#that’s why he needs all of this hired help

[cruel-hiraeth]

yuuta is tailor-made for a gothic period romance…

those who don’t know him call him “gloomy” simply because he has eyes that appear to have witnessed horrors beyond human comprehension. he’s quiet, polite, and well-respected in the community, although there are murmurings about his late wife; the murky circumstances surrounding rika’s death follow him wherever he goes. some even say that her ghost still haunts him.

to you, however, he’s simply your new employer.

[anonymousmarshmallow]

Also, this happens during the hiring games. Every one of them believes it. Only after asking around (and not just the big 3 either, everyone, the nurse staff, janitors, legal, long-term patients). Most of the hospital staff is like 'yeah that makes sense,' and 'they sure do act like it.' Also due to many convoluted reasons they somehow either just miss Wilson or something always comes up right before they mention it. The big 3 deny it cause they don't have to put up with as much House's shit now. But, the contestants all believe both of them were in the closet for reasons and were forced to come out to avoid jail or a lawsuit, which is horrible. Sooooo cut to part of the team trying to be kind and understanding, thinking 'maybe this is why he's such a dick unable to be yourself, and watching other openly express their love while he can't. Of course, he would be bitter. Maybe he's like this to avoid getting close to people because someone he trusted outed him or bullied or blackmailed him once, and he never fully healed. Their all doctors, and they want to help and show support.' This is completely wrong. The other part mainly decides to leverage this situation and "supports" House and Wilson to (hopefully) get cookie points. Chaos ensues.

The nice ones: looking up support groups for the LGBTQ+ and googling how to support someone who just came out, because coming out like this must be upsetting at the very least

House: Stop kissing my ass. That's Wilson's job

Also House: [milking it for all its worth especially during secret Santa] What you'll get your other STRAIGHT co-workers gifts but not me. Is this a hate crime must be?

House: Now that I'm out, it's so difficult with all the patients in the clinic so many homopophobes :(

The nice ones: Covers clinc duty to stop House being exposed to so much hate

The suck ups: mentions how they like Beyonce and RuPaul. Went to a musical once, definitely has a gay cousin or friend, and makes everything go back to being gay and overly defending House fellow people who are equal to them and deserve support. They always supported LGBLT people.

House: [Let's them talk and enjoying them making asses if themselves] Wow, you are so supportive

The suck ups: [says/does something really offensive]

House: [staring in surprise/and a little horror] Little impressed actually going to remember that for later. But I had reasons for medical reasons to what I said, and you don't. Also, you'll get me in trouble with Cuddy, and if you do that, you're fired. [Makes the couple who sued him give a lesson on the LGBTQ+]

The truth doesn't come out until someone catches Wilson on a date and confronts him, either because 'cheating isn't okay he needs to come clean' or 'I can use this and have him talk me up to House' and Wilson is like "What no! I only said that to keep House out of trouble. We never dated. I'M STRAIGHT! N-n-n-not that there's anything wrong wi... I didn't... Look, it was either a small white lie or House goes to jail, and you lose a job. Besides, it's not like I really lied. House is my friend, and he is a boy. He's a boy friend. Yeah, House, he was just messing with you.

The ruse comes to an end with House announcing he had fun and fires someone.

Also, House knows Wilson's dick size because both of them were drunk, and Wilson was shitting on House about not having a girlfriend or whatever making a joke about being bad in bed. Later, at one of their homes, Wilson passed out drunk. House is curious and takes a look and measures.

House would treat two gay patients like shit and get sued for being homophobic and cuddy would go "he's not homophobic, he treats everyone like that!" which does not hold up in court so instead he's like how can I be homophobic when I have a boyfriend? Wilson stand up. Everyone would turn to Wilson (who had ZERO warning about this) and he'd stutter before glaring at House and stand "yes, House is unfortunately my boyfriend"

Then they'd walk out of the courtroom and Wilson would chew him out which House ignores. Cue 3 days layer when Wilson says House needs to clear up they lied about being gay to get him off (ha) and they're not actually dating because he is NOT getting any dates like this. House would walk into the hospital cafeteria and yell "ATTENTION EVERYONE. Doctor Wilson is not my boyfriend." Wilson would nod for 2 seconds before House follows up with "because we're engaged!" and Wilson can't even be mad because why did he think for 2 seconds that House would make it easy for him

House would try to use this as an opportunity to demand less clinic hours (think of it as a wedding gift) which he does not get because Cuddy knows exactly what's going on and she thinks it's hilarious but she needs his ass working

Cuddy: yeah? You two are a thing? How big is he?

House: 5.3 inches

Wilson: how the FUCK do you know that

[triptychcryptid]

Ok, here's some stuff on Demon's Disciple Stan. I think I'm putting these out almost EXCLUSIVELY for @localcanadiancreature62 because they like it so much. XD

The second half of this is more self-indulgent though. XD

After being betrayed and injured by his brother and left to die in the multiverse alone after Ford went back to Bill, he would have stumbled upon an alien tribe that helped him and gave him a translator. Yes, the same one Ford ran into in Journal 3.

After this incident, Stan would be EXTREMELY distrusting of other Fords. He would not project his murderous intent or abject hatred on all of them though, because he IS smart enough to realize that not all Fords would be the same. But if they showed the same ego and lack of accountability as his own, he'd write them off as useless to him and leave.

He would end up being generally more serious than Cannon Stan, but would be able to turn on the charm instantly when he needed to, which was often. He'd be a BIT of a playboy like cannon except it would actually work. Most of the time though, he only slept with someone because they had something he needed. And you know, the man's got needs. XD

He is very much a wanted criminal in the multiverse too because he's MUCH less discriminate about what he steals than Cannon Ford was. He steals things for survival, but also just things he wants because he's an expert swindler. XD

He got into "trading" goods and bounty hunting and got damn good at both. Basically he got in with this one dude who accepted some earth contraband he had on him (cigarettes, probably. VERY hard to come by in certain places) in exchange for some clothes. Particularly this one brand of combat boots that are the most comfortable boots he'd ever had. Sturdy, teflon coating, light and LOTS of cushion. He would also trade for mods on the boots that gave him speed, enhanced jumping capalities, magnetism, etc.

His jacket would have temperature regulation capabilities and he would get a coating on it to protect from laser guns, as well as teflon for when he made it to parallel versions of his dimension that had regular ol garden variety guns. XD His fingerless gloves have padding on the bottom to help protect his palms in instances of climbing or gripping things that could harm his hands normally. They also have the ability to shock, burn and stun people, as well as tell him his heart rate, the time or weather, depending on what he wanted to do. XD There's a button in the back that controls this.

He would stay away from Fords for the most part, unless they happened to have parts he needed and could steal. The only Fords he could stand to be in the same room with would be the most NOT versions of his Ford.

If he happened upon them, he wouldn't mind @tinfoil-jones's Jerk Ford if only because Jerk Ford knows he's a jerk and is upfront about his assholery. XD There is no trying to hide it for ulterior motives or just straight up denying that what he's doing is for anything other than his own selfish reasons like his own Ford. He would like Anti-Ford because that would be the most NOT Ford you could be. The streaming stuff would annoy him though.

If he ever came across @nowimjustastranger's Watchdog Ford, Stan would tell him in no uncertain terms was his Ford to get another Stanley. He was in fact, very much alive and had big plans to kill his twin when he got back home.

One of the services he would offer would be himself, after he found out that humans were VERY coveted in certain sectors. Most folk would pay handsomely just for a few ours with one, and this was actually how he met his best friend/fwb. She hired him one night and offered a large sum of money. He declined, stating instead that he wanted some parts she had that could work for a gun he was building. She agreed.

Afterward, she asked why he needed it and he explained his story. She took pity on him and offered him a drink. He accepted, and suddenly his broken and chipped teeth were fixed. His nose that got broken and never quite set right. His spine that got kinda messed up from all the years of sleeping in his car. The fingertip he lost during his last fight with Ford when Ford stranded him.

After this, they became allies and stole things together for Stan's boss. XD

[jenthebug]

“Hello, is this Vince Galindo?”

“Speaking.”

“This is Tracy from Denver Private Investigators.” The voice on the other end of the line seemed hesitant and downtrodden. “Listen, Mr. Galindo, I have some bad news. Investigator Gray and Investigator Reynard were out on a case last night and they were killed in a car accident.”

“What?!”

“As they were our only two investigators, and Investigator Reynard was the business owner, we are now closed.”

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean for that to happen!” Vince’s voice cracked.

“What do you mean?” Tracy asked.

Vince started to pace his kitchen. “Every time I prepare for something, it doesn’t happen. I study for a test, it’s canceled. I make lunch, everyone has already eaten. I dress up for a night out, the club is closed. I wanted to hire a private investigator about it,” he said, his voice rising in pitch and breaking, “the private investigators die?!”

“Listen, Vince.” Tracy took a deep breath. “I’m gonna transfer you, right now, over to a Jonathan Zapke. He’s a witch, and this may be more up his alley. No prep involved on your part.”

“Alright—“

The phone rang once, then again.

“Zapke.”

“Oh! Hi. This is Vince Galindo.”

“You selling something?” The man on the other end of the line sounded gruff.

“No, I was hoping you could help me. Please.”

“With what? Spell, curse, divination?”

“I’m not sure,” Vince said quickly, “but I have a problem. Every time I prepare for something, it doesn’t happen. Like, I cook dinner for the family and then the pizzas show up. I buy tickets for the amusement park and it rains. And I tried to hire private investigators to find out why…”

Zapke snorted on the other end of the line.

Vince continued. “I got a call from the private investigator firm saying both investigators had died and they were closing down!”

“So you need a curse removed.”

“That’s a curse?” Vince asked.

“Clearly. It’s having a negative effect on you and the people around you. Simple curses, but it’s a curse nonetheless.” Zapke sounded like he was reaching the end of his patience.

“Alright. How much do you charge?”

“Oh no. Don’t you put that evil on me, buddy. I’m gonna ask you to pick me up a six pack of beer later, but for now, what’s your address?”

Vince gave his address, along with the apartment number and how to find the building.

“Alright, man, this is important,” Zapke said. “Start playing video games or watching TV. Don’t do anything to prepare for my arrival. Don’t clean, don’t make sure you have clean dishes, nothing. I’ll see you in about fifteen minutes.”

“Alright.” Vince hesitated. “My place is a mess, though.”

“You prepare for me, I’m not gonna show up!” Zapke snapped. “Besides, I’m sure mine is worse.”

Fourteen minutes later, Vince was engrossed in a game of Super Smash Brothers Ultimate. Jonathan Zapke, a white man in his thirties with a bald spot and a beer belly, entered without knocking. He looked exactly unlike a witch, with his Broncos shirt and cargo shorts. He held out a water bottle filled with a blue liquid to Vince.

“Drink this shit. Now.”

Vince did as he was told, quickly downing the bottle of sweet tasting liquid.

“What was that?” Vince asked.

“Anti-curse elixir. Works on small, easy curses. You’re not removing generational curses or anything complicated with this, but for something like you got? It’s fine. I’ll cast a magical fortification over you so this doesn’t happen again. For now, drive me to the liquor store and get me a six pack.”

“Um, sure, thanks. How much do I owe you?” Vince asked.

Zapke rolled his eyes. “We just went over this. A six pack.”

“You sure that’s all you want?”

“I picked up a dimebag last night, so yeah.” Zapke smirked.

Vince and the strange witch made their way to Vince’s beat up 90s Pontiac Grand Prix and drove off in the direction of the liquor store.

All your preparations are always for nothing. You prep for a test, it's canceled the next day. You make lunch, everyone's already eaten. You dress for a night out, the club's closed that day. You hire a private investigator to find out why.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Hi. Question, what is Gabriel's fashion style? In the show he's apparently the king of fashion but some of his designs suck tbh...

I'm not going to pretend that I understand high fashion enough to label Gabriel's style. I'm also not sure if the animators understand high fashion enough to label his style. Nothing about the show actually screams "fashion" to the point where I can't tell if the akumas are bad on purpose or not.

While you can connect certain akumas to specific high fashion looks such as loosely linking The Bubbler to Vivian Westwood's 1989 Harlequin suit (see below images), I don't think that's what the animators were actually doing. Any high-fashion similarities are probably an accident, especially since the word of god is that akumas choose their own appearances. Gabriel officially had nothing to do with the designs. Given all of that, it's far more likely that the various designs come from the animators trying to keep things interesting while working within the confines of animation.

3D animation greatly limits what looks you can do. It's incredibly costly to animate a new character or even just a new outfit. That's why the characters generally only have one look and why most of Marinette's designs are things like accessories and posters. Those are way easier to animate!

Outfits and character designs also have to greatly limit their moving parts as each uniquely moving element vastly increases the cost. It's why all of the characters with long hair transform into heroes with pigtails or pony tales. Animating those is way easier than free flowing hair because you can treat those as one unit without it looking too bad, but free-flowing hair just looks silly as you can see when Marinette is riding her scooter:

I don't think any of this excuses the show's bad fashion sense, though. They chose to make the lead and the villain fashion designers. That's a choice with obvious repercussions for the way people will view the show and yet the show's fashion elements feel as slapdash as the Chinese elements, showing a clear lack of care for the world they're trying to create. It feels like fashion was only included because girls like fashion and not a choice made because the show wanted to root itself in the setting (Paris is the fashion capital of the world). While it's fun to joke about how terrible Gabriel and others look, when I get serious, I'm way more judgmental of the creators than the characters.

Knowing how to design a character isn't the same as understanding fashion. It is a specialty unto itself. A true field of expertise that people spend their lives learning. It's also a field that gets a lot of flack for being "girly" with women often being judged for caring too much about fashion. Those are two things you need to keep in mind if you're going to make fashion a big focus of your show for girls. And if you're going to have episodes focused on environmentalism? Maybe talk about fast fashion and not non-issues like trash being blasted into space?

What I'm saying is that, if you want to have a show or story focus on the fashion industry, then you do need to do some actual research and, ideally, hire someone to help guide those elements. A thing the writers absolutely could have done since they have the money for that! I don't think that's the route they took, though. I've never heard anyone mention it. Fashion doesn't even feel like a major part of Marinette's character! She rarely talks about it.

All of which is a very long winded way to say that I fully agree that a lot of the show's designs suck, but I think that fact is just one of the many little ways you can see how little care was put into the baseline world building. If Gabriel was a movie director instead and Marinette wanted to be a director too, then the bad fashion would still be commented on, but it wouldn't feel like a mark against the characters. Alternatively, the show could have used the bad fashion as a running gag in the show about Gabriel being bad at his job. Instead, we get people claiming that Gabriel is a great designer and I'm just sitting here going, "you couldn't even get this minor element right? Really?"

[viv-hollande]

OK, so the Rako Hardeen Arc is actually in shambles and I hate it now.

No, seriously, hear me out.

I want to make it clear (because Star Wars fans can be Like That™) that I am not coming at this as someone who hates Star Wars, or who hates TCW. This very arc used to be one of my favorites, and it kind of breaks my heart how utterly broken it is. With that out of the way, on with the internet-friendly numbered list.

1. The Jedi Council's plan is so fucking stupid.

Why, in the name of the Force, was this the plan the Jedi went with? Beyond the stuff we'll get into later, this plan comes with the obvious risk of, ya know, killing Obi-Wan Kenobi. Seriously, the Jedi are so lucky that Hardeen went for the torso and not the head, or else they'd be down a Council member and have nothing to show for it. This is such a dumb move that it should have scuppered the entire plot immediately. It's especially stupid because there is an obvious alternative.

Just hire Hardeen to fake the assassination.

I promise you, bounty hunters have taken way weirder assignments, and Hardeen would barely give it a second thought. This not only solves some more problems down the line, but it also stops the Jedi Council from killing Obi-Wan Kenobi accidentally. Speaking of problems...

2. Why do the Jedi even need to fake Obi-Wan's death?

No, seriously.

Surely Obi-Wan takes breaks away from the front for, like, paperwork and meditation. He's a Council member on top of being a General, so he probably has all kinds of Council work that takes him away from the front for periods of time.

Even outside of that, one would expect there to be stretches of time where nobody outside of the GAR knows where Obi-Wan even is. He is a General fighting in a war. Surely the Jedi have heard of operational security. There have to be weeks to months on end where Obi-Wan's location is unknown.

Would it really be so hard to just send the 212th on space-only missions for a few weeks, where nobody would be able to tell if Obi-Wan was present or not? If you're worried about his fighter being absent, just shove Plo Koon or somebody in there and no one will be any the wiser! Even if they pick up on Plo Koon being missing, there's no way that they'll assume that Kel Dor Plo Koon is actually oxygen-breathing Rako Hardeen.

The point of this whole segment is that it should be normal for Obi-Wan to disappear from the public eye for stretches of time, so him being missing for a week or two should not automatically mean that he's undercover disguised as a bounty hunter trying to stop a kidnapping plot against the Chancellor.

3. What is Palpatine's plan?

And yes, the kidnapping is Palpatine's plan. Dooku is the organizer, and Dooku takes orders from Palpatine.

So the end result of the Hardeen Arc is that the deception creates a growing rift between Anakin and the Jedi leading up to RotS. Great. That sounds good, that's something Palpatine would want.

But how does getting kidnapped help with that?

It isn't made clear in the show who exactly came up with the fake assassination plan as a whole, but we do know who came up with the deception part of the plan.

Obi-Wan Kenobi. Not the Chancellor.

Which...makes sense, at least for the Chancellor. The very last thing he would want is Anakin asking Obi-Wan about the plot and Obi-Wan responding, "I had no choice. I was following the Chancellor's orders." This would arguably be an even bigger betrayal than Obi-Wan's in the canon show. Not only is Anakin's relationship with Palpatine more emotionally invested in a way that Anakin's relationship with Obi-Wan isn't allowed to be, but Anakin tells Palpatine everything, including, no doubt, Anakin's deep attachment to Obi-Wan. (And even if Anakin didn't explicitly tell Palpatine, well, he does have eyes and a functioning brain. Anakin isn't exactly subtle.) From Anakin's perspective, it would seem like the Chancellor abused his trust to further some political scheme, which is an outcome that Palpatine cannot risk under any circumstances. It makes sense for Palpatine to avoid touching the deception with a 10-meter pole.

So, even if Palpatine came up with the overall fake assassination plot, the actual emotional impact of the deception has to come from Obi-Wan's decision to deceive Anakin, something which Palpatine has no way of predicting!

So...what's left? I guess Anakin does face off against Dooku at the end of the arc, but he's faced off against him before and will face off against him later under much less convoluted circumstances!

This whole plan makes no sense from Palpatine's angle. It relies too much on variables that he can't control, and the actual result of the arc depends on Obi-Wan making a truly idiotic decision. Without that, there is no deception and thus no rift between the Jedi and Anakin.

My theory is that he got bored playing 3-D chess against himself and arranged the kidnapping plot to spice up his week.

Also, and this is a minor thing, but Palpatine really is banking on the Jedi to save him here. What was his plan if the bounty hunters just decide to ransom him themselves? He can't escape, because then the Jedi will come around asking questions about these bounty hunters that have lightsaber wounds and look like they were fried with evil lightning. If the Jedi failed to rescue him, would he just have to stew in silence as these powerless lowlifes keep him, the greatest Sith Lord in a millennium, trapped in some basement somewhere? This isn't really a big problem, but I do find it funny to thing about. If this did happen it would be peak comedy.

But then again, his plan in RotS involved hoping that Anakin could save him from the Invisible Hand, and we all saw how that nearly went. (Palpatine absolutely shitting himself in the background as Jedi Dumb & Dumber try to land half a ship without getting them all killed is the funniest thing in all of Star Wars.)

4. Why do we even need to deceive Anakin, again?

So the given reason for Anakin's deception is that Anakin's public, emotional reaction to Obi-Wan's death "sold the sniper".

OK, but did it? Hardeen booked it the moment he shot Obi-Wan, so he only could have seen Anakin's reaction to Obi-Wan getting shot. By the time Anakin reacts to Obi-Wan's death, Hardeen is long gone, and I don't see any news-cams that could have captured his reaction to that.

And why would Obi-Wan assume that the sniper would stick around long enough to see Anakin's reaction? Surely, anyone faced with the wrath of a pissed-off Anakin would hightail it in the opposite direction because, ya know, they want to live? Why would you think that, Obi-Wan?

And what is the point of "selling" the assassination to Hardeen anyway? Sure, Hardeen drunkenly brags about killing Obi-Wan in the bar, but he's not exactly gonna go around telling everybody about how he didn't kill a Jedi. And if you need people to see Hardeen boasting about killing Obi-Wan, just have Obi-Wan do it as Hardeen. There's no reason that "selling the sniper" is even necessary.

Also, remember, this whole thing would be unnecessary if the Jedi just hired Hardeen to knowingly fake the assassination in the first place. Just include in the contract that Hardeen has to brag about it to convince the crowd. (Or have Obi-Wan do it.)

OMFG, this arc is in shambles.

I guess if the goal was to sell the Separatists on the assassination, and the assassination was staged in a public place with lots of cameras it might make sense (assuming, again, that the Jedi Council hired Hardeen to fake the shooting so they don't accidentally kill Obi-Wan), although again I ask why Obi-Wan couldn't just pretend to stay in the Jedi Temple for a few weeks, but whatever.

But, they didn't go with the Separatist thing, so no dice.

Conclusion

Oh Force, this arc has more holes in it than a colander. Everyone here is a fucking idiot and they all deserved to die, whether at the hands of the clones, Anakin, or Anakin throwing them down a giant shaft.

Don't revisit your favorite childhood media, it might just turn out to be bad.

Why did you do this to me, Dave Filoni? Why did you kill my childhood?

[lillaydee]

The Unlucky One Part 16

Joel Miller (No Outbreak AU) / F Reader

When it comes to love, Lady Luck seems to have lost your address. After being left at the altar without so much of an explanation, you decided love is no longer something you are interested in. Not even meeting an unlucky-in-love-himself Mr. Grump could change your mind.

Right?

Let me know if you want to be tagged, or if you want to be removed from the tag list.

WARNINGS: Protective Joel (The Last of Us), Good Parent Joel (The Last of Us), Soft Joel (The Last of Us), Joel is Bad at Feelings (The Last of Us), Joel Needs a Hug (The Last of Us), Hurt Joel (The Last of Us), Grumpy Joel (The Last of Us), Jealousy, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Idiots in Love, unlucky in love, Child Abandonment, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Alternate Universe - No Cordyceps Outbreak (The Last of Us)

@peelieblue, @vickie5446, @harriedandharassed, @lovefreylove @martuxduckling @kikookii @liciafonseca @wowitsafemale @noisynightmarepoetry

SERIES MASTER LIST

Part 15

---

Joel didn’t know how to look you in the eye. He didn’t know how to look any of you in the eyes. Not you, not your dads, not Kyle or Ethan, and certainly not Eric.

He sat across from all of you at your dads’, telling you what he had just learnt. He came straight over as soon as he found out.  

Everything that’s been going on in your life these few months – Lucy started it. Because of him.

As soon as Lucy left, Joel called the detective who was in charge of Nell’s case from before. When the cops got to her place, she was in the process of packing to leave. She denied any involvement with the break in, having no clue that the boys she hired were cooperating, that they had identified her clothing. They found the phone she had been using to contact everyone, including a PI. That phone alone revealed a lot. The PI followed you around, did some digging on you, and sent her a written report. She contacted your mother and Andrew, telling them where to find you. She was hoping Joel would be put off by all your drama and choose her. When that failed, she hired some high school kids to break into your house to threaten you.

Over the next couple of weeks, more and more information trickled out.

She had had a crush on Joel since before Jen left him, the younger sister of one of Jen’s friend. When Jen left Joel, she started following Joel around, befriending Tommy’s then girlfriend to have an ‘in’ with Joel without involving her sister. But Joel was not interested, he was still married. It was difficult to run into Joel anywhere then, Sarah still a baby and his life was all about her. He didn’t even want to go out back then, saddened by Jen leaving and choosing to focus all his attention on Sarah.

When Sarah started school, Lucy tried to use Sarah as a link to her father. She was a teaching assistant back then, helping Mrs Adler with her class. Sarah liked her at first, apparently, but she got too insistent, starting to give Sarah messages to give to Joel. The little girl, far too young then, forgot, and Tess cleared her bags of any errant pieces of papers and the likes every evening, so no one got the message. One day, she asked Sarah why she was being so uncooperative? Wouldn’t it be nice if Miss Lucy becomes your Mommy?

And Sarah quickly said no. She didn’t like Miss Lucy.

Lucy started hounding Sarah, chastising her for not passing her messages to Joel, discreetly withholding snacks from her, telling her she would get them when she cooperated. She kept Sarah in the classroom, questioning her of Joel’s daily activities, not letting her play during play time.

When you came into the picture, she had been given a class of her own. No longer having such easy access to Sarah, she doubled her efforts, asking Sarah for everything she knew about you. Her grasps and holds on Sarah got firmer, but never firm enough to leave a mark. But it was enough to make Sarah walk the other way whenever Lucy was in the vicinity.

Sarah never told anyone, worried that Lucy was going to punish her again. But she did tell Mrs Adler she didn’t like Lucy, she was mean, and the older lady kept an especially close eye on their interactions since, keeping Sarah away from her. The school never caught Lucy mistreating Sarah in any way, so she was never in trouble for it.

But after so many failed attempts to sway Sarah her way, she tried to get Ellie. Only, rather than pressing her for information, she did her best to convince the little girl that she was not wanted. That you and everyone else were just pretending, that no one wanted her around. She had hoped that Ellie would get upset enough to want to persuade you to leave town, since you went ahead with putting Ellie in school after the break in. Ellie got upset that first day, staying in her classroom during playtime, believing Lucy, but then Sarah came in with her friends and convinced her otherwise. Sarah told her Miss Lucy was mean. Don’t listen to Miss Lucy. Mrs Adler made sure the other teachers were extra nice to Ellie, even going so far as coming over to her classroom to check on Ellie during snack time to make sure Lucy gave Ellie her share. It seemed Lucy knew she was being watched, and didn’t dare treat Ellie any different outwardly.

But that Friday, before she was caught, she told Ellie that she was the daughter of a murderer, the granddaughter of a pimp, hoping to push her further down. Ellie came home asking you what a pimp was but refused to tell you where she had heard the word.

It took the whole two weeks of Lucy being out of school and a confirmation that she was not coming back for her to open up to you, and finally ask you if her mother was really a murderer. You had to assure her that whatever happened was not her fault, and that you would explain one day when she was bigger, and that you and everyone else loved her so much and she never had to worry about anything ever again. She was wanted, needed, cherished, loved.

Upon hearing what Lucy said to Ellie, what she did to Sarah, all in the name of getting Joel all for herself, you were thankful Lucy was in custody. You wanted to tear that stupid smile off her face so much it made your hands tingle. But… you were glad that she was caught. At the very least, your questions about your mother and Andrew’s knowledge of your whereabouts were answered. You had started having trust issues, worried that someone close to you was a double agent, and the knowledge that they all had your back was such a relief.

Before leaving for the evening after the revelation, Joel asked Eric permission to talk to you alone, earning him a weirded out look from the man, who nodded and made himself scarce, nonetheless.

“I’m sorry, Aria.”

“For what?”

“Everything that happened… you kept apologizing to me for involving me in your drama, when everything happened because I rejected Lucy in the first place. You didn’t deserve this. I’m sorry.”

He felt bad. He felt as if none of this would have happened if only he had not been lost in the fog that Jen left him in, said yes to a drink with Lucy and gently let her down from the start. Instead, he chose to simply ignore her. Never did he ever think that one decision would lead to her taking such drastic actions, putting you, putting Ellie in danger.

“Come on, Joel, the things with my mother and sister, with Andrew, they would have happened either way. They would have found me sooner or later. I ghosted them, I didn’t exactly hide. Lucy just… sped up the process,” you coaxed him, seeing how guilty he looked.

“You wouldn’t have been in danger. And I ignored your calls. If Ellie didn’t do what she did… I don’t even want to think…”

“But she did do what she did, and you came. I’m okay, Joel. Ellie’s okay. We’ll be okay.”

“But... we’re not…” he said softly, eyes on the floor. When he raised them back up to look at you, there was yearning in them. You might have even imagined a light glistening of tears. “Are you happy, Aria?”

You were just about to ask what he meant by that when Sarah came into the room with her school bag, ready to go home.

“We’ll talk tomorrow?” you asked, “And don’t forget, bring her swimsuit and some clothes to leave here,” you reminded him.

He nodded, taking Sarah’s schoolbag from her, taking one more look at you before closing the door behind him.

**********

Your dads were too happy to be here. This was the retirement they never knew they wanted. They had always told you that they were going to move to the beach house, ultimately, once they got bored with condo-living, and travel the world, just the two of them. And now, suddenly, retirement meant moving to a new city, buying a house a couple streets away from you, and having two granddaughters to spoil. They had already started asking you and Joel to get the girls passports, even having a huge calendar marking school holidays.

And with Thanksgiving and Christmas coming, they had started subtly but not so subtly asking Anita her plans, slowly trying to get her to agree to let them host everyone for the festivities.  

Okay, Frank did that. Not your dads, only Frank. But you didn’t hear your Dad complain. That’s for sure.

Since Tess, Joel and Tommy worked, they offered their place to be the layover between school and home for Sarah and Ellie, both then, and when you decided to go back home. You did remind them that when you did, you would be available at home for Sarah to stop by, but was met with a list of disadvantages, both to your personal and professional lives as to why that would be a bad idea.

The girls were in the pool, heated for their benefit, Kyle, Ethan and Eric teaching them to swim. Joel, Tommy and your dads manned the grills, keeping the meat supply flowing, while you and the ladies sat in a corner eating and chatting.

“Hey, can I ask you something?” Maria took a sip of her drink and turned her chair to face you. “What’s going on with you and Joel? Are you guys not together anymore?”

“Yeah, I haven’t seen you two together in a while. Did you guys have a fight?” Tess asked.

“I don’t know,” you told them, Anita stopping her crocheting to focus on you. “He just… pulled away. I don’t know why. He wasn’t mean about it, though. At first I thought he was simply giving me space, after Nell and my mother, you know? But then he never stopped giving me space, so… I don’t know. Maybe he just doesn’t want my drama. I can’t blame him. I get it. I wouldn’t want to date me either. I went from a fling in Bali to neighbour to potential girlfriend to someone who has an instant child and a disgruntled ex-fiancé snooping around and a murderer sister who killed my pro-pedo mother who turned out to be a psycho who pimped her child out. Why on earth would he want to be with me?”

The three of them didn’t say anything, looks of pity and sadness on them, Maria stroking your arm. It was only then you realized how wobbly your voice had gotten, how teary your eyes had been.

You shook your head, wiping your tears away. “Just my lot in life. Unlucky in love. Always has been.”

The three of them chorused very empathetic ‘nos’ and ‘that’s not trues’ and ‘you’ll find someones’, hands offered for you to take, more strokes on your arms and legs, all trying to get you to feel better.

“No, don’t worry guys, I’m okay. I’m lucky in lots of other ways. I have my dads, you guys, Ellie, Sarah, Ethan, Kyle, Eric… plus, it takes a special kind of man to be okay with me being so amicable with my exes. Maybe it’s just too much for him. It’s okay. He has every right to choose not to be with me,” you told them.

There was silence for a beat. No one knew what to say.

“You, though, who are you and what have you done with my good friend Maria?” you smacked her in the arm. “What happened to the my ‘fling�� guru? She went ahead and got all loved up and left me in the dust!”

Maria waved her hand at you, as if trying to make light of her situation with Tommy, all the while grinning wider than the Cheshire cat itself. “We’re… us… we’re doing okay,” she said, hands playing with her glass, “Taking it slow…”

“Slow?” Tess mocked, swatting Maria with her napkin on the knee, “You’re telling me your clothes are not filling half of his closet?” earning her a face full of napkin from Maria.

“You’re one to speak,” Anita said, slyly looking at her niece. “You’re the one now always on the phone and coming home late after your shifts. Anything we should know about?”

Tess covered her face with her hands, “Leave me alone! Sheesh! Nosy, nosy, nosy!”

The three of you laughed so heartily you almost fell off your chair.

Across the yard, Joel couldn’t take his eyes off you. He missed you so much, but there was nothing he could do about it. He wanted to go back in time so badly, not pull away from you in the first place. He could be in great company with your laughter, and instead, here he was, sulking at the other end of your dads’ backyard, wishing he could go home with you tonight and hold you tight. He needed you, if only to sleep well again. He forgot what being happy felt like. He had a taste of it with you, but he stupidly let it go.

He should’ve fought for you. Gotten you back from the Eric, the super nice guy who had been through so much in life and had managed to climb his way out of that situation and became the annoyingly likeable man he was today. The kind of great guy he would have less of a problem with if Sarah came home one day and introduced him as her boyfriend, not that he wouldn’t punch him in the face still, just for daring to think he would be good enough to date his BabyGirl.

And because Joel was too nice of a guy to take you back from Eric, here he was, stuck with only longingly watching you from afar, while Eric got to do whatever he wanted with you.

Oh God, please don’t be one of those touchy couples and show PDAs in his presence, he didn’t know if his heart could take it. But just in case, Joel had an excuse planned out to leave as soon as he could, should that happen. He practiced and everything.

“You’re staring,” Tommy nudged him, handing over a beer.

Joel took it, hesitantly looking away from you.

“What’s going on with you and Aria anyway? Did you guys have a fight or something? Did you break up?” Tommy’s tone was low, not wanting your bickering dads to hear from the next grill.

“We never really got together in the first place, I don’t think,” Joel said, eyes on the bottle he was holding. “We were taking it slow, so much happened, and then… I fucked up, and now she’s with someone else. End of story.”

“Who?”

Joel didn’t answer, but his eyes couldn’t help but glance at Eric, who was now throwing a squealing Ellie back into the pool.

“No,” Tommy was shocked. “That couldn’t be. I’ve never seen them together like that,” he protested.

“Maybe she was just trying to let me down easy. Maybe they’re not ready to tell people.”

“How do you know, then?”

“Saw them kissing,” Joel took a drink, trying hard to stop his voice from wobbling.

“Shit, I’m so sorry, brother.”

Joel shrugged, taking the final burger off the grill, telling everyone food was ready.

**********

Thank God for Sarah and Ellie. Those two kept him so busy and occupied he didn’t notice you or Eric at all, both eating on his lap, insisting he fed them both. One thing he would concede to, he wasn’t willing to let go of this – this family all of you had become. He saw how happy his Mama and Tess were in your company, how happy Tommy was in the men’s company, how happy Sarah was in everyone’s company. Heck, even he had a hard time sticking to his sourpuss with everyone around.

So he would keep his yearning for you to himself and just enjoy what he could get, good company, good food, and whenever he could, glimpses of you.

He went to his truck once everyone started lazily lying around the pool, drinks in hand. He got Sarah’s bag out and went upstairs, wanting to unpack her clothes into her closet. He walked past the first two bedrooms before getting to the girls’ bedroom at the end of the hall, and his steps stopped abruptly.

Laughter. Cheeky, romantic, comfortable laughter. And squeaking. And sloppy kisses. After sex laughter.

Coming from Eric’s room.

His heart fell to his stomach.

His tears fell involuntarily. Who was he kidding? He couldn’t watch you be with Eric. He could reason with himself all he wanted, but he was never going to be able to survive that, not without wanting to rip Eric’s face off, nice guy or no nice guy. He wanted to run away, leave, never return, but his feet felt like they were made of lead. So he stood there, and listened as the intimate laughter came attacking him from the crack under the bedroom door, giving him so much whiplash his head was spinning.

The spell broke when he heard footsteps coming up the stairs. He turned, hoping to God whoever it was wouldn’t tease him for his gloom-riddled face.

It was you, your face morphing into concern the moment you clocked his tears.

“Joel? What’s wrong? Why are you crying?” you wiped his tears off his face, forgetting that you two were no longer together. He let go of Sarah’s bag, hands up to your face, wonder in his eyes.

“You’re here…” he whispered.

“Uh, yeah, I am, I live here for now, remember? Are you okay? Did you hit your head?”

He laughed, stroking your cheeks. “No, I mean, if you were here, then who’s in there with Eric?”

You didn’t even have the chance to answer. The door swung open, and a very happy looking Eric and Tess walked out.

All four of you looked at each other in silence.

The hinges of your jaws stopped working. Words failed you. Tess looked horrified, while Eric just looked embarrassed.

“Aria,” Tess began, “It’s not what it looks like… I was just…”

“Are you two…” you started, stopping to consider the word you needed to complete that sentence, deciding if you wanted to be crass or discreet.  

“We’re seeing each other,” Eric meekly said, putting his arm around Tess.

“Since when?”

Tess fiddled with the hemline of the shirt she was wearing, “We planned our first date that day Andrew came, but postponed it.”

“Why?”

“We didn’t know how to tell you, we were worried you might have a problem with it,” Eric said, eyes on the floor, looking like a naughty child who just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

“Why would I have a problem with it?”

All three of them looked at you in shock.

“You don’t?” Tess’s face lit up with relief. Eric released an audible breath.

“Of course not, why would I?”

She raised her hand and rushed over to hug you. You took a hasty step back, your body immediately pressed up against Joel’s, hand out in front of you.

“No, no. No, no. No hugging. No touching. Have you even washed your hands? Ew!”

The two let out a relieved laugh, thanking you for understanding, before going to the bathroom together.

It was only then you realized that you were all pressed up against Joel. You turned around, apologizing for entering his personal space like that. But he wasn’t listening.

“So, you’re not with Eric?”

“No, why would I be?”

He huffed a laugh, “I saw them kissing… I thought it was the two of you.” He looked down, lips quivering, “I thought you chose him, that you went back to him.”

You were stunned. You never thought of that.

“He was just over to see Ellie, I swear. His last name is on her birth certificate. He just wanted to have a relationship with her. That’s all.”

He nodded, his eyes back to brimming with tears, though there was a huge relief written all over his face.

“Is that why you pulled back?” you asked. He nodded, tears now falling down his cheeks again.

You wiped his tears away, as his eyes closed from the sensation of your hands on him, something he had missed all this time.

And then you burst into tears.

Huge, heaving, body-shaking sobs.

Eric and Tess exited the bathroom, Tess started towards you but Joel shook his head. Eric guided her towards the stairs, the two of them leaving you alone.

Joel didn’t even know how to react. Usually, he would just hug you. But he didn’t know if you would be accepting to that right now. Were you angry? Sad? Relieved? What?

You ran into your bedroom, wiping your face with a hand towel, but started crying again. Joel followed you inside, closing the door behind him.

“Aria,” he pleaded. “I’m sorry. I should have talked to you first. I didn’t know. I thought you still had feelings for him, I thought I saw the two of you kiss, and I couldn’t blame you, you were forced apart. I wanted you to be happy, that’s all I ever wanted for you. I thought you wanted to be with him. I’m sorry baby, please, forgive me.”

You calmed yourself down, wiping your face with the towel again. He waited for you, his heart beating fast, worried what your reaction would be, internally kicking himself for being so dumb. When you finally calmed down, you turned around and faced him, and those few seconds you didn’t speak had to be the longest few seconds of his life.

“I thought you didn’t want me anymore.”

His heart clenched. He took two huge steps towards you, taking your face in his hands and crashed his lips onto yours, sealing all his feelings and regret into it, telling you in not so many words, so you understood that you were everything he had ever desired in this world.

You kissed him right back, eyes clenched shut, hands wrapped around his waist, clutching his shirt. He walked you back until the back of your legs hit your bed, and gently brought you down with him, slotting himself between your legs, moaning into your mouth. His hands began to wander, going to your sides, your ass, your legs, before coming back up to caress your breasts, tongue beginning to pass your lips, licking into your mouth before going down to your jawline, travelling to your ears.

Your bedroom door crashed open.

“Aya! Grandpa said… uh oh…”

Two little girls wrapped in towels stood in your doorway, somehow managing to look both shocked and elated at the same time.

Joel scrambled to get off you, pulling the blanket with him to cover up the situation he had going on between his legs, breathlessly asking Sarah and Ellie about a previous discussion he’d had with them about opening closed doors.

“Sorry, Daddy,” Sarah said, “Sorry Joel,” Ellie parroted, neither looking sorry at all. You were having a hard time keeping yourself from laughing, asking them what Grandpa wanted.

“He said we showered. He asked you to help us change.”

You nodded, getting up as the two girl ran out of your room and into their own. Joel got up with you, the ‘situation’ having run for the hills from the shock of it all. You stood up, but he took your hand in his, making you sit back down.

“Just in case the message didn’t get across,” he said, “I want to be with you. For real. I’m yours, and only yours, if you would have me. I don’t want to wait anymore. I want to be with you. Please.”

You smiled, telling him you had to go help the girls change, standing up. His face fell.

“And then we’ll go home,” you whispered, erasing the disappointed look he had on, kissing him in a way that made sure he understood, that that was what you wanted too.

“For real.”

---

Part 17

[tuttle-did-it]

I’m rewatching DS9 with the Delta Flyers rewatch, and I think Keiko/Miles had an amazing relationship. I love that there are times when they can't stand to be away from each other, and that there are times when they aren't even sure if they want to be in the same room with each other. I love them. I don't think they're as stereotypical as you might be remembering-- there were some subtleties and nuances beyond the stereotypes of being in a cis-het relationship— or any relationship for that matter.

The only episode I have really actively disliked with Keiko and Miles was the TNG episode where Keiko is turned into an 12 year old. The actress they had for young Keiko was not very good, and Colm seemed to be questioning his life choices as he's having to argue with a 12 year old girl playing his wife. It was an uncomfortable plot line (I get that’s the point, but maybe a little too uncomfortable). I thought her character was written terribly, the episode was absurd, and would have MUCH preferred they had used that time with Rosalind to write a much better story for her.

I have always loved Rosalind. She is an amazing actor, she is absolutely gorgeous, she has wonderful chemistry with Colm, and she just seems like a really fabulous person. Armin can't say enough praise when he talks about her as a guest star. I have NEVER understood why people say there was a problem with Keiko because I've never known anyone who said that. Everyone I've known feels the same way about her. I'm going to guess that it was primarily men who were offended at seeing a blond woman who wasn't a 28 year old with big tits bouncing around.

Chakotay…. you know what? I will be honest. I never liked his character, even before I found out Beltran was a pile of shit. to my knowledge, Beltran has never claimed to be Native American. As I understand it, he does have some ancestry for Native America but does not identify that way, I think he's primarily known as a Mexican American actor. In fact, I remember articles complaining when Voyager first came out from Native Americans and First Nations people pointing out that there were a lot of Native actors who would have been perfect for the role, there were a lot of Native consultants who would have helped them not write shit (they hired a hack -- apparently knowing he was a hack???-- white dude who was an ʇɹǝdxǝ on Native cultures. Who knew nothing about Native cultures and made out all the fuck up. (Fact check me on all of this, friend it's very late/early and I have had a pain flare-up for 4 weeks that is dulling my bloody brain).

Even without knowing Beltran was a piece of shit, I have never liked his character. I also never liked Reg Barclay, and I liked the character of Torres but didn't always love Roxanne's performance of her. hmmm what do they all have in common…. ahem. Could it be a red hat with 4 letters words on it? Why yes. Yes it could. (More on Torres later)

I love Prodigy. I do. I think it's a brilliant show and I think they actually do some very clever stuff with anti-nostalgia when the rest of the entire fucking franchise is nothing but nostalgia (Strange New Worlds, Lower Decks, Picard in particular). I strongly wish they had not brought Beltran back in, and kept with the anti-nostalgia stuff they were playing with. The kids' storylines were all fantastic. In my opinion, it was the best New Trek show out there. The writers clearly knew and understood the two different people Janeway could be, they gave story arcs to every character, they managed to make the Borg scary again (well done there). It was just a good show. But it was harmed with the Chakotay sideplots that never needed to happen.

The writers were clearly Chakotay/Janeway shippers, which… no. I would have loved if the story was… anyone else. I mean, maybe not Kim, but yeah, pretty much anyone else. I think the show would have been far stronger if they had kept with the anti-nostalgia here, and they did not need a forced relationship that never should have happened. I’d have much preferred if Janeway had a completely asexual reason for going back to the Delta quadrant— preferably one that involved something she fucked up 30 years ago.

Torres…. you know, I am going to disagree with you a bit here. Am I angry that they made the Latina woman angry and out of control? Yes. Does it drive me absolutely insane that Torres-- the only main character woman of colour on Trek since Uhura-- is constantly being told to control herself? Abso-fucking-lutely. (and don't think I'm not still raging that they were STILL FUCKING DOING THIS 30 FUCKING YEARS LATER WITH RAFFI BECAUSE FUCK YOU STAR TREK)

However. I would argue that Torres might be one of the women on Trek who has had the MOST character development.

Everyone credits Janeway as the first woman captain as a main character. YAY! great. Women in stem. We love it. So why aren't we acknowledging the first woman engineer? These two women run the fucking ship. They are allowed to be leaders, and for the most part, the men who work for them adapt to this pretty quickly and don’t really cause problems because ewww my boss is a woman! Ugh! No, just she is my boss, she knows what the fuck she’s doing, I will do my job.

I also kind of loved when Janeway is like, how long will this take? and Torres says x hours. Janeway says fine, I want this done in (less than) x hours. Torres fights back saying No, I said it takes x time. I don’t exaggerate. I said what I said. I just liked their relationship— she was allowed to push back, and Janeway seemed to value that in her (most of the time. Not at first. But eventually).

I think they were best with Torres when she was dealing with her struggles of identity. I have never liked the Klingons, I will be honest. I hate Klingons. I hate Worf. I don’t like the Klingon culture, and I think most of the time they’re just an excuse to show how “civilised” the Federation and Starfleet are. It bothers me how the original series mainly used them in Blackface, and I’ve noticed an annoying trend in science fiction to often put the person of colour in alien makeup, often monstrous or villainous. It can feel quite racist to me, as the original series mail had Klingons basically in Blackface, and are often in sci-fi to show monstrous characters to show how evolved and superior the white characters are.

I generally am very very bored of Klingons. Torres may be the only one I’ve ever liked. No… wait. Oh! Suzi Plakson.. Key… K’Elar? Something like that. K’Ehleyr. (Thanks internet). She was amazing, and very much like Torres in that she was half human, half Klingon, and kinda hated Klingons. Loved that. She was sort of the template for Torres, now that I think about that. She was an excellent character. They shouldn’t have killed her off.

Anyway. Torres. I kind of loved that Torres was a Klingon who Didn't Get Why Anyone Would Want to Be A Klingon. She hated every element of being a Klingon. Some of it was just ‘I don’t get these idiots, all they do is fight and yell and I just want to sit and read a book in the bath, go away.’

Some of her rejection was down to previous traumas as a kid, which I liked that they went into. That people have rejected her because of the way she looks. And she can’t just make it go away. And self-loathing- how how hard she pushed that Klingon identity away, even though visually, that's the first thing anyone would notice about her. And the first thing she sees in the mirror.

Hating and loving her mother enough to be willing to go to "hell" to save her. To go through all the Klingon crap that she hated for someone she loved because deep down, some part of her did still value that Klingon crap because she valued her mother.

She also had an excellent storyline about the trauma of being part of two very different cultures-- but also, her terror at passing this trauma as generational trauma onto her child. To the point she's willing to try to change her child's DNA so she can ~pass~ for the preferred culture. Whatever my feelings on Roxanne, that episode was absolutely incredible-- and from what Robbie says, Roxanne came to the writers with her script covered in notes for them from her own experiences. It was one of VOY’s stronger episodes.

They allowed two women (Janeway and Torres) to have quite severe depression and mental health issues, which frankly I think was a rather brave of them considering this is 1998 Star Trek— and that these women were the ones in charge, but no one used that as an excuse to replace them with men. Janeway’s depression was a self-loathing and guilt, sitting in her quarters and refusing to come out. (And occasionally trying to blow up the ship…….). Torres’ depression also turns inward, but to the point where she is engaging in self-harm— and could have very well killed herself multiple times. And I believe it was made quite clear that Torres’ depression regarding her heritage certainly went back to childhood, as did Janeway’s depression issues. Were these issues resolved too quickly? Yes. But I think it was a HUGE thing that they allowed the two most powerful women on the ship just fucking Not Be Okay.

Also, whilst I don’t love cis-het relationships in general, I didn’t hate Torres and Paris. I appreciated that they took the time for them to both grow up a little bit before bringing them together. I appreciated that they did become friends before it turned into something more. Not my favourite paring by a mile, but I think they did some nuanced stuff with them— the episodes where he’s asleep in front of the tv was maybe too silly, but as a couple they were inoffensive most of the time.

I thought it was an interesting choice to make Paris more interested in honouring her Klingon heritage in multiple episodes, and having her pushing back— no, I don’t care about this shit, leave me alone!

In Lineage (possibly Torres’ strongest episodes), when she is trying to change her child’s DNA, I liked the way Paris pushed back and had to really fight to get it into her head that he was not like her father, and that he loved the part of herself that she hated so much. These multiple episodes regarding her mixed heritage— and trying to learn how to love what she saw in the mirror even though it was a representation of everything she rejected— that mattered. That spoke to a lot of marginalised people who are two things, and thus feel like nothing. Who wish they could pass for this but they can’t because of that. That episode mattered.

Women on Trek were not treated well by the writers. Full stop. Torres was not treated well. Listen, I love Gates— Gates was the only reason I ever even stayed with TNG. She was the only one who seemed to have a personality on the show, to me. The only one I vaguely cared about— and on paper, she was nothing. But Gates managed to infuse her with much more.

And then Michelle Forbes came along and — oooh, yes, I’ll stay for her, too. This one is interesting! I like her. But I think Gates would have killed for her character to have that much development. I believe Denise and Michelle Forbes would have stayed if their character had half as much development as Torres.

Nichelle desperately wanted to leave— and stayed because Martin Luther King begged her to.

Terry did get quite a few cool episodes, but only one or two delved into her deep traumas, things that broke her. Because Jadzia had 7 lifetimes— she’s worked a lot of her shit out by now. We had a few. Maybe if Terry had been given just a few more episodes of substance, she wouldn’t have burnt out as easily. (And maybe if Rick Berman hadn’t treated her like shit, too). But I'm a big defender of Jadzia because as a trans kid, she was the first positive version of queerness I saw. She was allowed to be both a woman and a man, and her sexuality was obviously open. That meant a lot to me as a kid.

And I do feel that Nana was burnt out by S7 as well. They stopped giving her interesting stories, put her in heels and said hey go stand there and snog Odo. That was an irritation for me.

And Marina? Christ. Troi didn’t have a personality —aside from hating her mother, liking chocolate and saying ‘captain he’s very angry’ when there’s an alien SCREAMING on the view screen. Marina would probably have biten off her own arm if she could do anything more than sit there saying ‘and how does that make you feel?’ Troi didn’t become remotely interesting until like S6 or something.

And I adore Jeri, but the Borg Barbie thing really did get old for me. If they had just let her fucking wear clothes instead of looking like it was painted on, that would have gone a long way. But even she had more story than many of the other women in Trek. And don’t get me started on how much I was screaming on Picard when Seven spends the entire last year sitting in silence whilst the white men talk about how hard their lives are, and putting up with another stupid white man constantly dead-naming her. And she’s apparently not allowed to be with her lover because Raffi needs a man has to “teach” her how to control her emotions. ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME. No— we’re not getting into that. We are not getting into that cos this is already WAYYYY too long and it is 0320 and I should have been in bed at least an hour ago. We are not getting int— christ I hate Picard. FUCK YOU STAR TREK.

Ahem. Sorry. So. I think we can all agree that women on Trek, there was a very low bar for character development. And by bar, I mean a toothpick on the ground. But a few of the women did manage to shove that toothpick a little higher. Women in Trek have not been treated well. But I admire every one of the women in these shows for doing the most they could with what little they had.

But when I really sit back and think about character development for women in Trek, I’d say that Torres is certainly one of the ones who was allowed to do a lot more than most. I think she was allowed to be a lot more complex than people realise. Torres, Kira, Jadzia and Seven were probably the women who were allowed to have the must substantial stories— even more so than Janeway, sometimes.

Pretty sure nearly all of the women in the entire Trek franchise would beg for as much development as Torres got. Was it enough? No. Was it more than most of the women in the franchise got? yeah.

Miss Piggy has better storylines than so many of the women in these shows. (well. Torres, Kira, Jadzia and Seven did okay. But all of the women deserved better)

(and to be fair-- even with now cheated these women all were for incredible storylines, they still matter to a lot of people. Nana recently published a book on Trek women and how fans have spoken to her about how much they mattered and how they changed the lives of fans everywhere. And I think that's incredible. That these actors could bring so much more than what was on the page to still reach people -- despite how 2-D they were written.)

Does anyone remember that episode of Star Trek: Voyager where Tom Paris commits a traffic violation in alien space and he has to go to alien remedial driving school? I have no idea which episode it was, but it's such a great concept. There are so many episodes about high-stakes encounters with crazy alien legal systems where death is on the line, but I wanna see more alien planets with very mundane legal systems. I wanna see an episode where there's a big dramatic trial, and our heroes lose, but then find out that they have misunderstood what was going on and will simply have to do community service for a week or something.

[emmavakarian-theirin]

it just makes sense to me that lucanis would be the one to kill the venatori mage and he deserves it

teia's armour for lucanis

[mohntilyet]

Wait is the middle picture from those three sketches that one scene from the wigmaker job?

yes! it's this specific passage where lucanis is just seething with rage and trying to keep a lid on it, and illario's a stablising, comforting presence. BROTHERS!!!!! <3 though i chose to draw his hand on his shoulder rather than his arm i guess. artistic liberty!

[moeblob]

What Deacon thinks: what did that mean? did he want me to wear a collar too? why else would he mention my neck? i mean, if he /asked/ me i would wear one but he didn't so would wearing one be weird?

What Ymber meant: It's nice to be near someone who isn't tethered to this world to serve it with a physical reminder for all to see.

[cannibalovers]

jack coming back, showing pics of the crime scene to will AND molly, pressuring him to come back and molly telling him that she would be satisfied knowing he did the right thing and that he should go and Will actually going made me actually shed a tear.

[vimbry-moved]

me and the work girlies having socialist convos at the end of the day

[my-thoughts-and-junk]

my new thing is obsessing over a funny little guy for a few months before moving onto another funny little guy

[shigussy]

discovered a food allergy by eating it(again)

[leemarkies]

.