#the thing about media is no one likes mean characters. if hitch had more personality he may come off that way

[my-little-hyperfixation]

the thing that I think about every so often about G5 is that Hitch being a cop, and not having anything to do with being a cop outside of the movie is so dumb. Also it's weird he is a cop, I know some investors just got their rocks off to it. No, paw patrol did not suddenly make cops profitable. There is someone just trying to soften the image of police out there. It sucks so bad he had such an interesting concept, and they do nothing. None of the toys are reference him being a cop btw. They have badges and show the police station, but he is not stated to be a cop. Which he is. The two shows continuously ignores this fact, unless there's a joke about it. hitch is my favourite btw. If u care

[windywhistler]

I know I haven’t posted in a while, but I’d like to post a little farewell to G5. I know it wasn’t a lot of people’s favorite, and it definitely had its fair share of flaws (I remember giggling with my partner when the first episode of MYM came out over how stiff the animation was!), but I loved it very much, and I hope maybe we can somehow see these characters again. I loved this cast very much, so I’m going to ramble a bit below this. For a quick TL;DR: I love these sillies a whole lot, and they will always hold a very special place in my heart :)

Misty in particular means SO much to me. I love her and the way she overcomes living with Opaline, especially because the other Mane 5 are just. So willing to give her space to come into her own and discover who she is in a way she’s comfortable with every time she’s uncomfortable. Found family Misty is everything to me as someone who grew up with a not-so-great family and sees her friends as her family. On that note, I also really like the way Sunny is portrayed to have PTSD symptoms after struggling with 2 villains (shoutout to Allura though, I wish we got a proper end to your story girl). I like it when shows acknowledge that going through crazy stuff often results in trauma. She has very obvious flashbacks in s1 ep68 and s2 ep7 of TYT, and she starts experiencing paranoia, having nightmares, and being hyper-vigilant, and it means so much to me that they bothered to show how living through those situations impacted her mental health.

Next, I think I wanna talk about Izzy! I know a lot of people see her as “the Pinkie Pie clone” (and, to be fair, she IS pretty similar), but I feel like she’s so much more than that. I love her having Violette as her own protégé, and how she’s always so excited to use her creativity to help others! It’s nice to see G5’s Mane 6 teach others their own “elements” much in the way that FiM’s Mane 6 acted as mentors to others. I’m also VERY glad they brought back rainbowified ponies, even if Izzy was the only one. She looks GREAT, and getting to see that they brought it back one last time for the final episode made me SO happy (I actually SQUEALED when I saw the thumbnail for episode 23!). I know that part isn’t really personality related, but it still makes me happy!

I’d also like to sing some praises about Hitch, too. Adding a male to the main cast was a rather bold move in my opinion, since the closest we’ve ever gotten to that is maybe Spike in any gen, Danny in G1, and maaaybe Teddy in MLP Tales? We’ve never really had a boy be part of the established main group, and oh boy was Hitch the perfect beginning for that! He’s such a goofball, and I love the sort of “awkward, cringey dad who loves his son very much” thing they did. Yes, he’s different from movie Hitch, but I always saw that as a side effect of now having a child to parent in the form of Sparky. A LOT of people’s personalities can change post-having kids, and I think it’s interesting that they made him like one of those parents who just wants to bubble wrap their kid and keep them safe. It’s pretty funny, since Sparky doesn’t exactly seem to mind or care. He reminds me a tiny bit of my own dad, and that’s something that means a lot to me.

The last two I want to talk about are, of course, Pipp and Zipp! As for Pipp, I honestly… wasn’t the biggest fan of her at first. I think I was just cranky because they added technology and social media to my Horse Show, LOL! Once I kind of got used to that, she grew on me. She grew on me BAD. I absolutely ADORE Pipp; she’s just the cutest! I love how they have her take accountability when she screws up, and I think it’s really important how she teaches kids that it’s okay to put the phone down for a while around seasons 4-5 of MYM, especially given how much tech plays a part in everyone’s lives these days. I think her having confidence and wanting to SHARE that confidence rather than bring others down is really admirable, and I love the approach they had when designing her character in intentionally making her shorter and rounder than the rest of the cast (most notable in TYT), but very specifically not having her be insecure about it. Touching on bodily insecurity is always great, but I also love seeing characters who look different where it’s just… okay. It’s accepted. I think that's pretty awesome!

Last but ABSOLUTELY not least is Zipp! She was my first favorite of G5 (they’re ALL my favorites now, I fear), and I’ve always thought it was so awesome how they had this royal character who was actively against corruption in power AND didn’t want to be treated as royalty! Having a character who’s heir to the throne and very blatantly… DOESN’T want to be/isn’t looking forward to it is something I feel like I haven’t seen a whole lot, and it’s a really interesting perspective to explore. I’m glad they did! I also love how her scenes in episode one of MYM can very much read almost as a trans allegory. I myself am not trans, but my partner and quite literally ALL of my friends are, so it’s still quite meaningful! Plus, I’m someone who chooses to not go by her birth name due to CPTSD, so, from all angles, seeing her wish to be referred to in ways that make HER comfortable and having that be respected gives me the fuzzies. I love her relationship with Pipp too, and I find their bond to be so heartwarming! Portrait of a Princess is one of my FAVORITE episodes of MYM, and it’s just so sweet to see how much they care for each other! Also, slightly less relevant, but them getting their cutie marks one right after the other on the same day was very cute. Very CMC of them. Very Mane 6 of them. Very cute, very demure, very mindful. I hope people still say that, LMAO

All in all, I know G5 had plot holes, ever-improving animation, and a lot of things fans were displeased over. Still, these characters mean something to me, and, even if their story got cut short, they’ll always still be my little ponies. Thanks for listening to me ramble on if you read all this, I know I kind of turned it into an essay haha :”)

[atamascolily]

some thoughts about the Clara Dolls

A year ago, I posted a very long essay about Homulilly and her familiars which was inspired by all of the questions I had about the Clara Dolls (specifically, why there are so many of them). While I feel like I have a decent grasp of their canonical attributes--at least as they have been revealed thus far--there's one area that still puzzles me, and which by definition, doesn't have an easy or authoritative answer.

Over my time in fandom, I've noticed that many people have a radically different interpretation of the Clara Dolls than I do--that they pay far more attention to them as individuals than you might expect for minor background characters that are never directly named in their source material, especially given their limited screen time. Which naturally begs the question: what is it, exactly, about the Clara Dolls that appeals to people so much, more so than any of Homulilly's other familiars?

Here is my guess: the Clara Dolls are compelling precisely because they are so individually detailed. Unlike the interchangeable masses of Lieses (birds), Lottes (soldiers), Lilias (teeth), Lisas (airships), all of which are variations on the name "Elizabeth", each Clara Doll has its own name and costume. While they are all still clearly variations on the same theme, both in terms of their doll-like bodies and the "sins" they represent, each of them is unique in a way that the other familiars aren't, and the supplementary material released with Rebellion goes into great length about their different personalities.

Most media follows what TV Tropes The Law of Conservation of Detail, meaning that there is a tendency for any given details to be relevant; unlike real life, superficial and unrelated details are omitted for narrative convenience. Thus, I think it's only natural that people would look at the individualized Clara Dolls and assume that they must be important, or else why would the creators go to so much trouble to distinguish them from each other?

To be honest, though, I'm not sure the Law of Conservation of Detail applies to Rebellion, at least not in its entirety. Rebellion's defining visual characteristic is its copious attention to details, many of which are barely visible or discernible outside of freeze-frame. Rebellion is a kind of fever dream, dominated by excesses and so packed that I've spent years untangling the meaning in each still frame, and barely made a dent in it.

It's not that these details aren't important. Far from it--they greatly add to my enjoyment of the film and my interpretation of Homura's character. And while I enjoy unpacking the symbolism, I'd argue that the film's meaning does not depend on any one in particular--that they support what is already there. They are icing on a particularly complex and elaborate layer cake, but it's possible to enjoy a hefty slice without ever digging into them.

And I think the Clara Dolls fall into this "decorative" category, in the sense that plenty of casual viewers watch Rebellion without ever realizing that there is more going on with them than is apparent on the surface--to the point where you could remove their scenes entirely, and the general plot would progress more or less without a hitch (and casual viewers or first-time viewers might not even notice their absence!) They are excellent, but I'm not sure I would call them essential.

Narratively speaking, the Clara Dolls are a mass, a mob, a chorus. Unusually for such a group, they are also visually distinct from one another. Hence the disjunct, I think. This is true for a lot of things in Madoka Magica as a whole, and can be best summed up as the difference between Gen Urobuchi's script and Inu Curry's vision of it, but that's a whole 'nother essay in and of itself, so I'll leave it at that for now.

Inu Curry very clearly loves and cares about the Clara Dolls or else they wouldn't have gone to all the trouble of creating them--but that's different from how the Clara Dolls appear in the final product, which is a composite of multiple peoples' work and effort and all the competing priorities that go along with that. What works for a worldbuilding draft or a still image doesn't necessarily work for a finished film, and while I enjoy the Rebellion Production Note and other supplementary materials immensely, I will always treat the finished film as the primary canon, which supersedes all else.

Thus, I find it hard to get excited about the Clara Dolls as distinct individuals or to believe they will play a larger role in future installments. It's not that they couldn't, it's just different from the role that they were playing before in Rebellion, which seems like a dramatic shift to me--especially if we're talking adding 14 distinctive characters into a 2-3 hour movie! The question I ask myself is, "what would be gained, narratively speaking, by doing so?" and I keep coming up blank. Maybe Walpurgis no Kaiten will surprise me by providing an answer, but I doubt it.

This is not to suggest that people who see the Clara Dolls as individual characters or who want to see them with an expanded role are doing something wrong, by the way. I think it's fine if other people want to flesh them out in fan creations--that's the whole point of fanworks!--just that this particular aspect doesn't appeal to me personally, and I don't think it will ever be of major canonical important. You do you.

It probably doesn't help that I don't have a very sympathetic view of the Clara Dolls in general--there are strong hints that Homura was horribly bullied as a child and that the Clara Dolls are simultaneously the dolls she played with as a substitute for friends and the bullies who tormented her. They don't seem to have any respect for "God" ("Gott is Tott!" and the thrown fruit at the Madokami stele) or their erstwhile master (they mock Homulilly on her way to her execution and cry crocodile tears; they throw more fruit at devil!Homura at the end of the movie). Homura can command them, but it's not clear to me that they will obey; they are wild cards more than anything else. The Clara Dolls are only interesting to me inasmuch as what they reveal about Homura herself, not as characters in their own right.

For what it's worth, I have the exact same reaction to Hitomi: I've seen a lot of people get very excited about the idea of Hitomi becoming a magical girl, to which my reaction has always been a blank stare and a ".... and what would that accomplish, exactly?" Hitomi's narrative role is to be the Ordinary Friend who gets drawn into the protagonists' problems, the perpetual victim who must be rescued from the monsters again and again. Hitomi is defined by her normality; removing it would completely change the character and derail the story as it stands.

Would that divergence be an interesting story? Sure. But that doesn't seem to be the story Madoka Magica is interested in telling. You can sense that in Gen Urobuchi's most-likely-unserious answer to the question of what Hitomi would wish for: "for Kyubey to disappear immediately". Kyubey is the messenger of magic, his narrative role is to guide Madoka and her friends into their roles as magical girls; for Hitomi to reject him as her wish sends a pretty strong message. But it's a moot point, because it will probably never happen--as soon as Hitomi became a magical girl, her role would have to be filled by someone else, and she wouldn't necessarily add anything else to the existing team. (Again, not to say that she couldn't, but that it would be a very different story if she did.) Madoka Magica is centered around a core cast of five magical girls, with Nagisa Momoe already serving as an impromptu Sixth Ranger in Rebellion--what else is there for Hitomi to do?

As I mentioned earlier, I think many, if not all of the disjuncts between various fan interpretations hinge on the difference between Gen Urobuchi's script and Inu Curry's interpretation of it. AFAIK, the Clara Dolls as distinct individuals only exist in the latter, but it's an open question for me how much Walpurgis no Kaiten's script will build on the visual elements in Rebellion versus ignoring them or going in a different direction. So much of the movie ultimately hinges on this question, and I think the role of the Clara Dolls is definitely one of them.

Given that Walpurgis no Kaiten appears to be focused on mirrors and reflections, with at least two different Homuras running around, I think it's natural to wonder if the Clara Dolls are involved in all of this in some capacity. That said, they're not the first thing that leaps to my mind in all of this, and I find the divergence between my assumptions and that of other fans absolutely fascinating. Can't wait to find out what is actually going on when the film is released!

[plothooksinc]

For the fanfic ask game: 3 and 17.

19: In Underdark some of my favorite moments are Leo tripping and falling on his face. Feverish Leo cuddling up to Mike twice. In the shaft after they've fallen and Mikey hears Leo scream and goes "oh god, what happened??" Towards the end when the tunnel floods and Mikey's desperately trying to keep Leo upright when he just keels over. The comfort part in last chapter, love tired but relieved Donny and gruff Raph. And the heart to heart in Leo's bed.

In general I enjoy how Leo is written. He has a very calm and quiet presence. I'm not sure what makes the difference in this fic, but in my head I hear him as more soft-spoken than what he's usually portrayed as.( And I mean even before he starts getting sick.) I like it, feels fitting for him.

Ah, I'm glad the shaft scene seems to be well loved, that was definitely one of the high points of it for me. :D ...Leo being a little softer was actually mildly deliberate, because he was with Mikey and thus really being in Calm Big Brother mode because the situation was something he figured Mikey would find terrifying and he wanted to keep things on an even keel. (And then after that he got sick so...) It's also why he cuddled up to Mikey in that last part in sewers because he was feverish and like I can't leave him alone in the dark so I will just octopus so he knows I'm here, basically.

Anyway!

3. What’s a fic idea that you have but haven’t written yet?

Hmm. There are the two teasers I put up for TMNT, both being somewhat in medias res-- one is for '03 TMNT, in which there is a huge ambush meant to collect all turtles in one sweep; Leo escapes it only because he falls off the roof and they presume him dead (instead of merely Very Unhappy) and he needs help to track down his brothers and Casey and Splinter is unavailable for Reasons, so he goes to the only person left who can help him, which is April. He needs answers about who the ambushers were and she's a hacker. And then he still needs her for Reasons so the two of them go and try to break into a deathtrap (while meanwhile everyone else tries to break out, they'll meet halfway).

The other is '07 verse, based on events in the Leo prequel in which he tries to hitch a ride on a ship in Portugal and realises it's full of trafficked children, and he uh. Goes and slaughters every trafficker on board he can find. Which is all well and good, and never mind his hypocrisy when he goes home and lectures Raph about vigilante shenanigans, but doing so canonically starts the legend about the wrath of Enugu the Turtle God against these traffickers and the leader of the ring suddenly finds it's really hard to get people on board to work for him. So he sets out to track this so-called Turtle God down and prove to his remaining men it's just a freak that can bleed. Great! The problem is, none of them expect there to be more than one giant mutant turtle and so they track down and take the wrong one. Whoops. Anyway, Mikey has a Very Bad Day. I also threatened at one point to write a Rurouni Kenshin/TMNT crossover due to the amount of flak I got back in the day of switching from one fandom to another (I could even do it canonically, Renet sure is a character that exists). I had a whole slew of Ruroken ideas that I will now never write because the Ruroken author is scum, so alas.

In other fandoms, just briefly: The Untamed, where Wei Wuxian goes missing presumed dead in a small village where people have slowly been disappearing, only there's flute music in Them Thar Hills that's been playing steadily for days, so Lan Wangji and Wen Ning investigate. Supernatural, in which Dean fetches up in a small town on an investigation and gets supernaturally drugged out of his mind and vanishes, and there's a whole plot to bring back not quite Lucifer but the echo of him, which is good enough for those involved (it's SPN v fae); Tiger & Bunny in which Tiger apparently goes on a rampage for as much human and collateral damage as possible and everyone races to work out why; and FFXIV where the Empire find a way to tap into the Echo and drive it haywire, thus doing their best to drive the WoL mad and the scions close ranks to deal with that issue. One Piece, in which Nami steals the ship for unknown reasons (totally known reasons, she's under a compulsion laid by a Navy Devil Fruit user) and tries to do it while everybody else is offshore. Only Zoro is still sleeping on board, so. That goes down well when he wakes up. ...these will probably never see the light of day, but they are fun to think about. (The two teasers, tho. Those will get written.)

17. Are there any writers and/of stories that you consider an influence?

Not in fandom, in any specific sense. I will absolutely get some kind of osmosis inspiration from reading a whole bunch of extremely well written fics because it will affect how I write if that's what I've been soaking in all day. The Untamed is full of extremely talented writers and I channeled some of that energy to finally finish my Snowblind chapter, which had had me stuck for 13 years because I couldn't quite reach the melancholy introspect I needed for it (but The Untamed writers have that in spades). Published authors? Definitely. I can spot my writing patterning after Janny Wurts and Guy Gavriel Kay, and I picked up Janny's ellipses and Kay's Dramatic Short Sentences, and I probably got my tendency to bracket small phrases from Stephen King, as you do. Thank you! These were fun :D

Ask meme here.

[frenziedslashers]

May I please request #8 with RZ!michael x reader?

Valentines Day Prompt: 8. "Your lips are really warm.”

warnings: None, besides swearing, guess mentions of friends disclosing you. Michael having homicidal thoughts, but what's new? Maybe slight out of character Michael? Idk how to write him quite yet guys 😔 I'm trying my best

First kiss with RZ! Michael Myers:

You ran your hands down your face with a groan. Stress was bubbling through you like a volcano. Nerves twisted and buzzing. Everything in your life seemed to be falling apart. Between college, work, and just your horrible friends. No one seemed to be on your side, there was even times you wondered if Michael was on your side, or just using you as an escape from the police?

You were sitting on your floor, arms around your knees with your face buried in your arms. Your friends had just posted a shit-load of photos on their social media of them hanging out. When you asked why they never invited you, they claimed it was because "It's Valentines Day, and we didn't think that you would have a date. Sorry!" It really shouldn't have hurt you as much as it did, but it had tears streaming down your face, wanting to scream, but also no wanting to disrupt anyone.

Michael had noticed that you were upset though. You never would open up to him though, afraid if you told him about how your friends treated you that he would kill them. Which, he probably would. He may never show it, but he does care about you. You were the only person that didn't look at him with fear. You looked at him like he was a real person, not just a monster. That's why he always spared you and kept you safe. But what was he supposed to do now? With you curled up on the floor, crying into your arms...

Michael only really had one thing that made him happy, and that was candy. It was Valentines Day, too, so why couldn't he give you candy?

The man sat down next to you. You didn't look up, not wanting him to see your messy face. Arms tightening around your legs when he scooted a bit closer so his shoulder was pressed against yours.

"Somethin' wrong, Michael?" You asked through sniffles, trying to pretend that you weren't having a mental breakdown. Tensing a bit more when he moved a hand to tap your shoulder, wanting to get your attention so he could give you the box of chocolates that he may or may not have stolen for you.

You rubbed your face on your sweater sleeves. Drying the tears that stained your cheeks. Eyes looking up to his. It was amazing how he was still so much taller than you when the two of you were sitting. He had one of his homemade masks over his face. You had requested that he only wore his latex one when he went out, not wanting someone passing by your home to see him through the window and freak out. Figuring the homemade ones would be more reasonable.

He stared at you. Not so much judging, but not really that comforting, either. Reaching out to wipe a tear from your cheek. The action had your breath hitching in your throat. He'd never really touched you before. Not in the four months that you had known him for. So you relished in the act. The skin that he touched tingled, a faint smile tugging at your lips. "Thank you," you murmured, though he didn't really respond. Lifting a box of chocolates for you that read 'Happy Valentine's Day.'

The holiday always seemed to leave a sour taste in your mouth, but now that you had someone giving you candy on this stupid holiday? It had your heart pounding in your chest. Smiling down at the gift as you took it. Looking it over for a moment before looking back up to Michael. "This means a lot, thank you." He nodded, but he still felt a pit of anger burning in his stomach. It dimmed out a bit when you smiled, and seemed to calm. But he couldn't help the anger that blossomed in him when he first saw you crying over something. Wanting to put an end to whatever upset you.

"What happened?" His voice was hoarse, very underly used, but when he wanted his way he could talk. Though it was really only to folk that he trusted. Which, anymore, was just you. This was the first time you were hearing it though. You were certain that he was mute. Eyes going a bit wide as you stared up at him. Astounded that he even spoke to you. His voice was a lot deeper than you really imagined it would be, though, you weren't really sure what you did imagine from him. He was so mysterious.

He tilted his head as he awaited an answer. The action catching your attention. Clearing your throat to pretend that you weren't just staring up at him. "My friends." He frowned under his mask, and you could see his eyes narrow. Worry settling in your mouth as you watched him. "I don't want you to hurt them if I tell you, though. You have to promise me." He stared, for a moment too long. Nodding his head after what felt like hours of him deciding. Though it was only about one or two minutes of him thinking over your request.

"Okay, well." You leaned back against the bed. Fingers playing with the box that was now sitting in your lap. Eyes glancing down at it as you tried to distract yourself from the thoughts that ran through your head. Hoping that he would keep his promise. "They've been kind of ignoring me." You paused, and he kept his eyes on you. Listening intently. "It seems like months, but it's probably only been a could of weeks." You continued. "Then today I saw them posting photos, they were all hanging out together with their dates. I was disclosed, though. All because I'm not in a relationship? Which pisses me off because I know the one didn't have a date." You snapped, letting out a sigh. Ripping the plastic that was once snug around the box of chocolates. Cursing a bit at the actions. Not meaning to break it.

"But it's whatever, I don't need them. I've just never wanted to stab anyone more in my life." The words rolled off your tongue without realization, at first. Michaels brow raising a bit at your words. Lips lightly tugging up into a small smirk. A light chuckle even leaving his lips out of amusement. Which had you realizing what you said. "I wouldn't, though." You corrected yourself. Looking up to him with raised brows. "They don't deserve an easy way out anyways." You joked with a grin and an eye roll. Michael silently thankful that you had your sense of humor back, though he was thinking a bit differently than you right now. He thought them and their families all deserved death. All because of how they made you feel.

"But I have you, and you brought me chocolates, so I mean. I'm glad they didn't invite me." You told him. Looking back to the box to fully unwrap the plastic now so you could take the lid off. Picking one of the candies at random before taking a bite of it. Offering the box to Michael. Sure that he would say no, since he hardly eats around you in fear of you seeing his face. But he took one. Your eyes watching his scarred hands from years of violence. Watching his other hand reluctantly raise to his mask. Sliding it over his head to rest it beside him on the floor. His hand with the chocolate slipping the chocolate past his lips.

You were at a loss for words. Eyes studying his face. You knew his eyes were beautiful. a piercing blue, that you found yourself staring at anytime he looked at you. Yet, now with all his features exposed? They looked even more handsome. His lips, his nose, the stubble on his face. It was enough to make you swoon. Michaels lips curling into a light smirk when you caught yourself staring again. You almost hated that you could see his lips now. His smirk alone making your heart race in your chest.

"Sorry," You murmured, taking and putting the rest of your chocolate in your mouth. Moving your hand up to wipe your mouth from the caramel that rested on your bottom lip. Michaels hand catching your wrist before you could. Your whole body freezing up at the contact. Especially when he other hand grabbed your jaw to turn your head towards his. Wiping your bottom lip with his thumb, bringing it back to his lips to lick the golden candy from his digit. This had your stomach doing flops. Heat rushing straight to your stomach at the actions.

He kept hold of your wrist. His hand that wiped the caramel from your lips was reaching out to rest lightly against your throat. His thumb now pressing lightly against your pulse. Feeling your heart rate speed up, which had an almost growl like noise escaping his lips. A light whimper leaving your own lips. He leaned closer to you so your faces were inches apart. He wasn't really sure what he was doing, but he'd seen it in movies before. Even at the hospital. People who liked each other kissed. It was something that seemed normal, and he liked you, so it had to happen, right? Well, he wasn't sure. Wondering if you even liked him back, or if you were only nice to him because he was a feared sociopath.

"You're very handsome." You were nervous, and the words came rolling off your lips. His grip slightly tightening around your throat as he watched you. Before letting his grip loosen. So if you wanted to pull away, you really could. The words shocked him, really. He hadn't been called handsome by anyone but his mom, and he was always convinced that it was because she had to. "Really?" The words came out stiff and bland. It was more in the form of a statement than a question, really. "Yeah," You told him, biting your lip. Then your whole body felt limp when his eyes darted down to your lips. Staring for a moment as his own parted a bit. Then looking back up to your eyes.

He pulled your body closer to his. Ramming his lips against yours with rough force. The action making your whole body stiffen, a small yelp leaving your throat, but it wasn't long before you were wrapping your arms around his neck. Kissing him back with as much need as he had. You got him to slow down a bit. So the kiss wasn't as bruising as it was before, though it wasn't soft, either. His hand one your throat moving to the back of your head. His hand on your wrist dropping to your waist. Squeezing it with a growl. Nipping at your bottom lip. Which you opened with ease. Letting his tongue slip into your mouth. You didn't even try fighting him. Letting his tongue explore your mouth.

When you parted your eyes a bit, he was staring right back at you. Eyes half-lidded. Soon meeting your eyes. A look of lust and danger within the orbs. Thought right now you didn't care one bit about the danger behind them. Violence that you knew he could act out on at any given time.

You were the one to pull away. Sure that if you didn't he would let the two of you pass out from lack of oxygen. Both of you inhaling rather deeply. Hands still on one another's bodies as he looked at you with a hungry gaze. "Your lips are really warm," He blurted, though it was rather quiet. As if he said a thought out loud, and didn't mean to say it to you. Though he didn't act like it bothered him much. A small smile resting on your lips. "They are? Well, yours are pretty warm, too, Mikey." You told him with a giddy giggle. "Pretty nice to kiss, too." You told him with a grin. Letting your fingers trace his jaw. Both of your heads snapping to the attention of the chocolates when you heard them slide off your thighs when you shifted.

"Fuck," You frowned, moving to collect the candies that had fallen, going to throw them away, but Michael stopped you. He didn't care, taking the candies and popping them into his lips. Finding light amusement at the look that you gave him. "I could have went and got us more from the store." You told him, but he shook his head. Pulling you closer to his side. A strong arm wrapped around your waist as if to signify that you weren't going anywhere tonight. Not after that kiss.

[parkers-gal]

yay! okay so I was thinking, what I'd the reader and Tom had a fight, could be over anything, but the reader was pregnant and a few years after, they bump into each other and they get back together. Sorry if it doesn't make sense.

this has been sitting in my inbox for a fat couple of months… sorry 😭

wc: 1.7k ! <3

—

“No, because you’re selfish and you can’t handle the fact that my life doesn’t revolve around you and your needs.” Tom spits out the words angrily, viciously, voice harsh and crisp.

You’re both frustrated beyond belief, and the bubble that had been overblown had finally popped, splattering your relationship and all the joyful aspects of it. Right now, you felt as if all that was left was the toxicity of two unbearable people who happened to love each other. You knew, deep down, that you loved each other enough to get through this, but with every passing moment, with every exchanged word, you realized at least one of you wouldn’t survive the damage.

“No, Tom. You’re selfish. You’re conceited and you only care about being a goddamn movie star. What happened to the family man, huh? What happened to staying tied down with me and your brothers?”

“Nothing happened to him! I’m still that person. I am a family guy.”

“Not to me, you aren't.”

“Well you’re not family!” He seethes through his teeth, anger radiating off of his short-tempered demeanor. You don’t even know how to react, so you spend the time soaking in the situation and how you should respond instead of actually doing it.

“You’re a fucking jackass. I asked when I could spend time with you and now you don’t even consider me as part of the family.”

“No,” He’s clear and concise even through the anger. “You asked when I’m going to stop living my life.”

“I said no such thing.”

“You didn’t have to! We both know that’s what you meant.”

“You’re not even on the same page as me anymore,” You scoff, arms crossing. “Seems like all this time in Hollywood made you forget that you’re not always the main character.”

“Fuck that, Y/N! Fuck! That!”

“No, Tom. Fuck. You.” You over-express your emotions, and after two more minutes of unbearable silence and screaming, he’s leaving your apartment just as fast as he arrived. You’re in shock, fingers shaking while you clear your throat, which is frayed and sore from all the yelling.

You sit back, elbows on your knees while your hands smoothen out your forehead. Tear after tear escapes your sobbing body, and eventually, you fall asleep on the couch.

In the weeks to come, you’ve realized the blow-out of a breakup could’ve been handled so much differently, but Tom hasn’t seemed to cool down at all — he’s petty enough to unfollow you on all social media, and you figure it’s time to let the hatred be mutual. You don’t touch your imessages, however, letting the love in those texts linger for a little longer.

Before you know it, you’re throwing up into the toilet boil, coughing violently at the action and spitting the bitter taste as best you can. You clean up, and when you check your phone, a small notification from your period tracker app alerts you that this is the second period in a row that has gone by without a hello.

Worried, you call Aisha, your closest friend and confidant. She’s over in no time, bringing along her girlfriend while you rant on the phone about your worries. They stop at the drugstore on the way.

The cause of your problems is discovered that day, and you collapse on the bathroom floor in agony, hands wiping at your face — through all the anger and fear and worry, you still love Tom. So much that Aisha even attempts to call Tom. But, alas, it’s sent straight to voicemail, and you realize he might’ve gone to extreme extents in blocking everyone.

You’re stuck going to the ultrasound with two lesbians and a frail old cat. Aisha is as supportive as ever, but as the doctor explains the process of each option, you feel sicker and sicker about the idea of getting rid of the fetus. In the end, you choose to keep the child you’re bearing, even if your ex-lover isn’t even in the picture.

Inevitably, the months pass, and as baby Charlie is brought into the wonderful world, you realize life as a single mother isn’t as scary as you thought it would be. In the first few months of your pregnancy, you’d kept tabs on what film Tom was doing and which was coming out next, but after the hormones and cravings, you’d decided to let the past sizzle and fade out in the way it was meant to all along.

It’s been almost three years since that fateful breakup, and Charlie is just reaching two and a half years old. You’re still single, and you’re okay with that. Charlie is all you need, all you’ve ever wanted, and the most important thing in your life. He’s young, and school is still a couple years away, but you enjoy having the toddler by your side, walking hand in hand with you because you’re his guardian, his provider, his only parent. You make him your only priority, because you don’t want him to grow up without anyone to love, or anyone to love him.

It’s hard, though. It’s hard because he’s a constant reminder of what didn’t happen, a constant reminder of what went wrong and of what you no longer have. You miss Tom more than words can express, and Charlie’s mop of brown curls reminds you of all the moments you’d run your fingers through Tom’s hair. You reminisce more than you’d like to, about Tom and your past, and though Charlie is technically half of the Brit, he’s one hundred percent yours. Because you’re the only one here, and that’s alright.

“Mummy,” Charlie tugs on your shirt’s hem while you move the shopping cart forward through the aisle. “Can we get the goldfish with superheroes?”

You jutt your lip out in a smile, nodding happily. “Of course we can, bub.”

As you step forward, you pit stop in the aisle, nearly tripping on the cart. You make direct eye contact with the man you used to love with your entire heart. The man who walked out with your heart and never gave it back. He’s staring right back at you, curls looking as fluffy as ever, face still a soft glow. Your breath hitches, and it’s then that you realize Charlie is still talking.

“Mummy?” He asks, and it’s just loud enough for Tom to hear. Harry, who’s beside Tom with an arm full of crackers and chips. Tom moves forward a few steps, hastily in an attempt to get more information.

“Uh, hi,” His smile is tight lipped as he stands at the other end of your shopping cart. Charlie shies away from strangers, standing behind your leg and holding your shirt with his grubby hands.

“Hi,” you return his awkward, reserved demeanor.

“Mummy who’s this?”

“‘Mummy?’” Tom has a follow up question for everything, and you internally panic, unsure on how to approach this.

You’d spent so long deciding how you should tell Tom that he was a dad. You spent hours debating on if you should pick up the phone or drive over just to tell him a truth you’ve kept inside for so long. You’ve abandoned social media, only sharing aspects of your life you can afford to post. Charlie is only occasionally on your page, but it’s not like Tom would see that, not after all that’s happened.

Your mouth opens and closes while you debate on how to reply. You’re physically incapable of saying your response, and it makes you even more nervous. You’re nervous on how he might react, what he’ll say, but most importantly, if he’ll stay.

“Is this…?

“My kid…” You fill in. “I- I mean our… our kid.” You pull your bottom lip between your rows of teeth, and you watch as Tom’s face undergoes thousands of expressions all at once. He’s surprised, shocked, happy, afraid, uncertain. You want the world to swallow you whole, suck you up so you don’t have to go through any of this again. But you don’t. Instead, you hold Charlie’s hand a little tighter.

“Our kid?” He drops a can of soup and you flinch at the loud noise.

“Mummy, who’s that?”

“That’s…” You don’t know how to answer his question. Instead, you lean down to his level, comfortingly and gently. “He’s a man.”

“Who’s that man?”

“He’s… your daddy.”

“I thought… no daddy?”

You purse your lips and furrow your brows. Tom’s watching the entire encounter from his place, but after a few beats, he steps forward, entering your bubble. Charlie doesn’t cower away this time, but looks up in curiosity.

“Hi, Charlie,” Tom extends his hand, adjusting his jeans so he can lean down just as you are, kneeling beside the young boy.

You look down, avoiding your worries and Tom’s gaze. He’s tearing up, and you want to cry too. You’re in a fucking supermarket, for god’s sake. This wasn’t how you envisioned any of this planning out, and though you’re mentally kicking yourself for letting it happen this way, you can’t help but feel like maybe this was meant to be. Written in the stars or whatever the folks say — you’re just grateful Charlie has at least a sliver of hope for two parents. Not that you can’t handle it, because you can, but you know someone like Tom wouldn’t want to miss something as important as this.

“I’m To- I’m…” He swallows thickly, making brief eye contact with you before looking back at Charlie. “I’m your dad.”

“Do you love my mummy?” He’s not shameless, but he’s still that shy little boy. “My friend says daddy’s love mommy’s so you must love mine, right?”

Tom lets a tear fall while he exhales a chuckle. He swipes the drop with the tips of his fingers, and the hand gripping Charlie’s squeezes it a little tighter. A glance in your direction is all it takes for him to answer Charlie’s question. “Yeah, buddy. I do.”

want more? my masterlist.

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[forever-rogue]

hey, lovely, can you do #135 from the 390 prompt list for Agent Whiskey, if it sparks anything please

Prompt Used: “I think I’m in love with you and that scares me to death.”

Pairing: Jack Daniels x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 2k

Warnings: language

Pedro Character Masterlist

»»————-　♡　————-««

A small huff left your lips as you tried to open the front door, shifting the bags of take out to one shoulder. After a few moments of struggle, you finally managed to open the door to your apartment but found it surprisingly dark and empty. Odd. Jack should have been home by now; he’d said he was going to leave the office early today to be home in time for dinner.

“Jack?” you decided to and see if he was home - maybe he’d just forgotten to turn the lights or had just gotten home himself. Shuffling into the kitchen, you flicked on the light and set the bags on the counter. Taking out the containers one by one, you hummed under your breath and tired to decide what drink would go best with the Chinese. Perhaps it didn’t need to be anything fancy, so you grabbed a couple of bottles of beer and set them on the counter, “Jack? Baby? Are you home?”

When you still didn’t hear a response, you trapezed to the bedroom, turning on the hall light, stopping short of the bedroom when you realized it was all dark. He wasn’t home after all. Very odd. Fishing your phone out of your pocket, you scrolled through your notifications to make sure you hadn’t missed anything from Jack. But there was nothing. Zero, zilch, nada.

Pulling up his contact information, you quickly dialed his number and impatiently waited while it rang. And it rang, and rang, and rang, before going to voicemail.  

“Hey, Jack,” you tried to keep your voice as pointedly neutral as possible, “it’s just me. I thought you were going to be home early tonight? I-I got...all of our favorites for dinner. Maybe I...maybe I had the wrong day? Anyways, it’s been a bit since I’ve heard from you, so just let me know you’re okay or when you’re coming home. I love you.”

Ending the call, you frowned before heading back into the kitchen. You’d wait for him for now. Hopefully he was coming home soon and this was all some sort of misunderstanding. Grabbing your beer, you headed into the living room and pulled up Netflix, deciding to watch something while you waited.

And you waited. And waited. And waited.

»»————-　♡　————-««

But he never came. And he never called. And he never texted. He had gone radio silent.

At first you had been frustrated. Annoyed and upset, but then you became worried. It wasn’t like him to just disappear. Never.

So you kept trying to contact him to no avail. You’d called and gone to Statesmen headquarters to try and get some answers but no one was willing to give you any information. It seemed like they were all clamming up and refusing to help you. It was so odd...you’d never once experienced any sort of push back from them. None of his other friends or any of your friends had any information to provide either. It seems like a weird fever dream, but the fact that you continually woke up to an empty bed reminded you that it was all very well.

After a few days of the odd silence, you’d exhausted every resource you could think of. There was nothing else you could think of doing and it was driving you crazy. It was like Jack Daniels had just up and disappeared. But you knew he wasn’t dead - you knew that for a fact because you’d kept checking the news for any deaths and online obituaries. He was gone without a trace.

But why was the real question. Why? Why? Why?

You hadn’t had any sort of fight or argument or anything of the sort, there was nothing to suggest why he would suddenly leave. The only other tangible thought you had was that for some reason it was for your safety...but even that seemed like a stretch. He wasn’t taking on any work that proved extremely dangerous anymore, and things had been quiet. None of it made a lick of sense.

After almost two weeks, you weren’t sure if you were angry behind measure or desperately worried. At this point you just wanted answers, some sort of sign that Jack was alright.

»»————-　♡　————-««

You were sitting in the kitchen, in the very early morning hours when you should have been asleep, drinking coffee that was too dark and strong to be good. But it was the only thing keeping you company besides the agony of your loneliness. You picked up your phone and started scrolling through your social media aimlessly, but for whatever reason, you decided to try and call Jack one more time. You were positive that it was just going to go to voicemail, but you knew that you had nothing to lose at this point.

So you listened to it ring and ring but then to your surprise and shock...the call was answered.

“Hello?” he sounded tired, like you’d woken him up and he hadn’t even checked the caller ID. Your breath hitched in your throat as you realized that this was the first time you’d heard his voice in weeks; this was your sign that he was alive. Your surprise left you in stunned silence for a few moments too long, “hello? Who’s there?”

“J-Jack,” his name was but a mere whisper off of your lips as you tried to keep it together. You didn’t want to scare him and have him end the call then and there, but you needed to talk to him, “i-it’s me!”

"Oh," it was a sudden realization on his end as the line went silent for a few moments...clearly he hadn't meant to pick up this call. Your heart plummeted into your stomach as your brain tried to rationalize what was happening...normally he would have been overjoyed and excited to hear your voice, "hi."

"Jack," you let out a sigh of relief just knowing he was alive, "i-its been two weeks. I was worried sick, baby. You're alive, I'm so glad to your hear your voice."

"I'm fine," you could hear him rustling around before letting out a long sigh, "I'm...yeah."

"What the fuck happened?" there was a note of irritation in your voice as you realized that he didn't seem to want to explain his sudden absence, "I was waiting for you, that night we were going to get Chinese, and you...you never came home. I called and called and I searched everywhere for you. Where the hell have you been? I-is it work? Will you be home soon?"

There was nothing but jilted, stoic silence on the other end of the line. It was cold, hurtful, and every moment felt like it was a knife twisting in your heart.

"Jack?" you felt like banging your head on the table as you willed him to say something...anything, "Jack, please say something. I think you owe me at least an apology for up and leaving! I was worried sick, day and night!"

"Its not work," his voice was cold and steeled, "I'm...I'm not coming back, I'm sorry. You're right - I should at least have told you I was leaving so you wouldn't worry."

"What do you mean you're not coming back?" your throat constricted and suddenly your heart was pounding loudly in your ears. You couldn't have heard him right...right?

"I am...I'm not coming home," he repeated and this time it resonated in your soul, "I'm sorry...I can't come back."

"What the fuck?" your eyes stung with tears as you blinked back stinging, "you're just gone, no note, nothing. I felt like I've been losing my mind for the past two weeks and all you're telling me is that you're not coming back? What happened - what changed? Did I do something?"

"I know you're angry and you have every right to be. I should have...I should have said something and not just left you in the dark," he admitted with a heavy sigh as you scoffed, "but I'm sorry...I just can't come back. I don't expect you to forgive me or for you to understand."

"We've together for two years, Jack! Two years!"

"I know that," tears spilled down your cheeks as you tried to keep your lips from trembling, "and I'm sorry it ended this way."

"What ended? Why? How...it was just a normal day and then...you never came back," you didn't bother to hide your tears as your hands shook, "you just never came home. You left me...you left me do easily, without a word or anything."

"I'm sorry-"

"You're sorry?" your hurt and upset had quickly turned to anger and irritation,  "you're sorry!? I came home and expected to find my boyfriend and instead I got nothing! Absolutely nothing for two weeks and now you're sorry? That's rich, Jack. Why?"

"Please don't be upset..."

"I think I have every right to be upset," you whispered gently, "you just left me. I love you, we've been together for two years and you don't want me to be upset? I have every right to be upset! You owe me an explanation!"

"I left," he stated as you snorted, "and I didn't do it in the best way at all. For that I am sorry. But you have to understand I have my reasons."

"What reason could you possibly have for just leaving me?" you wanted to scream and cry, buy the worst of all was that you still just wanted...him, "why would you just leave me? Am I not enough?"

"No," he stated firmly, "no, you are more than enough. It's...me. I think...I know I'm in love with you and that scares me to death."

"You...love me but you left," you repeated back to him, "you love me but you're scared. So instead of talking to me about it...you just left."

"You know what happened to the last person I loved," he reminded you of the young wife and unborn child he'd lost. But that had been a long time ago and while you knew that the wound would never fully heal, you'd expected a little more faith in your relationship by now, "she was taken from me - everything was. I can't let that happen again."

"Jack, I know that was a lot to deal with," your voice lowered and softened as you ran a hand over your tired face, "but that was years ago and it's going to happen again. You can't just shut everyone you love or might love out. It's not fair to them or you."

"I would never forgive myself if something happened to you on account of me," that night of defiant determination crept back into his voice, "the only way to fully ensure your safety is to leave. I didn't do it in the best way, but it is the only. For what it's worth, I am sorry."

"Me too," you agreed, "I'm sorry you didn't feel like you could talk to me about all of this and tell me what you were feeling. I love you, Jack and nothing is going to change that. I wish you'd trust enough in your heart to come back to me."

"I'm sorry," for the first time it sounded genuine and like he actually meant it, "I do love you. But I don't trust myself...or anyone else not to prey on that fear. This is what's best. I'm sorry but I can't come back."

"Jack," you grew panicked, "please don't do this, please don't go. We can make make work-"

"I'm sorry," he insisted but you were still left incredulous, "but this is goodbye."

"Jack, don't..." the called ended and left you with silence. You stared at your phone before slowly setting it down and burying your face in your arms. Jack was a stubborn man and you knew that there was no changing his mind. Your whole life had just been changed and determined by one simple, horrible decision. Maybe...maybe one day he'd come to his senses...maybe.

"Goodbye, Jack."

»»————-　♡　————-««

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[ddaenghoney]

Series: Flora

Part 24

masterlist link in blog description

After spending more than a decade establishing a career as an acclaimed actress, you decide to go on a sudden hiatus while also discreetly moving to a new townhome, renting out the second room to your old friend from high school: Kim Taehyung

Pairing(s):

Kim Taehyung x Y/N

ft. Lim Jaebeom x Y/N

disclaimer: any character depicted do not represent the actual personality of the respective idol in real life.

Series warning(s)/genre(s): Social media/Fake Text AU, Roommates au, somewhat Slow Burn relationship (or is it more oblivious to lovers ?), Actress!Y/N, Flower shop owner and model!Taehyung, fluff, drama(bc it’s me), romance, angst (updated as needed)

Necessary story written piece beneath the cut!

wc: 4017

Chapter warning(s): Heavy themes of loneliness��and quite a bit of angst. Emotional breakdown by means of a lot of crying and a small moment of nearly hyperventilating. Optimistic ending. 

You look down at the ended conversation displayed on your phone, thumbs hovering over the device but you know you have nothing more to say. Sighing, you let it fall to your phone and glance your head out at the grey outside that the car travels through. The clouds took a break from the constant showers that covered the city, but you do not doubt they will continue again, probably the second you step out of the vehicle.

“You can just take me home instead of stopping by that food place.” You speak up to your manager’s assistant who has recently been driving you around for scheduled activities. When Manager Yang is not able to attend things with you, the assistant is definitely there instead. You wager to make sure you don’t do anything more to grind the nerves of the company, but you never have asked the question directly.

“Are you sure? The weather doesn’t seem as bad as a few minutes ago.”

“Yeah, I have some leftovers at home I’ll eat instead.” The explanation exists only to pacify his confusion, because after that conversation you really have no interest in eating anytime soon. Without conviction your eyes search between passing buildings for signs of the sun breaking through any of the clouds, but as you expected there is no such light. If there had been any hope of the storm ending, the production team would not have called off shooting for today.

You don’t mind the weather for that fact, but at the same time it leaves a bitter taste in your mouth that you can only rely on unruly weather to give you a dent of the day back to yourself. If you try to think about how long it’s been this way, your mind would skim back years and years. Early on when you were still in high school and quickly garnering all of the roles in films you could, you didn’t mind the workload at all. Everything was still new, and admittedly going through that part of your life with fame attached to it felt like a grandiose thing.

The glittering of it all wore off a while ago, and letting your head fall back against your seat cushion, you realize just how exhausting it all is. But what else is there?

“Thanks for the ride.” You wave to the assistant as you exit the vehicle in front of the small gate that surrounds the townhome. Your company may know the address somehow, but you certainly are not willing to give out the gate code, much less a key, so you get out on the curbside. You’re relieved when he doesn’t loiter to make sure you get in safely, because the sooner you can stop thinking about everything the sooner you can have a semblance of a clear head.

To your surprise the rain comes again after you’re under the cover of your entryway instead of starting to pour directly on your head. Standing there for a moment, you watch the droplets fall in a humid frenzy that is familiar for this time of the year. This odd hour of the day is much earlier than people head home from jobs, so the neighborhood is quiet with inactivity, only seeming to be populated by you and the millions of droplets that see only a moment of you before they’re gone from your sight into puddles on the ground.

You stretch out your arm to breach into the shower, feeling the water collide with your skin as you continue watching the spectacle of it all. Almost, you’re able to enjoy it completely; take in the beauty of nature, and the serenity of your tiny front yard that’s enclosed in its own bubble. But as your eyes scan the area, your arm tenses when you catch the well-tended to flower beds that line the front gate.

You remember everything you wish is not reality.

Pulling your arm back, you turn on your heel and type the code to your door, entering in haste. The lights inside are off, and the space is quiet, almost without the sound of the showers outside. Without consideration you simply allow your bag to fall beside you on the floor while you flick your shoes haphazardly in the same general direction. It’s not unusual for no one to be home in the middle of the day, but as you step deeper the space feels uncharacteristically empty.

Miscellaneous items are decorated in their little mess around the area, but they’re all your own things that clutter. In your moment of recollection, you glance back to the front door as you realize you didn’t trip over any of Taehyung’s shoes on the way inside. Your lips part at the knowledge and your hand clutches against your top as you turn to walk into the kitchen.

Your line of sight wanders over the countertops, then to the small table beside the door out to the back, but you find nothing. You turn back and stalk into the living room once more, eyes searching quickly to the coffee table, then end tables-- any surface of space you could.

In that instant of finding nothing your eyelids grow hot, and your throat hitches, but you hold back any noise by biting your lip. You don’t have the right to be this upset if he’s already gone without a word of goodbye. You made your choices-- you’re living the consequences.

Air nonetheless escapes your mouth in a high, choppy gasp. You thought there would be more time than the four days it's been since you told him he should leave, since you typed all of those things you didn’t mean and left tears all over your phone screen. You shake your head, forcing everything back again, because you don’t have the right to feel upset about this. You don’t, and you keep repeating that to yourself, but what difference would it make if you started bawling about it here anyways?

You put your hand to your face, rubbing your eyes to stop tears from beginning, but when the sentence plays in your head you’re unable to stop them when you inevitably mumble to yourself,

“I’m all alone now.”

Only a couple escape your ducts, before you take in a deep inhale and remind yourself that this is for the best. If Taehyung has nothing to do with you, then his reputation will not be bothered further, his flower shop won’t run the risk of being singled out on a gossip form, and  his life will continue in its peaceful path just like he wants.

You rub the tears from the corner of your eyes, finding sight of his mug in its usual spot beside the couch. As you take a step towards it, your eyebrows knit wondering if he forgot it but you find a beverage still within it, though mostly gone.

The front door’s entry alert causes your shoulders to jolt in surprise, and your body to turn as it opens wide to let the melody of the rain flood your ears once more. From the cloudy outside that’s a lighter blue than the inside of your house, Taehyung’s figure seems enveloped by a dull brightness.

The hollow feeling in your chest fills with the thrum of your heartbeat. You watch as his lips pout while he looks down at your discarded items, then his head lifts up upon the recognition, startling with a sound of surprise when he sees you.

“I didn’t know you were home,” His words stumble out while his hand searches on the wall and successfully presses on the light switch. “What are you doing?” He asks, frowning in confusion of the certainly odd situation he wandered into.

Taehyung knows that you are not the most organized person on the planet, but your shoes finding their way to the designated closet is the example for him that he never manages to follow. So to see them in a mess on the floor beside your bag, Taehyung thought the placement to be abnormal and maybe somewhere in the back of his mind before he looked up he even felt worry.

“Ah, I just,” You start in a small voice, before dipping your head away from his view. Taehyung takes notice of the aversion, then latches onto the remembrance of your last text conversation. “I got off work because of the weather, so I’m here. Forgot to turn the lights on.”

“I see.” He responds simply, with the slightest nod of his head. Taehyung slips off his shoes finally, and enters deeper into the house, trying his best not to let questions in his head breed into a field that will be left unanswered by you and filled in with guesses by himself.

“What about you?” Your words come making him stop just beyond where you remained as he followed the path to his bedroom. Taehyung can’t help glancing towards you, just a couple feet from him, but appearing so far away as your head faces at a downward angle to the couch beside you.

“I closed the shop early today.” He explains in a low voice, because he does not want to say why he’s come home. He still doesn’t want to think about everything falling apart. And for a moment that fact causes him a burst of frustration because of all of those unanswered questions so his tone shifts coarsely when he gives a curt reply, “Going to sign a new lease.”

Taehyung expects nothing from the sentence, but watching your hand  tighten atop the couch makes him hesitate from going to his room. It’s the smallest action, and nonverbal at that. He knows everything you said about distrusting him and about his importance being nothing more than an irrational measurement you never meant, so why does he still cling on to the smallest sign. One that means nothing.

He shakes his head softly, feeling consumed by the tension. He walks down the hall to his room, leaving you there. Turning away just in time for the sparse rain drops in your eyes to drip in silence onto the leather your hand clings to.

Rather than reaching to wipe them away, you simply let the tears fall, thinking it better to ignore them so they altogether stop. For all of the relief that built in your chest at seeing him again, it ripped back away at his statement. You want to tell him he still has two weeks that he could stay, but you know that would only serve unnecessary confusion, and that it’s better if he leaves now while you’re still able to hold yourself back from confessing the insincerity of all the hurtful things you messaged him.

“Do-” Your shoulders tense at the pet name he stopped himself from uttering. Your lips tighten into a line, forcing away a frown as he continues after a moment, “Y/N, are you okay?”

Considering everything, you wonder how Taehyung even asked you that, knowing well that you’ve given him every reason to stop caring about you to even the smallest extent. But he’s sweet and gentle like the flowers he tends to. You muster a smile at this thought, and nod your head even though you’re facing away from him still.

Taehyung’s hand curls in response to your demeanor, wondering if you really have to look away from him. Does it bother you that much to even be around him? Because things were different only a week ago, it is nearly impossible for him to accept the situation at hand, but ultimately he just sighs, and starts a walk back to the front door, wearing a fresh shirt that’s different from the type he typically wears to work in the flower shop.

As he heads to the door, you recall the countless times he’s walked in and out, wandered around the house familiarly, like a necessary puzzle piece to the space. You can think of the many failed recipes created in the kitchen that led to races to the front door to get the food deliveries afterwards. And you can remember the time you held the door open for him when he struggled with his arms full of little flower starts that would bloom soon if they are maintained after he leaves.

He’s leaving.

“Tae,” Your voice barely sounds like anything but a weak squeak because of the emotions clogging up your throat. He stops to turn back towards you like a habit-- his eyes focusing on your person easily, though the irises are admittedly not as cheerful as all the times of the past. “You-” Your nails dig into the leather of the couch, like the logic you’ve taped up in your mind tries desperately to stay together. But the throbbing pain in your heart wins over your mouth, “I’m so sorry.”

“What-” Taehyung’s sentence drops away as he notices the glittering on your cheeks, and he turns completely. With every nerve on his body beginning to prickle in worry, he takes a step in your direction on impulse, pausing only when you shake your head, releasing more tears down your skin.

“I’m sorry. I’m so selfish-- I really can’t do this.” The words dribble out in a frantic mumble as you finally begin to wipe away at the tears. “I know I need to let you leave-- I know you should; I can’t do this though. I don’t want you to go, I really don’t-”

Your breath hitches as you’re all the sudden pulled into a strong embrace. Without hesitation your arms cling to his shirt, while a sob muffles into the fabric. Taehyung’s arms encompass you with the same feeling that living with him gives you: safety.

“Calm down, Y/N.” Taehyung soothes your trembling frame with his fingertips clutching tightly on your shoulder blades, fastening you to this space that was stable. Giving you a place to belong again.

“I didn’t mean any of it, Tae,” You croak between gasps as your lungs fight for air amidst your sobs. “I trust you more than anyone-- you’re the most important person to me, Taehyung. Please don’t go.”

“Then why,” He starts the question, but then your rushed sentences finally register to him properly. The fact that you said you know he needs to leave. Taehyung breathes in as the realization of it sets in. You were trying to get him away so he wouldn’t be involved anymore. For his benefit, not because you ever wanted that.

“I-,” You cough, clutching onto him tighter as the sobbing leaves your throat thick. You want to explain everything, and make sure that he hears your apologies as many times as necessary, so desperately you try to speak up again only for Taehyung to hush them away.

“Stop for a bit, dove.” He tells you, causing you to find a grasp at peace just from him addressing you with endearment once again. “I’m not going to walk away-- you don’t need to rush. Let’s sit down, okay?”

As you sit on the couch with your fingers rubbing onto your temples, Taehyung stands in the kitchen fiddling with objects that you hear clatter around. You think little of it, simply counting seconds with the inhales and exhales of your breaths, elongating them so as to ease away the rampant swarm of tears and emotions. The prickling in your head must be from a mixture of shock and embarrassment, you decide, becoming increasingly aware of how vividly everything came flooding out.

When Jaeboem texted you days earlier, you had to stop replying. You feel bad still for leaving his series of texts pleading with you out of worries for being left on read, but when he verbally acknowledged how alone you must be, you couldn’t look at the words any longer. That aspect of your lifestyle needs to be kept in check or else you would have to look at everything that’s hollow in the world that you made for yourself.

For following a dream that you were passionate about, in the past you anticipated a cover of happiness washed over your life once you reached the level of notoriety that would keep acting jobs flooding in. But for years of your work and efforts to simply amount to you walking into a lifeless house, with the few people around you about to walk out, you couldn’t let yourself see that because it would be the one thing too much to bear. Even if you enjoy acting, the present gives you no sense of fulfillment outside of your job, which in itself is starting to be cracked with holes as well.

“Here.” Your eyes break from their lack of concentration to watch Taehyung settle a mug that matches his on a coaster in front of you. The steam filled with the warm scent of honey and tea leaves. “Does your head hurt?”

Meagerly and barely do you nod, finally removing your hands from putting pressure on your temples to take hold of the mug. Careful to keep your skin from directly touching the hot ceramic, you balance it inches from your lips to blow gently.

“Thank you.” You mumble, taking small sips so as not to burn your taste buds. The drink is light, but soothing to your throat that is ravaged from your outburst. “I,” Your head jolts as you recall, nearly sloshing around the scalding tea, but Taehyung’s hand aids you in steadying the mug as you speak in worry. “I stopped you from meeting the leasing office-- I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Taehyung shakes his head, very slightly nudging the mug so that you drink more. As you finally give in despite your frown, he continues in a quiet voice. “It’s not like I really wanted to go anyways.”

As you glance towards him with an uncertain hope glinting in your eyes, Taehyung smiles gently and is unable to stop his thumb to graze over your cheek where tear treks remain. In the void of words, the shower outside rages on with a hum of thunder only relaxing the tension in your shoulders. As his hand leaves your skin, you break eye contact to again sip at the beverage while Taehyung eases more into his seat beside you.

Without speaking, he simply rests his head on the cushion, letting you revitalize yourself with the drink. He arranges his thoughts with his newfound information, and is almost upset that he never contemplated any of it before. His friends too had commented repeatedly how strange and out of character all of the texts you sent him were, especially Jeongguk who was fully convinced the connection between you and Taehyung could only be genuine. Taehyung thought the same, and he could blame the surprise of it all for letting his rationality falter, but ultimately he feels disappointed in himself for not considering that this was the only way you found yourself able to protect him.

It’s true that if he continued to believe your words, the hurt would have been enough to start a gap of separation from you, and perhaps even if he reconsidered later down the line he may have pushed the thoughts aside to keep you from having to bother with the whole thing again. Or perhaps it is more accurate, he decides, that he may have not been willing to risk hearing you say everything to him all over again.

“Now you don’t want me to leave?” Taehyung breaks the silence with the small question, the corner of his lips quirking as the empty mug clatters on the coaster from your surprise from the bluntness. With furrowed eyebrows you turn to look at him, so clearly upset with yourself, that Taehyung doesn’t have the heart to tease you any further. His lips part to speak but in a small ramble you beat him to it,

“I never wanted you to. I just didn’t know how else to keep you from getting dragged into anything more than you have been. I know you don’t want anything to do with fame, and,” You shake your head as once again those texts replay through your head.

“Dove.” Taehyung’s hand covers over the top of yours as they fiddle on your lap, bringing you back down. “I understand now.”

Your frown remains, and your chest feels heavy once more because you know you really did hurt him, and yet he’s sitting beside you still and giving you a chance at explanation. You don’t deserve that.

“I should have let you go though.” Your eyes fall to your lap, watching as his hand squeezes over top of yours. You’re sure he doesn’t like your sentence. “Taehyung, I know you say that you don’t mind any of the baggage that comes along with getting linked to me in rumors, but you don’t know what it’s actually like to go through any of that. To have thousands of people you don’t know critique all the choices you make and constantly put their judgement on you just because they don’t like you or are bored-- it’s exhausting. Especially if you’re not even gaining anything from it. You don’t want to get into this lifestyle--and that’s fine, but it’s even more of a reason for you to distance yourself from me. I can’t control any of this as much as I want to, and you’ll just end up dealing with trouble because of it all.”

Without thinking, one of your hands turns upwards, taking a grasp of his gently.

“I do gain something from it all.” Taehyung says, ready for his eyes to meet yours when your head turns in confusion. “I’ll still be in your life.”

Your jaw clenches; heart beating too happily at his affirmation of it all. It’s idyllic and frankly all you would want to hear from him. Such a simple thing, yet the implication causes new, touched tears to collect in the corner of your eyes. Warmly Taehyung smiles at you, tugging you towards him so he can hug you, which you allow without hesitation.

“I know that you’re worried about me, dove, but what you’re telling me I’ve considered too. I may not have been that involved when I was a trainee, but I know the media can be ruthless and cruel, but I’d still choose dealing with that than not being with you anymore.”

“But why,” You pull a bit from him to look up at his face, frowning. “No one’s ever wanted to go through all of this crap just for me-- I don’t understand why you always pick to stay.”

“How many times do I have to tell you that I care about you before you believe me?” He asks with a smile, cutting off any of your uncertain remarks by simply hugging you tighter and chuckling as you make a noise of surprise from the action. “Dove, I’m happiest living here with you. You mean so much to me, and there’s nowhere else I’d rather be. No matter how many times you ask me, you’re going to get this for an answer. You’re my friend, Y/N. You’re dear to me.”

Your hands meddle their way from between your torsos so that you can wrap your arms around him tightly. Taehyung smiles at the reciprocation, settling his forehead atop your head when he feels your body rumble from some muffled cries that somehow have an air of happiness to them.

You’re willing to accept his answer, no longer frightened of all the repercussions as you cling onto Taehyung as if he’ll drift away. Now you realize how content the world becomes with even one person willing to stay. Without the attachment of jobs, or the necessity to save face in front of cameras, Taehyung wants to remain where he is. You’re so thankful for the fact, but can’t properly express the gratitude through words, but he hums in response anyways, keeping you enveloped in his arms as he tells you peacefully,

“I’m not going anywhere, Y/N. Don’t worry.”

If you enjoy, PLEASE let me know!!

Tag(s): @atulipandarose​e @jaienn​ @lemonteacyst​@swanboysuga​ @kennedaddy00​  @cribabieee​@betysotelo18​ @sherizaraiyah​ (if you would like to be tagged send me an ask to let me know!)

[poisonedlovedarling]

My MLP Gen 5 movie review and hope for the future.

SPOILER WARNING!!!! Lol...

If you haven't seen the MLP Gen 5 movie please do so, and not just because there are spoilers ahead.

First off I can't tell you how much I love this movie. It's well made and written, the music is catchy, and the story speaks to the viewers without being preachy. Each character is relatable and loveable.

The movie was adorable, well animated and the voice actors amazing. Above all the animation was so amazing it alone carried the story where it sometimes faltered. The story was a bit generic and the plot twists weren't exactly hard to see coming. Yet it was thoughtful and each expression of each pony was carefully thought out. From the main 5 characters each having their very own mannerisms to unforgettable facial expressions.

I think they successfully brought MLP back by not only adding a male character who isn't toxic, i.e. Hitch. But by adding a girl character that isn't super feminine but also doesn't shy away from cute stuff, i.e. Zipp. A character whose love for flying is so pure it shines as bright as a rainbow.

This brings me to the characters and what I hope to see happen to each of them. As well as what Element of harmony I think each represents.

Starting with my fav and now spirit animal, Zipp!

Anyone who knows me knows I adore Rarity. She was always my fav, but I really identify with Zipp. This is amazing because my preconceptions going into this movie were that Zipp was going to be a Rainbow Dash copy, and she isn't!

We were comparing her to Rainbow dash, not only the cool style she has and her love of flying but honestly. Between Rainbow and Zipp, I like Zipp better because she's not like Rainbow. My favorite moments with Rainbow in OG series were when she wasn't all about flying, but instead, the episodes about her love of a book series were my favorite things about her.

Sure Rainbow loved flying, obnoxiously so at times which was her character. A confidant sometimes snarky character, and we love her for it. But Zipp, Zipp didn't grow up flying. Her love for it is almost pure compared to Rainbow's love.

Zipp had to learn other ways to glide, or imitate flying. Zipps pure joy at suddenly being able to fly is adorable. However with her character. I could see her spending days never touching the ground just because she'd be afraid she'd never get up again.

Zipp has insecurities that Rainbow doesn't have, and it's mostly because of how she was raised in the castle. Hiding the fact that she can't fly that she had to use wire. Her mother loved her but Zipp always comes second best to her sister. Rainbow didn't have that Rainbow was raised flying and told how good she was, that helped make her the confidant person she was.

In fact Zipps mother showed her love to her sister more than for Zipp. Who honestly seems fine with that because her joy in life is flying. Though it be nice to see in the future a mother daughter bonding about how she wants to be treated a bit better by her mother. To be listened to and not shut down. Like she had been in the movie.

Zipp knows everything about flying as shown on her calk board in the movie. Rainbow never really had that spark of passion. Zipp is more insecure in herself, so basically Zipp isn't Rainbow and I love her.

Now as for where her story may lead. The Wonderbolts! We know them we love them and Rainbow was one of them.

Zipp only knows about Wonderbolts from a photo and probably some of the history she's been told. In fact, I could see her wanting to be one just not in the same way Rainbow did. Rainbow wanted to be one to prove she was the best. Zipp doesn't have that kind of view.

Mostly because they don't exist anymore. They more than likely were disbanded or rebranded when no one could fly. I could see Zipp having a mission to start the team up herself, not because of the status or the idea that Wonderbolts are the best of the best. She'd more than likely start it make friends all in an effort to share the love of flying with everyone. I doubt all ponies who can fly will try to fly. Whether out of fear or lack of confidence in themselves. I can see Zipp using the Wonderbolts as a jumping-off point to help show what wonders the sky holds for ponies. To share her spark with them.

I hope they don't shoehorn her into just a pony that is a girl but doesn't like frills. I feel like Zipp isn't the holder of the element of Loyalty like Rainbow, but instead, she's honesty. She hated lying to people sure she'd never abandoned her new friends but she knows the value of honesty and the distrust lying can bring to a kingdom when the truth is revealed.

***

Now for our second Pony, we have the pony I think could be any of the elements of harmony but more than likely is the element of Loyalty. The ever-adorable Izzy who at first we thought would just be a mash of Rarity meets Pinky, to make up for the fact that there are only 5 mane characters. Her cutie mark being something crafty and her personality being very bubbly.

Honestly, she is adorable and you can't help but love her. If Zipp wasn't so amazing Izzy would be my fav. Although Izzy may have looked like she was going to be a fashionista or party pony. She was far from what we expected and we love her for being her own pony.

Her recycling is an amazing idea, being a crafty pony and making fun things. Is such a great idea and sets her far apart from the fashion ponies and party ponies. She is a loveable goof who is helpful without being pushy. Her pure joy in making things for friends is what we love about her.

In comparison, Rarity loved the praise her fashions got, a perfect dress for every pony, and to make them all shine was her goal. Pinky wanted to put smiles on people's faces with parties and jokes, she wanted to bring joy to every pony.

Izzy just wants to make friends and share her stuff with said friends. I could see her setting up a shop, she could sell her friendship stuff like the bracelets. But I think her joy in life will come more from sharing special moments with a small group that with love her for her. In all her shiny sparkle ways. I see her more like a pony who will start a business that will allow ponies to make their own memories rather than sell pieces already made.

Izzy is a ball of sparkles that I hope doesn't become a character that's just there for the giggles. I can see her being the element of Loyalty because once you're her friend you'll mean more to her than anything in the world.

***

Now we all love a good strong non-toxic character, big mac is a good example of this. Hitch is another. He's strong confident and yet kind in his own way. He is the ideal male character. Someone who will be the voice of reason without making others feel bad. He is compared to Fluttershy in most ways because of the animals and I do agree that he more than likely will be the holder of the element of kindness. Yet he isn't Fluttershy.

I think the fact that he loves every living thing and wants them to live happily and as equals, why he'll be the elements holder.

Hitch unlike Fluttershy isn't an animal caretaker, but a protector. He has a stronger voice than Fluttershy, he won't back down from a challenge if it means protecting anyone or any creature that is under his care. He is a welcome addition to the pony cast. Giving the little boys who love ponies a pony that isn't a girl, but also isn't just a background character.

Sure the stereotype of the Sherriff being a male pony is a little, overdone. Yet Hitch is a kind person who only wants to help and protect and he does things even if he knows may not look cool because it make a friend happy. Like the scene where he does the secret hand shake with Sunny. You just can't help but love Hitch and hope he isn't to be the only male in this group for the entire show. Perhaps getting a male friend probably a unicorn or another creature like a dragon to balance the main cast.

I hope in the future we get to see just how he protects not just his friends but every pony without being aggressive but by being kind. Showing people like Sprout that there is away to help without overdoing it or forcing it.

***

Then there is Princess Pipp who I think is the holder to element of generosity. She is a girly girl but also speaks to the Gen that she is aimed for. Always on social media and on her phone. She's a soft jab at how the real world is in a way. Sure she could be compared to Rarity, but her love for music and phone sets her apart. I can see her story being about who to make the world better. Showing how the effect of love and humor can altered those around her.

We know Zipp is next in line for the throne, so what does the future hold for Pipp. Perhaps a career in music or something about how no matter how famous and rich she becomes it doesn't help with her sense of completion. How her close friends are where she'll find true happiness while helping others find that same sense of belonging. Will she help those around her by giving them what they not just want but what they need. Weather they know what that was or not. That's what I hope to see in her story.

The good and the bad, the outcome of just handing people something like fame or a big break. Learning the lesson that you can fail at what you don't want and might as well take a chance at what you love. I can't wait to see what they do for our new princess.

***

Sunny...what to say about Sunny? First she's not Twilight, in any way shape of form. Sure she got an alicorn body at the end of the movie, but that doesn't make her a princess. She is a good example of the fact that this isn't gen 4.

On the subject of her new horn and wings. I doubt she'll keep that form. I wouldn't mind if she did because it's cute but it also doesn't seem fully deserved. Sure she brought magic back, but she played no more a bigger part than Izzy. If anything Izzy played a bigger part. Izzy ventured out while Sunny only took the time to change her corner of the world. Sure I love Sunny her story is amazing but I feel like she needs more fleshing out. Like the world she leaves us with so many unanswered questions.

Sure I love that she was an activist and protester, she went about trying to spread love without really being pushy. Which is nice she was amazing and you can't help but love her. Yet she seems too naïve, her gaining the abilities of someone equal to Twilight seems a bit much. In fact the only element of harmony I wouldn't give Sunny is, magic.

She's funny but the element of Laughter isn't her goal. She wants everyone to be happy but laughter isn't what she's after...lol...She's kind but Hitch is more suited for that element, just like Loyalty is Izzy.

Sure Sunny would never leave a friend behind, and Loyalty is rather close to being the element for her but she also understands after years of bullying that not everyone is her friend.

As for generosity, she isn't exactly someone to just hand things to people without thinking. She'd happily give someone a cupcake but I doubt no matter what would happen she'd never hand over her note book or father necklace to just anyone because it make them happy. As for honesty she lied to Hitch her friend without remorse, enough said about that.

Now that leaves only magic, sure her pure hope for friendship and to find a place among her kind is likely to be equal to magic. I don't think the element suits her. I think if anything Sunny is the seventh element the lost element of harmony.

The element of Acceptance.

(Also seen in MLP Equestira girls being Sunset shimmer.)

I think in the future I want to see Sunny spend her time uniting the world, making friends and helping everyone learn the new world that she has set in motion. How she will show the world that their is a value in friendship. I also hope she seeks out the truth about the past and answer the many questions movie gave us.

(Sorry for the long pose... But why don't you tell me what you think in the comments. What would you like to see in the upcoming show and what element you think each character might be.)

[itsclydebitches]

I remember watching hbombergy's RWBY is Disappointing (And Here's Why) and he had mentioned something to the effect that RWBY was like 6 show in one, and that many story beats where taken out of Avatar the Last Airbender? And you mentioned similarities to Attack on Titan in season 8, do you think something similar is happening?

As a quick disclaimer, I don’t intend for this to specifically be a response to hbomerguy’s vid. I only watched it once and would need to re-familiarize myself with his sections on AtLA in order to actually comment on his arguments. However, just regarding those general similarities and my own comment about AoT, I do think “something is happening,” though not anything inherently negative. The fandom tends to see one very good show (AtLA), one struggling show (RWBY), find any common ground between them, and then make claims that RWBY is unsuccessfully stealing from its better written predecessors. But these moments of common ground are, frankly, incredibly broad. The sort of commonalities you could find between any long-running shows of somewhat similar genres. As an example of how meaningless this is, I’ve seen claims that: 

Weiss is a ripoff of Zuko because of her scar, daddy issues, and breaking from that toxic family environment 

Cinder is a ripoff of Zuko because of the fire abilities and fans’ assumption that she may get a redemption arc, taking that secondary antagonist and making her an unlikely ally 

Adam is a ripoff of Zuko because of his branded face and bad boy attitude, except he was killed off before he could ever get his redemption arc

So wait, they’re all Zuko? 

You see how we can take any somewhat similar writing choice and map it onto another character with the same somewhat similar writing choice, making the claim that they’re really just a worse version of them? Zuko is such a cultural icon at this point that his influence is assumed to be everywhere, making it impossible for creators to reference any of his distinctive traits now without drawing comparisons. You use fire magic? You’re Zuko. Injured face in any way? Zuko. Problems with your father? Zuko. Edgy attitude? Zuko. Redemption arc? Zuko! It’s inescapable, in the same way that every fantasy story with war and political schemes is now labeled the next Game of Thrones ripoff. At some point we have to acknowledge that these traits are just that: traits any character can have without being a “rip off” of one that came before them. Unless we want to say that from here on out no one can be written with one of those traits again or, heaven forbid, two or more at the same time. This happened with Todoroki from My Hero Academia and  — you guessed it  — Zuko. Horikoshi has stated at least twice that the similarities are a coincidence, a reminder that it is possible for two distinct creators to conceive of a child with fire powers who has an abusive dad and a scar on his face... especially given that it’s more likely a creator will choose a father to be the abuser and, if you want to show that abuse in a horrifying way, burning their face is the easiest, visual cue! But because AtLA was such a success, fans are inclined to believe that anyone who does something similar, whether successfully or not, is just trying to hitch a ride on the cash train. 

Which isn’t to say that RWBY hasn’t drawn inspiration from other media (it’s literally based on well known fairy tales...) or even that the crew isn’t knowingly trying to recreate successful story beats (which at a certain point would just be using tropes, archetypes, etc.) What I am saying is that I’m wary of these “RWBY is just AtLA only worse” takes because it’s clearly... not. They are two very distinct shows. For every similarity we can point to, we can point to another two differences, as well as a third text that does the same basic thing, because that’s just how genres work. When I say something like “RWBY is 6 shows in one” I mean it as, “RWBY has too much going on and can’t settle on a single theme/message/genre to work towards,” not “RWBY looks like these six other shows in certain ways and that’s bad.” I actually wish I hadn’t brought up AoT in the recap, just because it’s clearly been confusing for readers. I meant it simply as a personal reaction: “This makes me think of a similar moment in AoT where I, as an individual, lost interest because of how uncomfortable the story now made me. Sure hope the same thing doesn’t happen with RWBY,” not as a condemnation like, “RWBY is stealing AoT’s plot points!” 

Basically, proving that a story has “taken” beats/character traits from another story is incredibly hard to prove and I’m personally not inclined to hurl that as an accusation lightly, not when stories naturally overlap as they do. If that were the case, then any future character we see with a scythe will have been “stolen” from RWBY... never mind that it’s a semi-common fantasy/anime weapon with a long history attached to it, well before RWBY’s time, and this hypothetical new character will, inevitably, be their own person, even if we can spot some other similarities between them an Ruby (they have red in their wardrobe, gradient hair, a bubbly attitude, a dead mom, etc.) 

So the only thing(s) I’d say that’s going on is: 

RWBY is a show already built on a certain level of homage/transformation 

Stories, especially stories belonging to the same genre(s), will naturally overlap in many ways 

RWBY is thus indeed like other shows... but so is every other show in existence. Its problem is more that it can’t settle and successfully develop any one idea 

Despite all this, the fandom (justifiably) frustrated with RWBY tends to find one or two broad-stroke similarities with a well written show and go, “RWBY is just trying to steal from ____ and can’t even do it well,” but that’s both inaccurate and a huge simplification of what’s going on 

[scarlet--wiccan]

hi! I hope this isn’t a dumb question or something you get a lot (i tried searching your blog to see if you’d answered it before so sorry if it is) but I’ve often wondered how billy (and tommy) are Romani when I’ve always thought it was believed that Rebecca and Jeff Kaplan were Billy’s biological parents? So wouldn’t he be the same race as them? And that the twin’s “souls” were just from Wanda’s and Visions kids, any explanation if you can would be super appreciated thank you!!!

I'm going to break this down in two parts-- first, what happened in canon, and what the text indicates about Billy and Tommy's nature; second, what this means for the characters in a meta sense, and I how I think readers and writers alike should approach the twins' relationship with Wanda and each other.

Wanda conceived twin boys with her then husband, the Vision, through a feat of magic which is, I believe, the earliest example of her apparent "reality warping" abilities. Much like her other instances of reality warping, however, this was an exceptional circumstance in which Wanda had become a vessel for magic powers greater than those she ordinarily possesses-- in this case, the combined power of six hundred and sixty-six witches. She only held that power for a moment, but it was long enough for her to make a a wish-- that she might start a family with her otherwise infertile partner. Wanda discovered that she was pregnant not long after, and the next nine months went off more or less without a hitch, ending with the birth of two healthy, seemingly ordinary baby boys-- Thomas and William. Although the Vision is considered to be their father, the children were, biologically, born of Wanda and Wanda alone, and take after her in every respect.

The children died tragically only a few years later, when they were still very young, destroyed by the demon Mephisto and his servant, Pandemonium. In her grief and desperation, Wanda sought out Doctor Doom, who helped her perform a ritual which would make her a conduit for something he called the "Life Force", so that she may use it to restore her children. This overwhelming power, combined with manipulation and gaslighting at the hands of her so-called allies, led to the catastrophic breakdown that we see in Avengers Disassembled and House of M. Once again, the reality warping that Wanda performs is the product of outside forces, and the results are unpredictable at best. Although she didn't realize it at the time, Wanda did succeed in resurrecting her twins, but rather than reconstituting their original forms, she caused them to be retroactively reincarnated, essentially making it so that they'd already been born instead of having to reform them. This is why Billy and Tommy are way older than they should be-- their current lives actually overlap with their originals. Billy, as a teenager, even met Wanda shortly before the Life Force incident.

So, it is true that the Kaplans and Shepherds are Billy and Tommy's biological parents, respectively, which is to say that Rebecca Kaplan and Mary Shepherd physically carried and gave birth to them. There's no indication that anything strange or supernatural happened during those pregnancies, but it is confirmed in Children's Crusade that the babies in question were reincarnations of the Scarlet Witch's lost sons. While there is a lot of talk about the "transmigration of souls" in Children's Crusade, there are also numerous indications that the twins are genetic duplicates of the original William and Thomas. We know that they are physically identical to each other, coloring aside, and other characters observe, on separate occasions, that they resemble both Wanda and Erik. Billy and Tommy sharing Wanda and Pietro's powers is frequently brought up as evidence of their relationship, and, at the time, the Maximoffs were canonically mutants, which means that their powers were genetic. If their powers are evidence of anything, they're evidence of a genetic connection. All of this is to say that, while the Shepherds and Kaplans are their birth families, Wanda is also their birth mother--the two incarnations are genetically, biologically continuous, not just spiritually continuous.

The cool thing about comics is that we can accept both of these things as true, even if that doesn't make any scientific sense. The manner in which Billy and Tommy were reincarnated was unconventional, even by fantasy standards, and it's basically a retcon of a retcon, written by somebody who might not have had a solid grasp on the Marvel timeline. It's messy, but anyone who reads cape comics needs to be good at suspending disbelief.

—

So, I usually look at Billy and Tommy's heritage and identity in one of two ways-- taken very literally, they each have three biological parents, and we should view them in a way which reflects all parts of that parentage; taken as a more of a metaphor, their origin is basically an adoption story. Wanda lost her kids as a young mother, and they were adopted by different families and reached out to her as young adults.

The neat thing is that Wanda, through Erik, is also Ashkenazi, so you don't have to lose or change any part of who the kids are to embrace their relationship with her. I'm not erasing any part of Billy's heritage by making Wanda his birth mother-- he is Jewish, and was raised in America by a Jewish family, but he also has Central European Roma ancestry.

It shouldn't require very much imagination to envision somebody with more than one ethnic background, especially since these communities do intersect and have shared history. Mutants and magic and reincarnation don't exist, at least not like this, but Romani people exist. Mixed kids exists. Adopted kids exist. This is a fantasy story, but those fantasy elements don't have to preclude any of the things I just described from existing, or from being visible, not unless we willfully interpret it as such. Remember, this is fiction. Fiction doesn't have to erase real groups of people who inhabit real parts of the world and were part of real history-- that is a choice that we make as real people who create or consume media.

There's a lot which could be said about the parameters of Romani identity, and what it means to have gadje parents, or be generationally removed from one's culture and community of origin, the way that Billy and Tommy are. I'm not the right person to explain that stuff, and I don't think it's necessary information for outsider consumption, at least not in this context. What I will say is that many members of displaced and diasporic communities can attest to having gaps in their family trees and disruptions in their cultural lineage, especially in the generations following events such as the Shoah or the Porajmos. For me, that's what Billy and Tommy represent, because that's who I am. I deserve to have space here, but more than that, I want people who care about these characters to care about the history they represent and be motivated to learn more and do better as allies, even if it is only within the sphere of pop culture. And part of that is looking at questions like these ^ and challenging the patterns of misrepresentation and erasure that many, many people in this fandom uphold. I'm extremely grateful to you, Anon, for approaching me so politely, doing your own research, and challenging your own conceptions. That's literally the only reason I was motivated to write all of this. I hope it's legible and that y'all get something out of it.

[tcm]

Paul Henreid: Actor, Director, Father By Susan King

Who was the most romantic actor during the Golden Age of Hollywood? For me, it was Paul Henreid. He was tall-6’3”-handsome, with a gorgeous Austrian accent and a nobility and intelligence that could sweep women off their feet. Like that iconic scene in NOW, VOYAGER (‘42) where he lights two cigarettes at once giving one to Bette Davis; or when he utters the words “if I were free, there would be only one thing I’d want to do – prove you’re not immune to happiness. Would you want me to prove it, Charlotte? Tell me you would. Then I’ll go. Why, darling, you are crying.”

And this exchange with Rick (Humphrey Bogart) in his most famous role as the noble resistance leader Victor Laszlo in the Oscar-winning classic CASABLANCA (‘42):

Rick: “Don't you sometimes wonder if it's worth all this? I mean what you're fighting for.”

Victor: “You might as well question why we breathe. If we stop breathing, we'll die. If we stop fighting our enemies, the world will die.”

But Henreid was so much more than those two roles. He was dashing and sexy as a pirate in the 1945 Technicolor swashbuckling adventure THE SPANISH MAIN, he gave a complex and haunting performance as the mentally troubled composer Robert Schumann in SONG OF LOVE (‘47) and proved he could be a wonderfully vile film noir bad guy in HOLLOW TRIUMPH (‘48).

He also survived the blacklist, directed numerous episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, as well as the delicious thriller DEAD RINGER (‘64) with Davis. Even before he came to Hollywood, Henreid made his U.S film debut in the terrific romantic war drama JOAN OF PARIS (‘42); he had been a star on the Vienna stage as a member of the legendary Max Reinhardt’s theater company and also appeared in films. He was offered a movie contract with UFA in Berlin with the caveat that he join the National Socialist Actors Guild of Germany. Henreid turned down the offer.

Henreid went to England where he earned good reviews on the London stage as Prince Albert in 1937 in Victoria Regina. Though he played a sympathetic German in GOODBYE, MR. CHIPS (‘39), he was typecast generally in Nazi roles such as in Carol Reed’s classic NIGHT TRAIN TO MUNICH (‘40). He even played an odious German consul in his first Broadway show Elmer Rice’s Flight to the West in 1940. Then came Hollywood. And a name change from Von Hernreid to Henreid.

He was 84 when he died in 1992.

I recently chatted via e-mail with his daughter Monika Henreid, an actress/writer/director who is currently working on a documentary about her father.

You always talk so lovingly about your father on social media. What was he like as a husband, father and friend?

My parents were in love…really in love. They were best friends, confidants, colleagues for almost 60 years. So, my guess is, he was a wonderful husband!

He was a hands-on father. He invested time and money to make sure I had all the arts, sports and education a growing girl needs. He always asked how the day went, what I did, what did I enjoy, what did I learn. He was willing to help with or review homework. When my mother didn’t want to attend events, meaning premieres or films, ballets, operas, concerts, etc., I was fortunate enough to be his date.

As a friend to others, he was devoted. Friendship meant a lot to him. It wasn’t always easy to separate real friends from the ‘Hollywood’ type friends. But once he knew, through trial and error and behavior, he was a great person to have as a friend.

Was it difficult, albeit, dangerous for your parents to leave Austria for England?

My father had a successful stage career in Vienna and, because of his reputation, had the opportunity to do a play in London. After that play, he returned to the Viennese stage and some film. When it was time to really leave because of the political situation, he had another offer in London. That allowed for a good structure, but they were scared for the families on both sides. Eventually, most of my mother’s family moved from Austria, but my father’s stayed. My mother did have numerous interactions with the Gestapo, but she was smart and charming and always released without incident.

How was your father discovered by Hollywood? When NIGHT TRAIN TO MUNICH was released in New York City, my father was appearing in the Elmer Rice play Flight to the West on Broadway. Simultaneous double whammy. He was very visible and got a lot of press. Good press! He said a lot of scouts and agents came around, but Lew Wasserman made the move to Hollywood possible. Lew became my father’s agent and later, my godfather. 

He made so many classic films in 1942, what was that like for him to become a Hollywood star so quickly? He had already achieved ‘stardom’ in Austria and England, so I don’t think it was that difficult. He never talked about it at home. I think it was more the Hollywood lifestyle and the American way culturally that was jolting. Did he enjoy being under contract to Warner Bros.? He was happy to be working and felt secure with the studio system contract, but he wanted some control over his projects. He was always interested in more challenging character parts, so was quickly tired of being pigeonholed as the handsome, romantic leading man. He took SPANISH MAIN to Jack Warner who turned it down. So, he went back to his first Hollywood studio RKO, where it was made. He was suspended a number of times [at Warner Bros.] because he refused to do ‘crap’ scripts and soon learned he really preferred his independence. Your father was one of many actors and directors including Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall and John Huston, who went to Washington, D.C. in 1947 to oppose the HUAC investigation into communism in Hollywood. Did his support lead to him being blacklisted? Absolutely. He was immediately blacklisted by all the Hollywood studios. Offers stopped right away. He talked to his agent and was told what the studio reaction was. He couldn’t believe it! And there were no longer invitations to lunch or dinner from the ‘Hollywood friends.’ Luckily, he could work for independent producers and in England and Europe. 

Your dad was removed from the blacklist when he became a director in the 1950s on the classic TV anthology Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Had he been good friends with Hitch? His friendship was with [producer] Joan Harrison, Hitch’s ‘right hand man.’ Had your father wanted to direct before he joined the series? He was a very ‘educated’ artist. He went through all the rigors of the drama school in Vienna and graduated qualified as a professional. Directing was just an extension of his training and experience. He was a man who loved to be in charge in any way. It was his nature-so a rather organic move when the first opportunities as a director or a producer presented themselves. Would you talk about his bond with Bette Davis? They were so wonderful in NOW, VOYAGER and DECEPTION (‘46), and he directed her in a Hitchcock episode as well as the fun thriller DEAD RINGER. He and Bette were friends, colleagues, flirts and best of adversaries. They respected each other and were capable of pushing each other’s buttons. There was a tremendous trust and so, we get these wonderful performances from both of them. He was a wonderful director because he understood the actor. I should say that my mother was included in the friendship. She was also creative, smart and talented and often contributed to make that duo a trio. He directed you in DEAD RINGER. What was that experience like? Great. I was fortunate enough to have that experience a number of times. We were really good about keeping the job and the home life separated. Work was work. Home was home. There was an expectation of excellence, but that was an everyday experience. He was a bit of a perfectionist but then, so am I. He didn’t push or shove but rather guided. Ask anyone he worked with how calm and gentle he was. You may not be able to answer this question! But what is the favorite film of your dad’s? That’s difficult to answer! My favorite film is THE SPANISH MAIN because it’s most like HIM – smart, athletic, funny, thoughtful, charming, daring, gorgeous. As far as acting talents go, a toss-up or mixture of SONG OF LOVE, DECEPTION and HOLLOW TRIUMPH.

[mk-wizard]

Another Top 10 Reasons TF Needs to Change its Status Quo

After making this list, I realised 10 reasons are not enough and that alone is telling. After some thought, I realised there are many reasons though these are the ones that are most important as to why Transformers needs to change its status quo.

1- Proper representation that is respectful and with the times matters. - Did you know that Jazz is so far the only confirmed Transformer of colour and every damn time he is used, he’s a stereotype of a black person? Did you also know that even though everyone knows Knockout from Transformers Prime is gay, the writers denied it by denying that Transformers don’t have genders or orientations even though it has been confirmed that they do since Beast Wars? Also, the first openly “oriental” Transformers are a little ridiculous to look at it. Windblade looks like a geisha girl with hair and make up to match. Then we have Drift who looks and acts like a stereotypical overly stern samurai. And let’s not forget Transformers Animated Ratchet who is another stereotypical old man character who is predictably grouchy, not fun, anti-social, borderline ageist and has PTSD. I hate being politically correct, but as a progressive and open minded person, it’s getting a bit ridiculous that the writing still treats the times like it is the 1980s in which every type of character is a stereotype of itself. Write characters naturally and don’t be afraid to make diversity a natural thing without extremism in culture, colour or anything. And that thing that the writers said about Knockout was outright offensive. Why create a character who is gay if you’re going to force him to stay in the closet? And what really stinks about that low blow move is that Knockout is NOT a stereotype of what he is and not everything is about him being gay. He is a well written fleshed out character. Transformers has to move on from the 1980s and accept diversity with open arms respectfully.

2- Children do not follow a status quo when they play with the Transformer toys. - Here’s a secret that’s not a secret at all, people. When kids play with their toys, they don’t always make them act the way they are “supposed” to. When I was a girl, I used to pretend Barbie was a superhero and sometimes, when I played with Transformers, I didn’t always have them fighting. Sometimes, I used to pretend the Transformers would do regular stuff like go out, visit friends and stuff. I even used to know someone online whose daughter pretended Arcee was married to one of the Seekers (I don’t recall which one) and played house with them with other bots acting as their kids and neighbours. If kids don’t follow a status quo and are open to different settings when playing with the Transformers, they are going to be open to shows/movies/comics that don’t follow a status quo. In fact, I think it they would love it.

3- We need more movies and specials like Bumblebee. - In other words, films that showcase a fan favourite to give them their own backstory and character development which answers a lot of the questions fans have. Even if they are just straight to Blu-Ray or Netflix movies. I mean, DC and Marvel has tons of made for TV only animated movies and they’re great. I would love to see a movie that showcases Prowl, Arcee or tells us Megatron’s origin story.

4- A prequel of Transformers is worth telling. - Beyond short mini comic series, we have never delved into the origin of Megatron, Optimus or how the entire war began. All we know is that in the beginning, Megatron’s intentions were noble, but then went bad and he ruined Cybertron, so the Autobots rebelled. Transformers War for Cybertron attempts to give us a prequel, but it’s not quite one. It’s still a story about the war, but in the earlier phase while it was still happening on Cybetron only. Give us a real prequel. Please.

5- There are confirmed bad Autobots and it’s high time we treated them like villains properly. - Devcon is a bounty hunter who is Autobot by faction, but he doesn’t follow the Autobot values or any morals as he is just concerned with getting paid, and he has been known to do heinous things just to get a buck. Then there is Repugnus who hence his name, is the kind of guy who will disgust you because he is sadistic, he has no honour, he cheats, he fights dirty and has been discharged multiple times from the army for taking things too far. And for the record, the Decepticons won’t have him in their ranks because even they think he’s too distasteful. I think it would be interesting and good writing to showcase these two as reoccurring villains who even face consequences like villains instead of “pardoning” them just because they are Autobots.

6- Does Optimus have to be the Prime in every series? - Seriously, this formula is getting old. Even Robots In Disguise snuck Optimus in as Prime and it was supposed to be Bumblebee’s time to shine. Then there was Beast Wars who had an Optimus as a leader too. You don’t even have to kill Optimus! Just have a different group of bots with a different leader. Star Trek does that with every different series and it’s great for it. And get creative with the settings through that: exploration, repairing Cybertron, politics, home life, etc.

7- Make different versions of the same character DIFFERENT. - Transformers Armada always stood out to me as a series because it was the one series where Starscream was not only not concerned with overthrowing Megatron, he was the complete opposite! He was loyal to Megatron and just wanted his appreciation, and above all else, Starscream was a good guy. In fact, a lot of characters were very different from their moulds. Maybe we should do this more often. Make an Optimus who is not very nice, make a Megatron who is empathetic, etc. If you’re going to put out a new story and make the characters look different, why not make them different on the inside too? I think that would be fun.

8- Transformers is in fact alienating new fans by keeping the status quo. - A lot of the suggestions I am making are not from me a lot. A lot of fans especially the newer ones are begging for fresh new ideas, but for the most part, a large majority of Transformers’ media is just Autobots vs. Decepticons or something like it. If you keep ignoring the suggestions of new fans, you will cease having new fans.

9- It is ok for characters to fall in love and be in love. - If there is one thing that Beast Wars did right, it was incorporating romance into the storytelling. And it did it beautifully. A huge chunk of Blackarachnia’s character development was thanks to falling in love and with a great guy above all else. Moreover, it didn’t stop her, her boyfriend or anyone around them from being badass, goofy and going on with life in other ways that were not romantic. I also want to add that it is important for kids to see all of that so they can learn that love is not yucky. And that for most grown ups, falling in love and starting a family is a good thing and an adventure within itself worth taking. And more importantly, you don’t stop being you just because you’re married and have kids. Yes, some people don’t want to marry or have kids, but keeping everyone childfree and alone is just as unnatural and unrealistic as having them all get hitched and multiply. Besides, it has been confirmed that Transformers can be in love, be male or female and reproduce like we do. There’s no point of hiding it.

10- Transformer epilogues are worth telling. - Just as a prequel is worth telling, so is an epilogue. We sort of get that with Rescue Bots Academy after Transformers Prime and Robots In Disguise, but what about other series? What happened after G1 and how did the peace treaty between Autobots and Decepticons go down? Did it work out? How did characters adapt to peace? How did they deal with trauma and PTSD? What was life like for the civilians after? Were the problems that spawned the war fixed? Do Autobots and Decepticons even live together on Cybertron? Personally, I would love to see all of that as a huge fan of Steven Universe Future and Picard. Just because one story ends doesn’t mean another can’t begin. I think it would be a lot of fun and also, it would give closure to many Transformer series that never got any.

Do any of you have good reasons you can all think of as to why Transformers needs to change its status quo?

[kingfallsamtranscripts2]

King Falls AM Episode Twenty-One: Swimmin’ With Kingsie

King Falls AM Transcript

Episode 21: Swimmin’ With Kingsie

Run time: 23:38

First Aired: Mar 1, 2016

Summary: Reverend Xavier Hawthorne unveils his newest plan for King Falls and the boys get a worrisome call from Lake Hatchenaw.

(For a list of characters and references from this episode see the end of this post)

[King Falls AM theme plays, transitioning into mildly creepy piano music]

Commercial: Sometimes in life things don’t go as we have all planned. Sometimes in life it’s easy to get discouraged when plans change. Do you get discouraged when plans change? We don’t. I’m Leland Hill of the Science Institute. Perhaps you’ve heard of us because of the help we do for families and people in need. Locally, globally, internationally. Or maybe you’ve only heard of us because of the suppressive media attacking myself, Science Institute founder Roland Northwoods, and other Science Institute alumni. Or maybe you’re just lost and looking for help in the dark and scary world. Possibly your inner consciousness is reaching out into the unknown, looking for answers. Why are we here? What’s the meaning of life? Why is a medium drink the size of a small bucket at fast food restaurants? Whatever you seek, just know, the Science Institute can help you. We want to help you. We will help you. We are here, King Falls. 

[King Falls theme plays]

Sammy: The Science Institute? Really?

Ben: Keeps the lights on, Sammy.

Sammy: You’d think they could get one of their Hollywood brainwashed pals to at least read their propaganda instead of the ghoulish Leland Hill.

Ben: He does give me the willies but he is also paying the bills!

Sammy: Absolutely! And I’m sure the advertisement budget he’s paying Merv is a drop in the bucket compared to that old compound they’re finishing on Old Bombing Range Road.

Ben: I can see that you are trying your hardest to stay on their good side, Sammy, but let’s stay on track here.

Sammy: (laughs) You got it, we absolutely can, and should, keep it on the rails, I’m sorry. 

Ben: Ooh, that’s the hot-line right on time. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the good Reverend Xavier Hawthorne calling in to tell us about his new venture as well as hopefully taking calls from you lovely listeners!

Sammy: New venture? Did God start paying less?

Ben: (Clearing his throat) Good evening, Reverend Hawthorne! Thank you so much for working us into your busy schedule.

[Reverend Hawthorne dramatic organ intro music]

Deacon Reggie: Ladies and gentlemen of King Falls, please put your hands together, get those hands a clapping, like the girls asses be clappin’ up in the club, put' em together for the one, the only, Reverend… Xavier… get right with Goooood, Hawthorne! Deacon Reggie, out! (Sound of a high five) Go get ‘em, brother.

Hawthorne: (very quietly) Oh Deacon Reggie, thank you so much for that lovely introduction! Appreciate you, fam!

Sammy: Hi, Reverend Hawthorne… and Deacon Reggie.

Hawthorne: Reggie can’t hear ya, he’s going back to his bunk on the bus. He’s got the gift of God though, don’t he?

Ben: That he does! How are you doing this evening, Reverend?

Reverend: Blessed to be here, Benjamin, Samuel. Gentlemen, how are you doing tonight? I said, how are you doing?

Ben: We’re… we’re well.

Sammy: (Laughing) Not too shabby. H-how are you?

Reverend: Very well, very well indeed. I’m sorry it took so long to get this calling to happen. I’ve been a busy, busy man of God these days.

Ben: Indeed you have, Reverend. Is the tent revival business still going well?

Reverend: Where there are sinners there is always a need for salvation. And where there is salvation, there is Reverend Xavier get right with God Hawthorne’s stomping out the devil revival. You got to stomp out that nasty devil! Just stomp him out!

Sammy: You know, you should have that on t-shirts.

Reverend: Already do! Nineteen ninety-nine each or two for forty dollars. You have a keen eye for marketing, Samuel, a keen eye.

Sammy: Reverend Hawthorne, there was mention of you in the King Falls Gazette a week or two back about you possibly settling down in King Falls. Is there any merit to that claim?

Reverend: Now Samuel, I hate to speak out of turn, but let me just say that good things come to those who wait. And good old Xavier has been a waiting a long time to find a parish to call his own. And glory be I think we might have struck a deal at the King Falls First Old Baptist Church!

Ben: Oh wow, so that would-

Reverend: Can I get an amen, brothers?

Ben: A...men?

Reverend: Our prayers have been answered! Just as soon as the check clears the bank…

Sammy: So you signed a deal that would keep the road show-

Reverend: Ah! Stomping out the devil revival!

Sammy: Stomping out the devil revival with a permanent home in King Falls?

Reverend: Well, we’d still tour. That sneaky devil is always popping his head up where he shouldn’t. The ultimate game of wack-a-mole. And you’d better believe we’ll be there to whack him down every time! Every time, devil! Whack-whack-whack!

Sammy: But…

Reverend: But yes, we will have the church as our home base. Praise be!

Ben: Isn’t the First Old Baptist Church a little… what’s a good way to say this… 

Reverend: Oh it’s a sinkhole waiting to happen! But that’s where we come in, Benjamin. We’re going to raise some money from the good folks of King Falls, and we’re going to build that cheeple steeple into the megachurch that the Holy Trinity, that the town of King Falls, and Xavier Hawthorne deserves! 

Sammy: Huh.

Ben: A megachurch? Those are like stadium size churches, right? How will that ever fit on the corner lot First Baptist is on now?

Reverend: Where there is a God’s will, well don’t you know, there's an entrepreneurial way. Eclesiastes 1, 5 through 7.

Sammy: Now Reverend, for those residents who don’t go to church, but would still like to know that they’re helping an institution that will help out their fellow man-

Reverend: I hear the doubt in you, Samuel! And it is strong. And it is scary. I don’t want to go Yoda on you, but you don’t want none of the dark side funk on your everlasting soul, son!

Sammy: Right. Back to the question, I’m assuming that the church will be actively putting money and good will back into the town. Is that correct?

Reverend: You’d better believe it, Sammy. But there’s no other reason to do it than to help out all of God’s children.

Sammy: Some more than others? 

Reverend: We’ll be doing outreach programs, food for the needy, clothes for the poor. We’re working on a deal to rent out the old dilapidated putt-putt place right next to the church as well.

Ben: Oh man! Sir Putts-a-Lot? That was the place to go back when I was in middle school!

Reverend: Sadly, I don’t think it’s seen many good years since then. But we’re going to try to refurbish and reopen as a money making venture for the folks, like you’re speaking of, Sammy, that don’t do church. Now, we’ll be Christian themed, but it’ll still be fun for the non-believers.

Ben: Oh man, I can’t wait. Sammy, the eight hole at Sir Putts-a-Lot was-

Reverend: (Loudly) Glory Holes!

Ben and Sammy: What?!

Reverend: Glory Holes- mini golf for a mighty God. We opened one in Tuscaloosa back in 2013. It’s a proverbial gold mine for God.

Ben: Okay, well that’s… that’s an interesting choice of words.

Sammy: (laughing) I can’t wait to go to Glory Holes! Do you have an approximate grand opening date? You know, that’s something that should be marked on every calendar in town. I’d like to mark it on every calendar in town, actually.

Reverend: As I’ve said, checks have to clear, hands need to be shaken, and prayers need to be answered. We’ll see, but it should be sooner than later, boys.

Sammy: I had questions, but you know what… I can’t follow that. 

Ben: Reverend, would you mind sticking around and taking some calls with us?

Reverend: Absolutely! Anything to spread the good word and the gospel.

Sammy: You heard Xavier’s story, kids, now let’s hear yours. Give us a call at the studio, (424)279-358.

Ben: Uh, before we go to the phone lines! Does God ever, like, intervene in matters of the… heart?

Sammy: Ben.

Ben: You know what I mean. Rev, like, if a boy likes a girl, but the boy made a real righteous ass- excuse my language- out of himself to save the girl from another boy’s affections… creepy, creepy affections?

Sammy: This sounds familiar, Ben. Is this anybody we know?

Ben: I’m asking for a friend.

Sammy: Right.

Ben: So, Reverend, I- I don’t really know how this works, like, if my friend, uh, prays really hard will he-

Sammy: Tilt the odds in his favor.

Ben: Exactly!

Reverend: You know, Benjamin, I think it starts with having a personal relationship with your lord and savior, Jesus Christ, and then feeling it out from there.

Sammy: I think it works for wars and football teams all the time. Give it a shot, Ben.

Ben: Can’t hurt, right?

Sammy: The phone lines are lit up, Buddy.

Ben: Right, uh, right. Heh, we can talk about that later, Rev.

Sammy: Lucky line one, you’re on King Falls AM with the Reverend Xavier get right with God Hawthorne.

Caller: Hey, Sammy. Hey, Ben. Hey, Rev.

Sammy: Ron Begley! How are you doing, sir? Long time no talk!

Ron: Doing just fine, Sammy! Just fine!

Ben: Do you have a question for Reverend Hawthorne?

Ron: Sure thing. Now, Reverend Hawthorne, what would the going rate be to rent old Glory Holes for a private putting party? I got an ex-life partner Bruce looking for a place to get hitched to his fiance, Larry, who happens to be a golf pro.

Reverend: Whoa, now!

Ron: Hello?

Reverend: I’m sorry, Bruce and Larry?

Ron: Yeah! Do you know ‘em? They’re all kinds of religious.

Reverend: You know, I have to get with our finance manager. There’s a lot of moving pieces and- what was it- do y’all hear that? It’s God. He’s a calling me. I got him on the spiritual speed dial. I think I’m losing you, fellas. Let’s chat about-

[The sound of a phone hanging up cuts off the rest of what the Reverend is saying.]

Ron: Hahaha, works every time.

Sammy: I’m guessing there is no Bruce or Larry. 

Ron: Hell yeah there is! And I really wanna rent out a putt-putt place named Glory Holes for the reception, but I didn’t figure that stuffed pudgery would talk about it.

Sammy: I think you’re correct.

Ben: How’ve you been, Ron?

Ron: Uh I can’t complain. But I do anyway. All’s well at the bait shop.

Sammy: And how is, uh… you know.

Ben: Just say it, Sammy!

Ron: You can do it, Sammy! How is who?

Sammy: Oh fine! How is Kingsey the lake monster doing?

Ron: All right! That’s what I’m talking about.

Ben: You did it, buddy. I’m proud of you!

Sammy: Oh, whatever. Saying is not believing, guys.

Ron: One important step closer. She’s doing just fine, by the way. But I gotta tell you, I’ve seen Kingsie more now than I ever have before. Seems like anytime I’m on the lake Kingsie comes right on up. No fear in her at all. It’s the damnedest thing.

Ben: That’s strange, Ron. Wasn’t it just a few months back that you had people out on the lake hunting her almost?

Ron: Yeah I don’t get it. You’d think she’d be more scared of the boat and the people but I’ve seen her visiting boats with my own eyes! I don’t like it.

Sammy: So no more trouble with trespassers, then?

Ron: Not a lick of trouble! I fixed those lousy poaching' sons of whores good!

Sammy: Do we even want to know?

Ron: Let’s just say I might have put some buckshot to some behinds!

Sammy: I’m not touching that one.

Ron: (laughs) That’s what he said.

Sammy: I don’t know if…

Ron: It works, Sammy! Trust me.

Sammy: I’ll just make a mental note not to be out on the lake looking for trouble.

Ben: So uh if you didn’t have a question for the Reverend, what’s going on then, Ron?

Ron: What, a guy can’t call his radio buddies to chat? Isn’t this talk radio?

Ben: Of course! I’m just-

Ron: I’m just messing with you, Ben! I actually do have a topic of discussion for both of you. A bone to pick, if you will.

Sammy: Oh wow, let’s hear it!

Ron: Well it seems that damn near every time I turn on 660 AM you two ruffians are fighting with somebody or getting tossed out of public places. I’d be proud you boys are about to level up your man cards! But I’m a little offended you didn’t come to me for help.

Sammy: With the fighting and getting kicked out of places.

Ron: I’m only partially busting balls here, but it’s partially serious too. You fellas with your fighting, as hot as it may be, ain’t the best for you or us who like listening.

Ben: Let it be known, I was not fighting! I am not a fighter.

Sammy: No, you were sabatoshing and throwing hush puppies!

Ben: Whatever, it still wasn’t a fight!

Ron: Hell, I wouldn��t classify what Sammy the mirror was doing as fighting either, you have to land some strikes and grapples to be a fight! You gotta actually make your hand into a fist to be a fight! Looked like a springtime, fully clothed, roll in the hay! I’ve had dates rougher than that quote unquote fight.

Sammy: Well, uh, obviously, you know I let my emotions get the better of me and it went arye.

Ron: Oh, whatever, Sammy! Not everyone’s meant to be a warrior. What I’m trying to tell you both is you fellas just need to do your fighting over the radio airwaves. You keep the physicalities to the professionals! You’re a bright spot in a lot of people’s nights around here and we can’t have you getting thrown of the air for rabble rousing and half-assed MMAing the jackass mayor.

Sammy: I think I get what you’re saying and we appreciate it, Ron. Believe me we will keep fighting the good fight the only way we know how.

Ron: With your sweet little mouths.

Sammy: I was going to say minds, but sure.

Ron: Alright, fellas. I can hear my radio going off like a son of a b-(beep) in the shop. Better go see what kind of damn fool would be trying to get me in the middle of the night. Take it easy fellas.

[The phone hangs up]

Ben: He’s a trip.

Sammy: He’s something. Line nine you’re on with Sammy and Ben.

[Magical twinkling music starts]

Ben: Oh no, hang it up, Sammy!

Sammy: Wait, what is this?

Ben: Seriously dude, this is bad news. Just push the button and-

Sammy: Hello?

Caller: Oh hello!

Sammy: Hello? We’re here, you’re live with Sammy and Ben.

Ben: Come on!

Caller: Oh splendid! I do love listening to you two!

Ben: Oooh, hi, Gwendolyn.

Sammy: (Amused) You know this lady?

Ben: Unfortunately.

Gwendolyn: It’s Gwendolyn! You’re such a smart cookie, Ben Arnold. So unlike your trailer trash friend Troy!

Sammy: Whoa, ma’am! If you could please not address anybody like that, we’d appreciate it. Sorry, Troy.

Ben: Remember when I asked you to hang up?

Gwendolyn: (Sarcastically) Oh I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to offend your liberal sensibility! I’ll do my best to shackle my first amendment right to freedom of speech. We wouldn’t want to offend, now would we?

Sammy: Gwendolyn, was it?

Gwendolyn: Oh, it is, darling.

Ben: There’s more to her name, Sammy.

Gwendolyn: My, my, Ben I didn’t realize we were bringing proper titles into this conversation! How fancy. 

Sammy: Oh, like a duchess of York or a princess situation?

Gwendolyn: Well, you could say that.

Ben: (Clearing his throat) Gwendolyn the Racist Witch.

Gwendolyn: It’s like a choir of purebred school children singing when you say it like that, Ben. Now I do prefer Gwendolyn the Hateful, but…

Ben: But one shoe fits better than the other.

Sammy: Gwendolyn, if I may be so bold-

Gwendolyn: You may.

Sammy: Obviously I’m grasping most, if not all of your title, but I’m finding myself a little… hmm.

Ben: Sammy doesn’t believe in witches.

Sammy: That is correct.

Gwendolyn: How very sad! Were you an underprivileged child, Sammy? You sound at the very least like white middle class. Do you not know what a witch is?

Ben: Uh, no, he knows what witches are, he just doesn’t believe in them.

Gwendolyn: Well I don’t believe in Muslim presidents, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have one!

Ben: Ooh, told you to hang up, Sammy!

Sammy: Ma’am, I’m sorry, but if you don’t have a topic that isn’t-

Ben: Racist.

Sammy: Right. Then we’re going to have to let you go.

Gwendolyn: Oh, but I do have a topic, Sammy. I would never call in just to waste your resources like welfare on those-

Sammy: Gwendolyn! I’m not going to let you use this as a forum to spew venom and hatred! There are plenty of other AM radio stations that will let you do that, but we certainly will not.

Gwendolyn: Oooh, strong! Forceful! I like it! You have some aryan in you-

[The phone hangs up with another twinkling sound.]

Sammy: Nope! I tried, I just can’t do it.

Ben: Try living with that your entire childhood! She lived a block over from my mom. You should’ve heard the stuff she’d yell out at little league games!

Sammy: Is that where you learned most of your large vocabulary?

Ben: (Coughing) Hardly! No, uh, line two you’re on with Sammy and Ben.

[The sound of outside night noises (crickets and wind and frogs) begin]

Caller: Oh hiya, Ben. It’s Mr. Sheffield. 

Ben: Hey, Mr. Sheffield, how are you doing this evening?

Cecil: Oh I’m just swell. It’s just so good to hear a friendly voice. Let me ask you something, have you heard from Esther lately? I’ve been putting in those booty-calls but I haven't heard a thing back!

Ben: He isn’t talking about Esther Rollins, is he?

Sammy: Hi, Cecil, are you talking about Esther Rollins from Esther’s Sewing Corner?

Cecil: Ah, you betcha, bud!

Ben: We… I mean, he’s gotta know, right? She passed six months ago or so.

Another person in the background on the line: Damn it, can you hear me?

Sammy: I hate to be the one to tell you this-

Ben: Is that Herschel in the background?

Herschel: Hello!

Cecil: Oh, I know she passed, fellas! But she was still answering her secret number and moseying on over for the longest time!

Sammy: I- I’m sorry… what’s that, Cecil?

Herschel: Did you get those butternut f-(beep) on the phone yet, Cecil? Stop talking about banging a ghost! Is that the dumbass duo? Give me that!

Ben: Are you guys out together… looking for Esther?

Cecil: Oh no, I was just wondering about her and thought you boys were in the know and could help. Me and my best friend are out on the lake tonight and we’re fishing-

Herschel: Don’t tell ‘em, you no good penis wrinkle! This is Herschel F. Bomgardener’s find! Tryna take all my glory. Son of a (beep).

Cecil: I’m sorry. Hersch really wants to tell you guys something. Can you call me back though? About sweet old Esther...

Herschel: Oh Jesus, not one damn person in this town who wants to hear about Cecil Sheffield laying the old ghost post. I’m tired of hearing about it my damn self! You listening King Falls AM?

Sammy: Hi, Herschel.

Herschel: Well don’t sound so excited, Stevens. I’m just dropping the biggest old breaking news money shot all over your face. 

Ben: That’s an image! Uh, what can we do for you?

Herschel: Well for starters, how’s about kissing my ass? And don’t you take a tone!

Ben: There wasn’t a tone! I swear!

Herschel: I’ll never understand your generation. If I talked like that to my elders I’d never have made it past nine years of age! The damn factory foreman would have skinned my hide. 

Sammy: It sounded like Cecil was about to tell us something, and you mentioned breaking news? Is that correct?

Herschel: I’m getting to it! Damn it to hell, boys! Like I used to tell Edna; slow and steady wins the race. Better hurry up, though I’m about to fall asleep. 

Cecil: Hey, Herschel, I don’t think this is Kingsie...

Ben: Kingsie? Is something wrong with her?

Herschel: Do I look like doctor f-(beep) lake monster to you, Ben?

Sammy: What’s going on out there? I assume you two are out on Lake Hatchenaw? 

Herschel: That we are. Me and Cecil are out tonight trying out some new lewers. Real fancy stuff. 

Cecil: Hey, I’m sure this thing ain’t Kingsie, Hersch. 

Herschel: I f-(beep) heard you the first time, Cecil! Jesus Christ! Can’t you see I’m talking on the radio!

Cecil: Sorry, buddy.

Herschel: Ah if I had my gun I’d put that brain-dead dumbass out to pasture. Anywho… goddamn it, what the f-(beep) are we talking about? 

Ben: (Annoyed) You’re on the lake, testing lures.

Herschel: Right, uh, so we hit secret spots, and then, erm try to feel the Cecils out. And wouldn’t you know it, we found that old serpenty b-(beep) Kingsie, belly up.

Ben: What?! 

Herschel: Deader than Rock Hutchson’s affections for the ladies.

Ben: Oh man, I cannot believe that. This- This hurt. I gotta call Ron back.

Herschel: Ain’t no use calling that son of a b-(beep)! I was radioing on his bait shop the last twenty minutes to no avail! Figured he’d want to go out and say his goodbyes before Ray Chin comes out here and suzies her up real good.

Sammy: Ben, give Ron a call so he doesn’t hear about Kingsie like this.

Herschel: Ah she was a damn fine lake monster.

Cecil: (In the background) Herschel this ain’t Kingsie!

Herschel: Didn’t really mess with me and hecklewood, stayed out of my spots. I won’t miss her, but damn if I don’t salute her for knowing some boundaries. 

Cecil: Turn on your damn hearing aid! It’s not Kingsie!

Herschel: Oh, what now? I ain’t too old to dump you wrinkled ass right off the side of this boat.

Cecil: No! Give me the phone!

Sammy: Hey Ben, hold on a second.

Cecil: Hello? Is this Ben Arnold and his buddy? 

Herschel: (From the background) I let you have it you fardknocking old cuss. 

Sammy: You’re live, Cecil. Is what you found on the lake not Kingsie?

Herschel: Let me get a good look at this thing. Hey, shine the light over here, Cecil. Get a little closer.

Cecil: That light fell overboard in Kettleton Cove.

Herschel: G-(beep)-damn it! Watch your dirty cheating crumb catcher! You don’t know what kind of eavesdropping satellites are listening in to scout bots or the bass tourney. Mother f-(beep)!

Cecil: The light is gone, Herschel! Sorry.

Sammy: Fellas?

Herschel: Hey, this may not be Kingsie. Quit whistling f-(beep)-ing dixie and get us closer!

Sammy: It’s not Kingsie, Ben.

Ben: Ohhh thank goodness! What is it?

Herschel: Jesus, I think this is a dead body!

Sammy: It’s a dead body.

Ben: That’s much better than Kingsie… so young… WHAT?! Wait, what?! Again?!

Herschel: It’s all wrapped up in something. But it smells human to me. Pull over closer, Cecil. Jesus Christ, do I have to give you a haunted hanty to get closer to the g-(beep)-damn body?

Cecil: We’re going to go closer.

Sammy: Why don’t we let you guys go so you can call the sheriff’s office. 

Herschel: Eh, it’s so damn dark! Where’s my million candle lamp, you dumbass.

Ben: I’ll call the sheriff’s office. Where are you guys at on the lake?

Cecil: You know I can’t rightly tell you, Ben. Shhh, it’s a secret!

Ben: This is a little more important than the bass tournament, Mr. Sheffield!

Herschel: Don’t you tell ‘em! Tell those pansies to send the coppers to Begley’s. We’ll meet them there. Your big mouth has already broadcasted too much!

Ben: To Ron’s, got it. I’ll make the call, guys.

Cecil: Hey, what’s that noise? Do you hear that, Herschel?

Herschel: Sounds like they’re right over the treeline. We could shine the light if you hadn’t tossed it in the lake!

Cecil: Oh hush!

Herschel: Fifty nine ninety-nine at Sears and Roebuck. Don’t think you won’t replace it-

[There is a loud crashing sound like thunder]

Cecil: What the heck is that?!

Herschel: Well Charlie f-(beep)-ing foxtrot!

Sammy: What’s wrong, guys?

Cecil: Look at those lights… Oh, pretty colors… beautiful…

Sammy: Lights? Is it the UFOs?

Herschel: Gosh, those damn rainbow lights again. We’re not going to catch nary a f-(beep)-ing fish tonight. Son of a buttered up, biscuit eating b-(beep)!

[King Falls outro music and credits begin]

References:

Yoda: a fictional character from Star Wars known for his wisdom and fighting against the ‘dark side’

Glory holes: I’m sorry I’m not going to explain this one… If you’re over 18 feel free to look it up, if you are not please don’t.

MMA: Mixed martial arts

Rock Hutchson: A gay actor

Sears and Roebuck: department stores

Charlie foxtrot: military slang for a chaotic situation

Characters:

Sammy Stevens, Ben Arnold, Leland Hill, Deacon Reggie, Reverend Xavier Hawthorne, Ron Begley, Gwendolyn the Racist Witch, Cecil Sheffield, Herschel F. Bomgardener.

[sea-dukes-assistant]

Prince Philip Revealed: Chapter 17 - Diana

This one was...a lot.

I’ll be honest in that my only memory of Diana was hearing Sir Elton John singing “Candle In The Wind” as my ma watched the funeral on telly.  I was 11, so obviously I had fuck all concern.  I never knew who she was, why she was important, why people cared, or why my ma was even the slightest bit upset.

The Crown kinda explained it, but given how fucking stellar Peter Morgan’s penchant for facts are *cough*ballerinaladyneverhappened*cough,* I couldn’t really trust it.

“The relationship between Prince Philip and Lady Diana Spencer, whom he first encountered as a young child in the 1960s, evolved from affection to disappointment to total apathy.”  

Safe to say, that’s a pretty succinct summary, but the “why” and “how” it got that way was just..

First, let’s all agree that being set up from childhood to marry someone else’s kid is disturbing and it made me uncomfortable that Prince Charles’ parents were literally contemplating which girl to get him hitched to, like he’s a horse being put to stud (Danelle is this what it’s called when horses fuck?  IDK).  That’s some backwards shit and fuck sake why was it happening in modern times the fuck is this?

Anyway, the entire situation was fucked for a lot of reasons.  Here’s my breakdown:

Mr. and Mrs. Sea Duke - Again, looking to broker marriage similar to how their (the Queen’s, specifically) race horses are managed.  

Prince Charles - Arguably emotionally stunted, hung up on Camilla, doesn’t know what the fuck to do with himself, but wants to make Dad happy.  Proposes.  I don’t know his feels, so I won’t speculate.

Diana - naive af, hated royal life (aside from the attention and status) which she got little to no introduction to until after the fact , got sent into a frothing rage at any mention/sight of Camilla, seemed to live in her own warped reality, later turned on anyone trying to help her, specifically Sea Duke, deciding one day that she hated him.  Blabbed to the media and sold them her fanfiction.

The Queen - Aside from my first point, tried in vain to get her son and Diana to reconcile.  Nah, too little too late.  That hoss has bolted.

Sea Duke - IDK he didn’t necessarily “push” Charles to marry her, but was A Big Fan on the relationship and I guess Charles took that to mean “Dad wants me to marry her.”  Did his best to help without making it His Business.  When his advice was ignored, he quit an, true to his character, kinda went back to being the grumpy old man everybody knows him to be.  Didn’t understand why the Queen was trying so hard to get them to fix themselves, and as Diana’s media antics got worse, he got more pissed.  Did not like Dodi’s father, Mohamed Al-Fayed (for reasons not specified).  TBH, his entire personality is considered to be one big flaw.   🙄

Mohamed Al-Fayed - Made up the most ridiculous, asinine fanfction under oath about how Sea Duke plotted the whole thing, put a hit on his son and Diana carried out by MI6, and that Sir was a Nazi and needed to be sent back to Germany (binch he was Greek, the fuck).  And so that’s how all this conspiracy shit got to be “Truth.”  Anyway.  The folks doing the investigation were like, “Bro you’re out your mind there’s no evidence of any of that fuckery,” so Sea Duke was never called on to Explain Himself.  Mr. Al-Fayed can get fucked.

*deep breath*

[missjanjie]

Hold Me Tighter (Even Closer) | (7/?)

Title: Hold Me Tighter (Even Closer) Summary: A sequel to Hold Me Closer, Tiny Dancer. Brooke Lynn and Vanessa are back at NYU, but with new and improved positions. Brooke’s ready to start her career as a professor when, as fate would have it, she realizes her TA, Jackie, might have the hots for a student named Jan. The couple just might see it as a sign to give two new girls the love story they found in the same place. Word Count: ~2.9k (this chapter) / ~21k (total) Relationship(s): Branjie (Brooke Lynn Hytes/Vanessa Vanjie Mateo), Jankie (Jan Sport/Jackie Cox) Rating: E

read on ao3 | ko-fi

Chapter Summary: Tensions suddenly come to a head between Jan and Jackie, leading the two of them to handle the fallout in very different ways.

-

When Brooke Lynn walked into her classroom and saw Jackie already there, pacing back and forth, worry was her obvious, immediate reaction. “Penny for your thoughts?” she asked after clearing her throat to get her attention.

Jackie managed to stand still and lean against Brooke’s desk to catch her breath. “Have you seen Jan’s instagram story?”

“No,” she answered as she sat down at her desk, “because on principle I tend to avoid my students’ social media. Why?”

“Oh, so that’s where you draw the line?” she scoffed as she got her phone out and opened the app. “Here, look.”

Brooke took Jackie’s phone from her and opened Jan’s story. From what she could see, Jan had gone out the previous Saturday with some of her Heathers castmates – the girls playing the title characters, if she had to guess, considering each post was captioned with ‘#theheathers’. They were drinking and dancing, the whole thing appeared to be relatively innocuous. It was typical college girl behavior. “Okay… seems like a girls’ night out, what’s the issue?”

“Go to the next one.”

With a roll of her eyes, Brooke obliged. In the next story, the girls were dancing and grinding on each other to a techno beat. But then the camera zoomed in on Jan and Nicky sharing an innocent enough close-lipped peck, though Nicky’s hands were on Jan’s ass in a pointedly non-innocent manner. They shared another couple kisses, both of them giggling the whole time. “Is that it?” she asked as she handed the phone back to Jackie.

Jackie looked at her incredulously, mouth agape. “What do you mean ‘is that it’? Were we not watching the same clip?”

Brooke shrugged. “She went out with some friends, got drunk, and got handsy with one of them. I don’t see what the big deal is - she’s nineteen, this is how kids have fun.”

“So you would’ve been fine if it were Vanjie grinding and kissing on some pretty girl?”

“First of all,” she put a hand up to stop her, “Vanjie was already my girlfriend at this point, comparatively. Whereas Jan is a girl you’re fucking because you’re allergic to talking about how you feel about her. Second of all, we did have a run-in with jealousy, but that’s another story entirely,” Brooke answered. “But we wouldn’t have gotten past it if we didn’t know how to fucking communicate.”

Jackie looked down, feeling like a child being scolded, and sat at one of the student desks. “Will you tell me the jealousy story?” she asked, voice meek. She had always seen Brooke and Vanessa’s relationship as perfect, above reproach. Knowing that even they could have a bump in the road made her feel a bit better.

Brooke’s expression softened. “Sure. So, Vanj was doing this big dance competition, as was this other dancer from Julliard. And I mean this girl is all over her from day one, pissed me the hell off,” she recalled. She shook her head because looking back, the story felt a bit ridiculous to tell, but maybe that would help even more.

“Jump ahead to this Halloween party she throws and invites us to, and once again she’s all over my girl. But what got me was how Vanessa bought into it. I got pissed and left and she admitted she was only flirting with her because she liked the jealous, angry sex we had so much.”

“I don’t know what I expected,” Jackie admitted with the slightest hint of a laugh, “but it wasn’t that. How’d you guys get past it?”

“Vanessa made a very sweet, if not a bit corny gesture and it led to this romantic little reunion in the studio,” she concluded. “So, from there on out we made sure to talk about our feelings instead of leaving things up to chance by hoping we’ll guess what’s wrong with each other. See? Different situations entirely, but we didn’t solve it by avoiding tough conversations.”

Jackie groaned and hid her head on the desk. “I objectively know you’re right,” she conceded. “I’m gonna talk to her, I promise.”

Brooke gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. “You got this,” she said with confidence as she stood up. “Now look alive, class starts in five.”

“I got this,” Jackie repeated to herself before focusing her energy towards shifting into ‘teacher mode’. It was always something that provided a good, if not necessary, distraction. When she was being a teacher, her personal life faded into the background. Even Jan turned into another student in the class, and God knows that was a weight lifted from her.

And class did go off without a hitch, especially since she spent most of it doing paperwork while Brooke led the class. Teacher mode gave her focus, tunnel vision. In fact, she hardly said a word until after Brooke dismissed the students. Then she did speak. “Hey, Jan, can you hang back for a bit?”

Jan seemed surprised but nodded quickly. “Go ahead, I’ll catch up,” she said to Gigi before turning back to Jackie. “What’s up?” she asked, not noticing that Brooke had quietly slipped out of the room along with her classmates.

It was then that Jackie realized she hadn’t planned out what she was going to say. Why hadn’t she spent some of those ninety minutes doing something more useful than grading texts? She was mad at herself and anxiety began bubbling up inside of her. Improvising it was. “I… um… saw that you uploaded some videos from Saturday onto your story last night…”

“Oh yeah, I went out with the Heathers. It was a cute place, great cocktails,” Jan chirped as casually as she would discuss the weather. To the untrained eye, it seemed like she was truly oblivious to what could’ve bothered Jackie about what she posted.

But Jackie knew better. She knew Jan was a talented actress, that she’d had since last night (or even since Saturday) to prepare an answer and that, for lack of a better phrase, she was trying to bullshit her. “Don’t get cute, Jan. You know what I’m talking about. What’s going on with you and Nicky?”

Jan tilted her head. “I never tagged her or told you her name, how did you know it?”

Fuck. Jackie could’ve kicked herself for that. Evidently, improv wasn’t her strong suit, and on top of that, she was a terrible liar, leaving her with no choice. “I happened to be by the auditorium during one of your rehearsals. You guys seem… close.”

“Maybe we are close,” Jan conceded. “I don’t see the problem, pretty sure I can get ‘close’ to whoever I want, right?”

She stiffened, clenching her jaw. “So you are fucking her?”

Jan clicked her tongue and scoffed. “No, I’m not. But who are you to get pissy at me about it? It’s not like I need to ask your permission to hook up with other people.”

“I’m not being pissy,” Jackie insisted, unable to avoid sounding defensive. “But if you want her, let me know. I’m not gonna waste my time.”

“Oh, so now what we’ve had is a ‘waste of time’ because I might be attracted to someone else too?” Jan snapped.

She groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. “No, no that’s not what I mean. I don’t-”

“Please,” Jan put her hand up and waved her off. “You can’t have your cake and eat it too, Jackie,” she hissed, then turned on her heel, leaving before Jackie could respond.

The hall was silent except for her heels against the linoleum. As she rounded the corner and headed out of the building, she fished her phone out of her pocket and made a call. “Hey, are you busy? Good, I’m coming over, I’ll be there in ten.”

Jan couldn’t even remember the walk from the main building to the dorms. A rush of anger-fueled adrenaline propelled her forward – it was like she blinked and suddenly she was banging on Nicky’s door.

Nicky opened the door. “Hey, what’s going on? You sounded-” she was cut off by Jan kissing her hard, fisting her hand into her hair and pulling her close. She blinked in surprise when her mouth was freed. “Um… What is happening? Am I fucking you? Is that where this is going?”

“You’re so smart and perceptive, it’s so sexy,” she breathed out before reconnecting their lips, kicking the door shut behind her.

“You don’t have to sweet talk me, babygirl. I’ve been waiting for this.”

Jan let out a small sigh of relief as she backed onto Nicky’s bed, pulling the blonde down with her. She immediately resumed kissing her eagerly, sloppily. There was a tangle of limbs as their clothes were yanked off and tossed every which way, she couldn’t seem to get naked fast enough. “Don’t be gentle with me,” she breathed out, “I need it hard, need you to fuck me til I forget how to think or feel.”

Nicky paused, her lips curling into a smirk. “Hard, huh? I think I know just what to do.” She got up and rifled through her drawer until she pulled out a harness and the dildo that strapped onto it. “I’m gonna take good care of you,” she assured.

Jan’s eyes lit up and she laid back readily, propping her legs apart and arching her hips up when Nicky got herself in position. Her body trembled in anticipation as she watched Nicky slick up the silicone cock with lube. The waiting felt like torture as her desire built up faster than she could deal with and it culminated with a sharp moan when Nicky finally eased it in.

“Good girl,” she gently praised, giving her a moment to adjust – it was one of her bigger ones and she knew Jan would feel it. Once she was certain the girl under her was ready, she switched to a rough, fast thrusting pace. One hand was roughly pulling on Jan’s ponytail, the other carefully wrapping around her neck, applying just enough pressure to make her whimper and squirm. If Jan wanted it hard and rough, she was more than happy to oblige.

And Jan was even more certain this was exactly what she needed. As she moaned and writhed about, all she could focus on was how good it felt. The tinges of physical pain were arousing, and enough to distract from the emotional pain that was trying to linger. She needed Nicky to choke her, slap her, pull her hair, anything to keep her grounded solely in the moment. “Yes, fuck, please don’t stop,” she begged.

Not that Nicky was planning on it. Her hips snapped forward with each thrust, the sound of skin smacking together filling the room, only to be drowned out by Jan’s moans when she hit her orgasm. “That’s it, come for me,” she encouraged, fucking her through it until she was certain Jan was completely spent. She looked down at the brunette as she pulled out, pleased with how utterly wrecked she looked.

“Fuck…” Jan panted breathlessly, laying flat on the bed and letting her eyes shut for a moment. Even with her eyes closed, she was seeing stars. “Thanks, Nicky. You have no idea how badly I needed that.”

“You don’t wanna talk about it, do you?” Nicky teased after she cleaned up and got under the covers with her.

Jan shook her head, then hid her face in the crook of Nicky’s neck. The last thing she wanted was to think about what sparked her urge to come here in the first place. “I don’t even want to think about it. Can we just… take a nap?”

“Perfect idea,” she yawned as her eyes closed.

The two of them slept in silence for about an hour, with Jan being the first to wake up. For a moment, everything was warm and peaceful, she didn’t feel anything but comfort and bliss.

Slowly but surely, however, the negative feelings of hurt, anger, and spite slipped back in and led her to grab her phone off of Nicky’s nightstand. She had to do something to make herself feel better. “The lighting is so good right now, we should take a selfie.”

Nicky yawned and rubbed her eyes. “Fine, but only post it if we look cute,” she warned before posing so Jan could take pictures. She then watched over Jan’s shoulder as she uploaded one to her instagram story. “Wow, who are you trying to give jealousy with that one?”

“Is it that obvious?” asked Jan, blushing.

“A little bit,” Nicky giggled. “But I don’t mind, if you’re going to use anyone for that, I’m a great choice.” She laid back down and got her own phone out to share it to her story. “Do you think it’ll work?”

She shrugged. “Maybe.”

------

Brooke sighed as she looked at her phone for what had easily been the tenth time since she left the apartment. “Still no answer, but I just know she’s at home. She has to be.”

Vanessa nodded as they walked. “In the whole time we known her, she never ignores your texts, definitely not your calls. That picture got her all sorts of fucked up.”

Normally, Brooke adhered to her own set of rules to a T, but she had to break them when she sensed something was wrong with Jackie. And sure enough, when she checked Jan’s story (from Vanessa’s account), everything made sense. That was what had them rushing to her apartment, despite it rapidly approaching the middle of the night.

“She ain’t gonna get mad about you using the ‘emergency only’ key, is she?” Vanessa asked as she watched her wife rifle through her purse.

“I would consider this an emergency,” she defended as she unlocked the door and let them in. “Wait here, I’m gonna poke my head into her room and assess the situation.”

Vanessa waited patiently, arching her brow when Brooke returned. “What’s the tea?”

Brooke had a concerned, unnerved expression on her face like she was still processing what she had just walked in on. “We have a code gray.”

She furrowed her brows. “Jackie’s a violent hospital patient?”

“What? No. Also, how do you know that? Nevermind,” Brooke shook her head as she tried to stay on task. “She’s code gray as in Conan Gray, come look,” she explained before quietly leading Vanessa to the partially opened door.

Jackie was sitting on the floor against the side of her bed. She was wearing a purple letterman jacket that Brooke and Vanessa could ascertain was accidentally left there by Jan. ‘Heather’ by Conan Gray was playing, most likely having been on loop for God knows how long.

Vanessa realized how bad this was, and looked up at Brooke, waiting for instruction as to where to go from there.

Brooke decided to take the lead, carefully walking into the room with her wife following. “You okay, Jackie?” she asked gently.

“I ruined everything,” Jackie replied in a broken whisper. “I couldn’t deal with how I feel about her and I pushed her into a French actresses’ bed.” She laid down on the floor and sighed. “I can’t believe I fucked in this badly.”

Brooke and Vanessa propped Jackie back up, both wrapping an arm around her. “Hey, don’t talk like that. This is just a bump in the road, it’s not over yet,” Brooke assured.

“How can you be so sure of that?” Jackie sniffled.

“I just know.”

“That’s not as reassuring as you think it is.”

Vanessa decided to chime in. “Ain’t it obvious what you gotta do?” She received blank stares from both Jackie and Brooke. “Jan just wants to know you’re all in with her. She’s clearly just using blondie over there to make you jealous… We’ve all been there.”

“Speak for yourself,” Brooke retorted playfully.

She rolled her eyes at her wife. “What I’m sayin’ is she wanted to get under your skin and it worked. Maybe too well, but she got what she wanted. Now you just gotta tell her how you really feel, how bad you want her.”

Jackie hesitated, fiddling with the sleeves of the jacket. “Easy for you to say. I can’t just do big romantic declarations… I overthink way too much for that.”

“Well, that’s where we’re here to help,” Vanessa chirped brightly. “Under-thinking is my specialty.”

“Do you think you’re ready to try?” Brooke asked gently.

Jackie chewed on her lip and looked down. “I just… I’m scared,” she confessed.

The girls nodded in understanding – neither of them could blame Jackie for her fear and apprehension. Both of them knew what it was like to have someone you’d risk everything for while having a terrible fear of the potential fallout. They knew how fortunate they were to have so clearly had mutual feelings from the beginning, but they hadn’t been free from a rocky start. And they had faith in Jan and Jackie, while neither could explain it, they had to see it through.

“It’s okay to be scared,” Brooke assured. “So, we’re gonna get you through this.”

“Will you guys spend the night?” Jackie asked after a few beats of silence, long enough for her to be sure she wouldn’t start crying. “It’s getting kind of depressing, and drinking alone would be the thing to push it over the edge.”

“You had us at drinking,” Vanessa joked, pleased to see it got a smile out of Jackie. “Don’t worry, we ain’t going nowhere.”