#the otp and the third wheel best friend

[wishingstarinajar]

I think Megatron and your fc are cute. Big and small are always cute. Will you draw them more?

You're in luck, Anon! Thanks to your Ask, I went into my WIP folder and slapped some colors on a silly "meme" sketch I drew during a minor art block!

Enjoy!

Includes a bonus Pummel (@stankychee) xD

[stanlunter]

What you favourite toh ship says about you

No judgement, just my opinion based on how shippers act and how I would feel if I were them. Pls let me know if I have forgotten something!

Lumity - you're glad you finaly got canon healthy wlw couple in a kid show and became obsessed with it. Also you like highschool romance trope and probably is taken.

Boschlow - you miss s1 Lumity potential and hate the way it was done in s2. Also you want Boscha to be your gf.

Boschamity - you miss s1 Amity and hate the way she was was done in s2. You believe deep inside Boscha is a good person, who has the same trauma as Amity and she could become better too if there was anyone for her. It's very likely that you're a bitch and used to have bitch friends who left you for some reason, but I can't judge you for it, cause I ship it too.

Willuz - you think Amity's arc was rushed. You feel bad for Willow, cause she was "separated" from Luz and Amity in s2 and think she became an ooc in s2 and miss Willow from s1.

Lunter - you think Lumity and Huntlow were written bad. "Highschool romance" is never your otp. You prefer classic (in any way). You're probably on aro spec or believe in soulmates. You and your crush always tease each other. You're good at keeping secrets.

Goldric - it started as a joke, but you don't think it's a joke anymore. When Huntlow appeared you realized you went too far to change anything. Also you just want to have more mlm couples in media.

Huntmira - it started as a respond to goldric shippers, but then you realized it actually has a great potential and their dynamic would be amazing.

Gunter - I haven't seen you, but I really hope you just want all good things for both of them and also think Gus is criminally overlooked.

Raeda - you're bigger than ship wars. Love between teens is overrated and love between adults is underrated. You love suffering and wanna be both Raine and Eda.

Gustholomule - you think it's extremely unfair that Gus doesn't have a partner.

Skasha - you love Boscha and want all the best for her, but you're fine with her being an antagonist and Amity being happy with Luz.

Skamity - for some reason you dislike Lumity, but want Amity to be a good guy and want her to be in healthy and equal relationship with someone who's like Luz. You probably don't really like Amity, but still want good things for her.

Odalador - you want Blight family to be actually good, happy and health family and I can't blame you for it. Also you wanna know more about Alador, Darius and Odalia's friendship in the past. You also think deep inside Odalia isn't as bad or at least want her to have at least some good traits.

Dalador - you really hate Odalia and want Alador and kids to be happy, but not with her. You also think Odalia was a third wheel in their friendship and, again, you hate her in all possible ways

Odarius - Im not sure if you're exist, but if you do, you just find them both hot and want them to fuck. If you also ship them with Alador as a poly ship, then you want them not only to fuck, but also to have some romantic stuff together. But if you're a straight girl, then you're probably just wanna Odalia in this ship.

Daraine - you think Darius as bi and you probably ship Daraeda too. Also you think Darius is underrated.

Amillow - Willow is your favourite character and you hate the way she doesn’t get enought screen time. You also think Amity's redemtion arc was rushed. You probably also had a close friend, who left you and you still miss them and wanna bring them back even tho they hurted you. You also probably still believe in aroace lesbian Willow.

Veenter - you don't exist, but you wanna rewrite toh cuz you see too much of wasted potential in it. Also you have a lot of headcanons about Vee and want her to have an actual role.

Huntlow - you enjoy Amity's redemtion arc and Willow's development. And Hunter is your favourite chatacter. You probably don't have a partner, but very want to.

Guslow - you believe that friends are always more important than a partner. You truly believe in friends-to-lovers and probably don't really believe in m/f friendship.

Amiter - you really love Wittebane and Blight lores and hate how they were revealed. Also you love forbidden love trope.

Veesha - you want everyone to have a partner. You probably also used to ship Tom x Janna and just love "Mysterious demon x a Human who like mystery and demons" trope and want Masha to be inckuded in a Hexsquad. Also you wanna know more about Masha and adore Moringmark's comics.

Veelow - you don't like Huntlow and think Willow should get a gf instead. You also can see this fragile simality between Willow and Vee, but can't explain it.

Bris - you love Bria and wish she ever appeared again

Brisha - you love both Boscha and Bria and think antagonists are more interesting than protagonists

[therainscene]

I’m obsessed with @wheelersboy’s theory that Mike thinks Will is in love with El. It’s one of those takes that’s so simple, yet so perfectly explains every odd little detail you couldn’t quite account for before, that you know you’re on to a winner.

I always thought it was bizarre that the Willel reunion at NINA was framed in blatant love triangle imagery:

If this was supposed to be yet another reminder that the sad widdle gay boy has fee-fees for his best friend, we’d expect him to be gazing at Mike or otherwise looking conflicted at both of them. But he isn’t. His steady, adoring gaze is for El only. Yes, he loves her, but that love is strictly fraternal, so why the romance symbolism?

Is it straight-bait? This scene comes after his thinly-veiled love confession to Mike (in the same episode, no less), and the Duffers and Noah both made a point of confirming that Will was gay in post-vol.2 interviews, so making the audience think that Will is in love with El clearly wasn’t the intention here.

The Willel romance-coding isn’t for the audience -- it’s for Mike.

We often joke about Mike being crushed that Will didn’t laugh at his vomit green socks, but follow Will’s gaze -- it’s a little hard to see in the still image, but he’s staring at El, checking to see if she’s going to heed his advice. Mike's discomfort isn’t because he’s upset that Will didn’t like his joke, it’s because he doesn’t understand the weird tension between these two and is frustrated that his attempt to lighten the mood didn’t dispel it.

Mike’s smart enough to correctly connect the dots by the time Will starts sobbing in the van though: Will is destroying himself in his efforts to be supportive of the relationship between his best friend and the person he’s in love with.

But heteronormativity and a severe inferiority complex lead him to draw the wrong conclusion -- he thinks he’s the best friend and El is the one Will’s in love with, and that gets confirmed in his mind when he catches them making goo-goo eyes at each other at NINA.

And not once, after figuring it out, does he get jealous about it -- he guides El into Will’s arms at NINA, he looks conflicted as hell during the “I love you” monologue as Will hovers over his shoulder -- he just wants them to be happy and is prepared to put his own feelings aside to make it happen, even though it would hurt him terribly to do so. Exactly the same fucking thing Will is doing. It’s utterly farcical. I love this theory so much.

I’d like to springboard off this by taking a look at what it implies about S5.

Between Will’s history with Vecna and the Wonder Twins foreshadowing--

--it’s looking pretty likely that Will and El are going to be spending a significant amount of time together next season.

So we can already see that conditions are perfect for Mike to go through a similar arc as Will did in S4: being a third wheel between his best friend and the person he’s in love with and feeling like he can never truly be more than a third wheel, leading him to sacrifice himself in an effort to support what he thinks they have together.

Mike is very much at risk of doing something stupidly self-harming in S5 -- this is the same kid who jumped off a cliff to protect Dustin’s baby teeth, after all. He feels like he has no value if he isn’t needed by Superman. And there’s a goddamn mind-reading despair demon stalking his friend group.

Of course, it’ll all work out in the end. He’ll be saved at the last moment, the truth will be tearfully revealed, and we’ll finally get that big, dramatic, affirming kiss for our OTP.

You might have noticed that everything I’ve said in this analysis so far is consistent with either Byler or Milevn being endgame.

Many Milevns and GA members don’t just believe that Milevn will triumph over Byler -- they believe there isn’t any conflict between Milevn and Byler in the first place. The lack of evidence that Mike isn’t into boys is meaningless to the heteronormative mindset -- he’s the protagonist and dating a girl, therefore he’s straight, therefore Will’s hopes are dead in the water, therefore Mike has no romantic dilemma to solve.

By introducing a misunderstanding in which Mike imagines that his best friend is competing for his girlfriend -- couching his dilemma in relatable heterosexual terms -- the audience will be forced to accept that Mike is experiencing a distressing internal conflict involving Will and romance that won’t be resolved until the queer truth comes out.

The GA felt bad for Will in S4 because they assumed there was nothing he could do about it, but they’ll be tearing their hair out with frustration at Mike in S5 -- “you’re wrongly assuming he’s straight, you idiot! Just talk to him and this will all be cleared up!!”

It would be an absolutely genius way of getting the audience to question heteronormativity without them even realizing they’re questioning heteronormativity.

Once Mike’s queerness is revealed, the parallels between his arc and Will’s will suddenly become clear, and the audience will realize that, despite his straight-passing invisibility, Mike was just the other side of the same gay coin Will was on all along.

[Part 2]

[boasamishipper]

Hello! You are my go to expert for Night Court and Dan/Harry, so I would like to ask, which episodes would you recommend watching for particularly shippy Dan/Harry moments or storylines? Thank you <3

i am beyond honored to have been bestowed such a title, thank you nonny! <333

there are so many excellent danharry moments and storylines across all nine seasons, but here are my (very painstakingly selected) top five danharry episodes in chronological order:

1. S3E9-10 The Wheels of Justice (Part 1 + 2)

every time i think about this episode i go fully insane charlie kelly standing in front of the pepe silvia conspiracy board style. admittedly the first episode doesn't give us a lot of danharry content beyond harry smiling super fondly at dan while dan screams at bull's tiny tv, but the SECOND episode. jesus CHRIST. dan talking harry out of his slump in that pool hall........'you were good, harry! very good. you were impartial. you were fair. passionate. compassionate. understanding. and i admired you.'............dan hugging harry after harry apologized and said he would come back to court........the way harry and dan looked at each other after harry's line about taking the good with the bad no matter how bad the bad gets...........dan's smile while harry tells mac that dan is the only reason he left the pool hall..........and then. of course. this.

what is their DEAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2. S4E1 The Next Voice You Hear...

'emily,' night court nation says. 'this is not a danharry-centric episode.' you are correct! 'then why is this on your list?' because after harry found out his mother was dead, mac's first instinct was to call dan, and dan dropped whatever he was doing to come and console harry. they're best friends!!!!!!!!! and i cry about it Every Day

3. S4E5-6 Dan's Operation (Part 1+2)

this is THE danharry episode. every other danharry episode go home (except please don't, you're all wonderful). seriously though if someone told me when i first started watching night court that harry would fall asleep on a comatose dan's chest after begging him to wake up (AFTER they had a huge argument earlier in the episode) and dan's first instinct upon waking up is to stroke harry's hair and also Not Move Or Say Anything Because Harry Is Sleeping and THEN they would have ANOTHER argument that ended in both of them saying 'i love you' to each other, i would have died on the spot. and then i watched these episodes and i DID die on the spot. larroquette won his third emmy award for his performance in these eps and it is extremely well deserved.

4. S5E14 I'm OK, You're Catatonic/Schizophrenic

a danharry episode that raises more questions than it answers. what do you mean dan just randomly took a nap on harry's conference table. what do you mean dan kidnapped mel torme for harry. what do you mean dan said re: his kidnapping of mel torme '[harry's] gonna kiss me on the lips for this'. what do you MEAN dan handcuffed mel torme to a chair using 'a trick harry taught him' with 'magic shackles' that HE KNOWS CHAFE and WHAT DO YOU MEAN HARRY DOESN'T EVEN HAVE MAGIC SHACKLES AT ALL. SO WHAT WAS DAN TALKING ABOUT. someday i will get a ouija board so i can talk to reinhold weege from beyond the grave and ask him hey man!!! what was up with this episode!!!!!!!!! and also harry destroying dan's car in retaliation for dan accidentally destroying his mel torme record collection (on top of harry strangling dan upon receiving the news and also screaming I'M GOING TO EAT THAT MAN'S EYEBROWS) is proof that these two match each other's freak like no one else and that's why they should be endgame, thank you and good night.

5. S5E22 + S6E1-2 Danny Got His Gun (Parts 1-3)

1980s sitcoms were operating on a whole other level because if even an iota of this plotline happened to one of my otps on any of my currently airing shows the entire fandom would burst into flames. dan is presumed dead!!! his plane goes down north of hudson bay!!! and harry is the first one to receive the news!!! and the first one to receive further telegrams from the army and also dan's belongings!!! in his will dan left harry his 'heartfelt gratitude'!!! harry had to plan dan's memorial service!!! he had to write dan's eulogy!!! he had to sit there and watch everyone in attendance including the funeral director (barring roz) not be able to say a single nice thing about his best friend!!! then said best friend CRASHES HIS OWN MEMORIAL SERVICE!!! dan is alive!!! he has a beard!!! he smells awful!!! which i will maintain to my last breath is the only thing that prevented harry from kissing the breath out of dan right there in the funeral home!!! they!!! looked!!! at!!! each!!! other!!! like!!! this!!!

LIKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[boinin]

If you’re still doing the questions, could you do 17, 20 and 29 for best babies NagiReo?

Here you go anon!

17. Who says I love you first?

There's a smorgasbord of different takes on Nagireo, but my personal favourite has Nagi saying I love you first. Because Nagi vocalising his feelings for Reo so directly implies him making an effort to evolve and grow for Reo. It implies that Reo, who pushed Nagi into football and into Blue Lock, into an exciting life, has one line he's unwilling to cross when it comes to Nagi—and it's this. This version of Reo fears admitting his love to an indifferent Nagi that'll just go along with a relationship because it'd be more effort to reject Reo. So he locks away his feelings under perfectly practised smiles, despite Nagi's obvious hints that the feeling's mutual. In this take on their ship, I cheer when Nagi steps up to be the one taking the initiative.

20. What do their family/friends think of their relationship?

Based off how I headcanon the Mikage parents, I think Reo's father would take him aside after Reo makes things official with Nagi and tell him bluntly that he doesn't care what Reo does privately—so long as in public, he remains the eligible, straight heir to the Mikage Corporation. His mother doesn't contradict this, and insinuates that this is just a youthful fling that'll burn out in time.

Reo expected as much but it leaves him bitter. He'd concoct a scheme to come out as publically as possible to spite them. Ba-ya happily assists in its execution, while subtlely revealing to Nagi that she's incredibly proficient in all forms of combat and weapon handling... and that it'd be a shame if she needed to intervene should anyone attempt to break Reo's heart.

Nagi texts his parents to say he's found love. They send him a thumbs up reaction.

When their relationship is made public, a journalist asks the other Blue Lock alumni what they think about Nagireo falling in love. Isagi chuckles awkwardly and says it's not really a surprise. Chigiri quips that he expects compensation for being forced to third-wheel since the Neo Egoist League. (Everyone's supportive obviously.)

29. one headcanon about this OTP that breaks your heart

The fact that they're each others' firsts, in all the ways that matter. One or both of them will eventually wonder whether they're truly each other's best match, or whether their partner might have met someone they're more compatible with had they not been so wrapped up in one another since high school.

[jessaerys]

Opinions on DirkRose?

so when i was 16-18 in high school i was briefly in this very tightknit three person online friend group with me + this extremely popular homestuck artist at the time + their best friend that i quickly developed a crush on. and this online friend roleplayed dirk at the same time i was roleplaying rose (a rose from the same timeline as whom is probably the most famous dave strider roleplayer in the history of homestuck rp. but that nuclear fallout is a story for another day) in the wild wild west that was the 2012 homestuck rp landscape on tumblr (aka the multiple timelines theory)(at some point my rose was involved with, like, a marius pontmercy. yes from les mis. and also a genderbent rose in an ambiguous almost selfcest situationship.)

anyway so i asked her if she wanted to ship our rp characters which was very "baby's first time asking for what they want" of me, and she said yes, and dirk and rose wrote each other a couple of inter-dimensional letters that were quite beautiful and poignant at least in my memory. the vibe was "very traumatized young adults find an equally jaded and verbose kindred spirit and they tentatively show each other the vulnerable side that they can't show anyone else through the safe distance of penpalship" so of course the rp brain chemicals were INTENSE (by the way the three of us were in a slightly larger skype group chat with a couple of other tumblr friends, whom ocassionally would make "you and alex should date lol!" jokes. my fragile teenage psyche was convinced it was going to happen)

but anyway the writing was super slow and i knew that this friend was much more into dirkjake (and VERY hung up on our other friend/her best friend) but whenever i could hold her attention she seemed to be interested in our writing

her dirk had a poetry sideblog (i want to say cringe in retrospect but honestly. at the time i thought it was some elevated literary use of the medium. and it probably was) and i would check it CONSTANTLY trying to decipher if anything new dirk posted was about my rose, but the posts were too vague for solid conclusions

anyway long story short for what was probably somewhere between months and a year (can't recall) i lived in that rp brain chemical addiction thrill-of-the-chase hell state surviving on kernels of character interactions and fantasies about dirk and rose, like i'm talking emotional-support OTP levels of emotional investment. the daily emotional rollercoaster was insane. it would make or break my day depending on what vague poetry dirk strider posted

until ONE DAY.... I FOUND OUT.... she had been rping dirkjake with our OTHER friend/her best friend for a while AND JUST DIDN'T TELL ME. BECAUSE SHE DIDN'T WANT TO UPSET ME. I WAS HEARTBROKEN (these weren't multishipping type blogs. you had one character timeline and by god you stuck to it)

i legitimately do not recall what i did re: the dirk ordeal, but i do remember that at some point (the timeline in relation to the rp drama is long lost to the sands of time) i confessed and she rejected me and i felt soooo led on which was probably a product of this friend being so conflict averse. i was in a crying or close-to-tears state for about a day and a half which i recall very vividly because at the time it was by FAR the biggest social heartbreak of my life. a solid 36 hours of "i'm going to feel like this FOREVER and my heart will never HEAL" teenage angst. i remember it so viscerally lol. especially because my parents straight up didn't notice. but that's an entirely different can of baggage

anyway eventually i met my then-girlfriend and the three person friend group drifted apart. much later i found out they had felt soooo betrayed but what was i supposed to do. third wheel them as the least important person in the group forever??? i think at some point the three of us hung out together for an afternoon when we happened to be in the same city but it must have been completely unremarkable because i don't remember any of it.

anyway what was the question again. yeah dirkrose is fine

[swissboyhisch]

Celebrations

Liked by yourinsta, nhl and others

edmontonoilers: Captain celebrating his team winning AND yourinsta becoming his girlfriend! Thank you to everyone who was there to witness something amazing ❤️ tagged: mcdavid97 and yourinsta

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mcdavid97: I love you y/n ❤️

user: I saw it! It was the sweetest thing ever ❤️

user: STREAMED IT! CONNOR YOU AND Y/N ARE GOALS!

user: AHHHHHH

yourinsta: Thank you for everything edmontonoilers ❤️❤️ ❤️

edmontonoilers: Congrats again

user: Everything is perfect now!

zstrome: It was so cute! I've been waiting for this since I met you both

dylstrome19: Glad I got to witness two of my best friends finally admit their love for each other ❤️ I'm so happy for the two of you!

mcdavid97: Thanks for coming and the support over the years

yourinsta: besties for life

user: I cried when I read this

user: same user. same.

clove_bennet: Squad united at the right time!

user: That was honestly so cute! The fact that at the end Connor wrote on a puck and flicked it over the glass where Y/n was sitting beside the bench with her and Connor's families, Y/b/f/n, Clove, and the Stromes. Her reaction was so cute (as it was on the screen). Y/n started crying and nodded causing Connor to celebrate more. She put her hand on the glass while crying and so did he but with the biggest grin on his face.

user: I CRIED ❤️

bianca_skye: I don't think I've seen you so happy that you cried

yourinsta: That's true

Liked by mcdavid97, stephlechance and others

yourinsta: I snapped this picture during tonight's game. At this point, I was yet to know that my best friend since birth, shared the same feelings for me as I did for him. This smile is one I love so dearly. I have no words to describe how happy I am with you. tagged: mcdavid97

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yourbestie: OMG FINALLY!!!! I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS TO HAPPEN SINCE FOREVER!!!! YAYYYYY IT WAS SO CUTE! FINALLY, I CAN SAY COUPLE GOALS WITHOUT EITHER OF YOU HAVING A GO AT ME!!!!!

stephlechance: Yesssssssss finally Connor gained some confidence and asked you out!

user: MY OTP ASDFGHJKL;'

yoursis: you two are my favourites

cammcdavid: Always knew

yoursis: We really did. Called it when they were kids

user: I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS FOR YEARS 😍

mcdavid97: Y/n❤️❤️❤️❤️

yourinsta: Con❤️

user: CONNOR GOT OUT OF THE FRIENDZONE

dylstome19: FINALLYYYYY! SO GLAD TO BE THERE!

yourinsta: glad the Strome's could be there!

edmontonoilers: NHL's power couple!

hollymcdavid: it was adorable! ❤️

user: Fallen in love with these two 😍

clove_bennet: I can't wait for the wedding!

Liked by yourinsta, ryannh93 and others

yourbestie: Ever since we were kids, everyone knew these two would one day be together and end up married. Today marked the start of the forever lasting relationship between my two best friends. I'm so proud of these two and I can't be happier for Y/n and Connor. Also the first cute photo of them as official boyfriend and girlfriend. tagged: mcdavid97and yourinsta

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yourinsta: Couldn't be happier ❤️

yoursis: How long did it take?!

user: oMgGGG!!

drat27: I can't believe we were a couple before them…

user: They are so cute 😍

zstrome: MY LIFE IS COMPLETEEEEEEE 😍😍😍

clove_bennet: Now time to be a professional third wheel and be the couple photographer

yourbestie: you got that right

Liked by user, user and others

oilersWAGs: Edmonton Oilers' 19-year-old Captain Connor McDavid and Karate World Champion Y/n Y/l/n are officially dating! McDavid asked out Y/l/n after the Oilers' Win over the Jets and she said yes! #nhlotp tagged: mcdavid97and yourinsta

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user: AHHHHHHHH YESSSS!

user: #otp

user: How did they meet each other?!

user: They met through their families. Their mums were friends, and their older siblings went to school together.

user: it's been how many years in the making?!

user: loads.

user: 😍😍😍😍

user: Honestly, I think they are a good match

user: I should be his new girlfriend :(

TAG LIST:

@penny4yourthoughts @mp0625 @hischierhaze

[baby-xemnas]

i love third wheels to my otps i love them thank you for your service third wheels

pen and shachi have to live with having heard bepo growl-moan-sob and look him in the eye as he goes around very chirp and happy next morning

i think they don't even look at law. too scary...he is younger than both of them but he is also their boss and you can't overhear your boss/superior officer pounding his secretary and then be like ay yo don't do that where we can hear it - thats scary! even if they could address him as a friend its just too awkward 💀

its such a funny situation i think any normal person doesnt think too much about their friends fucking (unless context is sharing stories) but actually hearing it...

i feel so sorry for them lmfao

like they are ofc very happy how well it worked out for their best friends, family even

but thats WAY more information that they signed up to knowing!!!!

[deada55]

That One Time

crossposting: ao3

synopsis: Minnie thinks she remembers life as an Explosion with two older sisters, a notoriously intense celebrity father, and one of the most stylishly self-directed mothers in the world.

for kloktober day 1, favorite character or OTP.

I was planning to unveil some fankids when AOTD came out... and then I promptly killed them! I still think about them sometimes, and I hope I don't get slammed for writing nategail in the year of our lord 2023 after AOTD did a really good job at showing us what ought to happen in situations like that, but I think their family would have been funky and sweet.

full text under the cut:

Minnie was on the edge of her seat watching her family’s faces twist and search around for one another as they waited in the dead center of a mile of three-lane standstill traffic. Driving a hellcat didn’t make anyone immune… The point of the trip was to recreate something Lyssa did years ago: When asked what she wanted for her thirteenth birthday, she threw up her hands and cried out that all she wanted was a normal family. So, they rented an AirBnb within a five minute walking distance from their paternal grandparents’ house and spent two and a half weeks eating, living, and vacationing like a family of “regular jackoffs.” 

Lyssa was back from Brown for spring break, and helplessly scrolling social media and trying not to be embarrassed that sitting behind her agitated dad (seething behind the wheel) looked better than taking GHB in Amsterdam like some of the Birkin-toting business administration girlies who called themselves her friends when they read her last name on the panhellenic “rush” interest form. The classes were tough, the readings were long, but aside from being asked for money or to give her father ziploc bags of slimy sex toys when she went home for the holidays, she enjoyed her new phase of life. For the trip, she pulled out some jeans and camisoles and some foam sandals from a couple years ago to make the best of their casual trip. Since she couldn’t do readings or answer emails in a moving car, she was scrolling through a grainy scan of an old Ayn Rand lit crit.

Kenzie looked and acted a lot more like her father, fidgeting and making comments about the people who had given up on civilization altogether and stepped out of their cars. Her snapchat and her instagram stories were being populated by views of the O MPH speedometer she took while her mom wasn’t blocking the shot. Without anything to post, she had nothing to do, and whatever she had coming through her headphones wasn’t entertaining enough. Time is money, and money all depends on content… Kenzie was convinced of her potential to make enough money to live on outside of the inheritance she could expect from their father, and it came at the cost of almost anything fun. Her grainy meal replacement smoothie had melted into a cloudy soup in the cupholder. She reapplied her lip gloss, pulled down the top of her stylish celery green athleisure co-ord and flipped through TikTok.

Mom wasn’t as sensitive as Lyssa, and had been returning emails the whole time they were en-route to the aquarium. Up at the front of the car, the parents had been in a gentle match of social ping-pong, with pokes, small talk, his firm hand resting on her leg or her moisturized fingers, shining like bronze, squeezing his shoulder. She re-tied her curly hair back with a scrunchie (Tampa water had pissed her hair right off… different water meant different products, and it’d been a long time since she had to face the “ethnic hair care” section at a Walmart) and made a face when Dad tried sucking air out of his empty coffee cup for the fourth time.

When she went into the bathroom at the gas station about an hour ago, he ducked in after her and bought three bottles of Johnny Bootlegger. When she came outside, he was finishing off the third one around the corner of the building. Minnie saw her glance over there, but all she did was pull the car around so someone else could get to the pump. 

Now, in the jam, all he did was shake. At least, for now… There were times where it lasted five minutes, half an hour, or a week or two at a time, then left quickly, or left and came back, but periodically he’d be shaking for one reason or another. Since his eyes weren’t yellow, he wasn’t slurring his speech, and he wasn’t confused, his daughters knew they could rest easy and stand by; it would pass, it always did. As unnerving it was to see someone so big in every way crumble at the drop of a hat, there was a shared understanding that nobody was enjoying it or causing the sky to fall out on purpose, especially not him. The girls understood their job to stand by and stay the course, whether it meant minding their own business or sending cards to hospital rooms when they can’t be there.

“Fucking… cocksucking-” He touched the gearshift like there would be a point in taking it out of park. Mom laid her hand over his.

“Relax, Nathan. We don’t have anywhere to be. Oh, look-”

Someone walking around leaned against Lyssa’s door, talking to someone else in the lane beside them.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” 

“Yeah, Dad, what the fuck is he doing?” Kenzie had her phone out and rolling. If her mother wouldn’t have explicitly prevented her, she would have been streaming their whole vacation live, but instead she had to take a chance and was shooting for her Instagram story. “Can you see anything?” She fixed the way her fringe laid in case she had to flip the camera around, but a couple hairs got mixed up in her eyelash extensions and had to be guided out.

“He’s just fucking… talking, I guess.” All the time, he was scrutinizing the surround and peeking into the vehicle’s blind spots (their window tint helped them avoid paparazzi and unfriendly agitators well, but one could never be too careful in a luxury car sitting in the middle of the interstate in Florida). He snatched some sunglasses from the console and pulled his hair onto the right side before punching the horn and watching the guy jump forward so suddenly that he tripped. The man caught himself from that, but his momentum sent him stumbling into someone else's rearview mirror, until he finally hit the asphalt.

Minnie laughed so hard it hurt. By the time she was slowing down, her sisters were starting up again just because she was still struggling to say anything other than “He went- Oop!” and howling. The guy’s popped-out eyes and wobbly feet were absolutely stuck in her mind like a commercial. 

Giggling, her mother turned around. “Are you ok, Minnie?” 

Kenzie was re-playing the video she took of the whole thing, which included Lyssa forgetting and dropping her phone when she heard the horn. It was all caught in the same shot for Kenzie, and she couldn’t have been happier to catch her sister like that. Lyssa was griping and feeling around for her phone in the floorboard.

“Yeah, mom!” She grinned from the third row and spat a curl out of her mouth. The whole car of green-eyed shower drain murderers (anything you eat is subject to having at least one long hair in it, curly or straight) settled into satisfaction with the jest and the renewed sense of ease it left behind… they didn’t have anywhere urgent to be, and they were a normal family, as normal as any family was, in the middle of the heat of the world.

But Minnie sat back. Her solitary reflection in the globby puddles of nickel, clinging to the earth like scabs, took the thought with it. Had it ever happened? Like a play, like a streak of light, like seeing without remembering, the memory passed like a train, so visually overwhelming and then definitively ended, disappearing into the distance and shrinking all the while.

[emptyshellofanillusionwizard]

7, 9 and 19 for Baqir and Dorian <3

Aaaa this is my first time doing an ask game so I will do my best! Thank you for asking!! :0

7. Your otp has to spend some time apart for whatever reason. How would they bridge that time? How would they react upon seeing each other again? Would anything change?

So they probably spent a lot of time apart during the Inquisition because Baqir had to go out on missions and sometimes Dorian wouldn't come along (especially when it was too rainy or cold!)

During these times there wasn't much opportunity for them to communicate because of the constant travel. Baqir would collect and press herbs and flowers that he found along during missions to give to Dorian. He'd also just like throw himself into fighting and work in order to distract himself. Dorian would immerse himself in his research and go drinking with Sera and Bull to pass the time. They both are very avoidant lol.

Post Inquisition, they have the sending stones to keep in touch but I think they would also write very romantic (and mildly suggestive) letters to each other. I think when reuniting, Baqir would just be really relieved and Dorian would be worried that Baqir's feelings had changed (that whole port in a storm speech) but ultimately they'd just click together without feeling too much of a change.

...They also fuck nasty.

9. What annoys each member of your otp about the other? Do they tell them? Do they compromise/work it out? 

I think what annoys Dorian about Baqir is how secretive he is about himself and his past. Baqir's done a lot of shit as a spy in Tevinter (my hc for clan Lavellan is that they take in a lot of former city elves and half-elves and they like infiltrate Orlesian and Tevinter spheres of nobility and fuck shit up and free elven slaves and servants and initiate uprisings) and Baqir takes a very long time to share with Dorian about these things until absolutely necessary.

Baqir's survival used to hinge on his ability to keep things close to his chest but that isn't at all like a functional way to maintain a healthy relationship.

Ultimately Dorian confronts Baqir about it and they fight but things resolve afterwards with the agreement to be more open about their lives.

Baqir is irritated at first by Dorian's initial dismissiveness of elves in Tevinter but he doesn't really bring it up. Eventually with the discussion of Baqir's secretiveness and when things come up about his history Dorian feels guilty and takes time to educate himself.

19. Is the approval of family and friends important to your otp? If so, how would they try to win over a skeptical in-law? Would they cut people off if they didn't approve of the relationship?

Baqir doesn't care about the approval of his advisors or his clan, but he really cares about what his daughter, Rahat, thinks of Dorian. He goes out of his way to introduce Dorian to his daughter and try to set up time for them to spend time as a group and become acquainted. The good news is Rahat and Dorian get a long swimmingly (both being mages and total nerds) and sometimes Baqir ends up almost third-wheeling lol. His friends (Varric, Bull, Cassandra, Cole) approve but Baqir sort of just took that as given.

Dorian I think tries to convince himself that he doesn't care what his family thinks about their relationship but deep down he still has that internalized homophobia that he tries to work through. His parents don't approve of their relationship at all and even though he and his father reconciled, he limited their communication. Later on when he returns to Tevinter, he flaunts their relationship very proudly (partially with the intent to upset his mother).

Dorian also was super scared that Rahat wouldn't like him (because he remembers being a teenager and cranky as hell) and is incredibly happy when she accepts him and involves him in her hijinks.

[sparksssss]

I gotchu fam it's called "the otp and the third wheel best friend"

OMG THANK YOU

[voidsteffy]

2,10, and 23 for the salty asks <3

omg i think you're gonna regret asking me, because this is so long 😬

2. Are there any popular fandom OTPs you only BroTP?*

Nancy Drew - Bess and Odette. She barely knew the lady! Give my queen some recovery period from her *ehm* HUNDRED YEARS OF TRAUMA before wanting to jump the bones of the body she's possessing RNM - It's weird, but Max and Anatsa. I could never picture them, even as a fling. TVD - Jeremy and Bonnie. when they were together, it was actually an illegal ship y'all. Jeremy was 16, and Bonnie was 18-19. I really wished they'd just bonded as a human connection to Elena and not... yk, ghost-shagged each other Gilmore Girls - LANE AND ZACH. where did they even come from? out of thin air that's where. Lane deserved her happy ending with Dave Rygalski and I will die on this hill. Teen Wolf - (brace yourself) Lydia and Parrish. Malia and Parrish. Melissa and Argent. wtf? at this point I'm pretty sure Jeff Davis just played chits and picked his ships randomly. All of Parrish's ships are ew (that's just his luck unfortunately) and Melissa with Peter would have been the best choice are you kidding me? ARGENT AND MELISSA'S KIDS WERE TOGETHER, and not even fwb-together. like SOULMATE together! Grey's Anatomy - Addison and Alex. They couldn't cash in major potential there. She was the right amount of bitchy to get him off his macho ass. Not everyone has to sleep with everyone Miss Shonda! Also, Teddy and Owen. They're best as friends, because (i hate to admit this) Teddy was right in s18 (was it 19, i think it was 19?) when she told Link to stay away from Jo because marrying best friends and then hating them in marriage is sad.

10. Most disliked arc? Why?

RNM - Again, the Max-Anatsa storyline. It's like, again, they played chits with who she should be with. My Max is not the one-night stand kinda guy (which I'm proud of, representation of my soul) and him sleeping with Anatsa and then just dropping her is WACKY. Isobel and Anatsa were so much better, and had good development Nancy Drew - Park's arc. The writers had the potential in their very hands and chucked it themselves. Park as the ISM/FHK would have made so much sense, it would have been the best direction for his appearance. TVD - The entire Alaric x Caroline thing. HATED THAT. HATED THAT the way Ashley Ippolito hates Nate Jacobs. He's like 15 years older than her and IS HER BEST FRIEND'S STEPDAD. And the Alaric and Stefan pissing contest for Caroline. Dear writers you didn't give Caroline Forbes the Elle Woods arc she deserved to put her in this dump of a situation! Gilmore Girls - Married Dean cheating thing. "He's MY Dean" Rory honey go touch some grass and juggle some balls. He's fucking married and as your mother once said "Solidarity Sister". Lindsey wasn't all that bad, and she definitely deserved better than being cheated on at the age of 19. Teen Wolf - Argent and Melissa. Explained above. Notice how in the movie, Argent and Melissa didn't really have any romantic/close scene without a third wheel (thank God)? It's like Jeff Davis finally realized that oh shit, aren't their respective kids the main reason this all started? Grey's Anatomy - Jackson and Maggie. Just— NO.

23. Unpopular character you love?

Nancy Drew - everyone loves everyone in this one. so I can't really say anything divergent RNM - i think we love everyone right? TVD - VIncent Griffith (does he count? idk but I love his humor and badassery). Oh, and also Valerie Tulle. She was sweet while she lasted wasn't she? I honestly saw more in Stellerie than in Steroline (why you booing me when I'm right!) Gilmore Girls - Lindsey. Just because her taste in music is different from Rory and Jess's, doesn't mean she's not a good human. She tried so much to keep her marriage afloat, and I've never seen her be rude like Rory to Shane. Grey's Anatomy - Sam Bello (basically foetus Liz Ortecho) because she's the sweetest most bubbly thing after firecrackers in honey.

thanks for the ask man, omg i love being salty

[mar64ds]

The OTP and the Third Wheel Best Friend but it's Seavil and Spamton

now is your chance to be the third wheel

[consumeronionbulletin]

Once Upon a Small Town (2022)

It's hard to dislike this show, even if it's the TV equivalent of a giant fluffy bag of cotton candy. It's short, sweet, safe, and uses a bunch of familiar tropes. It feels like Hometown Cha x 3 only with a smaller budget, and way more farm animals.

There's a meet cute, followed by a long lost Childhood Connection, with both leads having an Orphan Family Story, as well as a Double Love Triangle with a Surprise Ex-Girlfriend. The writing feels lazy, but they manage to do just enough work that it doesn't feel like pandering. You know from the beginning that the OTP will make it okay, and that the love pentagram will be complete, with everyone important paired off just in time for the last episode.

The Performances

Park Soo-young (aka "Joy") as Ahn Ja-young. Park Soo-young has an entire career as part of a K-pop group (which I know nothing about), but she's started to branch out into acting. She's pretty good in this. I think it helps that this is a small series with no one there to outshine her, but she's onscreen with kids, and animals, and (despite the cliche) she isn't completely upstaged. I even felt genuine feels a couple of times from her performance.

Chu Young-woo as Han Ji-yul. The other lead is also a very young actor, but kept enough of my interest that I never got bored with him. Again, it helped that his character was a bit of a stoic, but he was obviously trying his best and had a few good moments, especially the episode with the Old Man and the 30-year-old Bull. I wouldn't say his chemistry was off the charts, but this was basically the Korean equivalent of a Lifetime Movie, so it didn't have to be.

Park Ye-ni as Young-Sook. I picked this show up because I enjoyed watching her play a side character in You Are My Spring. The writers didn't give her much to work with until the end, but she did a good job with it and was able to bring out a few good moments in the last 3-4 episodes when they gave her something to do. Still funny and fun to watch.

Baek Seong-cheol as Lee Sang-hyeon. Normally, this character is the boring third wheel, and his/her job is to help the OTP figure out their feelings and then disappear. One of the smarter things the writers did was to make this character be a childhood friend who is a pretty decent guy. Instead of just getting dumped on, he was helpful and supportive of Ahn Ja-young. He just wanted something that she didn't. The downside to this choice is that it can make all of the characters seem indecisive and wishy-washy, but the acting (especially from Baek Seong-cheol) was good enough that you felt like you understood and respected the characters instead.

Everyone else. The Auntie brigade was fun. The small town cops were okay. The little kiddos were largely okay, and even good in a few places. All of the side characters (including Old Guy With 30-year-old Bull) were good. The actor who played the ex-girlfriend was very new but didn't mess things up. So there's no big complaints.

TL; DR:

It's a cute show that you can just put on with dinner or in the background and not worry about it. It knows what it's trying to do, and it manages to accomplish most of those goals without screwing up. If you like fluffy romance stories, you'll probably enjoy this.

[bbbholdmebbb]

Cc ship opinions no one asked for ✨

Gwen x David: OTP I’m obsessed it’s show stopping it’s amazing, the dynamic is hilarious and so so good, in love. My favourite cc ship.

Gwen x David x alive Jasper: yesss! Jaspvid r like soulmates to me, gwenvid is the best, jaspgwen would be a hoot, listen the them in my head is amazing.

Max x Nikki x Neil: Do. Not. Separate. Them! They are a trio as kids and they continue to be a trio into adulthood! Their dynamic each way is fantastic and they’re friends your honour. Tho I don’t even necessarily see them as romantic, everyone else is confused if they’re dating or not. None of them give clear answers, they find it funny. Either way, they’re partners for life.

Max x Nikki or max x Neil ect: nooo why leave the other one out ;-; heart break..! I’d be fine with it if the other is also just always around and isn’t a third wheel, but still part of the trio! So I guess I still like em.

Nikki x Nerris: I enjoy! They’re different but similar. Adventure pals!!

Nerris x Harrison: it’s cute, I wouldn’t say I actually ship it, but they work I think. I like their interactions in the show!

Danvid: no, I mean I love a good evil x goodie but this one is just not feasible to me. I just can’t get past the child murder, and tbh I reckon David’s the same. U do u tho.

And obviously the proshitter crap gets put into the trash

[soniana-draws]

I realized that the less content something I love has, the most prompt I am to fill the void myself

So here a bunch Shaunzer sketches/doodles I did in these weeks. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did making them :D