhood home.

Constantine remained quiet at the memorial. In comparison to Reginas speech, his was short- lacking words. Liam stood up, walking to the front- he looked at the photo of Leo. Becoming emotional, he sighed.

“Hello everyone. I’d like to thank you all for coming today. I never believed that I would be doing this so soon. Leo you are my big brother, you always looked out for me. Which I am forever grateful for. I regret not keeping in touch with you on a daily basis like we used to. One of my favourite memories from when we were children, was when you convinced me that Bastien was a vampire- Bat-sien. For those who don’t know the story, I actually wore garlic around my neck for nearly a year- and slept with a stake under my pillow. You were cruel at times, but I loved you. When I found out about what had happened, Drake had dragged us to a dive bar in New York- that’s when we met Riley. The selfless woman who helped you live the life you truly wanted. I believe it was fate that we walked through that bar. That night brought her in to our lives as well as my nephew, your son. He’s your double Leo, you would be so proud of him. I love you Leo.” Wiping the tears away, he sat down next to Riley, asking if he could hold Lucas. Rob stood up next, along with Riley. They both asked Liam if they could do a speech together- not wanting to become emotional wrecks doing it individually. They spoke about moments they all shared in New York City, there were laughs from people as well as tears.

“Leo, she thought you was pranking her when she returned home early that day. You didn’t have to do it- we all loved you...” Closing her eyes, the flashback of the night remained in her mind. Rob continued with his speech.

“No matter what sexuality you was, you was still the same Leo that we loved. I know whoever threatened you- is probably sat here right now. But I know, the guards would have never allowed an attack to occur because of who you were. I love you Leo. I miss you beyond words. We all do. I hope you’re at peace now.”

Looking at Rob, Riley gave him an emotional hug, informing him that he did an amazing speech and that Leo would have been proud. Staring at the photo of Leo with his cheesy grin, she then looked at Liam holding Lucas, wondering what their future was going to be like. “My fake husband, we had a laugh trying to pull that off. At times we perfected it, at times we failed miserably. I’d have done anything to make you happy- you were my best friend. Our New York gang isn’t complete without you. I know your spirit has been following me around, and talking to me- you are a wind up merchant even in the spirit world Leo. I may seem crazy but I know your here protecting us all. We all love you. Goodnight, miss you.”

Sitting back down, the two of them were relieved to get their speeches over and done with. It was emotional bringing up their memories again. Everyone stood up and made their way into the ballroom- Liam has asked Drake to take Lucas, he could trust his friend to look after the little boy - especially as he looked after him on the plane bringing him to Cordonia. Pulling Riley to the side, he was concerned with something Rob had said.

“Riley. I need to ask you something.”

“What’s up?”

“When Rob mentioned about someone threatening Leo, and that the guards wouldn’t allow an attack to occur. What did he mean.” Riley’s chest began to rise, Leo was in such a vulnerable state after Constantine’s impromptu visit.

“Liam, in the time between your father’s visit and his death- he received threats in different ways. The first few he ignored. The final one was written in a letter- addressed from Cordonia. It was a load of bullshit- he should have just ignored it.”

“What did it say? Please tell me.” Liam eyes provided worry- he needed to know so he could keep them all safe. Resting his forehead against hers, he asked her again what it said.

We know what you are. We are planning an attack on the palace, it will be unexpected. It could be in a week, a month- maybe even in a year. When we do this, you would have had to take over the throne- that was until your father mentioned that you have a bastard son. If you don’t want your son or precious wife or boyfriend to be harmed, you will run away Prince Leo. We are taking over the throne. If you tell anyone about this- we will kill you all with our bare hands. Don’t think about escaping with your little disfunctional family. Who knows- if you compel with this little arrangement, we may forfeit the attack and consider another way to remove the remaining Rhys’s from Cordonia. Run! Run away Leo and never return.

[poisonedapples]

Week One: Relationships

Summary: Virgil thinks about how much he loves his relationship.

Pairings: Queerplatonic LAMP

Trigger Warnings: Caps lock, yelling (not angrily, Roman’s just dramatic), and lots of food mentions near the end

Note: A fic for the first week of the @fander-pride-meetup, relationships! For this week I decided to create a fic based off of my own relationship, which hardly ever gets represented: A queerplatonic QPR. I had a lot of fun writing such a sarcastic Virgil and his partners, so I hope you enjoy! But also: I might have missed a couple of these / things while editing, so just ignore that, oops.

Virgil would never understand it, in all honesty. He’d never understand the weird stereotypes that came with polyamory. People who heard of him and his partners, their reactions always being seemingly weirder than the last. Disbelief at the fact it was all consensual and there for the world to see, people who would say how they could “never share” when frankly, it didn’t feel like “sharing”. If it did, then there would be a problem. It would mean that the relationship wasn’t healthy, and Virgil didn’t feel like he was sharing. He felt like he had three partners instead of one. That was it. No jealousy, no betrayal, just their own form of love.

Most of the time Virgil didn’t even try to explain the other part, though. The queerplatonic part of their relationship. Although he had never gotten the typical comments of “isn’t that just friends?” personally, it was still exhausting explaining to outsiders that just because he was aro doesn’t mean he didn’t want relationships. People expected for him to hate the idea of ever being with anyone, and Virgil didn’t know how to explain that just because he doesn’t want a romantic partner doesn’t mean he doesn’t want a partner. So he just left it be. No one needed to know he wasn’t kissing any of his boyfriends anyway.

His boyfriends. Usually that word had such romantic connotations to it, but even so, Virgil loved calling them that. My partners. My boyfriends. It was so sappy, but Virgil loved the excited feeling that came with having them in his life, even if it was just a few words that reminded him of that. He felt like a damn puppy whenever he saw their faces, said their names, but in his defense, he’s gay. He can’t help it.

But even so, just like every other day, Virgil will deny to his very grave the giant smile that came on his face when he saw Patton on their apartment’s living room couch, hanging his head upside down as he watched some insurance commercial on the TV. Patton only noticed Virgil enter when he tried to eat an m&m from his candy bowl sitting on the couch upside down, and Virgil’s mom voice immediately came into action. “Please do not do that, sit up, dude.”

“Awwwww,” Patton whined, but still slowly moved himself to be lying down on the couch, his head right next to the candy bowl. “You’re no fun.”

“I’m sorry I’m not letting you choke and die.”

“I haven’t choked yet! I’ve done that plenty of times and Roman never cared!”

“Roman doesn’t fucking count when he has the brain mass of a damn cornflake.”

Patton squinted his eyes, the sure way to tell he was activating the Dad Voice. “Don’t be mean, Virgil.”

“I’m not mean, Roman knows I love him and his little cornflake brain.”

“FOR THE LAST TIME, VIRGIL,” Just Virgil’s luck, that very moment absolutely had to be the time for Roman to come home from the store. “STOP SAYING MY BRAIN IS A CORNFLAKE.”

“You just don’t like that I’m calling you out.”

“YOU HATE ME.”

“Love you too, Princey.”

“Roman, shush!” Patton scolded, taking two of the four grocery bags Roman was holding. “Logan’s still-”

“‘S everyone alright out here?”

“...Asleep.”

Logan had come out of one of the two bedrooms the four boys switched between at random, his hair sticking out in a bunch of different directions, his jeans from earlier in the day switched to just boxers. You could tell his glasses were just lazily shoved onto his face with how crooked they were, brown eyes still a little hazy with sleep. Virgil felt that strange feeling come back into his chest. Not like butterflies in his stomach, but just a sudden rush of energy, happiness and excitement at seeing one of his QPP’s looking so adorable right in front of him. Just because he’s aroace doesn’t mean he was blind to cute boys.

It’s just that he was quieter about it than Roman.

“Oh my stars you’re like a teddy bear!” He squealed, rushing over to a confused Logan and squishing him in a giant hug. “You’re so squishable I’m gonna die! Get it? Like Agnes from Despicable Me?”

“Please cease your attack on my lungs.”

Roman groaned in protest, but loosened his grip on Logan anyway, instead becoming satisfied with resting his chin on his head. Patton, who had been placing away some of the groceries Roman went and got, opened up the final bag, only to see candy boxes and a DVD for Into The Spiderverse inside. “Roman?” He asked, holding up the bag. “Did you plan something?”

“Oh!” A sudden change in focus was the only thing that got a koala Roman off of Logan’s head for the time being, running over to empty the bag. “I know we already saw Into The Spiderverse, but in my humble defense, we’ve also seen Nightmare Before Christmas five-hundred-billion times.”

“Call me out by name, Princey.”

He ignored him. “So I had to get it, it’s just so pretty! So how about we just have some candy, watch a very awesome movie, and have a nice day in?”

“I’m not opposed.”

“Of course you’re not, nerd, you love these movies and you can’t hide it.”

“And just for that, I’m going to cuddle with Virgil instead of you.”

“Oh fuck yeah.”

“This is rude!” Roman dramatically stomped his feet like an overgrown child. “Why are you all being so mean to me today!?”

Patton tried to act sympathetic to his obviously-exaggerating QPP, putting an arm around Roman and leaning in for a small side hug. “Awww, it’s okay Ro,” he said, “you can stay with me!”

“Can you share some of the m&ms in that giant bowl I know you still have?” Roman’s eyes were big with hope, pointing over the bowl still sitting on the side of the couch. Patton smiled brightly at him.

“Absolutely not!”

“I’m being bullied by my own boyfriends.”

“We swear we love you, Princey.”

“So rude to me,” Roman sighed, putting a hand on his chest in feigned agony for a moment before taking the bag and heading with Patton over to the couch. Roman took out the candy from the bag as he sat leaned against Patton, shielding his bowl of m&ms like a gremlin. Virgil ignored them both and took the DVD that Roman had taken out during his candy search, heading over to the DVD player.

Roman passed around the candy while Virgil put in the movie. First the dark chocolate for himself, Starbursts for Patton, Snickers for Logan (who sat on the other side of the couch), and a box of Snow Caps for Virgil once he got to his seat, sitting right on Logan’s lap and leaning his head on his chest. For a moment as the movie began, the four of them just relaxed and ate their candy in their respective sections, barely really paying attention until Logan heard Virgil’s voice.

“Pat my head, you coward.”

Virgil stared up at Logan from his place on his chest, until Logan slowly pat his head once and started carding his fingers through his hair. “Does that suffice?”

“Yes, big thank.” He seemed to become more content once he shoved a handful of snow caps in his mouth.

“I will never understand your slang.”

“Excellent.” Virgil smirked, “The more confused all of you are, the better it is. Like Princey is when I call him Dad.”

“You well and truly hate me, do not lie.”

“Love you too Dad.”

Roman narrowed his eyes at Virgil, slowly setting his chocolate on the floor and pointing a finger at him. “I will tackle you.”

Virgil quickly placed his own box on the side table, smirking. “Do it, coward.”

Before Patton could interfere with the playful bickering, Roman flung himself off of Patton’s lap and right onto Virgil, causing a tangle of limbs once both Logan and him ended up under Roman. Patton watched for a couple silent seconds in concern, before Virgil started bursting out laughing. Logan pretended to be annoyed, especially since he got interrupted from opening his candy, but Roman could see the smile on his face clear as day. “I request a figurative divorce, considering we’re not genuinely married.”

“It’s far too late nerd, you’ve become merged with the new cuddle pile.” Roman grabbed one of Logan and Virgil’s hands in both of his, pulling them up for a more comfortable position to maneuver in. Although Patton had managed to escape the tackle, Roman got a mischievous smile on his face once he heard familiar giggles, and yanked Patton into the new cuddle pile by his cat hoodie. “You’re not escaping either!”

Patton didn’t respond with words, just more laughter as he buried his face into Roman’s free side, Logan leaning on his other one, Virgil climbing into Roman’s lap and lying sprawled out against all of them. It was messy and Roman was sure to have his legs fall asleep soon, but Virgil wasn’t going to move, not even for the candy that had suddenly been abandoned over the area. Not with Logan back to playing with his hair, Roman loosely holding onto his hand, or Patton’s hand on his knee. It was just too comfortable to notice the slight discomfort from a cuddle pile with too many limbs, but he just loved it so much. Not because the people he was with gave him those butterflies, or a good feeling of nervousness, but because they just made him feel warm. Made him feel happy. Content.

He looked up, seeing the faces of the three boys that made him want to jump up and down, boys who gave him feelings no one else could, but platonic feelings nonetheless. Yeah, Virgil thought, I like this a lot.

[longinglook]

I’m replying to a bunch more wru asks under the cut, so if you’ve sent me one that I haven’t answered yet, it’s probably down here!

I don't know if it was on purpose but FTTT's story has been mostly character driven so far so the jealousy storyline they tried to push in the last minute is out of place. I also agree that there are most likely scenes missing after what happened in the first part of the episode. I can definitely tell that some things aren't going the way they planned and I'm not talking only about SaiZon but about all couples.

Yeah something was definitely missng there plot wise, and as you said I think the show had been mostly character driven and it was working fine like that. They tried to add drama for the sake of having drama in it and edned up ruining the characters they had so nicely built. The show has been all over the place this entire time, but corona must have really screwed things up for them at the end. Hopefully they do get to shoot some more material to fill the holes that were left. I’m still very doubtful we’ll get the apology scene that was very much needed there.

fighter getting drunk, seeing tutor with the kid and then going to tutor and breaking down crying would have had done the same for the story progression as whatever they tried to do today and it wouldn't have harmed the character development of either characters but considering the article i read about thai and rape culture in the media i'm not even surprised that someone thought this was a good idea

I agree 100%. I think that their whole reasoning behind it was to bring Fighter to some sort of “breaking point”, because apparently just seeing Tutor with someone else wouldn’t have done it. I hated that part as well, I don’t think Tutor would ever use someone to get back at Fighter or piss him off so I’m going to erase that from my memory as well. I think that Fighter breaking down could have easily been justified just by him getting drunk and going to Tutor’s to beg him to get back together. Once Tutor refuses, you have the whole scene where Fighter cries. No need for any of this manipulation and assault. Sadly it seems that the writers didn’t see a problem with it. They didn’t even have Tutor ask for an apology, they didn’t make Fighter provide one. 

I can’t believe they thought this kind of behavior would make sense coming from Fighter. We’ve seen repeatedly how Fighter has had pretty good impulse control around Tutor, stopping when kisses get too intense because he doesn’t want to “break his promise”, so this was just so out of character. Let’s say he was blinded by jealousy and alcohol, the moment he snapped out of it he would have apologized for sure. The fact that he didn’t in my opinion shows that the writers don’t consider this to be a serious matter. It should have happened right after he stopped, still in that scene, so there is no excuse as to why it’s missing.

but this is exactly what i mean even if they are side characters there are side characters that are important because they are tied to the main characters and then there are just random side characters to fill space and to make the series look more alive but whyru just forgot about all of them. i mean a lot of things went wrong so i guess i will try not to be too harsh but i hope the director can do a better job next time.

For sure! If you’re going to have a ton of side characters, make sure you can handle them. Make sure they have a backstory and enough screen time for people to remember them, to show respect both for the audience and for the actors. The show didn’t go the way they were planning to, and hopefully they get the chance to reshoot and release a new cut over on netflix, but there is a lot of work to do and we just can’t be sure of what was due to covid and what was due to bad writing.

most of the mess in bl series could be avoided if they just consulted an actual lgbt+ representative. i know one person can't represent all of us but it's a start. or honestly any sane person could do it. also how many times have people complained about problematic plot elements like this before? and it's not just international fans i have seen many viral thai tweets as well. you would think someone who spends as much time on twitter as the director of whyru would know better.

I think someone from the crew ism’t straight? But yeah apparently that wasn’t enough. Up until yesterday the show had been doing a good job with this sort of issues, even in ep. 12 the conversation with Fighter’s father was excellent, but they really fucked everything up with part 1. In that case it’s not necessarily about lgbt+ rep, since that scene would have been just as awful with a straight couple, it’s about working with someone who is able to recognize assault and realize that it shouldn’t be treated that lightly, that these characters wouldn’t normally behave like that, and that an apology scene from Fighter would have been needed. I’m staying off of twitter for a while because I honestly can’t watch clips of this episode without feeling sick.

It broke my heart to see Fighter begging his father to be happy. No child should have to BEG their parents just to be happy. I'm a mom and if my daughter would stand bevor me and plead under tears that I should just let her be happy it would destroy me. But this jerk didn't show any reaction. I don't get how to be so cold-hearted. In particular, when he claims that he does everything only for his son. He is no father. He ist just a self centric, control freak with no affection

Hopefully that was the last we’ll ever see of him. I’m pretty sure Fighter is going to tell Tutor that his father had a change of heart or something. because Fighter’s words seemed to have an effect on him and he left without saying anything. Still, I completely understand what you’re saying. He went way too far with his control tendencies, he made both his son and Tutor suffer just because he wasn’t okay with Fighter living his life and being happy for once. I hope Fighter will truly be happy after this and his father will leave him alone and lean to be more accepting. If not, I’m sure that Tutor’s mom and sister are ready to dote on him like a second son.

so apparently the subs for fighter's text messages are completely wrong he doesn't say anything about the beach or zon he is telling him he left and that he hopes he will get better soon and that he is sorry if he made him feel uncomfortable. this is not a small mistake, this is a complete different translation like what the hell. i mean part one is still shit but it makes more sense and explains why tutor was crying after reading the last message.

Yeah I saw that! It looks like there was a second version that included those texts but got scrapped last second and they didn’t get around to editing the subs. I’m sure someone on twitter/youtube will upload a revisited version to fix where the subs were off throughout the episode.

Please tell me, i'm not the only one who felt it's gotten worse when tor replied his kiss. Just because he kissed tor softly didnt mean fight didnt force himself on tutor, right? I'm so afraid everyone will take his action as some kind of 'you said you didnt love him but actually you love him, right?'

Yeah no, it was still forced and non consensual. It started with Fighter physically dragging Tutor to the bedroom while Tutor struggled to get free and told him to stop, so basically everything that happened after was assault no matter what. Tutor barely kissed back, it might have been just out of habit, it does not mean he was okay with it. No matter how soft Fighter was kissing him, he was still holding him down and pushing him, so yeah. Not good. Tutor laying still was a way to show Fighter just how much NOT into it he was. He wasn’t reciprocating anything, he wasn’t responding to his touch, it’s the exact opposite of what we’ve seen in all their heated scenes. I can’t believe anyone could look at it and think that Tutor was okay with it. One thing I will say is that Tutor didn’t look too scared, he was more angry and frustrated. He was probably aware of how out of it Fighter was in that moment, and all it took to get him to stop was Tutor’s voice. The writers want us to feel like Tutor wasn’t that shaken by it because he still loves Fighter and he knows he was just reacting to seeing Tutor with his student, but it’s still really bad. The whole love thing, the I don’t love you anymore line, in my opinion it was meant as a lie to get Fighter to leave him alone and finalize this break up once and for all. I don’t think Tutor ever stopped loving Fighter, even in that moment.

I think they were trying to make the scene In P1 not look as bad as it is by confusing the viewers with Tutor kissing back and letting Fighter in the end but it still is what it is and then right after that they gave us the whole sentimental scene and Fighter crying I like that scene if only it did not start the way it did. And so they expected us to forget or turn a blind eye but I don't think it's gonna work for most people.

[read question above for the first part of the question]

I was definitely unable to properly enjoy that scene after the assault. I think it was an important scene, I liked the writing of it, I liked the flashbacks with the added frames revealing just how gone Fighter was for him since day one. It just didn’t have to be triggered by that. It could have easily existed on its own. I will not be able to rewatch it sadly, and I am so mad because I think Zee was at his best there. Incredible acting, too bad it had to follow that unforgivable scene. Even just a single apology could have made things better. It would have shown that the writers acknowledge how serious that was. But no, it happened and then it was brushed off, then why having it in the first place?

[sleep-writing-blog]

New Year’s Eve

FRANSWEEK 2019 - Day 5: Special Event

A/N: I’m trying not to cry because I am rushing everything;;;

Words: 1300.

Warnings: Other ships (Tori/Asgore, Alphyne, Papyton) but this is Frans-centric, I swear.

— ✦ ✧✦✧ ✦ —

People and monsters alike scurried about and tried to ready the event floor before the guests arrived. One of them was Frisk, the human ambassador of the monsters, who was one of the guests-of-honour, in an attempt to better the relationship between humans and monsters.

It had been 3 months since monsterkind settled down alongside humans, and the journey had been rocky. The council accepted Frisk as the only one qualified to represent the monsters. A month of countless negotiations, projects and papers were duties that Frisk needed to tend to. As the sole ambassador, they’ve also been overseeing the integration of monsters into society, which meant random interviews from both parties. Frisk was – and still is – a very determined person. Combining that with the humongous workload meant they were constantly working themselves to the bone.

Not that Frisk could feel it, but the worried stares and advices from their friends to take a break reminded them. It was bad enough that Frisk had slept in a bus on the way home from work, and ended up in a completely different area than what they were accustomed to. By the start of the second month, it was arranged that everyone would help Frisk in every possible way. Papyrus would bring them food and drive them to work, Toriel and Asgore would help with diplomatic relations and other monster-related topics, while Alphys and Undyne kept them safe from less-than-cooperative individuals. When all has been said and done, Frisk would find Sans waiting for them outside of the building and they would take a shortcut home.

— ✦ ✧✦✧ ✦ —

Today was no different, with the exception that it was New Year’s Eve, and Frisk had to work overtime, while their friends made sure the event ran smoothly in their stead. The event was overnight and it made Frisk want to go home with their friends and spend a relaxing evening together. However, Frisks’ burning curiosity held them in place. They had no clue how everyone looked like in fancy clothing, and they had no clue how everyone acted then they were absolutely smashed. Either way, it would prove the event to be interesting and Frisk hadn’t had fun for a long while. With renewed energy, they continued to fix themselves up for a certain monster.

Frisk stood outside of the hall, waiting for the cue to be called into the area, then they stepped in. All eyes were on them, but their eyes were searching for someone else to no avail. Slightly disappointed, yet not surprised that Sans was absent, Frisk internally reprimanded themselves that they should’ve known better. Sans wasn’t one for parties, let alone being in a formal setting. It didn’t match with his easy-going personality. They politely made small talk and greeted guests who approached them as they made their way to their friends.

“Oh, my child! You look stunning! Is that not that right, Asgore?” Toriel nudged Asgore who nodded.

“Punk! Not bad! I thought you’d be coming here in your boring work clothes.” Undyne clapped their back as a form of a congratulation for being cool.

“U-Undyne, they’re one of the special guests. They have to dress up, like in one of those anime ball scenes.”

“Thank you, everyone. Where’s the rest?” Frisk really wanted to know where Sans was.

“Papyrus is trying to get the ‘fruit punch’. We thought we had to punch the fruits but it turned out that it was the name for the juice!”

“M-Mettaton is one of the performers so he might be backstage.”

“I am not sure where Sans is. He was not with Papyrus when he walked in. Maybe he thought the event didn’t suit him.”

Well, there goes their plan for Sans. Frisk knew Toriel was trying to cheer them up because she knew of their feelings for the comedic skeleton. “I thought so. It doesn’t tie well with his personality. Thanks for letting me know.”

“NYEH! CAN’T I GO ONE DAY WITHOUT YOUR INSUFFERABLE PUNS?” Papyrus chimed in as he brought them refreshments.

“’fraid not. Thanks for the drinks.” Frisk took one gulp to realise it was champagne. They really needed that or they won’t survive the night.

“Ugh, punk. I’m not gonna lie that this is boring. Is there something else other than waiting for the clock to turn to midnight?”

“There’s a tradition of kissing the first person you see or your datemate at midnight.”

“K-kissing?” Alphys blushed and peeked at Undyne, who winked at her in return. Frisk smiled. Toriel and Asgore went rigid. Frisk quickly continued.

“I don’t know the reason why but I think it’s a way of saying that you want to start the year with them. But some people choose to not do it, even if they’re single or not.” At this, they visibly relaxed.

“OH WOWIE! SHARING A KISS ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE YEAR!”

“That was… interesting to learn. Thank you for telling us, my child.” Toriel watched their reaction as Frisks’ smile dropped a little.

“No problem.” Frisk started to feel uncomfortable. “I think I’ll get something to eat.”

Frisk left, unsure how to handle the sudden gaping loneliness in their chest. They quickly headed for the balcony, their role abandoned. They took a deep breath to look up at the sky. There weren’t many stars compared to the first time Frisk showed Sans. Besides, their beloved star wasn’t there with them. They took out their phone, and their fingers flew across the screen and hovered over Sans’ number. Looking up, it indicated that it was 11:45PM, and it steeled their decision to call him.

“did you miss me?”

Frisk spun around and they realised they were so screwed. Who knew Sans looked good in suits? Frisk felt themselves burn. They were unsure if it was the champagne they had earlier or Sans in a suit had an effect on them. They tried to find their voice.

“I missed you.” Sans grinned even wider. Under the dim lighting, the blue tint dusting his cheeks went unnoticed. “I was starting to think you weren’t coming at all.”

“well, here i am. uh, I hope you didn’t wait long.”

“I was alone for the most of the event so I don’t know... How about we make up for lost time?” Frisk teased, a sly smile on their face.

“we have all night, what do you want?” Frisk thought for a while before they grabbed his arm.

“what are you doing?”

“Shut up and dance with me!” Frisk grinned, swaying to the music.

“if the lady says so, your wish is my command.”

Peals of laughter falls from Frisks’ lips as they danced in the garden, both of them soon realised that they couldn’t dance and instead made up their own dance along the way. They were so immersed in their own world that they didn’t realise they went far into the garden. Frisk didn’t care. They had Sans with them. A loud shout from the hall, pulled them both out of their trance. Breathless, Frisk shushed Sans and listened intently.

Five.

Frisks’ face lightened up. “Oh! They’re counting down!”

Four.

Sans became confused. “what’s important about that?”

Three.

“You’ll see. Just look at me first.”

Two.

Sans obliged.

One.

Frisk smashed their lips against Sans.

A loud bang overhead made Frisk pull away. The fireworks bathed both of them in light, painting them in different colours, and to Frisk, it couldn’t be any more perfect in that moment when they were both in each other’s arms. Frisk might as well have confessed right then and there, but they think they’ve conveyed it well enough because Sans was staring at them the same way they did on the night they saw the stars together on top of Mount Ebott.

“Happy New Year, Sans.”

[ujimaarc]

"My king looks so very tired. It makes one wonder why he is not still asleep as he should be? The sun is hours from rising, love. Return to our bed?"

Science is T’Challa’s general weapon to doggedly question truths beyond his mortal coil. Almost akin to being exposed to a child’s metaphysical imagination, one would want to try to have their wonderment quelled with comprehensible justifications. Opulent Okoume trees circled a lake that seems to have millions of crushed diamonds captured across the surface. The sky was infinitely darker than the preceding noon in the frame of a goddess over red-and-green Wakandan cotton.

The very same frame that had taken the Panther chieftain’s corporeal picture and entangled him in her statuesque dimensions. Above, the stars mapped out the physique of those that took the Great Cat mantle before him versus their usual random spread.

The cat of worship never failed at bringing a mythical challenge to her avatar, much to his chagrin. Failing at entertaining herself by making him uneasy with his understanding of her supernatural naturality is a reality she’ll embrace whenever he chooses to allow it to come.

Through the surreal mist, gold eyes belonging to a twelve foot anthropomorphic bats in the interest of the direction where her nude king sat with company. In a circle made up of a litter of sleeping panther cubs, T'Challa’s amber eyes break from their adoration for the revered creatures and to the one he honored with every breath-take and choice he made towards the betterment of his country.

Time—as she can tell—as she already knew—brought about a welcomed change in T’Challa’s demeanor. Bast is accustomed to noticing his powerful muscles tensing in discomfort and the subtle shifts his jaws do when she spontaneously arranges for them to have their little talks. In this meeting, his composition is the warm radiance of a warrior that unearthed the greatest feeling he’ll ever know ( this time, he would have no qualms with his feline pantheon whisking him off without warning—and this she knew. This is why she sought him at his most vulnerable ).

Whilst entwined in a web of worship in the form of a storm held together by a solid sensuous darkness of her champion’s sinews, Bast patiently waited to converse until the flirtatious kisses ended; until desires to tame an insatiable animalistic hunger stilled; until pillow talk with respect to their longing for this intimate reciprocity ended in amber cat-eyes and oceanic eyes consumed with one another came down into a contented slumber.

“ I am happy for you, my son.” Her tone is thick-accented, flowing strong and finer than her people’s wine. “ I have conversed with your predecessor about the affairs of his heir’s heart—Wakanda’s Queen. Your father had been impregnated with the thought that you had foolishly deprived yourself of having and more importantly keeping romantic love in his life. I trust my champion is aware that T’Chaka wasn’t alone in the belief that his son had gone mad. ” The panther’s smile gives a slight peek into a maw full of imposing fangs. A maw that gradually assumes the full pink lips to her human design of an alluring midnight black woman. 

She kneels outside the cub circle and reaches over to caress her avatar’s cheek. Her palm’s warmth is comparable to how Queen Mother touched him. Her earthly musk intoxicated his senses and almost stirred him away from caring about the purpose of this unexpected meeting. Mention of his father concerns and the thought of Ororo snuggled against his form back in the real world necessitated his focus on the conversation.

“ There was a Burundian proverb that haunted my mind ever since I made the contumelious decision to break the greatest woman this world has led me to know. “Where there is love, there is no darkness.” ” Without needing to delve into the darkness that kept him engulfed ( for Bast has always known her champion’s trials and tribulations and will continue to know until his time is up and he is to join his ancestors ), he goes on to gently whisper,  “ The fault lies in no one but myself for influencing that impression. Embarrassingly enough, It took me longer than it should have to make, as they say, heads-and-tails, of my feelings and what was ultimately the right course of action to take. ”

“ —And after you finally followed your heart, you’re here,” Bast perceived. “ Now that you are, a part of you is in disbelief, virtually unable to comprehend that it’s a reality that the Wind Rider has given you the privilege of having her heart once more and that you two share the same bed once again. ” She fills their surroundings with syrupy laughter then. In ways, he is not the mid-thirty-year-old king of an unconquerable land, but a boy still learning about the ways of the world around. A fault not on him, for he is a mortal dealing with extraordinary mortal hardships, but an amusing one to observe nonetheless. “ Unlike the past chieftains of the Panther clan, you’re criminally harder on yourself—more than most your enemies. ”

It’s a truth she hasn’t admitted to him yet, but But bast enjoyed watching her representative put the elephantine puzzle pieces of his life together. Each piece that connected created a powerful layer that formed around the undying legend of the Great T’Challa, for as long as this Earth is never obliterated. It was only recently that he solidified that belief when he sought reconciliation with the herald of mutant-kind and won her over again.

T’Challa paused, became reflective—of his royal status and of Ororo. They came a long way. They were going a long way. He was able to be confident in that. She made that possible. He would like to call it… Kismit.

                                                  Flashing back…

Just yesterday night, the sliver of placid pine that underlines her sultry voice enticed him to join her in a dance that commands the attention of every Wakandan in attendance. Like a curious little boy, he only wished to shy amongst the audience and bare witness to the full sight of her curves in motion. To watch the entranced faces of those in the Royal Palace admire and appreciate she who ruled their king’s heart work her art form in a way they have never seen before. 

Her two identities—Kenyan and African-American—mixed with her own unnamed flavor delivered mysticism by her lonely, but she wanted to be joined—needed to be joined. By him. By the man that yearned for her to be back, by his side, as his love. She set her sights on him and merrily navigated her hypnotic rhythm his way, and pulled him to be united under the spotlight without resistance. How could he resist? Even his ancestor, Hu’Nahn The Defiant could understand his lovestruck successor’s fall. 

Their smiles were pliant to each other’s preciously-powered, cosmo-imbued propinquity. The luxurious world around them was lost, the two stepped in an enchanting rhythm, with each step building up a new universe around them. Having their fingers interlocked like they were put him in a bind of childish need and discipline. She spins like a miniature tornado ( one she free willingly allows him to have control of ) and his arm around her lower-back prevents her fall from his grace. There they found their eyes lost in their respective vibrantly-hued depths like children experiencing the cliche “love at first sight”, and wealthy fits of laughter would soon follow. She complimented his reaction time, then hit him with a threat that no one else could hear: if he had missed his cue and missed catching her, he would be in for a miserable night and none, not even his Dora Milaje would be able to save his hide.

His Highness made her aware that he has indeed been catching every cue tonight and how he intends on properly responding when their space is their own. 

( How can he who possesses the natural instinct of man, the uncanny senses of the panther, and the stubborn bull-like focus miss any of Storm’s venereal transmitted signals? From the blatant flirting to the way she talks to him in codes in front of others, the few chances she stole to whisper when others were out of earshot, and the little signs of impatience she showed, wanting the night to reach its end. )

Twenty minutes later T’Challa delivered a timeline of messy garbs ( some that’ll need to be rethreaded, others pulled off as gentlemanly and womanly possible under carnal influences ) reverential touches and kisses, and the unplanned one-on-one session taking place currently in the spirit plane.

“ I’m merely a king and a man that’s mused by all the blessings his love has given him. ” He finally said, commitment clear in his voice. “ I am the opposite of afraid: with an inquisitive mind, I can’t help but wonder about the channels that I can take to keep things the way they are going—I am purely enthusiastic about our new journey. ”

All of what he says please Bast. It is good to hear him speak confidently again and understanding that’s retreating his brooding phase. This was quality that will keep her fed—for now. “ Very well. You present no reason for me to doubt your words, my Black Panther. It is her first day back and the reception on her return has gone exceedingly well. After all that you two have done for the world, you both deserve to have your own semblance of happiness.” Her visage became faint in an expanding mist, along with her voice as if was quickly retreating into another plane that’s making it impossible for him to be near. “ May you and Wakanda’s future Queen prosper for a long to come. We will have a chat again. Your woman is awake. ”

When T’Challa opens his eyes, he finds himself in a position that he wasn’t in prior ( as previously mentioned, he was in Ororo’s arms. Plane-walking? ): he was standing in front of his window, posture struck militantly, with his hands cuffed just above his tailbone. A sweet, husky voice broke his amber-hues from their attention on the moon and the stars above to the dark-skin beaut regarding him in confusion from behind him in his—their—bed. His conversation with Bast is pushed at the back of his mind, as he saunters over to their bedside. “ Apologies, my love. ” Our king sat down on the edge, reached over to have his thumb stroke her defined cheekbone, and touched her full lips affectionately “ I have been thinking about giving you a personal taste of home for breakfast: for starters, how does Mandazi sound to you? Coconut milk, cardamom, and coconut are the main ingredients for that, correct? ”

@fierceststorm

[wowweeharrystyles]

2. “Kiwi” - Sparks Fly

Here’s the 2nd piece to Sparks Fly!!!

Word Count: 4.6K

A/N: I was inspired to write this & drew this story line from the videos of Harry performing ‘Kiwi’ at Radio City Music Hall last September. (videos are linked in my masterlist & found under the “Sparks Fly” tag)

feedback is always welcomeeee :) 

   “Talia, they said no to ‘Kiwi’,” Harry says, defeated.

   “What do you mean they said no?” I ask, confused. He was just coming out of a quick meeting with his label.    “They said no to ‘Kiwi’ being the next single. They say it isn’t true to my brand or what I should represent. What a load of bullshit.” He’s frustrated now but his body is completely still.

   “Harry, remember you promised me and most importantly yourself? That you’re doing this your way? You have the final say in everything. What do they want to do if not ‘Kiwi’?”

   “‘Two Ghosts,’ think they can spin the story better for publicity,” he groans thinking about the stupid questions he’s already asked about that song. “I told them ‘Kiwi’ or no more singles and they said “we’ll keep this conversation going for a while” like I was a damn child in that meeting.”

   I stand up from the office chair I’ve been glued to since Harry left this morning and walk towards his frigid body in the hallway. He hasn’t walked much farther into the hotel room than enough to close the door behind him. He’s tense, frustrated and defeated. I haven’t seen him like this in a very long time. I reach for his right hand and squeeze it. It’s almost like he’s looking through me right now. His eyes are slightly glassed over and looking at a blank space behind me. I place my left hand on his cheek and move his head so he has no choice but to look me in the eyes.

   “Harry, listen, you’re in charge. You make the final decisions, now. The guys who said ‘no’ don’t know how to handle the fact that your success, knowledge and talent puts you in the point of power. So, you’re not going to take no for an answer. You’re gonna show them that they’re wrong and you know your audience best and what is best for your album and career.”

   “And how am I gonna show them that?” he asks, now relaxed a little bit.

   “You’re gonna perform ‘Kiwi’ like you’ve been doing. It’s your favourite to perform right?” He nods his head. “Right, and everyone loves it, on the album and especially live. You’ll let the song itself do it all.”

   “But what if..” he starts to question.

   “No what-ifs here, ‘Kiwi’ will be your next single. Just perform it how you always do, trust me. Your fans will do all the work.”

   He nods again after a moment of thinking. A small smile creeps on his face. He releases my right hand and moves both hands to cup my checks. After a moment of searching my face, he gently kisses me.

   “What would I do without you?” he flashes a big grin.

   “Let’s not try to figure that out again, okay?” I say jokingly and he giggles. I break away from him and go sit down on the couch. I can feel him follow close behind me. We sit down on the couch and Harry pulls me into him.

   “So what’d you do while I was gone?” he asks as he settles into the couch.

   “Um, I sent some emails, worked on some homework, nothing too exciting,” I reply as I let my body weight fall against him, my back to his front.

   “How is your homework? You’re not getting behind are you?” he asks with furrowed brows.

   “Oh no, I’m doing pretty well actually. It’s been pretty easy getting as much done as possible while you’re busy. The last thing I want to be doing when you have some free time is homework.” He kisses my temple with a hum.

   “I like the way you think, but seriously, please let me know if you need to do homework. All I care about is being in the same room as you, hell, the same city works. And anyways, I like watching you work.”

   I twist around in his arms to face him. I gently place my right hand on his cheek and play with the small, shorter, curls near his ear. His eyes are soft as he imitates my actions and softly plays with my hair. He’s tired from his meeting and all the traveling - I know he’s fighting his sleepy eyes. I softly kiss his lips and linger close for a second. When I look up to meet his eyes they’re still closed. I run my hands through his hair and his head slightly falls back.    “Harry… let’s take a nap…” I say as I sit up on the edge of the couch, “Come on,” I grab both of his hands and pull him up so he’s next to me on the edge of the couch. Grabbing a pillow, I lay down on the couch behind where Harry’s sitting. I rub his back letting him know to lay down in front of me. Once he’s laying down on his side and comfortable, I scooch closer to him and sling my top leg over his legs and wrap an arm around his torso. With my other arm, which is propped up on the pillow, I smooth his hair down and move it out of his face. I place a soft kiss behind his ear and by the little reaction I can tell he’s almost asleep. I start to sink into the couch and give him a small squeeze.

   “Thank you,” he whispers, “for…”

   “Shhh…” I cut him off as I rub his arm. He hums in response and in no more than a minute he’s asleep. I’m grateful for times like this where I can take care of him. He’s always the one taking care of me and I love to repay his constant kindness and support. I know that’s what we have each other for, but sometimes I just think Harry believes that with his success and the fame he’s gained over the years that he has to constantly be on top of everything. I know he needs a break sometimes and that’s been hard for him because he thinks he always needs to be “on” and be “Harry Styles.”

   It’s still early in the day so there’s plenty of time to spend together. I’m not that sleepy but the weight of Harry’s fully relaxed body puts me at ease. I set an alarm on my phone knowing that we can and will sleep for longer than we should. I continue to play with his hair until I can’t keep my eyes open. I slide my arm that’s propped on top of the pillow underneath his torso. This movement makes him stir but he doesn’t wake. I wrap my hands tightly around his ribcage and bury my face into his neck where his hair line stops. The smell of his shampoo mixed with his cologne is so comforting.  I try to fight the tiredness just so I can continue to take in his smell but I fall asleep faster than I want.

   I wake, slightly startled by my surroundings but recognize Harry’s body in my arms, quickly, calming me. I will never get used to waking up in unfamiliar places like Harry had so long ago.  I reach for my phone that’s ringing on the armrest. After I turn off the alarm, I prop myself up slightly, brush Harry’s hair off his face and press a kiss to his head as he wakes up.  A soft smile appears on his face, his eyes barely open.

   “Hiii,” he whispers slowly as he looks up at me. I graze my lips across his temple close to his eye. He hums in response before carefully twisting so he’s lying on his back, looking directly up at me. I then lay my head on his chest and rest my hand on the center of his chest. Harry starts to play with my hair lightly, I can tell that his eyes are closed again as the movement from his hand is heavy and unorganized. I reach for the cluster of necklaces that hang around his neck. I pull the charms that hang at the bottom of the chains out from underneath his t-shirt. I’ve always loved his necklaces and the special meanings behind all of them. Nowadays, they’re almost always covered by whatever he’s wearing  instead of hanging out on the outside or peaking through his barely button shirt. I try to untangle the necklaces a bit so I can give them a proper look but give up knowing it’s near impossible. I haven’t seen Harry without these particular necklaces since before he went to Jamaica to write the album. The lotus flower - the smallest charm, but the focal point of his album cover - is one of my absolute favourites he’s ever worn.

   We were having a lazy Sunday morning, almost a year ago. Harry was starting to get things moving with his solo career. He was leaving for Jamaica in just about a month. This trip was something he always wanted to do - get away from everything and just write and make music and enjoy doing what he loves with the most creative people he could find. That random Sunday as we were drinking coffee and making plans for the day Harry said he wanted to go out and find a new necklace. He specifically wanted something that would represent this new part of his life and career. After talking about it and researching some different symbolism we reached the idea of the Lotus Flower. The Lotus resembles rebirth. This meaning sat with Harry best and we were off. We went to his favourite jewelers where he always gets his rings polished and old necklaces repaired. The first Lotus charm they showed us was the one he liked best. We walked out of the shop after 20 minutes and Harry was clad in his shiny new necklace. He wore it on the outside of his t-shirt. He held on my hand tightly, his other hand holding on to his new necklace and a smile plastered on his face.

   Besides his old paper airplane necklace that he gave me years ago cause I loved it so much, this Lotus flower was was so important and special to him and soon became my favourite.

   “So, when do I get this one?” I ask jokingly holding the lotus charm in my hands. He opens his eyes and looks down to my hand. He chuckles.

   “You already got my paper plane, ain’t getting this one too, love.” We both love having things that once belonged to each other, keeps us close when we’re far away. I knew the second Harry bought this necklace that it would never leave his possession. It was too important and too special - this will always be his. I frown back at him anyways, he knows I’m always joking about wanting that necklace.

   “Well, I want my grandmother’s scarf back, then,” another ongoing joke - I say with a pout.

   When my grandmother passed away I inherited one of her small hair scarfs - a light coral with flowers printed on it. I treasured it more than anything. Harry fell in love with it one day when he borrowed it and to this day he still takes it with him wherever he goes. If he’s not wearing it around his head it’s tied to his bag, tucked inside his suitcase or folded up into his leather journal. I didn’t even know he had taken it with him until Anne sent me a photo of his journal with the scarf wrapped around it. Knowing how much that journal held in it, having my grandmothers scarf mixed in with all his written thoughts made my heart swell up and I knew from that day that I could never take it back.

   “No, Tals, you can’t. You won’t,” he whines knowing full well that I will never take that scarf from him, only borrow it when we’re together. I loved seeing him with a little bit of my grandmother attached to him, knowing she would’ve loved him.

   I raise my body up slightly so I can press a soft, lingering kiss to his lips. I look into his green eyes, much more rested now after the nap, less frustration evident in them as well. I smile at him.

    “Feeling better?” I ask. He hums in response. “Good. Should we grab something to eat before you need to be at the venue?” He nods and rubs circles into the small of my back.

   “You really think this is gonna work?”

   “Harry, trust me,” I say as I stand up and offer a hand to him to help him off the couch.

   We get to the venue after a late lunch. Harry’s been warming up and hanging out with his band and crew for a bit. I always like to give him time to be with them be them before the show. I don’t like keeping him from his job, but he hates leaving me alone. Being alone doesn’t bother me much. There always work I can do and I can easily entertain myself. Otherwise, I just find Lou and we hang out and she always shares new makeup with me or messes with my hair. Now that Harry doesn’t have much hair to mess with she always ends up braiding my hair this way and that.

   “Hey babes,” Lou says as I walk towards her in the large green room where some of the crew is hanging.

   “Lou!” I say with a smile and give her a hug and kiss on the cheek.

   “How was your day with Harry?”

   “It was good. He had a meeting this morning….” I trail off, Harry shares a lot of things with Lou. She nodded knowingly. 

   “He seemed upset afterwards, didn’t go as planned.”

   “Not exactly but he’s got it. He knows what to do,” I say while picking up a piece of fruit from the craft table.

   “Lucky to have ya around, sweetie,” Lou says as she throws an arm around my shoulders and hugs me. “Now, let’s go find that kid.”

   We walk out of the green room and start making our way through the many hallways, giggling along the way. We say hi to all the crew members as we pass each one. We follow the trail of laughter and vocals that is echoing through the halls. It was about 30  minutes until Harry and his band took the stage. Knowing Harry’s pre-show routine, warm ups should be about done. Lou and I pass another large room that has some craft services.

   “Hey, let me grab Harry some tea real quick,” I say as I pull Lou through a wide doorway. She just smiles and shakes her head as she follows along.

   I grab a  lemon ginger tea bag, Harry’s favourite pre-show tea. I add a packet of Splenda to the cup with the tea bag. I turn the electric kettle on and wait for the water to boil. I make a cup of coffee for myself as Lou and I chat about everything and anything. She’s telling me about the funny things Lux has been up to when the kettle dings, signaling the water is boiling. I pour the water into the cup and press a lid on top and stuff a few napkins in the pocket of my jacket. With Harry’s cup of tea in one hand and my coffee in the other, Lou and I make our way to Harry’s dressing room, again following the laugher and singing. As we step into the room, Harry’s back is to us as he is facing his bandmates who are all scattered around the room on couches, stools, and standing. Harry is decked out in his new Gucci suit for the show - red with black flowers. His suit jacket is thrown across the armrest on the seat next to him and his black button down shirt fits tightly across his shoulders. Harry’s voice echoes through the room as he finishes a run through of a vocal warmup.

   “Hi, Natalia,” Clare exclaims as she makes her way over to me. I hadn’t seen her yet today and she pulls me in for a big hug. I hug her back as well as I can with 2 hot cups in my hands. Harry’s band and I have gotten pretty close too. Clare, Sarah and I tend to hang out when the boys are messing around and get a bit obnoxious. It’s also nice to have some more girls around on tour - for the all the tours I’ve been on with Harry, there are boys everywhere, and I mean literally everywhere. Lou has always been there but the more the merrier.

   “Aw, hi, Clare!” I exclaim as we break apart.

   Harry turns around following Clare’s movements towards me. As I step away from Clare, Harry is soon to replace where she was standing in front of me.

   “For me?” he says reaching for one of the cups in my hand.

   “Nope,” I reply with a smirk and a frown appears on Harry’s face, “This one is,” I say as I offer the other cup to him.

   He grabs his tea from my hand and reaches his other hand up to my chin. He lifts my chin up towards his face, looks into my eyes and presses a kiss to my lips. When he pulls away he rubs his nose against mine and then kisses my forehead.

   “Thanks for the tea, Angel,” he says with a smile.

   “ ‘Course. Love the suit by the way, “ I say as I tug at his shirt. I reach up to the bow that is barely tied at the collar of the shirt and tug it completely untied with a grin and a wink.

   “Hey, you two, keep it PG,” Mitch hollars from the couch.

   “How about you give us some space,” Harry fights back but he can’t keep a straight face to save his life. “Just kidding, Mitchy,” he giggles. Mitch shoots him a small smirk from behind the long hair that covers quite a bit of his face.

   “Mitch, Harry, you two need to keep it PG,” I joke as I roll my eyes and walk over to the empty chair. After setting down my coffee on the table next to the chair, I pick up Harry’s suit coat and sit down. I gingerly lay the suit coat across my lap, running my free hand over the slightly textured fabric. Harry seems to be in a much better mood than he had been earlier today. I’m excited to see him perform. I’ve only seen the show once before just a few days ago when we were in Chicago. Watching Harry perform on stage makes me just as happy as he is when he’s performing. I smile up at him when I hear him laugh after something Adam said that I missed. Harry’s got a hand in his pocket and  his tea in the other. His curls are sitting perfectly in place, the smile on his face pokes out his dimples and his eyes are scrunched so much their almost closed.

   Jeffrey and Harry’s Stage Manager come in just a few minutes later calling them to the stage. I help Harry put on his suit coat. Once he’s got both arms through the sleeves he turns around and tugs on the front lapels to get it situated on his shoulders comfortably. I reach up and smooth out the collar and tighten the bow he tied back up after I untied it earlier.

   “Good Luck, H,” I say softly, reaching my right hand up to his cheek. I tuck a rogue curl behind his ear before resting my hand back on his cheek. I pull his face down lightly and he meets me halfway in a kiss.

   “I love you, Natalia,” he says with his forehead pressed to mine after the kiss ends.

   “Love you most.” I kiss his cheek before he turns and walks out of the dressing room in the same direction his band left a few minutes ago.

   Lou and I are brought to the blocked off section behind the soundboard towards the back of the floor seating by one of the security guards just as ‘Ever Since New York’ begins. I sing along and dance with Lou as Harry moves through his setlist. He’s snuck in ‘Story of My Life’ when I’m expecting ‘Kiwi’ to be played next. I had no idea he was adding that to the set tonight and it was a pleasant surprise. It reminds me of my mom as it’s her favourite and I smile to myself. He puts a new twist on it with a more rock backtrack and as the song ends he grabs some water before blowing kisses to the audience. He walks up to the mic once his band has stopped playing.

   “If you don’t sing with me on the next one, I’m not coming back,” he says trying to hide a grin and his nerves. He mumbles something as he walks away from the mic but I can’t make it out.

   Kiwi begins and the audience goes crazy. Harry's dancing around on stage but I can tell he’s a bit distracted by something. His mic cord gets twisted around his mic stand at one point and then he’s unable to hit the “Kiwi Pose” as it’s been dubbed cause the stand won’t slide back down to its normal height.

   “When she’s alone she go home to her….” he trails off singing, “Stop, stop, stop, stop,” he holds his hand up to his band behind them, signaling them to stop. My eyes go wide and I reach out to grab Lou’s hand.

   “What?” I drag out under my breath before I noticed the shit-eating grin he’s got on his face. He’s up to something. He pulls out his ear piece as he looks down at his shoes.

   “You were good,” he states, talking with his hand that isn’t clasped around the mic. “I need you to be better.” The crowd erupts in screams. “I promise you I will play as many times as it takes to get it right,” he finishes with another grin, showing his teeth this time. “Okay,” he clips his mic back into the stand, “are you ready to try again?” The screams are deafening. He asks each section of the audience if they’re ready before taking a dramatic and exaggerated deep breath. “Okay, let’s start,” he says calmly. The screams are bouncing off the walls and I can barely hear my own thoughts. ‘Kiwi’ starts again and I notice the giant smile that’s taken over my face. I shake my head at his dramatics and begin dancing to his second go around of ‘Kiwi.’

   The vibe in the room has elevated. I can feel the floor of the theatre bounce slightly along to the beat of the music. Harry’s energy has escalated on stage and in turn the screams have become deafening. The sound bouncing off the walls is almost unbearable but the happiness, excitement, and plain adrenaline pulsing through the theatre is enough to ignore the fact that everyone’s ears will be ringing for hours after the show.

   Harry’s curls are bouncing around, no longer in the tamed position they once were when he stepped on stage. The large vein on the left side of his neck is protruding so much that one more yell or belting of “baby” seems like it could burst it. If he isn’t bouncing around keeping a tight grip on the mic cord so he doesn’t trip, he’s dramatically marching to the beat and his elbows move in a way that almost looks like he’s imitating a chicken - in the cutest way possible. After spraying the first few rows of fans with water he jumps around and pumps both fists in the air simultaneously.

   “I’M GONNA PAY FOR THIS OWWWW,” he belts into the mic that is now clipped into the stand at center stage. He finishes singing and dancing, running back and forth across the front of the stage urging the audience to scream louder and dance harder. He takes a large gulp of water from one of the bottles sitting on Sarah’s drum risers. On cue with the last beat of the song, he sprays a short burst of water into the air, something that has become a ‘thing’ and fans wait for each show.

   The screams are louder now that the music stops. The lights are out and not a single person in the entire theatre can hear their own thoughts. If Harry had any doubts about his next single, they have to be washed away after that. The group of men in suits from Columbia Records that I know are sitting in the corner balcony have something coming if they didn’t think that performance alone proves why ‘Kiwi’ is Harry’s next single.

   After a few more songs and thank you’s, Harry launches into ‘Sign of the Times.’ He takes the length of this song to stand behind his mic stand, gripping on it with tight knuckles. He waves to fans and gives them thumbs ups making sure to make eye contact with them as he does. The energy is still high but it’s a different feeling than there was when he performed ‘Kiwi.’ There isn’t screaming or dancing, the entire theater is belting the words along with Harry and he’s constantly trying to hide a genuine smile. He takes a moment to step away from the mic stand and yells for the audience to sing. He spreads his arms out to the side and drops his head back on his shoulders, a huge smile still visible on his face. Even after months of performing ‘Sign of the Times’ Harry still gets overwhelmed by the response from the audiences and it’s one of his favourite experiences to talk to me about after each show.

   ‘Sign of the Times’ begins to end and I look to Lou and the security guard with us knowing that we have to get backstage before the lights come up. But the stage lights don’t go out cause Harry doesn’t leave the stage like he normally does. He releases a short chuckle into the mic before speaking.

   “One more thing before I go because I’ll regret it if I don’t. New York is where Columbia Records is based. I like them very much and I’d like to thank them for being with me tonight. But I would like to tell you I suggested that ‘Kiwi’ was the next single,” he’s pacing slightly and messing with the mic cord in his hands. “I’d just like to suggest it a little more, and uh, maybe if we play it again, that we could have a deal,” he looks up to the balcony where the men in suits are sitting and shrugs his shoulders while making eye contact with them. “I mean, would you want to?” he asks turning his attention back to the entire audience. After a brief second of added screams, Harry turns to Mitch, Sarah, Clare and Adam behind him giving them a small shrug, grin and a nod, clearly verifying the situation. I realize in this moment that they must have planned this little encore earlier cause their faces are calm and ready. I can see the tension he’s holding in his shoulders before turning around. Harry turns back to the audience and gives an exaggerated, sarcastic, “Okay,” like he’s doing them an annoying favour. “Here it is,’ he say nonchalantly, a grin tugging as his lips. The sass and cheek he’s displayed tonight proves that he is truly in charge and knows what his fans want. 

   As ‘Kiwi’ begins for the 3rd and final time that night, I know, Harry knows, and everyone else in that room knows that it’ll be the next single.

Hope you enjoyed :) - Maria xx. 

[mst3kproject]

Spider Baby, or the Maddest Story Ever Told

You will find this movie under many titles, including Cannibal Orgy and The Liver Eaters, but Spider Baby is probably the most appropriate for both the content and the tone.  You'll also find it dated to both 1964, when it was shot, and 1967, when it was released (after being auctioned off when the producer went backrupt shortly after the film was finished).  For our purposes, what matters is that it stars Lon Chaney Jr from The Indestructible Man and Sid Haig from Wizards of the Lost Kingdom II, and the cinematographer was Alfred Taylor, who did the same job on The Atomic Brain. The latter explains a lot.

The Merrye family suffers from an incurable genetic disease that causes progressive degeneration of the brain starting at around the age of ten or twelve.  Sufferers regress into a childlike state before finally being reduced to drooling, mindless cannibals! Despite this, the family seems to have been living quite happily in isolation, looked after by Bruno the chauffeur, until one day some cousins turn up looking for the family fortune.  Realizing they could be taken away and separated, the family tries to convince them to leave, then to scare them away – and finally decide they're just going to have to kill them.

Spider Baby has a reputation for being a cult classic, which puts it in the odd position of appearing on several lists of The Worst Movies Ever Made while also having a one hundred percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes!  I have to say, the movie is pretty bad, but at the same time, it's also mesmerizing. There are bits that I think you're supposed to laugh at, bits you're not supposed to laugh at but do anyway, bits that fail spectacular to be scary, and bits that are creepy as shit.

At a glance, Spider Baby comes across as an embryonic form of the 'crazy family in an isolated house' movie, a precursor to The Hills Have Eyes or The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It probably is, but there's one important difference: while movies like that see the fucked-up world of the family through the eyes of an outsider, in Spider Baby the Merryes themselves are our point-of-view characters!  We meet them when a delivery man arrives at the house, only to be stabbed to death by a young woman who tells him that he's a bug caught in her spiderweb!  With the 'straight man' out of the way, we have to meet the family on their own terms.

The youngest is Elizabeth, a spiteful but mostly normal girl of indeterminate age (it's really hard to tell how old the 'children' are supposed to be, partly because they're supposed to be mentally regressed but also partly because we're all used to actors in their twenties and thirties playing teenagers – actress Beverly Washburn was twenty-four).  Middle child Virginia dotes on her two pet tarantulas, Barney and Winnifred, when she's not murdering the guests or kissing skeletons goodnight (Jill Banner was twenty-one).  The Eldest, Ralph, is a non-verbal sexual predator who enjoys raw meat (Sid Haig was twenty-eight).  Three more, who have degenerated into sub-human monsters, are kept locked up in the basement.

This menagerie of weirdos is cared for by Bruno, the family chauffeur, who swore an oath to their dying father that he would look after them for as long as is necessary.  Lon Chaney Jr. actually gives a really good performance in this role.  We can feel that he loves the children and really believes it's better to keep the family together at any cost, and is very much afraid of what might happen when Emily and Peter meet them.  When he and the family clean up and try to look a little more normal for their visitors, our sympathies are with them. We are right with them in resenting the intrusion, and anticipate the fates of Emily and the lawyer with thoroughly nasty glee.

Besides Lon Chaney Jr., the movie has one other really effective actor, Sid Haig.  If his performance doesn't make your skin crawl, especially when he's creeping down the wall to look through Emily's window, then you should probably see a dermatologist.  The movie amps up the creep factor in other ways, too – the music is pretty good, referencing The Itsy Bitsy Spider in a way that's both chilling and funny.  The unbelievably awkward dinner scene has no music at all, which makes for a sense of claustrophobia.  The house is decorated with taxidermied birds, which I found pretty creepy in themselves, although this may just be my personal dislike of taxidermy. Naturally, one of them turns out to be a real bird and scares the bejeezus out of the lawyer.  Too bad it's so obvious, which ruins the jump scare when the animal moves.

The movie's theme is fairly well-developed, too – it's about humanity's fear of our own inner monsters.  For as long as we have recognized that we are qualitatively unlike the rest of the animal kindom, we have worried about what might happen if whatever causes that difference were to cease to function.  Might we really all be just one head injury away from savagery?  The family members of different ages represent stages in the disintegration of an individual's humanity: first, like Elizabeth, they become mean. Then, like Virginia, they become murderers.  Third, like Ralph, they are torturers and rapists.  Finally, like the creatures in the cellar, they are cannibals.  One by one, all taboos are broken, and the thin verneer of humanity is stripped away to reveal the monster underneath.

The final taboo is incest, which we are told has occurred in the Merrye family and has made the syndrome worse.  It is notable, however, that there is no hint of it among the characters we actually meet – Ralph never tries to molest his sisters, and they show no fear of him doing so.  For all her love of knives, Virginia never tries to hurt Elizabeth or Ralph, either, and none of them ever tries to harm their surrogate father, Bruno.  Demented as they are, this little family is a loving one, and they save their violence for outsiders. This is a big part of why the three children remain endearing characters even as they commit unspeakable crimes.  Their familial love is the one nugget of humanity they have not yet lost.

Another fear that Spider Baby takes advantage of is the fear of what's in our genes.  This, too, is very old.  Long before we understood the basis of it, we knew that some diseases and conditions ran in families.  Hemophilia is a good example, as are things like ectrodactyly ('lobster syndrome'), and like Merrye Syndrome they become more pronounced in small gene pools – witness the prevelance of polydactyly (six fingers) among the Amish.  Until very recently it was impossible to tell if a baby had inherited the flawed genes until it was born, and pregnancy in such families was a roller-coaster of hope and terror.  Spider Baby takes it one step further, positing a syndrome that does not manifest until late childhood.  How much more stressful this must have been for the late Titus Merrye, having to wait until his children were ten or twelve before learning whether they'd inherited the condition that he was lucky enough to escape? No wonder he died young.

Worse still, such conditions can hide in a bloodline for multiple generations without ever manifesting, until somebody finally loses the genetic lottery.  This is addressed at the end of the movie, when we get Cousin Peter's happily-ever-after ending with his wife Anne and daughter Jessica – who is fascinated by spiders.  Is she showing early symptoms of Merrye Syndrome?  The movie certainly wants us to think she is, in which case Peter should not have taken it for granted that he wasn't a carrier.  None of us can.

What about the sufferers themselves?  With conditions like ectrodactyly, it is with a person from birth and he or she will learn to live with it, never knowing anything else.  Among the Merryes, however, a child would grow up seeing aunts and uncles who must be locked away, and perhaps watching older siblings decline, all while knowing that a similar fate may or may not be awaiting them – there's no way to tell until they reach the age of onset.

While Spider Baby gives us a lot to think about, it never really gels. Except for Lon Chaney Jr. and Sid Haig the actors are nothing to write home about, and there's plenty of cheese to go with the ham. The sets always look like sets, the prop knives look like prop knives, and for every honestly uncomfortable thing (like Peter enjoying his dinner of toadstools and roast cat) there's something that falls flat (the ear in the box is no more than an anticlimax). It's still a hell of a lot of fun to watch, though, mostly because of the perfect balance struck by never making the awful characters so awful that we don't like them in spite of it all.  It's full of scenes and lines I would have loved to see the Brains run with, and a great movie to show your friends and munch popcorn while you watch their reactions.

If you're interested, there is a real-world medical condition that is strongly reminiscent of the fictional Merrye Syndrome.  This is Fatal Familial Insomnia, a genetic disease in which a toxic protein, called a prion, slowly accumulates in the brain over the course of decades. Symptoms don't start to show until adulthood, but as the prions build up the sufferer experiences hallucinations, memory loss, convulsions, dementia, and a complete inability to sleep.  It runs in families, but you can also acquire it by random genetic mutation – and once it sets in, you have no more than two years to live.

Sweet dreams!

[2000slevisproject-blog]

THE BIRTH OF EMO CULTURE IN THE 2000s

by Michelle Guedez Zapata

Although we all saw Emo Culture flourish in our middle school years in the early 2000s, you’d be surprised to hear that the movement has been alive since the 1960s. The Beach Boys are credited with the first ever Emo album in 1966, titled Pet Sounds. It was engrained in 80′s culture in Washington, D.C. as an experimental post-hardcore sound. The name caught on due to the emotional reactions from the audience, who would sometimes cry during performances, a contrast against moshing, in which most of the participants appeared to hit each other. 

However, the Emo music heard back then is nothing like the Emo music we know from our middle school days. In 1991, the genre spread throughout the country, and it underwent a reinvention. Inspired by The Smiths, Emo music was theatrics, emotion, and punk music altogether. It became a subgenre of pop punk.

After spreading from San Francisco to New York, the grunge boom allowed for the embrace of Emo in Seattle. By 1994, bands such as Jimmy Eat World and Weezer were formed and shaped the genre for good. During this time, Emo became and underground success, attracting attention from labels such as Capitol Records and magazines such as Rolling Stone. By 1997-2002, Emo music was starting to be used in popular films such as Drew Barrymore’s Never Been Kissed. 

Emo reached mainstream success in 2002. Now the music could be heard in movies and television, and a new fashion trend began to hit middle and high schools all over the country. The spread of this genre and its stylized music videos, set the tone for a new form of fashion. The band members were seen sporting skinny jeans, dark make up, long bangs, and sometimes even black or colorful hair. Some of the bands often channeled were My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy.

Some influences of the style include Punk, Victorian, Rock, and a toned down version of Goth. The more colorful version of Emo was oftentimes referred to as Scene. However, they still followed similar trends, listened to similar bands, and were confused with each other for years.   

Emo also had a huge presence on the web as the Internet started to take over the world. Pon and Zi created by Jeff Azuzephre, were the mascots of the movement. His comics often shared two characters showing love and affection for one another using captions that read as if a child had said the words. It was innocent and sweet but contrasted by the colors used. Television cartoons such as Nickelodeon’s Invader Zim, a show about an alien who comes to Earth as part of a mission to take over, used a similar style of art. The show had silly characters placed in a misanthropic world. It was a satirical take that also included what was known as “random humor”. Images of Pon and Zi as well as Invader Zim were popular online amongst the community even if what they represented was very different.

Emo and Scene culture had their language online. Phrases such as “Rawr means I love you in Dinosaur” and usage of emoticons such as “xD” were very popular. Not only did it create a community, it gave a voice to it. Everyone who wrote that way knew they shared similar interests, and in turn felt less alone. 

Emo culture shared a rejection of the social norm with punk. Most of its members felt the world was harsh and cruel. It gave them a sense of belonging. 

Missed out on Emo or feeling a little nostalgic? Here are some links to some our favorite songs! 

I’m Just a Kid - Simple Plan 

Welcome to my Life - Simple Plan

Fences - Paramore

Check Yes Juliet - We The Kings

Sugar, We’re Going Down - Fall Out Boy

I Write Sins, Not Tragedies - Panic! At the Disco

[5hfanfiction]

Malibu Love: Chapter 45

It’s the eight time Camila wakes up during the night, and also the eight time she falls back asleep with a smile on her face. Because, Lauren is still here.

The last time Lauren stayed over for the night, Camila woke up alone and didn’t see the green eyed girl for three years.

The tenth time Camila’s eyes flutter open there’s a a sunrise coming through her window and hitting directly at her face. She lets out a groan and nuzzles her head in the crook of Lauren’s neck.

Her heart stops beating for a moment because Lauren lets out a giggle. An actual giggle, and it sounds like heaven.

Camila lifts up her head just for a moment to see that Lauren’s eyes are wide open and there’s a dopey smile on her face.

“Why are you awake?”

“Cause it’s morning dummy.”

“Exactly, shouldn’t you be making me breakfast?”

“Honestly, I wanted to. Then, I realized something.”

“What?” Camila mumbles

“What would your reaction be if you woke up alone in your bed after I spent the night here?”

And Camila doesn’t have to reply, because Lauren knows. They both know.

“I’m glad you stayed.”

“Did you think I’ll run away? Is that why every time I woke up during the night your grip on me was stronger than before?”

“Maybe.” Camila sighs

“I’m not going anywhere this time. I’m here.” Lauren takes a short break “As long as you want me.”

Camila notices the way Lauren rubs her own belly gently and it kind of breaks her heart that a part of Lauren thinks that she’ll leave her just because there’s a human being inside of her.

“Lo?”

Finally, Camila untangles her legs from Lauren’s and sits up, her back pressed against the wall.

“What’s wrong?”

“I understand that this baby will be your priority and I support you in that, I’m not gonna get mad if you can’t see me because you’re being a good mom. I’m not gonna get mad just because you forgot about our date because this little nugget kept you up the whole night before that. I can’t promise that I won’t get annoyed sometimes or be annoying, crave your affection and your love, I obviously will, you know me.”

“I do.” Lauren laughs

“The point is, I love you Lauren, all of you. This child is a part of your life and it will be as long as your heart is beating and I know that my hear will always beat for you, I also know your heart will beat for me, but it will also beat for that kid, a bit stronger. I want you to know that’s okay. But I will fight for you, not with your kid obviously, unless we’re playing around.”

There was a smile on Lauren’s face as she was listening to the words spilling out of Camila’s mouth.

“You know, it will always beat for you too. You might won’t be the only one it beats for, but it will still beat for you.”

Lauren then sat onto Camila’s lap, straddling her.

“Hey.” Camila whispered

“Hallo.” Lauren giggled

“I feel like I’m a sophomore again.”

“Because?”

“Because,” Camila shrugs “I feel the same amount of butterflies I did the first time you sat in my lap. It was about two days before Hale asked me out before you could.”

“Fuck Hale.”

“I’d rather not. Unless, it’s Lucy Hale.” Camila winked

“Way to ruin the mood Camz.”

Camila laughs and tangles her fingers in Lauren’s head, pulling her closer until their lips are connected. For less than a second.

“I didn’t brush my teeth.” Lauren mumbles

“Fine, get up, let’s brush our teeth so we can make out.”

“I know your plan Cabello, not gonna happen." 

With that, Lauren got up and walked into the bathroom.

Camila bit her lip as she watched Lauren walking away, wearing only one of Camila’s sleeping tees and her panties.

To say Camila was sexually frustrated would be a lie. She was more than just sexually frustrated, and it did not help that she was dating Lauren and that their relationship was moving on a seriously slow pace.

"Camz, do you wanna go and grab some breakfast? Well, brunch actually.”

“Yes, I’m okay with that. I have classes later today though." 

Lauren walks over to the bed and plants a soft kiss on Camila’s forehead.

"Get up then my love, do you mind if I borrow something of yours?”

“If you fit into it." 

As soon as the words left her mouth, Camila’s eyes widened.  

"Lauren, that’s not what I mean, I– I don’t think you got fat, or gained weight, well you did but it’s normal because there’s a human inside of you, and that’s-”

“Camila!” Lauren laughed “You’re rambling. It’s okay, I know what you meant. I’m curvy and that’s okay.”

“And all the right junk in all the right places." Camila sang

"When do you have classes?”

“At three, until nine I think?”

“How about this, we go out now and I annoy the hell out of you until I drop you at your college?”

“Will you pick me up?”

“Sadly no. Nick is coming over today so we’re gonna deal with the things for tomorrow’s dinner and I’m not sure how long that’ll last.”

“Is he staying at Mark’s?”

“I’m honestly not sure, he might be but I have no idea. I doubt though.”

“Is he staying at your place then?”

“No, but you could if you want to. I know what you’re doing Camz, no need to get jealous, he’s my ex.”

“We were once ex girlfriends and that did not stop us from hooking up every chance we had. And, he’s your baby daddy.

"But, you’re my daddy.” Lauren winked

“What are you doing to me Jauregui?”

“Loving you.”

“Annoying me.” Camila corrected

“Great, mission complete. You ready to go?”

“Mhm, I just gotta take my books.”

“Who even has classes on Saturday?”

“Someone whose professor was sick on Wednesday and Friday. I hate it. So, Lauren, how does it feel to be a grown up who’s dating a college girl?”

“How does it feel to date a MILF?”

“You’re not a MILF. Not yet at least, you will be in like twenty years or so.”

“Camila!” Lauren yelled

“And that’s the sound that will be leaving your mouth in also twenty years as I’m not just dating but actually doing the MILF you are.”

“Get out!”

“It’s my house.” Camila replied before giving Lauren a quick peck and walking outside of the room

Lauren could only roll her eyes before following the younger girl.

A brunch and many kisses and laughs later and Lauren pulled her car on the parking lot of University of Miami and Camila lets out a groan.

“I don’t wanna go.”

“Well, you gotta. And I gotta pick up Nick from the airport in an hour.”

“It takes you half an hour to get there Lauren.”

Lauren pecked her lips quickly before unbuckling her own seatbealt and getting out of the car so she can open Camila’s door.

“Here you go m'lady.”

Camila blushed and hid her face in the crook of Lauren’s neck.

“Hey, I’ll try to pick you up later at your house?”

“I’m probably going to DInah’s after classes.”

“Will you sleep over at her place?”

“I doubt, why? Do you want me to stay over at your place?”

“Don’t I always?” Lauren questions

Camila lets out a giggle and nods her head, because yes she does. Ever since their first actual date Camila’s been mostly sleeping at Lauren’s place.

Neither girls minded, nor did Normani. She loved to see the smile on Lauren’s face every morning.

They’d wake up and one of them would make a breakfast and a coffee( a tea for Lauren), they’d eat and talk about random stuff, Normani would call them disgustingly cute and ask Lauren about popping the question number one while Camila wasn’t there and Lauren would mostly flip her off and mumble something about waiting for the right time. Then, Normani would drive Camila to college and Lauren to work before going to the gym to work on finishing touches.

“Okay, text me when you’re done with Nick?”

“Of course, I’ll probably text you even before that.”

“Yeah, same." 

Lauren laughs and pulls Camila into another kiss; she pulls away before Camila can deepen the kiss.

"Go love, you’ll be late.”

There are butterflies in Camila’s stomach as she gives Lauren a kiss on the cheek before walking away.

She doesn’t even make it into the building before her phone buzzes in er had and she unlocks it to see a text from Lauren.

From Lolo: hi, i miss ya.

Camila turned around to see Lauren leaning on her car and smirking at her. She blew her a kiss and typed a text back.

To Lolo: you’re a dork Jauregui

Lauren smiled as she read the text and got into the car. About half an hour later she got to the airport and patiently waited for Nick to land down.

“There’s my princess." 

Lauren turned around as she heard the voice and was immediately pulled into a hug.

"Hey Nick.” The Cuban girl smiled as she pulled away

“Hey, so, my parents are driving from Orlando for the night, they booked a room in a hotel so that’s good.”

“And you? Where are you staying? At Mark’s?”

“No actually. But I am planning to talk to him tomorrow. Hell, if you wish to be with Camila and he’s not with her, he has no right to be a dick about it.”

“Where are you staying then?”

“Hotel. I thought about texting you but I don’t want to make Camila insecure or anything.”

“She’d be fine with it.” Lauren mumbled

“No she wouldn’t, and I understand her, considering your past and all.”

“I guess you do have a point. So, where am I driving you?”

“InterContinental Miami.”

“Fancy.” Lauren mocks him

“Fuck off.”

“Anyway, the dinner?”

“Can we talk about it over lunch?”

“If you’re paying.”

“Sure, is there any good restaurant near the hotel?”

“I know one.”

“Let’s get going then.”

Once dinner time comes and Lauren puts herself into the best dress she has that doesn’t really show her baby bump too much, Normani helps her with hair and make-up.

“Where’s Camila? Is she not staying with us tonight?”

“She is, I’ll pick her up after the dinner. You don’t mind having her around, do you? Because, we never really talked it through and-”

“And I’m glad she’s here to put a smile on your resting bitch face.”

“Thanks Mani.”

“But if she moves in, she has to pay for the rent, I ain’t gonna pay for her living.”

“Fair enough.” Lauren chuckles

The doorbell rings and Lauren opens it to find a very handsome Nick standing there with a bouquet of yellow roses.

“The girl at the flower shop said that yellow rose represents friendship.” Nick says as soon as they greet each other

“That’s sweet of you.” Lauren says and gives the flowers to Normani who mumbles something about not being her maid before walking away

“Let’s do this.” Nick says as they walk towards Lauren’s car

“How did you came?”

“Uber.” Nick shrugs as if it’s the most obvious thing “I don’t have a car here, remember?”

“Well, next time I need you in Miami, come with Normani’s car, we need it.”

“Sure, I’ll just drive for twenty hours because you need the car.”

“As if you wouldn’t do it.” Lauren scoffs

“I actually probably would. Fuck.”

Lauren laughs and turns on the radio a bit louder because John Legend just came on and she loves John Legend.

And then, Lauren parks the car in front of the fancy restaurant  and takes a deep breath because no one knows how this will go.

She and Nick agreed on what to say to their parents and what to keep away.

At first, it goes like every other dinner they have had with their parents, a few jokes here and their, conversation about some random topic, but then it happens.

“So, will you guys tell us why you brought us here?” Peter, Nick’s father asks

“Is everything okay?” Lauren’s mother, Clara questions

 "I’m sure everything’s fine honey.“ Mike says and rubs her hand gently

"Everything is fine guys. We just have some news for y'all.”

For a split second everyone looks at Lauren’s hand, to see if there’s a ring on it and then back at Nick when they realize there isn’t.

“There’s no ring.” Nick’s mother mumbles

“Sophie, let them speak.” Peter scolds her as if she’s his child and not wife

“No, there’s no ring, nor there will be.” Nick says

“At least not from Nick.” Lauren adds

“What do you mean love?” Clara questions

“Well, what we are trying to say is that, Lauren and I broke up. Weeks ago actually, but there have been some stuff going on and-”

“Are you sure you can’t work it out? Lauren’s a lovely girl-” Peter starts but Nick cuts him off

“No dad, we broke up and it’s for the best. We’re not in love with each other anymore, we are still really close friends- ”

“Is there a way to make a friendship work with your ex? Won’t your new partners be jealous?” Nick’s mother questions

“No, they won’t.” Lauren shrugs “We have both moved on and Nick’s met my girl-”

“Girl?” Peter cuts her off and Nick mumbles something about everyone cutting everyone off

“Yes, we were kind of high school sweethearts and now that I’m back, the connection we have had is stronger than ever. She’s met Nick and she knows he’ll always be a part of my life.”

“You can’t know that for sure. Something can happen and you’ll fight-”

“And we’ll be fine mom. We have to be.” Nick explains

“How can you be so sure?” Mike asks

“Because dad, you, all of you, are gonna be a grandparents.” Lauren says just above a whisper

“Nick Ryan you can not broke up with her if she’s pregnant.” Nick gets scolded by his mother

“He can, and the break up was mutual.” Lauren defends him

“But you’re moving to Miami, right? For the kid?” Clara asks

“No ma'am, I’m staying in New York, my life is there. I’ll visit as often as I can and we agreed I’ll be allowed to see the child whenever I please to do so.”

 "Oh honey, maybe you should move-“

"If you want me to move in with you, I have to say no mom. That’s why Mani is here. I’m not alone, I have my two girls here and that’s all I need. I love you guys, I do, but it’d be too much. All three of them are still at home and with Xavier being there a lot it’s just too crowded.”

“If you says so, but oh mija, I’m so happy for you.”

And finally, both of her parents stand up and pull Lauren into a tight hug, giving her their best wishes for the baby.

They pull away to give Peter and Sophie a chance to congratulate as well, Texan couple doing it with a proud smiles on their faces.

“My first grandchild.” Peter mumbles and then looks at Nick “If he’s anything like you, I’ll be proud.”

“Now that we’re done with the shocking news, which I think we’ve had enough. Three in such a short period-”

“What do you mean three?” Nick questions his mother

“Did you know Mark broke up with his girlfriend too? Camilla, right? She apparently cheated on him. Up until now I thought she’s a really nice girl.”

“It’s Ca-mee-la.” Lauren corrects them and catches both of her parents looking at her

She gives them a simple nod, confirming their suspicions that Mark’s Camila is actually her Camila.

“I don’t think she cheated on him, I’ve met her and she’s a really nice girl. His anger problems came back though.” Nick adds, because there’s no way he’ll let his parents talk trash about Lauren’s girl

“We’ll talk about that some other time, should we order a dessert perhaps?” Sophie suggests and they all agree, thankful that the subject has changed

Once the dinner is over Lauren sends Camila quick text saying that she’s on her way to drop off Nick at his hotel and then she’ll be at Dinah’s to pick her up.

As soon as Camila’s chocolate brown eyes sees Lauren she knows the older girl isn’t feeling well, so she offers to drive back to Lauren’s apartment and Lauren only gives her a nod. They don’t talk during the drive and Camila doesn’t really mind, she softly hums to the songs on the radio.

Lauren takes her time getting ready for bed and by the time she’s done, the younger girl is already cuddled up in her bed with a book in front of her.

“Camz?”

“Hm?”

“I know you wanna talk about the dinner, but I don’t really feel like it.”

“It’s okay Lo, I’m not gonna push you to do so.”

“Thanks.”

“Of course.” Camila replies and pulls her closer to her body and puts the book down

They spend the Sunday morning going to the church with Ally and Normani (who actually joined the choir because Ally begged her to) and then they go back to their apartment where Normani can’t stop talking about the most handsome guy she has ever seen.

“He’s so hot and I talked to him for a bit and he’s so funny, but I can not remember his name, I don’t think he ever told me his name.”

“Which one are you talking about?” Ally questions

“The tall black one. He looks like he’s a model, real candy.”

“When did you even talk?” Lauren butts in

“When we all walked out, before I met up with you guys, he said I have a nice voice and would love to hear more of it.”

“Oh, that’s Aaron Gabriel.” Ally explains

“Aaron Gabriel?”

“Yes, his mother is in charge of the choir and his dad is like a handyman around the church.”

“Mills?” Camila questions, knowing that her father was a good friend with the handyman

“Yes, he’s Robert’s son.”

“I don’t care whose son he is, he’s hot and I need to go out on a date with him.”

“Well, Ally can help you up with that, we have to go because I promised my siblings I’ll spend the time with them today.”

“We’re still picking up Sofi on our way, right?”

“Of course we are love.” Lauren replies and gives Camila a quick kiss before grabbing her keys

It’s three days later when Lauren and Nick found themselves at the doctor’s office.

“It’s cold.” Lauren mumbles as the doctor puts the gel on her tummy

He hums to herself before looking at Lauren and Nick.

“So, is everything okay with our baby?”

“Oh, yes, your baby is just fine, nothing to worry about. In fact, both of your babies are fine.” He nods

“W–wait, what? What do you mean both?” Lauren questions

“You’re having twins Miss Jauregui, did you not know that?”

“No, I didn’t actually.” Lauren mumbled

“Well, congratulations I guess.” The doctor offered her a smile

“Thank you.” She returned a smile

“So, twins?”

“I’ll need a bigger place to leave and– oh my gosh– how am I gonna tell Camila?”

“Lauren, calm down, you’ll be okay, I?ll be here to help whatever you need.”

“I need you to drive me to see Camila.”

“Just wait a bit, okay? Don’t stress yourself please. So, doctor, is there anything else? Like, when do we get to find out the gender?”

“You can’t really know the gender until about week fourteen and your wife-”

“She’s my friend.” Nick corrects him

“Sorry. Your friend, is only about seven weeks pregnant so I suggest you come here in a month and a half for another test and we'l see then.”

“Okay, can you write us down?” Lauren questions

Once they sort out the dates and thank the man for the help Nick drives Lauren back to the apartment where Camila is already supposed to be.

“How was it?” Normani asks as they walk in

Lauren ignores her question and looks at Camila.

“Camz, do you think we could maybe talk?”

“Of course, is everything okay?” Camila questions, sensing the panic in Lauren’s eyes

“I’m not sure.” Lauren mumbles walks towards her room

Camila gets up and follows her, stopping for just a moment to look at Nick who gives her a supportive smile.

“So?!” Normani asks once she and Nick are alone

“We– she– uh– it’s twins.” Nick stumbles upon his own words

“Holy shit!”

“I know, right?”

“And Lauren?”

“I’m not sure. I think she’s mostly worried about Camila leaving her now that there’s not one, not two but three of them.”

“I don’t think Camila will do it.”

“I wouldn’t blame her if she did. It’s not her cross to carry.”

“I guess you do make a point.” Normani agrees “But I know I won’t leave her.”

“Neither will I.” Nick agrees “But she knows that. Camila on the other hand…”

“Camila on the other hand gets Lauren and her berries, what a fruit salad.”

And there’s nothing else Nick can do but laugh.

“Do y'all still call my child a berry?”

“It doesn’t have a name!” Normani defends herself

And while Normani and Nick are jokingly discussing the unisex name for Nick’s children because berries sounds stupid, Lauren anxiously walks around her room.

“You’re freaking me out Lo.” Camila mumbles after a minute or two

“Sorry.”

“Is everything okay with the baby?”

“Yeah.”

“Is everything okay with you?”

“I– yeah.”

“Is everything okay with us?”

“I– I don’t know.”

“Lauren? You’re honestly freaking me out right now, what’s wrong?”

“I need to tell you something and I hope this won’t ruin what we have.”

“Okay.” Camila says and closes her eyes, not sure she’s ready for this

“I’m having twins.” Lauren blurts out and there are tears streaming down her cheeks just a moment later

“T– twins?”

“Yes and I know you didn’t sign up for this and I get it if you wan’t to leave.” Lauren takes a deep breath, ignoring Camila's no’s “I won’t blame you because is a big deal and-”

So, Camila stops her from talking any further by pressing their lips together into a passionate kiss, the one that manages to make all of Lauren’s fears go away.

Once they pull away Lauren looks at the floor, not sure she can look Camila in the eyes.

“Look at me,” Camila says and gently lifts Lauren’s chin with her finger “I told you this the other day and I’m telling you again. I love you Lauren, my heart beats for you, kid or two kids can not change that. It’s always been you, and you having twins won’t change that.”

“So, you’re okay with it?”

“I don’t have much of a choice, do I? It wasn’t part of my initial plan but as long as I get you, I’m okay with it, yes.”

“So, you’re staying.”

“One condition.” Camila smiles at the older girl

“Hm?”

“I’m staying only if you’re okay with me staying as your girlfriend.”

“More than okay.” Lauren smiles and pulls Camila into another kiss

They stay in Lauren’s room talking about it all for almost an hour and once they finally come out, Nick’s already gone and Normani is sitting on the couch watching Riverdale on Netflix.

Once she spots the couple she pauses the episode, despite of Betty and Veronica being too cute again, walks over to Lauren and pulls her into a tight hug.

“Congrats mama.” She whispers before kissing the top of Lauren’s head

Lauren smiles at her best friend and thanks her.

“And you,” Normani looks at Camila “what do you have to say?”

“I only have one question.” Camila shrugs

“Which would be?”

“Now that I’m officially moving in, how much is the rent? And do I get a discount because I’m Lauren’s girlfriend?”

“Fucking finally!” Normani exclaims as she watches Lauren hugging Camila from behind “We’ll talk about the rent once the show is over. Feel free to join lesbos, the shit just got real.”

Lauren mumbles something about being bisexual and not lesbian and Camila has to hold back a laugh because her girlfriend, yes her fucking girlfriend, is so damn precious and so fucking cute.

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #55

whoa.  random surge in followers overnight.  uh.  hi.  i’m here to disappoint.

have you stayed up past 3 in the morning this week? yeah. chels and i were up two nights later than that because we couldn't sleep. the last person you spoke to, do you know their eye color? mom, they're brown. do you own a trench coat? i wish. they're cool. are you currently in a smoking environment? no, you're not allowed to smoke in my house. have you ever been afraid to call someone, even if you knew them well? i'm afraid to call anyone who isn't my mom. the last person who texted you, have you ever fought with them? yeah. i'm two seconds from fighting with her right now because she knows exactly how to be an ignorant bitch. are you scared of anything irrational?  is pregnancy an irrational fear? how about whale sharks? can you do a cartwheel?  nope. never have been able to. do you watch the super bowl just for the commercials? i don't watch the super bowl period. the only time i ever did was on my 16th birthday because i was at jason's house and the giants were playing, his dad's favorite team, and the whole family was over. first time i kissed jason on the cheek was when they won. how often is it that you make a post on any sort of social media, and then delete it soon after? why? i've actually never done that. have your ideas and expectations about adulthood changed as you’ve gotten older? of course. i didn't believe it would have anything to do with being a crumbling piece of shit. i thought i would be fearless, responsible, and just overall prepared. have you ever taken time off to focus on your mental health? are you the type of person that is able to take a break or are you more likely to bury yourself in responsibility? i mean i guess i have, since i've committed myself to a mental hospital more than once? and i really do a mix of both... just depends. do you have a different group of friends on a site besides this one?  i have no tumblr friends, i have one rp bd, i have a number on deviantart... if you are or were in college, when you share your major with people how do they usually react? if you are not in college, how do you explain your job situation to others and what is their reaction? it's usually an "oh, that's cool." nothing cool. when you watch competition shows, do you feel an automatic support for a competitor who’s from your state or region? i mean, mildly i guess. do you think it is possible that eventually humans will create enough technology to completely or nearly completely automate work and free up people to a new experience of social relations without “jobs” as we know them today?  one day, sure. do you enjoy taking selfies and do you enjoy looking at other people’s selfies? if i feel i look pretty, sure. and yeah, bc i feel happy that they took a picture of themselves that makes them feel gorgeous. are there any songs that you enjoy, but the lyrics are problematic/downright offensive? what about films with shady directors or plot points? how do you negotiate liking art or artists that represent offensive ideas or that have problematic politics? the song that immediately comes to mind is "bitches" by hollywood undead. i DO NOT know why i like it, but i do. as far as liking artists go, it doesn't affect whether or not i'll enjoy them. it's just expression, the way i see it. what is your opinion of protest marches? what about different tactics taken by activists such as boycotts, shutting down highways, sit-ins, and even blockades of trade ships? what do you think is the best method to actually enact change? i have no problem with protests, but i'm more iffy when it interferes daily activities, like if you do shut down a highway. i think the best way to enact change is by exposing a person to the issue, but sometimes that isn't enough, anyway. do you believe in parallel universes or infinite possibilities or do you tend to believe that what we see and know now is pretty much it? no, i don't believe in parallel universes. what if you died in your sleep tonight? maybe it'd be a good thing, honestly. have you ever done something you told yourself you wouldn’t do? more than once. are there things in your life that you’ll never be able to get over? i'm certain. name one person you wish you could fix things with? jason, period. when was the last time you completely broke down? not even an hour ago. colleen pissed me off beyond belief. have you ever turned to smoking or drinking to solve a problem? i mean, i've drunk to forget about them for a while, but not to solve them. what are you listening to right now? sleeping with sirens' cover of "iris" has anyone ever told you you have pretty eyes? not pretty enough to keep him around. what do you think of therapists? i've seen no less than ten, and for the most part, they want money and to shove medicine down your fucking throat. would you ever go to a sperm bank to get pregnant? no. i really don't know how i feel about artificial insemination. if a little kid walked up to you and asked, “are you goth?”, how would you respond? "maybe." does it annoy you when people say their heart is “broken”?  no, because heartbreak is a very valid, serious emotion. why aren’t you talking to the last person you kissed? because he fucking hates me and i'm pretty sure i'm one word from a restraining order, survey maker. are you mad at someone right now? pretty sure i'm eternally stuck in a mad state towards jason's girlfriend ashley. because i'm a child. has anyone ever told you they wanted to marry you? hm. funny. he's not here anymore. has a laptop ever burned your legs?  so bad that my stretch marks there are burned into the flesh, yes. when at a restaurant, do you put your napkin on your lap?  nope. do you want to be friends with your recent ex? if he's with anyone but me, as selfish as that sounds? no. i'd rather die. what did you hate most about your last relationship? i "hated" nothing about it. do you understand the true meaning of “loving someone so much it hurts”? hello, darkness, my old friend. i know it too well, and am experiencing it now. i have a terrible headache and feel sick to my stomach. has true love had a way of showing you that it can conquer anything? no, because it can't. sorry to crush your fairytale. did you ever play frogger when you were a kid? fuck yeah. i could only ever beat the first level tho lmao. do you love deep? too deep. can you ever see yourself and your ex back together? yes, easily. the only problem being is i'm well aware i'd have MASSIVE trust issues for a while. what's your favorite vegetable? broccoli, i guess. where would you like to be in 5 years? with a job. with someone i sincerely love. what was the experience that impacted you the most in your life? jason leaving me. it, literally, scarred me for life. would you be with someone who doesn’t have the same beliefs as you? depends on the beliefs that vary. ex., i will date someone of a different religion (depends on the religion though, really), but to be totally honest, i wouldn't date someone who was, like, pro-choice. it really depends on the belief, because your beliefs portray important, certain parts of you. what did your last relationship teach you? that literally anyone will hurt you. what do you think of online dating? i honestly don't know. i don't think it's for me personally, even tho i'm on one... do you like someone you’re interested in to pursue you or do you prefer to do the chasing? what do i prefer? both. but guess who's the only one doing the chasing in this scenario... do you think confessions make a relationship stronger? i mean it has a potential to ruin them, but at the same time, if you're with the right person, it'll only make yours stronger. would you relocate for love? for a new relationship? no. for a long-term partner? yeah. have you seen the person you love/like recently? how is he/she doing? no, and i don't fucking know. what color is your jewelry box?  oh no... sigh. my jewelry box is black with gold trimming. it's very intricate and beautiful. jason got it for me one christmas. can you solve a rubik’s cube? nope. have you ever watched porn?  no, and i don't plan on it. have you ever sleep walked? no. what would you want to be written on your tombstone? maybe "she joined the black parade"??? lol i saw it on pinterest once and loved it. would love to incorporate my taste of music on my tombstone. mom wants "my body lies, but still i roam" from "wherever i may roam" by metallica on hers. do you like carrots? noooo. have you ever worn lingerie?  no. what is your favorite profanity? "fuck," because there's usually so much emotion behind the word. have you ever masturbated?  no, the idea's just... really gross. i don't care how clean i am. would you rather be hated or forgotten? i know what it's like to be forgotten. i'd rather be hated. spit or swallow?  ... i'm going to just go along with this and let my mind be dirty like you want it to, and say it's not going in my mouth to begin with, sorry. what was your first rated r movie? "scary movie," i think. who was your favorite musician as a kid? do you still like them now?  i think my first true favorite band was green day, and yes, i still love them. have you ever gotten ‘bullied’ over social media? was it anonymous or not?  not via social media, but rather on a forum. it was not anonymous. if you could get a piercing anywhere, and not have to worry about it healing, where would you get one?  my favorite piercing overall is a labret lip piercing, so i guess that. i'd get my back dermals pierced if i didn't have to worry about the possibility of them ripping out. if you could only have one type of sex for the rest of your life, would you choose anal, vaginal, or oral?  anal grosses me out, oral grosses me out, so vaginal. who or what do you love unconditionally?  jason, my mom... what is something you have done that you’re proud of?  many small things, really. what’s your blood type? a what was the last thing you giffed?  i've never managed to make a proper gif when you go out to breakfast, what do you order? pancakes, eggs, bacon or sausage is there a phrase or mantra you repeat when you are frightened? in some cases, i tend to whisper, "i can do all things through christ who strengthens me." have you ever worked at the same place as your best friend? no. what’s your favorite pet name someone calls you? "love." it's so sincere and sweet. would you give mouth to mouth to your dog to save its life? duh. have you ever had a pet destroy something valuable or important? yup. ever had a feeling something bad was going to happen and you were right? i knew jason was leaving me like a week before it happened. kept asking him if he was going to leave me, he kept saying no. fucking liar. what do you check out first when you check someone out? i don't really check people out. it's lustful. i mean i may see someone i think is attractive, but my eyes don't linger. is it cute when a boy/girl calls you baby? no, honestly. i'm not a baby. i'm a woman. do you like the idea of promise rings in relationships? if you're not tight on money, i guess i do. it shows you're serious. but like i just mentioned, if you're not very blessed financially, just stick with the engagement and wedding rings. can anyone in your immediate family play the guitar? no. why were you last frustrated? now. my best friend is ridiculously close-minded. how much have you changed in the last year or so? i've only gotten more and more depressed. do you have a favorite name? what is it? yeah, alessandra. what was your favorite disney movie as a kid? is it still your favorite? the lion king, and i think so. or finding nemo. when did you first start using the internet often? idk what age, but i know it was when i got into neopets. have you ever been told your aspirations are unrealistic? yes, actually. have you ever been called vain? do you agree with them? no. do you believe prayer really works? you know, i don't really know. don't get me wrong, i'm a christian, but i have prayed enough, and it hasn't done jackshit. ever dated someone you were best friends with first?  i'm not sure i would've called him my "best" friend, no. last person to take off your pants, besides you? jason. think back to the last person you kissed, how many times have you laughed with them? too. many. times. what’s something you really want right now, be honest?  i want jason, honest to god. who was the last person to yell at you? colleen, i think. what motivates you to go to school? i really shouldn't answer this right now... have you ever felt like you were going out of your mind? already far out of it. does your animal sleep with you? no, mom doesn't let him, because he's old and has accidents. do you own a robe? no. i found a bat one on pinterest tho that i really want. do you bathe your pets regularly? not as often as i should, to be fair. i try to give him a bath once a month. do you own any Batman movies? no, despite really liking the dark knight and the dark knight rises. i'll never be able to own them, because jason loooves batman. thus, ptsd trigger. do you believe vampires are real? no. are you someone who has to hide the things you like around friends? i... honestly do. this didn't start up until jason left, and after thinking through it, i realized i do this because by him leaving, a part of me feels like all my interests were like, de-validated or something, like it made them so they were "wrong" and "unlikable?" i mean i even do this to my best friend. she doesn't know half the shit i enjoy. do you remember when they used to actually throw candy out at parades? you mean they don't do that anymore?! when was the last time you babysat, if ever? did anything bad happen? YEARS ago for my neighbor. nothing bad happened, but she did run around naked when i was changing her diaper lmao. do you ever talk to people you met online through webcam? or is that weird? NONONOONOONO TOO SHY how many people have you kissed in your lifetime so far? who were they? romantically, i've only ever kissed jason. do you know anyone named alyssa? if so, elaborate. yes. old forum rp partner. still a decent friend. she's probably markiplier's biggest fan and even has a warfstache tattoo. i worry about her occasionally, though, from some of her facebook posts. would you ever take a pole dancing class? hmmm. i wouldn't rule it out completely, because i really appreciate dancing, but realistically, no, i don't think i would. especially at my weight. when is the last time you pulled an "all nighter" (where you stay awake the entire night to the next day)? what was the reason you did so, and was it worth it? the last time i stayed up purely all night was when "world of warcraft: legion" released, so that was uh, september i think? to be totally honest, i did it mostly out of nostalgia; when "wow: warlords of draenor" released, back when jason and i were still together, we stayed up all night for that, too. i mean, i guess it was worth it. that game was once very important to me. what is one life experience most people around you seem to have had that you haven't (marriage, kids, work-related, etc)? conversely, what is one life experience you've had that most people around you haven't? at my age, definitely sex. people are so surprised when i reveal my virginity. one life experience i've had that most haven't is just living with a mental illness. do you give pets or animals silly nicknames? what's the funniest or most embarrassing nickname you've given an animal? i'll call teddy a variety of things... "teddy-boo," "my boo," etc. name something you consider to be completely unforgivable, no matter what the circumstances. why is it so egregious to you? what should happen to someone who does it? rape. there is literally no reason to do it, that's why it pisses me off so much, and it's beyond degrading to the victim. honestly? i almost support the death penalty when it comes to rape. if you were exiled, what country would you choose as your new home? canada or germany, i guess. i'd prefer germany, but if i really wanna be in an english-speaking land, then canada. what's the last time that you were really happy? what were you doing? who were you with? what made that time so special? i would say when i was drunk a few days back, but i dunno if you'd consider that true happiness. are you self conscious about wearing a bathing suit? yeah. i'm not skinny, so. who were the last people you saw besides from family? chelsea do you only wish the best for your ex? you want the honest truth? i don't know what i wish for him if i'm not going to be with him. i guess if i really thought about it, i don't, considering i don't want him to marry or have kids with anyone but me. all other things though, i mean yes, i wish him the world. do you think that once people get married, they eventually fall “out of love?” no! have you ever been called a tease? teehee. when was the last time you laughed so hard you thought you were going to cry? new year's when chelsea showed me this video meme related to jimmy neutron. i was tipsy though and normally wouldn't have laughed that hard. have you ever been stalked? no. which band/group have the most lyrics that represent you? hmm. otep, i guess. the last person you kissed, were they a good kisser? he's italian, baby. do you throw things when you’re angry? no. do you hit things when you’re angry?  i've punched my headrest before. are you missing school yet?   literally the only thing i miss about it is jason. your ex calls wanting to hang out. what do you say?   ever seen a woman fangirl?  because that's what you'd see.  anyway, i'd try to be really calm and say, "of course!" would you get back with your last ex if they asked you?   fucking YES, if he apologized to me for all that happened and i believed he truly meant it. do you want someone dead?   ... yeah. are you the one that normally makes the first move?   with my history, i guess i kinda am. when was the last time you sang along with a song? which one was it?   i believe it was earlier today when i played "this is gospel" by p!atd what’s your favorite type of cake?   red velvet where did your first kiss take place?   jason's bed can you go see a doctor alone or do you like to take someone with you?   my mom comes with me how long is your average shower?   like eight minutes do you like pineapple on pizza?   no. do you want a tattoo?   i have a pinterest board of about 100 ideas i'm highly considering, lmao. what posters do you have in your room?   in my current room, i only have one; it has a unicorn seeing a therapist that's saying "you need to believe in yourself." my old/real room, i have uhh... metallica, marilyn manson, various silent hill, illidan, and other posters. what was your elementary school’s mascot?   bulldog what was the last job you applied for?   i don't know.  i did a mass application months ago. do you use your turn signals when you’re driving?   of course. how tall is the last person you kissed?   5'9'', i think. are you wasting your time on the person you like?   i'm sure i am. have you ever watched a movie in another language?   not a full movie, no. are you afraid to answer sexual questions?   not really. what is your favorite type of cat?   ummm i love persians, sphynxes, and fuck i'm forgetting one... do women breastfeeding in public make you feel uncomfortable? why or why not?   no, and honest to god, fuck you if you've got a problem with it.  GUESS WHAT BOOBS ARE FOR???  FEEDING HER OFFSPRING!  sorry to sound so volatile, but holy fuck i'm passionate about this. name one of your ex’s mother’s names?   virginia.  i miss her.  a lot. have you ever been prescribed narcotics?   xanax, yes.  i'm going to talk to my doctor about putting me back on it, because it actually fucking worked.  i was taken off of it because it was a narcotic. have you ever had a concussion?   yeah.  i passed out in my shower and banged my chin against the floor, leaving a deep gash. is there an animal that you’re afraid of?   WHALE SHARKS, maggots, some spiders. what is your favorite eeveelution (evolution of the pokemon eevee)?   OHHHH GOD DON'T EVEN.  lmao honestly i'm tied between espeon and umbreon, i really love them both, but i guess if it was like choose or die, i really like espeon.  she's so majestic.  out of the original three, i like vaporeon the most. which part of your state/province do you live in[upper,lower,middle]?   eastern, like two hours from the beach. do you chew on your hair?   ew, no. do you eat more home cooked meals or more ‘quick n easy’ type of foods?   quick 'n easy, i guess.  like mom will usually buy pre-packaged hot dogs, chicken nuggets, ground beef for hamburgers, etc. do you eat even when you’re not hungry?   i wouldn't be overweight otherwise.  in my defense, it's because of my depression.  i feel so fucking empty and i confuse it with hunger. do you go insane without music?   i mean, not really.  don't get me wrong, i love music, but i don't go insane if i'm not listening to it for a while. is there an upcoming concert you want to go to?   carolina rebellion, yes.  cr is where TONS of rock and metal bands play at the same concert over the course of a few days.  korn's coming to this one, who i'm really keen on seeing. is technology outsmarting humans?   in some ways, certainly. how often do you use mouthwash?   like never, but i wish we had some. what is your favorite musical?   i don't like musicals, honestly. do you like the smell of burning leaves?   noooo. do you tend to laugh when people get hurt, even when it’s serious?   if i think it was serious, i never laugh, i honestly gasp and panic, but if you just like, trip, i admit, i'll laugh if i know you, but i'll still ask if you're okay. are you procrastinating something right now?   kinda. have you tried those new banana creme oreos?   no, sounds gross.  i usually hate banana-flavored stuff. when was the last time you went out of state?   last summer for ashley and nick's wedding.  we drove just barely into virginia.

[entireoranges]

Its good but not their best

I accidentally watched all of season 3 in one day. In my defense I woke up around 7am and didn't leave for work until 11; and I was able to watch two on lunch/break. Plus I had no idea it was only 9 episodes. I decided not to read ahead for the episode descriptions. A few thoughts. Likely random as hell and full of spoilers.

It's been many years since I was in school, longer for summer school (yes I went but not during hs) so maybe things have changed and different districts have different rules but I found it very unbelievable to summer school starts on the first day of summer vacation. You get a few weeks to unwind before thrown back into school. And also DJ won't keep it a secret from Jackson, she won't be scared of his reaction.

I almost wish Stephanie wasn't itching to be a mom and she was 100% at peace at not having kids. A lot of women can love kids and be happy/feel complete not having kids. It would be nice if she represented those ladies and took a stand and told Becky (and everyone else) that she doesn't want kids, no ands ifs or buts. But instead the show is making it seem like Stephanie is less than a woman for questioning if she wants to do it. Though her reason was financially and nothing else. If I recall correctly in season 1 and 2 when mentioned she couldn't have kids yeah she seemed sad but I got a sense of she was ultimately alright with it; so this season I didn't think her change of heart fit. Nor did Becky have a right to push the issue.

Everyone (well nearly) is pushing/wanting Jackson and Romana to pair up. Its cute, however I think Jackson and Rocki would be better. Just because Gia hates the Tanner's...though I can't recall the complete history there. Plus if Jimmy and Stephanie do have a baby that'll be the Gibbler/Tanner hybrid if you will.

Fernando was twenty times more annoying.

Your telling me neither Kimmy or Jimmy have seen their parents in over 17 years and they no idea they have a grandchild? A part of me was hoping Mr. and Mrs. Gibbler would be totally normal, like button up normal almost putting Danny Tanner to shame. But it seems they are just as nuts as their children.

I realize he's just a dog, but something about Cosmo bugs me...he's not a good doggie actor. LOL God I really feel silly saying that!

I don't like discussing the sexuality of children but I'm curious...is the show hinting Max might be gay, bisexual, or heck anything other than 100% heterosexual? I see signs, but he's a lot like Danny and Danny is 100% heterosexual (though I am sure in some fan fictions he isn't) This show is too clean and innocent to do it but it would be awesome if Max did like boys to some degree and the show addressed. Yeah I know they had girl/girl kiss(es?) and gay characters but a child is a whole different thing.

Why did they drop Danny having a wife and make it seem like girls didn’t like her? I didn’t get that feeling in the previous seasons. My only guess is viewing audiences didn’t like it..so the show runners dropped it?

Joey won't have kids that fucking spoiled. I nearly cheered out loud in the breakroom when he admitted he knew they were horrible brats. Though I have heard older parents can be more lenient on behavior, so perhaps in a way its not too out of character? God all I know is a grinch when the Gladstone kids appear.

In sitcoms I realize some reality is suspended but that shit on the plane I wanted to pull my hair out!

Stephanie (and I suppose DJ) would have caught with the shampoo bottles of wine.

DJ won't be able to take Matt's basket on the plane (at least not the food).

Max couldn't simply claim he was dying and was an unaccompied minor.

No amount of crying or sob stories could get you in first class.

Jimmy was able to buy a one way ticket to Japan minutes before it was scheduled to leave?!

Jimmy was gonna get off the flight and get a refund?!

I have never flown to Japan but I'm thinking they'd fill up the flight making the above impossible and also there won't be a free seat next to Kimmy and Stephanie. Or for Max.

The ultimate question... Team Matt or Team Steve? Team Steve. Matt is cute and not bad with DJ but I get the feeling they have to force the chemistry, almost as if they're trying too hard. While Steve and DJ just have it even when they try yo downplay it. I don't see Steve marrying CJ knowing how DJ feels but I also don't see him and DJ getting together immediately...

That's all I can think of...for now!