#the timing of Max and Angie works out all right

[thelastspeecher]

On the Discord we were discussing whether Junior (son of Angie and Max) exists in the Olympian Falls AU

I'd love to hear if anyone here was Opinions on that!

[ladykailitha]

Little Runaway: Epilogue

And this is it, everyone! The final part of this great story. I hope you enjoy it.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7

*Two Months Later

The party was at the trailer pestering Eddie about the upcoming campaign.

“I’m not telling you nuggets anything!” he said laughing.

“Come on,” Dustin pleaded. “Just a hint. A theme, even.”

“No.”

Steve looked up from where he was working on Eddie’s van and shook his head. “Leave him alone, guys. You know how tight lipped he can be.”

All eyes turned to Steve like a pack of hungry wolves.

“You know, don’t you, Harrington?” Mike asked.

Steve laughed. “Even if I did, doesn’t mean I understand it enough to give you the information you want.”

They all looked at each other and grumbled. He had a point. They stopped badgering Eddie and started talking about their characters that they were building. Max rolled her eyes and walked over to Steve.

She put her elbows on the side of the van and batted her eyelashes at him. “You going to tell them that you and Eddie are dating?”

Steve blushed. “Eventually. I’ve never dated a boy before and Eddie is still wary about coming out to them. Him being gay was one of the reasons him and Wayne had to come to Hawkins in the first place. And as we found out Hellfire has loose lips. We just don’t know whose.”

Max nodded. “Makes sense. Find the leak, then open the valve.”

Steve grinned. “You got it.”

Eddie came up to them. “Hey, babe. You should shower while we cook up the burgers.”

Steve nodded.

“How is my other baby?” Eddie asked jutting his head toward the van.

“Running just fine, Munson,” Steve said with a smile. He waved Max off the van and slammed the hood down.

He went inside the new trailer and Eddie went to go heat up the grill.

Food was soon ready but Steve hadn’t come out yet.

Eddie rolled his eyes. “It’s all that hair care products. I’ll go see if I can’t move him along, shall I?”

Everyone agreed.

But after a few minutes they both hadn’t returned.

“I say we eat without them,” Mike said, his stomach growling.

“I’ll just go see what’s taking them,” Dustin said getting up.

Dustin was almost at the door when Max’s brain caught up. “No, Dustin! Wait!”

But it was too late. Dustin had reached the door and threw it open. And started screaming. Mike and Will immediately got up to see what was wrong. Lucas got up too, but Max sat him back down.

“You don’t want to see that,” she murmured into her hands. “Trust me.”

Then Mike and Will were screaming.

Erica and El shared concerned looks.

“It’s fine,” Max assured them. “Well mostly. The boys are going to be scarred for life. But it’s fine.”

“Why would they be scarred for life?” Lucas asked.

Just then Dustin came over to them screaming. “Eddie and Steve were kissing!”

Max looked up from her hands. “Is that all?”

Mike and Will were close behind.

“What do you mean, is that all?” Mike protested. “Isn’t that enough?”

“They could have been having sex,” Max suggested, raising her brows.

There was a chorus of gagging and retching noises.

Eddie and Steve came up from behind the boys. “Don’t knock it until you try it, meatheads.”

Will blushed and looked down at his feet. “You do realize we’re only fourteen in most cases, right?”

Eddie laughed. “I had sex when I twelve.”

And they gagging started up again.

“Does this make you a queer, Harrington?” Mike asked.

Will bumped his arm and glared at him.

“Why are you only asking me and not Eddie, too?” Steve replied.

“We’ve known for ages that Eddie was,” Will murmured.

Steve and Eddie turned to Will, eyes wide and jaws slack.

“Come again?” Eddie asked.

“Angie Burnett was flirting with you really hard the last time you took us to the arcade,” Max said. “But you kept eyeing her brother Kent instead.”

“Oh,” Eddie said.

Steve shoved him playfully. “This better have been before we started dating, sweetheart.”

Eddie blushed. “It was a couple months ago. Before...” he waved his hands around helplessly. “You couldn’t take them for some reason, so they asked me.”

Steve grinned. “Good.” He gave Eddie a kiss on the cheek. “I don’t share.”

They dug into the food and the kids watched as Steve and Eddie seemed to find each other’s orbit no matter what they were doing.

Max smiled. Yeah, Clint Harrington was an ass who had a lot to answer for, but he had also set off the chain of events that brought her two favorite people together.

Tag List: @tauntedperfume @marivictal @eddiemunsonswife @namelessssho @dbquills @goodolefashionedloverboi @steve-the-hairrington @sadcanadianwinter @yearningagain @books-are-my-life-since-1996 @swimmingbirdrunningrock @homohomohoe @knightofthieves @flusteredcas @moonage-daydreaming @goblin-eddie @marvelousforlife @silversnaffles @satan-is-obsessed @yikes-a-bee

[libraryofloveletters]

holiday extravaganza 2023!

hi besties!! those of you that have been around for a while now that the holidays are my favourite time of the year; christmas, new years, and my birthday. 

so in honour of my favourite season, I bring to you; the holiday extravaganza 2023.   

it's a bit different this year, I've picked out prompts and drivers/players that are attached to each. they are meant to be blurbs so they vary in length but aren't very long :) - I hope you guys enjoy these as much I did! - as always, thank you to @diorleclerc the beautiful banner :)

running from: December 20th to December 29th. // 4-5 blurbs a day :)

tagged under: holiday extravaganza blurbs 23

December 20th

Sebastian Vettel - The Right Way To Do It 

Sebastian is the most meticulous person you've ever met in your life, and yes, that also translates to Christmas tree decorating.

Rodri - Don’t Fall

It was safe to say the man who comes from sunshine had yet to ice skate in his life. You made it your mission to change that; he was in Manchester,  after all.

Carlos Sainz Jr - Always You 

The infamous Sainz Christmas party. Every year your parents dragged you along and you only went to see one person. Your motives for going haven’t strayed despite growing up.

John Stones - Sing It With Me

John’s Christmas parties were famous for being crazy and unhinged, much like their host himself; because who else would end up drunk on a table, singing Christmas carols?

Jack Grealish - Made For You

His favourite time of the year; when you suggested the idea of matching pjs, Jack was all over it.

December 21st

Aaron Ramdale - Messy 

Aaron can’t help himself when he comes home from training and finds you baking Christmas cookies.

Mick Schumacher - Say Cheese  

Angie, much like her human father, hated to sit still for photos. Imagine the struggle to get both Schumachers to sit for a holiday card.

Paulo Dybala - Sweet Like Candy 

You had started making holiday treat bags for your class with the help of your boyfriend, who seems to be puzzled by the long curved candy you put in the bags.

Charles Leclerc - Stuff It

Charles goes a bit over board seeing that it’s your first Christmas with him, as his girlfriend that is. He revives an old tradition you two had as children.

Max Verstappen - Gimme A Smooch 

He was never one to indulge in things like mistletoe but since he begun to date you, he didn’t have much of a choice. 

December 22nd

Lewis Hamilton - The Art Of Wrapping

As he does every year, the house is filled with shopping bags and Lewis struggles to wrap all of his gifts. This year, he has a secret weapon; you.

Christian Pulisic - A Solid Foundation 

You and Christian have a contest to see who can build the best gingerbread house. Safe to say, you both went a little overboard

Kevin Magnussen - Something Doesn’t Taste Right 

Your husband convinces you that he knows how to make eggnog, no need to buy it from the store. His father’s recipe is the best of the best.. that’s if Kevin can figure it out.

Yuki Tsunoda - A Sweet Treat

Over your years at Alpha Tauri, you developed a habit with your driver; a sweet treat left behind as a peace offering when something went wrong. This time, Yuki was the one leaving the sweet treat.

Fernando Alonso - Wrapped Up 

Yet again, Fernando has forgotten to buy his Christmas gifts but there’s only one person that he cares to get something for.

December 23rd

Pierre Gasly - The Christmas Market 

You were missing home quite a bit and Pierre decides to indulge in one of your favourite holiday traditions.

Jenson Button - Jingle Bells 

The kids are convinced that they hear the bells on Santa’s sleigh, and Jenson is the exact same way. 

Darwin Nunez - Burnt 

Darwin suggests you host a dinner party at your place for a few of his teammates before you all head out for the holidays. He seems to have underestimate how much work goes into said party.

Son Heung-Min - Rudolph, The Red Nose Reindeer 

The winter fair was in town and Sonny decides that you two should go pay the reindeers a visit, because that’s what Santa would want.

December 24th

Jude Bellingham - A Visit To Santa

Jude decides now that you two are back home in England to take his brother to do the one thing they always did as kids; visit Santa.

Virgil Van Dijk - Holiday Oopsies

A snowstorm hits Liverpool and Virgil decides it would be good to take the kids to the park. Even with a warning from you, someone ends up in the hospital on Christmas Eve.

Daniel Ricciardo - Holiday Tunes

He insists on making a playlist for the holiday party, picking the worst possible songs on the planet.

Ibrahima ‘Ibou’ Konate - Movie Stars 

Ibou decides it would be a good idea for you two to make a vlog over the holiday break, just so he can keep his teammates updated.

Ruben Dias - The Lights Shining Down On You 

The people of Manchester love Christmas, just as much as you do. Ruben makes it his mission to ensure that you get to see every single Christmas display there is to see.  

December 25th

Antonie Griezmann - Glues Sticks and Pom Poms 

Every year since moving to Atletico, his girls have helped him to make Christmas cards for his teammates; this year was no different. The three of them covered in glitter, glue and pom poms.

Dominik Szoboszlai - I Spy With My Little Eye

This Christmas was different. Dom made you work for your gift rather than giving it to you; following the clues through the neighbourhood to your final gift.

Erling Haaland - Moo-rry Christmas

Erling insists that Santa has to get cookies and milk for his journey to Norway. Now where you got that milk? Erling the Farmer was on the job.

Trent Alexander Arnold - Christmas With The Robertsons 

Andy and Rachel have a holiday date night and call their two favourite people in the world to come babysit for them; auntie y/n and uncle trenty.

Andrew ‘Andy’ Robertson - Bumps and Bruises 

You convince your boyfriend that it’d be perfectly safe to go down the massive hill.. except it wasn’t.

December 26th

Jordan Henderson - Chocolate Doors 

Jordan buys your children a Christmas advent calendar, but they don't exactly understand the concept.

Jobe Bellingham - Must Watch 

His training took over most of his time so now that he was on break, you insisted you two do nothing but laze.

Yassine Bounou - The Mystery Gift

The Sevilla players have a tradition of playing secret Santa amongst themselves. You're a bit confused when a gift ends up on your desk.

Achraf Hakimi - Unwrapped

Kylian invites a few friends over to celebrate Christmas with him and his family. You can't quite remember what happened the night before you know you don't remember the events leading up to this morning.

December 27th 

Sergio Ramos - Christmas Cookies 

The kids insist Santa must get cookies when he drops off his present. Sergio make sure they know that Santa stopped by during night.

Pato O’Ward - Roll Over

Home for the holidays and cooped up inside due to the rain, both puppies and Pato go a little stir crazy.

Sergio ‘Checo’ Perez - Work Place Friendly 

RedBull hosts their annual holiday party, everyone sprawled out through the factory and you two ? Well.. that was a different story.

Thiago Alcantara - A Countdown To Midnight

Thiago insists on a new way to do the new years kiss, because waiting hours for one kiss wasn’t good enough.

Richarlison - A Brazilian Christmas

Rich stays in London for the holidays but he’s feeling bit home sick. You try your best to work with what you’ve got to cheer him up. 

December 28th

Kylian Mbappe - Ho Ho Ho 

When Santa’s elves weren’t at the workshop, his niece and nephew were a bit disappoint. Uncle Kyky finds a way to cheer them up, even if it earns him a few teasing comments from you.

Kostas Tsimikas - Mountains of Snow

Kostas insists that you two should go out into the snow and make a snowman. When you say no, he uses his skills of persuasion to get you to change your mind.

Mark Webber - Snowed In 

It wasn't even his idea to go to Switzerland, and now he was stuck on New Year's Eve, in the worst place on the planet; the airport.

Esteban Ocon - Behind The Curtains 

A school boy crush on his teammate; all it takes is a few sips of liquor and a photo booth to reveal his true feelings.

Lucas Paquetá - Box It Up 

As long as it takes to put up, it comes down in half the time. Lucas doesn't understand the delicate process of re-packing your ornaments.

December 29th

Giovanni ‘Gio’ Reyna - I’m Not Wearing This 

Gio tells your aunt that he loves the sweaters she knits.  So when he's gifted one, you make sure that he wears it.

Joe Gomez - Stuck 

You and Joe take a week off before Christmas hectic-ness to go up to the cabin and relax. The last thing you expected what to get snowed in.

Marcus Rashford - The Time For Giving 

The last place you expected to bump into him was the exact place you seem to find him.

Kimi Raikkonen - New Years At Home

From partying to parents; you and Kimi celebrate your first new years with your baby girl.

Lance Stroll - Choo Choo Trains 

Uncle Lance promised his nephew a toy train and when he remembers, he scrabbles last minute to find something.

[nctsworld]

GIFSETS: 148 FANFICS: 3 FOLLOWERS: 10K+ STATE OF MIND: SURPRISINGLY GREAT!

this will be a modified version of what people have been tagging me as i'm inconsistent with posting and i'm a hybrid cc.

thank you so much to @bethereforme (lia's year in review), @jjsungie (angi's year in review), @lee-minhoe (mel's year in review), @ambivartence (siyuan's year in review), and @fadedinmysong (n's year in review) for tagging me! love you all ♡

TOP GIFSETS THIS YEAR:

mark on expectations for him vs. his brother - nct 127: the lost boys ep. 1

mark + the compression sweater // mix&max choreo-record

xiaojun // nct nation: tokyo

xiaojun // i'll pick you up [the show 230704]

johnny on taeil's role in nct 127 - nct 127: the lost boys ep. 2

johnny x longines x esquire korea

doyoung in the black turtleneck for anadktfab series

mark - golden hour || favourite lyrics

j³ + glasses // dream loop: the last midnight #1

jaemin - areanahomme+ china behind

SETS THAT DESERVE MORE LOVE:

jeno x the black tank top // nct nation 2023

johnny + yangyang + jaemin from nct connection 2023 (it never showed up in the tags T_T)

mark's birthday set

best nct 127 album

quick workout with jaehyun!

that one renjun fancam for anadktfab series

NOTES ON GIFSETS THIS YEAR:

as y'all can tell, i make the most sets during my break time from work LMAO i cannot believe i've made almost 150 sets this year! during summer, i'm pretty sure i made almost 1-3 on average a day haha. as many have mentioned, it's disheartening to see the notes on the sets, but we do it cause we love to, right?

FICS THIS YEAR:

fever pitch - pro!baseball player mark

at your earliest convenience - in which haechan asks convenience store clerk!reader on a date

8:38pm - dance and college au with jisung (pwp)

NOTES ON FICS THIS YEAR:

i am so happy that fever pitch got so much love because it took me two years since beautiful mv came out to finish it. it's now officially my second most popular fic on this blog! i'm also pleased people enjoyed ayec; it was just a cute little fun fic. i really hope i continue writing the connection series and i hope to post at least one christmas fic soon! (i also have a slytherin!yangyang fic in the works too...)

LAST NOTES:

a big thank you for all of you who follow me and support me, whether it be for my gifs or stories or both! i can't believe i hit 10k followers this year - that's crazy! i know i had the celebration, but i honestly had only 2-3 requests, so it was a bit disheartening and a little embarrassing for me to want to do it TT nonetheless, i love you all! have a safe, happy holidays and i wish you the best for next year ♡

TAGGING (if you've done this already, ignore my tag + on the flipside, if you decide to do this, please see the other year in reviews i linked for a different version!):

@huangrenjuns @hyuckworld @hy-ck @neocitycafe @neoneun-au @sehunniepot @twiceland

[luckcycler]

how do you choose the color scheme for your fangan characters I'm trying to figure out how to add the main colors of my fangan onto my character but it always makes them look jarring when put together by themselves there fine but matching the aesthetics and colors of the other characters and the setting always gives me a hard time

hi! I'm a bit sick right now so I hope I'll make sense So you are having a hard time having all the character color palettes fit together as a cast? I don't know what your characters look like but there's a couple of things you can take into consideration

Have some rules

it's important that you lay some rules for how your colors behave in your fangan. The original games have a very washed out palette and characters that are very colorful like Ibuki still don't get very saturated. If one of your characters is more saturated or desaturated than the others, they will stand out. Also make rules on how dark or light a color can go in your work.

For instance, I never use pure white, gray, or black. It's always another color. If you look at Kiwa, She has what I would interpret as white and black colors, but in reality they are muted light yellow and dark purple. The same goes with Tetsu, his hat is black but it is actually really dark blue and his sweater is a cream color.

You can do pure blacks, greys and whites, but then the entire cast needs to go by that rule.

Color balance

You need to make sure that the colors aren't fighting each other. You need to have a main color, a secondary color and then a highlight. Whites, blacks, and greys and skin tone are usually not part of this rule, unless the skin tone is like... blue. You can also use black, white or grey as the main color too.

keep the rest of your cast in mind when coloring

I made sure my cast has a lot of different colors and that max 2 people would have the same main color. If you have two people with the same main color, make the secondary color different. It's good to make sure that your cast is unique while cohesive. Something I had beef with the V3 cast was that there were too many characters with the same palette. Either they were black and white or had a very dark color overall. This made characters like Angie and Miu stand out but the rest was very much a blob of light and dark colors.

Own it

to be fair, you can also use the colors not fitting with the rest of the cast as a visual narrative (i.e. if your character likes to stand out, or is an outcast)

[bellysoupset]

Hi Soup!

Just so you know, "🐆 anon" will be retiring now, as I am starting to use my blog to post. So yeah, that was me, and if for some reason I'm commenting on anon again, that would be me. ☺️

Well then.

Nooo, your stories haven't been boring! I'm loving the new Max and Vince relationship, seeing Wen and Vin succeed at long distance is so fulfilling, and I love seeing Jon's interactions with his family. Luke being jealous over Max is so funny to me, and I can't wait to see them deal with this. (Honestly, I'm shipping the throuple, but I'll love them all no matter what they do) I love being able to understand characters better, and I feel like all of these interactions are very character building, and will benefit any future developments.

It would be great for Jon to come back though... I miss him. I was thinking earlier today how I miss Jon/Wen interactions, and then remembered he's in Europe. But maybe we could get a phone call or something?

It's weird having Jon in Europe, and it takes away of lot of interaction possibilities, but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing, and I love seeing this other side of him. A lot of your characters have crappy parents, and I love that Jon has Jackie and Matteo that are turning out to be pretty good, and Angie rocks.

(I'd read a Bella fic with pregnancy-related talk... I'm loving Andy's Mila and Drew storylines, I'd love to see more authors talking about these topics)

Okay, question. (I found this prompt list a while ago that I've been going through with some of my characters: https://www.tumblr.com/judasrpc/687874557884907520/weirdly-specific-but-helpful-character-building)

So, my questions are (for any or all characters):

What's the lie your character tells the most?

What's a hobby they used to love that they don't do anymore?

As always, loving your writing!

Bro, I'm sorry I could swear I had answered this??

I'm so sorry!!

NOW! I kneeeew it was you! When you sent the first ask off anon I was like 🧐🧐🧐 I wonder if Jey is the leo anon!! I'm so happy to be proven right lol.

I'm following your characters bios and I'm very excited for your first story!

Look, my dramatic streak aside, I know my stories aren't boring per se, but sometimes I get the sensation I could be doing more with it, which was what I was being annoying about in the first place and now my inbox is filled with you lovely people reassuring me, but I swear it was never my intention! I just wanted like criticism, I guess? 🙈🙈 I'll shut up now

I'm so happy you're on board for so many of my creative choices. I miss Jon dearly, but he's coming back SOON, especially with the new Leo fic, cannot be away a minute longer. Also, you mentioned Vin/Wen winning at the long distance is fulfilling and I second this, because even as the author I was doubtful at first. My characters often do not obey me, so it was much to my delight as well.

I really like writing Jon with Jackie/Matteo, as you correctly clocked me I have a thing for damaged parent/kid's relationships (projecting yay!) and I feel like Jon and his fam all working to make it work this time around brings me a lot of comfort when I'm typing. Of course things aren't always perfect and not everyone can rekindle their broken relationships (many of my ocs!), but it's so nice to write someone who can!

I hear you about Bella! 👀

So for the questions, I'm so sorry my answer is already huge:

What's the lie your character tells the most?

I don't think my characters lie a lot, actually! Most of them are annoyingly honest, Jon-Wen-Bella, or naively honest, Vince-Luke. Leo and Max I guess are the ones who lie more often, Leo lies about being "busy" a LOT, the most creative lies, but truly all he wants is to stay home with his cat, his musical movies, his guy. He's probably killed his grandma whom he never met like 3 times already and he's really good at keeping track of his lies.

Max lies about minor stuff, just for a chuckle. It's more deadpan sarcasm than lying, I guess? But he also lies pretty much daily about his stomach, because he does not have the patience to explain time and time again that no, he's not chronically ill, he's just the God's most hated idiot. He'll go "no, I'm allergic to that" about literally any food that's offered and that he knows it's gonna upset his stomach. Some older teachers call him the "bubble boy" because of that older movie about a man who couldn't get out of his bubble.

What's a hobby they used to love that they don't do anymore?

Bella used to practice skating and she doesn't anymore, she cannot be bothered since their town is almost always raining.

Wendy has had every hobby under the sun, she's done pottery and jazz dance, but grew out of both.

Luke was obsessed with wordle for a hot minute, but nowadays he's let it go.

Vince isn't as big a reader as he once was, he used to be a total bookworm.

Max has hit a rough patch, he used to go hiking a lot, but for no bigger design, he kinda hit a slump and has been at home much more.

[booasaur]

Harlem spoilers

I loved the finale SO MUCH omg like Quinn deciding to take time for herself is so unexpected of a storyline but so actually good for her? Like she has been dating nonstop since the pilot so I think a season 3 storyline where she’s by herself figuring herself out is so good.

Then Tye. OMG what a TWIST. Aimee being Zoe’s Mom???? OOH I’m excited

Not sure how I feel about Angie getting proposed because it is fast but also it does kinda work for a Angie tbh and we don’t know how much time has passed really they haven’t told us

Then Camille her finally finally buckling down and focusing in her career when she’s been all over the place career wise since season 1?? And Pruitt maybe deciding to fight for her to stay?????? My god.

THEN. THEN THE CLIFFHANGER OMG THE CLIFFHANGER. It’s gotta be Angie right? Her storyline is the only one that would work with a pregnancy! Quinn can’t find herself if she’s strapped to a baby daddy (also I think we would’ve heard if Grace’s husband was becoming a recurring? Like I know season 3 isn’t confirmed yet but I just feel like that would be something we would’ve heard about if they were planning on making him more than a cameo and they would’ve put more effort into Quinn and Keith’s relationship if that was the case) Then Camille this whole season has been about her and Ian and her eggs I don’t see them rehashing that. Then Tye obvi can’t be pregnant. So it’s GOTTA be Angie I feel.

Thank you for the spoiler warning!

I already spoke about Quinn in the previous ask and lol, the Aimee and Zoe thing is such a mess. I wonder if they'll try to have Aimee and Tye make a go of it but it'll be too weird in the ennd. The Angie proposal definitely feels early but I suppose there's no reason to not go ahead with an engagement if they're both ready, and they seem like they are.

Very happy to see Camille winning at work and making a decision about no kids and not feeling guilted because Ian does want them and she's cost him so much already, which, to be clear, she didn't make him do any of this, but she feels responsible all the same.

Now, the cliffhanger. Both you and the previous anon implied that it can't be Quinn because it'd disrupt her finding herself storyline but I don't know if the writers would choose storylines based on least disruption, in fact, I kind of think they'd go for max. :x

It's true that it'd fit so well with Angie's storyline, but that's why I wonder if it might not be her. Or if it is her, then Mike's not the father. There's no fun in things going smoothly, as we've seen with all the other romances. I doubt it's Tye, of course, though I suppose one can never rule that out, but we'll put it in the least likely category for now.

The thing is, unless this is the last season, a baby doesn't really fit the show's vibe, though I can see them being supportive through the season during a pregnancy and rushing to the hospital at the end of the season to all be there for the baby being born. But then how would another season go? Bringing a baby to their lunches or constantly looking for a babysitter? So I wonder if possibly they might go with an abortion storyline, in which case I could see that being Camille's very tough arc, knowing how much Ian wants kids and the improbability of getting another chance at a pregnancy vying with her career and simply being unsure about it all. It'd be another reason to keep Ian in the show, since Tyler Lepley seems a regular along with the main four ladies.

On the other hand, the show may not go with abortion and instead highlight the dangers to expecting Black parents through pregnancy, delivery, and after, in the American healthcare system. In that case, I could see it being Quinn after all. And the show might decide that it's not going to be pigeonholed as just friends drinking and hanging out all the time and slowly work in children.

The other thing to keep in mind is that while Angie's s3 would be filled with the engagement/wedding, Tye with this romantic mess, Camille possibly with her career (and maybe Jameson??), learning to be at peace with yourself is more a passive thing. So, if they're trying to plan s3 storylines, that might be how Quinn's goes.

On the other hand, that seems brutal for her, to go from depression to, well, an unwanted pregnancy, to put it brutally, to then what, an exhausted mother in s4? Plus, like you said, the thing with Keith was so weak, like a little placeholder relationship that only existed to not be significant.

Honestly, I've just spilled out all my thoughts and really have no idea which way they're leaning. It all comes down to the stories they want to tell.

[the-firebird69]

It's a huge day. And as we said it is a big one. As we are checking to see what's happening here and with the status is and we are proceeding. We had worried about this moment and we will make sure safe. There's a few other things happening but this is our primary concern is the morlock leaving work and not doing anything else and they're not getting to the government or other if they did they might do something and they're holding Trump down just as the Chinese are holding and references and foreigners are holding the Macs down. It is going to be a heck of a day foreigners are moving to try and stop empire ships and we have to help and we're doing that now. And we are preparing for a war here and it is with the max well more or less they are lying about a lot of stuff and they are trying to kidnap our son and true they're fighting over him but they're the ones doing it and it's because of the assault. They're moving into high gear right now to get ready on the earth needs to be controlled and we also need to assist in going after the empire and the fleet of theirs. It is too big. They are disturbing everybody and they really can't afford to. This is in time with their revolutionary war reenactment yes and this is the second reenactment the first was very small and occured roughly around 1993 to 2001. And there are a few other things happening along with this event but it is major. And it it is gigantic . At this stage in the revolutionary war we have passed you shot her around the world and we are entering into the combat period and someone did get shot and off battleground. And someone fairly important it was a rebel and there is a problem because of that now they were not critically injured but it was symbolic and he understood and wants to stop them. Early in the revolutionary war there are a couple parties that the max send in one of them are Hessians and those are played by Trump and his men and women and as blonde people they are still playing that role. And JC receiving a coach that look like what I'm theirs and it was when he went North when he was in Connecticut and he didn't go very far it was definitely across the city and the coach he had was fast. Angie went up to the Massachusetts line and back down I'm different occasion and the Massachusetts line would be pretty far away is my true scale unfortunately we do not feel he can do that trip and it would be halfway between here and Worcester roughly a little bit further would be probably Greensboro North Carolina. We do not think we can get him permission to go there no not at this time. He uses a horse and beggy. And uses one from the Hessians and he is the seeds to go up that way. Hodess building company does not have place there but rfmd does. It does make sense for him to go up there and that everybody would try and keep him topside of course and Max hopefully will come out and you'll be trying out the hair UPS the second reason are actually the cover would be to go retrieve money from rfmd and monies due to him. Strangely enough to divested and I thought it was all of it. And he did to that but he had several accounts in North Carolina and their Banks and he went over one of them with Hera. And he'll have to put down two more and it is a goal but they are possibly not going to pay and the max might want him up there to try and hold him there and to get their way even temporarily this has what the information other groups want attention brought to them so really there's a pillow there and it does match up almost exactly where general Washington went to the southern border of Massachusetts and that is the departure point from the stager residence where he was running a cover for real and that was David stager. Interesting note that in that year and for a few years he did not hear from Dave he was missing he thought and now people are checking

Thor Freya

Olympus

This is what I'm worried about and it's good thing to point out. When I was Jen Merrick I tried to find Dave in 1996 and he was not around and it was before he was in the accident and I know you tried too and you couldn't find him and you asked Mr Odette and he says I think he went back to Paxton or something no he said Worcester and he wasn't in Worcester and you went to his apartment and he was he was missing. People think he was held by Joel Watts and trying to have him make the program and that makes a lot more sense

Hera

Olympus

[soclonely]

Angie!!! 1000+ followers!!! I am so happy to be able to interact with you 🥺 You are always so lovely online, always supportive, and your creativity blows me away every time. 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

WITH THAT SAID!!!! i have a fic request...

The Spring Cleaning prompt with 99 and little kiddos Domino Squad? 👉👈💙

HELLO I LOVE YOU THANK YOU FRIEND OF COURSE YOU CAN REQUEST THAT. For you, I would rewrite the declaration of independance to give Owls the power to make decisions for America <3 As always you are so lovely and encouraging, and I don't know where I would be without you and Tech in a speedo!

Prompt: Spring Cleaning Pairings/Group: 99 and the Domino Babies

"You can't keep everything!" Echo squeaks to his , crossing his arms firmly. "We have to make room for some of the new cadets coming in!"

"Aw leave him alone, Echo!" Fives rolls his eyes. He slings the rag he was using to wipe the nearby window over his shoulder and sighs."It's bad enough we have to clean up every single corner of our barrack! We don't need you nagging us too!"

"No he's right!" Another cadet chimed in, peering over the corner of his bunk. "The quicker we all get done, the quicker we can go back to the training room and work on some target practice!"

Hevy snorts as he tosses some papers into the nearby trash bin."You mean you can work on some target practice Droidbat." He puffs out his chest proudly. "I have the highest score out of our entire batch-"

"Yeah and the lowest IQ!" Cut-Up snorts, leaning back in his chair. "They are all right though, Vod." Cut-Up turns to 99."We do have to get rid of some things. You have that whole trunk full of things, 99." He reaches into the chest and pulls out a picture, smiling."Who is that?" He asks, holding up the photo to reveal a group of your troopers.

99 smiles, taking the photo gently. "That was my batch." He shows them, pointing to himself in the center. "See? There I was when I was about your age." He sighs. "That was a long, long time ago though." He chuckles, placing the photo in the 'keep' pile. "This whole trunk is full of very important things if I need to." He glances over it all, feeling slightly overwhelmed. "It's just going to be a bit hard to part with all of this stuff. It's important to me."

"Aw don't listen to them 99!" Fives asks, peering over Cut-Up's shoulder."I think its cool to have stuff! All we have in our trunks is our stupid gear."

"And the cool paper dolls you make us, 99!" Droidbait chimes in, hopping down from the top bunk. "Those are very important to us!"

"Well I am glad to hear that." 99 chuckles, ruffling the cadets hair. He sighs, rubbing a hand over his balding head."I just always find it hard to let go of things." He pulls out a small envelope from the box and smiles. "This is a letter from one of your older brothers I received when the war first started. Now he is a famous captain in the 501st, working alongside jedi and troopers alike!"

"That's going to be us one day!" Droidbait takes the letter slowly, wide eyed. "To think this has actually traveled across the galaxy and right to you!" He whispers, reading it to himself."Can I take this to the archive later and read up about the planets he mentions?" He looks up at 99 eagerly. "I promise I will give it back!"

"Of course you can." 99 chuckles. He reaches into the trunk once more. "And this here is a small stuffie that another brother from the 104th had sent to me when they first landed on Coruscant!" He takes out the small purple tooka, hugging it. "Extra soft!" He hands it over to Hevy.

"This thing its… kinda cute." Hevy's tough guy facade falls, as he pets the stuffed animal slowly. "It is soft!" He grins, holding it to his chest. "Can I keep this little guy with me in my bunk tonight?"

99 nods, digging through another layer in his trunk. "I think you will enjoy this, Cut-Up." he smiles, pulling out a small recorder. "This has some music by Max Rebo." he hands over the device to the eager cadet. "Just be careful and don't hit that X button there or you will delete the whole recording."

"Gee thanks 99!" Cut-Up immediately presses the play button. "I heard the trainers talk about this stuff once! I like it!" He laughs, swaying his hips from side to side. "Catchy!"

"I knew you would like it." 99 chuckles.

Fives reaches in and takes out a small black bag."Whats this?" he asks, unzipping the bag slowly. He takes out a pair of tweezers. "Is this a torture kit?" He asks eagerly, pinching the ends of the tweezers onto Echo's arm.

"Ouch! That hurt!" Echo jerks away, pushing Fives. "Its a grooming kit you idiot! Standard issue!" he growls, rubbing his arm. "That's going to leave a mark!"

Fives turns to 99."But you don't need a grooming kit! You are bald, vod!" He blurts out.

99 bursts into laughter. "Yes, I suppose I am." He runs his hand over his head once more. "Would you like to keep it safe for me, Fives?" he asks, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye.

"Thank you 99!" Fives clutches the bag to his chest. "It will be great for grooming my mustache."

"Fives you don't have a mustache!" Echo rolls his eyes, sighing. "Is that an old regs manual?" he asks, looking in the bottom of the trunk. "Wow it is! And its-"

"First edition that was ever put out for us troopers!" 99 hands it over to Echo. "And I think it would be perfect for you!" He smiles, watching the eager boy bury his nose in the book. "I remember the day we got those handed out to us." he sighs.

Hevy wanders back over to the trunk and smiles, looking down into it. "Well hey! It looks like you did get rid of some things after all, 99!" he claps his hand. "I think we can call it a day and go grab a bite to eat in the Mess, eh boys?"The others nod in agreement and stand up.

"Are you coming?" Fives asks, turning to 99.

"You boys go ahead." 99 shoos them, waving a hand. "I think I am going to go through all of this a little more." He looks down at the chest and smiles.

[typingtess]

Tiptoeing through the “Genesis” guest cast

Peter Cambor as Nate Getz Back from "MWD" last week.

Bar Paly as Anastasia "Anna" Kolcheck Last seen in "All the Little Things" in mid-March.

Ashwin Gore as Akhil Ali This is ONI Inspector General Akhil Ali, who was asking all the questions in the Laura Song "Divided We Fall" episode in early November.

Jere Burns as Arnold Baines Longtime working actor.  Was Breughal in Max Headroom, Kirk Morris in Dear John, Pete Schmidt in Bob, Tom Booker in The Mommies, Jack Farrell in Something So Right, Frank Alfano in Good Morning, Miami, Michael in Help Me Help You, Dr. Jim in Surviving Suburbia, Anson Fullerton in Burn Notice, Jake Abernathy in Bates Motel, Wynn Duffy in Justified and Chet Atkins in Angie Tribeca.

Guest appearances include Hill Street Blues, Riptide, Street Hawk, Hunter, Remington Steele, The Last Precinct, Ohara, Jake & the Fatman, Down the Shore, Fantasy Island (1998), Just Shoot Me, Odd Man Out, For Your Love, Twice in a Lifetime, Cover Me, Touched by an Angel, The Outer Limits (2001), Sabrina the Teenage Witch (2002), Family Law, State of Grace, 8 Simple Rules, Las Vegas, All of Us, The King of Queen, Will & Grace, Dr. Vegas, Four Kings, Boston Legal, Psych, According to Jim, Trust Me, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, The Good Guys, Retired at 35, Off the Map, Breaking Bad, Hawaii Five-0 (2012), Grey's Anatomy, Last Man Standing, Suits, The Muppets (2015), From Dusk Till Dawn, Major Crimes, The X-Files (2018), I'm Dying Up Here, The Cool Kids, Lucifer, The Detour, Dead to Me, Sydney to the Max and All Rise.

Played himself in an episode of Blossom.

Layla Alizada as Dr. Roxana Jarrahi Guest starred in episodes of Strange Luck, Cold Squad, The 4400 (2004), Dead Like Me, DaVinci's City Hall, Godiva's, The Evidence, Eureka, Whistler, the Unit, Robson Arms, Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, The Whole Truth, The Mentalist, Melissa & Joey, Legit, Days of Our Lives, Scandal, Rizzoli & Isles, Castle, Stitchers, Jane the Virgin, SEAL Team, Shameless and Lucifer.

Played Constable Gloria Walker in DaVinci's Inquest, Betty in The Muppets (2015) and Elena in Taken and Sizma in Shut Eye.

Milissa Sears as Leah Novak Last seen being "run into" by Callen in "Lost Soldier Down" in early January.

Beckett Gunderson as Young Callen Last seen getting slapped by his instructor by "Pandora's Box".

Andrei Dolezal as Young Baines Played a frat boy in The Sex Lives of College Girls.

Duncan Campbell as Agent Castor Also last seen in "Pandora's Box".

Written by:  Andrew Bartels wrote or co-wrote "Allegiance", "Zero Days", "The Grey Man", "Humbug", "Fighting Shadows", "Driving Miss Diaz", "Angels & Daemons", "Where There’s Smoke…", "Glasnost", "Old Tricks" "Battle Scars", "Fool Me Twice", "Warrior of Peace", "Reentry", "The Prince", "Smokescreen", "The One That Got Away"/"No More Secrets" two-parter, "Yellow Jacket", "Missing Time", "If the Fates Allow", "Red Rover, Red Rover" and "Divided We Fall".

Directed by:  John P. Kousakis directed "Imposters", "Sacrifice", "San Voir" part one, "The Fifth Man", "Parley", "Inelegant Heart", "Chernoff, K.", "Active Measures", "The Long Goodbye", "Talion", "Glasnost", "Unleashed", "Party Crashers", "This Is What We Do" (episode 200), "Goodbye Vietnam", "Ninguna Salida", "The Guardian", "High Society", "A Tale of Two Igors", "Under the Influence", all of the Afghanistan scenes from "Iron Curtain Rising" to "Zero Days" in season five and all of Kensi’s injury/recovery storyline scenes from "The Queen’s Gambit" to "Sirens" in season eight.  

[thelastspeecher]

The Breakup Scheme, Pt. 2

Part 1

Look, I'm as surprised as you are that the second part to this little plot in my Modern Stanley McGucket AU is getting posted the day after the first one. I literally wrote all of this ficlet today after work. I guess the spirit just really moved me or something. Anyways, this one's much more angsty than the first one, but there's still some lighter bits, particularly in the first scene. Just so you know what you're getting into. Enjoy.

——————————————————————————————

              Lute knocked on the door to Angie’s bedroom.

              “Come in,” Angie’s voice replied.  Lute pushed the door open.  Angie looked up.  She was sitting at her desk, in the middle of typing something on her computer.  Stan recognized it vaguely as her favorite fanfiction site.  Angie placed her hands in her lap.  “How can I help the two of ya?”

              “We wanted to talk to you about somethin’,” Stan said.  “Once we’ve said our piece, you can get back to writing fanfiction.”  Angie rolled her eyes.

              “I don’t write fanfiction,” she scoffed.  Stan raised an eyebrow.  Angie looked away.  “…I read it,” she mumbled.

              “We ain’t judgin’ ya, don’t worry,” Lute said.  He frowned at Stan.  “Ain’t that right, Stanley?  We’re here to talk to her ‘bout somethin’ important, not rag on her hobbies.”

              “Hey, some of my best friends like fanfiction,” Stan said with a shrug.  Angie rolled her eyes again.

              “Spit it out.  What do the two of ya want?  It better not be chore-related.”

              “It’s not,” Stan said.  He nodded at Lute.  “Wanna lead the charge?  She’s your twin.”

              “This entire thing was yer idea, but whatever,” Lute said under his breath.

              “No, you wanted to do this instead of my idea.”

              “I meant the end goal of what we’re doin’ was yer idea.”

              “Um.”  Angie looked back and forth between Stan and Lute.  “I ain’t followin’ this.  What’s goin’ on?”

              “We’re wonderin’ ‘bout yer relationship with Max, that’s all,” Lute said weakly.  Angie frowned.  “And maybe- we’ve- some of yer behaviors have resulted in us gettin’ the feelin’ that ya might not want to be with him no more.”  Angie’s eyes widened in surprise.  Stan focused on her body language.  Her shoulders had tensed and her face gone slack, suggesting that it wasn’t surprise at something coming out of the blue.  It was surprise that someone had caught onto something she was trying to hide.  She coughed politely.

              “What- what gives ya that impression?” she asked.

              “It’s not one thing.  If it was, I wouldn’t’ve believed Stan’s claims,” Lute said.

              “Smart.”

              “Okay, what’s with that?” Stan interrupted.  “You guys don’t believe me unless I get proof to back up whatever I’m sayin’?”

              “We ain’t pickin’ on ya.  It’s the same standard we hold fer anyone makin’ outlandish claims,” Angie said.  She crossed her arms.  “And yes.  This claim is outlandish.”

              “I know, I know,” Lute said.  “But I can’t shake the idea the two of ya ain’t happy.”

              “Well…shake harder, then.”

              “Angie.”  Lute walked over to Angie’s desk.  He put a hand on her shoulder.  “Yer my sister.  That means ya come ‘fore Max in terms of priority.  Yer happiness matters more to me than Max’s does.  I won’t be hurt if ya want to leave him.”

              “I…”  Angie swallowed.  She shook her head.  “I understand, but-”

              “But what?” Stan asked, joining Lute by Angie.  She scowled.

              “But yer barkin’ up the wrong tree,” she said firmly.  “I ain’t plannin’ on breakin’ up with Max any time soon.”

              “We’re not askin’ if you’re planning on breaking up with him,” Stan said.  “We’re asking if you wanna break up with him.”

              “Ya want the answer to that, huh?”

              “Yes,” Stan and Lute said together.

              “Fine.  The answer’s no.  I don’t want to break up with him.  Now drop it.  I know we’re teenagers, but that don’t mean we have to be all over relationship drama like on those stupid shows Stan watches.”

              “Wh- bu- they’re not stupid!” Stan stammered.  Angie snickered.  “Oh, shut up, McGucket.  You watch ‘em too.”

              “Sure, but I don’t go out of my way fer ‘em.”  Angie turned back to her computer.  “Kindly leave my room.”

              “Fine, fine,” Stan said, throwing his hands in the air.  “We’ll let you get back to…”  He squinted at Angie’s computer screen.  “Whatever the hell a ‘Spirk slow burn’ is.”

              “I thought you said you didn’t like slow burns,” Lute said idly.

              “This partic’lar one, I do like,” Angie said.  “And I’m eager to get back to it.  The author is one of my favorites and he just updated fer the first time in ages.  Apparently he had some sort of big, personal drama, and writin’ fanfiction took a backseat ‘cause of it.”  She made a shooing gesture with her hands.  “Go on, get out.  And close the door when ya leave.”

              “Sure thing,” Lute said.  He and Stan exited Angie’s room, Lute closing the door as quietly as he could behind them.

              “So-” Stan started.  Lute shook his head.  “Huh?”  Lute gestured for Stan to follow him.  They walked down the hall and into Lute’s room.  “What was that about?”

              “Angie’s got awful good hearin’.  I don’t want to risk her catchin’ wind of our plans, even if she ain’t likely to hear ‘cause she’s distracted by somethin’ else.”

              “Right.”  Stan leaned against the wall.  “So.”

              “So.”

              “I was right,” Stan said.  Lute frowned.  “Hey, I told you just askin’ her wouldn’t work!”

              “Then what do you have in mind?  Should we do somethin’ sneaky?  I ain’t used to bein’ sneaky without Angie bein’ in on it.”

              “No need.  We’re gonna go with my idea, and my idea’s gonna work.  No sneaking around necessary.”

              “How so?” Lute asked.

              “I’ll tell you on the way.”

              “On the way where?”

              “To wherever Max is.”

              “We’re goin’ to go behind Angie’s back?” Lute squeaked.

              “When you say it like that, it sounds dirty.”

              “That’s ‘cause it is!”

              “Fine, it’s dirty.  But it’ll get the job done.  Figure out where Max is and we’ll go talk to him,” Stan said.  Lute eyed him suspiciously.  Stan sighed.  “I’m being literal.  We’re actually gonna talk to him.  We won’t be throwing any punches.”

              “Good.”

              “Not unless Max throws one first.”

              “Oh, Lord.”  Lute dragged his hands down his face.  “What did I get myself into?”

-----

              Stan shoveled old hay and manure out of the horse stall.  All in all, he didn’t mind mucking out the barn as much as he thought he would.  Horses turned out to be way less gross than he expected.

              “I’m still surprised Max took it so well,” Lute said from the next stall over.

              “What did I tell ya?” Stan called back.  “I know what I’m doing, Gucket.”

              “I’ll only agree once they’re actually done.”  Hooves clopped against the concrete floor.  Stan looked over his shoulder.  Angie was back from her ride with her horse, a palomino named Daisy.

              “Who’s gettin’ done?” she asked.  She clicked her tongue and pulled on the reins.  Daisy came to a stop.  In one smooth, effortless motion, Angie dismounted.

              “We’re talkin’ about muckin’ out the stalls,” Stan lied.

              “Ah.  Yeah, it ain’t a bad chore, but it’s a bit time-consumin’, fer sure,” Angie said with a nod.  “I’ll drop Daisy off in the paddock ‘n come back to help you fellers out.”

              “Thanks!” Lute called.

              “No problem.  One of these horses is mine, after all.”  Angie led Daisy out of the barn.  Stan’s head popped up at the faint sound of tires crunching on gravel.  He looked over at the driveway.  His mouth went dry.

              “Shit,” he breathed.  Max’s Tesla had pulled up.

              “What was that?” Lute asked.

              “Max is here.”

              “He is?”  Max exited the Tesla.

              “Yep.”

              “Well, maybe he’s just here to peacefully break things off with Angie?”

              “I dunno about that, Gucket.  He looks pretty damn pissed to me.”

              “Uh-oh.”

              “My thoughts exactly,” Stan said.  Max stormed into the barn.  “Hey, Max.”

              “Keep my name out yer mouth,” Max snarled.  Fury flashed in his amber eyes.  Stan winced.  “Where’s Angie?”  As if on cue, Angie walked back into the barn, carrying Daisy’s saddle and reins.  She smiled at Max.

              “This is a nice surprise,” she chirped cheerfully.

              “Why would ya think that?” Max asked.  Angie blinked.

              “Ya don’t drop by the barn often.  I wish ya got here a few minutes earlier.  I could’ve showed ya what I’ve been workin’ on with Daisy.”

              “Stop it,” Max snapped.  Angie frowned.  “You know why I’m here.”

              “Uh.  No.  I don’t.”

              “Dammit,” Stan said under his breath.  Similarly hushed, but PG-rated, swears sounded from Lute’s stall.

              “I’m here ‘cause ya went and sent yer brother ‘n farmhand to break up with me fer you!” Max thundered.  Angie gasped.  The saddle and reins fell from her hands, tumbling onto the concrete floor.

              “I- I most certainly did not do that!”

              “Really?  ‘Cause they showed up at my house a coupla hours ago and told me that you wanted to break up, but were too nervous ‘bout it, so’s ya chickened out and sent someone to do it for ya.”  Max pinched the bridge of his nose.  “If ya want to break up with me, just do it yourself.  Heck, I would’ve taken a text over Lute ‘n Stan givin’ me the news.”

              “I didn’t tell ‘em to break up with ya fer me!”

              “…You didn’t?” Max asked softly.  Angie shook her head.  Max’s shoulders drooped in relief.  “So, ya don’t want to break up?”

              “I…”  Angie looked down at her feet.  “I wouldn’t say that.”

              “Then-”

              “I don’t know how those two yahoos found out and I sure don’t know what possessed ‘em to break up with you for me, but they- they weren’t wrong,” Angie said.  “Fer- fer a while now, I’ve been tryin’ to think of how to handle this.”  Max covered his face with his hands.  His shoulders shuddered.  “I- I can give ya the lil bit of the speech I was workin’ on.”

              “No,” Max choked out.  “Don’t.  Just- just let me walk out of here with some dignity intact.”

              “Okay,” Angie said softly.  Max turned on his heel and strode out of the barn, furiously wiping away the tears streaming down his face.  Angie immediately spun around to glare at Stan and Lute.  “What in the Sam Hill did you two do?!” she screamed.

              “You said it yourself, you wanted to break up with Max.  We took care of it for you,” Stan said.

              “Sure, I wanted to end things with him, but I didn’t want you two to do it for me!  I-”  Angie’s face crumpled.  “I was tryin’ to think of a way to end it where we’d walk away with the smallest amount of hurt I could make, and- and the two of ya went and made the hurt worse than I- than I thought would be even possible.”  She covered her mouth with her hands, tears spilling onto her cheeks.  “I feel- I feel so betrayed,” she sobbed.  “How could ya do this to me?!”

              “We were just tryin’ to do what was best,” Lute said quietly.

              “Well, ya did what was worst!” Angie wailed.  Stan winced.  Footsteps sounded.  Pa and Ma McGucket walked into the barn.

              “We saw Max hightail it out of here and figured somethin’ went down,” Ma McGucket said.  She caught sight of Angie and immediately made a beeline for her daughter.  “Oh, sweetling…”  Angie clung to her mother, sobbing.

              “Did ya break it off with Max?” Pa McGucket asked.  Angie shook her head.  “He ended it with you?”

              “N-no!  They ended things!” Angie said, pointing at Stan and Lute.  Pa and Ma McGucket looked over at the boys.  “They- they told Max I wanted to break up with him and- and-”

              “It was Stan’s idea!” Lute said quickly.  Stan glared at him.

              “Not cool,” he hissed.

              “It don’t matter if it weren’t yer idea, you should’ve known better ‘n to go along with it,” Pa McGucket said firmly.  “Both of ya, go to yer rooms.  Now.”  Stan and Lute dropped their shovels.  As they started the long walk of shame back to the house, Pa McGucket joined his wife in comforting Angie.

              “I can’t believe we did that,” Lute whispered.  “I- why’d I go along with ya?”

              “We thought it was the right move to make,” Stan said.  Lute shook his head.

              “No.  I think we both knew it was wrong.  But we were too blinded by our jealousy to see that.”  Lute put his hands in his pockets.  “Well, so much fer gettin’ more time with Angie.  It’ll prob’ly be months until she wants to be in even the same room as us.”

              They walked through the farmhouse front door and parted ways at the staircase.  Lute went upstairs to his room, while Stan continued down the hall on the ground floor to his.  He entered his room and slammed the door shut behind him.

              Stupid, Stan, stupid!  Stan sat on the edge of his bed.  The image of Angie breaking down, sobbing so hard it sounded like it hurt, her hair getting damp from her tears, was seared into his brain.  Why’d you do that, you fucking idiot?

              As if in answer, a new picture of Angie appeared in his mind.  When she had ridden in on Daisy mere moments before shit hit the fan.  Her caramel-colored hair tossed by the wind, her cheeks pink from excitement, and blue eyes shining with delight.  Her sweet smile and bell-like laughter at even the worst of Stan’s jokes.  Her sarcasm and kindness and how warm and soft her hands were when she was teaching Stan how to bake biscuits.  Her ability to wake butterflies in Stan’s stomach just by stepping into the room.

              Stan’s heart plummeted to his feet.

              Oh.  That’s why.

[young-dumb-and-vaccinated]

Cult Girl: Doctorate (Hannibal x Female!Reader) pt. 8

Cult girl and Hannibal go through an exhaustive list of potential adoptive couples. 

@wisesandwichshark

Trigger warning: sexual harassment, christianity, discussion of pregnancy and family planning, adoption, murder and cannibalism 

Step two: find an adoptive family.

Some would say your list of expectations for potential adoptive parents was too extensive. Impossible for any human to reach. But it was really just the bare minimum.

Regardless of if they were two men, two women, one of each, or a few people, the parents had to be trustworthy. It wasn't easy to earn Hannibal's trust, but he could recognize those who had the capacity to right away. It was a little instinct you had dubbed 'friend or food'.

On paper, the apostolic pastor and his wife of 19 years seemed like the perfect candidates. The adoption agency tried to push them on you, as they had a great track record with adopting from them prior. Three boys, all of which were honors students.

Hannibal insisted on a formal introduction, during which you could conduct a proper, though surreptitious, interview. It was an invitation to dinner.

He invited the couple into his office, where a pot of tea and an interrogation was waiting for them. Then there was you. Barely-pregnant little [F/N], feeling entirely safe so long as your fiancé was beside you.

"You're doing the right thing, y'know." The woman, who introduced herself as Mrs. Landon, said upon meeting you.

"How do you mean?" You asked, already knowing the answer.

"All god's life is precious." She said, placing a hand on your not-even-remotely-showing-yet stomach. "You're walking in obedience to the lord by giving this child a shot at life."

Strike one: bringing up religion unprompted. Strike two: touching me without asking first.

You wanted to swat her hand away, but remembered that patience was a virtue. She and her husband took a seat across from you.

"Y'know," The man began, his mannerisms eerily similar to those of his wife. "I don't usually begin with the god talk, but I think a higher power had to have been involved in the conception of this- well, our child. I'd like to think the good lord brought us together today."

Strike three: already believes he is entitled to my child. You're outta here.

"Don't flatter the adoption agency like that, Jacob." Hannibal chuckled, placing his teacup on the side table.

"I'm serious, Dr. Lecter." Jacob interjected. "Faith and I really do believe that god put us on this earth to prepare his smallest soldiers for the spiritual war."

You shot Hannibal a side glance that said 'can we please just eat them now?'.

The answer was no. Hannibal liked to play with his food.

"And your adult children have all moved out?" He asked.

"That's right." Jacob nodded. "We have plenty of room in our five-bedroom house for the new little slugger to run around in."

"And if it's a girl!" The wife interrupted. "We have enough closet space for all the denim maxi-skirts money could buy."

Strike four: arbitrarily genders the behavior of a nine-week-old embryo.

The man then returned the teacup to the table, not bothering to use the saucer and instead leaving a nasty ring of condensation on the polished mahogany.

"Okay." Hannibal huffed, resignedly rising from his seat. He pulled two hypodermic needles from his back pocket and carefully, subtly stuck them onto the couples' necks. They couldn't even scream.

The tacos al pastor that followed (after a few days of marinating, of course) were exquisite.

The next week brought a new couple to your doorstep. Frank and Angela, they were named. Their claim to fame was that their oldest son played football for one of those big southern party schools. Either Auburn or Alabama. There was hardly a difference.

You sat for what felt like hours listening to the man speak in unintelligible football babble, waiting for him to take a breath. Surprisingly, it was the mom who got him to finally shut up.

"Frank, please." She said with more frustration than this one situation even remotely warranted. Either she had enough intuition to know she was being tested, or she’d spent the last decade putting up with this. Possibly both. "You're boring our hosts to death."

"What? No way! She loves it!" Frank replied, then turned to you. Not to Hannibal, just you. “Aren’t you having a great time, sweetheart?” 

Strike one: takes advantage of the female socialization to be passive and polite, allowing himself to take up the most space.

You shook your head. “I hate football.” 

His wife looked quite pleased with herself. 

“Angie, I just wanted her to know what good breeding her son is going to have.” He said, without a lick of irony or self-awareness. He eyed you up and down and licked his lips. “And it is mutual, I see.” 

The room went quiet as everyone tried to determine whether he was serious or if it was just a fucked-up joke. The longer the silence lingered, the more you realized he wasn’t kidding. Angela looked like she wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

“I don’t know what the agency told you, Mr. Wyatt,” Hannibal said, trying not to grit his teeth. “She isn’t a surrogate. She’s already pregnant.” 

Frank’s jaw hung dumbly open. “I thought you were looking for a sperm donor? I just-” 

“No.” You cut him off, raising your hand and covering your face. “I don’t want to know what you thought.” 

“Well, I would!” Angela interjected, righteous fury eclipsing what should have been crippling embarrassment. “What exactly did you think this was, Francis?” 

“The file said that he was over fifty, so I just assumed--” Frank rationalized, his voice far too loud for the room. “Y’know? That she wanted a baby that wouldn’t come out all funny-looking?” 

“You’re disgusting.” You blurted out. 

“Francis Howard Wyatt,” Angela scolded as if she were talking to her son. “You are forty-eight and the only increasing part of your body is your blood pressure. Why on Earth would any woman choose you over her smart, handsome doctor fiancé?”

This made Hannibal sit up a little straighter. He wanted Francis on the butcher’s block yesterday, but he momentarily considered letting Angela live. 

“They’re not married?” Frank whispered, or whatever the loud-aggressive-toxic-masculinity version of whispering was. He paused, as the dead hamster on the wheel powering his brain crept back to life. “That actually makes sense.” 

Angela loudly smacked her hand against her face. “Dr. Lecter, Ms. [L/N], I am so sorry.” 

“It’s quite alright, Mrs. Wyatt.” Hannibal stood up, readying the next batch of needles. “It just makes what I’m about to do easier.” 

It took quite a bit of restraint to not make their deaths hurt, but he made up for it when it came time to carve. He had fun running his fittingly small penis through a meat grinder. Not with any intent to cook it, though. Just because. 

Hannibal wanted to make Francis Wyatt into the least dignified meal imaginable. You quickly recalled going to a friend’s barbeque in Georgia and encountering a horrendously Southern delicacy known as Frito Pie. You proposed the idea to Hannibal, who, after reviling in abject horror at the notion of eating something out of a bag, agreed that it was the most fitting end. He could spare a few pounds of flesh to grind up and make into chili. 

The third week brought yet another couple. They seemed smart enough to realize your invitation wasn't the friendly olive branch the others had interpreted it as. Their healthy skepticism was refreshing, to say the least. Then, you met them: Max and Archie.

"You'll have to forgive my partner's paranoia." Max said upon entering the house. He tugged playfully at Archie's hand. "We watched Get Out recently, so an invitation to the suburbs sounded some alarms in his sleep-deprived brain."

"I love that movie." You chimed in. "It reminds me of my family."

"Oh no." Archie's eyes widened in only half-pretend fear. He shot an I-told-you-so look in his partner's direction. 

"But my favorite horror flick has to be Midsommar." You added. "My friends and I saw a midnight screening and we didn't sleep at all that night."

"But have you seen Hereditary?" Archie posited.

"Of course." You shrugged. "Aster is totally genius."

You made more than just polite conversation with the couple. Max, despite his young age, was a skilled data analyst and day trader. He attributed his success to the hard work of his immigrant parents. Archie was an environmental lawyer and land activist. He was also a bit of a thrill junkie, indulging in everything from scary movies to bungee jumping.

It didn't take long to realize that you wouldn't be eating them. They were far too pleasant of company to eat.

"So when is this baby planning to make its entrance?" Archie asked, gesturing to you. "You don’t look all that pregnant to me."

You put your hand over your slightly-protruding stomach. "Late August, I believe. If everything goes according to plan."

"You're not far along at all, aren’t you?" Max observed. "That gives us plenty of time to prove ourselves to you."

"Believe me." You put up your hand. "You're doing a great job so far."

“If you like horror stories, we might have to indulge you in the last two encounters we had.” Hannibal commented, leaning back comfortably in his chair. That was a good sign. “No blood was spilled, thank god. Would have ruined my carpets. But believe me when I tell you it came very close.” 

The couple laughed along. Archie leaned in like he was about to tell a life-shattering secret. “You wouldn’t believe the hoops we had to jump through to even have the chance to adopt. And I don’t want to say that it’s because we’re an interracial gay couple, but...” 

“Agencies aren’t exactly colorblind.” You finished, via his prompting. 

“She gets it.” Archie pointed to you. “See, Maxie? She agrees with me.” 

Max pushed his glasses up his nose. “I never said I disagreed.” 

You spent the rest of the afternoon waiting for the conversation to take a sharp left turn off a cliff, but it didn’t happen. They were wonderful company; polite, intelligent and articulate. Exactly the kind of people you’d want to see taking care of your child. 

You’d have to look for you next meal elsewhere. 

[rainsofvioleta]

here's your time to shine: 25 for the violetta ask thing

25: if you were to rewrite season 3, what would you change?

*rubs hands together* seatbelts on please everyone :)

this roxy plotline; we're keeping it, BUT - she doesn't become roxy because she's jealous and impulsive, she becomes roxy because she's feeling incredibly lost - she's quit youmix, antonio's gone, she's broken up with león, and she's got this totally new family dynamic that she doesn't really know how to handle. violetta isn't sure who 'violetta' is anymore, so to become 'roxy' is a relief because there's no pressure or expectation. i'd probably have león figure out it's violetta fairly early on, he wouldn't tell her though, he'd allow her to carry on with the charade because he'd start to understand she's doing it because she's literally having an identity crisis. and yeah okay maybe he's falling in love with her all over again, and I'm picturing a scene where he lets her know that he knows and that it's okay to ask for help because he can see that being both violetta and roxy is starting to get too stressful for her; i think him, fran and cami would probably stage an intervention.

i'd have a deep dive into WHY león acts so jealous all the damn time, this guy's got two years worth of trauma, and needs a lot of reassurance from violetta all the time that she loves him and only him - I'd probably keep that breakup they have in ep 22, but have it be because león acknowledges that how he's acting isn't healthy and he needs distance.

geryyyyy gery gery gery 🙄 as much as i want to completely write her out, i do think she had wasted potential. i would give her an actual backstory, in which we see that she's got a lot of trust issues - my personal hc is she had a friend she was once close (possibly more than friends?) with, who outed her to her parents, who then cut her off - these are all people she should be able to put her faith in and they let her down; violetta happens to look/act like this girl she once knew and gery makes a negative assumption based on that. working this into the show could be difficult without flashbacks, i would maybe have her stalking her ex-"friend"'s social media a lot and even have clement overhear a phone conversation between the two of them. i think her obsession with león would be born out of a subconscious desire to get revenge on violetta whom she associates with this other girl, as opposed to genuine romantic attraction (comphet maybe too?).

diego and fran!!! i really want to see diego's FULL arc, they started season 3 with everyone 100% cool w/ diego no questions asked??? i kinda want him to still be a lil hung up over the events of the past year, people are still a bit suspicious of him but he gains everyone's trust and also fran's attention 👀👀 but slower this time, with some classic tropey "oh look they accidentally ended up in e/o's arms", and the whole nonsense of keeping it from violetta is dragged out for maybe 5 episodes max before fran just blurts it out because they're literally best friends!!

priscila: we see her get 10 years in jail :)

with germán and angie as much as i love the drama and their chemistry i would honestly have preferred the show to have germán just solo parent violetta, angie is there to help but not as a romantic partner to germán...

tl; dr

I'm fixing leonetta's ridiculous miscommunication and jealousy plotlines, GIVING gery a plotline, making diego's arc feel more natural, and putting people in therapy! if you gave me a notebook and two spare hours i could probably write an outline for the whole series but this is all I've got right this second 😗

[childrenofthelab]

ok now that i've napped and had a little time to process, spoilers for volume 2 under the cut

Part of me had kinda called Brenner's death the moment I saw that episode 8 was called Papa. Still I honestly found it pretty satisfying, and Brenner as a character still intrigues me for just how entrenched he is in believing he's in the right

uh...where is Owens? They just kind of...abandoned the whole military subplot for the final episode so I can only presume they'll be back next season?

The moment Jason appeared on screen I was like "oh god, he's really lost it now." Like you could very much see he'd just snapped completely

I will say it repeatedly, they can go fuck themselves for Eddie's death. Did I know it was probably coming? Yeah, I knew either way it probably wasn't going to be good given there was still a witch hunt out for him but jesus christ we need to stop this trend of introducing a character that's clearly going to be a fan favourite only to kill them off because they're too much of a coward to kill one of the actual mains and instead we must make them suffer adjacently. Needless to say I'll be going canon divergent on that aspect here

(The whole guitar scene was fucking sick though)

Don't get me wrong, I'm soft for Stancy but...idk, it just feels like it's being really shoehorned in this season, only for the heelface turn at the very end

Jonathan is a good big brother and I will die on this hell (also how fucking difficult was it to just have an actual coming out scene rather than constant alluding? like we all know it at this point)

Also fun that my thought of Henry being/controlling the mind flayer rather than the other way round turned out to be true, and that likewise he'd stick around for next season

I'm not gonna lie I...completely missed Jason's death? I was running on 23 hours awake at that point though. Seeing Lucas beat the shit out of him was very satisfying. More satisfying though was Erica beating up his attack dog friend though

jesus christ did they really need to pretzel max like i'm sorry it feels like a cop out max deserves better

You're telling me they decked themselves out with shotguns and shit to make spears and molotovs but no one thought to get THE GUY PLAYING BAIT some sort of body armour when we've literally just had Steve play chew toy? i'm sorry they are not that stupid

I fully refuse to believe that Dustin Henderson would leave Eddie's body in the Upside Down. He wouldn't. What's more, NANCY WHEELER sure as hell wouldn't, not after what happened with Barb

Are they just...not gonna tell us how Dmitri ended up? Like sure he escaped with them but like...he's still counted as a traitor, did he come to the US? Did he go back to try and get his family? Anything?

I also feel like the whole suggestion of a time skip to try and match the actors ages now...doesn't really work? Like it very much feels like something that needs to continue straight on from where it left off?

Anyway i'm still angy

[buttmuncher91]

a lot of advanceshippers love to say such bs about Drew even to this day. Drew is not my favorite character & it’s fine to prefer advanceshipping over contestshipping and I kinda like advanceshipping , but some of the things they say are ridiculous! This is not bashing on all advanceshippers or advanceshipping in general, this is just some quotes (not exact) I’ve seen that I’ve had problems with.

”Drew is a jerk! Ash would treat her right!“

Both would treat her just fine! Drew watches out for her & tells her when Harley is tricking her, saved her friends & brother when she was busy, saves her friends, cheers her up when she’s down, & they both calmly talk to each other when alone.

Besides, there are some things to point Ash being a jerk to her too! Ash yelled at her because he was butthurt he had no boat to get his next gym badge & skips out on watching some of her contest when May even watches him battle regular trainers.

And it’s not like May is an innocent angel herself. She yelled at Ash & Drew for no reason, had her torchic attack Ash, & forced Ash to agree to let her travel with him by bringing up her bike.

I know May & Ash have developed a lot sense than, but so has Drew & y’all are just stuck viewing him how he reacted at the beginning.

”May hates Drew & loves ash!“

She doesnt hate Drew. At the very worst, she sees him as a friend & has seen him that way by “Who, What, When, Where, Wynut.” Like I said we seen them talk a lot when they run into each other & heck, she even ditched the group, including Ash as he was talking to her, to talk to Drew when she saw Drew. So tell me again how she loves Ash way more than Drew lol!

And in ”Spontaneous Combustion“ May blushes at Drew after he waved and walked off. May never blushed around Ash, even when some weird couple accused her of being Ash’s lover. And there was nothing in that scene that indicates her getting red met something else. She wasn’t sick, doesn’t look mad, didn’t do anything embarrassing, etc... so it looks as if she really likes Drew.

”Drew is a flirts with any girl & would cheat on May, but Ash would never cheat on her!”

You people have nothing to back this up. Drew had fangirls gushing all over him? May being Norman‘s daughter and probably because she’s referred to as hoenn princess, has a lot of fanboys! In fact, Ash is more likely to cheat on May then Drew dispite him being oblivious, as Drew showed 0 interest in his fangirls & ran from them. If he was such a flirt, he wouldn’t run from fan girls, but would try & you know, FLIRT with them. Drew also showed 0 interest for other girls, & only teases May. You advanceshipper fanbrats (not saying all advanceshippers are fanbrats just the advanceshippers who think this) only pretend he is to make up reasons for May to reject Drew.

”He only likes May for her rack, & wouldn’t care for her if it was flat!“

Talk about reaching. Drew only stares at her FACE! He never stared at them, & the anime gave her chest 0 focus. He isn’t just some creeper. Despite not being interested in her, he treated Breanna nicely & she was flat. He may just have puppy love/a crush on her, but saying he’s just trying to win her because of her rack is complete bs!

”Think about it, Drew & May would make ugly babies!”

Based on what? Cuz Drew has green hair? As someone whose least favorite color is green (okay, okay dark/forest green is pretty), I think this is a stupid claim. Even with a weird hair color, there’s a chance the child could be cute, & really beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Hair color is NOT even close to a huge factor to what separates not ugly to ugly. And they don’t have to make babies if they do get together. They can just choose to adopt to help out those who need a home or just happily be with each other with no children at all.

”Drew is in less episodes with May than Ash, so advanceshipping is better & will be canon!”

🤦‍♀️Misty has the most screen time with ash. By this cruddy ”logic,” Misty & ash (so far) are canon. Yes, misty has much more screen time with ash than May. Misty had all of Kanto, Orange Islands, AND Jhoto with ash... as well as a cameo with ash in Hoenn, and TWO separate cameos in Alola. And at this point, May could have spent more time with Drew. It’s been 4 regions that Ash hasn’t even thought of 1 of her Pokémon after all this time. I’m no pokeshipper, but let’s be real here.

And most of the time Ash & May are on screen, it’s them focusing on their goals/Pokémon. They cheer & encourage each other too, but it’s mostly friendship stuff. Could something happen later on between them to spark love? Sure. But nothing in the anime ever pointed to that. And you can literally say that with Ash and... ANYONE! Like Ash could grow up, met back up with Roxie & they could fall for each other.

When Drew appears on screen, you mostly see hard evidence for contestshipping, weather on Drew’s side, May’s side, or both. Yes, there’s evidence on BOTH sides that they like each other. At best, advanceshipping looks one-sided on May’s side. And even then, it mostly looked that way in the beginning of AG. There’s way more evidence that May likes Drew & vice vesa than with ash & May, even with “less contestshipping hints!“ A lot of hints for shippings are overblown. Not just advanceshipping hints, but poke/pearl/negai(actually never mind, negai is under looked & over hated)/amour/etc... are over blown & it’s just ash being his usual nice/childish self. With Drew, it’s obvious he likes her as how he constantly stares at her, teases her, gives her red roses (& says they’re for beutifly), etc... While I think I covered how May likes Drew enough already. And yes, this could just be a kiddy crush for the both of them, but in the end there’s still harder evidence that Drew & May like each other.

Plus there are a lot of canon fictIonal couples who had less screen time with each other than other characters. Naruhina, ichihime, Hinny, gochi, etc...

“Drew never saves May’s life, unlike Ash!”

So? May never even tried to saved Ash, like she did with Drew!

Ash has also saved: Angie (who has a more confirmed crush on ash), Dawn, Pikachu (3x I can think of), Chinchar, Lillie (or at least attempts to help a lot of times), Celiebi, Erika’s Gloom, Serena, Misty’s sisters Pokémon, a ton of CotDs & their Pokémon...

And what of those who saved Ash? Misty, Sabrina’s... family photographer, Gary, Iris, Clemont’s father, Zeroara dude, a ton of officer jennys, Pikachu, a lapras, Paul, Drew (ya keep on hating him if it werent for him Ash Brock and Max would probably be dead in that crate Jessie, James & Meowth trapped them in so not even advanceshipping could happen).

“Rivals can’t be dating!”

Where did you get this bs? Even in the pokeani IN THE AG SERIES this has been proven false. Watch Pasificlog Jam again. Who put you in charge of how couples should work anyways? If a writer wants to have rivals hookup in their story, than they have that freedom to have the rivals hookup regardless how upset you get over it.

“Ash & May kissed in a banned episode, so advanceshipping is canon not contestshipping!”

Come on guys, they’re 10. The anime creators aren’t gonna have two 10 yr olds kiss on the lips. Its really creepy some person came up with this. No, it’s not creepy cuz I don’t like advaceshipping (I actually like some aspects of it). Again, it’s creepy because they’re 10. If they were like 13+ yrs old, it‘d be okay, but NOT 10. Plus, even Japan is very sensitive when having kissing on the lips happen with kid shows. Even with adults, they censor it/show something else as the kiss happens & just imply it happened. Expecally how they view kissing on the lips in the first place, they ain’t having 2 ten year olds kiss.

And there would be NOTHING to imply that they where going to kiss. Around this time this episode that they kissed claimed to happen (episode 357), Ash & co. where heading to fortree. Nothing ever was implied from the both of them even want to kiss each other. They just where supportive friends of each other with no hinting there where secret feelings or developing feelings from ether of them. Theres also nothing beyond that episode that implied the kiss happened. Because if it did actually happen, I’m sure something like that would impact the next few episodes, but nope no mention of any kiss nor do ash & May act any differently around each other in 358 and beyond. So even if it did happen, it was going to more than likely sink the ship, like it was some akaward thing they did because they were “under the mistletoe“ & afterwards just agreed to be friends & forget about it. The pokemon anime was always about friendship, adventure, and Pokemon themselves, never romance.

Also episode 357 is “Take This House and Shuppet!” not “A Kiss Under the Mistletoe!“ The Japanese episode is the same as the English barring names & episode number.

Were do you get such a sorce for this info? “my friend’s japanese friend who talked to the director of the AG anime & saw it!” or some other ridiculous unreliable garbage like that? Give me actual sources with interviews from the writers talking about this supposed banned episode. Bet you can’t, unless it’s fake & unreliable. If it existed, it would have floated up by someone from Japan. After All, even if for 20 mins that episode should’ve existed if it was just banned. Like “Electric Soldier Porygon” was banned completely & only aired one time in Japan. However, there are places that you can watch the episode despite it being completely banned due to putting a lot of children in the hospital from seizures. That was older than the supposed advanceshipping kiss episode as ’Electric Soldier Porygon’ is a Original Series episode in Kanto the 38th episode. No one can find this supposed advanceshipping episode nor is it even listed in the banned episode list. It should be harder to find this older banned episode than it should be to find this supposed banned kiss episode.

“Why should May choose Drew over Ash? Ash is like a literal god!”

What? Yes, he’s befriended every legendary & come back though poketears, save the world so many times, has arua abilities (he rarely uses), & whatever else, but it’s not like he seems that BA or whatever. Ash not aging seems over focused on, when in reality NO ONE is aging. It took him 7 regions to win 1 league (a questionable one at that), can’t remember Pokémon he seen before & sometimes forgets what he learned, & needs saved by others sometimes. Some god, can’t even rescue himself. Besides, who knows what Drew has done on his adventures. Drew has also saved Ash, Brock, & Max from trouble, isn’t Drew awesome saving someone ”like a god!”? Drew also has beat him in a battle as well, is that y’all’s problem?

And where is Ash’s voice in all this? It’s like this in all this anti-Drew bs. “Drew is just this terrible creature who possesses all 7 deadly sins & is the creation of Giratina & thus May hates & so does everyone else! However... blessed by Arceus himself, we all just know not dense Ash Ketchem is waiting to sweep May off her feet & save her from the demonic spawn that is Drew who is lusting after her bewbs😡” (<-original ideas, do not steal jkjk). Like there’s NOTHING to indicate ash wants her. And do you think this of May as well? Like do y‘all think May is just this perfect, sweetest, most divine woman in the pokeani that only Ash “blessed by Arceus“ is the only guy that should be blessed by such an angel? 🤣

Look, I like Ash & I like May. But even with my favorite characters I wouldn’t go as far as to think so highly of them that it makes Helga’s obsession with Arnold look like nothing. And just because Ash is more amazing with more feets & whatever, doesn’t mean May has to love ash or that Ash has to choose may because Drew doesn’t measure up to him.🤷‍♀️ Just think about it, should Timmy’s mom go with Dinkleburg? After all, he is smarter than Timmy’s dad, has more money & is more successful than he is. And Wandesemo is more popular, not stupid, & mostly competent unlike Casmo. Should Wanda dump Casmo for him? Of course i understand wanting the best person to end with you’re favorite character. But that’s not how love works & in the long run isn’t fair to both Ash & May (& Drew, but I know you haters don’t care about that).

[moiloru]

About the so-called "Third-Case Syndrome"

I've been in the Ace Attorney fandom for a few years now, and there is a story I've heard more times than I can count: the story of the "Third-Case Syndrome." After joining the Danganronpa fandom, I realized - not without surprise - that a similar "Third-Chapter Syndrome" had admittedly cursed the series. However, I do believe that, in both cases, it would be wise to exert caution: things are never as simple as they seem. Now, even if this seems evident to me, I'll say it just to be sure: this is only my opinion. You might disagree, but please do not be toxic about it.

Before we proceed, I'd also like to warn you all: spoilers ahead for the entire Danganronpa and Ace Attorney series (even the Investigations and DGS games). Now, let's begin.

Ace Attorney:

AA1 - Turnabout Samurai:

To start off, we have 1-3. I agree with most of the fandom that it is slightly too long and the investigation segments drag out. Going from Studio One to Studio Two, to the Detention Center, etc. is quickly boring. However, its cast is solid (especially Powers and Oldbag), Dee Vasquez's motive (self-defense) is original, the Steel Samurai's theme slaps, and Edgeworth gets the first bit of his character development! I believe it outweights the negative aspects of the case and make it enjoyable. I believe it is far better than 1-1 and 1-2 (with its obvious twists and rushed ending), although it doesn't compare with 1-4 and 1-5, of course. But it's definitely not the case that people point the finger out when arguing about the "curse."

JfA - Turnabout Big Top:

I'll definitely be playing Devil's advocate on that one, but I like 2-3. Of course, the whole "love triangle" thing was shit, but the rest of the case was fine! Regina sucks, that I can agree with, but Moe was funny (in my opinion), Max got some quality character development in the end, Ben & Trilo were a nice duo, and Acro... Acro is one of the best culprits in the series, hands down. His theme is amazing and he is one of the most tragic characters in the series. Knowing that he unknowingly killed the person who had helped him is just sad, and his motive for trying to kill Regina, while not excusable, is understable. Losing the two people he was closest to, and him explaining that he couldn't "up and leave" (literally, too) before Bat had woken up was just sad. Also, while 2-3 isn't amazing like 2-4 (my favorite case) is, it's miles ahead of 2-1 (which objectively sucks) and 2-2 (which lasts for hours with an annoying and predictable culprit). Besides, the plot twist at the end with Edgeworth appearing sets the tone for the upcoming final case. In my opinion, Turnabout Big Top gets some undeserved hate.

T&T - Recipe for Turnabout:

3-3 is really good, no questions asked. The mere fact that it's better than 3-2 (predictable culprit, forgettable victim...) is obvious to me. But it also features the return of Maggey, and the first (and only) appearance of amazingly comical characters like Furio Tigre and Victor Kudo (who both have amazing theme songs). The victim might be a little forgettable, but he at least gets some development, unlike Bullard in The Stolen Turnabout. Of course, Tigre is obvious as the killer, but he's meant to be this way, and the way you corner him is amazing. The reveal that Godot can't see red on white matters in 3-5, and the case is hilarious. Special mention of Viola Cadaverini, who's underrated by the fandom, in my opinion. 3-3 is probably the strongest third case in the Trilogy, and it is definitely not the worst case in T&T.

AJ - Turnabout Serenade:

Okay, this case sucks. I dislike it very much and I can't find anything that would redeem it. The victim is boring, Daryan is obvious, Valant isn't good enough, the mini-game is tedious, and the "Phoenix saves the day" thing is repetitive. However, 4-3's biggest flaw is the defendant, Machi Tobaye. Lamiroir is an enjoyable character, and the plot twist surrounding her eyesight isn't bad, but it doesn't make Machi good enough not to ruin the case. This case is the weak point of a great game, but fortunately, 4-4 more than makes up for it.

DD - Turnabout Academy:

Dual Destinies is my least favorite game in the main series, but it has some solid cases, 5-3 being one of them. The trio of Juniper, Robin, and Hugh is amazing (even if the twist around Robin was pretty obvious), the WAA trio works very well, and we even get a chance to see Klavier again (his objection clip sucks, though)! It is definitely a strong case, even if Means was a bit obvious, and while it doesn't hold up to the great ending of DD, I do believe that 5-3 is better than 5-1, 5-2, and maybe even 5-4.

SoJ - The Rite of Turnabout:

Maya's comeback makes this case good, albeit not great. It is better than 6-1 for sure (drags on too much for a tutorial case) and probably 6-4 and 6-6, but it pales compared to 6-2 and 6-5, of course. Nayhuta is the weak point of 6-3, but everything else about this case is pretty good! The "new" Maya is a right balance of her former self with some more maturity, Datz is funny, Beh'leeb Inmee was a really emotional character, and while I don't like Tahrust too much, the plot twist around his death was pretty cool. Also, this case also makes it clear why Phoenix did what he did in 6-5 when Inga blackmailed him: he can't lose Maya. It could have been better, but this case is solid, and definitely not part of a "curse" of any kind.

AAI - The Kidnapped Turnabout:

Unfortunately, AAI kinda sucks. The first three cases aren't that good, and while I1-3 is probably better than I1-1, I'll admit it's terrible. It's long, the Amanos sucks, Lauren Paups isn't that great, and if it wasn't for Kay, the case would probably be the worst in the series.

AAI2 - The Inherited Turnabout:

Is there anything bad to say about I2-3? I mean, you play as Gregory freaking Edgeworth, so what more do you want? Ah, yes, it also has DL-6 development, the exceptional Katherine Hall and Jeffrey Masters, plot twists, flashbacks done right (!), and while the villain isn't great, he is satisfying to catch, and he matters in I2-5. Honestly, this case would probably be enough to prove my whole argument.

DGS1 - The Adventure of the Runaway Room:

After a somewhat disappointing second case (in my opinion), DGS1-3 is really good! Megundal (I'll use the names from the fan translation, since I'm used to them and like them better) is quite the interesting character, and the Engarde-like plot twist surrounding him is amazing. His death in the final cutscene is also good and ties in nicely with the final case. Ryunosuke's first trial in England gives him cool development, and damn it, Barok van Zieks! His legslam, glass throw, and objection clip suffice to make him an amazing character, and there's more to him that just that. This case is better than DGS1-2, DGS1-1, and maybe even DGS1-4 if you don't consider its link to DGS2.

DGS2 - The Return of the Great Departed Soul:

While not as good as the two following cases in my opinion, this case is definitely above-average. Gina's comeback is just great, and her new mentor-protégé relationship with Gregson is nothing short of wholesome. Enoch Drebbler is one of the best culprits in the duology, and Courtney Sithe's character is very good, too. She gives a confident vibe that really serves the case. Benjamin Dobinbough (because his canon English name is one I refuse to acknowledge) is a great clueless defendant, and his relationship to Barok is quite nice! It definitely makes the case trickier! Rozaic has a really mysterious and enjoyable atmosphere surrounding her, and finding Herlock standing like statue at the wax museum was amusing. Of course, the best thing about this case is Asogi's return. It is handled well by the game that doesn't try to cover the obvious plot twist.. The final cutscene is just *smooch*. I also can't forget the Joint Reasoning with Herlock when looking for Enoch. Again, this case is definitely not part of a "curse" of any kind.

Overall thoughts:

I don't think the Third-Case Syndrome holds for Ace Attorney. Some third cases weren't good (4-3 and I1-3) but most are either good (1-3, 3-3, 5-3, DGS1-3) or excellent (I2-3 and DGS2-3). I know Turnabout Big Top traumatized most of the fandom, but I don't think it's that bad, and definitely not bad enough to start a curse revolving around third cases.

Danganronpa:

Trigger Happy Havoc:

Chapter Three of THH is... good enough. The pointless argument between Taka and Hifumi is annoying, to be sure, and Celeste did us a favor by getting rid of them. And her plan wasn't bad, either! It could have worked if Makoto and Kyoko had not been there. However, I do believe that this chapter is too boring before the first murder. The motive is also... meh. The plot twist oh Hifumi waking up and remembering Celeste's true name was enjoyable, though. 1-3 isn't amazing by any means, but I think it's better than 1-5 and 1-6, but it stands no chance against 1-2 and 1-4.

Goodbye Despair:

Well, this one sucks. I think it's the only DR chapter that literally has a plot hole. The "Despair Syndrome" motive is probably the worse in the series and this case pretty much ruined Mikan's character. Her execution is lame, Ibuki shouldn't have been a victim (seriously, why?), the culprit is obvious, and the timeframe to execute her plot doesn't work if you aren't Sonic the Hedgehog. Also... that attempt at fanservice was cringe, and it almost killed Hajime. The only thing that redeems this chapter a bit is the name "Titty Typhoon" but that's it. This one definitely alimented the "curse," and rightfully so. In-between two great cases, 2-3 doesn't make a good impression.

Killing Harmony:

3-3 is a chapter I have mixed feelings about. On the one hand, the atmosphere was excellent and fitting of the killer, and Kokichi's prank had us all freak out at first. I don't like neither Angie nor Kiyo (sorry, Kiyo fans), but somehow, it didn't make the chapter worse for me. On the other hand, the Necronomicon motive sucks almost as much as the motive in 2-3. It could have worked in DR2 considering the Killing Game happened virtually, but in V3, the motive was just an outright lie from Monokuma, so it doesn't work. Also, Kiyo was a bit too obvious: the music, the theme, his sudden importance in the plot, the séance... it was just a bit too much not to make him suspicious. Finally, this chapter's major flaw, which I can sum up in one word: sister. That, was traumatizing. Without even going in details, everything that happened after Kiyo's "sister" appeared during the Class Trial ruined it. I'm also curious to know if the writers at Spike Chunsoft are mentally stable, considering Kiyo's relationship with his sister and the fact that they ship Monotaro and his sister Monophanie in the next case. It's not a bad chapter at all, but it has its flaws, unfortunately.

Overall thoughts:

While I wouldn't call it a "curse," it's true that third cases in Danganronpa aren't amazing, especially in DR2. You'll also notice that I didn't mention UDG simply because it's too different a game to be compared to THH, DR2, and V3. If we ever get another Killing Game, I hope that the third chapter will be better, because we've yet to have an awesome Chapter Three so far.

Final thoughts:

I don't believe there are curses revolving around third cases/chapters, neither in Ace Attorney, nor in Danganronpa. However, it's true that in the case of Danganronpa, on average, third cases are the weakest, while Chapters Four and Five are almost always great. Third cases in Ace Attorney definitely get an unfair treatement, though.

Thanks for reading, and I'm open to discussing all of this if you disagree!