#though there's apparently suggestions that the captain is actually gay

[mekanikaltrifle]

Last doctor who related thing for the night: my girlfriend has been insistent I draw the gay UNIT boys. You know the ones

[yonderghostshistories]

I'm planning on starting that MP Regency AU fanfiction! What should I include? (U, PG and 18+ suggestions are all welcome!)

OH MY GOD YOU'RE ACTUALLY DOING IT?!?!!? LESS GOOOOOOO!!!!!

Ok uhh here's my suggestions!! :

-All (well technically 3) the Pythons have a really specific kinda Regency royal/heir-like title/nicknames to them based on where they were born (i.e some random examples; John Cleese, Earl of Weston-super-Mare, Captain/Admiral/General Graham Chapman, Duke of Leicester, Terry "Jonesy" Jones, Baron of Colywn Bay of North Wales). Then you have Vicar Michael Palin (of Sheffield), Baron Terry Gilliam from Paris, France (he says he's a Baron but the others don't really believe him and thinks he's really a phony or something lol), and self proclaimed "Maestro" Eric Idle (from the local Cheshire pub). Then you also have Stableboy Neil (Innes)/Neil the humble Stableboy, Countess Carol Cleveland and Countess Connie Booth (in this AU, Connie is Carol's older half-sister/cousin) of London, Lieutenant David Sherlock (Gray's second-in-command in the army, and also love interest but pretends to just "be friends" so to not make people suspicious about their relationship with eachother, etc!

-Gray is both a highly respected army official by day (at work technically), and a promiscuously gay playboy by night (when he has the time off doing the army business). He smokes alot too.

-Jonesy ends up with Regency era Denise Coffey and learns that she's not as "bad" as anyone makes her out to be. She's considered"bad" because she's apparently "too common" to fit with society. In other words, society thinks she's "too unattractively normal" to be considered pretty, to which she politely says bullshit to :).

-John and Gray are childhood best friends with eachother. Michael and Jonesy are also childhood best friends with eachother. Eric and Terry tags along as well.

-John becomes instantly uhh "emo" and tragic and moody and cold because of his recent breakup with his (ex-)fiancé Connie, even though they just broke up since almost a week ago. He mopes about it all the bloody time that even his friends start to get annoyed by it all, and it makes even his own sappy poetry look like decent stuff.

-Eric and Neil meet up at the weekends to play as a musical duo at the local Cheshire pub. Eric is, ofc, sorta homeless, meaning he has to to stay over at Neil's cottage house but also stay at the local taverns until he has to pay rent.....but mostly he chills out at Neil's house.

-Eric gets a "rags to riches" kinda story where, with the help of Gray who just so happen to be at the local Cheshire pub to "meet a special friend of his" (which is ofc David) in which Gray overhears the pretty good singing, he agrees to hire Eric as his servant and give him a permanent place to stay and enough money to live by. Eric is ecstatic ofc!

-Michael is a kind and innocent vicar, a follower of god, but he's a bit horny too! He particularly has a crush on a nice and kind woman called Helena (who runs the local bookshop in the town). Mike has the hots for Helen but knows he can't actually ask her out due to him being religious and stuff and it apparently going against the rules to marry whilst preaching about god or something. However, he tries to get around this by starting out slow, via becoming companions with Helena by helping her with the bookshop part-time. It all seems going to plan. However, things start to get a bit too *spicy* when Michael accidentally sees Helena in her regency era undergarments (which is a "stay"-kinda undergarment) just as she was about to get unchanged. As if it couldn't get any worse, the stunned Michael commits the greatest sin he has ever committed.......he sees a bit of her bare back. That alone is enough to make Michael faint. Helena, being the good and understanding friend she is, helps Michael get back to life and takes care of the poor soul. Michael is grateful for Helena helping him, but feels guilty for seeing her like that. Helena tells him that it's ok and that it was an accident at the end of the day. Michael smiles, and out of the repressed passion he held back for all these years, he slowly cups her face and begins kissing Helena, and Helena, at first surprised, is then quickly eased and understands and kisses back Michael. Michael and Helena then have the most excruciatingly passionate sex that night, and both are left satisfied.

-Gray meets David in an abandoned farmhouse, and they both announce their feelings for one another, and they both kiss passionately and uhh have the most beautiful gay sex one could ever hope.

-There's alot of "characters running through the moors" whenever the character starts a new relationship, romantic or platonic.

-Gray wakes up naked every morning after each promiscuous affair.

-Terry the Parisian Artist develops a romance with the ""weird"" woman who runs the tailoring clothes shop, Ms Margret "Maggie" Weston. Terry & Maggie bond over their shared weirdness and love for absurdities in life.

-John and Connie began an (almost) lifelong romance (before they broke up) when they were young teenagers of about 16/15 at a ball one night. From there on, they hit it off with each other pretty well. The young John and Connie then sneakily exited from the ballroom, then they snuck out and playfully ran to the garden maze and then snogged each other all night long.

-The Pythons and Co go to a regency era fairground/carnival and have a lovely, fun time there. They also get to ride on the merry-go-round on the merry-go-round horses!

Uhh hope you enjoyed the ideas I gave! Let me know which of the ideas is your favourite and why? I absolutely can't wait to read it!!

[snowlessknitter]

The Masked Singer: S11 E6 (Group A Returns/Transformers Night)

Another Wednesday, another episode of The Masked Singer! Tonight Group A returns to the competition and if I remember correctly, we get a new Wildcard entering the competition. There is a double elimination this week. As always, I post before seeing any unmaskings, so don’t take my guesses as spoilers.

I’m watching on a delay, but have done everything I can to avoid spoilers.

Starfish ⭐️: We see record sleeves with Eric Clapton, Fleetwood Mac, and Green Day. We also see a fishbowl with a “Teachers Lounge 🍎” sticker on it. The word “LIVE” in neon lights, which could possibly mean she was on Saturday Night Live. I’m kinda leaning towards Molly Shannon, but let’s find out what the bonus clue is. The bonus clue: Starfish has earned awards as part of a talented group. It’s either someone from SNL or an ensemble sitcom. I’m sticking with Molly Shannon for now.

Ugly Sweater 🧶: His wife is on the cover of a magazine called “Crochet Couture”. A silver jet plane, he apparently topped the charts and she had no clue who he was. Opposites attract, eh? The bonus clue: He spends his time wisely and got a lifetime achievement award. I have no clue who this is, but I think the judges’ best guess is Charlie Wilson from the Gap Band.

Lovebird 🦜: Says he hid in plain sight and the world got to know him as somebody he wasn’t. Seen waving a checkered flag, indicating he won something. A golden birdcage containing a golden container of popcorn. (That could indicate he won an MTV TV & Movie Award.) He says he’s helped people “from courthouses to White House’s”, so perhaps he’s an activist? Possibly a well-known LGBTQ rights activist? I’ve seen some people suggest this is Colton Underwood from The Bachelor (who came out as gay a few years after his season aired), but I don’t know if that lines up with the popcorn. I also considered Lance Bass, but the vocals don’t quite line up with Lovebird’s. The bonus clue: Has made television history before. I’ll go with Jenny’s guess of either Nick Viall or Colton Underwood, but I don’t know if the clues line up either way.

Goldfish 🐠: A snow globe with a Christmas tree. A vampire bat. And it sounded like she said “mum” instead of “mom”, which I think could indicate she’s from Canada (as it’s common in some parts of Canada for people to refer to their mother as “mum”). A police siren. Says she’s seen her exes everywhere and her romance turned into TikToks. The bonus clue: Put her heart, soul, and tears into her work. I’m still leaning towards Carly Rae Jepsen, but Rita’s guess of Nina Dobrev could also work, as Nina is Canadian (she was on Degrassi before becoming famous in the United States for The Vampire Diaries).

Koala 🐨: A sticker with the abbreviation “CO” (the postal abbreviation for Colorado). A championship belt with the Sun on it. A cattle skull with a tiny hat, a white rose with a captain’s hat. On the first listen, my gut says it might be Donald Glover (aka Childish Gambino), but let’s see what the bonus clue says. The bonus clue: He’s on a shortlist with some of the greatest of all time. Could be an athlete, possibly Von Miller (who played for the Denver Broncos). But he played relatively recently. I’d say the best guess from the judges, though, actually came from Ken: Deion Sanders. (Although I don’t think there was any mention of his time playing baseball with the Atlanta Braves.) But I think I’ll stick with Deion Sanders for now.

[notaboutmeeee]

Its been so many years so my memory doesn't have all the info anymore and yeah sadly many accounts have deactivated or videos been deleted...

And I only started watching the show during s3 but there must've been a shift in s3. Because during s1 and s2 the show and actors didn't mind talking about sterek and teasing the fans/ship. Very clearly showing they knew what it was and how many people were interested in it. Holding contests, asking for votes for awards/noms

And then from s2 to 3 suddenly stiles and derek have very little screen time together, few scenes, and even the actors mentioned it. Coincidentally in s3 both characters got new female love interests (aside from lydia, almost erica and kate in previous seasons). And who knows if it's a coincidence that jennifer/Julia looks similar to stiles (as does paige) Or just an unlucky happenstance. And that Cora was Derek's sister, and malia Derek's cousin... plus the whole bi stiles baiting which was also insane

At least s3 kinda had an interesting story so fans stuck with the show even if they weren't totally happy. (Oh and in s3 we got the danny ethan couple, so teen wolf was fine with pairing up gay characters as long as they were disposable side characters, and s5 there was Mason and corey also disposable side characters)

And because teen wolf loves giving many of its fans exactly what they don't want, we got few sterek scenes (less than s3?) In s4 and fucking kate again. But this time the story couldn't distract us plus they added so many new characters it was like a new worse version of tw...

And then hoechlin abruptly (understandably) left the show.

Not to forget the bwt interview that was quite a slap in the face to sterek fans after the cast had only spoken 'kindly' of it the years previous . And then the 'if you're watching the show for sterek you're watching it for the wrong reason' (paraphrasing, can't remember the quote right now). Plus the sterek ban..

Also during s1 and s2 there's plenty of interviews hoechlin and dylan did together (as duo or group)..and then suddenly you'll have trouble finding interviews with both together and if they are both present there'll be 10 people sitting between them not letting them interact anymore.

Actors like Colton and Holland calling themselves captain of the sterek ship... the we're on a ship video, the fake announcement with hand holding at sdcc '12

Then at cons or in interviews we have dylan and hoechlin talking about how they pitched scenes to Jeff and the writers, stiles and derek/sterek scenes. And they were ignored or given to other characters which is such a disrespect. And had fans upset bc their suggestions were scenes that would've meant sth to the characters and relationship and would've felt real and been good TV.

The fact that to this day we don't know why sterek never happened? They just ignored its existence while still profiting off of the few scenes they could squeeze in

A dishonorable mention that's important in my opinion is also how the toxic tw Fandom is also a reason some people moved away, it certainly drove me away for a while. Why would I want to be present in a Fandom where you get called a creep and weird and disrespectful and more ...

When you (sterek fandom) get shot at from all sides even though you literally played a major role in teen wolf making it to even season 3 (maybe even 2?)... and some point you have enough

But apparently mtv/Jeff didn't have enough because they wanted to bait sterek fans yet again for the movie..however sterek fans for a large part don't give a shit. Like we'll have one person sacrifice their sanity so they can make gifts and pics and clips and then only interact with that . Why watch the movie when we can actually write or create what we want ourselves?

But sure, stereks are the villains for expanding on the very limited character info, giving derek and stiles more life than Jeff ever could. For bringing a ship to life simply because dylan and hoech have such great chemistry, so Jeff can't take the credit. For creating more art for our ship than other ships did for theirs. For thinking about what was established in the show, not shrugging off their past but thinking about the fire and kate and stiles' mom and his dad's alcoholism (?). For calling out teen wolf because they refused to keep track of their lore. Getting called crazy for simply using previously established lore on sterek scenes, and deducing stiles must be Derek's anchor, that stiles and derek probably hung out a lot off screen to know so much about each other/risk their life and career for each other,that derek probably broke through a love spell bc of his trust in stiles, why did stiles have dereks name on the king, why was derek so protective of stiles who was nogitsune, ..

i've watched some sterek videos over the past few months since the movie dropped of people trying to analyze the ship and like so much of it is that you had to be there.

teen wolf fandom was one of those first fandoms that really broke down the 4th wall. davis got run off tumblr for fuck's sake and deleted his twitter if memory serves.

so much of this context is now attached to deleted twitters and deactivated tumblrs.

perhaps one day i'll dig into my tags and hunt stuff down because i remember things. things like the actor for matt dahler commenting on his character's "pretty good pair" line in season 2 and how it got fandom in a titter because it was a shoutout. teen wolf social media was good at getting engagement by teasing all sorts of utter bullshit. they were very good at the carrot and stick method to keep fans coming back again and again and again.

but these post-show autopsies lack this kind of context and over rely on the boat videos for teen choice and posey's comments.

there were a lot of things that sort of culminated together that had people shipping the pairing and abandoning the show. it was not exclusive to be a sterek shipper to eventually leave the show.

it's really kind of fascinating.

[veliseraptor]

Hi! With the Black Widow movie coming out, I just re-watched some old MUC movies and remembered how much I love Natasha. What are the main, must-read, Natasha-centric comics that you would recommend to a comics newbie? (You once made a similar post for Loki comics that I used and found extremely helpful.) Thanks for everything you share! I've found a lot of content that I enjoy through your blog!

Thanks, anon! I'm always happy when I can be rewarded for my loud yelling about things that I love. :D

I was sure I'd made a Natasha reading list a while back but apparently not?? what the fuck self. (well, other than my overall MCU starter kit recs post from forever ago that was for all of the O6 and is also very old.)

okay well then I guess it's time to do that now, no time like the present! going to link to trades where they exist but I'll include issue numbers as well

heads up: you probably will run into references you don't understand in some of these. that's comics for you. my advice: either let those things float by you, or just Google them - you can enjoy comics without knowing/having read all the lore!

anyway, the recs.

the easiest suggestion I have right off the bat though is the Black Widow Epic Collection editions that have been published recently (Black Widow: Beware the Black Widow, and Black Widow: The Coldest War) which include some of her major appearances, including in a bunch of old single issues that would otherwise be hard to find. HOWEVER, those won't take you up into her more contemporary appearances (the latest publish date in there is 1996).

THE TOP OF THE LINE

The Marjorie Liu run collected as Black Widow: The Name of the Rose (Black Widow vol. 4 #1-5). If you read no other Black Widow comics, read this one. It's so good, easily one of my top five comics runs of all time. Cannot recommend it enough.

Black Widow: The Itsy Bitsy Spider which includes two different short runs (Black Widow vol. 1, #1-3 & Black Widow vol. 2, #1-3). This is probably my other favorite Black Widow collection of issues (and they very much lead into each other); here's where Yelena gets introduced and also where you can find some very gay panels. If you can't find this one, you can find the same issues republished with the added Pale Little Spider miniseries in a trade called Marvel Knights Black Widow by Grayson and Rucka: The Complete Collection.

The Nathan Edmondson/Phil Noto run collected in three trades The Finely Woven Thread, The Tightly Tangled Web, and Last Days (Black Widow vol. 5, #1-20). This one follows on thematically in some ways from the Marjorie Liu run but primarily the appeal here, in my opinion, is Phil Noto's art, which is gorgeous.

The Mark Waid/Chris Samnee run collected as Black Widow: SHIELD's Most Wanted and Black Widow: No More Secrets (as well as in a Complete Collection edition) (Black Widow vol. 6, #1-12). This was a series not long enough for this world but a delight while it lasted - again, particularly the art, but Waid and Samnee also just work together very, very well.

Black Widow: Web of Intrigue which includes Marvel Fanfare #10-13, Bizarre Adventures #25, and Black Widow: The Coldest War, some older stories featuring Natasha.

THE DEEPER CUTS

I'd put down first Hawkeye & Mockingbird / Black Widow: Widowmaker as a recent series worth reading; the trade also collects Solo Avengers #16-18 in addition to Widowmaker #1-4. I don't think it really gets referenced in other places, but it's a fun collection of issues and I love the dynamic of these three together.

If you want to dig into the background of the character and her true comics origins, check out the old comics collected in Black Widow: The Sting of the Widow which include her first appearances, the introduction of her iconic costume (in Spider-man, actually), and her short run in Amazing Adventures (Tales of Suspense #52, Amazing Spider-Man #86, Amazing Adventures vol. 2 #1-8, Daredevil #81).

This is...kind of a weird one and also a mixed recommendation, but I will throw out there the semi-extracanonical Black Widow: Homecoming (Black Widow vol. 3, #1-6) and Black Widow: The Things They Say About Her (Black Widow 2 vol. 3, #1-6), apparently also now collected as Black Widow: Welcome to the Game, written by Richard K. Morgan (yes, the author of the book that inspired the Netflix show Altered Carbon) because while they are...not good in all ways they do hit some very specific notes for me in places.

Captain America & Black Widow is a short team-up run with Steve and Natasha that's enjoyable if a bit wacky (Captain America & Black Widow #636-640) from a period of time where there was just a series of Captain America team-ups as part of the Captain America run.

This is going to be a hard one because it's not collected anywhere as far as I can tell, but Marvel Knights #1-15 which was published in 2000-2001 as part of Marvel's street level gritty initiative thing (that actually produced some quite good comics). I tracked it down in single issues back in college and actually really loved it. Team book but Natasha is prominent.

If you can find Black Widow & the Marvel Girls (Black Widow & the Marvel Girls #1-4) it is a treasure of a miniseries but unfortunately very difficult, in my experience, to track down.

The Black Widow: Widowmaker collection pulls together an assortment of sort of random oneshots/short runs with some good stuff in there (mostly the thing that I like that is in this one and not in other collections on this list are Fear Itself: Black Widow #1, but it does also include with other material some of the other runs on this list - Black Widow vol. 4 #1-8, Black Widow: Deadly Origin #1-4, and Widowmaker #1-4).

Finally: there's The Champions, the short-lived team Natasha actually led back in the day which is pretty Silver Age but sometimes in an endearing way, and the arc collected in Daredevil: The Widow which is Natasha-centric (Daredevil #61-66) and good enough that I bought it even though I'm not a particular fan of Daredevil. But that might partly be because I really like Alex Maleev's art.

People recommend Black Widow: Deadly Origin but I am not personally a big fan. I'm putting it on here mostly so you have it and also so other people know I'm aware of it.

I'm not yet caught up on the most recent currently running series so I can't speak to recommending it or not.

if you really, really want more deep cuts, anon, I have some, uh, team runs and single issue appearances I'm very fond of personally, but that starts going way down the rabbit hole in a way that perhaps you do not want to.

[musette22]

no attack to you because I know you're still bitter about endgame which is valid but stop using the word straighwashed. I ship stucky but Bucky has only ever dated women in comics and the mcu and that's real. the situation with the "straightwashed" word is that some people are really turning it into a "wanda situation" in which they're saying that they changed basic things about Bucky when that's not true. they're attacking the character and sebastian for things that arent real, which never were. again, bucky has only ever dated women in both comics and the mcu. our headcanons really have nothing to do with real canon

Hello! Thank you for sharing your concerns, I appreciate it. I’ll admit that ‘straightwashing’ wasn’t the best choice of words here, though mostly because we have to be careful with terms like that because using them callously might diminish their value and impact in instances when they’re really applicable. So my statement was a little too bold, and it’s good that you pointed that out. But let me try to explain what I meant in a slightly more nuanced way, because I do feel strongly about this. I’ll put it under the keep reading tab though, because of course it’s long lmao

So, first of all, let me say that I’ve never read the comics and I don’t know original comic Bucky well at all, so everything I’m saying here is with regard to MCU Bucky, or at least the character as it was re-invented/re-introduced by Ed Brubaker in the Winter Soldier comics, which was then adapted for the big screen by the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

I understand what you mean when you say that MCU Bucky was posited as straight, but I some reservations about your use of the word ‘real’ here. I get that you mean ‘canon’, and on a surface level, canon Bucky is indeed straight. But if you even so much as scratch that surface, you’ll find plenty of reason to wonder if maybe he isn’t actually completely straight after all, right? It’s what drew a lot of people to ship these two characters together, you and I included. That’s subtext, and a lot of it was put there or endorsed by the creators themselves (Ed Brubaker himself even supports the reading of Bucky and Steve as romantic, so that says quite a bit, I think). Subtext is ‘real’ too, and so is homophobia, sadly, so they deserve to be treated as such, in my opinion. A romantic reading of the relationship between Steve and Bucky was frequently hinted at, initially even encouraged, and then violently shut down by Marvel/Disney when it became too mainstream of an opinion and it didn’t suit them anymore, and even started to present a real issue for them in terms of distribution to certain parts of the world. In a nutshell, that’s what led to Steve’s ending in Endgame, because Captain America (at least the MCU one, that brings in the money) cannot outwardly be anything other than straight, or he would be rejected by a significant part of their audience. That’s more or less what I meant by the word ‘straightwashing’, although ‘straightened out’ might be more accurate here.

Whether the same thing is happening to Bucky’s character remains to be seen (more than it already did, I mean – remember “Dot”?) and I’ll wait until the whole show has aired and we know exactly how they develop Bucky’s character in it before I make any more bold statements about it. I read an interesting take today that suggested they may have actually dropped a hint at Bucky being bi in this first ep (also, note how they’re like “there are even entire blogs dedicated to this pairing!” And then actually link to @steveandbvcky’s amazing tumblr blog lol). I’m pretty skeptical about this take, because even if they’re right and that really was a hint at Bucky being bi, I doubt they’re going to be exploring that any further, and only people “in the know” will have even picked up on that. It’s easy enough to ignore, and it’s very clear the date was with a woman, so in that sense Bucky is still Straight, to all intents and purposes. So while it could be an act of what you might call fanservice and we’ll probably gratefully lap it up anyway because we’re starved for crumbs and representation, if this is all it is, then it’s even more meaningless than Gay Joe Russo. But again, I’ll reserve judgement on all this until the whole show has aired and we know exactly what we’re working with, because maybe they’ll redeem themselves! (one can only hope)

Let me also just make it clear that I in no way support or endorse attacking the actors for their portrayal of these characters in a way that we’re not entirely happy with. They’re just doing their job, they’re on Marvel’s payroll – and even if they just don’t personally view the characters in the same way we do, that’s valid and fine as long as they’re not actively homophobic or anything like that. I also realise that fandom has a tendency to ‘demand’ certain things they want to see and throw a tantrum if we don’t get it. 

But I really don’t think that’s what this is. It’s more than that. Marvel has a notoriously bad track record when it comes to LGBT representation (although they’re working on that in the next phase, apparently) and in this day and age, that really won’t fly anymore (it never did of course, but you know what I mean). Moreover, read any given article about Bucky, or the relationship between Steve and Bucky, and 8 out of 10 times you’ll find some sort of acknowledgment of a romantic reading of it. It’s that apparent and pervasive. So I don’t think that being disappointed and frustrated with Marvel/Disney reinforcing a ‘just bros being bros’ reading of Steve and Bucky’s relationship time and time again since the end of Civil War (the movie, not the historical event) is outrageous or unjustified. That’s basically what I’m sick and tired of, and what led me to make a disparaging comment about not being surprised if Bucky were being ‘straightened out’ again.

P.s. A few people have mentioned Arnie Roth too, which could be a good point too although I don’t know enough about it to comment on it, but I’ll leave it to you.

[foramomentonly]

Your meet ugly fics are sooooo amazing!!! Can I please request Malex for 55..?

Author’s Note: Yay, I finished another one! Thank you for the prompt, anon, and I’m sorry for the ridiculously long wait.

CW: Michael exhibits some unconscious racial bias here that leads to mistaken identity. I want to be transparent in case that isn’t what someone wants to read right now or ever.

my twin clearly did something to piss you off, but you obviously don’t know I’m a twin so I’m listening to you tell me how much of an asshole I am and am very amused and it’s making you angrier

“Hey, Manes!” 

Alex turns at the familiar, but unexpected voice and freezes. Michael Guerin is coming towards him, striding across the parking lot. Michael Guerin, with his wild curls and scoop neck tee shirts, his letterman jacket heavy on his broad shoulders and a pencil perpetually stuck behind his ear. Michael Guerin, who Alex has been hopelessly, laughably in love with for at least two years; probably since middle school, if he’s being honest with himself in a way he definitely wasn’t ready to be in middle school.

Alex is so caught up in the miracle that is Michael Guerin wanting his attention that he doesn’t register Michael’s anger until he’s being crowded against the Manes family vehicle, a shabby behemoth of a Ford Explorer, with Michael bearing down on him. He doesn’t touch Alex, but stands obstinately before him, denying Alex the space to open the driver’s side door and escape into the car and blocking his path forward into the open expanse of the lot. A few groups of students are lingering, jangling keys in hand while they make plans and wrap up conversations, but no one is close enough to notice them, and Alex is grateful not to have an audience to whatever is about to go down between the skinny, emo kid and the genius, varsity football captain.

“What the fuck, Manes?” Michael demands, hazel eyes blazing gold in the bright, afternoon light, nose and brow wrinkled in a sort of grumpy way Alex can’t help but be charmed by. “What did you do to my sister?”

Alex blinks, tries to take a step back, but he’s already pressed against the door of the car and he succeeds only in kicking up dust and a small collection of pebbles onto Michael’s sneakers.

“What?” he asks. “Your sister?”

“Yeah, my sister, asshole,” Michael parrots. “You broke her fucking heart!”

Alex takes a deep breath and bursts out laughing, doubling over and nearly headbutting Michael in the process.

"You think this is funny?" Michael hisses, jaw tense and teeth bared.

“I do, actually,” Alex manages between breathless giggles, wiping tears from his eyes with the cuff of his sweatshirt.

Michael growls in frustration, but he doesn’t move, his hands flexing impotently into fists at his side.

“You really think you can dump Isobel a week before prom, call her a ‘frigid bitch,’ and I’m not gonna have anything to say about it?”

Isobel?

Isobel Evans. 

Alex connects the dots quickly, ties noticing Isobel Evans’ puffy eyes in class together with Michael and Isobel’s apparent relationship and his own brother Flint’s posturing comments at the dinner table earlier in the week and reaches an easy conclusion that wipes the amused smile off his face.

“Sorry, wrong guy,” Alex says, and lurches forward, knocking Michael back with his shoulder and pulling open the car door. 

“Bullshit!” Michael replies, stepping forward again and holding the door open with one hand, gesturing to the Explorer with the other. “This is the car that always picked her up and you’re the fucker who was in it.”

Alex whirls around so fast his backpack falls off his shoulder, and he leaves it in the dirt as he advances on Michael, poking a vicious finger into his own chest.

“I’m Alex Manes, I’m a junior, and I’m gay,” he spits. “My brother, Flint, is a senior and, apparently, as shitty of a boyfriend as he is a person. We both use this piece of shit to get around, but we’re definitely two entirely different people.”

“B-brother?” Michael stammers, taking an uncertain step back and staring at Alex in confusion.

“Yeah, man. Brother,” Alex says with a snarl. “Believe it or not, there are two Indigenous guys in this shithole of a school. But I guess I can give you a pass since we’re actually related.”

Michael deflates, shoulders slumping and head falling forward into his waiting palms.

“Fuck,” he mumbles, dragging both hands roughly down his face and raising his chin to meet Alex’s gaze directly. “I’m so sorry. I never really met the guy or saw him up close and I—Yeah, there’s no excuse. I’m sorry.”

Alex rolls his eyes; he’s still offended, but Michael’s apology seems sincere and in Roswell that’s a lot more than he’s come to expect.

“Yeah, well,” Alex mumbles, picking his backpack up off the ground and knocking it against the body of the Explorer to shake loose the dust clinging to the bottom, “whatever. Flint’s at some ROTC thing. He’ll be back tomorrow.”

“Wait,” Michael says, stepping forward to grip Alex’s arm before he climbs into the car. Alex glares at him and Michael rescinds his touch quickly, but Alex’s heart still flutters at the momentary feel of Michael’s strong, calloused fingers wrapped around his bicep. “Can I ask you something?”

“Why not,” Alex sighs, tossing his backpack into the back seat and leaning against the door he just slammed shut, arms crossed.

“Why weren’t you afraid of me?”

Alex scoffs.

“What?”

“You didn’t even flinch when I was comin’ at you and,” Michael puffs out his chest and shakes out his shoulders, presenting himself to Alex exaggeratedly, “I’m pretty intimidating.”

Alex laughs despite himself, shaking his head, and Michael grins as the tension in the air dissipates just enough for Alex to admit he still isn’t impervious to Michael Guerin’s charm.

“You might be hot shit now,” Alex says, and Michael raises an eyebrow in interest, “but I remember scrawny Michael Guerin who had to leave the room every time Ms.Turcios fed her snake a live mouse in middle school.”

“So, what I’m hearing is you think I’m hot,” Michael says, smiling slow and suggestive, and if Alex didn’t know better, he’d think Michael Guerin was flirting with him.

“Even if you don’t know who I am,” Alex continues, and Michael winces, “I know you, Guerin. And you’re not a guy to throw a punch unless you have to.”

Alex watches Michael’s expression shift, the corners of his mouth dropping as his smile softens, his eyes growing wider and his brows raising as though in surprise. He looks younger, open and vulnerable and hopeful; he looks every bit like that goofy kid from middle school whose good-natured showboating in class always made Alex laugh and whose innate intelligence took his breath away. And Alex realizes he hasn’t seen Michael look like that kid since the head football coach recruited him out of gym class freshman year, moved him into his basement (if the rumors are true), and dumped the weight of a lackluster team on Michael’s shoulders, reviving his own career in the process.

“All right, Alex Manes,” Michael all but whispers to himself, stepping close enough for Alex to smell his refreshingly subtle body spray, to catalog the highlights in his curls brought out by the sun and the flecks of green in his eyes, “prepare to be known.”

Alex laughs breathlessly.

“What does that mean?”

“It means what are you doing right now?” Michael flicks his eyes toward the Explorer, a bit of swagger creeping back into his smile. “Wanna give me a ride?”

A drive into the desert, a long, intimate conversation, and an impromptu blow job later, Alex thinks Michael might just have been flirting with him after all. He also thinks, for the first time in his life, he owes Flint one for being a dick and for hogging the car.

[dickspeightjrs]

Show Me How Big Your Brave Is (au / 4.8k words)

Prompt 17 from my ‘30 Destiel Prompts’ for @eccentriccas 

ao3 link

It stared at Dean from the fridge, tacked up by a Stanford University magnet gifted to Dean by his brother, Sam. 

He’d known his high school reunion was coming up at some point but seeing it embossed in gold lettering created a pit in his stomach. 

High school wasn’t the best time for Dean for a few reasons. First, his dad had died in freshman year, which Dean had had mixed feelings about if he was honest. He was mostly concerned about his mother. She didn’t take it well. And then there was-

Dean was torn from his stare down with the invitation by the door bell. He trudged over to answer it.  His best friend, Charlie, came bounding in with all the energy of a labrador puppy. 

“Hey, friend!” She exclaimed, pulling Dean into a tight hug. “Are you ready for our movie night?” 

Dean let himself be infected with Charlie’s excited energy. “Of course, dude! Give me superheroes in spandex already.” He laughed. 

“You go set up the first movie and I’ll put the beers in the fridge, okay?” Charlie instructed. 

“Sounds good, Bradbury.”

Dean lucked out when he’d met Charlie. They’d been assigned as roommates in college. There had been a mix up with the room allocations. Dean had been a little confused when he’d turned from his boxes to find a tiny red-head standing in the doorway of his dorm. 

Charlie had taken a step into the room, let her backpack fall to the floor, and said, “Don’t even think about trying anything. I’m gay as the day is long and I’m not afraid to punch a guy back into his place.” Dean hadn’t known how to reply so he’d just nodded and silently gone back to unpacking his things. 

It was when Charlie had put up a Star Wars poster above her bed that Dean knew he was about to make a best friend. 

“Ooh what’s this?” Charlie’s voice came from the kitchen.

Crap. Charlie had probably found the invite. He should have hidden it when he had the chance. He sighed and moved into the kitchen. 

Charlie had an extremely mischievous grin on her face, and that was saying something for her. 

“When were you going to tell me about this?” Charlie asked. 

“Urm, never?” Dean mumbled, reaching to snatch the paper out of Charlie’s hand. 

But Charlie was too quick and dodged Dean’s grasp. 

“Come on Dean. You have to go!” Charlie implored. “It’ll be fun!”

Dean gave his friend an unimpressed look. “Charlie you know how much I hated high school.”

Charlie’s face softened. “I know, it sucks that you got outed before you were ready. No one deserves that. But, it’s been ten years. Things have changed.”

“You don’t know the people I went to high school with.” Dean scoffed. 

Charlie rolled her eyes. “Stop being dramatic, you nerd.”

“Dramatic or not, I ain’t going.” Dean plucked the invite out of Charlie’s hand and tore it in two. 

Charlie stuck her tongue out at him. “Party pooper.”

*  *  *

A few hours later, Dean and Charlie were deep into their annual ‘NerdFest’ movie night. 

“I swear, if I didn’t bat for the best team, I’d be so down for a bit of Black Wing.” Charlie mumbled around a mouth full of popcorn. 

Dean couldn’t help but nod in agreement. Aside from Captain America (because, hello Chris Evans!), Black Wing was Dean’s favourite superhero. But he’d only appeared in ensemble movies. There had been rumours of him getting his own solo movie after fans online had campaigned for it but nothing ever seemed to come of it. The guy who played him seemed to just drop off the map. 

Shame, Dean thought as he watched Black Wing kick ass on-screen, that dude was hot! 

“Take someone like that to your high school reunion and it would make those dicks’ jaws drop.” 

“Drop it, Charlie.” Dean groaned, glaring at the red-head. 

“Just saying. Get a hot date and you’ll win the game of life in their eyes.” Charlie raised her hands in defence. 

“Noted. Let’s move on.” 

“Fine.” Charlie pouted. 

Dean nodded and turned back to watch the screen, content that the subject had been dropped. 

“OH MY GOD!”

Dean jumped out of his skin, sending popcorn flying through the air. “What the hell, Bradbury?” He exclaimed. 

Charlie started excitedly slapping Dean on the arm. “I have the best idea.” She practically squealed. “Put an ad up on Craigslist for a hot date.”

Dean’s eyes went wide. “No fucking way. Never happening. Now stop.”

“But-”

“No!”

Charlie sulked for the next half an hour, all through the iconic fight scene with Black Wing and his fellow team of superheroes. She stopped eventually after Dean offered her a piece of pie as a peace offering. 

*  *  *

After a couple more movies, Charlie had to leave. Apparently, being an adult meant that you can’t just spend all night watching with your best friend anymore - who knew? So with a ‘see ya later bitch’, Charlie was gone. 

Dean felt the aches from being sat on the couch for hours and he was looking forward to laying out on his bed for a good night’s sleep. 

He sighed to himself and tidied up the last remains of the movie snacks. He was ready for sleep but he had to work early in the morning and he wouldn’t have time to clean up before he left. 

Shuffling into the kitchen to put the rubbish in the trash, Dean spotted his reunion invite where he left it on the counter. Except, it wasn’t ripped in two like he’d left it. It had ‘mysteriously’ been taped back together. He dragged a tired hand down his face in exasperation. Charlie just didn’t know when to quit. She was the bratty little sister he never wanted. 

He plonked himself down on the chair at the counter and stared at the white paper for a few moments. 

Fuck it! 

Charlie was right (though he’d never admit it to her face). He was determined to prove to the assholes he went to school with that the shit they threw at him didn’t stick. It didn’t matter that Dean didn’t really believe it to be the truth,’ fake it til ya make it’ as they say. 

Before he could chicken out, Dean had Craigslist opened up on his phone. Thinking back to Charlie’s suggestion earlier, Dean decided against asking specifically for a ‘hot’ guy. He dreaded to think what kind of douchebags that would answer the ad proclaiming themselves to be an adonis. 

And, despite knowing since he was young that he was bisexual, he decided to aim the ad towards guys. His few relationships with women had never worked out. Even though this was all going to be fake, Dean would like to be able to at least get on with the person. 

In the end, he decided on a short and simple ad:

‘Hi, I’m Dean (28M) looking for a guy to take as my date to my stupid high school reunion next Saturday. Message if interested (no weirdos)’

He posted the ad and then spotted the time at the top of the screen. 

Midnight. Shit. 

He closed the website and dashed upstairs as fast as his tired legs could carry him. 

*  *  * 

The next morning, Dean got woken up by the feel of sunlight shining on his face. He must have forgotten to shut the curtains before he passed out last night. 

His blood ran cold when he realised that the sun shining on his face meant only one thing. He was late for work. He scrambled around looking for his phone to check the time but it was nowhere to be found. 

Suddenly, it came to him. He must have left his phone on the counter in the kitchen, meaning he didn’t hear his alarms going off. 

He cursed himself and sped to get ready. Quickly sniffing a shirt to check it was okay to wear, he got dressed and raced downstairs. Sure enough, his phone was sat on the table where he'd sat the night before. 

When he picked it up he found that it had also run out of battery overnight. 

Great. As if this day couldn’t get any worse. 

Forgetting all else on his mind, Dean grabbed his phone and dash out of the front door. 

*  *  *

The ad remained forgotten until a few days later. 

Dean was just about to sit down and relax with a beer when his phone lit up with a notification. He put his beer down on a coaster to check it out. 

It was a message from Craigslist telling him someone has been trying to contact him about his ad. 

Dean’s eyes went wide. He’d completely forgotten about the ad for a date after being late for work and being chewed out by his boss. He couldn't believe someone had actually responded. He looked at the date for the first message. This guy had contacted him like an hour after he’d posted the ad. 

He opened the message. 

(01:28) BlueEyesAndBlackWings says: Hello. I saw your ad for a date to your reunion. It says I’m only 10 miles from your location. I’m interested in helping you out. Are you still in need of assistance?

(10:11) BlueEyesAndBlackWings says: I assume, as you haven’t replied, that you’ve decided to go with someone else for your date. 

(11:20) BlueEyesAndBlackWings says: On second thought, this ad was probably a joke. Please ignore my messages. 

Wow. This dude talked funny. And reading that last message, Dean felt a little sorry for the guy too. He seemed lonely. But beggars can’t be choosers, so Dean prepared to reply. 

As he went to type, he noticed the guy’s username and smiled to himself. 

(19:37) impala67 says: don’t worry dude! the position as my date is still open. you’re the only one who has responded. 

PS. I like your username. you a Black Wing fan too? 

The reply was almost immediate.

(19:41) BlueEyesAndBlackWings says: Okay. What information do you need from me?

PS. You could say so. 

‘You could say so’? Was this guy purposefully trying to be mysterious? Either way, Dean was intrigued. 

(19:45) impala67 says: idk dude, just the basics I guess. how old u are, what u look like

(19:53) BlueEyesAndBlackWings says: I’m 30 years old. I have blue eyes and dark hair. I’m 6 feet tall. Anything else?

Dean hummed to himself. The guy sounded pretty average, which was okay with him.

(19:55) impala67 says: nah, that’s awesome dude. anything you want to know? 

(19:58) BlueEyesAndBlackWings says: I suppose it would be nice to know what you look like too. Also, if you don’t mind me prying, I wondered why you need to have a date for a school reunion. And why have you turned to Craigslist to find it?

Dean was set aback by this guy’s forwardness. But, he did have a right to know what he was getting into Dean supposed. 

(20:05) impala67 says: you already know I’m 28. I have green eyes. sort of light brown hair and i’m around 6’2”. as for the other shit. high school was a shit show. I’ve always been a bit nerdy i guess. people didn’t like it. then I realised I’m bi (hope that’s not a deal break btw). tried asking this guy out senior year. got outed to the whole school. got a lot of shit for it. 

(20:11) BlueEyesAndBlackWings says: I’m sorry to hear that happened to you. No one deserves that. Why do you want to go back? No one would blame you for leaving and never going back. (Again, if you don’t mind me asking.)

Dean blinked at the screen. His forgotten beer was getting warm but he was fascinated by this guy. He seemed genuine and Dean felt himself wanting to share the darkest parts of himself with a complete stranger. He sighed and typed. 

(20:20) impala67 says: I guess I want to prove to those assholes that the things they said didn’t affect my life. even tho that’s not always the truth. I still struggle to accept myself i guess.

Dean chewed his lip, debating whether to include that last line or not. But, hey, he was asking this dude to be his date, the least he could do was be honest with him. He pressed send. 

Blue Eyes didn’t reply instantly this time and it made Dean nervous. He wished he could take back the last bit of the message. 

After a few anxious moments, Blue Eyes still hadn’t replied so Dean gave up, figuring he’d scared the guy away. He cursed himself and moved to put his Doctor Sexy DVDs into the player. He’d never admit it to anyone, not even Charlie, but Doctor Sexy was his comfort show. It provided him with a much needed distraction. 

A couple hours later, Dean was beginning to doze. The extra few beers he’d had cushioned him into a deep sleep. 

When he woke, surrounded by darkness with only the DVD menu playing to no one lighting the room, Dean rubbed his face tiredly and went to check his phone for the time. 

Instead of looking at the clock, Dean’s eyes were distracted by the Craigslist notification. Blue Eyes had messaged him back! Feeling a little foolish that he’d reacted too quickly before, Dean opened the message.

(23:23) BlueEyesAndBlackWings says: You’re incredibly brave, Dean. Not many people would be able to do what you’re doing. 

Dean blushed in the darkness. Why were a random internet dude’s words affecting him so much? He didn’t really know what to say in response so he just sent a quick ‘thank you, dude.’

*  *  * 

Over the next few days leading up to the reunion, Dean carried on messaging Blue Eyes just to get to know him a little more. Turns out the dude is dorky as hell. And, despite the original impression he gave with the Black Wing username, the guy didn’t understand any of Dean’s other references. 

It had occurred to him after they’d been messaging for a while that Dean still didn’t know his name. 

When he confronted Blue Eyes about it, the man had taken a while to respond again and answered only with ‘I’d rather not disclose my full name at this time. But, you can call me C.’

Dean had been a little skeptical of the guy’s response at first. But then, he figured the worst case scenario was the guy turned out to be a catfish and Dean would just blow off the reunion altogether and go get drunk. And he couldn’t blame the guy for not wanting to give out personal details over Craigslist. 

The day before the reunion, they agreed it was probably best to meet somewhere a couple hours before so they had time to get to know each other in person and iron out the final details they’d need to know about each other. 

*  *  * 

Dean sat in the coffee shop they’d agreed to meet at (public and easy to escape if things went south). He tried to stop his leg from trembling under the table. 

He was nervous for a couple of reasons. The obvious: this guy could turn out to be a creepy old dude stalking men on the internet. And the less obvious but more surprising to Dean: he actually wanted this to go well. Without even knowing what he looked like, Dean had found himself beginning to like the guy. Even if he wasn’t attracted to him when he finally saw Blue Eyes, Dean would be cool with being friends with him. 

His eyes were following the patterns in the wood on the table top when a deep voice came from above him. 

“Dean?” It asked, with nervous uncertainty. 

Dean swallowed and looked up to the source of the voice and- 

Holy shit! 

It was him! It was the Black Wing!

What was the guy’s name? Cas- something? Castile? Casteel? Castiel! That was it!

Holy fucking shit! This couldn’t be happening. 

Dean realised he’d been staring wide-eyed during his internal freak out and Blue Eyes, Castiel, was stood looking as nervous as Dean had felt before the surprise adrenaline took over his body. 

“Sorry, dude. Please sit down.” Dean gestured to the chair opposite him. He wiped his hands on his jeans, nerves starting to take over once again. 

Neither man spoke for a few moments. 

“So I-” Castiel began.

“I don’t-” Dean spoke too. 

Both men chuckled. “You go,” Dean told Castiel. 

Castiel smiled softly, “I suppose, from your reaction, you know who I am.”

Dean blushed. “Yeah. For what it’s worth, I’m a big fan.” He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. 

Now Castiel blushed, “Thank you, Dean.” His expression turned serious. “I hope you understand now why I didn’t give you my full name while we spoke online.”

“Yeah, of course, dude. Don’t want any crazies hunting you down.” Dean chuckled. 

Castiel chuckled with him. “Yes, something like that.”

“So, um, before we get into the details for later, I was wondering if I could ask you a question?”

“Of course, Dean. You were honest with me, it’s only fair I return the favour.” Castiel smiled. 

“It’s only because I watched one of your movies the other night with my best friend, Charlie-” who was totally gonna freak out when Dean told her about this “-but wasn’t there meant to be a solo Black Wing movie? Everyone in the fandom was talking about it and then suddenly you seemed to disappear. I guess, I’m just wondering why you changed your mind?” Dean asked, nervously. He was waiting for Castiel to tell him to go fuck himself (though Dean knew that Castiel wasn’t really that kinda guy). 

Castiel cleared his throat and met Dean���s eyes. “We were just about to go into production for the solo movie when my brother and his wife were killed in a head-on collision with a truck.”

Dean’s mouth dropped open. But, he could sense Castiel hadn’t finished so he stayed quiet. 

“The only blessing was that it was instant, so they didn’t suffer. That, and luckily their daughter, Claire, was at the babysitter’s at the time.” Castiel smiled, melancholy whispers gracing his features. 

Dean knew he barely knew the guy but he could sense when someone needed comfort so he reached across the table to place a soft touch on Castiel’s hand. 

“I took Claire into my care. And that ended my career as I knew it.” Castiel shrugged. “I was deeply disappointed to have to leave the movie, but Claire came first. And I didn’t want her to grow up in the spotlight, with people using her parents’ tragic death as a way to sell magazines. So I left the industry. That was three years ago and I haven’t looked back. Claire is five now and she’s all I could ever want.” 

Dean was awestruck. “Wow.” He breathed. “I can’t believe it.”

“What?” Castiel asked, head tilting in confusion. (If the situation wasn’t so serious, Dean would have struggled not to comment on how adorable he looked.) 

“Dude.” Dean choked. “You called me brave for wanting to face a coupla high school assholes. But you - you gave up your entire career to give the best life to your niece.” He shook his head in disbelief. “You’re amazing.” 

Castiel blushed again (and Dean found he was slowly falling in love with that look on Castiel’s face). “I don’t know that I’m amazing, I just want a normal life for Claire and I.” He shrugged. 

“A normal life, huh?” Dean asked. “Well, I can try and help with that.” He lifted his hand from where it had been placed on Castiel’s and held it in the air between them. “I’m Dean Winchester. I’m twenty eight. A bit of a nerd and in need of a date this evening.”

Castiel huffed a laugh and placed his hand in Dean’s, shaking it. “I’m Castiel Novak. I’m thirty. Uncle to a beautiful niece and I would be honoured if you’d let me be your date for this evening.” 

Dean’s face broke into a smile, which turned into a laugh that caused a smile to spread across Castiel’s cheeks. 

They let their hands settle naturally on top of the table. 

Now, with their barriers down, they began making plans and ideas for that evening. Though, if Dean were being honest, it felt like he’d known Castiel forever already. 

Eventually, after what felt like hours of talking, Castiel got up to finally get himself a coffee. It wasn’t until Castiel’s hand left his that Dean realised they’d been holding onto each other the whole time. 

*  *  *

Dean and Castiel ended up talking for so long in that coffee shop that they were late for the reunion. The party was in full swing when they arrived. 

Just before they entered the hall, Dean stopped in his tracks. 

“What’s wrong, Dean?” Castiel asked, worry etched into his features. 

“Are you sure about this, man? There’s a chance someone in there could recognise you or something. It’s not worth ruining your life plan over just for me to say ‘fuck you’ to a couple of dicks.” Dean stressed. 

Castiel reached to take Dean’s hand in his. “Some things are worth a little risk.” He whispered and walked with Dean through the hall doors. 

It seemed Dean had had nothing to worry about in the end. They’d spoken to a few people who had seemed genuinely interested in that Dean had been up to since graduation. And they barely batted an eye when he’d introduced Castiel as his boyfriend. (He’d meant to just call him his date but clearly his mouth had had other ideas.) Castiel himself had just placed a soft hand around Dean’s waist - stopping Dean from an internal panic. 

It was all going so well and Dean was starting to think Charlie had been right (again, damn her!). Maybe everyone had just grown up and moved on. 

Once they’d finished a conversation with the guy Dean sat next to in English class senior year, Castiel went to the bar to get them some drinks, whispering in Dean’s ear that he’d be back in a moment. Dean was a little sad Castiel hadn’t gone a bit further and placed a kiss on his cheek. 

“Well, well, if it isn’t Dean Winchester.” The voice of Bela Talbot came from behind him. Dean turned with a scowl on his face. 

“Hello, Bela.” He said through gritted teeth. She’d been one of the main people instrumental in his forced coming out. 

“Goodness me, Dean. If I’d known how pretty you’d turn out, maybe high school could have gone a lot differently.” She practically purred, running a perfectly manicured finger along Dean’s cheek bone. “But, hey, there’s still time now, I could be the one to knock you straight again.”

Dean was frozen to the spot. He was back to being a scared kid, dealing with the loss of a parent and being taunted daily for his sexuality. He knew he shouldn’t have done this. He wasn’t brave. He was pathetic. He couldn’t even stand up to a school bully ten years later.

“Excuse me.” Castiel appeared suddenly at Dean’s side. “What did you say to him?” The look on his face was nothing short of murderous. 

“I’m just getting reacquainted with an old friend.” Bela answered, sickly sweet. “And who are you?”

Castiel’s eyes narrowed. “I’m Dean’s boyfriend and I don’t appreciate the way you’re speaking to him.” 

Dean’s eyes went wide. Earlier it had been a slip when he’d called Castiel his boyfriend but now Castiel was purposefully saying it? Dean didn’t dare to hope. 

Bela laughed, causing Castiel to glare even harder (honestly, if looks could kill, she’d be in hell). “Ah! So he’s definitely still gay then.” She said, lip curling with distaste. 

“Not that it’s any of your business, but he’s bisexual, not gay. I’d tell you to educate yourself, but clearly, after ten years you’re still the same bitch you’ll always be.” 

Bela looked taken aback, like no one had ever spoken to her like that before. 

Castiel didn’t wait for her response. Instead, he grabbed Dean’s hand and stormed out of the building.

It wasn’t until the cool evening air hit his face, that Dean finally snapped back to himself. They’d ended up in the parking lot, stood next to Dean’s car. 

“Cas..” Dean breathed.

“I’m sorry, Dean.” Castiel said, begging for forgiveness. “I just couldn’t stand the way she was speaking to you.” 

“Cas-” Dean spoke. 

“She was just so rude a-and small-minded. I hated it.” 

“Cas!” Dean raised his voice. Castiel snapped his jaw shut. “It’s okay. Thank you for sticking up for me.” Dean stepped closer to Castiel, playing with the lapel on Castiel’s suit jacket. 

Castiel looked into Dean’s eyes but Dean couldn’t hold his gaze. “I’m just embarrassed that I froze up. After all of this, I failed at standing up for myself. I’m pathetic.” 

Castiel placed his hands on Dean’s cheeks, forcing Dean to look at him. Green eyes finally met blue. “Dean, listen to me. It was incredibly brave to walk into that room tonight. You are the bravest person I’ve ever met.” He said earnestly. 

Dean couldn’t hold it in anymore. He hoped he wasn’t about to ruin this before it even started. But, as a wise man told him recently: some things are worth a little risk.

Wasting no more time, Dean pulled Castiel into a deep kiss. 

Once Castiel was on board, he pushed Dean up against the car behind them. 

After a few heated moments, of what can only be described as heavy making out, Dean growled at Castiel to get into the car before they got arrested for public indecency. 

They somehow made it back to Dean’s house but their clothes only managed to stay on long enough to get through the front door. Dean directed them to his room and threw Castiel down on the bed. 

He took in the sight of the beautiful man laid out under him before kissing up Castiel’s chest and took over his mouth again. The only words said between them were muttered assurances that they were on the same page. Dean could never have dreamed this is how this night would end but he certainly wouldn’t change a thing. 

*  *  *

The next morning, Dean and Castiel laid in each other’s arms, content to be together in the quiet. 

Suddenly, a thought occurred to Dean. “What about your niece?” He worried. “Don’t you need to get back to her?” He sat up frantically. 

“Dean, Dean, don’t worry.” Castiel raised his hands to calm the other man. “I texted my babysitter yesterday at the coffee shop asking her to stay with Claire for the night.” 

Dean relaxed into the bed, smirking a little. “So you knew how the night would end even before we got to the reunion.” 

Castiel blushed. “I wouldn’t say I knew. But I did hope.”

Dean smiled, pulling Castiel closer to place a tender kiss on the side of his head. “I hoped for it too.” He whispered. 

They settled into silence again, warm in each other’s company. 

A short while passed before either of them spoke again. 

“Thank you, Dean.” Castiel murmured, breaking the quiet. 

“For what?” Dean frowned. 

“For thinking of Claire.” 

“Well, she’s important to you. She’s your whole world.” Dean shrugged. 

“Maybe my world could get a little bigger now.” Castiel suggested, smiling nervously up at Dean.”

“Yeah, I think it could.”

*  *  *

Later, as they dug into a couple of burgers Dean threw together, another thought crossed Dean’s mind. 

“Cas?”

“Hmm?” Castiel hummed around the burger in his mouth.

“Why were you looking through Craigslist ads in the first place?”

Castiel swallowed and chuckled to himself. “Sometimes I look through to find funny ads people put up.”

Dean was beginning to get a little offended when Castiel reached across the table to hold his hand. 

“But, the night that I saw your ad, I had just put Claire to bed and I was feeling lonely. I took a risk. And I think it worked.” Castiel smiled shyly. 

“Hell yeah, it did!” Dean grinned from ear to ear. 

*  *  *

Charlie’s phone vibrated next to her. She paused the video game she was playing to pick it up. Seeing it was a text from Dean, she opened it immediately. 

On her screen was a selfie of Dean with another dark haired dude captioned:

‘I should take your advice more often Bradbury.���

Her eyes turned to saucers and she looked at the image again more closely. She frowned slightly, looking at the man whose cheek Dean was kissing. 

Wait- That totally looked like-

Her phone dinged with a new message from Dean. 

‘And yes, it’s exactly who you think it is.’

HOLY FRIGGIN SHIT! 

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A/N: Hope you enjoyed it Taylor! 

If you liked what you saw, REBLOG! and consider reserving a prompt from my ‘30 Destiel Prompts’ challenge, or just send me your own prompt you’d like me to fill!

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(once again tagging my faves, let me you if you’d like to be removed from future fics - or added if you’re not already there!)

[handlewithkara]

@chassycat-original​ It’s not that it isn’t possible , but I do think that it is a slightly different situation here. I'm by no means an expert on Supernatural, I mostly know it through general slash fandom cultural osmosi, but my impression is: . 

As flimsy as compared to years and years of canon it might be, Destiel does have at least that one concrete scene where a third party character taunts Dean that Castiel is in love with him. So they have opened the door to there being a romantic element. Stories have started on lamer sparks (like parallel universe evil gay vampire Willow)

this supposedly is from the script: 

(I think the can’t reciprocate is the bit that sounds suggestive, if this was just a friend I Love You, why should it be a big deal to say it back?)

My personal, fairly uninformed guess on the situation is this: so they came up with the idea of Castiel. They had an idea for an arc for him and then he was supposed to leave. 

But he was popular, so they kept him around, but he was aimless for a long time (again, we are not talking a season or two, we are talking 10 seasons!). 

And they decided already a while ago that Dean was going to be the main character Cas is linked to and the reason why (in universe) Cas is staying around. 

And then for the end of the show they decided that Castiel's motivation is that he loves Dean (or that they are going to expand on the love that was already the motivatino).

Again, keep in mind that I haven't followed SPN like, ever, closely, and I haven't read a writer interview from them in my life, so I'm just going on stereotype of how such things usually go. I could pictuer that maybe if you pressed them they might say something like "Cas loves Dean and it's sort of romantic, but it's kind of angel romantic, which is about half human romantic" and "Dean cares a lot about Castiel, Castiel means a lot to Dean". (if I'm totally off base and there are writer interviews where they say something else and more concrete, please link me)

For what it is worth, I do think that this can be argued to be an instance of the infamous queerbaiting, regardless of how the relationship ends up being defined, regardless of whether Destiel end up romantically, ambiguously romantically, confirmed one sided romantic or just generally ambiguous (or even confirmed "no homo"). 

The base line is that they set up a heavily ambigous scene, right as the show is about to end. And all those youtube videos show it pretty clearly, it's many people saying "I haven't watched Supernatural in years, but I saw it was trending, so I checked out the episode and I now will watch those remaining episodes like a hawk to see whether they follow up on it or screw it up". 

So they are using the ambiguousness of the situation to drum up interest in their series finale. 

Okay, let's give them the benefit of the doubt and say they are not using it, they just wanted to tell the story that makes the most sense of the characters in the last few episodes. 

They are still really heavily benefitting from this. So the very least they could do would be do a press release where they were clearly state what their intentions are (would be even better is to announce it beforehand that it was coming). Because otherwise it will always come across like a stunt to get attention and ratings by keeping people guessing, rather than something genuine on their side. (yes, a press release or big tv magazine interview is always going to have a lot less reach than the episode itself, but if they did it like that, one could at least say they tried their best not to present it as a “gotcha!” moment)

Why does it smell bait-y to me (again: not an expert, based on what how I have read queerbaiting described)? If they had made it clearly platonic rather than ambiguous then people wouldn’t have this motivation that they need to keep watching to see if there is follow up. Similarly, if they had made it non ambigous, like if they had thrown a romantic kiss in there, then any people who do have a problem with it might have a reason to drop out and not watch the last few episodes because they dislike the direction of the show (even if one takes position that the I Love You is unambiguous, Castiel gets removed from the story instantly. if they had shared a kiss and then Cas disappears, Dean in this scenario would still be unambigously mlm and his story would continue). By keeping it ambiguous they are optimizing their hypothetical viewership for the last few episodes. And the critique of queerbaiting is that that is pretty immoral. Either you jerk people along when you have no intention of delivering or you keep a story restrained in order to maximize your viewership appeal with hypothetical homophobes. 

There’s also another aspect. Let's talk about this as a hypothetical best case scenario for Destiel. 

3 more episodes left. 

Episode 1: Castiel declares his love for Dean and gets disappeared into The Empty

Episode 2: A stunned Dean cries to Sam "OMG, Castiel told me he loves me, I'm heartbroken, I don't know what to do with myself, I should have said it back"

Episode 3: They fight the big bad, suddenly Castiel emerges from The Empty, they beat the bad guys together and Dean throws himself at Castiel and they share a hefty tongue kiss before riding off into the sunset together

Supernatural is a show that has had 15 seasons. FIFTEEN! And Castiel has been around since season 4! 

Look I would never begrudge the fans if they were happy over that hypothetical 3 episode best case scenario. I get it. But as an outsider, I can't help but think: really? You had so many seasons to give Castiel an actual mlm storyline and you didn't? Let's say you decided only recently you were going to do that recently. You could still have had this in the first episode of the last season rather than in the almost the last. 

For what it's worth, I have NEVER bought into the idea that the CW is just that homophobic that they forbid a storyline like that. We can all see that the CW is absolutely chill with wlw pairings left and right, including pairings for lead characters (Batwoman, Legends of Tomorrow). 

I agree that the case is slightly more sketchy for mlm pairings. Though I do think that it is worth noting that they apparently were okay for it for both Captain Cold and Constantine on Legends of Tomorrow). I get that maybe the situation is different for SPN, since SPN was one of their steadiest performers and anchor to their schedule for a long time while Legends is like this cooky little show with barely any ratings or attention. AND Legends is an ensemble piece where maybe it's easier to sell making one of their characters mlm. (for what it is worth, I have never read a single interview about Legends that suggested that it was any sort of big deal or fight to be allowed to make Leo and Constantine on screen gay). 

So yes, it is not completely impossible that the CW is homophobic in this really thin slice (mlm characters, but only on their main male dominated steady rating show), but I can’t help but being skeptical when this accusation has been thrown around so many times in situation when it clearly didn’t make any sense. (their long list of wlw characters proves they have no problem with adding wlw characters, Legends and Batwoman prove they have no problem supporting shows with wlw leads, The 100 and Sara Lance show they have no problem adding it retroactively to characters who were intially planned or perceived to be straight) 

Constantine they couldn’t or wouldn’t show as bisexual when he was still on NBC, he had to come to the CW for that. Alex Danvers couldn’t or wouldn’t be shown as a lesbian when the show was still on CBS, she had to come to the CW for that. I think CW has shown over and over and over again that it provides a home for gay characters, I think people don’t give them enough credit if they so easily act like it’s obvious they must be the badguy as not their writers or showrunners who maybe just have a different vision or were themselves the ones too afraid to ask the network or were themselves the ones who had those audience concerns without the network ever expressing any opinion on it. 

[cynthiaandsamus]

Custom Toonami Block Week 79 Rundown

Code Geass: Lelouch is establishing the official United States of Fuck Imperialism which is like the UN but actually does stuff, plus he has to deal with the fact that CC’s lost her memory and is acting like a demure slave girl harem choice from a VN. Charles is still trapped in the Human Instrumentality Shadow Realm so everyone figures this is a great time to unify everyone against Britannia. Kallen beats the shit out of Suzaku for being a dick to her all this time and the Knight of Ten is making his rounds because they realize they forgot to give him any buildup and he’s going to be a miniboss later so they have to cram all his being a dick personality into like five minutes while all the Knights of the Round assemble to prepare for an attack on Japan once the National Federation is formed. Llyod and Cecile for some reason enhanced the Guren for Suzaku even though he’s clearly more used to the Lancelot but apparently they enhanced it too much and made it a death machine like the Talgeese in Gundam Wing so Suzaku has to stick with the Lancelot. Looks like the Guren will have to sit and collect dust unless a certain pilot is rescued and then immediately has a convenient upgrade. Amazingly all the countries go along with everything Zero says and give up their militaries and have the Black Knights be the official military of the Federation. I don’t know how that works given that the Black Knights have been struggling to fight off one nation’s military idk how it’s supposed to substitute for a dozen nations’ military but I guess they conscript support and troops from the other nations or something. Charles comes back on the tv after the Federation is formed and is all “Awww what a cute little UN you have, fuck off bro.” which you’d think this’d be the perfect time for him to just out Lelouch as Zero and wreck the Black Knights’ morale but he doesn’t for some reason and they’re just gonna fight. Lelouch is freaking out and knows that having everyone want to murder the Britannian royal family includes Nunally so he calls Suzaku who just straight up goes “Bro cut the crap are you Zero or not?” and after so much plotting and scheming Lelouch just comes right out with it. Suzaki agrees to protect Nunally as long as Lelouch meets him alone at the Kururugi Shrine where this all began.

Inuyasha: This is another one of those Modern Day filler episodes which are always fun. There’s just something about Inuyasha running around in modern Japan being Spider-Man and saving people and catching bank robbers on the way to deliver Kagome’s lunch that’s so thoroughly entertaining. Basically Inuyasha spends this whole episode jittery that everyone’s so chill and ready to relax after Naraku just got away and is probably an inch from death but after a big adventure in the modern era where Kagome is as usual unprepared for her test, he ends up passing out on the bed after insisting a little battle with Naraku wouldn’t exhaust him. It’s a really cute little episode to let everyone bide some time and reflect on the past arc now that we’re starting a new wave of filler before we get to the Band of Seven and Mt. Hakurei stuff.

Yu Yu Hakusho: The first match of the tournament is about to begin and Botan, Shizuru, and Keiko come in with Koenma who is sick of baby jokes and puts on his bishonen disguise to impress everyone. There’s some neat lore about how they gave Koenma the guest team every year to bribe him into not shutting down the tournament without giving him anything of value and how the bloody show of the Dark Tournament pacifies the demons so they kill fewer humans, so that’s cool. Since Yusuke is still passed out, Kuwabara is de facto Captain and decides on simple one on one matches while the other team Captain just kinda roasts an eight of the crowd to see if it’ll wake Yusuke up. Kuwabara’s in the first match versus Prototype Killua, complete with afterimages and yo-yo tricks. They size each other up for a while and Kuwabara shrugs off getting his fucking neck broken surprisingly well while they go back and forth with “Well I can track YOU better” for a while. Togashi really loves his yo-yos of death so those have Kuwabara on the ropes and turn him into a fucking kite ready to slam back down into the arena, so yeah, Kuwabara’s having a rough time of it.

Fate Zero: Waver’s been having strange dreams about Iskandar, and not the ones people usually have about him. So he goes to get a basic history lesson on the historical figure that’s been chilling on his couch for a few weeks and spending all his money on xbox live arcade. They also go through all the ridiculously obvious historical inaccuracies and Iskandar’s just like “idk bro, I’m here so the book must be wrong” which is hilarious because Fate also does this with more modern historical figures that we have pictures of and shit so they basically sit there saying all historians have no idea what they’re talking about and gaslighting the field of history as a whole. On the way back Waver’s upset that Iskandar’s so awesome that it basically takes any effort on his part to win and it won’t be an actual achievement despite the fact that they’ve taken out like… one servant, MAYBE, and most of the other historical figures are equally over the top. But still Iskandar says that if your aspirations are big enough it doesn’t matter how big or small you are, everyone’s tiny in the grand scheme of things and clawing at greatness you can’t truly perceive is what matters. Also Caster and his boy have found the wreck they made of their workshop of dead bodies and are kinda fucked up about it but also ready to fuck up more people because God sucks or some shit. So Caster summons a Bloodborne monster which you think more people would notice and mention during Shirou’s time, like nobody in UBW ever said “Hey remember like seven years ago when a giant Bloodborne monster appeared in the river?” so I’m guessing there’s some kind of perception blocking going on. But yeah everyone’s gonna jump on the Bloodborne Monster next time for the season premiere.  

Konosuba: So we pick up where we left off and Kazuma is working off his debt by… killing more toads. Wow this world really is like a video game, we get the same five enemies over and over again. However they’re fucked without Darkness throwing herself into monster orifices looking for a good time so Yunyun has to save them. We already met Yunyun in the OVA so it’s kinda weird to be re-introduced to her here in basically the same way but their relationship is basically like Gai and Kakashi if they only did the lame dorky challenges Kakashi suggested when he’s too lazy to think of a good one. Also there’s a cat now, I don’t think that really comes to anything, just a scene of Megumin going “we have a cat now” and everyone’s like “kay”. Kazuma and Megumin play Naked Chicken to see who can get more naked before the other backs down and end up taking a bath together because they’re both stubborn assholes. Also we get a quick snippet of Yunyun and Megumin’s backstories which you can basically make Yunyun’s the swing scene from Naruto (idk why Yunyun is bring out the Naruto references in me today) and Megumin is stealing bread like Les Miserables in increasingly bizarre and disgusting ways because she’s ridiculously poor or some shit.

Sailor Moon Crystal: So turns out that Usagi and Mamoru BOTH had their shots with the ‘fucks everything up’ sword with a pocketwatch and… the discarded gems of the four knights? Idk how that works given they were humans and also dead but what baffles me more is that both Usagi and Mamoru very obviously did not get hit by the sword but decided to fall down dead and not move for a couple minutes despite their shots very much being blocked and there being no blood. Anyway Queen Metalia has the crystal, bullshit is happening, 1000 years of darkness, you’ve seen Xiaolin Showdown, you know the drill. The remaining four Guardians get a cute little flashback of Usagi saying what she likes about them and then they give up their lives to revive her inside the dark energy blob of Queen Metalia and crystals and lights and shit happens and swords and wands are pulled out of nowhere and you know how a final boss goes, they beat it with the power of believing in themselves and shit like that. Also apparently the only difference between sealing Metalia away and killing her is hitting the giant bullseye on her forehead so yeah, hopefully she’s down for good this time. I don’t want to complain because this show was genre-defining but it’s hard to find things to say about something so generic and milktoast, it’s the Seinfeld problem where there’s been so many more interesting iterations that it’s just kinda “get on with it already” at this point. The only real markedly noticeable thing about it is how plainly and unashamedly it is about being a power fantasy for teen girls, and there’s something to that, harmless power fantasies can be fun but it just feels like the physical mechanics of this kind of progression being “She feels this shit REALLY HARD” is less exciting than some of the alternatives

Durarara!!: It’s the big Masaomi backstory episode and we get the whole deal of how he formed the Yellow Scarves and got into a relationship with Saki because Izaya wanted to orechestrate a gang war because that’s what Izaya does all day is orchestrate gang wars. It’s kind of amazing how many kids in this show are like “I don’t know how it happened but one thing led to another and suddenly I was at the head of one of the largest gangs in the city” like they kinda really yadda yadda over how that actually happens. But anyway Saki gets hurt in the gang war and Kadota’s gang has to save her because Masaomi’s adrenaline wears off at the last second and he can’t try and rush in and save her. I mean Dota’s van got there first anyway so how much he’d have been able to help would be doubtful but he feels bad about not even being able to try and Izaya says that fear and failure of his past will dominate his future actions which is exactly what he’s doing by letting his paranoia and frustration lead him to a war on the Saika army. Dota-chin tells him to face up to it and stop running or live with the shame of lying to Saki but Masomi can’t do that and his shame and determination to reverse the situation leads everyone into chaos as Anri discovers his secret.

[artificialqueens]

Ms. California - Chapter Three (Crygi) - Mik

AN: Here’s chapter three! I’m going to plan on updating two or three times per week, depending on how much time to write I have. Thanks for reading, I hope you all enjoy it! Any and all feedback is appreciated. 

Summary: Crystal moves to Los Angeles from Missouri and meets Gigi Goode, captain of the varsity cheer squad. Queue the 1990s lesbian high school AU that absolutely nobody asked for.

Crystal pauses before she places her palm - which has become oddly clammy - on the door knob. She takes a deep breath in and exhales before she opens the door. 

Gigi is standing on Crystal’s doorstep, and although Crystal was expecting the blonde to be there, she’s still taken back by her presence. She’s an absolute vision in pink, Crystal decides. She’s wearing a baby pink, satin dress that hugs her body, accentuating her small waist and petite figure. It falls just above her mid-thigh, and Crystal can’t help but notice that it makes her legs appear even longer than they usually do. Her blonde hair hangs in loose curls around her neck. Crystal’s eyes are drawn to the gold necklace that Gigi is wearing; it’s short and a charm with a cursive “G” hangs from it. 

“Hi,” Crystal says with a smile.  

“Hey,” Gigi greets. “You look really pretty tonight!”

Crystal can’t formulate an intelligible response. It feels like firecrackers were just lit off in her brain - Gigi was calling her pretty. So, instead, she looks around, hastily trying to think of something to say. 

“Is that your car?” Crystal asks, motioning towards the street, sure that her face is several shades darker than the pink of the dress that Gigi is wearing. 

“It is! Are you ready to get going?”

“Yeah, definitely,” Crystal replies, following Gigi down the steps of her porch. 

Crystal doesn’t think that she’s ever seen a more Californian car that the one Gigi owns. It’s a convertible and it’s a bright shade of magenta. From what Crystal knows about Gigi, it suits her well. 

Crystal opens the passenger door and settles herself in the seat. She’s never been in a convertible before; it seems very glamorous. 

“Oh, do you want me to put the top back up? The wind can really mess up your hair,” Gigi asks. 

“No, it’s totally cool - I’ve never rode in a convertible before. Do you have an extra scrunchie or something?”

“I should! Let me just check in my purse,” Gigi says as she begins rifling through her handbag. She pulls out a purple scrunchie, and hands it to Crystal. “Here you go!” 

“Thanks,” Crystal grins and begins tying up her hair. She watches as Gigi throws her own hair up into a high ponytail. 

Gigi starts the car, and Crystal soon realizes that Gigi was not kidding about the wind. They drive relatively slowly at first - Crystal lives in a cul de sac - but when Gigi turns onto the main road, Crystal can barely hear herself think. The wind pounds in her ears and she can feel her hair flying everywhere, even from the confines of the scrunchie. She’s almost grateful for the noise because although she wants to talk to Gigi, the nerves of being on a first date are getting to her. She has no idea what to say to her and she’s terrified that when she does say something, she’ll say the wrong thing. Crystal doesn’t even know if she’s into Gigi like that because Gigi’s a girl and Crystal still doesn’t know if she’s infatuated or confused or just really wants to be the blonde’s friend. 

They’re on a date, so Crystal reminds herself that it isn’t the latter. She is, at the very least, somewhat infatuated with her. For whatever reason, it’s hard for Crystal to admit that.  

Crystal tries to let her thoughts go and focus on the world around her; they’re flying down what appears to be the 101 freeway now. There are more cars here than she has seen in her lifetime. 

Crystal can’t tell how long it’s been, but eventually, Gigi steers them towards an exit. The wind slows, and Crystal’s heartbeat speeds up. The sound of the wind can no longer protect her from having to make conversation and she still doesn’t know what to say. 

“So, how are you liking Los Angeles so far?” Gigi asks. Crystal internally breathes a sigh of relief - at least Gigi initiated a discussion. 

“I like it a lot,” Crystal answers. “It’s very different from what I’m used to, but it’s not bad by any means. I’ve only been here for a handful of weeks, though.”

“Where are you from?” Gigi asks. 

“Missouri. Have you been?”

“No, I haven’t. Did you like it there?” Gigi questions.

Crystal pauses, needing to contemplate her answer. She’s never thought about whether or not she actually liked Missouri - it was always just a permanent fixture in her life, a constant, a given. She’d never moved before she came to Los Angeles - not even from one house to another - so her opinions of it seemed almost trivial, because she’d be stuck there no matter what. 

“I don’t actually know,” Crystal admits. “It was really quaint and the people were nice, but I didn’t have anything else to compare it to. It’s hard to decide if you like something or not when it’s all you’ve ever known, you know?” 

“I get that. I feel the same way about Los Angeles most of the time,” Gigi agrees. 

The two sit in a comfortable silence for several minutes, until Gigi pulls into a parking lot. 

“We’re here!” she announces, parking the car. “Aren’t you so excited to try sushi?”

“I am,” Crystal confirms. “And also kind of nervous - eating raw fish seems kind of dangerous, doesn’t it?”

“I guess so, but I’ve been eating it since I was a little kid, so if you need proof that you won’t die or something, here I am,” Gigi laughs as she gets out of the car.

Crystal follows her to the entrance of a run-down looking building. Thankfully, the interior doesn’t match the exterior: it’s dimly lit, but nicely decorated. The walls are a deep red color, and there are pictures of what seem to be various sushi chefs in Japan hanging on the walls. Crystal notices that candles and flowers adorn the top of each table.

“Reservation for two under Goode,” Gigi tells the host at the front of the restaurant. 

“Right this way.” The girls follow him to a table in the back of the dining area; it seems almost secluded from the rest of the tables. “Your server will be with you shortly,” the host places two menus in front of them and quickly walks back to the front. 

“So, what do you usually order?” Crystal asks after looking through the menu. She doesn’t know what anything is. 

“I’m a big fan of the rainbow roll, the dynamite roll, and the spider roll. I can just order all three and we can share - they’re pretty filling.”

“Yeah, that sounds good to me,” Crystal agrees, closing her menu. 

“Was sushi not a big thing in Missouri?” Gigi asks. 

“Not so much,” Crystal shrugs. “But we had really great barbecue and burgers!”

“Interesting! What brought your family all the way to Los Angeles?” 

“My dad’s job - he works in finance. I don’t really know what he does, but it sounds important, so here we are! Have you ever moved?” 

“Nope, not even to a new house. My parents are pretty well-established here, and I guess I am too, so there’s been no reason to move,” Gigi replies. 

“Do you ever want to move?” 

“Yeah, I guess I do, someday. I have it pretty good here though, so I don’t know where I’d move to.”

“That makes sense,” Crystal nods. 

The waitress makes her way over, interrupting the conversation. Gigi orders, and Crystal is thankful that she doesn’t have to try to remember the names of the rolls. 

“So, you’re a senior right?” asks Gigi. 

“Yeah, I am.”

“Have you thought about college or anything?”

“It’s practically all I’ve been thinking about for the past six months,” Crystal jokes. “I’m waiting to hear back from NYU, The New School, and Pratt.”

“So you want to move to New York?”

“Ideally - that’s where all of the cool art stuff seems to be happening, anyways!”

“Do you want to be an artist?” the blonde inquires. 

“It sounds cliche, but I feel like I’m already an artist,” Crystal shares. “I just need to get the degree so I can say I have it, you know? It looks good for jobs and stuff, I guess.”

Gigi nods solemnly. “I wish I knew what I wanted to do. I guess I haven’t thought past high school much until now.”

Their food comes, and the pair are shaken out of their conversation.

“Okay, so, you should totally try the rainbow roll first…” 

~

If there is one thing Crystal knows, it’s that she does not like sushi. And, if there’s another thing that Crystal knows, it’s that she does like Gigi Goode. 

Crystal ate half of the three sushi rolls they ordered, with a smile on her face, so Gigi wouldn’t feel bad about suggesting it. She tells Gigi how much she loves sushi, and agrees to try sashimi - which Crystal learns is just plain raw fish - at some point. 

Crystal is a picky eater, and she’s not shy about it. If she doesn’t like it, she won’t eat it. 

Unless it’s to save the feelings of a pretty blonde girl, apparently. 

“So, I don’t know if you have a curfew or anything, but there’s a movie showing over in West Hollywood that I’ve heard is pretty great,” Gigi tells Crystal as they walk back to the car. 

“My parents didn’t tell me to be back at a certain time, so I think I’m all good,” Crystal grins. She doesn’t know much about dating, but if Gigi wants to keep the date going, it must be a pretty good first date. 

The drive to West Hollywood goes by quickly - Gigi plays Ani DiFranco loudly, prompting Crystal to make a joke about how she must have inherited Jackie’s taste in music. 

“It’s not even a gay thing, I swear! It’s justreally good!” Gigi exclaims. 

It’s the first time Crystal has heard Gigi even indirectly refer to herself as “gay”; she doesn’t know why it feels like an important moment, but it does. 

The first thing Crystal notices about West Hollywood is that it’s very “out-and-proud”. Rainbow flags line the windows of the majority of the businesses and bars, and pride flags fly alongside American flags in all of the medians. She definitely hasn’t ever seen anything like this in Missouri; it’s completely new to her. 

“So, not to sound totally ignorant, but is this where all of the gay people live or something?” Crystal asks Gigi. 

Gigi giggles, “No, I wouldn’t say it’s where all of the gay people live, but it’s like… I don’t know, it’s a safe haven, I guess.”

“Do you go to a lot of the bars around here?” Crystal asks. 

“Well, they’re all age-restricted, so it’s kind of hard to get in. But off the record, I do have a fake ID. It’s pretty terrible, in all honesty, so I’m kind of counting down the days until I get it taken,” Gigi laughs. 

Gigi intrigues Crystal; she wants - needs - to know more. She’s so worldly compared to Crystal, and even though Crystal knows Gigi is only one year younger than her, she feels like she should have more life experience than the seventeen year old. 

“How did you get a fake ID? Do your parents know?” Crystal asks. 

“You have a lot of questions, Crys,” Gigi jokes, and Crystal blushes at the nickname. “I got it from a friend of a friend last year. My parents have no idea, they think I’m at Jan’s house or hanging out with the other girls from the squad when I’m out here.” 

“You’re adventurous. That would terrify me.”

“It’s not too scary, honestly,” Gigi parks her car alongside the curb. “It’s scarier being at school and carrying around the secret that I do.” 

“I could only imagine.”

The two exit the car, and Gigi locks it behind her. They begin walking down the sidewalk. 

“Are you out?”

Crystal’s mind goes blank - out as what? She doesn’t even know if there’s something to come out as in the first place. All she knows is that she likes this whole “going on dates with Gigi” thing. 

Crystal shrugs, and tries to change the subject.

“How close are we to the theater? I need to use the restroom.”

“Three minutes, tops!” Gigi doesn’t seem to notice Crystal’s avoidance of the question, thankfully.

The movie theater is small and it looks old; it has a vintage charm to it. Gigi approaches the ticket booth. 

“Two tickets to Go Fish please,” Gigi hands twelve dollars to the ticketer, and walks back to Crystal. “Here’s your ticket!”

“Do you want me to pay you back? How much was it?” Crystal grabs for her wallet. 

“No, don’t worry about it!”

“I feel bad, please let me pay you back,” Crystal insists. 

“You can pay for our next date,” Gigi casually throws the words “next date” around and it makes Crystal’s stomach tie itself up in knots. 

“Yeah,” Crystal stutters out, unable to think or speak clearly. 

Gigi agrees to save them seats while Crystal goes to the restroom. She makes her way into the single-stalled bathroom, and stares at herself in the mirror. “You’re gay!” she whispers to herself in an aggressive tone. “Gay, gay, gay, gay, gay, and maybe only for Gigi, but you are at least kind of gay!” 

Saying it aloud makes her feel better; it’s as if a weight has been lifted from her shoulders. 

Crystal makes her way into the theater - it’s packed. She notices that the majority of the audience members are women, and visibly gay women at that. She sees women with short, buzzed hair, and others wearing acrylics and make-up. Some fall in between the categories of “masculine” and “feminine”. 

She finds Gigi sitting in the center of the back row. 

“Good seat selection,” she comments with a smile. 

Gigi opens her mouth to respond, but the lights dim and the movie begins. 

~

Crystal had no idea that they would be seeing a lesbian movie; she didn’t even know such a thing existed. She supposes she should have figured as much, considering they’re seeing the movie in West Hollywood and that she’s seeing it while on a date with another girl. 

The first time Crystal sees two girls kiss, her heart jumps out of her chest. It’s passionate, it’s sweet, it’s romantic, it’s… kind of hot. She kind of wants to kiss Gigi like that, but she pushes the thought out of her mind immediately, almost embarrassed to have thought it in the first place. Crystal looks to her side to see Gigi’s reaction. She can’t make out much in the darkness of the theater, but Gigi appears to have a visible smile on her face. 

Crystal finds her investment in the movie endearing. 

The movie continues on, but that kiss is burned into the back of her mind. She catches bits and pieces of the plot, but her mind keeps drifting to places she’d rather it not. 

What would it be like to kiss Gigi? What would her lips taste like? How would they feel? What would her hair smell like?  

She’s only pulled out of her innermost thoughts when she feels a soft hand brush against her arm. She looks down at the armrest where Gigi has placed her hand just centimeters from her own. 

The armrest is small - small enough that Crystal assumes Gigi hadn’t put her arm on it for comfort, because their arms are crammed together - and Crystal almost reaches out to grab Gigi’s hand. 

Almost.

Because Gigi does it first. 

Initially, it’s just two pinky fingers brushing against each other, and then Gigi is sliding her hand into Crystal’s palm with uncertainty. Crystal intertwines her fingers with Gigi’s, squeezing her hand to let her know that she does want this. Crystal wants to glance at Gigi to see if she’s smiling - because Crystal definitely is - but she can’t bring herself to. 

The rest of the movie blows by. Crystal is distracted by the way Gigi’s hand feels in her own and how Gigi’s thumb rubs her finger in soft circles. 

When the movie ends, Crystal half expects Gigi to stand up and let go of her hand, reserving this particular activity for the darkness that the back of the movie theater provides them. 

But she doesn’t. She stands up, and Gigi and Crystal walk out of the theater hand-in-hand. 

“What time is it?” Crystal asks as soon as they’re out of the door. 

“Let me check my watch,” Gigi responds. 

Again, Crystal expects Gigi to let go of her hand to check the watch - it’s wrapped around her left wrist, the wrist of the hand that Crystal is holding - but instead she brings up their hands jointly to look at the watch. 

“It’s 9:15. Do I need to get you home?” 

“Probably soon, yeah, or my mom will start to think I’ve been kidnapped,” Crystal jokes. 

“Sounds good to me. We definitely wouldn’t want that!”

They walk to the car in silence. Crystal has butterflies in her stomach, in her head, in her hands, in her legs… her entire body feels fluttery and jittery. That’s the effect Gigi has on her. 

“So, how’d you like the movie?”

“Oh, um, I liked it, it was good,” Crystal answers vaguely in an attempt to disguise the fact that she had been paying much more attention to Gigi’s hand - and her own thoughts - than the movie itself.

“Me too,” Gigi agrees, “I think it’s one of my new favorites!” 

Gigi begins driving, and Crystal feels the warm California air envelop her. Gigi sings along to a song that Crystal doesn’t know the name of, barely audible over the sound of the wind, but still loud enough to completely and totally captivate Crystal. The lights of the city disappear behind the car as they drive, and all Crystal can do is smile. 

The drive goes by more quickly than Crystal would have liked it to; she knows it’s late and she needs to get home, but nothing sounds better than holding Gigi’s hand for another two hours. 

“Is this your house?”

“Yeah, it is,” Crystal sighs. “I had a really fun time tonight.”

“Me too,” Gigi whispers, turning her head to look at Crystal. 

The lowlight of the street lamps illuminate the dark sky, and Crystal can’t seem to focus on anything aside from Gigi’s bright red lips. Crystal knows that she wants to kiss Gigi, and she can tell that Gigi wants that, too. But there go those damn butterflies again. She’s never been in this position and doing the wrong thing at the wrong time absolutely terrifies her. Kissing a girl terrifies her. 

The only thing she can think to do is tuck a stray strand of hair that flew out of Gigi’s ponytail behind her ear - that’s what they did in all of the cheesy romance movies Crystal had watched, anyways. This elicits a quiet giggle from Gigi, and Crystal’s heart melts. 

“What’s so funny?” Crystal smiles. 

“Nothing, you’re just… you’re sweet and very captivating.” 

“I don’t think anyone’s ever called me that before.” 

Gigi has placed her hand on Crystal’s forearm, and moved as close to her as she can within the confines of her car. Crystal can feel herself shaking now; the idea of kissing Gigi is no longer a mere thought, it’s a real possibility. 

“Ireallywanttokissyou,” it’s out of Crystal’s mouth before she can stop herself and her nerve-driven impulses. 

“What?” Gigi looks confused, clearly not having heard her. 

“I really want -” 

Crystal doesn’t allow herself to finish her sentence. She closes the distance between herself and Gigi and presses their lips together. 

If Gigi is surprised or nervous, it doesn’t show. Her lips move against Crystal’s slowly and tenderly, and Gigi’s hands cup Crystal’s face. Her lips are soft and smooth and they taste like strawberries. Gigi lightly drags her tongue across Crystal’s bottom lip, and Crystal has to stifle a soft moan from escaping her lips. The kiss is electrifying and intense, and is made increasingly passionate when Gigi’s tongue meets Crystal’s. Crystal is on fire; she can feel the aftershocks of Gigi’s touch everywhere. 

Crystal is the one to break the kiss, needing to relax herself and breathe. It feels surreal, the entire night has. Crystal finds her forehead pressed against Gigi’s, and all she can think is “wow”. 

Crystal regains her composure, pulling away from the blonde, who looks at her with a smile. 

“I wanted to do that all night, Crys.”

The simple sentence almost propels Crystal to capture Gigi’s lips in another kiss, but she forces herself to get out of the car.

“Good night, Gigi.” 

“Call me?” 

“Well, of course,” Crystal grins. “Thanks for picking me up, and thanks for the movie.” 

“Thank you for coming tonight. Good night, Crys.” 

Gigi drives off as soon as Crystal walks up her porch, waving goodbye. 

She unlocks her door and walks inside, a smile still on her face and a head still filled with thoughts of Gigi.

[yeonchi]

Doctor Who Hiatusbreaker Update 2

Although the premiere of Doctor Who Series 13 is still a while off, let alone the announcement of a premiere date, there are a few things I’d like to talk about before that time comes. Let’s get right into it.

Filler series plans to talk about Series 1-10

Some time ago, I had plans to make a ten-part series talking about Series 1-10 in detail, but because I had a lot of stuff going on, those plans were reduced to something I call Doctor Who 10 for 10 - 10 Things for 10 Series, which was to state ten things about each series with at least 4 to 6 of these things being my opinions on each series. This was intended to be a filler series to bide the time before Series 13 comes out, but that may have to come at another time. I’m also continuing with Kisekae Insights if anyone wants to check it out.

The post-Series 13 forecast

Since Series 13 would be Jodie Whittaker’s third series as the Doctor, signs are pointing to this being her final series. There are also rumours stating that there will be two specials in 2022 that would serve as her final episodes. If this is the case, then it means that Jodie Whittaker would have been the Doctor for five years; a five-year-long ordeal of pain because series seem to be released pretty much every other year as a result of the almost-year-long gaps between them, not to mention the fact that less episodes are being produced as time goes on. Whether Chris Chibnall will be remaining on is still unknown at this time. Frankly, I’ll be glad when this is all over because I (and many other fans) have been kept hanging for so long. I just hope the Timeless Child payoff will be worth it.

At this point, the only reason why I’m still watching the series is mainly because I want to know how the Timeless Child arc plays out. The initial shocks have come and gone, but now this is where we wait and see if the aftershocks are as worse.

When I started my Thirteenth Doctor Reviews, I made a pact that I would cut off all ties with the series going forward if the Fourteenth Doctor was another female. Given the Timeless Child arc and the rumours that Olly Alexander would replace Jodie Whittaker (which would make him the first gay actor to play the Doctor) that came and went because his agent stated that he was focusing on music for the time being, I’ve honestly stopped giving a shit at this point. I’ll probably continue being a casual fan of Doctor Who, watching episodes as they come out, but regardless, all that this series will be to me is like what the Koei Warriors series has degraded itself to over the past decade. I’ll still be grateful for all the inspiration and opportunities it has provided me with over the years, but I’ll probably accept that the series has gone on a downward spiral with seemingly no way of coming back up. But hey, all will be revealed in due time, so the forecast isn’t that bleak for now.

The first look into Series 13 (added 26 July 2021)

So just today, two days after I originally published this post, the teaser trailer for Doctor Who Series 13 was released following the 2021 San Diego Comic Con@Home. Aside from the Doctor, Yaz and Dan, the only other character we see is Vinder, a recurring character throughout the series who will be played by Jacob Anderson. Recurring character, you say, and that’s because Series 13 will apparently be a single serialised story. This brings callbacks to The Trial of a Time Lord or more loosely, the multiple two-parters of Series 9. We still don’t get an exact premiere date, only that it will premiere “later this year”, but given that Series 11 and 12 took about 10 months to film, we can predict that filming of Series 13 will likely be wrapping up in the next month. Whether there will be a shorter run of five or six episodes (thereby reserving two of those episodes for the 2022 specials, assuming they won’t be filmed separately to Series 13) is unknown, but regardless, I’m looking forward to watching and reviewing the series for myself.

Jodie Whittaker and Chris Chibnall leave Doctor Who (added 30 July 2021) 

In news that will surprise no one, Jodie Whittaker and Chris Chibnall have announced that they will be leaving the series in 2022. Technically, the news isn’t much of a surprise in terms of Whittaker than it is for Chibnall, as Russell T Davies and Steven Moffat have been showrunner for two Doctors each. But hey, with this, it means that my Thirteenth Doctor Reviews will also be a review of Chibnall’s run as showrunner.

My initial thoughts on this, which may or may not change coming up to Whittaker’s final episode - it was an okay run while it lasted, but honestly, good riddance. How’s that five year plan of yours going, Chibnall? If your plan was to divide the fanbase and leave them hanging with gaps between series, then you’ve really done it.

On top of this, Series 13 will be six episodes long, with the remaining two episodes to be broadcast as specials in 2022. The first of them will be a New Year’s Special (surprise surprise) and the second will follow in Spring 2022 (Northern Hemisphere). The Thirteenth Doctor’s final episode will premiere in Autumn 2022 (Northern Hemisphere) as part of the BBC’s Centenary celebrations. Some tentative dates I’m predicting are 18 October 2022, the 100th anniversary of the BBC, 23 November 2022, the 59th anniversary of Doctor Who, or 1 January 2023, which would make it another New Year’s Special (I’m not discounting 25 December 2022, I just think it’s less likely given how this era has been).

With this, the Fourteenth Doctor is expected to debut in 2023, the 60th anniversary year of Doctor Who. I just hope the new production team doesn’t disappoint the fans with that.

In terms of statistics, Jodie Whittaker has played the Doctor for 31 episodes, making her run the second shortest behind Christopher Eccleston. Peter Capaldi played the Doctor for 40 episodes, Matt Smith for 44 episodes and David Tennant for 47.

My hopes for Whittaker and Chibnall’s final episodes haven’t changed; I want to see what happens with the Timeless Child arc (and also Ruth). Whether the Fourteenth Doctor will be male or female (or played by a non-binary or trans actor), I have a few basic preliminary hopes for the next run; make each series 13 episodes again with a Christmas Special each year and put the series back on Saturday nights, like it was before Whittaker and Chibnall. Also, can we go back to filming in the 16:9 ratio? I can never get over how weird it looks on my screen (at full screen, it doesn’t look so weird when I have it playing on half screen, which is what I usually do when I write my reviews).

Jay Exci - The Fall of Doctor Who

Yes, it has been a while and I know I could have told everyone about this earlier, but better late than never I suppose. A couple of months ago, Jay Exci did a 5-hour long critique of the Chibnall era in his video, The Fall of Doctor Who. For some reason, there are those who see it as controversial because they’re NPCs who don’t want to hear criticism of the Chibnall era or they’re spergs who aren’t mature enough to sit through a 5-hour video they can watch in chunks, but hey, it’s pretty good. This is more in-depth than the reviews that people like Bowlestrek or Nerdrotic make, which essentially put Jay on their level in the eyes of the NPCs despite denying that they are on their level and being a sperg about how they’re better than them. Welcome to the party, Jay, you can check out anytime but you can never leave. 

Anyway, you can check out the video below. Even if you don’t feel like watching the whole video, I highly suggest that you watch section 4.2 onwards (timestamped link here) as it does resonate with my feelings on the Timeless Child arc. I swear, this is just like Dynasty Warriors 9 all over again. I know the feeling.

Cancel culture comes for Noel Clarke and John Barrowman

The thing about cancel culture is that people can be petty about things other people have done or said years ago and they can justify it with the excuse that they’re doing it to hold those people accountable. Depending on the context, it can expose the fact that that person is a major piece of shit or it can be an overreaction to something, which in the minds of today’s society is normally the latter.

Around the time that Noel Clarke was nominated for a Bafta at the end of March, allegations emerged of abuse and sexual misconduct against him. 20 women came forward with their stories and as a result, the final episode of Viewpoint was pulled from broadcast (but still released on Blu-ray and DVD) and Bulletproof was cancelled before filming on the fourth series would begin.

In May, video emerged of Clarke at Chicago TARDIS in 2014 talking about how John Barrowman would expose his genitals and slap it on people and things. This led to allegations about Barrowman surfacing, resulting in him apologising for his actions even though he had already been reprimanded for them over a decade ago and apologised in November 2008. Despite this, his contribution to the immersive theatrical event Doctor Who: Time Fracture was pulled and Big Finish have decided to shelf the release of Torchwood: Absent Friends, which would have featured David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor.

Now, I don’t care about Noel Clarke by any means, but this situation is honestly sad for John Barrowman because it shows that cancel culture spares no victims and leaves no fossil undiscovered. These PR stunts have clearly shown that the spineless people involved with those productions are so concerned with saving face that they are unable to just overlook these transgressions for the sake of fans who actually wanted to see him reprise his role as Captain Jack Harkness. But hey, what do I know? I don’t really care for anything other than the TV series, but it really shows how shameless corporations can be.

Once again, we don’t exactly know when Doctor Who Series 13 will premiere, but if you ask me, I predict that it will premiere in October or November. I’ll see you all again around that time.

[popculturebuffet]

Toons for Our Times: Ducktales: They Put a Moonlander on the Earth!

At Glomglast, Glomgold Glomturns! Flintheart Hero of Earth Glomgold continues riding his wave of good PR from helping save the earth in the manner you’d expect: With  a dangerous attention seeking pr stunt/ferris wheel/half-ased plan to murder scrooge. Naturally Dewey is first in line for it. Meanwhile Webby tries to convince a wound up Penumbra to stay and enjoy earth so she can get a new alien friend who she relates to and her brothers can get a new step mom, while Launchpad is awkward because his coffee with Pennumbra went worse than the one he had with the gas cloud. The Glom Knight Glomturns under the cut. 

This one is late for both good reason, I didn’t want to hog the wifi while my nieces were trying to remote school, and not so good I.e.... I entirely forgot an episode was today because I’m not used to the new schedule, as in the past the show’s either aired on saturday like usual for a disney show, or as a cluster of episodes throughout one week, so even if it wasn’t something I was used to, I was tuned to stay in. The new schedule is weird  and my brain is stupid is what i’m saying. Now i’ve covered my butt on with the review! This week focuses on Penumbra, and explains exactly what happened to the Moonlanders after Moonvasion. For Penny at least she’s apparently been living in the McDuck hangar, or somewhere near it, and working on rebuilding one of the bigger ships to get her people home. Della, while not missing the opprotunity to point out now Penny’s the one living in HER garage buliding a rocket home, pitches in and we see things have clearly changed. At least with Della, Penny’s let down her guard and now openly considers her her best friend.. and perhaps more because the romantic tension is so thick here you could cut it with a sword. Granted I may have swords on the brain because of this. 

Which if your not up to date on your x-men comics, is an event where our Uncanny X-Men, now having their own nation of krakoa where all mutants are welcome, which includes apocalypse so he’s on THEIR SIDE in that shot, must fight ten other mutants in a ritual sword duel with some of the strongest swords in the mighty marvel canon, and loosing means the other mutants, many of whom are the CHILDREN of apocalyspe from centuries ago he thought lost, get to invade earth with a demonic horde. And if NONE of that made you curious, let alone want to read that, I just.. don’t get you. 

Back to the gays, yeah the ten sword thick sexual tension is broken by the fact that Penumbra reveals she tried SOME earth culture and did get that coffee with Launchpad, with Della baffled.. I mean look at those abs. Though it’s probably less “Launchpad really?” and more “Why not me first? Is he sexier? Dammit he is. “ It went about as well as you’d expect.. with Penny storming out suddenly saying this is terrible and running off. Eh not the worst first date i’ve seen in animation this year. I’ve seen a woman go on a date with a man conjoined to his ex.. and not like their siblings it’s a medical procedure. Because close enough is pretty fucking insane and let’s keep it that way.

But yeah so Penumbra’s not sold on earth and Della’s attempts to get her to go with the kids, get to that in a minute, fall on deaf ears. But the thing is. her people are. When meeting with gibious and zenith, if you don’t remember the married moon couple we saw back in “The Golden Spear”, Penumbra finds out she’s the only one who wants to go home. Her people like it here...the happy couple even got adorable new outfits, a job with Glomgold in Gibbious’ case, and an adorable new dog named good boy. Look at them. 

I would die for either of them. I hope we see Good Boy again. And that the show introduces Bolivar, donald’s dog at some point. Or even his ostrich hortense. I just want the duck to have a pet dammit. 

Point is their happy here and while Penny wants to go back to the old routine of them all on the moon and her saving them.. their fine if she wants to go home but.. their staying here. And it’s easy to see WHY they want to: The moon was harsh, filled with monsters and much like us humans right now with earth, they only stayed in their clusterfuck of a home world because they had no way out. It’s probably why Lunaris sold hte invasion so easily: With his pitch they were just taking a nicer world from a bunch of mean asssholes who refused to share it and whose sole representative had seemingly betrayed them. Without any reason to hate the earthlings and, outside of once incident later in the episode, the earthlings accepting them with open arms and forgiveness, why wouldn’t they stay on a nice, sunny world, in a large city willing to house them and give them jobs, with delicious foods and all sorts of fun shit to distract you from the bad parts of living here that the moon lacked. 

Penny’s issue is while THEIR lives were miserable.. her’s wasn’t. She was a hero, a super hero really.. I mean she’s dressed like a kree sentry, she protects the helpless and she’s a fearless warrior whose now a fish out of water on a world she never could’ve expected but grows to love. Martian Manhunter, Captain Marvel, the Mar Vell one, Warlock, Adam Warlock and yes their separate characters, Supergirl, not superman because while he is an alien he grew up here.. all aliens who immigrated here and grew to love and protect it and see it as their home. Penny just hasn’t got to the “love and protect it” part yet and while the rest of her people have new purpose, new homes and new lives and still meet once a week to party she finds herself, theri greatest champion an outsider, desperately wanting her old life back but not accepting it’s gone. She can go home but she’d be the one person on a desolate moon clinging to the past.  Penny here honestly reminds me of jasper in steven unvierse future: Both are old soldiers who find their empire gone, their entire way of life uprooted and have no way to cope and desperately hoping things will collapse back to THEIR normal, not realizing the new one isn’t going anywhere and is better for their people. They need to move on but their too proud and too scared to try. 

However Penny refuses to admit defeat to her people and that she can’t have “earth fun”, and left with no other choices, decides to take the kids up on their offer after all. To explain that we quickly wrap to the top of the episode, where Webby, bored and having trouble finding anyone, finds Penny and after Penny dosen’t want to hang out finds Dewey and Louie. I assume since their absent this episode, Huey is introducing Violet to Gyro, Fenton and Boyd, Beakly is buying groceries, Donald is courting Daisy and Scrooge.. is trying to get fethry’s hands, feet and head out of pickle jars because he thought they’d preserve him and Donald is busy for once so he’s the only one left to do it.  Louie and Dewey plan on just laying around and biinging old ottoman empires, I can relate, but the news gives them a better option. A GLOMGOLD OPTION. Oh me mow how i’ve missed this big beautiful man. Seriously Glomgold is easily one of the best parts of the reboot and Keith Fergeuson brings an utterly delightful manic glee to the guy any time he shows up to eat the scenery whole. While I get holding back on him since he had an arc last season, it’s still nice to have him back in all his hammy glory.  And naturally being glomgold he has a scheme going: After gifting a rolelrcoaster previously, over water and with sharks because his brand’s nothing if not consistent, he’s now offering the flintferris glomwheel, which is shoddy, dangerous, secretly a plot to kill scrooge, and is very likely to kill a child.. so in other words it’s Glomgold himself roleld into a ferris wheel. Dewey is psyched to go because he let another kid go first for Glomgold’s last PR Stunt/Nightmare and that kid got all the glory and as such is now Dewey’s new nemisis. So after asking his mom “If we can go ride a death wheel so I can get famous’, which of course Della says yes to, our heroes end up taking Penny along.  Launchpad drives and gets his subplot for the episode, being awkard around Penny because the date went bad and not sure if this makes then enimies and avoiding her. He tries going to dewey for help, and while Dewey is out of his element, he does actually give good advice to just talk to her.. Launchpad just takes it while he’s driving because it’s launchpad. Thankfully webby can drive. He spends the rest of hte episode getting into shenanigans before, after helping her with the climax, phrasing, being honest and apologizing. And i’m also covering the plot to get her answer out of the way now: Penny admits he’s fine, thery can be fight buds, he’s a good warrior sh’es just “Not interested in an earth..male” her exact words. 

I mean.. there’s no real subtly here. Even if she’s not into Della, which all evidence suggests is the case, Penumbra is CLEARLY into women. I mean Frank is basically saying as loudly as his mousey overlords will allow “SHE’S GAY FOR DELLA”. Wether this goes anywhere, I dunno. While Lumity started ramping up this year, that property’s not based on Disney’s classic canon and STILL had to fight tooth and claw to make Luz bisexual and her love intrested a girl. Disney won’t even let this show use Mickey and almost didn’t let them use the rescue rangers, the odds are against them.. but I also never thoguht we’d see violet’s gay dads on screen, or so many previously  comics only characters, so frank’s said screw the impossible before. Now probably is no different. 

Back to the main plot, and to the return of Glomgold whose great as ever. Glomgold made the moonlanders and some of duckberg think he was soley responsible for saving the world.. how many people besides the non-penny moonlanders think he actually did it is up for debate but he DID genuinely help save the world. Also his scheme to get his company back somehow WORKED despite not being legally binding, as he’s now back in his tower, back to scheming and has an actual assitant instead of a professional career woman he treats like one in a bit that didn’t age all that well even a year later.  Gibious is now Glomgold’s sidekick and in a nice contrast to Owlson instead of being fed up with his crap Gibious, buying into Glomgold’s own ego, lavishes praise on his new boss, treats him like the god he thinks he is, and is genuinely sweet and helpful. It’s a nice dynamic giving Glomgold someone who ACTUALLY and genuinely likes him as a person and wants him to suceed and trusts in his insane schemes and leads to some great bits like Gib genuinely calling the safety inspector when Glomgold makes an airquotes remark about it and at the end Glomgold admitting “I can’t stay mad at you” to his new lackey/Best friend. Frankly Glomgold needed a 21 to his Monarch, and i’ts a delight to see it and Paulson and Ferguson have real chemistry.  Meanwhile in the A-Plot, Webby tries to get Penny to enjoy earth, first with a street performer she tosses in the water ,as you should, then with a shooting range which ends with her massacering a clownhead to the children minus webby’s horror and tears. We were one more frame away from this really. 

Also we get the ducks feeding.. ducks, a gag Frank’s apparently wanted to do for three seasons now, and with Penny being as confused as the audeince. but non of this, including roller skates really works.  So while Dewey goes off to get in line to one up his rival, Webby gets honest with Penny about why she’s so invested and this episode goes from good.. to truly fantastic. While webby fangirling over a mighty and gay space warrior makes sense, there’s a personal reason she wants to help here that really tugs at the heart strings: Webby was like her once. Like Penny she spent her whole life honing herself into a weapon, sealed in her own tiny world, For Penny it was her moon village for Webby it was the mansion. And being thrust out into it was .. frightening. We saw webby struggle to adjust in “Daytrip of Doom!” and part of her wanted to plunge back into the mansion and her saftey net at times. But she didn’t.. with the help of her family, and her friends, she found out just how wonderful the world is and how as scary as the world is.. it opened up new parts of her. Duckberg webby was just as great as mansion webby if not better. So Webby wants to do the same for penny and what really clinches the scene is how she does it: a Hamburger, the symbol from the pilot of what webby was deprived of all her life, given to a new friend as a symbol of what the world offers. And it works at first, even without cheese. But then Penny gets a brain freeze, and Glomgold, needing a distraction from the saftey inspector rames her as going beserk because he’s an asshat in every other way let’s add racisim to it. 

A chase insues, Penny’s determined to flee.. but she gets a second wind when Dewey, who rushed in to get the first ride and webby get trapped. Sadly dewey’s new enemy gets all the attention, and as we find out is aware he one upped Dewey and brags over it, but Penny has now gone from fish out of water to shark on the hunt, and with Launchpad’s help to get past Glom and Gib, and the roller skates from earlier finally has some earth fun by skating into the air, climbing the Ferris wheel and saving the kids. Penny FINALLY found something she likes about earth; That she can Still protect people, including her people and do what she loved there and the danger here is WAY more intresting.. I mean on hte moon itw as just the usual monsters she was used to. Here she had to rocket into the air, and climb an megalomainics cannon armed ferris wheel to save two adorable children. In short she’s become a super hero and like those I mentioned, has grown to care about earth. So basically this is like captain marvel was an episode of Steven Universe. I likes it. But it’s a nice character arc, as Penny realizes the outside world, and her new friends/future stepchildren, have b eauty and worth. And she will protect their kind, she will protect them. I mean duckberg already has about 4 other superheroes if you count lena, which with that outfit last time I dooo, but frankly with how much disaster it faces on a daily basis, and how much Fenton needed a goddamn break, and with Darkwing leaving for st canard soon, they could probably use her. 

So the day is saved, Glomgold is buired in fines but has a new minon, Dewey is dewfeated and Penny is happy again. We end on Penny recounting everything to Gibious and wife, and Good Boy obviously, along with Della who casually admits she really shoduln’t of let her child go but sooths him anyway over his loss. Penny is happy and deciding to stay, and her and her new best buddy laucnhpad are going to go tear the ship apart with her carrying della along. I swear when they finally do do it she’s just going to.. carry a willing della to her bedroom and throw her down on that thing.. everything after is up to you Id ont’ write porn here. Nothing wrong with it just not my bidness. So with a hopeful new future and a neat t-shirt, Penny finally finds her place in the world. 

Final Thoughts: A very good, very gay episode that’s just as good as last weeks and gives penumbra a hell of a character arc, while also being an utterly hilaroius episode, from penumbra’s destruction, to glomgold’s hilarious as always antics to dewey’s attention whoring reaching self endagering heights of stupidity and ego, this was a great one and keeps up Season 3′s quality streak. While the plot progression may be slow for now, everything else is at an alltime goddamn high. 

Next week, it’s the HALLOWEEN EPISODE BITCHES. Nuff Said. Until then you can check my blog for more reviews, as we have some halloween stuff coming up. Sadly with Loud House going silent, it seems this is our only weekly coverage but expect more reviews of various shows, and some very spooky ooky ones coming very soon including some brucie bonus episodes and until we meet again, go team venture! Play us out glomgold....

[dangerouscommiesubversive]

Can you do 1 and 24 of Capt. Marvelous and Keiichirou? Actually curious of their dynamic if no Kairi

I feel like at this point when I update AO3 I should just post all these Gokai/LuPat smooches as a single chapter. 1 is a hot, steamy kiss; 24 is yet more dramatic public kissing, which is just so well suited to Keiichiro because he reacts so delightfully to it.

Marvelous looks different in the light of the day. In his shirtsleeves, with truly spectacular bedhead, he actually looks more rogueish, and yet somehow also less dangerous.

Of course, the intimidation factor is also lessened significantly by the fact that he's stuffing his face with pancakes at a truly alarming rate. Keiichiro doesn't laugh, but it's a struggle. "You know, you're in luck. I was never a fan of pancakes before, but Kairi loves them, so lately I've been keeping a couple of bags of mix around. If you'd been here a few months ago we'd probably just have eaten leftovers." He pauses, feeling himself blush. "Although I guess if you'd been here a few months ago we probably wouldn't be having breakfast like this."

Marvelous wiggles his eyebrows suggestively. The effect is somewhat lessened by the fact that his mouth is still full.

When there are only four pancakes left, Keiichiro grabs Marvelous' wrist. "Save some for Kairi, he's still asleep."

"If he wants pancakes he ought to wake up earlier."

"Maybe if this was your ship, but it's not, and in my home Kairi gets breakfast no matter how late he sleeps."

Marvelous gets a thoughtful look at that and then turns his wrist in Keiichiro's grip, grabs his wrist in turn, and pulls him forward. There's a notable taste of maple syrup, but it's only a momentary distraction from the more immediate sweetness of a mouth against his, callused fingers on the side of his face. Keiichiro feels mildly guilty about enjoying it with Kairi asleep in the next room--but then, Kairi had apparently been running around kissing pirates yesterday well before he convinced Keiichiro to take one home, so he can probably live with missing out this once.

Or twice, as it turns out, or three times. Keiichiro has kissed Kairi breathless a fair number of times at this point, but being kissed breathless is something new and surprisingly enjoyable.

By the time Marvelous stops kissing, he's got Keiichiro pinned to the floor, and he pulls back only enough to murmur, "I like you," in his ear. "You take care of your people."

"I'm sure you do the same." It's hard not to sound breathless, but somehow Keiichiro manages it. "If you didn't, I don't imagine you'd be a very successful captain."

"Pirate captain."

"Oh, because pirate crews are less likely to mutiny when mistreated?"

Marvelous smirks down at him. "Fair point."

"I saw Gokai Yellow take off a robot's head with her feet."

"Luka is an extremely frightening woman and I'm lucky to have her on my crew." Marvelous bends down again. "I think we were talking about something else, though."

Just as it's getting to the point where Keiichiro thinks he should go wake up Kairi, though, there's a ringing sound, and Marvelous scowls and pulls an inexplicably piratical flip phone out of his pants pocket. "What? ...yes, obviously I'm coming back, what are you so worked up about?" A burst of yelling from the phone. "Ok, ok, you're not worked up. Yeah, ok, I get it, give me..." He frowns. "Give me twenty minutes. No, not for that, my hair is a mess...what? Yes, obviously, he's right here. No, not that one, he's still in bed. Ok, yeah, hang on." Marvelous rolls his eyes and lowers the phone. "Gai wanted me to let you know he's a big fan of your work. That's Gokai Silver."

Keiichiro waves to the phone, suddenly back to suppressing laughter despite Marvelous still being on top of him. "I was impressed with his, I've never seen someone fight with a trident like that before."

There's a faint, delighted shriek audible on the other end of the line, and Marvelous sighs, obviously trying not to smile as he raises it to his ear again. "Seriously. Twenty minutes." He flips the phone closed. "My crew's coming to pick me up."

Keiichiro grins. "I'd gathered, yeah."

The next twenty minutes are spend clearing away most of the dishes, finding Marvelous' left boot, finding his coat, and appropriating the jar of hair product Kairi left in Keiichiro's bathroom so that the bedhead issue can be corrected. There's a brief detour into the bedroom, where Keiichiro watches approvingly as Marvelous wakes Kairi up and kisses him senseless, and then--

"What is it about my windows? I gave Kairi a key and he still comes in and out through a window nine times out of ten."

Marvelous shrugs. "What's dashing about using the front door?" He slings his legs over the sill just as a chain drops into view from the pirate ship now looming overhead.

When Keiichiro leans out the window, Marvelous is hanging from the chain by one hand, posed dramatically with his feet hooked into the links. It's a good look for him, although since he's decided to stand with his back to the sun, Keiichiro does have to shade his eyes to get the full effect. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Captain Marvelous."

Marvelous raises his eyebrows. "Even though I'm a pirate?"

Keiichiro shrugs. "Hey, if phantom thieves can be on the right side of history, I'm sure pirates can too. I'm not that stiff-necked."

Marvelous gives him an appraising look and then leans down, grabs his chin, and kisses him very firmly. "Until the next huge crisis, then." And the chain pulls him up into the ship.

Keiichiro spends a moment blinking in the sun before ducking back into the apartment. He catches a flicker of pink and navy down on the sidewalk as he's closing the window, but it probably isn't anything.

That is, of course, until he picks up his phone and sees the text from Tsukasa. [I figured I'd drop by your place and we could walk to HQ together]

[so is there something you should be talking to Kairi about or do I need to text him myself]

Keiichiro stares at the screen for a moment, frozen, before typing a reply. [no, no need, he knows] He hits "send" before he can regret it.

The immediate reply is, [and he's ok with this?]

[you can ask him yourself if you're coming up, he's still in bed]

[mooksie01]

With Teammates Like These, Who Needs Friends? (5/5)

Chapter Summary: A post-mission lunch break leads to... more mockery.

Clover is going to fire every single one of his teammates.

Warnings: More bullying of teammates, mild spiciness, workplace banter of a less-than-respectful nature

AO3 Link: [X]

First Chapter: [X]

Notes: Hey everyone! Sorry for the slight delay in getting this chapter out, I spent the majority of yesterday moving back into my dorm room and the rest of it hanging out with my friends that I haven't seen in a month, so I didn't really have time to post. Hopefully this chapter makes up for it, though! I hope you all enjoy the last chapter in this first installment of the series! Subsequent installments will be posted whenever I find time to write them, which may be sporadic now that classes have started back up again. 

Please like, reblog, and comment if you're able!!!! You guys have all been so amazing throughout this journey and I could not appreciate you more!

---

Clover is ambushed the moment he steps foot into the mess hall after the mission debrief. This time, he is fully prepared for Elm’s attack, and he ducks under her attempt at wrapping one of her well-muscled arms around his neck. 

“Aw, come on, captain! I was only going to mess up your hair a little!” Elm cries exuberantly, apparently elated at this turn of events. She is always excited when Clover plays along with her roughhousing. 

“Sorry, Elm,” Clover says, getting in line for some of whatever they’re serving today. He’d cook if he weren’t so wiped from the mission, but he supposes that he’ll have to settle for food from the canteen just this once. “I’m afraid that I’d like to keep my hair as it is for right now.”

He accepts a tray of some sort of hearty stew and a chunk of bread, pleased. He’d personally signed off on the directive to encourage the kitchen staff to serve more hot meals, and he’s glad to see that the order is being followed. The lower-ranking soldiers certainly deserve it. 

Elm laughs, boxing him on the shoulder with so much force that, had he not been ready for it, Clover likely would’ve dropped his newly-acquired food. “Why, captain!” she shouts as they head in the direction of the table where the rest of the Ace Ops are sitting, “Are you trying to look nice for someone? Has some little birdie caught your eye?” 

Clover rolls his eyes as they settle next to each other on one of the benches. Across from them, Vine speaks, “I believe Huntsman Branwen has captured the captain’s attention, Elm. I was under the impression that you already knew this.” 

“And I,” Clover cuts Elm off before she can say something stupid that will stack more disciplinary action on top of her ever-growing pile, “was under the impression that my subordinates had a bit more tact and a lot more sense, but I suppose that I was wrong. Especially considering that stunt you pulled during the mission today, Elm.”

Harriet and Marrow exchange a long suffering look from where they sit beside Vine. Harriet leans an elbow on the table and props her chin in her palm, half-heartedly stirring around her stew with the other hand. “Are you guys really still talking about this? I already told you, I have no desire to poke into my coworkers' personal lives.” 

Elm powers on, disregarding Harriet’s words, “Aw, lighten up, captain! I feel like you should be celebrating! After all,” she winks with all the subtlety of a raging Megoliath, “you got to spend the whole mission today with your pretty bird, didn’t you? Not to mention whatever was going on in the hall this morning….” She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. 

Clover sighs, “If you could please refrain from referring to Qrow as a ‘pretty bird’ or whatever else, I don’t think he’d be too happy if he heard you saying that.” 

Marrow perks up next to Harriet, “Qrow?”

“Ha!” Elm slams her fists down onto the table, rattling everyone’s dishes. “Seems like someone is on a first-name-basis!” 

Is it too late to take his food back to his quarters? Probably. That would likely be an admission of guilt in his teammates’ eyes. Instead, Clover raises his chin in challenge, narrowing his eyes at Elm. “I’ll have you know that Qrow requested that we all call him by his first name. I simply have enough respect for him to abide by that.” He may have resolved to get closer to the other man, but he doesn’t need his teammates to know that right away. That will just lead them to start harassing Qrow. 

“Seems like you’re doing a little more than ‘respecting’ him, Clover,” Marrow states, tail wagging behind him. 

Clover scowls at him, feeling betrayed, “What ever happened to not acting like kids, Marrow?” 

Marrow shrugs, leaning precariously into the open space where the back of the table’s bench would be, if it had one. He crosses his arms casually behind his head and closes his eyes. “Hey, the way I see it, if everyone’s dog-piling onto you instead of me, for once? That’s a good thing. Besides,” he sighs, “that was before I knew that you had an actual, real crush on the dude. I thought you just wanted to bone him.” 

At this, Clover swears that he can actually feel a few circuits in his brain all frying at once. He resolutely ignores any thoughts of “boning” Qrow, as well as the incessant laughter coming from Elm and Vine’s (faux-?)confused inquiries as to what exactly “bone” is a euphemism for, instead choosing to focus on Marrow, who is still lounging across from him. 

He snarls at the faunus, “Marrow. Need I remind you that I am your commanding officer and that I am more than willing to issue disciplinary if I feel it’s necessary? And that is incredibly disrespectful to Qrow, as well as myself.” 

Marrow straightens immediately and crosses his arms in a pout, “Aw, come on, Clover, I was just kidding. You did the same thing to me a few months ago when I was into that rabbit girl from Menagerie.”

That… was fair. But still, Qrow would probably be all kinds of upset and embarrassed if he heard that the people who were supposed to be his teammates for the foreseeable future were all making inappropriate jokes about him. 

Harriet groans loudly, dropping her head into her hands, “Can we please stop talking about this? The guy probably isn’t even gay.” 

Clover’s heart skips a beat. A strange sense of something that feels very much like panic floods his veins. “Really, you don’t think so?” He leans toward Harriet, aware that something weird is probably going on with his face, but unable to find it within himself to care.

Harriet backs away as much as she is able to while staying seated on the bench. “Uh.”

“I’d imagine that it would be simple enough to ask General Ironwood whether Huntsman Branwen is interested in acquiring a same-sex partner or not,” Vine folds his arms placidly onto the table, gaze contemplative, “considering their apparent long history. We may even be able to present our inquiries to some of the children that Huntsman Branwen brought with him. It is my understanding that a Miss ‘Ruby’ and Miss ‘Yang’ are related to him in some way, if the intel Elm and I received from Miss Valkyrie, Mister Arc, and Mister Ren while wandering the mines today is correct.”

Clover’s brain takes a long second to catch up to all of that. Then it rewinds.

“Hold on!” He interjects with no small amount of alarm. “What do you mean by ‘we’?” 

Elm grins a little too widely. It’s extremely off-putting. “Isn’t it obvious?!” she yells. Loudly. 

Several heads turn in their direction.

“We’re going to help you get your man!”

---

More Notes: There we go! A return to the roots of this story, which was always meant to be the Ace Ops torturing poor Clover (but really, how bad can you feel for the guy who's currently in the process of snagging a date with Qrow?). I hope you all enjoyed and I love you guys so much!

THANK YOU FOR READING!

(That Clover/Qrow/Elm story will be going up in a couple of hours, too, by the way! I have a few errands to run first, but then it's full steam ahead!)

[autisticburnham]

Thoughts on Picard?

Idk if you mean the show or the character, so I'll just do both

The Character:

He's a strong and interesting character for the most part, though I do really wish the show had addressed the trauma that would have been caused by The Inner Light and Chain of Command. Hopefully Picard Trek will make up for where tng lacked. He's at his best when he's just being a nerd about archeology. It's great that he tends to be open to suggestions and listens to his crew, though I think he could have benefited from being more social with them before All Good Things.

Unfortunately, his reaction to Deanna's assault in Nemesis infuriates me to the point where he typically rates at the bottom of my favorite captains, and it's a feat to rank lower than Archer. And the new show hasn't, imo, done enough to make up for that. Spoilers for Star Trek Picard, but I didn't care at all when he died. In fact, I was excited to see where the show went without him, since I have developed a fondness for the other characters. I legitimately yelled "Oh, come on!" at my tv when I realized they were bringing him back.

Also, I don't like how he made light of Soji's trauma and I think it was really stupid of him to tear down that "Romulans only" or "no humans" sign, whatever it said. Like, I know the writers were clearly going for some sort of anti prejudiced message, but there's a pretty huge difference between members of the majority excluding minority members and a minority refugee population who were screwed over by a- let's face it, Trek has big colonial undertones- colonialist power wanting a space where they don't have to interact with members of that power, especially not their public face, which Picard was. At the very least, he could have owned up to his mistake and fought back way harder against Elnor's decision to murder that dude.

The show

SEVEN OF NINE GAY

I love Raffi and Soji

I think Jurati has the potential to be a good character, I just wish they'd stop shoving her into relationships with no chemistry and would also address how fucked up the relationship with Maddox was

SEVEN/RAFFI CANON

Rios also has potential as a character, but it felt like too much of the season was focused on making him dark and mysterious rather than actually letting us get to know him

I do love Rios' holograms

But, speaking of them, I really wish the show had delved more into the AI Rights storyline from tng and voy. Obviously, the synthetic ban is part of that, but how are sentient holograms affected? Was the Federation really cool with using synths the way they were? I mean, I do think it's consistent, especially considering the way EMH mach I's were used, and I think it would be a very natural path for people to push against or resist the idea of AI being fully sentient and deserving of rights, like Maddox, Pulaski, and Janeway were. I just wish we saw more of what Pulaski and Janeway went through where they realize they're wrong

SEVEN OF NINE CANONICALLY QUEER

I dislike how graphic the violence can get. Even within the first episode, I did Not need to see Dahj's charred skull as she was exploding. My issues with the Romulan senator explained above are only compounded by how graphic his death was. And like, I get it, Manu's a bastard, but what the fuck, I did NOT need to see that happening to Icheb

Speaking of the Romulan senator, as much as Elnor is baby and I like the Way of Absolute Candor, I can't bring myself to like him because of how he killed him

I don't like the gender undertones in the series. It's bad enough that Romulans have the same gender binary as us and have a gender exclusionary practice with the warrior nuns, but the fertility clinic that Raffi's son was at being decorated entirely with pink and blue? The 90s shows may have an excuse for this bs, but Pcd doesn't

Altan Soong's paradise having such a large amount of white androids was, suspect

I don't like the idea that artificial and organic life will always destroy one another. And like, Picard obviously fights back on this idea, but I don't like that the super advanced AI feel like that in the first place

I think Sutra's gold sexy android vibe is ridiculous, but I think it would be cool for her to return and have a Data-Lore vibe with Soji

Hate Narek, Narissa, and Narek/Narissa

I wish there had been more exploration of what actually happened with the Romulan refugee crisis. And considering the fact that it's clearly supposed to parallel the real life refugee crisis, I really hate the "Romulan sneaks into the Federation government to bring their downfall" thing

Laris and Zhaban are great, but I wish we had seen more of them and also had their roles in Picard's life explained. Are they genuinely just like his servants? Bc yikes

SEVEN OF NINE GAY

I do like that we got implications of there being a Picard-Seven-Hugh exBorg support group and that they're all friends

I wish we had humanized the xBs more

Hate Maddox. Hate Soong trying to make Jurati feel guilty for killing that creep

Literally the "Jurati is working with the Zhat Vash" didn't occur to me until she started talking about what she knows. I just thought the murder was bc he was such a fucking creep and I was down with it

8 fucks!

Vaping?

Wish Seven/Bjayzl and Raffi/that one Starfleet chick she called were more apparent. I mean, I definitely picked up on it, but I doubt viewers who aren't already looking for gay subtext did

That said, SEVEN/RAFFI

I really loved Kestra. She's a great character and her being into a Klingon band actually ties back to Voyager. She's great all around

I liked seeing Troi and Riker, but I do wish Captain Troi were canon

I don't think the addiction storyline with Raffi was very well handled

SEVEN OF NINE AND RAFFI MUSIKER CANONICALLY QUEER!