#wait they're both s7 too

[starplusfourletters]

Guys I think I've lost my mind

VOY s7e11 shattered == TCW s7e11 shattered

Like, only in terms of production order. But in this essay I will

[cerealbishh]

"You get to see her understanding of how things really are. And so that becomes much more present on the surface. (...) In this season, we get to see her fall deeper in love with him but also navigate those challenges. And also becoming an anchor for Rhett but also struggling with his decision, 'Is this what I want for my future as well, as much as I love this man?'." - Isa in an interview with The Knockturnal(x)

[crabsnpersimmons]

Hello there!

I'd like to know your advice on drawing tablets?

As in, what do you use for your digital art? Is there any you suggest?

I'm planning on getting one, but there are so many options, and I'd like to know your opinion and preference.

Thank you ^^

hi anon! thanks for the question!

i draw with a samsung galaxy tab s7!

BUT if this is your first time drawing digitally, then it's a good idea to test out if you like it with cheaper options first (so you don't drop a whole lot of money on a hobby/medium of art you don't enjoy)

some suggestions:

if you have a smart phone, try drawing with your finger using free to use drawing apps like ibispaint X or HiPaint (i recommend HiPaint cuz the UI is a lot simpler and less overwhelming, but both have a good selection of tools. i wanna say ibispaint has better text tools tho and there's A LOT more tutorials and resources online) drawing digitally with your finger is different from drawing digitally with a pen AND drawing traditionally, but this is a good way to familiarize yourself with digital art tools. a very simple entry point if you already have a smart phone.

if you don't want to draw with your finger (understandable, i personally couldn't stand it) you can try simple drawing tablets, which are the tablets that you plug into your computer/laptop, come with a pen, but they don't have a screen you draw directly on. they're actually a lot more affordable nowadays (i saw some for under $50 CAD, which is WILD), so that’s a good starting option if you want to draw with a pen. with a pen, you have more control with line weights than you do with your finger, but it takes practice to get used to. it also takes some getting use to drawing on a tablet and looking at your monitor, but this is where i started haha. i still have my old bamboo wacom create drawing tablet. but nowadays, other brands like xp-pen and huion are very comparable to wacom, so definitely consider getting a cheaper one to try out first. of course, if you go with a drawing tablet, you'll need an art program on your computer. i've used photoshop and clip studio paint and they're very good, but probably overwhelming for people who are new to digital art (they are loaded with tools and you have to really familiarize yourself with the menus and everything). there are probably simpler options available... but i'm not as familiar with them. oh wait, i think there are some drawing tablets that can also connect with your smart phone too nowadays. man, that's so cool. that's probably a better option instead of purchasing photoshop or clip studio paint right off the bat.

if you REALLY want a screen display experience, try a cheaper general tablet. iPads are a popular option if you're comfortable with the Apple ecosystem (i'm not 😅) but they can be pricey PLUS you have to buy the Apple pen separately. for Android, I'm pretty sure even the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 is a solid choice and it comes with a pen unlike an iPad. the SPen is built with Wacom tech, so you know it's quality. and while iPad has Procreate, HiPaint is available for Android and it's basically a Procreate clone (i explain more about HiPaint here) otherwise, ibisPaint X is also good and infinite painter is probably the most sophisticated free to use drawing app i've encountered (sophisticated as in it does a pretty good job at imitating traditional media in their brushes. it's cool, but the free version is very limited).

also if you like watching videos, Brad Colbow and Teoh on Tech on YouTube are great resources. they specifically review tech from an artist's perspective.

why i suggest testing it out is because if you're used to drawing traditionally, then switching to digital is a different experience. some artists can't get used to drawing digitally, and that's fine. that's why it's a good idea to test it out with a cheaper option first to see if you like it and to give yourself time to familiarize yourself with drawing apps/programs. i actually kinda hated drawing digitally at first. i didn't have the same level of control that i was used to with drawing traditionally. and overtime i made a lot of bad habits with my digital art that i had to unlearn by switching back to traditional art for a couple years (some bad habits like: relying on the Undo button to make "perfect" lines; trying to draw really fast because the pen glides over the screen unlike a pencil has friction against paper) so... give it a try and just let yourself have fun. don't worry about making anything perfect, just have fun!

[kiranerysismyhero]

what if how we could have both ezri and jadzia in s7 went like this:

jadzia is mortally injured, and the destiny is trying to get her/dax back to trill while she's still on life support. ben comes along bc jadzia is not actually dead yet and he has good reason to distrust the symbiosis commission.

things take a turn and it's looking even more urgent for the symbiont. ben doesn't want to let anyone remove dax from jadzia (again) while she's still alive but is overruled by starfleet brass at the behest of the commission. the ship's surgeon joins dax to ezri, who in this version is still just as reluctant but now at least the 15 minutes of improvised lecture substituting for years of preparation comes from ben. like how would he approach that conversation?

ezri wakes up and meets ben this time as dax... but in the next bed over jadzia is still hanging on. an hour, then two pass and the symbiont's vitals are a lot more stable now in ezri while jadzia is not doing well but is still fighting for her life. the destiny's doctor is kind of lost because they tried to contact trill about how they should care for jadzia but all the symbiosis commission wanted to talk about was dax and how soon could they get their hands on ezri

and ben is like 'okay i know you just met me but also you've known me for lifetimes now... hear me out...' and ezri's like 'yup solid plan let's do it but also what if we took even more risk bc dax's got a bit of starfleet medical now too' and ben's gotta be 'oh i had more appeals ready that you didn't even wait to hear, okay'

basically action sequence now– the destiny had slowed down to respond to an emergency signal and pick up some escape pods bc y'know dominion war, and ben and ezri work together to sneak jadzia into a biobed and off the ship in a runabout. and we see some of ezri accessing previous hosts as they hide the runabout in the debris field and get some distance before the destiny realizes they're missing

and just when it seems like the destiny is going to find them as ezri's breaking down a little bit about 'i'm a counselor and i'm still in training and out of all these lifetimes i'm still the one with the most medical knowledge in here??' as she tries to keep this woman that she remembers being stable-ish in stasis... the defiant decloaks! grabs them! re-cloaks! outta there!

julian checks that ezri is really really sure and then does what the symbiosis commission was never going to consider as an option: rejoining dax to jadzia now that the symbiont has been rehabbed/bolstered by ezri

jadzia is able to recover, if slowly. ezri is physically relatively unharmed by the ordeal, but a whole lot of psychological upheaval just happened and this woman is sat here making jokes about remembering being ezri for a hot minute and while ezri no longer remembers being jadzia, she does remember remembering being jadzia... it makes her head hurt. and jadzia's just like 'nah it was still less traumatic than last time when i had to be awake for more of it' and ezri just desperately wishes she could remember what the hell she means by last time

the symbiosis commission is piiiissed. they reallly want to excommunicate dax, jadzia, and/or ezri for all this but ben's like 'i'm adding the viability of respite care for symbionts to the list of info that you don't want me to share with your whole society' aand the symbiosis commission concedes under the condition that ezri is now GOING to be the next dax, WHENEVER that may be, there has been eNOUGH hot potato with this worm already, you two are going to STAY CLOSE so you don't end up pulling anyone else into dax's chaos being another intermediary when the time comes

so now jadzia and ezri are bureaucratically handcuffed to each other and both alive and have fascinating things to talk about :)

[sparxaf]

The Inscrutability of Alex

So I might be working on an S7 Alex fic. I mean, I'm probably not working that. But I could be. Maybe. Anyway, for mysterious reasons, I decided to replay the current episodes because I found myself confused by a couple things with Alex. And a second playthrough left me even more confused. I sent @mrsbsmooth a nearly three minute, babbling voice note, asking her if I was missing something, because I cannot figure out how to write him.

This character is described by multiple others as having "golden retriever" energy. Something he absolutely does not have. I'd say he's not even that playful. It's just bizarre for anyone to say that. Nothing about him is overly energetic. Both Raf and Bryson are much better described like that. Alex has the most whistle-whilst-mowing-the-lawn-in jorts-dad energy ever. Golden retriever he is not.

So okay, his energy doesn't match the description. That's not a huge issue on its own. But like...who is he? He says he's not cocky, just confident.

Hmmm. Never is a strong word, innit?

Now, a less cynical person might say that Fusebox is just writing a realistic depiction of someone who is unaware of his own cockiness, but since I am a cynical asshole, I'm saying that Fusebox is not in the business of nuance. They make the same amount of money whether they spend the extra energy to give it depth or not. So they're never gonna bother with that. This is just inconsistent writing. Now, we all know that Alex's most overtly acknowledged trait is his desire to "Take things slow." He says he's looking for the one, and he's not gonna rush that. He knows things move fast there, but he still wants to take his time. He didn't kiss Estelle on the first night. He was uncomfortable with Summer being so forward before he knew anything about her. So how does a guy who takes things slow answer a question from a virtual stranger about what he does for a living?

A dirty joke. Yes, very much setting the tone for his lack of cockiness and his desire to take things slow 🙄 Though I do enjoy MC responding with "Very presumptive, but good to know." 😆😆😆 Not to mention, when he finds out you can snog during the icebreaker, he's not like, "Um too soon." Instead his eyes light up like he can't wait. It's so baffling. So let's say maybe he's just a slow mover who is also really flirty by nature. That feels like he's sending mixed signals at best and manipulating you at the worst. Now this one really threw me for a loop. There's a gem scene where you can ask the boys to tell you something cute about themselves. Alex tells a story about having a crush on a gym bunny and how it led him to weightlifting in order to ask her out. But he kept putting it off and by the time he finally got the nerve, she was already dating someone. So he learned not to hesitate. He learned to just go for it.

Um... what? That's a strange perspective to have for someone whose entire ethos is "Take it slow." Now, I'm aware that he is very straight forward with MC about where his head is at, so perhaps he just meant that he doesn't waste time letting someone know he's interested, but he still wants to take the relationship slow? I don't know. Last, but not least, on night one, you couldn't even kiss Alex (unless I'm misremembering). You could only snuggle. But on night two, Alex says he still wants to take it slow, but he wants to a little something. So the game gives us some options. And the first choice was to do bits. Now, this might be my fault, but I assumed that "bits" in this case would be some kissing and making out. Heavy petting. Maybe some under the clothes touching. But, to my utter shock, no it's not just a heavy make out sesh. Nope. He finger blasts you. He straight up bypasses the face lips and tiddies, and goes straight to rubbing the bean and shoving a digit inside of your person. It's an awfully intimate act for someone like him who's only been alone with you three times, and beyond challenge smooches (if you chose to even take those), has still never really made out with, nor kissed you privately. I would like to clarify that I'm not judging how fast or slow anyone goes in their personal lives. But I am I'm judging this character's pace in relation to the things he's been saying about his pace.

I wrote most of this before the last batch of episodes so I'll only lightly touch on the fact that Alex seems nearly ready to ask you to marry him the day after bringing you to the villa. So "taking it slow" really went out the window altogether.

Long story long, there are aspects to Alex I like. I mean, I'm writing him right now (OR AM I?) so it's not all bad. But it's really hard to attempt any canon reinterpretation, when I can't even sort out what canon is.

It just doesn't make sense. Is he cocky or not? Is he a slow mover or does he believe in not wasting time? Is he an inner city gym rat bro, or is he a home-on-the-range papa who wants to build you a cottage, and make babies? Is his whole "slow burn" thing some kind of manipulation to hide that he's a fuckboy (which would be hilarious) or he's just very badly written?

I love a good, lively conversation, so go ahead and let me know your thoughts. But for those who are rather... overly invested in Alex, feel free to yell at me about his perfection and how wrong and dumb I am. I look forward to deleting your vitriol.

[panelshowsource]

i feel like i'm so annoying being like JOE WILKINSON ROISIN CONATY but please understand i say it because it would be guaranteed hilarious 🥹

but okay okay let's think

first i think it would be funny to have some of the well-known bonafide smartypantses on, like jo brand, david and victoria, charlie brooker, clive anderson, richard osman, dara, and john oliver, because it's just funny as heck to see them get tripped up or stumped hehe and you may be thinking "what about stephen fry and sandi toksvig?" THERE IS NO STUMPING THEM. EVER. AND DON'T YOU FORGET IT.

there are lots of other lowkey smartypantses who would be so funny — paul foot, armando iannucci, adam buxton, elis james, lee mack, rhod gilbert, bill bailey, miles jupp, wild card suggestion is darragh from the chase he cracks me up. now, random people smartypants and otherwise i think would kill the format hmmm okay besides joe and roisin who mean everything to me, guz khan, lucy beaumont, prof. hannah fry, ed gamble, chloe petts, mel giedroyc, vic reeves, claudia, matt forde? could be quite funny actually and i think guy would laugh at him a lot?, ahir shah, jess hynes, nish kumar, judi love, johnny vegas, jamie laing, jessica knappett, sara barron, kerry godliman, fatiha el-ghorri, ivo graham, get william hanson on there why not

🚨 danny dyer, susie dent, catherine tate, alan carr 🚨 HANDS DOWN!!!

don't you think this format would be perfect for chris addison to come back into our panel show lives

and omg mark watson because remember when guy was having a lil go at him 😭😭😭💀💀💀

CUZ THAT IS VERY IMPORTANT guy is the host and he needs to think the guests are funny... hmm who would have a hilarious dynamic with guy...well...everyone😁 guy is the best😁

it makes sense, too, that some of the funniest dynamics on a format like cats does countdown would work on guy mont spelling bee, since it's all about being a lil smarty — so russell howard and roisin on the same panel would be great because she does her best and he takes the piss out of her. people who take the piss out of each other...hmm...fatiha el-ghorri and phil wang lmfao...alan carr and romesh one of my underrated faves...frankie boyle and miles jupp would be so good omg

I SHOULD STOP NOW hehehe sorry for the block of text i answered this stream of consciousness i hope you don't mind heheheheh

what about you??

aww what a cute question 🥰 honestly i do associate it with autumn because it often comes out in september/october (so i think of it as part of the fall tv schedule)! but, really, i associate different series with different seasons? like i think of s7 as being winter time because kerry made that big circle in the snow hahaha that kind of thing! it wouldn't surprise me if a lot of people think of taskmaster + summer tho?

omg i love map men they're so funny

thanks for taking the time to send in these other recs i'll check them out 🥹🫶 posting these for everyone else to enjoy too!!!

i haven't seen either yet!!! how are they? they're both on my drive waiting for me to watch them 🥹 i might watch ahir's tonight

sorry anon i don't, only the epub version is easily available 😞 maybe someone reading this will be able to help out?

someone sent it over!! i added it to the drive :)<3

hello anon yes! i threw it in the alex horne collection folder here it is :)

hello! you're not the first person to ask me this but i really don't think you can! as far as i know there is no proshot, it was never streamed in cinemas, never streamed online... someone can correct me if i'm wrong but :(

i think we just missed seeing it at the actual theatre (▱˘︹˘▱)

—

PANEL SHOW WATCH LINKS / NON-PANEL SHOW WATCH LINKS FAQ / TAGS / ASK

[wernerherzogs]

Hi! I was wondering…what are your top 5 favourite buck/eddie canon moments?

too many to choose from!!! and i'm still 3 eps from being done with s7. but let's go with:

everyday/domestic buddie:

5. the entirety of 2x01, especially bobby locking eddie and buck in the medical van with buck going in as Annoyed&Ready To Be A Nuance&Horny Against His Will and then leaving afterwards like this: 😍��👨‍❤️‍👨

4. buck getting carla to help eddie out (mutual introduction at abby's scene). girl you've only just met him and you're already doing everything you can to make his&his son's lives easier huh 😭 is this desperate housewives

3. eddie going to buck's right after the tsunami and leaving chris with him which was insane tbh. even if it wasn't buck's fault it would have been like. perfectly normal for eddie to be like slightly afraid or whatever, i think. but NO at that point they were both already too dicktimazed by each other without getting any actual dick to let a natural disaster stop them froim being ride or die 4 one another. cool i feel nothing

2. every moment where buck and eddie are hanging out and chris is there doing maths homework or something. special s/o to the "afraid of picking the wrong couch" dinner. buck had tried that lasagna recipe THREE (3) TIMES to get it perfect for his boys SHUT UP.

1. you think you're expendable!!! but you're wrong!!!!!!! eddie NEEDS buck and wants buck to start to care about his own LIFE and this is the only way he knows how to say it. oof FOREVER. wait how am i already at the fifth item this is hell i've barely scratched the surface...

Big Dramatic Moments buddie:

5. maybe let's go with their first (? i think) Big Teamwork moment, the rescue at that skyscraper which was ready to fall down. i just looove that they immediately started working so well together, having each other's backs on the job, helping each other out, keeping each other safe. they haven't looked back ONCE since and i get WEAK about it no matter if they're only hosing down a burning electric car together or descending off a cliff in sexy harnesses!!! MWAH.

4. DO MORE!!!!!!! yelled eddie diaz at the literal trained medical professionals who were about to try to save buck's life. damn okay zero pressure there. sir.

3. I COULDN'T EVEN CALL YOU TO BAIL ME OUT OF JAIL... IF THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED. grocery store divorce bass BOOSTED forever

2. mark pellegrino using chris to threaten both eddie and buck and buck reacting FIRST. like they literally look like PARENTS in this scene they're MARRIED WITH A KID they're a UNIT what can i tell ya anon bud. you already know.

1. OBVIOUSLY. the shooting, specifically buck overcoming his fear&getting under the truck to save eddie and the "are you hurt?" moment. eddie diaz girl you were DYING!!!! what the fuck you were worried about BUCK for!!!!!!! and then he DOESN'T REMEMBER.

are we fucking joking i can't NOT mention:

3. technically this is cheating as i haven't seen this scene beyond gifs yet but. I'M HERE. WHAT CAN I DO. s7 buddie you'll always be famous despite all the Trials And Tribulations

2. chris calling buck to help calm eddie down during his breakdown. the quiet "what are you afraid of? 🥺". the whole aftermath of it with buck helping to fix eddie's literal house as a Subtle Soap Tv Metaphor. and i ate it all UP, baby!

1. BUCK GOING TO THE DIAZ HOUSE POST LIGHTNING FOR SOME PEACE AND QUIET. and then being vulnerable in front of eddie when he couldn't even bring himself to confide in MADDIE. you died, buck!!!! you're gonna feel a lot of different ways about that!!!!! tearing my hair out forever

[raayllum]

What do you think will happen to the tdp fandom after the series ends?

I mean, the TDP fandom is mostly adults (I'm actually one of the younger members) when it comes to online space(s), i.e. tumblr in this case specifically. And once the show ends (S6 and S7 will probably both be out by early 2025 if not both in 2024) I expect not much to change. I wouldn't be surprised if there's another trio / Rayllum focused graphic novel, the video game will probably be fully out, and we are still waiting on the S3 novelization so it'll take time for the rest of those to come out, too. That can all keep a fandom going, 'content' wise.

But most fandoms I was in, I stayed in for 2-3 years pretty hardcore after all the 'material' ended, and the fandom already had the experience of weathering the 3 year hiatus, so I don't think that much will change tbh. Maybe more fics filling in the gaps between the end of the show and a (hopeful) epilogue, but I think the Rayllum fandom is big and self sustained enough to like... carry on virtually unchanged. It will be a weird experience for meta to shift from "some present analytical and some speculative/predictive" to entirely the first vein, but is also not that different to how I'm writing meta now.

Will other parts of the fandom stick around as much, like big janaya fans or dark magic stans? They don't tend to be super active now anyway, and I think it'll probably peter off over time. The Rutharis will be eating good, though, for sure; wouldn't be surprised if they're even more active comparatively now that they're finally going to be getting content in S6 and S7

[paintedbutton]

Catch up Tag

@oh-no-another-idea tagged me in this one and I thought it was a really nice idea!

💛 Favorite color - It's a tie between a deep, foresty green and a petrol kind of blue.

🥽 Last fun activity - Went on two hiking trips the past two weekends, which were both lovely. But I also just vegged out this weekend. That was nice too.

🎶 Song (s) stuck in my head - Chop the Head off by Storm Seeker

🥟 Favorite food - I don't really have a specific type of food I enjoy above all tbh. I really like it when food is well-made and interesting. And when it comes from my garden. That's great too. ;)

🏖 Dream trip - After Norway last year, Scotland for sure. It's in the plans for next summer, and I am so hoping it'll work out.

🍰 Spicy/sweet/savory - All of it (to an extent). I don't like food that's spicy for the sake of being spicy. But other than that I'm game.

🧭 Last thing I googled - Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 case. Mine's kind of going in terms of the plastic stability. Unfortunately, I have yet to find something that meets my needs.

🤩 Current obsession - Sims 2, I guess. I've been really enjoying playing my own neighbourhood.

🍀 Something you're looking forward to - Medieval fair next weekend! I can't wait for outfits, mead and terrible bagpipe music!

Tagging: @malimaywrite @fayeiswriting and (since this isn't really writeblr-specific) @crystalprism and @elvimoon if they're feeling up to it. :)

[oddnry-silent]

•Should have stayed back.

>Y/N saw Carl standing while he watched Enid at the wall. Y/N heard the coversation as he followed both of them to the hilltop, regretting it after.

Carl Grimes x Male Reader

S7 EP 5

Pronouns : He/Him

Full Angst!

TW! Language, Mention of knife!

Color text:

Carl Y/N Enid Daryl Aaron Eugene

Y/N came out of Olivia's garage as he got his knife returned after he practiced throwing it to the tree and it almost hit Rosita. He thanked Olivia and headed back to his house, not until he saw his best friend Carl following Enid.

Out of curiosity, Y/N decided to follow the two.

He was about to show up to the two but he hid to the bush nearby as Carl started talking.

"Enid?" Carl asked the girl who is filling the holes with metal sticks to climb on. "I need to see Maggie." Enid stopped climbing.

"You're walking to the hilltop?" Carl said as he stare at the girl. "It's far." He added as Enid started climbing up. "I'll be fine."

"Maybe." Carl looked up. "I'll be fine." Enid shouted, "I have better aim than you."

Carl looked down, and Enid exhaled deeply. "I didn't mean that way." She looked at Carl again. "I'm not saving you anymore." Carl looked up.

Enid sighed as she filled up the next hole with the metal stick, "That's what happened in the armory?" Enid climbed up, "You saved me?"

"Yeah." Carl said as he looked up to Enid. "You made it back in one piece, you're still here." Enid said, "I'm not talking about that." Carl looked down as Enid did the same.

"I'm sorry you had to see it." Carl shook his head, "I'm not." Enid looked to the wall and climbed up to the other side as Carl walked away.

Y/N hid further more to the bush as Carl walked past him, going to the cars. Y/N followed him silently as Carl walked to the driver's seat.

He opened the door as Y/N lowered his head as he waited for Carl to go inside. Carl closed the door as he started the engine and at the same time, Y/N opened the trunk and hid himself inside and closed it quietly.

The car started moving as Y/N sat there, following Carl out of curiosity.

The car halted, "You know how to drive?" It was Eugene. "Just testing, I'll drive out for a while." Carl said. The conversation ended as the gates opened and the car moved.

Minutes later, the car sped up and it bumped something, Y/N thought that it's an walker. He bounced a bit from the action and he heard a walker groaning.

The car moved back as it bumped to something hard. Y/N embraced the force as he hit his head to the trunk. He moved back and saw blood coming inside the gap.

"What are you doing here?" Y/N heard a familiar voice, it is Enid. "Felt like a drive." Carl said as the door opened and footsteps fade away.

Y/N opened the trunk and heard a thump, it was the walker earlier.

He got up and saw the two in a good distance, it was perfect for Y/N as he followed he two to the main road.

He kept himself low to he trees while following the two. His swift moves helped him follow them to where they're going.

The two walked at both sides of the road, keeping a good awkward distance from each other.

"Not sorry you saw it?"

"Yeah, I watched it. Both times. I didn't look away."

"Why?"

"Because, when it was happening, I knew that I needed to remember it. So when I had the chance to kill him, I wouldn't have a choice."

"I think I'd kill him too." "It's messed up but, that's how it is."

"You do things for the ones you love. Loved."

"It's not for them." "Sorry I locked you in the armory."

"I didn't need to see it." "We don't even know if she's okay."

"We'll get there."

They walked but Enid got a way ahead from Carl. Carl found something beside the road and went to it. Y/n stopped moving as he watched Carl.

Carl opened the bag and saw rollerskates. "Enid. Stop."

They both wore it as they rode to the road together.

Enid grabbed Carl's hand as he about to slip off.

"Are you okay?" Enid looked at Carl, "Yeah."

Carl held Enid's hand tightly as they rode to the hilltop.

Y/N was staring at there, in shock.

A tear went down to his face as he saw what happened.

Break.

They both arrived at the hilltop as they both saw the Saviors at the entrance. Y/N kept a good distance where he can see the two clearly.

He listened to the conversation as he saw Enid leaned to Carl, inches away from his face.

Break.

"It wouldn't matter." "It would for me,"

Carl leaned in to rest his forehead to Enid's. Carl kissed her forehead and locked his eyes to hers, and he leaned in for a kiss.

BREAK.

As Y/N's heart shattered into pieces just by looking at his crush kissing a girl. He covered his mouth as he let tears flow.

He don't know what to do at the situation that he stepped back and broke a twig.

Carl and Enid looked at the direction where the sound was as they saw Y/N crying with covering his mouth. Their eyes widened as Y/N laughed.

"Should have stayed back." He said as he lowered his hand, revealing a smile while his tears flowed down. Y/N looked straight onto Carl's eyes as he closed his eyes and laughed not too loud.

"I'm an fucking asshole for loving you, Carl Grimes." Y/N said as he stepped back as he looked away and start walking back home.

Carl didn't know what to do as he saw his best friend left, and knowing just now that he had an crush on him.

Carl ran to Y/N and he caught his arm, Carl made Y/N look at him in the eyes.

"Y/N, it's just an mis-" "It's fucking clear, Carl. Not a some bullshit misunderstanding." Y/N's e/c tired eyes with tears still flowing from it down to his cheeks.

"I liked you since the day we met, Carl. But this? All of this is clear for me, you indirectly rejected me even though I found myself confessing to you later but then I discovered all of this."

Carl looked at Y/N in shock, his eye widened at the sudden words. Y/N shook off Carl's hand as he started running away.

▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎

Another day with Y/N surviving in this apocalyptic world. He walked down to an unknown road with the gloomy clouds above him, and saw 2 walkers coming to his way.

"Assholes, I'm fucking tired and both of you showed up in the wrong timing." Y/N got his combat knife and waited for the walkers to come at him.

The one stumbled to him and before it bite him, Y/N stabbed it at the head as the other one stumbled Y/N and the corpse to the ground.

He struggled killing the other one while the corpse is heavy. The walker was about to bite him but it stopped when an arrow got the walker in the head.

Y/N sighed as he dropped his hands to the ground and closed his eyes shut.

"Hey kid." Y/N heard a raspy voice coming from the left. He was tired and don't have enough strength to move away the walkers above him because of no food and water in days, maybe weeks.

An figure showed up in front of Y/N, pulling out the two corpses. He held out a hand for Y/N and he tiredly accepted it. He looked at the guy with greasy long hair, wearing a black long-sleeved with a vest on top.

"How many walkers have you killed?" The man asked, "Can't count." Y/N said tiredly looking the both men.

"How many people have you killed?" The man asked again as he rested his crossbow at his shoulder, "4." Y/N said coldly.

"Why?" The man with the crossbow looked at the other man who asked Y/N. "They turned in front of me." Y/N looked down to the ground.

"You can join us at the camp, kid. I'm Daryl, this is Aaron." The long haired man introduced himself as Daryl and the other man, Aaron.

Y/N hesitantly nodded as he follow both men to their camp called Alexandria. We arrived at the gate and someone with a sherrif hat opened it, it was a boy around my age.

"Uh, this is Carl Grimes. The son of our leader ere'." Daryl pointed out at Carl as Carl smiled at Y/N and waved.

"Y/N, Y/N L/N." Y/N said as all of them smiled. Daryl gently pushed Y/N to Carl causing Y/N bumped into the boy.

"Carl, yer' show em' around, I'll talk to Rick." Daryl said as he walked away to somewhere.

Y/N stood himself up from Carl as he looked at him. "So, where should we start?" Carl said as they both laughed.

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"Fucking asshole, Y/N." Y/N told himself as he was sitting at the porch of Daryl and Carol's home. He throwed down the rock to the road as he sighed.

Daryl was caught by the saviors and Carol escaped away from Alexandria. Y/N has no one to talk to. He stood up and got inside the house and went straight into his room.

He jumped himself on his bed and got the comic book at the nightstand. Something peaked through the page Y/N is reading, he opened the book to that page and a paper dropped down with a picture behind it.

The paper is folded with a note "To Carl." At the front. Y/N laughed as he opened the paper.

"Hey Carl Grimes.

I know it's the apocalypse but I just wanted to say that I liked you- no, I love you since that day we've met. I never thought I'll met someone at my age and I'm really happy when we roam around Alexandria and talk random shit together. My heart beats fast when I saw you even from a distance. You're very nice and funny to everyone and you take the supply runs seriously and protecting me while we find some thing and I thank you for that. I really felt safe around you and when I hear your voice, it really calms me down and some shit flying around my stomach. I really love you Carl, I really do.

From, Y/N."

Y/N laughed while tears started rolling down through his face as it stained the note. He set the note aside and behind it was his picture with Carl.

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"Y/N! I found a camera!" Carl came running to Y/N while Y/N searching things that's useful for the camp. "Let's take a picture!" Carl excitedly pulled Y/N close to him, boh of them smiling as the camera clicks.

The both of them smiled as the film came out. Carl took it and shook it a little and the picture came out.

"Look at us, Y/N!" Carl laughed as he looked at the picture with admiration. Y/N took the picture and saw both their faces close to each other, causing his face turn red.

"I'll keep this, dibs." Y/N laughed as Carl did the same. "Not fair."

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Y/N let his tears flow as he remembered the memory he'll never forget, but what's the use of it now?

He put back the things as he closed the book and throwed it to the nightstand. He cuddled up to his pillow and cried more.

"Should have stayed back."

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First one-shot!

Thank you for reading!

[riverdale-retread]

Riverdale s7 e1

There is a lot of commentary about whether the show is bad or good, and among those who hold that it's bad, a debate about whether said badness is intentional (It's camp! It's satire! It's  commentary on culture and/or our times!) or brought about from a lack of talent or planning by the producers, writers and/or actors.

What I say is this - I love the care with which Riverdale is made.  Starting with the S7 opening sequence!!

Archie’s painted hot rod is shown, then as the song plays Archie spins into view, his face framed in a little circle. He's doing something with his eyebrows. His smile is just a little off. Not a LOT off. Just off.  Immediately after that we see him press a kiss to Mary Andrews' cheek. We know it's all wrong because Mary Andrews is wary of the violence of this son that she regrets mothering and can't wait to get rid of.  They are not this affectionate.

Next up is Betty Cooper, short hair in the cutest ringlets, smiling sweetly, looking wholesome.  Betty Cooper found the pressure to be sweetly wholesome unbearably suffocating all six seasons of this show.  Immediately after her is Veronica with the most spectacular bangs,  looking pretty and hard and insincere.  These are things that Veronica hates to be thought of as.  

Then comes Cheryl, severely annoyed to be there, giving an evil eyed false smile.  Assuming arguendo that this is Jughead as world-maker as well as narrator, the fact that Cheryl gets to have a do-over of her intro in the montage, a doubling-up if you will, is noteworthy.  Everyone else gets the one shot in the juke box, but Cheryl gets a twofer, wearing the Lolita-Grundy sunglasses and pouting over the door of a great looking convertible. Kevin, looking gormless is up next and it makes me feel worried. Toni Topaz is looking ultra heterosexual with her long ponytail up-do. She winks at the  audience.  This is not edgy Serpent Queen Toni at all. But she and Veronica both look spectacular with bangs.  Tabitha in white cats’ eye glasses and white gloves, blows a kiss to the audience, looking sheltered and innocent when we all know she's a weirdo and not above cosplaying a truck stop hooker to catch a killer.  

The only person who looks like "himself" is Jughead, who comes last.  Worried, frantic, concerned and unhappy - basically, fail-adult Jughead without Tabitha.  Poor Jughead.

The year, he says, is 1955 and apparently people didn't mind when couples executed complicated dances involving swirling skirts inside a diner where people are trying to eat.  Jughead is narrating as he clatters away on a huge typewriter at the Diner.  Apparently the patrons don't mind that either. Does he keep it there?  Did he commandeer the one in the office?? Does he haul it around??

As Jughead narrates, speculating about where he is - Not sure if he's in the past or the past of an alternate universe -  he speaks faster and more frantically, sounding more and more like Bunker Jughead of Rivervale.  He tries to sound unhappy about living in a railcar with Hot Dog (". . . which actually tracks" sighhhh) but we all know he's relieved he's not homeless and couch surfing. Having a dog and a residence of his own is more stability than he's had since graduating high school and before Jabitha began cohabitation.

They're all juniors in high school again!  Betty and Kevin holding hands down the hallway, Betty in excellent patterned pants with eyes only for Kevin who won't look at her.  Jughead looks at the two of them with an expression of suppressing in indigestion burp but neither notice him.  Jughead is worried for Betty, all the time, nonstop, in every universe.  Plus Bughead were the horniest little fuckers in any high school on American television ever, and so the fact of Betty dating a gay man worries Jughead.  He doesn’t want to have sex with her anymore, yet Jughead wants Betty to have good things.  And Jughead has never liked Kevin much, but he’s worried for Kevin too. Betty wasn’t and isn’t a girl who takes not getting her way with grace.

Cheryl still has a twin brother, but she is completely not at all in love with this one.  The face she makes is not of a girl dominating the halls of her high school with her soulmate.  Jughead feels very similar about this iteration of a Boy Blossom, noting first and foremost that this kiddo is Cheryl’s twin, then second that he is not Jason, before introducing us to his actual name: Julian.

Julian like the possessed doll, the chimera twin that got eaten by Cheryl in the womb, etc, that Julian. Who actually knew this Julian name, other than Toni?  

Jughead’s thoughts turn directly from Cheryl to Not-Jason to Reggie then on to Archie.  This is the first of several pings back to earlier seasons, which I am sure I’m not going to be able to catch in a perfect way.  But!  Reggie and Jason were constantly in each other’s company in Jughead’s hallucinatory reminiscences of Jason during S1, even though Reggie barely ever mentioned Jason, and Cheryl has never been shown actually discussing Jason with either Reggie 1.0 or 2.0.

The key thing that Jughead notices about Archie is his body, in the same way the key thing he notices about Julian is that he is not Jason.  Archie being wholesome enough to kiss his mom on the cheek goodbye every morning being into body building in 1955 is very progressive (and gay) of him, isn’t it?  That sort of muscular build was still sort of a niche thing, I thought.

Jughead has been frowning at all these people for quite a while, long enough to confirm that they have no recollection of their S6 selves.  He hasn’t seen Tabitha, who he helpfully explains is chronokinetic and the town’s literal guardian angel AND his girlfriend.

Just in time, Pop Tate announces that the bus from Mississippi has arrived.  Tabitha, looking very sad, is accompanied by Toni, equally sad, and a third person, who I assumed was Chuck even though the actor has changed because that wouldn’t be Munroe.  Sadness from having to witness an act of racial injustice and hatred makes people move in slow motion into the Diner.

Jughead watches Tabitha slowly walk past him before he calls her name.  The way he says “Tabitha” is so cautious, because she might reject any conversation with the guy wearing a bulky sweater with the S stamped on it AND a felt crown making very loud tappity tap noises at her grandfather’s diner, and hopeful, because maybe they’re friends, and maybe hearing Jughead will make this Tabitha remember season 6.  The guarded, questioning response he gets from her makes Jughead change tack fast, to discuss the Emmett Till hearing verdict as something he heard “on the radio.”   When Jughead says the verdict made him “sick to my stomach” Tabitha frowns slightly, wary of where he might go with this, perhaps.   Tabitha saying that she and her friends are trying to figure out what they should do next, Jughead isn’t even breathing.  He’s watching her so hard, so hopeful that Tabitha will give him some hint that she knows this is the wrong universe, and so worried she might not.

When she asks him to confirm that his name is Jughead in a way that indicates they aren’t even friends in this universe, Jughead is so hurt that his drops out of his careful, speak-in-full-sentences 1950s speech, and stutters.  His eyes get much, much sadder, right before he says it’s overwhelming and heartbreaking.  He looks like he might cry.   Poor Jughead.  

The cruelty of his fate is astounding.  He was a kid who was left behind and rejected by his mother, let to live homeless by his father, rejected by Fred Andrews, routinely forgotten by his girlfriend during what he thought of as their shared childhood memories, and now, the singularly stable adult friendship and relationship of his life is like it never existed.  Jughead Jones is someone who hasn’t ever been without a girlfriend, it seems since starting one with Betty Cooper, but now when he needs a relationship the most, Tabitha literally doesn’t know him.

Simply because Tabitha Tate doesn’t know him, Jughead hates everything about the 1950s. (Whoever said the 1950s was the greatest decade should have their head examined, he deadpans.)

Archie is trying to skip out of the house when Mary calls to him.  Archie grimaces so hard at his mother’s summons that I can see it through the back of his head.  This did give me a small twinge of hope that maybe he does remember S1-6, and that Archie is putting on this wholesome teenager act, same as Jughead, until he can figure out what’s going on.  He puts on an evidently false face of doe-eyed innocence when he gets it together to go talk to his mother. He’s literally never made that face before in the past six years.

Mary Andrews is very upset about the photos of James Dean’s car accident in the papers, so she confiscates the keys to Archie’s “hotrod” with “fire painted on its sides.” Archie tries to talk his way out of this but fails.  He longingly looks at his “barely above a jalopy” vehicle before turning to face the reality of having to take a very old looking bicycle to school.

Archie has never been this cute to me. His little face!   Then he’s peddling uphill, getting honked at, and so mad .  Just, adorable.  I wanna give him a cookie.   He gets to school just in time.

Meanwhile, Betty in her very excellent 1950s pants is sitting with Toni in the Blue and Gold room.  Her sweater says Betty on it in a curly font.  With her short blonde curls framing her sweet face Betty looks picture perfect. She and Toni both have such enormous eyes that I keep getting distracted from the serious topic they are discussing - how to get past the school censors to properly cover the Emmett Till travesty.  When Betty says she will throw her weight behind getting the story told, Toni smiles at her in a small cheek scrunching way that she’s never done before.  She looks amazing, by the way - the bangs, the big hoop earrings, the scarf /headband thing in her hair, the Southside Serpent Jeans jacket.

Cut to a class where a 1950s tv announcer voice is explaining what a mill is (a souped up hot rod or jalopy) in a film the class are watching  when the principal (Warden Norton repurposed as Principal Featherhead!) bursts in to make an announcement.  Archie is wearing an R sweater, with Jughead in the S sweater seated nearby.

What do these mean??

Veronica make an iconic entrance, complete with heralding blues horns.  Yellow heels, yellow belt, black dress with white polka dots, black purse,  sunglasses, big black sunhat trimmed with the same fabric as her dress, and red lips.  Lace gloves with little black polka dots.

OMG SHE LOOKS SO HOT.

I want this whole thing.  I make a vow to only wear yellow heels with black dresses.

Archie, getting his first look, drops his pencil.  (Kevin, right behind him, has no reaction whatsoever.)  Jughead, Tabitha-less, looks constipated as he notes:  “Damn.”

Girl, that’s what I said!

With everyone else in some sort of sweater or jacket, buttoned up to the neck, Veronica’s plunging neckline and sleeveless dress makes her look practically naked.   She’s a Hollywood scion - Hermione and Hiram have “Amercia’s number one rated television program,” and of course they’re going to call it, Oh Mija!

I LOVED this in-joke, because it functions as a tribute to Hiram.  Mija was the word he said the most, after, maybe, Archie.

For some reason, this whole situation - Veronica’s appearance, introduction, presence and existence- piss Cheryl off entirely.  She is huffing, rolling her eyes, and generally extremely antsy.

Seated right behind her, Archie is just in heaven. Veronica is being very alternative-universe here: her self introduction is very pompous.  Real Veronica Lodge actually hates pomposity.  Her vocabulary is still very Jughead-huge though (“opportune” and “raven haired.”)  Veronica says that she’s trying a method acting type of thing (de rigueur for the age perhaps - another thing she might actually say) of experiencing small town life so she can better portray the “innocent ingenue” in the upcoming production of “Our Town.”

Longtime viewers are meant to know that she is lying about staying with an aunt-and-uncle, mostly because these people have never been introduced in the past six seasons.  As far as we’ve ever been told about Hiram in the competing lores of his life, he doesn’t have siblings. We have almost no lore about Hermione, other than FP hit on her almost once in high school and she had the affair with Fred Andrews as an adult.

Both Cheryl and Betty do not like that Veronica called them “small town lifers” basically.   Archie is entirely entranced with her, laughing at every little joke that Veronica makes, and even Cheryl pointedly turning in her seat to glare at him can’t make his besotted grin falter even a little bit.  

Veronica purrs and preens when she calls herself “the scion of Tinseltown royalty.”  I’m surprised she doesn’t roll her Rs.  When she winsomely says Thank You, Archie, whose face has been lit up like a christmas tree this whole time, bursts into solitary applause.   Cheryl is still very mad, but Archie gets rewarded with an extremely sexy wink by Veronica for being such an immediate fan.  

Is that a blush I see on Archie’s face?

I love this Archie. He’s so cute.

The table that Veronica chooses to try to join is Cheryl, Betty,  Kevin, Julian and Archie.  This is a weird fricking cluster of people.  Cheryl and Betty? And what the heck would Kevin and Julian have in common?   When Veronica asks to sit, Cheryl wants to say no but she is betrayed by both of the other redheads, who clear the space immediately.  Veronica comes to perch gracefully between the two redhead boys.  

Veronica says she caught all their names in the class they were just in.  Of course, Betty having BETTY embroidered into her sweater probably helps with that too.   Remembering that the R wearing Archie is Archie might be more of a feat.   Veronica shows that she took Cheryl’s eye rolls to heart by pointedly asking Cheryl what her name was.  Cheryl is extremely displeased, yet again.   This seems to know exactly what just happened between Veronica and Cheryl- he is trying very hard not to laugh too much.

Cheryl tries to explain that that they’d been discussing James Dean’s death, very self-importantly adding that she is president of his fanclub, when she gets undermined by Julian, who interrupts with a very weak joke about the Oh Mija! show being “high-larious,” to Veronica.   He says that the Blossoms “tune in every week” which must be a lie, because Cheryl’s whole face sours.  Betty and Kevin seem like they’re on the same wavelength.  They project the same calm, almost bovine energy when they ask Veronica where she lived in LA (BelAir) and if she knew James Dean.

Cheryl sharply tells Kevin off for being “so provincial,” then goes off to sideways disparage Veronica by implying that she wasn’t important enough to be a friend of James Dean, a person who was friends with Elizabethe Taylor.   Turns out Veronica Lodge was ‘friendly’ with Jimmy, “friendly” enough to go skinny dipping together at the Chateau Marmaduke (standing in for Chateau Marmont).  

This makes Archie choke.  Literally.  He focuses on “skinny dipping” -Veronica! Naked! She does Naked things! - while Betty and Kevin (Bevin? Ketty??) are entranced about being that friendly with James Dean.  Julian is more in Archie’s camp - he wants to know if Veronica has done the naked thing once or more than once.  I so appreciate the asshole energy that Julian projects nonstop.  He reminds me a lot of Bret Weston Wallis that way. You know on sight that he’s a dickhead, which is 180 degrees different from the angelic way that Jughead used to hallucinate Jason.

When Cheryl plays with her hair to sarcastically ask if Veronica will claim that she had dated Jimmy Dean, Veronica says no, but then drops a bombshell.  James Dean “played both sides of the net.”  In case the small town rubes don’t get her meaning, Veronica clarifies that this means both girls and boys.  Kevin has a milder version of Archie’s choking reaction from seconds before at this thought.  He’s smiling, and Betty is frowning.  Oh?  Oh???

When Kevin wants Veronica to name what James Dean was, Archie interrupts. This made me wonder if there  was a 1950s term for bisexual, that everyone would’ve known, that you can say on a CW show in 2023?    I guess not because Kevin never gets to finish his question.

Archie has a confused reaction, which fits canon so far and why Jarchie hasn’t happened yet even though it should.  He finds the concept of regular guys who are almost cowboys (all American? Is that what he means to say?) being anything other than 100% proof heterosexual incomprehensible.  Cheryl reacts with homophobic anger - it’s besmirchment, it’s foul, to say Jimmy Dean was not straight.   When Veronica calls her provincial, Cheryl slut shames her.  Nobody cares that Cheryl has flounced off, so now Kevin wants to know about Sal Mineo.

Kevin is definitely not straight in this universe.  Veronica knows it, apparently immediately. Poor Betty.

In science class later that day we see ETHEL is Jughead’s lab desk partner. Jughead is miserable to be back in high school.  He has an Asian American science teacher, who wears nerdy round glasses and has a bit of a lisp.  The teacher says Bailey Comet is due to arrive in two years.   He sounds vaguely Singporean, his teacher.  

Cut to Cheryl screaming GUYS as she floats in the air, trying to ice the comet.

Cut to the end of school, where Archie winsomely offers Veronica an escort home.  He has no ride, however, and Veronica isn’t the type of girl to walk. (She also just can’t, not in those high heels.)  Julian has offered Veronica a ride, ditching his sister wholesale.  JASON WOULD NEVER. Archie and Cheryl can’t bear to look at each other in the face of this rejection they’ve suffered.

In the waning light, Betty and Veronica are trying to talk to two old white men.  Dupont from Stonewall is here in Riverdale now as Werther a ‘child psychiatrist’ who fully backs Warden, I mean Principal, Featherhead that the Emmett Till murder and trial are not suitable subject matter for the school paper.

Toni tries to advocate for publication by saying that people need to know what happened “so that it doesn’t happen again.”  That is so adorable and incorrect.  Knowing something terrible happened again does not in any way ensure that it doesn’t keep happening.  I think the better way to think about it is, We owe it to the wronged to mark their stories.  Featherhead shoots her down by saying that “these sorts of things don’t happen in Riverdale.”  He also says a wrong thing - that “change doesn’t happen overnight.” Actually all change happens overnight.  That’s where there’s always a backlash to any progress, because those who can’t keep up want to turn it back. A lot of the time, they succeed.  In any case, Featherstone patronizes Toni by telling her take satisfaction in how ‘well written’ in article is.

Later, at family dinner in which Polly and Charles don’t exist, Betty tries to push her parents into reading Toni’s article on the air at their nightly broadcast on RIVW.  15 minutes is what they get, of which Toni’s article would take a whole minute.   Hal’s 50s persona is very hilarious.  He looks extremely shifty and chipunky, reminding me quite a lot of Peter Pettigrew of all things.  Alice has absolutely killer eyebrows, sharp enough to slice your face open.   They both repeat Featherstone’s line about the article being ‘well written’ but have no intention of rocking the boat.   Betty is angry but she is overruled by the power of the Blossom money and her parents not wanting to upset their only sponsor.

1950s Archie is still the cutest.  He is working his car, underneath it, as he breathlessly narrates his ove for Veronica Lodge.  He actually says SHAZAM!  persuasively.  Hit with a thunderbolt indeed.  He’s so 1950s in fact that the things he says and the way he says them feel suspicious too perfect. “How’s a guy like me gonna get anywhere with a girl like Veronica Lodge” and so  forth.  Jughead is perched like a depressed crow in his S sweater that seems to get darker and darker as the day goes on, looking off to the side and not listening to this earnest puppy love talk.

Jughead’s narration takes over. He is just so anxious.  He’s talking so fast, thinking about Bailey’s Comet, trying to harness that to get back to the future. “But I needed [ pause ] help.”  He sounds increasingly like the wigged out Bunker Jug of Rivervale.  Archie asks for his dad’s hammer, which sets off Jughead’s memory - that Archie buried the hammer in the time capsule.

The capsule they buried in the year 2020 when they graduated from high school, not to be confused with the year 2020 when they were 6 years after graduating from high school, might still be in existence in 1955 even though they were sent ‘back’ to this time from the first but not the second 2020.

Jughead seems to think this is a logical leap and I am very tickled. I kind of find it annoying (sorry, anti-intellectualism incoming, mea culpa in advance) when time travel stories get too precious about theoretical physics, so this made me very pleased with the wild swings they take in narrative on Riverdale.

So! Jughead asks for a shovel to Archie, who gives him an odd look. Is it because Archie thinks “Can I borrow a shovel?” is a really weird response to “Have you seen my dad’s hammer?” or is it because Archie knows something?

Later that night, Jughead is digging something out of the ground again. Grave robbery is one of his leitmotifs, I suppose?   He hits something hard, and guess what! It’s the time capsule.  Jughead is out of breath as he says “Thank God” but he seems just as frantic and scared as before.  And dun dun!! Someone is watching him do all this from the shadows!  The hairline looks vaguely like Tabitha.

Veronica is going to school the next day, wearing  more modest neckline and weather appropriate warm clothes.   Archie has somehow gotten his car out of the garage, so now he’s able to offer her a ride home. She’s very pleased, but Jughead walks right in between the two of them, carrying the time capsule ice box. Summarily, he insists that the two of them come meet him in the music room. Veronica has no idea who he is.

In the music room, they’re all holding their 2020 self’s contribution to the time capsule.  Toni has never seen the Pretty Poisons jacket.  Veronica thinks the Pop’s menu is an only passable prop.  Betty finds the headlines to be “like Dr. Seuss” meaning amusing gibberish, perhaps?   And Kevin keeps asking unanswerable questions - he wants to know what the “inch” is in Hedwig and the Angry Inch.  Archie wants to know when Jughead buried Fred’s hammer in a cooler.

Jughead tackles that one first, saying “YOU did.”  Archie genuinely looks like he has no idea what Jughead’ is talking about, but I’ve sussed it out now - 1950s Archie’s response to confusion is to smile about it. So he smiles.  Jughead can see that his attempt to “shake something loose” in his friends’ minds isn’t working, so in his frustration, his presentation starts to get very garbled.  He tells them they buried all these things 67 years ago IN THE FUTURE which, given the tenses, doesn’t even amount to English.   He says they need to get back to ‘our present, our future’ before full on stuttering.  Betty is concerned, Cheryl is annoyed, Toni and Kevin look embarrassed for Jughead, Archie is smiling because he’s confused.  Veronica, however, is very entertained.  

Archie wants to know what Jughead buried.  Jughead knows it was his “yarn beanie” but then says it wasn’t in the time capsule.  For some reason, this takes the fun out of this exercise for Archie, the fact that Jughead didn’t include an item of his own in the ‘cooler.’

Veronica says she’ll play along, and asks if she or Elizabeth Taylor is more famous in the future.  Cheryl, not to be outdone, cuts in with a request to give a bird’s eye view of the future.  Jughead has not thought this far in advance, so his answer is (adorably) piss poor.  he just throw things out - smartphones,  text messages, spotify, the internet - in THAT order which is the most confusing thing of all time.  Betty tries to help him out since he’s getting frantic during this speech that makes no sense to her - she asks Jughead to describe everyone’s Season 6 selves.

Jughead’s summaries are as follows:  Archie was in the army, fought in a war. Betty was in FBI hunting serial killers.  The way Betty practically salivates at the word serial killer, which doesn’t exist as a word yet, is VERY interesting.  Veronica owns a casino, and before that a speakeasy.  Toni bought the speakeasy, turned it into a biker bar.  Both Veronica and Toni are charmed by this story.  

Jughead positively chokes when he tries to summarize Kevin’s life.  He can tell, by this time, that this is going very sideways, which won’t be helped by how out of sorts Kevin’s life became by the end of Season 6.  Kevin is summarized as directing some musicals, after which he joined an organ harvesting cult.  Not wrong, but not very fulsome.  Cheryl, Jughead says, was possessed by an ancestor and became a witch.  She is not a happy customer, at all.

Archie says a fascinating thing- that he wouldn’t want to go back to the future because “we” sound miserable. Well, given that he was just told he joined the army and went to war, this is true for him, but not all the futures are miserable.

Veronica wants to know how the whole ‘going back to the future’ thing will happen, to which Jughead’s entire presentation falls completely apart. When he says that one of the ways might be a comet, Toni (who has tried very hard to be polite so far) gives a What the fuck look to Betty, who answers it with a Oh he’s just like this smile.   Jughead is fully in frantic world-maintainer Bunker Jughead mode now, and starts shouting about having Archie and Betty make out on Archie’s bed and then “BLOW  UP A BOMB UNDERNEATH THEM.”

This is so funny. I love with Jughead gets all Bunker-Jug, with the shouting and the extreme hand gestures. Is he perhaps channeling Hiram??

Everyone thinks this is very funny, but Archie has had enough.  Archie tries to make Jughead ‘take five’ which puts Jughead fully into feral motormouth mode to ask “YOU’RENOTGONNABEATMEUPAREYOUCUZYOU’REREALLYVIOLENTINTHEFUTURE”

The whole sentence is spit out as one long word.

When the two of them are alone in the gym, Archie lets it rip.  “People are going to think you belong in the looney bin with the other nutjobs!” and “It’s hard enough without your crazy stories” etc.  Jughead is coming down from his frantic mania so being called a ‘nut job’ is not helping.  His eyes actually start to glisten with tears.  “You think I’m crazy?” he asks, in a more normal, much sadder cadence.   Jughead is so upset, and so lonely, and so despairing.

This is a big change from his mid teens, when he took on being not understood, being isolated, unique and alone, as a badge of honor.  This Jughead understands the horror of being trapped in a solitary reality.  He can’t even stand to look at Archie, because that would mean confronting how trapped and alone he actually is in this universe.  Archie tries to be kind, telling him to keep using his ‘overactive’ imagination by channeling that energy into creating fiction.  When Jughead gives up altogether, and agrees, Archie actually skips a couple steps (something he’s never done in any of the other universes) before leaving Jughead standing in the gym.

At the very red, very depressing Blossom mansion, Penelope, who has the most fascinating hairdo (it’s both ornate and simple, hideous and perfectly coiffed) while dressed like the nightmare camp version of the English queen wants to know why  her twins look so sullen.  The way the Blossom twins of this universe bicker seems much more realistic, and, accordingly, much more dull.   I think this is post facto validation for the way the Cheryl-Jason relationship is in the S1-6 canon. It’s so much more interesting than this mundanity between Julian and Cheryl.

Penelope delivers movie magazines to Cheryl, and on the cover is someone not Veronica Lodge being cast in Our Town!

Meanwhile, Veronica is on a date with Archie at Pop’s!  She loves the food. All her attempts to make lighthearted conversation with Archie fail.  He has no idea who Gloria Swanson is.  This literally breaks Veronica’s spirit.   So she changes her line of questioning - “Tell me everything there is to know about Archie Andrews.”

His life is so boring.  “Work on my car. I like sports. I come here to pops. And i hangout at sweet water river.  mostly to fish.”

Then Archie reveals that Fred didn’t make it back from the Korean War, making him one of the 33,000 American servicemen who died.  Thank you Fred Andrews for your service, I guess? I’m slightly peeved that they didn’t make up a different war like they did for Archie to go fight in during the 2020 that lasted for seven years, but then they used the real Emmett Till story so they might as well use the Korean War, I suppose.  Archie is very used to people being upset about having asked, as well as not knowing what to say, so he is very smooth in the way he assures Veronica that “It’s OK” when she tries to apologize for prying.   In this universe, Mary Andrews works part time at the dress shop (no lawyering for her, alas).   I’m shocked she doesn’t work at Pop’s.  Though I guess maybe this economy is better.

Archie has never had a serious girlfriend by his Junior year of HS, about which Veronica is shocked.  Two days after meeting Veronica and in the course of their first real date, Archie more or less says that he wants to be Veronica’s boyfriend. He looks so starry eyed at her, that Veronica is extremely charmed. (So am I.)

But Veronica can’t be let to have nice things, so in comes Cheryl, shouting “J’accuse!”  Cheryl hates Veronica SO MUCH.  Just the ad hominem insults - “lying liar of a spoiled brat” and “banished by your parents!”  - and she insists on shouting the fact that Veronica employed a bit of puffery when she was introducing herself to the class.  

At the Pembroke, Veronica is weeping while consoled by Archie.  Archie tries to say nobody takes Cheryl seriously  Veronica fesses up that she was in fact banished, and she was a problem for her parents.   Veronica says she was ignored and sidelined since the Lodges started Oh Mija!  This is fascinating actually because Veronica’s persistent problem during her high school years was that both her parents were completely obsessed with her- and when she acquired a hitherto unknown older sibling halfway through her years in high school, Hermosa exhibited the same Lodge trait - obsession with Veronica, wanting to love her, wanting and willing to shoot at people on her behalf, and hating her just the little bit.  Now, in this universe, she’s an inconvenient burden neither parents cares much about - which indicates that Veronica was so the object of her parents’ focus because the two of them didn’t have sufficient creative outlets.  “The show is their real baby, not me.”    

This happened in a slower way during S5-6.  When Hiram finally, FINALLY killed off Riverdale and began his SoDale giant real estate project, he stopped being as invested in Veronica per se.  And when Hermione found the semi-acting gig of being a “Real Housewife,” she disappeared entirely out of Veronica’s life.

It turns out Veronica’s deep dark secret, the thing that got her banished to Riverdale by her parents, was that she was in fact tangentially involved in James Dean’s death.  She was one of several good time girls who formed a sort of racing fandom for Dean, and were going to meet him to cheer him on during a race.  

After consoling Veronica, Archie gets home late, to be immediately yelled at by Mary.  Mary is traumatized by the loss of Fred Andrews - which she honestly wasn’t very much in S4-6. Maybe this is why, if he does remember, Archie prefers to stay in this universe.    He has a mom who cares deeply that his father died.  Mother and son bond over their shared loss.  The compromise is that Archie is allowed to drive as long as his car goes very, very slow.  I will also note that his question about how he took HIS car out in a drive is a very unteenager thing to say.  So the question remains - what does Archie know or sense about this alternate universe?

In a fit of masochism, Veronica watches her parents’ show.  The kid cast to play the Mija is Tillie Temple (aka Shirley Temple, perhaps??).  Veronica hates Tilie.  Of course, right now is when Hermione calls.   Turns out someone is keeping a strict eye on the guests that Veronica has over at the apartment.  Veronica wants to go home for Thanksgiving, but Hermione doesn’t say she can come.  She has Orson Welles visiting.  Veronica is so lonely.   This is also new for Veronica - Maternal rejection has never been her problem.  That was usually reserved for Jughead, Cheryl and to a lesser extent, Betty and Archie.

Betty reads the Emmett Till newsletter which show the pictures of what Till went through.  It radicalizes Betty  into wanting to publish the article Toni wrote.  But Toni wants to read a poem out during the morning announcements. There’s an echo of the larger theme in S1 through 6 here.  In previous seasons, Cheryl took it upon herself to make up for her ancestor’s sins. In this one, Toni wants Cheryl to make it up to - who? Toni? the world? - someone for her parents’ cowardice in not wanting to cover the Till murder.   Toni is planning an ambush.

Tabitha immediately approaches Jughead She asks for help.  NAACP is taking Emmett Till’s mother on tour, so Tabitha is going with them.  What Tabitha needs someone to help her ‘stay on top of’ school while she is on this tour.  It’s really not clear to me what that will be, but Jughead - though he is crushed that this Tabitha doesn’t even seem to know him at all - agrees immediately.  His eyes get all sad again, as he looks with wistful tenderness at this person who is exactly like his girlfriend but isn’t, at all.   He smiles and says “Awesome!” which he corrects to “Swell.”

Meanwhile Toni ambushes Cheryl in the bathroom with Betty.  Cheryl doesn’t mind letting Toni borrow her platform, but points out that Featherhead has pulled the plug before.  For what, I wonder? When??  She’s otherwise very easily persuaded.

Tabitha has fainted, Featherhead is tending to her, Miss Bell is off, and so now, Toni can take over the morning announcement!

As Toni was reading the Langston Hughes poem I realized with the Rs and Ss stand for on those sweaters. R is for Riverdale.  A bunch of other students have Rs emblazoned on their sweaters and sweatshirts.  So the S must be for Southside.  Jughead wears a Southside High sweater all the time to attend Riverdale High, and they just let him!

So anyway Toni exhorts everyone to ‘talk to each other’ about it, and this is the third weird lie propagated in American society.  The emphasis on dialogue as somehow a catalyst for systemic change, which it is not

The four girls get a telling off from Featherhead, who tries to call them liars -but Tabitha has an answer for that (she felt sick! but felt better!) and insubordinate - but Cheryl has an answer for that (there has not been a rule that poetry can’t be read during the morning announcement or that they have to pass censorship).  

In the classroom later, the teacher does open up the discussion to the topic, but see, this is the problem.  It puts the burden on the three people of color - Tabitha, Toni, and the unnamed guy I have assumed is Chuck Clayton- to explain reality to everyone else, who can be passive recipients of information and responsible only for articulating their emotional responses.

Later that school day, Veronica is offered a ride by both Julian and Archie, and rejects them both in favor of walking home!

Late at night, Jughead is freaking out by himself in the diner, no typewriter.  He is cracking up.  Maybe seasons 1-6 were the dream and he finally woke up!!  

Tabitha slides into the booth and Glory Hallelujah it’s HIS Tabitha!  “The Tabitha who remembers and loves you.”  He reaches out to grasp her with both hands.  He’s so happy to see her, he says, covering his eyes with one hand, trying not to burst into tears.  Tabitha says that the comet hit because Cheryl failed, so they had their extinction level event  after all.  This isn’t the Sweet Hereafter.  She instead used her life force to send everyone back to 1955 to try to change the future.  She has to be ALONE to untangle all the messed up timelines.  “You have to make a go of it here in the 50s.”

So she parked Jughead here in 1955 to be safe, but because he kept remembering the actual reality (and could drive himself insane or further corrupt the safe timeline) she had to come back to make him forget, so that he can “live in the present, in the moment.”   Oh, but Tabitha.  Jughead was already so bad at that!  And now that’s his part of the mission? To hold it together without her while she fixes the universe?

Jabitha may be the MOST EPIC relationship in scale which doesn’t quite make up for the tiny amount of screen time we’re likely to get if Tabitha has decided that she has to solve this universe sized problem ALONE.  Jughead was willing to die a LOT.  Tabitha went through every single scenario where Jughead died to see how to make that not happen.  And now, Jughead is going to endure having the happiest time of his life wiped from memory - the time when he was a stable adult, who knew who he was in the world, when he was in a relationship and family unit of people who accepted him and supported him, when he had a real home - because Tabitha says it’s “for the best.”  He decides to trust her with erasing the thing that any of us hold the dearest - his memories that constitute his sense of self.   And can we talk about Tabitha’s self sacrifice?  She’s going to do this very difficult work of setting the UNIVERSE RIGHT while voluntarily, entirely, completely forgotten (by her own hand!) by her significant other who adores her,  all her friends in the community she chose to become independent from her parents, all alone.  

Holy shit.

Jughead’s sprint home after their kiss, which rightly seems to freeze time to be everlasting before Tabitha steps away, is so desperate and frantic.  Jughead who was terrified of being forgotten is beginning to forget the most important person in his adult life. All he has are the words “bend. toward. justice.” and the sense that something terrible has just happened to him, without the ability to remember what it is.   This isn’t the Sweet Hereafter.  This has to be hell.

I am LOVING this.  It’s so BIG.  I wish they could SHOW it though.  But I think eventually, because the universe does in fact bend towards justice, someone will write me the fanfic that will have me lain flat on the floor from devastation.  Because omg the Jabitha relationship has SCOPE.

And the final kicker-  Jughead doesn’t recognize his stupid hat.  Ha!

P.S.  The title reference, “Don’t Worry Darling”  if it’s to that movie that came out this year, in 2023, then it’s very twisty and fun.  Because that movie is about a man manipulating a woman’s mind for his own aggrandizement, and this episode is the mirror of that - a woman manipulating a man’s mind, with his explicit agreement, to save the universe.

[weirsight]

hotd 2.05

is the battle at rook's rest not enough to warrant new embroidery in the intro? guess not.

"don't they realize we won the battle?" criston...my guy...there's still a naval blockade that's preventing traders from getting into the city, which is causing the smallfolk to starve. think, you beautiful dummy.

no, but shouldn't the smallfolk at least feel a bit relieved or grateful that the dragon who stomped on them during their king's coronation last season is now dead?

probably the only time i won't be annoyed at the ringing of the bells 🔔🔔🔔 in king's landing.

getting severe flashbacks to sam treating jorah's greyscale in got s7.

"someone will have to rule in his stead." not the time, aemond. maybe wait until the small council meeting.

at first, i thought it was a bit lame that alicent was so quick to catch on that aemond was at fault. however, the more i think about it, the more i feel like it make sense. she knows that her eldest sons don't get along that well, and aegon is prone to ridiculing people. alicent could've easily figured that aemond either injured aegon on purpose or neglected to protect him in the battle. plus, aemond isn't exactly being subtle about wanting power and control. he doesn't seem all that shellshocked at his brother's severe near-death state. or if he is, he's doing a good job at hiding it. 🤔

"there has been peace in our lifetime. you've seen no more battles than i have." a well deserved reply but then what was rhaenys going on about going to battle again with meleys? 🙄

speaking to jace's phrasing of "coddled princeling" it's a nice enough allusion to how rhaenyra grew more and more paranoid about keeping her sons close after losing most of them during the war.

anyone who refuses to submit to the targaryens + their dragons fully knowing they might die right then and there has my utmost respect. house bracken truly said we're sick of your dragon shit!

"i did not think they would be so eager to die." then clearly you've underestimated the ridiculous levels of spite some people have, daemon.

i'd be upset too, if i were jeyne arryn. just imagine the last time the eyrie was visited by some of the largest dragons in the world and upon being promised protection during a targaryen civil war...you get two dragons the size of hunting hounds. lame!

i know everyone else has said it at this point, but the whole 'men make war, women make peace' theme is starting to grate on my nerves.

"do not underestimate your subjects" words of wisdom from our mistress of whispers. the blacks and the greens might not understand how valuable it is having the smallfolk placated (except for otto), but i'll never forget the numerous times there was a riot in king's landing that nearly ripped apart the royals and their small council.

not sure how to feel about rhaenyra connecting with baela more than with rhaena. maybe it's because they're both dragonriders, but then that makes it more glaring that rhaena is being treated as an afterthought by her family.

idk why i never considered that the show would allude to daemon's mommy issues because this family is an incestuous basket weave knot.

i get alicent's "petition" for regent, given that she and otto were running the show once viserys started literally falling apart, but if the green council episode showed us anything, it's that the men will carry on plotting with or without the women around.

i thought this would be the riot episode for sure, but i guess not.

of course the freys would want harrenhal. it takes a certain kind of person in westeros to claim a haunted castle for their own.

"cries of anguish" can alys hear the screaming or is she just stating the facts of wartime atrocities?

matt does have pretty good chemistry with gayle. it helps that their scenes together manage to incorporate both character introspection and worldbuilding, what with all the information they're feeding the audience with regarding harrenhal and the riverlands.

i like seeing baela get more scenes, but i would've liked it even more if she had a moment with rhaenys before she died. right now, it kinda feels like she doesn't have much of a connection to her velaryon heritage, despite being fostered on driftmark for several years.

sending alfred broome to corral daemon might be a crapshoot, but at least it keeps him busy.

hey, hour of the wolf mention! 🐺🐺🐺

"in proper fear of your targaryen master." uh ... YIKES.

the riverlords calling daemon a tyrant to his face was 😙👌

i don't think i've ever been this proud of the riverlands and their lords until now. granted, not all of them were present to rightfully scold daemon for his sanction of more unnecessary atrocities committed in rhaenyra's name, but a scene like this stands out as totally profound. here are the lords and ladies of vassal houses standing before a targaryen long presumed to be erratic and refusing to bend their knees to him.

if king's landing is on lockdown, then why hasn't larys purged everyone from mysaria's spy network? he was fine "replacing" all of alicent's staff before jaehaerys got murdered. shouldn't the greens be on more of a high alert since their king got turned into a fried egg?

as underwhelmed as i am regarding the beginning of aemond's Prince Regent Arc™️ ... i must say that the cinematography and blocking of him standing in the throne room was excellent.

"was it worth the price?" can this show please just address the kinslaying and the attempted kinslaying? there needs to be an actual conversation about what aemond did and how it not only affects him but everyone else inside and outside of his family!!!

alicent living to see her son unintentionally follow in his father's footsteps and become a bedridden invalid.

"mummy" please stop, you're hurting me. 😢

i recognize that rhaenyra holds visenya in such high regard, but i feel like more attention should be given to rhaenys as well. she was also noted for being an efficient diplomat. i guess they probably didn't want to confuse conqueror!rhaenys with the queen who never was.

yes, let's entrust our most valuable assets to a bunch of strangers in the hopes that they'll help us win the war. surely this cannot make anything worse. 🙃

[bireggiemantle]

archiereggie 48 :)

tysm for the prompt, anon! so many people have sent archiereggie asks for the kiss ficlet game, and I can't wait to write all of them :)

48: a kiss out of habit.

fyi: this piece is set in the 50s and contains very minor spoilers for s7.

-

Things with Reggie feel less like maintaining a relationship and more like tapping along to the rhythm of their favorite song. It's simple, familiar, and their intimate moments slot perfectly into the cracks of Archie's day to day life.

Things with Reggie feel like a chaste kiss in the locker room after a grueling afternoon of practice.

Things with Reggie feel like holding hands in the safety of their own bedroom.

Things with Reggie feel like screaming in unison as they race down the highway at unfathomable speeds.

Things with Reggie feel as close to perfect as they can be, and Archie can't help but be enveloped in the comfort their relationship brings. It's something to look forward to every morning and every night, knowing that there will always be a warm smile waiting by his bedside.

It hasn't always been easy, of course. A few short months ago Reggie was shying away whenever their fingertips brushed in the halls, and they'd often end up in arguments about where their boundaries laid for public displays. But, just like with souping up an old jalopy, it's amazing what some hard work and elbow grease can accomplish.

So, three months and a few days later, Archie's flipping pancakes and frying eggs for the man of his dreams in their shared kitchen.

The hissing sound of the oil and the sweet smell of maple syrup fill the air around them, weaseling their way into Archie's head and leaving him feeling soft and fuzzy as he cooks, like the blurred edges of an older picture. He's humming quietly, a song he remembers his dad playing a lot when he was a kid, and he can feel Reggie's eye settle on him as he starts to grow slightly louder.

"You almost done there, chef?"

Archie nods, a shameless smile forming on his face. "Just a few more of these pancakes and we'll be good as golden." He slides the most recent batch onto a nearby plate, adding onto the already crooked stack, and slathers the newest pair with butter. It's been a while since Archie's gotten to cook like this, but falling back into it is a bit like riding a bike. The last time he made breakfast for somebody was a few years prior, when his mom was too grief stricken to make anything more than tea. And cooking out of necessity is much different than cooking out of passion.

Or out of love, but he's not quite ready to admit that out loud yet.

He scrapes the last drops of batter onto the pan and tosses the now-empty bowl into the sink. The eggs are seconds away from finishing too, and Archie's able to slide those alongside his precarious pile of pancakes before carrying them over to Reggie. He sets the plate down between them both, making sure that it sits far enough away for Reggie's face not to be obscured.

Mary's out with some friends for coffee at the moment, and Uncle Frank is still sleeping, so it's unlikely either of them will be disturbed.

"So, what do ya think?" Archie grins as he watches Reggie take his first heaping bite.

"They're swell." Reggie says through a mouthful of food.

"Just swell?" Archie counters, but he knows Reggie really means that they're fantastic. Judging by Reggie's sly smirk, he catches Archie's joke as well.

"How's old Bella coming along?"

Reggie takes a sip of his coffee, hot, black, and too bitter for Archie's taste. "Betty and I gotta take another look at her engine today. She'll start, but not willingly."

"Is she still making that noise?" Archie reaches for his own cup, a much, much sweeter mix of milk and sugar with the barest hint of caffeine.

Reggie shakes his head. "No, that was just a bearing problem. Easy fix."

"You think we could take her out sometime soon? Go for a joyride around town? Maybe even a highway?" Archie brushes his foot against Reggie's ankle from under the table, nudging him slightly. It's their way of communicating in moments like these, sharing a feeling of reassurance or excitement about whatever topic might be at hand.

Reggie, as always, leans into the contact, pressing their lower calves together. "I don't know about a joyride, but she should make it to Pop's by this time next week."

"Pop's? Are you asking me on a date, Mantle?"

"Well, it'd be a shame not to take Bella out after all this work." Even after all this time, Reggie can't seem to say it directly. He dances around terms like "dates" or "boyfriends", replacing them with ambiguous statements or witty remarks. Archie would be lying if he said the lack of acknowledgement didn't sting a little, but he's grown used to the phrasing. It's not exactly safe for them to be broadcasting their bond to all of Riverdale yet, and he understands that Reggie has spent his entire life on thin ice already. Maybe one day things will be easier for them, and things with Reggie can feel like he's always dreamed like going steady would.

For now he can live with pancakes and euphemisms.

"I'd love to take her to Pop's with you, Reggie." he says, leaning over the table and pressing a kiss to Reggie's left cheek. When he pulls away he can see the faintest dusting of pink along his skin.

It takes Reggie a moment to regain his composure, the color disappearing from his cheeks as quickly as it came, and what he says next shocks Archie.

"It's a date then."

He leans back towards Archie, connecting their lips in a brief kiss, and Archie is suddenly reminded of every kiss they've shared before; There's the habitual ones before basketball games, the chaste goodnight kisses he yearns for every evening, and the sweet pecks they'll place along the contours of each other's jaws in the privacy of their own home, alone in the early hours of the weekend mornings. He's kissed Reggie like this hundreds of times before, and he knows that he'll get to kiss Reggie like this hundreds of times more.

Archie all but melts, his own cheeks glowing a bright rosey red as his lips curl upwards.

"It's a date."

[so-long-soldier28]

Who would you give the hottest milf and dilf award to in the tvd universe?

oh boy did i have fun answering this question...

okay so both these categories have soo many options, i'm gonna root through my options before awarding the hottest. 😅

also, we've got actual milf / dilfs to compare, plus children-less folks who have milf / dilf energy, but that's a separate category.

but if we're looking at genuine parents, i've already got my dilf picked out.

let's go...!

(tw: bit of kink mention smack in the middle; dirty thoughts)

(also this is my opinion and certainly doesn't reflect the entirety of the fandom so no one come for me plz)

milfs

alright.

i had three pop in my head immediately, as soon as i processed the question.

first, katherine. ofc. and she is technically a mom, even though i forgot about nadiya at first.

she's both a badass and super hot (my bisexual awakening at the age of 12, actually), so she definitely qualifies for this category.

second, bonnie. not a mom, although she would make an amazing mom, given the chance. i was just watching 8x9 and she looked so freaking gorgeous, i had to pause to catch my breath (literally, my jaw dropped).

and all respect to kat, but let's not forget 1x5, the car wash episode… she looked fking amazing in that bikini, like, i died.

also, the entirety of s7, she was both sassy and gorgeous. i was so happy she got a chance to shine (finally) & she killed it. long overdue but soooo worth the wait.

she's always gorgeous, always badass, and like i said, would make a wonderful mom.

third, elena, but specifically season 6. idk if it was the single life that brought out her confidence or what, but she was glowing in that season.

i wasn't a fan of her most of the time, but she had huge mommy / milf energy throughout s6. i can't explain it, it's just vibes.

now, since you said tvd universe, i must also add rebekah and hayley to the mix.

rebekah is totally a qualifier for many of the same reasons katherine is, minus the actual kid. i fucking love her, and given the chance, she'd be a great mom, too.

hayley… loved her in the first 1-2 ish seasons.. liked her less when it felt like she was leading on both elijah and werewolf boy / nathan parsons wtf was his name.. JACKSON, that was it.

wasn't a fan of that.

she was a great mom to hope, always defended her daughter, and was very protective towards the people she loved, but she's only a contender for my list.

before i move onto dilfs, i must also add a note about caroline. i just remembered she's a mom, too, but tbh, while i love her to death and she's a great mom, she seems too babygirl-ish to be a milf. this could be bc the whole alaric/caroline thing freaks me out, or maybe it's bc the gemini coven forced pregnancy on her, but i just don't feel milf energy from her.

she was absolutely glowing, and beautiful when she was pregnant, and i adore her to death, but she doesn't fit the vibe.

dilfs

now onto dilfs. i have less contenders.

first… elijah. huge dilf energy, like, insane.

always very protective of his family, of hayley and hope, of his morals and his home… whatever is important, he will defend it.

the suits only add to the dilfishness. that's it. that's the point.

certain scenes, especially throughout the originals are so dilf energy, it sends me to the moon.

the one where they're at the farm or whatever and he's rebuilding fence boards, every scene where he's drinking bourbon, whenever he rolls up his sleeves to deal with someone, or rips out a heart... you know what i mean?

second, you know i have to mention my boy kai…

that scene in 6x22 when he's in that suit… plz for the love of god put a baby in me. 🫣

he's so hot in that scene i can't actually handle it.

also something tells me he's got a breeding kink + he had 7 siblings & certainly knows at least somewhat how to raise kids.

as long as they're no threat, i think he could be a good dad (but i don't think he'd hurt his own kids).

not very dilfy pre-1903, but is very much so afterwards. (like caroline, he's got babygirl energy to me.)

oh! and while we're on the topic of dilf energy, i need to include marcel.

this man is spicy and kills me with his smile alone.

admittedly, there were times he pissed me off, but everyone pissed me off in the originals at some point, even elijah (loml).

i think he would be a great dad. he was so good with helping & being there for davina. he would defend hope despite the shit klaus & elijah put him through. he also kind of "adopted" josh as he did davina.

great leader, too. knew how to keep people in line (even if his system was majorly flawed).

and he's so fucking hot.

dilf energy. that's it.

now, for the actual dilf, i have one contender and one winner.

i really hate to admit it, because he's a terrible, awful person, but he's so fucking hot & obviously has great genes.

joshua parker.

fuck, something about this man does something to me that i can't explain.

i hate his guts.

but he's so hot.

all of his kids are hot, too. like i said, great genes.

definitely on the older side, but that just makes it so much better.

with him it would be like… "my wife died but now idk how to cope & i need to fuck out my sadness," and i would be like, "okay daddy. hey, i heard your eldest killed 4 of your kids, do you wanna make more?"

anyway…

he's on my list with john winchester, called, "fictional men who would be dilfs if they were not child abusers."

Now to crown the winners! ✨👑✨

hottest milf: katherine pierce

hottest dilf: joshua parker

hottest with milf energy: bonnie bennett (s6 elena is a close 2nd)

hottest with dilf energy: elijah mikaelson

[trillscienceofficer]

Seven/Ezri for the ship opinion bingo?

MWAH I'm so grateful to be asked to talk more about my little kayak, thank you so much for enabling me <3

(I'm sad I couldn't get a bingo here but they're not fucking the same guy lmfao)

So I came up with whole scenario where essentially Ezri and Seven meet post-canon when they're both in the middle of big changes—Voyager just returned to the AQ, and Ezri just left DS9 behind after realizing that she needs to find her own path. And they don't get along at all, actually, not for lack of trying on Ezri's part, but they're both too absorbed in their own issues to really understand what's going on with the other until things come to a head and they fight. This is what allows them to be actually honest with each other, and it eventually develops into a friendship (and maybe something more, although very temporary).

This is all very much ties into to my ideas about the Voyager crew immediately post-canon; if there's someone who can understand those messy feelings of loss and attempts to hold onto something that's forever gone, that someone is Ezri Dax, even if I don't want her to be their counselor at all.

I think Ezri post-S7 has enough confidence and perspective to see through a lot of Seven's bullshit while also offering a different point of view on living in the world than, say, the Doctor or Janeway. But Seven, with her constant questioning, would also be able to see through a lot of Ezri's own brand of wallowing in the past and challenge Ezri to properly look forward again. Not to mention the wild debates about their VERY different experiences of living within a collective, whether cognitively (joined Trill VS Borg) or socially (their very different former crews). I like the idea of these two very traumatized people meeting for a short time and have this sort of intense thing (think nights spent half-bickering, half-talking on the roof of a Starfleet Academy dorm) during a time of uncertainty and big changes.

Now Picard show canon hints strongly that Seven's life relentlessly sucked since she got to the AQ and... well I've not written this story out yet because I have yet to figure out how I want it to end. At first I wanted to believe that this, however short-lived, thing Seven and Ezri had still managed to impact their life positively, but now? I'm not so sure anymore what I want this to be, hence the 'there's no way this ends well' box. I suppose I'm waiting for s3 to end to see if there's going to be new information about Seven's life that I want to incorporate.

[here is the ship bingo meme]

[here are the other ship bingo meme entries]

[outrunningthedark]

The longer this hiatus goes on the more I’m convinced that if 911 comes back KR can get her dream scenario of pairing Buck and Eddie with a female love interest. Look at how dead it is here in fandom. I feel like a lot of people have moved on and just aren’t as invested. The general audience though are the casual viewer who will probably be grateful for any new content if it comes back. And they also have some short memories and are a lot more forgiving than a vocal fandom.

I love opening up tumblr to this because I was JUST coming here to talk out loud (to myself) about MY inkling for s7, which *could* be the real ending. Personally, without the Buddie goggles, I do not see the showrunners returning from an extended hiatus with a plan to recycle the same story line - both guys in relationships that end at some point in season and they're single again. Fans are waiting until 2024...for that? Don't think so. With Eddie, maaaaybe Edy/Marisol is an afterthought a la Ali just because that phone call was to show how Eddie is dating on his terms now, not his aunt's. She's a possibility, not a promise. And then, if they were to end, a new character could get properly introduced so the audience can (hopefully?) warm up to her. (Audience = people not in fandom spaces!) But Buck? I think something bigger could be in the works here, ngl. Because TPTB were (semi) prepared for potential cancellation, he's now dealt with the things that would normally find him in unhappy/unfulfilling situations. He realized TayKay would always be a Reporter first, Girlfriend second and did the leaving for the first time. He didn't use sex to cope with his loneliness. He's made/making peace with his parents' prior behavior because holding onto that pain and anger hasn't lead him anywhere helpful (and he knows it). He didn't rush into buying a new couch, aka finding a new girlfriend. And when he was ready to get an (actual) couch, he not only chose one he likes, but one that his current gf, the person he wants in his home, likes, too. Because they're going to share it. People can make up any excuse as to how "the show was saying these relationships won't last" (while ignoring that s6 was supposed to be a "satisfying ending" lol lol), but until the scripts tell a different story...I'm not seeing Buck make the same mistakes with Natalia and ending up back where we started (when they could have truly done something with the couch representing the Buckley-Diaz fam). My thoughts rn? I'm iffy on an engagement because of the close proximity to Madney's and then (we assume) an upcoming wedding for them. So. Plan B? Baby Daddy Buck is here to stay.